Young People's Group

BE DOERS OF THE WORD

by Pastor Mitch
November 18, 2012

Dealing With The Problem Of Being Hearers Of God’s Word Only

Many of us enjoy listening to God’s word. We come every week to Church to hear the word of God preached to us. And yet, more often than not, we are found wanting when it comes to practising what we hear. James identified this problem of the lack of practising God’s word as self-deception.

“And not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 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; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” 
James 1:22-23

Many can be deceived into having a faith that does not act on what they hear. If people hear the word and they do not practise what they hear, they are likened to a man who sees himself for who he really is in a mirror and yet when he goes away, he does not do anything about it. In fact, when departing from the mirror, he has already decided to not respond to it. He immediately forgets what kind of person he is. He deceives himself into thinking that he is alright and does not need to change. The Lord Jesus taught in the text of Matthew 7 that those who hear His sayings and do not do them are likened to a foolish man who builds his house on the sand. When the storms of life come, his life will crumble and falter (Matthew 7:26-27). Young people, we can end up being unresponsive in our approach to hearing the word of God. Let’s seek to correct this self-deception.

The Challenge To Have A Faith That Gets Down To Doing The Word Of God

The challenge for us is to seek to have a pro-active approach towards hearing the word of God.

1. Implanting The Word In Our Hearts

“Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” 
James 1:21

As we hear the word, we must seek to receive it with humility and gentleness. We must let the seed of the word be implanted in our hearts. This is the intrinsic nature of God’s word. It can grow within our heart and it has the power to save our soul. Matthew 13:12-23 denotes the idea of how when we receive the word and understand it, the word will bear fruit within our life.

2. Continuing In The Word

“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer” 
James 1:25

The person with faith in God’s word will continue in the things he has heard and he will remember them. Our challenge is to put in even more effort towards abiding in the word of God. Paul encouraged Timothy to take heed to the word and to continue in them (1 Timothy 4:16). Let’s also seek do so.

3. Becoming A Doer Of The Word

“But be doers of the word … a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” 
James 1:22, 25

Ultimately, we are meant to exercise faith in being a doer of the word. We will translate the word of God into works. This person who practises the word will be blessed in what he does. The Psalmist wrote of how as the righteous delights in God’s word, he will be blessed by God in all that he does (Psalm 1:3). Young people, let’s seek to have a faith that expresses itself in works and let’s not be hearers of the word only. Let’s get down to doing His work.

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