Wisdom Without Reproach - David Mitts


My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 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. (James 1:2-8 NKJV)

I want to press in today for wisdom without reproach. Reproach is wisdom based on past performance.  We all have that kind of “wisdom” or habits of operation that arise out of our experience.  This wisdom is the “wisdom” of survival.  James describes it like this:
"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing."  Jas 3:14-16 (NAS77)


The wisdom from our past experience is rooted in lack.  Lack produces a condition of the heart that causes us to derive our sense of value from our sense of performance.  Since we always perform based on our perception of what “good” is we have to look somewhere for that standard.  First we look to mom and dad and brothers and sisters.  This is where generational patterns come from.  We notice in the process what is valued as right and more importantly what we have to do to accomplish that.

This generates in our hearts a need to model, to imitate.  As we imitate we compare and that comparison generates a kind of wisdom.  We don’t know it as wisdom, but wisdom is what we believe will work to accomplish what we see.  Because, we are a unique creation and that uniqueness is not usually being acknowledged we feel lack.

Then we go to school and the lack “seed” is amplified and nourished by the group.  Favoritism arises and jealousy.  We feel emotional pain of not feeling right about ourselves and in that place we begin what is later called socialization.  It actually is a twisting of our God-given sense of value and purpose into a desire to “win”, which in a child’s mind means to feel at peace by being accepted or thought of as good.  There’s really nothing anyone can do about this.  It is the result of our fallen nature, separate from God but it twists our identity.

This creates the wisdom that is selfish ambition based.  It hungers for a power source, an authority.  We are built with a need for authority.  Honoring authority is an inherent built in condition in our design.  We therefore require wisdom to function.  Wisdom is both authority’s voice, the voice that speaks in our heart that establishes our beliefs and thus our reality and the experiences that add information to what the voice believes.  Because wisdom is a primary need we are open to power sources that are not from a loving God but are from the demonic realm of fallen angels and their minions who rule through ego and pride.

All of this wisdom from the kingdom of reproach, of shame, of lack which drives us to feel never good enough no matter what we do or accomplish.
The Good News, is there is another source of wisdom and it feels entirely different.
"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."  Jas 3:17-18 (NAS77)

First notice the feeling emphasized of “peace”.  The Gospel is the Gospel of Peace.  We will go into this more later on, because peace is the opposite of lack.  The other thing I want to point out is the statement “the seed whose fruit is righteousness” sown in peace.  Wisdom or power and direction from the voice of God is a seed which makes us experience the fruit of righteousness, or being exactly as we are uniquely created to be.  This can only come from God because He alone knows what GOOD is for us.  We have a GOOD hole in us.  It is our unique nature and destiny.  It is the name by which He knows us and it belongs to us alone.
"'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'"  Rev 2:17 (NAS77)

This is true wisdom and it releases us from the world of comparison, greed, selfish ambition.  This seed of wisdom comes from those who make peace or from those who make the gospel their life’s focus.  When we realize how loved and special we are, which is the beginning of wisdom then we function free of external traps that condition us and conform us.


Activation:
 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
"But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,"  1Co 1:30 (NAS77)
He is the seed, and He is the voice and He is therefore the power source and guidance. So what we are going to do is activate wisdom in our heart:
We are going to press in and ask the Lord for an area where things are not working.  There’s a false wisdom operating.  This could be in the area of finances, relationships, health.  It will contain the experience of lack.  Then we are going to on purpose use meditation to activate the voice in our heart:
Let’s close our eyes and pray: Father thank you that you have made us fearfully and wonderfully.  Thank you Lord that we have unique names and destinies.  Now Father, I ask you to expose the seeds of lack in our lives and target one area for transformation today, a renewing of our minds and hearts and a conformity to your will.  OK Now listen and sense what is ready for change:
This is the word of wisdom for you.
OK, now we will sow the seeds of righteousness to activate His wisdom and peace:
Rejection:
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
-JOHN 6:37
Provision:
My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. -PHILIPPIANS 4:19
Trusting to win:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.-Colossians 3:23-24.
Concerns about are we pray enough or right:
The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. -ROMANS 8:26
Open Doors to Satan:
The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. - 2 THESSALONIANS 3:3
Health:
"The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed; You will heal him on the bed where he lies."  Psa 41:3 (HCSB)
Anxiety:
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

So, what we want to do is change the meditations of our heart to acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. This is wisdom:
"My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding."  Psa 49:3 (NKJV)

So let’s open the eyes of our heart to the wisdom of God, who is Jesus, He is made unto us the wisdom of God.  When we activate our spiritual eyes, our imagination with the scripture, which is the word of God then we transform our understanding in an area and manifest a different speaking, a new reality.  It is not just our mind trying to be right with scripture but our heart living right and our conversation becomes effortless.

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