Social Restoration - Phase 3: Social Language, Part 2

If you are serious about changing your life and changing your relationships, you will have to learn to change your words. The apostle James writes, if anyone does not stumble in what they say they are perfect or mature, able to control their whole body. Here's the question, how do you do that. Thanks for joining us for this edition of living will be good with children Living on the Edge the daily discipleship ministry students look like first. It was interesting social media gives anyone who wants so as we continue our series on social restoration. People heard from yourself and others look helpful to talk about the power of word why they matter so how we might begin to leverage words differently now. Chip's son Ryan began this message in our previous program. So today he brings us part two of his talk social language triple B with a septic teaching that is thought to be sure not to miss that. Okay. If you have a Bible.

Haley open another James chapter 3 let's join Ryan and I like how David Augsburger.

I think that's Isaiah's last name set.

Here's why this is so important.

He said being heard is so close to being that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable is so important before I speak before I'm leaning in before, and I don't words and listen how I really heard what I have. I just figured out how to respond and what argument I have or what thoughts do I have but but I want to understand where you're coming from. See social restoration and requires of us that we lean in and we watch our words and we asked the questions. Is it true is helpful as a kind or have I truly listen to anyone talk about what's at stake.

Why do we have to be so careful with what we say. James actually is going to unpack how words are so powerful that this would give us pause as we begin to engage with one another as we begin to have dialogue with others. We might disagree with that as we posts listen to what he says he's going to say that words are powerful and we know that already, but we need to be reminded of it.

He says we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal or take ships as an example, although there so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great post.

Here's what he saying train our words have directional force, your words my words have directional for the same way a bit in a horse and rider to about steered the horse your words have directional force both in your life and in others life. Your words are powerful. Some of the words that were saying to ourselves or directing the very course of your life.

No good, failure I'll just never make it. This is impossible, it has directional force and we've all experienced it as someone's words in our life has had directional force hasn't. Maybe it was a coach that offered encouragement. Maybe it was a mentor who spoke in or apparent that that surrounded you and career path that you're on. It was actually set in place by someone else's words and has directional force, both good and for bad. I was reminded of a friend of mine who is wrestling whether he wanted to start his company or not he's had this entrepreneurial spirit and we sat down we had this conversation as like me was the worst that can happen, you're really smart gifted guy start this thing. It doesn't work. You gonna go get a new job.

You're young Goforth any points back you go Ryan.

That conversation, it was the tipping point for me to start this business to your words my words, they have directional force. We have to be careful because we gotta recognize our words have directional force.

The second thing is gonna go from bit the horses sites are words and we know this destructive power they cannot do Harvey. He talks about how a little spark we think of the words you know. Remember that the definition of words is a communication by where the mind finds expression like it's just a little thing. I didn't even mean it wasn't that big of a deal. James says in the same way that a spark can move and turn a whole forest onto fire.

Our words can have the same impact they actually can be so destructive. We gotta be so careful because we recognize it might've just been off comment and it can really really create damage us thinking about this in my own life and I was having breakfast with a friend and were talking about it and there's obviously yeah I mean we start something is lots, insecurities, fears all the sort of things were talking about and he made this comment about my preaching and compared me to someone else and it just me to the point where that conversation shaped the way I thought about my communication for years I never felt good enough.

Every time I got up to speak. I was desperately insecure feeling like I just didn't have enough and so then I start instead of trying to communicate God's word is trying to get people to think well of me. Literally years, one conversation and it wasn't even something that he meant in that way, but it just pierced my heart and we've all had that before, and unfortunately we done that before others. He says why we are to be so careful. Our words have directional force. Our words have destructive power. Many finally he says, our words are very difficult to control it, and in fact he says we can tame animals, wild animals, and retained all sorts of them but you can't tame the tongue.

Notice what he says in James chapter 3 verse seven he says all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can the time the restless evil, full of deadly poison while trying to underscore the damage. We don't think a whole lot about this, but the damage that can be done CRR words.

James essay in and of ourselves and in our own strength is not difficult. It's actually impossible.

We need the spirit of God to transform us to be able to tame our tongue, not just our willpower there difficult to control in their powerful. So then why do we do with them. How do we become a people that bring restoration and healing in the words that we have because their power and not destruction and harm. James is going to tell us first. We have to repent.

Oh boy.

Use the R word repent for the incongruity of your words. Notice what he says. With the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse human beings been made in God's likeness out of the same mouth comes praises and cursing. My brothers and sisters. This should not be. We actually first step for you. The first step for me is we repent of our incongruity. The dissonance of where we sing songs we just worship the recognize that we yelled at her kids who are just worship and we just talked about someone negatively where we just worship and on Monday week we just slam our our boss or coworker or spouse, friend, roommate, we got a repent and own RC. It's easy to look at everybody else is easy to go like look at what they're doing and how they're doing it.

This is not the invitation for you to evaluate everybody else's language. This is the invitation for you. That's the reason I changed the pronoun all the other ones were are in week I change it to your because it is for you.

For me were going to repentance, so got is not okay. This is not right. Years ago there was a high profile pastor. The stepped out of his ministry and he was doing some things that I didn't understand and I remember sitting around a table with friends and were talking about it and me and another buddy who are in ministry were so critical of his decisions. We don't know at that point I'd never met him. Didn't know all the circumstances, I just spoke some negatively and authoritative. In that moment and remember driving home from hangout with friends and my wife said to me, Ryan, that was not right. The way you spoke about him and you don't know and so convicting, and I had to repent of my own brokenness where I can praise God and preach the gospel and then cut down someone who's preaching the gospel friends that should not be. I sent a text out to the friends and apologize and asked for forgiveness and the humor of God was a few months later ended up doing it speak in a conference. With this in person is guy guy gone like see pay attention to. We have to repent. It begins right there got I'm sorry because my words as I worship you.

I cannot cut down any other human whether I agree with them or disagree with them like them or dislike them. They are a modern day image bearers of you and so I will not have incongruity.

I will not have dissonance.

I will not praise you and curse them so God would you do the work in me. So what we do we repent and then we have to go to the root and address the fruit.

This is what James says can both freshwater and saltwater flow from the same spring. My brothers and sisters can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs. Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

He's going. You gotta get to the root of the issue. If you don't like the fruit you don't just externally and that's what we try to do.

We try to just put a muzzle on her lips of like I'm going to try harder not to say this or say that he says no to go to the root was the root. The heart is actually talking about what Jesus talked about Luke chapter 6 verse 43 Jesus said, for there is no good tree which produces bad fruits nor on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit for each tree is known by its own fruit.

For men do not gather figs from thorns Norton they pick up grapes from Briar Bush's the good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good. The evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil. Now notice this for his mouth speaks from that which his heart is filled. Gotta go to the root see what we do is ago. I just didn't mean it was, it slipped out our words reveal what's in our heart is what Jesus saying this is what James is talking about.

And if if our words are cutting.

If our words are critical if our words are putting down if our words have incongruity where were worshiping God in one hand and were putting down his image bearers on the other. He says you have to do heart work. God is actually a heart issue is not a words issue. It's a heart that's why social restoration requires followers of Jesus to do the heart work the heart work. The work of the heart to bring about redemptive social language. See, for us to be a people where our words bring healing and set a hurt where our words are not bringing hatred or discord or divisiveness or animosity more work to bring years of peace and justice and righteousness and grace is begins in here not out there. See were wanting everything out there and we need to adjust that in the invitation is on when repent for what the brokenness in my language and God is revealing something in my heart and so I'm going to do the hard work has David played give me a clean heart, God, a prayer that I pray so often, his gut would you make me a man after your own heart.

If you just study the Scriptures and guard your heart above all else. It flows the wellspring of life Scripture speaks immensely about your heart to give me an undivided heart and as you do that.

What will flow out is the fruit of righteousness. The food fruit of peace, the fruit of hope the fruit of life. Proverb says this the tongue has the power of life and death words are powerful Jesus follower.

Your words are powerful and we have the opportunity wherever we were at.

Whether it's online or in person. Bring life. So in this moment where you where you need to decide about other people and what they're saying and what they're posting. What about listening to Living on the Edge and shifts with us talk about the message gesture, but in case you jumped in light our guest teacher. Today was Ryan Ingram with his message social language, social restoration is complicated, even with the best of intentions, well-meaning people get themselves into trouble. So how do we make a difference and bring light not heat leaves messages from Ryan Ingram bring a lot of clarity to the question. He looks at our current circumstances with the gospel vision of community, and provides biblical solutions for limited time, resources for social restoration are discounted and the MP3s are always free to order your copy or to send it to a friend visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org for additional information. Just give us a call at AAA 83336003, which I got to see the series from Ryan is certainly timely one is you guys talked about it.

I know one of the things that was important is that there's a ton of rhetoric being thrown around today, but not a lot of practical help up there and so not only do we have these programs but Ryan put these messages into a little booklet so people could read it on their own and insured with others. What else can he tells about why you think this is an important resource. Right now, David. I've been talking with the fellow believers of many ages where I live. West Coast East Coast middle America, and there's a fracture in families before the most recent election.

I had people tell me that they're not talking to their adult children that you know Thanksgiving was an absolute train wreck because of the divisions that are happening inside of families.

I've done a number of pastors events in the last three or four months I've had pastors tell me I think the sort of the blue and the red, the Democratic and Republican just different pictures of the world, even as believers is literally dividing their churches and I think there's something behind that and I think there's something more important than where begins and were social restoration has to begin is how we view one another. First and foremost we can disagree about a lot of other things but when we prejudge when we make assumptions when we don't really know the people who differ from us when we don't have conversations. Nothing happens. That's good.

And so my son Ryan is a pastor of a growing church here in the Bay Area wrote social restoration, where does it start and what must we do. I think it's a short little primer though.

Allow people to read and then get together and have a conversation that can begin the kind of healing and restoration that we need first in families than in the church and then well beyond Q that's what I call a solid plan to make a difference will not only is it a print copy but were also making this little booklet available as an e-book. Either way, you can choose a free copy when you go to your website.

LivingontheEdge.org Special offers on the app or give us a call at AAA 83336003. We love to get it into your hands and then have you pass it on when you're done. It's a great little conversation starter with the bonus of God honoring solutions request your free copy of social restoration@livingontheedge.org special offers on the app or by calling us at AAA 83336003.

Hope you'll do it today will I don't know about you but if you and I were sitting together, having just listened this message. We probably having a good cup of coffee and I would love you and I would say so what you think and I would hope that you would be open and vulnerable and you know not defensive and I would hope that I would be to and if you then said to Chip, so what you think.

I would say I am deeply convicted by this message. Not just the words, but when Ryan quoted Luke chapter 6 about the good tree produces good fruit in the bad tree produces bad fruit, and that the real evidences that the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. That's what disturbs me. You know I've gotten better and I'm more disciplined in terms of what comes out of my mouth.

Although when you talk as much as I do I still stumble a lot, but to me the deeper issue isn't just what comes out of my mouth. It's it's what it reveals about what's in my heart just thought I was in a sort of probing a little bit and we said hey let's just do an experiment.

Then we both put our computers side-by-side or iPad side-by-side and we both opened our Facebook and and then we scroll down and kinda what we been posting and what pictures we put up in and things we said just say for the last year and it just assumed we could just take it all in one. You know little setting. What would your Facebook post, say about your heart.

What would they say about God's love is patients is kindness is truth.

What would it say about treating everyone with dignity what what would it say about encouraging health and life in reconciliation instead of retaliation of what what would it say about your heart. I know that that's hypothetical, but you know were living in a day where it's so common, and it's just become so acceptable to say things and it seems that when we do it on the Internet.

We somehow think we can say things that we would never say to a person face-to-face side.

I and I just want to call us as believers, can you take this the right way stop it. Just stop it. There's life and death in the power of words and as or more importantly your words are saying something profound about your heart and God has commanded you is commanded me to love him with all of our heart, our soul or mind our strength and yes our neighbor as our self is sometimes the greatest disciplined in the world is not to write not to post not to speak in the words of my great grandmother Jesse who said Chip if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all.

Maybe we should take that to heart and maybe do it today as we wrap up I want to say thanks to those who make this program possible through your generous financial support.

Your gifts help us create programs purchase airtime and develop additional resources to help Christians live like Christians know if you've been blessed by the ministry of Living on the Edge.

Would you consider sending a gift today. You can call us at AAA 83336003. Tap the donate button or donate online at http://livingontheedge.org your support is greatly appreciated will be sure to join us again next time when we continue our series social restoration until venomously saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge