James 3:13-4:12, What Kind Do You Like?

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James 3:13-4:12 What Kind Do You Like?

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James chapter 3 from verse 13 to chapter 4 verse 12 Hear the word of the
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Lord who is wise and understanding among you By his good conduct. Let him show his works in his in the meekness of wisdom
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But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts do not boast and be false to the truth
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This is not the wisdom that comes from above but is earthly unspiritual demonic for where Jealousy and selfish ambition exists.
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There will be disorder in every vile practice But the wisdom from above is first pure then peaceable gentle open to reason full of mercy and good fruits impartial and sincere and A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace
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What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you Is it not this that your passions are a war within you you desire and do not have so you murder
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You covenant cannot obtain so you fight in quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask
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You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions You adulterous people
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Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God Do you suppose it is to no purpose that the scripture says he yearns jealous us?
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Jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us, but he gives more grace Therefore it says
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God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble Submit yourselves therefore to God Resist the devil and he will flee from you draw near to God and he will draw near to you
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Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double -minded be wretched in mourn and weep
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Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom humble yourselves before the
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Lord and he will exalt you Do not speak evil against one another brothers The one who speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law
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But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge There is only one lawgiver in judge he was able to save and to destroy
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But who are you? to judge your neighbor May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his
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Holy Word. Well, what do you like? I Mean about anything that's too much.
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That's too much of a general question, isn't it? And so what kind of music do you like? Come on, let us know country any country music dance rock
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Allison you like rock You're not gonna say not gonna commit classical maybe Mary likes classical rap got any rap fans here.
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What kind of food do you like? Chinese Mexican Italian American, of course, what is
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American food? Is American food a good steak and potato or hamburger or fried chicken a hamburger did that originally
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German? I think I don't know. It's hard to tell what is what is American food? Sometimes is pizza
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American or is it Italian is? General Chow's chicken American or is it
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Chinese? It certainly is it from China? It was invented in New York I saw this this little movie where they took some
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Pictures of General Chow's chicken to Beijing China and they showed it to people there and they looked at it What's that?
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You never seen it before? You know, you don't find bait General Chow's chicken in China And I've been around the world though there
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I think there are my opinion there's three types of food that are popular everywhere Chinese Italian and American, right?
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You got our Burger Kings our McDonald's our KFC's of this everywhere What kind do you like?
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Maybe you maybe you like them all. Okay, you know I have one one day one the other I like them all What kind of sports do you like?
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Like football basketball baseball soccer NASCAR any track and field fans here besides me maybe you like them all, you know, your
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TV is perpetually tuned to ESPN or maybe you have a Strong preference for one and like me so that you watch a lot of ESPN from September to January And then you kind of never watch it for the rest of the year
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Then you're just glad it's back on come come late August when you want to watch it again if you do like only one kind of music or food or sport or Whatever.
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This is the one for you Do you wonder about people who then who don't share your preference?
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They they don't like that thing that you like so much if they listen to rap Do they have a moral and spiritual problem?
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Is it I? Once had a man describing himself as an evangelist message me that playing rap music for the guys on Sunday night as we do
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He said it's worldly. I said back that the style of country music
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Which like a lot of so -called gospel music is it's basically country music, right? can be worldly too if it's
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Whiskey River take my mind You're saying that's not worldly just because it's country stuff a
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John Forman of switchfoot said that Christian is not the name of a genre It's not a kind of music.
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Okay, not as far as style of whatever music of playing
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Christian music is Christian if it has Christian words to it whether the style is rock or country or whatever a
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Rap for that matter. How about a style of music? The fact is that some people just don't like the style You know
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They kind of associated with whatever the gangster life and and then they call it worldly Because they don't like it if they don't if they don't like Chinese food
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Do you think there's something seriously wrong with them? Now be honest be and be nice though.
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Maybe they have it. Maybe they've never had the real stuff Maybe that's it. Maybe just that general Chow's chicken
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Soon after we got married and we got married in Singapore, right? I'm living there I took my in -laws out to eat and what is one of my favorite kinds of food was
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Mexican We had to travel some time by bus to get to one of the few if not only
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Mexican restaurants in Singapore at that time They didn't really like it
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Too heaty my father -in -law said I had no idea what that meant. What's too heaty? What is it too hot?
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I don't know. I don't think so What about spirituality? What kind do you like Maybe you didn't even know there were different kinds.
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There are different kinds of spirituality in other words What kind of person or are you if you are spiritually mature you look at somebody he's spiritually mature
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I want to be like him or her that's a spiritual person Well, you realize there's different opinions on what that looks like on who that is
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There are different kinds of spirituality, you know What kind do you like?
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For a thousand years professed Christians liked Otherwise they looked up to as spiritual monks and nuns living in poverty and chastity obedience living secluded and monasteries and convents practicing disciplines and denying themselves and now although we as Protestant evangelical
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Christians would you know criticize a lot of the theology that goes into that behind that I Think we need to admit that a lot of those people were really spiritual or really seeking the
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Lord They gave up a lot To do what they thought was serving
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God Now it amazes me that in America and much in much of Africa and in some some in Asia many
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Christians see extravagance You know wealth the celebrity pastor with a multi -million dollar house, maybe a silk suit and big puffy hair a
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Private jet a net worth of maybe five to twelve million or more dollars as totally acceptable
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Is even a sign of spirituality that they've been blessed by God and they should just indulge in it
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Never asking apparently what it says about him or sometimes her that he kept that much money for himself
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The problem in my opinion say they write a big best -selling book or they're just popular on the on the on the preaching circuit
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Our way, you know and speaking and so they can a lot of people go here conferences to hear them It's the will pay to hear him or you know
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The problem is that in my opinion that they he's able to make a lot of money a lot of people are willing to buy His books listen to him.
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The problem is that he's can make a lot of money The problem is that he keeps it Understand the big difference
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He's a lot he could do with that money. Now. So imagine this is in our day extravagance, which is close to indulgence
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It's excused if not celebrated as Spirituality and it's not just one kind of Christian either.
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It's in various traditions Pentecostal we want to blame them for it, but there's some
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Some some quote not very popular reformed Speakers seem to have a lot of net worth according to the
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Internet In Baptist to the Pentecostal ideal of spirituality is to exude a sense of God awareness
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Is that your favorite kind a God awareness of being in tune with the Spirit and expressing it exuberantly?
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And maybe that's spiritual. The Reformed ideal is more bookish You know the cool controlled scholar spent his time studying particularly the
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Word of God But he's committed to his finely tuned doctrines and that makes him Reverential and hopefully modest
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The the Baptist ideal is kind of like that of a smooth politician or salesman He's a good old boy trying to sell you the gospel, of course with a winning smile because his product really is good for you
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So what kind do you like? I don't know about the Lutheran. I'm sorry. I let them out.
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That's the Lutheran ideal It's kind of like we're closer to the Reform, but maybe not quite Sometimes of course, you don't have to choose
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You know, you can like Chinese Mexican and Italian foods, you know, you'll go to any of those places
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You you can be a football basketball and baseball fan. You can like all kinds of music, you know
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As long as it's well done. I like it your attitude is maybe you maybe you respect the learned
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Reformed scholar or you want to learn the charm of the Baptist? Evangelist and you wish that preacher guy had a lot more
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Pentecostal to him But sometimes you must choose Sometimes they are mutually exclusive You must pick one and reject the other and here we see three pairs of kinds
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Three kinds of spirituality three choices and we must in which we must choose one or the other
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What kind do you like? First what kind of wisdom? Second what kind of friends?
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Third what kind of judges kind of wisdom do we like?
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There there are kinds of wisdom. You know, there's the there's the wisdom how to succeed in this world
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How to win friends and influence people to get ahead to have our best life now
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In Chinese culture, there's the wisdom of Confucius Confucianism which is about how to succeed in this life and how to be a good family person.
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That's a kind of wisdom James begins asking in chapter and chapter 3 verse 13 who is wise and understanding among you.
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How do you know who someone's wise? How do you know? How because they just exude this sense of That they that they know spiritual things that they're they're sure of themselves
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That they're sure there they have an insight to things. Maybe you don't they know that they know the code
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Because they can quote or maybe maybe they're more reformed because they can quote great theologians of the past They can cite scriptures and quote
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Calvin and all that because they can or maybe because they can win you over with a charming little story Well told and a clever turn of phrase
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You know, we're saved by faith alone, but faith that saves is never alone. I like that one who is wise
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How can you tell? James says that if he's really wise let him show it in his good conduct.
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In other words wisdom without works is worldly You show you have wisdom
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By doing wise things you show it in your conduct and being able to control yourself and not making foolish decisions
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Maybe and how you handle your money Decisions about debt about your business and the way you raise your kids
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What what you believe? And what you don't believe, you know, maybe what you hear out there in the world and what you say, that's true
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Or maybe that's I'm not gonna fall for that You have what he calls at the end of verse 13 the the meekness of wisdom
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An usual word you think of wisdom as being meek? That's what he's saying here wisdom produces meekness wisdom makes you teachable the wise person knows
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That he or she doesn't know everything and so they are willing to learn True wisdom gives you a humility that makes you
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That makes you know that there's a lot you don't know That you don't have the ability to know everything
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Sometimes you don't have the ability to judge between say competing claims You don't have the ability you're not able to come to the conclusion that all the experts are wrong
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And I read this thing on the internet that said Whatever, you know
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Brushing your teeth is bad for your hygiene. And so you're gonna fall you're gonna believe that never mind that all all dentists disagree with it, but you know, this guy is true because You read somewhere because why did you know?
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That's that's that's the opposite of the meekness of wisdom It means a wisdom, you know that there are there are others with more knowledge and wisdom to whom you should yield to Because they know what they're talking about.
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They know their business and you don't so the wise person knows That the doctors know medicine better than than they do
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That they have the doctors have reasons for what they say is good or harmful Reasons that can't they didn't say that I can't easily learn by just a few minutes of Google search
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Is that who's that doctor think he is? I'm gonna look it up, you know and come to my own conclusion in about five minutes
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The wise person defers to the judgment of those who know better The wise person understands that it's something say something is is legal and wildly widely practiced
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Maybe like fluoride or something like that what they read on the internet about it causing cancer probably isn't true
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Right all those experts who say it's good good thing are Probably not all wrong and you are happen to stumble on the truth because of something you read
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You know the issue here is do you have the meekness of wisdom? You know those claims probably aren't true and you don't know why they're not true these
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Things you hear you don't know why because you're not the expert But you defer
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Because you're meek and you're meek because you're wise The wise person respects the scientists who study doesn't arrogantly scoff at their conclusion.
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Oh, you think it's dumb No dumb scientists. I know better but either about the age of the earth or climate change or whatever we don't necessarily fall for everything, but you know, but he doesn't have the attitude because he read an article somewhere and they think they one brief article gives them the ability now
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To pass judgment on the conclusions of people who spend their whole careers studying something Sure, they might these other people studying it might be wrong, but the wise person isn't so arrogant as to elevate himself
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To having a superior knowledge based on what what little You know, he or she is read
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The wise person understands why Benjamin Franklin said that a that a man who has himself for a lawyer Has a fool for a client
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Because he understands the wise person does that he can't make up for years of legal training Just in a couple of hours of reading.
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I'm gonna save myself all those legal fees. I'm gonna I'm gonna spend an hour reading about the law
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Well, you'll probably lose What we're doing right now Depends on the meekness of wisdom that the church
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Depends on the meekness of Wisdom because what we're doing at this very moment is a total waste of time if you don't have the meekness of wisdom
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We're just going through the motions of Acting like we're listening to a sermon if we're just so arrogant
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We're not gonna be taught anything a church full of people who think they know better They don't need to listen to anyone that they don't need any leadership or they don't need any guidance that no meekness
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That is a collection of Individuals disconnected individuals who will all soon go their own way
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Whenever something is said or done that they don't agree with because they won't submit to anything They'll go find someone who agrees with their preconceived opinions or just stay home and say, you know who
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I don't need to listen anybody Maybe they go somewhere where someone will never challenge them
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So they never grow to be Bereans who have a noble character to study scripture Instead they just assume they're right
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They don't meekly listen to others, especially their leaders the meekness of wisdom leads to being humble and yielding But in verse 14 if you have bitter jealousy
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All of that gets short -circuited the word translated jealousy Now I got to respect the translators because they're experts and they know
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Greek better than I do I better show some meekness of wisdom and I'll say these translators are all wrong and I'm right because I spent five minutes looking at a
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Greek dictionary But the word translated jealousy is actually broader. I think Then the mere jealousy jealousy is a kind of it of envy
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It is actually the same word that can be translated to zeal another place. It just since Before in Sunday school, we saw the scripture that says do you know do not let your zeal flag don't lose your zeal
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That's the same word is here So it's kind of odd in Romans 12 Paul is saying
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Keep your zeal up and here in James James is saying beware of bitter zeal
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It's the same word, but it is bitter here modified as bitter Shows that these this zeal these strong desires.
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That's what zeal is zeal is a strong desire a quest I'm gonna I want that But here that is bitter show that the strong desires are not good
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It's not a godly zeal. It's not a sweet zeal. The bitter zeal is for some crusade
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For yourself a never -ending battle to do things your way. It's it's Siamese twin it's here if you have bitter jealousy or bitter zeal and Selfish ambition, that's a
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Siamese twin is connected to it. I Think I think in a way there two sides of the same coin bitter
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Bitter jealousy or bitter zeal and selfish ambition the quest that I be somebody that's what ambition is, right?
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I want to be Somebody that's not necessarily wrong to want to be accomplished and whatever you do
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Serve be good. But here it's a selfish ambition. It's all for me for my name
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So I'll be known and you know Be Prominent the church is often the arena and here's this great that James warns us of this
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Because this is my opinion In the spot James seemed to be saying this is one of the things that just destroys undermines
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Churches whether it makes it crumble. So they know when it goes or it just makes them dysfunctional makes them do something else
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Then they're supposed to be doing It's selfish ambition. The church is often the arena. It's the place people go
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If they want the recognition they crave Paul says in 1st
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Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 that the one aspiring to the office of overseer or elder is aspiring to a noble task
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The task itself is noble but sometimes people want the office for ignoble or for selfish reasons and A lot of time we think well selfish.
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What do you mean? They can get making milk it for money They can you know get money for themselves out of the church or something no, not necessarily sometimes there's no money involved
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But one of the one of the goods one of the things people crave It's not just money or sex.
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One of the things people crave is recognition to be looked up to You know to be somebody
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People some people crave that many people crave that some of a bitter inwardly
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Zeal to be seen as somebody and they will sacrifice greatly for it
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They'll sacrifice a lot of their own money. They'll sacrifice their comfort. They'll work hard to be that person, but they aren't serving
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Necessarily the church or the Lord they're doing it for themselves They have a bitter zeal for themselves
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You know right now you think that how can you tell the difference they're doing it for themselves or for the Lord?
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Well, a lot of times it's hard Over time it comes out bitter zeal and selfish ambition or the opposite though of the meekness of wisdom
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You know, it's how they're paired here the meekness of wisdom But on the other hand is this stuff bitter zeal selfish ambition.
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They're they're they're opposites Selfish ambition might take the form of that green -eyed monster of envy
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Resenting what other people have and here he's talking about particularly about relationships in the church
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Maybe you resent the done the money or the success that this that they've had They've been successful and you've been struggling or the status that they have
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Or maybe that in the church so -and -so is getting recognition that I'm not The quest is to have our ego satisfied by being called somebody getting a title or if you can't get that Bringing down someone else who has it
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Maybe with criticism if you have that in your heart Bitter zeal selfish ambition deep down inside That's why you won't listen.
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That's why you won't you that's why you think you know better So you rarely some of these people rarely attend church or Bible studies
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Or if they do it's because they're in charge of them or if or if you do it they do attend church
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They they don't really listen Because You know their attitude is who's that got to tell me?
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Anything I don't listen to him. I know better I'll find someone who agrees with me because after all
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I'm mature and knowledgeable enough To only need to listen to people who tell me what
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I already believe If that's your attitude then the second half of verse 14 don't boast and be false to the truth
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What's the truth? The truth is that you have some bitter zeal and selfish ambition That you need to deal with don't boast and deny that don't boast but by implication
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You're boasting by not listening if you're not listening You are boasting by by the fact of not listening you are boasting and that you're saying
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I don't need to listen That's what you do. When you don't listen you say I don't need to I know enough already.
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I know better than you Boast by not attending church or Bible studies unless you're in charge Of course denying the reality of your bitter zeal and selfish ambition the the arrogance in your heart that is quick to speak and slow to listen and Quick to be upset when you don't get your way
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Don't deny that if you have it don't deny the reality of what your conduct shows in your heart
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It's what James is saying I'm talking to you I say you I hope no one hears like that That's the way
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James is written. He's talking to them. He says you your selfish ambition. Don't deny that So I'm saying the same way to you.
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I hope you're not like that, though I hope you're better than some of these people James is talking to I think you are The tragedy though the great twist that the complication that really muddies
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The waters is that this bitter zeal and selfish ambition selfish ambition you say it like that Man, that's bad.
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That looks awful. And you think this again like a green -eyed monster you can man
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This is something I don't want anywhere near me but the reality is
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This thing that's the opposite of meekness This is looked up to by many as Spirituality if you just dress it up in the right way
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It's not you veil it you Dim the lights a little bit
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This is spirituality they think whatever you maybe you speak Some 17th century
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English these and owls or brother so -and -so It's a kind of spirituality
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What he's talking about here. It sounds so awful because it is awful bitter zeal and selfish ambition, which brings about every vile work
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Is a kind of spirituality It's what what is denounced here is looked up to by many people as It's godliness that it's it is the certitude
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It's the attitude that that you that you develop if you have faith that faith gives you they say
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So that's what's so awful about this You know, we're not talking about something like triple
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X, you know Pornographic movies that you're gonna even tell that's awful or you know something satanic
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This is something that comes across looking as if it is Christian as if it's sanctified but it's the opposite of sanctified and James Day In the in the time of the early church in the culture that James is writing this
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Meekness was not looked up to It was not respected It wasn't respected as a virtue as a good fruit, so he's not like this is not a cultural religion
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That's just kind of helping people live up to the aspirations of their environment of their culture
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This is the opposite of that the dominant morality in the Greek and Roman culture saw meekness as groveling as servile
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It's what people displayed only only because they had to You know, they're just they're poor servants and that's they had to beg that's what they had to they're the kind of people that Couldn't grab what's theirs?
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They couldn't demand their rights because they had no rights They couldn't throw their weight around because they didn't have any weight
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They had no choice then but to be meek And so you just the best maybe felt sorry for them but this is this is not a virtue in their culture a
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Greek philosopher name a Pectacus who lived at the same time as James listed meekness as a moral fault a vice not a virtue
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So keep that in mind What James here is holding up as the good fruit to have?
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Meekness the culture around them was saying is weakness and That attitude still lingers in our culture
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Yeah, even that in words that was that was Western culture 2 ,000 years ago cultures don't change very easily and very fast
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I Think Christianity changed it a lot But not completely that still lingers that's still around in our culture and the sad thing is in some places the culture changed the
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Christianity The religious culture I've been told for example never to say
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I Don't know a pastor gave me that advice a pastor.
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Give me that advice of the spiritual I was teaching the last someone asked me a question. So I don't know and he later came back to me
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Don't ever say I don't know I've been I've been told never to say weak words like probably, you know,
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I'll probably go I'll maybe be there or apparently apparently is that way but I'm not sure
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You know been told never don't talk like that You got a cert that you're certain even if you're not
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That's seen as spiritual by many people today the the wisdom behind that there is a kind of wisdom behind that and it probably makes sense and it probably works some of the time and that is
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That if you admit that you're not all -knowing That you admit that you you realize that you might be wrong
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Then if that's the case people won't listen to you When there are things that you really do know are true
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That's probably the case sometimes You know, what one of the reasons the main reason I don't tell a lot of stories about myself
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It looks not trying to do sometimes in introductions One of the reason I don't like the sermon shouldn't be about mostly myself
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I Second secondly, I should make myself a hero So I tried I try to eliminate illustrations most of the time in which
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I'm I'm the I'm the model you should follow I I don't like that.
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It's a habit at least But then I could say I could use myself as a bad example and I could do a lot of that I have a lot of examples, which
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I'm the one you should not follow and learn from my mistakes but if I did that a lot There are certain people
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Weak people a little worldly in that area who would get the attitude man
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He's got a lot of problems. I'm glad I don't have as many problems as him I'm not gonna listen anything. He says because he's got all those problems
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They would think that way and that's a weakness The attitude is never show weakness or meekness and Everything is clear.
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Everything is certain. I'm on top of the world I have my life in a robe and the ducks in order You know it absolutely and so you don't need to listen to anyone
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And we just kind of come here to celebrate our greatness our mutual greatness. I Once got into a discussion really close to be an argument with a man who is a pastor with no theologian
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No theological education had been to college maybe a year or two And we got into a disagreement about Puritanism, which happens to be my area of expertise
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Okay, he was sure of his opinion and I was sure he was wrong
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But I not only knew he was wrong, but it was I was interested to try to get into the head of a man
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Who was so certain? But knew so little Why do you know almost nothing?
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I try to ask you Where is your education on you know, I didn't say it quite like this
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You know this subject that I spent like four years almost full -time studying Why do you think you know so much about it that that you can tell me and Well, he said he once had a
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Sunday school class on it Okay What makes people think like that?
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to be ignorant and Sure at the same time I'm not sure what it is.
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Well, you probably want was described here But understand that trait That makes him so certain of what he knows nothing about is exactly
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What made him be seen as? spiritual by some
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That trait is exactly what got him to be called pastor by some in this culture
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James says in verse 15. This is not the wisdom that comes from above. It was from God It's not a fruit of the
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Spirit. It's not a godly spirituality It's the kind many people like but it's not the kind the
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Lord likes it is James says three things He described it with three terms. It's earthly comes from the earth
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It's practical It's what people says it says works if you just act so sure of yourself
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You have a good gift for the gab people will follow It's the way people are
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So it works it's from the earth Second is the ESV has unspiritual the word there in Greek is actually where we get the word psyche from like as in psychology
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No, we're just psychological. It's soulish. It's emotional. It's from human flesh and Human feelings and third.
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This is the most striking term It's demonic It's demon -like
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You know, it's like Satan who boasted that I will ascend to God's throne.
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I will impose my will It's true. It's clear because I say it is
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I'm certain Even if I don't have any idea what I'm talking about Imagine there's a demonic spirituality.
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Okay, there's a spirituality in our culture a kind of Religious attitude people people look up to people aspire to people see it and say this is what it means to be like God to be a godly person and the
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Bible says it's Demonic Imagine that what kind of wisdom do you like?
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the kindness earthly psychological demonic So the one that's meek
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How do we know this? Popular kind of wisdom is earthly demonic and demonic and psychological in demonic because in verse 16
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Where these Siamese twins of bitter zeal and selfish ambition exist Where the church is poisoned with them it will bring he says disorder
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Everyone's doing whatever is right in their own eyes You know, you can't it's like trying to herd cats.
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You can't you can't do it There's no covenant -keeping. There's no faithfulness. There's no submission.
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There's no respect and every vile practice The way they were nurtured to be to assert themselves to grasp for what they can get but it results in tearing the church apart
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The one who demands things be done his way who won't submit meekly either to the majority of the leadership or the congregation
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You know just insist that he's right He has a wisdom That is from this world.
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There's soulish that's emotional that's satanic Is that your kind of spirituality?
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I hope not What kind of wisdom do you like? The wisdom that is from above from God produces seven
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Qualities in verse 17 look at chapter 3 verse 17. This is a key verse for this whole passage chapter 3 verse 17
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This is he talks about it the wisdom that is from above is but I think what he means is
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This is what the person is like who has the wisdom that is from above This is what it makes you like if you have it you have the wisdom is from above from God You'll be first seven things pure In other words, your motives are not mixed with selfish ones.
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You're not good Yeah, you like a little of that hearing the Word of God, but you also want to make you know
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Be the big man. So that's partly why you go to church you mix motives. No, it's first pure Second you are peaceable
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Your words and your actions are are geared to creating peace you're thinking about Not only peace for yourself.
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That's great. Peace for the church. What makes the church peaceful. He's other peaceful You're not just thinking about well,
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I want up there. I want on the stage I want to be looked up to I want this or that I want the money what?
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What makes for peace? You And I'm not talking about the fake piece of it's a kind of just placating
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Bitterly zealous people you can get some temporary peace. Somebody's bitterly zealous They're demanding something you kind of cave into them
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I like having a child throwing a temper tantrum and you you give in to them to keep them quiet But that that kind of quote piece that won't last very long the true piece that we've reconciled relationships that you're really considering others and Hopefully they will notice and they'll do the same third you are gentle It's a third quality.
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You will have you have the wisdom from above you be gentle. You'll be patient tolerating others rather than Bringing out that flamethrower of accusations like we saw last week fourth
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You'll be open to reason. So that interesting do people think of Christians being open to reason?
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Some kind they don't I Think the spiritual they should The open to reason
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There's debate about what that term means in Greek compliant to others reasonable request And needs, you know
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Wayne is very compliant to reasonable requests But sometimes I like a test him with some unreasonable ones just to make sure he will say no and he will you know
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Come on come to my house and change my car oil in my car something like that No, no, you can take care of yourself, right? But if you need him, he'll
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Reasonably he'll probably come and help deferring to others yielding to persuasion It's the opposite of the person who refuses to listen no matter
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You know what no matter the facts are against him or the headstrong person who won't consider anything else
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No matter how they are appealed to I think
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King James only people fit right in there It doesn't matter no matter how many facts you show them The the
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King James maybe was good for its time 400 years ago But you know now we need newer translation. I mean how many facts you show them that they doesn't
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Those are perversions modern perversions of the Bible numbers. No, okay Close to reason
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Fifth though you are full of mercy and good fruit You're kind to others. In other words you you consider them six.
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You're you're impartial You seem kind of odd in this was me be impartial. But otherwise, you're not always suspecting some people
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Because they're not your kind Because they are an authority maybe if you're
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American you think well, they're an authority. They must be doing something wrong That's the American attitude your culture teaches.
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You always suspect people in authority or You give others
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Who you like who are your kind the benefit of the doubt and what that does your partiality produces conflict, doesn't it?
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There's people who see that they're being ignored because of their race or because of their culture they end up resenting it
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You don't blame them either I would do so when one child in a family is preferred over another
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They resent it. Don't they you want to cause conflict in the family start openly preferring one kid over another
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Jacob's partiality think about in the book of Genesis Jacob's partiality to Joseph Brought about that conflict in the family
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When you favor one group over another in the church, you know the people who are discriminated against get upset
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In our culture, they just probably go off and form their own church, but there's divisions and hostility but impartiality on the other hand brings peace
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People see that you know, you're not discriminating against them seventh the last one you're sincere again with the motives
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Motives that are what you say they are you say you want to serve you really do See, I want to help the kids of Jim.
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Do you really do? It's not just something you say that there you are really are for the good of the church not just for your own agenda and notice here something peculiar because I Memorized this verse.
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I thought a lot about it. There's something peculiar about this list of seven qualities The first pure is a lot like the the last sincere
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Right sincere is having pure Motives so you you're where you are what you said you are the second peaceable is like the second to last impartial just remember avoiding you by being impartial you avoid the conflict stirred stirred up by Partiality the third gentleness is like the third to last
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Mercy and good fruits and that leaves then the the fourth one, which is the middle one
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Open that is open to reason yielding to persuasion submissive deferential
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Meekness, it leaves that is the sort of the pinnacle of this list the the the summit in this mountain of virtues from which
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Which the wisdom from above produces in you? Oh Be open to reason if you have it from God, it will make you open to reason deferential meek that in turn produces in verse 18 a harvest of righteousness all the fruit of the spirit
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It is planted in your life and the life of the church is planted by peacemakers and you get it peacefully
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Is that the kind of wisdom? You like what kind of friends do you like What kind of friends do you like Raymond friends who read
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Harry Potter If you like having the world as your friend that's that's going to cause problems
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What causes fights and quarrels he asked in the church among you and those in the church. What causes fights and quarrels.
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That's what you like What you desire? Causes you to bump up against others who desire something different Why are there often fights in church, but not in business or in sports
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Maybe in business they'll fire you In business people may even get along well with competitors, you know, they don't resent their competitors
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They know that their business is out to make money. It's not out to hurt the competitors It's just there happen to be competitors.
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There was the way it is, you know We have people from four competing Chinese restaurants right here At least four.
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Yeah Yeah right Long River Great Wild Blue Park China Dragon and First taste there we go.
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I'll with pretty close to each other And they seem to be getting along nicely. I haven't seen him fighting each other recently
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In sports a team is united around the goal of winning Just you know in a football team.
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They know what they're they exist for they exist to win the game And that's what they want above all in both and all of this they know what they're about But the difference is
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I think in sure why are there fights and quarrels because in church people might say They're about we're about serving
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God that's what we're here for we're about growing ourselves To be like that list of seven things and and then being used by him to reach others all to glorify the
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Lord But some people just say that In aren't sincere They're full of You know the
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Siamese twins That bitter zeal that selfish ambition their passion really is for their ego
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So the conflicting motives so you have some people who then who are like that for the for their ego They want to be entertained and then there's others who are sincere who want to serve the
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Lord and they're all they're all together And then there's conflict because these things are hitting against each other I'm thinking motives leaves the conflict
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James says in verse 2 you desire and you do not have So you murder?
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Now, I don't think he means literally that they were murdering each other, you know We're stabbing each literally stabbing each other in the back
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But I think he means what he was described earlier here in his book You see a brother or sister
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You know needy doesn't have enough clothes keep warm in the winter doesn't have enough food and you just say be warm be filled
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Get lost after that, you know, that's what you mean, that's what you don't say get lost But that's what you want, but you're not gonna give your own things.
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I Think what he means is that? Some of these people they desired Whatever they desired they desired that nice new car.
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They desired their fancy vacation. They desired their jewelry. They desired their gadgets and They didn't care for the needs of other members they spent on themselves and They didn't share to provide for the needs of a brother or sister and so for all they cared
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Just let them die live and let dies their attitude No, they wouldn't actually kill them, but they would let them die as long as they got their
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Luxury car or their trip to Disney World or their gadgets You covet you want you're greedy for something.
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It cannot obtain So you fight and quarrel you just frustrated you take out your frustrations with others frustrated
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You didn't get what you want like a spoiled child at Christmas So you resent others who dad do have what you want or who have what they want?
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You do not have because you do not ask in prayer talking about you ask
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God and Do not receive when I know when you pray and sometimes don't get what you pray for you
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Yes, you don't receive because you ask wrongly To spend it on your passions Pray for more people at church.
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Maybe it's because I want to be Well, I'm not supposed to share bad things about myself. Am I some of you may take that the wrong way
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Maybe I want to be the big man Is that is that my passion? It's not really about the glory of God about growing and serving it's about me or maybe for you is by you
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Why are we like that? It's the friends we like it's our friends
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In verse 4 you adulterous people, it's an adulterous adulterous. Someone is having a unfaithful to one relationship and Having another one you shouldn't have
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Unfaithful you adulterous Adulterous is literally you adulterous people. Yeah, you're unfaithful to God like a spouse committing adultery instead of faithfulness to God You're you're seeking friendship with the world but appeasing the world means opposing
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God Appeasing the world means opposing God It's a stark choice.
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You can't have both you have to choose What kind of friends do you like?
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You got to choose you can't have both if you wish to be a friend of the world to be somebody in their eyes to be liked to be the big man or whatever it is, and that's just your
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The main thing of your life for the guys that work to like you to be popular That now that might come about it's sort of a fringe benefit, you know, you're sincerely seeking
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God You're like what's described in chapter 3 verse 17 and people see that you're really wanting to do good to all people especially the household of faith, but to all people that your religion isn't just a ruse for self -seeking and They may respect that and They may like you for it.
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But if you're in goal Your real quest that is the thing that really drives you is to gain the approval of your neighbors
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Then you are making an enemy out of God your your neighbors by the way
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Sure, you should love your neighbor as yourself, but your neighbors who? Here you have to love less than God That you have to be careful you're not trying to Appease them and so opposing
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God your neighbors Jesus tells us Who may tempt you away who may make you an enemy of God?
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Maybe your wife your husband your children your parents
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If we seek a relationship with them above the Lord We're rejecting the
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Lord this is the folly of worldliness Worldliness isn't about your style of dress or what kind of music you like to listen to or what you drink
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It's about who deep down in your heart. You are trying to please
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What that zeal is in your heart for what's it for Ian Murray described worldliness quote worldliness is departing from God It's a man -centered way of thinking it proposes objectives which demand no radical breach with man's fallen nature
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It judges the importance of things by the present and material results. It weighs success by numbers
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It covets human esteem and wants no unpopularity It knows no truth for which it is worth suffering.
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It declines to be a fool for Christ's sake If deep in our hearts we desire the applause of the world
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Maybe even corporately sort of to be the respectable Church you know all about we're all about family and and pulling your pants up and and country and we have
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Programs for everything you could possibly want from the cradle to the grave We were all about being popular with you
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Caswell County Danville, then we aren't worshiping the father in spirit and truth. We're not the kind of worshipers
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That he seeks in verse 5 he yearns it says the
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God himself yearns With a holy jealousy that our hearts that our spirits that he originally breathed into us that they would belong to him
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If they would that we would yearn for him to worship him You know
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Jesus said a similar thing John for the father seeks Now this he's on a quest the father is looking for worshipers in spirit
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I think it means in their own hearts not just through the forms But in spirit and in truth sincerely genuinely according to his truth
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That's what the father is seeking here. He yearns for that And and we said we would we said we would be that we would be
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Seeking him and worshiping him James here is speaking to Christians people who claim to love
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God and seek first his kingdom but we committed spiritual adultery by Seeking to make friends with the world to that.
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We got a little on the side Alright, what's adultery? Adultery is thinking you have both when you got to choose
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And you got to have only one But adultery you think you have to know you can't
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You have to choose You Can't have people approving of us at least that your quest have people approve of you and God approving of you
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You can't have both adultery He would be right then to divorce us
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Your spouse commits adultery you can divorce here. We commit adultery. He can divorce us but in verse 6
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Do you see this coming I mean this is strong stuff a lot of strong criticism of words to the church
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He calls it the church here. Hopefully not us adulterous is your adulterers and Yet he gives more grace
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Who would see this coming He gives more grace More than that Amazing grace that originally drew us to himself that caused us to first believe he gives us grace enough to repent again to Reconcile that relationship we tore with our spiritual adultery to repent of our ongoing draw to selfish ambition to care more about the things that we can get for ourselves than what we can do for others in the body
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For being so arrogant that we won't listen You have to be to being so arrogant, you know, we even we sit through sermons, but we just don't
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Think we know better He gives us grace to choose the wisdom that comes from above over the kind that comes from the earth that appeals to our ego
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Our feelings that is demonic. He gives us more grace so we can humble ourselves We could admit our preference for that demon like wisdom admit our spiritual adultery and finally becoming humble we get
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More grace you notice that he gives us more grace. What's it lead to? We obey the command the ability that grace gives us we humble ourselves and he gives grace to the humble
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How do you get grace It takes grace to give grace God gives yet more grace to the humble so we can resist the devil in his kind of wisdom
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Resist him like soldiers on the wall, you know I'm pushing back the invaders
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Trying to invade us, but you push them back He'll flee we can have the grace to really draw near to God not not because we're coveting something that he selfishly
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Coveting something we selfishly want him to give us, you know, he'll give us prosperity He'll give us the best life now if we only you know, do the right rules and get right with him
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No, because we meekly want him to draw near to us We cleanse our hands of the filth of selfish ambition
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Hands filthy from trying to grasp for money for stuff for a name for ourselves
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We purify our hearts of our mixed motives and become single -minded
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No longer double -minded thinking like the world in one part of our mind that that demonic spirituality and maybe
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Like the Lord in another Double -minded unstable we keep going back and forth between the two. No Meekly we admit
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We are wretch And he says mourn and weep you wretch we admit that.
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Yes That our self -satisfied laughter is turned to godly grief It produces a repentance as we sense how our selfishness and arrogance has offended the
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Lord He gives more grace So we can humble ourselves and when we do he gives us even more grace and it gives us grace enough to exalt us if like Abraham We are friends of God kind of friends.
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Do you like finally very briefly? What kind of judges do you like?
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Yourself is the self -appointed judge or God You got to choose you can't have both
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If you're speaking evil against each other your brothers or sisters in Christ, you know, there was fellow church members You're setting yourself up as a judge
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Now here he's not saying I I don't think You just can't say anything critical about anyone no matter what they do
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You know that that poor that that sweetheart Adolf Hitler man. Hope it's alright for him.
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No, no, come on He's not saying don't judge by God's Word he's not saying don't call sin sin
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Don't don't submit to his judgment on some action But God has expressed his as the judge
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He has expressed his judgment and we're actually being arrogant if we if we don't agree with his judgment about something
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Right, according to God's judgment. What is Adolf Hitler bad? Of course, he is He's a mass murderer.
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So we agree with his judgment by telling the truth about him You know about it anything we can say according to God's Word saying sex out of marriage sex outside of marriage is wrong
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Breaking your word is wrong. We can say according to what God has revealed in the Bible. The prosperity gospel is unbiblical
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He doesn't mean you don't Saying that agreeing with the judgment. God has already made that that's you can't do that.
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No Alright, they say one of the popular most popular They say the last generation the most popular verse of the
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Bible was John 3 16 and now it's Matthew 7 1, you know judge not and people use that to excuse whatever they do and That's not that's not what
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James here means either. He means don't assert your opinion as the standard of judgment you say
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That worldly rap music is awful or drinking that is ungodly
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Or doing that whatever it is that is wrong what says who says you
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Why do you think you have the right to set up your opinions your your Taste the kind of music you like or the kind of drinks you like whatever as these standard to judge others
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When you do that You not only show a great deal of arrogance as though as though your opinions were inerrant, you know without error
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You speak evil against God's law The law the perfect law of Liberty, you know, he called it earlier in this letter
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You're saying when you do that you assert your opinion is the standard that that if if God knew what he was doing
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If he wasn't so incompetent that God I'm trying to straighten him out that he would have included my opinions in the
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Bible So now I'm I'm now I'm saying what God should have That's what people do when they assert their opinions who's the judge
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You are oh you say God is but you've set yourself up as the judge of the judge.
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It's sort of the Supreme Court and over God So now you're not a doer of the law in verse 11.
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You're just a self -appointed judge. The law commands love we respond with Defamatory talk setting up ourselves up as if we know better saying, you know, it should have commanded
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Me at least to criticize. It's what it should have done So I'm gonna change it at least for myself trying to take
01:00:00
God's place on the judgment seat To value our opinions above in actual practice what God has inspired in his word is to value ourselves
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Above him. He's the only lawgiver and judge that the one who can save from judgment or destroy
01:00:14
That leads to the question in verse 12 Who are you? You know, it's like who do you think you are?
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Who are you to judge your neighbor your brother your sister? You're not the judge there's three kinds we have to choose from kinds of wisdom
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Friends of judges But they all really come down to one choice Are we driven by our own ego?
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Our bitter zeal for our agenda we fight and we resist because our selfish desires
01:00:52
We don't care about each other's needs because we're too full of care for our own needs And when we do think of our brothers and sisters
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We do so as if we were the judges pronouncing our verdicts
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Rather than their servants deep in our hearts, you know beneath all the religious dress and the spiritual talk
01:01:14
Do we harbor selfish ambition? Passions for ourselves While in reality, we are unfaithful to God more interested in being liked
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By the people around us that the people at work or to be somebody
01:01:31
Steamed and you know your line of work looked up to is that we're most interested in have you been liking the wrong kind of wisdom?
01:01:41
of friends of judges If so, remember God is the only lawgiver and judge he's the only one able to save and destroy remember that and tremble shudder
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Like the demons weep for your sins Let your self -satisfied glib happiness
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Be turned into gloom as you grieve over your sins You're your bad
01:02:11
Spirituality as you humble yourself for your offensive arrogance before a holy
01:02:18
God But remember remember the good news
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Maybe we didn't see coming Despite our adultery our sins our selfish ambition remember