Doers of the Word
January 4, 2015 Evening Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: We must not merely talk the walk, but also walk the talk.
Focus Passage: James 1:22-25
Supplemental Passage: By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. 1 John 2:5b-6
Introduction: Let’s play ‘Let’s Pretend’. Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until a new branch office gets established. I make all the arrangements to take my family and move to Europe for six to eight months. And I leave you in charge of the busy stateside organization. I tell you that I will write you regularly and give you directions and instructions. I leave and you stay. Months pass. A flow of letters are mailed from Europe and received by you at the national headquarters. I spell out all my expectations. Finally, I return. Soon after my arrival, I drive down to the office and I am stunned. Grass and weeds have grown up high. A few windows along the street are broken. I walk into the Receptionist’s room. She is doing her nails, chewing gum and listening to her favorite disco station. I look around and notice the wastebaskets are overflowing. The carpet hasn’t been vacuumed for weeks, and nobody seems concerned that the owner has returned. I asked about your whereabouts and someone in the crowded lounge area points down the hall and yells, "I think he’s down there." Disturbed, I move in that direction and bump into you as you are finishing a chess game with our sales manager. I ask you to step into my office, which has been temporarily turned into a television room for watching afternoon soap operas. "What in the world is going on, man?" "What do you mean?" "Well, look at this place! Didn’t you get any of my letters?" "Letters? Oh yes! Sure! I got every one of them. As a matter of fact, we have had a letter study every Friday since you left. We have even divided the personnel into small groups to discuss many of the things you wrote. Some of the things were really interesting. You will be pleased to know that a few of us have actually committed to memory some of your sentences and paragraphs. One or two memorized an entire letter or two - Great stuff in those letters."
"OK. You got my letters. You studied them and meditated on them; discussed and even memorized them. But what did you do about them?" "Do? We didn’t do anything about them." (Improving Your Serve, Chuck Swindoll)
I. Hearers of the Word
a. There is a difference of hearing and listening
b. Hearing is the reception of sound; listening is meaning given to that sound
c. Neither is worth anything if you don’t do something about it
II. Fakers of the Word
a. Those who hear and don’t do something about it are simply playing church
b. They are counterfeit Christians who only attend church but never get involved
c. They are carnal Christians who agree with the preacher on Sunday, but do what they want the rest of the week
III. Doers of the Word
a. Doers are those who are changed by what they hear
b. They are moved to participate in the work of the Kingdom
c. They are persuaded that there is more about this life than themselves
Application/Invitation:
