The Danger Of Following The Philosophy Of Our Society That Is Destructive

Transcription

1 The Danger Of Following The Philosophy Of Our Society That Is Destructive CD No. Time: 1/ 2/ 2010 Sun. 11 am Text: James 4: Introduction: The philosophy that s in our world today can be found in our text, if you turn these verses around backwards. In verses 7 and 8 we are told to resist the devil and draw nigh to God. But the philosophy of this society is: Resist God and draw nigh to the devil. This is the lifestyle of most people who live in our society as a whole. I want us to notice 3 major truths from these verses: 1. The Philosophy of our Society That Is Destructive 2. The Principles of the Scriptures That Are Defined 3. The Promises of the Savior That Are Delightful I. The Philosophy of our Society That Is Destructive A. The Philosophy Of Enjoying Sin V.8-2 nd phrase-cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. It mentions people s hands being dirty talking about sin. This is because they don t resist Satan, but submit to Satan. V.9-Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Verse 9 tells us that people are not broken hearted over their sins. This verse tells us that people laugh instead of morn over their sins. Page 1

2 V.4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Verse 4 lets us know that a lot of people who live in this world are worldly minded; because of that they are enemies of God. This world has a philosophy of enjoying sin and promoting sin; they brag about their sinful lifestyle. The majority of T.V. programs and movies are based and geared around sin. The Philosophy of Enjoying Sin B. The Philosophy Of Exalting Self V.10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord- Now, I know he is talking to Christians, but this is the problem of this world that we live in. This society is a society of Self Exaltation; there is nothing humble about our society. Instead of God being exalted, God is put down. Self is exalted, instead of the Savior. Everything is geared toward looking big in the sight of this world. Humility has gone out the window!!!! C. The Philosophy Of Evil Slander V.11-Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgeth the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. This is talking about a Christian speaking evil of his brother or sister in the Lord. Page 2

3 We are living in a society where people want to slander and speak evil of one another. Good people don t want to hear this garbage. This is what I call garbage talk. The best thing that a Christian can do when someone wants to start tearing down some one s character is to say excuse me, I am not going to use my ears for a garbage can; this will stop it. We are living in an Evil slandering world. This is the work of the devil. D. The Philosophy Of Expecting to Say Read VV I expounded on these verses Wednesday night, so I will be brief. We are living in a society where people are not interested in being in God s will. They don t plan their lives in the will of God. They are not interested in Doing God s will; they are just interested in pleasing self regardless of what God wants. People live like there is no God and that they are going to live forever {v.14}. These verses pretty well sum up the day that we are living in. The Philosophy Of This Society That Is Destructive II. The Principles of the Scripture That Are Defined-for for Saints Now, we are living in a society that has a philosophy that is destructive, but the Lord has some things to say to us that will help us who are living in this destructive society. We are to live different and think different than this world that we live in. A. Renunciation Of Self V.7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. The word submit is a military term; it means to get under rank. Jesus is to be Lord of our life in every area of our life. He is to be Lord in the home, on the job, at church, and in our society. Page 3

4 We are to turn everything over to him, our eyes, hands, feet, ears, and our time. Christian are to get under rank and stop living their lives by leaving the Lord out. In the year 2011 we will have better lives by allowing our Savior to be Lord over our lives. Our society as a whole are living their lives by their self and for self, but we as God s people are to be different. B. Resistance Of Satan V.7 2 nd phrase-resist the devil- I don t know all there is to know about the word RESIST, but I do know what it means to resist arrest. People who resist arrest don t go that easy, they put up a fight. We are to resist Satan s arguments, attractions, and attacks. Question: what do we resist him with? Answer: with the word of God, prayer, and fellowshipping with believers, and putting on the whole armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6. We are not to give in to the DEVIL, but resist him. C. Remorseful Of Sin We are living in a society that is not remorseful over their sins. In fact they brag about their sins. However, for a believer we are to be remorseful over our sins. When we fail God, it should break our hearts. V.9 again-be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. I believe that a true child of God will be mournful over their sins. It will bother them when they break God s heart. {Ps.51} Reunification Of Self Resistance Of Satan Remorseful Of Sin Page 4

5 D. Repentance Of Sin When a person is remorseful of sin, then they will repent of their sins. Listen-V.8 Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts- This is not talking about hygiene, washing with soap and using deodorant. This is talking about spiritual hygiene, washing the sins out of our lives. 1 John 1:9 tells us how; by confessing our sins and ask God to forgive us. Spiritual hygiene comes about by putting our sins under the blood by asking God to forgive us.{hebrews 9:22} Our lives will be more beneficial and joyful if we would heed to the Lord s word concerning sin in the year The Philosophy Of Our Society That Is Destructive The Principles Of The Scripture That Are Defined to saints III. The Promises of the Savior That Are Delightful A. We Can Be delighted To Know That When We Draw Nigh To God & Resist The devil That He{devil} Will Flee From Us V.7b- Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Having the devil to flee from you is a wonderful promise. This promise is based on a condition that we have already talked about; summiting to God. When we submit to God {get under rank}, then we can resist the devil and he will flee from us. We don t have to give in to the devil!!! We can control the direction that the devil goes. Praise the Lord! Page 5

6 This is a wonderful promise of God and we should cherish this promise in the year B. We Can Be Delighted To Know That We Will Receive Grace when we need it, If We Resist The devil & Draw Nigh To God V.6 1. The Way That Grace Is Given a) It Is The Nature Of God To Give He is a God who gives. Giveth mentioned in V.6 is in the continuing tense. This means that the supply of grace will never be exhausted.{ 2 Cor. 12:9} b) It Is The Need Of Man To Receive There will never be a time in this walk of life that we don t need grace. God s grace is the most precious commodity that comes from Heaven. 2. The Way That Grace Is Governed a) The Proud In Spirit God Resists V.6 God resists the proudb) The Poor In Spirit God Rewards V.6 God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble. When we are not proud and arrogant, but humble, then we can receive this precious gift of grace that we need so desperately in our lives. This is a precious promise from God to live by in Page 6

7 C. We Can Be Delighted To Know That When We Resist The Devil & Submit To God That He Will Draw Nigh To Us V.8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to God. Question: how close are you to God? Your closeness to God depends on how close you are to God. God never leaves us; we leave God. I don t know about you, but I want God to be close to me. I want to feel His close presence in my life. This is a conditional promise, but if we meet the condition, God will do what He says. Thank God for this promise that we can depend on in this next year, D. We Can Be Delighted To Know That When We Resist The Devil & Draw Nigh To God, He Will Elevate Us In This Walk Of Life V.10-Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. The way up in God s Kingdom is down. This is right opposite of this world trying to work their way up in this secular world. Of course, we are not talking about this secular world, but the spiritual world. So, if you want to be greatly used of God in this coming year, 2011, then stay humble. This is a great promise of God that we can depend on in the year, Conclusion: Page 7

8 The Danger Of Following The Philosophy Of Our Society That Is Destructive We have talked about: 1. The Philosophy of Our Society That Is Destructive 2. The Principles of the Scripture That Are Defined 3. The Promises of the Savior That Are Delightful Page 8