Our Words - James 3:1-12

MEMBER INSTALLATION

1. Do you affirm once again, that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, that the Bible is God’s Word revealing Christ and his redemption, and that the teachings of this church reflect this revelation? [We/I do.]

2. Do you promise to join with us, sharing your gifts, in our worship and fellowship, and in the mission God has given us in the world? [We/I do.]

[Asking the congregation to raise a hand towards the new member(s):]

3. Do you promise to receive [name/s] in love as your brothers and sisters in Christ, support them with your fellowship and prayers, and, recognizing their gifts, invite them into the life and mission of our congregation? [We do.]

Gracious and Sovereign Lord,

We come before You with hearts full of gratitude and joy as we gather today to welcome new members into our congregation. We thank You for the gift of community, for the family of believers You have brought together in this place. We acknowledge that it is by Your grace and providence that we have the privilege of being called children of God and members of Your body.

Heavenly Father, we lift up these new members before You. We thank You for drawing them to Yourself and for the work of Your Spirit in their lives. We rejoice in their decision to unite with our church family, as they affirm their commitment to follow Jesus Christ and grow in the knowledge and love of You. May their presence among us be a source of encouragement, fellowship, and mutual edification.

Lord, we pray for a deep sense of belonging to be established in the hearts of our new members. May they find genuine acceptance, love, and support within this congregation. Grant them meaningful connections and friendships that will strengthen and uplift them in their spiritual journey. Help us, as existing members, to extend open arms and hearts to embrace and care for our new brothers and sisters in Christ.

As we welcome these individuals and families into our fellowship, we pray for a spirit of unity to prevail among us. May our shared faith in Jesus Christ be the unifying bond that transcends any differences and creates a culture of love, grace, and understanding. Grant us the humility to serve one another, to bear each other's burdens, and to walk together in faithfulness to Your Word.

Father, we ask for Your wisdom and guidance as we navigate this journey together. Help us to be a church that proclaims the truth of Your Word with clarity, compassion, and conviction. Enable us to grow in holiness and to be a light in our community, displaying Your love and grace to those around us.

We commit our new members into Your loving care, Lord. Protect them, provide for them, and strengthen them in their faith. Surround them with Your peace and grant them a deep assurance of Your abiding presence in their lives.

In Jesus' precious name, we pray. Amen.

____________________________

INTRO

Update on us taking a month off asking for prayer.

Intern got pulled into the bathroom in this small apartment

“You talk so much...”

An ancient philosopher once said, “We have two ears and one mouth, therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak.”

There was trouble in my talk, and God loved me enough to expose it.

Today we are continuing through the book of James to see our call to live steadfast lives.

Last week we saw James’ challenge for us to have living faith.

He is going to spend chapter 3 talking about our words and our actions and how they display our faith.

He starts with our words.

Big Idea: The steadfast life glorifies God through its words

The average person speaks 10-20k words a day.

Proverbs 10:19 (ESV)

When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

That means we have 10-20k times to mess up.

Now before you take a vow of silence.

We serve a God who speaks.

He speaks to us through his word.

He spoke the cosmos into existence through the word of His power.

The call isn’t to silence but to be careful with our words.

To consider how we use our words.

We are going to look at the tongue and consider the power, the source, and the hope for our tongues.

Let’s start by looking at

1. The power of our tongues

Look at verse 1

James 3:1–5 (ESV)

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 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.

James starts with a word of challenge for those who would teach in the church.

It is clear to see why the challenge is there.

If we need to be careful with our words because we are prone to sinfulness and folly then those who teach should be especially careful

He says that those who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

The challenge for me as your pastor is to be careful that I am pointing you to the word of God and not the words of Billy.

I want to say you need to caution what you listen to and always test it by the word of God.

We need the Word of God and Sound Doctrine not just what sounds good.

James goes from this challenge for teachers to looking at how our words hold power.

Verse 2 reminds us that all people stumble and sin in many different ways, but this sin of speech is a universal problem.

Our mouths get us in trouble.

When the apostle Paul describe the depravity of man in Romans 3, it is no wonder that he spoke much about the words that we say.

When Isaiah came face to face with God upon His throne, it is no accident that he was aware of his unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5).

James tells us if we did not struggle with sins of speech that we would be perfect.

Are you prefect friend?

Right?!

This is his way of telling us that this is a widespread problem…it impacts every one of us.

And though James makes some sharp statements to teachers, he does not leave any of us out of his declaration of the power of words.

The tongue is small…but mighty.

He gives us two visual aids to see the power of our tongues.

Horses and Ships.

The tongue, though it is small, has great power to control and guide every part of our lives.

James first uses the illustration of a bit in the mouth of a horse.

A bit is tiny compared to the overwhelming size of a horse, and yet this great and mighty animal is guided and controlled by a small piece of metal in their mouths.

The tongue is the same.

It has great power over every part of us.

Then James moves to another picture of the same point.

He encourages us to look to the great ships and the powerful winds that they endure, and yet the thing that guides the great ships are small rudders directed by a pilot.

The smallest part of the ship is the one that leads it down its path.

Our words have the power to heal and build up.

Hannah built up this week

I have been built up - Kevin - You are ok, God sees you

Proverbs 18:21 (ESV)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruits.

But while our words can build up they can also destroy.

Look at the end of verse 5

James 3:5–6 (ESV)

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.

The tongue can set our entire life and course on fire, and verse six says that it is set on fire by hell.

The language is strong because James is making a difficult and important point.

Our tongues are dripping in vitriol…set ablaze by the fires of hell.

If we look closer at the word that is translated most often as hell, what we see is this Greek word Gehenna.

Gehenna was a location just outside Jerusalem at the time of the writing of James and the life of Christ where heaps of trash burned nonstop, night and day.

James is pointing us to one of the most disgusting things that he could think of.

But the picture goes even deeper than that.

The location of Gehenna was known as the Valley of Himnon in the Old Testament and intertestamental period.

It was at this location that people sacrificed their children to the pagan false god Molech.

Could there be anything more despicable than child-sacrifice?

This is why Jesus likened this location to hell itself that was prepared for Satan and his demons.

James is pointing us to this place of unrestrained wickedness to illustrate what we do with our words when we do not control them.

Dripping with malice our words destroy more than build up.

Our tongues, unlike any other muscle, remain in constant exercise, consistently moving.

They resemble a wildfire, spreading swiftly with sparks flying in every direction.

Seemingly small at the time,

a hint of innuendo in a joke

a harsh word to loved ones

a word that belittles someone,

the spreading of some juicy gossip

the exaggerating of stories. Each may appear insignificant, mere sparks in the grand scheme.

However, how great afire is set ablaze by such a small spark.

With just a few careless words, intentional or unintentional, the aftermath can result in immeasurable damage.

Consider the collapse of careers, the shattering of marriages, the instigation of conflicts, and the prolonged self-loathing caused by thoughtless speech.

Show me a man or woman who stirs up strife, who is a gossip, or who criticizes everything due to a proud and critical heart, and I will show you someone who has hurt many people in their path, starting in their own home _David Platt

(Are you right but a jerk? riff…)

Colossians 4:6 (ESV)

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

This past year, if someone had paid you ten dollars for every kind word you ever spoke about other people

but they also collected five dollars for every unkind word

would you have money in the bank or be in debt?

I heard a cheesy but helpful acronym.

T--Is it true? H--Is it helpful? I--Is it inspiring? N--Is it necessary? K--Is it kind?

If what I am about to say does not pass those tests, I will keep my mouth shut! And I can’t tell you how often this works.

But sheer will power isn't enough to overcome it.

We all struggle with our tongues the question is why?

We have to go deeper.

For that let’s see second

2. The source of our tongues

James 3:9–12 (ESV)

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.

We have a problem and it’s that our mouths get us in trouble.

On our own we are in a helpless predicament.

It's crucial to understand that our words reveal the true condition of our hearts and our spiritual state.

James provides a few simple illustrations:

freshwater springs don't produce saltwater,

fig trees don't bear olives,

grapevines don't yield figs, and a salt pond cannot produce fresh water.

Sinful words inevitably stem from a sinful heart.

This highlights that our problems run deeper than what meets the eye and should be taken seriously. .

All three these examples have a source.

James is asking us to consider our source.

Matthew 12:33–35 (ESV)

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

Words that are evil, immoral, deceitful, hateful, adulterous, wicked, sensual, slanderous, proud, and foolish come from within.

They come from the heart, and that is a deeper problem than the mouth.

Jesus is not talking about the heart as the organ in your chest. It is the real you, the core of who you are.

He says something similar in Luke 6:43–49

Luke 6:43–49 (ESV)

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Imagine a man who has an apple tree in his backyard that only produces rotten apples.

He is bummed because he really wants it to bear delicious, red apples, perfect for making an apple pie.

However, despite his efforts, all he ends up with is a bunch of rotten fruit.

Then he comes up with a plan to fix the tree.

The next day, you see him returning from the grocery store with a large bag of shiny red apples.

He takes out his heavy-duty nail gun and begins fastening these good apples onto the tree.

The tree is all better now, alive and healthy, right?

No of course not.

Although the fruit on the tree may appear appealing from a distance, the problem lies within the roots.

The same can be said for us.

We can’t just deal with fruit, we have to get to the root.

It's not just our behavior and speech that can be flawed; our hearts are also in need of redemption through Christ.

We can’t saw that we have experienced spiritual change and it’s nothing more than surface-level fixes, that’s just like stapling fruit on a dead tree.

Think about our kids...When our children use inappropriate language, it is essential to encourage them to watch what they say.

But we can’t just stop there we have to address the deeper issues.

Jesus shows us that our tongue problems are actually heart problems.

What we truly require is not a spiritual tongue doctor but a spiritual cardiologist.

And we have reason to praise God because we have access to one.

Let’s see third

3. The hope for our tongues

Look at 7-8

James 3:7–8 (ESV)

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.

We have to see the danger of the tongue and our inability to tame it.

We possess the ability to tame various animals, with some dogs displaying better obedience than certain children.

Think about killer whales at sea world or lions at circuses It's truly remarkable that we can train such colossal creatures, yet none of us can tame our own tongues!

James describes the tongue as a "restless evil, full of deadly poison" (v. 8).

We sometimes prize having a quick tongue and telling people how it is.

A young lady once said to John Wesley, “I think I know what my talent is.”

Wesley said, “Tell me.”

She replied, “I think it is to speak my mind.”

Wesley said, “I do not think God would mind if you bury that talent.”

Our tongue gets us in trouble.

We use it to praise God, while also using it to speak critically of image bearers.

The sad truth as a Christian is that I've come to understand how easily we can deceive people.

We may appear sweet, gentle, loving, and kind-hearted in public, but those closest to us, our families…our closest friends, really know our true nature.

The reality is, we all face significant challenges if left to our own devices.

Despite the abundance of self-help books and so-called experts, we cannot change ourselves, including our speech.

No person can tame the tongue because our struggles extend beyond mere words.

Again our hearts are wicked.

Each of us has fallen into the trap of sinning with our words, and if we're honest, James's warnings can make us feel condemned.

However, I want to give you good news in the midst of your shortcomings.

Despite the imperfect words we've spoken and the imperfect words we've believed....we have aGod who provides.

In the grand narrative, God's voice resonates in creation,

Satan's voice echoes in the fall, but God's voice resounds again in redemption.

And God has the final say!

He has unveiled a message of gospel promise.

We have all experienced the sting of broken promises, and sadly, we have also inflicted that pain on others through our own unkept promises.

But here's the remarkable truth: God always remains faithful to His promises.

He is a man of his word.

No matter how deeply you've been wounded by the words and broken promises of others, when you learn to listen to God's voice above all other voices, you will discover a wellspring of hope and healing.

Don’t forget the gospel Coram Deo!

Through Christ's substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, our foolish words and their consequences were placed upon Him, ‘

while His righteous words and wisdom were imputed to us.

Colossians 2:2-3 assures us that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ.

The gospel of John reminds us that Jesus, the eternal Word, descended from heaven to earth.

True wisdom ultimately comes from knowing Him.

The Word of God serves as the ultimate remedy for our struggles with words.

God always has the final say!

James has already affirmed that God saves sinners through the "word of truth," meaning that regeneration, or being born again, occurs through His Word.

Death does not have the last word for God's people, as Jesus conquered death on the cross, bearing God's wrath in our place.

His triumphant cry, "It is finished!" resonates with power.

When Jesus returns, He will establish His kingdom and speak the final word.

This is beautifully conveyed in Revelation 21:5-7, where we discover that we will be eternally embraced as children of God in a new heaven and a new earth.

Revelation 21:5–7 (ESV)

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Consider James illustrations from earlier a horse and a ship.

Yes there is a bit and a rudder.

But who controls those?

The Horse has a rider and the ship has a pilot.

Who is piloting your tongue friend?

I think of the Hymn, “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me”

Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Over life's tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.

Chart and compass come from Thee;

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

The hymn was written by Edward Hopper, a pastor and hymn writer, in 1871.

The inspiration for the hymn came from Hopper's personal experience as a young boy.

According to the story, Edward Hopper's father was a captain of a small coastal vessel.

One day, when Hopper was a child, he accompanied his father on a sailing trip.

As they were navigating through a treacherous channel, a dense fog descended, making it difficult to see the way ahead.

Hopper's father, the experienced captain, took the helm and guided the ship safely through the dangerous waters.

This experience left a lasting impression on Edward Hopper, and later in life, when he became a pastor and hymn writer, he penned the hymn "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me" as a reflection of his childhood memory and a metaphorical representation of navigating the challenges and storms of life.

The hymn beautifully portrays Jesus as the loving Savior and pilot who guides and protects His followers through the turbulent seas of life.

James again is wanting us to consider the call to living faith, to a living a steadfast life.

The call is to find the end of yourself, to find yourself in Christ.

Though we stumble and regret the words we speak, our desire to please and love God remains steadfast.

Even our failures cannot sever His love for us.

In those moments, lets humbly seek God's grace to renew and purify us, embracing His abundant grace.

We live without fear, for we know that God will never disown His children for their mistakes.

He pilots us

In our failures, we hold onto the confident belief that through the gospel, God has granted us eternal life.

The transformative power of the implanted gospel word saves us.

While our tongues may falter, our standing as God's children remains secure.

Our performance does not alter His unwavering love for us.

JD Greear - Gospel Prayer There is nothing I have done that could make you love me less, and nothing I could do that would make you love me more.

By faith, we have been delivered from the bondage of unwholesome speech.

Though our words may at times falter and not align with our faith, we embrace the theological concept of already, not yet.

We are not entirely new, yet we are authentically transformed.

By God's grace, let us use our tongues our words to glorify God and to bless our neighbors who bear His divine image.

Application Questions:

How have others hurt me with their words? In what ways have I hurt others with my words?

What do my words tell me about my heart? Why is the tongue so difficult to control?

How can I actively listen and empathize with others before responding with words? How can I seek understanding and engage in meaningful conversations that build up and edify rather than tear down?

What are two or three practical ways I can be more careful with my words? In what ways can I invite the Holy Spirit to transform my heart, enabling me to speak words of grace, love, and wisdom in every situation?