AUGUST 23

Tame the Tongue

Words are POWERFUL. The book of Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat it’s fruit”

God Himself did that

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

He used words to create life, to create our world, and spoke everything into being…except humans, he fashioned us, His most precious creation, with His own hands. Psalm 19 and Romans 1 tell us that creation speaks every day, in every language of the reality and glory of God. Being made in God’s image with the 2 Corinthians 3:18 reality that as we Behold Him we are transformed into His image (in other words, we become what we behold), we are made to also harness the incredible power of words - to create and to relate.

So Will I (100 Billion X) is a song where I believe the lyrics do a fantastic job of expressing this with beautifully crafted words, highlighting one of the most potent expressions we can use our words for - the worship of God.

God of creation
There at the start, before the beginning of time
With no point of reference
You spoke to the dark and fleshed out the wonder of light

And as You speak
A hundred billion galaxies are born
In the vapour of Your breath the planets formed
If the stars were made to worship, so will I
I can see Your heart in everything You've made
Every burning star, a signal fire of grace
If creation sings Your praises, so will I

God of Your promise
You don't speak in vain, no syllable empty or void
For once You have spoken
All nature and science, follow the sound of Your voice

And as You speak
A hundred billion creatures catch Your breath
Evolving in pursuit of what You said
If it all reveals Your nature, so will I
I can see Your heart in everything You say
Every painted sky, a canvas of Your grace
If creation still obeys You, so will I
So will I, so will I

If the stars were made to worship, so will I
If the mountains bow in reverence, so will I
If the oceans roar Your greatness, so will I
For if everything exists to lift You high, so will I
And if the wind goes where You send it, so will I
If the rocks cry out in silence, so will I
If the sum of all our praises still falls shy
Then we'll sing again a hundred billion times!

God of salvation
You chased down my heart through all of my failure and pride
On a hill You created
The light of the world abandoned in darkness to die

And as You speak
A hundred billion failures disappear
Where You lost Your life so I could find it here
If You left the grave behind You, so will I
I can see Your heart in everything You've done
Every part designed in a work of art called love
If You gladly chose surrender, so will I
I can see Your heart, eight billion different ways
Every precious one, a child You died to save
If You gave Your life to love them, so will I

Like You would again a hundred billion times
But what measure could amount to Your desire?
You're the One who never leaves the one behind

(Check out the music, its powerful too: HANDY LINK )

Beautiful expression that highlights the appropriate response to the word of God. “As you speak…’’ let us always be hanging on every word God says.

When it comes to our speech, our words, are you guys at all like me?

Do you find yourself looking back at conversations and thinking “oh man, if only I had responded this way?” Or “If only I kept my mouth shut”?
Do you ever feel like your brain and your mouth are foreigners refusing to communicate
Do you avoid certain responsibilities so that you can get out of speaking in front of other people?
Do you stumble over your words when you want them to be clear and smooth

It seems like King David, the Psalmist, and Solomon could relate

Psalm 34:13 Keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!
Psalm 141:3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.
Proverbs 10:19 Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. (NLT)

Knowing that the scriptures tell us that we will be judged on every idle word is a daunting thought if we are aware of how ridiculous we can be with our words.

Mate, some of my moments with words have been TRAGIC

Scripture deals with our inability in the natural to get past our words - James 3 (HANDY LINK)

It’s kind of a relief to read passages like this, cause it’s like - Oh yay, actually no man can tame the tongue! But let’s NOT use that as an excuse for laziness. James 1:26 also says “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.” It is clear throughout scripture that God desires for us to take on the challenge of taming our tongue, and most of all, to come to learn to trust the perfect tongues of His Holy Spirit.

Attributes of a tamed tongue

Pure
Wise
Insightful
Commends knowledge
Brings Understanding
Considered (included promises made)
Yes be yes, no be no
Prepared
Godly
Truthful
Faithful
Guarded
Generous
Shows Restraint
Gracious
Thoughtful
Knows good timing
Edifying
Helpful
Controlled
Righteous
Prophetic
Discerning
Nuanced
Understands Tone
Wholesome

Keys to taming the tongue

2 Corinthians 3:18 You become what you behold

(Who you hang with, what you talk about, what you watch, what you listen to, what you dwell on, what you read, EVERY INFLUENCE)

Developing your relationship with the entire Godhead

Growing in relationship with the entirety of who God is;

- Understanding that He is our Father and we respond to Him on first name terms
He wants us to approach Him and ask, knowing that He is a Good Dad and rewards us! This state of being empowers us to take on the family culture of the Kingdom of Heaven and communicate like we belong!

- Recognizing that Jesus is our Lord and we must submit to His Wonder, Worship, Word, Will, Ways, Works and Wisdom. A key part of these being that He has made us Kings and Priests, co-heirs with Christ - with Himself! We carry a deep responsibility of bearing Christ's name, including in how we express ourselves with words

- Working with the Holy Spirit is vital because it is His role to convict us of all sin and unrighteousness (get us to kill the junk) AND to guide us into all truth (John 16:3) - making it possible for us to better know what the Father and Son are saying!

Not only that, but when we don’t know how to pray He teaches us how to pray according to the will of the Father!!! (Romans 8:26)

The Word of God // Testimony

Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Acts 6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.

Acts 13:44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Acts 19 (Handy Link)

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1 Timothy 4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Speaking in Tongues

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints
Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost
Hostile Jamming (speaking in tongues means enemy can’t work out what you’re communicating)
1 Corinthians 14

- From God’s POV, the number of people that speak in a language doesn’t determine it’s importance

Acts 2 (Handy Link )

BID

First of all, let’s all commit to a lifestyle of taming our tongues and repent of any negative attitudes or laziness we may have had toward our words.

Second of all, this week I shared a C.S. Lewis quote on social media.

That quote is “All that is not eternal is eternally out of date”. With that quote I made the comment “let’s make sure our salvation isn’t on the out of date list”

I want to repeat that, let’s all ensure our salvation is eternal.

Our inability to tame our tongues on our own is a symptom of a greater issue, that issue is what smart people have called “the human condition” or our “sin nature”

Unlike some claim, slavery was and is not the “original sin”, but regardless of whatever sin and how you would rank it, Romans points out that ALL OF US have this condition. “All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” - and the reality is Sin separates us from God.

The GOOD NEWS is that the God of the Universe has made a way for us to be reconciled with God and enjoy relationship with Him eternally as part of HIS TEAM.

Speaking of words, there is another song from YEARS ago that has always stuck with me, it’s called Eternal Salvation from C3. The lyrics say:

You are our living revelation
You found my lock and turned Your key
Opened every dream in me
You are eternal salvation
Remove the veil, unleash Your light
You gave new heart to this life
No one can steal away
This light inside of me
The voices singing the name of Jesus
The church will rise as one.

We give You all the honour
All the glory
All the praise
The name of Jesus saves
The world can say what they want
But I know the saviour of the lost
You live in me…

A love so true, He came and died
For every man, those who deny
Those who praise and those who cry
Jesus
Grace that gives back innocence
Grace that heals the brokenness
Grace that fills our weakness
With Jesus