A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Today on A Daily Walk, receive this much-needed warning. Folks, there is deception out there. You are well aware of that fact. But the best defense against deception is being grounded in the truth. Walking in the truth leads us to triumph over temptation. It helps us to be able to identify and recognize lies, and they're all around us.

Somebody has well said, "Be careful to taste your words before you spit them out." And we could add to that, "Make sure your words don't taste like feet." This problem of saying things that shouldn't be said is one we all face. But there's real help available, and we'll learn about it today on A Daily Walk.

Happy New Year. Welcome to the broadcast where we're making our way through the book of James. Today's passage, though it may challenge us, will save ourselves a great deal of heartache and regret in the year ahead when applied. Here's Pastor John Randall.

John Randall: James chapter 1, and beginning in verse 16: "Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."

Father, this evening, as we spend some moments now within Your Word, we ask that You would speak to our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. The believers to whom James was writing were going through a season of severe trials. Due to the persecution, they had been scattered in different directions. Their faith was being tested, and it appears that many of them during this season were asking the question, "Why?"

Why would God allow something like this to happen? Why doesn't God make it stop? James informed his beleaguered brethren that the trials they were presently walking through were actually producing something within them that could not otherwise be produced: the invaluable qualities of fortified godly character, also faithfulness and perseverance.

These things were being forged into their lives through the trials they were encountering. There's no shortcuts to this. There's no way around this. This is how godly character is produced within us. You have to go through the trials in order to be tested, to be refined, to learn to trust God. That's what God uses to make us strong. As it says concerning Joseph, the Lord put iron into his soul. How? Through the things he endured, through the things he went through.

Sometimes we want to run from the cross. We want to run from the denial of self. We want to run from every form of trial. But this is what makes us who we are in Christ. God allows it and He enables us to go through it. These qualities are being developed in us even at this moment. If they could see the present circumstances from heaven's perspective, they could, in turn, count it all joy, knowing these things.

At the same time, they had to be aware that temptations were equally real. To avoid being ensnared by them, they had to recognize where they came from, how they start, and the consequences of giving into them. James revealed that to the church that was scattered abroad. But he also said there's a blessing for all those who will endure temptation. They'll take the way of escape that God provides. They'll use the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God, as the offensive weapon in the battle against temptation.

James continues now with very practical, exhortative wisdom, and he warns the believers: "Do not be deceived." The very fact that James warns against deception lets us know that it's possible to be deceived, that there is deception out there, that it is a real threat. The first instance of deception was all the way back in the very beginning when the serpent deceived Eve there in the Garden of Eden.

Since that time, he has been deceiving mankind for centuries. The devil is called the god of this age, and he blinds the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel or the glory of Christ. He does it through means of deception. It's one of his tools that is refined and used repeatedly.

You remember that Jesus, during His ministry, spoke about a time that would come when the deception will be especially great, when false messiahs and false prophets will appear. Liars will be on the scene. Even the people of God, He said, could potentially be deceived if it weren't for God's providential protection. Jesus said, "False messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." All of these deceptions are instigated by the devil.

The Apostle Paul consistently warned against the danger of deception. You remember in his final epistle right before his martyrdom, he writes to Timothy and very pointedly he warns him of a day that was coming. He said in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 2, that the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine. But according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from truth and be turned aside to fables.

We live in a day when people are turning their ears away from truth. If truth doesn't fit your narrative, then forget truth. "I'd rather embrace the lie" is what so much of the world has embraced. There are those today that, even if presented with clear evidence concerning the Gospel, the evidence of the truth right in front of their eyes, will suppress it, deny it, and refuse to believe it.

You remember when Paul wrote to the Romans, and he pointed out that men will exchange the truth of God for a lie. When they exchange the truth of God for a lie, they suppress the truth, they deny the truth, they exchange the truth of God for a lie. Romans chapter 1, verse 28 tells us what God does to those who resist the truth, won't believe it, and turn from it. It says they didn't like to retain God in their knowledge, and God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting.

They wouldn't believe the truth. They suppressed it. They exchanged it for a lie. And so God gave them over to the lie that they pursued. They had a debased mind. Folks, there is deception out there. You are well aware of that fact. But the best defense against deception is being grounded in the truth.

In writing to the Ephesians and listing the spiritual armor that every soldier in the army of the Lord has to put on, the Apostle Paul started with the very first thing that he said we have to put on: the belt of truth. That's the first piece of the armor, the very first thing. Why the belt of truth? Because truth holds everything together. You let go of truth, you let go of everything. So the belt of truth was an absolute necessity. It kept everything together.

Walking in the truth leads us to triumph over temptation. It helps us to be able to identify and recognize lies, and they're all around us. Another truth that James emphasizes that should lead us away from temptation is the goodness of God. Every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

When you give into temptation, when we yield to the lust of the flesh, do you know what's happening? We're doubting the goodness of God. That's what the devil said to Eve in the beginning. "Did God really say? Did God really say that? Is that what God really meant?" What was he doing? He was trying to incite her to doubt the goodness of God. "If God's so good, He would let you eat from that tree. God's not that good, is He, Eve?" Doubt His goodness. That's the ploy. That's the deception.

"Well, I guess God's not that good. He allowed me to get sick. I guess God's not that good. He allowed that to happen." You can go down that road and the devil's like, "That's right, He's not good. You should do what you want." You know what? If God's not good, then I'm going to do what I want. And you give into temptation. James says every good and perfect gift comes from God. Don't go outside of those boundaries that God has set.

God desires to bless us. God loves to bless us. Don't doubt the goodness of God. Just because things are hard and just because things are difficult, it doesn't mean that God's not good. He is good. I remember three-plus years ago now, sitting here in the sanctuary, front row right here, on the day of my dad's memorial. Some of you were here as he went home to be with Jesus.

But you know, what's interesting in that moment? I'll never forget it. I chose not to doubt. God is still good. He is still good. I didn't necessarily want what had happened, but I wasn't going to give into doubting the goodness of God. He's good. No matter what, He remains good. James here, as he refers to the intrinsic good that comes from God—God doesn't tempt people to do evil, He's good—he refers to the Lord as the Father of lights, which may be in reference to creation.

The Bible tells us in the book of Genesis that God spoke light into existence. I don't know if you've ever done a study on light, but it's fascinating. Even those who study it can't fully grasp it. But God just spoke it into existence. Just said, "Let there be light," and there was. And He divided the light, the sun and the moon, to mark the day and the night. He is the Father of, the originator of, the creator of these things. He spoke them into existence. He's the Father of lights and He is good.

But then James mentions the greatest gift that man has been given, and it is the gift of salvation. The Bible says God so loved the world that He gave His one and only beloved Son. And here James tells us that the Father of lights, with whom there's no variation or shadow of turning, verse 18: "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be the kind of firstfruits of His creatures."

God was the one that brought us forth. It was His will. Did you know that God desires that all men be saved? Not all men are saved, but that's God's desire. That's His heart. He wants people to be saved, but not everybody will turn to Him for salvation. But here it says, "of His own will." This is interesting because it means the exercise of His will.

It describes a settled desire emanating from one's reason, not one's emotion. The verb here that's used means more than just wanting a desire or wish to be fulfilled and can include the idea of choosing one thing over another. It expresses the inward predisposition, the bent from which active volition proceeds. This is God's will. God brought us forth. And how did He do it? Through the word of truth. How important is the Word of God?

He brought us forth by the word of truth. In light of God's greater purpose in trials, in light of the danger of temptation and the goodness of God that is seen in the gift of salvation and the power and importance of the Word of God that brought us forth, James gives even more practical insight to what makes God's Word effective.

Look at verse 19: "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Swift to hear, slow to speak. So often we have it reversed. We are swift to speak and slow to hear. We are quick to react instead of respond. But here James says, "Listen, in light of the Word of God that brought us forth of His own volition, be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath."

Boy, there are so many things, aren't there, right now that want to get us to react? "I want to be swift to... I don't care what they say. I saw what they said, and I want to immediately respond to that." I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine this week, and he was sharing with me how he used to work in the industry of artificial intelligence, and he works in writing these programs, etc., etc. I just heard what he said. He worked with computers. Let's just boil it down for this simpleton.

But what he did tell me is, in light of all that's going on in social media and so forth—and maybe you didn't know this, but if you didn't, now you will—there are actual... these conversations that people get into on maybe your social media, your Twitter, etc., where they start arguing. He said there are created programs, "bots" they call them. That's freaky. Bots that will start conversations and they will respond and get an argument going so that somebody will jump in.

He says, "I don't believe in any of the conversations that go on because so many of them are just... they just do it." And then you'll see... have you ever noticed how there will be some lame argument and even you know like, "Okay, that is the craziest thing I've ever heard. That is so wrong." That's the bait. That's how the bot baits you. They get you into it, and then you start sounding off, and then before you know it, division.

It's crazy how these tools are being used to divide and to conquer and polarize and split people in every direction, and we're seeing it all the time. And whatever you're into, that's what will be fed to you to fuel you. And whatever you're not into, it will just incite it, inciting division. Guys, let me just say something to you: Who's behind that? Whose playbook is that? Division, destruction? The devil. That's always what he's about.

So James says, "Hey, listen, rather than being quick to speak and quick to respond, be swift to hear, slow to speak." Because it says here, "the wrath of man doesn't produce the righteousness of God." We think it does sometimes, I think. "I'm sure this is going to..." No, it doesn't. It says it doesn't. It says that those that are in the flesh cannot please God. "Are you sure?" Yeah, that's what it says in the Bible. And it's true.

So be swift to hear. Maybe you're one of those people in your house and you're not swift to hear. You're swift to open your mouth. One pastor that I appreciated so much used to say, "John, God's given you two ears and one mouth. There's a reason for that. You're supposed to listen twice as much as you talk." I was like, "Yeah, but He did give me two lips, I'm just saying." Obviously, I wasn't listening.

But the point is: swift to hear, slow to wrath. And there's so many things that want to incite us to wrath and it's easy to get sucked into that. But then he goes on to say, "Therefore"—all right, in light of everything I'm telling you—"Therefore" or "because of this," verse 21: "lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

"But," verse 22, "be doers of that word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." I want you to notice the order here. He's saying, first of all, "lay aside filthiness, impurity, wickedness," in order that we could receive with humility, meekness, the implanted Word of God. If you're going to live in filthiness, if you're going to live in pollution, if you're going to live in impurity, you're going to have a real difficult time receiving the implanted Word.

It clogs your ears, it blocks your eyes, it hardens your heart. If you're living in a state of impurity, you're going to find it really difficult to receive from the Lord. So the Lord's saying, "Hey, listen," James says, "First of all, lay that stuff aside." It's like... the words that he used for laying it aside is like taking off some filthy, old garments and setting them to the side. When my kids were playing sports, I would go to pick them up after a football practice.

And I remember picking them up and putting them in the car and it would be my son and his friend. They'd come in and it was like I just had to drive with my head out the window. It was just so intense. It's just that smell. You know what I'm talking about. It's like... it's crazy. And the window doesn't do it. Doesn't do it. And then after they're gone, you've got to do something to the car with chemicals. I mean, it's just... and then you take... "What do you say? Take those clothes, put them over there." I can't. And then you go in the garage and they're on the ground, and you're like, "Wow, the whole garage smells. It's filthy."

That's what he's saying. Set that aside. Set that garbage aside. Take that off, get rid of that, so that you can be able to receive. You can be cleansed by the pure Word. It can be implanted in your soul, planted deep. And then when that Word is implanted, now he says this: "Be a doer of it and not just a hearer only, deceiving yourself." Very interesting. Be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer only.

It's very easy, isn't it, for us to be a hearer of the Word? "I heard it." But just because I heard it doesn't mean I did it. I did it when I did. And that's deep, but stay with me. If you just hear it, that's the deception. "Oh, I heard... Oh, everybody knows that. I know that. I've heard that before." Have you? Have you done it? "No, but I've heard it."

Okay, here's the exhortation: "Be a doer of it." He's saying apply it. Don't just read it and walk away from it, as we'll see in a moment. He's saying do it. Because if you only hear it and don't apply it, you're actually deceiving yourself. Here's the deception. Here's the possibility to be deceived. Because I've heard it, because I sat there, because I did the Bible study, I haven't done it, but I answered the question. It's a big difference when you actually apply what it is that you've heard.

It's so easy for me to read it and walk away from it when God wants me to apply it to my life. Let me say something else. It's easy to preach it. How about that? And God gives me the opportunity regularly to apply it. He puts me through it. He puts me through the grid. When I'm getting ready, I'm just like, "Oh man, we're going to teach that this week? All right. Well, when am I going to go through that? Today."

"Be a doer of it, not just a hearer." Now check this out. I love this, how James put this. Here he gives us example of what a hearer's like and not a doer. Look at this. This is so good. "If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer," okay, here's what he's like. You ready? "He's like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. He observes himself, he goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was."

"But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one is blessed in what he does." James says, "You know what somebody's like who hears it and doesn't do it? Here's what they're like. They're like somebody going up to the mirror and just going, 'Yeah, looking good.' And but doesn't realize they got something hanging here and something stuck in there. But they're like, 'I'm good,' and they walk away, and they forget what they look like. They looked into it, but then they walked away from it and forgot what they saw when they looked into it and what it revealed."

You know something? The Word of God is like a mirror. Did you know that? In a sense, it reflects what's within me. I look into the Word of God and I see—if I'm able to see it and willing to see it, laying aside all filthiness and wickedness and receive the implanted Word—you know what I see? I see where I need a change. I see what God's standard is and I see where I've fallen short. And yet I see God's forgiveness, and I see God's grace, and I see His mercy, and I see the power of His spirit enabling me to do what I can't do in and of myself. But I've got to look into it so that I can see it.

Imagine, folks, if you never looked in the mirror ever. What would that be like? It would be frightening. Because you know you wake up in the morning, if you didn't look in the mirror, it's crazy sometimes, right? You're like, "Who is that person? Oh, that's you. Why? What happened to my younger self? Where did he go? That's not me, that's my father. Or that's my mother," you might say. "Hey, Dad." I mean, we forgot who we were. What happened? I don't know.

But if you never looked in the mirror, you'd never know what needed to change. Some people, that's how they deal with the Word. They never look into it. And so they're just living their life. "I'm a Christian," but they don't even know what the Bible says. And so they just live and they do what they want, do what they please based upon the thoughts that they think as opposed to the thoughts that God thinks.

And so that's why it's so imperative to be in the Word of God. It reveals where I'm at and then it shows me where I need to change. How many of you—don't raise your hand—but if you ever not looked in the mirror, only to go and you're in interview or you're having conversation with somebody and you're talking for a while and they're talking to you and you go and you sit in your car and flip down the mirror? Oh my goodness. Seriously, how long has that been there? The whole time. The whole time. And no one told you.

Have you ever had that happen? It's so embarrassing. But it happens. Should have looked before. The point is this: be a doer, not just a hearer. Don't forget what God said.

Guest (Male): Be a doer, not just a hearer of the Word. A good word for us there as we close out today's A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. Our message goes by the title of "Good Gifts." To catch a replay of today's message from Pastor John Randall, simply go online to adailywalk.org. You can also listen to studies from John on our free mobile app. Do a search for Calvary South OC in the App Store or Google Play.

You know, we light up around here when a listener shares what God is doing in their life and how they're helped through the teaching of God's Word. This would be a great time to hear from you as we're beginning a new year. If you feel led to write, here is our email address: adailywalk@gmail.com. That's adailywalk@gmail.com.

As we have just begun a new year, we'd like to encourage you to go through the Bible in a year. And to help you, we have a special resource. It's the One Year Chronological Bible, New King James softcover. It's arranged in bite-sized daily readings, making it super easy to stay on track. We're offering it today for the special price of $10. Just call us and request the One Year Chronological Bible at 877-242-0828, or go online to adailywalk.org. That's 877-242-0828.

And please remember, it is your faithful contribution to the Lord's work at A Daily Walk that allows us to bring Pastor John's studies to the radio every day. It takes a team to bring these shows to the airwaves, and that includes you, our listener. On we go to James chapter 2 tomorrow on A Daily Walk. Listen in for Pastor John Randall's message, "No Favorites," next time.