We Need To Control Our Tongues - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ preach the word and I don't think your opinion, preach the word and then he said to Timothy you study to show yourself approved to work when it does not need to be a shame you need to rightly divide the word of truth is I've always thought see it doesn't really matter in the long run. When any of you think it doesn't matter that the aperture to say wow that was just great sobering thought to me is one day I'm standard for degeneracy to Christ is in a gentleness joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now again he shows us God's word meets our work past week I read an article by Susan Hawkins. She is a women's ministry speaker in the title of the article was the power of words and one of the places in the article is she had a little section to share what she wanted to help men understand that the women are married to and the words that they use and what they mean. So she writes the first word is fine and if you read the definition and the way a woman speaks in its fine. This is the word women use to end an argument when they feel that they are right and you need to be quiet. By the way, never use this word to describe how a woman locks. This will cause you to have one of those arguments which aligned in fine only five minutes. This means 1/2 an hour.

It's the equivalent of the five minutes that your football game is going to last before you take the trash out. Nothing. After reading the definition. This should be pronounced. Nothing. This means something and you should be on your toes. Nothing is usually used to describe the feeling that a woman has, of wanting to turn you inside out, upside down and backwards.

Nothing usually signifies an argument that will last about five minutes and end with fine.

The last one is thanks a lot.

If you read it.

It kinda sounds nice, but the tone can make all the difference. This is much different than just saying thanks I woman will say thanks a lot when she's really ticked off at you. It signifies that you have offended her in some way and will be followed by alongside. Be careful not to ask what is wrong after the long sigh, because she will tell you nothing the rest of the article is really quite different. But she said something was profound to me are words of one of the most important things about us. Think about your speech and about your words the way you talk are words have to polarizing kind of potentials with the words we use, we can we can help people how we can encourage people we can heal relationships, we can actually teach people and with our words.

We can confuse people.

We can embarrass people.

We can really hurt people I've seen churches split. I've seen families unravel and I've seen marriages crumble and friendships and over the words that come out of our mouse. We live in a culture by the way that this is rampant. We live in a culture of social media talk shows. We live in a culture in sports of trash talk.

We live in a culture of road rage and even these tragic events of this last week and as tragic as they were one of the worst things to me was watching all of the pond and send the race brokers and everyone else afterward trying to incite everybody with the words that they speak there's tremendous power in the words that we have our words have an alarming potential for good and for evil jeweled nearby was the James chapter 3 James chapter 3 I want to begin, it is new series that have titled the weight of our words. In the end the reason that I want to do that is so much of the pain that I've seen so many of you experience over all these years in ministry is all based on words words you said and regretted words that others have spoken to you. Words that you wish but you cannot forget you know the Bible says so much about words about the way we talk specifically about the way we should talk as God's children. James three is the groundwork for this entire series.

The book of James. As one commentator said is almost the New Testament equivalent of the book of Proverbs. In other words Proverbs is the practical wisdom in how to live in the Old Testament and James is the practical application of the faith that we have. James spends a lot of time in this epistle we kind of overlook it, talking about our words are speech our tongue. In fact, he mentions it in every single chapter and in chapter 1 in verse 19 he said we should be quick to hear, but slow to speak in chapter 1 verse 26. He said if you don't bridle your tongue. You deceive your own heart.

In chapter 2, he said speak as those who are to be judged for what they say and then in this chapter he speaks a lot about in chapter 4, he says don't speak against one another. Other believers in chapter 5, the system swearer take an oath, but here in chapter 3 he explains why he gives all this attention to our speech in our tongue the alarming potential that we have any gives us six reasons why we have to control our tongues that we must do that. The first was found in verse one.

He says let not many of you become teachers, my brother, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.

That's an interesting thing. He says don't don't become teachers and apparently early in the church like in any other time basically were a lot of people that wanted to become teachers know the reason for it was strange as it would sound to us, but the rabbis, for example, in the Jewish culture are the rock stars of the culture though the celebrities the rabbi has all the celebrity may have tremendous significance. In fact, in Jewish culture. You were to give more honor to your rabbi, then you were even to your parents and if another country had come and conquered your people and carried them up and held them in ransom. You are the first take your money and buy back your rabbi, then you can buy back your parents now. The great irony of this is who taught that yeah it's as rabbi Gigi and her nobody more important than I am, so there's probably a lot of significance to be gained there something else though here and that is that he says that he says knowing that as such, the teachers will re-he said, incur a stricter judgment. There are a couple passages in the New Testament for me as a pastor that are really difficult for me. Any area of motivation. One of them as we find in the New Testament is, I apparently going to be held accountable for you okay now I've said this past I don't believe in like being accountable for me, but to be accountable for you and how you walk with Christ.

That's a tremendous responsibility and here in this passage. In this passage, notice what he says you can get a stricter judgment. You get a stricter judgment. That's one of the reasons the me right from the beginning on I can still remember Paul's same to Timothy look preach the word and I don't put your opinion preach the word and then he said to Timothy you study to show yourself approved to work when it does not need to be ashamed.

You need to rightly divide the word of truth.

So I've always thought how you see it doesn't really matter in the long run.

When any of you think it doesn't matter that if after church is it. Wow, that was just great. The sobering thought to me is one day I went to stand before the judgment seat of Christ is in the judge what I said is he's going to judge what I said that's why sometimes when I watch TV. I'm astounded I'm astounded what men who claim to be followers and teachers of Jesus Christ what they say you can see they they say it without any thought they said without any study, they say, without any consistency. They just say it, but they will be judged in a stricter way. Now you might be seen at this particular time that the wall that's your problem. In the past mankind and feel sorry for you but that's it have to do with me. Well, two things. First one is look at the text. As such, we will incur a stricter judgment. The implications clear you all be judged language stricter, but you can be judged.

This is what Jesus says in Matthew Chapter 12 business words but I tell you that every careless word that people speak from here where I'm standing your people Jesus says I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an account for the day of judgment you thought about that. Do you think about that before you talk. You see, I wonder about that. Do we think about this at all. You see we live in a culture that has such a loose you conversation and talk that we son better than they do.

We surround ourselves with other Christians who talk in the same way that we talk he says look derogative. Face it, that's a very important thing. God judges our words are very important to God as we go on this series you will be amazed how much of the Bible talks about the way you and I speak that it's so important.

Secondly, the second reason is that our words reveal our spiritual maturity. That's what he says in verse two he says for we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now the heart word and that for us is that that WordPerfect that's in English that really just commentate something like will who's a perfect man. Only Jesus, not about the perfect but that's not what James really means is certain regrettable translation it's toward telling us it's the word when Jesus's last words of the cross.

It is finished. It is finished telling us it. It has a lot of meaning to what it means. It means perfect, it means finished. It means complete and in the context of spirituality. It means mature and so what he is saying here is, for we all stumble in many ways it's not likely that there is no perfection here. He said if anyone does not stumble in what he says is him is a mature person he controls a speech he's able to bridle the whole body as well. The implication is if you can control your tongue. You can control your spiritual life. It's also the other implication is clear. If you want to know what kind a Christian a person is just listen to you, see what we want to say is no know it's what's in my heart. James would say I'm skeptical because James is is a direct link spiritually between your heart. You will reveal your heart with your tongue the way you talk, she that's a very important that you know by the way, he doesn't mean Sunday morning at church talk okay the kind of talk you do when you commit and leave and stand in the lobby. You know how it is a mean of the sweetest group of people. Everybody does. Everybody's just smiling and talking and he did some bless you all those kind of things and how you do on you get all that he's more interested in what happens tomorrow morning to go to the office you have an irrational crazy boss is a tyrant is on you again.

That's what it's talking about is talking about the way you talk to the brother-in-law. You just can't stand he's talking is he he's talking about those conversations.

He's talking to you.

When someone very close to you. It may or may not be your spouse is irritating. You he's talking about those conversations. He's talking about then how do you speak then is it what you vulnerable to then because it reveals your spiritual maturity is what James says that's what really happens to us. Thirdly, God judges our words are words reveal a majority in our tongues really have a they really do control what spiritually each one of these build on the other he says in verse three.

Now if we put bits into the horses mouth so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Any sum look at the ships also know they are so great and removed by strong winds, there still directed by a very small rudder.

He says wherever the inclination of the pilot desires wow it has this tremendous wonderful potential in our lives. That's what James is saying it has this ability does this sort of control us. The tongue kind of controls, controls or demeanor controls how we speak to pictures here. The tongue is really small a bit small, a runner small and line of the ship, but he said the ship goes where the writer leads the application again you go spiritually where your tongue lead you see you go where your tongue lead you and boring you think about it words have shipwrecked I can even tell you how many marriages that I've been involved in. It's an amazing thing when you counsel people. The marriage is sort of hanging by a thread on a command and they said got in your office and you begin to talk. What you realizes that these people have talk to each other for a long time now, in a way that God would never one of them to speak.

It's the pattern it's the routine it's their default and even after once they warm up to the counseling idea and a become more transparent you can you can hear it. You can see the anger, the bitterness you can see the sarcasm.

You can see the criticalness you can see all of it.

They just view it out to each other and the irony is in our own flesh when someone talks to us that way. How do we respond. You see, how does our flesh want to respond to give it to you right back. And that's the pattern of a difficult marriage.

It's just one person given it back to the other person over and over and over again. He said it might be small, but it has huge implications in your life, way more than we want to give it credit for. God judges are words words reveal a majority are tongue. Once the control us any sin are also are tongue corrupts us. He says in verse five he said, so also the tongue is small a small part of the body. And yet it boasts great things that that's kind of amazing. Always think of someone bragging all the time is that little tongue is what's doing it. It's just bragging away and brag in a way, of course, it's revealing a hard then he says he says see how great a forest fire. Set aflame by a small fire. Let's see how is it you do, behold, it's a very strong emphatic word he said to get that's what the tongues like in the amazing. This time of year California West Coast anywhere and words really dry somebody with one cigarette butt one little and all of a sudden I'll tell you 250,000 acres are ablaze is just a little tiny thing that's for your tongue. That's what work that's what you can do to people you see can settle whole life ablaze. I mean if you're a parent and use your tongue away to the detriment of your children. I can tell you they pay for that. The rest of their lives because of the way you spoke to him for what you said they never forgot.

C- seem like a little thing to you but it's a big thing to them.

It sets everything ablaze its corrupt. He then says this and the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity because Moss he said the way we speak is the revelation of the cosmos. The diabolic us the whole idea of the way the world works. We end up speaking just the way the world is and then he says this.

The tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and then and sets on fire the course of our life and is set on fire by hell and knowledge corrupts us but the enemy uses are tongue that idea of hell. That's Gahanna. We translated help in the New Testament James who is the Lord's brother and Jesus are the only two that use the word Gehenna was the Valley of Hingham outside of Jerusalem, and there was a time when they were worshiping Malik Canaanite God and Malik required baby sacrifices and so Israel or Judah specifically even got involved in baby sacrifices and that's where they made the sacrifice and so what happened when Josiah was a righteous man became king, he turned that into the dump.

He he turned that place into the dump of the babies were sacrificed and that became the city dump and they always burned their garbage and so was always burning. Always thinking that's Gahanna. That's the source of the bases of hell. James understands the bigger ramifications of hell because here he's using it in a metaphor in the sense because he says that and is set on fire by hell he means the enemy himself uses your tongue in my tongue.

One of the worst things we can fall temptation to win. It's so easy to because we've done it for so often have to build up our if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like listening to the message one more time. Remember the little great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio program is no hat Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make his broadcast possible with all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly with just a one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is of the sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible church visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and of LA.Margie at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sensors are looking you can search by title. Once you find the message you're looking for. You can listen online or if you prefer, you can download the sermon on listening room. And remember all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is FVC Nola.org forecaster Bill Gebhardt and Jason Gebhardt. Thanking you for listening to fellowship in order