WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.500 Good job. Good job. Miss Abby, sometimes I forget 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:05.620 that a young lady's over there. You sound great. 00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:08.560 Good job. That's a blessing. And they're playing 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:10.259 wonderful. Take your Bibles. Turn with me to 00:00:10.259 --> 00:00:13.240 the book of James chapter number three. James 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:16.179 chapter number three. I'm excited about the message 00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:20.480 tonight and I believe. This is a needed message 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:23.079 in a great way. And some of you didn't know this 00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:26.260 one's coming. And it is gonna help you tremendously 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:29.980 if you open your hearts and your minds to the 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:33.240 truth that we're gonna look at and really wisdom, 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:36.380 wisdom from above. And I have the title, actually 00:00:36.380 --> 00:00:39.439 the title is right here on this board. And I'm 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:41.880 gonna show you this in just a moment. And I don't 00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:46.329 wanna see the title quite yet, but wow. Tremendous, 00:00:46.329 --> 00:00:50.750 tremendous. Before we read this, I remember I 00:00:50.750 --> 00:00:53.670 got a call from my dad. And by the way, today 00:00:53.670 --> 00:00:57.109 is my dad's birthday. And today my dad turned 00:00:57.109 --> 00:01:02.609 78 years of age. And my dad actually listened 00:01:02.609 --> 00:01:06.290 to our Sunday night service on Sunday. And my 00:01:06.290 --> 00:01:09.280 dad. very very rarely says nice things but he 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:13.519 said to me he said that was a help son and that 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:16.120 made me feel really good and so whether you like 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:18.480 the Sunday night service or not my dad liked 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:22.879 it amen amen but I remember several years ago 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:26.680 my dad typically will watch the services here 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:33.219 but he called me and he was not happy after I 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:38.260 preached a sermon And anyways, and not only was 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:42.439 he not happy, he let me know that he was not 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:46.260 happy. And he began to really, he focused in 00:01:46.260 --> 00:01:49.159 on the problem. And he told me what the problem 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:52.540 was with my sermon. And then he wanted to help 00:01:52.540 --> 00:01:58.739 me and be better preacher. He came not to criticize, 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:02.319 he came to correct something. And what he was 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:04.939 correcting, there was a story of my childhood 00:02:04.939 --> 00:02:08.740 that I was telling you, the church, about. And 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:11.139 the way I described that story in the childhood, 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:14.800 it pulled up scabs that he would listen to when 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:17.439 I'd tell that story right there. And when he 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:22.199 said that, it was correction. He was correcting 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:27.039 me. He was offering a solution. He was not trying 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:29.699 to critique me, the individual seeking to find 00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:33.479 fault. but he was correcting. Now, truthfully, 00:02:33.699 --> 00:02:36.060 when you get corrected, it's not always something 00:02:36.060 --> 00:02:39.139 that you enjoy. It's not always something that 00:02:39.139 --> 00:02:43.439 you like. But at that moment, I embraced his 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:47.240 correction and I learned from it. And I think 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:49.580 I've become a better pastor because of that. 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:52.819 Does that make sense? Now, there's another side 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:56.240 to it. There's sometimes, and I remember through 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:58.159 the history of my church, not a lot, but several 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:01.780 times, there was a lady, maybe three years after 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:04.740 I became a pastor here, and she did not like 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:07.439 something that I preached, and she wrote this 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:11.979 seven page letter about the terrible pastor that 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:15.949 I was, and she was focusing on the person. She 00:03:15.949 --> 00:03:19.090 was seeking to find fault. She was pointing out 00:03:19.090 --> 00:03:21.930 problems without offering help. She was tearing 00:03:21.930 --> 00:03:25.509 down and she was discouraging. And not only that, 00:03:25.509 --> 00:03:27.629 but she took that letter and spread it through 00:03:27.629 --> 00:03:30.389 a bunch of other people in the church. And so 00:03:30.389 --> 00:03:33.129 that is called criticism. There's a difference 00:03:33.129 --> 00:03:38.449 between correction and criticism. Both of them, 00:03:38.610 --> 00:03:43.770 it sort of hurts. But correction is good. Criticism 00:03:43.770 --> 00:03:47.330 is bad. And really we begin to get to the sermon 00:03:47.330 --> 00:03:49.590 right there. One of the greatest battles you 00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:51.550 have, one of the greatest battles I have, is 00:03:51.550 --> 00:03:53.990 not always the correction of the criticism itself. 00:03:54.330 --> 00:03:57.909 It's what happens inside of our hearts after 00:03:57.909 --> 00:04:01.789 that correction or criticism comes. Okay, now 00:04:01.789 --> 00:04:04.110 I don't know if you heard that, you're like stunned. 00:04:04.449 --> 00:04:06.789 Okay, I'm gonna say it again. One of the greatest 00:04:06.789 --> 00:04:10.289 battles we have, you have, I have in the Christian 00:04:10.289 --> 00:04:13.900 life is not always the correction. or the criticism, 00:04:14.419 --> 00:04:16.939 it's what happens inside our hearts after that 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:19.899 correction or criticism come. A negative comment 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:24.680 can replay in our mind for days. A critic especially 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:29.860 can occupy our thoughts and more than our faithful 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:32.459 friends can or the good in our life. In other 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:35.120 words, a problem, a critic can become so large 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.560 in our thinking that it overshadows the blessing 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:40.439 that God puts in our life. And here's the title 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:43.509 of the message. And it's a really simple one, 00:04:43.990 --> 00:04:48.730 stay sweet. Stay sweet. And we're gonna stand 00:04:48.730 --> 00:04:51.449 for the reading of God's word. We're gonna start 00:04:51.449 --> 00:04:55.889 in verse number 13 of James chapter three. And 00:04:55.889 --> 00:04:57.730 I'll start reading if you'll follow along with 00:04:57.730 --> 00:05:03.589 me. Who is a what? Wise man. An endued with knowledge 00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:06.629 among you. Now watch this phrase, let him show. 00:05:06.850 --> 00:05:11.560 Who is a wise man? Let him show. out of a good 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:14.639 conversation, a good conversation. A conversation 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:18.019 is one's manner of life, his conduct, his behavior, 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:21.120 his way of living. Let him show out of a good 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:25.060 conversation his works with meekness of what? 00:05:25.860 --> 00:05:28.279 Okay, wisdom, there's wisdom here. But if you 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:31.939 have bitter envies and stripes in your heart, 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:37.120 glory not, and lie not against what? Truth. This 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:41.000 wisdom descendeth not from above. but is earthly, 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:45.160 sensual, devilish, for where envy and strife 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.480 is, there is confusion and what? Every evil work. 00:05:49.860 --> 00:05:53.779 But the wisdom that is from above, now watch 00:05:53.779 --> 00:05:56.300 this, the wisdom that is from above is first 00:05:56.300 --> 00:06:01.180 pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be 00:06:01.180 --> 00:06:05.860 entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. without 00:06:05.860 --> 00:06:09.100 partiality and without hypocrisy. Verse 18, read 00:06:09.100 --> 00:06:12.500 with me. And the fruit of righteousness is sown 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.319 in peace of them that make peace. And really 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:19.639 wisdom from above. And really the idea is keeping, 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:22.519 we're trying to keep sweet in such a negative 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:25.860 world. We're just trying to stay sweet in the 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:28.360 midst of correction. Correction is good for us. 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:31.560 And often we have to stay sweet even in the midst 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:34.490 of criticism. Before we go any further, Let's 00:06:34.490 --> 00:06:36.310 go to the Lord in prayer. Dear Father in heaven, 00:06:36.329 --> 00:06:40.589 we love you and I pray that you help us all to 00:06:40.589 --> 00:06:44.689 stop and think and really pray to you God to 00:06:44.689 --> 00:06:46.970 fill our hearts and our minds with your word 00:06:46.970 --> 00:06:51.350 and really negativity, sometimes criticism. It's 00:06:51.350 --> 00:06:54.790 wrong, it's destructive, but it's a reality. 00:06:55.610 --> 00:06:58.769 Corrections, sometimes we need it. We don't like 00:06:58.769 --> 00:07:01.209 it necessarily, but we need it. But the main 00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:04.529 thing is really help us to stay sweet. We love 00:07:04.529 --> 00:07:07.370 you, we ask you to give us wisdom and help in 00:07:07.370 --> 00:07:11.750 Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. And we 00:07:11.750 --> 00:07:14.209 get to this, remember, I'm gonna say the opening 00:07:14.209 --> 00:07:18.089 phrase again, one of the greatest battles in 00:07:18.089 --> 00:07:21.689 our Christian lives. It's not always the correction 00:07:21.689 --> 00:07:25.990 or the criticism itself, but it's what happens 00:07:25.990 --> 00:07:28.939 inside of your heart. after that correction or 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:31.920 the criticism comes, okay? If you think you're 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:33.839 gonna live a life without ever being criticized, 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:38.399 you're not living reality. Somebody say amen 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:41.540 to that. If you think in this side of eternity, 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:44.120 you're never gonna be corrected, you're just 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:47.040 not living in the reality of life. It's part 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:49.800 of our lives. So we get to this first part right 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:51.720 here and I think this is important. I want you 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:54.839 to turn over to Luke chapter six. Luke chapter 00:07:54.839 --> 00:08:02.310 six, if you will. Look, chapter six, look at 00:08:02.310 --> 00:08:09.350 verse number 26. And look at chapter six, verse 00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:12.250 26. If you're not there, I'll read this. Woe 00:08:12.250 --> 00:08:15.970 unto you, when all men shall speak well of you. 00:08:16.410 --> 00:08:19.829 Okay, say that with me. Woe unto you, when all 00:08:19.829 --> 00:08:23.110 men shall speak well of you. For so did their 00:08:23.110 --> 00:08:26.550 fathers to the false prophets. And when we get 00:08:26.550 --> 00:08:30.079 this, wisdom knows that Criticism will come. 00:08:30.339 --> 00:08:32.279 And by the way, I'm gonna sort of use criticism 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:34.679 and correction, understanding that they're different. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:38.480 But wisdom knows criticism will come. And when 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:41.039 we begin to think about this, no servant of God 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:46.000 has ever escaped criticism. And amen, okay? Consider 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:49.340 Moses was heavily criticized. Think of Korah. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:52.159 David was criticized. He lived with Saul throwing 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:55.330 a javelin at him. Paul was. criticized, thrown 00:08:55.330 --> 00:08:59.110 into prison, even our Lord Jesus Christ was criticized. 00:08:59.610 --> 00:09:04.389 He was despised and rejected of men, a man of 00:09:04.389 --> 00:09:07.029 sorrows and acquainted with grief. We understand 00:09:07.029 --> 00:09:11.110 that and we see that, amen. And so if the godly 00:09:11.110 --> 00:09:13.769 men of the Bible and even the Lord Jesus Christ 00:09:13.769 --> 00:09:16.799 was criticized. an imperfect person like Matt 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:19.740 Nettisime or an imperfect person like you is 00:09:19.740 --> 00:09:22.379 gonna have times when you're gonna be criticized 00:09:22.379 --> 00:09:26.039 or corrected. And many believers, now think about 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:29.059 this statement. Many believers, people saved 00:09:29.059 --> 00:09:32.039 by the blood of the crucified one, waste emotional 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:35.320 energy trying to achieve something impossible, 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:39.639 universal approval. Okay, I'm gonna say it again, 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:43.879 just so you're here, okay? Many believers waste 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:50.000 So much emotional energy. Stay sweet, stay sweet. 00:09:50.419 --> 00:09:52.779 Trying to, in my sermon, I gotta stay sweet. 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:59.960 I gotta stay sweet. I'm trying. Emotional energy. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:02.399 Stay sweet. I gotta put the sign back up. Put 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:04.200 the sign back up. Okay, there we go. There we 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:07.799 go. Stay sweet. Waste emotional energy trying 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.200 to achieve something impossible. It's impossible 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:13.379 for everybody to always approve of you. Wisdom 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:15.559 understands that. Now this wisdom understands 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:19.059 that pleasing God and pleasing everyone and else 00:10:19.059 --> 00:10:21.720 are not the same thing. There's a big difference 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:24.440 between pleasing God. and pleasing everybody 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:27.500 else. So here's the first step. Remember that 00:10:27.500 --> 00:10:29.759 wisdom knows criticism will come. You know criticism's 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.139 gonna come. How many agree that criticism will 00:10:32.139 --> 00:10:36.940 come? So when criticism comes, do not immediately 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:40.600 assume something is wrong. When criticism comes, 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:43.179 don't assume right away that something's wrong. 00:10:43.620 --> 00:10:47.419 Sometimes criticism means you're wrong. Sometimes 00:10:47.419 --> 00:10:49.740 it does mean you're wrong. Sometimes when you're 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:52.240 criticized, sometimes Matt Nettis -Iam is wrong. 00:10:53.409 --> 00:10:56.950 Sometimes criticism means you're right, but either 00:10:56.950 --> 00:10:59.750 way criticism itself is not the final judge, 00:11:00.110 --> 00:11:04.610 God's word is. Say that again, either way criticism 00:11:04.610 --> 00:11:08.230 is not the final judge, God's holy precious word 00:11:08.230 --> 00:11:14.090 is. Okay, now number two. Psalm 141, Psalm 141, 00:11:14.149 --> 00:11:17.629 go over to Psalm 141, look at this. Psalm 141, 00:11:17.809 --> 00:11:20.409 yay pastor. Turn to my Bible page right there. 00:11:20.429 --> 00:11:23.730 This is exciting. Psalm 141. It's a sword drill. 00:11:24.450 --> 00:11:26.889 And man, I'm alive. We got the Word of God. We're 00:11:26.889 --> 00:11:29.730 turning into Psalm 141. You'll notice there it 00:11:29.730 --> 00:11:34.929 says a Psalm of David. And I thought about this 00:11:34.929 --> 00:11:37.269 Psalm of David almost when I read this verse. 00:11:37.350 --> 00:11:43.110 I think of David when he sinned against God with 00:11:43.110 --> 00:11:46.169 Bathsheba. Do you remember that? Nathan the prophet 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:49.049 came to him and corrected him. Do you remember 00:11:49.049 --> 00:11:50.870 that? Do you remember that you corrected him? 00:11:51.210 --> 00:11:53.429 And look with me at verse number, if you will, 00:11:53.990 --> 00:11:56.330 verse number five. Look at verse number five. 00:11:57.110 --> 00:12:00.929 Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be a 00:12:00.929 --> 00:12:04.870 kindness. Let him reprove me, it shall be an 00:12:04.870 --> 00:12:08.090 excellent oil. Let the righteous, think about 00:12:08.090 --> 00:12:10.850 Nathan, Nathan the prophet, the righteous smite 00:12:10.850 --> 00:12:16.539 me. It shall be a kindness. When David, was corrected 00:12:16.539 --> 00:12:19.580 by Nathan the prophet right there. That's kindness. 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:25.059 Sometimes I need correction. Sometimes you need 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:28.500 correction. Teenagers, you always need correction. 00:12:29.150 --> 00:12:31.710 Just kidding, just kidding. But we understand. 00:12:32.330 --> 00:12:34.769 So not all criticism should be treated the same. 00:12:34.950 --> 00:12:36.909 And I've already mentioned this. Some criticism 00:12:36.909 --> 00:12:40.129 or correction is actually a gift. A wise person 00:12:40.129 --> 00:12:42.409 asks, when somebody corrects you or criticizes 00:12:42.409 --> 00:12:44.889 you, we gotta weigh in the balances. What is 00:12:44.889 --> 00:12:48.049 this? Is there truth in this? When you're getting 00:12:48.049 --> 00:12:50.870 criticized or corrected, is there truth in what 00:12:50.870 --> 00:12:54.370 they're saying? Is God trying to teach me something? 00:12:54.909 --> 00:12:59.120 Can I improve because of this? So a wise person, 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:01.879 we're trying wisdom which is from above. It's 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:04.879 merciful, it's peaceable. The wisdom from below 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:06.399 is different. You remember James chapter three, 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:08.840 we didn't spend a lot of time on that, but immediately 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:12.000 somebody criticizes or corrects, and we get angry, 00:13:12.059 --> 00:13:16.019 we blow up, and we deal with it with anger, and 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:18.620 we let a root of bitterness begin to dwell inside 00:13:18.620 --> 00:13:20.679 of us, and it begins to grow, and next thing 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:22.120 you know, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:25.039 but eventually that bitterness turns into us 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:28.200 being a bitter critical person. in our life, 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:31.039 and that's not what God wants. So even critics 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:33.519 occasionally tell us something we need to hear. 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:37.360 However, some criticism is simply unfair, inaccurate, 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:40.460 sometimes you might even say malicious, but wisdom, 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:43.299 what we need is the wisdom, and this is a message 00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:46.840 on wisdom, we need wisdom to separate the truth, 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:49.740 you might say, from the noise, okay? So here, 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.759 correction, when we talk about correction, correction 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:58.649 focuses on a problem. seeks to improve, comes 00:13:58.649 --> 00:14:03.169 with a desire to help, offers a solution or a 00:14:03.169 --> 00:14:06.610 direction, and is building up. Correction is 00:14:06.610 --> 00:14:10.350 trying to build up, not break down. Okay, so 00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:12.509 I'm gonna say it again. Correction, I don't like 00:14:12.509 --> 00:14:15.629 it when I get corrected. I don't like to be corrected, 00:14:16.049 --> 00:14:18.850 but really, correction is good for me. I'm doing 00:14:18.850 --> 00:14:21.669 something wrong. So it focuses on the problem, 00:14:21.809 --> 00:14:25.110 not the personality. Correction seeks to improve. 00:14:25.549 --> 00:14:28.049 Correction comes with a desire to help. Correction 00:14:28.049 --> 00:14:31.690 offers a solution or direction. Correction builds 00:14:31.690 --> 00:14:35.490 up. Criticism is different. Criticism often focuses 00:14:35.490 --> 00:14:38.990 on the person. Criticism seeks to find fault. 00:14:39.529 --> 00:14:41.529 Criticism usually points out problems without 00:14:41.529 --> 00:14:44.750 offering any help. Criticism tends to tear down. 00:14:44.970 --> 00:14:48.490 And criticism can leave discouragement, really, 00:14:48.789 --> 00:14:51.429 leave somebody discouraged. So correction says, 00:14:51.789 --> 00:14:55.350 here's how you can do better. That's good. Here's 00:14:55.350 --> 00:14:57.389 how you can do better. Criticism, you're the 00:14:57.389 --> 00:15:00.409 problem. Correction wants to make you better. 00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:02.870 Criticism often wants to make you feel worse. 00:15:03.470 --> 00:15:06.450 Their goal is to make you feel bad. So think 00:15:06.450 --> 00:15:09.090 with these two sides. Even when criticism is 00:15:09.090 --> 00:15:11.909 delivered poorly, there may be a truth that we 00:15:11.909 --> 00:15:15.080 need to hear. And so wisdom learns from correction 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:17.919 even when it comes in criticism. We need to try 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:21.000 to have the wisdom to discern, wisdom to discern 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:23.759 some of the truth in that, okay? Now we go through 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:25.639 this second one. If you remember where we're 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:27.559 at, wisdom knows the difference between correction 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.720 and criticism. Do not reject correction merely 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:37.279 because you dislike the source, okay? A mature 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:41.460 believer can learn from correction. Okay. My 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:45.659 dad came to me. I didn't like what he said, but 00:15:45.659 --> 00:15:47.840 he was not trying to criticize me. He was trying 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:51.340 to help me. And he shined a light on something. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:54.460 And because of that, I've grown in that area. 00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:57.340 Do you understand? And our relation, me and my 00:15:57.340 --> 00:16:00.299 dad's relation is very, very strong, very, very 00:16:00.299 --> 00:16:02.860 good. And that's important for us. Okay, we move 00:16:02.860 --> 00:16:07.539 on to number three. And this is really, really 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:10.960 good. If you want to turn to 1 Kings chapter 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:13.500 19, I'm gonna say this. This is the story about 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:18.159 Ahab and Jezebel. Remember Elijah and Elijah 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:23.279 on the Mount Carmel. You know, the prophets of 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:27.240 Baal, fire came down from heaven. Woo! Victory. 00:16:27.860 --> 00:16:31.039 There is a victory for Elijah. There is a victory 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:35.120 for the Lord. And you know, mountaintop, mountaintop. 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:40.250 But in chapter 19 of 1 Kings, Verse one, and 00:16:40.250 --> 00:16:45.389 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done. And 00:16:45.389 --> 00:16:48.350 King Ahab was wicked, Jezebel was very wicked 00:16:48.350 --> 00:16:52.250 also. Then it says in verse two, then Jezebel 00:16:52.250 --> 00:16:56.950 sent the messenger unto Elijah saying, so let 00:16:56.950 --> 00:17:00.090 the gods do to me. I can't do it, I don't know. 00:17:00.289 --> 00:17:03.809 I'd love to be able to do that. Don't you criticize. 00:17:05.529 --> 00:17:09.269 And more also. If I make not thy life as the 00:17:09.269 --> 00:17:11.730 life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." 00:17:11.730 --> 00:17:16.150 She was threatening Elijah to kill him. She is 00:17:16.150 --> 00:17:20.789 a critic, okay? Would you agree with that? She's 00:17:20.789 --> 00:17:23.750 a critic. She's not trying to help Elijah. She's 00:17:23.750 --> 00:17:26.589 trying to tear him down, the person Elijah. And 00:17:26.589 --> 00:17:29.569 then in verse number four, but he himself went 00:17:29.569 --> 00:17:33.069 a day's journey into the wilderness and came, 00:17:34.049 --> 00:17:37.599 sat down under a juniper tree. and he requested 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:44.180 for himself that he might die. So here's this 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:49.500 point, okay? Wisdom doesn't dwell on the criticism. 00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:53.380 You just can't, okay? Well, it's not wise to. 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:58.599 So wisdom doesn't let one voice define the reality. 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:02.279 The reality of Elijah is he has a mighty powerful 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:06.509 God. Okay, our reality, your reality is we have 00:18:06.509 --> 00:18:10.109 a mighty, powerful God. We serve the Lord God 00:18:10.109 --> 00:18:13.670 of Elijah, and he is the King of Kings and Lord 00:18:13.670 --> 00:18:16.710 of Lords. He's our captain, he's our commander, 00:18:16.789 --> 00:18:20.230 he's our God, and we're soldiers of the cross. 00:18:20.549 --> 00:18:23.809 And when we follow his orders, yeah, somebody's 00:18:23.809 --> 00:18:27.089 gonna criticize you like a Jezebel. And so wisdom 00:18:27.089 --> 00:18:30.009 doesn't let that voice of Jezebel define the 00:18:30.009 --> 00:18:32.710 reality of God being, one criticism, we're not, 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:36.720 careful can outweigh a hundred good things that 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:41.740 are going on. You ever been there? Okay, me and 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:44.960 brother Jim. Okay, so I'm preaching to three 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:47.059 people today. That's fine. It's fine. Fine, fine. 00:18:47.450 --> 00:18:49.150 Has anybody ever done that? You have like 100 00:18:49.150 --> 00:18:50.910 good things and one critic and all of a sudden 00:18:50.910 --> 00:18:52.950 you begin to dwell on that? Okay. Mitch, you 00:18:52.950 --> 00:18:54.369 ever been there? You ever been there? Maybe, 00:18:54.430 --> 00:18:57.130 maybe. Frank, I don't think anybody's ever criticized 00:18:57.130 --> 00:18:59.490 you. They'd be scared to, okay. I don't blame 00:18:59.490 --> 00:19:02.869 them, okay. So this is not wisdom. Think about 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:06.150 Elijah. One little threat from Jezebel caused 00:19:06.150 --> 00:19:09.230 him to lose the perspective that he had a great 00:19:09.230 --> 00:19:12.210 God. His circumstances had not changed nearly 00:19:12.210 --> 00:19:15.960 as much as his focus had. He lost his focus on 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:19.400 the great God that he has and began to focus 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:23.400 in on the Jezebel or the critic. God then reminded 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.660 Elijah in that same chapter that there were still 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:29.619 7 ,000 that had not bowed their knees to Baal. 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:32.160 And God's saying, hey, you're looking at the 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:34.859 wrong thing. You're looking at the wrong thing. 00:19:35.180 --> 00:19:37.720 You have a great God and there's many people 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:40.400 that are still serving me. So here's on this 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.400 one, remember this. Wisdom doesn't let that one 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:44.779 voice define the reality. Wisdom doesn't dwell 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:47.859 on the critic. So wisdom keeps things imperfect. 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:50.559 If we want that wisdom from above, we need to 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:53.619 keep things in the proper perspective. You as 00:19:53.619 --> 00:19:56.680 a wise man or a wise woman need to make sure 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:00.019 that you do not just say, I'm not gonna dwell 00:20:00.019 --> 00:20:02.900 on the critic. Now you need to have wisdom whether 00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:05.480 it's a critique or a correction. We understand 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:07.799 that. I was trying to define that. But when it's 00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:10.849 a critic, Trying to destroy, it's a Jezebel. 00:20:11.190 --> 00:20:13.509 Don't dwell on the negative. Wisdom doesn't let 00:20:13.509 --> 00:20:16.069 that one voice right there. So when criticism 00:20:16.069 --> 00:20:17.849 comes to your life, they're trying to beat you 00:20:17.849 --> 00:20:22.549 down, remember God. Remember God. Remember your 00:20:22.549 --> 00:20:25.349 faithful friends. Remember the souls that have 00:20:25.349 --> 00:20:26.690 been held. Remember the victories that have been 00:20:26.690 --> 00:20:28.490 done. Remember the prayers that have been answered. 00:20:28.750 --> 00:20:31.829 Remember the great God you serve. We serve a 00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:35.930 great God. Okay, okay, okay, here we go, okay. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:39.599 So, here we go, this next one. And I, Yowzers. 00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:42.220 Oh, 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Go to 1 Corinthians 00:20:42.220 --> 00:20:46.180 chapter 13. Please, and then the last one, don't 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:50.539 allow that one critical voice to become the narrator 00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:53.160 of your life, okay? Just don't, just don't do 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:58.099 it. So, in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, it is the 00:20:58.099 --> 00:21:03.279 charity chapter, the charity chapter. And really, 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:05.960 in a church, a divided church, First Corinthians, 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:08.980 divided church, problems. I'm of Paul, I'm of 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:11.579 Apollos, I'm of Stephen, and they were warring 00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:12.900 against each other. If you remember that, you 00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:15.180 remember the divided church. And then Paul remembers, 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:18.059 as a Christian, one of the great things we have 00:21:18.059 --> 00:21:21.000 is the ability to be charitable. Though I speak, 00:21:21.019 --> 00:21:22.660 verse one, though I speak with the tongues of 00:21:22.660 --> 00:21:25.799 men and of angels and have not charity, I am 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:28.740 become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. 00:21:28.829 --> 00:21:31.309 and though I have the gift of prophecy and understand 00:21:31.309 --> 00:21:33.529 all mysteries and all knowledge and though I 00:21:33.529 --> 00:21:36.369 have all faith so that I could remove mountains. 00:21:36.549 --> 00:21:39.910 By the way, I have faith that can move mountains. 00:21:40.849 --> 00:21:42.569 I did it some day, didn't you see that mountain 00:21:42.569 --> 00:21:44.430 when I was on there right there? Remember that 00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:46.089 ladder right there, that mountain, move that 00:21:46.089 --> 00:21:49.130 mountain right there? And have not charity, I 00:21:49.130 --> 00:21:52.529 am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods 00:21:52.529 --> 00:21:54.630 to feed the poor and though I give my body to 00:21:54.630 --> 00:21:56.650 be burned and have not charity, it profiteth 00:21:56.650 --> 00:22:01.539 me nothing. Charity suffereth long and is kind. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:05.160 Charity envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself, 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:08.599 is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:12.440 seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, 00:22:12.740 --> 00:22:15.279 thinketh no evil. And I want to say that, thinketh 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:19.490 no evil. and thinketh no evil, and thinketh no 00:22:19.490 --> 00:22:21.509 evil. And then we get to the last one in verse 00:22:21.509 --> 00:22:24.690 number seven. Beareth all things, believeth all 00:22:24.690 --> 00:22:26.349 things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 00:22:26.470 --> 00:22:29.210 Read the first three words of verse eight. Charity, 00:22:29.289 --> 00:22:31.849 never, faileth, say it again with me. Charity. 00:22:32.730 --> 00:22:36.150 Okay. Wisdom, and when we begin to think about 00:22:36.150 --> 00:22:43.130 that, refuses to become bitter. Wisdom stays 00:22:43.130 --> 00:22:49.259 sweet. Wisdom. has charity, wisdom, and I put 00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:53.579 this, don't let your sweet become sour. And praise 00:22:53.579 --> 00:22:55.359 the Lord. And this may be one of the greatest 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:57.460 dangers of all. After you've been disappointed 00:22:57.460 --> 00:22:59.920 enough, and by the way, I'm not necessarily talking 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:01.380 about correction. We gotta learn to take correction. 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:04.180 Please learn to take correction. One of the difficulties 00:23:04.180 --> 00:23:06.440 is you can't stand to be corrected. Sometimes 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:08.059 I need to be corrected. Sometimes you need to 00:23:08.059 --> 00:23:11.119 be corrected. Correction is good. And we understand 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:14.259 that. But criticism, when it comes, and it does 00:23:14.259 --> 00:23:17.809 come, and you get criticized enough, after another 00:23:17.809 --> 00:23:22.269 criticism, it's a danger for you and I to stop 00:23:22.269 --> 00:23:25.329 being charitable. It's dangerous for you and 00:23:25.329 --> 00:23:30.529 I to stop loving. It's dangerous for us to stop 00:23:30.529 --> 00:23:35.230 hoping. It's dangerous for our sweet to become 00:23:35.230 --> 00:23:39.390 sour, amen. And that critical person, if we're 00:23:39.390 --> 00:23:44.869 not, we become the critic ourselves. and we become 00:23:44.869 --> 00:23:48.509 negative ourselves. And that's not biblical wisdom. 00:23:49.769 --> 00:23:52.450 A person with biblical wisdom, wisdom from above, 00:23:52.910 --> 00:23:56.190 thinketh no evil. We have a heart and a mind 00:23:56.190 --> 00:23:59.170 that is pure, you might say, that is charitable, 00:23:59.250 --> 00:24:03.549 right? Wisdom, of course we need to remain realistic, 00:24:03.589 --> 00:24:09.509 but let's not become bitter. Okay, Jesus knew, 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:13.380 and knows our failures. I put this in bold. Jesus 00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:17.039 knew and knows my failures, Matthew, Alan's failures, 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:20.279 and your failures too, and he still loves us. 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:24.519 He still loves us, right? And praise God. So 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:27.059 we've got to think that wisdom, your wisdom, 00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:29.559 to have wisdom, you need to refuse to become 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:35.160 bitter. I am gonna be joyful. I'm gonna choose 00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:39.140 to stay sweet. I'm gonna choose to stay sweet. 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:42.079 I'm not gonna become sour. I'm never gonna let 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:45.539 somebody who's difficult make me to become a 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:48.119 difficult person. I'm never gonna allow a bitter 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:50.720 person to make me. I'm never going to allow that 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:53.240 critical person to make me critical. I'm going 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:55.180 to stay sweet, and I'm saying that's the way 00:24:55.180 --> 00:24:57.900 we need to try to live. We need to make a decision 00:24:57.900 --> 00:25:00.779 that that's the way we do. I'm optimistic in 00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:03.160 God. I have a great God. He's my commander. He's 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:05.480 my chief. I'm going to follow him into the battles 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:08.319 of war, and sometimes there's going to be battles 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:11.400 and difficulties and struggles in war, but let's 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:13.599 stay sweet. Okay, we go to this next one. I want 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:16.720 you to think with me on this one. Oh, how do 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:19.319 I do this one? In John chapter 21, if you wanna 00:25:19.319 --> 00:25:22.700 turn John chapter 21, this is interesting. John 00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:34.740 chapter 21. Peter in this, you have to read the 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:37.599 verses 17, 18, 19. He's told that he's gonna 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:40.839 die. And then in verse 22, it's really interesting. 00:25:41.019 --> 00:25:44.140 Then Peter turning about, seeeth the disciple. 00:25:44.410 --> 00:25:47.549 whom Jesus loved following. So after Peter was 00:25:47.549 --> 00:25:50.289 told what he's going to do, what's going on in 00:25:50.289 --> 00:25:53.289 Peter's life, he turns to that disciple whom 00:25:53.289 --> 00:25:56.970 Jesus loved. That's John the beloved, okay? Which 00:25:56.970 --> 00:25:59.009 also leaned on his breast at supper and said, 00:25:59.069 --> 00:26:03.029 Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter 00:26:03.029 --> 00:26:07.809 seeing him sayeth to Jesus, Lord, and what shall 00:26:07.809 --> 00:26:11.410 this man do? He took his attention off of his 00:26:11.410 --> 00:26:14.839 life, basically. and begin to look at the life 00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:18.599 and plans that God had for John. Then Jesus looks 00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:20.819 at Peter and says in verse 22, Jesus says to 00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:24.599 them, if I will that he tarry till I come, what 00:26:24.599 --> 00:26:28.819 is that to thee? Follow thou me. What he's saying, 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:31.059 don't get sidetracked with somebody else's life. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:35.099 Make sure that you follow thou me. Do your will. 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.710 God has a plan for your life. Don't let. God's 00:26:38.710 --> 00:26:41.710 plan for somebody else's life or somebody's criticism 00:26:41.710 --> 00:26:44.450 or somebody's this gets you sidetracked from 00:26:44.450 --> 00:26:48.650 God's will for your life. In other words, wisdom 00:26:48.650 --> 00:26:52.390 keeps their eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ. We 00:26:52.390 --> 00:26:56.390 keep our eyes focused on God. Wisdom stays busy 00:26:56.390 --> 00:27:01.569 doing God's work. My, oh my, let us labor therefore 00:27:01.569 --> 00:27:04.670 to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after 00:27:04.670 --> 00:27:07.140 the same example. of unbelief for the word of 00:27:07.140 --> 00:27:09.720 God is quick and powerful and sharper than any 00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:12.240 two -edged sword. You know, as we begin to look 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:15.759 at that, we can become consumed with what others 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:19.859 are doing, what critics are saying. Man, you 00:27:19.859 --> 00:27:27.680 want, you want. I'll give you an example. I, 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:35.279 okay, before I say it, this may shock you. I 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:39.579 believe the King James Bible is the inspired, 00:27:40.119 --> 00:27:43.660 inerrant Word of God. It's perfect from beginning 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:47.140 to end. Matt Nettesheim, I'm not a Bible corrector, 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:50.859 I'm a Bible believer. And I believe this Bible 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:54.160 is a lamp on my feet and a light on my path. 00:27:54.539 --> 00:27:57.539 I believe God said it is written, not it was 00:27:57.539 --> 00:28:00.539 written. And it's a glorious book. It's a glorious 00:28:00.539 --> 00:28:04.599 book. But if you look up on the internet, on 00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:07.420 YouTube, and look up, I didn't even know some 00:28:07.420 --> 00:28:10.660 things about me before. The critics, if you put 00:28:10.660 --> 00:28:13.400 in somebody who believes the King James Bible 00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:15.079 is the word of God, you put that in YouTube, 00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:18.079 holy mackerel, there's thousands of videos that 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:20.160 are critical of somebody believing that this 00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:23.019 is inspired in the word of God. And if you listen 00:28:23.019 --> 00:28:26.420 to them, they will call you sitting in a Bible 00:28:26.420 --> 00:28:27.859 -believing church, a King James Bible -believing 00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:31.019 church, you're ignorant and unlearned. and your 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:33.740 hatred, and I didn't even know all those things 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:39.359 about myself. I mean, it's vicious. And if you 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:43.519 listen to that enough, I can get sidetracked 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:46.500 from what God has called me to do. My biggest 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:49.500 job in the world is not to defend the King James 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:53.240 Bible. May shock you, my biggest job in the world 00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:56.730 is to take the sword and use it. and go out there 00:28:56.730 --> 00:28:59.109 and tell people about Jesus. The King James Bible 00:28:59.109 --> 00:29:01.509 says, Jesus saves. He is the way, the truth, 00:29:01.509 --> 00:29:03.630 the life. And we go out there and we use the 00:29:03.630 --> 00:29:05.289 Bible to change people's lives and lead people 00:29:05.289 --> 00:29:08.029 to Bible believe in Christianity. So wisdom keeps 00:29:08.029 --> 00:29:10.349 its eyes on the Lord. Wisdom saves being worked. 00:29:10.470 --> 00:29:12.490 And by the way, I just think that's a danger. 00:29:12.650 --> 00:29:15.069 It's a side note. But if you're not careful, 00:29:15.089 --> 00:29:17.430 I'm looking at this section, this section, this 00:29:17.430 --> 00:29:20.170 section. I have no doubt in every section, some 00:29:20.170 --> 00:29:23.769 of you are watching way too many YouTube videos 00:29:23.769 --> 00:29:26.069 that are criticizing. Bible, believe in Christianity, 00:29:26.289 --> 00:29:28.569 and you wonder why you're discouraged. You wonder 00:29:28.569 --> 00:29:30.849 why your mind is not doing too good. Man, get 00:29:30.849 --> 00:29:32.829 in the word of God. The word of God is quick 00:29:32.829 --> 00:29:34.930 and powerful and sharp, and read the word of 00:29:34.930 --> 00:29:36.789 God. We have faith comes by hearing and hearing 00:29:36.789 --> 00:29:40.730 by a YouTube video. No, faith comes by hearing 00:29:40.730 --> 00:29:43.509 and hearing by the word of God. And too often 00:29:43.509 --> 00:29:46.009 we're sidetracked away from Bible, believe in 00:29:46.009 --> 00:29:48.170 Christianity, and we know YouTube videos, but 00:29:48.170 --> 00:29:50.690 we don't know the word. But that's a side note, 00:29:50.809 --> 00:29:54.759 okay, man? If we're not careful, we get sidetracked, 00:29:54.819 --> 00:29:57.279 we end up neglecting the work that God has actually 00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:01.200 called us to do. Wisdom keeps its eyes on Christ 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:05.660 and our hands on the task God's given us. So 00:30:05.660 --> 00:30:08.119 I wanna just ask you and ask you to say, what 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:12.259 does God want for me today? And then follow through 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:15.599 and do what God wants you to do today and stay 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:19.200 away from that saturation of, I think sometimes 00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:22.730 we walk in the lion's den of critics for no good 00:30:22.730 --> 00:30:25.269 reason at all. So we get to this next one. This 00:30:25.269 --> 00:30:29.569 comes from second Samuel chapter 16, and this 00:30:29.569 --> 00:30:32.589 is gonna be a quick one. Remember, wisdom stays 00:30:32.589 --> 00:30:35.789 busy doing the work of God. This one right here, 00:30:36.170 --> 00:30:38.630 do you remember the story of David and Shimei? 00:30:40.170 --> 00:30:43.210 So David is running for his life from Absalom, 00:30:43.230 --> 00:30:45.829 do you remember that? And he's got this guy named 00:30:45.829 --> 00:30:50.569 Shimei. And Shimei is cursing David, the king. 00:30:51.660 --> 00:30:57.960 and cursing David the king. Shimei is cursing 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:02.039 David the king. Okay, do you understand? The 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:07.500 king of Israel. He's cursing God's man. And David's 00:31:07.500 --> 00:31:11.039 being cursed. What does he do? Well, he keeps 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:13.880 on walking. It may be, and it says in chapter 00:31:13.880 --> 00:31:16.980 16, second Psalm, chapter 16, verse 12, it may 00:31:16.980 --> 00:31:20.089 be that the Lord will look on my affliction and 00:31:20.089 --> 00:31:22.470 that the Lord will quite me good for his cursing 00:31:22.470 --> 00:31:26.009 this day. And so it gives us an example. David 00:31:26.009 --> 00:31:30.289 did not spend his energy defending himself. Instead, 00:31:30.569 --> 00:31:33.730 he trusted the Lord. He's busy in the work of 00:31:33.730 --> 00:31:36.250 the Lord right there. In other words, wisdom 00:31:36.250 --> 00:31:40.769 doesn't have to win every battle, okay? Wisdom 00:31:40.769 --> 00:31:45.470 knows when to let things go. Wisdom trusts God 00:31:45.470 --> 00:31:49.009 to defend it. Wisdom doesn't feel the need to 00:31:49.009 --> 00:31:54.250 answer every critic. You can't. There's a saturation. 00:31:54.529 --> 00:31:57.309 There are battles that God never intended for 00:31:57.309 --> 00:32:02.589 us to fight. Not every accusation requires an 00:32:02.589 --> 00:32:07.269 answer. Not every critic deserves a response. 00:32:07.890 --> 00:32:10.730 Not every misunderstanding needs to be corrected 00:32:10.730 --> 00:32:13.309 immediately. And here's why I'm saying church, 00:32:13.349 --> 00:32:17.529 for me, for you, wisdom knows when to speak and 00:32:17.529 --> 00:32:21.369 when to leave the matters to God. Wisdom from 00:32:21.369 --> 00:32:24.109 above, wisdom from above, wisdom from above. 00:32:24.269 --> 00:32:28.309 It's merciful. It offers peace. It offers restoration. 00:32:28.690 --> 00:32:31.190 It's wonderful. But if all of a sudden we get 00:32:31.190 --> 00:32:34.250 critical, the critic makes us critical. And next 00:32:34.250 --> 00:32:36.609 thing you know, that all we wanna do is go after 00:32:36.609 --> 00:32:38.950 the critic and we're not caring about correction 00:32:38.950 --> 00:32:42.609 and building them back up. We wanna pound them 00:32:42.609 --> 00:32:45.900 down. That's a little bit opposite from restore 00:32:45.900 --> 00:32:47.500 such a one in the spirit of meekness considering 00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:51.339 thyself less also be tempted And the idea is 00:32:51.339 --> 00:32:53.880 we've got to be very careful wisdom doesn't have 00:32:53.880 --> 00:32:56.079 to win every battle now We get to the end and 00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:58.099 this this is the end. I could have elaborate 00:32:58.099 --> 00:32:59.859 a little bit further, but i'm going to go over 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:04.799 these Stay sweet The idea is we need to keep 00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:08.240 sweet in a negative world with wisdom from above 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:10.880 I need wisdom from above. How many need wisdom 00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:13.309 from above? Oh, we need it, we need it, we need 00:33:13.309 --> 00:33:16.309 it right there. Wisdom knows, you know, your 00:33:16.309 --> 00:33:17.950 wisdom, your criticism's gonna come. When you're 00:33:17.950 --> 00:33:19.509 doing the work of the Lord, criticism's gonna 00:33:19.509 --> 00:33:21.890 come, okay? How many of you know that? How many 00:33:21.890 --> 00:33:23.430 of you know that? Criticism's gonna come, you 00:33:23.430 --> 00:33:26.029 tried to do that. But also, there is a time, 00:33:26.049 --> 00:33:28.470 and I wanted to hint on that again, but wisdom 00:33:28.470 --> 00:33:30.309 knows there's a difference between correction 00:33:30.309 --> 00:33:36.009 and criticism. Sometimes I need correction. Matt 00:33:36.009 --> 00:33:39.319 and Ed assign, needs correction, okay? How about 00:33:39.319 --> 00:33:40.700 you? How many of you would say sometimes you 00:33:40.700 --> 00:33:43.859 need to be corrected? Okay, do you remember that 00:33:43.859 --> 00:33:47.019 verse by the way? That from a child thus known 00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:48.720 the holy scriptures which are able to make the 00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:50.200 wise and the salvation through faith which is 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:53.480 in Christ Jesus, all scripture is given by inspiration 00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:56.920 of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 00:33:57.319 --> 00:34:00.660 for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:03.740 correction. You preach the word of God, it's 00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:05.839 sometimes gonna step on your toes and it's not 00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:08.619 trying to tear you down. It's trying to build 00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:10.840 you up. It's trying to show you that you're wrong 00:34:10.840 --> 00:34:14.440 and lead you onto a better decision path. Corrections 00:34:14.440 --> 00:34:16.500 good right there. So we go to this next one. 00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:19.099 Remember, this is what we've already gone through. 00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:22.260 Wisdom keeps things in perspective. Don't dwell 00:34:22.260 --> 00:34:25.239 on the negative. Don't let one voice define the 00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:28.900 reality. Wisdom refused to become bitter. Do 00:34:28.900 --> 00:34:33.630 too many Christians become bitter? They just 00:34:33.630 --> 00:34:36.349 do it as a terrible thing. And Satan sits back 00:34:36.349 --> 00:34:39.590 and laughs. Stay sweet. Wisdom keeps its eyes 00:34:39.590 --> 00:34:42.449 on the Lord. Wisdom stays busy doing God's work. 00:34:42.710 --> 00:34:45.210 And wisdom doesn't have to win every battle. 00:34:45.590 --> 00:34:48.730 I need wisdom. I need wisdom. I need wisdom. 00:34:49.210 --> 00:34:52.090 And I need wisdom. Oh, there's too many stories 00:34:52.090 --> 00:34:54.329 to tell. But in your own heart and mind, I'd 00:34:54.329 --> 00:34:57.230 look back over your life. Every one of you at 00:34:57.230 --> 00:35:00.570 times has been corrected. Maybe not liked it, 00:35:00.849 --> 00:35:04.039 but correction's good for you. When you go to 00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:05.739 somebody, don't be a critic where you're trying 00:35:05.739 --> 00:35:08.199 to estompadate them. When you go to somebody 00:35:08.199 --> 00:35:11.639 and God leads you to correct them, it's restorative, 00:35:11.880 --> 00:35:14.420 it's helpful, it's in a meek spirit, it's wisdom 00:35:14.420 --> 00:35:16.980 from above, it's peaceable, not trying to stomp 00:35:16.980 --> 00:35:19.559 somebody, okay? We got that, okay, good, good, 00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:22.139 good, good, good. But when criticism, don't become 00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:25.840 the critic, but when the critic comes to you, 00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:31.619 stay sweet. Stay sweet, stay sweet, stay sweet. 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:34.380 Let's pray. Dear Father in heaven, we love you. 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:40.900 Oh, this was a needed message. And I have no 00:35:40.900 --> 00:35:43.400 doubt behind the scenes, there are individuals 00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:47.039 going through this right now. And they're battling 00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:49.179 in their hearts and minds and becoming negative 00:35:49.179 --> 00:35:51.780 and cynical, you might say, and critical themselves. 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:55.239 And I pray that that root of bitterness has been 00:35:55.239 --> 00:35:57.320 dug up tonight. And even right now, decisions 00:35:57.320 --> 00:35:59.980 are made. And I pray that even some pray to you 00:35:59.980 --> 00:36:02.179 right now and say, Lord, help me to stay sweet, 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:05.699 help me to accept the correction and help me 00:36:05.699 --> 00:36:08.059 to stay sweet when there are critics. And then 00:36:08.059 --> 00:36:10.619 I pray that you help somebody here tonight who 00:36:10.619 --> 00:36:13.940 has maybe leaned over and started to be that 00:36:13.940 --> 00:36:16.739 critic, where it's not about correction, but 00:36:16.739 --> 00:36:19.199 it's about destroying. And I pray that you work 00:36:19.199 --> 00:36:21.679 in their hearts and show them clearly that's 00:36:21.679 --> 00:36:23.980 wrong. And God, I pray that you help our church. 00:36:25.569 --> 00:36:28.909 love Chesapeake Baptist Church, the people. I 00:36:28.909 --> 00:36:31.769 believe we have such a sweet spirit in our church, 00:36:31.769 --> 00:36:34.590 Lord, and I love it. I love coming around the 00:36:34.590 --> 00:36:37.289 people of God, and I pray that our church stays 00:36:37.289 --> 00:36:40.809 sweet. We love you, Lord. We need you in Jesus' 00:36:41.050 --> 00:36:45.730 name, amen. Stand with me if you will. Turn around 00:36:45.730 --> 00:36:46.130 to somebody.