Taming the Tongue

Good morning again, welcome to Church of the Advent.

My name is Jeff, I'm one of the pastors here.

A warm welcome to you, especially if you're new

or this is your first time joining us.

We'd love to meet you after the service

and get to know more about you and hear more of your story.

So please come say hello after the service.

In the summer and fall of last year, 2023,

during the Writers Guild strike in the entertainment industry,

five of the late night TV show hosts,

Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers,

John Oliver, and Stephen Colbert,

these five TV show hosts got together and started a podcast.

Maybe a few of you may have heard of it.

The podcast is called Strike Force Five.

The idea is that while their shows were off the air

due to the industry strike,

that they would get together and do a show

and talk and produce some content.

And then they would donate all the proceeds

from the sponsors of the podcast

to people who worked on their show

and were out of work because of the strike.

And it was a cool idea.

And this past week, I started listening to it

and I started listening to the first episode.

And interestingly enough, in part of the first episode,

these five late night TV show hosts

started talking about,

I just came up in conversation,

what they wanted to be when they were kids,

what they wanted to be when they grew up,

when they were kids.

And interestingly enough,

four of the five hosts said that when they were kids,

they had the thought about someday

working in a church as pastors or priests.

I've actually heard Jimmy Fallon on a number of occasions

actually tell a story about how he,

for a while as a kid,

thought about being a priest.

John Oliver, who's British,

who grew up in the UK,

said that he told his dad one day

that he wanted to be a vicar.

And John Oliver's dad said to him,

no, you don't.

You just want people to listen to you.

And I think that's pretty appropriate

given what he does for his vocation today.

This is an interesting data point,

I think for a lot of reasons,

that four out of five late night TV talk shows,

all at one point when growing up,

thought about going into ordained ministry.

That's pretty fascinating.

In many ways, being a pastor or priest

is very far, very different

from being a late night talk show host.

But there's at least one thing

that they have in common.

And what they both have in common

is they both involve a lot of speaking.

They both involve a lot of talking.

And if I had to guess,

I would guess that these talk show hosts,

very on in their life,

understood something at a very young age.

They understood something

about the power of words,

about the ability for words

to influence and shape people

in the world around them.

The power of words

is what our New Testament passage,

James chapter three,

is about this morning.

In this passage,

James is talking about

about the power of the tongue,

the power of speech,

the power of words,

and also the need for the tongue,

the need for our words

to be mastered and tamed and healed.

And so that's what we're gonna look at this morning.

We're gonna look at the power of the tongue

and the healing of the tongue.

The power of the tongue

and the healing of the tongue.

In the first several verses

here in James chapter three,

in verses three through six,

James gives us a series of illustrations

to talk about the power of the tongue.

So in verse three,

he compares the tongue

to the power of a bit over a horse.

A bit is that piece of metal

that is put into the horse's mouth

and attached to the reins

so the rider can direct the horse.

In verse three, he says,

if we put bits into the mouths of horses

so that they obey us,

we guide their whole bodies as well.

In verse four,

he compares the tongue

to the power of a rudder over a ship.

Verse four, he says,

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.

And then in verses five and six,

James compares the tongue

to the power of a small fire over a forest.

He says,

how great a forest is set ablaze

by such a small fire.

And the tongue is a fire,

a world of unrighteousness.

The tongue is set up among our members,

stating the whole body,

setting on fire the entire course of life

and set on fire by hell.

Strong words.

All three illustrations hang together

in what James says in verse five.

So also,

the tongue is a small member

and yet,

it boasts of great things.

Although the tongue is a small thing,

it has a powerful effect in the world.

It has a powerful effect on our lives

and in the lives of others.

You can accomplish a lot of good things

if you channel the power of a horse.

If you,

you can travel long distances,

you can plow a field,

but you can also use a horse to trample somebody.

You can accomplish a lot of good things

if you channel the power of a ship.

You can cross oceans.

You can transport goods and grow an economy.

You can also run a ship aground.

You can accomplish a lot of great things

if you channel the power of a small fire.

You can bring warmth on a cold day.

You can cook a meal,

but you can also set a forest on fire.

Our words are the same way.

They can be used to bring life

and flourishing into the world.

They can be used to build someone up,

to encourage them,

honor them,

comfort them.

They can be used to teach a congregation

or a small group or a class

in the truth of God's word.

There's lots of ways we can use words

to bring life to other people,

but can also have the opposite effect.

Our words can be used to harm

and to hurt others as well.

Not to build somebody up,

but to tear them down.

Not to encourage somebody,

but to discourage somebody.

Not to honor somebody,

but to dishonor them.

Not to heal,

but to destroy.

And this is why James

has an incredibly sober tone

in this passage,

and his words are full of warning

and caution about our speech.

If our words are not harnessed

and controlled,

they can be like a fire

that can set our relationships

and our families

and our workplace

and our churches ablaze.

And so because the tongue

has such great power,

we all need to master it.

We all need to have

self-discipline over it.

Now notice,

in verse one,

that James says,

one of the first applications

given the power of the tongue

is to teachers and pastors

in the church.

In verse one,

he says,

not many of you

should become teachers,

my brothers,

for you know that we who teach

will be judged

with greater strictness.

He's not talking about

the ultimate day of judgment,

but he's referring to the fact

that those who teach

and lead in the church

will one day have to give

an account to God

for whether they were faithful

to teach sound doctrine

and shepherd those

under their care faithfully.

Listen to the words

of Hebrews chapter 13,

Hebrews 13:17

verse 17.

Obey your leaders

and submit to them,

for they are keeping watch

over your souls

as those who will have

to give an account,

as those who will have

to give an account.

And so how does this relate

to what James is saying

in this passage

about the power of the tongue?

Well, as those in authority,

the words of pastors

and teachers

and leaders

have a powerful impact

on the lives of others,

on the lives of those

they lead.

Not only are teachers

in the church

called to rightly handle

the word of God,

they are also called

to live up to that teaching

with their lives.

This is why Jesus

so many times

in the gospel

has strong words

for the Pharisees,

the scribes

and the Pharisees

who take great pride

in their knowledge

and their teaching

and yet don't follow through,

who don't live up

to that in practice.

And those who teach,

those who lead,

are especially prone

to sins of the tongue

because they spend

so much time talking.

My professor

from Covenant Seminary,

Dr. Dan Doriani,

a New Testament professor,

puts it this way.

He says,

teachers are especially vulnerable

to failures of speech

because their role demands

that they speak so much.

More words

mean more errors.

As we grow accustomed

to public speaking,

we can become careless.

When asked to offer an opinion,

we tend to comply

even if we don't have

the qualifications

or expertise.

Humor

can be a dangerous gift.

It pleases the crowd,

but can easily wound

or mislead.

Too many laughs

come at someone else's expense.

More words

mean more errors.

The encouragement

to exercise caution

over the tongue

and self-discipline

with our words

is first and foremost

directed at people like me,

at leaders and teachers

and pastors in the church.

But it also

applies to everyone.

If you notice

what comes next

in verse two,

James says,

for we all stumble

in many ways.

And if anyone

does not stumble

in what he says,

he is a perfect man,

able also to bridle

his whole body.

Listen,

do you want to live

a life of

self-mastery?

Do you want to live

a life of discipline

in various areas

of your life?

Do you want to be

a more disciplined person?

Learn to come

control your tongue.

James says,

if you can control

your tongue,

you can control

your whole life.

If you can master

your words,

you can master

your whole life.

Why?

Because the tongue

has incredible power.

It's like a bit

in a horse's mouth.

It's like the rudder

of a ship.

It's like a small spark

in a forest.

It can do amazing good.

It can also do great harm.

And therefore,

it's absolutely critical

that we master our tongue,

that we practice

self-discipline

over our words,

that we become aware

of our worst

and most common

tendencies and impulses,

our particular

sins of speech.

Given how powerful

the tongue is,

where and when

do you need

to speak less?

Where do you need

to practice

more restraint

and self-discipline

with your words?

We would all do well

to apply James'

encouragement

two chapters earlier

in James 1,

James 1:19

verse 19.

Let everyone

be quick to listen,

slow to speak,

and slow to become angry.

Where do you need

to speak less?

But also,

given the power

of the tongue,

we could also ask

the flip side question.

Given the power

of the tongue,

where do you need

to speak more?

Where do you need

to speak more

with words of life

and hope

and encouragement

and comfort?

Where are you

holding back?

Who in your life

today or this week

needs to receive

an encouraging note

or email

or text from you?

How can you

blow wind

into somebody's sails

through your words?

Now, having said all that,

if we just stop there,

in verse 6,

we would miss

something really important

because we would miss

what James shows us next,

the connection

between the tongue

and the heart.

If you're going

to master your tongue,

you need self-discipline,

but self-discipline alone

isn't all you need.

You need to address

actually what's going

underneath,

what's going on

underneath at the heart level

because the tongue

is connected

connected to the heart.

And that's what James

looks at next

in the next five verses.

And so we want to look

at the healing

of the tongue.

The healing of the tongue.

Next in verse 7,

James continues

with these words.

He says,

for every kind

of beast and bird,

a reptile and sea creature

can be tamed

and has been tamed

by mankind,

but no human being

can tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil

full of deadly poison.

You would think

that wild animals

would be way more difficult

to tame

than something like

our tongues.

But James says,

we've tamed every wild animal

and yet no one

can tame the tongue.

Why?

Because the tongue

is connected to the heart.

Because it's a restless evil.

It's full of deadly poison.

What does he mean?

Well, he tells us

in verses 9 and 10,

with it,

we bless our Lord and Father

and with it,

we curse people

who are made

in the likeness of God.

For with the same mouth

come both blessing

and cursing.

When it comes to our words,

there's this deadly irony

that we can bless God

with our mouths,

that we can pray to him

with our lips,

we can sing to him

in worship,

and yet with the same mouth,

we can slander

other people's reputation,

we can tear

other people's down,

we can spread

false information,

ruin other people's reputation.

And James says,

when we're doing this,

what we're doing

is we're actually cursing

other people.

We are cursing,

we are bringing a curse

onto someone

who is made

in the image

and the likeness of God.

And when we curse

someone made

in the image of God,

we are also cursing

God himself.

When is a time recently

when you said something

that you shouldn't have,

where you regretted it later?

Maybe it was gossip,

maybe it was boasting,

maybe it was

slightly distorting

the truth

to make yourself

look better,

maybe it was criticism

that wasn't completely fair

that hurt somebody.

And what these verses

in James

would lead us

to ask is this,

what was in your heart

that caused you

to say that?

Was it anger?

Was it bitterness?

Was it jealousy?

Insecurity?

Pride?

Fear?

See, when anger

or bitterness

or insecurity

or fear

become words,

especially words

that harm other people,

what we're doing

is that we are trying

to resolve

what's in our hearts.

We're trying to resolve

our own negative feelings

by transferring them

onto somebody else.

I feel angry

so I'm gonna talk

negatively about somebody else

so I can feel better,

so I can feel less angry.

I feel insecure

and therefore

I'm going to

tear someone else down

so I can build myself up.

What we are doing

is we are seeking

our own healing

by cursing other people,

people made in the image

of God.

And this is a deadly cycle

that all of us

perpetuate to some degree.

It's a cycle

that James says

can spread like wildfire

and destroy relationships

and workplaces

and communities

and churches.

Verse 11,

James continues

the connection

between the tongue

and the heart.

He says,

does a spring

pour forth

the same opening

both fresh

and salt water?

Can a fig tree,

my brothers,

bear olives

or a grapevine

produce figs?

Neither can a salt pond

yield

fresh water.

If you're paying attention,

you notice

that there's echoes

of Jesus' words

in Matthew 12

where Jesus says

to the Pharisees

that a tree

is known

by its fruit.

For out of the abundance

of the heart,

out of the abundance

of the heart,

the mouth speaks.

And this is the thrust

of what James

is getting at.

He's getting at the heart

just as a fresh spring,

water spring

can only bring forth

fresh water

just as a fig tree

can only produce figs.

So our words

reveal who we truly are.

Our words reveal

what's truly

in our hearts.

You wanna know

who you truly are?

This afternoon,

hit record

on your smartphone

and just leave it on

all week.

And let it record

everything you say.

And then after a week,

play it back.

That's what's in your heart.

That's who you truly are.

Years ago,

Pastor Jack Miller,

who also taught

at Westminster Seminary

for another years,

created and taught

a class called Sonship.

And it's a class

that maybe a few of you

have heard of.

It's a wonderful class.

And one of the points

of this class

called Sonship

is to help people

understand

that how we grow

as Christians

is that we have

to understand

the gospel more deeply.

That the same gospel

that saves us

is also the same gospel

that transforms us.

And if we want to grow,

we have to continue

to understand

the greater depths

of the gospel.

That we may say

we believe in the gospel,

that we're a sinner

saved by grace,

but in practice,

there's actually

lots of ways

in which we actually

don't believe

and live out the gospel.

And so one of the exercises

of the Sonship class

is called the tongue test.

The tongue test.

And Jack Miller

would encourage people

to do these six things

over the course of a week.

He would tell the class,

number one,

for a week,

do not complain

or grumble.

Number two,

do not boast

about anything at all.

Number three,

do not gossip

or repeat bad information

about somebody else.

Number four,

do not run somebody down

even a little bit.

Number five,

do not defend

or excuse yourself

no matter what.

Number six,

do always affirm

other people.

Now how many of us

think we could

pull that off this week?

I think I'd probably

fall short.

I think the reason why

if all of us

went home

and tried that this week

is we'd quickly find

it to be very difficult

is because there are

places in our hearts

that haven't been

formed yet

by the gospel.

The person who's able

to do all of these things

has a heart

that truly believes

the gospel deep down.

In Jesus,

they know they're so secure

they know they don't

need to defend themselves.

In Jesus,

they know that

they are already loved

and that's where

they get their identity

and so they don't need

to tear others down

in order to feel good

about themselves.

In Jesus,

they see

that the gospel

has humbled them

so much

that not only

should they not

boast,

but they can't boast.

see the ultimate

way

to heal your heart

and as a result

to use your words

to heal other people

is through worship.

It's through worship.

It's in seeing

the beauty

of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ

is

the living

word of God.

He is the very

speech

of the living God.

He is full of grace

and full of truth.

His words

always and only

healed people.

He always blessed

people who cursed him.

He always prayed

for people

who hated him

and more than that,

the one

who never

cursed anyone

became a curse.

He became a curse

and that's what

happened on the cross.

That's what Galatians

Galatians 3:13

chapter 3

verse 13

says that on the cross

Jesus Christ

became a curse

for us

in our place

and it's because

Jesus became

a curse for us

that we are healed,

that we're forgiven,

that we're accepted,

that we're loved

and because of what

he did for us,

because he became

a curse

for us,

we can see

that our hearts

will never be healed

by cursing other people.

our hearts

will never be healed

by transferring

our anger,

our bitterness,

our jealousy,

our insecurity

onto somebody else.

Healing will never

happen that way.

Why?

Because taking

on a curse

is only something

that the perfect

word of God

could do.

It's only something

that Jesus Christ

could do.

He's the only one

who could take on

the curse

for our sin

and at the same time

bring healing

to the world.

And that is the beauty

of what he did

and that is why

he deserves our worship

and that is what

will truly heal

our hearts.

When that starts

to sink in,

it humbles us

because we realize

that we can't boast

about anything.

It makes us secure

and we realize

we don't need

to defend ourselves.

We don't need

to transfer our anger

or our insecurity

onto somebody else

because we know

that we're loved.

And because we know

we're loved,

we don't need

to tear others down,

to build ourselves up.

And when that starts

to change your heart,

when that starts

to change you,

that is what will lead you

to have mastery

over your tongue.

that is what will lead you

to have discipline

over your words.

It's the power

of the gospel.

It's the power

to heal the heart.

It's the power

to tame the tongue.

Listen,

do you want

to change the world?

Do you want

to change the world?

Practice these

six things

for one week.

Don't complain

or grumble.

Don't boast

about anything at all.

Don't gossip

or repeat

bad information

about somebody else.

Do not run

somebody down

even a little bit.

Don't defend

or excuse yourself

no matter what.

And do always

affirm other people.

And when you fall short,

and you will fall short,

let it lead you

to examine

what's in your heart,

what's going on

in your heart.

Let it lead you

to examine

how your tongue

is truly connected

to what is going

on underneath.

And as you

examine your heart

and bring your heart

before God,

let it lead you

to worship Jesus,

the true

and perfect

word of God.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven,

we praise you

and thank you

that you

are the word of God

who came down

from heaven

to bring healing

to the world

by becoming a curse

for us.

And Lord,

I pray that

you would do

your work in us

to heal

the places

in our hearts

where there's anger

or bitterness

or insecurity

or pride

or jealousy,

Lord.

And I pray,

Lord,

that would bring forth

fresh spring water

that out of the abundance

of our hearts

our mouths would speak

and that we,

through our words,

would bring life

and encouragement

and hope

and healing

to a lost

and broken world.

And we pray this

in the name of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.