Thoughts on How a Christian Dies (Hebrews 11.13)

Tribute at the funeral of Deirdre Shaw

It’s on occasions like this that I reflect on a story one of my favourite preachers once told about a church member of his who lived in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. He went to see his doctor and was given the bad news that he had only a few weeks to live. And so he went home and sent out cards to all his friends. He said “Come and stay with me.” (He lived in a fairly big house). He said “Come and see how a Christian dies.” What an invitation!

Deirdre showed how a Christian lives, but she also modelled how a Christian dies.

I was sitting in this church in early July (next to Deirdre as it happens, about three rows back) and I was looking at the carvings on the pulpit (perhaps I was drifting during the sermon, I don’t know…) But I was wondering what I might say at Deirdre’s funeral which was, it was becoming clear to all, going to be fairly imminent.

And a verse from Hebrews 11 flashed into my thoughts. It talks about a whole list of Old Testament worthies who walked with God through thick and thin. And then it says this: “All these people were still living by faith when they died.” Deirdre lived by faith all the way until she died.

I had called her in May to ask her if she felt she was still up to leading services here and she said “Yes.” She was willing to serve right up to the end. As it happened, when I visited her in mid July she said to me “You know I am due to lead a service on the 31st. Well, I don’t think I’m quite going to be able to do that now and I’d be grateful if you could make arrangements for someone to lead in my place.” So I said, “Certainly.” And then she had a faraway look in her eye and turned to me and said “And I’m also due to lead on 11th September - and I don’t know where I’ll be then.” I think she knew pretty well that she would no longer be with us beyond August and, sadly, so it proved.

That day, I talked with Deirdre about death and I asked her if she was scared. “No, I’m not afraid of death” she replied immediately. “I am a Christian. I have faith.” And then, with a tear in her eye, she said that her one difficulty would be in letting go of her loved ones. She loved life here on earth and thought she would miss it. But death itself had no hold over Deirdre at all.

Soon afterwards, Deirdre spent a spell in hospital. On my first visit there I noticed that her health had visibly declined. I took her hand, took a deep breath and said “You know, Deirdre, this is it. This is the Valley of the Shadow of Death. This is where you are now. But we’re right here with you and so is the Good Shepherd who walks with you every step of the way.” And then we noticed what the 23rd Psalm actually says about the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It says “Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” It says you go, not to the valley, but through it. That means that there is a way out to something new and better at the end. It seemed to be a lightbulb moment for Deirdre and she spoke about going through the valley to everyone she met in the days following.

It was so good that Deirdre was able to die at home in the back room overlooking the garden. Mike made arrangements to get a proper hospital bed and all the medical equipment installed. In the week she died, I was told about an evening where several souls picked a Mission Praise book and began to sing to the Lord with her. Deirdre was quite weak by then, and somewhat breathless, but she wanted to keep going. “No, let’s sing some more!” she insisted. I think they sang dozens of worship songs. Deirdre loved singing and music and she had such a heart for God.

The last words I spoke to Deirdre that I know she was conscious of hearing were on the Thursday of that week. I took her hand again and read her Hebrews 12.1-2 (which follows on from that thought about the people who were all living by faith when they died). It says: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

And I said to her “You’re on the last lap now, your coming up to the final bend and into the last straight. You can see the finishing line now. The crowd are rising to their feet. And they’re all cheering for you. You’re almost there now. Soon, you’ll hit the tape, your race will be run and there’ll be a crown of glory waiting for you.”

The next day she passed from this life into the next, through the valley.

"Come and see how a Christian dies."

Deirdre, you ran a good race and you finished well. And you were still living by faith at the end.

Sermon preached at Saint Mary's Long Newton, 25th August 2011.

A Spiritual Check-Up (James 4.1-10)

Introduction

When you go to the doctor for a check-up, he or she will take your pulse, measure your blood pressure, weigh you on the scales, assess your diet and check whether there are any aches and pains and if everything seems to be in good working order. It’s not a detailed consultation needing scans and blood tests. I’m talking about a basic but thorough once over. Well, there’s quite a lot in our reading this morning and I see it as a sort of spiritual check up with six areas for examination. And we’re going to take them one by one.

1. Inner Contentment

The first is to do with the health of the heart - our inner contentment. In v1-2 James asks “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.”

 

It looks like these verses are about relationships with each other. But they’re not really. Here you’ve got a presenting problem that has an underlying cause. Just as you might complain to a doctor about stress, only to find that the real problem is high blood pressure for example, here the complaint is fights and quarrels. But there’s a real issue under the surface that is causing all the friction; and it’s covetous desires.

The Bible says here that my relational friction with someone basically caused by unhappiness inside me. It’s the public face of my private envies.

James uses really harsh words to describe situations of human disagreement; verbs like to fight, to battle and to kill. It’s the language of war. What do you think about that? Doesn’t it seem just a little over the top? We know, don’t we, that whenever we get into a quarrel (however nasty it turns) it’s never quite on the scale of out and out warfare. We don’t launch air strikes on each other just because we fall out over an issue do we? So why does James use this inflammatory language? Because war is what it feels like to God; The Lord deeply grieves relational conflict especially amongst Christians.

Why? Because if the world will know we are Christians by our love, the world will conclude that our message is irrelevant and untrue by our lack of love.

Do you know people who like to fight? Some people just like a good slanging match don’t they? They fight at home. They fight at work. They fight with relatives. They fight with neighbours. And they fight at church. If you locked them in a room all by themselves, they’d probably fight with themselves.

So how are you doing on the inner contentment test? Are you argumentative and abrasive or are you a peacemaker? What about the underlying cause? Do you find yourself compare yourself with others, envying what they have? I wish I had his money or her figure or his confidence, or her talent – or whatever? Or have you learned to be content with what you have and who God has made you to be? Can you be happy for others better off than you?

2. Prayerfulness

The next item on the spiritual health check is to do with prayer. How are your knee reflexes? James says in v2-3 that our walk with God goes pear shaped when (a) we don’t pray and (b) when we do pray it’s self-seeking.

 

“You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

James had several nicknames. One was James “the Just” which might ring a bell. Another was James “the Less” which also may sound familiar. Paul called him James the brother of the Lord which you fins in Scripture so you may have come across that too. But he had another name that I bet you haven’t heard before. Tradition tells us that James was nicknamed “camel knees.” Why do suppose would anyone call someone camel knees? Have you ever seen the knees of a camel? They’re all nobly with dead skin. It’s because James was an absolute giant in prayer and his fervent dedication to intercession caused conspicuous calluses on his knees.

Some people feel a bit uncomfortable with the tone of James’ letter. It is a little direct, even severe in places. But I for one am always ready to listen to someone who has spent hours and hours on his knees before God.

The author and preacher John Piper once said “Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing… Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as all-sufficient.”

That’s why the state of our prayer life has to feature prominently on any spiritual health check. God is interested in the state of your knee reflexes. So how are you doing on prayer?

3. Values

The third thing a medical examination might evaluate is weight and height to calculate Body Mass Index - which gives us clues about whether our diet is healthy. Spiritual diet, what we’re taking into our system, is all about our values; what is important to us. In v4-5 James says:

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?”

When the obsession of my life is me, it can’t be Christ. God does not think his Son should take second place to anything in my life. He is not OK about Jesus being a hobby of mine.

Again, James’ choice of language is startling and shocking. This is how worldliness in our lives feels to God; it’s like adultery. He feels as upset as a faithful and jilted lover would. It feels like enmity to him. It feels like we have changed sides and are now training weapons on his Son.

Worldliness is any unhealthy centring of life around home, health, spouse, stuff children - it doesn’t matter.

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City was interviewed on ABC News recently and he said this;

“Sin is not just doing bad things; sin is also turning good things into ultimate things. For example, if you love your children, that’s good, but not to the point of making your children’s happiness the very meaning of your life...”

It’s the same for hard work, success, money and sport. One of my biggest challenges in this area runs around in red shirts with white sleeves. They’re all good things – until they become ultimate things.

God Almighty is not OK about anything in this world that he created being elevated in my heart over his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus said “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” That’s money. God will not budge up and share his glorious throne with anybody or anything that is less worthy than him.

Sometimes you just want the doctor to tell it to you straight don’t you? Stop smoking. Start exercising. Eat more fruit. “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” says James.

So is there anything in your life today that is polluting your values, and challenging the absolute lordship of Christ in your life?

4. View of Self

Spiritual health check number 4 is about how we view ourselves. Believe it or not, how I evaluate myself in relation to others and to God will basically determine whether the grace of God in my life runs free or runs out.

I saw an amusing little ironic comment on my daughter’s Facebook page this week. It said “Try as you might, you cannot match my humility.”

But there’s nothing funny about pride. God actually resists proud people. In v6, the Scripture says: “‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble and oppressed.’ Submit yourselves, then, to God.”

How do I know if I’ve got a problem with pride? Well, if I often get frustrated because I know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask me the questions, it probably means I’ve got an issue with pride.

God is completely and totally opposed to it. The word that’s used here is actually a military term. It’s the word you’d use to describe a full army lined up and primed for battle.

In the first Gulf War the Americans shipped military equipment and personnel to Kuwait via the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic, which served as a refuelling station. Overnight, those islands went from having maybe one or two planes to having dozens and dozens. Every square foot of tarmac in the airports was taken up by fighter aircraft. That image illustrates how God resists the proud. He lines up his entire heavenly army to stand in opposition to human arrogance and self-sufficiency.

But God gives grace to humble people, whose view of self is modest and unassuming. God likes humble souls because they correctly attribute greatness and glory and prominence and worth to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, and fittingly deflect attention away from mere human achievement – itself a gift from God anyway. Do you want the grace of God to flow in your life? God gives grace to the humble.

So how are you doing on the humility scale? How gladly are you submitting yourself to God?

5. Spiritual Resistance

The next thing a medical examination might look at is your temperature. The thermometer should read 37°. If it’s higher you’ve got a fever, probably caused by an infection. The immune system works when antibodies resist infection. The spiritual immune system works when faith stands firm and resists the devil.

James says in v7-8 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

So when the devil tempts you to sin - resist him. “Satan, get out of my thoughts.”

When he plays on your selfishness - resist him. “Satan, this is not becoming of a child of God, get behind me.”

When he accuses you of falling below the reach of God’s grace - resist him. “Satan, the Bible says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, so shut up.”

And when you do resist the devil, God promises here that he will flee from you. When under spiritual attack, draw near to God. Worship him. Tell him you love him. Exalt him. Pour out your soul to him. And he will come near to you.

6. Sensitivity to Sin

So on to the last examination in this spiritual check-up. Perhaps the part of the body most sensitive to pain is the teeth. I'll tell you a secret; my dentist gets on my nerves. Quite honestly, the dentist’s drill is not a barrel of laughs is it?

But, when you think about it, sensitive teeth are an early warning system against tooth decay. If we didn’t get twinges chewing toffee we wouldn’t know we needed to take preventative measures against losing our teeth.

In v8-10 James says “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Just like a toothache, sensitivity to sin is unpleasant. Look at the verbs here; to grieve, to mourn, to wail. Grieving over my selfishness, mourning my prayerlessness, wailing over my apathy towards God’s word is essential. Taking a long hard look at my dark side does look gloomy. It’s not pretty, but if it drives me to repentance, it is a key to spiritual health.

When James says “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” it reminds me of when the kids were very small. I’d lift them up above my head and twizzle them around and they’d laugh and shriek with delight.

Oh, the joy of being forgiven, the blessing of a clean slate with God, the satisfaction of a restored soul are wonderful. Even better than waking out of the dentists – all done, all over.

So how are you doing on the repentance chart? How easily are you turning to God and keeping short accounts with him?

Ending

There’s a brilliant sketch that (I think it was) the Riding Lights Theatre Company used to perform. The sketch starts with a man sleeping in bed. He is all snuggled up under the duvet and his head is buried deep into his fluffy pillow.

Suddenly he sits up in bed looking startled and he shouts at the top of his voice: “I had a dream from the Lord. In my vision I was surrounded by angels going up and down a ladder.”

And he jumps out of bed, saying that he must proclaim this great revelation to the whole world. Seconds later his wife arrives. She looks at the empty bed with the pillow messed up and the duvet draped over the floor and says “Why is it that whenever men have amazing spiritual visions they never make the bed?”

I think James would have nodded approvingly. This letter, we’ve been seeing together, is not a collection of great spiritual abstractions; it’s essentially and unashamedly down to earth. And there’s nothing more practical than a medical check-up. And there are few things more necessary for spiritual vitality than a spiritual check-up.

So, as the summer draws to a close and we prepare to go into the busy autumn time – how’s your spiritual health? How are you doing on these six key indicators of spiritual fitness? Where do you need to tone up?


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 21st August 2011

True Wisdom (James 3.13-18)

Introduction

It has been estimated recently that, with the exponential growth of information technology, more data has been produced in the last thirty years than in the previous five thousand. I don’t know how true that is because it strikes me that it’s pretty difficult to calculate that accurately, but what is sure is that we have at our disposal today more access to information than at any time in history.

And with the Internet, certainly, we have more knowledge at our fingertips than we can possibly process. Somebody once compared accessing information from the Internet to getting a cup of water from the Niagara Falls.

Our world is a bounty of knowledge but let me ask you this question: Would you say that the world is a wiser place than it was thirty years ago? For all its education and access to information, is the human race wiser than it has ever been before?

Whether you’d say yes or no, I think we’d all agree that wisdom has not increased at the same rate as knowledge. It’s often lamented that we can put a man on the moon but it seems beyond us to bring reconciliation between two warring individuals.

I say this because there is a tendency in western culture to equate wisdom with study, knowledge and expertise. But in the Bible, wisdom is much more connected to lifestyle than to cleverness.

Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, imparted through education. But wisdom is moral insight with understanding about the right thing to do - and it is mostly gained through experience.

So, just to hammer home the difference between knowledge and wisdom, let me give you four quick examples of each. First of all, knowledge. Did you know?
· The hottest British summer on record is 1976 (when the average temperature was 17.8°C)
· To see the Great Wall of China from the Moon you would need eyesight that is 17 times better than normal 20/20 vision.
· Ants prefer the taste of boiled sweets to the taste of cheese.
· Trivia is the plural of the word trivium.

And now, listen to four pearls of wisdom, each of which come from the mouths of children:
· Nathan, age 9, says “Don’t tell your mum her diet is not working.”
· Alisha, age 8 says “Never try to baptize a cat.”
· Joel, age 12, says “Don’t pick on your little sister when she’s holding a cricket bat.”
· Ruth, age 6 says, “Never eat prunes.”

Each one of these children discovered their nugget of wisdom from bitter and indeed messy experience.

What about the Bible? This book will not necessarily make you clever but it will make you wise. Paul wrote to Timothy about the Holy Scriptures which, he said, “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3.15).

This is why we read this book; not to increase our knowledge about the ancient Middle East, though that may be fascinating and even rewarding. But the reason why we read and preach the Bible is to acquire wisdom to know God and to live well.

And James’ letter is deeply concerned with this kind of wisdom; how we recognise it, how we get it and how we use it.

How You Get Wisdom

How do you get wisdom for life? I said just now that you get it from experience but what if you need wisdom at short notice? What if you need it now?

It’s no good waiting for a lesson from the school of hard knocks when you’re in a crisis is it? James’ recommendation (in chapter 1, verse 5) is so simple it seems almost too simple. He says you ask for it.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Sounds too easy doesn’t it? You send up a lightning “Help, give some me wisdom!” prayer when unexpectedly confronted with an awkward situation. It’s amazing how God answers.

Here’s a true story. A young couple turned up on a vicarage doorstep looking very troubled and asking to speak with the minister. So he sat them down and asked them what was wrong. “Well,” they said, “we’ve been married for a couple of months and we’ve made a terrible mistake. We think we should divorce. We are just so different and we can’t get on. It’s a disaster. We drive each other mad.” And they went on to explain how their life together was a total mismatch, bringing deep unhappiness to both.

What would you say in a situation like that? As he was listening, the minister quickly prayed “Lord, give me wisdom” under his breath and immediately an idea flashed into his mind.

He said, “I’m going to ask you to go away and follow these instructions to the letter.” Turning to the husband, he said “For a week, you’re going to live her way;
· you’ll leave the lid off the toothpaste
· you’ll dump your clothes all over the bedroom floor
· you’ll save less and spend more
· you’ll sleep with the window open
· you’ll leave things to the last minute and then rush around before going out
· you’ll considerately put the toilet seat down
· and so on.”

Then, turning to the wife, he said “The following week, you’re going to live his way;
· you’ll carefully put the lid back on the toothpaste
· you’ll tidy your clothes away leaving nothing on the bedroom floor
· you’ll spend less and save more
· you’ll sleep with the window closed
· you’ll get ready with half an hour to spare before going out
· you’ll even considerately put the toilet seat up after use
· and so on.”

“And then I want you to revert back to living her way, but this time for two weeks, and then back to his way for two weeks, then each way for three weeks - and then come back and see me and let me know how you got on.”

Well, they came back a few months later with big smiles on their faces. “We’ve had such fun, we’ve learned so much about each other, we’ve learned quite a bit about ourselves… and things are much better.”

If you need wisdom, ask God for it.

Who is Wise? 

Looking at the passage we had read to us this morning now, James begins by asking the question in v13, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”

I could ask the same question and ask for a show of hands. Most of us would be reluctant wouldn’t we? We don’t want to look too full of ourselves. But no one wants to be seen as foolish or unwise. We all want to be perceived as intelligent and “in the know.”

So how do you know if you are a wise person? According to v13, the leading indicator is not how much you know, or how aptly you say things, or even how sound your decisions seem to be. The most reliable gauge of how wise you are, according to God, is how you live your life.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it (typical James, so practical) by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

People who are wise in God’s estimation just get on with unassuming acts of kindness. Salt of the earth people, we say.

Do you know people like that? They’re just good to be with aren’t they? We like people like that. And we like people like that because Jesus is like that and we all want to be around people who are like him.

Worldly Wisdom

But James tells us here that there are, in fact, two kinds of wisdom.

First, there is worldly wisdom which James says in v15, “does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

This is the so-called wisdom of the know-all. It’s competitive, quarrelsome, and hair-splitting, always wanting to have the last word.

Here’s how the Message version translates it: “Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.”

Heavenly Wisdom 

But there is also a heavenly wisdom, and in v17 we read, “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

Real wisdom begins, not with a top education, but with a pure life. “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure.”

Everybody here knows how to be on best behaviour when the boss comes in. The real question is who are we when no one’s looking?

Anyone can act holy, but God says “Be holy”, which requires true repentance - a complete change of mind. Real wisdom is pure.

Real wisdom is also… peace-loving and considerate.”

If you find yourself constantly in relational tension, find out why. I know my name’s John but let me be frank for a minute; constant anger and animosity does not flow being right with God.

I was speaking with a good friend once and he was telling me how people were so irritating and annoying and that his everyday situation was completely exasperating and infuriating. He went on for quite a while and I knew this was a repeated theme in his life so I said to him “What if the common denominator of all your adversity is you?”

Then I became irritating and annoying and exasperating – which kind of underlined my impression that I had correctly identified the source of the problem. Real wisdom is peace-loving and considerate.

Real wisdom is also… “submissive.”

Nobody I’ve met so far likes that word. But it’s not about letting yourself being pushed around, it’s to do with our openness to correction – it means teachable, it means willing to listen to reason. Proverbs 12.15 (Good News Bible) says, “Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice.” Are you teachable or incorrigible? Real wisdom is submissive.

Real wisdom is also… “full of mercy and good fruit.

It’s one thing to show kindness to someone who is in trouble isn’t it? But this is talking about showing kindness to someone who is in trouble through their own silly fault!

Mercy doesn’t ask if the person in need is responsible or not. Mercy is just mercy. That’s why James says it is impartial.

I thank God he didn’t ask himself if the mess I was in was my own fault or not before he showed mercy to me! Real wisdom is full of mercy and good fruit.

And then real wisdom is also… “sincere.” The word is anypokritos, literally “without hypocrisy.” It’s not for show. It’s real. Let’s not do good just to impress others, let it come from a heart for God.

Ending

To end, what about Solomon? Was he wise? The Wisdom of Solomon is proverbial. There’s a story in 1 Kings 3 that is well known, even by people who aren’t familiar with the Bible. You remember the story?

Two women each have a baby. During the night, one baby dies and a dispute arises about which woman the living baby belongs to, so they ask Solomon to sort it out.

Solomon says he can’t decide, so he gives the order to cut the living child in two and give one half to each mother.

The real mother begs that the baby be given to the other mother to spare his life. The bogus mother, in her jealousy, says “OK, cut him in two!”

Then Solomon knew that the baby belonged to the first woman, for her maternal love was all the proof he needed.

So was Solomon wise? You would think so. But this was a man who went on to marry 700 wives and take 300 concubines. Forgive me, but would you call a man who brings 700 mothers-in-law into his life as wise?

We think of Solomon as wise, and God did give him good judgment, but he ended up depending on his own human understanding rather than the wisdom from above.

In fact, the bottom line is this: Solomon was wise for others. People came from all over the earth to hear his wisdom. But I’m afraid he lacked wisdom for himself.

Result: (and this is where we must beware) he grew distant from God. He became forlorn and weary, even despairing, as the book of Ecclesiastes makes clear. He went from being the world’s wisest man to the world’s most knowledgeable fool. Soon after he died, his kingdom was torn in two and Israel’s Golden Age ended for good. So much for human wisdom.

So how wise are you? And what sort of wisdom do you have?


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 14th August 2011.

Tame Your Tongue! (James 3.1-12)

Introduction

A young man was working in a supermarket produce department. And one morning a lady asked him if she could buy half a lettuce. “Half? No, I don’t think so.” But she insists. “I do my shopping in this supermarket for 20 years and you will not sell me half a lettuce? That’s an outrage!” So the young man says “Look, I'll ask my boss.”

So he goes and finds the manager. “You are not going to believe this,” he says, “but there is a crazy old bat asking whether she can buy half a lettuce!” As he is speaking, the manager, very embarrassed, is making faces and gesturing wildly. Because, unbeknown to him, the lady had followed the young man and had heard everything he said. The young man turns round, sees her, and says “…and this charming customer wants to know if she can buy the other half.”

Later in the day, the manager sees his younger colleague in the canteen. “Nice recovery earlier.” Tell me, where did you learn such quick wit?” “Well, he says, “I grew up in Liverpool, a city known for its great football teams and ugly women.” The manager shapes to hit him. “Hey! My wife is from Liverpool!” Sharp as a flash, the young man says “Really? Which team did she play for?”

Me and my big mouth! How many times have you heard that expression? Indeed, how many times have you used it yourself?

Is there anyone here this morning who wants to love life and who would like to see good days? It sounds like something we’d all sign up to.

So what is the secret to finding such happiness? The answer is found in 1 Peter 3.10 which says, “Whoever among you would love life and see good days must keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.”

1) The Indisputable Importance of the Tongue (v1-2)

What we say may not always seem very important for us or very interesting to others – but it is never trivial to God. Consider the words of Jesus:

“I tell you that people will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every idle word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12.36-37).

Kathie and I made a list this week of all the sins that are associated with the tongue. Out of the mouth come criticism, moaning, cursing, swearing, blaspheming, boasting, interrupting rudely, accusations, lies, exaggeration, quarrels, slander, gossip, insults, vulgarity, sarcasm, flattery, name calling and inappropriate innuendo. And spitting. And sticking your tongue out. Not to mention bad breath – which is not a sin, except perhaps when witnessing! Always carry mints for evangelism and prayer ministry. (If people keel over in prayer ministry it doesn’t want to be a reaction to yesterday’s onions)!

So the importance of the tongue is indisputable. That’s why James, at the beginning of this letter (and we saw it a few weeks ago), talks about keeping a tight rein on the tongue.

Here in Chapter 3 he picks up again on the same theme and he starts with a word for preachers. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

Every preacher I know encounters the same temptation: to say only what people want to hear, to be popular and to entertain instead of commending truth and calling for a response. Well, God will call all Bible teachers to give him an explanation of the content of their teaching. Pray for the preaching team here because these are temptations we all face.

And then James says this: “Those who are never at fault in what they say are perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”

In other words, if you get what you say and how you say it right you will have everything else together as well.

The standard is Jesus. We want to be like him don’t we? How did he speak? John 7.46 puts it very simply. “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”

Speaking graciously, truthfully, with authority, with love, each word bringing life – that’s what flows out of a deep and durable friendship with God through Jesus Christ.

2) The Disproportionate Damage of the Tongue (v3-6)

Someone might say that sticks and stones may break bones but words never really hurt much, and that we shouldn’t make a mountain out of a molehill. But that is precisely the point our reading makes this morning.

Words can do immense damage (much more than sticks and stones) and speech molehills can quickly morph into speech Himalayas.

In v3-5 James compares the tongue to a horse’s bit, a ship’s rudder and a match in a dry forest. Each image tells us how disproportionately damaging the tongue can be in relation to its own modest size.

When you ride a horse, you hold reins in your hands which are attached to piece of metal, called a bit, which is placed in the horse’s mouth. When you pull on the reins to the right or left, the horse moves accordingly. Without this system of steering, no horse would ever understand the rider's intentions. You’d say “turn left boy” and the animal would just look back at you blankly. But control over the horse’s tongue informs the direction it travels.

The point being that, for God, the way we talk says everything about what’s important in our life and where our life is going.

 

In v4 there’s a similar (but subtlety different) point about boats. The biggest supertankers weigh 630,000 tons and carry 500 million litres of crude oil. They are so vast and their momentum is so great that it takes them 25 minutes, to slow to a halt during which they travel 5 miles! But these gigantic vessels are steered by a ridiculously small rudder weighing just 0.005% of the total weight of the ship. The difference between a supertanker arriving safely at the refinery or hitting a rock to cause an environmental catastrophe is what the rudder’s doing.

The point being that what we say, and how we say it, can be life-giving or life-destroying.

We understand the woman who says her cheating husband, “The worst thing is not that you lied to me, but that I do not know if I can ever believe you again.” Lies don’t just conceal facts, they destroy relationships.

In May this year dozens of serious forest fires broke out all over the country.

The blazes took hold quickly because trees and bracken were exceptionally dry after the hottest April on record, which saw only 20% of the expected rainfall in England and Wales. The fires left a trail of devastation causing many families to be evacuated from homes. Many of these fires were caused by arsonists.

James says here in v5: “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” Great forest, small spark. “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.”

The tongue weighs a few ounces, but what power! With our words we protect friends or we betray them. We affirm truth or we suppress it. Our tongues can make peace or declare war. Our words can be a blessing from heaven or, as James says in v6, can be set on fire by hell.

When you think about it, what we say, and the way we say it, gives people a window into who we really are. That’s why Jesus said “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” So if our words are always negative, or ungracious, or false there’s probably a lot going on within that God wants to change.

Take, for example, the archetypal fault-finding boss. You may have worked for one. You may have been one.

Well, I heard a story about a former US President (and I don’t know if it’s a true story so I won’t name him) but he had a reputation of being ultra critical and severe.

One day he walked in to his Press Attaché’s office and saw piles of papers, folders, open books, press releases, staplers and so on all spread across his desk – a bit of a mess, but nothing unusual for a busy office. The President said “Kilduff! I hope your brain is not as disorderly as your desk.”

So, naturally, as soon as the President left, Kilduff started to clear up his office. He sorted his papers, filed his documents, tidied away his pens and staplers in a drawer, put a whole pile of rubbish in the bin, dusted his phone etc. etc. until everything looked immaculate.

The following morning, the President walked in, took one look at Kilduff’s desk and said, “Kilduff! I hope your brain is not as empty as your desk top!”

You see what I’m saying? The problem wasn’t that the desk was tidy or untidy. The problem was that the President had a critical spirit and so only spoke disparaging words. It is from the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks.

But the opposite is also true. If you allow God’s grace to train your tongue to speak graciously, he fills your heart with goodness. Proverbs 15.4 says “The wholesome tongue is a tree of life.”

I’ll tell you a little story that illustrates that. Someone asked a couple celebrating their golden wedding, the secret of their success. The husband told his story. He didn’t find it easy to express his feelings. He had grown up in an orphanage and had worked hard for everything he had. He had never gone out with a woman until he fell in love with a young lady called Doris.

She fell in love with him and soon they were married. On his wedding day, the bride’s father took him to one side to give him a gift. He said, “this gift has everything you really need to know about having a happy marriage.” He peeled off the wrapping paper and inside was a beautiful gold watch. He looked carefully and noticed it was engraved. Every time he looked at his watch he saw the words “Say something lovely to Doris.”

So the tongue can produce an abundance of blessing – but it is also capable of disproportionate damage.

3) The Terrifying Truth about the Tongue (v7-8)

James doesn’t just say that the tongue is capable of doing great damage. He also says it is hopelessly unruly.

There were four vicars who often met up for a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich. One day, one of them says, “Our parishioners open their hearts to us. But we have no one we can do that with so let’s share our struggles to each other. Confession is good for the soul.”

The other three agree that this is a really good idea. So one of them takes a deep breath and confesses that he is having an affair and is a closet transvestite. Another says he smokes home grown pot and drinks a bottle of vodka every day. Another admits that he gambles and lost last Sunday’s offering money on the 3.30 at Chepstow. They turn to the fourth vicar. “And what about you, what's your secret vice?” “Mine is gossip, and I’ve got to go now. Have a great week gentlemen!”

Verse 7 says “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by human beings, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

And that’s particularly true of gossip.

No one can tame the tongue? No one? Nobody.

But God can. Humanly speaking, the tongue is untamable but with God nothing is impossible. Do you want to come to God and lay your life before him and ask him to make your speech gracious, your language positive, your words truthful and your conversation wholesome? God is able.

4) Our Challenging Choice for the Tongue (v9-12)

In a moment we will express words of faith, profound truths about God. Then we will sing songs of praise, adoration and devotion to the Lord. But before singing one last thought.

Verse 9: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

If you drink pure spring water mixed with dirty sea water, it's not the goodness of the healthy water you will taste.

If our tongues are not under the control of the Holy Spirit, it’s the boasting and lying and swearing and rumormongering - not the wholesome talk that people will hear.

Will we sing songs of praise to our God and then lack love when we speak to others? May the Lord give us grace to speak considerately and truthfully.


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 7th August 2011