In the opening verses of his
epistle, the Apostle James teaches us that one of the tools God
uses to mature his children, one of the means God employs
to educate us in his grace, causing us to grow in the grace and knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the trying of our faith. In the kingdom of God, no one
ever grows without trials, without enduring temptations, sorrows,
and afflictions. Abasement is the path to exaltation. Sorrow is the path to service. And weakness is the path to strength. That's the way things are in
the kingdom of God. That's the way it was with our
Lord Jesus himself. He learned obedience, we're told
in Hebrews 5, by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect
by the things he suffered, became author of eternal salvation to
all that obey him. The Apostle Paul describes his
own experience in the same way in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
Whatever our trials and struggles, sorrows, limitations and losses
are in this world, they're according to the wise and goodwill of our
Heavenly Father, and they're His method for maturing His children. Rejoice in as much as you are
partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory shall be
revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. The God of
all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ
Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish,
strengthen, and settle you. When this time of suffering,
affliction, trial, when this Day of trying is ended, and we
have entered into our rest. Then we shall be perfect and
entire, wanting nothing. What a prospect. Joseph Hart,
one of the best hymn writers in history, in my opinion, expressed
his thoughts in this regard like this. And must it, Lord, be so? And must thy children bear such
various kinds of woe, such soul-perplexing fear? Are these the blessings
we expect? Is this the lot of God's elect? Boast not, ye sons of earth,
nor look with scornful eyes above your highest mirth. our saddest
hours we prize. For though our cup seems filled
with gall, there's something secret sweetens all. How harsh
so e'er the way, dear Savior, still lead on, nor leave us till
we say, Father, thy will be done. At most, we do but taste the
cup, for thou alone has drunk it up. Shall guilty man complain? Shall sinful dust repine? And what is all our pain? How
light compared with thine. So finish, Lord, what is begun. Choose thou the way, but still
lead all. That's the doctrine of the first
four verses of the book of James. Let's pick up in verse 5. If we are to profit by our trials,
if patience is to have her perfect work in us, we must have wisdom,
wisdom that only God can give. That's my subject this evening.
If any of you lack wisdom, that's the title of my message, 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. 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. For
let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the
Lord, A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let
the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but the
rich in that he is made low, because as the flower of the
grass he shall pass away. 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. All right. First, I'm struck by the fact
that James was directed by God the Holy Ghost to address his
readers in the widest possible sense. He addresses his readers
as broadly as he possibly can. Here is his counsel for any of
you. Isn't that remarkable? If any
of you, I presume that includes me. I think that's safe. Are you included among any of
you? If any of you lack wisdom, much tempted, severely tried
saints of God frequently are at their wits end. Persuaded,
yes, we are persuaded. that good will come of that which
God does. But in the midst of trouble,
we're at our wits' end. We don't know what to do. We're
at our wits' end. We don't know how to behave.
We're at our wits' end. How fitly spoken James' words
are, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. The Lord
God will give his afflicted children wisdom. that the trying of our
faith may work patience in us and cause us to count it all
joy when we've fallen into diverse temptations. But the promise
is not limited just to one particular application. The words, if any
of you, are wide, so wide and extensive that whatever may be
our necessity, whatever the dilemma which perplexes us, James consoles
us with this counsel. If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God. Now I can tell you this. The one thing we did sure lack
is wisdom. The one thing we lack is wisdom. But James says if you lack wisdom,
ask it of God. Believers in trial, as you seek
to honor God, as you seek wisdom to behave so as to honor God,
ask it of God. Pastor, as you seek to serve
God, seek to preach his word, seek to lead his people, seek
to guide men in the ways of life and truth, ask wisdom of God. Children of God, as you seek
to be useful to others, seek wisdom of God to know how to
serve him in your day until your day is done. And sinners in need
of mercy, seeking the Lord, seek wisdom of God. Ask of God who
giveth to all men liberally. Job put it this way. Oh, that
I knew where I might find him. that I might come even to his
seat. If I could just find him, I would
come to his seat and I would order my calls before him. I
would fill my mouth with arguments why he should hear me. I would
know the words which he would answer me and understand what
he would say to me. All right, second, this word
from James. Tells us that if we would have
wisdom in life, wisdom by which to live in this world, particularly
wisdom with which to endure trials, the trying of our faith patiently,
we can only get it from God. How can a sinner believe in God,
rejoice in the midst of trial? He calls us to count it all joy
when you fall into diverse temptations. the trying of your faith by which
your faith is proved. How can you count those things
joy which brings such pain? We're to endure trials without
complaining, without fretting, without questioning God's providence.
We're to endure trials without seeking quick deliverance. That's what it is to endure patiently.
I want to get out of this thing. I want this ended. God will end
it at God's time. We're to seek grace from God
to endure our trials patiently. How can we have that patience?
Where do we get it? How can we pierce the darkness
of God's dealings with our souls in times of darkness? How can
a mere human being submit to the will of God and become disentangled
with the lust of his own flesh? Look what James tells us. He
says, ask of God, the God of all grace. He'll give you wisdom. Wisdom is more than knowledge. Wisdom is more than learning. Wisdom is more than being smart. A lot of smart men are fools.
A lot of folks who have a vast amount of learning are fools.
Wisdom is the proper combination of truth and spirit, of faith
and conduct, of mind and heart, of knowing the will of God and
yielding to the will of God. Wisdom is discernment of heart
and discipline of your mouth. is seeing the mind and providence
of God and yielding to it in the face of opposition. Opposition
from within, opposition from Satan, opposition by the frowns
or the flatteries of men. Let him ask of God. You want
wisdom? Seek it from God. It doesn't
say let him ask a friend. He doesn't say, search the writings
of men. He doesn't say, find a shrink.
He doesn't say, ask others. James said, let him ask of God,
and then he encourages us with this word. He says, you ask wisdom
of God, and you have this word from God, you will not be sent
away empty. What an encouragement. He who is the God of all grace,
giveth to all men liberally, and abradeth not. What is it
you want from God? What is it you want from God?
I'm talking now as James was to my brethren. What is it you
want from God? I'm not talking to a world that
had no God. I'm talking specifically to you,
my brethren. What is it you want from God?
Health, wealth, prosperity, Religious hucksters of our day will tell
you that faith is just like a blank check. God says you fill in the
amount and it's yours Oh, no, no, no, no Believing God if you
want a new Cadillac just believe God for it and he'll give it
to you. No, no, no, I'm talking to believers not worldlings I'm
talking to folks who believe God What is it you want from
God? Whatever it is that you really
want from God, you seek it from God and it's yours. What do you
want, Myra? Forgiveness of all my sin. God gives it to all men liberally
and to braids not. I want God's salvation. God gives
it in all its fullness to all who seek his Son. I want wisdom. I want Christ my Redeemer. Turn
back to Matthew chapter 7. Let me show you this. Matthew
chapter 7. Hold your hands here, James.
Come back to Matthew 7. Hear what the Savior says. Verse 7. Ask, and you just might get it. I don't care what kind of translation
you're reading. Have you got anybody here whose Bible reads
like that? Ask and God may give it to you.
That's not what it says, is it? Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened
unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth,
and he that seeketh findeth. and to him that knocketh it shall
be opened. What man is there of you whom
if his son ask bread will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish
will he give him a serpent? If ye then being evil know how
to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your father which is in heaven give good things to him to them
that ask him. Turn over to James 4. James chapter
4. Why is it we don't have what
we seek from God? Why is it? James chapter 4 verse
3. ye ask and receive not, because
ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lust. That's why. God never promised
to give you what your flesh craves. God never promised to give you
physical health. God never promised to give you
physical wealth. God never promised to give you
physical strength. He did promise right here in
our text to give wisdom to everybody who seeks it. What's he talking
about? What's he talking about? This is the third thing. Christ
himself is the wisdom we need. Christ himself is the wisdom
we need. Above all else, the wisdom James
urges us to seek is the Lord Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Turn to 1 Corinthians 10. Just
put your mark here in James and we'll be back in a minute. Turn
to 1 Corinthians 10. When you read the book of Proverbs,
You're reading the book of wisdom. You're reading God's book of
wisdom. Do you know why you can't hardly
find a decent commentary on the book of Proverbs? Because not
many folks understand what it's all about. Not many folks understand
what it's about. I personally don't know of one
that's really good written just on the book of Proverbs. I don't
know of a one. How come? How come? because everybody's
trying to figure out how to be smart and teach people to be
smart. How to behave with great wisdom. Solomon was the wisest
man on the earth that in his day, nobody had wisdom except
Solomon. The things he understood, things
he did. The queen of Sheba said, I heard
about your wisdom. The half has not been told. And they think
that in Proverbs, Solomon is teaching us that kind of wisdom.
Oh, no. When you read wisdom in Proverbs,
and you read about wisdom instructing you, wisdom teaching you, wisdom
being personified, always the wisdom is Christ Himself. Always the wisdom is Christ. If you want to live in this world,
if you want to honor God in this world, if you want to Serve one
another in this world if you want to be useful in this world
Seek Christ the wisdom of God Always in all things James is
telling us here in James 1 the very same thing Paul tells us
in 1st Corinthians 10 Lest we be found murmuring against God First Corinthians 10. Moreover, brethren, I would not
that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were
under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat
the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual
drink. For they drank of that spiritual
rock, and that rock that followed them And that rock was Christ. But with many of them, God was
not well pleased. They didn't believe God. They
drank water out of the rock, but they didn't drink any water
out of the rock. They ate meat, but they didn't eat meat. They
fed on manna, but they didn't have any manna. All they had
was physical water and physical bread because they didn't believe
God. The folks who believed God drank
the water and drank of Christ. The folks who believed God ate
the manna and fed upon the bread of heaven Christ Jesus the Lord.
For they were overthrown in the wilderness. Verse 6. Now these
things were our examples to the intent. That is, these things
happened for this purpose. To the intent, we should not
lust after evil things as they also lusted. What was it they
lusted after? Oh, they lusted after pornographic
movies, and they lusted after brothels, and they lusted after
drunkenness. No. They just lusted after leeks
and onions. That's all they wanted. They wanted a little ease of
life. Evil things. How is it that lusting after
leeks and garlics and onions are evil things? When you seek
that which gratifies your flesh rather than the honor of God
and the will of God and the glory of God, that's an evil thing.
Read on. Read on. Neither be ye idolaters,
as were some of them. As it is written, the people
sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Neither let
us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in
one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ,
as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were
destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened
unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition
upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore, let him
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Let him that
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation
taken you, no trial, no temptation, no affliction, no heartache,
no trouble, no sorrow, There hath no temptation taken you,
but such as is the common, ordinary, everyday experience of all other
men. There hath no temptation taken
you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but
will with the temptation make a way to escape, that you may
be able to bear it. If any of you lack wisdom, Let
him ask of God. Seek after Christ our wisdom. Isaiah said, Behold, a king shall
reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment, and a
man shall be in hiding place from the wind, and a covert from
the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, and as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land. Now, turn back to Proverbs chapter
8. Proverbs chapter 8. When trials come, when temptations
assail, when Satan roars, seek Christ. Though we're foolish
creatures by nature, by virtue of our union with Him, Christ
is our wisdom. He's made of God unto us wisdom. He represents us as wisdom before
God, and He is for us the revelation of God, the Word of God made
known to us. He makes known to us all that
God is. He that findeth me findeth life,
He says, and shall obtain the favor of the Lord. Look in Proverbs
8, verse 12. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
and find out knowledge of witty inventions. I, Christ, dwell with skill and
understanding prudence. Verse 14, counsel is mine and
sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. By me kings reign and princes
decree justice. By me princes rule and nobles,
even all the judges of the earth. Everybody who has power in the
earth, they got it from me. Everybody who rules anything
in the world, they got it from me. I love them that love me
and those that seek me early shall find me. Verse 18. Riches
and honor are with me. Yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold,
yea, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in
the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment,
discretion, and righteousness, that I may cause those that love
me to inherit substance, real substance, and I will fill their
treasures. Verse 22. The Lord possessed
me. Now Christ obviously speaking
here as our mediator, our surety, the God-man, our savior. The
Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way. Before his works
of old, I was set up from everlasting. From the beginning, wherever
the earth was, when there were no depths, I was brought forth.
When there were no fountains abounding with water, behold,
the mountains were settled, or before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills was I brought forth. While as yet he had not
made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust
of the world, when he prepared the heavens, I was there. When
he set a compass upon the face of the depth, when he established
the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when
he gave to the sea his decree that the waters should not pass
his commandment, when he appointed the foundations of the earth,
then was I by him. as one brought up with him. And
I was daily his delight, watch this, rejoicing always before
him, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth. And my delights
were with the sons of men. Now verse 35, whoso findeth me
findeth life and shall obtain favor of the Lord. Our union
with Christ who is our wisdom, makes us to have understanding
and wisdom so that God gives to his elect the mind of Christ
as we're made partakers of the divine nature. Paul said the
natural man doesn't understand the things of God, but we do
because we have the mind of Christ. We think as he does. We have
his understanding. He's given us his nature. All
true spiritual knowledge derived from Christ and it's only those
who are taught of him who are made to be wise under salvation. Christ is our wisdom. Now watch
what James says back in James 1. The Holy Spirit here tells us
by his servant James, God gives Christ to any who know their
need of him. If any of you lack wisdom, If
any of you lack Christ, let him ask of God that giveth. God gives
Christ to all who ask after him liberally. If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men and abradeth
not. And abradeth not. Seek Christ
and God gives Christ to you in all His fullness, in all that
He is, as our mediator and representative, as the God-man, our Savior, you
seek Him, and that's what God gives you. God's faithfulness
to His covenant tells us that He will. We rejoice in our trials, which is what James is talking
about here, in the midst of diverse temptations. when we see the
mercy, grace, and love of God in them. I've been chatting a
little bit with Park's family, brother Dan Park's
grandson, the children. Dan's boy, D, married Christy
Morrell, and I've known all the children since they were infants
and they're dear friends. Their grandson, Jackson, had
a little flare-up Saturday with his pacemaker and got to have
that replaced quickly. Just a little boy that had a
pacemaker about all his life. And I spoke to Mama and Daddy and
Grandma and Grandpa. And I said to them, I know the
surgery is not a complicated surgery. And I know that the
thing is done every day. But I also know that when it's
your baby being cut off, it's complicated. And when it's your
baby being cut off, it hurts. And the lady just kind of started
crying a little bit. I said, that's all right. That's
all right. It's all right to hurt while you believe God. And you can rejoice in the midst
of sorrow and pain, believing God. You can walk before him
with joy in your heart. when Christ is yours and you
see the mercy and love and grace of God inscribed upon those things
that cause you pain. Do you understand that? Rejoice. Rejoice, child of God, when God
calls you to experience diverse temptations and trials. Thus
God is glorified. Christ is honored. As we endure
these trials and the Lord Jesus leads us and delivers us, Satan
is vanquished. And the blood-bought child of
God is by these things more and more in the daily experience
of his grace conformed to Christ in his sufferings. As we pray,
he would conform us to him. all that I may know him, in the
fellowship of his sufferings, in the power of his resurrection,
being made conformable unto his death, utterly committed to him, utterly bowing to his will, utterly
surrendered to his purpose, and that only happens as we grow
in the grace and knowledge of our Savior, and that only happens
as God works faith in us, causing us to seek our Savior. Look at
the next slide. Here's the fourth thing. We must, if we would have Christ,
seek Him in sincere faith, but let Him ask in faith How many times have you read
this verse and said, I sure wish he hadn't put those next words
in there? Nothing wavering. Ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like
a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that
he shall receive anything of the Lord, a double-minded man,
is unstable in all his ways. That seems to destroy everything,
doesn't it? If you've got to have perfect
faith in Christ, who then can be saved? That's what our Lord's
disciples cried, and that's what we are forced to cry. If a sinner,
altogether imperfect, must have perfect faith to be saved, who
then can be saved? Our Master's reply comes very
quickly. With men it is impossible, but
not with God, for with God all things are possible. Read the
11th chapter of the book of Hebrews as soon as you can, while this
is fresh on your mind, and you will read a whole list of people,
men and women, who appear to our eyes to have had at the very
best wavering faith. At the very best, it appears
to our eyes to have been wavering faith. But God the Holy Ghost
tells us that every one of them, like Abraham, staggered not at
the promise of God through unbelief, but were strong in faith, giving
glory to God. Do you know who's included in
that list? Sarah. She heard the angel of God speak.
She heard Christ speak and said to Abraham, your wife's gonna
have a baby, and Sarah's back behind the kitchen door, and
she says, fat chance. She laughed. But it wasn't long,
she laughed. Abraham! God's fulfilled his
word, we're gonna have a baby. He's coming! She laughed, believing
God. Isaac. You read Isaac's history? I don't know, I can't immediately
think of anything I can remember about Isaac that would imply
a great deal of faith. Man, he connived and he cheated
and he tricked and he deceived, but all the while cherishing
the birthright of Christ Jesus the Lord. All the while. And God tells us he's been a
great faith. Jacob, Jacob. I'm sorry, he's the trickery
and conniving one. His father Isaac followed the steps of Abraham,
went down to Abimelech and said, I say you're my sister. Moses,
when Moses slew the Egyptian and he was found out, Moses in
fear fled from Egypt. Read the book of Exodus, what
it says. In fear he fled from Egypt. But in Hebrews 11, God
says he fled from Egypt in faith. He must have faith, nothing wavering. What is this? It is God-given,
God-wrought faith of the new man, created in righteousness
and true holiness. Unwavering faith is sincere,
guileless faith. Faith that comes to God honestly,
boldly, confidently to the throne of grace, doubting nothing. What's that mean, doubting nothing? I'm full of doubts. I'm ashamed
of it, but I'm full of doubts, aren't you? I can hardly think of objections
people raise to things written in Scripture. You ask about the
things about the Red Sea and the Exodus back there in the
office, Bob, I can hardly even think about those things without
a doubt popping up. Just full of doubts. I'm full
of doubts. Wish it were so, but that's the case. But there are
some things about which I have no doubt. I have no doubt about my sin,
and I confess it freely. I have no doubt about Christ's
finished work. I believe Him confidently. I
have no doubt about his ability to save sinners like me by the
merit of his blood and the perfection of his righteousness. And I had
no doubt of his willingness to do so. So I come to God seeking Christ
confidently that I shall have him now and tomorrow and forever. James is telling us that grace
is sure to all who seek it. Salvation is sure to all who
seek Christ, who of God has made into us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. All right, one more thing. In verses 9 through 11, James
admonishes both the rich and the poor. Let the brother of
low degree rejoice in that he's exalted, but the rich in that
he's made low, because as the flower of the grass he shall
pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen
with 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. Whether you talk
about these things, think about these things as carnal, temporal
things or spiritual things, they're the Lord's appointments for his
people. In providence and in grace, all
these things are blessed of God to his people. And happy are
those who are enabled by the grace of God to discern these
things spiritually. Let the brother of low degree,
rejoice in that he's exalted. The circumstances of the heaven-born
soul and his ordinary needs of life are sweetened when the Lord's
hand is seen in his life. So that whatever your lot in
life is, you don't have much to get along on. You struggle
from day to day and week to week, month to month, year to year.
And you have struggles with sickness and you have difficulty with
family, have difficulty with life. You see God's hand in it
and see this is what God's appointed for you that sweetens the difficulty. The fact is our God does everything
just right to make us know Him. We could not know Him as we now
know Him had we not experienced the things He's caused us to
experience. You understand that? You could not know Him as you
now know Him if you hadn't experienced the things you've experienced.
And we couldn't know His promises if we weren't forced to discover
them by our trials, by the trying of our faith. If there were no
dark, cloudy days, but only perpetual sunshine in our lives, all those
rich clusters of promises would be meaningless. Now here's wisdom. Everything by which we think
ourselves rich and increased with goods, be it carnal or spiritual,
be it natural riches, physical riches, or spiritual things we
think by which we are enriched and elevated above others. Whatever
those things are, they must wither with the rising of the sun of
righteousness. If he rises in your soul, those
things will wither. and you will find yourself like
all others before him. If they don't wither because
he rises in your soul in grace, they will wither in judgment.
And everything by which we are impoverished in our souls, everything that lays us low at
his feet, everything that sweetly forces us into the banqueting
feast, everything that brings us to the footstool of the throne
of grace, everything that puts us in the dust. Let us give thanks
to God and rejoice, for by this we shall be lifted up and exalted
in due time and shall at last be found perfect and entire, wanting nothing, wanting nothing. Amen.