Move From Knowing to Living: Obeying the Word That Changes Lives

Let me begin with a question to you this morning. What good is it to know the

truth, yet never live it out?

What good is it to know the truth, yet never live it out?

We live in an age of overflowing information, don't we?

Just spoken about podcasts. There are podcasts available to us.

There's devotionals available to us.

There's YouTube sermons that we can download and watch whenever we want to There's

books upon books upon books Yet the danger is this We can become spiritual consumers

rather than spiritual doers You with me?

We can hear the truth yet never walk in it We can quote the scripture, yet fail to embody it.

Jesus didn't say these words. He didn't say, blessed are those who can recite these things.

He said from John 13 verse 17, now that you know these things,

John 13:17

God will bless you for doing them.

I want us to move from knowing to living, knowing to living.

The blessing is not in the hearing.

The blessing is in the doing.

You're very quiet this morning. You're obviously contemplating this very strongly,

which is good, which is good.

Blessing's not in the hearing. Blessing is in the doing.

So you're all blessed by hearing me this morning.

Yeah, but you are more blessed by then going and doing it.

The anointing flows when obedience meets revelation.

God's power shows up when we not only know his word, but we live it out daily

in our homes, in our workplaces, in our schools, in our decisions, and in our character.

The key verse for this message can be found in James 1 and verse 22. It says this.

Wow,

straight in the chest. Don't just listen to God's word.

You must do what it says. Otherwise, you're only fooling yourselves.

Church, James is not speaking to unbelievers here.

He's speaking to believers, people who hear the word, people who attend church,

people who take notes, people who say amen when the preacher asks them to say amen. Amen?

Amen. But somehow stop short of doing what the word commands them to do.

Knowledge is important Yes, it's

very important God wants us to grow in

wisdom and understanding But hear me Knowledge

without obedience is very dangerous

It's very dangerous To know what

God says But then not do it

That's not wisdom That's deception Okay The Bible says that we end up fooling

ourselves Living under the illusion that hearing equals holiness It doesn't

It doesn't That study equals surrender Doesn't.

That information equals transformation. Doesn't.

It doesn't. The word of God is not given just to be heard. It's given to be obeyed.

Okay. It's not the hearer who is transformed. It's the doer who is transformed.

It's not the student who changes the world. It's the servant who walks out what they've learned.

Okay. Because revelation without application, that leads to stagnation. Amen?

Amen. God is calling his people to be movers.

God is calling his people to move and to move beyond just knowing the word, but to living the word.

He's calling his believers to move beyond attendance into action.

He's moving, he's calling his believers to move beyond confession into conviction.

Are you with me this morning? Yep. Let's unpack this a little bit together, shall we?

So I mentioned that it's dangerous, the danger of knowledge alone without,

sorry, let me rephrase that.

Knowledge without obedience is dangerous. Okay.

In James 1, 23 and 24, it says, for if you listen to the word and don't obey,

it's like glancing at your face in a mirror.

You see yourself, you walk away and you forget what you look like.

When you come back, you go, oh, who's that?

James, who was the half-brother of Jesus, is speaking to believers scattered

around the area by persecution, pressed in by trials, and surrounded by temptation.

That's who James is talking to.

His message cuts through all the noise.

Faith is not about information. Faith is about transformation.

He says, if you listen but don't obey, you're like someone who looks in a mirror,

sees the truth, and then walks away unchanged.

Okay? The Word of God shows us who we are.

The Word of God shows us who we are. But if we refuse to respond,

we walk away forgetting who we're called to be.

In other words, people who sit in a lecture hall, people who take notes,

people who nod in agreement but never actually practice what they've heard.

I wonder how many people actually treat the Bible like that.

Talking about students, perhaps in a university, who listen, nod, take notes.

They're in agreement, but they never actually practice what they've heard.

I wonder how many of us treat the Bible like that.

We audit the word of God. Any auditors in the house this morning.

Good. We audit the word of God instead of enrolling in the school of obedience.

We want inspiration, but not transformation.

We want revelation, but not responsibility.

Jesus said in Matthew 7, verses 24 to 27, shortened it a bit,

Matthew 7:24–27

but it basically says it's the parable of building on the shifting sand or on the rock, okay?

And he says, anyone who listens to my teachings and follows it is wise,

but anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey is foolish.

Both groups hear the word, but only one group did the word.

Both built houses, but only one stood when the storm came.

Hearing will give you knowledge but doing will give you foundation in your life.

John Piper once said the greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. What?

He said the greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.

The things that are not sinful in themselves But

keep us from pursuing God It's not

always sin that derails us Sometimes

it's comfort that derails us It's not always rebellion that cools the fire Sometimes

it's distraction that cools our fire We can be so full of good things That we

lose our hunger for God things You following me this morning?

Amen. Imagine this.

Imagine this with me. A man goes to the doctor, and the doctor says to him,

take this medicine every day, or you will die.

The man nods, takes the prescription, and then he puts it on the shelf and never takes it.

He knows what to do, but he never acts on it. His knowledge doesn't save him.

So too, church, if we know God's word, but we never live it,

it will not transform us.

So when we hear and when we do, that's when the blessing flows in our lives.

That's where power is released.

That's where the word becomes flesh in our lives.

And James 1.25 says this, it says, but if you look carefully into the perfect

law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard,

then God will bless you for doing it. It's pretty straightforward.

James says, look carefully.

That phrase comes from a Greek word.

Doesn't it, Andrew? Doesn't it, Peggy? That phrase, that word,

look carefully. That's right.

James says, look carefully. He says, look carefully.

Well, I'm here to tell you this morning, and I'm going to get an amen from my

Greek brother in a minute, but I'm here to tell you that that phrase comes from

the Greek meaning to stoop down and to examine closely.

Thank you, brother. I feel so much better now.

It's not a quick glance. It's not a quick glance. It's not a casual scroll through the scriptures.

It's a heart posture of searching, seeking, and submitting to the truth.

It's the difference between glancing at the Bible or gazing into it.

One brings information and the other brings transformation. And James calls

it the perfect law that sets you free.

Studying the word of God and then doing it. It's the perfect law that sets you free.

This isn't about legalistic ritual or religious performance.

It's about the gospel of Christ, the law of love written on your hearts by the Holy Spirit.

True freedom is not doing whatever we please.

True freedom is found in living under the reign of Jesus in our lives. That's freedom.

You see, the world says that freedom means no boundaries.

That's what the world says. But heaven says freedom is found in surrender.

Because when you come under the lordship of Christ,

you are no longer bound by sin, But you

are bound by grace That's what happens

Paul echoes this truth in Romans 12

Romans 12:1

Verses 1 and 2 when he says And so dear brothers and sisters I plead with you

to give your bodies to God Because of all he has done for you Don't copy the

behaviours and customs of this world But let God transform you into a new person

By changing the way you think.

To live out the word means to surrender all we are to God, our time,

our choices, our desires, and our very selves.

That's what it means to live out the world. We need to obey God and leave all

the consequences to him.

Isn't that a good thing that we can obey a God who then looks after the consequences

for us? That's faith in action.

We don't obey because it's easy. we obey because Christ is Lord.

We obey because his way is the best way. Amen?

Good. Think of a soldier. Think of a soldier with me. He doesn't just memorize the training manual.

He lives it out in the field. When the battle comes, knowledge must become action.

And likewise, Christianity is not a classroom activity or a church sermon.

Okay? That's not Christianity. It's a battleground of reality.

It's one thing to know the word, but it's another to live it out when the storm

hits, when temptation comes, and when pressure rises.

Church, when we look carefully into the word and walk courageously in obedience,

God releases blessing, power, and freedom in our lives.

Who wants blessing, power, and freedom?

The word becomes more than ink on our pages. It becomes fire in our bones.

So there's power in the gospel. There's power in the gospel,

and there's power in the gospel in moving from knowing to living.

At the very heart of Christianity is not rules. It's redemption.

It's not about behavior modification. It's about heart transformation. That's the gospel.

1 Corinthians 15 verses 3 and 4 says, Christ died for our sins,

1 Corinthians 15:3

just as the scriptures said.

He was buried and he was raised from the dead on the third day,

just as the scriptures said.

This is gospel. This is the good news. This is what we need to live out in our lives.

And the good news is not just something to understand.

It's something to embrace in our lives. trust and to live.

The gospel isn't just a message we hear on a Sunday.

It's a miracle that we carry into Monday with us. It's not just a doctrine to debate.

It's a life to display. That's the gospel.

Paul said in Galatians 2 verse 20, my old self has been crucified with Christ.

Galatians 2:20

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

You're hearing this? It says, So I live in this earthly body by trusting in

the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This church is more than knowledge. This is transformation. The cross doesn't just forgive your past.

It actually, it reshapes your life. It reshapes, it forms your presence, your present.

It doesn't just redeem your soul. It reshapes your life.

The gospel isn't just the ABC of Christianity. It's the A to Z of Christianity.

It's not merely the starting line. It's the power source by which you live every single day.

The same grace that saved you should be the same grace that sustains you in your lives.

The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now empowers you to live for him, to live for him.

So we must ask ourselves the question, do I know about Christ or do I live Christ?

That's the question that needs answering.

The world doesn't need more people who can quote scriptures.

The world doesn't need those people who can just quote the scriptures.

It needs people who can embody the scriptures. That's what the world needs.

It needs believers who are so saturated with the gospel that others see Jesus

in the way we speak and in the way we love and in the way we serve.

Because when the gospel moves from your head to your heart and from your heart

to your hands, that's where revival begins.

When we start living out the gospel, that's when your faith comes alive.

That's when you stop studying truth and start living truth. Josh, come on up for me.

Sorry, Callum. Okay. So today, I believe we've very clearly heard the word of

God, haven't we? We've heard the word of God.

Not just about knowing it, though, about living it.

James warns us, don't just listen to the word, do what it says.

Obedience, that's where the anointing flows. Obedience in the word of God.

That's where life begins to change.

Maybe this morning, the Holy Spirit is stirring in your heart.

Maybe you've known the scriptures for years, but lately your heart has grown a little bit cold.

Maybe you've heard sermon after sermon after sermon, but you're still standing

on the edge of full surrender.

Hear the word of the Lord this morning. It's time to move from knowing to living.

That's what the decision is to be made this morning. It's time to stop auditing

God's word and start applying God's word.

It's time to build not on the sand, but on the rock of Jesus Christ.

It's what we're called to do, and it's time to do that right now.

The gospel is not just a lesson to live or to lesson to learn or to study it's

a life to embody at the cross think of this at the cross Jesus didn't die so

that you could gain information,

he died so you could experience transformation in your life,

he rose again to put his spirit within you

so that you could walk in power freedom

and victory every single day again galatians 2 verse 20 reminds us it's no longer

Galatians 2:20

i that live but christ who lives

lives in me that's the call for today christ in you the hope of glory,

That's the call this morning.

So I ask you, I ask you this morning, is there an area of your life where you've

been hearing but not doing?

Is there a word God has spoken that you've delayed in obeying?

Today is the day to step out. Today is the day to say, Lord,

I don't want to hear it anymore.

I want to live it. I want to live it.

So if that's you, if that's you, if, you know, if there's an area in your life

perhaps where you've been hearing but not doing,

if there's a word that God's spoken to you that you've delayed obeying,

then if that's you I invite you to come to the front with me come to the front

if that's you if there's any area in your life that you need to be transformed in,

no one's going to be doing any judgment I'm the first one to walk out here if

that's you come to the front with me come on.

Thank you Lord Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord. If that's you, come to the front, lift your hands with me. Come on.

Come to the front, lift your hands. Open your heart and say with me, I surrender.

I surrender. Say this after me. I don't want to just hear your word.

I want to live your word. That's for everyone too.

Not just these people. everyone here, forgive me for every moment I've failed to obey.

Fill me with your spirit. Renew my mind.

And give me the courage to walk out my faith, to live my faith.

Give me courage. Let my life be a reflection of your gospel.

Not just in words, but in action. I declare it's no longer I who live.

But Christ who lives in me. In Jesus' name this morning, I pray.

Amen. Amen. Lord, I pray for these precious people, Lord, for whatever area

of their life, whatever stumble in their life, whatever area,

and I'm praying for myself here where I've heard the word.

I've heard the word. We've heard the word, but we've failed to obey.

We've failed to step forward in faith and transformation, which comes from knowing

the risen Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I pray for every person here, Lord God, that you would empower them,

that we would be a church that the world is watching,

and who will see that we are embodying the Scriptures, the Scriptures that come from Christ Himself.

We want to be that light, we want to be that testimony Lord.

Let the word you've heard today become the life you live tomorrow in Jesus' name.

Because when the church stops merely hearing and starts living,

then revival is not far away.

So I pray that over each and every one of you this morning in Jesus' name.

Be doers of the word, be hearers of the word, be understanding of the word,

but then step out and be doers of the word in Jesus' name.

Praise your name, Lord Jesus. Praise your name.

So I charge you to go this morning. Go in the knowledge of Christ and act it out in Jesus' name.

Live it out in Jesus' name. Each and every person here this morning, go in obedience.

Go in transformation because you're not only hearers, but you are doers of the

word. In Jesus' name, I pray.

Hallelujah. Amen. Bless you guys.

Bless you guys. Amen.

It's the same word God created. You know, that's how it is.

Absolutely. It is. Absolutely.

That's what a promise is. So God is not watching for people who can quote Scripture.

The world's not watching for people who can quote Scripture,

that is looking for people and the world is looking for people who can embody

scripture, that can go, be that light this morning, be that testimony.

Let the word you've heard today become the life that you live for tomorrow.

And I've said it before, I'll say it again, when the church stops merely hearing

and starts living, revival is not far away. Who wants revival?

Who wants revival? Hallelujah. Amen.