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Introduction: We have been looking at the power of words for the past several weeks. Before I get started I just want to say that I don't want to hear any negative words about the Gators this morning – which means there will probably not be much talking about the game.
We have seen that words are an important commodity to God. God created the world with words. Jesus is referred to in Scripture as the living Word. The saints in the book of revelation overcome Satan by the word of their testimony.
Our words too have tremendous importance. With words we worship God, and with words we sometimes criticize and do harm. With our words we can bless and encourage, or with careless words we can hinder the growth of others, and affect our own level of success.
The tongue has the power of life and death. It can exalt a city or destroy it. Our words can heal, or they can pierce like a knife.
Over the last couple of weeks we have spent a good deal of time in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs teaches us a lot about how we should speak. I have also referred a couple of times to a passage in James about our tongues. Today I want to look a little deeper into James and see just what power we wield when we open our mouths.
Please open your Bibles to James chapter one…
James begins to give us a glimpse of how important our words are when he writes in verse twenty six…
Jesus said that our words reveal what is truly in our heart. Here James says that what we say reveals the depth of our faith. I would like to spend more time on verse twenty seven today – true faith shows up in how we minister to those who are in need – but that isn't the point of today's message. Suffice it to say that faith that exists in words only and not in acts of kindness and mercy is not true faith at all. As James says in 1:22 , “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
Let's look at chapter three , beginning in verse one…
1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
(I like to say that if you speak in front of people very much you are bound to say something stupid sometimes.)
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
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. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
There is more, nut we sill stop right there for now.
Our tongue is the key to the kind of life we life
and the kind of faith we express.
James' words about the tongue are sobering. Is there any hope for us at all? Who can control his tongue? It sounds pretty impossible after reading this passage.
 James' point is not to put control of our tongues out of reach. His point is to stress in no uncertain terms how important it is that we learn to control what we say.
We have referred to this a few times over the last few weeks. Proverbs says that. “…by a man's words his stomach will be satisfied just as much as by the labor of his hands.” (Proverbs 12:14)
Here James says that if we can control the direction of our tongue our whole body will follow it. He uses the imagery of a ships rudder and a bit in the mouth of a horse to drive the point home. What you say will determine the course your life takes.
If you always speak of what you lack you will continue in lack. If you focus on your limitations you will continue to live within those limitations. If you are negative and critical you will live within a cloud of negativity and criticism.
 Power steering is something most of us take for granted. If you have ever tried to steer a car without it you know it is difficult. With power steering you just direct the wheel the way it should go and the power steering takes over. That is what God will do with our tongues and our lives if we will begin to turn the wheel in the right direction.
Perfection, if you will , is attained and reflected more through what you say that in any other way. Those are pretty strong words. Are we beginning to get the point that how we choose our words is important?
Our words direct our lives and reveal the true nature of our faith.
Jesus said that “…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34)
So which is it, does our mouth determine our direction or does our mouth just reveal what direction we are going in? The answer is… YES! Both are true. Our words reveal what is inside us, and our words will help to determine the direction we take in the future.
The tongue seems to be bent toward evil.
James refers to it as a flame, ready to set a whole forest on fire. He calls it a world of evil, it is full of poison, it corrupts the whole person, and it is fueled by the flames of hell itself!
Wow! Is anyone feeling a little hopeless? James' point is not to make us feel hopeless. His point is to get us to realize that we cannot keep disregarding the words we speak as if they really don't matter.
God gave us a tongue to worship him and to bless others. But tragically we often do neither. And when we try to worship God and still curse others it is a contradiction of the worst sort. The God we worship is intent on blessing others, and He wants us to bless others as well.
 Men have been successful at taming all kinds of wild animals, but have not yet tamed the tongue. In our day we may add that we have made all kinds of technological advances, but have not advanced at all in how well we use our mouths.
The tongue is bent toward evil because we are bent toward evil. It is far easier to be critical than to give praise. It is far more fun to engage in gossip than it is to speak well of someone. It is far easier to point out what is wrong than it is to see what is right – or to help correct the wrong.
Our tongues are seemingly doomed to remain evil, and to continue to steer us on a course toward further negativity and hypocrisy. But James does hold out hope that we can change.
All of these words exist within a context. James is not painting a picture of despair. “The tongue is evil. We are all evil. We are all doomed!” James is writing within a religious context that saw no contradiction in going through religious rituals with no real inward change.
The religious culture James writes to sees no problem with worshipping God and cursing others. The religious culture sees form as more important than what is in the heart. The pious could fill the temple and do their religious duty while hating others within their community and disregarding the need of those they stepped over to get into their meetings.
Therefore James writes, “Don't just read the Bible. Do what it says!” “Don't just worship God, bless people too.” “Don't put on a cloke of spirituality while remaining unchanged on the inside. Show your faith by the way you love others, how you care for the oppressed, and how you speak about other people.”
Let's get back to this idea of the tongue directing our lives.
So which is it, does our tongue determine our direction, or just reveal the true condition of our heart? Both , your words will betray where you are truly at in your faith right now. And yielding yourself to the Lord for change will bring about change in the words you speak.
But if you begin to say what you should say, and hold your tongue when you shouldn't speak at all – your life will begin to change course.
Paul told is to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are continually exposed to negativity. It is no wonder we are programmed for negativity. But we are to begin a process of renewing our minds by changing what we expose ourselves to.
Put downs, gossip, foul language – are all such a part of our culture that we don't even really notice anymore. But they are not to be a part of our speech.
I have intentionally stayed away from a lot of the negative aspects of words so far in our study. I have chosen to begin with focusing the power of positive words, setting our course with what we say, and the power to bless others. I will get to gossip that kind of stuff next week.
But we should all know that God wants us to steer clear of certain kinds of speech. In fact, negative use of our tongue is just about the most destructive thing that can happen in a church. More churches, and more people, have been destroyed by words than through immorality and greed – and those are biggies!
So how do we change? Begin by doing the obvious. Say what you know you should and keep your mouth shut when you know you shouldn't speak
 But also shift your focus. The Bible tells us that we should focus on what is positive. In Philippians 4 we read, “ 8 … whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”
Wherever we find things that are positive they should become the focus of our thoughts. Obviously, this means we should focus on Jesus, because He is the embodiment of all of these positive attributes. But we should also look at the good in others and focus on that aspect of who they are, instead of looking for what is wrong and focusing on that.
We should also do the same with ourselves. We need to focus on what God has accomplished in our lives, and thank Him for it, rather than focusing all of our energy (and our words) on what we lack.
Renewing or focus will renew our minds. We should also limit our exposure to the negative stuff around us. We cannot avoid negativity altogether. It surrounds us. But I ask you, is what you read, watch, listen to…primarily positive or primarily negative? If it is negative you are allowing yourself to be discipled by the negativity surrounding us.
And be careful of what you say. Try this – begin to watch what you say. Pay attention. Chose to say something good when it would be easier not to. Chose to keep something to yourself when it would be so easy to say something critical. And watch. See if you do not begin to notice a change in the direction of your boat. I little bit at a time, and you can steer your life in the direction God has planned for you. |
