Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.  For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.  If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies.  Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.  How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire.  The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.  For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.  Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?  Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs?  No more can salt water yield fresh. (James 3:1-12) (NRSV)

Jesus is Lord.  So goes the central confession of the church and we have been seeking how we are to live out Christ's lordship in our day-to-day lives.  We have seen what it means to call Jesus Lord of our work - it is to do our work as for Him.  We have seen what it means to call Jesus Lord of our homes - it is to serve God wholeheartedly.  And now this week we come to ask, "What does Christ's Lordship mean for the things we say, and the way we say them?  If I say Jesus is Lord of my life, how does that effect what I say?"

Our text this morning is James 3:1-12, and here we see James writing to his Jewish Christian brothers dispersed throughout the Roman Empire.  And they, well, they could best be described as children, and I mean children in the worst sense of the word.  They have not grown up into a maturity and have failed to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Throughout the letter James gives us a picture of what a mature Christian looks like and implies that these folks are missing the mark.  They are impatient in difficulties, they are talking but not living the truth, they are fighting and coveting, they are collecting material toys and in chapter 3, we discover that they have no control over their tongues.  And so it is a perfect chapter for us to examine as we think about practicing the Lordship of Christ over what we say.

James begins by saying that before Jesus can be Lord of what you say, He has to be Lord of your life.  Well actually, he begins with a warning. Apparently many of his readers were wanting to be teachers in the church but they were lacking.  Just how, we aren't told exactly, but we can safely assume that they were sinning in what they were communicating.

And James offers this warning in verse 1, "Be careful you teachers because there is an awesome responsibility that goes along with the office of teaching, and you will be judged by God more strictly than the rest.”

Then he says in verse 2, "Come to think of it, we all stumble in many ways.  Basically we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the way we all stumble, the sin that is at the head of the list, is in our communication, in the use of the tongue.  "Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle." What he is saying here is that if you never sin with your tongue, if you never are at fault in what you say, it is a good indication that your heart is pure, and your faith is mature.  That is what that word perfect means here - "mature", "complete".  So it follows that if your heart is pure and you faith is mature then your whole body will be pure and all your actions will be pure, in check.

So right from the beginning James makes this important connection for us - that whatever words come out of the mouth are first born in the heart.  This is the word of our Lord, Jesus Christ, "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

If you find yourself communicating in anger and hate, in malice and gossip, it is because your heart is immersed in anger and hate and malice and revels in gossip.  So it is clear that in order to practice the Lordship of Christ over what we say we need to practice the Lordship of Christ over our lives.

Bending our knee in obedience to Him will result in new speech patterns.  Enthroning Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives will result in communication that is Christ-honouring.

The familiar story is told of the revival that happened in the early part of this century in Wales.  The miners were convicted of their sins and repented and were utterly transformed by the Holy Spirit.  Their whole beings were transformed by the Holy Spirit, body, mind and soul - actions and words all transformed.  But this created a problem for the mules that used to pull the coal carts out of the mines could no longer understand the directions the miners gave them because the miners no longer cursed and swore!

So James says, "If anyone never makes any mistakes in speaking, it is a good sign they are perfect, mature in the faith, having a heart transformed by Christ and is able to keep the whole body in check."

Now mark this next point, for it is very important.  This purity of speech is a gift from God, as our heart is transformed by Him so our speech will be transformed, but it is also something for which we must strive.  When we become Christians, our speech will be transformed but we must also seek to keep it transformed.

Why?  Because, as this Scripture passage says, the tongue is small but powerful.  And James gives us six pictures that describe ways to practice the Lordship of Christ over what we say.  Six pictures that can be paired up so that we have two positives and sandwiched in between one negative.

" If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies.  Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs." (James 3: 3-4) (NRSV)

So the tongue, he says in verse 5, is a very small, like a rudder, like the bit, but it has the power to do great things or as the text says, it boasts of great exploits.  It can boast of great feats.

And that is true - we can do great things with our words, we can accomplish much with the words we say.  Think of the words that you say to a young child.  Your words can be of great encouragement, so that the whole course of that child's life is changed.  I think of my father who from several years in elementary school was told by his teachers that he was slow and a poor speller.  He was told that he would have to repeat a year.  And every year on his report card he was told that he was a poor student.  But then in grade 3 he had a teacher who focused on his strengths and the first report card he brought home that year read, "Leonard is a good and willing worker." No criticism, only praise, and from then on dad's grades soared because he wanted to do his best for that teacher who praised his willingness to work hard.

Our words have the power to direct, like a rudder our words are able to direct the course of a life.  We need to keep that in mind with our children.

Think of the power our words have for the cause of Christ.  Our words have power to be of so much help.  In Ephesians 4 we read, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if in realizing the power of our words, we landscaped our communication with words that built others up rather than tore them down, even when they weren't in our presence?

You ask, "How can I do that?  I try, but then words that are biting and hard and unholy come out of my mouth." And it's true, isn't it?  Just like the bit and the rudder face strong opposing forces, the strength of the horse and strong winds trying to make the ship go to and fro, so our desire to speak helpful words faces strong opposing forces, the world, the flesh and the devil.

So we need to give our lives over to God and ask Him to direct us in our communication.  We need to pray the prayer of David in Psalm 141:3 "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; Keep watch over the door of my lips..  Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil."

Do you see?  It comes back to the matter of the heart.

Consider what a great forest can be set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his or her life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  That is, the tongue can be used by Satan to corrupt and destroy.

One of my favorite cities in the United States is Chicago.  It's a beautiful city filled with wonderful architecture and history.  When I was there some years ago I remember going to the centre of the city and saw a large, old but ornate water tower.  It stands in the centre of that great city as a memorial to the great Chicago fire of 1871.  Over 100,000 people were left homeless, 17,500 homes were destroyed and 300 people died.  It cost the city over $400,000,000.  The only building left standing in that fire of 1871 was the water tower.  Do you know what reportedly started the Chicago fire?  Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a little lantern in the barn.  From that little flame the whole of Chicago went up in smoke.

So the tongue, or the words we speak, has the ability to destroy.  This little muscle has the great power to destroy.  James calls it in verse 6, "a world of evil among the parts of the body."  And he continues, "It can corrupt the whole person." And then, just as a fire spreads, our words can then destroy the whole course of life, or everything we touch, and is used by the powers of hell itself to destroy.

I think back to a time when I was a little 10-year-old in Sunday School.  There was a fellow by the name of Chris Feggie who attended occasionally.  I remember one Sunday after which he never darkened the door of our church again.  We kids latched on to his name "Chris Feggie" and started to call him "Faggie".  After church that day, I got a call – "Hello, Tom.  It's Chris.  I won't be coming to Sunday School again."  "Why?" I asked.

"Because."

"Oh, come on, Chris.  We were just joking with you".

"I'm not coming back.." Click.

There was a little word that like a flame spread and destroyed any hope of Chris entering a church again.  We can all think of other examples.  Have we not seen careers destroyed and relationships wrecked by a simple thing as a rumor?

And it is not just kids - we do it as adults too.  Do you know that gossip is one of the top ten church killers?  If Satan wants to kill a church, he need only plant a gossip there and a few people who relish gossip and that church is finished.

It is something we need to beware of, my friends.  If we are guilty of gossip, we need to confess it to the Lord and ask Him to take away our love for it.  That's the problem with sin in that it gives momentary pleasure.  It's like a drug so we have to keep visiting the vice to get pleasure from it.

How many of us start a sentence with, "I really shouldn't' say this, but ..." I really shouldn't tell you but..." If you really shouldn't' tell it, then don't .  Your gossiping has the power to destroy.

But there is also the picture of the animal verse 7: "For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species."  Well that's true isn't it? Just go to any Marineland or any circus and you will see that it is true.

"But no one can tame the tongue.  A restless evil, full of deadly poison.  We know it to be true - we know that our words can be filled with the deadly poison of criticism, and bitterness, jealousy, faultfinding, and silence.

He says no one can tame the tongue.  It's true.  No human being can tame the tongue.  We can tame all sorts of wild creatures but we cannot tame the tongue.  But God can.

If we want to improve our communication we must improve the heart.  Jesus said, in Matthew 15:18, "the things that come out of a man come from the heart." We must come to God in repentance asking Him to cleanse our hearts, and then we must go on to ask that His Holy Spirit be enthroned in our lives, and then with His power live in holy obedience to His word.

James uses the illustration of water and the tree that our words or tongues have the power to delight.  In verse 11 James speaks of fresh water - water that brings refreshment, water that cleanses, and he speaks of a tree that shades and offers beauty.  So our words have the power to delight, to bring healing and to offer encouragement.

But there is also a strong warning here.  And that is don't be inconsistent.

"With it we bless the Lord and Father and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so." (James 3: 9)

This should not be.  Don't be inconsistent.  Let your words be words of delight, bringing help to those who need it, building people up rather than tearing them down.

And I say one last time, because James says it one more time in verse 11.  It is a matter of the heart.  If your heart is filled with the salt water of this world you will not speak delightful words grounded in Christ.  If the roots of your heart are not firmly grounded in the Word and in the Holy Spirit, your lips will not bear the fruit of righteousness.  Your words will not delight anyone.

Some of you have the gift of criticism.  And your words are harsh and filled with bitterness and your words don't mesh with what Christ has done in your heart.  Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature: rid yourselves of all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language.

You cannot do it on your own, you must invite Christ to come in and root out those prickly words and communication patterns that are messing up your life.  And with the power of the Holy Spirit he will change your communication.

Practically speaking, having had God root out the old communication patterns here are some simple ones for you to start with, which if you say them from your heart, will be a blessing to your home and to yourself. "Please" and "thank you."  "I'm sorry."  "I love you."  "I'm praying for you."

The tongue is a little member of the body but it has great power.  May you use it remembering that you belong to the Lord.  Use it to help, not to destroy, to delight those around you for His glory.

"O Lord, set a guard over my mouth O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.  Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil." (Psalm 141:3-4) (NIV)

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - June 2002