23 AUG CATHEDRAL

Cathedral evening service

Luke 6:43–49 ““No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. forgiveness

For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.””

This philosophical concept—often famously summarized by author David J. Schwartz as —means that your internal self-image dictates how you act, how you feel, and how the world responds to you.

Thoughts form your beliefs: What you constantly tell yourself becomes your internal truth.

Beliefs dictate your posture: Favourable, positive thoughts physically manifest as confidence.

Attitude drives your actions: Your internal self-narrative guides the daily choices you make.

Actions create your habits: Repeated choices eventually solidify into your lifestyle.

Habits define your identity: Your daily lifestyle is what ultimately determines who you are. [1, 2, 3]

New International Version (2011) Chapter 3

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.

4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind,

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

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.

Good man vs Bad man

The behaviour of a person is not an accident; it is a revelation of the innermost motives of the heart (v. 45).

New International Version (2011) Chapter 3

Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

JAMES is not merely talking about the tongue as the organ in out mouths that we use for speech and taste. If that were true, the the perfect person would be a mute - who doesn’t have the ability to say anything.

Furthermore, saints would surgically get their tongues removed in order to be perfect

The tongue is so much more than what we actually say out loud.

In fact actual speech is probably only a small percentage of the use of the tongue.

We cannot think without formulating thoughts in words;

we cannot plan without describing to ourselves step by step what we intend to do;

we cannot imagine without painting a word-picture before our inward eyes;

we cannot write a letter or a book without ‘talking it through’ our minds on to the paper;

we cannot resent without fuelling the fires of resentment in words addressed to ourselves;

we cannot feel sorry for ourselves without listening to the self-pitying voice which tells us how hard done by we are.

But if our tongue were so well under control that it

refused to formulate the words of self-pity,

the images of lustfulness,

the thoughts of anger and resentment,

then these things are cut down before they have a chance to live: the master-switch has deprived them of any power to ‘switch on’ that side of our lives.

It is in this way that if any one makes no mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man (2). The control of the tongue is more than an evidence of spiritual maturity; it is the means to it.

WHY IS THE TONGUE SO IMPORTANT TO JAMES?

Not just James, but we see the importance of tongue throughout the Bible

Genesis 3:12 “The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.””

The first actual sin following the fall was a sin of speech

Isaiah 6:5 ““Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.””

ISAIAH disqualifies himself from worshipping God by identifying his problem - a man of unclean lips.

Of all the things a person can be ashamed of, Isaiah picked up one, which to our modern minds doesn’t amount to much,

PETER - Christians long for a fulfilled experience, a good life, a rich blessing from God, commands any who ‘would love life and see good days’ to ‘keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile’

Romans 3:13–14 ““Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.””

The Message of James A Serious Business (3:1)

PAUL

What does James about it -

control of the tongue leads to a master-control of ourselves and our lives

Example of a horse being controlled by the bit.

Example of a ship being controlled by the rudder.

The Message of James The Key to Holy Living (3:2–5a)

how we are to control the powerful forces within us that drive us into sin,

and James replies by talking about something we never considered—do we control our tongues?

The Message of James The Key to Holy Living (3:2–5a)

Are we the masters of the master-key? The tongue is the key-factor in consistent living. Circumstances vary. There are the pressures of adversity and the (often greater) pressures of prosperity; there are sudden and unexpected shocks—the blows which life administers to us. Can we hold our course? James’ marine illustration is not at all wide of the mark as a description of life with its tides, currents and storms. Once again, there is a rudder to hold the ship on course, and the tongue is that rudder.