James chapter 3, as we continue to work our way through the book of James, I was asking, I think, Katie yesterday at her open house about a graduation speaker that was there. She told me one of the faculty members spoke. And you probably all remember very, very vividly the day that you graduated from high school and everything that that speaker said, right? All the advice he offered to you or she offered. I mean, it's just like that in your memory. I'm sure you draw upon it every day. Or maybe not. Most graduation speeches have the same kinds of thoughts, don't they? You've been the best. You are the best. You're going to be the best. You've been there for me. You are there for me. You'll always be there for me. I mean, at most ceremonies, the speaker often will tell the graduates that they should realize how fortunate that they are, that they should stick to their ideals. that they can make a difference in the world, that they will never stop learning, and probably your high school graduation speech is now coming back to your mind, because pretty much they're the same. I mean, they say the same kinds of things. If you're interested, you could have last night spent the evening watching C-SPAN, I don't know if you do that ever, but you could have spent the night watching C-SPAN last night. And what you would have watched last evening were graduation speeches from major universities around the United States and high-profile figures giving those graduation addresses. So last night you could have watched President Bush address the graduates of Louisiana State University, better known to us as LSU. You could have watched Senator John Kerry address the graduates of Southern University or Condoleezza Rice, the National Security Advisor, address the graduates at Michigan State University. Or you could have watched Bono of the rock group U2. And he, of course, has much to say to the graduates of the University of Pennsylvania. And a common trait of all those graduation speeches is advice to the graduates. Have you noticed this? There is no shortage of people in the world ready, willing, marginally able to give you advice. Have you noticed that? I mean, you can hardly go throughout any given day without advice coming your way, solicited or unsolicited. So, for example, how many of you have been told that you should try the Atkins diet? Or the South Beach diet? Or maybe for those of you who are a little long in the tooth, the grapefruit diet. You know, go back to that and try that again. Maybe everybody's got advice. We've been told that we should refinance our homes, right? And if you do refinance your home, then you're going to be able to do this with your funds and that with your funds, and it's really going to be up to your benefit. Do that. Somebody offers to you the advice that you should have your children in tennis lessons, and by the way, you want to make sure that you also have them in some kind of music lessons, piano or violin if you can. Oh, by the way, make sure that they are good social individuals, so get her in Girl Scouts, that'll be crucially important as well, or 4-H, or Boy Scouts. And oh yes, don't forget to have them volunteer, because all of those things will make your child a very well-rounded person. And I've noticed that he or she is missing one of those things, and I just wanted to suggest to you that you might consider that. Or somebody else offers you advice, that you should have disability insurance, Don't forget that you need supplemental insurance, and AFLAC is the one that you should get, because when your Medicare doesn't pay your bills, you're going to need something else as well. And, make sure that you are saving sufficient funds. because all of you will retire at the age of 62 or at the age of 65, whether you want to or not. And then it's going to be crucially important that you live a certain kind of lifestyle. Maybe it's one to which you are accustomed. Maybe it's one to which you are dreaming about. But it's going to be really, really, really, really important that you put in play all of these things so that when you get to 62, when you get to 65, you can live the kind of way that you always thought you should live. when you were 38, 39, and everybody's got advice. I suppose some of those things are sound advice that I mentioned to you this morning. Don't infer by my tone that I am saying that that is bad advice. I'm not saying that. I suppose that some or all of it may be good advice. And it is that which our text addresses today. It is warning and admonition. It is advice. And James puts an apposition to each other. The two foundations for living. A new millennium kind of word is worldview. Maybe that's what you want to call it. Some people might call it two worldviews. And in the text, he describes one of these foundations for life, one of these worldviews, as the world's wisdom. The other he describes as heavenly wisdom. And it is very interesting to note, my friends, that there is no third option. You say, what's so important about that? What's so important about that is this. There are only two ways to live. My wife and I were laughing this week some time about, you hear people say, you know, there are two kinds of people in the world. Right? I mean, that's how you can identify anybody. Everybody is broken down into two groups of people. So for us good Minnesotans, I'll put it this way. There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who like booyah and those who don't like booyah. You're one or the other. And we say, well, I don't know about that if that's how I would describe everybody in the whole world. But in this text, we can describe everybody in the whole world. You live one way or the other. There is not a third option. You live either according to a wisdom which the Bible says is from above. Or you live according to a wisdom which the Bible says does not descend from above. Those are the only two options. All men of all time live one of these two ways. There is no third nebulous way out there that is an alternative to these two thoughts. There are these two and these two only. Therefore, James makes this point. That the wisdom that is necessary for a solid life foundation is not. The wisdom that is from the world, but instead it is the wisdom that comes from God alone. For the good life. For the solid foundation of life. The admonition from James is to choose God's wisdom. Now, let's read how James contrasts the two beginning, then, in verse 13. Well, the Bible says, who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom, but If you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above. But is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist. Confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is for first pure. than peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now, the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. And so, James contrasts the two worldviews. And as you and I unlock the text here, as the Holy Spirit would give us freedom to do, As we examine earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom, we will do so by looking very carefully at what their definitions are, their actions and their results. And by contrasting the two, James wants the Christian to seek the good life from its only source, God's wisdom. And please do not miss that truth. There is only one source for the good life that is described in this text. The only source for that is God's wisdom. Anything else without regard to the intentions, motivations, desires, passions, sincerity of the individual will leave that person wanting. What does James say? We're introduced in verse 13 again to the concept of wisdom. That's the first time we've seen it in the book. We saw it in chapter one. We're going to see it again in the future as we consider to work through the book of James. But I think we can all agree that the Bible places a premium on wisdom. Can you agree with that? I mean, we have a whole section of the Bible called wisdom literature. And it is often to that literature that you return habitually, it seems, when you are looking for instruction for living. I mean, how many times when you as a parent have been so confused how to raise this kid? It just doesn't make any sense to you. You're observing a behavior. You're observing a spirit. And you say, God's got to speak to this somewhere. And how often do you immediately return to one of the books of the wisdom literature to find out what it is that God says? And we do that in all kinds of areas of living. We do that in relationships on the job. We do that with neighbors. We do that with spousal relationships, extended family, looking for direction in our lives. If God said something about it, we think, Surely he said something about it in the book of Proverbs or the book of Psalms or maybe in the book of Ecclesiastes or Job. Those portions of the wisdom literature that we identify. And that's why so many people like the book of James. Because it tells them how to live. The Bible places a premium on wisdom. We just throw a few of these verses at you. For example, the 90th Psalm, verse 14, the Bible says, So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. It is advantageous to the individual to have this kind of heart. It is good for him. It is good for her to have a heart that is one of wisdom. Or Proverbs 1.7, the fear of the Lord is the being of knowledge. But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Should you come across a person who is not interested in God's wisdom? The Bible makes declaration about that person. He or she is a fool. One who does not recognize the great resource and value that is before them in God's wisdom. The Bible places a premium on this. In Proverbs 3.13, the Scriptures tell us this, happy is the man who finds wisdom. In other words, you will not see a man who has godly wisdom, who is not also a happy man or happy woman. Those two go hand in hand. Or Proverbs chapter 4 and verse 7, where the Bible says that wisdom is the principal thing, the chief thing, the priority. Therefore, get wisdom. So I think we would agree together just from looking at a few verses of what you know in your Bible reading, that the Bible places a premium on wisdom. Of course, that begs the question, what is wisdom? Here in our text, we find out that there is a wisdom that is from above and there is a wisdom that does not descend from above. Let me give you a few working definitions. Someone has put it this way. Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge. Someone else puts it this way. Wisdom consists of having insight and expertise in order to draw conclusions that are correct. It's having the ability to be insightful, the expertise to draw a conclusion that's correct, and then be able to act upon what you've observed. They help you this way to understand what wisdom is. Maybe you've been in the hospital room with someone who is about to have surgery, and you spend the time of prayer together, and maybe someone who is leading that prayer says something like this. Now, Lord, give to the doctor today wisdom. What does that mean? Well, let me ask you this. Do you expect that doctor, prior to the surgery that is happening to you, to your spouse, to your parent, your child, do you expect him at that point in time to develop the skill necessary to perform the operation? Is that your hope? is your hope that between the time you say amen to that prayer and the time that he whips out that scalpel, that in some point of time between there, that somehow he figures this whole thing out and he actually does what he's supposed to do. Is that your desire? Of course not. You assume, hopefully rightfully, you think that long before you ever got to the hospital surgical room, that he has already developed the skills necessary to do the deed. What is it that you want him to do when you pray for wisdom for him? Isn't it this? Don't you want him to use the skills which he has honed over the years in the correct way? Isn't that what you want? And what happens if when he opens you up, something isn't right? You want him to make a good, solid medical decision, using the skills, the knowledge, the resources of the people around him in that room, so whatever the next thing is that he does is the right thing. That's wisdom. And the Bible says that there is a kind of wisdom that comes from above. We go back to the time the Bible is written and understand the Jewish usage of the term wisdom. It is describing one who has a knowledge of the practical and moral basis of life. And it is based upon something. This knowledge of the practical and moral is based upon the knowledge of God. And of course, that is the key. The wise man looks at daily life occurrences based upon what he knows to be true about God. And my friends, that is why theology matters. Because whether you think this way or not in your active daily considerations of occurrences, what you think about God determines how you live. And that is why theology matters. I mean, think about it, my friend. What you think about God will determine how it is that you spend your money. What you think about God will determine who the person is that you may choose to marry. What you think about God will give you thought as to the kind of occupation it is that you might pursue. Or the education that you might obtain. Or how to discipline your children. Or how you think about God will have great bearing on what forms of recreation you will choose to engage, or how it is that you will spend the Lord's Day, or what kind of media you will put before your eyes, and so on and so on. The person who is spiritually wise is one who makes these daily life choices. And don't you make those kinds of choices every day? Don't you determine how to spend your money? Don't you determine how you're going to raise your kids? Don't you determine what's going to be on your television or on your radio or in your reading room? Don't you determine all those things on a daily occurrence? The Bible says that the one who is spiritually wise is one who makes those choices based upon a knowledge of God. So James asks the rhetorical question to start the verse. The rhetorical question is, is this kind of person among you? And the implied answer is yes, there are these kinds of people among us. All right. If that is so. Then here is how you are going to know that this is a spiritually wise person. You are going to know it just like you know everything else in the book of James. You are going to know it by that person's actions or conduct. What kind of actions? What kind of conduct? Do you see that in your Bibles? Let me draw your attention back to that again to make sure that we're all on the same page. Who is wise, verse 13, and understanding among you. Alright? Let him show by his good conduct, that his works. There is going to be a demonstration that he is wise based upon his works. What kind of works? All the ones that we have seen up to this point in chapter 3. But there is going to be something additional to this. This verse closes with this thought. His works are done in the meekness of wisdom. And that tells us the kind of thing that dominates his actions. It is a quality called meekness. All right. So how would someone know if he or she possesses and uses this kind of wisdom that is from above? How would you know that? How would you know that you have chosen as a light foundation? How would you know that you have chosen as a guiding, determining worldview, the wisdom that is from above? How would you know that? The Bible says you would know that because your actions are dominated by the wisdom that is meekness. All right, you're going to be marked by the overwhelming all encompassing quality of meekness. Well, what's that? Well, let me help you with this. It is the expectation for every believer in God's kingdom, meekness. Remember the Lord's words in Matthew 5, 5, blessed are the meek. It was the character quality of Moses. Remember, the Bible describes him as the meekest man who ever lived. It was the character quality of our Lord. Remember what he said in Matthew chapter 11 verse 29? Take my yoke upon you, learn of me. I am meek and lowly in heart. Why? What do we learn from that? We learn this, that meekness is not weakness. Meekness is not the domain of the fragile. Meekness is not the domain of the incompetent. Meekness is not the domain of the physically inept. Meekness is not weakness. Instead, meekness is this. Meekness is power completely surrendered to God's control. To look at it from a negative side, it's this. Meekness does not use its own power for its own defense or selfish purposes. Maybe the best way to help us understand meekness is to look at it in the Bible. Consider this example. Let's say that you had at your disposal all the resources of an entire country. It really doesn't matter what the country is, does it, if you have all the resources of that country at your disposal? Everybody in the country jumps at the sound of your voice. Everything in the country is useful to you and whatever purpose you want it. Well, there's a young man who is the age of 38. That's how old I am. And he lives long before the Lord does. And he has at his disposal all the resources of one of the most powerful nations on the face of the earth. It's the country of Egypt. This guy's got a bad life. You remember, of course, don't you? This young man, his name is Joseph, when he was 17 years old, was sold into slavery by his brothers. We've talked about this before. For the next 21 years, he would live in Egypt, never to return to the homeland where his father was, never again to see those places that he grew up, never to hear those in his country speak his own native language again. And lo and behold, who shows up in his courtroom? But those wonderful brothers of his, who sold him into slavery so many years ago, who told his dad, Daddy was killed, we buried him, there's not much left. Here they show up, asking for food. Remember this? And out here is a man who has at his disposal all the resources of the entire country. Had he said at that point in time, sell them into slavery, would anyone have questioned his action at all? Not even having any history. Not even knowing anything about his past or the relationship of him to these men. Would anyone have questioned him? Absolutely not. Because he was sovereign in the land. All the resources of the land were His. And His control was all power. And He chose not to use it for His own defense or for selfish purposes. You know what that is? That's meekness. And the Bible says that meekness is the dominating quality of a man who is walking according to wisdom that is from above. For this man, the meekness that is in him acts without personal demands. It acts free from malice or desirous of revenge. He proves his wisdom by his meekness. And this is the wisdom that is displayed by a believer that leads to the good life. But the text also tells us about a wisdom that is from beneath, that does not descend from heaven. It's the kind that is an alternative way of living. And this man, too, is known by what he displays. And two things come out of his heart, the Bible says in verse 14. Do you see them in your Bibles? There are two qualities which dominate this individual, which characterize him, which identify him. The first is something called bitter envy. What is that? Well, it's not meekness, we know that. It's not a quality of the world's wisdom. Instead, this individual operates by glorifying the individual. Bitter Envy says, promote yourself. Bitter Envy says, watch out for number one. Bitter Envy says, live your own life, be your own man, be your own woman. Let me see if I can help you understand this. What happens when my promoting of myself conflicts with your promoting of yourself. Now what? We both can't be our own person. We both can't watch out for number one. What happens? I hate reality television. I hate it. For the most part, it's just filth and really you have no business, no belief. has any business engaging that stuff in their lives. It's just not worth it. I've not seen an episode of The Bachelor or The Apprentice or The Survivor. I've seen all too many advertisements for us. And you know what you find out? If you've seen any of the advertisements, if you've watched any of the episodes, you find out very quickly what happens when one person's glorifying of herself conflicts with another person's glorifying of herself. And it's made in statements like this. If I find out that she did that, and you get this kind of thing, you know, if I find out that she did that to me, then I'm going to do this. That's bitter envy. You see it in contrast. That is proof of a life lived according to the wisdom that is not from above. The Bible talks in this text about self-seeking, that this is another quality. I think this, too, is a term that we can understand very easily. In New Testament times, this term self-seeking in verse 14 was used to describe a political candidate who is canvassing for a job. Now, I don't know many people who like the campaign season. Do you? I don't know many people who do. Why not? I mean, you would think that this would be a good time. These are people who are going to be servants of the Lord for our benefit, Romans teaches us. You would think that we would enjoy the campaign season. Why don't we? Isn't it this? Doesn't it often seem like that You and I and everyone else is being manipulated by that process. Isn't that what it seems like? That's the meaning of the term here. I mean, the media manipulates the candidate, right? So the candidate will say what he or she is supposed to say. The politician manipulates the people, promising them the world. If you elect me, I will give you this, this, this, this and this. If you don't elect me and you elect my opponent, he is going to take away from you this, this, this and this. And they strike fear in us one way or hope in us in the other way. And we say, that's manipulation. And we all respond in a way that says, I don't think I understand that. Because this guy doesn't seem like he wants to get elected to be a help to humanity. He seems like he wants to get elected just simply to promote himself. And that's the idea of the term. And this is the mentality of the culture, isn't it? Manipulate. Well, we don't want to use that word because that word is offensive. So let's use words that are not. Maneuver. Maneuver yourself in such a way that people will recognize all that is of value in you. Strategize. These are terms that are in our culture so that you always come out on top. Make sure your strategy is such that you are right there, brother. That's the self-seeking term. You know what you would think? You would think that most people would be shameful of these practices. But people brag about this stuff, don't they? I mean, they boast about these things. They say things like this, hey, you know what? I stood up for myself and I told him exactly what I thought of him. Or they say this, I saw what she was doing and there was no way I was going to let her do that to me. Or somebody responds this way, after what I said to her, she won't try that again. Or somebody offers this. Hey, you know what? She thinks she got away with it, but I've got her number and just wait till it's my turn. Don't people talk like that? Look what James says at the conclusion of 14. Do not boast about these kinds of things. Don't do that. He concludes by saying, and don't lie against the truth. Don't deceive yourself and others thinking that you did something righteous. I mean, isn't that what most people think when they say these kinds of things? I did something noteworthy. I told her what I thought. Don't say that. There's nothing noteworthy about that. The only thing that you demonstrated is at that point in time, you were living in a wisdom that is of the world. The apostle Paul helps us with this very clearly, my friends. In Philippians, chapter two, verse three, the apostle says this. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory. But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. So there exists two kinds of wisdom. And someone says, so what? Big deal. You live one way and I'll live the other. Hey, you know what? To each his own, man. To each his own. You do your thing. I'll do my thing. You make your life work the way you can make it work. I'll make my life work the way I make it work. Problem. That assumes and concludes that the two ways are equally acceptable ways to live. But they are not. These are not equally acceptable ways to live. They differ very strongly in two primary areas, this text tells us. They differ strongly in their source and they differ strongly in their character. What does the Bible say in this text? Verse 16 tells us about the wisdom that is in opposition to God's wisdom. And the Bible says that it has its source. Do you see the last word of verse 15? The last word of verse 15 tells us that the source of this is the wicked one himself. Friends, you and I should be reminded, like when we were studying the book of First John, that this is a sin dominated, devil run kind of world. There should be in us, friends, a very healthy criticism or skepticism for everything that is outside of the Bible. I mean, dear friends, I hope that you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I hope that we are not so naive as to think that the wicked one is not acting in every conceivable way and in every non conceivable way. to defame the glory of God, to discourage believers and to damn the whole of humanity. I hope that we are not so naive as to think that way. As I said, I think it is true that the Bible teaches we should have a very healthy skepticism for everything that is outside of our Bibles. Why is that? Because of the character of it here in verse 15. The Bible tells us that it is earthly. What does that mean? That means it is limited in its view. It's limited in its view to the present without the ability to see the impact on the future. It doesn't consider down the road. It looks at the moment. It looks at now and it says embrace the moment. How many times have you heard that from the worldview that is popular in our culture? Embrace the now because everything is about the now. The Bible says one of the qualities of it is that it's earthly. It also says that it is sensual. Now, don't read into that term something that is immoral. Instead, what it means by that is this, that it is based upon the senses. Which are always very, very difficult to interpret. I mean, how many times have you heard someone say this or you said this? Did you hear that? That's not what I heard. Or maybe you'll put it this way. In coming to a conclusion, you say this. Well, it just feels right. That didn't feel right, so I didn't do it. It just didn't feel right. Can I remind you? That very, very, very often, what doesn't feel right is the right thing to do. And what feels wrong is the right thing to do. This wisdom is based on the senses. The Bible says that it is demonic. And in a word, at its core, what that means is this. It is an opposition to God at its core. But instead, the wisdom that is from above in verse 17 is marked by seven very glorious qualities. Qualities that every believer would want to display in his actions so as to please the Lord. Doesn't it make sense to you that every believer in verse 17 would want to be pure? Would want to be sincere in morality, spiritual integrity? Would desire motives that are just and humble? The qualities, and I'm going to whip through these real quick, are peaceable. That is, he promotes peace. This wisdom does not promote conflict. Instead, it promotes resolution. There is no greater resolving source in all the world than God himself, who from the very beginning of time has been in the business of restoration. The Bible says that this wisdom is gentle. That means it's reasonable. It's able to submit to injustice or mistreatment without hatred. The Bible says it's willing to yield. This is a military term. It means to be teachable or coachable. I'm an athletic coach. And one of the things that I look for in a basketball player is a kid who is coachable. I have had a lot of kids play for me who are very high talented players, but who are not coachable. That is, they don't want to receive instruction. They're not teachable. They're not willing to submit. I don't know about what I'm to say next. I haven't yet experienced this in my life. But maybe those of you who are a little older than I can help me with this. Does it become more difficult the older that you get to be teachable? Is that hard? Is it hard for an older believer? To have someone declare, thus says the Lord, and when it rubs up against the life. To respond in such a way to say, yes, that's what God says, I will respond to that. Is that tough when you're an older believer? The wisdom of the world says do not yield. God's wisdom says do. The last qualities are this full of mercy, full of good fruits. In other words, he forgives quickly, he extends help generously. There's no partiality here, remains consistent in his judgments without hypocrisy. All that you see on display, what you are convinced that these are genuine qualities, there's no ulterior motive. And I went through these quickly. Maybe you can spend some time in those this afternoon and give me some more thought to that. But I want you to think about this, my friends. What we have here is inspired text. And there are two ideas that I want to close with this morning, which teaches this. What happens when you live this way? God is going to tell you what happens when you live according to a wisdom that is from above. And God is about to tell you what happens when you live according to a wisdom that is not from above. And I will remind you, these are God's words. It is inspired text. Well, let's see what God says when you live according to these wisdoms. The first one he addresses in verse 16 is the wisdom that is not from above. And he says about this where envy and self-seeking exist, that is, those qualities that do not exist in the wisdom that is from above. Here's what results from that confusion. The Bible says in verse 16, the earthly wisdom brings disorder, disturbance, trouble, instability. In a word, confusion. In short, it brings a life completely opposite of what God desires for His people and what most people desire for themselves. I have never met a person, when you ask them, what are you going to do with your life? Well, I'm going to go seek confusion. That's what I'm going to do. You know what I'm going to seek? I'm going to seek instability. What I hope to obtain in my life is disorder or disturbance. What I really want from my life is trouble. Have you ever heard anybody say that? Of course not. But God says that a person who seeks a worldview that is void of wisdom from above, but instead adopts wisdom that is from beneath, chooses that kind of life. So he concludes the first thing by saying this, 16, by saying this, and every evil thing is there. That is, nothing good comes from it. In the end, it will end up being a complete disappointment, if not a complete disaster. It's interesting, the prophets of old talked about this. Let me show you a couple of references here real quickly. The prophets of old in Isaiah 47, verse 10, said this, for you have trusted in your witness. You have said no one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge. Look at this. Have warped you. Have you ever said this about somebody you have warped thinking? Ever said that the Bible says that a wisdom that is from beneath that is not from above warps a man's thinking. And so he says in his heart, I am, and there is no one else besides me. I am all that is. I am the most important. Everyone is to bow to my wishes or my demands. That is a life that's based on this kind of living. In Jeremiah 8, 9, the prophet said this, The wise men are ashamed. Well, why would a wise man be ashamed? They are dismayed and taken. Why? Because they have rejected the word of the Lord. So the writer asked the question, in reality, what wisdom do they have? And the answer that you were supposed to give is. None. Can we take a few minutes, would you look at Ezekiel, chapter 28? Let me draw your attention here just for a moment. And show you what happens to an individual who lives according to a world kind of wisdom. I mean, this is inspired text trends. Look what God says in Ezekiel 28, the Bible says in the first verse that the word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel again, saying, son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, thus says the Lord of God. All right. Here is a king. He is the king of the region, the city called Tyre. And he lives a certain kind of way, and now God has some words to give to him. What are the words of the Lord? The words of the Lord are this to this man, verse 2 of chapter 28. Because your heart is lifted up and you say, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God in the midst of the seas. Yet you are a man and not a God, though you set your heart as the heart of God. Verse 3, here's an editorial comment. This is kind of what you think about yourself. Behold, you are wiser than Daniel. That's what you think about yourself. You think you've got it all figured out. There is no secret, verse 3, that can be hidden from you. You know everything. You know how to live. You know how you want to run your life. You know what's important. You know what's of value. You know what's a priority. You've got it all figured out. With your wisdom, verse four, and with your understanding, you have gained riches for yourself and gathered gold and silver into your treasuries. And you step back and you say, hey, look, it's worked out so far, hasn't it? I've got plenty of gold, don't I? Look where I live. Have you ever looked at my job? I mean, it's worked out OK, wouldn't you say? Verse five, by your great wisdom and trade, you have increased your riches and your heart is lifted up because of your riches. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, because you have set your heart is the heart of a God. Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations, and they shall draw their swords. Look at this against the beauty of next words, your wisdom. and you will find that your wisdom is not sufficient to stand in that day. You do not have everything figured out. You cannot run your life according to the wisdom of this world and find this contentment that God has planned. It won't work. That's the inspired text. Ah, but back to James chapter three. Verse 18 concludes by telling us what the heavenly wisdom brings. What does it bring? It brings peace. Where the world's wisdom brings confusion, God's wisdom brings contentment, peace. Oh, my friends, we live in a day when so many are in great inner turmoil. Wondering, fighting within and without God's wisdom brings great fruit of peace. So that Isaiah 32, verse 17 puts it this way, the work of righteousness will be peace. Quietness and confidence forever. Well, how to live. That's really the question. I mean, all of you. smart, intelligent people. You've known the Lord for a long time. There are four young men and young ladies right here. Who are about to set out in adulthood and they're going to live. How should they live? What are you going to tell them? I would hope. But sister and brother in Christ, How will you live? Do you live according to a wisdom that is from beneath? Now, let's connect this to the first part of chapter 3. Do you remember where this happened? This is all about the tongue. So many of you ask me, okay, well, how do I control the tongue? Having now read verse 13 and 18, what is the answer to that? It is controlled by God's wisdom. That is what is crucial in all you're getting, get wisdom. You say, well, how would I do that? James tells us. James 1.5, but a man lacks wisdom when a master of God who gives to all men liberally does not withhold. The wisdom writer himself told us what the source of wisdom is. In Proverbs 2.6, he wrote this, for the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Dearly beloved, the good life is lived according to the wisdom of God. May God help us to choose that.