James 1:5-8(NKJV) 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.
The church had gone through many trials throughout history, but the most challenging time was during the enlightenment period in the eighteenth-century. Human reasoning was enthroned and man became the measure of all things, giving rise to rationalism (The Lutheran Church in Colonial America by LP Qualben). There was an onslaught of rationalism and skepticism among the intellectuals. This is the reason why some of us struggle in this teaching on receiving wisdom from God! Pride hinders us from receiving. It is not God who does not want to impart His wisdom upon us since He is the one challenging us to pray for it. There is a great divide between those who begin with man and his reason and experience, and those who begin with God and His revelation. The latter includes being led by the Holy Spirit and how God imparts His wisdom to us today.
This does not mean that we should throw away our thoughts, belittle intellectualism but rather we should renew our minds with the word of God so that we will not be hindered by the leading of the Holy Spirit. It will help us not to reject or over process the wisdom that comes from God. It will help us to believe in faith that we will receive the wisdom without having any doubts in our minds. We have a finite mind but we worship an infinite God! We have been trained to reason, think logically, rationally and skeptically and therefore, we tend to shut off whenever something is beyond our logic or reasoning. Anything that is illogical or experiential but biblical will be scorned at and termed as emotionalism. It is especially true when it has to do with God and the supernatural realm that He reigns supreme. This is something that we need to overcome when it involves being led by the Holy Spirit because we are being led in our heart/spirit man before it is being processed by our mind. The leading of the Holy Spirit WILL NEVER CONTRADICT THE WORD OF GOD ESPECIALLY IN VALUES AND PRINCIPLES.
Therefore, if we receive something that is beyond our abilities and it is extremely creative but possible in God, then what we need to do is to pull down the stronghold in our mind and bring it into subjection to the Lordship of Jesus Christ! We need to be open to receive from Him so that we can apply the practical wisdom that He has tailored for each of us!
Sermon Series: Earthly or Heavenly Wisdom
人的逻辑与理性主义
雅各书1:5-8 你们中间若有缺少智慧的，应当求那厚赐与众人、也不斥责人的神，主就必赐给他。只要凭着信心求，一点不疑惑；因为那疑惑的人，就像海中的波浪，被风吹动翻腾。这样的人不要想从主那里得什么。心怀二意的人，在他一切所行的路上都没有定见。
教会在历史上经历了许多试炼，但最具挑战性的时期是在十八世纪的启蒙时代。理性和人类本身被推崇到最高地位，成为衡量一切事物的标准，并催生了理性主义(《在殖民时代美国的路德教会》作者LP Qualben)。知识分子群体受到了理性主义和怀疑主义的猛烈冲击。这就是为什么我们当中有些人在领受神的智慧的教导上有挣扎的原因！骄傲拦阻我们领受。不是神不想把祂的智慧赐予我们，其实祂一直挑战我们为智慧而祷告。在1）那些以人和其逻辑及经历为本的 2）那些以神和祂的启示为本的人之间出现了很大的分歧。后者包括了被圣灵带领和神现今如何浇灌祂的智慧给我们。
这并不是说我们应该丢弃我们的思想，贬低知性主义，而是要用神的话语更新我们的思想，这样它就不会拦阻圣灵的带领。这将帮助我们不抗拒或过度处理从神而来的智慧。它将帮助我们凭信心领受智慧并且摆脱头脑中的疑虑。我们的头脑是有限的，而我们敬拜的神是一位无限的神！我们受过推论、逻辑思维、理性和质疑式思考的训练，因此每当有超出我们逻辑或理性的事时，我们倾向于拒绝。任何符合圣经但不符合人的逻辑或经验的，会被蔑视并被称为情感主义。当这与神及其所掌权的超自然领域相关时，尤其如此。而跟随圣灵带领恰恰需要我们克服这个问题，因为我们要在头脑处理此信息之前，先跟随内心或内在灵人的带领。圣灵的带领永远不会违背神的话语，特别是在价值观和原则上。
因此，如果我们接收的东西超出了我们的能力并且前所未有而在神是可能的，那么我们应当破除头脑中的营垒，把它置于主耶稣基督的主权下！我们需要打开心扉从神那里领受，这样我们就能去应用祂为我们每个人量身定做的实用智慧！
讲章系列: 属世或属天的智慧