Warrior Church Home Fellowship Study

Dr. Kevin Zadai 09-17-2023 -- 09-23-2023

Don't Be Just a Hearer, Be a Doer of God's Word

"Think about the reward you would have if you just received one word from God, believed it, and implemented in your life."

~Kevin Zadai

But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says.
Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
—James 1:22 NLT

DISCUSSION:
This week we will discuss the importance of not only being a hearer of the word, but a doer of the word. The Lord is very serious about this. It's one thing to hear the word of the Lord when He speaks, but it's another thing actually to do it. When I received a word from God, He asked me if I comprehended what He was saying; He explained that many people hear and get excited, but they don't understand it, so they walk away, incapable of implementing it.

THE WORD OF GOD IS EXPERIENTIAL
Christians today have heard quite a bit of God's word; however, we don't understand much. If we want to see fruit or manifestation, we must have understanding, which is different from just having knowledge. I want you to embrace the word of God to where it becomes part of you; then, you can see it implemented into your life.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
—Hebrews 4:12

Hebrews 4:12 states the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. I've noticed that when the word of God ignites you, it causes you to go into an experience. I now experience the word when I read scriptures, which wasn't always the case. Before I was saved, I could understand the Old Testament because it is a bunch of stories and accounts, so it just read like a storybook to me; however, I did not understand the New Testament very well. I could read the quotes of Jesus from the Gospels and understand it was sound wisdom for life. Yet there was no spiritual transformation; it was just mental knowledge. After I became born again, I started seeing revelation I had never noticed before when I read the New Testament. This has been happening every day for 43 years of walking with God. I continuously receive revelation, which is experiential knowledge. God has got to be able to ignite His word within you so that it becomes experiential, which then can be implemented into action. The ingrafted word compels you to follow God and be moved with compassion; you become led by the Spirit through love. You will want to help because you love God and people.

Your inner being has to be ignited with the Word of God in order for it to manifest into some sort of action. I often know I need to accomplish certain tasks, even though my schedule is tight; however, if the anointing of the Holy Spirit is not on me to do it, I have found that it's better just to wait a little bit and do something else until the grace comes on me for what I want to accomplish. At times I've had to wait for a long time for projects to be completed because the anointing wasn't there; the Holy Spirit was just not in it at the time. Sometimes I don't know the reason until later. Implementing God's word has to be done by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will take the words off the two-dimensional pages of the Bible and make it multidimensional in your life. In other words, if you make a place within your heart for the word manifests, it will produce fruit. Life flows from God's implanted word.

o Discuss the difference between hearing and experiencing the word of God.

TRANSFORMATION OF YOUR SOUL
So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey it, it's like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you've heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
—James 1:16–25 NLT

James is a powerful book that almost didn't make it into the Bible because he didn't hold any punches back; he said things that could be offensive, just like Jesus. James was a very strong person who spoke with great authority. It would be amazing to have him speak in a church just to watch the people's reactions. I suspect he wouldn't be asked back to many churches. James was a straight-shooter who didn't gray out anything; he was clear and concise, like Jesus.

In James 1:16–25, we are warned not to be misled. We are admonished to get rid of the filth in our lives and humbly accept the implanted word of God, which has the power to save our souls. The word for soul is not the same as spirit; it describes the psychological realm of who you are—your mind, will, and emotions. Your spirit refers to your heart, where the Holy Spirit dwells. It's essential to understand the mindset in this passage, knowing that God wants your soul transformed. Your spirit is saved through the born-again experience, but your soul is continuously being saved by the word of God transforming you (Romans 12:2).  

Warrior Church Home Fellowship Study

Dr. Kevin Zadai 09-17-2023 -- 09-23-2023

So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against the house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall.

—Matthew 7:24–27 AMP

In Matthew 7:24–27, Jesus expressed the same concept that you just can't be a hearer of God's word; you must be a doer. If you build a strong foundation and a solid structure for your life, when trials come at you, you can stand; all will be well with you. This is the same idea that James shared, that you're foolish if you hear the word but refuse to act on it. Think about this: God is not changing or shifting. He's the One that created you, and you're His prized possession. He has given us all these different promises in His word for everything we need (2 Peter 1:3), yet there has to be transformation.

YOUR ACTIONS PREACH THE GOSPEL

In the days ahead, what people see manifesting in your life will be a witness to them. In other words, your actions can speak and preach the gospel. In the coming days, people will have specific needs; they will need provisions and fellowship. You will have opportunities to give them value, love, and the appreciation they need. Your actions will be the message because they will want to know why you have the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15). They will be curious why you are the way you are. You will then have the chance to tell them that Jesus Christ changed your life through the born-again experience and that they need to receive salvation, too. You can tell people the good news by bringing the solutions they need.

Think about this honestly: When you get to Heaven, you will see that every word of God is a seed sown into your heart, which should produce a crop.

• Every word from God is a seed that should bring forth fruit in your life.

• I want a 100-fold return on the word I've read and heard. I encourage you to start putting your faith out for that same return.

• You must realize that the concept of sowing and reaping was never intended to focus on money (Matthew 13:18–23; Mark 4:1–25). Sowing the word is not sowing money; the word is the seed that produces a crop.

I want you to ask yourself these questions: What would you look like if you would actually experience everything you read from the Bible? What would your life be like? Every time I teach or write, I wonder what my harvest will look like. I expect a huge harvest after all that word that has been preached, taught, and written—all the audio and visual recordings—and every seed that's been sown. When I walk away from the pulpit after teaching, I think, How many seeds of the word did I sow here? I'm going to believe for a 100-fold return on that. When you read the Bible, you should expect a 100-fold return on the seed sown in your heart.

What would it be like to have fellowship with like-minded believers all the time, where you could talk to each other and build each other up? This is how it was in the early Church. Think about what it would be like to have that constant saturation of the Word and the Spirit of God in your environment and how we can improve in this area.

I would rather you read one Bible verse and get revelation from it along with a 100 fold return than just read the chapters straight through. Note that a 100-fold return is not 100 times, which is multiplication; it's exponential. The increase is far beyond our comprehension, even though it is calculable if you do the equation. Think about the reward you would have if you just received one word from God, believed it, and implemented it in your life.

PRAYER:

Father, thank You so much for our family all over the world and for Your Word that's been sown. Your word has been sent out from Your throne and will not return void, but it will go forth and accomplish that which was intended, as it says in Isaiah 55:11. Thank You, Lord, that Your word is going to produce a harvest, and it will produce the intention of what you wanted when you spoke it. So we just honor You, Lord. Thank You for everyone involved with Warrior Notes and this fellowship. Guide their discussions tonight as they gather. Father, I pray that everyone will see a supernatural return and transformation in their lives, in the name of Jesus. I break the power of the enemy in their bodies, minds, and finances. I drive out sickness; I drive out poverty; I drive out brain fog and all kinds of attacks that are going on. We break the power of the devil and thank You, Lord, for deliverance, in the name of Jesus, amen.

1. According to this study, how does the Holy Spirit help to implement God's word in our lives? What is our responsibility?

2. Discuss the difference between being born-again in your spirit versus your soul being saved. According to James 1:16–25, how does the word of God impact our souls?

3. Matthew 7:24–27 describes two men, one who built his house on the rock and the other on the sand. Discuss the message of this parable and how it applies to your life.

4. Why is it important to establish constant fellowship among believers for the days ahead? How can your actions preach the gospel as an individual and group?

5. What would you look like if you would actually experience everything you read from the Bible? What would your life be like?