James 4:7-8 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.

 

For the past few days we have been discussing how Satan tempts people with sin. Because we all have the sin nature within us, we are naturally attracted to sin, BUT once we are truly saved and born-again, we begin to see sin the way God sees it, and God HATES sin.

 

The more we grow in our relationship with our Heavenly Father the more we become like Him because we WANT to be more like His Son, Jesus. Although we cannot work for our Salvation, we do have a job to do. That job is to want to be changed.

 

The Holy Spirit cannot bring about change in anyone who does not want to be changed. People who love their sin and want to remain in it, will do so. As much as we would love to see people set free from the bondage of sin, until they WANT to be set free, they will remain right where they are: bogged down in the pigpen of sin.

 

Many born-again Christians who love God are still burdened with sin in their lives. Although they love God and want to be set free, they just can’t seem to break the hold it has on them. These are what the Bible calls strongholds because they have a strong hold on us.

 

As we have said so many times here in the Morning Message over the years, being set free from the bondage of sin is an ongoing process called Sanctification. It happens little by little, one thing at a time. A dear friend of mine, who ministers in Deliverance, describes it as peeling the skin off an onion one layer at a time. She told me that if the Holy Spirit were to remove all the old sin, shame and hurt off a person at once, there would be nothing left of them. This is a sad word picture, but it is so true.

 

James, the half-brother of Jesus, gave us instructions on how to be set free from sin. It’s a process and it takes self-control on our part but more than anything, it takes faith to believe that Jesus has already accomplished it. James wrote: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. (James 4:7-8)

 

God has set in place Divine Order for everything. When we submit to His Order and live our lives in obedience to His Order, we will see His Mighty Hand of Blessing and Benefits in operation in our lives. James told us God’s Order for being an overcomer. It’s one, two, and three: ONE: Submit to God. TWO: Resist the devil. THREE: Draw nigh to God.

 

James went on to write: Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. (James 4:8) James was direct and to the point. He didn’t beat around the bush about living for God. The simple fact is, if you want to be set free from sin and live your life pleasing to God, you must be obedient to His Divine Order for life. Then, and only then will your hands be clean, your heart be pure and your mind set solely and completely on the Will of God and His Kingdom.

 

Adherence to God’s Divine Order will…….turn the tide……..in your life.

 

One, two, three,         Doreen

 

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