DOES YOUR LIFE BRING GOD GLORY?
James 1:22-25, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."
I want to speak to you about five categories of people that you will find in every church. There are people who fall into every one of these categories who believe that they are profitable servants and that their lives are reflective of their love for Jesus Christ.
Yet I believe that the Bible teaches that only one of these types of people are truly bringing glory to the name of Jesus. The fruit of their lives and their commitment to Christ are so very evident. Only one type will ever accomplish anything great for God. Only one will ever step out in faith and find God waiting when they get out of the boat.
WISHERS
Wishers sigh and cry, but never try. They know there’s more to the Christian life than they are experiencing, but they will not do anything to change. They just wish things would change without any effort on their part. They wish they had a better prayer life, but they will not set up a prayer time. They wish they had a better devotional life but they do not open their Bibles except during Church services. (If they don’t forget them at home or in the car) They wish they could lead a sinner to Christ, but they never share their faith. They wish the church had more ministry outreaches to offer, but they don’t want to commit themselves to any ministry because it might require more than they think they can give.
It has been said that the height of insanity is to continue doing the same things day after day and expect different results.
The fact is that Wishers never accomplish anything for God and they spend their whole lives wondering what could have been, should have been or would have been, and, in the end, they are like that unprofitable servant who hid his talent in the ground and then lost it to the one who had the most talents.
There are a lot of “insane Christians” in spite of the fact that God’s Word says that he has given us the power of a sound mind through the Holy Spirit within us. I don’t mean that their natural mind is insane but spiritually they are a basket case. They live in confusion and wish for things to be different but they never are.
Have you found yourself wishing that things could be better at the church? Have you sat down and wished that Sunday School could be better, that our youth group would be bigger, that our Children’s Church would be larger, or that the worship would be better? Perhaps that’s a sign to you that God is calling you out to do something about those ministries other than just wishing. Maybe God is trying to birth into your heart the foundations of a new and vibrant ministry.
Have you ever wished that your bank accounts had more in them? Have you ever wished that your marriage or your relationship with your friends, children or brothers and sisters in Christ would be better? Just wishing it won’t make it happen. It takes action, hard work, to make those things happen.
Most people will only wish and never act because of fear of failure. What they don’t realize is that inactivity is automatic failure anyway. The one thing that cures fear is action! Put those wishes into action and there is no telling where God will take you.
TALKERS
Talkers are everywhere. You can walk into any church, any time, and you can spot the talkers very quickly. In fact, the Talkers will find you because they just have to have someone to talk to. Talkers are always telling about things that they do but the things they talk about are just things in their own mind, Talkers are always talking about what they’d like to do, or what they have done, or what they’re going to do.
That’s the key - talkers are always going to do something but never seem to get there. They often get people stirred up and excited (especially the pastor) but then they leave you hanging out on a limb. Talkers usually end up running from church to church because after a while people get wise to them and quit listening to their claims to fame. If you’re going to talk the talk, then you need to walk the walk.
James 1:26, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain."
I believe that Talkers is just a nice word for LIAR and all liars will not enter in Heaven’s realms. No matter how you cut it, those people who do nothing more than talk a good talk without walking the walk are lying to you, to me and to the Holy Ghost and God will judge their lying tongue.
DREAMERS
I have always believed that it is a good thing to be a Dreamer. But there is more to be a Dreamer than just having a Dream, or a vision, for doing a work for the Lord. A Dreamer must take it a step further and put action into bringing those dreams to pass.
The problem I see is that a lot of Dreamers plan and prepare but never dare. Dreamers read a lot of books on self-improvement, go to seminars on developing leadership and write-out mission statements. Dreamers write down goals and pray about it, but somehow, between the written goals and the action plan, a short circuit develops and they never carry through.
A lot of people never get from a plan to a practice, from a list to a living ministry. Dreamers are always learning but never able to live out their dreams. In many ways, they are a combination of Wishers and Talkers.
Several years ago God gave a few of us the dream of founding and building a church. What would have happened if no plans for growth, no plans for setting up the government of the church and no plans for its operation would have ever been made? And even if the plans were made, what good would they have done if no one had put some elbow grease into bringing the plans to pass?
Nothing happens with a dream unless action is taken.
Just a few days ago I was watching a story on Biography, one of the programs that comes on the History Channel from time to time. It was the story of a man who had a dream. He had a dream of having the largest retail business in America. He dreamed making his stores into an empire that would supply the ordinary citizen with discount prices and top-quality merchandise. He formulated a plan to make it come to pass and approached his Ben Franklin Stores franchise with his ideas and was shot down. They didn’t want to hear what he had to say.
So he went way out on a limb and bought his own store in a little small town in northwest Arkansas and began to work on his plan as he had dreamed it should be. The rest of that story is history and today, Mr. Sam Walton’s dream has become the #1 largest retail business in America. I dare say that there hasn’t been a week gone by when each of us hasn’t benefited from his dream and shopped at the local Walmart store.
But what would have happened if Sam Walton would have only wished and planned but never stepped out on a limb and put his plan to work? I’ll tell you what would have happened. K-Mart, JC Penny, Sears and Ben Franklin stores would have kept the prices up and you and I would be paying a lot more for the things we need and perhaps getting more inferior products at the same time.
Thank the Lord for people who have a Dream. Dreamers create businesses, create churches, create ministries, and are instrumental in building entire communities. Dreamers become the owners of companies where non-dreamers work. Dreamers become the boss where non-dreamers become their voluntary slaves because most people would rather be told what to do than to take a chance on their own.
The world needs more Dreamers. The church needs more Dreamers. But it not just the Dream, we need those Dreamers who will put their dreams to work and make things happen. God gives the Dream but he expects you and I to get up and do the work to bring it to pass. He won’t bless laziness or fear. God only blesses obedience and faith. Dream all you want, but then get up make the dream happen.
DABBLERS
Dabblers like to start projects, but they do not finish anything. Like a person who dabbles in painting, starts a picture and then leaves it half finished, their effort in accomplishing the project is not a commitment; it’s just an interest and when it’s no longer interesting, they bail out.
Dabblers get bored easily and often leave things half done. Dabblers often leave a lot of disappointment behind them as they go through life. They dabble in ministry and dabble in serving God but they just don’t stick with anything. There are far too many Christians who are dabblers.
There are a lot of people who began to do a work for the Lord, even in our own church, who were nothing more than Dabblers. They dabbled in the Youth Ministry because it seemed exciting to be around the love of life that the youth have and their high energy level, but when push came to shove and the “high energy” level of the youth began to take its toll on their own energy level, they backed out and disappeared from the scene. Our kids have been disappointed time and again by those decided to dabble in helping build a youth ministry but then decided it wasn’t worth their time and effort to continue on.
We’ve had a lot of people who wanted to dabble in being a part of the worship team but when they found out that they had to change, listen to leadership and sing what they were told to sing and not what they wanted to sing, they quickly lost interest because it was hard work and not just fun and games.
We have had those who wanted to Dabble in nursing home ministries but they soon realized that they were not willing to give up their free time on Saturday to visit and minister to the elderly in the homes.
The church has always been plagues by Dabblers. I believe that a lot of good ministry programs were begun by Dabblers, but they weren’t the ones who are making those ministries happen. I’ve seen people start a new ministry but then their commitment level to that ministry falls off and a new leader has to be appointed to keep the ministry working the way it should. Then the Dabbler gets their feelings hurt because someone took “their ministry” away from them. Let me tell you right now. If a new ministry is formed in the church and people are being blessed then it would be a sin to allow that ministry to suffer and die because of a bad leader. God expects us to be faithful.
There is nothing more disappointing to me as a Pastor, or to you as a church member than to see a good ministry program come to naught because someone simply quits doing their job.
DOERS
Now we come to the final category of people in the church called the Doers. These are the only people who really bring glory to God and who will accomplish great things for the Lord.
It is the Doer who will urge the Wisher to take steps to make his wish come true. It is the Doer who will call the bluff of the Talker and make him put up or shut up. It is the Doer who will encourage the Dreamer to make his dreams a reality. It is the Doer who will either force the Dabbler to stay committed or get out of the way.
Doers make things happen. Doers don’t just wish about it.
Doers don’t just talk about it. Doers don’t just dream about it.
Doers aren’t dabblers, doers are darers.
Doers dare to build ministries; dare to step from the crowd and lead the Bible study. Doers don’t just listen to the Word, they dare to obey the Word and they are the ones who are excited about what God is doing.
Doers dare to share their lives as a testimony unto the Lord.
Doers are the ones who dare to bring others to church.
Doers of the Word are what every Christian has been called to be.
What are the benefits of being a Doer? Why are they Doers in the first place?
1.) Doers are doing what they do so that their lives may glorify God.
1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
2.) Doers are the happiest Christians in the Church.
John 13:17, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."
3.) Doers do God’s will and give Him pleasure.
Philippians 2:13, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
4.) Doers receive strength and power from God.
Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
5.) Doers are the most blessed people in the Church.
James 1:25, "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."
No church has ever grown without a healthy number of Doers. We usually have more than enough of the Wishers, Talkers, Dreamers and Dabblers, but we must all become Doers and not hearers only.
I thank the Lord for those among us who are the Doers. Without your commitment and work this church could not exist. I want to encourage all of us, to be as much a part of the ministry of this church as you possibly can. Be a Doer and let’s all work together to bring glory to the Lord.
Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording, including sermon titles, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these sermons. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and/or quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
