James: Power of the tongue
James: Power of the Tongue • Sermon • Submitted
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What do I believe God wants them to know? Our tongues has the power to bring life of death
Why? We want to be people who bring life
What do I believe God wants them to do? Bring life with their tongues
Why? People need life
James intro
Three questions we need to ask
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
Who is the letter written to?
it is written to the churches who are facing dispersion....the church that has been dispersed
Why are they dispersed? By their own will? No by because of persecution from Rome and Jewish religious leaders
Does this mean that it is not written for us then??? No
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Besides that, have we not in our country at times felt pushed out by the governmental powers that be
What is the purpose? Why was it written?
James is writting a practical Christianity letter, basic Christianity to the early church…here is the practical ways to live your faith....
Some also call it the book of Proverbs (the practical wisdom book in the OT) for the New Testament.
Who wrote the letter?
James the half brother of Jesus who was a Pillar in the early church in Jerusalem…he was a leader of leader
Some might say of course he is…he’s Jesus brother…makes sense…it did not make sense before the resurrection of Jesus
Why?
James didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection.
He walked with Jesus, ate with Jesus, heard Jesus
But it wasn’t until the resurrection that he believed
It was the revelation that changed his life
James didn’t believe in Jesus he gave his whole life to Jesus
How many of you have heard or said the phrase
“Stick and and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me?”
When did we learn this? at a young age...., 4,5, 6
Where did we often learn it? from our parents when we hung out with kids in the neighborhood neighborhood or at school from teachers and principles and friends.
WHY DID THEY TELL US THIS PHRASE??
Hey people are going to make fun of you, say harsh things about you, hurt you with there words…but you have a magic weapon, a WEAPON OF WARFARE, all you have to do is say “sticks and sones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”
But here’s the deal....is it true???
that if we just say the words “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” that hurtful words will just go away?
all of sudden it is gone
NO!!!!!!
In fact many of us in hear have healed bones that were broken 30 years ago, but we have Words that were spoken 30 years ago that are lodged in us and affecting every aspect of their life.
Minimal and maximal
Subconscious level
They are the driving operating force of your life.
A major reason some of us over work is because you are still trying to prove to your mom you are “good enough”
A major reason some of us have low self-esteem is because for most of your life you were told you were not smart enough
A major reason why we are angry is because you have not forgiven the person who spoke those hurtful and wrong words over us
The tongue is so powerful that it can take down the strongest man or woman.....super strong until you say that word, or phrase
WHY!?!?!?
What we read in scripture is that WORDS are POWERFUL
they are not meaningless or empty
WORDS have power
LOOK at what Proverbs says
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
DEATH, DESTRUCTION and life are the in the power of the tongue
1. We see this in creation…LOOK AT THE POWER OF WORDS that bring life
God SPEAKS…LIFE, PLANTS, SUNS, MOON, STARS, HUMANS
We see it in our own life
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE BEEN DOWN, DEPRESSSED, ANXIOUS ONE WORD, ONE PHRASE, ONE CONVERSATION with God or with friends someone that your whole day, your life is changed....God’s words are like honeycomb
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Is that not true
Proverbs 12:25 (ESV)
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
How many of us are anxious and you are hear a good word, a sentence from God or others and your whole day is changed??
7 negative words for 1 positive word
2. WE SEE THE OPPOSITE
2. WE SEE THE OPPOSITE
It was one lie, that Adam and Eve believe in that brought sin and death and destruction into the world....
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
We see it in our own life…
One Word (repeated Word) , one sentence, one conversation and it brought death
It is not from the Lord
People or your flesh has called you
you are useless, you are dumb, you are always the reason for problems in our family, you are to ugly, too fat.
LODGED
SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO GET THE HELL away from those people who hurt you because they are bring HELL to you
RUN to the Father and true Christian community
I saw this week with my boys playing catch with a football
at the beginning of playing catch they would tease and make fun each other when they missed the catch
How do you think that made them feel?
Thank you for teasing me
Angry! they started hitting each other and yelling at each other
I said no, no, no
We are called to build our brother up
So when they catch it we celebrate
When they miss it we say nice try
do you know what happened? No more fighting, but instead joy and fun
THERE IS POWER IN THE TONGUE
This is the point James is driving home in James 3:1-12
Church our tongues have power! For life and for death
Early church
James is like Proverbs
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
James says not every one should be teachers....why? because when you teach you are leading people somewhere.... you are trying to guide someone somewhere.....if you are not able to guide someone to Jesus with your teaching Words, Jesus does not have your full allegiance, guess where you are going to lead others towards Jesus or away from Jesus??
Discipleship is
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
I like what D.A. Carson (leading theologian) says about this in response to Mark Knoll who is a (Christian historian) good guy.
- Mark Knoll said in the 90’s one of the problems with the church in American and why it is shrinking is because it is not academic enough.
- D.A. Carson said the one problems with the church is not that they are not acadmic enough, though their grandparents generation was, the full consule of God....D.A. Carson said has hurt the church is the leading theologians and seminary professors have wandered away from the truth of who God is, the deity of Christ and teach another Gospel that other pastors and leaders are following
And it is not just what you say but how you say it.
If you as a teacher don’t have a reign on your tongue…you may be smart and wise but it’s the inflection you use with your tongue....you tear down.
Your approach the way you use your tongue can trump the truth
James it pulling out the power of the tongue when he is showing....our tongues are such a big deal that many can be lead astray if our tongues are not right.
Cults are formed from the teachers who use the power of the tongue
bad doctrine is used by teachers to lead others away.
Then James talks further in detail about the tongue in the following verses and the power
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
James look at horses, look ships, look at sparks
they are so small but soooooo powerful!!
A couple pound bit can steer a 1,000lb horse
A rutter steers a boat
One spark burns the forest down
burned a relationship down
James points out how untamable our tongues can be
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,
but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
No human being can but God can…I know this first hand....I had a horrible mouth when I was a junior in high school....which I didn’t know until my friend who also had a horrible tongue said you cuss all the time and I said no I don’t....but good news by God’s grace he changed my tongue..
God did it
He can do it for you....God help me to not gossip, lie, swear, speak falsely
Then James says what makes it worse
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
What makes it worse is we come in hear and say praise Jesus, Amen and hallujah, you are wonderful....then we call our brother or friend and let have a piece of our mind or we get in the car and we tear someone down....
James says this should not be!
We are not to praise God, then curse those made in the image of God.
What God is calling us to be a is people who use their tongues to bless and bring life and not death
But how do we do that? How do we become life gives and death bringers
3 ways
1. Pausing and asking Practical Questions
This is huge…in radio and TV they have a 7 second delay to filter or stop if things have been said wrong.
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
Pause
WHAT QUESTIONS?
Ask the question am I angry? (The reason we ask this is because when we are angry we do not think corrrectly and we can think crazy anybody say crazy things when you are angry?
I see this in my own life I can get angry at times and what I realize is I need to walk away and guess what I am often calmer and level headed
Do I care? if you don’t care you are going have a high potential to say some pretty stupid things
2. Is it true?
is what I am going to say true?
3. is it confidential?
Does someone not what you to share what you know?
4. Does it need to be said?
Does it need to be said…not everything needs to be said…I know some people who say I have to say ____ no you don’t
Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it all…sort of true, not always true
5. Is it edifying? Does it build others up
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
2. We align our tongue with God is by aligning our heart with God’s heart.
Heart
it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
The way we get our tongues aligned God is by aligning our hearts with God.
We do this by spending time with the Lord in worship
the Lord speaks in
What’s so cool is not only do does our heart become more like God’s heart our heart gets healed
One of the reasons sometimes our words are not very pleasant is because we are HURT and HURT people HURT people
But happens when you walk with Jesus and the church He starts to heal your heart....He points out the lies that we have believed and says those are not true....that is not true what they said.
3. Speak
Say them
Who do you need to speak words of life to?
We come to the table and rejoice over some of the best Words
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).
Tetelestai, it is finished....Jesus’ work of bringing salvation to the Word, defeating death was tetelestai, finished!
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
It is finished, the WORDS He spoke
