August 12, 2001
The Sovereignty of God is more than a doctrine. If I have learned anything about how much control God exerts on everything in life it is these two:
a. There are no accidents. When a cowboy applied for health insurance, the agent routinely asked if he had had any accidents during the previous year. The cowboy replied, No. But I was bitten by a rattlesnake, and a horse kicked me in the ribs. That laid me up for a while. The agent said, Weren’t those accidents? No, replied the cowboy, They did it on purpose. (Our Awesome God © 1997 Ray Pritchard, 1997, Oak Park, Illinois)
Beloved, we never catch God by surprise either.
b. His plans tend to mess with my plans. Did you ever feel like the small boy who was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he really wanted?
"I’ve been good for six months now," he wrote. After a moment of reflection he crossed out the six months and wrote in three. After that he crossed it out and wrote two weeks.
Then, he tore up the paper, went to the Christmas tree and picked Mary out of the nativity scene. He went back to his desk and started his letter again.
"Dear God….If you ever want to see your mother again…" (Mark Ashton, A Voice in the Wilderness (OM Publishing);
God’s plans (sovereign plans) have always gotten in our way.
There was the year I lost my legs. At thirteen, life was really getting good. Sports defined my life. I cried foul when the doctor took a look at my knees and put me in a chair for five months. God had messed with my baseball!
There was the year Jennifer (our first) was born.
I went from being #1 in Elizabeth’s life to, Oh, and don’t forget to pick up more Huggies when you get the groceries; and get some more of that diaper rash cream. I needed a honey-do rash cream!
God’s sovereign plans mess with a lot of people. James Emmons told me last week about a 54 year-old friend who died. They went to school together. Superman isn’t supposed to be vulnerable.
And Brenda wasn’t planning on fainting in the bank parking lot last year….and then having to grow her hair back after the surgeon did his work. God’s plans mess with our plans; boy, do they ever!
And so, if we listen to James – take the advice he offers, we will find two very important principles for running life’s race:
I. MAKE YOUR LIFE’S PLANS WITH ETERNITY IN FOCUS.
Stuff disappears quickly…just like our plans. James teaches us that making our plans requires a reality check about the sovereignty of God…
James 4.13-17 (The Message New Testament)
And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.” As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.
The greatest arrogance in the universe is presuming upon God. Some years ago the Florida lottery ran television ads attempting to promote ticket sales. The chances of winning a lottery are one in several million gazillion. In a variety of ways the commercials showed winners of vast sums of money. Each one would end by holding up the winning ticket, saying, "You never know…"
We need to remember that saying about tomorrow – you had better include God in your plans…because you never know if you have tomorrow…or if today God will require your presence before the bar! Friends, life is incredibly short; eternity is incredibly long.
It may not be necessary, but I’ll say it anyway, it is wiser to prepare for eternity, than anything in the here and now. It is certainly not begging the issue to repeat – failing to prepare for eternity is more than dangerous – it is foolish!
James is so thorough. He has told us not to leave God out of our plans. Now, he turns to the other vital issue, which naturally follows…how to do that on a practical level:
II. CARRY OUT YOUR LIFE’S PLANS IN A MANNER THAT WILL KEEP ETERNITY IN FOCUS.
James 5.7-12 (The Message New Testament)
Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.
Friends, don’t complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.
Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You’ve heard, of course, of Job’s staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That’s because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.
And since you know that he cares, let your language show it. Don’t add words like “I swear to God” to your own words. Don’t show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Just say yes or no. Just say what is true. That way, your language can’t be used against you.
a. Have Patience like a Farmer
James uses the illustration of the farmer. Prepare, plant, protect, nurture, and…….wait! It’s a long process, but God made it so. When you come to the table of life, bring patience. How, preacher? I don’t know…you have to work that out for yourself. Mainly, ask God for it, because it is not natural. We are all impatient.
And while you’re being patient, make certain you’re working on the right kind of crop. Remember that eternity is long, and whatever you grow is what you’ll reap. My friend Eddie Hinkle is a sower. A few Fridays ago four of us hit the links. Eddie and Jeff Douglas were in one cart; Eddie Wray and myself in the other. My partner drove his ball to the left, and the rest of us hit to the right side. After we located the lone ball on the left, we drove to where Eddie Hinkle and Jeff were waiting with the other three balls.
Crossing the fairway, we saw Eddie kicking a ball into the sand trap…then he stepped on it – hard! He was sowing that golf ball – he mashed it into the ground!
When we arrived, Eddie had that look on his face – like when you’re about to get your pocket picked. He said, as he pointed to the golf ball seedling,
Preacher, your ball is in an awful fix. I got up close to the ball – it wasn’t mine!
Jeff looked – it wasn’t his; the only ball it could be belonged to our resident golf ball farmer. Folks, believe it when the Bible says YOUR SINS WILL FIND YOU OUT.
b. Proclaim the Kingdom like a Prophet
Living your life in a manner worthy of eternity means you will stand for what will stand in eternity. That means sharing God with people.
Our founding pastor’s widow shared with me this past week about the beginnings of Cedar Lodge. Maude said, Preacher, we only had 57 people to start – but you know, as much as they loved each other and had a good time, those 57 people worked like Turks! There is a lot of wisdom in that. We need to do that again! Farmers and prophets are not lazy people!
c. Have Perseverance like Job
Job had it all – then he had it all taken away. He went from hero to zero in an afternoon. His wife got so discouraged she told her husband, why don’t you just curse God and die? Job hung in there. He wasn’t patient like some say – he was actually ticked, and wanted an answer. But he did hang in there, and that’s what perseverance is all about. You know that God is in charge, so you play by His rules, and leave the results to Him.
d. Keep Purity in All
James said a word about our words. Folks, what proceeds out of the mouths of even Christians these days would have made our grandparents turn in their graves. All of your words are worship. Don’t offer slop to our Lord. He is the sovereign God of the universe – not the man upstairs. He hears our words and attributes each of those words to us as our contribution to praise or putrification of His name. Be careful!
Wrong Idea – Right Idea
In Daniel 4 we read the story of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He was – to say the least – full of himself. He surveyed his kingdom, and imagined he had created Wonderland. He celebrated his own greatness!
To humble him, God, the sovereign God of all creation, messed with everything Nebuchadnezzar had. The king wound up a madman, drooling on himself, grazing on grass like a wild animal.
At the end of his days, the Lord allowed his mind to return to normal, and Nebuchadnezzar gave God His due. Like you, and me it would have been so much easier to make plans which honored God in light of eternity, and to live worthy of those eternal plans. It’s God’s way – it’s the good way!
