Today Is The Day To Rejoice In The Lord's Will

APRIL 26, 2020 STUDY NOTES JAMES 4:15-17 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES TODAY IS THE DAY TO REJOICE IN THE LORD’S WILL INTRODUCTION A story has often been told about a minister that had a dream, the story varies in its description But it basically was something like this, he dreamed that he heard a conversation among the demons Discussing what they should tell people in order to lead them to hell One said, “Let’s tell them that the Bible is not true, don’t believe it” Another said, “Let’s tell them that God is dead” Another said, “Let’s tell them that Jesus was not the Son of God, He was only a good man” Then one said, “Let’s tell them the Bible is true, that God is alive, and Jesus is the Savior” But tell them they have plenty of time to make up their mind, so, live like you want to today And all-of the demons agreed, that is what we will tell people Good intentions for tomorrow will not keep you out of hell No one is almost saved, Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. (The end result of putting Jesus off is the same as unbelief) God’s will for you is to be saved today, 2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Today is the day of obedience to God, today is the day to rejoice in the Lord’s will for your life, Psa 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. James says, “Today is the day to rejoice in the Lord, we must rejoice in His will today” Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. James tells us what you should be saying instead of what you are saying What they were saying is found in, Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: (Planning without God) James now tells us how to plan for today, tomorrow, and the future Your planning must be based upon who God is and what the will of God is for “your” life Don’t let Satan tell you that the Bible is out of date, that things are different now Some argue that the Bible is not relevant today, that it is an ancient writing and the world has changed Their argument is the many changes that have taken place in modern society Today’s scientific world and the computer world has changed the lifestyle of our society But Satan is using those changes and making it more convenient for man to sin The sins of yesterday are still present and increasing day by day because they are more open to the public Sin has not changed but the opportunity to sin has changed, the door to sin is now wide open Sin is still sin and the forgiveness of sin is still the same today as it was yesterday People have not changed, they are still sinners and God has not changed, Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Notice that we have both “Jesus” and “Christ,” “Jesus” identifies His life upon earth He is named “Jesus” because He is the One who came to be our Savior “Christ” is His official title, “Christ” is who He is, He is God manifested in the flesh Jesus of Nazareth in the N.T. is the Jehovah God of the OT, Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. Jesus is the Christ who is the unchangeable One, He is the anointed Messiah who is immutable In the context of Hebrews 13 the point is the teaching and the doctrine of Jesus Christ “Yesterday” is a reference to the life of Jesus on the earth, who He was, what He did, what He taught Jesus taught the “Truth,” “Truth” that has not changed and will never change Doctrinal truth or Biblical truth is still the same today because Jesus Christ is still the same “today” “Today” refers to His present intercessory work as our High Priest at the right hand of God He represents believers in the presence of God, Jesus Christ appears before God for us “today” “Forever” represents the eternal priesthood ministry of Christ, how far does forever go? “Forever” has no end, it is eternal, God is eternal, God’s Word is eternal, our salvation is eternal Christians, do not depart from the Word of God and do not fail to put faith in Jesus “today” Jesus, the Word of God, faith in Jesus and the Word of God are all eternal As Christians we are to take advantage of our God-given opportunities for “today” Yesterday is gone--Tomorrow is not yet--Today is our opportunity to live for God Every day is a precious gift from God, every day has a purpose which we are to learn from God, Psa 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Invest your daily life into God’s will, don’t spend your life wasting it on sinful or selfish pleasure A good investment of life is to spend time daily in God’s Word, Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. To meditate is to saturate your mind and heart with the Word of God which will take time Today minds are saturated with worldliness through the speed of modern technology Psalms 1 tells us how important the Word of God is to our daily life The book of Psalms begins with the man who is happy and prosperous But the blessing of Psalms 1 is not promised to those who simply read the Bible Man is blessed because he follows the Word of God and obeys the Will of God The Hebrew word translated “blessed” is used only of God blessing man Referring to the true blessings upon man that can only come from God This “blessedness” comes from living our life in obedience to God’s Word, Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Because of the Word of God there are 3 things that the “blessed” man will not do: He will not allow the advice of an ungodly world to influence his plans for life He has determined that he will not participate with Satan or sin in any way His lifestyle will not be influenced by those who live as though God is not alive The pleasures of his life are found in God’s instruction manual for life, Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Reading God’s Word must be more than a duty, it must become a daily delight The Bible is the instruction manual for the daily steps of life, how to plan for today and tomorrow To “meditate” is to read the Bible over and over until it takes over, and when it does, we have a promise, Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. “Blessed” like a tree that is in the right place getting all that the tree needs to live and bring forth fruit Too many Christians today are like tumble weeds being tossed around by every circumstance of life Prosperity has the meaning of being satisfied with the accomplishments of our plans for life In this context, prosperity is walking with God, obeying His Word and bringing forth fruit A good song for us to sing is, “One Day at A Time, Lord Jesus,” and add, “according to your will” If the Lord will, James uses the title “Lord” to get his point across, the “Lord” is in absolute control of all things, Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Hebrews reveals to us the supremacy of God’s Son, Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Christ as the Creator made all things, as “The Son” He is the heir of all things Because He is the Son of God, He sustains all things, He holds all things together That means that all things are carried along and move along by the hands of Jesus Christ The past was in His hands, the future is in His hands, Christ is in control of this present day Everything is moving along by the Person, Plan, and Power of Jesus Christ That is why we can claim the truth of, Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. All things are being fulfilled for a purpose today and God has a plan for our future Don’t be foolish, Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Don’t attempt to work all things out by yourself, seek the “will of the Lord” Love God, take the Lord by the hand, let Him lead the way, trust and obey, Psa 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. There is security, prosperity, and protection in the will of God for our life, even in troublesome times “If the Lord will” is so easy for us to say, be careful, it can easily become a habitual statement Often it has become a common cliché in our world today, a formula that may have lost its significance Too often it is spoken without any real consideration of what has been said It is too often a word of the mouth and not a work of the heart “The Lord will” is not a good luck charm in our pocket, it must be a truth in our heart To desire the “Lord’s Will” is to recognize God’s authority over your life It is a statement of your submission to God, putting your life into God’s Hands, Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Living in obedience to the Word of God is the natural thing for a Christian to do Living according to God’s will is good for you, pleasing unto God, and the fulfilling of life Faithful Christians do not have to verbally state their desire for the Will of God Your faithful daily life will reveal that the Will of God is the guide of what you say and do To be under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word is to follow the Will of God Trust the Lord with all-of your heart, Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. And there will be an agreement between the desires of our heart and the Will of God, Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. When God directs our path we shall live, Christians are to live according to God’s Will, come before Jesus every day, Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. You must come to Jesus in order to be saved, you must daily come to Jesus to live like you are saved Our daily life and our daily activities must be according to God’s will Our life is in God’s Hands, our actions must be in His Hands also, plan to do everything His way Life worth living is the life that lives according to the Will of God, Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. To experience the “good pleasure” of God you must do things according to His “good purpose” and do this, or that. God is interested in our daily life He does care about what you are doing today We do not have to quote out loud that we are going to serve the Lord, just submit to God’s will How can we know that what we are doing is according to God’s will? God’s will, is found in God’s Word, Paul gave us a good check list in 1 Thessalonians 4 & 5 Compare your life to this passage of scripture and find out if you are living according to what you read 1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: Read the rest of chapter 4 and then read chapter 5, especially verses 14-23 Put God first in your life, begin every day in prayer and study of God’s Word Don’t plan your day until you do, then go ahead and make your plans for today and tomorrow Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. “But now” identifies the plans that were made, plans that were not made through prayer and Bible study “Your boastings” reveal the truth of their plans, they were rejoicing in their selfish accomplishments Their “boasting” identified their arrogant attitude, they were proud of what “they” had done The very same thing that we often see today, how often do we hear “I” did it, look at what “I” did? Listen to God’s Word, Jer 9:23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: God was warning Israel who had turned from the will of God and was facing God’s judgment They were not to boast in their own wisdom, their military might, or their worldly wealth Does that sound like the boasting of man today? Man displaying his arrogant pride? John says it is not of God, 1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. James says, all such rejoicing is evil. It is sin when man takes pride in what he has accomplished without consideration of God’s provisions It is easy for man to take full credit and brag about his accomplishments It is easy to forget God when you feel that you don’t need God Such boasting will face the judgment of God But Jeremiah says that boasting in the Lord will result in deliverance from judgment, Jer 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. Our plans must be according to what we know and understand about the “LORD” “In the earth” identifies with God’s will for us today, which we must experience every day Then we can glory in His “lovingkindness,” God loves to bestow His lovingkindness upon us We should glory in the LORD, 1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. So now James will sum it up for us--Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. “Therefore” all-of the evil just presented in the previous verses can easily be summed up James says that as Christians we “know to do good,” we know right and wrong There is no excuse for planning without God’s guidance which James calls sin Christians know that we should consider the Lord’s will in all-of our planning Many people ask, “How can I know when I am living in the Will of God?” “Let your conscience be your guide” is not good advice unless your heart is set on God’s will You can follow your conscience if you are sincere about living according to God’s will You know that there are certain things you must do if you are going to live according to God’s will You know that there are certain things you cannot do if you are living according to God’s will Your heart will let you know when you are doing what God wants you to do Your conscience will let you know when you are not doing what God wants you to do You live according to God’s will by doing what you know is God’s will As you live daily in the Will of God you learn more of God’s Will for your life tomorrow Christians know the “good” that we ought to do, we know when we are doing the right thing So “good” is what you plan to do today, a good plan is to do anything that will benefit others, Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. Planning to do something that will help someone morally, spiritually, and physically is excellent planning Doing good for others is a good guide concerning God’s will because “good” is the opposite of “harm” James says the problem is when you know to do good and you don’t do it and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Sin is normally identified as doing something that God tells us not to do, disobeying God It is easy to identify the sins of commission, doing the things we know we should not do Too often we fail to identify with the sins of omission, which is not doing what God wants us to do Sins of omission are as real as sins of commission and are serious according to scripture It is sin when we do the wrong thing, it is sin when we don’t do the right thing When you don’t do what you know God is telling you to do, you have sinned When we commit sins of omission, we rob ourselves of the blessings of God And we rob others of the blessing that God has for them through us CONCLUSION Why do people fail to do what they know God wants them to do? We can make a list of suggestions and call them reasons or excuses Really there is no reason or excuse, God never calls upon us to do what we are not capable of doing We have unlimited spiritual power to do what God calls upon us to do, Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Paul tells us of the power that will work in us, listen to how he describes it: “Able to do,” there is no limit to the power and ability of God “Exceeding abundantly,” more than enough to start with and more than enough for the next time “Above all that we ask,” beyond our request, beyond anything that we might request “Or think,” God is-capable of doing far more than we can even imagine “According to the power,” the assurance that God can do for us far beyond our expectations “That worketh in us,” we are the only limit to what God can and will do for us The “Will of God” for our life is far greater for us than our “own will” Consider the “wisdom” of God, He knows what should happen and when it should happen Consider the “love” of God, He only wants what is best for His children Remember that God is the “Creator” and we are the creatures created in the image of God Remember that He is our “Father” and we are the children Realize that God has plans for you today, plan to do it God’s way Be glad that you can do it for God God’s way Listen to the song and do what it says THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE