Overcome Confusion with Wisdom
Notes
Transcript
Navigating Life's Confusion with Divine Wisdom
Navigating Life's Confusion with Divine Wisdom
This morning we will share together in one of the most challenging but rewarding messages yet. I want peace. My heart and mind scream for peace. When people are fighting I want to be the one who helps them to come to compromise and find a peaceful solution. It drives me crazy to see divisions. I intentionally do not watch the news because I am amazed at how every single “news” channel instead of telling you what happened and what really happened tells you what happened from their persepective and desired outcome. To tell you how bad it is I used to look at CNN then switch over to Fox news and then switch over to the Times and I would take what all three of them said and I would say well if I cannot trust any of them what are all of them not saying and that is how I would determine my news. The ultimate things I was looking for is how do we find peace? One of the central themes of all people who want to do good in this world is that they want world peace. How can we in the middle of all that happens around us find peace? The answer does not lay somewhere in a bank account with enough money to give everyone a mansion. It does not lay somewhere in a food bank with enough food to feed every person on the planet. The answer for peace lays within your hands at this moment. The Word of God gives us the ability to find peace and to share the peace with the world. The world will never experience real peace until they seek the word of God. Today we will be in James chapter 3 and in James chapter three we will see that Overcoming the confusion in our world Starts with Humility, brings us to Stop seeing Earthly Wisdom and ultimately results in sharing in Heavenly Peace.
Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered.
The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled.
As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd.
A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.
The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?
A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
This morning I pray that we can learn to be this bird. Tucked away in the elbow of the branch on the Tree of Christ. Not worried with the storms around us but living contently in peace and showing the way to this peace to others.
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
1. Start with Humility
1. Start with Humility
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
James issues us the first key to overcoming confusion and chaos in our world. James asks his audience, Who is wise among you? So let us answer that? Who do we consider wise?
I looked at a list of the 30 Wisest people in the world. I choose not to read you the names of these people because some of them you would not know and others you would say, how in the world did they make that list? Here is what I can tell you were the top 3 traits that led to people being considered wise.
Money- Out of this list of 30 wise people 22 of these people were millionaires or billionaires. We tend to see people with money as wise.
Scientists- 14 of the 30 were scientists who are more commonly in physics. I think it amazes us because none of us can truly understand it.
High IQ- All of the 30 people on the list were listed as having an IQ of above 140. We think that smart people are wise.
Of course we can find so many holes in this list and so many holes in the top 3 traits that they said were “wise”. This is the same mindset that James was addressing with the audience he was writing to. At the time that James was writing he was writing to Messianic Jews. The Jews in general were in an age of transition. There was a teaching going around at this time called Gnosticism. The idea that you could be smart enough to understand every aspect of God and that all things relating to God and faith could be understood from a logical standpoint. James was truly asking the people, who do you think is wise? The people you think are wise may not be wise at all but may be fools. James says if you think someone is wise I want you to see if they fit this mold.
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
Does the wise person in your mind show his works in meekness of wisdom. Meaning the wisest among you are the quietest among you. When you hear someone talking about how wise or smart they are, count on it that they are not the smartest or wisest in the room. When you are looking to understand wisdom look to the quiet and the meek. Are you quiet and meek? Do you have a humble nature about you? The Bible says a little about being humble and not talking so much.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
12 Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,
but a man of understanding remains silent.
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;’
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
The wise person who finds peace, well quite simply they humble themselves and they shut their mouths. It does not mean that they do not want to say something, or don’t have something to say. It simply means that they choose peace. They choose to keep it to themselves and have peace.
The world will tell you that the rich, those with high IQ, and scientists are the wisest among us and that they are able to lead us to peace. I am here to tell you that the Word of God says if you want to find peace, find the meek and the humble. Start with a humble spirit.
My wife and I went though a phase a little while back where for some reason we were just upset at each other. We did not quite know why but every time we talked we seemed to fight about something. She would say something simple like can you please pick your clothes up and it would frustrate me because I was always in the middle of something more important. Finally my wife got tired of arguing and I had no idea but she deciede that she would give me the silent treatment. After a week I said you know we have been getting along great this week! She lost her mind at this and told me that the only reason we were getting along was because she was giving me the scilent treatment. I responded with a scripture.
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
At that moment I realized I messed up and that if I wanted peace I should have humbled myself and remained scilent.
James says look keep quite and be wise. Those who are not wise act like this
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
Those who have jealousy and selfish ambition, they are not wise and they will not experience peace.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
36 Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
Wisdom leads us to peace but it starts with Humility. From that place of Humility we can learn to stop walking in the ways of earthly wisdom.
2. Stop with Earthly Wisdom
2. Stop with Earthly Wisdom
15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
James moves on and contrasts here the life of those who are not humble and are not seeking the good of others. He says for them there will be disorder and every vile practice. Here is the thing, when we seek the best for others first we recieve the best. When I seek my own good, I am willing to do things that I should never, ever do. Out of selfishness comes disorder and a sinful exhausting life. Are you seeking your own good? Are you chasing after what is best for you? How are you sleeping at night? Some of you might say, well just fine my Ambient does not make me do anything crazy. Truly though we should seek to lay our heads down at the end of the night and let our selflessness allow us to rest in peace. If you are looking at your life and it is disorderly and you find yourself in a constant state of sin. You may need to ask if you are seeking the good of others. James tells his audience that selfishness and vain ambitions they are demonic and unspiritual. They are not just bad they are demonic and you are allowing the enemy to come into you and take over. If you are a believer in Christ why would you allow this evil to dwell inside of you! If you are looking for wisdom and seeking to overcome confusion in your world, it starts with riding yourself of the worldly mindset. The most difficult thing about this is it seems counteractive to everything we know. Everything we know says, seek your own good. If you need something, do whatever it takes to get it, this is survival. When we look at the news and we see all these divisions and all this fighting, why is it there? It is there because everyone is seeking their own good. What would somone have to fight for if the other side said here I will give up what I want because I see it is good for you. We always find something to hold on to because we want it and it is best for us. The problem is it always leads to destruction.
The problems a village in Paraguay are grappling with are far different from ours.
The monkeys sneak in to the village, forage, then slip away with much needed food supplies. To relocate the little theives, villagers strategically place clever traps.
The trap consists of a coconut, one hole burrowed through each end, contents drained. A piece of food is then slipped through one of the openings, followed by a long rope, in one side and out the other. Finally, the cocount container is tied to a tree trunk.
When a monkey comes along, skirting the village perimeter, he finds the coconut treasure, slides his hand inside, grasps the morsel in his hand, and…
He Can’t Get His Fist Back Through The Hole.
Determined, the monkey tries with no success to free himself and the snack. He won’t let go of his treasure. The cocunut won’t let go of his fist. He grapples and barks in frustsration until finally a villager comes along, frees the trap from the tree along with the monkey, and transports them both to an area far enough away the monkey will not find his way back.
The irony is that if the monkey would only let go of the snack, he would be free. Loosen his fist, and his hand will slide back through the hole.
But he won’t. He won’t let go. So he’s trapped.
This is the way it is for so many people. They want to experience Wisdom and Peace and they want to overcome Confusion and Chaos in their lives, they just cannot let go of the pride and selfishness that cause it. We want the treasure and our freedom too. The problem is you cannot have both. You cannot seek selfishness and understand wisdom and peace.
Maybe you seek things, you must have stuff
27 Whoever gives to the poor will not want,
but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.
17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
Maybe you seek pride and vanity
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
Maybe you think you are too important to care about others
13 Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
If you want to experience Wisdom that leads to peace and overcomes confusion, it must start with humility. It must lead to a place of stopping with worldly wisdom. It will result in sharing in Heavenly peace.
3. Share in Heavenly Peace
3. Share in Heavenly Peace
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
All the things I think of when I think of peace are here in this scripture.
Purity-Peace is pure, it is not dirty. Have you ever felt peace when you were covered in dirt and nasty? I may have had fun playing in the mud but the feeling of having dirt in places it did not belong certainly did not bring peace.
Peaceable- Peace obviously is peacable. It does not look to start or even energize fights. It seeks peace.
Gentle- When I think of peace I think of gentleness. I think of the way that Jesus deals with me and with you.
Open to reason- Peace is not one sided. If you are a one sided person you will constantly find yourself fighting with others. It is open to the idea that my way is not always the only way.
Full of mercy and good fruits- Peace shows mercy to those who fall short and can’t get it right. We do this because we know in humility that it is the way that Jesus treats us. Good fruits are the fruits of the spirit. Those who have wisdom and live in peace are those who live in the fruit of the spirit.
Impartial and sincere- The wise are not partial to their own desires or wants. They are truly impartial. They do not act impartial just to show you that they are completly partial. They seek the good of others even when it does not benefit them.
Harvest of peace- Those who show peace recieve piece. Those who work the field in peace and truly sow peace, they reap peace.
We are so used to chasing what looks good for us that we overlook what is truly good for us.
An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom.
"Done!" says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, "Say something."
The dean looks at them and says, "I should have taken the money."
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.
Doug Larson.
Maybe you are in here this morning and you have all this confusion and Chaos around you. Are you ready to let it go? Some of you are going to have to answer no to this. Why? Because you are not ready to take the difficult steps that it takes to find peace. The difficult step is to find Heavely wisdom. Heavenly wisdom tells you to seek the good of others above yourself. This is so opposite of how we are taught to live and survive. We are not used to this way of thinking or living. Some of you, you are so exhausted and tired of fighting in every aspect in your life and well this is it, you either learn to live in Heavely Wisdom or you are going to suffer physical and even spiritual consequences. It is time to lay down all the fights and struggles and all the confusion and Chaos and seek the Wisdom of God. God wants you to experience His peace and trade in the confusion and chaos for His Wisdom.
3 You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
God will keep you in perfect peace if you will seek Him and seek Humility. Not if you seek the things you think you need.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Wisdom that overcomes confusion and Chaos starts from a place of humility, leads to a place of giving up worldly wisdom, and leads to sharing in heavenly peace. Are you ready for real peace this morning? You can have it. You can give all your worries to God and you can seek the good of others around you and the Scripture tells us that you will want for nothing. Are you ready to experience that this morning?
