B (6:51)

I'm thinking about our tongue. And if you compare your tongue to your hands, your tongue is much smaller than your hands. It's much smaller than your feet or your legs, even your lungs. Your heart is even bigger than your tongue, and your tongue is so tiny compared to the rest of your body. And yet with that little tongue, we can get ourselves into so much trouble

A (7:26)

or with our tongue, we can get somewhere good.

B (7:28)

That's true.

A (7:29)

Depends on how you use your rudder. Your tongue is a rudder. How you use your tongue is going to determine where you end up. And that's what the next verse says. Look at it. Even so. So he says, even so. Just like with a little bit in a horse's mouth, you can turn a horse anywhere you want it to go. With a little rudder, with a little wheel, you can turn that huge ship wherever you direct it to go. He says, even so, the tongue. And when you read this in the Greek, it has a definite article. It's almost like James is lifting his voice, saying, the tongue. Now he's really making his point. We're really not talking about horses and ships. He says, even so, the tongue. Now let's get to the real sub. The tongue is a little member, and the word little is the word mikros. That's where you get the word for that, which is microscopic. A microscope. It's very little, just like Denise was saying, compared to the other members of your body. And the word member that is used here can describe a physical organ. It can describe an instrument, an instrument of war or an instrument of healing. And that's really important because depending on how you use your tongue, you can heal or you can kill. Your tongue can heal or your tongue can kill. And it depends on you, because you're the one at the helm. You're the one who has the determination of how you're going to use your tongue, what you're going to do with your tongue, where you're going to go with your tongue. Your tongue is your rudder. And how you set your tongue, your rudder, determines where you're going to end up. And if you use your tongue correctly, you can heal. If you use your tongue incorrectly, you can kill. And that's why he goes on to say, it's a little member and boasteth great things. Behold. Here you have the word behold again. Wow, wow, wow. Behold. How great a matter a little fire. Kindleth, verse six, and the tongue. And Denise here again is a definite article. He's lifting his voice. The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, the Greek actually says, a world of its own, a universe of its own, filled with all kinds of injustice and hurt. All of that is inside the tongue. So is the tongue among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. And Denise, when I read this, I don't know why, but I always think of Adolf Hitler, because when Hitler would give his speeches in Germany, they would rouse those crowds. It was like the fire of hell was released by his tongue. He was demonically anointed to rouse those crowds, to do the unthinkable. All of that came with the tongue. And again, the tongue, if you use it correctly, it can heal. If you use it incorrectly, well, it can kill. And in fact, James here says it's like it has its own world. It's its own universe filled with all kinds of heart, hurt, harm, and injustice. And then he says it sets on fire the course of nature and is set on the fire of hell, which means the tongue can literally release the flames of hell into a situation.

B (10:46)

You know, Rick, you were saying that the tongue can heal. And In Proverbs, chapter 16, it says in verse 24, Pleasant words are like a honeycomb. Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. So our words can bring sweetness to Our soul or somebody else's soul, and even health to their bones or our bones. What we're speaking out of our mouth is directly bringing health or not health to our very.

A (11:29)

And according to verse two, how we control the tongue really determines whether or not we're mature or not. You know, some people say, well, I just can't control myself. Well, you're just admitting that you're not mature. But look at the next verse, verse 7. For every kind of beast, the word every. The Greek word hekastos. Every single kind of beast, without exception. The word beasts describes four footed beasts like lions, tigers, bears, and of birds or things that fly. Serpents is really the word for snakes. Things in the sea is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind. The word tame, the Greek word which means to domesticate, to tame. The same word used to describe wild animal tamers. Well, let's look at these categories. Four footed beasts, Lions, tigers and bears. All you have to do is go to the circus and you see the lions, tigers and bears. They can be tamed to jump through hoops of fire, to jump over each other, to interact with their tamer, their trainer. It's amazing. One time you and I went to the circus in Moscow and we saw grizzly bears wearing tutus, skating on ice skates on two feet. Those bears had been trained and they had been domesticated to skate. That was amazing. But then it goes on to say birds. Birds can be tamed and trained to talk. Now, they may not understand what they're saying, but they can be trained to mimic sounds, even to mimic speech. Birds can talk to you. You would think they have a mind of their own, when in fact they're just repeating what they've been trained to say. But birds can be tamed. Birds, like pigeons, can carry messages from one place to another. Then it goes on and it says, and of serpents. We'll come back to that one in just a minute. And things in the sea. And when I read this, things in the sea, I think about when Philip was a little boy and I took Philip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. And Philip and I sat there in our seat and watched whales jumping through hoops afire. It was shocking to me. I don't mean a little whale. I mean a whale jumping through hoops of fire. How in the world do you tame a whale to jump through hoops of fire? All of these animals, creatures can be tamed and have been tamed of mankind. But there's one more category. He mentions snakes. Now that is Amazing, because when I was a young man, I had a collection of snakes, so I know a lot about snakes. I even had a snake when we got married, didn't I, Denise?

B (14:11)

Yes. Praise the Lord. We got rid of it.

A (14:13)

We got rid of it. It was a python. It was Burmese python. It was quite large.

B (14:18)

I remember I carried it in the

A (14:21)

pillowcase to the store where we left it.

B (14:24)

You were driving. And I carried the snake in a pillowcase.

A (14:28)

Now, that was a big snake. But when I was still single, I had a bigger snake. I had a reticulated python. Now, reticulated python, that describes the pattern. But I'm going to tell you, reticulated pythons, they are mean. They are mean. I got trapped in a room with that snake. It laid by the door. I couldn't get out of the room because the snake was there. I was terrified of that snake. And do you know what? I thought I was going to tame that snake. I really thought I was going to tame it. That snake scared the living daylights out of me because it was not tamable. It was unpredictable. But according to this verse, that snake could have been tamed. And in fact, it would be easier to tame that snake than to tame the tongue. That's what he says in the next verse. But the tongue, verse eight, can no man tame. Well, that sounds a little hopeless, but we're going to get to hope in just a minute. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. And here the word unruly means it is unpredictable. The tongue is unpredictable. So have you ever said anything that shocked yourself? You thought, I can't believe I said that. You even said to yourself, I'm not going to say it, I'm not going to say it. And bam, you said it. Well, the rest of the verse says, full of deadly poison. The word full means loaded. And here you really have the picture of a poisonous snake. So let me tell you about poisonous snakes, pythons and boa constrictors. They're docile. Even though that one I had was really mean, they're easier to tame than a poisonous snake. A poisonous snake is a nervous snake. It is an unpredictable snake. It is untamable. That's just the truth. And the head of a poisonous snake has poison banks right above its eyes, and its fangs are like this syringe needle. So when they put their fangs in you, they put two hollow fangs in you. But as soon as those fangs are in you, they begin pushing. And when they push, it's like pushing on a syringe. It pushes all the poison in their poison banks through those fangs into the victim. And when they begin to bite, they don't just push once. They push and push and push and push to empty all of that poison into its victim.

B (16:56)

Can I say something right there, Rick?

A (16:58)

Sure.

B (16:58)

It's interesting that the poison is in the head of the snake because most things that come out of our mouth that are poison, if that happens, comes from our thinking, came from here first, and then it came through the tongue.

A (17:17)

Through the tongue, through the mouth. So here we find that the tongue is like a poisonous snake. It's unpredictable, it's nervous, it's erratic. Even though you may say, I'm not going to say it, I'm not going to say it. Bam. It comes out of your mouth. And Denise, isn't it the truth that many times when you put your fangs into another person, maybe you're degrading them, you're correcting them endlessly, or you're just unloading on them. You don't usually just say something once. Usually you press and you just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing until you've unloaded all of your venom in the victim. Now, that is the word the Holy Spirit uses in this verse to describe the tongue. But then he goes on and he says in verse nine, therewith bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. And here we find the conflict for a Christian. There you are, raising your arms, worshipping God, blessing God with your mouth and with your tongue. And with the same tongue you use to bless God, you put your fangs in somebody else. Shouldn't be this way. And that's why the next verse says, out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing, my brethren. These things ought not so to be. Verse 11 doth a fountain. Now it's likening the mouth to a fountain. It's coming from your mouth. Send forth at the same place sweet water and berry. Or can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? Either of vine figs so can. No fountain or no mouth should not yield both salt water and fresh. Now, how do you tame the tongue? You have to give it to the Lord. Maybe you gave your heart to Jesus. That's good. You also need to give your mind to Jesus. Jesus, I give you my mind. I give you my thoughts. Jesus, I give you my emotions. You need to give him more than your heart. And you need to give him your tongue. Lord, I consecrate my tongue to you. And Holy Spirit, you're the only one that can tame the tongue. So I ask you to tame my tongue. Now I want to read these verses to you from the Riv. Are you ready? Listen to this. It's just the fact that in many different ways every single person, with no exception, makes mistakes, messes up and stumbles. But if anyone never makes a mistake in what he says, this person is a mature individual. And such a person is able, even so, to bridle, direct and bring under control the whole body. Verse 3 Take for example, the bits that we put in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, and that with a small bit in their mouth we're able to lead direct and even cause their whole body to change directions. Verse 4 here is also another amazing example. How about massive ships that are so physically great in size and powerful in ability, but regardless of their sheer size and great power, they are nevertheless pushed along by violent winds and storm like forces. But in spite of all that, even these massive ships are controlled, directed, led and turned about by the smallest rudder, wherever the one steering it resolves that it should go. Verse 5 in the same identical way, the tongue is a physically small organ of the body, but in the same way a rudder controls and directs massive ships. The tongue, though small, can make a remarkably big noise and stir a lot of commotion. Think of how remarkable it is that a small fire, if it's kindled sufficiently to respark again and again, can stir a fire so great that it can burn down a whole forest. Verse 6 and the tongue is a fire, a world of its own, that if not controlled, is filled with hurt, injustice, wickedness and violations of every kind. The tongue is positioned right in the middle of your physical organs and if not controlled, has a defiling, spotting, staining, negative effect on the whole body. If not controlled, it ignites raging passions that once released, get the wheels moving. In a regrettable series of events, make no mistake, this is a fire that's released from and inflamed by hell itself. For all of nature, including dangerous, ferocious, savage, wild four footed beasts, birds, snakes and other reptiles and things in the sea earth are domesticated and tamed, or have been often tamed by the human race. But amazingly, absolutely no one from among mankind is able to control, domesticate or tame the tongue. For the tongue can be as painful as a thorn bush or prickly plant, a source of chaos, disorder, disturbance, instability, insubordination, unrest and unheaval. It is a real evil and it's fully loaded with deadly poison. Indeed, the untamed tongue looks for opportunities to shoot its arrows of death at others. And like a poisonous asp or viper, it waits to strike its next victim and press its fangs down deep enough to release its venom into him. The venom is ugly words that produce death in relationships and situations. Now, that is quite a dilemma. But if we give our tongue to the Lord, the Lord will teach us to tame our tongue. And I'm going to tell you something else. If you'll pray in tongues, get the Holy Spirit moving over your tongue. Yield your tongue to the Lord. It will help you tame your tongue.

B (23:00)

Denise, the Holy Spirit has given us everything we need to tame our tongue. And lots of times you think that maybe what you're saying is you're just trying to express yourself or, you know, make your case known.

A (23:17)

But.

B (23:19)

But your words are not bringing life to the other person. And it takes the Holy Spirit to say these words are not bringing life, and they're not coming from the right place. And with his instruction and with his wisdom and with his power, he can say one wor. He can say, that's complaining. And with that one word, he can change your whole tongue, your whole outlook of what's coming out of your tongue. But it's not our determination. It is the power of the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the teacher, the guide that lives on the inside of us.

A (24:05)

And, Denise, the book of Proverbs says, where there's a lot of words, there's a lot of sin. Sometimes you just don't need to speak as much as you think you need to speak. Sometimes it's just wiser just to be quiet. Don't speak unless you have something that's going to help. But give your tongue to the Holy Spirit. He'll tame it for you. But, Father, we thank you for James 3. It is so helpful. Well, Denise, this has been good.

B (24:37)

Very good.

A (24:38)

Let us know how to pray for you, and we'll see you next time.