God's Prescription

James 1:19-22 "Wherefore, my beloved [(agapetoi) agapetos {ag-ap-ay-tos': adj, voc, m, pl}; loved, dear, worthy of love, indicating a close relationship] brethren [(adelphoi) adelphos {ad-el-fos': n, voc, m, pl}; from the same womb, a brother, one of the same nature, one of equal rank and dignity], let every man  be swift to hear, slow  to speak [(lalesai) laleo {lal-eh'-o: v, inf, aor, act, acc}; to talk, utter words, preach, speak (after), tell, utter; as opposed to hearing], slow  to wrath [(orgen) orge {or-gay': n, acc, f, sg}; violent passion, anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath]: {1:20} for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God {1:21} Wherefore lay apart [(apothemenoi) apotithemi {ap-ot-eeth'-ay-mee: v, part (imper), 2 aor, mid, nom, m, 2 per, pl}; lay down or aside as garments, renounce] all filthiness [(ruparian) rhuparia {hroo-par-ee'-ah: n, acc, f, sg}; moral filthiness, uncleanness, pollution] and superfluity of naughtiness [(kakias) kakia {kak-ee'-ah: n, gen, f, sg}; malignity, malice, ill-will, desire to injure], and receive with meekness the engrafted  word, which is able to save [(sosai) sozo {sode'-zo: v, inf, aor, act}; to save, deliver or protect, make whole] your souls. {1:22} But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving  your own selves.

without Greek insert:

James 1:19-22 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: [20]  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. [21]  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. [22]  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

What a week I had! In fact, I dare say that this was not the best week of my life by any means. I started the week off feeling bad from who knows what. On Wednesday, I was so sick that I came home from work early - but only after my boss nearly made me beg to come home. At the beginning of the week, I made a mistake at work that cost one of our customers money. And on Friday evening, when it seemed like things couldn't get any worst, my employer told me that we would probably be pulling long shifts the next three weeks. My mind began to envision the curses of the Davidic Psalms, wishing:

Psalms 9:19-20  "Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. [20] Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah."

When suddenly the sweet call of the Spirit came over my life, calling me gently home to His Will for my life.

We all have bad weeks, bad months, sometimes even a bad year. At my last Church I had a bad month where I sensed, rather than knew, that Satan was working in the background - and worst yet, the sheep were following him! When a man says that he loves God but hates his brother, he is truly and Scripturally a liar. So there was the sense that something was at work, that a trial was coming, but we never knew what it was until it hit. We all have bad moments. Though this is true, though, James as well as the Spirit of God reminds us who are believers that the bad moments can be overcome - but only when we follow God's prescription for the bad moments. What is God's Prescription for overcoming in this life? Actually, there are three prescriptions:

Let's look at each of these in turn.

James 1:19 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear ..."

Though our Lord Jesus created the Heavens and the earth, though He created and gave life to all things, even the angelic host:

Colossians 1:16-18 "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: [17]  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  [18]  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."

There is one thing that our great Creator Savior will not do, and that is He will not make us heed the Word of His Power. Jesus created us so that we could be in relationship to Him. He created Adam and Eve so that He could walk and talk with them in the Garden in the evening - yet Adam chose the way of disobedience rather than the way of Christ. He chose Satan's unholy Word ("yea, you shall not surely die") over the Word of Christ ("the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die"). Satan lied to us at the beginning, we heeded him, and then tried to blame it all on someone else.

When Jesus Christ walked the earth clothed in flesh as we are, He taught His disciples the Kingdom truths they would need to know in order to overcome once He ascended to the Father. Jesus taught this little band of disciples the pure Word of God daily. How did His students fair? They walked and talked with the living Word of God daily - weren't they better equipped than we are to handle the trials of life? Surely they were, if Jesus was right there!

Matthew 17:14-21 "And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, [15]  Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for oft times he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. [16]  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. [17]  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. [18]  And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. [19]  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? [20]  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. [21]  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

Consider the players in this recounting. A man, a parent, desperate to see his son healed, brought his son to the disciples of Christ. The Master was busy elsewhere but this parent, desperate to see his son healed, just knew that the disciples could do it. After all, they were in proximity to the Master on a daily basis. Consider the disciples. They were part of the inner circle of students, privileged to sit at the feet of God the Son. Surely they would be of use, surely the son could be healed. Did they? No, no they didn't. They were powerless against the demonic power that gripped the young boy who threw himself in the fire. Why were they powerless? Why did Jesus rebuke them by saying, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you"? Because the truth is, proximity to Christ and His Word is no substitute for hearing the Word, and applying it to your life. The man with the stricken child loved his son enough to humble himself before the Master so that that child might be healed. The disciples, on the other hand, though they heard Jesus teach daily, had no true relationship with Jesus. They perhaps thought that Jesus was a Great Teacher, perhaps the Prophet who would overthrow the Roman conquerors, perhaps a mystic ... but it was not until Thomas saw the resurrected Christ that He was proclaimed:

John 20:28  ".... My Lord and my God."

Had the disciples truly perceived that they represented Messiah, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, then they would have had the faith to cast out this demon. Jesus had a relationship with His disciples, He loved them, He willed to give up His life for them and us ... yet they only had a cursory relationship with Jesus. Jesus sought to teach them Kingdom truths, but they were not "swift to hear", but as Messiah spoke they drowned out His words with their own interpretation of the Truth.

We who are saved by faith in Jesus Christ are "Spirit filled", indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. We are not "natural men", soulish people, people of worldliness:

1 Corinthians 2:14-16  "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. [15] But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.  [16]  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

We who are saved by faith in Christ have the ability to understand and apply the truths of God's Word to our lives, for He who teaches us is the same One who hung on the cruel tree to secure our salvation. We are not as the world, who considers the Word of God to be foolish or a thing to be bartered, but we are empowered children, Children of God by blood and Spirit. We can learn, grow, and overcome the trials and temptations of life - but only if we listen to the Word and apply it to our lives.

James 1:19 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be ... slow to speak ..."

One of the worst problems in the Christian Church today is not Satan, for Jesus said:

Matthew 16:18  "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

and,

Revelation 20:10  "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

The devil is a defeated enemy, and the same Word that called eternity into being, the same Word that created Lucifer is the same Word that has promised the Deceiver shall be entrapped in eternal flames. Satan is not the problem in the Church, but SELF is that which is destroying assembly after assembly. When we put ourselves above the Word of God, we cause harm to ourselves and others. The WORD of Christ, the WORD of God, is always referred to in Scripture by the Greek LOGOS. LOGOS is an intelligent word, a word that is thought out, a word worth applying. Certainly the Word that Jesus speaks to us through His Bible and His Spirit is an intelligent Word, a Word that will make a difference in a life. His Word makes a difference, but often we take our word, our LALEO, our less intelligible speech, and try to put this in the place of Christ's Word.

Beloved, this must not be!

James tells us to be "slow to speak (LALEO)", slow to put our interpretation of things on our lives or on the lives of others. It is time that we as believers admit this much: we just don't know it all. If we knew it all, we would have brought Paradise to this earth by now. Have we? Look around you! Do you see Paradise? Turn on the television. Do you see love, or peace, or joy, or any one of the facets of the fruit of the Spirit? No, because we certainly don't know it all.

The disciples didn't know it all. When Jesus sent them into a certain city in Samaria prior to His visit there, these Samaritans rejected Him. The disciples, in Jesus' presence but not heeding His teaching said:

Luke 9:54-56 "And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? [55]  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. [56]  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village."

They utterly missed His message, that He was come to seek and save the lost. My heart grieves when I see the Church of Jesus Christ fight over opinions, and theologies, and hyper-truths exaggerated out of Scripture, when the world around us suffers, dies, and enters eternal damnation. We need to be slow to advance our theories, our pet ideologies, and quick to hear His Word.

We need to avoid the "Peter complex", that of exacting our opinion on the Word of God. Allow the Scripture to teach. Remain open to His truths, His Will, His Way. When we invoke our own will, our own understanding on the will of God, on the Word of God, we introduce schism and division into the Body of Christ. Peter, great and beloved Apostle that he was, caused division in the Church when he practiced racial and ritual segregation between the Jews and the Gentiles.

Galatians 2:11-16  "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.  [12]  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.  [13]  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.  [14]  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?  [15]  We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,  [16]  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

Peter ate and fellowshipped with the Gentile believers until the Jews began to condemn him for such "liberal behavior". When the Jews condemned Peter, he withdrew from the Gentile Church, and when he withdrew he carried many away from the truth with him. Hear me, Pastor and Deacon! Hear His Word, Bishop and Overseer! Hear Truth, Directors and Apostles! When you ignore the Word of truth and instead seek compromise for the sake of peace in the flock, you introduce error and grief into the congregation. We cannot introduce our own opinions into God's Word and expect it to remain God's Word. When you pervert the Word of truth with your LALEO, only LALEO comes forth. LALEO is destroying the Church from within, and often this evil is introduced by the leadership of the Body compromising the Word of God.

Growth, true Spiritual Growth, only comes when we realize our opinions are useless unless they are firmly based on the Word of God. Be slow to speak, Christian - let God our Savior do your talking!

James 1:19-22 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be ... slow to wrath: [20]  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. [21]  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. [22]  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Here are some of the things I have seen in my twenty-six years as a Christian. I've seen a preacher, a Christian man, stand up in the middle of an argument over Church property and stomp out of the Church - leaving the congregation in tears. I've seen a Godly and Righteous man accused of evil, and hounded from the Church by Pharisees. I've seen Churches reject people because they weren't the right color, or the right background, or the right neighborhood. I've seen telephone crusades conducted against those in pain, those in need, by self righteous old women who should have known better. I've seen two preachers and a deacon arguing so loud that, though they were in a locked room, the whole congregation heard the entire sordid affair. I've seen Churches "fire" God called Pastors because the people were apostate, and Preacher turn on Preacher in order to keep a weekly paycheck from the congregation coming in.

It must stop.

We who are saved by the blood of the Lamb are Spirit children. We are Spirit born, Spirit adopted, and Spirit empowered. We cannot and must not use the resources of this world to accomplish our mission. Our way, or getting our way, has not worked for 2000 years now - nor will it ever work. We cannot bring in Paradise, nor can we make ourselves mature in Christ apart from His Word.

What must we do? "receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls"

Listen to the Word. Stop adding our own slant to it. Stop seeking to justify ourselves by it. Just listen to it. Hear it intelligently. Hear it without imposition. Hear it as children, for that is what we are. For all our titles, and degrees, and pomp and circumstance, in reality we stand before God Almighty like a young child trying on his parents clothes. We pretend self sufficiency, but the clothes - oh so large, so drooping on our frames - belie the truth. No matter how big we pretend to be, it's all just pretend. Let death loom, let the specter of the grave rear its ugly head, and we quickly shuck off the oversized egos and run to His outstretched arms. Lay aside our way, and put on His. As C.H. Spurgeon said:

"As it is necessary to repair the waste of the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances.how depressed are our graces when means are neglected! What poor starvelings some saints are who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God it is not of divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait upon Him as the flowers wait upon the dew. Without constant restoration we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the strifes within. When the whirlwind shall be loosed, woe to the tree that hath not sucked up fresh sap, and grasped the rock with many intertwisted roots, when tempests arise, woe to the mariners that have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought the haven. If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so, mayhap, a painful desolation, and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the fulfillment of the promise, "They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength."

You cannot grow as a Christian by singing, praising, raising your hands, or dancing a jig. You grow by receiving, with meekness, the engrafted Word of Christ. Apply that Word to your life, for that alone will strengthen you in the Devil's world.

Jeremiah 15:16  "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts."

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