James 1:22–27
Introduction:
The most exciting place in town should not be a football stadium. It should be any church that preaches the Word of God. This excitement is obviously of a different nature. Unfortunately, this is seldom true in any way.
I. The Essence of the Christian Life
A. The things that it is not:
1. It is not Christian experience.
2. It is not prayer—important as that is.
3. It is not witnessing.
B. The thing that it is—the Bible:
1. It is obedience to the Word of God.
a. It involves knowing what the Bible says.
b. It involves doing/not doing what the Bible says we should.
2. It is the practice of the Word of God.
a. It is putting Bible principles into practice in life.
b. It is developing what we don’t have that the Bible says we should have.
II. The Excitement of the Christian Life
A. The experience of God’s blessing is exciting!
1. It emphasizes the importance of answered prayer.
2. It emphasizes importance of spiritual victories:
a. Temptations withstood.
b. Sins conquered.
c. Souls won, etc.
B. The expectations of the Word are exciting!
1. There are things we must do and things we must not do.
2. The “must do” becomes the “can do.”
a. If God commands it, we can do it.
b. This makes a commandment very exciting.
c. When we say “I can’t,” we make God a liar.
III. The Exercise of the Christian Life
A. Living by Biblical principles is exercise.
1. All decisions should be made on basis of Biblical teaching.
2. It implies sufficient knowledge to have basis.
B. Putting the Bible into practice is exercise.
C. How to do it:
1. Select something to be worked on.
2. Choose some specific way of doing it.
3. Do that thing (21 days if you want it a habit).
4. Make that practice part of your life.
Conclusion:
Christianity tends to become a drag for many people, but it ought to be continuously exciting and challenging. Your response to the Word of God will do much to determine the level of your spiritual energy! Is your spiritual life bland or blossoming? Your practice of the Word of God determines the answer.