James Week 7 • James 3:13-18

Show Notes

Sunday, October 23rd • Dr. Steve Rohrlack

"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom." — James 3:13

–
Podcast: https://pod.link/willowridgechurch
Website: https://willowridgechurch.org
Instagram: https://instagram.com/willowridgechurch
Facebook: https://facebook.com/willowridgechurch
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@willowridgechurch

Creators and Guests

Guest

Dr. Steve Rohrlack

Strong Team Leader at SCBC.

What is Willow Ridge Sermons?

Sermon audio from Sunday services at Willow Ridge Church.

Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.

This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons.

We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear

the latest message.

Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning, Willow Ridge Church.

Hey, that's pretty good.

Y'all did that on the first try.

Usually, I've got to get folks to take a shot at that at least twice.

So, good morning.

It's good to be with you.

I am Steve Rarlak.

Immediately want to thank Joel for making me feel very old.

I have known him for 15 years, which means he was in middle school, and my son was already

in student ministry.

So, thanks, Joel, for making me feel really old.

I know that I am a new face for most of you, but for the staff on this church, I am not

a new face.

As a matter of fact, I've known folks that are here on staff a very, very long time.

I remember Bo Bradbury when he was a brand-new student minister, freshly married, and had adults

absolutely given him a fit in his student ministry.

So, I was brand-new at the state convention working with student ministers, and he talked

me into coming and teaching Sunday school for him so I could keep the adults out of the

way so he could have a good time with students.

It's been a long time that I've known Bo.

And then David Allen.

Dave and I have known each other.

Our paths crossed more than, gosh, it's got to be 20 years ago.

I was going to tell you that I have known David since he had hair, but when I met him, he looks

exactly like he does now.

So, the good news is he's not aging, but the bad news is I don't think Dave ever had hair.

So, anyway, all that to say, if you want to catch me afterwards, I'll tell you all the

things you really want to know about your pastor that he won't tell you because I have known

him forever.

All right.

Now, I'm going to give you a little insight into your pastor as I tell you what he's asked

me to do.

It has been a very long time since I will do this morning what he's asked me to do.

Now, I preach and I teach all the time.

It's only going to feel like I haven't done it in a very long time for y'all, okay?

I do get to teach and preach all the time, but what he asked me to do was come in in the

middle of a series and continue that series.

Now, it's been a while since I've been on church staff.

I'm on staff at the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

So, jumping in in the middle of a series is something I really have not done in a very

long time.

And I'll let you know that Bo had a little bit of fun with me as we were doing this.

He knew it was going to be a little bit of a challenge for me.

So, what he did is he texted me and said, hey, would you mind filling in on the 23rd?

I'm not going to be in.

I said, sure, I'd love to.

And immediately, I'm thinking about those two great sermons I have, which one I was going

to bless y'all with, okay?

I've got two.

I'm going to bless you with one of them.

I was ready to roll.

And then I get a text, hey, would you mind continuing a series?

And then right about here, I remembered that feeling in the pit of my stomach from seminary

when the professors would give you this really obscure passage of scripture and they would

want you to teach on it to the rest of the class.

Well, I was convinced that that was Bo was about to do.

He had gotten to the begot somewhere in Leviticus and that's what he was going to have me do

for him, all right?

So, first text, will you preach for me?

Sure, excited about that.

Second text, would you mind considering the series?

Not so excited about that one.

Third text, hey, by the way, we'll be in James.

Now, all of these texts are several days apart, okay?

So, he said, okay, now we want you to be in James.

And I'm thinking, okay, that's a little bit better in Leviticus and begots, okay.

So, I'm thinking through what I know about James.

And then finally, after a couple of days more, I said, all right, Bo, if you want me to preach

for you, I got to know the exact passage.

He said, James, won't you be in James chapter 3, verses 13 through 18?

And by the way, that's where we're going to be in just a minute.

So, if you can get your Bibles open, that's where we're going to get started.

I thought, okay, all right, James chapter 13.

Went to chapter 13, or excuse me, chapter 3, started reading verse 13.

I'm thinking, hmm, okay.

Not exactly the passage in James I would have chosen as the guest speaker.

But, all right, Bo, if that's what you want me to do, I'm going to jump in.

So, let's talk a little bit about what I know about James as I was thinking through what Bo's

invitation was.

I know that James has faith and wisdom, faith and works, very much tied together.

All right, wisdom, as we're going to talk about it this morning, is simply the application

of knowledge.

You gather a great deal of knowledge, and then you begin to apply it.

We're just spiritual knowledge, what we're going to focus on today.

So, we've got wisdom, meaning the application of knowledge.

It's something we must know, and then we must do.

James says, faith without works is dead.

So, all right, I'm pretty good with that.

By the way, I've just summarized chapters 1 and 2.

So, at this pace, I'm going to have you out of here way before the Presbyterians get to

lunch, okay?

All right.

So, we've got chapter 2, 1 and 2 summarized, and then we get to chapter 3.

This is where we'll spend some time today.

The beginning of the chapter talks about the awesome responsibility that leaders have within

the church, specifically those that teach.

That's an incredible responsibility, and James talks about that.

We get towards the center of chapter 3, and this is where you found out last Sunday that

your pastor has a propensity to play with fire.

Those of y'all that were here last week, you remember the illustration that Bo used about

needing to take care of some twigs and sticks in his yard, so he lit them on fire with a

blowtorch, connected that to the tongue being like fire and how quickly fire spreads.

Okay.

That's the center section of James chapter 3, and that brings us to where we're going to

be today, that latter part, last few verses, last six verses in James chapter 3, where we

talk about the source or the sources of two different kinds of wisdom.

Now, a couple of things that I want to say to you this morning as we begin to get in the

passage.

Number one is, as we read through this, you're going to be able to make a lot of cultural

connections.

There are a wealth of current event illustrations that we could plug into the passage we're going

to talk about this morning.

Now, the challenge with that is, I don't have the relationship with y'all yet to really bring

in a lot of these cultural illustrations.

Y'all just don't know me that well.

Bo knows me.

I assume Bo trusted me since he asked me to be here this morning.

But y'all don't know me that well, so I don't have that kind of relationship with you

yet.

Now, my assumption would be if we spent some time together, we'd get to know each other

really well, and then we can make a few of those connections.

So really, what I'm going to do this morning is I'm going to turn things a little bit upside

down.

Throughout the course of the message, I'm going to be challenging you what illustration comes

to your mind that best fits what this passage is talking about.

Now, the good news, I'm not going to ask you to shout them out.

If you want to write them down, that's fine.

But as we go through, we're going to talk about that.

What illustration best fits from your position what James is talking about?

There's a second reason I'm not going to use a lot of illustrations from current events

or from culture, and that really has to do with a fear that I have, and I'll be honest

with you about it.

As we go through this and I start connecting all of these current event illustrations, if

I happen to communicate one poorly, or I communicate what I'm trying to say poorly, or you bring

a biased perspective into what I'm talking about, and we all have those biased perspectives

about things, so if I communicate poorly or you bring a biased stance into it, then what

is most likely to happen is that the message of James is going to be lost, and personal bias

is going to take over.

And I don't want to see that happen this morning.

So what we're going to do as best we can is wholly focus on what James is having to say in those

final few verses of chapter 3 to all of us.

And I mean he is speaking to you, but he's also speaking to me as well.

All of that as a background, I have two questions for you.

First one's going to come right from that first sentence in James chapter 3, verse 13.

Who among you is wise and understanding?

Those are the first few words in James chapter 3, verse 13.

Who among you is wise and understanding?

Now, let's make sure we understand our terms correctly so you know how to best answer that

question, all right?

When we talk about understanding, that's knowledge.

That's a spiritual, a scriptural knowledge of who our Savior Jesus Christ is, all right?

So we've got a scriptural understanding and knowledge of that, and then we're going to attach

to this something called being wise or wisdom, which is the application of that understanding.

So James is kicking off this section by saying, who among you is wise and understanding?

Some of you are intentionally not answering that question right now, because I said I had

two questions for you, and you want to know what the second question is before you answer

the first.

Good for you.

You're catching on with what we're doing here this morning, all right?

So first question, who among you is wise and understanding?

Second question would be, can anything happen this morning that would change you?

Let me go ahead and use that second question, tell a story to make a connection to the first.

I am not known for my academic abilities, okay?

I'm excited, the seas came through, I was good, I was moving on to the next adventure.

So when I received the invitation to come teach at my seminary alma mater, my alma mater where

I attended seminary, I was pretty flattered about that, okay?

Now, it had nothing to do with the person, it had everything to do with the position I was in,

but I was given the invitation to come and teach at the seminary that I graduated from.

And to make it even better for the first time in my life, because of scheduling, I was going

to get on a plane, I was going to get off a plane, and there was going to be a driver

to pick me up, and I was going to go straight and begin teaching.

And I have to tell you, my head was pretty big.

I get to teach at my alma mater, and I've got a driver coming to pick me up.

So I'm sitting on the airplane, and I've got my notes out, and I'm feeling real important

about myself, because I get to go teach at my alma mater, and I'm sitting and I'm looking

at my notes, but at the same time, I'm doing the same thing that every one of you

you do when you're on an airplane.

You're looking to see who's going to sit in that vacant seat next to you, right?

The NBA all-star that's seven foot three that's going to come and take up all the room, or

the NFL linebacker, y'all know what I'm talking about.

You have that same person sit next to you every time.

Or the guy that ate fish tacos 30 seconds before he got on the plane, that's usually who

sits next to me.

Y'all know what I'm talking about.

So I'm sitting, and I'm looking at my notes, and I'm feeling real important about this,

but I'm watching with one eye who's coming down the aisle.

And I notice that things start to slow down, which means, hey, the plane, everybody's on

the plane, and my seat's going to be vacant next to me, and I'm okay with that.

And I've got just about where I'm going to turn that next page of notes, and I have to look

up, and I see her.

Young girl, college age, at least that's what it appeared to at the time, and she's got her

ticket out in front of her like this.

And she'd look at the numbers on both sides, and she'd take a step.

And she'd look at the numbers on both sides, and she'd take another step.

Come to find out, it was her first time on an airplane.

Now, I spend a great deal of my summers working with college students, so I know this college

girl that's having trouble navigating the numbers that are in sequence going down the aisle of

an airplane, all right, I know she's going to sit next to me, so I start folding up my

stuff.

I just know it's going to happen.

Sure enough, boom, she sits down next to me.

Now, to say she was nervous is being polite.

She was scared to death.

First time on an airplane, and you know, I thought, okay, I work with college students,

it's a perfect place for her to sit.

I'm not going to get anything done, and if I didn't know my notes by now, I was probably

just as well.

I wasn't going to teach that good anyway.

So, as you can tell from the English, the way I just expressed that, it's not going to

come out well.

So, boom, she sits down.

I did not know you could get a seatbelt that tight and still breathe.

She ratcheted that seatbelt down just as hard as she could, and so I said, hey, my name

is Steve, and she begins to tell me her name, and then she tells me where she's from, and

she tells me her life story, and I'm not getting anything in here, and she's nervous, and I'm

just smiling because I know eventually the plane will take off, and she'll panic, and then

I can calm her down, all right?

So, right about the time she goes up to take a breath, and I ask her a question, the

flight attendant starts giving instructions, and you know what she did?

She shushed me.

She didn't know who I was.

I'm sitting here.

I'm getting ready to go teach my alma mater.

I've got a driver waiting on me, and you shushed me.

She did not want to hear anything I had to say.

She was entirely focused on that flight attendant, and she was so engaged in that process that

those of y'all that fly, they know you how to take, they, excuse me, you know how they

tell you to take the card out of the pocket that shows you the picture of the plane?

Nobody in this room has ever done that.

Go ahead, admit it.

I've never done it either.

She did it.

And I said, well, look at that.

There's a picture of the plane.

It shows us all.

How about that?

Who knew that was there?

So, as we go through this conversation, what I'm realizing is not only is she fully engaged,

now I'm fully engaged.

And she gets to the part about when there's a loss of power, the lights will come on on

the floor, and my youth minister gear kicked in, and I'm thinking, I'm going to raise my

hand.

Hey, we've got to practice this.

Just in case that happens, we need to practice this.

And then they say something about when the mask comes down, put it on yourself first.

And I'm thinking, that's not a problem.

I've got that covered.

I know who I want to breathe most on this plane, so now, but we've got to practice these things

because that's what you do when you work with students, and I've got a student next

to me.

So, then she uses the phrase, and I'm talking about the flight attendant now, in the event

of a water landing.

I paid full fare.

I paid for a full ticket.

I want a runway landing.

I don't want a water landing.

So, no, no, no, that's out of the question.

I don't want to do this.

And then they give you the instructions about make sure you know where your exit is.

And now I've got some tension in my life because one row up and to the right is where the exit

is.

And in the row, it's just a small plane, two seats.

I spoke to her on the way coming to a very grandmotherly lady sitting next to where the exit is, and next to

her is a fellow that, let's just say he's not worked out recently.

He was a little disheveled, perhaps not moving maybe as quickly as I think he'd like him to move.

And I'm feeling bad for him because if this plane goes to go down and we've got to through that exit door, unless he's going to surprise me about how quick he's going to move, his family's going to miss him.

Because I'm going to have the college girl on one end, the grandmother, and I'm going out the door, and three of the four of us are going to make it is what I'm saying.

Okay, his family's going to miss him.

So, I've got my plan down.

I know about the lights and the masks, and I'm ready to go.

And I start looking around a little bit.

And what I've noticed is while this flight attendant is speaking to all these people on the plane, telling them how their lives can be saved, they're either too busy or too tired or too distracted to listen to what this nice lady is having to say.

Who among you is wise and understanding so that something may happen this morning that will change you?

Or is it fatigue or busyness of life or just the general distractions that come that would make it incredibly difficult for James to have something to say to you personally this morning?

With that in mind, grab your Bibles.

We're going to go again to James chapter 3.

We're going to look at verse 13.

I'm going to read these verses a little bit out of order.

We're going to do 13, then we're going to do 17 and 18.

We're going to look at godly wisdom, and then we'll do verses 14, 15, and 16, and we'll look at wisdom from a different source.

We'll make the comparison of the two.

So, again, starting off in James chapter 3, verse 13.

Who among you is wise and understanding?

By his good conduct he should show that his works are done with gentleness that come from wisdom.

And then now verse 17.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering without pretense.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.

All right, so now we've got the picture in those verses.

That's godly wisdom.

That's wisdom from above.

Now go to verse 14 and listen to wisdom from another source.

James says in verse 14,

But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don't boast and deny the truth.

Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.

For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.

When you read the verses and you look at the godly verses versus the ungodly or wisdom coming from another source,

there's a very clear distinction between the two.

What I'm saying is that James is driving at something here.

Who among you is wise and understanding?

James is trying to communicate for those that are wise and understanding.

It's clearly evident because there's going to be action.

That action is good conduct that everyone can recognize.

There is an evidence because of that contact.

It's action bringing evidence.

And the evidence is expanded on uses the term gentleness in its application.

Now for those of the gentlemen in the room, call a timeout about your definition of gentleness.

We're going to get there in just a minute.

Guys, we tend to struggle with that one.

Hang on to that.

Gentlemen, hang on to gentleness.

We'll get there in just a second.

All right?

Because there are some characteristics that are articulated here in this passage of godly wisdom, wisdom from above,

that we need to pay attention to.

What is he talking about?

Number one, James says there is wisdom in action, meaning that is knowledge of an expert.

Those that are acting the way James are describing, they have acquired a knowledge in such a way

that their actions give indication that they're an expert.

They have a spiritual understanding as if they were an expert.

And it's not just a bunch of information that they have stuffed in their heads.

There's action that goes with it.

Wisdom is the application of knowledge.

And what James is saying is those that are wise in understanding are applying that knowledge in such a way

that they're actually revealing a skill.

Second characteristic we find in this passage.

It says that an individual that is wise in understanding is peace-loving.

That comes out of verse 17.

They bring peace into the room with them.

This is where I'll ask you.

This is where you get to insert the first illustration.

Who in your life carries that kind of a description?

When they walk in the room, peace has come in the room.

There could be conflict.

There could be turmoil.

There could be a dissension.

It could be just a simple discomfort.

But when they walk in the room, somehow peace comes in the room with them.

I can immediately identify three people.

What about you?

Who do you know that when they come in the room, peace has come in the room with them?

That's an individual of wisdom and understanding that James is talking about.

Characteristics.

There's a wisdom, that knowledge of an expert that's been put into action.

They're peace-loving.

When they walk in the room, peace has come in the room with them.

And how they apply that wisdom is described in these passages, either gentle or with gentleness.

Now, gentlemen, this is where we jump back in just a second.

What James is talking about as he's writing in this passage is attention to a biblical gentleness

that causes others to give their attention.

Here's what I mean by this.

Biblical gentleness is simply someone that is patient.

They are able to discern that in some sort of a conflict or a difficulty or even the normality

of their life, the individuals that they are relating to may not be as mature.

They may not have developed the skills of an expert yet.

They may have incredible value.

And what they're bringing in is a perspective that needs to be heard.

They're just not doing it very well because they haven't had the maturity of life or they're

not in the season of life to do it.

And this individual who brings peace with them that does have this understanding is able

to recognize that even though there may be a maturity challenge in what the individual is trying

to do or communicate, there's still a value in the perspective that they have.

There's patience, especially with those that aren't as mature as they are.

They are fair-minded, able to get past some of that emotion to have an understanding of what

they are attempting to do without pretense, without partiality.

They're able to think and listen and process and remain neutral.

The individual that we're talking about here is probably that person that answered yes to

my second question.

Is there something that James could offer you today that would change you?

They're willing simply to step back, understand that gentleness, that peace of a fair-mindedness

and be able to listen to Scripture and see if there's something there that can provide a change.

There's a skill of an expert.

They're peace-loving.

They're gentle in the application of that peace.

And then number four, Scripture says they are full of mercy and good fruits.

Whenever you see fruits referred to in Scripture, especially in passages like this, another way

that we can interpret that is produce.

Something is being produced.

And apple tea produces apples.

Orange trees produce oranges.

That's a product of that.

Those that are wise and understanding, as James described it, they are producing something.

And remember, this is practical.

James is very practical in what he writes in his book.

He says what they are producing is a mercy where they honestly desire to help.

And then what they do is they've actually put action behind that mercy so they are being a help.

They took the recognition and they put action behind it.

And with gentleness through peace, they are influencing the circumstance in a very positive way.

Now, very quickly, those are the positive characteristics and some of the consequences of a godly wisdom, a wisdom from above.

Now, I want you to recognize something.

As we transition, we go into wisdom from a different source.

We look at godly wisdom, and there are lots of characteristics.

As a matter of fact, depending on the translation that you're reading, there could be nine or ten different characteristics,

but they produce this mercy, they produce gentleness, they produce peace.

Lots of characteristics producing very few things.

When we look at, from a different source, wisdom from an ungodly source, there are just a few characteristics.

But they produce a whole host of consequences.

So, what are the characteristics, as James writes in verses 14 through 16?

What characteristics are we talking about?

It starts off with something called bitter envy.

A bitter kind of envy.

Now, let me make sure that we're clear about what we're talking about here, okay?

Everybody in this room, my guess is just about everybody in this room, would like to develop or skill or have a talent that you currently don't have.

And when you see someone that has that ability or has that talent, it generates a little bit of envy.

You're thinking in your mind, boy, I wish I could do that.

For me, I am fascinated by those that can actually make contact between a golf club and a golf ball.

I want you all to know, folks, I have the prettiest practice golf swing you have ever seen.

It is amazing.

But when you roll a golf ball in front of me, all of a sudden the entire world changes.

And I look like a baby giraffe trying to swing at something with a stick.

It's ridiculous.

I can't do it.

And I am envious of those that can walk up to a golf ball and smack it and actually be able to find it and hit it again.

I can't do that.

Mine is more of a hide-and-seek sort of game where I hit it, it hides, and I go seek it, get mad, throw another golf ball out, hit it, it hides, and say, okay, that's how I play.

Again, I have the most beautiful practice swing, the most awful actual swing.

I am envious of those that can actually make contact and get the ball where they can find it.

Now, I do not wish any ill will on somebody that can do that.

As a matter of fact, it fascinates me.

I hope they get better.

I hope they hear me cheering for them so maybe they'll give me some tips and I can finally figure something out.

I've been playing since I was a kid.

My dad taught me when I was seven or eight.

Tried to teach me when I was seven or eight.

Didn't go so well.

Still hasn't gone so well.

I have an envy of that, but that's not the kind of envy that James is talking about here.

All right?

Mine is not a bitter envy.

It's not an envy that tastes bad.

James says that the characteristics of this wisdom from below is a bitter kind of envy.

That word bitter only appears twice in Scripture.

And it talks about generating aggression.

And it talks about generating rivalry.

And it's a rivalry that seeks to destroy the other person.

There is a bitterness there.

It actually tastes bad.

There is such an envy.

The individual that he's talking about wants the position or the influence or the talent or the possession in another has.

And it makes no difference if that individual comes to harm as long as they get what the other person has.

And there's a bitterness.

And there's a bitterness in the way they approach it.

Second characteristic that's listed in this passage is self-ambition.

And it's real clear you're going to be incredibly selfish if you're tied up in this rivalry and this aggression to get whatever it is that other individual wants.

It's absolutely selfish.

It's absolutely self-seeking.

There's no concern for the damage that it causes for others unless the collateral damage comes back on the individual that's so bitter.

And then they're uncomfortable because their life is uncomfortable and they're going to deal with that discomfort only.

James kind of stops in the list of these characteristics and he says,

I need you all to recognize the source of where this is coming from.

James says, number one, it is earthly.

What he's communicating there is real simple.

It lacks any presence of God or its spirit.

Now, there are certain earthly systems and they're neither spiritual nor non-spiritual.

They're just there.

Those of you that have a checking account in this room, that is an earthly system.

It's neither good or bad.

It's just a checking account.

It's a system.

What makes it good or bad is how you use the resources in that checking account.

So James starts with the earthly and then he takes it one step further.

He says the unspiritual now becomes involved.

And now the appetites and now the desires and the passions of the individual begin to take control.

And they're going to use what may be a neutral system to their advantage to the point where now Satan can take over.

And when Satan take over, it's real clear.

Every kind of evil is produced.

There's a consequence that James lists in these passages that goes along with, it's really both a characteristic and a consequence.

He says there is lying about the truth and the lying generates a boasting.

In other words, the individual that we're talking about are those that we're talking about that are working from wisdom from below.

Not only are they going to lie about the truth, but they're going to boast about that lie with the hopes that maybe those that are not quite as mature are going to listen to the boasting and the energy and the emotion that goes with that.

And they're going to draw them along in that ungodly act or action or position.

I'm going to break my commitment not to connect cultural things for just a second, but I want to do it with the students.

Those of y'all that are students in the room, when I ask that question, is there anything that could happen this morning that would change you?

Students are pretty comfortable with that question.

You're in a season in life where things do change.

You are growing, you're learning, you're experiencing new things that brings about change.

You're comfortable with that.

So I say, is there anything this morning can change you?

You're not uncomfortable with the question.

So let's plug into that for just a second and talk about a word that has been, I'm going to say kidnapped or captured and redefined in your culture today.

And that word is truth.

For many, many, many generations, as long as human beings have been on this planet, we have struggled with this understanding of what truth really is.

And we like to bend truth to our own will when we can.

But in your generation, that word truth has been completely redefined, where now truth is individual.

For your generation, what you are being taught is if you feel it, if you think it, it must be true.

And I want you to hear me say this morning, that is wisdom from below.

And I'm going to tell you how to recognize it in just a second.

That is wisdom from below.

You're not going to hear this in many other places, but there actually is something called absolute truth.

And it applies to all people at all times, regardless of circumstances.

Listen to what I'm about to say.

What I just, it applies to all people at all times, regardless of circumstances.

That is absolute truth.

It is outside of you so that your actions have something to be compared to.

There is a wisdom from above that teaches absolute truth.

And the culture that you're growing up in is saying, no, that's not the case at all.

Truth is individual.

It's subjective.

It's based on you.

And we have athletes and we have entertainers that will stand before you and they will say, let me tell you my truth.

When you hear that, you know that one of two things are taking place.

You're either listening to someone that has no relationship with Jesus Christ or they are incredibly immature in their faith.

Now, students, did you hear what I just said?

When somebody stands before you and they say, let me tell you my truth.

They're either immature in their faith or they have no faith.

Students, you don't get your own truth.

Truth is independent of you.

What you do get is your story.

Your beautiful, attractive, individual, uniquely you, sometimes hard but always joyful because of your relationship with Christ story.

That is uniquely you.

And the question that you've got to ask yourself is, how are you protecting that story?

God's given it to you.

It's uniquely yours.

Nobody else has the same story that you do.

How are you protecting it?

Please remember, truth is outside of you.

What is yours is that beautiful story that God has given you.

So now we step back in the passage.

What happens after the lying?

What happens after the boasting about something that is absolutely not true?

Scripture's clear.

James says what's going to happen.

There's going to be disorder and there's going to be instability.

I'll add something else to that.

Very often the one that's communicating the disorder and the disunity and the instability is also claiming I'm the only one that can bring order and stability.

It's going to be back.

And finally, what we have is every evil practice.

Let me tell you what that biblical word every means.

It means every.

There it is.

Eleven years of seminary.

Just shared it to you right there.

Every means every.

So my question to you is, what illustration would you plug in?

It says every evil occurs.

What would you plug into that?

What would your illustration of every evil be?

That's exactly what happens when we're following a wisdom from below.

So we can stop and call a timeout.

I said, wait a minute.

Who is James writing to?

Who's he talking to?

He's not talking to the folks in the break room.

Not talking about the folks in the office.

Not talking about the guys on the shop floor.

Not talking about our classmates in the classroom.

He's talking to believers.

Started off talking to the church in Jerusalem.

Knew that letter was going to be communicated.

So it goes to the other churches.

And then finally, it comes to us.

And he's writing to those that are in leadership position.

And he's writing to those that are young but are growing into that leadership position.

And you know something?

He's also writing to a couple of knuckleheads.

They were in that first century church.

And he could be writing to a couple of knuckleheads that are in the 2022 church.

And what James does is he gives us a standard.

He said, okay, here's something new for you.

You can look at the actions.

You can look at the attitudes.

You can look at what's going on.

And you can compare it to the independent standard.

Is it fair-minded?

Is it gentle?

Is it wise?

Is there a skill in action here?

Or is there disorder?

And is there discouragement?

We can compare the two and determine where the source is coming from.

There's a standard from above.

And there is a standard from below.

I've had the privilege of serving South Carolina Baptist Convention for 20 plus years.

And almost all that I do has to do with working with staff members and doing church consultations.

So I'm listening to a sermon last Sunday.

And my pastor, Ryan Pack, over at Riverland Hills, makes a comment about how much dissension in the church comes from within.

And I knew what I was preaching this morning.

And really, for the last week, I've been thinking in all of those consultations for 20 plus years,

how many churches have I worked with that were in conflict?

And by the way, that's part of the responsibility for the team I lead.

We deal with church conflict and we deal with church revitalization,

which is usually what do we do with the church after the conflict.

All of those consultations,

I can identify one church that was in conflict and it was conflict from the outside and not conflict from the inside.

20 plus years of doing this, one church.

And by the way, that one church was gifted a piece of property.

They had a terrible, terrible time occupying it so they could do what they need to do.

But the church was patient.

The church acted in unity.

They acted from a godly perspective.

And that church is thriving.

They weathered the storm and now they are thriving.

So make sure we pay attention to who James is writing to.

So I'm very close to finishing up my time.

A couple of final things that I will say.

Number one would be focused on those that are in leadership.

You are the primary target of this passage.

You're also the primary target of that wisdom from below that James is writing about.

Specifically in verse 18,

what James is saying to you

is the peace that you will find in your fellowship

is both planted by you and cultivated by you.

So as you act as a leader,

pay attention to the standard.

Are you sowing and cultivating peace?

And for those among you that happen to be working with new believers,

James addresses you as well.

He doesn't say focus on theology.

He doesn't say focus on doctrine.

He doesn't say focus on service.

What he says in verse 17 is he says,

start with purity.

And again, students, physical purity is what we default to with that.

That's part of what James is talking about.

James is talking about an intellectual purity

that absolutely flows into everything else that we do.

So for those that carry the responsibility

of mentoring or walking with new believers,

James says in verse 17,

start with peace.

When we receive Christ,

all things are made new.

The old things pass away

and there's a purity that we now bring into our lives

that we can protect

because of our relationship with Christ.

That's 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

Those of you that are going to be future leaders,

one of the errors that we make as leaders,

and I am claiming this as a leader right now,

we don't challenge you enough.

Future leaders,

this is your opportunity to be called out.

What is God doing in your life?

Who have you communicated with?

I don't know if y'all recognize this enough,

but Joel is an anomaly.

There's a shortage of worship leaders.

For the first time in my ministry,

we're struggling with a shortage in youth ministers.

We have experienced a shortage in children's ministers

for as long as I've been working

at the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

So I'm reaching out to those young leaders

and I'm calling you out and saying,

what is God doing in your life?

What are you preparing for?

In a church that is healthy with good leaders,

God uses those fellowships

to call out the next generation

and you are that next generation.

And then the final group that I will target

are those that are needing a new system

in their lives.

You've tried the earthly,

the unspiritual,

perhaps even the demonic.

You've tried all that.

You know what disorder and confusion is all about.

Are you ready for your life

to be measured in a new way?

Scripture is clear.

You confess and you believe

and God will save you.

The opportunity to respond to Jesus Christ

and live in that peace,

find some of that gentleness,

live under a whole new scorecard

is available for you.

My understanding is

after we close in a prayer,

there's going to be folks

on either side of the room.

They are ready to receive you,

to have a conversation with you.

If your life has been marked

by the wrong standard,

you can change that today.

Jesus Christ will reach into your heart

and make all things new

with a purity

that will let you understand

and live by wisdom from above.

Father, we do take these final few moments

in fellowship with you

to thank you for your love,

to thank you for your son,

the sacrifices he offered on the cross

that we may find forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Father, we know that James recognized this.

James wrote to us

so we can compare our actions.

Those of us that know you,

are we living by a standard from above

or have we been consumed by a standard from below?

Father, if that's the case,

we admit the need for a change

and we offer it to you today.

Father, for those that are struggling

with that disorder and that discomfort,

may you work in their hearts

and give them the opportunity

to respond to the call from your son,

Jesus Christ.

And then Father, finally,

for those that know

that you are working in their lives

and you are calling them out,

may you give them the courage

to respond to that calling.

Father, we are blessed to be here today.

Thank you for this fellowship

that worships your son.

And in all of this,

we will praise you and pray in love.

Amen.

Thanks again for listening

to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed listening

to this week's message.

If you'd like to learn more about who we are

or explore additional resources,

visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com

or by searching for Willow Ridge Church

on Facebook and Instagram.