Thank you for those prayers. Randy, find James chapter one in your Bibles today. And as you do that, I want to introduce myself. I'm Trevor Davis. I'm GCC's pastor.

Lots of new faces today, and we're just honored that you came to be with us. As you're finding James one, I want to tell you that we're in the first few weeks of introducing First 63. First 63 is our discipleship pathway. It's the track to run on. If you become a new Christian in our church or you're baptized or you're adopted into our family, we're going to hand you this and say, hey, this will help you.

And first 63 is nine weeks, three books. This is book number one, the green book. It's the first three weeks, there's daily readings. And at the end of 1 63, our goal is for a new believer to be able to feed themselves spiritually and be incorporated into the life of their local church. It's very simple.

It's not an academic exercise, really. It's very interactive. If you have a smartphone, it's even more interactive. And we want you to be a part. It's not too late.

It is for anyone seventh grade and up that wants to be a part of our church. And so you can pick up one of these first 63 books in the table in the lobby on the way out, and you're like, hey, haven't you guys been doing that for a week? Yes, but we designed this. It's just pick it up and start anytime. So you're not too late, you're not behind, and we want you to be a part.

I think there's a special blessing and a grace. Our whole church is doing this together this summer. And so for all the veteran believers, we're reviewing the basics that we need to know. For the new believers, you're hearing and learning basically very important truths and doctrine and practice for the very first time. And for those of you that have been a Christian for a while, but you've never grown, it's an opportunity for you to kind of sneak in there, get what you need, and nobody will know the difference.

And so we want to invite you to be part of 1 63. It's already fantastic. So James, chapter one. And today I'm going to teach verse by verse through verses five through eight. Our series is tried and true Faith Under Fire.

And today I want to ask this. I'm asking the question, do you need wisdom? Because James answers it with ask, believe, and don't Waver. That's the title of this message I'm going to give you. And let's read our text today together.

James, chapter one, verses five through eight. 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 suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.

He is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together. Father, we confess that our hearts are open now. We confess that we know the spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak.

So God, let us cast off any distraction, Lord, and focus on your word and expect to be fed truth and the love of God for the next few minutes. We give you this time. Receive our worship in the way we hear the word of God. And a faith filled church said, let me ask you something. When life falls apart, what's your first prayer?

Is it God? Get me out of this.

Is it Lord, make it stop.

Is it Jesus fixed this. Now I want to just say those are understandable prayers. And the truth is sometimes God brings relief when it's all going haywire. He does that. But James, in the verses that we read, challenges us to think differently.

He says that when you're overwhelmed, when you're confused, when you're feeling desperate, there's one prayer that you can pray that's more essential than all the rest. And I think it's the most underrated prayer in a crisis. It's a prayer that goes something like this, Lord, give me wisdom. And why is that an underrated prayer? Because wisdom won't always get you out of a crisis, but it will get you through one.

And there's a difference. It won't always change your circumstances, but it will change how you navigate them. And that's exactly what we need the most when the world feels like it's upside down at our house. So here's the big idea. Today, if you want to grow through your trial, instead of just groaning through it, ask God for wisdom and ask without doubting that he will give it.

That's the essence of these verses today. So we're going to go through these phrases. I'm going to give you four truths that James tells us in these verses. Are you ready today? Well, number one, he says if any of you lacks wisdom.

And why does he say that? Friends because you will. You will lack wisdom. If any of you lacks wisdom, I want you to know that that's not an insult. It's a reality check.

James isn't shaming us, saying, you big dummies, he's inviting us. He knows that we all will hit moments in life when we just don't know what to do. Is that true? Yes or no?

Like when the road splits, when the diagnosis comes in, the email, when that relationship that you were holding onto starts falling apart. That's when our own wisdom runs dry. And in those moments, James says, that's exactly when you need to ask God. And here's the thing. When he says, if any of you lacks wisdom, lax doesn't mean you're dumb.

Aren't you glad you can come to church and hear that you're smarter than you thought, right? It doesn't mean you're dumb. It means that you're low on what's essential. Your tank's running dry. You're low on spiritual insight to see things from God's perspective.

You're low on how to respond in a way that honors Him. Friends, it's the difference between panic and peace. It's the difference between making a move out of fear, making a move out of faith.

Remember that wisdom in the Bible is skill in living life. And so, God, I need some more skill in living this life that's in front of me. The wisest man not named Jesus who ever lived was Solomon, son of King David. Solomon's name means prince of peace. Does that sound familiar?

Shalom. Shalom, Solomon. It's the same root word Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3, 5, 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. That's Solomon's way of saying, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God. And speaking of Solomon, let's picture him for a moment. Do you remember the crowning moment and achievement of his life?

It wasn't when he built the temple. It wasn't when he looked around and said, I am the wealthiest man who ever lived. The crowning moment in his life, when was when he went before God and God says, ask me anything. God signed Solomon a blank check from heaven. And, you know, do you remember what he said?

He said, oh, I'm like a little child and I don't have what it takes to lead your people. Would you just give me wisdom and understanding?

That honest, humble prayer wasn't anything fancy, but the scriptures say it Pleased the Lord. He could have asked for power. He could have asked for revenge against all the enemies of his father. He could have asked for wealth unknown. He said, would you just give me wisdom on how to do this assignment you've given me in life?

Solomon didn't try to fake confidence before the throne of God. He just admitted that he lacked what it took. And so, God, would you give me what I lack? Here's the encouragement, brothers and sisters. By the way, God says, I'll give you what you asked for and all that you didn't ask for, that everyone else would have.

And when the Queen of Sheba showed up to see what Solomon had, she said, I've heard about you, but they didn't even tell me the half of it. So here's the encouragement. When you're at the fork in the road, pretend that you've got it all together, friends, you can just be real with God, he's so gracious. And you just say, lord, I don't have the wisdom I need, but I know that you have it. And then ask him later in James, he's going to say, you don't have because you don't ask God.

So if any of you lacks wisdom, friends, you will learn what James is teaching. Number two. He says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. And why does he say that? Listen to me, friends, because God is not stingy.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. And James follows it in the second part of verse five, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. And it will be given to him. Hey, can I tell you, that's one of the most hope filled promises in all of Scripture. It ends with, and it will be given to him.

You are invited to ask. And here we learn that God is eager to answer God. James wants us to see God's heart. You know what God's heart is here. He's generous.

He gives liberally. You know what that word means? It's not political, thank God, because I'm somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan and I don't like the word liberal when it comes to politics. He gives liberally. Biblically, it means without measuring or without rationing.

Have you ever seen any of those drink mixes that come in powder? And on the label it says two heaping spoonfuls. Man, I am so conservative though, I always do it and I do my finger, make it flat. And that's the opposite of liberally. Here it's like just scoop it on out and don't measure it.

James wants us to know that God doesn't ration his wisdom like a miser hoarding pennies. He's not stingy with his guidance. You know what else he doesn't do? God doesn't look at you and say, I tell you what, come back when you figured your attitude out. Young man.

Young lady. No. He gives liberally. Open handed is what it means. Not only does he give liberally, James says, God gives without reproach.

You know what that means? That means that he doesn't shame you for asking. Without reproach. He doesn't reproach you. He doesn't say you again.

Didn't we cover this last week? Or he doesn't look at you and say, shouldn't you know this by now? No. God is so good that he looks at us and he simply says, come to me, ask. I am listening.

You won't get eye rolls from heaven, my brother and my sister. You'll just get an open door from a willing father that comforts me. Am I the only one?

Twice in the Gospels, Jesus said, ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened.

The theologian A.W. tozer wrote, we may be weak and poor and helpless, but God waits to make us wise if only we will ask.

So listen to me very carefully. If you're in the middle of something confusing, if you're walking through pain right now, friends, the Bible tells you, don't just grit your teeth and suffer through it. Ask. Go to the giving God because he delights to respond to his children. I've been telling you stories of great missionaries lately.

Let me add another.

They seem to have the best stories from God. When Hudson Taylor was a young apprentice living in London, training to be a medical doctor before God called him to be a missionary, he made this commitment. The commitment he made is, I will never ask anyone but God for money. One day he found himself the opportunity to help a poor family who was in dire need that night. And so he looked into his purse, his little bag, and there was one coin left.

A half crown. A half crown in that time in England is worth about $12 in our money today. That's the last coin he had, a twelve dollar coin. And so somebody needed it. God touched him on the heart and so he gave that family his last half crown.

The next day his rent was due. So he just prayed. God, you told me to give the money to the family. You also told me to have a good witness in town and pay My rent on time. This one's on you.

And that very night, the Post showed up. We call it the mail, but they call it the Post. And it could come at any time. The rider got there in the middle of that night, with no one aware of Hudson Taylor's situation, a package arrived in the post. And inside the package was a pair of gloves.

And inside one of the fingers, hidden in one of the fingers of the glove was a gold coin worth 10 times that half crown that he gave away. Needless to say, Hudson Taylor had no problem paying the rent the next day. He didn't just write about God's generosity, brothers and sisters, Hudson Taylor lived it. He found out firsthand that God gives liberally and without reproach. No lecture, just an open heaven.

And friends, let me ask you, if God was generous with coins for rent, how much more generous will he be with his wisdom that you need for the decisions that you face right now? Don't overthink it. Just ask him. He gives liberally without finding fault. Number three.

James says, ask in faith with no doubting.

He's really asking you this question. Are you going to trust or are you going to be tossed? Trust or tossed. But let him ask in faith. Verse 6, with no doubting.

For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:6 is where the rubber meets the road. You must ask in faith. Everybody say in faith.

In faith is trusting God. Ask trusting God. Not just believing that God exists, but believing that God is good and believing that he'll come through because he hears you. That's what asking in faith means. Well, Pastor, is James telling us that we can't have any honest questions or that we won't have any emotional struggles?

Well, good night. No, he's warning us against being something he calls double minded. Double minded is asking God but not really intending to follow the wisdom that he gives you. It's praying God, show me what to do. While you're already leaning on your backup plan.

That's double minded. You're not sure who you trust more, God or yourself. Well, if you want something done right, you got to do it yourself. That's not in the Bible. Did you know that James compares that double minded person to a wave of the sea during a storm?

Have you ever seen those? It's tossed here and then there. There's no anchor, there's no direction. And that's what a doubting heart feels like. Always reacting but never resting.

Tossed to and fro. Being double minded. That's a life of spiritual instability. How do I know if I'm double minded? You say things to yourself and others like I just can't make up my mind.

That's double minded. One day confident, the next day panicking. One day surrendered, the next day taking back control from God.

You ever heard about being double minded? Have you ever been that way?

It's exhausting. James says it leaves you spiritually seasick. And I just want to say to you that's no way to live because you'll be driven by every emotion and every opinion that comes your way. And social media just exposes the double minded picture. This way.

See this man who has one foot on the boat dock and the other one on the boat as it's being untied.

He tries to balance for a while, but eventually he's got to commit. He's got to make a decision because if he doesn't, he either has to be very limber and do a cool set of the splits or he's going to end up in the water.

And that's how it works with faith. You can't ride the fence forever. So James says, ask in faith, trust God. Don't bring him your question if you've already decided what the answer is. That's being double minded.

And I remind you that whoever wrote Hebrews gave us this verse 11:6 without faith it is impossible to please him. So you ask in faith.

And number four, A double minded man, James says, did you know that a double minded man can't stand still but he also can't move forward?

Verses 7 and 8 for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Don't kid yourself. James says if you're trying to play both sides, part time faith in God, part time faith in self, then James says don't expect results because that mindset won't lead to answered prayer. He will not receive anything from the Lord. James writes. And it's not because God is unwilling.

It's because you're not truly open to what he's going to say. A double minded man is not an open minded man. He's close minded. In fact, if you're taking notes, the word double minded means two Sold. S O U L E D two dash sold One soul searching for God, the other soul pulling in the opposite direction.

How do I know if I'm double minded, Pastor? That's the person who wants just enough God to feel safe, but not enough God where you have to surrender to him and listen to me. Indecision is a decision. Not to decide is to decide. That's being double minded.

So picture with me, you're out at one of the national parks, you're a hiker and you come to a fork in the trail. And at the fork in the trail, you see two signs there by the National Park Service. One of the signs says if you go this way, it is steep but direct. You're going to the waterfall, right? If you go this way, it's winding but easy.

So if you got steep but direct, winding but easy, one's harder and gets you there faster, one's easier, gets you there slower. And you're at the fork but you can't decide. So you pace back and forth in front of the signs and the hours pass by and eventually the darkness falls and now it's too late and you go nowhere. Well, Pastor, what's the point? James says a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

If you ask God for wisdom, but don't trust his direction because listen, God is direct but steep, you're just pacing back and forth.

Faith chooses, doubt dithers.

See, when you're double minded, you're not open to God because your hands are already full of plan b.

It was October 8th, 1871. If you're from the Midwest and you listened in school, you would know that date. Most of us are from the south and we don't. On October 8, 1871, D.L. moody preached a message at his church in his native Chicago.

And rather than call for an immediate decision to be made about what he had just preached, here's what he told the crowd. And I quote, go home and think about what you will do with Jesus. End quote. Go home and think about what you will do with Jesus. But that night, October 8, 1871, the great Chicago Fire swept through the city.

And many in that audience never made it home. They died in the fire.

And Dwight L. Moody was shaken to his core. The next morning, he later says, and I quote, again, I have never dared to give an audience a week to think of their salvation since. End quote. That moment exposed Dwight Moody's hesitation.

It exposed his divided heart between am I going to preach urgence to see, or am I going to preach to be respected? So from then on, Dwight L. Moody was single minded. He lived with urgency, he preached with clarity. And he became one of, if not the most effective evangelists of the 19th century.

It took the Chicago Fire to erase his double mindedness. Moody learned the hard way that Double mindedness makes us ineffective. You see, it's only when your heart is settled that your feet can finally move.

Speaking of Mr. Moody, here's what he wrote. God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves.

Friends, James is saying, if you're trying to keep one foot in God's will and the other foot in your own plans, your life's going to be unstable. Like a wobbly table in a restaurant with one leg shorter than the rest. Have you ever gotten one of those? Do you have, like, that mom or that aunt that goes and finds a big stack of napkins and puts it under? Some of you are telling on yourselves, you do that right, or give me that salt shaker.

You gotta make it steady. Because people can't live with wobbliness until it comes to their spirit and their faith life. Then they're okay with it.

In 1904, a young man named William Borden graduated high school. Now, you may not know William Borden, but you've eaten his ice cream. Probably he was heir to the Borden family fortune. Think milk and millions.

So this guy's future looks set. He's a high school graduate, his last name's Borden. He's immediately going to any Ivy League school he wanted to back in 1904. He would always have influence and he would always have wealth the rest of his life. And as a graduation gift, his parents gave William Borden a trip around the world by boat.

But what was meant to be a pleasure tour became something radically different.

As William Borden traveled through Asia, as he toured the Middle east, as he enjoyed nights in the great cities in Europe, his heart broke over the spiritual poverty that he saw. You see, it wasn't exotic food or foreign architecture that moved the heart of William Borden. It was people without the gospel. So William wrote home with a stunning decision. One line, I'm going to be a missionary.

His friends and family told him he was throwing away the best life you could have as an American. You're going to get a Yale college, Yale University, education. You've got a guaranteed fortune. You're going to give all that away for some obscure mission field? Friends, Borden never flinched.

He just got his Bible and he went to the back and he wrote two words in the back of his Bible. No reserves.

He gave away his inheritance to his mission work at that time. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in today's value. He did go to Yale. Yale used to have a divinity school. I don't know if you know this.

Most of the Ivy League schools started as seminaries. Did you know this? They're a long way from that now. He did go to Yale, and while he was there, he had a laser focus. He started a student prayer movement and he launched something that he called campus ministries.

Nobody had ever heard of campus ministries before in 1904, 05, and those campus ministries reached out to the poor there in New Haven, Connecticut, where the college was. In fact, his classmates said of William Borden that he was the real spiritual leader in the university and not those theologians in residence.

After graduating from Yale, William Borden could have taken any number of prestigious roles, been on the board of any bank he wanted to be on. But again, he refused, even though people urged him to do it. He got his Bible and he wrote two more words, no retreat.

The next thing William Borden did is he got on a boat, a ship, and he sailed for Egypt. He sailed for Egypt to go to language school to learn Arabic, to learn Arabic so that he could evangelize Muslims in China. Now, at the same time, this is when Hudson Taylor and all the boys were first plowing into inland China.

While he was at language school in Egypt, William Borden contracted spinal meningitis. At that time and sometimes still today, no cure, absolute death sentence. Within one month of his diagnosis, at age 25, William Borden was dead at language school.

And people said, what a waste. But not to Borden. After his death, someone found his Bible. And underneath the words no reserves and no retreat, he had added a third line. No regrets.

See, friends, that is the opposite of a double minded man. William Borden didn't pray for wisdom and then hesitate. He didn't ask himself, is this really, really what I want to do with my life? He had everybody else around him asking him that. He didn't ask for God's will.

With one foot in the world, that man asked, believed, prayed and obeyed. No backup plan, no escape clause, no divided loyalty.

Finally today. Can I talk to you? Your father's not holding out on you. You don't have to figure it all out and you don't have to fake it till you make it. You just ask and trust the one who's listening.

And listen to me. God isn't annoyed by your neediness. In fact, he's drawn to it. He's the kind of father who doesn't roll his eyes or cross his arms at his children. He opens his hands.

So ask. Ask boldly, ask honestly, ask with a tremble in your voice if you have to, but settle your heart and take God's hand. And walk forward. No reserves, no retreat. One day you'll say with joy when you look back, the same thing William Borden did.

No regrets now, considering what you've been taught today, considering what the Bible says, I want to call our church to prayer ministry after we adjourn this service. And I just want to give you some prompts here for prayer ministry. Number one, you should come for prayer. If you're stuck at the fork and you don't know what to do, come ask for wisdom. Don't pace alone.

Let someone stand with you and pray for clarity in your life.

Number two, you've got one foot on the dock and one on the boat. Come and let us pray for God to settle your heart. You can surrender the wobble because faith starts with full trust. So come get prayer for that. Number three, you've been holding on to plan B while praying for plan A.

Come and lay down your backup plan in prayer because God honors the single minded heart. Number four, you feel like you've already asked before but you haven't heard anything yet. Well, friends, ask again. He still gives generously. Good.

Don't you give up just before the answer comes. Number five, come for prayer. If you're done pretending to have it all together, you don't need to fake strength in front of God. Come ask for the wisdom you actually need. God is not rolling his eyes.

He is opening his hands.

Let's stand and pray today.

Prayer ministry leaders, you guys come forward. Prayer ministry team.

Hey, do you receive that word that's been preached to you today? There are some decisions you can make on this welcome card that we will, that will spring us into action spiritually. Especially if you, if you're not sure if you know God is, if you're not sure if you're a Christian. Today I'm ready to trust Jesus. It's says, or I want to rediscover my faith in Jesus.

Or maybe that's happened to you, but you haven't been baptized. You're ready to be baptized. Mark on this sometime and put it in the, on the box on the way out.

But as we adjourn our service today, these are our prayer team folks. And we've got one more coming on the far side here. And most of the time, most folks hit the doors and that's for you free to do that. Go fellowship with people. But if the spirit of God spoke to you in any of that, that you just heard and you had any kind of sense of, how did he know?

Well, God's reading your mail there are some blessings and grace that God has reserved to answer for your life that you'll only get before you leave today because that's the act of faith. I'm not going to sit on this I'm going to come now and so we're going to pray for folks and we'll be praying for the next 10 or 15 minutes. We will pray for anyone and everyone for anything and everything so take advantage of our prayer ministry. Let's bow together today Father as we adjourn we ask for your grace that you won't allow the enemy to steal the seed that's been planted in the hearts of those who heard the word today God we pray that you would make us worshipers Monday through Saturday where we practice and we come and give it to you and spirit and in truth next Sunday we praise you Jesus we love you Our confession is we will live for you this week in Jesus name and a faithful church said you are dismissed.