Brother Jim Shaw Ministries
Guard Against Comforts and Riches: Brother Jim Shaw on Jesus Refusing the Devil's Kingdoms
Brother Jim Shaw opens his fifteen-minute broadcast warning listeners not to be deceived by comforts, riches, and the lusts of this world. He builds the message around Jesus refusing the devil's offer of all the kingdoms in Luke 4, and the warnings that worldly cares choke out the Word.
Warning Against Deception and Comfort
Brother Jim Shaw opens the fifteen-minute broadcast by recalling the words of Jesus not to be deceived, which he places in Matthew 24 and says Jesus repeats about four times. He asks whether believers can be deceived, answers that they can, and says comforts are the easiest thing to make into a god. Shaw insists there is only one way to the Father, through his Word, which he identifies as Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who suffered, died on a cross, and rose again. He describes the world as run by devils who tempt people toward hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness, revenge, and idol worship, and says the only escape and the only freedom is Christ, not any other religion. His tone is urgent and pastoral, as he speaks directly to the listeners as gang and asks them to hold firmly to that truth.
The Devil's Offer of All Kingdoms
Shaw turns to Luke 4 and the temptation in the wilderness, where the Holy Spirit led Jesus before the devil met him head-on. He reads that the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and he stresses that every kingdom carries its own riches, parties, reputation, and stuff. Shaw reminds listeners that Jesus was every bit man and every bit God, tempted just as people are, though able to forgive sins in a way people cannot. He reads the devil's offer, all this authority and glory, if Jesus would worship him, and says he believes the devil held that authority, because heaven and earth will pass away. Shaw lists the gods people make of reputation, education, the medical community, women, partying, cars, houses, and paychecks, and warns that the devil has authority over much of it and can give it to whomever he wants.
Gods of Comfort and Worldly Cares
Shaw warns that the devil often steps in front of believers and blurs their vision with goals and visions, as in the thought that with enough money they will finally get this or that. He cites Mark 4:19, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things that enter in and choke the Word. He says believers must care for children, parents, and a spouse, but that such cares become a problem when they rule a believer and push Jesus aside. Shaw says the best thing a parent or spouse can receive is a person sold out to Christ. He describes a new birth that came from above rather than from parents, education, lineage, or church. He also says money is about the closest thing people will get to the Holy Spirit, since it can give peace, joy, comfort, and contentment until death brings a reckoning, when riches and goals die with the person.
Choked Word and the Fruit of the Spirit
Shaw explains that when the cares of the world, the deception of riches, and the lusts are allowed in, the Word of God is choked and becomes unfruitful. He reminds listeners that believers are meant to be good trees in the forest and the garden, bearing fruit for the Lord Jesus Christ. He reads Galatians 5:22 on the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control, and notes that against such there is no law. When the Word is choked, he says, those fruits disappear, leaving bitterness, revenge, envy, and lusts in their place. Shaw tells listeners that they must watch what they put their eyes on and renew their minds with the Word, because people slowly conform to the things of this world without noticing. He describes this slow change as the danger that goes unseen until a believer finds the fruit gone.
A War Against Tests and the Narrow Road
Shaw calls the Christian life a war, the same kind of battle Jesus faced in the wilderness. He says the Holy Spirit will place believers in positions that test them, as the Lord proved his people in the Old Testament, and that a trial is something no one can escape. He warns that a time will come when the Word moves from lip service into a real decision, a Y in the road, where one way is nice and wide and the other is nice and narrow. He tells listeners to take the narrow road and not the wide road of the world. He points them to Jesus, the Word who was God and became flesh and dwelt among us, and insists that there is only one way, through him. He urges listeners to accept Jesus Christ, live through him, and let him fight their battle today, and he closes the teaching with a blessing.
Closing Blessing and Ministry Contact
The announcer returns to the microphone to thank listeners for tuning in and to point them to the ministry's website for more information and sermons. He also gives a postal address in Vero Beach, Florida, a telephone number, and the ministry's YouTube page, which the announcer says carries more of Brother Jim's messages. Shaw has already closed his teaching with a blessing and an amen, so the announcer's contact details form the last part of the broadcast. Taken as a whole, the fifteen minutes press one message on listeners: do not be deceived by comforts, watch what they allow into their hearts, and choose the narrow road to Christ. The episode is a short, direct call to hold to the Word of God in a world that Shaw describes as harassing believers at every turn.