Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Here we are once again in our study of James 4.

We started with a new paragraph last week as we considered verse 7. If you recall, we noted that after a lengthy warning about our flesh and its lust, the Holy Spirit moves to some action items we need to take if we are to overcome our flesh.

In fact, each of these verses in this section begins with action verbs.

And each one of them is a command from God designed to help us in our battle with the flesh.

Last week, we started with two such commands.

Our battle with our flesh must begin with total surrender to God.

That is the essence of the word “submit.”

We must arrange ourselves under His control, power, and will.

Equally important is the second command.

We are to “resist the devil.”

Interestingly, submitting to God and resisting the Devil go hand in hand.

As we arrange ourselves under God’s authority, God utilizes His power against Satan, causing him to flee.

Thus, if you want Satan to hightail it our your life, you must submit to God.

There is no other way.

Now, this evening, we come to verse 9, which says.

Again, this verse is a continuation of verse 7. If you resist Satan by fleeing from him, you must run towards God.

Let’s take a few minutes this evening and dive deep into this verse.

Run Towards God

The significant part of this first command is that He lovingly comes toward us as we move toward Him.

The words “draw nigh” simply mean just that.

It is when we take proactive steps in God’s direction by drawing near Him.

Obviously, if we move in His direction, we are closing the gap between Him and us.

The freedom of a believer to approach the Sovereign Majesty of the Universe is a beautiful and incredible privilege.

Stop and consider it for just a moment.

The Creator and Lord of all things who is Elohim, Jehovah, the Almighty God, the Most High, is ready to receive us at a moment’s notice.

We can approach Him by taking Him all our cares, concerns, and problems.

The door to His presence is always wide open.

Now, think about this.

God’s door is not just wide open; He strongly urges and encourages us to come to Him.

He desires us to run to Him for His help and comfort.

He, the Holy Spirit, God, is saying to us, “Draw nigh to me.”

This is very important to the subject at hand.

Remember, the first few verses of this chapter addressed our problem in overcoming our flesh and its lusts.

We cannot do it.

The urges to sin and fulfill our lusts are powerful.

It is the reason why we need God.

God knows and understands this.

So, He lovingly has made it so we can “boldly” come before His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find His help in our times of need.

Looking back to our text this evening.

The phrase “draw nigh” is a strong imperative or requirement.

As soon as temptation strikes, run to God.

Draw nigh to Him.

Temptations are often sudden and quite fierce.

The flesh is weak.

However, our God is mighty and strong.

Therefore, we must run to Him in those moments.

Again, what are we to do.

Submit to God.

Resist the Devil.

Draw nigh to God.

Drawing nigh to God is somewhat different than submitting to Him.

It means we are to get as close as possible to God.

We get right up next to Him, initiating conversation with Him as we share our struggles.

How do we do this?

We Run to God Through Scripture

This is where reading, studying, meditating, and memorizing Scripture are so vitally important.

Consider some of these verses.

In addition to God’s Word,

We Run to God Through Prayer

As I already mentioned, the God of the Universe leaves His door open for His children and urges them to take advantage of it.

We are to ask God for strength and power, mercy and grace.

Our encouragement then is to focus on God and God alone.

Run to Him for your protection.

In doing so, God promises that He “will draw nigh to you.”

We must consider two important conditions required as we come into His presence.

Look again at our verse.

His Presence Demands We Do Two Very Important Things

Yes, He invites us to come near Him; however, in doing so, we must do these two things.

Cleanse Your Hands

The word “cleanse” means to make clean.

In the Bible, it is related to cleansing physical stains and dirt or any form of disease such as leprosy.

However, in a moral sense, it relates to cleansing the defilement of sin.

It is sometimes translated into English as “cleanse” or “purge.”

Just as working outside in the dirt cause you to be dirty.

Sin causes contamination.

Sinners sin, and sin contaminates.

God is holy and can have nothing to with sin.

Therefore, we are required to be holy even as He is holy.

Thus, our hands must be cleansed of sin before we approach Him drawing near Him.

God will not respond to a believer who has not repented sin and asked for His forgiveness.

I find it interesting that God speaks of our hands.

Our hands and the use of our hands indicate what others see.

It is the outside of us.

Our hands are part of this physical body.

Consequently, the sense is that we need to clean up our act.

Stop acting like the world and according to the desires of our flesh.

Instead, be obedient to God outwardly.

However, it goes deeper than that.

Outward actions are the result of our hearts.

This thought brings us to the following statement.

Purify Your Heart

Here we have a different word than the word “cleanse.”

This word, “purify,” is used in a more ceremonial sense.

In the OT, God provided Israel a way in which they could return to cleanness or purity.

Each purification required a cleansing agent such as water, blood, or fire.

We find an example of this in Numbers 31:23

Water was the most common purifying agent.

It often is used in the Scripture to symbolize cleansing.

God’s people used water for daily cleansing such as washing their clothes and bathing.