Listening & Doing
Notes
Transcript
Tell me if you have ever been a part of this scenario.
You are in the same room as your child. You are in your chair and they are on the couch. And trash day is tomorrow. It is this child’s job to take out the trash. So you tell them, “Hey, go take out the trash. I need you to go do it now, please. Don’t wait until its dark. I want you to do it now.”
No response. So, you repeat yourself.
“Hey, I need you to go take out the trash, please. Do it now. Don’t wait.”
Still no response.
So now, you are done being nice. Your volume increases.
“Go take out the trash now!”
The child on couch looks up at you and says, “you didn’t have to yell.”
Am I the only one or can all of you, with children, relate.
Don’t you think that is the way God feels some times.
Look at our text today. We are still in James chapter 1. Skip down to verse 19.
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
21 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.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror
24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
27 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.
Our text today, just like last week doesn’t hold anything back. Look at verse 19 again.
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
The only thing that James tells you to be quick on is listening. We like to talk too much don’t we.
Have you ever given someone instructions and then them not do it the way you told them to do it? It’s because they weren’t listening.
Epictetus, a Greek Philosopher said, “Nature has given to man one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.”
Epictetus, a Greek Philosopher said, “Nature has given to man one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.”
Look at what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 13:3
3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.
He also said in Proverbs 10:19
19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.
Turn to your neighbor and say very gently, “YOU TALK TOO MUCH!”
Do any of you lose your temper quickly?
James tells us in verse 20...
20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
If you have an anger problem, you need to pray through. You are destroying your witness for Jesus Christ.
Also, when we speak too quickly, many times we say something that we wished we had never said. Once those words leave the tongue you can never take them back. Look at what Jesus told us in Matthew 15:18-20
18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
What does Mom always tell you to do before you sit down to eat? Have you washed your hands?
Most of us now would never think about eating a meal without washing our hands. Jesus tells us that that doesn’t defile us, but the things that we say defiles us.
James takes it a step further in verse 21.
21 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.
How many of you want the Word of God working in your life? You want God to do miracles for you, you want God to bless you financially, you want God to move you to a level that you have never been at before. You want God to promote you. I believe that we all want that. Then we need to put verse 21 to heart.
Get Rid of all Moral Filth
The Word of God, either preached or written, cannot effectively work a godly change in your life if you are holding on to any degree of moral corruption and evil in your life.
God wants us to separate ourselves from all the ungodly beliefs, ungodly behaviors, ungodly lifestyles that are so common in our society today. We see the influence that these ungodly things have upon people and their families.
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
Don’t let your past life control you.
8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
Don’t go back to the way you use to live. That past life will try to suck you back in. James says to get rid of the moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you.
Remember last week I told you that humility is understanding that you can not walk alone. You must have God walking with you. You need the Holy Spirit’s influence on your life, helping you to get rid of the moral filth.
God’s Word also tells us to be holy.
What is Holy?
What is Holy?
Morally pure, spiritually whole, separated from evil, dedicated to God and reserved for His purposes.
Look at what Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:3-4
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.
4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
Paul is telling us to pay attention to what we are allowing into our life. Don’t allow any kind of moral filth into our lives or homes. Avoid having foul language or sexually suggestive images through any number of media outlets. I know it is hard in the day that we live in with advertisements full of sex. But do what you can to avoid it.
We must also take seriously God’s commands about righteousness.
What is Righteousness?
What is Righteousness?
Righteousness is reflecting a right relationship with God and doing what is right by God’s standard. It is time that we get God’s Word back into our homes. Do a sweep of your house and if you find anything that is not pleasing to God then get rid of it.
2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
We need to take a moment and sanctify our homes, sanctify our lives.
What is Sanctification?
What is Sanctification?
It means to make holy, to consecrate and to separate from the ungodly patterns and practices of the world. Sanctification involves being set apart from sin so as to have intimate companionship with God and serve him effectively.
In practical terms, sanctification involves an ongoing process of spiritual growth, development and maturity by which God refines us spiritually, prepares us for His purposes and involves us in His plans.
James says to get the word planted in you.
When you asked Jesus to be the lord of your life, you didn’t ask Him to just do a part time job. You asked Him to come in full time. So as you are growing in your faith you are taking out all the junk and you are replacing it with the word of God so that you can grow into a healthy man and woman of God.
I love verse 22.
James tells us...
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
You can come to church every week and listen to these wonderful sermons and hear the Word of God being poured into your life. You can turn on christian radio and listen to the sermons on there and listen to the worship music that is on there. You can turn on the television and listen to christian programs and all of that is fine and good, but at some point you have to stop just listening to the word and you have to do what it says.
James tells us that we deceive ourselves if we think that being exposed to Bible teaching and Christian ministry is enough to keep us in a right relationship with God. We can be involved in all kinds of church activity and ministry and know a lot about God’s Word; but if we do not put that Word into practice, all of our activity and knowledge is meaningless. We must develop true godly character and a lifestyle based upon our companionship with Christ in order to truly please God, fulfill His purposes for our lives and receive ultimate spiritual salvation.
Jesus tells us in...
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
The obedience to God’s will demanded by Christ is an ongoing condition for salvation; it does not save us, but it is a response and a result of true salvation.
How many of you look at a mirror each day? Do you know what you look like? Of course you do. Because you see yourself every single day in that mirror. You see your reflection. You know your image. None of you walk away and forget what you look like because you see your image every single day.
James is telling us that if we look at God’s Word and examine it daily we will not forget what we are looking at, what we are reading. We will put God’s Word to heart and memorize the scripture that we read.
Do me a favor. The next time you read something from God’s Word ask yourself, “how can I apply this to my life?” If at that moment you can’t think of any, keep reading. Find something each day that you can apply to your life. We have to get the Word of God in our life.
As we close this mornings message I want you to understand, we won’t always want to shout. There will be times that we walk out of service with our toes a little sore. This week is one of those weeks.
James loved the church that he served. He spoke the truth to them and sometimes the truth hurts a little. I believe that all of us needs to hear what James is saying to us.
Let’s finish this. Verse 26 and 27.
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
27 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.
God is not satisfied with rituals; He is interested in a life of practical godliness. And an out of control tongue is only one example of futile religion. Any behavior inconsistent with the Christian faith is worthless.
There is a story told of a grocer who apparently was a pious fraud. He lived in an apartment above his store. Every morning he would call down to his assistant, “John!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you watered down the milk?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you colored the butter?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you put chicory in the coffee?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well. come up for morning devotions!”
James tells us that this such religion is useless.
You know what God is looking for? God is looking for a practical type of godliness. He wants people that take a compassionate interest in others and keeps one’s own life clean.
We need to put our own faith on trial and ask yourself these questions.
Do I read the Bible with a humble desire to have God rebuke me, teach me, and change me?
Am I anxious to have my tongue bridled?
Do I justify my temper or do I want victory over it?
How do I react when someone starts to tell an off-color joke?
Does my faith manifest itself in deeds of kindness to those who cannot repay me?
The same God who is compassionate and loving and sent His one and only Son to redeem mankind. This same God wants us to be realistic about our faith and think clearly about the things that may be hindering us from experiencing our best in Him.
So, today I ask you, is there anything that is hindering you from moving forward in Him? Is there anything that is keeping you from going to that next level in Christ? Then today is your day to lay it down and move towards holiness.
Let’s Pray