Accountability to one's word

Transcript (Auto-generated)

Thanks so much, Michael and the team, great to be able to lift our voice in song. My name is Dave, one of the pastors here, and it's a joy to bring God's word to you this morning. We're continuing our series looking at the New Testament book of James, and Michael was saying earlier, it's an achievement to read a whole chapter of the Bible in church this morning. I actually get to read two because we're going to be in James chapter three this morning looking at the 18 verses there. So get your Bible out, you'll need that. We're going to read that through as we go. We'll have some stuff on the slides. Like always, if I go too fast, you can get the slides on the website later in the week. If you need them before then, just email us in the office, and if that helps you note taking to get a copy of that, that way we're happy to provide that for you. Our series Faith Lived Out, and what we're discovering so far as we've gone through James is that he's showing us what it means to live as obedient disciples of Jesus, how to live out our faith day to day. In our first week, Pastor Doug unpacked this whole theme of biblical accountability, and he explained that there's five key areas of accountability that James addresses in these five chapters in this letter that he's written. Doug took us through chapter one on the first week and looked at our accountability to God's Word. Last week, if you were here, Pastor Dylan shared from James chapter two about our accountability to active works. This morning, we're going to work our way through chapter three and look at our accountability to our words. So I do have your Bible there. You'll need that as we go through step by step this morning. Let's just ask the Lord to help us as we do that. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, it is our prayer this morning that the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts might be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Guide us by your Holy Spirit as we look at your Word. May we allow your words to mold and shape us more and more into the image of your Son in whose name we pray. Amen. Before we get stuck into the text, just let me share a brief story. Back in the mid-1990s, there was this Japanese doctor, Masaru Imoto, who put together what has now become known as the rice experiment, maybe you've heard of it. He took three glass jars that were filled with rice and water, and he labelled the first jar, thank you. He labelled the second jar, you're an idiot, and he left the third jar blank. And then every day, he would go to the first jar and he would say, thank you. He would go to the second jar and he would say, you're an idiot. And then he completely ignored the third jar. He continued to do this for 30 days, and Imoto claims that the rice in the first jar, in the thank you jar, began to give off this pleasing aroma. It kind of fermented over those 30 days, and it smelled pretty good. It looked okay. The rice in the second jar, the one that he said, you're an idiot too, for those 30 days, it turned black. And then the rice that he ignored, it started to rot. As you would imagine, this experiment has become a bit of a YouTube sensation over the years, and people have tried their own variations and different kinds of words in this experiment to see what would happen. Some people have claimed to get very similar results, there's been a few that haven't. It seems that the verdict is still out about the scientific reliability of the test. However, I think there's no mistaking the simple and profound statement that's made about the influence and the power of our words. Words shape our world. One word can inspire hope and lift people up. Another can tear them down and deflate them. I'd imagine if I asked you when was the first time that you were ever made to feel like you were less than, or maybe the first time you made somebody else feel like they were less than, most likely it would have been because of words. Words are powerful. They have potential to do great harm with careless words, which is why James Caution's us to be accountable to God when it comes to the use of our words. Let's have a look at James chapter three and see what we can learn about this. In verse one, we read these words, James says, not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We'll pause there for a moment. The first thing we see right up front is that we're accountable to God for our words. If you are with us in the Proverbs series, you know that words are important. Here in the first century, the role of the teacher was greatly coveted position. It was a position that came with a certain prestige and esteem. There was an honor that was attributed to those who taught in the first century there. For the first Christian teachers, before many of the words of Jesus had actually been fully written down yet, the importance of verbally communicating the message of Jesus' life, death and resurrection and all that he taught his disciples to do, that message was highly dependent, not only on the quantity or the quality of the content, but it also depended on the teacher, how they lived and how they spoke. It had an impact on the words that they said. It's therefore no wonder that James issues this warning in verse one. Teachers, that's those who've been entrusted with a platform or a space and a forum to speak. Those who've been given this task, a message to proclaim, they need to watch out because not only do our words need to accurately reflect the gospel, but the way you use our words, even in the day to day, better not become a stumbling block or discredit the gospel in any way. We know this to be true in our own time. That's not just a first century idea. Most of us will no doubt have experienced the hypocrisy of someone in authority who's used their words to wound or to war. We might have heard them say one thing and then seen them do a complete opposite thing when they're out of the public eye. It totally undermines the credibility of what they preach. James says, watch out. Teachers you'll be judged more strictly. Before everybody breeds a sigh of relief because you think, well, that's for you, Dave. You're teaching. I'm not a teacher. It's important to recognize that this definition here is rather broad. It would likely be inclusive of many other roles that we're familiar with today, giving a kids church lesson, preaching, of course, leading a discipleship group, giving a gospel talk at kids club or youth group, leading the devotions at craft plus or seniors, etc. All of that. We need to be careful and watch our words. We need to handle God's word well. It's not just for those people. It's not just to the exclusion of everybody else. It's clear throughout James and particularly this chapter as we work our way through this morning, any of us who would claim to be followers of Jesus will be held accountable to God for our words. Jesus taught this in Matthew 12, verses 36 and 37. He said, I tell you that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every empty word they've spoken. Some other translations, empty, careless word they've spoken for by your words, you'll be acquitted and by your words, you'll be condemned. We're all accountable to God for our words, not only those who teach, but every believer. James makes this link between our words and Christian maturity in verse 2. We keep on reading in chapter 3. James says, we all stumble in many ways. Everyone who's never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. What James is saying here is that if you want to live a life that lines up with what you believe, if your faith wants to be put in action, then a good place to start is with your words. This is what Christian maturity looks like. That's what James means when he uses the word perfect there, that word we've translated into perfect. It also just means maturity. Mature Christian faith understands that our words will have a flow on and reverberating effect upon our lives and the lives of those around us. What we say, how we say it, and what we don't say matters. How do we stay accountable with our words? I think for starters, we need to consider the effect of our words. Let's look at verses 3 to 4. James points out for us that even small things can have a large and controlling effect. Look at verses 3 to 4. He says, when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal or take ships as an example. So they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. James is giving us these really helpful word pitches, these images, the bit, that little small piece that goes, a metal that goes into the horse's mouth by which you steer the power of the horse or the rudder, that little piece of wood at the back of the ship there that enables the pilot to control the power of the wind that's pushing that ship in the first century there. James says, likewise, the tongue is such a small part of the body, it's only a tiny little piece of our body mass, and yet it's immensely powerful. James urges us to consider how such a small thing can have a large and controlling effect on our lives. Look at what he says in verses five to six, he says, likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. Small thing that has such a big effect. Some years ago, back in October of 2007, a wildfire began in rural Los Angeles County in Southern California. It began as just a spark, but it spread fast, and later this fire that was named the Buckweed Fire wiped out over 38,000 acres of land, caused the evacuation of over 15,000 people. 63 buildings were destroyed, including 21 family homes that were burnt to ash, and another 30 buildings were damaged in the blaze. Thankfully, only five people were injured, some serious, but they're all okay. Fire investigators found their suspects the following day, a 10-year-old boy who admitted to playing with matches, and one of them sparked the blaze, igniting the destruction of everything around. It was an incredible amount of damage and destruction caused by a single match. This is the picture that James is painting for us in verses 5 to 6. He urges us to consider the devastating effect of our words. We know it's true. It only takes a few words to set off a blaze that spreads fast and leaves its mark for years or even a lifetime. Notice 2 in verse 6 that James points out the potential for our tongues to change the destiny and direction of our lives. You can easily create a bad name for yourself simply by what you say. Friendships, relationships, marriages can be ruined, churches can be led astray simply by the words that you speak. You might be familiar with the saying, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. It's actually the reverse of the truth. Wounds caused by sticks and stones will heal, but sometimes the wounds caused by words may never do. We may not even see the wounds that we inflict on others with our words. Verses 5 to 6 says, all it takes is a small spark to set the whole course of a person's life on fire. When James is saying that the tongue is a world of evil among the parts of the body, he's not suggesting that the tongue is inherently or always evil. That's not what he's meaning. We remember the Proverbs that we looked at a few months ago, Proverbs 18, 21 said, the tongue has the power of both life and death. So James is actually pointing out that when we intentionally use our words for harm or when we fail to take control of our tongue, then what's going on behind the scenes is we're letting the very force of hell set the world and our lives ablaze. We're not being led by the spirit in those moments, but by the enemy. When the people heard the word hell here in the original language, that word was just translated from the Greek word gehenna, translated from the Hebrew into the Greek gehenna. They would have immediately thought of the reign of evil. They would have thought of the forces of hell, but they would have also had this word picture come to mind. Gehenna wasn't just a word or an idea. It was an actual place. It was located in a ravine to the southwest of Jerusalem. That comes from this Hebrew word, which means valley of wailing. This valley, this area to the southwest of Jerusalem, it was formerly a temple where human sacrifices were made where people would burn their kids to false gods, to Mollek and to Baal and Ashtara things. You can read about that. There's a bunch of verses up there. Take them down on the slide when you get it and have a look at that. It was awful, evil, evil stuff. But by this stage in salvation history, in the first century here, this was now a rubbish dump. That temple was gone. Now, this was a place where fires burned, where stench reaped continuously. That's gehenna. James says, when we fail to take control of our tongue, this is what's going on. It's like we've let that take control of our lives. And if we're not careful, the fire that consumes all the rubbish there will consume us and others with our careless words. We live in an age where we've been able to be spoken more rapidly or retained more permanently, amplified more broadly, both for good or for bad. We need to be careful. We need to consider the effect of our words if we're going to keep ourselves accountable in this area. The second thing we need to do is we need to recognize that this is a real challenge. Let's look at verses seven to eight. James continues, he says, 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. It's a restless evil full of deadly poison. It's incredible. Some of the tricks animals can be trained to do. The guy who was the emcee at our wedding had a couple of cats. I forget the breed, probably Siamese or something fancy. We were around at his place one evening in preparation for the wedding and he mentioned you could train cats. We'd had dogs growing up. We didn't have cats. I thought that was nuts. He's like, no, no, watch. And he put on all sorts of tricks with these cats as he's issuing commands to them. It was amazing, blew my mind. He didn't have to give him any tricks. He just told him what to do and they did it. It was wild. James is saying in these verses that if you think you can tame the tongue as readily as teaching some cats to see it or a dog to fetch, then you're going to be in for a big surprise because the tongue is a restless evil. It's full of deadly poison. We know that. Whether it's belittling others, bullying, bragging, lying, speaking behind others' backs, maybe even staying quiet and saying nothing in those moments when we should have spoken up, our tongues have huge potential for damage. There could be times in our lives when it feels like we're on top of these things when it comes to being accountable with our words and then other times we feel like we've just got no handle on it at all. We fall short. Maybe they're the times when we find ourselves trying to impress or we're annoyed about something or someone or something's getting in our way. Maybe we feel insecure about something in our lives. Maybe we're just generally tired and cranky. You would know what those things are for you, those times or places or conditions that it's most likely to happen for you, but you know the challenge, if you're honest. To keep a tight rain on our tongues, James says humans are unable to tame it. We're powerless on our own to deal with it. Doesn't get us off the hook. Oh, well, it's fatal. We can't do it. So why bother? No, that's not what he's saying. I think what it means is we need to humbly ask for God's help and forgiveness. James is all about faith in action. So we need to ask God for help. We can't do it on our own. If we want to be accountable with our words and because we've likely failed in this area at some point, we need to ask for God's help or we need to ask for His forgiveness, those careless words that might have hurt others or harmed our gospel witness. To do that, it requires humility on our part. I think it's amazing that God has entrusted us with this incredible power of the tongue, even when we misuse it. Even though he knows we can't hope to tame our tongues on our own, God has blessed us with speech, with this ability to communicate with our words. So as we go out across the Cabulcha-Morayfield region this week, wherever we are, whether that's at home or in the office, on a job site, at school, in the classroom, on the playground, in our cars, wherever we are this week, when we face all sorts of situations and circumstances, all kinds of life pressures, we can humbly ask for help from the one who's never misspoken, but has also given us his very spirit. Maybe you could do that this week at the start of your day or when you arrive at work or at the new job site, before you begin a conversation, before you blurt something out, maybe before you write that email or send that text, spend a few moments in quiet contemplation and humbly ask God to help you to humbly speak. When I reflect on this challenge, I think about the times that I've used words in haste, harmful or hurtful words that were carelessly offered without thinking of the damage that we might cause. Whatever you think about that, as you reflect on that this morning, well, if that's the case in humility, we should ask for forgiveness from the ones that we've heard. We should humbly go to the one who declared the work of forgiveness was finished on the cross and trusting God to forgive us as well. One John 1.9 says that if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just, he'll forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. We need to humble ourselves before God and ask for his help and for forgiveness. And we know that he hears and answers our prayers. He stands ready to meet us where we're at, so we want to put our trust in him. Maybe you hear this morning and you carry very deeply the wounds of words. Things that have been spoken to you or spoken over you, maybe things that were never said that should have been said, words and wounds that you've painfully carried for many years. Want to encourage you this morning, if that's you, when you humble yourself and go to Jesus for help, you're going to the one who's not only had every insult hurled on him, but he's the one who wants you to know the security and permanency of his love for you. He cares about. We can trust him with that. We need to remember also the tongues purpose, James says in verses 9 to 18. Let's have a look at verses 9 to 12 together. He says, with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father and with it we curse human beings who've been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James is saying that the reason we should care about being accountable for our words is because our tongues have been made for an ultimate purpose. One that's to be lived out consistently, faith lived out in action. James points out that it's completely contradictory when in one moment we praise God and then in the next we curse our fellow human beings who've been made in his image. James says, brothers and sisters, this shouldn't be. It's like finding a beautiful stream of fresh water and bending down and filling your water bottle or your jug or whatever and taking a drink of that wonderful clean, crisp water that's flown down from the mountain side. And then immediately reaching down and taking another cup of that water and this time when you take a sip from it, it's putrid and rancid and rotten. Doesn't make sense. This is the image. Fig trees should bear figs, he says. Grapevines should bear grapes. Salt springs should be salty. Likewise, God's people should bear words of life, words characterized by wisdom. Go down to verses 13 and 17. Have a look at what James says there. Says in verse 13, who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. Pop down to verse 17, the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all, pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Our words should be characterized by God's wisdom. And if we seek to bring life and peace with our words, then it not only brings glory to God in the way in which we use our tongues for the purpose that being created, but actually benefits us. It reaps a harvest of righteousness, verse 18 says. James says, peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. This doesn't mean there'll never be hard conversations that need to happen, or that somehow we're always going to get this right. That's why we need to ask for help and forgiveness. But James invites us with all the power that's been entrusted to us in our tongues to use it for God's purposes. And ultimately, that's what praise is, isn't it? To be using all that we have oriented towards God's purpose. Notice the contrast James gives in verses 14 to 16. He points out that rather than using our words for God's purposes, we can use them for ourselves. Look at verses 14 to 16. If you have a bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder in every evil practice. Do you catch what James is saying there in verse 14? The problem's not in the mouth, it's not in the tongue. It's the heart that's the problem. Jesus said roughly the same thing in Matthew 12, 34, when he was addressing a group of religious leaders. He said, you brood a vipers. How can you who are evil say anything good for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of? You can join the dots, can't we? Both James and Jesus are telling us that the uncontrolled tongue can actually be a symptom of a hard and unsurrendered heart. It can be a symptom of our selfish desire to go our way rather than God's way. Instead of seeking to harness the power of our tongues for the good of others and the glory of God, we can use them to serve ourselves. And that often means using our words to wound and destroy others. We need to remember our tongues purpose. Some quick practical tips to stay accountable with our words and then we'll finish. And they got four. Number one, keep eternity in view. There's a bunch of Bible verses up there. We're not going to go through all of them. We don't have time this morning. You can look them up in the notes. I'll read one Colossians 3 verses one to two. Since then, you've been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on the things above where Christ is. Seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things above, not on earthly things. One of the wonderful pictures we have in the New Testament of the new creation of eternity, of what will happen when Christ comes back is this image of God's people from every nation, tribe and tongue, gathered around Jesus in glory, in praise of our King, singing, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. We want to keep that in view. It doesn't mean we need to break into song every time we want to speak. But we do need to remember that every opportunity we have to speak can be used by God in such a way that's the point to the future that is to come. We need to be open to those opportunities. We need to remember that Jesus is coming again soon. Number two tip, we need to participate in the mission of God. Way to stay accountable to your words is to participate in God's mission. Colossians 4 verses 5 and 6 says, Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace. Season with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone. I find it incredible that in God's grace, even though he knows that we're dust, even though he knows that we're weak, he's entrusted us with this tongue, with this so much power. Every time we deploy our words, we make a choice. Pastor Doug mentioned that in the overview of accountability. We have that choice, that consequence every time. To participate in God's mission to the world or to use our tongues for the cause of evil. That's our choice. This doesn't mean that every time we use our words, we need to give a sermon or a gospel call. But we do need to be mindful that with every word and how we say them, we are representing Jesus. If you claim to know and love Christ, if you're living as a disciple of Jesus, then remember what Paul said, we're Christ's ambassadors. It's though he's making his appeal through us. Number three, we need to cooperate with the spirit. Galatians 5, 22 to 23 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. In the beginning of our chapter, James linked the control of our tongues with Christian maturity. These fruits of the Spirit are what we aim to cultivate as we grow in maturity, as disciples of Jesus. We need to cooperate with the Spirit. We need to allow Him to transform our lives. God longs for us to grow into the likeness of His Son. Our words can actually be a barometer of our internal life with Him. It can be a bit of a litmus test for our discipleship day by day. Our words can be one of the main ways that we allow the Holy Spirit to make His way in us as we spend time in prayer with the Lord, as we get into God's Word and memorize it, read it, speak it out. We need to heed James' warning on being held accountable to our words because the way we use our words can impact our witness for Jesus. James mentioned this in chapter one. We read that in the first week if you were reading the whole chapter. James 1, 26 says, We need to lean on the Holy Spirit. We need to humbly ask God's help to use our words in ways that give honor and glory to God. It's only through cooperating with the Spirit. It's only through the Holy Spirit's help can we hope to be effective disciples of Jesus who are intentionally making disciples. The final tip this morning is don't rush to speak too quickly. James 1, 19 says, My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Imagine if your next thought had the potential to be heard by hundreds, thousands, or even shared with millions. For most of human history, such influence was reserved for only the most powerful individuals. And yet today, thanks to social media and instant communication, every word we speak, whether insightful or impulsive, thoughtful or reckless, can be broadcast across the globe. This ability demands caution. And yet so often we exercise less restraint than ever before. That instant gratification we get from sharing our thoughts, attempts us to speak quickly, often without careful reflection. Again, if you were with us in the Proverbs, we read about that. Proverbs 29, 20 says, Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There's more hope for a fool than them. How do we cultivate greater wisdom in our speech? Well, maybe try setting a waiting period before sharing your thoughts publicly. If a comment that seems witty or clever no longer feels worthwhile after a few hours or days, maybe it wasn't as meaningful as it first appeared. When you're poised to type, when you're readying to speak, when you're responding to one another, stop and ask yourself, are these words kind? Are they necessary? And are they true? Let's pray. Gracious Father, we thank you for your incredible kindness and grace. Even though you know our frame, you know the patterns of our using our tongues so unwisely. Lord, even in the knowledge of your grace that you've given us so much power in our tongues, help us, Lord, not to take it for granted. Help us to see the effect of our words. Help us to recognize the challenge before us and have the humility to realize that we can't do it on our own. Father, we ask your forgiveness for the times that we've spoken unwisely, for the careless words we've spoken, for the times we've used our words to serve our own selfish needs instead of for your purposes and your plans. Father, would you help us in the way we speak to be wise? Help our words to be pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Help us, Lord, to speak only words that are necessary, kind and true. Lord, I just pray too for those who still bear the wounds and scars of careless and hurtful words that have been spoken to or over them at different times. Perhaps there are some here this morning who still feel the effect of those harmful words. Lord, would you and your grace and mercy meet them where they are this morning? Help them to hear your words of love and life, words of hope and peace and purpose, which you offer to all who would come to put their hope and faith and trust in you. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus, our Saviour. Amen. If you'd like any extra prayer this morning after the service, hang around a little bit this morning, just come on down. I would be pleased to pray with you or for you. Yeah. Thank you.