You know, we're closer to our church being 30 years old than 20 years old. This is year 26. And I've been here the whole time, some of others, many of us have. And once a month at least, I go and I see my Christian counselor, my biblical counselor, because I may be the only one in the room, but I need help. And so in the same way I get the oil changed in my vehicles, I. I go and change the oil in my spiritual life.

And one of the things my counselor has been telling me is, hey, it's time for you and your wife to begin to enjoy the fruit of your labor here. You've been working hard and the Lord's blessed you with a good team and the core of church. And you're not really building anymore. It's built now. The Lord is adding to the numbers and he's making disciples and you need to begin to enjoy that.

So I've been taking him seriously. And this last week was a week where I was able to enjoy the fruit of labor here at our church. We had a funeral here, a memorial service on Friday night for one of our 20 year members. And it was, it's always sad and tragic, but there was, there was joy in this room on Friday night. And it was, I wish you could have been here.

It was an amazing memorial service. And Randy Rucker officiated it. See, I'm enjoying the fruit of my labor. I used to have to officiate all of them, but I have godly men and capable ministers. And he officiated that, put it all together.

And the Lord blessed another one of the fruits of our labors is my main man Elias, right here, sitting on the front row. He was baptized last Sunday and this Sunday was his first Lord's supper. How about that? So I asked Elias, I asked Elias, hey, when he got back from the table, how did that feel? And he said, it felt good and it tasted good.

Hey, look, don't bypass that. I know that's a source of joy and laughter, but the Bible says, oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. And we come to his table to remember his sacrifice. But not just remember the sacrifice that Jesus made, but also the promises that he made. And in the new Covenant, in Jeremiah 31, God does all the work that we can't do.

And he says, I'll give you a new heart. I'll put a new spirit within you. I'll cause you to obey my laws and my commands. I will, I will, I will, I will. I come to this table and I thank God that he's doing all the I wills.

And it tastes good. And so also, we've introduced our discipleship pathway this summer. The first 63, verse 63. It's the first 63 days after you're baptized or after you are adopted into our church. And if you guys have been participating, this is book three.

Book two ended yesterday from when we started. And so if you're ready, book three is in the lobby. And first 63 has been going well. Hey, my name is Trevor Davis. I'm GCC's pastor.

And today is part six of our summer series, verse by verse through James, chapter one, that we call tried and true faith under fire. And today's text is just two verses, and it's going to help us answer this question. Is your anger helping? So the scripture today is James, chapter one, verses 19 and 20. It's short.

You may even get a short sermon today. Hey, it's summertime. You get more time at the pool, all right? Our text reads this. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. My brothers and my sisters, the word of the Lord. Let's bow for prayer today, Father, as best we know how and as weak as we are at this, we humble ourselves as your church this morning on the Lord's Day. And, God, we say that we're thankful for Sundays. We're thankful for the first day of the week.

We're thankful that all over the world, and even in our little building here, you gathered your bride. And our prayer today, God, is that you would equip the saints for the work of the ministry, that you would encourage the brethren, that the brothers and the sisters, the believers in Christ in this room would feast at your table and get a taste of what that great banquet is going to be like. Lord, we have parked ourselves in a room with believers, and we've said, lord, we hunger and thirst for righteousness. We want to know your truth. And we remember the prayer of the Lord Jesus that said, sanctify them, O Lord, by your truth.

Your word is truth. And so, God, we want to be made more like Jesus by the preaching and the application of your word. So would you do that? And, God, for every sinner here, not yet a brother, not yet a sister, our prayer is, they see the beauty of Jesus. They see the guilt and the stains of their own sins, and they see our Lord as the remedy.

And the gospel becomes beautiful to them. And we pray that today they would say yes, they would repent and believe.

Holy Spirit, do what you do. Do it with us. And the faith filled church said, amen. You know, if the Christian life had a soundtrack, James 1:19 would be the hook that you couldn't get out of your head. Slow to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

You know, it's short, it's sharp, it's kind of memorable. And if we're going to be honest, it stings a little. But James isn't handing out etiquette tips with our two verses today. He's handing us a spiritual life preserver, a life vest. And here's why.

Because every conversation that we have typically is either building something up or tearing something down. And we need to be rescued from the demolition. So the question is, is your anger helping or is your anger needlessly turning up the heat? In our text, James doesn't tell us to shut up. He tells us to grow up.

In other words, this passage is more than controlling your volume. It's about letting the gospel season your voice. Before Martin Luther ever nailed his 95 theses to the door in Wittenberg, he was waging war with with something far closer to him than the Pope down the street. He was waging war with his own mouth. And on his desk, Martin Luther carved these words as a warning to himself.

I am more afraid of my own tongue than of the Pope and all his cardinals.

So here's a man bold enough to face the full fury of the Roman Catholic Church at the time, and yet he trembled at the damage his words could do.

Luther knew that the tongue was a loaded weapon and that one reckless sentence could wound deeper than a sword. And he wasn't being dramatic or exaggerating here. He was being godly when he carved that into his desk. Because here's what Luther believed. Truth without grace could become a wrecking ball.

So he disciplined not just his theology, but his tongue. And my question is, if the man who sparked the Protestant Reformation was that cautious with his words in his heart, then what excuse do we have for hours?

In our two short verses today, James gives us three instructions. And they're short and they're simple. And we're going to move right through these. Instruction number one, James says, listen faster than you lecture.

James 1:19 again. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear. I wonder, have you ever been in a conversation where you could feel that the other person wasn't listening, they were reloading? I've done that. Friends, James isn't just giving US good manners with these verses.

He's giving us a mirror to check our maturity level. You know, in ancient Jewish wisdom, listening was a mark of two Self control and skill in living. Listening was a mark of two things. Self control and skill in living. And James takes that tradition and he lights it up with gospel truth.

In other words, if you want to reflect God's heart, you got to listen first. Really listen.

We don't just listen to gather ammo for our next comment. We listen because love leans forward.

We listen like it matters, because the other person does matter.

Swift to hear is not just about not interrupting, although we shouldn't interrupt. It's about being ready. It's about being eager. It's about being hungry to understand. Now, let me ask you this question.

It can be two services today in this room, 70 is the new 80. So 70% of the chairs being filled in a room like this is the new 80%, and 80% is full. And so basically, both of these church services are going to be full today. Do you think that there will be in either of these services any wives or mothers out there who live in a world of constant noise?

I mean, the noise of text alerts and spill juice in the kitchen and the next zoom meeting she's got to make it to. And you know that chorus from the back seat of the minivan? It's just one word. Mom. Mom.

Mom. Right. Do you think it's possible that in her marriage, she and her husband feel more like roommates than they do teammates?

If all of that's even remotely possible, then imagine what it would mean for her to have somebody truly stop and look her in the eye and say, I'm listening.

Not to fix her, but just to understand her. You see, friends, one of the most Christlike things you can do today is to close your mouth and open your ears.

And that's not weakness. We call that ministry. Serving someone. James isn't. James is saying, look, don't just wait for your turn to talk.

Really hear the other person. Absorb, interpret, validate. This kind of listening disarms conflict, and it dignifies people, and it moves us out of our echo chambers and into someone else's story.

David Augsberger wrote, being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.

Slow, swift to hear, listen faster than you lecture. That's instruction number one. Here's number two. James says, pause before you preach, my brethren. Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak true or false.

We live In a hot take culture, everybody has an opinion, and we're trained to share it. Fast, immediately. But spiritual maturity slows the pace. Slow to speak means giving your thoughts time to marinate in grace before they hit someone else's ears. James isn't saying, don't speak.

He's saying, don't rush it. Think about the weight of your words and hold them long enough to ask, will this build up if I say it, or will this tear down? Does this thing need to be said, or do I just feel like I need to be heard? Even the pagan Mahatma Gandhi said, speak only if it improves upon the silence.

And what if I told you that Proverbs agrees with Gandhi? Proverbs 17, 27 and 28. He who has knowledge spares his words. And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace.

When he shuts his lips, he's considered perceptive. In other words, you don't have to be brilliant to sound wise. You just have to know when to keep your mouth closed. The Bible teaches that. And sometimes the deepest wisdom sounds like silence.

And sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is not reply.

We've all heard of Abraham Lincoln. He's the guy that gave us all the quotes for the graduation speeches, right? But we also know him as one of the greatest minds in American history. And Abraham Lincoln had a habit. When his temper flared and his anger rose up, he would immediately write a scathing letter to the person who had frustrated him or offended him.

And then he would take the letter, fold it up, put it in an envelope, and stick it in a drawer in his desk, never to be sent. He called these his hot letters. And after his death, historians found dozens of these unsent notes. Each one was a snapshot of what I would call emotion wisely withheld.

One famous case was when General Meade had let General Robert E. Lee escape after Gettysburg.

Lincoln poured out his frustration on paper, questioning why Mead hadn't seized the moment. And in that unseen letter, here's what he wrote. Your golden opportunity is gone, and I am distressed immeasurably because of it. I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee's escape. End quote.

But President Lincoln never mailed the letter because he knew the fire in his chest didn't have to become fire on a page and fire to someone's eyes and friends. His restraint wasn't weakness. It was leadership.

You know, if Lincoln could hold back in a moment of national crisis, can we not pause before we unload on our spouse. Or before we tell the co worker what life's really about. Or before we scold our child one more time.

See, wisdom doesn't always need the last word. Sometimes wisdom knows when to leave the envelope in the desk. Now, here's a question I have for you. When's the last time you waited to speak and you are glad you did? You see, in our culture, people don't pause.

They post. They click send. We're trained to react fast, talk loud, and form opinions before the dust even settles. But wisdom knows better. Think about it.

Quick reactions often lead to false accusations. And even on the other side of that, public apologies rarely undo public damage.

When drama erupts in the news or on social media, everyone wants to comment, few want to understand.

A viral quote is not the same as a verified truth.

And the first headline is almost never the whole truth. You guys know that, right? Wisdom waits before weighing in. So in our verse today, James is just reminding us that godly speech isn't rushed. It's filtered.

It's filtered through patience. It is informed by prayer, and it is achieved by perspective.

When was the last time I regretted saying something? When was the last time I regretted something I didn't say?

Would my conversations be more life giving if I spoke half as much and prayed twice as long?

Slow to speak, James says. Pause before you preach. And number three on our list, the third instruction James gives us is lay down your right to rage.

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, the Niv says, slow to become angry, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Hey, can we talk? Anger feels productive. Sometimes it feels like power. But in our verse, James drops the hammer.

Your anger is not accomplishing what you think it is. The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God, Period. I mean, full stop. And James uses a strong word here. In the original language, we translate it wrath.

It's a deep, burning, smoldering anger. In other words, this isn't the quick flash of frustration. It's not the red rage of the moment. This is the slow boil resentment that brews underneath the surface. And that's the kind of stuff that stays with you and you wake up with it every day.

James says plainly that kind of anger will never bring about God's character and it won't bring his purposes in your life or in anyone else's.

James isn't the only one who talks about anger and wrath. The Apostle Paul does too. And he doesn't just mention anger. He puts it on a hit list of spiritual toxins. Do you know Colossians 3:8, where Paul wrote, but now you yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

First five hitters in that lineup, they're all related. And anger and wrath lead the list.

It's like Paul's cleaning out a closet of emotional junk that doesn't belong in the spirit filled life. Get rid of this. And guess what's hanging out up front? Wrath. The same Greek word that James uses, friend.

That low burning bitterness. Paul says to throw it out with the rest of the garbage.

Let's put these together. While James shows us where anger leads. And that is not to the righteousness of God, Paul gives us marching orders. Rip it off like a dirty, stinky shirt. Let me say it this way.

Don't manage your rage. Mortify it.

Don't justify it. Crucify it.

Together, these words are that one, two, punch. James tells us what Wrath won't produce the righteousness of God. And Paul tells us exactly what to do with it. Get rid of it. Remember, anger feels powerful, but God's righteousness never rides shotgun with your rage.

They don't travel together.

That's why Matthew Henry wrote, if you are wise, your anger will never be wise.

Friends, unchecked anger turns your tongue into a wrecking ball. And it turns your witness into rubble, just destroys it. So may I exhort you today, defer your personal justice to the Lord, because he's a more able defender. In Romans, he says, vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay. Don't step in front of God.

The prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, knew how to throw down with words. He was so good with them that the London Times printed his sermons every Monday morning. He had the wit, he had the theology, and he had the pulpit to back it up. One of the first megachurches in the modern age in the Western world. Thousands in the crowd at at Metropolitan Tabernacle.

So when a man in the crowd one Sunday interrupted Spurgeon's sermon, and not only that, accused him in public of lying, everyone in the crowd braced for impact. Now, they weren't nervous. They were like, go get them, preacher. You know, they're just waiting.

But Spurgeon never flinched. He paused and he looked at the heckler. And this is what he calmly said. My brother, the truth will defend itself. Let's go on in the message.

End quote. And that was It. If I was in the crowd, I would have been disappointed, right? No verbal fireworks, no public takedown. No just grace, Just poise.

Just quiet confidence in the truth. I got to tell you, Spurgeon could have demolished that man, and every preacher 200 years later would be quoting it.

Instead, he chose restraint. He knew that sometimes silence carries more authority than shouting. And when the moment begged for a verbal uppercut from the man, Spurgeon offered calm confidence instead. His restraint did not weaken his message. It magnified it.

So Spurgeon showed us how to hold back when provoked publicly. Now let's learn how to stay quiet when attacked privately. George Mueller was a man who ran orphanages for the glory of God, strictly by faith. Literally. He trusted God for every penny, and he did not request financial support.

So one day, when a wealthy supporter suddenly pulled out of a major donation that he had promised, but not only that, he started slandering Mueller's name. Some of Mueller's friends came to him and asked if he would respond. Would he give a rebuttal to what this man accused him of? Mueller just shrugged. And here's what he said.

No. God knows if he chooses to defend me, I'll be safe. If not, I'll trust him anyway.

No press release, no clapback, no digs against his opponent from a pulpit George Mueller. Just quiet, unshakable faith. You see, Mueller believed in a sovereign defender who didn't need any help drafting rebuttals for his servants.

And his silence wasn't weakness. It was worship. It wasn't being passive. It was powerful. Surrender.

I think we can call it faith under fire. Tried and true. I have a question for you. Ask it of yourself. What has my anger produced lately?

Healing or harm?

What would change if I laid down my right to be outraged?

So here's the challenge in conclusion today. Be quick to hear, because listening is love in action.

Be slow to speak, because wisdom waits its turn. And be slow to wrath, because God's righteousness will never grow in the soil of your anger. And may I boldly say to you today that Jesus was all three.

He listened with compassion, yes or no? He spoke with purpose. And he laid down his right to wrath so that we could be made righteous by his cross.

So I want to exhort you, Church, let's follow the lead of the of our Lord and our Savior. Let's live out our faith one conversation at a time. Fair enough. Hey, look. The invitation for prayer ministry writes itself from these texts today.

You need to come and get prayer today. If you are Not a good listener. You need to come and get prayer today. If you have trouble controlling your tongue and you blurt all the time and you need to come and get prayer today. If anger and wrath stay with you and you can't get victory over it, it's a stronghold.

And Jesus will release it. I think in this room after this service is over. Easy way to figure out how to apply this message for prayer. And of course, we'll pray for anybody for any reason, even if it didn't fit with what we're preaching about today. Let's bow for prayer, and then we'll stand and be released in just a moment.

Prayer team, you can come forward as I begin to pray.

Lord, our prayer is we can do what James has instructed us to do. That looks so simple on the page. God. It looks so easy, just short little phrases.

But God, would you give great commission Church victory with our ears, with our mouths, with our hearts. And I pray for men and women today to come for prayer in these three areas and be set free. Be blessed, be encouraged. Lord, help your church in Jesus name. Amen.

Will you stand with me today? Hey, we have a special treat in the parking lot. I want you to know about it. It's complimentary. We've provided these for you.

It's summertime and I'm told we have Memphis Pops in the parking lot, which is popsicles, I guess from Memphis. Where else would they be from? And it's a good treat. We want you and your children to have some. So you'll see that in the parking lot.

Go and help yourself. See you guys at midweek on Wednesday. Love you. See you next week.

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