More Than a Motto

Is we say whatever you believe will the demons do their ever occurred to you that how will one day be filled with mono CS shocking news of James word for the first century Jew? Now someone can be just words without any meaning you can just be a really good ceremony is possible to know true doctrine intellectually and still not respond to Christ in faith would it help you to know more about the distinction stay with us because today on wisdom for the heart. Stephen Devi continues his series entitled faith works. The series comes from the book of James Stephen will help you understand how to better live out your faith practically in this lesson called more than a motto you can say in God we trust, but not trusting you can repeat one nation under God, but your life not be under the authority of God I can't think frankly friends of a better more descriptive phrase for the average guy on the street today than this phrase is read the polls, even recent ones. 80% of the people in this country believe in the existence of a supreme being, just obligate them. They want to be able to mention God but they really don't want to buy into. They prefer to remain ceremony all the ideas that you think this is a new strategy for the enemy's release of the gospel of Christ you think this is something new that the enemies come up with some kind of new tactic or strategy to launch against the truth that the church embraces is the gospel. DD think that that a religion of spiritual words apart from the reality of spiritual life is really all that you been reading James lately yeah I read it last week will pull it out with three little bit more today in chapter 2 James epistle is introduced to Austin we been working through these three different kinds of faith. Two of them are useless. One of them is the genuine item and if you are with us in our last session, he began in verse 14 of James chapter 2 by describing what we call by way of outline dad faith and we define that kind of faith with what James revealed to us as a faith words without works. James you remember took a single worship setting is a worship service going on in verse 15. He showed us the super spiritual reaction of Christians to a brother and a sister who were destitute and in need in great need. In fact, they were hungry. Their clothing was so thin that James use the word to be used of a person who had no clothing at all. They were terribly destitute and in need and at the end of the service. The believers said to them, God bless you. God bless you.

Now go get some warm clothing you want to get yourself something to eat there unbelievable indifference became the illustration for James of faith that was absolutely useless he would deliver to us the news that Christianity is a show and tell proposition, but for this assembly. It was simply telling but not showing.

James comes to the end of this particular description. This particular faith that faith and and says don't kid yourselves, you need to understand faith that does not work is a faith that doesn't work that James moves on to show us another kind of faith which we will call demonic faith and you can categorically the fine.

This faith is a set as as ceremonial deism, that is, it's all words but the words have no meaning that faith is words without any kind of works. Demonic faith is words but it's just a creed is not really living now as we examine these faith and today this particular kind of faith James will give us at least three specific characteristics.

I'll give you the first one and I will look at the text. The first characteristic of demonic faith is this. It is recognition without a relationship. Look at verse 19 you believe that God is one. You do well.

The demons also believe in shutter.

In other words, believing that God is one you could understand this phrase to be saying that you believe there is only one true and living God.

James effectively says so. The demons believe that know what might be easy to miss is James expression here at the beginning of verse 19 that would have been immediately recognized by his Jewish audience member James is writing to the Jews of the Diaspora that is the dispersion they have been because of the upper the Emperor's decree that in exile they have scattered to the four winds they going to the far reaches of of the Roman Empire in their living in difficult straits with with great need.

And James is writing primarily to Jewish believers, but even the unbelieving Jews present what immediately here in this state something that would grab them by the collar of the tunic so to speak. The average God-fearing Jew quoted a prayer in the morning and in the evening, a prayer known as the Shema taken from Deuteronomy chapter 6 beginning at verse four.

Words of that text. Begin with the Hebrew verb Shema, and from that we get the name of the prayer and the verb simply means to hear to hear the opening six words in the Hebrew language of verse four are often times, the first words a Jewish child. To this day is taught to memorize and to quote. In fact, it has become the central motto and has for centuries of the Jewish faith Shema Yisrael Aiello hey new Adam and I ask God hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one every morning and every evening. The faithful Jew prayed that prayer you see that this was the monotheism that separated them from the polytheism of the many God's prayer was there creed. It separated them from the pagans. Many would believe this is guaranteed for them. Paradise you could understand this statement to simply mean there aren't any other gods out there, but I don't. I Elohim you are the only true and living God, that by the way, is a great statement of faith would become a wonderful national anthem. It was a motto worth sinking your teeth into something to believe James does hear them with inspired precision as he leaves out the rest of the Shema because the very next phrase in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse five is old.

By the way, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind saying there's a difference between recognizing the truth about God's existence and loving you can recognize he exists without having a relationship with them.

You can say that he exists without ever giving your heart and life. What James is saying here is that the Jewish repetition of the Shema was nothing more than ceremonial words without meaning recognition without a relationship there world. By the way, and hours are filled with people who will recognize on the street that God exists. They can say the creed that it isn't that they would deny anything, but it hasn't become a part of their life. James would say that happens to be nothing more than my faith become face-to-face with the truth. Here the demons are not atheists. There's no such thing as an atheistic demon there's no such thing as an agnostic demon.

They don't they don't sit around and debate on how we got here.

How many billions of years it took to get from the soup to who I am.

No, because Job 38 says they were created first, then the universe and while God's son. Colossians 1 was creating all there is. They saying to his glory and their unfallen state tyrant debating the meaning of the crucifixion there debating whether Jesus Christ either physically OR mystically just the Christ spirit rose from the dad in the at that scene.

Demon never wonders if the Bible is telling the truth are evidently aware that by end of the affected judgments coming. They read the end of it to see the devil and his demons are astute theologian, but it's nothing more than the repetition of words, because for them it is no personal meaning it's just like a motto printed on your money says in God we trust someone demonic faith. To quote the words that just about everybody I've ever talked to about the gospel believes in heaven. They soon are going. Truth be told they could go to heaven. With or without Christ affected really rather have heaven with him because they wouldn't be sure what to do with them for all eternity. They had nothing do with him on earth with the will of the good with him in heaven.

Recognition without a relationship acknowledgment without except thirdly demonic faith is reverence without repentance. Verse 19 delivers with a look at today how you figure that out by now. But look at the demons also believe, and they will not shutter, they tremble motional reaction just intellectual said they actually feel something.

I tried all shot our it's the word first gives us our work fuzzing frizzy. You won't believe this, by the way, but one commentator actually said this verb literally means to personal like cat writer in the Bible visiting a guy like this past week hospital told me about one late-night experiencing of people talk to me this kind of thing now and a cat appeared at his patio door.

True story of the biota with which it was always going to visit with him. To be honest with you. Anything will was enough to strew a Sims late cold storming by 10 o'clock at night and all the neighbors CAT scan in my yard. He called his neighbor that the lady has the funds.

It is not my cat must be the neighbor on the other side want to call her phone number. The lady said all watches let them into your house for the night. He said no. She said will bring it over to my house and I'll take care of it until the morning she got on his coat and his gloves open the patio door when out of the deck reached antenna in a script that the cats had seen the like that he picked up the cat seemed be okay. Purring away but as soon as he turned and walked down the steps that Bristled up and sure enough, when actors hand the bite of an he went to get a little better hold on the cat to gain control of the Down again and literally went right to the glove. He let go of the catamaran off he went inside with his glove and he said one tooth of that cat had had just broken the skin with a little pinprick within an hour he noticed it was red all around the knuckle called his doctor get some antibiotics is to pick them up in the morning so be fine and he watched an hour later it was spreading the bed look up a couple hours later and paying one or 2 o'clock in the morning called his doctor get it spread. The doctors would go to the emergency room right away so I can make even more sick you been there. I'm sure even of the emergency room was was full magic, 2 o'clock in the morning. I took one look at him mutely took him back them up to an IV with with antibiotics. Doctor came and took a look at Danny said you really serious thing going on right here, he said. In fact we get to watch this because if it spreads and it comes around to the other side you might very well lose your hand to get control of it. A week later he was able to go home. I don't know why told you that story but I do think the word pictures helpful. You mentioned the person God in the demon bristles I mean that there are you back to this work carries the idea also write. In fact, the word in the noun form is the word for K which gives us our word freaky, which is transliterated the way you tense up as a scary part of some show or or or or movie that just happens to discrete the word we use for something strangely hearing it's frightening the thought of God literally freaks out the demon. The tense of the verb is really interesting. It's a tense that indicates they are consistently in this day they are consistently in fear of God.

That's why we'll learn later. James says you want to get rid of the devil.

Draw near to God. They they shot her at the truth of their own future. It makes them bristle up with horror.

The truth of Christ's sovereignty that the truth of Christ person and in his power makes him ready to strike back.

That's why they're always after you and me see you live for God.

You God for the day when his name on your lips and in your heart and mind your asking for a five just know they were afraid of, but even though they are afraid of.

They will not surrender to they will not turn around. Those individuals today were filled with demonic faith are likewise in all of God. Perhaps fearful reverence of him. They might even have a little bit of an emotional response in a church service. They will choose their own lives and their own will and their own sin and they will refuse to repent.

They might be afraid of standing before God, but that never moves them over the edge.

They still will not surrender to God.

That's demonic faith. Many people that I I've talked to believe in God, like I believe in Julius Caesar. I believe in the existence of that Emperor for covered biographies of all the Roman emperors, I I've stood at the coast of France. There, the Mediterranean, I have signed I've stood in amazement at the massive stone monument built by Julius Caesar. We conquered the goals and etched into the face of that monument in the Latin's description of his glory. It still supported on massive marble pillars.

I don't deny that.

But I have never, nor with these Jewish believers ever bend their knees and say Caesar is Lord. Those with with demonic faith will not do that to Christ. Have you, those who worship so to speak, with demonic faith will acknowledge historical facts about God in Christ in heaven and hell in the Bible and church get all their facts straight. But they will not bend their knee, they will not hand over their lives. They will not say Jesus Christ.

They may reverence Jesus Christ the son of God, to a certain point, but they'll not repent and desire to please him see people with demonic faith, one a little touch of spirituality without surrender, but I believe demonic faith is the underpinnings of ceremonial leaves, it exists in every generation, and here on this planet. It exists all around the world. People who want to God, but they don't want any obligation to God, they want God, especially in our culture, but they don't want demands of godliness.

They want a life without limits. They want to live in heaven but if he's not there.

That would be fine because they live their lives on earth without demonic faith is recognition without a relationship is acknowledgment without acceptance is reverence without repentance.

It's the repetition of words without any personal meaning attached to them.

I can say the Lord's prayer, like I can recite the Pledge of Allegiance meaningless platitudes printed on my currency ceremonial deism one Supreme Court Justice rightly observed it. It's words without any real religious meaning.

Just say the creed get your boxes checked. I received two emails in the last 48 hours that have been throwing one came from a listener said she was driving down the road just happened to tune in here the message on the conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus and she knew believer said I was blown away. Something inside clicked. She goes on to describe in her words, what amounted to being reborn. Another email came from a gentleman made an appointment with me a few days ago to talk about my conviction regarding the existence of God in my relationship with God and he said to me in my study. I wish I had the same conviction as you did. The successful businessman was raised in the church, but he knew he didn't have spiritual life and I explained the gospel to them. He knew at the end of it is that I never place my faith in Christ and I said you need to simply receive him and he said I know but I'm not ready. So we go home and you think about it.

He emailed me a couple of days ago is out of town. He said I would be back in town a few weeks but I am ready now to receive the Lord and I wrote back and I said no way for me only two weeks or two days you know what I love about both of those individuals they really didn't know the language they didn't have the vocabulary they they don't know the way around the New Testament. They truth be told that they really have a hard time explaining where they are and what they've done, but they have genuine faith and spiritual life you not our problem is. In this culture is it's possible to grow up in church and know how to repeat the Lord's prayer, but not belong to the Lord. It's possible to cite a few of the 10 Commandments, but never repent of being a sinner in desperate need of a Savior. It's possible to check all the boxes off and say I believe that God exists. I believe that Jesus is the son of God. I believe that heaven is a real place and how is Dale and I believe the Bible is God's word was in my friend listen to me very carefully, you can say all of that and go to hell forever.

James was saying quote the prior demons infected, works them up.

So what I do. Paul and Silas were in jail when that earthquake occurred. Their chains fell off God was setting up a wonderful awakening for those men. Jailer of her Paul preaching no daddy heard. In fact, the text reveals to us the Paul and Silas were singing at midnight. Praise the God in the earthquake occurs. Chains follow falloff and instead of fleeing. They waited jailer rushes in believing that they've all escaped because why would anybody hang around and he knew that if they escape that be his life, and so he decided to just skip the whole core process and fall on the sword before he could. Paul said there completely blows my came in and he fell down before them and he said men, what must I do to be saved. Can you summon up at seven. Paul said, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Believe in that little preposition Epping is weighted it means to move toward the place your faith upon it means to move toward and rest entirely upon not just to believe that Jesus exists the double belief that not just to believe that Jesus died on the cross.

The devil believes that but you move toward him in faith and with a heart of faith and repentance and you were asked upon him alone for your salvation and you will be saved to join the church not to memorize Scripture. You don't have to give money to anybody you don't have to be baptize all the wonderful things it might be evidences of someone who in fact does belong to, but you don't do that prior to you do that after work. It's living faith that now works. See, this is this movement toward this rest upon is something a demon will never ever do. It's an invitation fact confirmed in his unholy state.

He cannot accept. But it is an invitation you can accept the rest entirely upon Christ for salvation. That kind of faith. Ladies and gentlemen moves you passed merely recognizing and loosing saying I want a relationship moves beyond just acknowledge and to accept and with that comes the acceptance of everything he even his claim over your life.

I hope this time in God's word has helped you. This lesson is called more than Amato. It comes from Stevens series called faith works. In addition to equipping you with these daily Bible lessons. We also have a magazine that we publish. Stephen deals with a different topic each month and helps you better understand what the Bible says and how it applies directly to your life. The magazine also has a daily devotional guide that you can use to remain grounded in God's word every day we offer three complementary issues to anyone who calls and asks if you haven't seen heart-to-heart magazine give us a call today. Our number is 86 648 Bible. You can also sign up that wisdom online.org do that right now, then join us next time. For more wisdom for the heart