Don't Just Hear It

LIVE IT | Week 2
James 1:19–27 (NLT)
Pastor John Thiessen · September 13, 2026

We are God's prized possession (James 1:18). James shows us what to be intentional about if our faith is going to grow.

1. Learn to Listen

• Quick to listen, slow to speak (v. 19). Listening reveals humility, self-control, and respect for the dignity of others.

• Listen to the Word of God — it instructs, corrects, and equips (2 Timothy 3:16). A lamp for the next step; a light for the road ahead (Psalm 119:105).

• Listen to the Spirit of God, who reminds us of everything Jesus taught (John 14:26). Be open, sensitive, obedient.

• His sheep know His voice (John 10:27) — but distraction makes us miss it.

• Sometimes God speaks unmistakably; sometimes in a whisper (1 Kings 19:11–13). Be still and know (Psalm 46:10).

2. Know When to Be Quiet

• Filter your words. Choose them carefully. Speak with purpose.

• Words of grace, truth, and encouragement — used to build up rather than tear down.

• James doesn't say don't speak. He says process before you speak.

3. Manage Your Anger

• Anger is usually fed by pride, ego, and wanting our own way.

• It clouds judgment, distorts perspective, and intensifies rather than resolves.

• Unmanaged anger gives the enemy a foothold (Ephesians 4:26–27).

• Righteous anger belongs to God. Let go, extend grace, forgive the offense.

4. Clean House

• Get rid of all filth and evil (v. 21) — thoughts, words, emotions, imagination, actions.

• Sin comes from within. When it occupies the space, there's no room for God's Word to be planted.

• Change your mindset. Stop excusing sin. We have been redeemed, and the Spirit in us is greater (1 John 4:4). We are called to be holy (1 Peter 1:15–16).

• Change your habits — from harmful to useful, self-serving to serving others, sinful to God-honouring.

• Build accountability — first to the Word, and then within community.

Four action steps:

1. Identify the issue. Do a moral audit — the times, places, people, and digital spaces where you're prone to compromise. Then remove the trigger.

2. Reflect and confess regularly. Own it, keep short accounts, remember He is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9).

3. Replace bad with good. Spend your time, money, and influence on what is godly.

4. Invite feedback. Be honest with the people who know you.

5. Active Obedience

• Emptying isn't enough. A house swept clean but left unoccupied gets refilled (Matthew 12:43–45). Moral clean-up without surrender to Christ leaves us vacant and vulnerable to relapse.

• Fill the space with the Word and the Spirit — let Christ's peace rule and His message dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:15–16).

• The Word is a mirror (vv. 23–25). It tells the truth about our attitudes, our pride, our unconfessed sin. A glance changes nothing; look carefully and do what it says.

• Study only makes a difference when it is connected to application. Knowledge puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1) — application makes the difference.

Two tests (vv. 26–27):

• An uncontrolled tongue makes our religion worthless — that's looking in the mirror and walking away unchanged.

• Pure and genuine religion cares for orphans and widows. A better reading of "care for" is move toward — toward the marginalized, the people outside our circle, the people who make us a little uncomfortable.

The Challenge

SCC exists to teach and reach. James might change one word: teach to reach. A life shaped by the Word of God becomes a life with a heart for those who do not yet know Him — and heaven throws a party every time one of them comes home.