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Portions of this study are taken from Sparkling Gems of the Greek:
by Rick Renner.
Scripture Study::
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves". [James 1:22]
Are You Spiritually Bored?
-- Have you ever gotten bored with going
to church?
-- Do the things of God sometimes seem 'old'?
-- Do you find yourself looking for "New Revelation" in order to
'spice up your spiritual life'?
-- Has the Word of God gotten to the point where you have
'heard it all before'?
If you answered 'Yes" to any of those questions - then it's time for you to examine the reasons why you may have become
bored - and one reason is because you may just be 'auditing the course'
and not actually applying it.
Why People Get Bored:
The primary reason why people get spiritually bored is very simple:
Knowledge without application eventually becomes boring - always!
If all you ever do is sit and hear, and hear, and hear the Word - without ever taking the necessary steps to
do it in your life, then you will eventually reach the place where you have heard so much of the Word -
that you are sick and tired of hearing it.
And, instead of looking for what you might receive from the Lord you will begin to think thoughts like:
"Oh, no, another teaching on 'such-and-such' -
I've heard this before!"
You see the Word of God - is meant to be acted on. So if all you ever do is just listen - gathering more and more information - but never
acting on what you've heard - You will eventually become so over-saturated that you won't want to hear any more!
Actually, it is entirely possible that you have gotten to the point where nothing seems
'fresh' - where the Word of God has become so familiar to your ears that
there seems to be nothing that you haven't already
heard.
Give Me Something New!
You are probably hoping that somebody (anybody) will come along and preach or teach you something that you've
never heard before. You might even find yourself going from church to church, looking for someone - or something - to spice up your spiritual life.
If this sounds like you - you need face the truth: The problem is not the church, your pastor, or the kind of preaching you are hearing. The problem is you! You are bored because you're not
doing the Word.
If you will simply do what you have already heard - you will find that it isn't anywhere near as boring as you think!
- Yes - Doing the Word you already know will require that you develop a serious
prayer life.
- Yes - Doing the Word you already know will require great
discipline
- Yes - Doing the Word you already know will demand that you learn to
crucify your flesh.
In fact, walking in the obedience that God expects of you will take every ounce of your attention, time, ability, and discipline. You will be so busy trying to
do what you've already been taught - that you won't have the time to get bored!
Follow The Instructions:
James 1:22 tells us: "But be ye
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves." Notice the phrase "hearers only'.
This phrase is taken from the Greek word
"akroates".
It was used in classical Greek times to describe people who audited a class rather than taking it for credit. Much like students today who wish to further their education at a university by auditing a course - but
they receive no credit for it because they don't actually
do the work required or submit the work for grading by the teacher.
And in this case - these people were there just to hear the lecture - consider what was taught - and then later discuss it with others. But they had no intention of actually
doing what they heard!
And, in addition to being mentally stimulating, these lectures could be very entertaining. So these "auditors' would go from meeting to meeting because they loved the excitement of hearing something they hadn't heard before - or maybe they just loved the 'special speakers'!
Even though these 'hearers only' had no intention of applying anything they heard, they loved to get new information that made them look knowledgeable in the eyes of other people.
They delighted in attending meetings just so they could be with the crowd -have a good laugh - get excited with everyone else - or simply to hear something new.
But they never actually put into practice what they heard, because they were "hearers only." They weren't listening to the messages to get credit for it. They were just there to get excited - or to have a good time!
More Revelation:
A more informative rendition of what James was saying in this passage is this:
"Don't be like those people who attend meetings and listen to sermons just for the purpose of getting information that makes them look smart in other people's eyes...."
Since this is the background for the phrase "hearers only" as used in James 1:22, we need to take a good look at ourselves and ask some pertinent questions such as:
- Am I serious about the Word of God and
applying it to my life?
- Am I simply a hearer who has no intention of doing the Word - or am I
doing something with the Word I've heard?
- Does God consider me to be a hearer
only or a doer of the Word?
In A Nutshell::
It is unfortunate that many people attend church, go to special meetings, read books, listen to teaching tapes, and watch Christian television regularly:
without results. They've seen a lot, heard a lot, and they really do
know a lot - but they
do little - or nothing with what they have heard.
This is why they become bored with the things of God. They don't
act on what they've heard - or put into practice the information they have gathered - they have gotten over-saturated and as a result:
they have become spiritually numb.
Take Preventative Measures::
Make the decision to be a "doer of the Word and not a hearer only." Make it a point to
apply the Biblical truths you've heard preached over the years - and let them begin to work in your life - and you can be sure that you'll never have the time to become spiritually bored again!
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contribution not only helps us - but it also is the
seed towards the harvest that the Lord has for you. [2
Corinthians 9:6-10]
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