Sermon Tone Analysis

Ironside’s commentary on James – Manford George Gutzke, vv.

19-21 -  NTSK – TBKC –Wiersbe’s BE Series – KJV Bible Commentary – The New Bible Commentary – The Bible Reader’s Companion (Nothing) –JFB, vv.

19-21 – Johnny Hunt Outline on James 1:19-21, “How to hear from God” – Kay Arthur lecture #7 on James (Partial) -

 

 

Welcome back –

 

Well, I started last week to introduce you to some of the young people who are working in our church.

I just want you to know who they are and I want you to be encouraged for the future by getting to know them.

Last Sunday morning you met Chris Roddy, one of our Sunday School teachers among the other things he does around here and then Sunday night you were introduced to his brother, Jason who is also involved in a lot of the churches activities including being one of the teachers in the Willing Workers Class.

Tonight’s reader is a choir member and an orchestra member among the other work she does around here.

So, Ashleigh, would you please read James 1:19-21 for me.

Let us pray…

 

Verses 19-27 of James chapter one make up a min-series for preaching all on their own.

So, inside of the book of James we have these nine verses which exhort us to

            Receive the Word – Remember the Word and the Relay the Word.

Tonight however, we are going to focus on verses nineteen through twenty-one where we are told to, “Receive the Word.”

Part of this passage has a phrase that almost everyone has heard although you may not have realized that it was from the Bible.

Maybe your mom or your pa-paw or somebody told you to be quick to hear and slow to speak” or something like that .

Well, that is from the Bible.

And Ashleigh just read it to you from verse nineteen.

*James 1:18** (KJV) *18Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

*James 1:19** (KJV)* 19Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

*James 1:20** (KJV) *20For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 

*James 1:21** (KJV) *21Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

And those words are inspired words in a passage that is full of action –

There are a couple of wherefores and all kinds of action phrases such as, /begat, be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, worketh not, lay apart all filthiness, receive with meekness, able to save your souls./

So…

It is a short passage but there is a lot going on

 

And…

The first thing it tells us is that we are to be swift to hear something.

But….

*/What/* are we to be swift to hear?

 

Well…

The Word of God

In verse 18 we see that he begat us with the word of truth and in verse 21 we see that we are to receive with meekness the engrafted Word of God.

So, the first thing I want you to see is that we are to –

 

Receive the Word (v.19)

 

Remember the context of the passage –

            James is writing to Christian Jews who are undergoing trials

 

If there was ever a time when we do not want to shun the Word of God – when we want to be receiving the Word of God - it is when we are facing trials and temptations.

And there are three reasons in this text why we are to receive the Word

                        The Word has been prepared, the Word powers, and the Word prevents

 

            The Word has been prepared (vv.

18,21)

 

            It has been given (v.

18)

*2 Timothy 3:16** (KJV) *16All scripture /is/ given by inspiration of God, and /is/ profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

                        It should be received (v.

21)

 

                        Being exposed to it is not enough – we are to */receive/* the Word

 

The true definition means that we should have a reaction to the action from the other side.

That is, God has given it – we should receive it.

Many people hear the word of God but they do not receive the Word of God.

Have you ever noticed that …

When the rain falls, the ground and the rock both get wet, but only the ground receives the rain

 

So, what this word translated in your Bible as, “receive” means to you is that God’s Word is to be appropriated into our heart.

And…

It should be received */as/* the Word of God

 

*1 Thessalonians 2:13** (KJV) *13For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received /it/ not /as/ the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

If we do not receive into our hearts or if we do not receive it as the Word of God then we dilute its power.

Here is what I mean –

            Thos group does not receive it

            This group does not receive it as the Word of God

            This group receives it as God’s Word

 

            You didn’t receive it – but there are still good life principles in there for you

You didn’t receive it as the Word of God – there are truths in there that you can use.

You did receive it as the Word of God – It can transform your life – It can save you.

We are to receive it as the Word of God

 

Otherwise…

It may still do good things –

- but not what it was intended to do.

And that is to transform your life.

See…

 

If a person attends every service but never allows anything God says to make a change in their life then they might as well have played golf or gone fishing.

So, the Word should be received and the Bible says with meekness

 

And then practically speaking before we receive the Word in we need to get some stuff out.

James teaches us that in verse 21 – let’s read that verse

 

            We need to Get the weeds out (v. 21)

                       

            How may of you have already turned your garden?

I bet you can look down that patch of dirt and not see one weed.

*/That/* dirt is ready to receive the seed.

It is */prepared/*

 

Just the same way…

We need to get the things out of our life that Satan is using to dull your hearing of what God is saying.

Verse 21                      Prepare yourself to hear from God.

The NLT reads –

            Get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives –

 

And what it means literally is:

To lay apart as a filthy garment – or today we might say, Take off your dirty clothes.

I am so glad that during my 4-Wheeler days, Darlene and I lived in a house where the back porch could not be seen from the street.

Because a bunch of us would go out riding and we would ride through stagnant muddy water that smelled as bad dry as it did wet – and it would cake us.

Then the sun would undercoat that mud with sweat and odor that would make a deodorant turn and run.

And that sun would bake us.

And so we would be caked and baked.

And then we would ride down a dusty trail back to the truck and that dust would coat us over good on the outside and then we would come home with open arms to our loving wives and we stunk, stank, reeked and smelled bad.

And she would say in her own way that I was going to have to put aside all my filthiness before I was coming in the house.

And I would have to pretty well undress on the porch before I could go in and get to the soap.

See…

I had to get rid of some filth as part of my preparation for applying the soap.

And just so…

We want to get some things out of our lives to prepare to receive the Word

 

Now this is James’ letter we are reading but I want you to listen to what Peter and Paul said:

 

*Ephesians 4:31** (KJV) *31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 

 

*Colossians 3:8** (KJV) *8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

And then…..