Why did you Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nivert. In James chapter 1, verse 5,
we read these encouraging words. 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. What a blessed promise of grace. If you lack wisdom, if I lack
wisdom, what are we called upon to do? Ask of God, who gives
to all men liberally, and He doesn't upbraid you. You ask
and you will have it. If any of you lack, fall short,
come up wanting, if any of you are destitute of wisdom. Solomon said in Proverbs chapter
4 verse 7, wisdom is the principal thing and it is more important
than anything else to have wisdom. You remember when God said to
Solomon, ask me, I'm going to give you anything you want. What
did he ask for? He didn't ask for wealth, he
didn't ask for power, he asked for wisdom. And God gave him
that precious gift along with a lot of other things. But the
one thing that God was pleased with was the fact that what he
asked for was wisdom. Now what is wisdom? Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. I want you to think about that. Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. Knowledge is the car Wisdom is
the driver. A car can be a great blessing
to get you where you need to go, but a car can also be an
agent of destruction, depending on who the driver is. It might
be somebody runs over somebody and kills them, and there the
car is an instrument of great destruction. Now, knowledge can
be a great blessing. There's no salvation apart from
knowledge, knowing the gospel, knowing the Lord. Knowledge can
be a great blessing, or it can be an agent of destruction, depending
on whether or not the person who possesses this knowledge
has wisdom. Now, the wisdom that James is
speaking of is what he calls in James 3, 18, the wisdom which
is from above. It's not worldly wisdom. It's
not earthly wisdom. Now, there are other kinds of
wisdoms and they're valuable in their place. If you're going
to run a business successfully, you're going to have to have
some wisdom and make some right decisions. If you're going to be a good
parent, you're going to have to have some wisdom to know what
you can, how to correct your children, how to lead them, everything. There's so many different needs
for wisdom and different walks of life. But the wisdom that
he's talking about is the wisdom of salvation, the wisdom that
comes from God. the wisdom that is from above. Now, like I said, these other
wisdoms are fine in their place, but oh, the wisdom of God, that's
what I need. For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, and pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now, all these
worldly wisdoms will not get you anywhere in the knowledge
of God. Let me give you some scriptures
from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 with regard to human wisdom, man's
wisdom. Paul said in verse 17 of 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach
the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of none effect. I'm not to try to dress it up
and make it more palatable to the flesh with wisdom of words. In verse 19, he says, for it's
written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. This is God speaking.
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For
after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew
not God by its own wisdom. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require
a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness,
but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ,
the power of God, and Christ, the wisdom of God. if any of you lack wisdom. Now, I just read where Christ
is said to be the power of God and the wisdom of God. Jesus
Christ himself is the mighty power of God. Jesus Christ himself
is the wisdom of God. Now, I need the power of God
to save me from my sins. I cannot be saved. unless an
almighty power saves me. I'm helpless and I must have
almighty power to save me. Now Christ is the power of God
to save me from the penalty of sin and he did that when he bore
the penalty for me as my substitute and now there's no condemnation
to him there in Christ Jesus. He has to have the power to save
me from the power of my sin because I can't deliver myself. I kept
being dead in sins by nature. I can't do what God requires
me to do. But Christ is the power of God to save me from the power
of my sin, and that He put something in me that was not there before,
a new nature, a new heart that can believe, that can repent,
that does believe, that does repent, that does love. There
was a time when I could do none of those things. I didn't have
the power, but Christ saved me from the power of that. And Christ
will save me from the commission of sin when I'm glorified. I
won't sin anymore. I will be just like Christ. I
won't even remember what it's like to be a sinner. Oh, that
makes me look forward to dying and being in his presence and
not being a sinner anymore. I look forward to that so earnestly. Now Christ is called the power
of God and Christ is called the wisdom of God. Now God is so
wise. Now understand this regarding
the character of God. He's perfectly holy, just. He will by no means clear the
guilty. He will never clear anyone who has any sin. He said, I'll
by no means clear the guilty. Now somebody's thinking, well,
how can he clear me because I have guilt? I'm sinful. Does that
mean I can't be saved? God is so wise that he's found
a way to be both just and justifier of the ungodly. That's what the
gospel is all about. It's a demonstration of the wisdom
of God. God in his wisdom has found a
way to take me, a sinful man, and make me cleared of all guilt,
stand perfect before him, perfectly conformed to the image of Christ."
Now, no man has the wisdom to do that, and if he did have the
wisdom to do it, he doesn't have the power to execute it, but
God has the wisdom, God has the power to execute it, and that's
what the gospel is all about. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30,
Paul said, of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom. Christ is my wisdom. He's made
into us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. can only have fellowship and
communion with a wise being. And in Christ I have wisdom. He is my wisdom. God can embrace me and have fellowship
with me because Christ is made unto me righteousness and holiness
and full deliverance. The wise man is the man who looks
to Christ as his wisdom, as his righteousness, as his holiness,
as his full redemption. Oh, what wisdom there is in Christ. Now, when Christ is made wisdom
to a man, here's what it looks like. In James chapter 3, beginning
in verse 18, verse 17, the wisdom that is from above. The wisdom
that comes down from God, this is the wisdom we're asking God
to give us. The wisdom that's from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy, and
good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now that's
the wisdom that's from above and first what a beautiful portrait
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of these words describe
Him. The wisdom that's above is first
pure, absolutely pure. There's no darkness in Him, no
sin. He's absolutely immaculate, spotlessly
pure and holy. The wisdom that's from above
is first pure, then peaceable, peaceable. the peace of Christ,
the peace he made for his people, the peace we have in simply resting
in him. The wisdom from above is gentle. That means fair, mild, gentle. It doesn't hold your feet to
the fire. It doesn't hold someone to the letter of the law. It's
humane. That's the wisdom that's from
above. It's not some kind of hard-nosed, self-righteous, judgmental
person. No, it's gentle and easy to be
entreated. Oh, how approachable Christ is. You know, sinners were comfortable
around Him. They were around Him without
feeling threatened, without feeling judged. Now, this is the wisdom
that's from above. It's easy to be entreated, very
approachable. full of mercy. Christ Jesus is
full of mercy. He delights in mercy and full
of good fruits, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the Lord Jesus Christ
and this is what the wisdom that's from above looks like. It's without
partiality. It's plain and clear. It's not
ambiguous and uncertain. And without hypocrisy. Christ
never acts. He's always completely sincere.
And this is the wisdom that the believer is to seek. I want this
wisdom which is from above. First pure. The absolute truth
of God. First pure. But after that, peaceable. Oh, I want to be a peaceable
person. Gentle, not judgmental and harsh,
but gentle, easy to be entreated, approachable, full of mercy,
blessed of the merciful, and good fruits, the fruit of God
the Holy Spirit without partiality, not being in and out, ambiguous,
but plain and clear and simple. and without hypocrisy. Now that
is the wisdom that we're asking the Lord for. Now remember he
said if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who gives to all
men liberally and upbraids not and he shall have it. This is
the wisdom we're asking for and what a precious gift it is. Now listen to the language. If
any man, you're in that group, if any man lack wisdom Even if
you have it, you don't feel like you have enough. If any man lack
wisdom, let him ask. Let him ask. Let him ask God. Now, the first thing I need to
do is go to the right place for this wisdom. If any man lack
wisdom, let him ask God. Now, if I need gas for my car,
I don't go to a clothing store to obtain that gas. I go to a
gas station. If I need new clothes, I don't
go to a gas station to buy those clothes. I go to a store where
clothing is sold. If I need wisdom, I wouldn't
come to you and ask for it, nor should you come to me and ask
for it. We go to no place but God, the only place we can get
it. Don't ask me. Don't ask your
mom and dad. Don't ask the preacher. Ask God. If any man lack wisdom, let him
ask God. He's the only one who has this
wisdom to give, and he's the only one who will give it. So
if any man lack wisdom, let him ask God for this wisdom. And notice he says, let him ask. Let him ask. Ask, and you shall
receive, our Lord said. If any man lack wisdom, let him
ask God. Now, the word ask means desires,
craves. It's something you'll beg for.
You want it. Let him ask God. And it's always used as a request
from an inferior to a superior. Any man lack wisdom, let him
ask God. And to ask implies several things. First, when I ask God for wisdom,
I'm confessing I'm ignorant. I'm ignorant to things of God.
I'm, by nature, blind. I don't know the difference between
right and wrong. I need this wisdom from God.
I'm ignorant and I need wisdom. Now, if I ask God, not only do
I say that I don't have any natural wisdom. It's got to come from
Him. I also believe that He is when I ask Him. He that cometh
to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him. Now, when I ask Him for wisdom,
I know that He's the all-wise God and He's the only one who
can give it. And that's why I come to Him
asking for wisdom. And I believe when I ask for
wisdom I demonstrate that I believe that salvation is by grace. I don't come to buy wisdom. I
don't come to earn wisdom. I don't come and demand wisdom. I ask for wisdom and I know the
only way I can have it is if he gives it to me by his grace. Just asking for wisdom demonstrates
a true belief that salvation really is all of grace. My good works can't recommend
me. My evil works can't keep me from
being saved. Because salvation is all of grace. By grace you save through faith.
And that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. And it's a gift
you're going to ask for. You know, faith is wisdom. And
when I'm asking Him for wisdom, I'm asking Him for faith. Love
is wisdom. When I'm asking Him for wisdom,
I'm asking Him for love. Let Him ask. To ask Him for wisdom
implies dependence. I know I'm completely dependent
upon him to give me this wisdom. If he doesn't give me this wisdom,
I won't have it. So you ask for this wisdom. Now, the God we're asking is
the God who gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not. Now, I want you to think about
this. If any man lacked wisdom, would that be you? Let him ask
of God who giveth. to all men liberally. And this word liberally carries
with it two meanings, in simpleness, in singleness, and in generosity. Now let's take both of those
words and consider when we ask God for wisdom, he gives to all
men singly, with simplicity. That means he has only one reason
for doing it. Christ. He doesn't give you this
wisdom really because you asked for it. He does it for Christ's
sake. He doesn't forgive you of your sins because you asked
for it or were real sorry or promised to never do them again.
He forgives you of your sins for Christ's sake. All of God's blessing, all of
God's salvation, all of God's mercy is found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. He blesses for Christ's sake. Now, Paul said to the Corinthians,
he feared them being corrupted from the simplicity that's in
Christ. 2 Corinthians 11, verse 3. He
said, Now, I have a single reason for being saved. Christ. That's
the only reason. I'm accepted in the Beloved. I have a single
righteousness. Christ's righteousness. I have a single ground of salvation,
Christ. I have a simple object of faith,
Christ, Christ only. That's the singleness of Christ.
He gives to all men singly. You know what that means? That
means you don't have to worry about a reason you forgetting
it. You don't have to think, well, if I can be this way or
if I can quit this sin or if I can start doing this good thing,
then I'll have it. No. He's got one reason for giving,
and that reason is Christ Jesus. If any man lack wisdom, don't
come to the Lord and think, give it to me because of this or that.
No, he gives to all men simply, singly. He does it for Christ's
sake. That's his reason for doing what
he does. And that's such an encouragement
to me to know that he does what he does for Christ's sake. Now,
not only does that word mean singly, it also means with generosity. Oh, how generous he is. When
Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom, the Lord gave him wisdom and
riches and power and glory, and he became the most wise man upon
the earth. Oh, the power of this wisdom. And I think it's interesting
the way this wisdom was first demonstrated. If you look in
1 Kings chapter 3, You know the story of the two women who were
prostitutes who both had babies. And one of them rolled over on
one of the other's baby and smothered it at night. And when the woman
saw what she'd done, she took the living baby and said it was
hers and said the baby that she'd killed was the mother's. And
so they went to Solomon to settle this matter. And Solomon, in
all of his wisdom, said, take the baby and cut it in half.
and give one half to one and the other half to the other.
And the mother whose the baby was obviously said, No, don't
do that. I love him. But the other one said, Okay,
that's fair. Let's do that. So Solomon in his wisdom knew How
to find out who the baby really was. True wisdom will never allow
the truth to be divided. It loves the truth. And we're
seeking the same wisdom Solomon had. And he gives to all men
singly and he gives to all men liberally. Oh, he'll douse you
with his grace. You come to Him for mercy, you'll
find it. You come to Him for wisdom, you'll
find it. You come to Him for grace, you'll find it. You come
to Him for forgiveness, you'll find it. He gives to all men
liberally. You see, God's very rich. And
what He gives you is not going to diminish His riches in any
way. He loves to give generously because
He's God. He doesn't give in a stingy,
partial manner. No, He gives all the wealth of
His grace. Ephesians 1 3 says blessed be
the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
We have them all and God gives them liberally. That's who he
is. And next it says he upgrades not. He upgrades not. Now if I get in trouble, maybe
financial trouble, I run up credit cards and I'm I'm just in trouble
financially. I can't pay my bills, and I come
to you, and you, of your generosity, get me out of that trouble. What
an act of kindness that is. And I'm thankful. Now I don't
have any debt on my credit cards, but a year later, I do the same
thing. I'm in trouble. I'm in debt.
What am I going to do? I come back to you and say, I've
got myself in trouble again. And you know what you're going
to say? You're going to upbraid me. You're going to say, how
could you do that? I mean, I got you out once. Why are you doing
it again? And if you didn't say it, you'd be thinking it. What
is wrong with this fellow getting in a mess like this? But you
know, when you come to God for wisdom, for grace, for his mercy,
he's not going to ball you out and say, you commit the same
sins over and over again. You're coming again. Why should
I do this for you again? No, he upbraids not. Oh, he's so gloriously gracious.
If any man lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men
liberally with simplicity and with generosity, and he upbraids
not. He's not going to ball you out.
And look at this promise, and he shall have it. Did you hear
that? That's the promise of God. And
he shall have it. Now that means if you do not
have it, You never asked for it. You might have tried to bargain. You might have tried to buy something
off God, but you never asked for it. Have you ever asked God
to save you? Have you ever asked God? I don't
mean bargaining with Him. I don't mean when you're in trouble
and you say, if you get me out of this, I'll do that. That never
works. Have you ever asked God to save
you? Have you ever asked Him to give
you faith in His Son? Have you ever said, I don't even
know what it means to believe, I'm so foolish, I need the wisdom.
Have you ever asked God to give you faith? Have you ever asked
God to grant you repentance, a change of mind? So you see,
right. Have you ever asked God to forgive
you of your sins, to put them away, to blot them out. Have
you ever asked God for His mercy? Now, you have not because you
ask not. Now, remember, this thing of
asking, it's not bargaining. It's not saying, if you do this,
I'll do that. It's asking the God of grace
who gives, who gives to all men liberally. and doesn't upbraid,
and he shall have it. But look what he says in verse
six, but, 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. Now when
we ask, we ask in faith. Now what does that mean? Does
that mean we ask Knowing for sure that whatever we ask of
God, He's going to give it to us. No, it doesn't mean that
at all. Sometimes His answer is no. He
doesn't always give us what we ask. And if we're believers,
His no's are great blessings because if we had what we ask
for, we'd be in trouble. What that means is, let him ask
in faith, let him ask looking to Christ only, is the reason
this request will be answered. When I ask in faith, I'm saying,
Lord, hear this prayer for Christ's sake. I'm leaning on Him for
Him to make this prayer acceptable to you. Let him ask in faith. Faith is opposed to works. Let
him ask in faith, nothing doubted. He that doubteth is like the
driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think he shall
receive anything of the Lord. If I don't ask in faith, I will
not receive anything from him. Now I'm to ask for this glorious
gift, God's wisdom, in faith, knowing the only reason I'll
give it is for Christ's sake, and I really believe that. Now
isn't this an encouraging promise? If any man, don't care who you
are, If any man lack wisdom, this precious gift, the right
use of knowledge, Christ Jesus himself, all the blessings of
grace, Christ is the wisdom of God. He's personified as wisdom
in the book of Proverbs. If any man lack wisdom, let him
ask of God who gives to all men liberally. And he's not going
to bawl you out. And he shall have it. Now we have this message on DVD
and CD. If you call the church or write,
we'll send you a copy. To request a copy of the sermon
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