Close Your Mouth and Open Your Ears
James 1:19-27
I. Listen up
A. Don’t just hear
B. Listen and carefully consider
II. Slow down
A. Don’t speak impulsively
1. Consider words
2. Carefully choose them
3. What would Jesus do?
B. Slow to anger
1. Just because you are justified, does not mean you need to be angry
2. Anger can be a doorway to problems
3. Jesus showed righteous anger...when needed
4. Human anger does not produce a Godly life
III. Get rid of the garbage
A. Leave no sin unconfessed
1. Let the spirit point them out
2. Sin destroys you
B. Accept what is implanted within
1. Justification in Jesus Christ is already there
2. A pure life is yours already
IV. Head knowledge does not make you the person God wants you to be
A. You must put it to use
B. Head knowledge builds arrogance
C. Application builds character
D. To see your life refelcted against scripture and to do nothing is folly
V. Look intently
A. Focus on God
B. Make it a continuous practice
VI. Control of the tongue
A. Proves your religious life
B. The inability to control the tongue is the mark of one who thinks they are religious but aren’t
VII. Remaining pure and caring for
