Dear Brothers and Sisters,

You are invited to come to the Wednesday evening prayer meeting and pray. (7:00 PM LHF time, Wed., Jan. 17, 2001)

Text: 3:13-18

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But 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 but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

"But 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. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."

James, speaking the word of God through the Holy Spirit, asks the question, "Who is wise and understanding among you." And we, in return, may ask, "What is wisdom?" and "What is understanding?" King Solomon, to whom God gave the gift of wisdom, whom God, in fact, made the wisest and most discerning man who ever lived, said the following: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Prov. 9:10).

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. And what does it mean to fear the LORD? To fear the LORD is to know that he made the heavens and the earth and everything in them, to know that we live and breath because it is his will for us to live and breath -- even that we exist from moment to moment because it is his will for us to continue to exist (Job 34:14,15 says, "If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust"). To fear the LORD is to know these things to also know that it pleased him to crush his Son and cause him to suffer and to make him a guilt offering for us (Isa. 53:10). To fear the LORD is to know that it is through him that we live and that it is through him that we have eternal life. This is eternal life: that we know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent (John 17:3).

To fear the LORD and to know him is to also know that he has made us for a purpose, to do the good works that he has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10). Who is wise and understanding among us? Who fears the LORD and knows him? He will show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom, the good deeds God has prepared in advance for him to do.

Verses 14 and 15 say, "But 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 but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil." The 'wisdom' James is talking about here is not God's wisdom. It is man's wisdom and it comes from the devil. Literally, it is demonic. It is a doctrine taught by demons. This wisdom says, first of all, that you yourself decide what is good and that you can't trust God to do it. Then it says that what is good is what exalts you above everyone else. It says that envy and selfish ambition are good. Finally, it says that you are able to do whatever you want. This 'wisdom' is the complete opposite of the fear of the LORD.

Let me ask you a question. Do you ever think that it is necessary, when you are among believers, to hide your motives while you are trying to get some situation to work out in a way that you think is good. Maybe you don't lie, but you may not state the whole truth because you think you will be opposed by someone who thinks differently about it than you do. You may not think that the result you want is selfish, but only that someone else thinks differently about it (and, of course, they are wrong and you are right). The use of subtlety (as opposed to gentleness and humility) is not wisdom that comes from above. Check very carefully you real motive. Is your real motive just to be right or to prevail against someone else? Are these things even part of your motive? Make absolutely sure there is no envy or selfish ambition, for 'where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.' Keep in mind that when we disagree with a brother, he is not the enemy. The devil would like you to think that way. If you catch yourself thinking that the person you are disagreeing with is the enemy, recognize the lie and resist it. Actually, the real enemy, the devil, is very subtle and you are almost certain not to recognize what is going on, but the Holy Spirit is faithful and he will tell you. Listen to him.

The wisdom that comes from heaven is pure (v17). There are no hidden motives or agendas. It is completely sincere. This wisdom is impartial and hates strife and discord. It loves peace. (By the way, do you really love peace or would you just like everyone to agree with you?) In any case, we have a promise. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness (v18). Righteousness is what God desires. It pleases him.

And, finally, remember James 1:2-4. All of this is a test and is designed to teach and train us to persevere and to become mature and complete, not lacking anything. God does not fail in what he sets out to do. We will finally rejoice in his presence (and now too) and with Jesus.

Pray for us to be to be humble and to fear the LORD and to know him. Pray for us to, in lowliness of mind, consider others to be greater and more important than we are. When you pray about this, pray with regard to specific people, that you may consider them to be greater and more important than yourself. Pray with regard to people that, according to your (imperfect) perception, are both above you and below you. Pray about church leaders -- and followers. Pray about your husband or wife.

Come and let's pray for each other as well as for the whole church. Come and encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Love them.

Love in Christ, Dean

PS: If you absolutely can't make it to the prayer meeting, send your prayer requests back to me by e-mail and we'll pray for them.