- [Narrator] Welcome to a Grace Digital presentation.
In this video we will cover three simple
practical biblical steps to solve the problem
of your tongue.
Number one, call your problem by its right name, sin.
It is essential that we be honest.
If we continue to use some fancy psychological terms
to disguise, tolerate, excuse or pretend
our problem is not really there,
nothing will happen.
We need to get to that moment of honesty.
When we come to the moment of truth,
God intervenes and helps us.
As long as we try to excuse, cover up
or misrepresent our problem,
God will not do anything for us.
At times we may say, "God, why don't you help me?"
God answers.
We might not hear him, but God answers.
I'm waiting for you to be honest,
honest with yourself, honest with me.
This is the first and most essential step.
Once you have taken this step,
you are well on your way to following these steps.
Name your problem correctly, sin.
Religious people have many different ways
to excuse or gloss over the abuse of our tongue.
We think it doesn't matter what we say,
but God says it makes the difference.
In fact we have seen that you judge your fate
by what you say.
Jesus said, "The words you say will either acquit you
or condemn you," Matthew 12:37.
It is a serious matter.
Do not let it be trivialized.
Come to the moment of truth and say, "I have a problem.
It is sin."
When you get there,
you are ready to take the first steps towards healing.
Number two.
Confess your sin and receive forgiveness and cleansing.
1 John 1:7-9 shows this clearly.
"But if we are living in the light
as God is in the light,
then we have fellowship with each other.
And the blood of Jesus his son
cleanses us from all sin.
If we claim we have no sin,
we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
But if we confess our sins to him,
it is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
Here too we see how important it is to be honest.
"The blood of Jesus does not purify in the dark.
Only when we come to light
can we receive the purification of the blood of Jesus.
When we walk in the light,
the blood of Jesus Christ continually cleanses us
and keeps us clean from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin
which I have pointed out to be the real problem,
we are deceiving ourselves.
The truth is not in us.
And we are not in the light.
We are still in the dark
where God's provision does not work."
Then we come to the alternative.
"If we confess our sins, come to the light
and acknowledge the true nature and gravity of our problem,
then God is faithful and righteous to forgive us
of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
There are two words used, faithful and just.
God is faithful because he has promised it
and he will keep his promise.
God is righteous because Jesus
has already paid the penalty for our sins.
Therefore he can forgive us
without endangering his righteousness.
If we confess our sins,
the guarantee of scripture is that God in faithfulness
and in justice will forgive us our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God not only forgives, but more importantly, he purifies.
The same God who forgives also purifies.
The same scripture that promises forgiveness
also promises purification.
God never stops halfway.
If we meet the conditions, we get the whole packet.
If we do not meet the conditions, we do not get half.
We get nothing.
If we confess our sins,
God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Once our hearts are cleansed,
then the problem will not be there.
Remember, the condition of the heart
determines what comes out of the mouth.
A clean heart cannot produce unclean utterances.
Unclean utterances indicate an unclean heart.
First, if we come to the light,
confess and turn to God with the problem.
Then God is faithful and righteous to forgive.
The records of the past are being erased
and all the things that one would have wished
had never been said are being erased.
Secondly, God cleanses your heart.
Then out of a clean pure heart shall be pure
and pure that which cometh through thy lips.
If your heart glorifies God, your lips will Glorify God.
God solves the problem of the tongue and lips
by dealing with the condition of the heart.
Number three, refuse sin, yield to God.
There is a negative and a positive
which go together as the two opposite sides
of the same coin.
One must exert one's will in both directions.
You must say no to sin and yes to God.
You must do both.
You cannot say no to sin without saying yes to God
because you will be in a vacuum
which will be filled again with the same problem.
You cannot escape from sin without yielding to God.
In Romans 6:12-14 Paul says,
"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body,
that you should obey in its lusts.
And do not present your members as instruments
of unrighteousness to sin.
But present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead
and your members as instruments of righteousness to God
for sin shall not have dominion over you
for you are not under law, but under grace."
When sin challenges you, say, "No, I will not yield to you.
I will not give up parts of my body.
Above all, I will not yield to the member
that causes the most problems.
My tongue, sin.
You can no longer control my tongue."
Then turn to God and say, "God, I yield my tongue to you
and I ask you to control the member which I cannot control."
"For every kind of beast and bird,
of reptile and creature of the sea is tamed,
has been tamed by mankind.
But no man contained the tongue.
It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison,"
James 3:7 and 8.
You have to accept that you can't tame
or control your own tongue.
There is only one power that can rule your tongue forever,
the power of God through the Holy Spirit.
When you have been forgiven and cleansed
and then are challenged again to use your tongue sinfully,
you must say to sin, "You cannot have my tongue.
I refuse it to you."
Then you must say to the Holy Spirit,
"Holy Spirit, I yield my tongue to you.
I cannot control my tongue.
I ask you to control my tongue for me."
Let us briefly review these three steps.
First, call your problem by its right name.
Call it sin.
Second, confess your sin and get forgiveness
and purification.
Third, refuse to yield to sin. Decide to yield to God.
This is the culmination of the healing process.
It means giving God to the Holy Spirit
that member which can never be controlled.
Let us pray.
Lord, I know my tongue often gets ahead
of my mind and heart.
I am quick to speak and I repent
of the many thoughtless things I have spoken.
I am sorry for words I have spoken in anger or in gossip.
Please help me to see when I will speak without thinking
and to test my heart.
Help me be slow to speak.
Help me, Lord, to be a person full of loving words,
full of your spirit,
overflowing with love, kindness, gentleness, joy
peace, patience and self-control.
Teach me to speak wisely.
Let me avoid useless talks.
Please help me to speak for your glory.
May my words confront those who are in distress
and guide those who are in need.
Take my lips and make them yours.
Take possession of my mind and make it an instrument
of your kindness and channel of truth.
May I bring them ever closer to you
and to you in my human conversation.
I pray this through Christ our Lord.
To watch our video on the seven diseases of the tongue,
click here.