Pastor Steve's Sermon Notes
September 22, 200

In America, Bibles are everywhere. Yet millions of people still miss the blessing of the Bible. Why? Because it's not automatic. The Bible is a Book of blessing. It promises comfort, strength, hope, wisdom, joy, power, and purpose. But just because you have a Bible doesn't mean you're going to get the benefit from it.

Three Steps On How To Be Blessed By The Bible:

RECEIVE GOD'S WORD (vs. 12)

“Accept the Word planted in you.” (vs. 21) “Accept” in the Greek is a hospitality term which literally means “to welcome.” If we're going to be blessed by the Word of God, first we must welcome the Word into our lives. We must be receptive.

James says the Word of God is a seed and it's planted in our hearts. How is it you can take two seeds that are exactly the same and plant them in two different locations and get two different crops in fruitfulness? One soil is prepared and the other is not.

How is it that you can take two people and put them in the same service, with the same message, and one person gets blessed by it and the other person says he didn't get anything out of it. One heart was prepared and one wasn't.

James says we must receive the word of God with the right attitude. He gives us Four Attitudes You Need To Be Blessed By God's Word. You might call them “hearing-aids:”

* Be Careful. “Be quick to listen...” , (vs. 19)
* Be Calm. “…and slow to become angry…” (vs. 19b)
* Be Clean. “…get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent…” (vs. 21)
* Be Compliant. “…humbly accept the Word of God planted in you” (vs. 21b)

REFLECT ON GOD’S WORD (vs. 23)

God's Word is like a mirror. The purpose of a mirror is to evaluate us. God says a mirror reflects what we're like on the outside. God's Word reflects what we're like on the inside.

Three Practical Ways To Reflect On The Word Of God:

* Read It. “…the man who looks intently into the perfect law…” (vs. 25) The word “look” in Greek means “to stoop down and gaze in.” It's the word used when Peter went to the tomb on resurrection Sunday when he stooped down and peeked in. He investigated. Focus your attention on the Word of God.

* Review It. “…and continues to do this…” (vs. 25) That means over and over and over. The Bible calls this meditation.

* Remember It. “…not forgetting what he has heard…” (vs. 25) Nothing will benefit your personal spiritual life more than developing the habit of memorizing Scripture. Memorize God's Word if you want to be blessed by it.

RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD (VS. 22)

“Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (vs.22) The word “listen” in Greek is the word for “auditor.” If you audited a class in college you didn't take it for credit, no tests, no responsibility, no research. You just listened, you didn't have any intention of applying it. We must respond to God's word, let it change us if we're going to be blessed by it. “Be ye doers of the word…” don't merely listen. Put it into practice. We need to put into practice what we already know.

Three Examples Of Practicing The Word:

* A controlled mouth

* A caring heart.

* A clean mind.

West Phoenix Baptist Church

4449 W. Indian School Road
Pheonix, AZ 85031
Phone: 602-278-4012
Fax: 602-272-4672
E-mail: information@ Westphoenix.org