A sermon from James 4:6-10 showing the need to be humble “having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.” Like you don’t look down on people cause they are doing their best. You give to those who can’t repay you. You give second chances to others. There are three challenging things James tells us to do. He promises that these will change our lives. This passage from James was written in a very serious circumstance. Christians were quarreling; committing murder and adultery; living by lust, greed, and envy. In chapter 4, James says to these very readers that a worldly, unspiritual road is the very one they have been following. This is what causes fights and quarrels among them. Therefore he says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Salvation and humility go hand in hand. The simplest concept of what humility is, can be gained by having small thoughts. Humility: The whole issue!. Many people lack a lot of light. Humility must be really important if God gives grace to the humble! So how important is it really? The simplest concept of what humility is, can be gained by having small thoughts about yourself. When this has had a tremendous effect on you, it will be manifested by the fact that you receive grace. The humble receive grace (James 4:6) (1 Peter 5:5: In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”), and to receive grace means that you receive all the help that you need. You can even spend the whole night praying to receive love, but it won’t help a bit, if you aren’t humble so that you can receive grace.
You only receive as much grace as the humility you possess. ( Full Definition of humility : freedom from pride or arrogance : the quality or state of being humble accepted the honor with humility The ordeal taught her humility.) When it can’t be noticed that there is any progress at all in your life, it is because you are not receiving grace. You can accomplish a lot in your own human strength. You can attempt to compensate for a lack of grace by being purposeful in different things. You can be effective, and you can be good, as a human being, but all that human goodness and ability doesn’t help a bit if God resists you. You aren’t acknowledging anything; you aren’t judging yourself, but defending yourself instead. Most people aren’t humble at all. They transgress in what they say, and don’t even ask for forgiveness. Yes I say forgiveness and they are not thankful for anything. This is sad. But as a Christian we can be a light by being thankful and forgiving a watch as this will grow on them. What God wants to do so much, is to transform us inwardly. You can think that you have been treated unfairly, that you haven’t been treated justly; you are occupied with what the others think about you. You aren’t occupied with God, but with how you are treated by other people. It’s because of this that you are unhappy, and can’t become happy, because God is your opponent. God wants you to turn to Him and turn away from evil.
I love taking pictures. My husband since he has been retired, even though he is not. I keep working him and he is a great learner. He has helped me a lot since he has been home. But when it comes to stopping for me to take pictures, he fought me at first. Lol! I tell him there is a pretty bird on the side of the road. He wouldn’t stop. So when we got home one day I said we need to talk. I had to let him know how important it was to take pictures and that it was something I always dreamed of since I was a 8th grader. I learned how to take pictures and develope them from scratch in 8th grade. Develope them in a dark room. So he agreed to stop when I needed him too. Now it feels so good when we go traveling. He see’s stuff when he is driving and pulls of over to the side of the road if he is able, so I can take pictures. He humbles himself for me. I am so blessed, God gave me a awesome husband. Just saying. Yesterday he told me when he was driving, can you take that leaf off the windshield wiper when we stop. Lol! The leaf flew off right then and there. I said God did it for you. Lo! God is with us in the small stuff and the big stuff when we give Him control. God’s will be done. I know as a mother I always felt I had to have all the control from early morning till late at night. Everything had to be done and I had no one else to help me. I had to learn to give control over what belonged to everyone else to do. I needed to let go of the chores that didn’t belong to me and give them to the sources they really belonged too. Its called gigantic feelings of inadequacy when im not helping others. So it became my job to clean up after everyone and go to work and be up doing it all. It was because of how I was raised. I had to learn to let go and give it to God. Give God control and learn to grow. God grow, change me and mold me. Through our ups and downs control is important. It took a long time for me to realize I should of prayed God Your will be done and let it go into His hands. Prayer and action. Love your neighbor.
James 4:1–12 builds on the end of chapter 3:13-16 it reads: “Two Kinds of Wisdom” “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” describing how living according to the world’s wisdom has led to great conflict among James’s Christian readers. They were fighting with each other because they couldn’t get what they wanted. James writes that if in your pride you stay on that path, God will oppose you, but He will not reject you. Repentance is always possible. He gives more grace (James 4:6). Let me share the same verse from different bibles. I like reading from all the bibles I have. Each same meaning just worded different. James 4:6, NASB: “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.'” James 4:6, NLT: “But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. “James 4:6 KJV “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
“Lets Read James Chapter 4:1-12”:
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you, who are you to judge your neighbor?
When Jesus said we are to love our enemies, He was creating a new standard for relationships. He proclaimed to the crowds listening to His Sermon on the Mount that they knew they were to love their neighbor because the command to love our neighbor was a law of God (Leviticus 19:18: Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.) Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You for Your word and it’s truth and correction to be obedient in all ways. I believe that I may become a doer of Your holy law and not fall into the foolish trap of judging it, by condemning the actions of others. Lord Jesus, You alone can judge the thoughts of my heart or anyone else and I have no right to condemn others, through my own self-righteous attitude. Keep me humble before you and help me become an encouragement to my brothers and sisters in Christ, and not their accuser. Let me rebuked Satan in them from my heart as well rebuke him from mine. Keep me from being ‘wise in my own conceit’, or making arbitrary assumptions about the motives of others and above all, teach me to love others as Christ loves me, for in so doing I will honor and glorify Your name. As Christ lives in and through me I am believing this for everyone I come in contact with. That they will love You unconditionally. I believe for spiritual growth and passion in conversation with You. Give me the will and courage to keep letting go of the controls and trust You to guide me where You want me to go. Help me to rest in You. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse}
“The good man’s goodness delivers him; the evil man’s treachery is his undoing.
Proverbs 11:6″
"Only Life Changes" 