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7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
‭‭James‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I. The Standard of Submission
A. From Jesus’ subordination we see submission is not a confession of inequality. (Matthew 26:36-39)
B. From Jesus’ submission we learn that the way up in His kingdom is down. (Philippians 2:6-11)
C. From Sarah we learn when we trust in the sovereignty of God we will entrust ourselves to others even when they are being stupid. (1 Peter 3:5-6)

II. The Struggle with Submission
A. Fear is our main struggle in submission because submitting means letting go of the illusion that we are in control.
B. We fear God will take away our sin, and we hate our sin, but it’s comfortable to us and it lets us feel like we are in control.

III. Saying Yes to Submission
A. Submitting yourself to God means you hand yourself over to the hands of God for Him to do with you what He wishes.
B. God will take away things from you because, like any good father, He is always after our good.

IV. The Sweet Surrender that is Submission
A. Surrender to Christ is a choice no one ever regrets.
B. Grace runs downhill towards the humble.
C. Grace not only comes to the humble, it keeps us humble.

Next Week: The Truth about Spiritual Warfare James 4:7-12