God Gives Us His Wisdom
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Good Morning!
Man, it is good to be back home and to be with you guys again.
Before we jump in this morning, I want to take a moment to highlight a few things that happened last week.
I listened to the service on zoom while we were traveling and, man, it was amazing.
I was really bummed that I had to be out of town and missed being here in person.
I can’t wait to see TGP Lafayette and give them all hugs.
What an incredible morning of worship and testimony!
I also watched the Cenla Interfaith Assembly online and, wow, what an incredibly powerful and moving event.
Thank you to all of those that went as delegates to represent TGP West.
I spoke with or texted with Michelle, Craig Austin, Rev. Green, and Ben. All of them were over the moon with the unity and love that was present.
I am excited to see how God will use that organization to make positive changes in our communities.
We will talk more about this at the end of the service, but we may need to call on the collective influence of C.I. as we talk with DOTD and local government about the bridge being out.
Our Wednesday and Thursday night teams handled their ministries beautifully.
You guys may or may not know this, but it should be the goal of any that are in leadership to train your teams so that they no longer need you.
More or less, as a ministry leader, you want to work yourself out of a job.
It was obvious last week that you guys own these ministries.
I can’t express how cool it was to get to watch you guys ministering to one another and our communities.
I’m proud of you guys and I want you to know that.
In spite of all the good that happened last week, there were some in our body that were handling ministry while also dealing with some really difficult situations.
I thought and prayed for you this week as I was preparing for today’s message.
You are also probably aware that the Guidepost Investigation of the SBC came out this week and it is horrific, to say the least.
Wisdom is needed and I’m so grateful that God has had me focused on pursuing him for wisdom this week.
Two weeks ago we started James by looking at the first few verses of James 1.
I want to remind you that our goal in this study isn’t to look at James’ words and then to try and conform our lives to what he says they should look like.
Jesus speaks directly against this type of living when chastising the Pharisees and scribes.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity.
There is no benefit from us using this letter to try and make the appearance of our lives look better than it is.
This is what created the environment that led to the crucifixion.
The religious leaders were more concerned with their appearance and maintaining their power than they were on following God.
Our goal is to do the exact opposite.
We want to grow in our understanding of who Jesus is and allow Him to change us from the inside out.
Our goal is to develop True Faith.
True Faith never stops growing
We are approaching this letter with the understanding that James’ intent was to communicate to these new believers what authentic, true faith looked like.
Not so they could mimic it, but to provide them with a gauge that would lead them to pursue their relationship with God.
James briefly introduces himself and then dives right into the deep end.
Let’s review briefly as we begin today.
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
I posed the question to these verses of how much joy do you want.
We focused that way because James is telling these new believers that they are going to face various trials, but how they decide to deal with them will determine their outcome.
The state of mind we choose matters.
We talked about the importance of lamenting in the process of dealing with hardships.
James isn’t telling the church to ignore their problems.
If we don’t dig into the root of the problems, there is no opportunity for learning.
Lastly, we saw that as we struggle with others, both their faith and our own are built up.
James says in verse four...
4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
James’ suggestion is that we embrace the trials with a specific determination that we are going to be obedient and with the understanding that God will use them for our good.
I loved Josh and Lana joking about Josh’s comment about being willing to be homeless if that is what God wanted.
lol, I totally get Lana’s response!
Allowing God to work in our lives is what will make us more like himself.
As we listened to their testimony and as you think about your own lives, you will see a pattern of difficulty that is accompanied by personal growth.
What we saw in the Carver’s story and in our own is that even though we are struggling, God brings joy as we follow His leading.
As we are going through a trial, what is it that we want more than anything?
We want a resolution.
We want to get through that trial and based on what we have learned so far, we want to get through it and be better on the other side.
James knows this and is encouraging the church to do just that.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord,
8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.
This word, wisdom, is translated from the Greek word Sophia.
Sophia refers to specialized wisdom, that can come only from God.
Wisdom as we typically think of it, or its common understanding is the knowledge that is the quality of having
experience,
knowledge, and
good judgment.
When those three things, are combined, a person is thought of as being wise.
This is not what James is talking about.
James is referring to a wisdom that comes from God’s experience, knowledge, and good judgment, not our own.
Do you see the difference there?
We can gain wisdom outside of God, and we will discuss this later in the message.
But James is talking about wisdom that comes from God as we are abiding in Him.
Two weeks ago, I left us on a cliffhanger question.
What if the situation you are facing is bigger than you and you don’t know where to begin?
As I mentioned a few moments ago, many of us have found ourselves in this place recently.
We are doing our best to abide, but the things we are facing are so much bigger than we are.
What do we do?
How do we proceed in a way that both benefits us and brings joy?
The answer is simple, we ask for wisdom and James says that God will give it.
When we are facing trials, suffering, hardships, whatever word we want to use, we ask God.
God Gives Us His Wisdom
God Gives Us His Wisdom
We know this to be true because we saw it modeled in Jesus’ life.
This is where James gets the wisdom to tell the church where to find wisdom.
Take this mental rabbit trail with me for a moment.
James is referred to as modern day wisdom literature.
But where did James get the wisdom that he is sharing?
James was the son of a carpenter.
He was pretty low on the socioeconomic scale.
He certainly wasn’t a student of the temple.
James recieved this wisdom from Jesus, the son of God.
James heard Jesus say things like Matthew recorded in his gospel.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
James was told by Jesus directly that if He would ask, God would give it.
James also grew up hearing that through the Proverbs.
5 The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand everything.
God made it clear through his word and through Jesus that if we want to gain knowledge, understanding, and how to apply it to life, all we need to do is ask.
If you are in a situation that you do not understand, ask God to give you His perspective.
When we studied Ecclesiastes, we discussed where the author got his wisdom.
Now, Solomon is considered to be the wisest man to ever live, but where did that wisdom come from?
Was he born with it or go to a special school?
7 “Lord my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.
8 Your servant is among your people you have chosen, a people too many to be numbered or counted.
9 So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?”
10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this.
11 So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to administer justice,
12 I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.
There are a couple of things worth noting here.
Solomon wasn’t interested in wisdom for his own sake, but for the good of his people.
It was because of his heart. Think back to our discussions in the past about Cain and Able and the difference in their offerings.
We know from Solomon’s life that the wisdom of God did in fact benefit Solomon as an added bonus.
The same will be true for you and I.
God’s wisdom will inform all of our life, not just the portion we were requesting wisdom for.
So we see that James and other biblical characters make it clear that we can receive wisdom from God, but James goes on to clarify how that works.
Look again at what he says in verse 6.
6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord,
8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.
James addresses two ideas here.
When we ask for wisdom, we must have faith that God will give it.
If a person doesn’t have faith, James calls them double-minded, or more accurately translated, double-souled.
Let’s talk about this first one.
The Grace New Testament Commentary James 1:6
When one doubts, he is not believing. When one believes, he is not doubting. (See Matt 14:31; 21:21; 28:17; Mark 11:23; Rom 14:23). The Christian who comes to God for wisdom must come with calm confidence in the Lord.
Let’s look at some examples.
21 Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done.
Based on this commentator and on scripture, faith seems to be like a light switch.
It is on or off.
There is no middle ground.
We are going to see this as well in our next example.
27 Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.”
29 He said, “Come.” And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus.
30 But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter almost got it.
I think we almost get it sometimes too.
We are struggling and we want to believe, but we just don’t quite make it there.
We, like Peter, see the circumstances around us.
We focus on the wind and the height of the waves and that gets all our focus.
We want to trust, but we are focusing on the wrong things.
The difficulties get all of our belief.
We believe that we will be overcome because things are so crazy.
That is where Peter found himself.
NT365 Book Study: Letter of James Praying in Faith
James’ older brother was in a boat one day and the wind blew, and the disciples said, “Don’t you care that we perish?” And the Lord Jesus said, “Peace be still to that wind.” That’s a doubt-torn believer tossed back and forth by the winds of doubt. James says, “If you’re going to have your prayers answered, you must ask in faith and not doubt.” And then he finishes it with a very strong admonition, “That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” God doesn’t answer my prayers. Well, are you praying? Yes, I’m praying. Are you praying believing? Yes, I’m praying believing. Are you having any doubts? Well, that’s another issue. James says, “A person who doubts and doesn’t trust is not going to receive anything from the Lord.”
oof… “A person who doubts and doesn’t trust is not going to receive anything from the Lord.”
Last week we talked about the fact that we have to decide to look for joy, we also have to decide to trust Jesus.
We look back on the things that God has done in the past and we let that inform our current issues.
This is yet another reason that it is so important that we share our stories with one another.
Sometimes you may find yourself so overwhelmed by life that the things from your past aren’t enough.
But, we may hear a story from a fellow believer that informs our belief.
Obviously, the disciple's experiences with one another and Jesus informed their faith.
Their faith grew as they walked with Jesus.
The second thing I mentioned that James says is from verses 7-8 where he mentions being double-minded.
Look at this with me again.
6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord,
8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.
We are going to see James develop this idea more as we move through his letter.
James speaks of two types of wisdom.
Wisdom from above and wisdom from below.
The wisdom from above is from God and the other is the wisdom of the world or of evil.
James is saying that we can’t have it both ways.
We either believe that God can give us wisdom or we don’t.
This is why he makes such a clear distinction between the two.
You either believe God, or you don’t.
Josh and Lana’s testimony is so powerful because they choose to believe God’s wisdom over that of the world.
By worldly wisdom, leaving one job without having another one in the works is the opposite of wisdom.
My dad told me one time that a wise monkey doesn’t let go of one vine until he has a firm grip on the other.
While this can sound like good advise, and sometimes it is, it also doesn’t account for God’s activity.
In Josh and Lana’s case, the wise thing for them to do was to trust God.
Because they have believed that God would provide for them, they have seen the fruit of following God’s wisdom rather than the wisdom of the world.
Their story testified to that over and over again.
I can’t tell you the number of times I have personally crossed this bridge and I’ve shared some of those stories with you in the past.
Many times, God has given me a direction, and well meaning people, who love me, would tell me to do the opposite.
Not because they don’t want me to follow God, but because what God told me to do didn’t seem wise from the world’s standard.
This is a bridge all of us will have to cross at some point.
As we listened to Josh and Lana last week, I found so many similarities between their story and my own.
I’m sure the same is true for you as well.
We all want to do what is wise, but as we are abiding, we sometimes see a separation between the world’s wisdom and God’s.
When we get to those moments, take the time to hit the pause button, and ask God what He wants you to do.
As the Carver’s testified last week, waiting and listening to God brings that Joy we talked about the week before.
If we are lacking wisdom, God wants to give it to us.
God wants us to see the world from his perspective.
God wants us to trust him and follow his wisdom not the wisdom of the world
If we will ask, God will give us his wisdom.
As we close today and enter a time of prayer and worship, I want to share some hope with you.
If you are in a situation where you feel like you are sinking like Peter.
I want you to be encouraged by how Jesus responded to his lack of faith.
Look back at this with me real quick.
30 But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Last week when we were at the beach, we had some of the biggest, strongest waves I have ever experienced.
It was a lot of fun and at times nerve racking because of our kids being in it.
I had Charlee with me and we began playing a game as I was trying to teach her to body surf.
She wanted to so badly (she was wearing a life jacket bty), but she was also scared of the waves.
So, as one would approach, I would squat down in the water so that we were both at shoulder depth.
As the wave got to us and began to crest, she would squeal in fear and joy simultaneously.
I would then jump up so that as the wave crashed, we rode down the back side of it.
She was scared, but she trusted me to keep her above the water and as she trusted me, that fear turned into pure joy.
God wants us to experience that kind of joy as well.
Peter called on Jesus to save him as he was sinking.
And Jesus did.
If you have been treading water on an issue in your life, take this moment today to cry out to Jesus.
Ask him to save you.
He will.
Jesus will take you by the hand right now and pull you back on top of the water.
He will build up your faith as you walk with him on the water.
Take this moment to invite God into your difficulties and share his wisdom.
God Gives Us His Wisdom if we will only ask.
Pray for wisdom:
Westbrook family - the difficulties they are facing with their current placement.
Guidepost - how to facilitate recovery and healing for the victims, direction on leadership in the SBC, policies, and practices to prevent and protect victims.
God gives us wisdom as we speak with DOTD and local leaders about the McKeithen bridge. Give us guidance on how we are to minister to our community as they are cut off from work, the ability to shop for food, etc.