1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,120 as we continue to grow as a church, 2 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,560 and that is really, really exciting. 3 00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:06,280 So today, we are gonna talk about, 4 00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:09,920 we'll be in chapter three, talking about something very, 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:12,720 I mean, let's just call it for what it is, 6 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,160 it is very poignant to my life and to your life, 7 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,240 because it's something, even for you introverts, 8 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:21,960 even for you soft-spoken people, 9 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,200 something that we all struggle with. 10 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,960 And what's interesting is why James calls this out, 11 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:30,640 and this is all gonna be on the tongue, 12 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:33,080 hence the title of the sermon, 13 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,920 that there's pretty much, there was no other title for it, 14 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,880 because it's literally what we dive into in chapter three. 15 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,080 And before we do that, there's one principle 16 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,800 that James is going to kind of bring about 17 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:49,920 that I really wanna center on for a couple minutes, 18 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,400 and it's the weight of words. 19 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,320 Now, whether you've heard the old adage, 20 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:56,280 God gave us how many years? 21 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:58,200 Two? 22 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,400 Okay, all of you should get that, by the way. 23 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,880 Two ears and one mouth, right? 24 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,520 So if you do the numbers, you should be using your ears 25 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,080 more than your words, and I know, 26 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,080 and I'm looking at myself, sometimes I go, 27 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,720 no, I think I have five mouths and two ears, 28 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:15,220 and they went out. 29 00:01:15,220 --> 00:01:19,680 But understand that why James is doing this 30 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,160 is he's talking to that first century, if you will, 31 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,880 of where he's at, as far as the tongue goes, 32 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,320 and the reason why is because the church, 33 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:37,320 the believers were not using words right. 34 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:41,760 That words offer weight. 35 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:43,200 One of the things that I talk about 36 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,140 in orientation with elders and deacons, 37 00:01:45,140 --> 00:01:47,640 and we're gonna talk about that in a couple weeks 38 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:49,400 when we do the casting of lots in June 39 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:50,440 and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 40 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:52,220 But one of the things we talk about 41 00:01:52,220 --> 00:01:54,480 is this idea of confidentiality. 42 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,920 That is a big piece in our church order 43 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,400 about the weighty matters that are talked about 44 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,160 in the elder room and the deacon room, 45 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,440 stay in the elder and the deacon room. 46 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,400 And you guys may have been a part of churches 47 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,960 that when all of a sudden loose lips sink ships, 48 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:09,520 it can come out, if that stuff comes out 49 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,560 of the council room, it's terrible, right? 50 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,480 Because sometimes we talk about sensitive natures of things. 51 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:17,920 And one of the things that I instruct, 52 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:20,280 I will never tell an elder that 53 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:23,440 he can't tell his wife something. 54 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:25,260 That is not my place as a pastor 55 00:02:25,260 --> 00:02:26,800 to get in the middle of that, 56 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,680 but I always remind them that the knowledge 57 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,360 that elders and deacons receive 58 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,120 over their three year terms can be a burden, 59 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,600 and it's something they need to be careful 60 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,000 of burdening their wife, their spouse, 61 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:40,560 with the information. 62 00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:43,640 From very early on, my wife has always said, 63 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,240 do not share anything with me that would make it weird 64 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,680 for me to be in worship with somebody else. 65 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:50,840 And that is, I think that's a good way 66 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:52,480 to kind of classify the understanding 67 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,540 that words mean something. 68 00:02:55,540 --> 00:02:58,480 And in 2024, not only the words we say, 69 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,720 but the words we type means something 70 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:05,720 because they are forever, even if you delete the post. 71 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,480 That the weight of words, 72 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,240 there's a reason why there's a weight to them. 73 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,000 Because you could probably, as we're gonna see in James, 74 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,960 not probably, we will, in a lot of ways, 75 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,320 we can praise our heavenly father, 76 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,220 and we can murder our neighbor when it comes to our words. 77 00:03:23,220 --> 00:03:28,100 And James is gonna speak very, very specifically about that. 78 00:03:28,100 --> 00:03:31,140 And here's the crux of the matter, 79 00:03:31,140 --> 00:03:35,180 is that the church should be speaking life 80 00:03:35,180 --> 00:03:37,740 and not death into people. 81 00:03:37,740 --> 00:03:40,100 The church should be speaking blessing 82 00:03:40,100 --> 00:03:43,580 and not curses when it comes to people. 83 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:46,500 And that is not something all the churches, 84 00:03:46,500 --> 00:03:49,100 even Munster Church gets right all the time. 85 00:03:49,100 --> 00:03:52,060 That there are times the church, i.e. you guys, 86 00:03:52,060 --> 00:03:53,500 because the building can't speak, 87 00:03:53,500 --> 00:03:55,820 but you guys speaking for the church, 88 00:03:55,820 --> 00:03:57,640 you guys speaking for Christ, 89 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,420 I want you to think about the last week of your life. 90 00:04:02,420 --> 00:04:03,260 Was that a groan? 91 00:04:03,260 --> 00:04:04,660 Well, that makes sense. 92 00:04:04,660 --> 00:04:09,660 The last week of your life, how did you use your words? 93 00:04:10,020 --> 00:04:12,860 How did you use your words with your spouse, 94 00:04:12,860 --> 00:04:13,880 significant other? 95 00:04:14,820 --> 00:04:17,180 How did you use your words with your kids? 96 00:04:17,180 --> 00:04:18,980 Kids, if you're here, how did you use your words 97 00:04:18,980 --> 00:04:20,540 with your brothers or your sisters, 98 00:04:20,540 --> 00:04:22,700 or to your mom and dad? 99 00:04:22,700 --> 00:04:25,420 How did you use your words to your employer 100 00:04:25,420 --> 00:04:27,180 or to your employees? 101 00:04:27,180 --> 00:04:29,700 How did you use your words to your elders or your deacons, 102 00:04:29,700 --> 00:04:32,680 deacons, elders to your pastor, and vice versa? 103 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:34,540 We use words all the time. 104 00:04:35,860 --> 00:04:40,860 We use language, we use speech in its many forms every day. 105 00:04:44,060 --> 00:04:46,060 And to be a good steward of words 106 00:04:46,060 --> 00:04:51,060 is to understand that words carry weight. 107 00:04:51,300 --> 00:04:53,540 Now, this could be a whole sermon series in of itself, 108 00:04:53,540 --> 00:04:57,020 chapter three, we could do this for eight weeks, 109 00:04:57,020 --> 00:05:00,220 because there's so much there. 110 00:05:00,220 --> 00:05:03,460 Well, what I want all of us to understand early on 111 00:05:03,460 --> 00:05:06,860 in this sermon is that there are weights to words. 112 00:05:06,860 --> 00:05:09,300 He delivers in this profound message 113 00:05:09,300 --> 00:05:13,420 the significance of speech, and he starts 114 00:05:13,420 --> 00:05:17,540 to those who aspire to be teachers 115 00:05:17,540 --> 00:05:19,900 within the Christian community. 116 00:05:19,900 --> 00:05:23,460 So first and foremost, I'm talking to any and all teachers, 117 00:05:23,460 --> 00:05:26,660 myself included, so I'm talking to Lisa, 118 00:05:26,660 --> 00:05:29,940 all her lighthouse kids, to Kathy and all the gems, 119 00:05:29,940 --> 00:05:32,580 to Colin and all the cadets, to Daniel 120 00:05:32,580 --> 00:05:34,660 and all the junior high and senior high, 121 00:05:34,660 --> 00:05:37,180 to the Dans and to Amy and to Tony, 122 00:05:37,180 --> 00:05:40,900 and all of the catechism, all of those that teach, 123 00:05:40,900 --> 00:05:43,820 to the ladies in coffee break, to the leaders of BSF, 124 00:05:43,820 --> 00:05:46,500 the men's Bible study, which is done for the season. 125 00:05:46,500 --> 00:05:48,500 On Monday nights, we will be promoting that more 126 00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:51,900 in the fall, that teachers, their words 127 00:05:51,900 --> 00:05:54,500 will be weighed more than others. 128 00:05:54,500 --> 00:05:56,580 This goes back, half brother of Jesus, 129 00:05:56,580 --> 00:06:00,180 to half brother James, to Jesus, 130 00:06:00,180 --> 00:06:04,260 when Jesus says, it is better to tie a millstone 131 00:06:04,260 --> 00:06:07,900 around your neck than to mess with the faith of a child, 132 00:06:07,900 --> 00:06:10,860 or I will expand that to a person. 133 00:06:10,860 --> 00:06:12,700 And one of the ways that you can mess 134 00:06:12,700 --> 00:06:15,220 with the faith of a child or a person 135 00:06:15,220 --> 00:06:17,180 is in what is taught. 136 00:06:18,340 --> 00:06:21,140 Because if you're in a place of authority, right, 137 00:06:21,140 --> 00:06:24,620 however didactic, and didactic meaning up here, down here, 138 00:06:24,620 --> 00:06:27,540 right, we don't like to be super high and talk this way, 139 00:06:27,540 --> 00:06:29,860 but understand that when you teach, 140 00:06:29,860 --> 00:06:33,860 you will be judged by our heavenly Father, 141 00:06:33,860 --> 00:06:37,260 harder, stricter, with more weight, 142 00:06:37,260 --> 00:06:40,740 because you are representing God's word. 143 00:06:41,700 --> 00:06:43,540 And our interpretation of God's word, 144 00:06:43,540 --> 00:06:47,220 our kind of the application of God's word, 145 00:06:47,220 --> 00:06:49,140 our exhorting of God's word, 146 00:06:49,140 --> 00:06:53,380 better be in line with what God's word says. 147 00:06:54,740 --> 00:06:57,420 Understand the weight of God's word, 148 00:06:57,420 --> 00:07:00,100 the weight of our word. 149 00:07:01,340 --> 00:07:02,820 The Westminster Confession of Faith, 150 00:07:02,820 --> 00:07:05,140 which is something our Presbyterian brothers and sisters 151 00:07:05,140 --> 00:07:07,820 tend to use, emphasize the importance of those 152 00:07:07,820 --> 00:07:09,340 who are called to teach, 153 00:07:09,340 --> 00:07:12,260 recognizing their influential position 154 00:07:12,260 --> 00:07:16,620 in shaping the beliefs and actions of others. 155 00:07:16,620 --> 00:07:18,900 As we aspire to grow in our faith, 156 00:07:18,900 --> 00:07:21,460 we must recognize the weight of our words, 157 00:07:21,460 --> 00:07:23,940 understanding that they have power 158 00:07:23,940 --> 00:07:27,180 either to build up or tear down, 159 00:07:27,180 --> 00:07:31,860 to impart wisdom or to spread error. 160 00:07:31,860 --> 00:07:33,460 And if you know those Presbyterians, 161 00:07:33,460 --> 00:07:35,260 they love their teaching. 162 00:07:35,260 --> 00:07:37,820 And understand that teaching and the weight, 163 00:07:37,820 --> 00:07:40,460 and I'm going to step right in this first and foremost, 164 00:07:40,460 --> 00:07:44,060 because I have a date to do this almost every Sunday with you, 165 00:07:44,060 --> 00:07:46,060 and that is heavy. 166 00:07:46,060 --> 00:07:49,060 So I have eight to 10 overseers as elders 167 00:07:49,060 --> 00:07:52,620 that oversee the words that come out of my mouth. 168 00:07:52,620 --> 00:07:56,460 And believe me, ask an elder, it's a full-time job. 169 00:07:56,460 --> 00:07:58,460 But understand that our words, 170 00:07:58,460 --> 00:08:00,460 whether you're on the stage, 171 00:08:00,460 --> 00:08:02,460 whether you're downstairs in Lighthouse, 172 00:08:02,460 --> 00:08:04,860 you're in the CLC with Pastor Jameel on a Wednesday 173 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:07,260 doing the life skills, whatever it is, 174 00:08:07,260 --> 00:08:10,860 the weight of words is something that Jesus talks about, 175 00:08:10,860 --> 00:08:12,860 it's something that the Bible references 176 00:08:12,860 --> 00:08:15,860 over three dozen times. 177 00:08:17,860 --> 00:08:21,860 And it focuses a lot on the error of words. 178 00:08:23,860 --> 00:08:26,860 So go back to this past week. 179 00:08:26,860 --> 00:08:29,860 Where did you error in your words? 180 00:08:29,860 --> 00:08:34,860 And what I mean by error is where did you hurt with your words? 181 00:08:34,860 --> 00:08:38,860 Where did you mislead with your words? 182 00:08:39,860 --> 00:08:43,860 Where did you defend for no reason your words? 183 00:08:43,860 --> 00:08:47,860 Where did you offend with your words? 184 00:08:47,860 --> 00:08:49,860 Now some of you are like, man, it's Mother's Day, 185 00:08:49,860 --> 00:08:51,860 we just had a great children's program, baptisms, 186 00:08:51,860 --> 00:08:54,860 like this is a big Debbie Downer. 187 00:08:54,860 --> 00:08:58,860 I didn't write it, nor am I going to skip over it. 188 00:08:58,860 --> 00:09:02,860 Because our words, as we're about to read, build up. 189 00:09:02,860 --> 00:09:07,860 Oh man, especially for those that may have the love languages 190 00:09:07,860 --> 00:09:10,860 of just encouragement. 191 00:09:10,860 --> 00:09:14,860 That is one of my love languages, my wife knows that, 192 00:09:14,860 --> 00:09:20,860 and she is very filtered and steward of how she uses those. 193 00:09:20,860 --> 00:09:24,860 But when my wife says something about maybe a sermon, 194 00:09:24,860 --> 00:09:28,860 or something about me as a dad or a husband, 195 00:09:28,860 --> 00:09:31,860 her words, not to sound corny or hallmarky, 196 00:09:31,860 --> 00:09:34,860 they make me sore. 197 00:09:34,860 --> 00:09:37,860 Not sore as an ache, sore as a bird. 198 00:09:37,860 --> 00:09:39,860 Sometimes her words make it sore and ache. 199 00:09:39,860 --> 00:09:41,860 It does, right? 200 00:09:41,860 --> 00:09:43,860 I'm still safe, you're fine. 201 00:09:43,860 --> 00:09:46,860 But understand that for me that's huge. 202 00:09:46,860 --> 00:09:50,860 How many of you would say that a love language of yours 203 00:09:50,860 --> 00:09:53,860 is words of affirmation? 204 00:09:53,860 --> 00:09:56,860 Yeah, I don't buy that at all. 205 00:09:56,860 --> 00:09:58,860 There's like seven of you that rose your hands, right? 206 00:09:58,860 --> 00:10:01,860 I guarantee you, now I won't say half, 207 00:10:01,860 --> 00:10:03,860 statistically it would be about 30%, 208 00:10:03,860 --> 00:10:07,860 that the words mean something to you. 209 00:10:07,860 --> 00:10:10,860 But what I will say as I move on to my next point, 210 00:10:10,860 --> 00:10:13,860 the weight of words scare you. 211 00:10:13,860 --> 00:10:20,860 Because just as I have the words of affirmation be one of my 212 00:10:20,860 --> 00:10:26,860 love languages, the fear of rejection is right there with it. 213 00:10:26,860 --> 00:10:29,860 That understanding of words of rejection 214 00:10:29,860 --> 00:10:33,860 knocked me down completely. 215 00:10:33,860 --> 00:10:36,860 Now, some of those over the 17 years of being a pastor 216 00:10:36,860 --> 00:10:38,860 have had to be filtered, right? 217 00:10:38,860 --> 00:10:41,860 Because yeah, there are times a sermon's not going to hit with 218 00:10:41,860 --> 00:10:42,860 somebody and that's fine. 219 00:10:42,860 --> 00:10:46,860 Early on if someone said I hated that sermon, or you know what, 220 00:10:46,860 --> 00:10:49,860 I don't know if you should preach anymore, 221 00:10:49,860 --> 00:10:52,860 early on I wouldn't sleep for three weeks. 222 00:10:52,860 --> 00:10:55,860 Would that be accurate? 223 00:10:55,860 --> 00:10:57,860 Maybe not three weeks, but I also use words to exaggerate, 224 00:10:57,860 --> 00:10:59,860 so you know that. 225 00:10:59,860 --> 00:11:03,860 But I wouldn't sleep, thanks for calling me out on stage, babe. 226 00:11:03,860 --> 00:11:06,860 Happy Mother's Day. 227 00:11:06,860 --> 00:11:09,860 But it would tear me up inside. 228 00:11:09,860 --> 00:11:13,860 17 years in, right, if someone sends that anonymous email 229 00:11:13,860 --> 00:11:15,860 that talks about wanting to just tear down the sermon, 230 00:11:15,860 --> 00:11:16,860 guess where it goes? 231 00:11:16,860 --> 00:11:18,860 It goes right to the trash. 232 00:11:18,860 --> 00:11:20,860 Especially if you're not going to put your name on it. 233 00:11:20,860 --> 00:11:23,860 But understand that opinions of people, 234 00:11:23,860 --> 00:11:27,860 if I am doing my job, if you're going to do your job, 235 00:11:27,860 --> 00:11:29,860 if I'm going to live my life and you're going to live your life 236 00:11:29,860 --> 00:11:32,860 on the opinions of people, how often are you going to die? 237 00:11:32,860 --> 00:11:37,860 You're going to die many deaths when it comes to the words of people. 238 00:11:37,860 --> 00:11:39,860 Because that's not what's most important. 239 00:11:39,860 --> 00:11:42,860 It's living consistently with the Word of God 240 00:11:42,860 --> 00:11:45,860 and living out your faith. 241 00:11:45,860 --> 00:11:50,860 But as we dive in, we have to understand the weight of words. 242 00:11:50,860 --> 00:11:55,860 Because I know many of you, and you can say a tremendous different 243 00:11:55,860 --> 00:12:00,860 combinations of words, but certain words completely deflate you. 244 00:12:00,860 --> 00:12:03,860 I remember I was doing pre-marital with a couple years ago, 245 00:12:03,860 --> 00:12:05,860 not from this church, so I don't want to make it weird. 246 00:12:05,860 --> 00:12:07,860 It was from a different church. 247 00:12:07,860 --> 00:12:10,860 And they were talking, and we were talking about conflict, 248 00:12:10,860 --> 00:12:13,860 because that's something that pretty much we talk about day one 249 00:12:13,860 --> 00:12:16,860 when it comes to marriage, is conflict and how we resolve conflict, 250 00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:20,860 and how words and communication is one of the three largest 251 00:12:20,860 --> 00:12:25,860 or most present conflicts that come in marriage. 252 00:12:25,860 --> 00:12:28,860 We won't get to the other two, but communication. 253 00:12:28,860 --> 00:12:33,860 And what the couple was understanding, and they were rather young, 254 00:12:33,860 --> 00:12:39,860 was that the individual, the groom, had a bride 255 00:12:39,860 --> 00:12:43,860 and the words of affirmation was her highest gifting, or her highest love language. 256 00:12:43,860 --> 00:12:47,860 And he could say, you know what, you don't look that nice today, 257 00:12:47,860 --> 00:12:51,860 or that meal wasn't very good, or I'm disappointed in you, 258 00:12:51,860 --> 00:12:53,860 and that third one wrecked her. 259 00:12:53,860 --> 00:12:55,860 Now, it's not because she knew she was good looking 260 00:12:55,860 --> 00:12:57,860 or that she knew she cooked fine or anything like that, 261 00:12:57,860 --> 00:12:59,860 but it was that understanding of the weight of words. 262 00:12:59,860 --> 00:13:02,860 She can get past the other two, even though I told him, 263 00:13:02,860 --> 00:13:06,860 probably never say the first one ever in your marriage. 264 00:13:06,860 --> 00:13:08,860 Second one, only if you want to sleep on the couch. 265 00:13:08,860 --> 00:13:14,860 And the third one, you know, but for her, that one cut right deep. 266 00:13:14,860 --> 00:13:16,860 So I want you to take the next ten seconds and think about 267 00:13:16,860 --> 00:13:19,860 what is one thing someone could say to you 268 00:13:19,860 --> 00:13:21,860 that could bypass all of your discernment, 269 00:13:21,860 --> 00:13:24,860 that could bypass all of the ego that we all carry, 270 00:13:24,860 --> 00:13:27,860 whether outward or inward, the one thing that people could say 271 00:13:27,860 --> 00:13:32,860 that would bypass all things and wreck your heart. 272 00:13:32,860 --> 00:13:35,860 And I don't want you to say it out loud, but I want you to think about that. 273 00:13:35,860 --> 00:13:38,860 There's a reason why something comes to mind, 274 00:13:38,860 --> 00:13:42,860 because the weight of that word, of that sentence, of that thought, 275 00:13:42,860 --> 00:13:44,860 for some reason, bypasses all of it 276 00:13:44,860 --> 00:13:48,860 to the point where it even bypasses your Jesus 277 00:13:48,860 --> 00:13:52,860 and maybe even the strength you have of your faith. 278 00:13:52,860 --> 00:13:55,860 That couples that have been married long enough 279 00:13:55,860 --> 00:14:01,860 know exactly how to wreck one another with maybe one phrase. 280 00:14:01,860 --> 00:14:06,860 The covenant of marriage is the everyday coming back to the understanding 281 00:14:06,860 --> 00:14:09,860 that I will never do that. 282 00:14:09,860 --> 00:14:14,860 That's what marriage really is in a lot of ways, and so much more. 283 00:14:14,860 --> 00:14:16,860 But how do we do this? 284 00:14:16,860 --> 00:14:20,860 James talks about taming the tongue, and so we're going to start, 285 00:14:20,860 --> 00:14:23,860 and we're going to read a big chunk of this section, 286 00:14:23,860 --> 00:14:25,860 because there's really no good place to stop. 287 00:14:25,860 --> 00:14:28,860 I'm just going to start reading, starting with verse one. 288 00:14:28,860 --> 00:14:31,860 Not many of you should become teachers. 289 00:14:31,860 --> 00:14:32,860 There it is. 290 00:14:32,860 --> 00:14:35,860 My brothers, for you know that we who teach 291 00:14:35,860 --> 00:14:38,860 will be judged with greater strictness, 292 00:14:38,860 --> 00:14:40,860 or we all stumble in many ways. 293 00:14:40,860 --> 00:14:43,860 And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, 294 00:14:43,860 --> 00:14:48,860 he's a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 295 00:14:48,860 --> 00:14:52,860 If we put bits in the mouth of horses so that they obey us, 296 00:14:52,860 --> 00:14:55,860 we guide their whole bodies as well. 297 00:14:55,860 --> 00:14:58,860 Look at the ships also, though they are so large 298 00:14:58,860 --> 00:15:03,860 and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder, 299 00:15:03,860 --> 00:15:05,860 whatever the will of the pilot directs. 300 00:15:05,860 --> 00:15:11,860 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. 301 00:15:11,860 --> 00:15:14,860 How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire, 302 00:15:14,860 --> 00:15:18,860 and the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. 303 00:15:18,860 --> 00:15:23,860 The tongue is set among our members, sustaining, not sustaining, 304 00:15:23,860 --> 00:15:28,860 staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, 305 00:15:28,860 --> 00:15:33,860 and set on fire by hell, for every kind of beast and bird 306 00:15:33,860 --> 00:15:36,860 of reptile and sea creature can be tamed, 307 00:15:36,860 --> 00:15:38,860 and has been tamed by mankind. 308 00:15:38,860 --> 00:15:45,860 But no human being can tame the tongue. 309 00:15:45,860 --> 00:15:49,860 It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 310 00:15:49,860 --> 00:15:51,860 With it we bless our Lord and Father, 311 00:15:51,860 --> 00:15:55,860 and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 312 00:15:55,860 --> 00:15:58,860 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. 313 00:15:58,860 --> 00:16:01,860 My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 314 00:16:01,860 --> 00:16:06,860 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening, both fresh and salt water? 315 00:16:06,860 --> 00:16:12,860 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? 316 00:16:12,860 --> 00:16:17,860 Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. 317 00:16:17,860 --> 00:16:18,860 So there is a lot there. 318 00:16:18,860 --> 00:16:26,860 James uses vivid descriptions for what I'm going to call the paradox of the tongue. 319 00:16:26,860 --> 00:16:29,860 That in the same moment a husband could say to his wife, 320 00:16:29,860 --> 00:16:36,860 I love you and I hate you, and not miss a beat. 321 00:16:36,860 --> 00:16:38,860 Think about that. 322 00:16:38,860 --> 00:16:44,860 That the tongue does not have a pretty good reputation when it comes to James. 323 00:16:44,860 --> 00:16:48,860 And I don't know, maybe as I read that, that it is a restless evil, 324 00:16:48,860 --> 00:16:52,860 full of deadly poison, you thought about somebody. 325 00:16:52,860 --> 00:16:54,860 Or maybe you thought about yourself. 326 00:16:54,860 --> 00:17:00,860 Because maybe, just maybe, you've not learned the taming of the tongue. 327 00:17:00,860 --> 00:17:04,860 You could put the second, the taming of the tongue up there. 328 00:17:04,860 --> 00:17:07,860 Because I want us to see that word. 329 00:17:07,860 --> 00:17:12,860 This understanding of taming the tongue, every beast of the air. 330 00:17:12,860 --> 00:17:16,860 I'm going to say Jurassic Park shows us that maybe dinosaurs cannot be tamed, 331 00:17:16,860 --> 00:17:18,860 but that's another sermon that I'll never preach. 332 00:17:18,860 --> 00:17:26,860 But understand that everything he's saying can be tamed, except the tongue. 333 00:17:26,860 --> 00:17:33,860 He is putting so much weight on this as we're learning about growing, testing our faith, 334 00:17:33,860 --> 00:17:41,860 that our tongue is a test of faith every single day. 335 00:17:41,860 --> 00:17:43,860 It's part of our body. 336 00:17:43,860 --> 00:17:47,860 Now, he doesn't say this about our hands, he doesn't say this about our feet. 337 00:17:47,860 --> 00:17:51,860 Paul would say that about probably our swimsuit areas, about different things. 338 00:17:51,860 --> 00:17:57,860 But understand that the tongue is getting a spotlight because of the damage it can do. 339 00:17:57,860 --> 00:18:03,860 There is literally one sentence in those 12 verses that talk about the positives. 340 00:18:03,860 --> 00:18:06,860 And that is that we can bless the Lord. 341 00:18:06,860 --> 00:18:08,860 We start every Sunday with that. We sing. 342 00:18:08,860 --> 00:18:10,860 In a couple weeks we're going to do a prayer service. 343 00:18:10,860 --> 00:18:12,860 We're going to pray to God. 344 00:18:12,860 --> 00:18:16,860 We're going to send corporately and individually our prayers to God. 345 00:18:16,860 --> 00:18:21,860 And our tongues can be used for all kinds of eloquent things about God. 346 00:18:21,860 --> 00:18:25,860 We can read scripture. We can sing praises. 347 00:18:25,860 --> 00:18:31,860 We can speak so eloquently about our faith, so lovingly about our church. 348 00:18:31,860 --> 00:18:39,860 Yet in these four tables, after service, all of it can go to Gehenna. 349 00:18:39,860 --> 00:18:41,860 Which is an understanding of hell. 350 00:18:41,860 --> 00:18:47,860 All of it can be completely thrown out because of maybe some of the conversations going on there. 351 00:18:47,860 --> 00:18:49,860 Now, I'm not calling out all of those. 352 00:18:49,860 --> 00:18:52,860 I'm not thinking that this is gossip hour after we do coffee. 353 00:18:52,860 --> 00:18:57,860 But it's just the visualization that we could all be in here and we can praise. 354 00:18:57,860 --> 00:19:00,860 But downstairs with the deacons, over here with the coffee, 355 00:19:00,860 --> 00:19:04,860 catechism, pastor Jameel, it could be completely the opposite. 356 00:19:04,860 --> 00:19:07,860 And what good is the praise then? 357 00:19:07,860 --> 00:19:11,860 What good is the praise if we're going to do that with one side of our mouth 358 00:19:11,860 --> 00:19:16,860 and then with the other side curse and bring death? 359 00:19:16,860 --> 00:19:18,860 I think that's the importance of the tongue. 360 00:19:18,860 --> 00:19:24,860 That is the understanding of being a good steward of your words. 361 00:19:24,860 --> 00:19:28,860 And as I say that, I know, I feel my whole body gets hot when I say that. 362 00:19:28,860 --> 00:19:33,860 Because I understand as a preacher I use many, many, many words. 363 00:19:33,860 --> 00:19:35,860 And I know that for some of you, you wish I would use less. 364 00:19:35,860 --> 00:19:37,860 I'll work on it. 365 00:19:37,860 --> 00:19:44,860 But understand that we have the opportunity to share Christ with our words. 366 00:19:44,860 --> 00:19:49,860 We have the opportunity to bring people into a loving relationship with Jesus. 367 00:19:49,860 --> 00:19:53,860 And we have the power to have people completely reject the church, 368 00:19:53,860 --> 00:19:58,860 completely reject Christ, completely reject anything that the church stands for 369 00:19:58,860 --> 00:20:02,860 all because of our words. 370 00:20:02,860 --> 00:20:06,860 And maybe you're here this morning and you've been burned by that. 371 00:20:06,860 --> 00:20:10,860 Maybe you've been burned by the words the church has spoken over you 372 00:20:10,860 --> 00:20:13,860 or a believer representing a church has spoken over you 373 00:20:13,860 --> 00:20:19,860 or a believer that representing Christ has spoke into you or at you or over you. 374 00:20:19,860 --> 00:20:23,860 And as much as I can, I want to say I'm sorry. 375 00:20:23,860 --> 00:20:29,860 But if I'm going to apologize for every dumb thing said by a believer to a non-believer, 376 00:20:29,860 --> 00:20:35,860 I would be apologizing always because it's a plague in the church. 377 00:20:35,860 --> 00:20:39,860 And we haven't even gotten to the understanding of false teaching, of heresy and all of that. 378 00:20:39,860 --> 00:20:43,860 These are just words that tear down people. 379 00:20:43,860 --> 00:20:47,860 He uses the bit of a horse. 380 00:20:47,860 --> 00:20:48,860 Now horses freak me out. 381 00:20:48,860 --> 00:20:52,860 They're just big and majestic and in one kick they can end you. 382 00:20:52,860 --> 00:20:58,860 But understand these massive horses, how many people grew up with horses? 383 00:20:58,860 --> 00:21:00,860 Okay, so Marshall, right? 384 00:21:00,860 --> 00:21:02,860 I mean, you and I, we're of Zekia stature. 385 00:21:02,860 --> 00:21:07,860 And understanding that, I mean, horses are big and powerful, right? 386 00:21:07,860 --> 00:21:09,860 Like no messing. 387 00:21:09,860 --> 00:21:12,860 Yet you put how big is a bridle? 388 00:21:12,860 --> 00:21:15,860 Roughly how big is it? 389 00:21:15,860 --> 00:21:16,860 Come on, you're a deacon, dude. 390 00:21:16,860 --> 00:21:19,860 You have numbers. 391 00:21:19,860 --> 00:21:21,860 Five, six inches, right? 392 00:21:21,860 --> 00:21:24,860 So five, six inches, you know what five or six inches is. 393 00:21:24,860 --> 00:21:25,860 That's fine. 394 00:21:25,860 --> 00:21:28,860 Like understand, like maybe five to six inches, sure. 395 00:21:28,860 --> 00:21:33,860 In a horse's mouth, it could do whatever you want. 396 00:21:33,860 --> 00:21:36,860 Like that's unbelievable to me. 397 00:21:36,860 --> 00:21:41,860 When I was in my pastor's retreat, one of the pastors and I did a tour of one of the boats. 398 00:21:41,860 --> 00:21:42,860 The Star of India. 399 00:21:42,860 --> 00:21:44,860 It's this big ship. 400 00:21:44,860 --> 00:21:48,860 And then one of the other ones was used in one of the pirates movies. 401 00:21:48,860 --> 00:21:53,860 And this giant ship with these giant sails, majestic, awesome. 402 00:21:53,860 --> 00:21:55,860 And then you see the rudder. 403 00:21:55,860 --> 00:22:01,860 And the rudder is, I don't know, not that big. 404 00:22:01,860 --> 00:22:09,860 And that has the power to turn a giant ship wherever the captain wants to take it. 405 00:22:09,860 --> 00:22:12,860 So it is with our words. 406 00:22:12,860 --> 00:22:16,860 And we're going to continue on this for next week because it's a theme that he's going to take with. 407 00:22:16,860 --> 00:22:25,860 But the one place that I want us to get to today is how do we ask for wisdom to weight our words differently? 408 00:22:25,860 --> 00:22:29,860 What does it mean to seek wisdom with how we talk? 409 00:22:29,860 --> 00:22:31,860 Well, James is going to tell us. 410 00:22:31,860 --> 00:22:36,860 He's going to tell us in verse 13, who is wise and understanding among you? 411 00:22:36,860 --> 00:22:41,860 By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 412 00:22:41,860 --> 00:22:48,860 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast and be false to the truth. 413 00:22:48,860 --> 00:22:56,860 This is not the wisdom that comes from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 414 00:22:56,860 --> 00:23:02,860 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder in every vile practice. 415 00:23:02,860 --> 00:23:10,860 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits. 416 00:23:10,860 --> 00:23:14,860 Impartial and sincere. 417 00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:19,860 And a harvest of righteousness is shown in peace by those who make peace. 418 00:23:19,860 --> 00:23:22,860 He ends that chapter with the word peace. 419 00:23:22,860 --> 00:23:29,860 So the challenge for us in understanding the fruit of faith, which is seen in that end, is wisdom. 420 00:23:29,860 --> 00:23:33,860 That if we have wisdom, we can get to these places. 421 00:23:33,860 --> 00:23:37,860 So what does that mean for the tongue? 422 00:23:37,860 --> 00:23:41,860 What does it mean to be wise? 423 00:23:41,860 --> 00:23:44,860 Obviously watch what you say. Sure, absolutely. 424 00:23:44,860 --> 00:23:48,860 But for some of us it's like, well then I'm just not going to say anything. 425 00:23:48,860 --> 00:23:50,860 Well that's really sad. 426 00:23:50,860 --> 00:23:59,860 That means you have no confidence in yourself to grow in your faith to have discernment and wisdom about what you say. 427 00:23:59,860 --> 00:24:03,860 Because we are called to speak. 428 00:24:03,860 --> 00:24:05,860 We are called to go. 429 00:24:05,860 --> 00:24:07,860 We are called to make disciples. 430 00:24:07,860 --> 00:24:08,860 We are called to teach. 431 00:24:08,860 --> 00:24:11,860 We are called to bring about the fruit of the Spirit. 432 00:24:11,860 --> 00:24:14,860 We are called to bring about all of these things. 433 00:24:14,860 --> 00:24:16,860 And how do we do that? 434 00:24:16,860 --> 00:24:22,860 By being someone who speaks peace into the world. 435 00:24:22,860 --> 00:24:27,860 Blessed are the peacemakers. 436 00:24:27,860 --> 00:24:28,860 How do we make peace? 437 00:24:28,860 --> 00:24:30,860 It's not fleeing and not doing anything. 438 00:24:30,860 --> 00:24:34,860 It's by speaking peace into situations. 439 00:24:34,860 --> 00:24:37,860 It's not making matters worse. 440 00:24:37,860 --> 00:24:41,860 And some of us we have degrees in that. 441 00:24:41,860 --> 00:24:43,860 That we have zero discernment. 442 00:24:43,860 --> 00:24:50,860 We just want our voice heard and we make things so much worse. 443 00:24:50,860 --> 00:24:54,860 So three things that I want us to kind of think about as I close. 444 00:24:54,860 --> 00:24:59,860 Do you have someone in life that can check your words? 445 00:24:59,860 --> 00:25:02,860 Praise God I married mine. 446 00:25:02,860 --> 00:25:07,860 And she has every right to call me out on every single word that comes from my mouth. 447 00:25:07,860 --> 00:25:10,860 So let's make those words good. 448 00:25:10,860 --> 00:25:13,860 Because then those conversations are happy conversations. 449 00:25:13,860 --> 00:25:17,860 But do you have someone that, it might not be a spouse, hopefully it is. 450 00:25:17,860 --> 00:25:22,860 But do you have someone that if you're wondering how this is going to come across. 451 00:25:22,860 --> 00:25:25,860 Do you have someone you can speak this to? 452 00:25:25,860 --> 00:25:28,860 To have them help you discern? 453 00:25:28,860 --> 00:25:30,860 Can we slow down? 454 00:25:30,860 --> 00:25:34,860 Or can we slow down with our words? 455 00:25:34,860 --> 00:25:36,860 Or do we always have to be the one to say it? 456 00:25:36,860 --> 00:25:38,860 Do we always have to have the story? 457 00:25:38,860 --> 00:25:40,860 Got to be the one to share it. 458 00:25:40,860 --> 00:25:42,860 Because guess what you are. 459 00:25:42,860 --> 00:25:45,860 Gossiper, storyteller, exaggerator. 460 00:25:45,860 --> 00:25:50,860 Or do we pause and say God you're giving me something that I want to speak about. 461 00:25:50,860 --> 00:25:52,860 Or I want to speak into. 462 00:25:52,860 --> 00:25:54,860 Do I discern? 463 00:25:54,860 --> 00:25:56,860 God be with my speech. 464 00:25:56,860 --> 00:25:58,860 Give me the words. 465 00:25:58,860 --> 00:26:04,860 If it's biblical, Jesus even tells his disciples, ask it will be given to you. 466 00:26:04,860 --> 00:26:06,860 So do you have someone to check you on it? 467 00:26:06,860 --> 00:26:11,860 Are you going to slow down with the words you speak? 468 00:26:11,860 --> 00:26:16,860 And when we do speak are we taking kind of an audit of is this helpful? 469 00:26:16,860 --> 00:26:18,860 Is this biblical? 470 00:26:18,860 --> 00:26:21,860 And does this make peace? 471 00:26:21,860 --> 00:26:25,860 Now that does not mean that we all have to follow this hippie dippy understanding of Jesus. 472 00:26:25,860 --> 00:26:28,860 That sometimes our words are there to correct and admonish. 473 00:26:28,860 --> 00:26:33,860 But you can admonish someone in a healthy way and you can admonish someone in a pharisee kind of way. 474 00:26:33,860 --> 00:26:36,860 Because the pharisee does not look at themselves first. 475 00:26:36,860 --> 00:26:38,860 They just judge. 476 00:26:38,860 --> 00:26:40,860 They just throw the stones. 477 00:26:40,860 --> 00:26:45,860 They just turn the ship or turn the horse to kick or run over the other person. 478 00:26:45,860 --> 00:26:50,860 Are we speaking words over people that will bring life? 479 00:26:50,860 --> 00:26:56,860 Or are we just a bunch of murderers that bring death? 480 00:26:56,860 --> 00:26:58,860 And here's the thing. 481 00:26:58,860 --> 00:27:01,860 You can do that without ever touching anybody else. 482 00:27:01,860 --> 00:27:03,860 It can be solely with our words. 483 00:27:03,860 --> 00:27:05,860 And it can also be with what we type. 484 00:27:05,860 --> 00:27:07,860 That's a thing now. 485 00:27:07,860 --> 00:27:13,860 So as we go forth today and as we dive into chapter four and five in the coming weeks, 486 00:27:13,860 --> 00:27:16,860 which is going to be pretty abrupt. 487 00:27:16,860 --> 00:27:21,860 Because I know thus far it's been pretty easy, right? 488 00:27:21,860 --> 00:27:25,860 He's building on chapter three now for chapter four. 489 00:27:25,860 --> 00:27:31,860 Because chapter four is okay, we've got faith, we've got works, we've got hardship, we've got trials. 490 00:27:31,860 --> 00:27:33,860 Now we have our words. 491 00:27:33,860 --> 00:27:38,860 And how are we going to enter incarnationally to a world that if we're being honest hates us? 492 00:27:38,860 --> 00:27:40,860 Hates believers. 493 00:27:40,860 --> 00:27:43,860 Wants to see the light of Christ snuffed out. 494 00:27:43,860 --> 00:27:46,860 How are we going to speak into that? 495 00:27:46,860 --> 00:27:48,860 How are we going to trial and trial well in that? 496 00:27:48,860 --> 00:27:50,860 How are we going to endure in that? 497 00:27:50,860 --> 00:27:53,860 Because it's not all going to be easy. 498 00:27:53,860 --> 00:27:57,860 Because James knows what Jesus, his half brother said. 499 00:27:57,860 --> 00:28:00,860 In this world you will have trouble. 500 00:28:00,860 --> 00:28:03,860 But on this Mother's Day let us remember Jesus also says, 501 00:28:03,860 --> 00:28:13,860 Take heart, bribe over...