MANAGING YOUR MOUTH!
James 3:1-12
1. Illus. of Mom and cell phone
• On way to Gatlinburg decided to make a call to her new daughter-in-law.
• Got the answering machine, so she left a short message.
• After she hung up the cell phone, she started giving daughter-in-law “down the country” to my Dad.
• Got a rather short phone call from my brother later on that day. Seems that my technology impaired mom hadn’t hung up cell phone. Instead, everything she said was transmitted over the phone, where the answering machine recorded not only her short message, but EVERYTHING she said after that.
2. Ouch! Let me ask you something: what if every person you knew heard every word you said about them? Would you have any friends left? Would you have a job tomorrow morning? Would you be welcome in this church? No wonder our heavenly Father says dozens of times in the Bible, “Children, manage your mouths!”
3. I started to call this sermon, “How to tame your tongue.” The truth of the matter is that it is impossible to tame our tongue. See vs 7-8. While we will never tame it, it is possible to learn to control it.
4. Text: James gives his 1st century readers some important reasons why they needed to manage their mouths.
5. Today: These reasons are no less true today than they were 2000 years ago, and so we too must work at managing our mouths.
6. Interrogative: If the tongue is so hard to control, why should we try to do it? Three reasons.
I. YOU NEED TO MANAGE YOUR MOUTH BECAUSE IT WILL DETERMINE YOUR LIFE’S DIRECTION
1. See vs 3-4. James gives us two illustrations of the tongue’s power to change the course of our lives. A bit is a very small thing, yet it can determine the direction of a large horse weighing hundreds of pounds. A rudder is a small piece of wood, but it can determine the direction of a large ship weighting several tons.
2. The tongue may be one of the smallest muscles in your body, but it carries the power to change your life! This power may be positive, or it may be negative.
3. Principle: Our tongues have the power to determine the course of our lives!
4. Illus. of steering wheel
• In your car you have a steering wheel. It is much smaller than the engine, the transmission, or even a tire. Yet that steering wheel will determine the direction your car takes.
• That steering wheel can carry you to the hospital, or it can carry you over a cliff!
• James says that the tongue is the steering wheel of your life! If you manage your mouth, it will steer your life in a positive direction. If you don’t manage your mouth, it will steer it in a negative direction.
5. Argument: Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” When you speak grace and blessing about yourself and others, your tongue steers you toward life. When you speak criticism and bitterness toward yourself and others, your tongue steers you toward death.
6. Let me ask you something: which direction is your tongue steering you?
7. Manage your mouth because it will determine your life’s direction.
II. YOU NEED TO MANAGE YOUR MOUTH BECAUSE IT CAN DESTROY THOSE AROUND YOU
1. See
Vs 5-6a. Out tongue is like a tiny spark that can start a huge forest fire.
Vs 7-8. Our tongue is like a wild snake whose venom is extremely lethal.
2. What is James’ point? Just like a tiny spark of fire or a few drops of poison can cause a large amount of damage and destruction, so is the tongue. Just a few words can rip and shred and destroy the lives of those around us!
3. Principle: You need to manage your mouth because it can destroy the lives of those around us!
4. Illus. of Big Wills Valley
• It had been one of those hot, dry summers.
• We were in church one Sunday morning when a man came in and whispered something in another’s man’s ear.
• He jumped up and said something, and immediately he and a dozen other men began to jump up and run out of church.
• There was a wildfire sweeping through the valley. Before it was brought under control, smoke and ashes hung in the air so thickly you couldn’t see or breathe.
• It was finally determined that the fire was started by a spark from a carelessly flung cigarette.
• No wonder James uses that picture to describe the destructive power of our words! A handful of words are carelessly flung from our mouths. They take on a life of their own, spreading like wildfire, and before it’s over the lives of many have been destroyed!
5. Now I want you to notice something. Tucked away at the end of vs 6 is as little phrase that often escapes our notice. After describing how destructive the tongue is, James tells us where this destructive power comes from! He says the tongue is set on fire by hell… Did you know that Satan can use your tongue to speak his words? See Mark 8:33.
6. Application: Heaven would never slander someone’s character on the phone, or repeat some vicious rumor that we don’t even know is true: but hell would!
7. Manage your mouth or the power of hell will operate through it to destroy those around you.
III. YOU NEED TO MANAGE YOUR MOUTH BECAUSE IT CAN HURT YOUR CREDIBILITY
1. See vss 9-12- The word bless means to praise or to say good things about. The word curse is literally “down + speech” (speech that tears down).
2. Do you see what James is talking about? A person comes to church and says during testimony time, “God is so good.” He picks up a hymnal and sings, “Jesus, what a beautiful name.” He uses his tongue to praise God, and then he goes home and begins to tear down people with his speech. He serves up barbequed preacher, char-grilled Sunday School teacher, and roasted neighbor for lunch!
3. A spring doesn’t give forth both sweet and bitter water, a fig tree doesn’t produce both figs and olives, and the mouth of the Christian shouldn’t both praise God and then tear down his brother in Christ, who according to Genesis 1:26 is made in the image of God!
4. Where is James going with this? He is enlarging on the statement he made in James 1:26.
5. Illus. of John witnessing to coworker
• At witness commitment day, committed to witness to one coworker the next week.
• Made appointment with Frank to come by that night and talk to him about Christ
• Later on that day, John spoke about another coworker in cutting and unkind way, even using a profane word.
• Frank came up to him immediately after and said, “I really don’t think it will be necessary for you to come to my house tonight” and walked off!
6. When the lost world hears us praise God and then slice up our neighbor, we lose our credibility. Remember that before you open your mouth to speak!
7. Manage your mouth or it will hurt your credibility.
Conclusion
1. Why manage our mouth? Because it controls our life, hurts those around us, and damages our credibility when we don’t.
2. Asking you today to consecrate your speech to God.
