1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:05,640 If you would open your Bibles to the book of James as we continue 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:11,600 our study in this this letter that the the apostle James has 3 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,800 written to the churches and the dispersion James chapter 4. 4 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:19,200 And this morning we're going to be in verses 7:00 and 8:00. 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,000 Last week we looked at just two verses, and this morning again, 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:23,960 we'll just be looking at 2 verses. 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,720 We're getting to a dense section of James, and there is a lot of 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,880 material here, so we're going to jump right into James 4, verses 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:35,040 7 and 8. Let's read the text, open us in 10 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,160 a word of prayer, and then we'll jump into the sermon this 11 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:39,920 morning, James 4, beginning in verse 7. 12 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,240 Submit yourselves, therefore to God. 13 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,880 Resist the devil and flee from you. 14 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,400 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:02,960 Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts. 16 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,840 You double minded. Let's pray. 17 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,120 Father, we pray for this new journey that you have brought us 18 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,800 on. We recognize God that we are 19 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,760 here by grace and grace alone in many ways. 20 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:31,000 Lord, as Christians, as members, as even people who are here 21 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,520 seeking that they are here by your grace. 22 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,480 And so, Lord, this morning, would you help us to be keenly 23 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,720 aware and submitted to this grace, Lord, to recognize that 24 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,040 we can. We can do nothing apart from 25 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,960 you, Lord, we can do nothing apart from your grace. 26 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:52,960 We need your grace. And so this morning as we look 27 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:57,280 at a text that tells us how we can be given this grace, that 28 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,320 you, you give grace to the humble and you oppose the proud. 29 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:10,400 This morning as we look to see how can we receive this grace, I 30 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:15,720 pray Lord, that you would give us the strength and the the 31 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,440 discipline to be able to receive this. 32 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,560 Or we know Lord that this year we won't make it. 33 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,360 None of us individually or corporately will make it apart 34 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,320 from you, Lord. So God, please come and give us 35 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,000 what we need to to persevere this year. 36 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:43,320 I pray in Jesus name, Amen. I have never that I know of made 37 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:45,480 New Year's resolutions in my life. 38 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,480 If you do, I, I, I don't want to just, you know, denigrate that 39 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,040 at all. I, I think that they are 40 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,120 wonderful for many people. I just personally have never 41 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:58,640 made them because I always thought they were doomed to 42 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:00,640 fail. I always felt like if you're 43 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:03,440 going to make a change, you just make it right then and there. 44 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:08,520 You don't wait for New Year's. But today is not just the first 45 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:14,200 church service of the new year. It is also the first church 46 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,600 service of Grace and Truth Baptist Church. 47 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:20,800 We didn't necessarily plan it that way. 48 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,520 That's just how it worked out by God's grace that that this first 49 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:31,120 Sunday of 2026 is also our first Sunday service as our new Church 50 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:32,400 of Grace and Truth Baptist Church. 51 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,600 And so while I will not be making New Year's resolutions, I 52 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:43,040 will make one church resolution for 2026. 53 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,560 And if I had to pick one, if I had to pick one resolution for 54 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:56,000 our new church, it would be this, that we would draw near to 55 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:04,000 God corporately and individually, that we would draw 56 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:12,320 near to God in 2026. And that's what the text is 57 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,680 about this morning. It's drawing near to God. 58 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,880 Normally I segregate exposition application. 59 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:21,880 This morning I'm going to be weaving them together. 60 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:23,320 There won't be separate sections. 61 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:26,200 So exposition application of the text together. 62 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,800 We're going to look at this phrase by phrase because we're 63 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:31,960 only getting into two verses. There's a lot here. 64 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:37,640 So let's jump right in to James 4 verse 7 a the first part where 65 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:43,680 James says submit yourselves therefore to God. 66 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,040 Now in the 2 verses that we are going to be looking at this 67 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,800 morning, James gives the churches 5 imperatives, 5 68 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,360 commands, and we're going to look at them individually. 69 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,360 The first imperative that we're going to look at is this submit 70 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:03,320 yourselves therefore to God. Now I had four questions 71 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,560 regarding this imperative. Here they are #1 what does it 72 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,880 mean to submit? James says to submit yourselves. 73 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,040 And we we may all have an idea of what that means, but what 74 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,720 does it actually mean to submit? The Greek word here is hoopoe 75 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,160 tasso. It's it's used multiple times in 76 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:24,840 the New Testament. Here's a Greek definition to 77 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:29,960 cause to be in a submissive relationship to subject to 78 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:33,160 subordinate. It essentially means to come 79 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,680 under the authority of someone. To submit means that you come 80 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:42,520 under their authority. This is the same Greek word that 81 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,720 is used of Jesus being submissive to his parents. 82 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,720 Demons being subject to the disciples. 83 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,560 Christians being subject to governing authorities. 84 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,600 Women being at submission in the church. 85 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,160 Jesus being subjected to the father. 86 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,280 Christian submitting to one another in the church, The 87 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:03,440 church submitting to Christ. Wives submitting to their 88 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:07,360 husbands bond, servants being submissive to their masters, The 89 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:11,720 younger being subject to elders. All of those examples use the 90 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,960 exact same Greek word, hupo tasso. 91 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:21,080 Now I point that out is because often people want to highlight a 92 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,800 few of these. They want to highlight, you 93 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:27,960 know, that maybe the inequality of wives, we just submit to 94 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,960 their husbands, or maybe women having to submit in the church 95 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,960 or perhaps members having to submit to elders. 96 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:42,040 And yet the reality we see from this list is that everybody 97 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,120 except God the Father is called to submit to someone. 98 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:52,360 The only person that does not submit to anyone is God the 99 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:57,840 Father. Everybody else, including Jesus, 100 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:01,440 including the Holy Spirit, including you, including me, we 101 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,320 all are called to submit to someone. 102 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,760 Even Jesus, who is fully God, submits to the Father. 103 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,360 Question #2 How does one do this? 104 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,760 How does one, how do we practically submit to God? 105 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:22,320 You know, that can just kind of be an idea of like, you know, 106 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:24,600 submit to God. Well, what does that practically 107 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:26,720 mean? I want you to notice how James 108 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,120 words this. He words that he says submit 109 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:33,760 yourselves, submit yourselves. The Greek verb is passive. 110 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,240 It's not active. That's telling. 111 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,320 What does that tell us? In fact, every time that the 112 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:43,800 imperative is used with Hupa Tasso, every time it's used and 113 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,360 in the imperative mood, it's passive. 114 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,280 What does that mean? It implies that submission is 115 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:54,800 not something we do by sheer willpower, nor is it something 116 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,920 that God typically forces us to do. 117 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:02,920 God commands us to be submitted to Him, but we are charged to 118 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,880 willingly bring ourselves under this submission. 119 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,680 We are charged to willingly submit to the authority of God. 120 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:15,840 And the reason this is important is that submission must be 121 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:22,080 willing because submission must be internal as well as external. 122 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,320 It must be both external and internal. 123 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,040 Let me give an example. Suppose I tell my children to 124 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,679 clean their room. I tell them as their father, go 125 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,240 clean your room. But as they go to clean it, so 126 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:36,799 they go upstairs, they go to clean it. 127 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:40,240 As they go to clean it, they're dragging their feet and they're 128 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,520 complaining about how oppressive of a father I am. 129 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:47,120 Oh my God, dad. So always telling us to clean 130 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,720 our room. Why don't we clean his room? 131 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,320 They resent me telling them to clean their room. 132 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,800 They clean it. Now here's the question, did 133 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,960 they submit to me? Here's the question. 134 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:13,080 Did they submit to me? In one sense they did and 135 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:18,360 another sense they didn't. Externally, they submitted. 136 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,600 They cleaned their room, they did what they were commanded to 137 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,360 do. But internally they miss the 138 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:30,720 heart of what submission is. Internally, they missed it. 139 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:34,160 Let me give you another way to think about it. 140 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:38,960 What if Jesus went to the cross complaining? 141 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:46,840 What if as he was carrying the cross, he said, why do I have to 142 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,920 be the one that has to die? Why couldn't you have sent the 143 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:55,040 Holy Spirit? Or what about you Father? 144 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:56,840 Why couldn't the Father be the one to die? 145 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:58,440 Why do I have to be the one to do it? 146 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,680 Jesus died on the cross. He he, he did. 147 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,960 He died on the cross, but he did so begrudgingly. 148 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,920 Here's the question. Did he submit to the father? 149 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:14,920 If he dies on the cross, but he does so begrudgingly, did he 150 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,360 submit to the father? Externally, Yes. 151 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:27,360 Internally, no. Submission is willingly or it's 152 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:35,880 not truly submission #3 what does the therefore tell us? 153 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:41,880 James says submit yourselves. Therefore what is the therefore 154 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,280 tell us? James writes. 155 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:51,800 And and therefore typically is a reference to what has just been 156 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:53,600 said right. Whenever you see the word 157 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:55,520 therefore, you should read the previous verse. 158 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:57,280 That's how that's how they're connected. 159 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:02,840 James had just said God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to 160 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:04,840 the humble. So what's the connection here? 161 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,800 James is connecting humility and submission. 162 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,280 He's connecting these two. In other words, the humble 163 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:18,280 person submits themselves and the submissive person is humble. 164 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:23,000 And So what James is saying is this is that if we desire to 165 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:27,720 receive grace from God, we must submit ourselves to God. 166 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:33,920 If we want God to give us grace, then we must be humble. 167 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:37,320 And the primary way that we humble ourselves is by 168 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:43,920 submitting ourselves to God. And #4 fourth question I had is 169 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:47,480 why do we have a hard time submitting ourselves? 170 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:52,280 The fact that James is commanding the church to do this 171 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:56,080 tells us that some were not. In fact, we all struggle with 172 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:57,880 this. Everybody in this room struggles 173 00:11:57,880 --> 00:11:59,560 with submitting themselves to God. 174 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:00,680 Everybody. Why? 175 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,680 Well, the answer lies in verse 6. 176 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:06,880 The answer lies in verse 6. And here's the here it is 177 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,440 because we are proud. Why do we have trouble 178 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,560 submitting ourselves to God? Because we are all proud. 179 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:23,040 The root of all sin is pride. You can trace all sin back to 180 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,760 pride. If we were to like existentially 181 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,440 breakdown, what is sin, right? Like what what existentially 182 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,560 what is sin? Here's that. 183 00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:37,120 What we can break it down to sin is essentially looking at God 184 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:43,400 and saying, no, I don't need to submit to you right now. 185 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:53,040 I'm going to submit to my desires, my will, my plans, my 186 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:58,720 passions, my decisions, my agenda, my goals, my wisdom. 187 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,000 I'm not going to submit to you right now. 188 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,560 I do submit to you, God, but right now I'm not going to 189 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:16,000 submit to you. That is the the essence of sin. 190 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:22,440 On the flip side of this, what is the essence of practical 191 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,240 righteousness? Not positional righteousness. 192 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,760 What is the essence of practical righteousness? 193 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:32,960 Practical righteousness, the essence of it is this man, I 194 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:38,400 really want to do this. I really want to look at this. 195 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:45,360 I really want to say this, or I really don't want to do this. 196 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:53,120 I don't want to do this or that, but I'm going to choose right 197 00:13:53,120 --> 00:14:00,800 now to submit to you, God. I'm going to choose to choose 198 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,240 what you have commanded me, and I'm going to choose to submit to 199 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,320 you right now. That is the essence of practical 200 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:18,440 righteousness. Look at 7D submit yourselves 201 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:24,240 therefore to God resist the devil, resist the devil. 202 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,680 The second period of James mentions is this resist the 203 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:29,640 devil. Now three questions with this 204 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,720 imperative number one, who is the devil? 205 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,400 I I know that kind of goes without saying, but I don't want 206 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:36,680 to assume that everybody knows this right. 207 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:38,640 You know, we we may have somebody walking off the street 208 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:40,360 who's never heard of Christian sermon before. 209 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,440 They may only know what they see in the movies or you know, so 210 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,920 forth. So who is the devil? 211 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:48,080 The devil goes by many names in the Bible. 212 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:54,040 He's called Satan, the Evil 1 the enemy, Beelzebub, a serpent, 213 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,280 a dragon, the rule of the world, the God of this world, the 214 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:00,920 Prince of the power of the air, the accuser, the tempter, father 215 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:05,480 of lies, the deceiver. He goes by many names, and these 216 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,120 names tell us who this figure is. 217 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:13,200 He is our enemy. He is the false God of this 218 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,680 world. He accuses us night and day. 219 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:21,560 He tempts us, He lies to us, he deceives us. 220 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:27,120 And because of all of this, James tells the churches resist 221 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,720 him. Resist him. 222 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:31,800 Which means this brings up the second question. 223 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,960 What does it mean to resist him? What does it actually mean to 224 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,360 resist the devil? What's interesting is that this 225 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,440 verb is active. So the first one was passive. 226 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,720 This verb is active. So this is something we are 227 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,520 charged to actively be doing. The verb can mean to be in 228 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,960 opposition to, to set oneself against, to oppose, or to be 229 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:59,560 resistant and power. It is the verb here is the same 230 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:04,240 word that's used of elimus, the magician opposing the apostles. 231 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,640 Paul talking about our inability to resist God's will. 232 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,600 Paul opposing Peter to his face or resisting Peter to his face. 233 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:18,240 Taking up the armor of God, that we might withstand the evil day 234 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,720 or resist the evil day. Yanis and Yombres opposing 235 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,440 Moses. Alexander the coppersmith 236 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:29,720 opposing the apostles message. They all use this exact same 237 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,440 verb. I want to point out the 238 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:37,920 aggressive nature of this verb. It is an aggressive verb. 239 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:43,080 It has an aggressive nature. James says resist the devil. 240 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,480 He doesn't say reason with the devil. 241 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,520 He doesn't say to reason with the devil. 242 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,880 This is exactly what Eve did in the garden. 243 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,800 She reasoned with him and she lost. 244 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:02,520 She fell into sin. He says resist. 245 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:07,520 You don't reason with a lion, you fight a lion. 246 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:11,680 You don't reason with a dragon, you fight a dragon. 247 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:17,800 Which then brings up #3 how do we practically do that? 248 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:21,319 How do we practically resist the devil? 249 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,599 Part of my childhood, I grew up in charismatic circles, and they 250 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:30,080 often have some interesting ways to resist the devil. 251 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,120 They, you know, they will give Satan commands. 252 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,960 I command you Satan. Name calling. 253 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,480 They'll call them names. They'll tell angels to fight or 254 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:45,480 restrain Satan to claim something for God. 255 00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:48,360 They'll use the phrase I plead the blood. 256 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,240 Now, I don't want to endorse any of those means, nor do I want to 257 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,960 belittle them. But what I do want to do is to 258 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:01,440 give you some biblical means of how to do this. 259 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,200 I think a lot of those means they're just not found in the 260 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,080 Bible. I want to give you some biblical 261 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,880 means to do this and I'll give you 3 biblical means. 262 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,600 They're very simple, right? Sometimes we can over complicate 263 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:15,600 things. They are very simple. 264 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:17,960 I've alliterated them for you to remember. 265 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:27,480 Here they are a word, B watch C worship word, watch worship a 266 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,880 word. We resist the devil with the 267 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:37,200 word of God. Now notice this is exactly what 268 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,200 Jesus did in the desert. If you remember, when Jesus went 269 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:45,720 into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, what was 270 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,200 recorded was just three temptations. 271 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,240 But Luke tells us that he was attempted everyday. 272 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,880 We are recorded with three but all three temptations that Satan 273 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:54,840 given. What did Jesus do? 274 00:18:55,000 --> 00:19:01,680 He quoted Scripture to him. Jesus quotes the word of God to 275 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,160 Satan. We memorize the word of God so 276 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:09,200 that in the moment of temptation we can pull out the sword of the 277 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:15,400 spirit and fight this dragon. There was an article written 278 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,480 this past week entitled We have smartphones. 279 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,280 Why memorize scripture? You ever thought about that? 280 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:24,760 Why why memorize scripture? I've we got smartphones. 281 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,280 I can just look this up right? We even have AI now where if you 282 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:30,520 know, if you don't even know how to look it up, you can just type 283 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:32,360 something in AI, it'll pull it up for you, right? 284 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,080 Why memorize this? This is not what the article 285 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:37,280 said. This is my argument. 286 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,840 What did David write in Psalm 119? 287 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:52,560 I have hidden your word in my iPhone that I might not sin 288 00:19:52,560 --> 00:20:01,560 against you. No, no, I have hidden your word 289 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:07,360 in my heart that I might not sin against you. 290 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:16,960 Every time you read this book, you are sharpening your sword. 291 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,960 The Watch. Word Watch. 292 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,120 We resist the devil with watchful prayer, prayerful 293 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,000 watchfulness. Jesus told the disciples in the 294 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:37,400 garden, What did he say? Watch and pray that you may not 295 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,840 enter temptation. Watch and pray. 296 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,320 Now we might subconsciously think that when Jesus was 297 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,080 tempted, when he was on this earth by the devil, that he just 298 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:50,480 hit the God button to defeat the temptation right then come to 299 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:52,960 tempt him. He goes beep and then he's like 300 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:55,400 defeats. That's not the picture we get of 301 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,400 Jesus. The gospel said Jesus would 302 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,760 often retreat to desolate places. 303 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:05,760 To do what? To pray in the garden. 304 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,560 Jesus was praying. Jesus resisted Satan with 305 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:15,880 prayer. Brothers and sisters, when Satan 306 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:28,320 talks to you, you talk to God and C worship, Word, watch 307 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,480 worship. The third way that we resist the 308 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,720 devil is worship. Remember when Satan attacked 309 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,760 Job? Satan was so convinced that if 310 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:43,360 he took away Job's possessions and his children that he would 311 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:46,400 curse God, and he didn't. And then he's like, OK, fine, 312 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:50,120 skin for skin, bone for bone, but take away his health, let me 313 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:52,440 touch his body. And he did. 314 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:55,240 He struggled with boils all throughout his body. 315 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,080 And he was so confident. He says he will curse you to 316 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:03,920 your face, but he didn't. How did Joe resist the 317 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:11,720 temptation to not curse God? The Job arose, tore his robe, 318 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:18,560 shaved his head, fell on the ground and worshipped. 319 00:22:23,570 --> 00:22:29,850 There have been so many times in my life where I have been home 320 00:22:29,970 --> 00:22:40,410 alone and I am tempted to say, and often I need to just go for 321 00:22:40,570 --> 00:22:50,360 a walk and worship. It is very difficult to give in 322 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:56,640 to sin when you're listening to worship music for quoting 323 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:04,920 scripture in your head. Word, watch worship. 324 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:13,160 Look at 7C. Resist the devil and he will 325 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:17,720 flee from you. What a powerful thought. 326 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,840 He will flee from you Want to draw your attention to two 327 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:25,120 aspects of this statement. Number one, this is a promise. 328 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:31,000 This is a promise. Resist the devil and he will 329 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,520 flee. Flee is in the indicative mood, 330 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,640 which is the mood of reality. It's not subjunctive. 331 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:41,320 Subjunctive would resist the devil and he might flee from 332 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,240 you. It's it's not a subjunctive, 333 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,600 it's indicative. He will from you. 334 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:48,840 That is a promise, brothers and sisters. 335 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:52,920 One side point I want to make is this. 336 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:58,720 When you read that, be careful. You don't over apply this 337 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:00,200 promise. What do I mean by that? 338 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:04,120 James is not suggesting that if we resist the devil, we will 339 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:06,760 never be tempted. He's not suggesting that. 340 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:08,560 Why? Because there are three sources 341 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,960 of temptation. There is the devil, there is the 342 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:17,880 flesh, and there is the world. Resisting the devil is just one 343 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:23,800 third of the equation. A man cannot place himself neck 344 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:29,160 deep in the world, resist the devil and expect that he won't 345 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:34,040 fall into sin. A man cannot feed his flesh, 346 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:38,680 resist Satan and expect he will not fall into sin. 347 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:44,240 Resisting Satan goes hand in hand with making no provision 348 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:53,240 for the flesh and not being friends with the world #2 James 349 00:24:53,240 --> 00:25:01,400 says the devil will flee. The devil will flee. 350 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:03,640 Why is that important that it says he will flee? 351 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,200 Because it's not as though that when we resist Satan, we're 352 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:08,760 simply just pushing back against him. 353 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,000 It's not as though, like it's tempting me and I'm just 354 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,920 resisting him to keep him like, you know, like, but he's just 355 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:18,760 going to keep pushing. I'm just kind of keeping him at 356 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:19,960 Bay. That's not what it says. 357 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,280 James writes resist him and he will flee. 358 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,400 The Greek word typically means to run away. 359 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:33,120 When Jesus resisted the devil in the desert, the text says that 360 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:36,480 the devil departed from him, left him. 361 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:43,400 Now here's why this matters. Here's why this matters. 362 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:45,720 Let me give a basketball analogy. 363 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:51,880 I have done very little coaching in my life, but the little bit 364 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:57,600 that I have done, I tell players is one of my favorite things to 365 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,600 tell players. Guys, you have a right to this 366 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:06,560 spot. You have a right to this spot, 367 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,400 and just because the other player is trying to take your 368 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,080 spot, you don't have to give it to them. 369 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:21,520 Don't be kind. You do not have to give him the 370 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:23,640 spot. You can hold your ground. 371 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:29,280 So if you've got position, put your forearm up, get down low 372 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,320 and hold your spot. Don't give it to them. 373 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:38,120 Push back, don't extend the forearm. 374 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:42,280 That's a foul. But you can hold your ground. 375 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,840 So if a guy's coming to try to post up, I don't have to let 376 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:49,280 him. I don't have to put a red carpet 377 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:51,040 and be like, please come post up on me. 378 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,920 I can jam him and not let him have that spot. 379 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,560 The same is true in the Christian life. 380 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,280 You see, the devil's game is trench warfare. 381 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,880 That's the game the devil plays. It's trench warfare. 382 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:19,920 He will take a slow and steady approach in your life, inch by 383 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:25,480 inch, minute by minute. He has all the time in the 384 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:32,480 world. He doesn't have to get you to 385 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:38,840 fall like that. He will take a slow, slow, 386 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:47,400 steady approach. Brothers and sisters, resist 387 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:54,240 him. Do not let him gain ground in 388 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:58,480 your life. Don't let him get that ground. 389 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,880 Why? Because once you give up ground 390 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,240 to him, it is very difficult to get it back. 391 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:09,680 We all know this. You get addicted to alcohol, 392 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:11,960 it's very difficult to to get off it. 393 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,320 You get addicted to social media, it's very difficult to 394 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:17,480 get off of it. You get addicted to prescription 395 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:19,960 drugs, it's very difficult to get off of it. 396 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,600 You get addicted to shopping and spending. 397 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:24,640 It's very difficult to get off of it. 398 00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:28,360 You get addicted to your job. It's very difficult to undo 399 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:35,280 that. Don't give him ground. 400 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:41,720 Resist him. Look at 8:00. 401 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:49,600 A draw near to God. The third imperative that James 402 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:53,760 mentions is this draw near to God. 403 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,240 So first James says to submit to God. 404 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:02,280 Now he says to draw near to God. What is the difference between 405 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:04,640 submitting to God and drawing near? 406 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,000 Are these synonyms? Are they the same thing? 407 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,280 Is there a difference? There is. 408 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:11,800 Let's think about all the context of submission that I 409 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:16,040 mentioned earlier. A child can submit to their 410 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:20,120 parents but not be close with their parents. 411 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:26,760 A wife can submit to her husband but not have a close 412 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:31,200 relationship with husband. A church member can submit to 413 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:35,280 the elders but not be close with the elders. 414 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,600 We can submit to governing authorities but not be close 415 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:41,920 with those governing authorities. 416 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:47,040 A bondservant can submit to their master but not be close 417 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:51,520 with their master, and the same is true with God. 418 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:59,640 We can submit to God and actually not be close to God. 419 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:09,080 James exhorts the church not just to submit to God, but to 420 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:16,000 also draw near to God. Don't submit to God. 421 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,880 Draw neither to God. Now I want to point out three 422 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:23,960 aspects of this command. Number one, this is an active 423 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:25,720 command. This is an active command. 424 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:30,880 In other words, we are not to passively sit by and wait for 425 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:36,240 God to draw near to us. In other words, we are exhorted 426 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:41,720 to draw near to God. When I first became a Christian, 427 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:45,280 my best friend was the guy who discipled me. 428 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,680 We, we, we spent pretty much every week together, sometimes 429 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:52,600 every day for like a good two years. 430 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:56,680 I think the only reason we actually became friends and 431 00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,960 actually were as close as we were is because he pursued me so 432 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:03,200 diligently. Because if we're up to him, I 433 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,360 would have rarely ever initiated to him. 434 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,000 It was, I'm not saying that's right, but it was really one 435 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,800 sided. It was always him initiating to 436 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:17,560 me. Always we must not take this 437 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:23,800 stance with God, where we basically wait for God to call 438 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:28,960 us, where we wait for God to initiate to us. 439 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:38,640 We are to pursue God. We are to draw near to God, draw 440 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:46,640 near to God. 2nd aspect I want to point out is that Jesus and 441 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,280 Jesus alone makes this command possible. 442 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,040 One of the reasons I love the Old Testament I I I love the I 443 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:57,120 used to take all the Old Testament classes I could find 444 00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:58,840 at seminary because I love the Old Testament. 445 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:01,120 One of the reasons I love the Old Testament is because it puts 446 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,160 the New Testament into right perspective. 447 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,560 As New Testament Christians see, all we know is the ability to 448 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,800 draw near to God. All of us in this room, that's 449 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,560 all we've known is that once we got saved, we could draw near to 450 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,760 God. I always do it every day of my 451 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:18,000 life. I could draw near to him. 452 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:20,280 I always had that privilege. I always had that right. 453 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,000 That's all we've ever known. But for thousands of years, 454 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:24,840 God's people did not enjoy this privilege. 455 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:31,560 There was a curtain, There was a veil that separated the people 456 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:38,440 from the presence of God. Only the high priest would come 457 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,560 into the presence of God, and that only once a year. 458 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,600 But when Jesus died on the cross, this veil was torn, 459 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,120 making it possible for us to draw near to God. 460 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:58,240 And it's strange that this is a command, right? 461 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,760 You can read this as a command, but how you really should read 462 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:12,720 this is an invitation. An invitation Lawrence brother 463 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:16,240 came in town to visit us for Christmas and so we took him out 464 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:19,080 to a with the gift card that the team leaders they've given us. 465 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:20,920 You're not sure what that is. It's like a Brazilian 466 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,000 steakhouse. It's like a buffet of of meat. 467 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:28,920 I I love meat. My favorite sides that go with 468 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:37,880 meat is more meat. As we sat at this buffet of 469 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:43,920 meat, nobody had to command me to eat this meat. 470 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:49,640 When they walked around with the filet mignon and they put it on 471 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:52,320 to the skew on the table, it was the command. 472 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:55,240 Eat it. The guy can come and say eat 473 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,880 this. It was an invitation. 474 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:03,280 He came and he said would you like some? 475 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:14,520 Yes, I would thank you taste and see that the Lord is good. 476 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:19,679 The same is true with this command. 477 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,719 It is a command to draw near to God. 478 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:27,040 But church family, this is primarily an invitation. 479 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:31,920 It's an invitation to enjoy the presence of God. 480 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:39,239 Drawn near to God. Would you like some? 481 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:50,080 Yes, Lord, I would #3 How does one actually draw near to God? 482 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:54,360 I've been asked that question so many times by you church family. 483 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:04,200 I think a large part culturally. How do I, how do I do this? 484 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:08,120 How do I draw near to God? Typically, when this Greek word 485 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:11,760 is used, it's referred to physically drawing near, like as 486 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:13,600 Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, right? 487 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:16,040 It's physically drawn. But there, there is a, there's a 488 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,120 physical way to draw near to God, but but we can't do that, 489 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,720 right? I can't go, I can't find him 490 00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:23,520 physically. So how do I do this? 491 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,840 How do I, how do I actually draw near to God? 492 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:30,200 Let me give an earthly analogy from marriage. 493 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,840 A husband can eat dinner with his wife every night. 494 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:40,680 He can sit right next to her at the table and not be near her. 495 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:48,840 He can sleep in the same bed as her every night and not be near 496 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:52,960 her. He can go for a walk with her 497 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:56,600 every weekend and not be near her. 498 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:06,400 If you are married, you know this to be true because to be 499 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:13,840 close requires intimacy, transparency, vulnerability, 500 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:21,840 trust, listening, patience. And the same is true with God. 501 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:30,520 We can go to church every week, read our Bibles every week, 502 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:38,040 pray, sing, serve, give, and not actually be close with God. 503 00:36:43,730 --> 00:36:47,690 Brothers and sisters, this is an invitation to be intimate with 504 00:36:47,690 --> 00:37:01,810 God, to be vulnerable with God. It's funny because I don't have 505 00:37:01,810 --> 00:37:03,490 this in the sermon, but I just want to say this. 506 00:37:05,010 --> 00:37:07,770 Through the years, I have asked so many people in the church, 507 00:37:08,010 --> 00:37:11,480 where are you with God? You know what, I always get the 508 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:14,200 answer. I always get church disciplines. 509 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,720 Well, I'm reading my Bible. I hadn't been reading my Bible 510 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:22,520 that in my head I always think, I didn't ask you if you're 511 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:26,000 reading the Bible. I didn't ask if you've been 512 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:27,200 praying. I didn't ask if you've been 513 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:28,600 serving the church. I didn't ask that. 514 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:31,400 I asked, where are you with God? It's like if somebody says, 515 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:33,400 how's your marriage doing? And I said, well, I've been 516 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:37,000 washing the dishes. What's that got to do with my 517 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:48,000 marriage? Where are you with God? 518 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:56,040 How close are you with God? Do you even know how to 519 00:37:56,040 --> 00:38:08,530 calculate that? The verse 8B and he will draw 520 00:38:08,530 --> 00:38:12,530 near to you. I love the contrast here. 521 00:38:12,810 --> 00:38:15,850 Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 522 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:19,560 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. 523 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:24,000 You've got God and the devil once coming at you. 524 00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:27,640 Resist him and then with God, draw near to him and he will 525 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:31,680 draw near to you. I want to point out two aspects 526 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:35,360 of this statement. Number one, God doesn't wait for 527 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:40,600 us to all the drawing near. He doesn't wait for us to do all 528 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:44,280 the drawing, even though we are exported to initiate this 529 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:47,120 drawing. The text doesn't say draw near 530 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:50,320 to God and He will let you draw near to Him. 531 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:54,680 That's not what it says. It says draw near to God and He 532 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:58,040 will draw near to you. In other words, if this is God 533 00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:01,320 and this is me, it's not that I am committed just to draw near 534 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:03,360 to Him. And God is this immovable object 535 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,240 and He just waits till we get close to Him. 536 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:07,520 No, the text says draw near to God. 537 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:10,520 And as we begin to draw near, He begins to draw near to us. 538 00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:18,960 This is beautifully illustrated and the parable of the prodigal 539 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:22,680 son. This son asked his dad for an 540 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:27,360 inheritance, his inheritance. He quickly squanders it in sin. 541 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,200 He decides to repent and to return to his father's house. 542 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:37,120 And as he is drawing near to his father, what does his dad do? 543 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:39,960 Does his dad sit on the front porch and his rocking chair just 544 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:41,360 tapping his foot? All right, let's see. 545 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:50,520 Let's see what your story is. The text says while he was a 546 00:39:50,560 --> 00:40:02,560 long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran to 547 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:06,760 him and embraced him and kissed him. 548 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:15,280 This is what our father does. When we draw near to him, he 549 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:22,560 draws near to us. He doesn't wait for us to get to 550 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,960 him. He says, you initiated, but I 551 00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:30,640 will draw near to you. I will meet you in your 552 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:34,440 weakness. Our efforts may be very small, 553 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:39,960 we may be very imperfect. Draw mirrors, but God will meet 554 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:51,360 us and #2 this is a promise. Just as James promises, resist 555 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:55,440 the devil and he will flee from you, James also promises draw 556 00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:57,880 near to God and he will draw near to you. 557 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:08,040 It's not as though, well, if God's having a good day, you 558 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:11,440 know how it's, it's it, it, it you ever like wanted to 559 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:15,040 reconcile with somebody, but you realize like man, like it's only 560 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:19,520 if, if, if they're ready. What is your spouse or a friend? 561 00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:21,640 It's like, and and they may not be ready, right? 562 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:22,800 Why? Because they're sinful. 563 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:28,280 You may initiate the reconciliation, but it's like 564 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:30,840 it's whenever they're ready. It's never like that with God. 565 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:37,320 You, we don't have to wait. Like, well, I wonder if it's the 566 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:39,800 right timing with God. It's always the right timing. 567 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:46,760 Always. He is always willing to draw 568 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:48,520 you. Always. 569 00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:54,800 Doesn't matter what you've done. If you are ready to draw near to 570 00:41:54,960 --> 00:42:08,000 Him, He will draw near to you. It's a promise. 8C Cleanse your 571 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:13,840 hands you sinners man, you got to love James. 572 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:19,440 James is People say they love the book of James and I do too. 573 00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:21,920 I always find it funny though, because James is pretty brutal. 574 00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:24,840 He's got some brutal phrases here. 575 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:31,480 Cleanse your hands, you sinners. 3 questions arise from this 576 00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:35,480 statement #1 Why does James call them sinners and what does that 577 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,640 mean? Be careful this right because 578 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:42,360 like I I, I've never called you sinners. 579 00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:46,520 We, we, we are like listen up you sinners. 580 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:52,160 Why does James call them sinners? 581 00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:54,960 What does that mean? This word for sinners is used 47 582 00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:58,320 times in the Testament and almost every usage of the word 583 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:01,240 it is used of the world, the lost world. 584 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:05,200 That's the what the term means. It's the lost world. 585 00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:08,600 So how do we reconcile the fact that James has previously called 586 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:12,360 them brothers, Dear brothers, beloved brothers, I always 587 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:15,040 calling them. How do we reconcile that? 588 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:20,240 Well, James uses this term one other time and it sheds light on 589 00:43:20,240 --> 00:43:23,360 how he's using this term. It's the last verse and James 590 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:27,600 where he writes this, let him know that whoever brings back a 591 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:31,760 Sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and 592 00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:35,240 will cover a multitude of sins. Now what does that tell us? 593 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:40,160 It tells us that James is seemingly using this term for 594 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,640 professing Christians who are living like the world. 595 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:48,240 He's using this term for professing Christians who are 596 00:43:48,240 --> 00:43:51,160 living like the world. And I think he calls them 597 00:43:51,160 --> 00:43:55,400 sinners because he wants them to feel the urgency that if they 598 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:59,400 continue to be friends with the world, they will make themselves 599 00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:03,000 an enemy of God. They will go from being called 600 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:07,760 Saints to being called sinners. They're on the fence. 601 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:13,120 And you're like, well, you're on the fence. 602 00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:15,080 Is it a 5050? No, it's, it's, you're either a 603 00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:20,160 St. or Sinner. If you're on the fence, James is 604 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:24,440 like, I'm going to call you a Center for now #2 what does it 605 00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:27,400 mean to cleanse your hands? Well, let's be clear that hands 606 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:30,960 is being used as a synecdoche for all the person's actions. 607 00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:33,520 So he's not literally mean like, you know, cleanse like he's 608 00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:35,800 talking about your whole life. But then what does that mean? 609 00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:38,080 What does it mean to cleanse your life? 610 00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:39,880 Let's be clear what it doesn't mean. 611 00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:41,640 It doesn't mean to cleanse your life. 612 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:45,760 And the positional sense doesn't mean that only Jesus can do 613 00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:48,640 that. What can wash away my sins? 614 00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:52,560 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. So it doesn't mean that. 615 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:54,680 But what does it mean then? Let me give an illustration. 616 00:44:57,280 --> 00:44:59,640 Tattoo removal is a relatively new invention. 617 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,280 Before the way we do remove tattoos today, There were there 618 00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:05,720 were other ways to remove tattoos, but it would leave 619 00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:08,200 scarring. It would it would leave really 620 00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:10,600 bad scar. So all you did was trade a 621 00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:13,840 tattoo for a scar. Either way, you were still 622 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:15,480 marked. You're either marked with a 623 00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:17,080 tattoo or you're marked with a scar. 624 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:22,160 But suppose someone came along and they had a way to remove the 625 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:25,840 tattoo with no scarring. Suppose it was on your hands. 626 00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:31,960 So now you have clean hands, no tattoos, no scarring. 627 00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:34,840 But you can still get your hands dirty, can't you? 628 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:40,040 You can still get your hands dirty. 629 00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:47,360 What does this mean? Only Jesus can remove the tattoo 630 00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:52,240 of our sin, the scar of our sin. Only Jesus can remove that. 631 00:45:53,240 --> 00:46:01,640 But we must remove the dirt. We must remove the dirt #3 how 632 00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:05,600 do we practically do this? James will partially answer this 633 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:08,000 in verse 9, which we'll look at next week. 634 00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:12,800 But what's interesting is that in another passage by Paul where 635 00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:15,720 the same Greek verb is used, here's what he writes. 636 00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:19,680 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse 637 00:46:19,680 --> 00:46:22,560 ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. 638 00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:26,280 That same verb is used. Cleanse ourselves the passage 639 00:46:26,320 --> 00:46:28,320 right before that and send Corinthians 6. 640 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:32,160 What does it talk about? Paul says do not be unequally 641 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:35,000 yoked with unbelievers. Interesting. 642 00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:37,960 That's the exact same argument that James is making. 643 00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:41,240 Do not be friends with the world. 644 00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:49,360 In other words, the best way to have clean hands is to not play 645 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:55,480 in the dirt. If your friends are constantly 646 00:46:55,520 --> 00:47:06,800 in a mud hole, don't join them. Don't join them AD last section. 647 00:47:07,960 --> 00:47:10,680 The 5th and final imperative we're looking at this morning is 648 00:47:10,680 --> 00:47:14,480 this purify your hearts. You double minded. 649 00:47:14,960 --> 00:47:17,360 Now, this is virtually synonymous with what James just 650 00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:19,320 said. It's firstly synonymous, but 651 00:47:19,320 --> 00:47:21,800 I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll discuss the nuance difference. 652 00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:24,760 Purify your hearts is paralleling. 653 00:47:24,760 --> 00:47:27,040 Cleanse your hands. All right, you see that it's 654 00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:30,760 it's paralleling. The nuance difference is that 655 00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:34,120 hands most likely refers to our outward actions, right? 656 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,240 But the heart refers to our inward thoughts, our inward 657 00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:40,960 intentions and motives and emotions. 658 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:43,360 Now that's important. What? 659 00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:45,320 Why? Because think of it like this. 660 00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:50,680 A person may never commit adultery or sexual immorality, 661 00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:54,560 but we must cleanse our lust as well. 662 00:47:56,320 --> 00:48:01,240 A person may never commit murder or assault, but we must cleanse 663 00:48:01,240 --> 00:48:07,160 the anger in our heart as well. A person may not steal, but we 664 00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:10,880 must cleanse the greed or the covetousness that exists in our 665 00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:15,240 heart. A person may not lie, but we 666 00:48:15,240 --> 00:48:18,520 must kill the hypocrisy that lives in our heart as well. 667 00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:23,280 I think This is why James says that we're not just to cleanse 668 00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:25,120 our hands, we also to purify our hearts. 669 00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:27,920 In addition, double minded is paralleling sinners. 670 00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:30,200 So that's paralleling double minded sinners. 671 00:48:30,680 --> 00:48:33,680 They're paralleling each other. This also confirms with what I 672 00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:36,680 said about how James is using the term sinners. 673 00:48:37,080 --> 00:48:41,000 He calls them double minded because they have one foot in 674 00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:43,360 the Kingdom and another foot in the world. 675 00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:51,120 They are attempting to serve 2 masters and we all know this to 676 00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:53,800 be true. You cannot date 2 girls at once. 677 00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:58,920 And you can, but unless you're dating some really strange 678 00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:00,240 girls, they're going to have a problem with it. 679 00:49:03,240 --> 00:49:06,960 You can't work 2 full time corporate jobs at the same time. 680 00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:11,360 You can't work for Amazon and Google unless you're like the 681 00:49:11,480 --> 00:49:18,520 smartest person that ever lived. You can't live a married life 682 00:49:18,560 --> 00:49:22,040 and a single life at the same time unless you're going to have 683 00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:28,880 a bad marriage. And we can't abide in Christ and 684 00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:35,760 abide in the world at the same time, as Joshua said to the 685 00:49:35,760 --> 00:49:37,680 people of Israel, and we've talked about this earlier, not, 686 00:49:37,680 --> 00:49:44,960 not planned. Choose this day whom you will 687 00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:48,080 serve. That's great.