Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
Proverbs 28:14 (ESV)
In the past - most recently during the series on the book of Mark - we have talked about the hardening of the heart. This is the natural result of ignoring or rejecting the moving or instruction of the Holy Spirit. And, the insidious part of this condition is that every time you ignore or reject the Spirit, it becomes that much easier to do so in the future.
Paul explains the results of this hardening of heart in Ephesians...
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
Ephesians 4:17-19 (ESV)
The good news is that James details a very simple solution to avoid this issue. Essentially, he explains that we should just do it.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22–25 (ESV)
Cliched as it may be, sometimes you have to just do it.
Think about it.
Pastor Jason