cleanse your hands ye sinners and purify your hearts ye double minded be afflicted and mourn and weep and let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness humble yourselves on the side of the Lord and he shall lift you up speak not evil one of another brethren he that speaketh evil of his brother and judges his brother speaketh evil of the law and judges the law but if thou judge the law Thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. Would you read verse 8 aloud with me? Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Lord, we love you, and we thank you so much for the opportunity to be in your house today. I think of the first part of this verse, draw nigh to God, and He'll draw nigh to you. The opportunity to come together as the people of God, the family of God, and draw nigh to our God, and what a wonderful privilege it is this morning. where we've already drawn near to you in the music and the way we've praised you and lifted you up. We've drawn nigh to you, Lord, as we've given, as you've given to us. And Lord, now we ask that you would draw us nigh to you as your word is delivered, as we look to the scripture that you gave us, that you would feed us from your word or that your presence would do a work in our heart and life today. We love you. And we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. Draw nigh to God. He'll draw nigh to you. This verse has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now and almost planned on preaching this this evening. Our theme this month, our theme for the year is greater, a greater God and theme for this month is let us therefore come boldly into the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, a greater access, the privilege of going before the Lord. This verse calls us to do something, draw nigh to him. As a thought about the Lord's Supper that we'll have tonight as we come together this evening to that second ordinance of the church, two ordinances of the church are given. One is baptism, when someone comes to know Christ as their Savior, that first step of obedience, that identification with the Lord through baptism that lifts up what He did for us at Calvary, the death, burial, and the resurrection of the Lord. And then that second ordinance the Lord has given to us, the Lord's Supper. He gave us the example of that when He, with His disciples, would practice that Passover Supper, that Last Supper there in the upper room, and then we'd see it commanded in Scripture in 1 Corinthians 11. I think about the Lord's Supper, I think about this matter of just drawing nigh to God. Someone asked me how long I've known Brother Calvin. I don't know. It's been probably 12, maybe longer than that years. But in the course, we've seen each other here and there, but there's a space of time in which you don't see each other. And then you see one another, and you try to pick back up where you left off, right? Try to get to, hey, what's been going on in your life? And social media makes that a little bit easier. I'm not as big on social media as maybe I should be sometimes, but not where I like to spend a whole lot of time. But you get to draw nigh to someone again. I think of the day that I was saved. I hope you've got a day that you draw and you knew that you were a sinner, and you put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have that date, there was a date to as many as received Him, to them give you the power to become the sons of God. There was a day when you became His child, when you had a relationship that began with Him as a result of what took place at Calvary. But if we're honest, there's been time when we may have the relationship, but the fellowship's not as strong as it should be. That closeness with God is not what it should be. That fellowship is not what it ought to be. That relationship is rock-solid and unbreakable. Anybody with any kind of relationship with anybody knows what it's like to have a distant, developing relationship. You know, you can be in the same house with someone and still be distant, can't you? You can be sitting at the same table with someone, eating the same meal, and still be distant from one another, can't you? And this chapter gives us a call. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. First thing I want you to notice about it is just the privilege of it. I think sometimes we read over this verse way too quickly. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Draw nigh to who? God. It isn't draw nigh to your son, draw nigh to your daughter, draw nigh to your spouse, draw nigh to your friend, draw nigh to your parents, but draw nigh to whoever you want to be. And it may be a wonderful and privileged relationship. This is draw nigh to God. The incredible truth that you and I can be near God. This is the one who in the beginning said, let there be light, there was light. This is the one who, through the speaking of a few words, formed this world. This is the one who said, let there be and there was. This is the one who angels before the throne of God cry out, holy, holy, holy. This is the one the heavens declare the glory of God. If you take some time, I mentioned it earlier this morning, but if you take some time at night here and I go out in my backyard, it's not too big, all right, and surrounded by trees in my neighbor's yard, and I don't have many trees in my yard, but all their leaves still fall on mine, right, okay? But it's surrounded, and I kind of appreciate the trees, to be honest, I appreciate the shade, but at night, if you look up, you've got a small thing to look through, and because of the lights of the city, you don't see too many of the stars. But two weeks ago, I was up with the McDonald's, and they're in Lake City, Illinois, and I don't even know why city is in the name, but it's in the middle. It's not far from Decatur, but it's in the middle of the country, and you look one way, and you see several miles of field, and you look the other side, see several miles of field, and because of the time of the year, it's just turned up dirt right now. But one of the things that's about it is that when it gets dark, right, when it gets dark, the sky is big. Now it's just as big as it's always been, but you see a whole lot more of it, right? You look up and you can see the stars. The heavens declare the glory of God. I think what the Bible would say in Isaiah 40 verses 12 through 15, who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, God could measure it out. He had meted out the heavens with a span, a span is that distance right there. And it comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, it's just he measured it out. And weighed the mountains in a scale, and the hills in a balance. Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor, hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and whom instructed him, and taught him in the paths of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are as counted as the small dust of the balance. Behold, he taketh up the aisles as a very little thing." Our God. measured the heavens in a span, measured out the dust of the earth like it was a measuring stick. Yesterday, Audrey made this wonderful bread. What's that bread called? Amish cinnamon bread? I don't know why it's called Amish, but it's cinnamon bread, but it's Amish cinnamon bread. She's not Amish, she made it, so it's Audrey's cinnamon bread, all right? And she is awesome, right? And she's trying to be careful what I eat, and she brings me this piece of that bread with cream cheese on it, and I'm looking at that thing, I'm like, that's my downfall right now, right? And it was good. I thought it was good, During the night, Charger thought it was really good, too. And he got up on the counter and ate two loaves of that bread. And I've been praying for him to go into glory since then. He ate that bread. And I think Audrey has, too. Is he still alive, Audrey? Oh, he is. OK, she didn't deal with him. All right. But he ate those two. It's good stuff. But in it, she measured out the ingredients, just measured it out so simply. And put it in there. God measured this world out. He measured out, he measured it out perfectly and incredibly, but he measured it out. And when he made it all, friend, he doesn't just see the crowd of the universe, he sees the individual. He said he knows the very number of the hairs of our head. And when that fellowship was broken by sin in the garden, he made a way that we might, that relationship might be restored. And he sent his son to die on a cross and to rise again, that you and I might be saved. The privilege. In the book of John chapter 2, I won't reread it for the sake of time, but the Lord goes up to the temple and when he shows up in the temple, he finds some money changers cheating the people as they came up to worship God. The Bible said the zeal of his house had eaten him up. And you know what the zeal of God's house was. He loved the temple. Why? Because it was the place where God was to dwell among his people. It had been that way since the Old Testament tabernacle. This was the place where God would come down among his people. And here some folks are getting in the way of God's people coming to meet with God. And the zeal of his house ate him up and he made himself a scourge and he ran him out. And then he would talk about how in three days he would destroy the temple. And he wasn't talking about that temple there, although it would one day be destroyed. He was talking about the temple of his body, that he was going to lay down his life so that you and I might once again know him. The privilege. of his nearness, that you and I can know what it is to know God. We can know his presence and his working in our life. Not only the privilege of his nearness, but notice this, the promise of his nearness. Look at that verse. Draw an eye to God and he will what? Now, he didn't say draw an eye to God and maybe if he feels like it or if you hope so, he'll draw an eye to you, did he? He didn't say, draw an eye to God and if He likes you, He'll draw an eye to you. He didn't say, draw an eye to God and maybe if He's in the mood that day, maybe He'll draw an eye to you. No, He gave us a commitment, He gave us a promise. This is God saying, you draw an eye to me and I will draw an eye to you. It is a promise. It is not only a privilege to draw near to God, but God gives us this incredible promise that if we take the step to move near to God, God will move near to us. Now, he's not talking about salvation. Salvation is God reaching out for us, and us in return by faith reaching back to God. But he's talking about the Christian who has this established relationship with God, these scattered group of believers that he mentions here in James chapter one, and you and I that are still around. He said, draw nigh to God, and he will, Draw nigh to you. Proverbs 8, 17 says, I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me. Jeremiah 20, 13 says, And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Can I tell you, when we feel a distance from God, it is never God's fault. It is a promise. And He demonstrates His commitment to that promise by leaving the throne of heaven and taking upon Him the form of a servant, and being born in a little town in Bethlehem, in a little manger, a little cave more than likely, and born to a carpenter's family, and growing up and walking on this dirty, sin-cursed earth, and walking upon it for 30 years, and entering into the ministry, and proving to people who he was as he showed his power over sin, as he forgave sin, his power over demons as he cast them out, and proving his power over disease as he would cleanse the leper, and proving his power over nature as he would say, peace be still, and it became still. And yet he would lay down his life at Calvary. and die, and say the words, it is finished, and give up the ghost. Why? So that you and I could draw nigh to him. Friend, you wanna know how much God wants to be near you as he left heaven? For you. Draw nigh. The privilege of it, but the promise of it. Some might say, I think God's given up on me. Friend, if you're still here, he hasn't given up on you. It's been too long, I'm too far away. No friend, he said draw nigh to me and I'll draw nigh to you. You don't know what I've done in my life. No friend, he said draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to you. It is his commitment, it is his word, it is his promise. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. The promise of God. I think of the power of his nearness. You ever think about what God does when we come into his presence? Let me read you these verses in John 14, 26-27. You ever know God's peace as you come into His presence? Hey, turmoil in the world, but peace in your heart. Your world upside down, but the Comforter is close. There is a closeness, a comfort that only God can provide. You know, there's a level of comfort that people can provide by being close to you and near. Sometimes you just have to be there for somebody. It's not even about what you say, it's just about your presence, right? But even that can only go so far, can't it? But God, but God, the comfort of God in your life, How about the strength of God? Paul would say this in 2 Corinthians 12, 7-10, familiar verses. And lest I should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the revelation there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I have sought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in mine infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and necessities and persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong. The strength of God in our life. The nearness of God as we draw near to him that can strengthen us. Those times when he said, I won't remove the burden or the trial from you, but my grace is sufficient for thee. I'll draw you near, I'll strengthen you, I'll carry you along, and I'll help you, and I'll aid you, and I'll strengthen you. And when those infirmities come, when those weaknesses are there, I just want you to know I am near. I am near. How about Psalms, the Psalm we know so very well in Psalms 23, 1 through 6? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Sounds like his nearness, doesn't it? Sounds like His nearness, the strengthening hand of God that leads us by those still waters. Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we'll fear no evil, for thou art with me. The presence of God in our life. Draw an eye to God and He'll draw an eye to you. And He reminds us of this. This is a privilege. It is a promise. And when you know it, there is a power that comes into your life. How about the fruitfulness of the Spirit in your life? Galatians 5, 22-23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no what? Law. The joy of the Lord, the peace of God, the love of God, the gentleness, the temperance, that that spirit controlled, self-controlled life, that goodness, that faith, that meekness, those fruits of the spirit that come in the presence of God. You know, joy and peace and temperance and all those things are not products of a circumstance. They're products of God. You want something lasting, God can give them to you. even when all the circumstances around you say not so. The fruitfulness of God. I will tell you this, whether you will know peace or joy or love or goodness or gentleness or temperance or faith or meekness, won't be determined upon the circumstances of life, they'll be determined by your nearness to God. By your nearness to God. They are fruits of the Spirit. And he said in his word, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. It is his promise. How about the increase of souls and work in our life and service for God? I love John 15, four through eight. Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. No more can ye except that ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth Much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing. 1 Corinthians 3, 7-9 says, So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are labors together with God, we are God's husbandry, we are God's building. You ever enter into labor with the Lord, abiding in him? The Lord would look at his disciples and he would say, follow me and I will make thee what? fishers of men. We water, we plant, we labor, but who gives an increase? God gives the increase. You want to be used, parent, to see your young ones come to know Christ? Draw an eye to God. You want to be used to see them draw and grow up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord? Draw an eye to God. You want to be used to help point some lost soul to a Savior? Draw an eye to God. You can water, you can plant, but God gives the increase. You wanna be a fisherman, you wanna learn how to reach souls, here's step number one, draw nigh to God. Friend, when you're near Him and you know the fruit of the Spirit, the joy of the Lord, the comfort of God, the strength of God, it is hard not to speak of Him. It is hard not to speak of Him. Draw nigh to God. There's a call, the promise of it. The power of it, that God does a work in our heart and in our life. Look at this last one, I'll be done the practice of his nearness, the practice of his nearness. Friend, if it is a privilege and it's been promised to us and the power of it, I tell you what, I look at the things that happen when a man grows near to God and I think I don't want to be far from him at all. I don't wanna be distant from God. I don't wanna be distant from my creator. I don't wanna be distant from my savior. I don't wanna be distant from the one who's done so much for me. So how do we draw near to God? Look at verse one and two. From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence even of your lust that ye 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 what? Ask not. Seek him. Give attention to him. Isn't that what he's saying? Pay attention to me. He said, you're fighting, you're warring, you're striving, you're living, you're scratching, you're clawing, but you have not because you ask not. You have not because you have not sought me. You have to pay attention to God, right? I hope you plan to come here today to pay attention to God. You didn't come here today so someone could grab a hold of you. Now I grew up in church, you know they drag you to your church. Parents do that, right? Some may be here because someone grabbed you and hauled you in here, but I hope you're not here for that reason. I hope you're here because you wanted to corporately, with the people of God, draw nigh to Him. And I don't know about you, but between Tuesday and today, I know how much I need today, right? Draw nigh to God. Give attendance to God. How about your walk with God? Today, we draw close corporately, but this morning, about five o'clock, when my alarm went off, and I had that cup of coffee that's gotta be had first, right? And I had that cup of coffee, and I sit down. I have an opportunity to draw nigh to God individually, to spend time with him in his word and on my knees in prayer, to draw nigh to him today, give attendance to the Lord. You know, friend, I'll tell you something. You can't draw night to someone you're not paying any attention to. That's just fact. You want to draw near to someone, you want to be close to somebody, then, friend, you've got to look for him. If you want to get near to your spouse, you're going to have to spend time with them. This last Saturday, my wife and I, or this last, this Friday night, right, we had a date, right? She says it doesn't qualify as a date. Look, if I open her door and I buy her something, all right, and we go somewhere just her and I, it qualifies as a date, all right? And at least now, yeah, all the ladies are like, no, it doesn't, all right? Okay, she bought something off Facebook Marketplace. You know it's bad when you gotta go meet somebody in a public space to buy something, because, you know, who knows what's gonna happen, right? So we did, we met out at the mall, she met something, it's a good thing, we paid 60 bucks for it, I'm sure it'll be good, all right? And we went and got it, but it was just her and I, so I was like, hey, Let's turn this into a date, right? I open a door for her, and I bought her ice cream afterwards, right? And no, no, that doesn't really count. I know it, all right? But if you want to be near to someone, you spend time with them, right? You remember when you asked your spouse out for the first time? Why? You gotta get to know them, right? Wrote them a letter, spent time on the phone, spent time around their family, got to know the folks who know them. You drew near to them. You had to know them. And I will tell you this, if you want to be near God, You must draw nigh to him. There is no negligently, aimlessly wandering through life and expecting to be near him. There is no not setting appointments, not spending time in prayer, not spending time in his word, and expecting to be near him. If you will be near him, you must give attendance to him. You must. You must make it a point of your life. You must make him preeminent. You must make him the point of it all. You must spend time with God. You must set that appointment in the morning. You must be sensitive leading to his day. You must remember how the scripture would call us to meditate on his word. You ever grab a hold of a scripture as you read your Bible and then the rest of the day you just thought about what it was and what it meant and how it applied to your life and you meditated upon the word and You went through the day seeking to know God. You must draw nigh to God. And some people wonder why they are not close to God, why they do not see His Spirit, His fruit of the Spirit in their life, why they don't find His comfort, and they think God must have given up on doing what He promised. No, friend. We just haven't drawn nigh. Draw nigh. Give attendance to Him. Separate unto Him. Look at these verses in 3. These are some pretty clear-cut verses. You ask and have not because you ask amiss. He said, now some of you have sought me, but you've missed it. He said, here's how you've missed it, that you may consume it upon your what? Honestly, you just wanted something from me, for yourself. And he said, here's where you really went wrong. You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Why do you call them adulterers and adulteresses? You know what the Bible calls the Christ, the church, the bride of who? And look at what he continues with. He says, You know what? When you think of friendship, you think of affiliation and affection, don't you? I mean, if you're a friend with someone, that means you're affiliated with them. They're your friend. This is my friend. This is who they are. This is my friend. And it speaks of affection. You say, I love them. I care about them. They're my friend. And what he's saying here is what he's saying in this verse is he says, you're not separated unto me. I saved your soul. I made you a part of the bride of Christ. Yet instead, you've gone after friendship with the world. You're in pursuit of the world, being a friend of the world and infinity with the world and affection with the world. And you're cheating on me. The adulterer and adulteress says, you've cheated on me. I saved your soul. I purchased you. I made you the bride of Christ. And yet you walked out on me. You bought the world's philosophies and the world's goods. You pursued the lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. You know, friend, God didn't call us out of the world. There's coming a day when He's calling us out, okay? And by this I mean this. There's coming a day when you're going to hear the trumpet sound. I was talking to Brother Gene about playing and I said, it'd be pretty cool if we were here on Sunday morning in church and you blew that trumpet and God blew His at the same time and we're all out of here, right? But he said, you know, I'm thinking one day I need to get up in that sound booth when nobody's paying attention and turn the mic on and turn it on full blast and blow that trumpet and see what everybody does. It's like, well, we may not be raptured out of here, but we won't die on the spot, right? You know, if something like that happens, right? There's coming a day when God's rapturing us out of here. But in the meantime, in the meantime, God's left us in this world. Matter of fact, in John chapter 17, when he prayed for us, he said, Lord, I'm not praying that you take them out of this world, but that you keep them from evil. He said, I don't want them out. I want them going into their workplaces, into the world. But while they're here, Lord, what I don't want them to do is to become like the world. I want them to remember something. They're a sojourner. They're a pilgrim passing through. They don't live off for the world's things or for the world's accumulations or the accolades of the world, but they remember they're my child to as many as received into them, gave you the power to become the sons of God. They love me above all else, they serve me above all else, and they use the things of this world for the things that matter for an eternity. They're not so wrapped up in the world that all their joy comes from the world, but they remember they belong to me. They belong to me. Can I tell you something? Separate yourself under the Lord. Separate yourself to the Lord. Remember something, you belong to Him. And if we're not careful, we get so wrapped up in this world that we get distant from our God. We start living for the things that only matter temporarily. We start getting caught up for its accolades, for its accomplishments, for what we can get out of it, for the things of life we can acquire, and it's not long before our friendship with this world has put distance between us and God. You've been separated unto Me. You're not a friend with the world. You're a child of God. You're a child of God. You belong to Him. Get caught up with the things of God. Practicing His nearness means to seek Him, to separate unto Him. How about this one? Submit to Him. Look at verses 6 and 7. But He giveth more grace, wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the who? Humble, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Now verse 5 says this, do you think that the scripture saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? Now Galatians chapter 5, 16 and 17 says this, for this I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these two are contrary one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would. In other words, there's a battle that's been going on in your heart and in your life since the day that you were saved, right? Boy, there's a part of you that desires to be here, but if you're not careful, you get tired, you get wore out, you do too long, too much last night, and you're like, eh, right? There's a part of you that longs to walk with God and to learn from His Word, but there's a part of you that doesn't want to get up and open up that Bible and spend time in prayer and walk with God. There's a part of you that wants to live to please God, but there's this part of you, this old dead flesh you're dragging around that still longs for the things of the world, and the Bible says this about it. It says, the spirit within us lusted to envy. Brother Calvin mentioned the song, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love, right? However, he makes this statement, but he giveth more grace. Aren't you thankful that in spite of the heart's desire to wander, God is a gracious God? But notice what he continues with, he says this, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will draw nigh to you. Rather than submitting to the flesh and surrendering to the things of this world, submit yourself to who God is and what he said in his word. Resist the devil, humble yourself to his word and his instruction, obey God, and God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace. to the humble. Bring your life in line with God and His Word. I don't have to wonder what God has said, I just have to read what God has said. I don't have to question what He said, I just have to sit under its teaching and its preaching and I'll hear what it has said. I don't have to wonder, but I do have to study and rightly divide the Word of Truth. I don't have to wonder, but I should meditate upon it. And I shouldn't just be a hearer of the Word, but a what? the doer of the word, I should humble myself to what he said in his word. Submit. It's a hard word nobody likes. Growing up, you ever play that game, Mercy? You ever play that game, grab ahold of Mercy? Pastor Adam always lost to me. And, you know, we quit playing that. It always got bigger, all right? But Mercy, nobody wants to say Mercy. It's not in you, right? But when it comes to God, one of the best things you can say is Mercy. Grace, help me God. Let me fall in line with your word. Surrender, submission to your God. Draw nigh to God, friend, and it is a promise. Draw, and he will draw nigh to you. He said, here's the incredible privilege of knowing the God of heaven who sacrificed himself at Calvary. It is a privilege, it is a promise, and the power of when you find it is incredible. The fruit of the spirit, the comfort of God, the strength for Christian living, the strength for serving God and pointing others to the Lord. It's an incredible strength to which many do not know, and some because they have not sought him, some because they have not separated unto him, some because they have not submitted to him, and some because they have not sorrowed over sin. Look at verses 8 and 10, it says, draw an eye to God and he will draw an eye to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, purify ye hearts, ye double-minded. 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. Verse 9 says it's kind of hard to wrap your mind around. What do you mean to be afflicted and to mourn and to weep? My laughter turned to mourning and my joy to heaviness? Yes, what is he talking about? Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded, he would say before. So harkening back to the Old Testament, those Old Testament priests, they'd enter into the priesthood and once as they entered ceremonially, they would bathe completely, a picture of cleansing and separation of the Lord. But daily as they went through their daily duties of the priesthood, they'd cleanse their hands and their feet, right? Those sacrifices, they'd get their hands dirty, that dust they'd walk through their feet would get dirty and they'd cleanse their hands and their feet. What is he saying here in this matter of sin? Friend, when you were saved, when you asked Christ into your heart, God took care of your sins forever, didn't he? Aren't you glad when the Lord sees you, we've been washed in the blood of the Lamb, right? But as we walk through this dirty earth, you ever just get dirty feet, dirty hands? This is a sinful world. And if you're not careful, the sin of the world, you start, that's not that big of a deal, right? And here's the danger of not thinking the sin of the world is that big of a deal. You start thinking the sin in your own life's not that big of a deal. Things that you've acquired and you've accrued and things that you've done wrong, you haven't kept short accounts with God and it's not that big of a deal. And your hands grow dirty and your feet grow dirty and though your soul's been saved, sin is putting a strain on your relationship with your God, your fellowship with God. And what does he say? Cleanse your hands, you sinners, purify your hearts, be afflicted and mourn and weep over your sin. Get right with thy God. He would say this in 2 Corinthians 7, 9-10, Now I rejoice, not that ye have made you sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance, for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow that the world worketh death. This world goes through hard times and it's destruction in the end, but you and I should sorrow over the sin that we've allowed into our life at times. We're not careful, we don't think of sin. We cultivate our own sins and think they're not that big of a deal. We fail to wash our hands and cleanse our feet. We make excuses for where we're at and what we've done and what we've said and what we've thought and what we haven't done and what we haven't said and what we haven't thought in our life and we make excuses for it and our hands grow feet dirty and our feet go dirty and our hearts grow unclean and God says, let your heart be broken over your sinfulness and get right with your God. Keep short accounts with God. Have you let God search your heart lately? I'd challenge you, whether this morning or this afternoon, before we get back for the Lord's Supper, let God search your heart, right? You'll find this. You deal with sin in your life and take God's view of sin, and you deal with it and seek it and confess it, you will find someone, and his name is Jesus, and you'll find his close presence in your life. Draw an eye to God, and he will draw an eye to you. Give attendance to your God. Surrender to your God. Separate yourself from your God. Sorrow over sin in your life. And look at this last one. This one's a harder one. Speak no evil. Look at verse 11. Speak not evil. One of a what? Another brethren, he that speaketh evil of his brother and judges his brother speaketh evil of the law and judges the law. But if thou judge the law, thou are not a doer of the law, but a judge. You know what God says here? Speak not evil. One of one of another brethren, he says, Be careful what you're saying about one another." I won't go into a whole lot in the rest of the verse, but he says, you're no judge. God is judge, His Word is judge, and you are not judge. Speak no, not evil one of another, brethren. You know it is not possible to regard, have a, be not right with one another and still be right with God. At least not from your part, not making things right as best you can from your part. You know the Lord would say in Matthew chapter 5, that if you bring your gift to the altar before your Lord, there remembereth thy brother hath ought against thee. He said, leave there thy gift. Go get right with your brother, then come back and see me. That's pretty harsh language, isn't it? You know what God's saying right here? Friend, if you're speaking evil of someone else, your relationship with me isn't right. That's pretty strong. It doesn't even say, now you may be right. But friend, if you're backbiting and you're stirring up and you've got aught with somebody, guess what? You've got aught with God. Can I remind you this morning, the same one who said, let there be you and you were, also said let there be to the person next to you and there was. The same one who loved you so much that he left the throne of heaven to die on the cross and to rise again that you might be saved, loves the other just as much that he would leave the throne of heaven, die on the cross so they might be saved. Friend, the same one who loves you and desires fellowship with you loves them and desires fellowship with them. Friend, get right with those if you wanna be right with God. You know, some people strive and never know the nearness of God. They keep God at a distance because they're unwilling to get right with someone else. I've heard it said. I know I need to, but. It's like looking at God. Lord, I'd like to be close to you, but not as much as I wanna be mad at them. Lord, I'd like to be close to you, but not as much as I wanna speak evil of them. It just doesn't work. It just doesn't work. Now, I'm not saying, you can't make anybody else get right, can you? I learned that a long time ago. I heard a preacher say this recently, it kind of stuck in my head, I'd never said it this way, he said, you know what, I'm a pastor, not a policeman. I'm like, whoa. He said, I wish I had learned that a long time ago, it would have saved me a lot of heartache. In other words, he was saying you can preach the word, you can teach the word, but you can't make anybody follow it. And he said, this is not my job to pull you over when you're speeding and try to somehow write you a ticket and make you get right with God. He said, no, it's my job to preach it, to teach it, but if you're gonna be right with God, you gotta get right with God on your own. Nobody can make you do it, right? You gotta get right with God on your own. Nobody can do it for you. And if you remember this as a church member, I'm a church member, not a policeman. I can't make everybody else do right, but I sure can do right. I can't make everybody else act right, but I can sure act right. I can't make everybody else speak right, but I can sure speak right. I can't make them feel good about me, but I can certainly get my heart with God and forgive them. That's what God is saying in His Word. He says you can't. You know those words you speak against another are the very words that are put in distance between you and God? It's easy to say, well, it'd be easy if it's just about staying right with God sometimes, right? If it's just God loves me so much, He'd do anything for me. He'll forgive me no matter what state I am. He's just gonna forgive me. But then he says, speak no evil against somebody else. And he says, get right with them, or you're not gonna be right with me. That's what he says in his word. I've watched it. Friend, I've been there myself. Why is God so far from me? Because you, buddy, have got a problem with them. Where'd the fruit of the Spirit go? Where'd the power of my service go? Where'd the comfort of God go? Where'd the strength of difficulty go? Your relationship with them is where it went. That's where it went. Or maybe it went down when you quit paying attention to them, right? Never gave attendance to them or sought them out or sought his face. Or maybe it went when God spoke your heart and you just bowed up and said, I'm gonna do what I wanna do and I'm not submitting and surrendering to that. Maybe that's where it went. But I can tell you this. It's not because God ever broke his word. Draw an eye to God, and he will draw an eye to you. God hasn't changed, has he? He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And if he said it, he meant it, and he's not going back on it, friend. He said, you draw nigh to me, and I will draw nigh to you. And here's the incredible privilege that the God who spoke this world into existence before the angels themselves cry out, holy, holy, holy, looks down at you and I and these sinful people, those of us, and says, I want to know them. I want to have a relationship with them. I want to walk with them. I want to talk with them. I want to know them, and I want them to know me. I want them to know good and well who I am, and I want to reveal myself to them. And I want to walk with them. And so the only way that that could be done is that he had to send his only son, Jesus, before whom the angels said, Holy, holy, holy, and send him to this dirty earth where he would take upon him the agony of the cross and the shame of the cross, where he would take your same shameful sin and my shameful sin and bear it upon him at Calvary. And despising the shame, he would give up the ghost for you and I and die on the cross for us, that we might know him and he might know us again. And he said, if you just get near me, I will be near you, and I will give you the fruit of the Spirit, and I will comfort you through trial, and I will strengthen you in times of difficulty, and I will make you fit for my service and strengthen you for my service. Just draw an eye to me. And he looks at this church there that James was writing to, and they have some of the same problems I've got sometimes, right? They didn't give attendance to him. You have not because you asked not. Boy, you're out there swinging, and you're fighting, and you're striving, and you're working, and you're clawing, but the reason you don't have it is that you didn't just come looking for me, first of all, right? And then when you came looking for me, you came looking for me, but you wanted me to give you the things that you desired because you were a friend of the world. Rather than remembering that you were my child and walking with me, you gave yourself over to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of the life, and you got too caught up with the world. And then getting caught up with the world, you became a friend of them and you cheated on me. Get your heart right with me. Confess your sin. Walk with me and talk with me and seek my face and know my nearness in your life. presence in your life. You draw nigh to me and I will draw nigh to you. The greatest privilege of life is that you could be near him. And the greatest sadness of life is when we are not. That we are not. The greatest thing that I desire for anyone in my family is that they would be near God. The most heartbreaking thing for me would be if they are not. If they are not, are you near Him? Because guess what? He promised if you would draw near, He will draw nigh to you. And when you find Him, you're not going to want to leave Him. Draw nigh to God. Let's pray together. Lord, I love you and I thank you for the word. I thank you for the promise of scripture that we could draw nigh to God and know your presence in our life. Lord, I don't know where everybody's at with God. That's something only you can know. Only something that's between them and you. And I don't know what it may be. Maybe there's something keeping them from your presence. Maybe it's just a simple reminder, Lord, of the promise of your presence and working in our heart and in our life. But what I pray that as you've spoken, we would respond, Lord, that we would find that moment of just surrendering to what you've said to our hearts and in our life. As we surrender to what you've said, we know that close presence and that close fellowship with God this morning. Heads bowed and eyes closed, let me ask you this question first of all. How many of you could say today, Preacher, I put my trust in the Lord. And you could say, Preacher, there was a day in my life. You may not remember the exact date or the exact time, but you can look back in your mind and you remember the moment when you put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Someone shared the gospel, what Jesus did for you, and you bowed your head and trusted Christ. And you could say, Preacher, I know this. If there's anything I know is that I know him as my savior. And if I were to die this very moment, I'd be with my Lord. That's that's something I know. Would you raise your hand as a testimony to preach? There was a time I know that. I think you may put your hand down. Is there anybody here this morning who said, Preacher, I'm unsure about it, but I don't want to leave here today without knowing him. He loved me so much that he would die for me, and I don't want to leave here without having that settled in my heart, that I know him as my Savior, and I have a home in heaven. Is there anybody like that? You say, Preacher, pray for me. I want to know him today. Anybody like that? Let me ask you this then, Christian. How many would say, Preacher, the Lord has spoken to my heart? I don't know how it may be. That's between you and God. I can preach his word, but he speaks as he wants. But maybe you would say, Preacher, the Lord just reminded me of the privilege of what I have in him. Maybe the promise, maybe you question the fact that you can have a nearness to God. And God just simply said, if you draw nigh to me, I will draw nigh to you, friend. I will do it, it's his promise. Maybe it's a reminder of what he does. Maybe there's something that God just opened up your eyes to and said, here it is. This is keeping you from my presence, my closeness and my nearness. How many would say this morning, Lord, preacher, the Lord has spoken in my heart. Would you raise your hand as a testimony? Would you stand with me? or as God has spoken to your heart, as God has done a work in your heart, don't let it go to waste, go to Him. Spend some time in prayer as that pianist begins to play, as the invitation is given, why don't you meet with God as He has spoken to your heart in your seat, come deal with Him at the altar and spend some