James #7

Northside Church

James #7

5/30/21

James 4:13-17

NORTHSIDE… what is happening! My name is Jamey Mills and I am the lead pastor here at Northside Church. Such an incredible blessing to have you guys join us here or online.

You did it… We are in our last sermon in our series on James… I really hope it's been an encouragement to you. You can go to our website and find them there if you’ve missed any of them.

Just to shake things up a bit… let's play a little game… you fill in the blank I'll give you candy.

Who was James to Jesus?

When was the letter of James written?

Who was it written to ?

Week #1 We talked about how God is at work in our lives when things are ________?

Week #2 and #3. We talked about how important it is to not just hear God’s Word, but it should change what we ________?

Week #4 That real faith also impacts the way that we ______.

Week #5 James talks through the difference of two kinds of wisdom… worldly wisdom and what?

Week # 6, last week we talked about how sometimes in life we _______ in our relationship with God and James gave us keys to keeping our lives centered on Him.

For those of you who may not know… or who might not remember… Northside is about 68 weeks 8 hours and 30 minutes old… give or take.

If I had to some up my thoughts on the first year of church planting… I can’t, we are in church. Just kidding… it had been very hard… but also… unbelievable… God has been so incredibly good to us.

This whole last year has felt like that whole… one step forward 3 steps back… two steps forward one step back… and there are a lot of reasons for that.

On Feb. 9th we had our first service at Oak Grove Elementary… and after 5 weeks, the pandemic pushed us online for a season… and then we went outdoors for a time… and now… now we are here for the last time.

And this whole thing has reminded me… just how much of life is outside of my control… and it reminded me of a sermon that Kyle Idleman preached a while back that started like this…

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)

18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Be thankful in all circumstances… Kyle said it makes you wonder if Paul who wrote had been stoned one too many times…

Be thankful in all circumstances… Are you serious Clark?

And this was a bit ago… Kyle wasn't thinking about pandemics, masks, social distancing, vaccines, riots, fires or politics…

It’s important to know that Paul didn't say be thankful FOR every circumstance… but IN every circumstance… and that word… circumstance… comes from the same root word that we get the word circumference for… and it has this idea of everything within… and so Kyle said it’s like drawing a circle around your life… and everything within it is your circumstance….

And one of the hardest lessons in life… is not just that we have such little control over what’s going on in this crazy world all around us… but that I actually have very little control over so much of what happens in my circle. So much of my circumstances are beyond my control… not all of them for sure… but a lot of them.

It’s easy to feel like you have it under control… until a pandemic hits. Until you feel the ground shake beneath your feet (how many of you have been in an earthquake?), until you're stuck in a riptide, or feel the force of a hurricane… or the power of a tornado… or… until you get that phone call.

Any sort of control we may feel… in that moment… is rocked to the core.

Ecclesiastes 8:7 (NIV)

Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come?

No one knows the future…

Have you ever wondered why you don’t see more headlines like this…

PICTURE

If telling the future was a real thing… you’d see far more people raking in all sorts of sports bets and lotto numbers…

Here are a few stats from a nationwide survey that went out less than a year ago…

65% of Americans are fearful

71% say they have real anxiety about the future.

And the #1 reason for all of the anxiety isn’t pandemics, masks or distancing… the #1 stressor the reported was actually politics.

And with all of the uncertainty in our world… it’s easy to come to this place of... What's the use of even trying… or how in the world do you even move forward in all of this.

For years I used to look at this passage in proverbs…

Proverbs 16:9 NLT

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

We can make our plans,

but the LORD determines our steps.

And as a young man… a young pastor… I sort of walked away from this feeling like God was saying don’t make plans but trust in Him…

Sometime later… I was at Church at Suburban… and pastor Steve preached on this verse… and what I walked away with that day was this…

It is a Biblical responsibility for you to plan.

… to have one… but there is a right way to do it and we should never hold so tightly to our plan that we cannot see or respond to the Lord's leadership and direction in our lives that may lead us differently.

And I think that’s what James is talking about in our passage today too.

James helps us understand how to face an uncertain future with great faith… It was great advice to the severely persecuted church 2000 years ago who were struggling to find their way… to know what tomorrow would look like… and it's great advice for all that you face today…

James uses this illustration to help us see three common mistakes people often make when looking at the future…

James 4:13–17 NLT

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

James 4:13–17 (NLT)

13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

#1 There is no mention of God.

James is speaking right to where these people were… sent packing by persecution… starting over… making plans for the future in all sorts of crazy uncertainty.

Throughout proverbs there is a lot of wisdom that God gives us when it comes to making plans… Having a plan is not wrong, it's responsible…

And this person seems to have a fairly well thought through plan.

He knows the when… Today or tomorrow

He knows the where… He has a city in mind

He knows how long… a year

He knows the what… to start a business

She knows the why… to make a profit

And He knows the who… WE… he has a business partner.

There is nothing wrong with what he has down… it lacks detail, but that's not the point. The issue James is pointing out... there is no mention of God… or inviting Him into the process. There appears to be no thought of God, no room for God… making plans as if God didn't exist. God at best seems like maybe an afterthought.

This person's plan was totally self reliant…

4X’s he says the phrase… WE WILL… pretty sure he was a queen fan…

Real faith is anchored in God and on His word in a way that not only invites God into that process but allows God and His presence in their life to shape the process itself.

McAruthur says that nothing more clearly summarizes real faith more than a deep desire to do God’s will… both now and in the future.

How do you do that…

If we really want to experience all that God has for us… a life that is truly full of life giving things and free of those things that rob us of real life, the life He desires FOR you… we need to invest in our relationship with God.

Pray… pray about it. Pray before you plan and as you plan.

Prov. 3:5-6… Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all of your ways acknowledge HIM… and he will make your path straight.

Ps 119:32 David said I'll run the course you lay out for me if you'll just show me how. THE MESSAGE

Be flexible before the Lord… knowing that even though you plan your way, that it is the Lord who directs your steps.

Set aside 30 minutes this week right now… schedule it now… to prayerfully consider the plans you have… or even to prayerfully plan.

It does remind me of how I eat a little… If I actually plan it out… I will eat healthier. If I sort of wing it… I am left to decide what I want at the moment. Not great… Unless you are invested in burger king.

#2 We act like tomorrow is certain

One author said it this way… what are the two middle letters right in the middle of LIFE? (SLIDE)

If the word IF… there is a BIG IF right in the middle of life.

The average person lives 27375 days. I’ve lived 16,766 of those… but I am not promised even a moment more.

It reminds me of a story Jesus told in Luke 12…

A rich man had a bumper crop… so.. He sat back and itched his belly and said… so what’s my plan, I don't have room for all of it. I got it… I will rip down my old barns and build bigger ones… then I can sit back with my feet up and say to myself… Friend… you really did it. You have enough put up for years to come… so sit back… take it easy… Eat, drink, and be merry…

But God told Him… you fool… you live like tomorrow is a thing… this very night you will die… and what will become of all of this…

Jesus says that a person that works so hard to store up all this stuff without any consideration of God or inviting Him into that process is foolish.

Rick Warren said this… each of us is only one heartbeat away from eternity… so whatever you’re going to do, get on it…

And, that really does start with figuring out what you’ll do with Jesus. Who is He to you? What role does he play in your life today? What role will he play in the way you plan for the future?

Warren said… the good thing about the future is this… it doesn't hit you all at once, but a day at a time.

Jesus taught that Himself…

Matthew 6:34 NLT

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:34 (NLT)

34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Stop borrowing trouble from tomorrow.

Worry cannot change the past, it cannot predict tomorrow, and it will not change the choices of those around us. All it does is mess up our gut and our day.

James says… there is real value in knowing and living like tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

#3 We leave things undone.

It almost feels like James is saying

Don’t let the uncertainty stop you in your tracks or cause planning paralysis.

One of the verses that rocked me in my faith when I was younger is right there…

Pretty much all of my life I sort of subconsciously boil sin down to things that I do… and James reminds us that it's also things we leave undone.

Knowing the good we ought to do… but not doing it… is sin. And that truth has challenged me through the years… and it’s one that is not taught a lot but that we may need to hold on to a little more.

Are you willing to go there…

What are the things that you know you need to do under God… that you are living undone?

At home? At Work? Financially? In your relationships? And… in your relationship with God?

You’ll never slip and fall into health in any of those things. You won’t become the person you really want to be or that He desires you to be by leaving things undone.

Putting off doing the right thing… can have significant consequences.

It can damage our credibility, it can be taxing on our relationships, it can keep us in unhealthy patterns, it can cause us to miss out on great opportunities.

James speaks this uncomfortable truth… that your life… is like a blip… a mist that is here… and then gone…

We know a few things for certain…

God loves you

Sin… regardless of your mindset toward God… really is destructive.

And I could go on…

But the truth is… there is a ton of uncertainty… and James gives incredible advice in facing it…

Invite God into and allow Him to change the way you plan.

Challenge to take 30 minutes… Do it… 3 2 1 do it.

Really consider what the next step is in your spiritual growth that you have been putting off… THIS IS HUGE.

Inviting Jesus into your life?

Stop going through the motions of your faith?

Committing to reading His word daily?

Making the commitment to attend church regularly?

Actually serve at Church?

Seal with some sin that you’ve been allowing to stick around in your life?

Reconciling a relationship?

What excuse are you using or have you been using to avoid it?

Too busy?

Too hard?

Don’t know how?

Just feel awkward?

BUT really… What is it that keeps you from doing what you know you should be doing?

Don’t let uncertainty stop you in your tracks or keep you from doing the good you know you need to do.

INVITE MATT and TEAM up.

Thank God for the book of James. At least for me, there is almost this sense of relief in his straightforward approach… in speaking truth that we need to hear.

As we move on from this series…

May you always remember the God who is at work in you in life’s hardest things.

May you remember the value of being anchored to His word.

May your faith always be more than words that you say…

May your faith seasons the word that you say

May we be found living out godly wisdom and not relying on our own way of thinking.

May our lives reflect the reality of Jesus more than the culture around us.

And… we make the most of everyday in these uncertain times.

PRAY

Communion with Matt