Grace in Tullahoma

Wisdom: What this World Desperately Needs!

James 3:13-18

KNOWLEDGE is the accumulation of facts.

WISDOM is the ability to use knowledge for God’s glory and to benefit mankind.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 

I. THE WISDOM OF THE WORLD

(1) Where did it get its ORIGIN? “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.”

(2) Now what is the OUTCOME of worldly wisdom?

“For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

1. Envy

2.  Selfishness “But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.”

3.  Confusion

4.  Perversion

II. THE WISDOM OF GOD                                                                         

(1)  Notice its ORIGIN. But the wisdom that is from above.                                                                

1) Godly wisdom is found in the Living Word–Jesus Christ.

2) Godly wisdom is found in the Written Word–the Bible.

(2)  Now what is the OUTCOME of Godly wisdom?

1.  Purity “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure…” 

2.  Peace “then peaceable”

3.  Gentleness “gentle”

4.  Reasonableness “willing to yield” 

5.  Mercy and good fruits “full of mercy and good fruits”   

6.  Without partiality and hypocrisy “without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

“Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the Holy One is  understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)

Revelation – False Teaching & False Promises – 6

Revelation 2:12-17 – 12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Intro: Funny activity where we have a volunteer come up and do something silly, then we jokingly laugh at them. (after one volunteer, I guess that we will not have any or many more volunteers…making the point that we care about how people judge us, and our actions follow based on how we think they will judge us.)

You are going to face judgment for the way you live. (vs 12)

You are going to be judged for anything you do. A lot of people don’t want anything to do with Christ or the church because they feel they are judged by Christians. The thing is, it’s not just Christians who judge. It’s everybody. The world and culture around us is incredibly judgmental, and the ones that scream for tolerance are often the most judgmental. Because if you start living for Christ and his standards of truth and morality, the “non-judgmental” champions of tolerance and inclusion will shout as loud as they can how wrong and evil you are for not believing in and following their way of life.

One of our greatest fears is being judged. We care about how people perceive us. Think about entering middle school or high school for the first time and how scared you were. Why do you worry so much about making a fool of yourself? You get nervous when you have to read out loud. Public speaking is one of the most common phobias people have. Why do you only post the best parts of your life online? It’s because you worry and care about what people think about you…how they’ll judge you. I deal with that in my PhD studies even now. There’s a thing called imposter syndrome. And apparently I’m not the only person who has it, but everybody has this internal thought that I’m not good enough or smart enough and soon I will be exposed for the fraud I really am and everybody will find out.

We all will be judged by how we act. Period. Whose judgment, though, do you fear most? The world or Jesus?

This two-edge sword that is mentioned here is a tool of judgment. It also alludes to the Word of God (Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12).

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

God’s Word is the rule by which we are to live. It is only by God’s Word that we know what sin is and know we are sinners (Rom 3:20). It is what rightly and truthfully judges us and is the means by which the world is judged. And Jesus is the Word incarnate, the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14). We see in Isaiah 11:4 that the Messiah will judge “with discipline from His mouth.”[1]

So, with all this in mind, hear what James Hamilton says,

“Whose judgment do you fear? The Christians in John’s audience could avoid the sword of Rome by doing things that would put them in danger of the sword of Jesus. We will all face sit

James 3:1-12

My brethren let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

for we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

I.  The DIRECTIVE nature of the tongue. “Indeed we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.”

“Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.”

II. The DESTRUCTIVE nature of the tongue.

1) The tongue is like a FIRE. “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.  See how great a forest a little fire kindles!”

“the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.  The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” 

2) The tongue is like a WILD ANIMAL. “For every kind of beast or bird, or reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  But no man can tame the tongue.  It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

III. The DECEPTIVE nature of the tongue.

1) A SPRING OF WATER. “With it (the tongue) we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God.

“Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?”

“Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

2) A TREE. “Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?  Thus not spring yields both salt water and fresh.”

A born again believer must put his human nature especially his tongue under subjection to the blessed Holy Spirit.

Revelation – Bigger than Death – 5

Revelation 2:8-11 – 8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

What is a famous quote you like? Like one you always remember? A quote I love and quote often is from an early church father named Tertullian. It is, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” The actual quote of his where this comes from, in his response to defending Christianity to the Roman Empire, is, “We multiply whenever we are mowed down by you; the blood of Christians is seed.”[1] Christianity spread because of Christians being killed for their faith. If your faith causes you to be killed, it means you truly lived it.

If you are going to live for Jesus no matter what comes your way, “Jesus must be bigger to us than death itself.”[2]

Jesus is bigger… (vs 8)

Jesus is bigger…than time. Let’s stretch our brains for a little bit. Think back as far as you can remember. What’s your first memory? Now, go back even further. Picture the times of Jesus, 2000 years ago. Now, go back another 2,000 years, like the time of Abraham in the Bible. Can you think back that far? Even though Jesus came after Abraham, Jesus once said,

John 8:58 – “Before Abraham was, I am.”

Now, go back another 2,000 years or so. What’s happening? The events of Genesis 1 and 2, when God created everything. You know what the Bible says about Jesus and those times?

John 1:1-3 – 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Now go back another not 2,000 years, but 2 billion years. Jesus is there. And he’s before then and before then and before then. Our brains can’t even handle the capacity to think about it. And Jesus is there. We see in this verse, Jesus is “the first and the last.” What He is confirming here is simple, and it is an essential doctrine. Jesus is God. This is one of the core doctrines that sets Christianity apart from other religions that believe in God. Jesus is not only bigger than time, but he’s bigger than our greatest threat.

Jesus is bigger…than death. We not only see who He is in relation to eternity, but we see who He is in relation to life and death. James Hamilton said,

“The death and resurrection of Jesus mean that death has no power over him. He is bigger than death itself, and given what the church in Smyrna faces, that reality is one they must keep in their minds if they are to be faithful.”[3]

Hear what else he says, bringing the application to our lives:

“Applying to our fears the knowledge that Jesus is bigger than death will make us courageous. Courage is a great thing, but we must keep in mind that courage is not our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to live in ways that show our confidence in Jesus.”

Knowing Jesus is bigger than death gives us confidence to truly live. This means that you can face whatever comes your way. And as we already saw with the church in Ephesus, Jesus stands with and amidst his churches. Whatever you face, He is with you, and you can get through.

Jesus knows His people in their suffering. (vs 9) He says he knows three things in this verse: their tribulation, their poverty, and the slander against them. H

Saving Faith

James 2:14-26

John Calvin, “It is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies–can never be alone.”

 I. Saving faith is a matter of WORKS as well as WORDS. “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can faith save him?”

 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled.’  But you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

 Thus also, faith by itself–if it does not have works is dead.

 Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.  Not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

 II. Saving faith is a matter of the HEART as well as the HEAD.  “You believe that there is one God.  You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble.”

 III. Saving faith is a matter of the PUBLIC as well as the PRIVATE. 

 (1) Abraham the Patriarch. “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’

 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?”

 “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?”

 (2) Rahab the Prostitute. “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?”

 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Are you willing to get in the wheelbarrow?

Revelation – Remedy for a Cold Heart – 4

Revelation 2:1-7 – 1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Do you take complements well? There are some people who just have to have positive feedback on everything they do to feel valued. Other people have a hard time receiving complements and don’t know how to react when they are given. Though these two types of people are completely different, they have one thing in common. They each would prefer to hear the good things over the bad.

Can you think of a time you were complemented by somebody and it just meant the world to you? Maybe because of how hard you tried and someone finally noticed it, or maybe just because of who that person is, it meant the world that they would say something nice about you.

What would you do if Jesus, to your face, told you all the good things you are doing, even the things nobody sees? That’s what’s happened here in this first letter to the church in Ephesus. Jesus starts off by giving essentially a long run-on sentence of nine things they are doing well.

Remember, Jesus stands among the lampstands, which are the seven churches. He is with you and sees you. As one commentator said, “As one who walks in the midst of the churches, Christ is able to say, “I know your deeds” (2:9; 3:1, 8, 15).”[1] This was a great church. The city of Ephesus was huge and important, and this church was actively living out their faith. Jesus spouts off a list of nine things this church is doing well. As we think about these, we need to evaluate our life and see if we look like this as well. Would Jesus say the same things to us?

The list of positive things they did can be broken up into two categories: deeds and theology.

Deeds:

1) Their works. (vs 2)They served the Lord. A Christian is not saved by works, but a Christian is saved to work. You could tell these people knew Jesus because there was fruit to show of it (Matt 7:17).

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

James 2:14-17 – 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Is there fruit from your faith? Are there works to show that you follow the Way? If there are not, there is a good chance you don’t actually follow Jesus. Jesus even says as much (Matt 7:21-23).

2) Their labor. (vs 2)They served tirelessly and under threat of persecution. Following Jesus is hard work. It’s not the easy road. They understood this and lived it out.

Matthew 7:13 – Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction,

Favoritism in the Church

James 2:1-13

I.  James gives us a PROHIBITION.  “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.”

1) Favoritism is contradictory to the Christian faith.  

2) Favoritism is contradictory to Christ.

II. James gives us an ILLUSTRATION.                        

1) They were partial on the basis of the superficial.

2) They were partial on the basis of the material.

III. James makes the APPLICATION.

(1) Face the contradiction. “Listen my beloved brethren has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?”

(2) We need to face the transgression. “but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” 

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”

(3) We need to face the examination. “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”

“For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.”

Come just as you are!

Debbie Brock

Revelation – Letters to the Churches – 3

Revelation 1:3-4a – 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia

Revelation 2:7 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Revelation 2:11 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

Revelation 2:17 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Revelation 2:29 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:6 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:21-22 – 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Do you like receiving letters? It always means a lot when you get a personal, handwritten letter from somebody. It means they took the time and purposefully thought of you. What would happen if you received a letter from Jesus? What would you do? I read this and thought it was fitting for what we are going to hear in these letters:[1]

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter:Dear Ruth, I’m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I would like to visit.Love Always, JesusHer hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. “Why would the Lord want to visit me? I’m nobody special. I don’t have anything to offer.” With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.“Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer. I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.”She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents. “Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.”She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk…leaving Ruth with grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.“Hey lady, can you help us?”Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn’t even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.“Look lady, I ain’t got a job, ‘ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, it’s getting cold and we’re getting ‘kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we’d really appreciate it.”Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.“Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.”“Yeah, well, okay. I understand. Thanks anyway.”The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and he headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.“Sir, wait!”The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. “Look, why d

James 1:26-27