Stop Playing God Series

James: Practical Faith 

James 4:11-17

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church 

11-24–2024

Richard Jewell

On July 27, 1996, Richard Jewell was working as a security guard at the Olympics in Atlanta. It was just after midnight when he spotted the suspicious backpack and began moving people away from the area. The backpack was a pipe bomb and exploded, killing one person and injuring over 100 more. The death toll would have been much higher if not for Richard Jewell’s quick thinking. He was a hero.

But the FBI didn’t believe his story. He acted strangely and they came up with a theory that he planted the bomb so he could discover it and be a hero. What we now know is that Richard was on the autism spectrum and responded differently than others.

A law enforcement officer met with a reporter for the Atlanta Constitution newspaper and shared this theory. That is called slander. She published the article, called libel, and Richard Jewell went from being a hero to a suspect.

His house was searched, he was put under 24 hours surveillance, and his apartment was surrounded by news vans and reporters.

All of this happened without a shred of evidence. He even passed a lie detecter test.

At a press conference in July of 1997, Attorney General Janet Reno stated, "I'm very sorry it happened. I think we owe him an apology. I regret the leak.”

No apology was ever offered to Richard. Not even after Eric Rudolph was named a suspect. Rudolph was arrested and confess to the Atlanta bombing.

Richard Jewell died at 48 years old.

Rumors are like a bell. Once you ring a bell, you can’t unring it.

Review

Like a machine gun, James is going to rattle off a series of commands.

When we have messed up, when we are in conflict, when our pride has got the better of us, there is a way back.

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 double-minded. 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.

* Submit

When faced with conflicts, internal and external, the most important thing we can do is to bow the knee in submission to God.

Those who submit are called to follow the humble, self-emptying example of Jesus and choose to follow in His footsteps.

The tense of the verb means to make a choice and do it at once. We are called to be subject to God and obey Him in everything.

It is the only way to salvation and the only avenue toward growing in Christ.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

“If you will not submit, your faith is a lie, your hope is a delusion, your prayer is an insult, your peace is presumption, your end will be despair.” - Spurgeon

D.L. Moody said,

“Let God have your life, He can do far more with it than you can.”

Resist

Before we can stand before satan’s onslaughts, we must bow low before God.

We are not called to attack the devil but to resist. This is a picture of a dam that is holding back a torrent of water not by moving but by being immovable.

It’s been said that the devil can wrestle against a Christian but he cannot pin him.

So we submit ourselves to God, we resist the devil and then we are given an invitation and a promise.

Come near

This is a verse that you need to underline, circle, put on an index card and memorize.

When ungodly behavior or worldliness or conflict puts distance between you and God, there is a way back.

He doesn’t just want to save you or forgive you, He wants to be near you.

If you feel distance between you and God, remember, God hasn’t moved, you have. Come home.

Once we have drawn near to God and are in the presence of His holiness, we will realize just how sinful we really are.

Wash/Purify

James calls sinners to wash their hands of their sinful actions.

He then calls us to purify our hearts of our sinful attitudes.

This is a call to repentance.

Repentance is a change of heart that leads to a change of direction.

In the very first Gospel sermon, Peter proclaimed,

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

If you are a thousand miles away from God, how many steps back is it? Just one!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)