LUKE 8:16-21 HEAR SHINE DO2012 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 8:16-21 Hear Shine Do

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012.

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Well, this morning as we're here in Luke chapter 8, we're moving on from the parable of the sower. We spent a good four weeks there and considered several different aspects of that parable. There's much more even that God could share, but that was what he assigned for us for our time together on Sunday mornings. And now as we move forward here in verses 16 through 21...

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We're moving on to a different passage, but it's a very similar subject. Very, you know, it's related actually, because we're talking about hearing the Word of God. And I put it as hear, shine, do, because that's the three elements of the passage this morning that really stand out. There's two main points I want to share this morning. The first one is found in verses 16 through 18, and that is hear and shine, right?

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What Jesus is calling us to do is hear, but then also to shine. Check it out with me, starting in verse 16. It says,

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As we look at verse 16, Jesus now is, again, moving on from the parable of the sower, but now he gives us another parable or another illustration for us to consider. He paints a picture for us with the simple thing that you and I can very easily understand. He's talking about lighting a lamp. Now, of course, we don't light lamps that much, but we do turn on lights. We're very familiar with the concept of lights.

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Have you ever considered...

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Why we have lights on the ceiling instead of the floor? Have you ever thought about installing a light in your floor? Probably not because you understand that if a light is in the floor, well, the light is going to be obstructed. It's not going to bring light to the room, but it's going to cast shadows instead from everything that's around it. We have the lights on the ceiling so that the light can disperse, so it can spread, so that it can light up the room.

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That's the simple truth that Jesus is using to make his point this morning.

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He says no one, when he's lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed. So nobody lights a lamp and then covers it with, you know, a big pot or sticks it under a bed or puts it in a closet where nobody can see it. The whole point of lighting a lamp is so that people can see the light. The whole point of lighting a lamp is so that it can fill the room, not so that it would be hidden.

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It's a simple point. In the same way, you know, it would be silly for us to install a light and then put a piece of plywood over it. I mean, what's the point? Why have the light there? It doesn't make sense. You don't do that. You put it in a place where it can spread, where it can bring light to the room. And so this is the parable that Jesus is using now to teach his truth and the point that he wants to make.

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Now we talked about, as we looked at the parable of the sower, that parables are much like a doorway. Remember the insight David Guzik gave us was that parables are like a doorway so that as Jesus gives us the parable, then it's an opportunity for us. It's an invitation. We can enter through the doorway and consider the truth that Jesus is saying and learn some spiritual things from it,

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Or we can say, okay, that's interesting. I don't really want to know more. And we can walk away. These parables, these illustrations that Jesus uses are an invitation for us to draw near and to gain some real spiritual truth.

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And so what is the spiritual truth? How do we understand what verse 16 is talking about beyond the basic and simple illustration of the placement of light? Well, I believe the key to understanding verse 16 and this parable that Jesus uses is found in verse 18. And would you look with me at the very first part of verse 18? It says, therefore, take heed how you hear.

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Jesus says, therefore. Now, when he uses the word therefore, he's tying it all together. He's coming to his point. He's saying, look, this is the reason why I'm sharing these things. This is the point I'm making, and this is the action that you're to take because of the point I'm making. So he says, therefore, take heed how you hear.

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The objective, as Jesus is sharing these things, is to teach us or to cause us to take heed how we hear. This parable of light and the placement of it is really about how you and I hear. Hear who? Well, of course, we're talking about hearing God. And what do we hear from God? Well, we hear His Word.

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Jesus is talking, he's giving us insight about how we hear the word of God. How we allow it to enter into our lives and how we allow it to impact us. So if Jesus is talking about how we hear, well how does that fit into this illustration of light? How does it fit into the illustration of lighting a lamp and the placement of it? I think for probably as long as I can remember,

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I've understood this passage a little bit differently. We're familiar, of course, with lighting the lamp. We had the old song, right? This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. Hide it under a bushel. No, I'm going to let it shine. We had this. It's very familiar to us. But I always pictured the lamp or the light being lit by me. I always figured it was something I did. I light the lamp. I am the light. It's something that I do.

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But as I've been studying this portion this past week, I came to a realization that it's not me who lights the lamp. That's not what Jesus is saying. What Jesus is saying is that it's God who lights the lamp. He's talking about in verse 16 when he says, no one, when he's lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand. He's saying, look, it's God who lights a lamp.

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And he's the one who puts it on the lamp stand. God does not light a lamp in order to hide it away underneath the bed. It's God who is lighting the lamp as he delivers his word to your hearts. God is the one who lights the lamp. Here's the point. God reveals himself to you through his word. He gives you instruction. He speaks to you.

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He directs you. He commands you. He transforms you through His Word. And He does so, so that you can shine the light. He does so, so that you can, well, be set up in the middle of the room on the lampstand for all to see. He does so, so that everyone around you can see God at work. God's Word is not intended to

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To be kept secret. And his work in your life is not intended to be hidden underneath the bed. You can see that as we go on into verse 17. It says, Jesus says he...

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is talking about this lamp that's being set in the middle of the room and not to be hidden. He says, because, well, there's nothing that's secret. It's going to be revealed. There's not anything that can be kept hidden. It will be brought out. It will come to the light. It will become known. When he says there's nothing secret that will not be revealed, that word revealed, it means literally to shine. Right?

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to shine forth, to cause to shine, or it could also mean to be apparent or plain. It's meant to be apparent. As God is working in your life, it's not intended for you to try to keep it a secret. It's meant to be apparent. It's meant to shine forth, to be plain, so that anybody around you can see and recognize, hey, God is working in their life. God's word is at work. There's some kind of transformation taking place

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There's something happening, something going on. You know, sometimes we want to be, we try to be what we would call closet Christians. You know, we love Jesus and we want to walk with him, but we don't really want that to be fully known to the people around us. You know, we don't really want them to know, well, what if our

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co-workers find out, you know, what God's working and speaking to me. A lot of times it happens right at the beginning, you know. So you first get saved, you're born again, and it's exciting, but at the same time there's that apprehension. Well, what are people going to say when they find out? How are my family going to respond? How are my friends and my workplace? How is that going to be? And are they going to be accepting of this decision and this work that's going on? Or are they going to be

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Well, opposed to it, and are they going to come against me as a result? It starts there at the beginning when we first get saved, but you know, that continues on. And so even as we've been walking with the Lord for some time, we have this apprehension, this timidity that goes along with God working in us. And we kind of, well, get concerned about what's going to happen as other people find out.

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And so we'd like to be closet Christians. We'd like to just kind of keep it to ourselves. You know, we're excited about the Lord, but we don't necessarily want everybody to know that. Maybe think about it this way. Do you ever find yourself changing your language depending on who's around you? Now, I know that happens often.

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The other way, right? As people around me, you know, they change their language and they try to swear less and they try to, you know, that impact is made and so they try to change their language. But it also happens with us as believers. We often modify our language, our telling of an account or a story depending on who's there.

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So when we're here at church, it's kind of what we would consider a safe environment, right? And that's great. It's meant to be. And so we're able to share, hey, oh man, God was speaking to me the other day. And so I went over here and did this and I'm going this direction. And it's, you know, very plain. We're expressing, hey, you know, this is what God's doing in my life. And this is what God told me to do. This is what he showed me from his word. This is what the Bible says. And we share those things freely.

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But it's interesting where you take, you know, take us out of this safe environment and then you put us with our family or you put us in the workplace or you put us with our neighbors and you're telling the same accounts, but you tell it differently many times, don't you? At least I do. And so you try to kind of, you know, soften the God portion of the story.

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You know, instead of saying, oh yeah, I was praying and the Lord really told me to do this. That's what you would say to a fellow believer. But when you're around people of mixed company, you don't know who's where. And then it's like, well, I was just thinking about it and I thought I should do this. You kind of take God out of the picture, take God out of the story or kind of soften it a little bit because we have this concern.

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You know, it's interesting. As we've shared, I'm sure you're well aware, you know, there's different things that need attention here around the church, and some of it is beyond the scope of what we're able to handle on our own. And so, you know, from time to time, we have different contractors come in. They give us estimates and, you know, help us analyze, you know, different things on the property and consider different things. And it's really interesting because, you know, a lot of times they'll come in, you know, with a free estimate and, you know,

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But of course they're salesmen, right? And so they want to sell you on the product and get you to sign the deal. And it's always interesting because they don't really know what to do with us as a church. They're very used to dealing with businesses and, you know, it's just kind of black and white and like, hey, we're going to do this, we're not going to do that. But a lot of times they'll come and they'll share and they'll say, okay, here's the quote, you know, now what do you want to do?

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Well, thank you for the quote. Thank you for the information. Now we need to pray about it. And it's very awkward because they kind of don't know how to deal with that. They just, they kind of look at you and then I look back and there's just this awkward silence. Yeah, we need to pray about it. I mean, we can't make a decision right now. Well, no, what do you want to do? Let's make a decision. I can't make a decision. We got to pray about it. You know, the board needs to consider and present it before the Lord and

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And then they call back to follow up. So, you know, have you guys decided? You know, the Lord hasn't shown us yet. And there's this awkward silence. They just don't know what to do with it. We have those encounters, right? And because there's that awkwardness, because it's a little bit uncomfortable, you know, sometimes it's very tempting to just kind of water it down, take God out of the picture and say, oh yeah, we're still talking about it. We haven't decided yet. But that's not the reality.

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And so we tend to kind of water it down or try to remove God to try to keep it quiet, try to keep it secret, try to keep it hidden. But what Jesus is saying is, listen, he didn't do the work that he's doing in your life for you to keep it hidden. That's not his intention. God is working in your life so that you can be the lamp on the lampstand for all to see.

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So that they can see that God is real. They can see that he's alive, that he's at work. And really what Jesus is saying here is that when God is really working in your life, even if you try, you won't be able to keep it hidden because the whole objective of the Lord, his purpose in doing that is to put you on the lampstand. He's not going to hide you under the bed. He's going to set you out in front of everyone so that they can see his work.

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He's lighting the lamp so that you will shine, that you'll fill the room with his light, that people will know of the Lord. He is putting you on display. When God's working in you, he's putting you on display. He's excited about the work that he's doing in your life. He's proud of it and he wants everyone to know. Now sometimes we're ashamed of the work that he's doing in our life, but

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Because, well, you know, we've been believers for 20 years. We should be done with this. We should be over that. We should already be over in this spot or reach that level. And so sometimes we don't share because we're ashamed, but God's not. God works in us. He speaks to our heart. He transforms us so that others can see. He lights the lamp, not to hide it, but to put it on display.

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As I was thinking about this point, I considered some of the people in the scriptures who really shined. They really let the Lord shine through them. And one of the examples that came to mind first, and probably because we just read through the book of Genesis, is the man Joseph. And Joseph, man, he really shined for the Lord. Even as he was sold into slavery, well, he was promoted quickly as king.

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the steward of Potiphar's house. Even though he was a slave, he was promoted to second in charge of this man who was in a high position in the kingdom of Egypt. And he recognized, it says that God was with Joseph. There was this recognition. Joseph was there on the lampstand and everybody knew God is with this guy.

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So much so that even when Joseph is falsely accused and put in prison, that in the prison, it's known God is with this guy. And he's even elevated and promoted. It's known within the prison, God is with him. So that it brings him to the point where he stands before Pharaoh. As you know, Pharaoh has that dream that is troubling to him that he cannot understand.

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And they bring Joseph before him and Pharaoh says, hey Joseph, I hear that you're able to interpret dreams, that you're able to understand. And there in Genesis chapter 41 verse 16, it tells us that Joseph says, it is not in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. So God was working in Joseph's life and everybody around him knew it. And then as he's given an opportunity to testify of himself,

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He makes sure God gets the glory. He says, it's not in me, but God will give you an answer. Could you put yourself in Joseph's shoes for just a moment? You know, there's the big question, right, going on in the Middle East right now. When is Israel going to attack Iran? And is it going to happen? And what's the U.S.'s involvement going to be? Well, let's just say, just to consider for fun,

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President Obama hears about you. And the testimony is you have the answer. You can tell him what to do. And so they usher you in. Secret service comes. They usher you in. Boom. You're standing there before President Obama. He says, alright, I hear you have the answer. Tell me, what's the answer? The boldness to say, it's not in me. But God will give you an answer. Do you understand that? I mean, he's standing before Pharaoh, the king of the world empire of the day.

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With this bold statement, this declaration. It's God. It's not me. Let's scale it down. You're ushered into your boss's office. There's a problem. There's a situation. How do we handle it? Can you picture the look on your boss's face when you say, I don't have the answer, but God has the answer. You know God works in the workplace? Not just at church. He works with kings. He works with empires. He works everywhere.

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And he's called us to be a light. Well, not that he's called us. He lights our lamp. He works in us to put us on display so that they're in the workplace. They're in the White House. They're on our street corners. They're in the grocery store. We light up the room. We bring the knowledge of God. We bring the work of God. We bring evidence that God is real, that he is alive.

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We have another example as well. The man Daniel. Daniel chapter 2. Remember King Nebuchadnezzar. It's a very similar situation. He has a dream. Daniel's brought before him. Nebuchadnezzar says, I heard you can answer. You can tell me and interpret my dream. He says, it's God who can reveal the secrets.

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Making sure to give credit and glory to God. Later on in Daniel chapter 5, he's ushered up before another king and that king says, hey, I've heard about you, Daniel. There's something different about you that you have like the spirit of God or something and you just have this great insight because he was set on display. He was shining. God didn't give him insight. He didn't speak to Daniel or to Joseph or to you in order to hide you underneath the bed.

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but to put you on display in direct contact, in direct view of your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers. That's the point. That's why he's working in your life, so that you would shine his light to them. And so we need to be careful not to try to hide, but to let his light shine. Well, he goes on in verse 18 and says, therefore take heed how you hear.

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For whoever has, to him more will be given. And whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. So he says, again, we saw this already, but therefore take heed how you hear. So the point is, what Jesus wants us to take away from this is that we would be careful that we would pay attention to how we hear. That we would think about and consider, how do you hear God's word? Are you hearing it in a way that

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That is, well, valuable and meaningful. Are you hearing God's word? Is it impacting your life? And he gives a little bit more instruction. He says, look, for whoever has, so whoever is hearing from God, whoever has, to him will be given more. So when you are hearing God, it's impacting you. He's speaking to your heart. Jesus says, then God will continue to speak to your heart.

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As you hear from God, as you allow Him to speak to you, as His Word is making an impact, as it's causing you to shine, God will continue that work and He'll continue to pour into you. He'll continue to speak to you and to transform you and change you. He has an abundance of revelation for you. It doesn't run out. You can't get to the end of it. So as long as you keep hearing Him, He'll continue to speak to you.

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The opposite of that though, he says, whoever does not have. So when you're not hearing from God, when his word is not impacting you, when it's not transforming your life, well he says, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. Notice what he says, even what he seems to have. This word seems, it means to think, to imagine, or to consider.

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Here's the picture. Here's the point that Jesus is making. There's a lot of people who think they have God's Word. Why do they think they have God's Word? Well, because they've read it. They've memorized it. They can quote it. They know details about it. They sat through Bible studies. They read their devotions. There's a lot of people who think they have God's Word. They consider themselves knowledgeable in the Scriptures. But Jesus says...

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There's a lot who seem to have it. They think they have it, but in reality, they don't. He says, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. Jesus is saying, look, when you are hearing from God and allowing his word to impact you and transform you and change you, God will continue to speak to you and he'll continue to work. He'll continue that. To whoever has, more will be given. But

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If you are not hearing God's word in a way where it impacts your life and causes you to shine and transforms you, you only seem to have his word. You don't really have it. And so even what you seem to have, even what you think you have, will be taken away. It's not real. If it doesn't change you, it's not real. If it doesn't transform you, it's not real. His word transforms us.

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causes us to shine so that God puts us on the lampstand for all to see. If you hear from God, it will cause you to shine. I would suggest to you what Jesus is saying here is that you cannot hear God's word without sharing it, without demonstrating it, without living it out. And if you hear God's word without sharing it or demonstrating or living it out, then you're not really hearing it.

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I think we can understand this difference, right? Especially for those who are married. You know the difference between when you're hearing and it's making an impact and when you're just hearing, right? There's some times where your spouse is talking and you're just hearing. And you've learned, well, I need to listen to a certain extent. I need to be able to have kind of like a tape recording so that when they say, are you listening to me?

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Then you could say, oh yes, you just said, you know, you play back the recording. Now it doesn't mean that you'll remember it. It doesn't mean that it's impacting you or that you care. It just means that you heard it and you recorded it so that you could play it back. In the same way, sometimes that's how we approach God. We sit down, we read the scriptures, but is it

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Throwing ourselves before God and saying, Lord, search me and know me. You speak to me. I need you. Is it with that desperation, God, I need you to change me. I need you to work. Is it with that desire for God to work and to speak and to move and to change you? Because there's a lot of times that we can just read through the scriptures and maybe even remember a couple key points so that we can play it back when someone asks us.

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But that's not having God's word if it doesn't change you. If it doesn't cause you to shine. If it's not this transformation that God is doing in your life. You cannot shine if you don't hear. And if you hear, well then you will definitely shine. Jesus is helping us to understand. To recognize. Hey, if you're faking it, he wants you to know. It can't be hidden. It's apparent. It's clear.

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We can try to deceive ourselves, but we can't deceive God. And we're not as effective at deceiving others as we think we are. Have you ever looked around and just been amazed at how God's working in someone's life? I mean, it's apparent, right? I mean, it's like, whoa, God is really working. You know, you hear someone speak and maybe you haven't talked to them for a while and then you hear them talking, you hear them sharing and it's like, whoa, God's really doing a work. It's amazing what God is doing.

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It's apparent. When God is working in someone's life, it's like they're a lamp on a lampstand. Everybody knows. It's easy. It's clear to see. It's plain. It's also reversely plain when there's not that much going on. We might think, you know, we come here sometimes and we just kind of sit through and we think we've got everybody else fooled. But we're not as clever as we think we are. If we hear...

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It'll be clear. It'll be apparent because there'll be change. There'll be transformation. So Jesus says, therefore take heed how you hear. If your hearing of God's word does not cause you to shine, listen, you're not hearing it. You need to make sure that you prepare yourself, that you take heed, that you take consideration and say, am I in a position to hear from God for him to change me? Are you receiving God's word in a way that it impacts your life and your heart?

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Pastor Dylan used to always encourage us, whenever you open up the word, whether it be yourself personally in your devotional time or whether it be at a Bible study or church service, whenever you open up the word, you need to have a paper and a pen with you. You need to have the pen in hand, you need to have the paper in hand and you need to be ready to write. You need to have that expectation. God, I'm here, I'm looking at your word, speak to me, I need you. That expectation, that desire for God to work.

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So that when he speaks, you can write it down. So that when he speaks, you can record it. You can take note. It's part of that hearing in a way that allows God to impact us. Now, today, you might not use a paper and a pen. You know, I use my phone or my iPad to record, to catch those things as God speaks to me.

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But you need to have some preparation. Some, okay, I'm getting into the Word. I want to be ready to hear from God. I want to be ready for Him to work. I want to allow Him to impact me in a meaningful way. Are you hearing God's Word? Is God working in your life? Is He transforming you? Is He changing you? And can others see that change? Listen, if people around you can't see that God is working in your life, you're not hearing from the Lord.

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Would you dare ask someone around you, someone who knows you, hey, do you see God working in my life? I dare you to. If they can't see, you're not hearing from God and you need to take heed how you hear. Take heed. It's important. You don't want to deceive yourself. Take heed how you hear. Paul gave Timothy some great words of encouragement in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 15. There Paul's giving Timothy all kinds of different instruction for him and

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He says in verse 15, meditate on these things, give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. How do we hear God's word in a way that it can impact us and can shine this light in the way that Jesus is describing? I think Paul's words are very appropriate. First of all, we meditate on his word. We meditate, that is to chew on, to spend time digesting and

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considering, not just reading it and moving it along, but take some time, dig in, ponder and consider over and over and over again what God has said. A portion of scripture, a passage, a verse, whatever it may be. Meditate on these things, he says. But then he also says, give yourself entirely to them. Not like, you know, 10%, not just a portion, not, you know, mostly, but give yourself entirely to these things.

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devote yourself entirely to this portion this passage that you're meditating on this word that god is speaking give yourself to it entirely don't hold back but focus on it pay attention to it live it out as god gives you opportunity seek for him to use those things in your life pray through the passage give yourself entirely to it i can't tell you i would be ashamed if i knew the number but

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so many messages so many bible studies where i've just sat through and i'm just kind of just waiting for it to be over so i can go do something else now hopefully you're not doing that today but you know how it is your mind's just somewhere else it's just you're just you're going through the motions you're here because you're here but you can't wait to be gone you've got other stuff to do you want to do something else you're not here you're

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He tells Timothy, give yourself entirely to these things. Engage in the study. Engage in the word. Engage in the meditation. He says that your progress may be evident to all. You see, what's the result? Everyone knows. You're that lamp on the lampstand. Everybody knows God is at work because he doesn't light the lamp to hide it. He doesn't work in your life to hide you in a closet or in a corner or under a bed.

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He's working in your life so that everyone around you can know that he's real, can see that he's alive, can see that he's at work today. So God reveals himself to you and speaks to you so that you can shine his light. Well, the second point as we look at verses 19 through 21 is similar but slightly different.

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Point number two is hear and do. First of all, we have hear and shine. That is, let his word impact you and cause you to shine. Let him change you and transform you. He'll be shining through you. But also, Jesus goes on to give us instruction about hearing the word of God and then putting it into practice and doing it.

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And we see this as we start in verse 19. It says, Then his mother and brothers came to him and could not approach him because of the crowd. So the situation is Jesus is there with his disciples, but also with a crowd. There's a multitude that are listening to him teach. And his mother and his brothers come to him. They desire to see him. They want to spend a few moments with him.

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But as they come, they're not able to connect with Jesus because there's this great crowd. It's too crowded. They're not able to get into the place where he is. And so they're kind of stuck on the outside. So it tells us in verse 20, and it was told him by some who said, your mother and your brothers are standing outside desiring to see you. So they're standing at the outside of the crowd and they're saying, hey, we're trying to get to Jesus. I'm his mom. We're his brothers. And they pass it up to the front.

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Hey, your mom's here. Pass it on. Your mom's here. Pass it on. And Jesus gets the news. Hey, Mary's here. Your brothers are here. And they desire to see you. Jesus' response is very interesting. He says in verse 21, But he answered and said to them, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. So, Jesus gets the word. Hey, Mary's here. Your brothers are here. He says, Who are my mother and my brothers?

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I'll tell you who they are. My mother, my brothers are those who hear God's word and do it. What is Jesus saying? Jesus is saying those who are closest to him, we would consider normally to be the family, but he says, let me adjust your thinking a little bit. Those who are closest to me are the ones who hear God's word and do it. This is the secret to being close to Jesus.

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If you want to know the secret, how to be close to the Lord, how to draw near to Him, here you have it. Hear God's Word and do it. Listen to what He says and then do what He says. David Guzik puts it this way. He says, you can pray or sing or fast all day long, but if you're not hearing His Word and doing it, you are not really drawing close to God. Would you consider that for a moment?

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You take a day and you say, alright, I'm going to pray and sing and fast all day long. But you can do that and at the same time not get any closer to the Lord. If you're not hearing God's word and doing it. If you're not looking at His scriptures. If you're not looking to Him to speak to you. To give you instruction for your life. And then to put it into practice. Jesus says His family...

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are those who hear God's word and do it. Now, he's not saying anything bad about family. He's not saying you should, you know, ignore your family or dog your family or anything like that. He's just saying what we think of as the closest relationship, right? Those family ties. Jesus says, you know what's stronger than those family ties? Is the ties of relationship where you hear God's word and do it. You know, isn't it amazing?

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How God unites believers together as a family. It's very common for us to have relationships within the church that are stronger and closer than the relationships that we have with our own family when those family members are not saved.

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It's very common because, well, there's this strong tie that's, well, it's binding. There's a closeness there that's even greater than that family relationship between those who hear God's word and do it. And God unites us together and binds us together in that. And so that's what Jesus is saying is that we have that tie. You're close to Jesus. You have that unity there.

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with him when you hear God's word and put it into practice. And so the point is, the way to be close to Jesus is to hear God's word and to practice it. And to just consider that thought for a moment longer, would you turn with me to James chapter 1, please? James chapter 1. Here James is sharing a similar point, obviously, that's why I'm having you turn there. And he's talking to us as believers about

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And calling us to put into practice what God is saying. James chapter 1 and verse 22. He says, but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. He says be a doer of the word. Not a hearer only. What's the difference? Well, there's one who hears, but that's all they do.

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They don't take anything that they've heard and then live accordingly. They just hear the word. Now James says those who just hear the word deceive themselves. Because here's what happens. We read through the scriptures that day and we think, alright, I'm doing pretty good. I'm close with the Lord. I must be spiritual. We sit through the Bible study and we think, alright, went to church. God's happy now. We think, hey, we're fine. We heard the word.

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But he says, you're just deceiving yourself. He says, be doer of the word. Are you a doer of the word? That is, you don't just hear what God says, but then you go, hmm. So if God says, I need to treat my spouse this way, how do I do that? Let me try that out. Let me put that into practice. Let me live that. If God says, this is how I'm to be in the workplace, well, let's see what happens when I do that. If God says, I'm to forgive this person,

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Oh, that's hard. That's difficult. I don't know if I could do that. But God says to do it. I must be able to do it. So, well, I'm going to do it. I forgive you. It's not just hearing God's word and thinking, oh, wow, that's great information. But it's taking God's word and putting it into action in our life. Warren Wiersbe says it this way. He says, it's easy to think that we are spiritual because we listen to one preacher after another. We take notes. We mark our Bibles.

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But we never really practice what we learn. We are only fooling ourselves. It's easy to fool ourselves and to think, hey, I'm pretty spiritual. I go to church. I know the Bible. I can quote the scriptures. I can defend the faith even. But all of that is for nothing if you don't live it out. Be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. And so to sum up our time this morning,

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What to hear, what to shine, and what to do. Jesus said, take heed how you hear. You need to get into the Word of God. You need to be involved in Bible studies. But you also need to take heed and pay attention to how you engage in that. That you're not just hearing for hearing's sake. You're not just hearing to be religious or to be spiritual, but that you are prepared.

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That you're open before the Lord saying, God, I need you. Impact me. Change me. Speak to me. You give me direction. You light the lamp. We need to take heed how we hear. And then we need to shine. Because as God is working in us, even if we tried to hide it, he says, nothing is secret that will not be revealed. It's going to come out. So don't try to hide it. It's going to be known. When God's working in your life, it's going to be known.

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So shine. Let his word impact you. Don't try to hide it. Let others see the change. Let others recognize what God is doing. It's not about you. It's not like, hey, I'm so incredible. God's working in me. It's God's so incredible. He's working in me. Shine. Testify. And as God gives you opportunities, like Joseph and Daniel, and he ushers you in to that person in front of you, maybe an important official or your next door neighbor, testify.

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Say, it's God. Give Him the glory. Let Him be known through your life. Let Him be recognized for the work that is going on in you. And then finally, do. Not only are we to let it impact us, but then we're to put it into practice. Obey it. Where God says go, go. Where He says don't go, don't go. Whatever He says, live it out.

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All of this, of course, applies for us as believers in Jesus. That we need to hear, we need to shine, and we need to do. But as we finish up this morning, I just want to take a moment and say, listen, if you don't know this kind of relationship with God where He speaks to you, if you don't know what it's like to walk with God, to hear Him, for Him to change you, listen, you need to know

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Because the Bible is very clear that you and I, apart from God, we're lost. We're hopeless because of our sinful condition. We've fallen short of the glory of God and we need a Savior. And so God, because He loved us so much, He provided for us a Savior. His name is Jesus.

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And Jesus died upon the cross for your sin, for my sin, that we could have forgiveness from God. He received the full penalty that we deserve because of our sin so that we could be forgiven, that we could have right relationship with God. And guess what? So that we could hear from him, that he could speak to us, that we could have a real relationship with the true and living King of Kings and Lord of Lords, creator of the heavens and the earth.

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That's why Jesus came. That's what he accomplished. And that kind of relationship with God is only found in Jesus Christ. Because Jesus himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The only way to have that relationship with God is through Jesus Christ, by faith in him. And so taking heed how you hear, first of all begins with hearing the gospel. Hearing what Christ has done.

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Letting it impact you and saying, I am a sinner. I do need a Savior. And then putting it into practice because Jesus said, believe in me and you shall have everlasting life. And so if that applies to you today, you want to have that kind of relationship with God, then you need to let it impact you. Recognize your need of a Savior and then put it into practice. Believe in Jesus Christ. Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father, I pray for every heart here, all those who are hearing this. God, I pray that you would help us to see the need, to see the importance of taking heed how we hear. Lord, that we wouldn't just go through religious ritual, that we wouldn't just get more information, but God, that we would allow you to truly impact our hearts because we need you desperately. And so God, we invite you to work in us, to transform us.

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To shine through us. And to put us on that lampstand for all to see. And I pray God that as you speak to us. That you would help us. To be obedient. And to live it out. To put it into practice. Lord that we might become more and more like you. God I pray for those who do not know you. Lord I pray that you would open their hearts and their eyes. That they would see. How much you love them. And the great sacrifice that you offered. In Jesus Christ. That opportunity.

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For forgiveness. Not by earning it. Not by deserving it. But by believing in the work that Jesus accomplished for us. Lord, I pray that you would draw us all near to you. In Jesus' name. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.