Draw 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, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.
5 sermons cite this verse
… presence of God. It's you sort of like getting on the phone saying, hey, God, I'm coming over to hang out. James chapter four, verse eight says, draw near unto God and he will draw near unto you. So it is you knocking on the door saying, I'm coming over. This is me drawing near to you, Lord. And the promise is you do that and he'll show up, draw near unto God. He'll draw near into you, James 4, 8. Or Asaph in Psalm 73, he said, it is good for me to draw near to God, for I have put my trust in the Lord. Now that term, drawing near, is actually an Old Testament terminology of the priesthood in the Old Testament. The priests represented the people before God. but before they could represent the people of Israel before their God they had to what was called draw near and purify themselves and get themselves ready and it is that kind of terminology that old testament phraseology that the writer of Hebrews uses in Hebrews chapter 10 when he says let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. So just as the Old Testament priests would prepare themselves by drawing near to the Lord, we too should prepare ourselves for the day we're going to launch into. So devotions or quiet time is building the relationship to God. It is cultivating the connection that you have to God. Think of it this way. The gospel brings us to God. Your devotion keeps you close to God. It cultivates the proximity. …
… That's a promise. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands. James is so subtle. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Wow. That sounds like a coach talking to you. Strong, beautiful. And the second thing is this. Look at verses 16 to 17 is that we need to stand up against lust. lust it says in verse 16 to deliver you from the immoral woman from the seductress who flatters with her words why does she do this? well she forsakes the companion of her youth and she forgets the covenant of her God so this is the introduction in the Bible to the adulterous woman but let's be honest I mentioned this last week this is Solomon talking to his son he's going to be speaking to his son about the adulterous woman obviously there's the adulterous man right this is not gender dynamic this is gender fluid in the area of if a woman can do it a man can do it and what is that? …
… God is a refuge for us. James 4, eight, draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Matthew 11, 28, this is Jesus. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Hebrews 4, 16, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. Man, when life just gets ahold of you and you're like, I need grace, I am in a time of need. Go boldly to God. He wants you there in that place. But then what I love is we see in the life of Thomas that he forms you as well. So we leave the world and then we are allowing God to form us, form our hearts, form our minds, form our character, form us through our beliefs and struggles and doubts. If we go back to John chapter 20, verse 25, it says, the other disciples therefore said to him, we have seen the Lord. …
… GOD WANTS TO DO SOMETHING IN US BEFORE HE DOES SOMETHING THROUGH US. AND JAMES, IN THAT CLASSIC PASSAGE OF, ON PRAYER IN JAMES, CHAPTER FOUR VERSE EIGHT SAYS, DRAW NIGH TO GOD AND GOD WILL DRAW NIGH TO YOU. MAYBE IT'S THE PRESENCE OF GOD THAT WE NEED TO SEEK AS WE PRAY. MAYBE IT'S THE POWER OF GOD BECAUSE JAMES ALSO SAID IN JAMES FIVE VERSE SIXTEEN, THE EFFECTUAL, FERVENT PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN AVAILETH MUCH. AND THAT WORD EFFECTUAL MEANS POWERFUL, STRETCHED OUT PRAYER. YOU KNOW, WE, WE PRAY SO MANY LITTLE GIDDY, FRIVOLOUS, NOW I, NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP TYPE PRAYERS. MANY OF US PRAY AND 15 MINUTES LATER WE COULD NOT EVEN TELL YOU WHAT WE ASKED GOD FOR IF OUR LIFE DEPENDED UPON HIM. BECAUSE WE DO NOT PRAY WITH SERIOUSNESS. WE DO NOT PRAY WITH INTENTION. ONE DAY A LADY CALLED ME AND SHE SAID, PASTOR, I NEED YOU TO COME OVER TO MY HOUSE. I'VE GOT A PRAYER BURDEN, AND I WANT YOU TO PRAY WITH ME. I SAID, I'LL BE THERE. I WENT TO HER HOUSE, I SAID, WHAT IS THE PRAYER BURDEN? …
… THESE VERSES. JAMES CHAPTER ONE AND VERSE EIGHT, A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN IS UNSTABLE IN ALL OF HIS WAYS. JAMES FOUR VERSE EIGHT, DRAW NYE TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW NYE TO YOU. CLEANGE YOUR HANDS, YE SINNERS, AND PURIFY YOUR HEARTS, YE DOUBLE-MINDED. LISTEN TO THIS. I'M TALKING ABOUT A WHOLE HEART NOW. DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER FOUR AND VERSE 29, BUT IF FROM THENCE THOU SHALT SEEK THE LORD THY GOD, THOU SHALT FIND HIM IF THOU SEEK HIM WITH ALL THY HEART AND WITH ALL THY SOUL. Have you ever made up your mind, young man, that you're going to get clean and stay clean? I mean, have you ever said, I will by the grace of God? Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8, the Bible says, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Have you ever purposed in your heart? Have you ever said, with my whole heart, I am determined? By the grace of God, I am determined. I will not behave this way. …