Asking For Wisdom
James 1:5-8
September 14, 2014
As you know we have begun a new study here on Sunday nights,
It is this wonderful book of James.
James, of course, was the half-brother of Jesus.
And because of this James had a unique perspective.
James was his brother, he saw how Jesus lived.
James had a front row seat his whole life watching how Jesus handled situations.
• He saw how Jesus responded to adversity
• He saw how Jesus responded to the lowly
• He saw how Jesus responded to widows and orphans
• He saw what things were important to Him
And so for James, Christianity is about much more than proper doctrine.
For James Christianity is about proper behavior.
James isn’t just looking for Christians who believe right,
He’s looking for Christians who live right.
James is a matter of fact kind of guy.
And he opens his letter with the issue of facing trials.
And this is a topic that he will stay on all the way through verse 18 of chapter 1.
He is writing to believers who have been persecuted and scattered
And so it is only fitting that he opens the letter dealing with trials.
Last week we talked about having “A Perspective Like Jesus”
Perspective is very important when dealing with trials.
Your outlook goes a long way towards how you progress through a trial.
And James said “when you face various trials”
• You need respond with joy
• And you need to respond with discernment, knowing that God is using this trial to teach you endurance.
You must have endurance to be like Jesus,
And nothing teaches you endurance like a trial.
So when a trial comes DON’T whine and complain and grow bitter
– that is the world’s response.
When you face a trial – rejoice and let God accomplish through that trial whatever it is He is out to accomplish.
And so with those first 4 verses
James really answered our most common question in regard to trials.
“WHY?”
Well James answered that.
It is happening to make you “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
This is a necessary discipline meant to squeeze you
So that in the end you look more like Jesus.
Now “Why?” isn’t the only question we ask.
There is another question we should ask, and that question is
“WHAT?”
As in: “What would you have me do?”
When you face a trial, you naturally ask “Why?”
We answered that.
So tonight let’s look at what you should be asking, which is “What?”
There are two points we will look at tonight.
#1 THE SPIRITUAL COUNSEL
James 1:5
Now before we break this down a little more,
Just first please recognize this verse in its entirety
And spend a second marveling in the beauty of that promise.
In this verse we once again have reiterated for us
The goodness of God and His faithfulness to answer our prayers.
On our worst day we still have the ability to ask God,
And we have the promise that God is a giver who always gives.
But here we aren’t just talking about answered prayer.
We are talking about a specific request.
And based on the context of our study,
It is a request we make from the middle of our trials.
James throws it all out on the table and says, “But if any of you lacks wisdom,”
Now this verse definitely links to the previous.
For James just said that God was working to give us endurance so that we would be “perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
God wants us to lack nothing, but we aren’t there yet.
And one of the things people lack, especially in regard to their trial is “wisdom”
Now, we really have to pause here for a second do a little shop cleaning.
This verse is prone to some real misunderstanding,
Namely because I think people don’t really understand what James is talking about when he mentions asking for wisdom.
See, many people think James is still answering the “Why?” question.
As if to say:
When you go through a trial, if you don’t know why this is happening, just ask God and he will generously and without reproach give you the answer.
If you think that is what James is talking about,
I can assure you that you are going to walk away from your trial
More frustrated than you’ve ever been in your life.
Why?
Because God very rarely ever tells us “why” something is happening.
It is enough that we know that it is for our good to make us perfect,
Beyond that we don’t need to know.
Throughout the Bible trials have come
And God’s people did not know “why” they were coming.
Job suffered like no other man has suffered.
And we know why Job suffered.
He suffered because he was “upright and blameless, fearing God and turning away from evil” and because “there was no one like him on the face of the earth.”
And because of his righteousness God actually pointed him out to Satan
As the fall guy in their little standoff.
Satan thought he could turn a child of God against God if enough pressure was applied, and God assured Satan that he couldn’t.
And so Job suffered immensely.
And here is the kicker, Job never knew why.
His friends said it was because he secretly harbored iniquity,
But Job knew better than that.
Yet he still didn’t know why he suffered,
And what is more, God wouldn’t tell him.
Job 10:1-7 “I loathe my own life; I will give full vent to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. “I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me. ‘Is it right for You indeed to oppress, To reject the labor of Your hands, And to look favorably on the schemes of the wicked? ‘Have You eyes of flesh? Or do You see as a man sees? ‘Are Your days as the days of a mortal, Or Your years as man’s years, That You should seek for my guilt And search after my sin? ‘According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty, Yet there is no deliverance from Your hand.”
Job 13:23-28 “How many are my iniquities and sins? Make known to me my rebellion and my sin. “Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your enemy? “Will You cause a driven leaf to tremble? Or will You pursue the dry chaff? “For You write bitter things against me And make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth. “You put my feet in the stocks And watch all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet, While I am decaying like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.”
Job 23:1-9 “Then Job replied, “Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning. “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! “I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments. “I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would say to me. “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me. “There the upright would reason with Him; And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. “Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.”
Job begged and pleaded that God would just tell him why he was suffering, and there is no record that Job ever knew.
And this is true for so many who suffered throughout Scripture.
And so I assure you that when James says “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God”
James is NOT saying, “If you don’t know why this is happening, just ask God and He’ll tell you.”
So what is James saying?
James is saying God will give you wisdom.
So it is important that you understand what wisdom is and what it is not.
One of my favorite books is called “Knowing God” by J.I. Packer.
Here is the gist.
J.I. Packer is talking about wisdom and he talks about the train station at York, and how you can have a great deal of amusement by watching the trains coming in and going out and switching tracks and so forth.
But if you could get into the control booth above the number 8 terminal, and see the lighted grid and why all the trains come in and stop and move and go, then the chaos would all make sense.
And he estimated that this is what most people think wisdom is.
They think wisdom is to ascend into the Holy of Holies and see God’s lighted grid and see why He is doing what He is doing. And once you see why God is doing it, then you will be wise.
BUT THAT IS NOT WISDOM.
Consider the writer of Ecclesiastes.
You know his favorite word – “Meaningless” or “Vanity”
Here was an old preacher writing to a young man
Telling him to take off his rose colored glasses.
• Good doesn’t always triumph in this life
• The rich and the poor alike die
• The wise and the foolish still die
• The righteous and the wicked still die
If you look at this life and try to make sense out of it, it looks like insanity.
A wicked man lives a long life and makes a great fortune,
While a righteous man toils in poverty and dies young.
It doesn’t make sense.
And the old preacher is telling the young man that such is life.
But before the old preacher leaves he gives the young man
Some very valuable advice in light of the insanity of this world.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
The old preacher’s advice was: “Wisdom is obeying the commands of God even when you don’t understand why.”
And that is a great description of wisdom.
WISDOM IS NOT WHAT YOU KNOW,
BUT RATHER WHAT YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW.
Let me give you an example.
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”
Both of those men knew the same thing.
They both heard “these words of Mine”,
But the wise acted on it while the foolish ignored it.
Wisdom is not what you know, but what you do with what you know.
That is why (as so many assume) wisdom does not automatically come with old age. Experience comes with old age, and that is valuable, but not necessarily wisdom.
Wisdom is for those who act obediently on the truth.
That is why we understand that
“the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.”
It doesn’t matter if you know what to do,
If you don’t fear God enough to do it.
Wisdom isn’t what you know, but what you do with what you know.
Listen to what God told Israel:
Deuteronomy 4:5-7 “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. “So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him?”
You aren’t considered wise for having the truth,
You are considered wise when you act on it.
So when James says “if any of you lacks wisdom”
• He ISN’T saying, if you don’t know why just ask God.
• James IS saying, “if you don’t know what to do” ask God.
If you don’t know how to respond…
If you don’t know what steps to take…
If you don’t know what to do…
“But if any of you asks wisdom”
And if that is you (and it commonly is)
“let him ask of God”
In short, pray for it.
Look, at the very least your trials should strengthen your prayer life,
If they don’t, you’ve got a long way to go in your trials.
“let him ask of God”
See there is only one place to get wisdom.
• You can’t get wisdom from a university
• You can’t get wisdom from a trade school
• You can’t get wisdom from being old
• You only get wisdom from God.
TURN TO: JOB 28
What a great picture.
Wisdom is precious and if you want it, ask God for it.
Proverbs 2:1-7 “My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,”
If you don’t know what to do, ask God!
(Implied in Proverbs 2 is that you also study the word for His answer)
And here is the good news:
“who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
God is the only place to get wisdom, and He’s not stingy.
And when you ask, He won’t answer with a “reproach”
• He won’t say, “What took you so long?”
• He won’t say, “I can’t believe you didn’t know what to do…”
• He won’t say, “It’s about time…”
• He won’t say, “You sure made a mess of things didn’t you!”
He won’t “reproach” you.
Instead, He will hear your request and generously respond.
James says, “it [wisdom] will be given to him.”
If in the middle of your trial, you ask God what to do,
God will tell you.
He may not tell you why the trial is happening,
But He will tell you what to do.
He may not tell you why the storm is coming,
But He will tell you how to anchor your house in the middle of it.
Spiritual Counsel
#2 THE SINGLE CONDITION
James 1:6-8
Now, the promise we read in verse 5 is a tremendous promise,
But it is a conditional one.
Hence the “But” in verse 6.
There is one condition to that awesome promise.
“But he must ask in faith without any doubting”
What does James mean by that?
Sure in one sense, if you ask God what to do,
Believe that He will tell you what to do.
But I also think James is implying so much more here than just that.
Wisdom is not what you know, but what you do with what you know.
And God is more than happy to tell you what to do,
But under one condition, IF YOU WILL DO IT.
The “doubting” James is referring to,
• Is not doubting whether God will tell you,
• It is doubting that God’s plan will work.
God is not primarily in the business of
Heaping instruction on those who won’t listen to it.
Remember Matthew 13 and Jesus’ parable of the soils?
The disciples couldn’t understand why Jesus wouldn’t just tell the people straight, instead of cloaking the truth in a farming illustration.
Matthew 13:10-13 “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”
They weren’t doing anything with the truth they had,
Why would He give them more?
And that is what James is referring to.
If you are going to ask God for direction (i.e. wisdom) then you had better ask with a heart of faith that is willing to trust His counsel.
Let me give you an illustration (a negative one)
TURN TO: JEREMIAH 42 & 43
Now that is exactly what James is talking about.
Those people came asking “what”
But they had no intention of trusting God enough to do it.
They didn’t ask for wisdom in faith, they were doubters.
And James has a few choice words for people who doubt.
“for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
A quick reading will certainly convince you that
James doesn’t think much about people who ask for wisdom,
But who have no intention of actually doing what God says.
Let’s quickly break that type of person down.
1) THEY ARE EASILY INFLUENCED
“like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.”
In short, a person who would ask God,
But won’t do it is NOT A PERSON LOOKING FOR TRUTH.
This is a person looking for the easiest path.
They are just looking for what they want to hear.
(God’s plan is very rarely the easy path)
They are like the sea.
The sea never resists the wind, it always submits to wherever the wind wants to push it.
And because of this, they are easily influenced by any and everyone.
Paul wrote:
Ephesians 4:14 “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;”
But that’s precisely what happens to the man without wisdom,
Who won’t go where God guides.
Adrian Rogers,
“Men are like rivers, they grow crooked by following the path of least resistance.”
They are easily influenced
2) THEY ARE IGNORED BY GOD
(7) “For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,”
Why would you expect that God would give you counsel when you won’t listen to what He has to say?
Hebrews 11:6 “And 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 seek Him.”
And so those who ask him for wisdom,
But who have no intention of taking His counsel, CAN FORGET IT.
God responds to faith.
They are easily influenced They are ignored by God
3) THEY ARE INCONSISTENT AT BEST
“being a double-minded man”
In short they are hypocritical and even self-deceived.
They are like the people in Elijah’s day:
1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”
They are not people of conviction, they are wishy washy.
They don’t know what they believe,
AND THAT IS WHY GOD WON’T ANSWER THEM.
God is not just some sort of consulting firm where you go and get His input and then make whatever decision you want.
He is the Lord of the Universe and He expects to be obeyed.
4) THEY ARE INSECURE IN EVERY DECISION
“unstable in all his ways.”
They are like that foolish man who built his house on the sand.
Everything James says here about a man who asks God for wisdom,
But who doesn’t trust Him enough to take it
Speaks of a man who is lost and flighty and headed for a fall.
And this is the advice that James now has for those persecuted Christians
Who are stuck in the middle of their trials.
When those trials come, and they will.
Be determined ahead of time to count them joy
Because you know why they are coming.
God is using them to expand your endurance,
Which is necessary if you are ever to be a perfect and completed work.
Now, if you want to know what you should do, if you want wisdom in the middle of it, then ask God for it, He’ll give it to you.
Only when you ask, be prepared to do what He says.
When He speaks, He expects people to listen.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”
That is wisdom.
The foolish man trusts in his own understanding
And only considers God’s paths if they seem to make sense.
And that man can’t expect to ever receive guidance from the Lord.
