So, what are your plans?
How to live as a slave: Epistle of James • Sermon • Submitted
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· 53 viewsSubmitting to God's will vs. our plans
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Plans, everyone has them
Plans, everyone has them
Plans, don’t we make plans? Don’t we have good intentions when we make them? Even godly plans, or what appears to be godly plans? In our passage tonight we continue with things to avoid (Jm4:1-17) this time regarding plans as it comes with pride, boasting, not considering God and God’s plans vs. our own.
Things to avoid:
Envy (Jm4:1-5)
Pride (Jm4:6:10)
Judging (Jm4:11-12)
11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
We did not cover these verses last week so I did not want to do a passover on them, I thought better touch on them now.
Do not speak ill, evil of one another, that is judgment
By Speaking ill we are breaking the law (Gal5:14; Mt22:40)
The law being spoken of here is summed up pretty simply.
14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
It is love! Or as Jesus puts it.
40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge and we are not Him
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge and we are not Him
We are to love them, God will handle the judgment,and that should be a serious load off our back.
So now, let me ask a question, is making plans wrong? Do you make plans? I know I do (insert personal view, calendar info here)
Plans we all have them or have made them.
Plans for college, job
Plans for marriage and family
Plans for vacations, and even retirement
And yes, plans for eternity too.
Things to consider as we journey today on what are your plans.
Plans in and of themselves are not bad (Act15:36; Act18:20-21)
Paul made plans
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”
And then look at
20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.
Plans made, plans made with stipulation “if God wills”
Making plans, setting goals is a good discipline for life and growth.
In making plans there are right ways, wrong ways and that is what we are looking at today.
Plans: The Right Way
Plans: The Right Way
Plans, we can use planners, buy planners, we can write out plans, we can even hire professional planners, but we need to be careful when planning to do it the right way. James is addressing the right way and the wrong way and the intentions behind the plans are just as important.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Can you see the problem with the plans here (v.13)?
They are self-assertive in their travel plans
They are self-confident in the intended time and results
They are self-centered in their own ability and trade relations.
Thought it better to point out the problem prior to looking at the right way to making plans.
Right way: Submit our plans to the will of God
Make the plans contingent on Gods will (Jm4:15; Act18:21; 1Cor16:7)
21 but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.
and
7 For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits.
Submitting to God’s will is evidence of our faith.
Know God’s will, discern God’s will and plan accordingly
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Understand God’s will (Eph5:17)
Be filled with His will (Col1:9)
Prove his good and perfect will (Rom12:2)
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Understand God’s will (Eph5:17)
Be filled with His will (Col1:9)
Prove his good and perfect will (Rom12:2)
17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Don’t be a fool. God has given us what we need so we can know His will.
Understand God’s will (Eph5:17)
Be filled with His will (Col1:9)
Prove his good and perfect will (Rom12:2)
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
Filled with knowledge of His will!
Understand God’s will (Eph5:17)
Be filled with His will (Col1:9)
Prove his good and perfect will (Rom12:2)
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Knowing and applying produces proof which is good, acceptable and perfect!
God’s revealed will comes through the scripture, so we need to put the scripture in us so we can know and so we can walk in God’s will. We can plan, we can act, we can walk accordingly when we know God’s revealed will. May we submit to God and His good and perfect will when we make plans.
Then there is God’s permissive will. We know we have free will and God allows us to chose and to live with the consequences be them good or bad. (expand on this for 1-2 minutes)
not matters of right and
Now from the right way to the wrong way.
Don’t consult God or ignore His will
Don’t consult God or ignore His will
There are some harsh things to grasp in this next section, so hopefully it will help us to understand what we should do vs. what not to do and why.
When we ignore God’s will it is
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Folly (Jam4:3-15)
For life is complex (v.13)
Life is uncertain (v.14)
Life is frail and brief(v.14; Ps39:5-6, 11; Job9:25-26)
Since life is short, brief it is important we do the will of God (1Jn2:17)
This way is boastful and arrogant (Jm4:16)
Boastful, arrogant and even evil (Jm4:16-17)
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Folly (Jam4:13-15)
For life is complex (v.13)
Life is uncertain (v.14)
Life is frail and brief(v.14; Ps39:5-6, 11; Job9:25-26)
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
Jm4:
Now check this out; life is but a vapor, a breath and it quickly passes away.
5 “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. 6 “Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
11 “With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.
Since life is short, brief it is important we do the will of God (1Jn2:17)
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
This way is boastful and arrogant (Jm4:16)
Boastful, arrogant and even evil (Jm4:16-17)
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
And add to that it is arrogant, and evil, it is also sin.
17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
We are not God and should not put ourselves in the place of God by planning without God and God’s will being considered. For that type of arrogance, boasting is sinful and evil.
So what good is planning if there is no application? So here are some things to consider and apply.
Application
Application
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Man’s plans should be tentative
Your plans are not your own (Jer29:11; Isa55:8-9)
Your time is not your own, nor your life (1Cor6:19-20)
Replace self-centered plans with leaning and honoring God (Pro3:5-6)
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Man’s plans should be tentative
Your plans are not your own (Jer29:11; Rom8:28; Isa55:8-9)
11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
I thought about leaving this verse alone and expounding on it, but better I give you the scripture in context.
10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Jer29:
12 ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jer29:12-13
In a time they are being taken into exile, they are told to make themselves comfortable to build houses etc. (v.4-7); don’t listen to the false prophets (v.8-9) but know God works all things to the good
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
now the Isaiah passage
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares 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.
Isa
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares 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.
Replace self-centered plans with leaning and honoring God (Pro3:5-6)
So if God’s thought and ways are higher than our own ways, we better seek Him and His ways.
Man’s plans should be tentative
Your plans are not your own (Jer29:11; Isa55:8-9)
Your time is not your own, nor your life (1Cor6:19-20)
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Replace self-centered plans with leaning and honoring God (Pro3:5-6)
Man’s plans should be tentative
Your plans are not your own (Jer29:11; Isa55:8-9)
Your time is not your own, nor your life (1Cor6:19-20)
Replace self-centered plans with leaning and honoring God (Pro3:5-6)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
And in conclusion:
Be sure to consider God and God’s will through prayer, through His Word
Carry out the Lord’s will daily and receive the Lord’s blessings daily.
Do it all with the right heart, right intentions, not about you and money, but about Him and His will and glory.
(Encouragement slide) - encouragement (Encouragement slide 2) prayer (exit slide)
