Happy Fourth of July, everybody. Good morning (congregation: Good morning.). Havent we had some beautiful weather lately? As I think about Gods creation, I love how Paul says in Romans that the Heavens declare Gods glory, creation shows His handy work, and you can see Him in so many different ways, can I tell you my favorite family Fourth of July story? Will you allow me to do that?
It started a few years ago when our kids were little and we decided to buy a dog. They thought we really needed a dog, so we hunted, looked, read, and we decided to buy a Boxer because it said Boxers were super dogs, and I was kind of partial to that. It said that the kids could absolutely maul them, and they wouldnt care; so we thought, Great! That sounds like what would be good for our family, so we bought a boxer. We appropriately named him Knockout. He really bonded with us, and we bonded with him. He was everything Boxers were advertised to be. He was playful and fun, the kids could maul him, and he didnt care. He was just one incredible dog. Then we started hearing stories that Boxers werent afraid of fire. I kind of put that on the back burner like the Loch Ness Monster and those types of things. I was like, Yeah, right. Then we had a friend that said her uncle had fallen asleep in bed while smoking. He started the bed on fire, and the dog had put the fire out. I was kinda like, Yeah, right. I thought that was interesting and then kind of put it out of my head until the first year we had the dog on the Fourth of July. Our youngest daughter at the time, Tara, was about two years old. She was really mature for her age, so we decided that it was a good time for her to have her first sparkler. We waited until about 9:30. It was nice and dark, and we went outside, lit a sparkler, and gave it to her. She was just, as advertised, mature. She was great; she was having a great time and was perfectly terrific with it. She was waving it all over, having fun, and then out of the corner of our eyes, we see this white and tan blur racing from across the yard. It happened so fast, we didnt even have time to react. You have to understand this: when Boxers attack, they dont just run up to you and bite you, but from about 10 or 12 feet away, they literally launch themselves through the air. Theyll turn their shoulders and try to knock you over. It happened so fast that all I could think was holy guacamole! Whats going on? Here comes this blur, and about 12 feet away from Tara, Knockout just launched himself through the air like Superdog. He literally had his paws out navigating. I was like, Wow! He ripped the sparkler out of her hand without ever touching her. He landed on the ground snarling, growling, shaking, roaring, and with sparks flying out of his mouth. I was like, He looked like the dog from Hell! It was unbelievable! He never hurt her, never touched her, but he was not about to let her get hurt. Of course that launched wonderful Fourth of July escapades after that. We started buying two or three of the big $20 and $30 fountains after that, and hed just go ballistic! Hed beat them with his paws, pick them up in his mouth, and then you had to watch out because hed be spinning around. Wed be jumping over lightning bolts full of flames, but it was incredible! We were down at my parents, and all of the family got together a couple years after that. We were telling our cousins about Knockout and his adventures. They were like, Yeah, right. We have to see this! So we went down to the gas station, and they didnt have any fireworks anymore; but we bought some smoke bombs. I thought, I dont know whats going to happen. This will be interesting. He attacked them. He picked the whole thing up in his mouth, closed his mouth on it, and there were plumes of smoke coming out of both sides of his mouth. I was sitting there going, Wow! Now youve seen it all-the first K-9 volcano!
As I think about those things, I realized afterwards how wonderful it was. What a picture of Christ, how amazing it is, and how thankful I am for the freedom that we have-that that dog would have gone through fire and anything to protect our family and protect our kids. It makes me very thankful for our veterans and the freedoms we enjoy this country because people literally were willing to go through fire, give life and limb and health for the sake of our country. I didnt think about doing this before, but if youre a veteran-if youve served in the Armed Forces-would you mind standing? Anybody here like that? Can we give them a hand (congregation applauding)? Thank you very much. I know we enjoy many of the freedoms that we enjoy because of people like you that were willing to sacrifice a lot. I hope we never take that for granted. Most of all, I hope we never take Jesus Christ for granted who literally went through hell and faced eternal flames and eternal fire so we could find freedom.
As we look into His Word today, just before you do, would you take about 10 seconds or so and ask God to please teach you something today. Would you do that? Just bow your head, close your eyes, or leave them open-I dont care, but take a few seconds and ask God to please teach you today.
Father, I do thank You for the time to come and hear Your Word. I pray that You would teach us and guide us. May we go from this place better people and wiser, and may we grow in grace; and I thank You that we can pray because of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Were in the second of a series on the Gospel According to Jim from the Book of James. Were going to look at James 1:5-8 (page 1196 of pew Bibles). Well look at the context in a bit; but right off the top, lets look at these words that James shares. Were going to talk about four different phrases and what they mean in our lives.
First of all, he says, If any of you lacks wisdom, he or she should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 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. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. As you look at that Passage, think first of all about the opening phrase. It says, If anyone lacks wisdom, you should ask of God. I want you to notice the connection between two different thoughts. First of all, he says that if you lack wisdom, you should do what? Ask. What do we call asking God? Prayer. Notice the intimate connection between wisdom and prayer. Let me say it this way, folks: wise people pray. Foolish people dont. Plainly and simply, that's the way it is. Wise people go to God in prayer.
If youre an entrepreneur, they tell you that the way to become wealthy is to hang out with millionaires if you want to become a millionaire. If youre a millionaire and you want to become a billionaire, who do you hang out with? Billionaires-because those people dont think like we do. They think differently, and you learn to think like they do. The same thing with God; if you want to think like He does and you want to change your life and your ways, hang out with somebody who knows way more than you do. Humility is the first step of wisdom. A wise person hears. Jesus started the beatitudes with blessed are the poor in Spirit. That attitude of humility that says I dont know everything is the opening gambit of learning and growth in the knowledge and understanding of wisdom.
Lets look at Proverbs 4 (page 628 of pew Bibles). Solomon hammers on this point. He says if you want wisdom, then youd better learn how to pray when he says, Listen, my sons, to a fathers instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. When I was a boy in my fathers house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding; Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.
Other Passages say that you will find wisdom when you cry out for her and ask for her. Friends, thats the challenge for all of us. Wise people pray. Wise couples pray.
In two days, my wife and I are going to celebrate our 31st anniversary, which is a miracle in and of itself. Shes a terrific lady. How shes put up with me all these years, I have no idea; but she did, and Ill say that one of the huge reasons were together is that right there: prayer. The second thing I would say is that I have come to conclude after that many years of marriage that Satan fights couples over the area of prayer more than any single other thing in their marriage. Satan hates when couples pray together, and he will do anything and everything to keep couples from praying together. Why? Because he knows that thats where wisdom is gained. He knows thats where difficulties are overcome. That's where unity of mind happens, and he will try every strategy-everything under the sun-to keep couples from praying. He does the same thing with churches. Wise churches pray.
I was chuckled because coming to a typical service in America, we feature other spiritual disciplines. There are Gods Word, prayer and praise. What does the typical church service feature most of those three? Preaching and praise. Which gets left out most of the time? Prayer. Yet, prayer is the only thing-its the single thing of which Jesus said, My house shall be called a house of… Prayer. Why? Why does Satan fight that? Because thats where all the power is. Thats where real wisdom is. Thats where real unity happens. Every revival in the history of Christianity for 2,000 years has been a revival not of preaching and not of praise but of…? Prayer. Incredible things happen when Gods people ban together to pray.
Going back to couples, God says this, If two or three of you shall agree or harmonize concerning anything, it will be done for them. Wise people pray. Its interesting that the two wisest people who ever walked the face of the earth-Solomon and Jesus Christ-were people of…? Prayer. How did Solomon begin his reign? He began it by offering thousands upon thousands of sacrifices to God and leading his people in a national time of prayer. Open up the Book of 1 Kings and Chronicles, and look at Solomons prayer. See how long that prayer takes. Its a long prayer. Its interesting that at the beginning of his ministry, God appears to Solomon. The first thing God says to Solomon is…? Ask. Its the proverbial win the lottery. Its the proverbial genie in the lamp. You find the magic lamp, and you get three wishes. Thats fictionalized, but this really happened. God says to Solomon, You can have anything you want, and Solomon says, Give me wisdom.
I love his phrasing. He says, Lord, Im like a little kid. I dont know how to go out or come in. In our vernacular wed say, I dont know how to get in out of the rain.
Solomon says, Thats me. I dont know how to get in out of the rain, so give me a large and understanding heart.
Gods like, Bravo! I love that! Thats awesome! Good answer!
Interestingly, that Passage we read in Proverbs 4, where did Solomon learn to ask for wisdom? From his dad. His dad told him over and over, Get wisdom. Get understanding. Wisdom is supreme! Sell everything you have to get wisdom! David drilled that into his son. So God comes to Solomon and said, You can have anything you want.
Solomon said, Ill take wisdom, please. Jesus, to begin His ministry, went off for 40 days of fasting and prayer. In the Book, it was recorded that He came out of that time of prayer and fasting full of power and of the Spirit of God. The Book of Revelation gives us a picture of what the Spirit of God entails. It talks about the Sevenfold Spirit of God, and you say, What is that? Well, the Book of Isaiah gives us a hint. Lets look at Isaiah 11:1-2 (page 686). Isaiah says, A shoot or a branch will come up from the stump of Jesse… Hes talking about the Messiah. …from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. This Spirit of God is what will characterize the Messiah. Notice what it says. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him-the Spirit of wisdom and understanding… Did you check that? The first mark of being touched or changed by the Spirit of God is a spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and of power, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. When God comes into our hearts and lives and changes us, He gives us a new spirit of wisdom and a new spirit of understanding.
When I was growing up, my father drilled into us, You ought to do one thing every time you open up the Word of God, and thats pray and ask God to teach you something. Why? He would always quote Corinthians, Because the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness to him, and they can only be discerned spiritually.
If I were to ask for a raise of hands, how many of you-maybe you can or not, whatever- before you came to Christ would open up this Book and say, Huh? It was like reading Greek or Aramaic or Hebrew, and you werent a Hebrew or Greek scholar. You were reading it, and you were like, This doesnt make any sense to me! How many of you experienced that before you came to Christ. Then something amazing happened. You seen your need for Christ. You trust Him to pay for your sins. You say, God, I want You in my life, and you open up this Book-after God puts His Spirit in your heart-and all of the sudden, guess what? Its alive. It comes to life, and all of the sudden, stuff that you could never get before, Oh, that makes perfect sense! I get it! No matter how many times you read it-you could read the same Passage of the same section of Scripture 100 times-and every time you read it, its always new. Its always fresh. It always challenges you in ways that you never seen before. There are some Passages I read a 100, 200, or 300 times, and Im like, Man, how come I never saw that before? Its new! Thats what the Spirit of God does. He continually gives you understanding and light.
Jesus at 12 years old was in the Temple doing what? Asking questions. Thats the mark of Gods children. As we look at this Passage, and later on when it says, A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, I always think of little kids with their parents. How many of you have children or grandchildren that love to ask the three-letter word, Why? Now how many of you growing up were that little kid that liked to ask the question, Why? Now, heres the thing: you know that you can ask that in one of two ways, right? There are some kids that ask why because theyre rebels. They really dont want to do what you say. Theyre not asking why because they want a long and mutually-understanding explanation of all the various facsimiles of reasons for which you should conduct your manner which is appropriate for civilized people. Thats not why theyre asking why. Theyre asking why because they dont want to do what you say. On the other hand, there are those children who are genuinely inquisitive, and they push the limits of what we know and learn because theyre always asking why. They dont buy the standard party line. Maybe theres a better explanation, or maybe theres a better way of doing things. Those people are incredibly creative and incredibly inventive. We need those types of people, and Gods not afraid of those types of people. The more I walk with God, [the more] I am just amazed at how incredibly creative the Spirit of God is. The ways He opens wisdom and understanding and teaches you to do things in ways youve never thought of before is unbelievable. Friends, Gods not afraid of those types of whys. Its in that context talking about the double-minded man, this coming to God and asking why and seeking for wisdom that we have to make sure we are the good kind of child asking why, receiving the Kingdom of Heaven as a little child, and not the rebellious child who says, WHY!?!?! Thats the challenge. God assures us-and interestingly again-that Jesus was that type of person.
The first thing we see about Jesus in the Gospels and at 12 years of age is Him in the Temple doing what? Asking questions. He wants to know, so Hes hanging out with the wisest people in the country asking questions, picking their brains. Thats smart; in a multitude of counselors, there is wisdom, right? Its why we need to hang out with God. He knows a lot more than I do. Like Solomon, when I was growing up, Id read that Passage about Solomon saying, Im a little kid. I dont know how to come in out of the rain, and I was going, Well, if Solomon was a little kid, Im an idiot. I dont know anything. For years, that was my prayer, God, Im a moron. Please teach me something because I dont know diddly. Then whats amazing is you actually have to learn quite a bit to realize that you dont know anything. The more I know, the more I realize the distance between God and me is just unbelievable. He knows so much more than I could ever possibly imagine, and there is so much more to learn in the world than I could ever hope or think of. To walk around thinking that youre pretty smart is absolute stupidity.
So to come to God with that seeking attitude is true wisdom. Friends, as we look at the context, thats wisdom in general. The second thing I would say is not only in general should we seek wisdom, but specifically in a specific situation, we need to seek wisdom-that is, as you look at the context, trials, difficulties, and troubles.
Verses 5-8 of James are built on the first four verses where he says, Count it all joy when you fall into various trials and testings, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, so asking for wisdom is set in the context of going through hard things. That's the challenge, isnt it? Thats when your faith gets tested; thats when your genuine hunger for wisdom gets tested. Thats what Gods trying to do in our lives, bring us to Him to ask, like the genuinely-seeking child, Why? I dont understand these things. Please teach me why
I have a friend who doesnt live here, doesnt live anywhere close to here; he lives in the deep, deep South. Hes been through a lot of difficulties in his life in the last year. Weve been emailing a lot back and forth, so he shared those and I tried to encourage him. At one point, I finally said, So, what do you think Gods trying to teach you through all these things?
He claims to be a Christian, and he said, I dont think Gods trying to teach me anything. I think bad stuff just happens to people.
I didnt say it to him, but I thought, Buddy, youre going to be in kindergarten a long time because God allows things into our lives and brings things into our lives to teach us lessons to help us grow. Gods a good teacher. If you dont get the lesson the first time, whats He going to do? Hes going to repeat it. Isaiah says, Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, Godll keep taking you back to school. Hell make you repeat that class till you finally get the lesson, so what is the mark of wisdom? Is it to say, Okay, God, please teach me the first time? If youre going through difficult things, your attitude ought to be, God, please dont let me waste this opportunity. Right? Thats the first thing.
Its interesting that God is not afraid of you asking why when you go through difficult things. Two of my favorite people in the Bible-David and later on, Jesus-both share the same exact thought and the same words. In Psalm 22, David-you talk about trials-gets anointed king at a very young age, possibly as a young teenager. He may have been as young as 13 or 14 years of age. Everything was going according to plan. He was the youngest in the family. He was hauled out of his lowly position and honored in front of all his brothers. He went out to battle, beat Goliath, and became a national hero. He had the number one song in all of Israel written about him. He became the kings personal musician. He became the kings personal bodyguard. He became the commander-in-chief of the army. He was a national hero; he had it going on. It couldnt get any better than him getting to marry the princess. Wow! Then, guess what? He proceeded to lose it all. He lost his new house; he lost his new wife; he lost his position as the kings personal bodyguard; he lost his position as commander-in-chief; he lost his position as the national musician; and he fled and spent years running for his life. He viewed himself as a flea bouncing around in the wilderness from place to place, never staying one place very long because death was always a heartbeat away. In the middle of all of that, David cried out those words that most of us still know in Psalm 22, My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Dont focus on the last part; just focus on my God, my God, why… Why? Friends, its not wrong as a child of God to ask why. Thats not a matter of doubt. Wise people of real fate ask why. The answers may not always be immediate, but you can bank on it-God must have a reason. I may not get it; I may not see it right away, but there is a reason.
A connection with Jesus echoes those same exact words. Many scholars believe that He probably quoted all of Psalm 22 on the cross; as He hung there suspended between Heaven and earth dying for my sins and your sins, what words come out of His mouth? My God, My God, why… Again, we usually quote the rest of that, but I just want you to stop at that phrase right there: My God, My God, why…
Its interesting-the Book of Hebrews specifically says about our Messiah-God incarnate, God in the flesh-that even though He was a Son, He learned obedience. He learned obedience through the things that He suffered. Friends, anybody can obey God when its easy. Anybody can be thankful when its raining gold, theyre in wonderful situations, and in health, wealth, and happiness. Anybody can praise God and bless God.
Like Job of Old, when everything we have is taken away, and instead of blaspheming God, we praise God while everybody else mocks us-those points when your Dad in Heaven looks down and says, That's my kid! See him down there. Theres nobody like him! Look at all the heartache hes going through. Look at all the pain. Look at all the trials, all the suffering. Still, he believes in Me. Still hes trusting Me, that's faith. Thats wisdom, and God honors His children who do that kind of thing. God writes books about them, and He says He wont forget any of your tears. Thats genuine wisdom. My challenge, folks, is in those situations, genuinely come to God and ask Him, God, what are You trying to teach me? What do I need to learn?
My second challenge-as we think about genuine wisdom-is that there may be specific reasons. I think of the word SIP. I want to talk about three reasons here. First of all, there may be sin. Sometimes we dont ask why because we dont like answers, right? It may be that there is sin in our lives. It may be that were going through adversity probably because were disobeying the Word of God. Thats quite a possibility. As we face adversity, maybe some of us never entertain that idea. The letter I-maybe its ignorance. Maybe its not open sin or rebellion against God; you just dont know any better. Youve never heard. That's a possibility as well. The letter P-it may be just pruning. Maybe its nothing youve done wrong. This is why I get little irked at some of the health, wealth, and happiness gospel people because if you go through a major illness, lose your job, lose your home, or a loved one dies, Well, its Gods judgment on you for a wicked life. Hogwash and that wonderful English word, Balderdash! It may just be pruning. God knows that pruning produces fruit in your life, growth, and hard things yield wonderful fruit later on. It may be that reason.
Friends, in that light as you try to seek for discretion and understanding about those reasons, I would really challenge you to dig into the Book of Proverbs. Ive come to believe-after being through the Bible many, many times-that specific sections of the Bible teach us specific things and help develop specific gifts. In the Book of Proverbs, it says specifically that it helps us grow in wisdom. Thats the whole reason it was written. As you look at our culture, I want to take just a brief second to talk about some of the major themes that exist in the Book of Proverbs that our culture could really deal with. Friends, if you look around the world, sometimes we hear the words, There is no common sense anymore, right? The reality is that common sense is only a step removed from spiritual sense. When you chuck God and His wisdom, common sense goes out the window as well not too far down the road.
Look at some of the common themes. How many of you have ever lamented the fact that there isnt much respect, isnt much honor for authority, not many courteous people anymore? Articles about courtesy get written all the time. People are becoming more and more rude, more and more discourteous. There is no respect.
Youve seen the stories of 50 years ago in our American schools when the worst problems in schools were chewing gum in class and running in the halls. Now we have to have metal detectors. Is it any wonder what we chucked out of school a long time ago? Prayer. What soon followed? Lack of common sense.
Im not knocking [our schools]. I love all our teachers and the good people that teach. That's not where Im going. Im saying when we throw God out of the picture and His wisdom, common sense soon follows.
As you think about that theme of honor and respect for authority, God says in Proverbs 1:7, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
You look at the sexual mess that our country has embraced. We sell everything from car washes, cars, toothpaste, to furnisher polish with sex. Sex is a wonderful, terrific, beautiful thing given by God in the context of marriage. The Book of Proverbs will tell you to embrace and love your wife, and he will be very picturesque about that; but he will tell you the incredible dangers of sexual promiscuity and that it will destroy people, destroy cultures, and destroy individuals. Sexual promiscuity is the path to destruction and hell. We need a dose of that in our culture.
Proverbs is replete. Its just stock-piled full of financial information about how to handle your money. Im so thankful that my parents absolutely drilled into me from a young age the borrower is the slave of the lender. Im not saying that that is sin. Sometimes awful things happen to people. They go into debt, and while Im not saying its sin, I am saying-and God is saying-its true that if youre in debt, guess what? Somebody owns you; youre a slave. Now you look at our country. Do you think were a nation of free people when we are trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars in debt? I dont care what political party youre from. The reality is both parties for 50 or 60 years have voted to spend more, spend more, spend more, spend more, spend more than we take in. The Word of God says you cant do that; you are going to pay the piper.
I always think its incredibly fascinating that God told the Israelites, You should not get a king because if you get a king, do you know how much you will have to pay in taxes? Ten percent. Paying 10 percent of your income in taxes will make you a slave. We havent passed that threshold in America, have we? In fact, do you know what youre literally saying when you give God 10 percent of your income or the tithe? What youre literally saying is God, you own me. You own me and everything I have. That's why God asks us for at least 10 percent of what He gives. Thats our way of saying, Youre the boss, and Im not. Its interesting that in the world empire Egypt, at the time, when Joseph took over after seven years of famine and saved the nation, the landowners, the farmers, and the middle-class merchants of Josephs day sold themselves into slavery to Pharaoh. They sold their lives, their cattle, their lands and everything they had. They said, Oh, Pharaoh, you saved our lives.
Pharaoh said, Fine, youll be my slaves forever. Do you know what the Egyptians considered slavery? Paying 20 percent of their income in taxes. The Egyptians considered that slavery.
So we think of the Fourth of July, and Im not advocating rebellion, Im just saying, Look how far weve come. Our fathers rebelled against England. What was the straw that broke the camels back? It was a two-cent stamp tax. Now, I know that two cents then was different than two cents now, but think about that. You stand on principles and say, You have no right as free men to violate us over two cents. I could go on and on.
My favorite, as we talk about these issues in Proverbs-and I really challenge you to get into that Book-is Gods judgment on a nation. I heard a generation of preachers that talked about the wickedness of America and how God was going to judge it like Sodom and Gomorrah, fire and brimstone from Heaven. In the Book of Proverbs, one of the most obscure Passages, but one of my absolute favorites in the Book of Proverbs tells us-do you know what the judgment for wickedness in a nation is? This will blow your minds, and its really in the Bible. The judgment for a nations wickedness is bigger and bigger bureaucracy. Thats in the Bible. How come we dont know thats in the Bible? Gods mark of judgment on a nation when they turn their back on Him is they get more and more and more and bigger and bigger and bigger government. We have ceased to reach out our hands to the God in Heaven and bow our knees and say, Give us this day our daily bread. Instead we bow our knees and reach up our hands to Uncle Sam and say, Please save us, and give us this day our daily bread. Give us cradle-to-grave security. Right? I dont care what party youre from.
As we talk about wisdom, the last thing-one of the other key things in Proverbs-is also one of my favorite things as a counselor. You hear so often in psychology circles, Oh, I just need to vent. How many of you have heard people say that? Maybe youve said that yourself. Oh, I just need to vent. We get sold this lie out of the pit of hell that if we dont vent, were going to get all eaten up inside. Did you know that Proverbs says, A fool, a fool, gives vent to all his feelings? Wise people hold it in. Huh? Didnt know that was in the Bible. That doesnt mean you dont deal with unforgiveness, bitterness, and all those things of the heart issues, but how many of you have seen people destroy families, destroy relationships, because theyre venting all the time. If somebody is mad, boy they just have to let someone know about it, I have to give you a piece of my mind! Friends, we reap so much hurt and so much pain because we ignore the everyday wisdom of the Word of God.
Im going to give you a few minutes here of meditation, so Im going to ask Nathan Heider to play the saxophone. Hes going to college on a saxophone scholarship. I asked him if he would stand in the back and play a very mellow, meditative song. Im going to give you an opportunity to bow your heard or look up at the ceiling and pray. Ask God to give you wisdom. You can pray together. You can pray by yourself. If youre going through difficulties, maybe ask God why youre going through what youre going through. Take a chance to thumb through the Book of Proverbs, and maybe just read a few verses and meditate on Gods wisdom; so as Nathan plays, why dont you take a few minutes of meditation and prayer.
Amen. Thank you very much, Nathan. I really appreciate that. I could listen to that for a long time. A couple more thoughts as we wind down very quickly. Look at the next phrase. It says he gives generously without finding fault. It will be given. How many times as parents or grandparents-even if your kids are asking good things-are you sometimes worn out? Sometimes its like, Oh, just please leave me alone. Dont ask me one more thing. The amazing thing about God-does He ever get tired of you asking why if you have the right attitude? The answer is no. You could come to Him 1,000 times, and He never gets tired of your questions. That should encourage us. Hes incredibly generous.
As you think about that, God doesnt stop with His generosity at just a bare answer to the question. Solomon asked God for wisdom. God was just giddy with, I get to answer this! He said, Okay, Solomon, since you asked for wisdom, Ill give you that. Not only will I give you wisdom, Ill make you the wisest person that ever lived. Thats unbelievable. Then he says, Because you didnt ask for all of this other stuff-you didnt ask for a long life, wealth, or the lives of your enemies, or any of that-Ill give you all of that too. Isnt God amazing? And His Son, His Son seeks true wisdom. He seeks to honor His father, and what does He get in return? God gives Him way more than wisdom. He gives Him the throne of the entire universe. All of His enemies become His footstool. He is King of kings, Lord of lords, and will remain that way forever because God is incredibly generous and loves to give.
When he asked, James said, We must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like the wave of a sea blown and tossed by the wind. The challenge is to ask why with the right attitude. Friends, it doesnt mean that we dont realize hurt or anything like that. There is hurt; there is pain, but faith-as opposed to doubt-faith says, I know this hurts, and its painful, but there must be a reason.
It doesnt say, Oh, yippie-kai-yay! Im going through pain. Im going through… That's not what faith is. Its just that in the middle of all of that, in our heartache and pain, we say, Okay, God, I dont get it now, but I know that Youre good, and I know that Youre generous; and there must be a reason for what Im going through. Faith says that God is good and generous even in the middle of that. Thats the greatest lesson of all.
In the last phrase, it says, That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord for hes a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Let me finish with this thought: Friends, God is a good parent. What does it mean that Hes a good parent? That means He doesnt give in to temper tantrums. Youve all seen it in the supermarket checkout lines, right? The harried mom with the kid that goes by the candy aisle or the candy racks and screams, I want that! I want that! The mom says no, and the kid screams louder. Mom says no, and the kid screams more and throws a temper tantrum. The mom says no 14 times but finally on the 15th time because the kid has trained the mom well, they realize theyre going to get what they want because theyve thrown a big enough tantrum.
Heres my question to you: Is God like that? Is God going to give in? No. You can scream 20, 25, 30, 40, a million times, [and still] God will say, Forget it. God says, Dont think that that person will receive anything from the Lord. If you ask with that demanding I want my own way! Im going to get what I want regardless, Gods going to tell you no; or He might just give it to you with all the consequences because Gods a good parent. So if God tells you no, if God puts you on hold, there must be a reason. Faith says that God is good even in the middle of that.
As we close, as opposed to the person of doubt who is double-minded and unstable in all his ways, let me say this: this is Faith Community Church. Youre here worshipping this morning because youre people of faith. Im convinced, like Paul says of his friends, that you are full of goodness, able also to admonish each other. God says that you as believers in Christ have the mind of Christ. That same spirit from Isaiah, God says He put that in you. When you trusted Christ, He gave you a spirit of wisdom, a spirit of counsel, a spirit of understanding; and as you seek God, that spirit grows. As you seek God, you can lay hold on that more and more. Thats really who you are. God says you have a sound mind. He hasnt given you a spirit of fear but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. God says, Greater is the spirit of wisdom that is in you than the spirit of folly that is in the world. Thats who you really are. Why can you pursue wisdom? Why can you open up this book and gain truth? Because you have been changed. You have been reborn. You have the mind of Christ. You can embrace truth. You can embrace hope. You can embrace the wisdom of God because thats who you are. You are not unstable in all your ways. You have built your lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ, that solid rock, so that you yourselves have become-as Peter said, You are living rocks. The more you seek His wisdom and walk with Him in prayer, in His Word, you become-instead of unstable people-more and more absolutely rock solid people. God says He is doing that work in you by His Spirit this very minute in ways that you cannot even comprehend. He says He is at work in you more powerfully, making you more stable, more solid, and wiser than you could ever comprehend. Believe it, and as you do, you will live in wisdom. Youre growing in wisdom; youll seek God, and your life will be truly free.
Father, thank You so much for Your blessing. Thank You for this wonderful day and the hope that we have in Christ. We pray that You would bless each one of us who are Your people. Thank You for their love, their faith, and their attention. Thank You that we are living rocks in Jesus Christ. Thank you for His incredible example. Help each one of us to seek wisdom and pursue You with all our hearts. I thank You that we can pray in Jesus name, Amen.
