The Best Laid Plans Of Mice And Men - [James 4:13-17]

Christian Planning and the Weight of God’s Providence

Well, the bulletin lists this message as the Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men, Part 2. It might better be stated as the Best Laid Plans of Men, Take 2. Last Sunday night prior to the preaching, I knew that Timothy was exposed to a raw egg, to which he has serious allergies to.

And my sister, Karen Binney, sat by the phone for me in case the situation escalated into an emergency situation. While I never thought of my first opportunity to preach at the pulpit at BBC, I would be welcomed to the pulpit with the phone, with my wife on the other line saying, Timothy's face is swelling, his neck is swelling, I've just administered the EpiPen and the ambulance is on the way.

Well, I'm happy to say that Timothy is doing fine, and I thank you for your prayers and for your phone calls. The Lord clearly had other plans for me, for Lewis Brown, and for the congregation as hearers of the Word last Sunday evening.

Well, it is a privilege indeed for me to fill the pulpit this evening with the weighty task of preaching God's inspired Word, a Word that is indeed sufficient to guide us to a right understanding of practical matters in life, even so practical as our role in the Church, as Brother Dave and Brother Steve have been preaching for the last several weeks and been encouraging us to seek out our role in the local Church.

Perhaps you've been considering your plans for the future in this local body. As you as an individual, what ministries you might take part in, perhaps you might even be considering how to do these things even in the midst of an already busy life.

Well, as individual members of BBC, consider these things, and not only these things, but all of our planning for the future in our daily lives. We can thank God for the all-inspired and sufficient scriptures for our guidance.

Let us pray. Lord, Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. Thank you for your Word, for without it, Lord, we would be lost. We thank you, Lord, that you've gathered us together this evening for the singing and for the preaching of your Word.

We pray, Lord, that all these things will be done in a sense that glorify Jesus Christ and are done through the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, bless this congregation this evening. In Jesus' name, amen.

The Difference Between Human Planning and Trusting God

Well, some people in this world are planners. They naturally are. They have Palm Pilots, BlackBerrys, Flowcharts. They're trio devices. They have their schedules out for 15-minute intervals into the future.

They could tell you what they're doing two weeks from now at 2 .30. Others of us are more laid-back, the so-called Type B personalities, those who just pride themselves on their spontaneity and wait for life to happen, as it were.

Well, all of us fall somewhere on this spectrum, and you know where you are. Well, is one extreme better than the other? Does the Bible even address matters of how we ought to plan for the future? What does the Bible say about planning for the future?

Well, you already know the answer about the Bible's sufficiency on this matter. See, our attitudes that we demonstrate when we plan for the future are a direct testimony to the degree to which we reply, lie upon the Lord or upon ourselves.

And as we examine our attitudes about the future, it is one test that you can use to evaluate the health of your spiritual walk. The book of James is filled with such tests of faith. And the book of James is a hands-on, practical manual of Christian living that teaches that authentic faith is always coupled with works of godly living.

James, as he's writing to an audience of Jewish believers, we'll see uses the seemingly ordinary example of Christian businessmen to teach us a right attitude toward God as we, Christians today, plan for the future.

Well, our text today is in James chapter 4, and James chapter 4 teaches us four principles of Christian planning. Open your text to James chapter 4, and we'll begin in verse 13. And as I read verse 13 through 17, I'd like you to listen for the principles conveyed in these verses.

I'll be reading from the New American Standard. James 4, verse 13. Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.

But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. Well, James begins by commanding our attention.

He starts with, come now, or listen up. And he's speaking to each Christian here individually. This is a singular address, not a plural address. And it applies not only to the receivers of the book of James, but also to us Christians today.

And the principles that James is teaching, we'll see, are not exclusive to Christian businessmen, but he uses that as a group of people that we can all relate with. So this can extend to all believers, and you today are not exempt.

A merchant in the time of historic Palestine is not unlike modern businessmen today. The first century had a lot of commercial activity. In these cities of Palestine, the Jews were heavily involved in commerce and trading.

Large numbers came to this area for the very commercial reasons and business purposes and opportunities that they had there. So the audience that James was writing to were familiar with the merchant's life.

They recognized it as an honorable profession, but yet one that some had brought disfavor upon. And today we just have greater cities, faster transportation, different types of businesses, but the bottom line for us today is still the same.

It was profit. These men that James refers to were those who planned down to even the smallest detail, and the language here reflects a self-confidence that everything was in their own control. Well, the first principle that we'll see from James chapter 4 about Christian planning for the future is that Christians in general, and you in particular, ought not to plan presumptuously.

You ought not plan presumptuously. Let me read verses 13 and 14 again and listen for this principle. Come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. James here is not condemning business planning or planning per se, but rather a certain type of planning, namely that which leaves out God.

See, this presumptuous behavior is inconsistent with genuine saving faith. This type of attitude ignores that only God knows the future, and only God controls the future. It also ignores that our life is but a vapor.

It neglects the transitoriness of life. You are completely ignorant about the future, except for that which the Bible tells us. See, it's only the Lord who has sovereign providence over the future. Keep your hand in James chapter 4 and open to Isaiah 46, 9 and 10.

As I read these two verses, answer this question. Who is in charge? Who is in charge? Isaiah 46, 9 and 10. The Lord says, Remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times as things which have not been done, saying, My purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

Who is in charge in that verse? Clearly, it is the Lord and not us. One commentator said, Ignorance of the future is a wonderful school of humility and a challenge and inducement to dependence upon divine providence.

Let me repeat that. Ignorance of the future is a wonderful school of humility and a challenge and inducement to dependence upon divine providence. See, this truth about God should lead us to a hearty recognition of his eternality.

These men also did not consider that our life is but an atmos or a vapor. This is the Greek word from which we get atmosphere. Think of this as a passing breath on a cold winter's morning. It is not unlike the parable of the rich fool in Luke chapter 12, where God addresses the men who planned carefully and stored up earthly treasures.

I am going to read Luke 12 verses 16 to 21 and listen to how God reacts to the rich fool. Luke 12 verses 16 to 21. Then he, that is Jesus, told him a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was very productive.

And he began reasoning to himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops? Then he said, This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, Listen, you fool, this very night your soul is required of you.

And now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man who stores up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God. See, illness, death, the return of Christ could take our life in but a moment.

Remember Job 7 .7 says, Oh, remember that my life is a breath. Tomorrow might bring health or illness, success or failure, wealth or poverty, life or death. We cannot put our trust in tomorrow. This is what one man said of tomorrow.

Today is given to us by him who belongs days. We have the power to use it as we please. We compass our salvation or our damnation within it. We can travel 24 hours of time nearer to heaven or to hell.

We are responsible for its proper use. How important that we do the proper work of today in the sphere of today. The man is blessed who at the close of today can look upon all his work as done and anticipate tomorrow as bringing nothing with it but the things which legitimately belong to it.

Today God speaks to us through his word that we harden not our hearts. Today is the day of salvation. All duties, all privileges, all trials, all joys, all sorrows. In one word, everything we have, we have today.

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is not. Only today is ours and only in today do we hold all our possessions. See, beloved, there is such deception, such flattery, such false hope in tomorrow. But yet how many of us defer today's work until tomorrow.

What good there is, there must be done today. Psalm 14 .1 says, It is the fool who says there is no God. But yet how many Christians live as practical atheists, trusting our plans to ourselves, trusting in tomorrow, trusting in anything but God.

So the first principle we see about future planning is that you ought not plan presumptuously. You ought not plan presumptuously. Well, if that wasn't bad enough, these Christian businessmen that James was writing about went a step further.

And they boasted in this arrogance. They boasted in this arrogance. So the second principle of Christian planning we'll see from James chapter 4 is that Christians ought not plan boastfully. Christians ought not plan boastfully.

Listen to verse 16 for this principle. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Wait a minute, doesn't the Apostle Paul claim to boast on several occasions? Well, indeed, but listen to this.

In 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 Corinthians 10, the Apostle Paul says, Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. Galatians 6 .14 says, But may it never be that I would boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.

So not all boasting is condemned by James, but all such boasting or all boasting of a certain type. The scriptures call this type of boasting ponera or evil. This is morally akin to Satan or the evil one.

The boasting is not treated lightly by the Bible. In fact, it is condemned as one of the heinous sins of Romans chapter 1. So these men not only were presumptuous about tomorrow, but they lacked humility and dependence on God.

They trusted in themselves and then they bragged about it. But yet we can find ourselves in the same trap today. We can couch these things in Christian lingo and still find ourselves guilty. Think of how we sometimes talk about our great dreams and plans.

I'm going to plant a new church over there. I'm going to knock down this wall and build an auditorium twice this size. It's going to seat a thousand people. Or a number of other things that we sometimes do as Christians when speaking about our own ministries.

But yet if these are done with the wrong motives and wrong attitudes, we may be outside the will of God. See, most of us here believe that God has called us to a Christian life. But what kind of people did God call?

1 Corinthians chapter 1 tells us the kind of people. Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble. Why? So that no one may boast before God. See, boasting is incompatible with the Christian life. It is incompatible with Christianity.

So first we saw that Christians are not to plan presumptuously. Second we saw that Christians ought not plan boastfully. The third principle of Christian planning we see from James chapter 4 is that Christians in general, you in particular beloved, ought not plan defiantly.

You ought not plan defiantly. Listen to verse 17 again. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. James here is dealing with the failure to obey the revealed will of God.

These are Christians who know the scriptures and then intentionally ignore them. The Christian businessmen that James was addressing likely knew the Lord's will for a Christian work ethic, but they effectively snubbed their nose at God.

The Bible sometimes calls these sins of omission. Can you think of any biblical illustrations of sins of omission? Well, 1 Samuel 12 .23 says, Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.

So, sin is doing wrong, yes, but sin is also not doing what is right or what is good. James uses the Greek word kalos, referring to that which is good, which is moral, which is upright. So sin is not just harming someone or wronging someone, it is also not helping them.

Keep your fingers in James 4 and turn briefly to Matthew 25. Matthew 25. I'll read verse 42 and following. Listen in these verses for examples of sins of omission. Matthew 25, beginning in verse 42. Then he, that is God, will also say to those on his left, Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in. Naked, and you did not clothe me. Sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.

James 4 .17 calls this sin. God takes this issue very seriously. But I fear that sins of omission are dealt with lightly by many. Well, personally, as I've studied this text, I've been confronted with the fact that I rarely seek forgiveness for sins of omission.

Can I ask you, in your time of prayer and confession to the Lord, when was the last time that you sought forgiveness for your lack of doing good? Is there an area in your life where you know God's command, but yet you're refusing to act on the revealed will of God?

A .T. Robertson writes,. The man who has learned to do the high and noble deed, but falls short, has committed a sin. You, as members of a Bible-teaching church that hold the Scriptures high, may know more than others.

Perhaps, therefore, your bar is higher. Can you honestly claim that you've done all the good you could have done this past week? What about today? If you're like me, the answer is no. You see, beloved, the gospel standard is so high that we continually fall short.

But if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, praise God for the grace and forgiveness found in Jesus. Well, let me make a brief digression here. We've covered some weighty topics so far. Trusting in yourself, depending upon tomorrow, boasting in your own plans, living outside of the presence of God.

But today, if you're a Christian, there is forgiveness for you in Jesus Christ. But for those who here are not Christians, those who don't trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins, who don't trust in Jesus Christ alone for entrance into heaven, you're beginning to see the high calling of the Christian life.

Well, living this Christian life won't gain you entrance into heaven. Following a list of do's and don'ts in the scriptures won't make you right in the sight of God. Yet you will be judged for your unbelief unless you repent for living for yourself.

So I call on you to call on the name of Jesus Christ to save your soul. As we've already heard today, today can be the day of salvation for you. And what's stopping you from coming to Jesus Christ right now?

Humble Planning Under the Will of the Lord

Well, we come to our fourth and final point of proper Christian planning for the future from James chapter 4. First, you remember that Christians ought not to plan presumptuously. Secondly, Christians ought not plan boastfully.

Thirdly, Christians ought not plan defiantly. And fourthly, instead of this negative, we'll see the positive. You, Christians, ought to plan humbly. You, Christians, ought to plan humbly. Verse 15 reads, Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will also live and do this or that.

See, this is a familiar pattern of scripture most of you know. Don't do this, but instead do this. God doesn't leave us hanging on knowing what to do. See, God simply wants us to bathe our plans in the will of the Almighty.

How often do you, as Christians, hear the phrase, if the Lord wills or Lord willing in your discussions? We're talking to Christians sometimes, but maybe not often. Perhaps it's different for some of us.

But A .T. Robertson called this practice of Paul practicing the presence of God. Let's see how Paul did this. Paul's practice of living in the presence of God. Acts 18, 20 and 21 says, just listen, you don't have to turn.

When they asked him to stay, that is Paul, for a longer time, he did not consent, but taking a leave of them and saying, I will return to you again, if the Lord wills. He set sail from Ephesus. 1 Corinthians 4, 19 says, but I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills.

1 Corinthians 16, 7 says, again Paul writing, for I do not wish to see you now just in passing, for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits. Well, Paul also made plans with no explicit mention of God, but with the proper attitude.

Listen again in Acts 19, 21. Now, after these things were finished, Paul purposed in his spirit to go to Jerusalem, after he passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, after I have been there, I must see Rome.

Or Romans 15, 28. Therefore, Paul says, when I have finished this and I have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on my way by Spain. 1 Corinthians 16, 5 says, but I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia.

So Paul also made plans with no explicit mention of God, but with the right attitude. Summarized well in Philippians 2, 24, where Paul says, I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

All of Paul's plans were made in the Lord. I think God here is not seeking just words, although I think the words, if the Lord wills or Lord willing, is a good practice. But he's seeking the right attitude.

And if not done properly, if the Lord wills or Lord willing, could become a meaningless repetition, compared to the Lord's warning of meaningless repetitions in Matthew 6, prior to the Lord's prayer. See, simply repeating these words could result in the flippant and callous use of the Lord's name, and soon it could come to signify nothing.

And even worse, could come to use the Lord's name in vain, which we would never want to do. So God is seeking a right attitude of humility, not merely our words. Well, after we have committed our all to Him, we may continue in our planned activities, yes, under the encouraging sense of God's sustaining grace and God's guidance.

What a blessing, beloved, we can have. And what a lack of anxiety can come in the doctrine of God's providence and knowing that we can obey God's revealed will rather than our own wills. Well, as we have examined principles to godly planning, we saw from James chapter 4 that you are not to plan presumptuously.

You, Christians, are not to plan boastfully. You are not to plan defiantly by ignoring the expressed will of God. Instead, on the other hand, the biblical pattern of planning, rather, is a humble yielding of all your efforts to the Lord.

See, these Christian businessmen, they were not rebuked by James for what they did not do, but for what they did do planning. They weren't condemned for planning, but for what they did not do, namely trusting in the revealed will of God.

Let me say that again. They were rebuked not for planning. They were rebuked for not trusting in God's will. See, when our faith is coupled with works of godly living, we can have the peace and comfort that comes from obeying the Lord's will and trusting Him for the future.

So now, test yourselves. Examine your own attitudes about the future. What career have you planned for yourself? What ministry do you seek or participate in at Bethlehem Bible Church? How many years do you intend to take to finish your college degree?

Who do you plan to marry? How have you budgeted your time even this past week and plan to do it in this upcoming week? What house do you plan to buy or fill in the blank with any other number of things?

Have you humbly placed these things at the foot of the cross? Well, earlier in James, verse 122, he calls us to be doers of the word and not hearers only. And may it be that you, members of Bethlehem Bible Church, develop a healthy, God-centered attitude of planning for tomorrow as you lay your plans at the foot of the one in whom tomorrow rests.

Amen.