Book of James - Ch. 3, Vs. 1-18 (02/27/2000)

Turn to James chapter 3 if you would. We're going to start a minute and a half early for those of you who are ready.

James chapter 3. Some of us are already asleep.

I mean, well, that's right.

You'll get to go home and live a minute and a half longer. You'll live less time here though.

At lunch we were talking about having some business associates in New Zealand and I realized

I've got to call them at 5 o 'clock today to reach them by 10 o 'clock tomorrow. And that's strange, isn't it?

So I got thinking if I fly to New Zealand to do business, I lose a day of my life unless I come back.

And then I don't know what happens. And Otis said they cancel. And now I'm really confused.

So I ask him if the

Lord had ordained for you to die on a certain day and you moved to New Zealand right before that happened, what would happen? He looked at me and said, you're going to surprise the

Lord by moving to New Zealand, right? Time is an interesting thing to study though, isn't it?

And I was even confused more at the Bible study this week when Bill told me that time was stuff that fits in these little bubbles.

So something like that you told me, time fitting in bubbles.

And I said, are they real bubbles? He said, no, they're hypothetical, but it's the best we understand.

And so I'm not going to worry about it. If I fly to New Zealand, the bubble may pop or goes into another dimension or whatever.

God's, right Bill? Yes. That's why a man thinks it's in bubbles.

He doesn't have it figured out. Well, James chapter three, considering the subject matter for this afternoon,

I think I will stop ad -libbing. Got me in enough trouble today as it is.

So let's look at James three and we're going to read, uh, quite a bit here all the way down through.

Um, let's see, let's, let's stop at verse 13 because the subject changes slightly in verse 14.

So we'll read down through 13 first. And I think what we'll do is I'm just going to stop along the way and, and make comments in this.

Unfortunately, this passage is very clear. I mean, it just does not need much, much exegesis at all.

And, uh, I think as we read it, you'll understand why God made this crystal clear for us, because it's very necessary for us.

It says, my brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

You probably know the word master, uh, was used back in those days to mean teacher.

So when you put the word teacher in there, that's kind of frightening, isn't it? If you are a teacher, because it says you should not many, many of you should not be teachers.

It says, because, uh, the teacher shall receive the greater condemnation.

Isn't it interesting that in, uh, the background I came out of in the Southern Baptist movement, when they would draw the plans for the, uh, education buildings, they would always, cause we looked at a few of their plans when we were thinking about this building, but they wouldn't work for us because they would always take this and you see all these little bitty squares, you know, like a hundred of them.

And those were Sunday school rooms. And so it was planned to have 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 little, little bitty rooms so that you could have more

Sunday school classes. And I always wondered, how did they know that God had gifted 50 teachers to put in those rooms?

And then you start to figure out, well, that's not necessary because we have the gifted teachers, right?

The quarterlies and just give that to everybody and anybody can teach. And I don't believe that was

God's plan. And I think this verse proves it. Let not many among you be teachers. So you don't need 25 teachers in a, in a, even a fairly good size church and a church our size.

Um, you don't need just a whole lot of teachers. God will put exactly what we need in, in this place.

He will add to the body as he sees fit and will bring in, uh, exactly what he wants in this body.

I, uh, brother Otis is trying to convince me that that applies to preachers and song directors and everybody.

And, uh, but unless he starts singing better, I'm not sure he'll convince me of the song director part, but he may bring someone, someone else in.

Oh, I can't believe he didn't say something about the pastor part, but he could have.

I left you open. I know you're, you're, you're being nice. I've had enough brutality today at the, at the hands of a certain person.

It's really sad. Well, I will, I will say this. Deborah came up to me after the service and knelt at the altar and she said, brother

David, you should have told him. I didn't mean that. And I said, Deborah, don't worry. Only the visitors will not know.

She said, oh no. Oh goodness. But anyway, me be not many masters.

Boy, that, that ruins a lot of modern methodology, doesn't it? Everybody wants to be a master and teach the airwaves are certainly full of it.

There are all kinds of people teaching the Bible on the radio that are, that are have no business teaching the

Bible anywhere. Certainly not on the radio, but, uh, they will receive a greater condemnation because, uh, they're responsible for everything.

And I'll say we are responsible for everything we teach. Um, now let's look at verse two for in many things we offend all.

Now the Chuck, the subject matter is going to change now to talking about the tongue and our words.

And this is where it says for many in many things we offend all. I think you could maybe make more sense out of that.

If you'll switch the word all in the word offend and read it this way for in many things we all offend doesn't mean you offend everybody.

It means we all offend somebody. That's what it means. So in many ways, we all offend.

If any man offend not in word, the same as a perfect man and able also to bridle a whole body.

So that tells us how many of us in the room, uh, don't offend people from time to time.

That's those of us who are perfect. So if you're there, then you go ahead and leave early today because the rest is going to be for the rest of us.

Can anyone name a perfect man? Very good. That's the only one, isn't it?

And that is the man, uh, who shouldn't have offended.

There were some who were offended by him, but certainly wasn't because what he did, uh, in a wrong way, it was because of their own hearts.

And he looked at him in the eye and he said, well, you're of your father, the devil, because you would hear

God's word is if you were of the father, he that is of the father, he that is of God, here at God's words, ye therefore hear them not for a year of your father, the devil.

So, uh, you know, don't be too concerned about offending those kinds of people, but I'm afraid that as we examine the rest of this passage, it might be talking about us and our relationship with each other in the church.

So we need to pay close attention. Uh, if a man's going to be perfect, then he will bridle, uh, the whole body, not only that, but his tongue.

Now look at verse three, behold, we put bits in the horse's mouths that they may obey us.

And we turn about their whole body. Now, what we're going into is where we're talking about powerful things.

It talks about a horse. How many of you ever dealt with horses much? Okay. Uh, I've always been of the opinion that for something that powerful, uh,

I wish the Lord had put a larger brain in, in the thing. Uh, but I, my fondest memory of horses,

I dealt with them a lot growing up because my job, uh, in the summers was working for my grandfather on his ranch.

And that's why I hate cows and horses now. And I don't regularly, I don't do leaves either, but we lived on a big place and there's lots of leaves and horses and cows and I hate them all.

Katie wanted a horse one time and I said, uh, he really don't. And she said, yeah,

I really do. So she got one. I don't even, I hadn't seen him in years. Is he still alive? Okay.

Well, when I was about a little bigger than Ben, I had my first horse.

How many of you have ever owned a Shetland? Did God make those for children? No way in the world.

We think just because they're little that they're for children. So I wouldn't tell this if my dad were here, but he's not here.

So I'm going to tell it. He bought me one. Actually he didn't. My grandpa bought the horse, uh, made my dad mad though.

Cause he knew Shetlands were not for children. I mean, my dad knew that. Oh, but I'd already seen the horse.

Once you've seen the horse, you got to keep the horse. The, the, the kid had seen the horse. So that's my horse.

His name was Britch's legs. And yeah, I named him. I guess you could guess that probably it's either me or my mom and it was me.

And so I went out there to feed Britch's leg one day. Legs.

He did have four of those. And I had this big pail of, uh, oats, which you don't, if you know about horses, you know, this too, oats is like feeding the horse fuel.

All right. If you feed them more oats, then they're more lively and powerful and fast and frisky and all that stuff.

I didn't know that. So I'm feeding him a bucket full of these things. Now you, you know, a horse like that, maybe a little handful would be about right.

I'm feeding him a bucket full of oats. So he sticks his nose down in those oats. And, uh,

I walked around to the other side of the horse, the other end, you know, the part that's always shining.

It looks like you should slap it with your hand and say, good boy, that part. So I'm here.

Good boy. You ever seen, it's amazing how a horse like that can be looking at the oats and catch you right square in the thigh.

And it nearly broke my leg. And so I limped home and I limped for weeks after that.

And, uh, that was my first experience with a horse. Now I say all that to say this, that was a little horse, very little horse, but he was powerful.

Now a bigger horse, you know, multiply that it's exponential. I think they are so powerful.

And so many people don't realize that they want to go out and play with the horse, nice horse, you know, they don't realize that horse could kick you one time and kill you just boom, just like that.

And they will do it too. I mean, the other thing after Bridget's leg died, I mean,

I didn't know putting diesel fuel in the food would kill him. I just wanted to teach him a lesson.

So I got another horse and her name was honey because she was honey colored.

Now the nice thing about honey, she was a mix between a Shetland and a regular horse. So she was just a step ahead, which meant she had the same mind, but she was more powerful.

She just as crazy, but much stronger and faster. So I would go out and work the cattle.

And, uh, that horse had the most uncanny ability. You know, I've always been kind of a focused person.

You could tell that in Sunday school this morning and now during the message earlier.

And so I was focused, you know, there's a cow when you drive in the cattle and one of them goes off over here.

That's the bad thing because that's what you have to go fix. So I'm watching the heifer. She's out here.

I didn't mean anything by looking at you when I said that, Debra. So I'm focused on this heifer.

And so I, you know, go like that and all the horses are trained to go when you do that.

And I kicked the horse and boy, that horse took off. And I'm focused so much on that heifer, I just figured the horse would go where I'm focused.

And that horse looked about 50 yards ahead and saw this nice oak tree with one of these low kind of limbs that comes out like this.

And I'm over here. Get that heifer. Boom! And it nearly took this ear off.

It, uh, it did knock me off the horse. I just was laid straight back on the horse's back going, now the horse finds the heifer and turns that way.

Whoa! You know, and I reached up and my ear was bleeding and I didn't even care because the good thing was there was an ear there and it was bad.

So these things are powerful creatures. Yes. I thought you're gonna say off the message.

Okay, now then. Did you bring it, Charlotte? All right, this is a powerful creature.

And God says all you have to do is put a bit in his mouth and you can steer him.

Of course, we know that's in the Greek. It doesn't say that because God knows you can't steer him with just a bit.

They'll go where they want to go sometimes. But the fact is, if you train them right, which we never did with our horses, but if you train them right, you put that little bit in their mouth and you can guide that powerful whole machine where you want it to go.

Now, if that weren't enough, uh, he goes from there to something more powerful.

Look at verse four, behold, all the ships, which now I'm going to tell my ship stories.

Now I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to spare you. I want to spare you, but I do remember one ship story.

Um, I remember asking my dad when I was a little, little boy one time, he was telling me that if that ship move forward, it could move just about this fast and it could still knock the whole dock down.

Well, that didn't make sense to me as a little boy. I could, you gotta be going 70 miles an hour to knock something down.

And I said, well, I don't understand how can that ship just moving this fast, knock the whole dock down.

And he said, cause it weighs so much. It is so heavy that it can be just moving really slow and do a lot of damage.

And so I've always remembered that. So I do not get in front of slow moving ships to this day.

All right. Thank you. Now you can take this ship though.

They be so great. Have I graphically illustrated to you this afternoon how great a ship is. Okay. And are driven with fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

I mean, ships are actually better than horses because they can go where you want them to go. Now, look at verse five.

After we've had these graphic illustrations, he talks about this one little member of the human body that can destroy a lot of things.

It's as powerful as a ship. It's as powerful as a kicking horse. And it says this, even so, just like the horse, just like the powerful ship, the tongue is a little member, but it boasted great things.

Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.

And it interesting how this part doesn't require any explanation. You can just read it. So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body.

I've really liked what I've heard brother Otis teach before that you can think what you want to think, but when you say something and it goes out into reality, into the world, you cannot change it.

Now, so you can control your thought, but once you say it, the words control you, something like that.

I've heard you say, and that's made me think a lot about that. It is so true that once you let it out, whether you do it without thinking, or whether you say something hastily, or you may have premeditated it and just meant to say it and you let it out of there.

But once you say it, it has changed the world and you can't take it back. That's powerful.

It's more powerful than we ever think. We don't realize sometimes what we can do to other people by saying a simple word.

All right. Now, even so the tongue is a little member and boasteth great things.

The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. Verse six. So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body.

A lot of people are known by the things they say, and you can't necessarily judge a heart and see what's on the inside.

But wouldn't you say that a large part of what we judge people by are the words we've heard them say over some period of time.

And we feel like we know those people because of that. Well, guess what? They know us too.

That's how we're known. And seteth on fire the course of nature and is set on fire of hell.

Now, I don't think there could be much stronger language here to emphasize the fact of the importance of the kind of trouble that our tongues can cause with the words that we say.

Isn't that amazing? Set it on fire, the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell.

For every kind of beasts and birds and of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed and hath been tamed by mankind except for Shetland ponies.

But the tongue can no man tame. No one has figured out how to do that yet.

If you're honest, you'll probably think of some times right now in this past year, if not more recently than that, when you said something to somebody and you went home thinking,

I can't believe I made the same old mistake. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have said anything. I wish

I would just guard my tongue. And we find ourselves again and again reminding ourselves of I wish we had done that.

And so the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

I'm always amazed at the language that's used in this passage set on fire of hell and full of deadly poison.

Verse nine, therewith, bless we God, even the father. Now this just calls up a picture of wonderful church members, doesn't it?

Here we have a group of people dressing up so nice on Easter Sunday, perhaps, and coming into the assembly.

And we speak so well to each other and we will bless God and even maybe do so out loud.

And there with the same tongue, we will curse men when we go to the coffee shop on Monday or wherever we go.

Or the beauty shop, ladies. And therewith, curse we men which are made after the similitude of God.

Out of the same mouth proceedeth both blessings and cursings. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Now, if you get to the perfect state, the perfect man, you won't find this.

There'll be a consistency there that's pictured by this fountain in verse 11. Doth a fountain send forth at the same time sweet water and bitter?

Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries, either a vine figs?

So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. And do you look at that and ask yourselves the questions, then how have

I been able to do this? If God says that out of the same fountain you can't have sweet and bitter, then how is it that out of my mouth comes both blessings for God and then

I'll curse men and talk bad about them behind their backs? Well, I'll tell you, it's the same sensation you'll get if you study love.

If you study what love really is in 1 Corinthians 13, agape love that comes from the

Father, and you go in and it lists, I think, nine things that define what it is.

And you look at your own life, or I look at mine, and I see areas where I did not show that, then

I know I was in the flesh some of the time. In fact, the more I study agape love in 1

Corinthians 13, the more I realize I'm in the flesh more than I would ever like to admit. And I think we had a sermon on that one

Sunday, and it got really quiet in here for about, seemed like two hours. I mean, it got really quiet.

And really, when I was working on that particular message, to me, it was not that kind of message, but it affected me the same way while I was preaching it.

And everybody got quiet, and I started feeling kind of funny on the inside. And what I was realizing was God was revealing to me that I was not in the

Spirit as much as I thought I was, because I was not exhibiting God's love, which you can only exhibit that when you're filled with Spirit.

Well, the same is true of this. When you look at yourself and you think of times where blessing and cursing came forth out of the same mouth, sweet water and bitter water came forth out of the same fountain, it ought not to be, should it?

But when we're in the flesh, it'll always be that way. So it's kind of a little thing that reveals ourselves to ourselves.

The sad thing is other people see it too. And they may even see it more quickly than we see it about ourselves.

But it becomes manifest through this little thing called the tongue. As the words come out, people can very often tell when we're in the flesh.

And if we will go back and examine ourselves and read this portion, this ought not to be that of a fig tree, you can have olives.

It's against nature. So why is it that a saved person can speak to another

Christian in such a way as to cut that person and hurt them rather than edify them and build them up?

It ought not to be, ever. But it is sometimes, but only when we're in the flesh. Now, the thing we have to examine is this.

The Bible does say there's a right time to rebuke and admonish. And sometimes we think that's when

I'm talking is the rebuke part when it's the right time to rebuke. But when you're talking, you should exhort.

That means encourage me. And we view it that way, but there is a right time for that.

But we have to really examine our hearts, make sure we're in the spirit, walking filled with the Holy Spirit before we get in that mode.

Because if you say something in such, you may even say the right thing, but you just don't say it the right way.

And you don't say it with God's love and God's kindness, which doesn't always mean ushi -gushi, by the way, if you look up the word kindness in the

Greek, it means to supply that which helps another. Isn't that interesting? So it doesn't, they may not need the ushi -sweetie stuff.

You know, they may need a firm, something firm, and that can still be kind, but only if led by the

Holy Spirit. Otherwise what we do is we damage. And we ought not be in the business of trying to make other people be just like us anyway.

And that's the big problem. I always think, well, oh, I see that little, you know, they're not gifted in that area.

Okay. Well, first we'll begin to pray for them. And then we'll finally find a time to say a word to them.

How many of you like constructive criticism? Raise your hand. I mean, you really like it. Feels good.

And you enjoy it. Nobody, not one, not one.

And, but we, we give it when we give it out, we just assume the person is going to take it as we meant it and run with it and be a better person, more like me.

Never happens. I mean, it, God can use those things, but it'll be weeks or months before the person wakes up and says, well,

I really do think they see something here. And that's after they're through with the beating and the wounds have healed from the words that we were told.

So we have to be so careful. So I think this little passage is very revealing on how often we really are spirit filled and how often we're in the flesh.

When we start seeing these things against nature happened down here in verse 12 and so forth.

The real you is the saved you, by the way, you know that don't you? It's the new man and the new man will not have these cursings coming out from the same mouth that blesses

God. It just won't be that way, but the old man certainly can get into that area.

So we need to count him crucified, reckoning to be dead every day. Now let's go into verse 13.

I think we go into a subtle change in the message and a very frightening thing to look at very frightening because this is so real.

It is so present and we're going to see the source of it. Who is a wise man and a dude with knowledge among you?

Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom.

Now notice it starts talking about this word wisdom. Well, it's going to use the word here again in verse 15, but this is the right kind of wisdom.

In verse 13, this wisdom that comes from God, it comes down from heaven. It descends from heaven and comes to us and it is given to us as a gift.

It is not something you can work up or have. Wisdom comes from God. If the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle are knowledge, then wisdom is putting the whole puzzle together, being able to use those bits and pieces of information and knowledge, but only

God can give that and it comes from above. But look at the contrast in verse 14, but if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, look at that bitter envying.

That's one thing and you know, I don't know that I've seen a lot of envy in the church, although maybe you couldn't see that because it's in hearts perhaps, but strife is one we can deal with strife.

Uh, you see that happen. It's interesting in Corinthians, the baby church, he talks about their divisions among you.

And then the Greek language, the word division means party making like the Republican party and the democratic party.

In other words, I'll try to get you over here. Are you kind of in line with me on this? Because over there, they don't believe you.

What do you think? Who else could you give that? How about a model? Don't you kind of think me and Debra are right about this?

I mean, those guys over there, they kind of, I don't know if there's a nod on that.

Well, maybe we could get Kay. We could get Kay with us over here. Kay, don't you see the difference here?

I mean, they're talking about all this stuff over there and it's not, you know, and over here, Greg's doing the same thing.

He's getting them over and saying, you know, I grew up over there. There's talking about this stuff. It's not even important. What we need to be doing is this.

Don't you agree with me? And you think he's just talking doctrine. What he's doing is party making, getting you on his party.

Because, because people want to think they have other people in agreement with them before they attack.

Okay. So we have party making and that's what Paul said. That's the baby church. He said, I could not call you spiritual for you are carnal.

I'm of Apollos. I'm of Paul. I'm of Jesus there. Now there's this real spiritual, hyper -spiritual person that just, just drips spirituality.

Okay. Watch those kind. I'm serious. Now I understand those. Sometimes those kind are baby

Christians and you don't want to make them stumble, but you need to understand that. I don't think

Jesus went around that way with his jargon. Do y 'all think he had religious jargon? How do you think he talked to the average man?

That's what I think. So don't get into religious jargon that you use out on the street. You know, you, you'll lose effectiveness in your witness at that point,

I believe. But so he comes in now, look here, he says, you got this bitter strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth.

Now, what does that mean? Lie not against the truth. Well, because anytime you get involved in bitterness in your own heart or strife, which usually is accompanied by bitterness towards the other group or the other person, you always lie to yourself and say,

I'm not bitter. They're just wrong. I'm not causing strife here.

They're just, you know, they're just not in my group because my group's the right group. And he says, lie not against the truth.

Now look at this next phrase in verse 15, this, yes, that's right.

You know the truth and you actively make a decision to push it aside. This wisdom.

Now notice that this wisdom in verse 15 is contrasted with the wisdom in verse 13. The wisdom in verse 13 is the wisdom that comes from God, but this wisdom.

Now, what wisdom are we talking about in verse 15? It's the wisdom that makes us think we're wiser than the other group and that they're wrong.

And that therefore I have a right to pull these people together and fight this thing. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual.

What does that mean? It makes the body feel great. Oh, I like this boy.

I like talking about their weaknesses a whole lot better than I like talking about something good that happened yesterday.

This is fun. Can I get my little group together and let's talk about this a little bit?

You'll like it too. That's how gossip works. Why does gossip work? Because you got to have somebody to gossip to and they like it too.

It feels good. It's sensual. We always think of sensuality as sexual sin.

It just means fleshly. And then this sin is more prevalent than the one

I just mentioned. This sin, listen, we don't consider this to be the biggie, right?

This form of sensuality, that's not the biggie. We know what the biggies are and we don't have that in our church, fortunately.

But this one, a little bit of gossip here or there, you know, a little bit of party making.

This is not such a big deal, is it? Well, God says, well, let me tell you something. It sure doesn't come from me, he says.

He says it is not only earthy. Oh, now, you know, who's the great picture of earthiness in the

Bible? Esau. Think about him, he's earthy. He didn't even care about the, what'd you call that thing?

The birthright. He didn't care about that. He didn't care about it, and I don't know about it, but he wanted to go hunting.

And his dad could tell him because he smelled like the field. He was earthy and you picture he's a type of the flesh.

God says that this kind of wisdom, this kind of wisdom that would cause division, this kind that would cause strife does not come from above.

It is of the earth. It is earthy. It is sensual. Now this word devilish is interesting in the

Greek. It's demoniacal. Isn't that awful sounding? Doesn't even sound good.

Demoniacal. It's of demons. It is of the demons. Now, why do you think the

Lord says we battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places.

When you have a brother or sister, and you'll have to admit, you don't get your heart hurt that often by the world, do you?

When's the last time somebody from the world came out and speared you so bad, you thought about it for three weeks and couldn't get over it.

Just think, and it got bigger every day you thought about it. Somebody from the world. No, who was it?

Somebody right here in this church, wasn't it? Or some other church. It was a Christian. And they said something to you or did something to you, and you thought about it and mulled it over for days.

Instead of going and communicating with them and getting it right, you just thought about it. Why? Sensual.

It feels good. It feels a lot better to feel like they're treating me wrong than to go find out they didn't even mean that.

Because then I don't have, you know, then I got to move on in my life. I can't worry about this and enjoy the pain so much.

Wasn't it brother John Abraham that used to say, never take offense unless offense was intended.

That's a beautiful statement. I remember that. It's the only thing I remember that he ever preached. But I remember that, and it changed my life.

I hope he didn't hear that. He'd be offended by that statement. Now, it is earthly, sensual, and demoniacal.

So now we not only have the worldliness, we not only have the flesh, the sensuality of this gossip, and this trouble that the tongue can cause, but now we have demonic involvement.

Now, it is interesting that only a third part of this has to do with demonic involvement, and so that tells me a lot of what we do is just earthly.

It's just worldly. It's just the flesh, but sometimes it's demonic activity.

Now, you need to understand this. When you're under attack, if you're serving the Lord, and you come under attack by another brother or sister, do not look at that person as the enemy, because we battle not against flesh and blood.

If that's a flesh and blood person, then they're not doing that to you. That will help you so much to not be bitter and to forgive.

It is not that person doing that to you. That person may well be in the flesh right when they did that to you, but it wasn't them doing it because they were under the control of either the flesh or the world or perhaps

Satan and his demons. It could very well be satanic assault, spiritual warfare in the church or in your family, in your home.

It could be a direct attack by Satan or his demons. Finding a person who is not walking with the

Lord and is using their tongue for one word or two or three words or a phrase, and all of a sudden you won't think of anything but that for two or three weeks.

So how fruitful are you? And did you know that the only way you can be in that state is if you're carnal?

Because the Bible says, he that is in the word cannot be offended. So you're carnal, so it brings you down to that level and you enjoy it.

All of a sudden you get where you enjoy this battle that's going on in your mind. You even envision them saying this and you come back with this.

Now how do I know you do this? Because I've done this. All right, it happens.

Now verse 16, for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work, and it goes right back up to the word demoniacal at the end of 15, don't think for a minute

Satan's not involved with it. Now you know we're not a church that believes there's a demon under every bush, but most of the trees have them.

I'll ask you a question, if there were a legion of them in those pigs and those pigs drowned, where'd that legion go?

Did they die? Around here somewhere. Might just as well be in that brother that's attacking me is anywhere else.

I'm jesting a little bit, but I'm telling you there is spiritual warfare. It will help you to know that so that you won't attack the person.

Understand the source, the enemy is Satan and his demons. It is not your brothers and sisters.

That in itself can help resolve the problem. You just, because you won't attack back, you see, and it takes two to fight, doesn't it?

You won't, if you refuse to attack the brother back when he does say the thing to you that bothered you for two weeks and you pray about it and you get over it enough, say, well,

Lord, you know this could be from Satan. I think I'll go talk to the brother and see what he meant by it.

Now you're in trouble if he says, I meant exactly what I said, but you know what? Most of the time they won't say that.

They'll say, well, you know what I meant by that was this, and you'll be thinking, boy, that's not even what I thought they meant. And really there was nothing to it.

Now that's when you know the enemy was involved because it was a matter of the thought life and what went on.

So envying and strife brings confusion and then it spreads, it grows.

You know the verse that talks about bitterness, it says when you have bitterness, it defiles many.

So you begin to involve other people in the church. And when Paul said, I'm not ignorant of Satan's devices, he was talking about a lot of this stuff because a pastor, see,

I mean, I deal with this a lot and I see it and I know you probably do too, but I know

I see it and I'm not ignorant of how Satan works. So when I start to see a little family over here and then all of a sudden it's not one, but it's two and three and all of a sudden you got a little group.

I like to go get right in the middle of it and just say, now what y 'all mean by this? You know, what are you thinking here?

And most of the time when you get the truth out, it resolves the whole thing. It just goes, the problem goes away.

Verse 17, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable.

Isn't that interesting? The wisdom that's from above fights against the fighting.

It tries to resolve the problem. It tries to bring peace among the individuals.

It is pure, it is peaceable, and look at this word gentle. Doesn't have to have a raised voice, doesn't have to have a raised fist.

It is gentle and easy to be entreated. That means it listens to the other side of the story and tries to understand, you know, what do the

Indians used to say? Don't, you know, don't judge another person unless you've walked a few miles in his moccasins or something like that.

Try to picture why the person is thinking like they're thinking. Why do they see it this way? I don't see it this way.

Why do they see it this way? And listen to what they're saying. Don't just be making up your next argument while they're talking.

How do I know people do that? Charlotte told me. Easily entreated.

Full of mercy and good fruits without partiality.

Boy, that's this old respecter of persons things. And without hypocrisy.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Well, that's a pretty clear chapter. I'm glad that that was my part. Next week, Brother Otis will be in chapter four, which will require great analysis.