Life Ministries

Practice 3 -
Information without Application is just Knowledge

“It is God who works in you to will and to act.” He wants to partner with us, and help us to see the goal of becoming the best we can be.

     You can tell someone is an athlete when they train and practice and discipline themselves to do more than run around the dinner table. You can tell someone is a musician when they practice and discipline themselves to play more than “chop-sticks”. You can tell someone is a Christian when…? You can finish the sentence.
    Let’s say that you and God are going to make a trip down the “river of life” and your goal is “Paradise Island”. Now, the first thing you must do is get in the canoe. We call that salvation.  So, you and God are both in the canoe heading toward Paradise Island.  But, you decide that you don’t want to paddle. You are going to let God do all the paddling and if you are going to get to Paradise Island, God will have to do all the work!  You just expect that he is going to keep the canoe headed in the right direction, and you are just going to go along for the ride! Does that sound crazy? But, that’s how some Christians are going through life. They don’t “want” to discipline themselves in any way!  “If it’s going to be, then God will have to do it” is their attitude.
    Now, suppose God works on you a little bit, and you decide you probably should do some-thing at least, but you don’t listen to God’s directions, you just stick your paddle in the water, and make like you’re doing something. But, the canoe just seems to go in circles! You can see Paradise Island every once in a while, when the canoe spins in that direction, but for the most part, you don’t really know what direction you are supposed to be going. That’s the way some other Christians are!
    Wouldn’t it be much easier if we allowed God to “work in us to will and to act” according to His purpose and direction? Of course it would. We must do our part, keeping our eyes on the goal, and practicing what He tells us, and God will do His part. By the way, I can tell you from experience, our part becomes less burdensome when we realize we have the infinite energy and power of God working with us!
    There are many things we must discipline ourselves to do along this journey of growth, but none is more important than the intake of God’s Word. The intake of God’s Word really involves more than we think. It involves the five disciplines of “hearing”; “reading”; “study”; “meditation”; and “prayer”. Hearing may come through preaching, teaching, tapes, or music, all of which enter our ears. Reading of course is just that, a daily or consistent reading of God’s Word. Study however, involves more than just reading. There are many ways to study the Bible. I personally like the “Tree” approach. This is where step one is just a general reading of scripture. It’s kind of like standing and looking at a tree. The second step is choosing a Book of the Bible. This will be the “trunk” of the tree. The third step is a chapter by chapter study. This is like a close study of the “limbs” of the tree. The fourth step is a paragraph study, like the “branches” of the tree. And, the fifth step would be a “word” study, or checking out each “leaf”. Most people are satisfied with just looking at the tree! And, for many, it’s just a quick glance. However, when you combine all of these steps together, they bring a deeper, fuller, sweeter, understanding God’s Word. The point is that all of this must lead us to application. Information without application is just knowledge. There can be no healthy Christian life of growth without the milk and the meat of the scriptures being our constant nutrition.
    When it comes to the intake of God’s Word, the easiest is “hearing” because all you have to do is sit and listen! For most of us, that means attending a New Testament church where the Word of God is faithfully preached. Jesus said; “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it”. Paul said in Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”. That means that initial faith in Jesus Christ comes by hearing the inspired word about Christ from God’s Word. The faith we need for life comes from hearing this Word!  Now, there are other ways we can “hear” God’s Word. The most obvious would be T.V., Radio, and Tapes. All of these may be good, if we are really listening, and if we know we are listening to the truth! But, nothing is better than a live presentation!
    Paul, once again in 1^st Timothy 4:13 instructs Timothy to “devote himself to the public reading of scripture, and to preaching and teaching” Why? To insure that the people would at least hear the Word of God, and that by hearing they might have faith.
    In those days the people were actually encouraged not to read the scriptures. The Pharisees and other religious leaders felt the common person could not understand, and there were no book stores! The Scriptures were not as readily available as we have today. The Pharisees, as Jesus pointed out to them, had a “do as I say and not as I do” religion.
    The problem is that it is proven that we retain very little of what we hear! And, like those in the Parable of the Sower, Satan quickly snatches away what may have been sown, and we soon forget. Need proof? How many of you heard the preacher’s message two weeks ago? Or better yet, How many heard the preacher’s message last week? And, how much do you remember?  You see, “hearing” alone will not promote spiritual growth. It will and does “encourage our faith”, but hearing alone will not promote the kind of growth we need for “life”.