James 3 : 2-12
For we all offend in many things. If any man
does not offend in word, that person [is] a perfect man, [and] able also to bridle the
whole body.
Observe, we put bits in the horses' mouths, [so] that they can obey us; and we turn around
their whole body.
Observe also the ships, which though [they are] so large, and [are] driven by fierce
winds, yet are they turned about with a very small rudder, wherever the pilot wants.
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Look, how great a matter a
little fire kindles!
And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that
it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by
hell.
For all species of animals, and of birds, and of snakes, and of things in the sea, are
tamed, and have been tamed by mankind:
But the tongue no man can tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless God, the Father; and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness
of God.
Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to
be.
Does a fountain send out from the same spot sweet and bitter [water]?
Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? or a vine, figs? so no fountain [can]
yield both salt water and fresh.
I Corinthians 14 : 4 - He that speaks in an [unknown] tongue builds up
himself.
remember the first time I went to a circus and saw
a man take some fierce lions and make them do an act for the crowd. It was amazing how
someone could take such wild creatures and make them do what he wanted them to. Even the
great big elephants seemed quite happy to obey their master and carry out their act
without arguing about it. These days we see so much of this. Movies are made with animals
in them and sometimes the animals prove to be bigger stars than the people that act with
them. Yet in every case, the animals were trained through a series of processes that made
them do the same thing all the time.
But have you ever seen a human being trained in this way? Is man just a superior animal
that can be trained like any other animal on the earth? No; man has something that the
animals do not have. He has a spirit that causes him to be like God. When God made man in
His image, he made a creature that had His ability to choose for himself what he was going
to do. You can force a human being to do something, but you cannot make him want to do it.
I'm sure you've heard the Sunday School illustration of little Johnny, whose mother told
him to sit down and he didn't want to. So his mother shouted at him and eventually Johnny
sat down, but 'inside' Johnny was still standing up.
Man also has one other thing that animals do not have. He has the power of speech. Yes
animals can make noises and each species has its own unique form of communication, but you
cannot teach an animal to speak English (or any other language for that matter). Birds
like parrots do not speak but only mimic the sounds of the words that we teach them. Only
man can send forth words from his mouth that come from his heart. In fact if you think
about it, where do the words come from that you speak? Next time you think of it, try
checking what happens every time you speak.
Do you choose a series of words in your mind and then speak each word from your mind as
though you were reading it? No, you actually speak a concept or idea that comes to you,
and the words just flow out from deep within you. They come from a source that is deeper
than the mind. In fact they come from your spirit. You see since man is different from an
animal in that he has a spirit, so man also is different in that he can speak words. The
two come from the same source. It is the spirit of man that gives him the ability to speak
words.
Now if you look back to the creation of the earth in Genesis chapter 1 you will see
that two things were involved in creating the world - spirit and words. We are told that
the Spirit of God hovered over the earth, and then God spoke forth words. His first words
were, "Let there be light." And when those words went forth, the Spirit of God
moved upon the earth and caused the creation to take place. Each stage followed the same
pattern. It was a power coming from a spirit (the Spirit of God) and that power was
released in words.
That means that when a person speaks words, they are actually giving out something from
their spirit. No wonder James tells us in our reading for today that no one has ever been
able to tame the tongue. You can train an animal because it only has a body and soul. But
man has something far deeper that cannot be controlled from the outside. It can only be
controlled from the inside. James likens the tongue to the rudder of a ship. If you want
to control a ship, all you need to do is control its rudder. In the same way, if you
wanted to control a person, you would have to somehow be able to control his tongue.
James tells us that the tongue defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of
nature. In other words, the things that we say affect our whole being. They determine the
course of our natural life. Brain surgeons have discovered in medical terms that there is
somehow a link between the speech center of the brain and the entire nervous system of the
body. That means that the nervous center of the body, which is like a cabling network
controlling the whole body, is actually controlled by whatever is going through the speech
center. What you say affects your whole body. And actually it also affects your soul.
So you see what actually happens is that words, which come out of your spirit, when
they are spoken by the mouth, cause something to happen to the body and soul. In other
words, whatever is in your spirit can cause an effect on your body and soul, and this
effect is created by words. Have you ever noticed that when you are continually speaking
negative words, such as "I really don't feel well" you continue to feel bad and
probably start to feel worse? The opposite is also true. What is actually happening is
that you are causing a flow to take place from within that is affecting you outwardly.
Solomon said in Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it [flow]
the sources of life. Your spirit is the source of all life. Take it out of your body and
you are dead. And words help you to release the power that is in your spirit. For the
believer the situation looks slightly different. We have the Holy Spirit living inside us,
and He is able to impart to us His power. Now we can release the power that we receive in
our spirits from Him and we can cause it to flow out and affect our bodies and souls.
But you see although there is a power in the spirit, that power may be used wrongly,
depending on which words we use to release its power. James speaks of the tongue being set
on fire by hell and causing that fire to spread. He is speaking about us being influenced
by Satan and the system that he has set up. We develop the language of the world that
Satan has created. It is a language filled with negatives, curses and destruction. We use
phrases all the time without realizing what we are saying. Here are a few of them.
"I'm afraid I'll just have to stay home today."
"I'm scared to death of going there."
"I nearly died when she told me."
"Boy this heat is a real killer today."
Just check out the language that people speak every day and see if you can identify how
often fear and death are mentioned. We have been trained to speak words that create fear
and death. When these words pass through your speech center they are communicated to your
mind, emotions and will and to your body. Your nervous system is instructed to prepare for
fear and death, and every negative thing that might happen.
How do we change this? By speaking words that build up and are positive. And the best
place to find these is in the Word of God. We have spoken often of the power of speaking
the Word of God. We have been looking at how we cap tap into the power of our spirits and
release that power through speaking words. James even uses the same analogy we have been
considering. He says that speech is like a fountain of water. But he also says that a
fountain cannot pour out good water and bad water at the same time. Either it is pouring
out good clean water, or it is pouring out muddy or contaminated water.
The problem with us sinful human beings, living in a world that is governed by the
enemy of our souls, is that we find ourselves most of the time pouring contaminated water
out of our spring. Instead of the pure life giving power of God flowing forth from out
spirits, we pour forth criticism, profanity and statements of fear and death. If only we
could come to a place where the words that we speak are pure words, uncontaminated by the
enemy or the things of this world. If only we could cause our tongues to come under a
control that would prevent them from speaking such words, and only speak words that bring
life.
We have seen how to do it by speaking the Word of God. And if you take the time to
collect some powerful, positive, life-giving passages of Scripture and speak them out
loud, hundreds of times every day, you will begin to see a change taking place in your
life. Not only will your mind, emotions and will start to operate more efficiently, but
you will even find that your bodily health will start to improve. If you spoke the Word as
often as you spoke the negative language of the world, you would find yourself entering
into a dimension in your spiritual life that you did not know existed.
What makes this even stronger is the fact that the continual repetition of the Word
also causes it to sink down into your inward man, and thus make it easier for you to speak
words that are based on the Scriptures. Remember that a good man brings forth good from
that which has been deposited into his spirit. Matt 12:35
But God has also made available to us a way to make sure that every word we speak is
totally under His control and free from any negative effect or contamination. It is called
'speaking in other tongues.' For those who have not experienced this it might seem silly
and unnecessary, and for many that have experienced it there doesn't really seem to be any
benefit to it. But our second reading tells us that he that speaks in other tongues builds
himself up. God has provided a way for us to use our tongues to bring blessing upon
ourselves. We will consider it in detail in our word for tomorrow.
