January 30, 2019

A hearer of the Word observes. A doer of the Word participates. Thousands heard Goliath hurl malicious verbal insults at the frightened Israelites. Only David did something about it. Observation can stay distant. Participation gets up close and personal. You can’t stay on the mountain and get something done. You have to get down in the valley where the threat can be turned into a triumph. Grabbing rocks from a brook, loading your shepherd’s bag with ammunition for your sling shot, and confidently marching toward the enemy is what a doer does. But a hearer simply reports. There were many that day who could initially inform the slinger with more details of what had been heard about the giant, about the reward for killing the giant, and about the King’s daughter. They could quote everything verbatim, but they weren’t willing to do anything about it. Religionists are collectors of things heard, but revivalists are collectors of defeated giants, their swords and their heads. Hey, did you hear? That’s often the verbiage of those who journal someone else’s actions. They can analyze it. They can articulate what they did better than the one who actually did it. They can criticize it with words, but they can’t compare their own experiences of the thing scrutinized.

What you keep in the Word today will help you conquer the world tomorrow. David kept His father’s sheep and one day killed a giant. His relationship with God didn’t just start up on the day he faced the gargantuan Philistine; he had been singing songs on the hills, serenading grass grazing sheep, and writing prophetic lyrics while the willow trees bent in rhythmic winds. Jesus let his disciples know that if they were going to be world changers they would have to keep his Word.(John 14:23); he also stipulated that true love was connected to keeping His commandments. (John 14:15). Listen now…

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