There's an App for That!

Music playing Paul Sheppard, senior pastor at Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. You can hear the word of God in many ways. You're doing one of them right now by listening to Pastor Paul's media ministry. But perhaps the best way to hear God's word is to read it for yourself. Today on Destined for Victory, Pastor Paul reminds you that God wants you to be a doer of what you hear. Just as modern day cell phones have an app for just about anything these days, there's an app for every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So stay with us now, or stop by pastorpaul.net anytime to hear today's message or any recent Destined for Victory message on demand. That's pastorpaul.net. You can also subscribe to the podcast at Google Podcasts or wherever you enjoy yours. Now, let's join Pastor Paul as he shares today's Destined for Victory message.

There's an app for that. James Chapter 1 beginning with verse 18. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created. My dear brothers, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. For man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. If you underline or highlight in your Bible, you want to underline or highlight verse 22. Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.

Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does. If anyone considers himself religious and does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, Lord, have mercy, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

Religion that God, our Father, accepts as pure and faultless is this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Boy, that's some text. Let's plow through there and see what the Lord would say to us. Now, James has instructed us in the earlier part of this chapter in two areas. He's talked to us about dealing with trials and he's explained to us that we ought to count it all joy when we go through trials of many kinds and we saw in the previous message that trials represent all the challenges we face in our lives that God wants to use to promote us, to help us to move to maturity. So he says you got to learn to count your trials as pure joy because God will use them to give you a spiritual workout and grow some muscles in your life. Then he went on to talk about temptations and he said where temptations are concerned, which are enticements toward evil, he said we shouldn't count those joy, rather we should learn how to run away and overcome the temptations that we are all going to face. And we must learn that when it comes to temptations, you don't just say no, you get yourself out of the environment so that temptations cannot pull you in. How many know that temptations have a gravitational pull and the longer you hang around something that you're tempted by, the more you'll be sucked in. And so he's taught us that we have to learn to avoid temptation, not only get away from it and overcome it, but don't even put yourself in the arena. I call it don't shop at Temptation Mall because sooner or later you're going to buy something. Because at Temptation Mall they have signs up, everything must go. And what you have to learn is that everything must not go to your house when it comes to temptation.

So you've got to learn how to stay away from it. Now look at how he moves into the next phase of his teaching here in James 1. And in verse 18 he says to us, we've been chosen by God and he gave us birth, watch this, through the word of truth. Through the word of truth.

What I want to talk to you about today is your relationship to the truth. And I've entitled this message, there's an app for that. There's an app for that because he's going to go on to tell us about the importance of applying truth to our lives. Now you know that phrase, there's an app for that, comes from Apple. The Apple company trademarked that phrase some years back when they first began to produce smart devices, when the first iPhone came out. Then eventually other smart devices, the iPad and all of that kind of thing, when that first came out they trademarked a slogan that they used with all their sales in those early days that said there's an app for that. And they began to show us that they had gotten companies to begin to create and develop apps so that when you got the smart device from Apple there would be a lot of companies who would allow you to download an app and it would cause you to be able to use your phone and all kind of wonderful features.

Of course now all of us are quite used to them. But at that point it was a new concept that when you buy this device suddenly you can get apps that will help you in all kinds of practical ways. There are folks who have apps and they'll give you coupons and discounts for things in there.

Apps that will help. You can bank now on your smart device. You can just take a picture of a check.

You don't even have to take the check to the bank. Just take the picture of the check and if you got the right app the check goes in your bank account. All kind of wonderful things and I love the various apps. I don't have too many because it would confuse me if there's too many on my phone but I got like my 25 or 30 most popular apps that I really use and that's the way I do it. Just 25, 30 of them. Some of y'all got apps and you got to scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll through all your screens looking for various apps. I can't do that but I got about 25 of them. But anyway when that first came out they said there's an app for that.

Whatever you want to do with your phone there's an app for that. Well I want to let you know that God is telling us through the Apostle James that we have to learn to apply the word of truth because God is going to bless our lives in a particular way. Now I want to help you see how he develops this thought. He says, he says first of all we were born again as a result of the word of truth. In other words the only way you get saved is somebody's got to preach to you the word of truth.

Somebody's got to share with you the word of truth. And he says it is that word of truth then that allows you to respond to it, open your heart and receive Christ and be born again. That's why it's important for us to be people who share with others in our lives the word of truth because until they get the word of truth they can't respond to the word of truth and until they can respond to the word of truth they won't have the opportunity to be saved. But once they hear that Jesus loves you, that when he came to the earth he died on a cross for your sins and that if you open your heart and accept him you will be born again and you will have everlasting life.

Now that they know that they can respond to that. So it's the word of truth that makes the difference. Why are you going to heaven and not hell? Because of the word of truth that one day I heard and I accepted.

Why do I have life and not spiritual death? Because of the word of truth that I accepted. How am I learning to live a life that pleases God that makes more sense? It's because the word of truth came to me and I received it into my heart. Saints we have to be people who share the word of truth. I thank God for every Sunday school teacher I ever had.

I thank God for the bad ones and I had some bad ones. Some of y'all did too back in the old Sunday school days and we had teachers good and bad but they shared the word of truth and as a result as young people we began to hear the message that Jesus loves us. We began to hear the message that we don't have to die in our sins we can be saved by God's grace.

It's because somebody stopped and shared the word with you. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, anybody who has sway over especially the generation coming for God's sake share the word of truth with them. Don't you have a bunch of little heathen grandchildren and you won't let them know about Jesus. Tell their parents up front when they come to my house they're gonna hear about Jesus. Oh my I don't want my kids man I want my kids to be able to grow up and make up their own mind then don't bring them to my house because everything in my house is gonna hear the word of truth.

That's the way the old saints did it. You're gonna hear the word of truth. Not only did they send us to Sunday school all through the school year then in the summer they sent us to Bible camp and vacation Bible school and all kind of little come on some of y'all know even in the summertime they were sending said well I gotta go to church.

You're trying to play outside. You can play after Bible school and be over at noon you can play this afternoon this morning you going to Bible school. Stay with us the rest of today's destined for victory message is straight ahead. You know right before he ascended into heaven Jesus told his disciples to go out into all the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's our mission here at Destined for Victory to share this good news with the world in which bad news is also common. You can help to make a safe and secure online donation or to shop our online store for a host of great resources please visit pastorpaul.net that's pastorpaul.net or download our free mobile app by searching Destined for Victory at your app store. You know when we make time to read and study God's word consistently and intentionally we're better prepared to become doers of his word to apply his truth to our day to day lives. Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's Destined for Victory message.

There's an app for that. I remember a little song they sang at the end of one year of our vacation Bible school. They said Bible school is over and we are going home.

Goodbye goodbye and we are going home. I remember me and my friends that was the most exciting time of vacation Bible school. When they got to that song Bible school is over and we are going home. One of my friends put in a hallelujah in there. He did I can still hear it to this day I'm grown now I still hear him singing Bible school is over and we are going home hallelujah goodbye. They were cramming the word of truth down our throats. I'm glad I'm glad because you know the Proverbs say when you train up a child in the way they should go when they're old it won't depart.

That word will be there. There's no guarantee that they're going to get saved but it's a guarantee that they will know they're wrong. And I don't know if you've had the experience but I've had the experience of ministering to a lot of people now adults who get themselves in some world of trouble. And when I come sharp at the jail or wherever they pastor you know I know better than this because my mama taught me.

They knew better because the words in them. So we have to value the importance of the word of truth share it with the children in your life share it with the adults in your life. Please remember we live in a new America. This is not a Christian America. This is not a Bible centered America. We are in a brand new world and people have discarded the word of God. They play it down they act like it's not important.

They say that's old foggy. That's people who were unenlightened. Now we are too enlightened. We got a bunch of folk around us who think they have been so educated that they can ignore God and his word.

And it's a dangerous state for you to allow them to stay in. So you got to interrupt their ignorance with the truth. And share with them that God loves you. That he sent his son and that his son died for your sins.

And he has a plan for your life. I don't care who snickers. Some of y'all got to get ready for people putting you down and snickering because you still believe the Bible. That's the norm these days. I see people rolling their eyes all in the back of their head because somebody has witnessed to them or shared faith with them. I share it on an airplane wherever I get a chance.

Let somebody know. One time I had my Bible out on the table in front of me that little tray in front of me waiting to be served and I had it out once and the person said what's that? Didn't he recognize the Bible? So this is the Bible.

Oh. And I know they didn't say it but they said you read that? So I not only read it I live by it.

Listen folks you got to understand we live in a world now where you can't be in a popularity contest. You got to tell people the word of truth. They're dying without Christ every day.

You got to share with them the word of truth. And he said that's what caused us to be born again. Look at verse 19 he said my dear brothers take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen slow to speak slow to become angry for man's anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires therefore get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly except the word planted in you which can save you.

Lot there. Let's break it down. First he's told us verse 18 about the importance of the word of truth that that's what has resulted in our salvation. Then he goes on to make the first of three things he says here which is you got to make a deep commitment to listen to the truth listen to the truth. And he says my brothers take note of this everyone should be quick to listen slow to speak slow to become angry before we move away quick to listen listen to what listen to the word of truth he's been talking about listen to wisdom the Bible is full of wisdom you will live your life better if you stop and read the Bible every day that's why I put out a Bible reading plan every year and I just ask you to read one chapter of the New Testament and one chapter of the Old Testament every year some of you read through the entire Bible in a year that's great they have some great reading plans for you to do that but that's a good bit of reading and so I typically say read at least one chapter in the New Testament and one chapter in the Old Testament every day during the weekdays I give you a 10 chapter a week reading plan and I want you to take it up we keep it on the website we have it available to send to you soft copy or hard copy whatever it is because you need to read your Bible before you get up and get started I just often grab my phone right by my bed and go to my app my Bible app there's an app for that in fact I have two different versions I had the Old Testament set up on one version and the New Testament set up on the other when I grab my phone I just go to the one with the Old Testament takes me right to the scripture I'm supposed to be reading that day and I'm still in bed I'm reading the word of God before I get up because the devil meeting me and people meeting me and challenges are meeting me once I get my shower and get out the door so I got to get the word before I get you and read the word of God you say I'm too busy you're not too busy just wake up and read it before you get showered wake up and read it before you bathe because you need the word more than you need anything else and he says listen listen be quick to listen and then look at the contrast slow to speak everybody got something to say he said we got to learn to be quick to listen to what God is saying to the wisdom he sent it into our lives to anybody who has something good and godly to say listen listen to anything helpful listen to anything good and guiding in your life be quick to listen problem with us is we don't understand the revelation of your face your face is trying to preach revelation to you your face on your face are two ears one mouth so you can be twice as inclined to listen than to talk we all act like we got four mouths and one ear all want to say something but brothers and sisters if you're going to live a blessed life a productive life a fruitful life a life God can bless you must be quick to listen quick to listen slow to speak we don't all have to hear what you think please understand what you think is important to you but not to the rest of us well see the way I see it there's the problem there's the problem way I see it that's the problem the more you listen the more you take in God's Word the less you'll be inclined to have a personal perspective and so he says quick to listen slow to speak and then look what he says slow to become angry for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires he says we have to learn when he brings up anger he's just bringing up one of many examples he could have brought up but I love as I studied this passage over the years I love the genuine thought that he put into this because what he is saying is when you allow emotions and he uses as example here anger when you allow that to drive your life it will never produce he says what God desires see many of us are driven by our emotions when we ought to be letting the word set in and we ought to drive our emotions as a passenger in the vehicle of our lives but if you let your emotions get in the driver's seat how many know if you were led by your emotions every day of your life you would never accomplish the will of God see if I let my anger rule the day then my anger is gonna make me make decisions that aren't always wise don't you see these people out here even on the streets you got people out here being shot in their cars because they cut somebody off and the person comes back around and flips them off or something like that and rolls the window down and cusses them out and then they respond the one who did the first cut off that made the person angry what you should do and if you read your word it'll tell you what to do what you should do is and say oh I'm sorry that's surrender yeah my bad I'm sorry I didn't see you I cut you off I almost made you have an accident so sorry show some surrender but what some of y'all do who are quick to talk and quick to be angry you now want to get into it now you were the one wrong cause you cut them off I'm trying to help somebody in fact I'm trying to help somebody not get shot before the end of the year what you should do is just say my bad sorry and let them just go on and dress you down it only take them a few seconds and they're gonna drive off you'll be safe go where you're going no I'm not some of y'all I see that no nobody and so because you take that position now you're gonna get into it with them and we all read about people being shot in their cars when all you had to do is back down but some of us don't have back down in us we feel like our emotions tell us I had to be respected above everything respect is highly overrated I'd rather be disrespected and make it home come on somebody disrespected and make it home then I'm gonna stand up for myself and get shot just trying to help you many people these days are listening to the wrong voices they pay heed to conventional wisdom instead of genuine wisdom to the common sense of man instead of the uncommon sense of God the book of James was written to help us see more clearly how to live the practical Christian life and it starts by listening to the right voice now if you need prayer today please reach out to us anytime and share your request with us our ministry team would be happy to join you in praying for whatever need you may have visit pastor paul.net use the contact us feature to share your request and while you're there be sure to ask for pastor Paul's monthly letter of encouragement yours at no cost or obligation well we have a great resource to share with you today a booklet from pastor paul that goes hand in hand with this message junk removal for the soul inside these pages you'll discover practical biblical advice about setting aside some of the habits from your old life in order to embrace the newness of who you are in Christ that's our thank you gift to you by request for your generous gift to destined for victory today and this is the final day of the special offer so please contact us right away call eight five five three three nine five five zero zero or visit pastor paul.net to make a safe and secure donation online and you can also mail your gift to destined for victory post office box 1767 Fremont California nine four five three eight again destined for victory box 1767 Fremont California nine four five three eight first i listen then i accept now i must apply i must apply the word there's an app for that i must apply the word i must do what the word just told me i should do that's tomorrow and pastor paul shepherd's message there's an app for that until then remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ you are destined for victory.