WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.080 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:47.320 Well, good morning. 00:00:48.020 --> 00:00:52.080 If you've got your Bibles with you, go and open them up to James chapter 3. 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:58.020 When I came back from India, I learned a valuable lesson. 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:02.340 Before I left to go to India, I kind of gathered a staff together the week before. 00:01:02.500 --> 00:01:04.240 We had a lot of things that were going on. 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:07.920 We weren't able to meet together as a staff, and I said, hey, while I'm gone, here's what 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:12.760 I'd like for you guys to do, kind of work out all of the details of the Harvest Hangout. 00:01:13.020 --> 00:01:16.460 And then when I get back, you can update me on what I need to know and what I need to 00:01:16.460 --> 00:01:17.560 be aware of and all those things. 00:01:17.940 --> 00:01:22.460 And so they did a wonderful job of figuring out all of the details, and I knew that they 00:01:22.460 --> 00:01:24.060 would do this, we've done something like this before. 00:01:24.380 --> 00:01:29.320 And so I sat down afterwards, I believe it was me and Dave and one of the Joels. 00:01:29.420 --> 00:01:32.420 It wasn't both Joels, it was one of them, so it kept communication simple, right? 00:01:32.460 --> 00:01:34.800 I just had to say Joel, and they knew which one I was talking to, right? 00:01:35.320 --> 00:01:38.520 And I said, well, let me know, like, what am I responsible for? 00:01:39.520 --> 00:01:40.600 That's what we want to know, right? 00:01:41.460 --> 00:01:43.600 What do I need to do that night? 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.200 And I heard the wonderful word, nothing. 00:01:49.160 --> 00:01:50.260 Like, we got taken care of. 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:52.700 There's nothing for you to do. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:55.680 And then Dave, and y'all know how Dave is, right? 00:01:56.220 --> 00:01:57.880 Dave can talk you into anything, you know? 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:00.680 He's got that voice, right? 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:11.060 And he said, well, you're going to judge the car competition part of it. 00:02:12.580 --> 00:02:19.840 And I said, so what you're telling me is, I have nothing to be responsible for other than 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:23.480 making everyone else who's there who doesn't win mad at me. 00:02:23.640 --> 00:02:25.760 Like, that's the burden that I get. 00:02:25.880 --> 00:02:27.400 Like, yep, yep, that's where it lands. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:32.520 So, in spite of all that, we are looking forward to, and if you haven't been a part of one of 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:34.320 these, it is a wonderful time. 00:02:34.880 --> 00:02:38.000 The community comes out and joins us with this. 00:02:38.320 --> 00:02:39.540 And so, I just want to encourage you. 00:02:39.720 --> 00:02:44.780 We would obviously love for you to come out and to have a game and to have a car set up 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:47.140 and to serve and to do those things. 00:02:47.140 --> 00:02:51.000 But we also want you to come out with your family and participate in the night. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:52.820 We want you to invite your friends. 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:54.260 We want you to invite your neighbors. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:58.640 We want you to have an opportunity where we can come and bless them and bless our community 00:02:58.640 --> 00:03:01.280 and engage in conversations and in relationships. 00:03:01.720 --> 00:03:06.780 And then at the end of the night, I'll make 95% of you angry with me when I don't choose 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:07.360 yours, right? 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:13.760 And I will say this, on the night of it, I am going to ask two people to join me in being 00:03:13.760 --> 00:03:17.580 the judges so that I'm not the only one getting dirty looks, all right? 00:03:17.660 --> 00:03:19.200 So, we'll go from there. 00:03:19.420 --> 00:03:21.780 I do want to mention yesterday was Man Camp. 00:03:21.880 --> 00:03:22.460 It's been years. 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:25.500 Man Camp was something that happened here at Willow Ridge when I got here. 00:03:25.640 --> 00:03:28.920 And for a lot of different reasons, it was time to take a break from Man Camp. 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:31.800 And God really led Jared and his team to bring it back. 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:33.000 And we had that yesterday. 00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:34.380 And it was a blast. 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:38.600 And I shared this with Jared as we all went out, a large group of guys onto him and Gwen's 00:03:38.600 --> 00:03:39.020 property. 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:40.580 And they invited us out there. 00:03:40.640 --> 00:03:42.220 And it was just a wonderful time of fellowship. 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:44.220 And the activities were great. 00:03:44.320 --> 00:03:45.980 And the food was wonderful. 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:47.420 And the fellowship was even better. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:52.600 But the best part, and this is what I loved, and Jared shared from his heart as God gave 00:03:52.600 --> 00:03:55.740 him the vision for this, about keeping the main thing the main thing. 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:58.560 And so, after lunch, Jared got up and he spoke. 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:02.740 And Jared's been a part of a team singing up here for a long time, taking a break, busy 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:03.340 with kids, right? 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:04.240 We all know what that's like. 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:08.300 And Jared said, you know, I can get up and sing in front of 10,000 people and be good. 00:04:08.380 --> 00:04:11.820 But they come up here and stand before just a small handful of people and speak. 00:04:12.060 --> 00:04:13.020 It makes me nervous. 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:14.680 But he got up there and crushed it. 00:04:15.140 --> 00:04:15.840 And here's what he said. 00:04:15.880 --> 00:04:19.100 I just want to give you the cliff notes because one day, man, like, I'm going to be out of 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:21.520 town and I'm going to need you to come and preach because they need to hear this message, 00:04:21.580 --> 00:04:21.720 right? 00:04:22.820 --> 00:04:24.260 He said, what does it mean to be a man? 00:04:25.520 --> 00:04:28.660 There's a lot of ways that a lot of different people are defining that. 00:04:29.520 --> 00:04:30.760 He said, what does it mean to be a man? 00:04:31.700 --> 00:04:34.060 And he went and he said, let's see what scripture says. 00:04:34.380 --> 00:04:38.320 And he read, and it's on the screen, and I apologize, but 1 Corinthians 16, 13 through 00:04:38.320 --> 00:04:42.000 14, be watchful, stand firm in faith, act like men, be strong. 00:04:42.320 --> 00:04:45.120 Let all that you do be done in love. 00:04:45.400 --> 00:04:47.600 Just a wonderful picture of what it means. 00:04:47.700 --> 00:04:50.820 So, Jared, I just want to say thank you for all that y'all did, your team, everybody, y'all 00:04:50.820 --> 00:04:51.600 crushed it yesterday. 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:55.180 But the best thing is, man, you listened to the Lord and the Lord shared this with you. 00:04:55.340 --> 00:04:58.140 And we're going to find bigger audiences for you to share that with, right? 00:04:58.380 --> 00:04:59.820 We're going to keep going with that. 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:01.880 And wonderful, wonderful job. 00:05:01.980 --> 00:05:02.920 So, thank you, man. 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:06.040 Well, we're going to jump in this morning in James chapter 3. 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:08.840 And before I do this, I want to say something. 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:13.840 When you become a parent, and the longer you are a parent, the more you recognize all the 00:05:13.840 --> 00:05:15.400 stuff that your parents went through with you, right? 00:05:16.140 --> 00:05:16.380 Amen. 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:17.040 That's what we realize. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:21.860 And here's what I've come to know, both in my study of scripture, my being a parent, and 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:24.040 have been parented in my life. 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:30.900 That when you hear a correction more than once, you need to draw at least two conclusions 00:05:30.900 --> 00:05:31.400 from that. 00:05:31.900 --> 00:05:39.120 So, if someone corrects you over and over again with the same thing, there's two things 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:42.320 that immediately need to resonate in your mind. 00:05:42.580 --> 00:05:46.780 Conclusion number one, what they're correcting me about is important. 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:51.220 It is valuable to the person who is saying it. 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:56.740 And so, if the correction is with your child, clean your room, clean your room, clean your 00:05:56.740 --> 00:05:56.940 room. 00:05:57.140 --> 00:06:02.680 What you're communicating to them is, it's important for me that your room is clean, so 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:03.220 clean it. 00:06:03.780 --> 00:06:08.400 When your boss at work says, don't be late, don't be late, don't be late, right? 00:06:08.780 --> 00:06:13.480 They're saying that because you coming to work on time is important for them. 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:19.980 So, as the hearer, we need to recognize that the one speaking that places value on that 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:23.260 behavior that they're giving you, that the correction that they're giving you. 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:25.560 Now, conclusion number two is this. 00:06:25.700 --> 00:06:31.180 When you hear correction more than once, what needs to resonate in your mind is this. 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:32.600 Oh, I struggle with that. 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:34.680 I struggle with that. 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:40.260 Continually, when I was small, my parents said to me, clean your room. 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:41.440 Why did they say that? 00:06:41.440 --> 00:06:45.560 Because it was important to them, number one, and number two, I was really bad at it, 00:06:45.820 --> 00:06:46.080 right? 00:06:46.520 --> 00:06:50.620 And they wanted a better version of me from when I got married one day, right? 00:06:51.200 --> 00:06:55.800 So, they would say to me, because it was important to them, and I struggled with it, back to being 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:56.720 late, right? 00:06:56.960 --> 00:07:02.780 I guarantee you, your boss has never gone to the person who gets there five minutes early 00:07:02.780 --> 00:07:05.120 and says, make sure you're here on time. 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:05.360 Why? 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:06.680 Because they don't struggle with it. 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:11.380 But if you are one who thinks, I've got to be at work at five minutes, and the line 00:07:11.380 --> 00:07:14.600 at Starbucks is only 12 deep, I think I can make it, right? 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:16.700 If that's you, and I get you, right? 00:07:16.700 --> 00:07:18.160 I understand you, right? 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:23.200 If that was you, you probably hear that, because not only is it important to your boss, but 00:07:23.200 --> 00:07:24.520 you struggle with it. 00:07:24.840 --> 00:07:29.720 Now, what this is leading us to this morning is this, Scripture does this for us. 00:07:30.520 --> 00:07:33.000 There's repetition in Scripture. 00:07:33.880 --> 00:07:39.720 Oftentimes, in certain books, one of the authors will seem to harp on a point over and over again, 00:07:39.840 --> 00:07:42.940 or it will be a consistent theme of Scripture. 00:07:43.340 --> 00:07:47.500 In fact, one of the things that I teach people, as I have taught before and will teach again, 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.980 teaching people how to read the Bible, study techniques that we can use. 00:07:50.980 --> 00:07:56.700 I say, when you see things, when you see words that are repeated, underline them, and then 00:07:56.700 --> 00:08:01.740 after you've read back, come back and look at those words that are underlined, and ask yourself 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:06.900 this question, why is the author repeating these words over and over and over again? 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:12.100 Well, because it's important to the author, and as something that you probably struggle with, 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:14.940 that humanity struggles with. 00:08:15.140 --> 00:08:18.260 So when we see repetition, we need to take note, because it's important. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:25.940 And one of the things of repetition in the Bible is the tongue, the mouth, our words. 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:30.040 It's something that we consistently see from Scripture. 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:34.140 And so we're going to look at that in the entirety of Scripture here in just a moment 00:08:34.140 --> 00:08:36.040 to give some context for James 3. 00:08:36.260 --> 00:08:39.860 But what I wanted to paint a picture for you in your mind like this. 00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:45.400 The tongue, your mouth, your words are like a hammer. 00:08:47.160 --> 00:08:47.820 Like a hammer. 00:08:48.540 --> 00:08:49.380 What did you think about a hammer? 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.160 A hammer is a tool. 00:08:52.440 --> 00:09:02.320 A hammer is an instrument that when given to someone can become a great source of power and 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:04.400 blessing and goodness, right? 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:07.180 A hammer can be used to build. 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:09.320 A hammer can be used to create. 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:14.640 And a hammer can be used to provide in the same way that a tongue can. 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:22.400 But also, a hammer in the hands of a wrong person can do great harm. 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:24.260 It can be used to destroy. 00:09:25.260 --> 00:09:27.380 It can be used to attack. 00:09:27.940 --> 00:09:34.700 And even a hammer given to the hand of a person who's ignorant about the proper things to do with 00:09:34.700 --> 00:09:41.960 a hammer, even though not intentionally, can be used not for benefit, but for harm. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:45.520 And this is what the Bible teaches us about the tongue. 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:51.160 This is what the Bible teaches us about our mouth, about our words, and all the way through 00:09:51.160 --> 00:09:51.640 Scripture. 00:09:51.940 --> 00:09:53.220 So I'm going to kind of hit some high points. 00:09:53.280 --> 00:09:58.540 This is not all the Bible verses, but it is a lot of them that I want us to see this about 00:09:58.540 --> 00:09:58.880 the tongue. 00:09:59.140 --> 00:10:08.460 In Proverbs 12, verse 18, there is one whose rash words are like sword thrust, but the tongue 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:10.540 of the wise brings healing. 00:10:10.640 --> 00:10:18.380 Proverbs 18, 21, death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will 00:10:18.380 --> 00:10:19.580 eat its fruits. 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:25.120 Proverbs 13, 3, whoever guards his mouth preserves his life. 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:30.340 He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:36.800 So in Proverbs, in this book of wisdom, what we see is this contrast of death or life, of 00:10:36.800 --> 00:10:42.740 good or bad, of help or harm that can come from the tongue, both to those who stand in 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:46.200 the way of it and to the person who uses it. 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:51.200 And Jesus also speaks to the tongue as well, at least in two different times. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:56.580 In Matthew chapter 12, starting verse 34, Jesus says, you brood of vipers. 00:10:57.240 --> 00:10:59.220 How can you speak good when you are evil? 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:03.040 For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:07.140 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good. 00:11:07.340 --> 00:11:11.960 And the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:17.720 I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give account of every careless word they 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:18.400 speak. 00:11:19.560 --> 00:11:21.920 For by your words, you will be justified. 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:24.700 And by your words, you will be condemned. 00:11:25.040 --> 00:11:26.160 Matthew 15, 18. 00:11:26.860 --> 00:11:33.900 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:36.920 It's continued on in the New Testament. 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:39.960 Paul communicates this with some of his churches that he writes to. 00:11:40.040 --> 00:11:41.060 Ephesians 4, 29. 00:11:42.420 --> 00:11:48.360 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:53.020 fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 00:11:53.700 --> 00:11:54.940 Colossians 3, 8. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.660 But now you must put them away, all the way. 00:11:59.300 --> 00:12:05.740 Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 00:12:06.180 --> 00:12:08.460 Later on in Colossians 4, verse 6. 00:12:09.580 --> 00:12:16.880 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought 00:12:16.880 --> 00:12:18.840 to answer each person. 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:21.280 And then bringing us to James. 00:12:21.280 --> 00:12:23.500 James has already addressed this in James 1, 26. 00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:30.000 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:34.300 this person's religion is worthless. 00:12:35.760 --> 00:12:44.760 So from Old Testament wisdom to the teachings of Christ, to the writings of the apostles, what 00:12:44.760 --> 00:12:51.480 we find is this, that our words matter and that they matter greatly. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:55.480 Now, when we're going to talk about the tongue, when I say the tongue, we're just going to say 00:12:55.480 --> 00:12:56.700 the tongue over and over again. 00:12:56.920 --> 00:12:58.820 Think your mouth, your words, the intent of this. 00:12:59.040 --> 00:13:04.560 What I want us to kind of understand that some of us, right, we use this word oftentimes in 00:13:04.560 --> 00:13:05.000 our culture. 00:13:05.060 --> 00:13:09.400 I think I've heard it more recently in the last maybe five years than I ever heard is, you 00:13:09.400 --> 00:13:13.080 know, this person or that person needs to develop a filter. 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:13.740 Right? 00:13:14.780 --> 00:13:15.080 Right? 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:19.020 Some of us, we don't have a filter, we have a basketball goal hoop, right? 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:22.580 There's something that's there, but there's holes all in it, you know? 00:13:22.740 --> 00:13:24.740 And it's just going through whatever's there, right? 00:13:24.880 --> 00:13:27.680 And so we think that we just need to develop a filter. 00:13:28.040 --> 00:13:31.520 We just need to stop saying what we are thinking. 00:13:31.820 --> 00:13:35.000 We need to process through that and think through that, right? 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:43.960 But instead, I don't want us to come with the simplicity that they or me or you need to just 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:44.920 develop a filter. 00:13:45.860 --> 00:13:52.200 And instead, what I want us to get to is that what we're talking about is a spiritual discipline 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.900 that changes who I am. 00:13:54.900 --> 00:14:02.940 It transforms us through the power of Christ, and now it transforms how I think and then transforms 00:14:02.940 --> 00:14:04.600 then how I use my words. 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:11.900 So it's not just the manifestation of what we say, but it's the heart of the person who 00:14:11.900 --> 00:14:12.380 says it. 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.480 So it's not just enough to say, oh, I'm going to sit there and swallow that. 00:14:18.800 --> 00:14:19.040 All right? 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:20.940 There's a part of that. 00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:25.540 There's a part of wisdom and timing in our words that matter. 00:14:26.300 --> 00:14:32.500 But for more so for us is what's coming from the heart that leads to the words that we say. 00:14:33.260 --> 00:14:33.400 Right? 00:14:33.800 --> 00:14:35.040 And that's what we want to get to. 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:35.960 That's what we want to understand. 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:36.640 So let's look. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:38.500 Start in James chapter three. 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:40.260 Start in verse one. 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:42.200 We'll read all the way through verse 12. 00:14:43.300 --> 00:14:47.240 James writes and says, not many of you should become teachers, my brothers. 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:53.820 For you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness, for we all stumble 00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:54.600 in many ways. 00:14:55.400 --> 00:15:00.260 And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he's a perfect man, able also to bridle his 00:15:00.260 --> 00:15:00.820 whole body. 00:15:01.520 --> 00:15:07.540 If we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as 00:15:07.540 --> 00:15:07.800 well. 00:15:08.460 --> 00:15:09.860 Look at the ships also. 00:15:10.540 --> 00:15:16.120 Though they are large and driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder, 00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:19.740 wherever the will of the pilot directs. 00:15:20.540 --> 00:15:25.660 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:30.120 How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. 00:15:30.780 --> 00:15:34.820 And the tongue is a fire in a world of unrighteousness. 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:40.920 The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course 00:15:40.920 --> 00:15:43.840 of life and set on fire by hell. 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:49.900 For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been 00:15:49.900 --> 00:15:54.000 tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:57.340 It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. 00:15:58.280 --> 00:16:04.820 With it, we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse people who were made in the 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:05.640 likeness of God. 00:16:07.020 --> 00:16:10.180 From the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:13.760 My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:19.440 Does the spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:26.320 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:31.660 Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. 00:16:33.040 --> 00:16:37.760 And so what I want us to look at of what James is pushing his audience to is this. 00:16:38.040 --> 00:16:41.380 It's pursuing vocal holiness, right? 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:42.580 Look back to verses one and two. 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:48.160 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will 00:16:48.160 --> 00:16:50.140 be judged with greater strictness. 00:16:50.300 --> 00:16:55.420 For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect 00:16:55.420 --> 00:16:59.240 man, able also to bridle his whole body. 00:16:59.340 --> 00:17:01.360 So the Bible is clear, right? 00:17:01.400 --> 00:17:08.540 That you and I are to, as followers of Jesus Christ, as those who say that I identify in 00:17:08.540 --> 00:17:11.720 his death, burial, and resurrection, I've been saved by him. 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:15.120 I'm a son, I'm a daughter, I'm a child of the living God. 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:18.260 That you and I are to pursue holiness. 00:17:18.760 --> 00:17:25.660 And we are to desire what's set in us is to no longer hold on to the sinful characteristics, 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:27.720 traits, and patterns of our life, right? 00:17:27.800 --> 00:17:31.820 But instead, replace them with the desire for holiness, right? 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:39.560 When Peter writes in 1 Peter chapter 1, he reminds his audience of Leviticus 19 and 20, where God 00:17:39.560 --> 00:17:43.400 says to his people, be holy as I am holy. 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:50.800 So there's this desire within us, even though you and I, in our own ability, cannot achieve 00:17:50.800 --> 00:17:55.020 perfection and holiness, to have the desire to do this. 00:17:55.260 --> 00:18:01.640 And what James does is he kind of sets a warning in verse number 1 that's important, that it's 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:06.660 something that they're dealing with, when he warns about teachers or those who desire to 00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:07.400 become a teacher. 00:18:07.820 --> 00:18:09.860 And he says, and here's the reasons why. 00:18:09.860 --> 00:18:15.020 Well, two reasons, teachers use words, and teachers' words are of great weight and great 00:18:15.020 --> 00:18:15.960 influence, right? 00:18:16.100 --> 00:18:22.400 And so he gives this warning, he's saying to them, what comes out of your mouth as you teach 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:29.260 matters, but then he's going to continue on that what comes out of your mouth, not only 00:18:29.260 --> 00:18:32.680 as you teach, but as you live your life matters. 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:41.200 Whether it's a word spoken in a moment or a word spoken that carries for eternity, right? 00:18:43.540 --> 00:18:44.580 That's what Jesus says. 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:53.800 What comes out of the heart and what comes from the heart is going to come out of the mouth 00:18:53.800 --> 00:18:59.260 and that it's an accurate index of our spiritual health. 00:19:00.140 --> 00:19:06.760 Here's the thing that helps kind of resonate in me of what our words reveal about us, right? 00:19:06.900 --> 00:19:14.160 Typically, every day when Erin's leaving work, she calls me, right? 00:19:15.040 --> 00:19:22.080 And within the first five seconds of that phone conversation, we can tell who's had the bad 00:19:22.080 --> 00:19:23.180 day, right? 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:25.720 I can't see her. 00:19:26.020 --> 00:19:26.980 She can't see me. 00:19:28.040 --> 00:19:30.440 We can't read each other's body language. 00:19:31.340 --> 00:19:35.260 We don't know the ins and outs of the details of that day. 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:43.260 But simply by the words and the tone that we use, one of us, if not both of us, can realize 00:19:43.260 --> 00:19:49.340 and recognize, right, the difficulty or the ease of someone's day. 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:50.100 Why? 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:56.440 Because our words, the manner in which we speak, even in conversation between a husband and a 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:01.840 wife, as something as trivial in the scope of eternity about the events that have happened 00:20:01.840 --> 00:20:05.020 during that day, we can tell in each other's conversation. 00:20:05.020 --> 00:20:11.380 And the same thing can be said about your and my relationship with Christ, right? 00:20:12.080 --> 00:20:13.080 What do you say? 00:20:13.340 --> 00:20:14.460 How do you say it? 00:20:16.040 --> 00:20:17.280 Because it's going to come from the heart. 00:20:18.260 --> 00:20:20.500 Because for a time, we can mask things. 00:20:20.860 --> 00:20:23.600 For a time, we can flow things through a filter. 00:20:23.800 --> 00:20:29.540 But what's going to come out over the course of a person and who they are will reveal this, 00:20:29.580 --> 00:20:29.700 right? 00:20:29.820 --> 00:20:31.020 I read this quote this week. 00:20:31.120 --> 00:20:34.600 It says, spiritual maturity is evidenced by the use of the tongue. 00:20:34.600 --> 00:20:39.220 Tongue mastery is the fruit of self-mastery. 00:20:39.460 --> 00:20:40.720 So let's look at the tongue. 00:20:41.540 --> 00:20:44.400 Why is the tongue so destructive? 00:20:45.040 --> 00:20:47.620 Why is the tongue so harmful? 00:20:48.020 --> 00:20:53.540 Why is it important from Proverbs to the teachings of Jesus to the writings of the apostles? 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:58.400 Why is it so important that we see this and that we come to wrestle with this? 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:06.720 Why does James take a moment to speak to those who wish to teach and then draw back from that and talk about the power of words for all of us? 00:21:07.520 --> 00:21:11.980 So the first thing I want us to look at in verses 3 through 5 is the power of the tongue. 00:21:13.040 --> 00:21:17.780 James says, and James continues on in painting beautiful pictures to help us understand. 00:21:18.260 --> 00:21:24.380 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 00:21:25.120 --> 00:21:26.780 Look at the ships also. 00:21:27.360 --> 00:21:36.460 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. 00:21:36.460 --> 00:21:42.760 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:46.000 So James here gives us two pictures to describe the power of the tongue. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:48.620 He talks about horses and ships. 00:21:49.560 --> 00:21:56.400 Now I don't know anything about either one of those, but God gives us a wonderful tool called Google, right? 00:21:57.340 --> 00:22:00.280 So compare to the bit given to the horse, right? 00:22:00.760 --> 00:22:01.680 I didn't know this. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:05.140 I Googled what's the average weight of a bit. 00:22:05.540 --> 00:22:09.980 The average weight of a bit for a horse is one pound, right? 00:22:10.260 --> 00:22:12.980 Well, yeah, I'm going to take a pound of metal and stick that in my mouth. 00:22:13.060 --> 00:22:14.040 That's not going to be fun, right? 00:22:14.760 --> 00:22:16.500 So what's the average weight of a horse? 00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:18.300 A thousand pounds. 00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:27.620 So what's one pound can determine the direction of something that's a thousand pounds. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:29.520 James continues on. 00:22:29.580 --> 00:22:34.840 He says the rudder of a ship controls the direction of the ship. 00:22:34.840 --> 00:22:44.600 Even though the ship is large and even though the winds that push the ship are powerful. 00:22:45.060 --> 00:22:46.080 So here's what I found out. 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:48.280 It has always kind of amazed me, right? 00:22:48.360 --> 00:22:52.420 When you, my experience with boats is usually something called a John boat and a trolling motor. 00:22:52.560 --> 00:22:53.020 You know what I mean? 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:54.900 Like that's, that's, that's where we're at, you know? 00:22:55.160 --> 00:23:03.900 Um, and it, but it always has amazed me that when I get into a John boat to go fishing, that there's like the little tiny part right there on the trolling motor. 00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:11.180 And it's going to direct, you know, usually me and somebody my size or close to, right, around in this body of water. 00:23:11.260 --> 00:23:13.740 But then I got to thinking about what James is talking about. 00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:21.980 And James is talking about these massive boats with these large sails that's going to be pushed by the winds out on the ocean and out on the sea. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:26.520 And so I thought like, well, what would a size of one of those rudders look like, right? 00:23:26.580 --> 00:23:29.760 We're not talking about two guys from South Carolina sitting in a swamp fishing, right? 00:23:29.760 --> 00:23:36.680 We're talking about cargo and we're talking about a crew and we're talking about moving across large bodies of water where you can't even see land. 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:42.880 So you've got to make sure that the ship can go in the direction in which the pilot is directing it. 00:23:43.100 --> 00:23:44.500 So, so what does that need to look like? 00:23:44.500 --> 00:23:59.400 And here's what I found out in the boats that, that James is describing that the rudder must be 2% of the underwater profile of a boat in order to control it. 00:23:59.820 --> 00:24:23.060 So not the entire size of the boat, not the entire square footage of the boat, but when you go to make the rudder for the boat, you take the part of the boat that's going to be underwater, you find out the size that that is, and you take 2% of that number, and that's the size that the rudder needs to be. 00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:34.260 So if a boat has roughly 2,000 square feet of an underwater profile, then the rudder only has to be 40 feet, right? 00:24:34.560 --> 00:24:37.140 From thousands to 40. 00:24:37.840 --> 00:24:47.180 And so what we see here is that small items can be impactful items, and the same is for the tongue. 00:24:49.100 --> 00:25:05.580 In all my years of ministry, coming close to 20 years of ministry now, in all the times that God's given me the ability and the opportunity to sit down and counsel with men and women and kids, 00:25:06.540 --> 00:25:10.960 the number one area of hurt that people share. 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:15.200 It's not about something physically that's happened to them. 00:25:16.260 --> 00:25:19.400 It's not about something financially that's happened to them. 00:25:20.300 --> 00:25:22.800 It's not about something that's been taken from them. 00:25:23.780 --> 00:25:29.620 When I look back over 20 years, more conversations than I could even count. 00:25:29.620 --> 00:25:42.780 The number one area that rises to the top of the hurt that people struggle with and can't seem to move past in their life are the words of destruction that are spoken to them. 00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:45.640 I'm not talking about words of correction. 00:25:47.080 --> 00:25:48.820 I'm talking about words of destruction. 00:25:50.320 --> 00:25:51.140 Words of hurt. 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:52.860 Words of pain. 00:25:54.460 --> 00:26:07.560 Paul says that just as, right, this, I'm sorry, James says, just as this small bit, right, can determine and can move and can change a horse, right? 00:26:07.560 --> 00:26:21.380 Just as powerful as it is that a small rudder can move a ship loaded with cargo and crew and going against and with the winds that are there. 00:26:21.520 --> 00:26:27.360 As much power as you can imagine in that, so too is the tongue. 00:26:28.840 --> 00:26:31.880 Especially when the tongue brings words of destruction. 00:26:32.920 --> 00:26:34.460 So let's look at the destruction of the tongue. 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.660 He continues on painting pictures in verses six through eight. 00:26:40.100 --> 00:26:45.580 He says, and the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. 00:26:46.360 --> 00:26:58.860 The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, sat in on the fire the entire course of life, and sat on fire by hell. 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:08.620 For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 00:27:09.300 --> 00:27:11.480 But no human being can tame the tongue. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:15.840 It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. 00:27:16.740 --> 00:27:24.060 So two illustrations that I want us to look at that he does about the destruction of a tongue is, as James says, the tongue is a fire. 00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:27.940 You know, what starts a fire? 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:29.740 A spark. 00:27:31.040 --> 00:27:31.580 A spark. 00:27:33.180 --> 00:27:39.160 So a couple months ago, we were cleaning in our garden and cleaning out some tree limbs and some things were dead. 00:27:39.280 --> 00:27:42.760 And I had a burn pile that needed to be burned in the backyard. 00:27:44.140 --> 00:27:52.060 So I called a neighbor of mine and said, hey, one of the best conversations I've had in a long time. 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:55.140 I said, hey, you still got that blowtorch? 00:27:56.580 --> 00:27:57.480 He said, yeah. 00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:00.100 I said, could you bring it down? 00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:02.940 All right, I need to burn some stuff. 00:28:03.040 --> 00:28:04.120 He said, absolutely, right? 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:06.760 So he comes down and brings this blowtorch. 00:28:06.800 --> 00:28:09.740 And I'm not talking like one of those welding ones, right, that you get at Lowe's. 00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:13.000 I'm talking like the full blowtorch, you know? 00:28:14.280 --> 00:28:16.520 And we hook it up to a propane tank. 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:19.100 And I'm like a kid in a candy shop. 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:20.100 It's like Christmas morning. 00:28:20.340 --> 00:28:21.580 I get a blowtorch. 00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:23.140 Don't play with fire, kids, right? 00:28:23.140 --> 00:28:28.440 We're using this as trained experts, but I've got to set this burn pile on fire, right? 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:29.800 And let's do this quick. 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:33.140 So I get there and we turn on the propane. 00:28:33.260 --> 00:28:36.320 And then he says to me, well, you know, we've got to start it, right? 00:28:37.560 --> 00:28:37.960 Yeah. 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:39.500 How are we going to do that? 00:28:40.780 --> 00:28:45.020 And he says, well, you're going to have to take a lighter and get really close to that 00:28:45.020 --> 00:28:48.100 and just get a spark and get your hand out of the way. 00:28:49.380 --> 00:28:51.340 And I said, okay, have you done this before? 00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:51.940 He said, yeah. 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:53.880 I said, well, why don't you do it? 00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:58.760 He said, because it ain't my yard, right? 00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:06.360 And so I walk over there and I got the lighter and I'm clicking the lighter trying to get it to work. 00:29:06.420 --> 00:29:08.660 And it's just spark, spark, spark, spark, spark, spark. 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:10.120 And I'm getting kind of nervous now, right? 00:29:10.120 --> 00:29:12.440 Because I don't, I like my hands, you know? 00:29:12.660 --> 00:29:14.780 And so he's like, that'll be enough. 00:29:14.840 --> 00:29:15.260 That'll be enough. 00:29:15.300 --> 00:29:15.820 That'll be enough. 00:29:16.280 --> 00:29:19.300 And so we get it over there and it sparked, right? 00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:26.060 And then the torch was lit and we lit the fire and we burned up all the limbs and branches and things that needed to be burned, right? 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:35.620 But just from a simple spark that was created, all that needed to be destroyed was destroyed. 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:47.180 And in the same way, the words we use can destroy a life, right? 00:29:47.420 --> 00:29:52.760 If you've ever talked with someone who's experienced verbal abuse in their life 00:29:53.980 --> 00:29:56.000 and ask them what that was like. 00:29:57.120 --> 00:30:03.340 On a rare occasion do they say, you know, I lived in a home where I was constantly yelled at. 00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:04.120 Like that happens. 00:30:05.100 --> 00:30:13.120 But more times than not, the verbal abuse that people experience are not the deep cuts that come at them, 00:30:13.740 --> 00:30:21.720 but instead they're the small cuts that increase over time and over time and over time and they matter, right? 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:34.240 And what we begin to see are these small moments of words matter because it's a spark that starts a fire and then destroys as it consumes what lies in its path. 00:30:36.100 --> 00:30:38.180 And James says, this is what we can be. 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:45.060 And he also says that the tongue is as a world of unrighteousness. 00:30:46.380 --> 00:30:47.760 Here's the picture that we get. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:48.320 Hell. 00:30:49.460 --> 00:30:49.900 Hell. 00:30:51.520 --> 00:30:53.320 You want to experience hell on earth? 00:30:54.700 --> 00:31:01.080 That's not a place that we can go to, but it can be a culture created by the words that we speak. 00:31:02.660 --> 00:31:10.420 And James says that this is what this begins to look like, a place where nothing good comes from, a place where nothing of God is present, 00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:14.360 a place of nothing of love, nothing of peace, just a place of death. 00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:23.020 And this is the destruction that can come, not only to those who stand in the path of the words, 00:31:23.740 --> 00:31:26.840 but the person who speaks them as well. 00:31:27.820 --> 00:31:29.520 Bruce Waltke said this, 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:35.840 a fool's tongue is long enough to cut his own throat. 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:41.900 A fool's tongue is long enough to cut his own throat. 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:48.980 It's not just about the destruction that it brings others, but it's also the destruction that it brings on itself. 00:31:50.520 --> 00:31:53.440 And so what's the spiritual approach that we take to this? 00:31:54.260 --> 00:31:56.800 Where is being that we begin to work, right? 00:31:57.720 --> 00:32:03.720 Well, James says, you know, every creature of the earth can be tamed by man, 00:32:04.280 --> 00:32:07.820 but the tongue cannot be tamed by man. 00:32:08.740 --> 00:32:09.740 So then we just give up. 00:32:11.080 --> 00:32:12.280 Well, I can't tame it. 00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:15.060 I can filter it, but I can't tame it. 00:32:16.260 --> 00:32:20.040 So do we chalk this up as this is just something we've all got to bear through in life? 00:32:20.220 --> 00:32:21.480 This is just how I am. 00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:23.720 This is what it's going to be like to be around me. 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:25.420 Is this is the pursuit that we have? 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:26.620 No, no, no, no, no, no. 00:32:26.840 --> 00:32:29.840 Because see, this isn't a conversation about being better. 00:32:30.020 --> 00:32:31.740 This is a conversation about being holy. 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:33.120 Right? 00:32:33.460 --> 00:32:36.060 And when I pursue better, 00:32:37.820 --> 00:32:39.240 I can chase better. 00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:41.580 You can chase better. 00:32:42.460 --> 00:32:42.800 Why? 00:32:43.600 --> 00:32:46.220 Because the standard of measurement is ourself. 00:32:47.180 --> 00:32:48.300 Where am I at? 00:32:48.420 --> 00:32:51.780 Then I want to get better and I want to get better and I want to get better. 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:57.100 And every single time in the movement of the journey and the pursuit of the journey of better, 00:32:57.240 --> 00:32:58.460 I am the standard. 00:32:58.700 --> 00:33:12.700 But when I move off of better and I pursue holiness and I pursue godliness, I begin to realize that I don't need more of me to get better, but I need more of God to get holy. 00:33:14.140 --> 00:33:19.060 And in that he's the standard and he's the means and he's the power. 00:33:20.020 --> 00:33:22.500 So we see the power of the tongue. 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:25.580 We see the destructive nature of the tongue. 00:33:25.780 --> 00:33:31.180 And I want us to look at the inconsistency of the tongue as we look at this in James 3, 9 through 12. 00:33:32.360 --> 00:33:44.900 With it we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the image and likeness of God. 00:33:45.500 --> 00:33:48.500 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. 00:33:48.500 --> 00:33:52.320 My brothers, these things ought not be so. 00:33:53.100 --> 00:33:58.220 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 00:33:58.760 --> 00:34:03.880 Neither can a fig tree my brothers bear olives or a grapevine produce figs. 00:34:04.100 --> 00:34:07.500 Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. 00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:16.480 So the tongue in all of this shows the inconsistency of what we say we are to who we really are. 00:34:17.740 --> 00:34:26.420 He says, with this you bless the Father, but you curse his people who are made in his image and in his likeness. 00:34:26.640 --> 00:34:28.000 You can't do that. 00:34:29.020 --> 00:34:34.140 You can't praise God and curse one another and say you're good. 00:34:36.200 --> 00:34:39.140 James says, these two truths, they cannot align. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:43.880 I cannot claim love for God yet hate his people. 00:34:44.900 --> 00:34:48.360 He says, can a spring have fresh and salt water? 00:34:48.460 --> 00:34:48.820 No. 00:34:50.200 --> 00:34:53.580 Can a salt pond produce fresh water? 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:54.520 No. 00:34:55.520 --> 00:34:58.160 Can a fig tree produce olives? 00:34:58.420 --> 00:34:58.920 No. 00:34:59.740 --> 00:35:02.240 Can a grapevine produce figs? 00:35:02.620 --> 00:35:03.220 No. 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:10.920 It shows who you really are by what comes from your mouth. 00:35:14.220 --> 00:35:15.140 So what do we do? 00:35:16.900 --> 00:35:18.380 Where do we walk out from here? 00:35:19.600 --> 00:35:30.620 Should we just look at these muscles that reside in our mouth and shake our fist at God for even giving him to us? 00:35:31.980 --> 00:35:32.800 Like, what do we do? 00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:34.440 What do we do? 00:35:35.640 --> 00:35:40.860 I think it's important for us to understand the purpose of the tongue. 00:35:42.100 --> 00:35:47.340 In Psalm 51, it's my favorite psalm in scripture. 00:35:49.100 --> 00:35:54.000 David, who, I get David, right? 00:35:54.400 --> 00:36:04.060 We were talking in my men's group on Thursday at lunch about the guys in the Old Testament and different ones that we identify with and so much of David's struggle in life. 00:36:04.260 --> 00:36:08.600 Like, I get David so often, so I love to read his psalms that he writes. 00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:13.580 But David, after Nathan the prophet, addressed David's sin with Bathsheba. 00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:19.400 David experiences this great amount of brokenness. 00:36:21.560 --> 00:36:33.160 David's brought death and destruction and hurt and pain to some of the closest people to him, to some of the most loyal people to him. 00:36:34.640 --> 00:36:48.160 And in Psalm 51, David begins to write about his interaction with the Lord as David goes through the reality of what he's done. 00:36:49.640 --> 00:36:58.100 And in Psalm 51, in the earlier verses, David asks God to forgive him and to cleanse him. 00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:06.880 David shares his desires to be transformed by God and given a clean heart. 00:37:07.260 --> 00:37:10.200 And then he says this in verse 13 in Psalm 51. 00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:12.080 He says, 00:37:12.080 --> 00:37:20.960 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 00:37:22.240 --> 00:37:28.700 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God. 00:37:29.760 --> 00:37:38.940 O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 00:37:39.940 --> 00:37:49.500 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 00:37:51.500 --> 00:37:53.480 So David paints this picture. 00:37:54.980 --> 00:37:55.640 He says, 00:37:55.760 --> 00:38:05.380 As a person who stood in the overwhelming beauty that is the forgiveness of God, 00:38:05.720 --> 00:38:10.020 who desires transformation, 00:38:10.980 --> 00:38:13.140 who desires cleansing, 00:38:13.500 --> 00:38:16.720 that God in your faithfulness, 00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:19.520 I'm going to do something. 00:38:19.520 --> 00:38:25.260 And it's going to come from my mouth. 00:38:27.140 --> 00:38:29.140 David says that from my mouth, 00:38:29.460 --> 00:38:33.340 I'm going to teach transgressors your way. 00:38:34.280 --> 00:38:36.300 As one who's been saved, 00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:39.540 I'm going to bring the gospel to those who haven't heard. 00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:47.080 That I'm going to see that sinners return to you. 00:38:47.580 --> 00:38:50.100 That out of what you've brought me out of, 00:38:50.240 --> 00:38:55.020 I'm going to share the story of God and his faithfulness. 00:38:56.200 --> 00:38:57.860 And his people will return to him. 00:38:58.980 --> 00:39:02.280 David says that from my mouth, 00:39:02.500 --> 00:39:08.460 my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 00:39:10.200 --> 00:39:16.300 Oh, Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. 00:39:19.520 --> 00:39:21.980 You ever wonder why we gather in here and sing? 00:39:25.880 --> 00:39:27.780 And that all throughout scripture, 00:39:28.280 --> 00:39:30.880 God has his people do that. 00:39:33.300 --> 00:39:34.560 Consistently throughout scripture, 00:39:34.740 --> 00:39:35.620 God doesn't say, 00:39:36.580 --> 00:39:38.080 gather together and build me stuff. 00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:40.700 We see it, 00:39:41.320 --> 00:39:42.500 not consistently. 00:39:43.360 --> 00:39:44.560 We can do it, 00:39:44.960 --> 00:39:46.060 not every time. 00:39:48.240 --> 00:39:50.800 You ever wonder why we gather together and sing 00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:53.520 and don't gather together in here and write? 00:39:54.900 --> 00:39:57.000 We see God call people to write 00:39:57.000 --> 00:39:58.360 and they do it 00:39:58.360 --> 00:39:59.840 and God calls us to write 00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:01.240 and we do it, 00:40:01.340 --> 00:40:03.580 but consistently throughout scripture 00:40:03.580 --> 00:40:05.840 is we sing. 00:40:07.360 --> 00:40:07.840 Why? 00:40:10.080 --> 00:40:11.560 Because God wants to hear it. 00:40:13.420 --> 00:40:14.760 God wants to hear it. 00:40:17.180 --> 00:40:18.360 I love 00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:21.400 when my kids talk to me. 00:40:23.200 --> 00:40:24.380 I love 00:40:24.380 --> 00:40:26.200 when my kids tell me 00:40:26.200 --> 00:40:28.380 how their day's going. 00:40:29.580 --> 00:40:30.100 Good 00:40:30.100 --> 00:40:31.000 and bad. 00:40:32.140 --> 00:40:33.540 I love 00:40:33.540 --> 00:40:35.460 when my kids 00:40:35.460 --> 00:40:36.720 tell me 00:40:36.720 --> 00:40:38.040 they love me. 00:40:39.140 --> 00:40:40.400 I love 00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:41.920 when my kids 00:40:41.920 --> 00:40:42.900 tell me 00:40:42.900 --> 00:40:44.020 thank you. 00:40:45.380 --> 00:40:46.760 I love 00:40:46.760 --> 00:40:48.000 when my kids 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:48.880 tell me 00:40:48.880 --> 00:40:49.680 they're sorry. 00:40:51.000 --> 00:40:51.900 I love 00:40:51.900 --> 00:40:52.780 when my kids 00:40:52.780 --> 00:40:54.600 open up their heart 00:40:54.600 --> 00:40:55.640 and bring me 00:40:55.640 --> 00:40:56.660 into the journey 00:40:56.660 --> 00:40:58.000 that is their life 00:40:58.000 --> 00:40:59.520 so that I'm a part of it. 00:41:02.240 --> 00:41:03.420 And God says, 00:41:04.560 --> 00:41:05.940 so too for us. 00:41:08.200 --> 00:41:09.480 I want to go back 00:41:09.480 --> 00:41:10.780 to what we started off with. 00:41:12.120 --> 00:41:13.160 Your tongue 00:41:13.160 --> 00:41:15.220 and my tongue 00:41:15.220 --> 00:41:17.460 it's like a hammer. 00:41:19.260 --> 00:41:20.660 It can bring life. 00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:23.560 It can bring protection. 00:41:24.680 --> 00:41:26.200 It can bring provision. 00:41:27.480 --> 00:41:28.740 It can bring encouragement. 00:41:30.520 --> 00:41:31.900 It can take sinners 00:41:31.900 --> 00:41:33.220 and point them 00:41:33.220 --> 00:41:34.020 to the holy God. 00:41:35.020 --> 00:41:36.000 It can bring us 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:36.980 into confession 00:41:36.980 --> 00:41:37.800 before him. 00:41:39.200 --> 00:41:40.400 Or our tongue 00:41:40.400 --> 00:41:42.640 can be like a hammer 00:41:42.640 --> 00:41:44.480 and be used 00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:45.900 for destruction. 00:41:47.040 --> 00:41:48.040 For pain. 00:41:48.740 --> 00:41:49.540 For hurt. 00:41:51.540 --> 00:41:52.260 I'm going to close 00:41:52.260 --> 00:41:52.780 with this. 00:41:54.860 --> 00:41:55.780 Are you building 00:41:55.780 --> 00:41:58.660 or are you destroying? 00:42:00.800 --> 00:42:02.160 Because what's in your heart 00:42:02.160 --> 00:42:04.360 is going to come 00:42:04.360 --> 00:42:04.920 from your mouth. 00:42:05.980 --> 00:42:06.880 Would you pray with me? 00:42:10.940 --> 00:42:11.780 God, we come to you 00:42:11.780 --> 00:42:12.600 this morning, Lord. 00:42:13.880 --> 00:42:14.660 In the grace 00:42:14.660 --> 00:42:15.200 and the goodness 00:42:15.200 --> 00:42:16.080 of who you are. 00:42:17.940 --> 00:42:19.040 Lord, we thank you 00:42:19.040 --> 00:42:21.540 that as you took us 00:42:21.540 --> 00:42:22.480 and as you put 00:42:22.480 --> 00:42:23.580 our bodies together 00:42:23.580 --> 00:42:25.280 and as you made us, 00:42:26.860 --> 00:42:28.060 you gave us a tool. 00:42:29.740 --> 00:42:30.980 You gave us a mouth. 00:42:32.280 --> 00:42:33.400 You gave us a tongue. 00:42:34.400 --> 00:42:36.220 Lord, that we could use 00:42:36.220 --> 00:42:39.600 to share life 00:42:39.600 --> 00:42:41.840 and to share hope 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:43.980 and to share truth. 00:42:45.180 --> 00:42:47.060 To use for correction 00:42:47.060 --> 00:42:49.400 and for purpose 00:42:49.400 --> 00:42:50.860 and for meaning. 00:42:53.980 --> 00:42:56.220 To sing praises to you. 00:42:57.120 --> 00:42:59.380 To offer prayers to you. 00:43:00.300 --> 00:43:02.160 To tell others of you. 00:43:03.620 --> 00:43:04.700 Lord, we thank you 00:43:04.700 --> 00:43:05.320 for that. 00:43:06.700 --> 00:43:07.680 We thank you 00:43:07.680 --> 00:43:08.960 that we're able 00:43:08.960 --> 00:43:09.820 to communicate 00:43:09.820 --> 00:43:10.780 with one another. 00:43:12.300 --> 00:43:13.680 We thank you, Lord, 00:43:13.720 --> 00:43:14.140 that we're able 00:43:14.140 --> 00:43:14.680 to talk about 00:43:14.680 --> 00:43:15.180 the hope 00:43:15.180 --> 00:43:16.440 that we have in Christ. 00:43:16.680 --> 00:43:17.680 It's not simply 00:43:17.680 --> 00:43:18.260 a thought 00:43:18.260 --> 00:43:19.660 that resonates in us 00:43:19.660 --> 00:43:20.640 or a feeling 00:43:20.640 --> 00:43:21.640 that we have, 00:43:21.840 --> 00:43:23.360 but we can communicate it. 00:43:24.160 --> 00:43:25.360 We can share it. 00:43:26.300 --> 00:43:27.300 We can praise you 00:43:27.300 --> 00:43:27.840 for it. 00:43:29.980 --> 00:43:30.720 And so, God, 00:43:30.760 --> 00:43:31.580 I thank you. 00:43:32.760 --> 00:43:33.840 But like so many 00:43:33.840 --> 00:43:34.900 other things 00:43:34.900 --> 00:43:36.620 that you've given us 00:43:36.620 --> 00:43:38.380 to all use them 00:43:38.380 --> 00:43:39.660 for your glory 00:43:39.660 --> 00:43:41.680 and for your renown 00:43:41.680 --> 00:43:43.000 and for our good. 00:43:44.420 --> 00:43:46.600 Lord, we've perverted it. 00:43:47.720 --> 00:43:49.460 We've manipulated it. 00:43:50.460 --> 00:43:51.500 We've taken it 00:43:51.500 --> 00:43:52.580 not to be used 00:43:52.580 --> 00:43:53.460 as the instrument 00:43:53.460 --> 00:43:54.600 that you've given us 00:43:54.600 --> 00:43:56.100 as an instrument of life, 00:43:56.220 --> 00:43:57.300 but we've taken it 00:43:57.300 --> 00:43:58.300 and we've used it 00:43:58.300 --> 00:43:59.160 as an instrument 00:43:59.160 --> 00:43:59.820 of death 00:43:59.820 --> 00:44:02.640 when we gossip, 00:44:03.540 --> 00:44:06.380 when we cut others, 00:44:08.380 --> 00:44:10.220 when we slander, 00:44:11.940 --> 00:44:14.580 when we speak ill-willed, 00:44:15.580 --> 00:44:17.520 when we delight 00:44:17.520 --> 00:44:18.560 within the misery 00:44:18.560 --> 00:44:19.400 of others, 00:44:20.240 --> 00:44:23.500 when we speak 00:44:23.500 --> 00:44:23.940 of things 00:44:23.940 --> 00:44:24.720 that we long 00:44:24.720 --> 00:44:25.600 other than you, 00:44:27.180 --> 00:44:28.960 when we abuse, 00:44:30.100 --> 00:44:31.220 when we lie, 00:44:36.580 --> 00:44:37.940 when we turn 00:44:37.940 --> 00:44:40.380 what you gave us 00:44:40.380 --> 00:44:42.600 intended for life, 00:44:43.600 --> 00:44:45.180 we turn it into death. 00:44:47.240 --> 00:44:48.800 Lord, we've all done it. 00:44:51.660 --> 00:44:52.360 Today, Lord, 00:44:52.400 --> 00:44:52.960 I pray 00:44:52.960 --> 00:44:55.120 that we would see 00:44:55.120 --> 00:44:56.600 the error of our ways. 00:44:58.760 --> 00:45:00.480 Lord, that we'd repent of it. 00:45:03.120 --> 00:45:04.940 We'd make the commitment, 00:45:05.280 --> 00:45:05.440 Lord, 00:45:06.240 --> 00:45:08.600 to stop just trying 00:45:08.600 --> 00:45:09.420 to find a filter 00:45:09.420 --> 00:45:10.160 that works 00:45:10.160 --> 00:45:12.460 in the big mouth we have 00:45:12.460 --> 00:45:16.500 and start desiring 00:45:16.500 --> 00:45:19.660 for a pursuit 00:45:19.660 --> 00:45:20.560 of holiness 00:45:20.560 --> 00:45:22.560 that resonates 00:45:22.560 --> 00:45:23.540 in our heart 00:45:23.540 --> 00:45:25.220 and shows 00:45:25.220 --> 00:45:25.980 in our mouth. 00:45:28.800 --> 00:45:29.580 And so, Lord, 00:45:29.660 --> 00:45:30.580 in myself, 00:45:31.460 --> 00:45:32.740 Lord, forgive me 00:45:32.740 --> 00:45:34.900 for every word 00:45:34.900 --> 00:45:35.640 of hurt, 00:45:36.360 --> 00:45:37.100 every word 00:45:37.100 --> 00:45:37.940 of gossip, 00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:39.820 every word 00:45:39.820 --> 00:45:40.840 of violence, 00:45:41.800 --> 00:45:42.640 every word 00:45:42.640 --> 00:45:43.900 of vulgar nature, 00:45:45.200 --> 00:45:45.320 Lord, 00:45:45.380 --> 00:45:46.100 every word 00:45:46.100 --> 00:45:47.100 of destruction, 00:45:49.500 --> 00:45:49.880 Lord, 00:45:49.960 --> 00:45:51.260 and put within me, 00:45:52.100 --> 00:45:53.520 build and grow 00:45:53.520 --> 00:45:54.200 and strengthen 00:45:54.200 --> 00:45:55.080 within me, 00:45:57.140 --> 00:45:57.480 Lord, 00:45:57.520 --> 00:45:58.260 a word of hope, 00:45:59.380 --> 00:46:00.140 word of life, 00:46:01.180 --> 00:46:02.000 word of peace, 00:46:02.360 --> 00:46:03.640 word of purpose, 00:46:04.300 --> 00:46:05.140 word of truth 00:46:05.140 --> 00:46:06.680 that is found 00:46:06.680 --> 00:46:07.340 in you 00:46:07.340 --> 00:46:08.720 and in you alone. 00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:11.060 And that, Lord, 00:46:11.100 --> 00:46:12.180 when we go from here, 00:46:13.060 --> 00:46:13.920 may the songs 00:46:13.920 --> 00:46:14.640 that we sing 00:46:14.640 --> 00:46:15.280 to you 00:46:15.280 --> 00:46:17.060 match the lives 00:46:17.060 --> 00:46:17.800 that we live. 00:46:18.140 --> 00:46:19.080 May our words 00:46:19.080 --> 00:46:20.200 be sweetness 00:46:20.200 --> 00:46:21.900 to those we encounter. 00:46:22.380 --> 00:46:23.320 May our words 00:46:23.320 --> 00:46:25.040 bring them hope. 00:46:25.300 --> 00:46:25.900 May our words 00:46:25.900 --> 00:46:26.880 bring them life. 00:46:27.140 --> 00:46:27.940 May our words 00:46:27.940 --> 00:46:28.820 share with them 00:46:28.820 --> 00:46:30.380 who Christ is 00:46:30.380 --> 00:46:31.360 and what Christ 00:46:31.360 --> 00:46:31.960 has done, 00:46:32.280 --> 00:46:32.740 what you have 00:46:32.740 --> 00:46:33.660 saved us from, 00:46:33.920 --> 00:46:34.400 what you have 00:46:34.400 --> 00:46:35.540 redeemed us from. 00:46:37.380 --> 00:46:38.480 May the testimony, 00:46:38.880 --> 00:46:39.020 Lord, 00:46:39.100 --> 00:46:39.980 of what we've said 00:46:39.980 --> 00:46:40.500 you've done 00:46:40.500 --> 00:46:41.780 match what we say. 00:46:44.200 --> 00:46:45.040 And we'll give you 00:46:45.040 --> 00:46:45.840 all the praise 00:46:45.840 --> 00:46:48.080 and all the honor 00:46:48.080 --> 00:46:50.160 and all the glory. 00:46:51.760 --> 00:46:52.560 And it's in Jesus' name 00:46:52.560 --> 00:46:52.920 we pray. 00:46:53.620 --> 00:46:53.900 Amen. 00:46:53.900 --> 00:46:54.020 Amen. 00:46:56.020 --> 00:47:09.300 Thanks again for listening 00:47:09.300 --> 00:47:10.440 to the Willow Ridge Church 00:47:10.440 --> 00:47:11.220 weekly podcast. 00:47:11.760 --> 00:47:12.760 We hope that you enjoyed 00:47:12.760 --> 00:47:14.040 listening to this week's message. 00:47:14.540 --> 00:47:15.600 If you'd like to learn more 00:47:15.600 --> 00:47:16.440 about who we are 00:47:16.440 --> 00:47:18.040 or explore additional resources, 00:47:18.660 --> 00:47:19.540 visit us online 00:47:19.540 --> 00:47:23.100 at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:47:23.100 --> 00:47:24.320 or by searching 00:47:24.320 --> 00:47:25.320 for Willow Ridge Church 00:47:25.320 --> 00:47:26.660 on Facebook and Instagram.