Taming the Tongue

Well, Well, Well, Well. We are here in the park! And I am very excited to see you all here. I hope you all are having a wonderful morning. For the moment I want to speak about Fire! Who here considers themselves a fire expert? I know that there may be some out. But bear with me why I try to explain Fire!! Fire is a rapid oxidation process known as combustion, which releases heat, light, and various reaction products.  It is a chemical reaction that requires heat, fuel, and oxygen, often referred to as the fire triangle. Flames, the most visible part of the fire, are produced when the fuel reaches its ignition point temperature. The color and intensity of the flame depend on the type of fuel and the composition of the surrounding gases. What is interesting about fire it can be used to either to help keep us alive or for destruction. What I can see with fire is that it can be a tool to create light to see, it can can keep us warm, and it can be used to cook food. But I also can see the destruction it can cause people can also use it to hurt others. It can be used to burn down building and to hurt people. Even in a natural setting thought if we are not prepared or aware of what it can do we can let a simple campfire lose control and create a fire that wipes through a forest destroying everything.

I see this dichotomy in fire in a couple of fantastical ways. The first is Destruction. I the the world of Arda. that is the fantasy world created by Tolkien we see the fires of Orodruin. Or how most people would Call it mount doom. Now this is the Volcano, That sits in the middle of Mordor. Where Sauron kingdom of darkness lies. It is where the one ring as made famous by lord of the rings was wrought and. And it was the problem. It was the power that caused the Dark Lord to wrought terror across middle earth. Then you have the industry of Isengard where they were destroying forests to feed the forges and the pits that were used to create armies of foul creatures that caused death of many innocent people.

Now stick with me for a moment. Because on the opposite side Fire is used to create joy. There is a wonderful scene in the movie and If we had a TV out here I would show the clip of this. But essentially it is Gandalf this old jolly man that is riding a Cart through a quaint village and the only thing that people know about him is that he makes the greatest fireworks. Now Gandalf is far more than just a great Firework maker. He is also a wizard. But has he is driving his cart through this village and children saw him and just started shouting fireworks Gandalf fireworks Gandalf looked as if he was not going to respond but shortly before he was about to drive his cart around the corner he shot some fireworks off for the kids and they exclaimed in pure Joy. If you asked me what my favorite scene is in all of the lord of the rings movies this may be the top one.

The reason I am using this as an example. is because I believe this Dichotomy about how you use fire for either good things such as bringing light and Warmth and Joy vs. nefarious or malicious things. Is a good way of speaking about a how we are to Use our Tongues. So lets dive into the Idea about Controlling our Tongues.

Ephesians 4:29 “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.”

So what do we think Paul is talking about here? He is saying no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such things that are good for 1) Building Up 2) as fits occasion, 3)that gives grace to those who hear it. He mentions here one negative idea that we shouldn’t use our words for and he mentions three very specific ideals that we should use our words for.

So for now one think of taming your tongue as being something that is not just an idea about what we should not say but also what we do say. When you are taming or training an animal. You are teaching them what to do as much as you are teaching what not to do.

So lets talk about that first idea What not to say. It says that we should not let corrupting talk come from our mouth. Now I am not going to be talking about the naughty words that people say. I want more to concentrate on the idea that come from our mouth. So what does that mean. What does it mean to having a corrupting words. Well in the Letter from James he explains this a little bit so lets dive in a bit to Gods word.

James 3:1–12 “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. 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. 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. 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.

See James is also using the idea that if something is corrupted in cannot produce good things. this is just as prevalent when it comes to our words. If we are deceitful in our words or against God in our words ( Which I believe are the same thing) Then i believe that we have corrupted words that do not produce good things. In the Gospel of John Jesus says he is the Way the truth and the Light. Right! So if we are deceitful in our words and our nature then we are against the Truth. Which is Christ. We are to be pure in our talk. We are supposed to be speaking not just with truthfulness but the Truth.

Proverbs 21:23 “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”

I think you can read this a couple of ways. Who ever keeps his mouth shut won’t get into trouble. As in get punished. Or you can look at is as you could keep your mouth shut so you don’t end up in a sticky situation. But if we read this in the context of the new testament and in what the book of proverbs is as a book of wisdom I think we should look at it as keeping your mouth shut keeps you out of a sticky situation.

But hear this my friends because it is important when we talk about the things we should say. Jesus did not keep his mouth shut. In fact he kept talking all the way until he was crucified and after he rose. He did not just stay silent. He chose under the threat of torture and death to tell us what? He told us the truth. He told people the truth of what is to come and of what people were doing wrong. He offered them the Grace of God. How often to we avoid speaking the Truth to someone who desperately needs to hear it because we are afraid of the consequences. Because we are afraid of what others will do or say or think of us? How many of us would rather see someone continue to live in sin with no way of redemption because we are afraid?

Because I tell you that Christ was not afraid. He was not afraid to stand up and speak the truth no matter the situation. No matter what would befall him. No matter what the consequences. were.

So how do we do this? First we need to work on building up. Building up well what does that mean. It means to encourage one another when they are working towards something good.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

We often don’t do this but it is important to offer people an encouraging word Doing good is not always easy and as humans we can get torn down quite easily. Lets just look where we are right here right now. we are here in the Park Hopefully I am doing well enough to consider it good. But we are here as a church in the park not just to worship but to show others the Gospel. But let me tell you if it were not for the volunteers who come and setup and tear down we would be in a much worse spot. So please encourage the volunteers and the worship they do a great Job to help bring the word to you every week and in the park it is all that more difficult to get done.

Building one another up could be the difference between someone stopping when it is difficult or scary to keep them going and moving forward. I remember when I had first started as a youth Pastor her at hillicity. And there was a moment where I didn’t think I could do this anymore. I was struggling with other things in my life at that point and if it were not for other members of the Church Staff and of my Family I probably would have quit. I would have given up. And then none of you would have gotten to hear this wonderful message ;) I would not have been engaged to my lovely fiancé. all of these things and so much more comes from the idea that when I was struggling I was built up by family friends and colleagues to continue when it was tough. So number 1) Building eachother up Done!

Number 2) To fit the Occasion.

Not every occasion is the same! we can all agree with that. not every interaction is going going to require the same tone or use of words. I mean Happy birthday you would say is a harmless and if not joyous thing to say to someone. Except if you said it to the person who is having a funeral. Then it is out of place and looked at like a bad joke. The point of this is that there are different occasions for different words. There are also different occasions for different tones of voice. You are going to use a different tone of voice when you are reading a book a to your child then if they are about to run into a busy street and you need to get their attention. (Jimothy)

Then you just have different scenarios of conversions. You have those personal one on one conversations with friends and family where remaining calm when speaking truth to them is imperative, and then you have those debate style conversations where you need to be a bit more animated because you are trying to convince more so the people watching or listening rather than the the one you are having the debate with. There are more types of conversations and uses of words than those too things but I am just trying to show that the purpose of words is convey things and so we must use proper judgement in how we should approach each situation.

But let me tell you if you are more worried about offending the person you are talking to rather than speaking the truth it is never correct. the feelings of others should not take precedent over the truth of God’s Revelation or just the objective truth in general.

He called people things Such as you Serpent. or you are a brood of vipers. And to understand the context of this we need not look further than Genesis Chapter 3. you know that serpent in the Garden of Eden who deceives Eve into eating the fruit. He is comparing those people he was talking to the Serpent in the garden.

Matthew 10:34–39 ““Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

This whole verse in Matthew does not sound so peaceful. In fact I would say that Jesus was far sterner and upfront and risked offending people much more than we would normally think. Why is that? Because he came with a sword. He cared about the Truth and he came to reveal not just a path to heaven but the path to heaven. See bringing a sword is bringing a weapon. when the occasion calls for it we need to use our words like a sword. In short we need to use proper judgement in all situations.

So moving on to We need to use our tongues to give grace those who hear it. What does that mean. Well it means that we need to reveal the truth of the gospel to those around us. we need to operate in love to those around us! So what does that mean. But here is the problem. DOes love mean we should not say anything to someone. Well no. Sometimes the truth hurts but it is far better to show someone the Truth of Christ.

1 Corinthians 13:1 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

(Interject)

See the idea is that goes around right now in culture that love is this some weird idea that love is love. But that is just a circular definition and what I have been able to figure out is that love is just blind acceptance. Which is just not true. You can see that in just we raise our kids. We don’t just let them do whatever they want want. we put boundaries on them. We teach them not jump into fire. I know these are somewhat obvious but is just bringing it to the a conclusion that as parents and those who care for children we don’t just let them do whatever they want.

What is the most loving and graceful thing that we can do as Christians? Well it is to bring the truth of the gospel to someone. because with that and a relationship with Christ they can be redeemed by his grace and feel the unconditional love of Christ. It does mean we should just say that it is ok to continue living in sin.

This can be a hard sometimes. Especially because it can feel to us in our own hearts that saying you should stop can be mean. And a lot of us just don’t want to hurt peoples feelings or feel like we are hurting people. But the truth of it is. A lot of us just need to hear the truth. We are blind to our own sin.

I am gonna bring up Lord of the rings again. sorry to all you folks who may think it to nerdy but it is who I am. I also have to make up for not referencing it the last time I was up here.

Bilbo giving up the ring story.

So as the worship team comes back up here I wan to read one last piece of scripture to you all.