Common Temptations to all Believers: Boasting Self-Sufficiency

James 4:13-17

L/W-James taught us and challenged us to be on guard in our judgment of others—that judgment can come in many forms (cynicism, criticism, slander, gossip, and backbiting. It is a subject the Bible speaks about in some 194 verses throughout It’s entirety

Like last week, this week’s message covers another common temptation we face as believers, especially as we mature—and its another temptation the Bible warns us heavily about—the sin of self-sufficiency.

Two springs ago, an individual came to speak at a youth retreat. And while I don’t remember the majority of what he spoke about, what I do remember is this statement (as told to me by my wife)—”You are the author of your own story.”

In this one statement, the seed of self-sufficiency had been planted into the minds of young H/S students; that they themselves could plan, obtain, find success, and find fulfillment— if, in like the children’s book, “The Little Engine that Could” they recited and lived by the mantra, “I think I can, I think I can.” The mistake in this statement and others like it is the word, “I.”

The message of the world (which is the message of the enemy) revolves around words such as, “I,” or “self,” phrases like, “I’m possible,” “I am enough,” “self-care” “be kind to yourself,” “self-love,” “you do you,” “live your own truth." These statements and others like it present the allusion which leads to a thinking and belief:

That mankind can make his/her own path

That mankind is in charge of his/her own destiny

That mankind is in total control of his/her own life and fate.

That mankind has the ability in themselves to

The truth of the gospel reminds and teaches us the exact opposite and cautions the spiritually mature to stay on guard against self-sufficiency, and warns those apart from God that life without involving God is both foolish and spiritually fatal:

I. (v.13). Self-Sufficiency is planning without God/making decisions apart from God

James 4:13 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;”

“Come now”—in the original language of the Bible, this statement says, “Now look here.”

Statement which expresses disapproval—which alludes to the belief that believers James is writing to were in danger of or already fallen into living a life of self-sufficiency, self-reliance, or reluctance:

In self-sufficiency we say

“I am enough, my own strength, mind, goodness, and skills are enough.”

I wonder how much more convicting it would be if we labeled self-sufficiency another Biblically accurate way…a lack of faith and trust in God.

In self-reliance we say

“I can rely on my on strength, mind, goodness, and skills to find fulfillment, be successful, or fill the void my heart longs for.”

In reluctance we say

“I am too afraid, “ or, I am too weak.”. It is here we must remember one of God’s characteristics—His compassion. (An O/T look and a N/T look)

Judges 7:10 “But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant,”

(Recount briefly the account of Gideon)

In God’s calling us Himself, in His calling us to His will/plan, He’s not oblivious to the trials and temptations you will face and He’s not oblivious to my or your weaknesses—He created you and He knows you—further; and in His compassion towards you, He has accounted for them. And if He has accounted for them (He does so ahead of time), He’s already prepared and set aside the grace, mercy, strength, and courage you need to overcome and endure them.

Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

“I am too comfortable”…but we must remember

Account of Ananias (Acts 9)

“I don’t want to give up control.”…but we must remember

Proverbs 16:3-4 “Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established. The Lord has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.”

Proverbs 19:21 “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.”

Romans 8:28 “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.”

“I don’t want to give up my sin!”

If in your reluctance to give up your sin you think, “I have gone too far, done too much, and I am too far gone.”…you must remember

Ephesians 3:16-19 “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Whether it’s self-sufficiency, self-reliance, or reluctance, the heart displayed is:

A heart which refuses to trust God, which prefers to depend on self, operate out of fear, and believe the lies of the enemy over the promises of God.

A heart that says, in it’s pride, “I don’t need God, I don’t want God, and I don’t trust God”

When it comes to our lives, to the planning out of our lives, what is God (through James) teaching:

What Scripture is not saying: Scripture is NOT saying

We shouldn’t plan

We shouldn’t plan for the future

We shouldn’t take the time and effort to plan—we should be diligent and not slothful to plan:

Romans 12:11 “not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;”

What Scripture IS saying:

Believers should plan and think about their lives—what they do, where they will work, live, raise a family, etc.

plan our days

plan how to raise our families

plan our finances

In planning finances (from discipleship course):

Pay God

Pay your bills

Save your money

plan for our jobs/ministry

plan for all the many areas of our lives

Believers should think about their behavior and decisions ahead of time—to ensure these decisions honor God

Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

This verse teaches us that Daniel already knew what his convictions would be and he would choose to stand in them (truth of God’s Word) before and when faced with a decision—He sought out God’s wisdom and counsel.

Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

This verse teaches us to answer the question, “How will this decision effect my heart,” before we make a decision.

What we must also realize:

There is usually not enough planning done in life and this causes so much of what we do to fall short and end up being the wrong decisions

What James is saying then:

Planning before we act isn’t the problem

Planning without God that’s the problem.

II. (v.14). Self-Sufficiency is failure to recognize the uncertainty of life

James 4:14 “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Two reasons why tomorrow is uncertain

Our minds and nature are limited:

In our self-sufficiency/self-reliance/reluctance, no matter what we plan or think, we forget/neglect/refute that in our finite minds, weakness and frailty, we cannot know the future—about tomorrow, next week, or even in the next hour

In our self-sufficiency/self-reliance/reluctance, we forget/neglect/refuse to admit our minds and nature are limited, and instead stubbornly demand to be in complete control of our lives

In our self-sufficiency/self-reliance/reluctance, we forget/neglect/refuse to remember that our minds and nature are finite, and don’t make plans/decisions with eternity in mind

John 12:25 “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Our lives at most are but a vapor and appear for only a brief time

When we enter this world—the only thing that is certain is one day we will die; sooner or later we will pass from this life to the other

We seldom know when death will happen (accident, disease, heart attack, fire)

Life is uncertain—even for today

In recognizing and remembering that our minds and nature are finite and limited:

We should dispense

With living self-sufficient/self-reliant/reluctant lives apart from God

With planning without God and include Him in every decision we make

We should remember:

Living a self-sufficient/self-reliant/reluctant life apart from God is foolishness

Planning apart from God is foolishness

We should also remember some key truths of the Bible

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Romans. 8:31-32 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”

III.(v.15). Self-Sufficiency is failure to acknowledge God

James 4:15 “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.””

By far most people (contrary what they think) fall way short in consulting God for their plans, decisions, and directions in life

By far the majority of people are content to live life how they want and seldom consider God

Difference is things going well vs. going bad

We should be (especially as believers) seeking out the wisdom of God—to be dependent on Him.

Proverbs 4:5 “Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.”

Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.”

We should be dependent upon Him for two things:

For life:

Life and death are not in our hands, they are in God’s hands—He knows how long our days are on this earth

Further, in God’s eyes we are precious

1 Peter 2:4-5 “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

God loves us and wants to take care of you, look after you, and build you up, “as living stones.”

God knows exactly what you need—for life, contentment, satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy.

God desires for us to understand and know that if we will reach out to Him, commune with Him, depend and rely on Him—day by day, moment by moment—that He will meet our needs—starting with our most deepest—mercy

We (you and I) can have the protection, provision, and promises of God—if we will lay aside our self-sufficiency/self-reliance/reluctance—and rely solely on Him and His character

For all that he does— “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.””

This statement means: we are not able to do what we plan unless God wills it--not a single thing

Acts 16:6 “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.”

It wasn’t it God’s will and plan for Paul to go to Asia—though he wanted to

The difference b/t Paul and so many of others? Paul heeded the Spirit, while so many others (us) do not.

This statement also lead us to the truth that if it’s in God’s plan for us, He will see to it we get where He wants us to go.

Acts 27-28. Paul’s trip to Rome was in God’s will—He was to go there and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ—even while prison.

Despite all the difficulty sailing (storms, shipwrecks)

Despite all the physical afflictions (hunger, snake bit)

God delivered Paul where He wanted him to go.

The difference again, is that despite all the obstacles, Paul entrusted God with the plans, directions, and decisions…b/c he trusted God over his self-sufficiency—and Paul before He was born again, was the prince of self-sufficiency/self-reliance/reluctance

IV. (v.16). Self-Sufficiency is boasting, bragging, and showing arrogance

James 4:16 “But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

“Boasting”— used here from the Greek word (alazoniais)—this word translates as sempty boaster; meaning:

This is a person who boasts about something he thinks he has, but he does not really have it—and this person lives in an unrealistic world

This is the person who lives and plans, and goes through life without God—thinking they can control their lives and their future.

This is the person who’s life is one big boast of self-sufficiency

“Boasting” (cont)—contrary to what many think, boasting is seldom done by word of mouth:

It is done in how they live

It is easy to look at someone else and pass judgment on this (remember the lesson from last week)—but what will you see when you give yourself an honest look in the mirror? What will be revealed when you ask of God to examine your heart as David did:

Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

Are you living a life in such a way that you are boasting in self or boasting in Christ?

How you live is the clearest indicator of who and what you trust—again, is it self? Or is it Christ?

(WORSHIP TEAM)

V. (v.17). Self-Sufficiency is sin

James 4:17 “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

This is a very direct/straightforward and blunt definition of sin

To know what is right, what we should do—and refuse to do it

When we know to good and fail/reject/refuse/neglect to do it—it is sin

When we fail to

Confess our sin

Repent of our sin

Trust and seek God in the provisions for your life

Surrender our lives to Jesus Christ—it is sin

1 John 3:23 “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”

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To the unbeliever here this morning (in person or watching on live-stream), please know:

The world (the enemy) defines self-sufficiency and dresses it up in such a way that it looks enticing, appealing, and the way in which a person finds satisfaction and fulfIllment.

Statements of “self-love,” “I’m possible,” and “I’m enough,” sound good

Statements of “make more money,” “

Statements of “live your own truth”

Others like

Yet of all the lies and deceit these statements present, the one which carries the greatest weight is the lie which says self-sufficiency will save you, self-reliance can heal you and make you whole and meet your deepest need.

But listen to these verses from the account of a woman in Luke 8.

Luke 8:43 “Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,”

culture

what she had tried

what she decided

what she laid aside

pride

fear

shame

guilt

control

Luke 8:44 “came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.”

Luke 8:48 “And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.””

To the believer here this morning:

Two statements I have heard over the past few years. The first is from a mentor of mine: “ The more we grow in our faith, the more we should be keenly aware of our need of God. What you and I must understand about spiritual growth and maturity—in being sanctified is this: Sanctification’s purpose is not to make us independent from God but more dependent on God so we might become more and more like His Son.

The second was from the pastor at Connection Church Sioux Falls—”You will never graduate the gospel—if you think you have, you’ve proven you’ve never even known it.