My brethren, he calls them my
brethren, and I say to you, my brethren, you'll be like me addressing
you, my brethren, and I'm talking to you, and I say, be not many
masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. That being not many masters means
don't set yourself up to be the teacher, to be the master, to
be the instructor. And what he's saying here, don't
be so eager to teach. Don't be so eager to preach.
Don't be so eager to be a leader in the scriptures. Don't be so
eager to put yourself up to be somebody, something that knows
something. Don't take this office to yourself presumptuously upon
yourself. And it also means be not many
masters. It also means this someone who
thinks it's They're always strict, they set standards, they find
faults, and they straighten others out, and they set themselves
up as the master, as the one who has control over people.
But it says, don't do that. Don't do that. You know, that's
why the Scriptures, Paul told Timothy, lay hands suddenly on
no man. But this is the thing. There are so many people who
want to be preachers, want to be teachers, want to lead, and
yet, beloved, if they ever understood that the responsibility of it. And that is the call, and God
gives that. You wouldn't have near as many
people in the ministry. You wouldn't have folks so eager
to teach. Because it says here, we shall receive the greater
condemnation. If we set ourselves up to be
the masters, set ourselves up to be the teachers, set ourselves
up to be the judge, set ourselves up to be the spiritual leaders,
Whatever we set up ourselves to be, that's the way we're going
to, whatever we tell other people to be, that's the condemnation
going to come back on us. Whatever standards we lay down
for somebody else, that's the standard by which we're going
to be judged by. Whatever we teach somebody else to do, that's
the standard we're going to be judged by. If we set ourselves
up as a master, we're going to receive the judgment of a master.
That's what our master says. You know, we set ourselves up
as claiming light, more light. People claim more light, more
knowledge, but we're going to be judged by what we claim. Now,
you keep James and look in Matthew chapter 7. To whom much is given, much is
required. But I tell you, beloved, if we
claim more light and knowledge, our judgment is
greater by what we claim. By what we claim. And over in
Hebrews, it said, we shall give an account. We shall give an
account. We are those who must give an
account. And if you want to be the preacher,
if you want to be the teacher, if you want to be the person
in control, you want to be the person who's telling everybody
else what to do. You want to be the person who lays down the
law, so to speak, and set up the, you know, that's whatever,
what you claim to do, that's what you're going to be judged
by. And look what he says here in Matthew 7, verse 1 and 2. Judge not that you be not judged.
Set yourself up as a master to cast judgment on somebody. But
for with what judgment you judge, you're going to be judged. You
better make sure your judgment's a just judgment. Better make
sure your word's right. Better make sure that whatever
you say is true. And with what measure you meet,
you measure out something for other people to go by. You measure
out, you know that this is the line we're going to walk, you
lay that righteousness, that plumb line, that righteousness
out there, you lay it out there, you lay that plumb line out there,
and with what measure you meet, whatever you require somebody
else is going to be measured to you again. And that's why
it says, my brethren, don't you be many masters. Don't be many
masters. Oh my, to whom we set ourselves
up as better or stronger or wiser or more spiritual, we're going
to receive Judgment to be in that sense. And then look what
he says over here again in James chapter 3. He says in verse 2,
For in many things we offend all. Oh my! We give offense and we
offend people in many things. We offend everybody. We do it. That's just the nature of things.
For in many things we offend all. And those of us who teach
preach, and those who are taught. We have many infirmities. Oh
my goodness, what infirmities we have. You know, that's one thing, that
people know the grace of God. I am so thankful for it, because
the preacher knows what he is, and he knows what the people
he's preaching to is. And I remember Tim James was preaching one time,
and he said, you know, I'm one sinner preaching to other sinners.
Somebody told him later that was visiting. He said, I've never
heard a preacher call himself a sinner. Everybody else is the sinner,
it's not the preacher. That's why he said, don't set yourself
up as the minister. Is there something wrong with you and
nothing wrong with me? Did we not come out of the same lump?
Yes, sir. Did we not come out from the
same root? Did we all not come from the
same father? And that the best we do, those of us who teach
and those who are taught, have many affairs. If we say we have
not sinned, we lie and deceive ourselves. If we say we have
not sinned, we make God a liar, and the truth is not in us. So
we're encompassed with infirmities. And those who are quick to be
masters, judges, or leaders, if we could see ourselves as
we are, and our mistakes and our offenses, we wouldn't be
so quick to set up judgment upon others. Because my soul, look
at all the offenses. You know, I'm an offense to myself,
much less being an offense to somebody else. But I'll tell
you something about self-justifiers. They're generally self-deceived.
You know, our Lord said, I know you. I know you. He said, you are those who justify
yourselves in the sight of men. But He says, that which is well-pleasing
in the sight of men is an abomination in the sight of God. And also,
we don't want to be quick to do that. And then look what he
says, it goes on here in verse 2, 4. Many things we offend also. If you're going to teach in that,
and if any man offend not in word, the same as a perfect man,
enable also to rival the whole body. Oh, my goodness. If any man offend not in word,
whenever there is none offense given, and none taken from the
tongue, That's a miracle almost. But
there is more offense given and more offense taken by what people
say than anything else in this world. You know, you can make
a man an offender for a word is what the scripture says. But
there's more offense given with this thing right here, the words
that we say. And more taken when there ain't any meant. And the
person, and that's what he says here, if any man offend not in
word, the person who learns to control his tongue, it says he's
a perfect man. That doesn't mean that he's perfect
in the sense that he does not make any mistakes with his tongue.
It means that he's a mature man. He's a believer. He's able to
control it. He's able to use it wisely. Beloved, the man who learns when
to speak, What to speak, how to speak for God's glory and
the good of others, that's a mature man. And there are few and far
in between. I'd love to be one of those. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you learn
to know what to speak? Wouldn't you learn to know when
to speak? When to hold your tongue? Wouldn't
you love to learn to know how to say something? How to speak
and do it for the glory of God and for the good of church? Wouldn't
you love to learn to love to do that? No, we can pray, God,
teach me. Take me, Lord, and teach me.
Teach me how to sing. And oh, listen to what he says
here. The same as a perfect man able to also brown the whole
body, a man who governs his tongue is able to govern his whole body.
If you can control your tongue, you can control everything about
yourself. I want you to see some things
with me in Proverbs. Look at Proverbs 21. Proverbs 21. Boy, you know, whenever somebody asks
you a question, the first thing you ought to do is pray before
you ever answer. I mean talking about spiritual things. But I
mean a man who governs his tongue, he's able to govern the whole
body. That's why James says, be swift to hear. Be swift to
hear, but be slow to speak. Everybody wants to speak, but
don't want to listen. But he says, you listen, be swift
to hear, and be very, very slow to speak. Proverbs 21, 23 says
this, Whoso keepeth his mouth, and
his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." Oh, my goodness. I almost feel like sometimes
I'll just shut up. I'll shut up now. Just sit down. Oh, my. The tongue is a small
member, beloved. Oh, my. When God gives a man
wisdom and grace, enables him to govern his tongue, He'll enable
him to govern his actions. And Orville had it back over
here down in chapters. He said he's able to bridle the
whole body. Then over in chapter, verse 3. You know, the tongue
is a small, small member. It's a small member, a little
thing. And I mean, it's useful. You
know, we taste with it. It's all the taste buds that's
in it. Enables us to swallow. Enables us to have speech. You
know, you find there's people who have impediments with their
tongue and that stemmer, but God gives you tongue to taste
with, swallow with. And the tongue, it's a small
memory, and it's, oh, it's so useful. And it can produce amazing,
astounding, sometimes marvelous results. Oh, my, when you hear
somebody preach the gospel, you say, oh, my. Use the tongue to
the glory of God, to sing hymns with. to bless God with, to praise
God with, and then we can take that same tongue and absolutely
destroy somebody with it. And he's such a little member,
huh? And he gives us three illustrations of the use of the tongue. Three
illustrations. He said, first illustration,
Behold, we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us,
and we turn about the whole body. Now, a horse is big. You get
a big old horse, and he's strong, wild, self-willed, and yet you
can take that horse, and take a steel bit, small bit, compared
to the size of that horse, and you can put that bit in that
horse, put bridle on that horse, put braids on that horse, and
you can control that horse. You can stop him, you can turn
him left, you can turn him right, you can control him. And that's what he says. We can
do that with a horse. We put a bridle in a horse. We
want him to go right, we go right. Go left, go left. And oh, he's big, he's strong. And you're
able to turn the whole body. This is a great, big, huge horse.
I mean, man, you just better look like a small person. But
yet you can control it. You can turn it. You can move
it around. You can stop it. You can do what you want to with
it. But sometimes he'll bite the
bit and run towards and try to throw his rider, and that's what
I used to do sometimes. Put a bit, put a bit in it, but
yet sometimes it just runs wild. Runs wild. Look with me at Psalm
39. Oh, my. Psalm 39. Oh, for grace and wisdom to wash
the tongue. Psalm 39 in verse 1, look what
it says. I said, I will take heed to my
ways, that I sin not with my tongue. I'll keep my mouth with
the bride, while the wicked is before me." Oh, my. Ain't that something? Have you
ever felt like that about yourself? You know, in fact, the psalmist
asked one time, he said, Lord, you take the reins. You take
the reins. Psalm 143. Psalm 143, or excuse
me, 141 in verse 3. 141 in verse 3. Set a watch,
O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. Set a watch. Put a guard over it. Keep the door of my lips. Nathan knew how dangerous the
tongue was. And then look at the second illustration. He used a horse. Horses useful, but boy, without
that bit in his mouth and being tamed, dangerous. But look what
also, it said, Behold also the ships, which though they be so
great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about
with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. You ought
to know there's ships, great big ships. They got ships that
you put five, six, seven, eight thousand people on. Land airplanes
on them, jets on them. And there's that great big huge
ship. And you look at what it takes to turn that big ship,
compared to the size of that ship, it ain't much bigger than
this pulpit. And they'll just flip it this
way if they want it to go this way. And you know, take that
great big ship, control this great big ship with all this
weight and all this power, and can turn it whichever way the
governor wants to. And it's just a small thing that
does it. Just a small thing. And that's what he sees in the
illustration. And oh, a huge ship turned by a very small of
it. You know, you can steer it to
safety. Or if you don't know how to steer it, you can end
up grounding that thing. Running into rocks. Sinking it. And that's the way we are. We
can use this trunk for good, or we can use it to end up on
the rocks with. Huh? And oh, look what else he
says. Even so the tongue is a little
member. A little member. Even so the
tongue is a little member, and boasted great things. Boasted great. A little fire,
he says. Behold, how great a matter a
little fire can be. A little fire. You can take a
match. You know how little a match is? A little tiny match, or a spark,
just a spark, can destroy a home, can destroy a forest, can even
burn down a whole city. Just a spark. Just a spark. There's a big, big home down
in Knoxville a few weeks ago. A spark. With some gases out. Just a spark. Blew that house
all to pieces. Just a spark. Just a spark. And he says, oh my, just a match,
a spark can destroy a hole in a fox. Chicago burn went down
one time, remember that? And even so, the tongue is just
a little bitty member, and look what it says, boasteth great
things. The tongue, like the bit, like the rudder, like the
match, the tongue is a small thing. That bit that you put
in that horse is a small thing. That rudder that controls that
ship, small thing. That match is a small thing.
The tongue is a small thing. And yet it can do great and mighty
things, just like that bit can, like that match can, like that
rudder can. It can do great and mighty things. The tongue, well-ordered and
sanctified by God, can speak the gospel, can comfort, it can
bring happiness, it can build friendships, it can unite people. It can spin great comforting
words. It can use words of encouragement
and edification, bring great happiness and joy to people.
Or else it can turn right around and do an incredible amount of
harm. I want you to look at several things with me in Proverbs. First
of all, Proverbs 12. Proverbs 12. Proverbs 12, 25. And oh, I tell you, the tongue,
well-ordered and sanctified, can preach the gospel. Ain't
you grateful that there's men who know the gospel can preach
it to you? Ain't you grateful for people that speak words of
comfort, words that people can encourage you with their words,
can bring happiness with words, build friendships, establish
friendships, bring such comfort, such assurance? Bring such peace,
such strength to somebody with just words. You can take somebody
and just use the right words and then bring them right up.
And look here at Proverbs 12, 25. Heaviness in the heart of
a man maketh it stoop. Every one of us here knows what
that means. But what's this? But a good word
maketh it glad. A good word maketh it glad. Proverbs
15, 23. A good word will make it glad. Proverbs 15, 23. A man hath joy by the answer
of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! Oh my, then look at a word meant
as joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season.
Oh, when it's needed, how good is it? And look over here at
25 and verse 11. Proverbs 25, 11. It's one of my favorite scriptures.
I've used it, quoted it many times. Proverbs 25, 11. A word fitly
spoken. is like apples of gold and pitchers
of silver. Oh, my. Just a word fitly spoken. You ever seen a gold apple? He
said a word fitly spoken. It's like a golden apple. Not
only is it like a golden apple, but it's got a silver frame all
the way around it. Oh, God's letting us use our
tongues to His glory. But oh, look what he goes on
to say over here again in James. And he says in verse 6, the tongue
is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is a fire, a world
of iniquity. There's so much sin in the tongue.
It's called a world of iniquity. A world of it. A whole world
of iniquity. That's what's in this tongue.
Oh, when it's moved by anger, envy, jealousy, ambition, passion
like that, the tongue is like a rage and destructive fire spreading
and destroying without pity, without partiality. You know,
they passed a law in France. I heard it yesterday, and I'd
read about it, but I heard a fellow talking about it yesterday. They
passed a law in France that if you use your words to abuse your
husband or wife or the person you're living with, they can
put you in jail. If you have an argument with
your wife or your husband, and you verbally abuse them and call
them awful names and things like that and insult them, they can
arrest you and put you in jail. If they've done that, the whole
country's going to jail. How many times, and that's what
he said to him, when this tongue is moved by anger, what damage
it does. How many times have we let this
mouth speak out of envy? When we ought to have been bragging
on somebody, we would belittle them because we were jealous
or envious. How many times, about through ambition, have we belittled
and put down someone else to set ourselves high? Huh? For us, this tongue is like a
raging fire. And it spreads danger and destruction
without pity or partiality. And that's what he said here,
setting on fire the course of nature itself. One word from
me would lead to a word from you, and a word from this, and
a word from that, and the next thing you know, everybody's screaming,
everybody's hollering, everybody's using awful words at one another.
Everybody's belittling everybody. Everybody's mad at everybody. Used to have business meetings
where it almost took the sheriff to separate the people. Let me show you this in Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes. That's wrapped before the book
of Proverbs. Go to Isaiah, then Song of Solomon,
and then Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 5. You know, when it says it's a
raging, And I'll tell you, I know from experience myself, you know, It said on fire, the course of
nature. You know, one person says something, next thing he
says it back, and the next thing you know, you've got somebody
else involved in it, and the next thing you know, you've got everybody
screaming and hollering and raging and raving. And one person hears
something, and he said, you know what he said, and he said this,
and he said that. I'll tell you what, I'm not going to put up
with that, and the next thing you know, you've got people just
berating and belittling and hollering at one another. But look what
it says here in verse 6, Ecclesiastes 5, 6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause
thy flesh to sin. Suffer not thy mouth to cause
thy flesh to sin. How could you do that? You threaten
somebody, and then you may have to take that threat all the way
through. Suffer not your mouth to cause
your flesh to do something that you wouldn't do. Don't make promises
you can't keep. Don't pronounce judgments you
can't follow through on. Neither say thou before the angel,
that was an error. Wherefore should God be angry
at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands? Oh my! So long. Then back over in James. And then he goes on there in
verse 6, he says, and the tongue is a fire. It's a world of iniquity.
So is the tongue among our members. It'll defile the whole body.
That tongue defiles the whole body. How can it defile the whole
body? Because what comes out of here,
comes out of here. It defiles everything about you.
It's part and parcel of Him. It's just like sinning with your
hand. When you sin with your hand, the first sin starts in
your heart. And that's what He's saying here. It is set so far
the course of nature and is set on fire of hell itself. Hell
itself. It's like a fire from the heat. It can stir up passions like
water boiling. Listen to this. It's like a fire
from the danger of it. When that tongue starts like
a fire from the danger of no one safe from its path, it can
turn a happy home or a church into a barren wilderness. Destroy,
destroy, destroy. It's like a fire in the duration
of it. If the fire is out of control,
it's hard to stop it. In words spoken in anger, spoken
in passion, spoken in ridicule, spoken with the intent to hurt,
sets on fire and it's hard to stop it. It can get out of control,
can't it? How many times have your heart been hurt by what
somebody said? And how many times have we hurt by what we said? And this little member can destroy
friendships that have endured for years. It can destroy homes. It's destroyed
churches. that have been happy and content,
but when that tongue gets loose and sets on course the fires
of hell itself and the fire of nature, it can destroy them. It can destroy a person's character.
It can destroy a person's reputation. It can be used to plant suspicion
in a person's mind. It can be used to bring doubt
into someone's mind. It can be used to turn someone
from truth to error. It is set on fire of hell itself.
And look what he goes on to say here now. For every kind of beast,
and of birds, and of serpent, and of things in the sea is tamed,
and hath been tamed of mankind. I mean, nothing that hasn't been
tamed. Nothing. You go to them places,
and they got whales that do tricks for you. Whales that they catch
you. They tame whales, and they'll do tricks for you. Dolphins,
snakes, deer, lions, tigers, bees, every kind of beast has
been tamed. Cows and elephants, huge elephants. They've been tamed and people
can pet them and be around them. But ain't nobody ever tamed this. You'd walk up and pet a lion
and be safer than that, and then a fellow would take his tongue
and do more damage than a lion. But that's what he went on to
say, but the tongue can no man tame. It's an unruly evil, unruly
evil, full, full of deadly poison. And the tongue, no man can control
it, hold it in check, or stop its bitterness of evil. I was
talking to Walter down there just this last week, and they
got some pretty dangerous snakes down there. Back when they used
to raise the hennikin down there, and they'd chop that hennikin,
that stuff that they make ropes out of and sissle out of. He
said, when they was out there working on that, if they got
snake bit by certain snakes, they'd just go ahead and take
the machete and just go ahead and cut it off. But he says there's a snake,
they call it two-step. He said when you get bit, you
take two steps and that's it. This don't even give you two
steps. You can hurt somebody with it. That's how deadly a
poison is in this thing. Deadly poison. I don't want poison
to be in mine, do you? You want poison to be in yours. How many times have we used this
tongue to bring tears to people's eyes? How many times have we used it
to berate somebody because we felt like we were better than
them, or know more than them, or had more insight than them? And what our Lord is showing
us here is the impossibility of the flesh. Let me tell you
something. I don't want to leave you like
this, but the grace of God can tame it. The grace of God can
subdue it. The grace of God can make it
an instrument for God's praise and goodness. God's grace can
do it. Grace can slay the corruption,
which we use the tongue as an outlet. can quench the flames
of hate and jealousy which motivate the tongue. Grace implants a
new nature of love which influences the tongue to speak in kindness
and truth and sincerity for the glory of God and the good of
all men. The grace of God in Christ can change this tongue
as an instrument of evil to an instrument of good. And no wonder
David says, set a watch. Set a watch on it. Put a bridle
on it. Set a watch on it, Lord. Set
a watch on it. I'm going to pray that for myself.
I'm going to pray it for you. None of you have ever hurt me. If you have, I don't know it.
Don't remember it. All you've ever said is kind things, gracious
things, loving things to me. Encouraging things. But, O God,
give us grace. Give us grace. Our Father, in the blessed name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your goodness, thank
You for Your grace, thank You for Your Word. Lord, that's a
Word we need, I need. O Lord, please, we say as the
psalmist did, set a watch on our mouth. Help us not to let our tongue
cause our flesh to sin. Teach us how to speak words in
due season, words of kindness, love, compassion. And if we have
nothing that we can say to be edifying and strengthening and
encouraging to your people. Help us not to say anything.
Give us wisdom to know when to speak. Oh Lord Jesus, give us
wisdom to know what to speak. And Lord Jesus, give us wisdom
to know how to speak. Oh Lord, give us an abundance
of grace. An abundance of grace. We are
your children. We don't want to be harsh. We
don't want to be cruel. We don't want to be envious or
jealous. We don't want to use our lips and our tongue to do
harm, to do damage. We want to use them to praise
Him, to bless Him, to sing hymns and to preach the gospel, to
speak well of one another, to speak in love, to speak in kindness. We want, oh God, teach us to
do these things. And Lord Jesus, we pray that
You and Your sovereign mercy would open hearts here tonight.
Lord Jesus, take the words that have been said and use them to
Your glory and our good. We're asking His holy name. Amen. Amen.