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DATE: 3/11/18TOPIC: Unpredictability of LifeTITLE: “The Uncertainty of Life”TEXT: James 4:13-17
(S508) [Read text] The Bible gives many signs of a true Christian such as love for God, love for others, repentance from sin, practicing prayer and experiencing spiritual growth. But nothing more clearly summarizes the character of a genuine believer than a desire to do the will of God. In Psalm 40:8 David wrote I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. Then in Psalm 143:10, David wrote Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Jesus taught that Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother. (Mark 3:35) In other words, those who do God’s will are a part of Jesus’ family. Jesus gave this warning in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” James gives insight into how people respond to God’s will. He presents 2 negative responses and 1 positive response in this passage. The first negative response to God’s will is:
James 4:13,14 = Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. In verse 13, James begins with the following command: Now listen… It is a call for attention that indicates the seriousness of what follows. The situation under consideration was not an isolated incident. It was something that occurred frequently. Business travel in the first century was very common and Jews, especially, traveled widely for business purposes. Notice the 4 steps of this plan:
Notice there is no place for God in these plans. When one ignores God’s will, that person lives as if God does not exist. When James says “Now listen” he is saying “listen up.” Many Jewish people dispersed throughout the ancient world were successful business people. They were itinerant merchants who naturally sought out the flourishing trade centers in which to do business. Wise planning and strategizing in business is not sinful in and of itself but commendable. The problem lies in what they did not do. They did extensive planning, but in the course of their planning, they totally ignored God. God was not part of their agenda. Allowing for no contingencies, they planned as if they were omniscient or all-knowing, omnipotent or all-powerful. No allowance is made for unforeseen circumstances. These business people are confident that they will be able to carry their plans through to completion. So James points out their fallacy. They do not even know what will happen tomorrow, to say nothing about a year from now. They have been planning as if they know exactly what the future holds. Not only is their knowledge limited, but their very lives are uncertain. They may not be here next year! To point out the temporary nature of life, James uses an illustration from nature. He says You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. In the morning the mist covers the countryside but before noon it is gone. The people James is addressing had been planning as if they were going to be here forever. They were planning as if their business, their work would go on and on and on. ----------------------------------------------- Colman Mockler has been considered to be the model of an effective CEO. A Harvard Business School graduate with an MBA, Mockler had gone to work for the Gillette Corporation and steadily worked his way up the ladder to CEO. Mockler took the company to new heights of success. Under his management Gillette Corporation came to dominate the market. After 16 years as CEO, Colman was at the top of the world. Forbes magazine had just put him on the cover of their next issue celebrating his leadership and success. The magazine would not hit the newsstands for another week, but on the morning of January 25th, 1991, Forbes magazine sent Mockler an advance copy to review. The rest of the executives literally applauded him as he carried the magazine back to his office. In many ways, it was a great day for Mockler. But there was one thing that made it a bad day for him. With the staff applauding, Mockler walked down the hall, holding the magazine in his hand, stepped into his office, shut the door, and collapsed. Within moments he died of a massive heart attack, still holding on to the Forbes magazine that featured him on the cover. We don’t really know what Mockler’s relationship with God was like. -------------------------------------------- Jesus told a parable illustrating the foolishness of leaving God out of one’s plans. Luke 12:16-21 Are we including God in our plans? Going back to James, we find 2 reasons it is foolish to leave God out of our plans:
Proverbs 27:1 expresses the same principle: Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. ------------------------------------------ A while back there was a commercial on television for life insurance. This guy in the commercial is somber-looking and explains the benefits of their life insurance policy. Then he says that we should sign up so that our family will be taken care of “in case the unthinkable should happen”. Of course, by “the unthinkable”, he means “in case you die”. But the thing is, death isn’t unthinkable; it’s inevitable. Everybody dies. Everybody dies at some time, in some place and in some way. What kind of culture calls things that are inevitable unthinkable? What kind of world refuses to think about what is certain but instead spends its time worrying about things that are uncertain? ------------------------------------------ Life is far from simple. Life is a complex matrix of forces, events, people, contingencies and circumstances over which we have little or no control. For that reason it is impossible for anyone to ascertain, design or assure any specific future.
James says What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 3:14) Life is like a puff of smoke from a fire. Life is like the steam that rises from a cup of coffee. Life is like one’s breath, briefly visible on a cold day. Life is also like one’s breath in that sometimes it’s bad and sometimes it’s good. How foolish, in light of the shortness and the frailty of earthly life, to plan and live life without considering God’s will. Psalm 90:10 = The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. (Moses) ---------------------------------------- There are several billionaires who are trying to lead the human race out of mortality. The billionaire that brings the most passion to the cause is Larry Ellison who has given $40 million dollars to the Ellison Medical Foundation to try to understand “lifespan development processes”. According to Forbes magazine, Ellison’s net worth is $43 billion dollars. Ellison has said this: “Death makes me very angry. It doesn’t make any sense to me. Death has never made any sense to me. How can a person be there and then just vanish and just not be there?” ------------------------------------------ Life here on earth is short! Real life, eternal life, begins when we leave this earth. Psalm 103:15,16 = As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. (David) The second negative response to God’s will is: II. Arrogantly Rejecting It James 4:16,17 = As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. Instead of subjecting their plans to God’s will, they made it a practice to “boast and brag.” To make plans without considering God’s plan is the same thing as arrogantly claiming to be in full command of the future. Foolishly, they assumed that they could foresee and control the future. The first negative response was ignoring God’s will, living as though God and His will do not exist. But there are also those who acknowledge that God exists and has a will, yet they arrogantly reject it. They refuse to submit the uncertainties of life to God. They set themselves above God, They set their own goals above God. They set their own will above God. God’s will is simply not as important to them as their plans. Christians are sometimes guilty of setting aside God’s will in favor of their own plans or what appears to be the will of the majority of the people surrounding them. Are we confusing the will of the majority of people around us with the will of God? Those who reject God’s will boast and brag about their accomplishments and such boasting is evil. Boasting is based upon the invalid assumption that we are able to control our own destiny. Boasting is based on the assumption that we have the power to determine the course of our lives. It is true that making right choices and wrong choices will definitely play a part in the events of our lives. But there are some things we do not have control over. In the broadest sense, God’s will is expressed in all the commands and principles of Scripture. Specifically, the Bible says that God’s will includes the following:
I Timothy 2:4 = (God) . . . wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter 3:9 = He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance
Ephesians 5:18 = Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
I Thessalonians 4:3,4 = It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable.
I Peter 2:13,14 = Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
I Peter 3:17 = It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. James 4:17 = Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. Those who know God’s will are responsible to obey it and if they fail to do so, they sin. They will find no comfort in the fact that they have not actively committed sin. Just leaving God out is itself sin. The sin of disregarding and disobeying God’s will is considered a sin of omission. The sin of omission is not doing what one knows is right. James is saying “Now that I have pointed the matter out to you, you have no excuse.” Knowing what should be done obligates a person to do it. ---------------------------------------------- The prophet, Jonah, provides a classic illustration of one who knew the will of God, but refused to do it. Called by God to preach to Nineveh, the reluctant prophet instead attempted to flee to Tarshish. Tarshish was in the opposite direction of Nineveh. Jonah had to be swallowed by a huge fish before he would submit to God’s will. A positive response to God’s will is: III. Submissively Acknowledging It James 4:15 = Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” In contrast to the negative responses to God’s will we have here a positive response. Instead of flagrant disobedience, one ought to say “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” Instead of saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city . . . and make money” the Christian business person ought to say “If it is the Lord’s will.” For a believer to leave God out of his plans is an arrogant assumption of self-sufficiency. Submission to God’s will should be habitual and continual. For the one who is submissive to God, the will of God is central to all his or her plans. Acknowledging God’s will affirms His sovereignty over all aspects of life. -------------------------------------------- Do we want to be blessed? Blessing comes through obedience. This is what Jesus said in John 13:17: Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Responding to God’s will is a sign of a living and true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A strong desire to do the will of God is a sure mark of a transformed life. ----------------------------------------------- What this passage in James is saying is that life is uncertain, life is unpredictable. Probably the best examples of the unpredictability of life are found in the area of finances. Americans are fascinated with money and particularly with financial abundance. There is something more than a desire for financial security at work here. Many Americans have an obsession with wealth. Our culture is captivated with wealth. Many are preoccupied with acquiring and displaying their wealth. In this regard, we are not too far removed from the business world James addresses in this passage. Commercials crowd the television channels featuring testimonials from former wage earners who, after a short correspondence course, became millionaires. They claim to have become millionaires by buying real estate with no money down and working only 10 hours a week. The complimentary airline magazines contain information on video courses offered by financial and success gurus who promise easy money. Millions of people flock to casinos hoping to hit the jackpot. This is a twisting of the American dream. In the first place wealth usually is not easy to acquire. Also, wealth is like a mist. It can disappear very quickly. The wise person does not make his or her finances the foundation of personal security. God is the foundation of personal security. ----------------------------------------------------------- For many Americans wealth is beyond the realm of possibility. Great wealth is the experience of a small percentage of people in the world. Many people really believe that wealth will bring them happiness. This is one of the great false beliefs of our time. -------------------------------------------- Ricardo Lockette rose up through the ranks of pro football and eventually helped the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl in 2014. But on November 1st, 2015, the wide receiver and special teams player, was blindsided with a vicious hit and was left sprawled on the ground in front of 90,000 fans. The hit nearly broke his neck and almost took his life. A year later Lockette reflected on the incident: “It’s crazy what matters to you when you are in that situation. Cars, jewelry, big houses, Super Bowls. It all seems so meaningless.” After getting hit, he says: “All of a sudden, I can’t move. And the only thing that mattered to me in the entire world was being able to see my family again, to hold my kids in my arms.” Lockette went on to say: “My head coach, Pete Carroll used to preach to us all the time.” He would say: “You live in a temporary fairy tale. Your fans are temporary. Your coaches are temporary. Your teammates, as much as they love you, are temporary. The big houses you live in are temporary. You can enjoy all that stuff, but it’s not going to bring you happiness.” ----------------------------------------- Wealth does not bring happiness. Only in Jesus can we find true joy, peace and contentment. It can not be found anywhere else.
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