Sermons

James: A Letter from Jesus’ Brother
How to Make Plans – James 4:13-17

Let’s turn to James chapter 4.  If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll bring one to you.  James 4 is on page 1013 in the Bibles we are passing out.  This summer on Sunday mornings we’re studying this letter written by James.  And to introduce the topic James brings up next, I think it would be helpful to go over the background to this letter.

James was one of the elders of the church in Jerusalem.  But at around the year 42 AD a terrible persecution broke out in Jerusalem, and many followers of Jesus had to flee for their lives, with probably nothing more than the clothes on their backs.  They fled north, to northern Palestine and Syria.

And James deeply loves these believers.  He knew them well, had taught them God’s Word, laughed with them, wept with them, had them over to his home, been over to their homes, had labored in advancing the gospel with them.  He had heard about their struggles and difficulties, and so he wrote them this letter.

And one issue he knew they faced was for the men to provide for their families.  The men had to find ways to house and clothe and feed their families.  So the men were making plans about how they would do this.  But James wants them to understand that there’s a right way and a wrong way to plan.  There’s a way to plan that will honor God and strengthen their trust in Him, and there’s a way to plan that dishonors God and weakens their trust in Him.

And the same is true for us.  We all make plans all the time.  You have plans for this afternoon, for tomorrow, for this Fall.  We all make plans all the time.  But there’s a way to plan that honors God and strengthens our trust in Him, and there’s a way to plan that dishonors God and weakens our trust in Him.

So we, too, need to hear what James tells his readers.  Let’s look at what he says in vv.13-17 --

13            Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"—

14            yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

15            Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

16            As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17            So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

So what were James’ readers doing?  You can see that in v.13 – let’s read it again -

13            Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"—

James’ readers were making plans about traveling to a certain town, spending time there in business activities, and making a profit.  They needed to provide for their families, and so they were making plans about how to do that.  So that’s the topic James wants to focus on – how we make plans.

And the truth is that we all make plans all the time.

We say: I’m going to Costco and then Trader Joe’s.

I’m going to watch the Giants this afternoon.

I’m going to lead the sales meeting Tuesday.

I’m going to Colorado Springs for vacation.

I’m going to start a family devotional time.

We all make plans.  And James’ readers made plans.  Some of them made plans to go to another town and do business and make money.  And that might sound perfectly fine to us.  But James says it’s not fine.  James says there’s a problem with that kind of planning.

What’s the problem with that kind of planning?  James tells us in v.14; read vv.13-14 together to get the flow of thought –

13            Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"—

14            yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

There’s two problems with that kind of planning.

First, you do not know what will happen in the future.  That’s the first part of v.14: “you do not know what tomorrow will bring.”  You don’t know the future.  You don’t know what will happen this afternoon.  You don’t know what will happen tomorrow.

One summer when our kids were 8 and 10 we had spent the day at the Grand Canyon and were driving to Sedona to be with Jan’s parents.  We had plans of spending the next few days in Sedona, hiking, exploring, having a great time.  We had plans. 

But half way to Sedona, out in the middle of nowhere, all the lights on the car dashboard lit up, the engine lost most of its power, and we coasted off the freeway into a gas station.  It took two days to get the part shipped to that gas station, and another day to get the car fixed.  So we did not spend those days in Sedona as we planned. 

And that’s true for all of us.  None of us knows the future.  We don’t know what will happen this afternoon, or tonight, or tomorrow, or a year from now.  We just don’t know.  But not only do we not know what will happen in the future --

We also do not know if we will even be here in the future.  That’s the last half of v.14: “What is your life?  For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”  Right now your life feels substantial.  You feel like you will live forever.  But you won’t. 

I remember 5 years ago sitting at our kitchen table on a Sunday night eating dinner, when all of a sudden the left side of my face became numb, my left arm got weak, and I started to feel very strange.  We called our friend who is a nurse and she said we should go to emergency, and they ran a bunch of tests and said I probably had a small stroke.  A stroke?  Me?

Our bodies are fragile.  Our lives are temporary.  Your life is no more permanent than the morning fog that burns off by noon.  Illness, accidents, anything can happen.

So let that sink in.  You are like a mist – which gets blown around by forces outside your control, and which appears for only a little while and then vanishes.  So can you feel how foolish it would be for a mist to say: “I’m going to head down to Gilroy and then over to Modesto.”  That’s foolish, because that mist is not in ultimate control of where it goes – that’s up to the wind; it’s not in ultimate control of how long it lasts – that’s up to the sun.

But we’re just like that mist.  The future is not up to us.  The future is not under our control.  We don’t know what will happen in the future, and we don’t know if we will even be here in the future.  And yet we say things like:

“I’m going to Costco and then Trader Joe’s.”

“I’m going to watch the Giants this afternoon.”

“I’m going to lead the sales meeting Tuesday.”

“I’m going to Colorado Springs for vacation.”

“I’m going to start a family devotional time.”

So what should we do?  Should we just stop planning?  No.  James tells us we should plan – but in a different way.  So how should we make plans?  Look at what James says in v.15 --

15            Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

So don’t stop planning.  But when you make your plans say: “if the Lord wills.”  So what does that mean?  When the Bible talks about “God’s will” it means two very different things.  I put a table in your notes to help me explain this.

Sometimes “God’s Will” refers to God’s moral will, which refers to how God wants us to live.  It’s God’s moral will that we not murder, or kidnap.  And God’s moral will does not always happen – because Jesus was murdered on the Cross, and Joseph was kidnapped by his brothers.  So sometimes in the Bible the phrase “God’s Will” refers to God’s moral will.

At other times “God’s Will” refers to God’s sovereign will, which refers to what God purposefully allows to happen in the world.  God’s sovereign will always happens.  Always.  Nothing ever happens outside God’s sovereign will.  Even when murder takes place -- like Jesus’ death on the Cross, or when kidnapping takes place – like when Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery, God has ordained that these things happen for his wise and loving purposes.  So sometimes the phrase “God’s Will” refers to God’s sovereign will.

And here in James 4:15 when James talks about God’s Will he’s talking about God’s sovereign will.  He’s talking about the fact that God is in ultimate control of everything that happens in my life.  This is crucial to understand.  I am not in ultimate control of anything; God is in ultimate control of everything.

For example, think of how much our lives are affected by seemingly random events.  We have no ultimate control over seemingly random events – but God does have ultimate control over random events.  Look at Proverbs 16:33 --

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

Or think about how much our lives are affected by other people.  We have no ultimate control over other people – but God does have ultimate control over other people.  Look at Proverbs 21:1 --

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

Or think about how much our lives are affected by whether we live.  We have no ultimate control over whether we live – but God does have ultimate control over whether we live.  Look at James 4:15 --

Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live …"

And think about how much our lives are affected by what we do.  The truth is that we have no ultimate control over what we do – but God does have ultimate control even over what we do.  There’s mystery here.  But without taking away at all from our responsibility, God has ultimate control over what we do.  Look at James 4:15 –

Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

So we are not in ultimate control of anything.  But God is in ultimate control of everything.  Which is why, when we plan, we should say “if the Lord wills.”  Because none of our plans will happen unless God wills them to happen.  If our plans do not happen, it’s because God did not will them to happen.  If our plans do happen, it’s because God did will them to happen.  That’s why we should say “if the Lord wills.”

Imagine a surfer saying “I’m going to surf 40’ Mavericks tomorrow.”  That’s foolish – because his plan depends on there being 40’ waves, and he’s not in control of that waves. 

But we are just as foolish, when, with no reference to God, we say “I’m going to watch the Giants this afternoon.”  If what I mean is that I have so much control of my life and circumstances that I by myself can plan on watching the Giants – then that’s foolish.  Because me watching the Giants depends on what God wills.  My TV could break, the Giants could get rained out, I could end up in the emergency room.  So what I should say is – if the Lord wills, I will watch the Giants this afternoon.

Now the point isn’t a legalistic requirement that we always repeat certain words.  Saying the words is very helpful.  But the point is that we feel the truth of the words – that every time I make plans, I am not in control – my plans all depend entirely on the Lord’s will.

And let me show you two Scriptures where we see Paul planning in this way.  In Acts 18:21 Paul is talking to the believers in Ephesus, and look at what he says:

But on taking leave of them he said, "I will return to you if God wills," and he set sail from Ephesus.

And in 1 Corinthians 4:19 Paul is talking to the believers in Corinth, and look at what he says --

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.

So we should plan.  But we should understand that our plans all depend on God.  We should make plans saying “if the Lord wills.”

Let’s try a little experiment.  Say to yourself “this afternoon I’m going to go out to lunch, and watch the Giants or do some shopping.”  Notice what’s in your heart.  Feel that?

Now add in “if the Lord wills” – meaningfully: “if the Lord wills, this afternoon I’m going to go out to lunch, and watch the Giants or do some shopping.”  What difference did that make?  How did that feel different?

I am aware that God is in ultimate control, and I am not.

I feel more dependence on God.

I am humbled, because I see that I am not in control.

But now let’s go back to saying it the other way; leave out “if the Lord wills.”  So just say: “This afternoon I’m going to go out to lunch, and watch the Giants or do shopping.”  What difference does that make?

I’m not even thinking about God.

I’m thinking it all depends on me.

I’m thinking I’m self-reliant.

Can you see what a huge difference it makes to plan this way?  When we meaningfully say “if the Lord wills,” we see God, depend on God, are humbled before God.  But when we don’t , we ignore God, don’t depend on God, and rely on ourselves.

Which brings us to our last question -- Why is it so important to plan with conscious dependence on God’s will?  Look at vv.16-17 –

As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

When we plan without conscious dependence on God’s will, then James says we are boasting in our arrogance.  We are pretending to be in complete control; we are denying that everything depends on God.  We are boasting in our arrogance, and James says that such boasting is evil.

Now the truth is this last week we all have made plans without conscious dependence on God’s will.  We all have committed the evil of boastful arrogance.  But here’s the good news.  Because of Jesus’ death, we can be forgiven for that evil.  And not just forgiven; we can be cleansed from that evil. 

How?  Not by trying harder.  But by trusting Jesus.  If you will turn to Jesus now, ask Him to forgive you, ask Him to cleanse you, ask Him to change you – and mean it – He will.  So repent, trust Jesus, ask Him for help, and relying on His grace, start making all your plans with meaningful awareness that they all depend on God’s will.