Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Sunday March 8, 2009

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SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION
James 4:6-10  pt. 2

Summary of p1: you should be depressed at the condition of your spiritual life.

God gives grace to the humble – therefore, submit.  Submission is the essence of humility.  We are familiar w/ false humility - talking trash about self, going around saying, “I’m worthless; God can’t use me;  I’m the biggest sinner.” Humility isn’t a bowed head and self deprecating speech – it is submission/obedience to God.  Humility isn’t ½ naked w/ a whip in your hand and making yourself bloody.  False humility makes true submission impossible.  True humility is drawing near to God while false humility is talking about how far you are from God.

    HERE’S WHAT SUBMISSION TO GOD LOOKS LIKE
Submission is not just repenting from sin and denying self, it is battling Satan. RESIST THE DEVIL – submission to God is rebellion against the devil.  It is spiritual mutiny!  Throw off his chains/shackles. 

From Job to Genesis/Matthew to Revelation, Satan is shown to be one who resists God/people of God. 

We are called to resist an invisible being.  How do you do battle w/ one that you can’t see?  Where do I stand?  In what direction do I thrust my sword?  We can’t see him, but we know his objectives.  We know where he will attack and so we can be there before him to resist him and safeguard what he is seeking to destroy. 

There are bank robbers in town.  But how do I find them?  Since there’s only one bank, I’ll wait there and nab them.  Police don’t have to go to the thieves, the thieves will come to them.  You don’t have to go find the devil, he will find you.  PROWLS ABOUT LIKE LION…

What is he after?  Your soul – mind/will/emotions. 
He will attack your mind – lust of the eye
He will attack your passions– lust of the flesh
He will attack your will – boastful pride of life
Bring every thought/passion and desire/decision captive to Christ



In C4, up until now, J has said nothing about the devil.  He’s mentioned violence/arguing/lust/envy/fighting/evil motives/ friendship w/ the world – sin/self/world.  But now he doesn’t say resist sin/self/world, but resist the devil.

Hebrews: strive against sin.  John: love not the world.  J has dusted for prints and he sees that this is an attack of Satan upon the church.  No, the devil didn’t make me do it, but he helped me do it.  The problem in the church can only be corrected by spiritual warfare. 

We don’t fight against flesh and blood.  “Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion…”  Don’t resist each other, resist the devil – he will flee from you.  We think, “If only my wife/husband/children/neighbors/in-laws/co-workers/etc. would get their act together, I would be a better person.  I am the way I am because of them.”  If I resist you, maybe you will flee from me!  But that won’t happen – you’ll just dig in.  I have more authority over Satan than I do over you. 

You are not to flee from him, he is to flee from you.  Peter/Paul/ James counsel to stand against the devil.  Eph. 6:13-14; 1P5:9  Resist the devil - you are being attacked/stalked.  Take a stand, don’t retreat.  Don’t give the devil further ground.  Further ground where?  In the deeds of your hands/the greeds of your heart – what you do/who you are.

What’s the best way to resist the BANK ROBBERS?  Encase the vault in 5 miles of the hardest steel.  What’s the best way to resist the COLD?  Come into a warm room.  What’s the best way to resist the DARKNESS?  Turn on the light.  What’s the best way to resist the DEVIL?  Draw near to God. 

Drawing near assumes that there is a distance between you and God.  A distance in your mind/passions/will. 
Draw near to God w/ your mind – fill it w/ Scripture
Draw near to God w/ your passions – be a worshipper
Draw near to God w/ your will – surrender to God in prayer




CLEANSE YOUR HANDS, you sinners - repent of sin

Eli can go from eating buttery popcorn to playing in the sand and then wants to be held.  He is utterly unaware of his hands and why Nana and Papa don’t want to pick him up. 

So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen.  Your hands are covered with blood.  Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean….  Is. 1:15-16

When God confronted Adam w/ his sin, he pointed to Eve.  Eve pointed to Satan.  “It’s not on my hands, it’s elsewhere.”  There’s a lot of pointing today.  “Not me.  Not my fault.  I didn’t know.  I couldn’t help myself.”  God says, “Point to yourself.”

PURIFY YOUR HEARTS, you double minded – deny yourself
Cf. J1:8  Doublemindedness isn’t an intellectual category, but a moral one.  You would think that the solution for doubt would be reason and intellect, but it’s not – it’s repentance and faith.  A double minded man isn’t one w/ intellectual doubts, but one w/ moral indecision. 

BE MISERABLE/MOURN/WEEP/TURN YOUR LAUGHING INTO MOURNING/TURN YOUR JOY INTO GLOOM

And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.  Mt. 26:75

The rooster is crowing and the church should be mourning. 

HUMBLE YOURSELVES IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD
Your job is to humble yourself and God’s to exalt you.  But if you exalt yourself, He will humble you.  Do it yourself before He does it to you.  I believe that every publicly exposed sin is one that has been rebuked privately.  If a man had kept his pants on privately, he would not have been stripped naked publicly.  If a person had humbled themselves before the Lord they would not have been humbled before man.  What you withhold from God is the ground of His discipline.  What He can’t touch, He smashes. 

And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.  Mt. 21:44

Submit to God/Draw near to God/Humble yourself in His presence
Lk. 15:19 submission/15:20 drawing near/15:21 humbling self
Lk. 15:22 exaltation – full privilege of being a son realized
Cf. Phil. 2 Christ was exalted – full privilege of being the Son.  You – clean conscience/joy of salvation/assurance of heaven/love and peace of God/fruit and power of the Spirit…