Reagan explores how believers can seek godly wisdom by delving into James chapter 1, and how Mary's life serves as an embodiment of this wisdom. He discusses three main sources: God's Word, wise counsel from others, and learning from life's experiences. The message highlights the importance of faith and practical actions in attaining divine guidance for various life situations.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:45 The Question of God's Will
02:11 Seeking Wisdom from God
03:51 Faith and Works in James
05:47 Sources of Godly Wisdom
14:42 Mary as an Embodiment of Wisdom
16:53 Mary's Song of Praise
23:06 Mary's Visit to Elizabeth
27:17 Mary's Life Experiences
33:09 Final Applications of Godly Wisdom

Transcript

Well, again, good morning. Would you take out your Bible, please, and turn to James chapter 1. The book of James in the first chapter. We'll begin reading in verse 5 here in just a moment. James chapter 1 and verse 5. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. We have some who are visiting with us, some that we know and love who are back with us.

And others perhaps we don't know as well, but we're grateful for your presence for you being with us today. And as I look over this group of people, I think of how blessed I am to be able to address a group of people who want to do what's right, who want to know God's will. Boy, it makes my job in trying to proclaim God's word so much easier when there are those who want to know God's will and want to do God's will.

So thank you for being here. And thank you for your heart and thank you for your attitude this morning with that in mind wanting to know god's will and Do god's will I'd say through all of my years of preaching, one of the questions that I've received the most often, and this is a question I've received from all kinds of different people, both Christians and non Christians, both those who are young and those who are old in terms of age, but also in terms of their maturity and understanding God's Word and their maturity and their faith.

I've received this question from men and women. Some version of this question, how do I know? How do I know God's will for me in this particular situation? How do I know the choice that is the wisest choice? In fact, in just the last seven days, I've received a version of that question from two different people.

Raise your hand if you've ever had that question over the course of your life. We all have, right? How do I know what God's will is? How do I know the choice of wisdom that I need to make? And the answer that I've started giving to that question is by answering it with another question. A question that, that Mike Penn asked me one time many years ago when I came and asked him, how do I know what to choose in this particular situation?

He asked me. Have you talked to your father about it? And so I asked them that question And then I asked them to turn to james chapter one where I believe james gives us the answer from god to this particular question which tells us What we need to be doing in seeking godly wisdom read with me If you would in james chapter one beginning in verse five james chapter one beginning in verse five james says If anyone Excuse me, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man, that person, suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double minded man of God. Unstable in all his ways. This has become one of my favorite go to sections of scripture and we need to ask God for wisdom Because he promises in this passage to give us that wisdom.

He makes that promise if, number one, we're his children, because this is written to Christians, if any of you brethren are lacking wisdom. And number two, he promises to give us this wisdom if we ask and pray in faith. And we know in the context of the book of James, faith without doubting is more than just belief.

It is more than just believing that God is going to do something, or believing something about God. Of course, James chapter 2 emphasizes that true faith in God requires works from us. So if you turn to James chapter 2, beginning there in verse 14, just, these are verses that are probably familiar to you, but just to emphasize In the book of James, faith must include works.

This is what he says in verse 14 of James chapter 2. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith and does not have works? Shall faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, does that profit?

Thus also, verse 17, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. And he reiterates that after giving some examples in verse 26. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. That is the most vivid example of this concept in all the Bible, in my judgment. Faith without works is really not faith at all.

It is the corpse of faith. It's dead. It's dead. faith without works. And so our prayer to God in regard to wisdom is a reflection of our faith. And what we do along with that prayer is a reflection of our faith also. If we pray in faith, our works should, and our works will reflect the prayer that we are praying, asking God for wisdom.

And God can provide His promise to us however He chooses. He promises to give us wisdom. And he can provide that wisdom however he chooses. But, often, where that wisdom from God is found is something that we know right here from the book of James. How do we receive the wisdom God promises? How do we show our faith by working and seeking this wisdom?

Well, based on James chapter 1 and verse 5, there are three sources of wisdom. God wants us to seek His godly wisdom by doing these Three things that are found there in James chapter one in verse five. He says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives, who gives liberally and without reproach, but specifically gives wisdom and it will be given to him.

And if we think about this idea of God giving gifts in the book of James, our first source of wisdom is hearing and doing things. The Word of God. Later in the first chapter in verse 17, he says, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

What gifts, specifically, is James referring to? Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Dropping down to verse 21, Therefore lay aside all filthiness And receive, that's a gift, right? Something that he's giving. You receive, what are you receiving with meekness?

The implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he's like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, This one will be blessed in what he does. That image of looking in a mirror and then going away and forgetting what kind of man you were, that's a pretty powerful image. I was having this conversation with someone.

Are you the kind of person who tells somebody if they have a booger in their nose? Or are you the kind of person who doesn't tell them? Now, I take the position a true friend tells somebody if they've got something on their face or a booger in their nose. The person I was talking to said, I just can't do it.

This is just too awkward. They're going to have to figure it out for themselves. Well, have you ever been that person? I was that person earlier this week. I talked to a number of people. I go into the bathroom. I'm like, oh my, there's a bat in my cave right here. Nobody told me, right? Well, that's what it's saying here.

We look into a mirror, and then we go away, and we don't see ourselves clearly until we watch. Look in the mirror again and we say, Oh, I missed this. I didn't see this. The Word of God provides that mirror that we can look into to show us who we really are and even more who we should be. The wisdom that we are supposed to have from God comes from His Word.

Here is the source of wisdom and God just gave it to you. He said, Here, here's this gift. Here's wisdom. And what do you have to do? Receive it, and then do it. Hear it, and then do it. Timeless, eternal, divine, practical wisdom. Every scenario we could possibly face in life is addressed, at least in principle, in the pages of the Scriptures.

And God says, ask and face for wisdom, but the work you need to perform is go to My Word. And you're going to receive that wisdom from me. But that's not the only source of wisdom in these verses. The second source of wisdom, if we go back to chapter 1 and verse 1, is seeking and listening, seeking out and listening to wise people.

Now he says there in verse 5, if any of you lacks wisdom, Now, what does that imply? I have wisdom. You lack wisdom, but I have it. Right? Well, who is writing here? James chapter 1 and verse 1. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad. Now, we're not 100 percent sure which James this is.

It is most likely James, the brother of the Lord, the half brother of the Lord, who was a, who was a pillar in the early church. The other example is, it's James the apostle, the brother of John. That's less likely, but that's the other possibility. Either way, that's a pretty good source of wisdom, isn't it?

That's a pretty good person to go to if you are seeking wisdom. And James himself is saying, I am providing this wisdom that you need, and in the rest of the book, that's exactly what he does. The book of James is wisdom literature, much like the Sermon on the Mount or the book of Proverbs. And James provides practical, day to day wisdom on topics like, and this is not an exhaustive list, but just listen for a second.

Materialism, trials, and tribulation, and temptation, anger, the tongue, charity toward those who are in need, favoritism and showing partiality, hypocrisy, pride, and humility, judging other people, planning for the future, oath keeping, peacemaking, physical and spiritual sickness, prayer, and more are all found.

In the verses of this short little book, James says, I've got some wisdom and you need to hear the wisdom that I'm giving to you. And it's from the Holy Spirit. Yes, but it's also from a wise person, James, and we too should seek similar wisdom. If we're praying to God saying, give us wisdom. And he says, I promise to give it to you.

The works that we show our face is by going to these wise people. And then finally, number three, God wants us to seek his wisdom by learning and growing from our experiences. Pick up where we left off there in verse two. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience or endurance.

I like the word stick to it ness. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. So you go through these tests of faith, and you're going to lack nothing. And it's in that context, he says, verse 5, if any of you lacks wisdom. If you lack wisdom, well, go back up.

You're going to go through some things that are going to give you wisdom in life. Wisdom is very much like patience. Be careful what you wish for. Be careful what you ask for. You say, God, give me wisdom. He says, okay, I promise I will give you wisdom here. Here is a scenario of life, maybe a test in your life that is going to give you wisdom by experience to know what to do in the future.

And so we find these three sources of wisdom. And if you pray for it, God is going to give you opportunities to receive this wisdom. And this is someone who is asking in faith. If you do these three things, if you listen to these three things, then God will fulfill His promise. These are the works that prayer and faith demands to receive the promise of God, to get wisdom from Him.

And if I don't seek out these things, I don't really have faith in my asking. I'm double minded. I'm carnal. And you may want wisdom from God, but if you don't have faith enough to seek out that wisdom in the way God demands, you won't receive the promise from Him.

We're less than 15 minutes in. That's all I have to say about James. This has been extremely helpful to me, and hopefully to others. Hopefully it's helpful to you. But I was thinking about what I taught last week about how we struggle with disembodied teaching. So this is disembodied teaching, right?

James teaches us, I think it's very clear from the text, these three points are there, but it's not tied to a person and a scenario who's going through something, and we're able to say, okay, this person did these things. This is disembodied teaching, and we struggle with that. We need, and the Bible gives us, real people, real examples on how to handle the circumstances of life, real people in real circumstances that show us how to respond and how not to respond in wisdom.

And I believe the Bible gives us that for this teaching in James as well. And it's so funny as things are swirling and you're studying different things. I've got my class on Proverbs on Wednesday night and then Preston's lesson on Emmanuel Sunday evening last week. It dawned on me. how Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a perfect embodiment of this teaching found in James chapter one.

And so the real title to the lesson is Seeking Godly Wisdom Embodied by Mary. And I love this picture that I found right here. I just pulled it off of Preston's PowerPoint. Because I want you to make that connection to, Hey, remember Mary and what she went through and how God told her that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah?

Well, what did Mary do when receiving that information? Well, I would suggest she did these three things. Now, James hadn't even written this yet. But these are the three things that she did in order to find wisdom, in order to go through that, that circumstance. Boy, that really understells it. Mary had a circumstance of life.

What if you were told, you're going to have a baby? Some of you would be very excited about that. Some of you would be less excited about that. My my grandmother had a sixth child 13 years after her fifth child. My dad was 13 at the time. He was the youngest for, for those many years. And he remembers his parents coming in and letting the family know that they were expecting.

And he says, I remember my dad kind of had this silly grin on his face and my mom had this look of absolute terror. Right. Well, imagine you're told you're going to have a baby, and not just any baby, but that baby is going to be the Savior of the world, the promised Messiah, called the Son of God, who sits on David's throne.

God with, it is no wonder that the angel told her, do not be afraid, because this is a moment of panic. But she doesn't panic. Why? I've thought a lot about that question, because she's mature beyond her years, because she has the right perspective, sure. but also because she sought out these three sources of wisdom.

Do you see that? Mary sought out God's wisdom by hearing and doing the Word of God. Turn to Luke chapter 1 if you would. Luke chapter 1.

Oh, Luke is before Acts, last I checked. Let me get over there. Luke chapter 1. In the first part of this chapter John the baptizer that we talked about, his birth is foretold to Zachariah or Zacharias and Elizabeth. And then Jesus's birth is foretold to Mary, as we just talked about. And then later in the chapter in verse 46, we see that Mary cries out to the Lord.

She goes to the Lord and she writes this song. Will you listen carefully to the words of this song? Verse 46. Poetry. This poem. This song. And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For he has regarded the lowly state of his maidservant, for behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him. From generation to generation, He has shown strength in His arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed that she's about to have forever. And Mary remained with Elizabeth for three months and returned to her house.

This is called the Manificant taken from the Latin word for magnify. And much has been said and written about this song. What it says about God and Christ, but I want to point out specifically what it says about Mary and how she handled herself. She is speaking words of wisdom that are far beyond her years because Many of these words were written long before she was born.

This young lady knew her scripture, and she uses themes and even specific phrases. So you can look at the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the New Testament, and you can find specific phrases from the Septuagint, from the book of Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, and 1 Samuel, that Mary uses to write this song about what's happening to her.

And she reminds herself what God has done, as she's read in God's word in the past. And it's an encouragement to her that God would fulfill what He has promised in the future to her. I've said before, even this morning, and I believe it. Every situation we could face in life is covered, at least in principle, in the Scriptures.

And, and you look at what Mary's going through here. A miraculous birth of a child who will be given in service to God. and lead God's people into an era of God's promised kingdom. Where is that in scripture? Well, I'll tell you exactly where it is. It's in 1st Samuel chapter two. And if we turn to 1 Samuel chapter 2, and Hannah, who is promised by God that she's going to have a child that's going to be given in service, and this child called Samuel is going to be a priest and a prophet,

or a servant in the tabernacle and a prophet, and is going to usher in God's kingdom with Saul and David, that sounds familiar. And even more, what Hannah does when this is told to her. Sounds very familiar. I want you to read with me, chapter 2 beginning in verse 1. My heart, Hannah says, in this prayer, my heart rejoices in the Lord.

My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation. No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides you. nor is there any rock like our God. Talk no more very proudly. Let no arrogance come from your mouth. For the Lord is the God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.

The bows of mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble. The Lord kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up.

The Lord makes the poor, makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust. He lifts the beggar from the ash heap to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. The pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness, for by strength no man shall prevail.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. From heaven he will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed. And then she goes to her house. Does that sound familiar? Mary apparently knew this passage and she applied it to her own situation and used themes and phrases of it in writing her own song.

She found the Bible teaching that applied to her situation and she found an embodiment of that teaching in Hannah, just as we are seeking to do today. To find the teaching in Scripture that applies to our situation And to find a person in scripture that is going through something similar. So this is what Mary did.

But that's not all that she did. If you turn back to Luke chapter 1, we also see Mary sought God's wisdom by seeking and listening to wise people, just as James teaches us to do. Turn back to Luke chapter 1. This time beginning in verse 39. Chapter 1 beginning in verse 39.

Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth who is her cousin. And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary that the babe, This is John the baptizer, the baby in her womb, and Elizabeth was, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she spoke out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

But why is granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which are told her from the Lord. You believe this?

And I'm confirming, yes. These things will be fulfilled for you. So Mary goes to her older cousin's house, and as soon as she comes through the door, immediately, before she can even say anything, her older cousin Elizabeth is dropping wisdom. Confirming that God is doing this, and that he is faithful to fulfill what he has said.

Mary goes to someone older and wiser, and immediately she receives wisdom.

What is your first response when you're overwhelmed in a situation? I'm, some of us, and maybe this is the way we were raised, maybe this is our personality, whatever the case may be, some of us, our first response is to circle the wagons and not tell anybody about it. And we leave on the outside of the wagons a bunch of people who can't help us.

Take the elders, for example. When we are struggling with something in our lives, be it sinful or not sinful, we're just struggling with something. We have a difficult circumstance. Is our first inclination to hide that from the shepherds? Because we might get in trouble, or is our first inclination to go to the shepherds and their wives for help, because they have wisdom that can help us.

I guarantee you, whatever you're going through, that there is another, probably older and wiser, but definitely another Christian, you know, who's going through or has gone through something very similar. And maybe the details aren't the same, but they have been through something similar, and they have come through that thing.

As we read last time, 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13, no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. And I'm reminded of 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 9 in telling us to resist the devil. We need to know that the same sufferings are experienced by our brotherhood throughout the world.

And maybe that person who's going through something or has been through something similar to you Is not someone that you would expect look at the apparent differences between mary and elizabeth for example She's mary's young elizabeth is old Long time married versus engaged, from the tribe of Judah versus the tribe of Levi, from Galilee versus Judea, a wife to a priest versus engaged to a carpenter.

Elizabeth is probably wealthy, with high status, while Mary probably was not, and on and on we could go. But it was this woman to whom Mary went, because this woman understood what she was going through. And she was an older, wiser servant of God. She trusted. And so Mary sought wisdom in that way. And then finally, just as John teaches, James teaches, Mary sought Godly wisdom by learning and growing.

from her own life experiences as well. Turn to Luke chapter 2 this time, just a page or so over in your Bible. Luke chapter 2 this is after the birth of Christ. And we see that there are these shepherds from the field who come and they make widely known concerning this Christ. They find the baby lying in the manger.

And in verse 18, this is Mary's reaction to that. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. She meditated on, she thought about these things that had happened to her, the things that had been said and done.

Go to chapter 2 and verse 33. Chapter 2 and verse 33. So this is Simeon in the temple who speaks of who Jesus is going to be. And in verse 33, And Joseph and his mother marveled, same word, at these things which were spoken of Jesus. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, for a sign which will be spoken against.

Yes, a sword will pierce through your heart also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. So again, we have this idea of marveling and then thoughts in the heart. And then of course, if we go to chapter 2 and verse 48. Chapter 2 and verse 48. This is after the 12 year old Jesus is left there in the temple and they come back and they, they, he's there with the, the priests and other scholars of the law and he's talking with them and they're amazed at his understanding.

In verse 48, Mary and Joseph find Jesus. So when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said to him, you see that, amazed? They were amazed. And his mother said to him, son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. And he said to them, Why do you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business?

But they did not understand the statement which he had spoke to them. Now they didn't understand that, but in verse 51, Then he went with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to him. But his mother kept all these things in her heart as Jesus continued to grow. Mary wasn't perfect in raising Jesus.

She even rebuked Him in the temple because she didn't really understand what was going on. I mean, how could you? This is the first time, in some ways, this had ever happened. But one thing we consistently see is she's marveling at these events. She's amazed or astonished by these events. And then what does she do?

She thinks about and ponders and meditates in her heart on what's happened. Now where do these experiences lead for Mary? What does her life experience, how does she learn and grow from these experiences? Well I think a great example of this is found in John chapter 2. She grows by these experiences and wisdom to the point that she is no longer surprised by her son and the things that he does and what he's capable of.

But she believes that he is just who was promised. In John chapter 2, this is a passage to most of us, this is that occasion where Jesus works what we call His first miracle. At least as far as we know, publicly He is changing the water to wine. But notice how this relates to Mary, beginning in verse 1.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. I mean, Jesus is just a guest at the wedding, and he kind of says that to her.

He says to her, Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come to reveal myself and who I really am. His mother said to the servants, Whatever he says to you, do it.

Mary sees this situation at this wedding. Very embarrassing to the bride and groom, would have been. She goes to Jesus and says, Hey, they don't have any wine. He's like, Okay, you know, what does that have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. And so she goes to the servants and says, whatever he tells you to do, do it.

And he's going to fix this problem. And I think Jesus, humoring his mother to a certain degree, goes and does it. She had seen and marveled as this young man grew up. And based on those experiences, she reaches a point where she is one of Jesus disciples or followers who believes that He truly is the Son of God, just as was.

These are the works that Mary performed by faith to receive the wisdom that comes. So we have James teaching. And when you think about in your own life, what do I do in this situation? What decision do I need to make? What am I going to do for a living? Where am I going to go to college? What's the future of this relationship?

What do I need to do in regard to my parents and things that are going on with them and their health? How do I handle that situation? I have this thing at work that has come up and I'm not sure the right way to handle it as a Christian. I don't know. God promises us the wisdom to deal with those situations if we can remember Mary and remember James and follow these things.

We seek and find that wisdom by hearing and doing the Word of God, seeking and listening to wise people, and learning and growing from our own experiences. Let me make some final applications to these things. Three applications to take with you. from this concept of godly wisdom. What do we take from all of this?

Number one, this wisdom is available for any situation. If Mary found wisdom in her situation, surely we can find it in ours. And I don't know much, I don't know everything about your situation and what you're going through right now, but I know that whatever you're facing or whatever I'm facing, that situation is not.

more unique. It's not more extraordinary. It's not more uncommon than Mary, the mother of Jesus. If she could find wisdom, we find wisdom for any situation of life. Number two, this wisdom is available at any age. I've talked before how I think it's It's unfair in many ways that some of the biggest decisions you have to make in your life, that have ramifications for everything that's going to happen after it, you make in your teens and twenties.

I mean, that seems unfair. I'm the most unwise, but I have to make the biggest decisions. And there's some exceptions to that, but that's really tough, isn't it? Do you remember what that was like? Are you there right now and you know exactly what it's like? Well, I suggest that this kind of wisdom is available at any age for someone who asks for it and is willing to do the works of faith in order to receive this wisdom.

Mary's the perfect example of that. Based on the cultural norms of the time and what little we learn in the text of her, she's old enough to take the trip to Judea for example, to see Elizabeth. Mary is probably between the ages of 14 and 18 when these events took place. And I know it's a different time, I know it's a different culture, But that's amazing, isn't it?

That Mary is our example for this kind of wisdom as a, what we would call a teenager. Now, to, to show you what this is like. Teenagers, are you listening up? If you are, to illustrate, if you are 14, years old, would you stand up please? If you're 14, 15, or 16 years old, would you stand up please? If you are 17 or 18 years old, would you stand up please?

Oh, you, stay standing there. Simon says. Yeah. You see these young people? I mean, this is how old Mary was. You may be seated. Thank you very much. And she found this wisdom and is now an example of wisdom to us for all time until Jesus comes again. This wisdom is available to you young people. If you are willing to seek out God's Word and how it applies to your situation, if you're willing to seek out wise people who've been through things that can help you navigate these circumstances, and if you have the wisdom to apply what you've already learned about God and how God's will works in this world to what you're going through now, you can walk the path of wisdom.

And you can make big decisions in faith, knowing that God is going to give you the wisdom. To make the right choices. It's tough, but you can still make those wise choices if you allow, as my grandfather used to always tell me, if you allow spirituality to have the upper hand, you'll never go wrong because you're seeking Godly wisdom.

What's the wisdom of God? Not the wisdom of the world. And then finally, my last application is this wisdom is available for any situation and any age, which means this wisdom is available to you. It's available to you this morning if you are willing to become a child of God. Because this promise that James gives is only for those who are in a right relationship with God, a covenant relationship with God.

And yes, you can find and apply wisdom from God's Word and from wise people if you're not a Christian. And we've talked about that in our Wednesday night class on the book of Proverbs. But you are not promised that wisdom to make those right choices, whatever the situation is. Unless, unless you are a child of God, and becoming a child of God is filled with so many blessings.

But this, this is a great and abundant blessing. That God is with me to give me wisdom when I ask in faith. If I'm willing to work those works of faith in response. This is the promise. If any of you, Christians, lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, and it will be given to him. So, if you're not yet a Christian this morning, you can have, and That kind of promise.

If you're willing to come and submit yourself to Jesus Christ, have the wisdom that says, I need Him in my life. And if we can help you with that, even this morning, won't you come now while together we stand and while we sing.