Understanding the Church Logo and Its Symbolism

Once again, very good morning, and thank you for joining us as we continue our series in the book of James. Many of you will be familiar with Gospel Light's vision - to be an Acts church for today or our mission - to be leading generations into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. But perhaps very few of you would understand the logo. I don't think I've spoken about our church logo ever, and so I thought this is a good time to explain what this logo is all about. Now, when you look at the logo, you will see, I hope, number one, a cross. Can you see a cross? Alright, very good. You see a cross. It may look a little bit like a jewel with some bright light shining from it. Maybe that's what you will capture. But can you see people in the logo? That will be hard, isn't it? But our original designer, Sito, Brother Sito, he designed this with people in his mind. Let me show you his artwork. It begins with the Chinese character of “Ren” (People) and how he shapes it to be in such a way that it would form the structure of our logo. And if you look at this, he even thought about our slogan or tagline of “Know, Grow, Go”, and how it is all combined to form the church logo. Another thing about the logo is that it is in the color blue. It is not a random selection. It's not something that we anyhow decide. But I was told that the color blue does signify a few things. It has positive associations with trust and dependability. I think we preach a reliable message in the Gospel. It is associated with spirituality and divinity, because that's what you think of when we look at the skies. And it also speaks about peace and calm as you look at the waters. So he used all that and integrated that color into the logo, and thereby giving us this wonderful, I think wonderful, still appropriate logo today. It's a logo that speaks about Christ, His gospel, and how we need to shine and how people are gathered around Jesus, and this is a reliable message for all to believe upon. So when you look at a logo like this, there is more than meets the eye.

Themes in the Book of James

I say all that because when you look at the book of James, there really is more than meets the eye. A casual reader of the book of James would assume that James is kind of like a scatterbrain. He talks about different topics, about the tongue and about favoritism and about suffering and about fighting. He doesn't really have a coherent idea or big picture. But as we go closer, look deeper into the book of James, we realize it's not a scatterbrain. It is not a string of pearls, just different pearls with different relationships, or no relationship one with another. But we understand now that the Book of James is a coherent picture that he wants to present. James is writing to a group of Christians who are going through pains and hardships and sufferings in trials. And James is saying to them, instead of capitulating, instead of doubting God, blaming God or being angry with God, hold on to God's Word, endure and be steadfast and live out what it looks like to be a Christian. So maybe a very important text is James 1:26 and 27 where James explains what is true religion, especially when one goes through trials and hardship. James say,” If you really endure and believe in God, true religion will be expressed in number one, the ability to bridle your tongue. Number two, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and number three, to remain unstained from the world.” So James says,“A true Christian is someone who is marked out by his speech, by his deeds of service to the poor, and by his sanctification of being kept away from the ways of the world, but to be more like God.” This is what James is telling us. And so after chapter one, he develops these themes in a very thematic way, very organized way. Because in chapter two, he talks about service, or the lack of it, that there are people in the church who are showing favoritism, they ignore the poor and they pander to the rich. And in chapter three, James talks about the tongue. This is what we looked at last week. A Christian, a true Christian serves the poor. A true Christian should produce a pattern of pure speech.

True Religion and Wisdom

Now today, we are coming to looking at being unstained from the world, living a sanctified life. And this is going to take us from chapter 3 all the way to chapter 4 verse 10. But because of time, because of attention span, we will not go all the way to chapter 4 verse 10. We will look at the halfway mark. And so we are looking at James 3 verses 13 to 18 today. So that's the big picture. We oriented ourselves. James is a very organized writer. He's talking about true religion even as we go through trials, and we're looking, in particular, at 13 to 18 of chapter 3. Now there's a lot of words here, but I don't want you to read them for now, let's just black out the words. I want you to understand the structure in that James in this segment is talking about being unstained from the world. Alright, because he was talking about meeting the needs of the poor, then about the tongue. Now he's talking about being unstained and there are few things that resonate with this theme. He talks about good conduct. He talks about pure. He talks about righteousness. At the same time he talks about the opposite of what these things are when he talks about bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, earthly, unspiritual, demonic jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, every vile practice. So these are the opposites of being unstained from the world. This idea carries over, as I said, to chapter 4 verses 1 to 10, and I'm going to show you all these verses, but we're going to look at them, when? Next week, not today. So I just want you to see that it all comes together of being unstained from the world. But looking at chapter 3 verses 13 to 18, James is right here elaborating on what it means to be unstained.

But besides that, there are another four words that are important for you to see, and they are the words - wise and wisdom. You see that? So I'm suggesting to you, if you black out this segment again, just looking at these words, you will notice James is talking about sanctification - pure, good conduct, righteous, don't have bitter envy or jealousy. He's also therefore talking about true religion, because that's what James 1 verses 26 and 27 is telling us. And he's telling us about wisdom, because the four words there repeated are significant. So if I may suggest to you, what are we studying today? Very simple. James is teaching us that true religion and wisdom is seen in a sanctified life. That is the big idea. Let's dive in to the smaller details.

We're going to look today at wisdom from above. I think that's how I entitled this message, and it begins with the mark, the mark of true wisdom from above. James asks,

Who is wise and understanding among you? (James 3:13a)

Who is really wise? What is wisdom? There is this story of two ladies fighting over the last seat in a bus. All the passengers tried to settle them, but to no avail. The bus driver, seeing that this is coming to no end, shouted, “Let the ugly one take the seat!” And the two ladies stood the entire journey. Well, you may say that the bus driver is very smart, and we think that wisdom is about being smart, having high IQ. But James tells us that the mark of true wisdom is not in your IQ, but is seen in the way you live.

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By his good conduct, by the way he lives his life, let him show his works. (James 3:13b)

So true wisdom is not seen in the amount of gray hair you have, or the degrees you parade, or the intelligence quotient you have scored in Mensa, it is seen in a way you live your life. What about your life marks wisdom out? Well, James tells us in the meekness of wisdom. So wisdom is going to be seen in meekness. Now, meekness is not a word that is very well or very commonly used in our day and age, because we think of meekness as weakness. Oh, you are so meek. We tend to think he is so weak. But that's not quite true. Jesus talks about meekness as a beautiful trait. He says,

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

Meekness is a beautiful trait. What is meekness? Well, the word ‘meekness’ is maybe taken from an old English word of meeking a horse. What is meeking a horse? It means to tame a horse. A wild horse has natural strength, but that strength is not very useful because the horse is not tamed. It goes wild. But to meek a horse means you tame a horse in order to harness the horse's strength. Now when you tame a horse, it doesn't reduce his strength. A wild horse is strong. A tamed horse is equally strong, but the strength is brought under control. So when we think about meekness, it's not weakness, but it's strength under control. And James is saying that a wise person is someone whose life demonstrates that degree of control. He's gentle. He's mild. He's not abrasive. He's not a bully. He's not arrogant. He's not self absorbed. He's not all about himself. A wise man is gentle and controlled. That's what James is saying. That's what wisdom will look like.

Counterfeit Wisdom and Its Consequences

Now that we know what is the mark of wisdom, he says it's going to revolve around the concept of meekness. He's going to tell us about the masquerade, the counterfeits, the fake kind of wisdom. Because there are a lot of people today who seem to be wise, but they are really not wise in God's eyes. There are people today who can cut deals, make things work, get influence of people. But according to God, though people think they are wise, they really are not. They are the masquerades, the counterfeits, the fake ones. How do you tell a fake one apart? Well, James says in verse 15,

this is not the wisdom that comes from above. (James 3:15a)

So there are people who seem to be wise, but they are not truly wise if they have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. So you can tell this is not real wisdom if they have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. Why? Because we are going to read on in chapter 4, I cross a little bit into it. They will also be the people who will be involved in quarrels and fights. And James says, “If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, you quarrel and fight. That's not real wisdom.”

Do not boast and be false to the truth. (James 3:14b)

What is the truth here? There are two options. One is the truth that wisdom must involve meekness. So if you are someone who is filled with selfish ambition and jealousy, and you fight and quarrel, you can say that you are wise, but that's not true, because that's not true to what real wisdom is, which must be in accordance with meekness. The straight ruler is meekness. The crooked lines are shown up when you place it beside the ruler of meekness. But there's another option to the understanding of the truth here, and it may be referring to how James has used the word “truth” earlier on.

That we are brought forth. (James 1:18a)

We are born again. We become Christians by the Word of truth.  God's Word is truth. So James may be saying you do not have true wisdom if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, because that is not consistent with being the firstfruits, with being the people of God who are brought forth by the gospel, by the word of truth.

But let's get back to the point. James is saying, “If you are someone who lives with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, you are not the real deal, because that kind of wisdom does not come from above.” Why does it not come from above? Because these things - bitter jealousy and selfish ambition will not bring forth meekness. Instead, this kind of wisdom, James says,

is earthly, unspiritual and demonic.(James 3:15)

It is earthly. It is not from God. It's from this world. It is unspiritual. The word there in the Greek is “soulish”. It's from your soul. It's not from God. He makes it even more extreme by saying this is demonic. This does not come from God. It comes from the devil. So there are people today who seem to be wise, but their wisdom is not from God. It's from this world. It's from the flesh. It's from the devil, everything that is against God.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, (James 3:16a)

Look at this. If you have this kind of wisdom that is not from God, but from the world, from the devil, from the flesh, what will happen? It will be bringing forth disorder. The word disorder is chaos. You ruin relationships. You cause unrest in a community, in the fellowship of God's people. There are people today who get things done, but they leave a trail of casualties. They rupture or fracture relationships in the church. That is not wisdom according to James, that is demonic wisdom. You break up a CG, you break up a ministry, you break up a church, you break up communion. That is not wisdom from above. But besides this order, this kind of earthly, unspiritual, demonic wisdom, brings forth all kinds of vile practice. The word there means evil, wicked works, so sin will be involved. There are people who get things done, but they destroy relationships, and they bring in all kinds of sins, maybe their lies, their exaggerations, their intimidations, their threats, their bullying tactics.

I like what this commentator said, “There is a kind of person who is undoubtedly clever, with acute brain and skilful tongue; and we would think that he is very wise. But his effect, nevertheless, in any committee, in any church, in any group, is to cause trouble and to disturb personal relationships. It is sobering thing to remember that the wisdom he possesses is devilish rather than divine.” How can I tell?  How can I diagnose? How can I differentiate worldly wisdom from heavenly wisdom? Just remember verse 16.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. (James 3:16)

Why do I color it in three colors? So that you can see there's a simple way to remember. And I think, number one, it is selfish. Number two, it is splintering. It causes a faction or factions to be formed. And number three, it brings along with it sin. It's sinful. Someone may get things done, someone may say things, may be very eloquent, but you can tell is this earthly wisdom or heavenly wisdom, just by these three things. Maybe as you think about the election speeches, you can think more along these lines. Well, at least that's how I thought. So how do we tell worldly and Godly wisdom? Let me give you a few popular sayings of our day, and you judge for yourself if it is earthly wisdom or heavenly wisdom. People say “You have to be ruthless in order to succeed.” You heard this before? It's everywhere, right? Go through the filter. Is this selfish? Is this splintering?

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Is this sinful? You judge for yourself. I'm not going to tell you the answer. How about…I have a lot of statements, but they're all about the same one, just to help you familiarize. The second one, “It’s not personal, it's just business.” We hear that quite a bit, or “It's a dog-eat-dog world.” You've got to do this to survive. Number four, “We have to have victory at any cost”. Number five, “In this world, you’re either the hammer or the nail”. Number six, “Nice guys finish last.” “Take care of yourself first and everything else will follow.” “Get what you can, while you can.” “Sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette”. “Sometimes, you need to lie to get what you want.” “You have to fake it till you make it” or lastly “The ends justify the means”. James is giving us tremendous advice and showing us what fake wisdom is all about. But I don't want to talk about fake wisdom. I want to talk about the real deal. So that's what James wants to do, too. So finally, let's look at the manifestations of real wisdom.

James tells us these are the marks. Alright, so we know what are the fakes. The fake ones will always lead you to a kind of, it springs from a heart of selfishness. It will result in fragmentation of relationships, splintering, and it also is accompanied with sinful activities, deeds, words, lies, exaggerations, bullying and so on. But then how do you tell the real ones now? There are positive manifestations of true heavenly wisdom. James says number one,

The wisdom from above is first pure. (James 3:17a)

The word is to be blameless, innocent. I think this word ‘pure’ is nicely contrasting vile practices, or evil, wicked works. Number two,

the wisdom from above is peaceable. (James 3:17a)

The word ‘peaceable’ means loving peace. So instead of wanting to break up relationships, it wants peace. It longs for peace. Number three, the word is ‘gentle’. The word ‘gentle’ means ‘mild’. You are not harsh, you are not abrasive, you are not brash. And then we see the word ‘open to reason’. It means easily entreated. You are accommodating. Now, I'm not saying that you have no clear position. You are not a weakling. You are not someone who sways with every wind of doctrine, but you are someone who is clear in position but accommodating in posture. You don't have to be harsh to people who differ from you. You can be different but not difficult. You can disagree but not be disagreeable. I think that's what it means. You're accommodating, you're yielding, you're easy to entreat. So instead of someone who creates chaos, he tries his very best to preserve that unity and peace. That's a wise man. Now not only that, James goes on to say this wisdom from above is not self oriented or self obsessed, but it's thinking about how it can be a blessing to others, because he says,

full of mercy and good fruits. (James 3:17b)

You want to do good to those who can't return any favor. You want to be a blessing to others, and not only that, you are impartial and sincere. Now the ESV has translated the word ‘impartial’ as ‘impartial’, but if you actually look at the Greek, it can mean ‘without distinction’ that will give you the idea of impartial or without division. It is allowable. It is what is a possible meaning of the word, and I take it to be ‘without division’, referring to someone who is wholehearted, because this word is linked to the word sincere. Wholehearted and sincere. Sincere is unfeigned, genuine. So this refers to someone who is genuinely, wholeheartedly concerned about the well being of others. He is not all absorbed about himself. And James says,

This person will reap a harvest of righteousness.(James 3:18)

Instead of vile practice and sin, wise people will produce righteous deeds that pleases God. And if we don't get it, one highlight of, again, an emphasis of someone who is wise is that everywhere he goes, he tries to bring peace. It may not always be possible, but this is always his goal.

So again, let us keep things simple. What are the manifestations of true wisdom? I suggest to you. Number one, he would seek to live a pure life. He doesn't want to compromise in sin, no matter what he does. Number two, he always aims for peace. He's peaceable. And number three, he always seeks to be doing good for others. His life is very productive. It's always bringing forth good fruit and mercy. So here, I think James is giving us a true understanding of wisdom from above and the counterfeits of it, which is sinfulness, a splintering effect and selfishness. So my basis ‘pure’, I think, is taken from the text, ‘peaceable’. He is someone who is peaceable, gentle, open to reason, productive. He is full of mercy and good fruits. I suggest to you, it's wholehearted, sincere, unfeigned. On the other side, you have someone who is living with vile practices causing disorder and bitter jealousy, selfish ambition. I think James, if I understand him correctly, is giving us a beautiful comparison and contrast of the two.

Application of True Wisdom in Fellowship and Ministry

Let's apply this to fellowship. Let me ask you today, when you go for care groups, discipleship groups, community groups in church, what is your goal? Is it so that you can boast? Is it so that you can be highlighted in your care group? Or do you go to your care group wanting to be bearing fruit in other people's lives? Real fellowship amongst God's people must be marked by wisdom, and wisdom means I'm going there to be a blessing to others. Yes, I know I'll be blessed by my brethren, but I go there not to be thinking all about myself, but I want to bless my brethren. I want to encourage them. I want to serve them. I want to be a blessing. And you try your very best, by the grace of God, to always preserve peace. You fight hard to keep sin away. That is what true community looks like in a church of Jesus Christ, because it is marked by wisdom. Think about how this applies also to disagreements. Sometimes actually often times when we see people fight in the office or in school or at home, we don't care who gets hurt. We just want our way or our opinions to be adopted by everyone. But true wisdom means in disagreements, in quarrels, in fights, I'm willing to take a step back. I'm willing to suffer wrong even if it means that that is what it takes to preserve peace. Do you remember what Paul said to the Corinthians. There was a possible legal suit. There is a possible suing of one another before the courts of law. And Paul says to them, “What's wrong with you guys? Can't you suffer wrong? Why do you let God's name be dragged through the mud before the unsaved world?” So true wisdom may mean that I need to take a step back and suffer wrong if it means that that is what it takes to preserve peace. So you're not someone who is overly insistent, not someone who is overly stubborn. Now, let me be clear. Your position must be clear, but your posture need not be adversarial all the time. How about ministry? Is our ministry marked by pure wisdom from above? Do we get things done regardless of the cause? Oh, it's for souls. Oh, it's for the name of Christ and and therefore we have the right to blast people in our path? No, that's not what God would want. We don't want to leave a trail of casualties. We want to do the right things, and we want to do it the right way. We want to treat people respectfully, lovingly.

There is a way to get things done quickly, but it may result in disorder and vile practice. And there is a way to do it patiently and lovingly. It takes a longer time, but perhaps that's the wisdom from above that is needed.
The Role of Leadership and Elders
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How about leadership and elders? I think about 1 Timothy 3:3 where it talks about the qualifications of an elder,

that he must be gentle and not quarrelsome. (1 Timothy 3:3)

Very interesting, right? Of all the qualifications you want to look for in an elder, these are two things you need to look for. Is he a quarrelsome man? Is he a gentle person? That is an important mark for Paul, because I think it tells you whether he is worldly wise or heavenly wise. So there is a kind of person who is undoubtedly clever with acute brain and skilful tongue, but his effect nonetheless, in any committee, in any church in any group is to cause trouble and disturb personal relationships. It is a sobering thing to remember that the wisdom he possesses is devilish rather than divine.

So check our own lives, in our care group, in our ministry, in our leadership. Let us aspire. Let us ask God for grace that we may live out true heavenly wisdom. Next time you look at our church logo, I hope you are reminded, oh, there's more than meets the eye. It's not just a shining crown jewel of the cross of Jesus Christ, but it is about people connected to the cross of Jesus Christ. It's a reliable message. It's a divine message. It's a message that brings peace to those who would believe it. That's what our logo stands for. The next time you look at James, please don't think of James as a scatterbrain with different topics all randomly mixed together, but he's speaking to a group of people going through trials, and he's encouraging them to live out true religion.
Summary and Conclusion
So a summary of all these weeks we have been going through from chapter 1 to chapter 3 may look like this. James talks about someone in trial, and that man, you, comes to a fork in a road. There are two paths to take. The first path is to begin to doubt God, blame God and be angry with God. You read all that in chapter one, remember? The other option is, instead say, “I am going to cling on to God's Word. I will receive with meekness the engrafted word. I will put away all superfluity or naughtiness of the flesh. I will put away all sin. I will repent and I will obey. I will not be just a hearer, but a doer.” So James says there are two options for you to take. You can either quit on God or you can continue to endure and be steadfast. But it will not just be in your head. It will be seen in a way you live your life, because those who quit on God will begin to live in a selfish way. It’s all about themselves. But those who believe God will live in a selfless way. They will give themselves to serve others. These two paths will also be marked by their speech. One will be a speech of cursing, the other will be a speech of blessing. And as we learn today, they will also live differently. One would live in strife. Everywhere he goes, he is creating chaos and divisions and strife. But the wise man seeks to keep himself unstained from the world. He avoids conflicts. He wants to live in peace. He doesn't want to bring in sin. What's the catch? Well, we then see that these are the two differences or two different religions one can practice. An empty, worthless, vain religion or the true religion. And as we have learned in chapter one, empty religion leads to death, but true religion means that you save your soul and you receive the crown of life. I'll tell you when to take photo, not yet. And I think, as we have described in chapter two, the wise people of true religion will obey God, not that they do this to earn salvation, but they do this as they evidence salvation. Those who are truly saved are endowed with wisdom from on high, and wisdom is about obedience to God. It's not IQ, it's not degrees, it's not gray hair. It's the conviction of the heart to say, “God is worthy, and I'll obey Him.” The wise will obey God. That's what true religion is all about, and thereby lay a good foundation for themselves, for the judgment to come. They will save their souls. They will receive the crown of life. And what I think James is teaching, and what the rest of the biblical authors are teaching, is that salvation, though it is received in the moment, the moment you repent and believe in Jesus, you are saved, but salvation is revealed in a lifetime. Now you can take your photo. I think this is what James is talking about, and I hope today you will see that what James is saying here is not just nice advice. It is critical. It is critical to where you will find yourself at the end of the day. We will all be judged before God, and those who believe in Jesus will evidence their faith with a lifetime of obedience. In what ways? In their service, in their speech and in their sanctification. A true Christian is not just someone who says he is a Christian. A true Christian is not just someone who comes to church. A true Christian is seen in a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Examine yourself to see whether you be in the faith. Let's bow for a word of prayer together

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In what seems like a very very mundane or common garden passage of Scripture today, I hope you see that James packed right into these six verses tremendous truth that helps us see so clearly what wisdom from above really looks like. Every good and perfect gift comes from above and wisdom comes from above. The wisdom that is not of this world, the wisdom that is not from the devil, is a wisdom that always strives to obey, to be pure, to be righteous. It's a wisdom that seeks always to preserve that peace and unity that the Spirit of God has given to the local church, and is a wisdom that always seeks to bless others and not be absorbed about himself or herself. This is the miracle of the Christian life. This is not saying you do this so that God will love you. This teaching from James is James saying, “When you really come to God in repentance and faith, He will give you that new heart, and He will endow you with this wisdom. And this is how you know if you're realty born again, how you know if you really belong to God.” And so we praise God for the marvelous gift of salvation, because it's not just a ticket to heaven. It's about a changed heart. It's about a changed life. It's about divine wisdom, you see.

I am confident today that if you believe in Jesus with all your heart, you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, you will see a heart that wants to serve, a heart that wants to bring forth good speech, and a heart that wants to remain unstained from the world. And as you examine your life for the past 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, I hope today your heart is filled with the joy of assurance. Jesus has indeed changed me. I hope today it will lead you to praise God. I hope today, it will lead you to be a blessing in your care group, that you will be a blessing in ministry, not just caring about the KPIs, about the deliverables, but also the people you work with, serve with. I hope today, you will think about what it means to be a leader of the church. I hope today, if there be any disagreements with a fellow brother or sister in Christ, you would take that first step to reconcile and to make peace and to sow a harvest of righteousness. But if you today don't see any of these marks in your life, I'm telling you today, it's still not too late, because in chapter four, we are going to learn how James calls people to repent, to mourn, to weep, because God is a God of all grace. His arms are open wide. If you are willing to say, “Lord, I have played the game. I have been a hypocrite. But today I see my need for Jesus. I see my need for a new heart. I want to believe in Christ and what He has done.” Today, God receives you. And I hope and I pray, this will be the day you repent and believe in Jesus and Jesus alone, because Jesus paid it all on the cross. And I think coming to Jesus is that ultimate wisdom.

So Father, give us a heart that fears you, that knows your love, so that we may be changed, so that we may live lives of righteousness. I pray for this church that we will not have worldly wisdom, but heavenly wisdom. Heal the broken relationships. Give us godly leaders. May our communities express heavenly wisdom in being focused on one another and not on ourselves. And we pray that when the world looks at this church, when Punggol, when Singapore, looks at this church, they would say, “Surely, this is the people of God.” Bless each one. May saints be encouraged and may sinners repent and believe that they may be saved. Thank you. We pray all these in Jesus Name. Amen.