Philippians 4:4-9 vs. 9
"Keep doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you."

The answer can be found in the preceding verse:

Thinking about these things was not the only thing Paul was doing, he was living them.

Paul’s style of instruction was no different than the style Jesus used.  Jesus never suggested that his twelve disciples write everything down or repeat His words verbatim.  When Jesus did exhort them, He used words, vivid illustrations, everyday examples, and easily understood applications, prompting them to action.

The apostle James used a similar style of instruction,

"Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves."
James 1:22

In other words, Jesus, Paul and James are telling you and me don’t talk compassion, lend a hand.  Don’t profess Jesus as Lord, live as if He is Lord of your life.

When you stand at the pearly gates, you won’t be met by some angel with a clipboard who asks,  "And how many church meetings did you attend?  How many worship services did you participate in?  How many Sunday School classes did you go to?

What I suspect you will be asked is, "How many times did you give a hungry person something to eat, a thirsty person something to drink?  How many times did you welcome a stranger?  How many times did you give clothes to the naked or visit the sick?  Why did you call Jesus, ‘Lord,’ and not do the things which Jesus said?"

Recently I came across an interesting story entitled, "The Lesson."

I am certain that if you listened hard enough you can still hear Jesus weeping.

As a parent, it was not enough that Adam and Greg knew what was acceptable behavior. It was not enough that they listened when Diane spoke to them about manors. What was important is that they did what they were told. I am certain that Diane and I were not alone on this. That Scott and Jadine expect this of Robert & Scott. That every parent sitting in the pews this morning expect at least this from their child or children.

Which causes me to raise the question, if earthly parents expect this of their children, should not our heavenly parent, God expect this of us, His children? Is God expecting too much of us, to not only be hearers and readers of His Word, but to be doers as well? Like the Niki sales pitch, God is saying to you and me, "Just Do It!"

How easy it is to listen to me or any preacher and forget what was said.

How easy it is to read the Bible and not think about how to live differently.

How easy it is to debate what a passage means and not live out the meaning.

How easy it is to be exposed to God’s Word, but that is not enough. That is why, in the baptismal vows parents and godparents and the church is asked to model God’s Word to the child being baptized. This morning, we promised God as we do every time we baptize a child, not just to teach, but to show in your life, by your precept and example the joy of new life in Christ.

This reminds me of a joke I recently read in Thought for the Day, which is an excellent online daily devotional. The joke is about Bill and Hillary Clinton. It seems they were on vacation one weekend, and they decided to go for a drive to see the beautiful countryside. After a while, they needed to stop for gas. They pulled into a tiny gas station, and out walked a man to help them. Hillary looked up and screamed, "Charley! Is that you? I can’t believe it." She jumped out of the car and gave the man a big hug, and proceeded to talk with the man for a long time. After they were finished talking, they hugged again, and Hillary went back in the car.

As they were driving away, Bill turned to Hillary and asked, "Honey who was that?"

"That was Charley, an old boyfriend of mine," she responded. "We dated for a long time, and almost got married."

"Just think," said Bill. "If you had married him, today you would be the wife of a gas station attendant."

"No," said Hillary, "If I had married him, today Charley would be President of the United States!"

The devotional goes on to say, the joke raises an interesting question. Who has the greater influence on the other, Bill or Hillary?

The author of the devotional exercised good judgment by not touching this question with a ten foot pole, but he did however take the question one step further and ask, "Who has the greater influence on the other, you or the world?"

Has the world shaped you and made you what you are today, OR have you changed the world around you by your influence on it?

Whether you have made vows at the time of your child’s baptism like Scott and Jadine did today. Or made vows at the time of your own confirmation you made: a promise to influence a life, a world;

a promise to influence the world by being

"Doers of God’s Word,
not just hearers."

a promise not to let the world pull you away from God.

a promise to live in such a way that you will draw the people around you closer to God.

Unfortunately we often respond like basketball star Charles Barkley, who condoned misbehavior on and off the court by refusing to believe athletes are role models."

Or like basketball star Allen Iverson who condones his new rap album, which contains lyrics which are offensive to women and to homosexuals, as well as lyrics which promote violence by saying, "my music is the way I express myself."

What kind of behavior, behavior which is not consistent with God’s Word are you condoning in your own life? Do you think God is condoning it?

Your purpose in life is not to live as you see fit but to joyfully serve the Lord by,

Amen