The Art of Listening: Embracing the Word
Notes
Transcript
A. Rapport for the time
Active listening
—Pay full attention, showing you’re listening through non-verbal cues like contact and nodding, reflecting on what the speaker said through paraphrasing, and asking open-ended questions to encourage them to elaborate.
There can be a disconnect at times between what a person says and what people actually hear. The problem also can be with what is actually being said.
Churches can have the same problem. Sometimes the what is being said is a problem in a church as the pastor is focused upon his own opinions or trying to persuade someone to thing that have zero to do with the word of God. In fact, the word theology or doctrine have become non starting words as they make people go to sleep or want nothing to do with the church at all. This has created a group of people who claim to be evangelical-redeemed but that simply do not believe what the bible actually says to us, because they have not listened or not listened to the actual word.
64% of American evangelicals agree with the statement, “Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God.”
53% of evangelicals agree that “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”
47% of Americans believe that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”
B. Reading of the text
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
C. Review of the text
James —-
Trials
Wisdom from God
Humility
Unchanging God
Don’t deceive yourself
Goodness of God
Left us with James 1:18
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
God by his own will brought us forth by the word of truth. Scripture is what changes the life of believers. We only know the work of Christ from the infallible word of God. Without it you and I are lost souls with no hope. But in the word of truth our lives are changed.
D. Relevance of the text
In the midst of trial will we decide, make up our minds, persevere in the word of God with the understanding that it provides everything we need to live the life God has called us to live? Or are we hear this Sunday morning is a heart that is unprepared to receive the word of truth.
T.S. James informs us to prioritize Patient Listening
I. Prioritize Patient Listening
I. Prioritize Patient Listening
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
Beloved brother—uh oh....here it comes...James cares about us more than we know and wants us to really know something
Let every person be.—verb is imperative again...present imperative. Meaning an ongoing action in the life of a believer.
A. Quick to hear
In the midst of a trial are we quick to hear God’s word? How about as you attend church on a Sunday morning or read your the word of God during your week? Do we stop to hear what God says to us? Listening is a skill that must be developed in all believers. Like at this very moment are you preoccupied with something other than the word of God?
The stats say that our attention span is growing smaller and smaller yet I know for a fact many of us sit in front of a TV to watch college football. 3 hours and 20 minutes. NBA game is 2 hours and 30 minutes. According to those numbers I have just over 2 more hours to preach..I could even let you get up for a few commercial breaks and go to the fellowship hall to grab snacks and drinks and come back. Well the breaks would have to be 3 minutes at a time. Truth is in our life we will do what we think is the most important and give time to that thing no matter what else comes up in our life. Isn’t that true?
What place does God’s word have in our life this morning? Do we say we value the word of God but place no time in that very word?
3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
The passage in Matthew makes it abundantly clear we must prepare our hearts to receive the word of God.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
T.S. From Quick to hear to Slow to Speak
B. Slow to Speak
Don’t raise your hand but we all know who has a problem with this.(pause) Oh good no one said anyone name outload. Beloved, this is all of us.
19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
12 Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.
13 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Example—we are talking to someone and we are not actively listening instead we can’t wait for them to take a breath so we can talk and say what we have been dying to say. We come off like a little child who believes themselves to be the center of the universe and we are just waiting for the rest of the world to finally recognize this and bow before us!
A little child wanted to go outside and was determined to go outside one day but the mother didn’t want her to go. She admonished the child over and over and he little 2 year old cried and cried as she was continually negotiating with her mother. Finally the child said stopped crying long enough to ask her mother if she could ask but one more question. The mother finally catching her breath thinking all was over and they could move onto the next topic of the day listened intently. The child said “can I go outside?”
Christian are called to be slow to speak that we might be quiet before the Lord and hear what he has for us.
T.S. Quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to Anger
C. Slow to Anger
If you are sitting in the pew feeling good about yourself on the first two commands of us as Christians it probably means that your big problem in the third part which affects both the first two parts.
Anger is an emotion that when fully lit doesn’t allow us to hear or speak correctly.
“Emotions are the product of the entire person, and by God’s grace and the work of the Spirit, the person can be transformed so as to bring emotions in line with God’s word and will.
Let’s put this in context now. In the midst of a trial I’m to be Quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. Well, I don’t know about you but that is not my normal tendency is it yours?
In my natural state apart from the Spirit of God within me I’m Slow to hear, quick to speak and quick to anger—this is the way of the flesh.
Therefore, be “swift to hear;” that is, of a docile or teachable mind, be ready still to wait upon God in the word: be “slow to speak,” that is, do not rashly precipitate your judgment or opinion concerning things of faith: be “slow to wrath,” that is, be not angrily prejudiced against those that seem to differ and dissent from you.
T.S We can’t fight James as though he is not telling us the truth ..we know Anger blocks righteousness.
II. Anger Blocks Righteousness
II. Anger Blocks Righteousness
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
The anger of man never get’s us closer to looking like the God of heavens.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Anger in us shuts our ears down quickly and makes our mouth run quickly. We say things in the heat of a trial that hurts our witness before the Lord. A great measuring stick as to what to say or even post online is does this glorify God and Am I hurting my witness to the unbelievers that hear what I’m about to say?
How desperate we are to remain humble before the Lord in the wisdom of God that we might live well before him. Often what happens is we get angry in our flesh and don’t stop to take it before the Lord to talk it out that we might understand why we are angry in the first place. You know! Like stopping to ask ourselves why we are even feeling the way we are feeling in this moment. What we will find is that anger is coming from another place in us, in our flesh, that is centered around us. The glorious news is that you don’t have to stay in your anger instead you can release that to the Lord and by his Spirit see yourself in light of who he is not the trial that you are in the midst of at the moment. I have found that when my feeling get hurt I become angry and that never leads to my spiritual growth in the righteousness of my Lord.
James clarifies that human anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires. Encourage the congregation to confront and release their anger, seeking the peace and righteousness offered by Christ. Highlight that in Jesus’ life, anger did not dictate His actions, underlining His serene approach even under pressure.
T.S. James leaves us with Preparing for Devine Planting
III. Prepare for Divine Planting
III. Prepare for Divine Planting
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Put away—is literally having put off—like taking off dirty clothes. What a picture
12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
GOOD NEWS!!!! You have been redeemed to live differently
GOSPEL>>>>>>
The Word of God that saved your soul is the same word of God that you live your life by this very day.
We are to have practical suggestions for shedding these hindrances and integrating the Word in everyday life. Transformative growth happens when we accept and practice the teachings of Christ, the embodiment of the Word. Just as fertile soil requires preparation for planting, our hearts need to be ready to receive divine truth.
We can not do that which has not been planted in our hearts by the word of God.
