"Test of Words"

These are my notes from Jason's sermon this morning at Apex. Very convicting.

James 3:1-12

Saving faith works...with our words.

The average American has 30 conversations/day
The average man speaks 20,00 words
The average woman speaks 30,000 words
1/5 of our life is spent talking..using words

Big idea..Because we talk a lot...words matter a lot.

Problem: people don't think words matter. Words are used with vulgarity and sarcasm .
Matthew 12:34 out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks

Why words matter a lot

1. They are personally incriminatory vs.1
Rabbis in the New Testament were teachers. They were respected in the Jewish culture.
If you want the role you need be ready for the responsibility. Teachers are held to a higher account.
We all sin in various ways..especially with our words.

2. They are disproportionately influential v. 2-6
Examples
bit/horse
rudder/ship
spark/forest
tongue/body
Our words affect our whole body.
Words set on fire the entire course of life
source of the tongue...hell
Satan uses our tongues as an arsonist. He sets our lives on fire with our tongues.

3. They are humanly irrepressible.
No human can tame the tongue. We need God's help.

4. They are devastatingly injurious
They are like snake venom. They can sting and hurt

5. They are wrongfully inconsistent. v. 9-10
verbal schizophrenia.
hypocrisy of words is a sin

6. They are spiritually indicative of our hearts v. 11-12
Fountains and fruits.
Matthew 15:18
Is there a mouth problem? It comes from our heart.
You can't will yourself to control your tongue.
You need to look at your heart and sometimes we need heart transplants.

The big question: How much do your words matter to you?
Prayer for Apex to pray this week:

Psalm 141:3

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!"

Words matter a lot to a true believer.