thank you Danny hello everyone Jesse it's always Jesse who says hello good to see you too Jesse front row is well how good is that H get extra leg room at the front too uh my name is Matt one of the pastors here it's good to be with you all this morning we are continuing in our Series in the Book of James hey I want you to think back to when you were a kid which is a long time ago for some of you uh and myself as well did you ever play that game with your friends where you would ask them if you had three wishes what would you ask for ever play that game yeah okay if you were smart like me you you'd use the first two wishes but the last wish you'd always wish for unlimited more wishes wouldn't you which apparently someone told me this week you're not allowed to do that but I think you can well today I have the the Christian equivalent of that question I'll put it up on the screen if you could ask God for one thing and he would give it to you what would you ask for in fact why don't you turn to the person next to you you got one minute ask them that question go for it so what would you ask for besides that no I gu bring it back that's long enough bring it back what you ask for would it be wealth or fame or a long life maybe it's something that you've been desperately longing for in your life that you haven't been able to get maybe it's an answer to a big question about life or about God that you've been searching for uh did you know there's been one person in the Bible that God actually asked that question too you know who it is Solomon there you go uh King Solomon in the Old Testament he was the son of King David uh he became the king of Israel while he was quite young they think around the age of 20 and God appeared to him in a dream uh and asked him this in 1 Kings 3 you can read about it verse 5 God asked him ask whatever you want me to give to you now imagine you're 20 years old and you just become the king of Israel and God Appears to you in a dream and asks you whatever you want what would you ask for well what King Solomon doesn't ask for his long life or wealth or fame or even the death of his enemies what does he ask for wisdom which is a pretty good answer for a 20y old to to give isn't it and God is very pleased with this answer and so he says to Solomon in verse 12 don't know why there's an underline there anyway doesn't matter uh I will do whatever you have asked I will do what you have asked I will give you a wise and Discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you nor will will there ever be so God gives Solomon what he asks for now Solomon goes on to write two of the books of the Old Testament Proverbs and Ecclesiastes both of which make up part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament the third book in in that part of the Bible is called job uh and each of these books is seeking to give the reader wisdom about what it looks like to live in God's world uh what it looks like to live the good life uh in God's world as we encounter it and now listen to how Solomon speaks about wisdom in that Majestic poem or song in Proverbs chapter 8 W I don't know what's going on with those slides you can listen to me they'll get fixed Proverbs chapter 80 it says this it says does not wisdom call out does not understanding raise her voice at the highest point along the way where the paths meet she takes her stand beside the gate leading into the city at the entrance she cries aloud to you oh people I call out I raise my voice to all mankind to you who are simple gain Prudence to you who are foolish set your heart on it listen for I have trustworthy things to say I open my lips and speak what is right my mouth speaks what is true for my lips DET test wickedness all the words of my mouth are just none of them is crooked or perverse to the Discerning all of them are right they are upright to those who have found knowledge choose my instruction instead of silver knowledge instead of choice gold for wisdom is more precious than rubies and nothing you desire can compare with her you see the importance of wisdom more precious than silver and gold it's the thing that we should desire above all things uh we should all want to be wise there we go we'll get off that or to say it in the negative no one really wants to be a fool do they and so the question is for today well what does it mean to be wise what does it mean to live a wise life well in our passage today James is going to contrast these two different types of wisdom that we saw in the passage that Danny read out what he calls Earthly wisdom and he's going to contrast that with Heavenly wisdom now James is often described as uh the New Testament wisdom book uh it's really clear that he's been heavily influenced by Proverbs and he either quotes it or alludes to it many times throughout his letter and as we going through this series uh what we've said is James concern is to show us what faith looks like how Faith Works what it looks like practically in our lives but what makes James so practical is that over and over again what he does is he invites us to examine our lives and to see if they match up with what we say that we believe and so the question that James is going to ask us today is well what wisdom do you have is it true wisdom heavenly wisdom or is it false wisdom is it Earthly wisdom that's the question what wisdom do we have now if you need a structure for today uh it's going to be quite simple first we're going to ask the question well what is wisdom and then we're going to look at Earthly wisdom and then we're going to look at and contrast that with Heavenly wisdom pretty simple what is wisdom Earthly wisdom then Heavenly wisdom let's start with a definition what is wisdom uh we'll simply put wisdom is the ability to discern the relationship between things it's to understand how things work together so in other words wisdom is knowledge uh in practice it's one thing to know about something but wisdom is being able to apply that knowledge practically to life and so for example it's one thing to know about the notes on a piano uh but it's uh it takes wisdom and understanding to know how those notes fit together to make a beautiful piece of music but there's more to it than that because the most famous verse in the Book of Proverbs is this the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom in other words true wisdom begins with God putting him in his rightful place at the center of all things having a right fear of him now fearing the Lord doesn't mean that you're afraid of him it means that you understand who God is and you're in awe of him you have a reverence of him that places him far above yourself it's a fear that causes you not to run away from him but to run towards him that is the beginning of true wisdom but it's also possible to have a type of wisdom that seeks to remove God that's what James calls Earthly wisdom but a wisdom that seeks to remove God isn't wisdom at all rather it's foolishness because it fails to see the ultimate relation Rel ship between things their relationship to God himself you see this play out uh in the Book of Romans as the Apostle Paul begins his critique of humanity in chapter 1 and so in chapter 1 verse 21 can you go to the next slide please laara says for although they knew God they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him but their thinking became futile and their foolish Hearts were darkened this is talking about Humanity although they claimed to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images now one of the examples of this exchange playing out in history was the Enlightenment of a few hundred years ago where we as humans believe that we could lay aside the basic principles of God's revelation and find wisdom a from him a human Centric wisdom that removed God we celebrated this and called it the death of God as we thought we no longer needed him and his wisdom instead exchanged it for our own now the irony of this is that we have taken the wisdom of God's ordered world the thing that actually allows us in the first place to do things like Science and Mathematics and we pretended that we no longer needed God we wanted the creation without the cre Creator we wanted the king without sorry the kingdom without the king and it's this SoCal wisdom that comes from the enlightenment that is the tide that all of us are swimming in whether we know it or not and so James begins in our passage today in verse 13 by asking a question thanks Lara the question in verse 13 have a look at it is who is wise and understanding among you in other words do you have wisdom and understanding that's the question for today well James says if you want to find out you need to look at your life I have another look at verse 13 says 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 he's inviting us to examine Our Lives to look at it and see what type of wisdom we have because James says wisdom will show itself in your deeds in your actions it's just like what James said a few weeks ago back in Chapter 2 if you remember as he spoke about faith remember what he said there that real faith will be shown by your Deeds so you see this as you put those two things together James 2:18 says but some will say you have faith I have Deeds show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my Deeds and now here again in Chapter 3: 13 says who is wise in understanding among you let them show it by their Good Life by Deeds Done in the humility that comes from wisdom so James says do you have true faith will it'll be shown in your deeds and now again here do you have true wisdom will it'll be shown in your Deeds as well in fact wisdom and Faith are not two separate things that they are connected to each other that true wisdom will actually flow out of a true Faith that's because true wisdom comes from God James has already told us about this at the beginning of his letter back in chapter one remember back in chapter one verse 5 he had said if anyone lacks wisdom you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you the wisdom is something that God gives to those who ask him for it and you see that again in our passage today in verse 17 where it says it's the wisdom that comes down from heaven comes from Heaven therefore true wisdom God's wisdom will bring with it humility because it's not our own wisdom it's a wisdom that has come from God it's not something that we can search for and find on our own so verse 13 WHO 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 if you were to diagram all of this out I think it would look something like this it begins with having a right understanding of who God is having a right fear of him and then acknowledging that all wisdom comes from him and then asking God for that wisdom to give you that kind of of wisdom and then that will flow out into living that out in your lives and so what James does in the rest of this passage is now contrasts this true wisdom this heavenly wisdom with the false wisdom this Earthly wisdom so the rest of the time we have together what I want to do is is turn and look at those two different types of wisdom and as we do it I want us to to examine our own hearts and our own lives to see well which wisdom is it that we have now this is one of those those weeks where it's very easy to sit there and think about the other person who needs to hear this or yeah that person they don't have Heavenly wisdom don't worry about them God can worry about them think about your own life look at your own heart look at your own life as we jump in so let's have a look the first type of wisdom uh is Earthly wisdom and you see that in verse 15 com have have a look at that there such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is Earthly as in it's separate to God uh this is why James adds to Earthly a second description which is unspiritual now unspiritual here doesn't mean that it's not spiritual in any way he'll go on to add a third description demonic there we go I don't know what's happening with these slides today we'll get there but unspiritual here means natural it means worldly it means separate to God I think often we assume when we think about these things there's three Realms you have the the two spiritual Realms come up on the screen again thanks Lara uh you have uh Heaven which is you know good and then you have hell or the Demonic which is with evil but in between we often assume that the the natural world or the Earth is neutral uh but the Earth is not neutral this is not Switzerland uh it is not neutral ground uh Earthly wisdom worldly wisdom isn't neutral it I don't think we should assume that it's just right or good because it's natural there are lots of things that are natural that we have instincts for in our lives that are not good or wise now not to throw my kids under the bus here but but um there's lots of things that they do that are neither good or wise uh I I remember the first time I saw my kid hit another kid and grab the toy that they were holding now I never taught them to be selfish uh it was something that they just came naturally to them it wasn't something that was put upon them from the outside uh I could see it in their eyes they weren't even old enough to crawl across the room but somehow they managed to make their way across the room this kid that had the toy that they wanted I could see them look across to me to see if I was watching them and I pretended I wasn't looking but I was and then they proceeded to hit the kid and grab the toy from them that came naturally to them some might say it was demonic and but the thing is we are no different to that now we might be better at hiding it as adults but we're no better the point is natural Earthly wisdom is not neutral James actually says it's demonic and when he says that it doesn't mean demonic in some way like we're uh possessed by a demon or something like that it means it's the kind of wisdom that is opposite to Heavenly wisdom to God's wisdom it's seeking to live in the world without relation to the god of wisdom there's no neutral ground when it comes to wisdom that's what we mean when we say the World the Flesh and the devil all three are in opposition to God and his wisdom but here's the thing so often the natural wisdom of our world Earthly wisdom can look very impressive can't it and if you have it you'll probably be very successful in this world but James says be careful because it's not just Earthly and unspiritual it's demonic it's it's opposed to God and to his wisdom actually see that right from the beginning back with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as they tempted by Satan back in Genesis 3 Verse 6 says when the woman but the woman sorry when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom she took some and ate it and she gave some to her husband but the wisdom that she desired here wasn't God's wisdom God had already given them his wisdom what she desired was a a wisdom opposed to God it was the wisdom that had tempted her to think she could be like God that was the great Temptation Of Satan that you could be like God but at the end of the day Earthly wisdom is is thinking you can be like God but you're not we are creatures he is the creator thinking you can be like God is Not wisdom it's foolishness sin okay that's that's Earthly wisdom the question is well how do you know if that's the wisdom that you are living out in your lives well James says firstly you need to look at the root of the problem and so have a look at verse 14 he says but if you Harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts do not boast about it or deny the truth such wisdom does not come from heaven but is Earthly and spiritual demonic you see what James says you have to do if you want to diagnose if you have this Earthly wisdom he says if you Harbor bitterness and bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts now just take a second think about your own life consider your own heart is the wisdom that you have really just to cover up for your own envy and selfish ambition think about how that could play out because both of these are very inward focused aren't they they're very self-advancing Envy is seeking what others have and wanting it for yourself really it's just jealousy and then selfish ambition is seeking to use the gifts that God has given you not to serve others but to Serve Yourself now again G both of those things if you have them will probably get you very far in this world they'll often drive you to worldly success in fact I was I was listening to an interview last week of one of the coaches of one of the Olympians Australian Olympian who won a gold medal and they were saying that uh the athlete that he coaches uh that she will do anything she cannot to lose that she hates losing would do anything she possibly can not to lose and so he used that that as the coach to motivate her to train harder and to work more than anyone else so as that she would win now in sport that might be okay although I'm not 100% sure if it's still okay in sport but for many of us I reckon that's the kind of attitude we have in life we think that the thing that's driving us to achieve and succeed is wisdom but actually it's just a cover for our envy and our selfish ambition I seeing what others have and wanting it for ourselves having an ambition that's not a Godly ambition for God in his kingdom but a selfish ambition to increase our own little kingdoms now again if you have these things you'll probably be very successful and to the world you'll probably look really wise James says that's not true wisdom he says that because it's where those things will lead have a look at verse 16 says for where you have envy and selfish ambition there you will find disorder in every evil practice now disorder is the word that was used back in chapter one to talk about those who are unstable tossed to and fro by the wind and the waves uh disorder here is seeking to rebel against the way God has designed the world to work work how God has ordered it but Earthly wisdom goes against that and God's created order and instead creates disorder It also says it will then lead to evil practices in the end Earthly wisdom leads to evil it might not that might look so wise but in the end it will lead to evil practices and in fact if you keep reading on in James to the very next verses as he begins chapter 4 he plays it out says what causes fights and quarrels among you don't they come from your desires that battle within you you desire to have uh you desire but do not have so you kill you cover but you cannot get what you want so you quarrel and fight Earthly wisdom will lead to disorder and to evil so again just take a moment to examine your heart the root of it examine your life how this plays out in your life is the fruit of that in your life disorder and evil because if that's the case then maybe you're not living with God's wisdom maybe you're living with Earthly wisdom often you'll see it play out in different areas of your life for example if you have selfish ambition it might help you get ahead in your career you might be very successful in your career and that but won't be disordered but the this order will play out in a different area of your life in your family life as you succeed in your career at the expense of building relationships with your spouse and your children work will be going great but the disorder will be in your family Earthly wisdom will eventually lead to disorder and evil in your life okay that's Earthly wisdom but then there's another type of wisdom a second wisdom true wisdom what James calls Heavenly wisdom you see that in verse 17 he calls it the wisdom that comes from heaven now what does this wisdom look like in the heart because remember Earthly wisdom in the heart was full of bitter envy and selfish ambition but what about Heavenly wisdom well we've already touched on this uh earlier on but have another look at verse 13 it says 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 what does does it look like what is the root of heavenly wisdom well it's the opposite of selfish ambition it's humility God's wisdom will bring with it humility in our lives and again it's what it then leads to and it leads to Deeds leads to actions in our lives and in verse 18 uh James says what you s you will reap if you SE envy and selfish ambition well that will lead to disorder and evil practices in your life but if you seow humility and peace well that will lead to a harvest of righteousness in your life and so what does this heavenly wisdom look like in your life well verse 17 James says but the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure and what does that mean well pure here means to be without moral defect or blemish in other words wisdom is not just an intellectual thing but it's an ethical thing the wisdom will lead to moral actions and behaviors in our lives and so what James is going to do to sort of Flesh this out is he's going to list seven qualities that Heavenly wisdom will produce in our life and so have another look at verse 17 says but wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure and peaceloving considerate submissive full of mercy and good fruit impartial and sincere so let's have a quick look at at these firstly you've got peace loving it means to be free from anxiety and worry free from inner turmoil that mean God's wisdom means you can make a decision in your life and then even even if those around you think you've made a foolish decision you can be at peace about it knowing that you've done the right thing God God's wisdom will bring peace both for yourself but also in your relationships with others second of all he says considerate which means to show Grace to others means to be gentle with them in the way that you deal with them in Proverbs 151 Solomon says a great answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger thirdly says submissive now I don't think that's a great translation if you got the ESV translation it says open to reason which I think is a much better translation of the original word it means being willing to listen to others and if needed change your view on things imagine if we lived like that in a world that is so stuck in their opinions not willing to hear the other side imagine if we lived like that had that kind of wisdom in our lives where we would listen to others and be open to reason again Proverbs 12 uh verse1 15 says it this way says the way of fool is right in his own eyes but a wise man listens to advice then number four says it's full of Mercy Heavenly wisdom is full of Mercy it means to to show compassion to be compassionate with those around you to treat people better than they deserve to show Mercy even when they don't deserve it he says it's also full of good fruit the wisdom will lead to good fruit in your life and to the lives of those around you you will be a blessing to others your life will display the fruits of the spirit in your own life and in your relationships with others and then number six impartial James has spoken about this already earlier on in the book where he talked about uh the way we treat people as they enter into church do we favor some and not others well God's wisdom says we'll be impartial we'll treat people equally we won't show favoritism based on something about them and then finally he says true wisdom will be sincere it'll be genuine not a hypocrite the word that's used here was the word that was used for when an actor puts on a mask when they play a different character and pretend to be someone else being sincere is the opposite of that not having a mask on and pretending to be different than who you are to be sincere to be genuine and again as you go through this list what James is doing is inviting us to examine our lives and to see if we possess these qualities of what he calls Heavenly wisdom because if you SE these things that lead to peace Verse 18 says peacemakers will SE in peace reap a harvest of righteousness that's what it will lead to in our lives a harvest of righteousness so it's worth considering which wisdom are you living out in your lives is it just Earthly natural wisdom or is it Heavenly wisdom okay let's finish up there are two types of wisdom you got Earthly wisdom which isn't wisdom at all and you've got Heavenly wisdom that comes from God did you notice as we SP about these things that all the qualities of heavenly wisdom are relational it's how you relate to other people which makes a lot of sense because after all that's what wisdom is how things relate to each other and in particular how they relate to God to people and to our world as we see it and why that makes sense is because the god of wisdom is the relational God he's the Triune God of relationship he he is not an impersonal Force but he is the relational God who has made himself known to us he's made himself known in the creation which he made in wisdom and order but he's made himself most fully and finally known in his son who is the full and final revelation of God's wisdom in Jesus Christ you have the wisdom of God made flesh and it's Jesus who is the one who perfectly displayed a life of heavenly wisdom perfectly displayed those seven characteristics that we just went through before he was the one who was perfectly humble the one who loved peace the one who go through that whole list and it's in Jesus that God brings back together into relationship those things which have been broken apart by human wisdom we have broken away from God through our human wisdom but at the cross in his wisdom God brings back together that which was out of relationship that's where his wisdom is on most full display in this world now to the world that would that looks foolish the cross of Jesus just looks foolish but to those of us who have a Heavenly wisdom to see it the cross is God's wisdom in all its fullness as he brings people like you and I back into relationship with him that is the source of true wisdom so let me finish by reading to you from one Corinthians chapter 1 where Paul speaks of this I think it's a beautiful passage he says where is the wise person where is the teacher of the law where is the philosopher philosopher of this age has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world for since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him God was pleased through the foolishness of what we preached to save those who believe what my spot there we go Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom but we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles but to Those whom God has called both Jew and Greek Christ the power of God God and the wisdom of God in Jesus Christ and his cross we have the wisdom of God on full display the wisdom that brings back into relationship us and God and then it's out of that that we can have that Heavenly wisdom so let's pray that we would have that in our lives that we would live that out father we thank you that true wisdom comes from you that you are the source of all wisdom and that that wisdom is not an imp personal Force but it was made flesh in the person of your son who is in himself your true wisdom thank you that it is through the cross that you have brought back together that which was separated that you have reconciled us brought us back into relationship with you through him and that it is out of that that we can now live a life of wisdom true wisdom Heavenly wisdom Lord would you help us to have that in our lives to seek that in our lives to live it out would we put aside any Earthly wisdom would you reveal that to us and would we live out the humble Heavenly wisdom that comes from you we pray this in the name of your son amen