Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: Yes, we are going to have temptation, but you don't have to give in to it. You can rebuke the devil. You can stand strong. And if you do give in, guess what? Don't blame God. It's your own fault. You were weak. You didn't put your trust in the Lord. You didn't memorize God's word. We need to be careful of that.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. Today's lesson continues our series in the book of James, and it's great to have you along. Raul will explore how to win victory over temptation.

Satan is continually looking for ways to pull us into sin, but God's word is our shield and His spirit is our strength. Stay with us and find out that if you do give in to worldly enticements, the Lord will forgive us when we truly turn to Him in repentance. Let's listen as Raul Ries begins our study in James chapter 1, beginning in verse 16.

Raul Ries: When you think of the life of James, living in the actual same home as Jesus and not really believing for so many years, and then coming to know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior when you're already about 20-some years old.

And then to be able to write a letter, and the way he started the letter in chapter 1, verse 1, "James, a bondservant of God." In total humility, he introduces himself as a servant of the Lord, not in pride like, "I'm the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ." He says, "to the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad with greetings."

Then he begins the message by saying, "My brethren, count it with all joy when you fall into different trials." The Christian life is a life of testing, testings that come in our lives. And here, James is talking about these trials that we encounter.

He said, knowing that the testing of your faith is going to produce patience or endurance, endurance that we need in our lives. But he says, by the way, "but let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." And then if any one of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally without reproach, as it will be given to him.

But let him ask by faith, not doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. We should never expect anything from God. We come by faith because I know that He's in control. I know He's in charge of my life.

Maybe you're here tonight going through a valley, or you might be in the middle of the fire tonight. Maybe you're losing your job, losing your house. You don't know what you're going to do. But yet God is the one that called you. God is the one that ordained you. God is the one that will take care of you.

We go through these tests in life because God wants us not only to endure these things, but He wants us to be stretched. He wants us to grow spiritually so that we can help other people and we can stand as a testimony to the world that we truly are believers in Jesus Christ.

Then he said, "For let no man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

For no sooner has the sun risen with the burning heat than it withers the grass and its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. Blessed is that man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved or tried, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. He's not in it for the money. He's in it for the Lord.

He says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. We must never blame God. He says, "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed."

Yes, we are going to have temptation, but you don't have to give in to it. You can rebuke the devil. You can stand strong. And if you do give in, guess what? Don't blame God. It's your own fault. You were weak. You didn't put your trust in the Lord. You didn't memorize God's word. We need to be careful of that.

Finally, he says in verse 15, "Then, when desire has conceived, it brings birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, it brings forth death." If you fall into sin and you don't repent and you continue a life of sin, you're going to die physically and spiritually. You're done. Doesn't matter who it is because he's talking to Christians, not non-believers.

Notice tonight what he says to us in verse 16. We pick it up here: "Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren." Who's he talking to? Christians. Christians. Oh, how we have to be careful of deception, deception that comes by the devil himself, the enemy, Satan.

He loves to deceive people. He is a liar from the beginning and the father of lies, the Bible says. And yet we know that Satan fell. God cast him out of heaven and one-third of the angels in heaven followed him. He has a following today, one-third of the angels.

To me, it's amazing how God here not only warns us, but the agent of deception is Satan and sin and self. Those three things you have to be aware of: Satan, sin, and self. I can be a danger to myself. I can deceive myself by not believing the truth about God and His word. It's real important to understand that.

We want God to speak to us through the scriptures so that whenever we are going to stand in a temptation, we're not going to be deceived, and we're going to stand on the truth of God. And what is the truth of God? His word, His word.

I search Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. I go to Joshua and then I go to Judges and notice Ruth and all the way through First and Second Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, and all the way through Ezra, Nehemiah, all the way through the Psalms, Proverbs, all the way to the last book, Malachi. Then I go to Matthew to Revelation, and I search the scriptures to see how God's going to speak to me, how God's going to deliver me.

We need to be careful. There are some warnings against deception, and that is that we need to be careful for those religious workers that work for Satan that are constantly trying to take us away by their false teachings. False teachings: Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, so many false teachings today.

And yet we understand that the warning against deception is also a sign of today's apostasy in the church and in the world. We're coming to the end of the age. The antichrist is going to rule one day. The antichrist spirit has been here for 1,900 years, but one day he will rule for the last seven years of world history and he will deceive the world. Many people are going to be deceived by Satan and the antichrist and the false prophet.

So it's really important that we understand that even in the past, there are examples of people that have been deceived. Who are the first parents that we had deceived? Adam and Eve. They were deceived. They were in a beautiful environment in the garden of Eden.

God had built this beautiful place. Two trees: one of knowledge of good and evil and one that would actually provide everything for them spiritually. God says, "Do not go to this one over here; the day you eat of it, you're going to die." What did our parents do? They ate of the tree of knowledge, good and evil, and their eyes were opened, and physical death came into the world.

Not only Eve, but how about Abraham? Abraham also fell to deception. In Genesis 12, then Jacob. Jacob, heel-catcher. He really deceived a lot of people, and yet God used his life and brought him and broke him and humbled him. Pharaoh also was deceived. The Pharisees were deceivers too, and Ananias and Sapphira really blew it in the New Testament.

Here again, James is warning us. When he uses that expression "deceived", it's a Greek expression referring to erring or going astray or wandering from the truth in the Greek language, wandering from the truth.

Check this out. Verse 17. This is so beautiful. He says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." What is he talking about?

He's talking about the unchanging God. God doesn't change, the one that gives us the gifts. And what was the greatest gift He gave to us? Salvation, salvation given to each one of us individually.

When he uses this term "Father of lights", it's an ancient Jewish expression for God as the creator with light, referring to the sun, moon, and the stars in that culture. But literally, it's a reference to God as a creator in majesty and sovereign power and also one who demands of us not only to be complete, but to appreciate the good gifts that He gives to us, to be appreciative.

Think of the gift of salvation He's given to us. You can't work for it. It's free, free for anybody that wants it. And here James is saying, "Every good gift," it's a reference to the giver. Who's that? God. "And every perfect gift is from above," from heaven, "and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of what? Of turning." Notice that, no shadow of turning.

Guest (Male): This is Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. We're here to help you firmly establish your heart and life in God's word. Visit us anytime at somebodylovesyou.com to browse our full selection of resources. You can also download our free app for more connections to the word of God. Now let's rejoin Raul once again.

Raul Ries: Check this out. Verse 18: "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." How did that happen? By being born again of the Holy Spirit.

James here in verse 18 is giving to us his version of the new birth, the version of the new birth. He sees it as being related to the will of God. I have a will, and I have to submit my will to the will of God if I want to be saved.

Because if I don't want to be saved, if I don't want to be regenerated, if I don't want to be born again of the Holy Spirit, what do I do? I reject God's love, grace, and mercy and I continue in my rebellion, separated from God, never, never want to come to Jesus Christ and continue my sin and die in my sins.

But if I really truly want a change, and I want a new nature and I want a new life, and I really want to repent of my sins and I want to give my heart to Jesus Christ, then He's going to give to me a spiritual life. Not when I die, right now, right now at this very moment.

Because the will of God takes back to a timeless past when everything, everything was being created. And what did God do? He created man in His own image. We are so separated from the animal kingdom because we're human beings.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. The word of God is our current point of reference if you want to be born again of the Holy Spirit.

The instrument of the Holy Spirit in the revelation that He brings to us through regeneration. It's not through baptism, it's not joining the church, it's not doing great work. It has nothing to do with that. It's personal. When someone comes to Jesus Christ, it has to be personal. You have to come on your own and you have to be born again of the Holy Spirit, according to John chapter 3.

I think of all of you that are here tonight. As I watch Sunday mornings, all the people that come here and those that come to know Christ on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, Sunday nights, it is amazing because it's the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

You have to experience the new birth in order to become what Christ says here in verse 18. James is opening this great door. It's beautiful here concerning faith, faith in Jesus Christ. "Of His own will He brought us forth," notice, by what? The Bible, the word of truth, "that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath."

Now he gives us this great counsel here. And be slow to speak; we need to be careful what we say. Be careful what you say to people. They'll hold you accountable. But it's really amazing how God here through the Holy Spirit is speaking to our hearts. Be careful how you hear, be careful how you speak.

And then look at this: be slow to wrath. What does that mean? Anger, being angry with people. So that's why here he says, "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear the word of God, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Wow. The wrath of God, notice again, for the wrath of man here.

Again, the word here is in reference originally to any natural impulse. In time, it came to represent anger, the strongest of all the passions in a human being. And I can relate to that; I mean, that's for me in the past. I used to have a bad temperament and anger would rise up and boy, I tell you what, I would lose my mind.

And it's really important. Why? Because how many people in a moment of anger have killed somebody in a moment of anger? You have to really, really be careful. And it's really important that we take the advice that is given to us here.

Literally, he says losing one's temper can never achieve anything, the least of all the righteousness of God is in one's life by being what? A peacemaker, a peacemaker, repenting. Be careful you don't say one word until you know that you can speak what's edifying and building up, not tearing down.

Maybe you're here today. Maybe your wife's pretty beat up or maybe your husband's pretty beat up because of the words that come out of your mouth. Maybe your children and your grandchildren, you're demeaning them in front of people. That's not good.

The tongue is very powerful, the mouth is very powerful, the heart is very evil. We need to be careful, we need to take really responsibility for what we do and what we say. We need to, as believers, build up each other in the Lord.

And if somebody blows it, you know, He's a God of second chances. We need to rebuild that body, we need to exhort them so they can be reused in the kingdom of God, not to be castaways. Then he says this which is really amazing. He says, "Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." Isn't that beautiful? That's so beautiful.

So here we are tonight. We're hearing the word of God. Man, how important is God's word? It is important. I mean, it is important in our lives. That's why if there are people here tonight, if you're not reading the Bible at home, and if you have kids, if you're not reading them the Bible and praying with them, then what are you building?

You as the parent, you as a single person, you as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, it's really important personally, you by yourself, that you become a man and a woman of prayer and of the word of God, that you get up early in the morning and that you read as you're going through the Old Testament or going through the New Testament through a book or through several books, or just read straight through every year, which is so good because then you're going to know the mind and the heart of God. You're going to know the full counsel of God.

But if you're sitting here and you've been a Christian more than three or four or five years and you've never read through the Bible, shame on you because you need to know God's word and you're coming to a church that teaches through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. We need to know who God is.

The word of God not only exhorts but it builds up and it rebukes. It brings me to the place in my life that I really need to know what God is saying. Sometimes God has to spank me and sometimes He corrects me and sometimes He builds me up. You see, but He never tears me down. It's really important that the word of God needs to be in our hearts, in our minds, in our thoughts.

So again, look what he says. "Therefore, therefore," taking us back to what? To the previous verses. There's a "therefore", there's a "wherefore". Here he says, "lay aside". The tense of this Greek verb stresses the importance of putting off sin prior to receiving God's word in the Greek. That's what it means.

So what is he doing? He's letting us know, laying aside is not myself, laying aside my sins and all filthiness. That is the filth of the world. Dirty jokes, dirty websites, dirty magazines, dirty filthy communication. Those are not edifying, they don't build up, they tear down people. They tear down people.

Here James is exhorting us: lay it aside, get rid of it. Overflowing notice with wickedness. This is in reference to evil, to the evil desire and intense that people have. Get rid of it completely. And notice what he says, this is so beautiful, "but receive with meekness" what? Right here, the word of God.

Because if you're speaking dirty and you're thinking dirty and you're accusing or excusing yourself and you sit down to read the Bible and you've been at work all day long listening to dirty stuff and you've been talking dirty, how can in a good conscience sit down and read the Bible? You can't. You should be convicted. You should be convicted by God and the Holy Spirit.

Because God wants us to be edifying and He wants us to be a witness to people. Because when people are down, guess what? They're going to come to you because you've been building up people and they're going to open up to you and you're going to be able to share the word of God with them and salvation and all these things that is really important in the life of the child of God.

Guest (Male): If you've been feeling like your faith is under fire and you're struggling with temptation, we encourage you to take today's message to heart and seek God's strength in your trial. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's lesson from James chapter 1, verses 16 through 21, can be yours in its unedited form for a donation of five dollars or more. Just call us at 800-634-9165.

We'd also like to offer you Raul's eight-part series titled Traits of a Christian. This faith-enriching series is available on either CD or USB. Each message underscores the Lord's promise to be with you on the battlefield when you experience Satan's attacks. You'll see that when you spend daily time in the Bible and commune with God in prayer, He will equip you to overcome.

To purchase Raul's series titled Traits of a Christian, visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165. We'll send you the thumb drive for 12 dollars or the CD collection for 22 dollars. That's 800-634-9165, or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, P.O. Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California, 91765.

Your partnership helps us keep sharing the good news of the Lord Jesus through these programs, and we are thankful for your gifts. Well, we invite you to join us again next time as we quiet our minds and open our hearts to hear life-giving, life-shaping truth from the Lord Jesus. Now with a closing thought, here's Raul once again.

Raul Ries: He says, "and receive with meekness the implanted word which is" what? "Which is able to save your souls." Notice that. What is the word of God? The seed that brings forth what? New life. New life. The Bible, the word of God when we receive it.

And see how God has blessed you tonight with the word of God as you sit here. Look what God already has done since you came to know Him by being born again of the Holy Spirit and where He's taking you and how He's going to use you. Just like we watched the men's fellowship, how God is using those men that at one time were so messed up and now they're back out there in ministry, helping in the church here, feeding people, helping people.

And imagine how much more He has for each one of us if we fully, completely give our lives to the Lord, what He's going to do tonight. You've got to step up to the plate and say, Lord, here I am, take my life, and be thankful for the gift of salvation that He's given to each one of us individually here tonight.

Guest (Male): This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.