WALKING IN WISDOM -Taming Your Tongue // Sunday, July 20, 2025 // Jeff Hines, Lead Pastor
/Sunday, July 20, 2025
Walking in Wisdom
God’s Guidance for Daily Living
Healthy People Grow
Growing People Change
Changed People, Change People
Real People
Living in the Real World
Loving the Real God
Taming Your Tongue
James 3: 1 & 2 (NLT)
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
Why must I watch what I say?
1. My tongue directs where I go.
A. The tongue is small,
but powerful!
James 3: 3 (NLT)
We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
B. My tongue determines the
course of my life!
James 3: 4 (NLT)
...a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go,
even though the winds are strong.
Proverbs 18: 21 (NASB)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18: 21 (AMP)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.
2. My tongue can be destructive!
A. A careless word can destroy
my blessings.
James 3: 5 & 6 (NLT)
...a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire.
B. My tongue can create a chain
reaction!
James 3: 6 (NLT)
…It (the tongue) is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
God’s advice:
Proverbs 21: 23 (NLT)
Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.
C. I must rely on God to help me
tame my tongue.
James 3: 7 & 8 (NLT)
People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.
3. My tongue displays who I am.
A. I am inconsistent.
James 3: 9 & 10 (NLT)
Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
B. What’s in the well comes out in
the water.
James 3: 11 & 12 (NLT)
Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.
The root of the problem is my heart!
Matthew 12: 34 & 35 (NLT)
You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.
What is the solution?
1. I need a new heart.
Ezekiel 18: 31 (NLT)
Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit…
How do I get a new heart?
2 Corinthians 5: 17 (NKJV)
... if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2. Ask God for help every day!
Psalm 141: 3 (NLT)
Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.
3. Think BEFORE you speak!
James 1: 19 (NLT)
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.