Doers of the Word (March 25th)
Just a warning label on this morning’s service. This will be an interactive service. First, I need five volunteers willing to read some Scriptures this morning. [hand out cards] Second, I want everyone to take out their Bibles, if you haven’t already. If you didn’t bring your own Bible this morning, go ahead and grab one in front of you in the pew. We’re going to be looking up some Scriptures together. You’ll also want to have something to write with and on. We still have some notebooks available in the gathering area outside the sanctuary, Feel free to slip out and grab one if you’d like. Now, please allow me to pray for this morning’s message.
Skinny on the Bible Video (Preview)
I too have one of those Bibles. My mom gave it to me on my graduation from college. It was hers when she was a child and has many of her favorite passages written in the cover and underlining throughout. I also have a Bible that I got as a Confirmation gift that has been so loved and used that James through Revelation as well as the Concordance and Map Section is no longer attached. It is important to find a Bible that we like, one that is easy for us to read and that makes sense. This is my first challenge to you this morning. So write this down. Step One: Find a Bible that you like. If you don’t already own it, purchase one.
But it is also important to read our Bibles, not just leave them sitting on our shelves. You’ll notice the Scripture was not on the screens this morning. This was intentional. It is important for you to be able to look up the Scripture passage in your own Bibles. This enables you to become familiar with your Bible, to read surrounding passages, to underline parts that are important to you, to bookmark it and return to it later. Reading the Scripture passage out of your own Bible provides all sorts of opportunities, many very necessary to vital spiritual growth, that just aren’t possible when we only read it off the screen. That’s my second challenge. Write this down. Step Two: Read the Bible and bring it to church with you. Use it to look up Scripture not only throughout the week but on Sunday mornings.
And onto the crux of this morning’s message. Let’s take a quick journey into Scripture and explore what James means when he says “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
Who has John 13.12-17? Everyone please turn to John 13.12-17. Jesus came to us, as it says in John 1, as the Word of God in fleshly form. Here, the Word, Jesus, has given us directives. He says, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you…Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.” There is an expectation that we will follow the example that has been set before us in Christ, something we become aware of as we dive more fully into the Scriptures.
Who has Romans 2.13-16? Everyone please turn to Romans 2.13-16. Merely listening to the law, the Scriptures, does not make us right with God. We must obey it. Paul goes even further saying that even those who do not have the written Scriptures know the difference between right and wrong, and God will judge us for that.
How about Luke 6.46 and Matthew 7.21? Let’s turn there. Pretty simple, yes? Only those who actually do what God asks of us will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not enough to merely hear the Word. We must respond.
And Malachi 1.11-14? Let’s turn there. Stronger words here. You dishonor my name with your actions. The passage here speaks of the animal sacrifices that God demands and His people have chosen to bring stolen, sick, and crippled animals as offerings. They were expected to present the best of their flock as a sacrifice. Good, choice animals. The people are trying to tell God that what God asks is too difficult, but what we must know is that God never asks anything of us that we cannot accomplish. So when He gives us His Word, His holy Scripture, He expects us to obey it, to do what He says. And to not bring junk to the table. We had a professor in college who led our choir and one of his favorite phrases was “Holy shoddy is still shoddy.” Just because we are doing something in the name of God doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be done to the best of our ability. We can’t ignore God’s commands nor give Him our leftovers.
And to round it out, Amos 5.21-24. Everyone turn there. This is the strongest language that has been presented thus far. God is speaking through Amos to the people about their ability to follow His commands. He says, I want to see justice, I want to see righteousness, I want you to live according to the commands that I have given. The people had been offering up the best sacrifices they had and yet they did not honor God with their lives. We learn that integrity means that what you do cannot be separated from what you believe. God is asking for the people to live lives that reflect His Word. We are to live righteous lives, we are to carry out God’s justice by taking care of the poor and widowed.
And all this ties back into James, if you’ll turn there with me. He gives instructions about how we are to conduct ourselves if we are to call ourselves Christians. Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Living pure lives, listening and accepting the Word of God. And remember, he says, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. I love the analogy James gives. It’s like looking in a mirror, checking yourself out, and doing nothing about your appearance. Can you imagine doing that, ladies? When we read the Bible, we begin to see ourselves as we are and as we should be. It has the power to change us, to transform our lives, to keep us from being who we are and changing us into who we should be. But if we don’t look into the mirror, into the Word, or if we look into it and do nothing about it, we might as well have not looked in the first place.
Then James continues in the last two verses. If you claim to be religious, if you claim Christ as your King, but speak as if you aren’t, then your religion is worthless. God has given us these bodies, the ability to act and speak, in order to spread His Word and His love. Think on this for a moment, if God wants to give someone money, He will probably use someone to reach into their wallet and hand money to someone. If God wants to give someone a hug, He will use one of us to reach out and hug them. We are God’s love with skin on it and we testify to that each day. By a show of hands, how many of you have friends, co-workers, or family members who know that you attend church? And what does that say to them about your God when you fail to live your life as God directs? Whether you realize it or not, your life is a walking testimony to the God that you serve. When you speak out of turn, when you become overly zealous or angry, when you lie, cheat, steal, and become vulgar and obscene, when you are lazy and complacent, when you write off church as boring and irrelevant, you are sending a message to others about God.
We will talk more next week about what it means to truly respond to God’s Word and to be doers of it, but what I want most to impress upon you today is challenge number three. Do what the Word says. It is not enough to come to church. It is not enough to go to Bible study or youth group. It is not enough to serve in the nursery, though these are all good things. What God asks of us is to do the Word and not be hearers only. If we never do anything with what we hear and learn, then our knowledge, and in turn, religion is useless.
I want to do something different this morning. Instead of having a commitment hymn, we are going to have a response to the Word. Our sound guys are going to play a song for us that speaks about God’s characteristics as found in Psalm 145. While the song plays, I want each of us to meditate on what has been presented this morning and consider what God is calling you to do as a result of hearing His Word. I would like you to take a piece of paper and write down one thing that you will do this week as a doer of the Word and not just a hearer.
