The world is quickly changing. We see that in technology, in culture, in politics, you name it. But it seems the place we are not changing is in ourselves. Have you changed much in the last year? Now I’m not talking about external things. You may be have changed your job, your home, your relationships, whatever, but I’m talking about your heart. Are you more holy this year than last year? Are you more loving? Have your grown in faith and dependence on God?
If we are honest I think that many of us would have to say, “No.” How do we really change? The key is the Word of God. Now listen, we are in church, and this is an obvious answer. But really, how much have we been changed by the Word of God? Think about it. How many sermons have you heard in your life? Well, there’s 52 weeks in a year and then there’s TV preachers and sermons on the radio and internet. That doesn’t include small groups studies and Sunday School. That’s a lot of listening to the Bible. But even with all of this teaching how much have we changed? For most of us, not much. Does this mean that this Christian thing just doesn’t work? Does it mean that the Bible really isn’t that effective? No. The problem isn’t with the Bible. The problem is with us. If you think you’re going to change just by coming Sunday by Sunday and sitting in these seats and listening, let me tell you, you’re going to be disappointed. This morning we are going to be looking at a passage that tells us how to let the Word of God change us. Listen, time is precious. You gain absolutely no credit before God just coming to church and sitting here every week. Let’s be real, if we don’t change, then why bother coming?
But if you are dying to change, then listen carefully. This will be a very practical sermon and I promise if you put these verses into practice, you will change and not just change for change’s sake; you will become more like Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at this passage again (read verse). In this passage there are four steps we need to take to let the Word of God change us. The first step is found in verses 19 to 21. To really change we have to humbly accept the Word of God. (Read verses 19-21)
Verse 21 says we have to humbly accept the word planted in us that can save us. When we hear the Word of God, we must have the right attitude. We must be absolutely convinced that the Bible is the ultimate authority on how to live life.
In the movie Waterworld, in the future the world is covered by water. But there is a rumour that some dry land exists somewhere. The legend says that there is a map to dry land tattooed on the back of a little girl. The movie follows the desperate search for this girl by a band of renegades and cutthroats and the hero, Kevin Costner trying to protect her. That girl was so valuable because she provided the only road map to salvation. Do you know that in the Bible we have something even more valuable. It is the map that keeps us on the narrow path that leads through this wicked world and to the gates of heaven itself. What’s your attitude toward the Bible?
It is absolutely true and dependable. This isn’t just a collection of opinions and wise sayings from philosophers and mystics. This is the very Word of God. If there is ever a conflict between public opinion and the Word of God, the Bible is right. If we ever have a difference between our personal experience and the Bible, we must believe the Word of God. You see, we can misinterpret events in our lives. It’s the Bible that gives a true evaluation. We must humbly submit ourselves to the authority of the Bible.
But there are potential attitudes that will block us from humbly accepting the Word of God. These verses list three blocks. The first is being unteachable. Look at verse 19a (read verse). We are instructed to be quick to listen and slow to speak. It’s been said, there’s a reason why God gave us two ears and one mouth. When we are speaking, we can’t learn. We are airing our own opinions and thoughts. This kind of attitude is deadly when approaching the Bible. They say you can’t fill up a cup when it’s already full. We have to be willing to learn. We need to listen and seek to understand the Bible. Be teachable.
The second block is found in the end of verse 19 and verse 20 (read verses). The second block is being angry. What is this anger about and who is this anger directed toward? Well look at the context of the first part of chapter one. The passage talks about going through trials and temptations. When life gets tough one reaction is to become angry at God. When life’s troubles have caused our hearts to become bitter, we won’t listen to the Bible because we don’t trust the author. You may be sitting here this morning and your heart is closed to the Bible, because you are angry at God. Let me tell you that God loves you and He is for you, not against you. You may be thinking, “You don’t know what I’m going through.” You’re right, I don’t know, but I do know this: God is trustworthy. He is faithful. And He loves us. God proved that by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross. When I was in university I remember talking to a young woman about God. She told me she had grown up as a Catholic, but now she doubted God. She said that she couldn’t believe that God was good with all of the pain and suffering going on in the world. I remember looking at her and saying I could never doubt God’s goodness. Because Jesus Christ died on the cross, suffering for me, I could never question God’s love for me. Don’t you doubt it. God loves you.
The third block is found in verse 21 (read verse). The third block is being sinful. It’s been said that either the Bible will keep you away from sin or sin will keep you away from the Bible. To humbly accept the Word of God, we have to get rid of the moral filth and the evil that is in this world. Now I’m not saying that we have to be perfectly holy before we can have the Word of God dwell within us. None of us is perfect. We are all sinners. We all fall and fail and stumble. The important point is that we are striving to be free from sin and evil. Our heart’s desire is to know God and be close to God. That’s the kind of attitude that enables us to humbly accept the Word of God.
The first step to really change is to humbly accept the Word of God. The second step to really change is to look intently into the Word of God. Look at verses 22 to 25 (read verses). It’s not good enough just to be exposed to the Bible. We need to think deeply, to ponder on it, to focus the power of our concentration on the Bible. If we don’t do that, then the Word of God will just roll over us, like water off a duck’s back. The illustration here a person who wakes up in the morning, he looks in the mirror and sees that his hair is dishevelled, he needs a shave, there’s icky stuff on his face, and then he leaves and doesn’t do anything about it. That’s a ridiculous picture, but that’s exactly what it’s like when we don’t look intently into the Word of God.
Well, how do we look intently into the Word of God? When I was in university I was discipled by the Navigators and they shared a very helpful illustration about ways we can get the Bible in us. It’s called the hand illustration. (Show illustration) Each finger represents one method of getting the Word of God into our lives. The little finger is hearing the Word of God. We do that in sermons and other teaching. The ring finger is reading. Reading is a great way of getting an overview of the Bible. The middle finger represents studying the Word of God. That’s when we look deeply into the Bible to understand it personally. The pointer finger is for memorization. There’s real power in committing the Word of God in our memory. When the Bible is in our minds, the Holy Spirit can use it to transform us from the inside out. And the thumb represents meditation. This is the key method of intake. This is when we take the Word of God and we roll it over in our minds until we hear God’s voice and we understand how He wants us to change.
Now when we look at this hand illustration, imagine that we are trying to hold on to the sword of the Spirit. How well do have a hold when we just use our pinkie? How about all the fingers and not the thumb? We need to put the Word of God into action in our lives. That’s where real change happens.
That’s why just coming to morning service is not enough. Listening to sermons is not enough. That’s why we are promoting Sunday school. Sunday school is the time where you can study and talk over the Word of God. That’s why we encourage you, if you have children to bring your children to Sunday school. Junior church is good, but it’s not enough.
How are you doing in these ways of intake in the Word of God? What’s one method of intake you want to improve on? How will you do this?
Do you really want to change? First humbly accept the Word of God. Second look intently into the Word. And third, remember what the Word says. Verse 25 says that we cannot forget what we have heard. How many of you were here last week? How many of you can restate what the theme of the sermon was? Many of us have problems remembering just about anything, let alone the Bible. (joke about wife Rose). How can we remember the Bible? One key way, we’ve already mentioned before. Memorization of the Bible is a key way to remember. If the verse is in our memories, then we can recite it over and over again.
Another big help is to do it regularly in a consistent manner. That’s one reason why having a daily devotion time is so important. As we are consistently in the Word we will find that our minds will begin to be conformed by the teaching of Scripture. Once a week is not enough. They say the average person watches 3 hours of television a day. So by easy calculation that’s 21 hours of TV a week compared to 2 or 3 hours of Bible. Which do you think will have a great influence on shaping our thinking?
One last way we can remember the Word of God is to be part of a small group. A small group provides accountability. It’s one thing to decide to witness to our neighbour this week. It’s another thing to tell what we are going to do a group of people and ask them to check up on us to see if we have done it. Often I need the external motivation to push me to reach my goals. That’s why it’s more effective to exercise with a partner than just to try to do it yourself. Whatever it takes, we must remember. We must not forget what the Word says.
How do we really change? First we have the humbly accept the Word of God. Second we have to look intently into the Word of God. Third we have to not forget the Word of God. But there is a fourth and in many ways the most important step. How do we really change? We must put into action the Word of God. Look at verses 26 and 27 (read verses). Do we think we are religious, that we are real Christians? Then we must show it through our actions. We have to control our tongues. We have to look after the most helpless and vulnerable. And we have to keep ourselves holy. You see we can study the Word of God, memorize it, and know it like the back of our hand, but if it doesn’t translate into changed behaviour then it’s worthless.
The York Region Police have an interesting slogan on the fenders of their police cruisers. Does anyone know what it says? It says “Deeds Speak”. The same can be said for Christianity. It’s what we do that ultimately tells people who we are. How then do we put God’s Word into practice?
When I was in Papua New Guinea there was a small gym where the missionaries could come and work out. The mover and shaker behind building the shed and getting the equipment for the weight room was Dan Hudson. He was an auto mechanic and shaped like a tank. He used to say that the most important thing about exercising was showing up. Just getting to the gym was the most important step. And I think he was right. Once we find out what God wants us to do, then we have to start. We have to take the first step. I find that with running. The greatest challenge is actually getting out of the door. But Dan Hudson said there was a second most important thing. The most important thing is to show up, but once we are there we have to do something. When I run, the hardest thing is to get out to door, but the next most important thing is to push myself to finish the course.
When we show up and then do something, we can begin to change our behaviour. And as we change our behaviour, we will begin to change our habits and eventually we will have changed our lives. Tyron Edwards said, “Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.”
How long does it take to form a habit? This question was addressed in a paper recently published in the European Journal of Social Psychology. Phillippa Lally and colleagues from University College London recruited 96 people who were interested in forming a new habit such as eating a piece of fruit with lunch or doing a 15 minute run each day. Participants were then asked daily how automatic their chosen behaviours felt. These questions included things like whether the behaviour was 'hard not to do' and could be done 'without thinking'. On average a plateau in automaticity was reached after 66 days. In other words it had become as much of a habit as it was ever going to become.
Now of course this was an average figure. Some people took quite a bit longer and some behaviours were quicker to develop than others. Deciding to drink an extra glass of water each day was quicker to develop as a habit than doing 50 sit-ups every morning. But if we stick with it we can develop habits that will change our lives. I keep track of my runs on a website and it gives me encouragement by emailing me achievements I’ve reached. Last week I hit 1000 km clocked on that site. I don’t say that to brag. I say that to encourage you. If someone told me that I had to run 1000 km within a year, I would have laughed at them. But little by little the miles passed and running has become a habit of my life.
On the spiritual realm I think the same kind of dynamics operate as well. We may struggle having a regular devotional time, but if we begin and we stick with it, after a few months it will develop into a habit. And that habit can begin to transform our lives.
Let me give you some suggestions about putting the Word of God into action.
1. Start small. If you want to pray regularly and you haven’t prayed much before, don’t set your target for an hour a day. Instead shoot for a ten minute prayer right when you wake up.
2. Keep at it. Remember that it takes an average of 66 days to form a habit. Stick with it and don’t give up, even when you miss a couple of days. Just pick up again and keep going.
3. Reward yourself. Set yourself a goal and when you reach it, do something you enjoy, like buy yourself that new skirt or go play an extra round of golf.
4. Get help. Be accountable to someone else. Tell them what you are planning to do. Ask them to pray for you and then ask them to check up on you. Have them ask you specifically how you are doing in this area.
How do you really change? First we have the humbly accept the Word of God. Second we have to look intently into the Word of God. Third we have to not forget the Word of God. And fourth we must put into action the Word of God.
Now it’s your turn. How are you going to put into practice what you’ve heard this morning? I want you to pray and ask God one thing He wants you to change. Then I want you to think about how you are actually going to do that. What are you actually going to do. When, where, with whom? Why don’t we spend some time praying.
Afterwards share with the person beside you.
