James 1:5-8 NIV

• If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (6) But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (7) That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

“The key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions”

- John A. Simone, Sr.

Some wisdom comes from life-experience

• Wisdom in not touching a hot stove– We gain that wisdom by touching a hot stove– We don’t want to do it again

• The longer we live, the more “hot stove” experiences we encounter

Are older people really wiser?

• Old fellow interviewed by youngster– Q: To what do you attribute your wisdom?– A: Good judgment– Q: To what do you attribute your good

judgment?– A: Experience– Q: To what do you attribute your experience?– A: Poor judgment

How did you score on the New York Times Wisdom Scorecard?

4-5 Relatively High Wisdom

29%

3-4 Relatively Moderate Wisdom

66%

1-3 Relatively Low Wisdom

5%

Monika Ardelt, sociology professor at University of Florida at Gainesvillehttp://www.nytimes.com/ref/magazine/20070430_WISDOM.html

What’s the difference between greater wisdom and less wisdom?

• Wiser people:• Analyze issues for

themselves• Empathize with others

(walk in their shoes)• Content regardless of

their circumstances

• Less wise people:• Trust others to

analyze issues• Resent, criticize &

judge others• Habitually dissatisfied

with circumstances

Questions to ponder:

• If “relatively low wisdom” what changes will you make?

• If “relatively moderate wisdom” how can you improve?

• If “relatively high wisdom”, do you feel complacent?

• What would Jesus have scored?

• What would James, Peter & Paul have scored?

• What would Judas have scored?

• What can you do to move your score as far from Judas &

as close to Jesus as possible?

Human wisdom v. God’s wisdom

• Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 1: – 1 Corinthians 1:25 NIV For the foolishness of

God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

• God offers more than human wisdom• He offers us His wisdom • James: Three points about godly wisdom

1. We should ask God for wisdom

James 1:5 NIV If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all

without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

We won’t ask if we don’t see the need

• Some questions concerned whether we analyze before acting

• One sign of sin is blind acceptance– 1 John 1:6 NIV If we claim to have fellowship with him

yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

• God wants us to think before we act– 1 John 1:7 NIV But if we walk in the light, as he is in

the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

John 8:31-35 NIV

• To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. (32) Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” … (34) …“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. (35) Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.”

All of us need God’s wisdom

• But some do not see our need• We think we’re already wise• Every day, we have repeated opportunities

– To trust in our own wisdom or to ask God for His– To live in the flesh or to walk in the Spirit– To be enslaved to sin, or to be set free in Christ

• God’s wisdom can only be ours when we recognize our need for His wisdom

If we ask God for wisdom, we’ll receive it

• James 1:5 NIV If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

• The focus is not upon us but upon the generous God who provides wisdom

God is “generous” (haplos)

• God is generous; His nature is to give• Love is His motive for giving• He loved enough to give His very best:

– John 3:16 NIV “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God gives wisdom “without finding fault” (oneidizo)

• God’s nature is to give generously• God’s nature is also to build us up• He never “puts anyone down” • He is less critical of us than others are

– The generous & uncritical are like God– The selfish & hypercritical are not like God

2. We should ask in faith, without doubt

James 1:6 NIV But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

This is practical faith

• It is active obedience• God tells us to ask Him for wisdom• As we do, we are actively obeying Him• We are asking in faith• Two examples of what we should not do

1. Don’t doubt

• James 1:6 NIV But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

• Faith cannot exist where doubt is found; doubt cannot exist where faith is found

• Elton Trueblood: “An empty, meaningless faith may be worse than none”

Matthew 7:24-25 NIV

• “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (25) The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

In contrast, James says:

• James 1:6 NIV But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

• What a difference between faith and doubt• There’s no place for spiritual “bi-polarity” –

being up one moment & down the next

2. Don’t be double-minded

• James 1:8 NIV he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

• In chapter 4, he raises this image again: – James 4:8 NIV Come near to God and he will

come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

– James encourages the double-minded to “purify your hearts.”

Jesus spoke to this problem of being double-minded

• Matthew 6:24 NIV “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Christians are to be single-minded

• Mark 8:34 NIV Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

• Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We cannot be double-minded and be effective as Christians

• The conclusion is clear• If we doubt or are double-minded:

– James 1:7 NIV That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

• God is anxious to give to us, but we must ask Him in faith

3. If we ask God, we’ll receive wisdom

James 1:5 NIV If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all

without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

The promise is so clear that none of us should miss it

• If we ask, it will be given to us• Jesus taught this:

– Matthew 7:7 NIV “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

He compares our heavenly Father to our earthly fathers

• Matthew 7:9-11 NIV “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? (11) If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

James comes back to this business of asking and receiving later

• James 4:2-3 NIV You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. (3) When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

• We often don’t have, because we don’t ask!

John gives insight on this subject

• 1 John 5:14 NIV This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

• It is God’s will to give His children wisdom

The bottom line of this important teaching is clear:

• If we lack wisdom, we must:– Recognize the need– Ask God, who alone can supply His wisdom– And we’ll receive it

• That’s His promise and guarantee– We can ask God for wisdom as often as needed– Need never lack what He wants to give us– Wisdom is available 24/7 in any amount needed

When we ask God for wisdom & commit our way to Him

• He will direct our paths– He will protect us from the wrong– He will guide us to the right

• Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

• He is to be trusted!