Loving vs. Living
Ezekiel 33:30-32 NKJV
[30] “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ [31] So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. [32] Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.
Most people love the sound of having a Savior.
Why not!
It is a great opportunity to start new.
It is a time that our wrongs could be made right.
A fresh start.
It seems way too good to be true.
We sometimes love it but fail to live it. You see, hearing the Word of God is very important.
Sitting in a Church hearing the preacher preach about the mercy of God is important.
Listening about Renewal, Restoration and Redemption are very important.
Allowing the eloquent words to change hearts is necessary.
But what you do once the preaching stops, what happens outside the Sanctuary doors is imperative!
How we live for Christ is crucial to the Testimony of His Mercy!
You can not have Jesus if you’re not willing to live for Him! If you are not willing to live for Him then how is it possible to follow Him!
We have been called to be the people of the Word of God, by the Word of God for the Kingdom of God!
We have to stay watch to ensure that we are not just loving the Word of God, we must be a people that live it.
This is what is supposed to separate us.
It is the ability to take God’s precious and Holy Word and use it as God has intended us to use it.
To save sinners by the Sacrifice of His Son. To save sinners because of His Goodness, Mercy and compassion on the lost souls man. To save sinners to be renewed and repurposed for the Glory of the Kingdom.
‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’
These words in Ezekiel moved me!
It stirred me to examine my own heart.
Am I loving the Word or am I living the Word.
I would hope and pray that I am doing both! And I hope and pray that is true of you too!
First comes knowledge of the Word.
The acceptance into the heart and minds. Allowing God to penetrate the deepest and darkest places of our lives.
Places that no man has ever been invited to. The Word of God incited into the place that maybe you yourself would like to stay clear of.
If we sit under His Word and we bow down in humility, there is nothing that He can’t restore.
It starts with a knowledge of just who this Man from Nazareth is.
He is the Alpha and Omega
He is the Light of the World
He is the Good Shepherd
The Christ
The Messiah
He is the Son of God and the Son of Man
He the Bread of Life
He is the True Vine
Jesus is the Gate for the Sheep
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life
He is the Resurrection and the Life
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the WORD made flesh!
Please come to the knowledge of the Word of God!
Please sit under Him. Accept the Salvation of Eternal life. Be cleansed and washed. Be made whole!
His Words will heal the heart. They will soothe the soul. They make the crooked mind think straight.
We must take the Words of Jesus and allow them to shape and mold us.
The mold and the pattern of this world in our lives must be shattered! We must be a people that are ready for the Harvest! A people that know what demise you have been saved from!
Let Him dwell into every fiber of your being!
Love the Word that He preaches, because in them is Eternal Life!
I urge you today to stay away from one of the biggest mistakes that the Church has made in recent times.
“they hear your words, but they do not do them”
We hear and love the Word of God but we don’t exactly do them, not like we should!
We have all been guilty of being wasteful with the Treasures of Heaven!
Revelation 22:3-5 NKJV
[3] And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. [4] They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. [5] There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
So often we sit in the comfy chairs of a building to be taught the Word of God.Many times we leave encouraged, nothing more.
We worship God for a short time.
There are 168 hours in a week.
Those who actually go to church may spend only up to 2 hours of that 168 in prayer, worship and sermon.
Many think that is enough. Some think it’s too much to sit and dedicate a measly 2 hours.
A very wise man told me that
“Knowledge without action is entertainment”!
In the passage in Revelation we just read i see that so many want to skip to the part that says
“they shall reign forever and ever.”
What a promise from God!
But we neglect what it takes to get there
“and His servants shall serve Him’!
Where is our service for the King of Glory!
Where has your loyalty been going to!
Who is the actual King in your hearts!
If it is Jesus Christ then we would do good to serve Him as King!
There is no greater job or responsibility than to be a herald for the Word of God!
We want change in this World.
We see its demise.
The corruption of evil is rampant and everywhere.
We have become ‘armchair quarterbacks’ of Christianity.
We see the game playing from the comfort of our chairs. We see the fouls and penalties being made out in the fields.
We have the rule book! We know the rules, We play by the rules. We get mad and upset when no one else does.
Then we complain that the game is not fair. When will you get on the field?
Armchair Christianity is one of the fastest growing games today.
James 1:21-25 NKJV
[21] Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. [22] 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.
I point no fingers because I also fail to be a doer.
I have deceived myself many times into thinking because I have the Words of Eternal life that I don’t have to do anything else. This is true.
I don’t have to do anything else, I must do something else.
We must do something else!
“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.”
I beg and plead with you today,
Live out the Word you Love!
Be the doer as God Has called you!
Be the servant you have been called to be!
The next lost soul, the next hurt and defeated heart. The confused mind needs the Words that you have been loving!
Go out and live it for the Glory of the King!
Pastor Ed