James 4:13-17

Preached by Mark Brown(Belfast Bible College) on 7th June 2009 in Cregagh Congregational Church, Belfast.(Apologies to the preacher if these words are not exactly what you said - they are what I heard through God's voice.)

James 4:13-17 says
13Now 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." 14Why, 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. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

It is really easy to take our focus off God as we live our lives and get caught up with things. In this passage James starts with a rebuke to people who are planning, travelling, organising and making money.
v13 is a rebuke and yet there is an element of planning in all of our lives and this must be so. So what is wrong with planning for the future. vs15 gives us the answer - in spite of our planning, God's will in our lives should be paramount - not our plans nor our planning.

Hebrews 1:3 says -
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Christ sustains all things and upholds all things. He is in control, even though we often walk away from Him and boast that we do not need God. When times are easy, it is easy to forget God and believe that we can do all things through our strength.

James 4:14 reminds us that life is short and that God is in control. So we should concern ourselves wit what is important , not so that we can seem to be great BUT that God is seen to be great. Change comes quickly in our lives - but the only important thing is our relationship with God. The highest compliment anyone can pay a Christian is to be called a godly person.

Because life is like a vapour - it is easy to waste our life. Acts 20:24 says- However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
It is a new mindset that we need - in our planning - having God paramount in our lives.

We are Christ's representatives where He has placed us - as individuals and corporately as a Church - to people in the Church and without the Church. He must be above everything else, because of the price He paid. We did not earn the right to be His representatives - His grace means we can be saved. Our great hope is that Christ can transform.