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Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
Don’t
Fake Yourself Out – Part 1
(Receiving the Word)
(John 13:1-5, 12-14)
by
Karl J. Forehand
this newsletter is sent out
unedited. I know that pains some of
you literary perfectionists; but it creates valuable time for me.
This you know, my beloved
brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to
anger; for the anger of man does not
achieve the righteousness of God.
Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of
wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save
your souls. (James 1:19-21)
This passage is often taught as
a kind of self-help doctrine for marriages, careers, etc. Although it is beneficial for all those
things, I think we need to determine specifically what it is addressing. A key is the word, “therefore.” The symptoms that are a problem and the
desired results (“let everyone”) are certainly quick listening and slow
speech and anger; but he prescription is “receiving the Word.” In addition, to receive the Word, we have
to “put off” the sin.
The problem that we have of
talking too much, listening too little and becoming angry too quickly is not
solved by attitude or determination; it is solved by properly receiving the
Word of God.
At many churches, the Word of God is like
the National Anthem. You hear it at
the beginning and never again throughout the message. Some preachers use bits and pieces of
Scripture to flavor their speeches or to prove a point. My pastor stressed 3 things to me that I
have never forgot. The third one was
that I should never stray from the Word of God. I should never have a good idea and then find a passage to
validate it. He said that I should
start with the Word of God, interpret it and then apply it.
That means that there are many
times when I have to preach something I really don’t want to preach. But, we must realize that we have nothing
of value to say if it doesn’t come from the Word of God. This Word was spoken initially to the
prophets. It was made incarnate
(“with flesh”) to us in Jesus Christ.
Then it was recorded and now exists as the living, active, breathing
Word of God. By the Holy Spirit, the
Bible is primarily the way God speaks to us.
The problems and the proposal (“Let everyone be”)
1. Swift to Hear
The word usually translated
swift means “prompt or ready.” I
think of Forest Gump. When they would
give him the ball and say “run, Forest, run,” he was prompt and ready to run. We must be ready to listen. Mark 8:18 stresses that it is not only
important what we listen to, but it is important “how” we listen. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
We have to be swift to heart he Word of God.
Most of us are quick to tell God
what He means before we listen.
Someone brought a question up in Sunday School. I was eager to tell the class what God
meant. I didn’t take time to listen –
I got it totally backward and the whole class knew it. We want everyone to hear us and we are
slow to listen. Often a passage of
Scripture seems hard to understand, because we are too anxious to define it
without waiting to hear from God.
The Bible says that wisdom cries
out in the streets. God is trying to
infuse “good” into our lives. He
wants to tell us what we need to know.
But, often, we are too busy “yappin’” to hear it. Sitting in church is not enough. Even physically reading the Bible is not
enough – we have to receive it.
2. Slow to speak
I believe we have two ears
and one mouth for a reason. The mouth
does a lot of different things; but the ears only have one function – to
listen. God could have designed an
ear that would hear stereophonically with only one. I believe He was trying to tell us something by giving us two –
we should listen more.
Even it we don’t admit it, we
are quick to argue with God. The
writer of Proverbs make the point very clear, “When there are many words,
transgression is unavoidable…”
(Proverbs 10:19). In other
words, if we are talking too much, there is bound to be problems. I know that women usually talk more than
men and certain personality types talk more than others. But, too many words always causes problems
– namely it invites sin.
The business world has taught us
to be assertive. Churches even honor
the assertive individual by giving them places of responsibility. Although we must speak up and communicate
with each other, I suggest that being assertive is easy – you just have to
say whatever is on your mind. Some of
us need to speak up – others of us need to be quiet. I respect the person that considers a
matter in prayer and carefully chooses their words before “throwing up” on
me.
This even applies to worship and
approaching God. Consider this
passage very carefully: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.
Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not
know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty
in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on
earth, so let your words be few.”
(Eccl. 5:1-2). The old
hymn says, “Take time to by holy.”
Take time to be holy, be
calm in your soul,
Each tho’t and each
motive, beneath His control.
Thus led by the Spirit,
to fountains of love
Thou soon shall be
fitted for service above.
We usually don’t receive the
Word because are trying to quickly tell God what He means. We have to make sure we listen first. Here is some conventional wisdom for
talkers:
1.
Keep your words soft and sweet – some day you might have to eat them
2.
A gossip is just a fool with a keen sense of rumor
3.
Profanity is a public announcement of your stupidity
4.
When you sing your own praise, it is always tuned too high.
3. Slow to anger
Why would I be angry with
God’s Word. God’s Word inherently
points to our sin. It reveals
it. Often we get mad at the preacher
for this. We compare ourselves to
others and decide “I’m gonna come down on them about that.” We are slow to see the proper object –
ourselves.
We can’t intimidate God with our
anger. We may scare others; but in
reality we just drive wedges with our anger.
Quick anger almost always causes sin.
The festering fumes of sin in our lives is what sparks the explosions of
anger. Our anger is not because of
our personality type or our nationality – quick anger is a result of
unresolved sin.
Frederick Buechner says, “Of the
seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long
past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to
come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and
the pain you are giving back—in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is what you are wolfing
down is yourself. The skeleton at the
feast is you.” (Wishful Thinking, Transformed by Thorns, p. 117).
The Prescription
Every should
be quick to listen and slow to speak and become angry; but we are not. Therefore, there is a prescription
that must be applied. First, we must
put aside all sin. We must confess
our sin (1 John 1:9); but we must also repent. The Bible consistently gives the message “turn or burn” (repent
or perish). Saying “If I have done
anything wrong, I am sorry” is not repentance. Repentance is a turning from sin. It is humbling admitting our sin and then turning 180 degrees
to go in the opposite direction. If
we don’t put off the sin, we will never solve the problem.
Second, we
must receive the Word that God has implanted in us. Like soil receiving a seed, we must not only hear, but accept
the Word of God. All of our
fellowship and teaching and discipleship is in vain if we do not personally
receive the Word.
Karl
J. Forehand, 2002
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