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“Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the
issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).
Being an
effective part of God’s Kingdom takes diligence.
It’s not a once a week commitment.
It's not even a once a day commitment.
Being an effective part of the Kingdom of God
is a constant thing that you must train yourself to do.
Recently, Pastor Mitch has been talking about
being doers of the Word, knowing the names of God, and knowing what the Holy
Spirit does. He has been on these three
things for quite some time now. He talks
about drilling himself about the names of God and repeating over and over what
the Holy Spirit does when he comes. Why
does he do this? Because that is the
diligence it takes to get to know the things of God.
Think of learning math equations in
school. Did you look at them once and
understand them? Even if you had the
rules in front of you, could you pass the tests without practicing them and
studying them first? Of course not. The rules of algebra had to be explained to
all of us before we understood them.
Then we had to be diligent to practice and study them before we felt
comfortable enough to apply them during a test.
Well, it is the same thing with the
Word of God.
At church and through
teachings are a couple ways we have
God’s Word explained to us. Then it is up to us to take that Word home to study and meditate on. Once we have meditated on the Word, it is then
our responsibility to apply what we have been taught. Applying the Word is our test, and much like
school knowledge, Kingdom knowledge builds upon itself. You can’t learn algebra without knowing how
to add, subtract, multiply, and divide.
This is why it is important to constantly apply the Word and to not
allow any aspect to be thrown to the way side.
I think that most people will agree
that it is not easy to constantly meditate on and apply the Word of God. This is where diligence comes in. Diligence is characterized as a steady,
earnest, and energetic effort. Apply
that to Proverbs 4:23 and we are instructed to be steady, earnest, and to have
an energetic effort to keep our hearts.
This is the complete opposite of a once a week sermon in which most
people turn their brains off and are fortunate if they retain the five to seven
percent that is expected. Diligence is
not only giving that sermon one’s undivided attention, but then reviewing that
sermon throughout the week and meditating on how God would have one apply it to
their life. As one applies the Word, not
only does it become the issues of one’s heart, but it pushes out worldly
ways. This is how a person goes about
the Father’s business.
When a Word is brought forth there
is a transfer of responsibility. If our
pastor fails to teach on something God told him His people needed to hear, then
our pastor will have to answer for that, but once he preaches the Word, we are
responsible for it. If we fail to do
anything with it, we have allowed God’s Word to return void, and we will have
to answer for that. Don’t allow God’s Word
to return void. Be diligent in the things
of God’s Kingdom and apply His Word to your life.
