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Lamb, would you be wider, much wider than snow? There's power in the blood, power in the blood. Sin stains are lost in its life-giving flow. There's wonderful power in the blood. There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb. Would you do service for Jesus your King? There's power in the blood, power in the blood. Would you live daily his praises to sing? There's wonderful power in the blood. There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for this church and for this service where we're able to gather together and have fellowship and hear the Bible preached. Please be with us and bless the service and fill pastor with your Holy Spirit in Jesus' name, amen. All right, you may be seated and turn to song number 331. Song number 331, we'll sing wherever he leads, I'll go. Song number 331. Take up thy cross and follow me. I heard my master say, I gave my life to ransom thee. Surrender your all today. Wherever he leads, I'll go. Wherever he leads, I'll go. I'll follow my Christ who loves me so. Wherever he leads, I'll go. He drew me closer to his side. I sought his will to know. And in their will, I now abide. Wherever he leads, I'll go. Wherever he leads, I'll go. Wherever he leads, I'll go. I'll follow my Christ who loves me so. Wherever he leads, I'll go. It may be through the shadows dim or o'er the stormy sea. I take my cross and follow him wherever he leadeth me. Wherever he leads, I'll go. Wherever he leads, I'll go. I'll follow my Christ who loves me so. Wherever he leads, I'll go. My heart, my life, my all. To Christ who loves me so. He is my master, Lord and King. Wherever he leads, I'll go. Wherever he leads, I'll go. Wherever he leads, I'll go. I'll follow my Christ who loves me so. Wherever he leads, I'll go. Amen. Amen. So welcome to Mountain Baptist Church. We're on this Wednesday evening and just some announcements here while we get into the service. We have all our service time should be normal this coming Sunday and with this week and everything. And as far as the soul-winning time on Sunday, that should be normal there. And we do have an upcoming event coming up this Saturday. Correct, it's this Saturday, right? The Sutton Soul-winning Marathon and Brother Nick's leading that up. And so he's got a WhatsApp group there. So if you're not in that and you wanna be in that, just let him know and obviously he can add you in there as far as giving all the details of what's going on this Saturday. And so yeah, we'll be praying for that and pray many souls get saved down there. Not too far away but then we have the men's prayer meeting on the 27th and we have the Lord's Supper scheduled for the 29th. So be in your places there for the Lord's Supper. That'll be after the afternoon service on that Sunday. And as far as our Bible memory this month, we have 1 Thessalonians chapter four and that is our memory chapter for the month and Proverbs 3, nine is our memory verse for the week. Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of all thine increase. And then just being a prayer for all those that aren't feeling well. I know brother Dave, he was sick and kind of had a fever last night. It broke last night but I told him, I said, you know, you're unclean, you need to be without the camp. So, but he's feeling better today. So, but just being a prayer, I think brother Matt as well is dealing with it and so just being a prayer for everybody in church as far as dealing with sicknesses. And then on the pregnancy list, there being prayer for my wife, she's 37 weeks and so that's, yeah, we've had children earlier than that. So, but just being a prayer that everything works out well there. As far as that goes, if you don't see me on Sunday, then there might be a reason. So, but you never know, you never know when it's gonna happen, so. But just being a prayer that everything goes well there and being a prayer for Mrs. Llesco there on the pregnancy list as well. And as far as other announcements, can't think of anything at the moment. Yeah, just being a prayer for a lot of people. I know a lot of people aren't feeling well, dealing with sicknesses and all that. Yeah, so offering boxes in the back there, if you wanna give a tie to their offering. Mother, baby rooms for the mothers and babies only. Who's reading tonight? Brother David. So, Brother David's gonna be reading James chapter three after Brother Nick sings one more song, or leads one more song. We're all gonna sing. That's the plan. All right, turn to song number 25. Song number 25 will sing Wounded for Me. Song number 25. Wounded for me, wounded for me. There on the cross he was wounded for me. Gone my transgressions and now I am free. All because Jesus was wounded for me. Dying for me, dying for me. There on the cross he was dying for me. Now in his death my redemption I see. All because Jesus was dying for me. Risen for me, risen for me. Up from the grave he has risen for me. Now evermore from death's sting I am free. All because Jesus has risen for me. Living for me, living for me. Up in the skies he is living for me. Daily he's pleading and praying for me. All because Jesus is living for me. Coming for me, coming for me. One day to earth he is coming for me. Then with what joy his dear face I shall see. Oh how I praise him he's coming for me. Amen, if you would turn in your Bibles to James chapter three. James chapter three, Brother Dave will read that for us. James three, if you're there say amen. And the Bible reads, my brethren, be not many masters knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend in all. If any man offend not in weird, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits and hoses mouths that they may obey us and we may turn about the whole body. Behold also the sips 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. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. Behold our greater matter a little fire can lift. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, so is the tongue among our members that it defiles the whole body and seteth on fire the curse of nature and is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beast and of birds and of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed and have been tamed of mankind, but the tongue can no man tame, for it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, therewith bless we guard even the Father and therewith curse we mend, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed with blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Does the fountain stand twelfth at the same place, sweet water, and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries, either vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh? Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him sow out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if he have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glow he not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without punctuality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Let's pray, dear Lord. I thank you for this opportunity to come back to your house and I pray that you feel past with your spirit. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. We are there in James, chapter three, and we are continuing our study through the book of James. And we start off here with verse one where it says, in verse one, my brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word the same as a perfect man, enable also to bridle the whole body. Now this chapter's gonna be dealing a lot with the tongue and just what we say. But the first thing it mentions here is not being many masters. And I believe I preached a sermon on this, but I was like looking up and definitely not called that. But I know I preached on the subject of not being many masters. Or at least in maybe a sermon, it was a point that I made on this. But as far as what I believe this is talking about, I believe this is basically talking about not putting yourself over, basically over a whole bunch of things. And that you need to basically, and the reason why is because basically the leader is going to have a greater condemnation if something goes wrong, right? For example, in the church here, if I lead you wrong, obviously everybody's accountable for what they do. But ultimately if I'm the leader and I'm the one leading everybody that direction, then I am gonna receive the greater condemnation. Obviously this isn't talking about hell, but this could be talking about punishment, chastening, stuff like that. But notice what it says in verse two, for in many things we offend all. So the idea there as far as being a master, being a leader, being someone that's over a bunch of people, is that if you offend or if you mess up and everybody else follows you, then you offend all, right? Or if you mess up, just in general, you're offending everybody, right? And so the idea there is basically it's not saying that it's wrong to basically be in a lot of different leadership positions or whatever, but there's a danger there. There's an idea of where you could be taking a lot on yourself. But go to Hebrews chapter 13, and I'm just gonna be speaking in the fact of, for example with church, as being a pastor, it's not wrong obviously to be a pastor and be in that position, but there is a great responsibility that comes with that position of authority, okay? And so, in verse 17, so Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 17 here, it says, obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, notice this, as they that must give a count, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. And I think about in Revelation, where you have the seven angels of the seven churches, and if you remember, Jesus is speaking to them, to the angel of those churches, and he's saying, I have a few things against thee. Even though, like think about Thyatira, I have a few things against thee, because that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, teacheth and she does all these different things, but notice that, who's taking the blame though? Like, obviously she's gonna be punished for her sins, and it talks about that, right? But also, the leader is being put to task, right? So, because he's allowing it, and the same thing going with, think about Paul talking to the church at Corinth, and the fact that he's rebuking everybody about it. He's like, why haven't you basically dealt with this? And basically, rebuking them for that. And so, when it comes to this, I can speak from experience, that when you're over, let's say, things with work, or whether you're over things with the church, is the fact that there's a huge responsibility there, and if you mess up, it affects a lot more people than yourself, okay? It's not inherently wrong, but here's the thing. For example, I'm not gonna run for political office. You heard it here, folks, first here, folks, okay? I'm not gonna be running for state senate, or state congressman, or even for anything in the U.S. Senate, or anything, not that I would ever get elected, but I'm not going to do that, because I'm already over enough stuff as it is. And when I look at this verse, I think about it just like, no. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes, chapter seven, verse 16, it says, be not righteous over much, neither make thyself over wise, why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Right? And the idea there is that there's a certain limit, you gotta know your limits, as far as how much you can take upon yourself. And some people don't really wanna be a master of anything, meaning they just kinda wanna be a worker, they just wanna do, you know, and take orders and get running, you know? And everybody's kinda got different, and the Bible even talks about that in the church, how everybody's got specific spiritual gifts and all that. Some are more inclined to be better at being leaders, or to, you know, heed that rule, let them rule with simplicity and sincerity, and like all of that, right? And so, you know, this verse just kinda sticks out to me, because obviously, being a pastor, I am ruling in the church, you know? If you don't know how to rule your own house, how shall you take care of the church of God? And the Bible talks about being a ruler here, and how the rulers are the ones that are gonna have to give a count. And so, something to think about, though. You know, when you think about, if you're working at a job, and you think about your boss, and you're saying, oh man, must be nice, must be nice to be the big guy, right? But what you don't understand is that there's a lot on your boss's shoulders that you don't have to bear, right? And until you're really in that position, you don't really know it. You don't really feel it. So, when it comes to this, it's not saying it's wrong to basically be over things, or to be a ruler in matters, whether it's at work, whether it's with church, or whether, whatever, right, that you're dealing with. But it's a warning, basically, not being many masters, right? And not just being, like, basically trying to head up a million things, okay? Know your limitations, know where you're saying, I should just stick with this stuff over here, lead this stuff up, and the other stuff someone else is gonna have to do. And sometimes that's hard to do, because you wanna do it all. But there's certain times where you have to say, I can't do that right now. And maybe there'll be a time where you can, you know, kinda head up something over here that you'd wanna do, but maybe now's not the time, you know? I think about, there's a lot of things that I would like to lead up, and there's a lot of things I'd like to start up, not necessarily, like, a new church or anything like that, but I'm just saying, like, as far as, like, things I'd like to do or pursue, but then I think about, like, my kids, and how small they are, and just how much time that takes right there, and how much effort that takes there, I just can't do it. Like, it's just not something in the cards right now. And I say right now, okay? Because, obviously, eventually they'll grow up, eventually that will change. And so, just something to think about, and something, when it comes to maybe just work, or anything like that, that it's not always, there are cons to being the boss. Okay, I'll leave it with that. There's pros, but there's cons. Now, go down to, go to, well, you see in James 3, 2, where it says, If any man offend not in word, the same as a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. And a lot of this chapter is just dealing with that. It's dealing with the idea of, basically, not offending in word. Okay, what you say with your tongue, right? And it's gonna get into bridling the tongue. Now, look at verse three there, it says, behold, we put bits in the horse's mouths, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold, also the ships, which, though they be so great, are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listed. So it's giving two examples here, as far as you got, kind of have this, think about like a Clydesdale. I mean, horses are big anyway, but think about like a Clydesdale horse, you know, like a big work horse. Sorry, my ear is like ringing, so I'm like trying to, I don't know what is going on with that, but, but basically, it's giving you two examples. There's one with a horse, where you have this bit that's in their mouth, to where you can lead the whole horse wherever you want it to go, okay? But then you think about a ship, right? Think about like the Titanic. Anybody here like seeing pictures of the Titanic, and seen the rudder, right? Which talking about the helm, basically, we're talking about that little rudder that's in the back of it, right? Think about how big that thing is, and then how small that thing is. And now, some would say, well, that's why they hit the iceberg, because it was too small. It's like, you know, I've actually read a lot about that, as far as what was going on during that time, or basically, with the Titanic, and it's very interesting to think about like, why they couldn't turn in time, and all that. But in the end, most ships don't have like this, like a rudder that's like as big as the ship. It's always gonna be like the smaller thing that they're turning the ship about with. And the whole principle here is how there's this small member, this small little piece that's like able to move this massive object, right? Whether it's a horse, whether it's a ship, that's pretty much what's being stated here, is that just like this, the tongue is like that with the body, you know? The tongue isn't like this huge part of your body, as far as like size, right? But notice what it says in verse five here, it says, even so, the tongue is a little member. So it's basically just giving you these two examples to show you, hey, big things can be moved with a little device, right? And that can be good or bad. And in this case, when it's talking about the tongue, we're talking about it being bad, okay? I want that to be a very, because when we get to the next portion, I want that to be very clear, that when we're talking about the tongue in this context, we're talking about the tongue being bad, because the tongue can be good, right? I mean, if you're speaking good things, you're speaking right things, if you're open to your mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, that's not bad, okay? So in context, we're talking about the tongue being a world of iniquity, okay? That's the context, okay? The tongue is a fire, or I'm sorry, I didn't get that far, I'm ahead of myself here, okay? It says, even so in verse five, even so the tongue is a little member and boasted great things. Behold how great a mad or a little fire kindleth. So now it's gonna liken the tongue into a fire, and it's saying, think about like how a little fire, how it can basically turn into a catastrophe, right? You think about like just forest fires and how it can just start from a little spark over here and how that will just spread and just destroy everything and be catastrophic. So it's likening the tongue to that, and it says, and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So the first thing it's stating here is that though the tongue is small, yet it has huge influence, it can do great things. And when I say great, in this case, it can do terrible things, like things that are not good, things that will cause harm, like a fire could cause harm. Because a fire can be good, but it can be bad as well, right? Because a fire can bring warmth, you can cook meals on it. There's obviously good uses of fire, just as much as there's a good use of your tongue, but you know as well as I do that a fire can be very dangerous, okay? So that's why just as much as a fire needs to be contained, your tongue needs to be contained. And it's saying that it's a world of iniquity, so is the tongue among our members that it defiles the whole body and set it on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. So notice how this progression goes as far as what's being stated here. It's basically stating, know this first, that the tongue is small, but just as much as the tongue is small, so is the helm, so is on a ship, so is the bridle on a horse. You know, though it's small, it can still steer about the horse, it can steer about the ship, and it can steer about the whole body. And then it goes on to say that the tongue is a fire, and just as much as a fire, just a little bit of fire, can just, you know, kindle a whole bunch of stuff, so can the tongue. And not only is it a fire, but it's like the fire of hell, okay? So do you see how the progression here, basically now, we've got to the point where now we're talking about the tongue is like a fire, but it's not just like any fire, it's like the fire of hell. So I mean, you're dealing with the most intense fire that you can deal with, right? And so you kinda get the picture of what he's stating here, but then it's in verse seven here, it says, For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind, but the tongue can no man tame, it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. So now it's gonna give you an example that to bridle the tongue is harder to do than basically bridling any beast that's out there, right? I mean, think about, and what it's stating here, I don't believe it's stating that every animal could be your pet, okay? Like when we think of tame, a lot of times we're thinking of like, it can be a pet, right? You know, it can sit on your lap and you can pet it or whatever. Now, granted, I'll say this, there are some like really dumb people that have like tigers as pets, and like have like lions as pets. Those are idiots, okay? Kids, don't do that at home, okay? You don't wanna have like, here's the thing, it's not, you say, well, they won't do that. It's not a matter of like, will they, it's a matter of like, can they, right? It's like the pit bull argument, by the way. I hate pit bulls, they're the reprobates of the dog family. And you know, people are like, well, you know, they're always, they're so kind here and they're cuddly over here. It's like, well, here's the thing, they're capable of destroying a child, destroying a human being. Therefore, I don't want anything to do with it, okay? And so when it comes to these animals, you know, you think about lions, you think, just go to the zoo, right? They've been tamed. And the fact that they've been caged, they've been bridled, they've been basically handled. I mean, even, I mean, I mean, they had SeaWorld at a time, right? Where they had whales and you know, like stuff of the sea. So you think about like that type of stuff as well. And so he's stating here that everything's been tamed, but you can't tame the tongue. So think about like trying to tame a lion and trying to like capture a lion or capture these animals that are just very ferocious. And then think about how that's easier. You know, that's doable. But trying to bridle the tongue, it says it can no man tame, okay? It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Now this whole subject here kind of started in chapter one. If you remember, chapter one is kind of laying out some information that I believe James is trying to get across, and then he expounds on it. But go James chapter one, verse 26 here. James chapter one, verse 26, it says, if any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. And so that subject got brought up in chapter one, but it's not until chapter three that it's like, okay, let me expound on that. Because chapter two is definitely expounding on not being a hearer of the word only, but also a doer of the word, right? And a doer of the work. James chapter two definitely hits that. James chapter three is really hitting on this tongue and on wisdom, which also is mentioned in chapter one. But go to Matthew chapter 15, Matthew chapter 15. And notice what it says here in verse 17. This is something that Jesus taught, obviously, about the tongue, about the mouth, right? About basically the dangers of what can come out of your mouth. And like I said, in context, are we talking about speaking good things right now? We're talking about speaking like iniquity. We're talking about speaking deadly poison, evil, right? Because the next portion where it's talking about cursing and all that, what you have to understand is that in context, we're talking about things that are not right, things that are sinful, things that are wrong to do, okay? And people will take the next portion and they'll just basically completely negate other verses in the Bible and completely just take it out of context and just with a broad brush say you can never do this, right? You can never curse anybody because of what's said here. But that's, I mean, in context, we're talking about things that are wrong, that are against the Bible, that are evil, that are iniquity. In verse 17, in Matthew chapter 15, verse 17, it says, Do not ye yet understand that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly and is cast out into the draft. But those things which proceed out of the mouth cometh forth from the heart and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man. But to eat with unwashing hands defiles not a man. And obviously this is where he's basically, they're trying to rebuke him because he's not keeping some custom of the Pharisees, of washing your hands before you eat. And he's saying that you eat some food, that's not what defiles you. And we're talking spiritually speaking, right? And he's saying, but what comes out of your mouth, so what you're saying, that will defile you, okay? And go to Proverbs chapter 15, Proverbs chapter 15. So this is what James is hitting on here, is the fact that we need to watch what we're saying. And that one, when you understand how unruly your tongue is, I think that helps you prepare to watch what you say. Because if you don't realize how unruly it is, then you're not probably gonna be focusing on bridling it. I mean, the whole idea of like watching your tongue, holding your tongue, right? And how many times has there been a time where you're just like, I wanna say it, but I'm gonna stop, right? I'm gonna stop what I wanna say. And this verse always comes out when I think about this, as far as let's say someone's getting into a heated argument with you, or they're starting to use a little ad hominem, right? They're just like your face, or they'll just start like hitting you personally, or whatever, and they're trying to get you all riled up. I think about this verse right here, verse one. Proverbs 15, verse one, it says, A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. So when it comes to the tongue, there's a good thing about the tongue and how you can approach it, and then there's the wrong way, okay? James chapter three is dealing with the wrong way, right? Here's the thing that you need to watch. And when it comes to this, a soft answer, in that you are bridling the tongue, okay? Because what you wanna do is give a hard answer, right? You wanna give a harsh answer. You wanna meet fire with fire, right? They're hitting you hard, you're like, I'll hit you even harder. And that's kinda how a lot of that, like arguments and all that stuff will escalate. How to de-escalate a situation like that, and you can think about this with work, right? Let's say someone's coming in hot on you, and they're just like, just coming down on you, and they're just like, you're incompetent, this happened, this is your fault, and then you hit them with a soft answer. And a soft answer is one, not yelling, okay? So you can think about the volume. But then a soft answer is also how you say it, okay? You don't say it condescendingly. You don't say it in a manner that's trying to provoke them. You say it in a manner of humility, right? Humbly saying the answer, but saying it in a soft manner to where you can bring the volume down. Because that's how arguments, they get higher, they get higher, people get angrier and angrier, it gets harsher and harsher, and before you know it, you're in a yelling match with somebody. And a soft answer, turneth away wrath. It says in verse two, the tongue of the wise you with knowledge are right, but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. So there is a whole, you can have a wholesome tongue, you can have a tongue that is wise, using knowledge of right, but in James chapter three, we're talking about the opposite of that. We're talking about bridling our tongue that is not that, right? And really what this chapter's dealing with is that dealing with speaking, not using like a fleshly mind, like a tongue. When you think about when you're getting an argument, a lot of times the reason it gets escalated and gets real harsh is because you're in the flesh, right? Your flesh wants to win that argument, your flesh wants, you have pride, you have ego, and you're trying to basically satisfy the flesh with winning an argument. Whereas in the spirit, it shouldn't be about winning an argument, it should just be about, it should be about convincing the person, right? And if someone, if you say, well, they're not being convinced, well, after two, after one or two admonitions, reject, you know? Why even, I mean, if they can't be convinced, then just, you know, softly answer, be like, you know, agree to disagree, we're just gonna have to not talk about this if you can't, if it can't be talked about civilly. Now, go to James chapter one in verse 19. James chapter one in verse 19, again, we see this, dealing with this in James chapter one in verse 19, it says, wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. So you think about the fact of bridling your tongue and like bringing it back, bringing it down, and giving a soft answer, but then you also just think about the idea of just, you know, being slow to even say anything. And I don't, this isn't saying slow, like talk slowly, this is just basically stating like, slow to even make a response, right, to speak, okay? Now, it says in Proverbs 17, Proverbs 17 in verse 27, and you say, wow, I mean, keep going back to Proverbs. James is like a mini-Proverbs, really. I look at James as being a Proverbs of the New Testament, and it's a great book, but it really does, there's a lot of the teachings in Proverbs is what he's dealing with. And there's so many other passages on this that I could've gone into, but I'm just giving you some on how, you know, the idea of bridling the tongue, you know, having a soft answer, being slow to speak. Proverbs 17 and 27 says, he that hath knowledge spareth his words, and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise, and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. So, dealing with the idea of sparing your words. So, slow to speak could just be sparing what you say. Okay, there's a time where you just have to just stop talking and if someone is just in this heated argument, one thing you can do is just stop talking and just stand there and just let them talk. Let the person get out, whatever they're trying to say. You know, come a point where they're gonna either just storm off, huffin' and puffin', or they're gonna stop talking at some point. They're gonna realize like, oh man, I'm like on this like 15 minute diatribe where I'm like just rippin' this person's face off. They start looking pretty foolish at that point, right? Because, you know, that's the idea of like just kinda just stopping and let them, let them make a fool out of themselves by saying so many things. If it says in Proverbs 21, you can turn to everyone if you're still in Proverbs. Proverbs 21 verse 23, it says, who so, Proverbs 21 verse 23, who so keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. And really, that's what, I mean, if you think about it, that's what this passage is dealing with, right? Be not many masters because you shall receive the greater condemnation, you know. The idea there is that if you're leading over a whole bunch of things, then, you know, there's a lot of responsibility with that and you make a mistake, it's gonna affect a lot of people and it's gonna come back on you, right? But then also with the tongue is that bridling the tongue is gonna keep you from trouble, okay? And so this whole passage is kinda keeping you from getting into trouble. And the tongue can get you into a lot of trouble. And if you just would have not said anything, you would have stayed, you would have been out of all that trouble. You say, well, you know, my opinion needs to be heard. Does it, though? I mean, in a lot of cases, does your opinion really need to be heard? Is it really that important that they know what you think? And, you know, one thing that I've always tried to hold to, and listen, I'm not perfect at this, is the idea that I don't give advice unless someone asks me. Now, obviously, I'm preaching up here, so you didn't ask me for this, but, you know, it happened. No, I'm just kidding. Obviously, I'm the pastor, so I'm supposed, my job is to preach to you and feed you and all that, but if it comes to, like, someone's dealing with an issue, or there's this big argument, or whatever's going on, I look at that as that, you know, I'll give my opinion if they want it, you know? Now, if it comes to my doorstep, or if it has to deal with me, then obviously, I'm gonna, you know, make my position known, right? Or if there's an issue that's out there, let's say there's some false doctrine out there, and, you know, it's like taking everybody, you know, everybody's just getting deceived by it, then I'm gonna speak up about it, right? So there's a time to speak, and there's a time to keep silence, but a lot of times, it's a time just to keep silence and just spare your words, and just to be honest, and you'll keep yourself out of trouble in those cases, okay? Go back, or go to Psalm 10, Psalm 10. So when we're dealing with this passage, we're dealing with the idea of, of basically our tongue being this deadly poison, our tongue being a world of iniquity, and that it's like a fire of hell, right? And so when people, you know, when people get all uptight about using the word hell as like an idea of emphasis, or using it other than just talking about the place, like it's wicked as hell. I mean, it's pretty much what this passage is stating, is that the tongue is a world of iniquity, and it's like a fire, like the fire of hell, and it's basically putting these things together, and when you say it's wicked as hell, think about like all the wicked people that are in hell, and the idea of saying that, okay? I don't think it's wrong to use hell in a manner of like, you know, other than just talking about the place, okay? And so if you wanna do that, you do you, right? But you know, the Bible uses it here in a manner that's kind of using it in a, not a figurative manner, it is a figurative, because your tongue is literally not set on fire of hell, right, it's not literal, okay? It's not the place either, okay? It's talking about the attributes of hell, you know, of fire, and how hot that is, and how wicked, you know, the wickedness of hell, and like, you know, the wickedness of people that are in hell, and sin is being punished in hell, and like all that going together, right? But in Psalm 10, verse seven here, it says, "'His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud, "'under his tongue is mischief and vanity.'" And we're gonna see that term cursing in the later portion of this passage here. So I want you to see that the tongue and the mouth obviously can be used for cursing, but it's talking about, it's not talking about anything good in this passage, right? Like, deceit, fraud, cursing, mischief, vanity. Go to Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Psalm 37 and verse 30. But I want you to see that the tongue is also talked about speaking things that are right, okay? But things that are right that could end up being a curse, okay? Now think about this, in Psalm 37 and verse 30, it says, "'The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, "'and his tongue talketh of judgment.'" The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide. Now, I want you to think about this, the law or the speaketh of judgment, okay? Well, the judgments of God, I mean, if you looked at Deuteronomy 27 and Deuteronomy 28, you know what you're gonna see? Cursed is the man that does this. Cursed is the man that does this. And if you're speaking of judgment, guess what you're gonna be saying? Cursed is the man that does this. What this passage is gonna be dealing with is dealing with cursings that are not, that you're cursing somebody that's not like a biblical law that they're breaking, or you're just cursing them. It's outside of the Bible. It's outside of God's judgment, and you're basically, you could be cursing father and mother. You could be cursing, you know what I mean? Like, there's obviously bad ways to curse people. In most cases, when you're cursing, usually it's, the idea here is that it's of your own volition that you're cursing. It's not based off the Bible. It's not based off God's judgments. But in Psalm 39, in verse one here, just to give you some other verses that are dealing with this, Psalm 39, verse one, it says, I said I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me. Go to Psalm 64, Psalm 64 in verse three, Psalm 64 in verse three. So I want you to see that our tongue should be talking about judgment. And in judgment, there's gonna be blessings and cursings. I mean, that's just the way it is. I mean, when you look at the law, and you look at the judgments of the law, there's gonna be judgments that are gonna be a blessing, there's gonna be judgments that are gonna be a curse. And just because you say that person is cursed, or even say let that person be cursed, and I'm gonna get into verses here, that doesn't, that's not what James 3 is talking about. Okay, and people wanna make it say that, but you're gonna have to negate the Bible to do it. And obviously the Bible doesn't contradict. So what you have to understand is that when this passage, this passage is talking about iniquity. So when it's cursing, it's talking about cursing that's wrong, cursing. It's talking about cursing that would be sin. Not just cursing in general. But in Psalm 64, verse three, it says, who wet their tongue like a sword and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words. Now the reason I'm bringing up this verse is because we're gonna be talking about sweet water and bitter, right? Salt water and fresh water. And the idea there of bitter words compared to sweet words. Okay, and then Psalm 119 and verse 172, it says, my tongue shall speak of thy word, for all thy commandments are righteous. So, go back to James chapter three, James chapter three. And now let's look at this passage, but when you look at the Bible, you can't negate the rest of the Bible. You can't turn the rest of the Bible on its head. It has to all fit. So in context, this passage is talking about the tongue basically being a world of iniquity, the tongue being this unruly evil that can't be tamed, it's this deadly poison. So we're obviously talking about things that are sinful, things that are wrong, okay? So, when it says here in verse eight, it says, but the tongue can no man tame, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, therewith bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which are made at the similitude of God. And they'll just say, well, see, you should never curse a man. You should never curse a man ever, okay? And that's what people do, what they do is they take a verse out of context, just like James two, where it says, faith without works is dead, and they're just like, well, that's eternal salvation, that's this or that. It's like, well, if I said thou shalt not kill, I guess I can't kill animals, I can't never kill anything for any reason, right? You have to take context, you have to understand, you have to take the Bible as a whole to understand when you're talking about killing, when you're talking about murder, okay? And when you're talking about cursing here, he's talking about, obviously, cursing that's iniquity, cursing that is a deadly poison, cursing that's evil, right? Or this unruly evil that he's talking about here, okay? But keep reading there, it says, out of the same mouth proceeded blessing and cursing, my brethren, these things ought not so to be. So he's basically saying you're blessing God, but then you're cursing man over here, and he's saying this ought not so to be, and verse 11, it says, doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries, either a vine figs, so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. So he's basically giving you these examples to show you that it's out of place, right? I mean, you can't have both things happening at the once, you can't have, you know, olive berries and figs, none of those, I don't look at those as being, either one of those being bad necessarily, it's just stating, they're two different plants, right? It's like saying like you have an apple tree over here, you have a banana tree over here, you know, and you're not gonna have them producing from the other tree, okay? It's kind of talking about that, but also the fact that you're not gonna, you can't have sweet water and bitter because once you mix those two together, it's all gonna be bitter, right? So you can't mix, it can't coming out of the same, and obviously saying fountain, all that is dealing with the fact that it's coming out of the same mouth, right? The same mouth coming blessing and cursing at the same time. But let me prove to you, first of all, that there are people that we are to basically curse, okay? Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 16, 1 Corinthians chapter 16. And I'm gonna use actually the next chapter, kind of another difficult, probably difficult passage to understand what's going on, to explain as well that in context, we're not talking about cursing those that should be cursed, right? Or this is saying like you should never curse anybody. The idea here is that when it comes to sinning when you're cursing, obviously, that shouldn't be happening at the same time, right? The idea is that you shouldn't be, you can't be doing right and sinning at the same time, right? Those things can't coexist. It's just the idea of like abiding in Christ. He that abideth in Christ sinnedeth not. You can't abide in Christ and be sinning at the same time. Okay, that's the same principle. But in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse 21, it says, the salutation of me, Paul, with mine own hand, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. Now, what's anathema mean? It means accursed, okay? That's literally just a Greek transliteration of the word anathema, which means accursed, okay? So he's basically saying, let him be accursed, okay? If they don't love the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? He's talking about people, right? If any man, he's saying, let him be anathema, okay? Then he goes on to say, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, my love be with you all, in Christ Jesus, amen. Sounds like a blessing, doesn't it? So, is Paul just like negating James chapter three? Or is your interpretation James chapter three? I'm not saying you guys, okay? But I'm just saying like, or is, if you're saying that you can never curse anybody, according to James chapter three, do you see how that would just be completely negating that? What Paul just did right there? Paul's literally cursing somebody that would not love the Lord Jesus Christ, and he says, but I'm gonna bless you, and that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you, and with me, you know, at the end of this passage. Go to Galatians chapter one, Galatians chapter one. And obviously, listen, time would fail me to show you all the imprecatory prayers that are in Psalms, you know, or that are in the Old Testament, you know, or where Jesus is cursing people, you know what I mean, in the New Testament. So, when you're looking at passages where you're just like, okay, what is this stating? Taking a broad brush to it is usually gonna get you into trouble. Because the Bible isn't just that simplistic when it comes to what's going on, because there's always a time to love, and there's a time to hate, there's a time, you know, there's a time to bless, and there's a time to curse, okay? And I'm gonna do a whole series on that passage in Ecclesiastes, but there's a time for everything under the sun, okay? Now, should you be blessing more often than cursing? Yes, okay, should you be loving more often than hating? Yes, should you be at peace more often than at war? I would say yes, right? I mean, obviously, there's cases where it should be more that this is going on, and it should be in this case, but that doesn't negate the fact that there's a time that you are to curse people, okay? And Paul is stating that here. In Galatians chapter one in verse six, it says, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and will pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Sounds like Paul's cursing somebody. Well, that's, you know, that's an angel. Well, it does say we, so that would be Paul and, you know, people that are writing with him, right? In verse nine, it says, as we said before, just so you get this again, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Let me get this off my chest. Tyler Doka, be accursed, right? Okay, if anybody saw, you know, that crazy nut job, okay? That's an easy one, okay? Would anybody disagree with that one? Okay, when someone says they're Christ, I mean, let him be accursed. But anybody that's preaching another gospel though, let him be accursed. And Paul even takes it to the, if they don't love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. I mean, that's intense. And when you're looking at James chapter three, you can't look at that with this broad brush to say, we should never curse anybody. Because then, you know, what about the rest of the Bible, okay? But when you understand that when we're talking about this, we're talking about a certain cursing, there's a certain type of cursing that you shouldn't do. Right? And that's what I think people don't understand is that sometimes there's cursing that's bad and then there's cursing that would be righteous, right? And there's hate that's bad, right? But then there's hate, there's righteous indignation, right? There's the wrath of man. There's wrath that's bad, you know, that you would do. And there's anger that's bad. But then there's good anger, right? Be angry and sin not. So that's what people do with this passage. They look at cursing and they're just like, it's always bad. It's always bad to curse somebody. Now, another way you can look at James chapter three is that it's talking to brethren. It's talking about between brethren. Now, it doesn't say that exactly, okay? It just says cursing man that's made after the similitude of God. You can say, well, that's talking about being a child of God and all that. You know, I don't necessarily take it to that extent. I would say we're just talking about man that's made in God's image, you know what I mean? Like, we're just talking about people in general, right? But, you know, what about those that have become beasts? You know, those that are brute beasts. They're not, they're no longer just a man anymore. They're an animal. So can we not curse a beast, you know? And so anyway, we look at 2 John, 2 John verse nine. Let's give, you know, because that's like a curse, right? But what's the opposite of cursing somebody is blessing somebody, right? But a negative way of saying that as far as blessing somebody is not blessing somebody, right? So look at what it says here in verse nine. This is gonna show you that if you bless everybody, you're like, well, we should bless everybody, right? Everybody that's around. Never curse anybody, just bless everybody, okay? Well, here's what will happen to you then. In verse nine here it says, whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed. You know what that is? That's a blessing, right? If you say God speed to somebody, you're blessing them. You're bidding them like God be for you, right? I mean, that's what it's basically kind of saying is like, or health to you, you know? It's like a blessing, you know? But it says in verse 11, for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. So you can't just be like dealing out blessings to everybody, just everywhere, right? If someone's coming to you with a false gospel, you know what you're supposed to do? Not bid them God speed. You know what Paul did? He said, let them be accursed. So I mean, that's the Bible, and there's Psalms that we're, we're supposed to be singing the Psalms, right? Then sing this song. Break their teeth, oh God, in their mouth. Let them go quick down into hell. Ah, that's a blessing though. That's definitely not a blessing, right? You know, the idea there is that there are many cursings in the Bible that we're supposed to be singing, and we're supposed to be admonishing each other in them. So when you're looking at James chapter three, don't just negate the whole Bible. Now, let me give you an example of how I believe you can also help this make sense, or whatever, you get my point. Go to James chapter four, James chapter four. Now, these verses right here, again, are kind of those verses where you're just like, what is this saying? Because you got that judge not crowd out there, you know? Judge not, and they don't read any of the rest of the passage, right? It's like they just scribble out the rest of it. And because it ends with take out the beam from their own eye, that thou mightest be able to take out the mote out of your brother's eyes. So in the end, it's like, yeah, you need to judge your brother, but you need to take care of yourself first. Then you can judge him. You know, that's basically what it's saying, and they just miss that whole thing. But anyway, in James chapter four and verse 11, and really, this could be a whole sermon on this subject right here, of judging, or when to judge and when not to judge, okay? But in verse 11 here, it says, speak not evil one of another brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother and judgeth his brother speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law. But if thou judgeth the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy who art thou that judgeth another. So is this saying that you should never judge your brother? No, in context, what we're talking about, though, is someone that is trying to be a lawgiver. The whole premise of what's being said at the end there is that basically what they're judging their brother and speaking evil over their brother is not according to the law. Because by them speaking evil of them and judging them, they're speaking evil of the law, right? Think about what the Pharisees, and how many times Jesus says that you, through your traditions, have made void the law. So what we're dealing with here is we're dealing with commandments of men that someone is judging them on. You're judging your brother based off something that's not a biblical commandment, it's not scriptural commandment, and you're judging them and speaking evil of them, okay? An example of this, Romans 14. Go to Romans 14, and Romans 14 hits on this, and it actually uses that same terminology about not judging your brother, but you're dealing with judging them on things that are not scriptural commands that you have to do. And that's what it's talking about. But see how context and taking the whole Bible helps understand these passages? Because notice what it says in Romans chapter 14 in verse one, him that is weak in faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth it that he may eat all things. Another, who is weak, eateth herbs. By the way, vegetarians are weak. Just, the Bible says it, okay? So it says, let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not, and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth. For God hath received him. Who art thou that judgeth another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth, yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. Notice in verse 10 here, it says, but why dost thou judge thy brother, or why dost thou set at not thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Now, this could be its whole sermon in itself because you could go to First Corinthians chapter six where it says, judge nothing before the time. And what that's talking about is rewards and what you're gonna get based off what you do in this life, and the idea here is that just do what you're supposed to be doing and focus on yourself, and there's gonna be things that aren't biblical commands that people are either setting standards for themselves or other people don't have those same standards. It could be, in this case, what you're eating and drinking. And then, in another case, it could be what days you're celebrating and what days you're not celebrating. And these are things that are not explicit commandments in the Bible that you must follow, but then you have someone saying, oh, this person over here is weak. And I'm joking about, obviously, if we had a vegetarian in church, and they were a vegetarian and they had no problem, and they weren't going around saying that we're all sinning for eating meat, but they just wanted to eat what my food eats. If they just wanted to do that, the rest of their life, and they just wanna sit there and be a vegetarian, listen, I have no problem with them. And I'm not gonna be like, you're not right with God, and you're wicked, and what's wrong with you? It's like, maybe they just don't wanna eat meat. I don't care. It's whatever they wanna do. And God's able to sustain that person if they really just wanna eat beans and rice the rest of their life. But in the end, they're not to judge me. I'm not to judge them. If someone celebrates a holiday and I don't wanna celebrate that holiday, I'm not to judge them. Obviously, unless it's wicked, unless it's like some wicked, like satanic holiday, at that point, I'm gonna use the Bible and say this is wrong because of this. But notice that the judging has nothing, it's not things that are based off of like clear commands in the Bible. And so when you're dealing with James chapter four, you're dealing with the same thing where it's not based off of, they're basically judging and speaking evil of their brother. That's not based off the law because then it ends it with saying there's one lawgiver. You don't just get to make up laws and then basically judge your brother based off that. The Pharisees did that. James is basically saying you're not to do that, okay? And that's what it's stating. It's not saying you should never judge your brother, okay? Go to Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus chapter 19, and by the way, in John 7, 24, it says judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment. Jesus literally tells us to judge righteous judgment. But in Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 15, it says, Leviticus 19 verse 15, it says, ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, okay? So there is judgment that you're not supposed to be doing, doing it in unrighteousness. And by the way, judging someone based off what they eat or what they don't eat, that's unrighteous judgment, right? I mean, that's not based off the law. You're just, you have your preferences, you have what you think is best, and you know what? You shouldn't be judging people based off of that. Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor nor honor the person of the mighty, but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. You know what, that's a command. In righteousness, shalt thou judge thy neighbor. Now in the same passage, it says that we shouldn't hate our neighbor. Notice in verse 17 there, it says, thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart, thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. I love this passage, I love Leviticus 19, okay? Because it just like destroys all this weak Christianity, false doctrine that's out there that we should never judge anybody. Because in the same passage where it's saying, in righteousness, shalt thou judge thy neighbor, notice what it says here. Well, one, you shouldn't hate your brother in your heart, but you should rebuke him, right? It's like, don't hate him, but rebuke him, right? But then it says, and not suffer sin upon him, thou shalt not avenge nor bear a grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, I am the Lord, okay? So in the same passage where it's basically, it's like this nice spiritual sandwich for you, right? You should love your neighbor, and you should not hate your brother, right? But then it's stating that you need to judge righteous judgment, and with righteousness, judge thy neighbor, right? And it's just like, yes, you should judge them, and you should rebuke them if they're sinning. But it's based off the law, and sin is the transgression of the law, isn't it? So if you have some diet that you're doing, and I don't follow your diet, guess what? That's not a commandment of the Bible, okay? So I don't have to follow it. But at the same time, go to 1 John chapter four, and I believe this will help you understand this too, because dealing with the fact that we should never hate our brother, okay? And I personally believe that we should never curse our brother, okay, in Christ. So in James chapter three, if you wanna say, well, that's talking about brethren, I can see your point in saying like, well, we should never curse our brother, because it'd be as much as we should never hate our brother. That doesn't mean that we, if our brother were to commit a sin worthy of death, it says, I do not say that he shall pray for him, okay? It's not that you should show pity to those that are worthy of death, even if they are a brother, right? I mean, the idea there, but the idea there is that you're not gonna say, like calling down a curse upon him. Now, that could be disputed, you know? Maybe there's a verse in the Bible that says, you know, you could curse your brother or whatever. But I haven't seen that, or I haven't really noticed that. I do know the Bible says we should never hate our brother, okay, and he that hated his brother is a murderer, and all that. Notice what it says in 1 John chapter four and verse 20, and notice how this is very similar to what's being stated in James chapter four, using different terminology, obviously. It says in verse 20, it says, If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. But he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also. Think about how that same kind of thing would apply, right? You're blessing God, but you're cursing your brother. I mean, think about it if it's your brother, okay, your brother in Christ. You're blessing God, but you're cursing your brother. Do you see how those things ought not so to be? Just as much as you can't say, like, I love God, but then I hate my brother, I hate my brother in Christ. The Bible is stating that you can't say that you love God if you're hating your brother, okay? Those things can't be simultaneous, okay? And so I hope that makes sense with that passage when you're dealing with cursing and blessing. Is obviously when we're talking about cursing in that passage, I believe we're talking about doing things that are iniquity, things that are sinful, and like cursing father and mother, right? I mean, the idea of those type of sins that you could commit of cursing, that's what we're dealing with in that passage. Because there are cases where we are supposed to curse people. There are obviously places where we should be judging our brother or judging other people and rebuking them and stuff like that. Everything's not gonna be just sweetness and light that we're speaking to people, okay? Things are gonna be, I need to rebuke, reprove and exhort, okay? Now ultimately I believe that'll be a blessing by me doing that, but not everything's just gonna be these sweet words coming out of my mouth, okay? Now, go to James chapter three, James chapter three. And the last portion of the passage here is dealing with wisdom that's from above compared to wisdom that's from beneath, right? And it's dealing with this earthly wisdom that's down here compared to the wisdom that comes from above. But I want you to think about what it says in James chapter one. Actually, let's read this and then I'll read the passage of James chapter one. You'll kinda see how it was setting this up, okay? James 3.13 says, who is a wise man and a dude with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descended not from above but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first purer then peaceable, gentle and easy being treated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. So notice how this led up to this, right? The Bible says in James 1.5, it says, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God to give it to all men liberally and it braith not and it shall be given him. But it also says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. So think about you're asking for wisdom which would be given to you like a gift from above and it's stating here that we're looking for that wisdom that's from above, right? We want that wisdom to be given to us from above and that wisdom that's from above, notice that it says, who is a wise man and a dude with knowledge among you? Notice how this goes all the way back to James 1 and 2 and the fact that it says, let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. The idea of having wisdom, if you're a wise man and you're not, you know, think about the person that is not bridling his tongue but deceive within his own self, right? A wise person is gonna bridle his tongue. A wise person is not gonna have partiality or a respecter of persons because then it says that the wisdom from above is without partiality, right? So you're not gonna be a respecter of persons but you're also gonna have in a good conversation works with meekness, right? It says in verse 13 there, a good conversation, his works with meekness of wisdom. So you're gonna show, let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom and you just see like all this stuff coming together that the whole reason he's talking about James 1, James 2 and everything he's stated so far and then bridling your tongue leads up to being a wise man and dude with knowledge. Like that, all doing all those things will be, you'll be that person, okay? And what you wanna have is obviously that you're showing this conversation and showing your works with meekness of wisdom, okay? But the flip side is if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth, this wisdom descended not from above but is earthly, sensual, devilish. So if you have someone that's just envious, they're bitter, they're holding grudges, they have all the strife, listen, that's not the wisdom that's from above, okay? And it's stating that this wisdom is not from above but it's earthly, sensual, devilish, okay? And the Bible talks about this, look at 2 Corinthians chapter one, 2 Corinthians chapter one, basically fleshly wisdom, 2 Corinthians chapter one verse 12. And there is fleshly wisdom in the world, there's worldly wisdom, wisdom of men, 2 Corinthians chapter one verse 12, it says, for our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you word. And conversation is not just talking about what we say, although that is part of it, it's more so about like our whole manner of life and how we conduct ourselves, okay? And it's not according to fleshly wisdom, it's not this earthly, sensual, devilish type of wisdom that's in the world that's dealing with bitter, envy, strife, those type of things, it's the opposite. And what it states here in James chapter three about the wisdom that's from above, notice that it says in verse 17, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable. That's a very important thing to see there. It's first pure, then peaceable. Not first peaceable, then pure, okay? It's first pure, then peaceable, meaning this is that the Bible says, if it all be possible, as much as lie in you, live peaceably with all men, okay? So God wants us to live peaceably with all men, as much as possible, right? But you know what's more important? Purity, righteousness. Those things which are just and holy and true, that will trump peace because Jesus said, I came not to send peace, but division, but a sword. And so there's gonna be times where there's not, if you're not able to have peace, okay? And he's stating here that it's first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated. But the key there is that you don't remove the purity to get that peace and that gentleness and easy to be entreated, okay? If your ears can't handle the truth, then you need to suck it up, okay? Because purity, the words of the Lord are pure words. And I'm not going to censor pure words just because it offends you. You're just gonna have to be offended. And it's gonna be first pure, then peaceable. And those that love the word of God, those that are saved, that are reading the Bible and that just have this love for the word of God, listen, the Bible says, wherefore love I thy law and nothing shall offend me, okay? And I probably misquoted that, but you get the point. But basically, the idea there is that when you love the Bible and you're just reading the Bible and you're thinking about the Bible, what are you gonna read out of here that's gonna offend me? Right? Nothing offends me. And I don't have any, you know, if anybody came up to me like, hey, what about this verse? I'm not even thinking like, whoa, man, hopefully I can answer this. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully I'm not gonna be, you know, like ashamed of what the Bible's, I'm, you know, let God be true in every man a liar. You know what, when it comes to the word of God, if there's a passage you don't like, you know, whatever. You're gonna have to deal with it because it's first pure, then peaceable, okay? And gentle and easy being treated. And obviously, we're supposed to be, as the servant of God, we should not strive but be gentle in meekness, instructing those that impose themselves. You know, the idea there is that you wanna be gentle and peaceably and all that stuff, but in the end, it being pure and holy and righteous is number one, okay? And then it goes on to say, easy being treated, full of mercy. Think about having mercy, you know, those that show no mercy shall have judgment without mercy and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. The idea of being this wise man and dude with knowledge is having mercy. You know, having mercy on your brother and sister. You know, that, all this is kinda coming together here. Good fruits without partiality, not having respect to persons like in chapter two before it even gets to the part about having works and all that and without hypocrisy. And so you see here that, you know, we need to have the wisdom that's from above and the wisdom from the earth. And it really does show you that having bitter envy and strife, you know, having all these things, that's not the wisdom that's from above, okay? And go to the last verse there and we'll be done. It says in verse 18, it says, And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Now, I believe this is different than the fruit of the righteous, right? So the fruit of righteousness, right? Righteousness is like things that you do, you know, like the works of law and you have righteousness or, but the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Look at Isaiah 32, Isaiah 32. Yeah. And I believe this helps understand, you know, what we're talking about here, because the whole premise here is talking about having, you know, being a wise man to do with knowledge, let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. And then it goes on to say the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. And I believe it's tying back to the person that's basically in a good conversation, showing his works and meekness of wisdom. But then Isaiah 32 and verse 17, it says, and the work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. So when you think about fruit, fruit is the product of something, right? Product of another Christian is a Christian, right? The product of me and my wife, you know, as far as like fruit would be involved is our children, physically speaking. But the fruit of righteousness, if you went back to Romans two, if you look at other places in Proverbs, the fruit of righteousness is quietness, assurance, you know, forever. The idea that talks about life and honor, you know, like there's basically fruit that's associated with working righteousness, but it says that the work of righteousness shall be peace. And it's sown in peace of them that make peace. And the idea there is, I believe we're dealing with the fruit of righteousness because chapter two is talking about works, right? Chapter one is talking about not being a hearer of the word, but a doer of the work as well, right? And, you know, so you're kind of summing it all up here where it's getting into the fact of what's the fruit of that then? Peace, you know, and the idea of living peaceably, bridling your tongue is gonna keep you from troubles. And, you know, this is a great book to Christians. I mean, this book obviously is written to the brethren and this book is really showing us, okay, here's how we should be living, okay? Here's how we should be approaching after you get saved. Like this is a book, and after you get saved, here's a book for you to know what you need to be getting into, right? Don't just hear the word, do the word. Don't be a respecter of persons. Don't, you know, add to your faith works and, you know, there's many reasons why you should do that. Bridle your tongue and don't be just cursing a whole bunch of people and doing iniquity and all these different things, but have wisdom that's from above and the fruit of that is gonna be peace. And so, chapter four, we're gonna be getting into obviously some other topics and then chapter five as well, but yeah, James is a mini-proverbs. I love the book of James and hopefully, hopefully this is being fruitful to you, hopefully, you know, getting something out of it, you know? But let's end with a word prayer to help me, Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for your word, thank you for the book of James and I pray that you help us understand it, help us apply it to our lives. And Lord, especially the passages that we understand, Lord, especially help us to apply it to our lives and so that we can be a friend of you, that we can be a wise men and women and dude with knowledge and Lord, we love you and pray also in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. So brother Nick, we'll come and sing one more song and then we'll be dismissed. If you would, turn to song number 44. Song number 44, if we would all stand, we'll sing We'll Work Till Jesus Comes. Song number 44. Oh land of rest for thee I sigh when will the moment come when I shall lay my armor by and dwell in peace at home we'll work till Jesus comes we'll work till Jesus comes we'll work till Jesus comes and we'll be gathered home to Jesus Christ I've fled for rest he made me cease to roam and lean for soccer on his breast till he conduct me home we'll work till Jesus comes we'll work till Jesus comes we'll work till Jesus comes