Don’t Waste God’s Wisdom
Notes
Transcript
Intro; Have you ever had an overabundance of something and asked yourself, “I don’t know what I’m gonna do with all this?”. And then out of the goodness of your heart you gave some of that abundance away to others.
That’s the way God is with wisdom. God has an unlimited supply of His wisdom and wants to give it away to those who ask for it by faith.
Pause For Power, devotion #212, it is an unusual devotion about wisdom I had never really let sink in like it should have in times past.
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.
Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. Why do we need wisdom when we are going through trials? Why not ask for strength, or grace, or even deliverance? For this reason: We need wisdom so we will not waste the opportunities God is giving us to mature. Wisdom helps us understand how to use these circumstances for our good and God’s glory.
An associate of mine, a gifted secretary, was going through great trials. She had had a stroke, her husband had gone blind, and then he had to be taken to the hospital where (we were sure) he would die. I saw her in church one Sunday and assured her that I was praying for her.
“What are you asking God to do?” she asked, and her question startled me.
“I’m asking God to help you and strengthen you,” I replied.
“I appreciate that,” she said, “but pray about one more thing. Pray that I’ll have the wisdom not to waste all of this!”
Wiersbe, W. W. (2010). Pause for Power: A 365-Day Journey through the Scriptures. David C Cook.
That’s what I want us to look at this morning, that we “Don’t Waste God’s Wisdom”
Text; James 1:5-8
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.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Prayer
The context of this scripture for seeking wisdom is the Christian being under the pressure of trials and temptations in his life. Not for trials brought on by his/her sin, but trials that they fall into [v.2], trials beyond their control [health issues, family situations, job cuts, ministry trials, economic setbacks]. We need a certain kind of wisdom in order to consider it pure joy when facing all kinds of difficulties.
1. Words of Wisdom; 5
1. Words of Wisdom; 5
Verse 5 is words of wisdom for those who lack wisdom!
Wisdom- having [Godly] knowledge and knowing how to put it into practice in our life
We will fall into various trials in our life and those trials will produce a response from us [Godly/worldly]
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
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.
When a trial comes our way the first thing we need to do is talk to God and ask for His wisdom
Ask- Greek aiteo {ahee-teh’-o} which means “to beg, or crave.” We are to crave wisdom from God.
It is a divine command of God. Calling upon the Lord for wisdom is not an option we are to exercise when we feel like it, it is a mandatory command that we are to practice in our daily lives.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, 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.
Liberally- generously, abundantly. God loves us and He will never withhold any good from us when we ask.
10 I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Why should we believe this?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Reproach- rebuke, scold, berate. God does not complain nor will He criticize us for asking Him for help. He welcomes that!
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
If we don’t ask for wisdom, we will not receive it!
2. Worth of Wisdom; 6a
2. Worth of Wisdom; 6a
Wisdom is only worth the depth of which we are willing to trust God by faith.
Ask in Faith- believe God hears us and will answer. We must trust God that He will not mislead us in any decision we make in life, even when the circumstances seem overwhelming or not in our favor!
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” ….
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire.
16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”
17 Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed….
20 And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!
22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”
Faith applies the knowledge of wisdom that we have of the Lord. Abraham Lincoln said, “Faith is not shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions. Faith is not believing that God can, but that God will!”
3. Waste of Wisdom; 6b-8
3. Waste of Wisdom; 6b-8
One of the worst things that a christian can do is waste the blessings/wisdom of God.
Doubt- uncertainty, no confidence, to waver.
We are not to doubt/waver when we pray. The person who goes to the Lord for wisdom and then immediately turns to others for advice and follows their advice, makes a mockery of his prayer for God’s wisdom. That person is saying, “I believe you God, but I don’t trust You.”
How many times have we turned a trial over to the Lord and by the next morning we pick it back up and try to resolve it on our own?
That’s being tossed around like sea waves. God cannot hear and will not answer a person who doubts/wavers in his faith.
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 rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Double minded/unstable- staggering drunk; he is pulled between two masters and can’t make up his mind on what decision to make. We might talk a good game of faith but we’re to drunk [worldly] to live it.
Barry Lorch in his San Diego Union column recently told of a debate on the floor of the United States Senate about 130 years ago. The issue was whether alcohol should be sold in the territories seeking statehood. One notoriously anti-alcohol senator, who, according to one description, was so dry he was a known fire hazard, challenged one of his colleagues to state his position on alcohol.
Supposedly his colleague stood up and said this: “You asked me how I feel about whiskey. Well, here’s how I stand on the question. If when you say whiskey, you mean that Devil’s brew, the poison spirit, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yes, literally takes bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man from the pinnacle of righteousness and gracious living and causes him to descend to the pit of degradation, despair, shame, and helplessness, then I am certainly against it with all my heart.
“But if, when you say whiskey, you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in an old man’s footsteps on a frosty morning; if you mean the drink whose sale puts, I’m told, millions of dollars into our treasury which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, or blind or deaf or dumb, our pitifully aged, and our infirm, to build highways and hospitals and schools, then I am certainly in favor of it. This is my stand, and I will not compromise.” Beloved, the double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, his beliefs, and his actions.
Mattoon, R. (2005). Treasures from James (p. 45). Rod Mattoon.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Close;
If we are not to Waste God’s Wisdom when asking for it, then there are two things we need to consider.
God loves us: we are His sons and daughters. He is our Father, and He desires to meet our every need.
When we petition God, we must ask ourselves first before we ask God, “How will Jesus be glorified through this?”
If your lacking wisdom today, come to Jesus!
