| The
Marks of True Spirituality
James 1:19-27
[This sermon given by Pastor Greg Laurie
is just one of a series on the letter of James that he has
available on cassette tape. All of these sermon tapes deal
with personal spiritual growth. When you read this one, you'll
want to order the rest and feed these messages to your congregation.
Or if you're a local member desiring more spiritual food in
the area of personal growth, these taped sermons will fill
you with a knowledge and desire to grow spiritually. Here
is the list:
- Facing the Trials of Life-James 1. Tape M853
- How to Overcome Temptation-Part 1-James 1. M854
- How to Overcome Temptation-Part 2-James 1. M855
- Faith That Works-James 2. Tape M857
- The Taming of the Tongue-James 3. Tape M858
- The Source of Our Problems-James 4. Tape M859
- The Danger of Friendship with the World-James 4. M860
- What is Life?-James 4. Tape M861
- It's Time to Pray!-James 5. Tape M863
- And of course this sermon, "Marks of True Spirituality,
James 1:19-27", Tape M856.
These can all be ordered online at: http://www.harvest.org
, and clicking on "harvest store". Or you can order by mail.
To order by mail, write "Harvest Ministries, PO Box 4000,
Riverside, CA 92514-4000. Single cassette tapes are $5.00
each. If spiritual growth is your heartfelt desire, these
tapes are for you. Now the sermon.]
The Marks of True Spirituality
James 1:19-27.
"James chapter one, you know inspite of
the moral downturn in our country today, America is still
a very religious country. There are probably more people than
ever in our nation that claim to be Christian, even more that
would claim to be spiritual, whatever that means. It's not
uncommon to hear someone interviewed who might even be known
for living a relatively decadent lifestyle say, "Well, you
know, actually I'm a very spiritual person." And of course,
that phrase "spirituality' encompasses a lot of ideas ranging
from bizarre mysticism, a religion a person might make up,
and in the minds of some can even include Christianity--it's
a very broad term. But America is made up of people that believe
in a lot of different things. A recent poll revealed that
95 percent of Americans believed in God or a Universal Spirit,
and 60 percent of them attend religious services on a regular
basis. Only 9 percent of Americans profess no religion at
all. We're a religious country, we're a believing country.
We're a country that has a guise of spirituality over us.
But what does it mean to be a religious person in the best
sense of the word? Well, James is gonna give us the answer
to that here in chapter one. He will tell us what pure
religion really is, what it means to be a real Christian,
an authentically spiritual person. And the emphasis in this
section that we're going to be looking at is on self-deception.
He mentions it a couple of times, in chapter one verse 22
he speaks of deceiving our own selves, and then in verse 26
of deceiving our own heart. And there are many self deceived
people around today. There are those in our own country who
would think they are Christian, that no doubt fall into the
category of those that say they believe in God or a Universal
Spirit, but really aren't Christians at all. In fact,
Jesus said, "In the final day, that many will come to him
and say, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And
in your name do many wonderful works, and cast out demons"--and
some might even add, 'did we not attend church on Sunday'?
Or give our tithes, or be baptized, or follow through on a
certain ritual?--"But Jesus will say on that day, 'Depart
from me, I never knew you, you workers of iniquity.'" Now,
not only are there people out in this world that are self-deceived,
thinking they are Christians when they really are not, but
there are also people in the church that are self-deceived,
for that is who James is addressing, [people] who think they
are more spiritual than they really are. So we're going to
find out what true spirituality is, what religion ought to
be when the phrase is used properly. James is going to invite
us to look into God's mirror and see ourselves as we really
are. And our very reactions to the truths that are before
us will show if we are truly spiritual people, because listen,
the person who really wants to know God is humble, and
always ready to learn. I've had the opportunity to meet
many Christian people. I've had the opportunity to sit down
with many Christian leaders, those who would be household
names in the evangelical world, and I can say without reservation,
that the most spiritual people I've met have always been the
most humble--not proud, not arrogant, but humble men and women
of God. And if you are a true believer, if you are truly a
spiritual person, if you are really growing in your faith,
you will be humble and open, always realizing there is so
much to learn. It was after years of walking with the
Lord that the apostle Paul referred not to himself as the
chief of all saints, but rather, the chief of all sinners.
That is not a man that had gone deeper into the pit of sin,
that is simply a man that had been looking in God's mirror
and saw the depravity of his heart--even as he was still being
conformed into the image of Christ. And after years of walking
with the Lord it was Paul who said, 'Hey, it's not as though
I have already attained, I am not perfect by any stretch of
the imagination, but I'm pressing on.' A truly spiritual person
will always say 'There is so much more there to learn, so
much more in my life that needs to change.'
In contrast, the self-deceived person, the person who thinks
they are 'spiritual' will really not be open to counsel. They
won't be open to teaching. They think they know it all, which
only shows how little they know. They are like those who are
described in the church of Laodocia in the book of Revelation,
"Who were rich and increased with goods, and said they had
need of nothing." But God's assessment of them was that they
were poor and wretched and blind and miserable and naked.
James will pose to us three tests for us to determine if we
are truly spiritual people--three things we as Christians
should actively be doing if we're really seeking to live godly
lives. Our text, James chapter 1, starting in verse 19. Let's
look at it together. "So then, my beloved brothers,
let everyone be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to
wrath. For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness
of God. Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of
wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word,
which is able to save your souls. And be doers of the Word
and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, for if anyone
is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he's like a man observing
his natural face in the mirror. He observes himself, he goes
away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But
he that is looking into the perfect law of liberty, and continuing
therein, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,
this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among
you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue,
he deceives his own heart. This man's religion is useless.
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this,
to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep
oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:19-27).
As our study begins, James tells us in verse 21 "that we should
receive with meekness the implanted Word." The same concept,
or picture of planting a seed in soil was used by Jesus in
His well-known parable of the sower. You remember that? He
said, "A sower went out to sow seed, and some seed fell on
the roadside and the birds came and ate it, and it was not
able to take root. [Some think the birds
in this case are symbolic of Satan's demon's snatching the
understanding from those who receive the seed of God's Word
on the roadside.] Other seed fell on fallow ground that was
imbedded with rocks and it shot up immediately but withered
in the hot sun because the rocks impaired the growth of the
seed. Other seed fell on ground that was imbedded with weeds,
and they choked out the growth of it. And finally, some of
the seed fell on good ground, and it brought forth fruits."
And in that parable Jesus was describing four reactions to
the truth of the Word of God. 1) There was the hard heart,
that represented the seed on the roadside--the hard heart
that does not understand or receive the Word, therefore brings
forth no fruit. 2) The shallow heart, speaking of that seed
that went on ground that was imbedded with rocks--describing
those that are very emotional but have no depth in their life,
thus they bear no fruit. 3) Thirdly, there is the crowded
heart, representing the seed that goes into the soil imbedded
with weeds--and that speaks of those who receive the Word
initially, but they lack repentance and permit sin to choke
out the Word. [another interpretation for the weeds is "the
cares of this world or life" are the weeds choking out the
Word. Both can have the same effect.] And finally, there is
the fruitful heart that receives the Word and allows it to
bring forth fruit. Now listen, you have determined
what kind of soil your heart will be. I determine if I'm going
to have a hard heart, a shallow heart, a crowded heart or
a fruitful heart. I determine if the Word of God is going
to effect my life, it's up to me. The Word of God
cannot work in our lives unless we receive it the right way.
Because it's possible to hear with your ears, but not with
your heart. Jesus said in Matthew 13 [verses 11-15], 'Hearing,
they hear not, neither do they understand.' And that is why
Christ so often said, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear."
That was Jesus' way of saying "Listen up!--pay attention!
Focus on what I'm saying to you." It's attention
with intention. Attention with intention--I'm listening with
a desire to apply.
Now here's a little nugget of great truth. This is why I mentioned
in our introduction to James that this is the Proverbs of
the New Testament, because it's filled with great truths throughout
it. [And the main truths brought out in James are the main
points brought out in Proverbs.] "Let every man be swift to
hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath." Now that's good advice,
isn't it? Now there's a statement we ought to post up where
we can see it every single day. How different our lives would
be if we would heed the admonition of these simple words "Let
every man be swift to hear"--or quick to hear--"slow to speak,
and slow to anger." The problem is, most of us are "Swift
to speak, slow to listen, and quick to anger." At least I
am, I don't know about you. And in our time [age] of instant
information, 10 second sound-bites, it's challenging to slow
down and be still and know that He is God. So many of us tend
to be the proverbial Martha, running around in our self-made
circle of activity, instead of wisely and calmly sitting at
His feet like her sister Mary. We need to be swift to hear,
ready to hear what God has to say. But then we need to be
slow to speak. How many times have you said something, and
the very moment the words left your lips, you regretted it.
You said, "I should never have said that!" How easily we can
say things we should not say. How quickly we'll pass judgment
on a situation we know nothing about. Be quick to listen,
slow to speak, but so often [we think], "I don't want to hear
the facts, don't confuse me with the facts." I want to react,
right now, to what I heard said, even though I don't even
know if it's true or not." Be quick to listen, and slow to
speak. A major part of self-control is mouth-control, because
it's a lot easier to save face if you keep the lower half
shut. It's difficult to put your foot in your mouth if your
mouth is closed, isn't it? And as the ancient proverb says,
"A closed mouth gathers no foot." How often have we said things
we've regretted. You know our good friend Peter did this on
more than one occasion. I love the stories of Peter that show
his humanness, because it just gives hope to ordinary people
like you and me. But one of my favorite Peter stories is when
Jesus is being transfigured with Moses and Elijah, remember
that story? And Peter was sleeping. Jesus told the boys to
wake up, and obviously he had something great in store, but
they were, you know, sleeping and they wake up and Peter sees
this incredible sight--Jesus, Moses and Elijah! And then I
love what the Scripture says, it says, "And Peter then said"--because
he did not know what to say (you're always in trouble when
you do that, right? You ever been in a tense situation, you
want to say the right thing, you know, you want to make a
good impression on that person that's interviewing you for
a job--you want to make the right impression on that girl
or that guy that you're interested in, or you meet that man
or woman of God and you want to say something that will cause
them to believe 'you're a real committed believer', and you
say the dumbest thing you've ever said! You can't believe
you said it!)--Peter said, because he didn't know what to
say, "It's good we are here." Imagine, there's Moses, Jesus
and Elijah. Jesus is being transfigured, he [Peter] stands
up and says "It's good we are here." You know, you wonder
if Moses turned to the Lord and said "Who's that?" Maybe Elijah
said, "You know, I wasn't really feeling good about this,
but I feel much better now that he said..." Obviously that
didn't happen. "It's good we are here!" But he wasn't done.
"Let's build three tabernacles, one for Jesus, one for Moses,
one for Elijah." Oh man, the old foot-in-mouth disease. How
often we've said those things. Jesus said, "I say to you that
every idle word that a man may speak, he'll give an account
of in the day of judgment, for by your words you'll be justified
and by your words you will be condemned." You know, it's been
estimated that most speak enough in one week to fill a large
500 page book [It's actually much more than that. Men speak
on average 9,000 words a day, and women 15,000 words a day.
Cf. Pastor Dave Moore's Love For A Lifetime series
on marriage, available at http://www.mooreonlife.com.]
In the average lifetime this would amount to 3,000 volumes
of 1,500,000 pages. Can you imagine?--to just read these volumes
of things you've said throughout a day, and how embarrassing
that would be? It's frightening to think that by our words
we'll be justified or condemned.
But not only should we be quick to listen and slow to speak,
we should also be slow to wrath, or slow to anger. But how
easy it is to rationalize our outbursts of anger. You know,
someone really ticks us off. I read in the newspaper the other
day, where people are just 'losing it' on the roads. You know,
someone cuts you off or tail-gates you, people are pulling
guns out and killing people and running people off the sides
of the road and so forth. It's crazy. We're so quick to anger.
But you know there are some people that will explode, be angry,
and then they're over it. You know, in all honesty, when I
lose my temper--and I've lost it more than once in my life--I'm
one of those types of people that just--BOOM! I'm just
mad--but then I'm over it. Now, not everyone else is over
it, but I'm over it. I vented. I feel much better. But
then, of course, after I look at those I may have hurt or
offended, I have to apologize for what I did. But you know,
there are people that are angry like that. But then there
are those that will not have an outburst. They just seethe
on the inside, they just boil. It was Oswald Chambers that
made this interesting statement. "The man who loses his temper
quickest, is the one who finds it quickest. But the man you
must beware of is not the man who flares up, but the man who
smolders--who is vindictive and harbors vengeance." You see,
the problem with the bitter and angry person, is they're never
content to keep it to themselves. They want to spread it around.
You know they're just angry. And instead of dealing with it,
instead of going to the person they may be angry with, or
going to the person they have the conflict with and seeking
to resolve it, they hold it on the inside, and they allow
it to dig in deeper. And you know what it turns into?--it
becomes a root of bitterness. And the problem
with bitter people is they're never content to be bitter by
themselves. They want to spread it around. They're the type
of person that, you'll talk to them and they'll say, "What
do you think about--Do you think the church should really
be doing this? Do you agree?--because I was talking with eight
other people and they didn't really like this. What do you
think?" You know, they're immediately stirring up something.
Or "You know, I heard something about so and so, and I don't
know if it's true, but I heard this and I heard that"--you
know, they're bitter and they want to spread this poison around.
There are some people, I've come to realize, that just love
to argue. They love to fight. And you get one thing resolved
and they'll go to another, and that gets resolved and they'll
go to another--they're looking for a fight. It's just their
nature, it's their temperament, they love to be in confrontation
with other people.
I heard Chuck Smith mention a tribe of people in New Guinea
that had an interesting practice that they engaged in every
single morning. At the same hour every morning all of the
members of this tribe would gather in their little town square
and have a huge argument. They would fight and scream and
shove and push and pull and they'd yell at each other for
a few minutes, then they would all go on to work. And a sociologist
went out to study this, because it wasn't that they were arguing
about any particular thing. They just got together and argued
every single morning. After researching their diet, he found
that they were lacking in protein. So his conclusion was,
the reason they did this was to get sort of that adrenaline
rush--you know how that can happen when you get mad and you
just Whaa!--and they would do that every day to get
the adrenaline rush to give them the energy to make it through
the day. But the real reason they did it was that they had
a deficient diet. Well, you know there's a lot of people like
that in the churches today, our churches today--they live
to fight--always nitpicking, complaining, arguing--and I'm
sure it's a lack in their spiritual diet. When someone gets
their kicks by constantly running others down they do so because
something is wrong with their spiritual life. Listen to me,
the truly spiritual person is not the hypercritical person,
it's not the nitpicky person, it's not the legalistic person.
Again the people I have met that are godly individuals--and
more importantly I believe these are Biblical principles--they
are those that are reflecting them--they're graceful people,
they're compassionate people, they're loving people. Those
that tend to be the greatest nitpickers, the greatest critics,
those that argue about everything, that split hairs constantly
tend to be the more unspiritual person. And don't be surprised
to find that the person who whines the most and is so critical
of the smallest things in others lives is guilty of something
far worse in their own. Why? Because Jesus said, 'You know
you can't find the speck in your eye because you have a telephone
pole in your own eye.' That's what it is. It's a lack of spirituality,
a lack of true godliness that causes a person to behave in
such a manner. Now here's the problem. When I come
to church into a worship service and to hear the Word of God
with a heart that is full of anger and bitterness, the seed
of His Word is going to fall on hard ground. Because
I come with a critical attitude, right? As people are worshipping
I got my arms folded 'Oh look at that. What are they doing
that for?'...You know, you're always just critical of everything.
Then the Bible study, 'Oh he mispronounced that word.' 'He's
so bald, I hate him.'...(It's OK, bald guys can mock bald
guys! [Pastor Greg obviously and humorously referring to himself
I guess.]) So when we come to church with this angry, bitter
attitude, our hearts are going to be like stone. Do you think
the seed of God's Word is going to find root in that kind
of soil? Absolutely not. The very Word that should be transforming
us will harden us because our hearts are all wrong. As I said,
we determine what kind of soil our hearts will be. So what
we need to do is clear the soil, right? If you're going to
go in your back yard and plant a garden, what do you need
to do? Pull out the weeds, and prepare it for planting. Well,
in the same way, we need to do it with our hearts. [And I
might ad here that there is a tremendous spiritual resource
that can help one do this spiritual weeding, rock and root
pulling in our spiritual gardens. It is Nan Missler's book
"Way of Agape", available at http://www.khouse.org
. Excerpts of the whole book are also available on that
site as well. The key chapter 14 of her book is on this site
under the "Christian Growth" section. Getting the Lord to
help you uproot bitterness is one of Nan's special areas of
understanding. If you need the help don't fail to look up
this resource!] And look what James says, in verse 21. He
says that we are to lay aside all filthiness and overflow
of wickedness. I love the King James Version as it translates
this verse. "Superfluity of naughtiness."--Superfluity of
naughtiness, or filthiness and overflow of wickedness. For
the seed of the Word of God to properly take root we are to
first clear the ground of that which would hinder its growth--those
weeds of wickedness and that root of bitterness must come
out. Because Scripture tells us, "break up your fallow ground
and sow not among thorns" in Jeremiah 4:3. Clear
it up. And once that soil is broken up and cleared up, then
what? We are to receive the Word of God. But how are we to
receive it? Look in verse 21, "Receive with meekness the implanted
Word"--meekness. Now that would be the opposite of pride,
coming humbly, with an open heart to hear and apply God's
precious Word. Not with some hyper-critical "already heard
that" attitude, but rather with an openness to what the Lord
would say to us. And I'll tell you what, if you do this, it's
gonna have a great effect on your life. And if you don't do
it, you're going to have some problems.
Look in verse 21, this is kind of an interesting little twist.
"Receive the Word with meekness, the implanted Word which
is able to save your soul." And I would say well, yeah, so
what. That's obvious. But understand this. This is not addressed
to non-believers. Certainly if a non-believer accepts the
truth of the gospel as proclaimed in the Word, they will be
saved. But that is not the context of what James is saying.
Who is James addressing his remarks to? Believers, right?
He is saying to me as a Christian, if I receive with meekness
the implanted Word, it will save my soul. But you might say,
"Great, but isn't my soul already saved?" Yeah, but in the
context here, he's not speaking of the salvation of my soul
from eternal damnation, for the word saved can be translated
"It will bring health to your soul" or "restoration to your
soul." In other words he's saying, "If you allow those pollutants
of anger, bitterness and a loose tongue into your life, you
will have a sick soul. And you're refusal to obey the Word
of God may not disqualify you as a Christian, but it will
certainly disqualify you as a contestant for spiritual rewards.
The word received is able to save our souls not only from
damnation but also from damage. Don't have a damaged soul,
don't have a sick soul, don't come to church with an angry
heart. Come with meekness and an openness, realizing that
there is so much to learn--but not just to hear it, but then
to do it. And that's what I meant when I said "Attention
with intention."--"I intend to apply what I have heard."
Look at verse 23, "If you're a hearer of the Word and not
a doer, your like a man beholding his natural face in a glass"
or a mirror. The word that is used here for looking at yourself
in the mirror speaks of an intensive scrutiny. Now, this is
not a picture of someone who sees himself in a mirror and
then forgets what he looks like. Rather, it's someone who
sees their reflection in the mirror and realizes something
needs to be done, and then doesn't act on it. An
illustration: Let's say you walk by a mirror and you realize
'Oh I put my lipstick on wrong.' (I'm speaking of women here,
by the way. [laughter]) You know, you got up in the morning,
it may be dark and you didn't want to wake up your husband,
you put it on your nose instead of your lips. That's why everyone's
been staring at you. 'Oh, I need to fix that.' But let's say
you saw that, 'I need to fix that', then you just walked away
and forgot about it. That's the idea that James is communicating
here. Or maybe you're a guy, you walk by a mirror, "Oh man,
I missed a spot when I was shaving this morning, I need to
fix that." But instead of fixing it, you just go away and
forget about that. The idea is that someone is hearing the
Word of God, in your personal study, being proclaimed from
a pulpit, or you hear it over the radio or the Internet or
wherever you hear it, and God's Holy Spirit takes that truth
and brings it home to your heart. You know what I'm talking
about, when something just grabs you--"I need to do that."
"He could have been saying that just for me." The Lord says
"Do this", you say, "I need to do that." And then you leave
church and you never do it. That's the idea that James is
communicating. You look in the mirror, God shows you what
you need to do, you may even agree with what he says, but
you never act on it. This is the problem. God's Word becomes
a millstone if I don't make it a milestone. Truth acted on
brings more truth, but failure to respond to truth will ultimately
result in the loss of truth. The same principle is shown in
the story that Jesus told of the servant who did nothing with
his talent but instead buried it. Remember Jesus said "Take
this talent from him and give it to the other that has ten
talents, for everyone who has, more will be given, and he
will have an abundance. But he who has not, even what he has
will be taken from him." You need to act on what you
hear. And if you don't act on what you hear you're
gonna lose it. Attention with intention--let's say you went
into a restaurant, and you asked for a menu. You're very hungry.
You looked at the menu, you looked at the little photographs
of the food. Now is that going to satisfy your hunger? Are
you going to set the menu down and say, "I feel much better
now, thank you" and leave? Will reading a menu fill your stomach?
No. Well, what if you memorized the contents of the menu?--You
know, memorize every single order--let's see, the combination,
that with cheese and onion--you memorize it all. Will that
fill your stomach? No. Let's say you've memorized it so well
you can quote it to other people. You can stand outside the
restaurant and say, "Ask me whatever you want, I've memorized
the menu. I know this menu." That's good. But you know what?
It doesn't fill your stomach. [And if you really do that,
it makes you a first-class fruit-cake as well!] Why? You need
to order, right? OK, when I come to the Word of God, I can
read it, that's good. I can memorize it, that's great. But
until I act on it, it's not gonna help me. I can read the
menu, but I need to order the food and eat it for my hunger
to be satisfied. And for God's Word to have its full effect
I need to not only hear it, but apply it and do it. And that
is what James is saying.
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