Thanks be to God for the opportunity to post the sermon this week. I hope that all of you are doing well. I am feeling much better, and I thank you for your prayers.
For several weeks now, we have been studying what the Lord has to teach us through what James wrote in the epistle the bears his name. We finished up chapter two last week, and we will focus our attention on the first part of chapter three this week.
The first verse of chapter 3 provides the believer with a warning. This verse states, "Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." This is a somber verse. No one should try to be a teacher of the Word of the Lord unless that person has been called to do so by the Lord. I know that I felt the call of the Lord on my life at a young age. It is my responsible as a teacher of the Word to rightly divide the Word of truth. I have to teach what is right. If I mislead anyone and teach what is false or what is just my own opinion, I will have to answer for that at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
In this verse, James is not discouraging people from teaching the Word. He is just making sure that those who are called understand what an important position it is that they hold. The Lord wants those who speak in His name to live lives that are an example to others. He wants to make sure that none are led astray.
After this first verse, James gives us an extensive discussion on the power of the tongue and how our speech can be used in a destructive way to harm others. I believe that one of the reasons that James prefaced this section with a warning to teachers is due to the fact that many people have been hurt and damaged in their faith over the years due to nasty things said by pastors, evangelists and teachers.
This was the case in my life. Hurtful words communicated to me by a couple of pastors and teachers really damaged my faith. They greatly discouraged me in my walk with the Lord and in my desire to serve the Lord. It was only by the grace of God allowing me to find teachers that were helpful and encouraging that I maintained my walk with the Lord and have been in the ministry these past several years.
Those who are in a position of authority have the duty to speak words that heal and not words that hurt. We want to speak the truth, but we have to speak the truth in love with gentleness and with respect. If we use hateful and harsh speech, we will turn people away from Jesus.
I believe that many people in the world today do not want to have anything to do with the church due to the hateful way that people in the church have spoken to them in the past. This is sad, and I believe that it grieves that heart of Jesus.
Now, in a more general sense, all of us who are followers of the Lord Jesus need to control our tongues. The tongue is powerful. It can be used to build up, and it can be used to tear down.
I believe that nothing hurts more in life than to be spoken down to, called names or to be verbally abused. Even after many years have gone by, mean things that people said to you will come back and hurt you all over again. One of the mean things that one of my grandparents said to me has come back to hurt me over and over. She told me that my parents would have been a lot better off if I had never been born. Other Christians ridiculed me because I was born with and continue to have many different health problems. I was so hurt by the mean things that so called Christians and some family members said to me that I probably wouldn't even be here today if the Lord had not brought my friend Toby into my life. The reason that he meant and continues to mean so much to me is due to the fact that he cared about me and loved me for who I was. He didn't care that I was sickly or couldn't walk very fast. He just loved me.
All of us, including myself, need to really watch what we say. We don't want to speak negative things that drag others down. I know people whose parents were always down on them telling them that they were bad and would never amount to anything. Those words stuck with those children all their lives, and their lives have been held back.
Words make a difference. We have the power to hurt or to heal with our words. We need to speak words of life and encouragement to others. We need to build others up and let them know of the love of Jesus. We need to tells others that are important in our lives that we love them and that we care about them.
One of the marks of a believer who is following the Lord closely is that that person will have speech that is in keeping with the example of Jesus Christ. A follower of the Lord does not have speech filled with nastiness, gossip and backbiting. A believer following Jesus closely speaks humbly, lovingly and hopefully to those that he or she encounters.
Let us all strive to speak words that heal and not words that hurt. This is a good example of where the Golden Rule comes into play. Jesus told us to do onto others as we would have done unto us. None of us want to be eviscerated by the words of others, so let's not do that to others. As Paul said, let us be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God for Christ's sake has forgiven us. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray about the situation with my part-time job. I am still trying to find something more suitable. Also, please pray that I can get my writing going again.
Please pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. In my country, cases are increasing. Please get the vaccination if you are able. Let us pray that those who are sick will quickly recover.
Pray for those who are hurting. Many are unemployed and facing financial difficulty. Others are facing depression and anxiety and need our prayers.
Continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Chad, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Syria.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of China and Laos. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue in our series on James. On Monday, I will post the verses. I hope to post a review on Wednesday. May God bless you all.
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