James 4:13-17
Making plans, doing the right thing, and visiting close friends/families are all important in one’s life.
Apostle James raises three important question in a Christian (believer) life.
I. Are We Planning Without GOD?
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make
money.”
The business men knew what they wanted to make profit and to make money.
They had a plan how to get there and knew what they needed to do.
But God was left out in making their plans.
The Bible tells us that God needs to be in the center of our plans.
Proverbs 16:3 says: “Commit your works to the LORD, and your plans will be established.”
II. Are We Taking‘The Tomorrow’ for Granted?
14 (a) why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
Nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow because it is unpredictable.
We don’t know what is in our tomorrows because only God know about them.
14 (b) you are a mist (vapor) that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Someone said, “The older you get the faster it goes.”
The Greek word for “vapor” is “atmos” from which comes the word “atmosphere”.
We see fog in the morning by noon it is gone.
No one knows how long we will live or how many days we have on this earth.
“Never boast about tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen between now and then.” Proverbs 27:1
Life is short so never take for granted of our tomorrows.
V-15 Instead, You ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
Since God is in control of our life HE wanted to be included in our life decisions.
Since God is in control of our life He knows about our tomorrows.
Though we are like a mist, God has design and purpose for each of us.
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
This verse reminds us that God does not like boasting of our plans without HIM.
III. Are We Delaying Doing GOOD?
17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Apostle James is talking about procrastination.
It is putting off till tomorrow what we should be doing today.
Some sins like murder, cheating, adultery, lying and stealing people have to actively participate in them.
A person has to go out to commit those sins.
They are called ‘sins of commission.’
James talking about in verse 17 is the ‘sin of omission.’
If we know that something is good but we don’t do it is a sin of omission.
God is telling us this morning that we should never delay doing the right thing or a good thing right now.
Never to walk away from doing a good thing in life
We may never get another opportunity in life to do that again.
Our future is in HIS hands because HE controls our future.
Remember that in all our plans we have to include GOD.
Since GOD knows our tomorrows we will never take for granted of our tomorrows but humbly say “if God will”.
Making plans, doing the right thing, and visiting close friends/families are all important in one’s life.
Apostle James raises three important question in a Christian (believer) life.
I. Are We Planning Without GOD?
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make
money.”
The business men knew what they wanted to make profit and to make money.
They had a plan how to get there and knew what they needed to do.
But God was left out in making their plans.
The Bible tells us that God needs to be in the center of our plans.
Proverbs 16:3 says: “Commit your works to the LORD, and your plans will be established.”
II. Are We Taking‘The Tomorrow’ for Granted?
14 (a) why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
Nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow because it is unpredictable.
We don’t know what is in our tomorrows because only God know about them.
14 (b) you are a mist (vapor) that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Someone said, “The older you get the faster it goes.”
The Greek word for “vapor” is “atmos” from which comes the word “atmosphere”.
We see fog in the morning by noon it is gone.
No one knows how long we will live or how many days we have on this earth.
“Never boast about tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen between now and then.” Proverbs 27:1
Life is short so never take for granted of our tomorrows.
V-15 Instead, You ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
Since God is in control of our life HE wanted to be included in our life decisions.
Since God is in control of our life He knows about our tomorrows.
Though we are like a mist, God has design and purpose for each of us.
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
This verse reminds us that God does not like boasting of our plans without HIM.
III. Are We Delaying Doing GOOD?
17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Apostle James is talking about procrastination.
It is putting off till tomorrow what we should be doing today.
Some sins like murder, cheating, adultery, lying and stealing people have to actively participate in them.
A person has to go out to commit those sins.
They are called ‘sins of commission.’
James talking about in verse 17 is the ‘sin of omission.’
If we know that something is good but we don’t do it is a sin of omission.
God is telling us this morning that we should never delay doing the right thing or a good thing right now.
Never to walk away from doing a good thing in life
We may never get another opportunity in life to do that again.
Our future is in HIS hands because HE controls our future.
Remember that in all our plans we have to include GOD.
Since GOD knows our tomorrows we will never take for granted of our tomorrows but humbly say “if God will”.
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