Not Just a Hearer

Opening Scripture 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.”

Introduction

So there’s this guy—we’ll call him Brother Mike.

Brother Mike buys a brand-new bookshelf from IKEA. You know the kind—one giant box, a thousand screws, and a little cartoon man in the manual smiling like this is gonna be fun.

He gets home, opens the box, looks at the instructions for about 4 seconds, and goes, “I got this.”

He tosses the manual aside like every proud man does. He starts putting it together—backwards, upside down, with leftover parts that don’t even exist in the picture. At one point he’s like, “Why do I have five screws left and no shelf?”

So now he’s stuck. Instead of going back to the manual, he just walks away. That box sits there in the corner for weeks. Then months.

Eventually, people come over and ask, “Hey Mike, where’s that bookshelf you were putting together?” And he says, “Oh yeah, I read the instructions. I know how to build it.”

Yeah, but... you didn’t build it.

1. The Command: Be Doers of the Word

A book I read once called “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill had an interesting point that really stuck with me.

The author gave an account of when trying to fully understand someone, or something he would visualize like he was sitting there talking with this person.

It could have been Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, etc, but Hill would visualize himself and have actual conversations.

I found this so funny and odd when I first read this, but in reading of scripture, I’ve found myself trying this very same thing to understand where the writers were coming from.

As we jump back to our opening scripture we see James the brother of Jesus writing to the early church from Jerusalem.

He originally did not even believe in Jesus (what a good sibling)

John 7:5 “For neither did his brethren believe in him.”

JAMES HAD KNOWN JESUS HIS WHOLE LIFE

HE HAD SEEN THE MIRACLES

But it was when Jesus rose from the dead, and made a special appearance to James that it changed his life.

Have to have an experience with Jesus

Scripture: James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Obedience is the expected response to the Word of God.

We can share our Bible verses on our instagram, and carry around our highlighted Bible, but we don’t take authority with the word of God we are deceiving ourselves.

2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

I’M DONE BEING JUST A HEARER

I’M COMING TO REPENTANCE

I’M OVERCOMING SIN

I’M NOT LIVING WITH BOTH, I’M AN OVERCOMER

BECAUSE I’M A DOER OF HIS WORD

2. The Danger: Deceiving Ourselves

King James Version Chapter 1

23 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: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

When James says “his natural face,” he means the face you were born with—your real, everyday face.

He's comparing this to someone looking in a mirror. Just like a mirror shows you what your face looks like on the outside, God’s Word shows you what your heart and soul look like on the inside—your character, your morals, your spiritual condition.

This “mirror” (the Bible) is powerful because it tells the truth.

It shows us:

How broken we really are (our natural sinfulness)

And how glorious God is

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 1

beholdeth—more literally, “he contemplated himself and hath gone his way,” that is, no sooner has he contemplated his image than he is gone his way (

Must have a man of God in your life

Samuel —> Eli telling him to listen to the Lord

If Samuel did not have Eli, he would have missed his calling

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27 — wise vs. foolish builders (one hears and does, the other hears and does not).

Jesus says here that whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, AND DOETH THEM, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock

And everyone who heard, BUT DID NOT DOETH THEM, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand.

When the rain and floods came, the wind blew, and the house fell, and GREAT was the fall.

Highlight how deception is internal—it’s not the enemy doing it, we deceive ourselves when we don’t act.

You think that what is going on in your life is God trying to tell you something, but really what it is, is that you are deceiving yourself.

God has already directed you in what to do, you just haven’t acted upon it.

Eve fell into this same thing

3. The Evidence: Living Faith

Scripture: James 2:17 — “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

King James Version Chapter 2

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Doing the Word is evidence that the Word has taken root.

Testimony idea: Tell of someone whose life changed not when they heard a sermon—but when they obeyed it. That’s when real transformation began.

Abraham : James 2:18-24

James 2:18–24 KJV 1900

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Faith is not just belief—it’s behavior. If the Word has really taken root, it’ll show up in how you walk, talk, love, give, and forgive.

And thats what the Holy Ghost is. Its God’s Spirit in action upon your life. And its for anyone.

We are saved by grace, through faith. But it is shown then through works, that is by God’s Spirit on your life, as

You don’t grow by inspiration. You grow by application.

4. The Blessing: Fruitfulness in Doing

Scripture: James 1:25 — “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein… this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

God’s blessing follows obedience.

Application: Invite the church to think about areas where they've heard but not acted.

Palm Sunday