0:12 we're continuing on now in our study
0:15 through the book of James and in this
0:17 letter that James the half-brother of
0:20 Jesus wrote to early Christians and to
0:22 us today by the inspiration our Holy
0:25 Spirit as we come now to chapter 3 we're
0:27 going to begin with the first couple
0:29 verses and in this section of James
0:32 chapter 3 the focus will mainly be on
0:35 the power and the responsibility of the
0:38 tongue the tongue being here a symbol
0:40 for the words we say the the words we
0:42 speak it's really all about our speech
0:44 and the tongue is the picture of that
0:46 you'll see exactly what we mean let's
0:48 get into it here now James chapter 3
0:53 beginning at verse 1 my brethren let not
0:56 many of you become teachers knowing that
0:59 we shall receive a stricter judgment for
1:02 we all stumble in many things if anyone
1:04 does not stumble in word he is a perfect
1:09 man able also to bridle his whole body
1:12 or the whole body first thing we notice
1:15 as we come to James chapter 3 verse 1 is
1:16 he gives this sort of startling
1:18 statement at least I got to say it's
1:21 startling to me someone who is a Bible
1:24 teacher he says let not many of you
1:28 become teachers James had a very sober
1:31 admonition to anybody who would become a
1:34 teacher in the church that those people
1:35 who desire to have some kind of
1:38 responsibility for teaching God's people
1:40 and being preachers Proclaimers of God's
1:42 Word they must take that responsibility
1:46 very seriously because they have a
1:48 greater accountability they shall
1:51 receive notice the phrasing he uses here
1:54 in verse 1 we shall receive a stricter
1:58 judgment I think that probably it's true
2:02 that those of us who among God's people
2:03 feel called to teach and preach the
2:07 Bible we probably take it too lightly we
2:10 don't consider the cost of this position
2:12 in terms of accountability please
2:14 remember what Jesus said in Luke chapter
2:18 12 beginning at verse 48 jesus said this
2:22 to whom much is given from him much will
2:23 be required
2:26 and to whom much have been committed of
2:30 him they will ask the more in other
2:32 words the more knowledge you have the
2:34 more accountability are the more access
2:35 to knowledge you have the more
2:38 accountability you have just a simple
2:41 idea very strong that the more a person
2:44 either is given or has access to the
2:46 greater accountability they have this
2:48 applies very directly to those who would
2:50 be teachers and preachers among God's
2:53 people and this should also remind us
2:57 that what Jesus said in Luke chapter 12
3:00 what James says right here in James
3:03 chapter 3 it should remind us that being
3:06 a teacher in God's church is much more
3:10 than having a natural gift of teaching
3:13 it's even more than having a spiritual
3:16 gift of teaching there is an additional
3:19 element of character that is rightly
3:23 expected of of those who teach and
3:25 preach and proclaim God's Word God's
3:27 people have a right to look at those who
3:29 teach and by the way I'll say this very
3:31 strongly don't have the right to expect
3:34 perfection in life but they do have the
3:37 right to expect a higher standard
3:40 you know maybe in James's day it was
3:42 kind of popular to be a teacher maybe
3:43 there are a lot of people who wanted to
3:45 do it he says no I need to warn you you
3:48 are gonna face God on that day of
3:50 judgment whatever kind of judgment you
3:51 have for the judgments of works that
3:53 you've done for how you serve Christ you
3:57 are going to face a stricter judgment we
3:59 should expect that teachers are gonna be
4:02 tested more in this life and that
4:05 they're gonna be judged more strictly
4:07 let me read you a quote from Adam Clarke
4:09 relevant to this he says this quote
4:14 their case is awful they shall receive
4:17 greater condemnation than common sinners
4:20 they have not only sinned in thrusting
4:22 themselves into that office to which God
4:24 has never called them but through their
4:27 insufficiency the flocks over they have
4:30 assumed the mastery perish for lack of
4:33 knowledge and their blood will God
4:35 require at the watchman's hand end quote
4:37 from Adam Clarke
4:39 Adam Clark there is simply trying to
4:41 explain the very heavy responsibility
4:43 that someone has and by the way notices
4:46 it's a funny phrasing I don't say funny
4:47 in the sense of amusing it's just sort
4:49 of an interesting phrasing that's used
4:52 here in verse one knowing that we James
4:54 counts himself among those people who
4:55 will receive this stricter judgment
5:00 knowing that we shall receive a stricter
5:02 judgment apparently there will be
5:05 degrees of judgment there will be
5:08 degrees of strictness not every believer
5:10 is going to be judged according to
5:12 exactly the same standard because two
5:15 more who is given more will be required
5:18 and that is true if anywhere it's true
5:21 among teachers among God's people now
5:24 going on into verse two I like how James
5:28 continues he says for we all stumble in
5:31 many things you see the greater
5:33 accountability of teachers is especially
5:37 sobering it's especially of note knowing
5:40 the weaknesses that we share in common I
5:43 mean after all we all stumble teachers
5:46 included a man or a woman does not
5:49 become a Superman or superwoman just
5:50 because they start teaching the Bible
5:53 and teaching it well look I can tell you
5:55 that after many decades of teaching the
5:57 Bible I know that people have a tendency
5:59 if you can teach a Bible study
6:01 especially if you can occasionally teach
6:03 a good Bible study people will think
6:05 that you're more spiritual than you
6:06 actually are
6:09 it's just the way good but listen we all
6:11 stumble in many things now by the way
6:13 there's a few different words in the
6:15 ancient Greek language that could be
6:18 translated stumble this particular word
6:19 according to the commentaries that I've
6:24 read it doesn't imply a fatal fall but
6:25 but something that just kind of hinders
6:27 somebody trips them up and hinders their
6:30 spiritual progress so James isn't saying
6:32 that we all fall away we all reject
6:34 Jesus no he's saying we all stumble
6:36 James included himself among that but
6:39 please notice this James did not excuse
6:42 his stumbling nor will he excuse our
6:46 stumbling we know that we all stumble
6:48 but it doesn't make us to say well who
6:49 cares about stumbling
6:51 it makes us instead to say we're all
6:53 weak we need to run to Jesus our Savior
6:56 we need to find our refuge in him and we
6:59 need to press on trusting Jesus Christ
7:01 for a closer and better walk with Him
7:04 one that is hopefully marked by less
7:08 stumbling now this kind of brings in a
7:11 second idea in verse two if I could
7:13 reason verse 2 from the beginning it
7:16 says for we all stumble in many things
7:21 if anyone does not stumble in word he is
7:25 a perfect man able also to bridle the
7:29 whole body you see having brought up
7:32 this idea that we all stumble now James
7:34 is going to go on to the idea that let
7:36 me tell you a way that it is combo
7:38 common for people to stumble it's common
7:41 for them to stumble by what they say now
7:43 isn't this true don't we have a big
7:45 problem today in ongoing among the
7:47 people of God and among the culture at
7:50 large where people just speak in an
7:52 intemperate manner they say things they
7:54 shouldn't say they type things into
7:56 their social media that they shouldn't
7:58 type and what James is saying here is if
8:01 anyone does not stumble in word he is a
8:04 perfect man this is a good way to
8:06 measure spiritual maturity for teachers
8:09 and really for everybody in the body of
8:11 Christ I mean after all James is talking
8:13 about the idea of Bible teachers and
8:15 preachers having a stricter
8:17 accountability well this is one place
8:19 where you would expect that they should
8:21 have a stricter accountability you you
8:23 should expect someone who teaches the Bible
8:24 Bible
8:26 someone who preaches God's Word you
8:28 should expect that they would have a
8:31 greater governance over their tongue
8:33 than somebody who doesn't they should
8:35 just be more careful about what they say
8:38 isn't this a just an obvious evident
8:40 point I mean after all if you're going
8:42 to use your mouth if you can use your
8:45 tongue to proclaim the wonderful
8:47 glorious gospel the beautiful truth of
8:49 God to exposit the scriptures and
8:52 explain them to people should cursing
8:56 and lies and ill speech come from that
8:57 very tongue I don't think so
9:01 of course nobody does you see Jesus
9:03 demonstrated in Matthew chapter 12
9:07 that words are often the revelation of a
9:10 person's inner character
9:15 therefore to not stumble in word shows
9:17 true spiritual maturity now we're not
9:19 trying to say and I don't think James
9:20 tried to say either that this is the
9:22 only measure of spiritual maturity
9:24 that's worthwhile or important there are
9:27 other measures of course but this is an
9:30 important one and this is one that is
9:32 especially relevant to teachers and
9:35 preachers who because of what they do
9:37 with the words they speak they have so
9:40 much more opportunity to sin with their
9:43 tongue with the words that they say I
9:46 mean it's possible to stumble in word
9:50 about yourself you boast you exaggerate
9:54 you give very selective reporting you
9:56 know kind of making yourself the hero of
9:58 every story listen that can be the
10:00 stumble inward can it not we can also
10:03 stumble inward about other people we're
10:04 not talking about herself we're talking
10:06 about other people and we stumble in
10:08 word through criticism through gossip
10:11 through slander through cruelty through
10:15 two-faced it nests through anger or
10:18 through flattery in insincere words that
10:20 are meant to gain favor before other
10:22 people know brother and sisters it is
10:25 very easy for us to sin by what we say
10:28 and James is saying that that this is an
10:31 important measure of somebody's walk
10:34 with God now this leads into verse three
10:38 where he speaks in a very powerful way
10:42 about the power of the tongue you'll see
10:44 what I mean as I read verses three
10:47 through six here in James chapter three
10:52 here we go indeed we put bits in horses
10:55 mouths that they may obey us and we turn
10:57 their whole body look also it ships
11:00 although they are so large and driven by
11:04 fierce winds they are turned by a very
11:07 small rudder wherever the pilot desires
11:11 even so the tongue is a little member
11:15 and boasts great things see
11:19 how great a forest a little fire Kindles
11:24 and the tongue is a fire a world of
11:28 iniquity the tongue is so set among our
11:31 members that it defiles the whole body
11:34 and sets on fire the course of nature
11:41 and it is set on fire by hell wow there
11:43 is a lot for us to unpack in those four
11:46 verses first let's go back to the
11:47 beginning verse three again the biggest
11:49 theme here is talking about the power of
11:51 the tongue and the responsibility of the
11:53 tongue and and how we especially people
11:55 who are teachers had have special regard
11:56 for speaking what's right now look here
12:00 at verse three he says we put bits in
12:03 horses mouths that they may obey us you
12:05 know what the bit is in the horse's
12:06 mouth you know the bit is that little
12:08 thing that goes in the horse's mouth and
12:11 by it they can pull and guide and lead
12:15 the horse any way they want a small bit
12:18 in the mouth of a horse can control a
12:21 big strong horse a horse that is much
12:23 bigger and stronger than the person
12:26 who's holding the bit along the same
12:30 analogy he says here in verse four that
12:33 a small rudder can turn a large ship you
12:35 know what the rudder is the rudder is
12:36 that little instrument at the back of
12:38 the ship in the water that's like a
12:40 little blade and it's used to turn the
12:43 ship one way or another
12:47 now even so when we have control over
12:50 our tongue it is an indication that we
12:52 have control over our self
12:56 whoever can control the tongue can
12:58 remember this phrase from verse two that
13:00 we just looked at a moment ago whoever
13:03 can control the tongue can bridle the
13:06 whole body and the whole Ellis tration
13:09 James making ears very plain the bit is
13:11 relatively small in the horse's mouth
13:14 the rudder is relatively small compared
13:17 to the ship but yet if they are not
13:20 controlled the horse is out of control
13:22 the ship is out of the control and your
13:24 tongue is small compared to your whole
13:26 body there's lots of things in your body
13:28 that are bigger than your tongue your
13:31 and your biceps your legs your foot you
13:33 got on and on lots of organs and your
13:34 buddy there's lots of things in your
13:36 Bobby body that are bigger than your
13:39 tongue however however something as
13:41 small as the tongue can have a
13:45 tremendous power in your life for either
13:50 good or evil that's the whole point now
13:53 notice this as well you don't solve the
13:57 problem of an unruly horse by keeping it
14:00 in the barn you don't solve the problem
14:03 of a hard to steer ship by keeping it
14:07 tied to the dock in the same way we may
14:09 find it tempting to take a vow of
14:12 silence to control our tongue but that's
14:13 not God's purpose
14:15 God's purpose now look I suppose we
14:18 could all do with speaking less James
14:19 has already talked to us about that in
14:21 the first couple chapters how it's wise
14:24 for us to speak less and listen more but
14:28 ultimately speaking the the real thing
14:32 we need to do is not stop speaking but
14:34 to let the Holy Spirit of God fill us
14:37 and control us and walk consistent with
14:39 the Holy Spirit so that we would speak
14:42 what we should speak and not say what we
14:46 should avoid saying now I want you to
14:48 consider one other thing about this just
14:51 brilliant spirit inspired picture here
14:54 think of the idea of a bit in the
14:55 horse's mouth right you got that picture
14:57 and then you also have the picture of
14:59 the rudder that's stirring stirring
15:03 steering the ship what's really the
15:05 factor in both of those things the
15:09 factor is who or what holds the reins of
15:13 the horse who or what directs the rudder
15:16 now you could say this if you want to
15:18 make the analogy going to what we say
15:20 going to the tongue you could say some
15:25 people have no hand on the reins no hand
15:28 on the rudder when it comes to their
15:31 speech they say whatever comes into
15:34 their mind that's not a good place now
15:40 other people have a hand on the reins of
15:42 their tongue or the rudder of what these
15:44 the rudder of their words you could say
15:47 but but they just speak according to
15:48 their emotions according to their own
15:51 carnal nature that's not good either
15:54 what James is pointing us towards is to
15:57 have the Spirit of God working through
16:02 the new man directing our hands on the
16:05 reins and the rudder that is our tongue
16:08 and controls our words now if we fail to
16:11 do this if we fail to take hold of the
16:13 reins and again I'm not trying to apply
16:15 for a moment that you can do this apart
16:16 from the filling of the Holy Spirit that
16:18 you can do this without a constant
16:21 reliance upon the Holy Spirit of God but
16:26 with with the hand on the reins the hand
16:29 on the rudder of our words if we fail to
16:31 do this what's going to be the result it
16:34 can be disaster look at verse 5 see how
16:39 great a forest a little fire Kindles and
16:45 the tongue is a fire a world of iniquity
16:47 you know I live here in Southern
16:49 California and in the community that I'm
16:51 speaking to you from right now Santa
16:54 Barbara California we know wildfires it
16:56 seems like every few years we have
16:58 wildfires that burn up in the beautiful
17:01 hills just just up above us here in
17:03 Santa Barbara and people have to
17:04 evacuate their houses and sometimes
17:07 homes get burned and sometimes people
17:11 lose their lives and and much land and
17:13 such is burned and it's devastating to
17:15 the ecology and all the rest of it and
17:18 this is just what we said we understand
17:22 that a very small spark a very small
17:26 flame can ignite a very costly and huge
17:30 and dangerous destructive fire well in
17:33 the same way that tongue in our mouth it
17:37 is relatively small but it is a fire it
17:41 is a potential world of iniquity and
17:46 that fire of the tongue has been used to
17:50 burn many people and when I was little
17:52 there was a children's rhyme it started
17:54 even before I was little it would been
17:55 around in a long time
17:58 but children were told to repeat a rhyme
18:01 like this sticks and stones may break my
18:04 bones but words will never hurt me
18:07 that's kind of a rhyme we learned when
18:09 we were kids and the idea was okay yeah
18:12 you know some real damage might come to
18:14 you if a stick hit your arm or a stone
18:17 hit your head but what somebody says to
18:19 you or says about you that doesn't
18:21 really harm you sticks and stones may
18:24 break my bones but words will never hurt me
18:24 me
18:26 let me tell you something that child's
18:29 rhyme is not really true matter of fact
18:34 the bitter pain of a word that is spoken
18:37 against us can hurt us for a lifetime
18:40 long after that broken bone is healed
18:43 the bitter pain of a word that is spoken
18:46 against you can hinder even your
18:50 life you see what others say to us and
18:53 what we say to others can last a long
18:57 time for brothers and sisters for either
19:01 good or evil that that casual sarcastic
19:04 or critical remark that can inflict a
19:09 lasting injury on another person but let
19:12 me show you the flip side that well time
19:13 even if it's spontaneous
19:16 but that well-timed encouragement or
19:20 compliment can inspire somebody for the
19:24 rest of their life oh there's power in
19:27 the words that we use now there's power
19:31 also we see this in our modern age
19:33 something that James knew about in
19:35 principle but not in how it would be
19:36 worked out in technology there's power
19:41 also in social media and the way the
19:42 Christians sometimes represent
19:45 themselves and social media man it's a disgrace
19:46 disgrace
19:50 it's a sin their tongue isn't being used
19:52 literally but the words by their thumbs
19:54 as they type in messages into their
19:57 smartphones or or type on their
20:00 computers or whatever it is man it is it
20:05 is setting up destructive fires you know
20:08 the book of Proverbs which again so many
20:09 similarities but
20:11 this letter that James wrote in the book
20:14 of Proverbs proverbs speaks to us of the
20:17 person who never considers the
20:20 destructive power of his words I love
20:23 this from proverbs chapter 26 verses 18
20:26 and 19 are you ready for this one like a
20:30 madman who throws fryer brands arrows
20:34 and death is the man who deceives his
20:37 neighbor and says I was only joking you
20:39 know there's a lot of that isn't there
20:43 isn't there a lot of deception and an
20:46 carelessness and and hurtful words
20:49 spoken and then we just try to just
20:50 shrug it off as a light thing uh well no
20:51 big deal
20:54 it is a big deal it's a madman thinking
20:57 that it doesn't do anything now again I
21:00 want to warn you James is not telling us
21:03 to never speak he's not telling you and
21:06 me to take a vow of silence in many ways
21:10 that would be easier than exercising
21:14 true self-control over the tongue you
21:16 know it's true that the bridle in the
21:18 horse's mouth if it's not controlled
21:20 well or not controlled I'll do a lot of
21:22 damage the rudder on the ship if it's
21:24 not controlled well or if it's not
21:25 controlled at all can do a lot of damage
21:28 the fire can do tremendous damage listen
21:30 every one of those things the bridle the
21:33 rudder and the fire they can do
21:35 tremendous good when they are controlled
21:38 properly and so when we read these words
21:41 of James here in James chapter 3 we
21:44 soberly considered the destructive
21:47 potential of the tongue but we also very
21:50 carefully consider what a wonderful tool
21:52 for blessing and strengthening and
21:56 edification and just Beauty the tongue
22:00 can be but out of control what he says
22:03 about it in verse 6 is true the tongue
22:08 is a fire a world of iniquity I want you
22:10 to think about it in this way there
22:14 aren't many sins that don't involve
22:18 talking in some way almost any sin that
22:22 you can think of involves talking I like
22:23 what one commentator named
22:26 dick said he said this quote it is
22:28 though all the wickedness in the whole
22:31 world were wrapped up in that little
22:34 piece of flesh and sometimes it seems
22:37 like that and again all I can tell you
22:40 is that James echoes the testimony of
22:42 the book of Proverbs
22:44 regarding the tongue listen a really
22:46 fruitful study for you to do some other
22:48 time is to just go through the book of
22:49 Proverbs and see everything it says
22:51 about the tongue the words we speak let
22:52 me give you just a few other ones I
22:54 already read to proverbs chapter 26
22:57 verses 18 and 19 let me read you some
22:57 other ones here
23:00 proverbs chapter 10 verses 19 through 21
23:04 ready for this in the multitude of words
23:08 sin is not lacking but he who restrains
23:12 his lips is wise the tongue of the
23:15 righteous is choice silver the heart of
23:19 the wicked is worth little the lips of
23:23 the righteous feed many but fools die
23:26 for lack of wisdom there proverbs
23:29 chapter 10 verses 19 through 21 speaking
23:30 to us about the power of the tongue for
23:32 good and for evil
23:37 now proverbs chapter 12 verse 25 anxiety
23:39 in the heart of man causes depression
23:44 but a good word makes it glad we could
23:45 make other people glad there are good
23:50 words a proverbs chapter 16 verse 24
23:53 pleasant words are like a honeycomb
23:57 sweetness to the soul and health to the
23:59 bones amen to that
24:01 then the final one I'm gonna read to is
24:05 proverbs chapter 18 verse 21 if you
24:09 could memorize any one proverb about the
24:10 tongue about the words we use I think
24:11 this would be a good one
24:14 proverbs chapter 18 verse 21 death and
24:19 life are in the power of the tongue
24:24 and those who love it will eat its fruit Wow
24:25 Wow
24:28 death and life are in the power of the
24:31 tongue now this gives us the great
24:32 responsibility and if we want to go back
24:34 to the first couple verses of the
24:36 chapter especially the great
24:37 responsibility that there
24:40 our two teachers we get that but please
24:42 check this out now he's gonna speak to
24:44 us starting at verse seven about the
24:46 difficulty of taming the tongue ready
24:47 for this
24:51 he says for every kind of beast and bird
24:53 of reptile and creature of the sea is
24:57 tamed and has been tamed by mankind but
25:00 no man can tame the tongue it is an
25:06 unruly evil full of deadly poison James
25:08 makes a very interesting and I think
25:11 wise observation here in verse seven he
25:13 says every kind of beasts and bird has
25:15 been tamed by mankind
25:17 isn't it true Lions have been tamed
25:19 Tigers have been tamed elephants have
25:22 been tamed killer whales have been tamed
25:25 I mean every kind of Beast and bird of
25:27 reptile and Cretan sea is tamed and has
25:29 been tamed by mankind it's absolutely
25:33 true but and wild animal can more easily
25:37 be tamed than the tongue in fact James
25:38 tells us did you see it there in verse eight
25:39 eight
25:42 no man can tame the tongue it is an
25:47 unruly evil full of deadly poison you
25:48 know there's something in the human spirit
25:49 spirit
25:52 the human nature that God has given us
25:57 that we have an incredible capacity for
26:00 sacrifice and self-control every once in
26:02 a while you'll hear somebody who has
26:05 some radical survival story you know
26:06 they're out in the woods and there's
26:09 nobody else around and their foot gets
26:11 caught in a bear trap and they actually
26:14 and forgive the you know sort of gross
26:16 peeking here but they actually have to
26:18 like take out a knife and cut off their
26:21 legs so that they can survive or their
26:23 arm gets wedged in a rock and the only
26:24 way that they can get is to amputate
26:27 their own arm and make it I mean we hear
26:29 these fantastic stories of incredible
26:31 self-sacrifice but I want you to think
26:34 that that man who's capable of cutting
26:36 off his own arm so that he could survive
26:40 that man same man can't tame his tongue
26:43 perfectly it's an amazing thing isn't it
26:47 now even though no man can tame the
26:49 tongue that's exactly what he says there
26:50 in verse 8
26:53 can I tell you something the tongue can
26:55 be brought under the power and the
26:58 control of the Holy Spirit we might say
26:59 that the only power in the universe
27:01 mightier than the human tongue is God
27:03 himself but thanks be to God he is
27:06 mightier and when we read verses like
27:07 this verses 7 & 8
27:09 when we read verses like this in the
27:11 book of James it tells us that no man
27:13 can tame the tongue you know what it
27:14 points to certain points us towards
27:17 Jesus you think about it how amazing
27:21 Jesus was Jesus who never sinned in a
27:24 word that he ever said jesus never
27:27 sinned with words he never sinned by an
27:33 unkind unwise unworthy unholy thing that
27:36 his tongue spoke never never and that
27:39 same Jesus lives inside of the believer
27:41 you know we're gonna keep making our way
27:43 on and we're gonna end this study at
27:45 verse 12 but I just want to remind you
27:48 brother and sisters do not forget this
27:51 this matter of taming the tongue is not
27:53 a matter of gritting your teeth and
27:56 trying harder now I'll be straight with
27:58 you there's some of us we do need to try
28:00 harder we just have been in a tent of
28:01 tortoise we've given it very little
28:04 regard we're just sort of careless we do
28:06 need to take more care there's true that
28:07 there's some place for that in the
28:08 Christian life I'm not denying that but
28:11 in the big picture please realize this
28:15 that that your victory in this is not
28:17 gonna come just by you trying harder
28:20 your victory is gonna come by your
28:22 surrender to Jesus Christ and your
28:24 abiding in him and realizing two things
28:27 first of all that the sacrifice of Jesus
28:30 is capable to forgive you of sin even
28:31 the sins that you commit by the words
28:34 you say thanks be to God
28:37 secondly we realize that it's only
28:39 Christ in me that has the capability of
28:42 doing anything like that and I should be
28:46 drawing close to Jesus and letting that
28:49 one who never sinned in anything that he
28:52 said I should be letting that one speak
28:56 to me and through me now it is true the
28:59 tongue is an unruly evil full of deadly
29:03 poison kinda reminds me of a story that
29:04 I read about
29:08 John Wesley a woman once came up to John
29:10 Wesley and said John Wesley I think I
29:12 know what my talent is from God you know
29:14 and she's talking about this parable of
29:16 the talents where a master gave talents
29:17 to everybody and they're supposed to use
29:19 I mean Christians use that as an
29:21 illustration Jesus used it as you know
29:22 God gives us talents he gives us
29:24 abilities and we're supposed to use him
29:26 for his kingdom so a woman once came to
29:28 John Wesley and she said hey I know what
29:31 my talent is I think my talent from God
29:35 is to speak my mind that's what she said
29:37 Wesley replied you know I don't think
29:39 God would mind if you buried that talent
29:42 sister isn't it true speaking for
29:44 everything that just comes into our mind
29:48 it's unwise it's poisonous speech as
29:51 James says in verse eight but now let's
29:53 move on to verse 9 and we're gonna read
29:56 through to the end of verse 12 and this
29:58 will be the last section that we take a
29:59 consideration of in this particular
30:02 study here verse 9 with it and again
30:04 he's speaking about the tongue here with
30:07 the words we say with it we bless our
30:10 God and Father and with that we curse
30:12 men who have been made in the Simla to
30:15 dov God out of the same mouth proceeded
30:17 blessing and cursing my brethren these
30:21 things ought not to be so does a spring
30:23 send forth fresh water and bitter from
30:26 the same opening can a fig tree my
30:28 brethren bare olives or a grape vine
30:32 bare figs the snow spring yields both
30:37 salt water and fresh James is just sort
30:40 of here right along with us he's
30:44 marveling at the contradictory nature of
30:46 the tongue with my tongue
30:48 I can bless my God and Father I can
30:51 worship Him I can praise him and with
30:53 that same tongue I can actually go out
30:56 and curse people the tongue can be used
30:58 for the highest calling worshiping and
31:00 blessing God and it can be used for the
31:04 lowest evil to curse and inspire men to
31:06 wickedness and to those who are born
31:10 again it should not be this way it is as
31:12 James wrote to us in verse 10 that it
31:14 should not be that out of the same mouth
31:16 precede blessing
31:20 and cursing think about the almost
31:22 uncountable examples that we have of
31:24 this in the Gospels Peters tongue
31:26 confesses Jesus as the Messiah the son
31:27 of the Living God
31:31 and Peter's indane tongue denied Jesus
31:35 with curses the same John who later on
31:37 wrote little children love one another
31:40 he's the one who wanted to say a word to
31:42 bring down fire from heaven upon a
31:44 Samaritan village we find this
31:46 contradictory nature and all we can say
31:47 is with right along with Jane firsthand
31:51 these things are not to be so ideally
31:54 the goal we should strive for what God
31:56 wants to work in us by his his
31:58 sanctifying developing work in our life
32:00 our Christian growth is that our speech
32:02 would be consistently glorifying to God
32:05 and by the way one thing that this means
32:08 is that we shouldn't use one vocabulary
32:11 or one tone of speaking at church and
32:14 then another one at home maybe another
32:18 one on the job it's not I'm thinking of
32:20 the person and I'll be honest I don't
32:23 have any specific face or name in mind
32:27 but but I know that that this is us as
32:32 as people I'm thinking of the person who
32:33 when they go to church
32:36 it's praise the Lord bless you brother
32:38 isn't it wonderful to be in the house of
32:41 God hallelujah and that that person goes
32:46 home and they are nothing but critical
32:52 and cruel and abusive and hateful with
32:55 their words in their home and then they
32:58 go to their job and at their job they're
33:01 telling that dirty joke at the job
33:04 they're speaking to other people in the
33:07 office with flirtatious words and
33:10 sexually suggestive things and on and on
33:13 and just as James says my brethren this
33:16 should not be so it shouldn't be that we
33:17 have one way that we speak at church
33:19 another way we speak in the home a third
33:22 way that we speak at the job no like our
33:25 our mouth should be like a spring of
33:29 water sending forth fresh
33:32 not fresh and bitter from the same
33:34 opening because ultimately this is
33:37 powerful what he says in verse 12 no
33:41 spring yields both salt water and fresh
33:43 that's what he says in verse 12
33:48 James is pointing to the ultimate
33:51 impossibility of such a strong
33:56 contradiction if bad fruit and bitter
34:00 water continued to come forth it means
34:02 that there isn't really a contradiction
34:07 the tree is bad the spring is bad
34:10 don't forget what Jesus taught in
34:13 Matthew chapter 12 Jesus taught in
34:16 Matthew chapter 12 verses 34 through 37
34:20 that a person's words are a reliable
34:24 revelation of their inner character it's
34:27 entirely possible that what you are in
34:30 the habit of saying is a revelation of
34:33 who you are listen I I'm not trying to
34:36 throw a guilt trip on anybody I'm not
34:38 trying to make people paranoid about 1
34:41 or 2 bad words that they save this but
34:43 I'm trying says what you are in the
34:46 habit of saying is something of an
34:50 accurate relevation revelation of who
34:54 you are and that's why he says can a fig
34:58 tree my brethren bear olives how weird
35:00 that would be isn't it there's a fig
35:02 tree you go up to the fig tree and by
35:04 the way as I'm speaking this just
35:06 outside this little office that we have
35:07 in our back garden here in Santa Barbara
35:09 just outside of this office as a fig
35:12 tree and in the front of our yard we've
35:13 got an olive tree and how strange it
35:15 would be if I went out to this fig tree
35:17 that's just outside this door here and I
35:19 went up to that fig tree and there's all
35:20 of zonix strange it doesn't work that
35:26 way and so a Christian life should not
35:30 bear the fruit of iniquity the fig tree
35:32 should bear figs the olive trees should
35:36 bear olives this is how it should be now
35:40 we cannot bear this fruit to God that we should
35:41 should
35:43 apart from the transform
35:46 work of the Holy Spirit within us the
35:49 basic ethic of Christianity and let's be
35:52 honest this letter that James wrote is
35:54 pretty big on ethics it's telling us how
35:58 to live this is a very practical ethical
36:00 book James is not telling us so much how
36:01 to be saved
36:03 he's telling us how those people who are
36:06 safe should be living but don't miss
36:08 this thing that this idea basically in
36:11 the Christian life ethics flows from
36:15 this philosophy you need to be what you
36:18 are in other words if you are a new
36:20 creature in Jesus Christ if you've been
36:21 transformed by the Holy Spirit of God
36:24 then go out and live what God has made
36:27 you because fundamentally that's all we
36:31 can be anyway you know you can label a
36:35 fig tree olive tree it doesn't make it
36:38 an olive tree you could take out your
36:41 pruning shears and trim a fig tree to
36:43 look more like an olive tree that
36:46 doesn't make it an olive tree you can
36:50 treat a fig tree as if it was an olive
36:51 tree and that's not gonna make it an
36:55 olive tree you can surround a fig tree
36:58 with many olive trees and that's not
37:01 gonna make it an olive tree you could
37:04 transplant that fig tree to the Mount of
37:09 Olives in Jerusalem and that will not
37:13 make it an olive tree you know if it's
37:14 going to be an olive tree it has to be
37:18 because it's been born into being an
37:21 olive tree and as much as anything this
37:24 very practical very challenging
37:27 exhortation from James because brother
37:28 and sisters I hope you've received it
37:29 here today I hope you've received this
37:33 idea listen it is absolutely true I need
37:36 through the work of the Holy Spirit in
37:38 my life through his constant
37:41 transforming I need to govern what I say
37:44 better I need to let what I say be more
37:47 of a blessing to people and less of a
37:48 burden or a curse upon anybody
37:52 I need that know that being the case
37:56 that's only going to happen when God
37:57 does his trans
37:59 forming work in my life it's not a
38:01 matter of me gritting my teeth and
38:04 trying harder it's a matter of me
38:08 looking to my savior and resting in the
38:11 one who has the true power of
38:13 transformation I don't have the power to
38:17 transform my own life but he has the
38:18 power to transform me
38:20 I want to abide in him walk in him put
38:25 my focus on him and and be serious about
38:28 doing what he says about obeying him and
38:30 then I'll see the work of God happen in
38:33 my life more and more that's where we're
38:35 going to end it off here at the end of
38:36 verse 12
38:39 next time we pick it up at verse 13 of
38:42 James chapter 3 as we continue on in our
38:46 study through the book of James [Music]
