Today let's talk about our faith and the part it plays as we make plans, set our goals, and prioritize things in our life. We all make plans and there's nothing wrong with planning. In fact, the Bible has several proverbs that encourage us to make plans. But does your faith have a part in that planning process?
I'm not sure how many of you have seen the Walt Disney movie “Frozen.” In this movie there is a snowman named Olaf. Olaf dreamed about leaving the gray days of winter and experiencing the warmth of summer.
As you watch the movie. You enter his daydreams as he sings the song entitled “In Summer” about all the wonderful things he had heard about the season of summer. He sang about blowing fuzz off dandelions from the lawn, laying on the beach under an umbrella, riding in a canoe on a lake, going for a swim, relaxing in a Jacuzzi, dancing under a gazebo, going on a picnic and experiencing the warmth of the sun.
Even the children watching the movie know exactly what will happen to Olaf if he ever gets his wish. But the lovable, naive snowman does not realize that he will never see summer because he will melt in the spring. Olaf had all kinds of plans, but he was wrong about his future,
Even though we're not fictitious characters in a movie, we can also be wrong about the future and what we plan to do. When that happens, how do we respond? In this last session from the book of James, we'll see where our focus should be even as we plan for the future. Prayer.
As I said a moment ago, there is nothing wrong with planning. The Bible talks about making plans in several areas of our life. The ant plans and prepares for times of need. Wise people include counselors when they are making plans. Diligent people make plans which leads to abundance. All of these are spoken of in the book of Proverbs. In James 4 and 5, he also addresses the topic of planning but instructs his readers to approach future plans with an intentional dependence on God. Do your future plans, intentionally include God?
James 4:13-17 – “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. 15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.”
God has us in His plan. We would be wise to trust God and His plans. Planning is a sound business practice. Business leaders know the importance of planning by anticipating the external forces that could shape a company's future. But even intelligent business men cannot know for sure what the future holds.
For example, a group of 15 key executives of a major airline met in the year 2000 to do some long-range planning up to the year 2020. A facilitator asked the executives to create a list of potential events that could greatly impact their airlines viability.
The executives created an impressive list of twenty potential events that included things like terrorism, modernization, mergers, new competition and computerization, and many of those proved to be a challenge in the twenty year span they examined. But there was one event that they could have never predicted. Do you know what it was? In no way could they have predicted this headline:
Aviation industry suffers worst year in history as COVID 19 grounds international travel.
What God is trying to tell us through James, is that life is precious and fragile. We should plan, but we must subject our plans to God's will.
Proverbs 19:21 – “Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.”
Don't put your trust in your plans. We put our trust in God submitting our plans to God's will. What can we do about this? Maybe we should take a look at our calendar for the next month. And then give the things on our calendar to God, allowing Him to direct our decisions and activities for His glory.
Planning is important, but planning is also fallible. Even the wisest executives cannot know what the future holds. Only God knows the future and only God is infallible. This truth should humble all of us to make sure that we include God in all of our planning.
The businessmen in James's example lacked humility and made their plans as if they confidently knew the future. Plans are good, but these people were boasting in their arrogance. Their arrogant action was not that they made plans; it was that they thought they knew or could control the future.
Not only did the business people in James's example not know what the future would be like, they did not even know if they would have a future. James says that life is just a vapor in that it is here for a moment and then disappears. Only God knows how long we will live.
James 5:7 – “Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.”
Do you know what James is indirectly telling us here? He's telling us that Jesus’ return is a promise we can rely on. Earlier in this chapter, James criticized the rich who had gained their wealth off the backs of their hired workers while they themselves lived luxurious lifestyles.
Now James turns his attention to the farmers. The unjust farmer might unjustly control his workers. But he can't control the rain. Farmers have to rely on God because only He can produce the rain. They need to be successful. Without the rain, farmers will not survive. When the rain comes, the crops will flourish.
We know that rain is essential, but only God can send the rain. The farmer knows this. He doesn't give up, but he waits patiently for God to send the rain to water and nourish the crops. He trusts that God will send the needed amount of rain at the right time.
In the same way, we are to be patient as we wait for the Lord's return. What we do know is that He will return just because Jesus has promised that He would.
In the same line of thinking to the pastor search committee, be assured that God has in His plan, a new pastor for this church. Just as the farmer trusts that God will send the rain, we must trust that God will send the right person.
James 5:8-9 – “You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!”
You can know that no one knows when the Lord's return will occur. But one thing for sure that we do know is that when Jesus returns, he will set all things right.
This patient farmer shows us the attitude that we're to have as we wait for the Lord's return. For now, we are kind of like in a dry spell. And we experience a similar pain as the farmer’s pain as he looked at the thirsty soil. But like the farmer, we must endure. Evil is in the world for a season, but Christ will return and set things right in His eternal kingdom. That truth alone should strengthen our hearts.
Then James goes on to say, “Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another.” When times are difficult, it's easy to take our stress out on one another. James warns us not to complain about our fellow believers.
We are surrounded by evil. But if we can trust God with eternity, we can also trust Him in our current struggle. We need to be patient like the farmer and wait for the Lord's return. When we focus on His return, we can endure the inconveniences and the problems of our present time. The first century believers needed to be prepared and so do we. Be positive because a brighter day is coming.
Right now we're living in a very troubled time. Wars all over the world. Unsettled
elections and things to come. Attempted assassinations. But one thing we all can count on is that Jesus will one day return. And shouldn't that in itself bring us hope to carry on? So, when you're drug down by the things of this world, stop for a moment and give praise. And worship God and thank Him for the promise and the hope that He gives.
James 5:10-11 – “Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. 11 See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about—the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”
To emphasize the value of patience and trust in the face of whatever difficulties we face, James pointed us to the example of the prophets. Throughout the Bible, God's servants were familiar with suffering. Jezabel killed the Lord's prophets. Steven spoke of the way the prophets were persecuted and killed right before he himself was killed. The writer of Hebrews mentioned that prophets were tortured, flogged, imprisoned and killed. But even though the prophets suffered hardships and even persecution, they didn't give up.
So, James says we count as blessed those who have endured. James was echoing the teaching of Jesus when Jesus said, “You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.”
You might be thinking, “You don't know what I'm going through right now.” Let
me encourage you by using the example of Job. Job suffered without ever knowing why. He lost his wealth, his children and his health. God allowed Satan to attack him and never explained to him the reason. As Job's suffered his losses, his friends came to comfort him. But instead, they berated him for his assumed sin. Even his wife urged him to curse God and die. In all his pain, frustration, and suffering, Job refused to blame God. He stayed the course and God rewarded him in the end.
In this, God is telling us to let our faith in Him show through as we make plans for our future. In this planning process, where do we see this church 5 years from now? Will you be involved? Will you run away at the slightest threat of adversity or disagreement or will your faith keep you on course?
Selecting a new pastor and keeping this church on track is not an easy task. But as God saw the prophets of old through all the trials of their lives, God will also see us through. As we prioritize our plans for the future, God is giving us the hope of working through any persecution that may come our way. We are not the only ones who encounter persecution and hardships, as we plan our future. Believers around the world continue to endure great hardships.
Our churches in Pakistan suffer persecution almost on a daily basis. We really have no idea the fear they go through. Yet they stay the course and remain faithful to what God has called them to do.
Actual current reports show over 340 million Christians have been living in places where they might experience persecution and discrimination. Over 4,700 Christians have been martyred. Over 4,400 churches and other Christian buildings have been attacked. Almost 4,300 believers have been detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, or imprisoned.
Yes, persecution is a clear and present danger for millions of Christians today. Instead of having the protections that we have here living in the United States, they live in imminent threat of persecution. Around them their friends are martyred. Their church's attacked and fellow believers are persecuted. But they stay the course.
As you sit here this morning and think about the various trials you have been through or might be going through right now. . . As we pray and wait patiently for God to lead us to our next pastor. . . As we confront the many frustrations in our daily lives, let’s remember what Peter told us in: 1 Peter 5:6-9 (And I close on this thought)
1 Peter 5:6-9 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.”
So what are your plans? We make plans all the time. The question for us today is DO OUR PLANS EXHIBIT OUR FAITH IN GOD? Does your faith show in your priorities?
PRAYER
If you have never invited Jesus to take over your life and be your Savior, we give you the opportunity to do that right now. During this closing song, be in prayer for the person on each side of you. Pray for the ones in front and in back of you. As God to help them make that all-important decision for Jesus.
