Rev. David Holwick N Book of James series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
April 24, 1994
James 1:5-8
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I. Maturity vs. needs.
A. My last James sermon was on Christian maturity.
1) These rock-solid believers "lack nothing."
2) Some in this church have this faith - maybe 3 of you.
B. The rest of us have one response - "Help!"
1) Today's passage is how we can get this help, and where it
comes from.
II. Wisdom for the asking.
A. Sounds pretty simple: "If you lack wisdom, ask God."
1) What does WISDOM have to do with it?
B. Wisdom is ability to find God's perfect will in the worst
circumstances.
1) Not theoretical or philosophical. Purely practical.
2) Wisdom is the ability to KNOW right from wrong, and then
to DO the right thing.
C. Where do we get this wisdom?
1) Wisdom doesn't come from education alone.
a) Diplomas don't produce it.
2) All we can do is ask God for it. Example: Solomon
III. Getting by asking.
A. Obvious problem: ASKING doesn't always produce GETTING.
1) One reason is we have a limited view of God.
2) Many try to beg God or make deals with him, like He's a
card dealer at Atlantic City.
B. James says you must know the one we are asking help from.
1) This God gives to all men generously.
a) God is generous. He wants to give us good things,
just like a human father. Lk 11:11-13
b) This reflects God's loving nature.
2) God doesn't find fault.
a) He doesn't hold our past sins against us.
b) People tend to do this.
(Celeste's grandparents - grandma never forgave g.pa.)
Carl D. Windsor mentions this story:
Even the most devoted couple will experience a "stormy"
bout once in a while.
A grandmother, celebrating her golden anniversary, once
told the secret of her long and happy marriage.
"On my wedding day, I decided to make a list of ten of
my husband's faults.
For the sake of our marriage, I would overlook them."
A guest asked the woman what some of the faults she has
chosen to overlook were.
The grandmother replied, "To tell you the truth, my dear,
I never got around to listing them.
But whenever my husband did something that made me
hopping mad, I would say to myself,
Lucky for him that's one of the ten!"
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c) God is a lot more forgiving than we are, and we can
take comfort in this fact.
3) James says, ask this kind of God, and it will be given you.
C. Problem: it still doesn't work.
1) Understanding God's character is not enough.
2) We must also understand what God requires of us.
3) Choosing to do what God wants us to, is what faith is about.
IV. Asking in faith.
A. We must believe God is hearing and can answer.
1) "Faith" here means trust in God to act for us when we pray.
2) The gospels reveal this kind of faith.
a) Men lower paralytic through roof. Mark 2:5
b) Bleeding woman's faith heals her. Mark 5:25,34
c) Blind man's faith gives sight. Mark 10:51,52
3) One scholar's definition:
"Faith is the simple act of coming to Jesus with some need,
in complete confidence that he can, and will, deal with it."
B. We must believe God's way is best.
1) "I believe God will answer my prayer, or in His higher
wisdom have a good reason why not." (James Adamson)
2) Jesus himself had this kind of faith. Gethsemane. Luke 22:42
a) "Not my will, but yours be done."
3) Barbara Bartocci was looking for a birthday card for her
husband and found one that said:
"Sweetheart, you're the answer to my prayers."
(inside)
"You're not what I prayed for exactly, but apparently
you're the answer."
Often we don't get exactly what we pray for, but we need
to trust that what we receive is the answer.
When her father became gravely ill, Barbara and her
mother prayed for three weeks that he would live.
One morning she quietly prayed in the hospital chapel,
"Dear God, I know what I would like.
But that may not be the best answer for Daddy.
You love him too.
So now I release him into your hands.
Not my will, but thy will be done."
She felt as if a burden had lifted from her shoulders.
Whatever God's answer, she knew it would be the right
one for her father.
Two weeks later he died.
When her children cried and asked her, "Why did
Granddaddy die?" she softly replied,
"Apparently, it was the answer."
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V. When faith falls short.
A. There are reasons why God may not answer our prayers.
1) Because we are arguing with him.
2) Because we are complaining about our circumstances.
3) Because we are hesitant to be open to his answers.
B. Lack of faith hindered Jesus' ability to do miracles. Mark 6:4-6
1) Faith is necessary to discover God's power.
a) He doesn't just pour it out automatically.
2) What about healing crusades?
a) They work up emotions, then blame those who
aren't healed for lack of faith.
b) But they are correct in seeing a need for us to
respond, to receive from God.
C. Bible dilemma: Him or us?
1) Faith comes from God, and is not something we produce from
nothing. Ephesians 2:8-9
2) Yet we are responsible for using, or neglecting, it.
D. Somehow we have a PARTNERSHIP in God's will for us.
1) We would prefer to put it all on God's shoulders.
a) "I'm just an empty vessel, Lord." (Don't blame me.)
2) Not that simple. We have an active part to play.
a) (Theology of altar calls.)
b) Same principle holds for prayer.
VI. Wavering waves of weakness.
A. Rollercoaster Christians.
1) Image of sea swells (more than waves).
a) (Hovercraft illustration)
b) Sometimes he thinks God may help him.
c) At other times he abandons that hope and finds no solution.
2) "Double-mindedness" reveals divided allegiance. 1:8
a) (Steve Martin movie - looks like him, walks like Lilly
Tomlin.)
b) Literally, double-souled.
1> Part wants to trust God, part wants to trust world.
2> (St. Augustine: "God, make me pure. But not yet,
not yet!) #2180
B. Faith in prayer means constant trust in God.
1) If a person has no real trust in God, it is doubtful that
he would recognize any answer that came as being from God.
2) Such people receive nothing from God - beyond his general
goodness to everyone.
C. Affects more than prayer - unstable in ALL he does. 1:8
Homer Kent:
When a person has no stable understanding of God and thus
no firm relationship with Him, he can have no truly
satisfying philosophy of life.
If one does not know that God is in charge and controls all
things and that He has made certain promises to His
children in the Bible, difficult circumstances can be
frightening indeed.
A sense of hopelessness, despair, panic, or depression is
often the result.
Such a doubter tends to view himself as a victim of his
circumstances, rather than a participant in the life and
program of God, who controls our circumstances.
VII. When we need a little help to believe.
A. When we believe, mountains can move. Mark 11:23
1) What if we fall short?
B. Story of man with demon-possessed son. Mark 9:21
1) Man - "If you can, help us."
2) Jesus - "All things are possible to those who believe."
3) Man - "Lord, I believe. Help me with my unbelief."
a) His son is healed by Jesus.
C. Is he a double-minded person?
1) Not really. He is facing in the right direction.
2) But he feels inadequate.
3) God can handle inadequacy.
VIII. Are YOU wavering or solid?
A. Over a problem?
B. Over salvation itself?
C. If you really want an answer, ask God.
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extra material from old sermon:
I. Intellectual belief. Heb 11:6
A. Christianity is not just a warm, fuzzy feeling. It
also has CONTENT.
B. Beliefs are necessary. (Inerrancy, salvation)
C. But beliefs by themselves are inadequate.
1) "The demons believe, and shudder..." 2:19
II. Child-like faith.
A. Faith can be simple. Like kids coming to parents.
1) (Sarah leaping down stairs, expecting to be caught.>>>>
B. Faith often called a leap into the unknown. Heb 11:1
: Gen. Doolittle was a brilliant pioneer of air power. He performed the first
1) Certain of what we HOPE for, certain of what we DO NOT SEE.
2) But our faith is NOT BLIND.
a) We base it on past experience. (Sarah getting caught.)
b) Same with Christian faith.
1> Jesus healed others, he can heal me.
2> Jesus has done little things, I'll trust him to do
bigger things.
C. Challenge: Trusting God in new situations, where life seems
murky.
1) Tragedy, temptation.
2) Whether situation is old or new, we always face a CHOICE.
a) We trust in God, or in something else.
1> As a rule, we always want it both ways.
2> : The story is told of a female college sophomore who decided it was about
b) We must choose, but we cannot DOUBT. 1:6
III. James is probably not talking about intellectual doubts,
when we have questions about why God operates as he does.
IV. The doubting here has to do with commitment.
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