How to Control the Uncontrollable!

How can you control something that the Bible says is uncontrollable? If the Bible says that something cannot be done, should we try to do it? I am thinking about the following verse in James 3:6-8

 

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 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.

You are talking about a nasty little creature there. What can we do? Jeremiah 27:9 tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" 

So we have a corrupt heart and a tongue that is set on fire by hell. How wonderful. What are we to do? 

Jesus responded to another situation with these words that I believe apply here too, And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27). 

Only God can help our hopeless situation. He has given us a new heart at salvation. Which allows us to say no to sin. He has given us his holy spirit, that convicts us of sin. He can and does help us to be able to control our wagging worm. 

If you think about it we can 

kill with our tongue (M521,22; 12:34-37; E 4:29-31; C 3:8,9). 

We can bless with our tongue 

We can lie 

We can tell the truth 

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There is a spiritual sive in one verse in Philippians 4:8 that if used for our thoughts and words will help us cleanse our conversation. Let’s take a look.

Filipenses 4:8 Finalmente, irmãos, tudo o que é verdadeiro, tudo o que é respeitável, tudo o que é justo, tudo o que é puro, tudo o que é amável, tudo o que é de boa fama, se alguma virtude há e se algum louvor existe, seja isso o que ocupe o vosso pensamento.

So lets look at these different aspects that Paul gives us as spiritual thought and tongue cleaners. 

We have to be Brothers. If we are not of the church of the living God, saved in Christ Jesus and inhabited by the Holy Spirit of God we will not be able to follow these instructions. Many people use the terms brother and sisters when in reality they are not a part of the family of God. 

Yesterday in our study at dona Cida we learned that there are only two types of people in the world and they are either sons of God or sons of the devil. That seems hard to understand and believe, but it was Jesus who mentioned both. If we are not sons then it will be impossible to implement Philippians 4:8. Peter tells us that we have been given everything that we need to walk in a way to please God. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the necessary tools. Paul then begins to list our task. We are to occupy our minds with the following. The word Paul uses means to, reckon, consider think on, calculate. So we really need to think or concentrate on the following questions. 

Whatever is Truth - Pilat asked Jesus, What is truth? Jesus said, I am the Truth (João 14:6). Jesus also said when praying to God, Your word is Truth (João 17:17). The Holy Spirit is truth (João 16:13) and God is Truth (2Tim 2:25)

I sent out an update last week about my bout with fear on Wednesday night. Remember my fear of being caught by the police? And I had been working on a message about fear 😱 

So I told my story and got several replies of encouragement from friends far away. This one came from Louann Brett, listen to what she had to say about fear and truth. 

I so understand the battle of fear in all of this! I listen to Albert Mohler’s podcast-The Briefing. He gives all the headline news and legislation news with a Biblical Worldview. I absolutely love it but found myself so riddled with anxiety. Through the Jim Berg Bible study-Taking time to Quiet a Noisy Soul God has been teaching me more of Who He is and how I need to Know His truth more and think on only truth! I still listen to the podcast because we need to be informed but I do not listen until I have spent time in His word and praying. I have made it a habit to pray about each subject he addresses even while listening and then by God’s grace leave it there with Him!!!

When we think about the truth, there are actually few things that we can think about. We can think about Christ and be like Paul who said in Filipenses 3:8 Sim, deveras considero tudo como perda, por causa da sublimidade do conhecimento de Cristo Jesus, meu Senhor; por amor do qual perdi todas as coisas e as considero como refugo, para ganhar a Cristo

 

We can meditate on the Word of God as Paul says in Colossenses 3:16, Habite, ricamente, em vós a palavra de Cristo; instruí-vos e aconselhai-vos mutuamente em toda a sabedoria, louvando a Deus, com salmos, e hinos, e cânticos espirituais, com gratidão, em vosso coração.

 

We know that the Word is Hebreus 4:12 Porque a palavra de Deus é viva, e eficaz, e mais cortante do que qualquer espada de dois gumes, e penetra até ao ponto de dividir alma e espírito, juntas e medulas, e é apta para discernir os pensamentos e propósitos do coração.

 

Também é 2 Timóteo 3:16 Toda a Escritura é inspirada por Deus e útil para o ensino, para a repreensão, para a correção, para a educação na justiça, 17 a fim de que o homem de Deus seja perfeito e perfeitamente habilitado para toda boa obra.

 

So this truth whether thinking about Jesus, God or his word, will help us with the rest of the list that Paul gives us in Philippians 4:8.

Respectable - The word means, venerable; honorable, reputable, worthy of respect; grave, serious, dignified. What do we know that represents these qualities in this day? The Greek word means, worthy of respect. Believers are to meditate on whatever is worthy of awe and adoration, that would be, the sacred as opposed to the profane. We might go again to Jesus, Paul or others of the Apostles as examples of respectable people. We know that all people are sinners but Bible characters help us to know what pleases God and can be models for our own lives. 

Sometimes I joke about how every speaker who comes to talk to our teens always talks about Daniel, Joseph or David. I know why they do. It is because these three specifically were young men who obeyed God in drastic situations. They left a good example to follow. 

However, the Bible has many examples of people who obeyed God and whom God recognized as respectable. Here are just a few:

Barnabas, Timothy, Epaphroditus, Onesimo , Samuel , Rute , Maria , Ester 

When we focus on these we focus on respectable people who proved through their life or specific actions that they pleased God. We can model their character. 

Justo - como substantivo, refere-se a uma pessoa de acordo com os padrões de Deus, em um relacionamento adequado com Deus.

Here we would look to people like youMoses, Joseph, Abraham, David, Daniel, Isaiah, Paul as just people or people who learned justice from God. Remembering that the Word of God is the Truth and what we learn from people mentioned in the Word is really what is important. 

Can we have role models of people who are alive today? Certainly. However, we need to be careful to understand 

 Pure - That which is morally clean and undefiled. 

Amável - The Greek term means pleasing or amiable. By implication believers are to focus on whatever is kind or gracious. 

Commendable (Boa fama) - Think on that which is highly regarded or thought well of. It refers to what is generally considered reputable in the world, such as kindness, courtesy, and respect for others. 

When we stop our uncontrollable tongues we stop a murder, a gossip a house wrecker, a life recker. That is why Paul gave us this concise list of attitudes to meditate on. Let's make this the verse of next month.