Ye ought to say, if the Lord will

Service Notes

Tonight we continue in Long, Story Short and start with a testimony

Preparing for our missions conference

Bible Reading

In our call to humility we were asked a hard but needed question.

Who do we think we are? James 4:12 “12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”

We were confronted with these undeniable truths.

1. Humble hearts listen to God concerning how we speak of others. v.11

2. Our discussions about others reveal our judgmental attitudes. v.11

3. God alone has the right to be the lawgiver and judge. v.12

Today we start with the expression “Got to now”.

We will only see it twice in James. (5:1)

a phrase designed to arrest attention

Attention to (1) In our arrogance we attempt to live a Godless sentence (2) In humility we will plan and speak with an awareness of God

Main Points.

The fleeting nature of life and our uncertainty about tomorrow should keep us humble. v.14

Even with our limitations, we often drift into godless planning, and this is a subtle evil. v. 13, 16a

We should speak and live with a humble awareness of God's will for our lives. v. 15

James 4:13–17 (KJV)

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Pastoral Prayer

Luke and Adri Coffey

The Clanton family

Sermon Introduction

Let us start today by considering the the distance between your current view of life and the biblical view of life.

What time is it? Kids often ask this question. You consider what will they do with the information. What do they know about time?

What do we know about time? I think we all can say “we got here much faster than we expected.”

Are we humbled when we consider time?

Prayer of David Psalm 39:4 “4 LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.”

Ken Boa in his discipleship book Conformed to His Image calls it Cultivating an Eternal versus a Temporal Perspective

We get confronted with this in the “House of Mourning” Ecclesiastes 7:2 “2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.”

No funeral service or lost of a loved one has had the ability to do in my heart what a confrontation with the Word of God has done.

Will of God

As with last week when we looked at the word sin, I think we would benefit from considering the term “will of God.” The phrase “If the Lord will” should be part of our lives.

Definition: God's will is the things that God wants, and God is unafraid to communicate these things to us.

Romans 12:2 “2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove (discern) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Our desire should be for a renewed mind. Not a crystal ball. Our desire is to discern what does God desire for our lives.

Addressing Common Misconceptions

God's will is not just about specific life decisions but about living in alignment with His revealed will.

THOUGHT OF GOD’S WILL AS SOME TRAIN STATION THAT WAS LIVING FROM SOME UNKNOWN STATION AND TIME. Before coming to God with the “where do I go to college” or “should I take this job” questions, ask this. — This belief leads us to a view of God who is uninterested in our Monday morning plans.

Am I a believer? 1 Timothy 2:4 “4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Am I yielding to the Spirit and allowing His sanctifying work in my life? Ephesians 5:16–18 “16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

Am I living a pure, godly life? 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:”

Am I submissive to God-given authority in my life? 1 Peter 2:13–15 “13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:”

Am I willing to suffer for Christ? 1 Peter 3:17 “17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”

When the foundational principles of God’s will are followed, other life decisions will naturally align with His desires. Often I have found myself with not knowing what I should do in a detail of my life, I have often found the solution is being obedient to some area already known of God’s will.

1. The fleeting nature of life and our uncertainty about tomorrow should keep us humble. v. 14

James 4:14 “14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

A. We are ignorant of the future.

James’ first word to us in showing the proper wisdom and humility.

Find the most knowledgeable man or woman you know. They can know about all the different eras of history. But as them “What will happen tomorrow?” Proverbs 27:1 “1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

Story about Tommy Bowden and his dad.

It is foolish to not admit what you do know. Luke 12:19–20 “19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”

B. Our days are numbered.

Illustration: You would think to say life is like a candle would be good enough. But it is a vapor.

We should constantly be acknowledging this.

Job said my life is like the wind Job 7:7 “7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.”

Moses said we are like grass that springs up and then withers. So we should number our days. Psalm 90:12 “12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Paul said we are like a flapping tent being dismantled by the wind. 2 Cor 5

David said, "My days are a mere handbreadth," Psalm 39:5 “5 Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.”

Country musicians tell us to “live like we are dying” others tell us to have the “time of our lives.”

You do not have to go to Heaven. You do not have to go to Hell. But you can’t stay here. - Adrian Rogers

It should be heard in our prayers ”Thank you, Lord for giving us another day in which to serve You. Thank you for letting us wake up this morning.”

There are probably times in all of our lives when someone walks into the room you are in and has you sit down as they share information with you. When you get up you know that you will never be the same. Some area of life or way of thinking will be forever altered. I do not know exactly how I viewed time before someone walked into a room and taught from this passage but I do remember never thinking of time the same. Story of hearing this passage with an empty seat beside me.

Transition: How ridiculous then to plan your life without the eternal God. It is not only foolish but it is arrogant.

2. Even with our limitations, we often drift into godless planning, and this is evil. v. 13, 16a

A. Planning is not the problem.

James 4:13 “13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:”

They plan to set out on a trip today or tomorrow:

They plan to arrive at a destination.

They plan to spend a certain amount of time there.

They plan to engage in business and carry through a plan of action while they are in that city.

They plan for the business to have certain results.

What is wrong with this?

Is God opposed to planning?

In short, No

Proverbs teaches us there is an “Moral Obligation to Plan”

What's wrong is that the plan is made in the mind and spoken with the mouth without taking a true view of life and God into account.

This sentences change from person to person, but God is ignored in all planning.

“Today or tomorrow I will go here, I will do this, and this will be the result.”

If your life is nothing more than a Godless sentence, than so will be your eternity.

Sentence: the punishment assigned to a defendant found guilty by a court.

B. Planning without consideration of God’s will for your life is equated with boasting.

James 4:16 “16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.”

Deeper problem here than just the absence of true words and the presence of bad theology; arrogance.

We plan with no consideration of God because in our arrogance we believe we have involved everyone that matters in the decision making.

C. Rejoicing in Godless planning is evil.

James 4:15 “15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”

What ways should we be concerned about the Lord’s will.

James 4:15 “15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”

In our every breath. / we shall live

In everything we do. / this and the that

Many of us are guilty of wanting to believe that God cares very little about our lives day to day. God is not a parole officer. He is a present, personal, loving Father.

Why is this sinful?

It is arrogant not to believe with your heart and confess with your lips that ultimately God governs how long you live and what you accomplish.

It is not of faith. Romans 14:23 “23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

We know better. James 4:17 “17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

To whom much is given, much is required. We are given understanding today.

1000 years from now will we look into each others eyes and say “Why did we not take our vapor of life more seriously?”

Transition: In contrast we should bring our thoughts and plans into submission to God.

3. We should speak and live with a humble awareness of God's will for our lives. v. 15

Section is to a targeted audience: 13 Go to now, ye that say..

A. Our lives should be prefaced with “Lord willing”

James 4:15 “15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”

This requires a paradigm shift in our thinking.

A paradigm shift takes place when the rules or boundaries change, so that we no longer see things from the same perspective; when the rules change, our way of seeing is altered.

Most think of life as long and eternity non-existent.

Most think this life is to be about me, and Jesus gets the life to come.

Most think and make plans only with regard to their own wills for their lives.

The Apostle Paul as an example of how we should think and speak.

Acts 18:21 “21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.”

1 Corinthians 4:19 “19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.”

1 Corinthians 16:7 “7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.”

More than saying “Lord willing” but not less.

God means for the truth about himself and about life to be known and felt and spoken as part of our reason for being.

You weren't just created to go to Macon and do business; you were made to go to Macon with thoughts and attitudes and words that reflect a right view of life and God.

Simply: God cares about how you speak publically of His role in your life.

B. Requires a desire and willingness to learn and live out God’s will.

Henry Ward Beecher, that great preacher of old, put it this way. “Imagine. Imagine a man building a house, and the man building the house decides to build it by his own plan rather than the plan of the architect. And so the man proceeds to build, and the architect comes and proceeds to check, and there’s no relationship between the two. The result is absolute chaos.” Henry Ward Beecher said, “So it is in building a life. God is the architect, and a man would be an absolute fool if he decided to build it any way his whims dictated.”

C. Doing the will of God is another test of living faith.

Your desire to know and live according to the will of God is a way to examine your heart to see if you’re genuinely God’s child.

A prayer of a follower of Jesus. Matthew 6:9–10 “9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Does that come easy from you; because that’s the cry of the heart of a true child of God – seeking to do God’s will.

Constant disregard for and constant disinterest in the will of God is the surest evidence of the presence of pride.

Grace is not extended to the proud.

Review

The fleeting nature of life and our uncertainty about tomorrow should keep us humble. v.14

Even with our limitations, we often drift into godless planning, and this is a subtle evil. v. 13, 16a

We should speak and live with a humble awareness of God's will for our lives. v. 15

Closing Thought Our time is short and our knowledge is small, Let humility guide our thoughts, words, and all. Boasting is evil; instead, we should kneel, And seek God’s guidance for the plans He’ll reveal.