Being Participating Christians

This Sunday at Vida, we were challenged with a simple but powerful question: Are we merely Christians who know the Word, or are we actually participating in what we believe?

Jesus gives us a clear picture of what eternal life is:

“And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”
John 17:3 NLT

To have eternal life is to know God.

There is a difference between knowing about something and actually practicing it. A person may have tremendous knowledge about health and medicine, but without the proper training and qualifications, that knowledge doesn’t make them a practicing doctor.

In the same way, Christians can accumulate tremendous amounts of biblical knowledge without becoming practicing Christians.

We can hear the Word every week, take notes, attend worship, and agree with what is being taught. But if we don’t put it into practice, what have we actually done with it?

Over the past six weeks at Vida, we’ve received teaching about relationships. If our relationships aren’t becoming healthier because of what we’ve learned, we need to ask ourselves whether we’ve actually practiced the Word we’ve heard.

We don’t only need to hear God’s Word. We need time to chew on it, allowing the Holy Spirit to show us how to apply it to our lives.

The Oil You Cannot Borrow

Jesus illustrated this powerfully in Matthew 25 through the story of the ten bridesmaids.

All ten were waiting for the bridegroom. All ten had lamps. And importantly, all ten had oil in the beginning.

But five were wise enough to bring extra oil.

When the bridegroom was delayed, their lamps began to go out. The foolish bridesmaids asked the wise ones to give them some of their oil, but the wise bridesmaids couldn’t do it for them.

If the oil represents our personal relationship with God, there is something important here:

You cannot give someone else your relationship with God.

No one else can know Him for you.

You cannot borrow someone else’s intimacy with Him. You cannot live on someone else’s worship, revelation, prayer life, or history with God.

And when the foolish bridesmaids eventually returned, the bridegroom’s response is striking:

“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’”
Matthew 25:12 NLT

He didn’t tell them, “You brought the wrong kind of oil.”

He said, “I don’t know you.”

You can’t fabricate a relationship in one desperate hour at the shop. Relationship is built through knowing Him.

To Know Him Is What Matters Most

This is the heart of the message:

To know Him is what matters most.

Ultimately, so many other issues in our Christian lives flow out of whether or not we truly know Him.

A practicing Christian doesn’t simply accumulate information. A practicing Christian becomes involved and engaged. We learn to share the Gospel. We worship. We obey the Word we’ve received. We allow what God teaches us to change our relationships, priorities, decisions, and everyday lives.

And there can actually be a danger in being surrounded by an amazing culture of the Word and worship.

When the worship around us is powerful, we can begin to think we’re worshipping simply because we’re in the room.

When the teaching is excellent, we can begin to think we’ve grown simply because we’ve heard it.

But we still have to bring our own sacrifice of worship.

We still have to practice the Word ourselves.

Being surrounded by people who know God is not the same thing as knowing Him personally.

We Want Overflowing Oil

Sunday’s message gives us an opportunity to examine our priorities.

What has been getting in the way of knowing Him?

What Word has God already given us that we haven’t yet put into practice?

Where have we been hearing without doing?

Our prayer is simple:

Lord, help us reprioritize anything that is getting in the way of knowing You. We want to be like the five wise bridesmaids. We don’t want just enough oil—we want overflowing oil. Forgive us for the times we’ve wasted Your precious Word by hearing it but not putting it into practice. Teach us to know You, worship You, obey You, and participate fully in the life You’ve given us.

Let’s not simply be Christians who know.

Let’s be participating Christians.practice inside the walls of a church. The life of faith is meant to be lived.

We can know the Scriptures, agree with the truth, and talk about the goodness and power of God—but eventually, what we believe has to become something we practice.

Jesus told His disciples:

“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
Matthew 10:7–8

Notice the words “as you go.”

The Kingdom was never intended to remain inside a meeting. Jesus expected His followers to carry what they had received from Him into everyday life.

From Hearing to Doing

It is possible to become very familiar with the things of God without actually expecting to see them happen.

We can believe God heals and never pray for someone who is sick. We can believe God speaks and never stop to listen for what He might want to say to someone. We can believe in the power of prayer while still allowing fear, uncertainty, or inconvenience to keep us from praying.

But Jesus said:

“He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also.”
John 14:12

Faith invites us beyond agreement and into participation.

Sometimes that means stepping into a situation without knowing exactly what will happen. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith deals with what we cannot yet see. We take God at His Word before circumstances give us evidence that His Word is true.

A Testimony From Kenya

This became beautifully tangible as our Kenya team shared about what God did on their recent trip.

Pastor Ben and his family traveled into the bush to pray for a child. While they were there, they encountered a young man Ben had prayed for during the team’s trip the previous year.

At that time, the young man had suffered devastating injuries to his spine. His body was bent and broken, and even with assistance he struggled to straighten himself or walk.

But this year, they saw him again.

He was walking.

The person standing in front of them was living evidence of what God had begun when someone was willing to stop, believe, pray, and trust Him with the outcome.

That testimony is more than an encouraging story from another country. It is an invitation.

The same Holy Spirit is with us in Kenya and in Mesa. The same Jesus who commissioned His disciples still lives in His people today.

What Are We Practicing?

The question for us is not simply, “What do I believe?”

A better question may be:

“What am I doing because I believe it?”

When we encounter someone who is hurting, we can ask the Holy Spirit what He wants to do.

When someone needs healing, we can pray.

When God puts an encouraging word in our hearts, we can share it.

When we see something broken—physically, spiritually, or relationally—we don’t have to assume that brokenness gets the final word.

We can make room for God to move.

This isn’t about trying to manufacture miracles or prove our spirituality. It is about becoming available. We listen. We obey. We pray. We love people. And we trust God with the results.

Let’s Be People Who Practice

There is a world outside our church doors that desperately needs to encounter the goodness of God.

So this week, let’s do more than remember Sunday’s message.

Let’s practice it.

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you someone you can encourage.

Stop and pray when you encounter someone who needs healing.

Pay attention to the promptings you might normally dismiss.

Take the small step of obedience in front of you.

Because freely we have received.

Now, freely we give.

Click here to watch full message.