No Lo Vi Venir | Riendas, Timones y Chispas | Jen DeWeerdt

Hello, good morning church, how are you? Doing good. Let's try it one more time. How are you this day? Good, very good, very good. There we are, coffee, good, caffeine coming in. Well, we are excited that you are here. Please, welcome to all of our locations. Janesville, Cape Coral, God behind the bars. We are very excited. And I can't think of a better way to start our week than in the church. Because you know what you are doing? You are putting the tone for your life, for your home, for your work. And I can't think of a better way to start this week in this series of We Didn't See It Coming. It's a guide for those who are skeptical about how to live like Jesus. And we are talking about the book of St. James. And it was written by St. James. Jaime, right? Some people say Jaime, but it's St. James. And he was the half-brother of Jesus. No pressure, right? Well, I hope you have followed our plan. You are going to start talking about this. We are going to talk about the book of Jaime as a church. And I would love for you to be in this. And well, sometimes people don't know this. The half-brother of Jesus, St. James, didn't believe he was the son of God. He thought, well, he believed it until he died and resurrected. And he said, well, maybe he is the son of God.

Maybe he just resurrected and left, right? After that, St. James is saved, so to speak. And he starts to be a devotee of him. So much so that he dies for his faith in 62 AD. And the skeptics say, well, what about this one who doesn't believe in him? What can you tell us about living a life of spiritual maturity, of growing in faith? And well, the subject of today's topic, look, it's more than 25% of the content that Jaime talks about. And Jaime is talking about our life of faith. He's talking about one thing. And I don't know what that one thing is. That one thing is the power of speech and the power of words. And it goes more time, Santiago, talking about your mouth than any other spiritual discipline. And I'm going to tell you today, I'm going to tell you that the message of today comes with a warning, with a warning. Because he's writing this, it really gives us things as they are, without hair in the tongue, so to speak. And today we're going to talk like this. We're going to talk without hair in the tongue. Because Santiago did it like this. Our text is in Jaime chapter three. And we're going to start reading verse three. All right, and let's see what James has to say. He says, when we put a horse where we want it to go, if we put a little stopper in its mouth, it says, well, a little stopper makes a huge ship turn

where the captain wants it to turn, no matter how strong the teeth are. In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great voices. A spark can set on fire a small spark. The tongue also is a small part of the body. It's a whole world of evil that corrupts the whole body. It can set on fire the whole body, because the hell itself sets on fire by hell. A human being can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is evil, unbearable, a deadly poison. So, wow, you say, why don't you tell us, James, Jai Santiago, tell him how it is, right? I told you, he speaks with no hair on his tongue. And today I want us to look at the three metaphors that Santiago talks about in that passage. He talks about the things that horses use, right? How do you say this? Let's talk about this first. A horse is controlled by this brake. Imagine, a muscle of 1,200 pounds. Here it is, look. Now, here it is, look. This brake, this thing you put on the horse, on the horse's mouth,

Well, sometimes it's made of metal and it's in the horse's mouth, the bridon, and it sits in the mouth between the front teeth and the molars in the back. And it sits there, there are no teeth where this piece of bone is, and it's very sensitive, this part between the teeth that don't have teeth. And the bridon, the brake, connects to the bridon, and it connects to the reins, and when the rider is riding it, he pulls it, puts pressure on the reins, and controls the horse. The rider can control if the animal goes to the right, or to the left, or if it stops, right? And what Jaime is saying here is that if you can control your mouth, you can control the direction of your life. So what I'm saying is that many of you need to learn to say, wow, with your tongue. So, Santiago, expand this idea with this, which is this other part, right? This other part is a very small part, a register, a nautical guide. The nautical guide is like a little thing that's in the back of a boat that goes under the water, and it's connected by machines, and they're connected to where you drive a navigational guide. The captain consults this guide. The machine creates power. The wind and the current help push it, and this register, or nautical guide, makes the water change so that the boat can navigate. Imagine, look, there it is. In this big boat, in a boat, it's small, but through the distance, it changes the direction thanks to this nautical guide. What is it that you're asking to see, Santiago? You're like, the boats are big, the winds are strong, the forces are powerful, but a little guide determines the direction. You say, thank you, Jen, for teaching us about boats today. You know, there are many things that create the wind and forces everywhere, right? There are circumstances, there are other people, well, there are emotions, there is stress, there is pressure, there are failures, you know, your heart hurts, there are opportunities, changes, problems, many things that happen around us, and those are the wind in the machine, it's forcing us to move, but the words determine where it takes us.

But guess what? Your words determine where those forces take you. We're all going to experience this thing called, right? Well, it's not too late to pass it on, because we live in a broken world. We're all going to have good things, difficult things, beautiful things, and challenging things, and I say it all the time. Nobody leaves this life without scars, but the words that we speak are going to guide us. Our language helps to guide our navigation, you know? This nautical guide, I think this is what motivates him. This guide is really, this ship is not going fast, right? It's going in one direction, there's a lot of weight. We live in this world that gives us weight. Jeremy said, when he became the chief pastor, when he started, he said, wow, this is a big organization, it's a big place, and he said, the ship doesn't, you know, you can't turn a ship slowly, but you can turn it with something. You know, you have to change things, but you can't turn it really fast, you can't. You can't turn a ship fast, and you know, a ship doesn't turn fast, and your life isn't going to change fast. This isn't, you're going to manifest things. No, no, no, we're not talking about this today. But when we start to take care of our words, and we start to understand the weight that our words have, You open up in our life, you begin to change our life in the same way, you listen to the repetitive negativity and there is a little bit of cynicism, but when you have gratitude, you begin to change the faith. When you repeat the criticism, you begin to make your heart split from what you are criticizing.

When someone repeats motivation to you, little by little you begin to change humility. It is the guide that leads you to the best. Some of you are going to laugh at me, I need to drink a little water, my mouth is dry. I'm going to show you an example. We live in the north, here in Cape Coral. That is the time of the year where we don't like it much here. We had summer and autumn and then it snowed again, like in a week. 15 years ago, every winter I complained, I complained, I complained, and once, it looks so simple. And I saw that the Holy Spirit told me, stop complaining. Stop complaining about where you live, about the weather, because here is the thing. It is not changing the weather, but it is changing you. It is changing you. Of course you can applaud. Many of you say, I'm not going to change my complaint. I'm not saying, I love this weather, it's horrible out here. No, but here's the thing, this is where I am. This is where I live. So, I get to just love where I live. And it's not changing anything. And so, I learned, it's the same thing. The things that we do, it's all about the rudder. And this is what I know. If I live in this house, this is where I live. So, little by little, I said, I'm not going to complain about my house. And I started walking with my dog in the cold. I shined well, and maybe it looks crazy, but I learned to love the cold. And at this moment, I say, God, it's still harder not to complain, because I want the sun. But you know, it changed me. When I stopped complaining, it changed me. Because your words matter.

Your words matter. They're putting a territory for you. Like the pilot in the movies. If the pilot, what happens? If he takes off the wheel, the boat leaves. I've seen it in the movies, right? How the storms come, and they're grabbing the big wheel. And there are people who are grabbing the nautical guide so that the boat goes in the direction. And it's hard. It's hard when we want that. We have the power. We have the power to control our nautical guide. If the boat goes to the pilot, to where the pilot wants, where are you going? Because the boat goes where you send it, where the pilot sends it. So, well, this says that the next question, who is the pilot of your mouth? Your flesh? Your pains in life? Your insecurity? Maybe you live with your emotions. Every now and then you say your emotions, your complaints. Who has this? My prayer is that at the end of this, we invite the Holy Spirit to have this. To have the guide. To have the rudder. The rudder of the boat. And you know what, Jaime? Santiago, who is the master of the tongue, right? The nautical guide doesn't remove the storm, but it determines my destiny. When I'm going through ugly, good, horrible things, big or small, the strong wind you're facing right now,

that difficulty you're going through, that setback, that thing that hurts you, they don't get to determine your future. Those challenges don't determine your future. And you get to determine. You know? Your rudder, right? Where, where do you guide it? That's what determines. The important thing about this, about the nautical guide, is that it goes under the water. It's hidden. You don't see it. but it determines everything. How many of you are people who like to go on a cruise? Like, just like that, like an automatic pilot. And you say, well, who likes a cruise? And you say, oh, put me on the boat, even if it's not a cruise. Well, if it's a boat or a cruise, you say, can I see the guide? That's not the first thing you would say to a person, right? You're seeing the luxury stuff, right? The Royal Caribbean, and there's a pool, and slides in those boats. But you don't see the guide, and that's what determines where you're going. And how does that apply today? The things that are hidden. How do you talk in private? How do you talk in private?

How do you talk to yourself in private? How do you talk to yourself? Because that's one of the areas of our words. How do you talk to other people when they're not there with you? How do you talk at home? Santiago is calling us to do better today. In a powerful way, he's reminding us that our mouth matters more than what we give it credit for, more than what we give it importance. 25% of what he's saying in this letter, when you're reading it, pay attention, because it's not just this section. It's in Jaime's book. He's talking about the power of our words. And the last metaphor that Santiago talks about is this. Well, a little, he says, a little, he says, well, the brake can control the horse, right? But if there's a spark, if there's a spark of fire, it can light a whole fire, right? Or it can start a fire. When you talk about a spark, I remember this little boy, right? Here, the Smoky Bear. Let's say it. What does it say here? Remember that only you can prevent forest fires. Let's say it again. Remember that only you can prevent forest fires.

I used to go camping when I was little, and I don't know why, but I feel that in every commercial, there was this Smoky Bear. And I had a lot of respect, and I would say, sure, we don't need it here. I was here every day. I was seven years old. Sure, we don't need another gallon of water here because I can't start. I don't want to start a forest fire because Smoky is coming for me. And maybe I was afraid that it wasn't healthy to start a forest fire. And I didn't want to be the cause of a forest fire. And I think that Santiago and this Smoky Bear, it's almost the same message. Only you can prevent forest fires. Your words. Yes. Sure, they can mark a territory, they can control things, but they can also cause serious damage. You've seen the damage of these forest fires. Guess what it was? There's fires in Oklahoma, even recently in Los Angeles, a couple of years ago. And what it does,

you start to see the news, and you start to see, there's thousands of burnt land, burnt houses. There's a lot of loss through fire. And you know, it all starts with a spark. The tongue was set on fire by me. That's the first one's life on fire. And now it's set on fire by hell. The tongue is set on fire by itself. You know, to the original story of a James letter, this is the first story he got it on a really serious fire. And I want to explain a little bit. It's actually in the guide, Gahena. And this prayer can be controlled, and I also find in the Gayatri Slam, where the old testament, okay, this would've been 100 years, 1000 years before, this is the thing is littered. Ancient civilizations actually sent these people to pay their respects. But now, James is reading it again in approximately one way. It's now reduced to a garbage dump. All the parts of the body, the tongue is a garbage dump. that corrupts the whole body can light up the whole life

because hell itself lights up. At that time, well, this is very deep. The word hell is translated here as Gehenna. This word was a valley outside of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, even before what we're talking about, in the civilizations before, they sacrificed people to pagan gods in this area. And at that time, Jesus, St. James is writing this letter in 49 AD. This valley was the place where the city's garbage dump was and they burned the garbage day and night. Imagine figuratively, this place was used to symbolize hell. And this letter, they heard this, your tongue is as bad as this place. No, no, no, no. Your tongue is like that garbage that burns in the city. Let's see, how are we today? He's not talking about being out there. I told you, Santiago. Santiago is telling the truth. You see, your words, Christian, can burn the city. And we all know this, right? I said, okay. Yeah, yeah, outside of that church, those people and the sound of my voice. Do you know who Santiago is talking to here?

He's talking to the followers of Jesus. That someone said to you, oh, I'm a Christian and it has stuck with you for years. He's been talking for decades. And he's saying, your words, Christian, Christian can burn things. It was a very different church back then. And I'm here in the church and Santiago is writing and he needs to, he really needs to talk about this. And we all know that this is for real. Words can burn things. And so I can guarantee that there are many people here through my voice, is that many of us can tell me a negative thing or a negative prayer that someone told you, wrote about you, and it has stuck with you for years or decades. And so there were negative people. And most of them were from people who wouldn't leave it to be. And so Jeremy and I were the main pastors of this church. It was a different church. Leave it to be. It was a negative place. And we told the offering people, you know, there are people who are hurt and they hurt others. When they've been hurt, we don't really see it. And they're willing to learn, you know, because we got notes from people.

And you know what? So we just have some notes and we have some cards for people to leave their comments. And they would leave them there and we would receive them. And so eventually, Jeremy said, you know what the offering team said? They said, well, if any of you, if you have something negative and you don't put your name, then delete it. Throw it away. We don't want to see it if you don't put your name. And I think that's wise. Because if you don't have the courage, right? Then we're not going to give you the time. Because you can't have a conversation with someone anonymously. So, well, I was alone and I went into my office and it was Liz's office at the time. She started as Jeremy's executive assistant. And there was this little card that was on the desk. And I said, let's see, let's see. And she said, well, nothing negative. Church people are the worst. And well, and I saw it and I said, the pastor, the pastor's wife should dress like a pastor. We're supposed to live different. I don't think we're supposed to dress like a pastor's wife. And I said, well, why do I have to read this? Because, look, it's telling us, Jen, the cool thing is that there were a lot of first parties

and I felt like, oh, I'm okay. Well, let's turn around. We're moving forward. And it was like a spark in the direction of my heart. It doesn't get to determine the heart and the heart. And I still remember this card and this comment. I can say it verbally, word for word. It doesn't hurt me anymore, right? But the nice thing is that, well, if words can be fire, what do you think? When they hit you, the words, You also have the reins, right? And I love how Jaime says it, sorry, how Santiago says it, because you say, when someone tried to burn something of me, it was the power to take control. But it did take time to forget about this, it was one more thing. And you know what, I locked myself in his office and he said, oh God, I give you this, I give you this problem, this comment, I give it to you. So the words can bring weight, bring fire. I think Santiago opens the fire, not because he's being dramatic, but because he's seen what words can do in a church, in a family, in a community, in life. Lies, rumors, pain, manipulation, gossip, all of this can create an irreparable damage. We all take, we take a deep breath, let's say, okay. Jaime continues in verse 3, 9, he says,

he's telling you, he says, with the tongue we praise God, our Father, and with the tongue we curse the veterans, those who are made in the likeness of God. And from the same mouth comes the praise and the curses. Brothers and sisters, this shouldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. You're probably saying some hurtful things. You're probably saying some hurtful things. You don't even have the power to create praise and also maybe things in other people's lives. If you're not saying positive things, maybe you're saying hurtful things. Or you say, hey, maybe if you haven't thought about your words, maybe you've got sparks. Right? Candles. And you know what? Maybe there's homework. You say, I don't want homework. I've already seen a plan to read. I don't want homework. I want us to do this. This is your homework. Pay attention to everything that comes out of your mouth for the next 24 hours. Listen to what you're saying about yourself. Listen to what you're saying about your workplace. Listen to what you're saying about your coworkers. What's coming out of your mouth?

What are you saying to your friends? What are you saying to your parents, young people? How do you talk to your parents, young people? How do you talk to those in your workplace? What do you joke about? What is your conversation? What are you complaining about? Are your words glorifying God? Are they full of life or death? And they say it in proverbs. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Are you full of sarcasm or optimism? Are you cutting people down or helping them? Are they positive or are they negative? What are you talking about about people? What are you declaring over yourself? Are you talking about how bad things are? Are you talking about how bad things are in your life? Are you talking about all the negative things that are happening around you? Are you just keeping on living and how are you getting you down? Are you just obsessing about all the things that are going through? And you're just going through with it. But our words can be negative. You can speak those negative things up because you can speak those negative things up. Or guess what? You can take the reins and you can turn the boat around.

And you can turn the boat around in your life. You can change the course of your life, the direction that it's going in the scripture that you're supposed to go in your life. Where are you going? According to a scripture. You can be declared that you're serving a God that he's going to give you everything that you need. You can be declared that you're serving yourself of less than what you need. Okay. Where are the ones who are speaking talk about you're another disease? Where are the ones who are repetitive and you would guess what? You're six closer than a brother. That God has forgiven him. He's never forgotten God. That God has forgiven you. How did he even go as far as walks up sorry? Jesus called him to the heavens and said that he'd come to be your hope. Shake it all in all the things that you could bear are the words in these scriptures. All people of the world. Please, sharp people of the world offer me a little purpose. Practice what the Bible teaches you to do. You focus on the Lord, not wanting to break what God teached you to do.

Keep doing what he teaches you. There's no purpose. That's right. You don't want it, but the Lord's teaching you don't want it. You don't want progress. ił keep doing what the Lord directs you to do. The small things don't matter, that's what we think. They always start small. It's something daily. Here it is. Everything is small. And everything is here. The mouth. I think... And I know that a lot of things have happened in our church. People that are going through difficult things. So I'm not trying to minimize this. But sometimes I feel that we don't need different circumstances, or better opportunities, or a better life. Sometimes what we need in the moment is a tongue that surrenders to God. A tongue that surrenders. You know, Jaime says it. And well, he says that at the beginning of the passage, we're not going to be perfect. And he says, you're not going to be perfect. And then he says it as it is. And he says, well, this is the tension. And well, we take the reins. And we say, well, we're going to do the best we can. And only the Holy Spirit can change.

And where is this from? The source of this situation. And that's your heart. Don't just focus on the mouth. Focus on the heart. Because of the abundance of the heart, the tongue, the mouth speaks. So today, I don't want us to see each other. That's what helps us change the words. Because what Santiago is saying is, stay there. It's also about an invitation. You just need to go into it. So you need to live with this, with this knowledge. And you need to say, Holy Spirit, you have an invitation. You're not going to start one day and be like, oh, I said this now. I don't want my heart to change. No, it's going to be like a ship. It's fast. It's going to break every day. But if every day we can say to God, help me take care of my words. Holy Spirit, I invite you to transform my heart. That's when things start to change. And many of you are here. And I feel like you're thinking about the people who hurt you. And I'm going to tell you today, we live in a God who changes everything. The same mouth that used to hurt can heal now. The same mouth that used to destroy can build. And that same mouth that used to burn everything, what do you think? Now it can be refreshing for other people. I've seen it. I believe it.

And I think God can do it. But commit to the process. So I want us to do this right now. We have little time. And well, let's take 30 seconds. Close your eyes wherever you are. And I want you to take a moment. And I want you to take a moment and realize where your words have hurt or hurt you. Where you have to change the direction by taking the reins of your tongue. And many of you at the time, a simple, God forgive me for the words I have said. Forgive me for the harm I have done. It is to repent. When we give up our pride and say, I didn't pay attention to this, forgive me. So for 30 seconds, 30 seconds of silence, God wants you to listen. Take 30 seconds and you just talk to God on your own and then I'll close in for you. God, I thank you for your word, for this book of St. James, that it teaches us, I thank you because you remind us of your word, not my word, your word, that reminds us of the power of our language, the power of the words that speak to us, that tell us about others, what we have said about others, what we have said about ourselves, so God, I pray that there is a higher knowledge for the loving, for the loving conviction of the Holy Spirit, that we are aware of what we are saying, that when we have that voice that tells us, oh, calm down, that we really calm down, and that little voice tells us, turn right, shut up, and that I let him speak to you, and that I let him preach to you, and God, let us listen because the words that are spoken or written are powerful, and God, then, with humble hearts, we invite the Holy Spirit to change our heart, and that God then, from the inside out, where there is pain or hurtful hearts, that there is a heart of love, where there is a heart of complaints, there is a heart of gratitude, help us to change our perspective, I thank you for my friends, that the Spirit of God lives in us, so it is not the impossible mission, this is simply the redirected mission, and it is different, closing your eyes, bowing your head if you are here today, and you have never made the decision to follow Jesus, I want you to pray this with me, dear Jesus,

gracias por el regalo de tu hijo, que me perdonas, gracias por tu propósito, gracias que me cambiaste, hoy decido seguirte a ti, en el nombre de Jesús, y todos decimos amén, amén, démosle un fuerte aplauso a todos los que hicieron esta oración.