We must put the word of God into practice

Joint Communion Service at PIWC, Atomic

Two important things to note
Read Luke 11:28.

1. It is important that you hear the word of God
2. It is important that you put it into practice

These are very important. They are fundamental to the scriptures becoming significant to us. The word of God becomes operational in the life of the believer only when he puts it into practice. That is when you become blessed.

Does this word work? Is it true? Does it apply today or it only applied at the time Jesus said it?
Many people come to church and many people hear the word of God but often we find that they are not growing in church. They have been in church for a very long time and yet are not growing. We see many have come around the word of God for so long and it is not having an impact on their lives. It is because of what Jesus said: You are only blessed if you receive the word of God and act on it. This morning as we come to the Lord’s table, we want to come with a new attitude: the attitude of putting the word of God into practice.

Don’t just listen to the word; act on it
Read James 1:22 NLT.

Listening to the word of God is important but it is only the first step. After listening to the word, you must do what it says otherwise you are only fooling yourself as James 1:22 NLT puts it.

Jesus spoke about this in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-8). There, he emphasized that they needed to understand the parable so they would not fall in the categories of seeds that fell in bad places. They had to strive to be the good soil.

The seeds that fell on the footpath
The seed in the parable was the word of God. The seeds that fell on the footpaths represented those who heard the word and the devil stole it from their hearts, preventing them from believing and being saved by it. There is a devil that wants to steal the word that will come to you when you come to church so you must consciously guard against that.

The seeds that fell on rocky soil
The seeds that fell on the rocky soil are those who receive the word with joy but because they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while and fall away when they face temptation.

You must be conscious that you need depth to keep the word. Hence, seek the depth that will enable you keep the word. If you are not deep in the things of God, become deep in them else you will come to church for decades and the word will not benefit you and temptations will take you away.

The seeds that fell among thorns
Some of the seeds fell among thorns. These are those who hear the message but it is too quickly crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life so it never grows to maturity. The word has no place in their lives and scheme of things. The cares and riches and pleasures of this life as well as the things that give them gratification preoccupy their lives and dominate them so that the word does not find place and it dies. People of God, beware that the cares and pleasures of this life are an enemy to the word of God fining room in your life.

The seeds that fell on good soil
Some of the seeds fell on good soil. These are the honest, good-hearted people who hear Gods word and cling to it—they hold on to it steadfastly, not waiting for instant results because seeds take time to yield fruit—and patiently produce a huge harvest.

Seeds take time to yield fruit—it is abnormal for them to instantly grow and bear fruit. When Jonah was complaining that he was hot and God grew him a tree, that tree died the same day just as quickly as it had grown.

We will find ourselves in one or more of these categories that Jesus mentioned. You have to diagnose yourself to know where you stand. Let the word reflect who you are to you. After seeing who you are, make a conscious effort to go to the next level. We need to remind ourselves of these things so we take action. In the things of God, if you don’t act on your situation, it will not change.

Examples of putting the word into practice
Are we truly going to be blessed if we put the word of God into practice? Let us look at two examples.

Read Luke 5:4-7.

Jesus had borrowed their boat and used it to preach. Afterwards, he told them to let down their nets for a catch. They had toiled all night and not caught anything so, as experienced fishermen, they knew it was not a reasonable thing to expect a catch but Peter said because Jesus had said so, he was going to do it. When he obeyed they caught so much fish that their boat began to sink.

Read Matthew 8:5-13 NIV.

The centurion whose servant was sick believed so much in the word that he said Jesus did not have to come to his house to heal him. He believed that it would be enough for Jesus to speak the word and his servant would be healed.

Jesus commended him for his faith and gave a warning that the children of the kingdom that if they didn’t take care, outsiders would come and benefit from the blessings of the kingdom, leaving them behind because they have not cherished the word.

Why should we believe the word?
In Hebrews 4:12, the Bible says the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to divide the soul and spirit. This word is God (John 1:1). So, if you take the word, you have taken God himself. If you act on the word, you have acted on God himself and his word never fails.

In Jeremiah 1:12 NIV, God says he is watching to see that his word is fulfilled. Why don’t you partner with him to see that this word is fulfilled?

Isaiah 55:11 says the word of God will not return to him empty but accomplish what he desires and fulfill the purpose for which he sent it.

How much of the word you have in your spirit determines how fruitful you are as a Christian. This word will never fail. Don’t be like the word that fell on the footpath, on the rocky soil, or among the thorns. Be a good soil. Guard against the other three and live by the fourth and this word will begin to do wonders and miracles. It will begin to bear fruit and turn your life around because you are putting it into practice. All people around you will begin to see fruitfulness. They will see newness and that you are not just going to church. They will see a transformation around you because you live by the word.

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