I’ve never remodeled a house but I have remodeled a church. Ten years ago I served as Minister of Music at my parents’ church in Louisiana. While I was there, we were in the process of relocating to another church facility owned by the congregation. Phase One of the building project involved demolishing about twenty feet of the existing education wing to make room for a new 350-seat worship center and five room preschool suite. Since Dad was chairman of the building committee, he and I headed over one Saturday to begin the work. We had one main tool: a sledge hammer. With the sledge in my hand and passion in my eye I asked, “Where do I start?” “Anywhere.” Dad said, “All of these walls need to come out.” “O.K.” Wham! . . . I think I had the most fun that day, partly because the building project was underway and partly because it’s just a manly thing to tear stuff up!
Before we could construct we had to destruct. The new facility would not fit on the lot if we didn’t tear off that twenty feet. Neither could any remodeling take place without the old being torn away.
The same is true in making over our families. To makeover your home, you have to destruct before you can construct.
That’s where we are in our series “Home Makeover for Families.” Last week we realized the need for the makeover. We saw how the Christian family is in trouble today and how the breakdown of the home is wreaking havoc in our church, community, and society. There is a dire need for righteous families. Last week, we realized that there is a need for change out there, but I also emphasized that there is a need for change in here (church) and in here (individually). I hope you have realized that one of the first things needed in making over your family is for you to allow God to makeover you. Remember, it takes the hard work of everyone in the family to build a righteous home.
But where do we go from here? We know there’s a need. But what’s the next step?
Well, it’s time to begin the process of making over our families. Phase One of that process is destruction. Today we’ll start the process of gutting our homes of their problems, many, if not all, of which are related to sin.
In James 4, James calls us to a right relationship with God. This right relationship allows God to do amazing work within us, thus completely revolutionizing our life and our relationships. James makes a “massive call to emergency action in relationship to God” because he sees the seriousness of sin. It is an emergency call we need in our homes. Consider verses 7-10, “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.”
To makeover your home you have to destruct before you can construct. It is imperative that you do so. If you do not tear out the old, there will be no room for the new. If you do not get rid of the old, the new will not look very good.
Because the destruction is imperative, James uses ten imperatives in just four verses. As we encounter each of these imperatives, we discover how to gut our house so God can begin His work of renewal. In this passage, I see at least four ways to gut our homes.
The first way to gut your home is through submission to God and resistance of the devil (v. 7).
Much of the reason homes are in crisis today is due to the fact that the family members are focused on themselves. They are focused on their own desires, wishes, and dreams and not on those of anyone else. Truly, that attitude must be ripped out of the home. Instead of submitting to their desires, family members need to submit to God. “Submit yourselves to God,” James says.
The word “submit” in the Greek is a compound word that consists of a preposition meaning “under” and a verb meaning “to place.” So submit means “to place under.” The picture is a military one. If we want to change our families, we must put them and ourselves under something – or someone. And that someone is God.
The other side of submission to God is resistance of the devil. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The word resist continues the military metaphor. The word is another compound of a verb, “to stand,” and a preposition, “against.” So resist means “to stand against.” “The picture is of a believer submitting to the orders of the Lord and standing against the devil.” The devil has no power over you other than making evil attractive. The choice to yield or resist evil belongs to you.
When you submit to God, he empowers you to resist the devil. Though the devil is strong, God is stronger. Though the devil is strong, you, empowered by God, are stronger. Satan knows this; and he will flee in panic from all who submit themselves to God. Do you want to experience victory in your family? Then submit to God wholeheartedly and you won’t even have to worry about knocking the devil out of the way. He’ll run away screaming!
In the presence of Jehovah, God Almighty, Prince of Peace! Troubles vanish, hearts are mended, in the presence of the King.
How do we submit to God? I think we get a hint at the method in the second way to gut our homes.
The second way to gut your home is through closeness to God in worship (v. 8).
In order to submit to God, you have to come close to God. You have to hear from God. You have to obey God. The way you do all of that is worship. We’re not talking about a worship service. We’re talking about a face to face encounter with Almighty God.
Sin creates distance between you and God. Of course, the fault is not with God, He hasn’t moved. The fault is with you. The root of all sin is selfishness. Sin has a big “I” in the middle of it. Our families are crumbling because me has become more important than we. And that attitude shift has allowed sin to creep in. “I’m not happy.” “This isn’t what I want.” “I need this.” Me has become more important than we. So how do we fix this?
James commands us to fix this by drawing near to God. The word translated “draw near” was used of the Old Testament priests’ privilege of access to God. Out of all of Israel, only the priests had access to God. Thankfully, that was the Old Testament, and we’re on the other side of the New Testament – the side after Jesus brought man and God back together. Through Christ, we can all be priests and have direct access to God. In fact, the Bible says we can come boldly into the presence of God and find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.
Before Christ, only priests had access to God. For the common person wanting to talk to God, it was like going through a series of secretaries but never getting to talk to the person you wanted to talk to. But after Christ, God knows us individually. Now there is only one mediator between us and him – Jesus Christ. Through Christ we have direct access to the Father. When we pray in Jesus’ name we get the direct line to God and we hear, “Hello, my child.” What a privilege!
It is this great privilege of access that James taps into here. James tells us to draw near to God, to enjoy that privilege, and God will draw near to us.
There’s something interesting that happens when you draw near to God. The closer you get to God, the more of your sinful self you will see. It’s much like a woman’s make-up mirror. I don’t know if many of you women still use one of those, but I remember my mom’s with the lights all around the magnifying mirror. Talk about getting up close and personal! Sometimes I would sit at that mirror to check something and think, “Look at the size of that zit! Has that mole always been there? That scar is much worse than I thought!” Being near to God is like being near that mirror. He is so brilliant and perfect that every one of our sins shows up.
Therefore, as we draw near to God and He draws near to us, we realize we need spiritual cleansing. James commands us, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Purification is needed! James’ idea of purification is two-fold: “washing your hands” and “purifying your heart.” “Hands” symbolizes the external act of wrongdoing. Everyone sees what our hands do, and everyone can see if our hands are dirty. They are external. Therefore, we need to clean them. But James also says, “Purify your hearts.” “Hearts” symbolizes the inward part of the person. Not everyone can see the thoughts and deeds in our hearts. Nevertheless, God can. Therefore, we need to be cleansed inside and out.
James uses two terms to describe those of us who need to wash our hands and purify our hearts. “Sinners” refers to those of us who have sought to live life our way rather than God’s way. Are you guilty?
“Men of double mind” refers to those of us who wish to follow Christ and be good Christians, yet are not willing to give up our selfish desires. They have a double-mind because they want to serve both God and the world. Are you guilty?
I think so. We all are guilty at one time or another in one way or another. If you want to gut your house, you need to come close to God in worship. When that happens, you see the things that need to be gutted out, washed and purified away.
Jesus, draw me close. Closer, Lord, to you. Let the world around me fade away. For I desire to worship and obey.
Give us clean hands. Give us pure hearts. Let us not lift our souls to another. God, let us be a generation that seeks your face.
The third way to gut your house is through Godly sorrow (v. 9).
What should we do when we are confronted with our sin? James makes it clear in this list of four imperatives. Our sin is serious, and God is displeased. We need to see the seriousness of our situation, the dire straights that we are in.
We must have godly sorrow. According to James, that involves three things. First, it involves grieving. Grief is a difficult process. When we realize our sin, it should cause some hardship and distress in our souls.
The second action godly sorrow involves is mourning. “The word describes the wretchedness one feels when confronted with his or her sin. Laughter has to depart for a while when sin is confronted. There are those moments where we should not feel like laughing. Sin and our repentance of it is a serious matter. The joy and laughter returns when the forgiveness is granted.”
The third action godly sorrow brings is weeping. It is a crying over our sin and shame. “How could I let it get like this?” is our question as we shake our heads and cry. You don’t have to shed tears to be truly repentant, but nearly all of us cry in our own way when we know we’ve messed up, realize we’ve been caught, and wish we had never done what we did.
Godly sorrow results when we confront the reality of sin. Upon seeing our self-centeredness, we have great sorrow. The realization comes that selfishness hurts God and disrupts our abundant life in Him. What we think is the good life of selfishness is really only a shadow of all that God wants to give us. Only when we have experienced godly sorrow over our sin can we enjoy the laughter of the kingdom of God. Only when we have experienced godly sorrow over the state of our families and our part in the state of our families, can we experience the joy of having a righteous family.
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
The fourth way to gut your house is through humility before God (v. 10).
To be humble means that we realize who we are and who God is. “It means to acknowledge God’s right to command and order our lives. It describes a willingness to submit the human will to the divine will. The humble person has a great respect and concern for others and is willing to help people without seeking prominence or deferring to others for their favor.”
Humbling ourselves before God and submitting to God’s rule has a great benefit. James says, “God will exalt you.” Hang on a second! By submitting and being humble I will be exalted? That’s not how it is! You’ve got to fight for your place; pick yourself up by your bootstraps, take charge of your life, make your own path – right? Wrong. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” The biblical teaching is this: being submissive to God leads to great spiritual blessings.
The picture James portrays is of a person falling prostrate before a monarch, begging for mercy. “The monarch leans from the throne and lifts the petitioner’s face from the ground. The person rises with great joy, knowing he or she is forgiven.” What a picture and what a promise! How interesting it is that real exaltation and emancipation for humans comes only after and through humility and submission to God!
We bow our hearts, we bend our knees. O Spirit, come make us humble. We turn our eyes from evil things. O Lord, we cast down our idols. Give us clean hands, give us pure hearts. Let us not lift our souls to another. Let us be a generation that seeks your face.
Is that what you desire? Do you desirer to makeover your generation? No matter the course of your family in the past, you can change the course. It won’t be easy, but you can break the cycle. Follow these principles from James and start gutting your house today. Do it, and you will see something happen.
You see, though there are ten imperatives in this passage, there are also three very important, very big promises. We’ve already mentioned them, but I want to highlight them. I think you’ll agree, these promises are worth the hard work of gutting your house and will lead to magnificent construction.
Once you gut the house God promises that:
1. The devil will flee.
2. That He will draw near.
3. That He will restore you.
Do you want that? I hope so.
