Living Out Our Faith Submissively - James 4:13-15
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
Well tonight, we dive right back into our study of James. Remember that this entire book deals with us as believers. It is teaching us to live out our faith. One of the key verses is found in chapter 2 and verses 17 and 18.
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Recently, I have focused in my own life my responsibility of obedience. Our job is to obey and let God do the rest. It is the focus of this entire book. Live out your faith by complete obedience and God will do the rest. A fact noted in every chapter of this wonderful book.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
I just read the verses from James 2.
Listen to the words of James 3.
13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Now, in James 4, the Holy Spirit taught us about the source of our disobedience. He then gave us instruction on how to live obediently. By the way, obedience comes through submission. Thus, we are to live out our faith SUBMISSIVELY. The Holy Spirit follows this by showing us example of how to live out our faith submissively and publically in our dealing with others and the Lord.
Last week, we were in verses 11 and 12.
11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
We live out faith by not slandering fellow believers. The command was straightforward. The Holy Spirit directed us to “Speak not evil one of another.” Thus, any time we slander or even judge fellow believers we sin. Sin is any disobedience to God’s commands, instructions, and directives. Slandering and/or judging fellow believers places us in a dangerous place. There is only one Lawgiver. The Lawgiver is God Himself and He did not abdicate this authority to any other person outside the Godhead. To slander and judge fellow believers assumes His sole position as the great Lawgiver and Judge of men.
Now, in our text tonight, the Holy Spirit moves into another significant topic for us as believers. It is the topic of self-dependency.
Look at our text.
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Here is short side note. We may not get through each of these verses this evening. I plan to work through each one individually so that means we may not finish. That is okay though! We will pick up where we left off when we come back together.
Now as we get into our text this evening we are going to find underlying theme. That theme is self-sufficiency or self-dependency. Here in American culture the idea of self-sufficiency is promoted greatly. It is, as they say, the American way. Yet, in God’s eyes, it is a terrible sin. We will learn more about that as we get to verse 17.
What is wrong with being self-sufficient or dependent? First of all, consider what Scripture says about us as men and women.
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
I read all those verses for one simple reason. We know it is true. There is not a person sitting here tonight that if they are completely honest with themselves not these verses are true. We are frail, corrupted, and sinful from our mother’s wombs. Even you consider our physical makeup, we have to admit our limitations. All of us are subject to disease (COVID confirmed that), accidents, heart issues, and, eventually, death at any moment. However, the amazing thing is that despite these many moral and physical shortcomings we do our best to ignore God and live each day as if we are in control. It is the very essence of humanism. The humanist teaches that men are in control of their lives determining their own destiny. However, when you truly open your heart to the teachings of Scripture, you will find that such a boast is utter foolishness. We are here because God deemed us here. He created us. Additionally, when you consider the magnitude of Who God is, you learn quickly just how frail we are and just how short a life we live on earth. We are nothing in the light of a God Who is Omniscient (all-knowing) and Omnipotent (all-powerful).
For the true believer, self-sufficiency or dependency is completely unreasonable and totally illogical. Unfortunately, many believers chose to live their life by depending upon themselves. Why is that? What is root problem here? Remember James 4:1
1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
For this reason, we are often tempted to live depending ourselves instead of God. This temptation then is the heart of our text.
Note verse 13 and the first principle for this evening.
Self Dependency leaves God Out of the Picture
Self Dependency leaves God Out of the Picture
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
By examining that verse, can anyone tell me which word is the subject of this verse? The subject is the personal plural pronoun “we.” You could read this verse this way.
James 4:13 (KJV 1900)
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and (we will) continue there a year, and (we will) buy and sell, and (we will) get gain:
Another way is this.
James 4:13 (KJV 1900)
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow I [we] will go into such a city, and [I will] continue there a year, and [I will] buy and sell, and [I will] get gain:
No matter how you read it or look at it, who is at the center of all the activity? It is us, you, or me. Who is missing? Is not God missing from the picture?
In other words, what we see here is a believer who is making all kinds of plans as he/she depends upon themselves leaving God out of the picture.
Let me state that there is absolutely nothing wrong with making plans. In fact, our God is very much a planner. He planned everything from creation to eternity future. We are studying 1 Corinthians on Sunday mornings and throughout our entire study we have found God’s plans for the local church. We are made in God’s image. He expects us to plan and prepare for the future. In fact, every person is encouraged to plan and prepare for eternity now and not to wait. Thus, we are to be diligent taking time to plan.
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
One of our biggest problems is our lack of planning. You know the saying that says, “Having no plan is a plan to fail.” Nothing is more true in relation to living our lives for Christ each day. How many times do we not plan to live for Him each day? It isn’t that we don’t want to live for Him, we just do not take the time to plan to live for Him. What often happens? We fail to live for Him because we didn’t plan to live for Him.
In our text, the Holy Spirit is not talking about planning before we act. Instead, He is talking about making plans that do not include God.
Look again at the verse.
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
What are the plans noted here?
Go to the city.
Live there a year.
Buy some things and then sell them making a profit.
We often have similar plans do we not?
Go to college and get a degree.
Get a good paying job utilizing that degree.
Become successful at that job moving up the company ladder achieving fame, fortune, and fabulous possessions.
Retire and live easy.
Many people have this dream. It is the American dream. Again, who do they often leave out? They leave God out of the picture. Too many time believers jump into planning their life and do not stop to consider if what they are about to do is God’s will or if it is Scriptural. In fact, most believers live each and plan their future feeling they don’t need God. They have bought into the lie that their destiny lies in their hands and not His. Humanism is prevalent in their lives as they feel that their future is determined by...
Their ability
Their plans
Their energy and effort
Their work
Their discipline to make it work
Their use of technology, science, education, training, economy, and employment.
The point is simple. Many believe they are perfectly capable of handling their own life and work. Consequently, they live and work with no thought of trusting God. Everyday, they exist failing to acknowledge their need for God. Look again at verse 13 and see how it pictures man’s attitude.
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
He plans the day of his departure - “today or tomorrow”
He plans the place of his future endeavors - “such a city”
He plans the length of time in seeking success - “a year”
He plans the details of his endeavor to be successful - “buy and sell”
He plans his success as getting gain or making a profit - “get gain”
Now, let me reiterate that it is not wrong to make plans. However, it is wrong to make plans which do not include God.
The great error of any believer is to plan their life without God. Think about it this way!
How can a person ever be sure that...
They will ever see the rest of today or tomorrow?
They will ever even reach the city of their plans?
They will not be stricken by some accident or with some disease preventing them from accomplishing their pans?
They will be able to see a whole year living in the city of their choice?
They will be successful in attracting people so that they might buy and sell?
There are always a thousand possibilities along with a thousand ways our plans can go awry. We all live one minute from our plans being disrupted by things such as an car accident or life altering news from a doctor’s routine examination.
1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Self-dependency leaves God out of the picture. In its place comes pride and great boasting.
4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
Our duty, as believers, is always put God first.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
We must begin with God. Any plans we make should be always include seeking Him and His righteousness above all else.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Now note one other thing found in verse 14 of our text.
Self Dependency fails to Recognize Life’s Frailty
Self Dependency fails to Recognize Life’s Frailty
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Here is a truth that many of us try to ignore. None us are guaranteed tomorrow. Many people have convinced themselves they will themselves into tomorrow. Yet, when death comes, we quickly realize that tomorrow is not certain. There are two reasons why tomorrow uncertain.
We are not Omniscient
We are not Omniscient
There is not a single person here this evening who can tell me what you will be doing at this time tomorrow. You may have plans for what you think you will be doing. And, it is quite possible you will succeed in your plans. However, what we think we will be doing and what we actually will do is totally in God’s hands. Consider this. Tomorrow may bring...
an accident
disease
a broken relationship
bad news
good news
death
financial gain or loss
war
We just don’t know. In fact, we have no idea what will happen in the next hour, day, week, or month. That is our problem. We tend forget or even ignore the fact we are not omniscient. It is pride and arrogance on our part to even think we could know that will happen in the future. It is utter foolishness.
Here is the second reason tomorrow is uncertain.
We are Finite Beings
We are Finite Beings
Look again at verse 14.
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Our life on earth is brief compared to eternity. The Holy Spirit adequately compares our life to a vapor. It is here and then, just like that, it is gone. Every person born into this world soon realizes they will one day.
Life is fickle. It is not just finite, but it can change in a moment. Your life as you know it right could end in an instant. All it takes is...
A tire blowing out
An oncoming car to cross into your lane
A physical emergency happen
We just never known when our time on earth is done. In fact, none of us know how it will end. Yet, with great certainty, we all know it will end one day. It will end in death or with the sound of a trumpet, but it will end. Life is uncertain. Thus, any person, especially a believer, who attempts to life life without God is a fool.
Let me close with two thoughts and some verses.
Conclusion
Conclusion
For a believer, living a self-sufficient life apart from God is the epitome of foolishness.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
For the unbeliever, planning your future without planning for one’s eternal future is sure madness.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
14 For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; And the place thereof shall know it no more.
Self Dependence fails Acknowledge God
Self Dependency leads to Boasting, Bragging, and Arrogance
Self Dependency is Sin