Introduction
Trials do not destroy faith; they only put it
to the test. And the faith that stands the test is proven
to be genuine and the faith that fails the test is proven
to be false.
Trials are Purposeful,
Predictable, and they are Productive. Trials have many
purposes. God sends trials to humble us. He sends trials
to wean us from the world. He sends trials to call us
to concentrate on eternal things. He sends trials to
reveal to us what we really love.
He sends trials to teach
us the value of His favour and blessing. He sends trials
to enable us to help others in their trials. He sends
trials to develop in us greater strength for greater
usefulness.
Trials produce Purging,
Patience, Perseverance, and Perfection—spiritual
maturity. Trials lead us to Prayer and Prayer leads
us to "Wisdom"
Wisdom
is the subject matter for this study.
V
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and
it shall be given him. (KJV)
There are those who would
suggest that the epistle of James lacks cohesion that
the author jumps haphazardly from one subject to another.
Others suggest that the
epistle is not just so much a chain of thoughts or beads,
but a handful of beautiful pearls dropped one by one
into the hearer’s mind.
I personally feel they
are beautiful pearls which are wonderfully connected
together by the "Inspiration of the Holy Spirit"
At the conclusion of
verse 4, James is urging Believers to aim for the quality
of life, which they were lacking. Then in the very next
sentence he says
V.
5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God"
A
Problem that is Serious
"The Lack of Wisdom" James offers
simple and practical advice that works, for the facing
of the various trials of life . . . go to God! Go to
God who is looking out for our best. If any lacks"
implies that everyone has a deficit (shortage) of wisdom.
A measurement of our
wisdom; verses God's; is the question we ask when the
trials come.
Our wisdom asks, "WHY
ME?" and God's wisdom allows us to start asking
for wisdom to see us through the trial.
There
is Wisdom for the Asking 1:5
ASK
= the present tense says to keep on asking. We
might say it like this, "Let him ask the constantly
giving God"
This wisdom God offers
to us, is simply for the asking; it is not mere knowledge
of facts, or the accumulation of information.
Many a man and woman
have gone under the trials of life knowing all the facts.
The wisdom God offers is understanding for living. It
is the God-given ability to make godly decisions and
choices in the midst of difficult circumstances.
Many will ask "Why
do we need wisdom for trials?" Why not ask
for strength, grace, or deliverance? We need
to ask for godly wisdom, which allows us to see that
strength, grace and deliverance comes, with God's wisdom.
Man
is Deficient in Wisdom—
In every generation man
has been characterised by the absence of real Wisdom.
Through knowledge, man
has learned to go faster than sound, but shows his lack
of wisdom by going faster in the wrong direction.
Through knowledge man
has accumulated vast information about the planet in
which he lives, but shows his lack of "Wisdom"
in the way he treats his environment.
Man lacks "Wisdom"
although he is more educated than ever before.
It was the Earl of Shaftsbury—who said during
his education campaign in the Nineteenth century.
"
Education without instruction in religious and moral
principles will merely result in a race of clever devils"
Biblical Wisdom is something
that man desperately needs and it is something that
the unconverted man never has. The Person without the
Holy Spirit does not accept the things that come from
God.
1
Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto
him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. (KJV)
We must also remember
that the Christian is equally incapable of making right
judgements and decisions by mere human reasoning. We
cannot afford to act without God, when making our own
decisions.
Paul’s
burden for the church at Ephesus
Eph
1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him: (KJV)
It was also his--
Prayer
for the Colossians
Col
1:For this cause we also, since the day we heard it,
do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye
might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all
wisdom and spiritual understanding; (KJV)
Wisdom to James and to
any Jewish reader of that time was the understanding
needed to live life to the glory of God.
Wisdom was functioning
in obedience to the will and the Word of God. It began
with fearing God and then moved to obeying God.
John Milton who wrote.
All
is best, though we oft doubt
What
the unsearchable dispose
Of
Highest Wisdom brings about.
Man
is Deficient in Wisdom
God
is Sufficient in Wisdom
V
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it
will be given to him. NKJ) God has wisdom to
give generously.
When we go through a
test or a trial, we need wisdom. Any believer is going
to feel weak, and to feel the need for strength and
resources. He will look for an anchor to hold on to
in the midst of the trial. That anchor is God’s
Wisdom.
Daniel cried out--
Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom
and might are his: Dan 2:20 (KJV)
I think about; Proverbs
3:5 to 7, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart
and lean not unto thine own understanding."
What a great statement.
When you're going through a trial, when you're
going through difficulty, don't lean on your
own understanding; trust in the Lord with all your heart.
"In
all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your
paths, be not wise in your own eyes." Don't
look to yourself for answers. Ask God for divine wisdom.
There
is Wisdom for the Asking 1:5
Wisdom is better than
strength. Wisdom is better than the weapons of war.
Wisdom is more profitable than silver and yields better
returns than gold. (Eccl 9:16,18)
Happy
is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth
understanding.
She
is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou
canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Prov 3:
13,15(KJV)
Solomon
prayed, "O Lord give thy servant an understanding
heart".
Abraham Lincoln said "I have been driven
many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction
that I had nowhere else to go. My wisdom, and that of
all about me, seemed insufficient for the day".
Prov
4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:
and with all thy getting get understanding. (KJV)
A
Problem that is Serious
A
Prayer that is Successful.
To whom does God give
this Wisdom?
Wisdom
for the Believing
Look back at verse 5 again.
"If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God...let him
ask of God." This is imperative. It is not
optional.
V6
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that
wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed. (KJV)
This command is as much
a command to prayer as, ‘pray without ceasing.’
At the end of verse
16 of James 5, "The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
The
illustration is of Elijah who was a man subject
to like passions as we are, "He prayed earnestly
that it might not rain. It rained not in the earth by
the space of three years and six months.
He prayed again and
the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her
food." God answers prayer. God responds.
God gives Generously
and Graciously! But there is a condition. The man of
faith solves all his problems through God’s help,
by consulting and praying to Him.
Though, he has prayed
to God and called upon the Lord’s Name, if he does
not solve his problem by trusting God, but struggles to
solve them himself, he is not a man of faith.
He is filled with problems, not
with God.
ASK
IN FAITH
Faith is an unwavering
trust and belief in God.
Hebrews
11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please
Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek
Him.
To ask in faith believing,
says we are committed to depend upon God and His wisdom
rather than our own. God has wisdom available and God
wants to give it to the seeking heart. But there's a
sense in which He holds it back until you come and ask
for it, demonstrating your love, your trust and your
dependence on Him
ASK
WITH NO DOUBTING
There are some people
who just doubt that God can give them an answer. There
are other people who just want to argue with God about
why He did what He did and so their prayers are nothing
but a fight
and a struggle.
You are not to doubt
the available supply of God. You are not to doubt the
available power of God. And you are not to doubt the
purpose and the will of God.
Matt 14
When Peter saw the Lord walking on the water he said
with great excitement.
Lord, if it be
thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. Jesus said,
"Come". And when Peter was come down out of
the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he
saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning
to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately
Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him,
and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore
didst thou doubt
You
are not to debate whether God did what He should
have done or not. If something in your life doesn't
go right, that's no cause for debate or dispute with
God, telling God He should have done it your way.
Unwavering faith, simply
believes that God is sovereign, -- believes that God
loves,
believes that God will
supply everything that is needed for understanding the
trial, and goes in prayer to God. In doing so he not
only comes to the Throne of heavenly grace but also
touches the very heart of God with prayer.
Let us keep in mind
that the Devil cannot keep the Lord from answering our
prayer, but he will seek to make us waver in unbelief.
He can cause us to be double minded.
The
doubting man has a divided heart. One moment
he shouts, "I believe" the next "I have
my doubts" James says this kind of man is unstable
in all his ways v 8. Doubts affect every area of his
life.
He is unstable in his
relationship to God. Unstable, in relation to worship,
fellowship, and service.
Ask
Without Wavering
James
1:7-8 For let not that man suppose that he will
receive anything from the Lord;
If we do not apply faith
that works, and ask God for His wisdom in our times
of trials, we should not entertain ideas that God will
give us anything for help.
The "Way of Prayer
was open when Jesus died on the cross and the Veil was
rent in two.
The
"Worth of Prayer is Obvious"
Prayer substitutes man’s
weakness with God’s strength, man’s ignorance
with God’s wisdom, mans emptiness with God’s
fullness, and man’s poverty with God’s wealth.
Illustration. Sometimes we can be too much like
the man who was caught in a flood.
He had the opportunity
to get out by car but said he would stay with his house.
As the water got deeper,
he prayed for God to save him. A boat came by
with the offer to take him out, but he refused,
stating that God would save him. Then the water
became too deep to stay inside the house, so he climbed
out on the roof.
A helicopter came by
offering to rescue him, but again he refused saying
that God would save him. He drowned in the flood.
When appearing before
God he said,
"Lord I prayed for
You to rescue me and You let me drown"
The Lord said, you prayed
and I sent a boat and a helicopter to save you but you
refused!
Jesus has promised, And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive. Matt 21:22 (KJV)
The
Christian lives by faith.
Faith is not an additive
that somehow gives more impetus to prayer. It is an
attitude of heart of the person who prays. Believing
prayer is the prayer of a man who is utterly convinced
of the power, love, grace and mercy of a faithful God.
The greater our knowledge
of God as revealed in His word, the more steadfast our
faith will be and the more we shall learn to pray in
accordance to His Will.
E. Stanley Jones, shares, how this truth came
across to him " In prayer I seldom ask for things.
More and more I ask for God Himself, for the
assurance that His will and mine are not at cross-purposes,
and that we are agreed on all major and minor matters.
To continually doubt
that God sets a pattern for our lives, which is the
opposite of what God, wants to bring about in our lives--namely
maturity through the trials.
Stability
or instability, which do we want in our lives?
Instability
is the easiest.
We simply live a life
full of worry, and constant questioning of God over
our circumstances. And the answer never appears on the
horizon.
Wavering prayer is offensive
to God. It’s like the waves of the sea, which are
forever changing, driven by the wind.
James
4:3 you ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss
If we want stability we must ask God for His
wisdom and then believe God will see us through the
trials. Stable faith we might call it. James is teaching
the need for this stable faith.
James
3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full
of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without
hypocrisy.
The faith God wants in
our lives is 100% pure ... no mixture of selfish motives.
This faith is filled with wisdom that is willing to
yield to God's Word. Wise faith produces good
fruits in our lives. It's the faith that works
no matter what the circumstances or trials.
A
Problem that is Serious
The
lack of wisdom
A
Prayer that is Successful.
Let
him ask in faith, not wavering
A
Promise that is Sufficient.
V
5a if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God
V
5b " and it shall be given him"
So often we can doubt God, we can be double
minded. We live like corks on the waves, bobbing
up and down, tossed to and fro. This is the evidence
of Instability and Immaturity, which go hand in hand.
Let me tell you something
of what it means to be "Double minded"
The original Greek meaning for "Double minded"
means "One who has two souls". It’s
as picture of a person whose heart is divided in its
affection and in its loyalty. A Double minded man is
one who fails to claim and hold fast to the promises
of God.
Illustration. One Sunday, a minister spoke on
the subject of faith. He told a story about a pastor,
who had called his members to a prayer meeting to pray
for rain, to end a terrible drought.
After the opening hymn
he sent them home saying, "You came to pray
for rain, but didn't bring your umbrellas.
Faith
is something that has to be applied.
God
has given a Promise that is sufficient
ASK-- AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN.
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