If you got your bibles, open them up. Book of James. We took all of fall to work through the first two chapters of the Book of James and we're getting into chapter three today. And just a little recap, James, so far we've talked about just the importance of trials and the role they play in our own development. We've looked at the importance of not just being hearers of the word, but being doers of the word. We looked at the sin of partiality and showing favoritism them. We looked at faith without works is dead. That section there in James and really kind of the heart of James is he's saying, I don't want you just to have a profession of faith. I want you to have a possession of faith that if you really have faith, it affects all of your life and how you live, even the way that you talk. And that's what we're going to get into in James chapter three. Even if you've never read the Book of James before, it might be the most famous section of James, but just kind of taming the tongue is where we're going to go. So James chapter three, I think we're looking at the first twelve verses, I believe. You guys ready to go? You drove in the snow, so let's do it. Question just for you to think about in your own head, you have to raise your hand, but has your mouth ever gotten you in trouble? Based on the chuckles, I think the person sitting next to you, that probably applies to them, right? Like you've said something that you wish you hadn't said, or you said something that started a fight, or you said something that made the fight bigger. You found yourself in a mess because of the words that came out of your mouth. Now there is a lot of sinning that can be done with our mouths. Gossip, slander, lying, spreading air, boasting, complaining, tearing others down. Do I need to read that list again? You guys identify with some of that gossip. Have you ever talked about people, not to them or slander? Have you ever kind of, like when they're not around, kind of undermined somebody else? Have you told a lie, spread falsehood? Have you ever found yourself just complaining? You're just kind of bickering about your job, bickering about your life. You're like, I didn't know that was sin. I thought it was just normal. No, that's sin. Like just kind of this complaining spirit, bragging and boasting, tearing others down. Or has someone else ever hurt you with their words? Like they said something that really cut that you've been lied to by someone you thought you could trust. Have you ever found out that you were talked about kind of a negative way? And maybe the anger that that stirred up or the hurt that that stirred up in. You ever hear the saying, sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me? Yeah, that's not true. Like, words can hurt now due to our maybe cultural climate. When I say that, I also want to say, like, yeah, and toughen up. Like, if somebody disagrees with you, that doesn't necessarily mean that they were wrong with their words. We're going to get to maybe to see a misapplication of this text is just be nice. That's not what James is ultimately getting at there. But words are powerful and they can hurt. And something so powerful is often untamed. Like, it just kind of comes out, right. I didn't have control, but I didn't mean to say that. It's like. But you did, right? So you lost control in that moment. You just kind of splurted out. Like something so powerful is kind of wild and untamed. We don't have control over that. I was watching the Iowa girls basketball game. There was irony yesterday of having this conversation of whether or not we should have church while I'm watching a sold out Carver Hawkeye arena for a girls basketball game. But maybe that's a comment for another time. But there was a time when there was a foul. I thought it was a bad call on Caitlin Clark, and she was upset. And her teammates run over and they cover her mouth. They put their hands over her mouth because it's like, you know, because in times of frustration, you may say something that makes it worse, and it's like, okay, you got a foul. Let's not turn this into a technical. And they thought they could help by covering her mouth to do that. So we need to cover our mouths at time. It can get us in trouble. So the question is, how could we be better or have better control of our tongues? And not just control, as in stopping a lot of bad things from coming out. But rather than just dealing with a problem here, how do we deal with the problem here? How do we get to the factory that's producing those thoughts that kind of turn into words that come out of our mouths? Now, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. The bottom line is we want to do better with our words, right? Could we get, like, a consensus in this room? Like, we want to do better with our words. Has anybody here mastered their tongue. Okay, we want to do better with our words, but I think saying do better, we want to do better is not heavy enough. I would say, like, we need to do better with our words, because if we don't, your words are the things that tear a marriage apart and break friendships and misguide your kids and find you in all kinds of trouble. Like, we can't afford to take this lightly. We need to do better with our words. So, James, chapter three. Let's look at verse one. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. Wish I would have read that sooner. Now, there is a sense of anybody that kind of stands in the pulpit and teaches. It's like, there should be a weightiness to that. Now, this doesn't mean that this doesn't apply to you. He's not talking to me. No, it does apply to you. And I want you to kind of hold on to that opening statement, because it's going to help us make sense or better understand what is James getting at in this section. So, verse two. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body. Now, we hear that word perfect and think, like, well, nobody's perfect, right? So he must be thinking, talking in hyperbole, like, he doesn't mean that nobody's perfect. And we use that as an excuse or a pass to say whatever we want, because nobody's perfect. But to James, he's not speaking in hyperbole. That's the goal. Like, look back at chapter one, verse two through four. He says, count it all. Joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be, what, perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. So it's not, like perfect as moral perfection, although that is the ultimate kind of destination when Christ returns and makes us new. But what James has in mind here is a completeness, a maturity. And we want that because, as Jordan just told us, that's in our mission statement, that we want to raise up what mature disciples, that there is a level of maturity in how we act and how we talk. So if you kind of follow James logic up to this point, here's what he's saying. Spiritual maturity develops through our response to suffering. And trials like rejoice when you see those, because that's part of your development. It's going to shape you and it's going to grow you. And then he goes on. And spiritual maturity is enhanced by our response to God's word, to receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls, which does work in your life, which transforms you. Like, don't just be hearers of the word, but be doers of the word. It's part of your transformation. And now spiritual maturity is evident by the use of the tongue. He's like, you can see it. Trials kind of shape it in you. The word shapes it in you, and how you talk shows it. And he's wanting maturity for. So let's get into our text told you the verses we're going to cover. We're going to see the power of the tongue, we're going to see the danger of tongue, we're going to see the challenge of the tongue, and we're going to see the solution to the tongue. So if you're a notetaker, I know you're like, can you say those again? Yes, I can. We're going to see the power of the tongue, we're going to see the danger of the tongue, we're going to see the challenge of the tongue, and we're ultimately going to get to the solution of the tongue. So verse three, let's go there. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also. Though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder, wherever the will of the pilot directs. So he's saying, you got this, like a little bit in a horse's mouth tells this big, strong animal where to go. This little rudder can steer this huge ship. And he's saying, there's power in that, such a small thing that directs such big things, and there's power in that. And just like the bit in a horse's mouth or the rudder in a ship, your tongue, your words may be small, but there is power in that. And they can, for good or bad, do powerful things. They can build up, they can tear down, they can hurt, they can heal. Like, there is power in our words. And if we recognize how powerful our words are, then that is the first step to taking them a little bit more seriously and being a little bit more careful with them. But James isn't just talking about the power of our words from a neutral position, like good or bad. Like, that's true, and it could be taken from this, but that's not his driving point. He goes into his primary warning is kind of the careless use of our words and the danger that that can cause. So let's look at the danger of our words, verse four. So also, the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things that boasting. It's kind of a negative sense. He's turning like it has the ability to do negative things. And he goes into this example, how great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life. Set on fire by Hell. So he doesn't like pulling punches. Like, hey, our tongue can do some damage. It is dangerous. It causes damage. Like, your mouth gets you in trouble, right? My boss got on me, so I told him where he could go. Now I'm unemployed, right? My friend came and he wanted to some advice, so I just said, follow your heart. So he left his family. Like, those things kind of come out of our mouth, and they can cause all kinds of damage. Our tongue, he says, is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life. Like, your mouth can ruin you. Your mouth can get you in all kinds of trouble. Your mouth can cause you all kinds of problems. But this language of members and the body also gives us a win to into language that is used about us, not just you, us, like the body of Christ that we're all members of. And it can cause damage there as well. Like, so many problems in church. Come back to words, gossip, slander, causing division, false teaching that just kind of tears apart the church. Now, an oversimplification of this passage. This text would just be, let's be nicer. Hey, the tongue is powerful. The tongue is dangerous. Let's all be nicer. And I'm all for being nice. Kindness is a fruit of the spirit. But that's not James's main point. That's not what he's driving at here. And if we reduce that down to just like, hey, let's be nice to each other, it kind of breeds a culture of toxic encouragement. You guys know what I mean by that? You get this culture of toxic encouragement. What? You get in, like, you come into a church community, and we're all nice. So what you hear all the time is like, you're awesome. No, you're awesome. You're a great mom. No, you're a great mom. You're killing it. No, you're killing it. And he just kind of scratch each other's back and I'll make you feel well if you make me feel well in the name of encouragement. And we're not about each other's holiness, we're just about making each other feel good. And that's another way we sin with our mouths. But it's hard to see. Have you ever been around some people where it's like, you are so nice, I don't know if I can trust you? No, seriously, you are so encouraging. I don't know if you're just truthful, you just pump it out so easily. That's just like, I don't know if I can, like. Sure, I appreciate that. I'll take it with a grain of salt and it's hard to detect because encouragement is a good thing. Like, we're told to encourage it. We're commanded to encourage one another. We're called to build each other up. But toxic encouragement is selfish or selfish motivated flattery of others. Let me say that again. Toxic encouragement is selfish motivated flattery of others. I'll approve you because I want you to approve me. I'll flatter you because I want you to. Flatter me. I'll encourage you because I want you to encourage me. I'll build you up because I want you to. It's like this, selfish motivated flattery. And it's another way we sin with our words. You see this in the proverbs? There's proverbs 26 28. A lying tongue hates its victims and a flattering mouth works, ruins flattering mouth, just saying all kinds of nice things. It can cause ruin. Here's another proverbs, just 29 five. A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet, like, oh, I'm just going to tell you nice things, but it's all not helpful. And you're going to trip him up. You're not being loving in that sense, being nice. But the proverbs warns us that against us. Here's psalm two, or psalm twelve two. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor with flattering lips and a double hearted with a double heart. They speak now, I'm sorry. Let me give you the verse right before that because you kind of see how it's a negative thing. I'm going to find it. All right, here's verse one. That was verse two. Save, o Lord, for the godly one is gone, for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Then he says, everyone utters lies to his neighbor with flattering lips. And a double heart. They speak that flattering lips. It's like, because all the godly ones are gone. Nobody's speaking truth. Everybody's just being nice, and it's doing no good, and it's not a sign of godliness. But this isn't just about relational conflict. And how do we better get along? Because I think we could turn it this way. This is about bad counsel. Because remember at that verse one I told you to remember, he's talking to teachers. He's saying, hey, you that direct the flock, you that are giving godly counsel, like, you better guard your words. You better be mature with your words. Listen, James is not trying to get people to be nicer with their words. He's trying to help them be more mature with their words. And there is a difference. There is a difference. Paul gets in this, too. This is Ephesians four. He says this, and he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers. These are kind of the in line with what James is addressing, teachers, those who are providing spiritual leadership to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain the unity of faith and the knowledge of the son of God to. There's that word again. Same word, mature manhood. The same goal. Like, we want maturity to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. So we don't want to be gullible. We don't just want to be following every new idea. Then he contrasts that says, rather, now we get to our mouth speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ. So he's like, you want to know what maturity looks like with your mouth? You speak the truth in love, and maturity with our words is speaking the truth in love. And both of those matter. You can't just be like, whoa, it was true. I know, but you just sounded like a jerk. Or, you can't just be like, wow, it was super nice. I know, but you said nothing true. Like, both of those matter, and both of those are an aspect of maturity. Like, in maturity, we know the truth, we speak the truth, and we have a mature heart that cares for and loves people. And those kind of come out in how we talk. Now, before we get to the challenge of the tongue and the solution of the tongue, let me give us seven signs of spiritual maturity in how we talk. Like, I'll go fast. He's like, seven. We got a lot here. I'll go fast. Why don't show us seven signs of spiritual maturity in how we talk? Because before we get to the problem, underneath the problem, I do want to address the problem. I want to let the imperatives be the imperatives. Like, if he challenges to do this, let's look at doing it. Then we'll get underneath it and say, okay, how do we actually solve this problem? Because it's deeper than just our words. But what are the commands for our words? What does he want for us? And if we take a broader look in the context of James, what is he wanting for us when it comes to how we talk and how we use our words? First one is be slow. Be slow. Look at 119. Know this, my beloved brothers. Let every person be quick to hear. And what? Slow to speak. Be slow. Every thought that jumps into your head does not need to come out of your mouth. And I think sometimes we think, well, in the name of authenticity, we just got to freely speak our mind. Right? I'm just keeping it real. I'm just keeping it real. I'm being authentic. That's not authentic. That's stupid. Like, just to say whatever comes to your mind. Like, in the name of authenticity, not helpful at all. If we know how powerful our words can be. Slow down. Think. Spiritual maturity is seen in the timing of your words. Like, yeah, it would be good to say that, but maybe not right now, or maybe not in anger in the current moment, or maybe not in front of all these people. Or maybe you need to get more information before you say that. Like, maturity is seen in the timing of our words. Be slow. Number two, be truthful. It's what it said in Ephesians four. Like, speak the truth. And James is talking to teachers. This is about giving godly counsel. And our source of truth is God's word. So when it comes to giving counsel or challenging somebody, bring a verse. Have a conversation around a text. Like, you just giving your advice, unhinged from the word of God is dangerous. Like, this is our authority. And when you go to challenge one another, have a conversation with one another, sharpen one another. Come with the Bible. Open. Come with a verse. Come with the text. Be like, this is what it says. This is how I think it applies. This is where I want to challenge you and go from there. Because spiritual maturity is seen in the truthfulness of our words. Like, do you speak the word of God. Can you show me chapter, verse? Can you lead and back up what you're saying with God's word? Be helpful. Number three, be helpful. We shouldn't feel justified if what we said is just true. We are to speak the truth in love. The other side of maturity is actually caring about people, because we can say true things all day long and not be that helpful at all. And you're like, well, I spoke the truth. I know, but you weren't really helpful. You just kind of made it worse. The way you were abrasive, the way you came at it, the way you spoke in anger, whatever it may be, it's like you just weren't helpful. And there is an aspect of maturity that's like, I know what God's word says, but the other aspect of maturity is, I have a heart that's been transformed by God where I actually care about you and actually want to help you in your godliness. So we need to get to this place where I really want to be helpful. I want to help you see your error. I want to help you grow in it. I want to help you repent. I want to get through to you. Because not all of James's illustrations are negative. Like, you put a bit in a horse's mouth or you steer a ship. He's saying, hey, that's a powerful thing. You can take it good places. You have the ability to make good impacts. Maturity is seen in the effectiveness of our words. Like, when it says, restore somebody in gentleness, like, you've seen those people, that's like, they sit down and they say really hard things, but the way that they do it just kind of shows a maturity and a love and a care for somebody. It's like, wow, how did you get through to them? How did you help them see that? How did you walk out of that room united? There's a maturity in how they delivered it. So be helpful, be humble. James four, he says this, verse 13, come now, you who say, today or tomorrow, we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life for? You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast. So then we get, James is talking about using your mouth again. You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it to him in his sin. Now we'll get into those texts the more we get into James, but I want to kind of take a broader look. It's like, okay, how is he talking about the way that we use our mouths? He's saying, don't be boastful, don't be bragging. Don't think, like, I got these plans, I'm going to do this thing. Don't talk. As you have autonomy in your life, maturity is seen in recognizing God's sovereignty in our words, that we see that he's in control, that he's over all things. Or be honest. Look at chapter five, verse twelve. He says, but above all, my brothers, do not swear. So again, he's talking about how we use our mouth, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your yes be yes and your no be no so that you may not fall under condemnation. Maturity is seen in the integrity of our words. If you say you're going to do something, do it. If you say you're going to be there on time, be there on time. If you say you're going to follow through with them, follow through with it. Maturity is seen in the integrity of our words. So here's another one. Be honorable, be honorable. Look at the end of chapter one, verse 26 says, if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue. So again, this is James talking about the way we use our mouth but deceives his heart. This person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father. Is this to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. So there is a connection made here between how we speak and how we treat others. He makes a contrast. Hey, don't just be all talk like, here's what true religion is. It's how you treat people. So there is a connection about how you talk and how you treat people. Or he says it maybe a bit more clearly in a command in verse or chapter four, verse eleven, he says, do not speak evil against one another, brothers. Maturity is seen in the compassion of our words. The compassion of our words. Listen, don't tear people down. Don't slander people. Don't gossip about people. Don't just ridicule people. I mean, what if you made a commitment that you were only going to talk to people and not about people? You know, what would that do? Just to the health of our church, to your own relationships. What if you were the kind of the end of gossip. And when other people brought up other people to you, you would openly say, like, have you talked to them about that? You probably should. I mean, it shows no compare and no compassion for the person when we talk about them and not to them. Like, if you have an issue with them, we go to them. We don't talk about them to somebody else. And I know in christian circle, it's like, well, it's for prayer request, no, go talk to the person. And here's a broader perspective of that. It shows no compassion to the body. Like, to us, gossip and slander is a spark that can light a fire in a church. And we want to care for the body of Christ. So be honorable. Last one, be free. After James tells us to bridle our tongue at the end of chapter one, he goes into this section on not showing partiality. You guys remember that because kind of the rich and the poor person analogy that comes in and one gets a good seat, one gets a bad seat, and he's saying, this ought not be, it's like flattery. Like this need for approval. I want wealthy people's approval. I don't care what this person. So I'm going to treat them better than I treat this person. This need for, I want you to like me. I want you to approve of me. And James is like, don't you know your heirs of the kingdom? Like, why are you wanting these wealthy people's approval? Don't you know who you are? Don't you know what you have in Christ? And if you knew what you had in Christ, you would treat people more fairly. You would operate from a different position. When you need others to like you, you won't be truthful to them. You won't be helpful to them. But when you know you're loved, then you're free. You're free to speak the truth. Maturity is seen in the freedom to say hard words. I love you, but I don't need you to like me. I don't need your approval. I have gods, so I have more freedom to speak the truth and try to be helpful to you. So be slow, be truthful, be helpful, be humble, be honest, be honorable, be free. Easy, right? Here's the challenge. Let's go back to our chapter. Verse seven says, for every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it we bless our lord and father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing, my brother. These things ought not be so. They ought not be so. But they are. They are. He's like, you can tame a dog. You can have a dog. When to sit, come fetch your paper, roll over, play dead. But you can't tame your own mouth to stay shut. You can't tame your own mouth to not say those things that cause problems and conflicts. He says, no human can tame the tongue. No human can tame the tongue. And yet it ought not be so. What are we to do when James clearly says, hey, no human can tame the tongue and it ought not be. Now, that is not meant to be discouraging. It's meant to be helpful because he's pointing to the solution. What James is saying is that human speech cannot be tamed by human power. Like, you're not going to leave here and in kind of your own willpower. Just be like, I'm going to tame my tongue. I'm going to do it. I'm going to not lie anymore. I'm going to not slander anymore. I'm only going to say nice things. I'm never going to gossip again. Like, you. And your own willpower will not be successful in doing that. That human speech cannot be tamed by human power. Or another way of saying that is if you want to tame your tongue, you need divine help. You need divine help. And then he's going to point to that pick up in verse eleven. Does a spring pour forth from the same, both fresh and salt water? What's the answer to that? No. Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives? No. Or a grapevine, produce figs? No. Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. So the point that he's making is that what something produces, or in this matter, what someone says, it has a source, like it's coming from somewhere. There's a source to that. It comes from somewhere. And that is where the problem lies. Right? That's where the problem lies. Because what would you expect to get from a fig tree? Figs. What would you expect to get from a grapevine? Grapes. What would you expect to get from a christian? Love. Joy. Peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control, truth. Like he said, there's a source problem here. You got to look at the source. And he is taking this straight from Jesus. Go to Matthew, chapter twelve. Matthew, chapter twelve, starting in verse 33. Same analogy. Here's what he says. Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit, bad for the tree, is known by its fruit. Like, how do you know it's an apple tree? I picked an apple. Dead giveaway, right? You're going to know a tree by its fruit, you brood of vipers. Timeout. Did Jesus just break James three? No. In case you're like, did he. No, he did. Okay, a touch and go there. Whether Jesus sinned or not, you brood of vipers. Listen, guys, this isn't James. This isn't just, like, everybody be nice. There's times to call idiots idiots, all right? And this is helpful, and this is loving, and he's trying to break through spiritually. Blind people. You need to know how poisonous you are. And I got language to help you know that. So don't look at this and be like, how unchristian of Jesus. If you think it's unchristian of Jesus, your Christianity is messed up. But when we look at Jesus talked this way, he's doing it from a place of holy ambition and love to see the gospel go forth. So he's seeing messed up people, and he meets messed up people with some strong language. You brood of vipers. How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, the good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak. For by your words, you will be justified. And by your words, you will be condemned. You're like, wait a second. I thought I was justified by the cross, and I don't like this because I know what I've said, and I would hope this is not like, what are you getting at there? He's not undermining the justifying work of Jesus Christ on the cross. What he's saying is, hey, I change people's hearts, and your words indicate your heart. So when I see your words come out, it points to a justified heart, a changed heart, a transformed heart. It's an indicator of that. He says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks like your mouth is a window into your heart, and your mouth tells on you. Your mouth tells on your heart. Abundance means there is an excess of it. It pours out of the mouth. So do you have an excess of joy? Do you have an excess of love? Have you experienced an excessive amount of grace and mercy? You have an excess of patience? Or do you have an excess of worry? Do you have an excess of anxiety? Do you have an excess of anger. Do you have an excess of jealousy? Do you have an excess of greed? What's coming out? What's coming out? Because the mouth can lie, but the mouth don't lie. You track with me on that. Like, you can tell lies with your mouth, but the mouth does not lie. What's going on in your heart? And we need to learn to listen better to our own words. Have you ever been in an argument with somebody and you're just kind of in the midst of that argument and that person in that moment says, do you even hear yourself right now? Do you hear how angry you are? Do you hear how possessive you are? Do you hear how jealous you are? Do you hear how hateful you are? Do you hear your own words? And we got to learn to listen to our own words because it's such insight into our heart to know where we've gone off and where we need to repent of. No human can tame the tongue because it is a heart issue. But, guys, here's the good news, and it's really good news. God changes hearts. Look at Ezekiel. This is 36. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to obey my rules. He says, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to change you from the inside out. And it's not like momentary perfection like day one. But he's like, no, I'm going to put my spirit in you. I'm going to change you from the inside out. I'm going to produce the fruit of my spirit in you and you're going to be transformed over time. It's a process of maturity or the biblical word like sanctification, like you're going to be made holy over time. And this powerful work of God has to be evident in how we talk because our speech is an indicator of our heart. Look back at verse 35 here. This is helpful. He says, the good person out of his good treasure brings forth good. The evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. Guys, how you talk is a window into what you treasure is God. Your prize is pleasing him, your ambition in life. Are you satisfied in him? Are you content in him? Or is acceptance your prize and approval. Your prize revenge. Your prize self promotion. Your prize. If you got a heart problem, or if you got. Excuse me. If you got a mouth problem, you got a heart problem. And the problem is that you're treasuring the wrong things. You're wanting recognition, you're wanting approval. You're wanting acceptance. You're wanting advancement. You're wanting promotion. So here's what I want you to remember. Treasure the gospel to tame the tongue. Treasure the gospel to tame the tongue. And, guys, this is a call to action, right? It's not just informational. This is a call to action. Actually, take the action of treasuring the gospel to tame the tongue. What I mean by that is, preach the gospel to yourself. Rehearse gospel truths in your own mind. I know I'm forgiven. I know I'm loved. I know I have an inheritance in Christ. I know what he's done for me, and I know what he's doing to me. I know what he has for me. Rehearse these truths to treasure the gospel more in your heart, not just until you know it, but until you know it. And this is a mistake I think we make too easily in church. It's like, oh, yeah, I know it. I know you know it, but you don't know it. And this is what James says. The tongue isn't here to hear. It's here to hear. So you can't just know it. You got to know it. And you need to dwell on it longer than just knowing it, but until you know it or until you treasure it. So you just dwell on the gospel until it's like, oh, my goodness, that's true for me. That's what God has done in my life. Like, my sins are forgiven. Like, I get to enjoy the glory of God. Like he has a treasure waiting for me in heaven. Until your just heart is stoked on it. And when your heart is stoked on it, it'll come out of your mouth, like, it'll be evident in how you talk. And we want to be a church that so treasures the gospel that is so satisfied in God. That is an evident in how we talk to one another. So when we take communion, it is a practice of treasuring God. We say it every week. Don't take this lightly. Don't just go through the motions. This is a heart exercise. Christ's body was pierced and hung on a cross for me, his blood was shed. For me, his grace is sufficient for me. I have forgiveness in him. He calls me an adopted son. I am an heir of Christ. Heaven is mine. God is mine. I get to enjoy God's glory forever. Are you kidding me? And this practice of remembering. Do this in remembrance of me. Do this in remembrance of me. Not remember of me. Remember me. Don't just remember me. Remember me. And when you remember me, it'll be evident in how you talk. So, church, do not take this communion lightly. Remember Christ. Remember Christ until you speak like you treasure Christ. Let's pray. Father, I pray that you would move us beyond just a mental understanding to you, but to a heart level grasping of who you are and what you've done, that you would wreck our hearts in such a beautiful way that it shows in how we talk that when your people talk, there's an abundance of joy, there's an abundance of love, there's an abundance of grace, there's an abundance of forgiveness. It's because of what we experienced in you. And out of the abundance of our heart would our mouths speak. And when it give glory to you, pray this in your name. Amen.