Gospel Bible Baptist Church

James 4:13-17

Introduction
Planning for the future is never wrong. In business, in doing the Lord’s work, education, military, sports, career, marriage, etc., in all aspects of our lives. We need to have a plan. Companies’ employs planners to make things work better. What is wrong is when you put God out of the picture. It’s simply arrogance, and without God you are inviting trouble. We will take a look on these five verses and see what the Lord wants to teach us.

I. Presumption (James 4:13)
A. What we have here is presumption which is defined as: blind confidence, bold, or excessive confidence, strong probability that an event will take place without reasonable ground of success.

1. The term “Go to now” is an invitation for attention, “come and hear what I have to say”.
2. Here is the plan of a boastful person and his anticipation of success. Notice about midway of the verse the two little words, we will. It is not “God will,” but we will. It is a life that has squeezed God out of its plans. They said, we will go… and continue… and buy and sell, and get gain.
3. Their plans are full of self-assurance. They decided where they were going, when they will go, how long they will stay, and they are absolutely certain they will gain profit from their venture.
4. This verse describes a self-centred, selfish life with no regard for God. Many Christians live their life this way. They live as if there is no God.

B. There are many examples in the Bible of people committing sin of presumption. In Gen. 3:1-5, when Eve ate the forbidden fruit, when Moses smote the rock twice Num. 20:10-11 in Meribah, and when Peter rebuked Jesus in Mt. 16:21-23 that He must not die, the sons of Sceva in Acts 19:13-14. The rich fool in Lk. 12:16-19

1. Here the sin of presumption is boasting about time and opportunity. Today or tomorrow…buy and sell and get gain.

II. Future Hidden (James 4:14)
A. Ignorance of the Future

1. We cannot boast about tomorrow – Prov. 27:1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2. We don’t know the times – Ecl. 9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
3. Ignorance of the future – Acts 20:22. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
4. Who knows about the future? The answer is of course nobody. The future is too vague for us to see. We do not know what will happen tomorrow, today, the next hour, the next minute, etc. Only God knows the future. He alone and no one else knows what lies ahead, isn’t’ it right to entrust to Him our future?

B. Shortness of Life.

1. Life is compared to a shadow. 1 Chr. 29:15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
2. Life is like a flower. Job 14:2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3. Life is like a water spilt on the ground. 2 Sam. 14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
4. Our days is as a hand breath Ps. 39:5 Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
5. Life is like a vanishing vapour. James 4:14

Application: Life is very short
Life is very brief, and death comes suddenly without a warning. A healthy young man jogging in the street died when he got hit by a truck that lost its brakes. Thousands of people died in the Twin Tower incident. Around three hundred thousand of people died during the Asian tsunami. Death comes suddenly to everybody at any age whether you are a baby, a teen ager, a middle-aged man or elderly. Here today, gone tomorrow.
The projected life-span of a baby born in the U.S. today is about 71 years, nearly double what it was at the end of the 18th century. The longest authenticated life-span of a human being is 113 years, 214 days. Studies show married people live longer than those who remain single.

III. God’s Will (James 4:15)
A. This is a very wonderful verse. The God of all creation, the God of the universe, has a perfect will to each and every one of us. That’s amazing and truly wonderful.

1. We plan but it’s the Lord’s counsel which will stand. Prov. 19:21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
2. The counsel of the Lord ( purpose) stand forever. Ps. 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
3. We must submit to His will Acts 18:21, Rom. 1:10
   Acts 18:21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
   Romans 1:10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
4. Prayer needed to know God’s will. Psalms 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

Application:
If the Lord will, and we live, this is what we should say when we speak of the 6future because we are wholly dependent on him for life, and for success, He alone can keep us, and He only can make our plans succeed. It is a testimony of our submission to Him and this is pleasing to Him. All things are under his control. All we have in this life is God given and He can easily fail our plans if He wants to. Only by His abounding grace, mercy and love we can have good success.

IV. Earthly Joy (James 4:16)
A. This means bragging on your own plans, relying on your own skills and capacity, without considering that God has His own plans. Planning without God is boasting and a show of arrogance. This never pleases the Lord. It is always wrong not to include God into your plans.
B. “Man proposes but God disposes,” wrote Thomas A Kempis.
C. Solomon said it first. Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. Man cannot control future events. He has neither the wisdom to see the future nor the power to control the future. For him to boast is sin; it is making himself God.

V. Sin of commission (James 4:17)
A. Knowing what is right to do and not doing it is sin. Neglecting to do what you ought to do is also called sin of omission. (Mt. 23:23, Lk.12:47)
B. This is also true in a general sense. If I know that God wants me to do something, but I do not do it, I am sinning against His will. There are sins of commission or of committing evil (such as lying and stealing and fornication) and sins of omission or of neglecting to do good (such as failing to help a needy person when the opportunity is present, or failing to tell people about Jesus, or failing to contend for the faith).

VI. Conclusion:
There is no certainty in this life. We will never know what will happen in the future. Life is very short and so we must have a plan on what to do. Planning for the future is never a mistake. Despite of the fact that future is uncertain planning as if we will live long can never be wrong specially if we seek God’s guidance and will for all things we want to do. Start now and see the difference.