The Danger of Self-Deception

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

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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 ()

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 ()

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 ()

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

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!