Come Closer

Drawing near to God requires us to deal with whatever keeps us from God.

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COMMITMENT — Surrender to God (v. 7)
James 4:7 (ESV)
⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

• Submit to God
• Resist the devil

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CLEANSING — Deal with Sin (v. 8)
James 4:8 (ESV)
⁸Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

• Draw near to God
• Cleanse your hands — deal with what you do
• Purify your heart — deal with who you are

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CONTRITION – Humble Yourself Before God (vv. 9-10)
James 4:9-10
⁹Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

• Take sin seriously
• Mourn over what separates you from God
• Humble yourself before the Lord
• Promise: “He will exalt you.”

 THE EVIDENCE – How You Treat People (vv. 11–12)

“The closer I get to God, the more it should affect how I treat my brother and my neighbor.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

• COMMITMENT changes who is in control.
• CLEANSING changes what is in my life.
• CONTRITION changes how I see myself.
• And all three should change how I treat other people.