Download Grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord

Grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
James 4:7-12
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and
he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers, do not slander one another.
Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When
you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver
and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbor?
Dear friends in Christ,
A significant battle during the American Civil War was fought from February 11-16, 1862. It became
known as the Battle of Fort Donelson.
The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the
South. The capture of Fort Henry 5 days earlier and Fort Donelson were the first major victories for the
North during the war and elevated Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant from an obscure and largely
unproven leader to the rank of major general.
When Grant received a request for terms of surrender from Fort Donelson’s commanding officer,
Confederate Brigadier General Simon Buchner, Grant’s reply was that, “no terms except unconditional
and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.”
When the news of Grant’s victory was received in Washington D.C., newspapers remarked that Ulysses
S. Grant’s first two initials, “U.S.” stood for “Unconditional Surrender” which immediately became his
nickname.
Unconditional surrender is a surrender without condition, in which no guarantees are given to the
surrendering party except for those provided by international law. The surrendering party is completely at
the mercy of the conquering foe.
Today in our study, James the brother of Jesus, calls for the same. In a deliberate way, he points out that
as sinful human beings we have no choice but to surrender to God. However, he makes it clear there will
be no negotiating of terms. Ours is to be an:
Unconditional Surrender
Here’s what we are to do:
1. Submit your entire selves to God
2. Deal with one another in love
Listen to what James tells us, “Submit yourselves to God” (v.7). If we are to do that; if we are to
unconditionally surrender by submitting ourselves to God, it must be without hesitation or condition.
Sounds good – but can we do that?
If we are to truly submit our entire selves to God, that would mean we’d have to follow God’s word and
will to the letter. Let’s think about that for a second. If we are to submit our entire selves to God, then
we would have to love God more than anyone or anything. It would mean we would have to put God first
in our lives, ahead of ourselves.
Submitting ourselves to God would require we respect his name; meaning no cursing or swearing. It
would mean that worship becomes a priority in our lives, and not something we look upon with lack of
interest. It would mean honoring our parents and others in authority, instead of arguing and complaining
about them. It would mean that we intend to respect human life, our own and that of others, including the
unborn. So, no more drinking to excess. No more lack of concern about what we put into our bodies.
Submitting our entire selves to God would mean we’re never going to have a lustful thought. Nor will we
ever act on them. And we will never again disregard God’s gift of sex, marriage and family. It would
mean no stealing. Never again would we ever think of contributing to the ruin of someone else’s good
name or reputation by gossiping or telling lies about them. Never again will we covet what is not ours.
Ok, so are we still ready to unconditionally surrender? Are we ready to submit our entire selves over to
God? Without hesitation? With no conditions?
I think if we were really honest – unconditional surrender isn’t something we do. Each of us has got this
sinful nature, this part of us that despises God, his word and his will. There is a part of us that looks at
God’s laws and wants to laugh out loud. Keep all these rules and regulations? Are you kidding me? We
have to acknowledge, we can’t keep them even if we wanted to. The apostle Paul got it right when he
said, “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so”
(Romans 8:7).
Submitting our entire selves to God is something we cannot do. We are sinful human beings. Oh, we’ll
try…but you know what? Sometimes what the devil offers looks a whole lot better.
The devil would like nothing better than if we were to resist God’s laws. In fact, he works quickly,
quietly, and relentlessly behind the scenes to make God’s demands appear unfair. Instead he’ll push his
own agenda – offering whatever he can in the hope that we will choose him over God. And as we all
know, he’s very, very good at what he does. He’s the Pied Piper, playing a mesmerizing tune, hoping
we’ll get in line and follow him.
But James warns to not let that happen. He says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come
near to God and he will come near to you” (v.7,8).
To fully understand what James means here, it is imperative that we understand who we are and what we
are not. Gathered here today in God’s House are sinful human beings, who by God’s grace, have been led
to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That’s who we are. What we are not is perfect. Please
understand that. We are sinful human beings. We continue to fall short of God’s demands every minute
of every day. So don’t ever fall into the devil’s trap and think, “I’m saved. I can do what I want.” Or,
“Sure, I’m a sinner, but I’m not that bad. I go to church. I give my offerings. I say my prayers.”
Don’t for one minute think that our reckless behavior: excessive drinking, cursing, swearing, gossiping,
pornography, greed, pride and arrogance – don’t for one minute believe that’s Ok. And don’t for one
minute think we’re not guilty of such things because we are. Don’t think that God can’t see those hidden
sins; sins we don’t talk about; sins we pray no one else will ever find out. God knows of every single
one.
So yes, we are that bad. And it is only after honestly admitting who we are and what we are can we
approach God’s throne of grace. He’s calling for an unconditional surrender of our very selves, full and
complete. There is no negotiating for better terms.
James writes, “Wash your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve,
mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom” (v.8-10).
James is calling us to repentance. He’s telling us to stop trying to live our lives on our own terms. Stop
trying to keep one eye on what God wants of us, and the other eye on what the world is offering. God
will not accept a divided heart. He won’t settle for just a piece of you – he wants all of you.
Think of it this way: you’re sitting beside a pool and your friends want you to come in. You’re hesitant.
You walk to the side of the pool and stick your toes in – it’s cold! And then your head starts playing with
you. “Don’t go in, it’s cold. Stay over here and keep warm. If you go in you’re going to get wet, you’re
hair is going to get wet – it’s too much of a bother.” And then you watch a little boy come up and
perform a perfect cannon ball right in front of his little sister. He didn’t have the concerns you did. He
put them aside and went all in.
That’s what James is encouraging us to do today – to go all in. Come before your Lord recognizing who
and what you are – a sinner who is hopeless and helpless without Christ. He will accept nothing but
unconditional surrender! And if that sounds too terrifying, listen to this: “Humble yourselves before
the Lord, and he will lift you up” (v.10).
Oh, he’s done that hasn’t he? In love, God the Father sent his son to lift us up. Christ died. Christ rose.
And Christ will come again. Through Jesus we have been washed clean and once more been made
perfect in God’s sight. Through Jesus we have the promise that one day we too will rise and live forever
with him in heaven. But to fully understand, to fully grasp it, to fully experience this blessing –
remember where we stand. On our own we are nothing. And yet, because of Jesus we are now bloodbought souls. Remember, the Holy Spirit has worked the miracle of faith in our hearts. Go home today
assured that one day heaven will be your home.
Knowing that Jesus went to such great lengths to save us, may the love he’s shown compel us to now deal
with one another in love.
Near the end of the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee met with General Ulysses S. Grant at the court
house in Appomattox. The army of Northern Virginia was surrounded. They were tired, beaten and
hungry. It was agreed, surrender was the only option. When it came time to meet with Grant, General
Lee told his staff, “I would rather die a thousand deaths.”
Lee came forward expecting terms of unconditional surrender. To his amazement, Grant offered more
generous terms. It is believed that Grant’s act of kindness to a fallen foe began our country on its road to
recovery. General Lee, for the rest of his life, would not allow anyone to speak disparagingly of General
Grant in his presence – so thankful was he for Grant’s generosity.
In a far more spectacular way, Jesus has offered those who unconditionally surrender to him, terms that
are beyond our imagination. He is offering eternal life to those who believe. Now then, if Jesus can show
us that kind of love to us, how can we not show the same love and compassion for others?
True, Scripture is very specific how we are to get involved in other people’s lives. We are to call them
back from sin, to rebuke, correct, and encourage. But what God forbids is sinful judging, thinking we are
superior to others – when as we’ve already mentioned, we’re not – far from it. To criticize someone else
without love, in an effort to make ourselves feel superior is dangerous business. To do so means we end
up insulting the very law of God. There is only one judge and those who sinfully judge others are
insulting God by putting themselves in his place.
Instead, let this be our guide: we are all sinful human beings who fall short of the glory of God. And yet,
by God’s grace, we have been washed clean and made heirs of eternal life. May that knowledge guide us
in our relationships with others, giving us the patience to deal with one another in love.
This brings us back to where we began. James has been deliberate and to the point. You and I are
nothing. We’re sinful human beings. Our God is everything: almighty and all-knowing. As a result, we
stand before him beaten, tired and humbled. His terms are simple. He demands unconditional surrender.
Yet don’t be afraid. Jump all in. He’ll be right there – to lift us up!
Amen.
And now may the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding, keep our hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.