"Hearers and Doers"

Hearers and Doers

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 (NKJV)

It’s funny how so many people hear words that are said, but don’t really hear them.  Sometimes it’s called ‘selective hearing’.  It reminds me of a joke I heard:

 The wife says to her husband, who sat reading the newspaper, “Will you please lay down that paper and take the rest of your junk off the floor?”  He says, “Okay” and went over and lay down on the sofa. What her husband heard was “lay down and take a rest.”  That’s called, “Selective Hearing”.

Look around you some Sunday in church and its obvious some people’s minds are elsewhere than on the serman.  We’ve all done it at times and aren’t listening to what is being said to us.  At times my mind is a long way from the present. This is what James 1:22 is explaining to us; you can hear the Word of God, but when you are thinking something else, you don’t know what youv’e heard, so you can’t do anything about it.

In 1 Timothy 4:15, we are to, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”  What things?  He is talking about the Word of God.  Anyone can read the Word of God, but only those who want to be ‘sold out’ to Christ will meditate on the Word.  If we focus and absorb the words of the Bible, then we will begin to notice the wisdom and truths that lie on each page.

How do we know how to live a Godly life? It is clearly laid out in the Bible.  Then what?  Make the decision to follow the directions. When you begin to follow the directions, you will find in isn’t all about you, but it’s about the people around you as well.  The Bible tells us to be ‘Doers of the Word’, and that means being an example of Jesus to others.

What does it mean to be an example of Jesus to others?  It means loving others (even when they are unlovable), caring for their needs, being a friend to them and slowly introduce them to Jesus and His Word.  It’s important to be real with others, because if your heart isn’t in it they will find you out and you will be deceiving yourself. 

As a very small child I heard this song, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” It took me many, many years to understand what that really meant.  I have loved the Lord and studied the Bible for 37 years and am still learning.  God continues to teach me to not just read his directions, but to act on them.  It doesn’t always come easy.

Many people are into memorizing the Bible and I agree it is very important.  In Psalm 119:1, King David wrote, “Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You!”  This means that you need to know the Word of God and remember it, because there may be a time where you need to bring it up so you won’t allow sin to creep into your life again. However, you can memorize the whole Bible and still not know how to apply it to your own life.  It is the combination of ‘hearing and doing’ that God wants you to use for your benefit and others.

I suggest you take a verse from the Bible and really start thinking about it.  For example, read Jesus parable about the sower. Mark 4:3-8 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow, and it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Now most of you have heard this parable many times, but try reading it again in phrases.  The first sentence, “Listen” tells you that this was very important and Jesus wanted to be sure you were paying attention.  The second part isn’t just about a farmer going out to plant some seeds, but it’s about a person who wants to share the Gospel to others. Then they tell another person about Jesus and but that person didn’t want anything to do with it.  Jesus even had to explain to the disciples the meaning of the parable in verses 13-20. It boils down to this, some will hear and believe and they will share with others and those who believe will share with others.  This is how the Gospel has grown from the beginning and is still growing today. 

You see how much more is in the Word of God than just glancing through it.  After studying this over the years, I have come to the opinion that only one out of four will make it into heaven just as it says that only one seed out of four planted, yielded a crop and produced more.

This is only an example, but the fact remains there is more than just reading the Bible and studying it.  Become a ‘Doer’ and God will guide you through a life that is full, peaceful, joyful and rich in wisdom and most of all leading others to Christ.