Humility

Let's go to James right-click James chapter 4 all right, James chapter 4 is this pastor is writing to actually his scattered church they been persecuted.

They are scattered abroad. I don't know we don't know exactly how many and where their suffering people, but we find out that even through times of suffering and difficulty in sorrow the flesh and sin still finds its way to act up. And so he James gets down to brass tacks.

He gets down the just dealing with the stuff needs to be dealt with and so we get to James chapter 4 will talk about humility. Humility notices there James for beginning in verse six and going through verse 10, but he gives greater grace.

Therefore it says God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hand, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned in the morning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt some years ago there was say front page story in our newspaper of a man who was living with a woman he wasn't married to and he beat and strangled this woman and two of her three children today. One small child. I think actually survived and we see these horrifying stories and it's shocking to us and I don't really know if there's all that much more evil in the world, or if it's because we have these this endless number of 24 hour news cycles in the gutter talk about something so there bringing every horrific tragedy and heartbreak issue that's out there and keep putting it in front of us putting in front us putting in a front of us and by the way, I'm trying to and I think you need to try to turn that stuff off more more more.

They get. They gotta keep the writings up so the more horrific it is. So the more horrific they can make it. There isn't something to fake news. There is something to the fact that they create narratives and create stories, but nevertheless we hear these reports of some disgruntled employee. He wouldn't treated writer.

He wouldn't included in whatever it work or maybe was dismissed from the job so he thinks the only right thing to do is to go in and murder, massacre eight, nine, 10, 12 of his coworkers. We just hear these reports and it seems like they just kinda regularly come up and we think, what is the issue I think another. Some obviously sometimes some physiological issued literally in the brain organ.

There are some things like that. That's the kind of up above them even medical sciences ability to comprehend and understand. But I think in most cases there is a deep spiritual issue that underlines all of this week because my God rejecting secularist people God rejecting secularist people. I thought for many years.

You know what what what 1960, or somewhere in there when they took prayer to school and can you can you just thinking a moment back when, in basically every school. They had a Bible reading time and a devotion and a prayer that will for many many years in schools can you measure by the time a student is to be a junior or senior. How many times he's heard from the Bible about God's love is heard from the Bible about God's forgiveness is learned for the Bible about suffering, even though it wouldn't write that not be a great help when some of these kids are deeply troubled and they want to seek vindictively to hurt their classmates because they been left out, or they been excluded or they been bullied when you strip away God's truth. We left with something is going to fill that vacuum and what we filled it with.

There's only one thing left and that's total abject worldliness totally a materialistic, temporal, temporal, secular mindset that this world is all there is.

So the purpose of life is for you to glean and squeeze out of this present life.

All the pleasures, worldly pleasures that you can get. So think about that for a fact all. So that's all going to HQ but all you got is just the 6070 8090 years you might build herself squeeze out of it whatever pleasures there are because after that there's nothing else worth living. Okay, that's what you're going to teach. There's a certain percentage of young people and just people in general who are going to logically deduce okay if the pleasures of this world are all the various then if you rob me of those pleasures.

It's logical for me to do whatever I have to do to get even. Because think about it for a moment if you believe there is a God you believe there's eternity you believe we have an eternal so and you believe there's an eternal heaven the bliss and joy in pleasures forever and you believe there's an eternal hell.

We will be faced with the wrath of God and suffering forever.

If you believe that in whatever you have to do to go that eternal heaven is worth logically speaking. Also, if there is no heaven, and there is no avail in this world and its pleasures is all there is a somebody robs you that are you feel they robbed you of that been whatever it takes to get back. That's pretty logical that's what you're left with when you become God's. When you become a secular people in this whole concept that Tom we don't need God. We do not need moral absolutes. We do not need objective truth that every single person is their own God in their own truth. You just be true to your lust and your desires and that's wonderful of all that applaud Waldo celebrate today we been got one political party that's given themselves holy over to this look there's a lot of ungodliness and wickedness surrounding Republican's okay now I don't know Tom in my life when I voted for Democrats the spirit transparent.

I don't mean Republicans are godly or good all the time even about what but nevertheless if you saw the last Democratic presidential convention. When I had the prayer time was all kind of jeering and in this respect, in Grayson this hostilities in the room when the man tried to pray is just is just a whole, enveloping and embracing rebellion in God regardless whatever reasons the Democratic Party has embraced this in made it much of their mantra read the Democratic Party platform it's atrocious you just is. My point being, that's just a symptom of a culture that's heading away from God and you have more and more and more the stuff that's I think about it.

I'm not saying this is empirically scientifically the fact I'm not a socialist, though have a degree in sociology that is that if you think about it when you see these people doing these rash things are culture I was talking about earlier, murdering and massacring it and then investigators coming later in very often, the investigators come to this conclusion. We don't really have a conclusion. What he was bullied are. He was kind of a loner in society or whatever and he decide killed well if there's no eternity if we are if were not made in the image of God.

There's no eternal souls and you Bert me you've left me out.

You cheated me of what I think I would have a smart worldly pleasures, then it will give me pleasure to hurt you. Why is that okay what moral absolute you have to tell me that's not okay. If you throw God out.

It's again it's just a logical conclusion in a godless secularist culture and when you look at why people do these things, one of three things usually comes to my mind number one. Like the bill like they been robbed of the pleasure of companionship. Somebody lift them out somebody jilted them. Whatever it is they been robbed hard and not the pleasures of sexual fulfillment some way shape or fashion. Are they been robbed or denied a financial or material things almost always, if you dig down through it somehow they think they be have been denied in one of those three areas. Now the only way we'll see a real, substantial change, the extent to change is that there is a turning back to God and true and genuine spiritual awakening in this land now getting to our text.

James is writing to a people who claim to know the Lord and others always think a mixed bag. I think you have true believers who are backslidden then you have people who join the church. You really don't know God, but nevertheless these are people who claim to hold a God at the same time all walking after the pleasures of the world as their primary our main pursuit. We talked about that last time we talked about pleasure is it is it friend or foe and member there's a biblical balanced all of that.

So the point is, James is saying you guys need to quit rising up in pride in assuming you know the right way to live and you know the right way to find pleasure and you know the right way to find meaning in life, you need to humble yourself and get out of that position and do what the Lord has told you so first of all this talk about humility concerning self commit humility concerning self. As I told you only the gospel in the power the Holy Spirit can bring a man to what I call a sweet gospel humility when he sees what he is, and therefore he finds himself humble before God and grateful to hear and learn of God, but would begin in verse six with this phrase Reese's here, but he gives a greater grace is Artie been reproving them about giving themselves over to the pleasures and the lust of this world and they get into a lot of fights and buses in the church is over that even says some of your murdering.

At least you're led to the point where you feel like murdering somebody and he said that the problem is, you're not responding to the greater grace you can say even an ever increasing right God gives you grace so that instead of living for the temporal pleasures of this world. You have an extra enablement.

God saved you put in you in a new capacity the see through that and to make God himself.

The purpose of your life and God's wisdom, the pattern of your life so your life begins to become centered on God and the things of God. Not like a worldly secularist. He only knows this world and does not know God is 40s. You've been given this grace for God's child why heaven's name are you leaving for the world like you haven't been given this grace.

Grace is an extra capacity to do that. Find God and find pleasure to God and find pleasures and obeying God instead of just pleasures out in world know there's a real balance here because the pleasures of the world are not all labeled our common grace as we can enjoy but it's the heart motive that says I want those pleasures even if I dishonor my God of the Christian can't walk in that he says I enjoy those pleasures as long as they're in the flow of me honoring my God so this supernatural enablement is so that we might lean on and trust God's word and not trust the fallen ED counterfeit philosophies of secularism that is we humble ourselves to say God your rot.

The world is wrong. One step further we humble ourselves to say, God, you're right. Your wisdom is right. Your word is right and all notions or inclinations that come through my heart and mind. Contrary to that. I called them wrong. Do you call yourself out given called out before Betty called me out. Do you ever call you out. You then why aren't you that's the pattern of Christianity, the word of God exposes makes bear the reality of a bad motive and let me point a bad attitude, a wrong perspective, we make something and knotted out a bit to and God calls us out and so you agree with God against yourself. Do you understand that you agree with God against you. That's fumbling yourself about a way that's a joyous way to live because you get to say got him not a fool got him not stupid so out talk about me you might be more dignified than that about yourself that you need to get over yourself. You're stupid to because you do stuff everyday that the Bible says it hurts you and you're still doing it. That's pretty stupid so agree with God against yourself.I see your word not say my attitude and I'm struggling with it, but I want to know but I confess and agree with you that's not what ought to be. That's fumbling yourself before God and before the word of God. So one must nurture this this growing pattern of humbling ourselves, calling ourselves out before God knows what else.

He says here to back up this this this truth that you given you been given grace to be enabled to agree with God, and bear witness against yourself and call yourself out because verse six. Therefore, since God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. But here's what happens when you say God what God desires right even if your word says it's wrong. What I enjoy is right for me, even though your words, it is wrong when you do that you're being proud you're lifting yourself up to say I am wiser than God. And so God that's the weightiest of God's is it that's pride, and Gus's will take seven I am opposed to the proud. We are proud you're basically saying okay God, call suit you get, you know what God says literally when it's his God opposes the proud, it means God says all right here I am Miss Agnes have added you learned you cannot punch God.

That's what he says happens you're God's child. You slip into the flesh, you race yourself up say I know the things that goddesses are wicked and wrong and… True. And I'm not calling myself out. I'm in the process of of of excusing myself and affirming these things.

Even though I know there against the word of God. Got is okay. I set myself up as being opposed by cup or the store years ago. Never store Johnny and Bobby grimaced Johnny was talking to Bobby one day and Johnny said hey Bobby. You know what my baby has a list of men's names on a piece of paper. Of all the men in this family with your daddy's names at the top the list.

Well Bobby said is that so suggests a Bobby goes home today. Johnny said yesterday has a piece of paper and let paper a list of the names of all the men in town. He can wit your names with top Sadar Odyssey about that. So go to the voice of the boys house knocks on the door man comes to the door. He sits her I'm so-and-so today. My son tells me that your son said that you got a name of all the men in town. You can wit my names at the top of the list know what you don't know about. He said well I guess I'll have to take your name off that list. That's what godsend you okay you go a lot of against may want a lot of against you to see how you that the deck with that person. God is opposed to the program so you don't walk in that so here that's what he said because your child of God that strikes a little bit of terror in your soul and it should because God loves you and God didn't want you to go on in pride because pride will ruin and hurt and ruin those around you has. We have been talking about the things that have been being stated by prominent leaders in bed the circles of professing evangelicalism when when men stand up and begin to say that things the Bible calls sins may be kinda sorta really it in the scene.

We used to think it was for me didn't begin to stand up and say well, women are not preachers but it kinda maybe sorta is okay.

Sometimes if they're preaching to me. And if you're not really in the office of pastor all this fanciful intellectualizing language North are doing the same God.

We don't think you're all that was we think we kind of ended around shift and remove it around can't change our position on this because this will help us get along in the culture and goddesses is not the culture you to worry about when you race yourself up in pride. You can understand some you claim to be mine. I'm opposed my punches lot harder than the cultures put humility about sale and I want to say humility about self, I mean repenting of thinking about self first because humility is not thinking Lord yourself. Communities really just forgetting saying God smart God, wise, and I want to flow with the remember pride is the sin that made the devil.

The devil River.

Pride is the base foundational sin that made Adam and Eve fall in the garden of Eden so humble yourselves agree with God, and bear witness with God against you, remind yourself that you received the sin nature, a rebellion against God. It can set remind yourself that the Bible said you came forth from the womb, speaking lies, remind yourself that in us. There is no good thing that I was, is, there is no one righteous, not even one.

Remind yourself that naturally, and rightfully apart from God's grace.

You are the object of God's wrath.

Being a holy offensive to him, remind yourself that your salvation is holy and absolutely of grace not of works, not of effort because there's no inherent virtue or goodness in me to perform anything that might possibly please God, remind yourself that any goodness in your life is due to be there common grace our redemptive grace. It's all God's work through man.

Remind yourself that your heart is a lying heart. Your heart is deceitful and wicked.

It continually seeks after evil apart from Christ present and the information and corrections of the word of God. Remind yourself what you are, remind yourself that we have no real self-esteem problem because Sampson Beavan can better when you have Christ assisting other words, humble years as we saying you humble yourself.

Don't be swollen up pride living a lifestyle with the conscious attitude. God, you've given me the grace to continually catch myself bear witness against myself and realign myself with the word of God and I will live with that kind of sweet humility before he elaborates in verse seven, and simply says. Therefore, I rather submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from submit here is again met military work firm. I don't know the time the New Testament were the word submit is not a word that comes out of the military nuclear links to getting your rank stay in your lane stay in your proper place. I was talking with the pastor brother the other day.

We are talking about a young man in think is a good man but he's got some issues and I said what you think it he said I see what I think the boy don't know his place. That's what this means. Here you need to know your place, and that's under God in submission to God cannot just say to you, could you imagine what it shall be like on Judgment Day and all these people all of our airwaves spouting off the most blasphemous file you points in position radically go against the holiness and the virtuous and moral teachings of God, can you imagine what it's complete lot and they face God in the judgment the bullishness.

One thing to have sin in your life and struggle with it be humbled by it be broken over fighting were all in that race were all siding that fight this quite something else.

The Bible says to embrace and promote and celebrate that which God called wicked. That means they're not in any way submitting themselves to God the gods as a Christian you have that grace upon grace to have the capacity to walk surrendered and unconditional surrender to God's acts of the imperative mood in the air. Stints what it means is this is a command that you do this and make this your position going forward. It's a one crawl decision now walk it out. That's really what happens in conversion.

Conversion of the surrender to God's authority avenues than the rest your life striving the grace God's get you to keep walking this out before the Lord before his last part of verse seven he says submit to God and resist the devil is the same error stints. It means it's it's the it's is it declaring a new status between you and the devil is like declaring your no longer my boss. You're no longer my influencer you're no longer my pattern. I have a new commander-in-chief. I have a new loyalty and that is to God. This is the direction I'm going to remember Satan. The Bible calls him the God of this world. And so what to say and what you do if he is God of this world. What is the will to love what you love this world that mean you don't enjoy a good meal or don't enjoy. Some things are in the world. It means you look to this world as the end all Satan want you to live that way. So you have declared once where I'm resisting that I'm not going along with that I'm going along with the Lord. So humility concerning yourself. Don't rise up in pride. Consider yourself under God's authority in the flow of this teaching or his glory goes so quickly to the next thing humility concerning sin located in verse eight pieces draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hand, you sinners, purify your hearts, you double minded. So we draw near to God.

He draws near to us. We draw near to God in faith and in repentance and he draws near to us more in grace and in pardon invented protection. The prodigal son is such a good example of this. He turned to head home and God help them all the way home even prepared the father's heart.

When he arrived home, God brings grace to help you along. When you determine the what with him. Jesus cleans your hands. One of the things you're putting your hands to that displays God hears God's word to you, stop it, quit this topic. Some of us struggle with anxiety, and discouragement, even depression and one of the primary keys to that is to look at yourself and say stop it. Quit thinking that way it's not true that I was a thinker.

What's true, so just quit letting your mind go all those places when you don't know those things are true. I have a friend and I teasingly tell him because he knows I'm the same way. I said you know you been to some terrible things in your life and some of them actually happen. Skype could you allow yourself to live in the reality. All this is gonna happen. That's cohabit what it might, but hesitant you don't know that is going to stop it. Get that out of your thinking that Santa let your mind go there. No, I got elected and thought about hands but my mind came in good but so but whatever you're doing. That's not in the will of God. Remember, your under new authority. Now you walk submissively to him.

You're not in league with Satan you're doing things that make him happy. Quit it out your lives. Your being double minded tried to walk with God and walk in the world the same time, this can't work. Let's hurry on to the other one humility concerning sanctification in verse nine the miserable and more and we let your laughter be turned in the morning and your joy in the gloom of these are all imperatives. These all refer to the evidences of true repentance. Now what he saying is you know you been involved in wrong you know you been loving the world you know the thing you're doing is evil and you know what you been having a good time enjoying. You need to prove your God's child by showing sorrow about the fact you need to show that you're God's child by morning. The fact that you did those things cannot go step further you to do the morning about the fact that you desire to do those things that you hear me I can't I can't I can't be like some charismatic teachers and say if you don't do this Hooper quote this formula will be exact and you not have that trouble anymore know there's some things that are raging euro fallen wicked hard into the day you go home and glorification about the fact that it's there gravy that is there and you never give you joy anyway that it's there to get amen right thing as children of God we don't joy in things. Even though there in our hearts. Even our desires go there sometimes we don't enjoy it because we know it dishonors our God breaks our hearts that it is what he saying you're the morning over the why Jesus said in the Beatitudes. Blessed are they that mourn, Blessed are they that are poor in spirit on this case. These are this is a case of real open wicked backsliders so they ought to really be broken and weeping over there seem but in an everyday Christianity.

We walk that balance of the morning of our old fallen nature and its desires. And when whenever we participate in sin with the same time we walk in the joy that Christ loves us and forgives us and joyous that he gives us grace. Listen to me gives us grace so that we can enjoy the sea in our flesh desires that you did it you partook of it you embrace that sin and make you sick. Thank God for that grace make you more lasting more broken heart.

That's what he saying you got to learn to use sin rightly as the old Puritan said either your killing center since killing you. One of the 29 summary verse 10 humble yourselves in the presence of Lord and you will be exalted public. This reversal verse nine morning the miserable wheat even laughing and I will tell you.

God send you anything laugh about your be sad about what you done what you been doing even joyous view anything really joyous about your full think that sin is not will have payday sin always has a painting is not good payday. Then he turned around verse 10 he says now. Humble yourselves in the presence of mortgages. If that right, God, and he will exalt you literally, he will lift you up to hold you up, he will give you the refresh essay this year you listen with a sense of the powerful and profound list by listening, but you're not listening right. The will forgive you the end of the initial lack of the rejoice.

God lift you up in this life. You lift you up in the world become still be exultation in your soul over the ever abiding, ever present on anything. Faithfulness of God's forgiveness is all this you cannot see in the grace of God that you can see yourself in the misery and discipline of God you can absent the grace of God. He will forget he will lift you back up with forgiveness, with joy, peace with contentment.

Isaiah 3217 reminders and the work of righteousness will be peace in the service of righteousness, quietness and security forever yield yourself to God. Humble yourself fresh in finding him.

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