Healing a Murderous Heart – part 1
James 4:1-12 (1-6)
January 11, 2015

I realize it has been quite some time
Since we have been in the book of James.
The holidays have a way of murdering the continuity of a book study.

But now with the holidays behind us
We have the opportunity to get back into our flow of this great book.

It shouldn’t be too difficult to pull your mind back to the point of this book
To sum it up for you again, James’ main point is “BE REAL”

You really get the feeling that he has a mind’s eye view of Jesus
And as He focuses on Christ and then looks at the church
James sees some alarming inconsistencies.

• He sees a church that is bitter in the midst of trials
• He sees a church that lacks wisdom and is double-minded
• He sees a church that is mixed up about the purpose of earthly wealth
• He sees a church succumbing to temptation
• He sees a church that isn’t listening to God’s word
• He sees a church that has missed the point of religion
• He sees a church that shows personal favoritism
• He sees a church is lacking genuine works to validate her faith
• He sees a church that can’t control her tongue
• He sees a church with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition

And of course all of those things are just the opposite of Christ.

James then writes the letter to sort of “right the ship”.
In some instances he strong rebuking the church.
In other areas he seems to be questioning whether salvation is even present.
And that certainly does not stop tonight.

If I can draw you back to what we talked about the last time we were in James while studying the end of chapter 3.
We talked about “Examining Our Wisdom”

James 3:13-15 “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.”

James saw an obvious problem in the church which was the presence of “bitter jealous and selfish ambition”

This was not Godliness
This was in fact more like Satan than God

And this concern spills over into the 4th chapter of the book of James.

It is that same jealous and ambitious attitude James is addressing here.
• We see in verse 1 that they are engaged in conflicts
• We see in verse 2 that they lust and commit murder
• We see that they quarrel and fight about what they can’t obtain

And after James addresses the issue and sort of straightens them out
He comes full circle down in verse 11 and says:

(11) “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.”
And so it is obvious that James is still dealing with
This concept of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition
And the slander and fighting that it is producing.

And so take a moment and back up and look at the church
And see if you see any validity to what James is saying.

• We’ve all seen church that were filled with quarreling and fighting.

And we know that James’ evaluation of the church is all too often true.
Many times throughout her history the church has been prone to fighting.

Listen to what Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:10-11 “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.”

Later he wrote:
1 Corinthians 11:17-19 “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”

Paul actually had to warn the Galatians:
Galatians 5:13-15 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”

When Paul wrote to the Philippians he said:
Philippians 4:1-2 “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.”

We have all seen quarrels and conflicts occur even in the church.
Incidentally, Jesus Himself talked about the gravity of such sins.
Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Jesus left little doubt there didn’t He?

Slandering and condemning your brother is the equivalent of murder,
And Jesus promises that those who do such things
Will not escape the sentence of hell.

That makes things like church fighting a very serious issue.

James thought it was too.

And so in our text here in chapter 4 we are going to talk about:
“HEALING A MURDEROUS HEART”

We are going to discuss the truth about people
With selfish ambition which leads to slander and quarreling.

We are going to talk about what such sins say about that person
And how that person can change.

There are 4 main points.
#1 THE PAINFUL REVELATION
James 4:1-5

Now obviously James has already seen that there are in fact
“quarrels and conflicts” in the church.

He does not ask if they are there.
He knows they are there.

He asks, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?”

He knows they are there; he has seen them.
He wants to help people see why they are there.

And here is the answer.
“Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel.”

If you want the simple answer from James, it is this:
YOU FIGHT BECAUSE YOU ARE SELFISH

And that selfishness is confirmed in several ways.

First your selfishness is seen in your CONSTANT QUARRELS

James says that you have “pleasures that wage war in your members”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

When James talks about “your members” he isn’t talking about your church members, he is talking about your body.

And inside your body you have “pleasures that wage war”
It is that sinful, fleshly, selfish nature.
It wants what it wants, when it wants it.

It is the selfish flesh.
And that is what is causing the problem.

(2) “You lust”
• You seek what is not yours
• At times you even seek what is sinful

And the reason you fight is because your lusts are not satisfied.
“You lust and do not have, so you commit murder.”

James is referring to that same type of heart murder Jesus referred to.

You slander, You condemn, You are angry with your brother.
You murder him in your heart all because you don’t get what you want.

It is pictured by that disgruntled teenager who doesn’t get their way from their parent and they lash out, “I hate you, I wish you weren’t my parent, I wish you were dead!”
It is heart murder
And it is not limited to disgruntled teens.
The same type of slander occurs inside the church
And the source is the same.

Selfish people don’t get their way so they engage in a verbal assault.

And James says it is born out of envy and a lack of contentment.

(2b) “You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.”

That is a person who wishes they had what someone else has.
• Maybe a certain position
• Maybe a certain possession
• Maybe a certain type of reputation or esteem

They want what someone else has, but they can’t get it
So they begin to tear down that other person.
James says, that’s really the source of your quarreling and fighting
It is present because you are selfish.

You have this inward fire in you that are seeking to satisfy with worldly things,
And it is your lack of satisfaction that has driven you to heart murder.

SO YOUR FIGHTING PROVES YOU ARE SELFISH
But that is not the only thing that proves you are selfish.

Secondly, your selfishness is seen in YOUR INEFFECTIVE PRAYER

(2c-3) “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Now that is a selfish person.

First we see that “You do not have because you do not ask.”

James is referring to a person too impatient to let prayer work.
It is a person who is too self-sufficient to wait on God.

They don’t ask because they don’t want to trust God to do what is right.
They don’t ask because they don’t want to wait on God to move.

They want what they want and they want it now
And they take matters into their own hands to achieve it,
Which is why they fight.

(Can I remind you of Jacob?)
Saw him fight, never heard him pray

And there are people like that.
They don’t want to submit to ask someone else, they would rather pursue it by their own abilities.

Now that doesn’t mean that if you do ask God then aren’t selfish,
For James addresses that person too.

(3) “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

There is a person who prays, but they do so out of selfish motives.
They only want to “spend it on [their] pleasures.”

They aren’t interested in God’s will
They see God as a Jeanie in a bottle who is a means to give them what they want.

All they seem to pray for is that God will continue to make them healthy and prosperous and happy and comfortable and safe.
• Where is the prayer for personal holiness?
• Where is the prayer of repentance?
• Where is the prayer for the lost?
• Where is the prayer for the poor?
• Where is the prayer for revival?

Their prayers are dripping with one selfish request after another.

Make me wealthy so I can buy all the things I want
Make me healthy so I can enjoy all the things I’ve bought
Make me safe so no one will take what I enjoy
And do that for everyone else too so I won’t have to give what I’ve got to them.

Do you get the point?
Can you see the selfishness that James is referring too?

People “ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

But their prayer is ineffective for they “ask and do not receive”

But you can see that James is talking about selfish people?
They are people who are driven by the lusts of their flesh.

Sure they are religious
Some of them even pray
But it doesn’t change the carnal desires of their heart

And so when James looks at the church and their quarrels
He says the reason it is happening is because you are selfish.

Paul told the squabbling Corinthians the same thing:
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

Your life is filled with quarrels and contentions because you are a selfish person.

But that isn’t the only painful revelation
James has for these quarreling people.

On one hand they are selfish, but James is going to take one step further.

You are certainly selfish, and there is a good chance that YOU ARE LOST

(4) “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
James is still talking about that person who “lusts”
He is talking about that person who is “envious”
He is talking about that person who has “pleasures…in their members”
He is talking about that person who has “wrong motives”
He is talking about that person who wants to satisfy their inward “pleasures”

In short he is talking about a person
Who loves the sinful luxuries of the world.

The world loves to gratify the flesh
And this person loves the world because of that.

And that love for the world not only proves they are selfish,
But it also proves they are lost.

John said it very clearly
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

John said the world is filled with “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life”

And none of those things are of God.
And anyone then who loves those things obviously doesn’t love God.

Jesus said it like this:
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

And of course you are familiar with the fact that
Jesus wasn’t just referring to money, but “mammon”
Which encapsulates all the treasures of the world.

Jesus said, you can’t love those and love God.

So the selfish heart that craves the world
Has a very difficult time defending that their faith is genuine.

“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?”

Forget the fact that if you love the world then you can’t love God.
James takes it a step further and says that
If you love the world then you are even hostile toward God.

In fact, “Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself and enemy of God.”
If you are craving the things the world craves,
Not only will it lead to quarrels and ineffective prayer,
But it will also make you an enemy of God.

(5) “Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us?”

Now the translation of this verse is difficult.
First of all, if James is quoting an actual verse, no one knows what it is.
It seems more likely that James is referring to a Scriptural theme,
Not necessarily a specific verse.

It would be like if I say, “You know the Bible says that lost people love sin”

That is not a specific verse,
But it is definite theme which can be supported.

Second of all the first “He” is not in the Greek and since there are no capitalizations in Greek, it’s hard to confirm that when James is talking about “the Spirit” that he is actually referring to the Holy Spirit.

The literal translation would be:
“The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy”

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

James is talking about how a man can be an enemy of God.

People are God’s enemy when they follow their own sinful nature (their inward spirit), because it only wants sin all the time.

Remember this?
Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Later, after the flood
Genesis 8:21 “The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.”

The spirit that naturally dwells in man
Is a spirit that is only focused on evil all the time.

God said, “the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth”

And that is the reality that James is talking about.
“The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy”

The spirit that naturally dwells in us is only on evil all the time.

SO:
If you are a person who is seeking to gratify that spirit,
(as evidenced by your quarrelling and your ineffective prayer)
Then you are obviously not a person who is living to please God.

AND YOU HAVE MADE YOURSELF GOD’S ENEMY

So there is your PAINFUL REVELATION

If your life is such that is characterized by “quarrels and conflicts”
I can tell you why.

• It is because you are selfish person who is seeking to gratify the
wrong thing.
That is why you fight
That is why your prayers don’t work

• And worse than that it reveals that you are probably a lost person
who is an enemy of God, because you love things that God hates.

Is that a hard pill to swallow?
Yes it is.

But isn’t that what James just taught us also back in chapter 3.

James 3:13-16 “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”

James was talking there about that same selfish attitude,
And if you have it, it is not from God.

The wisdom that comes from God is completely different.
James 3:17-18 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Can you see the difference?
• Can you see that the unselfish man who seeks God’s heart is a reasonable and gently and merciful and peaceable man who makes peace with others?

• Can you see that the selfish man is a lusting and greedy and pleasure seeking man that fights and quarrels and is an enemy of God?

So examine your life.
Are you selfish or not?
Is your life characterized by quarrels and conflicts?
Is your prayer life effective?
Are you seeking to gratify your natural spirit or God’s Holy Spirit?
James just has a real problem with those who claim to be the church
Obviously living such selfish lives.

After all, need I remind you that you cannot love self and follow Jesus?

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

And James here looks at a selfish church and wonders
How they can genuinely consider themselves to be Christians.

• They fight
• They love the world
• They lust
• They are envious
• They are filled with selfish ambition
• Their prayers are only for their own personal gratification

So, there is the painful revelation,
And it requires that we get honest with ourselves.

WHY?
Because if you don’t get honest about the condition of your heart,
You’ll never go to the one who can fix it.

And that is the good news that James refers to next.

The Painful Revelation
#2 THE POWERFUL EXPLANATION
James 4:6

You have to love the first phrase here
“But He gives a greater grace.”

You are a selfish, quarreling, lustful, envious, worldly, adulterating, enemy of God…BUT
God has grace big enough to fix that.

Isn’t that what we sing about?
“Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that will pardon and cleans within. Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin.”

Paul said:
Romans 5:20-21 “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

And we are thankful for that point.

Quite frankly it couldn’t get any worse than the first 5 verses.
That person in the first 5 verses is in about as bad a shape as a person can be in.
It’s hard to be worse than a murdering, adulterating, enemy of God.

That person would most certainly be lost and cast into hell forever:
“But He gives a greater grace.”

That is to say that God can even save that person.
“Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

And there James even tells you how to be a recipient of such grace.

HOW?
Be “humble”

WHAT DO YOU MEAN HUMBLE?

Well don’t be “proud”
• Don’t refuse to fess up to what you are.
• Don’t argue with God’s estimation of what you are.

• Don’t be too proud to confess that you are sinful…
• Don’t be too proud to let it be known that you are that person…

That is one of the reasons lost people stay lost
They are too proud

They don’t want to admit that they are sinful,
Not to God and not to anyone else.
And when God tells them they are lost
They don’t want to admit that either.

This is especially difficult for people who have spent time in church
Telling everyone that they are saved.

Many false believers would rather stay lost with everyone thinking they are saved than to be saved by admitting that they were lost.

That is pride, and God doesn’t give saving grace to the proud.

In fact James reminds that “God is opposed to the proud”

“But God gives grace to the humble.”
• God forgives the sin of the humble man.
• God wipes away the sin of the man who confesses it.
• God overcomes the sin of the man who owns up to it.

Jesus preached it like this:
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The person who is humble and broken
Is the person who will receive the kingdom of heaven.
In fact they are the only ones who will.

Only the poor in spirit get in
You don’t get into heaven by concealing your sin and ignoring your guilt.

You get into heaven when you come in honest humility
To the God of grace and receive His forgiveness.

And I don’t think James could have explained it any simpler.

Take that Painful revelation and examine yourself by it
And listen to what God says about you.

And then humble yourself before God.
Grace is available.

• Is your heart selfish?
• Do you lust and then murder when you don’t get it?
• Are you envious and then fight when you are not satisfied?
• Do you lack prayer because you don’t want God’s answer?
• Do you pray but only for selfish things?
• Do you love the world and that is all you want?

I won’t sugarcoat it, those things are bad indicators

“But He gives a greater grace”

He will still forgive and save if you will humble yourself before Him.

 

 
And we’ll finish up this text next time.
Pray

Praying For Missions
Matthew 9:36-38
January 11, 2015

As you know we are now in our mission’s month.
We like to take the month of January
And sort of focus in on the high calling of missions.

As we said last week, this is the purpose of the church.
We are to take the light of Jesus Christ and shine Him into a dark and hopeless world.

• We are not primarily philanthropists
• We are not primarily social workers
• We are not primarily medics
• We are not primarily construction workers

We may in fact use all of those avenues to gain the opportunity
To fulfill our purpose, but those are not what we are.

We are preachers of the gospel
We are missionaries
We are here to publish the work of Christ to the nations.
We are left here for missions.

And as we talked about that last week,
I gave you three ways in which you can be involved in that purpose.

They weren’t new – in fact you’ve heard them over and over.
PRAY – GIVE – GO

What I want to do this morning is begin to dive into those a little bit more.
And this morning I want to talk a little bit about praying for missions.

And I don’t mind telling you that this is a way bigger topic
Than we have time to handle in one sermon.

Because mission work is spiritual work,
It is absolutely essential that every aspect of it be prayed about,
For we cannot accomplish this task on our own.

We must pray for open doors
We must pray for open hearts

But this morning we are going to take the prayer concept
In a bit of a different direction.

We actually touched on it last week,
As we read the text we are focusing on this morning.

“Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

As we said last week we have here a verse with two tragedies.

1) We have “distressed and dispirited sheep without a shepherd”

That is another way of saying we have lost sheep.
They are not saved and their lives are in shambles because of it.

2) We have a field that workers have not entered.

There is a plentiful harvest
And yet no one seems to be at work to bring that harvest in.

And so the response of Jesus is that His disciples should pray.

“Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

• He didn’t ask for prayer that God would bring the harvest in by Himself
• He didn’t ask for prayer that the harvest would come in on its own
• He asked for prayer that God would send workers to get it.
In fact Jesus said to “beseech the Lord”

There is a hint of urgency there
There is a hint of intensity there

Beg God to do this
Implore God to do this
Plead with God to send out workers

I pondered that statement this week, and it brought a question to my mind

WHY WOULD A FARMER WITH A RIPE HARVEST NOT BE SENDING WORKERS INTO IT?

You’d assume that with a ripe field you wouldn’t have to ask God to send out workers…you’d assume He’d already be doing that.

This is a field that God obviously planted
This is a field that God watered
This is a field that God made to grow
So we know God is well invested in this field.

Why would you have to ask Him to send out workers?
Certainly isn’t because God doesn’t want to.
He cares about this harvest.
But the question is:
WHY IS NO ONE BEING SENT?

And I think it is beneficial to take that question and internalize it.
If you aren’t being sent, maybe you should ask why.
If I’m not being sent, maybe I should ask why.

Why is God not sending workers?
(Especially when you know that He desires to)

Well this morning we are going to examine a multitude of passages
To answer that question.

You already know that I’m not a real fan of topical preaching,
But that is what you are going to get this morning.

I want to give you 5 reasons why God isn’t sending workers,
And hopefully that will also answer the question of
Exactly how to pray so that God will send them.

So put yourself in the seat of a farmer.
• You’ve got a field that is ripe for harvest.
• You’ve plowed, you’ve planted, you’ve irrigated, you’ve fertilized and now the crop is ready.

Why now are you sluggish in sending out workers?

5 reasons (may be more, but this is my list)
#1 THE WORKERS ARE DANGEROUS
Turn To: Matthew 23:15

You are familiar with the passage.
Jesus is condemning the Pharisees for their hypocritical religion.

Now certainly Jesus nails them in a number of areas,
But one of those areas is in their mission involvement.

And you recognize from this verse that
Jesus is not upset with the Pharisees for not doing missions.
He is upset with them because they do.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

They travel around the globe and they are making proselytes.

The problem is that their converts
Are “twice as much a son of hell” as they are.
They are getting people to believe a message that doesn’t save.

It is similar to the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day.

Jeremiah 23:21 “I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied.”

And then later
Jeremiah 23:32 “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”

That passage clearly answers the question as to at least one reason
Why God isn’t sending these people into the harvest.

They are dangerous.
They do not “furnish this people the slightest benefit”

It is obvious that the Lord of the harvest realizes that
If He sends these people into the field,
He will not get the harvest into the barn.

These people will ruin the harvest

These are false brethren with a false gospel who make false converts.

Matthew 15:12-14 “Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
These are the blind men.
And if you send a blind man to guide a blind man, both of them are in trouble.

In short
You don’t send lost people on mission to reach other lost people.

And that is one of the problems even in the church.
The church has a lot of lost people in it.
• They may be religious
• They may have Bible knowledge
• But they are not saved and they cannot help in the harvest

God doesn’t send them because they are dangerous.

WHAT WOULD THE PRAYER THEN BE?
Well obviously that they be saved and that they receive God’s Holy Spirit, and they finally believe the true gospel so that they are ready to go in God’s strength and preach God’s gospel.

So you understand the prayer request.
When you beseech the Lord of the harvest,
Pray that the lost in His church would be saved so that He can send them.

The Workers are Dangerous
#2 THE WORKERS ARE DEFICIENT
Turn To: 2 Peter 1:5-9

What I mean by deficient is that they are NOT USABLE.
They are lacking something that makes them usable in the field.

Let me go ahead and remind you that everyone starts there.

Romans 3:12 “ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

When we talk about being useless,
Then we must understand that we were all there.
The goal is obviously to move from being useless to being useful.

HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?
Well obviously salvation must occur, but also spiritual growth.

Look at what Peter says in his passage.
“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”

Peter is talking about being useful to God.
And Peter is very clear that those who lack “love”, “brotherly kindness”, “godliness”, “perseverance”, “self-control”, “knowledge”, and “moral excellence” are NOT useful to God.

If you lack those qualities you are “blind or short-sighted” and you have “forgotten [your] purification from [your] former sins.”

And it helps us understand why the farmer isn’t sending some people.
They may be saved
They may have faith
But they have never grown.

They have never added the things that Peter says they need to add.
They are still spiritual babies.

They are like the people the writer of Hebrews wrote to:
Hebrews 5:11-14 “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

And there are people like this in the church.
At this point in their Christian walk
They ought to already be teaching others.

(That is part of the Great Commission –
“and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you”)

They ought to be teachers, but they still need to be taught.
They are not mature, they can’t discern good and evil.
And so they are not useful.

Now it’s one thing when that person is a 10 year old kid
Who has only be saved a year or two,
But it is quite embarrassing when we’re talking about
An adult who has been a Christian for years.

And yet that is one of the reasons that the Lord of the harvest
Is not sending people into the harvest.

The workers are deficient
They are not yet useful
They have still not grown and learned to teach the gospel to others

2 Timothy 2:20-21 “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

So, when Jesus tells you to pray to the Lord to send workers,
I think we understand a little better how to pray.

Pray for those who are immature and not yet useable to grow up and put away childish things and make themselves useable to God.

So why is the Lord of the harvest not sending workers?
The Workers are Dangerous The Workers are Deficient
#3 THE WORKERS ARE DISQUALIFIED
Turn To: Acts 15:36-38

Paul and Barnabas had already been on one missionary journey.
But while they were there Mark deserted them.

For whatever reason he did not see the mission through.
And in Paul’s mind this disqualified him.

“After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.”

Mark had quit the first trip and this disqualified him for the second.

And this sort of thing happens.
People in the church disqualify themselves for service
Because of unrepentant sin in their lives.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we are all sinners.
If God isn’t willing to use sinners then, He’ll never send anyone.

None of us are worthy to be called a missionary.

You aren’t disqualified because of what you used to be,
Or what you used to do.
In fact, many times God uses your past failures as a testimony to reach others.

What we are talking about is present sin
What we are talking about is unrepentant sin
What we are talking about is habitual sin

A farmer isn’t going to send a worker into the field
• That will destroy the crop
• Who doesn’t know how to harvest the crop
• Who isn’t interested in doing what the farmer says.

It is an issue of an obedient heart.
And if the worker won’t obey the farmer in other areas,
He’s not going to trust that he will in this one.

So a worker living in sin is disqualified and God won’t send him.

Let me give you another example.
Matthew 7:1-5 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Certainly that passage at its heart is about self-righteousness.
But there is a very strong missional statement there as well.

How do you plan on helping someone get a speck out of their eye when you haven’t been able to get the log out of yours?

We already read what happens when one blind man tries to lead another.

If you won’t turn from sin in your own life,
How do you expect to get someone else to do it?

And incidentally choosing sin over service is NOT acceptable before God.

And there again is another specific as to how to pray.
Pray that the workers will turn from sin and qualify themselves for service.
That they will make themselves usable by means of repentance.

And it is only fair to note that Mark did this.

In the last letter Paul ever wrote, Paul said:
2 Timothy 4:11 “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”

Mark had been disqualified, but he didn’t stay that way.
He obviously repented, he obviously became committed to the mission
And he became useful and was thrust into duty.

But it helps us understand why workers aren’t being sent.
It may help you understand why you aren’t being sent.

Some workers are dangerous – destroying the crops
Some workers are deficient – they don’t know how to harvest
Some workers are disqualified – they aren’t walking in obedience to the farmer
#4 THE WORKERS ARE DISINCLINED
Turn To: Ezekiel 22:23-31

Now please notice the grim state of the culture of that day.
READ 23-29

Now there is a place that needed a good missionary
There was a dark land that needed light

And God certainly wanted to send a worker into that harvest.
But there was a problem.

(30) “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Notice what God said:
“I searched for a man who” what?

“who WOULD”

• It wasn’t that God didn’t want workers.
• It wasn’t that God wouldn’t send workers.
• But no one “would” do it.

There were no Isaiah’s in that day.
Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

These were people who knew there was a need
They knew their culture was in shambles
They knew the gospel needed to be preached
They knew the standard of God needed to be raised

They just weren’t willing to do it.

AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY SHAMEFUL!
How can it be that people who have been graciously chosen and mercifully forgiven just totally disregard that gift and then refuse to do what God asks?

I mean this farmer has fed you time and time again from his harvest
And now when He wants you to help Him bring another harvest in,
You tell Him “No”.

How can this be?

Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

That was certainly Paul’s mentality.
Acts 21:12-13 “When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

In Paul’s mind Jesus had certainly done more than enough
To warrant his obedience.

And this should be the mindset of every saved person,
And yet sadly it isn’t.

There are many who are just disinclined to go be a part.
They would rather sit in their own houses
And leave the harvest in the field.

They just don’t want to do it.

And that again helps us understand why workers aren’t being sent.
• Some are dangerous
• Some are deficient (not ready)
• Some are disqualified (by means of sin)
• Some are disinclined (they just don’t want to)

And again that helps us know then how to pray that workers will be sent.
We are to pray that those who are redeemed and able
Would be willing to step out and answer the call.

That they would stand with Isaiah and say, “Here am I, send me!”

Some are dangerous, some are deficient, some are disqualified, some are disinclined
#5 THE WORKERS ARE DISTRACTED
Turn To: John 4:31-38

Now there is a story you will remember.
The chapter begins with Jesus choosing to travel through Samaria and at noon as He sits by a well He sends the disciples into town to buy food.

Well here we read what happens when they get back.
READ 31-34

That is classic Jesus, and the disciples are obviously a little confused.
Why wouldn’t He want to eat?

And then notice Jesus’ answer.
(35) “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.”

When they looked up, if you’ve read the chapter, you’ll know what they saw.

The woman at the well had returned to that same town
Where the disciples just bought food.

The only difference is while they only bought food,
She told people about Jesus.

And the crowd was coming out to Jesus.

And Jesus told His disciples to look at that harvest that was coming.

(36-38) “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. “For in this case the saying is true, ‘ One sows and another reaps.’ “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
Now please pay close attention here.

Verse 38 reveals the problem.
“I sent you to reap”

• He doesn’t say “it’s time to reap”
• He doesn’t say “I’m going to send you to reap”
• He says, “I sent you to reap”

What is He talking about?
He’s talking about when He sent them into that town.

He sent them “to reap”, what did they do?
They bought food

The problem?
• They were distracted
• They were not focused on spiritual things.

Remember our text that we started with this morning?
Matthew 9:36-38 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Did you catch that first statement?
“Seeing the people”

That is what the disciples never did.
They walked all over that city, but they never saw it like Jesus did.

They weren’t sinful, they were just distracted.
Missions wasn’t that important to them.

But let me assure you that missions is important to God.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

1 Timothy 2:1-4 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

Luke 15:3-7 “So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

The Good Shepherd finds sheep because He is looking for sheep.
The disciples found food because they were looking for food.

The call is to open your eyes.
If you are serious about witnessing, there is ample opportunity.

But the church is easily distracted.

And that is why workers are not being sent.
The farmer sends workers into the field to harvest the crop,
But instead they end up painting the tractor.

And you know this is a problem.
We are in a world that is lost and going to hell and churches are more concerned about building gymnasiums and worship centers than reaching the lost.

So the prayer?
That the church would open her eyes and quit being so distracted.

There is a reason why the Lord of the harvest is not sending workers.

Some of them are dangerous and will destroy the crop.
We must pray that they are saved and will preach the true gospel.

Some of them are deficient and don’t know what to do.
We must pray that they grow up in the faith and become useful.

Some of them are disqualified because they won’t obey the farmer.
We must pray that they will turn from their sin and qualify themselves for service.

Some of them are disinclined and just don’t want to harvest the crops.
We must pray that they will repent of their disobedience
And love Jesus enough to join His missionary effort.

Some of them are distracted and just aren’t paying attention.
We must pray that the church opens her eyes to the need of missions
And gets involved.

“Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

So if you want to be involved in missions, that is one way to do it.
Pray

Pray that the workers will be sent

There have always been rulers and kings

Men of prominence, who boast of mighty things

History will tell us, of all they’ve done and said

But there is only one king who rose up from the dead

And He stands above the rest

His name forever blessed

 

Jesus, what a mighty name!

Every knee will bow to You

And every tongue proclaim

Jesus, what a mighty name

Forever You will reign

The name above all names

Jesus, what a might name!

 

At the end of all the ages

These kings will all bow down

Presidents and royalty; faces to the ground

There will be no doubt

That Jesus Christ is Lord!

And I’ll be there to see Him

Seated on His throne

There will be a holy roar

As the saints sing to their Lord

 

Jesus, what a mighty name!

Every knee will bow to You

And every tongue proclaim

Jesus, what a mighty name

Forever You will reign

The name above all names

Jesus, what a might name!

 

Testing Your Wisdom
James 3:13-18
December 14, 2014

Last week when we met we saw a pretty serious warning from James.
He was warning us about the dangers of trying to corral the tongue.

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

James warned us that those who stand and speak for God
Will in fact be judged more severely.

You simply don’t want to mess it up when you stand to speak for God.

And we might be prone to overlook this warning
Were it not for the fact that James goes on to tell us
How difficult it is to tame the tongue.

• You have this small part of your body that causes more results (both good and bad) than any other part of your body.

• Furthermore this small part is virtually impossible to control, and since Satan loves to use the tongue for his benefit, James couldn’t be more serious in his warning.

You are taking an uncontrollable and powerful tool
That Satan loves to use and trying to wield it for the glory of God
Under threat of stricter judgment.

Anyone who seeks to step into the position should exercise caution.

And James gave this warning BECAUSE
Throughout the church there were plenty of men
Who were aspiring for the office who should not have been.

1 Timothy 1:6-7 “For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

These men were ambitious, these men wanted to teach,
But they had no business doing so
Because they didn’t know what they were talking about.

And so James wrote his warning for men like that.

Tonight James addresses ANOTHER VERY SERIOUS MATTER
And one that I believe to be directly linked to that same argument.

“Who among you is wise and understanding?”
I studied on this passage quite a bit, and read many commentaries, and it seems that scholars are torn on exactly what James is talking about here.

There are really two options for who he is addressing.

1) He is using wisdom as a fruit of salvation and is saying, “Who among you thinks that he is genuinely saved?”

If you’ll look down to verse 18, the section concludes by saying, “And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

That verse is difficult to translate.

In fact many of you will notice that either the word “seed” is italicized
Because it isn’t in the text, or you’ll have an alternate translation in your margin.

The literal translation is “and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

But because the translators saw righteousness as a fruit and not a seed,
They added the word “seed” there.

However it could very well be that when James uses the phrase
“the fruit of righteousness” he is in fact talking about wisdom.

He might be calling wisdom “the fruit of righteousness”
Implying that true wisdom only belongs to those who are truly saved.

And therefore we would be studying this passage as a sort of
“test yourself to see if you are in the faith” sort of passage.

And there is truth to that.
1 Corinthians 2:6-16 “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”

It is true that when you are saved and declared righteous before God,
That you are given the Holy Spirit, who alone knows the mind and thoughts of God.

The result is that believers are said to “have the mind of Christ.”

Wisdom is a genuine fruit of the genuinely saved.
And so it is not wrong to say that when James speaks of those who are wise, he is talking about those who are truly redeemed.

That is one option

2) He is talking about the man who thinks he has something valuable to offer. And therefore is saying, “Who among you thinks he has wise counsel to give?”

And there is merit to that as well.

Even in verse 18 we read that the fruit of righteousness “is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

James is obviously talking about a wise person
Imparting that wisdom to others and doing it in a peaceful way.

Obviously there it is more than just wisdom within your heart,
But that which you share with others.

And so it could very well be that James is talking about
Those who think they are wise enough to give counsel to others.

And since we just finished a section on the tongue
In which James is challenging teachers,
I am inclined to think that is precisely the purpose.

James just warned those ambitious teachers
Against being so eager to jump into the pulpit
Because they might not be able to control their tongues.

I think he anticipated their response.
“I hear your warning James, but I’ve got something to say that people need to hear.”

AND SO JAMES WILL NOW ADDRESS THOSE
WHO THINK THEY HAVE WISDOM TO SHARE WITH OTHERS.

And let’s face it, this is applicable stuff.

If I know anything about our culture, it is that it is filled with counselors.
Sure there are some who are professionals, who make a living giving advice,
But for every one of those there are 100 who will give you their advice for free.
If you don’t believe me, go home tonight and pose a conundrum on Facebook and then ask for advice and see how many comments you get.
Our world loves to give advice.

Now, because of that reality, we tend to think we’ve gotten pretty good
At discerning who we should and shouldn’t listen to.

• Some will test everything by the word of God (as they should)
• Some will say, “I’m a good judge of character” (perhaps)
• Some will determine to “know them by their fruits”

But we have grown accustomed to testing those who give us advice.

But James isn’t talking about that here.
He’s not talking about you discerning what you hear.

James is asking you to test yourself
Before you deem yourself worthy to speak.

James’ question to all those eager teachers is this:
“HOW DO YOU KNOW
IF YOU REALLY HAVE WISDOM WORTH SHARING?”

• Before you jump into the pulpit…
• Before you pick up the phone…
• Before you run speak into someone else’s life…
How do you know you are wise enough to do it?
How do you know if you should even share what you have?

Well that is what we deal with tonight.
We are talking about TESTING YOUR WISDOM

And just to make sure we are crystal clear,
What we really want to know is if you have wisdom from God
Or wisdom from another source.

That’s really it.
And to answer that question, we can deduce three tests you need to apply to your self.
#1 HOW DO YOU WALK?
James 3:13

You want to know if you are wise, James says, “Well, how do you live?”

“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”

What a great statement!
You already know that James is a
“Put your money where your mouth is” kind of guy.
• He doesn’t want faith without endurance
• He doesn’t want compassion without sacrifice
• He doesn’t want confession without obedience
• He doesn’t want wisdom that isn’t used by the one who offers it.

So if you are interested in mailing your resume to James
To show how wise you are, James isn’t interested.
He wants to see you live.

“Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
Don’t say – “show”

And the reasoning for this is very sound.
Hopefully you’ll remember talking about wisdom back in chapter 1.

We actually took a minute to discuss what real wisdom is.

Don’t confuse wisdom with knowledge.
Wisdom is NOT what you know.

If you’ll remember we said:
WISDOM IS WHAT YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW.

There are a lot of smart people who are not wise.
There are a lot of educated people who are not wise.

Wise people don’t just know the truth, they act on it.
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”

Both men heard, both had knowledge, but only one was wise
The one who acted on what he heard.

There are many people who know that Jesus is the Son of God (even the demons believe)

But the wise man is the one who forsakes all other attempts
And places everything on Jesus.

Wisdom isn’t what you know, it’s what you do with what you know.

And so James’ point is very fitting.

YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE WISE?
Show me.
Wisdom isn’t demonstrated from a pulpit,
Wisdom is demonstrated on the path.

That is why when you read 1 Timothy
And Paul starts listing the qualifications for an overseer,
He really doesn’t spend much time talking about what they know.

He does say they must be “able to teach” but that is really it.

But notice all the character and attitude based requirements.
1 Timothy 3:2-7 “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

What are they examining there? – His wisdom
Does he live right?

Well that is what James is saying.
You say you are wise, well, do you live right?

Do you have “good behavior”?
Do you do your “deeds in the gentleness of wisdom”?

“gentleness” is a word also translated “meekness”
It means submissive (strength under control)
(It’s like a good broke horse)

James says, “Are you submissive to the truth of God? Do you do what God says? Do you do good deeds?”

Don’t step into some “wisdom giving” role
If your life doesn’t epitomize a wise life.

So if you want to know if you have something to share,
First let me ask about how you walk.

Do you make wise decisions and live submissive to God’s truth?

How do you walk?
#2 WHY DO YOU SHARE?
James 3:14-16

And you can really feel James getting after those men
Who are itching to claim the teaching role.

He would really be focusing in on those Pharisees
Who seated themselves in the chair of Moses.

Why did those Pharisees do that? Do you remember?
Matthew 23:6-7 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”
They want the glory.
They want the honor.

They want to teach others, but it isn’t from pure motives,
And James says STOP RIGHT THERE!

“But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”

I certainly don’t begrudge pastors in large churches,
I am actually quite thankful that men like Adrian Rogers and John MacArthur made it as big as they did which afforded me an opportunity to hear them.

But that verse alone should serve as a staggering warning
To any preacher who is only interested in climbing the ladder
To a bigger church with more notoriety.

James says you claim to be wise, but you aren’t.
You are lying “against the truth”

You don’t have wisdom – you have “jealousy” and “ambition”

You aren’t looking to preach and apply and follow God’s truth,
You are just trying to appear wise so you can climb the ladder.

Remember these guys?
Philippians 1:15-17 “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.”

There were preachers who actually preached harder when Paul went to prison because they saw it as an opportunity to take his place and steal his position.

Are we really to say a man like that is wise?
NO

And James says you are “arrogant”

That is to say you are not wise, but you claim to be.
• Oh, don’t get me wrong, you may know a lot.
• You may be able to wow people with your command of the Greek language and you may oratory skills out of this world.

But the very fact that you covet a higher position
And are ambitious to get it shows you have no real wisdom.
And it is absolute arrogance to claim that you do.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”

You can see that arrogance has no place in genuine wisdom.
If you think yourself wise and deserving of more,
You obviously don’t have the wisdom from above.

Because God’s wisdom only comes to those
Who first recognize themselves as fools.

If you think yourself to be so wise, what you have didn’t come from God.

(15) “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.”

James says you didn’t learn your ambitious ways from God.
• That is worldly stuff – the world teaches you to climb the ladder
• Or that is purely the flesh – that is always about promoting self
• Or even worse, it is demonic – the devil was a self-promoter from way back

That is a strong indictment from James.
You may in fact have something to say, but it is not wisdom from above.

And the reality is that IT WON’T HELP ANYONE.
(16) “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”

James says, “Show me a man who has selfish ambition and I’ll show you a man who has every evil thing as well.”

James would say to that man
You aren’t real, and you won’t help anyone.

It reminds of the prophets in Jeremiah’s day:
Jeremiah 23:32 “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”

The very notion of offering wisdom to someone
Is to help them get their life back in order,
And these people do just the opposite.

They actually push “disorder”
They are jealous and ambitious
And a wise man would never be those things.

So if you think yourself to be a wise man James has a couple of tests for you.

How do you walk? And why do you share?
#3 HOW DO YOU SHARE?
James 3:17-18

Well, if jealousy and ambition are not indicative of a truly wise man, what is?
I’m glad you asked.

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”

What a list!

Now take those and apply them to yourself
When you want to speak wisdom into someone else’s life.

Are your motives “pure”?
That is to say, “Do you really only care about helping the other brother get his life back on track?

You aren’t doing it so you can go talk about it later
And use that guy as a number on report that will help pad your reputation.

Are you “peaceable”?

Some people love to confront others
Just for the sake of a good old altercation.
There are some who thrive on debates because it makes them look smart if they can humiliate their opponent.

Godly wisdom isn’t looking for a fight,
Godly wisdom is looking to help a life see the truth and live right.

Are you “gentle”?

Or are you brutal? Do you beat people up, or do you understand that the people you are trying to help are often already broken and battered?

You don’t want a paramedic arriving on the scene of a crash
And dragging people around by their ankles, you want them to be gentle.

 

Are you “reasonable”?

That is to say when you speak truth do you seem to understand that
Those you speak to might not look like Jesus in 30 seconds.

Are you willing to patiently wait and help and encourage?
Are you willing to wait for God to help you through, or do you need the results now?

How about “full of mercy and good fruits”?

You are not out to condemn others, but to help them.
You want to encourage them to succeed and to have victory.

You don’t put yourself above them in arrogance,
But mercifully gets into their situation with them to help them.

And can you see the “fruits” of your past labors?
It is obvious that you have helped others.

Are you “unwavering”?
Meaning that you are confident in the truth you are sharing.

You aren’t just telling people what they want to hear,
But is guiding them into the truth.

Not like that “double-minded man” back in chapter 1.

Are you “without hypocrisy”?

Meaning do you ask something of that that you don’t do yourself?
Do you tie up heavy burdens that you won’t move with so much as a finger?

That is some list.
But I must remind you that this list of wisdom isn’t unique to James.

Matthew 5:3-9 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Those lists are pretty similar wouldn’t you agree?

James is asking you if you can see Christ in your wisdom.

• You think you are wise, well, how do you walk?
• You think you are wise, well, why do you share?
• You think you are wise, well, how do you share?

• Are you some sort of bully who thinks himself better than others and who enjoy rattling off your own ideas because it helps you climb the ladder?

• Or are you a meek and gentle person who lives what you speak and speaks what you live to genuinely try to help others find victory in their lives?

You can really feel James’ animosity
To those arrogant preachers who continually run to the front
Because they love to put their wisdom on display.

He sees plenty of that in the world.

He is looking for the man who looks like Christ.

Matthew 12:18-21 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM IHAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

That is the guy James is looking for.

And James closes with:
(18) “And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

I already told you that literally this verse says, “And the fruit of righteousness (wisdom) is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

In other words when those who really do have wisdom peacefully share it with others, they sow “in peace” intending to “make peace”

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Please note it isn’t “peace keepers”, it is “peacemakers”

James is referring to people like Jesus
Who offer their wisdom that man might have peace with God.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Ephesians 2:13-18 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.”

What James is talking about is that people who truly give wisdom
Give it so that people who listen to them find peace with God.

Those with worldly wisdom leave you in disorder,
Those who Godly wisdom leave you closer to God.

And James’ question, is which one are you?

Are you jealous and ambitious or do you practice what you preach and leave others at peace with God?

Before you jump into some teaching role
Because you think you are wise,
You had better test what kind of wisdom you have.

The tongue is too powerful a tool for you to run out there and use it
When you are not qualified to do so.

James 3:13 “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”