Are We Doing the Word?

// Lynette Hagin

 

In 1972 my husband began working for his father, Kenneth E. Hagin, as crusade director. I knew I would be working at the book table during the crusades, so I thought I'd better read all of my father-in-law's books very thoroughly. That way I could tell anybody who asked what the books were about.

There were about 19 books then, and basically, all of them were on faith. As I read them, my faith just soared! I knew I could speak to any mountain and it would be removed!

About that same time, the Lord directed me to read the Book of James. As I began reading, I came to this verse: "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). The New International Version puts it this way: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

Through the years I've come to realize that many of us like to hear the Word, but we often forget about the doing part. Although we can quote the Word, many times we don't practice the Word.

We think our faith is strong in different areas. But when a test comes, we find out that the Word wasn't in our hearts as much as we thought.

Hearing alone isn't enough. It's doing what the Word says that will make us successful in life. Here are just a few areas where we need to be doers of God's Word.

Love Your Enemies

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:44, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." I've always been amazed at my husband in this area. It doesn't matter what somebody says to him or about him—he just loves them anyway.

I wasn't always like that. My flesh often wanted to retaliate. Many of us like to take up for ourselves. But guess what? That's not what the Word tells us to do. We're told to love our enemies, bless them, do good to them, and pray for them.

Forgive Others

We also need to put God's Word into practice by forgiving others. I've heard umpteen sermons on Mark 11:22, 23, and 24. But Brother Hagin would always add verses 25 and 26: "When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Then Brother Hagin often added, "If you haven't forgotten, you haven't forgiven."

Wives can be the worst at this. We keep remembering and make a list of all the things our husband didn't do. Didn't take out the trash. Didn't do this. Didn't do that. And all of a sudden, we get irritated at him and say, "I remember when. . . ." But we need to forget the "I remember when."

Aren't you glad God forgives and forgets? Oh my, what would it be like if He didn't? We might cry out to Him for forgiveness and He'd say, "OK, I'll forgive you this time, but remember when you did all these other things."

Thank goodness He never says that! When we ask for forgiveness, God not only forgives us, but He also doesn't remember our sin or hold it against us (Ps. 103:12; Isa. 43:25; Micah 7:19).

When we are
doers of the Word
and not forgetful
hearers,
we will be blessed
in what we do.

 

Cast Your Care on God

Scripture also tells us not to worry about anything. First Peter 5:7 says, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." How many times have we cast our concerns on the Lord, only to pick them up again later?

When we try to help God fix our problems, guess what ends up happening? We just make a mess of things! We need to remember that no matter how messed up something may be, God can fix it. He's the only one who can unscramble scrambled eggs!

Bring the Whole Tithe Into the Storehouse

We're a doer of the Word when we bring our tithes into God's storehouse. Scripture says that when we do this, God will open the windows of Heaven over us. He promises not only to rebuke the devourer but to pour out so many blessings upon us that we won't have room enough to receive them (Mal. 3:10)!

James went on to say that when we are doers of the Word and not forgetful hearers, we will be blessed in what we do (James 1:25). The more we practice the Word, the stronger our faith will be during the tests and trials of life. Our faith will be tested again and again. In every test that has come my way, I've gone to the Word of God, found His promises that covered my situation, and held on to those promises.

The Bible is filled with scriptures that cover every situation we will encounter. So let's be doers of God's Word and not hearers only. Let's stand on the Word and watch what God does in our lives!