2026 Gospel Meeting I ”A Faith That Speaks Wisely” I Bubba Garner - 8/3/26

A while back, I was making my way to the

front of the building before services on

a Sunday night, and there were two

little boys on the front row. And I went

and shook their hands. One of them said,

"Mr. Bubba, are you preaching tonight?"

And I said, "I am." And his smile got

real big and his face lit up and my head

got real big. and he turned to the boy

next to him and said he gives short

lessons and that's why he was excited.

Well, I do everything short.

But I hope that in the few minutes we

have together considering

a very important subject that will

benefit from our time in the word of God

together. When I first moved to

Southside, there was on Tuesday

afternoons a preachers lunch.

The preachers in the area would meet and

uh I saw David Goodman uh before

services. He used to come with his dad,

Robert, on occasion. Uh but a lot of

times older, retired men would also come

and eat with the preachers.

And that's how I got to know some

spiritual giants that are associated

with this church. I'm talking about

brother Corley Bowers

and brother Glenn Barnhart

and brother Hoover Cochran.

those who being dead

still speak

and their influence lives on in the work

that continues

in the name of the Lord. And so I thank

you for the way you've done that here to

let people know that the gospel of Jesus

Christ saves men. and thank you for

inviting me to come and participate this

week in this special series.

I want to ask you to turn to the third

chapter of the book of James. As DJ

mentioned, our study tonight will come

from James chapter 3.

James 3 · chapter mention

And to begin,

I just want to read the first two

verses. James chapter 3,

James 3 · chapter mention

beginning with verse one.

Let not many of you become teachers, my

brethren, knowing that as such we shall

incur a stricter judgment.

For we all stumble in many ways.

But if anyone does not stumble in what

he says, he is a perfect man able to

bridle the whole body as well.

Right now at Southside, we have a number

of young families with little children.

And we went through a phase where we

even had to put in the weekly bulletin a

column like you would have for our

shutins or area meetings. We had a

column that said expectant mothers.

and we'd have four or five on the list

and they'd all deliver and we'd put four

or five more on the expectant mother's

list. Our motto is if you can't convert

them, conceive them. And so we've just

been we've been after it.

And what that produces

is parents holding these little children

in the foyer after services and they

want them to perform for you. They'll

say, "Say this or sing this." And the

child will just stare at you blankly.

But as soon as the service begins,

those same children who refuse to

perform on demand now won't be quiet.

And that's the struggle, isn't it?

discerning

when's the time to speak

and when is it time to be silent

and it's a lifelong struggle.

This chapter

begins with an admonition

directed to teachers.

Let not many become teachers. Why?

Because teachers are in the position

where they're always speaking

and they're accountable.

The old King James says, "Let not many

of you be masters." And the reason is

few can master the tongue.

And all through scripture, we see

warnings about the danger

of our speech.

If I were to ask you tonight, what was

it that the scriptures identified where

Moses was kept out of the promised land?

And we might say, "Oh, is because he

struck the rock." But do you know what

the psalmist said in Psalm 106 and verse

33? It was because Moses spoke rashly

with his lips.

It was more of an offense to God, not

just that he struck the rock, but that

he said to the people, "Shall we bring

forth water from this rock?"

Spoke rashly with his lips. What was it

that Isaiah when he saw the Lord on his

throne, lofty and exalted? What was the

first thing he said before he said,

"Here am I. Send me." He said, "Woe is

me, for I am ruined. I am a man of

unclean lips and I dwell among a people

of unclean lips. Isaiah chapter 6 and

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

verse 5.

Solomon goes so far as to say that the

power of life and death is in the power

of the tongue. Proverbs 18 verse 21.

Proverbs 18:21

life and death.

But the definitive passage

about our speech

about us speaking wisely

is found here in the book of James

verse three.

written by, of course, as you

well know, the brother

of Jesus,

who was probably involved in that group

of people

who said about the Lord early in his

ministry,

he's out of his mind.

And so rightly does James say, "We all

stumble

in many ways,

but the one who can bridle

his tongue

is a perfect man."

James has already emphasized, and you've

already studied, about a faith that is

practical because it endures trials. A

faith that is practical because it

manifests itself through deeds, actions,

and works.

Well, how can a fa a faith

speak wisely?

Well, I want to submit to you tonight

only when it's a faith that is first

heard

even before it is seen.

A faith that speaks wisely is heard

first

and then seen. Well, let's look at our

text here and talk about this faith that

speaks wisely. We want to be practicing

our faith by the way we use our tongues.

So, what does that look like every day?

Well, first, a faith that speaks wisely

appreciates the power of the tongue.

a tongue that as one author said is both

the world's smallest and largest

troublemaker.

Let's continue our reading in James 3

and verse three. Now if we put the bits

bits into the horse's mouth so that they

may obey us as we direct their entire

body as well. Behold, the ships also,

though they are so great and are driven

by strong winds, are still directed by a

very small rudder, wherever the

inclination of the pilot desires. So

also the tongue is a small part of the

body, and yet it boasts of great things.

So part of wisdom is recognizing our

tongues have power.

They're the a small part a small member

of our body but they boast great things.

to bridal

is a concept that James has already

introduced in the letter back in James

James 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 and verse 26.

In James 1 and verse 26, look back where

he said, "If anyone anyone thinks

himself to be religious and yet does not

bridle his tongue but deceives his own

heart, this man's religion is

worthless."

To bridal is to hold something in check.

It's to bring it in control. And that's

why James uses the horse's bit as an

example of something small but can

control a great beast.

And don't just read over the fact that

this bit

is in the horse's mouth.

You control the horse's mouth and you

can make him go to the right and to the

left. You can make him go forward and

stop

with just this small bit. And look at

the control it yields.

The second illustration he uses is of a

rudder of a ship. Think about those

massive ships in the ancient world.

And they would have to cross the sea

through storms and winds and waves. And

how were those great vessels navigated

through the waters

through the small rudder that the pilot

or the captain could control the ship.

We speak wisely when we appreciate the

power of this small member of our body.

And do you not see that when you control

the tongue,

you control the whole body

as well.

He who keeps his mouth, Solomon said,

keeps his soul

from troubles. Proverbs 21

and verse 23.

And so, you can't have self-control

until you control your tongue.

There's no such thing as self-control

without controlling your tongue. Think

about how this verse in chapter 1 that

we're familiar with in verse 19, another

way in which James introduces the tongue

before chapter 3. But look in chapter 1

verse 19. This you know my beloved

brethren, let everyone

be quick to hear,

slow to speak, and slow to anger. For

the anger of man does not achieve the

righteousness of God. Do you see the

progression there?

Slow to speak

means you'll be slow

to anger.

Control the tongue

and you'll control the whole body as

well. Great power in the grasp of our

tongues.

I like to watch the

political talk shows.

I I don't get worked up by them simply

because I'm I'm always in remembrance

that God's in control.

And no, no matter

what uh fear is being stirred up or what

anger people are trying to get riled up

and going,

God causes the rise and fall of the

nations. God through his providence is

going to carry out his will. And so to

me, it's just another form of

entertainment.

But there's this one political talk show

that is aptly called the last word.

Do you know anybody in your life that

always has to have the last word?

You say, "Well, I can't think of

anybody." Well, maybe it's you. Maybe

you're the one.

I mean, I I've got to get that last dig

in

and my last comment. That's got to be

the last thing said about every

conversation.

And we've lost sight of the power of our

tongues

when we send

inappropriate

text messages

and we forward emails.

Are we appreciating the power

of the tongue? this small part of the

body that boasts

of great things.

Occurs to me that we often talk about

the example of Jesus and following in

his steps. And usually it's about things

like humility

or service,

loving your enemies,

prayer.

But do you know how we will best follow

Jesus

is in the use of our tongues.

That's the point that Peter makes in

first Peter chapter 2 in verse 21

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

that Jesus left us an example to follow

in his steps and then he lists some of

those steps for us.

There was not any deceit found where

in his mouth.

While being reviled, he uttered no

threats.

Even when they were saying on the cross,

"Come down. Save yourself if you are the

Christ." Do you know what words Jesus

uttered?

Father, forgive them

for they know not what they do.

We speak wisely

when we appreciate the power

that's in the grasp of our tongue.

A faith that will first be heard

before it is seen.

Secondly, a faith that speaks wisely,

not only appreciates the power of the

tongue, but number two will respect

the danger,

the destruction

that the tongue can wield.

Let's continue our reading at the second

half of James 3 and verse 5.

Behold,

how great

a forest is set a flame by such a small

fire.

And the tongue is a fire, the very world

of iniquity.

The tongue is set among our members as

that which defiles the entire body and

sets on fire the course of hell

and is set on fire set on fire by the

course of our life and is set on fire by

hell. For every species of beasts and

birds, of reptiles and creatures of the

sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the

human race. But no one can tame the

tongue. It is a restless evil and full

of deadly poison.

And so, we've got to show some respect

for the danger and destruction of the

tongue. Which is why now James goes from

using a horse's bit and a ship's rudder

to a fire.

The tongue, he said, is like a fire.

Have you ever been in a area that was

under a burn ban?

Maybe it's been real hot and dry. And so

they they want to make sure that

somebody doesn't come along and

accidentally

start a fire. So here's the kind of

signs that you'll read for places under

a burn ban.

No campfires,

no open flames, no fireworks, no

smoking, no exceptions.

extreme caution with anything that

produces a spark.

And that's what James is warning.

One spark

can set the whole forest a flame. Have

you ever seen that happen with

somebody's words?

Because they didn't respect the

destruction,

they caused irreversible

damage.

The tongue is like a fire

because it just takes a little to get

going.

something that you heard

and never mind the fact that it's true

or not.

Is it useful to pass on? Is it something

that builds up

or is it something that tears down?

You may not be able to control what

other people are saying,

what they're spreading, what they're

doing.

But do you know how the scriptures say

that we can play our part

in Psalm 15 and verse three as he's

talking about the righteous coming, the

one who's worthy to come into the

presence of God. Listen to how he

describes their character. He does not

take up a reproach against a friend.

Not he he doesn't spread it. He He

doesn't say something.

He doesn't even take it up.

He said, "I'm not going to listen to

that.

Hey, did you hear what brother so and so

did?" Well, you need to go take that up,

brother so and so. Did you hear what

happened to sister? Well, why don't you

go and make certain you've got the facts

here.

He does not take up a reproach. See, you

can't get burned with fire if you don't

take it up into your bosom.

A fire once started

can be difficult to extinguish.

My parents

have

two and a half acres of land in Houston

that I used to go and mow every Friday.

And my dad left behind this old riding

mower

that was always difficult to get

started. Now, once you started it, it'd

run all day long. It would do the job.

But I even had to, as to give you an

indication, I had to look up this

YouTube video called How to Redneck

Start a Riding Mower. And it worked.

Well, it also had a kill switch for

safety on the seat.

so that if you got up, it would

automatically kill the engine. And one

day I was mowing. I got it started and I

said, "I'm just going to finish the job.

I don't care what happens." And I saw

this piece of newspaper in the pasture.

And so, as I'm preparing to make make

the next pass, I'm just working it out

in my mind. Okay, I can stop and go pick

up the newspaper.

the mower's gonna die. I don't know if I

can start it again.

And so I said, I'm just going to run

over it.

And so now, instead of one piece of

newspaper to pick up, I've got confetti

in the pasture. I mean, it just ripped

to shreds all over.

You see, you pass on something

and then you find out it wasn't so. that

wasn't true. I need to go make that

right.

And maybe you can with that person,

but what are you going to do with the

person they told and then the person

they told and the person they told? You

be able to pick up all those little

pieces of newspaper that have been

scattered.

You see, we don't appreciate and respect

the danger. This is fire.

It spreads rapidly, and I can't put it

out.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but

harsh words stir up anger. Proverbs 15

and verse one. And once they get stirred

up,

you can be able to calm things down.

Then

you see why it's wise to start with the

first part of the verse, the soft

answer.

Let's be wise

and respect the danger.

This damage by fire

is most often

irreversible.

You can't take the goods

of a home

that's burned to the ground

and somehow put them back together.

They're destroyed.

James says, "The tongue is a fire that

defiles." Verse six, "Defiles

the entire body." Your version might

have corrupts or pollutes. Can you see

why that would have been such a thought

to consider by the Jewish reader?

Something that's been polluted and

defiled, something holy that's now been

desecrated.

Oh, you can apologize.

You can make it right,

but you can't take back those words.

Little boy was having trouble with his

temper.

the smallest thing would would set him

off. And he was becoming destructive.

And so his dad said, "Son, we're we're

going to fix this."

And he said, "Every time you get mad

about something,

I want you to take a hammer and drive a

nail into the back fence."

And the boy did that. Boy, he went

through a whole bucket of nails.

And he was so proud that the next time

he was tempted to get angry, he was able

to control it. And he he told his dad,

he said, "I'm proud of you, son." Now,

he said, "Every time you win this

temptation,

go and remove the nails." And and he did

that and filled the bucket back up. And

he went and told his dad of the progress

he had made.

The dad said, "I'm proud of you, son,

but I want you to notice in the fence

there are the scars from the nails when

you lost your temper

and you remove the nails, but the scars

are still there."

Respect

the danger.

Every careless word Jesus said men

speak, they shall render account for it

on the day of judgment.

Matthew 12 and verse 36.

This restless evil, this fire, James

says in verse 7,

is like

something that cannot be tamed.

Something that you can never let your

guard down and relax.

It's going to be

a lifelong

struggle.

We have a a cat at our house, 17 years

old. We've had her since she was six

months old.

And so this cat is so domesticated

that I don't give any thought about her

scratching or biting somebody. We had a

while back a family with some kids over

at the house and the little girl was

petting the cat as much as it would let

her and she got attached to the cat and

then they were getting ready to leave

and by this time the cat was eating out

of the bowl of her food and the little

girl wanted to say goodbye to the cat.

And so while the cat is eating, she

leaned down and kissed the cat on her

head. And

I I just didn't think anything of it.

We We can tame and domesticate animals

and and turn our backs on them because

they've been brought under subjection.

But James point is you don't ever turn

your back on your tongue.

You don't ever think, "Oh, I would never

say that."

That's when words of slander

and boasting,

words of anger

and lying.

from the tongue

unbridled

slip.

Speak wisely

by respecting the danger and destruction

of the tongue.

What is a faith that speaks wisely?

Number three, this is a faith that

examines

the source of the tongue,

guards and protects what feeds the

tongue, and that is of course the heart.

The tongue speaks of the abundance

of what fills

the heart. And so verse nine continues,

"With it, that is with our tongue, we

bless our Lord and Father, and with it

we curse men who have been made in the

likeness of God. From the same mouth

come both blessing and cursing."

My brethren, these things ought not to

be that way. Does a fountain send out

from the same opening both fresh and

bitter water? Can a fig tree, my

brethren, produce olives? Or a vine,

that is a grape vine, produce figs?

Neither can saltwater produce fresh.

Thus the old expression,

he's talking out of both sides of his

mouth.

What's he doing? He's being double

tonged.

And just like James said in chapter 1

that a double-minded man is unstable in

all his ways, so is the man who's double

tonged, who with the same mouth sings

praises to God

and blesses his name

and then will say the most awful things

to the man created in the image of God.

My brethren,

these things ought not to be that way.

We had a get together with people at

Southside

and I was in charge of bringing the

coffee

and uh one somebody came up to me and

said, "Uh, is that decaf?"

And uh after my hysterical laughter

stopped, I it was it was one of those 50

cup earns and I said, "Yes, every other

cup is decaf. Go ahead. I think it's

your turn."

And we understand that's that's just not

possible.

James said, "How can one fountain

produce fresh and salty water?

How you going to get figs from the grape

vine,

olives from the fig tree?

Why is it that we use our mouth in such

an inconsistent

and treacherous way?

It's because we didn't

examine the source.

We didn't protect what we put in

and that which has come out is a

reflection

of an evil heart.

In Matthew chapter 15, Jesus was asked

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

the question, do you remember about his

disciples not washing their hands? Now,

we should not think that this was a a

hygiene matter. This was the ceremonial

cleansing that had become a tradition of

the Jewish leaders and Jesus disciples

were not keeping this tradition. And so

they wanted to know why is that Jesus?

Why don't your disciples do that?

And when Jesus explained this later to

the disciples who who asked him about

the answer he gave, he said to them,

"Don't you understand that everything

that goes into the mouth and is

swallowed and thus goes into the body is

eliminated?"

They're they're worried about things

that touch the hands and then go into

the mouth and goes out of the body.

But Jesus said in Matthew 15 and verse

18, the things that proceed out of the

mouth come from the heart.

So don't think about what's going in the

mouth. Think about what's going into the

heart and coming out of the mouth. evil

thoughts, murders, adulteries,

fornications,

thefts, false witness, slanders.

These things come out of the mouth

because they're first put into the

heart.

And so, this is not simply just about

controlling your speech.

We've got to take it to the source

and control the inputs

of the heart.

That's going to take away our excuse of,

"Oh, it just slipped out.

I didn't mean to say that."

Out of the abundance of the heart,

man speaks.

Which means

that a heart set on fire by God's word

is the key

to controlling our tongues.

It's what you call fighting fire

with fire.

And so let's put in our heart

words of thanksgiving

and we'll be grateful. We'll express

gratitude. Let's put in our hearts

thoughts of praise and we'll be more

encouraging

instead of tearing down.

Let's put in our hearts thoughts of

evangelism, of spreading the gospel, and

we will speak words of truth

season with Saul.

Examine the source

because wise speech flows

from a transformed

heart.

David referred to his mouth

as the door of my lips in Psalm 141 in

verse three.

And more often than not,

this is a door

that probably should be kept closed.

That's a faith

that speaks

wisely.

In one of the conversion accounts, the

account of the Philippian jailer in Acts

16,

Paul and Silas had been thrown in prison

just for doing what God told them to do

and going where God told them to go.

And in this cell where they had been

fastened in the stocks,

the scripture says that at midnight

Paul and Silas,

it doesn't just say they were singing.

They were singing hymns of praise

to God.

They were singing, "I'm happy today

and prayed." Now, I I just want you to

think about

what would people have heard coming

out of your cell

because the next phrase is just as

descriptive.

And the prisoners

were listening to them.

Because from the mouth

came hymns of praise and prayer,

the prisoners were listening and souls

were saved.

Because Paul and Silas under great

selfish circumstances

chose

to speak wisely

and to practice everyday faith

even

in a Philippian jail.

Perhaps the best use of your mouth that

you can make tonight is to confess your

faith in Jesus

with your own lips

to say without shame, I believe that

Jesus Christ is the son of God.

That's wise.

And because of your confession and

repentance of sin, you can be baptized

and have those sins washed away.

And then you can begin a life of wisdom

and works

of putting your faith into action and

bringing others to the feet of the

master teacher. A song of invitation has

been selected where you can make that

known. If you need the prayers and

encouragement of your brethren, your

fellow brothers and sisters who love

you, that's why we're here. And you can

make that known. Just come to the front

right now while we stand up and while we

sing.