How we doing church? Good to see you all. Ian already alluded to the cold. One thing that I learned about five years ago when my family moved here is that the winter, I'm less concerned about the weather outside and what it does to bring the critters from outside into my home. Anybody with me on that? Okay. We bought a house that was originally built in 1910, which means rodents love us for whatever reason. I'm okay, actually, with the whole mice situation. We were there a few years ago where it's just like, all right, find the spot in the basement, stuff a little steel wool in it. It's fine. But my bigger problem is bats. I have two fears in life. Bats and bats, they freak me out because here's. I mean, you guys know this. They're like mice with wings, right? They can fly. They're really hard to control with the fact that they fly. Number two, they're filthy, they carry a ton of diseases. Like even their poop can be, like, corrosive to your house. They're destructive. And then, number three, they can also get in holes the size of a dime or smaller. And having a house that's two stories with an attic. You may have already guessed this about me. I don't do heights super well. I'm five seven. God knew that I couldn't handle height, so I knew the second we had a bat in our house. It's like, we need to call for help. This is beyond my control, right? To find an access point, let alone to find a remedy to the bat problem, I needed help. And last week we jumped back into our James series. Jake covered the first twelve verses of James, chapter three. And we talked about how our mouths can get us in trouble. And like bats, our tongues are small but dangerous. They're filthy. James three actually talked about our tongues. This way, James three. Six. Our tongue is a fire. A world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set amongst our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. Whoa. Strong language, right? The danger of the tongue, the destruction of the tongue. We talked about that last week. But then, much more than that, making matters even more worse is we cannot solve our speech issue, right? Jake said, human speech cannot be solved in human strength. We have a source problem, and we need divine help. So Jake closed out last week by pointing to the fact that this isn't just a speech issue, this is a heart issue, right? Wicked speech is a sign of a wicked heart, and we need to call for outside help. Namely, we need to call out to God to solve our heart issue. But the question is, how do we change? Like, where does real heart change come in? We found the access point in the heart. We found the source. But what remedy does God need to apply to our hearts in order to speak and live in a way that honors him? What remedy does he need to apply? And I'm going to give you the answer right away, because James does that, we're going to walk through this together. So here's the answer. God honoring character requires God given wisdom. God given wisdom. So if we want to speak and act in a way that pleases our God in heaven, here's what we need. We need to call for help, and we need him to apply the remedy of wisdom to our life. But the question is, what is wisdom? Right? I think we're really quick to say, oh, wisdom, intellect, life experience, gray hair, maybe that's wisdom. But James wants us to actually look at our lives and say, what does wisdom look like? So James, chapter three, we're going to pick up in verse 13, he asks this question, who is wise and understanding among you? Who is wise and understanding among you? You might remember last week in verse one, chapter three, verse one, that James is addressing would be teachers, right? These men who are aspiring to this level of teacher, and their tongues are getting them in trouble. But if you would look ahead to James four, which we're getting to next week, it's not just teachers that have a tongue problem. It's the church at large, right? There's quarrels. They're fighting. They're speaking from a wicked heart. And so the entire church is in view here for James, and he says, you guys are puffed up. You all seem to think that you have something that somebody else doesn't, and if they would just learn from you, things would get better. But James is a practical theologian. I love that about him. I love him. Like this book, there's not a lot of guessing about what James is getting at. And so when it comes to wisdom, he wants to give us a really practical exam. He's not just asking, how do you have wisdom? He's going to show us what wisdom looks like. So the rest of that verse, who is wise and understanding among you by his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. So maybe it's not about intellect, at least not intellect alone. This wisdom examination is more behavioral than it is intellectual. James is saying it's not just about how clever you can speak or how smart you are. It has to do with your conduct, your morality, how you carry yourself. One commentator said it this way. Wisdom is not measured by degrees, but by deeds. It's not a matter of acquiring truth and lectures, but of applying truth to life. Wisdom looks like action and notice, not just seen and doing the right thing. There's a lot of people that don't know the Lord that can do the right thing. But he says here it's doing the right thing with the right spirit, the right motivation, the right demeanor. And he uses this word, meekness. Meekness, maybe your translation says gentleness, humility. And culturally speaking, in their time and in ours, meekness can be confused with weakness. This idea of, oh, you're spineless, you're shy, you're timid, you're fake, you're wimpy. And that's just not true. I mean, when you hear the word meek and consider people in the Bible who might come to mind for you. Thank you, Sunday school answer, I set you up. Jesus, like Jesus, is described as meek. Matthew eleven. Right? Jesus was gentle, or the same word, meek and lowly in heart. So this isn't about weakness. This is about strength under control. Strength under control. But it does show in how we act, a spirit of gentleness, of meekness, of humility, that somebody can see. It doesn't just show up on paper. It's something that you see in your life. So how can you tell if you have wisdom? Look at your life, look at your attitude, look at your demeanor. But what's concerning as we continue in this passage is James is going to tell us there's two different types of quote unquote wisdom that we're led by or that we live in light of. And this isn't the difference between great wisdom and good wisdom. Right? Hot day like this, I think about chicken noodle soup, right? This isn't the difference between the homemade stuff from scratch and the sketchy, great value stuff out of a can. That's not what James is about to talk about. This is a big deal. This is the difference between a great, delicious bowl of soup and a bowl of soup that has been poisoned and is deadly. The two camps of quote unquote wisdom that he introduces to us are demonic wisdom and divine wisdom, wisdom from hell and wisdom from heaven. But luckily, James is kind of serving as a cup bearer for us here this morning. And he's saying, hey, I'm going to point out what this demonic wisdom looks like so that you don't have to take the poison in. Here's how he describes demonic wisdom beginning in verse 14. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes from above, but is earthly, unspiritual. And there's that word demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder in every vile practice. Does this describe the wisdom you're led by? I mean, if you're anything like me, you are far too quick to dismiss this and say, no, it's not me, because we don't like the source. Demonic seems too strong of language, but that's the word James uses. In fact, in this next chapter, James four, he says this. James four. Four, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. There is no in between. You're either with God or you're against him. Your wisdom is either from heaven or it is from hell. One John 310. I mean, John tells us the same thing. By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. There's no in between. Church and I think one of the greatest problems of this text, when you read it, when you study it, this word, if in verse 14, can also be since. Since you have bitter jealousy, since you have selfish ambition in your hearts, stop boasting, stop lying about the truth. We're too quick to say, oh, demonic wisdom, totally not me. But if we would just look at the symptoms, maybe we would start to say, shoot. Maybe that is me, right? This first symptom of bitter jealousy. Have you ever been jealous? This self centeredness that makes you envious of anyone who has anything good in their lives. You want what belongs to them with no concern for their good. You. Have you ever been jealous of somebody else's promotion? You ever been jealous of somebody else's lifestyle? Maybe the fact that they don't have to work, but that they get to stay home. Maybe you've been jealous of somebody else's ability to have kids when you haven't been able to. You've been jealous of their possessions, maybe their car, their home, their Stanley cup, I don't know. Like we have this heart of jealousy, of envy. We want the vacations, we want the health, the figure, you name it. This comes so naturally to us. So do you have bitter jealousy? Of course you have. How about selfish ambition? What's interesting here is that selfish ambition, the word in their day, was commonly used in the political sphere. But we don't know what that's like, do we? Selfish ambition in politics, not America. Oh, wait. This desire for power or prestige, a willingness to go to war with another for the sake of winning, sounds like our political climate, right? It's not just about how do I show my policy, but how do I tear everybody else down along the way. But again, I think we're far too quick to be like, oh, yeah, those politicians. Selfish ambition. We haven't stopped to look in, say, wow, am I concerned about my own glory? Am I concerned about pursuing success so that people recognize me? Am I okay with putting others down and platforming myself? Am I more concerned about winning arguments than I am winning people? Or how about this one? Have you ever sought or neglected counsel to get the answer you wanted? I know I have. And there's many, many kings and judges throughout the scriptures that you could look at and say, selfish ambition in the political sphere, absolutely. And it never goes well for him. Let's be honest. The one who came to mind for me in study was Riaboam. He's Solomon's son. Solomon is, you know, the wisdom man. So you have to ask, oh, maybe Riaboam is going to inherit some of this wisdom that God poured out on Solomon. Well, he inherits the kingdom. After Solomon dies, he becomes king, and he's forced to ask this question, how do I lead Israel? So he goes to the elders and he says, hey, how can I get the people to side with me? And the elders say, riaboam, here's what you need to do. Your dad was super oppressive with taxes and with labor. His hand was heavy. If you would just lift your hand in leadership, if you would show some kindness, the people will love you. They will follow you. Things will go well for you. But that wasn't the answer that Rehoboam wanted. That's not how he wanted to rule. He wanted power. And so rather than listening to the elders, he goes to his friends and he says, how should I lead my people? And they say, hey, here's what you should do. You should tell them if Solomon ruled with a heavy hand, wait till you see what I can do. Bring the hammer down on him. So Rehoboam listens to his friends, neglects the counsel of the elders, and it goes terribly. The people of Israel pack their bags, they ditch their foolish king. They want nothing to do with him. And that's how we see this play out. Kind of leads to this next symptom, disorder, evil. And maybe you've never thought about that before as you just examine your life and say, man, does my life feel out of order? Does it feel chaotic? Does it feel unstable? Well, that seems to be the fruit of a demonic lie, something that is underneath the surface that is a demonic lie. And we today are terribly unaware of how clever Satan is, and we're terribly unaware of how susceptible we are to take his bait. I mean, we've boughtten into this cinematic view of Satan. He's the little red guy that pops up on your shoulder and, ha ha, he's out to get you, right? And it's always an easy lie to detect because it's the exact opposite of what you should do. But that's not who Satan is. It's not how demonic lies mean. He's described in scripture as the father of lies, the deceiver of the whole world, the tempter. He's good at his job, and he doesn't have to work that hard because you're easily tempted. He knows how to make it sound good. Think of just a few things going on culturally. The list could go on and on. But two simple words that we take debate on far too often. You deserve, man. You deserve better. Walk out on your family. You deserve better, right? You deserve a break. Your boss is working you too hard. You deserve a break. You deserve to indulge. You've had a stressful week. Live it up, drink up, netflix it up. Just indulge. Numb your senses. Or how about this? Hey, you want success? Climb the corporate ladder. That's what success looks like. Just get recognized. Achieve. Or how about this? You want comfort? Build that nest egg, right? Retire young. Buy a beach in the south. Buy a house on the beach in the south. That's where your comfort is found. These are the lies that the world is selling you. And let's be honest, they sound pretty good. They're working. And I think what freaks me out today, church, is that the lies are not just like, culturally. They're seeping into quote, unquote, christian spheres that are just tainted by lies, right? That, like, 99% true, but one 1% lie, but it's poisonous. It's deadly. Christian radio, christian podcasts, christian books that are not rooted in scripture, giving you advice like, listen to your heart. No, don't do that. The word of God says, your heart is deceitful above all else. Who can cure it? Here's the answer. Not you. Don't trust your own heart. How about this one? God wants you to be happy. Really? Find me that bible verse I think of first Thessalonians. Right. This is God's will for your life, your sanctification. God is more concerned about your holiness than he is your quote, unquote happiness by earthly standards. He wants you to be happy in him. And the only way you can be happy in him is if you grow close to him in holiness. God is concerned about your holiness. Lastly, self help. Even christian self help, focus on you. You are the main point. Life is all about you. No, it's not. I mean, Philippians two. We preached through humility all through advent. We read Philippians two every week. It says, do nothing from selfish ambition, but in humility, consider others more significant than yourself. This life is not about you. It's ultimately about God. And he's calling you to get your eyes off of yourself. This demonic wisdom leads to destruction. And if we haven't seen it play out yet, if we stay on this path, we will not just individually, though, we will see it in our personal lives. We will see it lived out in community, which should make us take this all the more seriously. This demonic wisdom does not just impact us, it impacts this church. So the question is, what does divine wisdom look like? We know we don't want that. We don't want the demonic wisdom. So what does divine wisdom look like? James unpacks it here in verse 17 and 18. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere in a harvest of righteousness, is sown in peace by those who make peace. It's a beautiful description of what divine wisdom looks like. It starts with this word pure. Again, this is back to conduct moral and spiritual purity, faithfulness, an above reproach lifestyle that is lived for God's glory and with a clear conscience. It's the exact opposite of where he left off with every vile practice. Purity, not evil. Purity in right relationship with the Lord. And the remaining characteristics here laid out are all built upon this purity. And you might note, shocker, they're the exact opposite of what demonic wisdom looks like. It's peaceable. It's the opposite of combative. There's no anxious self promotion. There's no partiality. It's marked by peacemakers, not just peacekeepers, okay? Because keeping the peace requires you to be hypocritical. That's the exact opposite of sincere peacemakers, people who can acknowledge wrong or lies and can seek reconciliation in a gentle way. Peacemakers, people that are willing to yield their status for the sake of others. People that do not demand their own rights, but rather live for others, care for others. They're approachable. When people come to give us constructive criticism, we're not defensive. We're willing to listen. We're willing to learn. We're to be marked by mercy. Right? Forgiveness. Deeply moved with compassion. This is what divine wisdom looks like. And the result is the exact opposite of disorder and evil. It's peace and righteousness, like unity. Wholesome God honoring. This is what divine wisdom looks like. But if you look back on your last week and just look at this list of characteristics and say, how have I been doing? You probably don't feel super confident right now. I mean, I know I wasn't in sermon Prep. I looked back at those lists and was very convicted. And it can leave you feeling like, what hope is there? But Veritas church, there is hope, right? We serve a God who is rich in mercy. It's Ephesians two language. He is rich in mercy. And when he looked at us, a people who just took the bait of demonic wisdom and ran away from him, he was not stirred initially with wrath and anger. He was stirred with compassion. So stirred with compassion, like sheep without a shepherd led to the slaughter. God does this. He sends his one and only son, Jesus Christ. And how does you know, with this high and mighty stature? No, he comes as a baby in a manger. He comes not to be served, but to serve, to give his life as a ransom for many. God himself came in humility, but he also came in absolute purity. This God who lived the perfect life never sinned in his actions or his motives pure. And we see his humility. Most lived out in the fact that he was a peacemaker. He was punished for our peace. He did not sweep our sin under the rug. He took the wrath of God on his head. He bore our sins on the cross. And by his wounds, we are healed. This is the hope we have. Church is in Jesus Christ. But what you need to know, James, is not just here to set this text up to make you feel shame and then to coddle you. Yes, we're called to treasure and behold Jesus in James three. But with that, let us not forget. Jesus rose victoriously from the grave, and he promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to all who have trusted in him to dwell within you and to not just comfort you in sin, but to empower you to live a life of obedience. And now the call is this church. Don't just be forgiven by this God. Live for this God. Look like Jesus. Be merciful, be compassionate, be forgiving, be a peacemaker. Consider others more significant than yourselves. This is the call of the church. Divine wisdom. What James hasn't done in James three, that's important for us to know, is talk about how we get wisdom. How do we get wisdom? He's explained what it looks like. And our big idea this week, right? God honoring character requires God given wisdom. I think we can all agree that's true based on James three. Now I want to get really practical. How do we get it? How do we get it? I have three words for you. If you're a notetaker, I'm going to give them to you. All right. On the front end. Fear. Pursue and practice. Fear. Pursue and practice. Maybe you've heard this before several places in the proverbs. I'm going to quote psalm 111 ten. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All those who practice it have good understanding. His praise endures forever. You want godly wisdom? It has to start with the fear of the Lord. We don't talk about this a lot. What does it mean? Fear has multiple translations. Does it mean terror in a frightening situation? Does it mean just a form of respect in terms of this servant master relationship? Or does it mean reverence in the presence of greatness? I would say the answer is yes. All three. That's what fear of the Lord looks like. I mean, I think of Isaiah six, right? This prophet Isaiah enters in, he encounters the living God, and here's his response. Woe is me. Dude is on his face. He cannot believe that he is in the presence of a holy God. And here's what he does. He says, I'm lost. I'm a man of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Why? My eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. That's what fear of the Lord looks like. I need a savior. I am in the presence of holiness. And what happens next? In Isaiah six, a seraphim comes and touches his lips with a piece of coal. And the word of God says, behold, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for, pointing forward to Jesus Christ. One corinthians 130. Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Fear of the Lord starts with recognizing who God is, recognizing who you are, and then repenting. Coming to Christ, not just once. Back at church camp 30 years ago, every day to develop this fear of the Lord. He sees you. He knows you, your every thought and intention, and he's also sent Christ to redeem you. Fear the Lord. This is the beginning of wisdom. Secondly, pursue. Pursue wisdom. We've already seen this in the book of James. James one five. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God. If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God. Pray for it. God gives generously to all without reproach. It will be given to you. Pray for wisdom. James 121 tells us how to get wisdom. Okay, receive with meekness. There's that word again. Receive with meekness, the implanted word. Open up your bibles. Take in the scriptures. Psalm 119 97 98 says it this way. Oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies. For it is ever with me to read and meditate on the scriptures, to consistently say, lord, I need wisdom. You have spoken through your word. Show me what to do, where to go, how to respond, what to say. Show me in your word. And then maybe you haven't thought about this, but pursuing wisdom requires community. Wisdom is a community project. Colossians 316 says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms in hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Like, you need the family of God to have wisdom. You need people in your life who know the real you, who know how you're living, the decisions you're making, what you're considering, who can speak into it and say, hey, that doesn't seem wise. That doesn't seem to line up with the word, hey, can you help me understand? Let's dig into scripture together. And not just always to encourage us, but to admonish us, to challenge us, to call us to real, practical wisdom. We need community. Lastly, practice. Practice wisdom. This goes back to the very beginning of this sermon. That wisdom is not just intellectual, it's behavioral. Wisdom requires action. We can't just store up all the right answers. We have to live the right way. Think of Galatians five, verses 25 and 26. The word of God says, if we live by the spirit, which, by the way, if you're in Christ, you live by the spirit. Here's the command. Let us also keep in step with the spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. That's what James is talking about. Like, we don't want to become conceited. We want to be humble. We don't want to provoke one another, envy one another. How do we do this? We keep in step with the spirit. It's walking language. Walking. Guess what, church? You need to slow down if you want to practice wisdom. You have to slow down. You have to walk with the Lord. You have to understand that if you want to abide in him, if you want to allow the spirit of God to transform you, you have to walk. We've used this word before. Pause. It's been months since we've said it and you've probably forgotten it already. Pause. Do you pause throughout your day and just simply ask this question? God, what are my motivations right now? Am I being selfish or am I being sacrificial? Just pausing to ask that question? Or maybe before you make a decision or before you respond too quickly to someone in relationship, to pause and consider the outcome. If I say this or if I do this, is the end result disorder, division, evil? Or is the end result peace, unity, righteousness? We have to slow down and actually ask the spirit of God to illuminate our hearts and minds to begin to practice this wisdom. And here's what's true. We've all seen this go wrong before, some of us more than others. And this may get incredibly personal to you. You've seen disorder, you've seen destruction. And not just in your personal life, you've seen it in the church. You've seen church splits happen. You've seen churches get distracted over preferences and to begin quarreling and fighting, which we're going to talk about next week and to completely lose the mission. To be so concerned about us, our own individual preferences that we're no longer glorifying God. We're no longer pushing back the gates of hell because we're fighting one another. That's what's at risk if we don't get this right. But church, if we do get this right, man, this will be a church that you will never want to leave unless you're moving to decal with us because it will be marked by righteousness, holiness, unity, peace. People that care more about God's glory and other people's good than we do, our own preferences. And with that that we get to see the mission of God go forward. Because we're linked arm in arm. We're not fighting each other. We are pushing back the gates of hell so that when people look at us they get to see some of what Jesus was talking about in John 13. Right. By this they will know your love for me, your love for one another. To be a church that so embraces peace through divine wisdom. That people say, I want to know their God and that this would all be done for the glory. In the name of Jesus, our humble savior and king. Amen. Let's pray together. Yeah. Father, we just acknowledge that you are holy, holy, holy. And like Isaiah, Lord in chapter six, we have no problem seeing our sin when we are close to you. That I am a person of unclean lips. That we are a people of unclean lips. For we have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. But, God, thank you. That you, while we were far off, while we wanted nothing to do with you, while we were stuck in demonic wisdom, were stirred with compassion, Jesus, that you came as a servant, that you lived the perfectly pure life we couldn't. That you died in our place, that you were punished for our peace, that you rose victoriously. That you have gifted us your indwelling holy spirit, that we can be obedient to you. But we acknowledge, Lord, we need you. We need your help. So give us wisdom. Thank you for the promise that you give generously and without reproach to those who ask. Give us wisdom to us through your word. Surround us with abundance of counselors. And by your spirit, help us to walk in step with you, not just for our good, but ultimately God. For your glory. We pray this in Jesus'name. Amen.