Taming The Untamable
#makingitreal
James 3:1-12
OKAY…
We are in this series on the book of James called, ‘Making It (making our faith) Real…’
A 2000 year old letter written by the breath of God and the pen of James the half brother of Jesus.
A LETTER - to encourage Jesus-followers in the first century and the 21st century to stay strong and to not give into the comforts and ways and wisdom of the world…
BUT INSTEAD…
to demonstrate real faith…
to live as a firstfruits people…
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created… - James 1:18
REMEMBER… it is God’s intent that our lives become
• A portrait of how life should and could be lived
• A preview of where God is ultimately taking all of creation when His Son splits the sky and returns…
B/S…
GOD – has called us to live our lives as a firstfruits people who are ‘making it real’ BY…
• grounding and fueling our faith in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (Brothers and sisters – Jesus is alive and the Gospel message is true)
• Turning our trials into triumphs
• Defeating sin and temptation
• Being doers and not simply hearers of the word
• Reigning in our tongues
• Looking after the widow, the orphan and the less fortunate
• Updating our favorites list (and welcoming all no matter who they are, where they’ve been, what they look like or struggle with) to come and sit with us at the feet of Jesus
• Combining our faith with works (which it is the original and ultimate ‘dynamic duo’ that – saves, does good, makes sacrifices, takes risks, is alive and honors God and changes the world)…
AND THIS MORNING…
James is going to talk to us about how firstfruits people
HOW – real faith ‘tames the untamable’
YES – today we are going to talk about the tongue, about the words that come out of our mouths… and in the age of social media, also the words that come out of our thumbs…
The tongue remains hidden for the most part, but when it does make its presence known it has devastating power.
• The tongue can express or repress;
• release or restrain;
• enlighten or obscure;
• adore or abhor;
• offend or befriend;
• affirm or alienate;
• build or belittle;
• comfort or criticize;
• delight or destroy;
• be sincere or sinister.
• The tongue can Xerox the good or X-ray the bad.
YEAH - we love to talk, don’t we?
Everybody seems to have something to say.
Statistics say that the average person; not the overly talkative, on or the super-shy one… but that they average person spends 1/5 of their life talking.
IF - all of our words were put into print, the result would be this…
A single day’s words would fill a 50 page book.
In a years, time the average person would fill 132 books of 200 pages each.
That's average.
AND THAT’S - that's a lot of opportunity to screw up and make mistakes…
SO – it really should not surprise us that the Word of God and God's invitation into life as he designed us to life… would have some things to say about how we use a fifth of our lives, right?
NO - it shouldn't be surprising that God has some thoughts, has a design for how we use those words.
AND JAMES – has already shared some of those thoughts…
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. – James 1:19
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless… - James 1:26
OKAY
NOW - I think it is important as we begin for all of to just put it all out on the table…
QUESTION - have you ever…
• misused your tongue?
• said things to someone that hurt them rather than helped them?
• Said something to someone and your intent was to do just that? (You did it on purpose. You knew if you said it, it was going to hurt. You knew if you said it, it was going to crush them, and you wanted to crush them, and so you said it).
• Used your tongue to gossip about someone?
I like Rick Warren definition of gossip – “When we are talking about a situation with somebody who is neither part of the problem or part of the solution, then we are probably gossiping…”
Our motivation in sharing a particular morsel plays a huge role in determining whether or not it is gossip…
I would also say that if you are talking about someone and if they walked in or a friend of theirs walked in you would feel the urge to suddenly stop talking… it is probably gossip
(haircut on Submarine)
Again – raise your hand if you still (not last year, not in a previous relationship, not before you meet Jesus) but if you still at times have issues with your tongue and the words that come out of your mouth?
YEAH - some of us are born not with a silver spoon in our mouths but a foot.
We have this natural ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Nothing is opened more wrongly at the wrong time than our mouths.
YES - our mouths get us into a lot of trouble.
AND JAMES - talks more about the tongue than anybody else in the New Testament.
I MEAN – nearly every chapter in the book of James says something about managing your mouth.
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.
James says, if you can control your mouth, you're perfect. He's not talking about sinless. The word "perfection" in Greek literally means "mature, healthy".
When you go to the doctor and say, I'm not feeling good. The first thing he says is "Stick out your tongue." Why? Your tongue reveals what's going on inside of you, and JAMES would say not just physically but spiritually.
NOW – there are 4 points in your notes this morning… that should motivate each of us today (August 16th 2015) to ‘tame the untamable’
1. Our tongues DIRECT where we go
2. Our tongues can DESTROY what we have
3. Our tongues REVEAL who we really are
4. Our tongues have the power to BRING and GIVE life
Prayer
I. Our Tongue DIRECTS Where We Go
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.
UNDERSTAND…
IF YOU - want to know where you are going to go in the next five to ten years, look at what you say.
IF YOU - want to know the direction your life is moving, look at your conversations.
LOOK - at the words that are coming out of your mouth.
B/S - We shape our words, listen to this, but our words shape us. We shape our words and then our words shape us.
THEY – direct where we are going. AND – in our text James gives us 2 examples… a bit and a rudder.
James says consider a bit in a horse's mouth.
I MEAN - you've got a huge stallion, 2,000-3,000 pounds, and a 95 pound jockey can control the tremendous power of this horse by a little piece of metal stuck strategically over his tongue.
James says that’s what the tongue is like. You have this little bitty muscle that has a huge impact on our lives.
• It can make you or break you.
• It can open doors for you into the future. It can close doors for you.
• It can help other people. It can hurt other people.
• It will determine the direction of your life.
NEXT – James says that the tongue is like a rudder on a ship…
While In the Navy I spent 3 years at New Port News Naval Shipyard, and I had the opportunity to see aircraft carriers and submarines sitting out of water in dry dock.
If you think these ships are huge in the water you should see them out of the water. Yet, despite their size they are controlled by a small rudder… which determines where these massive ships go.
James says the same is true of our tongue – it literally directs our lives, my life – your life.
AND LISTEN - both the bit and the rudder must overcome contrary forces. The bit must overcome the strength of a powerful horse and the rudder must fight and overcome the strong winds and swift currents that can drive a ship off course.
IN LIKE MANNER - the tongue, must overcome the powerful influences of our fleshly nature.
B/S - the question we each need to be asking ourselves is where is my tongue directing me? WHERE – is it taking my life and the lives of those around me…
II. Our Tongues Can DESTROY What We Have
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
TELL US – how you really feel James… YEAH THIS - is James giving us the uncensored, straight up, no holds barred truth about the tongue.
Don’t you affirm that statement? Even when you hear it as harsh as it is, doesn’t it just ring true? The tongue can be a restless evil. It can be a deadly poison. It can destroy lives.
AND AGAIN – James uses 2 illustrations to underscore the destructive nature of the tongue… fire and wild animals…
Fire
NOW - a fire can begin with just a spark, but it can grow and destroy an entire city.
A fire reportedly started in the O’Leary barn in Chicago at 8:30 pm October 8, 1871 grew and spread to disastrous proportions, killing 300 people, leaving 100,000 people homeless, destroying 17,500 buildings at a cost to the city of $400,000,000 (that’s almost 7 billion adjusted for inflation)
James says, your tongue can destroy like that, like a raging fire that can cause us to loose it all…
YOU KNOW - I wonder how many people because of a careless word have destroyed their marriage, or their career, or their reputation, or the reputation of another, or have destroyed or caused in their church or the church they just left…, or a friendship.
B/S - the tongue not only has the power to direct where you go but also to destroy what you have….
Reckless words pierce like a sword... – Pr 12:18
A deceitful tongue crushes the spirit... – Pr 15:4
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. – Proverbs 16:28
Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. – Proverbs 26:10
HEY - do you remember the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me?” I don’t know who came up with this but it’s just not true because words can break our hearts. Broken bones can heal with time, but a broken spirit caused by destructive, is not quickly repaired.
(and the I’m rubber your glue thing, was pretty stupid too)
Let me ask you a couple questions.
• How many people have you crushed or pierced with your words?
• Which do your words more frequently do, build up or tear down?
vs. 6 "... it (a tongue out of control) sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
B/S – James is not holding back any punches….
AND LISTEN – the truth is when we use our tongue to hurt, tear down and destroy (another person, a relationship, a church)
the source of the words that are coming out of our mouths is straight from the depths of hell, AND - we also need to understand that it is not without consequences in our lives… it will spread and corrupt our entire being.
NEXT – James compares the destruction of the tongue to wild untamed animals…
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue
UNDERSTAND - man has been able to tame all kinds of animals, but no man has been able to tame the tongue.” He says, “It’s a restless evil.”
In other words, it’s liable to break out at any moment. It’s a restless evil. You never know what the tongue is going to do. Then he says it’s like a poison, a deadly poison.
It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
The Greek word there is literally snake venom….
Inland Taipan (enough venom to kill 100 men with one bite)
B/S - the tongue is also “Full of deadly poison...” a few drops of venom can kill you.
David said much the same thing in Ps 140:1-3;
“Rescue me, O Lord from evil men...they make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s, the poison of vipers is on their lips....”
Would anyone here turn loose hungry lions or venomous snakes in their homes, where they work, where they go to church. Of course not, but we must remember that an untamed tongue does the same thing spiritually and emotionally….
III. Our Tongues DISPLAY Who We Really Are
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father,
NOW - that’s a great use of our tongues right?
I MEAN - there is no higher use of our tongues then to praise our God… AND - we have done that today in this room – right?
HAS - anybody here ever praise God with their tongues?
It’s awesome, right?
and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
NOW - cursing here doesn't necessarily mean profanity. It means any kind of put down, label. ["You good for nothing... You'll never amount to nothing ... You're just like ..."] Any kind of put down is a curse.
QUESTION…
Isn't it amazing how quickly the stuff that is coming out of our mouths can change? I MEAN - one minute we're saying, "Holy Spirit you are welcome here…
AND THE NEXT - we're, out in the hallway, the parking lot, in our cars, homes, restaurant… wherever and our tongues and words are tearing people down…
YES - the tongue (mine and yours) is such a contradiction. It's so inconsistent. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One minute we're praising God and the next we're cursing other people, who are made in his image.
(‘what ugly child you have there….’ John and Hannah, Micah)
Q - do you struggle with an inconsistent tongue?
HAVE YOU EVER – used your tongue to praise God in this room on Sunday and before you went to bed, used your tongue to curse people?
10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
Okay – I think most of us would agree… this should not be
Right?
AND – this leads us to this question…
HOW – can this be?
WELL - James gives us the answer in v. 11-12… and once again he uses 2 illustrations (like he had done before… bit and rider, fire and wild animals) to underscore his point.
11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
OKAY - the image here is of a fresh, flowing stream that has both bitter water and sweet water flowing through it.
NOW - natural springs still remain in the Middle East today. Some produce fresh water, and some produce salt water. However, none produce both. It is not possible.
B/S - James is saying, that just as it is impossible for a spring to have both sweet and sour water, so too it is inconceivable for the tongue to send forth both righteousness and rumors; blessing and blasting, compliments and cursing, grace and gossip
My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
AGAIN - the point is THIS, whatever is in the well comes out in the water. Whatever is in the tree, comes out in the fruit. What is the likelihood of an apple tree producing cherries? Zip!
YES B/S – we are hearing James correctly?
Our problem is not really our tongue.
Our problem is our heart.
UNDERSTAND - what comes out, is what is inside.
Our mouths eventually reveal what is really on the inside.
SURE - we can fool, con and pretend,
BUT eventually our tongue is going to rat us out…
It's going to REVEAL what's really inside.
HEY - have you ever seen the scenario played out?
Someone says something really mean or hurtful and they say, "I don't know what got into me. It's not like me to say that. I don't know why I said that. It's totally out of character. I didn't really mean it."
James would say, Yes, it is. It's just like you. You meant it. Quit kidding yourself. What's inside is going to come out. You don't have a spring that one minute gives salt water and the next gives fresh water. That's inconsistent.
It's a natural law:
what comes out of the well is what is inside of well
what comes out of the tree is what is inside of the tree
Jesus said it this way in, Matthew 12:34
"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."
YEAH - Jesus explained the Freudian slip years before Freud even existed. He said what's inside of you is what's going to come out.
THAT IS WHY - if we've got a problem with our tongue, it's much more serious that we think.
We have a heart problem.
A person with a harsh tongue has an angry heart.
A person with a negative tongue has a fearful heart.
A person with an overactive tongue has an unsettled heart.
A person with a boasting tongue has an insecure heart.
A person with a filthy tongue has an impure heart.
A person who is critical all the time has a bitter heart.
On the other hand,
a person who is always encouraging has a happy heart.
A person who speaks gently has a loving heart.
A person who speaks truthfully has an honest heart.
IV Our Tongues Can Bring and Give Life
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. – Proverbs 18:21
I love the story that Barbara Gland tells, about the time she did some training with three thousand front-line workers at grocery stores and retail outlets across the country.
She talked about the power of words and how what you say really does make a difference in people’s lives.
A month later, Barbara said she got a call from a guy named Johnny, who was at the training. Johnny told her early on, “I’m nineteen years old. I have Downs Syndrome. I work as a bagger at a grocery store.” He said this almost immediately.
He said, “I went back to the store and I didn’t know how to apply your statements. I liked your talk but I didn’t know what to do with it. I went home and talked with my dad and got an idea. My dad and I sat down at the computer and everyday we come up with a statement that is affirming of people, that’s encouraging.
If I can’t find one in a little quote book, I’ll make it up. We’ll type it up six different times on the computer. I print off fifty sheets and cut all of them.” So he has three hundred of these quotes. Then, every night, Johnny signs each one of them personally. Then the next day at the grocery store he puts this stack right by where he bags the groceries.
He gets everyone’s groceries bagged up. Then on the last sack he puts the quote of the day, the encouraging word, in the sack. He makes sure he looks them in the eye and says,
“I put something very special for you in this sack. I hope it will brighten your day.”
Johnny does this every single day. Barbara said after about a month she got a phone call from the manager of that grocery store.
He said, “Barbara I can’t believe it. Something really amazing is beginning to happen. I was walking around the store and I noticed while we had lots of checkers at the checkout line, there was no one there but maybe one or two people. The line where Johnny was doing bagging went all the way back to the frozen food section.”
True story!
He said, “I would tell them over the intercom that there were other lines you could move over to. We would walk down the line and tell people there were other lines open. People would just look at us and say, ‘No, we’ll wait because we want Johnny’s encouraging word for the day.’
One woman came by and grabbed the supervisor. She said, ‘I used to only come to the grocery store once a week or once every other week. Now I come by almost every day. I buy something just so I can get Johnny’s encouraging word for the day.’”
About a month later, the store manager called Barbara and said, “It’s changing our entire culture of our store. Even in the floral department when a flower was broken they used to just throw it away. Now they walk out into the lines, on their own initiative, they pin it onto elderly women or young girls. They brighten their day.”
Listen, there are a lot of people in the org chart at that grocery store but I’m telling you the most important person is Johnny, the bagger. He’s speaking words of life and words of life can change a culture. It can change a group of people.
Friends, if it can happen at a grocery store it can happen in a church…. It can happen in a home… in a workplace… school, on a college campus.
I say let’s draw a line in the sand today and determine that we are going to be a people who speak words of life to one another.
That we are going to be a people who say,
“We’re not going to gossip.
We’re not going to share hearsay.
We’re not going to engage in this deadly poison that can destroy lives, family, and people.
We’re not going to spread those stories.
We’re not going to hear them or pass them on.
We’re going to put a stop to them.
We’re going to share words of life.”
Ask God For Help
NOTICE – that James said that ‘no man’ can tame the tongue.
BUT – he did not say that God cannot…
How by giving us a new heart…
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws… - Ezk 36:25,27
If anyone is in Christ He is a new creation, the old has gone the new has come… - 2 Cor 5:17
We need supernatural power to control your tongue. We can't do it on your own. Our life is a living proof of that.
We cannot control it on our own.
We need supernatural power so we ask God to help us.
Psalm 141:3 "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips."
Great verse to memorize and quote every morning. "God, put a muzzle on my mouth. Guard my lips. Don't let me be critical today. Don't let me be judgmental. Don't let me say things off the cuff and then I regret."
Think Before You Speak
Is it True? Remember this rule about gossip: “The more interesting it is, the more likely it is to be false.”
Is it Helpful? Will your words help bring about a solution to a problem?
Is it Inspiring? Will your words build up someone?
Is it Necessary? Do we have to say anything at all
Is it Kind? Are your words based on a desire to help?
Make a commitment
