05-27-07 - James 4.13-17 - Ignorant or Ignoring - NSB
NTSK – TBKC - JFB – Believer’s Bible Commentary – The Bible Exposition Commentary - KJV Bible Commentary – The Bible Reader’s Companion – Johnny Hunt’s Oultine on this passage – MacArhtur Study Bible – The Nelson Study Bible – Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Noting) - NAC on James – The New bible Commentary – McGee – Tyndale Concise bible Commentary -
Lacie – Scripture.
INTRODUCTION
It is good to be here tonight and a pleasure to be able to look into God’s Word with you.
Take your Bibles if you will and let’s turn to James 4:13-17
Tonight, James is talking to us about leaving God’s will out of our plans.
TWO WAYS TO LEAVE GOD OUT
You can be IGNORANT of His will
You can IGNORE His will
During the US civil war Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast. At one point one of the ministers said, "Mr. President, let us pray that God is on our side". Lincoln’s response showed far greater insight, "No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side."
Our goal is not that God would put His stamp of approval on what we want to do but our goal is to be in His will and doing what he wants us to do.
Let us look in vv. 13 and 14 at a man who was missing God’s will through ignorance.
James 4:13 - 14 (KJV) 13Go 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: 14Whereas 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.
In verse 13, we see a man with a vision.
He has a plan or a formula for what he wants to accomplish.
Just as you and I have formulas for our lives –
We plan where we want to be or what we want to do.
We have plans to go to school or to a new job or to get married or to take a trip.
We consider the time, the money, the people that need to be involved, the
locations, the reservations, and on and on. And we build a formula for what we want to accomplish.
We have a vision and we make plans to achieve what we have envisioned.
And there is nothing wrong with planning -
– as a matter of fact the Bible teaches us to plan.
But if you look at this fellow’s plan then you see the problem that we can have in our own plans
There is something missing.
God has not been included in the man’s vision.
So…
What James is warning us against tonight is that we do not neglect or leave out the divine part of the formula that we have for our life.
You and I need to know what God’s will is for our life so that we can let that will direct our plans.
What is God’s will for you? Well…
Some things are general and we should all follow them -
It is God’s will that we yield ourselves to Him (2 Cor. 8:5).
It is God’s will that we avoid sexual immorality (1 Thes. 4:3).
All Christians should rejoice, pray, and thank God (1 Thes. 5:16–18).
And we could go on and on speaking generally.
See…
God reveals His will in His Word but most folks ignore the Bible.
Now…
Every commandment in the Bible addressed to believers is part of the will of God, and must be obeyed. But God does not call each of us to the same work in life, or to exercise the same gifts and ministry. The will of God is “tailor-made” for each of us![1]
And although I do not know what God has planned for your life specifically, I do not that it is not God’s will for you to be involved in anything that is contrary to His revealed will in His Word.
The man in verse 13 has made all of his plans with no reference to God.
And the man who does his is condemned by the Word of God.
A. IGNORANCE OF GOD’S WILL (vv. 13-14)
He is acting without knowledge – and sometimes we do that.
But, he had a 1. VISION
His plans were not abnormal
This man was carrying on business just the way every other man does
But see, that is the problem.
He was an, “I will” guy
The rich young ruler of Luke 12 was an, “I will” guy
Satan was an, “I will” guy.
Isaiah 14:13, 14:
“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’.”[2]
John MacArthur says that people who make their plans without giving consideration to the will of God are practical atheists.
And that is true – What is the difference in you leaving God out of your plans and the atheist leaving God out of his plans?
The gifts and the intellect that we have came from God.
Yet when we plan, we sometimes consider everything except God.
Just because you are a good planner does not mean that your plans are not godless plans.
This man has…
considered personnel, profit, time, place –
He has an agenda with an anticipated result
Part of the problem that James want s to point out is that in the man’s vision, he has been pretentious enough to plan things that he has not control over.
His plans included today – but today is in God’s hands
His plans included tomorrow – but tomorrow is in God’s hands
His plans included a year from now – but a year from now is in God’s hands
Proverbs 27:1 (KJV) 1Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
So he had a vision but what we are reminded of in verse 14 is that this life is like a vapor.
2. VAPOR
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 vapour or a mist does not last very long does it. Mists certainly would not last very long where these people were at. Hot and arid…
The book of Job tells us that our days on earth are as a shadow.
That they pass like swift ships
I don’t’ care how much you have earned there is one thing that none of us have earned and that is tomorrow.
Your time is not our own – Your life is not our own.
Now, look at vv. 16 and 17
Because I want you to see that
There is a difference in being ignorant of God’s will and ignoring God’s will
James 4:16 - 17 (KJV) 16But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
B. IGNORING GOD’S WILL (vv. 16-17)
What we have talked about up to this point is someone who acts but does not know.
But now in v. 17 we see someone who knows but doesn’t act.
James here moves the spotlight over to those who know what the will of God is and still choose not to do it.
In the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:20) we have an excellent example of someone who knew to do well and yet did not.
Let’s turn there.
How many opportunities did the rich man have to do what was right for the beggar at his gate? Ye he never did.
Scripture really comes into a sharp focus at this point in James. What is the difference between actively doing wrong and passively not doing what is right?
They are both sin…
Well, if you do wrong then you are not submitting to God’s will – and that is sin.
That is you are guilty of a sin of commission.
Now, if you know to do right but you just don’t do it, then guess what? That also is sin.
The difference here is that you are guilty of a sin of omission.
It is not enough to just avoid doing what is wrong.
We are called to do what is right.
There are opportunities every day for us to do what is wrong or do what is right or do nothing at all.
Society would tell you that if you do nothing that you can excuse that as a neutral act. “I really did not do anything bad, I just did not get involved.”
Yet the Bible charges us to be involved in doing what is good.
And, I could be wrong but I believe the future of the church depends on it.
Somewhere along the line there has been a change -
Today, people want to know about God but they do not want to come to your church.
Churches that do not recognize and respond will die.
There is a risk to the church in worshipping together in comfortable surroundings with people we like.
We don’t want to leave.
Newspaper man Hurst. House in California – Rich enough to bring in everything he wanted and so he stopped going out. He became a recluse.
We are moving closer and closer to becoming spiritual recluses and dying from within.
If we don’t take the love of Jesus outside of these doors, then we have the knowledge but we are not doing the right thing with it.
To him that knows to do good and does not do it – to him it is sin.
We all need to be praying this week that God would reveal to us a way to do good in accordance with his revealed will.
And the further danger is that if we do not do what we should do then it will not be very long before we are doing what we should not do.
So, here is the deal –
First, we should know His will (Acts 22:14).
The will of God is not difficult to discover. If we are willing to obey, He is willing to reveal (John 7:17).
ALL OF IT
It is wrong to want to know God’s will about some matters and ignore His will in other matters. Everything in our lives is important to God, and He has a plan for each detail.
Next, we need to study and pray to understand His will (Eph. 5:17).
Let us seek not only the “what” but also the ”why.”
This is going to come as you grow in Gods Word.
A child knows what but often does not understand why.
Now, before we move on let me tell you that there are costs associated with knowing what is right and not doing it.
You risk chastening from a father who loves you. (Heb. 12:5–11)
You risk a loss of heavenly reward. (1 Corinthians 9:27)
Now, what should we do to avoid ignoring or being ignorant?
CONCLUSION (v. 15)
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
This means that we are to submit our plans to God’s will.
It is good to have goals but the ultimate goal must be the glory of God.
#1 – We have no knowledge of tomorrow
#2 – We have no assurance of a long life
#3 – We have no right to ignore God’s will
This life is too short to waste on that which is temporal.
So, James tells us that we should live according to this maxim”
“If the Lord will, we shall live…”
What does this mean?
Should we follow everything we say with this phrase?
No, that would be pretentious also
What it means is that any plans we make should be in light of our total dependence upon the Lord.
You may have goals to be a quadruple-billionaire while God may have plans for you to serve in humble surroundings.
The best advice I have seen in regards to living a life pleasing to God and in His will was given by warren Wiersbe:
“As you journey through life, stay close to your guide.”
Are you out of the will of God?
You are not the first.
Abraham, David, Jonah, Peter, Charlie, and others.
All you have to do tonight is to ask God to forgive you and when you cast your vision make sure that your ultimate goal is the glory of God.
Your business is God’s business – Don’t leave Him out.
Here is the thing –
It is not just a matter of ending every statement with, “if it is God’s will.”
It is a matter of seeking God’s will in everything that we do.
His grace goes ahead of His will
You follow His will and when you get there, His grace will keep you.
END
What are the benefits of doing the will of God? For one thing, you enjoy a deeper fellowship with Jesus Christ (Mark 3:35). You have the privilege of knowing God’s truth (John 7:17) and seeing your prayers answered (1 John 5:14–15). There is an eternal quality to the life and works of the one who does the will of God (1 John 2:15–17). Certainly, there is the expectation of reward at the return of Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:34).
plans with his friends (Rom. 1:10; 15:32; 1 Cor. 4:19; 16:7). Paul did not consider the will of God a chain that shackled him; rather, it was a key that opened doors and set him free.[3]
We can see here how commission, omission, and submission are interrelated.
Luke 12:47 (KJV) 47And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
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Luke 16:10 says:
Luke 16:10 (KJV) 10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
1 Peter 3:17 says:
1 Peter 3:17 (KJV) 17For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
Proverbs 21:13 says:
Proverbs 21:13 (KJV) 13Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
Matthew 7:26 says:
Matthew 7:26 (KJV) 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Matthew 25:27 says:
Matthew 25:27 (KJV) 27Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Matthew 25:45 says:
Matthew 25:45 (KJV) 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Proverbs 14:21 says:
Proverbs 14:21 (KJV) 21He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
1 John 1:8 says:
1 John 1:8 (KJV) 8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
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[1]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Jas 4:15.
[2]William MacDonald and Arthur Farstad, Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995), Jas 4:13.
[3]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Jas 4:15.