The Foundation of Following Jesus
Part 3 – Applying God’s Word
James 1:22-25
January 23, 2011
Audio of this sermon can be heard at www.aberdeenwesleyan.org.
Introduction
This is the third part of a four-part series on the foundation of following Jesus, which is the Bible – the Word of God.
Two weeks ago we started by talking about different ways to get God’s Word into our lives – listening, reading, studying, and memorizing it, and how getting into God’s Word helps us to:
- Learn about Jesus accurately.
- Live for Jesus completely.
- Serve Jesus effectively.
Then last week we talked about different ways to get below the surface of God’s Word by studying it in different ways.
Today we’re going to look at a passage of Scripture that will help us become people in whom the Word of God really comes alive so the Holy Spirit can transform us to be more like Jesus.
Because when we’re more like Jesus, we honor Him, and we’re better able to do the work He’s given us.
And as you will see as we work through this passage, you open yourself up to blessing from God.
God: The passage we’re focusing on today is James 1:22-25 (read aloud together) –
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 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 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 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.
Some facts brought out by this passage:
1. Surface intake of God’s Word is not good enough.
There are plenty of people around who think that because they read the Bible or get it in church that that’s enough, and God is pleased with their dedication to His Word.
But that’s not true.
Look again at verse 25 –
But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this…
What’s another word for looking intently? Studying. Another word is meditating.
The idea is that you’re digging beneath the surface to see how God wants you to put His Word into your life in an active and intentional way.
You’re saying that you really want to understand this and how it relates to you living in the here and now.
But just understanding it isn’t enough. Understanding is supposed to lead somewhere.
And that’s the second fact I want to point out from this passage:
2. Our intake of God’s Word is supposed to lead to obedience.
Our “looking intently” into God’s Word is supposed to lead to the “doing it” part.
I mentioned last week and in previous messages that there are lots of people who can tell you what the Bible says on a lot of different subjects, but there’s nothing in their life to show that they are actually letting the Scriptures get into their lives through their obedience.
They can discuss the end times, prayer, God’s sovereignty, or whatever, but they still treat their wives and kids like garbage, cheat on their taxes, rob God in their tithes, talk about people behind their backs, and all sorts of stuff.
Their knowledge has puffed them up to the point where they can’t see where they’re falling short in obedience.
They feel that they are all spiritually mature because they can quote Bible verses and walk you through different doctrines of the Bible.
But the fact of the matter is that they are not mature – they are immature because they haven’t moved onto the most elementary result that their study is supposed to bring them: obedience.
Here’s the third fact we can pull out from this passage:
3. Obedience to God’s Word brings freedom.
I’ve mentioned before that for so many people, obedience to Christ is seen as putting on a pair of handcuffs from God because He just wants to make us slaves to a life of religious drudgery.
And yet nothing could be further from the truth.
Obedience actually sets us free from the lies the world has been feeding us.
Obedience sets us free from our own self-centeredness because our focus moves from ourselves to Jesus and others.
Obedience sets us free to live for Jesus without the baggage and weights carried when we buy the lie that our greatest happiness comes from putting ourselves first.
Obedience sets us free to experience everything that God has for us – the joy, the meaning and purpose to life.
All of which leads to the fourth fact about obedience from this passage, and that is that…
4. Obedience to God’s Word brings blessing.
…not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.
Okay – anybody here against getting blessed by God?
Well, the good news is that that’s just what God wants to do for you.
The only barrier to receiving God’s blessing is not obeying God’s Word.
Conversely, as we obey, we access God’s blessings, which He wants to give us.
Obedience – “doing” God’s Word brings blessing.
Folks, here is the bottom line of what I’m trying to get through you today:
Just “listening” brings DECEPTION, doing brings BLESSING
Why does just listening bring deception? Because it gives the false impression that you have it all together.
When you apply it, you find out whether you really understand it or not.
Folks, one of the things that was impressed upon me once again at the weekend seminar was something that I tend to forget once in awhile: that Jesus loves you.
He loves you so much that He came to earth in we could see and understand.
He loves you so much that He died the most horrible of human deaths – willingly and with joy because He saw the glory beyond the cross, and He knew the salvation He was bringing to all who would accept it.
He loves you so much that He gave you His Word – so that if you will take it to heart and obey it, you will be blessed.
So get into the Word. Don’t just “listen” to it by only getting the Word here at church or just reading it occasionally.
Get into and it study it – so you can learn what to obey and how to obey it. So you can experience God’s blessing.
You: Okay. Let’s move on and talk quickly about what we can do to “do” God’s Word:
Obey what is clear.
Love your wife. Stop looking at other women. Give your tithe. Raise your children to love Jesus. Be honest to others and in your business dealings. Pray. Read and study the Bible.
Most of this isn’t hard to understand, and a lot of it isn’t actually very hard to do, once you get off your spiritual rear end and do it.
If you’ll focus on what is clear, then the rest of the stuff will clear up as you mature in your character and understanding of Scripture.
And by the way, that maturity and character in understanding happen as you obey what you know to obey.
Stop over-spiritualizing.
“If we just love Jesus, that’s enough. He knows I love Him and well, He knows I’m not perfect, so there’s really no need to obey everything because He saved us not by our obedience but because He loves us, and my obedience won’t make Him love me anymore.”
That just sounds nice, doesn’t it? Too bad it’s false.
Jesus does expect obedience. Total obedience. With His help.
We can come up with all sorts of theological gymnastics as to why we shouldn’t bother with obeying Jesus, but unless you can show me that Jesus didn’t know what He was talking about or that He was lying about this, then all your spiritual squawking doesn’t amount to anything more than hot air.
Get rid of the excuses.
“But it’s unrealistic to obey nowadays.”
Says who? The world? You mean the people who don’t love Jesus, who don’t know His Word, and therefore have no clue about what obeying Him is all about?
And so can’t tell you what it means to be blessed by God?
Those people?
Yeah, you should really listen to those guys…
“Well, I don’t see that guy doing it and he’s a Christian.”
You know what? I’m not talking to him – I’m talking to you.
The Bible says that every person – including that person will give an account of himself to God.
So don’t worry about that person – worry about yourself.
“But it’s too hard to change at this point in my life.”
First of all, I can guarantee you that people of all ages try to use that excuse.
Second, you’re right. It’s hard. In fact, it’s impossible. On your own.
But the good news is that you have the Holy Spirit, who helps you want to obey Christ and then helps you actually do it.
“But I’ll lose all my friends if I start obeying God’s Word.”
Yes, that’s very possible.
Jesus said that living for Him can – and will – cost you some of your most precious relationships.
But let me tell you something: if they were really your friends, they would be supportive of living for someone and something outside of yourself that leads you to be a better person and a better friend to them.
If they get angry and leave you, let me just say rather bluntly that they are more interested in what you bring to them than they are in your welfare.
By the way, let me be quick to say that this is not saying you should leave all your friends.
What I’m saying is that as you obey Christ, and as you make choices that are more reflective of Jesus than of your old life, some of them will reject you.
You, on the other hand, need to continue to love and pray for them.
The Bible is very clear that we’ll never be able to completely isolate ourselves from everyone who might try to influence us until we actually leave this earth.
Our job is to do the influencing as we display love for Christ in our obedience and love for them as we choose Christ over everything and everyone else.
Along this line, Christ didn’t shy away from people who didn’t love Him. He went to them and loved them into His kingdom.
He never accepted or excused their sinful behavior, but He told them that they could be free of it by coming to Him.
Drop the excuses.
Excuses are like armpits – everyone’s got a couple and they usually stink.
If you want something you can do today, you can memorize today’s passage.
We: Folks, the difference between lip-service and life-service is this – applying God’s Word so the Holy Spirit can use it in our lives to shape us to be more like Jesus.
It not only shapes our character, it opens up to blessing. And then it does something else: it shows the world that Christians aren’t just a bunch of fluff and no stuff.
It shows that disciples of Jesus – real followers of His – not only exist in this day and age, but have the enjoyment and significance in life the world promises but can’t deliver in the long term.
It shows that hypocrisy is supposed to be the exception instead of the rule.
And when the world – your world – sees that, you’ll have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone you know and love – a difference that can mean heaven instead of hell.
Can you imagine what it would be like if more Christians right here in our area got serious about applying God’s Word in their everyday living?
People would see the truth about Jesus lived out right in front of them, and they’d see their own need for Him.
Lives would be impacted and changed. The kingdom would grow. And God would be glorified.
Let’s pray.
