Two kinds of wisdom Welcome Bootcamp series, thru to book of James, practical, training and instruction on the Christian life. Are you enjoying this series? Last week talked about taming the tongue, The tongue holds the power of death and life. Tongue directs where we go, can destroy what I have and reveals who I am. Daniel Lehman was here with his band and had a great night together watch or listen, download it www.hopechapelmaui.com After talking about the power of our words James frames the discussion of the chapter back to this theme of Wisdom Someone said Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional. Just because you grow older doesn t mean you grow wiser! "More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren't so busy denying them. James doesn t waste any words! He shoots straight to the heart of the matter. He is writing to these church s that were scattered and addresses all kinds of issues and problems, the kind we face everyday. Temptation, Favoritism, Faith vs works, Walking the talk, Taming the tongue. Tonight he talks about true wisdom. He wants us to know what it looks like, what it means to be a true follower of Christ. He wants to prepare us for our mission. He writes that we would be equipped to walk out our faith. That we could possess true wisdom! Prayer Handouts Who is the wisest person you know? What is it about them that has given them that wisdom? Life experience, school of hard knocks, their education. The school and college they went too. So much of life has been professionalized and institutionalized that we easily slip into the notion that it is the responsibility of some profession or some institution to impart to us wisdom. The implication seems to be that wisdom and understanding are something you purchase with tuition and class fees, rather than being a daily, lifelong process of growth. We should turn all our efforts to become wiser tomorrow than we are today. Now the reason that getting wisdom is important is that it is the practical knowledge by which we gain this true and lasting happiness. Proverbs 3:13 says, "Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gets understanding." Proverbs 24:13 14 says, "My son, eat honey, for 1
it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off." In other words, by means of wisdom you can make your way into a hope-filled future. It is the key to lasting happiness. Proverbs 19:8 says, "He who gets wisdom loves himself." In other words, do yourself a favor: Get wisdom! Get wisdom! How do you get wisdom? James 3:13-18 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James tells us that there are two kinds of wisdom. There is a kind of wisdom that could be called being wise in your own eyes this kind of wisdom is self focused. Concerned about self image, jealous, competitive, very earthly and humanistic. Illus: World peace the human approach! Good luck with that! This kind of wisdom is fake. It s fuel is insecurity. Then there is a wisdom that comes from Heaven. A kind of wisdom that resembles Jesus, Humble, about helping others, doing good things, adding value to the people, circumstances and relationships you are in. James 3:13 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. From the context most believe that James is coming back to speaking to those that want to be teachers. He began his lesson on the tongue about warning the people that not many should presume to be teachers, because it s a serious responsibility it s not about the authority, respect, or attention that you want to receive it s about living the message. Caring for, leading God s people in a sacrificial. He asks this rhetorical question. Who is wise and understanding among you? Illus: Ever been in a classroom and the teacher asks a hard question and no one raises their hand, everyone is to afraid to answer. Why? You don t want to look dumb in front of the whole class. 2
To the audience that James is writing too, they are having the opposite problem. There is people who have all this knowledge, they love to talk, they like to be seen as wise, they like to tell people what to do. They like to give all the answers, they like to be the one that gets all the attention. They don t care what the other people think. They just want to make sure they are heard. But the problem is that their words that they are saying do not resemble the actions. Ever hear somebody say Do as I say, not as I do? That s a hypocritical cope out! James says don t bother saying anything.just do the right thing! That s wisdom. Deeds done in humility. That comes from wisdom. That is real wisdom. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. Interesting phrase here deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. Proverbs 11:2 says, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with the humble is wisdom." The wise person is characterized by humility. The person who is proud does not fear the Lord, who hates a haughty spirit, and therefore can't get to first base in wisdom. But the person who fears the Lord is humble, because he depends on God for everything and fears to take credit himself for what God does. Humility, in turn, is foundational for the other aspects of godly wisdom because humility is teachable and open to change and growth. The proud person does not like to admit his errors and his need for growth. But the humble person is open to counsel and reason, and ready to be corrected and follow truth. Just as our faith is dead without works, wisdom is shown through our actions. A good definition of godly wisdom, therefore, would be: hearing and doing God's Word. You gotta know the word, to do it. Too many people know it and do nothing. James says you show your wisdom by doing good things that God s word tells us. "Wisdom and understanding are not built in a day; however they are built daily." - Wayne Cordeiro It s what we do that demonstrates wisdom and not what we say. That is why responding in a humble manner, swallowing your pride, serving others, taking every opportunity no matter how small to encourage others, to help others, to serve is so important. Listen, learn, be open minded, take in God s word Ask God for wisdom. Illus: we want everything fast. Get rich quick scheme. Make millions from home in 10 hours a week! Make thousands at home stuffing envelopes from home small print with marijuana 3
No such think as a get rich scheme No get wisdom quick scheme. You just don t wake up one day some mighty man or women of God. Every moment, every decision, every little step of faith and obedience interconnects and solidifies God s wisdom in our life. Wisdom isn t wisdom until it is expressed in your life in some kind of action. James 3:14-16 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. This is the other kind of wisdom which we know is false. You can sense the sarcasm here Such wisdom does not come from heaven!!! 4 Bitter envy and selfish ambition are the opposite of humility. James uses all kinds of contrasts. He says to boast about being wise while displaying jealousy and selfish ambition is a lie. Wisdom is always accompanied by humility. James get s into the gigantic contrast of this so called wisdom the person who claims and boast about being wise their wisdom is earthly, unspiritual and demonic. WOW For you Bible students, we see a Parallel here to our enemies as Christians (World, Flesh, Devil) Earthly, World, Earthbound can t transcend, no lasting value, limited, anti God culture and current of the world. Unspiritual Flesh, selfish desires, sin nature. Demonic- from the pit of hell! That s where this kind of false wisdom comes from. It s demonic. Pause if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts I struggle is selfish ambition, envy, jealousy, we all do But what James is talking about what we HARBOR. Lahaina Harbour most scenic harbor on Maui. A harbor is a body of water where ships, boats, seek shelter, reside and are stored for future use. Each boat has their own Slip in the harbor. It s their parking spot. It s their home. You pay for that slip. Not any boat can just pull into the harbor. It s an agreement that s made.
What are you harboring in your heart? What agreement s have you made about what parks in the harbor of your heart? Is it bitter envy and selfish ambition. Do you let bitterness, envy, jealousy and selfish ambition make a home in your heart. Do you allow it to stay there? Thinking that you are protecting yourself by harboring all that inside. That s the most destructive thing you can do. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. Is that where you want to be? I DONT THINK SO!!! That s not the kind of harbor you want to park in!! Hell s Harbour. Disorder and every evil practice these words carry this association of violent riots, angry mob and demonstrations. Unpredictable, unstable, violent that s what you find in your life if your harbor envy and selfish ambition. That s what it s like to park it in Hell s harbor. James continues on and tell s us about Heaven s Harbour! 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. DO you want to park your life in hell s harbor and Heaven s harbor?? Like true faith, true wisdom is identified by the quality of life that it produces. The first James mentions is pure. Means an innocence and moral blamelessness. Peace-loving. This is the opposite of disorder, unstableness, violent way of living. Harmful words, action. Not just physical violence, the emotional wounds they hurt the most. Do want a life full of peace loving? Considerate a willingness to yield to others. Flexible. Are you a flexible person? Submissive Willing to defer to others in matters that don t violate God s word. If it s between one way or another and both are cool with God be submissive! Full of Mercy and Good Fruit love for other people that shows itself in action. The heart of the message of James. Impartial and sincere fair, don t show favoritism, transparency, authenticity. We all want relationships that are real. We don t want fake, shallow. 5
18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. Righteousness is conduct which is pleasing to God. So peacemakers can grow and flourish in the atmosphere of peace. Plant seeds peace. Everywhere you go, everyone you talk to plant those seeds you reap a harvest of righteousness. Pause The whole tone of this passage is one that begs the reader to reflect on their own life. Am I wise, do I have understanding. Am I experiencing the conditions of Hell s harbor or Heaven s harbor? The greatest thing is that Jesus Christ offers us Peace with God. It s because of Christ s death on our behalf. His blood shed for our debt. We can have peace with God. That peace with God is the gateway to true wisdom. You can experience all the great attributes of Heaven s harbor. Your life can have that peace loving, mercy, good fruit. In Christ. Come to Him. Return to Him. He washes away the past, he calms the storm. Psalm 19:7 "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." Center your life on Him and his word. Pray. 6