CRCF\u201d\u201d11\/8\/09<\/p>\n
Wisdom Works
\nJames 3:13-18<\/p>\n
ME:<\/p>\n
My oldest daughter, Hannah, who I\u201d\u2122ll always call \u201cBaby Girl\u201d, was recently honored as GPTV\u201d\u2122s Scholar Athlete of the Week\u201d\u201dand we\u201d\u2122re real proud of her. Hannah is smart and hard-working.<\/p>\n
BUT\u201d\u201dif Hannah doesn\u201d\u2122t humbly love other people, then I\u201d\u2122ve failed as a father and Hannah has failed as a person and as a Christ-follower!<\/p>\n
True wisdom results in a life of humble love.<\/p>\n
I\u201d\u2122ve had the privilege to study God\u201d\u2122s Word in the original languages and study theology for years. But if I don\u201d\u2122t humbly love others, then I\u201d\u2122m a fool! The seminaries of America are full of fools who can talk theology all day and read straight from the Greek and Hebrew texts but they never put God\u201d\u2122s truth into practice and humbly love others! For all of their learning, they are not truly wise!<\/p>\n
Thomas Manton: Wisdom is the ability \u201cto honour knowledge with practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
True wisdom results in a life of humble love.<\/p>\n
WE:<\/p>\n
Do you ever struggle with what life\u201d\u2122s all about? Do you priorities change regularly because you get confused about the way to be successful in life\u201d\u201dgiving your energy in this direction this week, in that direction next week?<\/p>\n
True wisdom results in a life of humble love.<\/p>\n
Why do we need to get this?<\/p>\n
Because we so quickly deceive ourselves about what true wisdom, according to God, is, and buy into our own ideas or those of the world around us.<\/p>\n
GOD:<\/p>\n
True wisdom results in a life of humble love.<\/p>\n
James 3:13-18 (NLT)<\/p>\n
13 If you are wise and understand God\u201d\u2122s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don\u201d\u2122t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.<\/p>\n
The Message<\/p>\n
14 It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom.<\/p>\n
15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God\u201d\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n
The Message<\/p>\n
15-16 It’s the furthest thing from wisdom\u201d\u201dit’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.
\n17 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 good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
\nThe Message<\/p>\n
17 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.
\n18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
\nTrue wisdom results in a life of humble love.
\nAgain, James didn\u201d\u2122t come up with all of this\u201d\u201dhe got it straight from Jesus!
\nMatthew 5:3-9 (NLT)
\n3\tGod blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.
\n4\tGod blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
\n5\tGod blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them.
\n6\tGod blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full.
\n7\tGod blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
\n8\tGod blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
\n9\tGod blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
\nTrue wisdom results in a life of humble love. And it is God\u201d\u2122s definition of wisdom that matters\u201d\u201dHe\u201d\u2122s the One that designed this life on planet Earth to begin with!
\nYOU:<\/p>\n
How should this change our lives?<\/p>\n
We need to let God change our lives with His wisdom by making a life of humble love for others our goal.<\/p>\n
We are called to show Jesus to the world\u201d\u201dand Jesus embodied God\u201d\u2122s wisdom!<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 1:30 (NLT)<\/p>\n
God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself.<\/p>\n
Ephesians 4:31-5:2 (NLT)<\/p>\n
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Follow God\u201d\u2122s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.<\/p>\n
WE:<\/p>\n
When people think of you, do they think of someone who humbly loves others?<\/p>\n
Is there a difference in the way you and I approach life? Do our priorities and schedules and checkbooks and words and actions prove that true wisdom is the blueprint we\u201d\u2122re building our lives on? Is there a strangeness to our lives, an outlook that is uncommon, a love that is extremely rare?<\/p>\n
Can you imagine the changes in our world if all of God\u201d\u2122s people really lived out the kind of wisdom that James has shown us?<\/p>\n
Celebration of the Lord\u201d\u2122s Supper<\/p>\n
A time of submitting to God\u201d\u2122s true wisdom for our lives, as embodied in Jesus\u201d\u201despecially when He gave Himself on the Cross for us!<\/p>\n
–Men to serve the congregation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CRCF\u201d\u201d11\/8\/09 Wisdom Works James 3:13-18 ME: My oldest daughter, Hannah, who I\u201d\u2122ll always call \u201cBaby Girl\u201d, was recently honored as GPTV\u201d\u2122s Scholar Athlete of the Week\u201d\u201dand we\u201d\u2122re real proud of her. Hannah is smart and hard-working. BUT\u201d\u201dif Hannah doesn\u201d\u2122t humbly … Continue reading