Title: Seeking Wisdom
2014. 9. 21 Sunday morning sermon
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Bible: James 1:5-8
Title: Seek Wisdom
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James 1:5-8 ‘5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6. But asking in faith, with no doubting, he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. Do not think that you will get anything from the Lord. 8. He is a double-minded and undecided in all things' - Amen.
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When you believe in Jesus, your view of history is completely changed, and you suffer for the change of life that is embodied in the cultural values of the world. This is expressed as a test. When faced with such a test, in verses 3-4 before the main text, he gave the text as a countermeasure for the vision that he could become a complete believer if he had good patience.
The latter part of the text, verses 6-8, tells us to ask God without any doubts when we ask for something. Focusing on verse 5, I would like to examine the words of <seek wisdom>.
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1. What is wisdom to seek from God?
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Wisdom is not a trick or a rational way of thinking in the world. The Bible contrasts the wisdom of men with the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 2:5). The terms are used together, but the content is absolutely different, like the difference between the real thing and the fake. The gospel is not the other common sense of man that can be compared, but a completely false revelation of God.
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James 1:5 The phrase, “If any of you lacks wisdom…” does not mean that he lacks the knowledge necessary to live in the world. Lack of knowledge is something to learn and acquire, and the wisdom here is different (Matthew 11:25-27).
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Wisdom in the Bible is not knowledge of theoretical value, but revelation of God, the power of God, and Jesus Himself in the historical sense of redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). That is, it refers to understanding, power, and thoughts that cannot be obtained from the world and only given by God. In other words, it means fulfilling the history of faith.
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Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..” (Job 28:28) -If you do not fear God, it means that you are ultimately without wisdom.
Proverbs 22:4 “The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord is riches and glory and life.”
Psalm 136:5 ‘He made the heavens with wisdom’, and Proverbs 3:19 ‘He built the earth with wisdom…’. These words mean power, not knowledge.
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Matthew 11:19 ‘… wisdom is justified by its deeds’, which means that God’s wisdom is not just a philosophical logic full of words, but a manifestation of the practical effect of faith in which history takes place. That is why it is also expressed in Colossians 1:9, ‘..divine wisdom..’.
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2. Be sure to give generously if you ask.
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God is the one who fulfills the promise of giving to those who ask, so He will surely answer. James 4:2 tells us that what we do not have is because we do not ask. I know that some misunderstand the book of James as emphasizing only the ethical part of faith, but like the Gospels (Matthew 7:7-8), I see that it introduces God who answers prayers. Text James 1:5 “.. a God who gives generously to all without reproach..”
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The word that you give generously here, Haplos (