BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO PUTS THESE WORDS INTO PRACTICE

11/18/14

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matt. 7

There are many words of wisdom as well as prophecy and good teachings that we have at our disposal in this hour. The Holy Spirit is being poured out like never before upon many who would receive it. We have scripture in many different translations, audio books and the like, in which we can receive God’s word. But all of this in its many forms won’t do us any good unless we put it into practice.

Otherwise, these words and truths become like seeds that are blown in the wind. They then have no anchor in them to be established in us. We go about our lives not having these truths of God anchored in our lives. We live as those with no structure or foundation to baseour lives upon. Those words from God are echoed in our minds and hearts just as words, and not as something that could be real in our daily lives to give us direction, peace, forgiveness, or solutions to the many problems that we face.

Those words are then seen as through a window or a reflection in a mirror; but we don’t see the real image of how it might be seen in us.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. James 1

Otherwise if one doesn’t put into practice what one reads or hears, then these things are just philosophies or ideas. They become like a book that is just a book. The pages and the truths found there as well as the Holy Spirit-inspired truths spoken by others, then fall to the ground. It’s like reading a good book by an author that we enjoy reading. We get caught-up in the story line and the characters, but after the book is finished then we go on reading or doing something else.

The question arises and asks us, “Why wouldn’t we put into practice those very things that we know to be true?” Perhaps some doubt that these words could actually effect change in their lives. Maybe some are afraid to do this because of what others might think. If that is the case remember that we are to please God rather than man. We aren’t living our lives for someone else, but rather we have given up everything for the sake of knowing Him and following after Him.

Be a doer of the word and not just a hearer. The kingdom of God involves action, and not just mere words.

Stephen Hanson