Quit Kidding Yourself (from 6/8/08)

(This is a sermon wrap up from "Quit Kidding Yourself" (James 1:22-25) that was preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church on June 8th, 2008. To hear the message, go to the message page of our Church Website)
I felt very strongly that this message was an important one for our church. Due to some changes in our ministry, some of our people are concerned about where we are headed. Not only do I understand this, I greatly appreciate it! God's people are not supposed to be mindless sheep following blindly. They are to be like the Bereans who diligently searched the Scriptures "to see if these things were so (Act 17:11). " As we continue to move forward, I believe it's vital that you and I are on the same sheet of music. How will we decide where we are headed? What will govern what we do and what we don't do? There is simply no better passage to summarize my heart than James 1:22-25.

James 1:22-2522 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.(NKJ)

There are a few important truths that I wanted to communicate clearly. My prayer is that you understood these points.

Critical Impact. James, under the inspiration of the Spirit, said "be doers." This is a state of living and that means it should define who we are. We are doers. It has HUGE impact.

The Word of God has commands and/or principles that impact every single aspect of our lives. There are principles that govern what we wear, what we eat, what we say, our demeanor...I mean everything. If we are are really going to get this down, it's going to mean big changes.

Let's just walk through a typical day and look at how impacting and practical God's word is. You wake up in the morning and just by opening your eyes, already there are principles that need to be followed.

Ps 63:11 O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.(NKJ)

Now, I'm not advocating you need to be up 4:30 AM, but I think this verse has implications on our heart's desire. It should first seek God. Our thoughts right away should be about Him!

So we get up head the kitchen and we are greeted by our family. As a husband and a father, there are principles that apply here...big TIME.

1 Pet 3:7 -Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.(NKJ)

Eph 5:25 -Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,(NKJ)

I have to be sure that I am "in tune" with my wife. I should listen to her concerns for the day and what she has to get accomplished. I'm listening and learning about her...after all I am called to dwell with her with understanding! I have to be "plugged in" to her needs!

And then there's the kids. There are principles that apply here too!

Eph 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.(NKJ)

I have to "plugged in" to them too. I have to be nurturing their thought patterns and pointing them to think on God's truth. I have to set the example of what living God's truth looks like in "real life."

Now, it's time to get ready. Will God's word govern what I wear to work? It should! There are principles on modesty and excellence! As I drive to work, God's word governs that as well! I am told to be in subjection to the governing authority God has put over me (Rom. 13). That means I have to actually OBEY those little white signs with the speed limit number...even if I am running late!

I could go on and on, but I hope you see my point. Being a DOER...being marked as a person whose LIFE HABIT is obedience... will change everything about how I live. I hope I communicated that well on Sunday.

Crucial Importance. I simply cannot emphasize enough how crucial this is. I want to share again this challenge verse...

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.(NKJ)

Our children are watching and they are learning from our example, whether it is a good one or a bad one. If we are lazy about this, it could mean their destruction. Sound harsh? Sorry...there's just no way to sugar coat this. It's life and death for them. We can't play with this.

The Hosea passage brings up an important point. Ignorance is no excuse! We simply MUST be people who study the Word and learn how it applies to our lives!

2 Tim 2:1515 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.(NKJ)

An area I wanted to dive further into is the matter of church attendance. I am simply amazed at the reasons some people will miss church! The reason church is so important is because we are teaching the Word of God! In every service, the Word of God is either being taught (Sunday School, AM Worship, PM Worship) or it is being applied (Grow Groups). If we really understood how important this command is, we would want to be under the teaching and/or application of God's Word any chance we got!

Imagine your family was just infected with a life-threatening disease. They were all going to die. But there was a class on how to give them the proper care to save their lives. Would you just skip it for a baseball game?!? NO WAY! What we teach here at Cornerstone is vital! It should be a priority.

Another thing I wanted to mention is this; the church is NOT the PRIMARY discipler of your children. That responsibility is given to the parents (Duet. 6; Eph. 6). We are here to simply come up along side you and teach you how to do that more effectively. And listen...we LOVE teaching that stuff!

Living God's Word is crucial. I hope you understood that from the message.

Church Implications. The command has big implications for our church and where our church is headed. We need to nail down the fact that we have one and only one source of authority...God's Word. We are be doers of God's Word....period.

That means the careful, exegetical study of His Word has to be the centerpiece of our ministry. We need to be studying it and how it impacts our lives. And we need to be teaching it in a very practical way showing people how to live it. That's why we have a Grow Group ministry. The ministry's purpose is to help you IMPLIMENT God's Word.

I wanted to assure you that I will never head down a path that down-plays God's Word. There are lots of ministries that do.

I came across a church a while back where the sermon series was "Everything I need to know about God I learned from 80's rock!" I have no idea about the content of the series, but that title communicates something. I used to play 80's rock in my bands. There's very little that glorifies God in that. We're not headed down that path.

I also wanted to warn that we cannot be legalistic and still please God. Matt. 15:1-9 communicates that clearly. Legalism is when we add rules and regulations that are not found in God's Word. It binds God's people and it creates a very critical and judgemental heart in people.

On vacation last week, I heard a message on Luke 6. It also "just happened" to be the text Steve taught in Sunday School and I believe he did a great job. I think after hearing it explained twice, I began to understand it more clearly. If you take the time to study it out, you will see that there are times when we are told NOT to judge and times when we are told TO judge. Lining them all up, you can see clearly what God is trying to say. Basically, a good summary is 1 Sam. 16:7....don't judge other people's hearts! The words "judge" and "condemn" in Luke 6 have important meanings. To "judge" is sit at the bench and cast judgement. "Condemn" means to sentence. Legalistic people often judge the hearts of others based on man's rules. Then, they will "sentence" those people. We are not headed there!

We will diligently study what God's Word says then we will cling to it's sufficiency! We'll accept by faith that God has said enough about a topic and we'll allow His Word to be our only guide.
That's where I am headed as the pastor of Cornerstone...and I hope I communicated that clearly on Sunday.

Application questions.
Here are a few questions to think about.
1. Getting very real with yourself, how often do you think about God's principles? Do you know what God has said about the areas of your life?

2. Are you a doer? Are you really applying these principles?

3. Do you have a critical spirit? Are you judging people's motives as if you can see thier heart?

4. Are you willing to allow God's Word alone to be your guide for life? for our church?

I typed way more than I intended to...but I hope my heart came through clearly. I am open your comments and am eager to see us all growing...to see us all being DOERS!