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!!
Psalm 119:11-18-Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!
12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes!
13 With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.
16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.
Let’s look at this in the context of a relationship: In a relationship there are levels of commitment
You can be in a physical relationship and not be emotional involved! Is that not true?
(A person can just going thru the motions, just staying in the relationship for whatever reason.)
You can in an emotional relationship and not be physical involved! Is that not true?
(In our society today, with all the technology that is available to people, you hear a lot about instead of physical affairs, you hear about emotional affairs, people getting involved with someone emotionally.)
The same thing can happen to us Christians!
We can show up at church physically, we can sing, we can pray, we can offer our tithes, but we are not here emotionally!!
But we can also be here emotionally and not be here physically….Let me explain that, People can hear sermon, they get convicted by it, they may get inspired by it, they may get moved by it, but then they don’t do anything with it, they have just been hearers and not doers!!
God is looking for more than just head knowledge of Him, but He is also looking for more than just someone going thru the motions!
If you were Him, would you be satisfied with the way you treat Him?
