God Gives Grace To The Humble

Study: #746 – Church in the Houses From: October 16 – 22, 2012

TOPIC: “God Gives Grace To The Humble” James 4:4 - 7 In the Old Testament God treated His people as adulterous, since they left Him for the false gods. In Exodus 34:14, 15 we can see that God warned them beforehand, "Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land (Canaan), for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.” "We read in the Old Testament in Hosea 9: 1 that the Lord complains about the nation who had become prostituted and had forgotten their God. In the New Testament the Lord also calls His nation Israel an adulterous generation, “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign ..." (Matthew 16:4). We see that comparison made by the Lord Himself and that we read in the Old Testament of Him and Israel as a relation of husband and wife which went in the Christian mind presenting the Church as the wife of Christ; “…for the wedding of the lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). We also see the comparison in 2 Corinthians 11:2. This is a precious idea of our God’s pure thoughts. It means, that to disobey God is like breaking a marital promise. It implies that all sins are sins against the love towards God, that our relation with God is not distant like a king and those subjected to him or a master and his slaves, but rather intimate like the relation between husband and wife. One has to be humble to conserve this kind of relationship. Beloved, to love the world makes you an enemy of God. Those who are too friendly with the world are placed in a position of enmity with God. God is pleased in the beauty of the earth and we can all see its beauty; but, the term "world" used here refers to the general life of sin and unrestraint in which most men live. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:10 “….for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica." Paul clearly refers to the “worldly”. If we totally dedicate our life to material things, it is clear that we will not be able to dedicate anything to God. This is the sense used for those who dedicate their lives to this world and consequently are hostile with God. The best comment for this saying is one by Jesus in Matthew 6:24, no one can be at the service of two masters. There are two possible attitudes before the things of this world; either we can be so controlled by it that the world becomes our master or in change, we can use it to serve our fellowmen and prepare ourselves for the

eternity. If the latter is our attitude, well then, the world is not our love but rather our servant. To use the world to serve God and humanity is to befriend God. Let us understand that to allow ourselves to be used in this dictating and tyrant life is to be in ENMITY WITH GOD! The Spirit of God has made a dwelling place in our hearts. God yearns jealously the devotion of the Spirit which He has caused to live in us. The sense here is that God is a jealous bridegroom who does not consent any competitor. The Old Testament shows us that God is a jealous God. Exodus 20:4,5 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God ...” When you love the world you incline to it. The Holy Spirit yearns for us jealously; let us care for God in our lives (James 4:5). James describes God as in love, jealous. To conserve this marvelous relationship one must be humble and not arrogant. If God makes a big demand, He will also give great grace to comply with it. And the greater the demand is, the greater is the grace that God gives us. A person cannot receive this until he realizes that he needs it and turns to God soliciting His help humbly. God is against the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Pride is “hyperifanos" in Greek, which means, literally, one who places himself above others. Pride is that certain despise towards others. Pride is a fortified tower and the highest point of evilness. The most terrible thing is that it hides in the heart. It means haughtiness; one who endures this may seem humble, when in reality he feels an olympic disdain towards all his fellowmen in the heart. GOD IS SHUT OUT for three reasons. The first is, he never recognizes his own necessity. He admires himself to a point such that he does not recognize his needs. He loves to be self-sufficient. Second reason, he has no obligations with anyone, not even with God. Third reason, he does not recognize his own sin. He is so busy thinking about his own excellence that he has no time to discover any sin which he needs to be delivered from. With this kind of pride he cannot receive help because he doesn’t know that he needs it and therefore, does not seek or accept it. Careful! The humility James speaks of in Verse 6 does not consist of one humiliating. But rather it consists in admitting that we are only one more person and that we depend on the power of God. That is why, he can confront the devil openly and the devil will leave him due to his cowardliness. The struggle Jesus had with the tempter and how He defeated him with the Word is what inspires us! Just the

same, you can also do it, in His name! A Christian has the humility of knowing that he has to fight his battles with the tempter, but not with his own power but with the power of God. He knows that he has the greatest privilege which is ACCESS TO GOD! This is something imposing, because in the Old Testament only the priest could have it. His ministry allowed it to help those who were blemished in sin. Now, by the deed of Jesus Christ, any believer can approach confidently God’s throne; he will find mercy and find grace that will help him in the moment of need. (Hebrews 4:16) Therefore, we should all be humble, but it is a humility that gives us an invincible value and that knows that access to God is open, even for the shyest saint. Let us seek to always have humility in our life, that way WE WILL NEVER LACK HIS GRACE! How great and generous is our God! Amen.