Happy New You!

“A New Attitude”

“A Winning Attitude”

James 4:6–12 (ESV)

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. 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Introduction:

Many years ago, as Notre Dame was preparing to play the USC Trojans in college football, Fighting Irish coach Knute Rockne was aware that his opponent had a far better team. So he devised a plan to intimidate the opposing players.

Rockne scoured the city of South Bend, Indiana (Notre Dame's hometown), and hand-picked 100 of the largest men he could find—each at least six-foot-five and 300 pounds. He put the men in Fighting Irish uniforms and, at game time, marched them onto the field ahead of the real team. (Obviously, this was before the days of limited rosters and eligibility restrictions.)

As USC watched those giants line up on the sidelines, they forgot about their talent and their undefeated record, and they began mentally preparing themselves for a beating. Though none of the specially recruited men played during the game, their presence on the sidelines was enough to knock Southern Cal's concentration off balance. Knute Rockne's trick had worked; he had intimidated the Trojan players into giving up before the game even started. [end of illustration.]

Sometimes we feel like those USC players when it comes to the battles we face spiritually. The Bible says we Christians are in a conflict with the principalities and powers of this world. Every day we do battle against these enemies who want to defeat us. We are in a struggle with the devil as we seek to further the kingdom of God and as he seeks to defeat the kingdom of God. How are we going to be victorious in this conflict against the devil? How are we going to win the victory in the game of life?

The good news for us is that the Bible gives us a game plan for fighting against the powers of this world, a game plan which if properly carried out will lead to personal victory, and it is directly connect to us having a winning attitude as believers. If we are to be committed to Christ and His Church we must also be committed to His game plan so that we will be prepared for every contingency as we seek to win the battle for our Lord.

Submit to God (vv.6-7a)

“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. . .”

"Submit yourselves...to God" James said. The word "submit" is a military word which means to get into our proper rank under our commanding officer. To prepare ourselves to meet our enemy we must submit ourselves to the Lord, as a private submits himself to his general or as a football player submits himself to his coach.

The dedicated private submits eagerly and unreservedly to the orders of his general. Yet we often treat our spiritual general with rejection instead of submission. The reason so many of us are defeated in our battles against the powers and principalities of this world is that we do not listen to the instructions of our spiritual general. We want to play the game our way instead of His way. To be spiritually victorious we must submit ourselves to God. In v. 6 James described two contrasting attitudes we can take toward God.

1) The Proud.

Those who reject God's instructions are called "the proud." This word describes a person who thinks he is above other people. The Bible tells us that God detests those that have a proud heart (Proverbs 16:5). Why? Because our pride blinds us to our weakness and our need of Him. Pride declares, "I know the way to go. I understand what to do. I am capable of taking care of myself." Pride claims the key to victory is our own ability. Pride leads us to reject God's guidance.

2) The Humble.

Those who submit to God's instructions are called "the humble." This word describes a person who knows he holds a lowly position when compared to God. The Bible tells us that God esteems those who have a humble and contrite spirit (Isaiah 66:2). Why? Because humility recognizes who God is and who we are in relationship to Him.

Humility proclaims, "I don't know which way to go. I do not understand what to do. I am inadequate in my own strength. But I know the One who will provide all my needs according to His limitless resources." Humility reminds us that the key to victory is God's grace. Humility leads us to submit to God's direction.

Former baseball star Bobby Richardson once prayed this prayer, "Dear God, Thy will be done, nothing less, nothing more, nothing else. Amen."

That is submission, and that is the first step in the game plan that leads to victory for the Christian.

Oppose the Devil (vv.7b-8)

“7 . . . 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.”

"Resist the devil," James said. The word "resist" means to take a stand against or to set over against. We need to understand that the devil is our enemy as we seek to win the victory in Christ. As a football coach scouts the opponent to learn his strengths and weaknesses, so we should learn about the devil so we can more effectively do battle with him. What does the Bible say about our enemy?

1) He is Real.

A lot of mystery surrounds this evil power the Bible calls "Satan" or "the devil" or "the prince of this world" or "the tempter" or "the god of this world." There is mystery about his origin – there is mystery about his fall. But there is absolutely no mystery about his presence.

From the moment when he made his appearance to Eve in the Garden of Eden to the time when God will destroy him in the final consummation, Satan is a real and powerful force in this world.

C.S. Lewis gave some good advice about Satan. He wrote, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight." [end of illustration.]

While some make the latter error by becoming obsessed with the devil, most of us commit the former error and either in word or practice deny the devil's existence. Both the biblical witness and human experience testify to the reality of the devil.

2) He is Rebellious.

He is doing everything he can to defeat the Lord's work. He is our opposition – He hates us as Christians – He hates the church – He hates righteousness – He hates God – He hates the Bible and everything it stands for. And he is out to defeat us. He uses a variety of methods to accomplish his devious design:

1. He lies – In John 8:44 Jesus called him "the father of lies." He lied to Adam and Eve in the Garden – he lied to Jesus in the wilderness. And he lies to us every day. He says, "Follow me into the pathways of sin and I will show you what it is really like to live."

2. He Tempts – The devil doesn't come in a red suit with a pitchfork. Instead he comes in clever disguises. To the sensual man he comes in skirts. To the bold man he gives the invitation to live by nerve and instinct. To the intelligent man he holds out the possibility of being able to discern things as God does. To the person interested in money he offers the potential of limitless wealth. To the jealous person he points to other less deserving individuals who have been much more richly blessed. As he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, the devil tempts us to go our way instead of God's way.

3. He is Relentless – What makes the opposition of the devil so dangerous is that he never gives up.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

He will continue to lie to us and tempt us and confuse us. He is relentless – He never gives up. To experience personal spiritual victory and to begin to learn to live again we must resist the devil. We must take our stand against him and his ways.

3. Cooperate with Others

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? – James 4:11-12 (ESV)

To win the victory for God there must also be cooperation. Individual Christians, working against each other, will never be victorious. Only as our lives are fused together into a unity will we be able to stand.

How often do we Christians stand face to face in conflict instead of side by side in cooperation?

How often do we tear down other Christians with criticism instead of building them up with encouragement?

Criticism is no new thing, of course. Among some of the Christians of James’ day criticism had become a way of life. So James gave this challenge, "do not speak evil against one another."

To criticize and slander one another is wrong for three reasons:

1) It is an infringement on love.

James said the Christian who speaks against his brother, "speaks evil against the law." About which law was James talking? He had in mind the law of love. When we criticize and slander instead of love, we are declaring God's law null and void and inoperative in our lives.

Love takes whatever steps necessary to affirm and encourage. That's how love behaves. When we criticize instead of affirming and discourage instead of encouraging, we infringe on love.

2) It is an infringement on God.

Criticism of others grows out of a censorious spirit. The word "censorious" comes from Roman times when certain magistrates called "censere" were appointed to count people and to supervise public morals. A censere was one who was morally a cut above others who was appointed to straighten the others out.

When we assume the position of censere we are infringing on God's exclusive prerogative. James asked, "Who are you to judge your neighbor?" We need to understand that God did not die and leave someone else in charge. He did not appoint anyone to be the censere for Him. When we set ourselves up as the judge of others, when we slander and criticize others, we are treading on dangerous ground for we are claiming a position that only God can occupy.

3) It is an infringement on others.

Criticism which grows out of a censorious spirit sees the bad in others instead of the good. The unfair judgments that result infringe on the rights of others.

Consider these unfair judgments made by people with a censorious spirit:

Illustration: One teacher said about a student, "Woodrow is a unique member of the class. He is ten years old and is only just beginning to read and write. He shows signs of improving, but you must not set your sights too high for him." That student was Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the U.S.A.

Another teacher said about a student, "Albert is a very poor student. He is mentally slow, unsociable, and is always daydreaming. He is spoiling it for the rest of the class. It would be in the best interest of all if he were removed from class at once." That student was Albert Einstein, whose name today is synonymous with genius.

An editor said about an aspiring author, "She will never be able to write anything for popular consumption." That aspiring author was Louisa May Alcott who wrote one of the best-known books for children, "Little Women." [end of illustration.]

When we judge other Christians as ungifted or unfit for service, we are doing them an injustice. If they are members of the body of Christ, God has given to them a gift and He has a ministry for them. We do not need to exclude them from the team. We need to include them so that together we can win the victory for God.

Conclusion:

A well known adage claims, "It doesn't matter whether you win or lose but how you play the game." But in the spiritual realm, how we play the game will determine whether we win or lose. If we are to be committed to Christ we must follow His game plan.

Faith that submits, obeys, and cooperates is the key. May God continue to bless you as you implement His plan in your life.