Latest / HBCWestminster / James Session Five 7.10.19

Transcript

James Session Five 7.10.19 · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  For those of you that don't know me, my name is Brian Bowen. I am one of the teachers here at Highland, and it's a thrill to be back here with you guys. I love the Thrive, the Men's Thrive. This year, my wife Carrie and I have been over with the youth group, helping out with those guys, and that's been a blessing too. But I do have a warm spot in my heart for men's ministry, and I'm real thrilled and honored to be back here. So my mother always used to tell me,
• 0:32
  As perhaps some of your mothers have told you, that if I don't have anything nice to say, then I shouldn't say anything at all. You guys ever hear that one? A few times? So this summer's been pretty cool. Our street is thriving with young children. For a while there, I have two sons, Bryce and Jackson, they're ages 7 and 3. And for a while our street didn't have many kids, but now it's just thriving with kids ages from 3 to 12.
• 1:01
  And, you know, it's been really a blessing because not only have, you know, we've gotten to know these kids, but we've gotten to know their parents as well. So we're forming some really cool friendships with some of the people on the street. And we're hanging out. We're doing all sorts of things together. We actually have like an outdoor movie night this Saturday coming up. So anyway, my boys love to play with two of the young boys down the road, Gunner and Braxton, okay? Now, our house has quickly become the haven, the meeting spot for all the kids.
• 1:31
  We can have, you know, six to eight kids running around the house. And we love it. We really do. It's also become the snack capital of Iris Way. That's where we live. They come to our house for snacks. So, yeah, I mean, they are back and forth all day long, you know, ringing the doorbell probably 27 times a day. I don't know. And so one particular night, we just sat down for dinner. And by this time, I think Gunnar and Braxton and the crew had been over at least a dozen times.
• 1:59
  Just sat down for dinner, and ding-dong, the doorbell rings. So I get up, open the door. It's Gunner and Braxton and their two sisters, Serenity, who's five, and then Maya, who's like two. And Serenity and her little cute boy, she's like, oh, can Bryce and Jackson come out to play? And I'm just, I wasn't in a great state of mind at that point. I said, no. Just like that. I said, no, sorry. They're like, oh, but why? I'm like, we just sat down for dinner. We're going to have to go home. But, no, sorry. Can't tonight. Well, can I?
• 2:29
  can I have some water? Because again, remember, we give all the snacks, right? I'm like, nope, no water, sorry. Got to go home for water. I said it just like that. Close the door. Look out the window. See these downtrodden, downcast faces almost in tears. I go back to the kitchen table and my wife is looking at me like, really? I was like, oh my goodness, what did I just deny to five-year-old water? You know?
• 2:58
  I could have gotten a lot better. I could have said, hey, you know, guys, we're so glad you're here. We love when you come to our house and play. We really do. But, hey, we just sat down for dinner. So, you know, we'd be so happy if we could come and play with you guys after dinner. That would have gone over a lot better, right? And I actually did that tonight in the work. They were like, oh, walking down the street, like, okay, we're going to play. I mean, they didn't know where to go to church later, but, you know. But anyway, so tonight we will be diving back into the letter of James.
• 3:28
  specifically chapter 3, verses 1 through 12, taming the tongue. Taming the tongue. And what it means for a mature man of Christ to have power over his tongue, which at that time, I did not have power over it at all. But before we get into it, let's just kind of do a little bit of review. James is such an excellent and practical scripture. It's not so much about becoming a Christian as it is more about exemplifying.
• 3:57
  A Christian, James is a call to maturity as a man, the way God called and created us to be, as well as the practical admonitions that he provides us that call us to the mature life. And James' letter is so rich in illustrations, which helps me out considerably because I love picture books. So, you know, do a lot better with those. I can see it in my head. But yes, that's so rich in illustrations. Week one. Again, I haven't been here with you guys, but Nathan was so kind to kind of give me an overview of what you've been doing. Week one.
• 4:26
  The mature man is patient in trials. The mature man is patient in trials, asking the Lord to give us wisdom and not to waste the trials that he sets before us. Week two, the mature man practices true religion, caring for widows and orphans, showing compassion for others. Week three, the mature man shows honor, considers others, and shows no partiality. I love Philippians chapter two, verses three through four. It says, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.
• 4:55
  But in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others. And then last week, Nathan went over active faith, right? The three kinds of faith. Dead faith, emotional faith, and then active faith. Active faith is the only one useful for salvation and maturity. So let's go ahead and pray before we get into tonight's lesson. God.
• 5:20
  Thank you so much, God, for tonight. Thank you for these men. Thank you for this opportunity to come and worship freely and be here in your presence, God. I just ask for your help tonight with this message, and I ask that our hearts and our minds are open to your word. Teach us according to your word, God. Bring your spirit here with us tonight. In Jesus' name, amen. So yeah, I'd invite you all to open up your Bibles to James chapter 3, verses 1 through 12. If you're not already there, I'm going to go ahead and read it. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers.
• 5:49
  For you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also. Though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
• 6:19
  How great a force to set ablaze by such a small fire, and the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil.
• 6:42
  full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening, both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives? Or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Now as I mentioned earlier,
• 7:10
  This text is rich in illustrations. And for the most part, I would say that the meaning behind the imagery is pretty clear. But it would do well for us to kind of flesh that out a little bit. If I had to sum up this entire lesson in two words, it would be words matter. Words matter. But we're not going to stop there. But what we will do is break this into three main points. And you have them on your handouts, the three main points we're going to hit tonight. The tongue is small but powerful.
• 7:40
  The tongue is untamable by any natural mortal man, and the tongue exposes more about us than we'd care to admit. So the tongue is small but powerful. Look again at verse 3. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Now, I'm not much into horses or horse racing or anything like that. All I know about horses is I think they like apples and carrots.
• 8:06
  But a couple of months ago, I found myself watching the Preakness Stakes. You guys ever watch any of that? Triple Crown stuff? Yeah. It's held in Baltimore, Maryland every year. And for one, these animals are quite magnificent beasts. I mean, they're weighing over 1,000 pounds. And that doesn't even include its rider. And then the way these horses were under such control by the jockeys, it amazed me. And what guided them and kept them under control? This little small bit that they put in their mouths.
• 8:37
  It's a very small mechanism, yet a very disproportionate impact. We pick it up in verse 4. Look at the ships also, though they are so large and driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. Another example of a small mechanism that provides a disproportionate impact is the Noc Nevis, which I just recently learned is the largest ship ever built to date.
• 9:08
  This thing weighs 657,019 tons and is 1,504 feet long from stern to bow, which is longer than the height of the Empire State Building. And now the rudder weighs 230 tons, which is approximately 0.04% of the entire ship's weight. 0.04%. And then James says in verse 5, he's comparing this.
• 9:35
  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. Here's some more public math for you. I hope I did it right. The tongue weighs about 2 ounces. 2 ounces. I weigh about 2,880 ounces. Feel free to convert that to pounds if you want. Or don't. My tongue is 0.07% of my entire body weight. Less than 1%. How such a small thing can be the vehicle for such destruction.
• 10:05
  But it can also be the vehicle for uplifting and positive effects, especially in times of fear and darkness. And there are many examples out there. Perhaps one of my favorites is President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of the Day, which he issued as an encouragement to the Allied soldiers right before D-Day. And it reads like this. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force, you are about to embark upon the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months.
• 10:30
  The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave allies and brothers-in-arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well-trained, well-equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940 through 1941.
• 11:00
  The United Nations have afflicted upon the Germans great defeats in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle.
• 11:27
  We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good luck. And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. Now those are pretty inspiring, motivating, powerful words, are they not? Yet James here, he's not talking about the positive effects of the tongue, but of the negative and harmful effects of it. Which brings us to the second point for tonight's lesson, that the tongue is untamable by any natural, mortal man. James says it right there in verse 8.
• 11:58
  but no human being can tame the tongue. Back up in verse 5, it says, How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. Now, if you've lived here long enough in Colorado, you'll know that our state suffers from some significant forest fires every year, right? There were actually 11 significant forest fires in 2002 alone, cumulatively damaging almost 400,000 acres, destroying hundreds of homes, costing millions of dollars, as well as causing numerous deaths.
• 12:29
  And you may remember the one up in Nederland a few years ago, the Cold Springs Fire. One article described it like this. A poorly extinguished campfire smoldering as hot, dry winds whipped down from the mountain peaks sparked the fire that on Sunday destroyed three homes and spread across more than 600 acres, forcing evacuations of nearly 2,000 people southwest of Boulder. And this fire, this campfire, it was...
• 12:55
  It started by two young men who were up in the mountains camping, having a good time like we do in the summer. We love camping in Colorado. And they just did not take the time to extinguish their small campfire appropriately. They were negligent. They weren't aware of what could have happened. And they did not extinguish it to the point where it was cold to the touch. So little sparks from this little fire grew and grew and set ablaze this huge forest fire.
• 13:25
  And just like the campfire, our tongues, our mouths can do the same because it comes from within inside. Proverbs 4.23 says, Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. So when we're thinking about what we're going to say, it all starts here in the heart, and then it can pour forth from there and set ablaze a forest fire. I'm sure we've heard this one before. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt me.
• 13:54
  On the contrary, my friends. On the contrary. Show me the bumps and bruises that you guys have from when you were 10. They're gone. They're no longer there, right? But then show me the lasting effects of that ugly, harmful, cruel word or name that someone called you that sticks around a while, doesn't it? God has dominion over all the creatures of the planet, but we cannot seem to have dominion over our own tongues in verse 7. For every kind of beast...
• 14:25
  And bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no human being can tame the tongue. And then James tells us in verse 8 that the tongue is a restless evil full of deadly poison. Again, the imagery here is pretty clear, I think. But what does he mean when he says restless evil? We can take a look at the book of Job where God allows Satan to test Job.
• 14:52
  In verse 7, it says this, The Lord said to Satan, From where have you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on earth and from walking up and down on it. Satan, the enemy, he's the enemy and always will be a restless evil. Satan will be. That's what he does. He goes around, lurking around every corner, waiting for us, turning us into busybodies, turning us away from God, making us, in our tongues, restless and careless. And the very means that God gives us to praise,
• 15:21
  is the very means we use to dishonor him, which brings us to how the tongue exposes about us more than we'd care to admit. Verses 9 through 10, With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. James is pretty clear right there, pretty clear statement. He says, pretty much, don't do it, guys, right? Don't do it.
• 15:52
  Psalm 51, 15 says, Oh Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. Oh, if we could only do that every second, every minute, every hour of the day. See, the thing about this is that we praise God with the same tongue with which we curse others. We are praising and degrading the same object. And in most cases, this object is another human being, which, just like us, has been made in the image of God.
• 16:22
  We find ourselves sometimes using Sundays to praise God and then Mondays to come back and criticize others. Oswald Chambers said this about criticizing. Jesus' instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put. He says, don't. The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. That sings a little bit, doesn't it? Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm, nothing is accomplished by it.
• 16:49
  The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and he alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as his disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical.
• 17:18
  This will not happen quickly, but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly be aware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person. I mean, man, how's that some truth for you? I mean, to my shame, I've criticized people both inwardly and outwardly. And not only once, plenty of times. And I never thought about it like that, but when we criticize people, it's pretty much saying, you know, I'm better than you, and I'm okay with letting you know that. I'm not ashamed, but I am ashamed.
• 17:50
  And let's make a clear distinction between criticizing somebody and rebuking a fellow brother or sister in Christ. And even when we do that, we can do it with tender and empathetic words, not harsh ones, not judgmental ones. We've been called by God to build up one another, not to tear each other down. Like Paul says in Ephesians 4.29, he says, Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
• 18:19
  I mean, are we aware of how we sound sometimes? I know I'm not aware of it. And when I am, man, I'm not feeling good about it. The words that we speak and the effects that they have, are we aware of those things? I don't know. Some of you guys might follow the news. I think it's about a month ago now. There was a situation in Lakewood. It was a little league game. I mean, we're talking seven-year-olds, maybe seven and eight-year-olds down in Lakewood.
• 18:48
  There were some disagreements between the parents and the coaches and the umpire. Some foul language was being thrown around. The 13-year-old umpire was trying to calm the situation down, but it just got way out of control. It got chaotic.
• 19:08
  A little snippet from an article about it. I want to read it. Josh Cordova is 13 years old. That does not mean he's in possession of less wisdom and common sense than some of the adults who live and work in his Colorado community. Cordova was the umpire at a youth baseball game, played primarily by 7-year-olds in Lakewood, Colorado, that drew national attention when a brawl broke out among parents and coaches on the field.
• 19:30
  Days later, he told a Denver television station that moments before the melee, he had issued a warning to spectators about using foul language. He said, I shouldn't have to tell a grown man how to act around little kids. He said he issued a formal warning after an old man dropped the F-bomb on the sidelines during the game. It was an escalation of what Cordova described as chirping on the part of coaches and spectators for both teams. The warning only prompted even more arguing which devolved into an all-out brawl.
• 20:01
  I issued the warning to the entire field, and then everybody started yelling and screaming, and it just got really chaotic. Now, I did a little more research on the situation, and there were 12 individuals that were actually cited for this instance. 11 out of the 12 cited were adults. Average age, 32. Oldest, 55. Again, I know in my lifetime I have not said,
• 20:36
  Nice things. I mean, blame it on the military. I curse like a sailor, but no, I used to curse like a sailor. I don't anymore. Every now and again I let one slip, but I'm very aware of it now. But this, this, I mean, I can't imagine being there. I mean, what would you do? What would I do? I don't know. I mean, I think I would like to think. I would stand up for what's right and do something, but I don't know.
• 21:02
  People throwing punches and things getting out of control. I mean, this poor 13-year-old umpire. And it was all because of what? Because of a disagreement? An older man, an adult man, losing his temper and throwing some pretty harsh words around that are absolutely not appropriate for a shield or for anybody. You don't need to talk like that. But then he escalated beyond that and went into a fist fight. And now that brawl, people getting hurt.
• 21:32
  All because of what started in the heart, came out of the mouth, and then went to the fists. You may have noticed that I've used several illustrations that involve the culture and society in which we live. While it is sad but true that it seems to me that our culture in general doesn't really care much about the use of language. Harsh and crude language is even glamorized really sometimes.
• 22:01
  Our Lord's name is thrown around quite carelessly and used not to glorify Him, but used in an exclamatory or even offensive fashion. And once these words are spoken, they're oftentimes very difficult to take back, if they can be taken back at all. I mean, whether it's gossip, slander, criticism, or straight-up blasphemy, once they're out, who knows how far those words will travel. And as I was thinking about that, I was reminded of a story called The Chicken and the Feathers.
• 22:33
  Many years ago, during the time of the Protestant Reformation, there was a great saint living in Italy called Philip Neri. He was a wonderful priest and he helped many people to be good Catholics during that time when so many Catholics were losing their faith. One day, a woman came to see Saint Philip Neri. She was known for her wicked tongue and she used to gossip about other people, telling all the bad things they had done. This indeed was very wrong because when she talked to someone about the faults and sins of another person, that person would many times be looked upon as a bad person by other people.
• 23:03
  St. Philip gave the woman some money and asked her to go to the market and buy a chicken that had just been killed and to pluck off all the feathers as she walked home with the chicken. The woman was proud of the fact that St. Philip had asked her to do something for him. She went to the market, bought the chicken, and on her way home she picked off every single feather and made that chicken as clean as a whistle. Then with a smile she handed the chicken to St. Philip Mary. He thanked the woman and then said,
• 23:30
  Now go back once more and gather up all the feathers of the chicken you just plucked. The poor woman didn't smile anymore. She said, But that's impossible, Father. The wind has scattered the feathers in every direction. Then St. Philip scolded, Let this be a lesson to you, for it is exactly the same with your wicked words. Just as the chicken feathers have been scattered by the wind in every direction, so have your wicked words been scattered in every direction by other people repeating their stories.
• 24:02
  French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, Catholic theologian, he said this, if all men knew what others say of them, there would not be four friends in the world. Proverbs 17, 28 says, even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise. When he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. And conversely, and I love this one, better to remain silent and be thought of a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. So can we accomplish this by our own will?
• 24:36
  No, we can't. For the tongue cannot be tamed by a natural man. I think it must start with humility and a lot of prayer. A prayer that perhaps goes something like this. Change my heart, God, and my tongue will follow. Change me from the inside because it is only as my heart is cleansed and put right with you, which is what you offer to do for us in your Son, Jesus Christ. You see, the power of the Holy Spirit sent from Christ himself is the only power we have over our tongues.
• 25:06
  We are not perfect men. I know I am far from it. Like James said in verse 2, for we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. So I ask, would that perfect man please stand up right now? Do we have any? No. Didn't think so. Because we know that we're aware of the truth. We know the truth. The truth that the only perfect man to ever walk this earth now and forever is Jesus Christ.
• 25:38
  And maybe, just maybe, if we start to make a deliberate and intentional effort to be more like Him, then we will start to see that He will be the one guiding our tongues. Not only our tongues, but our lives. In the words of Alistair Begg, although we are not all that we need to be in Jesus, we are some distance from what we once were. And it is my hope, guys, for all of us, including myself, that...
• 26:08
  that we continue to broaden that gap between who we once were and then who we desire to be in Christ. And I'd just like to close with this poem. It was written by an unknown author. Suppose if all that we say in a single day, with never a word left out, were printed each night in clear black and white, it would prove strange reading, no doubt. And then just suppose, ere our eyes we could close, we must read the whole record through.
• 26:40
  Then wouldn't we sigh and wouldn't we try a great deal less talking to do? And I more than half think that many a kink would be smoother in life's tangled thread if half that we say in a single day were left forever unsaid. Let's pray. God, Father, thank you, Lord, for this time together. Thank you for your word. Thank you for teaching us. God, and I just pray.
• 27:07
  for all these men. I just pray that we're aware of what we're thinking, we're aware of what is going to come out of our mouths and that we just look to you, Jesus, look to you, look to the Holy Spirit to give us the power to control our tongue and just ask that whatever does come out of our mouths is only to honor and glorify you, God. And just pray as we split up into these small groups that...
• 27:32
  I just pray for transparency. I pray for maybe a little bit of vulnerability on the part of these guys that we open up and we share some things about the lesson and that we just have some meaningful discussion as we work through these questions. God bless this time together. It's in Jesus' name. Amen.