James 1:5-8
~18 min read
SERMON OUTLINE
TRANSCRIPT
It is inevitable that there will be trials and tribulations in life. How can we deal with the trials of life victoriously? What should we do when we do not know what to do? This is what we want to learn from James 1:5-8. Allow me to read this passage, James 1:5-8, “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 any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways”. The Lord bless the reading of His holy and sacred Word.
In the preceding verses, we have learned that God has a sovereign purpose in allowing trials into our lives, and He has given to us clear instruction on how we ought to respond to trials. In verse 2, we are commanded to count it all joy when we fall into diverse temptations. There will always be trials. We may not know where or when it will happen or what form it will take, but we know that there is a reason for rejoicing because God has a sovereign purpose for it. As Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose".
In verses 3 and 4, we are instructed on the benefits of trials, "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing". When we are caught in the midst of trials, it is hard to understand what is going on. It is even harder to believe that it is beneficial. It is easy for us to say to someone who is afflicted, "Brother, you need to press on. You need to hang on. You must not give up. Count it all joy." But it is another thing altogether when we ourselves are being afflicted.
Yesterday, a sister-in-Christ in our church received news that her father had taken a fall and is placed on a life-support machine. So, she had to rush back to Malaysia to see her father. When she visits her father in the hospital, surely there will be many things she wants to say to him. But then, doctors told her that her father's brain is no longer functioning. Have you ever come across a situation which you cannot understand why God had brought it into your life? And in your lack of understanding, you cannot figure out what to do? Have you ever come to a point in your life when you are so desperate because you really do not know what to do?
What do we do when we do not know what to do? In times of trials, it is almost spontaneous for people to cry out, "Why, God? Why me of all the people? Why is this thing happening to me? Please get me out of this affliction." When people are troubled and confused, they need answers, and so they ask questions. But how many of us will say, "Lord, I need wisdom to deal with this situation. Should I respond directly to the situation, or should I prayerfully leave it alone? If I say the right thing, the people will be offended, but if I keep quiet, the people will not know the truth. What should I do? How should I minister to a brother or sister-in-Christ who is going through a most difficult time? How should I minister to a rebellious son and daughter who refuse to repent?"
With all honesty, oftentimes we do not know what to do. We need wisdom. We need to ask the Lord, "Please give me wisdom. Please increase my wisdom and understanding of You, of the people around me, of myself, of the situation and the circumstances, so I will be able to respond in a way that will honour You." The title of our message is "The Need for Wisdom in Times of Trials." There are three points in our message: the reality, every one of us lacks wisdom; the request for wisdom; and the Giver of wisdom.
I. The Reality
First, let us consider: the reality. Look at verse 5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God". The original Greek word for "if" is a conditional clause that assumes the condition is true. In other words, it is a fact that we need wisdom. Some may need more, others less, but everyone needs wisdom. Everyone should recognise the need for wisdom. The word "lack" means shortage. If there's a shortage of wisdom, and surely there will be, the idea is not that you are totally without wisdom in a given situation. You may have some knowledge or some principles to guide you in the situation, but you will find that you still have a shortage. You may have some general ideas, but when it comes to the specifics, you just do not know what to do. That is the idea. People tend to think they are wiser than they actually are, or they are stronger than they actually are, and they are happy to rely on themselves. Sometimes it takes just one trial to come into our lives to effectively drive us beyond our strength and abilities, that you and I will cry out to God and ask for help. Trials are meant to release us from the bondage of self-reliance. There's not a single person in this room who is without the need to ask God for wisdom. We are all going to have a lack of wisdom, and we are all going to need wisdom.
What is wisdom? Wisdom is not just knowledge. Wisdom is far more than the accumulation of information and intellectual understanding. Today, men boast about the vast accumulation of knowledge. Isn't it true? Man has learned to travel faster than the speed of sound, but yet spiritually he displays his lack of wisdom by going faster and faster in the wrong direction. Men boast about having this huge library of information about this world, but yet he shows his lack of wisdom by failing to live any better in this world. Man is getting more and more wicked, desperately wicked. The Bible tells us that wisdom is rooted in the fear of God. Job asked this vital question in Job 28:12, "But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof” (Job 28:12-15). It cannot be found in anything that God has created in this world. Then Job finally said, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:28). Someone once said, "If you fear the Lord, you fear nothing else. If you do not fear the Lord, you fear everything else." How true! The wisest man in this world, Solomon, once said in Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction". If a person has no fear for God, he's not only unwise, he's actually a fool because Psalm 14:1 says, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God".
II. The Request
Knowing the reality that we will surely lack wisdom, let us move on to our second point: the request. "Let him ask of God" – this phrase is in the imperative mood, which means it is a command. James was not just giving us his personal advice or his personal opinion, he was giving us a divine mandate. In other words, if you lack wisdom, and you will surely lack wisdom, I command you to ask of God. Whenever God commands us to do something, it is always for our good and for His glory, and here He is commanding us to ask for wisdom.
In this request, we can learn some things about God. God is the source of wisdom, and He not only wants us to have this wisdom, but more importantly, to apply this wisdom into our lives. As we have said a moment ago, wisdom is more than just the accumulation of knowledge. It has to do with how we live. It has to do with the application of knowledge in our lives. You see, you can have two persons who know the same truth, and they are able to write the same answer on paper. One of them has learned to live it, and he has skilfully applied it, but the other lives his life as if he doesn't even know it, and he is constantly making foolish decisions that have nothing to do with the knowledge he knew. What's the difference between the two persons? It is not just about the knowledge, but the application of knowledge. You and I are wise only if we pay close attention and then live our lives according to what God has taught us. That is wisdom. Dear friend, you may have good Bible knowledge, you may have a good memory that you are able to bring to remembrance all the doctrines you have learned at the tip of your fingers, but you need to ask God how that knowledge is to be applied in a given situation. Again, that is wisdom.
Now the question is, how is God going to communicate wisdom to us? Sometimes God communicates wisdom directly through His Word. In the midst of trials, you search the Scriptures and you find God's truth and commands that are relevant to your situation. God may take a passage that you know very well, and He applies it specially to your life in ways beyond your imagination. Sometimes God may choose to use someone else to help you. He may use the counsel of the pastor, elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, or a mature brother or sister-in-Christ to help you deal with your situation. Proverbs 24:6 says, "in multitude of counsellors there is safety". So, if you surround yourself with all these godly people who are equipped with godly counsels, you are safe. Proverbs 13:20 says, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed". When you are facing trials, make sure you talk to the right people and make sure you seek wise and godly people for counsel. Don't run to fools.
Look at our families. We have troubles in our families, right? Most certainly. There may be troubles in our marital relationships, in our relationships with our in-laws, or in the parent and children relationships. Who do we turn to for help? Worldly counsellors or godly counsellors? When you face marital issues and you turn to worldly counsellors, they will say to you that it is all right to separate and divorce because it is better to be divorced friends than to be married enemies. Instead of helping you to resolve the marital issue, they have led countless marriages to divorces and inevitably children to delinquencies. Is that wisdom? That is foolishness.
Some of us may say, "Well, I have always turned to the right people. I've always turned to the pastors, elders, and Bible teachers for counsels." But ask yourself this question: Are you really going to them for godly counsels, or are you going to them because you want to hear what you want to hear? Some people go to the pastor not for godly counsels but simply to have someone to affirm that they are right even though they are wrong. If that is the case, why bother to go to those counsellors in the first place because you have already decided what you want to do. But rather, we ought to humble ourselves and say in our hearts, "Lord, I want to learn from your precious Word, and you have all these faithful servants who are able to help me, and I want to learn. Teach me. Use them mightily to give me biblical counselling." We are not talking about worldly wisdom or wise men's sayings. If you want godly wisdom, then you must find someone who is godly, who knows the Bible, who has articulated God's truth in his or her life, and who is able to teach you the Word of God. Will you do that?
Sometimes God will communicate His wisdom to us through His providential dealings with us. When we pray and ask the Lord to direct our paths, as Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths". God will direct our paths and show us what he wants us to do by opening doors and also closing doors. Perhaps you are struggling, "Should I do this or should I do that?" Then all of a sudden, the door is closed. You don't have to worry about it anymore. God has closed the door. On another occasion, you may be wondering, "What should I do?" Then all of a sudden, God opens a door. That is how God deals with us by His providential hand.
The vital question we need to ask ourselves is, when facing trials, who are we relying on for wisdom? Sadly, so many professed Christians are turning to secular counsellors and psychologists, seeking after their humanistic ideas and opinions, rather than obeying God's command to ask for wisdom. Dear friend, if God wants to, He can simply pour out wisdom into our lives without any request for it. He can do that. But God has ordained that wisdom should come to us only after we seek for it. So, only after we seek for it will we be able to have wisdom. If you don't seek for it, you will not have it. Listen to Proverbs 2:3-5, "Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God”. Do you realise that a large part of our training in the midst of trials is found in our prayer closet? A large part of our training in the midst of trials is found in the seeking process. Remember our Lord Jesus Himself said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7). In other words, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Don't give up.
That is why we should not be discouraged or disillusioned that we do not receive the wisdom immediately when we ask for it because God wants us to patiently seek after Him. He will give it to us, but He also wants us to be patient.
III. The Giver
Our final point is: the Giver. God is the source of wisdom. "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" – who is this "all men" referring to? Remember, James was writing to the believers, so this promise was for the believers, not for the whole world. Firstly, you must be rightly related to God by faith in His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Your sins must be washed by His precious blood, and you have experienced this new birth. You are a child of God, and as a child of God, this promise is for you just as it is for any believer living on the face of this earth. God is willing to give wisdom to all His children. It's a wonderful promise.
You may call it a great invitation, but with this great invitation also comes a great accountability. What do we mean? Take a moment and consider this: if the believer responds to a trial in an unwise way, whose fault is it? If God has promised that He would give wisdom to His children, and when a trial comes into your life and you did not respond with the wisdom that God expects you to respond with, why didn't you? Because you didn't ask God. You didn't seek Him. You didn't keep knocking. You didn't take this command to ask for wisdom seriously. Is it not your fault? Most certainly. So, this promise is a great invitation, but at the same time, it comes with a great accountability.
The word "liberally" means bountifully or generously, and "upbraideth not" means without reproach. God will give generously, and He will not reproach the one who seeks Him for wisdom. He says, "it shall be given him". Our God is a God who gives willingly, gladly, faithfully, bountifully, generously, and He will not withhold His wisdom from us. It is not like one part of Him is willing to give, and one part of Him is not willing, and He's always going to negotiate with you. That is not our God. If you really want wisdom, you ask, and He will give it to you. He does not give you a little bit and then leave you on your own for the rest. You keep knocking, and He will guide you step-by-step throughout the test.
God also gives without reproach. When you come to Him, you are not bothering Him. It is not like going to someone for help, and he gives you the help, but he sends you away with a very strong word, "I help you this time, but don't come back to me again. I help you this time, but I don't want to see you again". That is not the way God deals with us. When you and I approach the throne of God's grace for wisdom, we are going to find a ready, willing, and gracious Helper. In fact, rather than bothering Him, we are doing the very thing that rejoices His heart – we are acknowledging how much we need Him. We are acknowledging that we understand we are weak, and He is great; we are incapable, and He's powerful.
God is pleased when you and I humble ourselves to come to Him. "Lord, we are so small. We cannot understand so many things in life. We can only see life through our limited human perspectives. Through the events, situations, circumstances of life, we try to interpret the meaning of life. How foolish are our thoughts. Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Your ways are higher than our ways. We need Your wisdom to deal with the trials of life." God is pleased when we humble ourselves and ask for wisdom.
But it does not mean that whenever the believer submits his request, whenever the believer says these magical words, so to speak, "Lord, I want wisdom," then he will have wisdom. The answer is no. Why not? Because there's an important element attached to his asking, and that important element is faith. Look at verses 6 to 8, "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 any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-8).
Faith is to believe. We must believe that God is the Source of wisdom, and He is able to give wisdom to us, wisdom that we so desperately need. There's nothing in God's character that keeps Him from giving it, but there's something in our character that keeps us from receiving it, and that is our doubts. To waver is to doubt. The doubter is a double-minded man. He's unstable like a boat tossed to and fro in the open sea. The boat goes up, down, sideways, even turning around, with absolutely no control. When the doubter makes a request, his request is not really a request at all because he foolishly does not believe that it will be honoured by God. That is why the Bible says such a person has no right to think he shall receive anything of the Lord. He is like the ancient Israel in the Old Testament. Remember Elijah the prophet rebuked the ancient Israelites, saying, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21).
He is like the Laodicean church in the New Testament which all of us are familiar with, who is neither cold nor hot, who is so repulsive that God says, "I will spue thee out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:16). Some years ago, someone asked me a question, and I tried to give a biblical answer to the best of my ability. I searched the Scriptures, and I gave to this person the biblical answer. And then this person said to me, "My psychologist gave me a different answer, and now I'm so confused." That is what is going to happen when a person seeks biblical counselling, and at the same time also seeks secular counselling. He will waver and toss between these two opinions. He's double-minded, and the Bible says a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. To be unstable means to be inconsistent – someone who says something and does something else; someone who says he loves God, trusts Him, believes His Word, but follows the world; someone who seeks for biblical answers but does not apply those answers into his life. He's inconsistent. Such a person will always move from one opinion to another, whichever opinion suits him. His whole life will be a mess sooner or later. You watch: everything he says, everything he does will be affected. The Bible clearly says he will be unstable, inconsistent in all his ways.
Dear friend, God forbids that we live our lives like that, as a double-minded man, as someone who is unstable; someone who says something and does something else; someone who professes his faith in God but yet lives according to the opinions of the world. You and I need wisdom every day of our lives, especially in times of trials, because we just do not know what to do. What do we do when we do not know what to do? We need wisdom.
When you and I acknowledge the reality that we lack wisdom, when you and I obey the command to ask God, who is the Source of wisdom, He will not withhold wisdom from us. He promised He will give bountifully, generously, willingly, and most faithfully. But one thing we must do: we must ask in faith. We must believe. We must not waver.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, indeed, as we consider this passage in James 1:5-8, we have learned the need for wisdom in times of trials. As we go through our days on this earth, it is inevitable that there will be troubles and trials of all sorts. There will be times whereby we just do not know what to do. We need wisdom. We need wisdom to deal with the issues of life, the challenges that we face at the crossroads of life, whether it be problems that we face in our families, marital issues, issues relating to our in-laws, issues that have to do with parents and children, or even in our workplaces or even in church. We need Thy wisdom, and Thou has promised us, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God."
So, we have learned the reality that all of us lack wisdom. O Lord, we humble ourselves before Thee. Indeed, so often we are unwise, and we are unwise because we do not ask. Thou hast taught us that we ought to make the request, to ask of Thee, Thou who art the Source of wisdom, will give generously and bountifully, and Thou will not reproach us as we come to Thee for wisdom. In fact, we know that it pleases Thee when we humble ourselves to ask wisdom from Thee. But we must ask in faith. For if we do not ask in faith and we waver and are tossed about, then we are a double-minded man, and such a person, Thou has taught us, is unstable, inconsistent in all his ways. O Lord, be merciful. We do not want to be unstable and inconsistent in all our ways, but rather we want to be consistent and steadfast, following Thy instructions, and through the prompting of Thy Holy Spirit, and through Godly counsels provided by Thy faithful servants, and through Thy providential hand, we live our lives following Thee and Thee alone. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF JAMESFacing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]James 1:1-4
Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]James 1:1-4
The Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialThe Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialJames 1:5-8
Trial Is No Respecter Of PersonsTrial Is No Respecter Of PersonsJames 1:9-12
How To Deal With TemptationHow To Deal With TemptationJames 1:13-15
Remember Who God Is And Who We AreRemember Who God Is And Who We AreJames 1:16-18
Be Receptive To The Word Of GodBe Receptive To The Word Of GodJames 1:19-21
Doers of the WordDoers of the WordJames 1:21-25
Be Responsive To The Word Of GodBe Responsive To The Word Of GodJames 1:22-25
Are You Transformed By The Word?Are You Transformed By The Word?James 1:26-27
The Sin of PartialityThe Sin of PartialityJames 2:1-13
Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)James 3:1-13
How to Be PatientHow to Be PatientJames 5:7-11
In Times of AfflictionIn Times of AfflictionJames 5:13-18
