James, chapter number one. Good stuff tonight. Lots to talk about. I expect to have some interaction with you. I hope you'll just speak real loud when you're talking. James, chapter number one. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, And that's how we should feel about each other, isn't it? Brothers and sisters, part of a family, loved. Let every man, or of course it could be sister, be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Therefore, lay apart all filthiness, superfluity of naughtiness, what a description right there, and receive with the meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Verse 22, but be doers of the word and not hearers only. And then the result is deceiving your own selves. If any, if any, be a hearer of the word and not a doer. Now he's gonna give us an illustration. He's like a man beholding his natural face in a glass. And for he seeth himself and goes his way, and immediately forgets what manner of man he was. But whosoever looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. Lord, as we close out this midweek service and day, give us a sweet and wonderful and edifying and helpful time in Your Word. In Jesus' name, amen. So, there it is. Three things. Swift to hear, slow to speak, Slow to wrath. For some of us, this is really hard. Others, it's pretty natural for you. I don't know why that is. Where are you on that scale? Like, I don't think, Jeff, I've ever seen you angry, ever. I mean, I don't know when that... You have just this amazing... I hate people. That's too strong. Where are you at on that? Where are you on that process? Because we're all different, aren't we? We're all different. Every one of us is different. We all have different battles. That doesn't mean that Jeff's without sin. It just means that his struggles are different than our struggles, whatever they are. We all have struggles. But where are you personally on that? You know, the swift to hear, the slow to speak, the slow to wrath, because we're all different. Scott, you seem like one of those guys that's really slow to wrath. Is that an accurate statement? Right. Right. Yeah. What makes the difference? What makes the difference? What makes the difference? Why are some people very prone and others, it really takes a lot to stir them up. You have a thought, John? Upbringing. Okay. All your brothers like that? All four of you guys like that? You say no. You don't know about his, but you're not sure about the upbringing idea. Okay, not totally. Anybody else? Kaiser, what's your thought? Okay. I'm sorry, my friend. I should know your name by now. Remind me, please. Dave. Okay, Dave. I know that you drive a BMW motorcycle and I'm envious of it every time I see it, but I ought to be able to remember your name. Hmm. Okay? Can we say enough about learning to be a good listener? Can we say enough about learning to be a good listener? All right, you think that's where it all starts. Listening is not the same as waiting to speak. And you've been in rooms before, you've been in situations where you know the person's not listening, they're just, I mean, waiting for their turn. Right. And this is something that I'm very prone to do. This is, I'm being transparent tonight. I have to consciously focus on listening. That's a struggle for me because I'm ready to move the conversation along, I'm ready to finish it, I'm ready to go, and I have to slow myself down. So this is real difficult for me. And the sergeant major of the Army, so that's the senior enlisted man in the entire United States Army, he was giving a lecture to other sergeant majors. So that was pretty interesting. He's not talking to sergeants. He's not talking about privates. He's actually talking to fellow E9s. That's the most senior position. And he gives them 10 leadership tips. All 10 of them are excellent. I only want to focus on one tonight. So this is, he's talking to the senior enlisted men in battalions, brigades, divisions, there's even one in the Corps, and various other units, squadrons and all that. Think about what you're gonna say before you say it. Boy, that's good, isn't it? Yeah. He says, I've never regretted taking the distinct opportunity to keep my mouth shut. Yeah. He says, you're the sergeant major, people are going to listen to you. By all means, if you have something important or something informative to add to the discussion, then say it. But you just don't talk so people can hear you. And then this is really, he says, for goodness sakes, you're embarrassing the rest of us. Sit down and listen. And then ultimately he says, sometimes you might just learn something. Right, now remember, he's talking to sermon majors and he's talking about leadership and all that, but let's not forget, we're the Christians in the room. We're the representatives of Christ. We're the Christ that they see. We're the living, breathing, we're gonna get this Sunday morning, we're the light. That's who we are in this sinful, fallen world that we interact in. Thoughts on this? Good stuff? Yeah. So I was looking for some ideas on how to make us better listeners in the church. Forbes hired an expert, and this is what, I think it was she, she said, number one, face the speaker and maintain eye contact. Now folks, let's all be honest. Our electronic devices are a giant problem when it comes to this. Right. I'm very prone, if I'm going out to lunch and I really wanna make sure that we have, I just leave it in the truck. That way I can make sure that it's not a distraction. Number two, be attentive but relaxed. Keep an open mind. Listen to the words and try to picture what the speaker is saying. Don't interrupt and don't impose your solutions. Is this easy? I mean, this stuff right here, is this routine for us? We got it, let's move on. I mean, anybody struggle with any of this stuff? What's the most difficult on here? Five, five, I heard a three. Three, keep an open mind. Face the speaker, maintain eye contact, be attentive but relaxed, keep an open mind, listen to the words and try to picture what the speaker is saying. Don't interrupt and don't impose your solutions. Number six, wait for the speaker to pause to ask clarifying questions. Ask questions only to ensure understanding. Try to feel what the speaker's feeling. Number nine, give the speaker regular feedback. And number 10, pay attention to what isn't said to those nonverbal clues. I try to do this when I'm preaching. When I see whole sections of the congregation going to sleep, I know that I need to do something in order to keep them. You have to make sure that we're making eye contact. Josh, you had your hand up? It's a humility thing. So if I see you as an idiot, then I probably am not going to X, Y, Z. If I see you as credible, someone I should be listening to, then I give you more attention. Is that the essence of what you're saying? Right, so how do I view myself in relationship to the person? And of course, if I'm, think about the scripture we've been reading for like six weeks in a row, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought of not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, right? Took upon the form of a slave, a doulos, You know, let this mind be. Well, if that's my mindset that I adopt, then it may very well be that I believe that God, the Holy Spirit, sent you to give me something that I need to hear. fix your face right so you have to make eye contact in such a way that doesn't look like right right look at you doing it so well right there that was excellent six You ever met one of those persons that doesn't pause? Right. Hmm. Yeah. So now we get to slow to speak and slow to wrath. Now what's the key here? What is the key here? It's self-control, isn't it? That's the absolute key here. It's self-control. This is all a matter of self-control. And this is a challenge. I mean, this is a super challenge, especially for those of us that can speed up very quickly, that it doesn't take much to get that engine going, then this is difficult. So verse 20 now is gonna give us the reason why we need to be slow to wrath. He unpacks it very clearly. Let's read it together. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man or woman be swift to hear, And that's really listen. Slow to speak, slow to wrath. Now, why do we need to be slow to wrath? For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. So his contention here is that there's no way I'm ever gonna be seen as or am righteous when I'm angry like this, when the wrath is just out of control. The Net Bible, the New English Translation says, for human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness. That's really good. For human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness. So then what do I do when I get angry? Okay, you said shut your mouth, all right? And that's an exercise of self-control. And you said sin not. Be angry but sin not, okay? What do you do when you're angry? What? Walk away. What do you do when you're angry? All right, you get counsel. What do you do when you're angry? I mean, this is the world we're living in. Do you not get angry? Right. Regret it. What do you do when you get angry? Mark, you ever get angry at work? No, that's what I'm talking about. Yep, is it Revelation 21 and all liars shall have their part in it? It's daily, yeah. Yeah, we live in a fallen world. They want to be offended. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. The other day, I guess, I don't remember, 10 days ago, I cut somebody off in the truck, in the trailer, and it wasn't intentional. I mean, it was a mistake. I mean, I honestly, it wasn't like, you know, I just, I didn't see him. And man, she's honking the horn, speeding up in the other middle lane, driving down, giving me hand-arm gestures. And I didn't know what to do. And then she came to a stop, and I thought, are you going to get out of the vehicle? I mean, what's going to happen? I just kept driving. But that's the world we're living in, and it is an incredible world. I made a mistake, please forgive me. You know, I mean, it's like I'm not a perfect driver. There are mistakes being made every now and then on the roads. But like you said, people get spun up. Jack, how do you deal with it? Because you're a little bit like me. I mean, you're not quite on the Jeff Woolsey side. You're a little bit closer to me. So how do you deal with it? You go clean your desk. Okay, so you do something productive. Try to. Anybody else? Marcus, you ever worked for a difficult guy and made you angry? Yep, yep. Mental step backwards and pray. So since pursuing God's righteousness is so important to the believer, he now is gonna tell us in verse 21, we gotta get rid of this stuff. We gotta put it away. Read the verse with me, please. Therefore, lay apart, put off, get all this filthiness, this superfluity of naughtiness. The ESV rendering is slightly different. Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness. Wow, I mean, superfluity of naughtiness, filthiness, rampant wickedness. Gotta get rid of it, we gotta put it off. Filthiness is moral depravity, that which is defiled. Wickedness is maliciousness, it's morally depraved, it's beyond the norm. So what would James see today? What are the things, if he lived in Fayetteville, what are the things that he would describe this way? That we have to make sure that we have no part of? You said the crime scene. In the back, come on. What would this filthiness that we've got to make sure that we're just constantly putting off? Strip clubs. Okay? Yep. What else? What would he call this rampant wickedness, this superfluity of naughtiness that needs to be put off, that needs to be washed away, that needs to be gotten rid of? He says to us, make sure you're doing this. Why? Again, because what's before this? The righteousness of what? God, and he's not talking about imputed righteousness here. Church, he's talking about practical righteousness. He's not talking about the justification by faith that we receive. If that's the righteousness he's talking about, my anger problem doesn't input that on a Saturday night. I'm justified. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about living righteously. Ah, using profanity. I think that's a big one. I think our Christian teenagers in our academy and in our church, they struggle with the F word like there's no tomorrow. I think that if we could see their text messaging, we would just be, yeah. I think if there was a Bluetooth device that just captured it and displayed it on a big screen, and you just sat there and just watched it, I think we would just be, we'd wonder if any of them are saved. Yeah, I would agree with you. Right, right. I think your point is well taken that we would even have to have an argument concerning why it's inappropriate. Jamie. Yes, yeah, we're allowing it in our entertainment. Sure, because again, all of us that are 45 and 50, we remember when we were in a Baptist church and we didn't go to the movies. We just did not go to the movies. That was out of the question. And then the bounce back from that is now we just, we let that entertainment come into our homes. When do you turn that off? Would you say the 10th F word? We probably need to stop watching it on the 10th F word. I mean, that's, Where? Because he's telling us to put it off. And Michelle made a reference to strip clubs, but I would say that the internet is just as problematic. More so. Easily accessible. And then he tells us, and receive, and receive with meekness. Josh made reference to the humility. meekness the engrafted the esp has implanted word the word receive with meekness the engrafted word and then he says which is able to save your soul so what does james mean by receive with meekness what does he mean by receive with meekness any thoughts on what does he mean by receive with meekness All right, to believe it's God's word, I think it's more than that. Over here, come on, y'all haven't participated at all. You're not getting any bonus points if you don't participate. Scott. Submissive to it. Yeah, being submissive to it. I think you're on the right track. To be humble enough to realize that what I'm reading is supposed to have a corrective nature in my life. He calls it the implanted word or the engrafted word. Why that? Why that? Why is he using that terminology, the implanted word, engrafted? How would you explain that, Robbie, to somebody? You're doing a Bible study, this engrafted idea. Yeah, it's what? Rooted. Okay, rooted. Josh, and then I'm going to Jack. Josh. It's supposed to be a part of who we are, not just something we read. Check. Right, yeah. Scott. Yeah. Yeah, that's what Scott said, this, and Sam both together said this humility, this submissiveness to it. And then is this word of God implanted? In other words, do I know enough of the Bible that when I get into these situations, Scripture just comes screaming to me? Even if the address doesn't come screaming, does the phraseology, be ye kind, tend to hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you? You know, love is patient, love is kind. You know, are those words coming through? Is there anything there? Implant is to set permanently in the conscious or habit patterns to inculcate. This means it's a regular part of who we are. So how do we implant God's word? How do we implant God's word? All right, let's run back together to Deuteronomy. And hopefully you know why we're going back here. Hopefully, I mean, this is really important text. If you don't, I would encourage you to begin implanting God's word in your heart. Because this is one of these texts we're gonna, oh yes, yes, yes, I know that one, I remember that. Deuteronomy chapter number six. How do we get that word implanted Well, Moses told the children of Israel how to do it. He told them how to do it. And these words that I command to you today shall be on your hearts. And then you shall teach them diligently to your children, talk of them when you sit in the house, when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand. They shall be as frontlets between your eyes and you're gonna write them, you're gonna write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, thoughts. Teach them diligently to your children. Talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand. They shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house. You guys know that I have teenage boys in my truck quite a bit, several hours every single week, sometimes five and six hours when you count up all. And I'll say, put your phone up. Because they're on their phones all the time, Jeff. I mean, the second they get inside the truck, man, Instagram they gotta go through all that and see if they missed anything, you know, we can't even have a conversation Because I'm paying them at that time so that means I'm still their boss, you know, so put your phone up I want to talk This these electronic devices are giant interrupters to doing this right here And all of you that still have children at home and Don't let them bring their devices to the table. So you can have conversations, so that you can bring up scripture, so that you can inculcate their minds with truth. You know, we are indoctrinating. That's what we're doing. I know that word, we don't like that word, but that's what it is to get the engrafted word, the implanted word. We can't make them believers. We can't do that, but we sure can fill their little minds with so much scripture that as Jack said, what were you thinking? What came through your thoughts? What were you thinking? Did you hear a still small voice? So we have to read more scripture. We have to read more scripture. We have to do that. And we have to do it everywhere. We have to do it at home. We have to do it in the car, in Sunday school, at Awana, in youth group, during worship services. It's one of the reasons why I've tried every Sunday morning to start reading more and more scripture. We might only focus on one verse, but let's read all the verses so that hopefully we're just hearing it week after week after week and it becomes who we are. So how does the Word save my soul if I'm saved? Do you understand why I'm asking that question? Would you go back to James, please? Because he says, look what he says. He says, therefore, lay apart all filthiness, put it off, get that filthy garment off you, get rid of that superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the humility that Scott talked about, the implanted or engrafted words which are able to save your souls. But you say, Pastor Sean, I'm already saved. I'm already saved. Well, once again, I think in order to get a better understanding of what he's talking about, I think that we have to look at verse 22. And I think we have to look at 22 because 22 says, but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. And then notice what he says. deceiving your own selves. I think that one of the reasons why he goes so quickly to this, which is able to save your soul, is there's a distinct possibility they might not be saved. Because what does he say here? He says that there is a group of people that have what? Deceived themselves. They're deceived. And he says, you're not to be that kind of person. You're not to be the ones that are just hearers and not doers. Those people have deceived themselves. They've deceived themselves. Is it possible that James heard Jesus speak the words in Matthew 7, 21? Do you remember that verse? Many in that day shall say unto me, Lord, Lord. And he says to them, the ones that can enter are the ones that do the will of my Father. It's very clear. Robin? I hear so many people say the U.S. is a Christian country, but there's not very many doers. I did a report back in college, a research from a Christian ethics class on that topic. Today in my Bible class, in the seniors, Ty Derry said something incredibly insightful. And man, you just, as a teacher, anytime you get students that are engaging and saying insightful things, it just warms your heart. And what I was doing is I was lecturing them on the fact that we're talking about marriage and remarriage and we're talking about why the church split with the king and the king of England forming the Church of England. And then we're talking about that as it relates to today. So just a little background. And I was comparing, I was letting them know that we cannot tell any measurable difference between those who claim no affiliation with Christianity and those who claim Christians when it comes to living together outside of marriage. That there's a strong probability, I have 20 students, 10 of males, 10 females, that many of those, once they leave the house, will cohabitate They'll cohabitate. And we're talking about kids that grew up in a Christian home and went to a Christian academy and they're going to cohabitate. That's just statistically proven and that there's no distinguishableness between, as you said, Robin, the Christians and that. And Ty said, well, that's because it's so blurred in America that those studies are no longer relevant. that the number of people that declare themselves as Christians but aren't, and the secularism, that there's no set apart, that there's no difference between salt and light, I mean between darkness and light and salt, that it's such an intermixing in America that those numbers are no longer relevant. What we really need to be talking about are the doers. The doers. the doers. Because he says very clearly here, and these words are scary, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will, who does the will. So now, wait a minute, now I'm getting a better understanding of what James is trying to get me to see here. He wants me to put away the superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted Word of God, which has the power to save my soul. Because perhaps I'm not even saved and the engrafted Word is gonna get a hold of me and save my soul. Or it could be, it could be the other direction. I am in fact saved, and because the Word is working inside me, I'm going to live out my salvation. I'm going to live it out. Every time I hear the Word of God, I'm not just going to hear it, I'm going to put my feet into action. And in doing that, what am I going to demonstrate? I am in fact what? Born again, right, Ken? Born again. See, saved people do the will of God. They do the will of God. That's what they do. If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he's like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. Now, why does a person look in the mirror? Why do you look in the mirror before you come to church? Why do you look in the mirror before you go to work? Why do you look in the mirror before you have a date? Why do we do this? I did it right before I came out here. Why? Because I don't want my hair to be looking this way and this way right before, right? So I want to see what I look like in order to do what? Exactly, in order to make corrections. There might be something wrong. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once he forgets what he was like. He didn't wash the dirt off his face. He didn't get the spot that he missed when he was shaving. He didn't comb his hair. He didn't trim his nose hairs. He did nothing with it. Why did you go look in the mirror if you forget what you saw and don't make any corrections? What was the point of looking in the mirror? The mirror is the Word of God. The mirror is the Word of God. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, And we quickly ask the question, very quickly, because we're running out of time, what is the perfect law? And I have three options for you. I told my wife all Monday, all Tuesday, I have no idea, no commentator will agree on this. I even emailed a friend, you know, like on the phone, a friend, Bill Sturm, you know, I asked Bill, Bill knows everything. He didn't write right back. When he doesn't write right back, you know what that means? He didn't know. Because when he knows, he writes right back and tells you. Right. So I said, did you get my message? I text him, did you get my email? Yeah. I don't have an answer for you. Because James is the only one that calls it this. He calls it this. He calls it. So how can James describe the law as that of liberty? Well, he does it one more time in chapter number two, beginning of verse number eight. I'll read it to you and then we'll wrap it up. He calls this thing the perfect law of liberty. And what I'm trying to figure out is, is James referring to the entire Bible? Is he referring to the Mosaic law? Or is he referring to the law of Christ? There is a difference. There is a difference because he's saying you're supposed to look at something and when you see it, it's supposed to impact you. It's like a mirror and you're supposed to see the dirt on your face. Go get a wash rag and wash it off. So in chapter number two he says, if you really fulfill the royal law according to Scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and convicted by the law as a transgressor. For whoever keeps the law but fails in one point has become accountable to all of it. For he who said, do not commit adultery, said, do not murder. If you do not commit adultery, but in fact murder, you become a transgressor of the entire law. So then he says in verse 12, same reference, so speak and act as those who are judged under the law of liberty. So what do you think, Pastor Sean? Well, I think that the law of liberty is Christ's law. Galatians 6-2 makes reference to the law of Christ, all right? What do you think the law of Christ is? I think it's Matthew, Mark chapter 12, 30 and 31. I think that there's all kinds of freedom in that. All kinds of freedom. Just amazing amounts of freedom. Are you loving God right now with your whole heart? Yes or no. Are you loving your neighbor as yourself? Yes or no. All right, go at it. Go. All kinds of freedom there. And when we really think about it, okay, you're cheating on your taxes. You're not loving your neighbor as yourself. Why not? Because you're not paying your fair share. You're cheating. You're cheating on your taxes. So it's not as easy a way out as people think it is, because it gets very introspective there when you start living by, are you loving your neighbor as yourself? You have to be faithful. You have to absolutely be faithful in your marriage, because your number one neighbor is your spouse. Your spouse. So while it sounds very easy, I just got two commandments, love God and love your neighbor as yourself. In reality, there's a lot to it. But it's certainly not compared to the Mosaic law, which I think is incredibly burdensome. Okay. And that's it. That's the end of the text that we get to tackle tonight. I can't imagine how the Mosaic law could be described as a law of liberty. Therefore, I think that James is writing about the law of Christ and the law of Christ is loving your neighbor as yourself. And then he says these last words and we're done. The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, he continues, he lives it out, being not just a hearer who forgets, but an actual doer, that one receives what? God's blessing. And we all love God's blessing. Every one of us want God's blessing. Don't you want God's blessing, Bonnie, on your first grade class tomorrow? Yeah. Yeah. So then what does he say? All day long, look into, am I loving God with all my heart, mind, soul, and body? Am I loving you, neighbor, yourself? All right, do it. Look at it. And when we see, oh no, I have not loved my neighbor as myself, stop and make a correction. And in doing that, we can expect God's blessing. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this time of study. And I pray that, as Robbie said earlier, that Bible studies like this will, in fact, implant the Word of God in our hearts so that each of us would be quick, swift to listen. Swift. And then slow to speak, and then even slower to anger, For we recognize here tonight that human anger does not work the righteousness of God. And give us tomorrow, Lord God, for tonight we're gonna go home, we're gonna go to bed, we need some rest, Lord God, but tomorrow we're gonna get up and we're gonna get up in a fallen world. and we're gonna go to places of work, and we're gonna go to situations that are difficult, and we're gonna have situations that will require us to exercise more self-control than we normally have to in order to maintain our Christian testimonies. And God, when we're struggling with what to do, and we will, help us to look into the perfect law of liberty, the law of Christ, the royal law that tells us to love you first and foremost, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. And Lord God, we ask that you would bless our efforts, and your word has promised that you would, and we're thankful for that. In Jesus' name, amen.