"Are you Wicked Smaht?
James • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 44:03
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· 148 viewsKiah Gridley, one of our youth students, shares the communion message with us today. Afterwards Pastor Chase brings us through James 3:13-18 into the topic of heavenly vs. earthly wisdom.
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“To God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
People assault the flinty rock with their hands
and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
They tunnel through the rock;
their eyes see all its treasures.
They search the sources of the rivers
and bring hidden things to light.
But where can wisdom be found?
Where does understanding dwell?
No mortal comprehends its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
The deep says, “It is not in me”;
the sea says, “It is not with me.”
It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.
Destruction and Death say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.
And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.”
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,
but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the Lord.
He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
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. 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 down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
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. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
In chapter 3 of James he is addressing an issue that is so widespread it should strike a cord with everyone.
It’s the issue of speech.
In verse 13 he transitions from verbal speech to the heart of speech.
His point in simple from is that a person who accesses heavenly wisdom will have a much different dialogue than someone who relies on earthly wisdom.
There is a clear dividing line between earthly and heavenly wisdom that must be understood by a believer.
And for those who haven’t yet put their trust in Christ, this might be a new concept.
Bear with us today!
But, in order to please God and pursue righteousness (right relationship before God), we must understand this difference in earthly and heavenly wisdom.
Josh Schroeder went over the concept of wisdom in his last sermon, but what is wisdom?
Wisdom is not defined like the title of today’s message, you have to be “wicked smaht”.
Wisdom is applied knowledge.
See knowledge is having facts, info, or skill received through training and experience but wisdom, that is superior knowledge.
There is skill in using knowledge.
You could have a good education and received a ton of knowledge and by the world’s standards be considered “wicked smaht” but you may not be able to apply any of it to the real world.
You might have absolutely no education but have more wisdom than a top honors college student, but your character is filled with shrewdness and cynicism.
See, a wise person first recognizes God’s greatness, holiness and majesty and starts there before opening their mouths.
As we will discuss in a minute, there has to be a humbleness and thankfulness before God in order to see our inability and rely on Him first and foremost.
This humility will then result in a platform to understand heavenly wisdom, which only comes from God.
But there is another type of wisdom that distracts.
For every good that God gives to man there is a counterfeit from Satan.
UNDERSTANDING THE COUNTERFEIT
UNDERSTANDING THE COUNTERFEIT
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 down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
So, Satan’;s brand of wisdom is “earthly”.
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
In simplest form a person can not fully understand heavenly or true wisdom unless they have first submitted their lives to Christ, because once someone does that they receive the Holy Spirit which guides in the first steps of gaining true wisdom.
An important thing to understand when we talk about earthly wisdom is thta it comes from Satan, not God.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
SIGNS OF AN UNWISE PERSON
So here are the signs that James gives us that an unwise person displays.
Bitter jealousy
Selfish ambition (3:14)
We start there diagnosing an unwise person but then we begin to see their characteristics more closely, especially as they talk and interact.
James says you’ll know an unwise person also by their arrogance, they’ll be dishonest (almost always intentionally), they will be very worldly, they’ll come off as “authentic” but really James says their life and path they leave behind is often disorder and every evil.
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
These people will come off as superior, self-sufficient, they often abandon God’s morality and authority and their philosophies and practices will look very much like the world’s which is opposite of God’s Word.
We have to look no further than king Solomon, king David’s son who was said to be the wisest person who ever lived.
King Solomon shows us what both sides look like.’
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
Solomon served God for a long time but he also turned from Him.
As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.
Solomons kingdom, though once flourishing was eventually divided up underneath him.
Here some of Solomon’s last writings.
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Solomon knew from experience where earthly wisdom leads a person compared to heavenly wisdom.
James transitions in verse 17 to what heavenly wisdom looks like.
He 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.
So we can draw from this and understand what the signs are of a wise person are.
SIGNS OF A WISE PERSON
PURE
The wise person’s character would include striving for purity which, to James is the first requirement.
Because of God’s mercy and grace toward us we can be pure in heart if we invite Jesus as Savior and master in our lives and live for Him.
We devoted a whole sermon to this when we went through the Sermon on the mount.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
We can not truly follow and live close to God’s heart when we emmerse ourselve in a world of impurities.
Being pure in heart is to come before God, abandoning the world’s ideologies, and to allow Him to cleanse us of any ulterior motives and our selfishness.
Then we are pure enough to see God as Matthew 5:8 says.
PEACEABLE (PEACE-LOVING)
The next sign would be that we are peaceable people.
This does not say perfect people.
And it doesn’t say passive people.
But a peaceable person would be someone who first has received Christ as Savior and has been purified of sin and their relationship between God is mended.
And because of this vertical relationship is set right between the person and God, their horizontal relationships between other men and women make more sense and contain more purpose.
True wisdom produces right relationships.
Arrogant wisdom separates people, cruel wisdom takes delight in hurting others with clever cutting words and a depraved wisdom seduces people away from the loyalty to God.
But true wisdom and being peaceable toward God and others draws people together.
Jesus said it this way:
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
GENTLE (CONSIDERATE)
The next sign of a wise person would be that they are gentle.
This word gentle is said to be very hard to translate from greek but in simplest form it is basically to give grace before judgement to all people.
This means that a person would go the extra mile with someone, even though the other person most likely never deserved it.
This wise person would be willing to forgive, no matter the circumstances.
Now, you’re saying- yea right!
That sounds impossible!
And you’re right, it is if we rely on ourselves for this kind of will power.
You’re also picturing that person in your mind right now who you don’t want to forgive or give grace to, aren’t you? ;)
Well, be rest assured that if we rely on our own to do this, it won’t happen.
Jesus was the only person to perfect this.
He substituted justice with mercy on our behalf.
Justice demanded death and hell for all but Jesus took that on and His sacrifice provided eternal redemption.
So to be gentle or considerate of others is to know how to forgive, even when strict justice gives a perfect right to condemn.
REASONABLE (SUBMISSIVE)
Absolute obedience would mark the next sign of a wise person.
Absolute obedience to the will of God.
And you might say, that’s impossible.
Well, if you’ve put your trust in Christ you’ve already taken the hardest step.
Being obedient to the will of God is a daily task for the believer and it’s a must to be wise in God’s sight.
In order to do this we need to let go of the things that are contrary to God’s Word and allow God full control in our lives.
Being reasonable is also being someone who is teachable and realizes they don’t have it all figured out.
The Holy Spirit has been allowed by the individual to hold this persons heart and soften it.
So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
Abraham had a falling out with Lot but he did not try to go to war but instead work through the situation for what would be best for all involved.
Being reasonable and submissive before God is answering God’s voice when He calls.
It is being willing to listen and skilled in knowing when wisely to yield to His voice.
MERCIFUL AND GOOD FRUITS
Someone who is wise would also be someone who is merciful.
Mercy is action and true wisdom is mercy expressing itself in Christlike action on behalf of others.
Mercy is looking on a guilty person with compassion, even though they probably deserve punishment.
Or mercy is showing pity on someone, even if they brought their circumstances on themselves.
Mercy is not emotion, but action.
As parents we have this choice daily.
We daily choose how we’ll parent our kids and often we go to the extreme of being a helicopter parent rather then pick our battles.
We can choose to nit pick everything our kids do and punish them severely for it, or we can choose to show mercy as the situation presents itself.
There is a delicate balance to this but God would always want us to choose mercy when we are able to.
For sure he would want us to show love.
Linked with mercy is good fruits.
I have noticed this when we discipline one of our kids in particular.
Once we’ve given a punishment that was not as harsh as what they should’ve got they know it and because of it all of a sudden become your best friend who wants to help you, with everything.
Producing good fruit as a Christian is talked about so much in the Bible.
But in general, someone who has been shown mercy will most likely want to pay it back by showing mercy to others through their good deeds.
You can re listen to my sermon on James 2:14-26, from a couple weeks ago, that goes into faith and deeds in more detail.
I love this next sign that James says a wise person contains.
UNWAVERING (SINCERE)
This word unwavering is not used often but says so much about a person’s character.
An unwavering person is someone who realizes they aren’t perfect but doesn’t ever try to be someone they’re not.
I’ve always loved the saying “it’s better to be hated for you are, than loved for who you’re not.”
Being unwavering means you are confident in the Lord and stay the course no matter the circumstances around you.
Those who always have an “open mind” but never make a stand are not using true wisdom.
Because true wisdom is not being open to the world’s ideologies but to God’s standards.
A hypocritical Christian whose faith was just a verbal expression, but never lived out, has no benefit for the kingdom of God.
Instead of leading people to Christ, the hypocrite drives them away.
The unwavering person is someone who is secure in their faith, and their imperfection as a human, but lives in the humility of Christ and holiness of God.
This person lives with fixed principles which are from God’s Word and doesn’t compromise them.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
James’ point and question is this:
“If you claim your wicked smaht and have wisdom like you should, then why do you live like you shouldn’t?”
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. 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 down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
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. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
This Scripture that we’ve covered today is one that should really convict us and grab our attention.
If we leave today not thinking twice about this, we have unresolved issues in our life and need a heart transformation that only Jesus can offer.
We’re not wise by our own making, but by the inner working of the Holy Spirit.
If you’re struggling with this, ask God for wisdom and he will give it generously.
Do you need to mend a particular relationship,? Ask God.
Need to get rid of selfishness? Ask God.
Need a better prayer life, worship or Scripture reading? Ask God and do it.
It’s never too late to do what’s right!
You haven’t gone too far yet to get back on track.
The blessings of living a life through heavenly wisdom are immense.
William Barclay in his commentary sums up James 3:18 in this way.
“We’re all trying to reap the harvest from a good life BUT the seeds that brings the harvest can’t flourish anywhere except in right relationships between fellow man and God.”
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
PRAY
Lord, please help us to seek true wisdom.
Help us to be pure before you, to be at peace with you and others, our desire is to be reasonable and submissive before you to discern our lives’ choices for your glory.
Help us to show mercy and good fruits in our lives that will draw others to yourself.
We know and realize, through your Word, that true wisdom only comes from you and we need it desperately in our lives...