Man In The Mirror. (Hix)

James 1:22-25- But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

God has something He wants to say to you today…..God wants you to do more!

That doesn’t necessarily mean He wants you to add more things to your to do list, not saying, some of you may need to do that!

But some of you are already stretch petty thin, you’re wearing too many hats as it is!

What I’m talking about is being more obedient to God with what you are doing!!

Whether it’s at home, at work, at play, wherever!

That obedience to God would take top priority!

James is warning us, he is telling us there is a deception in just hearing the word!

We know that the bible clearly states that… Romans 10:17-So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Hearing is a very important part, but it must lead to something else!

Faith always reveals itself in action…Sacrificing Isaac, building a ark, leaving Egypt, facing a giant, marching around a fortified city!!

The sad fact is, I could stand here Sunday after Sunday and preach the word, and feel pretty good about myself, feel all righteous and spiritual but the truth is as much as I read God’s word, study God’s word, meditate on God’s word, it means nothing without applying it to my life!

He maybe preaching thru me, but He is also preaching to me!!

Like one preacher said, “There isn’t a Sunday that goes by that I don’t preach beyond the level of my obedience.”

But there is a danger for as well, you can begin to feel a great deal of accomplishment, because you showed up for church, you can even begin to feel superior to those ones who didn’t!

But James is reminding us, that we have to do more than just listen!!

Because we can deceive ourselves into believing we are more righteous than we are!

How can we make sure we are not doing that, that we are not fooling ourselves!

We have to look in the mirror!

What is the mirror? God’s word!

God’s word never reflects a person different than the way they are….Their good traits and their bad traits!

That’s what a mirror does, it reflects what we really look like!

We can feel pretty good about ourselves, till we look in a mirror (Don’t get me started about a lighted mirror) and the mirror shows all our flaws, all our wrinkles, all our pimples, that we are not comfortable in seeing!

I want you to understand that looking at God’s word is not enough, because some people look at it, study it, can even quote it, but it has not changed them, it has not made them a better person, they are still self-centered like they have always been!

There was this lady who had a date with handsome and charming man. They had meet a restaurant for their first date, for a late night supper, as the talked and enjoyed each other’s company, she couldn’t help but notice, that he could keep his eyes off of her, it seemed like he was hanging on to every word she said.

It wasn’t till she got up to go to the bathroom, that’s when she noticed the mirror right behind where she was sitting, then it dawned on her, he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking at his own reflection!!

Verse 24- for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

For many of us, this is what happens to us, we hear God’s Word, or we read God’s Word, we so entangled in the cares of this world, or so focused on other things, or we make excuses of how we are, or why we can change!

We to easily forget, the things that God is pointing out (Thru God’s Word) in our life that we need to change!

Verse 25-But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

God’s Word has to be your consent companion!

Some people sit the bible on the coffee table in the living room, like it has some magic powers, but the truth is, the only power it has is when it is in your heart, your mind and your mouth!!