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Real Talk Part 4
Have you ever wondered why James wrote that not many should aspire to be teachers? Pastor Justin discusses the importance of living out our values in every aspect of life, including our words.
Key Insights
- What leadership qualifications look like in the Church
- The difference between worldly and godly wisdom
- How the tongue impacts relationships, influence, and spiritual maturity
https://springhousemidweek.captivate.fm/episode/real-talk-part-4
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Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
CCLI License 2070006
Transcript
Felt like the Holy Spirit was speaking to me when
Speaker:we're singing. He is a way maker,
Speaker:miracle worker, promise keeper. Sometimes we
Speaker:put our situation and how we want things to work out. We
Speaker:want it our way, we want our miracle, we want our promises.
Speaker:And then we place a song like that on it and say, well, God, you're
Speaker:going to be working it out the way I want it to be. You're going
Speaker:to make the miracle happen the way I want it to be. The promise is
Speaker:going to be. But you know, even though we don't
Speaker:see it, he's still working, he may be working
Speaker:on us to have a different perspective about how
Speaker:he wants to be the way maker, the
Speaker:promise keeper, the miracle worker in our lives. And
Speaker:so let's be open to what the Holy Spirit's doing,
Speaker:doing in us. He'll take care of them
Speaker:and the situation. But how is he changing me?
Speaker:What's the way he's changing me? The promise he has for me, the
Speaker:miracle he's wanting to work in in my life. And it might
Speaker:not look like what I've got conjured up in my mind. Lord, we are
Speaker:so grateful that you love us so much, that you grace us so much
Speaker:that you would keep working on us. Little sheet down here.
Speaker:God, you are so good. And we just thank you for the presence
Speaker:of the Holy Spirit in your house tonight. I thank you for the heart
Speaker:of every person in this room. And I pray, Lord, tonight that you would speak
Speaker:to us. I pray that you would anoint Justin. I thank you for your word
Speaker:and that it's truth and that we can stand on it, we can trust it.
Speaker:And I pray, Lord, that you would speak to us tonight. In Jesus name,
Speaker:Amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Welcome, friends.
Speaker:We're glad that you are here and we are continuing our series
Speaker:in James. And so we will be meeting this Thursday, we'll be
Speaker:meeting next Thursday, but then I believe the following Thursday's Thanksgiving.
Speaker:That's here. Is that true or do we have three, Three, three more.
Speaker:We'll come back that week. Thanksgiving will be
Speaker:our last midweek gathering for 2026. And so has it been rich
Speaker:so far? Yeah. God's teaching us through. Through Pastor Justin
Speaker:the book of James. Come on, Justin, teach us tonight. Welcome, Justin.
Speaker:If you don't come back for the last one, I'm still gonna
Speaker:teach it to an empty room. Cause I have got
Speaker:this word that is inside of me like a fire shut up in
Speaker:my bones and I cannot keep it in and I'M
Speaker:thankful that it is not my word that I am. I
Speaker:don't have to be the one that came up with this so that I can
Speaker:stand before the Lord and be like, I was reading it to the people.
Speaker:Okay, how's everybody doing? We good tonight?
Speaker:It's a beautiful day outside. You better buckle up,
Speaker:buttercup. Cause that's coming to an abrupt halt this weekend. Okay?
Speaker:You know how I know. Listen, old farmers, I
Speaker:used to be like, how do these farmers know, like, stuff,
Speaker:right? And like, depending on where they lived, like,
Speaker:farmers know their property. And they'll be like, well, when
Speaker:the snow melts in this little patch of grass over here,
Speaker:that's when we plant. And every year they just have a
Speaker:successful harvest. Well, the reason I know that
Speaker:it's about to get really cold is because every year, right before it
Speaker:gets cold, every ladybug looking
Speaker:beetle, I'm serious, look, they come out of the
Speaker:ground and they swarm my workshop. And they're on
Speaker:every piece that I paint. And I'll sand a piece and paint it and I'll
Speaker:flip it over and there'll be 10 dead ladybug looking bugs on the other
Speaker:side. And so if you look at the forecast, come Monday,
Speaker:all them little ladybugs are gonna be dead and gone. So this is our last
Speaker:hurrah. So consider me your Farmer's Almanac for
Speaker:2025, okay? And dress appropriately this
Speaker:weekend at Sunday church, okay? Because if you don't,
Speaker:then I'm starting a blanket ministry. I've been saying that for a while. I just
Speaker:need to go and bite the bullet and do it. All right, we
Speaker:are in week four of our series, but we're in
Speaker:Chap of James. Okay,
Speaker:just to give you a little bit of a recap about chapter two. Some
Speaker:chapter two highlights that we hit last week. The
Speaker:first is the sin of partiality. And James
Speaker:referred to favoritism actually being
Speaker:a sin. And the early church were.
Speaker:They were. Once they had been dispersed, they were struggling with showing
Speaker:favoritism to those that were wealthy. And they were
Speaker:treating the poor in those towns a different way.
Speaker:And James was tasked with telling them, hey guys, this is actually sin and you
Speaker:need to stop it. Because God cares about the poor. And he moved on
Speaker:in chapter two, which kind of led him to talk about
Speaker:having mercy instead of judgment and letting mercy
Speaker:be the thing that we flow from. Because we don't want to stand
Speaker:before the Lord requesting his mercy when all we've
Speaker:done here is cast judgment. I don't want to get there. And
Speaker:he Says you weren't showing the same mercy you want
Speaker:me to give you, son. And James really set
Speaker:that all up to talk about faith without
Speaker:works being dead. Okay, that one little bug. Let him go. Let him
Speaker:go. Live your life. It's over with in two days, buddy. It's a wrap.
Speaker:I want to know, Simon, listen, how come some
Speaker:caterpillars go in a cocoon and come out a butterfly and some come out a
Speaker:moth, right? Like, why? What determines that? Get
Speaker:with me after class tonight, okay?
Speaker:Faith without works is dead. And then he circles back
Speaker:to contrast the rich and the poor and faith in the works.
Speaker:Contrast by talk, discussing Abraham and
Speaker:Rahab. And one was looked at in society as the father
Speaker:of the nations, and the other one was a prostitute gentile
Speaker:who had been brought into the family of God. And it was that same
Speaker:type of contrast of. Of showing partiality
Speaker:and how Abraham may have been justified in his
Speaker:faith when he believed God. But it wasn't until he was willing
Speaker:to walk that faith out and sacrifice his son Isaac, that
Speaker:that faith became real, that his works were actually being
Speaker:displayed, that he actually rubber met the road. And he
Speaker:says, this is what I actually believe. And so
Speaker:that's chapter two. And then James doesn't even hit
Speaker:the E brake. He rolls right into chapter three
Speaker:and he discusses the taming of
Speaker:the tongue. And so we pick up right here in chapter three
Speaker:with verse one, and says, not many of you should become teachers.
Speaker:Flat out, not many of you should become teachers,
Speaker:my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater
Speaker:strictness. Now, why does James phrase it like this,
Speaker:become teachers? Because isn't teaching a part of the
Speaker:fivefold ministry? It's presented as a calling in Scripture.
Speaker:Ephesians 4, 11, 13 says, and he gave the apostles, the
Speaker:prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, which are pastors
Speaker:and teachers, to equip the
Speaker:saints for the work of ministry it is.
Speaker:Listen, this is going to sound weird. I'm not doing
Speaker:ministry. I'm equipping you to do ministry
Speaker:by teaching you the word of God so that you may rightly
Speaker:divide the word of truth and carry that out to a sick,
Speaker:hurting and dying world. Share the gospel with them,
Speaker:bring them in here so they can then be taught, and go do
Speaker:the same. The job of the prophets,
Speaker:the apostles, the evangelists, the shepherds and the
Speaker:teachers is to equip the saints
Speaker:for the work of ministry, for building up
Speaker:the body of Christ until we all
Speaker:attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son. Of
Speaker:God. Oh, I love this word right here.
Speaker:To mature manhood or womanhood,
Speaker:to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And then in
Speaker:Romans 12, Paul says, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to
Speaker:us, let us use them if prophecy
Speaker:in proportion to our faith, if service and serving. The one who teaches
Speaker:in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation,
Speaker:the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with
Speaker:zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with
Speaker:cheerfulness. So if teaching is part
Speaker:of the ministry calling, why does James say,
Speaker:not many of you should become
Speaker:teachers? Because if you go back and
Speaker:look at how he finishes his statement, for you know that we who
Speaker:teach will be judged with greater strictness. Those
Speaker:who teach ought know better. And James is
Speaker:saying, based on the reason I'm writing
Speaker:this letter and the way you are living, you should probably
Speaker:avoid trying to teach anybody anything until you can get this
Speaker:under control yourself. That y' all should not even worry
Speaker:about being leaders. And I think there are some in the body of Christ. Listen,
Speaker:don't even worry about it right now. You should not be a leader.
Speaker:You should not teach. Are you called to do so?
Speaker:Probably, most likely. Should you be doing
Speaker:so now? Absolutely not. Why? Because you're gonna
Speaker:be held to a higher standard when you start teaching this.
Speaker:I remember many years ago, and I've shared this, that I got to a place
Speaker:in ministry after I returned from my one year
Speaker:discipleship program for men with life controlling problems. And I don't care how
Speaker:many times y' all hear me say that, I'm never gonna stop saying it that
Speaker:way. Okay? When I came home, I was the
Speaker:prodigal son that had returned. And there was all this joy
Speaker:and jubilation in the house, and it was fantastic.
Speaker:And I was on fire for the Lord. But my roots had not had
Speaker:time to go down deep. I didn't have any depth.
Speaker:I had joy and zeal and passion and forgiveness and grace and
Speaker:mercy. And the leadership in this house saw this. They may
Speaker:not have seen this, but they saw this. Barbie for sure
Speaker:saw it. I know Ronnie saw. They saw this here. Then.
Speaker:The problem is I didn't see this then
Speaker:or see this now back then, but started to make my way to
Speaker:get there. Does that make sense, what I'm telling you? And this is also
Speaker:why God doesn't just reveal everything to you. Cause you'll be like, all right, thank
Speaker:you. This is my bus stop. I know where I'm at. I'll take you from
Speaker:Here. Lord. And so, just like Biosphere 2.
Speaker:Have I told you guys about Biosphere 2? Some of you guys have heard about
Speaker:this. Biosphere 2 was
Speaker:a hundred acre bio dome in the desert. And
Speaker:what they did was they put up this dome and they grew plants in
Speaker:there. And these plants grew really fast, really tall
Speaker:trees, and then the trees fell over under their own
Speaker:weight. What they found out was that the root
Speaker:structure had not changed because they didn't face any adversity.
Speaker:There was no wind in Biosphere 2. See, the cellular makeup
Speaker:of a tree changes when it's a sapling, as it
Speaker:encounters adversity, and it allows its roots to go deep and deep
Speaker:and deep and deep and deep. So now you've got a young man
Speaker:who's full of zeal, who may have faced the adversity, but his
Speaker:roots were not deep. And I began to teach the word like this.
Speaker:Here you go. This is what you need. This is what you. Oh, I see
Speaker:your problem over here. Here's what you need right here. To
Speaker:where God had to bring me, to a season where I began to go.
Speaker:And then my teaching became here.
Speaker:So James says, you should not be
Speaker:teaching this if you're not living it because you're going
Speaker:to be held to a higher standard. Teachers is teaching
Speaker:a calling? Absolutely. But walking out
Speaker:a godly life is more important than you being able to teach somebody else
Speaker:how to walk it out. I've heard a phrase like those who can do and
Speaker:those who can't teach. That's nonsense.
Speaker:That's ridiculous. You better not teach.
Speaker:Why? Because you're responsible for what you teach and
Speaker:who you lead. I have an amazing
Speaker:discipler in my life now, has been for many
Speaker:years, and he has been helping me with
Speaker:language because I have been known to say some things from this
Speaker:stage, right. If you've been here long enough. And
Speaker:then sometimes there's emails. A lot of times there's just
Speaker:one on one conversation, like, why did you say it like that?
Speaker:And so this discipler has been helping me not.
Speaker:Let me see how to phrase this. It's gonna sound bad,
Speaker:not be able to like get out of it, but just phrase things
Speaker:in a way to where I don't have to take the brunt of it. And
Speaker:you're still responsible if you ruin your life. So,
Speaker:for example, saying, look, this is Justin Speak right here.
Speaker:This is how I read my Bible, right? Or just
Speaker:changing certain phrases to ensure that what I'm
Speaker:doing is now, this is why. This is because the enemy works with
Speaker:language. His very first trick was, did God really
Speaker:say. And he cast a seed of doubt. Did he not? Did God really
Speaker:say that? And the woman's going, hang on, wait a minute. Did he. He's just
Speaker:twisting it just a little bit. Language is important. And he's
Speaker:twisting the language. So if I speak in absolutes
Speaker:concerning a thing, right, Then you may base your
Speaker:understanding of scripture on something I said that's it sounded
Speaker:absolute. Instead of giving myself an out by
Speaker:saying, this is the case in this scripture, but it's not
Speaker:necessarily the case all the time. Does that make sense, what I'm
Speaker:saying? I'm not trying to backpedal, but I'm also not trying to be the
Speaker:reason why you go off the rails and blame me when we get up there.
Speaker:I don't need a line of people going, well, Justin back here,
Speaker:shut up. Don't say my name.
Speaker:Do not. Right? And they're like, bring up the film, let's see it. And then
Speaker:here I am teaching in absolutes. And James was like, I tried
Speaker:to tell him I wrote a letter and it made it all the way to
Speaker:2025. He just didn't listen.
Speaker:James is serious about this because you're
Speaker:responsible for what you teach and who you
Speaker:lead, whether you lead them into the kingdom or you lead
Speaker:them astray. And James is like, this is a big deal.
Speaker:So what does leadership require?
Speaker:Well, leadership qualifications can vary, okay?
Speaker:But we do find in Scripture there are
Speaker:qualifications or parameters, if you will,
Speaker:for overseers, which are elders, and for deacons, which
Speaker:take care of the responsibilities of the house. The deacons in
Speaker:the early church would carry out the church duties in order for
Speaker:the priest to be freed up to minister to the people. Not necessarily like
Speaker:white collar priests, but the
Speaker:pastors and the evangelists, the teachers, those that are doing the work
Speaker:of the ministry. Taking care of the house was a big
Speaker:responsibility. And I try to explain to everyone who comes on the
Speaker:house team, I'm like, you're not just holding a door or greeting
Speaker:a person or serving holy communion or collecting
Speaker:offering. You are entering into a system that was established
Speaker:thousands of years before you were born. And you are part of the family of
Speaker:God operating in the same manner and ways that
Speaker:the early church operated. You are
Speaker:participating when you take communion,
Speaker:you are participating in something so
Speaker:holy that Jesus did it himself with his
Speaker:disciples. And then he said, I'm not going to do this again until
Speaker:I do it with you. New in the kingdom, I won't drink
Speaker:of this fruit of the vine again until I drink it with you
Speaker:in the kingdom. And so, of course, they were like, well,
Speaker:that's kind of a big deal to Jesus. It should probably be a big deal
Speaker:to the church. And so Paul writes about qualifications
Speaker:for elders and
Speaker:deacons. And then you can find this in First Timothy, Chapter three
Speaker:says, therefore, an overseer must be above
Speaker:reproach. That's kind of a like a.
Speaker:Just put a period right there.
Speaker:Above reproach. If someone were to come in here and
Speaker:say, tell me that Barbie said all kind of crazy things out there in the
Speaker:foyer, I'd be like, you're lying. You're lying. That's not true.
Speaker:Why would I say that's not true? I know Pastor Barbie.
Speaker:I know her character. I see her life. I'm not gonna say she's
Speaker:not capable of saying something crazy. I just don't believe
Speaker:that she did. Does that make sense?
Speaker:I'm not. Listen, y' all know I'm capable, but hopefully
Speaker:we've moved from 80 to 220. I'm working on getting in that
Speaker:300 range of knocking, trying to soften and polish you guys
Speaker:now instead of just being so abrasive. Okay, I'm getting there.
Speaker:Maturing as that first passage to be above reproach.
Speaker:Above reproach. You're above. When people
Speaker:talk slanderous about you, it's not really believable because
Speaker:that's not your character. I listened to a podcast
Speaker:this week, and this guy's writing a research
Speaker:paper on the Salem witch trials. You guys ever heard of the Salem witch
Speaker:trials? Here's a fun fact. They never burnt anybody at the state. Did you know
Speaker:that somehow in your head, we had this idea they was burning witches?
Speaker:That's not what happened. Well, here's why being
Speaker:above reproach is important. One of the
Speaker:parameters for being tried as a witch
Speaker:was being cantankerous and had to explain to my wife what
Speaker:cantankerous is. It's an old Southern word that means, you know,
Speaker:rowdy or, like, almost a troublemaker
Speaker:in society. I've talked about language and then don't have a
Speaker:definition for cantankerous. So for those
Speaker:that do know exactly that Webster's dictionary definition, come see me
Speaker:afterwards and help guide and mold me so I can get better.
Speaker:Right. But one of the
Speaker:things was, if you were cantankerous, they was like, that could be a witch.
Speaker:Well, this guy was approached, and they accused
Speaker:his wife of being a witch. And this was his response,
Speaker:something to the effect of, I could see that.
Speaker:Dead serious. So they arrested the lady she got arrested
Speaker:for witchcraft because her husband was like, I can see how she
Speaker:would fit the description of what you're saying. She is awful,
Speaker:rowdy. I mean, I don't know. Well, then it backfired on him because then they
Speaker:arrested him. They said, well, you're complicit to the crime. And I won't bore
Speaker:you with the details of how that played out, but they arrested the lady because
Speaker:her husband said, yeah, I can see that. You gotta live
Speaker:above reproach. I don't want you to be like, justin's a witch. And you go,
Speaker:you know what? He is kind of cantankerous at times.
Speaker:Ornery. There's another one, right? Ornery,
Speaker:right. Where are we at? Here we go. Oh, we didn't get past the first
Speaker:one. A husband of one wife. He's not a
Speaker:polygamist, okay? Sober minded,
Speaker:self controlled, respectable,
Speaker:hospitable. Look at here. Able to teach.
Speaker:Not a drunkard. Not violent, but gentle. Not
Speaker:quarrelsome. Cantankerous, right?
Speaker:Not a lover of money. Why are these qualifications
Speaker:important? Because these are the ways that the enemy will
Speaker:come and attack from within. He must manage his
Speaker:own household well, with all dignity, keeping his children
Speaker:submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will
Speaker:he care for God's church? Jesus, every time
Speaker:I catch my kids running, I'm like, I'm gonna kick me out of here. I'm
Speaker:gonna stop it. Somebody gonna see you and be like, isn't he an elder? He
Speaker:can't control his child, right? I'm like,
Speaker:no, it's not me. That's them, right?
Speaker:He's responsible. He's been baptized. It's on him now, right?
Speaker:He must not be a recent convert. Why? Remember
Speaker:what I talked about? Those roots, right? You don't have. You gotta have time.
Speaker:You can't be an overseer. Day one, nobody goes to the
Speaker:Nissan plant and they go through training and they're all of a sudden, all right,
Speaker:this is the new parts manager. You're like, what? Who is this guy?
Speaker:Right? It didn't say anything about age.
Speaker:Didn't say anything about age. He must not be a recent convert or
Speaker:he may become puffed up with conceit and fall
Speaker:into the condemnation of the devil. And then he talks about
Speaker:deacons. And moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so
Speaker:that he may not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.
Speaker:Deacons likewise, in the same manner, must be
Speaker:dignified, not double tongued.
Speaker:Oh, gosh. Hey.
Speaker:Oh, here. Hey.
Speaker:Y' all don't know what I said. Just like y' all don't know what Jesus
Speaker:wrote in the dirt, so it don't matter. Not addicted to too much
Speaker:wine. Not addicted to too much wine.
Speaker:Not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the
Speaker:mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And
Speaker:let them also be tested first. Then let them serve as deacons. If
Speaker:they prove themselves blameless, their wives likewise must be. And you're not your
Speaker:wife. The whole family has to live a certain
Speaker:way. Must be dignified, not
Speaker:slanderers, but sober minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each
Speaker:be the husband of one wife, managing their children in their own households well.
Speaker:For those who serve well as deacons gain a good
Speaker:standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith
Speaker:that is in Christ Jesus.
Speaker:These are the qualifications of elders and deacons. And while these are
Speaker:for a specific type of overseer, Right. Is this a
Speaker:moral obligation for a certain type of person
Speaker:that wants to serve in a certain area of the church, or
Speaker:is this the result of consecration and obedience
Speaker:to the gospel? If it's the latter, then
Speaker:it's. I'm going to hesitate to say the word should because should indicates shame.
Speaker:If it is the latter, and this is the result
Speaker:of consecration and obedience to the gospel, then it is
Speaker:attainable by all. Whether we serve the
Speaker:office of overseer or deacon, it
Speaker:is attainable by all of us. And James says,
Speaker:you guys should not teach this if you
Speaker:won't live this. Because if you were trying
Speaker:to teach this without living this, you're going to
Speaker:get yourself in a world of hurt. And that's how he opens
Speaker:the chapter. Gosh.
Speaker:But he specifically talks about one qualification.
Speaker:So while those are other qualifications, those are not mentioned in James,
Speaker:but they are parameters for leaders within the body. Now,
Speaker:James specifically talks about one qualification,
Speaker:and he gets on my nerves for doing so.
Speaker:For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble
Speaker:in what he says, he's a perfect man.
Speaker:If anyone does not stumble in what he says,
Speaker:he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Speaker:If we put bits into the mouths of horses so
Speaker:that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as
Speaker:well. Look at the ships also. Though they are so large
Speaker:and driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very
Speaker:small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
Speaker:So also the tongue is a small member, yet it
Speaker:boasts of great things. How great a
Speaker:forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. And the tongue is
Speaker:a fire, a world of Unrighteousness. The tongue is
Speaker:set among our members, staining the whole body, setting
Speaker:on fire the entire course of life. And set on fire by
Speaker:hail. James has done gone off.
Speaker:For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be
Speaker:tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no human
Speaker:being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of
Speaker:deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with
Speaker:it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
Speaker:From the same mouth come blessing and cursing, my brothers.
Speaker:These things ought not to be so. Does
Speaker:a spring pour forth from the same opening, both fresh and
Speaker:salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear
Speaker:olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a
Speaker:salt pond yield fresh water.
Speaker:James, if. Then statement concerning
Speaker:speech is a major theme of this whole letter.
Speaker:And there are obvious ways in which we use our speech or our
Speaker:words. But there's an even more nefarious
Speaker:way we use speech in modern times that is
Speaker:often so unchecked and so unbridled
Speaker:that it does more harm and lasting damage than
Speaker:a word spoken out of anger. And that is
Speaker:the words that we write and text and post
Speaker:and send.
Speaker:He said, bless God and curse others. Death and
Speaker:life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love
Speaker:it will eat its fruit.
Speaker:There are people and we. I am
Speaker:sometimes that person who will type and send something
Speaker:we will never say to someone in their face.
Speaker:We will type very venomous emails and text messages.
Speaker:And then when confronted about said emails and text messages. Oh, that's not what.
Speaker:I didn't mean it like that. No.
Speaker:Texts are hard to decipher on the outset anyways, because I
Speaker:have a tendency to read text messages like this.
Speaker:What? What does that mean? And my mom was like, I just said, come
Speaker:outside. And I'm like, what do you mean, come outside?
Speaker:Where am I coming? Let me get my shoes on. And my mom's like, no,
Speaker:I'm trying to give you a pie, idiot. She didn't really say that.
Speaker:But. But you got all puffed up about nothing, right?
Speaker:You can't understand tone of voice, inflection,
Speaker:body language, things like that and text. And
Speaker:what we don't realize is the places
Speaker:online that we get into these fits of rage and
Speaker:anger with other people are actually manufactured
Speaker:places for us to be enraged. I
Speaker:was listening to a study the other day that there are teenagers
Speaker:in Mumbai who their entire job
Speaker:is to create fake social media accounts
Speaker:and spend 30 days posting random photos
Speaker:of, oh, look, I like to play Basketball, they'll steal your
Speaker:photo. Mama Lisa. And now Mama Lisa's posting about NBA
Speaker:basketball. And then the next day it's this, and then the next day it's
Speaker:that. And they're creating a fake account in order to then
Speaker:infiltrate groups to start causing drama
Speaker:and fights. If you don't think that the
Speaker:enemy doesn't understand the tactics of modern
Speaker:warfare, then you have your head in the sand. The
Speaker:majority of the people you are arguing with online are
Speaker:not real people. And if they are real
Speaker:people, it's manufactured, outrageous.
Speaker:Anything that the world says, be mad about this. Be angry
Speaker:about this. Back in the
Speaker:80s and 90s, the Kremlin used to fund left
Speaker:wing and right wing parties and then told them both were
Speaker:funding you. Both. Are you serious? They
Speaker:were funding the same things to create and
Speaker:manufacture outrage. And we as
Speaker:sheep fall right in line and we get enraged and we
Speaker:use our words in harmful ways. See, just
Speaker:because it says your speech needs to be guarded does not mean
Speaker:that it's everything that comes out of your mouth. You
Speaker:can write harmful things, you can post harmful
Speaker:things that are anti kingdom, that are
Speaker:anti character, that taint your reproach.
Speaker:And we think that we get a pass.
Speaker:Let me give you some examples of corrupted speech. I already read
Speaker:that Dishonoring
Speaker:God, blasphemy and speak to the people of Israel saying, whoever curses God
Speaker:shall bear his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be surely
Speaker:put to death. Kind of harsh.
Speaker:All the congregation shall stone him, the sojourner as well as the native.
Speaker:When he blasphemes the name shall be put to death. Aren't you
Speaker:glad you weren't part of that?
Speaker:Lying and deception? Falsifying information is a theme
Speaker:contrasted with righteous speech in verses like Proverbs 4. Put away from
Speaker:you crooked speech, put devious talk far from you.
Speaker:Slander and gossip, which is speaking negatively about others, a
Speaker:behavior condemned as harmful to relationships. A dishonest
Speaker:man spreads strife. And a whisperer.
Speaker:Are you hearing me? A whisperer separates close
Speaker:friends. Don't be a gossip. Don't be a gossip. Don't
Speaker:slander somebody's name. Here's another one right here. Profanity and
Speaker:vulgarity. Let there be no filthiness or foolish talk,
Speaker:no crude joking which are out of place. But instead, let there
Speaker:be Thanksgiving. I might be a little bit more forgiving if you
Speaker:rattle off a curse word after you racked your pinky toe
Speaker:on the edge of that bench or that chair there. All right,
Speaker:I'm not saying you should. I'd be a little bit more understanding
Speaker:as opposed to just using vulgar language in casual
Speaker:conversation. Right? What are we doing
Speaker:as people of God? Right? Why? How am I any
Speaker:different if I'm in an environment where everyone is talking that way and
Speaker:I just roll right into it?
Speaker:I worked construction for a long time. They make sailors blush
Speaker:and I'm like, what are we even talking about? You asked me to go get
Speaker:something and gave me nine cuz words about this. What are we doing?
Speaker:Kingdom? People should be different. Worthless speech.
Speaker:A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks
Speaker:with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger with
Speaker:perverted heart, devises evil continually sowing
Speaker:discord. And in Psalm 73, malignant speech,
Speaker:their eyes swell out through fatness. Their hearts overflow with follies.
Speaker:They scoff and speak with malice. Loftily, they
Speaker:threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heaven and
Speaker:their tongue struts through the earth.
Speaker:Our words have power.
Speaker:God's word over us had the mission of releasing things
Speaker:like power and authority. Jesus said
Speaker:to his disciples, all authority in
Speaker:heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Speaker:Now you go and make disciples of all
Speaker:nations, teaching them everything that I have taught
Speaker:God. It was a mandate. It was spoken right
Speaker:when they asked Jesus, when they came to tell Jesus about Lazarus, his
Speaker:buddy, being dead, Jesus said, he
Speaker:ain't dead. He's asleep. And he sent his word
Speaker:ahead of himself. And when he got there, what did he say? Lazarus
Speaker:come forth. He spoke life into a situation
Speaker:that was dead. The word of God
Speaker:has a powerful correction. Boy, we don't like that one.
Speaker:We think that anything corrective is automatically negative because
Speaker:of the way it makes you feel. Guess what? I need to
Speaker:be corrected. Because that's real love. Because if the people that say
Speaker:they love me are willing to correct my steps or correct
Speaker:my speech, then they're allowing me to continue in
Speaker:destruction. And in a position like this, it causes damage to
Speaker:you. So what does it look like for Allen to say
Speaker:I love you and never be willing to have courage to bring correction
Speaker:into my life when he's in a position to do so because he's in
Speaker:relationship with me, he's also in authority over me as an elder, and as an
Speaker:elder elder, he's in authority over me in so many different ways.
Speaker:He has the ability to speak into my life.
Speaker:God's word has the mission of bringing courage, peace,
Speaker:wisdom, clarity, and healing. James is real big on
Speaker:words because life and
Speaker:death are in the power of the tongue. And I got. If you find yourself
Speaker:struggling with words at times, show of hands. How many of you guys have just
Speaker:been like, I wish I didn't say that.
Speaker:Smitty, you're lying.
Speaker:You're lying now. Her hand didn't go up and see that hand?
Speaker:There's been times where I'll go, I wish that I could just put that right
Speaker:back in my mouth. With me, it's usually with my wife.
Speaker:She'd go, did you say that? No, I didn't say what you think I said.
Speaker:My brain just. It just came out.
Speaker:If you find yourself struggling with words, whether written
Speaker:right. If you just can't. I just like. I can't let it go. Where's my
Speaker:phone? I just gotta. I just gotta comment on this. I can't let it go.
Speaker:As if your comment is gonna be the chain that breaks their
Speaker:hard heart, right? I just. I
Speaker:couldn't let it go. I gotta say this. And
Speaker:then they're still the same person, and you're the same person, but I feel better.
Speaker:Cause I got it on my chest, right? You couldn't
Speaker:exhibit self control is what it was. You're just like, not. I gotta say
Speaker:it. If you're struggling with your words, written or spoken,
Speaker:I'm gonna give you some practical advice that's gonna help you as
Speaker:you navigate through this. You ready? Number one,
Speaker:shut up.
Speaker:It sounds bad. I know. We tell our kids, don't say it. And I'm not
Speaker:telling you to shut up. I'm saying, stop talking.
Speaker:If you struggle with just saying anything, then
Speaker:shut up. Just stop.
Speaker:You know how many times I've heard, you're making it way worse the longer
Speaker:you talk. And it's usually, again, with that same
Speaker:person. You're not helping yourself. Right?
Speaker:One of my favorite movies is the Goonies. And
Speaker:they got this. There's a character named Chunk. And Chunk
Speaker:gets left behind. And the Fratelli's catch him.
Speaker:And the Fratellis have got Chunk tied up and
Speaker:they're interrogating him. And they're like, spill it. Tell us everything.
Speaker:He's like, in the second grade, I lied to my
Speaker:teacher. And in the third grade I did this. And in the
Speaker:fourth grade, I ate so many candy bars. And they're like,
Speaker:please shut up. Stop telling us everything. Stop
Speaker:talking so much. That's number two, stop talking so much.
Speaker:And number three, listen to hear instead of
Speaker:listening to respond. If you were here for week one now, I
Speaker:said, one attribute of real talk is what? Active
Speaker:listening. If you struggle with saying the
Speaker:wrong things, or saying too much or posting the wrong thing
Speaker:or commenting the wrong thing or texting the wrong thing,
Speaker:instead of having to go backtrack and clean up your mess. Cause usually
Speaker:once it's already out there, it's out there. You can't put it back in.
Speaker:You can only hope to grow and repent and change and hope
Speaker:God does some work in other people. But listen
Speaker:to hear instead of listen to respond. Because maybe when you
Speaker:do respond, what you say might be different than what you think
Speaker:you heard at the outset. And usually that's gonna
Speaker:attack at our pride. Because one of my.
Speaker:It's not a flaw. Can't be a flaw. Please don't be a flaw.
Speaker:One of my maturity moments where I'm like. I'm trying to
Speaker:think of the right phrase. Like, if you start arguing with me
Speaker:right now, I'll argue with you for as long
Speaker:as you want to argue. What'd you say? Meet me outside.
Speaker:Let's go. I got something in the backseat for you. It's a pie for you
Speaker:mom, right? I
Speaker:struggle, man. I match energy. If you come incorrect,
Speaker:I'm liable to be just as incorrect as you. And I know that about
Speaker:myself. So I've been trying, because knowing that
Speaker:allows me to say, okay, am I gonna continue in that? If you know that
Speaker:that's not how you're supposed to live. Cause that doesn't put you above reproach. And
Speaker:you're gonna be up here teaching nonsense to people, Right? So as
Speaker:the Holy Spirit has revealed that to me, I. I'm trying
Speaker:to let your energy be your energy and let my energy be tempered by the
Speaker:Holy Spirit. I'm trying, guys. So if y' all see
Speaker:me spazz on somebody that's spazzing on me. Now, listen, if somebody's real
Speaker:angry and violent, stranger comes in trying to hurt y', all best believe I'll be
Speaker:the first grizzly bear to match that same energy. But when we're talking
Speaker:about people and relationships and words and hurt and damage, I don't want to be
Speaker:a grizzly bear and attack somebody that don't need to be attacked. Does it make
Speaker:sense? James knows this, and that's why James is like,
Speaker:this thing's going to get you in more trouble than anything else. It will get
Speaker:you in more trouble with everybody that you think you have a
Speaker:relationship with. And the problem is you're not going to be able to
Speaker:tame this thing. It's going to take a relationship with a
Speaker:holy God that's going to work with you.
Speaker:That's Going to challenge you. It's going to shape you.
Speaker:There may be times you got to go, literally go.
Speaker:I don't care if you look stupid. Who cares?
Speaker:Jesus literally said, if your hand
Speaker:listen. And he didn't really mean cut your hand off. He's saying,
Speaker:how far are you willing to go to get serious about sin?
Speaker:He said, you've got to get absolutely radical. If
Speaker:I said don't say nothing for a week and I'll give you 2 million in
Speaker:cash, you'd probably be real good about
Speaker:keeping quiet because you want that cash.
Speaker:But if I said keep quiet for two weeks so you don't offend your brother
Speaker:and say something you're gonna regret, good luck with
Speaker:that. Why? Cause the incentive is just.
Speaker:It's not enough to walk pure and blameless
Speaker:and not harm others with our speech. Somehow that's not
Speaker:enough. Somehow just walking in the mundane is not
Speaker:enough for us. Somehow the Monday through Friday is not
Speaker:enough for us. We gotta have all these highs and lows. Worship better be on
Speaker:point on Sunday. I better feel the Holy Ghost moving. God forbid I
Speaker:come in here and don't feel a thing and hold my hands out and posture,
Speaker:reverence and worship. God forbid I just
Speaker:don't comment, don't say what I want to say because God's
Speaker:working on me. And guess what? There's no drama for two weeks. God forbid
Speaker:we have a boring two weeks. Right?
Speaker:And here's how you tie it together. This is what James says.
Speaker:Here's how you do it. Who is wise and understanding among you
Speaker:by his good conduct? Let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
Speaker:But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, don't boast
Speaker:and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from
Speaker:above. This is earthly, unspiritual. And look at this word he
Speaker:uses. Demonic. Why is
Speaker:earthly wisdom demonic?
Speaker:Because it's self seeking and used for worldly
Speaker:success. Selfish ambition leads
Speaker:to disorder and vile practices. Here's how I know this is what James said.
Speaker:For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be
Speaker:disorder in every vile practice. But the. But.
Speaker:I love this word. But remember I told you guys every time
Speaker:you see that word. But you can go and erase everything that just was before
Speaker:that. Here's how I know that's true.
Speaker:Pastor Wayne. I love that jacket. But.
Speaker:Right. You forgot everything I
Speaker:just said about that jacket. And now all you hear is what's coming next. Right?
Speaker:It's a little too loud for this setting, right? You. I'LL
Speaker:leave the setting then, right? Cause this is a fly jacket. It really is,
Speaker:right? That's how you know when James says, but go ahead and cancel it.
Speaker:Listen, this is what worldly wisdom looks like, but
Speaker:instead, this is what you get. The wisdom from above
Speaker:is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
Speaker:open to reason. Whew, I love
Speaker:that phrasing. Open to reason, Right? You know what godly
Speaker:wisdom says? I don't know it all. I don't know it
Speaker:all. I think I'm right in this. But I'm willing to
Speaker:admit that I'm probably not full of
Speaker:mercy. There's that word mercy again. And good
Speaker:fruits. Oh, here he goes again. Impartial. We're not
Speaker:showing favoritism. And it's sincere.
Speaker:Godly wisdom is genuine. And a harvest of
Speaker:righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Speaker:James has such a beautiful way of like
Speaker:hugging you as he punches you in the stomach. You know, it's like,
Speaker:I love you. Bam. Right? Just really digging
Speaker:it in there. Because when you read these things, you're cut to
Speaker:the heart, but you're also encouraged in such a way that you're going,
Speaker:my God, this has got to be the Holy Spirit. There's no way this
Speaker:guy just authored this letter this way that makes you feel
Speaker:so, so, so cut and so destroyed, but in a way that
Speaker:brings healing. Right? A
Speaker:surgeon, a highly skilled surgeon, is able to take a scalpel
Speaker:and say, skillfully, slice. And that's why they give you
Speaker:anesthesia and most of the time they put you asleep because there's pain associated
Speaker:with it. There's damage that is done, but that damage is done
Speaker:to then heal you. That damage is to get
Speaker:to places that need healing and repair. There are damaged
Speaker:ligaments and joints and bones or organs or tendons or things that
Speaker:need to be repaired, but just. You're going to have to get cut to get
Speaker:there. If you had a big old infection in your arm, you can leave it
Speaker:there, and they're eventually going to have to cut you and they may have to
Speaker:cut you at the elbow, but instead, if you'll let it cut you and get
Speaker:all that infection out, it may hurt in the moment,
Speaker:but once that infection's gone, it can heal. And what James is
Speaker:doing is he's cutting us. The Holy Spirit is cutting us in
Speaker:places where we know we all stumble. There
Speaker:ain't no person in this place that is batting a thousand with what they
Speaker:say. I don't care how long you've been walking. Now, you may Be
Speaker:in a season where you're doing better than you used to be, but you've not
Speaker:arrived right. You may have cut out
Speaker:the coarse jesting and the crude talk, but you may
Speaker:still be. Now you're cussing people out without using cuss
Speaker:words. You're unkind with your words. That's step two.
Speaker:That's the worst. Christians do it all the time.
Speaker:Worldly wisdom produces disorder, strife,
Speaker:arrogance and deceit and harmful speech. Godly
Speaker:wisdom produces meekness, which is the opposite of selfish ambition,
Speaker:pure conduct and good fruits. I'm going to leave you with this. Charles
Speaker:Spurgeon, an English minister of the 1800s, was nicknamed the Prince of
Speaker:Preachers.
Speaker:Wow. He once said, wisdom is the right use
Speaker:of knowledge. Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.
Speaker:To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great
Speaker:deal and are all the greater fools for it. There is no
Speaker:fool so great as a fool. There is no
Speaker:fool so great as a fool, as a knowing fool.
Speaker:But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.
Speaker:This is the same type of wisdom that James alluded to in 1
Speaker:5. He starts off his letter by saying, if any of you lacks
Speaker:wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without
Speaker:reproach, and it will be given to him. He starts off by saying, if any
Speaker:of you lack wisdom, ask God. And then it takes him three
Speaker:chapters to explain what he's talking about.
Speaker:James basically says, and this is Justin's speech, you see how I did that?
Speaker:If any of you lack wisdom, don't go trying to gain it from
Speaker:experience and deceive yourselves. The world will give you
Speaker:a tainted version that leads to strife and is riddled
Speaker:with harmful speech along the way. Instead,
Speaker:ask God for wisdom, wisdom that is peaceable and gentle,
Speaker:full of mercy and open to reason. That's the wisdom that you want.
Speaker:The type of wisdom will help you bridle your tongue and avoid harm
Speaker:and having to repent. But if you do need to repent, do it
Speaker:often. That's the mark of a good leader, a leader who can rightly
Speaker:divide the word of God and is equipped to teach. But be careful.
Speaker:You'll be held to an even higher standard and you'll be tempted to rely on
Speaker:your own understanding. And it's a trap. Then we'll
Speaker:be right back where we started operating in a worldly wisdom
Speaker:with a kingdom calling. Don't be that guy.
Speaker:Let's pray. Father, I thank you for the Word.
Speaker:I thank you that there is only one who can help us tame
Speaker:this unruly. Evil of a tongue. And that is
Speaker:you, Holy Spirit. And so I ask that you would help us
Speaker:as your people, this collective group here tonight, everyone, under
Speaker:the sound of my voice, God, we need your help with
Speaker:what we say, what we type, how we present it. And we have
Speaker:relied on our own strength and worldly wisdom. And instead
Speaker:we're asking that you would give us wisdom and how to navigate
Speaker:these times, this modern dynamic that we're in. We know we're
Speaker:under attack from the enemy. Don't let us fall into those traps.
Speaker:Help us to see them clearly, the snare that has been set before
Speaker:us and to bridle our tongue and to be driven to bless others and not
Speaker:to curse. God, that we wouldn't be gossipers and slanderers.
Speaker:There would be people who lift up the name of Jesus. There would be people
Speaker:who bless others. We'd be people who encourage others, bring
Speaker:correction when needed. We would walk with others, God, that
Speaker:you would give us that wisdom that James mentions in chapter one.
Speaker:God, we want to be a people who walk above
Speaker:reproach. And we know in order to do that, we've got to get a handle
Speaker:on how we talk. So, God, I ask for your help. Righteous,
Speaker:merciful God, help your people. Help me
Speaker:tonight. God, I thank you for all those under the sound of
Speaker:our voice. I thank you for James. I'm glad he said it. So we're here
Speaker:tonight reading it. Make it real to us. God,
Speaker:go with your people now and give us peace. It's in Christ's name I pray.
Speaker:Amen and amen. Be blessed. Free house.
Speaker:What.
