The Power of the Tongue part 1 The Power to Control

Take your Bible and turn with me to James chapter 3. James chapter 3. We are transitioning into a new chapter. We finished up chapter 2 and we are continuing in our series. A good works flow from good faith. We have just learned about good faith in chapter 2. We learned so much when we dove into dead faith and demonic faith and then we saw a demonstrated faith. All that just shows us how relevant the title of the series is and how relevant the book of James is for us today in the life of the church and as we are desiring to flesh out this thing called good faith that James teaches us about.

We are going to read James 3 verses 1 through 4 here in a few moments. Now if you know your history, you will know that on December 8th of 1941, the President of the United States at that time, who was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, many people call him FDR for short, he addressed Congress and he addressed the American people by radio. The President, he started his speech in a correct manner and he said, "Mr. Vice President, Mr.

Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives," and he went on to say these famous words, "Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." He continued on in the speech by describing the deliberate and the purposeful and the deceitful attack by the Empire of Japan and he went on, he described the great loss in the Hawaiian Islands, he went on to describe how Japan had attacked some other places, many places that Americans had never heard of, and then he goes on as he begins to conclude the speech.

He says, "As Commander in Chief of the Army and the Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it might take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through the absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but we will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist.

There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December the 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire. In approximately six minutes, the President thrust the United States into World War II.

Prior to this date, the American people had been torn as to their role in the war, which had begun when Hitler invaded Poland in September of 1939. As a matter of fact, Congress had signed a series of neutrality acts between the years 1935 and 1939. Many Americans remembered the previous war, which had ended in 1918, and they did not want to repeat that. The country was truly divided about this developing war in Europe, but after the President's six-minute speech, America's reluctance to engage in the war changed. A little factual information that proves that. Within 33 minutes, Congress declared war on Japan.

The largest audience in the United States' radio history, approximately 81% of the population listened to the President. Recruiting stations the next day were flooded with so many volunteers that the recruiting stations had to be open for 24 hours to accommodate the volunteers coming to serve the country. Twice as many as had come to volunteer in World War II when the United States entered World War I, excuse me. The complete anti-war movement, which was led by many prominent Americans. As a matter of fact, the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh was one of those leaders to stay neutral in this conflict.

That entire anti-war movement collapsed within days. What do we see in this speech, which some have called one of the most important and famous in the 20th century? The power of words. The power of speech. The power of the tongue. The power and the listen to influence others. Now think about this. A six-minute speech that was written by the President the evening before the speech dictated to his secretary. No speech writers. And yet with that six-minute speech, yet it was so powerful, so influential, what do we see? We see the power of words, the power of the tongue, the power to influence a people.

Now that brings us to the title of the message this morning. I'll put the title on the screen for us. We are going to be in verses 1 through 12, and we're going to carry kind of this theme in these verses, the power of the tongue. But the title of the message this morning is the power of the tongue, part one, the power to control. The power to control. Let's look at these verses together. Verses 1 through 4. "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will or shall incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways.

If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is the perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horse's mouths so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Behold," verse 4, "the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by the strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot desires." Out of these verses, we're going to see and look and explore three great truths. First of all, number one, the great responsibility, the great responsibility. Number two, the obvious, inevitable, and the ability to control.

The title of the message this morning is "The Power of the Tongue, Part 1, The Power to Control." I hope that you're taking notes. I trust that you take notes. I want you to take notes so that you can remember and study and you can get all that the Lord wants us to get this morning. But let's break these verses down and let's see what the Lord wants to teach us this morning. Number one, or Roman numeral one, I want us to see the great responsibility, the great responsibility. Look back at verse 1.

James says, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment." Now James starts this portion of Scripture out by singling out the teachers first. He starts out by singling the preachers and the teachers first. James' aim is obvious. Those teachers are those who propose to be teachers in the fellowships that has scattered from Jerusalem. So it's obvious where he's going. He's starting at the top, if I can use that language, and he's working his way down. He's starting with the preachers of the fellowships and he's working through to the people.

And in this verse, verse 1, we're going to learn of a great responsibility. So let's just break this verse down. And I want us to see first this serious approach to teaching. The serious approach to teaching or preaching. You can write either of the two down. Look back at the verse. He says, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren." What we see here is James has a very serious approach to this subject of teaching. As a matter of fact, James echoes Paul's heart in his approach to teaching. He echoes what Paul has given us in the Word of God. That it is a serious responsibility that should not be taken lightly.

We've already discovered this in our series through 1 Timothy. You don't have to turn there, but we see Paul's heart in 1 Timothy chapter 3 starting in verse 1. When Paul gives to the Ephesian church the qualifications of the elders, those who would govern the church, and also those who would give the people the Word of God. What does he say? It is a trustworthy statement. "If any man aspires to the office of the overseer, it is a fine work he desires." But what does he go on to say in verse 2? "An overseer then must." What is Paul teaching here? Paul, he emphasizes the qualifications of the teacher, of the preacher, of the minister.

And what does he say here? An overseer must. These are not negotiable. These are not take it or leave it. These are qualifications that he emphasizes, and qualifications matter. But if we go back to what James is saying, he says, "Let not many of you become teachers." James emphasizes the great caution. And if you put the two together, although there are many places in Scripture that deal with the issue of preachers and teachers, if we put Paul and James together, James emphasizes caution. Paul emphasizes qualifications that these are a must.

And what we see here is this serious approach to the one who would stand before the people and preach and teach the gospel. James says, "Not many of you." Second, I want us to see the judgment for those who teach. Go back to the verse. "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren." Here we go. He changes, "Knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment." This is the judgment that is set aside for those who teach. Now, these are true teachers because he uses the word brethren. Go back and look at the verse. He says, "My brethren, knowing that as such we," he includes himself.

So we know that he's talking about true teachers, born-again teachers, not false teachers that Timothy and Paul had to deal with there in Ephesus. James is referring to the fact that those who preach and teach will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ. Paul talks about this judgment seat of Christ. You don't have to turn there. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, when we were going through this chapter, getting ready to get into this series, "10 Pillars of the Church," we dealt with this text. But notice what he says in verse 13.

"Each man's work will become evident, for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he is built upon, it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet as through the fire." Now, we know the context of chapter 3. We're seeing here in chapter 3 in 1 Corinthians that you had Paul, and you had other men who were in the life of the church preaching and teaching. And what we see right here with James is, he is showing that those who teach incur a stricter judgment.

Just a little truth out of this 1 Corinthians passage. The fire tests the work. The fire proves the work. And the fire destroys some work. What is Paul saying? That work that is man-centered, that work that is originated out of man's heart, that work that has no eternal significance, it will burn up and it will be gone in an instant. But yet that work that originates from God, it's from the heart of God to the heart of man, and it is according to the word of God, it is eternal, and it will survive the tests of the fire, and it will be proven and exalted on that great day.

And not only do we see the reality of this judgment, but what is James saying? He says, "Let not many of you become teachers, brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment." It's not just any old judgment. No. Those who preach and teach will incur a stricter judgment. This is this great caution. This is this great responsibility. Also, we know Paul has this heart because he emphasizes that the men of God there in Ephesus must be qualified, able, capable. This is this great responsibility to preach the Gospel, teach the Gospel, to be the one that would govern the affairs of the Church, lead the people.

Something was brought to my attention a few weeks ago. This is not necessarily a minister that I'll follow, although I followed at a distance. There's a very famous minister on the West Coast. As a matter of fact, I think he's from the Seattle area. I've kind of kept up at a distance, but things have come out of his life that are not very godly. Domineering attitudes, running over people, abusing people, strong-arm tactics in the life of the Church, questionable teaching. As a matter of fact, highly questionable teaching in a very public way. And as these truths have come out, what have we seen?

We are seeing that this man will be held to a higher standard. There was another quote-unquote famous minister who was very popular in certain circles here a while back. And the accusations were very similar. Strong-arm tactics, immorality in the life of his life and in his family's life. He brought into the life of the Church, "What am I showing you?" It's almost like the names and faces change, but yet the story is the same. What are we seeing here?

James is saying, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers in this position because it is a greater responsibility." And when someone like this falls, they incur a stricter judgment than the layperson in the pew. But yet when someone does persevere in this position and he runs the race to finish the race to win the race, they still incur a stricter judgment even though they finish well because James teaches this is a gigantic responsibility. Keith can attest to this, my life as well. When I hear these stories, it usually bothers me for a couple of days. It usually upsets me because of the fear of failure myself.

I'm not talking about success by people standards, plenty of people and a lot of activity. No, I'm talking catastrophic tragic failure that would bring shame to the gospel, that would lump me into the category with people like this. Keith will tell you sometimes it just boosts my prayer life. It causes me to evaluate and discuss certain things. And as I was text messaging a Christian brother and we were talking about this latest scandal, he was describing the incident and I was saying, "That could be me, that could be you." I thought about my responsibility to you.

I thought about my responsibility to the Lord Jesus, to the call that's before me. And I jotted down some things. You don't have to write these down. This is by no means an exhaustive list. First of all, I have to guard against laziness. Second Timothy 2.15 Paul tells Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman." Diligent workman. I've looked around and seen so many lazy ministers, you know. You can find them in their hobby more so in the work of the church. And I guard against laziness. I don't want to be a lazy minister. Keith and my wife can attest that I scrap for as much time as I can get.

That's why I don't want to be lazy in this responsibility. Another responsibility is to guard against personal gain. Didn't we see Paul warned Timothy time and time again against those men who would be in this thing for personal gain? We can look anywhere these days and see ministers who are into it for personal gain. But yet we see the heart of Paul. He says, "I'm a servant to all." Another responsibility that weighs heavy on me is the fact that I must offer protection to my people. You. A writer of Hebrews says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls." I feel the responsibility of keeping watch over you.

As God has enabled me to preach the gospel, preach the truth, divide the text, and yet oversee and shepherd. Get in your life as a shepherd, elbow to elbow. But yet, as a shepherd would stand and oversee the flock, to oversee and see what's being given in your life and your weaknesses and your strengths and your struggles. This responsibility of protecting you from the Word of God. The other responsibility is offering equipping. See, my job is to equip you. Ephesians 4, Paul says, and he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. For the equipping of the saints for the work of service.

For what? To build up the body of Christ. That's the church. And it is my job to equip you. And I know that when I bring in someone and I put someone behind this pulpit, they must come in and help equip you for what? For the works of service. To equip you for the work of the church. That's my responsibility. And then also my responsibility is to labor. Now listen, labor to see that Christ is formed in you. What did Paul say to the Galatians? He says, "My children, whom I again in labor, until Christ what is formed in you. My goal is that Christ be formed in you. Not that you would have a head full of knowledge. Not that you would parrot me.

Not that you would mimic me and be like me. No, that Christ would be formed in you. Because see, listen, if Christ is formed in you, then you will be equipped. If Christ is formed in you, then you will be protected. If Christ is formed in you, look, then you can do the work of the church." Now as I move on, I carry you back to the title of the message. The power of the tongue. Part one, the power to control. I don't want to control you, but I cannot ignore that I am to have an influence over you. I am to have an influence in you. And that sounds a harsh to say, influence control.

But yet if I am like Paul, if I am like Timothy, if I am a servant of the one true God, the God that's called me, and I serve you. Listen, then as I influence you, and as I exercise control in your life, what will be the end result? Christ being formed in you. That's my responsibility. Second, I want us to see the obvious inevitable. The obvious inevitable. Now those words might be a mouthful, but I think it fits well. Look at verse 2. He says, "For we all stumble in many ways." If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now James switches here. He starts off with the leaders.

That's the right place to start. And now he switches from those leaders, those teachers, those who espouse to be teachers, to everyone in the fellowship. He goes from the pulpit first down to the pews, what he's doing. But notice this word "we" in the verse. Notice the word. He says, "For we all stumble." And if we break this verse down, we can see lots of truth. As a matter of fact, some truth that you might not have ever seen. First, I want you to see that this is a universal problem. What does he say? "For we all." What is he saying? James is including himself in this universal problem. He's saying, "You've got a problem.

I've got a problem. We've all got a problem." And that is controlling the tongue. This is a universal problem. Also, I want you to notice the depth of the problem. Because how does the text read? The text reads, "For we all." He doesn't exclude anyone. That is the depth of the problem. It's universal and it is a deep problem. The English Standard Version, it reads many ways. The King James reads, "For in many things we offend all." All of these translations describe the universal problem and the depth of the problem. But then third, I want you to see the goal in the problem. Notice the goal in the problem. Look back at the verse.

"For we all stumble in many ways." Now, notice this other sentence. "If anyone does not stumble," and what he says, "he is a perfect man." What do we see here? This is the goal in the midst of this obvious, inevitable problem of the tongue. This is the goal. Now, the New American Standard, the English Standard Version, and the King James use this word. Go back to the verse. "If anyone does not stumble, he is a perfect man." All these translations use this word perfect. Now, this word perfect has two possible meanings here in the New Testament. It means either perfect as in like Christ was perfect. You realize Christ never said a cross word?

He never talked back to his parents one time. He never said one word out of order. He never said, "Indeed, our action in any way, shape, form." He never said, "An attitude or thought." That's perfection. He obeyed the will of the Father perfectly and entirely. That's perfection. But there's another way in which this word perfection is used, and that is completion or maturity. James has used this before, has he not? That is what James is getting at. What he's saying is the goal for you, the goal for me, the goal for us is that we would be mature and complete. We would be at a place of maturity.

That is the goal in the universal problem, this obvious problem, this inevitable problem of the tongue. MacArthur says it like this. We can, in the Holy Spirit's power, have a spiritual... let me get my word straight. It won't come out. We can, in the Holy Spirit's power, have a spiritually mature and sanctified heart that is expressed through mature, sanctified, God honoring, speaking, and teaching. The idea is that only spiritually mature believers can control their tongues. Notice the goal. Notice this goal that is tucked right here in this problem in verse 2. Let me go back and read it.

"For we all stumble in many ways." This is a universal problem. But notice what he says. "If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is perfect, complete, mature." That is the goal. But notice the result if the goal is attained. Look at the last portion of verse 2. "If any man does not stumble in what he says, he is perfect or complete or mature, able to bridle the whole body as well." This is the result if this goal is attained. A man can control his tongue through a mature, sanctified heart. Then he can control, listen, his whole body.

What James is saying is, if your heart is right with God, if you're in a complete state of maturity walking with God, you have reached a level of completeness in Christ, then you can govern the tongue, therefore you can govern the direction of the entire body. That's the result. That's the goal. The inevitability in struggling with the tongue lies with all. James says we all stumble. But we see both sides, the one who controls speech and conduct through a mature, sanctified heart and the one who does not. Let me repeat that.

We see two sides, the one who controls speech and conduct through mature, sanctified living that comes from a mature, sanctified heart and the one who does not. But I'm afraid we have the latter rather than the former most often. Remember the minister I mentioned from the West Coast? This verse fits him well. "If you kept up with him, and my wife did, my wife and I did at a distance." He became real famous, but he became real famous for some of his content in his preaching. He was about preaching and teaching on personal intimate matters that are not to be discussed from a platform like this. All he created a great following.

People just ran after him. When we studied the qualifications of an elder, we saw that he lacked discretion. You just don't talk about any old thing from this holy desk. Now there are certain things to be discussed in private matters, in places of counsel with people that are never to be uttered outside of that arena. But what I see here in this verse shows me that this individual was consumed by impure speech. And look, that impure speech revealed that he had an impure heart and eventually it came out in impure actions.

See, when we get the news reports about someone like that, it shouldn't surprise us why, because we've been hearing that talk for years. I couldn't help but think about it. It's like the dipstick on a motor. You put that dipstick in, you get out what's in there. See, this verse shows us this. This particular minister, he was enthralled with impure speech. And it was indicative of an impure heart and eventually it turned into impure motives. Now again, what about the title of the message? The power of the tongue, part one, the power to control. If we could but control the tongue, we would control the entire body. You get what James is saying?

And see, we must see that the tongue is governed by the heart. The body is governed by the heart. And see, if we're not careful, we can overlook the goal that is tucked right here in this obvious, inevitable problem that everybody has. And what James is saying is, if you just have a mature heart, everything else will follow. Let's move on. Let's look at truth number three. Or Roman numeral three. I want us to see the ability to control. The ability to control. James changes just a little and notice what he says. Now, if we put the bits into the horse's mouth so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as well.

Behold, the ships also, though they are great and driven by the strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. There are obvious two examples that are given here. We've got the example of a horse and we've got the example of a ship. In these examples, we see that the bit controls the horse and the rudder controls the ship. I'm sure most of you understand this. This was an obvious teaching tool in Jesus' day. This was an obvious teaching tool in James' day. Every one of his readers would have understood the story of the horse and the story of the ship. James is teaching an illustration.

And see, for me, as I break down these illustrations, there are just certain things that we see that are obvious. First, I want you to see that there is a problem. There's a problem. A man must be guided. What do we have here if a horse is not guided? If a horse is not guided, we have a wild animal. We have a dangerous animal. What do we have if a ship is not in control? We have a dangerous object. Every now and then, we'll see on the news where there's some ship out on the open sea and it is a dangerous set of circumstances. So this tells us that there is a problem.

There is a horse that needs to be controlled and there is a ship that needs guidance. But what is the real problem? The real problem is with man. Man has a problem that we see. Second, I want us to see that there is the controlling agent. There is the bit and there is the rudder. Now, I hope you understand the function of a bit. I don't know if you even know what a bridle is that goes around a horse's face, but when you have that bridle, that bridle consists of a bit and that bit goes in that horse's mouth. And with that bit in the horse's mouth and with that bridle around the horse's face, that rider is able to control that animal.

I don't know if you know what a rudder is, but many times if you look at a ship, it might be a gigantic ship. But yet when you look at the rudder, it is a very, very small rudder. And what James is showing is there is a controlling agent here to this problem. And then the third thing I want you to see that there is the controller. The rider controls the horse and the pilot controls the ship. Both rider and pilot are really insignificant in size and strength, are they not? Is a man as strong as a horse? No. But yet when that horse is under the rider's control, what do we have? All that strength, all that energy at the command of the rider.

Is the ship bigger than a pilot? Sure. But yet when the pilot is in control, the direction of the mighty ship is controlled, what, by the inclination of the pilot. So if we take a step back from these stories, we see the problem. Man has a problem. We see the controlling agent. Those are teaching tools right here. But then we see the controller. And I'm going to get in the controlling agent and the controller in just a minute. But you know, I thought about two examples. You all know that I've done a student camp for over 10 years and we have some afternoons where we let those students have a good time.

And one of the activities that they get to do is they get to go whitewater rafting. That's an enjoyable activity. It's fun. It's clean. It's moral. And we've used different rafting companies and different guides. And I don't know if you know how it works, but they have this inflatable raft and a bunch of people get in that raft. And there is a pilot. There is a guide that sits in the back of that raft and navigates that raft down treacherous waters. Some of the waters appear to be treacherous, but some may not be. And the guide knows where the danger is and the guide's goal is to give you just enough fun to enjoy it, but yet keep you safe.

I don't really go whitewater rafting anymore because being the camp pastor and camp director, I just usually don't have time. But you know, the pilots will fool you. Sometimes those guides will be 110 pounds so can wet. It's not about strength. It's not about brawn. No, it's about knowing how to use what? That rudder. And see, that experienced pilot, that experienced guide, will know just how to use that paddle as a rudder and put that raft just where they might want to go. I never forget one time I happened to be in a raft with an experienced guide and a training guide.

We got going down the river and that guide said to that training guide said, "Okay, son, you take over." And he sat down. And so, lo and behold, we're going along there and that inexperienced guide took us down the wrong way down the river. And the next thing you know, we're in treacherous waters. We're out of control. And that inexperienced guide ended up out of the boat. Well, instinctively, I started trying to help him and turned that paddle around, that T-grip paddle hand, paddle around to try to help him. And that guide looked at me and chewed me out and he told us to sit down and he began to scream at that guide.

He began to talk to him. He talked down to him. I'm telling you, he didn't say anything ugly, but I think he even talked about his ancestors. And he said, "You get yourself in this boat right now." Why? Because he was responsible. I thought about a TV show that I watched here a while back. I don't watch a lot of TV. We have TV on the man. And I don't know what caught my attention one day. Well, there's a television show that I watched and it's produced by what's called the Mustang Heritage Foundation. What that is, there is a group that is in charge of managing the wild horses out in the American West.

And because of population, what they will do sometimes is they will round up a certain group of wild horses, mustangs, and then they will sell them and they will put them in responsible hands. And I ran across the program. It was pretty interesting. It was 100 trainers, qualified trainers, who got 100 days with a wild horse. And they had the goal of taming that horse, training that horse. And then at the end of the 100 days, they had a show to exhibit just how trainable that horse is and all that that horse could do. And it was amazing.

Because the very first day there was a wild animal, but yet at the end of the process, there would be an animal that was just as strong, just as intelligent, just as dangerous, what? At the command of the trainer. And it was amazing the things that they could do. And these great examples help us see the problem that man has, the controlling agent and the controller. And see, as I look at what we see right here is, man has a problem, but who's the controlling agent? There's got to be none other than God. But what is the controlling, God's got to be the controller, but what is the controlling agent? The Holy Spirit of God.

What does the Scripture say? The Spirit is the counselor, the God, the one that teaches us, the one that corrects us, the one that guides us. Jesus said to the apostles, "I won't leave you as orphans. He will come and see it's the Spirit that lives within us. It is the Spirit of God who counsels us, corrects us, teaches us. When the Word is preached, it's the Spirit that drives that Word home. But yet it is the controller. It is God the Father who uses God the Spirit and the Word of God to do what? To correct this problem, to steer us, to control us, to guide us." James is just using a teaching tool to help us see this.

And again, what's the title of the message? The power of the tongue and also the power to control. See, I see a rider and I see a pilot and I see God the Father and I see God the Spirit doing what? Controlling you, controlling me, desiring to control us and be under authority in His Lordship. On December the 8th, 1941, the President of the United States unleashed power through words, through the tongue, through influence. Yes, there were circumstances involved. Yes, it was a tragic time. But what we see is, we see that this man had the power to control, the power to influence, and we see the power of words.

And listen, how many lives did his words influence? How many lives did his words influence? And as we look at these verses this morning, we must see the power of the tongue, the influence of the tongue, yes, even for some, the control. And as I begin to conclude, I must again touch on the great responsibility. I don't take this lightly, people. My wife can attest to this, Keith can attest to this. Of the energy that I expend towards ministry, at least 80, more like 90 percent of it, is exerted in preaching and teaching you the Word. You know why? That's the influence and the control that you need. I'll show you what I mean.

How many times have you heard me refer to my old home church pastor, Brother Dennis Sewell? You've never met him. You've never seen his face. But yet when you hear me relate to those old days, I stepped out from under his ministry in 1997. And when I remember the things Brother Dennis taught, when I relate those things, all I'm showing you is the influence that he had on my life, the control that he had over my life. He didn't lord over me. He wasn't a big bully in the church. No, he served me. That's the kind of control that I needed. That is the responsibility that I have.

And 10 years from now, 15 years from now, 5 years from now, I hope and I pray that I influenced you from the Word of God, not from me. And then the obvious inevitable. You must become a mature, complete Christian, able to govern, yes, your tongue, and govern the direction of your heart. Because listen, if you cannot govern your tongue, you will never govern the direction of your life. You will never govern where your hands go and your feet go. And I have to have Paul's heart when he said to the Galatians, "My children, with whom I again labor for you until Christ be formed in you." That is my goal for you. That Christ is formed in you.

And when Christ is formed in you, your mouth will reflect it. Your direction will reflect it. See, if we're not careful, we will read this, and we see this obvious inevitable, and we'll start fighting the tongue, the tongue, the tongue. We'll start fighting speech, speech, speech. When that's not where we start, we start at the heart. And it's not about me preaching a message on speech, no. It's about me preaching a message on the heart. And then third, the ability to control. Your tongue is controllable, but only by him. Your life's direction is controllable, but only when Christ is formed in you.

And listen, people, when Christ is formed in you, you will be like the picture of a horse that is under the subjection of the rider. You will be like the picture of the ship that is in control by the pilot. Ability to be controlled. The thought of the message this morning is the power of the tongue, part one, the power to control. Lord, I pray that we would all hunger and desire to be controlled by you.