Introduction

James 3:4-8 ESV  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.  (5)  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!  (6)  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.  (7)  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,  (8)  but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

• The name of our church is Christian Life Church.
  • We named it that way for a few reasons, the biggest reason being we had peace with God that this is what we should name the church.
  • But there were a few other reasons too.
    • First we wanted people to know that we are a church.
      • Some church names are overly vague “Sola reformation center”… what? Are you a drug rehab place… are you are solar power company that installs solar panels?
      • Second we wanted people to know that we were Christians. So we wanted the word Christian in there.
      • Third… naming our church “Christian Church” seemed a bit pretentious so we wanted a third word.
      • And it was easy really, life… we want people to live the Christian Life.
      • Not the Christian Sunday.
      • Not the Christian just on Easter and Christmas.
      • But the Christian Life.
        • The Christian Life is a life of praise, and worship, and obedience, and evangelism, and missions, and disciple making.
    • So we are Christian Life Church.
      • But there is another aspect of Christian Life that I desire for people.
        • I believe that the Christian Life should be a blessed life.
          • Blessed with peace.
          • Blessed with wisdom and understanding.
          • And blessed with provision, after all Jesus taught us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread”.
        • I don’t think Christians, in general, are called to be impoverished… we are not called to be homeless and poor.
          • There are SOME who face poverty as Christians, because of persecution and the raging of the devil and his demons.
          • And I suspect there will be much more of this in the future.
        • But I think God’s perfect plan is for Christians to be well taken care of, to live in peace, to be provided for, to be blessings for other.
          • Again, the fallen world effects this, and sometimes we must give up these comforts to reach the least of these, to go on missions, or because we are persecuted for the name of Christ. But even in those moments God provides for us, blesses us, keeps us, and gives us His peace, Amen?!
    • So when I say I want you to live the Christian Life, I really mean that I want you to live a happy and good life!
      • I WANT TO SERVE A BLESSED CHURCH FULL OF BLESSED PEOPLE.
• Let me hear you say amen if you want to live a blessed life!
  • AMEN!
• THEN STOP RUNNING YOUR MOUTH!
  • You want to live a blessed life? THEN STOP RUNNING YOUR MOUTH
    • Because the quickest way that you can ruin your life is that fatty peace of meat flabbing around in your mouth.
      • This is what James is saying… and he almost seems angry about it… calling the tongue a restless evil full of poison, saying that our tongue is set on fire from hell…
      • Like, James is going kind of hard here!
        • He is making it plane so I am going to make it plane…

• Bless yourself… stop running your mouth!
  • Now I say stop running “your” mouth.
    • But it applies to me to, it applies to all Christians. Christians shouldn’t run their mouths.
    • They shouldn’t be lose with their words. They shouldn’t be cursing others. They shouldn’t be flippant in what they say.
    • Christians should have self control.
      • But if we don’t have self control, if we run our mouth and just let that tongue blab…
      • We are going to destroy our lives.
        • Not only that, but as Christians we shouldn’t just care about our own lives, but the lives of others too… so we should be using our tongue to bless others as well.
• Bless yourself and Bless others: Stop Running Your Mouth.

Point One – Your Tongue Can Destroy Your Life

James 3:4-8 ESV  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.  (5)  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!  (6)  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.  (7)  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,  (8)  but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

• You know, Pastor Jared preached a great sermon on this a few weeks ago called “Don’t Stumble in What You Say” that went over verse 1-3 of James chapter 3.
  • In his sermon Pastor Jared outlined three points:
                    Point One: Our Words Have Power
                    Point Two: Learn to Control Your Tongue
                    Point Three: Let the Word of God Be The Bit in Your Mouth
  • Now if you didn’t listen to that sermon, I encourage you to go look it up. You can find it on our website CedarRapidsChurch.com by clicking Watch Online then all sermons.
    • I really want everyone to hear that sermon…
  • Because in this sermon, during this point… I am going to warn you… well James is going to warn you about what happens when you don’t control your tongue… when you don’t let the word of God guide you, when you neglect to understand the power of your words.
• And James makes it clear: Your tongue can destroy your life… that’s this point, my first point, your tongue can destroy your life.
  • I want you to bless yourself by doing this one simple trick: Stop running your mouth.
    • Bless yourself, bless others, stop running your mouth.

James 3:4-5 ESV  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.  (5)  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

• How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire…
  • And don’t be confused… we are not talking about Holy Spirit fire here.
    • This is not “Name it can claim it, blab it and grab it, confess it and posses it” nonsense…
  • How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire… what kind of fire… James makes it plane… HELL FIRE.
  • WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TONGUES FROM HELL, WORDS FROM HELL, AND CONSEQUENCES FROM HELL.
    • You want your life to go to H-E-Double-Hockey Sticks?
      • It’s easy, just let your mouth run wild.
        • Because that little tongue, that little muscle inside of your mouth can destroy your life.
• How many marriages have been destroyed because of idle words spoken in hast and anger?
  • How many children have been scarred by the flippant words of their parents?
    • How many friendships have ended over one text, one conversation, one facebook post?
      • How many jobs have been lost, and money left on the table, because people can’t control their mouths.
• You know, I used to train to be a police officer… and one of the things we trained to do was to get people to say things that doesn’t really benefit them.
  • To get people to consent to searches.
  • To get people to confess to crimes.
    • Police are trained to keep people talking because when people talk they say stupid stuff that get’s them in trouble.
      • In fact, you will be hard pressed to find a criminal lawyer who says anything other than “Don’t talk to the police”.
        • Because once it comes out of your mouth, it’s not going back in.
  • Now, I think better advice than “Don’t talk to police” is “don’t break the law”… but that is not what this sermon is about…
    • My point is, your words have meaning, your words have power as PJ preached, and your words have consequences.
      • And the more you run your mouth, the more the devil laughs, because he is watching you burn it all down.

James 1:19 ESV Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

• Can I give you some practical advice…
  • Husbands, when you are frustrated with your wife… that is the WORST time to have a conversation with her.
  • Wives, when you are annoyed with your husbands… that is the WORST time to have a conversation with him.
  • Kids, when you are angry with your parents… that is not a good time to have a chat with mom and dad.
  • Parents, when you are angry with your kids… probably not the best time to issue out discipline.
• Look, so many fights between husbands and wives are not even about the thing that originally annoyed them.
  • Like imagine if I asked my wife to get milk at the store, and she forgets. Now I am at home, I am trying to make dinner and I have boiled the potatoes and I am fixing to mash them… then I check in the fridge… no milk…
    • ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! MARIE!!!!!!!! I TOLD YOU TO GET MILK! YOU ALWAYS DO THIS, YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING I ASK, YOU A USELSEE, LAZY, SORRY EXCUSE FOR A WIFE! I AM SITTING HERE SLAVING AWAY AT THESE POTATOS AND YOU CAN’T EVEN DO WHAT YOU SAID!”
    • Now she is mad… “Oh I am lazy!?! You cook dinner like once a year! This family would honestly be better off without you!”
    • “Fine! You want me out I will leave!”
    • “FINE! GO THEN!”
  • Now wait a minute… it’s just milk… you can just add some extra water, some extra butter, and a bit of garlic and those tatters will still slap!
    • But now I am out getting a hotel room, because my wife told me to leave…
      • Over milk? NO! Not at all… over words.

James 3:5 ESV  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

• How many times have you said something you wish you didn’t say to your wife and it turned into a fight.
• How many times have you disciplined your kids WAY to harsh, because you were angry… YOUR GROUNDED FOR LIFE!
• How many times, teens, have you said something like “I HATE YOU” to your parents… you don’t mean it, but those words have power and consequences… how great a blaze is set by such a small fire….
• Here is a better way: Be slow to anger, slow to speak, quick to listen.
  • When you are angry with someone, go to your prayer closet, take a drive, go for a walk… and talk to God.
    • Ask Him to show you your own errors… ask Him to help you know how to proceed.
    • Get a game plan.
    • Maybe your spouse really does need to make some changes and  you need to talk about it… get a game plan, calm down, and talk when you both have time to focus, converse, and listen.
      • And if you get angry… take a break and start the process over.
  • Same goes with your boss, your employees, your teachers at school, your kids, your parents.
    • Listen, if your kids are being crazy and you are angry at them… send them to the magical place called their room… let them sit in their not just for them to calm down, but for YOU to calm down.
      • Then go talk to them when you are calm, have the discipline planned out in your head, as a calm and collected parent, and talk about what needs to be talked about.
• Man I am just tired of dealing with family issues that all stem from this one thing… *Point to tongue*
  • So much church hurt because someone said something that shouldn’t have been said.
  • So many jobs lost…
  • So many relationships broken…
  • So many lives ruined…
• But if you learn to control your tongue… with the help of the Holy Spirit… then you will start to live a blessed life.
  • That brings me to point two this morning: Your life can be blessed with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Point Two – Your Life Can be Blessed with the Help of the Holy Spirit.

• Your life can be blessed with the help of the holy spirit.
  • Because if you want to live a cursed life, it is simple you just run your mouth.
    • But if you want to bless yourself, if you want to live a cursed life, you have to stop running your mouth.
• Remember, the Title of this sermon is “Bless yourself, stop running your mouth”.
  • If we can control our tongue, we can have a blessed life… controlling your tongue isn’t the only thing that leads to a blessed life but it is a MAJOR part of it…
  • If we can control our tongue we can live a blessed life… but there is a problem with this statement… love at verse 8

James 3:8 ESV  but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

• No man can tame the tongue… that means YOU! YOU CAN’T TAME THE TONGUE.
  • I can’t tame the tongue.
  • Your spouse can’t, your parent’s can’t, your kids can’t, your teachers can’t, your coworkers can’t…. no human being can tame the tongue.
    • And that is why, church, we need the help of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  (23)  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

• The last fruit of the spirit is self control.
  • It is the SPIRIT, the HOLY SPIRIT, who helps us control our tongues.
    • Now I want you to take a moment and ask yourself this… are you someone who has an out of control tongue?
      • Oh sure, you hold it together in church… but once you hit that parking lot you just let that bad boy fly.
      • Do you use lots of words in anger… do you cuss out your loved ones…
      • Does the way other people drive effect the words that come out of your mouth?
      • Is your language at work the same as your language at home?
      • Is your language at home the same as your language at church?
        • Would you be ok with other people speaking to your spouse the way that you sometimes do?
        • Or to your parents? Or to your kids?
    • I ask you again, is your tongue out of control?
  • If it is, what are you to do?
• Stop swearing less?
  • Stop tearing people down?
    • Stop gossiping?
      • Stop hateful speech?
• I mean yes, you need to stop doing all of these things, of course you do… but remember James 3:8… no human being can control the tongue.
  • On your own you will FAIL. It’s why there are grown men who have been trying to stop swearing since they were 12…
    • The problem is that they are trying to control the uncontrollable…
      • Well it’s uncontrollable for men that is…
      • But it is not uncontrollable for God…
        • And thank God I am not my own… my tongue belongs to him.

John 14:26 ESV  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 16:13 ESV  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Acts 2:38 ESV  And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  (23)  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

• When you were saved you received the Helper… the Holy Spirit.
  • He should be helping you, guiding you, leading you, teaching you, convicting you.
    • You can’t control your tongue on your own… but with His help you can… because self control is a fruit of the Spirit.
  • So then if you are someone who has a problem with running your mouth, you don’t have a tongue problem, you have a spirit problem.
    • AND THAT SHOULD SCARE YOU.
      • And honestly, I hope this message convicts some of you, because I KNOW that some of y’all run your mouths.
      • And I know how that ends up.
      • I WANT YOU TO LIVE A BLESSED LIFE.
      • And that means you MUST stop running your mouth.
        • And the only way to do that is through the Holy Spirit.
        • And I am going to conclude with, again, practical advice on how to do that.

Conclusion

• Guys, I am not perfect…
  • Sometimes I get frustrated with my wife… and sometimes she gets frustrated with me.
    • But we very rarely fight.
    • We almost NEVER call each other names or tear each other down…
      • It has happened maybe twice in our 13 years of being together.
    • Sure we get in disagreements… sure we get upset, and our feelings get hurt… and sometimes we get short with one another…
      • But it almost NEVER escalates into what most people call a fight.
        • Why? Because when we get frustrated… we take time to cool off and pray.
        • Here is how I pray: “Father I don’t know what to do… I am so upset right now… am I wrong? Am I wrong to be upset about this? Lord what did I do wrong? What do I need to do to fix this?”
          • And when I pray like that, God answers. Sometimes He shows me how I am wrong… other times He affirms that I just need to be patient and Amanda will come around.
          • Then when I am calm and heard from God, I go and talk to Amanda, and I apologize as God leads me.
          • And the beautiful thing is, Amanda has the Holy Spirit too, and she prays the same way and she calms down, and she apologizes as the Spirit leads her.
          • And frankley, I couldn’t imagine a better marriage… not because Amanda always remembers to get the milk when I ask… but because we turn to the Father with the help of the Spirit instead of running our mouths.
    • And this goes for children and parents, student’s and teachers, bosses and employees, EVERYONE AND EVERY RELATIONSHIP… when you are frustrated, turn to God and let Him run that flab of meat inside your mouth.
    • Be blessed, and stop running your mouth, amen?!
• Gospel Call

Aaronic Blessing