|
Asa-Ministries
International
Bringing The Good News Of Jesus Christ
To All Nations
Making
Disciples Since 1992
These lessons are sent to you free of charge;
however we are supported by your generous donations.
Please pray about sending a love gift offering to help
keep these lessons going out.
Removal instructions at the end of this lesson.
ASK LIKE YOU MEAN IT
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.”
I. Maturity vs. needs.
A.
Going through some notes on Christian maturity.
1) These rock-solid believers
"lack nothing."
2) Some in the church (yours or
mine) have this faith - maybe 3 or 4.
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,
Degrees don’t make 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 grandpa.)
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!"
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."
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."
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!)
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.
More to reflect on;
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
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) 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.
Feel Free To Pass This
Lesson Along To Someone You Think Would Benefit From It’s
Teaching
If This Lesson Was Forwarded
To You And You Would Lint To Be Included In Our Weekly Mailings Simply
Click The Following Link To Be Placed On Our Mailing List; mailto:lessons@asa-ministries.org?subject=add
me to the list
This message is in
compliance with U.S. Federal requirements for commercial email proposed in
bill S1618 Title III, Section 301, Paragraph (a) (2) (C) passed by the
105th U.S. Senate and cannot be considered SPAM since it includes a remove
mechanism.
To unsubscribe your
email address, put "REMOVE" in the subject line and mailto:Director@Asa-Ministries.Org?Subject=REMOVE
Send the email from the
same email account that received this message. We will remove you from our
list and you will not receive any more material from us. This is an
automated process so it is important to follow the instructions precisely
for the process to work correctly. Tampering with our email only hurts
other's chances of being properly removed
Contact
Information
Asa-Ministries International
614 W Maple
St
Deming, NM 88030
Main Number:
(575) 546-9742
Fax
Number: (575) 546-9742
|
