The Power of a Father’s Word James 3:1:12 Delivered: June 21, 2009 (Father’s Day) Our words are more powerful than we realize. All of us have said things that we wish we could recall and say again. We’ve all seen the damage our words cause in the eyes of those who have been cut to the core of their soul by something we’ve said we wish had never passed our lips. Think of some of your most embarrassing moments. Think of some of your greatest regrets. Chances are your embarrassment or regret stem from words you said in a moment you wish you could change. And we all know the futility of saying, “I was just joking”, or “I was only kidding”. Oh, you were joking, you were kidding, great!, every things fine then. I was in 6th grade, it was the last day before Christmas break, a few minutes before lunch. Our teacher Mr. Arcani was asking the class what they wanted or were hoping to get for Christmas. As he was walking back to his desk, I leaned over to another student and whispered, “I bet Arcani’s wishing for a toupee this Christmas.” I guess Mr. Arcani’s having the last laugh now. Unfortunately, the student next to me erupted in laughter and Mr. Arcani asked why. I froze. He pried for a few moments and then Mike blurted out what I had so carelessly said about a teacher and person that I liked very much. I’ll never forget the pain in his eyes that my words caused. Our words are ,ore powerful than we realize. This is because our words shape our lives. Our words in a real way shape the relationships we’re in. Our words shape our self-esteem, our words can shape our competency at work. Dads and moms, your words are shaping the relationship between you and your child, and students your words (or lack of) are shaping your relationship with your parents. Many of our greatest joys in life revolve around our words. Will you marry me? I’m pregnant, It’s a girl, You’re hired. Hearing these words, speaking these words bring us great satisfaction and joy. Words shape our lives and they have tremendous power. Last week we looked at James’ teaching on faith and works. In short, James says that faith without works is dead. That is, saving faith, faith that the Bible speaks about is a faith that is wholly and complete given by God’s grace and mercy and is given to us through faith in Jesus Christ. But saving faith is demonstrated through our response to God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s work in our life, by tangibly living out the new life that God has created in us as Christians. Today, James is teaching us about one of the works that needs to characterize our faith. James talks about our words, the positive and negative power of our words. James 3 is a wake up call to let us know about the positive and negative power our words have. James wants us to understand the positive and negative potential we have in our lives as we use our words. In Vs.1-2 of chapter 3, James begins by talking to teachers in the church, people like myself, warning us about the power we preachers and teachers in the church have. This leads James in verse 2 to broadly apply his thought to the whole Christian community. If you aren’t there yet, please turn to James 3, which is found on page ______ if you are using a sanctuary Bible. Let’s look at verse 1. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” James’ point is that those who teach in the church will be accountable for the things that they say. Enter cautiously into teaching because God is going to hold teachers in the church responsible for their words. It’s like god is saying, “You know Malcolm, you can share the word and challenge them to live faithful lives but how are you doing in listening to the word of God yourself and applying it to your life?” James says, be cautious in pursuing a teaching ministry in the church. But vs. 2 shifts away from teachers specifically to look at the community of God, the church, generally. In verse 2, James says, “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” Did you hear that? If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. In other words, what James is saying is that yes there are many ways in which we can sin and screw up in our lives, but if we could master just one thing, if there was just one thing we were going to focus our lives on, we should focus our lives on mastering our tongues. This is profound. James is saying, if we are able to control our tongue, our mouth, our words, on this side of heaven you’ve arrived. You are as perfect and flawless as you will ever be on this earth. Why? Because the tongue, the mouth is so difficult to control. We know this to be true don’t we. Perfection this side of heaven, James says, could be attained simply by controlling our tongues and the things we say. Why? Why would controlling our tongues and our mouths make us perfect? Because our words shape our lives. Said another way, our tongue, which is just another way to talk about the words we use, controls the whole course of our lives. James illustrates this in vs. 3, “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.” What James is saying is by control the mouth of a horse with something as small as a bridle, we can control all of the power and strength that the horse possesses. In verse 4, James illustrates this concept again. He says, “Or take ships as an example. 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.” Again, something small in proportion to the rest of the vessel, the ship’s rudder, controls the whole course and direction of the ship. In verse 5, James observes, “Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boast.” His point is, something so small in proportion to the rest of the body, the tongue, controls the course of our lives in a disproportionate way. Think about it for a moment. Our words got us our jobs, our spouse, our cars, our friends, our words can determine our career outcome, words may have gotten you expelled at school, words can sometimes get you out of a traffic ticket. The point is our lives are determined in large part by the words that come out of our mouths. And James’ implication is if we could just get control of our tongues, we would be in good shape because the rest of our body will follow along. Our words shape the course of our lives. In the second half of verse 5, James changes imagery to get to the heart of what he wants talk about. Your tongue not only shapes your life but also shapes others’ lives. If our words only effected the direction of our lives that would be one thing but the real danger the real power that our words can shape and direct the course of someone else’s life too. This means we walk around with a loaded weapon everywhere we go. Of all the parts of my body that could be used to harm or hurt another, James says, my tongue is literally a lethal weapon. Look at vs. 5, “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” Do you know what one match can do? One match can burn down an entire forest, one match could burn down this entire building, one match, uncontrolled, can burn down a city. One match can cause unbelievable damage wherever it is brought if it is not controlled. Think about what James says about our tongue. It is a world of evil - we have the potential to cause damage and hurt with just your tongue. At any moment I can begin to say words and in 30 seconds destroy my reputation. There is no evil in the world that can’t be initiated by words - wars have started by words, murders have occurred because of words, marriages have ended over words, families have been incinerated because of a careless word. This little teeny tiny thing in my body has no limit to what it can disfigure if it is not controlled. You could leave this building this morning, get in your car and destroy your family just with your words. Tomorrow you could go to your office and in a moment, unleash words that will destroy your career. I can ruin your reputation with words. You can destroy my reputation and any effect in ministry with words. Our words have an unbelievable negative potential. They are a world of evil. James also says, that our words can set the whole course of one’s life on fire. The picture is of a cart that has been set on fire and pushed down a hill into a village. The uncontrolled fire creates a path of destruction. This is the potential our words have. And the problem is we’re all great excuse makers. I was mad, I was just being honest, you caught me at wrong time. But the bottom line, James says, is our words are a fire and we all have the potential to cause unimaginable damage with our words. OK James, I got it. My words are destructive, I need to control my tongue. You’ve made your point so what do I do? And do you know what James says - nothing. He just moves on. There is no A: accountability, B: be careful, C: change your perspective. James just goes on to vs. 7 to say, there is no final point by point solution. He says, “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Man has been able to take all kinds of treats to his life and tame them, animals work for man, animals provide for man, animals serve man and his wishes. But the tongue, something so small, so seemingly insignificant, man has been unable to tame it. But it’s worse than we thought. Look at Vs. 9, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” James is saying that the tongue is unpredictable; we never know what we are going to get. James describes the tongues deviant nature in vs. 11, “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water” James is saying there’s nothing in nature like the tongue. The tongue is so unique in nature because unlike everything else in nature which is designed to do one thing and nothing else, the tongue blesses and curses - brings life and death, all from the same source. Again James’ point is - with the tongue you never know what’s coming. And at the end of this passage James just goes on to the next topic. You carry death in your mouths folks, just wanted to point that out - have a nice week. WHAT!! James, don’t leave us hanging, we need some help here. I’m talking and I can’t shut up. And men, right now your wives are praying you are listening because she’s a burn victim. Wives your husbands are praying your listening right now, because they pull into the driveway at the end of the day and don’t know what they’re gonna face. Am I going to get apples or oranges today? Dad’s your kids are pleading for you to listen right now because they don’t know what to expect, are you proud or mad, did they do well or not. Students, your parents are begging you’re listen because they’re burn victims and the words you use are destroying them. And James just changes the subject. Where’s the application, where’s are the principles to follow to help us with our lives? But I think James is doing for us what our Drivers Ed. teachers did years ago. You know what I’m talking about. At the end of the course, getting ready to go to the DMV and get our licenses and our insurance discount and excited to be on the road, they showed a film, I think ours was called “Room Enough To Live”. You know what I’m talking about. The whole file went from one horrific accident to another. Cars were crushed, bodies strewn all over the road. I can remember one that showed a gal who had been ejected through the front windshield and the narrator meticulously points out the hair on the glass and clothing in the twisted metal frame. When the film was done I thought the point was don’t drive. But the point was to impress upon young drivers the power they were holding in the car’s steering wheel. I think James is describing a dismal picture of the destruction our words can bring to show us the astounding power of our words to destroy and maim and kill, not only ourselves but also those around us. So is there any application we can take home this morning? I want to offer two to you. Although no man can tame the tongue, I believe that the God-man, Jesus Christ can. If you have not committed your life to Jesus, understand that you can’t do it on your own, you need a savior. Commit to being a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ and join in the process of being transformed into the image of Jesus. Secondly, take to heart the seriousness of your words. How can yo do this? Take responsibility for what you say. I know you may not have meant it that way, I know you may have been caught at a bad time, but the bottom line is when your words have hurt someone, take responsibility. And in line with this - learn to say “I’m sorry”. You can’t take your words back, but you can take responsibility for them and you also have the power to begin the process of healing and restoring the relationships in your life. Some of you have some people you need to contact - I encourage you to do so. There is tremendous power and healing in going to those you have hurt with your words and simply saying I’m sorry, will you forgive me. Let’s pray.