YOU ASKED FOR IT
A BIG LITTLE PROBLEM
Sunday June 11, 2006
Scripture Reference: James 3:1-12
Intro.
A. [] Did you hear about the three preachers who went fishing together? After they got out into the middle of the lake they started confessing to each other the sins that seem to continue to plague them. One preacher said he had a drinking problem. Every once in a while he would go to a neighboring town where no one knew him and he would drink. They other preacher said he had a gambling problem. He would take his vacations in Las Vega and gamble away his money. The third preachers said, “After hearing you guys I wish I had gone first because my great sin is gossip.”
B. Who can fill in the blanks fro me? Sticks and stones ___________ __________ _____ __________ but __________ _______ __________ ________ ____. How many of you use to use that when you were kids? When someone told you that you were to fat or to skinny. When they said you were to short or to talk or when you wore glasses and they called you four-eyes. How many of you found that reciting that little rhyme really helped you get over the hurt that was caused by what those kids said about you? Probably none of us in fact I would say that most of us here today can still recall the hurtful words that were said to us or about us when we were children.
1. Someone rewrote that little rhyme to make it more truthful and here is what they wrote. “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but they will soon be mended. But names and words hurt my soul and the damage has never ended.” That sounds a little more realistic doesn’t it?
2. Have you ever heard the expressions “Loose Lips, Sink Ships”? Do you know where that expression came from? I did not know this until a few weeks ago but during WWI enemy spies use to hang out at the British pubs to hear the loose talk of sailors about their upcoming assignments and what they would be doing. The information they gathered allowed the German submarines to sink many ships and end the lives of thousands of people. The government came up with this slogan to try and help stop the flow of information to the enemy. There was even a poster to illustrate the point and here it is. (Insert the photo)
3. I think I can safely say that ever person here knows something of the expression Loose Lips, Sink Ships. For some loose lips have caused divorce. For others loose lips have ended friendships. For others loose lips has ended in the lose of employment, and I sadly have to admit that more than a few churches have been lost due to loose lips.
4. One of the most popular reasons that our friends give us for not attending church is because the church is full of hypocrites. Sometimes we think of the hypocrite as one who acts godly on Sunday and then the rest of the week they act like the devil, but hypocrisy is also revealing in the words we say. If someone hears us talking about church and then later on they hear us cussing or telling dirty jokes or saying unkind things about a fellow employee what do you think they will feel about our so called Christianity? They will believe that it is a false and worthless faith. They will feel that their suspicions about Christians has been verified, we are all hypocrites and I don’t need to give up my Sunday to be a part of that when I have to deal with it the other six days of the week.
C. Today as we are continuing to look at the topics you have requested we are going to look at the subject of gossip. Whether you are here today as a Christian or as someone who is exploring this whole Christianity thing there is something in this message for all of us because all of us have been affected by gossip whether we have been on the giving or receiving end. Now I am quite sure that there are a number of books on Amazon.com or in the Barnes and Noble bookstore on the subject of gossip, but I would suggest to you that there is no book like the bible for answering the question of how we can effective deal with the issue of gossip.
Trans. There are three things I want to share with you on the subject of gossip or taming the tongue. I am not sure if we will finish this discussion today but I will try. Here is the first thing you need to know.
I. WHAT YOU SAY CAN HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT.
Read with me again James 3:1-4 (read). Notice with me that James tells us:
A. Our Words Have The Power To Instruct.
1. I have to confess to you that as a pastor I have never been really comfortable with this verse for several reasons. First of all I am a pastor and a major portion of my responsibility is to teach you what God says in the bible and how to apply it to your lives. So I am an instructor or a teacher and here is a verse that tells me that as such I will be judged more strictly then others. I have to tell you that it is a little unnerving, but there is another reason I am uncomfortable with this verse. You see this is not the best recruiting tool for what are very important and needed positions in the church. As a pastor I am always looking for and needing people to fill the role of teacher whether that is so Sunday School classes or small groups. I am not sure if I would ever share this verse with a potential recruit, but I guess I already have haven’t I?
2. So what is James really trying to tell us here? Is his purpose to try and thin the ranks of those who will fulfill the ministry of teaching because if that is his purpose I can tell you this issue doesn’t need any help if you know what I mean? I think we can safely say that this is not the purpose behind these words. The reality is that we are ALL TEACHERS. You probably have someone at work that you teach, someone who is newer to the company than you are and to whom it is your responsibility to train them to know what is expected at this place of employment. Of course those of you who are parents know that you are teachers or instructors of your children. What James is trying to say to us here is that teaching involves very powerful responsibilities. When you or I teach whether that is at work, at home or in the church we are seeking to mold and mature lives. [] I need to request your indulgence as I brag a little. I said that as parents we have a great responsibility to mold and shape the children God has entrusted to us. I have to tell you that it thrills me when I hear my kids say things or I see them do things that reflect the values and beliefs that Sue and I strove to put within them. In fact let me share with you that my youngest daughter Sherry was elected to serve this next year as Senior Class Chaplain for PLNU. The apple does not fall far from the tree since her dad served as vice president of religious life for Nazarene Bible college my senior year.
a) Now I want to say something specifically to those of you who are Christians today. You have an additional responsibility in what you teach. Listen to what the bible says to you; Keep a close watch on yourself and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right, and God will save you and those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:16 NLT
Trans. So first of all we learn that the positive power of our words is the power to instruct or to teach others. Let me share with you a second positive power your words have.
B. Our Words Have The Power To Direct.
1. Look at V.3-4 again (read). Let me put one other scripture up on the screen for you it is Romans 10:9 NCV If you use your mouth to say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. Other translations of this verse say we are to “confess” but it all means that we need to say something. I think it is significant that this verse tells us that the first step in our salvation is confessing using your mouth to say Jesus is Lord. [] I remember the night I first gave my life to Jesus. I was asked to say what happened to me and I confessed that I had been a sinner and that I asked Jesus to come into my heart and forgive my sins. Guess what happened to me after that night? My life changed direction. On that Saturday night back when I was still in Jr. High School I gave my heart to Jesus and my life began to move a whole new direction. [] Let me give you another example of how our words can give our lives direction. On November 22, 1975 at 2:00 PM at the Fullerton Church of the Nazarene the pastor shared some vows and then he said to me that if I agreed to keep those vows I needed so say, “I Do”. I said “I Do” and I can assure you my life has never been the same. My life took on a whole new direction by saying two little words. That night I did not go back to the home I grew up in for 19 years. I began living at a new place. I didn’t get into bed by myself anymore there was this beautiful woman next to me. Can you begin to see the power of your words to direct your life and the lives of others? Two little words I spoke on November 22, 1975 have changed the direction of my life for the past almost 31 years.
2. Your words have the power to control your character. Look again at V.2 (read). Our words have the power to control our very character. People know us not only by the things we do but by the things we say. Part of our character is determined by the things we say.
3. Where in your life right now do you feel you are losing control? Have you thought about what you might say to bring that situation back under control? What if it is your marriage? Men, if you feel your marriage is moving in a negative direction what can you say to your wife to begin to change that direction? Can I give you a few hints? How about things like this, “I love you”, “I am sorry”, “I was wrong” “Please forgive me”. Or how about this one, “Let’s eat out”. Maybe you are seeing the relationship with your children getting out of control. It is so easy for most of us to see what is wrong with people rather than what is right, but if we could focus more of our attention on what is right I think we could go a long way in changing what is wrong. Someone has said, “People will usually rise to whatever our expectations of them are.” If we spend our time telling our kinds they are trouble makers, a pain in the back side, that they can never do anything right then there is a very good possibility that they will live up to our expectations, but what if we gave them just the opposite feedback? What if we told them they were great, that they had incredible potential that we believed in them? What would their lives look like if they lived up to our expectations?
4. Here is a little poem I found that reflects what I am talking about here.
Wouldn’t this old world be better
If folks we meet would say
I know something good about you!
And treat you that way.
Wouldn’t it be fine and dandy,
If each handclasp warm and true
Carried with it this assurance,
I know something good about you.
Wouldn’t life be lots more happy,
If the good that’s in us all,
Were the only thing about us,
That folks bothered to recall.
Wouldn’t life be lots more happy,
If we praised the good we see.
For there’s lots of goodness,
In the worst of you and me.
Wouldn’t it be nice to practice,
That fine art of thinking too.
You know something good about me,
I know something good about you.
LIFE APPLICATION
A. Well guess what? That was just my first of three points so unless you would like to stay and have dinner we will need to conclude our look at taming the tongue next week.
1. I wanted to start off today with the positive because as we have seen from reading these verses there are some negative effects the tongue can have on us as well and we will look at those next week but we will not leave things there. Next week I will also share with you the ways that we can bring our tongues under control so that its damaging effects can be weakened or eliminated.
B. I want to leave you today with one more thought about the tongue. We have seen its positive power to instruct and to direct, but the bible also tells us that the tongue has the power to reflect. Listen to what Jesus said in Luke 6:45 NLT A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say. Someone has said that “The mouth is the billboard of the heart”.
1. I have to confess but I am sure it is something you already know. I am far too negative of a person. I tend to be far more pessimistic than I am optimistic. Now I can give you reasons why I feel I am this way but I will tell you this, they are only reasons but they are not excuses. I believe I can change with God’s help and with the help of those who are a part of my church body because this is part of what we are together for. To help each other grow and become all that God wants us to be.
2. Think about this with me as we close. On a scale of 1-10 where would you rate yourself in the positive use of your tongue? Secondly what can you begin to do right away to move up the scale? Who can you ask to help you and keep you accountable and moving in the right direction for more than a week or to but for a lifetime? You might need to ask someone this week to help you.
