James and Being Lifted
James 4:7-12
Welcome back to our series through the book of James.
We are in our 16th session through this intensely practical portion of scripture.
James is writing to Christians outside of Jerusalem in an effort to coach and correct them in a few areas of their lives, calling them closer to God.
His primary concern is that the lives of his readers would reflect their faith in Christ Jesus as their Lord.
Don’t be hearers of the word only, but be doers of God word.
In Chapter 4, James uses stark and vivid language to illustrate the truth that anyone who is choosing to be a friend of the world or to flirt with the world’s ways of doing things, is not being true to God.
Today as we unpack our text, we will see a passionate plea from James that we would humble ourselves and once again come near to the Father.
James shows us the pathway home-Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will life you up!
James 4:7-12
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
What is your first thought when you read that God wants you to humble yourself?
What comes to your mind in those moments?
In one sweep James is calling his readers to turn away from anything and everything that would hinder their closeness with God.
Are you hanging onto something in your life today that is keeping you at arms length from God?
James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James first instruction is that we would come under the authority of God, and take a stand against the devil and his schemes.
To submit to God is to be attentive to what HE says, rather than running around and doing whatever we want.
It’s a willing submission to accept what HE says about things, rather than our own opinion on the matter.
If I asked you if you were submitted to God and you said, “yes,” what evidence would you show to prove that?
James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
If we take James’ words in verse 8 seriously, especially the order that he gives, God’s prevenient grace has put the ball in our court.
“Come near to God, and he will come near to you”
Friend, how close you are to God, is up to you.
Verse 8b “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Again, we see the passion that James is pleading with here.
You sinners, you double minded, – WAKE UP!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!
In this two-fold plea for repentance and surrender, James calls us to let go of anything and everything in our lives that is opposed to God.
James 4:9
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
The first word of verse 9 here literally translated says “Be miserable”
Think about that for a second- We should be so disgusted by even the smallest trace of sin in our lives that we are miserable over it.
The voice we normally hear about those things doesn’t say that, rather it sounds something like
“Oh its not a big deal”
“The rest of your life is good, don’t worry about that”
“Its just a small thing, nobody even knows”
The reality that James helps us see here is that the devil is trying to convince believers into thinking sin is no big deal.
James says NO! You cant do that… it matters to much
We should be miserable over sin, unable to sleep because things aren’t right between me and God.
That’s what humbling yourself looks like.
We must take the posture of surrender and humility in regards to all things related to sin.
Even those things we enjoy ,that taste good, or what don’t seem like a big deal.
Humility submits it all.
James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Is there a greater promise? Fall on your face before the Lord and HE will raise you to your feet.
And when He lifts you up. You are lifted indeed.
James here circles all the way back to the beginning idea of verse 7 where he calls us to submit ourselves to the Lord.
To humble yourself before the Lord is to acknowledge in your heart and through your actions that we need Him.
YouTube Clip
What might it look like to return to the father? Maybe, like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RXi_cZ57sg
When Jesus was teaching about the heart of the father for those who had gone astray, those who had become friends of the world, he told his disciples a story of the prodigal son.
The story of a son who had known the father, known what it was to be close, but chose to go his own way. In that story Jesus told, there came a moment of decision for the runaway son… A moment of humility and a moment of surrender.
Friends the ball is in your court today. If you will humble yourself, submit it all to the Lord, he will life you up.
Will you take that step towards restoration today? To intimacy with the Father?
James in 8 Minutes
This overview video on the book of James breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY