James 1:5-8

Ask God For Wisdom

Recap: We have been going through the book of James. This is the third sermon in this series if you have missed any you can catch up on line.

Let us read and pray and then we will dig in to what God has to show us. Out of respect of Gods word, let us stand while we read it.

(ESV)

Greeting

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

(prayer)

We know that a part of the believers life is going to be trials. trials of persecution, trials of poverty, trials of betrayal, trials of loosing a loved one, or even trials of doubt. We know that trough these trials, life is just not going to make sense. Why is this happening to me? Why did they have to die? why did I have to file bankruptcy, why couldn't I have just keep the Job?

Look at some of the headlines of the recent stories in the new

Because, when we see a news stories like these we can become confused.

-Easter Sunday jihad massacre at churches, hotels, in Sri Lanka: Muslim homicide bombers kill at least 165 UPDATE: Death toll now 207

-Nigeria: Christians slaughtered by Fulani militants at baby dedication; children among the dead

-2 Earthquakes Shake The Philippines; At Least 16 Dead

-Multiple people dead in fiery crash involving 24 cars, 4 semis, on Colorado freeway

-Boy, 6, Leads police to bodies of mom, brother in spanish cave; father arrested.

All of these stories have left many people wondering why! Trials of this world will hit without notice and they will forever change the lives of those involved.

What do all of these stories have in common?

The Christians that are affected at the baby dedication and the church bombings, are to count these trials as joy. Easier said than done, Right?

In fact, I am going to tell you that for these people, like the ones in the churches in Sri Lanka that did not die, it is impossible to count it as joy—without the work of God in them.

So what are they to do when trouble, or persecution comes? I tell what James tells you. Ask for wisdom.

The paragraph with versus 2-4 talking about trials that produces steadfastness is connected with the next paragraph versus 5-8 that talks about wisdom. look at verse 4 and verse 5

(ESV) 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

(ESV) 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Do you see the connection there. It is the word “Lack”

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

So when persecution or trials come and we are confused or lacking in knowledge or wisdom. Ask God, He is good and He may or may not answer you quickly. He may even wait until you see Him face to face, but He will give you understanding or wisdom when you ask. This is not Ben saying this, This is James the brother of Jesus telling us this through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Although this wisdom paragraph is connected with the trials paragraph, I don’t think that this is the only time that we should ask for wisdom. To ask God for wisdom is a good thing and should be done continually.

I was talking with my son Kal about Jericho the other day and he asked, “why do you think God told Joshua and the other Israelites to kill all the people in the city and how is that any different than abortion?”.

Wow! leave it to your 18 year old son to really make you think and feel that you need Gods wisdom. There are a lot of really hard passages in the Bible, and we cannot approach them with our wisdom—We need the Holy Spirit to give us understanding when we approach the Word of God.

The conclusion that I come up with in Kal’s question is that abortion is murder of an innocent baby, and the destruction of a city like Jericho was an act of holy war. You see if the people of Jericho would have been allowed to live, they would have been a downfall to the Israelites, leading them to worship the false gods of the land and the LORD knew this. Satan would have used the people to try and stop the Messiah from coming these people were an enemy of God like Pharaoh before them.

Make no mistake though, God is passionate and forgiving and we can see this in the act of Rahab. Rahab was a prostitute who knew that the city would be taken, not because of the multitude of the people of Isreal, But because of there God. She made a choice to be on the side of Yahweh and because of it, God showed mercy to here and any of her family that came into her home. I believe that if the city gates would have been opened and the people of Jericho would have surrendered to the Yahweh, He would have had mercy on them, but instead they choose to trust in there enormous walls and there puny gods and it cost them there lives and the lives of there children.

As I was studying through this, I came to a conclusion, this Holy war that calls for complete annihilation of the enemies of Yahweh is still going on. We know that God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow. So where is the total destruction of evil in our time. What is the Holy war that is going on in our time, in the New Testament times.

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 NKJV

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

–5It is a spiritual war, a life long war of the complete destruction of sin and temptation that comes from within. We need to be mortifying or putting to death the sin within us. And it is a battle as fierce as the battles that went on in the promise land so long ago, and like the people then we cannot win this battle on our own we need Yahweh fighting for us.

It is a spiritual war, a life long war of the complete destruction of sin and temptation that comes from within. We need to be mortifying or putting to death the sin within us. And it is a battle as fierce as the battles that went on in the promise land so long ago, and like the people then we cannot win this battle on our own we need Yahweh fighting for us.

(ESV)

The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

We know that without Faith it is impossible to please God.

Because, when we see a news stories like these we can become confused.

Confusion, or lack of understanding—is opposite of Wisdom.

Verse 6 in our passage in James says, “let him ask in faith, with no doubting ...”

-Easter Sunday jihad massacre at churches, hotels, in Sri Lanka: Muslim homicide bombers kill at least 165 UPDATE: Death toll now 207

When the trials come and we are standing there wondering why, ask God for the wisdom to understand. Who better to give wisdom than the ultimate God of Wisdom. There is nothing that God doesn’t know or understand.

-Nigeria: Christians slaughtered by Fulani militants at baby dedication; children among the dead

(ESV) 19The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;

-2 Earthquakes Shake The Philippines; At Least 16 Dead

(ESV)5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

-Multiple people dead in fiery crash involving 24 cars, 4 semis, on Colorado freeway

(ESV) 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

-Boy, 6, Leads police to bodies of mom, brother in spanish cave; father arrested.

look at the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. look at the trials that they went through

The Holy Spirit has told us thru James that we are to ask for wisdom. don’t find yourself being tossed by the wind back and forth on the open water. Don’t be a double minded man. I know the Lord is good, but…

What do all of these stories have in common? They have forever affected the people that are close to them. Every person that has died in these stories has left somebody behind to live there life and to try and figure out What is going on.

Maybe your sitting here today, thinking I know that this stuff is true, that God is real and I need a relationship with Him, but… what if I am being dupt.

Don’t be a double-minded person you have heard the truth of the gospel

But in case you haven't heard the gospel lets walk down the Romans road.

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(ESV)

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

There are none that have an excuse to not recognize God or honor Him

(ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We have all sinned and none are worthy of His grace

(ESV)

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We did nothing, but God shows His love in sending His only begotten Son to die in our place.

(ESV)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If we remain in our sin, we will die in it, but if we repent of those sin and accept our Lord Jesus Christ we will have eternal life.

(ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Confess and believe and you will be saved

(ESV)

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Religion will not save you. No formulas or rituals, but instead just call upon Him for your salvation

(ESV)

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Make Jesus Christ your Lord today

If you are doubting or questioning things, that is okay. Christianity has nothing to hide, put it to the test, and it will pass.

Maybe your the person that has seen the truths of Christianity, but you still have that one little doubt that is holding you back. Cry out to God ask for Wisdom, search the scriptures, and talk to your pastor. God has nothing to fear, meaning He is not hiding something from you when it comes to salvation, you are not going to prove Him wrong in by studying. Put His word to the test.