James - Listening and Doing

When we relocated to Myrtle Beach a couple of years ago, to help my daughter's transition, we bought two large Goldendoodles named Magge and Winne. They weigh about 90 lbs each, are two years old, and within two weeks of having a bath – they stink like dogs. I bought a huge air purifier when we bought the dogs.  It has a little light on the front of the machine that changes color when it detects “dirty air.” I keep it in the dogs' room…and sure enough, within a couple of weeks after the dogs get a bath – they start stinking enough for the air purifier to tell us that the quality of the air in our home is poor.

It’s not because they are bad dogs or do anything crazy like rolling in filth…it’s because they are dogs…and eventually, dogs get dirty and stink. And, sometimes, followers of Jesus are like that, too.  

We have surrendered our lives to Jesus.  We are born again and made new…but even the most careful and obedient follower of Jesus starts to wreak after a while. We let unconfessed sin build up in our lives.  We carry hurt, resentment, or bad attitudes.  We carry a judgmental spirit towards others and a “holier than thou” attitude, and after a while, we begin to stink. As James wrote the followers of Jesus, he mentions how they have started stinking, too.

Once, these followers of Jesus were examples for everybody to look up to, but these followers of Christ had turned sour, mean, rude, and…stinky.

So James reminds them of the importance of listening to the Word of God, the voice of the Holy Spirit, that they received when they trusted Jesus as their Savior.

He writes:

James 1:19-27 (NLT2)

19  Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20  Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21  So get rid 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. 22  But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23  For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24  You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. 26  If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27  Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. 

Great conversations are being had today about what it means to “live clean.”

Health experts have warned us for years that to be healthy; we must be more particular about what we eat and choose products with the least amount of ingredients. Everything you and I eat and purchase at the grocery store requires a “list of ingredients.” And, the fewer ingredients we eat, the cleaner our bodies become. So, if a product only has one or two ingredients (and if you can pronounce those ingredients) the more that product is considered healthy.  They call it, “Eating Clean” or “Living Clean.”

And, in this passage, James challenges us to…

LIVE CLEAN, BECAUSE GOD HAS STAMPED TRUTH ON YOUR HEART

James tells us to get rid of all the filth and evil in our lives. Since the days of Moses, the Israelite people were told how God wanted them to live.  He gave them instructions on how to love God with all their heart and how to love their neighbor as they loved themselves. Then, he gave them Levitical priests whose only responsibility was to teach and remind the Israelite people to follow God. Yet – the Israelites continued to rebel time and time again. He gave them the Word, and they disobeyed and rebelled. He gave them priests; they stuck their fingers in their ears and said we would not listen.

Zechariah 7:11 (NLT2)

11  “Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. 

The Israelites figuratively stuck their fingers in their ears like a child and refused to listen and do what God wanted them to do.  They refused to love him with all their heart and love their neighbor as they loved themselves. In the eyes of the Lord, they rebelled and kept choosing their own way to live.  They ignored the Prophets. They ignored the priests. They ignored the Word of God. And, they kept doing wicked and evil things.

Jeremiah 7:13 (NLT2)

13  While you were doing these wicked things, says the LORD, I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer.  

But – here is where we are different from the Israelite people. If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, God has written His commands on your heart.

Jeremiah 31:33 (NLT2)

33  “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

This Covenant that God made with mankind is for all those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus. If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, God has put his instructions DEEP with you. He has written His Word on your heart. That’s why your perspective changed after you surrendered your life to Jesus. That’s why after you trusted Jesus as your Savior, your “want to” changed. And, it’s why some of your behavior changed immediately after you gave your life to Jesus. For example, I gave my life to Jesus on a Wednesday night.  During the day on Wednesday, almost every other word that came out of my mouth was “filth and foul.”  My Nana liked to say, “I cussed like a Sailor.”  

Then, I gave my life to Jesus on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, when I arrived at the construction site for work and heard some of the other men cussing, it immediately repulsed me.  I hated to hear them curse and take the Lord’s name in vain. Why? Nobody had given me a list of words not to say…

I was offended because God had written his Right and Wrong Word on my heart. If you have believed that Jesus died on the cross and paid the price for your sin, if you have asked Jesus to forgive you, surrendered your life to him, and believe he rose from the dead and will one day return, then God has written His word on your heart, too!

Because God wants people to live clean lives, he changed their desires. He changed their “want to.” He wrote His word on their Hearts, giving you and I the ability to discern what is right and what is wrong. So, live clean because God has stamped TRUTH on your hearts.  Confess sin to him, and stop doing what you know is wrong, even if nobody has caught you, because YOU know its wrong.

And living clean doesn’t mean we only stop doing wrong; it also means we start doing right. That’s why every week I begin the sermon, I talk about the importance of applying God’s word to our lives. “Living Clean” means we stop doing evil and wicked things and begin doing right and pure things. We are promised that if…

IF WE READ AND APPLY GOD’S WORD WE WILL BE BLESSED

James 1:25 (NLT2)

25  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. 

James doesn’t just tell people to stop DOING evil; he tells them to START doing what the Word of God that He has written inside our hearts tells us to do. God didn’t just want me to stop speaking filth and foul from my mouth, He wanted me to start using my mouth to speak his Word. He didn’t want me to be silent and say nothing; he wanted me to speak the truth to encourage, rebuke, and strengthen followers of Jesus. And God doesn’t want you just to stop certain behaviors you know are wrong; he wants you to begin doing what is right. And, when you begin doing what is right, God will bless you for doing it. God has saved you FROM Something, FOR something.

God has a purpose for your life; his purpose is for you to live your life to glorify Him.  To make a big deal with others about the goodness of God. God not only wants you to wash your hands, repent, and turn away from sin, but he wants you to begin living for him and doing what is right.  And, as you do what is right, He will bless you for doing it. So, I think it is easy for us to know the behaviors we need to stop doing.

We know lying is a sin, so we stop lying. We know stealing is a sin, so we stop stealing. We know murder is a sin, so we refuse to take the life of others, even in anger. We know dishonoring our parents is a sin, so we strive to honor them. We know gossip is a sin, so we refuse to gossip about our lying, stealing, murderous HOA’s.

But – it is hard sometimes to know precisely what God wants us to begin doing. So, James provides them with very practical advice:

CARE FOR WIDOWS AND ORPHANS IN DISTRESS

James 1:27 (NLT2)

27  Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. 

The important part of this verse is the prepositional phrase that follows “widows and orphans.”  James told these followers of Jesus to care for widows and orphans “in their distress.”

When is a widow distressed? When she is grieving the loss of their spouse, they are crushed. They are hurting. They have lost their husband or wife of 30,40, or 50 years.  They feel alone and in distress.

I love that we have a group of Widows in our church that gather monthly and support one another. And I love that they have decided to come alongside a brand-new ministry we are launching this weekend that cares for orphans when they are distressed!

South Carolina released statistics for 2023.  In 2023, there were 7,000 children in Foster Care. 14,000 verified cases of abuse or neglect.  And 80% of the victims are children under the age of twelve.

These children are in distress. I know what it is like to be a child in distress.  

I know what it is like to be removed from my home and placed in foster care.  I know what it is like to be separated from my family, pulled away from my brothers and sisters, and cry myself to sleep at night. And I am grateful that our widows ministry has decided to help create a Foster Care ministry that cares for children when they are pulled from their homes and are in distress.

They will be an example of what a few people who choose to do right can do to care for other people. And you do not have to be widowed to join them! Very practically, here are four things you can do to care for orphans in their distress:

• BECOME A FOSTER PARENT OR SUPPORT FOSTER FAMILIES

• ADOPT A CHILD

• DONATE ITEMS FOR FOSTER CARE CLOSET

• PRAY!

Some of you may sense you are being led by the Lord to become a foster parent or possibly support foster families.  The steps to fostering a child are larger than I can share, but I am grateful that our Foster Care ministry will help you understand how to come alongside and support those families who have chosen to foster and adopt children.

Fostering is one of the hardest and best things a person can do.  It’s hard because you love and care for the children that have been placed with you, but it’s hard when they are reunited with their parents because a piece of your heart goes with them.

And, maybe you sense the Lord leading you to adopt a child. Again, there are legal details for adopting a child.  You can’t walk over to our children’s ministry and begin selecting a child. But if you do sense the Lord leading you, adopt, search South Carolina laws, and take initiative. Or, maybe you can DONATE items for our foster care closet.

Here is the list:

• Bags- to keep, a backpack or overnight bag, new or gently used. 

• Hygiene kits:

• Tooth brush

• Tooth paste

• Brush

• Body wash

• Deodorant

• Pads (feminine products)

• Overnight needs:

• Pajamas

• Underwear

• Socks

• Diapers/wipes (various sizes, not just newborns, prefer larger sizes)

• Shoes

• Pull ups

• Special items:

• Blanket (Blanket ministry may provide)

• Stuffed animal 

• Journal with Pens

• Lice Kits/Bed bug treatment

• Pillows and pillow cases 

• Twin sheets

• Walmart or Target gift cards

Each new placement bag will have a personal note with scripture provided by the widow's group for encouragement. 

The Foster closet will be maintained weekly by the Widow’s ministry.  A key person will be notified of the number of children, ages, sizes, and specific needs and will drop it off at the door for the family.

And finally, pray.

Pray for children in distress. Pray for Parents who are making mistakes. Pray for children who feel isolated, abandoned, who are neglected and alone. Pray that the need for a Foster Care Closet will end, and pray that God will use you to care for children who are in need of loving families.