1. Good News From God: Draw Near to God and He will Draw near to you… Draw Near to God and He will Draw near to you James 4:8

2. Draw Me Nearer, Nearer Blessed Lord I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, And it told Thy love to me; But I long to rise in the arms of faith And be closer drawn to Thee. Refrain: Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died; Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To Thy precious, bleeding side. Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord, By the pow’r of grace divine; Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, And my will be lost in Thine.

3. Oh, the pure delight of a single hour That before Thy throne I spend, When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God I commune as friend with friend! There are depths of love that I cannot know Till I cross the narrow sea; There are heights of joy that I may not reach Till I rest in peace with Thee

4. James 4:1-12 1From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

5. 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up

6. 11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

7. Questions and Answers by James 1. v. 1 Where does wars and fightings among brethren come from? answer: They come from lusts that war in your members. 2. What is your problem? Ye lusts and have not, you kill, and Desire to have, and cannot obtain. Why? You ask not. 3. But when you ask, you don’t get what you ask for. Why? You ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your own lusts.

8. 4. You try to be a friend of the world, but look what happens. Friendship with the world (and participating in what the world Wants and desires) is opposed to friendship with God. If that is what you want, then you oppose God. Because, Don’t you know, If you are a friend of the world, then you are An enemy of God.? 5. God has clearly stated in scripture that the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy.

9. 6. Listen, God gives more grace to the humble.. Don’t you know that? God resisteth the proud but gives grace unto the humble. 7. Directions from God: a) Submit yourselves therefore to God. b) Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

10. The Good news: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. V. 8. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; And purify your hearts, ye double minded.

11. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Do something about your Condition before God. It is not a time of laughter, but rather a time to mourn and Turn your joy to heaviness.

12. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift You up. We usually want to work on someone else: but James says you! You humble yourselves in The Lord’s sight. When you do this, He will lift You up!

13. Quit speaking evil of others, brethren! Quit judging your brothers. If you think you are qualified to be a judge of the law, you are not a doer of the Law, but rather a judge. It is certain that there is only one lawgiver and He is able to Save and to destroy. Who are you that judgest another? God is the Judge. Leave the judging to the Judge!

14. To whom is James talking? Who are those who are to receive this instruction? V.1.. Brethren who generate wars and fightings among brethren. V. 2 Those who lust, kill, and desire to have, but Never get what they want! V.3. They don’t get help, because they do not ask God for His direction. When they do pray, they ask amiss, without Praying effectively. They are people who just want to Consume it upon their own desires or lusts.

15. V.5,6,7 The proud brethren V. 7 Brethren who need to Submit themselves to God. Brethren who need to Resist the devil. V.8-10 Brethren who need to draw near to God. V. 11-12 Brethren who speak evil about other brethren.

16. What does it mean to draw near to God? It means to draw near in worship, praise, and in prayer. It means to draw near by asking counsel of God. It means to draw near in enjoying communion with God. It means to draw near in the general course and tenor of your life.

17. Psalm 16:8-11 8 I have set the L ORD always before me : because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

18. Why do we need to “Draw Near to God?” Drawing near to God helps us to resist the devil. Drawing near to God helps us to become pure. Drawing near to God helps us to sorrow for sin. Drawing near to God helps us to speak well of other people. Drawing near to God helps us to think of eternal things.

19. 1. The Bible states: “in the presence of God there is Fullness of joy and true happiness.” (Psalm 16:11) 2. I’m sure that all of us would agree that we are the Happiest when we feel we are in the presence of God. 3. Yet, there are times in most of our lives, we find Ourselves not as close to God as we would like

20. 4. We find ourselves spiritually weak, filled with Depression and anxiety. 5. When that happens to us, what can we do in order To become close to God again? 6. The answer: Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always Before me; Because He is at my right hand, I shall not Be moved.”

21. 7. It is when we “set the Lord before us” that we Receive the benefits of His Presence.

22. Therefore, let us consider the 4 following questions about who are to draw near to God!

23. # 1 We ask? Who? Old/Young. Psalm 37:25 Elders Acts 20:28-31 Deacons I Tim. 3:8ff. Preachers I Tim.4:16 Mothers/Fathers /Parents Eph.6:1ff Husbands/Wives Eph. 5:22-25 Children Eph. 6:4 All Sinners Isa. 1:18

24. #2. We ask, How? God’s way…There is a way. Prov. 14:12; 16:25; Only in Jesus Christ. John 14:6; Col. 3:17 Early alien sinners asked: “What wilt thou have Me to do.” Consider Saul. Acts 9:6 Lord, wilt Thou have me to do?

25. #3 We ask, Why? 1. Sin separates us from God. Isa. 59:1- 2 2. We are all sinners. Rom. 3:23 3. The wages of sin is death. Rom. 6:23 4. To stay away from God means eternal Separation from Him. Matt. 25:46

26. #4 We ask, When? 1. The young may say, after I have sown my wild Oats!. 2. The middle age may say, when I can get my Nest egg securely in my bank. 3. The old may say, in a little while after I get Over my realization of my fate with age. God says: NOW. James. James 4:13 Paul. 2 Cor. 6:2

27. Draw Near to God and to think, that He declares He will draw near to you.

28. How many in this audience today are –far away from the Lord?

29. NEARER MY GOD TO THEE Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E'en though it be a cross that raise'th me, Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee! Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, Darkness be over me, my rest a stone. Yet in my dreams I'd be Nearer, my God to Thee. Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!

30. Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky, Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I'll fly, Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee! There in my Father's home, safe and at rest, There in my Savior's love, perfectly blest; Age after age to be, Nearer my God to Thee. Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!

31. It’s decision time for you! It’s decision time for me!

32. The good thing about today is He is pleading with you to come to Him. Isa. 1:18 Matt 11:28-30 He is willing to be with you. He is willing to restore you. James 5:19,20 “Brethren,if any of you do err from the Truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which Converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall Save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sin.” It is all left up to you and I? Whether we want to live With Him and Die with Him, and forever to be with Him… He will not refuse any who are willing to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to us!