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Jan 7, 2013

James 3:1-12

Get A Grip . . .

 

To get a grip on your tongue, you’ve got to gauge your heart

 

The overflow of your heart is always consistent with and indicative of the spiritual condition of your heart.

 

Illus.:  Matthew 12:33-37

Your mouth will overflow with what is settling in your heart.

 

A Word of Caution . . .

 

·         Don’t let circumstances dictate the content or direct the course of your words.

“Look at the ships also:  though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.”  James 3:4-5

 

·         The words you speak will be destructive or constructive; they will bless or curse.

“How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! . . .(v.8) It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.” James 3:5, 8-10

  

Your words are like arrows . . . they kill at a distance

“They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows.” Psalm 64:3 (New Living Translation)

 

·         The place that our words tend to be most toxic and destructive are in the places where we let down the defenses that tend to hold back what’s really in our heart.

 

            James 3:10

 

Words of Grace . . .

 

A heart transformed, by the power of God’s Word and the working of His Spirit, is the key to speaking words of grace and life. (James 3:11-12)

 

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”  Colossians 4:6

·         Speak words that are honest, yet with grace.

·         Speak words that preserve a person’s life, not ruin it.

·         Speak words that promote healing, not pain.

 

The Take Away . . .

 

Do the words I speak give life or take life?

 

Are the words I speak being dictated and directed by my circumstances, or by a heart that is being transformed by the Word of God?

 

Are the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart pleasing to God?