Walking in Wisdom

SUMMARY

Karl Ihfe explores the contrast between earthly and heavenly wisdom, drawing from James' teachings. He emphasizes that true wisdom from God leads to action, humility, and peacemaking, urging listeners to ask God for this wisdom in their daily lives, as James instructs in James 1:5.

TRANSCRIPTION:

I got to start my morning here with you in worship in one of my favorite ways. My buddy Barrett Brunson came in and he said, Mr. Karl, I was thinking about pancakes today. And I said, me too, pal. Me too.

We had a great morning together last week. If you missed it, invite you to set it in your calendar. It's always the first Sunday of the year. Be sure to come and join us for our pancake and sausage breakfast this morning.

I want to talk to you about fakes. Can you tell the difference between the real or the fake? Kaylee and I and our family traveled to New York a couple of weeks ago and we walked down some of the city streets, some of the most famous for selling knockoff items. And so I wanted to put your ability to tell the real deal from the fake up on screen and see if you could pick out the fake item. So this first one, ladies invite you to see. Can you spot the fake Louis Vuitton?

If you think it's the right one, raise your right hand. If you think it's the left one, raise your left hand. In just a second, we'll see. All right, you have a second. Can you spot the fake?

All right, let's reveal the answer. It was the one on the left that was the fake. All right, fellas, your turn. Can you spot the fake? Air Jordans.

Which one is real? Which one is fake? Put up your right hand for the fake. Your left hand or. Well, if you think the right is fake, put your right.

You think the left is the fake? Put up your left. Ready? Take a second. Can you tell.

Let's see what the answer is. Oh, it was the right, right. Can you spot the difference? Did you know that globally counterfeiting is a $2 trillion business? I had no idea.

In fact, just last year, The There's a U.S. agency that's dealing with counterfeits and the New York Police Department together did a bust and they the largest hall ever. $1 billion worth of counterfeit merchandise was found. Okay. Unbelievable.

I was looking at it this week and came across this comment on a business whose website of a business whose job is to help protect creators and their created ideas. And they were asking this woman, why would you. Why would people want to do the knockoff? The fake? And they said, people want to buy the right name, but they don't want to pay the right price.

We want to have a particular image. I remember for me, that was very much true. Back in middle school, there was a brand of clothing called Jirbaud. Now, you may not know what that is, I don't even know if it's still a thing anymore. But when I was a kid, Jirbaud was the thing.

And I got this green shirt at a secondhand store. That was Jirbaud, right? It looked kind of like this. And so I worked to school, prouder than a peacock, just strutting around all day. And then I go at the end of the day into the locker room to change for football practice, and I take the shirt off.

And if you've ever had a fake, you know what's coming, right? I was green, right? My arms were green, my chest was green. I was humiliated. People started calling me the Hulk.

In fact, I was looking through my photos this week, and I found a picture of it. This was me, I think, or I looked a lot like this. But we know when we hit the fake versus the real, there's a difference. There's a difference. This morning, I want us to look at the difference because we're talking about in with the new, you know, as he launched into a new series.

Been thinking some in my own life about how I want to begin a new year, that I'd like to let go of some things and walk into the new year with some new things. You know, last week we talked about walking in obedience, that if we're really going to be a disciple of Jesus, it's not enough to just say it, we've got to actually do it. We talked about that in our spiritual transformation Bible class this morning. In fact, if you haven't gotten plugged into one of our Bible classes, let me invite you to do that now. It'll change your life if you'll let it.

It'll change your life. We're talking about spiritual transformation and practicing these spiritual practices that help us become more like Jesus. Well, this new year, we want to think about walking in obedience. This morning, I want us to think about walking in wisdom. You know, James, the author, James, who wrote a letter to a young church in the New Testament that had been scattered all over the known world, right?

They were kicked out, chased out of Jerusalem, and they were spread into all corners of the known empire. And he's warning them about a lot of things. But one of the things he warns them about is wisdom. He says there are actually two kinds of wisdom in the world. There's fake and there's real, or there's earthly and there's heavenly.

And it's important that they learn to recognize those things. But it's not as simple as just falling off a log. I. I'LL be able to see it easy, no problem, he says. No, actually, the earthly wisdom is so ingrained in our culture and in our lives, the way that we live, we often just miss it, he says.

But if we decide to clothe ourselves in it, just like I did in that middle school day in my fake shirt, it turns us green, right? It exposes us to something that we weren't quite prepared for. It changes how we look. In fact, this type of wisdom James will allude to, it's not new to us. It's that same wisdom that was alive at the beginning, in creation, right?

When Eve encounters the serpent, and the serpent says to her, did God really say, you must not eat from any tree? And this conversation unfolds. And he says, you're not going to die, Eve. Come on. God knows that when you eat from that tree, you're going to know what he knows.

You're going to be just like him. And he's trying to hold you down. He's trying to keep you from good stuff. You see, this wisdom, this wisdom of the earth, this fake wisdom, it calls us to question, can we really trust God? God, not really who he says he is.

Will God do for us what he says he promises he will do for us?

See, it's this earthly wisdom that James is writing to the young church about. And I'm convinced part of the reason why is because he fell for it, too. We've talked about this before. If not if you hadn't heard it before, I hope this will encourage you. But John tells us in his gospel, and he gives us a little insight into what Jesus life was like growing up with people who didn't believe them.

He says, after this, John 7:1, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. Now Jesus is avoiding this area because he knows they're trying to kill him over there. And not only does Jesus know it, his whole family knows it. But when the Jewish festival of the Tabernacles was near, Jesus brothers said to him, as all good brothers do, Amen.

Why don't you go up to this festival? Everybody goes to this festival. Why don't you go up there so that your disciples may see the works that you do? No one who wants to be a public figure acts in the secret. Since you're doing these things, show yourself to the world.

For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Now, before we get too far down that track, do you Have a sibling. If you got a sibling, raise your hand. What would they have to do to convince you they were the Messiah? Okay, alright.

So we're going to give James a little break here. But it's still true that earthly wisdom, Jesus is living a completely different life, claiming to be something that was unbelievable. And his brother said, look, if that's really what you think, why don't you go to that place O I know they're trying to kill you, but still, you should go there and show people who you really are, who you really are. The wisdom of the world. You see, James fell victim to it also.

And the thing that changed his mind, I'm convinced, was the resurrection. That he actually saw it. He understood in a way, in a way he had never understood before. You see, I grew up just like James, if I'm honest. I grew up with worldly wisdom all around me.

In fact, it impacted how I even read the book of James. James to me sounded like the classic old school preacher just harping on the church for not living up to God's expectations and having these crazy ideas. You show me faith, I'll show you works, right? It’s what you do, man. And as a young person who already feels this oppression of my parents trying to tell me what to do and order my life, I'm like, come on, dude, back off.

I'm going to make my own way in this, dude.

Trials, persecution, rejoicing. What are you talking about? James, don't say this or that, say, lord willing, I'll do this or that. You had a friend in college who took this literally. And so I would say, hey, man, you want to do lunch tomorrow?

Yes. Great. Let’s meet over at this. No problem. All right.

Il see you there tomorrow. You’d say lord willing, I’ll see you there tomorrow. I am like, come on, man, nobody talks like that. What are you doing?

James fell for it. Karl fell for it. Have you fallen for it? You see, what I didn't realize at the time was James wasn't this angry old school preacher just listening to his people who would not do what he told them to do. James was someone who'd lived it.

He was telling the church, I know you're going to face incredible pressure. There's pressure to conform to this wisdom around you that looks a certain way and acts a certain way and recognizes if you're not doing for you, no one's going to do for you, so you better do for you. I know it. People are going to say some outlandish things. They're going to challenge you.

And so I'm trying to help you get your arms around that. Wisdom of the world is fool of gold. And the reason I know it's fool's gold was I was the first dude in line buying it. I have the scars to show it. His call was to a new way of life, to a new way of love.

I've wondered sometimes if James was one of the disciples on the road to Emmaus that Jesus appeared to. I have zero proof. There's no scriptural evidence that will point to James. The only thing I can point to was the life change in transformation that happened in James after the resurrection. If you read through the Book of Acts, you're going to read about this incredible James who is a pillar of the early church.

In fact, he played a critical role in sending Paul on his missionary journey to the Gentiles. Had that not happened, friends, we wouldn't be here. James was at the heart of that change. And one day, we're told in history, he gave his life because of his belief that his brother actually was the Messiah.

See, it's this James who's writing the book, or their letter rather, that we're looking at today. In fact, Rob, I'm so glad you mentioned the Sermon on the Mount. That passage, that's my favorite passage in all of Scripture. I think James had that passage in mind in his heart. Maybe he had it written next to him, I don't know.

But if you read the book of James. In fact, Rob, as you're reading this week in the Sermon on the Mount, read the book of James and just notice how similar the wording is.

See, James, I think, wants to encourage us to walk in wisdom, but not the earthly wisdom in the wisdom of the world. What does that wisdom look like? Well, James tells us, he says, who is wise and understanding among you, let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in humility. That comes from wisdom. Right?

Same passage that Anne read for just a moment ago. Wisdom is measured not just in what you know, but what you do with what you know. And wisdom, he says, of heaven, it's action sounds a lot like Jesus said, you know, last week, our passage in Matthew 7, Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a what wise man? James says, the wise are people who actually do something with what they've been given.

Just a little later in Matthew's gospel, Jesus would be talking with the Pharisees, the local religious leaders, and arguing back and Forth about who John the Baptist was and where he fit kind of in the pantheon of disciples, of apostles, of followers of God. And Jesus says, for John came neither eating nor drinking. And they say he has a demon, right? John was famous for not eating and not drinking, having these crazy habits, right, that he was given by the spirit. And they said, no, he's demon possessed.

Jesus, the son of man, he says, came eating and drinking. And they say, here's a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of sinners and tax collectors. Jesus says, look on one hand they say, well this guy, he didn't eat or drink anything. Oh, he got a demon. This dude is eating and drinking everything.

He's a glutton and a drunkard. Jesus says wisdom is proved right by her actions.

What separates worldly wisdom from earthly wisdom? Jesus says it, its intentionality, it's action. That's how you know. In fact, he would use an example we talked about last week. How do you know a good tree versus a bad tree?

Look at the fruit, look what it produces. Same two here. With wisdom, Jesus reminded his disciples, if you want to know, watch. Watch what happens in the wake of someone's wisdom being unleashed into the world. Thinking about the fires out in LA this week, I've read several articles.

I'm sure you have as well. I came across one about this neurosurgeon named Chester Griffiths, who for the last several years had known fire was something that is a real possibility where he lives. And so he started training. What would I do if my house burned down or was threatened to be burned down in a fire? And so he got training, literally he went through the training and then he started buying the supplies that he would need to do it.

And then guess what happened this week? So he stays and his 24 year old son joins him and they stay and they fight the fire in their home. That's a, it's a wild story. But what struck me was here was a man who had learned everything about how to protect his home. But it's one thing to know it, it's another thing to know it.

And so he stayed and he fought the fire and he was able to save with his son's help. And then some firefighters ended up showing up. They were able to save their little area of their neighborhood because he took his training. And it wasn't just knowledge, it was certainly that, but it became action.

You see, wisdom of heaven becomes action in the world. But James draws its a distinction. Did you hear it? He says if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts. Do not boast about it or deny the truth.

Such wisdom does not come down from heaven. It's earthly, it's unspiritual, it's demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder in every evil practice. You see, it's not just action that shows the difference between worldly and earthly. He says it's the motivation for you that action.

Worldly wisdom, it's. It's motivated by envy. It's motivated by self ambition. It's interesting if you kind of trace that work of envy and start to look, unpack it a little bit, what you find is envy identifies wisdom with having. So the more you have, the better you are, the less you have.

Well, the less you are. And so the earthly wisdom says, we live in a limited resource society, right? It's called scarcity. There's this scarcity mindset. It's a zero sum game.

For you to have more, it has to come out of my pocket, right? And we hear that and how we talk about ourselves and our society. Not in my backyard. Well, but if that happen, what about me? Somehow us helping others is now a threat to ourselves.

And so we have this instinct, protect. That's the wisdom of the world, right? They say, no, no, no, that's exactly right. That's what you should be doing. And Jesus is going, no, no, no.

What do you have to protect?

The things that really matter. Nothing can touch those things. So we have to fight against that instinct. He says, to have less is to be less. To have more is to have more.

This kind of wisdom, James says, if you look at that life, it leads to every kind of disorder. It's not from heaven, it's demonic. I mean, look at how it forces people to treat one another. Now, all of us know this. When I was standing in that locker room with green arms, looking like a total weirdo, I felt it, right?

I felt the judgey. I felt all that. I didn't have one friend who said, dude, don't worry about him, man. That's all right. We don't care.

We love you. We care about what's in here, Karl.

Now I can tell you the same thing as a grown man. When I was exposed of something silly I had done or said, I had very few friends that would come and say, it's okay, like, I got you. I mean, I can count on one hand the number of friends who I know. That's how they treat me. That's how they love me.

Jesus says, you know what I think most of us could probably say the same thing. Jesus says, you know what, that's actually life in the kingdom. Like that's how everybody treats everybody. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine living in a world right?

Rob Core. Can you imagine living in a world where that's actually how we treated one another? That'd being incredible.

See, the second thing, I think wisdom that separates earthly from heavenly is what I'm calling humility. James kind of fleshes it out a little bit for us here in verse 17. The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace, loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James saw this kind of wisdom all the time in the life of his brother. I'm sure he reflected on it right when Jesus would come to crowds and he would say, come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I'll give you rest.

Want that famous sermon on the Mount again? Do you remember how he begins that? With this incredible altar call to all the people who were standing there with green arms and everybody could see it. And he said, blessing is for you too. Yeah, I know Jesus, but I'm poor in spirit or I'm mourning or I’m just a meek person, or I'm trying, like Rob, to figure out this hunger and thirsting thing for righteousness because sometimes I hunger after things that aren't righteous or I need some mercy with a pure in heart or peacemakers, or those who are persecuted because of righteousness.

Do you hear the similarities? The wisdom of the world is pure, it's considerate, it's for the merciful. It's no surprise then that just a couple of verses down in the letter, James would write these words to his church. He'd say, humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up again. That list of qualities are things that the earthly wisdom would just completely destroy.

Weak, you're meek. That's weakness. But if you've ever tried to be meek, have you noticed how incredibly difficult it is to maintain that, to really chase after the way of Jesus? It's not easy because that pressure from the outside doesn't go away, but to stay kind and humble and gentle. I went to a restaurant with some friends a couple of weeks ago and this waiter.

I'm paying you, pal, you need to serve me, right? I didn't appreciate the attitude. I'll just be real honest with you. Then you stop for saying go. Okay, so he's got an attitude.

Why do you have to have one? Too. And I thought, well, Holy Spirit, I don't quite care for your attitude.

And he said, funny, I was thinking the same thing.

The wisdom of heaven, it's humble and it's kind and it's submissive and it's full of mercy all the time. There's not a moment that it's not, you know, that was that earthly wisdom. When I would read James, I would think, yeah, that's easy to do when everybody's doing what you want them to do. But what about when they're not? What about when they're saying really terrible things?

What about when they're doing really terrible things? It’s just wolf this need. James says, that's not the way of Jesus. That doesn't mean there's not a response that's needed. But the wisdom of Jesus leads to action that is humble in not only that, he says, last thing.

It's peacemaking. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

James recognized that God's mission in the world was not seek and destroy. It was seek and save. Right. That God's great desire was not that he could torch it all and send everybody where they deserved to go. It, it was, I want to be reconciled with every child.

And Jesus would tell these stories. It's like a father whose son just went way off the deep end. And every day his father searched the horizon and the one day he saw him, he ran to him and he put his arms around and he brought him back in. Jesus. That's the way God feels about us.

In fact, Jesus would tell his disciples on the night he was to be betrayed, and the next day he would be executed. He said, my peace I give to you. I'll leave it with you. And I don't give as the world gives. Paul would be so moved by a fellow apostle with James would be so moved by this that when he wrote to the church in Rome who were facing their own persecution, he would remind them, therefore, since we've been justified through faith, we have peace with God through Christ.

And so if it's possible, far as it is with you, or as much as it is with you, live at peace. That's the wisdom to know the difference between earthly and heavenly. Is it helping you achieve peace? Now, friends, remember, don't mistake that for weak or easy. It's incredibly challenging.

We say, okay, well, James, then how do we learn to walk in that kind of wisdom? How do we get that kind of wisdom? Well, James answers it for us at the beginning of his letter. He Says, if any of you lacks wisdom, here's what you ought to do.

Ask.

Ask. Because the God you're asking, you know what? He loves to be generous. He loves to be generous. And he doesn't find faults.

He'll give it to you. Can you imagine that? I know there's areas in your life where you need wisdom. This week you're going to need some wisdom. And that wisdom, it's going to have to translate into action, right?

But that action is going to have to be shaped by humility and by peacemaking. And if you're thinking, man, I don't even know what to do, that's the exact place where James says, all you got to do is ask. Ask. Because God is generous. He doesn't hold your faults against you.

When you are genuinely trying to pursue his way, he loves to give it.

How did James know this?

Because he lived it. He experienced it. He started on the side going, yeah, whatever, dude, you're my brother. He't no way you're to Messiah at the end of his life. He goes, yeah, that was my brother.

And absolutely he was the Messiah.

How do we get there? Let's ask. Let's ask God for the wisdom that leads to action. An action that's shaped and formed by humility and by peacemaking. God, may it be true of us.

So church, wherever you are, in a relationship, in a work situation, at school, in your neighborhood, facing a challenging decision about what to do, where to go, how to spend your, ask for wisdom. And we're told God will give it. So this morning, I'm going to finish by just asking for wisdom for each and every one of us. God, would you give us wisdom? Would you give us wisdom today to face whatever it is that we're having to face?

Because, God, I know some of us are facing some overwhelming situations. It feels in our own way, like there is a fire raging all around us, threatening to burn it all down. God, would you give us wisdom? Give us wisdom, how to walk in your way in that heavenly wisdom? Because the wisdom of the world, it's compelling, it's tempting.

We’ve got to lead to everything that's wrong in the world. And this year, God, we want to walk in a different way. So, Father, would you lead us in the way of wisdom? Would you show us what action needs to take so things wouldn't just live in our heads, but we'd let them get into our hearts? And God, would you help us to have humble eyes and humble hearts as we consider how to be pure and righteous?

And Father overall may we help be peacemakers as Jesus you promised they're children of God. That's how you know as they seek peace. But Father, we all know for that kind of wisdom that that life to be lived out, we're going to have to do it together. We can't do it on our own. We need you and we need one another.

So God help us to double down on our community, on our church family here, on our relationships, on our small groups and our Bible classes and our relationships that are so important. God, help us to get helps to get right in the pathway of your grace, whatever that may take, whether it's stepping out of the darkness into the light, whether it's holding up a hand and asking for help, God, whatever we need to do, God, would you help us to do it? Help us to walk in your wisdom. In Jesus name we ask, we pray.