Hardly anybody walks with God these days. It's hard enough to find someone
who is truly saved, let alone someone who loves God and walks with Him.
James 4:8 promises that if we draw closer to God, then He'll draw
closer to us. Many people have a shallow understanding of James 4:8, failing
to read the other Verses in James. The entire Book of James is wonderful and
filled with life-changing truths. There's more to walking with God than just
reading the Bible and praying. Walking with God means applying the Bible to
our lives and sincerely trying to please God in all our ways (Proverb
3:5-7).
The Bible begins in James 4:1-3 by warning us about lusts that cannot be fulfilled in the flesh. The lusts of the flesh are insatiable (impossible to satisfy). James (speaking as God's inspired pen) tells us to pray that we may receive. The Bible warns about praying outside of God's will. Part of the Lord's Prayer is to pray THY WILL BE DONE!
James 4:1-3, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 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. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
The “wars and fightings” that James refer to are arguments, strifes and backbiting in the churches. There's so much hatred, gossip, hypocrisy and wickedness in our churches...
2nd Corinthians 12:20, “For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults.”
In 2012, our churches are war zones! Worldliness crept into our churches over a century ago. No one can be right with God and wrong with their neighbor or brother. God cares about what others have to say about us. If we hurt others, then we cannot expect to walk with God in sweet fellowship. God wants justice, truth, equity and righteousness more than sacrifice.
Many people put some money into an offering plate and think they've done a great work for God. There's 168 hours in a week. If you give God 10% of a 40-hour work work, that's 4-hours of time. That's only 2% of 168 hours. Any businessman will tell you that time is money. So if you tithe 10% you've only given God 2% of your life. Hence, it is obvious that we ought to give God a lot more than 10% of our money. God wants us to spend time sharing the gospel (soul-winning), helping the least of these (Matthew 25:40,45) and investing in THE THINGS WHICH ARE JESUS CHRIST'S (Philippians 2:21). The Christian life means getting out of the SELF LIFE. It's a habit that must be cultivated. We must get into the habit of thinking about OTHERS and how we can be a blessing for God to them. A person who genuinely walks with God will care and be concerned about others. In sharp contrast, so many people today are WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTION (2nd Timothy 3:3). They're phony, insincere, unkind, selfish, cold and uncompassionate toward the suffering of others.
Today the churches have joined together with the government in 501c3 state-licensed organizations. Such 501c3 institutions are prohibited by law from denouncing crimes in government, because your church is yoked unequally with the State as a 501c3 legal entity. The love of money is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10). Please understand that a 501c3 organization is a business. It is not a church, although it can umbrella a church. A New Testament church is composed when two or more born-again believers come together in Jesus' precious name to exalt the Savior, evangelize the sinner and edify the saints. If your church is 501c3, just make sure that you don't compromise the truth. Speak the truth and pray that the IRS doesn't come to your door about it. If they do, then you have to choose my friend. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).
Every pastor and Christian in America should be crying aloud in righteous anger against the blatant crimes, theft and Zionist criminal takeover of our once free nation. If you walk with God, you should get angry about the things that God is angry about. You should care because God cares. Most people haven't a clue about the knowledge of God. As you walk with God, He opens your eyes to the truths of the Scriptures. John 16:13 says that the Holy Spirit will guide each believer into ALL TRUTH! Are you hungry for the truth? Does truth mean more to you than food?
James goes on to warn all believers that there is no harmony between the sinful world and a holy God. The things of God are diametrically opposed to the world. Worldliness is satanic! Satan is the god of this evil world. No man can straddle-the-fence between God and the world, although many try. Any person who attempts to please God and the Devil are not walking with God. To be right with God means to be wrong with the world.
James 4:4-5, “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. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?”
I would rather do right wrongly than to do wrong rightly. No Christian is perfect. If the wicked persecuted, prosecuted and crucified Jesus Christ, then you can be assured that Christians will suffer the same fate (2nd Timothy 3:12). God only has one Son without sin, but He never had a son without suffering. Every believer is an adopted son of God.
No one can draw near to God who is arrogant and sinfully proud. Walking with God begins with humbling one's self before God. 2nd Chronicles 7:14 teaches that humility is synonymous with prayer, departing from sin and seeking God's face. Those who don't pray and read their Bible are sinfully proud. They are saying that they don't need God's help. The Bible tells us to resist the Devil and submit to God. If we resist God, then we will submit to the Devil.
James 4:6-8 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 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, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
Verses 9-10 tell us to be afflicted and mourn and to turn our joy into heavenliness, and to humble ourselves. Many Americans have a let's party attitude, which is not how to draw near unto God. Sin is epidemic in America. It's something to be sad about. God is not happy about all this wickedness. Some people are always happy because they don't care about anyone or anything except themselves. They don't give a thought to what really happened on 911. They don't care about the New World Order. They don't care about the new NDAA law that gives Homeland Security the power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens. Something is wrong with a happy-go-lucky person who claims to love the Lord; yet they never get upset over sin, they never get mad about false religion and heresy in the church, they never expose anyone as a fake or imposter, they never speak the truth about anything that would make someone mad. Such professed Christians are not right with the Lord.
James 4:9-10, “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
The Bible tells us in Verse 10 that gossiping is a hindrance to walking with God. There's a lot of gossiping going on over the internet, both via e-mail and in forums. I don't go to so-called Christian forums because all they do is gossip, cloaking hatred in self-righteous indignation. Shut up! God says to gossipers who speak evil of others, shut up! I'm not talking about exposing false prophets or those who promote sin. We're commanded to refute all works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11). Albeit, there's a fine line between the two and God knows each person's heart. God knows if you're intention is hateful or pure (Proverb 24:12). God is the only Lawgiver and Judge (Galatians 4:12; 5:9). The Bible says that God will judge men by the same measure they judge others (Matthew 7:2-5). May we all be careful about what we say about others, for we will all be held accountable for every word that we speak and type (Matthew 12:36).
James 4:11-12, “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. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”
The Biblical definition of a “hypocrite” is “viewing another person as a bigger sinner than one's self.” If you are right with God my friend, then you ought to consider yourself as the biggest sinner you know. James 2:10 plainly teaches that to commit even one sin is to be guilty of all in God's eyes. Sadly, most people are hypocrites, condemning others for their sins while overlooking or failing to recognize their own. Anytime you point a finger of condemnation toward any man, there are three fingers pointing back at you. Our churches, workplaces and the internet are plagued with hatred and gossip of others, which God hates. If you want to walk with God, then you need to focus on your own sins and trust God to recompense all men for their works, whether they be good or evil (Romans 12:19; 14:10-12).
These are all important things for anyone who desires to walk with God. Walking with God means trying to acknowledge God in all our ways as Proverb 3:5-7 teach, trusting upon the Lord and not leaning upon our own understanding. he Bible better than anyone.
The Bible warns against assuming that we'll be here tomorrow. Our speech should always include humility, having some mention that we are aware that God's will reigns supreme. Lord willing I'll do this or that, if God wills that I'm alive tomorrow. It is a sin to boast of future plans without including God. Life is a gift from God, which may end at any moment. Most people speak confidently of what they want to do when they retire, but they may die on a treadmill or get hit by a bus. Hebrews 9:27 says that we all have an appointment with death. Life is short my friend! Most people live like they'll be here forever upon the earth. You ought to live every day as if it were your last, because one day you'll be right!
James 4:13-17, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
May we all walk with God, which is evidenced by sincerely CARING about truth, righteousness, justice and equity. Walking with God is evidenced by one's CONCERN about the things which are Jesus Christ's. Walking with God is evidenced by one's CONSUMING desire to win lost sinners to Jesus Christ with the gospel.
Walking with God means allowing God to walk with us. The Lord desires to be close to us, so close that He chose to indwell every Christian believer (Romans 8:9). Isn't that a wonderful truth. Did you know that just as Jesus lives in you oh Christian, you also live in Him? John 14:20, “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
Of course, no unsaved person can walk with God. No child of Satan can have sweet fellowship with the Father while rejecting the Son. If you reject Jesus as the Christ, the Godhead Who came in the flesh (Colossians 2:9), then you cannot walk with the Father. 1st John 2:22 declares that he who rejects Jesus as the Messiah is a liar and antichrist. The way to fellowship with the Father is to receive the Son. Amen! Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God!
