The Tongue - The Fig and The Olive - James 3

Turn to James 3, please. James 3. This is really

a carryover from what Lanny spoke of last week

a little bit, and that the people of God, because

chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians folds, is really kind

of like the capstone of what we're going to be

talking about over these next three weeks. This

next two weeks, okay? So what happens is the

people of God are complaining and they end up

not getting blessed by God and God honoring them

because they are busy talking too much. And so

it is a detrimental thing to the people of God

when God's people don't honor him in their language,

okay? So... What's very important as we get into

James 3, and I would tell you every church and

every single human being on the planet deals

with this problem. This is a major problem in

every sphere. Very important, okay? And we have

to be mindful. And the difference between us

and those who don't know Christ is we have the

wisdom of God. We have the mind of God. Let's

read James 3. And as we get into James 3, we'll

go in and I'll give you a principle, a supporting

verse. And explain a little bit. As we usually

do. Father I want to thank you so much for your

word. Help us to rightly divide your word for

your glory. That the full counsel of your word

is spoken. And we would really grasp the importance.

Of how we talk. Especially with each other. And

about you. And I pray that you are honored and

glorified. In Jesus name. Amen. Not many of you

should become teachers, my brothers, for you

know that we who teach will be judged with greater

strictness, 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. If we put bits Into the mouths of

horses. So that they obey us. We guide their

whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also,

though they are so large and are driven by strong

winds, they are guided by a very small rudder,

whatever the will of the pilot directs. So also

the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of

great things. 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

among our members. staining the whole body, setting

on fire the entire course of life and set on

fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird,

of reptile, 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. With it we bless our Lord and

Father, and with it we curse people who are made

in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come

blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things

ought not be so. Does a spring... pour forth

from 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. Who is wise and understanding

among you? By his good conduct let him show his

works in the meekness of wisdom. If you have

bitter jealousy, selfish ambition in your hearts,

do not boast and be false to the truth. This

is not the wisdom that comes down from above,

but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where

jealousy and selfish ambition exists, there will

be dishonor and every vile practice. But the

wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable,

gentle. open to reason, full of mercy and good

fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest

of righteousness is sown in peace by those who

make peace. It's a very important chapter. And

it really does support very clearly what we're

going to read next week in 1 Corinthians 3. So

principle number one, what do we notice here?

Bit for horses. Rudder for ships and the tongue

for the mouth. Only one is a restless evil by

which man cannot tame. It does not matter what

you think. You cannot tame your own tongue. Okay?

I want you to think about that. Because what

James gives us in this discussion here in this

chapter 3 is how the tongue is tamed and who

tames the tongue. Okay? Proverbs 13, 3, 3. Whoever

guards his mouth preserves his life. He who opens

wide his lips comes to ruin. If you can close

your mouth, you're going to be good. But if you

open it wide, please know something will come

out. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth

speaks. Jesus makes this very clear. Okay. James

3, 1 through 5 says it this way. Not many of

you should become teachers, my brothers, for

you know that we who teach will be judged with

greater strictness. It's one of the reasons why

we as pastors and teachers must be very careful

what we say. And even in the midst of that, even

I am going to make mistakes. Okay. And he makes

this clear because no one Can avoid that. But

God will hold me. To higher accountability than

you. For speaking. Because I teach the truth.

My responsibility. For we all stumble in many

ways. That's what he's saying. All of us do.

Now understand that James is Jesus' brother.

And his other brother is Jude. And so James is

saying. We all stumble. If anyone does not stumble

in what he says, he's a perfect man, able also

to bridle his whole body. And what James is saying

is no one can do that. But someone can for you.

If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that

they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as

well. So there has to be something to intervene

in order to control the horse. It's the bit.

It's the bit. And the bit is the one that controls

the horse. And what we're going to start to learn

is there's something controlling our lives. Apart

from Christ, this one muscle controls and guides

our life. And that God has to be the bit. Okay?

Now, look at ships also. Though they are also

large and are driven by strong winds, they are

guided by a very small rudder. wherever the will

of the pilot directs. So in the same way that

a rudder moves a ship wherever you want the ship

to go, there is one who drives the ship. In the

same way that there's one who controls the bit.

But either way, if there is not one to control

the bit or drive the ship, guess who's controlling

your rudder? You are. We're not very good pilots,

is the idea. So also the tongue is a small member,

yet it boasts of great things. It boasts of great

things. It loves to talk. It loves to talk. Second

principle. The tongue is a matchstick. One wrong

word can ignite an entire city on fire. One wrong

word can ignite an entire city on fire. Proverbs

18 .4. The words of a man's mouth are deep waters.

The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. What

is the fountain of wisdom? Christ. The word incarnate.

God's wisdom is a bubbling brook. But our mouths

are deep. Deep. In James 3, 5 through 6. How

great a forest is set ablaze by such a small

fire. And the tongue is a fire. You hear that?

The tongue is a matchstick. It is a fire. A world

of unrighteousness. That's cool how he uses this

term. It's a world, it's a cosmos of unrighteousness.

Like, think about that. It's like its own little

world. And I'll be like, yeah? You need to be

quiet. It's like its own little thing. It's just

quiet. But it's a world, a cosmos of unrighteousness.

The tongue is set among our members. Now get

that. This little muscle that we talk with, that

we taste with, we get to enjoy food with, that

God had created for his own glory, is set among

our members. And because of sin, stains the whole

body. Setting on fire the entire course of life.

And is set on fire by hell. That without Christ,

our tongue is a representative of a very dark

place. Now, number three. God designed the tongue

to speak truth in life. God designed the tongue

to speak truth in life. But by the corruption

of sin, it can be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

The tongue was designed to speak truth and life.

Not my truth, his truth. But what happened? Sin

happened. Adam sinned. And as a result, everything

becomes corrupt. Everything becomes corrupt.

Proverbs 18, 21. Death and life are in the power

of the tongue. And those who love it will eat

its fruits. Those who love it will eat its fruits.

You will produce what you speak. In James 3,

7 through 12, for every kind of beast and bird,

reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has

been tamed by mankind. You're like, yeah, really?

Yes. Think of the shark, right? Great white shark.

You ever been to an aquarium? You ever see a

great white shark or sharks in the aquarium?

Would you think that we can tame a shark? You

would think no. But guess what we do? Because

as soon as you got that little fish and you're

in the shark tank, you just go like this. They

come walking or swimming. Not really walking.

That'd be kind of scary. If they're walking,

I'm out. What do they do? You just got that thing

and they're like, yo, let's go. That's taming

them. They know daddy got food or mommy, depending

who's diving. They got food. They just bring

it. But they can smell it. It doesn't matter.

They know. You're going to feed them. That's

a definitive. Sharks. But no human being can

tame the tongue. Okay? That's a definitive. No

one can tame the tongue. It is a restless. evil,

full of deadly poison. With it, we bless our

Lord and Father. And with it, we curse people

who are made in the likeness of God. From the

same mouth come blessing and cursing. And my

brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does

a spring pour forth out of the same opening fresh

water and salt water? Can you get salt water

from a freshwater pond? Can a fig tree, my brothers,

bear olives? Can a sweet fruit tree bear bitter

fruit? That's the idea here, isn't it? Why does

he compare figs and olives? Sweet and bitter.

And they're very similar when you look at the

picture on your bulletin. That's one of the things

that I was like, whoa, they are very similar

looking. One's bigger than the other, but either

way. Or can a grapevine produce figs? Can a grapevine

produce a cluster of figs? No. Neither can a

salt pond yield fresh water. What does he mean

here? You are what you are. You are what you

are. Either God will make you a new creature

or you're not going to be a new creature. And

the creature will produce what they are. Look

what it says here. Those who claim the name of

Christ must speak life and healing and are quick

to avoid speaking evil. People who claim to be

believers are quick to avoid evil and speaking

evil. They speak life and healing. That doesn't

mean they can't rebuke lovingly. Okay? But either

way, their hope is through that process you go

through the healing and then life becomes evident.

Okay? Proverbs 10, 11 through 12. The mouth of

the righteous is a fountain of life. Did you

hear that? But the mouth of the wicked conceals

violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers

all offenses. James 3, 13 through 18. He who

is wise. Or who is wise and understanding among

you? Here's the answer. You want the answer on

how the tongue is tamed? The wisdom of God. Who

is wise and understanding among you? God is.

And who of God's people are understanding among

you? Those who are God's people. Look what it

says. By his conduct, let him show his works

in the meekness of wisdom. There's the answer.

In other words, if I am a believer, then my conduct

and my speech are going to show the truth of

the fruit of that wisdom. What is the fruit of

the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self -control.

Verse 14, but if you have bitter jealousy or

selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast.

If you are a believer, then be true to the truth.

Walk in the wisdom of God. Live upright before

him and before others. Look what it says in verse

15. This is not the wisdom that comes down from

above. This type of lack of... of learning the

wisdom of God, changing the mind so that what

we think is what he wants us to think, you will

only do what you believe and you will speak what

is in the abundance of your heart. And the only

way to change the abundance of your heart is

for your mind to be changed. And the only way

for your mind to be changed is to be a believer

in Christ. There has to be a change to the creature.

The creature must be changed because we learn,

can a fig tree bear olives? No, it has to be

an olive tree. So, look what it says. But this

is earthly. This is worldly, is the idea here.

This is how the world behaves in Acts. It's unspiritual,

meaning it's not only corrupt, but it's carnal.

It's different than the spiritual things. Set

your mind on things above where Christ is seated.

And it's demonic. What James is saying is not

that you are being possessed by a demon, but

it resembles evil and it's demon -like. This

is what fallen angels do. For where jealousy

and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder

and every vile practice. In other words, you

will see from the individual the fruit of that

life. That's what he's saying here. But the wisdom

from above, do you hear that? The wisdom from

above is first pure, meaning immaculate. Then

peaceable, meaning loving peace. Gentle, meaning

fair and mild. Open to reason, meaning easily

obeys and is compliant to the word of God. It

is full of mercy, meaning kindness and goodwill.

It's good fruits, meaning acts or works that

come from the Spirit. It is impartial, meaning

free from prejudice. And it is sincere, meaning

genuine, no hypocrisy, of good character, no

pretense or pride. Why? When a man is controlled

by the wisdom of God, his tongue is tamed by

the truth of the Scripture. And the harvest of

righteousness is sown in peace. It is sown in

the family and in the life of others. You make

peace, harmony, tranquility among the brethren,

especially the brethren. By those who make peace.

As it depends upon you, be at peace with all

men, the Bible says. Now, what should we do when

we learn? The truths of the tongue and how we,

how God manages and tames our tongue for us.

He is the pilot to his word, his wisdom. Look

what it says in James 4, 17. We'll start off

in verse 16. You boast in your arrogance. All

such boasting is evil. so whoever knows the right

thing to do and fails to do it for him it is

sin the scripture is clear on how we should behave

and how we should love one another and how we

should walk with one another very important because

the reality is the world is watching and its

perception of the church is how its people love

and treat one another so I want to thank you.

Think about it. Go home. We're going to be doing

1 Corinthians 3 next week. And kind of capstone

this whole thing. Because it's part of the problem

in Corinth. I follow Paul. I follow Paulos. And

Paul's like, just keep your mouth shut. You're

getting yourself in trouble. So we'll talk a

little bit about that, okay? Father, I want to

thank you so much for your goodness and faithfulness.

Thank you, Lord, for your word. Lord, I pray

that you are honored and glorified. Help us to

look and reflect through the word as we depend

upon you to use our tongue for your glory and

that you tame our tongue through your wisdom

and that the words of God, the words of Christ

be richly on our lips. To you be honor and glory

forever. In Jesus' name, amen.