"Wisdom From Above"

Scripture: James 3:13-4:10
Preacher: Rev. Ross Purdy
Date: September 24, 2006

Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it
"J. I. Packer, Knowing God"

For the past two weeks as we've been going through the Book of James I've said that the message of this letter is so clear that it doesn't require much interpretation.   But one thing I didn't say is this: although the message may be straight-forward, it is not easy.   James doesn't say a lot of extra words.   He cuts right to the heart of his message.   He makes hard demands on us Christians.

This morning, there's no sense in trying to interpret the passage without a real and living understanding of Jesus Christ.   The writer assumes that his hearers have this.   He assumes that they have opened their lives to the indwelling Spirit of the Most Holy God who is active and alive within them.  

Because this is the case, let's take a step backward and look at our lives before we dive into the passage.   Let me remind us of our relationship with Jesus Christ by way of some beautiful words I read this past week.   If you don't have a living or vibrant one, then listen and invite Jesus Christ into your life:

No distant Lord have I, loving afar to be,
Made flesh for me He cannot rest until He rests in me.

I need not journey far, this dearest friend to see,
Companionship is always mine, He makes His home with me.

Ascended now to God, my witness there to be,
His witness here am I because, His Spirit dwells in me.

O glorious Son of God, Incarnate Deity,
I shall forever be with Thee, because Thou art with me.

(Maltbie D. Babcock)

Have you opened your life to Jesus Christ and allowed the Spirit of God to live within you?   Jesus said that the new birth was required for entering the Kingdom of God.   As we speak about wisdom, this morning, remember that without the Spirit of God, wisdom is limited.   Without a new life, born of God's Spirit, born anew, the highest level we can attain is the ability to climb a staircase towards wisdom but never arrive at our goal.   In the end, we will find that our journey has led us to the rooftop when we intended to go as far as the stars.   Some can climb higher than others.   Some can jump great distances upward.   But if you want to the highest wisdom you have to leave the ground, shatter the boundaries of gravity and be drawn upward, floating on the wings of the Spirit of God.   Only when we allow the Spirit within can we begin to soar.  

If you've done that, then remind yourself of the joy that is there.

This past week I was driving to the office early in the morning.   On my way up Glenoaks I looked up in the sky to see something I hadn't seen for a long time.   I saw the clouds beautifully floating up in the blue sky.   Now the clouds are always there.   I see them every day.   But I don't see them every day....do you understand?   In fact I think it's been quite a while since I lifted my head to really see them.   Why did I notice them?   In the corner of my eye, without any attempt on my part I saw a face in the clouds.   Immediately I was drawn back to the days of my childhood, sitting out on the lawn looking up at the clouds and imagining figures and shapes the cloud would make.   I loved those days...but oh, how they are no longer.  

May the Lord grab your attention, this morning, to draw you upward and release you from the stress of the world to look at the clouds again...like a child.   May the Spirit do this unexpectedly and fill you with His presence and joy.

Now let's turn to the subject of wisdom.   Do you want to be wise?   Intelligence is not the determining factor of the level of wisdom.   True wisdom, spiritual wisdom is something given to everyone who asks, without conditions.   In the first chapter of James, verse 5 says, "if any of you lacks wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproaching, and it will be given."

There are two kinds of wisdom.   There's an earthly wisdom and there's a heavenly one.   The earthly kind can only go so far.   The heavenly one, from above, can catapult us into places we never knew existed.   Which wisdom do you have?   Everyone has a level of wisdom (although sometimes we've met people we've wondered about).   What type do you have?

The earthly kind says its about understanding how to be good in this life.   The heavenly kind of wisdom affirms that this life is important, but not as an end in and of itself.   A good life is important, but an eternal life is better.  

The difference between the two wisdoms is way of thinking.  

A young man was being interviewed to be a pilot for a steamboat on the Mississippi River. The interviewer, doubtful that the young man could know the dangers of the river, asked if he knew where all the rocks were. To this he replied, 'No, sir, I do not know where all the rocks are, but I know where they aren't.' He got the job.

That's the difference between earthly and heavenly wisdom.   One asks the obvious.   The other asks the important.   Do you have wisdom?   Do you want others to see that wisdom within?

I like the way The Message puts it:

13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. (Last week we saw James' importance on the tongue.   Words are important.   But in the end, it's the way we live our lives that matters, not simply if we say the right words).

...Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourself sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom--it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.

It is true that the world pays attention to wisdom.   But there are people who think themselves wise when in reality, they've just learned to be good players in the game.   They've learned the system.   When they offer a suggestion, it's trickery.    Instead of wisdom, it's manipulation.   It's a part of this world that's mistaken for getting ahead in life.   We have all done it.   It's a part of the masks we wear.   Instead of true benevolence, we seek our own.

But wisdom is humility.   It is not self-seeking.   It is not believing that if the other person gets ahead, maybe it'll help me.   It is, instead, saying, "if the other person gets ahead in life, good"...and really meaning it.   Earthly wisdom is jockeying for a position.   Heavenly wisdom is pushing others ahead.   It is the belief that when they make first, we all win.  

But here's the real key to it all - three things: Holiness, Peacefulness and Faithfulness.

  17-18 Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

Holiness, Peacefulness and Faithfulness.   Those are the keys to wisdom.   Those things are difficult.   This is why the only way to achieve wisdom, as I said in the beginning, is through God's Spirit.

Holiness .   This is the most difficult saying I can think to preach this morning.   You belong to God. You belong to God body, soul, mind and spirit.   Your life is not your own.   If you want it to be your own, you have no business calling Jesus your Lord.   You are his.   Jesus' claim upon your life is total.   His command for you life is to be holy.   God said, "Be ye holy, as I am holy."   He didn't say, "Just try to be nice.   If you're good, you'll get to heaven.   No.   He expects you to be just like him.   That's difficult.   That's why we need to be transformed into His image.   We can't do it by ourselves.   But if there's anything God hates it is this: the world trying to pull the standards down.

When God cheers you on and says, "you can do it.   I put my Spirit in you.   Be different than the culture.   Be different than the world.   You can do greater things than this."   God hates it when the world says, "hey, no one's perfect.   God is love.   You don't have to change.   He loves you just the way you are."   Yes, He does.   But He loves you so much that He wants to make you perfect, just like Him.  

Holiness is important.   How we live our lives is important.   The choices we make are so important.   Choose the right and choose well.   That's wisdom.   The middle ground is worse than all others.  

The second key to wisdom is Peace .   In our passage it is defined as a right or proper relationship with all people.   It doesn't mean that the world is quiet or still.   It means that your neighbor and you have no friction between you.   Are you holding a grudge against someone?   You're not living in peace.   You're not wise.   You're destroying your life.

  Now let me ask the harder question, is someone holding a grudge against you?   In order to live in peace, you need to make it right.   "But wait a minute.   If they have a grudge against me, isn't it their responsibility to make it right?"   Jesus said, when speaking about wanting to worship God, before you do so, if someone has something against you, go to them first and make it right.   The responsibility for making peace is always with you.

Holiness and peace.   If you can live in both, you'll be showered with heavenly wisdom.   Those are the detergents that prepare us to receive.   Otherwise the wisdom begins to stick to our lives.

Finally, Faithfulness .     Let me read from James 4 (The Message)

  1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

  2-3 You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way.

  4-6 You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."

Now here is what I love about the passage, James gives a straightforward message of how we can actually do something to obtain heavenly wisdom.  

  7-10 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

Is there something lacking in your life?   Do you feel conflicted, wanting to give in to God's Spirit but something holds you back?   Welcome to the struggle; the struggle to live the way God would have you live.  

So let's take the first step toward living the lives God would have for us.   Let's do what James says.   Say with me right now, "NO!"   Say it to the Devil, to the world, to your own faulty desires and to everything else that wants to hold you down when God says, "You come up here.   You reach for the sky.   I created you to fly with the eagles instead of walking with the Turkeys.

What I would say to the world is this: "You can't have me anymore.   I'm tired of living like the rest of the world.   I'm tired of fighting to get ahead.   I don't want to mess with the lower things anymore.   I want to see the world the way God sees the world.   I want to live my life the way Jesus lived His.   I want to hold out for the eternal things, not the things that are passing away.   I want more.   I'm tired of settling."

I belong to God, body, soul, mind and spirit.   You, too, belong to God, body, soul, mind and spirit.   We were created for much more than this.   "Oh, God, give us your wisdom to live!"

This morning, if you have the courage to take a step closer to God just watch how God will come to you.

Amen.