"Speaking of Faith ..."
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
I want us to take this fact in for a moment. Did you know that the average person, not the never-ending talker or the shy introvert, but the average person spends 1/5 or their life talking?
Some of you can’t identify with that, but that is just the average. Look, God created us to communicate. We are constantly talking.
We talk to our friends, family, sometimes even ourselves (weirdos), we tweet, facebook, email, text, blog, and blah blah blah.
We were made to communicate, and so as were were woven together by God, He put in us, to think, talk, and share. Sometimes we even share non-verbally, but it is in our DNA.
So, process this...for the average person, 1/5 of your life your mouth will be spent open. That is ample opportunity to bless and to tear down.
Therefore, it should not surprise you that God has a design for how we use our words. As we further along in the book of James we find that James is writing this letter to a group of believers.
Most of these believers had a Jewish background and knew about the importance and difficulty of words.
James’s letter is just following the teachings of Jesus, so when we hear him speaking about words, we should reflect about what Jesus said about words.
Jesus said in… Read Luke 6:45
45 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.
So, Jesus was quite clear that words are so particularly important. So, let’s take a look at our passage this morning. Read Passage: James 3:1-12
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.
The importance of how we speak begins with an understanding of the importance of words in general. Before we get too much further, let us look at us look at the how God spoke.
The use of words by God really does help us see their importance. When God spoke in the beginning creation happened. Notice the phrasing, “Then God said.”
It came before everything that he created, even us. He used words to create. I would say that they are powerful then. But later in Chapter 1 of Genesis He used words to reveal Himself to us.
Later in Chapter 2 He gave us commands through His words. You see, He holds high value in words. So, imagine the value He places on our words.
But just as we start to recognize the value that God places on words, we must also understand that value that Satan places on words too. He too has been placing his hands on words since the beginning. Read Genesis 3:1
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
You see the words are just as important to our enemy. He uses them to be deceptive, distort, and twist the perfect words of God. So, it seems fitting that James is addressing the tongue again.
Why? Because the words that roll off it can be used for both good and evil. So, this is what brings us to the heart of where we will park the rest of the day.
Now in the very first part of our passage James addresses those who are teachers of the Word of God. Read James 3:1-2
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.
James is not giving career advice here but addressing those who would hold authority/leadership positions in the church.
He knows the vulnerability of pride in those of authority, and so he is encouraging again that humbleness is the key.
He reminds right away in verse two that one should remain aware that we are vulnerable, we can all stumble. It is a serious reminder to remain humble.
He then seems to jettison into new subject matter and will not address the role of the teacher again in depth until 3:13, so we will address that then.
For now, we will be focusing in on verses 3-12 and James makes it noticeably clear three observations about the words that roll off our tongues. The first observation made is that …
1. Words are small but powerful
1. Words are small but powerful
Look I do not think that anyone here would argue that words are powerful, but I think if we are honest, we might lose focus of that from time to time.
In one instance we can build people up with them and in the next we can tear people apart with them. Proverbs actually addresses that sentiment. Read Proverbs 18:21
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Read Proverbs 12:18
18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
I am sure all of you can think back to a time in your life that words were spoken in a way that affected the way that you think about yourself the rest of your life.
Sometimes it has been in a positive way and sometimes it has been in a negative way. Read James 3:3-5a
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.
In these two illustrations James really gives us some great insight to understanding the power. He begins with the horse bit in the mouth.
Now I don’t know a lot about horses personally, but I know the bit into their mouth is used to direct and guide this beastly animal. Then he moves right into the example of the rudder on the ship.
I don’t know if you watch the deadliest catch like I do, but when the winds and the seas are intense and pushing the boat everywhere, the rudder is key to staying afloat or sinking.
I have watched several episodes where the ships were under a great risk because they captain had not control of the rudder. Loss of a rudder is loss of a ship.
You see, both examples given are great images of the power of words. If words are controlled well, they have the power to build up, to equip for success, and used as a tool that is effective.
But a tongue that controlled poorly is just begging for disaster to come, and that is where James takes us next in his next illustration. The second observation that we make about words is ...
2. Words are small but dangerous
2. Words are small but dangerous
When I was a child, okay let’s be really honest here, even to this day, when I hear the word dangerous, I have the hardest time leaving it alone.
Seriously, I am not looking for trouble but the minute that someone says leave it alone, I find myself checking it out even more. Illus: Leave matches alone (I burned down a forest). Read James 3:5b-8
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.
The ignition of a fire goes from one place to the next so quickly, especially in a dry season with some winds and you have a disaster on your hands. I know we understand that out here.
James further expresses the damage our words can cause even years down the road, over the course of a lifetime.
You know of anyone that stirs up hurt and trouble with their words? They are critical of everything, filled with gossip. I am sure you know someone that way.
You show me that person and you will find a long path of hurt people. It starts with their own family, and then like a fire spread it pours into all the people they are around.
James compares their words to that of words that are coming straight out of hell. This is a very strong language. The reader would see this word hell and it carried a historic weight to it.
The reader would remember from the past. The actual Greek word for hell here is Gehenna. This is a reference to a specific place right outside of Jerusalem. It holds heavy weight with it.
This place is a place where trash burned around the clock, but in the days of the OT it was the place where pagan people would bring their children and sacrifice them to their many gods.
It was also known as the Valley of Hinnom, a place Jesus referenced to as Hell. A place prepared for Satan and demons, with a never-ending fire that inflicts pain for eternity where the wicked would spend eternity.
Wow, so now the depth of this illustration almost takes on a new intense meaning. Our words have the impact to inflict an intense pain.
No wonder James told us slow to speak and slow to anger. Our words hold a great weight. This leads us to our final observation this morning and that is ...
3. Words are small but revealing
3. Words are small but revealing
This last section is one that I pray we all grasp before we leave this morning. This last section should really speak to our hearts and minds, to the depth of our faith. Read James 3:9-12
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.
Look, in 25 years of ministry I have learned we can fool one another. We can be kind publicly, but those who know our core know, left to our own vices we are a train wreck waiting to happen.
You see without God steering our ship, no matter how many sermons we hear or books we read, we have no power to change who we really are, and we have no power to change our words.
Why? Because the problem is deeper than the words that roll off our tongues. Do you see why it is so crucial to have God leading? The words that come out of us really do reveal our hearts condition.
Our problem is deeper than most want to think about. Words that bring about evil, hate, slander, immoral, and wickedness, are words spoken from our mouths are revealing sign of our hearts.
What does your mouth reveal about you? Are you angry? Are you jealous? Are you bitter? Are you desperate? Are you sad? Are you needy? Look, you can try to spin it and justify all you want.
Your mouth has betrayed you. Look this is a good thing to know because God loves you too much to let you think to highly of yourselves.
Instead of trying to constantly defend yourself in your mind and your thoughts, wouldn’t it just be better to take a deep breath and just rest and know that you belong to God?
If God has exposed your heart to yourself today then here is something that you need to do. Two simple steps...Repent and then confess. Repent to God and confess those things to Him.
And if you feel exposed today and you are angry, bitter, jealous of others, or flat broken right now, don’t just confess to God, “God I’m angry, so help me stop being angry.”
No, go to your people, your spouse, mom, dad, best friends, and pastor, someone that will walk with you and tell them about this so that they can walk with you in this journey.
Faith tells us to take this step. Look this is an area of weakness for me too. I know the Word of God and so I try to navigate around with it, but I also know how to shut it out.
That accountability brings me to a place of facing up to my issues outwardly, and as hard as that is, it is the place that God’s healing really begins to take place in me.
I want to pray that for you today as well, let’s pray.
