Looking to the Future

Introduction:

· Practical wisdom…especially for planners…but even for not

WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT THE PROBLEMS IN PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE, THE PROPER WAY TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE, AND THE PROMISE THAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE.

I) Two Problems in Planning For the Future

A. We Assume too much knowledge & control over the future

i. Is the Problem in planning? No.

1. Some of us might use this text to dismiss planning

2. But…James assumes, and scripture counts as wise planning (vs. 15b)

ii. The planning boasted in the future (vs. 16, 13)

1. The “planners” go into detail and certainty about their plans (vs. 13a)

2. ILLUSTRATE: your future plans (celebrate? College? A Job?) Your Goals? It’s easy to have it all laid out for us…

iii. But …Life is transient and so our plans can change quickly

1. WE are transient, so all we pursue can vanish (vs. 14b) 

2. APPLICATION: We confidently plan…then– a person changes their mind; our health fails; financial crisis

B. We assume our success

i. We boastfully assume our success (vs. 13)

1. The plans for the future assumed a positive outcome to their labors

2. ILLUSTRATION:

a. I’m going to go to college and earn a degree

b. I’m going to get married and start a family

c. I’m going to get a job and make a name for myself

ii. The Future does not guarantee success

1. We easily believe success is God’s will – but what about “failure”

a. I worked really hard but my grades weren’t good enough

b. My marriage ended in divorce or we struggled with infertility

c. I got overworked three years into my job and burnt out

2. In these moments, we ask: “My plans failed? God Failed?”

BEFORE WE ANSWER THAT, LET’S LOOK AT HOW WE SHOULD PLAN INSTEAD.

II) Two Ways to Properly Plan For the Future

A. We Plan While Trusting God’s Will

i. Many are Anxious because we want Control

1. “if the Lord wills”: Not fatalistic, but a liberating idea! (vs. 15a)

2. desire to control circumstances, people, events, outcomes àAnxiety

3. Not one MILLISECOND belongs to you…but it IS in God’s hands!

ii. Therefore: Make plans & work towards them: trusting God

1. APPLICATION: Trust that God uses human agency to bring them about

2. APPLICATION: If plans don’t work out, learn from mistakes, rest in God

3. EXAMPLE: Coming home from Africa…stuck in Ghana

B. We Plan With a Posture of Worship

i. God is the sovereign king of the universe (See vs. 16, 4:6)

1. Providence is a reflection of God’s character: “Father” AND “King!”

2. …and we are not! The opposite of boasting is humility before God

ii. Therefore:

1. I will trust God with every detail of my life

2. APPLICATION: whether planning a picnic, or my life goals, I let my heart stand in awe of God’s sovereign power or goodness.

I KNOW WHAT SOME MUST BE THINKING – BECAUSE I THINK ABOUT IT TOO.

III) The Promise that Makes it Possible

A. The Cross Secures God’s Perfect Will

i. We protest and resist this because…

1. …layoffs; college closes, cancer; the relationship ends; the child dies, …

2. Can we really trust God with our future? That THIS is God’s will?

ii. Jesus in the Garden Jesus knew about the future:

1. he wasn’t stoic or fatalistic, in fact, he prayed for a different way

2. Yet, Jesus trusts God enough to say, “Yet not my will, but yours”  

B. The Cross Points us To What is Eternal

i. The cross secures God’s Perfect Will – even from travesty

1. On Easter Morning God’s “future” broke in

2. APPLICATION: When cancer “wins” or the plans fail… d can bring life out of death, surely he can do that with your life.

Transition:

Conclusion

Communion: Looking back at what Jesus has done, points forward to the future, no matter what road we take to get there