Hi everybody, my name is Dustin Vaughan and I am excited to be with you this evening. My family and I have been attending Verse by Verse Fellowship for about 3 years. I serve as a small group leader here along with participating with the Men’s Ministry. I am happily married to my wife Courtney who serves in the Children’s Ministry. We have 3 kids…our daughter Foster is 5, our son Brooks is 3, and we just added our third Miles as of March 1st. So pray for us. I already felt like we were playing zone defense when it was 2-on-2, so not really sure what type of defense we can run now with three. We may have to injure one of them on purpose so we can gain an advantage (just kidding…obviously). But of course, being the good husband and father that I am, I picked a Wednesday AFTER the birth to speak so I could have some peace and quiet from the sweet chaos that is our home.

The text we are looking at today is split up a little awkwardly, at least on the surface. When we were deciding on how to split James up into teaching segments, this proved to be one of the more difficult pieces of scripture to find a beginning and end point. Last week, Pastor Tony eloquently described the power of the tongue and the necessary attention required to tame it, especially for those who decide to teach. After my teaching segment, we will move into what it looks like to humbly submit under God’s will and authority amidst the enticing pleasures of this world. Today, however, we are talking about wisdom. More specifically, we are talking about the tension between 2 different types of wisdom – wisdom from above and earthly wisdom. I will often refer to these two types as true and false wisdom respectively. This is why I titled this sermon Battle of the “Wise”. There are those who ARE wise and there are those who CLAIM to be wise. There are those who truly EXEMPLIFY wisdom and there are those who are COUNTERFEIT. We are going to learn how to identify both today. My hope also is that we will leave tonight with the means to access and the enthusiasm to fight for TRUE wisdom.

Who here remembers The Rumble in the Jungle? Please raise your hand so everyone else can see how old you are! This refers to the famous 1974 heavyweight championship boxing match between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman in Zaire, Africa. Entering this boxing match, George Foreman was the undefeated, undisputed, and the overwhelming favorite, heavyweight champion who was contending to maintain his title against Ali. Amidst the political and social drama surrounding this event which we will not get into, this fight was widely watched across the world by as many as 1 billion viewers. George Foreman was known for his formidable, brute strength while Muhammed Ali was known for his agility and endurance. As most of us know, Ali was not a great example of “taming the tongue”, however I use this illustration to convey something about wisdom. During the fight, Ali introduced a tactic now called the rope-a-dope. What he would do is he would lean against the rope barrier of the ring and maintain a defensive posture by drawing non-injuring offensive blows. Ali would simply move to different parts of the ring, set up near the rope, and dodge Foreman’s heavy-handed punches. The strategy in this was it would require far less energy from Ali than the offender (Foreman) delivering the blows, which in turn, led Foreman to exhaust all of his physical reserves. The fight finally ended in a knock-out by Ali in the 8th round. You may ask what does The Rumble in the Jungle have anything to do with wisdom. Well other than the fact that I love sports, this example illustrates a few things. There were two contrasting approaches to the fight. This was a fight between offensive, brute strength and defensive, enduring patience. Quick point here…Ali had to be completely committed to this strategy because if the fight would have lasted all 15 rounds without a knockout, he surely would have lost based on total points accumulated. He had to be completely sold out to his strategy. There were also two contrasting perceptions. The majority of viewers believed Foreman would overpower Ali while some believed Ali could persevere. Lastly, there were two contrasting results. Ali won and Foreman lost. As we move through the text, see if you can find similarities in contrasting approaches, perceptions, and results; not necessarily in the context of a worldly boxing match, rather in the battle we face every day for true wisdom.

Wisdom is an interesting word in Scripture. I must confess the first part of this teaching is heavy with word study, but it is necessary because it informs our complete understanding of the text. So please…stay with me. The Greek word used in the New Testament for wisdom is “sophia” which carries the meaning you might think, “speculative knowledge, cognitive ability, or philosophy”. There was a certain Greek, hierarchical differentiation between those who could attain wisdom and those who were not allowed to, predicated mostly by social status. The Hebrew language, however, went a step further and infused it with a richer meaning of skillfully applying knowledge to the matter of practical living. The word for wisdom in Hebrew is “chokmah” (khok-maw). It is both divine yet human. It is both complex yet practical. It is both experienced by few yet attainable by all. It is important to distinguish because we must place ourselves in the context of James to truly understand what he is saying and who he is speaking to. We have concluded James is primarily addressing Jewish Christians dispersed outside of Israel during this time of persecution. Although the New Testament was translated to Greek, the word for “wisdom” should hold the same weight to the audience doing the interpreting. So how would these Jewish Christians perceive James’ question in v. 13, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” In addition to “wise” in the raised question, we have the word “understanding”. This word for “understanding” is only used once in the New Testament and it means to gain expertise or to specialize. Being an expert on something requires 2 parts: knowledge and application. It is not enough to simply know something if you fail to apply the knowledge correctly in most, if not all situations. On the other hand, it is nonsensical to apply where there is no knowledge. To be an expert, you must exhibit BOTH to the highest degree. James is challenging his audience by saying in summary, “Who among you has expertise in the art of living? Who is truly skilled at taking the knowledge they have about life and applying it correctly to life’s practical situations?” 

James responds to his own question by saying, “By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” In other words, “You want to prove you’re wise? Let it be seen in your meekness!” The last word I want to dissect is this word “meek” or “meekness”. We struggle with this term because this is not a highly coveted characteristic by worldly standards. The Greek term for “meekness” is “prautes” (prah-oo'-tace) which can also be rendered “gentleness” depending on what translation you have. Other meanings for “meekness” include mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, or humility. The problem with this word is not in translation, but in perception. We often stigmatize meekness with terms like weakness and cowardliness. On the contrary, the Greek term for meek was first used to describe breaking-in wild horses. It held this idea of taking something that was wild and untamed, then bringing it under control. Strength is not eliminated when a horse is tamed! You can experience the strength of a horse by just standing next to one. Meekness however reveals the ability to control the strength the horse possesses. That is why a better definition for meekness is “humble strength” or “power under control”. This brings us to our first point in contrasting true wisdom with false or earthly wisdom. True wisdom is humble, not proud. True wisdom is humble, NOT proud. Humility and meekness combine for around 100 mentions in the Bible and are always qualities to which we should aspire as Christians. Jesus reminds us that the meek are blessed and will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Moses is described as “very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” Jesus says in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am “PRAUS”-meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Paul even urges the Corinthians by the “meekness and gentleness of Christ” aligning both his humility and boldness with Christ himself. Of all people with the authority to be prideful in His own wisdom, wouldn’t it be Jesus? Yet He doesn’t just encourage us to be meek, He claims the perfect essence of meekness. Jesus acts as the definitive example of meekness and humility. If Jesus is the highest form of Christian maturity, then should not our lives reflect a continued sanctification process to fully mature in meekness? One way to prove your faith, one way to prove you are maturing in Christ…be humble. Now, we self-deprecating Christians have a difficult time with the concept of humility. We forsake the very gifts God has given us by denying we are good at anything. This is not humility or meekness! Humility is not the absence of confidence, it is the transfer of confidence to a God who deserves the praise. Let me say that again. Humility is not the absence of confidence, it is the transfer of confidence to a praiseworthy God. You see, because we place our confidence in the One who is all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, and sovereign, our confidence is steadfast and secure. Far better than placing our confidence in a slowly deteriorating body and mind, right? It always amazes me when we are so consumed by the capabilities of mankind. We make houses that wash away in a flood, we make infrastructure that can’t withstand an earthquake, and we put our hope in a body that has not found a way to slip past death. Here is where we are different though, you meek Christian. Your confidence is in a sufficient Savior. Your sufficiency is no longer wrapped up in your humanness, but by the righteousness, holiness, and perfection of God. It is absolutely necessary to understand your position in comparison to God.

Seeking to prove your wisdom through your own pride and arrogance is no proof at all. In fact, it works against you! James continues in v. 14, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” The confidence that comes in bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, James says, is false to the truth. What a horrible place to be! This attitude should not be new to us, we have seen this before. Where else do we see this attitude described in scripture? Listen to this. “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images, resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” This is Romans 1 which is often considered the Dark Exchange. Paul says that the truth about God was exchanged for a lie and the creature was elevated in worship over the Creator. False wisdom can only lead to what is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. Another way to put it is that false wisdom is limited to that which is worldly, natural, and evil. Can we not see this wreaking havoc in our world today? Think about these 3 descriptive terms as it relates to the world we live in. The WORLD is quick to appease the fleshly desires of lustful passions and prosperity – this is worldly. The WORLD focuses only on what we can “perceive” with our eyes but is completely resistant to a higher power than human beings – this is natural. The WORLD encourages and, in some cases, FORCES the inclusion of evil with social recourse if we decide to stand for what is holy – this is evil. The proud, haughty spirit of this world does not have the capacity to grasp what is heavenly, spiritual, and holy. C.S. Lewis says it best, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” It is like a man that claims to know exactly where he is going but never takes his eyes off the pavement. I think we can all agree this is unwise and even dangerous. You may even be able to recall watching people on occasion run into doors or poles because they were simply unaware. The humility of lifting your eyes up from the pavement and understanding there is life outside of yourself gives you the ability to perceive the situation rightly. You can now gain knowledge and apply it correctly. So stop running into poles! Look up! It is only then you can experience true wisdom. The earthly, natural, and evil will always end in disorder and every vile practice; but if we approach wisdom through humility, we get to experience what is heavenly, spiritual, and holy.

Let’s move to the 2nd point as we look at this contrast between true and false wisdom. Write this down as #2 - true wisdom makes peace, not discord. True wisdom makes peace, NOT discord. Look back at chapter 3 as we continue in verse 17, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then PEACEABLE, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” James spent the past couple verses describing to us what true wisdom is not. Now he takes a turn and reveals to us what true wisdom is…what true wisdom looks like. It looks pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, merciful, fruitful, impartial, and sincere. When reading v. 17, I am immediately transported to Galatians 5 and the fruits of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (“prautes”-there’s that word again), and self-control. I don’t think it is a mistake comparing the characteristics of true wisdom with the fruits of those who possess the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Can those who don’t possess the Holy Spirit inherit true wisdom? Is a counterfeit dollar the same value as a real one? The answer is they can appear to have similar qualities, but they lack the source that gives them worth. It cannot be identified as wisdom from above if the wisdom does not come from a source that is above us. Isaiah reminds us God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, just as the heavens are higher than the earth. You don’t test the authenticity of a dollar bill only by its appearance. You test it by its texture (how it feels). You test it by its composition or makeup. You test it by the serial number, known as its identification. Lastly you test it by its seal. True currency is sealed with an objective mark which gives authenticity to what the currency represents. All of these characteristics prove the value is what it appears to be. In the same way, true wisdom must be composed of characteristics activated and sealed by the presence of the Holy Spirit or it is not worth what it appears to be.

Then James dwells a moment on this peaceable aspect of wisdom. Verse 18 states, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in PEACE by those who make PEACE.” He continues into chapter 4, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” We can see in this text the lack of true wisdom naturally prompts us to become childish and animalistic. It is not difficult to see the lack of maturity in the response of James’ audience. I mean, this is literally what Courtney and I are trying to parent out of our 5-year-old. The idea that I deserve something and if I don’t get what I feel like I deserve, then I must act in accordance with my selfishness regardless of how it affects others. There is a pastor I listen to often and greatly respect and he points out, like others, that the idea of a utopian society is desirable of course. To achieve perfection in society is ideal, is it not? Everyone is content and working together with a global purpose. He says there is only one problem…kids. A good example of this is a book I read once of a few pre-adolescent boys stranded on an island after a plane crash. They had no adult supervision. As a result, they created 3 rules: have fun, survive, and maintain the smoke signal for ships passing by. Left to their own devices, they erect a pig’s head mounted on a sharpened stick swarming with flies as an idol of sorts where they receive instruction to trust no one and eliminate the others to live. What book am I talking about? Yes, Lord of the Flies. How is that for proving you participated in your school-mandated accelerated reading initiatives. We can’t read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe in schools but when it comes to the ultimate depravity of man and adolescent mutiny…we are all ears. The book concludes with quarreling and murder – Survival of the Fittest’s obvious conclusion – until the remnant is rescued by a British naval officer who is moved with emotion and embarrassed by their “innocence”. This may be a secular, fiction story but it describes the same picture James does. What end is there for earthly wisdom besides discord? Remember, it is characterized by bitter jealousy and selfish ambition which results in fighting, quarreling, and even murder. The wisdom from God; however, produces a peaceful harvest of righteousness. If I were a farmer and sowed corn, I would reap corn…not cotton. You reap what you sow. Wisdom from God sows peace, so that is what it reaps, just like bitterness and selfishness will always end in discord. Jesus reminds us in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Proverbs 3 says this about wisdom from above, “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than the gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” Isn’t that the harvest you want to collect on?! I want a profit better than gold. I want an element more precious than jewels. I want a long life of value. I want to be honorable. I desire unwavering peace. Don’t you?

This aspect of true wisdom is pretty practical. We probably have more opportunities to display peace in our daily lives than we would even recognize. Here is the key though in every circumstance that determines whether true wisdom was utilized to make peace or if false wisdom dominated. James says it. Take a look back at verse 1 of chapter 4, “Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” Your motive, AKA your heart, is what determines the source and the result of your wisdom. For example, you have a conflict with your spouse. Using my earthly wisdom, I may dig my foot in the ground and take my stance for what makes me happy or satisfied. We know from experience, this approach doesn’t work out too well. It is safe to say, the result will definitely be discord. True wisdom, in contrast, promotes humility which will inevitably lead to peace. The far better option would be to approach conflict with your spouse’s best interest in mind, leading ultimately to a peaceful compromise. What about within the church? If you are always stirring up controversy over petty issues, you are not acting with true wisdom. While we should never forsake essential truths, neither should we fight over minor matters where Bible-believing people differ. Be aware of your motives as you offer wisdom, may it be productive and an attempt to make peace rather than to disrupt it.

Let’s review again what distinguishes true wisdom from that which is counterfeit:

True wisdom is humble, not proud

True wisdom makes peace, not discord

Lastly…true wisdom befriends God, not the world

Another way to say this is true wisdom is inherently Godly. I have managed to make it all the way to this point without using Godly as the appropriate adjective for wisdom, but the truth is wisdom is not separated from God. This point is kind of broad and all-encompassing, yet it proves to be the most distinguishing factor. You may be able to disguise your counterfeit “wisdom” by appearing to be humble or appearing to promote peace, but you can’t be friends with the world and God. James knows this. He continues in chapter 4 verse 4, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?” James draws a line in the sand…you are either with God or you are not. You are either a friend or an enemy. You know those people that like to stand at the boundary line between 2 states, straddle the imaginary line, take an Instagram picture, and claim they have visited both states so they can cross it off their bucket list? If you know those people or if you are that person, let me give you a word of wisdom, that doesn’t count! To claim you have been to Montana, you are claiming to have experienced Montana. You have hiked the majestic trails of Glacier National Park partaking in its picturesque landscape and diverse wildlife. You have driven the windy roads nestled between enormous mountains inhabited by breathtaking, emerald pine trees. You have felt the cool breeze that cascades down the Rocky Mountains that makes you rethink ever going back to the South Texas humidity. In the same way, claiming to be a friend of God is claiming to have experienced relationship with Him. In fact, the idea that you could love both God and the world is likened to that of an adulterer. These Jewish Christians were born-again, part of the Bride of Christ, His Church. Finding satisfaction in the world is dishonoring and considered adultery to the God they have committed their lives to. Same goes for us.

I mentioned before, wisdom must be sourced by the God that created it for it to be of any value, which means true wisdom IS Godly wisdom. Douglas Moo in his commentary on James says, “Wisdom is the means by which the godly can both discern and carry out the will of God.” Wisdom is offered to the godly as a means of gaining and applying knowledge for practical living to the purpose of glorifying God. Listen…I am 32 years old and I played football for over half of my life. I received many tidbits that could be considered “wisdom” from an earthly point of view. One of my favorites was, “Be the best version of yourself.” Let me ask you all a question. What version of yourself do you prefer? The sinner, the impatient, the greedy, the selfish, the proud, the depressed, the one incapable of saving his or herself. Because here is the thing…that about wraps up all you have to offer apart from God. Those who have strapped themselves to the world can make decisions and give advice, but it is of the world. True wisdom only comes at the end of yourself! True wisdom can only be of God!

Then James makes reference to this statement, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.” He is not referring to a specific place in scripture where this is said, however it is generalizing God’s righteous jealousy. The difficulty in interpretation is we are not quite sure what spirit James is talking about. There are a couple of options here depending on how the scripture was initially interpreted. The statement can first be read like this, “He [God] jealously longs for the spirit.” This interpretation would lead us to believe God is jealous for our sinful, human spirit. The second is, “the Holy Spirit He [God] caused to dwell in us envies intensely”. The former associates the spirit to that which is human, and the latter associates the Spirit to that which is God. Contextually, it seems most likely the spirit addressed here is the Holy Spirit. The only other use in James for the human spirit is in chapter 2 where he says “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead”. Simply put, the human spirit is what gives the body life just like works gives life to faith. On the contrary, the interpretation I would tend to hold to is since God gives His Holy Spirit to man, this gives Him possession over men. And, if that man turned toward the world, God’s jealousy would rightly be aroused. Either way, we recognize that what is of God cannot be of the world and what is of the world cannot be of God. Water and oil will never mix. Godly wisdom and earthly wisdom will never coincide.

So this is how I want to conclude tonight. We have talked a lot about how to identify or distinguish true and false wisdom. What we have not talked much about is how we can fight for true wisdom. Again, this is a battle we must fight daily! Truth is, you don’t have to look outside of yourself for false wisdom. You are born with it. It is passed down from the first Adam to all of his descendants. This is one of those genes you are always trying to pass off to your spouse. We are in the thick of it now with a newborn but I always find the inherent competition to be the first to find out which parent the baby looks like is so comical. It feeds our ego when we receive confirmation that we are responsible for at least one good quality like hair, eye color, or dimples. Well here is one gene dominant in the husband and wife passed down to all children. There is no competition or discrimination here, we are all descendants of Adam. Our first word was “NO” to God. If this doesn’t convince you, when you walk outside these doors tonight, it won’t take long to see the world promote what is earthly, natural, and evil. The good news is you are not stuck in this depraved state. You have hope! Let me give you 3 ways to fight for true, Godly wisdom:

Fear the Lord

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” True wisdom is first found by fearing the Lord. This fear is one of reverence and piety. It is correctly positioning the Lord in your heart as priority. In comparison to all the other things competing for your affection, Christ receives the highest honor. He is our Master and we are His servants. The Creator is rightly glorified over the created. Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom? Our ability to access true wisdom is predicated on who we believe Jesus Christ is. At first by faith, but then through wisdom we come to value properly those things which we have believed by faith. Fallen humanity sees this as foolish. They lack the capability of seeing themselves and the world as God sees the world. The truths of Christian belief become more important than the things of this world when our belief in Christ gains us access to true wisdom. True wisdom helps us understand our relationship to the created world, loving creation for the sake of Christ, rather than for its own sake.

Seek knowledge

“An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” There are so many Proverbial phrases like this in scripture confirming our responsibility to seek knowledge. It is good to seek knowledge and understanding for what we do not know. As stated prior, you must have knowledge first before you can skillfully and practically apply it. Not necessarily that you understand calculus or how to code software. I am talking about life knowledge. How to love your spouse? How to raise your kids? How to deal with relational conflict? How to lead? How to serve? Don’t you find it funny that our world is about quick access to answers…type your question in the Google search box and out pops answers to that question on the same screen. We enjoy having answers at our fingertips, however the world refuses to acknowledge the one book that has them all. We have God’s Word written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who has supplied all the true wisdom we need in a book. Read your Bible! Knowledge about life requires no fantastical journey through some sort of psychedelic experience triggered by a psychoactive drug. This is of NO help to you in understanding your purpose in this world. This is false wisdom at its finest. It is earthly “wisdom” that changes with the wind and is tossed by the waves. You cannot wish away the realities of this depraved world. Sooner or later, you need answers that you can stand on with a foundation that never changes. Meditate on something that is of infinite use for you, God’s Word.

Ask God

James himself reminds us of this back in chapter 1, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” We are mere children. As we all know, sometimes kids ask you for things just so they do not have to do it themselves. However, sometimes kids ask you for good things that they cannot obtain on their own without your help. Are we not obliged to help little children? All we need to do is ask God in faith for true wisdom and he is delighted to give it to us. It doesn’t mean that you will be altogether wise in a second, but he has given you His Word and access to Him through prayer. God, like a parent, is delighted to give good things to His children. Ask God to give you true wisdom and trust that He will.

J.I. Packer, a well-known theologian and author of Knowing God along with many other good books says this, “The effect of His gift of wisdom is to make us more humble, more joyful, more Godly, more quick-sighted as to His will, more resolute in the doing of it and less troubled than we were at the dark and painful things of which our life in this fallen world is full…a wisdom that will find expression in a spirit of faith and a life of faithfulness.” For those of you who are here or listening online who are Christians and you represent Jesus with your life, you have access to true, Godly wisdom. You have been given the ability to discern and carry out God’s will practically through life’s trials. Don’t sacrifice it for what is earthly, natural, and evil. Protect it and steward it. For those of you who have not yet placed your faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His death on the cross for your sins and His resurrection from the dead, and you find yourself trusting your humanness for security, can I invite you to rethink your strategy? Your humanness is not enough. It will never be enough. The king of this world would want nothing more than to deceive you with the worthlessness of earthly wisdom. If that is where you are, here is the best news…let’s finish this passage out with v.6, “But he gives more GRACE. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives GRACE to the humble.” There is sufficient grace for you! Christ died on a cross that was yours to bear. And all you have to do is confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Yes, this is where your new life of sanctification begins, but you are SAVED at that moment of faith. Position yourself rightly with a holy and perfect God and he offers abundantly more grace than you deserve.

Here are some good lyrics to leave you with. It’s a hymn we sang a few weeks ago and the words ring so true:

“His Word shall not fail you – He promised;

Believe Him, and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.”