Planning without the Planner
Notes
Transcript
Announcements
Announcements
Have Joyce make an announcement about the Christmas Party this coming Saturday.
Introduce Matt Talbot.
It’s a busy season, so let’s be sure to find ways to stay connected to God.
Prayer
Prayer
Pray that we would see Christ in our busy season.
Pray that God would bless our Youth Leaders tonight. To thank Him for them.
Thank God for all who are there. That we would learn about Him.
Review
Review
We’ve been in the book of James and we’re almost to the last Chapter. We’ll probably finish before Christmas break, but we’ll see.
What are some themes we’ve seen throughout this book?
Give opportunity for 2-3 to respond. No more than that.
Let’s turn to our next section for tonight. It’s a brief lesson so we can have more time in our groups.
Such and Such a Town
Such and Such a Town
Raise your hand if you use a school calendar?
I use one too and it’s insanely helpful. I usually use my phone to keep track of meetings, responsibilities, and all the other stuff that I need to do. Whenever I’m planning out my week I must refer to it just to keep track of my busy schedule. A planner helps me know what’s coming, but it can’t predict my future. Not fully.
When there’s a family emergency, flat tire, snow day, surprise vacation, a planner doesn’t really help me much. It actually makes more work for me to move things around to acomodate that new event.
Planners are best used when they are loosely held.
Let’s start our reading tonight.
James 4:13 (ESV)
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”
James is talking to some invisible people again here to make a point. These people James is referring to are talking about going somewhere for a period of time to make some money. He’s not saying that making money is a bad thing! Paul would say the same in Ephesians 4:28
28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Labor is good. Doing honest work is good. Sharing what you labor for is good.
What is your life?
What is your life?
The problem underlying the assumption of these guys is that they’re doing it on their own strength.
14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
None of us knows what tomorrow holds.
24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,
Our planners fail us with statements like this. How do you plan for the unpredictable? You can’t. But! You can place your dependence on God and trust that His plans and purposes are for our good.
That’s what James wants us to remember. We should seek God’s will as we make our plans. Since he is the giver of each day, we should ask for Him to reveal His will to us before we attempt to make our plans. To plan ahead without God is to assume that we alone are in control of our destiny. It’s not depending on Him, which is boasting in our own strength.
Knowing the Right Thing
Knowing the Right Thing
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
That’s convicting to me. There are a lot of times where I don’t consider God in my plans. It’s true though. Not considering God, or depending on God, for our circumstances, future planning, or purposes is boasting. By not saying anything to God about our plans is to say something. It says, “we don’t need you.”
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
We use this verse as a “catch-all” for every sin. Of course, not doing the right thing is a sin. James places this here specifically though. The right thing to do when we make our plans is to seek God first.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I think one of the best ways to begin each day is by praying. As I’m getting out of bed, or when I finally get out, I’ll reflect on what I plan to do that day. I’ll then turn to the LORD and pray, asking that regardless of what I believe is before me, I would do the Lord’s will. I think it’s a good thing to pray “as the Lord wills” when we pray. Jesus shows us how this looks in Matthew 6. I’ll close with that prayer tonight before we break into groups to talk about what we learned.
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.