Words
Notes
Transcript
Has anyone ever seen one of those gender reveals like this where they shoot at something and then it explodes the color of the gender baby you are having? (SHOW PICTURE)
I always try to convince Arika to let us do this every time and she never lets me.
because who does not love seeing things explode right?
But heres the issue because while this gender reveal is probably the coolest gender reveal there is, it also has been known to cause a lot of injuries.
In fact in 2020 there was actually a major forest fire that started as a result of this gender reveal
And it actually ended up being a reaally destructive fire.
But here is the thing because while the announcement had the potential to be this great day for the couple, it actually ended up being a really bad day.
But you know today we are looking at something in our lives that has the ability to cause a lot of joy and really accomplish a lot of good, but it also has the ability to cause a lot of destruction and pain.
And so far in this series we have been looking at how our faith overflows into our life and we have said how it spills out in the trials we face, it spills out in our anger, last week we saw how it spills out into Actions.
And really this week we are looking at how our faith spills out into the words we speak.
Because last week you remember I started my sermon with the phrase “Actions speak louder than words” but there is a little addition
Because while actions speak louder than words, words sometimes words have the potential to cause a lot more destruction and damage.
In fact there have been wars throughout history that have started just by words
If you look at a marriage, there are obviously actions that can tear it apart, but a lot of time it starts with words
Our friendships, it only takes one phrase to ruin a close friendship
It only takes a small phrase to tear apart a family.
Even in this room, because it only takes one phrase from someone in this room to make it so a person wants to follow God or have nothing to do with Him
And I know thats a lot of examples, but I want us to understand that this is serious and really we need to ask ourselves, how do we make sure our words coming out of our mouth life-giving, and not life taking.
And that they cause Joy and encouragement, and not destruction.
And so we are in James 1:1-12 today and really James hits on this issue today. He says this starting in the first couple verses:
1 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.
You know James starts with the people that really have an impact in society, because he says not many of you should be teachers. (That could be a Pastors life verse right haha)
And its interesting because he is not saying “All of you are boring, you are not very funny and to top it off you don’t understand how to use powerpoint.”
But he is saying this because when you are leading or teaching people you have an impact on their life.
In fact a lot of times you might have a huge impact in their life.
And it is so important that your actions, but also your words are aligned with Christ,
And its great if your gifted and can engage people, but there is a lot of destruction that can happen if your character is not where it should be.
I love this quote by Andy Stanley it say: “Your talent and giftedness as a leader (or even as a Christ follower) have the potential to take you farther than your character can sustain you. That ought to scare you.”
And in these verses James is writing to the teachers and leaders,
And you might be thinking how does this apply to me?!
but here is the thing, because chances are you are teaching someone in your life
You might have this warning not to be a teacher, but you probably are…
I mean if you have someone who looks up to you, if you have a kid… You are teaching!
Have you ever watched Liam or Finn after the service? if you do almost every Sunday (mainly Liam) comes up on the platform, grabs a microphone turns the Bible around and starts talking like he is preaching. (now that I said this he probably wont)
But its because he sees me doing it each week
And thats cute right, but on a serious note our kids or grandkids pick up on how we live and what we do and they really learn the words we say.
If they see us gossip they will pick that up
If they see us scream at a person and thear them down, they will probably do it.
If they see you build people up, they are going to build them up.
We are the primary spiritual caregivers of our kids (even more so than the church)
And it is a very serious and sometimes difficult job, but it is worth it.
And look what this next part tells us (verses 3-5 because James continues to tell us how powerful our words are. It says this:
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.
So James brings up a few examples, but have you ever rode on a horse, its a really cool feeling because its such a huge animal, but its controlled, by the reigns right.
And its amazing to feel the control you have over something so powerful
He also uses the example of a ship. If you have ever seen a rudder on a ship it is such a small part of the ship,
Look at this picture of a carnival cruise ship. That is the rudder. A massive boat is steered by it. (PICTURE)
And then He uses the example of a fire and how a spark can cause a great forest fire.
But he brings these together in verse 6 where it says:
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.
I know I already mentioned this, but the tongue can really cause destruction, and James even says it can set the course of someones life on fire.
I mean its almost like if you've ever eaten a bad piece of food, because you could of only a small piece, but guess what it can really cause some issues right.
And our words can do that.
You might only say “I can’t stand my boss” once and your in trouble
You might make a joke that is not appropriate and you think “Its just a joke” but it also offends someone and that relationship is ruined.
And so the question becomes well what do I do?! I mean I don’t want a life where things are on fire right? (That sounds bad)
and look what James tells us in verse 7-8, because he says:
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.
So James talks about how every animal and sea creature has been tamed- I mean if we want to we can tame an animal and make it do tricks or whatever we want,
Be he points out that while we have tamed animals, we have not been able to tame our tongues.
in fact he says no human has ever been able to.
And so its a really optimistic outlook isn’t it?
But you know in reality its not that we are doomed, but we have to realize what the source of the problem is.
Its like how the past few weeks we have had a fruit fly infestation.
And we have had them in the past and we put out a trap and they disappear in a couple days
But this time they were everywhere
I mean it felt like we were at war with the fruit flies.
And we tried everything possible to get rid of them, but nothing worked.
And finally the other day I read I need to scrub the drain in our kitchen and then there is this gel you put down that has citronella in it and if there is a nest it will kill the nest.
Because we had traps, but they were not addressing the source of the issue.
Because it could be just something so small and that is enough to have fruit flies everywhere!
And in our lives we can try to change the things we say or even what we do
And truthfully we can even do a decent job at it.
But unless we address the source we cannot tame our mouth and really our lives completely.
Because the truth is we need to recognize our sinful nature to do wrong and turn from that and turn to God,
Because while we cannot tame our tongues, but we have a God who can.
But we have to address the issue and turn from our sin and turn to God.
And lets look at these last few verses because it says this in verses 9-12. It says:
James 3:9–12 (NIV)
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.
You know James wraps up this section by really pointing out huge issue here, because he recognizes that there are people who say “I am a Christ follower,”
And they would come and worship God, but then out of their same mouth they would be cursing people who are created in the image of God.
And James is saying this cannot happen.
And really it should not be happening in our lives because I think we can all agree there are people who have different views then us right.
Some of you have views in sports I really disagree with,
But heres the thing because our views can be different-
in fact we might have different political views
We might have different ways that are kids are raised
And everything in our culture would say “wow this person should be your enemy”
, but something really convicting here is that James is making a point that we cannot praise God and then turn around and hate or curse someone that was created in His image.
And really that word for curse means that you are wishing bad things on them. Where you just wish evil on someone.
And the truth is they might get under your skin
They might do it a lot, but ultimately we are called to love the way Christ has called us to love.
And James closes by saying really fresh water and salt water cannot flow together
which if you have ever seen where they flow together you can almost see a line where they are separate (PICTURE)
and really we cant praise God in this building and turn around and curse our brother.
And this morning let me just end on this because this can feel unatural at times, because how can we love the person who we disagree with, how can we love a person who has hurt us,
How can we love them, when its hard for us, but then everything in our society are saying you guys are enemies.
And I wanted to end on some photos you may have saw on Facebook a year ago and its of Christ washing everyones feet.
And to be honest when I first saw them there are some of them that made me feel uncomfortable
Because I thought wait, I really disagree with that person, and Christ is washing their feet.
But here is the thing you might disagree with them, but Christ died for that person.
And I know there are theological differences matte
But the night Jesus washed the disciples feet He did not say, okay lets make sure we are on the same page and then I will wash your feet.
He did not go around and make sure they all had their act together,
But He just began to wash their feet.
He actually washed the feet of this ragtag group he had following Him.
He washed the feet of people who would deny Him
He washed the feet of people who would abandon Him
He washed the feet of the very man who would betray Him.
And if Jesus washed the feet (and really ultimately died for) these people and even person who He knew would ultimately kill Him, I just have to believe we can love the person we disagree with.
Because if we praise God, one of our responses response should be to love our neighbor.
And really we have the ability to build our neighbor up or tear them down.
To show them who Christ is and who He isn’t
To bring them closer or push them further from God
Your words are serious, and thats a little scary isn’t it?
And as we close maybe there is a place where your off alignment
Maybe its the words you say
Maybe its the way you view those who are different.
Maybe your looking at your parenting and you feel like you have not been teaching Christ.
Here is the beautiful thing Christ is washing your feet.
We can create a mess, but we have a God who puts broken pieces together in a way that is more beautiful than we can imagine.
And really that is my prayer for us this morning that regardless of where you are to allow God to love you and for us to let that love overflow.
Let’s pray.