FROM HEARERS TO DOERS (Part 2)

When the Word Becomes a Life, and Love Becomes Our Witness

An apostolic and prophetic teaching by Peter Nash

Foundational Scripture: James 1:22–25

Supporting Scriptures: John 10:27; John 14:15; Luke 6:46; Ephesians 4:11–16; Galatians 6:2; James 2:13; James 5:16; 2 Corinthians 10:5; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16–18.

The Question I Cannot Escape

There is a question that has been burning in my spirit, and I cannot shake it: Are we becoming doers of the Word, or have we become satisfied with merely hearing it?

I have preached for many years. I have prepared more sermons than I can easily count, ministered in different nations, and watched the Holy Spirit move in ways that leave me humbled before the Lord. Yet the question I must ask is not how many sermons I have preached, how many people have listened, or how many have told me afterward that the message was powerful. The question is this: How many lives have actually been changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ?

And I am not standing above anyone as I ask it. I am asking it of myself first. I do not want to be a man who knows how to speak about Jesus but fails to look like Him. I do not want to defend biblical truth with my mouth and contradict it with my conduct. I want His nature, His compassion, His holiness, His obedience, and His love to be increasingly evident in me.

James writes, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22, ESV). That is not a suggestion reserved for a few energetic evangelists. It is a command to the people of God. Hearing without obedience is not spiritual maturity. It is the dangerous possibility of self-deception.

We can sit through service after service, accumulate notebooks full of revelation, and become familiar with the language of revival. We can say amen at the right moments and be moved by the presence of the Lord. But what happens when we walk out the doors? What happens when we meet a difficult neighbour, an unreasonable customer, a wounded family member, or a stranger who needs hope? Does the Word we celebrated become the Word we obey?

The Lord is calling His Church beyond spiritual spectatorship and into living, visible obedience. I believe He is sounding a trumpet: It is time to rise, to love, to serve, and to advance the Kingdom of God.

Honour, Generosity, and the Love That Bears Fruit

Before I challenge the Church, I want to acknowledge something beautiful about the Church: the love of Christ expressed through His people. During a season when I was trusting the Lord for provision, a congregation reached out and blessed me. Their generosity was not merely financial assistance. It was a demonstration of relationship, kindness, and the faithfulness of God working through ordinary believers.

I told the Lord, night after night, “I trust You.” And then He used people who chose not simply to speak about love but to act upon it. That is what James means. That is what the Gospel looks like in everyday life.

When Scripture tells us to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), we are not being invited to admire the idea of compassion. We are being commanded to participate in it. When we are told to pray for one another (James 5:16), to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and to love one another as Christ loved us (John 13:34–35), those words call for a response.

We place great emphasis upon the Ten Commandments, and rightly acknowledge their significance in God's revelation. Yet we must not ignore the commands of Jesus and the apostles simply because they were not written on stone at Sinai. The commandments of Scripture must be understood in their covenantal context, and the New Testament makes unmistakably clear that the people of Christ are called to faith expressed through love, holiness, mercy, forgiveness, prayer, and action.

“Bear one another’s burdens.” That is a command. “Love one another.” That is a command. “Pray for one another.” That is a command. “Forgive one another.” That is a command. And “be doers of the word” is a command.

What would happen if we gave those words the same seriousness we give to the portions of Scripture we most frequently quote? I believe our homes, congregations, communities, and relationships would begin to change.

You Do Not Know Who Is Ready for Jesus

Years ago, I was going door to door in Edmonton, sharing the Gospel. I came to a townhouse and knocked. A woman opened the door with curlers in her hair and a cigarette in her hand. Children were running through the house, and she was shouting for them to settle down. Everything about the situation seemed chaotic.

I remember thinking, There is no way this woman is going to want to hear about Jesus.

How quickly we judge by what our eyes see! How easily we decide who is interested, who is ready, and who is too far away from the Lord.

To my surprise, she invited me inside. She made me a cup of tea. The children continued making noise, but she listened as I explained the Gospel, what it means to be born again, and the invitation to know the Lord Jesus Christ personally. That day, she responded to the Gospel and prayed to receive Christ.

I have never forgotten that encounter, because it exposed a weakness in my own thinking. I had assessed her circumstances, her appearance, and the atmosphere of her home. But the Holy Spirit was working beyond what I could see.

Church, hear me: You do not know whose heart God has been preparing. You do not know which conversation will become a turning point. You do not know which person has been crying out for hope, or whose life might be changed through a moment of kindness and a faithful witness.

That is why evangelism cannot be reduced to a church programme that happens only when a pastor announces an outreach. Yes, organised evangelism is valuable. But what about the workplace, the supermarket, the coffee shop, the hospital waiting room, or the person living next door? We carry the witness of Christ wherever we go.

I am not asking you to pressure people or disregard their boundaries. I am calling you to be available, sensitive, respectful, courageous, and ready to speak when a door opens. The power to transform a heart belongs to God; our responsibility is to love, witness, and obey.

One Person in a Crowded Room

During a ministry visit in Bulgaria, I was preparing for a meeting in a Roma congregation. When I first entered, only a handful of people were present. I spent time before the Lord in prayer, asking Him what He desired to do.

When I looked up, the room had filled. The seats were occupied, people were standing at the back, and others were gathered near the entrance. What had begun as a seemingly small gathering had become a crowded service.

As I ministered, I felt prompted to go to a man standing toward the back. I spoke words of encouragement and prayed for him. I did not know what he was carrying. I did not know what had brought him to that meeting. I simply wanted to be obedient to what I believed the Holy Spirit was prompting me to do.

After the service, I was told through the local pastor that the man had been considering ending his life. He said that what happened during the ministry had given him hope.

I share this carefully, because a single prayer must never be treated as a replacement for ongoing support when someone is in danger or experiencing a mental health crisis. Such a person needs to be taken seriously, kept connected to caring people, and helped to obtain appropriate professional and emergency support where necessary. But the encounter also reminded me that we never know what someone is carrying behind the face we see.

Out of all those people, what if I had ignored that prompting? What if I had decided he looked unimportant? What if the Church had been too busy with its programme to notice a person in pain?

This is why I refuse to measure ministry merely by attendance, the size of a meeting, or how impressive a platform looks. One life matters to the Lord. The person standing unnoticed at the back matters to the Lord. The woman with the chaotic household matters to the Lord. The wounded, overlooked, ashamed, and struggling matter to Him.

And if they matter to Him, they must matter to us.

The Church Must Equip Participants, Not Produce Spectators

There has been a habit in many churches of treating ministry as something performed by a few people at the front while everyone else watches. I honour pastors deeply. The pastoral gift is precious and necessary. But the Church was never meant to depend upon one person doing all the work of the ministry.

Ephesians 4:11–12 describes Christ giving apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. The purpose of these gifts is not to create a spiritual hierarchy in which people are permanently dependent upon a personality. It is to mature the whole body into the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13–16).

Not every congregation will have every ministry office resident within it, but every congregation can benefit from the diverse ministry gifts Christ gives His wider Church. When those gifts serve one another in humility and biblical order, the people of God are strengthened to function in their own callings.

I often say that I am a revivalist. What I mean is that wherever I go, I want people to encounter Jesus, become more like Him, and carry His life into the world. I do not want people merely to admire an apostolic or prophetic ministry. I want them to become mature, faithful disciples who obey the Lord when nobody is watching.

The pastor has gifts. The evangelist has gifts. The teacher has gifts. The prophetic and apostolic ministries have their responsibilities. But the person sitting quietly in the third row also has a calling to live out the Gospel. The retired believer, the young person, the parent, the business owner, and the person who feels shy or inadequate all have a place in the body of Christ.

I know what it is to feel reluctant. Left to my own preferences, there are moments I would rather be in the back room than speaking before a crowd. But this is not ultimately about our personalities. It is about our availability to the Spirit of God.

Revival is not simply a full building. It is a people awakened to obey Jesus.

Hearing the Shepherd Means Following Him

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27, ESV).

Notice the movement in those words: they hear, He knows them, and they follow. Hearing the Shepherd is inseparable from the posture of following Him.

I love spending quiet time with the Lord. Often in the early hours, before the demands of the day begin, I pray, search the Scriptures, and bring my heart before Him. I believe the Holy Spirit can guide and prompt His people. But we must be careful not to confuse every strong impression, emotion, or sudden thought with the voice of God.

Jesus will never lead us to disobey the Scriptures, to manipulate others, or to violate the love and holiness revealed in His character. Impressions should be tested prayerfully by Scripture, wise counsel, and their fruit (1 Thessalonians 5:19–22; 1 John 4:1). Spiritual confidence must be accompanied by humility.

Then comes the uncomfortable question: If you believe the Lord has spoken, and what you have heard agrees with His Word, are you willing to obey?

Jesus asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46, ESV). That question still confronts the Church. We cannot continually declare His lordship while reserving the right to ignore His instructions.

Some people are waiting for a spectacular experience when the Word of God has already made the next step clear. You do not need another revelation to know you should forgive. You do not need a new prophetic word to know you should love. You do not need a conference to know you should care for the suffering, speak truthfully, pray, and walk humbly with God.

The first step of obedience is often already in front of us.

The Power of Love When Everything in You Wants to Fight

I remember travelling to a village in Mozambique where our team was showing a film about Jesus. It was an unfamiliar environment, without the conveniences we are used to, and we had come to share the Gospel.

At one point I walked out among the people and found myself surrounded by a group of men. They began kicking dirt toward me. I understood it as hostility: a clear message that I was not welcome.

Now, you need to understand something about my past. Before I came to Christ, I was not a man who naturally backed away from a fight. I had worked in law enforcement, I had been involved in martial arts, and in my younger years I knew what it was to settle things through aggression.

My natural instinct in that moment was not particularly spiritual. I wanted to fight back.

But in my heart I sensed a very different instruction: Love them.

So I went from man to man, looked each one in the face, and expressed love toward him. We did not share a common language, but kindness and a refusal to retaliate communicated something. The atmosphere changed. Later, people began bringing children to us for prayer.

What changed that encounter? Not my ability to intimidate anyone. Not a clever argument. Not a stronger display of force. It was the decision to answer hostility with love.

Jesus commanded us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us (Luke 6:27–28). Paul tells us not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Those are not poetic slogans. They describe the radically different life of the Kingdom.

I can tell you that the old impulses do not disappear simply because I can preach a sermon. Sometimes I must consciously reject the urge to react. That is part of being a doer of the Word. The temptation may be real, but by the grace of God it does not have to govern the response. Jesus Himself was tempted, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

And what does this look like at home? It means refusing to return insult for insult. It means speaking truth without cruelty. It means loving the person who has disappointed us. It means setting healthy boundaries without surrendering to hatred. It means responding in the Spirit when our flesh wants to take control.

Mercy Is Not the Enemy of Truth

I am deeply concerned when churches become places where people feel they must hide every struggle because they fear being judged, humiliated, or rejected. We speak about being communities of grace, but sometimes we create the impression that only people who appear respectable are welcome.

I want the person battling addiction to be able to come through the door. I want the person burdened by sexual sin, the one caught in destructive habits, the one carrying shame, and the one whose life looks nothing like the polished image of religion to know that Jesus calls people to come to Him.

That does not mean we celebrate what destroys people. Grace does not cancel truth, and love does not make holiness irrelevant. But Jesus meets people with both truth and mercy, calling them to repentance and offering the power of a new life.

Years ago, at a Christian event, I arranged for a young woman who was part of our team to arrive with an unusual hairstyle. Her appearance was deliberately unexpected. I watched how quickly some people made assumptions about her before they knew anything about her heart.

We are often swift to judge what can be seen and slow to discern what matters most. Yet Scripture says, “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13, ESV).

We all want mercy. We all want kindness. We all want to be treated with patience when we fail. So why are we sometimes reluctant to extend those same gifts to others?

Jesus did not call us to become experts at identifying everyone else’s flaws while hiding our own. He called us to follow Him. The Church must be a place where confession can lead to prayer, restoration, accountability, and healing—not a place where the wounded learn to remain silent.

If you are a doer of the Word, you will not only point out another person’s need for transformation. You will help that person take a step toward Christ.

Take Every Thought Captive

There is another battlefield where hearing must become doing: the mind.

I sometimes speak about three kinds of thoughts: our own thoughts, thoughts that align with the leading of God, and thoughts of temptation or accusation that oppose His truth. This is a practical way to describe the need for discernment; it is not a claim that we can infallibly identify the source of every thought.

Paul instructs believers to take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). He also tells us that, in Christ, we have access to the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

What are you allowing to rule your inner life? Condemnation? Fear? Shame? Resentment? The belief that you are beyond God's mercy? Or the truth of what Christ has done and who He calls you to become?

We must learn to reject lies and return to the truth of Scripture. But we must also be compassionate with those experiencing depression, intrusive thoughts, or despair. Not every distressing thought is a demonic attack, and psychological suffering should never be mistaken for a lack of faith. Prayer, trustworthy community, and appropriate mental-health care can work together as part of a faithful response.

The Gospel announces that failure need not have the final word. Christ welcomes the repentant. He restores the brokenhearted. He calls us His own. And He teaches us, day after day, to bring our thoughts and choices under His lordship.

You may have made mistakes. You may regret decisions from years ago. But you do not need to make your past your permanent identity. Let repentance lead to restoration. Let grace teach you to walk differently. Let the truth of Christ shape how you see yourself and others.

The Atmosphere We Carry

I often think about how the presence of God should shape the atmosphere around a believer. We live in the world, but we do not have to surrender our hearts to its patterns. The Spirit of God dwells in His people, and the fruit of that indwelling should be visible in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23).

I sometimes picture the believer as someone enveloped by the reality of heaven—not removed from human difficulty, and certainly not immune to hardship, but sustained by the Lord in the middle of it.

There have been times when someone has spoken disrespectfully to me or misunderstood my intentions. I may need to address the matter firmly, but I do not have to allow offense to become a prison in my heart. Choosing not to nurture resentment is an act of obedience.

Some of us are carrying grudges that have become so familiar we hardly notice them anymore. We rehearse the injury, strengthen the accusation, and then wonder why peace feels distant. Scripture calls us to forgive as the Lord has forgiven us (Colossians 3:13). Forgiveness does not mean pretending harm never happened, permitting abuse, or abandoning necessary boundaries. It means refusing to make bitterness the ruler of our hearts.

If the Lord is bringing someone to mind as you read this, ask Him what obedience requires. Perhaps you need to forgive. Perhaps you need to apologise. Perhaps you need to tell the truth, seek reconciliation where it is safe, or release the demand for revenge.

This is how a spiritual atmosphere changes: not through volume, performance, or dramatic language alone, but as the life of Jesus becomes visible in real choices.

What Consumes Your Heart?

Let me ask another question: What consumes your life?

What dominates your conversation? What occupies your imagination? What do you return to again and again when you have a moment to yourself?

I enjoy ordinary things. I can talk about hockey. I can laugh with friends and enjoy a good meal. The Lord has not called us to abandon every wholesome pleasure. But I have sat in gatherings after evangelistic meetings and heard people spend far more energy discussing appearances and distractions than the people who had come seeking God. It made me examine my own priorities.

Do we speak more passionately about what the enemy is doing than about the faithfulness of God? Are we consumed by complaints, controversies, or personalities while becoming strangely quiet about Jesus?

The issue is not whether believers are allowed to discuss ordinary life. The issue is what has first place in our hearts. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, ESV).

A doer of the Word begins each day available to Christ: Lord, who can I encourage today? Whose burden can I help carry? Where do You want me to speak? Where do You want me to listen? Is there someone I need to forgive? Is there a decision I need to make right?

Sometimes advancing the Kingdom looks like preaching to a crowd. Sometimes it looks like paying attention to one hurting person. Sometimes it is as simple as making a meal, praying with a friend, keeping your word, or refusing to answer anger with anger.

Do not despise the ordinary places where extraordinary obedience can take root.

The Greatest Measure Is Love

As I have grown in the Lord, one word has become more and more central to me: love.

Not merely affection. Not sentimentality. Not a religious slogan. I am speaking about the self-giving love revealed in Jesus Christ—agape—a love that seeks another person’s good and remains faithful to truth.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV). Notice that He ties obedience to love. We do not earn His saving grace by performing enough good works; salvation is the gift of God, and we are created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:8–10). Obedience is the fruit of a living relationship, not a substitute for it.

Then He tells us, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13, ESV).

That verse has confronted me personally. I have been asking the Lord to take me beyond merely speaking about love and bring me into the kind of love that is willing to sacrifice. Would I surrender my comfort for another person? Would I give my time, my resources, my reputation, or even my safety when genuine love required it?

Christ did not merely announce love from a distance. He demonstrated it at the cross. John writes that we know love because Jesus laid down His life for us, and therefore we ought to lay down our lives for others (1 John 3:16). He immediately brings that immense truth into daily reality: if we see someone in need and close our heart, how does God's love abide in us? “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18, ESV).

There it is again. Not words alone. Not hearing alone. Love in deed and truth.

When Jesus warns in Matthew 7:21–23 about people who call Him “Lord” without doing the Father's will, He is not giving us permission to judge who is saved based upon appearances. He is warning us that religious activity, even impressive activity, is not the same as truly knowing Him. The call is to genuine relationship that produces obedience.

What will matter in the end is not whether we were admired as successful ministers or regarded as important people. It will matter that we belonged to Christ and that His grace transformed us into people who loved Him and loved others.

A Church of Champions: The Call to Respond

I believe the Lord is raising up people who will not be content to sit in a chair, hear another message, and carry on unchanged. Call them disciples. Call them servants. Call them Kingdom representatives. I have sometimes called them champions—not champions because they are impressive, but because Christ is at work in them and they are willing to obey.

I am calling for a Church that does not wait for someone else to pray. A Church that carries burdens rather than spreading gossip. A Church that welcomes the broken without making peace with sin. A Church that values sound doctrine and the leading of the Holy Spirit. A Church that honours ministry gifts without becoming dependent upon personalities. A Church that loves Scripture enough to put it into practice.

So here is my challenge. This week, identify one command of Jesus that you have heard repeatedly but neglected to practise. Perhaps it is forgiveness. Perhaps generosity. Perhaps praying for someone. Perhaps speaking to a neighbour about the hope you have in Christ. Perhaps asking forgiveness from someone you have hurt.

Do not merely underline the verse. Obey it. Ask the Holy Spirit for grace, seek wise help when needed, and take the next faithful step.

If you have been listening to sermons for years, that is not something to despise. Hearing the Word is essential: faith comes through hearing the message of Christ (Romans 10:17). But hearing is intended to produce believing, and believing is intended to bear fruit in obedience. James 1:25 describes the one who looks into God's perfect law of liberty and perseveres, being not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts.

I do not want people to say merely, “That was a powerful message.” I want them to be able to say, “I forgave. I loved. I served. I reconciled. I witnessed. I followed Jesus.”

And when that begins to happen throughout the Church, what the world encounters will not be a religious performance. It will encounter people in whom the life of Jesus is being made visible.

The question is not simply, “Did you hear the Word?” The question is, “What did you do with what you heard?”

Closing Prayer and Apostolic Blessing

Father, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, I thank You for Your Word, for Your mercy, and for the extraordinary love You have poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Forgive us for the times we have been satisfied with hearing while resisting obedience. Forgive us for loving the appearance of ministry more than the people You have called us to serve.

Holy Spirit, awaken Your Church. Restore our first love. Make us sensitive to Your leading and steadfast in the Scriptures. Give us courage to share the Gospel, humility to receive correction, discernment to recognise truth, and compassion for people who are struggling.

I pray especially for pastors and leaders carrying heavy responsibilities, for those trusting You through financial pressure, for those walking through pain, and for those who feel forgotten. Strengthen their faith. Surround them with wise and loving support. Open doors of faithful service according to Your will, and establish the work of their hands. Where hearts are wounded, bring healing. Where thoughts are troubled, bring peace and the help that is needed. Where relationships are broken, lead us in truth, forgiveness, justice, and reconciliation.

Raise up men and women who carry Your presence into everyday life—people who will not only speak of Your love but demonstrate it. Teach us to look like Jesus when we are welcomed and when we are rejected, when life is easy and when the cost of obedience is great.

Lord, let us be doers of Your Word, not hearers only. Let Your Church be known by its love, its faithfulness, its holiness, and its witness to the risen Christ.

In the mighty name of Jesus.

Teaching note: This manuscript is a refined adaptation of a spoken sermon on October 31, 2026. Anecdotes are retained as first-person ministry recollections; verbal repetitions and transcription errors have been removed, biblical references have been corrected, and pastoral qualifications have been added where necessary. Scripture quotations are brief and identified as ESV; biblical teaching should be assessed by the full context of each passage.