During the Munich Crisis of September 1938, as Hitler rallied his forces and the world slid inexorably toward war, more radios were sold than in any previous month. In this atmosphere of tension, Orson Welles and his staff prepared for their weekly Mercury Theater radio play. Auspiciously, on the night before Halloween, listeners found themselves listening to the innocent sounds of “Ramon Raquello and his orchestra”, only for the music to be interrupted by the first of a series of increasingly alarming news stories. First came reports of several explosions of “incandescent gas” observed on the planet Mars, then after a brief interlude of more music came a hook-up to Princeton Observatory professor Richard Pierson (played by Welles) who assures the listeners that there is nothing to be alarmed at. Then there are reports of a meteor impact in an unassuming sleepy little hamlet called Grover’s Mill. That night it became the centre of the universe as the beachhead for a Martian invasion advancing on New York City, brushing aside American defenders and destroying dozens of familiar place names along the way. An emergency government announcement gave credence to the story, and huddled about their radios, panicked listeners (all over the USA) began to bombard local police stations with calls. From Trenton comes the account.
“We were petrified. We just looked at each other, scared out of our wits. Someone was banging on our front door. It was our neighbour across the street. She had packed her seven kids in their car and she kept yelling, come on, lets get out of here.”
Henry Sears, then just 13 years old, was doing his homework when he heard the first news flash of the invasion. Taking the radio down into the tavern below which his mother owned, he and a dozen or so patrons listened with mounting fear to the broadcast, until the men jumped up and announced they were going to get their guns and join in the defence at Grover’s Mill[i]. People packed the roads, hid in cellars, loaded guns, even wrapped their heads in wet towels as protection from Martian poison gas. In an attempt to defend themselves against aliens, listeners were oblivious to the fact that they were acting out the role of the panic-stricken public that actually belonged in the radio play. People were stuck in a kind of virtual world in which fiction was confused for fact. H.G. Wells wrote War of the Worlds in 1898, in response to the unification and militarization of Germany. The reaction to the dramatic retelling of Wells’ story, shows that what we believe can affect how we behave. Truth transforms us. One reason Wells was so popular, is because his book was based indirectly on fact. We are indeed at war. But I don’t mean against the so-called Iranian “Axis of Evil”, which our politicians tell us threatens our democratic peace loving values. The ultimate ‘War of the Worlds’, behind which every other war is merely a skirmish, is described in Ephesians 6.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12).
And our only weapon in this war of the worlds is what? Verse 17, “The sword of the Spirit. Which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17). Our epistle reading from James 1 explains how the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. Sadly, many Christians suffer from spiritual anorexia. Why? Because a Bible on a bookshelf is about as beneficial as bread in a pantry. To benefit we need to take it out and feed on it. James tells us we must do three things:
Accept the authority of Scripture (James 1:17-18)
Assimilate the truth of Scripture (James 1:19-21)
Apply the principles of Scripture (James 1:22-27)
1. Accept the Authority of God’s Word
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created. (James 1:17-18).
The Bible must become the authoritative standard for my life: the compass I rely on for direction, the counsel I listen to for making wise decisions, the benchmark I use for evaluating everything.
The Bible must always have the first and last word in my life. Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on substitutes like culture “everyone is doing it”, or tradition “we’ve always done it”,
or reason “it seemed logical”, or emotion “it just felt right”.
All four of these are fallible. Which is why they will never provide ultimate solutions for the wars of the world, merely perpetuate them. What we need is a perfect standard that will never lead us in the wrong direction. Only God’s Word meets that need.
God’s Word is unlike any other. It is alive. In fact, without God’s Word we would not even be alive.
” He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created..” (James 1:18)
God’s Word generates life, creates faith, produces change, frightens the Devil, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, transforms circumstances, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, infuses hope, releases power, cleanses our minds, brings things into being, and guarantees our future forever!
The most important decision we can make today is to decide the ultimate authority in our life. Regardless of culture, tradition, reason, or emotion, choose the Bible as your final authority. When making decisions first ask, “What does the Bible say?”. To become spiritually mature we must first accept the authority of God’s word.
2. Assimilate the Truth of God’s Word
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” (James 1:19-21)
It is not enough just to believe the Bible; I must fill my mind with it so that the Holy Spirit can transform me with the truth. God’s Word is the spiritual nourishment needed to fulfill our God-given purpose. The Bible is called our milk, our bread, solid food, and sweet dessert. No other habit can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than daily reflection on Scripture.
The pathway to spiritual maturity?
1. Accept the authority of God’s word (James 1:17-18)
2. Assimilate the truth of God’s word (James 1:19-21)
There is one more thing we must do.
3. Apply the Principles of God’s Word
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”(James 1:22)
To become like Jesus, we must become “doers of the word.”
This is the hardest step of all, because Satan fights it so intensely. He doesn’t mind us studying the Bible as long as we don’t do anything with it. That is as bad as someone who:
“… looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the person who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:23-25)
Jesus pointed out that God’s blessing comes from obeying the truth, not just knowing it. “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”(John 17:13). Our passage ends with a test – with some personal, practical and provable application:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
Today we have been considering the role God’s word plays in our spiritual growth. We are indeed at war. The question is, can we handle the truth, the sword of the Spirit, so that we will be victorious no matter what the enemy throws at us?
[i] Taken from an article published on http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/radio.htm