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University SDA Church- East Lansing

Let the Words of My Mouth

David Shin

Let the Words of My Mouth- Part 1

I've already turned there for your scripture.

And James is giving us practical advice for living the Christian life.

The Christian life is not just about theology.

It's about practical godliness in our human interactions.

And this is from the New American Standard Bible.

It says, this you know, my beloved brethren, but everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

I want to go through this with you, just make a few observations before we get into the heart of today's message and our thesis.

This you know, my beloved brethren, but In other words, this is something that is easy to understand.

It's common knowledge, but it's difficult to practice.

I heard 1 preacher say, the challenge he has with the Bible is not the things that he doesn't understand, it's the things that he does understand and has a difficulty practicing.

Love your enemies, easy to understand, difficult to practice, isn't that right?

Today's sermon is not going to be difficult to understand.

This is not going to be epistemologically profound, whatever that means.

This is going to be very simple, but very challenging.

This, you know, my beloved brethren, he's talking to Christians.

This is people, these are people that have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, but the next part of this is very difficult for people, and this applies to everyone.

This is talking to every person, and it is in the imperative, everyone must.

This is what all of us should do and should be.

And I want to focus on this part before we get to the second part.

Sam, can you turn me up just a little bit so I can hear myself?

It says, let everyone must be slow to speak.

Easy to understand, difficult to practice.

There should be a delay when something comes into our minds before it goes out of our mouths.

And sometimes we just blurt things out without processing.

This passage is telling us that we should be slow in our response and we live in a society today where the comeback and the quick-witted response is something that is highlighted.

But this is telling us quite the contrary.

You should think, as your mom said, before you say something.

I buy water, and it has to be either distilled, or my favorite is reverse osmosis.

So, I have these big five-gallon jugs, 3 of them, that I take off to Meyers, And the price has been going up 47 cents a gallon fill it up and people with their wide eyes Look at me pushing that cart out of there But I believe in good water and this is what happens in the reverse osmosis process very elementary the raw water goes in 1 end and goes through a filter and comes out purified on the other side.

And this is the way that our words need to be.

Before it comes out, there needs to be a process, there needs to be a delay so that it's filtered by the word of God and the Holy Spirit so that whatever comes out on the other side is sanctified.

We need to be slow to speak and the reason why it's slow is that before it comes out of our mouths It needs to be processed and you need to ask yourself with Jesus say this and if you wouldn't say it in a particular way and Have a certain content we need to refrain from having it come out of our mouths.

And I was fascinated what the Bible says about the multiplicity of words.

Did you know that the Bible actually tells us how many words we should say, not to the count, but it actually tells us that we should be people of few words.

Here it is, if you don't believe me, the wisest man that ever lived, Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verse 2, do not be quick with your mouth, Do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.

God is in heaven and you are on earth." And here's the conclusion, So let your words be...

Now it is almost a stigma to be a man of few words or a woman of few words.

We say, oh that person just doesn't talk a lot, doesn't speak up.

This person is a man of few words, but the Bible is telling us that that person is actually living more biblically than a person of many words.

Now this was kind of rebuking for me as I was reading this.

And I was like, oh, come on, there's got to be some other evidence in scripture.

Here it is, Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verse 3, a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words.

And I was studying this this week and I'm just like, whoa, this is telling us that the Bible actually values people of few words.

Why does the Bible tell us that we should be people of few words?

Because it says, too much talk leads to sin.

Too much talk leads to sin, which means the more that you say that's unfiltered, that's unsanctified, it's going to lead you down the primrose path to what the Bible calls sin.

I took an English class, English 101, English Composition.

My professor's name was William Shakespeare.

And he was 1 of the toughest teachers I had.

English composition, I owe a lot to that man.

Our assignment was to develop a portfolio of essays.

And we would turn in our first draft to William Shakespeare.

And every single time, it would come back looking like this.

Marked up, redacted, he says, what is the purpose of this statement?

And then my 10-page paper, because you need a certain amount of words, would be redacted down to 5.

And friends, our words need to be like these papers.

They need to be edited before they go public.

They need to be edited by the Holy Spirit, and before you speak, you need to have them go through the editorial board of heaven before it comes out of your mouth.

Let the Words of My Mouth- Part 2

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this worship service thus far, for the hymns, our offering of praise, and for this opportunity that we have to gather apart from the cares and the challenges of this life, and to come together as your people to worship you in spirit and in truth.

We pray that you would speak to our hearts today as we continue in our series.

And it's our heartfelt desire and prayer this morning that the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart would be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

May Jesus be uplifted and Christ be seen.

For we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.

Today we're continuing in our three-part series of messages that we've entitled, Let the Words of My Mouth.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

And we're going to begin by looking at James 5, verse 9.

This is from the New international version.

It says, do not complain, brethren, against 1 another.

So I looked up some synonyms for looked up some synonyms for complain.

And here are some equivalents, to grumble, to criticize, to bemoan, to gripe, or to find fault.

Here, James is giving us some practical advice, and notice who he's talking to.

He's not talking in this instance about the relationship between us and the world, although this would apply.

This is talking about the relationship between us and other church members.

In other words, this is talking about people that love the Lord, talking about church members, The person sitting next to you there in the pew, perhaps.

Do not complain, brethren, against 1 another.

Isn't it interesting when you talk about your biological family, the challenge that we have sometimes is that there are certain things that get irritating after a while.

Yeah, let's go to the pulpit mic, because I hear a ring.

Do you guys hear a ring or something like that going on?

It reminds me of 3 years ago when we were going through sound system issues.

The challenge is that many times Among church family members, we start to see character flaws and traits, character wrinkles and warts.

And it's amazing when I see the transition after someone has just been baptized.

And I believe that the Lord many times puts blinders on the eyes of the individual coming and praise God for that.

They put blinders on and all they see are the wonderful things about God's people in God's church.

You know, they see everything through rose-colored glasses.

They go down into that water and come out the other side.

And it just takes a little bit before they start to see that every church member doesn't have a halo around their head anymore.

There's challenges and, heaven forbid, hypocrites in the church.

And we know that the Bible says that the wheat and the tares will grow together.

And as we associate with 1 another, there is a challenge that we face as Christians that after a while, just to say it plainly, sometimes our dear beloved brothers and sisters in Christ start to get on our nerves.

There are certain irritations that come from the idiosyncrasies and the foibles and the faults of each other.

And here James is giving us practical advice about how we should relate to our brothers and sisters and that this will be a challenge for us as Christians.

After we accept Jesus, after we have been baptized, James tells us that this is going to be a challenge.

You're gonna start seeing things within the church that are gonna rub you a little bit wrong.

Someone's gonna say something that isn't just not going to sit right.

I remember someone said something to me, not in this church, church a long time ago, and it's interesting because they say something and it's not outright but it just kind of sits right in there.

And you're more bothered that you're bothered, right?

And there's nuances and innuendos in what they say that is a challenge.

1 preacher said 1 time, a parishioner came up to him and said, pastor, I see that you got a new car.

They just look at him and just shake their head.

And he said he felt like turning to that parishioner and saying, you know what, sorry my donkey broke.

You know, and it's just this interesting dynamic and dialogue that goes on when we are facing interpersonal relations and the challenge for the Christian many times is not becoming a Christian but staying a Christian in our interactions with 1 another.

And here James is exhorting us, don't complain, don't grumble brethren against 1 another when we face these challenges in our relationships with 1 another.

Mark Finley at camp meeting gave this illustration of the ark, and we have a romanticized picture of the flood.

The dynamic on this boat was not a wonderful, pristine picture of what was taking place during the flood.

And you're stuck with your family members.

And if you're a daughter Or son, you're stuck with your parents.

If you're the wives of Ham, Shem, and Japheth, you're stuck with your in-laws on this boat, being tossed about the sea.

And even if you have an argument, you don't have anywhere to go.

But Mark Finley says the safest place on planet Earth during the flood was guess where?

And I want to tell you, friends, this church is going to be a messy experience.

There's going to be moments that you want to jump ship, but God is telling us, stay on the boat, amen?

And as long as we are all in a work in progress, and believe you me, your pastor is a work in progress, there's going to be challenges in our interpersonal relationships.

But you say, Pastor, what if I have a serious concern about a brother and sister in the church and they are on their way to destruction and I want to intervene?

And if all of us would just follow Matthew 18, how many of our challenges and divisions in the church would cease.

We don't have time to look at it today, but Matthew 18 essentially tells us if you have a challenge with your brother and sister, go to them.

You know what happens many times in the ministry?

The individual goes to the pastor and they say, Pastor, I have a concern about this person.

I have a concern about this character flaw.

And I ask the individual, have you talked with them?

So we put it on the pastor, or worse, we go to another individual and talk about the fault of that person behind their back.

The Bible tells us if you have an issue with that person and you feel like it's a salvational issue, it's an issue of concern, to go to that person in love and address that situation.

Now, how do you know if you love somebody?

The Bible says, no greater love hath man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.

Let the Words of My Mouth- Part 3

Keith ran to try to put it out, but it got out of hand.

And minutes later, the fire was blazing on the entire hill.

And you can imagine the horror as Keith ran for his life and watched as The blaze went from valley to valley, and eventually he had to be evacuated out by helicopter, and it became known as the Rim Fire of 2013, and it would rage for 9 weeks, destroying 400 square miles, including part of Yosemite National Park, and causing over $100 million in damages.

Needless to say, Keith is now facing up to 5 years in prison and tens of thousands of dollars in fines, 1 little spark was all it took to ignite the largest wildfire in the Sierra Nevada history.

And the Bible uses the illustration of a wildfire to illustrate the effect that our tongue can have upon our own soul.

I want to invite you to turn with me in your Bibles.

If you have not already to our scripture reading, I want to thank Sophie for reading our scripture here this morning.

James chapter 3, I want to read it again.

Page 1387, if you're using the Bible there in the pew.

I'll be reading from the New King James Bible.

You can follow along in the translation that you have there.

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body.

Here, James is illustrating or saying, I should say, emphasizing that if you're able to control your tongue, you will be a perfect person.

Verse 3, indeed, we put bits in the horse's mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.

Look also at the ships, although they are large and driven by a fierce wind, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.

The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the whole course of nature and is set on fire by hell.

Here James is emphasizing the notion that the tongue, though a small member, can do some incredible things.

He uses 3 metaphors to describe how the tongue can affect our soul.

He used the illustration of a horse, he uses the illustration of a ship, and then he uses the illustration of a forest to emphasize the same point.

Here's the verse, verse 3, Indeed we put bits on horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we may turn their whole body.

Bit, although being a small thing, it can turn the entire direction of the horse.

Then he goes to the second illustration of a ship and a rudder, verse 4, "...look also at ships, although they are so large and driven by a fierce wind, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires." So here is a similar illustration here talking about a man-made object, a rudder and a ship, a bit and a horse.

And then comes to the final illustration used by James in chapter 3.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles and sets on fire the whole course of nature.

Here James is illustrating that even though the tongue may be a small member, it has the power to not only direct the course of your life, but also to bring you to your final destination.

Many times when we talk about the tongue, we Think about the impact that our words have on other people, as we talked about last week.

When you say things to other people in a hurtful manner, they are obviously hurt, but the omission in James chapter 3, he leaves out any effect that the tongue has on other people.

Not that it doesn't, but he wants to illustrate and emphasize that the tongue impacts the speaker in a significant way.

Verse 6, The tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of the life, that's the direction, and it is set on fire by hell, our destination.

He's saying that our tongue is like a rudder, and when we say something, even though we may not believe it, it has the power to shape our character, and our character determines our eternal destiny.

The great omission in James chapter 3 is that he does not talk about the recipients of our words, but he indicates that our words have a profound power and effect upon the speaker.

How many times have we've just said something, not really believing it?

Here, James is saying that the person that is impacted the most is the speaker of the words, more than even the hearer.

Who is the person that is impacted the most by my words?

Here's a quotation from Mind, Character, and Personality, volume 2, 575.

The words are more than an indication of character.

They have power to react on the character.

Often under a momentary impulse prompted by Satan, they give utterance to jealousy or even surmising, expressing that which they do not really believe.

But their expression reacts upon the thoughts.

So when you say something, even though you may not believe it, according to the book of James, is saying that those words have a power to shape your own character, your own thoughts, the ultimate direction and destination of your life.

How many times have we uttered things not recognizing that those very words have a power to react upon yourself?

Chalmers in his book, Healing the Broken Brain, states that there are physical changes to the neural pathways of the brain by strong, emphatic words that are uttered, thus influencing our actions.

There's a physical change in the neural pathways of the brain.

Evil speaking is a twofold curse, falling more heavily upon the speaker than upon the hearer.

By dwelling upon the faults of others, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory.

That's the quote from the Bible, Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18.

How many times have you talked about someone's faults, not recognizing that by speaking those things you are becoming like the person that you're talking about?

By saying, oh, I just, I don't want to say it because it's going to react upon me.

But by saying those things, they react upon yourself and by beholding, you become changed.

How many times have you gathered together with someone else and said, look, I can't stand that person because of these things.

And by saying those words, you are becoming like the very person that you seem to detest.

Word, shape, character, character determines our destiny.

And this is what we need to do every single day.

Consecrate yourself to God in the morning.

You may be giving your life into the hands of Christ and thus your life will be more molded more and more after the life of Christ.

I pray that you do this every single day, amen?

Get up in the morning, give your heart to Jesus, say, Lord, help me to control my tongue today.

This is a prayer that you should pray every single day.

You're giving God access into your life, and I guarantee if you were to do this for the other power, and say, I give you full access, your life will be dramatically changed.

Wake up in the morning, say, Lord, I give you full access.

Come into my heart, and this is what happens as a result.

There's a whole invisible reality and I love this quotation from My Life Today, page 302.

His angels are appointed to watch over us.

We have an angel that we're going to meet on resurrection day that has guided our steps since birth.

His angels are appointed to watch over us and if we put ourselves under their guardianship, which is the quotation before, give yourself to God that morning, then in the very, every time of danger, they will be at our right hand.

When unconsciously we are in danger of exerting a wrong influence, the angels will be by our side.

Listen to this, prompting us to a better course, choosing words for us.

Choosing words for us and influencing our actions.

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Let the Words of My Mouth

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