{"id":18699,"date":"2021-03-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/james-018-two-kinds-of-wisdom\/"},"modified":"2021-03-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T06:00:00","slug":"james-018-two-kinds-of-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/james-018-two-kinds-of-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"James 018 – Two Kinds of Wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[104],"series_event":[514],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18699","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-james","series_event-james","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"James 018 - Two Kinds of Wisdom","sermon_date":"20210303","sermon_month":"3","sermon_year":"2021","sermon_notes":8880,"sermon_slides":8881,"sermon_mp3":8882,"sermon_id":"33212350351781","series_or_event":514,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":104,"chapter_and_verse":"3:13-16","sermon_transcript":"James 018 \u2014 Two Kinds of Wisdom \u2014 James 3:13-16<\/u><\/strong>\n\nDr. Andy Woods, Sr. Pastor<\/strong>\n\nSugarland Bible Church <\/strong>\n\nPresident \u2014Chafer Theological Seminary<\/strong>\n\nJames 3:13<\/u><\/strong>, and I am going to call this one, \u2018Two Kinds of Wisdom<\/em>.\u2019 As you know, we are continuing our verse-by-verse study through the book of James.<\/u><\/strong> \u00a0James,<\/u><\/strong> as you know is a book about practical righteousness, Christian living.\u00a0 We already have a positional righteousness that is pleasing to the Lord because we are in Him<\/em><\/strong>, but how do we allow our practice to catch up with our position?\n\nThe first half of the book, in fact, go back to James 1:3<\/u><\/strong>, \u201c\u2026knowing that the testing of your faith<\/em>\u2026\u201d Because the book starts that way, I would say that the whole point of the first half of the book which goes from James 1:1 \u2013 3:12<\/u><\/strong>, is about faith in the Christian.\u00a0 There it is obviously dealing with faith that already exists in the believer because it is being tested.\u00a0 We can\u2019t test something that we don't have, so the first half of the book is about allowing our faith that we already have in Christ to develop to the point where we are actually trusting God through the difficulties of life.\u00a0 I am bringing this up because we are at a point in the book in James 3:13-18<\/u><\/strong> where there will be a big transition, so it is hard to appreciate this transition unless you can see the ground that we have already covered.\n\nTo reiterate, the first half of the book is about trusting God through the emergencies of life, and that is how to develop a practical righteousness that is pleasing to God.\u00a0 What does that mean?\n\nJames 1:2-18<\/u><\/strong>, it is adopting God's perspective on suffering (See slide on James 1:2-18<\/u><\/strong>).\u00a0 So, when<\/em> we suffer, not if <\/em>we suffer, James tells us to rejoice in the midst of trials, and he explains why.\u00a0 When you get to 1:19-27<\/u><\/strong>, the focus is now on obedience (See slide on Faith Obeys God<\/u><\/strong>).\u00a0 What does obedience look like?\u00a0 It is being slow to speech and anger.\u00a0 James didn\u2019t spend much time on our freeways.\u00a0 The need to take in God's Word and obey it, and the need to practice what James calls true piety or true religion, which is not a type of Christianity that means to sit, soak and sour; it meets practical needs in the lives of people such as widows and orphans in their distress.\n\nThen once we moved into James 2:1-13<\/u><\/strong>, James reacts against the issue of showing favoritism in the assembly, giving people special treatment based on their perceived wealth.\u00a0 James says, that when we do something like that, particularly in a church, it is completely contrary to God's character and purposes.\n\nThen in 2:14-26<\/u><\/strong> \u00a0(see slide on Faith Manifesting Works<\/u><\/strong>) we spent a lot of time on allowing our faith to manifest itself in good works so that our faith doesn\u2019t come into existence for the first time but our faith becomes useful.\u00a0 He gave five illustrations of what productive faith looks like.\n\nFrom there, we spent at least two weeks on this.\u00a0 He moves right into, saying, \u2018By the way, while I am talking about good works, here is the ultimate good work you can do as a Christian.\u00a0 In fact, if you can do this good work, there is no higher work to do, to control the tongue.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 That is in James 3:1-12<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 It is there that he talked about the tongue\u2019s wicked influence and its potential for evil.\n\nIf you can appreciate the ground that we have covered so far, then you can appreciate the transition that is happening.\u00a0 Now James moves away from faith, continuing to trust God in the midst of life\u2019s difficulties ,and he moves into the subject of wisdom.\u00a0 The dominant theme of the first half of the book is faith, in the second half of the book, James 3:13-end of chapter 5<\/u><\/strong>, is wisdom.\u00a0 What he does is to define wisdom.\u00a0 (See slide on Structure)<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 What is wisdom?\u00a0 He will do that in 3:13-18<\/u><\/strong>, which we will try to cover tonight.\u00a0 Once we understand what wisdom is, then he will apply it to all areas of life:\n
    \n \t
  • Spirituality<\/li>\n \t
  • Commerce<\/li>\n \t
  • Use of wealth<\/li>\n \t
  • Waiting for the Lord\u2019s return<\/li>\n \t
  • Prayer<\/li>\n \t
  • Restoration of the erring brother<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWe can't apply what we don't know though, so he starts off by defining wisdom.\u00a0 If the second part of the book is about wisdom, then what exactly is wisdom?\u00a0 He is going define it for us in 3:13-18<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Our outline has three parts to it (See slide on Wisdom)<\/u><\/strong>:\n
      \n \t
    1. Wisdom is demonstrated by her actions (3:13<\/u><\/strong>). From there, James compares and contrasts two kinds of wisdom: wisdom from above versus wisdom from below.\u00a0 The wisdom from below, human, or sometimes called earthly wisdom, is in 3:14-16<\/u><\/strong> and that isn\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> the kind of wisdom we are to walk by.\u00a0 We are to walk by heavenly wisdom, and he defines that in 3:17-18<\/u><\/strong>).\u00a0 By the time you walk away from this, you have a definition of wisdom, what wisdom is and what it is not.\u00a0 Just because something masquerades as wisdom doesn\u2019t mean that it is God's wisdom.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nLet's take a look at wisdom defined in 3:13<\/u><\/strong>. What is wisdom?\u00a0 James wants to communicate the point and you would expect him to do this in a book about Christian living.\u00a0 Wisdom, the Greek word is \u2018sophia<\/em>,\u2019 which is a beautiful name to give to someone.\u00a0 In the Hebrew it is \u2018chokm\u00e2h<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 Wisdom is a lot more than the accumulation of data.\u00a0 The accumulation of data and knowing your stuff, facts, figures, etc\u2026I know people who know everything about the book of Judges<\/u><\/strong>, and when this judge came into existence, how long this one judged, it is amazing the detailed knowledge you can acquire from the Bible, but that is not wisdom.\u00a0 It is good to know all of that, but it doesn\u2019t become wisdom until it is applied, that is what \u2018chokm\u00e2h<\/em>\u2019, Old Testament concept of wisdom is; that is what 'sophia<\/em>', the Greek concept of wisdom is about.\n\nJames says in 3:13<\/u><\/strong> that wisdom is demonstrated by her actions.\u00a0 You can tell a wise person versus an unwise person according to how they act, not according to what they say or whether they can win a Bible trivia contest.\u00a0 Notice what he says in 3:13<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cWho among you is wise and understanding?\u00a0 Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.\u201d<\/em>\n\n\u00a0<\/em>James is saying here that wisdom is always determined and based on what you do; knowledge is determined and based on what you know.\u00a0 Wisdom is determined based on your ability and willingness to take knowledge and apply it to everyday life.\n\nKnowledge is great; you can't have wisdom without knowledge, or you won't know what to apply, but knowledge was never designed by God to be the last step.\u00a0 There is a mistake made in Bible-teaching environments, like our own here at Sugarland Bible Church, where we put a huge emphasis on Bible teaching.\u00a0 And because we place such an emphasis on Bible teaching, people think, \u2018If I learn all of this, then I'm okay with God<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That isn\u2019t true, because God never gave knowledge as the last step; He gave it as the first step.\u00a0 The last step is wisdom.\u00a0 Wisdom doesn\u2019t become \u2018chokm\u00e2h<\/em>\u2019 or 'sophia<\/em>' until it is applied to daily life.\n\nOne of my friends, and now that we are going to do the Chafer Conference, and I bring him up because I will see him there, which will be next week, Bruce Baker, has a wonderful definition of spiritual maturity, and I have heard him talk about this.\u00a0 He says that spiritual maturity is the amount of time you have spent learning God's truth and<\/em><\/strong> the time you have spent obeying<\/em><\/strong> it.\u00a0 That is a mature person.\u00a0 Maturity is not just data, information, etc, it is the amount of hours that have been logged in into actually obeying and applying it.\u00a0 That is how you determine if someone is wise or spiritually mature or immature.\u00a0 That is what James is getting at here in 3:13<\/u><\/strong>: \u201cWho among you is wise and understanding?\u00a0 Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.\u201d <\/em>\n\nYou don't have to get far into the Bible to see that this is what God wants of us.\u00a0 We saw earlier in the study in James 1:22<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cBut prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Why would people be deceived?\u00a0 Because they think that because they are hearing (the Word of God), they are maturing.\u00a0 To that, James says, \u2018No, you are maturing when you are hearing and doing.\u2019\u00a0 <\/em>\n\nJesus, in the upper room, said, \u201cIf you know these things, you are blessed if you do them\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>\n\n(<\/u><\/em>John 13:17).<\/em><\/u><\/strong>\u00a0 Jesus never says that you are blessed if you know<\/em> these things.\u00a0 Knowing these things is the first step, but doing them is where the blessing comes.\n\nGod sent in Joshua to conquer the land of Canaan and to Joshua, God said, \u2018This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then\u2026<\/strong> (<\/em>in other words, \u2018then\u2019 follows the condition that is met.\u00a0 What is the condition that is met?\u00a0 Doing)\u2026 then<\/strong> you will make your way prosperous and then<\/strong> you will have success.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 (\u2018So, meditate on the word, Joshua, do that day and night, but you must understand that the<\/em> success and blessing and prosperity that I want to give you won't happen until you do these things.)\u2019 <\/em>\u00a0(Joshua 1:8)\n\nThat is basically what wisdom is \u2014 it is always vindicated by her actions.\u00a0 We are in the process at this church right now of selecting deacons and elders, and the very first deacons that you find in the whole Bible are in Acts 6<\/u><\/strong>, and they were basically raised up by God to help the widows in the daily distribution of food so that the apostles could keep their attention focused on the Word and in \u00a0prayer.\u00a0 So, if the apostles had gotten sidetracked into the food distribution task, then they would have been distracted form their purpose which was the Word and prayer.\u00a0 Thus, God raised up another office in the Church very early on in church history called the deacons, and he lays down right then and there the qualifications for deacons.\u00a0 \u201c3<\/sup>Therefore, brethren, select\u2026 (<\/em>in other words, for deacons)\u2026 from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom<\/strong>,<\/em> (there is our word, wisdom<\/em>, \u2018'sophia<\/em>') whom we may put in charge of this task<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The people who qualify as deacons here are those who don't just have wisdom but are full of wisdom, and that is what you look for in selecting deacons for any church.\u00a0 You look for people who are practitioners of the Bible that they know.\u00a0 I would rather have someone serving alongside of me in a church that may not know as much as the next guy but is faithful to obey what he does know. In other words, I would rather serve with someone who maybe only knows this much (gesture implying a small amount) but who lives it, than with someone who knows this much (gesturing a huge amount) and who only lives a fraction of what he knows. \u00a0Because the latter is not a wise person; they're knowledgeable, but they don't put into practice what they know.\n\nSo, there really are a lot of people who are knowledgeable but unwise, and here, James is not getting at the subject of knowledge.\u00a0 Knowledge is great but as I said before, it is never designed to be a last step, rather a first step.\n\nNotice this expression, \u201cthe gentleness of wisdom<\/u><\/em><\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Divine wisdom, by its nature, is gentle<\/u><\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t abrasive, self-serving.\u00a0 The wises person in the room isn\u2019t necessarily the loudest person.\u00a0 We have just come off of\u2026, and I voted for Donald Trump, but we are coming off of the Trump era, where there is just a lot of screaming and yelling.\u00a0 People think that whoever screams the loudest and who gets the most attention and the most hits on their YouTube channel or their Facebook page, or whoever attracts the most advertising revenue or the most popular reality television show \u2014 there is a mindset in this culture that indicates that those who are getting the most attention must be right.\n\nTrump is what came to my mind, I'm not trying to make a political statement, but the culture thinks that way.\u00a0 You will notice what it says in the Bible is that it is \u201cthe gentleness of wisdom.<\/u><\/em><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0People with divine wisdom aren\u2019t usually the loudest or scream the loudest; aren\u2019t the most vociferous. They aren\u2019t the kind of people who have to constantly attract attention to themselves; they're just gentle people.\u00a0 That is what you look for in divine wisdom.\u00a0 As we walk in divine wisdom, that is the kind of people we want to be.\n\nWisdom in 3:13<\/u><\/strong> is demonstrated always not by her thoughts or what she knows by her behavior, her actions.\u00a0 Now with that in mind, James identifies two kinds of wisdom.\u00a0 First is the kind of wisdom to avoid in 3:14-16<\/u><\/strong>, and second, is the wisdom to embrace in 3:17-18<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 You will notice that not all wisdom is of God<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 I like what the King James Version says in 1 Timothy 6:20<\/u><\/strong>, and when I say that I like it, I mean I like how it translates the Greek.\u00a0 I am not saying that verse as if my opinion about whether or not I like the verse matters.\u00a0 1 Timothy 6:20<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cO Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science (<\/em>if this had been written in the 21st<\/sup> century, it might say, \u2018Don't spend too much time on Twitter arguing with people\u2019<\/em>)\u2026 avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions <\/em>(I like this translation here)\u2026 \u201cof science falsely so called:\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Science means knowledge and he talks here about science that is a false science.\u00a0 In other words, you can get into philosophical discussions about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, and you get mad at someone, and they zap you, and you want to zap them back, and you get into all of this contention, etc.\u00a0 That is the type of thing that Timothy is told to avoid because there is a science out there that is false.\u00a0 There is a knowledge that doesn\u2019t come from God.\u00a0 That is what James is describing in 3:14-16<\/u><\/strong>; he is talking about wisdom that is not of the Lord.\u00a0 So, if it isn\u2019t of the Lord, then where does it come from?\u00a0 Ultimately, it comes from satan, so how do you distinguish between the true science, or knowledge and the true wisdom versus the false wisdom?\u00a0 He gives a description of the false wisdom to avoid in 3:14-16<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cBut if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.\u00a0 15<\/sup> This wisdom is not<\/strong> that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.\u00a0 16<\/sup> For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Here is the false wisdom to be rejected.\u00a0 This is the science falsely called.\u00a0 <\/u><\/strong>\n\nMost people believe that in 3:14-16<\/u><\/strong>, and in 3:17,18<\/u><\/strong>, that he is using six proverbs.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t saying Proverbs 6:34<\/u><\/strong> and putting it in quotes, but he is alluding to these six proverbs (See slide on Human or Earthly Wisdom 3:14-16<\/u>)<\/strong>.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t have to put it in quotes because he is writing to a Jewish audience who already understood the book of Proverbs<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 The book of Proverbs<\/u><\/strong> is pithy statements, sayings and observations concerning how life works from God's point of view.\u00a0 These are things that we should put into practice.\n\nThe epistle of James<\/u><\/strong> has been called the Proverbs<\/u><\/strong> of the New Testament.\u00a0 The proverbs, most of them written by Solomon, were written 1,000 years before the time of Christ.\u00a0 So, he is rehearsing proverbs here.\u00a0 As you read through this, you may think that 3:14-16<\/u><\/strong> sounds like the works of the flesh, and that 3:17-18<\/u><\/strong> sound like the fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 You may think that James is making reference to Mark 7:20-23<\/u><\/strong>, where Mark recording the words of Christ, is recording the works of the flesh. \u00a0\u201cAnd He was saying, \u2018That which proceeds out of the man<\/u><\/strong>, that is what defiles the man. 21<\/sup>For from within, out of the heart<\/u><\/strong> of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22<\/sup>deeds of coveting and wickedness as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.\u00a0 2A<\/sup>All these evil things proceed from within<\/u><\/strong> and defile the man.\u2019\u201d <\/em>\n\nThis is a classic statement regarding the works of the flesh, the ways the sin nature manifests itself.\u00a0 You read through this and think that he is referring to what Mark recorded concerning the works of the flesh.\u00a0 The contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit is developed by the apostle Paul in the book of Galatians 5:19-23<\/u><\/strong>, 19<\/sup>Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, 20<\/sup>idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, 21<\/sup>envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.\u00a0 22<\/sup> But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23<\/sup>gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.<\/em>\n\nSo, there is a classic contrast between the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21<\/u><\/strong>, how the sin nature manifests itself versus what the Spirit-filled life looks like, called the fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 So many think that James is referring to the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 I am telling you that James could not be referring to those passages because James<\/u><\/strong> is the first New Testament book.\u00a0 Thus, the gospel of Mark<\/u><\/strong> had not yet been written, maybe James, because he was the half-brother of Christ, was hanging around when Jesus said that in Mark 7<\/u><\/strong> but he isn\u2019t referring to Mark because Mark\u2019s written gospel doesn\u2019t exist yet.\u00a0 Nor is he referring to the things that Paul said concerning the fruit of the Spirit because the apostle Paul had not yet written the book of Galatians<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Paul would not write the book of Galatians<\/u><\/strong> until AD 49 (See slide on Order of Paul\u2019s Letters<\/u>).\u00a0 <\/strong>James is writing in AD 44-47.\u00a0 By the time that James writes, Paul had probably been converted, but he had not written anything, and the gospel of Mark <\/u><\/strong>didn\u2019t exist yet.\u00a0 I think that it is doubtful that the gospel of Matthew<\/u><\/strong> existed at that time, so when James is rehearsing this information, he isn\u2019t referring to anything in the New Testament because the New Testament had not yet been recorded.\u00a0 He is going back to what everyone knew, the Old Testament.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t call it the New Testament, they called it the Hebrew Bible.\n\nSo James is building his case about wisdom from above and wisdom from below from the book of Proverbs<\/u><\/strong> to his Jewish audience who already knew the book of Proverbs<\/u><\/strong>, backwards and forwards, most likely.\u00a0 As we go through these pieces of information concerning the wisdom from below, I am going to anchor it in a particular proverb.\u00a0 I think that this is probably the proverb he is referring to, I could be wrong; maybe you have a different or better one that is on point, but at least you will get the flavor for what James is speaking of here in addressing how to recognize wisdom from below.\u00a0 3:14-16<\/u><\/strong>\n\nYou have bitter jealousy and that is probably citation form Proverbs 6:34<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cFor jealousy enrages a man, And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Jealousy of someone doesn\u2019t allow you to think in your right mind; you aren\u2019t thinking logically or rationally, all you can see is that they have something you don't have but that you want.\u00a0 Jealousy is the twin sister of envy.\u00a0 I think envy is probably a stronger form of jealousy, but we all know what jealousy is, and James says that if you are operating in jealousy, you aren\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> operating in divine wisdom.\u00a0 As you become aware of wisdom from above versus wisdom from below, you can almost walk into any situation:\u00a0 a workplace, a family situation, even a church, and you can just pick up right away what is in domination in that place.\u00a0 Wisdom from above or wisdom from below?\u00a0 If there is jealousy that is controlling or ruling the day, it isn\u2019t of God<\/em><\/strong>.\n
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      1. Selfish ambition \u2014 how do you recognize wisdom from below? Selfish ambition.\u00a0 Proverbs 16:18<\/u><\/strong> says, \u201cPride goes before destruction And a haughty spirit before stumbling.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 When I think of selfish ambition, I can't help but think of someone later on in New Testament history named Diotrephes, and it says in 3 John 9<\/u><\/strong> about this man, Diotrephes, who was an ecclesiastical leader in God's church, \u201cI wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, <\/em>(actually, Diotrephes means \u2018nourished by Zeus<\/em>,\u2019 interestingly enough),\u2026 who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0So, John says that these churches won't respond to apostolic teaching, the leaders won't, because Diotrephes wants to be preeminent; he doesn\u2019t want the apostles to be preeminent.\u00a0 You do get that in the church world, I'm sad to say.\u00a0 There are people who just live for the limelight and crave it.\u00a0 They find places where they can gravitate towards to get that psychological and sinful need met.\u00a0 If they can't get it met at Church A, they will go down the street to Church B.\u00a0 They love the sound of their own voice; to see their name in the headlines, and it is a sad state of affairs to have that type of thing going on in the church.\u00a0 It was going on in the church even in the time of apostles to the point where this man, Diotrephes, was trying to eclipse apostolic authority.\u00a0 So, that is another way to recognize wisdom from below.<\/li>\n \t
      2. In James 3:14<\/u><\/strong>, he mentions arrogance,\u201c14<\/sup>But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.<\/em> The proverb I would connect with that statement is Proverbs 8:13<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cThe fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate<\/em>.\u201d \u00a0So, it is just people who constantly operate out of a place of self; pride; not seeking God's glory or the benefit of their fellow man but seeking their own.\u00a0 I wish we had time to look at all those verses (See slide on Scripture and Pride<\/u><\/strong>).\u00a0\u00a0 Proverbs 16:18; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-17; 1 Timothy 3:6; Acts 12:21-23; 2 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Peter 5:5<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0This is just a short list I came up about the Scripture and Pride and how if someone moves into pride, they're on a collision course with God.\u00a0 Satan himself is like that per Isaiah 14<\/u><\/strong> and Ezekiel 28<\/u>.<\/strong> \u00a0Proverbs 16:18<\/u><\/strong> at the top of the list.\u00a0 By the way, don't put a new believer into a position of authority in the church for this reason per 1 Timothy 3:6<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Herod, like the people in Acts 12<\/u><\/strong> saying the voice of a God and not man.\u00a0 He was struck dead on the spot.\u00a0 Paul himself struggled with pride having been taken into the third heaven, he had to be given a thorn in the flesh and 1 Peter 5:5<\/u><\/strong> says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Nebuchadnezzar is who is being represented in that slide with the list of scriptures and pride, is being cut down by the angel.\u00a0 Remember that story.\u00a0 He had a bad case of the \u201cI\u2019s\u201d and he said, \u2018Is this not Babylon the Great that I myself have made by the might of my own hand?\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 No sooner were those words out of his mouth than he was turned into an animal for seven years.\u00a0 God, out of mercy, restored him to his position when he had learned his lesson.\u00a0 By the time you are out of Daniel 4<\/u><\/strong>, you can see that Nebuchadnezzar had gone through a major attitude adjustment.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t magnifying himself anymore at the end of Daniel 4<\/u><\/strong>, he was magnifying God.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nI put this together \u2014 the Hall of the Humbled (See slide of Hall of the Humbled<\/u><\/strong>).\u00a0 Satan; Uzziah (who was lifted up with pride in 2 Chronicles 26:16<\/u><\/strong>) and who usurped the job that the priest is supposed to do, was smote with leprosy from head to toe for the rest of his life.\u00a0 Herod, who liked the sound of his own voice, and then Paul the apostle himself who struggled with pride and that is why God gave him the thorn in the flesh \u2014 to keep him useable, humble and dependent upon the Lord.\u00a0 Had God not given Paul that thorn in the flesh, the Paul that we know who wrote a third of the New Testament epistles, or 2\/3 of them, whatever it is, I don't think we would ever have known that man; he would have been so egotistical and inflated with himself because he was caught into the third heaven and heard things that a man is not fit to hear.\u00a0 Because of that experience, God had to give him a corresponding thorn in the flesh to keep him in a place of humility and useability.\u00a0 Thus, we have his three missionary journeys, his journey to Rome and his 13 New Testament epistles, none of which we would have without that thorn in his flesh.\u00a0 It is a different way to look at suffering, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Sometimes suffering is your best friend because it keeps your ego in check, and if your ego is in check, then God can keep using you because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.\n\nThere are a lot of sins that God puts up with for a while, in a lot of us.\u00a0 If I'm reading my Bible right, I don't see Him putting up with pride in people for very long, particularly in His children.\u00a0 It seems to me that God keeps that one on a pretty short leash, but that is just my own observation, for what it is worth.\n\nThen you also recognize wisdom from below because it is earthly and natural, but if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, notice where selfish ambition comes from \u2014 the heart.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t satan say, \u201c\u2026in his heart<\/em>\u201d per Isaiah 14:12-15<\/u><\/strong>, \u2018I will make myself like the Most High<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 It starts in the heart and that is why the book of says to \u2018guard your heart with all diligence for from it spring the issues of life<\/em>.\u2019\n\nJames 3:<\/u><\/strong>\u201c 14<\/sup>But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.<\/em>\u2019\u201d\u00a0 When you are walking in this, you can't be walking in the truth of God's Word, so you are opposed to the truth, like Diotrephes was, who resisted apostolic authority. \u201c15<\/sup> This wisdom if not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural,<\/u><\/strong> demonic.\u201d (<\/em>So here is something else to recognize in terms of wisdom from below is that it is earthly and natural, not of God.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t come from heaven; it comes from the natural realm, the earth.\u00a0 The proverb I will use for that one is Proverbs 14:12 <\/u><\/strong>, \u201cThere is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 That is earthly or natural wisdom; it seems right to us; it looks right to us, but we forget that our intellect is corrupted by sin, and we aren\u2019t in a position to analyze things correctly often without the input of God's Word.\n\n\u00a0<\/em>I think that Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes<\/u><\/strong>, is describing this kind of earthly or natural wisdom, he calls it, \u201cthere is nothing new under the sun<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 So, he says that repeatedly in his book, he keeps talking about \u201cunder the sun<\/em>,\u201d sun obviously spelled \u2018sun<\/em>\u2019 not \u2018son.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 He is talking about wisdom that doesn\u2019t have the vantage point of heaven.\u00a0 It is natural; what you can see; the way the world works but without God's influence, so he continues to call it \u2018under the sun<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That is what the book of Ecclesiastes<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 the meanderings of an old man who spent the final third of his life living in total rebellion against God.\u00a0 All you have to do is to read 1 Kings 11<\/u><\/strong> to see that Solomon did not end well.\u00a0 I think he is still in heaven, but he was not walking with God at the end of his life.\u00a0 He is describing life from that vantage point, and it isn\u2019t until the end of the book that he wakes up and says, \u2018What we ought to be doing is valuing and honoring God and His Word<\/em>,\u2019 but for most of the book, he isn\u2019t doing that, he is describing what he was doing in the final third of his life and describes it as \u2018under the sun<\/em>,\u2019 which means that he was operating from a wisdom perspective that had nothing to do with the Bible or with heaven.\u00a0 It cut out the heavenly point of view.\n\nSo, that is what wisdom from below is like:\u00a0 earthly and natural.\u00a0 No God, no Scripture, no Holy Spirit, just \u2018the way I want to live\u2019<\/em> and this is the way the world works.\u00a0 That is the type of wisdom that we are to reject.\u00a0 Notice in James 3:15<\/u><\/strong> it is called \u2018demonic<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 Ultimately, it comes from satan.\u00a0 This is not the first time in the book of James that we have run into satan.\u00a0 In James 3:6<\/u><\/strong>, we studied a couple of weeks, that the tongue itself can be set on fire by hell.\u00a0 Satan can influence the tongue in the life of the Christian, so it is no great surprise that he would mention demons or satan again in the same chapter when describing wisdom from below.\u00a0 The proverb that I think he is alluding to here is Proverb 27:20<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cSheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Abaddon is another word for satan, I think, or at least a high ranking demon in Revelation 9<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 it means destroyer.\u00a0 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 So, the more that we move in the direction of human or earthly wisdom, the emptier our lives are.\u00a0 Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes<\/u><\/strong>, calls it \u2018chasing after the wind<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 There is that song, \u2018I can't get no satisfaction<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 When you hear those lyrics, think of the book of Ecclesiastes<\/u><\/strong>; of earthly wisdom that ultimately comes from satan that never satisfies.\u00a0\u00a0 You just do what you think is right; \u2018I'll pursue pleasure, that will fulfill me<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 That ends up empty because you have to go into more bizarre forms of pleasure to get to the next high.\u00a0 \u2018I will go into materialism; that will make me happy and fulfill me.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 The problem is that they\u2019ve asked everyone on every socioeconomic part of the ladder how much more money they would need to be happy.\u00a0 What everyone said, from the ultra-rich to the upper middle class, to the middle class to the lower middle class to the poor, everyone quoted a figure about 10% more than they currently had.\u00a0 They all said, \u2018If I just had 10% more than I had today, then I would be happy<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 So that shows you that the pursuit of money and possessions doesn\u2019t satisfy either. I think that is what Proverbs 27:20<\/u><\/strong> is saying, \u201cNor are the eyes of man ever satisfied<\/em>.\u201d\n\nOf course, think of Matthew 16:23<\/u><\/strong> where Jesus said to Peter, \u201c\u2026Get behind Me, satan<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Peter thought he had things figured out.\u00a0 Jesus said, \u2018I have to go to the cross and die<\/em>,\u2019 and Peter started trying to talk Jesus out of it.\u00a0 To Peter, it seemed right to say that, but he was obviously operating in satanic wisdom without even knowing it.\n\nEphesians 4:26-27<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cBE ANGRY, AND<\/u><\/em><\/strong> yet DO NOT SIN<\/u><\/strong>; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 So, the type of wisdom from below is ultimately devilish, and the last thing here is that it is contentious; it breeds disorder.\u00a0 God is a God of order.\u00a0 Everything that God does has an order to it.\u00a0 Look at God\u2019s design for marriage \u2014 there is an order to it; look at His design for family \u2014 there is an order to it.\u00a0 God's design for the Church \u2014 there\u2019s an order to it.\u00a0 God's design in nature \u2014 there is an obvious order to it.\u00a0 The wisdom from below is all about disorder.\u00a0 See the disorder in our culture where we can't even figure out what man and woman mean anymore.\u00a0 We have people in government when they close in prayer, saying \u201cAmen and Awoman<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 What are they talking about?\u00a0 \u2018Amen\u2019 <\/em>is a Greek word, first of all.\u00a0 \u2018Awoman\u2019<\/em> is not a Greek word.\u00a0 But we don't want to offend anyone because we are into this disorder mentality where even sexuality itself gets confused.\n\nJames 3:16<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cFor where jealousy and selfish ambition exist (<\/em>we have already talked about jealousy and selfish ambition), there is disorder and every evil thing.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>I believe that he is referring here to Proverbs 11:29<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cHe who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Who is the foolish?\u00a0 One who will bring disunity and disharmony in his very own home.\u00a0 Proverbs 22:10<\/u><\/strong> says, \u201cDrive out the scoffer, and contention will go out.\u00a0 Even strife and dishonor will cease.\u201d <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0When I used to be a substitute teacher, believe it or not, in a prior life, it was a terrible job, by the way.\u00a0 We really need to pray for those people who do that.\u00a0 I would go into a class and the kids don't have their regular teacher so they're already wanting to get away with a bunch of stuff, and my job was to exercise dominion over them.\u00a0 Basically, there are maybe two or three kids that were causing the problem, and I found out real quickly, and I isolated them.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it interesting that when they are isolated everything calmed down.\n\n\u00a0<\/em>So, there are those who will come into situations and cause strife and quarreling, but if you drive out the scoffer, it all ceases per Proverbs 22:10<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 So, an environment where there is constant contentiousness and God's basic order of things turned on its head, it is obviously not wisdom from above but wisdom from below.\u00a0 I remember Dr. Toussaint putting it this way once in class at Dallas Seminary, \u2018That there are people who wil go from place to place in the church world, and no matter where they go there is contention<\/em>.\u2019 Everywhere they go.\u00a0 I know of someone who will remain nameless, and it isn\u2019t anyone in Sugarland Bible Church.\u00a0 I am thinking of someone whose doctrine is totally correct who has obvious spiritual gifts to serve the Body of Christ, and I know this person has been put into church after church after church, etc\u2026. and literally, everywhere they go there is some kind of dissension.\u00a0 That is not of God.\u00a0 So, you can recognize wisdom from below because of its contentious nature.\u00a0 It is jealous with selfish ambition, arrogance, it is under the sun in that it cuts off the human perspective, it is earthly and natural, ultimately it is demonic, and it is contentious.\n\nYou say, \u2018Well, that is very depressing.\u00a0 Do you have something nice to say<\/em>?\u2019 Yes, we do, in James 3:17,18<\/u><\/strong> (and Proverbs 3<\/u><\/strong>), it describes wisdom from above.\u00a0 These verses in\n\n3<\/u><\/strong>:17<\/sup> \u201cBut the wisdom from above\u2026<\/em> (see the \u2018but<\/em>,\u2019 the conjunction.\u00a0 He is contrasting it now with what we should embrace and reject) \u201c\u2026is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.\u00a0 18<\/sup> And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 So just as wisdom from below is anchored in certain proverbs, so is wisdom from above.\u00a0 When James is writing this, he is alluding to certain proverbs.\u00a0 So, the first thing that wisdom from above is:\u00a0 pure; it is possible that he is alluding to Proverbs 15:26<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cEvil plans are an abomination to the Lord, But pleasant words are pure.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 God is looking for purity of motive in people.\n\nWhat does it say in 1 Samuel 16:7<\/u><\/strong> when God chose David and rejected Saul?\u00a0 Don't look at his outer appearance.\u00a0 Man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart.\u00a0 God wants a pure heart.\u00a0 That is why He said of David, \u2018This man is after My own heart<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t a perfect man, obviously, but he had a sincerity with the Lord that He honored.\u00a0 That is wisdom from above:\u00a0 pure.\u00a0 What else?\u00a0 It is peaceable.\u00a0 The wisdom from below is contentious \u2014 it is the person who troubles their own home.\n\n\u201cBut the wisdom from above<\/em>\u2026is first pure, then peaceable<\/strong>,\u201d\u2026<\/em>and as you move down in the verse, it says,\u00a0 18<\/sup> \u201cAnd the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace<\/strong> by those who make peace<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d That is the name, peace<\/strong>, three times in those two verses; it is the Greek word, \u2018Irene<\/em>,\u2019 where you can have a wonderful female name, called Irene.\u00a0\u00a0 Like Sophia, is a wonderful name.\u00a0 What is of God is peaceful.\u00a0 What did Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount?\u00a0 \u2018Blessed are the peacemakers<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 Contention is not of God.\u00a0 But peace is of God.\n\nI think that James is probably anchoring this in Proverbs 3:1,2<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cMy son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life And peace<\/u><\/strong> they will add to you.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>So, we should be people of peace, right?\u00a0 I am talking about interpersonal relationships, I'm not making a case here for not fighting for our country.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t the context, but in interpersonal relationships with others.\u00a0 We should be people who strive for peace in our relationships, shouldn\u2019t we?\u00a0 After all, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, so why is that people who operate under the banner of Christ, the Prince of People, are sometimes the most obnoxious people?\u00a0 It shouldn\u2019t be.\u00a0 Ephesians 2:14<\/u><\/strong>,\n\n\u201cFor He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall<\/em>,\u2026\u201d. God is so into peace in interpersonal relationships that He took Jews and Gentiles who hated each other since the Jews thought the Gentiles were dogs ,and the Gentiles thought the Jews were arrogant.\u00a0 In Christ, Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians are brought together in one new man and the dividing wall of hostility is gone.\u00a0 That is how much God is into peace in interpersonal relationships.\n\nSo, wisdom from above is pure, peaceable and it is also gentle.\u00a0 So, I think that he is basing his case here on Proverbs 16:32<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cHe who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>So, when we receive an insulting comment from someone electronically or verbally, or when you are cut off on the freeway or treated unfairly, and your flesh wants to retaliate, but under the resources of God and the Holy Spirit, you subdue the flesh.\u00a0 The Bible says that if you do that, then you are stronger than a person who goes out to war and conquers multiple cities.\u00a0 That is the wisdom from above.\u00a0 Remember the gentleness of wisdom?\u00a0 That is what it is speaking of here.\n\nThe next one is \u2018reasonable\u2019<\/em> and I want to be reasonable\u2026.will stop here.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t