The “Power” Series
#1
"POWER OF THE TONGUE!"
TEXT: James
3:1-12;
INTRO: Imagine a
weapon so powerful that it makes the atom bomb look like a toy! This weapon has the potential to
literally bring anguish into the life of every human being on the planet ... but
without necessarily destroying them physically. This weapon could however, produce scars
that last a lifetime ... scars that may never heal properly. This weapon is available to the poorest
as well as the richest of nations ... in fact, even individuals have access to
this weapon ... there are few laws against the possession or use of this
weapon. No weapon that now exists,
or will exist, will have the deadly potential of this ancient weapon ... it is
as old as man himself ... the weapon is THE
TONGUE!
PROP SENT: The Bible teaches us that our
tongue has great power ... to heal or to destroy, to bless or to curse ... we
are to be wise in the use of this member of our body ... it can bring pain or
pleasure ... it's all in how it is used!
I. TONGUE'S POWER James 3:1-5a;
A.
Historical
James 3:1
1.
Speech is an awesome and powerful ability ... it is in this sense that
James cautions those who would desire to be a speaker ... or a
teacher.
a.
Words can have such great power, for this reason there comes with speech
great responsibilities!
b.
Those who speak to others will be held to a higher accountability by
God!
2.
Why such a warning ... how can language be so powerful as to warrant this
warning?
a.
Think about history and some of the great movements of this
planet:
(1.
Nebuchadnezzar boasted with words on how wonderful and strong he was ...
he became like an animal for 7 years from such boastful
words!
(2.
Alexander the Great spoke such bold words also ... and almost conquered
the world ... yet he died a young man.
(3.
Napoleon Bonaparte motivated great armies ... but lost in the
end.
(4.
Hitler mesmerized an entire people by his speeches ... and convinced huge
crowds to commit horrible crimes against
humanity!
(5.
Winston Churchill inspired a ravaged Britton to keep fighting ... until
victory!
(6. John F. Kennedy moved the
(7.
No words have moved this planet however like the LIVING WORD ... "THE WORD WAS
MADE FLESH" ... this truly speaks of the power of the tongue! JESUS CHRIST revolutionized the human
race with the power of His tongue, His very existence was the Word of God made
flesh!
b.
Most of the great events of history are connected to the speech of small
and great men and women!
3.
History is full of the realities of the power of
tongue!
B. Humanity
James 3:2;
1. We
are introduced here to the reality of the human tongue ... it isn't always a
pretty picture!
ILLUS: Like the monk
who was allowed to speak only 2 words every 10 years. First ten years went by ... his 2 words,
"HARD BED;" next 10 years his 2 words
were “BAD FOOD;” the next 10 years he
was asked for his 2 words and he responded, "I QUIT!" His supervisor looked at him and said,
"I'm not surprised, all you've done since
you got here is complain!" -- Source
Unknown
2.
This verse states a powerful truth ... if the tongue could be
completely controlled so would many things in our
life!
a.
The point is this: our speech affects every part of our
being!
b.
Control what we say and how we say it ... and it controls the rest of
us!
c. It
is important to understand that this verse states, "IF A MAN
COULD..." obviously the verse implies that this will be no easy task,
and will require outside help!
3. The power of the tongue can be
found in another verse in James:
a.
The sense of this verse is simple: confessing our human weakness helps
destroy the power of that weakness ... now someone else knows and we become
accountable.
b.
This is the founding principle in AA and other organizations for helping
people ... unspoken can be a type of denial ... once confessed you cannot
continue to deny your weakness, thus you are forced to deal with
it!
c.
Healing for sin comes from confessing it ... not hiding
it!
d. We
are prone to weakness ... but healing is possible if we are honest of heart ...
and open to share!
(1.
This verse does not teach us to share with just ANYBODY
however!
(2.
Nor is it saying to share with
EVERYBODY!
(3.
The point is to find someone you can trust and be a friend to open up
to!
4.
Our humanity needs this type of ministry since we are not
perfect!
C.
Hardy! James
3:3-5a
1. How hardy is
the tongue? ... It is strong enough to literally control our
life!
a.
Several illustrations are given to us on how powerful the tongue is in
our life in this text:
b. Like the bit put into the mouth of a horse
... the entire beast can be steered by such a small bit in the
mouth!
c. Like a great ship ... a small rudder is what
causes it to move through the sea like it does ... even great storms can't force
it out of the way as long as the rudder is controlled
properly!
d. Likewise ... the tongue is small, but it has
great power over the direction our lives
take!
2.
Even a single word can have a devastating effect on our
lives:
ILLUS: When Teddy
Roosevelt was a young boy he was terrified to go to his mother's home church,
the Madison Square Church ... he was so terrified that she couldn't get him to
even step foot into the church. She
probed him with questions trying to find out why he was so frightened, finally
she got this response: "I am scared mom
of that animal in the corner of the church at the back" ... his mother
wanted to know what kind of animal.
"That 'Zeal' animal," he
said. Mom was baffled, finally she
found out it was something from the Bible young Teddy was talking about ... she
got a concordance and began reading every verse to him with "ZEAL" in it ... and finally she hit
it! The pastor one Sunday had read
this verse
JOHN
II. TONGUE'S PROBLEM James 3:5b-8; Prov. 15:4;
A.
Hostile! James 3:
5b-6
1. Like a small spark that can wipe out huge forests
the tongue can be quite destructive!
2.
The author paints the uglier side of the use of the tongue ... our fallen
nature makes it easier for us to use it for evil than for
good!
a. It
is much easier to rip someone up verbally than to speak well of
them!
b. It
is our nature to use the tongue to hurt ... we need to realize this ... it needs
discipline and help beyond ourselves!
3.
The logic is simple: since Satan created evil in the beginning ... he did
so with the speech, boasting: "I WILL LIFT MYSELF ABOVE GOD" ... and so
entered sin into the universe - therefore, speech can still be an avenue that
can destroy us!
a.
Sin's origin started with a statement of pride! The tongue became the symbol of speech
... and the first tool used against God!
b.
This is Satan's primary tool in the life of human beings ... the tongue
is the most "unruly evil" (James
3:8 KJV) or member of the body... the most corrupt and most difficult to
control!
c. Look at the
ILLUS: When you
squeeze a sponge what comes out under the pressure? ... Whatever it had soaked
up previously! So does our tongue
when we are squeezed ... what comes out is what is inside us! Our fallen nature can make that quite
hostile! – Source Unknown
B. Handling!
James
3:7-5;
1. Is
it hopeless therefore? NO!
a. We
can learn to control the tongue ... as we walk with God ... we learn to talk
godly and be godly! The Spirit
becomes the outside source we don't have internally; to help transform us into
the image of Christ.
b. Note: James
c. Prov.
15:4 &
(1.
We
can hurt!
(2.
We
can heal!
2. If
man can tame the many creatures of this planet ... as this verse implies, he can
learn some measure of control over his own tongue! James
3:7-8
a. It
may be a difficult task ... but it is not an impossible
one!
b.
Like animals ... it takes repetition and effort but it will show
results!
c. It
requires little effort to have a hurting tongue ... just speak whatever you feel
from your old nature!
d. We
can however gain control over the tongue ... and make it an instrument of
righteousness!
ILLUS: Corrie Ten Boom
struggled for some time trying to get over the hate she felt towards her
enemies. She had expressed
willingness to forgive, but as she rehashed the incident over and over the hate
continued ... finally the Lord spoke to her how to deal with the hate from a
Lutheran Pastor. He pointed out to
her the bell in the church tower, rung by pulling on the rope below. He went on, “When the sexton is finished pulling the
rope the bell still rings several times from the momentum of the earlier pulls
... but he knows that if he stops pulling it will eventually stop
ringing.” Stop rehearsing the
wrongs is like stopping from pulling the rope ... there may still be a few rings
of anger here and there, but if we don't continue to pull the rope it will
gradually fade and stop! – Source Unknown
3. The image in these verses is quite
simple ... it is up to us to train our tongue, just like we train
animals.
a. Be
repetition in giving praise!
b.
THINK AND SPEAK about good things!
c. Nobody can make you speak godliness
... we must cooperate in the training!
4. Learning to handle your tongue can
have some of the best effects on your
life!
III. TONGUE'S PARADOX James
3:9-12
A.
Honor James 3:9a,
l0a
1.
The tongue can be such a blessing under
discipline!
a. We can use it to praise God and bless His name!
b. We
can build up others by the proper and good use of the
tongue!
2. It
can bring great honor to those it
speaks of and to the speaker!
B.
Hateful! James 3:9b,
l0b
1. Or
the tongue can bring great pain to others and
self!
a. It
can curse God as well as praise God!
b. It
can curse others as well.
2. It
is ironic that both can come from this same member of the
body!
3.
This is what makes the Baptism of the Holy Spirit such a wonderful gift
from the Lord ... the one baptized being given a "new
tongue."
ILLUS: Since the
tongue is the most ungodly member of the body ... the hardest to control and so
evil ... if God would have wanted to find a way to show us evidence of being
immersed in His Spirit ... what more logical choice than to have our tongue
yield to the Spirit of God and speak in heavenly as well as earthly languages
the praises of God through tongues!
Evidence of immersion in the Spirit by our speaking in tongues and
praising God makes logical sense ... the tongue under God's control, used by the
Spirit! HOW PERFECTLY LOGICAL ...
AND PRACTICAL! Since the whole body
is under control by the tongue ... this experience of the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit has a direct influence upon the entire being of the believer ... thus a
very valuable experience ... one to be sought after!
4.
How much better than the hate our tongues are capable of without God's
Spirit!
ILLUS: The 2 shop
keepers across the street from each other ... they couldn't ever say anything
nice to each other. Their jealously
for each another caused them to say very hateful things about one another. One night an angel appeared to one man
and promised him any wish under one condition ... whatever he wished for the
other shopkeeper would get double of ... he could have anything he wanted or as
much as he wanted ... but the other guy would get double his request. Hating his competitor he thought about
what to wish for ... finally filled with hate he made his choice: He wished to
be made blind in one eye! Instead
of wishing for good and blessing his competition ... he chose hatefully and
spoke hurt!
– Source Unknown
C.
Hypocrisy James
3:10-12
1. If you keep
evil in your hearts you can be sure it will spill out of your
mouths!
2.
Only a fool believes he can be a spring of fresh water and salt water at
the same time!
3.
The hypocrisy of saying you’re a Christian but not speaking like one will
only make a mockery out of Christianity to those who come into contact with your
life!
4. We
need to realize that we can only really allow one flow from our tongues ... that
of God's Spirit or it will be that of our fallen
spirit!
CONCLUSION: The tongue can be the most
destructive weapon on earth; its misuse has damaged more lives than all the
weapons of war or disease on this planet!
The tongue can bring some of life's greatest joys; like someone telling
you they "love you," or it can bring some of life's greatest pains; like someone
telling you they "hate you!" Let your tongue be an instrument of righteousness,
not a weapon of
destruction!