Drawing Near God

Draw Near to God

James 4:8a MEV 8 *Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you...

Eggizo (greek): come near, draw near, bring near, bring up to, approach, be at hand.

Biblical examples of Drawing Near

The Woman with the Issue of Blood. (Mt 9:20) Drew near for a touch.

The Centurion in Matt 8:5 Drew near to Jesus just for a word to heal his servant back home.

In Acts 5 sick people were laid in the streets on cots and mats and where healed by Peters Shadow.

These example tell us: Get close to his Presence, Word, and People that carry Jesus

James 4:5-6 The Tony Evans Study Bible

4:5–6 The Lord is a jealous God who won’t share his bride (the church) with false gods. So, what does a holy, jealous God do when his people foolishly pursue the world and treat him like an enemy? Well, God resists the proud.

If you place yourself in opposition to God through your attachment to the world, he’ll oppose you because such pride imitates the king of pride, Satan, who exalted himself above God. The only solution is to humble yourself before him in order to experience the outpouring of his grace. Pride is like a beard. It grows without our cultivation, and we have to daily, humbly shave it off.

James 4:7 MEV

7 Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7 The Tony Evans Study Bible

4:7 To submit to God is to recognize your weakness, to stop fighting, and to surrender to him as your ultimate and final authority.

Satan is stronger than you, smarter than you, and has been practicing his craft for a long time. There’s only one way to resist him: the same way that Jesus did with Scripture. Many times Jesus told the devil “it is written”. When the devil whispers his lies to your conscience, proclaim the truth of the Word of God, and he will flee from you as he fled from Christ.

James 4:8 MEV

8 *Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8 The Tony Evans Study Bible

4:8 To draw near to God is to come into his presence with prayer, praise, and obedience. However, if you reserve this for Sundays only, you won’t draw near enough.

To cleanse your hands requires taking personal responsibility for sin and refusing to downplay it. Some people don’t receive the help they need from God because they “don’t sin.” Rather, they “make mistakes.” But Jesus didn’t die for mistakes; he died for sins. To call sin anything else is a symptom of pride.

James 4:9-10 MEV

9 *Grieve and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to dejection.

This is telling you to get disgusted with the old life of pride, sin, and doing it your own way.

James 4:9-10 MEV

10 *Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

In Gods eyes humble yourself. What does being humble look like to God.

Its walking in a way that puts God and His will first.

Its loving your neighbor as yourself.

Its forgiving someone 7x70 times in 1 day.

FOCUS: For the Next 25 minutes

Draw near to God:

Prayer

Praise

Obedience

Humble yourselves by asking God reveal your heart to you

The Get Disgusted with Sin and Repent

Don’t Forget that there is already GRACE to help you move forward.

Praying James 4:8 Seeking God’s

Heavenly Father, You have promised  that if I draw near to You, You will draw near to me. I need more of Your presence today, and I am drawing near to You through prayer, worship, and reading Your Word. I open my heart to You and ask You to be near to me and change me to be more like You.”

Praying Hebrews 13:5 The Lord is with Me

“Father, I am so comforted by the fact that You will never leave me. You are always with me, and I am safe with You. As I go through my life and take on each new situation, I’m comforted by knowing I’m not alone because You are by my side. Help me feel Your presence. When I feel uncertain or afraid, I pray You will comfort me through Your Holy Spirit and remind me that I am never alone because You, the Almighty God, have promised to always be with me.”

Praying Jeremiah 29:11-13 Trusting in God’s Plan

“My God, I try to make so many plans for my life, but I know Your plans for me are best. You tell me that You have plans for me to prosper and have hope and a future. Thank You for loving me enough to have a plan for my life. You have promised me that when I call on You, You will listen to me. Thank You for listening when I pray. I am confident knowing that I serve a God who cares about my life. I want to find You every day, and You say that if I seek You with all my heart, I will find You. Thank You for showing me the way to You. I lay my plans down at Your feet and receive Your plans for me (mention your plans and lay them down before God). I know that You see the big picture and You know what is better for me than I do. I trust You, and I ask You to guide me toward Your plans.”

Praying Psalm 145:13-14 Trust in God

“Almighty God, as I claim the promises in Your Word through my prayer time, I praise You for Your character. Trustworthy, faithful—that is who You are. I thank You that I can trust You to be faithful to me. I know that when I come to You with humility and a surrendered heart that You will lift me up.”