WEBVTT 00:00:01.264 --> 00:00:03.470 Thank you for listening to the Life Church podcast. 00:00:03.470 --> 00:00:05.546 We hope you're encouraged by today's message. 00:00:05.546 --> 00:00:09.848 For more information about Life Church, visit our website, lifechurchwwcom. 00:00:12.500 --> 00:00:16.966 Today I get the great privilege of doing part five in our book of James series. 00:00:16.966 --> 00:00:22.248 We are on chapter three today and this is again if you're new to the series. 00:00:22.248 --> 00:00:23.963 James book is. 00:00:23.963 --> 00:00:35.289 Our tagline is practical faith for practical living, one of the most very practical books in the New Testament and, honestly, it is a book that is in your face. 00:00:35.289 --> 00:00:37.688 James is the half brother of Jesus. 00:00:37.688 --> 00:00:39.426 Same mom, different dad. 00:00:39.426 --> 00:00:50.006 Of course, jesus had the heavenly father as his dad, but this is a topic today that is literally in your face as we talk about the tongue, so you might want to pick up your toes. 00:00:50.006 --> 00:00:54.427 I'm gonna pick mine up because I think the word of God is gonna step on all our toes today. 00:00:55.140 --> 00:01:06.328 How many of you have ever said something and the moment it started to leave your mouth, you thought, oh, I desperately wish I could go through the air and grab those words and bring them back. 00:01:06.328 --> 00:01:08.686 So it's like, oh, is this your grandpa? 00:01:08.686 --> 00:01:09.528 No, he's my husband. 00:01:09.528 --> 00:01:11.643 I was just joking with you, it's just great. 00:01:11.643 --> 00:01:16.843 Or when you say hello, you're so congratulations, he is so cute. 00:01:16.843 --> 00:01:17.968 That baby is so cute. 00:01:17.968 --> 00:01:20.063 He's not a he. 00:01:20.063 --> 00:01:23.432 That's why she has a pink bow on her head. 00:01:23.432 --> 00:01:25.347 You know you keep getting all the gender wrong. 00:01:25.347 --> 00:01:31.727 It makes me think I wish our mouths had the iPhone new ability to bring back a text. 00:01:31.727 --> 00:01:33.585 You know you could unsend a text. 00:01:33.585 --> 00:01:35.465 How many of you wish that you had that with your mouth. 00:01:35.465 --> 00:01:39.088 Right, you're like I wanna unsend what I just said. 00:01:40.242 --> 00:01:46.771 I had the opportunity a few years back to go on a retreat with several other pastors in Montana. 00:01:46.771 --> 00:01:48.323 First time I got a fly fish. 00:01:48.323 --> 00:02:08.831 That was a lot of fun and the pastor who was leading the retreat had, within a few years of that, had turned over his church to his son and his son is now the lead pastor and he is a very, very large church and his son was during Christmas services. 00:02:08.831 --> 00:02:15.909 They have multiple campuses, multiple thousands of people and he's giving the announcement for the upcoming sermon series in January. 00:02:15.909 --> 00:02:21.888 So packed Christmas season, Christmas services and going across to all the campuses. 00:02:21.888 --> 00:02:30.731 And he's giving the announcement about the new series called Shift, with missing one of the letters in the series. 00:02:30.731 --> 00:02:32.746 And there's how many of you know? 00:02:32.746 --> 00:02:33.709 There's no taking it back. 00:02:33.709 --> 00:02:34.300 There's no. 00:02:34.300 --> 00:02:40.367 You wanna unsend the text, you wanna unsend what just came out of your mouth? 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:55.348 Well, james wants us to know that there is one member, one member of our body, the tongue that holds so much potential for good and so much potential for harm. 00:02:55.348 --> 00:03:03.090 And so he spends 12 verses in chapter three teaching us of the importance of mastering the tongue. 00:03:03.090 --> 00:03:08.484 What he teaches us is this if you master this, you master it all. 00:03:08.484 --> 00:03:12.670 If you can master the tongue, you can master it all. 00:03:12.670 --> 00:03:15.544 We're gonna look at James chapter three, first 12 verses. 00:03:15.544 --> 00:03:17.765 Let's stand up for the reading of God's word today. 00:03:17.765 --> 00:03:20.228 James chapter three, verse one through 12. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:30.508 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 00:03:30.508 --> 00:03:33.508 We all stumble in many ways. 00:03:33.508 --> 00:03:35.425 Can someone say amen to that right there? 00:03:35.425 --> 00:03:45.187 Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. 00:03:45.187 --> 00:03:51.748 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 00:03:51.748 --> 00:03:54.066 Or take ships as an example. 00:03:54.066 --> 00:04:03.467 Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:09.627 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. 00:04:09.627 --> 00:04:14.264 Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 00:04:14.264 --> 00:04:21.208 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. 00:04:21.208 --> 00:04:28.187 It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell. 00:04:28.187 --> 00:04:30.264 James, just tell us like it is. 00:04:30.264 --> 00:04:31.584 Come on, quit beating around the bush. 00:04:31.584 --> 00:04:44.952 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. 00:04:44.952 --> 00:04:48.904 It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. 00:04:48.904 --> 00:04:55.480 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God's likeness. 00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:58.423 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. 00:04:58.423 --> 00:05:00.903 My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 00:05:00.903 --> 00:05:07.298 Can both fresh water and salt flow from the same spring, my brothers and sisters? 00:05:07.298 --> 00:05:10.380 Can a fig tree bear olives or a grape vine bear figs? 00:05:10.380 --> 00:05:15.065 Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. 00:05:15.065 --> 00:05:18.543 I wanna talk on this subject taming the tongue. 00:05:18.584 --> 00:05:19.286 Let's pray together. 00:05:19.286 --> 00:05:22.283 Holy Spirit, you're the author of the word of God. 00:05:22.283 --> 00:05:27.723 Thank you for inspiring James to write this in your face, literally scripture. 00:05:27.723 --> 00:05:32.406 Today we ask for you to help my tongue to not be tongue tied. 00:05:32.406 --> 00:05:38.622 We pray that you would help me to communicate this word, just like you want it to be communicated. 00:05:38.622 --> 00:05:52.324 We pray that you will be the interpreter in the room, that you will speak to every one of us in the room and online, how you would want us to hear what you are saying to us, so that our lives will bear fruit for your honor and for your glory. 00:05:52.324 --> 00:05:55.620 We pray this, all in Jesus' name, and everybody shout out amen. 00:05:55.620 --> 00:05:57.278 All right, you may be seated. 00:05:58.095 --> 00:06:00.041 Let me give you a few tongue facts for you this morning. 00:06:00.041 --> 00:06:03.264 The tongue is made up of eight muscles. 00:06:03.264 --> 00:06:06.564 Someone told me today it's the strongest muscle in the body. 00:06:06.564 --> 00:06:08.778 I haven't looked that up yet, not quite sure. 00:06:08.778 --> 00:06:11.661 If that's true, the average tongue is four inches long. 00:06:11.661 --> 00:06:15.543 Don't stick your tongue out at me right now to try to test me out long your tongue is. 00:06:15.543 --> 00:06:29.584 The color of the person's tongue does tell a story, though, and those bumps on your tongue they're not taste buds, but they actually contain and house the taste buds which cannot be seen by the naked eye. 00:06:29.584 --> 00:06:41.920 So there's thousands of taste buds on our tongue anywhere between two and 10,000 taste buds, and some of our taste buds die off every couple of weeks and they are replaced with new ones. 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:45.144 So if things start tasting good again, there you go. 00:06:45.144 --> 00:06:48.144 Some died off and some new ones came along. 00:06:48.144 --> 00:06:58.610 I don't know if you knew this or not, but a blue whale's tongue is the size of an average adult elephant and weighs around 8,000 pounds. 00:06:58.610 --> 00:07:02.663 You don't wanna be licked by a blue whale. 00:07:02.663 --> 00:07:09.029 So those are some natural facts about the tongue. 00:07:09.029 --> 00:07:12.225 But let's talk about some spiritual truths about the tongue. 00:07:12.295 --> 00:07:19.766 The first thought that I believe that James is wanting us to understand is the tongue may be small, but it is extremely powerful. 00:07:19.766 --> 00:07:26.925 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. 00:07:26.925 --> 00:07:29.242 So he gives different illustrations. 00:07:29.242 --> 00:07:38.685 He says that boats are directed, ships are directed by small rudders, horses are directed by bits in their mouth. 00:07:38.685 --> 00:07:43.086 So the tongue is a bridle, it's a rudder and it's a spark. 00:07:43.086 --> 00:07:47.682 He gives these three different analogies of how powerful the tongue is. 00:07:47.682 --> 00:07:58.144 And if you've ever made a mistake and you said something that you shouldn't have at work, your tongue is not the only part of you that gets fired. 00:07:58.144 --> 00:08:03.684 All of you gets fired, right, because it affects all of our life. 00:08:03.684 --> 00:08:09.745 How many of you recognize with me that our tongue can change the atmosphere of a room? 00:08:09.745 --> 00:08:16.161 Our words can literally change the atmosphere of our home or our office or our neighborhood. 00:08:16.795 --> 00:08:20.822 We can say things like this I am so proud that you are my son. 00:08:20.822 --> 00:08:26.596 I remember when my dad had said that to me over and over again. 00:08:26.596 --> 00:08:28.884 But I remember one moment, as I've told you before. 00:08:28.884 --> 00:08:42.700 I was 18 years old and I was standing in the driveway of my parents' home and I remember a conversation that my dad was marking me with his words, telling me that, no matter what I ever did, you would always be my son. 00:08:42.700 --> 00:08:46.202 And he gave examples and he said the worst things that human could do. 00:08:46.202 --> 00:08:51.241 But he said I want you to know that I'll always love you and you are always my son. 00:08:51.241 --> 00:09:05.019 It marked me, it did something in my heart and we can say things like this honey, I know we've been married for 29 years, but I still think it's the smartest decision that I ever made. 00:09:07.335 --> 00:09:11.482 Words can be very beneficial and words can be very detrimental. 00:09:11.482 --> 00:09:20.065 People can say things like I believe in you and I'm so proud of you, or they can say you'll never amount to anything or it's over. 00:09:20.065 --> 00:09:21.961 I want a divorce. 00:09:21.961 --> 00:09:23.658 Words are powerful. 00:09:23.658 --> 00:09:28.985 The tongue is small, but it boasts great things. 00:09:28.985 --> 00:09:46.063 I remember I've told you this story as well when I was 18 years old, I was graduating from high school, and one of the parents of acquaintance of mine I don't know if he was half drunk or not, I'm gonna just say that he was because of what he said to me. 00:09:46.063 --> 00:09:51.604 But he just said, bob, you'll never be a leader, you've never been a leader and you never will be. 00:09:51.604 --> 00:09:58.264 And I remember those words, but I remember them not sticking, I remember them not making. 00:09:58.264 --> 00:10:00.743 It was like someone took a shot but they missed. 00:10:00.743 --> 00:10:01.960 And I'll tell you why. 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:05.119 I'll tell you it's because of all those conversations I had with my dad. 00:10:05.119 --> 00:10:13.640 It was because of all the words that my dad had said to me prior that had built a wall, that had built a wall over my heart, had built a wall over my mind. 00:10:13.640 --> 00:10:28.503 And the power of the tongue I'm here to tell you church is beyond our imagination, and so we wanna be careful that we are a people that use this gift of the tongue with wisdom and with grace. 00:10:28.503 --> 00:10:29.649 Can I hear an amen today? 00:10:29.649 --> 00:10:32.562 Amen, the last illustration that James gives. 00:10:32.855 --> 00:10:35.043 He says it's a destructive force of a fire. 00:10:35.043 --> 00:10:54.264 What a great forest is set on fire by a small spark and we're all watching the news, even this week, as one of the deadliest fire in modern history is sweeping the island of Maui and destroying literally billions of dollars, and so far the count is 93 lives. 00:10:54.264 --> 00:11:00.804 We don't know how this started, but fires usually start with just some sort of a spark. 00:11:00.804 --> 00:11:23.323 One of Colorado's most dangerous fires ever happened because a estranged wife was so angry at her husband that she wrote an angry letter to him and then wrote out all her feelings and then, even though there was a burning ban at the time, she chose to burn it anyway, and in that burned thousands of acres. 00:11:23.323 --> 00:11:30.625 How many lives have been affected because of the spark of one angry sentence? 00:11:31.754 --> 00:11:34.703 James is letting us know that we need God. 00:11:34.703 --> 00:11:53.724 We need God to bring about the change that we know that we all need, and I think that we've seen this maybe more in the last decade than in any other season of my life, where people just find the freedom to say and to type whatever they feel like saying and whatever they want to say at the moment. 00:11:53.724 --> 00:12:08.105 But James is reminding us in today's scripture lesson that we have a power that we need God's help to contain, and when we learn how to tame the tongue, we have learned the secret to taming our entire life. 00:12:08.105 --> 00:12:20.660 And so another truth that I think James is telling us today is that the tongue actually reveals our heart, because he says this can both freshwater and saltwater flow from the same spring? 00:12:20.660 --> 00:12:27.563 What he's saying is is that it's the spring, it's wherever it's, whatever the source is. 00:12:27.563 --> 00:12:31.905 That is determining what is coming out of your mouth. 00:12:31.905 --> 00:12:38.235 So the real problem isn't our tongue, it's our heart. 00:12:38.235 --> 00:12:47.817 The real problem is not the keyboard on our computer, it's our heart, and Jesus said it like this. 00:12:47.929 --> 00:12:51.859 He said you, brood of snakes, how could evil men like you speak? 00:12:51.859 --> 00:12:59.160 What is good and right, for whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 00:12:59.160 --> 00:13:03.498 How many of you are an only child? 00:13:03.498 --> 00:13:05.674 I just want to see how many of you are an only child in the room. 00:13:05.674 --> 00:13:25.291 Okay, you don't understand this illustration, but everyone else in the room does, because everyone who grew up with siblings knows what it's like to have a sibling say Mom, dad, so and so, did so and so and so. 00:13:25.291 --> 00:13:27.437 That's the problem with growing up all by yourself. 00:13:27.437 --> 00:13:29.894 You didn't have anyone to tell on you. 00:13:29.894 --> 00:13:31.956 You needed someone to tell on you. 00:13:31.956 --> 00:13:37.902 But here's why it bothered us when our siblings told on us, because they were telling the truth. 00:13:37.902 --> 00:13:41.198 They were revealing something that we actually did. 00:13:41.198 --> 00:13:42.131 And so we go. 00:13:42.211 --> 00:13:43.837 You are such a tattletale. 00:13:43.837 --> 00:13:46.476 Let me tell you something about our tongues. 00:13:46.476 --> 00:13:48.173 They're tattletales. 00:13:48.173 --> 00:13:51.957 They tell us who you really are. 00:13:51.957 --> 00:13:54.636 They tell us what we've really done. 00:13:54.636 --> 00:13:56.975 Our tongues are tattletales. 00:13:56.975 --> 00:14:00.558 They just say it like it is. 00:14:01.049 --> 00:14:03.097 So today I want to deal with the tongue. 00:14:03.097 --> 00:14:05.057 I think James wants us to deal with the tongue. 00:14:05.057 --> 00:14:09.280 The Holy Spirit wants us to deal with the tongue. 00:14:09.280 --> 00:14:17.255 So let's take the remainder of our time and talk about taming the tongue, the first thought I want us to get. 00:14:17.255 --> 00:14:18.519 I'm going to give you four thoughts today. 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:21.410 I'm going to really focus on my last one Taming the tongue. 00:14:21.451 --> 00:14:30.177 First thought is this listen to yourself, talk, listen to what your tongue is telling on you. 00:14:30.177 --> 00:14:35.514 Listen to the tone, listen to what it, not just the words. 00:14:35.514 --> 00:14:37.118 Listen to the attitude. 00:14:37.118 --> 00:14:45.393 Anybody in the room today I know my toes are already getting stepped on too here's how he said he goes. 00:14:45.393 --> 00:14:49.160 My beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear. 00:14:49.160 --> 00:14:52.798 Let every person be swift to hear. 00:14:52.798 --> 00:14:55.355 Why do we need to be swift to hear and to listen? 00:14:55.355 --> 00:15:01.059 Because you will not confront or change what you are not aware of. 00:15:01.059 --> 00:15:05.860 You will not confront or change what you're not willing to admit. 00:15:05.860 --> 00:15:11.642 So we've got to slow down and listen to what is coming out of our own mouth. 00:15:12.071 --> 00:15:14.357 Well, you say well, I'm just trying to be real. 00:15:14.357 --> 00:15:16.317 I'm just trying to be honest. 00:15:16.317 --> 00:15:18.355 I want someone to talk to. 00:15:18.355 --> 00:15:19.479 I get it. 00:15:19.479 --> 00:15:21.313 I'm glad that you're trying to be real. 00:15:21.313 --> 00:15:29.221 But some of your friends need to be real with you because of all your negativity is not going to change your life. 00:15:29.221 --> 00:15:33.961 All your negativity is not going to get you to where you want to go. 00:15:33.961 --> 00:15:40.057 I know it feels like you're being real and I know it feels like you're just come on, I just got to get this off of my chest. 00:15:40.057 --> 00:15:46.640 But here I'm here to tell you, just rehearsing bitterness and rehearsing anger and rehearsing gossip. 00:15:46.640 --> 00:15:48.376 I'm here to tell you or slander. 00:15:48.376 --> 00:15:54.379 It might feel okay at the moment like you're getting something off your chest, but you're actually not getting it off. 00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:56.717 You're bringing a heavier burden on you. 00:15:57.049 --> 00:16:05.897 So you got to slow down, be swift to hear what's coming out of our own mouth, because I'll never confront and I'll never change what I'm not willing to admit. 00:16:05.897 --> 00:16:08.162 All right. 00:16:08.162 --> 00:16:18.335 So if I'm going to tame the tongue, then I got to get honest with myself about what am I saying Am I full of negativity? 00:16:18.335 --> 00:16:21.557 Am I agreeing with God or am I agreeing with hell? 00:16:21.557 --> 00:16:24.498 Am I agreeing with the world or am I agreeing with heaven? 00:16:24.498 --> 00:16:42.917 And so I think one of the other ways, when I'm being slowed and I'm listening to myself, let me give you some instruction of if you're going to slow down, think before you speak, and let me give you an acronym for think Before I say this is it true? 00:16:43.730 --> 00:16:49.914 Now, for those who are saying well, I would just it is true, they treated me like this, or it's true, it's horrible, or it's true. 00:16:49.914 --> 00:16:52.897 The world's going to hell in a hand basket, or whatever. 00:16:52.897 --> 00:16:55.215 It might be Okay, but let's finish the word. 00:16:55.215 --> 00:16:55.898 Is it helpful? 00:16:55.898 --> 00:16:59.297 Well, it feels like it's helpful to me right now, okay. 00:16:59.297 --> 00:17:00.640 Is it inspiring? 00:17:00.640 --> 00:17:01.933 Well, it is to me. 00:17:01.933 --> 00:17:03.956 Is it to everybody who's listening to you? 00:17:03.956 --> 00:17:07.557 Is it necessary and is it kind? 00:17:07.557 --> 00:17:12.084 If I'm going to slow down, then I got to think and I got to. 00:17:12.084 --> 00:17:21.719 If I'm going to think about what I say, then let's go through this is it true and is it helpful and is it inspiring and is it necessary and is it kind? 00:17:21.719 --> 00:17:24.857 And if not, then maybe I need to change what I'm dwelling on. 00:17:24.857 --> 00:17:35.801 Like Paul wrote to the Philippians brethren whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, things are lovely, things that are of good report. 00:17:35.801 --> 00:17:40.336 Is this a good report If there's anything, any virtue, and if there's anything praiseworthy? 00:17:40.336 --> 00:17:43.262 Meditate on these things. 00:17:43.849 --> 00:17:58.459 I think another thing that James is letting us know if we're going to tame the tongue, that we're going to listen to our self-talk and then we are going to need God's help, we're going to look to God for help and I like what the psalmist says help me, lord. 00:17:58.459 --> 00:18:03.430 Help me, lord, to keep my mouth shut and my lips sealed. 00:18:03.430 --> 00:18:06.278 Hey, come on, somebody needs to give that as a verse to somebody. 00:18:06.278 --> 00:18:08.994 I mean, give it to yourself. 00:18:08.994 --> 00:18:12.234 I'm not even meant to say we just give it to ourselves. 00:18:12.234 --> 00:18:16.000 Help me, lord, to keep my mouth shut and my lips sealed. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:17.713 See this, this is a prayer. 00:18:17.713 --> 00:18:20.161 This is a prayer, god, would you help me? 00:18:20.161 --> 00:18:21.875 I need help with my tongue. 00:18:21.875 --> 00:18:26.114 I don't want to agree with the devil, I don't want to agree with my past, I want to agree with heaven. 00:18:27.070 --> 00:18:31.721 And another prayer really made the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart. 00:18:31.721 --> 00:18:33.953 See, they're connected, the heart and the mouth. 00:18:33.953 --> 00:18:48.534 They're connected, because whatever words are coming out of your mouth or coming from whatever you're meditating on in your heart, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, lord, my rock and my Redeemer. 00:18:48.534 --> 00:18:57.897 So if I'm going to tame the tongue, then I'm going to not just be slow and listen to what's coming out so I can confront it, but when I confront it, I'm going to then say, god, would you help me? 00:18:57.897 --> 00:18:59.996 Because I'm going to come to a realization. 00:18:59.996 --> 00:19:03.460 I obviously have some stuff in my heart that I need uprooted. 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:08.276 I need that negativity out, I need the bitterness out, I need the offense out. 00:19:08.276 --> 00:19:10.478 I don't want it in my heart anymore. 00:19:10.609 --> 00:19:16.875 So what's the next thing I do when I hear myself speak is I go to God in prayer and I say, god, would you help me? 00:19:16.875 --> 00:19:19.455 And I just got good news for you today. 00:19:19.455 --> 00:19:21.236 God loves it when we pray. 00:19:21.236 --> 00:19:28.596 And I'm here to tell you, when you pray scriptures like this and you pray these kind of thoughts, how many of you think God actually wants to answer that prayer? 00:19:28.596 --> 00:19:34.105 This is a type of prayer that I promise you that God is not saying nah, I'm not going to help you. 00:19:34.105 --> 00:19:37.616 He's not doing that he's like I'm going to be right there. 00:19:37.616 --> 00:19:40.739 He's more than willing to answer our prayers. 00:19:40.739 --> 00:19:42.092 All right, so we pray about it. 00:19:43.029 --> 00:19:53.259 Now, if we have some stuff in our heart that is affecting the way that we're speaking and we've prayed, and then God starts uprooting stuff, that's good. 00:19:53.259 --> 00:19:59.597 But stuff's going to get back in if I don't know how to keep stuff out. 00:19:59.597 --> 00:20:08.627 So I gotta listen and then, when I become aware, I gotta repent and pray and say God, help this, come out. 00:20:08.627 --> 00:20:13.851 But then I gotta look out for what I allow in my heart. 00:20:13.851 --> 00:20:24.846 I gotta watch what I allow in my heart, because my heart is affecting my words, it's affecting what I'm saying. 00:20:24.846 --> 00:20:34.172 That's why Proverbs tells us, above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from that. 00:20:34.172 --> 00:20:42.310 So everything I'm saying, my life, how I'm living it, it's flowing from what I allow in my heart. 00:20:42.310 --> 00:20:43.724 How do I allow things in? 00:20:43.724 --> 00:20:47.369 Listen, you have eyes and you have ears. 00:20:47.369 --> 00:20:49.345 I'm gonna call these gates. 00:20:49.345 --> 00:20:55.039 These are gateways that you are literally allowing stuff in. 00:20:55.039 --> 00:21:18.730 Hear this now If you constantly are watching and listening to negative movies and negative music and negative people, those things are making their way into your heart and they are influencing your tongue. 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:26.306 Because whatever I allow in my heart is making its way out and it's tattletailing on me. 00:21:26.306 --> 00:21:29.006 It's tattletailing on me. 00:21:29.006 --> 00:21:35.250 I got a sibling right here, a younger sibling that tells on me without my permission. 00:21:35.250 --> 00:21:39.905 It just does all the time. 00:21:39.905 --> 00:21:44.450 So I gotta guard what I allow in. 00:21:44.450 --> 00:22:02.186 That's why it's so important that I think the majority, if not all, of your music that you listen to needs to be music that glorifies God, because that will get in your heart and it'll start influencing your speech, where you're like, oh, I'm giving God glory while I'm. 00:22:02.186 --> 00:22:05.148 Why am I talking so much better than I used to? 00:22:05.148 --> 00:22:09.527 Because you're listening to stuff that's better than you used to. 00:22:09.527 --> 00:22:11.365 And the movies you're watching. 00:22:11.365 --> 00:22:17.509 You gotta start watching some movies that are uplifting and not full of all kinds of crud. 00:22:17.509 --> 00:22:20.507 Even me, I just did better saying crud right there. 00:22:20.507 --> 00:22:21.028 Did you hear that? 00:22:21.028 --> 00:22:22.423 That was good? 00:22:22.423 --> 00:22:24.008 That was good. 00:22:24.008 --> 00:22:24.982 Thank you, Jesus. 00:22:24.982 --> 00:22:29.266 That's why you pray before you preach. 00:22:29.266 --> 00:22:31.023 That's why you do that. 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.446 But I wanna spend the remainder of my time. 00:22:36.446 --> 00:22:38.045 I wanna talk about this last thought. 00:22:38.045 --> 00:22:43.503 So here we are, we listen, which makes us aware, and that makes us pray. 00:22:43.503 --> 00:22:44.723 We say God, help me. 00:22:44.723 --> 00:22:46.044 And he starts to help us. 00:22:46.044 --> 00:22:49.306 But then we get wisdom and we say, okay, you took the stuff out. 00:22:49.306 --> 00:22:54.567 I don't wanna have to always be letting stuff in, have to be aware, have to repent. 00:22:54.567 --> 00:22:59.944 And then I let stuff in, I become aware, have to repent, and I'm just in this cycle. 00:22:59.944 --> 00:23:13.510 Right, god doesn't want us in that cycle of negativity, so let's fill it, let's fill our hearts with so much good stuff that the bad stuff, the negative stuff, doesn't have any room. 00:23:13.619 --> 00:23:15.048 Anybody in this with me? 00:23:15.048 --> 00:23:16.316 I'm in Sarah's. 00:23:16.316 --> 00:23:16.838 What I want you to do? 00:23:16.838 --> 00:23:20.209 I want you to love life giving words. 00:23:20.209 --> 00:23:24.025 I want you just to love life giving words, and I wanna tell you what those are. 00:23:24.025 --> 00:23:25.285 I wanna show you some examples. 00:23:25.285 --> 00:23:26.442 I wanna start. 00:23:26.442 --> 00:23:36.864 Just maybe my tongue isn't used to life giving words and I'm just gonna start training and taming my tongue to start saying stuff. 00:23:36.864 --> 00:23:38.930 That might not be my personality. 00:23:38.930 --> 00:23:48.628 Some of you, you have a personality that is more this way and you already love life giving words, and some of you have personalities that aren't always that way. 00:23:48.628 --> 00:23:53.785 But all of us, all of us can grow in loving life giving words. 00:23:53.785 --> 00:23:59.548 Let me give you the first one I wanna say A life giving words would be words of affection. 00:23:59.548 --> 00:24:01.244 Words of affection. 00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:04.388 The New Testament is filled with words of affection. 00:24:04.388 --> 00:24:12.147 You see the writers writing like I love you and the bride loving the bride and my prayers are for you. 00:24:12.147 --> 00:24:17.724 You see all this affection going on and in fact it even talks about greet each other with a holy kiss. 00:24:17.724 --> 00:24:19.786 It's like man talk about affection. 00:24:19.786 --> 00:24:22.847 I mean that's great for that culture, that's awesome. 00:24:22.847 --> 00:24:32.603 Um the but words of affection I love you, and brothers, we can, men can do this Like love you brother, I love you bro. 00:24:32.603 --> 00:24:35.227 Now, for some of you that's hard. 00:24:35.227 --> 00:24:38.209 Some of you, you literally can't say it. 00:24:38.209 --> 00:24:42.367 You can't do that and it has it's tied up with so much of your past. 00:24:42.367 --> 00:24:49.944 But what that does is is it makes us again listen to not only what's coming out your mouth, listen to what's not coming out of your mouth. 00:24:49.944 --> 00:25:00.387 And if it can't come out of your mouth, then that's another issue and say, okay, god, will you heal my heart, heal my heart of my past. 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:05.288 Do you know that Jesus talked to God every day? 00:25:05.288 --> 00:25:17.084 Right, he talked to his father every day and we have two recorded conversations in the scriptures, in the gospels, of what the father said to Jesus in his prayer time. 00:25:17.084 --> 00:25:29.285 They say the same thing the two times in the gospels, where it shows us what the father said to Jesus is recorded for us, and he says this look at this. 00:25:29.285 --> 00:25:32.487 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. 00:25:32.487 --> 00:25:48.964 At that moment, heaven was opened and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and a lighting on him, and a voice from heaven said this is my son, whom I love. 00:25:48.964 --> 00:25:51.951 With him, I'm well pleased. 00:25:51.951 --> 00:26:02.124 God the father both accounts that are recorded for us of when he talked to Jesus, which tells me I'm gonna assume something here. 00:26:02.124 --> 00:26:06.952 This is pretty much what God the father said to Jesus every day. 00:26:06.952 --> 00:26:13.946 Oh right, and if he wants to say this to Jesus every day, does he wanna say it to you every day? 00:26:13.946 --> 00:26:18.625 You're my son, you're my daughter, I love you, I'm so proud of you. 00:26:18.625 --> 00:26:19.942 Wake up tomorrow. 00:26:19.942 --> 00:26:24.567 You're my son, you're my daughter, I love you, I'm so proud of you. 00:26:24.567 --> 00:26:26.325 Oh, tomorrow's another day. 00:26:26.325 --> 00:26:27.087 Oh, guess what? 00:26:27.087 --> 00:26:31.565 You're my son, you're my daughter, I love you and I'm so proud of you. 00:26:31.565 --> 00:26:43.391 We can learn a lesson from our heavenly father that he loves life-giving words and he loves words of affection, words of affection. 00:26:43.391 --> 00:26:45.627 What else are life-giving words? 00:26:45.627 --> 00:26:47.567 Words of praise. 00:26:47.567 --> 00:26:54.182 Good job, way to go, the New Testament. 00:26:54.523 --> 00:26:58.826 You follow the writings of the authors and you see them doing things like this. 00:26:58.826 --> 00:27:01.825 Paul writes to the Philippians and I just want you to see this. 00:27:01.825 --> 00:27:02.246 Look at this. 00:27:02.246 --> 00:27:03.181 He goes. 00:27:03.181 --> 00:27:12.548 You know that Timothy has proved himself because, as a son with his father, he served with me in the work of the gospel. 00:27:12.548 --> 00:27:13.230 What is he doing? 00:27:13.230 --> 00:27:17.651 He's praising Timothy publicly. 00:27:17.651 --> 00:27:30.030 Hey, if you're gonna talk about people, talk about people in their presence, with praise, rather than talk about people negatively when they're not present. 00:27:30.030 --> 00:27:35.403 How about we tame our tongue and talk about people when they're present with praise? 00:27:35.403 --> 00:27:38.941 Paul is doing that with Timothy. 00:27:38.941 --> 00:27:39.935 He goes. 00:27:39.935 --> 00:27:41.099 He's proved himself. 00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:42.496 And look at this. 00:27:42.496 --> 00:27:46.137 He talks that way about Epaphroditus, few verses later. 00:27:46.674 --> 00:27:56.105 I think it's necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier. 00:27:56.105 --> 00:27:56.464 Do you see? 00:27:56.464 --> 00:27:57.105 He's praising him. 00:27:57.105 --> 00:27:59.115 He's going. 00:27:59.115 --> 00:27:59.897 This is my brother. 00:27:59.897 --> 00:28:02.377 This guy knows how to work. 00:28:02.377 --> 00:28:06.416 This guy doesn't just know how to work, he's a warrior. 00:28:06.416 --> 00:28:08.663 He's praising him. 00:28:08.663 --> 00:28:19.826 He's praising him in Scripture, words of praise, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 00:28:19.826 --> 00:28:31.862 So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. 00:28:31.862 --> 00:28:36.244 He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me. 00:28:36.244 --> 00:28:36.865 What is he doing? 00:28:36.865 --> 00:28:38.121 Praising publicly. 00:28:38.121 --> 00:28:41.923 He's praising publicly, taming the tongue. 00:28:42.275 --> 00:28:44.641 You've got to love life-giving words. 00:28:44.641 --> 00:28:52.266 Now listen some of you again, this is hard because you've never received them. 00:28:52.266 --> 00:28:57.482 You don't know how to give them because you've never received them. 00:28:57.482 --> 00:29:02.980 The Father wants to talk to you. 00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:08.240 Your heavenly Father wants to talk to you. 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:44.758 If your heavenly Father in your mind is always mad, always disappointed, not proud of you, something in our heart that we've allowed in that has now become a filter for how I hear God, how I hear everybody else, that is not clean Love, life-giving words, words of affection, words of praise, words of encouragement. 00:29:44.758 --> 00:29:46.876 You can do it. 00:29:46.876 --> 00:29:49.538 Don't stop. 00:29:49.538 --> 00:29:50.361 Now. 00:29:52.637 --> 00:29:55.785 There's a guy in the New Testament by the name of Barnabas. 00:29:55.785 --> 00:30:02.184 His name literally means son of encouragement. 00:30:02.184 --> 00:30:05.838 Everybody needs a Barnabas in their life. 00:30:05.838 --> 00:30:12.445 Everybody needs somebody who just has a gift of encouragement. 00:30:12.445 --> 00:30:16.064 Now we can all grow in it and we can all love these kind of words. 00:30:16.064 --> 00:30:27.988 Some people are filled with them and some people have a gift, but all of us can learn to love them and to tame our tongue with words of encouragement. 00:30:27.988 --> 00:30:29.239 And I want to show you what Barnabas did. 00:30:29.259 --> 00:30:36.306 Now, before I read the Scripture, I want to remind you of who the apostle Paul was. 00:30:36.306 --> 00:30:46.484 His name was also Saul, and he was the assassin of Christians. 00:30:46.484 --> 00:30:48.308 He didn't like us. 00:30:48.308 --> 00:30:53.224 He was a religious person and thought all the Christ followers were the enemy. 00:30:53.224 --> 00:31:02.944 And so he would get permission from religious leaders and he would go and drag people from their homes, have them stoned to death, have them killed. 00:31:02.944 --> 00:31:11.847 And then he was born again and became a great apostle writing much of the New Testament. 00:31:11.847 --> 00:31:25.826 But he needed someone in that transition period from being hated by the church and all the church afraid of him to being welcomed by the church. 00:31:25.826 --> 00:31:41.646 How many of you know it'd be a little difficult to welcome Saul into the house of God when every other meeting he's been in he's dragging people out and having them killed. 00:31:41.646 --> 00:31:51.321 You'd be like, yeah, I'd rather if you went to Trinity Baptist first or you know there's a couple churches I'd recommend that. 00:31:51.321 --> 00:31:53.445 I really think fit your theology better. 00:31:53.445 --> 00:31:57.123 Look at what he did. 00:31:57.123 --> 00:31:59.634 Look at this. 00:31:59.634 --> 00:32:04.345 After he's born again, barnabas took him that's Saul and brought him to the apostles. 00:32:04.345 --> 00:32:19.728 He told them how Saul, on his journey, had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him and how, in Damascus, he's already preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 00:32:19.728 --> 00:32:20.939 What is Barnabas doing? 00:32:20.939 --> 00:32:26.521 He's telling Paul in front of everyone else there's something special on this man's life. 00:32:26.521 --> 00:32:28.938 Paul can do this. 00:32:28.938 --> 00:32:34.865 I know that everyone is scared of you, paul, but you've changed and I believe in you. 00:32:34.865 --> 00:32:41.596 And he is encouraging Paul publicly by taking him along with him, saying listen, you don't got to go to church alone, you can go with me. 00:32:41.596 --> 00:32:45.836 What an encourager. 00:32:45.836 --> 00:32:51.163 I don't know where Paul would be if it had not been for someone like Barnabas. 00:32:51.163 --> 00:32:54.303 I don't know if we would have ever heard about Paul. 00:32:54.303 --> 00:33:08.517 I don't know if he would have wrote letters of the New Testament if there wasn't someone who had words of encouragement that believed in him, brought him to the apostles and told them listen, he saw Jesus Right, no, no, no, he did. 00:33:08.517 --> 00:33:15.097 And I've heard him preach and I'm telling you there's something special on the guy's life and you need to believe in him. 00:33:21.154 --> 00:33:23.636 Words of encouragement I know we all sit here going. 00:33:23.636 --> 00:33:25.662 I need all of these in my life. 00:33:25.662 --> 00:33:30.821 Another one words of healing. 00:33:30.821 --> 00:33:32.857 People are hurting. 00:33:32.857 --> 00:33:43.356 We have the privilege to bring words that offer healing rather than continuing the pain and suffering. 00:33:43.356 --> 00:33:49.740 Words of healing are like this You're more than the sum total of your failures. 00:33:49.740 --> 00:33:52.076 You're better than that. 00:33:52.076 --> 00:33:55.615 Proverbs tells us. 00:33:55.615 --> 00:34:01.125 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life. 00:34:03.654 --> 00:34:17.923 Words of affection, words of encouragement, words of healing and words of faith. 00:34:17.923 --> 00:34:37.277 Tell people what they could be, as if they already are, that God saw who we could be rather than just who we were. 00:34:37.277 --> 00:34:40.269 I know who you really are. 00:34:40.269 --> 00:34:46.246 You speak words of faith over people, some of you. 00:34:46.246 --> 00:34:49.753 You need to start and practice this over your own life. 00:34:49.753 --> 00:34:52.909 You need to speak words of faith over yourself. 00:34:52.909 --> 00:34:55.793 Speak words of healing over yourself. 00:34:55.793 --> 00:34:58.731 Speak words of affection Over yourself. 00:34:58.731 --> 00:35:01.971 Say God loves me, even if you don't feel it, just believe it. 00:35:01.971 --> 00:35:02.632 It's quote-scription. 00:35:02.632 --> 00:35:09.436 Start declaring these words of life because you begin to love life-giving words. 00:35:10.644 --> 00:35:13.614 I want to be like Caleb in the Old Testament. 00:35:13.614 --> 00:35:33.405 When everyone else wasn't agreeing with words of life, caleb just quieted all those tongues and he said let's go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it. 00:35:33.405 --> 00:35:40.492 He included everyone else in his words of faith, not just well, I'm going to do it by myself. 00:35:40.492 --> 00:35:42.230 Then it's like no, no, no, we're able. 00:35:42.230 --> 00:35:44.188 He spoke words of faith. 00:35:44.188 --> 00:35:46.590 When other people were speaking Words of unbelief. 00:35:46.590 --> 00:35:48.731 He spoke words of faith. 00:35:49.065 --> 00:35:51.492 So, in one sentence, what are we saying today? 00:35:51.492 --> 00:35:56.054