THE TONGUE - MAN’S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON!!

TEXT:  JAMES 3:5-6 (shows Christ as our “pattern” meaning form; example; design; plan; model)

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.  Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue amongst our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

James talks more about the “tongue” than any other writer in the New Testament.

If you can control your mouth, you’re perfect.  “Perfect” in the Greek means mature; healthy!  Remember this song?

• Oh be careful little mouth what you say; Oh be careful little mouth what you say,

For the Father up above, is looking down in love,

Oh be careful little mouth what you say.

• Oh be careful little tongue what you say; Oh be careful little tongue what you say,

For the Father up above, is looking down in love

Oh be careful little tongue what you say.

This is a childhood lyric.  It sounds innocent enough but holds a wealth of truth!

James, the half-brother of Jesus, is the writer of this epistle.  He is talking about the “tongues” of believers.  

These Jewish Christians have been scattered throughout Rome and faced with persecutions with trials and testing; problems in their assemblies.  A lot of verbal attacks were directed toward the teachers in the church.  They were venting their feelings and thoughts, gossiping, complaining, and being critical.  James is issuing a call to the church to watch over the words they speak because they set in motion great events, shape history, alter relationships, and they build or destroy.  He issues a call to the church to gain control over their tongues before they are destroyed by them.

Much like today, there’s a lot of loose talk in the nation, on the job, in the homes, on the streets, among our world leaders.  The politicians today are a direct example of an uncontrolled tongue, slandering each other.  They have a lot of talk for the people and saying nothing!   A lot of the words that come from their mouth often end up damaging their reputation.

How many of you have a weapon in your possession today?  When you talk of weapons, what readily comes to mind is a gun.  A gun is nothing that you would normally carry on a day to day basis.  Why?  Because we all know that a gun is considered a dangerous and deadly weapon.  It can cause severe and permanent damage.  In today’s society, to carry a gun requires obtaining a license from the licensing authority in the city or county of residence of the applicant, or in the case of a business owner, the business location.

There are many other dangerous weapons I could talk about, but specifically the Atomic Bomb is considered to be the world’s most dangerous weapon.

Can you imagine a weapon so powerful that it would make the Atomic Bomb look like a toy?  Contrary to popular belief, there is a weapon more powerful than any other weapon known to man.  It has been in existence since the creation of mankind.  There’s no weapon that exists now, or will exist, that will have the deadly potential of this ancient weapon!

Unlike a gun, individuals don’t have to meet any special requirements to possess it.  They don’t have to obtain a license from the licensing authority in the city or county they reside in to be in possession of it.  In fact, all individuals have access to this weapon, and there are few laws against possession or use of this weapon.

It’s available to the poorest as well as the richest nations.  It’s concealed like a sniper, quick as a bullet, and more deadly than a gun.

It is not made of steel or iron, yet it’s sharper than the keenest blade, and it is not manufactured by the hands of men.  Yet it is common everywhere, and this deadly weapon is possessed by young and old.  

When its deadly poison is released and fired, it causes far more damage than any arrow or bullet ever could.  Many times it’s used with such disregard by the owner that if a license was required to possess it, most people would not be allowed to have one.  It has the potential to bring anguish into the life of every human being on the planet without necessarily destroying them physically, but it can cause scars that may never heal properly.

This weapon is that three inch flamed-shaped organ that lives in a pool of saliva behind an ivory cage of teeth known as the “tongue”.

Today, I want to explore biblical principles regarding the “tongue”.  I’m certain it will become clear that the old cliché, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”, couldn’t be farther from the truth!

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE “TONGUE”?

• It allows us the ability to taste.
• It aids in moving food for chewing and swallowing.
• There are muscles in the back of the tongue that help to make certain sounds and aid to form words.

Words are not simply sounds caused by air passing through our larynx.  Words have power!!!

In Genesis God spoke the world into being by the power of His own Words!

• Hebrews 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.  And we are in His image and His likeness, and He has given us His power.  Luke 10:19  I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.

We need to be aware of how we use our words because this is our means of communicating with friends and family.  We use words to conduct business.  Politicians use words to convince us that they are the best candidate for the job.

Words are a huge part of every aspect of our life.  They do more than convey information.  Words are powerful and creative.  Words have power to destroy or build up.  Proverbs 12:6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood:  but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

Words were one of the first tools used against God in the beginning.  In Isaiah 14:13-14, Lucifer (Satan) said, I will ascend into the heavens; I will exalt my throne above the stars;  “I”, “I”, “I”!!  He only deceived himself!  

Somebody might ask, “HOW CAN WORDS IMPACT YOUR LIFE”?

• Determine your destiny

James says, the tongue is little but don’t let the size fool you.  The rudder of a ship controls where it goes.  A small bit in the mouth of a horse will control his direction.

Where are you headed in life?  Where do you see yourself in the year 2016 or five years from now?  I only have to listen to what you are saying, and I can tell where you are going.  Are you speaking from God’s wisdom or the wisdom of the world?  What words are coming out of your mouth?  Is it bitterness or envy?  Are you a peacemaker or peacebreaker?  We shape our words, and then our words shape us!  An uncontrolled, untamed tongue will change your life’s course!

Numbers 13:  (illustration):  Moses had brought the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage and was headed for Canaan, the land of milk and honey.  God had promised them that land.  God is a “promise-keeping God”.  When God gives you a promise, can you believe and receive it?  Or are you going to say, “Yea, it looks good and it sounds good, but……..”?  Or can you position yourself to receive your promised inheritance?

Moses sends out twelve leaders from each tribe as instructed by God to spy out the land.  Numbers 13:26-28 tells us that they returned after forty days with a report.  They went to the land where Moses had sent them.  It truly flowed with milk and honey and brought back fruit.  They reported that the people who dwelled there were strong, and their cities were large.  Vs 30  Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.  The other ten reported: We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

The negative destiny of the Israelites was a direct result of their complaints and grumbling.  God did just what He said.  The ten that came with the bad report that caused the people to grumble were struck down with and died of a plague, but Caleb and Joshua and those that were twenty years and under made it to the promise land.

Proverbs 18:21  Death and life is in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

God listens to the things/words we say about our life and the curses/blessings we speak over other peoples’ lives.

The words the twelve spies spoke and the words the Israelites agreed with determined their future!

What words are you speaking, and what words are you coming into agreement with?

HOW CAN WORDS IMPACT YOU?

• Reveal who you are?

This means it discloses, brings to light, makes known what’s going on inside of you, despite your status in society, your position in the church, the car you drive, the classy neighborhood, and fancy house you live in.  That “tongue” will reveal who you are physically and spiritually.

It doesn’t act alone!  Its action is driven by an accomplice called “the heart”!  Not that heart that pumps the blood through your body, but the very “core of you”!  It’s the seat of man’s emotions. Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:  who can know it?

It’s like the hard-drive of a computer that contains all the information needed for operation.  The keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, accessories operate based on what’s inside the hard-drive.  

If you’re suspected of a crime and own a computer, the police will take hold of your hard-drive, not the accessories.  That’s the way it is with the “tongue”-“heart” team!  Luke 6:45  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil:  for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

James 3:7-8  For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things of the sea is tamed , and hath been tamed of mankind:  but the tongue can no man tame:  it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  

Jesus Christ gave a stern warning regarding the unseemly language that sometimes proceeds from a person’s mouth.  He addressed it in the Ten Commandments - taking the name of God in vain and bearing false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:7, 16).  Also in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned against the abuse of the tongue in “swearing falsely”.  (Matthew 5:33-37).

The way one talks reveals their real or true character.

SCRIPTURE DESCRIBES DIFFERENT KINDS OF “TONGUES”:

• Lying tongue:  Proverbs 25:18  A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

So a “lying tongue” is a misuse of a deadly weapon.  It can harm people near you (maul); a few feet away (sword); or a great distance (arrow).

John 8:44  For he is a liar, and the father of it.  Proverbs 6:17  God said he hates a lying tongue!

Revelation 21:8  All liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire.

• Devouring tongue (backbiters):

This “tongue” lashes you when you’re not present yet won’t face you with their charge against you when you’re present.  This “tongue” would rather stir up trouble verses solving the problem.  They will stick their teeth in and bite into the back of another person.  That’s how wild animals attack and feed off others.  Some folk are like piranhas - they devour all flesh in sight!

A woman went to her Doctor for an exam.  Feeling terrible, the Doctor had a very serious look on his face and said, “Madam, I hate to tell you, but you have rabies”.  The woman took out her note pad and began to make a list.  The Doctor said, “What are you doing, making a will”?  The woman said, “No, I’m making a list of the people I’m going to bite”!

If you don’t tame that “tongue”, it will devour you and those around you!

• Double tongue:  1 Timothy 3:8  Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued.

Paul was telling the deacons not to become this way.  This kind of person will say anything to get you off their back, and then say quite another to someone else.  Their word is not their bond.  Proverbs 8:8  All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.

• Critical tongue:

Constructive criticism is valuable and wise to use.  Sometimes, it’s difficult to distinguish between constructive criticism and plain old meanness.  Proverbs 17:10  A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.  A wise person can learn a valuable lesson from his critics if he will.  On the other hand, there are those who have or will turn criticism into a recreational sport.  Their action is like piranhas as well.

James 3:9 tells us, Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.  Vs 10  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not so to be.  Vs 11  Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?   Vs 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs?

Point:  Whatever is in the well comes out in the water!  Whatever is in the tree comes out in the fruit!  With us, whatever is in the heart will come out through your mouth!

In the gospels when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the same mouths that cried, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”, were those same mouths that later cried “crucify Him” when Jesus was arrested!

Many times, in Sunday morning service, we can lift our voice and sing high praise to God, and before you leave the church grounds, you’re arguing over where to go and eat lunch.

It’s amazing how quickly your attitude can change.  One minute you’re happy, and the next minute you’re roaring like a lion, yelling shut up, and putting people down!  That “tongue” can be strange, inconsistent, and contradicting.  It’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!  It can be loving and kind to the ones you love one minute and the next moment harsh and cold and won’t speak to anyone.

James says we all stumble in many things, but the most prominent area is in our speech.  What’s the problem?  Matthew 12:34  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  We can’t blame it on the “slip of the tongue”.  

WE NEED A SELF EXAMINATION:

• If you have a “harsh tongue”, you have an “angry heart”!
• If you have a “negative tongue”, you have a “fearful heart”!
• If you have an “overactive tongue”, you have an “unsettled heart”!
• If you have a “boastful heart”, you have an “insecure heart”!
• If you have a “filthy tongue”, you have an “impure heart”!
• If you have a “critical tongue”, you have a “bitter heart”!

If your tongue is revealing these problems, it’s much more serious than you think.  You’re suffering from a severe “heart condition”!  You need “emergency care”!  These are life threatening conditions.  Ezekiel 18:31  Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit:  for why will ye die, O house of Israel?  Rid yourself of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit.  The only treatment of choice is a “heart transplant”!

James 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity:  so is the tongue among our members, that It defileth the whole body, and set on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell”.

Considering the source of “hell fire”, which is Satan, the prognosis is “good”!  Isaiah 6:6-7, “the tongue” can be touched with the live coal from the altar of God to purify it!  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:  and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.  Who or what is setting your tongue on fire?

Let’s not make excuses for our wayward speech.  Let’s not be like the scribes or Pharisees operating from a stony heart.  Allow the fire of God to touch your mouth, your tongue and heart to purify your words.

Jesus said, Matthew 12:36-37  Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

We need to make sure that in our communications with each other, we are holding to what scripture has instructed us.  No greater damage can be done to a person than when we fail to heed what God’s word has told us.

A heart hurt by harmful words needs care.  Indeed we would do best never to cause that harm to begin with.

Meditate and strive – Ephesians 4:29  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

~ Evangelist Brenda Hansley