Who controls your tongue?

[0:00] This is an important and yet often touchy subject, the tongue. We all have a tongue, don't we? Thank you.

[0:12] Just wanted to check. And the tongue can often be a radar for health problems. You go to the doctor sometime and he says, Take your tongue out of me.

[0:27] He's not wanting to be naughty. He's wanting to see. What your tongue is saying to him. It can be shown illnesses like diabetes and deficiencies and anxiety or urology.

[0:42] However, I wonder. I wonder how startled James may be. To discover how much man has conquered or tamed his tongue or not.

[0:58] The tongue has been described as that little uncontrollable red rebel that lives in the red cave guarded by two rows of white soldiers.

[1:14] Your teeth. And the psalmist in Solomon gives some interesting examples about the tongue.

[1:27] The tongue can be flattering. The tongue can be flattering. Proud. Lying. Deceitful. Perverted. Soothing.

[1:38] Healing. Destructive. Mischievous. Wicked. Backbiting. Solomon.

[1:49] And Solomon in his book of Proverbs in chapter 18 and verse 21 says this. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

[2:03] And the apostle Paul later on in his letter to Colossians said this. Let your speech always be with grace and seasoned with salt.

[2:21] Someone once said that the tongue is a window of the heart.

[2:43] The heart of man. The heart of man. And reveals a lot about a person. But do we often think of the tongue in that way?

[3:01] What's in you often comes out by the word you speak. And when you think about it.

[3:20] We conduct most of our life with words. But the question I asked you this morning.

[3:31] I asked myself this question. Who controls your tongue? Peter in his first letter. Chapter 5 and verse 8.

[3:45] Says this. Your adversary. Prowls around like a rolling line. Seeking to devour. Someone.

[3:56] And words sometimes can be hurtful. They can be dangerous. As well as being comforting.

[4:10] However. God is the supreme tongue tamer. Who can untwist.

[4:22] And untie. The tongue twister's grip. On all tongues. That desire freedom. In Christ.

[4:32] And the enemy. Will do anything. To cause. Christian people. To disrupt.

[4:49] A fellowship. And James. James speaks about. The tongue. In this chapter. The tongue.

[5:01] The mighty midget. We thought last week. About the wars. And it's been said.

[5:11] About. I think the second war. Careless talk. Costs. Lives. I want to simply say this.

[5:24] It doesn't just cost lives. In the battlefield. But in our communities. And in our churches.

[5:36] Without knowing unwittingly. What we said. Or thought. Can sometimes. Cause. Innumerable damage.

[5:49] Very often. One word. Can be enough. To cause friendships. To be shattered. It's so easy.

[6:01] Isn't it. To say something. Even with. Unintentional. Harm. To cause. An unforgiving.

[6:12] Spirit. To be generated. In a life. How many of you. Have said. This is rhetorical.

[6:22] By the way. Don't put your hands up. Many of you. Have said. After you've said something. I wish I hadn't said that. And then you remember.

[6:33] Your school teacher. Or your parents. Will you hold your tongue. Now. If you were to hold your tongue. What would happen. Okay.

[6:52] So there's a bit of. Wise advice in that. Spurgeon. Spurgeon. Spurgeon. Spurgeon.

[7:03] Puts it. Somewhat differently. He says this. It is not necessary. To turn over a dunghill. To know it's a dunghill.

[7:17] One whiff. Is enough. And going back to James. In chapter one. Let every man.

[7:28] Be swift to hear. Slow to speak. Slow to wrath. Therefore. And this is a lovely phrase.

[7:41] Therefore. Lay aside. Lay aside. All superfluity. Of naughtiness. Have you ever thought about that? Lay aside.

[7:53] All superfluity. Of naughtiness. Chapter one. In verse 19. And James. In his letter. Uses certain examples.

[8:08] Especially in chapter three. What do they mean? He uses the example of a horse. In verse three. When you put bits.

[8:19] Or bridles. Into the mouths of horses. To make them obeys. We can turn. The whole horse. And I think.

[8:32] What he's meaning. Is this. A man. Who can govern. His tongue. Can govern. His whole nature. And that's.

[8:45] An interesting thought. Using the example. Of ships. In verse four. Though they are so large. And are driven. By strong winds.

[8:55] They are steered. By a very small. A rudder. Wherever the pilot. Wants to go. Depending.

[9:09] On who. Is in control. When the captain. Is in control. Of the ship. When God. Is in control.

[9:19] Of our lives. May the mind. Of Christ. My savior. Live in me. From day to day. That is why. I think.

[9:30] Jesus prayed. That prayer. Not my will. But yours. Be done. And James.

[9:40] In that illustration. Is saying this. He who loses control. Of the reins. Of brother. Loses control.

[9:51] Of everything. We go askew. And then. The third thing. He uses.

[10:01] Is verse five. Consider. What a great. Forest. Is set on fire. By a small. Spark. And we've recently.

[10:13] He heard. In the news. And newspapers. About the devastation. Caused. In Malibu. California. With that. With that. Fire.

[10:24] It just took. One spark. I believe. From overhead. Cables. To set that. Forest. In fire. One spark.

[10:39] With many. Killed. And thousands. Still missing. I wonder. How many people.

[10:49] In our churches. Not this church. Churches. Throughout the country. Have been lost. Because of the wrong word.

[10:59] That's been spoken. Without any thought. Being given. To what's being said. And lose control. Of your tongue. Lose control.

[11:12] Of your life. And even. Your credibility. And then. He says this. In verse 8.

[11:24] But no man. Can tame the tongue. It is a restless. Evil. Full. Of deadly. Poison. Why?

[11:36] Why would he say that? Full of deadly poison. Because he knows. The enemy knows. That to.

[11:48] Get people to say things. Can discredit. Person. Somebody's testimony. And we have to be.

[12:00] Be careful. How we use our tongue. What we say. Because. Because the enemy. Is. A roaring lion.

[12:12] And you look at the circus. You can see. A lion tamer. Look at our lives.

[12:23] And you can see the enemy. Trying to cause destruction. But God. Is a great. Tamer. Of the enemy.

[12:37] And putting our faith. And our trust. And our lives in him. Enables us. By adhering. And listening. To what he's to say. By giving him.

[12:48] Full control. Of our lives. He enables us. To say the things. And do the things. That will benefit.

[12:59] Other people. A ship. In the water. Is right. And proper. But the water. In the ship. Is wrong.

[13:11] And disastrous. Put it a different way. The Christian. In the world. Is right. And proper.

[13:22] But the world. And the Christian. Is wrong. And disastrous. And so there are two things. That James tells us.

[13:34] In verses 9 and 12. The moral chaos. To which the Christian. Who fails to control his tongue. Is reduced.

[13:46] And you can see that. Day in and day out. The moral chaos. That happens. In our world. With the wrong word. And the wrong attitude.

[13:59] And how hopeless it is. For man to assume. That the worship. He offers God. Can be pure. And acceptable.

[14:10] With the wrong motive. In our lives. And so. When you think about the tongue. Your tongue. My tongue. And consider. Four things in particular.

[14:27] The tongue. The tongue. Can bring. Careless talk. Matthew. In his gospel. Says. But I tell you. That men. And women. Will have to give an account.

[14:40] On the day of judgment. For every careless word. They have spoken. We mentioned earlier on. That. Those. That phrase. Careless talk.

[14:51] Costs lives. A slogan. Used in the last war. Reminding people. To think twice.

[15:03] Before they spoke. In case. There were. Enemy spies. Around. A story.

[15:16] That often. Comes. From. World War. Two. Where. The leader. Passes. To his soldiers. Down the line. Send.

[15:27] The reinforcements. We're going. To advance. And as it moves. Down the line. Eventi gets. This message.

[15:39] Send. Three and four. And we're going. To advance. You see. How often. And you know it. That when. Something is said.

[15:49] And somebody. Picks it up. It's always. Twisted a wee bit. I think. I've said this. To you before. That. I had. An encyclopedia. And then.

[16:00] It was. This story. About. How words. Can be. Misinterpreted. And. A boy. Said to his pal. John's.

[16:11] Got a lovely. Black dog. And it. Passed. Around. All the. All his pals. Until it. Came back. To John. Sorry.

[16:21] If anybody. He'll call. John. I'm not. Talking about you. Yeah. Dirty dog. John. You see. How it. Twisted. How it was twisted. How it changed. It's not what the person meant.

[16:34] But it's how it came across. Or you. Somebody says to you. I'm going to tell you something. But it's in secret. Don't tell them. And you say.

[16:48] Doesn't sound very good. I'll tell them something else. I had. I still have a mentor. In the west of Scotland. And his advice to me was this.

[17:02] When two people know something. It's never a secret. It. I said. I said. I said. So. We need to be careful. What we say. And how we say it.

[17:17] And careless talk. Can still cause a lot of damage. Today. And thoughtless remarks. Can really hurt.

[17:29] And Paul reminded. In the chapter Ephesus. Nor should there be. Obscenity. Foolish talk.

[17:41] Or coarse joking. Which are out of place. But rather. Thanksgiving. God.

[17:52] God. Wants us to listen. More than we speak. And that's why he gave us. Two ears. And one mouth.

[18:07] Careless talk. Criticism. Words like critic. Critical.

[18:18] Are related to the Greek word. For judge. And when we criticize people. We're actually passing judgment on them.

[18:32] And in most cases. When the New Testament uses the word judge. It can be replaced. By criticizing. Matthew chapter 7 verse 1 says.

[18:44] Do not judge. Or you'll be judged. For in the same way. As you judge others. You'll be judged.

[18:56] And with the measure. You use. It will be measured. To you. I wonder. If we realize. Why sometimes.

[19:07] God withholds blessings. From us. Where on the one hand. We're praising God.

[19:20] And on the other. We're cursing men. And women. Brothers and sisters. In Christ. because God cannot bless that kind of behavior that kind of treatment those kind of use of words a minister related how he once was involved in a funeral service and he noted to his senior pastor how the children of that family must have loved their mother as he wept inconsolably his senior pastor answered him like this no they are just crying in remorse they are the most disobedient backbiting sarcastic children ever and we do well to repent today for all the chrism we have made about others in the present grumblings some people are very happy when they are grumbling we grumble about the weather it is too hot it is too windy it is too cold and we are never satisfied or if you have a grumbling appendix when you feel the pain some time ago

[21:03] I went to a deployment to go to hospital because of pain and all types of tests on me putting cameras here, there and everywhere and x-rays and other things and the surgeon that I spoke to at the end said we were really worried about you Alan had my team together looking at all these pictures and all these things we scratched our head then we realised it was scar tissue out of your appendix that was causing all the problem scar tissue nothing serious just a bit painful and we have to realise sometimes that we can cause pain to others others can cause us pain what is gossip defined as this casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people typically involving details which are not confirmed as true and as I was thinking about this my daily readings notes told me this when words become weapons our relationships soon become casualties and that was very telling for me very poignant when words become weapons our relationships become casualties and isn't it true we like a good gossip and people listen when someone gossips and enjoy the stories they tell and it's never a secret when two people know something and anything that's said should stand this test is it true gossip is like blotting paper it soaks everything up and gets it all around their way is it true is it kind titus says this to slander no one or Paul to titus to be peaceable and consider it and show true humility before men humility that's the key because the first step is up is always down we should always remember that the first step up is always down is it true is it kind is it necessary we need wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent which can be more often than we realise let me say just in conclusion those who listen to gossip are just as guilty as those who are spreading it for if there is no audience there will be no one to tell or the scriptures reminds us in proverbs for lack of wood and the fire goes out and where there is no whisper quarrelling ceases one minister told a member of his congregation when he was told a story let's deal with it this way why don't we go and talk to that person about what you've just said to me and very often taking that course of action stops a gossiper from gossiping and God hates the gossip there's nothing more destructive that can bring down a home divide a church or make enemies of friends

[26:27] God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble so God will resist the person who cannot tame the tongue it's not helpful and we should always follow the teaching of scripture Matthew records these words if your brother sins against you go and show him his fault just between the two of you if he listens you'll warn your brother over but if he will not listen take one or two others along so every matter may be established and getting the situation sorted out biblically stops gossiping for there's nothing then to gossip about we might need to listen to what God's word says and follow its instructions to letter have have you ever been gossiped about or have you gossiped about somebody else unintentionally only you can answer that and only you can seek forgiveness from

[28:22] God if that is the case let's pray father as we recall throughout the years times when words have brought pain to our lives leaving deep scars and we have been unable to let go of those words allowing the situation to become ingrained and stopping us to grow in grace and love we seek healing and peace in our lives and lives of others that we may journey together with hope and joy strengthen our resilience give us courage and enable us to let forgiveness freely flow by the power of your holy spirit we pray amen we're going to sing together this hymn amen amen