Taming the tongue (Week 6)

Announcements

Fall service project is this Saturday

it will be from 9-12 we need all the help we can get so if you could come and help for Part of the time or the whole time we would be grateful

Trunk or treat coming up on the 26th,

We are in need of volunteers to run the family team trunk and our cutoff for registration is this Thursday so if You have any interest to help out please talk to me tonight or just raise your hand right now and I'll talk to you after

boo bash

Also Katie and I will be a part of a toy giveaway on the 24th if you have any availability to help us load up and transport toys that would be awesome or any ability to be there with us to give away toys that would be awesome please let me know

Introduction:

lets open up to James 3:1-12

While you're turning there I want to tell y’all a story…

A few years ago I believe it was the very first young adult retreat I was talking with a friend about theology

And while I was talking another young adult came up and started talking to us as well and we were talking theology back and forth

The conversation was going well but I said something that wasn't quite theologically sound I used a word that didn't mean what I wanted to communicate

And he caught me on it called me out and I explained oh that's my bad I didn't mean to say that sometimes I say things that I'm not trying to say

And he told me because he knew I was considering ministry if that's the case maybe you shouldn't go into pastoral ministry

At the time it really made me upset he didn't have any relational capital to say something like that to me

But he had a point at the time I didn't consider my words to matter that much but since then I have really learned how much words matter

Especially over this past year words have a deep effect on people's lives words are powerful and they matter

Proverbs 18:21 ESV

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

What we say good or bad will bear fruit

if we love to talk about good things and up lift people

or if we love to talk bad or gosipe

ether way we will eat The fruit that our speech produces

This is the concept of we reap what we sow

This isn't talking about manifesting good things in our life this isn't talking about speaking it into existence

What this is saying is if I talk crap to somebody and they decide to punch me in the face I am receiving the cause of my actions

I am reaping what I sewed

And that concept can apply when we use our words properly

But with that let's read our text…

Text:

James 3:1–12 ESV

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 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. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 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. 5 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! 6 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. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Lets pray:

James 3:1–12 (ESV)

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

James opens with this concept a reminder a warning that not many of the people he's writing to should become teachers

Because these teachers will be held to a higher standard they will be judged with greater strictness

And looking at this concept we see a similar concept in the Old Testament

And the Old Testament went a whole community would sin against God they would sacrifice a bull to cover their sin

But if a priest was descend before God that priest would likewise sacrifice a bull

Because the sin of the priest would affect the entire community

Just like the sin of the teacher will affect the whole church and we've seen that

A preacher a teacher a leader their job is to communicate with their words which is why James brings this first to the teacher and then to the congregation

This isn't saying that if we're not leading in teaching we don't need to worry about our language

It's saying that if we hold influence and teach God's word we should be even more careful and afraid

Rightly dividing the word of truth should be sobering and thoughtful

And James continues in verse two saying…

2 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.

Now what James is saying here is that our speech and our language has a direct connection with our actions

Thoughts become words

Words become actions

And actions have consequences

If a person is able to control what they say they are able to control what they do

but if they can't control their tongue they can't control anything

And James gives an illustration in the coming verses

3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

4 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.

5 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!

How many of us have ever ridden a horse

You know what I think is so interesting is I've seen children Riding horses

they weigh nothing compared to the horse

Compared to the horse's strength they have no strength

But yet because of the bit in the horse's mouth and the rains attached to that bit they lead the horse wherever they want

If we can control our tongue we can control ourselves

How many of us in this room are willing to admit that we struggle to control what we say?

How many of us in this room are willing to admit we struggle to control how we say what we say?

The tongue is a very small part of the body but it genuinely guides our direction and our life

Again the tongue is like the rudder of a ship it's very small but it moves this massive powerful vessel with every word

I'm not gonna lie guys when I saw that we were going over this Passage I felt under qualified to teach on it

I am not a person of strong self control with my tongue

I often speak without thinking and regretting what I say

And I'm not saying that to discredit my ability to teach this passage

But I want you to understand that if you struggle with this I relate to you and you're not alone

James is stressing that the tongue has destructive power

6 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.

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

How many of you have experienced the hurt and pain that comes from a mismanaged mouth?

I don't feel like I have to Do much convincing that words can hurt

Words can scar

Words can pierce our soul they can burn us and hurt us like nothing else can

James talks about how our tongue can be so evil that is like it's set on fire by hell

And this is a good point to remind everyone that apart from God we are broken

Apart from his grace we are nothing but sinners who are on our way to hell

And at this point in the passage we may be thinking I need to tame my tongue I need to get my mouth in line

But James says that we contain every creature on Earth but we can't tame our tongue

As Americans we are taught to do it ourselves and figure it out

But James shuts that down in verse 8

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

no human being can tame the tongue

You and I don't have the ability

Apart from God's power we are nothing but children of wrath

We live with the fruits of the flesh instead of the fruits of the spirit

Fruits of the Flesh (Galatians 5:19-21)

The passage lists behaviors associated with the flesh, such as:

Sexual immorality

Impurity

Idolatry

Hatred

Discord

Jealousy

Fits of rage

Selfish ambition

Dissensions

Factions

Envy

Drunkenness

Orgies

Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-control

Our natural flesh wants to produce the fruit of the flesh fits of rage, hatred and all sorts of evil things

But as Christians we are to have the fruits of the spirit which the last one of all is self control

So when James talks about the tongue being evil and us not being able to tame it he's right

It's not the fruits of hard work and determination it's the fruit of the spirit that gives us self control

So as Christians how do we achieve control over our tongues well it's by producing the fruit of the spirit Which includes self control

So how does that happen

turn to John 15

John 15:1–5 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

If we want to have control over our tongues we must be abiding in Christ

Which first and foremost means that we are believers means that we have confessed Jesus as our lord in savior

it is having a Romans 10 9 moment

Because apart from Christ we can do nothing

So practical steps that we can take is abiding in Christ meaning being saved and abiding spending time with him

Each and every day we should be in scripture each and every day we should be in constant prayer each and every day we should be in worship and gratitude to God

Because he is the supplier of all we need and if we abide in him he will produce much fruit which includes self control

And I want to make something clear this isn't an overnight flip of a switch you're perfect now

This is a slow sanctification that includes pruning watering and growth

A grapevine does not produce grapes all year it goes through seasons of cold of drought and pruning

and seasons of good weather watering and production of fruit

But nonetheless over the course of our Christian walk we should see fruit in our lives we should see self control increase the longer we are Christians

One of my favorite quotes is “better today than yesterday and better to Morrow than to day” that is what we should ask God for daily

To recap no human can tame the tongue and no human can produce the fruit of the spirit on their own

They must abide in the vine they must abide in Christ

If we wanna make progress it isn't us picking us up by our bootstraps it's us submitting to God more and more every day

But James continues in verse 9

9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

So what do we see James saying here?

What are the examples he uses here?

What I believe James is saying is Sound in Matthew 12:34

Matthew 12:34 ESV

34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Our words reflect what is inside

Our words are the fruit of our heart

And what James is saying is that if we make a practice of blessing God on Sundays and cursing the people who are made in the likeness of God the rest of the week

Are we sure that we are actually Christians ?

It's like me claiming that this spring is a freshwater spring and you taking a drink and it being salt water

It's either salt water or fresh water it isn't both it doesn't make sense it is either one or the other

He is saying that we can understand who we are by the fruit of our life

Matthew 7:15–20 ESV

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Going back to what we were talking about earlier in John 15 there is the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit which one are we producing

Because if we're truly Christian and we claim to be Christian yet we live and talk as though we're not then are we actually Christian

We can claim to be a grapevine all we want but if we're producing figs then we're either lying or delusional

Now I want to challenge you to reflect and ask yourself if you know the Lord genuinely

Because Romans 10:9 say

Romans 10:9 (ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

So if you find yourself in a place where you don't know if you know the Lord please seek him to day

If you've never had a Romans 10 9 moment were you surrendered your life to him do that to day

Because at the end of the line there will be those of us who I've given our life to the Lord and go to heaven

And those of us who didn't give our life to God and we go to hell

That's the reality

But I also want to make something clear if you have been a Christian and you believe in the Lord and you struggle with this that doesn't mean you're an unbeliever

That doesn't mean that you're not saved

lets look at 1 John 1:8-10

1 John 1:8–10 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

None of us in this room are perfect none of us in this room will ever live a day that's perfect until we enter eternity

If we ever think we don't have sin then we are calling God a liar

And when we do sin we can go to God and he will forgive us our sins

The reality is if we struggle with our tongue if we want to please God and we can't just talk how we want without feeling convicted

Then those are signs of true salvation

Receive the apostle Paul struggled with sin

Romans 7:19–25 ESV

19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

If you're here tonight and there is an internal struggle between wanting to serve the Lord and failing to serve the Lord welcome to the club

James isn't trying to crush us kill us or make us question our salvation

He's trying to challenge and encourage us to love and good works

It says in Corinthians that godly grief leads to repentance whereas worldly grief leads to death

This passage should lead us to repenting and seeking to abide in Christ more and more

This passage shouldn't lead to self hatred shouldn't lead to self deprecation and definitely shouldn't lead to us hating ourselves

I know I talked tonight but I wanted to handle this text well and I wanted to give us a clear understanding of what's happening

Are default setting as humans is evil but with the power of God we can overcome our tongue we can overcome our sin and we can overcome our flesh

So as we move forward we need to

Abide in Christ in Scripture

Abide in Christ in prayer

And Abide in Christ in the body as in with our brothers and sisters in christ

If you remember the story from the beginning I didn't appreciate my brother in Christ rebuking me and questioning me because of my inability to control my tongue

But honestly he wasn't the first or the last to try and help me and as bad as I am to day god has brought me so much further from what I used to be

Through Scripture through prayer but the thing that got the ball rolling was people confronting me in my life about how I talked and what I said and how I said what I said

Here at this church we should help each other to grow guide each other and build each other up with our language

So this week seek ways to abide in Christ and seek opportunities to use our tongue for the kingdom

Let's pray