1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:01,840 All right, good morning, church family. 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:07,760 If you would open your Bibles to the Book of James chapter 3 this 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,080 morning, we're going to be in verses 6 to 12. 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:14,400 We've been going through James for several weeks now, and we 5 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:20,120 have made it to chapter 3. Last week I started a text and a 6 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,520 message on the tongue and I felt like it was just too long of a 7 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,440 text to do it in one sermon, so I broke up into two parts. 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,560 So last week was Part 1 and this morning is going to be Part 2 on 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:32,759 the tongue. So let's read the text. 10 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,360 I'll open us in a word of prayer and then we will jump into the 11 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:40,240 sermon this morning. James chapter 3 beginning in 12 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,480 verse 6 is what James writes to us. 13 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,800 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. 14 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,720 The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:58,320 body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire 16 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,920 by hell. For every kind of beast and 17 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,200 bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has 18 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:10,520 been tamed by mankind, but no human being contained the 19 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:15,040 tongue. It is a restless evil, full of 20 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,800 deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and 21 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,440 Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the 22 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:28,120 likeness of God. From the same mouth come 23 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:33,560 blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought 24 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,440 not to be so. Does the spring pour forth from 25 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,000 the same opening, both fresh and salt water? 26 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:45,200 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bare olives or a Grapevine 27 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,800 produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield 28 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:58,560 fresh water? Let's pray, Father, we pray for 29 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,960 your spirit to be working among us this morning. 30 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:09,800 We pray that as we consider this topic of the tongue from last 31 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,000 week and this week, Lord, that you would help us to to to 32 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,560 pause, reflect, meditate, and contemplate. 33 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,760 Where in my life do I need to grow with my tongue? 34 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:30,840 Where am I guilty of sin? Where am both by Commission and 35 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,080 omission? What changes God are you calling 36 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,120 me to make? How can I use my tongue to be an 37 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:42,320 instrument of righteousness and not a weapon of destruction? 38 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,520 So, Lord, would you use this text this morning to help our 39 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,520 tongues to be in line with what they were designed for? 40 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,440 Praising you, I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen. 41 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:06,800 In 1991, in British Columbia, Canada, one of the trainers at 42 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,640 an aquarium was killed by an orca. 43 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:16,320 In 1999, a man trespassed into SeaWorld Florida and was killed 44 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:21,240 by an orca. In 2003, Roy Horn of Siegfried 45 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,360 and Royd was mauled by a tiger as part of the show. 46 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,520 In 2009 in Spain, one of the trainers was killed by an orca. 47 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:37,120 In 2010, one of the trainers at SeaWorld in Florida was killed 48 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:42,280 by an orca, and in 2016, a tiger at Palm Beach Zoo in Florida 49 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,600 attacked and killed one of the trainers. 50 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,720 What is the lesson to be learned from all of these incidents? 51 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,880 That wild animals are unstable creatures. 52 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,120 No matter how much we may have tamed them or think we have 53 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,480 tamed them, they are still unstable. 54 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:16,959 So is the tongue. No matter what kind of strides 55 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:22,040 we make with our tongues, the tongue is always an unstable 56 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:27,120 organ, meaning it's always liable to break out. 57 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,840 We may think that we have achieved victory in this area. 58 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,760 Some of you may even say that I feel like I'm a pretty good 59 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:42,040 master of my speech, my tongue that I don't think I send as 60 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,840 much with it. That may very well be true, but 61 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:46,760 all it takes is the right amount of stress. 62 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,800 All it takes is the wrong person saying the wrong thing at the 63 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:58,800 wrong time, or maybe just a spouse who knows how to push the 64 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:05,600 wrong button. Our tongues are always unstable. 65 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:08,400 They're always liable to break out. 66 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,720 This morning we're going to look at the second-half of our text 67 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,760 this morning that we started last week, and I'm going to do 68 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,520 the same I did last week, where instead of breaking up 69 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,240 exposition and application, I'm going to weave them together. 70 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:25,960 So application will be woven together throughout the sermon. 71 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,720 We'll look at it not only verse by verse, but section by 72 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,960 section. So let's start looking at verse 73 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:41,160 6A where James writes and the tongue is a fire, a world of 74 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,920 unrighteousness. Now last week we saw that James 75 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:49,240 had used 3 analogies to describe the very small nature of the 76 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:53,680 tongue and yet the tremendous power that it controls. 77 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:59,080 He used a bit and a horse, a rudder and a ship and a small 78 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:03,720 fire and a wildfire. And now James is going to shift 79 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,440 from using an analogy to a metaphor. 80 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:09,760 He's going to shift from analogy to metaphor. 81 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:14,200 He says the tongue is a fire. So not only is the tongue 82 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,480 similar to a fire, it actually is a fire. 83 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:20,440 Now what does James mean by this? 84 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:26,160 I think James is suggesting that the tongue, just like fire, is 85 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:32,960 capable of great destruction. If you look back at history, you 86 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,520 will see that there have been some tremendous fires throughout 87 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,240 human history. There is the Great fire of Rome 88 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,000 in 64 AD. It lasted 6 days and destroyed 89 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:46,160 most of Rome. There's the Great Fire of London 90 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,360 in 1666, burned up some 13,000 homes. 91 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,960 There's the Great Fire of Moscow in 1812, destroyed 3/4 of the 92 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:59,320 city of Moscow. In 1942 there was a nightclub 93 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,800 here in America where a fire broke out, killed almost 500 94 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,560 people. And we were all remember the 95 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,480 recent fires that destroyed Notre Dame Cathedral, the island 96 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,640 of Maui, and most recently the apartment complex in Hong Kong. 97 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,800 Fire is capable of tremendous destruction. 98 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,360 And James says the tongue is a fire. 99 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,120 He calls it a world of unrighteousness. 100 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:34,760 Now that seems rather dramatic, isn't it? 101 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,920 A world of unrighteousness? And yet, when we stop, take a 102 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,480 step back and consider how many people in Scripture send with 103 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,600 their tongue. Cain lied to God. 104 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:49,000 Abraham lied about Sarah. Jacob lied to his father. 105 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,000 Ananias and Sapphira lied about their offering. 106 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,680 Peter denied Christ three times. The Israelites complained for 40 107 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,200 years in the wilderness. Job's friends failed to speak 108 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:04,320 rightly about God. The disciples argued over who 109 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:08,400 was the greatest. The tongue is indeed a world of 110 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,160 unrighteousness. You see, the mouth is kind of 111 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:17,360 like Pandora's box. Once you open it, you open all 112 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:22,440 sorts of unrighteousness. Let me consider what is one of 113 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,800 the first sins of a child? Is it not one word? 114 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:34,159 No. One of the first ways that we 115 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:40,360 learn to sin in this life is to look at authority and say no. 116 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,400 As John Calvin writes, a slender portion of flesh contains the 117 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,800 whole world of iniquity. Look at verse 6B. 118 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:57,160 The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole 119 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,360 body. Now what does that mean? 120 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,000 Staining the whole body? That word for staining can also 121 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:06,120 be translated as defiling. The idea here is that even 122 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:10,680 though the tongue is a small part of the body, when it's sins 123 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:15,080 it doesn't. It stains or defiles the whole 124 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:19,280 body. Which body is being used as a 125 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,120 metaphor or euphemism of the entire sin? 126 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,840 Now what does it mean that by by sitting with a tongue you stain 127 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:27,920 or defile the whole body or the whole person? 128 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:31,680 Well think of it like this. If you get a stain on the 129 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:34,560 sleeve, the arm sleeve of your shirt, the sleeve of a white 130 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:38,480 shirt, and you get a stain on the arm sleeve of your shirt, we 131 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:43,040 don't just say that the the the sleeve is stained, we say the 132 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,720 shirt is stained, right? Or other way to think of it is 133 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,040 that if if you have food and one part of your food has E coli on 134 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:55,840 it, we don't just say that one part is defiled. 135 00:09:56,680 --> 00:09:59,080 We say the whole food is defiled. 136 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,520 Is it not? I think what James is getting at 137 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:06,880 is that we cannot pretend that our words are not a part of us 138 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:12,440 once they leave us. We cannot create this dichotomy 139 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:16,640 where like, this is me, but once I say something, it's something 140 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:18,440 else. It's an extension of me. 141 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,640 But that's not me. What I said is not me. 142 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:27,560 People often use phrases such as I don't mean it. 143 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,520 I didn't mean any harm, no offense. 144 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,640 I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't mean to be rude. 145 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,000 That wasn't what I meant. It came out wrong. 146 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:42,280 It was just a slip of the tongue. 147 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:47,480 I was just joking. It was a poor choice of words. 148 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,520 I mean no disrespect. I take it back. 149 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,800 That's not who I am. That's not how I feel. 150 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:06,320 But do not our words represent who we are and what we think and 151 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:12,760 what we feel? James wants us to recognize that 152 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:17,000 our words are not simply an extension of us. 153 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:23,240 They are US, Jesus says. But what comes out of the mouth 154 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:33,280 proceeds from the heart. And this defiles a person. 155 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:37,680 I was even talking about boys were telling me we're at a Bible 156 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:39,360 store. Yesterday, one of my sons came 157 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,880 to me and he said, Dad, why you keep emphasizing the tongue like 158 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:43,960 bug? And he stuck out his tongue and 159 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,280 said, why you keep emphasizing it's not the tongue, dad, it's 160 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:50,280 your mind. And I was like you. 161 00:11:50,440 --> 00:12:00,920 You got it, son. Look at verse 6C, setting on 162 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:06,760 fire the entire course of life. Setting on fire the entire 163 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:08,880 course of life. Now like the parable of the 164 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,360 sower where the birds ate some of the seed, the sun scorched 165 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,320 some of the plants. The thorns choked out some of 166 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:17,360 the plants. We could add another group of 167 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,560 seed here. Some seed fell on fertile 168 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:26,920 ground, sprouted up a plant, but fire came and scorched it. 169 00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:32,520 In other words, what James is saying is that the tongue can 170 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:36,560 dictate where you spend eternity. 171 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:43,880 The whole course of our life can be determined by our tongue. 172 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:49,640 He says that it's it's setting on fire the entire course of 173 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,760 life. Your whole life can be dictated 174 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,400 by your tongue, and this will always be true. 175 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,160 This is not the kind of fire that once you put it out, it 176 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,880 stays out. No, all throughout our life that 177 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,920 has the capability to burn always. 178 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:11,760 I remember many years ago, my friends and I went. 179 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,720 This is when I was lost. Many years ago, my friends and I 180 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,760 went whitewater rafting and camping together. 181 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,560 One night we had made this campfire, made this glorious 182 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:23,280 campfire. It was pretty large. 183 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,040 It was pretty hot. It was burning for hours. 184 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:30,560 As we go to bed, I took out a small amount of water and I 185 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:34,920 poured it on the fire and it kind of went out and my friend 186 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:37,840 said, you know, that fire will come back. 187 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:43,080 I said no, I just poured water on it, it's out. 188 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:48,000 He said no, it'll come back. I said no way, no, no way. 189 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,560 He said I can pour this and he had a gallon of water. 190 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:55,560 He said I can pour this entire gallon of water on this fire and 191 00:13:55,560 --> 00:14:00,800 it will come back. I said there's no way, no way. 192 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,040 So we made some kind of bet. Again, I was lost. 193 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,960 He poured the gallon of water on the fire, a gallon of water. 194 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:11,520 We got inside our tents to go to bed. 195 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:17,760 About an hour or two later, I see this glow outside the tent. 196 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:26,960 The fire came back. That's why when you see 197 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,520 firefighters putting out a fire, the the fire has been out for a 198 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:31,320 while and they're still spraying it with water. 199 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,400 That's how it is with our tongues. 200 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:45,520 We can think I'm beyond. I have conquered this. 201 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:50,040 I have put out this fire in my life. 202 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,520 And yet, without fail, we will realize that the embers in our 203 00:14:54,520 --> 00:15:01,840 mouth still burn hot. I don't care how mature a 204 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:03,880 Christian is. I don't care how long you've 205 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,200 been a Christian. I don't care how mature you are. 206 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:10,360 Our tongue always has the capability to burn. 207 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:21,440 Always looking for 60 and set on fire by hell. 208 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,640 Set on fire by hell? Now what does that mean? 209 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:29,400 To put it bluntly, the tongue is inflamed by the fires of hell. 210 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:35,040 It is the hell is a source of constant fire that will keep 211 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:38,520 this thing burning. When James says that the tongue 212 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,080 is set on fire by hell, hell is being used as a kind of a 213 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:47,480 synecdoche for Satan, for sin, for all that is evil in this 214 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:50,400 world. Now Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 215 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,800 that Satan shoots flaming darts at us, right? 216 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,440 Metaphorically, but in the in the spiritual world, literally. 217 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,200 And these flaming darts, they are not only meant to destroy 218 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,960 us, but they are also meant to ignite us. 219 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:10,280 That he would turn us into a flaming dart. 220 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:16,480 You ever said something and wondered where did that come 221 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,600 from? I don't even know why I said 222 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:27,000 that. How many times I mean like you 223 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,440 can take the sweet. My wife is the sweetest person 224 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:35,680 in the world. How many times that you can take 225 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:42,560 put four boys in your life and you'll say things or but you can 226 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,960 be the sweetest person in the world put and a man, a roommate 227 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:52,440 that rubs you the wrong way. You say something, you're like, 228 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:54,520 I don't even know why I said that. 229 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:59,640 I don't know why I said that. Where did that come from? 230 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,760 Where does that come from? One answer is this. 231 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:08,359 It came from the enemy. It came from the enemy. 232 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:10,880 Now, that's not to say that we are not responsible. 233 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:14,920 We are Jesus says that we will give an account for every 234 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:16,760 careless word that we have spoken. 235 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:22,079 But this text explains why we can say things that are so 236 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:27,800 hurtful and so destructive. I mean, you ever said something 237 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,680 and like, like in a moment somebody had hurt you or wounded 238 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,720 you or offended you and you knew how to put them in their place. 239 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,560 You knew what would be hurtful to them, and you took it. 240 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:45,320 You said it and then immediately afterward, or maybe the next 241 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,520 day, you thought, I don't know why I said that. 242 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:54,600 I shouldn't have said it. You know why we said it? 243 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:59,040 Because we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. 244 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,600 We wrestle against the forces of hell. 245 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:11,400 Look at verse 7 to 8A. For every kind of beast and bird 246 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,440 of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by 247 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,840 mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. 248 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:21,760 Now James goes back to his analogies. 249 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,320 Here he uses another animal analogy, but this time in the 250 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,720 broad sense. He says every kind of beast and 251 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:33,800 bird and reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has 252 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,120 been tamed by mankind. And what does that mean? 253 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:40,640 To tame? That word tame means to reduce 254 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:45,960 from an uncontrolled to a controlled state or to subdue. 255 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:51,320 Think of it like this. If you go to a zoo, you will 256 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,080 find in the zoo. You do not find humans in the 257 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:55,880 zoo. You find animals in the zoo. 258 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:00,600 We have subdued them. You will find lions and tigers 259 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,720 and bears in the zoo. If you go to an aquarium, you 260 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:10,040 will find sharks and orcas. Apparently these are enormous 261 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,000 beasts. These are dangerous and deadly 262 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:17,440 beasts and yet humans have found a way to subdue them. 263 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,120 Now. This is because God has given us 264 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:22,440 a mandate from heaven. Genesis 128 Be fruitful and 265 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,400 multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. 266 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,640 How many dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of 267 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:32,080 the heaven and over every living thing that moves on the earth. 268 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:41,040 As humans we have the capability to subdue a £14,000 elephant, a 269 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:47,400 £5000 rhinoceros, a 4000 LB hippopotamus, a 1500 LB polar 270 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:53,760 bear, a 30 foot whale shark, a 3500 LB beluga whale, a £10,000 271 00:19:53,760 --> 00:20:00,320 orca, a 2000 LB crocodile, a £300 ostrich, but we can't 272 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:15,480 subdue a three ounce tongue. James says no human being can do 273 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:18,960 this. Now when James says no human 274 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:25,560 being contained a tongue, he means just that, no human being. 275 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,120 But that doesn't mean God is incapable of taming it. 276 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,600 It doesn't mean that God is incapable of attainment. 277 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:38,600 Sometimes as Christians, even mature Christians, we are 278 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:42,360 perplexed as to why we keep falling into sin with our 279 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:45,880 tongues. You may have been a Christian 280 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,800 for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, you know, and you can see 281 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,920 yourself mature or you know, maybe if you're an elder, you're 282 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,400 a Deacon, you're a pastor, you're a missionary, you're a 283 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,600 teacher. You're, you know, you're like 284 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,920 man. And you got to wonder, like, why 285 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:01,800 do I keep falling into sin with my tongue? 286 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,600 Why do I keep getting angry? Why do I keep complaining? 287 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,720 Why did I tell that lie? I mean, it was an emotional lie, 288 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:13,760 but it was a lie nonetheless. Why do I still struggle to 289 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:15,960 gossip? Why? 290 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:17,840 Why do I still struggle with this? 291 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,520 Why do I keep sinning in this way? 292 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,960 Here's why. Because in our own strength, we 293 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:35,320 have no strength. We need the grace of God, we 294 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:42,120 need the fruit of the Holy Spirit to tame this animal, and 295 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:48,520 that is the only way to do it. You try to tame this on your own 296 00:21:50,920 --> 00:22:00,520 and you'll keep biting people. The verse 8B it is a restless 297 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:06,440 evil full of deadly poison. A restless evil full of deadly 298 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,480 poison. Now one question we may have is 299 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:10,320 why is it so difficult to tame the tongue? 300 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:12,960 Why is this? James gives 2 reasons. 301 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:17,400 He gives 2 reasons why #1 the tongue is a restless evil. 302 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,680 The the word for restless is the same Greek word that James used 303 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:26,200 in James 1/8 when he said he is a double minded man, unstable in 304 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,280 all his ways. That word unstable, same word as 305 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:31,520 restless here. Unstable and restless, same 306 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,400 Greek word. What does that mean? 307 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:38,000 You ever seen those old school mouse traps like the, you know, 308 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:39,880 the ones with the spring that you put back, you know, and 309 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:41,880 people like like the cartoon has got a little piece of cheese on 310 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,400 it or something. I remember one time we had a 311 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:46,560 mouse in our apartment in seminary. 312 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:49,560 I bought all those fancy new mouse traps, you know those ones 313 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,520 that like to advertise and none of them worked. 314 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,160 And then I saw like like $1.99 just like cheap little like 315 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,040 ghetto looking mousetrap. I was like, let me just try this 316 00:22:59,040 --> 00:22:59,840 thing. So I bought it. 317 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:06,680 First day I caught the mouse those I don't like those things 318 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,800 because you said it. They're so unstable like you 319 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:15,440 just touch it it's and man it hurts if you get your finger in 320 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:21,800 there is not our mouth like those mouse traps. 321 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:30,520 Sometimes the slightest comment can cause us to snap back. 322 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:43,600 We get caught at the wrong time, the wrong day of the month, the 323 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,440 slightest trial or inconvenience does it not cause us to 324 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,400 complain? Right. 325 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,000 Everything is going well. My week's been going well, but 326 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,720 having a great week. And then it's just The slightest 327 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,840 inconvenience can cause us to complain. 328 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:03,200 The slightest fear or anxiety could cause us to bend the 329 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:08,520 truth. You see, the tongue is an 330 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,680 unstable evil. It's unstable. 331 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,880 Second reason he gives The tongue is full of deadly poison. 332 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,240 The tongue is full of deadly poison. 333 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,520 I absolutely hate snakes. I, I, I hate them. 334 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:28,480 My boys were telling me last night they were like, hey, God, 335 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,200 did you know they're bringing back this show where like, 336 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,680 people like, get in boxes with snakes and stuff. 337 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:36,720 And I was like, man, they did that years ago. 338 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,400 The show called Fear Factor. He's like, yeah, that's what 339 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:39,440 it's called. They're bringing it back. 340 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:43,880 I was like, I don't know why I hate snakes. 341 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,760 I don't like looking at them. I don't want to touch them. 342 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,720 However, I am fascinated with people who engage with them, 343 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:56,760 like Steve Irwin or Bear Grylls. These animals have deadly poison 344 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,480 in them. Not all of them, but a lot of 345 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:01,960 them do. I have never been bitten by a 346 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,040 snake. I'm from Alabama, I've never 347 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:05,960 been bitten by snake. I would like to keep it that 348 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,840 way. I was so happy when I found out 349 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,480 that Western Washington does not have any poisonous snakes. 350 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,680 I was so happy. We do not have any poisonous 351 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,680 snakes, but we do have poisonous people. 352 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:31,960 God has given us the power to poison people with our words. 353 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,560 The tongue is full of deadly poison. 354 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,160 Not just a little bit, it's full. 355 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:49,360 Look at verse 9. With it we bless our Lord and 356 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,200 Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the 357 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,760 likeness of God. You see, James says the tongue 358 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,120 has the power to bless and the tongue has the power to curse. 359 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:04,200 When God gave us the ability to speak, He gave us the ability to 360 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:09,280 bless him, to praise Him. What a tremendous privilege we 361 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,440 have to praise the living God with our mouths. 362 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:17,200 You ever think about that? That we, you know the, the birds 363 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,560 praise him and and the flowers praise him, but not the way that 364 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,640 we do. We praise Him as children. 365 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,920 We praise him as people made in his likeness. 366 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:32,160 What a tremendous privilege. There is no greater feat that we 367 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,680 will ever do in this life than to praise God with our lips. 368 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:38,800 I don't care if you climb Mount Everest. 369 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,320 I don't care if you can dunk of basketball. 370 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:44,920 I don't care what we can accomplish. 371 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:49,520 Nothing compares to this feat, to praising God. 372 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:53,440 No painting rivals the beauty of this portrait. 373 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,760 No orchestra sounds like this Symphony. 374 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:03,600 God has given us the greatest privilege in the universe 375 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:10,480 praising Him. How many times does the psalmist 376 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:14,800 declare that he will use his lips to praise God? 377 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,000 I will bless the Lord at all times. 378 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,080 This praise shall continually be in my mouth. 379 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,000 Psalm 3410. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth 380 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:27,720 will declare your praise. Psalm 5115 because Your 381 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:31,360 steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. 382 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:34,400 Psalm 63 Three. My mouth is filled with Your 383 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:36,640 praise and with your glory all day. 384 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:40,160 Psalm 71 Eight. My lips will shout for joy when 385 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,920 I sing praises to You. Psalm 7123 My lips will pour 386 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,360 forth praise. Psalm 1/19/71 my mouth will 387 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:52,400 speak the praise of the Lord. Psalm 14521 our mouth is 388 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:58,840 $1,000,000 instrument because it praises an infinitely worthy 389 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:05,600 God. I was watching Shark Tank the 390 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:09,440 other day. Yes I know I watch Shark Tank. 391 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:12,720 It's a good show, you should try it out. 392 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,920 One of the pitches on the show was a 3D printing company that 393 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:23,600 can print instruments. They had a cello on there. 394 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,120 My favorite instrument to listen to is the cello. 395 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,440 Absolutely. I mean hands down nothing to me 396 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,960 compares to it. They were saying on the show 397 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,720 that a good cello, a good like made out of wood cello can be 398 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:42,240 10,020 thousand even like the top ones can go up to $100,000 399 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,680 and there are 3D printed ones were selling for 3000. 400 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,000 They were trying to make like instruments that are very 401 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,160 expensive, more affordable to other to to more people. 402 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:54,160 Right? Because I'm who can afford 403 00:28:54,160 --> 00:29:01,680 100,000 or even a $20,000 cello. This instrument is intended to 404 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:09,000 produce glorious sounds. But imagine if a cello was used 405 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:14,120 as a hammer. I got a cello upstairs. 406 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:18,920 It's Eugene's. Imagine if I went upstairs and I 407 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:20,440 needed to nail something in the wall. 408 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:21,960 I pulled it out. I didn't have a hammer. 409 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:26,000 I don't have a hammer, and I used it to hammer in this nail. 410 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:29,640 Or imagine. We went out to the parking lot. 411 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,280 My boys are playing baseball. They're throwing around rocks. 412 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:40,360 I'm like, hey, guys, I got a bat and I use it as a baseball bat. 413 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:46,680 Wouldn't that be a shame? Wouldn't it be a shame to take 414 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:50,760 this glorious instrument and use it for these purposes? 415 00:29:54,560 --> 00:30:00,560 Imagine if we used this instrument not to praise God, 416 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:07,080 but to curse his creation, James says. 417 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:10,760 Not only do we bless God, but we curse people who are made in the 418 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,800 likeness of God. Now, when James says curse 419 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:18,320 people, he doesn't mean curse them out, nor does he mean to 420 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:21,560 put a curse on them. The idea of cursing is 421 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:26,040 essentially to speak evil of someone, to speak evil of them. 422 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,360 And notice James calls attention to not just cursing some people. 423 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,560 He says cursing anybody, all people. 424 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,760 He says we curse people made in the likeness of God. 425 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:38,360 Well, who was made in the likeness of God? 426 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:44,720 Everybody. The lying politician. 427 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:50,440 The annoying neighbor. The incompetent customer service 428 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,480 clerk. The bragging Co worker. 429 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,240 The friend who constantly interrupts you. 430 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:01,360 The chronic complainer. The unreliable friend who 431 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:05,920 constantly cancels on you. The person who never apologizes. 432 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,640 Reckless drivers. Parents who don't discipline 433 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:16,400 their kids, the micromanaging boss, the friend who only calls 434 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,560 when they need something, the person who always one UPS your 435 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:25,760 stories, the slow Walker in the grocery store, the Co worker who 436 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,160 takes credit for your work, the argumentative person. 437 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:37,320 And on and on and on. How easily we can criticize and 438 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:43,080 complain and condemn and cancel and curse God's creation. 439 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:51,160 Brothers and sisters, God gave us this instrument to praise 440 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:55,400 Him. Look at verse 11:50, last 441 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:59,760 section. From the same mouth come 442 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,600 blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought 443 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:06,880 not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from 444 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,440 the same opening? Both fresh and salt water? 445 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,160 Can a fig tree, my brother's bare olives, or a Grapevine 446 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:14,800 produce figs? Neither. 447 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,440 Can a salt pond yield fresh water? 448 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:21,280 Now James goes back to his analogies and it gives us three 449 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,600 more analogies. He's making one central point 450 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,120 with these analogies. But before we look at that 451 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:29,480 point, let's look at the analogies. 452 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,480 He asked 2 questions and makes one comment. 453 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,640 Let's look at them individually. His first question, does a 454 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:41,440 spring pour forth from the same opening, both freshwater and 455 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:44,240 saltwater? If you've ever seen a naturally 456 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,560 occurring spring, it pours forth water, right? 457 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:51,040 That's what that's what it is. Now in, in an arid environment 458 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,520 like Palestine, this would have been vital. 459 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,160 They would actually probably build entire villages around 460 00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:58,920 wherever a spring occurred, right? 461 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:00,920 Because water is, is everything, it's life. 462 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:06,840 And so this was vital for them. Now you can have a saltwater 463 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:10,000 spring or a freshwater spring. They both exist. 464 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:14,080 Saltwater springs are far less common, but they do exist. 465 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:17,880 Florida has some saltwater springs, the Dead Sea has some 466 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:20,800 saltwater springs, the Mediterranean has a few, and the 467 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:24,320 Caribbean does. But most springs are freshwater 468 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:27,640 springs. They pour forth freshwater that 469 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:34,000 you can drink, but what you can't have is a spring that six 470 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,920 months out of the year produces freshwater and then six months 471 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:39,480 out of the year produces saltwater. 472 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:44,880 Or biweekly or bi monthly, or every other day. 473 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,760 A spring is one or the other. It's either a saltwater spring 474 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:53,480 or it's a freshwater spring, but it's not both. 475 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,520 That's the first question. Second question, can a fig tree 476 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,960 bear olives or a Grapevine produce figs? 477 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,240 Now, you do not need to be a botanist or an arborist to know 478 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,800 this. Ask any child in this service. 479 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:10,679 Jonathan, let me ask you right now. 480 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:15,400 A lemon tree produces what lemons see. 481 00:34:16,199 --> 00:34:18,360 He is not an arborist or a botanist. 482 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:25,360 An apple tree produces apples. A fig tree produces figs. 483 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:28,440 It never produces anything but figs. 484 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:32,639 You will never walk up to a fig tree and see it growing olives. 485 00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:35,520 Nor will you ever walk up to an olive tree and see it growing 486 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:37,679 figs. Likewise, if you have a 487 00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:41,440 Grapevine, you will get grapes. You will not get Peaches. 488 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,159 You will not get plums. You will not get avocados. 489 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:50,800 A Grapevine cannot produce figs. And his Third Point? 490 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:55,000 Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. 491 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:58,160 Literally neither can salt water yield fresh water. 492 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:02,960 If you have a saltwater spring or a saltwater pond, you can 493 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:10,640 never get freshwater out of it. Now, what is James's point in 494 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,200 all of these analogies? What is the central point that 495 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:15,120 he is making here? Here it is. 496 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:21,360 The type of spring tells you the type of water. 497 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:27,400 The type of tree tells you the type of fruit. 498 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:36,560 Likewise, the type of person should tell you the type of 499 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:42,720 speech. I say should because James 500 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:48,480 writes from the same mouth come blessing and cursing. 501 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:54,200 In other words, the tongue is a hypocrite. 502 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:02,840 And James says, my brothers, these things ought to be so 503 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:07,600 imagine if you had a freshwater spring that would sometimes give 504 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:12,160 you salt water. You went you, you, you go to the 505 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,360 spring and you drink and you drink and all of a sudden it's 506 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,920 salty. He's got a mouthful of salt 507 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,680 water, right? That's what it's like when we 508 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:24,640 speak evil of others. It's like trying to drink salt 509 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:29,400 water or imagine if we needed to make some wine and we went to 510 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,400 our vineyard to go collect grapes, but our vineyard was 511 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,840 full of figs. I don't know if you can make 512 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:39,000 wine out of figs. Maybe you can or you needed to 513 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:43,480 make some fig cakes, but the fig tree only has olives in stock. 514 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:47,320 You see what James is doing is James is highlighting the 515 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:49,240 hypocritical nature of the tongue. 516 00:36:51,240 --> 00:36:56,120 There's, there's an age-old joke of the person who is late to 517 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,800 church and racing to church and they're yelling at the driver in 518 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:04,680 front of them, maybe even, you know, like making comments about 519 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:08,680 them, maybe even commenting things that I won't repeat. 520 00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:11,600 And then they walk inside the church. 521 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:23,120 Oh, praise his name or husband and wife are singing praises to 522 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:28,560 God at church and then on the drive home they're speaking 523 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:31,320 negatively of their brothers and sisters. 524 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:37,520 We have a phrase talking out of both sides of our mouth. 525 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:46,240 We have to strive so hard to not be a hypocrite with our tongues. 526 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:49,880 Yes. Let me be very clear in case 527 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:51,320 you're like, well, what about you, pastor? 528 00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:54,000 Are you hypocrite? Yes, yes. 529 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,480 I don't stand up here as as especially if you know me. 530 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:05,000 If you know me well, you know how much I struggle with sins of 531 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:11,000 the tongue. I don't want, I want anybody to 532 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,640 walk away thinking that like I'm deceived about this. 533 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:23,440 I pray you are not either. What should define our speech is 534 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:28,880 praise and compliments and encouragement and thankfulness 535 00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:35,080 and blessing and forgiveness and honor and all the sons 536 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:40,960 inspiration, motivation, admiration, exhortation, 537 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:45,880 affirmation, validation, reconciliation, recognition, 538 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,600 edification. James saying that there's not a 539 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:54,160 time and a place for correction or instruction or admonition. 540 00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:55,920 There certainly is a time and a place for those. 541 00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:04,480 But what should define our speech is blessing, blessing God 542 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:13,680 and blessing people. A renewed person gives renewed 543 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:20,440 speech, and a live person speaks words of life. 544 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:28,200 We are to speak as not only as those who have new hearts, but 545 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:33,200 also have new tongues. Let's pray.