Waiting on God by listening to wise counsel

Wisdom and waiting on God - God’s presence may not be clear but you can act based on wisdom

James 1:5–11 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. 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. 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Wisdom - dependence on God, not being double-minded, responding to situations from an eternal perspective and a clear conscience

Don't be a fool and respond to fools foolishly

David’s protection and request

The contemptuous rejection

The proud reaction

Sometimes it’s easier to forgive injustice against yourself than it is against someone else

We live in a foolish age

The New King James Version Chapter 30

There is a generation that curses its father,

And does not bless its mother.

12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,

Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

13 There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes!

And their eyelids are lifted up.

14 There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,

And whose fangs are like knives,

To devour the poor from off the earth,

And the needy from among men.

Are you playing the fool in your life?

Listen to wise counsel especially from those not in power

Asking for blame

Appealing to conscience

Assuming just response

Be humble: Risk surely deserves reward over oath…Love your neighbor as yourself is just as great as love God with all your mind, soul, strength

Proverbs 6:1–5 ESV

1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, 2 if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, 3 then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. 4 Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; 5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Wisdom takes the identity of a servant - illustration

Mark 10:45 ESV

45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Philippians 2:4–9 ESV

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

1 Corinthians 1:26–30 ESV

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

2 Corinthians 4:7–18 ESV

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Trust God's providence in the timing of judgment

Nabal’s stroke - Most often God’s judgment is delayed…but sometimes it is not

The marriage to David - God’s presence in life through a spouse - wisdom

Proverbs 31:10 ESV

10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

Why wouldn’t you marry a woman who was beautiful AND wise? Amy