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Your Tongue is Taking You Somewhere
Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
The tongue is powerful because it is the instrument used to send out words, words are powerful because they have the power to create the reality we live in.
Genesis 1:3 and the Lord said let there be light and there was light.
Incredible potential
in the tongue – for good – or for bad.
The tongue doesn’t take you anywhere but it sets the course to where you
will go - other factors and choices will ultimately take you somewhere –
but the tongue is your rudder James 3:4-10 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
Your tongue will take you somewhere and contributes to the creation of the physical, emotional and spiritual reality you live in.
1/ The tongue can take you somewhere physically James 3:2 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
Tongue has about 10,000 taste buds. There are four types of taste buds: these are sensitive to sweet, salty, sour and bitter chemicals. It is usually correct to say that one smells more flavors than he tastes. When the nose fails, from a bad cold, for instance, 80%% of the taste ability is lost. Taste buds can only detect flavor when food is dissolved in saliva. [i]
I love accents - tells something about a persons age / education / location / social status
Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean. Galileans where considered to be the Hillbillies of Israel.
The
tongue can be hard to control - Tongue Twister:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck
of pickled peppers did Peter piper pick. Illus: Young Apprentice mouth of cursing – embarrassed even the tradesmen.
We all stumble but we can work to modify our use of the tongue.
Illus: In health, the way we speak can affect our bodies – remember that words are creative. When we speak we hear what we are saying and the brain records the words and what we spoke out is reinforced. I.e. ‘I feel tired’, ‘depressed’, ‘sick with worry’ etc.
Note: Good policy for the unmarried – no part of your body should enter any part of your girlfriend/boy friend’s body.
Declare: Where is your tongue taking you in your physical world?
2/ The tongue can take you somewhere emotionally Incredible potential in the tongue – for good – or for bad.
James 3:8-10 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
Psalm 64:3 They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows.
Slander – The communication of false statements injurious to a person's reputation Lying - A false statement deliberately presented as being true.
Illus: It is said that 91% of the population lie regularly. Most people never make it through a week without lying and 1 out of 5 people cannot even make it through one day without telling a lie. Statistics say that people lie 92% of the time to save face and 98% of the time to keep from offending someone else. [ii]
Criticism - Statements and opinions expressed about another person or their actions in way that can. Constructive criticism is a good thing, but destructive criticism is not Gossip - This is the practice of spreading rumors about others. It may be that the rumors are true. But, even that does not give us the right to tear down another's reputation. If we learn a secret about our neighbor, then we had better tell no one but God. He knows how to deal with their need and with them. I will promise you that He knows how to handle the gossip as well! Gossip is always a sin! Insinuation - This is the practice of insinuating or hinting that something may be wrong in the life of another. Flattery - Flattery is saying something to a person's face that we would never behind their backs. Exaggeration - This is an easy lie to tell. We stretch number, statistics, etc., to make things look better. What fisherman is there who has not been guilty of stretching the size of the one the got away? When we exaggerate, we are lying!.[iii]
Illus: My Dad is a keen fisherman who tells of a device called a whopper stopper. You take a length of wood and drill two hole in it, the same distance apart as the length of the fish that you just caught. Whenever you tell the story of the fish you caught you place your fingers in the holes and say ‘it was that big’. The size of the fish will not change in the retelling of the fishing story – whopper stopper.
Yet the same tongue can be used to Encourage, Speak truth, Correct in love, Edify, Communicate Love, Offer genuine praise, Preach good news and Worship God.
Illus: A Pastor was having trouble with a gossip in the church. Every time she would see his car parked anywhere strange, she began immediately to spread the word that their Pastor was having an affair. There was no truth to her rumors, but she kept it up until the pastor, in an effort to stop her mouth, left his car parked in front of her house, day and night for a week. That cured the problem.[iv]
I hate negativity – it’s contagious – Resolve not to be involved in negativity anywhere especially home and work.
Illus: Often told story of Pastor Rod Plummer taking great care with words – entering the church office in the morning – speaking well of your city and never speaking negatively of other churches or ministries.
James 1:26 26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
Proverbs 6:16-18 16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil.
Psalm 37:30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. James 3:10 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
Declare: God hates us to use our tongue for negativity – we should also develop this hate.
3/ The tongue can take you somewhere spiritually Acts 2:1-4 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[1] as the Spirit enabled them.
Jude 1:20 20But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit,
1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.
Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will
eat its fruit. In your work – what are your words creating? In your finances – what are your words creating? In your health what are your words creating?
T.H.I.N.K before you speak T - Is it True? H - Will it Help? I - Is it Inspiring? N - Is it Necessary? K - Is it Kind?[v]
Conclusion: The tongue is creating your reality. If the way you speak is a seed of what tomorrow will look like then you can predict your tomorrow…what will it look like?
Suggested cell or personal study questions. 1/ Can you remember a time when you did not control your tongue and said something you should not have – what happened? 2/ To create a more positive atmosphere at work or home what do you need to be saying? 3/ What is one area of your use of the tongue that causes you the most problems? Let the group pray for you. 4/ What are some things that you could do with your tongue that would help give more control of your tongue to God?
[i] http://www.innerbody.com/text/nerv16.html [ii] http://www.sermonnotebook.org/old%20testament/Ex%2020_16.htm [iii] http://www.sermonnotebook.org/old%20testament/Ex%2020_16.htm [iv] http://www.sermonnotebook.org/old%20testament/Ex%2020_16.htm
©
2002-2006 John
B. N. Banton
All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible
Society.
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