This is a series within a series – like Inception only without Leonardo DiCaprio. There will be three three-part series as part of an overall series. Whoa.
Tonight, we will start in 1 Timothy 6:11-12: But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Being a Christian is a battle. If it's not a battle for you yet, just wait; it will be. Christianity is at odds with the world, carrying an opposing message. Conflict surrounds it. Some battles are harder than others. You may have seen great people of God suddenly taken down by some of the things we will cover in the next three series. We have to fight these battles repeatedly over our Christian lives, and win them. Tonight we will talk about the battle of controlling the tongue.
Why does what we say matter? We're not talking about just calling your little brother or sister names or swearing. The Bible says not to let unwholesome talk come out of your mouth. That means insults, swearing, gossip and a host of other stuff that comes out of our mouths everyday. But this message is not about what to stop saying about others – though there are surely things to work on there. This message is about what we say to ourselves and about ourselves. Do those words affect anything? Yes!
Take a look at James 3:2-12: Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.
According to James, the battle to control our tongues is the hardest battle we will face. In that moment when you are angry at your parents or your siblings, or when someone is taunting you, it is an epic battle for what will come out of your mouth. A careless word can bring huge changes. What we say carries weight.
With our words, we can light a fire in our lives that will destroy or a fire that will transform.
Proverbs 18:21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Our words are creative. How do we know? God created the heavens and the earth. Remember Sunday School 101? He spoke it into being. Whatever He said was so.
Then God created man in His image. We are created in the image of God, therefore our words carry weight and power because God's words carry weight and power. What we say has creative power and we shape our world by our words.
Angels, demons and the devil all lack creative power. They just do what they are told (angels) or rip off what God has already done (demons). There are only two creative entities in the universe: God and man.
The creative power we have starts with our words. Something powerful happens when we speak over our lives.
What are you building with your words? What are your words shaping and creating in your life? Are your words negative, predicting gloom and doom? Those words will shape your life. Or are you speaking faith, life and destiny? Those words will also shape your life.
Sometimes the words that we speak don't originate with us. In fact, most of the time they came from someone else. Whose words are you repeating?
This is why we stress the importance of what TV and movies you watch, what music you listen to and who you hang out with. Because all those words are having an impact on you. Are you repeating the words of this world, or are you repeating God's words for you?
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