I'm always so amazed at God's providence, as many of you have mentioned, how a certain passage fits. It's appropriate for that day or time. And if I was going to pick a passage for a congregational meeting Sunday, it would have been this one. But I didn't pick it. We're just going through James. And this is where we are. So James 4, 13 through 17, hear the word of the Lord. 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. 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. Instead you ought to say if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that. As it is you boast in your arrogance all such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it For Him it is sin. Let's pray. Lord, we trust in Your Word to do Your will in the hearts of people. So do Your will in our hearts today through saving and sanctifying us as each one needs. In Christ's name, Amen. Well, what to do with this passage all depends on what you do with verse 17. If, like a few commentators I have read, think that verse 17 really doesn't even belong in James' thought, that it was put there for some reason, then you may come up with some interesting applications. Some have actually said what James is warning against is capitalism, making a profit. You who think about making a profit should not think that way. Of course, there was a growing free market economy in the Greek world in this time, as you see from the text. James is not interested in speaking about economy. Or some people say what James is condemning is planning. He should simply live by the Spirit. and not plan ahead as if you have some control. But no, if you don't plan anything, you're somewhat foolish, aren't you? You need to make plans in life. That isn't the problem. Some are a bit closer when they say the problem here is presumption, that you plan without recognizing the Lord can change your plans. Now, that's much closer, but the problem even with that is it doesn't take into account verse 17. Verse 17 is the key to understanding the whole passage. What is the right thing to do? Well, some people in the church knew the right thing to do, but were not doing it. What were they doing instead? Well, they were busy with their jobs and their pursuits of this life. Now, you can imagine the reports that James had received, and you think of other passages, James receives a report, either written or oral, about what is going on in the local churches. And they said things like, well, when rich people came into some of these churches, they got a better seat and the poor were told to sit in the back. Or he got a report about the infighting and all the arguing that we've discussed. And then somebody writes, now there is a group of people in the church that you rarely ever see. They're not involved in anything. They don't serve. They're not here very often. And if you ask them if they're Christians, they'll say yes. But if you ask them why they don't do anything, what do they say? Well, we're very busy with our jobs. We're making plans to go and start businesses and make money. Later on, we'll do some things for God. But we have plans right now. James is really warning here against procrastination. And those who procrastinate, who put off serving the Lord, they presume that they will have plenty of time to do that later. And that sort of procrastination and presumption is what James warns against here. Now, behind this passage, James is always weaving in his teaching, the teachings of Christ, throughout the Gospels. And you can almost look at every section of James and find something parallel in the Gospels. Behind this warning is the parable Jesus told in Luke 12. In that parable the master is about to leave on a journey and he gives responsibilities to his servants of the household. And he leaves for a time and when he returns, he returns sooner than expected. And he is about to reward his servants for what they have done in his absence. And though many had been faithful, they did what he had commanded them to do, There were some who presumed the Master wouldn't come back for a very long time, so they didn't do anything. They just pursued their own selfish pursuits, basically. They wasted time. And then the Master returns and the end of the parable is a warning. The servant who knew his Master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will will receive a severe beating. Now compare that to verse 17, he who knows the right thing to do but fails to do it, for him it is sin. You see the parallel? James is basically rewording the same warning. Now there's nothing wrong with these pursuits in themselves. There's nothing wrong with working or planning businesses, making money or enjoying life or vacations or whatever it is, watching football. Never mind. There's nothing wrong with these things in themselves. The question is, are we sacrificing our spiritual life for these things? Does our spiritual life, our relationship with God, our service to Christ and for his kingdom, are they put on the back burner because these are more important? That's really the issue and you know all the examples. You have young people who will often say, I know I need to get serious about God. I will when I'm older. Right now I want to have fun and I want to pursue my own goals. Then I'll be more serious about God and church and things like that. Now what are these young people presuming? That they're going to live that long and that all of a sudden their hearts will be ready to do this. Other people say, well, I can't really serve Christ. I have a job and I have family concerns. I have my favorite shows to watch at night. I really can't think about serving other people or growing in my faith, learning more about the Bible. I cannot use my gifts at church. I certainly can't do hospitality. Not when I have to do something fun Sunday. I'm just too busy with life to think about spiritual endeavors. I know I should pray, but right now I'm just really busy, too busy to pray with other things. James doesn't buy these excuses. And just to warn you, I don't either. Oftentimes, this is a maxim in the world, but I find it true in the church. If you want something done, ask the busiest people. You know, in the world, that's a common thing. I find that in the church too. If you want something done, ask the busy people. It'll usually get done. Busyness is not an excuse. It's really about priorities, isn't it? It's not about how exactly the time. If something is important to you, you make the time, don't you? No matter what it is, if it's important to your heart, you will find the time. And so in verse 13, James mimics these people in their presumptive business plans. You say this, you think you can put off God for a time, but your life is but a vapor that appears and quickly vanishes. You're like a mist. God can take you out of this world like that. You really want to presume that you're going to live so long that you can put off God and later you'll have time? Whose hands is time in anyways? Yours or God's? These people were thinking it really is in their hand and they can worry about God much later. You need to live in the full awareness of the brevity of life. And so a good way to think about it is if you found out tomorrow that you have six months to live, what would your life be like? If you knew you only had six months, what would your priorities be? Whatever those are should be right now, because you don't know if you have six months. James goes on, you ought to say when you make plans, if the Lord wills. Now that doesn't mean you have to add that to everything. It's not sort of a rote magic thing that if you just say it, you're safe. Or you write DV, which is Latin for Lord willing, at the end of every letter. That's not really the point. The point is you live in the full awareness that your life is in God's hands. And you do not have to worry about making money and devote all your time to money or pleasure. Because God is in control. He will bless if He chooses. We can seek ye first His kingdom. and trust Him to provide for the rest. It's just an awareness that I can serve the Lord and the rest is in God's hands. That doesn't mean we don't work diligently. It means that we can still make God and His service our priority. And God, who is in control of all things, will work it out for us. Let me ask you a question. If five years ago somebody came to you and said, Predict what your life will be like five years from now. Where you're going to live, if you're going to be married or single, family situation, job. If five years ago someone asked you, how many would have basically predicted everything that's happening now? Now look around, there's not one hand. What does that tell you? Well it tells you one, we make lousy profits, don't we? And sometimes people ask me, what do you think is going to happen? And I'll say, I can't even predict my own life six months from now. I certainly can't predict yours. I don't know. But even more, the point is the Lord doesn't ask our permission, does he, to make his plans for us. He does as he chooses and it's probably whatever your plans are, it's probably going to be different, isn't it? Isn't that what we've learned looking back five years? It's good to plan, but it's very likely the Lord has a different plan. That should cause you to relax and not be so panicked and be able to serve the Lord and work on your relationship with Him and not be frantic about your future. And so while there's nothing wrong with these business ventures or making a profit or all these other areas, you have to stop and ask yourself, has my spiritual life taken a back seat? to these issues, to these endeavors. My relationship with God, my prayer life, my service in the church, has that all taken a backseat to my own plans for this life? If that is true for you, then you need to heed James' warning here. And so knowing Christ has forgiven you, knowing you have eternal life, knowing that you cannot extend your life one day with all your plans, knowing that your plans are likely to be changed by God anyways, and knowing that your days are numbered by Him, but even knowing more that God has given you, as the master of the house, responsibilities while He is away. Jesus said you need to seek His kingdom, serve His kingdom, grow in the faith. These are responsibilities that are to be a priority in your life. Do not be so consumed with your temporary plans that you ignore the Master's commands, that which is really eternally important. Don't spend your final days in regret. You know, hell will be filled with people with regret. And they will say, I know I should have, but I wanted to do this. I wanted to have fun and make money. And they never ever came to the Lord and believed and served Christ. Now this doesn't mean, I know often people are thinking, is he trying to push that you get more involved in church activities? I'm not being self-serving here. It may not. It depends on your situation. I'm simply saying that make sure that spiritual endeavors are a priority in your life, however that may look for each of you. Every day opportunities are passing away to begin praying. You may not have more days. If you know you need to start praying, Now is the time to start praying regularly. Every day is an opportunity there that your neighbor that you're thinking about inviting to church and then get to know, that opportunity is passing away. You don't know whether that neighbor will be here next week. Now is the time to do something about that. That person you're thinking about inviting to church, that sin you know you eventually should work on and do something about, don't put it off. Now is the time. That marriage you know that you should treat your wife in a more Christ-like way, or your husband, now is the time to begin doing it. That person you need to reconcile with, that service you need to do. Listen to James' warning. He who knows the right thing to do, but fails to do it, may I add, by putting it off, for them it is sin. Let me close by quoting Charles Spurgeon. This quote is also in your bulletins. And this is from when he preached on this passage. God help us, if we are saved, to get at this holy business of serving the Lord Christ, which is far exceeds buying and selling and getting gain, as the heavens are higher than the earth. Let us do something for Christ at once. Amen.