The Harnessing Power of Our Words
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Good morning, church.
DISMISS KIDS FOR BLAST
In 2014, a Japanese company named Mizuho Securities lost $38 billion in a single day—because of a typo.
A trader meant to sell 1 share of a stock for 610,000 yen, but accidentally listed 610,000 shares for 1 yen each.
A single keystroke.
A small mistake on a screen.
But it triggered a massive financial disaster.
That’s the tongue.
It may feel small, like a tap of a key… but once the damage is done, you can’t always undo it.
One sentence spoken in anger, one half-truth whispered to a friend, one insult muttered under your breath—and now something’s broken.
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
MPS: The tongue controls everything so controlling my tongue is essential to a godly life.
As you are turning, in your Bible, to James chapter 3, I want to share a couple of verses from Proverbs with you…
Proverbs 21:23 “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”
Let me tell you…there’s a whole lot of truth to this verse, isn’t there?
Proverbs 13:3 “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”
This has been a series examining what the book of Proverbs says regarding our words but this morning, I want us to move to the NT book of James. It’s kind of the NT version of Proverbs—it, too, is a book of practical godly wisdom for the life of a believer.
James doesn’t have a whole lot of positive things to say about the human tongue—the power of speech.
So, let’s start with verse 1…
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. 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.
The tongue controls everything so controlling my tongue is essential to a godly life.
James uses a series of analogies to illustrate the power of the tongue—a tiny bit in the mouth of a horse that controls its direction, the small rudder that controls the direction of a ship, a small spark that starts a whole forest fire.
Animals of all kinds can be tamed…but…
Verse 8—“…no human being can tame the tongue…It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
No human being can tame it/control it…Restless—“always liable to break out.” Unpredictable.
So, here, you’re probably thinking, “well, then what good is it to talk about self-control?!?!”
Notice the emphasis—“no HUMAN BEING…”
Are you having trouble controlling your tongue? Maybe you need to give up control.
Self-Control is evidence of a Spirit-controlled life.
{vs. 1-12}
You’re not going to win the sin battle in your life by will power.
It might very well be that you read what James says, here in chapter three, and you’re identifying very closely. Look. We’ve all been there. That’s why James says, “we all stumble in many ways.” We’ve all got sin in our lives…and all of us have sin struggles that are different from each other. Some of us have a sin struggle of envy (other examples).
It’s interesting, though, that James says that we’re ALL guilty of sinning with our words.
In Ephesians 5:18, Paul tells us to be “filled with the Spirit.”
In Galatians 5, Paul tells us (in vs. 16) to “walk by the Spirit”, to be “led by the Spirit” (in verse 18), to “live by the Spirit” and to “keep in step with the Spirit” (vs. 25).
Surrender control. Notice the common theme in the different illustrations James uses—CONTROLLING a horse, CONTROLLING a ship, CONTROLLING a fire, CONTROLLING beasts, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures.
This is an act of worship.
Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
James 1:26 “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”
Self-control is evidence of the wisdom of the Spirit.
{vs. 13-15}
All the way back in James chapter one, James says this…
James 1:5–8 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
So, James, circling back to this point he’s made showing us the need for wisdom, writes, in verse 13…
James 3:13–15 “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”
Wisdom is knowing the right, the true, the godly thing to do—and doing it…living life in alignment with God’s word, God’s will and God’s way.
Examples—money, relationships, etc.
More than just about anything else, we need to seek wisdom when it comes to our words. “Is this the wise thing to say?” Sometimes, the wisest thing you can do with your mouth is keep it shut.
James contrasts two types of wisdom—heavenly wisdom (wisdom from “above”) and earthly wisdom (wisdom from “below”). There is good wisdom and there is bad wisdom. There is wisdom that is godly and wisdom that is demonic.
See, earthly wisdom would say, “Let me speak my mind/give them a piece of my mind.”
Heavenly wisdom says, “Let me stay quiet and give this to the Lord.”
Apart from Christ, in the flesh, we live according to earthly wisdom.
Proverbs 10:19 “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”
Proverbs 17:28 “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”
Proverbs 25:28 “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”
Self-control is evidence of the fruit of the Spirit.
{vs. 16-18}
Taming the tongue begins with full and complete surrender to the Holy Spirit and being led by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And, as we are living this Spirit—surrendered/Spirit—led life, He—the Holy Spirit—will change and transform us and produce in us His fruit.
In Galatians 5, Paul contrasts the fruits of the flesh—“sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, dolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these…”
And the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness…and he ends with this—self-control. And out of the Spirit’s fruit of self-control…MORE fruit is produced.
James 3:16–18 “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Let me take us back to our theme verse for this month…
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Listen…your heart is producing fruit through your mouth/words. You’re going to have to eat the fruit—good or bad. In other words, we have to live with the consequences of our words.
The fruit of earthly wisdom/the flesh (jealousy and selfish ambition)—is disorder and every vile practice. Man, it may feel good to just unleash our emotions/feelings through a barrage of words—like bullets flying from a M16 or AK47. But it only leaves carnage…and you’re left trying to triage relationships.
A life under submission to the Holy Spirit will bear evidence of His power and work.
Pure
Peaceable
Gentle
Open to reason
Full of mercy and good fruits
Impartial
Sincere
What fruit would you rather eat? What fruit would you rather the people around you receive?
Illustration: Politics, Family, and being peaceful and self-controlled
CONCLUSION
And here’s the deeper truth…
You and I don’t just have a mouth problem—we have a heart problem.
Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
The mouth is just the microphone. The heart is the source.
So, if your mouth is bitter, angry, crude, divisive… that’s not a speech issue—it’s a spiritual issue.
And here's the gospel truth:
You can't tame the tongue, but Jesus can change your heart.
No man can tame the tongue. That’s what James said.
But what man cannot do, God can do by His Spirit.
That’s why Jesus came—to change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
He lived a perfect, sinless life—never once uttering a sinful word.
He was silent before His accusers so that we could be forgiven for every word we’ve spoken in anger, slander, gossip, and hate.
And on the cross, He bore the judgment we deserve—not just for what we’ve done, but for what we’ve said.
And He rose from the dead to give you a new heart, and to fill you with the Holy Spirit who empowers you to walk in wisdom, speak with grace, and live with self-control.
So today, if you’ve never been saved—you need more than a new vocabulary—you need a new heart.
And that comes only through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
Right now, in this moment, would you call out to Him in faith?
Confess your sin, ask for forgiveness, and surrender your life to Jesus. He will save you.
And if you're a believer, but your words have been out of control—
today is the day to surrender afresh.
Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. To cleanse your heart.
To tame your tongue.
To use your words to sow peace instead of fire.
You’re going to produce fruit—either for death or life.
Choose today to yield to the Spirit and bear the fruit of righteousness.
