1. Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard
Figuring It Out
Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Studies in James, Part 7

2. James 3:13-18
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.

3. James 3:13-18
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

4. Remember (James 1:5-8)
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

5. Ever since . . . Thoughts about true religion
Has it all been a grooming to get people to the place where they can receive wisdom from God?
Learn to navigate past the separate idols of riches and poverty
Show perseverance in developing character
Learn to listen rather than speak

6. True religion
Remember that true religion is full of action (caring for widows and orphans in their distress and keeping oneself unspotted from the world)
Become people of mercy, not judgment
Avoid the false faith that doesn’t get its hands dirty

7. Preparation . . .
Let your words demonstrate that you are being transformed from the kind of person whose pressured speech shows the anger within to the kind of person whose speech is alive with the compassion of God for others
Now, you’re ready to hear about how to distinguish God’s wisdom from everything else

8. Wisdom from above and below
What are the characteristics of each?
Can this help us when it’s just our own frenzied thoughts?
The wisdom from above is available and includes some of the best of what is available to humans: reason, counsel of others, peace

9. Similar ideas
How does Jesus know that the voice in the wilderness is not from His Father?
Remember St. Antony of the Desert’s teachings about discernment
My own late night experience . . .

10. Is there a plan for obtaining wisdom?
Push forward into being the kind of person the whole book of James is looking for
Ask God
Lay your heart before Him and surrender your will to His
Ask others, think it through in light of the overall teaching of Scripture

11. An internal “YES”
Pay attention to peace (not the false peace of “no struggle” but the real peace of a resonating bell
Search your surrendered heart and look for the seeds of excitement
Push in this direction, particularly if those you love are flowing alongside you
If not, waiting can be very valuable

12. Psalm 37:3-6
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.

13. Desires of Your Heart Not just the goals, but the desires!
He has made each of us unique, and we all have unique missions in life
When the heart is quite fully surrendered, it’s appropriate to acknowledge and fall in love with the actual desires of our heart
When this comes in line with Scripture, reason, and wise counsel, we experience the deep “Yes” that calls us forward