Is God In Your Plan Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• As you live your life, are you the type that just lets life happen to you or are you the type who likes to plan out the day and life in general?

• If you are a planner do you just have a general plan for life or do you plan every detail to the nth degree?

• When you plan what goes into your plan? How do you go about putting together the plan? What are some things you consider as you prepare a plan?

• As we have been navigating through the sometimes rough waters in the book of James, we come to another often overlooked aspect of our walk with God.

• Last week we examined a way in which we can tell if we are working on letting Jesus have lordship in our life, this week we will examine a second litmus test as to where we are with the lordship of Jesus in our life.

• The issue at hand today is one in which we can gain insight as to where we see God in our life.

• When you put together a plan, is God in your plan? Is God at the center of your plan or do you formulate a plan and then tell/ask God to bless it?

• Let’s turn to James 4:13-17, we will start in verses 13-14.

• SLIDE #2

• James 4:13–14 (ESV) 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.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

Leaving God out of our plan is not wise because…

I. Life is too short to get it wrong all the time. (13-14)

• In verse 13, James uses the phrase “COME NOW”. This is a vigorous form of address that was used to make sure James had his readers’ attention.

• This as I said before is the second way in which we can measure the amount of Jesus Lordship we allow into our life.

• We start out with the calling, calling out to those who would make plans.

• There is nothing wrong with formulating plans and strategies.

• Some say James is speaking of someone of wealth or a business person. If so, to succeed in business you need to have a plan. That makes sense.

• Show me someone who fails to plan and I will show you someone who plans to fail.

• This issue is not planning but instead how we go about it.

• The way we go about making our plans reveals our attitude about Jesus and where He really fits into our life.

• James is speaking to those who were habitually planning for the future with no thought of Jesus or God’s will as they made the plans.

• We see a plan that was hatched. “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit

• The phrasing of the plan indicates that God had no place in the plan.

• There is a time set for the plan (today or tomorrow), there was a destination set, a time frame in which the plan would take place along with an objective (make a profit).

• Now is there anything wrong with picking a place to go, a time to go, and a time frame in which to operate along with an objective? NO!

• This plan was hatched without considering God’s will.

• In the illustration it is said WE WILL GO. What if that was not what God called them to do? What if the plan was the worst thing in the world for them to do?

• Outside of those possibilities, verse 14 reveals two big reasons as to why we should not leave God out of the plan.

• yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

• SLIDE #4

• Proverbs 27:1 (ESV) Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

• We do not know what tomorrow will bring. If we do not know what tomorrow brings, what if we could include someone in our plans who does know?

• The implication is that there is one who DOES know what tomorrow brings so would it not be wise to consult the one who knows?

• The second reason we see that planning without God is not wise is found in verse 14 also.

• What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.