Doers And Hearers

Introduction

Well Good morning,

I would like to continue on where Pastor Mario finished off last week.

I believe last week he shared some important truths with us about how we are to handle the trials and triubulations that happen in our lives

Just to recap a little of what he said last week

He said that trials and triubulations do not come from God but he allows it at times in the lives of a believer for a specific purpose and to help us to mature in our faith.

This year our theme is going deeper and one of the ways God uses in our lives to go deeper or to grow and mature in him is through trials and triubulations

Now as Pastor Mario shared last week - we love our comfort zones

We love to be comfortable and sometimes in life we believers can become too comfortable

We can get a little too nice and cozy at times

Sometimes when we get a little too cozy and nice we can get lazy

If life is always smooth without any troubles we can get spoilt at times

Cause we love comfort and we love the coziness

It’s like if you go to stay in a hotel for a period

Better yet if it is an all inclusive

Man you can eat how much you want

breakfast, lunch, dinner

You could real gee them because the food have already been made by someone else

You could have the room messy -

No need to make up your bed

Pelt your pillow one side - have the coverlet another side

Bed very messy

and then you can go out and return to your room later in the day and your entire bed etc is made up by someone else and it’s nice and cozy again for you to dirty......

Now if life was always like that we would love ourselves and we would love ourselves too much.....

Many times we as Believers can become a little too comfortable and sometimes we need a little shaking of our worlds

Sometimes God needs to do something in our lives to help us not to forget him because the Blessings can sometimes take the place of the blesser.

This morning I want to let you know that if your life is always a bed of roses then something is wrong .......

As believers trouble is going to find you and you need to know how to respond when troubles find you....

We are all going to experience Job like experiences in our lives

Introduction to Scripture

Pastor began by speaking from the Book of James and I will be continuing from that book this morning

Now I must admit that James is one of the most practical books in the Bibles

James was the half brother of Jesus and when you read this book you can get the heart beat of Jesus

You can tell James is a no- nonesense type of preacher

He is one who tells you like it is

He doesn’t beat around the bush

He doesn’t sugar coat the message

Some people say that James seems to disagree with Paul when it comes to Grace but James is not against Grace but he knows that as followers of Jesus - our walking should line up with our talking

He says that there is a way we ought to live as believers

Most Christians today don’t want a preacher who tells them how to live

Most Christians today want some nice Cinnamon preaching

All they want is cinnamon

we just want the sweetness

leave the bitterness aside

We want preachers that will just have us saying WOW with their deep insights

As believers we cant just want wow preachers but we need OW preachers

Preachers who might give you a little pinch that have you saying OW

That was the type of preacher James was

My sermon is from the book of James so expect some OW moments if you guilty.....

Last week we had some OW moments as well when Pastor shared from this book.....

This book is so practical I want to encourage every single one of you to read this book

It’s just 5 chapters long

Read 1 chapter a day

Anyone can read 1 chapter a day

In fact turn to the person sitting next to you and tell them - EVEN YOU CAN READ 5 CHAPTERS

When you finish reading all 5 chapters you can boast I have read out an entire book

We live in a day and age where reading is so rare

You will be able to boast I may not have read out any book but I read out the book of James

When I was reading this book he had me going OW a little

He hits you hard in areas you know you need to do better in

James wants to get in your business and challenge how you live

James is one of the most direct and to the point books on godly living in the entire bible. There’s not a single person on the planet that could not learn something applicable from the book of James

Many times you hear people say this Bible have nothing relevant to us modern Christians

There is nothing we can apply in our life

That book is too ancient

READ THE BOOK OF JAMES

Today I will be sharing from James 1 19-25

Scripture

James 1:19–25 NIV

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Now when we are going trough trials there are many places that we can turn to

It is never a nice time and while there are many sources we can turn to James wants to remind us that the main source we should turn to when going through trials is God and his Word.

James knew that when trials come your way - you need to go to God and his Word for direction and comfort through this difficult time in your life.

Being the half brother of Jesus he must have seen this all the time through observing Jesus.

Today I would like to speak to you all on BEING DOERS OF THE WORD

In this portion of scripture James give us some good advice on how we are to Respond to God and his Word

There are 3 ways I would like to share on today about how we should respond to God’s Word

We receive the Word Humbly

James 1:19–21 NIV

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

When it comes to receiving he Word humbly - James offers 3 simple words of Advice

Firstly he says

Be Quick To Hear

As believers we can sometimes become a little harden when it comes to listening to God.

In fact we listen to any and everyone but we refuse to listen to what God has to say.

Especially when we are going through a trial in life we can listen to what doctors have to say on the subject

We listen to what friends and families have to say

Some Christians get so desperate that they even go by the Obeah man to see if he can help them or advise them

WE need to learn to hear what God has to say in the matter

Now admit that I am guilty as charged when it comes to this

Many times when going through trials I may try my best to reason out what is happening.

I may listen to my own thoughts or my own intellect of what I think is happening

Exalting Jesus In James We Receive the Word Humbly (James 1:19–21)

In verse 19 James says we are to be “quick to hear.” Basically, he’s saying, “Hurry up and listen”

We need to learn to be quiet and listen to what God is saying to us by his Word and through other means as well.

Those that will not hear the comfortable voice of God’s Word shall be made to hear the dreadful voice of his rod.

Matthew Henry

Sometimes we bring pressure on our selves when we refuse to hear God in the midst of our cirumstances

Slow To Speak

Now when we are going through trials we can find ourselves like Job

Having endless unnecessary conversations with friends and families and other people

We are quick to speak to these people but not to God to find out what is going on in our lives

You see when you are going through trials and tribulations you will find a lot of friends like Job friends coming to tell you what is going on

A lot of them will be telling you a lot of rubbish but you want to be like Job and keep entertianing them with conversation after conversation

James is saying we need to learn to be slow to speak as well

Now I know for a lot of you listening to me this morning that is hard to do

We love to speak our minds

We love to tell people like it is

The reason why we should be slow to speak is because there is someone greater than us who has something to say to us but when we cant hear him when we alway talking

I am sure you know people like that

You have something to say to them but because you cant get a word in they cant hear what you want to say to them.

But there is another way in which we need to be slow to speak, namely, to ourselves. In other words, when the Word of God is being declared, we must be on guard against the tendency to be inwardly raising objections.

Roger Ellsworth

Slow to Become Angry

Now hear is the thing about going trough trials

A lot of times we can become very moody

I know when I sick or going through a bad time I am defintely not my usual self

I am sure we all can get angry easily when we going through a hard time

Some of us we dont have to be going through a hard time to get angry easily

for some of you that is your spiritual gift

getting vex comes natural

A man trip off like a plant

Getting angry easily can cause us to say things and do things that we later regret

A cat was so faithful that the woman could leave her baby with it & go out to attend other matters.

She always returned to find the child soundly asleep with the cat faithfully watching over him.

One day something tragic happened. The woman as usual, left the baby in the "hands" of this faithful cat and went out shopping.

When she returned, she discovered rather a nasty scene, there was a total mess.

The baby's cot was dismantled; his nappies and clothes torn to shreds with blood stains all over the bedroom where she

left the child & the cat.

Shocked, the woman wailed as she began looking for the baby.

All of a sudden, she saw the faithful cat emerging from under the bed. It was covered with blood and licking its mouth as it had just finished a delicious meal.

The woman went berserk & assumed that the cat had devoured her baby.

Without much thought she beat the cat with a wood to death.

But as she continued searching for the "remains" of her child, she beheld another

scene.

Close to the bed was the baby, who although lying bare on the floor, was safe and under the bed the body of a snake

torn to pieces in what must have been a fierce battle between it and the cat, which was now dead.

Then reality dawned on the woman who now began to understand what took place in her absence. The cat fought to

protect the baby from the ravenous snake.

It was too late for her now to make amends because in her impatience and anger, she had killed the faithful cat.

Little patience can drastically reduce major life long mistakes.

Be quick to hear but slow to respond and become angry

*(James 1:19-27).*

This is what we do many times to those around us when we are angry

They mean well but we push them away and say mean things to them

We may not kill them physically but we kill them with our words

Sometimes we fail to see that God has his hand in this trial we getting angry at the wrong people.

If Joseph could sit with you he would tell you that what the enemy may have planned for evil - God used it for good

I was talking to someone recently and this person was telling me how they had gotten sick and could barely talk during that time

Not being able to talk can actually be a good thing because you can say a lot of mean things when you are angry and can sin.

When we look at the context in James

James: Wisdom for the Community 1. Be Eager to Hear the Word (1:19–20)

James seems here to speak of anger as it relates directly to the life-giving Word. He warns us not to be angry at God’s Word because it reveals our sin and challenges our behavior and values. Like a man who stones the prophet for delivering God’s message, this man becomes angry at the Word because it reveals God’s truth to him.

If we really want to accept the Word humbly - we need to learn to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry

We Remember the Word Constantly

James 1:22–25 NIV

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

You see when we are going through trials we sometimes get a Word from God and we need to remember this Word that we got.

When Job was going through his trials he was trying to get a word but he got a word from the wrong sources

It was only near the end of the Book of Job when God spoke did Job get a word about his issues

Now here is the thing - God uses various means of speaking to us with the Bible being the primary means of his speaking

All other Words we get are subject to the authority of Scripture

The voice of God will never contradict the Word of God

When we go to read the Word of God we should expect to get a word from God and we need to remember this word constantly

Exalting Jesus In James We Remember the Word Constantly (James 1:22–25)

In verse 25 James talks about the man who “looks intently into the perfect law of freedom.” The phrase “looks intently” can be used to refer to stooping down and looking closely at something

One good example of this was Thursday evening where the Minister of Education said she would give an update at 8 p.m as to if there will be school on Friday

People at that time were looking intently at there phones in expectation as to what she will say

Everyone was looking intently

The parents, the teachers, the leaders and those in authority.........

As the minutes got closer - the more intently people looked

Finally when she sent out the memo - people read it and they did not forget what she wrote

They were happy,

They were encouraged after what she wrote....

In the same way

amid the busyness of our lives, we need to stop for some time during the day, look at the Word, read it, and study it. Don’t be content with a little word from God for the day. Dive in deep. The language here carries the idea of looking “with penetrating absorption.” Absorb the Word.

In the same way how when we are sick we will take our panadol, our paracetamol, our drips etc

We need to take in the Word of God as well....

Barna did a survey of Christians and 85 percent of us pray every week

Only 37 percent of us actually open our Bible to listen to what God has said

You see when we are going through trials it affects our faith as well and our faith can sometimes waver when going through hard times

This is why we need the Word of God to speak to us and encourage us and we need to remember his Word during these times

That is so important so when you are sick and down or going through trials don’t unplug yourself from where the Word is being preached

Even if you can’t make it into the room you can log on to the zoom

Hear the Word of God

Be encouraged by the Word of God

God may say something to you during that time

or may speak to you during your time in the Word of God

We need to be able to remember what he said to us

Look at verses 23-24

James 1:23–24 NIV

23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

The man who absorbs the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do so will not forget what he hears. In verses 23–24 James contrasts this kind of man with another man who doesn’t remember the Word. James uses a deliberately ridiculous analogy of a person who gazes into his own face in a mirror but then seconds later couldn’t even pick himself out of a police lineup. He forgets what he looked like. James says not to do this with the Word—don’t forget it.

Now can you imagine this

I am sure everyone on a daily basis looks at themselves in a mirror

Especially you women

All throughout the day you watching mirrors

Want to make sure you looking nice and dandy

Imagine watching yourself and then forgetting what you looked like

Imagine watching yourself in the mirror and there is a huge booger in your nose

And then you forget about that - and you go about your day as normal

You wonder why people looking at you strangely

James is saying to us that that is how many people can treat the word of God

They read the bible - they hear it but they forget what it said

The longer you look into the mirror the more things you see

Exalting Jesus In James We Remember the Word Constantly (James 1:22–25)

This command not to forget God’s Word reminds us of the history of God’s people. In Deuteronomy God gave His people His law, the second giving of the law, before the people went into the promised land. Deuteronomy 6:4–9 contains one of the most important passages in Israel’s history, and it relates to remembering God’s Word:

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NIV

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Exalting Jesus In James We Remember the Word Constantly (James 1:22–25)

Don’t forget God’s Word: let it lodge in your heart and in your mind; have it always before you.

Exalting Jesus In James We Remember the Word Constantly (James 1:22–25)

If all we do is listen to the Word when we come together for corporate worship, then we are like this fool in James 1:23–24. We listen and leave, and then by lunch, or perhaps by dinner, it’s all gone. What good is that?

We obey the Word Wholeheartedly

Exalting Jesus In James We Obey the Word Wholeheartedly (James 1:22)

So far in our response to the Word, we’ve seen that we are to receive the Word humbly and remember the Word constantly. Third and finally, we obey the Word wholeheartedly. James 1:22 is the theme verse of the entire book of James

it says James 1:22

James 1:22 NIV

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Now hear is like the main and most important point of today

As we go through trials and as we go through life in general God will have something to say

Whether he speaks to you through a prophet, whether he speaks to you through a sermon the pastor is preaching, whether he speaks to you through his Word - he is speaking

Are we listening to him and most importantly are we doing what he is saying to us

At the end of the day the most important thing are we obeying what he is saying to us

This is the most important step when it comes to how we late to God’s Word

God isn’t pressed with how skilled you are in homiletics which deals with preaching

He isnt impressed with how skilled you are in hermenutics which deals with how you interpret the word

His main concert is how obedient you are in putting into practice what he is saying

A lot of people get themselves in a lot of trouble because they just keep disobeying what God is telling them to do

Now if you go by a doctor and the doctor checks your cholesterol and says you need to stop eating so much shrimps but you refuse to heed what he says

Don’t be surprised if your situation gets worst

Don’t blame the doctor

blame yourself !!

You refused to heed his advice

In the same way if God is telling you something and you not obeying him don’t be surprised about what happens in your life.

When God tells you something it is not for his benefit but it is for yours.

It might sting a little at the time but there is healing in the process.

Exalting Jesus In James We Obey the Word Wholeheartedly (James 1:22)

The bottom line is that the Word evokes action, and if there is no action from the Word, then clearly there has been no acceptance of the Word. This is the essence of faith.

Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God.

Charles Spurgeon

To say we have accepted Jesus is to also obey Jesus. To think any differently is to live in deception.

Exalting Jesus In James We Obey the Word Wholeheartedly (James 1:22)

To say, “I have accepted Jesus,” but then to live contrary to Jesus is to deceive oneself (1 John 2:4). James says you are blind to your true spiritual condition if you claim to have heard and received and accepted this word, yet you fail to act on it. You are deceiving yourself, for you think you’re right with God because you listened to the Word, maybe even because you listened intently. But according to James, you’re wrong.

Obedience is the key.

Have you heard of the pastor who preached the same sermon two weeks in a row? The congregation assumed it was a simple mistake and decided not to say anything. When it happened the third week in a row, they approached him to inquire if he was ok. He replied that when they applied the truth from this sermon, he would start preaching the next one.

If your spiritual life is built on merely listening to the words of Jesus and not on obeying them, then one day your life will eternally and ultimately end in destruction. And the danger is that you’re going to think you’re OK all the way up until that day.

Bishop Brownrig said, “To deceive is bad, to deceive yourselves is worse, to deceive yourselves about your souls is worst of all” .

I am convinced that countless people within the church listen to the Word week by week, and yet it is not planted in their heart, and it is evident because they are not acting on it. Sure, they act on the things that agree with their lifestyle, or they act when it is convenient to obey. But when this Word confronts, challenges, convicts, or tries to change them, they put it aside and forget it, never putting it into action.

Be careful if this describes your life because this is not the Christian life. In the Christian life the Word is planted in your heart, and you receive it like blood to your heart, humbly and constantly, and by the grace of God that moves your heart, you obey it. This is the Christian life. A life that is doing what this Word says.

Conclusion

Erik Weihenmayer famous for climbing to the top of mountains

He reached the summit of Mount Everest,

He also completed the Seven Summits in September 2002, one of only 150 mountaineers at the time to do so

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge,

What is something you know God has been saying to you personally for a while but you have been having a hard time doing

The bell has been ringing but you refusing to heed the bell

What is it ?

James says don’t just be a hearer be a doer

May we be a people who when trials and testing comes- we are a people who receives God word humbly, remembers the word constantly and obeys the word wholeheartedly.