AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY
Part 8 – Getting My Priorities Straight
James 4:13-17
June 21, 2020
Dr. Mark S. Hartman, Lead Pastor
INTRODUCTION
James 4:13-17 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.
1. ALWAYS MAKE YOUR PLANS WITH GOD IN MIND. (James 4:13, 15)
A. Be a planner.
Luke 14:28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?
Jesus is saying that a person who doesn’t plan and prepare is foolish.
B. James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
C. Always include God in your plans.
D. We can be believers in God but forget God in our daily life.
E. James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.”
F. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.
2. DO GOOD TODAY. (James 4:17)
A. James 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.
B. Procrastination is my sin, It only caused me sorrow. I know I ought to change my ways, In fact I will – tomorrow. (Anonymous)
C. Proverbs 3:27-28 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow’ — when you now have it with you.
D. There are three things we can do with our life: spend it, waste it, invest it.
E. Invest your life in things that last.
F. Ask yourself four questions:
1. How do I want to be remembered by my family?
2. How do I want to be remembered by my friends?
3. How do I want to be remembered by those at work?
4. How do I want to be remembered by those at church?
G. Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
3. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TOMORROW. (James 4:14,16)
A. James 4:14,16 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
B. There are two principles about life to keep in mind:
1. Life is unpredictable.
Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
2. Life is brief.
C. So, what’s the solution?
1. Make sure you are ready to meet God.
a. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”
b. Romans 10:9-10 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
2. Plan well for tomorrow but live well today.
a. Don’t give yourself to worry.
Matthew 6:34 So don’t be anxious about tomorrow — God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.
Romans 1:17 The just shall live by faith.
b. Give yourself to right choices.
Proverbs 3:1-2 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
c. Decide to enjoy life today.
I Timothy 6:17 reminds us to not place the emphasis of our life on the, “uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”
Psalm 31:15 Lord, my days are in your hands.