In Bible college, this was called ‘Applied Theology’.. which is the opposite of implied Theology.
Today I want us to look together at one of the critical flaws in Christian witness and living, it is the distance between knowing the word and making application of the word in our daily interactions and situations, where the rubber meets the road.
It can make the difference in how we communicate with one another, how we handle our relationships, in other words, how we do life…. A sailboat with no sail, will not make much progress…It is the sail that makes application of the knowledge about wind power and it’s ability to push the vessel forward through the water. Unless the dynamic of the wind is properly applied with a sail, you go nowhere. The well known martial arts expert Bruce Lee said “Knowledge is Power, but if you haveknowledge without application it is ineffective and useless”. It is the difference in whether we will build bridges or if we will build walls of isolation.
We can’t really say, “I know this”, until we can say “I have applied this”
I am sure all of us have read the scripture text which I have chosen for the message today, or heard it many times, but my prayer is that we would read it with the desire to apply it and not just to acknowledge it.
1 Corinthians 13:1 (The Message Bible)… Even though I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. v2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all His mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t have love, I am nothing. v3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t have love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I am bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for myself. Love doesn’t constantly want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut around, and doesn’t have a swelled head,nor
does love force itself on others. It isn’t always “me first,” doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the unfolding of truth,puts up with anything, (believing things will always get better). Love trusts God always, always looks for the best, doesn’t dwell on past hurts and failures, but keeps going forward to the end.v8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over and done with some day, praying in tongues will end, knowledge will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we know and say about God is incomplete. But when the completionarrives, our incompletes will be canceled”.
When we go to a doctor, they will ask us key question which will help them to diagnose our problem. They will do blood work and lab tests, in order to verify what our symptoms are telling them. Then they *….will prescribe some medicine and lifestyle changes, which will correct or alter our condition, so we can improve and turn it around. As one doctor said to his patient, “So what fits your busy schedule better, exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day”?
God’s word is the same, and the only way we can see the change and improvement in our situations and circumstances, is to apply that knowledge to our situations and our condition.
In order to become successful in turning our negatives into positives, and our defeats into victories, we need to recognize that
1. There is an enemy we need to resist at all times.
2. There are devices which he uses that we need to recognize
3. There are temptations we need to resist
4. There are sins we need to avoid and confess
5. There is spiritual armor that we are provided to wear
*…..6. The enemy is often within ourselves
If you don’t accept this, then you’re only Kidding Yourself. (Tell someone, “quit kidding yourself”)
If you graduated from a university with a very prestigious degree…. (Doctor this or that) You might qualify for a $100,000 dollar a year job, but if you never applied for a job, you would never really enjoy the benefits of that degree. And if you got the job but never showed up, the results would be the same.
Let’s say you found out somehow, what the 80 million dollarmega million winning numbers were, but you never applied that knowledge and bought the ticket, they would read off the results and you would hear…. “And the winning number is “Not Yours”…..
We read In James 1:22 “But as for you, be doers of the word, and not hearers only, otherwise you deceive your own selves. v23 For, if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror, v24 There is a moment of recognition, but then he walks away and forgetswhat he sees. v25 But whoever looks at God’s word, which is the perfect law of liberty, and then continues in it (applies it), he is no longer a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, (making application to his lifestyle) and this man shall be blessed in all his deeds”.
Mahatma Gandhi was quoted as saying that “The problem with Christianity in the world, is not it’s teachings, but the Christians that claim it but don’t practice it”
The most effective messages which others receive from us are those that have been lived out…. Through brokenness, through humblings, through sacrifice and repentance. Through failures and disappointment, the rising and falling again, only to rise once more…. These are the power and the effectiveness of any Christian’s message.
I was sharing some counselling with someone who had come to me for some light at the end of their tunnel. As I was sharing with them, they interrupted and said “I can hear your wisdom coming through your own brokenness.”
Friend there are those that are waiting for us, to emerge from our own dark places, because they need us to be able to tell them what the light will be like when they emerge from their own!
Discipleship comes from the term “disciplined ones”. These are those who have moved from only hearing the word, memorizing it’s principles, and reciting it from memory…to applying it’sdisciplines to their day to day living….It’s one thing to say that you are a Christian, but it is quite another to declare that you are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ!
The soul and will must both be converted. They must work hand in hand or the will can work against the soul and drag it down. The soul is first converted, so that the will can be brought under discipline. It is then that lives can truly be transformed. The word from God will educate the mind, but we must be open to allow Holy Spirit to motivate the heart and discipline the will!
We can weep, speak in tongues, and be deeply moved by a truth, but unless our Christianity gets beyond the church building, and sits at our table, our living room flat screen TV, our Bubba and Bubbett hang times, our sexuality, on the job pressures and encounters, and our lifestyle patterns…. Then it is sounding brass and clanging cymbals!’
I’m not condemning anyone, I’m encouraging us all, to harness this power of God’s truth in life’s mainstream, where it was intended to make a difference, the world is waiting to see the real deal!
You can know that you have gone from just knowledge to true discipleship …
When Old beliefs give way to New beliefs
When Old values give way to New values
When Old behaviors give way to New behaviors
When the Old speech give way to New ways of speaking
When Old habits give way to New habits
When Old relationships give way to New relationships
When Old outlooks give way to New outlooks
When Old purposes give way to New purposes
When the Old environment gives way to a New environment
When the Old plans give way to New plans
When the Old nature gives way to a New nature
When the Old morals give way to New morals
When Old desires and passions give way to New desires and passions
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (ploo'-no so) in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another….with grace in your hearts to the Lord. v17 Andwhatsoever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him”.
The Greek word for God’s word dwelling richly is (ploo'-no so, it means, that it is to be as obvious on the outside, as the clothes you wear)
The word of God does not just answer our deeper level life questions, it’s intention is to transform our lives and to show in all that we do!
One of the enemies of obedience is performance.
Obedience is saying yes to whatever God asks of you. Performance is saying yes to whatever people expect of you.
Obedience is following the promptings of God’s Spirit. Performance is going along with it, as long as you can stay in control…
Obedience springs from a heart to please God. Performance springs from fear that God will get you if you don’t.
Obedience begins when the reader lays down the bible and walks away to do it. Obedience begins when the sermon ends and the final prayer is prayed and we get up from our seats. Obedience begins with the next challenge, the next argument, the next disagreement, the next problem that we face. Obedience is when submitting to God’s word will cost you something but you do it anyway.
Religion can actually be a placebo, or a knock off version of real, genuine Christianity, and it can build a barrier to obedience, so that folks can go through a performance with no personal application to the way they live their daily lives.
They make their confession to the priest and get a clean slate so they can go out and fill it up again….REALLY? A new priest was real nervous about hearing confessions, since he was not sure he was doing it right and since he was just starting, he was very appreciative for any advice he could get, since he was dealing with such a serious matter. So he asked the older priest to sit in on his sessions. After new priesthad heard a couple of confessions, the senior priest told him he wanted to give him a few suggestions before the next person entered the confessional.
The old priest said, “I suggest that you, Cross you arms over your chest, and rub your chin with one hand as people are sharing their sins, so they know you’re serious about it." The new priest tried it and felt better. The old priest told him, "Now, try saying things like, 'I see, yes, go on', and "I understand. How did you feel about that?" The new priest repeats those things to make sure he’s got it…
The old priest says, "Now, don't you think that's a little better than slapping your knee and shouting 'NO WAY?!? So, what happened next?"
Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna was brought before the godless Roman authorities and told to curse Christ and he would be released. He then replied, "Eighty-six years have I served Christ, and he has done me no wrong: how then can I blaspheme my king who saved me?" The Roman officer replied, "Unless you change your mind, I will have you burned at the stake." But Polycarp said, "You threaten a fire that burns for an hour, and after a while is quenched, for you are ignorant of the judgement to come, but if you will repent and receive Christ, you will escape the fire that burns for eternity. So go ahead then, and do what you wish." WOW!
Charles Spurgeon, says, “ The sermon does not begin until the hearers make application of it”. The bible is filled with places where we are not done reading or hearing it until we personally fill in the blanks.
Applying the word, means that we all need to ask ourselves….
1. Is there a witness I need to share
2. Is there an encouragement I need to extend
3. Is there a service I need to do
4. Is there a forgiveness I need to ask
5. Is there a fellowship I need to nurture
6. Is there an exhortation I need to give
7. Is there a burden I need to bear
8. Is there a kindness I need to express
9. Is there a hospitality I need to extend
10. Is there an attitude I need to change or guard against
11. Is there a sin I need to forsake
Applying the word is about making it real. Sister Betty is making it real, as she visits the convalescent center, and the homes of some of the senior citizens on a regular basis.
Craig is a first responder in many situations where there is no one else to say a prayer, or give a word of comfort, he’s there.
Linda is there getting those grandkids to church and providing the wheels for folks to get to Women Of Destiny.
And we sure miss it when we walk in the doors, and Erika isn’t here with that big smile and a cheerful welcome…..And certainly there are many others who are making it real at home, at work and in neighborhoods where you live…
The challenge we have is to build bridges between the word, that is the policy manual for the kingdom of God and the real world we live in here and now!
Applying the word is about Making it relevant….The values and truths of the kingdom of God are relevant and can make the difference in any situation that we will ever encounter. God has given you the missing piece to the puzzle many folks just can’t seem to put together.
If the widow of Nain had not obeyed God’s word that came through the prophet and baked a cake of meal for him first, she and her son would have perished. Now that is relevance! The prophet had the missing piece of their puzzle.
You Only Believe What You Obey…
If David had not obeyed and taken off Saul’s armor, and faced the giant with his sling and stone, the Philistines would have won. That is relevance! That stone was the missing piece of the puzzle.
If Elijah had not been willing to confront the prophets of Baal, false Gods would have put Israel under their dark power. Believe me, that is very relevant! Elijah had Israel’s missing piece of the puzzle.
The heroes of the bible were fashioned from the stuff called “application of the word of promise”. God said it, and that settled it!
So they went out and acted like it and spoke like it!
Good intentions will get you nowhere….speaking of good intentions…..
Some guys were working on a 35 story construction site, one of them dropped his hammer off the 30th story. It was falling right towards the boss’s head and he yelled out, "Move, Falling Hammer". The boss looked up and moved to one side as the hammer crashed to the ground.
The boss looked up and yelled, "A $100 bonus for you buddy."
Another guy observed what happened and thought he would like to get a $100 bonus, the problem was he was a stutterer, as hedropped a crowbar off the side of the building he looked down and yelled with a loud voice, MoMoMoMoMo…… Man, you’re dead!
Good intentions aren’t enough….
I want to give you the “Rules for Being Amazing”……Risk more than is required, learn more than you’re obligated to learn, be strong and of good courage. Seize all the moments that take your breath away. Love, lead and speak the truth with kindness. Live out your values regardless of what those around you feel or do. Laugh often and deeply. Cry and let your heart stay sensitive. Innovate and simplify because life is complicated enough. Master the things that try to master you. Let go of all mediocrity and don’t settle for anything less than excellence. Stay humble and be a second-miler. Always give out as much as you get. Do whatever you do with passion. Break through your limitations and transcend your fears and doubts. Inspire others to go further and be better by example, not by words alone. Dream big but be willing to start small. Stop putting things off, Act now and never, never, never stop.....
1 John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God is forever”. In 1 John 2:3, “We know we have come to know Him if we obey His commands.”
Pastor Rick Warren says…
1. All behavior is based on a belief.
2. Behind every sin is a lie which I have believed.
3. Change always starts in the intellect.
4. To help people change, we must change their belief systemfirst.
5. Trying to change people’s behavior without changing their belief system, is a waste of time.
6. The biblical term for “changing your mind” is repentance.
7. You do not change people’s minds, Holy Spirit takes the truth of the Word of God and does makes the changes.
8. Changing the way I act is the evidence of repentance.
9. The deepest kind of obedient living brings repentance in others.
My friends, we are not who we think we are, we are not who our family and our friends think we are, and we are not what our enemies and the devil says we are, but we are who God knows we are, and who Christ died to make us to be. Those things did not lay down their life for me, but Jesus did, and He has filed for the certificate of occupancy.
So many folks have a difficult time letting go of the things of this earth, so they can’t obey the Lord. They’re like the guy who lived his entire life to make money. Nothing was allowed to get in the way of that. When he was ready to die, he had them make him a solid gold casket. But as he was making preparations, an angel appeared to him and told him that they had plenty of paving material for the streets in heaven. He saw gold as so valuable that he gave up every thing for it… heaven saw it as paving material! Oh my!
Would you stand with me as we close… let’s ask ourselves some questions… in these closing moments…
What are you trusting and believing God for right now?
In what ways are you needing to apply what you already know, that we haven’t been applying?
Robert Frost wrote “But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep”. In light of the message today, I could say the same. There are promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep!
What is your action plan to experience change in what you think and how you live?
James 4:17 “Therefore to those that know to do good, and do it not, to them it is a sin”.
Here are some basic questions that will help us to apply the word of God to every situation in our life…. 1. Is there an example for me to follow for what is important?
2. Is there a sin I need to avoid or confess?
3. Is there a promise I need to claim?
4. Is there a prayer I need to repeat?
5. Is there a command I need to obey?
6. Is there a condition I need to meet?
7. Is there a scripture I need to remember?
8. Is there an error or misinterpretation I need to avoid?
9. Is there a challenge I need to face?
10. Is there a principle I need to apply?
11. Is there a habit that I need to change, start or stop?
12. Is there an attitude I need to correct?
13. Is there a truth I need to believe?
We should all ask ourselves some of the questions on the screenbefore we put our head on our pillow tonight.
Lord, what is it I know but I’m not applying to my lifestyle.
