Do you read God’s Word with an open mind? Are you teachable and mold-able towards His Spirit?

 

READ: James 1:19-27

 

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. (NIV)

 

• “Anyone who listens to the Word and does not do what it says…” – sermons, etc.
• Is like a person who looks in the mirror and see their flaws (hair, make-up, etc.) and walks away without doing anything about it
• It is foolish
• Just like the Israelites hearing the prophets calling them to repent and warning them over and over.

APPLICATION:

• We need to apply scripture to our lives
• We need to stop making excuses
• We need to wake up (Rev. 3:2)
• We need to repent and obey His Word.

Many years ago, I had the great privilege to work with a good pastor friend of mine. We served together for many years, and he became very close to me. John had served over the years in several struggling churches. He was famous in southern California for going into a struggling church and turning it around. When we met, he was working at a church in northwest Phoenix. He asked me to come join him and to start a youth ministry in this growing urban community. John was an incredible teacher. He could have easily taught at any seminary, but this was his calling. During our seven years together, I watched him work patiently with the congregation. The church grew, and many young families joined and became a part of the ministry. We both preached and taught on the need for change, and the importance of reaching the lost. We realized that if we were going to experience a revival in our town that it was going to have to start with us. Many of the young parents and teens that we worked with responded to the gospel and to the need to repent. But the establishment resisted. The message was for someone else. And week after week, the word was preached, and the people stiffened their necks. I was always amazed at John’s strength and fortitude. Nevertheless, after many years and too many battles I finally witnessed him beginning to struggle. Over time, he began to walk slightly bent over – from the weight of discouragement, and heartache. He began to talk more of retirement and of just getting through the next few years. Unfortunately, he never made it. I saw him a year later laying in a hospital bed. He had just come out of surgery the day before. He had a brain tumor, and the prognosis was not good. They did all that they could, but a year later John died.

 

This same kind of struggle goes on in churches all across America. Pastors, Sunday school teachers, and small group leaders share God’s word to far too many deaf ears. Warren Wiersbe explains what it looks like: This is the main purpose for owning a mirror, to be able to see yourself and make yourself look as clean and neat as possible. As we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we see ourselves as we really are. James mentions several mistakes people make as they look into God’s mirror.[i]

 

Wiersbe goes on to explain the mistakes that we make as Christians when it comes to hearing God’s Word: 1) They merely glance at themselves. A cursory look at the Bible is not the same as examining the Word and reflecting on how we should apply it; 2) They forget what they see. If we were to look deeply into our own lives, what we would see would be unforgettable! We would go running to the altar in repentance; 3) They fail to obey what the Word tells them to do. We tend to think that hearing is the same as doing. We listen to sermons, pod casts, and we go to conferences on evangelism and church growth. We spend all kinds of money on books and courses, but our hearts never change.

 

We look in the mirror of God’s Word and we see the blemishes, and the stain of unfaithfulness. We listened intently, and we even told the pastor that it was a great message, but did we change? We hear the call to get involved in ministry, and our heart tugs at the overwhelming needs of our church and community, but did we move?

 

God spent hundreds of years crying out to His nation through prophets and kings, and they made their covenants. But their words were empty and they were stripped from the Promise Land. America, God has been preaching through His pastors and teachers for 200 years. The message has never changed. We need to repent and we need to stand. We need to take action in our lives, and we need to come alongside others to get them moving as well.

 

Will you join me? Will you join other pastors who have a passion for ministry and for the lost? Will you take your place on the battle lines against the establishment? Will you come alongside your pastor, whomever he may be, and encourage him by more than just words? Encourage him with action!

 

Ask God to work in your life, and to stir you to action. What things do you need to clean up in your life? Where is He calling you to get involved? Be a part of the solution, and not the problem.

 

Each week’s Monday Motivation is taken from the reading schedule found in the Life Journal. If you are ready for the next step in your discipleship, then order yours today or see me for a copy.

www.lifejournal.cc

 

If you would like help in growing in your faith, or if you would like to know how to have faith in Him, then please contact us at (928)636-2949 or email me at pastorguy@cvgrace.com

 

 

 

 

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[i] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 347). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.