Taming the Tongue
Notes
Transcript
Word of prophecy:
Behold, I am standing at the door of your heart
I am knocking and saying “let me in”
I am always there, I said I would never leave you
You are not alone, please let me in
I have come to restore your soul.
I have blessings for you this day
For today and tomorrow, I long to be with you always
will you please, let me in
Let me fill you afresh with my Spirit
Let me show you my love, peace and joy
I know that life isn’t easy, I know your struggles
I know your thoughts, and I know the problem
I also know the solution, and it starts today
it starts by answering the door as I say
please let me in,
I heard your cry for help
I never left, I’m always there
Ready to give you all that I am
I am love, take my love
I am peace, here’s my peace
I know your grief, let me fill you
With all of my joy
I won’t betray you, I give you faithfulness
Let me fill you with my Spirit.
It won’t hurt, for I am gentle
I love you.
Let me help you be the same
There’s no rush when you are with me
for I am patient and kind,
let me help you be the same.
The invitation is for you this day, I know you.
The good and the bad, I know you.
Let me into the depths of your heart.
Surrender today, and let me heal you.
No one knows your heart better than me.
I love you. I will never stop knocking.
Please let me in.
Intro:
Have you ever been lifted up by a well-placed word.
Maybe it’s lifted from discouragement or confusion
maybe even despair
Words have the ability to influence
they have the ability to persuade
to comfort
to inspire
a single word can change the course of a conversation
it can shape the outcome of a negation
or alter the trajectory of a relationship
and the amazing thing is that God uses you and I
He choses to do that
A man has joy in an apt answer,
And how delightful is a timely word!
Unfortunately, not all words life up:
horse bit, rudder of a ship, or spark that starts a fire
Words are a response
They flow from the inner most being of what is in your heart
mat 12:34
For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart
Matt 15:18
But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart,
how great thou art:
Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art
I will not be presenting new truth today.
Our passages serve as reminders of things you should already know from previous scriptures
I want to propose four principles about the tongue that should serve as reminders to us as believers
Remember that the more we talk, the more we have to account for
Remember that the tongue is a small thing with great influence
Remember that no human can tame the tongue without God’s help
Remember that if the heart is right, the speech is right
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
The more we talk, the more we have to account for
The more we talk, the more we have to account for
Teachers were among the most respected in the early church
Rabbi, as the disciples called Jesus, was a term of great honor
Paul listed teachers as one of the top three ministries in the church:
Apostles,
Prophets
Teachers
And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.
Like the Jewish Rabbis, God entrusted teachers in the church to pass along Christian doctrine
Teachers enjoyed a certain amount of authority, prestige, privilege, and pay
The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
This was especially true in a society with few books, few opportunities ot learn, and many who could not read
It is not surprising that believers were attracted to the teaching ministry
With the scattering of believers after the death of Stephen, many house churches sprang up
This gave many the opportunity to teach.
However, our passage expresses a concern about unworthy, unqualified, immature teachers
The author knew that many want to teach who “do not know what they are talking about
and cautions that few believers should teach
For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,
wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
Responsibility increases accountability
Scripture cautions that we are accountable for our wards
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
How much more are we accountable for words we use to represent God
Those with more influence are more accountable
but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
Our passage is applying this truth about responsibility and accountability to teachers.
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
Now, our passage is NOT saying: “Do not teach.”
Teachers are gifts from Christ to help believers grow
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
The emphasis in our passage is the responsibility of a teacher.
Immature believers should not be leaders or teachers
Neither in the church nor in home groups
Teachers may affect the destinies of many, and even ruin whole households
For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.
So we should prepare well and choose their words carefully
knowing that we will give an account to God for what we tell others
Now most of you are not teachers.
However, these words are not just for teachers, but for everyone who believes
Teachers are MORE accountable
However, ALL of us are accountable for what we say
we like to use the excuse that No one is perfect
The author of James agrees
For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
This means that we all slip and fall
And the tongue trips many
The word “perfect” in this verse is a greek adjective: teleios
which means “mature or full grown”
A sign of maturity is the ability to control the tongue
We need to bridle our tongues, becuase the more we talk the more we give account
When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
Remember: God gave us one mouth and two ears. We should listen twice as much as we talk.
Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.
Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.
See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.
But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
The tongue is a small thing with great influence
The tongue is a small thing with great influence
A person’s tongue is small,
yet it has great power for good or evil.
and with great power comes great responsibility
We get three comparisons to show the power and influence of the tongue
The tongue is like the bit a rider uses to control a powerful horse
The tongue is like a small rudder that steers a large ship
The tongue is like a spark- it can cause a fire that destroys a whole forest
When people use their tongues for good, they can accomplish wonderful things.
Consider how a great leader can inspire followers to heroic deeds with little more than words
But the tongue often uses its influence for evil instead of good
when people use their tongues to gossip, slander, criticize, and discourage, they do much damage
Some situations are more dangerous than others
it is easy for people to talk too much when they are
angry,
tired,
discouraged,
bitter,
hurt,
or even in fun and success
we must always be on our guard
During WW2 a popular saying was”Loose lips sink ships”
Leaders used these words to warn against the danger of talking too much
lest the nemy, by listening, locate warships and destroy them
Today, we could say, “loose tongues harm loved ones”
A group of students sat on a hillside and watched the growth of a wild fire below.
The fire spread through the grass and from tree to tree more rapidly than a man could run
It burned a path of death and destruction
It’s no wonder that our passage compares the tongue to a fire
Harvester in the field (fire)
A word of gossip can rapidly spread through a school, church or town.
As it spreads, it often grows
Like a fire, it leaves destruction behind
A malicious tongue ruins reputations and inflames relationships
A large company drained waste from their factory into a nearby river
They thought no one would know because they drained the waste by night
But soon the pollution killed the fish and caused people living along the river to become sick
some died
Likewise the tongue pollutes self and others
The untamed tongue “is itself set on fire by hell”
And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
The word “hell” in this verse is Gehenna, which was a valley outside Jerusalem where people burned garbage from the city
This dump was always burning, smoking, and stinking
New Testament writers used Gehenna as a symbol for hell
Have you ever encountered a smell so foul, that you can taste it?
The point here in this verse is that the source of a tongue’s fire is the devil himself
When we use our tongue for evil, it becomes a tool of Satan, which means Accuser
But like the rudder of a ship or the bit in a horse’s mouth,
we can steer our tongue through discipline and self control to better waters or better pastures,
but only with God’s help.
Our next verse makes it clear that you can’t do it by yourself.
For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.
But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
No human can tame the tongue without God’s help
No human can tame the tongue without God’s help
THE PROBLEM
Our verse contrast the tongue with creatures that man can tame
Men have tamed lions, tigers, bear, Oh My!, even elephants
We have tamed dogs, cats, birds, and fish
However, No man can tame the Tongue
We humans cannot control our tongues when we rely on our own strength
At times we promise to never again speak a harsh word
Then, in moments of anger, our words flash like a sword
The tongue is “a restless evil” according to our verse
The word restless gives the idea of a caged, untamed animal or viper seeking to escape and attack
Evil here emphasizes that the untamed tongue is rebellious
Imagine this: one evening a snake came to church
The people were singing a worship song when the snake slid under a side door
The music stopped
Many left the building in fear
order did not return until someone killed and removed the snake
Story of coral snake as a kid
Sadly, we recognize and fear the poison of the snake.
Or maybe in our context we should use the example of a bear or maybe a skunk would get a similar reaction
While we recognize those very tangible dangers, we often do not see the danger of the tongue
Our verse tells us that the tongue is “full of deadly poison”
Allowing poisonous tongues to continue speaking is like allowing snakes in church
They must be stopped or they will bring chaos and harm to the body
THE SOLUTION
Our verse does not say that NO ONE can tame the tongue
It says no MAN can tame it
However, the creator of man can tame the tongue of man
Self control is a sweet fruit of the Holy SPirit
As we submit to the spirit, He enables us to tame the tongue
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
If the heart is right, the speech is right
If the heart is right, the speech is right
One of the best ways we can use our tongue is to praise God.
However, when we curse and criticize another person that is made in God’s likeness
it is like cursing God Himself
Scripture makes it pretty clear that this should not be
This should never be
we must not be satisfied with a loose tongue
The solution is that we must look at the source of our words
A man once bought some pills from a clinic because he had a fever.
After he took the medicine, the fever left for a time, but then it returned.
He asked his doctor why the fever returened
The doctor said: Your pills only helped with the symptom
They ignored the sickness that caused the fever
If you want a cure, you must treat the malaria that is causing your fever
We often try to fix symptoms of an untamed tongue without looking at the problem
To find a cure for harmful words, we must treat the source of speech
Our passage guides us to the source of the problem by using three illustrations
A spring
a fig tree
and a grapevine
James 3:11–12 (NASB95)
Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?
Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
A fig tree bears only figs
A true grapevine bears grapes (not olives)
A freshwater spring produces fresh water
If a spring produces salt water, it is the wrong kind of spring
A certain village had a well that produced good, clean water.
One night a goat fell into the well and died.
Soon many villagers became sick
Doctors came and helped them, but they became sick again
Sickness did not leave the village until they found and removed the rotting body of the dead goat
Like that well, the tongue has a source.
“You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
A heart filled with selfishness produces evil words
A heart filled with righteousness speaks righteous words
“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.
Our tongues cannot produce good words until we purify our hearts
We need to allow the Holy Sprit to show us the bad attitudes and worldly values we need to remove from our hearts
The secret of pure water is a pure well or spring
the secret of helpful words is a heart made pure by the presence of God
Our passage is saying “Show me a heart full of God, and I will show you a tongue that praises Him and blesses men.”
Good springs bubble good water
Good hearts overflow with good words
Later, the book of James calls out the double-minded to purify their hearts,
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Words by Hawk Nelson
They've made me feel like a prisoner
They've made me feel set free
They've made me feel like a criminal
Made me feel like a king
They've lifted my heart
To places I'd never been
And they've dragged me down
Back to where I began
Words can build you up
Words can break you down
Start a fire in your heart or
Put it out
Let my words be life
Let my words be truth
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to you
Let the words I say
Be the sound of your grace
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to you
I wanna speak your love
Not just another noise
Oh, I wanna be your light
I wanna be your voice
Let my words be life
Let my words be truth
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to you
Let the words I say
Be the sound of your grace
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to you
