COOL, CALM AND COLLECTED

COOL, CALM AND COLLECTED James 1:19-21 October 31, 2010 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction How we say what we say, and how we hear what is said are very important. High school students who were studying the use of analogies and similies in writing. Someone gathered a few of the of the more comical examples from their papers: •  "The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease." •  "He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree." •  "John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.” •  "The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play." •  "From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30." •  "Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever." •  "Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph." •  "He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it." In our study in the New Testament letter of James we turn our attention from the subject of the providence of God to a more practical topic: that of speech and behavior. As James wrapped up his teaching on God being the Giver of every good and perfect gift, he mentioned the most precious of all God’s gifts to Christians with these words in 1:18 – He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. Two things seem to have steered his thoughts to what he is about to teach in the last part of chapter 1: first, that Christians are, in fact, to be the “firstfruits” of all God created, in this sense: that our redeemed lives—how we live and talk and act—are to be a demonstration to those not yet redeemed of what God can do in a life dedicated to Him. Secondly, the subject of God’s Word comes up for the first time clearly in verse 18 when he says that God gave us birth through the word of truth. The theme of God’s Word, His spoken and now written Word, will occupy a good deal of the rest of James’ letter. These two topics combine in our text this morning, verses 19-21. Look at them in your Bible as I read for us. My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life 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. About our communication The first subject is our communication. In his typical style, James comes right at us with a tri-fold exhortation. No beating around the bush for this author of scripture! He tells us we should be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to become angry. Quick to listen is really the corollary to slow to speak. Listening is one of the most courteous things anyone can do for another person. And, at the very least courtesy ought to mark the life of us of whom the scripture says, We love because He first loved us. A man told his doctor he was worried about his wife’s hearing, and the doctor asked how bad it was. He didn’t know. The Dr told him to stand about 15 feet behind her and ask her a question; if she didn’t respond move to 10 feet; if no response 5 feet—that should tell him how bad the hearing really is. He did just that. He went home, stood behind his wife and said, “Honey what’s for dinner?” No reply. He moved forward and asked again. No response. Once more, and closer he asked, “Honey, What’s for dinner?” Nothing. Worried now, he got up right behind her and asked, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” She turned and said, “For the fourth time, Beef Stew!” We hate it when someone else doesn’t listen to us, don’t we? But we don’t see that often it is our impatient need to say what we want to say that keeps us from truly listening to others. But when we take the time and the effort (it is an effort, isn’t it?) to patiently listen, we have shown love and served that other person in most exquisite fashion. To be quick to listen doesn’t mean listen for just a quick moment, then quit; it means, of course, to don’t hesitate to listen to others. God is quick to listen. His Word is full of references to hearing our prayers and answering them. In fact, of all the wonderful things God does for us, the fact that He listens to us might be the most profound. He is always reminding us to pray to Him. Why? Because he listens. During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He took the time to stop and listen to the very real needs of people, and then to respond. When the sinners and tax collectors invited him to their homes, He listened. When the children and their clamoring for Jesus got to be distracting and the disciples tried to shoo them away, what did Jesus do? And here we encounter the Word of the Lord through James, telling us we, too, should listen. We should listen to Him by paying strict attention to the words of the Bible. We should listen to one another as gestures of love and caring. We should listen to the stories and experiences of non-believers and in that way give them honor. And by the way, when we do really start listening, we’re going to win their gratitude and we’re going to hear God lead us into opportunities to witness to them. There are a great number of benefits to those who listen to God—that much is clear. But there are benefits to obeying the command to listen to others as well. •  For one, you will be obeying the will and Word of God. •  When you listen it helps you to avoid impetuousness, that is, sticking your foot in your mouth because you spoke too quickly and said something really stupid. Listen & be quiet, it’s good. •  As I alluded earlier, when you listen to people, it shows you care. •  If you will stop arguing with your enemies long enough to listen to them, you will often win them over to you or at least pacify them. •  Listen to people and you will understand them better. The reason we don’t understand people is we rarely really listen to them. •  Lastly, if you will make the effort to listen more, you might actually learn something! Slow to speak is the next word of exhortation from James. It’s been rightly said that we have two ears and one mouth, a clear sign that we should listen twice as much as we talk. We all know someone who talks too much, right? You just hate to be around these people, and when you are, it is so hard to keep listening so you just tune them out. What if you found out that YOU talk too much? Well, that’s the implication here. We ought to check ourselves and see if the way we converse with others is edifying to them or obnoxious to them. The person who cannot talk is said to be dumb (in the technical sense), but in the non-technical sense, the scripture indicates that the more you talk the dumber you are. When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. Proverbs 10:19 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue. Proverbs 17:28 Biblical proverbs aren’t the only ones that speak of the truth of that maxim, either. One wise man said, Talking comes by nature, silence by wisdom. ‘Ever had this said to you? No, really, please keep talking, I always yawn when I’m interested! Abraham Lincoln is quoted as having said, Tis better to be silent and thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. Silence is golden was a pop song by the Four Seasons and the Tremeloes a long time ago, but it’s very close to biblical wisdom. Way back, in 100 B.C., a Syrian writer named Publius Syrus said, I have often regretted my speech, but never my silence. Closely related to the idea of being slow to speak is the 3rd exhortation: Slow to become angry. The congregations to whom James wrote actually had major problems with the matter of anger. There were people even in leadership in the churches fostering division, taking sides, infighting and quarreling with one another. James writes to urge them to get a handle on this, because it is not a good witness to the watching world when supposedly mature brothers in Christ fight with one another. James 4:1 refers to this problem. Sad to say, some of the most vicious disagreements going happen in the confines of local churches. This ought not to be. We are called to be peacemakers, not war-mongers. But some Christians who refuse to mature will to stir up strife by their selfishness and lack of humility. Paul spoke to Christians who were taking one another to court: Why not rather be wronged? Being angry is a natural part of life, and it is not necessarily wrong, depending what you’re angry about. Billy Sunday the great evangelist of the early 20th century, once preached on his righteous anger against sin: "Listen, I'm against sin. I'll kick it as long as I've got a foot. I'll fight it as long as I've got a fist. I'll butt it as long as I've got a head. And I'll bite it as long as I've got a tooth, and when I'm old, fistless, footless and toothless, I'll gum it till I go home to glory and it goes home to perdition." — If you just have to be angry, be angry about something that God is angry about! But, for heaven’s sake, do not remain angry with your brother or sister in Christ—someone for whom Christ died. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold in your life, chimes Ephesians 4:26. Some people have a real problem with anger—an explosive, volatile temper that is triggered when they are hurt or offended. And they drag it right with them into the kingdom when they become Christians. Let me say this loud and clear: it is NOT OK to blame your anger on how your father treated you or stubbornly insist that’s just the way I am, while you continue to mistreat your family at home and at church. You need to get it fixed, and enough with the excuse that you’ve tried and you can’t do anything about it. Of course you can’t. But Jesus can and that is one of the reasons He died for you—your sanctification. Listen, anger is sin, and we cannot go on treating it lightly like it’s some genetic flaw. The Bible says you must dig it out, along with all its roots of bitterness and get healed. You are the firstfruits of His Kingdom! As long as you retain your anger, you will never really listen to God or anyone else, and you will never be able to be slow to speak. James says that man’s anger NEVER brings about the righteous life that God desires in us. If you do not do everything you can do under the leading and power of the Holy Spirit within you to be rid of your anger, then you are an idolater who prefers to worship your preferences above God. And if you are angry with God, He wants you to know 2 things: He still loves you, and He is interested in your being healed of your sin. Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. That is the counsel of the Holy Spirit to us through James on how we are to live with one another. Having mentioned anger, it’s almost as if James were reminded of other areas of sinfulness in believers’ lives Things that were naturally there in their lives before they were saved, before they identified Jesus as Lord of their lives, and had tasted the kindness of the Lord. But are totally out of place now. About moral filth and evil James says that the Christian must rid himself of moral filth. The term he used there is RUPARION, and it is from the same root as RUPOS, which is the word used for ear wax. Listen, James is about to develop an explanation of the doctrine of God’s Word, and what he is saying is that in order for you to “hear” that word—to be able to accept it—you will have to clean out the wax from your ears. What am I saying? I am saying exactly what James is saying. You need the Word of God, which has been planted in you. And, although it is planted in you, you cannot really hear it to obey it as long as you do not rid yourself of the moral filth and evil that is in you. You are saved by the Word of God—if you are a Christian that is an established reality. But you are also sanctified by that saving Word—by hearing and obeying it. And to be continually sanctified and growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus is God’s primary desire for you. In terms of a Google map, the red line shows you going from a state of lostness to the goal of uncompromising fellowship with God. You started out at Sinner Center and by God’s grace you have Salvation City. You’re on the highway called Route Sanctification, and your ultimate destination is Christlikeness. We’re all on that highway, and by God’s promise we’re all going to make it.   But God wants you to travel this road in a way that honors Him. And if you are retaining moral filth and evil in your life vehicle, you’re out of gas, you have engine failure, you’ve got four flats and a dead battery. To get on the road to maturity and growth, you must get rid of moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. What is moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent? I’ve looked at it in the original Greek and here is how you translate it: moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent! Listen, you can’t tell me that you cannot understand those terms. We all know what they mean, and we all know the very personal and particular way they apply to us. You are not ignorant if you have the Holy Spirit living in you—and you do if you are a believer in Christ. His job is to teach you and convict you of these things. I know you know. So, here is your assignment, says James: get rid of all the stuff you’re hanging onto that you know the Spirit of God is not pleased with. When you do and as you do, you will be able to accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Conclusion In a couple short weeks I will be preaching a memorial service in this room for a friend of mine. His name is Steve. He called me this past week and told me he is dying of pancreatic cancer and it won’t be long at all. I drove north to Gillespie, IL yesterday morning to visit with this man whom I had not seen for 40 years, except briefly 15 years ago when I buried his mother. I prayed that God would open the right door of conversation to speak to him about his soul. And God was faithful. We opened God’s Word, and a few minutes later, Steve gave his life to Christ, as did his 26-year old daughter, Tracy, and quite possibly, three others in the room. Praise God that when Steve sheds his mortal body soon, Tracy will not have to grieve as one who has no hope. And Steve will go to be with the Lord personally, where there is no grief or sorrow or tears or death. It was when the saving Word of God connected with need in Steve’s soul that conviction of sin was experienced and the need for the Savior was realized. Steve prayed and asked Jesus to save him, and we’ll be working on arrangements for Christian baptism. That’s what James was talking about when he wrote about the word planted in you which can save you. Jesus alone can truly make you cool, calm and collected. The Word that saves you is also the Word that sanctifies you, and we’re coming into a couple of powerful passages dealing with that subject in the next few weeks. But what you must understand now is this. It is the Word that will convict you and lead you into deeper relationship with Christ. But it is also true that you to HEAR that Word.           [ Back to Top]