We hear it and we do it.

Green Highlighter

It’s remarkable how much of an impact instagram has on people. You have never met this person before, you don’t even know there name, or really know anything about them. But if popped up on your real and in the video they said to eat a spoonful of this twice a day and you’ll burn belly fat.

and you know what you start doing ? exactly what they said.

or another video pops up saying don’t eat these seed oils and all your acne will go away.

you know what you stop eating? seed oils.

They tell you one time, and we immediately do it. No background no reference. Don’t even need to watch it twice. I got it.

We hear it and we do it.

Yet with scripture we are so different!

Scripture might tell me 50 times to not eat something or do something and we have no idea, or we don’t care.

Scripture might tell us to do these things and we have literally no desire.

Recently I have been diving in to really engaging with scripture in a new way for me.

I have been so encouraged by some of your bibles, seeing the notes, the highlights the post its. You are engaging with scripture, not just reading it like you would a harry potter book. Which is so important to really knowing the Lord, and really seeing the impact in your own life.

So thank you to those have inspired me to do what I do now. I owe this to you.

Not a note taker.

Explain highlighters.

Hold the green highlighter up.

Today’s part of scripture, there is a lot of green highlighting. And a lot of pink highlighting.

If i mark down a verse in green, i better hope i do it.

if i mark down a verse in pink, i better not do it.

Hopefully we hear it, and we do it.

Staff meeting - action items.

Don’t let this just be a good conversation ending in nothing. There are action items.

Not to earn Gods love, Martin Luther really wrestled with this book because it can appear so though works are elevated. Almost as if they are needed to salvation. But that’s not what James is saying. What he is saying is if you are saved by grace through faith alone, that transformation should be evident by how we live our lives.

If you are following Jesus we have action items, take out some highlighters, write notes carefully so that we actually go and do what we read here.

James 1:19-21

Imagine a church

It would be incredible to see followers of Christ take this call to action seriously.

I saw this video on Charlie Kirk, he does these that would cause many to get upset over the differing beliefs. But the one video I watched was between him and this girl. They were arguing over DEI something like that, and it was such a nice conversation actually. No one got heated, they listened and responded thoughtfully. When normally anything like this would cause and uproar and yelling and laughing and whatnot.

I was like this, is exactly how we need to engage with people. Listening, slow to speak, and here there was no anger even though there was no agreement. Comments all said this too!

Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

Not a suggestion. We should take heed of this more than the instagram video, more than the influencer. Read this one time and may it impact you immediately.

We hear it, and we do it.

Quick to listen - why would we want to be quick to listen? Ask audience.

Slow to speak - why would we want to be slow to speak?

Slow to anger - why would we want to be slow to anger?

You get to choose each one of these things.

Not anyone else. The person your talking to doesn’t get to decide this for you. The person who wrote the post your reading doesn’t get to decide this for you. The politician your listening to doesn’t get to decide this for you.

ONLY YOU! Will you hear it and do it.

Put away all filthiness, rampant wickedness.

It might be easy for us to start doing things, but it might be more challenging to stop doing things. Like i can start working out a couple days a week, but I can’t stop the donuts and twinkies every night.

Here’s the pink highlighter time. Put away (means don’t do) could go green or pink, i think pink is don’t do this which essentially is what is being said here.

At the end of each day, I hope and assume we all do the same thing. We put our clothes we wore for the day in the hamper. Because they are worn, dirty and probably smelly.

Put it away. Put it away! We are a new creation, we are told to put on Christ in scripture. Which means we have to put away the old, worn dirty clothes in replacement for the new.

Yet so many of us still live with the dirty worn clothes.

Here’s the thing. You know the feeling of a long, hard working day. You come home, change take a shower and put on a fresh pair of clothes.

That’s what is happening here. Receive the implanted word of God, let it save and refresh your soul. But we got to put away the filth, I don’t want to put a clean shirt over the dirty one. I want to get rid of the dirty one!

Will we do what scripture is saying here?

James 1:22-25

We get to the focal point of this passage today. What I believe to be a focal point of the book of James actually.

Be doers of the word. Green highlight!

What we do matters. Let me tell you why, and it has to do with Genesis, and being created in the image of God. (Unseen realm book)

Based off ability, intelligent, emotions, self aware, conscience, language etc.

other non humans posses. any ability is flawed.

preposition IN. in the image of God

the possible hebrew ‘

to be human is to image God. Which means what we do must image him.

We represent, we image God in how we speak and act.

? Created in image of God impact on this section.

Do what it says, we are imaging God when we do. It’s actually not some crazy intellectual spiritual concept that I’m tryin to wrap my head around.

It’s simple. Read God’s word, do it.

Our lives would look radically different if this were so. We have to admit that.

Which is sad. That this gap exists between what we are doing and what we should be doing.

We hear, we contemplate, we excuse, we defend, we turn, we do something else. Rather than just hear and do.

We make it so complicated.

I hear so many people oh I’m just not that close to God, I don’t feel anything, or not seeing anything in my life or this or that.

Why don’t we just try hear the word and do it. I actually think so many of our spiritual lives would be radically different if this were the case.

Hearing and knowing all the best workouts in the world won’t change you. Hearing and doing will.

Hearing and knowing all the best heart surgeries won’t change anyone else’s life. Going out and doing the surgeries will.

Hearing and knowing how to play piano won’t make you a great piano player. Hearing and doing it will.

We hear it, and we do it.

Just like that. Otherwise we are like a person who looks in the mirror and then forget what he looks like when he walks away.

But one who hears, and dos, will be blessed.

James 1:26-27

This is an intense statement for how we use our tongue, or our words. It’s actually quite severe.

We act like our words don’t really matter, it’s ’ not like I punched someone or killed so one.

James here is getting his point across as clear as he can. What you say matters! The words you use matter.

What you say about others matters. How you talk to others matter.

Put away the filthy talk. Put away the wickedness of words. How often are we using foul language, using the Lords name in vain.

I know that might sound old school, childish, prude, not a big deal. If it’s a big deal to God, it’s a big deal to me. If it’s a big deal for God to tell his people, then I should pay attention and listen. 3rd commandment.

Oh my God, a term that is used loosely. Let’s dig that up.

Using the Lords name in vain means using it in a way that is false, exclamation without thought, a curse, swearing.

We are using the holy, mighty name of Jesus that can save, into a 4 letter word after I bang my toe on my bed at night.

I can say, Oh My God, you are so good. oh my God where are you.

He is to be revered, respected, and we are playing around, all non chalant.

Words matter towards God. Words matter towards our friends. Words matter towards ourselves. I know many of us are saying untrue things about ourselves! Bridle your tongue. Control it, use it for good.

What is religion that is pure? We read it here at the end of chapter 1.

We were orphans

Jesus showed us true religion.

We were orphans. We needed a Father. In our affliction, in our sin, in our time of brokenness. He came to us. He showed and continues to show us grace, even when we fail to live up to how we should.

Jesus came to bring us to the one true Heavenly Father. He put away the filth, by taking it on.