FRIENDS: JAMES 3 : 2-12 For we all offend in many things. If any man does not offend in word, that person [is] a perfect man, [and] able also to bridle the whole body. Observe, we put bits in the horses mouths, [so] that they can obey us; and we turn around their whole body. Observe also the ships, which though [they are] so large, and [are] driven by fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small rudder, wherever the pilot wants. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Look, how great a matter a little fire kindles! And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For all species of animals, and of birds, and of snakes, and of things in the sea, are tamed, and have been tamed by mankind: But the tongue no man can tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless God, the Father; and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be. Does a fountain send out from the same spot sweet and bitter [water]? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? or a vine, figs? so no fountain [can] yield both salt water and fresh. I CORINTHIANS 14 : 4 - He that speaks in an [unknown] tongue builds up himself. Now if you look back to the creation of the earth in Genesis chapter 1 you will see that two things were involved in creating the world - spirit and words. We are told that the Spirit of God hovered over the earth, and then God spoke forth words. His first words were, Let there be light. And when those words went forth, the Spirit of God moved upon the earth and caused the creation to take place. Each stage followed the same pattern. It was a power coming from a spirit (the Spirit of God) and that power was released in words. That means that when a person speaks words, they are actually giving out something from their spirit. No wonder James tells us in our reading for today that no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. You can train an animal because it only has a body and soul. But man has something far deeper that cannot be controlled from the outside. It can only be controlled from the inside. James likens the tongue to the rudder of a ship. If you want to control a ship, all you need to do is control its rudder. In the same way, if you wanted to control a person, you would have to somehow be able to control his tongue. James tells us that the tongue defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature. In other words, the things that we say affect our whole being. They determine the course of our natural life. Brain surgeons have discovered in medical terms that there is somehow a link between the speech center of the brain and the entire nervous system of the body. That means that the nervous center of the body, which is like a cabling network controlling the whole body, is actually controlled by whatever is going through the speech center. What you say affects your whole body. And actually it also affects your soul. So you see what actually happens is that words, which come out of your spirit, when they are spoken by the mouth, cause something to happen to the body and soul. In other words, whatever is in your spirit can cause an effect on your body and soul, and this effect is created by words. Have you ever noticed that when you are continually speaking negative words, such as I really dont feel well you continue to feel bad and probably start to feel worse? The opposite is also true. What is actually happening is that you are causing a flow to take place from within that is affecting you outwardly. Solomon said in PEOVERS 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it [flow] the sources of life. Your spirit is the source of all life. Take it out of your body and you are dead. And words help you to release the power that is in your spirit. For the believer the situation looks slightly different. We have the Holy Spirit living inside us, and He is able to impart to us His power. Now we can release the power that we receive in our spirits from Him and we can cause it to flow out and affect our bodies and souls. How do we change this? By speaking words that build up and are positive. And the best place to find these is in the Word of God. We have spoken often of the power of speaking the Word of God. We have been looking at how we cap tap into the power of our spirits and release that power through speaking words. James even uses the same analogy we have been considering. He says that speech is like a fountain of water. But he also says that a fountain cannot pour out good water and bad water at the same time. Either it is pouring out good clean water, or it is pouring out muddy or contaminated water. We have seen how to do it by speaking the Word of God. And if you take the time to collect some powerful, positive, life-giving passages of Scripture and speak them out loud, hundreds of times every day, you will begin to see a change taking place in your life. Not only will your mind, emotions and will start to operate more efficiently, but you will even find that your bodily health will start to improve. If you spoke the Word as often as you spoke the negative language of the world, you would find yourself entering into a dimension in your spiritual life that you did not know existed. But God has also made available to us a way to make sure that every word we speak is totally under His control and free from any negative effect or contamination. It is called speaking in other tongues. For those who have not experienced this it might seem silly and unnecessary, and for many that have experienced it there doesnt really seem to be any benefit to it. But our second reading tells us that he that speaks in other tongues builds himself up. God has provided a way for us to use our tongues to bring blessing upon ourselves.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 14:39:03 +0000
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