Series: Jesus’ Half Brother- James [#9]
YOU CAN COUNT ON IT
James 4:13-5:12
Introduction:
I was talking with my boss about some people being mad it me; and he gave me a great response- “This I know, tonight the sun will go down, and tomorrow the sun will come up.” In our passage, there are things that you can count on happening.
James 4:13-17
You can count on…
1. This moment in time.
Our lives are like mist. You may be gone before this service is even over. We need to live like there is no tomorrow. How do you do that?
* Don’t assume that you have tomorrow.
Only God knows when you will leave this earth.
* Don’t be selfish.
Remember this is not about you, it is about Jesus and leading people to Him.
* Don’t procrastinate.
If the Lord is leading you to do something, do it now. Don’t put off till tomorrow something you can do today. By the way, if you don’t do it, that is sinful.
James 5:1-6
You can count on…
2. There being accountability to God.
We will have to account to God for the way we handle our money and possessions.
We will have to account for how we…
* Save our money and possessions.
Is it o.k. to save our money? Yes. Is it o.k. to stockpile it? No.
We will have to account for how we…
* Spend our money and possessions.
We are to be fair to those that serve us. For example, if you don’t tip the waitress or waiter at the restaurant you go to the appropriate amount that is sinful. Those people have to pay taxes on that, and they receive a smaller wage because they get tips. You are cheating them.
We will have to account for how we…
* Serve our money and possessions.
You are probably saying to yourself, “I don’t serve my money”. If you put earning that money before God, guess what? If you put your living in luxury over helping someone in need, guess what?
James 5:7-12
You can count on…
3. The Lord returning.
Jesus is coming back. It may be very soon and it may not be. I believe that it will be soon, but so did Paul. Christians we must live everyday like Jesus is coming back any moment, but while we wait we need to live lives that will please Him.
As we wait, we are to be…
* Patient.
What is God waiting on? He is waiting for those who are going to get saved and have not yet done so. He doesn’t want anyone to miss out on Heaven.
As we wait, we are to…
* Stand firm.
Don’t run from Satan and the world. Remember Ephesians 6:10-18. We are to stand firm, put on the full armor of God, and stand firm. We are protected from anything the Devil shoots at us as long as we stand firm. The armor covers the front, not the back. If you run, you will expose your back and get shot down. By the way, you don’t need to chase the Devil. As Michael the Archangel taught us when he was disputing with Satan over the body of Moses- Let God deal with the Devil.
As we wait, we are to…
* Put up with one another.
Don’t grumble and fight with one another; it hurts the Body of Christ. Be a person of your word. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Do what you say you are going to do. When you don’t, you hurt the Body of Christ.
