A Faith That Works Listen With Your Life James 1:19-25 (NLT)

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. James 1:19-25 (NLT)

All of us are poor listeners from time to time. We like to share our own thoughts and opinions, but rarely listen for the perspective of others. James reframes for us the importance of listening. We shouldn’t just listen to others opinions. We should also listen to hear from God through His Word. And when we do, our lives should be affected by what we hear.

Receive the Word (James 1:19-21)

James borrowed the saying “planted” in vs 21 to the “Parable of the Sower” in Matthew 13:1-9.

He compared God’s Word to the seed and the human heart to soil.

In His parable, Jesus described four kinds of hearts:

the hard heart, which did not understand or receive the Word and therefore bore no fruit;

the shallow heart, which was very emotional but had no depth and bore no fruit;

the crowded heart, which lacked repentance and permitted sin to crowd out the Word;

the fruitful heart, which received the Word, allowed it to take root, and produced a harvest of fruit.

But the Word of God cannot work in our lives unless we receive it in the right way.

If the seed of the Word is to be planted in our hearts, then we must obey the instructions James gave us.

Quick to Listen

“Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” (Matt. 13:9)!

“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. (Rom. 10:17).

Just as the servant is quick to hear his master’s voice, and the mother to hear her baby’s smallest cry, so the believer should be quick to hear what God has to say.

Slow to Speak

We have two ears and one mouth, which should to remind us to listen more than we speak.

Too many times we argue with God’s Word, if not audibly, at least in our hearts and minds.

“Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” (Prov. 10:19)

“A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.” (Prov. 17:27)

In the early church, the services were informal, and often the listeners would debate with the speaker.

Slow to get Angry

Anger is not the way of the righteousness of God.

Are you QUICK or SLOW?

There is not a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to how we interact with other people.

The BIG question is:

What are we characterized by?

Am I quick to react and slow to listen?

What do my communication gauges read most of the time?

We must step on the brakes when it comes to speaking and getting angry, giving the right of way to listening

Anger might feel satisfying, but it does not lead to the kind of life God desires His people to live

“Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:11 (NLT)

righteousness - Being in right standing with God

This can only happen through total faith and dependance upon Jesus Christ

godly life - the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness:

To be wise is to live in godliness, reflecting the nature of the kingdom of God in the course of everyday life

faith - “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

love - Agape - unconditional

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NLT)

perseverance - the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty, patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance

gentleness - sensitivity of disposition and kindness of behavior, founded on strength and prompted by love

A Prepared Heart

James saw the human heart as a garden;

If left to itself, the soil would produce only weeds.

He urged us to “pull out the weeds” and prepare the soil for the “word God had planted in your hearts”

It is foolish to try to receive God’s Word into an unprepared heart.

How do we prepare the soil of our hearts for God’s Word?

First, by confessing our sins and asking the Father to forgive us

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John 1:9)

Then, by meditating on God’s love and grace and asking Him to “plow up” any hardness in our hearts:

“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3)

Finally, we must have an attitude of “humbleness” (James 1:21).

Meekness is the opposite of “wrath” in James 1:19–20.

When you receive the Word with meekness, you accept it, do not argue with it, and honor it as the Word of God.

You do not try to twist it to conform it to your thinking.

If we do not receive the implanted Word, then we are deceiving ourselves.

Christians who like to argue various “points of view” may be only fooling themselves.

They think that their “discussions” are promoting spiritual growth, when in reality they may only be cultivating the weeds.

Practice the Word (James 1:22-25)

It is not enough to hear the Word; we must do it.

Many people have the mistaken idea that hearing a good sermon or Bible study is what makes them grow and get God’s blessing.

It is not the hearing but the doing that brings the blessing.

Does God’s word mark you?

If you think you are spiritual because you hear the Word, then you are only kidding yourself.

James compared the Word to seed, but here, he compares God’s Word to a mirror.

There are two other references in the Bible to God’s Word as a mirror; and when you put all three together, you discover three ministries of the Word of God as a mirror.

Examination

This is the main purpose for owning a mirror, to be able to see yourself and make yourself look as clean and neat as possible.

As we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we see ourselves as we really are.

James mentions several mistakes people make as they look into God’s mirror.

First, they merely glance at themselves.

They do not carefully study themselves as they read the Word.

Many people read and understand Biblical truths, but the truths make no impact on their lives.

Their conscience would bother them if they did not have their daily reading, when actually their conscience should bother them because they read the Word carelessly.

A cursory reading of the Bible will never reveal our deepest needs. It is the difference between a candid photo and an X-ray.

Second, they forget what they see.

If they were looking deeply enough into their hearts, what they would see would be unforgettable!

We tend to smile at the “extremes” of people back in the days of the great revivals, but perhaps we could use some of that conviction.

John Wesley wrote about a preaching service:

“One before me dropped as dead, and presently a second, and a third. Five others sunk down in half an hour, most of whom were in violent agonies” (Wesley’s Journal for June 22, 1739)

Before we consign these people to some psychological limbo, remember how saints in the Bible responded to the true knowledge of their own hearts.

Isaiah cried, “Woe is me! for I am undone” (Isa. 6:5)

Peter cried, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8)

Job was the most righteous man on earth in his day, yet he confessed, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6)

Thirdly, they fail to obey what the Word tells them to do.

They think that hearing is the same as doing, and it is not.

We Christians enjoy substituting reading for doing, or even talking for doing.

We hold endless committee meetings and conferences about topics like evangelism and church growth, and think we have made progress.

While there is certainly nothing wrong with conferences and committee meetings, they are sinful if they are a substitute for service.

If we are to use God’s mirror profitably, then we must gaze into it carefully and with serious intent.

No quick glances will do.

We must examine our own hearts and lives in the light of God’s Word.

This requires time, attention, and sincere devotion.

Five minutes with God each day will never accomplish a deep spiritual examination.