The best of intentions sound so good. New Year resolutions sound so good. But they fail when we don’t do it.

One thing to hear and learn and learn and learn but the important thing is to start doing what we are learning and hearing.

The Holy Spirit is ready to bring change and transformation to our lives and our families but we need to start applying whatever the bible is saying and whatever the Holy Spirit is saying to us today.

1. Verse 22

Important to both hear and do…not just to do. In order to be transformed and be blessed, we must apply what we hear and learn.

A doer comes from the Greek word “poiet s (poy-ay-tace) that means Poet. A poet is a person who writes poems. Now turn to Ephesians 2:10 “We are God’s workmanship…”. The Greek word used for “workmanship” is the word “Poiema” (poy-ay-mah) which we can match the English word “Poem”. The NLT says God’s masterpiece. These words “Poet” and “Poem” comes from the same word group.

So God created you like a poem – a creative masterpiece where he pours all His brilliance, power and creative genius to work in creating you for GOOD WORKS (Eph 2:10).

To understand the full force of what God did, turn to Psalms 139:14 “I will praise you; for I am fearfully (carefully) and wonderfully made”. So God put all the force of all His creative genius and power, all His brilliance and all His Wisdom to create you and fashion you to be His Masterpiece, His Poem.

Not just a physical creation but God created us – spirit, soul and body with the exact way that is needed for us to complete the Good Works that he prepared for us to do in Ephesians 2:10. Created not just for display but to work. We see the Masterpiece and the Poem when you are doing the Good Works that he planned for you.

So, put it this way…God is the Master Poet. In James 1:22 – you are also a poet. So listen carefully….

Now when James 1:22 mentions for you to be a DOER of the Word…it is really saying that because God put all the force of His creative genius, brilliant power and Wisdom to create you into the masterpiece to walk in the exact path of Good Works; you must also as a POET, put all the force of the creative genius and brilliant power and wisdom that God has created in you to apply His Word in your life so that you can fulfill all the Good Works that He ordained for you to walk in. YOU CAN’T SAY THAT YOU CAN’T DO IT.  “Nothing is impossible to those who believe…”

Application Part

So when the Word of God says, “Forgive those who hurt you”….what do you do? We don’t like to forgive and don’t want to forgive. But just as God creatively made us and used all His power to launch our lives, even though we don’t want to forgive, we find some way (creatively as a “Poet”) to forgive those who hurt us.

Same with giving or attending church on Sundays….

• When someone has not attended church for a very long time and say that they were too busy…something is wrong
• When someone says that they can’t give tithes or give to the poor…something is wrong
• When somebody says I’m too poor, something is wrong…

God has made us into POETS with creative genius and brilliant power and wisdom to do whatever needs to be done to apply His Word….

• So when you say that you can’t do it, or won’t do it because of other choices then you are really deceiving yourself. God has made you able to do whatever you needed to do to apply His Word.

2. Forgetful Hearers – Verse 23

Some people have one mirror. Look at themselves to adjust their hair, put on some cream and that’s it. Some people however spend a very long time. Looking at their nose. Their hair, their ears. Some have a second mirror…a body length mirror where they love to stand and pose. Pull in the stomach and look and try and different pose. Some people have 3 mirrors.

But the common thing is that as soon as they leave the room, they forget what they looked like because when they get into the car, they check out their face again.

This verse takes us further into what it means when we don’t do what the Bible Says. We become forgetful hearers. Not just hearers, but forgetful hearers. Sometimes as hearers of the Word of God, we might not apply the bible from time to time. But if we continue to disobey the Bible and don’t put it into practice (Continue in it), we will start to lose the Word from our hearts.

Let me put it this way…If we fail to continuously apply the Word, we will begin to lose the revelation of the Word in our lives and that is what is called being a FORGETFUL HEARER. Begin to lose weven what we hear. Hearing is so important in our walk with the Lord – Matthew 11:15 but we can lose even the ability to hear and become FORGETFUL HEARERS —Frightening Downward Spiral.  

The Law of Liberty seems hard at first but produces a life of Liberty – Verse 25

Looks into the perfect law of liberty. Huh! I thought that if we looked into the Law and followed it, we will get more into bondage….example our kids – “Do I have to go to this meeting? But it says, the law of liberty!

It works like this…

Tithe – I sometimes struggled as a young man to give but now it is no more a law of bondage but a law of liberty. I believe that it was through the act of obedience in tithing to bless our family with our own car, house and God continues to provide for my family in different ways.

Holiness – We must live holy even as a teenager. Everyone is going to social nights and partying but Dad is saying.. “No you have to keep yourself holy”. Everyone in high school and university is dating but Dad and Mum is saying, “No, date when you are ready. Concentrate on your studies and get a job before you think about dating.” You think, “Man, that is like the law. It is so hard. Everyone is partying and enjoying themselves but here I am, studying and stuck at home.”

Now you look 4 years into the future….You have completed your studies and now you have a job. But one day you come across one of your friends you went out in high school and partied and had sex and they are a single mum, no job and dependent on their mum and dad.

Aren’t you glad that you obeyed your dad and mum? Wasn’t the law a bit hard but now you realize that it was really the law of liberty and freedom and NOT a law of bondage?