For
several weeks, I have been sharing with the men verse-by-verse from James chapter 1. I am
indebted to John MacArthur, through one of his online sermons, for encouraging me
to go deeper into the book of James regarding the power of the tongue in relation to anger.
Most of the content for this Rest Stop came from Dr. MacArthur's sermon. However, the content first went into my own heart before I wrote it out into this Rest Stop.
Pray for me and the men as I share the
following truths with them the Monday evenings of October 20 and 27.
THE HEART IS WHERE THE TONGUE IS
Nothing
is more telling on the heart of a man than his tongue. Someone has well said, "Every one of us
is carrying around a concealed weapon."
Living faith is shown in the control of the tongue.
James refers to the tongue in every chapter:
So, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath
(James 1:19).
If
anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle the tongue but
deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless (James 1:26).
So
speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty (James 2:12).
Do not
speak evil of one another, brethren. He
who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and
judges the law. But if you judge the
law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? (James 4:11).
But
above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any
other oath. But let your "Yes" be "Yes,"
and your "No" be "No," lest you fall into judgment. (James 5:12)
Key verse: For
we all stumble in many things. If anyone
does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man,able also to bridle the whole body. (James 3:2)
The first sin after the Fall of Adam and Eve was a sin of the tongue. In Genesis 3:12, Adam slandered God by blaming God for his sin by giving him the women.
The only man who ever lived with a perfect tongue was Jesus. People were in awe of His words: No man ever spoke like this man (John 7:46). 1 Peter 2:22 notes, He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. Because there was no sin in Jesus' life, there was no sin in His mouth.
To the degree you are conformed to the image of Christ is the degree your speech will be godly.
Do you realize that you speak around 18,000 to 25,000 words a day?
THE TONGUE IS WHERE THE HOPE IS
Your tongue is an instant expression of your heart. Your tongue can sin more readily than any other part of your body. You can't get in a position to sin in every way with your body, but you're always in a position to sin with your tongue.
Because the tongue can sin so easily, the man who controls the tongue by God's grace will master evil tendencies throughout his whole body. So if you want to bring your whole life under control, what should you focus on controlling? Your tongue!
If the Holy Spirit controls the most vulnerable part of your body (your tongue), the rest of your body, as a result, will also be under subjection of the Spirit.
A place to start is to depend on the Spirit of Christ to obey the following Scripture:
I will guard my ways that
I may not sin with my tongue. I will
guard my mouth as with a muzzle while the wicked are before me (Psalm 39:1).
CLOSING
Following is a prayer that I will lead the men to pray. May it be your prayer with us, too.
Father,
may each man pray with me right now to ask that You give us the grace
by Your Spirit to control our tongue. Even
those of us who are redeemed, who have a living faith, who are truly
transformed, who have a new heart, a heart that brings forth good things...we find
that there are so many of those old things still there left in our flesh.
Lord,
help us to yield to the Spirit at the point of our tongue so that our speech is
always with grace, seasoned with salt, building up one another.
Forgive us, Lord, for the violations of speech
so frequent. And sanctify our mouths and our whole bodies for Your glory.
In Jesus' name, amen.
