Introduction:
Our Tongues (James 3:1-12):
- Are the most Dominant part of our bodies. (Jas 3:1-5a)
Acts 20:28 - "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood."
- Are able to Wreak Havoc. (Jas 3:5b-6)
- Are Untamable. (Jas 3:7-10a)
- Are *Untamable...without the Holy Spirit. (Jas 3:10b-12)
Luke 6:43-45 - For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Practical Ways to Watch Your Mouth:
- Watch Your Media.
Proverbs 4:25 - "Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you."
- Watch Your Company.
Proverbs 24:1-2 - "Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble."
- Watch Your Walk.
Proverbs 8:20-21 - "I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries."
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:31-00:33
Okay, there's a few amount of you.
00:34-00:39
I'm in this category and it's not just because I have a summer birthday, but that is nice.
00:40-00:41
For me it's everything that comes with the summertime.
00:42-00:47
We have mostly nice weather, vacations, and an occasional holiday.
00:48-00:53
You know, we just celebrated the 4th of July, but did you know that there's another holiday coming up?
00:54-00:55
Yeah, I'll give you a hint.
00:55-00:57
It's on July 12th.
00:58-00:58
Anybody?
01:00-01:00
Okay?
01:01-01:02
I'll give another hint.
01:02-01:06
It's a made-up one based on the greatest holiday we have, bar none.
01:08-01:08
Nobody?
01:10-01:12
Yes, Christmas in July.
01:13-01:15
Okay, some of you know what I'm talking about.
01:16-01:18
Some of you probably celebrate it too.
01:18-01:24
So instead of heading to the beach and hanging ten, you're heading to a tree nursery and hanging up stockings.
01:26-01:29
Now I thought a fair bit as to why people would want to do this.
01:30-01:31
you would want to celebrate Christmas in July.
01:32-01:44
See it originated in the southern hemisphere and it makes sense because July is winter time there so in order for them to have like a more traditional Christmas they'll celebrate it in July.
01:45-01:45
But up here?
01:47-01:52
I mean the only logical conclusion I could find is just another excuse to watch Christmas movies.
01:54-01:56
I mean when else is watching them acceptable?
01:58-02:02
To me, I mean it does make sense because there's plenty of classics that I enjoy watching.
02:02-02:05
You have How the Grinch Stole Christmas, an elf.
02:06-02:09
But my all-time favorite, A Christmas Story.
02:10-02:12
For me, there's lots of memorable scenes there.
02:13-02:20
You have the Triple Dog Dare where Schwartz gets flicked to stick his tongue on a cold pole cementing it.
02:21-02:27
Or when the main character, Ralphie, goes to the mall Santa and he tells him what he he wants for Christmas, a Red Ryder BB gun.
02:27-02:32
And he gets his hopes crushed when the Santa says, you'll shoot your eye out, kid.
02:34-02:40
But I think there's one scene many of us can relate to personally, when Ralphie goes to help his dad change a flat tire.
02:42-02:44
Ralphie's standing there, and he's holding the pan of lug nuts.
02:44-02:50
And his dad, in a hurry, goes, whips his hands, hits the pan, and the lug nuts scatter into oblivion.
02:52-03:06
The camera pans to Ralphie's face, and purposefully and tactfully censored for the movie, Ralphie exclaims, "Oh, fudge." And his dad flabbergasted, double checks to make sure he's heard exactly what he's heard.
03:07-03:14
Back in the car, father tells mother, and in the next scene, back at their home, we see Ralphie in the bathroom with a bright red bar of soap in his mouth.
03:17-03:22
Now for a time of honesty congregation, how many of you have ever been in Ralphie's position?
03:23-03:24
Okay, yeah.
03:26-03:33
You know, it's not the tire changing thing, but the "he's suffering a soapy Irish Spring" consequence of saying something you shouldn't have in front of your parents.
03:34-03:36
You know, I have. Three times.
03:38-03:42
I guess it's fitting that soap is a bitter flavor and that's usually how we describe the taste of defeat.
03:43-03:50
Well today we're going to be in the book of James chapter 3 verses 1 through 12 talking about the very thing that Ralphie couldn't hold, our tongues.
03:51-03:58
In this section James provides a short but convicting lesson about the tongue, how it dominates us, wreaks havoc, and is untamable.
03:59-04:08
Just to give a background on the book of James as a whole, James who is the half-brother of Jesus, wrote this book as a summary of his wisdom to the early church.
04:09-04:16
It doesn't necessarily teach us new things, but it constructs 12 lessons, mainly from Proverbs and from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
04:17-04:20
And each one is designed to get into our business and challenge how we live.
04:22-04:27
This is one of those books that can be uncomfortable to read, depending on which of these lessons that you struggle the most with.
04:28-04:30
And for me, this is mine.
04:31-04:33
It's why I wanted to preach on it.
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Because we as Christians need constant reminders and course corrections to keep pressing onwards with sanctification.
04:41-04:43
Before we dive into the Word, let's open up in some prayer.
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Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving me this opportunity.
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And I pray that you grant me clarity.
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Use me as your vessel to convey your Word.
04:57-05:03
Just pray that you open our ears and hearts to your Word, and that you fill us this day.
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Pray this in your Son, Jesus' name.
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Amen.
05:08-05:10
So we're in James 3, starting in verse 1.
05:11-05:18
And the first part of our passage talks about how we need to watch our mouths, because our tongues are the most dominant parts of our bodies.
05:21-05:31
So in verse 1, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness, for we all stumble in many ways.
05:32-05:37
And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
05:38-05:43
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
05:44-05:51
Look at the ships also, though they are so large and driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
05:51-05:58
So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things." Now there's a lot to digest here.
05:58-06:04
James first opens up with a word of warning to the brothers saying that not many of them should become teachers.
06:04-06:14
And then he shifts his focus to a broader illustration that talks about how the tongue is a proportionally small part of our bodies, but can control the entire thing.
06:15-06:16
So why start with a warning?
06:18-06:23
Organizationally, this just seems like a good way for James to launch into talking about the tongue as a whole.
06:24-06:31
But it is a good upfront realization that not everyone is cut out to be a leader or a teacher because of their tongues.
06:32-06:37
In Jewish culture, teaching was very highly respected and a valued profession.
06:37-06:43
And those that were new Christians, it was only natural that they wanted to teach to bring the good news to others.
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And it is a good aspiration to want to teach.
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Even today in our culture, teachers are highly respected.
06:52-06:58
But as a teacher of God's Word, your words and the correctness of them have eternal consequences.
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You're not teaching math or shop class.
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You're feeding a soul.
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God takes his word seriously, more than we can fathom.
07:08-07:17
And I was looking at verses to exemplify the seriousness of teachers and to shed a little more light on why James would give this warning.
07:17-07:20
And I came across a verse that legitimately gave me chills.
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It's Acts 20, verse 28.
07:25-07:48
"Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock "in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood." That last bit, "which he obtained with his own blood." It's the ultimate buyback. Christ dying a horrible death on the cross, shedding his blood so that he could purchase our salvation.
07:49-08:36
What a sobering reminder for us to understand why we can call ourselves Christians and are able to be taught salvation in Christ. So as a teacher you're being held accountable for your words, more so than the average Joe. If you're not up to the task, heed James's warning. Let's come back to the average Joe and to his or her tongue. Verses 2 through 5. See, James knows, like I'm sure we all do, that stumbling or sinning is a part of being human. Many sins involve saying dumb or wrong things, gossip, slander, cursing, bragging, manipulating. And he goes as far as to say that if we can control our tongues, then we are perfect people and we're able to bridle or control our whole body.
08:38-09:00
Now to me that's an interesting point because you would think it would be the opposite way, right? Like if we can control our bodies, then we can bridle our tongue. But that's not what James is saying here. He's saying that if we can just control our mouths, then we're good to go. To me it seems like that lowers the bar for success. But just like any perceptively easy task, it's not going to happen.
09:02-09:21
This whole passage reminds me of the time that Jeff came up here and went through the Ten Commandments with the congregation and we kept score of the ones that we thought we kept throughout our lives. And it would almost be like God saying, "If you can keep just one commandment, then you're fine. I'll forgive you for the rest. But when you know What?
09:22-09:23
0 for 10.
09:25-09:26
Our tongues dominate our bodies.
09:27-09:29
If you don't believe me, then let me ask you this.
09:30-09:31
How often have your legs gotten you in trouble?
09:32-09:33
What about your arms?
09:34-09:35
What about your ears or hands?
09:36-09:39
I'd say never to rarely, if you can say that.
09:40-09:41
What about your tongue?
09:42-09:43
All the time.
09:44-09:50
Like James mentioned in his illustrations, the tongue is a proportionally small part of us, but literally speaks for the body.
09:53-09:59
Now James talks about the troubles our tongues can cause in the next verses, which is our next point.
09:59-10:01
Our tongues are able to wreak havoc.
10:02-10:05
Let's pick back up in the second part of verse 5.
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How great a force to set ablaze by such a small fire!
10:10-10:13
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.
10:13-10:24
The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire of life and set on fire by hell." That's pretty in your face from James.
10:25-10:26
I'm certainly not mincing his words here.
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I'm sure many of us can relate to his first statement.
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We make one snide or rude comment and it snowballs into catastrophe.
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It doesn't take much when the hateful things we say can cut deep through established relationships and friendships.
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I've been guilty of this.
10:47-10:52
I remember during college I was visiting friends back home, and I had some juicy gossip about one of my friends.
10:53-10:54
They confided with me in secret.
10:56-11:03
And even though I wasn't a Christian at the time, you know, I knew gossiping and breaking your promises wasn't a great way to keep your friendships.
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But I felt like I had leverage and power.
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And with this knowledge, I could cause some drama whenever I wanted to.
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I could dictate what others knew or felt about them.
11:14-11:20
So I pulled that pin, lobbed the grenade, stood back and watched the damage.
11:22-11:27
We had been friends for three or so years at this time, but everything fell apart when I was confronted.
11:28-11:31
I made excuses and acted like it was no big deal, right?
11:32-11:37
But that just further spat fire and kindled this mess into a giant blaze.
11:38-11:42
We stopped talking, and any time I hung out with our common group of friends, it was just really awkward.
11:43-11:45
I stopped hanging out with that entire group of friends.
11:46-11:51
Simple misuse of my tongue just snowballed into total destruction.
11:52-11:57
And I apologize, but still, things were never the same, and I'm going to have to live with that regret.
11:59-12:02
But maybe you've never destroyed a friendship like that.
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What about any lasting negative influence your tongue might have on young minds?
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Parents with your kids, uncles and aunts with nieces and nephews, or just any young, malleable mind.
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Now, I'm one of those guys that never knew he wanted to have kids, but now that I have them, they're the best.
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But that's because they're mine.
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(Laughter)
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Now, I won't go out with intentions to corrupt other people's children, but the guard I put on my actions and mouth in public is not as stringent as when I'm around my own children.
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But it doesn't work that way.
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How many of you have ever been in a store when someone is going off and there are young children around?
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Maybe it's that own person's children.
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And it's just a mess, nothing but havoc.
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Nothing good is coming out of that.
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And it's not just our direct remarks either that can cause destruction.
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How many of you have ever been on the end of a rude comment that was suffixed with "Just kidding!" Like, apparently that negates it?
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I'm sure all of us.
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I'm sure all of us have delivered one of those comments as well.
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See, this is the world of unrighteousness delivered by the tongue.
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We say those things to get a rise out of someone or to get a chuckle from another person in the room.
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But more often than that, there's truthful hatred and animosity in our words.
13:31-13:39
So as a small member of our body, the tongue has the ability to direct our entire bodies, as we established earlier, but also our entire lives.
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We all have our bad days, whether we're dealing with a trial or maybe we're extremely hangry.
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You know, folks that haven't had breakfast and if I'm going on too long, wrap it up.
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But how are you going to respond?
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Are you going to let Satan and sin control your words?
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What about the next trial and the one after that?
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See, throughout our lives, we're going to have millions of responses to give.
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Who will you let guide yours?
14:07-14:11
Now we understand the dominance and the havoc our tongues can wreak, but what can we do about it?
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How can we control it?
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Well, I've got good news and bad news.
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And James first lays out the bad news for us in the next set of verses.
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This is our third point.
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Our tongues are untameable.
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Verse 7.
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"For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
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But no human being can tame the tongue.
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It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
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With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God." How much good news there, huh?
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Our tongues are unable to be tamed, and again, James is reiterating the evils of our tongues.
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Restless, full of poison.
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We're constantly putting our foots in our mouths.
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When I think of restless, I think of insomnia or unable to be tired out.
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But the Greek word used here is akatastatos, which means unstable or anarchic.
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Anarchy is the lack of obedience to an authority, and we typically hear that when we're talking about anarchy against the government.
15:22-15:26
But our tongues are anarchists to us, rebelling against any sort of control.
15:28-15:39
See, we as humans have domesticated beasts of various sizes and intellect to do our bidding, but the piece of meat in our mouths that is a part of our bodies and lives with us can't be controlled.
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The last sentence in this verse really drives home the point.
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The extremes of what our tongues can do.
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Blessing the Lord our Father and then cursing those around us, sometimes in the same day, sometimes in the same minute.
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I've caught myself numerous times on the road listening to Christian music, and I'm mid-verse changing my words from singing along to praising God to cursing out my fellow motorists.
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It almost seems like it's automatic, like I have no control over it.
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And based on James' words, he's right, I don't.
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That's where we're going to take this point, and we're going to add an asterisk to it.
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See, our tongues are untamable, asterisk, without the Holy Spirit.
16:29-16:35
See, up until now, it's been a constant beatdown and reminders of how much and how often that we fail.
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And just with our mouths alone.
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Imagine reading the other 11 lessons in the book of James.
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Punch after punch in the gut.
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But here's the silver lining.
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We do have a way to tame the tongue.
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Let's pick back up in the second half of verse 10.
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"My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
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"Does a spring pour forth from the same opening "both fresh and salt water?
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"Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, "or a grapevine produce figs?
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"Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." Now reading this, you might ask yourself, where'd I get the idea that the Holy Spirit is helping us control our tongues?
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Well, let's understand this.
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James is using Jesus' own words here, albeit in a different structure and wording.
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This actually comes from Luke 6, verses 43 through 45.
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And here Jesus is preaching to the multitudes and says this, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
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Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.
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People do not pick figs from thorn bushes or grapes from briars.
17:42-18:03
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." And up until now, I haven't mentioned the heart, but guess what? That's where our tongue is ultimately controlled from. That's the source of its evil and wickedness.
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Even if we were to cut our tongues out and become mute, we'd still be wicked, evil people and probably resort to cursing in sign language. James says the tongue controls the body and controls the tongue.
18:19-18:21
So we ultimately struggle against is our hearts.
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And earlier I said that the tongue literally speaks for the body, but more specifically, the tongue literally speaks for our hearts.
18:31-18:36
See, when I destroyed my friendship earlier by gossiping, I couldn't only blame my tongue, right?
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It was the stores of evil that I had in my heart that I was pulling out and was displaying through my mouth.
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Malice, trickery, and a bit of jealousy.
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And until I came to Christ, that's what was going to remain there.
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But when you come to accept Christ into your heart, you begin a lifelong transformation journey.
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This is what we call sanctification.
18:58-19:10
You are justified immediately, yes, but sanctification is the process of turning away from the old self and conforming to the image of Christ, replacing those stores of evil with stores of good.
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And in these verses, James is asking rhetorical questions.
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Of course a spring only produces fresh water.
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A fig tree only produces figs.
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You can't have other things come from them.
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What James is trying to do here is help us see that we are one or the other.
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You can't call yourselves Christ followers while continuing to enjoy sin.
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We can't glorify God while choosing to slander and curse others.
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So why then aren't we instantly in control of our tongues?
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Why do we continue to make mistakes?
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The unfortunate answer is because we live in a fallen world covered in sin.
19:49-19:53
So as a Christian you have a transformed heart, but it's still in a broken body and world.
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And when I say the word "tameable" understand that it doesn't mean immediately perfect and fully obedient.
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See, people tame wild animals, but Siegfried and Roy's tiger still attack them.
20:07-20:15
But with the Holy Spirit living inside of us and at our disposal, we can overcome because we are no longer slaves to sin, but instead choose to sin.
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And there's the challenge.
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There's the uncomfortable fact that we will continue to sin and our tongues will continue to assert its dominance, wreak havoc where possible, and try to remain untamable.
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But I don't want to leave here today with these verses without some practical tips on how we can watch our mouths.
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You might be convicted just as I was after reading this on the vileness of your own mouth.
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But what can we do practically to get our mouths in order?
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How can we sanctify our hearts so that we can bring good things out of the good stored up in our hearts?
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Well, I'm glad you all asked, because I've got three things you can do to help you watch your mouth.
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And just like James did when compiling his wisdom into his book, we're going to associate a passage of scripture from Proverbs to back up these practical applications.
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So on your outline, practical ways to watch your mouth.
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The first, watch your media.
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Supporting verse we're gonna use is Proverbs 4, verse 25, and that is, "Let your eyes look directly forward "and your gaze be straight before you." See, this verse comes from a larger set of instructions a father is giving to his son as wisdom, and this verse specifically talks about keeping the focus and your eyes guarded, to look towards Christ and avert from gazing at seducing or sinful directions.
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But first I want to define what I mean by media, because the word can often draw folks to different ideas.
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I'm referring to media in a much broader and larger sense.
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Any radio, television, music, movie, newspaper, magazine, comic book, manga, anything that can communicate a story or an idea.
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It's pretty much anything under the sun that we ingest through our ears and eyes.
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And the next thing I'm going to say is a broad sweeping statement, but I don't think many would disagree with me.
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Media today is more toxic, foul, violent, and obscene than ever before.
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Companies seem to be in a race to produce content that's more over the top than their competitors so that they can generate buzz or be viewed as progressive.
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We glorify sins of all kinds, same-sex relationships, adultery, infidelity, revenge murder, drug use, greed, addictions.
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It's all there.
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And as a society, as things get more and more normalized, or rather, we get more acclimated and desensitized by this, it's just gonna get worse and worse.
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Worse things are gonna be pushed on us, right?
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And as Christians, we too can desensitize ourselves when we partake.
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Just like repeating a sin over and over, we start to feel less and less convicted and rationalize or justify doing it more and more.
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Our gaze strays, and we allow seduction and sin to grab hold.
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So you ready to get uncomfortable?
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Let's give some specific examples.
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Shows like "Game of Thrones," "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead." Movies like "Deadpool," "John Wick," "Superbad." Musicians like Eminem, Madonna, Kanye West.
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Comedians like Louis C.K., Jim Norton, Dave Chappelle.
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Not to mention the dozens or hundreds of popular websites out there, all of them filled with vile content.
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And I'm not trying to condemn here, I understand that.
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I've been guilty of partaking in some of the very things I just mentioned.
23:58-24:00
But what do you think that's doing to your heart?
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You might not notice it at first, but that might be because you're already desensitized to it.
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I want to challenge you all.
24:10-24:15
Watch the media you consume and see how it impacts your responses, your feelings and your actions.
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I can attest that media affects me greatly.
24:20-24:23
It's a tit-for-tat or equivalent reaction that happens to me.
24:24-24:25
Gritty movie, gritty mood.
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There are alternatives out there in all the media that we have.
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For instance, music.
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I know some of you might listen to contemporary Christian bands, and I guess that's more like soft rock, right?
24:39-24:42
What about the Screamo, thrash metal, rap fans out there, huh?
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Where's the love?
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Well, they exist.
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Yeah, rappers for Christ.
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I personally used to listen to a lot of Eminem because I liked his style. It was very aggressive and raw, but obviously it's super profane.
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And once I became a Christian, I thought, "Oh, great. I'm stuck with the hymns." And there's nothing wrong with hymns. Nothing wrong with hymns. But you know, I wanted that in your face and raw, just... And there are rappers out there who glorify God in their lyrics. They give him praise, and in some songs, they're spilling out their guts on their struggles and they do it in an aggressive style.
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The point being is that if I can find a super specific music style that is God glorifying to supplant something that didn't, you too can find it in the movies and the shows you watch and any other media.
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It's out there.
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You have no excuse to continue poisoning your hearts.
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Just to close out this point, I'm not saying we need to throw away all our non-Christian media, but I am warning you that you must be careful in all media you consume, whether it's labeled Christian or not, because when it comes through your ears and eyes, down to your heart, and eventually out of your mouth.
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Now the second way that we can watch our mouths is by watching our company.
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And our supporting verse here is Proverbs 24, verses 1 through 2.
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"Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, "for their hearts devise violence, "and their lips talk of trouble." I'm using the term company here to refer to not only the situations you put yourself in, but also the people that you're around.
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See, this verse in Proverbs talks about the people, but it also includes situational words like devise, plotting, and scheming, and those eventually lead into active situations.
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Some of you are very rigid in your character, in your comfort zones, in your behavioral patterns.
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Even being around new people or new situations, you're visiting a new place, you tend to gravitate towards things that you're familiar with, right?
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The same folks or the same activities.
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And you act in the same way, and people's perception of you can be viewed as stable.
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And there's nothing wrong with that.
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And honestly, I wish I was that way.
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Because I see myself on the opposite side.
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I do what I call chameleon behavior.
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I change my character and behavior based on the people that I'm around and what I'm doing.
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You get me around Ben Mall, and I might start speaking with a little twang.
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If I'm even in the same room as Steve Zelsnack, yin's now, watch out.
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That's a slippy slope in that.
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I had to look that up.
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I'm not a Pittsburgh East guy.
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But you can imagine how dangerous that this can be for me, right?
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If I allow myself to be put in shady or precarious situations, I'll just roll with the punches.
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But being around people who swear or talk about their sin like it's no big deal, I'll passively agree and hold off on speaking God's truth.
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Now I'm not saying I won't have any control, but like James illustrated in verses 3 and Outside influences are around us and can eventually overpower us.
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Are you sailing your ship on a placid lake, able to guide it wherever you will?
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Or is your ship in a tsunami and you're just holding on for dear life?
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See, at that point, your rudder is useless.
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Just like watching your media, the people and places you frequent will have an effect on your heart, both in the short and long term.
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See, here at Harvest we have small groups that meet on various days of the week.
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We have volunteer outreaches, mission trips.
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In each one, we're surrounding ourselves with Christ followers, using one another to further our relationship with God, to fill our hearts up with those stores of good.
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But if you frequently are putting yourselves into precarious situations, thinking you're strong enough to resist temptation, you're playing with a deadly fire. You'll start filling your heart up with those stores of evil and it will become evident through your mouth. Now the last way that we can watch our mouths is by watching our walk. The supporting verse here is Proverbs 8 verse 20 through 21. I walk in the way of righteousness in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me and filling their treasuries. See Proverbs 8 is about wisdom and its characteristics and these These two particular verses about wisdom exemplify the relationship between wise decisions, righteousness, and eventual rewards.
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I still find sanctification to be an amazing benefit once you put your faith in Jesus Christ.
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It's not easy, and more often than not it can be seen as a huge challenge.
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But how can we ease that challenge and understand how to become more Christ-like?
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Hopefully this is a no-brainer, but pursue fellowship with your Creator and Savior.
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When you seek God and His wisdom, it puts you on a path to His Son, Jesus Christ.
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Act and live out His examples.
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But you must be intentional in this effort.
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You can't just put the Bible up to your head and it will make you wise or holy.
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Just like putting on a costume doesn't make you a doctor or a mechanic.
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It requires effort.
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But compared to the Old Testament days, we have it much easier.
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See God the Father tore the veil from top to bottom when Christ died on the cross, signifying that He is freely available for fellowship now.
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When you read His word and you pray to Him, God will reveal His will for us.
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1 Corinthians 2 talks about how the Holy Spirit comprehends the thoughts of God.
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And as Christians, that same Spirit lives within us.
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And along with understanding His will, fellowshipping with God grants us His wisdom.
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And what an incredible benefit there is in that.
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As Proverbs 8.20 through 21 says, "His wisdom is righteous and just, "leading to an inheritance of treasures, "allowing us to store up good things in our hearts." See, too often we come to God only when we're in deep trouble.
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He is our Savior, yes, but we treat Him like He's a get-out-of-jail-free card.
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But let's avoid that.
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Let's go to God not when we're just in trouble.
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Let's go to Him when we want to praise Him and give Him thanks.
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Let's fellowship with Him daily and tell God, "Thank you.
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"Thank you for my church, my family, my kids, "my job, my friends, "and especially for giving your son to us." See, today we're gonna close in worship and this will be everyone's opportunity to use that tongue for good, to shout praises to the Lord our God.
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We know our tongues dominate us.
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They wreak havoc and are untamable, but you Lord enable us to conquer that.
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You filled our hearts with the Holy Spirit and that's what we wanna show.
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That's what we want to literally speak for us.
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Father God, I am amped right now to sing praises to you.
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I thank you for this time together for allowing us to challenge ourselves on the use of our tongues.
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Please give us wisdom daily to grow in our sanctification so that we may use our tongues for good.
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And Lord, I pray now you hear our shouts of praise to you and that they be a sweet melody to you, our eternal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Small Group Discussion
Read James 3:1-12
GROUP
Why does the tongue hold so much power?
How can we overcome our tongues?
What ways can we ensure we are storing treasure of good rather than treasures of evil? (Luke 6:43-45)
Has your media, company and walk changed since becoming a Christian? In what ways?
BREAKOUT
What media or company is holding you spiritually hostage? What can you do to remove it along with its ‘treasures of evil’?
