Opening Illustration: Village Creek Water Slide - I was getting to know a family at Village Creek. Large inflatable slide. Wanted to race. A counselor wanted to race too. The water shuts off. Riley went anyway. I didn’t…Either I slipped, the Holy Spirit protected me, or I had a moment of wisdom. Why? After I got up off the ground, I saw what happened to the other guy. An inflatable, plastic slide without water doesn’t go well with bare skin! I went down and told him how wisdom just comes with age. I get it was a waterslide, but it really illustrates our lives. We are forced to make decisions where we ask ourselves. “Is this a good idea?” “Should I do this?” “Is this what God wants for me?” Our lives are constantly seeking to make wise decisions.

I normally give a one sentence summary of the passage. But this week as I was preparing, I kept having different questions coming up in my mind. As I studied and read, three questions came up this past week. And they all fell under the umbrella of one large question. So, today, I want you to read this passage with this question in mind: Do you want wisdom? Now, I think everyone would answer, “Well, sure. I’ll take some wisdom.” If the answer to that question is an easy yes, then why don’t we seek wisdom more? If wisdom is vital to our lives as Christians, why are we all not clamoring for it? And here’s what I realized in my own heart: God’s wisdom calls us into hard things. We say we want God’s wisdom, but we only want God’s wisdom if it means it makes our lives easier. So, I’ll ask the question again: Do you want wisdom? Do you want God’s wisdom?

We are going to be in James 3. Go ahead and open up your Bibles there. James is one the last books in the New Testament. Words will be on the screen as well.  We are in our current Sermon Series: The Book of James: Faith and Works. As a reminder, the book of James is very practical in nature. James challenges us to demonstrate the faith was possess. Our faith has to be visible. That’s the overarching challenge for each of us as we read this book of the Bible. How can we make our faith more visible? Read James 3:13-18. Pray. 

1) How do you know if you are wise? (vs. 13)  Some scholars believe this section of verses are connected back to verse 1. Do you remember how the sermon last week began? “Not many of you should be teachers, because those of us who teach will be judged more strictly.” That’s such a humbling verse. And it’s why we teach God’s Word, not man’s word at TCSH. After that warning, James immediately went into the dangers and the opportunities of the tongue. And so, it makes sense that James continues in verse 13 by addressing the topic of wisdom. For where there is wisdom, there will be control of the tongue. If these verses starting in verse 13 are meant for teachers, it’s application is for all of us. 

In order the answer the question, “How do you know if you are wise,” we have to answer a few other questions first. First, what is wisdom? I’m not a theologian, but here is how I define wisdom: Wisdom is applying God’s truth to daily life decisions. Wisdom is knowing and living out the will of God on a daily basis. Wisdom deserves to know God, know God’s will, and live out God’s will in all things. Second, how do we get wisdom? James already answered this question in James 1:5. ⁵ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But wisdom doesn’t work like Amazon. You can’t place an order for wisdom and it show up on your doorstep the next day. If you read the verses after James 1:5, you see that there is a posture that the wise take. You have to be all in with Jesus. You have to have a relationship with Jesus. Godly wisdom only makes sense when you know God. That’s why we see in Psalm 111. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever! -- Psalm 111:10. Wisdom begins when you fall flat before God. That means God gives wisdom to any child of God that truly seeks Him. Earthly wisdom comes with age. But godly wisdom comes from access.

Back to our big question, “Do you want wisdom?” If the answer is yes, then you have to know where to get wisdom. And you also have to know if you are living out wisdom. That what James is after with verse 13. Look at verse 13: ¹³ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. What James is doing in verse 13 is giving the same test that he did chapter 2. What was the test we saw two weeks ago with our faith? Look at James 2:14: ¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? James is applying the same test to wisdom as he did faith in chapter 2. “Do you have faith? Let it be seen through your actions.” “Do you have wisdom? Let it be seen through your actions.” Wisdom doesn’t reveal itself from acquisition, it reveals itself from application. 

How do you know if you are wise? Your life shows it. Shows what? As humans, we have the ability to grow in skill and ability. The longer we do something, the better our decision making becomes. But that doesn’t mean you are wise. Wisdom is about the godliness in your life being applied. We are called to applied godliness over practiced ability. It doesn’t matter how good you are at something, if God’s not in it. That’s why James says in verse 13 that your life is honorable and humble. If you want godly wisdom, then you must know what applied wisdom looks like. Start by looking back on your life. If you never look back and learn, you’ll never move forward in wisdom. When you faced crossroads in your life, did you run to God for wisdom? Did your life demonstrate honor? Was their humility in your life? Was the decision made carrying out the will of God in your life? If you want wisdom, create a plan for the next crossroads in your life. Don’t bust through the door like Kramer thinking you know what to do. Seek God’s face. Seek His wisdom. Ask for it. And live it out with honor and humility. 

Now, you know by now, there’s more to it than that. If there is godly wisdom to be gained, then the opposite is true. Earthly wisdom wants to be in the mix as well. Satan is cunning and he’s not going to be okay with just letting Christians go around with God’s wisdom unhindered. Here’s the next question we need to answer: Why is earthly wisdom appealing?

2) Why is earthly wisdom appealing? (vs. 14-16)  If there is anything that gets in the way of godly wisdom, it’s earthly wisdom. James spells it out in verses 14 through 16: ¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. ¹⁵ For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. Earthly wisdom is the accomplishing the will of self. Godly wisdom carries out God’s will. Earthly wisdom carries out man’s will. That’s why James says anything that touches jealously and selfishness isn’t from God. In fact, it’s from Satan. Look at verse 15: “Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.” In other words, earthly wisdom is limited. Earthly wisdom is corrupted. Earthly wisdom is anti-God. On the surface, you read these verses, and you’re like “Yeah, I don’t want that. I want the real stuff from God. Why would anyone want earthly wisdom?” But then what happens? We live our lives and we find  ourselves making self-seeking decisions. And then we wonder why there is chaos and disorder in our lives!

Why is earthly wisdom appealing? Let me give you two reasons. And these two reasons should serve as warnings for you because Satan will use them to pull you away from godly wisdom. 1) Earthly wisdom looks pretty on the outside. Illustration: Staying at a gross hotel near Gatlinburg TN. If you run after something in this life that its sole purpose is self-improvement, there is a good chance it’s earthly wisdom that looks pretty on the outside. It’s not bad to get healthier. It’s not bad to gain wealth. It’s not bad to be happier. But if you are running after something that says, “Come here and make yourself better” instead of something that says, “Come here and fall down in front of the King of kings,” don’t run after it. What looks pretty on the outside – what looks appealing on the outside – only leads to desperation on the inside. I’m getting tired of God being the last option. I’ll be the first to admit that I try to fix my life on my own. And I’m also not being naïve that we don’t take action. But if God is absent, then it’s just earthly, worthless wisdom. We need to wake up. Godly wisdom knows how to unpackage earthly ideas.  

Let me give you one more reason earthly wisdom is appealing.  2) It starts off good, but it drifts away from God.  Illustration: Harvard, Yale, and Princeton[1] But anyway, 1636, Harvard is founded; 1642, the student handbook is published, in which every student at Harvard is called to be “plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, [that] the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life … and therefore to lay [hold of] Christ … as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning.” That was Harvard in it’s origination.  Yale was founded in 1701. And the reason for the founding of Yale was because Congregational believers—that is, believers in the Congregational church—were disappointed by the growing apostasy at Harvard, so that in the second half of the seventeenth century, despite the handbook in 1642, things has already begun to go south. So they established Yale. And the Princeton University was founded because Yale followed the same path as Harvard. And we know all three universities have lost their original purpose.

Ask the question, “Is God in this?”  If you don’t see God, then unpackage it and call it what it is: earthly wisdom. Do you want wisdom? Look at yourself and see if you see wisdom. Do you want wisdom? Then see earthly wisdom for what it is. Do you want wisdom? Then see the effects of godly wisdom. That’s our third and final question: What are the effects of living out God’s wisdom?

[1] https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/who-is-wise/

3) What are the effects of living out God’s wisdom? (vs. 17-18)  If you weren’t convinced to not seek earthly wisdom, James finishes up this section of verses on what godly wisdom does for your life.  Let’s look at verse 17: ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. James lists eight characteristics of wisdom. When God grants you wisdom, God gives you a wisdom that does these eight things. When you receive godly wisdom, your life will demonstrate wisdom by demonstrating these characteristics. We’ll go through these quickly:

1. Purity
   • Not only will you receive pure wisdom from God, but godly wisdom creates pure motives
2. Peace loving
   • Those who are wise, love peace. They cling to it.
   • They don’t create conflict.
3. Gentle
   • There is going to be a disposition of your life that lets other people know you belong to Jesus
4. Willing to yield
   • I think the best way to describe this term is that you are teachable
   • You are reasonable
5. Full of mercy
   • You are going to be concerned for others
   • You will be compassionate
6. Fruit-bearing
   • Your wisdom will be evident to others
7. No favoritism
   • You don’t see other people for what they can do for you – you see them as a child of God
   • There is also an aspect that you are unwavering – that you are not influenced by other people
8. Sincere
   • You are not going to be hypocritical – you will be genuine
   • No one needs a fake Christians

I don’t know about you, but when I think about wisdom, I think about someone who looks like Gandolf. Big white rob, long beard, walking stick. But when you read all the characteristics of wisdom, that’s not who you see at all. You see a working person. Illustration: Working my first job after high school. Had to get steel-toed boots. Each day I put on those boots, I knew the work that was ahead. Wisdom wears boots. Wisdom shows up in a working person. Wisdom has callouses. That’s the effects of living out godly wisdom. Do you want wisdom? Then be willing to work. God grants wisdom, but we must work with it.

James ends with verse 18 and this verse gives us the results of obtaining and living out godly wisdom. ¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. Earthly wisdom leads to disorder and evil. Godly wisdom leads to peace. The word peace comes from the Greek word “Eirene. It in its basic meaning, this word means right relationships between man and man, and between man and God.

“True wisdom at all times brings men closer to one another and to God.” – William Barclay.

“Wisdom produces peace, and that peace produces a harvest, and that harvest is the harvest of a right standing before God and right deeds before men and women. That’s how we’ll know where we are. You see, it is not the fruit that determines what the tree is. It is the fruit that gives evidence of what the tree is.” – Alistair Begg

If you have been missing peace in your life, I would ask yourself these two questions:

1) Am I seeking God’s wisdom?

2) Am I living out God’s wisdom?

Because if you have your wisdom boots on, you’ll find peace between each other and between you and God. Are you ready for peace? Then you have to want wisdom. Do you want wisdom? If you want wisdom, then you need to fall flat on your face before God. You need to unpackage worldly wisdom and see the disorder that exists. You need to stop messing around and put your boots on. I’ll ask the question one more time: Do you want wisdom? Can I confess something to you all? That water slide that I failed to actually get onto? It’s because I slipped. I’m sure if there was a recording of it, it would be a beautiful and humiliating slow-mo video. I want each of you fall flat on your face, not because you are working on your power, but because you want to live this life with God’s wisdom. Some of need to fall flat on your face before God for the first time. GOSPEL PRESENTATION. Some of you need to repent that you’ve been running after earthly wisdom. Some of you need to go to God and get His wisdom. And then all of need to put our boots on. Because the world needs Christ-followers who are peacemakers. Let’s pray.

Transition to Baptism

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