Friday, August 23, 2019
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! James 3: 6-10
Finish this
statement with me – Sticks and stones
may break my bones, but….
You and I know
that is not true. Anyone 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.
Jesus said we’d
be His witnesses. We sometimes sing the
hymn, Wonderful Words of Life in
worship: Sweetly echo the gospel call, Wonderful words of life;
Offer pardon and peace to all, Wonderful
words of life;[2]
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.[3]
For You Today
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 to lead others to Christ?
The tongue is
your most powerful muscle. To have it
under control this way is to follow Jesus.
Go to VIDEO
[1]
Title Image: Courtesy of Wikimedia
Commons
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The
New Living Translation©
[3]
From an interview with Selwyn Hughes, author of Everyday Walk with Jesus Growing Churches, Spring 2001, p.12
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