The faith that works places God first...

At the church where I serve we have been spending our time together looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of James. James was the half brother of Jesus who repeatedly doubted Jesus claim to be God, but became a follower of Jesus who was the pastor at the church in Jerusalem and who was ultimately killed for believing that Jesus was God. James turned from being a doubter in Jesus to being a pastor of Jesus church and an author of this letter that is recorded for us in the Bible after seeing Jesus after He was raised from the dead.

And as we look at this letter that was written by the half brother of Jesus, our hope and our prayer is that we would be able to wrap our heads, hearts, and hands around several timeless truths that occur in a life of faith that works itself out in a way that results in us living lives that look like Jesus. Last week, in James 4:1-6, we discovered that the faith that works recognizes that conflict among us flows from the selfish desires within us. The faith that works recognizes that it is our selfish desires that drive us toward hostility with others. And the faith that works recognizes that it is our selfish desires that drive us toward hostility with God.

We then asked the question “Well Dave if that is the case; if our selfish desires drive us into hostility with God and others; then how are we to combat and overcome those selfish desires within us? How can we experience victory over those selfish desires so that we can experience the faith that works itself out in a way that results in us living lives that look like Jesus?”

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that the half brother of Jesus wrote to early followers of Jesus, called the book of James, we will see James reveal for us the answer to this question.

And it is in the answer to this question that we will discover another timeless and true principle when it comes to the faith that works.  So let’s discover that answer and that timeless truth together beginning in James 4:7:

Submit therefore to God.

James begins this section of his letter to followers of Jesus with a command. And that command is submit therefore to God. Now when James uses the word submit, this word, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to place oneself in a submissive role in a relationship where appropriate respect is shown to someone based on the role that they have within an ordered structure. In other words, we are to willingly place ourselves under others by placing others first based on our role in the relationship.

For example, the quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals places himself under the coach of the Cardinals. Because the coach has been give the role of leading the team, for the team to be successful, the quarterback must demonstrate the appropriate respect for the coach and place himself under his leadership. The coach has a role and responsibility and the quarterback has a role and responsibility as part of the team. Conflict within the team can occur when either the quarterback or the coach do not function within their roles on the team.

So James is basically saying to followers of Jesus throughout history, “therefore, in light of all that I have just said about how the conflict among us flows from the selfish desires within us. In light of all that I have just said about the reality that it is our selfish desires that drive us toward hostility with others. In light of all that I have just said about the reality that it is our selfish desires that drive us toward hostility with God. In light of all that, I am commanding you to overcome those selfish desires within you by willing placing yourself under God in a way that places God first.  Instead of placing your selfish desires first, you are to place God and His desires first.”

And it is here, in this command, that that we see James reveal for us a timeless truth when it comes to the faith that works. And that timeless truth is this: The faith that works places God first. Just as it was for followers of Jesus in James day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, the faith that works places God first. The faith that works willingly places themselves under God in a way that places God first as the One who is large and in charge of their lives.

Now, right about now you are thinking to yourself “Well Dave that sounds great in principle, but that seems so hard to put into practice. That sounds great to talk about, but so hard to do. So how do I practically place God first?” That is a great question.

And in James 4:7-12 we will see James reveal for us six different ways that the faith that works places God first. We see James reveal for us the first way that that the faith that works places God first beginning in the second half of verse 7. Let’s look at it together:

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Now when James commands followers of Jesus throughout history to resist, this command literally means to place oneself in opposition to someone or something. And who James commands followers of Jesus to place ourselves in opposition to is the devil.

Jesus and the other authors of the letters that make up the Bible teach us that demons are a group of supernatural beings who are under the leadership of the devil, or Satan. We also know that demons have superhuman, but limited knowledge and power. Demons are angels that were created by the Lord before the creation of the universe, who rebelled against God sometime before the fall of humans that is recorded for us in the very first letter in the Bible in Genesis 3.

And the Devil and the demons that follow the Devil are driven by a desire to destroy the Kingdom of God and the people of God. The Devil and the demons are driven by a desire to be worshipped as gods instead of worshipping God. And because of the reality, we are to oppose the temptations and tactics of the Devil and the demons that follow the Devil because the Devil wants to be first.

Here we see James reveal for us the reality that we place God first when we place ourselves in opposition to the devil. James then explains that when we obey the command to place ourselves in opposition to the Devil by placing God first, the Devil will flee from you. What is so interesting is that the word flee literally means to seek safety in flight.

You see, the Devil and the demons fully understand the fate that awaits them. The Devil and the demons fully understand who is large and in charge of the universe. And when we place God first by placing ourselves in opposition to the Devil’s temptations and tactics through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Devil responds to seeing the power of the Holy Spirit as displayed through us by fleeing for safety.

So here is a question to consider: How are you responding to the temptations and tactics of the devil? Are you placing God first by placing yourself in opposition to the Devil’s temptation and tactics? Or are you attempting to dance with the Devil’s temptation and tactics. Because the faith that works places God first by placing ourselves in opposition to the Devil. James then reveals a second way that the faith that works places God first part of verse 8:

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Now when James commands followers of Jesus to draw near to God, this command conveys the sense of coming near to God. And it is here that we see James reveal for us the reality that we place God first when we pursue a closer relationship with God. Instead of dancing with the temptation and the tactics of the Devil, instead of pursuing our selfish desires, we are to pursue a closer and deeper relationship with Jesus.

James then explains that when we pursue a closer and deeper relationship with Jesus, that He will draw near to you. In other words, as we pursue a closer and deeper relationship with Jesus, Jesus will respond to our pursuit of Him by drawing us to a deeper intimacy with Him. This morning Jesus is not up in Heaven playing “catch Me if you can”. Instead Jesus desires to respond to our pursuit of Him by pulling us toward a deepening relationship with Him.

So here is a question to consider: Who or what are you really pursuing? What does your calendar, your checkbook, your conversations, and your contemplations reveal about what you are really pursuing? Are you pursuing your selfish desires? Or are you pursuing a closer relationship with Jesus? Because the faith that works places God first when we pursue a closer relationship with Jesus.

Tomorrow, we will see James reveals a third way that the faith that works places God first…