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<\/p>\nREAL FAITH: Walks In God\u2019s Wisdom!<\/p>\n
Ptr. Bong Saquing <\/p>\n
Does your definition of wisdom come from how smart you sound or from acknowledging that you don\u2019t have all the answers?\u00a0 When we surrender to God\u2019s wisdom, a wisdom defined by peace, gentleness, and mercy, He begins to shape our lives!<\/p>\n
In a culture that measures wisdom by personal gain, are we following the world\u2019s standards or submitting to God\u2019s perfect will? The book of James reminds us that real faith is not driven by selfish ambition, but expressed through humble obedience and a life that seeks God\u2019s wisdom above all else.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is not that we don\u2019t know enough. The problem is that we often live by the wrong kind of wisdom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wisdom we live by shapes how we live, how we speak, and how we relate to others.\u201d<\/p>\n
REAL FAITH: WALKS IN GOD\u2019S WISDOM<\/p>\n
\u2022 SHOWS IN HUMBLE ACTION<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 SHAPES IN CHRISTLIKE CHARACTER\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 STRENGTHENS RELATIONSHIP\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n BIBLICAL WISDOM<\/p>\n Biblical wisdom is the God-given, spirit-enabled capacity to fear the Lord, see life from God\u2019s perspective, and live in humble, obedient, fruit-bearing alignment with His will.<\/p>\n SHOWS IN HUMBLE ACTION<\/p>\n (James 3:13-18, Proverbs 4:1-7, James 4:6-12, Ephesians 5:15-21, James 5:9, Philippians 4:5, Matthew 7:24-25, Joshua 1:8)<\/p>\n JAMES SAYS WISDOM WEARS HUMILITY<\/p>\n To resolve conflicts, repent of your sinful selfishness and humble yourself before God. There are four sections:<\/p>\n 1. To resolve conflicts, judge your selfish motives (4:1-3).<\/span><\/p>\n 2. To resolve conflicts, turn away from the world, give total allegiance to God, and humbly seek His grace (4:4-6).<\/span><\/p>\n 3. To resolve conflicts, submit to God, resist the devil, and in God\u2019s presence repent of all your sins (4:7-10).<\/span><\/p>\n 4. To resolve conflicts, stop judging others and submit to God\u2019s Word (4:11-12).<\/span><\/p>\n KING DAVID AND SOLOMON<\/p>\n \u201cThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments\u2026\u201d Psalm 111:10<\/p>\n \u201cThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..\u201d<\/p>\n Proverbs 9:10<\/p>\n Philippians 4:5<\/p>\n Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.<\/p>\n SHAPES IN CHRISTLIKE CHARACTER<\/p>\n (James 3:14-18, Matthew 7:16-18,<\/p>\n James says this is a false perspective. Believing in such a philosophy leads to all the disorder, chaos, and evil we see in the world. The wisdom of heaven offers a very different strategy for living and leads to very different results. Because we trust God to provide what we need, we can let go of envy and selfish ambition. We can lead lives of peace, gentleness, reasonableness, kindness, and more. We can help plant peace and help bring in the harvest of righteousness.<\/p>\n False wisdom is marked by:<\/p>\n \u2022 Bitter envy – resenting others\u2019 success\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Selfish ambition- advancing self at all costs\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWisdom doesn\u2019t shout. Wisdom doesn\u2019t dominate. Wisdom doesn\u2019t rush to be right. Wisdom walks humbly.\u201d<\/p>\n If our \u201cwisdom\u201d makes us harsh, proud, impatient, or dismissive of others – it is not from God.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch \u2018wisdom\u2019 is earthly, un spiritual, demonic.\u201d<\/p>\n DIAGNOSTIC QUESTION:<\/p>\n What kind of environment does your wisdom create?<\/p>\n False wisdom produces:<\/p>\n \u2022 Disorder\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Division\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Broken communities\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cEvery evil practice\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor harmonious relationships, behave with godly wisdom, not with worldly \u201cwisdom.\u201d James 3:13-17<\/p>\n In James 3:17, James tells us that the source of this wisdom is \u201cfrom above.\u201d This in line with Proverbs 2:6, which declares, \u201cFor the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.\u201d As we will see (3:15), there is a so-called worldly \u201cwisdom,\u201d but invariably it is at odds with God\u2019s wisdom (see 1 Cor. 1:18-2:16). This is to say that if you want to be truly wise, you will only attain it by seeking God and the truth of His Word.<\/p>\n This is to say that if you want to be truly wise, you will only attain it by seeking God and the truth of His Word. In<\/p>\n 1). GODLY WISDOM IS PURE.<\/p>\n James underscores the primacy of purity when he writes, \u201cfirst pure.\u201d Without purity, it is not wisdom from above! The Greek word means to be unmixed, unalloyed, or untainted by any impurity. It may point to moral purity, but in the context here, it especially has the sense of being free from any jealousy or selfish ambition. In other words, it is focusing on our motives. If we seek wisdom so that we can lord it over others, or use it for our own advantage or power, it is not pure, godly wisdom. Our motive for seeking wisdom or for using wisdom must always be to glorify God and to build up the person to whom we are speaking.<\/p>\n Wisdom is not proven by how convincing we sound-but by what our lives produce.<\/p>\n 2). GODLY WISDOM IS PEACEABLE.<\/p>\n Purity is first, but then wisdom is peaceable. In other words, if you compromise purity for the sake of peace, you are not acting in godly wisdom.<\/p>\n 3). GODLY WISDOM IS GENTLE.<\/p>\n 4). GODLY WISDOM IS REASONABLE.<\/p>\n The word means, literally, \u201ceasily persuaded.\u201d But it does not mean being gullible or credulous, but rather being willing to defer to others, as long as a core doctrine or moral principle is not at stake. In other words, it is \u201cquick to hear\u201d (James 1:19), and knows when to yield for the sake of peace.<\/p>\n 5). GODLY WISDOM IS FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUITS.<\/p>\n Many of these qualities echo the beatitudes (gentleness, purity, peace), and that is also true of mercy: \u201cBlessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy\u201d (Matt. 5:7). Jesus often underscored the importance of mercy.<\/p>\n STRENGTHENS RELATIONSHIP<\/p>\n (James 4:1-2, 1 Corinthians 1:24)<\/p>\n To resolve conflicts, judge your selfish motives.<\/p>\n What is the result of living by the wisdom of the world, rather than the wisdom of God? What should Christians do when they realize that’s the path they’ve been on? James answers those questions in chapter 4. This passage continues to build on the end of chapter 3. Previously, James described the so-called wisdom of the world: figure out what you really want out of life (bitter envy) and plan to get it for yourself at any cost (selfish ambition). He described this earthly, unspiritual, demonic philosophy as the source of disorder and all sorts of evil in the world (James 3:15\u201316).<\/p>\n James has been writing to Jewish Christians of the first century (James 1:1). Here, in chapter 4, James says to these very readers that a worldly, unspiritual road is the very one they have been following. This is what causes fights and quarrels among them. When people follow this road, they try to get what they want for themselves, frustrated by the people standing in their way. So, they fight, quarrel, even kill. Instead of trusting that they have a loving heavenly Father to provide in His perfect timing, worldly-minded people insist on fighting to get what they want.<\/p>\n James elevates our awareness of how serious this problem is by putting a sharp label on it: adultery. Are you following the wisdom of the world, while claiming to be a Christian believer? If so, you’re cheating on God with this world system of serving yourself first and at all costs. You can’t do both. If you make yourself a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God (James 4:1\u20135).<\/p>\n Where is Hope?<\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 1:24<\/p>\n but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.<\/p>\n \u201cPrayer becomes a tool, not a relationship. God becomes a means, not the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n Your prayer life (or lack thereof) reveals the focus of your heart.<\/p>\n James (4:2b-3) says, \u201cYou do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.\u201d<\/p>\n Where our wisdom grasped, His wisdom gave.<\/p>\n Where our desires consumed, His love sacrificed.<\/p>\n Where our pride divided, His humility reconciled.<\/p>\n James is not calling us to be smarter. He is calling us to surrender to Jesus.<\/p>\n