Tomorrow

· If you were asked in 1996 if the Dallas Cowboys would ever be in or win another Superbowl, you would have likely said Yes – even if you dislike the team you would have said yes ……. most folks would have said yes…… there was no way America’s team would miss being in another superbowl…….. but here we are 24 glorious years later … not one cowwhatever team has been in the superbowl…… it’s a heartbreaking reality for some for sure….

· If you were asked 20 years ago if the internet-based book broker, Amazon would take over the total on-line shopping experience, most folks would have said no….. but now we know different …. most folks have an Amazon account ….. Though Amazon is number 4 in overall retail shopping, behind Walmart, Costco, and Kroger …… Amazon dominates the on-line shopping experience …. Almost 3 times more in sales over their nearest competitor…….

· If you were asked 10 years ago your thoughts on Donald Trump being President someday, your answer would have likely been no…. ….. I mean ….. he was known for real-estate ventures, as owner of a USFL football team, as a reality tv show star, and for his famous phrase ….. “you’re fired” ….. though when interviewed by Larry King and ABC in 2010, he hinted at running…. he even mentioned it back in the 80’s ….. you still would have thought there was no way he’d ever run and win …… but he did just that in 2016…

· If you were asked this time last year what 2020 was going to be like, no one…. and I mean no one ….. not one person would have thought 2020 would have turned out like it has…….

· This time last year our economy was setting records….. jobless rates at their lowest in my lifetime…… people who wanted to work could find a job……. the economic quality of life was off the charts…..

· we even knew a presidential impeachment was coming…….

· Here are some things that happened 1 year ago today that we’ve likely forgotten by now:

o Local daytime temperatures were in the upper 50’s

o Increasing numbers of Antisemitic attacks were taking place in New York City

o 30 rockets were fired at a US military base in Northern Iraq

o Russia, China, and Iran had joint military exercises

o Travelers at 5 airports were potentially exposed to measles

o There was a plane crash in Kazakhstan that killed 12;

o the remains of 6 people were found after a helicopter crash in Hawaii,

o southern California was hit by a snowstorm and a F zero tornado hit Ventura…….

o And we started hearing about an unknown viral illness in China that reportedly showed no evidence of human-to-human transmission……

o That “unknown” illness, with zero evidence of human-to-human transmission, as reported by the Chinese communist government and World Health Organization collaborators, turned into a global pandemic that is still with us today.

· The world is unpredictable …… its too random …..

· the possibilities of what could happen from 1 second to the next are too numerous to count….

· No one, except the Lord God, knows what could happen this very second or the next minute or hour or day or week ……. Let alone what the next year is going to be like ……

· unless you’ve been asleep, 2020 has already proved it…… we don’t know what’s coming next……..

· we are not in control …. we have no real, lasting, and sustaining power over this life….. but we like to think we do……

· Let me see some hands raised based on the following questions:

· Are you a planner?

· Do you plan out what you’re going to do for the day or most days?

· Do you develop plans for the week of things you’d like to accomplish during the week?

· Do you develop schedules and hope to stick to the schedule?

· Do your plans come together more times than not?

· Do you mostly get the things done that are on your list?

· Do you try to develop lists and they mostly never work out?

· Do you hate lists because you can’t stick to them?

· Do things happen that prevents you from being able to plan and complete your lists?

· Does it drive you crazy when your plans fall apart?

· Do you become disheartened when things don’t go your way?

…….does all that hard work by planning and preparation feel like a waste of time and effort…….

…….. do you feel like you should be able to assume what’s going to happen next so you can plan and prepare better ……….

……. When things don’t work out ….. who do you tend to blame?

· ……. When things don’t work out ….. who do you tend to blame?

Do you blame others?

Do you blame the evil one?

Do you blame circumstances?

Do you blame yourself?

Do you blame God?

Let me ask you this:

· Why do you blame others when your plans don’t work out? …… could they have caused something not to work? Sure …. They could have ….. but why are you blaming them? Can you control others?

· Are you blaming the evil one? If you don’t belong to Jesus, there is really no reason for the evil one or the fallen angles that are with him, to bother you….. you are already with them ….. they kinda leave you alone…… until you start to look into the things of Jesus…. then they mess with you ……

o on the other hand ….If you belong to Jesus, we know from John 10:10 that the evil one is the thief that comes to steal, kill, and destroy…..

o he is going to do whatever he can to cause you to fail… to be ineffective in your Christian walk….. to cause you to take your eyes off our Savior.

o We already know he’s gonna mess with you…… but what is the reason for the blame?

· Why are you blaming the circumstances? Were you able to tell what was going to happen? Could you tell in your planning things were going to happen? Could you see the future? So why are you blaming your circumstances?

· Are you blaming yourself? Most folks don’t blame themselves when things don’t turn out like they had planned….. people are too prideful….. too full of pride …. people tend to blame everyone but themselves …. If you do tend to blame yourself, why the blame?

· Do you blame God when things don’t work out? Why do you blame Him for your planning? Did you include Him in your planning? Did you ask Him to lead you in it? Did you seek His will? Did you seek to do His will? Or did you seek to do what you wanted ….. seek your own will? If you sought to do what you wanted, to do your will, then why would you blame the holy and sovereign God?

So…. it seems that when we’ve planned things out …. when we’ve planned to do this or to do that …… and we’ve planned it all out …… when we feel like we got it down and we’re ready to execute …. Or when we’ve enacted our plans and they don’t go quit right …..

- we get mad, or upset, or discouraged and look to assign blame …. But who really is at fault when things don’t go the way we planned for them to go?……

Please open your bibles to the Epistle of James Chapter 4 and we’ll go over verses 13 to 17

· While you search for the scripture ….. here’s a few things to know……

· the word epistle means “letter” …… so this is a letter written by James…… and do you remember who James is?

· James is one of Mary’s sons with Joseph, Jesus’ younger brother. And he’s Jude’s brother, who also wrote a letter to a group of people within God’s church.

· James wrote his letter to the Jewish Christ-believers that were dispersed or living throughout Europe, Africa and middle eastern areas – it was to be read when the folks gathered together in worship – as we do in our services today……

So…… James 4:13-17

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”— 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.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

· In verse 13, we see where someone, who, for all likely purposes is a business man, had made some plans ……

· they had planned out when they were going to do something ……

· They had planned where they would do that something……

· They planned how long they were going to do that something, in the place they had planned to go

· And the defined that something ….. and the results of their plans

· “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”

· They had it all planned out……

· By simply reading these words you would think its good that they had planned – they had done nothing wrong by planning

· And you would be right that planning needs to happen…..

We read in Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

· We need to plan….. and plan diligently before we do anything…….

· And here, James is not rebuking their motives to make a profit ….

So why did James write verse 13 …… well apparently the plans were not done diligently enough ….. they were done with the wrong heart….. with the wrong mindset ….. with the wrong intentions……. Everything that needed to be included in the planning were not taken into account …… pieces were missing…… things needed to be considered…….

· They had become blinded by the pursuit of the deal …… to trade and make a profit

· Their eyes were set in the wrong place……

· Now Read verse 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.”

· Like I stated earlier, we have no idea what’s going to happen the next second …. let alone what’s going to happen tomorrow

· We have no control over the people, places, events, or circumstances ….. and trying to ascertain what’s happening next is impossible…. It’s a futile endeavor.

· Proverbs 27:1 tells us “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”

· We all have plans of what we want to do day after day ….. wake up, go to work or do some work, or clean house, or fix our car, or go to school, do some relaxing, go to bed, and do it all over again…..

· So what make you think you’ll have a tomorrow? Were you guaranteed a tomorrow or a chance to replay the previous day?

· We have no guarantees of another day……

· Go back and look at the rest of verse 14…… “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

· We are only here for a little while …… on the grand timeline ….. you are here for a whisper ….. like the mist of breath on a cold winters day……

· King David summed it up in Psalm 103:15-16 ” As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.”

· We are here for only a little while with no guarantee of being here tomorrow…….

· So we make plans, and work and toil …… thinking we have set in motion the best laid plans for a set period of time……

· But we don’t even know what we don’t know……

· and our plans fail or don’t turn out quit like we’d like……

· all because we excluded the most important part ……

· and James tells us in Verse 15 what we were missing…… where our focus should have been at the beginning…… who we excluded…..

· Let’s read Verse 15 again: “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

· Do you see it…… do you see it there in verse 15……

· in all our planning ….. in all our efforts…… in the businessman’s planning ……

· God was not included; He was not considered ……. He was not even thought of ……. He wasn’t first……

· God and His will were neglected…….

· So what does it mean when you hear the words “God’s Will” … what is God’s Will? ……

· You’ve heard the Lord’s Prayer, and we see it in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verses 5 to 14.

· In verse 10 we read the words,

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

· Right there in the middle we see “your will be done”

· God’s will is whatever He wants to do ….. whatever He wants to happen…… whatever He plans to do …… whatever He wants to initiate …… whatever He desires….. whenever He desires ….. at whatever time He desires …….. in whatever way He desires ….. whatever it is that He delights in ……. In the exact way He wants…..

· whatever, however, whenever He wants…… He is God ……. He does what He wants……

· Let’s read Psalm 115:3 “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.”

· And in case you missed it…….

· Here’s Psalm 135:6 to clarify ……. “Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.”

· God does what He wants, wherever and whenever He wants….

· And He told us what He wants and doesn’t want,

· how He wants and how He doesn’t,

· what He desires and doesn’t desire

· what He delights in and doesn’t delight in

As you have heard many, many, many, times …… its God’s Will that you love Him first, to love those He loves, and to love other Christians….. to share your faith…. To share the Good News concerning Jesus ….. His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension ….. to make, teach, and baptize new believers as you go about your life.

- He’s told us that if we love Him we will do what He says……

· Let’s look at Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

· How about 1st Peter 2:15-16 “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

· Look at 1st John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

· And Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

· Also Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

· How about 1st Thessalonians 4:1-8 “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

· Just from these verses……

o Through the Holy Spirit in you….work out your salvation …. Do His will

o Live as a servant of God …… serve Him and those around you

o Don’t live and act like the rest of the world…. Don’t live like you don’t know Him….. live for Him

o Through the Holy Spirit that lives in you ….. learn His word, know His word, live it out ….. do what it says …

o You were created to do God’s work here on earth….. He freely gave of Himself to save you from hell ….. believe in Him, serve Him, share Him with others and serve them

o You represent Him on earth among humankind…. Control yourself…… don’t live impure, sexually immoral, lustful lives….. act like God is watching …… because He is ……. Love does not wrong others…… to Love means not to dishonor your Savior…..

And that is what James points out at the end of today’s passage….

Look at James 4 verses 16 and 17……

16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

· Seeking to do what you want without including God is arrogant, its prideful, its unloving of our Savior

· As a believer - Its sinful to plan without including God

· Its sinful to think you have control total over your circumstances ….. we don’t have total control…. God does

· we don’t even know what is going to happen in the next second…… we don’t know what tomorrow will bring…………. or even if we have a tomorrow…….. but God knows……

· Its sinful to not do what you know is right

· Its sinful not to seek or do God’s will…..

· If you remove God from your life…… if you don’t include Him…… if He is not part of your planning ……. you have only yourself to blame with things don’t go as planned …… no reason to blame anything or anyone but yourself…… let alone blame God when you didn’t include Him……

· If you include Him and seek His will in all things …… there’s no reason to get upset, or to be discouraged, or to give up hope when things to happen in your timing …… because its all about His timing and His will …..

· if it does happen like you thought its because He doesn’t want it to…..

· Just know it’ll happen when He wants it to happen…. He’s God and you are not….. He is in control …… you are not…… He knows what the future holds ….. you do not…….

· So you have no reason to lay blame…. no reason to get discouraged, no reason to lose hope, no reason to get angry……. No reason at all for any of those things……. Doesn’t that give you a sense of freedom?

· Centering your life on God and His Will…. removes the negative ….. it provides freedom ……. it increases joy …… gives you purpose ….. and gives you hope ….

· Gives you the perfect plan for your life …. A life for which you were created……. Amen!

· For the coming year ……. For 2021 ……. And for the rest of the time you have here before the Lord calls you home …… starting now and at the least, Tomorrow ……. I challenge you ….. as a believer and follower of Christ Jesus ….. to include God in your planning …… include Him in everything you do…… seek Him in every aspect of your life …… seek to do His will in everything……. Center yourself on Him…….. Less of you ……. More of Him……

------------Invite worship team to come up …… and pray-------------