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ute looking in it that very morn ing. “ Look here,” the boss shouts angrily, “ the next time you look in that mirror, you do something about what you see or you might not be long in the employ of this company.” What James is saying is this: “ To look into the Word which is a mirror, and see that you are spir itually dirty and then to go away and do nothing about it, is just as foolish as looking in a physical mirror and doing nothing about the things that you see need to be done.” At the turn of the century a very important Sunday school conven tion was held in Japan. The emper or was profoundly impressed by what he saw of Christianity. He dispatched personal ambassadors to this country charged with the re s p o n s i b i l i t y of going into the homes, the places of business and the churches to see Christianity in operation. They came. They went into various places of employment and into many churches. They stayed in many homes. Finally they returned to Japan and wrote a very lengthy report. Near the end of the report was one statement that was rather striking. This is what it said: “ Christianity as we saw it in America is a wonderful system of ethics but it doesn’t work!” The world today is screaming for reality and for the genuineness of a life that lives the truth of the Word of God. That’s what the Spirit of God is in business for — to take the Word of God and make it incarnate in lives. Sermon preaching would be revo lutionizing in its results if the three principles James enunciates were applied. Before the sermon, remove those things that hinder the Word from getting into your heart and life. During the sermon, receive, welcome and embrace what God has prepared. And after the ser mon by the Spirit of God and the grace that He provides, develop an obsession, not simply to know the truth but to live it in daily experience. END.
pie to whom he was writing were saved — and by the Word of God. He was talking about salvation from damage in their daily lives. Oh, the pathetic character of many lives! They are doing damage, not only to themselves, but to others. All of this is simply because they are not walking according to the Word of God. It’s the Word that prevents tragedy — but only when it is received. James tells us that the believer’s final responsibility to the Word of God comes after the sermon. Notice how James states this in verse 22: “ But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” A little boy rushed up to a church at the conclusion of the service, tugged on the coat-tail of an usher and said, “Hey, mister, is the preacher done?” The very wise usher looked down and said, “ The preacher is done but now the ser mon has to be done.” The tragedy of preaching is that most of it dies right in the church. It never gets out through the doors, out into the city and surrounding areas, out into the business establishments, out into the homes and the schools to b e c ome i n c a r na t e in human form. It is possible to know the truth and not to live it. That’s why James says, “ Don’t he hearers only!” There must be hearers but truth should not stop at the hearing stage. Those who are merely hearers de ceive themselves. It’s quite obvious they don’t deceive God. They cer tainly don’t deceive their families or the next door neighbor. James gives an illustration in 1:23-25. A man is employed in an office. One morning he looks in the mirror and says, “ I sure need to shave! M y hair needs combing and my face is dirty.” But he does nothing about his condition. Later in the morning the boss comes in, marches over to his employee’s desk and says, “What’s the matter? Don’t you have a mirror out at your house?” The employee admits he has one and even spent a min-
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The King's Business/November 1957
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