Living Out God's Word: Beyond Hearing to Obeying
Summary
In this sermon, I emphasized the importance of not just hearing the word of God, but also obeying it. I explained that following Jesus is not just about listening to His teachings, but also about living them out in our daily lives. I used the analogy of children being told to clean their rooms, and instead of doing so, they memorize the instruction, sing songs about it, and discuss it, but never actually clean their rooms. This, I explained, is similar to how many Christians treat the word of God. We hear it, we discuss it, we even memorize it, but we often fail to live it out in our lives.
I also highlighted the danger of being hearers of the word but not doers. I explained that when we only listen to the word of God but do not obey it, we deceive ourselves and also become deceiving to the lost and broken world around us. I stressed that the goal of following Jesus is not just to hear His teachings, but to obey them. I concluded the sermon by encouraging the congregation to not just hear the word of God, but to live it out in their daily lives.
Key Takeaways:
- Following Jesus is not just about hearing His teachings, but also about living them out in our daily lives. ([34:34])
- When we only listen to the word of God but do not obey it, we deceive ourselves and also become deceiving to the lost and broken world around us. ([35:13])
- The goal of following Jesus is not just to hear His teachings, but to obey them. ([35:48])
- We should not just hear the word of God, but live it out in our daily lives. ([00:33])
- We should not be obsessed with information intake, but rather with doing what God says. ([02:54])
Study Guide
Bible Reading:
1. James 1:22 [07:40]
2. Hebrews 4 [14:10]
Observation Questions:
1. What does James 1:22 mean when it says "do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says"?
2. In Hebrews 4, how does the Word of God penetrate our hearts and souls?
Interpretation Questions:
1. How does James 1:22 challenge the way we engage with scripture?
2. What does Hebrews 4 teach us about the power and purpose of God's Word?
Application Questions:
1. Can you recall a time when you merely listened to God's Word but failed to act on it? How can you ensure that you not only listen but also act on God's Word in the future?
2. How has God's Word penetrated your heart and soul recently? What changes has it prompted in your life?
3. What is one specific way you can be a "doer of the word" in your daily life this week?
4. Can you think of a person in your life who exemplifies being a "doer of the word"? How can you learn from their example?
Devotional
Day 1: Hear, Believe, Do
The process of spiritual growth involves hearing the word of God, believing it, and then living it out. This is not a one-time event, but a continuous cycle that should be a part of our daily lives. We must not only hear the word, but also let it sink into us, grow our faith, and then live it out in our daily lives ([07:40]).
James 1:22 - "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
Reflection: Reflect on a recent time when you heard the word of God. How did it impact your belief and actions?
Day 2: The Word Targets the Heart
God's word is not just a history book, it gets into our story and targets our hearts. It calls us to change, to live out what we've heard. Being a Christ follower isn't just about hearing the word, but about obeying the truth we've heard ([14:10]).
Hebrews 4:12 - "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Reflection: How has God's word targeted your heart recently? What changes is it calling you to make?
Day 3: The Bible as a Mirror
The Bible is like a mirror, showing us our true selves. It helps us realize that we don't have it all together and that we need a savior daily. The point of the mirror is not the mirror itself, but that it points back at us to show us what's wrong ([09:19]).
James 1:23-24 - "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."
Reflection: How has the Bible served as a mirror in your life? What has it revealed about you?
Day 4: Monitor Your Mouth
God calls us to monitor our mouths, to use our words as instruments of life and not destruction. What we say and how we say it matters, and we should strive to use our words to build up rather than tear down ([26:36]).
Ephesians 4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Reflection: How can you better monitor your mouth to ensure your words are instruments of life?
Day 5: Love with Your Life
True religion moves to action, particularly to love others with our lives. This includes caring for the most vulnerable among us, like orphans and widows. Our faith should not be confined to a church building, but should be lived out in our daily lives ([27:15]).
James 1:27 - "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Reflection: How can you love others with your life this week? Who are the vulnerable people in your life that you can care for?
Quotes
1. "Church, we've been called to be a part of that and that's why one of the reasons that we as the exchange financially support for the last number of years every month we support an organization in Swaziland Africa called hosea's heart and their sole Mission why they do what they do is to take girls orphans out of sex trafficking and to put them in a safe place where they are loved and they are provided for and they are taught about the grace and the unconditional love of a loving heavenly father." - 29:30
2. "James says don't get caught going to a church building on Sundays when it's convenient for your weekend putting on your church face and telling everyone everything's fine in your life mumbling some songs nodding at the preacher and going to lunch and calling yourself religious. He says True Religion moves to action part of that action is to love others with your life particularly the most vulnerable like orphans and widows." - 26:30
3. "Hear believe do. How do we hear? Well, we hear in moments like this. That's why we gather around the word every seven days. We hear when we personally engage scripture which I'm hoping is an application point of your life that like you read the word you don't have to have me to help read the word or you gather with other people in spiritual Community." - 05:33
4. "The Lord knows and Hebrew says right there in chapter 4 that he knows you and his word is not a history book but his word gets in your story and it targets the heart it divides joint and Marrow it penetrates to the soul and you know it always calls us to do to change to live it out it's going to sharpen or encourage or challenge something in us." - 13:37
5. "Being a Christ follower isn't just about hearing the word preached or reading it on a Monday morning at the breakfast table but it's about obeying the church truth and what you've heard preach. The goal isn't to hear and absorb but it is to do to live it out." - 13:37
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