Please open your copy of Scripture to James 3. And whether or not it's been your practice up to this point in our study through James to take notes on the insert in the bulletin, I would heartily appeal to you this morning to do it this morning. This morning I am putting this information in the form of a chart, and I want to be sure that you can track with me and refer back to this. So that insert is in your bulletin, and we're going to be considering this morning James chapter 3 verses 13 through 18. It's been a fun week for me personally. Well, except for the fact that my wife is in South Carolina still. She'll fly home this Friday. She's giving care to my mother. But on Thursday night, I picked up my daughter from the airport, Alicia. She's home for a month, and so we've been having a fun time. And my son Jared comes home from college. He's with his sister in Tennessee right now on the way home. He gets home tomorrow. So my family slowly but surely is trickling back to Michigan, and I'm excited about that. But before my son shows up into town, I want to tell you a story that involves him. This probably happened in high school, early high school with my son. You have to understand, my son is 6'4", and he was 6'4 in like 9th grade. I mean, boom! He was wearing high waters and outgrowing everything faster than we could keep the clothes on him, right? So he was a tall kid, even as a high schooler, a young high schooler. So this is a true story I'm going to tell you. My son and I decided that we wanted a Slurpee from 7-Eleven. And in the South, there's 7-Elevens on every corner. And the 7-Eleven we decided to go to wasn't in the best part of town. And we went there one evening. And during this outing to that 7-Eleven, my son and I were approached by three men, two teenagers and an adult man, and they wanted to fight us. I'm a pastor. And they wanted to fight us. And they wouldn't let it go. And as much as we tried to avoid it, they engaged us. Now, if someone engages you, you're allowed to defend yourself, right? I don't want to belabor the point, but my son and I were able to re-engage them. And let's just say we made it out of that situation in a good way. The Lord was kind, right? Now some of you are thinking, what are you telling us this for? And you have a chapter and a verse in 1 Timothy 3 that a pastor is not supposed to be a brawler. Where are you going with this? Well, I'm going to let that story sink in for a moment, and then I'm going to do a Paul Harvey on you. Let me give you the rest of the story. It's true that we went to this area and we wanted a Slurpee, we wanted to go to the 7-Eleven, but that 7-Eleven was almost right next door to our karate dojo. And when we showed up at karate that night, near that 7-Eleven, where we would eventually get a Slurpee, that night when we walked in, the black belt announced that tonight was sparring night. And there were three men in our dojo, whenever it was sparring night, for some reason they liked to spar me and Jared. Me, because I was old and slow. Jared, because he was a pretty scrappy fighter. Still is. And we were like, well, we want to spar someone else. And these three guys were like, no, we want to spar you guys tonight. It's the same thing. We went over and over through this every time we sparred. They wanted to spar us, and we'd have fun and talk back to them a little bit. We'd all get our pads on. You have head gear on, hand gear, and feet gear. And then we'd spar. And these three men sparred us pretty hard, and they came at us. And Jared and I did well and went after them and actually won that night. You say, well, that's the rest of the story. And then we got to Slurpees, by the way, on the way home at 7-Eleven. You say, well, that's the rest of the story, but for a moment there, we thought you were in a serious fight. And here, you're just leading us along. This kind of fighting was just fun. And the answer is, well, yes. Yes. I don't mind talking about fighting that's fun with pads on. But there's another kind of fighting that isn't fun. And you don't have pads on. And it's this kind of fighting that this text is going to address this morning. What this text is going to address, verses 13-18 of chapter 3, is not funny. It's not light-hearted. But it is so important. And before we come to this text, I want you in your notes, if you look at your notes, I want to set the scene. And I have four boxes across the top of your notes. Now, I need you to really follow along with this. The first one says Exhibit 1, I believe, right? In that box, for Exhibit 1, I'd like for you to write bedroom. The word bedroom. You say, what's going on in Exhibit 1? In Exhibit 1, you have a married couple, and they are in the privacy of their bedroom, maybe getting ready for the day or relaxing from the day. They're either at the beginning of their day or the end of their day, but they're both in that bedroom. And in that bedroom, tempers are starting to go north. They might have different expressions of anger. They might be blowing up or clamming up, but things are icing up regardless. You say, what's going on there? What are they disagreeing about? What a lot of couples disagree about. It could be an issue of how are we going to use our limited finances. It could be an issue of a parenting concern that they disagree on. It could be even something as simple as we finally have a day off together next week. What are we going to do? But in Exhibit A, you have a husband and a wife who are communicating, or not, But they are both beginning to elevate. The tension is thick. Alright, that's Exhibit 1. For Exhibit 2, write down the word, coffee. Coffee. You say, well, what's going on in Exhibit 2? Well, in Exhibit 2, you have two Christians. You have two Christians sitting down at Starbucks having coffee. They even have their Bibles with them. Yet they are elevating as well. Things are getting intense at Starbucks. And they both have their Bibles open, and they are debating an area of application when it comes to Christian liberty. And the more they talk, and the more coffee they drink, and the more passages they look at, they seem to be locking in to their opposing views, and now it's elevating. Getting tense. That's Exhibit 2. You say, well, what's in Exhibit 3? For Exhibit 3, I'd like for you to put these two words. Local church. Local church. You say, okay, what's going on in Exhibit 3? What's going on in Exhibit 3 is seismic activity. This is like the big island on Hawaii that's having earthquakes and volcanoes going on. It might be still under the surface, or it might have already gone through a full eruption. But in a local church in Exhibit 3, we have the potential for a split. There are tensions. Listen, there are teams. I call them parking lot teams. And that's where they stand together in the parking lot. One team's over here. The other team's over there. And there are teams being drawn up. You say, well, what are they upset about at the local church in Exhibit 3? It could be an issue of a translation. It could be an issue of entertainment choices. It could be an issue of a ministry that we have that we shouldn't have or a ministry we don't have that we should have. The reasons are endless. And the sad reality is that there's a lot of churches that can tell the story of Exhibit 3. Churches like ours. That's Exhibit 3. You say, what's Exhibit 4? What do we put in Exhibit 4? One word. You. You. You say, I want another word. You recently. You see, I've drawn up Exhibits 1, 2, and 3 for the sake of giving us traction as we come into James 3. But maybe you can't relate to that marriage one. Maybe you can't relate recently to the local church exhibit or to the coffee debate exhibit. But you have found yourself recently, maybe even currently, tense with someone. Perhaps you've even broken off contact, intentional care with someone. Whatever your thing is, that's exhibit four this morning. So we've set the stage. We have the bedroom. We have the coffee shop. We have the local church. And we have whatever you've gotten into recently. Now I want you to look at those four exhibits. And I have a couple of questions. And then we're going to go to the text. A couple of questions. First of all, two observations. Observation number one, as you look at each exhibit, will you agree with me that in each exhibit, both sides claim to be right? Would you agree with that? While I have an argument, I heard someone say, I'm not going to agree with you because then we'd both be wrong. Are you ready for that one? Both sides in all four exhibits think they're right. As a matter of fact, if you were to step into each of those exhibits and say, which ones in here are right? Raise your hand. All the hands would go up. That's my first observation for each exhibit. My second observation is this. In each exhibit, it's possible that both sides might even claim to be biblical. You understand that in all these exhibits, there's the potential for both sides in each exhibit to not only have their Bibles with them, but to have their Bibles opened. Those are my two observations. But I have two questions to ask of all these exhibits. Question number one. Look at your exhibits there. Is it possible, listen, to be right to be biblical and still be wrong? Is it possible to be right and biblical, yet still be wrong? And what's the answer to that? Why, yes. Well, my second question then is this. Is there a way to discern in exhibits like this who's right and who's wrong? And the answer is yes. And that answer comes to us in James 3, verses 13-18. I must say, as we now pull our chairs up to this text, we are pulling our chairs up to the absolute pinnacle of the entire epistle. Everything that James has been saying to his scattered congregation, who was scattered because of persecution, and because of their persecution, they're considering moving again, or turning their guns on each other. Tempers are short, even within the church. And so everything that James has said up to this point, James 1.1-3.12, everything he's said, he has said so that he can now say what we're going to read this morning. Verses 13-18. Some would argue, and I agree with them, that the actual pinnacle of this epistle goes from 3.13 all the way to 4.4. And I think that's a correct interpretation. And after he says what he says in the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4, James spends the rest of chapter 4 and chapter 5 saying goodbye. He's built to this paragraph. And remember what came right before this paragraph. We had three sermons on verses 1-12 on the Christians' use of their words And look what's coming up after this text. Chapter 4, verses 1-3 and 4. It's the issue of anger. And what bridges the words that we speak and the anger we show, it all comes out of the what? The heart. And the heart is the focus of verses 13-18. So I want to read these verses with you. And then I have a chart I want to give you that's going to outlast this sermon. Look at v. 13. Who among you is wise and understanding? Stop. Just a moment ago, you walked into all your exhibits and said, who's right in these exhibits? What happened? Everyone put their hands up. That's what James is doing in v. 13. When there's tension, when there's division, who's right? He's saying who's wise and understanding? Well, of course, in their minds, they're going to raise their hand. We are. And James is going to say, put your hands down. You don't get to choose if you're right. There's going to have to be something outside of you that judges whether you're right. Verse 13, who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior, his deeds and the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, Do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but it is earthly, natural, and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing or every useless thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness, or the harvest whose fruit is righteousness, is sown in peace by those who make peace. with our feet planted in this paragraph. As we enter the four exhibits you have in your notes, the question we have is this, how can we discern in that bedroom, at that coffee table, at that local church, or in whatever you're involved in, how can we discern who's right and who's wrong? And remember, everyone on both sides has their Bibles open. Who's right and who's wrong? And I find it interesting that James is going to tell us clearly, here's how you tell. And it's very intriguing to me what James will not list. Ways he will say, you are not allowed to appeal to, to see if you're the right one in the exhibit. James is not going to say, you're right if you're the oldest. James is not going to say you're right because you have the most degrees. James is not going to say you're right because you have the title. You know those people that lead with their business card, right? He's not going to say you're right because of the role that you have. He's not going to say you're right because of your past record. He's not going to say you're right because of the college you graduated from. He's not going to say you're right because of the experience you have. He's not going to say you're right because of your sincerity. And he's not going to say you're right because you quote your favorite authors. He's not going to appeal to any of those. You say, well, how do you discern? Let me give you the two realities. And these are the two realities that I've put to the left of your table. You want to know who's right and who's wrong in any tension, like our exhibits. It's going to be what you find in the moment of exchange, and secondly, what is left in the wake of the exchange. That'll tell you who's right and who's wrong. And by the way, there's only going to be two options, not a third option. You're either right or you're wrong. Or can I use James' concept? Being wrong means that you are demonstrating a wisdom that's not from above. It's earthly and sensual and demonic. Or you're right. And that's the wisdom that comes down from above. It's heavenly. So here's what I want to do. I want to press through these verses quickly with you, fill in your chart, and you're going to be able to answer all the exhibits, especially that fourth one. Especially that fourth one this morning. I want to look at the wrong first. Let's look at that column first. What's wrong? What do I see in the moment if I'm wrong? And James identifies three things. Look at verse 14. If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. In verse 14 he gives a three-fold description of what it looks like in the moment of conflict when you're wrong, even if your Bibles are open and you're sincere. What are the three descriptions? Number one, I call it idol worship. Idol worship. You say, well, in all the exhibits in my notes, I don't see any little statues of Buddha. I don't see any graven images. That's not the kind of idolatry I'm talking about. He uses this phrase here translated into English, bitter jealousy. Did you see that? He says it in verse 14, and he's going to refer to it again in verse 16 with the one word translated jealousy. What is bitter jealousy? Well, another way that you could translate this even more literally would be a harsh zeal. There's a lot of energy being poured in this. You might want to think of the concept of tunnel vision for this one. Tunnel vision. Okay, so, Dale Beester. Asked me, there he is back there. He gave me permission to go try to fish this pike out of his pond on his property. And so I went there yesterday morning. And I didn't get the pike. But both the pike and I were able to survive the encounter. I didn't even get a bite. And I was out there over an hour. And I did suffer a little bit of a loss. And one of the things I was trying to fish for the pike with was a daredevil, red and white daredevil spoon. And it got snagged on something in the seven foot part of the pond. And I lost my one daredevil spoon, a red and white one. And so you know what that meant. That meant that I had to run to Bass Pro Shop in Clarkston yesterday, just up the hill. I had planned on going to Clarkston anyway to meet my in-laws. My daughter and I were meeting my in-laws for a midday meal. So I was like, well, let's go to Bass Pro Shop. So I went to Bass Pro Shop. And she didn't want to go in there with me at first, my daughter, Alicia. So she went to her stores and just did what she does in her stores. She goes to all the stores, leans into all the exhibits, and just has fun shopping. Not me. Not me. I went into Bass Pro Shop, quickly stopped at the knife counter, and then I knew what I was after. I was after a little Daredevil lure. And that's a big store if you've never been there. And with everything that I could have been distracted with, I made my way to the fishing section and to the one aisle, the pike aisle, the guy directed me to that had a whole hundreds of spoons to choose from and I bought one for four bucks. I bought three other ones too that I didn't need, but I got those. I had tunnel vision in a big distracting store like Bass Pro Shoe. That's what I want you to have in mind. Tunnel vision as we think of what is bitter envy. selfish ambition, excuse me, yeah, the bitter jealousy that we see here. It's tunnel vision. It's what Paul Tripp and people like Elise Fitzpatrick and Jim Berg refer to as heart idolatry. I've got to have something. I've got to have this relationship. Or we have to have this thing. Or we have to use our time this way. And it's tunnel vision where we block out all the other options and we will not be content. We will not be filled with joy unless we can have this. That's the concept of bitter jealousy. It's a harsh zeal that makes you so focused on one thing, you're jealous of anything else that gets attention. That's what you see in the moment if you're wrong. God, I have this. Number two. I call number two, team building. Team building. Again, in v. 14, you saw the second phrase. It says, selfish ambition. And he'll repeat that in v. 16. Selfish ambition. What is this? It's a self-seeking It's an interesting word that was used in the political realm of that day to describe the tension of two political parties. And with that in your mind, there was a team here and a team there and there is a competition going on knowing that only one will win. And so what politicians would do then is the bigger the team, the more likely you are to win. And so politicians in that day would get evangelistic about their cause and they would try to win people with their ideas so that their team would swell and so that their team could overwhelm the smaller team. Interesting, the Holy Spirit chooses that word to describe what can go on in our exhibits. We know what we want. And now we're going to become evangelistic and try to convince not only family members, but others within our reach that we're right. We've got to have this. They must have it. It's my heart idolatry and my evangelism for it with those around me. It's factious activity. Anytime we get to a point where not only we get tunnel vision, but we start getting evangelistic with our views, you can have a study Bible open if you want. You're wrong. And one more. It says at the end of verse 14, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. What is this? Number three, I call this integrity breakdown. This is actually in the construction in the Greek. It's saying, stop doing something that you've already started to do. You understand, when you start having tunnel vision about something in your exhibit and you start trying to win others to your cause so that you can overwhelm your opposition, you are not living what you say you are. This is the theme of James. You say it, let's see it. If you're acting like that, when Jim does that, Jim is not putting the gospel on display that he claims has transformed him. And what's the goal with verse 14? What's the goal with being wrong in that sense? One simple word, win. We have to win that moment. We have to win this argument. We have to win. Our team must win. It's an encouraging sermon so far, isn't it? That's what being wrong looks like. Every time Jim is involved in idol worship, team building, and integrity breakdown, degrees don't matter. Experience doesn't matter. Titles do not matter. Jim is wrong. Well, what about the right? Does James describe the heavenly wisdom? The right? And the answer is yes. What do you see in the moment of someone who's wrong? That's the column on the left. What do you see in the moment of the conflict, in the moments of the exhibit from someone who's right? That's the right column. Let's click through these at a pretty good pace here. Number one, Put the word bridled strength there. Look at verse 13. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior, look at this, his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. The gentleness of wisdom. This is that word that we translate meekness. This is someone who has great strength, but they don't flaunt it. They don't flex their muscle in the mirror to intimidate, even when they're wrong. I remember a guy named Art. When I was in fifth grade, Art was a businessman in our church in Clarkston, at First Baptist Church of Clarkston. Art was a younger adult, and so I kind of gravitated towards him, but he was someone that was always busy in the church. He was always asking pastor, give me something else to do for the Lord. I want to keep busy for Him. Art was a big man. But he was given the task of being the director of the Awana ministry, a thriving ministry there at that time. And he would also help do teaching in the church. And he would help, especially with children's Sunday school. He had three daughters. And if you wanted to see tears come to his eyes, you just had to wait until his three daughters came up and hugged him on the neck. It wasn't long before Art was called into the ministry and he went to seminary here in Detroit and now he's pastoring still in this state in Brighton. I went and spoke for him a few years ago and I found out something about Art I didn't know all these decades. Art was a battle-tested marine. Art was not just tall, he could back it up. He was not only muscular and still in his seventies he is, but he'd used it, man. He was a tough guy. You wouldn't have known it though, because in all this toughness, behind all this training, he still would cry over his daughters with smiles, and he would still serve children with gentleness. That's called bridled strength. He never flaunted it. Number two, write down sincere motives. Look at v. 17, but the wisdom from above is first, and here's the word, pure. Pure. Hegnos. This is a sincere motivation. You're going to see this contrasted with v. 14, which is arrogance. We're talking here with pure motives, sincere motives. One commentator says, this is a delicate sensitivity to pollution of any kind. And I agree with several commentators who say this one trait, pure, is actually an umbrella term that's going to cover the remaining characteristics that are coming up in the text. And I think they're right. Number three, write this in. A peace pursuer. A peace pursuer. It says in verse 17 again, it says, then peaceable. Notice what didn't go in that blank. It's not a peace faker or a peace breaker. It's a peace pursuer. It's just someone that in every exhibit, they are promoting peace. But I like what Hebert says. He says, but he does not promote peace at the price of purity. There's some things you don't surrender. but a peace pursuer. They're in that exhibit saying, how can I be an evangelist for unity here? Even where there's differences. Number four, write down humble resilience. Humble resilience. He says in v. 17, pure, then peaceful, then, and here it is, gentle. This is a humble resilience. Gentle. Patient. They're steadfast in the face of being wronged. When someone swings at you, what's your initial response? Mine is to give a receipt. Not just when we have pads on in a dojo and having fun, but anywhere. That's not from above. What needs to come from above is a humble resilience. Those of you who are fans of all the Rocky movies, you know that he's like 97 in the last movie, right? And he's learned this principle. It's not how hard I can hit, but how hard you can be hit. That's the concept here. You don't exact revenge. You trust God. Number five, write down a yielding deference. a yielding deference, and continue on pushing through verse 17, after the word gentle, you see the word in the New American Standard, reasonable. Reasonable. Or as some of your cross-references or in other translations say, a willingness to yield. You know what this is? This is beautiful. This is understanding that you might not have all the information. And so in those situations, in those exhibits, you're wondering, am I going to learn something here that would actually change my position? There's a willingness to yield. Or as your ESV says, there's an openness to reason. This trait. which is a heavenly wisdom. This trait means that you are teachable. This was actually a phrase that was used in the military at that time as well to describe someone who was submissive or even in the legal world at that time. Someone who is teachable. They're ready to obey. In those exhibits, you and I are not merely looking at the other person, thinking about how we're going to counter. What we're going to say back. How we're going to give a receipt. No. We're listening. And we're willing to be humble enough to back down if we have new information. A willingness to yield. 6. Write down, wholly beneficial. wholly beneficial. And it's this one I'm going to use to describe two words that James gives in verse 17. Because I see them connected here in the text. It says, full of mercy and good fruits. Full of mercy and good fruits. So what does it mean? It means you're full of compassion. You say for who? For the other person in the exhibit with you. The one that you are elevating with in those exhibits, whether you find yourself in exhibit 1, 2, 3, or 4, the one that's lined up across from you, whether they're reading this or not, you are a burden for them. You have a heart and eyes of compassion focused on them, trying to be sensitive to any physical or spiritual needs they may have that you can show mercy and compassion towards. And by the way, that might be the whole issue of forgiveness. And then it adds, and good fruits. That's when you get the opportunity and you act on your compassion. Yes. You want to know who's right and wrong in these situations and these exhibits? It's the one in the exhibit that is focused with eyes of compassion and mercy towards the one that's opposing them, just waiting for an opportunity to serve them. Wholly beneficial. Number seven, write down, wholly consistent. Wholly consistent. It says towards the end of verse 17, this word in the New American Standard, unwavering. Unwavering. I find it interesting you could translate this particular word without partiality. This is actually the only use of this particular Greek word in the entire New Testament. It means to be undivided. It means that you're not getting off course. You're not wavering from the path that you're supposed to stay on. And what do we know that path is thus far in our study of James? James says, you say it, let's see it. You say you have faith, but faith without works is dead. We saw that in chapter 2. No, if you have been rescued by the Word of God, by the Gospel, we saw this in James 1, then there's a transforming work going on in your heart. And you're aware of that. And you're aware of your propensity to step off the path that the Gospel has you on. Not that you lose your salvation. You can't if you're saved. But you and I feel the gravity to not act like it. And James says that's a break with reality of who you are. But someone who's right in these exhibits, they're not perfect in this regard, but they are striving and praying to be wholly consistent in their exhibits. I'm a child of God in this marriage, in this bedroom, at this coffee, in this church. And then number eight, write down this phrase, wholly transparent. Wholly transparent. You see that at the end of verse 17, it says, without hypocrisy. Without hypocrisy. The ESV says, I believe sincere. In other words, the beauty of the gospel that's at work on the inside is consistent with what's on the outside. It's another way of stating similarly what he said with unwavering. You're being consistent as far as you know with your heart. And the transparency in the outside is evident to everyone as well in those exhibits. You say, what's the goal here? If the goal of the wrong wisdom is to win, what's the goal of the heavenly wisdom? The right wisdom in each of those four exhibits? The goal is not to win. The goal is to grow. It's to grow in Christlikeness. It's interesting, isn't it? As you look at all four of those exhibits, and you're really up close and personal with at least one of those, number four, all of us can relate to a degree to all those exhibits though. The heavenly wisdom, the right wisdom, is not what you expect to show up in each exhibit. You expect to see tension and the wrong wisdom. But not so with the child of God. Every one of those exhibits is an opportunity to grow. To radiate the image of Christ. You say, how do I know who's right and who's wrong? Well, first of all, what you see in the moment. What do you see in those moments? The three on the left or the eight on the right? You say, well, everyone has their Bibles open. Don't look at that. Look at the degrees represented. Don't look at that. Look at the experience of the eight. You don't look at that. If there's idol worship and team building and a break in integrity, they're wrong. But if there are those eightfold virtues of heavenly wisdom, they're right. They're right. But I also said you can discern by looking at what you find in the wake. After the fireworks. After that husband and wife are not in that bedroom together. After that coffee at Starbucks. After that table has been cleaned off for the next customer. After factions have left the local church. Or after there's been a break with whoever you find yourself with in Exhibit 4. What do you find in the wake? Well, for the wrong kind of wisdom, you see no growth, and only regression. Not only did we not grow here, we went backwards. Say, where do you see that? Look at verse 16. For where, and he repeats them here, where jealousy and selfish ambition exists, look what's in the wake. There is disorder in every worthless thing. There's confusion. There's instability. There's disorder. And it's all worthless. On their best day, someone with the wrong wisdom can only accomplish that. But what do you find in the wake of the right wisdom? Well, I think you can see what it's going to be. Number one is progression. There's growth. Even if the person that's opposed to you doesn't grow, you do. And secondly, there's a growing community. A growing oneness. Look at verse 18. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. You want to understand that verse? That's one of those verses that we read through fast. Because we know chapter 4 is coming. And we need to grab ahold of his conclusions in verse 18. And the best way to do it is to work backwards through it. So my question is, who are those who make peace? those and those exhibits who are demonstrating the heavenly wisdom. The right column. So the people in the right column, what do they do? They sow peace. Sow is an agricultural term. You sow a seed, you're going to reap a harvest. And that's what he's saying in verse 18. He's saying this. Not that these people, there's no perfect demonstration in our experience of this heavenly wisdom, but we want to grow towards this. whether we're that couple in the bedroom in Exhibit 1, or those two Christians at the coffee table arguing in Exhibit 2, or that local church in Exhibit 3, or whatever you're in in Exhibit 4. We want to be growing in heavenly wisdom. But you show me someone in each of those exhibits who's growing, and they want to grow, and they're struggling to be consistent, but they're moving in the right direction. I'll show you someone who sows peace, and the result will be a harvest that will satisfy everyone. in the end. Say, well, who's right and who's wrong in Exhibit 1, 2, 3, and 4? Now you can discern. What I need you to focus on is Exhibit 4. Exhibit 4. Your Exhibit 4 might be a repeat of one of the first three. I find it interesting. Look at verse 15 as we close. It says, is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, and demonic." He's talking about the bad wisdom. It's implying in v. 15 that there's a wisdom that does come from above. And what is implicit in v. 15 is explicit in v. 17. There is a wisdom from above. There is a heavenly wisdom that comes down from above. And you know how it's described? Look at the right column again. Bridled strength, sincere motives, peace pursuer, humble resilience, a yielding deference, wholly beneficial, wholly consistent, and wholly transparent. And you're like, hmm, wait a minute. I recognize that face. Can you think of anyone who's ever walked the face of this earth who when they were in a trial, they demonstrated bridal strength, sincere motives, peace pursuer, humble resilience, yielding deference, wholly beneficial, wholly consistent, wholly transparent? I'll make it easy for you. You only have one choice. This is a description of Jesus. And suddenly we're blowing our minds here. And we're like, wait a minute. What I can't do in my exhibit, He did perfectly. And I get credit for that as His child. And then the way I always blow it in my exhibits, He suffered for that completely. What an exchange. And that's not all. Now that I recognize the face that came down from above as wisdom, Jesus, Now it makes me look at my exhibits differently. Whether it's that bedroom, or the coffee shop, or that local church, or whatever you have in the fourth exhibit, the exhibit never was about you. It's about Jesus manifesting himself through you in that exhibit. I agree with Paul Tripp who says, God is the God of the mundane. If He is not present in the mundane moments of our lives and exhibits, He's not God at all. So here's what we do. Here's what you do. Here's what I do this week. We revisit our exhibits, whether it's the marriage or the coffee or church or whatever you have in the fourth one. And we need to do some repenting and asking forgiveness of God and others. Vertical and horizontal, if we have been wrong, even if the veins have been sticking out on our neck and our Bibles have been open, we repent, but we also have hope. Because whatever God prescribes, His grace supplies. This is good news this morning. It's good news for James readers who were scattered because of persecution. They were angry with each other. And I'm telling you, it's good news for us. It's good news for our homes. It's good news for the coffee shops. It's good news for local churches like ours. And it's good news for whatever route you find yourself in. Your exhibit's not about you. It's about you putting on display the grace and wisdom of Jesus. You're free.