2. JAMES 3:13-18
13 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here‟s
what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It‟s the way you live, not the
way you talk, that counts.
14-16 Mean-spirited ambition isn‟t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn‟t
wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn‟t wisdom. It‟s
the furthest thing from wisdom—it‟s animal cunning, devilish conniving.
Whenever you‟re trying to look better than others or get the better of others,
things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others‟ throats.
17-18 Real wisdom, God‟s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized
by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with
mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You
can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy
its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other,
treating each other with dignity and honor.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
3. JOSEPH & HIS BROTHERS, GENESIS 37:1-2
1-2 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an
alien, the land of Canaan. This is the story of the family of
Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding
the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of
Bilhah and Zilpah, his father‟s wives; and JOSEPH brought a
bad report of them to their father.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
4. JOSEPH & HIS BROTHERS, GENESIS 37:3-4
3-4Now ISRAEL loved Joseph
more than any other of his
children, because he was the
son of his old age; and he had
made him a long robe with
sleeves.
4But when his BROTHERSsaw
that their father loved him
more than all his
brothers, they hated
him, and could not speak
peaceably to him.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
5. JOSEPH & HIS BROTHERS, GENESIS 37:5-8
5-8 Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his
brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, „Listen
to this dream that I dreamed. There we were, binding sheaves
in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then
your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my
sheaf.‟ His brothers said to him, „Are you indeed to reign over
us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?‟ So they hated
him even more because of his dreams and his words.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
6. JOSEPH & HIS BROTHERS, GENESIS 37:9-11
9-11 He had another dream, and told it to his
brothers, saying, „Look, I have had another dream: the
sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.‟
But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father
rebuked him, and said to him, „What kind of dream is this that
you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and
your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?‟ So his
brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter
in mind.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
7. JOSEPH & HIS BROTHERS, GENESIS 37:12-24
17b-18 So Joseph went after his
brothers, and found them at Dothan.
They saw him from a distance, and
before he came near to them, they
conspired to kill him.
19 Come now, let us kill him and throw
him into one of the pits; then we
shall say that a wild animal has
devoured him, and we shall see
what will become of his dreams.‟
22 But when REUBENheard it, he
delivered him out of their
hands, saying, „Let us not take his
life.‟ Reuben said to them, „Shed no
blood; throw him into this pit here in
the wilderness, but lay no hand on
him‟—that he might rescue him out of
their hand and restore him to his
father.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
8. JOSEPH & HIS BROTHERS, GENESIS 37:25-28
25-28 Then they sat down to eat; and
looking up they saw a caravan of
Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with
their camels carrying gum, balm, and
resin, on their way to carry it down to
Egypt. Then JUDAH said to his
brothers, ‘What profit is there if we
kill our brother and conceal his
blood? Come, let us sell him to the
Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands
on him, for he is our brother, our
own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed.
When some Midianite traders passed
by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out
of the pit, and sold him to the
Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of
silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
9. JOSEPH & HIS BROTHERS, GENESIS 37:29-37
31-37 Then they took Joseph‟s
robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped
the robe in the blood. They had the
long robe with sleeves taken to
their father, and they said, ‘This we
have found; see now whether it is
your son’s robe or not.’ He
recognized it, and said, „It is my son‟s
robe! A wild animal has devoured
him; Joseph is without doubt torn to
pieces.‟ Then Jacob tore his
garments, and put sackcloth on his
loins, and mourned for his son for
many days. All his sons and all his
daughters sought to comfort him;
but he refused to be comforted, and
said, „No, I shall go down to Sheol to
my son, mourning.‟ Thus his father
bewailed him.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
10. JAMES 4:1-12 (THE MESSAGE)
1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars
and quarrels come from? Do you think they just
happen? Think again. They come about because
you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside
yourselves. You lust for what you don‟t have and
are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn‟t yours
and will risk violence to get your hands on it.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
11. JAMES 4:1-12 (THE MESSAGE)
2-3 You wouldn‟t think of just asking God for it, would
you? And why not? Because you know you‟d be
asking for what you have no right to. You‟re spoiled
children, each wanting your own way.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
12. JAMES 4:1-12 (THE MESSAGE)
4-6 You‟re cheating on God. If all you want is your
own way, flirting with the world every chance you
get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And
do you suppose God doesn‟t care? The proverb
has it that “he‟s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what
he gives in love is far better than anything else
you‟ll find. It‟s common knowledge that “God goes
against the willful proud; God gives grace to the
willing humble.”
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
13. JAMES 4:1-12 (THE MESSAGE)
7-10 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to
the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes
to God and he‟ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling
in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field.
Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and
games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get
down on your knees before the Master; it‟s the only
way you‟ll get on your feet.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
14. JAMES 4:1-12 (THE MESSAGE)
11-12 Don‟t bad-mouth each other, friends. It‟s God‟s
Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a
beating in that kind of talk. You‟re supposed to be
honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it.
God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who
do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of
others?
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
15. 20 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on
behalf of those who will believe in me through their
word, 21 that they may all be ONE. As
you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they
also be in us, so that the world may believe that you
have sent me. John 17:20-21.
WHope/SamuelOng/4.8.13
•IDENTITY
•WITNESS