As we come to the end of 2019 we are coming to the end of one decade, and entering the new decade of the 2020's.
- Would you like to know God better in the next decade? Humble yourself!
- Would you like to receive God’s approval in the next decade? Humble yourself!
- Would you like to break through to victory in the next decade? Humble yourself!
- Would you like a closer walk with God in 2020 and throughout the next decade? Humble yourself
James 4:10 (ESV) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
To hear the audio recording of the sermon check out the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript
Scripture
James 4:1-10 (ESV) 1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
As we come to the end of 2019 we are coming to the end of one decade, and entering the new decade of the 2020s.
- Would you like to know God better in the next decade? Humble yourself!
- Would you like to receive God’s approval in the next decade? Humble yourself!
- Would you like to break through to victory in the next decade? Humble yourself!
- Would you like a closer walk with God in 2020 and throughout the next decade? Humble yourself
Text
James 4:6-10 ESV But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves 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 hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Pay attention to this passage because it will help you jumpstart your spiritual life in 2020.
In this paragraph of James' letter to his friend he uses the word humble twice. He talks about what it means to humble yourself in the eyes of the Lord. In this passage we discover six steps that unlock the path of humility and God’s blessing for his children.
# 1: Stop Taking Credit
James 4:6-7 ESV But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Humility doesn’t come naturally to most of us. If you think you have it, you probably don’t. D. L. Moody used to pray, “Lord, make me humble, but don’t let me know it.”
No one likes being told what to do. We would rather be in charge of our own affairs, and that’s why the whole notion of surrendering our pride to the Lord sounds strange at first. But there is no other way to get better. There is no other way to be healed. There is no other way to be forgiven. There is no other way to find a new life.
We can fight the Lord, or we can surrender everything to his control.
When we fight the Lord, we lose.
When we surrender in faith, we win.
There was a sign painted on the side of a bus in Nigeria: “Man no be God.” That sums it up, doesn’t it? You aren’t God, you never were, and you never will be.
Humility grows best when you understand it I light of God’s grace. Don’t pray for more humility; pray for more grace. Pray that God will pour out his grace in your heart so that you will only boast in the Lord. Humility grows best when you understand it in light of God’s grace.
Psalms 34:1-3 ESV will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord ; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!
A proud person constantly reminds you how great they are. They brag because they want you to praise them. But if you have to tell me how great I am how great could I possibly be? The braggart brags because they're trying to convince you (and themselves) of how great they are. The humble person doesn’t brag because the truth speaks for itself. They leave their reputation in the Lord’s hands because it doesn’t matter to them what others think. They want God’s reputation to become great. What happens to them doesn’t matter as long as the Lord’s will is done.
Walking in humility means you confess your sins, you forgive your enemies, you admit your mistakes, and you don’t brag about how great you are. It also means you serve others with a smile, not with a frown.
“God opposes the proud.” Don’t let that happen to you!
“But He gives grace to the humble.” So pray for the grace you need.
You’ll be glad you did.
# 2: Fight Back
James 4:7 ESV Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
This is both a command and a promise. If we submit to God, we can be sure that when we resist the devil, he will flee from us. We have no power in ourselves against the devil, but he has no power to use against us when we fight with God’s power. By ourselves, we can’t win; with God’s help, we can’t lose.
The word “resist”, in this verse, is a military term. It means you stand and fight. You don’t run away. That means taking up the armor of God and standing.
Ephesians 6:10-17 ESV Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Satan knows our weaknesses and our strengths, and he uses what he knows against us. If he can get you discouraged, he’s already won the battle.. Satan isn’t equal to God, but he’s a lot smarter than you or me.
He knows when you lose your temper so when that happens, Fight back!
Don’t be surprised when he hits you out of the blue so when that happens. Fight back!
Don’t be surprised when he comes to you with a seductive temptation, when that happens. Fight back!
Don’t be surprised when he whispers in your ear in a moment of weakness, when that happens, Fight back!
The devil is a murderer by nature.
John 8:44 ESV You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Given the opportunity the devil will destroy your career, your marriage, your relationships, your family, and your ministry if you let him. You’ve got to stand and fight.
- Fight back with the Word of God.
- Fight back by praying.
- Fight back by leaning on your brothers and sisters.
- Fight back by confessing Christ openly.
- Fight back by fleeing every temptation.
Romans 13:14 ESV But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

# 3: Draw Near
James 4:8 ESV Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
The question is not, how near is God to us, but rather how near are we to him? Proximity is one thing, but intimacy is something else. A couple may be seated on the same couch but be miles apart from each other.
Drawing near to God starts in the heart. If we come to God with a sincere desire to know him, he will draw near to us. You do not need to be super Christian or a super-saint or a deep Bible student. The newest saint and the weakest believer can know and feel God’s presence.
You may have heard this before, “If God feels far away from you, who moved?”
It’s never the Lord. We can know and feel his presence if we really want it. He will draw near to you if you draw near to him.
God’s presence is recognizable.
1 John 3:24 ESV Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
1 John 4:13 ESV By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
Both of these verses imply that Christians are able to recognize the Holy Spirit’s presence in their lives. It's not something we simply take by faith rather, there are recognizable indicators of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
# 4: Clean Up
James 4:8 ESV Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
We need make sure that we confess our sins constantly.
We must purify our hearts because we are distracted.
This means we need to stop making excuses for our bad attitudes, for our unkindness, for clever put-downs, for dabbling in pornography, for bragging about our accomplishments, for envying others, for bitterness, for a critical spirit, for our prayerlessness, for our need to be in control, for giving in to despair, for hating our enemies instead of loving them, and for our failure to do what we ought to do.
How do we make sure that we've asked forgiveness for all we have done outside of God's will and make sure that we don't have diatractes hearts?
Pray this simple prayer: “Lord, show me the truth about myself.” When God reveals things by the Holy Spirit then confess, repent and ask forgiveness. Some things may come from that experience may not be pleasant. but if we by God’s grace do the hard things, the Lord promises to forgive and cleanse.
1 John 1:8-9 ESV If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
# 5: Get Serious
James 4:9 ESV Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
This verse runs counter to the “I want to be happy all the time” version of Christianity that is very popular today. In fact this verse is a real downer.
Be wretched—Who wants to be wretched?
Mourn— Who wants to mourn
Weep— Now that's a real downer.
If we laugh, we should stop it and start mourning. If we have joy, turn it into gloom.
This scripture sucks. But let’s step back and ask ourselves what James means by all this. Here's the point he is trying to make.
We are more sinful that we think and he wants us to get serious about our relationship with God. Most people, even those who don’t go to church, would agree they are sinners. That is, no one’s perfect, we all make mistakes. It’s not hard to get people to agree with that concept. But the Bible goes much further. It tells us that sin has infected every part of human life, that we are spiritually dead, spiritually blind, lost, separated from God, and without hope in the world.
Romans 3:23 ESV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
The whole human race is lost, broken, dead, blind, deaf to God’s truth, in a state of perpetual rebellion, and so separated from God that we are under his wrath, and bound for eternal punishment in hell.
Once we see our sin as it really is, we will be wretched and mourn and weep. We’ll stop laughing and start crying. We’ll let our joy be turned to mourning. And that opens the door to the abundant life we all seek.
Psalms 30:5 ESV For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
This promise comes true whenever we decide to take God seriously.
John 10:10 ESV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Romans 6:20-23 ESV For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
# 6: Lift Up Christ
James 4:10 ESV Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Exalt Christ not yourself. We can brag on ourselves, or we can exalt Christ, but we can’t do both at the same time. When we decide to exalt Christ, there is no limit to what the Lord may choose to do through us.
We can be blessed, but we must humble ourselves.
We can change, but we must humble ourselves.
We can experience the abundant life, but we must humble ourselves.
As we approach a new year and new decade, many of us are thinking about how we can get a fresh start and make a new beginning. James 4:6-10 shows us the path that will jumpstart your spiritual life:
- Stop Taking Credit
- Fight Back.
- Draw Near.
- Clean Up.
- Get Serious.
- Lift Up Christ
In the Kingdom of God, the way up is down. Verse 6 reminds us that God “opposes” the proud.
James 4:6 ESV But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
Think about that for a moment. Could God be “opposed” to one of his own children, even though he loves them with an everlasting love? The answer is yes because God loves us so much that he will not leave us the way we are. His love leads him to “oppose” our pride, our anger, our loose tongue, our lust, our unkind spirit, and all the excuses we make for our sin.
It’s like those old commercials where the mechanic says, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later.” If you humble yourself now, God won’t have to do it later. We put off dealing with our issues because we think it will cost too much to deal with them now. But that’s a huge mistake. Sin left untouched always grows. It’s like a deadly cancer you leave untreated.
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
We can humble ourselves in the eyes the Lord, or we can go on living the way we want until the time God decides to humble us. The choice is ours.
Every blessing awaits those who will humble themselves before the Lord.
This is the promise of God, and it is good news indeed. May God help us to take these words to heart.
O Lord, grant us grace that we might humble ourselves in your sight. Show us where pride has taken root. Shine the light of your Word on the hidden parts of the heart. Where we have sinned, have mercy. Restore us, O Lord, that we may rejoice in you once again. Amen.