Transcript

Grab your Bibles and go to the book of James for this Sunday evening. We continue going through this on Sunday night and like the last book I went through on Sunday night, I didn’t really intend on just keep going through it but it just keeps happening. So James is, ah, getting down to brass tacks, as it were, talking about very practical matters of our Christian life and this section is one of the most basic and practical exhortations but, ah, strongly needed and I think you’ll affirm that as we go along this evening as I want to continue with the theme of humility. Ah, when you’re saved you get, a, a, a dose of, um, God’s grace that humbles us. It makes us grateful and we growingly grasp what we are before God without grace cleansing us and forgiving us, and so we, we’re, we’re just, we’re to walk in a Gospel humility. So he, he continues with this humility that is unique to the Christian and how it ought to have application into our lives.

So let’s look at James 4:13-17 and we’ll entitle this “Humility in Life’s Decisions.” Humility in life’s decisions or you could call it just the normal Christian life or the way the normal Christian should approach this decision making process. James 4, beginning in verse 13.

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 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.

Now when we’re facing decisions, here he uses the hypothetical of a businessman, businesswoman. “I’m gonna go here. I’m gonna go there. I’m gonna invest. I’m gonna start a business. I’m gonna make money.” And then he says, “Now wait a minute, what you should say is if the Lord wills I’m gonna do this or that.”

Here’s some thoughts. I. When we’re making decisions, don’t be presumptuous. Don’t be presumptuous. You’re presuming when you see, assume something is gonna work and you don’t know if it’s gonna work. By the way, you’re not omniscient. You don’t know what tomorrow will hold. Now so don’t be presumptuous. You don’t know something’s true because you’re not there yet. Now when we talk about presumption, now let’s make sure as we look at texts like this, we guard ourselves from the naive, um, and, ah, carnal interpretation that this is some sort of superstitious mantra. If I just say, “Well, if the Lord wills, I’ll do it.” So if I just voice that and go on, then I’m covered, I’m okay. That’s not what this means. It’s the heart attitude that is the key here, not just the expression, “If the Lord wills, I’m gonna do this.” It’s the heart that truly says, “Lord, I’m resting in You on this. God, I want Your will more than anything else. I’m gonna go for this, Lord, but I’m, I’m going for it laying it before You. I don’t want to be presumptuous.”

Now when, when we as Christians make decisions without seeking out God’s will or considering it, then we are sinfully presumptuous. When we make a decision apart from God, we presume some things I want to talk about. So here’s some subpoints. First of all, you presume that this honors and glorify God. Now that is if you’re a Christian. You’re, what you’re actually saying is, “I belong to God.” Now listen, once you’re his, your whole purpose of existence is his honor and glory so whatever you choose is a presumption that, “I know what glorifies God.” Well, how do you know you know what glorifies God? Have you asked God about it? Have you brought it to him? Have you said, “Lord, is this Your will?”

Ah, a few references is, here, 1 Corinthians 10:31, talking to, again, this was a carnal church that needed to grow and grasp even some basic things and Paul writes to them and says, ” Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” It’s almost like Paul is saying, “Of course you know this, don’t you?” Of course you do understand when you’re a Christian you do not compartmentalize God into one area of your life: this is my social area, this is my school areas, this is my work area, this is my family area. No, no, no, God covers the totality. If you join something, you seek God about it first. If you partake of, ah, involvement in an event, an organization, you yet, you lay it before God, I mean genuinely lay it before God first because your purpose here is to do all you do for the glory of God.

Now something in itself may not be immoral or corrupt or have any scandal involved in it. I’m not suggesting that that, I’m just saying it can be a fine and wonderful thing but it may not be right for you. So don’t be presumptuous. Everything we’re about is to be for the glory of God and if you presume without taking it to God first, then you’re saying, “This is what glorifies God.” You could say, “Well, I’m not saying that. I didn’t even think about that.” That’s even worse. That’s even worse.

1 Corinthians 6:15-16, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, ‘The two shall become one flesh.'” Now what’s my point here? My point here is he’s saying once you become a Christian, you’re the temple of the Holy Spirit and everything you do involves God and in this culture, fornication was just a part of the culture and he said, “You’ve got to repent of that, let that be behind you now that you’re a Christian because you’re joining Christ with a prostitute when you have relations with a prostitute.” The point again is the totality of our being is for God and about God and is wrapped all up in God’s purposes and God’s glory.

So if you’re a Christian and you decide, you’re making a decision and you haven’t brought it before God, you’re making the presumption, “I as God’s child, I as God’s instrument in the world, I as the vessel dedicated to the honor and glory of God, am doing what I think honors God.” And that’s a presumption you don’t need to make unless you’ve brought it to God first.

Now another presumption is that this particular thing indeed is God’s will for your life, and I think what some Christians carelessly, I don’t know of a real Christian that could premeditatively think this through and do it, but in careless thoughtlessness we may make decisions and in effect what we’re saying is, “God is gonna yield His will to my will.” That’s what we’re basically saying. “God, now, God’s just gonna, God’s a good old God and I am so superior and I’m so wise and I’m so good and virtuous in my, in my motives that, um, I’m just gonna go forward. I’m not gonna seek the Lord on this first. I’m just gonna go forward into this and, of course, God is gonna align His will with my will.” Who told you that, by the way? Where did that kind of notion come from? God somehow is gonna align with you, that’s not the way it works. Not, not at all. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12 there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the ways of death.

Another thing you’re presuming when you start off to do something, you say, “Well, I’m gonna go here. I’m gonna do that. I’m gonna build this. I’m gonna be involved in that.” Is, is how you know you’re gonna be alive tomorrow? How do you know you’re gonna be alive tonight? I mean, we’re finite beings. We’re not the omnipresent and we’re certainly not eternal. We can’t see the future. You better go to God and say, “God, now if it’s Your will and You sustain me, keep this door open.” And that’s the way I like to pray about it, is, “Lord, I’m going through this door and, God, I ask You and I really mean it, Lord. If this isn’t right, close the door. Show me another avenue.” Sometimes God closes a door and doesn’t show you another avenue. You know what, you know what God’s usually doing when you’re going to try to make a decision about something and it’s just not working and you didn’t get to go the way you thought you outta go, and there’s no other way to choose at this point, you know what God’s doing? Listen to me, God’s not so interested in getting you to a destination as he is forming Christ in you. Moses spent 40 years in the Midian desert before God said, “Okay, here’s My will. Go do this.” Why did Moses spend 40 years in the desert? Because God was doing something in Moses. God has no trouble parting the Red Sea. God has no trouble leading the children of Israel out of, out of Egyptian bondage with any instrument he wants, he just had to get Moses to where he qualified to do the work.

You know why I think that Grace Life Church and Anchored in Truth missions and all that God’s allowed us to be involved in, you know why I think we’re seeing unprecedented open doors right now? Someone told me before the service that, ah, ah, one of our videos had 52,000 views online and that was just one outlet that it’s on. You know why I think God’s opening up some of those doors to us? Because God had to get us ready. There was, do you know how many years I had a vision of doing certain things for God and year after year, I’m talking to you decade after decade nothing happened because God had to work on Jeff. And by the way, he’s not through. You’ve probably noticed that, haven’t you? But he’s not through with you either. So as you, as you go after something and sometimes God doesn’t open the door, he’s, he’s, he’s working on you. Now that’s kind of a side note. That’s not really in the outline of what I’m saying but my point is you’re presuming you’re gonna live long enough to see it through, and sometimes God stops things because he’s protecting you. But just own the, own the thought of the fact that our lives are so finite and passing.

He said it there, ah, very clearly in verse 13 of our text. Um, actually it’s not 13, 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.” Like Psalm 39:5, “Behold, thou has made my days as handbreaths, And my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight. Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.” Psalm 39:11, “With reproofs thou dost chasten a man for iniquity. Thou dost consume a moth, ah, thou dost consume as a moth what is precious to him. And every man is a mere breath.” You just don’t know what tomorrow is gonna hold so don’t you presume that you’re gonna make this decision to do this and that. You don’t know.

Couple of days ago, Scott Hutchens, 56 years old. I remember correctly and I think I’m 99.9% sure on this but they haven’t given me the records from the office, but he was converted here at our church. He was called to ministry at this church. I mentored him for several years in ministry. He later came out of Gospel ministry. He was doing construction work. He left a house where he was working and went to Lowe’s, no Walmart, I’m sorry, and got halfway into a parking place and died of a heart attack. I’ll be officiating in the service part of one of the minister’s officiating tomorrow. You don’t know what tomorrow holds. Don’t be presumptuous.

It’s the attitude of the heart that matters, not chanting some mantra, but is the attitude of your heart real and genuine before the Lord before you make a decision, before you do something, “Lord, if this is Your will, this is what I’d like to do”? And can I just add this side note? Over and over in my life as there have been things I would like to have or like to do, um, very often I just didn’t have the means to have it or, or the opportunity to do it and I would just give it to the Lord. “Lord, I would like to have this or I would like to do that.” But then I’d try to work on my heart by God’s grace and in help, and help and enablement, “And Lord, I just give that to You. I’d like to have it but if it’s not Your will, praise the Lord anyway.” Whatever it is, “Now here’s what I’d like but I give it to You.” And when God got me to the place where I really didn’t have to have it, then he gave it to me. Have you noticed that in your life? I mean, when…then I’ve, I’ve told you years ago about, ah, when Pam and I built our first house and that was just like a monumental achievement. I finally got a home of my own or the bank and I had one. And, and it was kind of funny. You know, we built the house and we got it like we thought we wanted it. We left the upstairs unfinished. We couldn’t afford to do that at first and I remember being out in the front yard one day after we got it mostly together and the yard was in and the shrubs were in and I thought, “Now do something for me. Is this is? Is this all there is to it?” It’s like the Lord said, “You’ve got a nice home and enjoy it but these things of the earth still have a hollowness to them. Only your communion with Me has a full lasting value to it. Everything else is not bad, it just doesn’t last. These things are temporary.”

So don’t be presumptuous about life. Don’t be presumptuous about your next plan. Don’t be presumptuous about what you’re gonna do in business next year. Don’t be presumptuous about your child or grandchild’s gonna do this or that. Don’t be presumptuous. Yes, go for it, give it to God, pray about it, yield it to him, work hard but say, “God, let Your will be done and whatever You choose for me, praise the Lord.” You have no idea how many heartbreaking roadblocks you come against and in that heartbreaking roadblock God saved your life. You have no idea what was on the other side that he’s saving you from. He knows what he’s doing.

Well, when we go forward in brash, unbelieving presumption, we can be sure we’ll get two things: we’ll get the discipline of the Lord because we’re his children, and we will certainly lose rewards. Lose rewards.

Well, let’s go to number 2. Don’t be presumptuous but do be wise and do be protected. Look at verse 14 again. Do be wise and do be protected. He says in verse 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 and goes away.” Verse 15, “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'” So, “Lord, if it’s Your will, this is what I want to do.” Young people, is that the way you approach life? I’m gonna finish high school, I’m gonna get a degree, I, I’d like to do this. Are you saying, “Yet if the Lord wills, that’s what I’m gonna do”? Is that the abiding spirit of the heart? That’s the way to be wise and that’s the way to be protected. God does not want you to be presumptive. He loves you and presumption and leaving out the Lord always leads to hurt.

He wants two things for you: he wants to, he wants you to do what you do so that he gets glory and it’s truly for your good. He gets the glory and it’s truly for your good, so you want to lay that before God because you’re saying, “God, I don’t know everything. I don’t have all wisdom. The best I can discern, this is the best track but, God, I give it to You.” God wants you to seek him and his absolute truths and in his word so that as you go forward you are, you are protected rather from harm. Let’s remind ourselves that all of the universe functions by laws. There’s the law of gravity and you can try to defy it but it still wins. Well, God’s got moral and spiritual laws that we need to seek in his word when we’re making decisions. If we willfully disregard those and will not follow those, it always leads to hurt in our own lives.

Well, so he says do be wise and do be protected. Seek the Lord first. Lay it before him. Yes, go for it. Don’t be timid as a wallflower and say, “I’m not gonna do anything. I don’t know if it’s God’s will.” No, no, no, go for things. Build companies. A, a, a, try to achieve great achievements but from your heart keep it yielded to the Lord.

Now practice seeking the Lord. It’s, it’s interesting, in, in today’s world and I guess it’s always been true but more so in today’s world than maybe in other generations, but in today’s world many people believe that the will of God is a formula for misery. Let me tell you what the will of God is. The will of God is not a chain that shackles you, but a key that opens the door and sets you free. I can tell you as a pastor, I had a lot of dreams and visions of what I’d like to see God do and what I’d like to see God accomplish and, ah, man, there were some doors opened to me that humanly would have been fantastic amazing doors and I am so glad God’s will stopped me. I mean, I am so glad God’s will didn’t let me go through those doors. God’s will is not a, a road map for misery or a formula for misery, God’s will is an open door that sets you free.

Three thoughts and we’re closing down now. Three thoughts about God’s will. First of all, if you want to know something is God’s will, you’re making a significant decision, now look, I’m not talking about whether you eat Sunbeam bread or Colonial bread. I mean, don’t know if they’re even out there anymore. I’m not talking about those kind of decisions. God’s not and I’m not saying that’s wrong but don’t lash yourself to morbid legalisms. But on the major decisions you approach in life, number 1, clear it by the word of God. Is there anything in that decision, anything in that path that seems to violate the moral principles of Scripture? Is there anything in that decision or that path you’re taking on that seems to dishonor God in some way? Clear it by the word of God. Now that doesn’t mean you have to go study the entire Bible, all 66 books, but it means as you understand the Bible, if you’re having your prayer time, your, your devotional time, say, “Lord, show me. Is there something in the word I need to be aware of concerning this decision?”

Ah, Psalm 1:1-3, “How blessed is the man who does not walk according to the counsel of the wicked.” That’s outside the counsel of the word. The world is wicked. You’re listening to the world when you do that. “Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight,” where, “is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Now notice what’ll happen, verse 3, “And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.” You wonder why your plans don’t work? You didn’t seek the Lord. You didn’t seek the law of the Lord enough and God can’t prosper you, he can only prosper him. You say, he’s only, if he prospers you, then he’s saying your wise and he’s not. So he prospers you when you’re flowing with him and walking in and flowing in his wisdom.

Joshua 1:7-8, every young man ought to memorize this and have it, ah, resounding in his heart. Joshua 1:7-8, “Only be strong and very courageous,” now listen, “be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,” listen, “so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night,” that’s going to the word, “so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Clear it with the word of God.

2. Carry it to the Lord in prayer. Carry it to the Lord in prayer. Goodness, it has been 35 years ago, maybe not quite that many years ago, I was contacted by a huge church in Nashville, TN and the pastor said, “I want you to be the senior associate pastor here. I want you to run everything here. I like what you do down there in Muscle Shoals. I want you to run everything and you’ll be in the pulpit a lot.” Matter of fact, Johnny Cash was a member of that church. Y’all know Johnny Cash? “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” And so humanly that was a very appealing thing and Pam and I just laid it before the Lord and said, “Lord, this looks like this could be a wonderful ministry opportunity but we lay it before You. Lord, we pray that You will close the doors.”

Well, I met with the church staff that I would be over and when I left that meeting, I didn’t know it but those staff guys went and talked to all the key men in the church, the key leadership and said, “Don’t let that guy come here. He’s trouble.” Well, I was just gonna get things going. I was just gonna try. I, I had no idea what they were even talking about but Pam and I went into the personnel committee meeting and they grilled me. They let me have, I mean, there was nothing I could say that they didn’t twist it and turn it around and say, “You’re…,” just a mess. I mean, just a problem. It was kind of funny. Pam and I left that meeting knowing that, “Well, we’re not coming here.” First of all, they weren’t gonna call me to come there. Secondly, I didn’t want to go. And we got in our cars and you can ask her, she’s right there, we went home praising God that he closed that door and had I gone there, I wouldn’t have become your pastor. Now don’t say amen on that point, alright? But you see, God knows what he’s doing. Go to the Lord in prayer and say, “God, stop this if it isn’t right. I mean, stop it.” You see, God had prepared a remnant here to follow a thoroughly biblical ministry but I didn’t have one up there. God knows what he’s doing. Leave it before the Lord.

Oh, let’s see, James 1:5 says, “if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” God, give us wisdom, is what you’re asking. You go to the Lord like that. Don’t be presumptuous. Clear it by the word. Go to God in prayer. Lay it before him. Now look, look, listen, be more scared of being out of the will of God than you are of God not giving you what you’re asking for. Are you hearing me? Be more afraid of being out of the will of God than you are afraid of not getting what you’re going for. I mean, look, God can, God can cause you to fall backwards into more things you can achieve with all your energies and efforts. He gives to his beloved even in his sleep. I told you, isn’t this simple? Just practical but isn’t it good for us?

Well, thirdly, if you want to practice seeking the Lord, clear it by the word, lay it before, before the Lord in prayer and receive the counsel of godly men. I mean that generically. Obviously, godly ladies count there, for sure. Proverbs 1:5, “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.” Proverbs 12:15, of course, Proverbs is full of this, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.” The fool is the one that says, “I just presumptively head headlong into a decision and trust God to get on board with me.” What a fool. That’s what fools do. “A fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” I’m telling you with all of my heart, as a young man when I learned the biblical truths of God-ordained authority, I rested in it fully, fully. When I had a key decision to make, I went to godly men and said, “If you tell me this isn’t wise, I’m not doing it.” And that includes asking that beautiful dear lady down here who’s the first lady of Grace Life Church, Pam, that includes when I was gonna ask her to marry me. I went to my pastors and said, “Do you see a reason that this could not be God’s will? If so, I will not proceed.”

I remember so clearly the first time Pam asked me out on a date. Now she, every time I do this, she says, “That’s not the way I remember it.” But now the truth was I had talked to her and I had told her, God had done a reviving work in her heart. I mean, she had really had a spiritual awakening in her life and I saw the difference in her. She’s always been beautiful lady to look at, but I saw a difference in her and I said, “I would love to talk with you about what the Lord’s doing in your life next time you’re in town.” She was traveling and stuff and the next time she was in town, she saw one of our staff members out somewhere and said, “Go back and tell Brother Jeff he promised to take me out and we’re gonna talk.” So that’s the same difference. Didn’t she ask me out? That’s what I think. And then 10 months later we were married.

But I’m telling you, look, I laid that before the Lord and said, “Lord, if this isn’t Your will, stop it. Stop it.” I’m more afraid of being out of God’s will than not getting my will and you’d better be too. If you’re not, you better be. You better be. Look, I’m convinced you can blunder and stumble and mess up, but if you have a yielded humbled heart that says, “Lord, I want Your will,” God will bless you in ways you cannot possibly imagine.

I found this some time ago. Many years ago, this was back in the horse and buggy days, a man and his wife were driving along a narrow and very dangerous stretch of road. The woman, she became extremely nervous and in her fright she grabbed one of the reins. As calmly as possible, the husband responded by offering her the other strap as well. “Oh no!” she cried, “I don’t want both of them. I could never manage this animal alone!” Well then he said gently, “You’re gonna have to make a choice, it’s either you or me. We can’t both drive the same horse.” The frightened lady quickly surrendered full control of the carriage to her husband and everything was good and they arrived safely at home. What I’m saying is as you’re making decisions in life, you give both of the straps to God and say, “I trust You. Steer this horse to the right, steer it to the left, stop it, slow it down, speed it up. Here’s where I’m going, Lord, but would You take the reins? I’m not wise enough to control this thing myself.”

Humility in life’s decisions.