Sunday Message · Fountain of Grace International · Pretoria North
Be a Doer of God's Word, Not Just a Hearer
James 1:21-25. The person who only hears and does not act is like someone who looks in a mirror, sees what they look like, and immediately forgets. The one who acts — this one will be blessed in what they do.
Pastor Ricardo Zaal · Fountain of Grace International, Pretoria North · 16 February 2025
James 1:21-25 (NKJV) — "Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
The person who hears and does not act is not neutral. They are actively deceiving themselves. James does not say they are uninformed — he says they are deceived. They have the knowledge. They have heard truth. But they have walked away unchanged.
The mirror illustration
James uses one of the most vivid images in the New Testament: a man who looks at his face in a mirror, then walks away and immediately forgets what he looked like. That is what passive hearing does. You sit in a service, you receive truth, you feel something move — and by the time you reach your car, it is already fading.
The person who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it — who does not forget but acts — this one will be blessed in what they do. The blessing is attached to the doing, not the hearing.
What does active receiving look like?
Lay aside
The word calls you to put something down before you can pick something up. You cannot receive with full hands. Laying aside means actively clearing out what has been filling the space where the word should go.
Receive with meekness
Meekness is not weakness. It is teachability — the posture of someone who is ready to be corrected, shaped, and directed. Pride blocks the implanted word from taking root.
Continue in it
Continuing in the law of liberty means staying under it. Not walking away. Not hearing on Sunday and living contrary on Monday. The word you received is supposed to accompany your decisions throughout the week.
"This one will be blessed in what he does."
— James 1:25
If you are in Pretoria North and you are ready to hear something that challenges you to actually move, plan your visit to Fountain of Grace International. Services are every Sunday at 09:00.
Questions this message answers
- What is James 1:22 talking about when it says 'doers of the word'?
- James 1:22 says to be doers of the word and not hearers only, warning that those who only hear are deceiving themselves. Pastor Ricardo Zaal at Fountain of Grace International, Pretoria North, teaches that the blessing in James 1:25 is attached to doing — not to merely receiving information.
- What is the difference between hearing the word and receiving the word?
- Hearing is passive — it happens without any change to behaviour. Receiving with meekness, as James 1:21 describes, is an active posture of laying aside what is already in you, being teachable, and continuing under what you receive. The message from Fountain of Grace International in Pretoria North draws this distinction clearly.
This message was preached by Pastor Ricardo Zaal at Fountain of Grace International, 323 B Danie Theron Street, Pretoria North, Gauteng, South Africa. Fountain of Grace International (NPO No: 316-193) holds weekly Sunday services at 09:00. Teachings are practical and scripture-grounded, designed to connect with the everyday life of people in Pretoria North.
Come and hear this in person — Pretoria North.
Every Sunday at 09:00. Fountain of Grace International, 323 B Danie Theron Street, Pretoria North.
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