This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. Well, let's take our Bibles and turn to James chapter 3. James chapter 3. We'll start reading at verse 13. This is God's holy and inspired word. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior, his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above. but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exists, there is disorder in every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. This is the word of the Lord. After I return from Israel, I'll be starting the book of Genesis. All I have to do, of course, is figure out the dates of creation and the age of the earth, and then we're good to go. Thankfully, I don't have to know that in order to start the book of Genesis. Last Lord's Day, Jason concluded his series on reclaiming the church. And if you didn't get a chance to hear those messages, make sure you listen to them on sermon audio. They were very, very excellent in what we needed to hear. His last message, though, really piqued my interest because his last message had to do with us really giving counsel to one another from God's Word. And in that message, he focused on the fact that it's the Word of God which equips us and equips us not only in our own lives, but equips us to actually minister to others. And yet, oftentimes, we fail to understand the Word of God and we fail to apply it not only to ourselves, but to others. That stuck with me all week, thinking about that. I also have been thinking about wisdom literature, especially in the book of Proverbs. We're going to be beginning a new series for men's breakfast on how to read Old Testament wisdom literature. And of course, the very idea of wisdom, which we'll look at today, is the ability to actually understand and apply God's word to specific situations in life. So that's been on my mind. Then through the course of the last few weeks, various situations have arisen where very clearly unbiblical thinking has led to unbiblical actions. By the way, Unbiblical thinking will always result in unbiblical living. All right? It is an inviolable relationship. Over the years, I've been impacted by the ministry of James Montgomery Boyce, who used to say that his ministry was to equip Christians to think and act biblically. So in thinking about all these things, Jason's sermon, wisdom literature, situations that have arisen over the last few weeks, got me thinking about James 3, verses 13 through 18. I'm convinced that there are times when we think that simply because we love sound doctrine, that we're automatically wise people. Not so. I think that there are times where people think that because they know lots of Bible verses, that they're automatically a wise person. Not so. It's my conviction that James chapter 3 verses 13 to 18 actually has much to say to us, not just as individuals, but to us as a church. And so may God, the Holy Spirit, give us ears to hear what He has to say through James chapter 3. Now the book of James is probably the first book written in the New Testament. It's the earliest book. Probably written as early as 44 AD. Written, of course, by our Lord's half-brother, James. Now, James is a tough book. It is the New Testament wisdom book, by the way, but it's a tough book. In fact, I was relating to the guys this morning that years ago I had finished a series, maybe it was Mark or something like that. And a lady came up to me, she says, what are you going to do next? And I said, well, I'm not exactly sure. And these were her exact words. Please, I beg you, don't do James. James is a tough book. You feel pretty good about your Christianity, read James. You want to get hit between the eyes with the biblical 2x4? Read James. It is a book that deals with wisdom, but it's a book that deals with the implications and connections of wisdom. And so it's a book that talks about wealth and trials and speech and prayer and the obvious connection between wisdom and faith and good works. In fact, as we come to chapter 3, verses 13 to 18, we have really a wonderful section that intertwines and brings together most of the major themes of the whole book. We have wisdom, and we have humility, and we have works, and we have instability, and we have the tongue, and we have worldliness, and we have peace. The section also serves very nicely as a introduction to what James is going to say in chapter four. We're going to see today that there are two kinds of wisdom. There's wisdom from above and there's wisdom from below. But really, the key to this section is not just wisdom from above. It's not just about being a wise person. It's ultimately about faith. It's ultimately about a wisdom that comes from a vibrant, active faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. An active faith, a consistent faith that produces real wisdom. And so chapter three, verse 13 begins with what I really badly want to call the wisdom challenge. You remember the Pepsi challenge, right? You guys remember the Pepsi challenge? Okay. Where have you been? I mean, it started like in 1975 and has gone through the last, you know, decades. And of course, you know what the Pepsi challenge is, is you take a can of Pepsi and a can of Coke and you blindfold the person. And the idea is, can they actually tell which one is Pepsi? All right. What James does is, in a sense, gives us the wisdom challenge. There's going to be wisdom from above and wisdom from below. And James wants to know if you actually can tell the difference. And so as he begins, he begins with a question. He's throwing down a challenge, if you will, through a rhetorical question, focusing on whether or not they really understood what wisdom was, and if there was really a wise man among them, and if there was, if they knew what he looked like. Who is wise and understanding among you is the question, and the question here actually assumes that they thought that they were wise and understanding, but the very fact that James asks the question actually reveals their flawed assumption. Wise. You know what it is to be wise? Before you can ever answer the question, is there a wise and understanding man among you, you have to know what it is to be wise. Being wise is not exactly the same as just having gray hair. Right? I will control myself because I have a lot of thoughts going through my head right now about gray hair. Being wise is not a matter of IQ. You understand that? Being wise is not a matter of high IQ. Being wise is actually the ability to apply knowledge or truth to real life. That's what it is to be a wise person. Being a wise person biblically is to actually have skill in living that's based on practical knowledge on life situations and relationships. So in other words, wisdom in the Bible is the ability to take the revelation of God in scripture and know how to cause that revelation to intersect in a practical way with real situations in daily life. That's why just having sound doctrine doesn't automatically make you a wise person. You can know lots and lots and lots of theology and yet not be a wise person. Knowing lots and lots of Bible verses doesn't automatically make you a wise person because you actually could have gone to, you know, Awana all your life and know a thousand Bible verses. But if you don't actually have the ability to know how God's truth intersects with the real situations and circumstances of life, you're not a wise person. And so wisdom is that ability to skillfully apply truth to real life. But James says, not just wise, but understanding. A person of understanding, by the way, this is the only time this word is used in the New Testament, and the idea is this is a person of insight. What's interesting is that outside of the New Testament, it often is used in terms of of an expert in something. A person who is learned in a specific discipline. Now of course I think that for James this ends up making a tremendous amount of sense because what he's saying is, is that what goes together with wisdom is to be a person of insight. is to be a person who actually is able to see and understand things. And I don't mean see things in a weird way. Okay? I mean, what's ringing through my head right now is Mark Driscoll saying, I see things, and that's not what I'm talking about. All right? It's not talking about seeing things, you know, like, wow, I see 46 angels in this room right now. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about having the kind of insight into situations and life circumstances where you actually understand what is really happening. Here's the irony. We all think we're wise and understanding people. We all do. Whether we admit it or not, I mean, if I took a poll right now and said, okay, everybody who's wise and understanding, please raise your right hand. There would be some of you who would say, well, I'm too wise and humble to admit that I'm wise. But we all basically think that we're really wise, understanding people. And here's how I know that. Because we have conversations that betray the idea that we think that if only the affairs of our nation were handed over to us for 15 minutes, we could straighten it all out. If only they'd get rid of the clown that's there now and put me in charge. Man, if I was in charge, then everything would be really, really good. Well, you gotta be a pretty wise, understanding person to think that you could sort out all of the affairs and troubles of an entire nation. What about when we have opinions about something? How many of us actually, you know this ridiculous, it's this language that people Jeff and Harmony's age use. It's just letters, letters, not letters that make words. You know what I'm talking about, right? when you have your satanic handheld device and you're doing your things, right? So you don't write out the whole word. And there was one and I did not, I kept seeing it and I didn't know what it meant. It was I M H O. Yeah. Now, you know what that is, right? Okay. I had no idea what they're talking about. I-M-H-O, I-M-H-O, I-M-H-O. And then I discovered it stands for In My Humble Opinion. How many of you did not know that? Look, look around you. Look at this. Wow. You're my people. I love it. Jason knew what it meant. Now, I started to actually do a little thing on I-M-H-A-O. In my humble, accurate opinion. Okay? Now, By the way, the minute that you have to designate your opinion as humble, something is awry. Now, how do you hold your opinions? Do you hold your opinions as just that, as opinions? Or do you hold your opinions as if they do have at least some gravitas? Maybe the gravitas of divine sanction. Maybe you hold your opinions as if all you're doing when you opine is thinking God's thoughts after Him. We all think that we are wise and understanding. And so I have a feeling that when the reader got to this section in the epistle, and he's reading to the congregation that James sends this letter to, and he says, who among you is wise and understanding? A bunch of hands went up. I think James would have said, not so fast. Hold on a second. Douglas Moo says, James asks people who think that they have special understanding and insight in spiritual matters, in effect, to step forward so that he can analyze the legitimacy of their claim. So you think you're wise and understanding, go ahead and step forward. Present yourself and let's analyze and see if you really have the wisdom and the insight that you claim to have. And here's how James is going to go about this. New American Standard says, let him show this is an imperative. It would better be rendered like this. He must show. In other words, those of you who think that you're wise and understanding, those of you who said, ooh, ooh, me, me, I'm wise, I'm understanding, James says, here's the way I want you to demonstrate it, not by raising your hand, not by telling me how wise you are, but actually to demonstrate it, and to demonstrate it, get this, by your works. By my works. James says the way that you evidence that you are a wise and understanding person is you must show it by their works. Don't tell me you're wise. Don't tell me about all the wise decisions that you've made. Show me that you're wise by your deeds. It kind of struck me as I read this that James must have been from Missouri. You remember what he says in chapter 2 in verse 18? Basically just says, show me. Someone will say, you have faith, I have works. Show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith by my works. Here he's now saying, you wanna say you've got wisdom? Show me your wisdom. Let me see it, and let me see it by your works. And so wisdom and understanding, in other words, looks like something. It actually demonstrates something. In this case, namely, works. By the way, don't forget that James connects our works directly to our faith in Christ. Now, works is modified here by two phrases. The first is from good conduct and the second is in humility of wisdom. And so James says, here's how I want you to demonstrate that you're a wise and understanding person. Show me from the works that then actually flow from by means of good conduct. So in other words, James says there's an entire direction and shape and tone of your life. The works are on display, and those works are a display of wisdom by means of good conduct. When he says by means of good conduct, I take him to simply be saying that consistent good works in life make up good conduct, which reveal that you're a wise person. In other words, the good conduct is a demonstration of wisdom because the wise make morally wise choices, not once in a while, but consistently. One of my favorite people in the whole world is Becky Grabo. I miss Becky. She's away at UOP, but we've lived next to the Grabos for many, many years. And Becky would always say as she was leaving the house to Zach and Alex, make good choices. Make good choices. Hey, you know what a wise person is? A wise person is a person who's able to demonstrate that they've made consistently wise choices that demonstrate itself in the good works, in the overall conduct of their life. That's what a wise person is. A person who actually does it quite differently is not a wise person. A person who only makes wise choices every once in a while is not a wise person. I mean, a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while, right? I mean, even a fool can make a wise choice every once in a while. The reality is that wisdom demonstrates itself in good works that flow from good conduct or behavior. The warp and woof of the person's life is the demonstration that they're wise at heart. The second phrase, though, is in humility of wisdom. By the way, there's a wonderful connection in Proverbs. Wise people in Proverbs are humble people, all right? When you are not a humble person in Proverbs, you're proud. And a proud person is never a wise person. In fact, a proud person always falls into the category of the fool. So wisdom and humility go right together. And I think that what James is saying is, is that you demonstrate this good conduct and the good works in the humility that actually comes from wisdom. New English translation says, the wisdom which gentleness brings. Gentleness and humility there are synonymous terms. And so James says, here's the wise person among you. It's the person whose works, which are on display through a consistent life of good conduct, but they're displayed in such a way that they are infused with humility. There are not good works that are put on display in order to puff the person up, but rather, so contrary to the Pharisees who did everything in order to be seen by men, the truly wise person actually does what they do in a spirit of humility. The picture is, a wise person understands who they are before God, they therefore consciously live in the fear of the Lord, which produces humility, and it is out of that life, it is out of that soil, then, that works are done in that spirit. So, notice clearly, just as good works show faith, James chapter 2, so good works also show humble wisdom. When James exhorts us like this, guess what he's doing? He's simply exhorting us to be like the Lord Jesus, who is gentle and humble in heart. He exhorts us to be meek, gentle, humble, as Jesus exhorts his own disciples in Matthew chapter five, verse five. So who's wise among you? Now, now it might look a little different after that explanation. All right, now who's wise among you? Now who's got insight and understanding among you? Now who wants to raise their hand and say, oh, that's me, that's me. James is now going to step forward for inspection on all of those that said me, me, me. And he's going to do it in a way where he talks about the two different kinds of wisdom. And what's fascinating here is that in verse 14, James does not begin with what wisdom from above, that is true wisdom, looks like. He's going to talk about what wisdom from below looks like. And the idea is, in asking the question, who's wise, you're supposed to actually say, okay, here's wisdom from below, here's wisdom from above. Which one actually characterizes me? It's not merely a matter of what I say I am, it's a matter of what I am. Which, by the way, in the Bible, that's how it always is. It's never a matter of just what you say you are. It's what you really are. So here's wisdom from below. James says, if you have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your heart. Now, bitter jealousy. One commentator, Craig Blomberg says, this is a desire to promote one's own opinion to the exclusion of others. So when James talks about bitter jealousy, he's not talking so much about personal jealousy as in terms of coveting what somebody else has, as much as the imposition of one's opinions on others. If you have this kind of bitter jealousy and rivalry, Selfish ambition is pretty good. The idea is my interests, my preferences end up being the chief concern about what I am all about. You've probably never met anybody like that. Blomberg again says, this is the angry competition. Undermining one another and fighting for your own rights. James McCarthy says, it's the grasping and self-advancing motivation for the use of the skills frequently considered wisdom by the world. And that actually is worth considering because when James talks about this, he's going to identify this wisdom which does not come down from above, but which is from below. And what he's going to do is he's going to say that this is a kind of wisdom. It's not real wisdom, but it is a kind of wisdom. And so here's the thing. The idea of bitter jealousy and rivalry from a world's perspective looks like wisdom. It looks like wisdom because this person knows how to get their way. It looks like wisdom because this person knows how to intimidate. It looks like wisdom because it looks like this person can influence others. It looks like influence because this person's, or it looks like wisdom because this person's opinion at the end of the day ends up being the prevailing opinion. There, I just described the vast majority of corporate America. Right? Okay? I'm no communist, I'm no socialist, I'm a capitalist through and through. But I will tell you what, I just described what makes people successful in this world. What puts people on top. And it may be a little business, it may be, you know, it could be any, any sphere of life and people that think, you know what, if I can impose my opinions on others, and my interests and my preferences become the chief concern, can this happen in the church? Yes, it can happen in the church. And it happens in the church, and it looks like wisdom, it looks like giftedness, because this person, it looks like leadership. And I think James would say, hold on, not so fast. Your modus operandi in the kingdom of God is not to intimidate people to your position. That's not how the kingdom works. And so then James turns around and he says, don't boast and so lie against the truth. This is actually what makes me think that McCarthy's observation that this is considered wisdom by the world is exactly right, because the boasting is boasting about what I'm able to do by my bitter jealousy and rivalry, although I don't call it that. Christians are very good at taking things and calling them by different names that don't sound so bad. Bitter jealousy, yuck. Influence. Rivalry. Well thought out opinions. And these things can be at work and James says, don't you dare boast about this kind of wisdom. Don't be proud about how you get things done. Don't be proud about the fact that you know how to intimidate and you know how to influence and you know how to get your way. Don't be proud, don't boast, and then the result of that is you're lying against the truth. New American Standard actually does this in a way that captures the connection. Do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. In other words, the person who thinks that they're wise and yet lives like this with this selfish ambition and this rivalry, this bitter jealousy, actually what they're doing is they're living a lie because that's not real wisdom at all. James then says it like this, this is not wisdom coming down from above. bullies, intimidators, those that want to impose their opinion. Maybe they're more subtle than being, you know, an overt bully. Maybe they've learned the passive-aggressive thing really well, and they know how to get their way. They know how to get their way through the use of words or through silence. They know all of this. They have it down. And James says, You better not think for a solitary moment that that is wisdom that comes from above, because that's not wisdom that comes from above. In fact, let me characterize that kind of wisdom for you. He says, first of all, it's earthly. It's earthly. In other words, it is simply characterized by belonging to this present evil age. It belongs just to this earth. There's nothing heavenly about it. It is absolutely thoroughly earthly. Any unregenerate person could do this. Any unregenerate person could think this. Any unregenerate person could act like this. It is restricted to this world, and it's natural. Literally, the word that he uses, it's soulish, as opposed to spiritual. It just comes from the natural man. In other words, there's nothing that is even distinctly Christian about this. In fact, this is not Christian at all. We know that because of the third description, it's demonic. Demonic. Now, that's kind of strong. Demonic wisdom is no more wisdom than demonic faith is faith. There is a faith that the demons have and tremble, right? But that's not any more faith than this is wisdom. Now, when James says it's demonic, oh, let's not pass over this too quickly. Jesus is at Caesarea Philippi, who do men say that I am? The disciples say, some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're one of the prophets. Jesus says, who do you say that I am? And Peter blurts out with one of the most glorious confessions in all the Bible, you're the Christ, you're the son of the living God. Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father is who is in heaven. And then he talks about giving him the keys of the kingdom. And then Jesus starts to talk about going up to Jerusalem, where he's going to be handed over by evil men and crucified. And Peter takes him aside. Peter's authoritative act as first pope. He pulls the head of the church aside. And he says, you know, you remember the stuff you just said about me being the rock and having the keys. I need to rebuke you. May it never be, Lord. Greek text is interesting. Mercy to you, Lord. Very condescending. Can't believe you're talking like this. You just said the gates of hell weren't going to prevail against the church, and I'm a rock man, and so what are you talking about? And Jesus turns, sees his disciples, turns back to Peter, and he says, get behind me, Satan. So, within the scope of about five verses. Peter's not only the first Pope, he's also the first Antichrist. Get behind me, Satan! Four, you are setting your mind on the interests of men rather than the interests of God. Why in the world would Jesus call Peter, we love Peter, And Jesus says, Satan. Why? He explains why. You're setting your mind on man's interests, not on God's. In other words, Peter, right now you're behaving in a way that is truly satanic. by thinking thoughts that are contrary to God's thoughts. I've come into this world to seek and to save the lost and not to be served, but to serve and to give my life a ransom for many. How dare you tell me I don't know what I'm doing? All you're doing is looking out after your own interests and you're thinking man's thoughts, you've abandoned God's thoughts. And so how do we know what demonic is? I've had the privilege of being able to do some interviews for the new book on spiritual warfare. And this question has come up three times. How do you know when you're being attacked by the devil or demons? Three times I've been asked that in interview. Now here's the interesting thing. What people want is they want something like this. Nightmares and a heavy pressure on my chest and me seeing apparitions. And I'm not saying that that doesn't happen, but let me just say this. Demonic activity is far more subtle than that. And so, you're under attack by the demonic, by the powers of darkness, when you have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your heart. The powers of darkness are at work, not in some sort of spectacular power encounter, but in the reality that we're thinking in a way that actually is contrary to the wisdom from above. In fact, it is wisdom that does not come down from above, and so when that kind of wisdom, when that wisdom from above is ruling our hearts, that's demonic activity. Think about that. When this kind of wisdom rules our hearts, I've got to have my way, I've got to have my rights, I'm going to exert my influence passively, aggressively, doesn't make any difference how I go about doing this. I'm going to get my way and I'm going to get things done my way. Guess what? You are in the clutches of the powers of darkness. This is James' version, by the way, of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Earthly, natural, and demonic. Here's the thing is that we typically don't really put this into a category, do we? We typically go about doing our thing, thinking our thoughts, being ourselves, doing our way. and there's a blindness right over our eyes to what kind of people we really are. So, James is not done pummeling us yet. The result of wisdom from a blow. James turns around and he says, four, where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there's disorder in every evil thing. So where this jealousy and this rivalry exists, it looks to you like you're winning. It looks to you like you're advancing. It looks to you like you've really got influence. It looks to you as if your opinion is gonna carry the day. And the reality is, is that what it looks like to us is not what it really is. It's just producing evil. James turns around and he says, because wherever this exists in here, there's disorder in every base deed. By disorder, he means a sense of unruliness. There's chaos around us. This is what happens when we operate by this kind of wisdom from below. It doesn't produce peace, it produces chaos. Chaos in our relationships, chaos in our world, chaos in life circumstances, a disorderliness. Years and years and years ago, we saw a movie, Changing Lanes with Ben Affleck and Samuel Jackson. And it's a movie about a guy that's on his way to court, and he's about to lose his kids, so he's got to be out to court on time. That's Samuel Jackson. And then Ben plays the rich upcoming attorney who works for a sleazy law firm, and they get in an accident. They accidentally switch briefcases, and the whole thing turns out really bad. Samuel Jackson, who's a recovering alcoholic, is sitting down in a bar, and he's got the glass there, and he's looking at the glass, and he gets on his phone, and he calls his sponsor, and the sponsor walks in, and he looks at Samuel Jackson, and he looks at the glass, realizes he hasn't drank anything, and instead of congratulating him, he says, come with me, and they start walking down the street, and he says, you know what your problem is? Your problem is not that you're addicted to alcohol, your problem is you're addicted to chaos. Some of you wouldn't know peace if it came down and fell on you like a piano from the 10th floor. And you think that the chaos and the conflict and all of that is just, hey, that's the price you pay for being an influential person like me. And James says, you're an idiot. You're under demonic delusion. There's nothing good about this! There's nothing good about breaking relationships and straining relationships. There's nothing good about this. There's nothing good about the fact that people have to walk around on eggshells with you. There's nothing good about that. In fact, all it does is produce every useless, baseless deed. In other words, what James says is that the fruit of this kind of worldly wisdom, when it is working in our lives, Do you know what it produces? It produces things of low base moral value, wickedness, evil. Now what that means is that James has a perspective on what's low and base and evil that may be a little different than ours. That tension and bitterness that you've harbored in your heart for such a long time and it's just there and it's just eating you up, eating you up, eating you up. and you know how to give the cold shoulder, and you know how to do this, and you know how to do that. James says, you know, you think that you're actually doing a pretty noble job of holding it in, but the reality is all you're doing is producing worthless deeds of incredibly low moral value, which is tantamount to wickedness. Doug Moose says again, he says, the wrong kind of wisdom, the wrong kind of wisdom brings just about every kind of evil practice that one could think of. And so if we're gonna be driven by this kind of wisdom, if this kind of wisdom's gonna rule our hearts, rivalry, envy, jealousy, and I'm just kind of this bitter, angry person, and this is how I live my life, and I just leave behind me a wake of chaos and broken relationships, then here's the thing. James says, listen, you're actually producing in your life utter wickedness. Now, this may not be fall down in the street, drunk wickedness. This may not be needle in your arm wickedness. This may not be paying money for sex wickedness, but it's wickedness nevertheless. I hate to do this to you. We have to look at wisdom from above next week. I hate it when that happens, I really do. I prefer ending on a positive note. But here's what you need to think about. Look at this description. See the things in your life that you're proud of, that you brag about. And see whether or not you're operating by a wisdom that is earthly, natural, and demonic. Ask God, pluck up enough courage to ask God to help you see it. Because this is the way we typically do self-examination. Okay, okay. Nope, not me. Ask God. Lord search my heart, let me see, let me see what is in me that's like this. Help me to see it like you see it and then help me, help me to repent of it. Help me to turn from it. You make a beeline to the cross, you make a beeline open to the fountain open for sin and uncleanness. You make a beeline to Jesus, ask for forgiveness, ask for exposure, and then ask that he would reveal it in such a way that you hate it so much that you're willing to put it to death no matter what it takes. We get arrogant about the weirdest things. And it just may be that there are some of you arrogant about that, which James says is demonic and wisdom from below. If so, you need to repent. Today. Today. Not tomorrow, not next week, not after you hear the next part of the sermon. Not when you blow it the next time, but today. Today is a day of salvation. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would do for us what the psalmist asks you to do. Search our hearts. Try us. See if there's any wicked way in us. Father, we pray for those of us who are your Children. We ask that you would expose this corruption and this pollution that's in our hearts. We pray that you'd open our eyes, grant us the grace of repentance, help us to see ourselves as we really are, not just what we want to see. We pray for the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. We ask that you would do this for us in Jesus' name. Amen. We hope you've enjoyed this message from Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. To receive a copy of this or other messages, call us at area code 775-782-6516 or visit our website gracenevada.com.