If You Have a Need

Title: If You Have A Need

Scripture: James 1:5

The book of James has been compared with the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, particularly the book of Proverbs, because of its direct, pungent statements on wise living. James was in his written was profoundly influenced by the “Sermon on the Mount” in no less than 28 verses in James are direct references to the “Sermon on the Mount.” Some even view Chapter 1 of James as a practical commentary on the Lord’s Sermon. As we look this morning at Chapter 1:5 let us compare and read first from Matthew 7:7-12.

1. The Need—5a--“If any of you lack wisdom”

a. James is writing here about a need

b. That need comes through prayer

c. What is the need “WISDOM”

d. Life’s testing times can be perplexing

e. The great question that looms in our lives at such a time is “WHY”

f. It was a question that Job had and that his friends tried to answer for him, although their conclusions only aggravated Job, who knew them to be false.

g. So in Job’s final response to his friends and would-be counselors he comments:

i. Job 28:12-22—“"But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 "Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. 14 "The deep says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' 15 "Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. 16 "It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire. 17 "Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. 18 "Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. 19 "The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. 20 "Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? 21 "Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the sky. 22 "Abaddon[I.e. Destruction] and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a report of it.”

h. When God finally answered Job, it was with a series of unanswerable questions of His own centering on “WHO”.

i. It is a remarkable growth when we stop asking “WHY” and start asking “WHO”

j. Job’s attention was weaned from his sorrows to God’s sovereignty.

k. When believers face times of testing—whether physical, emotional, moral, or spiritual—they have a special need for God’s “WISDOM”.

l. At times like this it is Solomon’s words that we need to remember:

i. Proverbs 3:5-7—“Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORDand turn away from evil.”

m. He goes on further in to say of godly wisdom “that her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace.” Vs. 17

n. James will even write later in 3:17 that God’s heavenly wisdom is described as “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”

o. So what is wisdom

p. Wisdom is more than just knowledge, far more than just being intellectual about life or some area of life.

q. See knowledge is the grasping of facts,

i. Jeopardy

r. Some of you are knowledgeable in your area of work

s. Millions and millions of us are knowledgeable. People with heads full of knowledge are very common. But when coping with the trials and temptations of life, something more than a head full of facts is needed.

t. Wisdom is not having a head full of facts. It is not only seeing and knowing all about life, it is seeing and knowing what to do about life.

u. Wisdom grasps the great truths of life. It sees the trials and temptations that surround life and death, God and man, time and eternity, good and evil

v. Wisdom not only understands the trials and temptations, but it understands what to do with them and how to do it, and it does it.

w. Asking wisdom of God is the way to conquer the trials and temptations of life

x. “it was said of Einstein, one of the greatest geniuses of all time, was not put out by the Big Bang Theory, because otherwise he would have been forced to come face to face with the fact that there is a creator.”

y. Wisdom has to do with applying the circumstances of life to Christian living. We are to live like Jesus lived—in step with the will of God.

z. The Lord went to the cross with all of its agony, suffering and pain because He trusted the wisdom and eternal purpose of God.

aa. It is God and God alone that is the source of “WISDOM”

bb. It was this truth that caused Paul to pray to God for believers to be granted wisdom, knowledge and enlightment

i. Ephesians 1:17-18—“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge[Or true knowledge ] of Him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may[Lit being ] be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints[Or holy ones],”

cc. But many of us lack this kind of wisdom.

dd. See that word “LACK” means to be destitute, wanting, or defective.

ee. If we are defective in wisdom, we will not know how to handle problems when they arise.

ff. So, it should go without saying that trials should enhance our prayer life, as we turn to the Lord for guidance, strength and patience, and wisdom.

gg. We don’t want to feel totally inadequate at times to deal with situations. We need to “ask of God”

hh. When we ask of God, our heavenly Father, for His wisdom, James assures us that far from being miserly in dispensing that gracious gift he gives generously.

ii. We need wisdom so we will not waste the opportunities God is giving us to mature.

jj. Wisdom helps us understand how to use these circumstances for our good and God’s glory.

2. The Method and the Source-5b—“Let him ask of God.”

a. The approach of asking God is not a natural choice. We always want to try man’s methods first

b. See James is writing “Let him ask” is an imperative verb. That is to give an instruction.

c. He is not giving us his personal opinion but a divine command

d. Therefore our calling on our Lord for wisdom is not an option. It is mandatory.

e. And if we as believers are being tested and are not driven to the Lord and we do not develop a deeper prayer life, the Lord is likely to keep the test active and even intensify it until His child comes to the throne of grace.

f. Asking is the only method God gives for meeting needs.

i. Philippians 4:6—“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”

ii. John 14:13—“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”

iii. Matthew 6:33—“But seek[Or continually seek ]first His[Or the kingdom ]kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added[Or provided ]to you.”

g. But who do we ask

h. We go to the source, that is God

i. There is a commercial on for Ask.com. A website that claims you can type in a question and get the right answer the first time every time .

j. But when it comes to trials, and struggles I don’t need a website I need God and His Word.

k. The was a girl prayer during World War II who said, “God bless the President and my parents and, God take care of yourself cause if anything happens to you, we’re sunk.”

l. See God is the only one source that never fails

i. Philippians 4:19—“And my God will supply all[Or every need of yours ] your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus”

m. And as we will see in a minute that God has wisdom in abundance and is infinitely more willing to impart His wisdom than we are to ask for it, He nevertheless expects us to ask Him for it.

n. It is not something that the Lord will impress on an unwilling heart and mind.

i. Jeremiah 29:11-13—“'For I know the plans that I have[Lit am planning ] for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 'You will seek Me and find Mewhen you search for Me with all your heart.”

ii. John 14:13-14—“"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. 15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

o. A classical biblical example of a man’s turning to God for wisdom is Solomon.

p. The Lord appeared to Solomon when he was crowned king of Israel and asked him what He should give to him. Solomon replied:

i. I Kings 3:7-9—“Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 "Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 "So give Your servant an[Lit a hearing ] understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great[Lit heavy ] people of Yours?"

q. And God granted Solomon his request beyond anything Solomon could have imaged. And shortly afterward when two women came before him and presented him with a very difficult case, 1 Kings 3:16-28, each sharing the same home, each having gave birth to a son, and when one of the sons had died. Each woman was claiming that the surviving son was hers.

r. Solomon said, “bring me a sword. Cut the living child in two and give each woman half.”

s. One woman applauded Solomon’s judgment. The other has horrified. Rather than allow such a thing to happen, she said that she would renounce her claim to the child.

t. “that is the mother.” Solomon said. And the Holy Spirit adds, “and all of Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged and they feared the king for they saw that the wisdom of God was in Him.” Vs. 28

u. And no other wisdom was like that in Israel until Jesus came.

3. The Measure-5c—“that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not”

a. James tells us that God gives us the wisdom we need liberally or in the NASB the word is generously.

b. Translated it means doing something unconditionally without bargaining.

c. The only condition is we have to ask.

d. When we come in our trials to God asking for His help and wisdom, He immediately and unconditionally gives and gives generously.

e. It is the same as Matthew wrote in Matthew 7:7-11:

i. Matthew 7:7-11—“Ask[Or Keep asking ], and it will be given to you; seek[Or keep seeking ], and you will find; knock[Or keep knocking ], and it will be opened to you. 8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 "Or what man is there among you who[Lit whom his son will ask], when his son asks for a loaf, will[Lit he will not give him a stone, will he? ] give him a stone? 10 "Or if[Lit also will ask ] he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

f. God is in the business of giving out wisdom “Generously” and if we lack wisdom, let’s go to God who will hear and answer our prayer.

g. Upbraideth or in NASB reproach means that God will not cast insults on his children who come seeking wisdom in time of trouble and testing.

h. He will not remind us of how undeserving and unworthy we are, as obvious as that might be.

i. God gives without hesitation, reluctance or reservation, His divine wisdom and it is given in generous abundance.

j. Later in Chapter 4 James condemns those who war and fight only because they did not ask of wisdom from God.

4. The Certainty-vs. 5d—“and it shall be given him.”

a. As Thanksgiving and Christmas are around the corner and we will probably hear a lot during this season that it is more blessed to give than to receive. But we are not always willing to give.

b. The word shall is an absolute

c. You ask, He gives that’s it

d. God offers us a full measure of wisdom

e. Much of the wisdom that we need, and for which we pray, is to be found in His Word.

f. It is already ours, available to us in hundreds of precepts, proverbs, parables, and principles.

g. The Law of Moses contains 613 commandments, many of them still relevant to human life and society. Solomon wrote a whole book of proverbs full of the distilled wisdom of heaven for life on earth.

h. The parables of our Lord Jesus are gems of wisdom.

i. The Bible is full of wise counsel. It speaks authoritatively to all aspects of human life.

j. It deals with our social life, our secular life, our sex life, and our spiritual life.

k. It speaks clearly

l. It makes no mistakes.

m. It is infallible and unerring in its judgment

n. All we have to do is read it, study it, meditate upon it, memorize it and obey it.

o. We need to come to God, as little Samuel did in 1 Samuel 3:9

i. 1 Samuel 3:9—“Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.”

p. LETS SAY THAT TOGETHER

q. Or as the old chorus puts it:

i. Speak Lord, for Thy servant hearth.

ii. Speak just now,

iii. Some message to meet my need

iv. Which Thou only dost know.

v. Speak, now, through Thy Holy Word,

vi. And make me see,

vii. Some wonderful truth Thou hast

viii. To show to me.

r. God has other ways to make us wise, but for the most part He simply refers us to His Word.

s. To ask God to make us wise and yet to ignore the great Book of wisdom, the Bible that He has placed in our hands is unreasonable.

t. You and I have troubles and trials and problems. How are you going to solve this problem? How are you going to meet this issue? How are you going to deal with this person? If you lack wisdom in regard to a problem, you need to go to God in prayer.

Conclusion

Let’s review the wonderful promises made to us when we ask God for wisdom

a. God will give us wisdom

b. God will give us a liberal amount, an abundance of wisdom

c. God will not reproach or rebuke us—not scold us—for not knowing how to handle the trial of temptation.

The idea is that God will not even question us for lacking wisdom and for not knowing what to do. God loves us: we are His sons and daughters. He is our father, and he wants to meet our every need. Therefore, God will hear our requests and cry; He will give us the wisdom to conquer the trials and temptations of life.