SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION

Speaker 1 - Announcer / Prerecorded Promo Voice
This speaker delivers the opening introduction and the closing ministry contact information. The identification is based on the third-person introduction of Brother Jim Shaw and the station-style promotional wording.

Speaker 2 - Brother Jim Shaw / Host and Preacher
This speaker delivers the sermon. He is identified by the announcer's introduction, his first-person account of his Christian walk, and the closing identification of the broadcast as Brother Jim Shaw Ministries.

Speaker 1 - Announcer / Prerecorded Promo Voice

Welcome to another broadcast from Brother Jim Shaw Ministries. If you would like more information or sermons, visit www.brotherjimshaw.org. Please stay tuned until the end of the broadcast for more contact information. And now, here's Brother Jim Shaw.

Speaker 2 - Brother Jim Shaw / Host and Preacher

There's an interesting statement in the book of James, chapter 3, verse 8: "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."

Think on that: your tongue. First, we're told that no man can tame it. None. That means there are eight billion people on this planet, and the tongue can't be controlled. No man can control it. It's head-scratching, but that's what the Word of God tells us. I believe it.

He says it's an unruly evil. Our tongue isn't merely evil; it's an evil that spreads through our words. It's full of deadly poison. There again, it's not merely poison, but poison that kills. This is our tongue.

This gives us the impression that mankind is hopeless and helpless. That's what we're told there. If no man in the universe can tame his tongue, then the tongue within our mouth is full of unruly evil that can't be settled, and it's full of not merely poison, but deadly poison.

Here's a sign of that: with that tongue, we bless God, even the Father, and with the same tongue, we curse men who are made in the similitude of God. In other words, our tongue is double-minded. It's all over the place. It can't be tamed. It can't be tamed.

As I've said many times, it's not because of me, but because of the Holy Ghost and what Jesus did for me when He saved my soul. These wonderful things called convictions come from God. You play a role in choosing which conviction to follow. When I come to that fork in the road, which way am I going to go? Am I going to enter the materialistic, fleshly realm, or am I going to follow the Lord? That's what we're told here.

That's why we need Jesus. That's why we need the Holy Spirit. That's why Jesus hung on the cross: to give us the power to control our thoughts, control our tongue, and be separated from the rest of humanity.

It goes on to say, "Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren" - he's talking to brethren here - "these things ought not so to be." This is a warning. This is a chastisement.

He's telling us to forget about trying to tame our tongue on our own. We have to renew our mind with God's Word to tame the tongue, control it, train it, and domesticate it. Other than that, it's wild.

"Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries?" No. So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

To a degree, he's telling us that, without corralling our tongue, we're all double-minded. We're all over the place, depending on our mood and attitude. The sun is shining, everything's fine, and everybody's beautiful. A little rain falls outside, I'm behind on my bills, I hate everybody, and I'm going to show it with my tongue.

The people around me will just say, "Ah, he's got a bad attitude today. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Let's stay away until it wears off, or make sure he gets a couple more cups of coffee and snaps out of it."

Well, we know this is a spiritual issue. We know what we're up against: principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness. We know the price that was paid to control that tongue, and that price was the cross.

When Jesus Christ died, He released the power of the Holy Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit lives within you, and you are a temple of the living God. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. When your heart gets washed, you speak right things.

I want to compare that with a verse in Proverbs, Proverbs 22:24. Many times, anger has to be held in check and watched because there is righteous anger. But if it's anger merely because things aren't going your way, it's because a lust hasn't been fulfilled.

We're told in verse 24 of Proverbs 22, "Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go." I'll read that again: "Do not make friendship with an angry man. And with a furious man" - that's anger to the tenth degree - "don't even get in there. Don't even get in there, lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul."

A lot of anger comes out through our tongue, particularly among relatives and even among friends. It seems as though the damage gets tripled or quadrupled when an angry tongue is unleashed on a family member. It could be a spouse, child, or other relative.

Suddenly, people have memories like elephants. They don't forget, and they don't want to forgive. "I remember what you said to me. I remember what you told me." Quite frankly, when our words go into the atmosphere, they can't be taken back. They're out there. They're going out forever. They're probably going to the Kingdom of God because we're going to be judged by every idle word we say.

However, we know we have a merciful God. The cross is all about mercy, and that's why we have mercy for others: we are forgiven. But the Lord tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice. Repentance is fine. In the Old Testament, sacrifice was offered for sin. Now we repent, but obedience is even better. Obedience is even better.

Follow the righteous conviction. Do what's right so you don't have to repent and suffer the consequences of your sinful behavior. Be obedient. The walk with the Lord is a do word: D-O, D-O.

That doesn't merely mean, "Oh, I went to church. I did that," or, "I went to Bible study. I did that," or, "I listened to all these tapes and preachers. I did that." That is a do. That's hearing. Doing is when you take the Word of God and it comes into you. Now it's circumstantial, and you get to use it in the form of forgiveness.

You get to use it in the form of denial: denying yourself when lustful thoughts come in, hanging them on the cross, and realizing that the Lord is the Lord of purity and modesty, not of unrighteousness or lasciviousness. This is what being a doer is all about.

Getting back to the tongue, the tongue is a good indicator. Watch your tongue. Guard your tongue. Remember, without Jesus, according to God's Word, no tongue can be tamed. No tongue whatsoever. No man can tame his tongue.

You might say, "Oh, sure I can." Well, maybe once or twice, but you could put a number on it. As far as having the gift of never saying a bad word, forget about it. There's only one taming of the tongue, and that comes from above. It's the miracle of a renewed heart when you become a new creation in Christ.

Suddenly, you know you're not fighting flesh and blood, but principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness. You have a different mindset toward everybody with whom you deal. You have a different mindset. Suddenly, you think, "All right, Joe's behaving the way he is. Maybe something's going on. He's under attack."

In the book of James, it's actually referring to brethren. When we're out in the world, my goodness, all bets are off. Things are set out in left field, with all the gossip, the bearing of false witness, the hatred, the anger, and the bitterness. I mean, the words that are flying in the workplace, under the breath and above the breath - you understand what I'm trying to convey here.

The Lord warns us, even in this example, about an angry man. Don't connect with angry people because their anger will jump on you. The next thing you know, that anger will get into your mouth. The next thing you know, there's a fight going on. The next thing you know, your mood becomes rotten and your attitude becomes rotten.

All because of what? "Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go, lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul." Wow.

Beware of your companionship, especially when it comes to your young children. Beware. Remember, we're all human beings. We're all born under a curse, and we're dealing with this nature, even if we're brethren.

That's why today's a day of salvation, and we have to die daily. Don't get on your high horse. Don't think you've arrived because you know the Savior and have been reborn for 40 years. That has nothing to do with it.

As far as I'm concerned, this walk is your last step. That's it. I don't care if I've been in this walk for 38 years, which I have been now. My last walk is my last step in Jesus. How did I treat my wife and my kids? How did I deal with that spam caller who just called me? All right, whatever it might be.

Meekness, temperance, joy, and love: these are all gifts of the Holy Spirit that will come forth. Remember, Jesus gives us a peace that passes all understanding. To me, that means all human understanding because it's a peace that is not of this world.

We know we're going to die. We know we're going to be judged. We want our name in the Lamb's Book of Life. That's what we're after: our name in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Think about that simplicity: "I just want my name written in Your book, Jesus Christ. You have given me a conviction. Even if I didn't have the written Word, because You saved me, because my heart is reborn, and because I know I have become a new creation in Christ, I would know."

Yes, the black print on white paper might jump out at me, but that's still the written Word. It only becomes life when it comes into you and becomes the true bread that comes from above.

You know, that's the actual communion, people. The actual communion is your soul being knit with the soul of the Lord. The actual communion is when you take His Word, which is the bread of life, consume it, and walk with Him. That's the actual, true communion. Yes, it is. You're eating the bread of life that comes from above daily. The Lord told us this.

So today, wherever you are - with your family, with friends, at a convenience store, at the gas station, or dealing with that spam caller - beware. These are human beings made in the image of God. The Lord told us not to curse anybody with this tongue He's given us.

Beware. Take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. When your conviction meets that fork in the road, choose righteousness. Choose the Lord Jesus Christ. Be a good disciple. Disciples are disciplined.

You are in a new army here, and you have to endure hardness like a good soldier. It might not be pretty. Your flesh might not like it. Your own concepts might say, "Ah, he deserves it. He deserves it." Well, he might, but that's God's call.

You just keep walking in the Lord, walking in discernment, and guarding your mouth. God bless you all. Jesus is Lord, and amen.

Speaker 1 - Announcer / Prerecorded Promo Voice

You've been listening to Brother Jim Shaw Ministries. If you would like more information or sermons, we can be reached at www.brotherjimshaw.org. That's www.brotherjimshaw.org.

Or write to P.O. Box 690492, Vero Beach, Florida. You can also call 717-451-9767. Again, 717-451-9767.

Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you again next time for another broadcast from Brother Jim Shaw Ministries. To view more messages on Brother Jim's YouTube page, please visit www.brotherjimshaw.org.