Title: The Lord Will Exalt You
Content Title: The Lord Will Exalt You
Word: James 4:7-10
In the world we live in, there are people who are getting higher and others are getting lower as time goes by. There are people who have succeeded at one time, but end their lives as failures in the end.
Ex) World-famous singer Michael Jackson is so popular that huge crowds gather wherever he goes. Nevertheless, he was dissatisfied with his face and had several plastic surgeries, and in the end he is suffering from the side effects. He later regretted it and said, “If I were to be reborn into this world, I would never touch my face. Without plastic surgery, I will just live as I am.” But his face was already unrecognizable.
How long will human success last? Power, wealth, and popularity decline one by one over the years. Seeing that, human success or failure doesn't mean much. Those who are recognized before God and are exalted by God will receive more respect and praise as the years go by, and they will lead a sure life, a happy and rewarding life.
“The LORD kills and makes alive; brings down into the grave and raises up; the LORD makes poor and makes rich; he humbles and exalts” (1 Samuel 2:6-7).
The Lord will exalt you to live a high life. Even if you try and work hard to get high by saying that you are good on your own, regardless of means and methods, it will not last long.
How can we be used and accepted by God?
In today's text, it is explained to us through four things.
First, ‘Submit to God’
Second, ‘oppose the devil’
Third, “draw near to God”
Fourth, ‘Humble before the Lord’
1. Submit to God.
James 4:7a → “Therefore, submit yourselves to God”
God exalts those who obey.
Faith is obedience, and unbelief is disobedience (Romans 6:17; 10:16).
Christian obedience is imitating God's holiness (1 Peter 1:15,16), Christ's humility and love (John 13:14,15,34,35), and total submission to God's established structures of authority. (Romans 13:1ff; Eph 6:1ff).
a life of obedience,
1) It means submitting to God.
2) Kneel before God and give yourself up to live for God.
3) Giving up on yourself and surrendering to God.
4) It is to abandon my thoughts, my will, and my stubbornness and live according to the will of God.
If it is God's will, if God pleases it, we are talking about a life that follows it.
Deuteronomy 28:1 → “If you listen carefully to the word of the LORD your God and keep and do all the commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you above all the nations of the world.”
He said that if we listen to God's word and keep His word and do it, God will make us superior to all the nations of the world.
Outstanding countries, welfare states, and prosperous countries are all countries that believe in God.
Those who know how to obey are successful, and those who do not know how to obey are not successful. We must submit to God.
2. Oppose the devil.
James 4:7b → “Oppose the devil, and he will flee from you”
God exalts those who resist the devil.
God blesses us, but the devil gives us sickness, makes us poor, makes us err, and makes us fall into curses and sins. It is the devil's attack that makes you disbelieve in God. He told us to fight against this devil and fight against it.
No matter how good parents are to their children, they cannot help them if they run away from home and commit crimes. No matter how much God gives us blessings, if we keep being taken away by the devil, those blessings will not last long.
In order to continue to maintain the faith, love, and blessings God gives you, you must learn and know how to resist the devil.
1 Peter 5:8-9 → “Be sober and watchful; your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour; resist him, strong in the faith.”
1) We must oppose and cast out the devil in the name of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:22).
2) We must cast out negative thoughts, resentment, and complaints from our minds and thoughts.
3) We must be driven out by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28).
4) They must be expelled through daily prayer (Mark 9:28-29)
5) We must resist the devil by strengthening our faith (1 Peter 5:9).
Satan and the devil cause conflicts and wars in the world, prosper the activities of evil, and enter into our human society and cause various misfortunes and disasters. We must fight the devil and win, and we must stand on God's side and give glory to God.
3. Draw close to God.
James 4:8-9 → “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and sanctify your heart, you double-minded. Weep and mourn and weep your laughter with mourning and your joy with sorrow. change it”
God exalts those who draw near to God.
In the Old Testament times, the priests prepared to pray and worship God before going out to the temple to offer sacrifices that brought them closer to God and bathed them cleanly. In order to draw near to God, we must prepare.
So, what do you need to prepare?
1) ‘Sinners, wash your hands’
2) ‘You double-minded, purify your hearts’
Two hearts means serving God and worshiping idols. It means to throw away these two hearts and serve only God.
3) “Sorrow and mourn and weep; turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into sorrow.”
Psalm 73:28 → “It is a blessing for me to draw near to God.”
Some people are getting farther away from God, others are getting closer to God.
To draw close to God,
1) You can get closer to God's Word (Psalm 119:151-152).
2) You can draw closer to God by frequently worshiping Him.
3) We can get closer to God by always watching and praying before God (Psalm 145:18).
ex) Jewish proverb
“If we take one step toward God, God takes two steps toward us.”
Even if you make money, gain fame and power, and get ahead in today's worldly ways, it will never last long.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will come closer to God with the Word, prayer, and praise, and that you will be recognized by God and receive God's blessing.
Ex) Testimony of Dr. Suan Kim, who became the first Korean woman to become a doctor at UCLA in the United States.
The testimony of Dr. Suan Kim, the most successful, blessed and proud woman as a woman, was published in an article in the newspaper.
When he was in 6th grade, his father ran away from home, and when he was in high school, his mother died of an illness. So he took a younger brother and became the head of the girl. When I went to school, I was called every day because I didn't pay tuition, and I had to hear the voice of "Why are you coming to school without paying tuition?" However, he did not give up until the end and went to school and said to the principal, "Principal, I can't pay the tuition right now, but I will definitely pay the full tuition. So don't just tell me to quit school anymore."
When I was in my third year of high school after having a hard time going to school, my father, who ran away from home, came back and paid all the tuition fees. After graduating from Gyeongbuk Girls' High School, she became a teacher by taking the elementary school teacher qualification exam.
Because he grew up alone and studying hard, he easily accepted it when he received evangelism. So, I attended the revival meeting of Seomun Church in Daegu and received the grace to receive Jesus.
He decided to believe in Jesus, so he thought that he had to believe hard, so he gave everything he received from his first salary as a building offering. And after thinking about what to do every day to draw closer to God, I decided to go to early morning prayer. For three years, he went to early morning prayer and prayed. Just like King Solomon received God's answer and blessing after offering a thousand burnt offerings, he prayed for three years in the morning and prayed to God to send him to study abroad.
He went to the United States to study with the support of the Scholarship Foundation on the recommendation of the elder. He had only graduated from high school, and after studying at UCLA for 10 years, he received his doctorate in education. He became the first Korean to become the first UCLA Ph.D. There, he got married and started a prosperous family, and served as an education administrator for the LA County Department of Child Welfare for 28 years, becoming an important figure in the community.
Thinking about the past, he thanked God so much. It was because God blessed me so that I could study, get married, and live a blessed life. So, he thought about how to repay God, and he decided to help the poor, difficult, but good-believing and early morning prayer students in Korea as scholarship students, and established a scholarship foundation to provide scholarships to about 20 students.
After three years of early morning prayer, his fate and life have changed.
4. Humble before the Lord.
James 4:10 → “Humble before the Lord, and the Lord will exalt you”
God exalts those who humble themselves before the Lord.
Luke 14:11 → “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Today, people think they're good, they pretend they're good, and they think they're great. But it is not recognized by others. Everyone, you really need to admit that you are handsome, so what's the use of pretending to be good on your own?
Example) British playwright Fletcher
“If you think that you are insignificant in this world and humble yourself before God, God will surely lift you up and do great things.”
Whoever is full of pride who lives in his brilliance,
A person who doesn't pray. A person who does not speak A person who goes to church on his own accord. who does not serve. A person who does not evangelize. A person who thinks it is his own and does not give it to God. a talkative person
Conclusion:
Dear brothers and sisters, please let go of your pride. Please let go of laziness. Let go of face and pride, bow humbly before God, and say, “Make me obey your word. Make me oppose the devil, bring me closer to God, and humble me before You.” He will grant you spiritual and material blessings, health, high status, honor and authority.