Several years ago, I was working at another church and I got frustrated and annoyed with somebody. And so I did what any normal person does when they get annoyed with somebody, and I looked for one of my friends to vent, and I didn't find them in the office, and so I decided to send off a quick email venting. Has anyone ever email vented? Uh, maybe after this, I would encourage you not to do that. Um, so I, I just like, oh, I can't believe this person, they said this. How could they do that? They always blah blah, you know, and I'm just complaining, um, as all spiritual people do, and, uh, no, it wasn't my brightest moment. And so I was like, ah, hit send. It's like, oh, I feel better, right? Cause when you complain, you feel better afterwards, right? It's like, oh, OK, I got that out of my system. And then I was waiting for the validation response email back, right? Because that's what you do when you send it to your friend, and then they send back, oh, they're the worst, right? And then they're like, yeah, and you just kind of like, right, that's what happens in friendship, but I didn't get that email back. And I was like, huh, that's not like that person. Normally they'd respond back and validate how I feel right in that moment. And so I was like, well, let me just double check the email. And then sure enough, I checked the email and in my subconscious writing about the person, I accidentally sent the email about the person to the person instead of my friend. Yeah, it was not a shining moment in my life. And, uh, and so I was like, unsend, unsend, no, it didn't work. And so then I had this hatched a plan to get into the person's computer to try to, OK, uh, no, I, I had to swallow, uh, just a, a big piece of humble pie, and I had to approach the person and say, hey, I, have you checked your email? No, not today. And they were so happy to, and I was like, ah. You know what, why don't I check the email for you real quick? And then you, uh, no, and so I said, hey, I just, you're, you're gonna get an email from me. I'm so sorry, and I had to just humble myself and apologize and address the person and thankfully, they were um very gracious with me and responded back and it wasn't my brightest moment. Uh, have you ever been there? Have you ever put your foot in your mouth? Said something that you wish you could take back? Based on the nodding, maybe somebody did it this morning. Um, I don't know. Uh, I've been there. I think the fact, the fact is I think we've all been there at some point. Because we react sometimes more than we respond, right? We get emotional, and we say something, and then we come back later, like, ah, it probably wasn't the best. Author Daniel Coleman in his 1995 book. The title Emotional intelligence described emotional intelligence as the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and for those of others, for motivating ourselves and for managing emotional well-being in ourselves and in our relationships. You know, over the last 30 years, the topic of emotional intelligence has increased within our culture. And I think that's a good thing, right? To become self- aware. To become. Self-regulated to become. Really aware of what motivates us to have a little bit of insight into empathy, as well as awareness of the social skills and the relationships with the people around us. And while emotional intelligence in psychology and in leadership seems like a newer discussion in culture today, the reality is it goes back to just biblical concepts of how God wired us. And it goes back to the word of God. And so today's message is entitled Taming Wild Words, because all of us Could take some effort to work within ourselves and increase our emotional intelligence, not just with how we live, as Pastor Dan shared last week, but also what we say. And so if you're taking notes, I encourage you to write this down, that your words create worlds. Your words create worlds. Now a number of poets, authors have said something similar to that in recent years. But again, this is a truth that goes back to scripture all the way back to the very beginning. And I mean beginning, beginning. Genesis 1:1. In the beginning, was the heavens and earth, and, and how is it that God created the world as we know it? He spoke it into existence. God's word is so powerful that he commanded nothingness and nothingness obeyed him, that everything that we have come to understand and know and see and experience came first out of the mouth of our God, our Lord, our Savior, our Creator. And then we are created in his image, which means. That we have the power to also create worlds with our words. How you speak shapes the season that you're in. It shapes the situation that you're in. And it influences the relationships around you. As I just mentioned last week, Pastor Dan talked about how real faith impacts how you live. And James, the half brother of Jesus, who's writing to a group of Christians who were dispersed and being persecuted and attacked. He doesn't hold any punches. He says, this is what real faith looks like. And so not only is he gonna talk about what it means, how real faith is played out and how you live, in James chapter 3, he's gonna talk about how real faith is played out and how you speak to one another. And so the structure of James is really threefold. It talks about the power of our words. The danger of our words. And then the source of our words. And so we're gonna walk through this passage and see these three sections, the power of our words, the danger of our words, and then the source of our words. But before we even jump into James chapter 3, the idea of speaking and the connection to our faith was already presented. See, in chapter 1 verse 19, James tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak. And then in chapter 1 verse 26, James writes that if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. That in other words, if you try to praise God on Sunday, but then you curse people on Monday, what good is your religion? What good is your faith if it doesn't impact how you treat the people around you? What good is your faith if you don't grow in your spiritual and emotional intelligence and how you treat and love other people? And so let's jump into it here. First, the 1st 5 verses here in James chapter 3 is the power of my words. He writes, not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. Isn't it interesting that even 2000 years ago, people were trying to gain platforms for the purpose of influence and notoriety? Right. This is well before social media in an age of influencers, people were craving a platform. And and trying to use their personality to for selfish reasons. And today, it's wild that we live in a community and a culture where anybody can have a platform. That when you actually interview the youngest generation, that one of the most common jobs and aspirations of a generation is to become a YouTuber. Well, that craving is not just a marker of this generation, but rather a marker of humanity, because even 2000 years ago, people were were clamoring for a platform and for influence. And what James is saying is like, hey, before you crave a platform, understand this, that you're going to be judged more strictly. That the higher you're calling, the less options you have. The higher your leadership platform is, is that the higher your responsibility. And so don't be so quick to pursue something without understanding the cost associated with it. And so he's saying, don't, don't, don't just try to become a teacher for selfish gain. Understand that it's going to be described and defined by sacrifice and service. So he starts there. But then in verse two, he makes it personal, and he says, for we all stumble in many ways. I love this because in the book of James, it can be easily read or interpreted like James is up there going, Well, you need to do this and this and this and this. He pauses here and goes, Look, we, myself included, stumble in every way. That I need God's grace as much as you do, and that together we gotta figure this thing out. And so he says, if anyone does not stumble on what he says, he is a perfect man. Now, from chapter one, we learned that perfect really means this idea of wholeness or complete. And so the person that is able to bridle his tongue is able to bridle his whole body. In other words, the person that can speak well, represents a whole or complete or mature life. And then he's gonna give 3 pictures here, which is perfect because these are working class images for everyday people that still apply to us and are understood by us as believers 2000 years later. Verse 3, he says, if we put bits into the mouths of horses, so they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. I didn't really think much about horses, to be honest, until I moved up by Cave Creek. Right? When I was, we were starting the church and we were launching and I was, uh, running meetings out of Saddle Creek Coffee Company and, and, and people would literally ride a horse to a coffee shop and come in. And then, then you had TV shows like Yellowstone and other things like these, uh, westerns coming out. I was like, I, I could run a ranch. And then after just talking with people about it, like, no, I could not. I could not run a ranch at all. I do not have that skill set. But I'm impressed by it. Why? Because horses are beautiful animals. These majestic, beautiful, although stinky, if you gotta clean out the barn, like, these are incredible animals that are so powerful, and yet they can be controlled with a bit in their mouth. I was reading up on it a little bit and that the horses have nerves within their mouth that when you pull on it, it sends like a shock throughout their body and so that something so small impacts everything. So the first image we have here from James is that just as a bit can control this majestic, beautiful horse, so your mouth can control your whole body, and the direction in which your life goes. Verse 4, he says, 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 here now, a second image comes in. Of a boat can be. Directed in the water. I had some kayaking with my family and my born it was the funniest thing that we were kayaking, he would just put his oar in the water and all of a sudden boat would turn and we'd hit the bank or go into a tree and he would giggle and laugh and then we'd go back. And he loved the fact that you could just put the oar in the water and the boat would turn. And, and so much in our lives really can be reflected in that. That how many of you, if you think about your own relationships, that relationship was broken because of a word spoken. Or a reaction to a situation. A negative thought. Expressed In a written post or an email. Or a conversation. See, your mouth has so much power to it. Verse 5, it says, so also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things, how great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. You know, here in Arizona, so much of our land is susceptible to wildfires because the ground is so dry. That one spark at the wrong time in the wrong place can set ablaze acres upon acres upon acres. A few years ago, my family and I were up in Flagstaff when there was that one of the wildfires up there on the north side of the mountain, and so it was weird, you're driving down the road and you just see the planes dropping that pink stuff over to drop and to see, man, it's amazing. To see smoke in the air and hundreds of acres burning, and it, and it started from a spark. I started from a moment. And yet fire is also so helpful too, right? Like fire produces energy, produces life, it, it, it produces warmth, right? If you've ever been camping on a cold evening and you got that smell of a cozy campfire or the taste of a perfectly cooked s'more. Right. Now, quick survey, you don't have to raise your hand, but just you can tell your neighbor here. Are you, like if it comes to eating s'mores, are you like the throw in the fire, burn it, and blow it out type or just like the slow roast turn? I'm the slow roast type because you are a perfect, right? And if you don't like s'mores, we'll pray for you. Um, it is a small glimpse of heaven. Um. So how is it that a fire that can bring warmth, and, and light and heat. can also destroy so much. It's the spark. The place, the time, the purpose. There's power in the bit, in the rudder, and in the spark. Proverbs 15:4 says, a gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Then in Proverbs 18:21 says the power or the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Here's the reality. Is that Your words have the power to build or burn bridges. Because your words are creating worlds. You are telling a story to yourself and to those around you. So the question is, what world are you building? What story are you telling? Is it about the obstacle or the opportunity? Is it about being a victim or about being victorious? Is it about the burdens that are surrounding you or the blessings that are surrounding you? Is it about the guilt? Or is it about the gratitude that you have? Is it about the shame or is it about the salvation? Is it about the darkness? Or is it about the hope and the light that is found through Christ alone, that what you say. To others, what you say to yourself impacts how you see the world. Impacts the season of life that you're in, because your words have that much power that they, they control the direction of your life. My words have power. But the next what we're gonna see in this letter. It's not just the power of my words, but also the danger of my words. See, the same words that can heal. Can hurt Not only is there danger there, but, but think about the anger that comes. From an outburst. Think about the pride. The line. Or the cursing or the negativity. The selfishness. There is so much power for good. But also For bad. The right place at the right time. Wrong place, wrong time. That we have to be aware of the power of our words and the worlds that we're creating. James writes this starting in verse 6, he says, and the tongue is a fire. He describes it as a world of unrighteousness. There's a whole other world. He said the tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell itself. The first sin in the garden started with what? With believing a lie spoken by Satan. He continues on verse 7, he says, for every kind of beast and bird and reptile and sea creature can be tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. Well, except for Jurassic Park and that whole series, that like we've got to stop trying to make dinosaurs in movies, OK? I'm just kidding on that, but they're fun movies anyway. Every animal's been tamed. Or can be tamed, right? We see this in zoos and, and, and aquariums and other things like these powerful, majestic Animals can be tamed by mankind, he says, but no human can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. Just in those short verses, we see in there that it's described as a world of darkness, a stain against the body, a restless evil, a deadly poison. How does that show up in everyday life? It's the meeting after the meeting. Right. It's the things that you say to yourself. After someone else hurts you. It's the shame of something you did, it's the guilt of You feel like you're not worthy or good enough? Someone hurts you, so you in turn hurt others. And then you feel bad about it, so then you retreat and put walls up. And so much of it is a voice. That instead of building life, we, we, we burn things down. It's so dangerous. It's so dangerous that we have to be watchful. It says that no person can tame it by himself or by herself. Let me ask you a question. In, in the day and age of social media, did it create anger and rage? Or did they just give us a tool to facilitate it? Now, if you're upset, you can immediately go on and post whatever you're thinking, feeling, commentating on this and that and the other. And then this side gets angry, and then this side gets angry, and then it was, yeah, yeah, bro, and we go and like, the media didn't create this is, is we created this. Why? Because it starts with a spark in a word. And a reaction Some of us are still dealing with wounds about something that was said to us a decade ago. Or what we say to ourselves on a daily basis. Some of the most negative conversations we have take place on the other side of the mirror. And you're willing to show grace to other people, but not yourself. What, what is the world that you're creating? And does it match up with the God? That we sing praises to. You see, Jesus knew that the tongue was trouble. That's why in John 17, the longest prayer that Jesus prayed in the Gospels, in the garden, he's praying for his disciples and for the church, that they would be unified and that they'd be one. And he says this in John 17:17, he says, sanctify them in the truth, for your word is truth. Are your words true? Cause truth will set you free. Notice it doesn't say, and you will know your feelings and feelings will set you free. He says, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And the sun sets you free, you are free indeed. This is from John 8. Writer in Psalm 3412 to 14, put it this way, he says, What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? Do you want a desireous life? Do you want a prosperous life? Verse 13, it says, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil, and to do good, to seek peace and pursue it. So here's what Scripture teaches us. Is that an untamed tongue is a sign of an untamed life. Your tongue and your speech is not just moralistic, but it's diagnostic. It meaning it tells you what's on the inside. I love coffee. I love a variety, hot, cold, whatever. I'm all about pumping spice right now, but I, I won't discriminate against it. I'll have whatever kind of coffee that comes, right? I, I love it. But here's what I do is I often spill my coffee. And typically, it's directly correlated if if I'm wearing a white shirt or a brand new shirt. The percentage of spilling is way higher at that time. Anybody track with me that? OK. But what, what I'm not surprised by when I spill coffee is that it's coffee that's spilling on me. Why? Cause it's, it's coming out of what's in my cup. That would be weird if I had coffee spills, but I never drank coffee. Why do I say this? Some of you are shocked by what you say, but where is that coming from? It's coming from within you. You are only speaking out what's already in your heart. What's already in your mind, and so you can only spill what's in your cup, meaning that your tongue that is so dangerous will only spill out what's already inside of you. And so that's why we don't just look at the power of my words and the danger of my words, but we have to go deeper and actually take a look at the source of our words. James continues on in verse 9, and he says in here. This is with our mouth, we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. Isn't that so crazy? That we will sing, bless God, but curse people made in His image. That's why we have to go to the heart, because he continues on and he says in verse 10, it says from the same mouth come blessing and cursing, my brothers, my sisters, these things ought not to be so. I love the honesty there. He's not saying that it won't happen. He's saying that this shouldn't happen. But remember, in verse 2, he included himself in that cycle, that as believers, We have to speak from the spirit, not from our flesh. Does what you sing on Sunday match with how you speak on Monday? He's gonna give some more imagery here. In verse 11, he says, does a spring pour forth from the same opening, both fresh and saltwater? Springs were active in that area, and if there were springs, you can use fresh and you can use saltwater, but if they're mixed, it becomes useless. And now you got really no, no animals living in there. It's not helpful to anybody. He continues on with with common plants of farmers and crops in that day and in that area. He says in verse 12, can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. It's like, if you want figs. Then why are you planting olives? If, if, if you want figs, why are you planting grapes? He's saying you have to go back, not just look at the fruit, but also go back to what is the seed that you're planting in your life. That's why it goes deeper into the heart, saying, what are the seeds that you're planting in that now the fruit is what you're speaking of. And it's how you're speaking reflective of your faith. Again, does what you read and what you sing on Sunday match with how you speak and how you treat people on Monday? As believers, that's what real faith really is. That's where transformation happens. If I'm spilling coffee. On myself or on others. I have to go back and recognize and be honest with myself that there was coffee in the cup. Meaning if I'm spilling anger. Unto the people around me, that means there there was anger in my cup. And I've shared this with some of you before, but You know, if you go to Costco. Anyone else ever go to Costco for a $1.50 hotdog and come out with a $500 bill? You know, and they have somebody at the end, when you leave, checking the receipt. Right? Why do they do that? Well, they want to make sure what's in your cart. Has already been paid for, right? OK. Now let's take this in a spiritual sense. OK, Jesus paid for forgiveness. So why is there bitterness in your cart? Jesus paid for peace, but yet why is there chaos in your heart? Jesus paid for purpose and love and joy, and yet you got darkness and bitterness in your cart. Like, why are you putting stuff in your cart? That's, it's not what Jesus paid for. You have to go deeper in the well and examine what is in the cup, what is in your heart? Jesus says these words in Matthew 12:34. He says, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. But you're a mouthpiece for it. Why are we shocked when things spill out? I don't know where they came from. What seeds have you planted? Right? Why is it that we take in negativity and all the things of the world on a regular basis and then expect to produce things of the spirit? That's why things like worship and prayer and reading scripture is so important, because if you put enough into your body and give it to God through the power of the Spirit, eventually that that starts to seep out. Right, In the medical field, it's important to know your blood type. Right? Well, do you understand that your blood type should reflect The blood of Christ that he shed on the cross as payment for your sins and for mine. You've had a transfusion. You have the blood of Christ, the power of Christ that took to the cross, all those things that we struggle with continually, anger, bitterness, shame, lying, greed, pride, lust. All those things he took to the cross, so that when we replace that with the the things of the Spirit from our heart, then overflows that forgiveness and grace and peace and love. And now what we say lines up with what we sing about. That's where transformation happens. OK, John, but I get it. You're telling me to to be kind and then, but I wasn't. What, now what? Well, scripture also gives us the opportunity of what to do and a guide for what to do. King David when he was confronted With those dark sins of adultery and, and, and murder and pride and lying. And when he finally comes to the place of rock bottom, and he confesses before the Lord, one of the strongest psalms in all of the Bible, Psalm 51. He says this in verse 10, he says, create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. See, that cry right there, that confession, that repentance is not, Lord, help me not to cuss a little bit. Help me to be a little bit nicer. No, it's not a prayer of changing behavior. Like my goal here is not for you to behave slightly better tomorrow than you did today. But if it's not about behaving, what is it about? It's about becoming. The man or the woman of God who God created you to be. He says, create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. Plant a better seed in my heart. The seed of grace and forgiveness and joy and love that comes through Jesus Christ alone and the power of the Holy Spirit living within me. And let me speak in light of that. Another great prayer found in Psalm 1914. Simply says, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. If you can't believe what you say about you, right? You're, you, you keep telling that negative voice in your head, bad stories. Start by saying what God says about you. And ask for that story, that world to be built. On who God says you are. And more importantly, who God says he is. I don't know if you know this, but you can find bitterness and anger for free. You don't have to work to be selfish. You don't have to work to be angry. Right, the world, the world will freely disciple you in that. Like no one wakes up and goes, you know what, I hope when I get older, I become more bitter and angry at the world. I really want my relationship to be isolated with walls that we throw verbal grenades at each other. Ah, you know, I really wish I could grow in my passive aggressiveness, you know. No, Cause that's human, that's natural. That's our default mode. And so are you living by default? Are you living by design? If you live by design, you can say prayers like Psalm 19:14, where you're just coming before confessing, repenting before God, calling sin sin, admitting what is true and being honest and real and authentic before him, and then coming in humility before the God who made you and saved you with these words, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. May what comes out from me be what you've placed in me. My rock and my redeemer. Why is that important? Because you can't tame your tongue without first surrendering your heart. You can't tame your tongue without first surrendering your heart. Are you willing to surrender your life to Christ? Why? Because your words create worlds. What you say matters. What you say to yourself. What you say to your kids, what you say to your spouse. And can I just say something too? That in your relationships, silence is also speaking. Right? Well, I don't want to say the wrong thing, so I won't say anything. OK. What do you get between an arsonist and somebody who's apathetic? What's in common? You both end up with nothing. One tears down, and that's obvious, right, that's bad. But then one refuses to build and has got all the supplies sitting there on the side. How many construction sites do you see around the valley that they run out of money or something happens and it's just kind of sitting there? Nothing happens until you build it. More specifically, nothing happens until you allow God to build it through you. And so let me ask you 3 questions to close. Number 1, Are you willing to pause your tongue? On your own, you will not tame your tongue. It is human nature to lie, to cheat, to steal, to brag, to boast, to be jealous of, to covet, to tear down. Are you willing though, before you speak? To pause and pray Imagine just how different our world would be if before we reacted, everyone would just simply pause and pray before they posted or spoke. Imagine how your life would be different instead of trying to say something, I got you. Right. Sometimes we think our anger and our verbal. diatribes that we go on, it feels good, right? We get it out of our system, when in reality, we just verbally and emotionally threw up on the other person. And so we threw up on the other person, and now we feel better and we walk away and the person's covered in residue. And you're like, oh, that's gross. Yeah, that's what happens though. What if you pause and you pray? Before you post or respond or spoke. The second step then is to Then purify your heart. Can you be honest, confess, repent, go to God, take those same worries. And instead of unloading them on the person around you, all the insecurities, you instead turn that and give it to God. And in and in response, in humility, in repentance, in confession, you can go, God, create in me a new heart. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable before You, O Lord, my rock, my redeemer. May I speak from my, from your spirit, not my flesh. I know I've got darkness inside of me because I'm human, but I also have goodness inside of me because I have the same spirit that created the world and conquered death. And so let me walk in your spirit. Let me speak in a way that is spirit filled and spirit led. Because if you pause your tongue, and you purify your heart, that's gonna give you the opportunity here then to plant life with your words. Your words have the power to create worlds. In your life In your marriage In your parenting, in your friendships. On your teams at your workplace. So what seeds are you planting? Right now, is it discord, is it distrust? Is it tearing down? It's a brokenness. Are you planting the seeds of life? That spring from a heart that's transformed by Jesus Christ. That can impact people for eternity and beyond. First hour we had several people get baptized. And they spoke so loudly with their lives. And even boldly proclaim their faith in Jesus. Those two young women that came forth and set the example for us. And so we celebrate that. Look, we have the waters here. If you want to get baptized after service, talk to me. Talk to Pastor Kurt. He'll be in the back. We got people like wanna pray with you, we're going through something. Let's, let's process through this. But let us also prayerfully and in humility. Not to sing these words to bless God, but in turn. Go out and live out and bless others with the way that God has truly transformed and changed us. Will you pray with me? Dear Heavenly Father, just thank you for who you are and what you've done. God, we praise you and all. That you do. God, James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Even in his own words, said that he stumbled. And so God, we know that we all stumble in so many ways. But may the words of our mouth. And the meditation of our heart be acceptable before you, oh God, our rock and our redeemer. May you, may we bless you with what we sing today. And we bless others with how we speak to them this week. We love you and your sons and we pray. Amen.