Rev. David Holwick U Book of James series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
June 26, 1994
James 3:1-12
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I. And you think YOUR mouth gets you in trouble...
In 1899 four newspaper reporters from Denver, Colorado set out to
tear down the Great Wall of China.
They almost succeeded.
Literally.
The four met by chance on a Saturday night in a Denver railway
station.
They represented the four main newspapers of Denver, and their
editors had sent them out to dig up a story for the Sunday editions.
They were each at the railway station hoping to snag a visiting
celebrity.
To their mutual frustration, no celebrities showed up.
One of them declared that he was going to make up a story and hand
it in.
The other three reporters laughed.
They went over to a hotel to have a beer.
One said he liked the idea of faking a story.
Why not have each of them do it?
And instead of four fake stories, why not one huge one?
They had another round of beers.
A phony domestic story would be too easy to check on, so they
thought up a foreign story.
China was distant enough, so they agreed to write about China.
One of them came up with the story:
A group of American engineers stopped in Denver enroute to China.
The Chinese gov't had decided to tear down the Great Wall.
The Americans were bidding on it.
The rationale, one asked?
The wall is being torn down to symbolize international goodwill.
And to welcome foreign trade.
Thoroughly sloshed, the reporters left the hotel.
The four papers all carried the story.
On the front page.
The Denver Times trumpeted:
"GREAT CHINESE WALL DOOMED! PEKING SEEKS WORLD TRADE!"
It was phony, but other papers across America picked it up.
Then those around the world.
When the Chinese themselves learned that the Americans were sending
a demolition crew to tear down their national monument, most
were indignant.
-Others were enraged.
Particularly incensed were the members of a secret society, a group
of Chinese patriots that despised foreign influence.
Inspired by the story, they exploded in revolt.
They attacked the embassies in Peking and slaughtered hundreds
of missionaries throughout the country.
Within two months, 12,000 foreign troops invaded China to protect
their citizens.
The bloodshed which followed, sparked by a journalistic hoax invented
in a barroom in Denver, became the international incident known
to every high school student as the BOXER REBELLION.
The power of the word!
Nations have risen and fallen to the tongue.
Lives have been inspired and cast down by the tongue.
The tiny tongue is a mighty force in human life indeed.
#2680
II. Getting your words across. 3:1-2
A. Teachers use a lethal weapon - the tongue.
1) Moses had trouble with his tongue. Psalm 106:33
2) Isaiah. Isaiah 6:5-7
3) Peter. (opened mouth to change feet)
B. Teachers will be judged by a harsher standard. 3:1
1) They are supposed to know better.
2) Jesus taught the same thing.
C. If we can control the tongue, we can control anything. 3:2
1) "Perfect" equals maturity, not sinlessness.
2) Lack of self-control shows up soonest in the tongue.
3) How do our church leaders measure up?
III. It's not the size, but the impact. 3:3-6
A. The tongue is small.
1) Only .... [this big].
a) Charles Swindoll calls it "two ounce slab of trouble."
2) What small things can do.
a) Horses and bits. 3:3
b) Ships and rudders. 3:4
B. Good things the tongue can do.
1) Inspiration in critical times.
Back in 1940 the nation of England was on the verge of
collapse.
Hitler had almost wiped out their army at Dunkirk and German
warplanes were bombing them every night.
In this hour of darkness the tongue of Winston Churchill
saved England.
He told them:
We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be;
we shall fight on the beaches;
we shall fight in the fields;
we shall fight in the streets;
and we shall fight in the hills.
WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER....
#2677
2) Marriage ceremony: "I do."
a) Simple words, but tremendous impact.
b) Expensive to undo.
C. Fiery destructiveness of the tongue. 3:5
1) Gossip: Saying behind their back what you would never say
to their face.
In a small town in North Dakota there was a young family.
They were happy, even though the mother had not been
entirely well since the birth of their second baby.
But everyone in town knew there was warmth there because
of the way they treated each other.
Then one day the town gossip started a rumor that the
husband was being unfaithful.
It wasn't true, but the story spread.
Eventually it reached the ears of the young wife.
It must have been more than she could bear.
That night when the husband came home, he knew something
was wrong.
No one greeted him, and the whole house was silent.
Down in the basement he found the three of them,
hanging from a beam.
In despair, the sick young mother had taken the lives
of her two children and then her own.
#2678
A monk confesses he is guilty of gossiping.
Monsignor orders him to place a feather on each doorstep
in town, then he tells him to collect them.
"Impossible! They have blown all over town."
Monsignor responded, "So it is with your words, my son."
#489
2) Flattery: Saying to their face what you would never say
behind their back.
a) Compliments can build people up, but make sure it's valid.
b) Phony flattery is manipulative in the end.
3) Criticism.
a) Recent meeting of Morris County pastors.
Talked about ones not there.
b) Does our talk build people up?
c) Is it true?
D. Ever-widening influence of the tongue. 3:6
1) First only affects two people.
2) Then family is no longer speaking, then church affected...
IV. Controlling the tongue. 3:7-8
A. Training animals.
1) Busch Gardens: birds, killer whales.
2) Gorilla communication research.
a) Also dolphin research with hand signs.
b) Turned out researchers better trained than gorillas.
B. Tongue cannot be tamed - by man. 3:8
1) A few people seem to have control over their words.
President Calvin Coolidge is a famous example.
Teddy Roosevelt's daughter Alice said Coolidge acted like
he'd been weaned on a dill pickle.
At a White House party a beautiful woman came up to him.
She said, "Mr. President, could you please help me?"
"My friends have bet me that I can't get 3 words out of you."
Coolidge replied, "You lose." #2679
2) Emphasis on "by man" shown by position in sentence.
a) An exception is in mind.
b) Man cannot control the tongue, but God can.
V. God can do it! 3:9-12
A. Seek God's control over our tongues.
1) Ask God to cauterize our lips. Isaiah 6:5-7
2) Get rid of coarse talk. Eph 4:29; 5:4
a) Bad language is out of place for Christians.
b) Dirty jokes and "cuts" are wrong.
3) Build people up. Compliments and encouragement.
A study was done by psychologist Dr. Henry H. Goddard, on
energy levels in children.
He used an instrument he called the "ergograph."
How he ever got some children to stand still long enough to
connect them to the machine is a mystery.
But he did, and his findings are fascinating.
He found that when tired children are given a word of praise
or commendation, the ergograph shows an immediate upward
surge of new energy.
When the children are criticized and discouraged, the ergo-
graph shows their physical energy take a sudden nosedive.
Without a doubt those results could be duplicated in adults.
When we are praised our energy levels go up.
When we are criticized our energy levels go down.
#2268
4) Our tongues can worship and witness. Heb 13:15
5) Consistency is the name of the game. James 3:9-12
B. Practical advice on controlling tongue. T.H.I.N.K.
Alan Redpath once formed a "mutual encouragement" fellowship at
a time of stress in one of his pastorates.
The members agreed to apply a simple formula before speaking of
any person or subject that was perhaps controversial.
T - Is it true?
H - Is it helpful?
I - Is it inspiring?
N - Is it necessary?
K - Is it kind?
If what we are about to say does not pass these tests, we
should keep our mouth shut. It works!
#2635
C. The tongue is the barometer of our souls. Matt 12:34
=================== Original sermon, November 8, 1987 =====================
I. The uniqueness of communication.
A. Do humans alone communicate?
1) Dogs and birds have instinctive calls.
2) Gorilla research.
a) Turned out researchers better trained than gorillas.
b) [dolphin research with hand signs]
B. Inability to speak may keep animals out of trouble.
1) Communication causes much good.
2) Also causes much pain.
a) Most of us disobey God's instructions in this matter.
II. Communication is central to the church's work.
A. Teachers will be judged by a harsher standard.
1) They are supposed to know better.
2) Jesus taught the same thing.
B. Why teachers have it so tough.
1) They are dealing with the hard-to-control tongue.
2) If we can control that, we can control anything in our lives.
3) Lack of self-control shows up soonest in the tongue.
III. The power of the tongue.
A. It is small.
1) Only .... [this big].
a) Charles Swindoll calls it a two inch slab ... [of ...].
2) What small things can do.
a) Horses and bits.
b) Ships and rudders.
B. Good things the tongue can do.
1) Winston Churchill and England.
2) Marriage ceremony: "I do."
C. Bad things.
1) Destructiveness of fire.
a) Wildfire in Kansas. (used before?)
2) Destructiveness of gossip.
a) (Young family in North Dakota, suicide over rumor)
3) Ever-widening influence of tongue.
a) We love gossip - except about us.
b) Spontaneous sermon comments get me into trouble.
IV. Controlling the tongue.
A. Training animals.
1) Busch Gardens: birds, killer whales.
B. Tongue cannot be tamed - by man.
1) Calvin Coolidge and self-control. "You lose."
C. God can control our tongues.
1) Seek his control, or inconsistencies (praise God, tear down
people) will show up in our lives.
2) Consistency is the name of the game.
a) Jesus: tongue is the barometer of our souls.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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