Proper Listening Leads to Proper Service (James 1:19-27)

Introduction

None was better at insults than Winston Churchill, who had no love affair with Lady Astor. Actually, the feeling was mutual. On one occasion she found the great statesman rather obviously inebriated in a hotel elevator. With cutting disgust she snipped, “Sir Winston, you are drunk!” to which he replied, “M’lady, you are ugly. Tomorrow I will be sober.” That may be a classic example of how not to handle an insult.

But this is how many of us do it.

We will shout and lash out before thinking of what we should do.

If we take the time to listen and hear and then think about what we should do before we speak, we may very well be better at winning people to Christ.

Not only this but we will look like people who care. That is what we are supposed to be anyway.

Jesus told us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-39).

If we do not listen and hear what people are saying, how can we do that?

If we do not listen to and hear the Word of God, and when we hear it apply it, how are we doing what Christ said?

We are not. We are just acting as the world acts and not doing anyone good.

We are not doing the Lord good. We are not doing other people good. And we are not doing ourselves good.

So today I want to look at what James tells us about this aspect of our lives.

We see this in James 1:19-27.

I want you to be watching for these points while we read the text

I. Hearing Before speaking to reduce possible anger

II. Knowing the Word and Applying the Word

III. Living out the Word

Let us read the Word of God together James 1:19-27 and the Word of God says:

James 1:19–27 ESV

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

First off we see that:

Hearing the Word Before Speaking Reduces Anger (19-20)

Listen Before you Talk.

How often do we sit there while someone else is talking, and only think about what we are going to say next instead of listening to and considering what is being said?

If we are only in the conversation for ourselves are we really loving or caring for the other person as we should be?

Of course, we are not. To be in anything for only what you get from it is selfish and unloving. It will only cause grief and strife in your life.

Hearing Right will Reduce Anger in you and in Others.

When we hear right, and are slow to speak we will avoid bickering and fighting amongst ourselves.

We will be able to know what we are to do better and will understand what is going on better.

We will stay focused on the enemy and our duty of going and reaching others who are being deceived by the enemy.

We will be like Andrew Jackson was.

Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes (Focus)

Before Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States, he served as a major general in the Tennessee militia. During the War of 1812 his troops reached an all-time low in morale. As a result they began arguing, bickering, and fighting among themselves. It is reported that Old Hickory called them all together on one occasion when tensions were at their worst and said, “Gentlemen! Let’s remember, the enemy is over there!”

He knew where the enemy was and knew his men were faltering.

He heard and went amongst them with wisdom and did not give commands or orders but rather he gave Prov. 15:1-2 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.”

That is what we are to do. We are to listen and understand. We are to respond with wisdom and with care. When we do this we will not anger easily because we are engaging our minds and hearing what is going on.

We have the full story and can answer in full and not in part. Anger does not help anyone.

It causes grief and stress only. That is why we must put that away and listen and learn. But to be able to put that away and listen and learn correctly, we need to apply this message to the Word of God.

We need to hear and receive the Word and implant it into our hearts.

When we do this we:

Doing the Word You Have Heard (21-25)

His Word will Allow you to Live Purer Lives When You Implant it.

When we hear the Word and implant it in us, we will be better able to put away all filthiness and wickedness.

We will learn to listen better. We will learn to speak better.

But for us to do this we must

Do what it Says don’t Just Say you know when you don’t.

We must after implanting the word in us then go and live it out.

Living out what it means is not just hearing.

This is why James says be quick to hear, but slow to speak. He is not saying not to speak, but to be slow to do so.

This means learning and knowing just as much as it means for us to be calm and patient with others.

Since we are to be slow to speak, we are still to speak.

We can make this into doing too. We need to be doers and not only hearers.

When we hear only and do not do, what good does that do.

Hence the mirror analogy. This man looks at himself and sees that something needs to be done, then walks away and forgets.

This is hearing and not doing. We see that something needs to be done from what we hear, but never do anything and therefore, we forget and nothing changes.

We stay in a bad condition. We stay stale and stagnant. Other people stay in the lost condition they are in.

We have deceived ourselves because we forget that anything is wrong and needs changed.

We miss that

Doing God’s Desires Brings Blessings.

When we go and do we receive blessings.

What blessings? That depends.

It is a blessing for our lives to change and for us to withstand challenges with joy.

A blessing is found in seeing others change and follow Christ. A blessing is found in knowing that we are serving our amazing savior.

This blessing is that we will not shrink back in shame at His coming (1 John 2:28).

We will be found faithful in service and receive the rewards for such (Matt. 24:46-51).

One thing about human nature has always interested me. If I were asked what I thought about enlisting a particular person to teach a Sunday School class, and replied that I didn’t think the person had the ability, that person would have hurt feelings, if he or she ever found out what I said. Yet that same person will say the same thing as an excuse not to teach. The better response would be, “Maybe I can or cannot do it, but at least I can try.” Those who try will discover abilities they never realized they had. Most of all, they will have the Lord’s power working through them.

That is what this is telling us. We must try and see what God will do through us when we do.

Those blessings will come and they will lead us to having proper

Religion and Actions (26-27)

Unbridled Speech without Action is Deception and Worthless.

Here we return to the speaking without knowing.

When we do not bridle our tongue, we will not speak well and help others learn of Christ.

We will act in a way that is improper religion. We need to not be that man who looks and forgets and then goes and speaks wrong.

We need to hear, apply and do what we hear. When we do so, our tongue will be bridled and we will speak with grace (Col. 4:6 )“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Our tongue speaks what we feel and believe. It comes from our hearts. It will tell our hearts desire because we have only looked in the mirror and did not apply what was needed.

It is worthless and blesses no one.

But when we apply it correctly and do the appropriate changes necessary we will

Serve those who have needs and live righteously.

We do this by being like this man in this story I want to conclude this message with.

Conclusion

There was this man who works with missionaries that took a break and was sitting on a bench in Malaysia by a river. While sitting there this woman started walking his way and sat down beside him. He said that by how she was dressed and the way she wore her makeup, he could tell she was a prostitute. He broke the silence by asking her how she was. This started a conversation that led to him asking what she did. She then confirmed she was working in prostitution. This was not her normal job, as she worked the rice fields but this was not the season now, so she had to do something to make a living. Her mother had died so she was left to tend and raise her little sister. She had to keep her fed and clothed and with shelter. So, when the rice fields were not in season, this is what she had to do.

He looked at her and could tell she had not ate much lately or in her life. He offered to take her to lunch. He asked her where was good and what she wanted. She told him of a little eatery and they went to it.

While there she asked if they could get it to go so she could take it to her sister so she could share. He offered to buy some for her sister but she would not allow him to do so. Many people had been looking on with disdain or with an acknowledging nod. All had judged what was going on without knowing. This did not deter this man. He then offered to take her to a little market and buy her and her sister some clothes.

He did all this and kept reassuring her that he was not a customer but a friend. He tried sharing the gospel with her while doing this but her limited knowledge of English made this difficult, that is why he was showing her Jesus.

He bought her and her sister a few changes of clothes, a new pair of shoes, and gave her some extra money. At this point he told her he had to go. The woman had shock come across her face but joy also, as she did not like prostitution but that was all there was for her.

This lady was able to experience Jesus through this missionary because he did not let his thinking of her be defined by his own thoughts. He listened to her, heard her, and spoke only after hearing her. He did not run her off because he was a Christian. No, he took her and served her and helped her, an orphan, widow by proxy, and he kept himself unstained by the world while doing it. He practiced pure and undefined religion before the Lord. He listened before he spoke, he knew Jesus, Paul, Peter, and the other apostles and what they did for others and to glorify God, he did what they did by living out those actions.

This is what we all must do. This is what Jesus has called us to do. This is how we glorify God and reach those who need Jesus. We must get out and help those who are in need. We must act out what we know so we do not deceive ourselves. We must not forget what Jesus did and by that forget who we are and what we are. Let us go and glorify God and serve Him by serving those who need Him; regardless what the world thinks or says.