JAMES4B James 4:11-17 - I will do this or that! Really?

Good morning and welcome to Oldfield Free Church.

I’m Ian and it’s great to see you here and it is great to be back after what seems like 5 weeks. Wait, IS five weeks!

Worship is all our lives not just the songs we sing. We are told in

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Our lives are to be one continuous worship session. We will be aided in this in songs, prayer and with a message for our all-age service.

We’ll see what God has to say to us through His Word. Make sure you have a bible. There are some at the back. You’re welcome to use an app. I recommend Logos Bible Study App. Talking of mobiles. Do see you turn them either off or on silent.

If you’re new here a huge welcome to you. We have leaflets at the back telling you about us - check out our website and stay for a cuppa after the service.

Let’s start with prayer:

Maker of heaven and earth, you rule over all the nations. As we think of your unfailing, eternal, enduring love, we look forward to the day when we will worship you in eternity. Your throne will be surrounded by people from every tribe, tongue and nation, all testifying that you have remained faithful. We will all see that you have kept every single promise you made. We will all see your goodness and grace. We will all be transformed by your glory. We ask that we would glimpse that glorious future as we gather today.  Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Light of the world

Before the Throne

Our God is a great big God

Children’s Talk.

When I was five years old I went to school and there was the first time I heard anyone mention God. At 8, Catholic School. Priesthood. At 14 or 15 my best friend became a Christian. Double life. Samuel was called by God when he was just a boy, so was Jeremiah. I was different to most kids. I was not into football or music or anything other than God. I haven’t changed. I don’t have many other interests. I like some things but I am not super enthusiastic. I don’t know what you are excited about - but make sure you don’t leave God out of it because He loves you more than anyone else. Jesus was sent here to earth to prove it when He died in your place for your sins as well as mine. I hope you become more and more enthusiastic for the things of God because, to be honest. He is the only One worth living for. But God may not call you to be a Samuel or Jeremiah, maybe he will call you to be Nick, or Suan, or Caleb, or Tegan or Sia, or Simi or… or whatever your name is. Maybe he will call you to be a sportsperson or architect. But whatever He calls you to do it well. Because what He wants you to do will be unique for only you have your DNA. But do not forget God in it all.

Notices/Offering/Prayer

Almighty and Everlasting God, we ask you to hear us as we pray for your Church, the world, our local community and people in need.

Father, we are blessed with real fellowship, in a worshipping community and in it we are free to express our devotion. Yet in many areas of the world, to worship openly brings persecution, oppression and harassment. We pray for those seeking to bear witness in word and action in the face of adversity. May they be continually filled with your Spirit and empowered to follow your calling.

Heavenly Father, pour out your Holy Spirit on those who have responded to your call to ministry at Oldfield, and ask you to bless Becky as she continues her training and for the deacons and leaders here for wisdom and understanding especially for those involved in work with the youth.

Lord of all, we pray for the healing of the nations, for the forgiveness of past sins and for the opportunity of new beginnings. We bring before you countries broken by war, hatred and suspicion, for those driven out of their land and homes by violence. We pray that animosity may be exchanged for trust and love. Strengthen those you have called to speak out, who challenge injustice, apathy and untruth, for those who campaign for the well-being of your people and your world. Of great concern to us these days is what is happening in Russia and ask that you will be merciful and rein in the madness of this war.

Creator God, we thank you for all of creation which you have made for us to enjoy, whether in our gardens, in city parks, the seaside, mountains, rivers and lakes. We thank you for the sights and sounds of nature and the healing it brings to troubled minds. But we are mindful there are many places in the world suffering the effects of the destruction of your creation resulting in floods, fires and hurricanes. We especially pray for the people of Pakistan in their struggle for shelter, food and clean water, for the people of Canada and Florida.

Father, we pray for those who are sick or struggling at this time whether in body, mind or spirit: for the exhausted, the weary, for those who can no longer cope on their own. Draw near to all in our fellowship who are struggling one way or another.

Lord, we pray for those nearing the end of their earthly life and those who have kept the faith and are looking forward to a new life in glory, where sorrow and pain are no more. Draw alongside them and for those who are still coming to terms with the loss of their loved ones but know they are in your presence where we shall join them one day with You. May they be aware of your peace and comfort at this time.

Lord, we feel sometimes that our faith is too small and our achievements even smaller. But you have taught us that even something as small as a mustard seed grows into a large bush. We know our task is simple; to love and serve you, to keep the faith, to spread your loving kindness, to share your Word. Give us the strength to go forward this week to continue in your service.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I do not know

Let’s look at the first part of this passage, verses 11-12:

James 4:11–12 NIV

11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

To speak evil of others is saying, I really know that person. These verses are more than just slander, that is, to speak untrue things of someone. That is bad enough. But it is OK to speak down of someone? According to James: Never! Are we convicted before we even start this morning?

Can actions then be judged? Yes. Of course. And sometimes those actions have enormous consequences, especially if it becomes known to the Church and the community. We then have no choice but to deal with that person but always with an eye on restoration. And this is always down with spiritual gentleness.

So, it seems that we should never talk down another person either to others or, as some people think they have the right, to their face. The crucible for this is at home as well as in the Church. Most Christians are very aware of their short falls so gentleness and grace need to be in abundant supply.

What we cannot do is judge the motives or their heart for the actions done. Sometimes, they may have done something with the right motive or have a reason beyond what we can see, and sometimes it IS downright evil at work. You may have a clear idea of why someone does what they did but only the true Judge knows the ins and outs. We cannot put ourselves in the place of God and it IS God who is able to make that brother or sister to stand and present them faultless at the Last Day.

Which is just as well, for we all daily receive God’s mercy and are glad that the price and penalty for sin was bought and for by the blood of Jesus Christ. By His stripes we are delivered. And we must always forgive those who sin against us for we have a greater debt to God than anyone has to us. You may well think, that is easy for you to say, you did not have done to you what someone has done to me. That may be true but our offence against God is such that we were all headed straight to hell if it had not been for the cross.

Let’s continue in James:

James 4:13–16 NIV

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

If the Lord wills.

Every so often I get ill. I remember when I got norovirus and was sick for almost a week. I was not able to think straight. My plans went out the window. I ended up watching a load of Star Trek films because that was all I could cope with. I slept for almost 24 hours straight. The ministry I was involved in had to do without me.

And, of course, I get bouts of laryngitis that rob me of my voice every couple of years. Or this week when I had Covid for the second time. My mental faculties seem to slow to one of a snail, but that is unkind to snails. I could barely think at all. It was bad enough the first time round when I no doubt ended up with Long Covid Brain Fog. Books I planed to read just did not get read as I would read a page and have to reread and reread before giving up.

You see, I made plans. Did it occur to me that they would not happen unless I wanted to change the plans? How in control are we really? We all make plans. I love making plans. I love to make plans about making plans!

But, seriously, how often do our plans come to fruition?

Now if it is because of laziness or procrastination then it is our fault we did not achieve what we set out to achieve however, even when it is with the best of intentions we find that our plans often fall to the wayside.

In fact, Jesus spoke of such a person in:

Luke 12:16–20 NIV

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

James, in his passage is trying to get our attention. Hey! Listen! Sshh! I have something really important to say. The word translated 'Come' or ‘Now listen!’ is an imperative, it is a command. Don't ignore this! There are three things that immediately come to mind concerning what James says:

1) The sin of presumption which is…

2) The sin of pride

3) Deo Volente

1) The Sin of Presumption

At the bottom of all our planning is pride. We make plans. We say we will do this or that. But, who are we really? We are finite, we have incomplete knowledge, we are limited by our own bubble. The sin of presumption comes when we think we know it all, that we can live and plan without God. Central to this is the idea that our plans are somehow important to God. But are our plans or are His plans?

Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

In fact, we have this verse on our mantelpiece at home and quotes it slightly different in the:

New Living Translation says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart;…Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

If we are making plans about our lives and saying either to ourselves or others "I will do this, I will do that, I will, I will..." the problem is you may be laid low like I was during the week:

Proverbs 27:1 NKJV

1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

There is nothing wrong with making plans if we are deliberately conscious of God. There is nothing wrong with making plans if they are put before God in prayer. How else should we understand in all your ways acknowledge Him? But we also have to allow that our plans may not succeed. They are not the be all and end all.

Being presumptive means that we don’t think that God actually cares about our plans, our decisions, our lives. Now, this can be broken into two parts:

1) We really do not think God cares about these things or

2) We think that we do not need God

So, let us look at these two: First:

We really do not think God cares about these things

He is interested not just in our plans but in the minutiae of our lives. Does this surprise you? He actually cares about every little thing about us. Isn't that amazing? There is biblical proof of this in one of the most quoted Psalms:

Psalm 139:1–4 NKJV

1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

Even getting up from our chairs God sees and is interested. Perhaps now we realise that we cannot make our plans without God being fully a part of it. For some of us this means a fundamental change of lifestyle. We just presumed that it did not matter to God...

We thought that surely God is only interested in whether we pray, read His word, go to Church on Sunday but now we discover He is interested in our daily living, our work lives, stones we lay, books we read, the mundane, daily, things like doing the washing up and lo, God is present and involved. Surely now we know that all that we do has to be done with humility before the eyes of God who is engaged in our every activity. As Cliff Richard sang: God is watching...though He is not from a distance, but right up close and personal.

Which leads us to our second point:

The sin of presumption is also a

2.Sin of pride

We think that we do not need God

We think we can do it without God. We may not like what Scripture has to say about how much room we have for free-choice but if we are disciples of Jesus we are now His servants, His slaves rather than slaves to this world and servants of sin. We are not at liberty to live our lives how we like. God will have His way and it is better for us to fit His plan. Why? Because He really wants to bless us and because He already knows the future. Our lives are not in our hands, like some of us may think, but in His.

God has to be acknowledged for who He is. He is the creator of all our days. It is this reason that we can wake up to a new day and say this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. And why not find joy in every day? Why not count the blessings that we have lived to see yet another day and the workings of God in it. Seeing He creates each day then our days and times are in His hands and we should look forward to God's working in our lives.

Who here expects that today or tomorrow we may not live to see another day? No, when we wake up we do not think that it is going to end but it will be the end for over 183,671 people today.

Moses, in the only Psalm he wrote, said:

Psalm 90:12 NKJV

12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Pride can blind us to the fact that we are limited, very limited. We truly are here today, gone tomorrow. Our knowledge is limited. We do not see the whole picture.

The idea of a goldfish in its goldfish bowl is only aware of what is going on in that bowl and just beyond the periphery of it. We are just like that goldfish…we see where we are and may be able to see just a little further but we have no experience of life further outside of it. They cannot see the rest of the room, the house, the street, the world, the universe. How do we think we can make plans without God? Truly pride is a sign of idiocy. We are limited. God is not. He surely sees the whole picture.

We are naive if we think that even the little we know is enough to make the right plans.

Isaiah 55:8–9 NKJV

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

We have to grasp this to not be a proud people, we have to grasp this to understand we here today and perhaps gone today. To not acknowledge God in all our ways is to commit the sin of presumption. To assume we can live our lives without God and without His say so, to presume that it does not matter to God what our plans are for today, tomorrow, next year. Or to presume, as some have said, that God wound up the universe like a clock and left it free so that we can get on with our lives without respect to Him. God is not like that as we have already seen.

Consistently, in Scripture, we are warned not to take for granted the plans we make. We must hold onto them lightly for what God wants must take precedence. And why fight against God?

Proverbs 19:21 NKJV

21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

Which leads us to our final point today. There were three points: the first: the sin of presumption that contains the sin of pride, which was our second point. And the third point: was

3.Deo Volente.

Deo Volente? What is that? I remember older Christians when I was younger saying: "We'll see you next week, D.V." Ever heard that? I always thought it was silly to say D.V. as if it was supposed to be a code between Christians. Well, D.V. means Deo Volente, which is Latin for, ‘God willing’. Yes, even our language must change. I’d rather not say: “D.V.” but “if God allows” or “if God wills”. This is not just some change to our language but a change in our approach that by doing this we are truly letting God overrule us and direct our paths. It is letting Him have control.

When we say; "if God wills." It is not a fatalistic saying of “que sera, sera”, 'whatever will be, will be'. This is what Muslims often mean when they say ‘inshallah’, if Allah wills. It is a kind of shrug of the shoulder. This is the warning of verse 17:

James 4:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

This is just an excuse to do nothing. If we think that nothing can change and the course of history is set then we rest back and let history take its course. But, we are to make plans for it don’t we plan to do nothing. It is sinful to aim to do nothing.

Instead of “whatever will be, will be” there should be a positive acknowledgement of the Sovereignty of our God in our lives and the acceptance of His will for we know that He is loving and merciful and has our best at heart. We need no further proof of this than in God sending His own Son who, in His greatest, neediest hour, declared to His father: Not my will but yours be done. He accepted the plan of God. And the plan was signed in His blood.

Conclusion

Make plans! Perhaps our plans are not big enough! I think the bigger the better. Why? Because we have a bigger God than we can possibly imagine. Why not think and plan big, dream big and pray bigger? But all our plans have to acknowledge God who is Sovereign and Lord of all including the details of our lives. It seems better to me to plan to be used by God for His Kingdom than to plan for selfish reasons.

What really are the plans for our lives? How to stay healthy? How to make enough money to get through retirement? I hope we are not like the man in the story who wanted to build bigger and bigger storehouses without reference to God. We plan for the future as if we are here to stay. And we know that cannot be true. So, why not plan for the future of life-eternal, instead? Build an inheritance for life in Heaven. And, we all know, that if we seek first His Kingdom and righteousness then God will supply all our need in this life too.

140 I know not why God’s wondrous grace

Benediction

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Bibliography

https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/deaths-per-day [Accessed 27/9/22]

Hughes, R. Kent, James: Faith That Works, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991)