‘If You Really Want To Be Blessed’

James 1:21-25 – ²¹Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. ²²But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. ²³For 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: ²⁴For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. ²⁵But 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.

Intro: 

Most people have memory boards or sticky notes around the house. Some are on the refrigerator, a mirror, or in a prominent place where we can see them frequently. One man had a memory board on his desk with a list of reminders. Pinned on the board was an article that he had cut out of a magazine listing “10 Habits for Great Health.” It was in front of him every day. He saw it every day. When asked about the article, he was stunned that he could only remember about 4 of the 10 items on the list. The list was such a part of his daily life that although he glanced at it every day, he really didn’t see it, or follow the advice.

James says, that’s the way many Christians treat the Word of God. They have a copy of it, they read it casually, and they even pick it up on Sunday morning to take it to church. But, like the man with the memory board, they can’t tell you much about what it says, and they only follow some of its advice. 

If you really want to be blessed, James says you have to be a doer of the Word. The Bible tells us that “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” Reading the Word is good. Studying the Word is good. And memorizing the Word is wonderful. But the real blessing comes from doing what it says! When you’re a doer of the Word, the Bible says you will be blessed in what you do! So, if you really want to be blessed, what specifically do you need to do?

I. Don’t Merely Hear The Word:

Most Christians read the Bible from time to time. Sadly, very few have a consistent reading schedule. We bring our Bibles to church on Sunday morning, listen to the sermon, but shortly after we leave church forget what we heard or what we read. James says that is not the way to get the most out of your Bible. If you really want to be blessed, don’t merely hear the Word, but let it sink deep down into your heart and do what it says!

II. Don’t Mistakenly Be Deceived About The Word:

It’s important to attend church on a regular basis. It’s important to be in a church that has a high view of the Word of God. And it’s important to be in a church that rightly divides the Word of God. But sadly, far too many Christians are in churches where they don’t even need to bring their Bibles because what they are hearing is not Biblical truth. 

Don’t simply take what your pastor preaches or teaches as Biblical fact. Search the scriptures to see if what he is preaching and teaching is Biblically accurate! Do like the Bereans in Acts 17 where it says: “these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” If you really want to grow in knowledge, search the scriptures daily and make sure what you are being taught is accurate!

III. Don’t Mindlessly Disobey The Word:

Here is where the rubber meets the road. James says if you hear the Word, know the Word, but you mindlessly disobey the Word, you’re like a man who looks at himself in the mirror, takes a casual glance, and then walks away and forgets what kind of man he is. The Bible is a book of instruction, but it’s also a mirror that reveals what you are really like. Don’t just glance at the Bible from time to time. Spend time studying the Word, understanding the Word, memorizing the Word, and ultimately doing the Word.

When you become a doer of the Word, that’s when you will really be blessed!