Words matter. The words we say carry power. Words are jam-packed with meaning and yet, words are just so easy to say. Though words are easy to say, they’re impossible to take back.

In my role here at Epic, I know that words matter. It’s been said that “words create worlds.” So much of my leadership here has to do with the words I use – whether I’m casting vision, leading a staff meeting, or teaching the Bible on Sundays. Knowing how important words are, I put a lot of time into writing sermons, editing them, memorizing them and praying over the words I’m speaking here.

But can I make a confession to you? While I spend many hours thinking about what I’m going to say up here weekly, I often don’t even take a full minute to think about what words I’m using when I’m talking to my wife or my children or my friends. Sometimes I don’t even take a full second before reacting with words that I haven’t given any serious thought to. How about you? Do you spend countless hours working on a presentation for school or work, but almost no time working on how you speak to those who are closest to you? Our words we speak reveal something about the words we’re hearing, whether they’re true or not. I’ll never forget a statement I heard while attending a conference almost a decade ago:

The voice that you listen to will eventually become the voice that you speak with.

This is what I want to talk about in today’s message that I’m calling, “Filling Up Empty Words”.

James 1:19-27 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness 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. 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 someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

EVERYONE should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. I don’t know about you, but my brain and my mouth naturally run at a faster speed than my ears do. And even when I am listening, it’s often because I’m trying to fix or solve whatever someone is saying to me. How much relational damage would we have avoided in the past if we focused on really hearing the other person and disciplining ourselves to refrain from merely reacting with our words. What is true in our culture often becomes lived out in the church. We’re at a place in our world where we are really good at reacting emotionally to each other and really terrible at actually hearing each other out.

I have rarely regretted waiting too long to respond to someone, but my regrets list is a mile long when it comes to the times I’ve spoken too quickly. This is why in verse 26, James tells us that we need to discipline our tongues if we’re going to speak in ways that are pleasing to God.

And more than that, it seems like humanity is faster than ever when it comes to anger. It’s become so normal for us to swim in a culture of anger and outrage. To be clear, there is a righteous anger we can have that flows from who God is and what God cares about. But James tells us that man’s anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

Proverbs 15:18 A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.

Do you tend to have a “stirring up” effect on others or a “calming” effect? Are you an anxious presence or a non-anxious presence? Do you thoughtfully respond to others or do you emotionally react to them?

“The root of our anxiety is our disconnection from God; this means we cannot be a non-anxious presence without God’s presence.” Mark Sayers, A Non-Anxious Presence

If this is true, then how do we access more of God’s presence in our lives? I could give you a list of things to help cultivate more of God in your life, but at the end of the day, it usually comes down to this.

Whether God is more present or more absent in your life will be determined by what you take in and what you keep out.

Verse 21 says to “get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent.” The image James is conveying is a filthy garment. And the point he’s making is for us to remove from our lives anything that goes against God and His ways. In other words, remove and keep out anything that keeps you from orienting your entire life around Jesus.

“Humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” Why does James tell us to accept it with humility? Because humility says that God knows better than I do, His word is more true than my word is, and the best life I can live is one that aligns with what He has said. “Meekness” or “humility” means teachability or readiness to submit.

What is your practice for receiving God’s word into your life?

Daily Scripture. Reading. Meditating. Memorizing. If we aren’t careful, we’ll try to read 3 chapters in the Bible a day and think we’re winning, even if we can’t remember anything we read 15 minutes later.

Sometimes less Scripture read can get more Scripture into you.

What if you begin every day letting God speak to you, before you speak to Him or anyone else? God, I trust you. God, I submit to you. God, speak to me. While hearing the word of God is our starting point, it isn’t enough. Verse 22 says “do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” How would reading or hearing God’s word deceive us? You can have your devotional time in the morning or sit weekly in your small group or sit here on a Sunday morning and think, “this message is helpful or powerful” and feel like your life is different. But if you don’t act on what you’ve heard, you’ve deceived yourself. If you read your Bible every single morning or night, but never apply it, it makes no difference. And yet, we can easily be deceived because we heard the word of God or we read the word of God. There are two questions we should ask ourselves every time we read or hear the word of God.

What has God said to me? What am I going to do about it?

Otherwise, if we hear it but don’t do what it says, we’re like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and then immediately forgets what he looks like. Instead, we want to be people who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it. The blessing comes from our obedience to His word. (Hold Bible up). Do you see the Bible as a restriction manual or a freedom manual? God’s word to us is for our freedom, not our restriction.

Satan has deceived us about this, starting all the way back in the Garden of Eden, with the idea that God is holding out on us and because of this, we’re missing true freedom. You and I have to think about what kind of freedom we actually want.

Do you want the freedom to do anything you want to or the freedom to become everything you were meant to be?

James closes out chapter 1 by calling us to live with conviction and compassion. God is looking for both. And if we’re honest, so many Christians make their entire faith about one or the other. When I see this happening in someone, I usually think that they’ve been more formed by their political party than by the Word of God and the kingdom of God. People on the right tend to claim they’re all about the truth, but they often lack compassion. And those on the left claim to be all about compassion, but lack the conviction to live a holy life before God. We’re not seeking to orient our lives around a political party. We’re seeking to orient our entire lives around the entire life of Jesus.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Full of grace and truth. James call us to follow Jesus in this. “Keep yourself from being polluted by the world.” AND look after orphans and widows. Why? These are the kinds of groups that are the most vulnerable.

How are you helping people who will never be able to help you?

Personally –Give: Dignity. Time. Family (community). Money. Other resources they need. Serve them.

Collectively – Give (regular budget funds benevolence). The Hope Project funds some of the most vulnerable people in our city and in the world.

James told us that the implanted word can save us.

Romans 10:8-9 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised hm from the dead, you will be saved.

Responses:

-I need Jesus to save me.

-I need God to speak to me – hearing Word and Spirit.

-I want my voice to start sounding like His voice, when I speak to spouse/kids/friends/coworkers/enemies.

-I want to be more formed by God’s word and His kingdom than any political or cultural ideology.