Beware of Self Deception

Jeremiah 17: 9 - 10, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. NKJV

We're told in the book of James to be doers of the Word, not just hearers. When we hear God's voice or Word, but we have no intentions of obeying it, we open the door to self-deception. 

God spoke a powerful revelation to Jeremiah that gives us a better understanding of what James meant when he warned us about being deceived because of our disobedience to God's will. Not everyone who sits in church or hears the voice of God will take what is being said to heart. This is especially true if what is being preached or revealed by the Holy Spirit is contrary to their particular lifestyle or desires. 

If a Christian or sinner hears a truth from God or His Word and knows that it is meant for them, nevertheless, they're not willing to implement that truth, they will seek to justify or give an excuse as to why they can't or won't obey the Lord. 

Do you suppose God is going to allow Christians (or anyone) simply to ignore His Word and His warnings? No, He will not allow them just to go on with their lives without their actions having consequences. You see; God not only told Jeremiah that He would give to every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings; in the first chapter of Jeremiah, He also said that He would watch over His Word to perform it in the earth. Therefore, if we choose to ignore God's will, and we do not do what His Word instructs, then the Lord is going to see to it that we reap the reward of those actions. 

God wants us to realize that our actions have consequences. We need to change our actions, or we will reap bad fruit from them. Paul tells us in Romans 6: 23 that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The ultimate goal of our heavenly Father is for us to learn from our wrong decisions or our unwillingness to obey His will so that we will turn our hearts completely over to Him and be saved. It is essential for Christians to be doers of the Word and not hearers only so that the Word will give us the power to live a life that is filled with an abundance of blessings and rewards. 

Let Us Be Doers of God's Word, 

Pastor Asa Dockery