Taming the Tongue
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Intro
Of all of the parts of James, this may be one of the toughest. Last week was pretty tough, but today we are talking about our tongues.
We saw this verse in the first week of the Study of James back before Christmas and I’ll use it to introduce today’s message.
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
This is a big problem today because we live in a time when people will say almost anything at anytime to anybody. Of course they do it mostly on social media because they don’t have the courage to say some of the things they say face to face.
Everyone has an opinion and it’s doesn’t matter if they know anything about what they are talking about or not; or whether they are a authority or not. They just throw it out there. We live in a generation of commenting. (Like that’s actually something) IOW, the moment they think it, it comes out of their mouth.
As we break down these verses in chapter 3, there are three things that show the power of the tongue. I think God takes it more seriously than we do. We tend to categorize sins as Christians.
We look at adultery, murder, robbing and the big ones and then kind of wink at lying gossiping, et.
The book of Proverbs says a lot about the tongue. Of the 7 things that Solomon said God hates, 3 of them concern the tongue. So it’s a big deal.
Why do I need to watch what I say?
Why do I need to watch what I say?
3 Reason to watch what I say
1. My words will determine my direction.
1. My words will determine my direction.
The words we have received from others have impacted our lives today. People tend to become what the most influential person in their life has said you would become. You receive it and it sets the course for your life.
Both the words that have been said to you and that you are saying now or have said, tend to set the direction of your life.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
As I look back over my life, I have had to deal with some negative words and they impacted me and I had to deal with them. don’t know the dna… you will never be able to do that…
BUT. I was fortunate to grow up in an affirming home with parents that spoke encouraging words over me all the time.
Kids Church - SS was fun when I was young. I remember Mrs. Holt, my 3rd grade teacher. She taught the lessons, but she loved on us and believed in us. She taught us that God loved us, and that He had a wonderful plan for our lives.
We want our kids volunteers, and we need more of them, to teach the lesson, to do the craft, to show the video, but more than anything, we want our kids volunteers to look at our kids and speak life to them and love them so that no matter what the rest of their week looks like, they know that here, at Church they are loved.
Not only the words that we have received are important, but the words we speak are important. Think about some of the OT stories.
Israelites in the wilderness. God parted the sea and then provided food for them in the desert, but they got tired of the provision of God and complained. Guess what? None of them were allowed to go into the promised land because of their complaints. Their tongues set the course of their lives.
Young people. Be careful about what you say to your parents. Look at this.
20 If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness.
The light is what guides your life and if it’s snuffed out, you will not be blessed. People say they want to say it like it is. That’s crazy.
Israelites sent out spies. 10 came back with a negative report, but 2 came back with a positive report. Maybe you feel negative about whats going on in your lives.
Caleb said
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
Say these words, for we are well able to overcome it.
We can overcome whatever is going on in the world today. wars - election year - craziness in our streets.
What Kind of person are you going to be? An “able” person or a “Not able” person?
We shape our words and then our words shape us
We shape our words and then our words shape us
This is what James is telling us. Next,
2. My words can destroy what I have.
2. My words can destroy what I have.
Words have power. You don’t need a weapon. What we throw around loosely, our words, have the power to destroy our careers, our families, our kids…
James said,
5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
Some of the fires in CA have been started by one spark. It seems to happen every year. Last year we had a burn ban here because it was so dry and one spark could start a fire.
The sparks that are flying out of our mouths have the same destructive power. The tongue is like a power flame thats destructive. It spreads uncontrollably.
We live in a culture that encourages you to comment and comment. It’s become toxic. I’m sick of it. I used to read comments under news articles, but it’s full of ignorance so I don’t. You may think your are right but we don’t need to hear it.
If you follow the Bible’s instructions write down these 2 words. Duration and direction. How much we say and what direction it heads in are very important.
The Bible says to keep it limited. Remember, slow to speak. Solomon says it this way.
19 Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
Some of us need to put this on our mirror. All of us have messed up with this.
We have got to stop saying everything that pops into our minds. Less words are better.
Let us be careful about our words. You don’t have to stop liking things, but we need to stop saying what we don’t like. It’s ok for you not to like some things, but you need to make those comments in the right direction. If you don’t it becomes gossip and that’s toxic. What you don’t like doesn’t need to go into every direction.
Pass negatives up and praise down.
Pass negatives up and praise down.
IOW, if something negative happens here, it needs to be passed up to Kathy and I, not all around the church… or where you work… etc.
Here is the heart of the matter.
3. My words reveal my heart.
3. My words reveal my heart.
What comes up in the bucket is what is in the well. If a person is always negative, always complaining, there is something going on in their heart.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
IOW you have a war going on. You come in here and sing praises and talk negative or even curse someone when you leave.
11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Springs in the bible meant the heart. Here is what he is saying.
The real problem is not my tongue, it’s my heart.
The real problem is not my tongue, it’s my heart.
If you have filthy language or negative language, it’s the heart. We need to ask God to take a look into our hearts. Why? Because God can fix our heart.
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
No human can tame the tongue.
So what do we do?
So what do we do?
Here are some things that will change your life in this area.
1. Allow God to change my heart.
1. Allow God to change my heart.
You can have all sorts of mental arguments, and I may be able to beat your argument, you you have to experience Christianity to be a Christian. You have to experience forgiveness to feel forgiven, peace…
10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. 12 And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
We have to be transformed. If you love God already, ask him to do it every day.
Homework - Pray this verse.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
I have know God for a long time now. And every day I have to ask God to do this. I have to ask God to make me ready to minister to you.
if I get my heart right, then my words can be right.
Next,
2. Put a filter on what I allow in my heart.
2. Put a filter on what I allow in my heart.
You make your heart right and then we let all sorts of things back into your heart. You can’t allow negative people, movies, music back into your heart.
34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
The evil man is just someone who allows evil into his life. Don’t get your heart cleaned and then not filter what you let back in.
23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
3. Ask God for help every day.
3. Ask God for help every day.
3 Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.
Sidney Baxter said,
"The proof that God's Spirit is in your life is not that you speak in an unknown tongue but you control the tongue you do know."
4. Think before you speak.
4. Think before you speak.
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
Quick to listen → slow to speak → slow to become angry
Quick to listen → slow to speak → slow to become angry
3. Decide to speak words of life.
3. Decide to speak words of life.
Be the person who instead of cutting people down, we speak life. Here are 5 words you can speak.
Speak words of affection.
Speak words of affection.
Don’t be afraid to tell someone that you love them. People need to hear you and I tell them that we love them.
God told Jesus that He loved him…
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
God says it and we can say it. There is so much negative on social media, we need to be a light and not join in.
Speak words of praise
Speak words of praise
Tell someone one… Great Job.
11 A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
Kind words are wonderful for the person receiving them.
Speak words of encouragement.
Speak words of encouragement.
Encourage someone today.
29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Don’t tear people down, build them up.
Speak words of healing.
Speak words of healing.
The right words spoken will bring healing to people.
4 Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
Speak words of faith.
Speak words of faith.
1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
We need so tell people who they can become not who they are.
Prayer
Pray for the people
Sinners prayer