Rev. David Holwick L (re-working of August 5, 2007 sermon)
Boothbay Baptist Church
Boothbay, Maine
July 31, 2022
James 1:19-27
YOU NEED MIRACLE EAR!
I. The most popular mail in Maine.
A. Every week I get hearing aid ads in the mail.
1) They are more popular than AARP junk mail.
2) You reach a certain age and they figure you need it.
a) Your spouse has already reached this conclusion...
3) In reality, you need it when you are around 6.
a) Maybe not the physical devices, but something to help
you listen better.
b) James says we all need assistance in this area.
B. Communication is a complicated affair.
1) The ways we speak to each other:
a) Some speak down to the other. (parent / child)
b) Some speak on impulse. (child / child)
c) Some speak all the time, and no one listens.
d) And still others don't communicate at all.
2) The ways we listen to each other:
a) Rapt attention, which only happens when we are dating.
b) Later, we hear what we want to hear, forget the rest.
c) Sometimes, everything goes in one ear, out the other.
C. Communication is also central to our spiritual life.
1) This passage continues a theme.
a) In verse 18, James refers to "the word of truth."
b) In verse 21, he comes back and calls it the "word
planted in you" and applies it more deeply.
c) Communicating with God parallels how we do with people.
2) Are we listening to God? When we hear him, do we obey?
a) This passage in James focuses on how we hear God's Word.
b) It may seem disjointed, but there is a definite flow.
3) Three aspects of spiritual communication are highlighted:
a) How we listen. verses 19-20
b) How we receive and process it. verse 21
c) How we put it into practice. verses 22-27
II. Listening to the Word. 1:19-20
A. Quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
1) We all know that we say the dumbest stuff on impulse.
2) Bible's teaching on impulsive speaking:
a) Proverbs 10:19- Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
but the prudent hold their tongues.
b) Proverbs 13:3- Those who guard their lips preserve
their lives, but those who speak
rashly will come to ruin.
c) Proverbs 17:28- Even fools are thought wise if they
keep silent, and discerning if they
hold their tongues.
B. Good listening is a difficult trait to acquire.
1) Pastors are trained to listen carefully.
a) In tragedies, most people are uptight about what to say.
b) You are taught it is far more important how you listen.
2) Listening is not passive, but active and difficult.
In his book STRESS FRACTURES, Charles Swindoll gives a
personal illustration:
Some time back, he was in a period where he was caught in
the undertow of too many commitments in too few days.
It wasn't long before he was snapping at his wife and his
children and choking down his food at mealtimes.
All day long he was getting irritated at those unexpected
interruptions that always seem to pile up.
Before long, things around their home started reflecting
the pattern of his hurry-up style.
It was becoming unbearable.
He distinctly recalls after supper one evening the words
of his youngest daughter, Colleen.
She wanted to tell him about something important that had
happened to her at school that day.
She hurriedly began, "Daddy-I-wanna-tell-you-somethin'-and-
-I'll-tell-you-really-fast."
Suddenly realizing her frustration, he answered, "Honey,
you can tell me ....
and you don't have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly."
He'll never forget her answer: "Then listen slowly."
#2166
C. Listening slowly - to God.
1) A continual talker cannot hear.
a) (Being trapped by a compulsive talker in high school.)
b) If you can't hear what people say, you can't hear what
God is saying.
c) Most Christians have lost the ability to meditate.
1> Our prayers are lists of requests for healing
and divine direction and answers to problems.
2> We spend so much time talking we never just sit
and listen. That would be a waste of time!
3> People in the Bible meditated all the time.
Joshua told the people to meditate on God's Law
day and night. (Josh 1:8)
Psalm 48:9 says we should meditate on God's
unfailing love when we are in his house.
Psalm 145:5 says we should meditate on God's works.
d) This week, spend 30 minutes just contemplating God
and what he has done for you, without asking for
anything. (and without letting your mind wander)
2) Anger also closes the mind to God's truth.
a) Righteousness doesn't flourish with angry attitude.
b) People who are consumed by resentment and bitterness
of soul will be spiritually deadened by it.
III. Receiving and processing the Word. 1:21
A. Get rid of moral filth.
1) "Get rid" = strip yourself.
a) The same expression is used in Hebrews 12:1 where we
are to throw off hindrances and sin that entangles.
b) Christian faith is not just something you add.
1> You have to do some subtracting first.
2> Each of us has something we have to strip away.
2) This is why confession of sin is so important when praying.
a) We have to face up to how far we have drifted from God.
b) We have to recognize how this corrupt world has
corrupted us.
B. Humbly accept the Word.
1) Humility comes from strength, not weakness.
2) We must realize we are not the greatest power in universe
but God is.
a) "The word" here is not the Bible per se.
b) It is the truth of the gospel that true Christians
have internalized, which becomes our core.
1> Has this happened to you?
2> Has the saving power of Jesus grabbed your soul?
3> James is writing to people who have experienced
this.
A> He assumes they are Christians.
B> Now it is up to them to live like they are.
C> The seed must grow (compare parable of Seeds).
IV. Doing the Word. 1:22-27
A. Paying attention is not enough.
1) Listening has to lead to doing. Many don't get that far.
A prominent American Christian (Rick Warren) says many
churches are weak in this.
He says we have "classroom churches."
These churches focus on Bible content and doctrine but less
on worship, service and spiritual development.
The respected Bible teacher Gene Getz says, "Bible study
by itself will not produce spirituality.
In fact, it will produce carnality if it isn't applied
and practiced."
Bible knowledge without ministry and missions tends to
produce Christians with judgmental attitudes and
spiritual pride.
Study without service leads to stagnation.
#17200
Of course, studying God's Word is important.
I have been doing it myself for almost 50 years now.
But study alone cannot produce spiritual maturity.
We have to DO SOMETHING with this knowledge.
2) James uses the illustration of a mirror.
Everyone here looked in a mirror this morning.
- To make sure the lipstick went where supposed to.
- To get those last minute pimples.
- To get pillow stuffing out of hair.
Some say I look in mirrors a lot.
I can assure you it's not because of vanity.
I just don't want to gross you all out.
3) We look in mirrors to confirm and change our appearance.
a) We want to look a certain way.
b) Do you walk away and expect to look like a slob? No.
c) We look in a mirror to produce better results.
4) We look in the Bible to see the kind of person we should be.
a) We even imagine we ARE just like that.
b) Then we turn and forget how they are supposed to live.
1:25
5) Examples:
a) You know what Bible says about sexual sin.
-Do you sin sexually?
b) You know what the Word says about forgiving others.
-Do you hold a grudge anyway?
B. The purpose of listening to truth is to act upon it. 1:22
1) James 1:22 may be the key verse of the whole book.
a) Knowledge and experience are always tied together.
b) The responsibility of those who hear is far greater
than that of those who have never heard.
2) Parable of Father and Two Sons. Matthew 21:28
a) One says yes, other says no.
1> "No" person changes mind and does it, other doesn't.
b) Right actions gets the praise.
1> (Real parents would trash them both!)
2> Words, and intentions, by themselves are meaningless.
C. Alternative - listen, do, be blessed. 1:25
1) He looks intently.
a) Same word used of John peering into Jesus' tomb.
b) Zealously search the Bible's meaning.
1> Not for legalisms, but for rules of free living.
2) You continue to do this.
a) You don't forget what you heard.
b) And you put the truth into action.
D. Many outsiders don't see enough of this.
1) There have been some startling surveys of Millennials.
Millennials are people in their twenties and thirties.
My kids are Millennials, I am a Baby Boomer.
55% of Baby Boomers consider themselves religious, but only
36% of Millennials do.
A third of Millennials are not affiliated with any religion.
And they hold some pretty negative views on the Bible.
How negative?
Nearly half think it is just another book of stories and
advice.
One out of five think the Bible is "an outmoded book with
no relevance for today."
A third do think the Bible is a useful book, but the same
number think it is "a dangerous book of religious dogma
used for centuries to oppress people."
There is one thing that can sway a Millennial - interacting
with a person who believes the Bible and has benefited
from it.
Millennials want to see people who practice what the Bible
teaches, and act neighborly.
#64629
V. Three specific areas where truth should be put into practice.
A. Speech. 1:26
1) One of easiest tests of spirituality:
a) What kind of language do you use?
b) How do you talk about other people, especially enemies?
c) On the other hand, how much praise comes from your
mouth, how much joy?
2) Keep it under control.
a) It is possible, by internalizing God's Word and
focusing on the other person.
b) As Paul says in Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any
unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only
what is helpful for building others up according to
their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
B. Concern for people who hurt. 1:27a
1) True religion is a life-changing force.
2) Inner, heart religion in view here.
a) Religion must be more than external.
b) It must spring from an inner spiritual reality.
c) It must express itself in love to others and holiness
before God.
3) Your treatment of the outcast is a litmus test.
a) Orphans and widows were standard needy people back then.
b) In some ways, they still are.
1> We could add to this refugees, drug addicts,
homeless people.
2> Real religion makes a difference in our world.
3> My experience on a mission trip to Kentucky.
I was new to my church and wanted to get them
involved in a project.
I found a mission in Kentucky and took a large
group there, adults and children.
We slept in a large bare room with mattresses
on the floor and ate communally.
All day we painted walls and put on roofs and
decks.
It not only helped those Appalachians but bonded
our group together.
Worship in the bunkhouse seemed more real to our
children.
All of us need to see faith put into action.
C. Concern for personal holiness. 1:27b
1) Doing good deeds reflects a true faith, but it must go
hand in hand with personal moral purity.
a) Good deeds by themselves can become a kind of social
gospel.
b) You pat yourself on the back for being nice to people
but ignore their - and your - spiritual needs.
2) The world can be a very corrupt place.
a) There is selfishness and violence and crudeness.
b) Christians should be different.
1> We have a higher calling.
2> Are you living it?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 2166 “Listening Slowly,” by Mike Schafer, Leadership magazine,
June 1992, page 46. Original source is “Stress Fractures” by
Charles Swindoll.
#17200 “Toward Spiritual Maturity,” by Rev. Rick Warren, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, May 20, 2002.
#64629 “Millennials and the Bible,” by Eric Metaxas, BreakPoint
Commentary, November 14, 2014.
These and 37,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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