A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only three parachutes and four people. The pilot added, “I should have one of he parachutes because I have a wife and three small children.” So he took one and jumped.
The computer whiz said, “I should have one of the parachutes because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me.” So he took one and jumped.
The minister turned to the Boy Scout and with a sad smile said, “You are young and I have lived a rich life, so you take the remaining parachute, and I’ll go down with the plane.”
The boy Scout said, “Relax, Reverend, the smartest man in the world just picked up my knapsack and jumped out!
Or did you hear about a small storeowner was being pressured to sell his store to the owners of a large department store who had bought every building on the block, except his. Frustrated by the man’s refusal to sell, they eventually opened their huge store on either side of the small one, with a big banner running from one side to the other, proclaiming in huge letters "GRAND OPENING." (Sermon central/Paul Decker)
Feeling equally frustrated, the small storeowner did finally outsmart the large department store. Below the grand opening sign, across the front of his small store, the man put up a small banner over his door: "MAIN ENTRANCE." (Sermon central/Paul Decker)
This morning we are going to look at wisdom. This is our 7th sermon on the Book of James. Next week Advent begins and we will pick up James again in the New Year. This morning, like I said we are looking at wisdom and I will be reading 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.
In our passage this morning we are told there are 2 types of wisdom. First we have a heavenly wisdom and then there is an earthly wisdom which is a skewed wisdom or no wisdom at all.
So often Christians can get caught up in what we think is godly wisdom, but the truth is that earthly wisdom has crept in and take the place of Godly wisdom in our lives. It has become the norm. We need to be seeking out Godly wisdom in our lives. This passage talks about Heavenly wisdom and one might think that wisdom is only available when we get to heaven, but we should be praying heaven to come down to us and fill our souls with wisdom.
I. Godly Wisdom
We celebrate wisdom in our culture and we look to the wise. We ourselves want to be wise in our decisions so that we make the right decisions and handle things the right way. James is trying to point us to the right kind of wisdom.
Wisdom that comes from God first and foremost will be found in His Word. It may also be from a friend that is in tune with the Holy Spirit or may come to us in times of solitude with God. Wherever the wisdom comes from it must not be contradictory to Scripture.
I think sometimes next to Scripture, children have the most wise, humble and honest advice for us. When a teacher asked her grade 3’s for good advice this is what she heard.
- “Never trust a dog to watch your food.”
- “When your dad is mad and asks you, "Do I look stupid?" don’t answer him.”
- “Never tell your mom her diet’s not working.”
- “Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time.”
- “If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse.”
- “Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.”
- “Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a baseball bat.” And
- “Never try to baptize a cat.”
Like I said next to Scripture these kids will hit it on the nail every time. Scripture gives us so much wisdom, heavenly wisdom. In fact Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon are considered Wisdom literature or the wisdom books by scholars when they categorize Scripture in headings.
That is a lot of the Bible dedicated to Wisdom. That does not mean there is not wisdom in the rest of the Bible…There are lots, but these books are focused on wisdom. In Proverbs alone we read things like:
1. Proverbs 1:7: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
2. Proverbs 1:10: My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them.
3. Proverbs 3:7: Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.
4. Proverbs 3:29 Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you.
5. Proverbs 3:30: Do not accuse anyone for no reason—when they have done you no harm
6. Proverbs 6:20: My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. (listen to mamma)
7. Proverbs 11:2: When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
8. Proverbs 15:18: A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.
9. Proverbs 19:1: Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.
The whole book of Proverbs has little bits of wisdom like that, all 31 chapters. And seeing it is from the Word of God we know it is Godly wisdom. I believe when we start to stray from God’s wisdom that is when we will see problems in our lives.
Just in the 10 verses I just read you we have this wisdom:
1. Fear the Lord
2. Stay away from evil hearted people
3. Do not plot against and accuse your neighbour
4. Listen to your mom and Dad
5. Watch out for pride
6. Watch your temper
7. And be blameless and watch your mouth
And like I said before: If the wisdom does not line up with the Bible then it is not heavenly wisdom.
Wait a minute!!!! There is some worldly wisdom that is not in Scripture that is good! What about don’t stick your tongue to a steel pole in the winter or don’t eat yellow snow…maybe we will call that regional wisdom, but better yet common sense.
I am not saying that all worldly wisdom is wrong, but when it comes to Godly wisdom…it is a wisdom that has a heavenly focus. It is a wisdom that will help us live lives that are pleasing to God, lives that are going to be fruitful for the Kingdom and lives that project His goodness to the world.
Verses 17-18 says: 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.
We talk about the fruits of the Spirit…Well here we have the fruits of adhering to Godly wisdom. What is behind our motives? Does the wisdom we receive result in peace, consideration, submissiveness, mercy and sincerity? Or are we portraying the opposite…then maybe we are in tune with worldly wisdom.
II. Worldly Wisdom
Worldly wisdom, like I said before, often focuses on ourselves, what is right for us, what feels good, what makes us look good, and what bring us above others.
There were 2 famous writers H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw. They were brilliant men with worldly wisdom, yet they rejected the message of Scripture. They placed their trust in their own systems of belief, which were based on human reason.
Yet they could not find lasting inner peace, and they slowly lost confidence in what they believed. Wells’ final literary work, for example, has been aptly called "a scream of despair."
And shortly before Shaw died in 1950, he wrote, "The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, have led directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith." (Bobby Scoby/Sermon Central)
The world’s wisdom will lead to destruction. It is a wisdom that put self above others; a wisdom that gratifies desires; a wisdom that says it does not matter who you hurt and a wisdom that says we are self-reliant and do not need a God.
This wisdom can lead to the opposite of the fruits of Godly wisdom. Sure, maybe for a time things will be fine, but what will be the result in the end.
We see the world’s wisdom as in regard to peace and that is failing, we see the world’s wisdom in relationships around us and there are problems, we see the world’s wisdom in regard to government policies and often there is corruption and mismanagement, but there is a bigger problem!
III. The bigger problem
The bigger problem is: The church often thinks they are following Godly wisdom, but the problem is the worldly wisdom has become so much the norm that it has crept in and influenced the church.
One example of this may be: A church has a planning meeting to plan for the future. They use a standard strategic planning technique that looks at the past and what worked, it looks at their strengths, they evaluate their team based on their plan, but…. They fail to seek out God’s will and fail to leave room for God to do something new.
When God told the apostles to go on a missionary journey they did not postpone the trip for a planning meeting; they did not give excuses that they needed training or develop a five year plan. The Holy Spirit directed and they went. Worldly wisdom says you need a plan even when God calls! Godly wisdom says the planning is done, if God Calls.
Now do not get me wrong, I believe planning and having a plan is good, but sometimes we can limit God with our planning and put time barriers on God’s plan. However if we feel God saying we need to be doing something we better be moving forward on the plan and not spend all our time strategizing and planning. Government does a great job of that already.
On the other hand, if it is our idea, we need to really take the time and seek God’s wisdom because our ideas most likely are influenced by the world.
In order for us to tell which wisdom we are following we need to be in the Word. We need to understand God’s ways, His desires and His attributes. The more we are in tune with Him the more aware we will become of the wisdom the world has to offer. So we need to be in the Word and communing daily with God!
Here is verses 14-16 in my own wording: {if we} harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts… boast … or deny the truth. {If there is} selfish ambition…{you will} find disorder and every evil practice. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, {and even} demonic.
Conclusion:
This morning I am calling you to revaluate your thinking regarding the things in your life, the ideals you have and the plans for your life. Are you seeking God’s wisdom in these areas? Or has earthly wisdom crept in? Are you leaning on God and His Word or are you allowing worry, pride, other people’s judgment or naysayers control what you are doing?
Remember Wisdom from above looks like this:
It counts the cost and lives for the future
It follows the path of right living
It focus’ on relationships – first with God then with others.
It puts first things first.
It knows to give to the Lord what belongs to the Lord.
It says no to impulses
It chooses to lose to self and allows God to be in control
It lives a life of peace and harmony
It chooses to serve and to be a doer of the Word of God
It says ‘No Pride!”
It always presses on toward the goal of eternity
It produces a life filled with good fruit
It knows when to stop and pray before speaking
It understands that faith + works = Success in life
Remember Worldly Wisdom looks like this:
It has a heart that is filled with the influences of the dark side
It is a life that if filled with self-centeredness and selfish ambition
It seeks whom it may consume
It seeks to focus on material possessions
It desires to walk over others to get its own way.
It has a belief system that lives by animal instincts
It has a belief system that has not spiritual insight in it.
It lives for evil purposes
It has a lifestyle filled with mayhem and disarray
It has a life filled with deception and distortion.
It has a life filled with no deep relationships
It has a life filled with bitterness
It has a life not worth living! (Illustration by Michael Mccartney/Sermon Central)
We need to decide if we have a temporal view or an eternal view; we need to know if we are governed by Godly wisdom or Worldly Wisdom; we need to know if we are living for self or living for God and others. And finally, we need to know which perspective and which wisdom is driving our lives.
The only way we will know if our lives and plans line up with God is if we are in tune with God and His Word! And…
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.
Live it and be humble about it! Let us pray!
Benediction:
(inspired by James 3:13-4:3)
Go out, clothed in strength and dignity.
Submit yourselves to God and resist the devil.
Delight in the Lord’s teaching,
open your hands to the poor,
and let your actions arise from the wisdom of God.
And may God draw near to you and strengthen you;
May Christ Jesus teach you the ways of simplicity;
and may the Holy Spirit fill you with wisdom
and make your fruitful in peace and righteousness.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
