MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK SERIES
“Resist!”
JAMES 4:7-10
#JAMESatCCC
[This is an object lesson sermon where the minister builds a wall out of boxes in an effort to visually show how to resist the devil by building a wall to resist the devil. Each box has a word on it showing what makes up resisting the devil. You will need 8 large boxes.]
INTRODUCTION
READ James 4:7-10
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Whenever I read this part of James 4, the sentence: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” always jumps out. I don’t know about you, but I want to resist the devil. I do not want my life ruled by Satan and I don’t even want him to have a foothold in my life. I want to resist the lies that he tells that draw me away from God. I want to resist the temptation to feel guilty about sins that have already been forgiven. I want to ignore the accusations he brings into my heart that I am a failure and I’m not good enough.
Lies. Lying is Satan’s native language and all that he speaks.
Temptations. Temptation is what the devil does for thrills.
Accusations. Accusations are what Satan does to fulfill his purpose.
So how do we do that? How do we resist? I want to make what we talk about today make sense, but I also want it to be visual. We can resist the devil by building a wall in our lives that resists all of his advances towards us. We will build a wall to keep Satan out of our hearts and we will make Satan pay for it.
James has some ideas in these verses and then as I did some thinking and praying over “resisting the devil” in the Scriptures and we have other passages that teach us how to resist the devil. So how do we do it? How do we resist the devil and make him flee from us?
WALL BRICK 1: GO NEAR TO GOD (verse 8)
[take out first box with “Go near to God” printed on it and place it down]
The first part of James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you.”
It is a miracle from God that the Almighty God of the Universe is also a personal God. He wants us to know Him. He wants us to draw close to Him in our spirits. Deuteronomy 4:7 reflects, “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to Him?” The Psalmist Asaph writes in Psalm 73:28, “But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge.” Hebrews 10:22-23 tells us, “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”
How can we go near to God? I believe we can do so by praying in faith and hope that God would be our refuge. I get that from Deuteronomy and Psalm and Hebrews. When we pray, we are communicating with the God of the Universe Who is our Father in Heaven who loves us with an everlasting love. Prayer more than anything else brings our souls into contact with God Almighty. He has set it up that way… we pray to God the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we are near to God in prayer, we are resisting the devil and he will flee from us.
WALL BRICK 2: PURIFY YOUR HEART (verse 8)
[take out second box with “Purify Your Heart” printed on it and place it down]
The second part of James 4:8 says, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
James talks about purity. The Apostle Paul tells Timothy, “Keep yourself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22) and commands the Philippians to think about “whatever is pure” (Philippians 4:8). Paul also warns the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:3) to not “be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” The Apostle John talks about purity by saying (1 John 3:3): “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Jesus Christ says (Matthew 5:8): “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
What does it mean for a Christian to be pure? As I reflected on James 4:8, I think James has in mind that we repent of having two minds… one mind in the world and one mind for God. We are to wash our hands and minds and hearts and be devoted to the Lord. We are to renew our devotion to Christ. We are to set our mind on Christ and His will for us and in so doing we have a one track mind towards Heaven. That means we have to repent of trying to live with one foot in God’s Kingdom and one foot in the world. James has already said (James 4:4): “You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
When we purify our heart by committing to God, we are resisting the devil and he will flee from us.
WALL BRICK 3: TREAT SIN SERIOUSLY (verse 9)
[take out third box with “Treat Sin Seriously” printed on it and place it down]
James 4:9 says, “Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.”
I have to admit, that on the surface this is an odd verse. James wants us to grieve. He wants us to mourn and wail. He wants us to be gloomy. That doesn’t sound right… it doesn’t sound right if we take the verse out of context. The verse is in between one verse about purifying ourselves from sin and another verse about being humble before the Lord.
James is telling us that we should not treat our sin flippantly. We should care that we sin against God. We should care that the words we say and the attitudes of our hearts and the actions of our body nailed the Son of God to the cross. Our sin should grieve us. It should make me sad that I sin against the Lord. I should have the same serious attitude about sin that Job did in the Old Testament.
READ Job 1:1-10
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom. 6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." 9 Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
I’d like you to notice two things from what we just read.
First, Job treated sin so seriously that he gave preventative sacrifices to God just in case his children sinned (verse 5). Verse 1 shares with us the quality of Job’s character: “This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Part of that was his attitude towards sin. He took it seriously. He did not let it rule himself, his children, or his household. We don’t offer sacrifices of course, but you and I can adopt his serious attitude about sinning against God.
Second, notice in verse 10 what Satan said to God… "Have You not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?” There was a hedge around Job and his family. What is a hedge… a wall… a wall that kept Satan out! This man who “was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” had a hedge of protection around him that proved too much for Satan. That! Is! Awesome!
When we treat sin seriously, we are resisting the devil and he will flee from us.
WALL BRICK 4: HUMBLENESS (verse 10)
[take out fourth box with “Humbleness” printed on it and place it down. This is the bottom row complete.]
James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
Humbleness is one of the keys of a relationship with God that we often overlook. Why is humbleness so important? I think it has to do with our will and our pride. When we live the way we want and we think we have life all figured out, we mess up. We sin. We get off track. Satan wants us to go our own way. He wants us to try and figure out on our own how to treat our friends, who to date and marry, what school to go to or job to have, when to forgive, and how to manage our money.
Our own will gets in the way of the narrow path God has for us.
Our pride gets in the way of the narrow path God has for us.
We need to be humble to accept that we need God as Savior, Guide, Deliverer, Way Maker, Chain Breaker, Healer, and Restorer. That means we humble ourselves and follow God’s plan for life. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Do we want to live wisely? Humble ourselves and follow God’s way and not our way.
When we humble ourselves to follow God’s way, we are resisting the devil and he will flee from us.
TRANSITION
James 4:7-10 gives us a base to build our defense against the pressure of Satan. Remember, lying is Satan’s native language and all that he speaks. Temptation is what the devil does for thrills. Accusations are what Satan does to fulfill his purpose. James is not the only writer in Scripture to command us and encourage us to resist the devil. Paul and Peter do. There are even some passages in the Old Testament that encourage us to resist.
How else can we resist? How else can we build a wall?
WALL BRICK 5: ARMOR OF GOD (Ephesians 6:10-18)
[take out fifth box with “Armor of God” printed on it and place it down. This is the second row.]
READ Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:11 says we are to “take a stand against the devil’s schemes.” Resist!
Ephesians 6:12 says it is a “struggle.” Resist!
Ephesians 6:13 and 14 says for us to “stand your ground” and “stand firm.” Resist!
The apostle Paul says in verse 13 that because we are going to stand our ground against the devil and his schemes, we need to put on “the full armor of God.” I don’t want to make too much of one word, but Paul does say… the ‘FULL’ armor of God. That tells me that standing our ground against the devil and his schemes is not a halfhearted effort, but something that is wholehearted.
With our whole heart, we are to be committed to speaking true and acting in truth (verse 14).
With our whole heart, we are to love righteousness and choosing right over wrong (verse 14).
With our whole heart, we are to be read to run towards forgiveness and peace with people (verse 15).
With our whole heart, we are to lean into disciplines that increase our faith (verse 16).
With our whole heart, we are to rest in assurance that Jesus has saved us (verse 17).
With our whole heart, we are to fight off Satan by knowing the Bible and applying it (verse 17).
With our whole heart, we are to pray (verse 18).
When we put on the full armor of God, we are resisting the devil and he will flee from us.
WALL BRICK 6: THINK ABOUT SUFFERING RIGHTLY (1 Peter 5:6-11)
[take out sixth box with “Think about Suffering Rightly” printed on it and place it down.]
READ 1 Peter 5:6-11
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
The Apostle Peter says very clearly in verse 9 to “resist him, standing firm in the faith.” Immediately after this, Peter talks about suffering. One of the clearest paths Satan has into our lives is when we have wrong beliefs about our suffering. Satan gets in untouched like any football defense against EGHS’ offensive line. Too soon?
Some attitudes: When we suffer, we think God has abandoned us. When we suffer, we think God’s plan for our lives is the pits and He doesn’t know what He’s doing. We think that because we have accepted Christ that we should be exempt from suffering like wicked people or at least like people who deserve it. We assume God doesn’t hear our prayers to change our situation after we mess up. We blame God for allowing bad things to happen to good people. Those attitudes let Satan straight into our lives by way of anger, blame, unforgiveness, self-pity, self-importance, and self-righteousness.
Bad things happen because our world is sick with sin. No one has to do anything and bad things happen. Yes, God is sovereign and He is with us every step of the way in the midst of suffering. Peter even shares with is in verses 10-11 that God will restore us, heal us, give us strength, and such promises are secure in Jesus Christ.
When we rightly think about suffering, we are resisting the devil and he will flee from us.
WALL BRICK 7: REMEMBER OUR BLESSINGS (1 Samuel 12:18-25)
[take out seventh box with “Remember Our Blessings” printed on it and place it down.]
I was doing a little praying and thinking and reading in the Word, and I happened upon a passage in 1 Samuel where the people of God were in the midst of a bad situation and they needed to resist temptations to go away from God. They needed to resist. They wanted to resist! They come to Samuel and ask him to pray for them. He wants them to resist evil, resist turning away from the Lord, and resist following idols. Let’s see what he tells them:
READ 1 Samuel 12:20-25
"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."
Verse 24 caught my eye. He says to them that to resist falling away from God, they must fear the Lord, serve Him faithfully, and then says: “consider what great things he has done for you.” Our minds and hearts and spirits will be aligned with God when we remember the faithfulness of God in our lives. Psalm 126:2-3 says, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." 3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Let us not forget the blessings of God in our lives. When we remember how faithful and good and awesome and powerful God is, we build a wall against Satan and his lies, temptations, and accusations. When we remember how good and gracious and powerful God is, whatever Satan offers looks like the cheap imitation it actually is.
ILLUSTRATION… https://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Count_Your_Blessings/
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
When we remember our blessings, we are resisting the devil and he will flee from us.
WALL BRICK 8: LEARN THE WORD (Psalm 119:9-12)
[take out eighth and final box with “Learn the Word” printed on it and place it down.]
When I was thinking about resisting, I could not help but think of a section from Psalm 119.
READ Psalm 119:9-12
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word. 10 I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands. 11 I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. 12 Praise be to You, O LORD; teach me Your decrees.
The Apostle Paul has already told us that we should take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” which echoes everything we read from King David in this passage. David is pondering purity and resisting lies, temptation, and accusations. He immediately centers on “By living according to Your word.” He says we must have the Word in our heart in order to bring it out to stay on the right path and to resist Satan.
Does it work to fight off Satan with Scripture? It did for Jesus.
READ Matthew 4:2-11
After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
When we learn the word, we are resisting the devil and he will flee from us.
APPLICATION
I know we have talked a lot this morning and I have shared a lot with you. How do we practically apply these things?
Go near to God by having regular times of prayer and praying when you feel stressed.
Purify your heart from any obvious sin or lifestyle or hypocrisy you are living in and hiding.
We need to treat our sin and the choices we make seriously… do that at communion time.
Act humbly before God by taking life decisions to God in prayer and checking them against the Bible.
Put on the full armor of God by making worship at church a priority.
Think rightly about your problems by talking them over with trusted Christian friends or a minister.
Write out the blessings of God or testify to others so you have so that you can properly see what God has done.
Learn the Word at home, in Sunday School, and on Wednesday nights.
CONCLUSION… biblegateway.com
AMP = “Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.”
VOICE = “…fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure.”
MSG = “Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper.”
PRAYER
INVITATION
Maybe you are here this morning and you are not a Christian. This passage in James can be for you as well. James writes primarily to Christians, but for those who need Jesus his words also apply:
Is it time for you to submit yourself to God by confessing Him and being baptized?
It is time for you to take a permanent stand against Satan?
Is it time for you to come near to God and be purified in obedience in baptism?
Is it time for you to mourn and wail over your old ways and commit yourself to God?
It is time to humble yourself before God?
