Sermon Notes 11-3-2013

The book of James

How to live the Christian Life

Sermon 6

Just how smart a fella are ya??

James 3:13-18

Wise words

Quote: Pastor Rick Warren

How do I know when I'm a legalist? When I'm harsh on others.

How do I know when I'm living by grace? I'm gracious to others

James 3:13 (ESV)

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

Wisdom without understanding is a scary thing, its legalistic, its cold and it’s harsh. Its quick to judge, it wants justice, it is calculated. Jesus attacked this kind of wisdom at every turn during His ministry. We see a glimpse of this in a story in the book of John

John 8:1–5 (ESV)

¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴ they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

·      First we see what? Jesus teaching

o   What kind of people are there do you think

o   They are the un-churched, the outcast hungry to here from God

o   They are looking for grace, mercy and guidance

·      Then who walks in?

o   The scribes and Pharisees!

o   The ones with all the knowledge and power

o   The ones, who judge others, with out looking the mirror first

o   The ones always looking for justice

o   The ones who think their better than everyone else

o   The ones with wisdom with out understanding

·      And they bring a woman

o   Not just any woman, a woman caught in adultery

o   She is well known for what she does

o   She is drug out to be judged, to be held to the letter of the law!

·      Then they quote the book

o   They have all the knowledge

o   They know the law, and they want everyone else to be held accountable

·      Then they test Jesus

o   They want to catch Him breaking the law too

o   They want to judge him as well

You see Wisdom without understanding is dangerous! It's a bomb, waiting to explode with hatred, with self-promoting envy. But they didn’t know the Son of Man has knowledge and understanding! 

John 8:6–11 (NLT)

⁶ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. ⁷ They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” ⁸ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

⁹ When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. ¹⁰ Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

¹¹ “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

·      They tried to trap him

o   That’s what wisdom does it tries to win at any cost

o   Knowledge without understand is what Killed Jesus

·      And even under pressure we see the fruits of wisdom with understanding

John 8:7 (NLT)

⁷ They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

·      What strength in his wisdom and understanding of what God wanted

Wisdom with understanding, empowered by the Holy Spirit, of what God desires saved her. We see it in the last sentence: And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”  He has all the knowledge of the bible, HE WROTE IT! He knows what the law says; he knows what the judgment is! But His deep understanding of what God desires from His people, the ones he has chosen as hires to the kingdom of heaven, His desire is or us to show grace to the lost of the world! We are to show Mercy, we aer to show love to  a very dark world.  

James 3:14–16 (NIV)

¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

James turns attention to worldly wisdom

·      Worldly wisdom is selfish

o    The world: We should look out for number one!!

o    Jesus:  tells us to put others first

·      Worldly wisdom is envious

o   The World: We want what everyone else has, we Covent what others have

o    Jesus:  tells us all good things come from God, And that God will always provide for our needs!

·      This wisdom does not come from God!

o   It's earthly

§  It drives us in earthly desires

o   It's Un-spiritual

§  It is not driven by the holy spirit

§  It's driven by worldly desires, and un holy passions

o   It's Demonic!

§  The devil lives here

§  He dwells in the things of this world

§  He controls you like a puppet on a string

§  You may think you aren’t controlled by God, you are controlled by the one who holds the key to eternal hell!

Take a good look around you; look at the world around you. What do you see, I can tell you what I don’t see Godly ambitions. The world has headed down a dangerous slope of biter self-ambition, with a little bit of envy for what other have sprinkled in! We are bombarded with it in TV commercials, adds on the Internet, and the news. It's all about moving you forward.  It's become all about us, not ALL ABOUT HIM!