Lesson 9: The Great Divorce (part 2)
Read James 1:19-27 - www.bible.com/bible/59/jas.1.esv

There are 4 requirements for preparation to receive the truth:
1- An open ear – (James 1:19a) Too often we are not hard of hearing but hard of listening. Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees. The obvious answer is that they had heard God’s word. They had heard it often. They just hadn’t listened and obeyed. They really didn’t allow God’s truth to speak to them personally and individually. Swift to hear is swift obedience. We have to be careful that we don’t attend Bible classes and church services without growing. Is it the fault of the preacher or the teacher? It may be the fault of the hearer - Hebrews 5:11.

2-A controlled tongue (James 1:19) No one can speak and learn at the same time. We must learn to spend time in silence, and control our tongue before we can listen. We have 2 ears and only one mouth. Too many times we argue with God’s word instead of walking in obedience. There is a real danger of us talking too much.

3- A calm spirit (James 1:19-20) the seed of the Word of God cannot take root in a heart filled with anger and revenge. We must root out all the anger or else the word will be strangled in our life. Do not get angry at God or His Word. In 2 Samuel 12 when Nathan came to David with the story of the stolen ewe David was angry - but at the wrong person. “You are this man,” Nathan told David and David said, “I have sinned.” In the garden Peter was slow to hear, swift to speak and swift to anger. James 1:20 says man’s anger does not work the righteousness of God. In fact anger is the opposite of the patience God wants to produce in our lives as we mature in Christ - Ephesians 4:26. James warns us not to get angry at God’s word for it tells us our sin. Like the man who broke the mirror because he disliked the image in it, people rebel against God’s word because it tells the truth about them and their sin.


*In Proverbs 14:29, what does it say about one who has a hasty temper? _____

4- A prepared heart (James 1:21) James saw the human heart as a garden – if left to itself it will produce only weeds. He urges us to pull up the weeds and prepare the soil for the implanted Word of God. The word ‘filthiness’ is a medical word for removing wax from your ear. The word ‘wickedness’, or ‘naughtiness’, refers to hidden sins, motives and attitudes that cause the corrupt outer behavior that others see. Just like it is foolish to plant our gardens without preparing the soil so it is worthless to try to plant God’s word in our heart without preparing. The word meekness is the opposite of wrath. It means a calm and settled heart, a clean heart. You do not try to twist it or conform it you just allow the word to conform you.

We continue in the next lesson.