The Power of Words
Notes
Transcript
The power of words
So today we are going to discuss the power of words
What impact our words have on others
What our words mean to our walk with Christ
What our words can do to the church
Our responsibility to others
I once took a public speaking class
What I remember the most
The power that can come from a carefully organized speech
In fact studies have shown
Behind a charismatic leader
You can get Nazi’s
Dedicated Soldiers
Gang members
And many other groups to follow you.
Book with multiple studies
Crowd Psychology
One study asked why Soldiers willing run into battle
Another asked why slaves become so obedient
Take Israel for example
Outnumber Egypt by maybe hundreds of thousands
Enslaved for 400 years
What about Moses and leading them out of slavery
What about a cult
One man
Influenced hundreds
Kill themselves
I remember the class analyzed the speeches of
Martin Luther King
Steve Jobs
Regardless of their cause
Both men were able to arouse an audience that became
Enthusiastic
Shared their vision
Believed in their cause
Willing to sacrifice to achieve their leaders goal
Look at Hitler for example
Led an entire nation into the belief
One man
So you see speech whether right or wrong
Words have the power to do incredible things
To lead
To teach
To influence
But more important
Its not just
The power of words
We are going to talk about that today
We are going to talk about the very character of God
The way that he demands us to behave
As we open up today
never forget these lessons
come from his word
from his guidance
not man’s
Please open your Bibles to James 3:1-12
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.
This is one of those passages
Hard to argue with
Every single one of knows
The damage or the
blessing that can
come from our mouths
If you look with me at verses 1-2 you see a warning
A warning for teachers in the church
Why?
Lets jump back to the charismatic leader motif
You see we have a warning
A warning to
To watch what we say
To be careful with how we motivate
To be understanding with how people will react
It is interesting how very easily
This is applied to our daily lives
How many of us realize that
what we say greatly affects everything
From the lowest private to the person in charge
Everything we say can affect people in so many different ways
Lets take for example
If one of you shows up on the job site and has a negative attitude
You begin telling everyone how miserable you are
You begin telling everyone how misguided the leadership is
How no one cares about your issues
How you’d rather be do anything else
What happens?
Do you know the power behind such speech
Even as the lowest man in the group
You can affect everyone around you
What was once a positive attitude
Has now become a negative
What was once a person who woke up dedicating their work and lives to God
Has now become a person that is angry and focused on negativity
It is truly amazing how a simple comment can control the entire day
We must never forget the power of the words coming from our mouths
Multiple times in my own life
Had a perfect day
Had a perfect week
Then one comment
One illustration
One insult to many
I’m off in that deep spin
This is especially true when that comment or insult
Comes from a fellow Christian
It hurts deeper than normal
But let’s dive a bit deeper
Start thinking bigger
Ask yourself
Is this verse truly talking about the power of our tongue or the warning against false doctrine
Perhaps its speaking of both
You see
James is focusing primarily on the teachers in this passage
It would appear that many false teaching are happening
Perhaps many people are teaching when they shouldn’t be
While its easy to take this passage and apply it to our lives
We must really dig out the context
Fully embrace what James is trying to get at here
So let me ask
You ever met those self proclaimed bible scholars?
I’ve meet these people quite often
Sometimes they’re truly scholars
Other times I think they need to get back to studying
They want to tell me what they feel the Bible says
And how they feel Bible should be taken
Some times they’re right and I’m wrong
For lack of better terms
I guess you could call them the equivalent to barracks lawyers
Barracks biblical scholars
The simple reality
James is warning,
if you don’t know what you’re saying
If you don’t truly know what you’re teaching
Then be cautious
That one charismatic leader may influence in ways they didn’t realize
That one person,
perhaps with good intention,
may be leading you into sin
May be leading down the wrong road
Teaching or leadership in all circumstances comes with a responsibility
A responsibility to understand the influence
To understand the background
To understand the reaction to our words
To understand that our speech may in fact guide others
Into a life of sin
James begins to point this out as he makes it overtly clear
Our tongue is perhaps the most powerful
Source of sin in our lives
Has the ability to control nearly everything about us.
Our tongue can literally guide us into destruction.
Look at the example James gives here.
James 3:3-5
We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
This is exactly what I was just talking about
A teacher that gives false instruction
A teacher that doesn’t necessarily teach the truth
A teacher that is more concerned with opinions
Can influence you in such a negative light
He can in fact lead the entire church astray
But in a personal level
You have to understand
You have that influence
You have that ability
People listen to you
They are influenced by what you say
By simply claiming to follow Christ
You hold influence you never realized
You hold a responsibility you may never have understood
Be cautious with what you say
Look with me at the example the Bible gives
Isn’t it interesting how the Bible’s uses the example of a Forrest fire.
One spark and the entire Forrest can go up in flames.
You ever see those investigations into what cause Forrest fires.
Usually it’s maybe a cigarette thrown from a window.
One tiny cigarette
Destroys millions of acres
Millions of dollars in damage
The same goes for our tongue in both the church and in our private life.
As a pastor if you lead a congregation down the wrong road
You get a group of people
Motivated
But towards the wrong goal
Maybe towards the wrong God
Maybe towards the wrong motivation.
But let’s look at our own lives for a second
What about how we communicate to our families
Maybe our parents
Spouses
Children
Grandparents
Are we speaking to them in a manner that is causing a Forrest fire?
Are we speaking out of love?
Are we building them up?
Or are we tearing them down?
Are we following last weeks message
Treating everyone as a child of God
Or are we destroying people inside
Causing havoc
Causing pain
Causing sadness
This is what it means when the Bible says our tongue is uncontrollable.
We have the power to carry on the traditions of God
Or
We have the power to destroy our closest relationships,
even corrupt the church.
What about kids
Many of us never fully realize how powerful our words are to our kids
You know when you tell a kid you’re proud of them
It’s means the world
You’re their hero
To get praise from you is irreplaceable
But on the opposite
To hear you criticize them
To tear them down in the name of tough parenting
May in fact destroy them inside
May create an identity that they aren’t worth your affection
Same goes with our spouse
When was the last time you looked at your wife or husband and gave them a heart felt compliment
When was the last time you heard a heart felt compliment
You know how good that feels
This is exactly why James is making such a big deal out this
It affect so many areas of our life.
Personal life
Public life
Church life
Teaching in the church
How we influence each other as Christians
How a body or a church believes and acts or reacts
This teaching is critical to our walk.
But if you pay attention
If you follow James
Following a sequence here
First chapter dealt with our maturity in Christ
Second with how we treat other because of our maturity
Third how we communicate, teach, and learn based off of the first two.
James is literally teaching us how to
Walk
To listen
To grow in that relationship with God
Which leads me to my final point
Christian behavior compared to the world look with me real quick at verses 10-12
James is repeating the same idea as last week
You simply cannot claim to be a follower of Christ
If this is who you are
While i understand
The Bible understands
We all fall
We all slip
But a constant type behavior
Without remorse
Without repentance
May require some serious self examination
Say that again
Behavior that is constant and destructive in nature
Opposite of the Christian walk
And is in desperate need of
Self examination and repentance.
Last thing I want to do hear
I saw a sermon where a man just read a few verses
Extremely powerful
With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Lets close in prayer