A. In America, Bibles are everywhere.
ILLUSTRATION:
You can find them in doctors’ offices, prisons, and motel rooms. They’re available in all sizes, shapes, translations and versions, leather bound or paperback. Every year the Bible OUTSELLS every other major book. It is reported that 93% of Americans have a least one Bible, and most own more than one. Yet, one study revealed—90 million American have never read a single verse in the
Bible except for what they have read on social media.
B. What’s even more disconcerting is the LACK of BIBLE KNOWLEDGE among Christians.
ILLUSTRATION:
George Barna’s RESEARCH GROUP conducted a survey of self-pronounced Christians and
here’s what he found about their knowledge of the Bible. (Now, remember these are Christians.)
• 48% could not name the four Gospels. (What are the four gospels?)
• 52% cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus’ twelve apostles.
• 60% of American Christians can’t name even five of the 10 Commandments.
• When asking graduating high school “Christians” over 50% of them thought Sodom and
Gomorrah were husband and wife.
• 61% of American Christians think The Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham.
C. Needless to say, today’s Christian families and churches are producing a lot of ILLITERATE Christians
when it comes to BIBLE KNOWLEDGE.
1. We need to spend more time READING and STUDYING God’s Word.
a. 1 Peter 2:2- “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk {God’s Word], so that by it you may
grow up in your salvation.”
COMMENT:
We cannot become MATURE Christians without DIGGING into God’s WORD and
APPLYING it to our lives.
b. Parents and Grandparents, your children and grandchildren need to see you studying your Bible.
COMMENT:
They need to know that God’s Word is IMPORTANT to you. They need to see you READING it and hear you QUOTING it, and making REFERENCE to it in your daily CONVERSATION.
When your children come to you with a PROBLEM they are facing in SCHOOL or with the NEIGHBOR KID down the street, take them to the Bible to find a SOLUTION. Let them see that God’s Word is PRACTICAL and RELEVANT to what they are going through TODAY, and not just some ANCIENT BOOK that really doesn’t APPLY to them.
ILLUSTRATION:
There was a boy who spent a great deal of time at his friend’s house. Every time he came for a
visit he saw his friend’s grandmother studying her Bible. Finally, he asked his friend about it, “Why is your Grandmother always reading that Bible?” He answered, “I don’t know for sure, but I think she is cramming for her finals.” (The END is coming, so let’s start CRAMMING for our
FINALS!)
2. James presents three RESPONSIBILITIES that we are to have regarding God’s Word.
MESSAGE:
I. HEAR THE WORD OF GOD- vv. 19-20 (READ)
COMMENT:
Although James’ admonition can refer to any relationship, in the context he is talking about our RESPONSIBILITY towards God’s Word. If we want to get the greatest BENEFIT from God’s
Word, then there are three things that James said we must do:
A. “Be QUICK to LISTEN.”
1. This was especially important to the FIRST READERS of James because they had no New
Testament Scriptures—virtually all COMMUNICATION of the Gospel was orally.
COMMENT:
Believers met together in HOUSES to hear preachers tell the story of Jesus and His saving GRACE. Good LISTENING SKILLS were crucial to their spiritual NOURISHMENT.
2. This same ADMONITION is especially needed in the CHURCH today.
ILLUSTRATION:
We live in a world of 15 second TV commercials and 5 second sound bites. We are being transformed into POOR listeners. Psychologist Paul Tournier has said that the majority of our conversations—even between couples—are “dialogues of the deaf.” This affects not only our
RELATIONSHIPS, but our SPIRITUAL LIVES.
If we have developed limited ATTENTION SPANS, our times of Bible READING have to be ROUGH GOING. The DEVOTIONAL PRAYER of modern man is, “SPEAK to me Lord,
you’ve got FIFTEEN seconds.”
Not only is Bible STUDY in trouble, but can you imagine how difficult it is for PREACHERS to PRESENT a SERMON that holds everybody’s ATTENTION for 25 to 30 minutes. In the first century 3 to 4 hour SERMONS were commonplace. If I tried that, I’d be
STONED.
3. The point is simply this: we must make a CONSCIOUS effort to overcome our listening problems.
COMMENT:
Turn off the television and spend more time delving into God’s Word, get involved in a Small Group Bible Study, attend Sunday School. Come to CHURCH prepared to LISTEN attentively to a MESSAGE from God’s Word. Let God SPEAK to you though His WORD, and
LISTEN! (I JUST HOPE THAT YOU WERE LISTENING NOW!!)
B. “Be SLOW to SPEAK.”
ILLUSTRATION:
As you know, I grew up in a very LEGALISTIC fellowship of BELIEVERS known as the NON-INSTRUMENTAL Church of Christ. Those within that fellowship are known as people who LOVE to ARGUE Scripture. There are TRADITIONS and PRACTICES that we do in this church that I would have said 35 years ago as a rookie preacher, that YOU would be LOST for doing. The most obvious is WORSHIPPING with an INSTRUMENT. I would have ARGUED with you and POINTED OUT what I believed were supporting Scripture to CONDEMN you. I wouldn’t have CARED what you had to SAY or what Scripture you wanted to QUOTE, because
you were WRONG.
It wasn’t until a few years later that I finally quit SPEAKING (ARGUING) and started LISTENING and STUDYING my Bible OPEN MINDEDLY and realized that my LEGALISTIC
VIEWS were perpetuated by my UPBRINGING and not by what GOD’S WORD actually taught
(Don’t be quick to jump to CONCLUSIONS. LISTEN to God’s Word before you SPEAK.)
C. “Be SLOW to become ANGRY.”
1. How many times have you heard a PREACHER or BIBLE CLASS TEACHER say something that struck you the WRONG WAY, and you spent the rest of the time STEWING on that one point
and got nothing out of the LESSON?
ILLUSTRATION:
During my 35 years of preaching, I have known members of the church who have actually LOOKED for something that I say in a sermon to be UPSET about. When I was preaching in Texas, I had an elder who came to me one Sunday morning after a sermon pointing to his watch and said, “Fred, you were 4 minutes and 23 seconds into your sermon before you quoted your first Scripture.” (Do you think he benefited from God’s Word that morning?)
2. God is telling us through James to control our tendency to FLY OFF THE HANDLE and let God’s WORD get deep down in our SOULS and WORK on the things that we keep HIDDEN UNDER those SUPER-SENSITIVE FEELINGS.
II. ACCEPT THE WORD OF GOD- v. 21 (READ)
A. The word for “accept” that James uses means “to welcome” or to “take hold of.”
1. It has the idea of allowing God’s Word to make RESIDENT in our HEART—to SAVE us, to
CHANGE us, to MOLD us in the LIKENESS of Christ.
a. That’s why James said, “Get rid of all moral filth and evil that is so prevalent.”
COMMENT:
Remember, James is writing to Christians. He wants them to understand that having God’s Word in their lives should CONVICT them, to CHANGE them, to MOTIVATE them to “LIVE
the RIGHTEOUS LIFE that God desires.”
b. Hebrews 4:12 (READ and COMMENT)
2. If God’s Word hasn’t CHANGE your LIFE, then have you truly ACCEPTED it—have you
INCORPORATED it into your DAILY LIFE?
a. We think this WORLD is BAD now, but can you IMAGINE what kind of WORLD we would
LIVE in if we didn’t have the BIBLE to CHANGE us and MOLD us into Christ’s likeness.
ILLUSTRATION:
An American visiting a small VILLAGE in New Guinea that was once known for HEADHUNTING and CANNIBALISM . . . saw a NATIVE sitting under a TREE reading the BIBLE. The young American arrogantly commented, “In our country, we don’t even allow the Bible in SCHOOLS anymore.” The NATIVE replied in broken English, “If no Bible—you be EATEN by now.”
b. Maybe the reason we are seeing such CHAOS and VIOLENCE in our world today, is because people are moving further and further away from the TEACHINGS of God’s Word.
B. Notice that James said that we are to ACCEPT the Word of God . . . “HUMBLY.”
1. Our PRIDE is what keeps us from truly ACCEPTING God’s Word and ALLOWING it, through
the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, to CHANGE our lives.
COMMENT:
Pride says: “I’m ALL RIGHT the way I am. I don’t NEED to CHANGE.”
2. We are to SWALLOW our PRIDE and ADMIT that we are a MESS without God and that we desperately need DIVINE DIRECTION and GUIDANCE.
III. DO THE WORD OF GOD
A. Not only should the Word of God CHANGE our LIVES, but we must ACT UPON IT- vv. 22-24
(READ)
1. Why do people look into a MIRROR?
a. Well, unless you are simply NARCISSISTIC and just like to look at your REFLECTION, you look into the MIRROR to see what you need to do to IMPROVE your LOOKS.
ILLUSTRATION:
I don’t know what you LOOK LIKE when you get up in the morning and look into the MIRROR, but I have actually SCARED myself with my REFLECTION. I have this BED HAIR thing going on, there’s this big GLOP of SLEEP RESIDUE in my eyes, and my FACE is UNSHAVEN (the 5 o’clock shadow may look good on some guys, but after 24 hours of
WHISKER GROWTH on this FACE . . . WHEW).
But what if one Sunday morning I get out of BED and look in the MIRROR and see all the IMPROVEMENTS that I need to make on my APPEARANCE—UNKEMPT HAIR, UNSHAVEN FACE, FOOD stuck in my TEETH, but decide to WALK AWAY and do NOTHING about it and then COME to CHURCH looking like that? I don’t think I would get very FAR until somebody took me aside and ask, “Fred . . . are you DRUNK?”
2. James says, “That’s the person who LISTENS to God’s Word as to what he or she needs to do to
IMPROVE their LIVES but does NOTHING about it.”
B. Now there are TWO WAYS of looking into the MIRROR of God’s Word.
1. Sometimes, we do it in a very SUPERFICIAL way.
COMMENT:
We decide on Monday morning that we want to start READING our Bibles every day, so we READ a CHAPTER or TWO and are PROUD of our ACCOMPLISHMENT. But we don’t
pick up our Bible again until the following Sunday for CHURCH.
a. When we do that we are merely GLANCING into the MIRROR.
ILLUSTRATION:
How many of you LADIES and TEENAGER GIRLS just GLANCE in the MIRROR before you are off to WORK or SCHOOL or CHURCH? Now remember I have a WIFE, two DAUGHTERS, and two older GRANDDAUGHTERS, and if you are anything like them you
don’t take a QUICK GLANCE into the MIRROR and out the DOOR you go.
You spend a half-an-hour or longer EVERYDAY standing before that MIRROR washing your face with that special CLEANSING SOLUTION that makes your face KISSABLE SOFT. Then you meticulously put on your MAKE UP and LIP-GLOSS. And then you spend much of
your time BRUSHING and RE-BRUSHING your HAIR making it’s just right.
Spending all that time before the MIRROR is still not long enough for many of you, because when you are in the CAR waiting for the LIGHT to turn GREEN you have your VISOR MIRROR pulled down and STILL TRYING to make some MINOR ADJUSTMENTS to your APPEARANCE. (I know . . . because I see you in my REARVIEW MIRROR!)
b. James 1:25 (READ and COMMENT)
COMMENT:
We need to look INTENTLY into the Word of God everyday and let God SPEAK to us. We need to listen to God as if our LIVES depended on it . . . oh, yeah, that’s right . . . IT DOES.
2. Another way to look into the mirror of God is to allow it to TRANSFORM us- vv. 26-27 (READ)
a. When we let God’s Word CHANGE us, when we not only HEAR it and ACCEPT it but determined to DO it, it will cause us to SEEK PURITY in our own lives—to remove the “pollution of the world” from our LIVES—and it will DRIVE us to find ways to HELP
others—especially those who can’t HELP themselves.
COMMENT:
You see, the more LIKE God we become, the less SELF-ABSORBED we will be. The more we intently LISTEN to Him, the more we will be CAPTIVATED by God and MOTIVATED by
the NEEDS OF OTHERS to help.
b. TRUE RELIGION is LIVING for GOD and LOVING PEOPLE.
COMMENT:
Don’t call yourself RELIGIOUS and BAD MOUTH your brother or sister in Christ. Don’t call yourself RELIGIOUS and REFUSE to help people with their NEEDS. Don’t call yourself RELIGIOUS and LIVE an IMMORAL LIFESTYLE. (Let’s DELVE into God’s Word and allow it to TRANSFORM our lives into the LIKENESS of Jesus more and more everyday.)
CONCLUSION:
ILLUSTRATION:
I’d like to read an ARTICLE about this concept of “DOING the Word” from Rick Warren:
Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you’re my executive assistant in a rapidly growing company. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and to stay there until the new branch gets established, and I leave you in charge of the busy stateside organization. I tell you that I will E-MAIL you regularly and give you DIRECTION
and INSTRUCTION.
I leave and you stay. Months pass. A flow of E-MAILS is sent 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. I am stunned! Grass and weeds have grown up high. A few windows along the street are broken. I walk into the receptionists’ office and she is doing her nails, chewing gum and watching her favorite game show on television. 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 ask about your whereabouts and someone in the crowded lounge area points down the hall and yells “I think he’s in there.” Disturbed, I move down the hall and bump into you as you are finishing playing a VIDEO GAME with our sales manager. I ask you to step into my office (which
has been converted into a GAME ROOM).
“What in the world is going on here?” “What do you mean?” “Well, look at this place!
Didn’t you get any of my E-MAILS?”
“E-MAILS? Oh, yeah, sure, got every one of them. In fact, we studied your E-MAILS every Wednesday night since you left. We even divided the personnel into small groups and discussed the things you wrote—some of those things were really interesting. You’ll be pleased to know that many of us have committed to MEMORY some of the sentences and paragraphs in your E-MAILS.
I’ve even seen a sentence or two POSTED on Facebook. Great stuff in those E-MAILS!”
“OK, OK, you got my E-MAILS, studied them, meditated on them, discussed them, memorized them, and even shared them. BUT WHAT DID YOU DO ABOUT THEM?”
“DO… uh, we didn’t DO anyhing about them."
2 Tim. 3:16-17 (READ & COMMENT) -God’s Word is only beneficial to us when we DO what it says.
