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Have you heard the phrase? That the tongue is multier than the source. Well, in James, we see that multier than the tongue is our speech, namely the tongue. Join Reverend Daniel as he crosses the source of our speech and urges us to have hearts yielded to God's transformative word.

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If you can recall, I preached from James chapter 1 verse 19 to 20. That was on the 9th of June. I'm sure not many of us, including myself, have to refer to the past uh sermon notes to recall what I shared. Right? So I preached from James chapter 1 verses 19 to 20, reminding us that the human outburst of anger does not produce the kind of righteousness which reflects God's standard, what God desires for us. And I encourage all of us, myself included, to adopt a posture of meekness. Meekness meaning a trusting receptivity to God rather than anger. So I shared that change happens when we receive meekly God's word into our hearts, which when we do so, we allow God to change us from the inside out. Today we will discover that our anger often results in unkind and evil speech which comes from our tongue. James chapter 3, uh verses 1 to 12, in the thought of James will naturally lead to James chapter 4, in which he will begin to address some of the community disunity and issues, the quarrels, the fightings that is occurring among believers due to the power and evil of the tongue. But that is not a topic for today. Today I would like to just focus in on verses 1 to 12 of James chapter 3. So James chapter 3 verse 1 begins with an introductory saying. It says, Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. In the early church, much more than today, the office of a teacher was valued and high in status. So James here is dealing with people who wish to put themselves forward as teachers in the church because of the status and other rewards of the position. James reminds the believers, contrary to the highly esteemed position of the teacher, that not many of you in the community should become teachers. This is because such a role means not simply having honor bestowed on you and a falling of disciples, which was common during that time. But fundamentally, to be a teacher in God's church, it calls for responsibility. We need to be responsible for what we teach and to teach rightly. For James tells us that teachers in the church will be judged with greater strictness. It's interesting that James includes himself in this. He's not speaking on a high pedestal and uh speaking uh to the community as if he himself is separated from this. In fact, he says uh he includes himself here. He says, We who teach uh ought to be judged more strictly. Uh so he himself applies himself like uh any good teacher should to his particular context. He he does not exempt himself from it. He says, We who teach ought to watch ourselves, because we will be judged more strictly. Following uh James chapter 3, verse 1, uh he goes on to speak of the specific sin against which he wishes to warn the teachers. And that is found in verse 2 to 4, the power of the tongue. So in verse 2, James says, for we all stumble in many ways. As Christians, as believers, we all stumble. We are far from perfect, we are not sinless. And some uh people like to believe that we are in a state of sinlessness. We are not, because we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, James says he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. So, in other words, all of us stumble in many ways, especially regard to our speech. James says, if anyone does not stumble, this person is perfect or telios in the Greek. It means not perfect in the sense of sinlessness, but perfect in virtue, perfect in morality. So none of us are perfect in that sense. So James then launches into an illustration in verses 3 to 4. He says, if we put beads of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Goes on to talk about ships. 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, what is common between these uh two uh imageries used, horses and ships. In fact, horses and boats or ships were the sum total of what men steered in those days. In other words, we control horses by controlling their mouths. We control a ship by controlling a small tongue shape, rather. Using the analogy of steering a horse and controlling a sheep, James is saying that if the tongue can be controlled, then the whole body, our physical body, is directed towards that end. So by implication, if the church tongue, the teacher in the church is properly controlled, then the whole church will be properly directed. In fact, James reminds us earlier on in James 1, verse 26. If anyone thinks he's religious but does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. So a teacher or religious man or woman has to live a life in which he or she bridles his or her tongue and controls his or her speech. So this begs the question which uh James chapter 3 verse 5 to 12 will kind of delineate further. So the question is that can the tongue be controlled or bridled? Can we control our tongue? Is it within humanity's control? So in James chapter 3, verses 5 to 12, uh James goes on to say, the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. 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, and set on fire by hell. Not a very uh positive picture about the fact that we can ever think of uh controlling our tongue. And James goes on. He says, for every kind of beast and bird of reptiles and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind. Verse 8, but no human being, none of us, 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 brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives or grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. So James is saying that even though the tongue is a small part of the body, it is powerful and it's not always used for good. In fact, it boasts of great things, and it's the dangerous fire that sets a forest ablaze. The tongue is flame and fire, a world of unrighteousness, such that the psalmist in Psalm 120, verse 2 can say it, Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. Paul also could instruct the believers in Ephesus, in Ephesians 4, verse 29. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such is good for building up as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. The tongue also represents the evil world among the parts of the body. And because when we are not able to control our tongue, our whole body goes haywire. It is uncontrollable. And James does not stop there. He seems to be painting a more and more negative picture about the tongue. He says, now it is set among our bodies, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. The tongue, what we say, stains the whole body. It sets fire to the whole course of our life. And the origin of this fire is hell itself. The picture of fire and the tongue as fire suggests the wild, destructive nature of the tongue. And then Jim concludes his thoughts about the tongue in verse 7 to 8. He says, every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed, but no human being can tame the tongue. And why we are not able to tame the tongue? Because one of the reasons that James explains is because the tongue's instability is because it is used for incompatible activities. On the one hand, it can be very religious. On the other, it can be the most profane in daily life. And I hope we do not uh separate ourselves from what James is saying, because if we reflect on our own lives, many times we are like that. You know, uh James says, with our tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be. So oftentimes we know we gather for worship, we bless God, we say all the religious things, and we perhaps it comes from a true desire to please God, to honor him. And yet the next moment we may get angry with our spouse, our children, our colleagues, uh, the person that uh drive on the road, or just someone that gets into our way and we get to into squabble and say mean things to one another and hurting one another deeply. So words that are spoken cannot be taken back. So I'm not sure whether it's me myself, it's me alone, or there are those here that can identify with it. Do you find that a lot of times with our mouth we bless God, we acknowledge Him in our lives, we worship Him, and yet with that same mouth we actually in some way curse others who are also made in the image and likeness of God? And then James goes on to uh use the imagery of nature about spring from an opening, same opening. Can it bring fresh and salt water at the same time? Can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. So, in essence, what James is saying is that a good nature or impulse cannot produce evil. The evil of the tongue is precisely in its doubleness and instability. And this is just the nature of the tongue as it is, you know, uh, even though we know uh logically that you know we can't, with the same mouth bless God, at the same time curse people. Yet that is what we do. We find it's something that we can't rid of ourselves on our own. And that is right, you know, if you come to that position, because scripture tells us that no man, none of us here can tame our tongue, including our spouse, perhaps. You know, sometimes we we want our spouse to change. We say, please control your tongue, your words, you know, and of course we can pray and they can change under the power of God. But at the end of the day, uh, if we take scripture at as what it is at face value, then no human uh can tame the tongue because it is a restless evil. You know, one moment we are when we are provoked, we can say the most nasty things to our spouse or someone we love, you know. And the next moment we can uh praise God in the sanctuary. So this is the reality of our fallenness. That's why James says we all stumble in many ways, including our speech. That's the presumption, you know. It's not saying that um we are already perfect, but we all stumble. So, what is the solution? How do we get out of this fix? Because it seems James doesn't tell us the answer, it ends in in a way of kind of leading us to kind of reflect further on our tongue and the evilness of it. It's powerful yet is evil. I believe the answer, the way out of this, uh is is also found in another passage of scripture where a similar idea, Jesus talks about it in Luke chapter 6, verse 43 to 45. Can I just invite you to turn to Luke chapter 6 in your Bibles? Luke chapter 6 verse 43 to 45. Luke chapter 6 verse 43. It says, For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from tombushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bunch. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil. And then Luke ends with this for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks. So there's a clue here because in this passage in Luke, uh he kind of brings the heart into the picture, right? It's again drawing the imagery from nature. Uh, we a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, neither can a bad tree bear good fruit. And we we cannot gather uh different kind of fruits that are not of a similar kind. And so Luke says the good person brings good things out of his out of his out of the treasure within, whereas the evil person brings evil from within. So he goes further. I believe Luke goes further to point us to the source of the problem. It is out of the abundance of our heart that our mouths speak. Right? So, no use after the service today, uh, go and cut your tongue or do something drastic since it's evil, because it will not solve the problem, because the source of the problem is the heart, actually. Because it's out of the heart that uh the overflow of our heart that our mouth speaks forth. Our heart brings out either good treasure or evil treasure, good things or bad things, good words or bad words. So uh the main point I'd like to bring to us today is this. Right? So if you are taking notes, this is this is it. The heart of the matter about the tongue is a matter of the heart. Let me repeat again the heart of the matter about the tongue is a matter of the heart. So, in other words, if you want to know a person's heart, listen to what he or she says. Because Luke tells us what we say reveals who we are. For it is from the abundance of our heart that our mouth speaks. So if no one can tame the tongue, and Jeremiah 17, verse 9 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it? Then how what can we do? What can be done for our tongues? What can be done for our heart then? I'd like to share just one more scripture with us as I kind of wrap this up. And if you are taking notes again, please take down this because it's important. Proverbs chapter 27 verse 19. Proverbs chapter 27 verse 19. It says, as in water reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. Proverbs 27 verse 19. As in water reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. It may be interesting for us to note that the word in the original Hebrew, the word reflects is not in uh the original rendering. So the word is added so that it gives a greater flow and understanding when it's translated to English. So the word reflex is not in the original Hebrew. So we could read Proverbs 27, 19 this way, as this. So the heart of man, the man. As in water face, as it reflects face, so the heart of man is the man. It is who we really are on the inside. So to deal with our tongue, we need to go deeper to seek the transformation of our heart, which will then lead to a transformed speech. Uh transform tongue, in other words. So our heart does three things it decides, it feels, and it thinks. Our hearts decide, feel, and think. Another way of putting it is our heart. Through our will. We make a will, we make a decision. You make a decision to come to church this morning. And through our emotions we feel. And through our mind or intellect, we think. So, in order for us to be changed, to be transformed, our hearts must be changed. Our will, our emotions, and our minds all need to be engaged. It's a whole package. We cannot say that we want our minds and throw aside our feelings, or we just want to have those feelings, but we don't exercise our minds. So our hearts, in its totality, our will, our emotions, our mind needs to be yielded to God for transformation to take place. In education pedagogy, there's an understanding of theory called the Bloom's Taxonomy. And the Bloom's taxonomy suggests three areas of cognitive learning, and this has been applied. I'm sure those of us who are teachers here doing curriculum design can attest to it. In many fields, even in theological education, when you write out the learning outcomes, it's also divided in this way: the cognitive, which is the knowledge, the effective, which is our attitudes, our values, and the psychomoto, the skills, the doing. So it understands, this theory understands that in order for learning to truly take place, in order for someone to say that I have learned, I've grown, I'm transformed in my understanding, the mind must be engaged. The knowledge received in the mind must be effective. The feelings, in other words, must be engaged. It's not enough to just have knowledge about something, but we must be moved by that knowledge. We must be convicted in our values, in our attitudes, that what we hear, the knowledge we hear, must affect us. And it must involve some form of doing or exercising of the will in doing, in practice. So I believe even in spiritual transformation, many uh writers who write about spiritual formation and transformation, uh we cannot run away from our heart to be transformed. Because that is the way you know that God will lead us to grow in spiritual maturity, you know, not without our minds, not without our feelings, not without our will. So we can't be transformed with our minds minus our feelings. Let me repeat again, we can't be transformed today with our minds without our feelings. You know, when I was growing up, for a short sting, I was with uh Campus Crusade as a school, as a schoolboy. We had uh uh we had uh I was just joining them for evangelism and just getting to know some fans. Okay, it's now called Cruise Singapore. So when you have, if you all remember the four spiritual laws, there's a part towards the end uh where it says, do not depend on feelings. Right? It says the promise of God's word is our final authority. The Christian lives by faith in God's word, which is very true, right? And then it draws a train diagram to illustrate fact, faith, and feeling. How many of you recall that? Fact, faith, and feeling. And fact is the engine, right? God and his word, which is very true. We need to hold that. And faith, which is our faith in God's word. And the teaching is there, and our feelings will follow. It will chuck along. So our feelings is almost a back burner, the passenger car seat. And uh, according to this uh teaching, uh, the result of our faith and obedience will be our feeling. Uh, as much as I think it's very important to ground ourselves in God's word, but I think if you do it in a linear way to say that it's only when we have God's word as a fact, and then our faith in God's word and our feelings will only come later, I think that's not really true in our life experience. Because a lot of times it comes all together. You know, our understanding, our mind must be engaged, our feelings at that point must also be engaged. It cannot be left at the passenger car and say that hopefully, you know, your feelings will follow your the fact. It doesn't, I don't think it happens that way, at least not all the time. So, in other words, our feelings are important. That's why it needs to be considered in this whole journey of transformation. Why our feelings are important? Because uh it is at the feelings level that we truly communicate in the deepest way. Uh it's only um those of us who are involved in couple counseling know that we communicate deepest when we are able to reflect our feelings to each other. Right? That's the deepest level of communication. We are able to talk about our feelings, not just uh uh how's the day been, you know, what you encounter at work, but how do I feel? What was my day like? What were my frustrations? You know, how did I handle the colleague at work? Right? So that feelings part cannot just happen in a vacuum. That's why uh small groups, that's why uh discipleship groups are so important, because that is where our feelings get hurt. Uh hurt, as in H-E-A-R-D, get hurt. And we are able to share deeply about uh some of the struggles we go through, some of the feelings uh that we are processing in our minds. Therefore, that will help us in the transformation journey. But having said that, our minds are also important. Our feelings alone is not enough to transform us. We need our minds to anchor us in God's truth. This happens when we feed regularly on God's word and allow scripture to uh imbibe our lives and humbly, like James said, receive the word that's able to save your souls. And Romans 12 verse 2 exhorts us do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds. So Paul is thinking about the word transformation as a metamorphosis, it's not just uh lip service, but he's talking about how um the transformation will be a process in which it will never be like what it is in its period stage. And we do that when our minds are renewed, and we renew our minds through one way is through meditating on scripture, allowing God's word to renew our hearts and our minds. And Romans tells us, child verse 2 continues to say that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect. So it's when our minds and our feelings work together that our will is activated to choose God and discern rightly God's will for our lives. That's why we say discipleship, our growth in God cannot be a single journey. That's why just uh attending Bible study classes alone feeds our mind, increases our knowledge, opens our understanding. It's not enough for us to be formed. We need a community, we need uh trees and fours, we need our spouses, we need our good friends who we can meet up over coffee and tea to share, to talk about our feelings, to communicate, to listen, to talk, to listen, to talk. And that's where our feelings get a hearing. Right? So our minds, our feelings. And together, when they work together, then it will lead to a life of transformation. And the reality about our life in God is that sometimes I find uh most of us rely too much on our minds, you know, for to think that once we have this knowledge, it means we will change. And I can personally testify that many people, even trained counselors who have gone through years of training and uh clock in the hours in counseling school and countless hours certified by SAC, can still fall into sin. Right? So it's really not just about the mind, the knowledge and the skills, but it's also about the feelings. It's about finding a space, a safe place of accountability where you can share about your fears, your temptations, and the sin that you are battling with. So when you do that, you create an environment in which your feelings, the affective component, which is so often neglected, can be hurt. Right? So, again, in counseling, there are two schools of thought. Some focus a lot on the mind and say that uh you just need to focus on the mind for transformation to take place. You know, and there are different theories to that. Uh there are those who focus a lot of the effective component of transformation. But I think both are needed. We need the mind transformation, we need our feelings to be transformed. And this is God's desire for us. And as we apply ourselves to uh seek transformation of our heart, then the tongue will follow. You know, the tongue will follow as our hearts are being transformed. Shall we look to the Lord in prayer? Father, we want to thank you for your word this morning, for reminding us that it is actually out of the heart, the overflow of our heart that our mouths speak. Lord, that is no use for us today to, after the service, to cut our tongues and to suppress it. Because, Lord, we know that just the tongue alone is not the source of the problem. The source of problem is our hearts, Lord, because it is from our hearts that we bring out good treasure and evil treasure. And oftentimes the trap of our sinful nature is we bring both good and bad out, good and evil. And Lord, your word reminds us this ought not to be, because a good tree bears good fruit. And you have called us to be a fruit-bearing tree. So, Lord, help us to grow in all aspects of our discipleship, Lord, that our minds will be renewed by you, by your word, Lord, through study, through growing in your word. Lord, but help us also not to neglect the affective component, fellowship, community, connection with our spouse, with a good friend whom we can relate to for those of us who are singles, with a community of believers in our connect group, with a specific discipleship group, with our ladies' fellowship, with our men's fellowship, pockets of group, men and women gathering together, sharing, fellowshipping, uh, sharing our hearts out, dealing with our feelings. Lord, we know it's powerful for transformation. So, Lord, we pray that as our mind is being transformed, as our feelings are being hurt, Lord, that our will will choose the good. That we will not be a lopsided Christian that just emphasize cognitive knowledge. Neither will we be on the other side of the spectrum, just emphasizing community, relationship, affections, our feelings to the neglect of your truth. But help us to be a community that grows both cognitively and affectively in our mind and also in our feeling, so that we can exercise our will to godliness. So help us, God. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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We pray that you can by the Word of God today. If you'd like to know more about the Eastern Christian Church, please visit our website at yccanglican.com. Have a blessed day.