The Danger of Self-Deception
James • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro
Have you ever known someone who deceived themselves?
Isn’t it a sad thing?
People believe Michael Jordan is the greatest player, but they are deceiving themselves.
Famous athletes deceive themselves all the time.
In 2001, Lance Armstrong made an anti-doping commercial for Nike in which he strongly disavowed using illegal drugs. In the commercial, Armstrong boldly states, "This is my body, and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it. Study it. Tweak it. Listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my [butt] six hours a day. What are you on?"
In 2006, during sworn testimony in a dispute over his $5 million bonus, Armstrong said he wouldn't take drugs because he had too much to lose. "(The) faith of all the cancer survivors around the world. Everything I do off the bike would go away, too …. It's not about money for me …. It's also about the faith that people have put in me over the years. So all of that would be erased."
In October 2012, Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tours de France victories and permanently banned from cycling and any World Anti-Doping Agency sanctioned events. Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, claimed that Armstrong's USPS team "ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen." Tygart also said, "The USPS Team doping conspiracy was professionally designed to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous drugs, to evade detection, to ensure its secrecy and ultimately gain an unfair competitive advantage …." It was a doping program "organized by individuals who thought they were above the rules."
This isn’t intended to bash lance armstrong
This is an illustration to show us our own integrity. That sometimes there might be a gap between what we say and what we do.
I believe there are many people in the world who are deceiving themselves when it comes to spiritual things
P
I believe there are many people in the world who are deceiving themselves when it comes to spiritual things
Deceiving themselves that they are saved
“—I never knew you: Depart form Me, ye that work iniquity.”
True believers deceiving themselves in Christian walk
They think they are spiritual when they are not
Mature people look introspectively and admits his needs
immature people think they have everything
Spiritual reality (not deceiving yourself) results form a proper relationship to God through the Bible.
God’s word is truth, and if we have a proper view of that truth we cannot be dishonest or hypocritical
James is saying we have 3 responsibilities towards God’s word
If we fulfill these responsibilities, we will have an honest walk with God.
Let
Let’s read these verses and see what responsibilities we have to God’s word.
Read James 19-27
Receive the Word ()
Receive the Word ()
James calls the word “Engrafted” word
This means “implanted”word
James is calling God’s word the seed and the human heart the soil
The NT talks about 4 kinds of hearts
Hard heart
Shallow heart-very emotional, but no depth
crowded heart-permitted sin to crowd out the word
fruitful heart
Fruit is the final test of salvation. this is a changed life
There are so many people in our word who are living without fruit
they may do religious things (attend church, sunday school, youth group), but never seem to grow.
This could be the fault of the preacher/teacher, but it may also be the fault of the hearer.
It is possible to be “dull of hearing” (heb 5:11) because of decay of spiritual life.
If the seed of the Word of God is to be planted in our hearts, then we must obey the instructions James gives to us.
Swift to hear (v. 19a)
just as the servant is quick to hear the master’s voice, so must we be quick to obey God’s voice
I do not excel in this area
Illustration about mowing lawn and hitting extension cord after dad told me about it.
Slow to speak (v.19b)
In a culture that is increasingly outspoken, this goes against the natural grain.
a person who wants the seed of God’s word planted in their hearts must seek FIRST to understand, then to be understood.
Slow to wrath (v.19c)
Many disagreements are a case of miscommunication.
Peter is a perfect example of this.
IN the garden he was slow to listen, swift to speak, and swift to wrath and he almost killed a guy.
Man’s anger does not produce God’s righteousness.
A prepared heart (v.21)
James is looking at the heart like a garden
If left to itself it would produce only weeds
He’s urging us to pull out the weeds and prepare the soil for the Word of God.
How do we receive the word?
First, confess your sins
Meditate on God’s word and ask him to “plow up” and hardness in our hearts
Finally, we must have an attitude of meekness (v.21)
Meekness is the opposite of wrath
When you receive the word with meekness, you accept it as God’s word
You don’t try to twist it to your way of thinking
You honor it
First you must receive the word, but next you must practice the word
Practice the Word ()
Practice the Word ()
It is not enough to hear the word—we must examine it
Too many people believe hearing the word brings the blessing, but v.25 says doing the word brings the blessing
To be able to do the word you must hear the word. James is telling us how to do that in these past two sections
last paragraph James compared the Word to seed, but in this section James compares the word to a mirror
What is the main purpose for owning a mirror?
Examination
This is the main purpose for owning a mirror
We own mirrrors to look as put together as possible
As we look into the mirror of God’s word, we see ourselves as we really are.
James mentions several mistakes people make as the Look into God’s mirror.
The merely glance at themselves
They don’t take time to study themselves (or the Bible)
a cursory reading of the Bible wont reveal anything (1 chapter a day)
it’s the difference between a photo and an xray
They forget what they see
If we look deep enough in our hearts what we see would be unforgettable
We look at others and see they’re much worse, so our sin can’t be so terrible
Job (most righteous man in his day) “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (
They fail to obey what the word tells them to do
We think hearing is the same as doing
we think talking is the same as doing
We need to be taking the time to hear and then do.
Our first responsibility is to receive the Word. Then, we must practice the Word. This leads to our third responsibility
2. Restoration (Ex 38:8)
Share the Word ()
Share the Word ()
The word translated religion is only used 5 times in the NT
Pure religion has nothing to do with buildings or ceremonies
Pure religion IS practicing God’s word and sharing it with others through Speech, service, and separation from the world.
Speech (v.26)
The Bible talks a lot about speech. Especially james
The tongue reveals the heart ()
If the heart is right the speech will be right
A controlled tongue means a controlled body
Service (27)
After we have seen ourselves and Christ in the mirror of the Word, we must see others needs.
Words are no substitute for deeds of love
God wants us active in ministering and serving those around us.
Separation
By “world” James means society without God
The world wants to spot and defile the Chrisitan
Consider Lot moving his tents to Sodom
This doesn’t mean that we become hermits living away from the world, but rather we put everything we do through the strainer of God’s word.
When people come to church they don’t want to see poeple like themselves, they want to see a difference.
The best way to minister to the needs of the world is to be pure from the defilement of the world.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Have you deceived yourselves?
Have you received the word but not practiced it?
Have you been stained by the world?
Run to Christ. Allow him to Show you the word.
Allow christ to plant the word in you
Allow Christ to mirror your heart and search it.
You will change for the better!