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Sunday 23 March 2003 - "Poison from the tongue"

(Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen)

James 3:6

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.

There are many kinds of sins in the world today, of which sexual immorality seems to be the greatest evil, but the tongue of man causes even greater evil. Just think of how sexual sin has destroyed millions in Africa alone.

One of the co-workers related recently how a boy, dying of AIDS, cried to God to give him a soft heart, as he heard the Gospel when he was younger, but refused and hardened his heart. God heard his prayer, showed him his sins and gave him the opportunity to confess them and repent from them. He then asked for a certain young man to be called, so that he could make right with him. We see here how God pities those who fear him, even if they've received the just reward for their sins (Ps 103:13). It is wonderful to know the fear of God.

Besides sexual immorality there are many other sins like drunkenness, jealousy, stealing, etc., but none so evil as those committed by the tongue. AIDS has its corpses, but there are many more who have been killed spiritually by the tongue.

A few examples will illustrate the point:

Satan deceived Eve by promising her enlightenment. Those are evil people who promise you enlightenment, whereas the poison of asps are under their tongues. In the Psalms we read, "Who will ascend the hill of the Lord? Those with a pure heart and whose lips are not give to evil." I thought these days on the past 50 years and those that have fallen. Almost in every case the tongue was the main cause. It just shows the truth of God's Word that the tongue is a "world of iniquity".

A certain Muslim lady got converted, but was still troubled by gossip. She related to me how she eventually got to the point where she took a sharp pin and addressed her tongue seriously, "If you gossip again, I will pierce you with this pin." This cured her of her gossip.

Another wealthy man had a forgetful wife, who suffered also from epilepsy (He suffered from the sin of anger). One day she forgot her handbag with expensive contents in a taxi, and got a bad scolding from her husband. They got everything back again, and later that day, as she was taking a bath, she got an epileptic fit inside the bath. He came to help her, and heard how her head banged again and again against the bath. Extremely fearful that his wife might drown, he tried to get through the window, but it was too narrow. He tried to break down the bathroom door, but it was too strong. In utter despair he cried to God to save his wife, and the thought of his anger earlier in the day, which might have triggered the epileptic fit, brought remorse. Eventually he heard the sounds diminishing, and after a while she opened the door. She got the fit just after pulling the plug for the water to run out. Her face was badly bruised where she smashed her face against the tap and sides of the bath. He related how he fell down and repented right there from his anger, and was completely set free.

Moses, the man of God, uttered a few hasty and foolish words, which he would have retracted if he could, but they were already recorded in heaven. His short speech costed him the hope of a lifetime. All his life he longed for the day he would put his foot on the promised land, but he lost it through those hasty words. Men need to take heed how they speak to their wives and children in private - things they would not want to be known in public. Similarly, women must know that all their gossip with their friends are recorded in heaven. If Moses lost so much on earth by the few sentences he uttered, how much will your lips cost you, if they are filled with evil and gossip continually?

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, your tongue is the first member touched and changed, otherwise the origin of your baptism is to be questioned. A.P. Simpson said that your language will be under the watchful Spirit, if you are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah's lips was cleansed after he admitted his uncleanness, "Woe is me, for I am undone: because I am a man of unclean lips ..." (Is 6:5). His tongue had to be purified before God could use him.

A certain preacher in Germany who was mightily used of God for the conversion of sinners, saw that the Spirit of God did not work anymore as before. He decided to stop preaching and to examine himself before God. He wrote down all the sins he could think of, and then he examined himself whether he had been guilty of it. In this way he went through his life and cleansed himself. After two weeks he preached again and the people came and repented as never before. God's Spirit could work once again through His cleansed vessel.

It's a pity how many men and women have wonderful qualities, but are destroyed because of their uncontrolled tongues. Your tongue reveals  your heart. If you seek excuses for your mistakes, justify yourself, and are jealous, your tongue will reveal it. We read here how your tongue will steer your life, just as a ship's rudder steers the ship.

Let God examine you thoroughly on this point. Make right with those you have defiled through your words, although it be difficult like gathering again feathers scattered by the wind, otherwise you will never receive God's blessing.