Title: Why We Need Wisdom
Text:
James 1:1-6 (NLT)
1 This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the "twelve tribes"—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Observation:
One of the things that I notice about this letter that gives me a lot of confidence is the man who is the author of the letter. He identified himself James.
Who is this James?
Mark 6:3 (NLT)
3 Then they scoffed, "He's just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us." They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
He was the brother of Jesus, and he later became the leader of the Jerusalem church. While others knew Jesus as the carpenter, James knew him as a sibling, and after his death and resurrection, he knew him as Savior and Lord.
The text tells us who he wrote the letter to, and why he wrote it. Today, I want to focus on why he wrote it. The letter was addressed to believers who were facing trials and testings. And, like people of every age, they were faced with temptations.
Trials come from the outside, but temptations come from the inside. Trials test our faith, and temptations test our obedience. We need wisdom to handle the trials that we face in our life because when we have the right understanding of trials we will not forfeit the opportunity they present for our spiritual growth.
How can we learn how to handle trials and testings? We need wisdom, and here is how to get it.
James 1:5 (NLT)
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, I am so thankful for the wisdom of God. Father, we are so thankful for the invitation to ask for help. Lord, give us the gift of faith to ask for wisdom to use our trials and testings to grow spiritually. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Matthew 4:4 (HCSB)
4 But He answered, "It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Psalm 2:8 (HCSB)
8 Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance and the ends of the earth Your possession.
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