The Power of the Tongue

snapstur · Tweet this Post! #1 (**permalink**) 07-02-2009, 10:00 PM

<Bethel> I have a message from BrianO our owner and founder of this awesome server
Jenna> lol
Bethel> Hello everyone. Thanks for coming out tonight. We really do appreciate your continued and dedicated attendance.
Bethel> Thanks to Bethel for once again handling our network meeting. I just wanted to take a few minutes and talk about 2 things.
Bethel> aw
Bethel> First our website. Pretty cool huh? Well I know I love it, it a great improvement and has greatly help increase connectivity between users in the network which is the point.
Bethel> It’s great because I am see lot of new fellowship opportunities online that we might have had before.
Bethel> The amount of new users signs ups is great as well. Now we a group we need to reach out to the larger community. BrianB and I are doing a weekly radio show now on Sunday evenings at 7:00pm cst.
Bethel> It’s a way for us to connect back into the user community and get back to our roots, radio. It’s been a great show so far, I look forward to you attending and telling us what you think.
Bethel> 2 Timothy 2:16 - Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
Bethel> This is a verse that I am growing to love. I look forward to see seeing you online, thanks again for using and supporting The Christian Chat Network!
Bethel> God Bless,
Bethel> Brian Oakes
Bethel> Wow, that scripture he shared is so fitting for out study tonight.
dodi> :)
Bethel> and, BrianO did not know what I was teaching on.
Bethel> So good to see you all here. I welcome you
carol> :)
Bethel> the title is
Bethel> The Power of the Tongue
Bethel> I will start off by saying. "oh me"
Bethel> God is teaching me.....
Bethel> It is so good to see you all here tonight. This study really gave me a lot to think about.
Bethel> Our text is James 3:3-12
Bethel> Have you ever been hung by your tongue? Sometimes our tongues can get us into a lot of trouble.
Bethel> A lady asked a new clerk in the produce department of a grocery store if she could buy a half of head of lettuce. He tried to put her off by explaining that they only sell a whole head of lettuce. But she persisted.
Bethel> He said, "I’ll go talk to the manager."
Bethel> He went to the rear of the store, not noticing that the woman was walking behind him. When he reached the manager, he said, "There’s some stupid old bag out there that wants to buy a half head of lettuce.
Bethel> What should I tell her?" Seeing the horrified look on the manager’s face, he turned around, and seeing the woman right behind him, he added
Bethel> "And this nice lady wants to buy the other half of the head of lettuce. Will it be all right?" Relieved, the manager said, "That would be fine."
Bethel> Our tongues can get us into a lot of trouble. And so can the tongues of others.
Bethel> Often, we don’t think before we speak.
Bethel> Sometimes what our tongues say is funny — sometimes it is not so funny.
Bethel> Our tongues can hurt others and us also. Sometimes the tongue says things we don’t mean.
Bethel> The problem comes when the tongue says things we do mean, but things we should not say.
Bethel> Someone once said, "We should remember that the tongue is in a wet place, and can slip easily."
Bethel> God certainly knew what he was doing when he put our tongues in a cage behind our teeth, walled in by our mouths. The Bible has a lot to say about the negative things our tongues can cause.
Bethel> The Bible refers to the tongue as wicked, deceitful, lying, filthy, corrupt, bitter, angry, crafty, flattering, slanderous, gossiping, backbiting, blaspheming, foolish, boasting, murmuring, complaining, cursing, tale-bearing, and exaggerating.
Bethel> With this much about the tongue, that the tongue is a very important member of the body.
Bethel> So, how can we avoid being hung by our tongues? James gives us three keys that will enable us to keep our tongue from becoming a noose around our neck.
Bethel> 1. The Tongue has Power
Bethel> Most people underestimate the power of the tongue. James tells us that the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. And there is good reason for that. It is powerful.
Bethel> It has the power to control our lives. Look at James 3: 3-4:
Bethel> 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
Bethel> 4 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.
Bethel> James is telling us that something small can steer something large. Compared to the size of a horse, a bit is small. Also, compared to the size of a ship, a rudder is small. But both steer and direct something much larger.
Bethel> In much the same way our tongues direct our lives. They control the direction in which we are traveling. In a very real way, they control our lives. That’s power! Our words have a tremendous impact both on ourselves and on others. They can encourage or discourage, heal or hurt.
Bethel> Some people can tell you that the comments of a teacher, or friend, or family member changed the very course of their lives. The tongue has the power to control and direct our lives. It can change the course of someone’s path by a few words of encouragement.
Bethel> I remember when I was in the ninth grade, (long ago); I had a math teacher whose words truly impacted me. My best subject was math. He said, “You must be an all “A” student. I said, no, not really. He told me that I had great potential and I should apply myself more.
Bethel> Those positive words helped me to realize that I could do better. His encouraging words have stuck with me all these years. In fact, I saw him in a restaurant many years later, and told him how much his words of encouragement meant to me.
Bethel> He was very old and used a cane, and he smiled, and told me that I encouraged him and thanked me for sharing that.
Bethel> Another thing about the tongue — it has the power to corrupt our lives. Look at verses 5a-6:
Bethel> 5a. Consider that a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
Bethel> 6 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.
Bethel> James tells us that the tongue is like a fire. Just as forests are destroyed by carelessness, so our tongues can destroy our lives.
Bethel> Also, that the tongue is a world of evil. He tells us that it corrupts the whole person. He says that it is itself set on fire by hell. These are strong statements.
Bethel> James is trying to make an important point. It can destroy what you have. It can destroy who you are. Beware the power of the tongue. Never underestimate the power of the tongue.
Bethel> 2. Guard Your Heart
Bethel> The second key in dealing with our tongue is to always guard our heart. What we say tells something about what is in our heart. Will it encourage, build up or heal? If not, then we should not say it.
Bethel> James is a careful observer of human nature. See verses 9-12:
Bethel> 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
Bethel> 10 And of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
Bethel> 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
Bethel> 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Bethel> James is telling us that the tongue is saying something very important about whom we are because it reveals what is in our hearts.
Bethel> This is what Jesus taught in Matthew 12:34: "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." In other words, the condition of our heart determines the content of our words.
Bethel> Some people can be praising God, and shortly after they could be calling the driver names that just cut in front of them.
Bethel> We must recognize that the problem is with the condition of our heart. And the only way to have a change our heart is to ask God to help
Bethel> We need to pray like David prayed in Psalm 51:10 when he said: "Create in me a pure heart, God, and make my spirit right again." From The Living Bible: "Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires."
Bethel> When our hearts are right before God, our tongues will more consistently speak those things that encourage, build up, and heal.
Bethel> And when we do this, we will feel better about ourselves and we will make a real difference in the lives of others.
Bethel> 3. Guard Your Tongue
Bethel> We must also guard the tongue. One way we can guard our tongue is to close our mouth.
Bethel> Someone said that if your mind should go blank, don’t forget to turn off the sound. (smile)
Bethel> Our tongue must be guarded at all times. We must be on constant watch. We must be on guard.
Bethel> Something with this much destructive power must be carefully watched and consistently controlled. If we let our tongues run wild, our tongue will hang us.
Bethel> Proverbs 21:23 says, He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.
Bethel> James reminds us that we must treat the tongue like a wild animal that is incapable of being domesticated.
Bethel> 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
Bethel> but no man can tame the tongue"
Bethel> Ask God to help you guard what you say. David prayed in Psalm 141:3, "Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips." The Lord can give you the power to control your tongue.
Bethel> Remember the key points: The Tongue has Power, Guard Your Heart, and Guard Your Tongue Ask God to help you guard what you say.
Bethel> I want to repeat the verse that BrianO opened with.it is so fitting for this study...
Bethel> 2 Timothy 2:16 - Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
Bethel> amen
AmazingGrace> amen
BrianO> Amen!
Bethel> Let's pray
carol> Amen
armystrong> Amen
Bethel> dodi?
Snapstur> Amen
dodi> Father GOD thank You for this time
dodi> thank You for this word that Bethel brought forth for us from your Word
Cre8d2Worship> Amen
dodi> oh GOD help us to remember that our tongues do have power and then help us to be careful to guard our hearts and our tongues
dodi> we bless you LORD
dodi> and I thank You for this strong word and ask that we all be doers and not just hearers
dodi> in the name of Jesus amen
Deacon> Amen
Bethel> amen
Aspros_Tigris> Amen
carol> Amen
armystrong> Amen
Bethel> thank you dodi
Snapstur> Amen
rachelle> amen
BrianO> Amen
MsT25> yes, Lord
mario> Amen
Deacon> Very good study Bethel
armystrong> good job Bethel and Dodi
AmazingGrace> amen
rachelle> good job bethel
carol> Awesome study Bethel... on the TONGUE
dodi> thank u bethel
mario> :)
armystrong> there was sound?
carol> Thanks Bethel
BrianO> I just wanted to say thanks for coming tonight.
BrianO> Make sure you give a special prayer to all the folks who help like Bethel and Seek with the studies and the ircops etc.
<dodi> oh you know what.... I am convinced that GOD really wants us ALL to heed this word... since he gave it BrianO and Bethel independently
armystrong> I will
dodi> :)
BrianO> the reason I had mentioned that verse (I didn't know Bethel was going to speak on that)
Snapstur> :)
carol> God did Amen BrianO
BrianO> was as a fellowship grows Satan uses any device to get a strong hold
armystrong> uh huh
BrianO> and recently I have seen a bit of that. :( When you break it away its all much ado about nothing, but it’s still dividing
BrianO> so I was reading and ran across that verse
BrianO> and it hit me in cases in my own life
BrianO> online and offline.
BrianO> So I am glad that we could hear the word of God tonight on this topic. :)
AmazingGrace> :o)
BrianO> Anyhow, thanks for using CCNet. If you haven't noticed we are changing a lot recently, so check out all the new aspects and let us know what ya think. :)