Seeking Heavenly Wisdom

What should we do when we don’t know what to do? James 1:5 gives a clear answer: ask God for wisdom. In this message, we are reminded that God gives wisdom generously and does not reproach us when we come to Him. The responsibility to seek God belongs to every believer—not only pastors, parents, or leaders.
Seeking Heavenly Wisdom

May the Lord’s peace and the blessings be with us. Without uh um spending any more time on introduction or anything, I would like directly to enter into the word because time is very short uh in our hands. James 1 verse 5 is what we are going to read today for our short meditation. James 1 verse 5. Praise the Lord. Uh in Malayalam so somebody can read. Praise the Lord. Um so here the word of God speaks like this. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he or she should ask God who gives to all generously and without criticizing it will be given unto him or her. In malayalam it’s a little wrong. Uh malayalam maybe because we uh I don’t know in malayalam it’s like it’s coming from like the crowd. If somebody has uh no wisdom then don’t accuse that person, don’t reproach that person but pray and the lord will give unto him. It’s like in third person. Uh that is not how the true translation is. The true translation or is uh what is we read in English. Praise the Lord. So this uh sentence or this verse uh is a it has both a positive line or positive sentence with a positive intent. If you pray to God, God is generous and God will give wisdom. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. At the same time, it also has a negative sentence with a positive intent. If you pray to God for wisdom, he will not reproach you. He will not deride you. He will not insult you. He will not look down upon you. Praise the Lord. But he will abundantly bless you. The real words in real word in in Greek says like this, he will not show teeth. You know if you have any doubts children ask or or take don’t ask just take your dad’s new Porsche or BMW or the best car he just newly purchased and take it for a you know go around and drive it and come back home and then you will see how your father uh or your mom’s new phone or something so precious to them use it without asking or ask them you will See whether you see your parents’ teeth you can come and tell me but here is God who has the most precious thing he considers most precious is wisdom it’s even the personification of Jesus Christ in the book of proverbs around chapter 8 praise the lord When you ask something so precious to God from him, he will not reproach you. He will not look down upon you, but he is going to bless you abundantly. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. There is only there are two conditions written there.

Condition 1: Ask God Personal Responsibility in Prayer
The first condition is this. You ask. Who asks? Who asks? You ask. I ask. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Not the pastor. Not the parents. Who should ask? Who should ask? We should ask. Not our well-being. Who people who think about our wellbeing? We should ask. We know about Jabis and Pastor Georgian once uh delivered a very blessed message on Jabis. Who asked? Jabis mother did not ask. She surrendered him. Son of my pain. That’s it. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. But he prays to God and God answers generously. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Everybody lift your hands and say praise the Lord. Oh, praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Don’t feel sad or anything like that. Today the Lord is going to bless us. These last few days I know that the Lord has been speaking to us and Lord is always with us. So parents didn’t ask for Jabus. They didn’t pray for Jabus but he prays and God blesses him. Praise him. Now there is Solomon. That is a different story. 1 Chronicles. Don’t read 1st Chronicles 22:5. We hear David introducing his son to the crowd. My son Solomon is very young and inexperienced. That is what he prays or he declares to the sh. Praise the Lord. He doesn’t have experience. So he is putting down Solomon. He’s not putting down putting down in the sense but he is bringing presenting Solomon not as a great answer to the crowd. Next he is presenting the next king. My son Solomon is so smart. He is awesome. You know he can c manage a crowd. He is very wise and all that. That’s how he present a king. But David is saying my son Solomon is young and inexperienced. Solomon doesn’t get offended. When God comes to him, see what does he say? He says, “I need wisdom.” Praise. What is precious before God? Dollar is not precious before God. Positions are not precious before God. Nothing is precious before God. But when you seek wisdom and when you receive wisdom, wisdom, hallelujah, as I said, is the personification of Christ in Proverbs. God is wisdom. Knowing the knowledge of Lord is wisdom. Praise the Lord. And when you approach God and ask for wisdom, with his wisdom, the Lord will bless you abundantly. The Lord will bless us abundantly. Yesterday, Pastor Mama was speaking and he presented at least four persons from the Bible. Peter, Esther, I have it in my list. Ruth and Job. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Did any of these persons ask for a blessing? They just surrendered themselves before the Lord. Job surrendered in spite of all the losses. Peter, in spite of all his pain, he gave his both and he didn’t complain. Hallelujah. Esther, she didn’t complain, but she stood in the midst of the people and prayed for the people, Peter and uh uh Ruth. Hallelujah. She was not after money or riches. She said one thing, your God is my God. Hallelujah. When people seek God, hallelujah, the Lord will bless and that is how you approach God. What is precious in God’s sight? And that is what you ask for God. But now let’s uh let’s say there is a in the in the same book when we read down there is a distinction between earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. Earthly wisdom and heaven see now I know this verse I think is mostly thrust upon the young ones. It is not written for the young ones alone. You know we adise them but it is not just written for them. It is written for all of us. But it is your responsibility to pray. your response. Young ones, listen. Let me ask you a question. If David, you know, was not ready to go against the giant, if David was scared to go against the giant, but Jabus didn’t pray. You think everybody surrounding them and say clapping hands, oh, you can do it. You can do it. You think a few cheerleaders can do that cheerleading and they will go ahead and do that stuff? They can’t. It is our individual responsibility. It is every child’s individual responsibility to stand before God and to pray to God for wisdom from the Lord. Praise the Lord. See Jesus Christ when he was 12 years old went to the temple. The word is very distinctive there. Jesus declares his independence from his parents. At the same time, the word says he went back home and submitted himself before. Hallelujah. See, that is what God expects from us. We are all independent, but it is our responsibility to stand before God. Now, um I’m not surprised When somebody tells me that their child is a genius, I’m speaking about children. Saints, children should be genius. They should be extra smart. Don’t try to be smart. That comes from the Lord. How does that happen? Praise the Lord. seeking the Lord. The Lord is the one who gives you intelligence. The Lord is the one who gives you, praise the Lord, his wisdom. So do this. Seek heavenly wisdom. All children here, you should be able to kneel before the Lord and ask for his heavenly wisdom. See, Solomon was not an idiot. It was not any. When David speaks to him before David dies, David tells him, “You are wise. You are in you have to kill such and such people.” Parents always takes credit for their kids in that’s normal. I also our child, right? She is smart. He’s smart because she’s after me or he’s after me. But this is a smartness. This is a blessing. This is a wisdom that comes from beyond our parents’ capabilities. This is a wisdom that comes from the Lord alone. And the lord when he blesses us we will go far beyond our parents or uh anybody around prison.
Condition 2: Do Not Doubt — Trust Built on Relationship
Now the second condition do not doubt. Do not doubt. First condition is you pray before the lord. Second condition is do not doubt. Let me give you an example. Little zion. Let’s imagine like goes up those boxes and climbs up that wall and got gets stuck there. Imagine that. He’s not going to do that. But in case he does that, you know, Rajiv, I think is the tallest person here. Raju can go there and uh tell child, you know, I’m the tallest person in this. You’re safe. Zion will hug that wall. I know many of us work out on a daily basis. You all can join together and go there and encourage him to jump. We are strong. We are you know trained. Just jump. We’ll catch you and the child will hurt that wall. Then everybody will turn to pastor Manu. Pastor Manu you know counseling you can manage. So pastor Manu will go there and take a deep breath little one. And now deep breathe out. And now you know just gently slowly uh he’s down and the child will hug that wall even more tightly and he will start screaming but Shua can go there and stretch her hands and say come here baby and she’s not as tall as Raji she doesn’t know counseling as much as I do. No, she’s not that strong, but the baby will jump in her hand. You know why? That is the relationship. Trust comes from relationship. We sometimes pray and then doubt comes. You know, we rebuke the doubts. But we are every day, every minute fighting against this doubt. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I believe Lord, you know, get away from me, Satan. Get behind me, Satan. But Satan is all over you. No. Why? Because we do not have that relationship, the intensity of the relationship. Why are husbands and wives so close with each other? They walk through hills and valleys together in their lives. Good times, bad times, they stick together. After a life of sticking together, they appreciate each other. Listen, they trust each other. Just to make you all a little, you [clears throat] know, relaxed. One day uh pastor Thomas, myself, Philip Pango and uh I don’t know some other brothers, we were going someplace. So I was driving, you know. I I know I have a bad name about the driving. Pastor Join once spoke about my driving as a as a pun. He was making joke actually he never seen me driving. The time he opens this door is when the time I locked my door at my house and then I somehow managed to get so pastor Thomas and we were all going somewhere. I had to be stopped somewhere. Immediately pastor Thomas um opened the door and stepped out. Uh Philip brother you can sit in the front. Now Philip then says oh no no no pastor you sit no no no it’s better for me to sit in the back because nothing problem pastor was breaking and breaking the car trying to slow it down. Finally his legs got starting hurting so much. So he said but you know what my mom doesn’t care she’s always there with me. My wife doesn’t care. I don’t know whether they’re ready to die or not, but you know, they don’t care. My child doesn’t care. I can drive. Sometimes you say, “Yeah, you doing this, you’re doing that.” But why is that? Because I’ve been driving with them for all these years. It is the intensity of the relationship. Praise God. That is how we do not doubt our Lord. Let me go a little more faster. It’s the relationship. The Lord is the one that initiates this relationship. It is not we who initiate the relationship. It’s the Lord who initiates this relationship. The Lord comes to us. The child does not initiate the relationship with the parents. The parents initiate the relationship with the child. When we get that little baby in our hands, we are all over that baby wing and you know cuddling and from the birth on as the baby grows we are always there and then the baby starts to respond this person values me so much. This person I am so important in the eyes of this person. That is how we relate with our parents and that is how we relate to God. It is God who comes to us. So do not doubt. So first thing pray for wisdom. It is our responsibility. Hallelujah. Every child every person here this is not as I said this is not written for children but I I’m trying to focus on children a little more because today’s the day. Praise the Lord. See we it is our responsibility to pray stand before the Lord apart from your parents apart from the pastor apart from the fellowship it is our responsibility to go and encounter God and seek from him the wisdom from heaven and trust it is why the word of God says who can tell you that you are not worthy of that nobody can tell Hallelujah. He will not make you small. He won’t tell you you do not deserve it. But he will give you and bless you with the wisdom. Praise the Lord. Children, please raise your hand if I want you to believe it. Hallelujah. For all of you, you’re genius. You’re very brilliant. I know. Hallelujah. Sometimes I’ve experienced I had a broken TV there back my in my house when one day he and was visiting us. He said pastor uncle can I prepare? Can I start this? I knew it was all broken. So he and were joining together and doing so many pranks you know mixing stuff in my drinks and stuff like that. So I thought if they get some solid work they will be engaged there and uh leave me alone. I said, “Okay, go ahead.” And the next thing I know is the TV is working fine. Praise the Lord. But after he left, it’s again broke down. Let’s send the thing. I can’t fix it. Praise the Lord. Our children are so intelligent, so blessed. God has blessed them abundantly. But there is a warning also. A day, let’s say 10 hours or 12 hours they are awake, seven days, it’s about 100 hours. And most of the time they are in school. How many hours do they spend in the fellowship a a week? Around 5 hours. That’s all in the fellowship. On a Sunday morning and Friday evening maybe try going to the gym on a Sunday morning and work out for two hours and then go back till next Sunday. What will happen? Yeah. For 3 days you’ll be in pain. So our children need to be in the fellowship. They should grow up in the fellowship. Praise the Lord. See Daniel, Shadrach, Meshed, we all know they were wise men. They were wise men. How did it happen? They separated themselves to stand before the Lord, to stand for the Lord. Hallelujah. and the Lord blessed them. And when you go to Lord and when you pray for wisdom, the Lord will not find a fault with you, but he will generously bless you and nobody can tell you otherwise. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

The Nature of Wisdom: Comparing James and Proverbs
Let’s move on. So the [snorts] book of James is considered as the wisdom literature of the New Testament. The Old Testament wisdom literature is the proverbs. James book stands in the New Testament uh very similar to the proverbs uh like a wisdom. So wisdom the word Greek word is Sophia. Sophia Sophia comes from the root sephus which is to see see clearly with a clarity and intellectual insight. So when you look at something you understand what is there. See that is the vision of clarity. See you look at a problem you see what is the problem you are able to come out with a solutions that is that is the the wisdom thing in the proverbs and in the in the book of James I will just read through it both um encourages the saints to seek wisdom. Proverbs chapter 2 and James chapter 1, they both say, “See God’s wisdom.” Secondly, they both comment on pride and humility. When you are a wise person, you are a humble person. When you are not a wise person, you are a proud person. Proud person means you crumble so easily. Then there is the heavenly and earthly wisdom. Both of them comment on that. Proverbs chapter 3 and James chapter 3 comments on that and then they both comment on divine wisdom. Divine wisdom which is what we are meditating on today. So our perspective changes with divine wisdom. Sometimes we get so comfortable even with the dangerous stuff because we when we do a certain thing for a long time we just get comfortable. I will give you an example. When I was working in Qatar I one day was walking into the factory and there was a table saw in the factory and uh we used to cut our plastic on the on the table saw. So you know table so it’s been so fast and there was this uh uh person from Nepal who was cutting that plastic first when he started doing that he was very careful you know he he did very well and then with time one day I’m walking into the factory I saw him bending over the so like this the so is here and he’s carefully cutting the plastic like I got so angry I went there h you know I don’t know much Hindi but in whatever Hindi I could muster I yelled at him I told him that is not your wife that is a mission in case your hand slips you will fall on that mission and that will be your end and that will be my end too sometimes our perspective changes we take risks but God is the one in his wisdom changes our track and leads us in the right path.

Biblical Examples of Divine Transformation: Jacob & The Samaritan Woman
So let us come back to the Old Testament. I would like to bring uh Jacob before you. Jacob is fleeing from Haron. He’s scared of his brother is old and he’s fleeing from he’s fleeing to Haron from uh the Canaan. And what happens is he doesn’t like it. He’s angry with he’s sad about it. He’s pulled away from from his mother. for a few years in in Haran he’s settled he doesn’t he’s happy everything is and then when Laban’s face and his son’s face is changed he prays to God and God says go to bed go to bed and he starts his journey going to bed then he reaches she came and when he reaches she he settles down in Sheim. He’s happy there. Now he is uh he wants to get give his daughter in marriage to the prince of Sheim and he is thinking of because he didn’t want it but actually things came that way. So now he’s thinking maybe this is God’s plan. I’m going to stay here. He builds an altar in Sheim and calls it God of Israel and worships God. The next thing we know, Levi and Simon or Shimeon goes and kills these people and now he’s terrified and he is crying out and God again redirects him to the promised land to his brother’s place. He has to pass his brother. Now there is something very interesting. He separates his family. He’s at the uh brook and the whole night he is wrestling with somebody you know it’s not a wrestling match as we all know he’s crying and he is pleading with that person but he’s holding on to that person the root word is very interesting it says be dusted Russell be dusted which means somebody is covered in dust how can somebody get covered in dust Because Jacob is holding on to the feet of that person with tears and that person is pushing against him. He wants to leave. Jacob is not Jacob is not leaving him. Jacob is covered in dust. He is on the floor. He is crying out. And finally morning is coming. God tells him here the dawn is breaking. I need to leave and no I will not leave. And then God touches him on the thigh. touches then he strikes not striking just touch and his hip is dislocated and yet his man is saying I will not leave then God is [clears throat] asking one question see Jacob is a man of the worldly wisdom we should know that worldly wisdom God is asking one question what is your name Jacob which means supplanted I just take out stuff from others when I like it by hook or strength or not trick I don’t care he changes his life there is God blessing him your name will be Israel see is changed for then comes the Samaritan woman when you come to the new testament there is a Samaritan woman who comes to Jesus Christ and Jesus waits for her at that well it’s 12:00 noon nobody goes to draw water at 12:00 noon moon because it’s so hot and they go in crowd. They all the ladies of the village go together but no lady wants to go with this girl. So that is why she is coming. She doesn’t want to see anyone else. She’s going there alone at 12:00 noon in this heat. Nobody does that. And Jesus is waiting for her over there. And here is this woman with a lot of knowledge about her culture and standard and religion and all. is full of theology discussing with God wisdom of the world and the Lord slowly changes her. The Lord asks her a question bring your husband. See I have not that is the thing and and sometimes I’ve uh I haven’t verified it but I heard somewhere saying uh that uh in that times the Samaritan culture did not permit a woman to divorce her husband. So she was being divorced by uh all these suspects. I didn’t verify it but if that is the case she is no good in the society. People think she is something else come to them come to her and suddenly they see that she is not what they think and they leave her. And this is a woman shunned by the society coming alone walking alone to draw water. And here is the Lord asking her a question. And you know what she does? She goes to the village. Everything that happened in my life, a man told me, is she the Christ? Come and see. She is the first missionary. Hallelujah. The Jesus spend so much time with her. Jesus gave her his name. I am The Lord did not reveal that until that time in the book of John. I am see a woman who is son by everybody who is full of the earthly wisdom. The Lord is giving her a heavenly wisdom and blesses her. Praise the Lord. The disciples are a gasast. The real word says we read. They were surprised. The disciples were a gas. They were shocked. One he speaking to a Samitan. Second he speaking to a woman. Rabbis don’t do that. He is speaking to a a Samaritan woman with a bad repute. They are a guest. But the Lord gives her heavenly wisdom. The Lord gives her heavenly wisdom. And that same law is here with us. So today let us ask the Lord for heavenly wisdom. After listening to this message, go home and sleep. Children, don’t go home and open your books just like that, but pray to them. Pray for them. The Lord will guide all grown-ups. We are making so many decisions in our lives because everything looks nice when we look at it from where we stand. But once we get there, we see that that is not as we expected.

Living with the Holy Spirit and Seeking Heavenly Wisdom
So the vision the Sophia the CFS to to see that what is there but to see through it God will bless us with that wisdom we will be able to go forward move forward and be blessed how do we do this I’m concluding my message last day I was uh listening to a theologian he was asking two questions um who wrote the book of promise But did Paul write it or did the Holy Spirit? How do we live a holy life? Who makes the decision to live a holy life? Huh? Holy. Who makes the who makes the decision to make a live a holy life? weak. Well, he was saying we must make a joke. Well, people who know you won’t know or the Holy Spirit like the word of God says who calls aba father. I spoke to you long some time back. Book of Galatians and book of Romans they both prescenders. Book of Romans says we call out in the spirit above father. Book of Galatians says the spirit of the son calls out above father. So who calls out above father. Who leads us? It’s the holy spirit. If I’m there, isn’t it I who lives? No. Holy spirit says he is the one living through us. The Lord is the one living through us. Manu, you are gone. Then why do Manu why does Manu get all the bad, you know, repute when something goes wrong? Why is why aren’t we blaming the Holy Spirit? We in the Holy Spirit joined together makes the decision. The same James in the book of acts when he is presiding over the Jerusalem synagog I mean uh council he makes a statement it seemed well for the holy spirit and us praise the lord it is we together in the lord living this life praise the lord hallelujah let us all be on our Hallelujah.