Be not many masters. Don't be
teachers. Don't assume this business of
preaching, teaching. And those teachers and preachers,
and men, you know, it's an awesome responsibility to teach a Bible
class, to teach young people, to teach kids. And if we take
this responsibility upon ourselves without being sin of God, and
here's the thing about it, if we teach others, we're going
to receive the greater condemnation because what we tell people,
we ourselves must be true to. And so, you know, when an abandoned
is going to preach and teach and set himself up as a teacher,
he is an absolute idiot if God don't send him and don't call
him, don't even start. Don't wait until Saturday night
to get something together. Don't wait until Friday night
to get something. You know, God's people, God's preacher, He's
ready. And then He goes on to say about
we offend in many things we offend all. Everything we do offends. Sometimes everything we do and
we offend everybody. But if a man learns how to not
offend in word when he's preaching, teaching, If he don't offend
in word, if he uses and learns how to preach the truth in love
with some wisdom, and God uses them to teach him, and they don't
be offensive in the word, then that man's able even to control
his own body, control everything about him. And then he goes on
to say about how he uses his illustrations about the tongue.
If you're going to get up and use your tongue, you're going
to use your mouth. We put bits in horses' mouths.
A little old, great old big horse, big old thousand-pound horse. Take a little old bitty piece
of metal, stick it in that horse's mouth, and you can control it.
You can control it. And you have a ship, a hundred
ton ship, a thousand hundred ton ship, huge ship, great weight
ship. And take a little old bitty hail,
a little old bitty piece, and turn that thing around. But the
tongue, just a little bitty member, just like that little bitty bit
in a horse's mouth. That little bitty ailment turns
the ship. The tongue, this little bitty
member, boasteth great things, says some great things, boasts
about itself. But groan how great a matter
a little fire kindeth. Do you know this tongue? It's
like it takes a match to set a whole woods on fire, burn a
house down. This tongue can set the world itself on fire. It
can destroy homes, can destroy marriages, destroy churches,
destroy friendships. And he says it's a world of iniquity.
A world of iniquities in it. A world of sins in it. And then
he comes on down to say there in verse 8, but the tongue can
no man tame. It's an unruly evil full of deadly
poisons. Everything else has been tamed.
Birds, beasts, snakes, whales. Tigers, lions, elephants, you
name it, it's been tamed. But everything you can't tame
a tongue. Only the grace of God can tame a man's tongue. And what he's doing here, he's
showing us that whatever you get up and start talking about
and using your tongue, whatever the abundance of the heart, the
mouth speaketh. And he tells us that if we set
ourselves up to be masters, teachers, judges, God help us not to be
offensive with our tongues. And everything can be controlled
but the tongue. No man, it says here, no man
can tame it. No man. I can't tame it, you
can't tame it. No man can tame another man's
tongue. Can't even tame it ourselves. No man can tame it. But oh my. And he comes on down here to
say, and he asks three questions. For God's grace can, he asks
three questions. He says in verse 11, doeth a
foul sin forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Verse
12, Can the fig tree bear olive berries, either of vine figs?
And verse 13, Who is a wise man and dude with knowledge among
you? So here he comes talking about the use of our tongues,
this tongue that we have, this tongue that we preach with, this
tongue that we teach with, this tongue that we pray with. Therewith
bless we the Father, even God, even the Father, and therewith
curse we men, which are made at the similitude of God. And we do with our tongues. We
do with our tongues. We bless God, even our Father.
We praise and bless God. He called Him even our Father.
We say Abba Father. We use our tongues to tell of
the glory of God, to tell of the glory of Christ. We use our
tongues to sing hymns of praise. Gary just sung a hymn. Bradley led us in two wonderful,
wonderful hymns. Oh, wonderful hymns. And here
we sing these blessed hymns. We use our tongues to praise
God, to sing, to pray. Oh, we use them in words to give
thanks for mercies given to us in Christ. And we praise God
and bless God, even our Father, with our tongues. And then, he
says, we use the same tongue. Use the same tongue with cursed
men which are made in the image of God. To use the same tongue
to praise and bless God with, and at the same time turn around
and cuss those that are made in His likeness. And this word,
curse, means to desire evil, to desire evil to happen to somebody,
to criticize them. And this is a sad thing, and
we have to admit this. You know, I do. It's a sad thing
that we have to admit, to use in our tongue. Oftentimes to
curse, to speak harshly, to speak hatefully, to speak unkindly,
even of those that have been renewed in the image of God Himself. And oh, to bless God with the
tongue and then turn around and curse somebody with the other,
and after they've made at the simitude of God? Oh, no. He says that in verse 8, out
of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing? Blessing
and cursing out of the same mouth? Blessing and cursing? It's almost
like he says, how can this possibly be? Use the tongue to praise
God, use the tongue to give thanks, to bless God, to glorify God,
turn around and use it to curse people that are made and renewed
in the image of God. He's talking about among the
saints of God. And some use the tongue by the
grace of God to bless God and to bless others with it, to be
a blessing to others. And others whose tongue is not
being tamed by the grace of God, they'll curse and speak unkind
to others, be ill to others, be unkind to others. And this
is the thing about it. Some, sadly, try to do both. They try to do both. With the
same tongue, they'll talk religion. They'll bless God, profess godliness.
And at the same time, turn around when they get the opportunity,
criticize and speak evil of others. And James says, my brethren,
my brethren, these things ought not so to be. These things ought
not so to be. And I tell you, to people that
dwell in unity and fellowship, I told Kyle Mayer this afternoon,
and it's wonderful. The unity and fellowship we have,
a bunch of people can get together and go out and eat and laugh
and enjoy one another's company so much. that it almost makes
you hard to deal with things like this. It's such a blessing.
But thus, sadly, some people try to do both. They try with
the same tongue to talk about God, talk about religion, to
bless God, to praise God, and profess Godliness, and then turn
around and speak so harsh and so unkind and so critical and
so mean and so hateful and ungracious to others who are made in the
likeness of God and renewed in the image of God. And if you
do it at home with your husband or your wife or your children,
and come in here and talk about, I know God, and I bless God,
and I praise God, and then go home and mistreat your wife or
your husband or your children, James says, my brethren, these
things ought not so to be. These things ought not so to
be. What he's saying is, this is wicked. This is sinful. This
is unnatural. What's unnatural about it? It's
unnatural for those that have the grace of God. It's unbecoming. It's unworthy of the very name
of Christian. It's just unworthy of that. And
he gives us two illustrations. Look, he gives us two illustrations.
He starts here in verse 11. He said, if you go up to a fountain
to get water, Out of that same fountain, are you going to get
sweet water and bitter at the same time? It's either going to be sweet
water or it's going to be bitter. You can't get both from the same
fountain. That's what he's saying. If you go up to a fountain, if
you're going to get water, is it going to give you bitter water
or is it going to give you sweet water? It can't give you both,
that's what he's saying. So how can you use your tongue
to bless God and use your tongue to curse? people at the same
time, criticize others at the same time. And that's what he's
saying. He's showing how ridiculous it
is for a man to think that he may truly praise God with the
same tongue and lying, cursing, blasphemy. And then look what
he says. Can the fig tree, can the fig
tree, my brethren, by all its berries? Well, of course, it's
absurd. You go to a fig tree to get figs.
You go to an olive tree to get olives. And he says, that's what
he said, how can a man say that he has the grace of God and God's
used his tongue and blessed his tongue, he's been renewed in
the image of Christ, he's been recreated in Christ, been renewed
in Christ, and he comes along here and he's supposed to be
bearing figs and all he is is bearing olive berries. You can't
get figs and olives off of the same tree. And then he goes on
to say, either a vine, figs, And that says, so there's no
way in the world that a fountain can both yield salt water and
fresh. And that's what he's showing
us. He says, you know, your tongue's going to be one or the other.
And whatever's in your heart, that's what's coming out of your
tongue. If your heart's not got grace in it, grace ain't coming
out your mouth. If your heart ain't got the love
of God in it, love ain't coming out. If your heart ain't got
the mercy of God in it, then mercy's not coming out. Now,
I know that we're not perfect by the no stretch of our imagination. I understand that. But that's
not what we're talking about here. We're talking about what
God does for a person in his life. And then look what he comes
to ask this question now. He says, Oh my, you know, who
is a wise man among you that doeth with knowledge? Who is
a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of
a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom." And
he said, Who is wise among you and endued with knowledge among
you? Who is wise and who is God blessed with knowledge among
you? Now, there's not a one of us in this building today, not
a one of us tonight that would say, Boy, we're fools. I'm a
fool. All of us would like to think
we're wise to some degree. None of us consider ourselves,
if we'd like to think we're wise, we'd like to think we have some
knowledge, endued with knowledge. And if we claim to be wise, we
claim to have the wisdom of Christ, claim to have knowledge of the
scriptures, claim to have a knowledge of Christ, claim to have a knowledge
of the things of God, claim to have a knowledge of ourselves,
and he says, let him show out of a good conversation, and that
conversation means a manner of life. Not what he said out of
your very life. He's talking about a fountain,
water coming out of a fountain. He's talking about fruit on trees.
He's talking about salt water, fresh water, bitter water, sweet
water. And he says here, let him show out of his good conversation,
out of his manner of life, his works. Don't just talk about it. If
you say you've got some wisdom, God's blessed you with some knowledge.
Don't just talk about it. Don't just let it be in words.
Don't let it just use your tongue and talk about it. He said, let
him show out of his good conversation, his good manner of life, his
works. And watch this, with meekness
and wisdom. Now what does that word meekness
mean? It means submissive, pliable,
bowing down to that. And then that meekness of wisdom.
Not showing off, not bragging, not boasting. But he just lives
his life, and you see by his life, he has some knowledge,
he has some wisdom. But now watch what else he says
here. Oh, and I'm going to tell you something about it. It's
not the person who thinks well. It's not the person who talks
well. But James said it's the person who lives and acts well. You know, it's by our conduct
and by our conversation. This is not a single act he's
talking about. Just look at this work I've done,
or people see this work I've done. When he says, by good conversation,
let him say his word, by our conduct and conversation, this
is not a single act. It's a course of living. And
it's a course of living according to the Word if we have this wisdom
and knowledge of God. I want to show you a couple of
things. Look over here in Romans 14 with me, just a moment. Romans 14. Who is wise among you, dude with
knowledge? It's not the person who thinks
well, talks well, but it's the person who lives and acts well.
You can claim to be wise, you can claim to have knowledge. But how do you act? How do you
carry yourself? How do you conduct yourself?
What comes out of your mouth? What comes out of your life?
What is it day in and day out? What is it year in and year out?
What is it month in and month out? What is it on the job? What
is it in the home? What is it when you're among
yourself? What is it when you're with other people? How do you
act when you're in a grocery store? How do you act when you
run into poor friends? How do you act? This is what
he's talking about. It's not just what we say, it's
what we do. And he goes on to say here in
Romans 14, 17. For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink. Oh, I know I'm saved because
I eat this meat, and I don't drink that, and I drink this,
and I don't drink that other thing, and I live this way, and
I live this other way. But he says that's not what the kingdom
of God is in, but it's in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost. It's like he just read a minute
ago. The effect of righteousness is quietness and peace and assurance
forever. And look in Colossians with me.
Oh, this is what I want for myself. Colossians chapter 3. We're talking
about meekness and wisdom and showing evidence of spiritual
wisdom, spiritual meekness. In Colossians 3 and verse 12. Flee, flee, youthful lust. But he says here in verse 12,
put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, vows
of mercy. That word vow means your inward
parts, your very heart, your very soul. Kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness and longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving
one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." And what's this?
And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond
of perfectness. Oh, my. That's what he says.
He claimed to have wisdom. He said, this is what it is. Let's see it. That's what he
said. Let's see it. Now, back over in our... That's
evidence of spiritual wisdom and meekness. Now back over in
our text here, James. He said, Who is a wise man, in
verse 13, and dude with knowledge among you? Let him show out of
a good conversation his works with meekness and with... But
now listen, the opposite of that is, but if you have bitter envy
and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the
truth. And oh, boy, bitterness. If you
have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, Pretend what you will. Think
yourself to be wise. But if you have bitter envy and
strife, and this word bitter, you know, it means so distasteful. It means such ill will towards
someone. And if you have this envy and
strife in your hearts, don't glow in that. Don't pretend. Don't pretend what you will.
Don't glory against it, because if you do, what you're doing
is you're lying against the truth. If you have envy and strife in
your hearts. And you know what the truth is?
You know what it is when you glory in this and you're lying
against the truth? If a man says he loves God and loves not his
brother, he's a liar of truth. How can you love God, whom you
have not seen, and not love your brother, whom you have seen?
And how can we say that Christ is in us? and grace is in us,
and mercy is in us, and yet we would be full of envy and strife
and cause strife. And, oh, my, I can't imagine
strife. I'll remember, I know we've been,
years ago, we've been through some strife. There's nothing
worse in a congregation, nothing worse in the home, nothing worse
than strife. The wise man said, I'd rather
dwell in the rooftop, in the corner rooftop of a house, than
dwell in a house, have a stall ox, and have everything I want,
than be in a house with a strife. And oh my, to have strife. We
don't want to have strife. And oh, to have this. And then
to claim that you have wisdom, that you have knowledge. What
he's saying is that you're lying. He's just lying. Let me show
you a couple of things over in Proverbs. Oh, these are such
good things. We need to have the men read
through Proverbs again. The time we read through Proverbs,
it's such a blessing. It's Proverbs 11. Look at this
with me. Envy and jealousy and contention. You know where it
comes from? It comes from pride. If you have meekness and have
right estimation of yourself, Folks can hardly make you mad
at them. Proverbs 11, 2. When pride cometh,
then cometh shame. Oh my, what did we have that
we didn't receive? You're talking about an anomaly,
a paradox, That's another word I'm thinking
of. But I tell you, for us, for a believer, to have pride, after
what we, for God, everything we have, God gave it to us. Everything
we know, God taught it to us. Everything we, every spiritual
blessing, we have it in Christ. We've not earned anything. And
he says, when pride cometh in, cometh shame. When you feel pride,
don't you get ashamed of yourself? Don't you feel that shame, that
guilt whenever you think too well of yourself? But what's
this with lowliness? But with the lowly, there's some
wisdom. He sees things like they are.
He sees himself as he is. He sees God as he is. And why
do I got to lift myself up for? So there's no sense in me contending
and arguing and striving with somebody. I'm nothing. And look over here in chapter
Verse 13 and verse 10. And I've showed this to folks
who wanted to be contentious over the years or have been with
folks who want to argue and want to be contentious and want to
start trouble. And take them to this verse of
Scripture right here. Only by pride. Proverbs 13, 10.
Only by pride cometh contention. Do you know what causes contention? Argument. People being contentious? They're proud. What's this? But with the well-advised is
wisdom. Who advised him well? The Holy
Ghost did. The Scriptures did. Look back
over with me now. And oh, he goes on to say here,
so if you have this envy and strife in your hearts, Don't
glory. Don't glory not. Just glory not.
Just don't talk about being wise. Don't talk about having good
conversation. Don't talk about that. Just you're
lying against the truth. And he says this wisdom, this
wisdom of ending in strife and confusion, this wisdom descendeth
not from above, but it's earthly, sensual, devilish. It's this
wisdom that That's just envy and strife. And what it is is
saying, if you knew them the way I knew them, if you've seen
things the way I've seen, if you understood what I understand,
if you've seen things the way I did, and that's how things
start. They think they have a wisdom
and insight. And they think they know things about other people
that they don't know, and they go around, they're trying to
start some strikes, they're trying to try some contention, and it's
because of envy. Well, he gets too much attention,
and he's got this thing, and you know what? They see somebody
have a little something that they want, and they'll still
start... picking and striving, and listen, there ain't none
of us that got anything that God didn't give us, and I'm just
as happy, and this is the truth as God's witness, and this is
the way we ought to be. If God blesses you to have the
most expensive automobile that money can buy, and if God blesses
you to have that, bless your heart, I'm glad for you. The
thing that matters is, do you support the gospel? Do you support
the gospel? Do you support the church? Do
you use what God gives you for that? And that's all that matters. Whatever God gives you, take
what you've got. If you support the gospel and
He gives you more to do with it, do that. And that's what
he's saying here, but people find this reason to be envious.
They're envious of what somebody has. Some position to have. Some more love that they have,
or some kindness that they have. And I can admit this, and I've
done that way. There's been times, you know,
that I say, Oh, Lord, please don't let me feel that way. Please
don't let me feel that way. You know, you hear good preachers,
preachers, oh, my soul, and I hear preaching sometimes, and I think,
what in the world have I, why did I ever open my mouth starkly? Why did I ever start? They're
so good at it. And I say, Lord, why can't I
be like that? Forgive me, I can't be no more
than what I am. But that's what I'm saying. Whatever
we have, if we have this knowledge, if we've had this wisdom, just
don't be envious of anything anybody's got. As long as they're
coming and attending the gospel, they're supporting the work.
That's what you do. And he goes on to say here, this
wisdom is not from above and earthly, sensual, deadly. And
what he's saying is to use the tongue to bless God, to curse
men, and then to claim to have wisdom, then to claim to have
knowledge, then be envious, then be contentious. This is earthly,
it's sensual, it's fleshly, it's deadly. This wisdom is not of
God. Anyone knows how to argue. Anyone
knows how to start trouble. That's as natural as water running
down a hill. Anybody knows how to do that.
But everybody don't know how to make peace. Everybody don't
know how to bring people that's against one another together. And it goes on to say in verse
16, for envy and strife is. There's confusion in every evil
work. You get around where folks are
Busting and fighting and striving. That's confusion. I thought these folks loved one.
Confusion. I thought he loved him. Now listen
to what he's saying. That's confusion. He says he does some wisdom.
He knows something about God. But listen to what he's saying.
Listen to what he's saying about that. Listen to what he's saying
about this other. Listen to what he's saying about... Oh, that's confusion. Every evil work. Oh, my. We're in our attitude. When our
words create strife, confusion, division among the brethren,
when we speak from envy, bitterness, selfishness, it's not of God. It's not of God. It's not of
God. I'll tell you something. Where
wise men worship, there's love, there's peace, there's mercy. That's where wise men worship.
But where there's envy and strife, there's confusion, and there's
evil work. And you know our Lord Jesus,
they said they said about Him. Well, let's just look at Matthew
11. Let's just look at this. Let me... Wisdom's justified
over children. And this is what's sad about it. That a person can
justify themselves in anything they want to do. If they want
to be envious and strife and contentious, and claim and speak
words, you know, I know God, and I've got some wisdom, I've
got some knowledge, and then they're ill and hateful and contrary. But look what he says, Matthew
11, verse 19. The Son of Man came eating and
drinking, and they said, Behold, a man gluttonous, a wine-bibber,
a friend of publicans and sinners. But he says, but wisdom is justified
of her children. He says, the way they want to
look at things, they'll justify it. That's the way they saw Christ. A wine-viper, a drunken, a gluttonous
man. And that caused the Indian strike
and confusion. Everybody else said, how can
he be that way? Do you see those miracles? Have you ever heard
anything come out of his mouth that shouldn't come out of his
mouth? Have you ever seen any work that wasn't full of grace
and love and mercy? And they said, oh no, this man's
a winebibber. He's a drunker, friend of publicans.
And then they said, well, they justified it. They justified
it. And I tell you, we can be as
ill as the devil himself. And we can end up justifying
ourselves any time. But oh, thank God there's some
wisdom. And where wise men worship, there's
love and peace and mercy. And I don't want no envy, don't
want no strife, don't want no confusion, don't want no evil
word. Do you? Don't want it. When it starts, guess where I'm
going to go? I'm going to go to the house. But oh, look at verse 17. But
that wisdom, that's from above. Oh, there's a wisdom that God
gives men. Remember James started out, if any man lack wisdom,
let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not. He says, oh, there's a wisdom that comes from above. Oh, my. And this wisdom, what is it?
He says several things about it. It's pure, it's peaceable,
it's gentle, it's easy to be entreated, full of mercy and
good fruit without partiality and without hypocrisy. But all that wisdom that's from
above, that wisdom that comes from God, first thing about it,
it's pure. It's pure. It's pure. Our Lord said this
out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. If you got
a, you know, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall
see God. Not going to see Him at the end, they see Him now.
And when the heart has been purified and washed in the blood and entertains
pure thoughts, pure thoughts, good thoughts. The mouth will
speak accordingly. And let me, you know, when I
was looking at these notes this evening, I began to think, how
can I think anything but pure thoughts about anybody in this
building that I know right now? How could I not? How could I
not? Bruce Daley told me this morning
that He was forty-two when I first started preaching to him, and
I was thirty-two. I'll be sixty Tuesday. How come thirty-two
to sixty? Now how many years is that? What
are you math whizzes? Twenty-eight? I've been preaching
twenty-eight years. Some of you longer than that.
How could I possibly have an impure thought about you? James,
I've known you. How could I think an evil thing?
How could I? How could I? How could I do that?
When I love you and I know you, how could we do these things?
How could you entertain us? Sisters, fathers, mothers, brothers,
children. And this is wisdom that comes
from above. It calls you to give thanks.
And then it's peaceable. It's peaceable. That's the opposite
of strife. And I'll tell you something,
men who desire peace, you know what they do? They speak peacefully. They speak peacefully. Huh? Blessed
are the peacemakers, our Lord Jesus said. Blessed are the peacemakers. They're called the children of
God. And then look what else it says. And this general, Gentle,
that means it's mild, it's courteous, kind, and patient. And you know
what? Gentleness is a fruit of the
Spirit, and it's an attribute of our Lord and of His servants.
You know, when our Lord Jesus, those fellows was asleep, and
He went over there and prayed till His sweat became, as it
were, great drops of blood. And He told Peter, James, and
John, could you stay awake and watch with me for an hour? He
went off a stone throw and he prayed and he come back and he
come over there and there they were, they're asleep. You know, do you think he got
harsh with them or unkind with them? No, you know what he said? Could
you just, the Spirit's willing, but the flesh is weak, but could
not you watch just an hour? Would you just go ahead and sleep?
He was so gentle with them. Would he come walking on the
water? And they got scared teetotally to death. And you know what the first word
out of his mouth was? Be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. When you're in the middle of
the night and the storm's coming, you're on that boat and all the
waves are just tossing you here and yonder and about. He could
have said, oh, you fellas, I tell you, I'm just so tired of putting
up with you, and oh, you bunch of dummies, and you don't learn
nothing. Oh, listen. He could have just
walked right on by. But no, he said, be a good cheer.
Don't be afraid. It's me. Let me show you a couple of things.
Let me look over here at Thessalonians 2. You know, our Lord, even after
He was raised from the dead, and when He first appeared to
those disciples, and He appeared in that upper room with them,
the first time He appeared, do you know what the first words
out of His mouth were? The first words out of His mouth
when He appeared to them. Instead of child, they were hid
there for fear of the Jews. But the first thing He said to
them, Peace be unto you. Oh my, oh God have mercy on me,
teach me these things. Look in 1 Thessalonians 2. Look in verse 5. Look what Paul's
talking about. Even his disciples had this same
thing of Christ. For neither at any time used
we flatting words, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness,
God is witness, nor of men's saltly glory. We never ask men
to glory about us and brag on us. Neither of you, nor yet of
others, when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of
Christ. Now listen. But we were gentle among you,
even as a nurse cherishes her children. Babies, grandbabies. How do you
treat that baby? You treat it so gentle. It can
cry and be upset, and you just hold it and try to get it to
calm down and wipe its tears, find out what's the matter with
it. You're so patient with it, so tender with it, so gentle
with it, speaks the soft truth. And that's why he says this wisdom
from above him. And wouldn't it be wonderful
if we treat one another that way? Wouldn't it be something? Huh? Everybody wants to, everybody
gets around a baby, everybody just cherishes a baby. Nurses
it to make sure that it's going to get the right amount of milk,
going to get fed. And that's what He said. He said,
that's what we do. And oh, beloved. And I tell you,
and then look what it says here again over here in 1 James, chapter
1, verse 17, chapter 2. Not only is it peaceful, but
it's gentle. And listen to this, and easy
to be entreated. You know what that means, easy
to be entreated? They say, go in and treat him
for me. What that means, go persuade him for me. Go ask him for me."
And he says, with that wisdom that comes from above, it's easy
to be entreated. That means it's persuadable to
watch good. It's persuadable to watch evil. That means they're willing to
listen. That means they're willing to listen to any word of reason,
explanation, quick to forgive. And that's why, you know, some
of y'all, you're so easy to be entreated. I preached like Ruby
sitting there. I love to preach to her. She's
so easy to be entreated. She's so easy to be persuaded.
She's so, she just, that wisdom, you know, she enjoys it. She
can be, and you can see when the scriptures come, how it does. And that's what he said, easy
to be entreated. I don't have to come on hard to me. Easy to
be entreated. And look what else, this wisdom
that's from above. It's full of mercy, good fruits. Full of mercy and good fruits.
And you know what this tells us, beloved? Wisdom knows who
it is that makes men to differ. Wisdom knows who makes men rich
and who makes men poor. Wisdom knows who raises up men
and who doesn't. Wisdom knows who gives gifts
to men and who doesn't with old men. We're all subject to the
sovereignty of God. And then he says, without partiality.
That means without suspicion. We're not suspicious. Free from
judging. We're not partial. We're not
partial to those who seem to have an outward appearance and
they seem to be more spiritual than somebody else. We're partial
to those that we think we can get something from. No, no. And then he says it's without
hypocrisy. That means to have this wisdom
that comes from above has no disguise, no deceit. It's sincere, it's open, it's
straightforward. And I want you to look at this
verse of Scripture, and God make us over 2 Corinthians 1. May God make us by His grace. Make me this way. Look at 2 Corinthians 1. May
God in His grace make me this way. without hypocrisy, without
partiality, full of mercy, good truths. That God helped us to
be this way. This way. Look what he says here.
2 Corinthians 1.12. For our rejoicing
is this. This is what we rejoice in. This
is the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly
sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, But by the grace of God, we have
had our conversation, our manner of life in the world, and more
abundantly towards you. All fleshly wisdom didn't have
nothing to do with it. They've got a good conscience.
Simplicity and sincerity. By the grace of God, our life
is open for everybody to look at. That's what I'm talking about. And then back over, let me close
it out with this. And the fruit of righteousness
is sown in peace of them that make peace." Fruit of righteousness. All this wisdom that comes from
above is a fruit, and it's the fruit of righteousness that's
sown. It's sown in peace of them that make peace. Where heavenly
wisdom and love is, where they live and operate,
the fruit of righteousness is enjoyed. Here where love and
peace operates here, lives here, fruit of righteousness is enjoyed. And those who sow in peace, you
know what? They usually reap a peaceful
harvest. Whatever you sow, that's what.
Sow in peace, you'll reap in peace. Let others sow and reap
contention, but let us sow in righteousness. Let us sow in
peace. And I'm going to read that same
verse of scripture that Gary's done read, because it's the verse
that goes with this so well. And the work of righteousness
shall be peace, and quietness, and assurance forever. Oh, that wisdom that comes from
God. God give us that wisdom. And you know who that wisdom
is? Over in Proverbs it talks about wisdom. Let wisdom have,
that's Christ. To know Christ is wisdom. We
want to know Christ, we want Christ to put on, we want to
learn of Christ.