Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
June 19, 1994
James 3:13-18
TWO KINDS OF AMBITION
I. When having it all is not enough.
A. Tragedy of O.J. Simpson.
1) Outstanding athlete, movie and TV actor.
2) Rich and good-looking, many friends and admirers.
3) Yet charged with murder, flees down interstate.
Nowhere to go, a gun to his head.
B. How smart are you?
1) Money to recent grads.
a) Wisdom shown by fruit of life, not diplomas.
b) Movie "Rudy," caretaker rebukes young student for thinking
Notre Dame is a waste of time because they won't let
him play football.
The great education should be why he is a Notre Dame.
2) J.I. Packer and Bible wisdom.
Imagine that you are in a New York City subway station.
You will see trains come in and go out.
But you'll only get a general view of what's going on.
However, if you step inside the control room you'll see
a large display with tiny lights representing each train
in the entire system.
In a glance you will be able to survey the entire situation
through the eyes of those in control.
You will see why one engine is signaled to a stop, why
another has been diverted, and why another sits on a
sidetrack.
Packer comments:
The mistake that is commonly made is to suppose that this is
an illustration of what God does when He bestows wisdom.
God gives a person insight into the meaning and purpose of
events going on around us.
We then have the ability to see why God has done what He has
done in a particular case, and what He is going to do next.
People who think this is what wisdom is, imagine that if they
walk close enough to God, they will be in God's command
center and will understand everything that happens.
But God's wisdom doesn't work this way.
God's wisdom is more like learning to drive a car.
When you drive a car it is important to make the right
responses to the constantly changing scene.
You have to judge how fast to go, how much distance to keep
between you and the next car, when to put on the brakes.
Drivers simply try to see and do the right thing in the actual
situation that presents itself.
Having wisdom from God does not mean we understand everything
that is going on because of our superior knowledge...
It means we do the right thing as life comes along.
#2666
II. How to mess up your life.
A. Bitter envy and selfish ambition. 3:14
1) Originally "zeal" and "hard-working," later all negative.
2) What is it worth to get ahead?
Man in Succasunna this week claimed the only way to truly
succeed in a business is to forget all else and immerse
yourself in your business.
Even your family must be sacrificed.
B. Three characteristics of this kind of wisdom: 3:15
1) Earthly.
a) God is omitted from the picture.
No absolutes, so we grope for what is right.
Vivid example of this philosophy shown by the
"Billionaire Boys Club."
A group of smart, rich young men led by Ron Hunt.
Their company speculated in stock and commodities futures.
On paper, they made $14 million.
Flashy cars, women, extravagance.
Ron Hunt's view of life was summed up in what he called
the "Paradox Philosophy":
"Black is white, white is black.
It just depends on how you want to look at it."
They made up their own morality.
But what goes around, comes around.
A client of their ripped them off.
The boys plotted to kidnap him, get him to sign over his
money, then murder him.
But it didn't work that way - he died in the scuffle.
Shortly afterwards, their paper profits evaporated and
they were deeply in debt.
The paradox philosophy wasn't paying off.
So they conspired to kill a wealthy Iranian immigrant.
His own son set him up.
Once again, they accidently killed him before they could
extort any money.
They were caught, convicted, and imprisoned.
#2669
2) Unspiritual.
a) Literally, becoming like animals.
1> Evolutionary perspective.
2> Survival of fittest, might makes right.
b) Term means "unspiritual person" in 1 Cor 2:12-14.
3) Demonic.
a) They are actually lined up with God's enemies.
b) Blatant Satanism is rapidly increasing as America drifts
from God.
C. Result is turmoil in life. 3:16
1) Single benefit - it can lead us back to God.
In 1845 Royal Navy Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin and 138
specially chosen officers and men left England to find the
Northwest Passage around Canada.
They sailed in two three-masted ships with the daunting names
the "Erebus" (the dark place, according to Greek mythology,
through which souls pass on their way to Hades)
and the "Terror."
Each ship was equipped with an auxiliary steam engine and a
twelve-day supply of coal, should steam power be needed
sometime during the anticipated two- to three-year
voyage.
But instead of loading additional coal, each ship made room
for a 1,200-volume library, an organ, and full, elegant
place settings for all - china, cut-glass goblets, and
sterling silver flatware.
The officers' sterling was of especially grand Victorian
design, with the individual officer's family crests and
initials engraved on the heavy handles.
The only clothing which these proud Englishmen took on the
expedition were the uniforms of Her Majesty's Navy.
The ships sailed off amidst imperial pomp and glory.
Two months later a British whaler met the two ships and
reports were carried back to England of the expedition's
high spirits.
He was the last European to see them alive.
After months of waiting, Lady Jane Franklin sent search
parties to get information from the Eskimos.
Some had seen men pushing a wooden boat across the ice.
The organ was inside it.
The remains of thirty-five men were found at a place now
named Starvation Cove.
Another thirty bodies were found in a tent at Terror Bay.
Only the three masts of their ship protruded from the ice.
For the next twenty years search parties recovered skeletons
from the frozen waste.
Twelve years later it was learned that Admiral Franklin had
died aboard ship.
The remaining officers and crew had decided to walk for help.
Largely due to lead poisoning from their canned food, they
walked in the wrong direction.
Accompanying one clump of bodies were place settings of
sterling silver flatware bearing the officers' initials
and family crests.
The officers' remains were still dressed in their fine,
buttoned blue uniforms, some with silk scarfs in place.
The Franklin Expedition was a monumental failure.
It was foolishly conceived, planned, equipped, and carried
out.
The expedition itself accomplished absolutely nothing.
Yet it is universally agreed that it was the turning point
in Arctic exploration.
The mystery of the expedition's disappearance and its fate
attracted so much attention in Europe and the U.S. that
no less than 30 ships made extended journeys in search
of the answer.
In doing so, they mapped the Arctic for the first time,
discovered the Northwest Passage, and developed a
technology suitable to Arctic conditions.
It was upon the shipwreck of Rear Admiral Franklin's "wisdom"
that Amundsen would one day stand victorious at the South
Pole, and Perry and Henson at the North.
Similarly, the shipwreck of worldly wisdom ought to motivate
us to seek wisdom from above, so we can wisely navigate
through life. #2667
III. An alternative way of living: profile of God's wisdom.
A. Main characteristic is purity.
1) Not just purity from sexual sin.
2) Focuses on motives and attitudes.
3) Opposite of putting self first.
B. Six other qualities. (In Greek, 4 "e" sound, 2 "a" sound)
1) Peaceable.
a) Promotes good feelings, not just lack of fighting.
2) Considerate.
a) Thinks of others first.
b) Doesn't insist on rights, gives love the priority.
3) Submissive.
a) Teachable spirit.
Those who are filled with Heaven's wisdom will submit
to reason.
On one occasion Abraham Lincoln, to please a certain
politician, issued a command to transfer certain
regiments.
When Secretary of War Edwin Stanton received the order,
he refused to carry it out.
He called the President a fool.
When Lincoln was told of this, he replied, "If Stanton
said I'm a fool, then I must be, for he is nearly
always right.
I'll see for myself."
As the two men talked, the President quickly realized
that his decision was a serious mistake.
Without hesitation he withdrew it.
#2671
4) Full of mercy and good fruit.
5) Impartial.
a) Not picking favorites.
6) Sincere.
a) Literally, unhypocritical. Not fake.
b) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock
Holmes mysteries, love practical jokes.
Once he sent a telegram to each of twelve friends.
All were men of great virtue and respected in
society.
The telegram said, "Flee at once, your secret is
discovered.
Within 24 hours, the story goes, all twelve had left
the country!
There may be some playful exaggeration here, but the
point is usually true that many people, including
Christians, are not what they seem to be.
#2672
IV. Wisdom's fruit.
A. Peacemakers sow in peace, harvest righteousness.
1) Similar to Jesus' beatitude. Matt 5:9
B. God's person, doing God's will God's way, will receive
God's provision.
V. How wise are you?
A. What is your ambition in life?
B. Many Christians give in to the sensual and earthly
temptations.
C. A smaller number reflect God's wisdom.
