A Little Member： The Tongue

I want you here tonight to turn with me to the book of James. You get Hebrews and then you get the book of James in the New Testament. We're going to continue on our series on little things and as I keep saying and repeating myself we're dealing with little things but not on important things. I think already with what we have dealt with you see the importance and the emphasis that the Holy Spirit places on many of these little things. He repeats it and he repeats it and he emphasizes it and in fact when you go to Christ, when you read the teachings of Christ they are radical. I am fully persuaded the church of our generation neither reads the sayings of Christ, believes them or practices them. That is from an entire lifetime from a child growing up in the church and watching very very carefully. I am convinced by personal experience that the most elementary obvious and important things are there's an utter blindness to it. So reading from James chapter 3 here tonight, now I want to read this entire chapter and then expound it to you and my message here tonight part 7 of our series, a little member, the tongue. Reading from verse 1, my brethren, notice who it's written to, my brethren, my brothers, fellow Christians, be not many masters knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not on word, the same is a perfect man unable also to bridle the whole body. Behold we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member and boosteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the whole course of nature. And it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beast of birds, of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed and has been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the father, and therewith curse we men, which are made after the simultude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries, either a vine fig? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy, and the fruit of righteousness is soon in peace of them that make peace. Let's pray here tonight. Father, we thank you for the word of God, your truth and the power of your Holy Spirit that bears witness unto it. Father, as we deal with this little member, this small member, this insignificant member of our physical body, the tongue, Father, I pray, Lord God, bring that conviction of your Holy Spirit. You don't give us messages to condemn us or to cast us down or to make us feel hopeless, but to convict us, to challenge us, to rebuke us, to redirect us, to show us what is the way of blessing, to show us how to bring the blessing of God upon our life, our home, our family, our church, our area, our friends, our workplace. And Lord God, we do want the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, tonight I pray that you'd show us the reality, the importance of this little member. No being a small member, it's so vital. And Lord God, I pray, speak to us by the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. My message in this part seven is a little member, the tongue, the tongue in the body. The little member. In verse five, it actually talks about the tongue. The tongue is a little member. In these verses as well, it talks about the tongue among other members and specifically talks about the physical body. So we see this entire chapter is actually about the tongue from beginning to end. It's all about the importance of the tongue, saying that it's a little member in the midst of your physical body. If you understand what the tongue is in your physical body, you'll begin to understand what the use of your tongue with words, speaking, conversation is in your entire life. And I actually believe the tongue as a small member of the physical body is actually nothing compared to how your tongue is used in your life. If it is small in the physical body compared to your head, your arm, your leg, your entire body, if it's small and compared to them, often not seen, but most always, always heard. That's what the tongue is. Just because it's small doesn't mean that it doesn't exert itself and play a very prominent place. Imagine trying to gather and not use your tongue. How often do you meet with someone else and not use your tongue? How many times? Do you have any interaction or any relationship with any individual in your life in which you do not use your tongue? I know now we live in a technical age, you can use Facebook and all the rest, but really all that is, is another means of using your tongue. You've found another means. And as soon as you get to use your tongue with the people you communicate through those means, believe me, you use your tongue. And so we do not even communicate or have any relationship apart from that tongue. The body is very great. The body is strong. No one would say that your tongue is strong. Although if you're around some people, you're bound to think that person's tongue must be very strong. They certainly use it a lot. They exercise it a lot. Therefore, it must be very strong. You're going to actually see that the entire Bible emphasizes the tongue an awful lot. All through Proverbs, it dominates how you speak, what you say, your words, all through the Proverbs, all through the Bible. If I started Genesis and went through the Revelation, we'd be here an awful long time. I want to tell you that I spent many years sitting upon an entire series on the tongue. And my title for that, I've had it for about 20 years, that title. And I sat and I haven't preached these messages. In fact, I've only ever preached one of them repeatedly through the years. And it's concerning Caleb in reference to the tongue. That's the only one of these messages. I sat in one church for about five years and these messages were burning. I had them. I wanted to preach them, but God never let me. Do you realize that the Bible teaches that God has things to say to you, but he may not say them because of where you're at? I know concerning that church, it was because it would have been despised. They were vital messages for that church and yet God wouldn't let me. I knew it was an urgent need in that church and he wouldn't let me. It was a terrible reflection or shame in that church that God would not let me preach on the tongue. You know why? Their sin would have become greater. And that was the sin in that church. Since we started this church, I've not been able to teach or preach these messages, but it's not for that reason. I don't know the reason, but I certainly know it's not that reason. You're not a people who are negligent of that. And yet all of us are, all of us are to a certain degree. And so when you go to the Bible, the tongue, the warnings, the teaching, the examples are so many, it would take a very big series to even begin to touch upon it. But look at James here for a second. Here's an entire chapter. And remember what James was written for. He was writing to emphasize, yes, we're saved by faith. Yes, it's through grace. Yes, it's because of what Christ done on the cross alone. That's the only way you can be saved. It's not your good works. Your good works are like filthy rags, a menstrual cloth. That's what it says. That's what all your goodness is. That's why when a man or woman thinks they're good and that recommends them to God and they say, I'm a nice guy or a nice cow, and that must commend me to God. God actually says, you know what your goodness and niceness is? It is like a menstrual cloth. I'm sorry to use that, but that's what the Bible calls it. In other words, it's filthy. I don't want to see it. Don't keep it around here. You present your good works like Cain did. And yet God says, get it away from me. It's only the blood. But James has written to balance this. Yes, we're saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. But don't go to the other extreme. James has written to balance this up and say that if you don't have works following, there's something wrong with your faith. If your faith is real, then there's going to be works. If there's no works, it's because your faith isn't real. And that's why he says in James, even the devils in hell have faith. Demons have faith and they tremble. They believe the word of God. They know about God and they tremble. They actually tremble. They believe in God, but they're not saved. You know why? There's no holiness. There's no purity. There's no obedience. They're evil, but they believe it all. They know it all to be true. They tremble in the presence of God. And so James is writing and saying, you know what? Your faith needs works. And your faith, if it's real, produces something in your life. That doesn't mean you don't fall flat in your face at times, or you don't fail, or you haven't sinned as a Christian. But if there's no fruit, if there's no works, then your faith is dead. Look at James chapter one and verse 19. He mentions this about the tongue twice in the first chapter. James chapter one, verse 19, it says, wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift or very quick to hear. That's a command. Do you know, usually we get it the other way round. What are we? We're swift to speak and very slow to listen. That is normal to all of us. That's within human nature. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Soon as I hear that from a German or an Irishman, I go, oh boy, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me show you how to do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Do you know that people who know most usually keep quiet at that point and say, yeah, show me the people who know most. The ones that are very ignorant are the ones who go, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know. And you're going, boy, what does he say in verse 19? Let every man be swift to hear very, very quick, very quick, very speedy and slow to speak, slow to wrath. Do you know why there's so much wrath or anger or people acting out of anger? It's because they're not swift to hear and they're very quick to speak. If you can't control your tongue, listen to this. This is one of about a hundred points here. If you can't control your tongue, you can't control your anger, guaranteed. Show me someone who has no control over their tongue. They have an anger problem. It's connected. If you're slow to speak, you would be slow to wrath. If you can control your tongue and you're very controlled, very slow, very thoughtful, very deliberate in what you say, and you're listening very quickly, you're a person who's slow to wrath or to get angry. You are. It's connected. Again, in James chapter 126, it says, if any man among you seem to be religious, we live in an hour in the church and they have blackened the word religious. They think the word religious means legalist. Actually, the Bible in James uses the word religious in a very good way. The word religious is the sign of being a true Christian. They talk about being religious. They mean legalistic. Oh, you're being religious. Yes, I am. And you know what? To be religious in its true sense is a good thing. So being religious isn't being legalistic. Being religious is being Christ-like in its true definition. If any man among you seem to be religious, he seems to be, he gives an appearance of being religious or very Christ-centered, but, and bridleth not his tongue, doesn't control his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart. This man's religious religion is vain. So notice already in chapter one of James that he is already building in when he begins to deal with, let's make sure our faith is real, our Christianity is real, our church life is real. He really goes for it in chapter one concerning the tongue. And he's saying, if you don't bridle your tongue, I don't care what you do. I don't care how much knowledge you have. I don't care if you prophesy. If you don't bridle your tongue, if you don't control your tongue, you're deceived tonight. You're actually in deception. In other words, you think you're okay, but you're actually not. You're in great danger. And so if you can't control your tongue, but you seem to those around you to be religious, your religion is vain. It's empty. It accomplishes nothing. It is waste. It's good for nothing. You are wasting your entire time. If your religion cannot affect your tongue, then your religion is nothing. It's in vain. And so in chapter one, he just prepares us as he goes into this entire letter. Remember who James was? He's the half brother of Jesus Christ. He was born to Joseph and Mary. He's one of several children born after the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary was not a perpetual virgin. And here you have her son, Joseph's son, actually writing this letter. And he addresses it at the beginning, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a man. You grew up with Christ and you used to go, he's a pain. Do you know what? He never said a word wrong. He never does anything wrong. He's always right. He does everything right. Imagine growing up with that sort of sibling in your house. You would need an awful lot of grace, not to get mad at a brother or sister who's the embodiment of perfection. They always say the right thing at the right time in the right place, always throughout all the years, up through childhood, up through teenage years, up into your twenties, the embodiment of utter perfection and controlling your tongue. That's hard to be around, you know? And you react to it. I want to here is to give you, if I can, eight distinct points in this chapter, chapter three. When James comes to chapter three, he goes into this in detail. He gives us eight clear points here about the tongue. It's a little member, like in your body. It's a little member, but now he's going to show you it's not unimportant. It's not insignificant. It is little, but you can't imagine how important it is. In fact, your Christianity is nothing if you ignore what it says in this chapter. Number one, don't be in a hurry to teach others. Verse one, my brethren, being not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. The word masters there is the Greek word for teacher, speaking about a teacher in the church or within the body of Christ. The word can also mean an instructor, someone who stands in the midst of God's people, and they lay everything out systematically. They are teaching the word of God. They are teaching the things of God. And so here, he begins in speaking about the tongue, an entire chapter on the tongue. He says, do not be many masters or many teachers. You know, when I was young, they still called teachers in school, the master, the teacher, the master. They still, I'm sure you did that in your day. And so it's a normal thing. This isn't a master as far as a slave and a master. This is a master as far as a teacher, teaching students or teaching disciples. And the first thing he says here is don't be many masters. Do you know, there's not many, many masters in the church. There's not meant to be many teachers expound on the word. There's not meant to be. It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, 18, but now has God said every member. And listen, I believe the teacher is like the tongue. He is a little member in the entire body. He is small. He is little. He is insignificant. If he's a true gifted teacher from God, do you know what? He is a little member. He knows he is the least among many. He knows he's only one. He knows that he has a specific task. And so Paul here in 1 Corinthians 12, 18, he says, the God has set the members, every one of them in the body, every member, just like your body. You don't get all the members of the body scattered off doing different things. They function together to bring about an entire life. That's what the church is. It's like a body. An eye is not a toe. A toe cannot see. Do you realize that? An eye can't walk. A nose can't eat. A mouth can't smell. So every member has a specific task in the body. And we see this, that Paul says every single member has its place in the body of Christ. Every single member as it has pleased him. And then verse 28, and God has set some in the church. First of all, he says all the members are set in place. Then he says some, not many, some. He has set in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers. So we have teachers in there. Some teachers God has set in the body. I want you to see that in saying don't be many masters, don't be teachers. Do you know we live in a generation, everyone wants to be the mouth in the body of Christ. Do you realize in the technical age, we have given a platform to every, better be careful of my words, every person in the body of Christ, all of them have become teachers on YouTube, on Facebook, through media. You get on YouTube, this person who wouldn't be allowed to do anything in a local church, suddenly lectures everyone, teaches everyone. They get on YouTube and they go, I'm an expert in every subject. I've met Christians in the church and they listen to people on YouTube and they go, they really know what they're talking about. They're heretics. And you know what, they wouldn't be allowed in the door here, nevermind to stand in the pulpit, but you'll watch them or listen them in the front room and say, they really seem to know what they're saying. How dangerous. You know what, a teacher in the church is a tongue, does a lot of speaking I'm afraid, but you know what, he's a little member, he's only one member and he has a specific calling. You can't be a teacher without being qualified. If you're not born a tongue, you can't become a tongue. If God doesn't make you a tongue, you better not try to be a tongue. And yet across the body, there is an overemphasis of many being teachers. You know, first of all, you need to be qualified to be a teacher in the church. There's 22 qualifications in Timothy and Titus. One of them is apt or able to teach, only one. Do you know in our generation, we think if I can teach, if I have knowledge, I can then teach everyone else. But the Bible doesn't say that. The Bible actually says that if you have the gifted ability to teach, there's still another 21 qualifications. And it's all about your character and your life and your family and the attitude of your heart. And you mustn't be soon angry is one of them. That means the tongue is under control. And so this is where James starts here. Don't be in a hurry to teach others. Don't be in a hurry to think you're an expert on things that you're actually ignorant about. Having knowledge isn't enough. Knowing what's going on or knowing the Bible is not enough. It doesn't make you a teacher in which you can teach everyone. Being a teacher doesn't mean you have the right to teach everyone. It means much more than that. You need to be qualified in your character or you've got no right to speak in the church of God. If my life is not right, if I am not bridling my tongue, I have no right to be a tongue in the church. And so we see that the teacher is a small member, but he does have a specific calling. And if God doesn't, you could have all the gifted, all the qualifications, all the ability, all the knowledge, and yet God may not make you a teacher. Some people think if they're a teacher out there, they've got the natural ability to teach, then they can come into the church and teach. Absolutely not. I was not qualified as a teacher outside of the grace of God. I want to tell you, no way was I naturally endowed with the ability to teach or expound. It was a God-given calling, gifting ability. I've seen teachers in the secular world try to move over and say, this is my ability, therefore this is how God is going to use me in the church. Absolutely wrong. And so there's a warning. Brethren, be not many masters or teachers, knowing that we, Paul, or sorry, James puts himself in the same context. We shall receive the greater condemnation. You know, if you put yourself in a position, don't be eager to teach. Can I encourage you? Don't be eager to be a teacher of the word of God. You know why? You'll come under a greater condemnation. That means a greater scrutiny by the spirit of God, more than any member in the church. Do you know God's going to scrutinize me more? My judgment, my testing by far will be greater than yours. That's what it's saying here. So if you want to be a teacher, you are setting yourself up for a far greater standard. And so if you do that, if you're there lecturing everyone else, you better be ready to be judged in a greater way, or tested by God in a greater way. It says over in the verse two, for in many things we offend all. So he's saying here, look, I'm telling you as a teacher and instructor of others, there's a tendency that we offend all with our tongue, through our teaching, our preaching. There's going to, you know, in the history of this church at some point, I have caused offense to each one of you at some point. I was not offensive. I was not wrong in what I said. But through teaching the word of God, it causes offense or it's an offense is taken. The word offense there means you fall or you stumble or you trip over that. I teach something you haven't got inserted in your life, or you're wrestling with, or I mentioned in the tongue tonight, and you're going, oh boy, do you know what you can do over that teaching? You could trip over it and go, Lord, where am I? That's what it actually means. For in many things, in many things, we offend all. And he carries on. For in many things, we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same as a perfect man. If I as a preacher didn't offend, that's remarkable. But the first thing, notice that don't be in a hurry to be a teacher in the church. This is where it starts. Number two, the perfect man. Verse two, for in many things, we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same as a perfect man. Unable also to bridle the whole body. This is the second point he comes to here is showing what is a perfect man in the Bible. The Bible does talk about perfection. You know, Christians start to say, nobody's perfect. That's a lie. That's not true. We're all sinners. Nine out of 10 people who start going down that line, they're justifying their own sin. They've got all manners of sin that they haven't dealt with or don't want to deal with. So you talk about perfection or walking with God and they go, you're condemning me. I don't feel good about what you're preaching. Therefore, there must be something wrong with you, the preacher. I worked very hard just to preach the word of God. And I preach a lot of grace, a lot of love. I explain these things. But here is James speaking about the perfect man. What does a perfect man look like? Does it mean that he's sinlessly perfect and he never sins? No, it doesn't say that. Job was a perfect man. David was a perfect man. Moses was a perfect man. Paul was a perfect man. And in fact, in the New Testament, Paul says we ought to all be pressing on towards perfection. All of us, this is for all of us as Christians, you ought to go on to perfection. The word perfect or perfection means maturity, sincerity, completion, or fullness. In other words, if I have an apple in springtime or in early spring, heading somewhere between spring and summer, Jerod keep me right on this. And when you see the first apples in that tree, they're small, aren't they? Would you eat them? No. Do you pluck them? No. Would you enjoy them? Absolutely not. But are they perfect? They're not fully complete, but they're perfect at that stage. They're perfect for that stage of their growth, but they're not fully grown. They're perfect, but they're not perfect. They're going on to perfection. What is perfection? To be fully grown, to mature, to come to that place of ripeness or fruitfulness. And so he's talking here about the perfect man. What is the mark of a perfect man? He is able to bridle the whole body. It says that he does not offend in words. He's got control over words. It's natural for all of us. You could be nice and kind and good, and you'll just put your foot in it and say the wrong thing. Have you ever done that? You don't mean anything bad, and you go, how do I back reverse out of this again? You can't. You've just said the thing. And the more you try to dig yourself out, the deeper you go. And you go, stop digging. Stop trying to get, just stop right there. And so he explains about what is a perfect man. If you do not offend in word, the same as a perfect man, I'm able also to bridle the whole body. He said, if you can control your tongue, you can control your whole body. It's a very important thing here. What is a bridle? It's what they put. It's the bets they put in the mouth of a horse, and it's to lead or to guide. It's a little thing that they put in the horse's mouth. And if you can get that bit in the horse's mouth, you can direct its whole body. You can stop it. You can make it go forward. I once got on a horse, and I went, GG, kicked it, done all the things I saw in the mood. It didn't do anything. Candice had told the owner, don't let him ride that thing. I don't want him falling off and hurting. And I'm trying everything to make this thing. It didn't work. My one chance to be John Wayne, and it didn't work. But do you know what he says here? He says concerning, being master of his tongue. This perfect man has mastered his tongue. Can I ask you, have you mastered your tongue? Oh, it's a physical member in your mouth. But I'm talking about more than that. I'm talking about the activity of the tongue. Have you mastered it? Are you lord of your tongue? Do you know how to control your tongue? Do you easily offend people? You speak what you think. I just told them. Or maybe you speak it in the car on the way home, and you haven't told them, but you certainly tell the roof of your car. Well, you know what? You're certainly not a perfect man. He talks here about controlling the tongue. If you control the tongue, you'll control the body. If you control a horse's mouth, you'll control its whole body. And he's saying here, what is a perfect man? Paul says in Philippians 3.17, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for examples. Paul's saying, look at me and those who follow me, teach the way I teach or live the way I live, then mark them out. Really mark them. Really look at their life. It says in Psalm 37.37, mark the perfect man. Do you know what the word mark there? It means that you're to take notice of them, you're to listen, and you're to say, that man is a perfect man. And behold, be upright for the end of that man is peace. You ought to know people who have control of their tongue. You ought to see the blessing of it. You ought to see the beauty of it. We ought to mark out those who control their tongue. And the Bible also says this. It says in Romans 16, mark them which cause divisions or offenses contrary to the doctrine. So if someone is causing division and pouring out strife and telling lies, you ought to mark them. We mark them in the body of Christ. You know what? As a preacher, if I found that, I'd say, this person is causing division. This person is a liar. We're to mark them and make them visible. You know, when I was a kid and you went in the swimming pool, you know, as a wee kid, and forgive me for using this, but if you went to the toilet in the pool, it went a certain color, and then they threw a hoop around you. They marked you out. We ought to have that in the church. We ought not to have people act any way and speak any way, and they just blend in. The Bible actually says, mark out those that cause problems and mark out those that are perfect or have control of their tongue. We ought to do that. So James is doing this. He is talking about the perfect man, and don't think that controlling your tongue means silence or quietness. Just because you're quiet doesn't mean you control your tongue. Neither is silence controlling your tongue. Do you speak up when you ought to speak up? Do you make a stand, or do you compromise? Say, I'm just keeping quiet. Then you're not controlling your tongue. To control your tongue means you speak when you ought to speak, and you stay quiet when you ought to be quiet, and you have the wisdom to do that. Third of all, two examples of the power of the tongue. And so we see the power. It's a little member, but there's an unbelievable power here. It says in verse 3, behold, we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us. Unless you put something in the mouth of a horse, it will not obey. Why do you put something in the horse's mouth to make it obedient? If you don't have a bit in the horse's mouth, obedience goes out the window. It's the same with your tongue. If there's no restraint, if there's no pulling upon your mouth, if you can say anything, speak anything, do anything, there's no obedience. So if there's no restraint in your tongue, you're disobedient. If the word of God does not restrain your tongue, if the Holy Spirit doesn't constrain your tongue, if the grace of God doesn't constrain your tongue, if other members of the body don't stop you and say, brother, that's not right. Sister, you should not be speaking like that. If there's none of that going on, you are going to be walking in disobedience. But like a horse, it says put a bit in the horse's mouth and you will get obedience. There's got to be an influence on that horse, on its mouth, if you want to control its body. If I want to see your life come into order, we better get your tongue sorted out. If your tongue is out of order, your entire Christianity is out of order. If you're wrong in the way you speak to people, you're wrong from the top of your head to the foot of your feet. That's how simple that says. And it says if you're going to turn the horse's body, you better get that tongue. I'm after your tongue here tonight by the word of God, by the spirit of God. I'm after your tongue. You know why? By dealing with the little member of the tongue, I want to move your entire body into Christ's likeness. If we can't get your tongue, we don't have your body. We don't have your Christian life at all. So there's two examples here he gives. One of the horse and then in verse four of a ship. Both of these examples, the horse and the ship, do you know what's the same? Control is exercised by a person through a small object. The man sitting on the back of the horse controls through a small bit in the mouth of the horse. But then in verse four, behold also the ships, which though they be so great, you're talking about a massive ship here, and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. So you've got two things here. You've got a massive ship. That's the ship you want to direct. But in around the ship, it says it is driven by fierce winds. So you've got one man on that ship, one man, one small member. He's the helmsman. Or it says here, it calls him the governor. That means the steering man. And it means to steer a straight course, to go in a straight line, to go direct. So you need a governor. You need an oarsman. You need a man at the helm. And the helm is small. The ship is big. The weather is dynamic, fierce, dangerous. And the weather can even drive that massive boat. It'll drive it. So if you don't have someone directing it, you're going to have problems. Do you know what he's talking about? The tongue. He talks about a horse. What is a horse going to be like without a man who has control of that bit in the mouth? What's that horse going to be like? Down in Texas, I used to visit a family in Corpus Christi. And there was a wild horse there. And the pastor we were visiting said, Brother Keith, I'm glad you're here staying with us. I want you to ride that horse. Nobody had broken that young horse. And he says, I want you to get on that horse. I said, Brother, you're not going to get me on that horse for anything. I'm not getting on the back of that. It's not broken. Do you know what a horse is like without that bit, without obedience? It is wild. It is mad. Also, imagine a boat without an udder, without a helmsman directing it. Without a rudder, what would it be like? It would be driven by every wind. You know, some people are like that. They're driven by everything around them, everything they see and feel and think. They are driven. They're like a ship without direction. I mean, a massive ship, it's going to get driven by the weather onto the rocks and be destroyed. All you need is a little rudder. One man with a rudder can direct that big ship through a massive storm and save everybody. All it is is a little thing. And this ship in the storm is like your tongue and your life. And you know, all you need to do is control that tongue. If you control that tongue, you'll steer through every storm. You won't be driven by the storms. People who have no control over their tongues have no control over life itself. You want to know why your entire life is a mess. Your thought life, your decisions infect your entire life. You go, it's a mess. It's disorderly. Your tongue is disorderly. You have never learned to put a bit in your mouth. You've never learned to be a helmsman or a governor to direct through the storms of life. Fourth of all, the pride of the tongue. Are you enjoying this? Not too many amens. Number four, the pride of the tongue. Verse five, even so the tongue, even so, look at the horse, look at the boat. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasteth great things. He now begins to describe what a tongue is. It's little. Many people ignore the tongue. I can have my Christian life. I can love Jesus. I can walk with the Lord. I can have heaven. I can have all the blessings of God, but it doesn't matter what I say with my mouth. The pride of the tongue. When it says the little member, which is the tongue, boasteth great things, it means it grows large in talking big. That's what the Greek means. It means the tongue is arrogant. The tongue glories in itself. Listen carefully. The tongue, apart from God's grace, realizes its own power that the Bible teaches about. It teaches that it is the influence of the entire body. When you communicate with someone, no other part of the body influences like the tongue. That tongue brings an influence into the church, into the family, into your workplace. Look at the influence and the place of the tongue. The tongue begins to see its advantage rather than the danger. Do you see the advantage of your tongue? Well, I can just cut off a bit of the truth. I can tell people what I want them to believe. I can steer things. I can manipulate someone. I could just drop a word here. I could rebuke someone. I could make someone feel bad. I can spew words out to batter them into a corner. You're someone who doesn't realize the danger of your tongue. You see the advantage. You know what you're doing? You are boasting in the greatness of your tongue. You think your tongue is great. There's no restriction, no limit. I can do anything with my tongue. I can make someone feel that size with my tongue. Or I can make someone do what I want them to do. I hate these sins of the tongue. I hate it. I hate anyone to see anyone making someone else feel little. I hate that. I hate it when I see someone manipulating someone else. I hate it. I hate the sins of the tongue. And you know what? That is not for a Christian. Brethren, we shouldn't be like this. You know, even my grandfather was unsaved to 55. He had control of his tongue. You could be unsaved and practice this and you'll be blessed as a sinner. You won't make it to heaven for that. But you'll find the principle of it works in your life. And so he says, now notice what is this little member? It's so small, but of itself, it's proud. It goes, I've got great influence. I can control situations. I can control my life. I can control my wife. I can control my husband. I can control my boss. Or I can control those who work under me. I'll just say a little word and intimidate them. Do you know how dangerous that is? That is not a tongue under the control of God. Your tongue has not been sanctified. Your tongue is in grave danger. What a terrible thing. Number four, sorry, number five, the tongue on fire. He's explaining about the tongue. Here in number five, as we go to verse six, you begin to see it's destructive power. Not only the pride of the tongue. If you get pride in your tongue and it's not restrained, it becomes very, very destructive. Behold how great a matter, a little fire kindleth at the end of verse five. Behold how great a matter, a little fire kindleth. Do you know your tongue kindles a little fire? Do you know from one match, a building can be burned down? Remember in Chicago, in America, the great fire in the 19th century, it was a car knocked over a lamp. First it burnt the shed, then a house, then the neighbor's house, then the entire city. An entire city burnt down. Many died in that fire. A little fire destroyed an entire city. I was in a barn, I told you, as a kid, and it burnt down the whole building. A little fire, a little candle, one match. Do you know what he's saying here? A tongue on fire, what does it look like? Remember what my series would be on the series on the tongue? Did I tell you? Maybe I didn't. This would be my series title. Is your tongue set on fire of heaven or of hell? That would be my title. A tongue set on fire. He's talking here about the tongue can start fires. Your tongue can start a fire and you'll never put it out. You could destroy a relationship, you could destroy a marriage, you could destroy a church, you could destroy a sinner. I've seen people who claim to be Christians go out and destroy sinners in the city. We can't even walk up to them and talk about Jesus now because of those individuals. They went into evangelize and they ended up committing fornication with the daughter. I can't speak to that family. Your tongue set on fire, caused damage. It can't be repaired. You see, if you gossip about someone, you can be forgiven. You could come to me and apologize. You could gossip about me and then you could come and say, I'm so sorry. You could go to God and say, I'm sorry, but you may never be able to fix that. Never. You realize, many years ago, someone moved in, their tongue was on fire, and they tried to do damage to me in Belfast. And there was a godly pastor and his wife. His wife was the embodiment of godliness, a godly older lady. I loved to fellowship with her and talk with her. But that man got to that couple and got to that wife. And the next meeting I walked into, they were always so warm. And I was at the front of the meeting and I looked back and I looked up and smiled. And as soon as she seen me, her face dropped and she turned away. My heart was broken. And I went, she's a godly woman. She's a holy woman. She loves the Lord Jesus. But someone spoke to that lady. She's in heaven now. And I'll see her there and she'll know the truth and we'll be reconciled. But you know what I knew? I can never win that woman over. Someone's tongue was set on fire. And that little fire created such damage that it's going to take eternity before it's repaired. In time, I could never repair it. And I'm only talking about one thing there. The tongue set on fire of heaven, verse six, and the tongue is a fire. Not only does it light fire, but here, the tongue is a fire. Don't you forget that. It is a fire. That's the nature of your tongue. If God's grace doesn't get a hold of it, if you don't take control of your tongue, your tongue by its nature is a fire. That's how dangerous it is. You know, people who have been trained in using guns, rifles, weapons, they have a very healthy respect of them. That's why most people who are highly trained in weapons almost never have an accident with a weapon. It's people who don't have a fear of weapons. If you're trained with a rifle, you treat that thing like life itself. It's sacred. I love weapons. Haven't used one in many, many decades. But I love rifle. I can smell the oil. I can smell the wood. I love it. But you know what? I'm scared every time I think of a rifle. I wish we were like that with our tongues. You know, you could shoot someone with your tongue. You could destroy someone. You can hurt someone. You can damage something. That's how dangerous your tongue is. During the troubles in the north, we always said, words cost lives. When I married Candice, way after the troubles are finished, when I was on the high street, I used to go to say something. I dropped my voice and whispered to her. At first, she didn't know what I was doing. It's a lifetime of training. Be careful what you say, where you say it, when you say it, who you say it to. Because men have died. I could give you stories. Men died because of silly talk. It led to death. And if only we in the church realize your tongue is a fire, apart from God's grace, it is very, very dangerous. Then what else does he say? He said, it's a world of iniquity. Your tongue is not only a fire that can cause damage. It's a world of iniquity. The word world here is cosmos. The word we use for universe. It's saying here that your tongue, your natural tongue, apart from God's grace, unless you bridle your tongue, if you don't control your tongue, then your tongue's a fire. It's a world of iniquity. It's an entire cosmos of evil, of iniquity. Everything is in there. Lying is in there. Slander is in there. Backbiting is in there. Gossip is in there. Foolish jesting is in there. Excusing yourself. Adam said, you made the woman and gave her to me. That was his tongue speaking to God. Do you realize your tongue is an entire world of iniquity? Every sin you see in the world is there in your tongue. Do you know how much evil comes out of the tongue? It's an entire universe of iniquity, of potential sin. Your tongue embodies the potential to commit every single sin. It is a world of iniquity. It has numerous sins built into it. We talked about something coming, a lot of it, a truckload of it. Here comes a truckload of something. He goes further. He says, not only is there a truckload of sin, he said there's a world, an entire cosmos of sin connected to your tongue. All of this is waiting to come out through your tongue. It's a little member. Oh, my tongue's innocent. No, it's not. Not one of you. My tongue isn't innocent. That's why you have to guard it. You set a watch over your tongue. What does Proverbs say? Set a watch over my mouth, praying to God. Oh God, help me to guard my mouth. I need to guard my mouth. It is so dangerous that you could say something you'll regret. Saints, live never to say anything to anyone that you're ever going to regret. I've endeavored to do that in my marriage for 15 years. Do you know there's been times I've wanted to say some things? You may not believe that. There's been times I sat in my hands. There's times I shut my mouth tight because I knew I'd regret it. But if you say it, you can't go back. You can say, forgive me. You can be forgiven. But you can't change that thing. Do you know what? It's a wonderful thing when you say, I'm going to live my life in such a way, I'll not say what I'm going to regret afterwards. I'm going to speak the truth of God. It's going to be a wonderful thing. The tongue, so is the tongue among our members. And it defileth the whole body. If your tongue sins, it stains your entire body. It's a small head member and yet your entire body is stained or is marked by what your tongue has done. And it sets on fire the course of nature. That means your entire life, your entire life, the course of nature. It means the full circle of one wheel from beginning to end. If your tongue is set on fire of hell, do you know what? It sets the whole course of your life on fire. I've watched people on fire. They've started a fire in their life and it's affected them all the way to the day they die. I've seen people die and I tremble at the thought of them going into eternity, dying like that. It's set on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell. This is going back to the source. Do you know the word hell here is the word Gehenna, always used by Christ. Outside the city of Jerusalem was a dumping ground. They dumped all the waste there. It perpetually burnt. It never went out the fire. All the waste and rubbish of the city went there. Do you know in previous revivals, they put all the idols and the statues there. You know at times when Jerusalem was worshipping false gods, they had Moloch out there. You know the God Moloch and his hands were out like this and they would light a fire under his hands and his hands would be red hot and they'd bring the little babies out of the city. Isn't it terrible when religion goes wrong? And they'd go out to Moloch and they'd drop the baby onto the hands and it was a sacrifice to Moloch. Gehenna was a perpetual burning pit. It was filled with worms that ate up corpses. Criminals who died, they threw their bodies there. It was stinking. It was smelly. There were worms. There was gnashing of teeth, I want to assure you. It was the picture Jesus used for hell. There was a perpetual burning all through the night it burned. First thing in the morning, you could smell it. Set on fire of hell. Imagine having your tongue set on fire of hell. James is writing from the city of Jerusalem. That's where he lived. And he's ministering to the church and he's saying, do you know what? Your tongue naturally speaking is set on fire of Gehenna. See that smelly, stinking, rubbish heap? That's where your tongue was set on fire from. Remember Jesus said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. He's speaking more than a physical punishment when you die and go to hell. He's speaking about more than that. He's speaking more than something symbolic. He's talking about a real power and authority. And he says, men without Christ, their tongue is set on fire of hell. It's destructive. Do you hear me? The tongue is set on fire of, how else can I explain the fire that comes out of the tongue of man? The devastation, the perpetual influence of it. You say something to someone else and that fire keeps burning. You gossip to someone, you blacken someone. Go try and take that back. Try to repair it. The tongue is a fire. Number six, it's untamable. Proof it's set on fire of hell. It's untamable. This is proof. It's on fire of hell, set on fire of hell. Verse seven, for every kind of beast and of birds and of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed and has been tamed of mankind. Notice he's saying man, because in the next verse he says, no man can. In fair not only God can, but every type of beast, even beagles have been tamed to a certain perspective. You know, as soon as I grab her collar, as soon as we put a lead on her, she acts different. The eagles are an utterly radically different creature. I want to tell you, but if you get a lead on it, it's suddenly, it's there until you take it for a walk. Then you've got to deal with that. We have tamed lions and bears and sea creatures and serpents, every type of creature he sent. Man has set himself in the past 6,000 years to tame every kind of animal. They tame an elephant that could trample you with one foot, no problem. And yet you have men who've trained them, who've tamed them, who've disciplined them, who use them as servants. Isn't that remarkable? A large elephant from being little, it's being tamed, it's being trained. You don't want to meet a wild elephant. You don't want to do that. Once in South Africa, we had an elephant that turned and the guy who's driving us around, he says, they don't charge. They normally never ever charge. I said, that's good to know. I said, what do you do if it does charge? He says, well, you deal with that accordingly then. All of a sudden, this elephant, as it come under the and it had a second thought and it turned back and it began to charge at us. I said, now what? And he says, just stay still. Every type of animal has been tamed. These wild animals, man prides himself. If there's an animal you can't tame, then you will get some fool who says, I'm going to tame that animal. It's going to become, remember the guy who, the stingrays, he would go and swim with them and eventually kill them. But he would be there swimming with them. You see, man says, we have dominion. We have power. We can tame any animal. But look at verse 8, but the tongue can no man tame. I'm going to tell you after 6,000 years, man does not know how to tame the tongue. He doesn't know how to control the tongue. It is an unruly, evil, full of deadly poison. Only God's grace can truly conquer the tongue. Because you could be quiet and not say things to offend, and yet you'll not say things that you ought to say. It's not unruly evil. In chapter 1, verse 8, it actually says about the double-minded man being unstable. Well, that's the same word used here of the tongue, that it is unruly and unruly evil. Watch your tongue. It's untamable. You can't control it. It's unruly. It's restless. It's always looking to be satisfied. He also said it's full of deadly poison. It's untamable. How do you tame something that has poison under it? You say, my tongue's not like that. Really? This preacher has to realize his tongue is like that, apart from the grace of God. If I don't bridle my mouth, if I don't look for God's grace, if I don't come under the hand of God, my tongue is untamable as anything. No man can tame that tongue. I'm aware of that. God can. You're not looking at someone here who excuses the sins of the mouth. You can control your tongue. You can subdue that tongue, but it's by the grace. If you're sinning with your tongue, you need to get on your knees and cry out and repent to God. It's full of deadly poison. If you had something full of poison, if you had a serpent here, Candace hates snakes. In South Africa, she was always very nice. I think it was a couple of nights before she told me the first time. We'd get home and she says, I'll walk down first, down the dark steps to the house, night time. And I thought, how wonderful. My new wife actually wants to check out the scene. Is there any serpents? Is there anything around? So she goes down first. What I didn't know is they always bite the second person. But she didn't tell me for a few nights. I went, oh brilliant. So I'm the rear guard on the sacrifice. Do you know why we fear snakes so much? Because there's poison in their mouth. Who wants bitten by a serpent? You know what? If you know there's a serpent here and it's poison, you don't play with it. You don't sit down with it. You know what? If you knew someone who doesn't control their tongue and they're in the church, they could be a preacher or they could be an older Christian or they could be a new Christian. And if you knew poison was under that tongue and they don't control their tongue, you know what? You'd treat that person very differently, wouldn't you? If you knew this person's a liar, you want to be around a liar? You know they're a gossip, go tell your secrets to a gossip. Do you want to do that? If you knew that I go and talk to everyone else in the church about you, would you come and share something personal to me or ask something personal? Brother Keith, I really need your input on this. I hope you wouldn't. You'd be a fool. Number seven, I'll close this. I won't deal with the eighth and last point or I'll preach for another hour. Number seven, the source of the problem. We know hell sets the tongue on fire. But seventh and lastly, the source of the problem. What's the source of the problem? Let me come to Christians and a Christian life. Can a Christian sin with their tongue? Are all the commands of the New Testament about the tongue and there's clear commands, are they written just to sinners or are they written to a Christian? Do you think that you get born again and saved and then you never have problem with the tongue? You see, you could be a sinner and say, well, once I get saved, once I get born again, I won't need to worry about sin again. And the tongue will suddenly be perfect. You haven't been around Christians much. You see, in verse nine to verse 12, we deal with the problem of a Christian dealing with his tongue. Verse nine, therefore, bless we God, even the father and there with curse we men. Notice here, he's talking about the same person, the same tongue. One minute they're blessing God. We praise you, God. We love you, God. Thank you, Jesus. Aren't you wonderful, Jesus? We bless you. We praise you. They're at the very height. Do you know there's no higher use of the tongue than to bless God? This is the greatest way to use your tongue is to praise God and to honor God and give glory to God. That's as great as it gets. That's the greatest use of the tongue. And yet in the same breath, he also says, but we curse men. We curse men. In the Bible, to curse a man was despicable. You damn him to hell. You go to hell with you. I don't care about you. I don't care about your spiritual condition. I don't care if you die. I don't care where you go. That's as low as it gets. And here he's saying, with the same tongue, you can bless God. And then the next moment be cursing man. How terrible. See, there's the source of the problem here. You're cursing men, after the similitude of God, in the image of God. Don't you ever do that? Not to your enemies, not to a wicked man. Let God judge. Preach the gospel. A sinner will be judged. You will be judged if you don't get right with God. Preach the gospel, but never hold personal resentment. Someone may hurt you badly. Don't look for vengeance. Don't hate them. You're not allowed to hate someone. You know, in the church I've seen, it's hard enough to get so-called Christians to love one another. Boy, if you can't love your brother in the church, resentment and attitudes and annoyances, how are you going to love your enemy who tries to destroy you? If you can't love your brother who may have a few hiccups, but generally loves you, how are you going to love your enemies that will destroy you, and yet you're not allowed to have hatred? Verse 10, out of the same mouth, the same proceedeth blessing and cursing. He's talking about the same mouth. These two things pour out of it. How is that possible? My brethren, these things ought not to be. How do you use your tongue? You can use the same tongue for the greatest of things and the worst of things, and you're a Christian. As a Christian, you can lie. As a Christian, you can slander. As a Christian, you can misrepresent, falsely accuse, hurt, undermine, accuse. You can do all of those things. Verse 11, does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Answer me. With one fountain, the source, and we're dealing with the source, the source of water that's springing up, do you get a well or a source of water, one minute it's putting out sweet water, the next minute it's putting out bitter water, and you go it's come from the same source. Does that ever happen? Never, never. Two different kinds of water do not come from one source, never. You can't get bitter water out of the same source and get lovely, beautiful, sweet, fresh water. It cannot come from the same source. So tell me, does cursing and blessing come from the same source? No. It comes out of the same mouth, but not from the same source. Then he also talks in verse 12, can the fig tree, my brethren, making sure he knows I'm speaking to a Christian here, the fig tree, my brethren, can it bear olive berries? No. Neither of vine figs. So can no fountain. Both yield salt water and fresh. It's utterly impossible. If you get two things coming out of the same mouth, it means there's two different sources in your Christian life. Do you know where blessing, blessing God comes from? If you're sincere, you're not a deceiver. Blessing God comes out of the spirit, the renewed spirit, the born again spirit. That's the source of all blessing and blessing your brother and praying for your enemies. See, if you're blessing your enemies and praying for your enemies, I know where that's coming out of. That's coming out of a new heart. But if I hear you cursing men, getting angry, telling lies, I know where that's coming from. It's not from the same source, not from the one same Christian source of a renewed spirit. It's got another source because you can't get two kinds of fruit from a tree or two kinds of water from the same fountain. You can't do that. Neither can you get two different blessings and curses coming out of the same spirit. You can't. And you know, every Christian has a renewed spirit and an old man, a flesh life they need to deal with. And so he's dealing, he's going, this ought not to be, but we know it can be. It can be. The source of the problem is the flesh. Do you know when you say the wrong thing? That's your flesh. That's your old man. That's the old Adam. That's what the problem is. You're not dealing with the flesh. You know, I think there's some well sources of water we need to throw a few stones and block up. And there's another source we need to unblock. Spring up a well within my soul. I wonder what well that is. That is the well of salvation. John Bunyan and Pilgrim's Progress talks, you know, as many characters. It's a beautiful book. It's a classic. And he talks about all these different characters. I love it. I'm going to preach an entire series on John Bunyan's characters and bring the word of God to you. I've wanted to do that for years as well. But listen, John Bunyan has a character called Talkative and he joins Christian Pilgrim and Faithful on the road to paradise. And as they meet this Talkative, Faithful's very impressed with him and saying, we're going to the heavenly kingdom. Do you want to talk about the Lord? Oh yes, I want to talk about the Lord. And so Talkative loved to be with Christians, loved to talk about God's kingdom. He knew everything, believed everything, said everything. But Christian drew Faithful aside and said, Faithful, I need to tell you something. He's not what he's talking, Talkative. And he actually says he is a saint abroad when he's out and about at church and he's a devil at home. That's who Talkative is. Faithful thought he was a lovely brother in Christ. But Christian Pilgrim says, I need to tell you he's a hypocrite. He's a deceiver. His own heart's deceived because his tongue, when he gets home, that's how you know. If I continued, I'd have point eight as the wise worker and the devilish deceiver. In the last verses from verse 13 to the end of the chapter, and I need an entire hour just to preach it. The wise worker and the devilish deceiver. Two different people. Remember, it's all about the tongue still. Go home and study it for yourself. Study the words, lay out the difference in the two people. And you're going to see in the last verses of this chapter, it's still about the tongue, still about the little member. And this little member is revealing two different kinds of people. One of them is a wise worker in God's house. The other is a devilish deceiver. Make sure you know which one you're at. And saints, someone had messaged, you know, they listened to messages online and were so thankful for that. And they go, you preaching on a message condemns me. And then they went on Sermon Index and they said, do you know such and such a preacher who's a man of God, I had joy until I listened to him and Malcolmson. I had joy and I was happy in my Christianity. And I go, I know that man's a man of God and a preacher of truth. And I know I endeavor to preach the truth. We preach grace and love and all of the rest. But you know, when you hear what is taught in the Bible, beyond salvation by faith and the grace of God, when you begin to hear preaching and teaching on dealing with your Christian life and you fall into condemnation and go, it's all over. The problem is not the Bible or the preacher, because the preacher has to be faithful to preach the word of God. Do you know what the issue is? You've got a crisis and that's good. Don't separate your Christian life from grace. It's always grace. You always need to go back there. But you know what? You need the grace of God to deal with issues. This is a lifetime and I'm still working on it. And we need the grace. We need the mercy of God. And you've got two beautiful pictures to finish this chapter about what a Christian shouldn't be and what a Christian is. One that's from heaven and one that's from hell, but yet they could walk together in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you pray with me? And could we all just ask the Lord for his help? I need his help concerning this little member. It's a little member, but it's set on fire of hell. There's poison under it. It's unruly. It's a world of inequity. I need God's grace as a Christian. Even after all of these years, God helped me to walk before you. Father, we love you here tonight. Thank you for my brothers and sisters. Father, we pray that you would wash us with the word of God. We want you. We desire you. Lord God, who is able for these things? And Lord God, we do want to be that perfect man who bridles his tongue. And Lord God directs his entire life in the right direction. We pray, oh God, tonight that you'd strengthen us, that you'd encourage us, that we would have tongues not set on fire of hell, but set on fire of heaven. Lord God, raise up, oh God, believers who bridle the tongue, who are very careful in what they say to individuals around them. They're gracious, they're kind, they're wise. And Lord God, this comes from heaven. They're patient, they're teachable. Lord God, we ask that you make us such Christians that have learned to truly speak the wisdom of God in season and out of season. And Father, we thank you for these little messages. Lord God, thank you for the truth of God, that you take little things to bless us and to help us and to encourage us. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.