Here kitty... kitty... kitty...
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james4
1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Acts17.2
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
The answer to so many Church problems is found in the book of James...
Truthfully - the answer to every problem you may have...
- the answer to any situation you may become entangled in...
- the answer to family problems...
- the answer to job problems...
- the answer to financial problems…
- the answer to any problem you will ever face!
Found in our text;
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Draw:
to move in space and so draw closer to a reference point, draw near, come near, approach of humans and transcendent beings.
transcendent: adjective going beyond ordinary limits; surpassing; exceeding. superior or supreme.
going beyond ordinary limits; surpassing; exceeding.superior or supreme.
to move in space and so draw closer to a reference point, draw near, come near, approach of humans and transcendent beings.
is a call for ALL God’s creation to move in his direction.
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 270). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ultimately this is about the fulfilment of and - Every knee shall bow!
But between now and then, God has given an invitation to simply get closer to him!
As we do, life matters less and eternity matters more!
God is calling us to come close!
Here is the problem with getting close to God...
Nothing stays the same!
Why?
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
records it the same way…
We are baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire!!!
The closer you get to the fire the greater the affect!
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
We know that the world with burn with a “fervent heat” and God will create a new heaven and new earth…
2[ert
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
When does did this start?
When God poured out his spirit in ...
What is salvation to the redeemed, is damnation to those who will not draw close to him!
The fire that saved us when we recieved the Holy Ghost is the fire that will judge us in the ended.
Other proof: Peter refers to Noah and the flood… Why?
Because the same water that destroyed the earth in his day also saved him!
The same fire that will destroy the earth will save you!
BUT rest assured that anything that drawn close to the fire will be destroyed!
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
You can allow the fire of the Holy Ghost to burn anything out of your life that is not like him...
Or you can wait till eternity and be consumed by the same fire in eternal judgement…
Get close to him and allow him to burn out all the impurities or live your life and pay the eternal price!
Burn now or burn latter!
Calling the TLC: Let’s get as close as possible!
Draw near to him and he will draw near to you!
Conclusion: Cats - proud, arrogant, selfish, disdainful
Want affection on their terms.
I get this mental picture of God calling you and you responding like a cat…
Only wanting his attention when something bad is going on in your life.
Only wanting him when you need him...
Draw near to him!
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.