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Aug 18, 2024

Believer, Be Blessed | Faith in Action

Believer, Be Blessed | Faith in Action

Speaker: Matt Petty

Series: Faith in Action

Category: Sunday Sermons

Keywords: church, faith, jesus, god, sermon, freedom, christian, bible, christ, gospel, listening, obedience, success, jesus christ, lord, anger, control, trust god, inspirational, inspire, let go, book of james, study the bible, motivational, bible teaching, believing in god, christian motivation, burnt hickory worship, burnt hickory baptist church live stream, hope in hard times, above inspiration, jesus and anger, james chapter one, times of uncertainty, persevering through hard times

Do you ever find yourself speaking before you think, only to be filled with remorse over what was said? Or do you find it hard to follow through on what you know is right? This morning, as we continue our series in the book of James, we’ll discuss the importance of listening before speaking, controlling our anger and understanding when it is righteous, and clearing out the negative influences within us. By embracing God's Word and acting on it, we can experience true freedom and blessing instead of just going through the motions. Join us as we learn how to shift our perspective, change our habits to walk in the presence and power of Jesus, and discover the joy that comes from living a life of obedience and faith. We look forward to worshiping with you!

If you have your Bibles today, I want you to turn with me to James chapter one. If you haven't been with us in the last couple of weeks, we're in week three of a series. We're just walking through this letter by James to these persecuted Christians of the first century spread out around the area. They lived in a culture that, in many ways resembles the culture that we live in today. Their culture had harshness and persecution towards true Christians. And there was a general feeling towards Christians: why can't you just be like everyone else? Why can't you just morph with the times?

Well, James, the half-brother of Jesus, sees this happening. He's the leader of the church of Jerusalem and writes this letter to encourage these persecuted believers. He gives them (and us) this battle cry that we can live out our faith by standing and abiding, even in harsh times. In chapter one, the first 18 verses, James says we can glorify God in the trials of life. These trials shape us and point us towards the kingdom of God. As we live for God in these trials, we're proving what God has done in us and how God has blessed us. He’s saying that as we live in these trials for the kingdom of God, we are living in a way that ensures one day, we receive the crown of eternity.

So, for the last couple of weeks, it's been his 50,000-foot view of trials and temptation. But today, James shifts gears a little. He goes from a 50,000-foot view to super practical. He lays out a game plan for not only walking with God in times of trials or temptations. James gives all true believers an important reminder: we don't have to eek by in our faith. As believers in Jesus, we can live in the blessings of God. We will look at a passage of Scripture that tells us we don't have to beg God to get by but can live in his abundance.

I can live in the John 10:10 abundant life. Today is one of those passages we need to come to often. If you know Jesus today, today's passage will speak to you. If you've ever been frustrated at anybody in your entire life, today's passage is for you. If you've ever struggled to listen to God at any point in your life, today's passage is for you. If you've ever been guilty of reading the Bible and closing it and going off and doing your own thing, today's passage is for you. If you've ever been a person who speaks before you think, today's passage is for you. If you've ever wondered, can I really live for Jesus? It's for you. And if you've ever wondered, can I live in the blessing of God? Today is for you.

So today, I'll read the passage, pull some truths from the passage, and I want to give you a game plan today of how you can walk this path of blessings. I'll read the whole passage first. I don't always do that. Then we'll come back to it and pull some chunks out.

We’re reading James chapter one, right where we left off last week, starting in verse 19. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. In other words, you need to know this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 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. Verse 22: Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror, but after looking at himself, he goes off or goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 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 blessed in what they do.

I love that James doesn't waste any time getting into the weeds. I'm thankful because most of the time, we respond best to frank conversations. Don't beat around the bush. God, just tell me what I need to do, how I need to do it, and how I need to walk. And that is exactly what James does for us. He knows that life has gotten tough, that it seems like the cards are against you, and that nobody can relate to where you are.

But God can. You're his son, or you're his daughter, and God wants you not to eek through this life in a miserable context. No, God wants to bless you. I'm so tired of defeated Christians who walk around with this ho-hum mindset. We have been set free. We have eternity. We have the Father. And God wants to give you all of this. But you play a part in it, which is the part that's always hard.

When I say “the pathway to blessings” or life with Jesus, I'm not talking about the prosperity gospel. I'm not saying, God let me win the lottery. What I am saying is, God really does want you to have his fullness, joy, and power. He wants you to be blessed as his son or daughter.

So today, I’ll point out what it looks like to walk in the full blessing of God. I’ll give you five steps. But here's what I want you to do this week: Monday through Friday, I want you to pull one of these out and offer it up before God, asking where am I? And how am I walking in this one?

This text is so practical; it really teaches itself. Verse 19. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak. The number one pathway to blessing is to listen before you speak. Now this gets up in our business quickly, does it not? Of all the things that James could have brought up first in being blessed by God, why in the world start here? It is hard to listen before you speak.

None of us would say we're the best at listening. I would bet that about 70% of the time (I made that number up, just so know) you're listening to another person or God, the reality is, you are not listening. All you're trying to do is get enough of that conversation to have a rebuttal ready so that you don't look dumb or ignorant in the conversation. Has anybody ever been there before? It's what we do. Many times, you don't even care that the other person is talking or that God is speaking into you. You just don't want to be caught looking guilty or dumb.

I love the two descriptions in verse 19. James uses the words quick and slow. Those two words describe all of us. I think we're so quick to speak and so slow to listen because, most of the time, we don't trust God in the conversation to lead us where we need to go. I think most of the time, we have a hard time trusting no matter what the conversation is, that God has our back. Most of the time we're more concerned with me having the right thing to say. If God is truly in control, I can take the time to listen to every single word you have and every single word he has. And I can fully rely on God to give me the words to say back or not say back. And I don't have to be rolling this around in my brain as you're talking. We roll it around in our brains so fast because we're afraid that God is going to leave us hanging. But when we doubt God's control in these conversations, all it does is speed up our mouths. It slows down our sanctified minds, and it resurfaces the old us.

I love how one old preacher said it: "One major part of self-control is mouth control. It's a lot easier to save face if you just keep the lower half shut. Not to mention, it is difficult to put your foot in your mouth when it's closed." That's so, so profound. As the ancient proverb says - A closed mouth gathers no foot.

Proverbs 29:11 says this in the King James version: A fool uttereth all its mind, but a wise man keepeth it in until afterward. Ecclesiastes 5:3 says: Many words mark the speech of a fool. Even the old rabbis of old would say: God has given us two ears, and they're exposed. But God put our tongue behind some iron bars to guard it inside. We ought to listen twice as much as we speak.

It makes me think of Peter. How many times did Peter think with his mouth instead of his heart? I can so relate, and I know you can too. One of my favorite Peter moments was at the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James, and John to this mountain where Jesus was going to show them his glory, his true eternal state, and rip off humanity for a minute. Jesus transforms in front of them. He is in the air in front of them. And all of a sudden, at this moment when everybody should have been on their knees in awe, should have just shut up and listened to God, the Bible says Peter blabbed out of his mouth. He said it's good for us to be here, let's build you guys a spot so we could stay here. And then, in Mark's account, it says that Peter said this because he didn't know what else to say. Man, I've been in that situation. Have you? I wish I could have seen the look on Moses's, Elijah's, and Jesus's faces when Father God was trying to speak. And Peter is just running his mouth over here. I think we've all been there.

What if we just learned to listen, to pause in conversation, and to hear from the Lord and other people? Number one, God would bless your silence. Number two, people would respect Christians more. Because sometimes Christians talk a little too much.

Listen before you speak. That's number one. Number two: My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. If you want God to bless you, be slow and listen before you speak. And write this one down: Put a long fuse on your anger.

James is not saying that you should never be angry. Anger is an emotion that God has given us. Anger is not a sin in itself. The problem lies in the quickness of our anger, the object of our anger, and the response to our anger. The word anger here is just the Greek word orge, O-R-G-E. And it carries a stronger meaning than "You upset me a little." The word orge here carries a strong wrath attached to it.

It's used a lot in the Old Testament when God was dealing with sin, and he had anger and wrath against that sin. You are not perfect like God. So, you should be even slower in your anger. And your anger should always be pointed in the right place. God has specifically told us what we should fight for. You see, there are a lot of people in churches that are just angry, spiteful people. There were a lot of believers in James' life like this too. Always nitpicking, always complaining, always arguing, always mad at somebody else. And that is a true sign something is wrong with their spiritual life. The truly spiritually blessed person is not hypercritical, hyper legalistic, and nitpicking all the time. Those who have been truly blessed by God are godly people who are hard to anger. Because their gaze is not set on themselves. Their gaze is set on the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They're okay.

I'm not saying we don't need to fight for those we need to fight for. I'm not saying we can roll over for those who are being abused. I'm not saying we need to be pacifists. I'm not saying we should never stand and get a little heated when wrong is done, or people are misrepresenting our God. But what I am saying is it always needs to be a slow burn for a holy cause.

Jesus is the ultimate example. Jesus could have walked on this earth every single day of his life in an absolute rage. And it would've been justified. He came down from perfection and entered into sin, a place that was against him. He knew what sin was doing. He knew the evils that were being acted out, and he even knew people's thoughts. But when he did get angry, Jesus' anger was always controlled, directed, and pointed at injustice.

It was always moving in a direction for other people. Do you remember when Jesus cleaned out the temple? Jesus' anger was directed at the corruption and the commercialization of a place that was meant to represent his Father. Remember when Jesus got angry at the Pharisees? There were a few times, but specifically for healing on the Sabbath. He was so mad at these so-called religious people for placing legalism above compassion. Remember when Jesus got mad at his disciples? They weren't letting little kids come to Jesus, and Jesus showed his concern for those people who are often overlooked and marginalized.

Jesus's anger was always rooted in the righteousness of God. It was never rooted in selfishness or some uncontrolled emotion. It was always directed at a sin, at an injustice, at the mistreatment of someone else. But here's the problem: most of our anger is, I'm mad that I’m not getting what I think I deserve.

Secondly, it was always purposeful for the kingdom. It was always aiming to correct a wrong, to restore what was right. Are your anger and Jesus's anger on the same page? Are you an angry person? If you're not sure, why don't you ask the people around, you because they know. Or better yet, ask your spouse or your kids. If you are quick to anger, why don't you ask God to give you a new perspective, to give you anger for the things that he says we should be angry about, to give you his peace, his patience, and his righteousness? That's the path of blessing.

Verse 21 gives us the next one. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. The third step of righteousness is to clean out the crud. We're opening our ears, we're controlling our tongues, we have this calm spirit about us. And now James says, clean out the crud. This is just another way of saying that you need to empty your heart of sin. This is particularly relevant to our society of Christianity today. Because for some reason in our culture, we have stepped into this feeling as Christians, that I can just go to church, I can be a good person, I can serve a little bit, I can possibly teach kids every now and then, I can study the Bible. I can control my mouth and my anger every now and then. But I'm not really concerned about the stuff hidden in my heart. Let me say this: You can run as hard as you want to in the serving God department, but if you haven't cleaned the crud out of your heart, you're just running on a treadmill. You're not getting anywhere. And for sure, you're not inviting the blessing of God into your life. Because you're just trying to do things for God instead of offering up those secret, even hidden things in your life.

So where do I start? Here's what I would say to those of us this is our struggle: I would say start with the obvious. Start with the known places in your life that don't honor God. I think sometimes we get so caught up in trying to find those deep things of the Lord, that we don't deal with the ones that are just right there in front of us. And if for some reason you don't know them, once again, ask your spouse. Ask your kids.

How do you clean out the crud? This is not a message about that. But I would say, first confess it to God instead of justifying it. Second, confess it to somebody close to you to help you be accountable in moving forward. Third, ask God to redirect your affections. And last, ask God to replace the crud with a holy and righteous truth. I think we do all those steps fairly often except for the last one. We try to get something out of our life without filling it back with something from God. And as a result, it oozes back to where it was. But James says, fill that place with the truth from God. Verse 21 gives us the next step. Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word that is planted in you, which can save you. That's the next step right there.

Humbly receive God's word. Yes, I read and study it, but I also bow down in submission to God's word. I'm saying, Lord, change me. What happens when I disagree with what the Bible says that I should do? That one question right there has changed my life. From the time I was probably eight years old until today, I've never had a problem just reading the Bible. It was expected as a kid, kind of like getting up and brushing my teeth. It's just what I do - most of the time. My problem was reading the Bible and just closing it and walking off. I was just a good church person. And so many times I would read something, and say, eh, I don't know about that one. And I would just kind of close it and I would move on.

But that question right there: What happens when I disagree with what the Bible says I should do? This is the test. So I read something that maybe I've never seen, maybe I've never really thought through before, or is a blind spot that is in my life. If I'm humbly receiving the word from God, then I will always follow up with, I've got to do that. That's humbly receiving God's word. The opposite of humbly receiving the Bible is just reading and being arrogant. You tell God, you are usually right, but I think you missed it on this one. You tell me not to kill somebody, I probably shouldn't. God, you tell me not to lie, I probably shouldn't. You tell me not to steal, probably shouldn't do that. But God on this thing right here, I think you missed it. Because you know what, God, I'm special. I'm different. I've been created like this. My culture has morphed from when you wrote this. Have you ever said any of those before? God, I think you got it wrong. As I am humbly receiving and accepting God's word, even when it doesn't make complete sense, that’s when I’m walking towards blessing. Am I accepting God's word when it goes against my heart, against my feelings? Am I accepting God's word when it is not what I think will work?

Man, let's be honest. There are verses in the Bible we don't like. There are verses in the Bible that we disagree with. Why? Because we're sinful. There are verses in the Bible that we think, we know better on. But God says, listen, if you want to walk in my blessings, you have to follow my way even when you don't think it's right. Because it's right.

I have been thinking about this all week: how can I illustrate this? I was sitting in traffic the other day when all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks. Does anybody use the app Waze to get anywhere? Maybe your thing is Google Maps, whatever it is. I love Waze, because it makes going places brainless. You get in the car, you drive, and here you go. But now and then I know better, even though that app is tracking 50,000 people at that very moment. And what happens every single time you go the other way? Thirty minutes later, you're sitting there asking, what have we done?

Now listen, Waze makes a mistake now and then. I get that. But God doesn't. That's why he tells us so frankly, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways, acknowledge him and he'll direct your path. God says, just trust me. I know the way, and I want to show it to you. He's not gonna give it to you when you're choosing your own way. It doesn't just keep redirecting. Eventually, God's like, hey, go for it.

Keep reading though; he doesn't stop there. Verse 22 says: Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, but do what it says. Do what it says. So basic, so profound. Here's the fifth step. Just do what the word says to do. We've heard the word. We're humbly receiving the word, even when we may disagree with the word, and then we should just do what it says. It seems so simple. But the problem is many, many, many times we think we know better than God. So we just don't do it. We do what I want to do.

I thought of a few examples of this this week; how about generosity? There are so many of us who are long-term Christians who know exactly what the Bible says about giving our first and our best, but we don't do it. We know God says if I do this, he will come behind my finances. But I have so many excuses. If that's not a struggle, how about honesty? We know the Bible's so clear we need to be honest at all costs. But there are so many people around us who are lying, and I'll never get ahead if I don't do it. How about bitterness or forgiveness? We know the Bible has commanded us to forgive. You say, listen, Matt, I can forgive everybody else but them. I'm not saying you need to be their best friend, but we know what the Bible says about it. Then we do what we want to do. How about flirting with temptation? Maybe it's gossip, some kind of sexuality, pornography, or pride. Your heart is saying go, but we know it's wrong. James says, look, if you want the blessing, joy, hope, and fullness of God to mature you, just do what the Word says to do.

No matter your feelings, your opinions, how you think you were born, what you think the result will be… trust God. Because he is the author of all things good. Just obey. Trust and obey; there's no other way. For some reason in America, the single quintessential sign of spiritual maturity at some point swapped from obeying Jesus to having Bible knowledge. I don't know when this happened. But we care more about looking smart or having good theology. Here's the problem with that. Having a lot of Bible knowledge makes you smart and well-read, but obedience is far more important than knowledge. I would go one step further and say that most of us are, far more educated beyond our level of obedience.

I’m not saying knowledge is bad. You can't do what you don't know. But what are you doing with what you know? Where’s the fruit of your obedience? Obedience, not knowledge, is the proof that we know God. Otherwise, the Pharisees would be prime Christians. It's what you do with that. Read First John this week. You'll see this principle all over it. Obedience is also the goal of our life mission for God. The Great Commission says, we reach, teach, and baptize to do what? To obey. When we are saved, our goal and life mission at that point is to present ourselves before God. Finally, obedience is the key to being blessed by God. Knowledge is important, but obedience is so much more.

Look how James describes what happens to so many people so often. Verse 23 says: Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror. They didn't have mirrors like we have today. Theirs would have been a polished piece of metal. But look what it says: After looking at himself, he goes away, and he immediately forgets what he looks like. Meaning the Word does not affect you. You might have been aware of it for a minute, but it didn't change you. Therefore, it was never truly in you. If you want to be blessed, you have to live the word that is planted inside of you, regardless of your feelings. If you listen before you speak, if you put a long fuse on your anger, if you clean out the crud, if you humbly receive God's word, and if you do what the word says do - we will be blessed to walk in the freedom, presence, and power of King Jesus.

Look at verse 25: but whoever looks intently. Not a glance; that is a stare. Whoever stares into the perfect law. That means God's law is perfect. It is not for you to change. Doing that gives freedom. Do you know the Bible is not a bondage maker? It's a freedom giver. Whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it, it's not a one-stop shop. This is every day.

Matt, are you telling me this is a works-based Christianity? No, no, no. James is writing to believers who have already submitted their lives to Jesus, and God has already saved them. If you are a believer and God has truly transformed you, the litmus test of your life is going to be if I am submitting myself totally to Jesus. God wants to bless your socks off, and I don’t just mean the lottery. He wants you to have his joy, peace, presence, fullness, and abundant life for all of us who have been grafted into the vine.

The problem is us. We're the ones that are limiting the power and blessing of God in our lives. And that's why James says, no matter where you're walking, whether it's good, whether it's bad, whether it's been in trial, whether it's been in blessing… God wants to bless you.

Which one of these points do you need to put on tomorrow's list? I want you to walk through every one of these one per day this week. Which one of these do you need to camp out on this week and ask God to change you?

Lord, fill me with your presence, and only allow the things that anger you to anger me. Allow me to listen. Allow me to humbly receive your word. Allow me to just do what you say to do. And God help me to clean up the crud in my life.

And if you haven't invited Jesus into your life, these things are not for you right now. See the offer of salvation that Christ has put before you. The blessing that you can walk into today is knowing Christ has redeemed you. So if you haven't given your life to Christ today, you can ask him to come in and be yours. You can submit your heart to him right now, and he will wipe your past and put you into a future with him. Would you pray with me?

Lord Jesus. God, as we walk into this moment of invitation today, God, I know that this is a super practical walk away today. But God, I also know that these are heavy things that many of us struggle with. Lord, today, during these next couple of minutes of worship, would you begin now even setting people free and having them walk into your light and love and blessing? God, if there are people who need to give their life to Christ today, they can do that on the Next Steps app. Or they can walk up to one of us by the Next Step banner and go: Hey, I need Jesus today. God, if there are people in this room living in one of these five and they need somebody to pray over them or with them today, God, that's what this time is for. It's for all of us to set our minds on you. Breathe in this space for a minute and let the Holy Spirit saturate our souls. God, thank you for these next couple of minutes in your name. Amen.

Follow Along with the Message


Believer, Be Blessed

August 18, 2024
James 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.
James 1:19
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…

Pathway to Blessing

1. Listen before you .

Proverbs 29:11 (KJV)
A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
Ecclesiastes 5:3
…many words mark the speech of a fool.
James 1:19–20
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.

2. Put a long fuse on your .


Jesus’s Anger Was…

1. .

2. Purposeful for the .


James 1:21
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent…

3. Clean out the .

James 1:21
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.

4. Humbly receive God’s .

QUESTION: What happens when I with what the Bible says I should do?

James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

5. Just do what the Word says to .


Obedience Is…

1. The proof we God.

2. The of our life mission for God.

3. The to being blessed by God.


Luke 11:28
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
James 1:23–24
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.

RESULT: We will be blessed to walk in the , presence, and power of King Jesus.

James 1:25
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.

Additional Notes

 

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