Inside Beauty Inspires

Guard Your Tongue

• Stephanie Harrison • Season 3 • Episode 94

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What if your next sentence redirects your future? We dive into James 3 with open hearts and honest talk about how words shape homes, teams, ministries, and the quiet places inside us. Instead of treating language like background noise, we trace its power through three unforgettable images: the bit that guides a strong horse, the rudder that turns a massive ship, and the spark that can raze a forest. From there, we get real about leadership—why teachers are judged more strictly, how influence multiplies impact, and what it means to steward a platform with clean motives and a steady tone.

We unpack why the tongue is less a problem to fix and more a reporter of the heart. Behavior tweaks can’t heal bitterness, pride, or insecurity, but surrender and Scripture can. Double speech gets exposed—praising God while tearing down people made in His image pollutes both the soul and the space. We contrast two wisdoms with two fruits: the noisy pull of selfish ambition and envy that breeds chaos, and the quiet strength of wisdom from above—pure, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, impartial, and sincere. This isn’t softness; it’s disciplined grace that holds under pressure.

You’ll leave with a harvest mindset for speech: words are seeds, and outcomes are crops. Encourage and you’ll reap loyalty; sow peace and you’ll find stability; deliver truth in love and you’ll see growth. If harshness, pride, or constant critique are showing up in your relationships, it’s time to change the seed. We share practical steps to pause before reacting, invite the Holy Spirit to search the source, and repair quickly when you miss it. Maturity has a sound—calm, consistent, and anchored in wisdom from above—and you can choose it today.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who leads, and leave a rating with one takeaway you’re putting into practice this week.

SPEAKER_00:

Hello, hello, hello. It is your girl, Stephanie L. Harrison, and you're now listening in to Inside Beauty Inspires. Now, where we motivate, encourage, and inspire through the Word of God. Now, today we are stepping into James chapter 3. And I need to say this at the beginning. This is not a comfortable chapter at all. This is a correcting chapter, and this is a maturing chapter as well, because James 3 confronts leadership, speech, motives, wisdom, and spiritual authenticity. And for those of us called to lead, whether in home, business, ministry, or marketplace, this chapter is a non-negotiable. This chapter is a non-negotiable. So we're going to get into this word, but before we get into this word, let us pray, Heavenly Father, Lord, we invite you into the space. We thank you for waking us up and starting us on our day. Heavenly Father, as we go through this word, we invite your correction. We invite your cleansing. We invite your wisdom from above. We ask that you continue to search our hearts and govern our tongues. Speak, your daughters and sons are listening. It is in Jesus' name that I ask all of these things. Amen. Amen. In Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so let's get into James chapter 3. Now, of course, I'm going to start at verse 1. Read all the way from verse 1 to through verse 12. And this is in the NLT. Now, 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 will be perfect and 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. Any 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 small, it's 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. And sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessings and curses 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 grapevine produce figs? No, you can't draw fresh water from a salty spring. Let's talk about it. Let's see what the commentary says about this word. So it says here In absence of good works, there is often an abundance of worthless words. So James addresses the necessity of controlling our tongues. This is practical. Down to earth Christianity. He begins with the teachers in the church. Not many should become teachers. Teachers influence the thinking of others and have the power to lead them astray. Therefore, teachers will receive a stricter judgment. Heaven notices what you say. We all stumble in many ways. None of us are perfect, but the one who controls his tongue is mature. The tongue is a crucial and often deadly part of the body. It's like a master switch. Take command of it, or you have the potential for bringing your spiritual life under control. And you have the potential for bringing your spiritual life under control. Now James delivers two insights, insightful illustrations. When you direct the bits in the mouth of large horses, you control their movement. Similarly, steering a small rudder will direct the course of a large ship. As the bit is to the horse, and as the rudder is to the ship, so is the mouth to the saint. The tongue is small, but it can do great damage. Some spouses have hurled insults that their mates have never forgotten, and some individuals started gossip fires years ago, and the flames are still burning. A mouth can set a whole course of life on fire. It can destroy self-esteem, devastate relationships, ruin a career, and kill a ministry. And as surely as tiny as a tiny match can set a forest ablaze, the mouth causes harm that is out of proportion to its size. Mankind has tamed every kind of animal. We have seals that clap, dolphins that talk, birds that flip, dogs that jump through hoops. We can do with the beast what we can't do to the human mouth, and no one can tame the tongue. The only successful tongue tamer is God. Remember whatever is inside will come out. This is why you need to be filled with scripture and the Holy Spirit. James isn't writing to the world, he's extorting believers, brothers, and sisters. He says the tongue is polluted. Our air and water become polluted when they include contaminants. It doesn't matter if a poisonous contaminant compromises only a small percentage of the whole. If you breathe polluted air or drink polluted water, you can become seriously ill or die. The mixture is deadly. With our tongues, we can bless our Lord and also curse people who are made in the image of God. Blessings and curses come out of the same mouth. And when this happens, our mouth have been become polluted. After singing hallelujahs, some families start tearing each other down before they even departed the church parking lot. But to verbally attack another human being is to attack God because people are made in his likeness. A fig tree can't produce olives, and a salt water spring can't produce fresh water because production is based on what's inside. Therefore, if criticizing, gossiping, and swearing come out of your mouth, the content of your heart needs to be addressed. So you can so you won't so if you want to change the course of your life, you need to ask God to help you steer that little rudder called your tongue. Let's talk about verses 1 through 12. Now, the weight of teaching, because James comes straight out and says, not many of you should become teachers. He starts with accountability. Now you might ask yourself why? Because your words matter. Words shape destinies. Words shape destinies. And James is reminding leaders the higher the platform, the heavier the responsibility. Teaching is not about spotlight, it's about stewardship. And when you speak publicly, heaven listens carefully. Your influence multiplies impact, both good and harmful. Your influence multiplies impact, both good and harmful. This is why God matures leaders privately before he exposes them publicly. Think about David. Think about Jesus. David wore a crown before he but before before David wore a crown, he tended to sheep. And before Jesus preached publicly, he was hidden 30 years. James is saying, If you're going to speak, make sure your life backs it up. Make sure your life backs it up. Now he gives us three illustrations the bit in the horse's mouth and the rudder on a ship and the spark that starts a fire. Let's start right here with the bit in a horse's mouth. Now the horse is strong, but the bit directs it. Your tongue directs your strength. You can be gifted, talented, anointed, but if your speech is undisciplined, your strength becomes destructive. Your strength becomes destructive. Now, the rudder on a ship, the ship is massive, but the rudder is steers. But the s but the rudder is small. Your life is the ship and your mouth is the rudder. Where are your words steering you? Where are your words steering you? Are you constantly declaring I'm tired? Oh, I'm so overwhelmed. I'm not enough. They always do this. Oh, I'll never do that. You're steering your future with your speech, and life and death are in the power of the tongue, not meraphorically, but spiritually. Then we have the spark that starts a fire. Now James says a small spark can burn a forest. Words escalate quickly. A comment becomes an argument. An argument becomes division, and division becomes destruction. One sarcastic remark can wound a child for years, and one careless sentence can destabilize a marriage. Your mouth is not as small, your mouth is not small in impact. Your mouth is not small in impact. No, the tongue does something to the heart. Yeah, did you know that your tongue was connected to your heart? Yeah, it is. Think about it. James calls the tongue a fire, a world of evil set on fire by hell. Now that sounds intense, but here's the truth. The tongue reveals what the heart hots. The tongue reveals what the heart hots. Jesus said, Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. You don't accidentally say things. Pressure reveals what was stored. Pressure reveals what was stored. If bitterness comes out, bitterness was in. If pride comes out, pride was in. And if faith comes out, faith was stored. James says, no human can tame the tongue. Not one. You tell me a human being that can tame the tongue. And then I'll say, show me that you're showing me somebody that has the spirit of God because that is a part of the fruit of the spirit. Self-control. Now, the reason why James says no human can tame the tongue is because behavioral modification cannot fix a wounded heart. Behavioral modification cannot fix a wounded heart. You need better self-control. You need deeper healing. Now some of you are asking God to fix your speech, but he is trying to heal your insecurities because insecure people speak defensively. Insecure people speak defensively. Now, we see something here in verses 9 through 12. With the same mouth we praise God, curse people made in his image. With the same mouth we praise God and curse people made in his image. And James says this should not be. You cannot worship passionately and gossip casually. You cannot worship passionately and gossip casually. You cannot pray in tongues and criticize leadership. You cannot build a ministry and tear down people. Does a spring produce fresh and salt water? No. The source determines the stream. If criticism constantly flows from you, it's not a speech problem. It's a source problem. It's not a speech problem. It's a source problem. And you have to ask yourself a question. What well am I drinking from? What well am I drinking from? Hurt? Comparison? Competition? Or pride? Because whatever feeds you flows through you. Whatever feeds you flows through you. Now I want us to really think about what verses uh 1 through 12 is actually saying, okay? Again, we all speak. We all have gotten upset. We're not perfect. Nobody is. But there's something about that tongue when there's no self-control, right? Your life is moving in the direction of your speech. And if you're not um cautious uh about your words, or if you don't think before you speak, you can ruin someone's life just by what you say. Now, James, he has a point. When he says not meaning people you should be teachers, okay? I totally agree. He's not saying don't lead. He's saying don't lead lightly. Why? Because leadership is not visibility, leadership is responsibility and family. We were in a generation where influence is casual. Everyone has a platform, everyone has an opinion, everyone has a take. But James says teachers will be judged more strictly because words shape souls for real. We all stumble in many ways. Think about it. Even leaders stumble, even mature leaders and believers stumble. But here's the key maturity. Maturity. This chapter is not about silencing you, it's about maturing you because you can love God deeply and still wound people with your tone. Let that set in. You can love God deeply and still wound people with your tone. Now, James gives us the three images: the horse, the ship, and the spark. Now, I think it's so interesting when we start reading the word because you're able to see it come alive in your life. Now, a bit is a tiny peat, a tiny piece of metal that controls a thousand-pound animal. Your tongue may be small, but it's steering your life. The mass of ships, strong winds, a massive ship, strong winds, but direction comes from something small underneath. You may think your circumstances are steering you, but they're not. Your speeches. Now, you have to ask yourself a couple of questions. And this is just self-evaluation. Um, Paul says in in one of those chapters, he says, I think it's in Romans, um, don't think of yourself, don't think more highly of yourself than you should. No, I think it's in James, actually. But he speaks that because he wants you to give yourself a true evaluation of yourself, okay? Are you speaking fear or faith? Are you speaking comparison or contentment? Are you speaking scarcity or trust? Because your words are aligning your direction. Your words are aligning your direction. A small spark can burn a whole forest. That's what the word tells us. So think about what one sentence can do. Damage a marriage, divide a church, break a child's confidence. All of these things start with the word. The Bible tells us there's life and death in the power of our tongue. So what we see is that your words can warm a home or it can burn it down. The same mouth that encourages can also destroy. So the question is not, do you have influence? The question is what kind of fire are you carrying? Now, James says something strong. No human being can tame the tongue. That means willpower is not enough. Self-discipline is not enough. Therapy alone is not enough because the tongue is not the root. It's the reporter. It's the reporter. It reports what's inside. A lot of people don't understand that. That is a heart issue. They don't understand that God is looking at your heart. Okay, it reports what's on the inside. Think about it this way: if bitterness is inside of you, guess what you're going to see? Insecurity, same thing. And definitely pride. You don't fix your tongue, you surrender your heart. Because when your heart is healed, the mouth truly does fall off. Now, blessings and curses. Blessings and cursing. James confronts hypo hypocrisy gently but directly. Gently but directly. With the tongue we praise our Lord, and with it we curse people. We cannot worship at 6 a.m. and wound people at 6 PM. Family, we can't do that, okay? We cannot post scriptures and privately speak venom. He uses nature to explain this. A spring does not produce fresh and salt water. A fig tree does not produce olives. Nature is consistent. Nature is consistent. Why are we inconsistent? Why are we inconsistent? If our speech changes based on our environment, then our identity isn't rooted. It's reactive. Now that's maturity when your tone doesn't shift because pressure increased, when your gentleness doesn't disappear because you're tired, or when your kindness isn't conditional, that is spiritual formation. That is spiritual formation. Let's keep going here though. Verses 13 through 18. If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For whatever for wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace, loving, gentle, at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism, and it always is sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. Now let's look at the commentary and see what it says about this. When it comes to negotiating the twists and turns of this highway called life, wisdom gives us the ability to press the brake, flip the turn signal, and turn the steering wheel, engage the accelerator, and navigate through heavy traffic. Wisdom is the application of heavy, of heavenly knowledge to earthly living. Wisdom is the application of heavenly knowledge to earthly living. Everybody needs wisdom. And you can ask your father who gives generously. Wisdom, not the world's wisdom, but God's wisdom. Now James asked the readers, who among you is wise and has understanding? Notice what he does not answer. Notice that he does not answer. He doesn't say that it's the one who has read widely attained advanced degrees and can wax at a can can do all these extra things about any subject. Rather, the wise person shows that his works are done in gentleness that comes from wisdom. In other words, wise deeds are the proof of a wise life. Wise deeds are the proof of a wise life. Few believers need a change in their circumstances half as much as they need a change, need wisdom to manage their circumstances. For instance, a believer or Christian man doesn't need a new spouse. He needs God's wisdom to love and live with the spouse he has. Now, the hearts of some people are characterized by bitter envy and selfish ambition. Such attitudes may enable them to go, such attitudes may enable them to go places in life, but this kind of wisdom does not come down from above. It's demonic and it comes straight from hell. Remember, mere human wisdom is an expression of Satan's agenda. Mere human wisdom is an expression of Satan's agenda. To convey heavenly wisdom, you must communicate with heaven. And how do you do that? Seek God. Seek God. Matthew 6 33 says, seek first the kingdom of God. Now, human wisdom is rooted in selfish ambition, and its fruit is bitter envy. Human wisdom is rooted in selfish ambition, and its fruit is bitter envy. Contrast that with the root and fruit of heavenly wisdom, true wisdom comes from above. The Lord is its source. What does it look like? It's pure and peace loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy, good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. Whereas human wisdom tears others down, godly wisdom builds others up. It's authentic and leads to peace rather than strife. Do you want to bear the fruit of righteousness? Then you must sow and cultivate peace. You must sow and cultivate peace. Now, two kinds of wisdoms. Two kinds of wisdom. Let's talk about this for a moment. James shift, James shifts, who is wise. He doesn't say wisdom is loud. He doesn't say wisdom is aggressive. He says wisdom is shown by good conduct and humility. And then he exposes counterfeit wisdom. Now, this is something that we may all have encountered: bitter envy, selfish ambition, disorder, evil, every evil practice. And he says something bold. That wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. Now I'm gonna say that again. He says something bold. Wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. Okay. Earthly wisdom, not heavenly wisdom. This is earthly. Wisdom. This is worldly wisdom. Now, not all confidence is anointing, and not all boldness is spirit-led, and not all passion is purity. If it produces comparison, competition, or chaos, it is not from above. If it produces comparison, competition, or chaos, and chaos, it is not from above. Family, sometimes what we call strong personality is just an unhealed ego. Y'all know how we do. Oh, they just got a strong personality. No, they just have an unhealed ego. And James says, envy and ambition create disorder. Envy and ambition create disorder. Look around our culture. Outrage is rewarded. Gentleness is overlooked, and humility is mistaken for weakness. But heaven's wisdom looks different. But heaven's wisdom looks different. Now, wisdom from above, first of all, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's pure, is peace loving, is considerate, submissive, full of mercy, full of good fruit, impartial, sincere. And that list alone could preach for an hour. Pure means unmixed motives. Peace loving means you don't enjoy tension. Considerate means you think before you speak. Now, unmixed motives. I need us to understand something. God sees you and God knows you. You know, the fear of God, the fear of the Lord is the first sign of wisdom. Okay? So let's just start right there. Because in the book of Proverbs, which I strongly rep recommend that you guys read the book of Proverbs because it's a book of wisdom. It speaks of these very things, okay? Again, peace loving means you don't enjoy tension. Peace loving means you don't enjoy tension. You know, somebody always got an attitude, always got something to say. Hmm. You know, peace loving, it matters. That truly does matter. Full of mercy means you don't weaponize the truth. You don't use the truth to um go off on people. You don't use the truth to get people to do what you want them to do. But people do this every day. Full of mercy means you don't weaponize the truth. Impartial means you don't show favoritism. Sincere means you're the same in private. You don't change. And verse 18 says, peacemakers who sow in peace reaps right righteousness. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap righteousness. You reap what you sow in tone. If you show if you sow harshness, you will reap distance. If you sow harshness, you will reap this distance. If you sow control, you will reap rebellion. If you sow control, you reap rebellion. If you sow gossip, you reap distrust. If you sow gossip, you reap distrust. And if you sow peace, you reap righteousness. If you sow peace, you reach right you reap right righteousness. Okay? So I want us to think about what chapter uh three, James three, is actually saying. You know, he truly does give us insight to his word. It's just that a lot of people don't know the word of God. Why don't people know the word of God? Because they're not studying the word of God, they're not trying to look for God. You know, even Jesus says it in his uh in the scripture in the gospels. He says, Who will I find faithful? Who will I find looking? Who will I find seeking? You know, um, the word of God is here for us all. But the problem is we neglect the word of God. And we use the world wisdom versus God's wisdom. James speaks to this generation where we are at today. Because, you know, a lot of times people say things and they're like, uh, well, I didn't mean it. Uh, well, I didn't mean to say that. No, your words matter and there's life and death in them. Are your words uplifting, encouraging, or are they tearing down? Okay? You don't accidentally say things. You don't accidentally say things. Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So, yes, your tongue is connected to your heart. Your tongue is definitely connected to your heart. And again, with the same mouth, we do this every single day. So God is bringing us to our attention because, again, we're in a new year. You want to see something different, change the way you speak. Pay attention to your words, pay attention to what you say. Okay, again, people praise God with the same tongue that they go off on people with. I'll be, I'm guilty. I've gone off too. I mean, we all there's we're not perfect, you know. Jesus is the perfect person. He's the one that we all need. If we look at this Bible, the word literally tells us that we are like filthy rags to God. Like filthy rags. Our righteousness is. So we need a savior. All of us need a savior. We do. That's why Jesus matters so much. You know, again, he he was a teacher, a prophet. He came to set the captives free. He was teaching the disciples, even where is it at? Uh, Matthew 23. Matthew 23, go to Matthew 23. Let me tell you what what Jesus says to the disciples in Matthew 23. Matthew 23, he says, Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, the teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees are official, are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don't follow their example, for they don't practice what they teach, for they don't practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. On the arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels, and they love to sit at the head of table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces and be called rabbi. Don't let anyone call you rabbi, for you only have one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters, and don't address anyone here on earth as father, for you only have for only God in heaven is your father, and don't let anyone call you teacher, for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be s must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law, and f you and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's face. You won't go in yourselves, you don't let others enter either. What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law, and you Pharisees, hypocrites? For you cross the land and see to make one covered. Then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are. Blind gods, what sorrow awaits you? For you say that it means nothing to swear by God's temple, but that is binding to swear by God by the gold in the temple. Blind fools, which is more important? The gold and the t the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that to swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the gifts on the altar is binding. How blind? For which is more important, the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? When you swear by the altar, you are swearing by it and by everything on it. And when you swear by the temple, you are swearing by it and by God who lives in it. And when you swear by heaven, you are swearing by the throne of God and by God who sits on it on the throne. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind gods, you strain your waters so you won't accidentally swallow a nap, but you swallow a whole camel. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy, full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees, first wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean too. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law? And you Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like white white washed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but full, filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees, hypocrites, for you build tomes for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of godly people your ancestors destroyed. Then you say, If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would have never joined them in killing the prophets. But in the in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. Snakes, sons of viper, how will you escape the judgment of hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, and chase them from city to city. As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time, from the murder murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zachariah, son of Baciah, whom you killed in the temple between the sanctuary and the altar. I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation. Why did I read that? Because Jesus was speaking to the teachers of the law. Mm-hmm. The preachers and the teachers of the law. That's why he came on the scene. Let's just keep it a G. Okay. The Pharisees knew the law. They knew the Word of God. But why did Jesus even have to come back? Jesus came to set the captives free because of the treatment, how they were treating God's children. Now, we're not going to act like the Pharisees are not God's children. We're not. But I want you to think about what Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying this to them and he's in right standing because he is the Son of Man. How do you know the law and cannot recognize the anointing right in front of you? You got to make me understand that. Because the Pharisees didn't, they didn't recognize them either. Why? Because their hearts, right? And your tongue is connected to your heart. Think about it. When you think about what you say, there's life and tongue in your mouth. You, you, your, Jesus was keeping it a G with him though. Jesus came on the scene and he felt some kind of way because of what they were doing. Of what they were doing. Okay? So he tells them, listen to what they say, but don't do what they do. Because they made things hard. They made things hard. And it doesn't have to be hard. It truly doesn't. Now, James says this should not be people with a double speech. You cannot worship passionately and gossip casually. You cannot pray in tongues and criticize leadership. You cannot build ministry and tear down people. You can't. But people do this every day. They do. You have to ask yourself, what well are you drinking from? Because again, comparison, pride, competition. Because whatever you feed on flows through you. You know, I tell the ladies of ISI all the time to seek God above all things. Seek God, get in your word so that you can hear. Jeremiah 33, verse 3 says, Call to me and I will answer you and tell you things that you do not know. He even tells us if we want wisdom, to ask for it. To ask for it. Now, let's talk about false wisdom. Because false wisdom is bitter envy, selfish ambition, and disorder. And this wisdom is demonic. It is earthly. It is unspiritual. Now let's just talk about bitter envy for a moment. Envy is comparison, turn hostile. Envy is comparison, turn hostile. It smiles publicly but represents but resents privately. It smiles publicly but resents privately. Bitter envy. Selfish ambition. This is building yourself instead of building the kingdom. It's a platform driven, not purpose driven. Platform driven, not purpose driven. And James says, where this lives, disorder follows. That means chaos is evidence of wrong wisdom. That means chaos is evidence of wrong wisdom. If your relationships are always chaotic, if your leadership environment is always tense, you have to ask yourself, is pride present? Is pride present? Okay. Now we already know. No manipulation, no hidden g no hidden agenda. No manipulation, no hidden agenda. Wisdom from above is pure. That's what I mean by no manipulation and no hidden agenda. Peace, love, not accident, not addic, not not addicted to confrontation, uh dramatic or reactive. Not addicted to confrontation, not dramatic, not reactive, emotionally intelligent, aware of tone, teachable, correctable, not defensive, not harsh, not rigid, consistent behavior, consistent behavior, no favoritism, and authentic. You can't wear a mask. Can't wear a mask, but people mask every day. Now, when you have wisdom from above, this is leadership grace. This is the sound of someone governed by the Holy Spirit. This is the sound of someone governed by the Holy Spirit. Now, I want us to think about the harvest principle. Let's think about the harvest principle. Peacemakers sow in peace and reap righteousness. Your mouth plants seeds, you will harvest what you consistently speak. Your mouth plants seeds, you will harvest what you consistently speak. If you sow encouragement, you'll reap loyalty. If you sow peace, you reap stability. And if you sow truth and love, you reap growth. But there's another part. If you sow criticism, you reap resistance. If you sow pride, you reap isolation. And if you sow harshness, you truly do, truly, truly do reap distance. Your future is growing in your speech. Your future is growing in your speech. Now, what is James 3 saying to us today in the 21st century? What are some questions to ask yourself? Does your mouth reflect maturity? Do you think before you speak? Is your wisdom from above or from ego? Is your wisdom from above or from ego? And does your speech produce peace or pressure? Peace or pressure? Now, inside beauty inspires is not something that I just do. It's maturity. Because beauty in the kingdom is how you speak when you're frustrated, it's how you respond, when you're misunderstood, it's how you correct without crushing, it's how you lead without controlling. It's how you leave without controlling. Your words are going to either calm storms or create them. So you have to guard your mouth like your guard your calling. Because your mouth can sabotage, sabotage what your anointing built. Because your mouth can sabotage what your anointing built. Your voice builds atmospheres. Now, I want us to think about all of the things that we've come to learn on today. James 3 is about one thing and one thing only. You ready for it? Maturity. Yes, maturity. And maturity has a sound. Maturity has a sound. Your tongue may be small, but it steers your entire life. Like a bit in a horse's mouth, like a rudder on a ship, your words are directing your future. James warns us you cannot praise God and curse people made in his image with the same mouth. That's double speech, that's divided source. If bitterness keeps coming out, it's not a mouth problem, it's a heart problem. Then he gives us the contrast. There is wisdom from below, full of envy, selfish ambition and disorder, and there is wisdom from above, pure, peaceable, gentle, full of mercy, and sincere. Now here's the key. You will reap what you sow with your words. So ask yourself, does my speech produce peace or pressure? Because maturity in Christ isn't how loud you shout, it truly is about how gentle you speak. It's in how gentle you speak. Inside beauty inspires has a sound too. And it's spoken with wisdom. Amen. So listen, this word today, it was one of those words, you know, a little surgical. It makes you take a look at the man in the mirror instead of looking at everybody else. It's easy to see everything everybody else is doing, but what about you? What about you? You may be a person that is not easy to talk to. You may be a person that people feel like they're walking on eggshells with. You don't think that, do you think that that is wisdom from God or do you think that's wisdom from below? I mean, at the end of the day, you have to take an inventory of what's going on on the on the inside, what's coming out of you so that you can know what's on the inside of you. Deliverance is the children's bread. Well, what is the bread? The word of God. So if you're constantly eating the word of God, then you're going to have the deliverance that only He can bring. The deliverance that only He can bring. So y'all know I pull a card each time I'm in here. I miss my son, Tylin. He couldn't come in today, but I held it down. So this is the word of today. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus. This is Philippians 4, verses 6 through 7. The affirmation says, I function from a vantage position of peace without struggles, worries, or anxieties over everything, over anything. I refuse to compare myself to anyone else. Today, by my faith-filled affirmations, I am framing my world. All spiritual forces and circumstances are synchronized with God's perfect will for my life, and I am in the center of God's will, where all things synchronize and function for my advantage. I'd like to pray with you guys before we leave. Heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you for this word. I ask that you search our hearts. If envy lives in us, uproot it. If selfish ambition hides in us, expose it. If our tongues have wounded others, convict us and heal what we damage. Cleanse our wills, Heavenly Father. Make our speech pure. Teach us to pause before reacting. Teach us to speak with grace. Teach us to sow peace intentionally, Lord. Let wisdom from above rest on us, God. And make inside beauty inspires truly internal. May our words be aligned with heaven. May our leadership reflect humility, and may our influence produce righteousness. And Lord, I thank you for the ladies of ISI. I thank you for our iron sharpens iron. I thank you for that prayer call because I know that I would not be where I'm at today if it were not for you, teaching me, showing me, aligning me with your word, your will, and your way. So, Heavenly Father, I thank you for what you're doing in the spiritual realm. I thank you for what you're doing in the earthly realm. And may the harvest of our speech bring glory unto you. It's not by power or might, but it is by the Spirit of the Living God. We ask all these things in Jesus' mighty and matchless name. Amen. Amen. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, I pray you guys have enjoyed the show. You have an amazing day on purpose. And remember, don't be anxious for anything. Go to the Father, make your request known, and wait and watch. Peace.

unknown:

Everything new.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm ready to go. Ready for more. I'm ready for new. Like a straight out stone. You already know. I'm ready to flow. I'm ready to move. The old is through. I'm in Papa's new bags and still got the bags.