Sermon Tone Analysis

I know I probably bring this up to much but as many of you know I ran the Chicago marathon a few years ago

which meant that I had to make a lot of phone calls

But I remember one day we were getting trained on the new phone system that was just installed and one of the things they told us was how these phones were so strong at picking up sound that you have to be careful.

and there are a ton of people yelling different stuff at you the whole run.

Because they let us know that there was a person who was fired because someone in the background was talking poorly about there boss and the phone picked it up.

and were holding up different signs

So needless to say this person lost there position in the company

And I remember some people they had really nice things to say and were yelling really encouraging things

but during the ru

So they let us know to be careful with these phones.

like “keep going” or “your doing great”

and maybe they would have a sign with a motivational quote

And then with others it was a different story

And you wouldent think this but some people were yelling discouraging things

Some people had signs that said “you are loosing”

Or after the first mile people had signs that said “just 25.2 miles to go”

and in your head your just going thanks guys.

And I actually thought the signs were pretty funny until youy get to the end of the race and nothing becomes funny.

then it becomes a little disheartening

and thats just a race so its not a huge deal.

But have you ever had it where someone has ever said or told you something that was hurtful in some way?

and how did it feel?

because if you are like me a lot of times it can hurt a lot when someone says something just mean to you.

For some of us we can probably think back to middle school or high school and remember someone saying somthing that just tore you apart

but for many of us there are things that people say regularly that can tear you apart inside.

and I don’t know if any of you are like me but when something like that happens its easy to just dwell on what someone said.

and those words quickly become destructive in your life.

and when you look at the destruction that our words can cause you really start to gain an understanding on how powerful our words are.

I think back to a couple weeks ago where we were talking about expectations and how expectations (which often are spoken) have the ability to change someones entire life.

and the reason for this is because our tongues have a ton of power

Controling our tongues

You may have encountered

what we say has a ton of power

What we say has a lot of power.

You may have seen how damaged someones life can get because of bullying.

You may have had a friend who has hurt you by something you have said or maybe you hurt them with something you said.

People have left organizations, groups and churches because of things that one person said.

I

And think about this on even a larger scale because if you think about the power of words on a large scale it is mind blowing.

Wars can start because of words

ultimately we have the ability to speak life or to speak death to people around us.

it may not even be a person intentionally trying to start a war but one miscommunication could cause a nation to go to war.

But on the flip side words can bring peace in the middle of a war.

Words can be the rise or fall to an organization.

They can be what drives a company

or what tears it apart.

But regardless words have power.

And today we will be looking at and James in this passage knows that words have power

And he wants us to know that we have the ability to change lives whether that be for the better or for the worse just by the things we say.

So if you would like to turn to it says

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.

10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.

My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?

Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Going straight into verse one, James talks about how we shouldn't become teachers because we will be judged to a higher standard.

and I read that and went well thats not fair.

but James is saying this because he knows that teachers are to be setting a good example

but he also knows that this is hard to do.

and in a couple verses he ties it in to the words we say but I just want to sit here for a second.

Because I think most of us are role models in some way.

whether that be to a friend, a child, and grandkid we have people who are looking up to us

I remember growing up and since I was a swimmer I just loved Michael phelps

He was the swimming role model for most young swimmers winning more olympic medals then anyone else, and he grew up within an hour of me and I just remember looking up to him

and what was crazy is as I got older in swimming I remember I would actually see him at the state championships and other swim meets because once you turn 15 you can swim against anyone so Michael Phelps would be there.

so heres me this 15 year old being at the same swim meets as Michael phelps and its just surreal

but what I learned quickly was Michael phelps isn’t the best at saying hi to kids and people who want to meet him

so he came off kind of stand offish and then a few years later he started having DUI’s and I remember since we were so close to him location wise and we had mutual freinds we would hear all the drama going on in his life.

and from what Ive heard he really has gotten his life back together now

But as a teenager looking up to a person your entire life and having them not turn out to be who you thought they are is devistating

and that is why James starts out by saying don’t be a teacher.

because people look up to you and you need to be a good example

and like I said every single one of us is probably a role model and fits into this category to some extent.

and this is especially true because when we place our trust in Christ we become teachers and role models

because we have the ability to reflect Christ to the people around us so when we stumble when we say something poorly we show that to everyone who looks up to us, to everyone who knows us, and really to everyone who knows us.

Well

And James really wants this to be reflected in our words because as I mentioned “words are powerful” and have the ability to speak life or death.

and this is amplified when you are a teacher or role model

so in the next few verses James starts to put pictures in our head with how powerful our words are.

because he realizes that especially when we our role models

so the first illustration he uses is horses, and if you look on the screen that is a horse bit.

It is this small metal piece that will go into a horses mouth but it controls this massive, powerful animal.

Just because of a small 5 inch metal piece

Then he goes to his next illustration using a ship and he talks about how a ship rudder (a small piece on a ship controls the entire ship)

and this illustration is even truer today then in biblical days because think about a cruise ship they have a rudder that is such a small portion of the ship but it controls a ship that can hold thousands

and then the final illustration he uses is how a spark or a small fire can destroy an entire forest.

And I imagine as he gets to verse 6 and James is writing this with just deep compassion and empathy going look your words have the ability to speak life or death.

in verse 6 James says “setting on fire the entire course of life”