Faithful Character In Crisis: The Tongue
Tim Rice
October 12, 2020

James 3:1-12 (ESV)

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Intro: When have you been corrected for something you said?

WORDS THAT ECHO ETERNALLY
Why do words matter? Because God has shaped all existence by His Words.

WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE
Have you ever heard a more disastrous description?

WORDS THAT CHANGE ETERNITY
If we trust Jesus, what does He promise and how can that change us?

YOU CAN PRAY WITH US …
1 - Worship the LORD for His good words – His truthfulness and the goodness of all He has said. Praise Him, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for how He holds everything together by the word of His power.

2 - How have you lived ignoring God’s words and hoping that He would ignore yours? Confess your lies, slander and cursing to Jesus, asking Him to forgive you and seal in you His truth, His promises and His blessing.

3 - Give thanks to Jesus for being God’s True Word and for His fulfillment of every promise He has made to redeem people like us. Thank Him that He took our place to turn our curse into a blessing!

4 - Who do you know that is reckless with their words? Pray for them, asking the Lord to convey to them His good words and that He would work in them so that their words would be transformed.

5 - Ask the Holy Spirit to bear in you His fruit of love and goodness. Pray that He would help you grow in how you encourage others (rather than critique them), listen (rather than speaking too much) and confess your sins.