"REMOVE YOUR HAT!!!”
- James 4:8 -
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
Yours truly was blessed to have some time off between Christmas and New Years. A well needed break…amen. So, how better a time to give myself a spiritual check up. There was a lot of successes in 2002, thanks be to God. But as always when you ask God how you are doing…He’ll tell you if…if you’re serious in your asking. In short, there’s plenty of room for improvement. So, I must get busy in seeking the face of the Father. His will, not mine. His way, not mine. Spend more time in prayer. More time in the Word. And of course, it’s not about me, it’s about HIM. And oh yes…”OTHERS”.
During my time off, by divine appointment my lovely wife just happened to set a book entitled “Rees Howells” Intercessor by my chair. In a word the book pushed my “better be about the Father’s business button”. So, guess what??? He has ask/told me to through the Holy Ghost to push yours. Let’s both say ouch together!!! Mr. Howells purpose in life was to get closer to the Lord…period. His passion was to be what God had planned for his life. To be about the Fathers business. To not be satisfied with any thing less. And Rees knew that to get closer took sacrifice. It took getting “me” out of the way. God, my friend knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we need more than we know what we need as well. Our heart is our message center, and God knows that best too. Sacrifice…sounds like death…yep, you got it!!! A death to self. To get closer, to draw nearer, that’s my goal, how about you??? Rees Howells sought God intensely for that closer walk. He said, God I’ll do anything to get there. He meant it, so God told him what he needed to do. Back at the turn of the century, in London, it was normal and for the fact of the matter for men to wear a hat. So much so that if you didn’t you were considered a low life (in today’s terms). Not part of the “high society”. And you guessed it, God told him to not wear his hat. Oh my, what would friends and family think??? Pleasing man or pleasing God. Isn’t that really the issue nearly all the time…I thought you’d agree??? It wasn’t easy, but Rees obeyed the Word of the Lord, and removed his hat. To be dead to the influence of man. In fact the Holy Ghost said not to preach being dead to the world if he didn’t have victory over it. And you guessed it, the scoffers came out of the woodwork, both family and friend. They just didn’t understand…they never do. Thought he went off the deep end, they always do. It just about killed him…but he realized that was the point to kill the flesh so the spirit man would be alive unto God. So, victory came for Mr. Howells. God now took him farther than ever before. Being used of God beyond his wildest dreams. And not being yet satisfied, Rees sought God harder, so God got serious with him. More sacrifices, more steps of obedience, but my, the more sweet and rewarding the victories. Rees was in the way of a closer walk. I’m in the way of a closer walk.
Let’s dig into our main verse the Lord has given us. (James 4:8) "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” approach, come near, to join one thing to another. Friend, draw near to God. Approach the Father, He so desires your fellowship…after all He created you for Himself to enjoy…amen. Then He will see your intent in wanting to get closer and He as the gentleman He is will come near to you. Not barge in…only when He is desired and welcomed.
• “Cleanse” to make clean, stains and dirt, to free from defilement of sin and from faults, to purify from wickedness, to free from guilt of sin, to purify, to consecrate by cleansing or purifying, dedicate. Quite obvious. God is pure and holy. He expects us to be. Wash ourselves with the Word. With consecration and dedication. In other words…make up your mind friend to do what you know to do.
• “hand” the hand symbolizes power, control, in our hands lies power and control. Have we done most of our decision making in our own power or have we included the Lord. Cleanse that, change that. Make your hands pure and holy for His use, His control. We think we have to control our situations, our circumstances, while all the while we need to give them over to the Almighty…amen.
• “ye sinners” not free from sin (still stuck), missing the mark, not where you need to be, not totally free from something that keeps you from blessings. Simply if we are away from God there must be a reason for this separation. And that separation has always and always will be sin. Draw near and He will fix everything.
• “purify” to cleanse from pollution by prayers, abstinence, sacrifices. Things we have to do…I said have to do to again get close to God so He will move on our behalf.
• “hearts” that organ in the animal body which is the centre of the circulation of the blood, and hence was regarded as the seat, of physical life, denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life, the vigor and sense of physical life, the centre and seat of spiritual life, the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the, thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors, of the understanding, the faculty and seat of the, intelligence, of the will and character, of the soul so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions, of the middle or central or inmost part of anything.
• “double minded” wavering, uncertain, doubting, divided in interest. I’ve found myself here way too many times, how about you friend??? Wavering, not certain want to do, to obey, disobey, go, stay, you know what I mean. Doubting the voice of God. Doubting the abilities and talents He’s provided. Doubting the call upon my life, my purpose, destiny, His plan for me and mine. Not settled in direction, not confident, on and on.
Look at the previous verses to see where the early church was and what the Holy Ghost had James’ pen, “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. 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? 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”. According to Matthew Henry “Christians should forsake the friendship of the world, and watch against that envy and pride which they see prevailing in natural men, and should by grace learn to glory in their submissions to God. "Submit yourselves to Him as subjects to their prince, in duty, and as one friend to another, in love and interest. Submit your understandings to the truths of God; submit your wills to the will of God, the will of his precept, the will of his providence.’’ We are subjects, and as such must be submissive; not only through fear, but through love; not only for wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. "Submit yourselves to God, as considering how many ways you are bound to this, and as considering what advantage you will gain by it; for God will not hurt you by his dominion over you, but will do you good.’’ Now, as this subjection and submission to God are what the devil most industriously strives to hinder, so we ought with great care and steadiness to resist his suggestions. If he would represent a tame yielding to the will and providence of God as what will bring calamities, and expose to contempt and misery, we must resist these suggestions of fear. If he would represent submission to God as a hindrance to our outward ease, or worldly preferments, we must resist these suggestions of pride and sloth. If he would tempt us to lay any of our miseries, and crosses, and afflictions, to the charge of Providence, so that we might avoid them by following his directions instead of God’s, we must resist these provocations to anger, not fretting ourselves in any wise to do evil. "Let not the devil, in these or the like attempts, prevail upon you; but resist him and he will flee from you.’’ If we basely yield to temptations, the devil will continually follow us; but if we put on the whole armor of God, and stand it out against him, he will be gone from us. Resolution (a made up mind) shuts and bolts the door against temptation”. For more from Mr. Henry a bonus on verse 8. The heart that has rebelled must be brought to the foot of God; the spirit that was distant and estranged from a life of communion and converse with God must become acquainted with him: "Draw nigh to God, in his worship and institutions, and in every duty he requires of you.’’ 2. Cleanse your hands. He who comes unto God must have clean hands. Paul therefore directs to lift up holy hands without wrath and doubting (1 Tim. 2:8), hands free from blood, and bribes, and every thing that is unjust or cruel, and free from every defilement of sin: he is not subject to God who is a servant of sin. The hands must be cleansed by faith, repentance, and reformation or it will be in vain for us to draw nigh to God in prayer, or in any of the exercises of devotion. 3. The hearts of the double-minded must be purified. Those who halt between God and the world are here meant by the double-minded. To purify the heart is to be sincere, and to act upon this single aim and principle, rather to please God than to seek after any thing in this world: hypocrisy is heart-impurity; but those who submit themselves to God aright will purify their hearts as well as cleanse their hand.
Our Mr. Rees Howells did James 4: 8. Cleanse our hands, purify our hearts, and be single focused in our minds. He took off those in the way “HATS” that are covering up the way to a deeper walk with Jesus. Pride seems to be the major hindrance to the “closer walk”. The Word of God has a lot to say about pride. As well it contain many an example of men and women whose pride took them down, that took them short of God’s best for their lives. Look at this list:
• (Psalm 10:4) The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
• (Psalms 36:11) Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
• (Psalms 73:6) Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.
• (Prov. 8:13) The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
• (Prov. 11:2) When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
• (Prov. 14:3) In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
• (Prov. 16:18) Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
• (Prov. 29:23) A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
• (Dan. 5:20) But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
• (Hosea 5:5) And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity: Judah also shall fall with them.
• (Obediah 1:3) The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
• (Zep. 3:11) In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.
• (I Tim. 3:6) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
Clearly pride is a problem for us and a problem with the Lord. Many a person and many a nation, country or city had problem with pride. And those who didn’t deal with it…fell. Bible hats that had to go before breakthrough Peter: Hat of not really knowing yourself, how you will react to situations, Paul’s hat of tradition and pedigree. Judas with the mighty dollar never did remove that ugly hat. A commitment, a separation has to take place for breakthrough in getting close to God. With it, get no where with God. Without it go as far as you desire with God. Let’s face it friend, pride is sin. So, let us do as the Word says: (Heb. 12:1b) “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” Lay down, never to pick up again (unless led to do so by the Lord), that weight, anything that is hindering you, a burden, pressures, stress city, circumstances, fears, worries, or obstacles. Carrying around stuff that you don’t need to. Things that weigh you down. Makes you less affective. Webster’s says: anything that blocks progress. And sin, that sin which separates you with God and His presence. .Now you can run like crazy for God and His will and destiny He has for you that He has set for you…amen.
What hats do you need to remove friend…pride, lusts of the flesh, lust of the eyes, lazy, what people will think or say, disobedience, delay, submitting to God’s will or His ways for you. You know you want more. You are as I am not a bit satisfied with where I am…knowing full well where I could and should be. You know what is in the way. Remove your hat, it will get you closer to an Almighty God who loves you and wants you more than you want Him. Let’s go together, without that hat and with our Great God…amen and amen.
In closing let us pray for you my friend. Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading c42day, right now. Lord, let this message penetrate their hearts and realize that you have a plan a destiny for their life. Challenge them by your Spirit. Give them faith to believe in who they are in YOU. It’s my and I know your desire Lord that they have been challenged to change their life. For sure they have been challenged2Bchanged. In Jesus Name...Amen
God Bless,
Mike & Carole
