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Make Way for the Word
Oct 31, 2021
Craig Minke
* In our world today seminaries, and Bible colleges try very hard to turn tongue-tied young people into dynamic communicators.
They teach the best methods, provide practice and give critiques
* There is however a part of the process the teacher or preacher has no control over and the is the attitude of the hearer.
* Notice in the parable of the sower, it is the soil and not the seed that determined the level of productivity.
* James was well aware of these problems
ILLUSTRATION: As the old saying goes you can lead an old horse to the water but you can't make him drink.
JS 1:19-25 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
21 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.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror
24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it-they will be blessed in what they do.
In light of this James give practical advice to how to respond to the Word of God.
* Let's look at verses 19-21 again
JS 1:19-21A 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
21 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.
1. PREPARATION FOR THE WORD
The first step in the preparation for the Word is to "be quick to listen."
* He who is listening is learning.
* We need to be quick to hear the word of God
* The thrust of these three verses is found in verse 21, receiving the word will spiritually save our life.
* The greatest temptation in the world is for a person to walk through life doing what he wants and pleases, and thereby ignoring, neglecting and rejecting God.
* The result of this is DEATH - SPIRITUAL DEATH.
JS 1:15 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
* A person who has accepted Jesus as his/her Savior must prepare themselves.
* He must be quick to hear the Word of God
* How can a person make sure they hear the word of God and receive the word of God for their salvation.
* This passage talks of 3 ways we can prepare for the hearing of the word.
JS 1:19-21 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
21 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.
a).
He must be slow to speak.
* This means that a person must be willing to listen instead of speaking his own ideas about right and wrong and about how a person is saved.
* He must sit and listen instead of hanging on to his own ideas; he must be willing to listen to God's Word instead of insisting upon what he thinks.
* Constant speaking means we aren't in a mode to receive information.
ILLUSTRATION: A wise man once said that we have two ears and one mouth, so that ought to be the ratio of listening to speaking.
b).
He must be slow to wrath or anger.
* Where does anger erupt?
* Knowing the places and the ways that we are tempted can help us prepare by praying and by planning alternative responses instead of giving in to anger:
* Family-When we are misunderstood, ignored, unloved, criticized
* Church-When we are unnoticed, overlooked, unappreciated, criticized
* Workplace-When we are slighted, overworked, harassed, criticized
* Friends-When we are left out, disappointed, criticized
* Society-When we feel singled out for unfairness, taxed, criticized
* A person most not become angry and act against others in wrath.
* Anger and wrath disturb and distract.
* An angry person cannot focus his thoughts and spirits upon God's Word, not enough to hear what the Word is saying.
* The ability to defeat anger allows us to listen to unpleasant truths.
* When we are angry, our thinking is out of balance, our reasoning is undependable
* An angry person just cannot do what God says; he cannot live righteously nor receive the righteousness of God's salvation (as verse 20 says)
c).
He must put aside all filthiness
* The picture is that of taking off a dirty garment and putting it aside.
* A person must put off every dirty thing and lay it off to the side away from himself.
* If he enjoys the dirt and filth, then his mind is going to be on it.
* His mind will not be clear, not enough to hear the Word of God.
ILLUSTRATION: William Barclay makes the point that the Greek word for "filthiness" (ruparia) is taken from the Greek word rupos.
The word is sometimes used to refer to wax in the ear (The Letters of James and Peter, p. 66).
* The picture is descriptive: a person with wax in the ear cannot hear the Word of God, not clearly.
* Therefore, he must take the wax out of his ear and put it away or else he will be deaf to the Word of God.
* He must put aside all that remains of naughtiness, wickedness, and evil.
* The idea is this: even after putting aside all filthiness, there will still be some naughtiness or wickedness that will show up within us.
* Therefore, we must be alert to these uprisings and put them off and lay them aside as well.
* We must be completely clean and pure from all dirt and naughtiness in order to hear the Word of God.
* If we are nurturing secret thoughts, it is difficult to accept the truth of God
2. NOW WE MOVE THE RECEPTION OF THE WORD OF GOD
JS 1:21 21 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.
* First, we must take the word seriously.
* God has given man a great but risky responsibility.
* He lets us decide if we will accept His Word or not.
* James then says we must "humbly accept" the authority of the word.
* The attitude of humility is really a prerequisite.
* We need to let God's Word rule over us, not us rule over it.
* We must receive the Word of God with meekness.
* We must be as a child before God our Father, that is, sit before Him meekly just as a child does his father.
* The idea is that we must be humble, gentle, quite, and ATTENTIVE in LISTENING to the Word of God.
* Listening to the PROMPTINGS of the Holy Spirit.
* We must sit and listen with an OPEN HEART ready to hear exactly what our Father says.
* We must understand the power of the Word.
The power of the living God stands behind it.
The Word has the power to convict and save.
The person who sits before God like this discovers a most wonderful thing.
* Note the word planted or "engrafted" (emphuton).
* It means to implant; to be born within (born again).
* When a person listens and hears the Word of God, it is planted within his heart and life.
* What God says is actually born within his heart, and the man hears exactly what God says.
* The Word of God is born within his heart and life and the person's soul is saved.
* He conquers and triumphs over all temptation, including the terrible temptation of rejecting God and doing his own thing and living like he wants.
* He is saved to live eternally with God.
* This is the first preparation that a person must make to withstand temptation: he must be quick to hear the Word of God.
After PREPARING for the word of God and RECEIVING he word we now come to
3. APPLICATION OF THE WORD
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