MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY NIGHT, JUNE 28, 2009 MESSAGE 4 OF 17 in Expository Sermon Series from The Book of James CHRISTIAN HOPE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PLYMOUTH, NC Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Three Ways To Improve Your Life Message 4 of 17: Practical Wisdom For Daily Living Sermon Series (Expository Messages from The Book of James) Scripture Text: James 1:19-21 Tonight as we continue our series from the Book of James, let s pick up the record in James 1:19-21. P R A Y E R Introduction Barnes & Noble Bookstore is one of the largest book retailers in the world. A typical Barnes & Noble store may have as many as 250,000 books lining the shelves. Those books represent man s knowledge on a wide variety of subjects from World History to the Civil War from Gardening to Grilling. One of the largest sections of books at Barnes & Noble is their SELF-IMPROVEMENT area. -There s Stephen Covey s popular book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. -And there s How To Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits by popular motivational speaker, Wayne Dyer -And of course there s Dr. Phil s best sellers: Self-Matters:Creating Your Life From the Inside Out and Relationship Rescue: A Seven-Step Strategy For Reconnecting With Your Partner.
The fact that there are over 15,000 titles in the Self-Improvement section tells us two things: One, Self-Improvement is BIG business! And two, a lot of people are not satisfied with who or what they are. I think all of us would like to improve certain areas of our lives wouldn t we? Whether its improving our appearance.or our attitude or our marriage or our golf swing. We all want to improve! Do you know the best self-improvement book ever written is that book sitting on your lap. The Bible surpasses all self-improvement books because it contains the wisdom and knowledge of God rather than the wisdom and knowledge of man. And some of the most practical wisdom we can find in the Bible is right here in the Book of James. In the first eighteen verses, James has been talking to us about the trials and temptations all of us must face in this life. And while we may not always have control over what trials and temptations come our way.we do have control over how we respond to those trials and temptations. Now in verses 19-21 James talks to us about three things we do have control over. And if we will put this practical wisdom into practice it will greatly improve our lives. Let s consider these Three Ways We Can Improve Our Lives
First James tells us I. Be Quick to Listen verse 19a 19a My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen. 1. Now if we were to just take these words at face value we might simply view them as being some good down home advice kind of like we would get from our mother or grandmother. And indeed, if we were to just apply this basic principle in all our relationships and personal dealings with people, our lives would be a whole lot better wouldn t they?.think how much better marriages would be if couples would just learn to listen to each other..think how much better the relationships between parents and children would be if they would just be quicker to listen rather than argue...think how much work relationships would be if bosses and supervisors and employees would all learn to listen to each other. 2, But we must understand when James says everyone should be quick to listen he s doing more than giving out practical advice he is giving a command. And to understand what he is commanding us to do we have to back up to verse 18. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.
3. James is not saying, Be quick to listen to people but rather be quick to listen to the voice of God as He speaks to us through His word. 4. We live in a world where so many things distract us away from the word of God. There s the distraction of the television...and the distraction of the radio...and the distraction of telephones and cell phones..and the distraction of hobbies and recreational activities. And the list just goes on and on. You see we are busy people with places to go..things to do and people to see. And many of us have a difficult time slowing down our pace of life for even 10-15 minutes a day to take the time to listen to God speak to us through His word. 5. The early Christians were not blessed to have Bibles like you and me. That s why they would often sit at the apostles feet for hours on end listening to them preach and teach the truths found in God s word. They were quick to listen to God s word! 6. I wonder if many of today s Christians have that same eagerness to listen to the word of God? In the last 32 years that I have been in the ministry I have come to realize that just because someone is sitting in a Church pew while the word of God is being preached doesn t necessarily mean they are truly listening to what God is saying.
7. You see listening to the word of God requires more than just two good ears, it requires an attentive mind and a receptive heart. ILLUSTRATION: Years ago I was teaching an adult Sunday School class. And while I was reading the scripture text for the lesson, a woman in the class interrupted me and said, I don t agree with that. I said, You don t agree with what? She said, I don t agree with that verse you just read. She went on to explain, I know what the verse is saying, but I don t agree with it. I called her by name and said, Well I didn t write it so I guess you ll have to make your complaint to God. You see, that woman may have been listening to God s word with her ears, but she was not listening with an attentive mind and a receptive heart. 8. How do you listen to God s word? Do you let it go in one ear and right out the other? Do you read something in the Bible and forget what you read 30 minutes later? Do you hear a sermon from God s word and one hour later can t remember anything about the message? 9. I want to challenge you to do something for the next 30 days that will greatly improve your life! For the next 30 days make a commitment to spend at least 15 minutes a day studying the word of God. Shut off the TV, the radio, the telephone and your cell phone if you they are a distraction, and spend time reading God s word. And may I make a suggestion? Rather than trying to read several chapters, slow down and carefully read a few verses or no more than one chapter. And really meditate on what God is saying to you in those few verses. BE QUICK TO LISTEN!!!
James tells us a second thing we can do to greatly improve our lives. He says.. II. Be Slow To Speak vs.19b vs.19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, SLOW TO SPEAK. 1. Now again, if we were to just take these words at face value they sound like some good down home advice. Illustration: When I was growing up my mom and dad always gave us kids the same speech any time guests were coming to our house. You kids are to be SEEN but not HEARD! Translated that meant, You kids are to be SLOW TO SPEAK! 2. But once again James is giving us more than just good down home advice here, he is giving us a command. 3. You see, being quick to listen and slow to speak go hand in hand, because you can t be listening if you re always talking. It has been said, God gave us two ears and one mouth and we should use them proportionately. 4. Have you ever known someone who just doesn t know when to stop talking? I m talking about that person who always has to make a comment.always has to get in their two cents worth..that person who is always ready to give you their opinion whether you want it or not? We all know people like that don t we? And have you ever noticed that when the MOUTH OPENS the EARS CLOSE?
ILLUSTRATION Many years ago there was a man in the Church where I was ministering at that time who was one of those people who never knew when to close his mouth. This guy knew it all! He was the authority on everything! Well every Sunday while I would be trying to teach my Sunday School class I would always see this man s hand go up out of the corner of my eye. And any time I would give him the floor he would get on one of his soap boxes about something that had absolutely nothing to do with the lesson we were studying. In time this became such a problem each week we actually had some people quit coming to Sunday School because they were tired of listening to the rantings and ravings of this man. 5. And as I look back on it now, that man was probably one of the most unteachable, untrainable people I ve ever known in any of the Churches I have ministered in. 6. James says we should be slow to speak. The more we talk, the less we listen! The Book of Proverbs gives us many warnings about talking too much. PROVERBS 10:19 When words are many, sin is not absent; but he who holds his tongue is wise. PROVERBS 13:3 He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. PROVERBS 17:27 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint. PROVERBS 17:28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent and discerning if he holds his tongue. PROVERBS 29:20 Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
7. Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36 that each one of us will one day have to give an account of every careless word. 8. Because we are going to be looking at this subject of the tongue more in depth when we get over to James chapter 3, let me just say this and then we ll move on. James point is very obvious! And that is the tongue is very powerful. It has the power to build up or tear down. It has the power to help or to hurt. And therefore it is very important that we learn when to speak and when not to speak. It is better that our words be FEW and WISE rather than MANY and FOOLISH! BE SLOW TO SPEAK! Be Quick to Listen! Be Slow to Speak! Now James gives us one more.. III. Be Slow To Become Angry vs. 19c vs. 19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. 1. From a human point of view the early Christians who were the first to read this letter of James had every right to be angry..they were persecuted... They were discriminated against... They had their possessions taken away from them... They were treated unfairly..they were thrown into prison for no cause.
One might understand it if they became angry. And yet James admonishes them (as well as all of us ) to be slow to become angry. He goes on in verses 20, 21 to explain why we should be slow to become angry. For man s anger does not bring about the righteous life 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. 2. What does James mean when he says, a man s anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires? He means anger is often the springboard to all kinds of sin. Anger causes us to momentarily throw out everything the Bible teaches about love and kindness. Anger causes us to become insensitive to the feelings of others and inattentive to what they are saying. Anger creates deep wounds in marriages, families, friendships and Churches that may take a long time to heal if they ever heal at all. Anger gives the devil a foothold in our lives. In other words, the devil can use our anger to do a whole lot of damage!
3. Is James saying it is wrong for a Christian to ever be angry? NO.he s not saying that! He is telling us before we unleash our anger..before we pull the trigger on our emotions before we let fly with a verbal assault on someone.. we had better carefully weigh the consequences of our actions. BE SLOW TO ANGER!!! CONCLUSION When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President he often had to endure long receiving lines at the White House. He often complained that nobody really paid any attention to what he said. One day during a White House reception, President Roosevelt decided to try a little experiment. To every person who came through the line to shake his hand, the President would lean over and whisper I murdered my grandmother this morning. The guest responded with phrases like, Marvelous! Keep up the good work Mr. President God bless you Mr. President. It was not until the very end of the receiving line that President Roosevelt realized someone was actually listening to what he said. After telling the Ambassador of Bolivia he had murdered his grandmother, the Ambassador leaned over and whispered in President Roosevelt s ear, Well I m sure she had it coming Mr. President. *********
In a few moments this service will conclude and you will pass through the line at the door. And you may say things like, Good sermon or I enjoyed that message. But you know the real test of whether you were truly listening tonight will be seen in the coming days. If you will look closely at the three issues James addressed in verse 19 you will see they are three common sources of problems in our lives...either we DON T LISTEN as we should...or we TALK TOO MUCH. Or we FAIL TO KEEP OUR ANGER IN CHECK. Chances are everyone of us has complicated our lives because of failures in one or more of those three areas. James has taught us here tonight that we can greatly improve our lives if we will discipline ourselves in these three areas. Be quick to listen! (to God s word) Be slow to speak! And be slow to anger!