Sunday, July 15, 2018

Power Under Control

Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.  Indeed, we all make many mistakes.  For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.  We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.  And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.  In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.  But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.  And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire.  It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body.  It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.  People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue.  It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.  Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.  And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth.  Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!  Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?  Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs?  No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.  James 3:1-12(NLT)
The power of words…
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.  Proverbs 18:21a(NLT)
Scott Pruitt was the EPA Administrator who resigned last week under increasing pressure from national scrutiny over his actions; in his resignation letter to the president he referenced the power of words:
…the unrelenting attacks on me personally, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a sizable toll on all of us.[2]
The Apostle James called the tongue a raging fire, totally unable to be tamed. 
James tells us the tongue is like the rudder on a big ship, or a bit in the horse’s mouth.  It is a small thing, behind the scenes, yet the most powerful muscle in the body.  It should be used for the highest of purposes!  Here are several ways a Christian ought to govern his or her words:
Use your words to TEACH
George Lucas is Star Wars’ creator.  He was given a lifetime achievement trophy at the Academy Award ceremonies in 1992.  In accepting he said, I've always tried to be aware of what I say in my films because all of us who make motion pictures are teachers, teachers with very loud voices.[3] We are all teachers, and we are teaching all the time. 
Jesus said you shall be my witnesses (Acts 1.8).  When I attended New York Institute of Technology, I had a creative writing teacher who encouraged me greatly.  I turned in a bad essay.  It was a really bad essay, full of big words to impress my teacher.  It was poorly conceived, badly composed, and grammatically a stench in the nostrils of all my English teachers combined.  She handed it back to me without a grade.  What she did say was:  How about choosing a subject about which you know something?  Write it plain, so I’ll understand it.
My teacher wasn’t interested in my vast vocabulary – she wanted to help me grow as a writer.  So, I went back to the drawing board.  I turned in a story about our church youth camping trip.  It was ok – even a bit sappy.  But her words, written in red on that paper are forever an encouragement to me:
Russell – this is more like it!  This is good – you should really do something with your writing – submit it to a publisher.
I don’t know how I ever got the courage to submit anything to a publisher – but the mere fact that I ever did is attributable to a teacher whose name I can’t even remember.  Her words taught me to try.
Use your words to LEAD
As in teaching, leading is always happening too.  Leading, good or bad, is a matter of the example we set by our response to the world around us.  Gossip is one of those responses to our world around us that the world could do without.  We can begin to put an end to that by not showing an interest in gossip.
The moral:  you can abort gossip bound conversations by quickly affirming the person targeted by negative comments.  Want to know what to say when someone starts to tell you gossip:
I don't want to hear it; I don't even believe what they're saying about you.
We have been led with words. 
·      Consider Patrick Henry's resounding:  Give me liberty or give me death.
·      Who can forget JFK's inaugural speech and the words:  Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.
·      I have a dream; Martin Luther King Jr.'s stirring words from the Washington D.C. Plaza mobilized the black community three decades ago, and still ring in our ears.
Words such as those changed the course of history. They challenged our very souls and spirits and as a result our country and we will never be the same.
Words can do the same for people and their perception of themselves. They can be used for good. They can be used to inspire, lift-up, motivate, instruct, and empathize.[4]
Use your words to HEAL
Finish this statement with me – Sticks and stones may break my bones, but….
You and I know that is not true.  There are people in this room right now that can tell you in a moment the hurt they have received in their lifetime – from words either carefully aimed to wound, or words carelessly dropped that stung just as badly.
A child has a fragile makeup emotionally.  Our words or temper out of control for just an instant can deliver a blow that will cause a lifetime of punctured dreams and hopes.  We, with our words, can drive someone down a pathway of doubt and second-guessing.
On the other hand, we can speak words of kindness.  Every wedding I do, I suggest the bride and groom speak the words of kindness from Ruth as they light the unity candle.  It is the only way to start a marriage – committing to kindness.
In an old PEANUTS cartoon, Peppermint Patty phones Charlie Brown and says: "Marcie and I are about to leave for camp, Chuck. We're going to be swimming instructors." Marcie takes the phone and adds: "We just called to say good-bye, Charles. We are going to miss you. We love you."
Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally, asks, "Who was that?" Standing there by the phone with an ear-splitting grin of satisfaction on his face, Charlie Brown answers, "I think it was a right number."  Right numbers heal!
Use your words to SAVE
Jesus said we’d be His witnesses.  We sang the hymn, Wonderful Words of Life.  Were you listening while you sang?
Sweetly echo the gospel call, Wonderful words of life;
Offer pardon and peace to all, Wonderful words of life;[5]
When you go to the doctor, often he will ask you to stick out your tongue to examine it.  He can tell a lot about what’s going on inside you just by looking at your tongue.  The Great Physician can also tell if there is a revival or a riot going on by your words.
Selwyn Hughes is the author of Everyday Walk with Jesus.  In an interview he told about his grandfather. 
In 1904 Wales had a great Holy Spirit revival when a hundred thousand people were converted in six months without any preaching, just God coming down, touching peoples' lives.  The miners underground would suddenly stop working and cry out to God to become converted.  In schools youth and children would have their heads on the desk weeping, and the teacher, often a Christian, would pray with them, leading them to Christ.
Such was the impact of this movement of the Holy Spirit, this awesome flood of God that was going through Wales, that many of the drinking saloons, the public houses closed down…. 
One of the men who was converted in that revival was my grandfather.  He was a miner.  His job was leading the horses that pulled the tubs of coal from the mine.
My grandfather was a blasphemer and had a filthy tongue.  The way he used to train his horses was by swearing at them.  Then he got converted, and for days the horses didn't know what to do because he wouldn't swear at them.  They had to learn a new language.  So even the horses knew there was a revival going on because the change was so dramatic. 
My grandfather then led my mother to Christ.  My mother led my father to Christ.  My father led me to Christ.  So I see myself as a product of that revival.[6]
So, this morning, let’s conduct a tongue checkup. 
n  Are your words teaching valuable character?
n  Are your words leading in positive pathways?
n  Are your words healing?
n  Are your words being used by the Holy Spirit in saving?
If your answers do not satisfy you, here’s how to change:
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8(NLT)
The tongue is your most powerful muscle.  To have it under control this way is to follow Jesus.  May it be so with you.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Let the church say “Amen”!

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[1] Title Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
[2] Scott Pruitt’s full resignation letter to President Trump, Fox News
[3] Quoted by Edwin A. Roberts, Jr., in the Tampa Tribune, April 5, 1992.  Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 8
[4] Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn In a sermon, Sticks And Stones, SermonCentral.com
[5] Words and tune WORDS OF LIFE, Philip P. Bliss, 1874.
[6] From an interview with Selwyn Hughes, author of Everyday Walk with Jesus Growing Churches, Spring 2001, p.12

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