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Scripture
James
Today, I want to talk to you about that little but powerful muscle that is inside of our mouths - that is THE TONGUE.
So turn to your neighbor and say neighbor “Watch Your Mouth.”
James 1:19-20
Today, I want to talk to you about that little but powerful muscle that is inside of our mouths - that is THE TONGUE.
So turn to your neighbor and say neighbor “Watch Your Mouth.”
Introduction
After a little research it was revealed that in 1984, British writer, actor, broadcaster, self-professed Word Person and Scrabble fanatic, Gyles Brandreth, came up with one estimate of the average amount of words that a person speaks in an entire lifetime.
He said, on average we speak over 860 million words in our lifetime.
And so we could really wrap our minds around this number.
The average person, in their lifetime, speaks the equivalent of the entire 32-volume Encyclopedia Britannica (EB) 19.5 times.
The average person, in their lifetime, speaks the equivalent of the King James Bible (Old and New Testament) more than 1,110 times.
Now that was based on research done in 1984, way before the age of text messaging, smart phones and social media, where people avidly post words and post videos of themselves speaking multiple times a day.
So I’m sure that number is probably a whole lot more today.
But the point is, that whether it be speaking verbally, texting, or posting a video on social media, we spend much of our lives using words.
And catch this.
All 860 (plus) million words that we have said, texted and posted in our lifetimes, has been recorded by God and we will have to give an account for on the Day of Judgment.
It can encourage.
It can
One of the main themes of the book of James is that faith without works are dead (), which is what he just got finished saying in Chapter 2. And, here in Chapter 3, James concern about the tongue and the use of words
Jesus says this in Matthew 12:
Jesus says this:
So wait, are you telling me that even though I went to the store and bought one of those screens to go on my phone to block other people from reading my text messages, that what I texted that person the other day when they got on my nerves has still been recorded by God?
YUP!
Are you telling me that every ill word that I said to my spouse or my significant other when we had an argument last week has been recorded by God?
YUP!
Are you telling me that every Snapchat video that I have sent to someone that is suppose to automatically delete within 24hrs has been recorded by God?
YUP!
Every word we have used, has been recorded by God and we will have to give an account for on the Day of Judgment.
GOD HEARS AND SEES OUR EVERY WORD.
As children, we learn at a very early age how to control our tongues.
As a child, I wouldn’t dare say a cuss word, say the word “lie” or have certain conversations around my parents.
I could be up in the front talking with some friends, using certain words and having certain conversations, but as soon as mom or dad came into the room, I became more aware of my words.
Here is the good news.
The good news, is that every single one of us in here knows at some level how to control your tongue, because you did it or currently do it with you parents (Hopefully).
The problem is that when get older or when we are no longer around our parents, we forget that even behind closed doors, driving in cars and on our password protected smartphones, that God our Father is still in the room.
GOD HEARS AND SEES OUR EVERY WORD.
And God cares so much about our words because there is literally the power of life and death in our mouth.
We have the power to encourage and to bless and to build, but we also have the power to discourage, curse, and destroy.
It is by the words of God that the entire earth was created, and it is by the words of Adolf Hitler where 6 million Jews were killed.
Words can cause someone to feel loved and words can cause someone to think about suicide.
WORDS HAVE POWER!
WORDS HAVE POWER!
And because they are so powerful, God inspired James, Jesus’ brother, to tell us just how powerful they can be.
And so today, James is going to help us understand four different reasons we need to be careful with our words and then he is going to teach us one thing we can do this week to help us be more careful with our words.
Four Reasons We Should Be Careful With Our Words
1. Words Can Disqualify Us (3:1).
The first reason James says we need to be careful with our words, is because our WORDS CAN DISQUALIFY US.
There is a game I like to play called Taboo.
And in Taboo, the goal is to get your team to guess the word on your card without saying any of the Taboo words listed on the card.
I literally have to control what I say, because if I don’t control what I say, I run the risk of being disqualified.
Likewise, in this game we call life, we have to watch what we say, lest we be disqualified.
In verse 1, James says not all of you should be teachers.
And as you think about the word teacher, I want you to substitute it for the word leader or person of influence.
And James is saying not all of you should be teachers, not because you don’t have the gift of a teacher, but simply because you can’t control your mouth.
Because as a teacher, there are going to be some times where people will disagree and want to argue with you.
And back in that day, being a teacher meant that there are going to be some times where people are going to want to persecute and kill you for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And in the context of this passage, James is saying if you can’t control what you say when people talk about you, when people disagree with you, when people want to argue with you, and even when people are literally trying to kill you, you need not apply.
If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the fire.
Because, as James says, people who have the influence of a teacher will be highly criticized.
When you are in a position of influence, people are not going to care about what THEY said, or what THEY did, but what they are going to remember is what you said when you are in the position of a leader.
And this is what got me, there are some people that James is speaking to, that might actually make great teachers, but simply because they can’t control their mouths, it would not be good for them to be a teacher for the Kingdom of God.
Did you know that you could have the skills of a leader, have the experience of a leader, the qualifications of a leader, and even the training and degrees of a leader, but simply because you don’t know how to speak to people and control what you say when things get heated, none of that matters?
All that I’m trying to get you to understand in this point is that WORDS CAN DISQUALIFY YOU.
2. Words Can Guide Our Lives (3:2-4).
The second reason James says we need to be careful with our words, is because our WORDS CAN GUIDE OUR LIVES.
In verses 2-4, James give us two images to describe the power of our tongue.
The first image is that of a bit in a horses mouth.
A bit is something that goes into a horses mouth that allows the rider to direct where it goes.
The second image is that of a small rudder on a ship.
The rudder is the small fan-like object at the back of the ship that can steer the ship wherever the captain wants to take it.
In both images, both the bit and the rudder are small, but they have the ability to guide something much larger than what they are.
Likewise, though small, our tongues and our words have the ability to guide our lives.
It was words that caused Adam and Eve to eat from the forbidden fruit, for the serpent said “Did God really say you couldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?
Surely you won’t die.”
It is the words found in a rumor that can cause someone to leave school.
It is the words found on mission statements and in bylaws that will guide a business, a church or a nonprofit.
It is words like “Please” and “Thank you” that will open up doors.
And what I want to bring you attention to, is not so much the bit in the horses mouth or the rudder attached to the ship, but the rider that controls the bit and the captain that controls the rudder.
It is words found in slogans like Nike’s “Just Do It” that causes some people to want to just get up and go for a run.
And it is the Word of God that is spoken that has the power to change the way a person feels and cause them to shout for joy in the midst of pain and sorrow.
Let you be going through something, and watch something change on the inside when the preacher says “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.”
Or let you be at a funeral, and watch emotions begin to shift when the preacher says “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Words, though small, have the power to guide your life.
And what I want to pay close attention to, is not so much the bit in the horses mouth or the rudder attached to the ship, but the rider that controls the bit and the captain that controls the rudder.
Who is the rider and the captain that controls that bit and rudder we call a tongue in your mouth?
It is the words found on mission statements and in bylaws that will guide a business, a church or a nonprofit.
Because if its you, you will never be able to direct your life in the way it should go.
But if you want to be on the journey that God has planned for your life, then you must surrender your tongue to Jesus.
And I wish I had about
3. Words Can Destroy Community (3:5-6).
The third reason James says we need to be careful with our words, is because our WORDS CAN DESTROY COMMUNITY.
And by community, I mean bonds between people.
3. Words Can Destroy Community (3:5-6).
In verses 5-6, James gives us a third image of the tongue and he compares the tongue to that of a small fire that has the power to burn down an entire forest.
And living in California, we know how detrimental a forest fire can be.
For it can destroy homes and even lives.
We are preached to by Smokey the Bear, reminding us on billboards and commercials that “Only You Can Put Out Forest Fires.”
And it is ONLY YOU, THROUGH THE POWER OF JESUS.
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