Stopped up Ears

512.  "Stopped up Ears"                                May 4, 2012
James 1-Part 8
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

LET IT GLOW

My ears have stopped up several times while I was flying in a plane. That's when I yawn or chew gum for the problem. Do I intentially stop up my ears so I don't hear what is being said? I have seen a full grown woman stick her fingers in her ears, shake her head, and say no, no, and leave. As though that would change the truth. (She was being told what the Word of God said on the topic.) If I don't like what the Word says, I don't tear it out of my Bible, yet do I forget it when it's not what I want to do?

James has been talking about faith and endurance, about temptations coming from our own desires that entice us, about good and perfect gifts come from God, and God gives us His true word.

Charles Swindoll, in his Bible study book, James, Practical and Authentic Living, says:

James sets forth four requisites for preparating ourselves to receive God's truth.

1. An Open Ear (verse 19a)-We don't really hear what God says. the problem isn't that we're hard of hearing, it's that we're hard of listening. the Pharisees had knowledge of the Law, but they didn't really listen to what they read; they didn't allow God's truth to speak to them personally, individually.
2. A Controlled Tongue (verse 19)-No one can speak and learn at the same time. How much time do you spend in silence preparing yourself for the sowing of God's Word? Before we can listen, we must first learn to control our tongues.
3. A Calm Spirit (verses 19- 20)-The seed of God's Word cannot take root in a heart overrun with resentment and revenge. We must tear out the tendrils of anger in our hearts before they strangle the truth that's trying to blossom in our lives.
4. A Clean Heart (verse 21a)-William Barclay says the word filthiness, from the Greek word rupos, used in a medical sense, means "wax in the ear." James says to get rid of everything which would stop their ears to the true Word of God. When wax gathers in the ear, it can make a man deaf; and a man's sins can make him deaf to God.

Wickedness refers to "hidden sins, motives, and attitudes that cause the corrupt outer behavior that others see."

Am I swift to hear God's Word?
John Gill suggests that we receive the truth with all readiness, so our souls are profited and God is glorified. We should weigh and consider what is said. This may regard silence under hearing the Word.
Silence: nothing is better for the body; if a word is worth one shekel, silence is worth two;It is worth a precious stone; it is the spice of speech and chief of all spices; it is a hedge of wisdom.

In John 10:27-30, Jesus says: My sheep hear my voice...

In James 1:19, hear means "hearken"; speak means "to speak against"; wrath means "anger."
(Thayer Lexicon, Young's Concordance)

Listening, speaking, and controlling my temper, all three are a part of a process connected with the tongue. Liestening is a lost art. By listening carefully, I show respect. I can discover where a person is spiritually. Anger is sin when it is out of control or jumps to unwarranted conclusions. I should look for ways to resolve a disagreement once it exists.

So I am to be swift to hearken to what I hear in God's Word; slow to speak against; slow to anger.
Do I think before I speak? Do I meditate on God's Word? Do I study to be approved to God and others? Do I need correcting in an area of my life?

LET IT GROW

Looking at the last two things mentioned about receiving God's truth, having a calm spirit and a clean heart.

The New Living Translation says it this way: Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get ride of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

This refers to expressions of coarseness rather than immorality.To overcome trials, one must shun vulgarity as well as wickedness.


LET IT GO

Listen more, talk less.

Have a calm spirit and a clean heart.







 Am I swift to hear others in our conversation?