Wisdom from Above
Notes
Transcript
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Welcome!
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Call to Worship
Call to Worship
6 Therefore, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
Prayer of Approach
Prayer of Approach
Bible Reading
Bible Reading
1 Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.
2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.
3 Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies.
4 And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest.
6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind,
8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness.
10 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.
11 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening?
12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth.
15 Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.
Sermon: The Wisdom that is from Above
Sermon: The Wisdom that is from Above
Who are the wise ones?
Line -up!
How do we determine who is wise?
(The PHD’s, the doctors, the musicians …)?
The rich, and therefor influential?
(Example of a 20-year-old, app seigner, or singer ...
And telling the world they are doomed because they burn coal
Or that their
As we grow up, we thunk our parents know everything!
Then we think they know something, but not everything
Then we realise they know nothing, and we know everything!
Then, when you reach a certain age, you realise
our parents did, after-all, perhaps, know everything
and we still don’t know everything at all!
There is something about wisdom in all of that!
But back to James ...
Not only does James want us to consider who the wise are ...
… he wants us to know ...
Who of you are wise …and, understanding?
Line-up here!
How do we decide who is wise and understanding
(My father, (No schooling) (Frowned on today)
… and yet … perhaps wise, sometimes,
(like the story I told you last time of my father showing no favouritism to his children
and understanding, sometimes)
When he understood that a little boy whose dog had just died,
can be sad, too …
and helped him bury the dog, so that the little boy could grow in understanding, too!
James, the brother of Jesus, writes,
He had come to see what true wisdom looks like:
Once, he was unwise,
The old James would probably say something like:
I am always right!
There was once a moment I thought I made a mistake ...
But I was wrong!
But that was the old James
The new James, after he sees Jesus die on the cross,
is moved, by that moment, to understand stuff he never did before!
and to become wise, like he never was before!
And now he is able to say: Let me explain ...
And he employs an imaginary exercise, to illustrate what true wisdom is:
So he says: Come on! Line up here all wise ones ...
(((((((((((((
Now by means of elimination,
let me explain to you who of you are not wise, after all:-
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom.
So, those of you who do not show good conduct … (fall out)
(now what’s that??)
1. The way you conduct yourself, says James
when troubles come:
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
2. By practicing what you preach! You say you are a Christian
well, then your life will show that you are a Christian!
You live your life God’s way, not unwise your ways!
(How can we say that our lives are unwise
… well … let the news-headlines speak for us...
war, murder, mayhem,
the multi-sided spectrum of the BLM movement
the theory, and the practice, of Hollywood
(The Real Housewives of … )
If what you say with your mouth does not compare to how you live your life … (fall out!)
19 My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
20 for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.
3. Don’t show favouritism when it comes to grace and mercy!
2 For if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor person dressed in filthy clothes also comes in,
3 if you look with favor on the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,”
4 haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
If that is you, fall out!
4. Those who say they have faith, but they have no love … fall out!
((That is a sute telling sine that you may be quite clever, but you have no wisdom!!!)
15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?
17 In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
(Video?!)
Fall out!
5. And don’t forget:-
Those who make no effort to control their tongues, they are not particularly wise!
10 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.
Fall out! Fall out!
How many are left in our gathering of wise ones !
Yes, but … so what is true wisdom, then!
Ahhhh - it is the wisdom that is from above!
It is the wisdom that is seen …
seen, in what?
By his good conduct, he should show that his works (his wisdom)
(because we have already established we do what we believe)
his works are done in the gentleness
… that comes from wisdom!
With ther words - this is a wisdom that is gifted, some
which leads to a gentle life.
It brings gentleness /// and it brings gentleness into the world!
((Not weakness, B&S!)) In the world’s foolishness
gentleness is often confused with weakness!))
And the unwise, will always try to exploit gentleness!
Have you noticed that?
Then James says:
So that you may understand, let me explain what wisdom is not:
14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth.
15 Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
((Explain, word by word))
Bitter envy, selfish ambition in your heart, boasting … denying (hurt!)
(Are you still in our gathering of wise people, or have you been eliminated)
James says it best in
15 Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
So the question remains
What does true wisdom look like, this wisdom that is from above?
THERE IT IS, FRIENDS! THE CROSS!
Listen to this!
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.
Pure:
Peace loving: // Slow to anger
Gentle: No retaliation
Compliant (to the will of God)
full of Mercy (The difference between mercy and grace) // Faith and works
and good fruits … (I am the bread of life, the healing, the encouragement, the fiorgiveness
Unwavering (Get behind me!)
Without pretense // humilty (Let My father in Heaven be glorified)
Is that not a picture of Jesus?
But here’s the thing, B&S ...
It’s ne thing for Jesus to live - and die - like that ...
But, it doesn’t quiet fir into a modern, self-reliant, and scientific world!
That’s all nice there in story form ...
but do you really expect me to live like that?
The wolves will devour me in this world
You know … the Wall Street wolves …?
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
I know many of you ahve come to here me give you some wisdom
as to how we are to live, then, so that we may be … what, friends?
Clever?
Wealthy?
Successful?
Happy?
You can have all those things, or not have them … and still be foolish!
But if you have the wisdom that is from above, which is a gift ...
you will have joy
A joy that come from sowing peace
by those who cultivate peace!
They are the righteous ones!
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.
Do you have that wisdom!
Then you may remain in the line-up of the wise!
Amen!
Prayer of Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayer of Intercession and thanksgiving
Preparation for Lord’s Supper
Preparation for Lord’s Supper
Benediction
Benediction
What is wisdom
The stuff that you know?