Sunday's Outline

Are you Getting The Most out Of the Preached Word?
James 1:19-25

Illustration: A gray-haired old lady, long a member of her community and church, shook hands with the minister after the service one Sunday morning. "That was a wonderful sermon," she told him, "-- just wonderful. Everything you said applies to someone I know."


I. Proof in Attentiveness
Verse 19a “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen”

a. We pay attention with our ears “quick to listen” not with our mouth “slow to speak“ vs. 19
b. We pay attention to God’s word “listen to the word” vs. 22 & 23
c. We pay attention with our eyes “looks intently” vs. 25
d. We pay attention with our minds “not forgetting” vs. 25

II. Proof in Attitude
Last part of verse 19-21 “slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life 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”

a. We should not get angry when the Word of God exposes an area of our life that we do not want exposed. “slow to become angry”
1. Because “man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” vs. 19

b. We need an attitude of surrender “get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent” verse 21a

c. We need to have a teachable and submissive attitude. “humbly accept the word” vs. 21a
1. Because it “can save you” vs. 21b


III. Proof in Action
Verse 22-25 “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 a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does”

a. Put it into practice “Do not merely listen to the word” “do what it says vs. 22
1. Because you only “deceive yourself”

b. Make it your lifestyle “the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it” Verse 25


Benefits:

1. You will be blessed (last part of verse 25)
2. It will give you power over sin “humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (last part of verse 21)

It is not what men eat but what they digest that makes them strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; not what we preach but what we practice that makes us Christians.
Francis Bacon.