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The Mirror



Pastor Tim Rigdon

Sunday, August 2 2026



Today's Scriptures and Notes:


James 1:22-25 (NKJV): 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.


We look into it 

…to find 

…what needs attention.



“What did you see in the mirror?”



“What did you do after you saw it?”



Knowledge has never been God’s goal

…Transformation is



A church can be full of hearers

…and still empty of obedience



I. Hearing Without Doing Produces Self-Deception



James 1:22 NKJV But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.


We can mistake familiarity with Scripture 

…for spirituality



Just because you know the verse

…doesn’t mean you’re living the verse



Knowledge without obedience 

…hardens the heart



Acts 1:8 NKJV But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”


II. The Mirror of God’s Word 

…Reveals Who We Really Are



James 1:23-24 NKJV 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.


Designed not just to inform us

…but to transform us



The problem is walking away unchanged



Everyone else sees what you IGNORED!!!



III. Obedience Unlocks God’s Blessing



James 1:25 NKJV But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.


Blessed in what he does



Obedience brought deliverance.



The miracle was waiting on obedience


Many people pray for blessings 

…while ignoring instructions



IV. Hearing is Easy Doing Requires Faith



John 14:15 NKJV “If you love Me, keep My commandments.


Love is proven by obedience



V. The Wise Man Built on Obedience



Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV 24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”


The difference wasn’t hearing

…It was DOING!



Are You Still Going To Walk In OBEDIENCE 

…Even If It Ain’t EASY 



Real faith doesn’t disappear in the storm



It stands because it was built on obedience



VI. Delayed Obedience 

Is Still Disobedience



Partial Obedience 

…is Partial Disobedience 



Tomorrow is Satan’s favorite word


Hebrews 3:15 NKJV while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”


VII. Jesus Is the Greatest Example of a Doer



Philippians 2:8 NKJV And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.


The Holy Spirit isn’t asking how much you know

…He’s asking



“What are you doing with what you know?”



Knowledge alone cannot heal



It’s how many you’ve obeyed



It begins with one act of obedience

 
 
 

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