The Book of James Chapter 1:5-12
James 1: [5] If any of
you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall
be given him.
On 2/15/47 There was an horrific plane crash into
a mountain of South America and onboard was missionary Glenn Chambers who was
the “voice of the Andes”. Before he left the Miami terminal, he picked up a
piece of paper and wrote a letter to his mother on the blank backside of an
advertisement. After the news of her sons death, the
letter was delivered. When she opened up the letter the first thing she saw was
3 big black letters “WHY?” (It was the advertising slogan)
Friend, we have all asked that question
We learned in vs
2 that testings will come. Not “if” but “when”
will testing come
Not everyone passes the test. Many
become bitter NOT better
Why are we so overwhelmed by the
trial?
1)
Lack of Wisdom (5)
Many
who fail a grade must retake it!
Ecc 3:15
[15] That which hath been is now; and
that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth
that which is past.
God
patiently repeats tests until they are learned. Tests cannot be ignored, they
are not optional!
Wisdom
is the right use of knowledge, not accumulation of knowledge or education
There was a gold
miner who put his son thru business school. When he finished, the dad said now
put on your work clothes and start at the bottom and work your way up. The boy
said “I know more about this business than anybody here.” The father
reluctantly gave him a mine to manage. A few days later the boy sent a note “dad,
the mine is backed up to the river, there is water seeping in and what should I
do?” The father did not respond. The boy wrote again and again the father did
not respond. Once more the boy wrote the father asking “what should be done
about the hole that had developed allowing water to seep in”, to which the
father replied “stick your diploma in the hole.”
Knowledge may be
learned BUT only God can give wisdom.
Wisdom is given from
above.
Wisdom is to apply
heavenly judgment to earthly situations
A.
Shortage
“lack”-
The fact is none of us have the wisdom, we need
B.
Source
“ask of
God” –Solomon did 1 Kings 3:4,5
Consider the pressure he was under
a.
His father King David died
b.
Solomon was appointed as
king
c.
His brother tried to usurp
his authority
d.
The gov’t
needs reorganization as the nation has just come thru war time
e.
The House of God needs
building
f.
He asked God for
understanding and God gave it
On 4/12/45 Harry
Truman (VP of the USA) was asked to get to the White House as quickly &
quietly as
possible. The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt walked in and said “Harry the
President is dead” Harry was
in shock and soon asked “is there anything I can do for you?” She said “No Harry, what can I do for
you? You are the one in trouble.” There was war on both sides (Hitler,
Japan, Benito Musolini and the
Ego
of Stalin).
King Solomon didn’t
hire a counsellor, attd a conference or talk to a
team of experts
He went to God and was granted the
request of wisdom
When
you go thru a difficult trial go to God
C.
Supply
“Liberally” – generously,
overflowing & pouring out (Dan 1:17 & 20)
Prov 2:2-6
Matt
7:7
[7]Ask it shall be given Seek
ye shall find Knock it shall be opened
D.
Surety
“shall be
given” God promises to
give wisdom if you will ask
James 1: [6]
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he
that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with
the wind and tossed. [7] For let
not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
[8] A double minded man is
unstable in all his ways.
2)
Lack of Faith (6-8)
“without
wavering” – the Greek word “wavering” means to think twice. To
doubt
The doubter is
compared to seawaves driven by the wind
I just read about a
26 ft wave that hit a cruise ship and killed 2 (winds were 60mph)
The boat on the waves went up and down. Up in faith and down in doubt
Mt 14:31 Peter saw
the LORD walking on the water “bid me come unto thee”
Peter stepped out and
began to walk on the water
When he started
looking around, he began to sink and said “LORD save me”
The LORD did and said
“O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
Why did Peter think
twice?
(Vs 8) A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways
(Vs 7) Let not that man (the doubter) think he shall receive anything of
the LORD
Percy Ray and folks
at the church were praying for rain in the worst drought the Southeast had seen.
The old men at the
store laughed at the little girl w/ umbrella and boots.
She said “you quit
that laughin’, they’re prayin’
for rain and you’d better get ready”.
Shortly the rain
started and a flash flood turned the road into a river bed and washed the store
away.
James 1: [9]
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: [10] But the
rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass
away. [11] For the sun is no
sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his
ways.
3)
Lack of Humility (9-11)
Most of these people
James is writing to used to be rich but persecution brought poverty
A certain test in our
life is our attitude toward money and material things.
89% of discord in the
family is money 80%
of divorces start from money
What is your reaction
about money?
Grandpa won the
million dollar sweepstakes. Worried about his heart condition, they thought the
preacher had a way with words and requested he speak to grandpa about the
money. The preacher asked “grandpa, if you won a million dollars what would you
do with it?” Grandpa said “I’d give it all to the church!” The preacher had a heart attack!
A. The
Test of Poverty
The brother can Rejoice if he has Jesus. You are richer than the richest
You may be thirsty
BUT you have the water of Life
You may be poor BUT
you have eternal riches
Rom 8:17
[17]
and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ
2 Cor 8:9
[9]though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that
ye through is poverty might be rich
B. The
Test of Plenty
Rejoice as God has
allowed testing to teach you the proper perspective to riches
The rich can rejoice
because they know that TRUE riches are in Jesus
Material things and
money mean nothing in trials and all we really need is Jesus.
James
1: [12] Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the
Lord hath promised to them that love him.
4)
Lack of Love (12)
There is a reward for the trials you go thru. The “crown of life” (In heaven &
here a quality of life)
The requirement is you have endured trials and proven that you love God
Trials don’t cause you to run away from God BUT cause you to run to God
The
child running around on the train.
Nobody could figure out who the parent was
The train entered a
long dark tunnel and on the other side the child was noticed sitting in daddys lap
When you go thru a
trial you will run to the lap of your father
Concl: Glenn Chambers mother
was overwhelmed at first of the news her missionary son had died
But soon in faith she
wrote.
“God is too kind to
do anything cruel,
God is too wise to
make a mistake and
God is too deep to
explain Himself”