This Week"s Sunday School Lesson, "Controlling My Thoughts",2/23/14

 

CONTROLLING MY THOUGHTS

 

James 3:1-12

 

 V:1. "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."

A. In order to be a good teacher, you have to know your subject.

     1. In order to teach the Word, you  should know the Word.

     2. In order to know the Word,  you have to study the Word.

     3. Those who desire to be teachers of the Word must make a commitment to

         a constant study of God's Word.

     4. I have learned that I can never get to a point of knowing all the Word.

     5. For me, every time I study the Word, I find that there is much more to learn.

 B. Teachers have a responsibility and obligation to God the Father to stay in constant

      communication with Him.

     1. We cannot learn the Word without the help of the Father.

     2. Each of us have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is our guide and our

         teacher.

 C. Teachers have a responsibility to the brothers and sisters in Christ to diligently

      study  the Word of God before teaching.

     1. For me, I have to spend some time in the Word because my understanding is

        limited by my human capability, but broaden by my teacher, the Holy Spirit as I

        study.

     2. Without study, there will be no guidance of the Holy Spirit in the study of the

         Word.

     3. With little study, there will be little guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Word.

     4. With much study, there will be much guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Word.

 D. God keeps track of my study habits.

     1. God keeps track of how I teach the Word.

     2. Teachers will be judged  harshly if we willfully mislead our brothers and sisters

         in the study of the Word.

     3. The word judgment or condemnation comes from the Greek word "krima" which

         can be translated as a sentence or crime.

         a. The phrase " we will incur" comes from the Greek word "lambano" which can

             be translated "to get hold of" or "take in order to carry away."

         b. God will get hold of teachers for the crime of willfully misleading His people. 

 

 V:2. " 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."

 A. Stumbling is part of living.

     1. You can't grow without some stumbling.

     2. We did not come into this world knowing everything.

     3. We were born with zero knowledge.

     4. Everything we know, we have learned through study and the road of "hard

        knocks".

 B. The word "stumble/ offend" is from the Greek word "ptaio" which can be translated

      to trip, err or sin.

   1. The Word tells us that if any man says he has no sin, he is a liar.

   2. The text tells us that we all sin in many ways.

   3. We are in the flesh and stuff happens to us.

       a. We are in the flesh and we cause stuff to happen.

 C. When it comes to the Word of God we don't have to stumble because we

       have the capability to study the Word.

       1. We have the help of the Holy Spirit to understand the Word.

 D. It is the Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit that gives us the ability to

      control the body.

     1. The only way we can achieve any measure of perfection is through the obedience

          of the Word. 

     

 V:3. " Now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they will obey us, we

        direct  their entire body as well."

 A. There is one small part of the body we have to deal with if we can ever get to the

       point of not stumbling.

     1. To control a big and powerful  horse, all you got to do is control his mouth.

     2. When I was growing up on my grandfather's farm, a horse was a valuable tool.

         a. My grandparents uses them to plow the fields.

         b. The horse was used to pull wagons to haul the crops to the market.

         c. The horse was the means of transportation.

    3. To control the horse, we put bits into his mouth and attached straps (reigns) to the

        bits to control his direction and speed.

     

  B. The mouth is a small part of the horse, but it controlled his whole body.

      1. By pulling the reigns  to the left, the horse would go left.

      2. By pulling the reigns to the right, the horse would go right.

      3. By controlling the reigns attached to the bits in the horses mouth you can get it

         to go, speed up or stop.

 

 

 V:4. " Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires."

 A. The direction of a  big ship is controlled by a small rudder attached to its back and

      bottom.

    1. It is the captain of the  ship that controls the rudder.

    2. A captain has to go through an intense training program to learn how to

        control the ship.

 B. The captain is judged on how he controls the ship.

     1. A ship has powerful engines and a crew that controls every aspect of the ship's

        operation.

     2. It is the operation of the rudder that controls direction and speed of the ship.

     3. A small part of the ship is critical to its movement.

 

 

 

V:5. " So also the tongue is a small part of he body, and yet it boasts of great things. See

  how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!"

 A. Without the Word the tongue is controlled by the flesh.

     1. The Greek word for tongue is "glossa" which can be translated "language."

     2. It is our nature to say what we want when we want and the way we want.

     3. With the tongue, we can build up or tear down another person.

     4. Out of the mouth can come some hurtful and deceitful words if it is not

         controlled.

 B. A small fire left unattended can cause major damage.

     1. A fire out of control can burn down houses and destroy valuable crops, forests

        and result in the lost of lives.

    2. A fire under control can do much good.

       a. With a fire, we can cook our food, warm our houses and our bodies.

       b. With a fire, metal can be melted, purified  and shaped into useful tools and

           building  materials.

   C. A tongue under the control of the Holy Spirit is the tool God uses to spread the

       Gospel of Jesus Christ and to teach His commands.

      1. Man is nothing but a vessel God uses to do His will.

      2. The man God uses has to be trained in the Word of God and controlled by the

          Spirit. 

 

 V:6. " And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell."

A. Christians must realize that we are still in the flesh and under the influence

     of the devices of the world.

   1. We are wrapped up in human emotions and desires that tend to control our

       thoughts  and actions.

   2. It is normal for us to act like the environment that we live in.

   3. Our hearts are filled with anger, hurts, frustrations and desires of the flesh.

   4. We are subject to an outburst at anytime.

   5. We find it hard  to maintain our Christian lifestyle when we are bombarded with

       worldly influences at every turn.

 B. We do not carry a Bible in our back pocket to pull out like a driver's license to

      identify who we are before we speak or interact with other human beings.

    1. Normally we go with the flow and occasionally look in the mirror and see Christ. 

    2. It is the occasions when the mirror is hidden and the Bible is back on the shelf

        collecting dust when the devil arrives and we explode.

    3. Even in our best Christian behavior, the Devil is knocking at the door seeking to

       get in.

       a. The Apostle Paul said it best, even when I want to do good, evil is present.

 C. Hell is a party waiting for us to arrive.

    1. We don't have to go far to get to the party, because it is outside  the door.

    2. When you speak out of anger, you are at the party.

    3. When you can't find the heart to forgive, you are at the party.

    4. When you let your emotions control your actions, you are at the party.

    5. When you look for ways to get even with a person for a wrong done, you are in

      the party.         

 

V:7. " For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race."

 A. God made all the animals for man and for his use.

    1. Animals were put under the control of man.

    2. Man has the capability to control all the creatures God made.

 B. With all the knowledge and training we have, we often fail to control ourselves.

    1. There are so many things that can beset us, when the mind is not kept in check.

    2. The tongue is not the problem, but the mind that controls the tongue.

        a. Out of the heart flows the issues of life.

        b. It is in the heart where the issues that trouble us are formulated.   

 

V:8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison."

  A. When the mind is corrupt, the tongue will repeat what is formulated there.

      1. In Philippians chapter four, God give us the solution to our tongue problem.

         a. Verse 8 states, " Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,

             whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good

             repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on

             these  things."

         b. When the mind is "full of these things", restless, evil and deadly poison is

              far from us.

         c. When the mind is "full of these things", the tongue will reflect good and

             not evil.

  B. We have been trained by the world to see the bad and speak the bad.

       1. Our normal reaction is to tear down another person with our mouths so

           we want look so bad.

       2. The taming of the tongue is impossible for man, but possible with God.

           a. All things work together for those who love the Lord and are called according

               to his purposes.

       3. Sometimes it's hard to see that all things good and bad works for our good.

       4. We miss the opportunity to receive God's good, when all we see is bad.

       5. We miss the opportunity to do good, when the tongue is cocked and ready

           to speak evil.

       6. When we are always on the defense, we can never get to the offense.

            a. When we are always defending ourselves, we can never be tolerant

                with others and ready to see the good in them.

 

V:9. " With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God."

 A. When we are in a good mood, we bless God and sing His praises.

     1. It does not take much in the sanctuary to praise God when the crowd is praising

         God.

     2. It does not take much effort on our part to praise God when everything is going

         our way.

 B. When it gets hectic, we can easy lose sight of who we are and whose we are.

    1. We normally blend in to fit in  until we run into someone or something, we

         don't want to blend in with.

      a. One moment, we are full of praise and the next moment we are ready to curse.

 2. Most of us are walking around with a trash can.

     a. We took up our religious faith in Jesus and viewed the commands of God.

     b. We put hate in the trash can.

     c. We put bad language in the trash can.

     d. We put all our anger and frustrations in the trash can.

     e. We put all our hurts in the trash can.

 3. The problem is the trash can has not been emptied.

    a. We keep an eye on the trash while trying to walk with Jesus.

    b.  It is still in the trash can, because we have not dealt with it, we have just
         suppressed it.

 4. Anything suppressed can come to the surface when something or somebody triggers
     it.

    a. What's in the trash can comes out and religion is set aside.

    b. Before we know it, love has turn to hate, calmness has turn to disruption,

        peace has turn to frustration and kind words have turned to curses.

 5. The solution is to empty the trash can.

  

V:10. " From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way."

 A. The only way to deal with the inconsistencies in our religion is to turn our lives

      over to Jesus.

     1. We can't deal with life by ourselves.

     2.  We have a friend in Jesus.

     3. Our problem is we don't call on Him until we are in trouble.

 B. The moment we start taking stuff out of the trash can, is the moment when we 
      should  call on Jesus.

    1. We were once addicted to the sins of the world.

    2. What we need is another addiction. It takes time to get addicted to Jesus.

 

V:11. " Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?"

 A. The past is the past, but it has not been forgotten.

     1. The mind has a way of bringing up the past in the most unexpected time.

     2. People want let you forget your past.

     3. That is why sometimes we are fresh and sometimes we are bitter.

 B. The apostle Paul said, "This one thing I do, is put past behind me and move toward

      the high calling of Jesus Christ."

     1. That is easily said, but hard to do.

     2. The truth is, I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me.

        a. In order to let Christ strengthen me,  it takes constant work and commitment.

  C. We have to deal with the trash in our lives.

     1. Jesus has cleaned up the trash that we are holding on to.

     2. We should not be ashamed of our past, but count it all joy in Jesus Christ.

 

 V:12. " Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water  produce fresh." 

  A. We were predestined before the foundation of the world to be in Jesus Christ.

     1. Christ knew about our trash before He called us out of the world.

     2. The trash in our lives is our testimony to what Jesus has done to clean us up.

     3. We are saved by His grace though faith.

 B. Every time our minds or others bring up the trash, we need to say with a smile.

      look at what Jesus has done to clean up my trash.

    1. James says count it all joy when we face trials and tribulations.

    2. It is by the trials and tribulations that we are perfected in Jesus Christ.

 C. Once we deal with the trash, the fig tree will produce figs and the olive vine will

      produce olives and fresh living water will flow from us.