WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:23.320 Well, I wonder, do you have your summer holiday booked? Do you know what you're doing this afternoon? Do you have plans after Easter? Children, do you have plans for your school holidays at Easter? I know they just have half time, but when Easter comes, you've got plans? Those are still a bit older, have you got your pension sorted out yet? Do you know when you can retire? If you'll ever be able to retire? 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:42.240 Are you the sort of person who likes to book things up? Or do you prefer to look on lastminute.com and see what you can get cheaply at the end? What sort of person are you? They're not unreasonable questions, are they? It's true because we live our lives thinking a bit about the future, don't we? 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:51.660 So as we look at these verses in James, I want us to understand first of all what James is not criticising. What he's not criticising. Look at verse 13. 00:00:52.340 --> 00:01:04.640 Come now, you who say today or tomorrow, we'll go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. He's not criticising having some sort of plans for the future. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:26.599 Proverbs 15, verse 22, assumes we will have plans. It says a plan fails. Without counsel, plans fail. But with many advisors, they succeed. We're expected to plan someone. If you read through the New Testament, you find the apostles planning. Romans 15, verses 24 and 25. 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:44.719 Paul talks about his plans to come to Rome and then on to Spain. And all through the Bible, we see people planning. In Luke chapter 19, Jesus tells a parable in which a king going after the crown gives his servants, some miners, to invest. 00:01:45.399 --> 00:01:55.599 And the one who gets told off, the one who gets judged at the end, is the one who had no plan. He had no plan of what to do, so he didn't do anything. And he was judged for it. 00:01:55.599 --> 00:02:06.259 So if you don't have plans, we just drift and waste. If we're going to be good stewards of what God has given us, we do need to plan. That's one of the implications of that parable, even though it's not the main point. 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:14.819 So the sense which we need to plan. Some of you right now are planning what you're going to choose for your GCSEs, or planning what ALMS you'll choose. 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:19.099 Some of us are maybe planning what we hope will happen work-wise. 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:24.359 Financially, you need to have some plans, otherwise we'll never pay off mortgages. 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:26.719 Or pay our rent. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:33.000 So as human beings, we have to plan, because we do not know everything, and cannot control everything. 00:02:33.959 --> 00:02:36.979 So James is not criticising planning in itself. 00:02:38.519 --> 00:02:39.759 So is he condemning travel? 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:43.400 You who say, we'll go here, we'll go there, and make some money. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:45.659 Well then he's not condemning travel either. 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:47.340 In itself. 00:02:48.079 --> 00:02:50.180 Again, read through the Bible, you see people travelling. 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:55.719 In the book of Ruth, you see Naomi leaving her homeland, travelling and travelling back. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.019 In the book of Acts, we see people travelling left, right and centre. 00:02:59.879 --> 00:03:01.300 Yes, to communicate the Gospel. 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:12.260 But in some cases, Acts chapter 16, we make a Mussolini called Midian, who had moved from her home in Thyatira in modern Turkey, to Philippi in modern Greece. 00:03:12.660 --> 00:03:13.580 She moved to make money. 00:03:13.700 --> 00:03:14.480 She was a business lady. 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:17.640 James isn't condemning travel necessarily. 00:03:18.920 --> 00:03:20.660 So is he condemning making a profit? 00:03:21.200 --> 00:03:24.640 That's all these people are doing, is that we'll spend a year here and trade and make a profit. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:26.459 Is that the problem? 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:30.679 Certainly there's a lot of people critiquing making profits, aren't they? 00:03:30.779 --> 00:03:33.619 They occupy Wall Street and occupy London movements. 00:03:34.659 --> 00:03:36.759 Saying capitalism is a terrible thing. 00:03:38.079 --> 00:03:41.379 And certainly Jesus makes some warnings about money, doesn't he? 00:03:42.119 --> 00:03:46.779 He warns us our life does not consist in the abundance of what we have in our possessions. 00:03:48.359 --> 00:03:51.399 He warns us we cannot serve God and money. 00:03:52.359 --> 00:03:54.119 So yes, there's a danger there. 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:58.699 But making a profit in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. 00:03:59.059 --> 00:04:00.279 What if you want to eat? 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:05.639 So James isn't condemning planning, or profit making, or travelling. 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:07.459 So what is he condemning? 00:04:08.459 --> 00:04:10.379 Well look at verse 14, we get a bit of a clue. 00:04:11.659 --> 00:04:16.180 You've got these plans, he says, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:18.539 What is your life? 00:04:19.039 --> 00:04:23.000 You're a mist that appears for a time and then vanishes. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:28.220 So what James is condemning here is these people's self-confidence. 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:31.600 They have their plans, they think it's all going to work out. 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:37.000 They make their plans entirely in their own self-confidence, with no reference to God whatsoever. 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:40.639 As if they're completely independent from God. 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:42.560 As if they do not need God. 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:44.399 As if they were utterly in control. 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:48.939 So James is saying, hang on a second, who are you? 00:04:49.659 --> 00:04:52.620 You're like a mist that is here today, gone in a moment. 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.139 Now of course James is not talking about the average British mist. 00:04:56.459 --> 00:04:58.379 Which if it was there in the morning, could still be there at night. 00:04:59.679 --> 00:05:01.419 He's talking about the Middle East, isn't he? 00:05:02.159 --> 00:05:04.819 For us it's perhaps better to think of the vapour from a kettle. 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:09.620 Look at a kettle boiling and some water of April appears and it's gone, isn't it? 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:10.899 Fleets it. 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:13.800 He says that's what human life is like. 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:15.420 You cannot guarantee anything. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:16.939 Look at these people. 00:05:17.019 --> 00:05:17.860 Look at verse 13. 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:19.800 They're confident of their health, aren't they? 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:22.639 We'll go here, we'll stay there a year or two. 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:23.899 We'll live that long. 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:24.920 They're confident of their health. 00:05:25.219 --> 00:05:26.500 They're confident of their choices. 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:28.219 We know this place or that place. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:30.120 They're confident of their own ability. 00:05:30.719 --> 00:05:33.079 We will pray and make a profit. 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:37.139 I wonder how many people heading up to the city tomorrow morning would love to have that confidence 00:05:37.139 --> 00:05:39.359 in the current economic situation. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:46.719 As John Calvin put it, their minds were drunk with vanity, so they forgot God. 00:05:47.659 --> 00:05:50.159 They were drunk with vanity, so they forgot God. 00:05:50.599 --> 00:05:52.740 And James makes that even clearer in verse 16. 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:56.719 As in the East he said, you boast in your arrogance. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:01.379 Now that word boasting in the original language can be positive or negative. 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:05.199 It's the word Paul uses in Galatians chapter 6. 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:08.339 It's about I boast in the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:06:08.699 --> 00:06:10.680 It's about having your confidence in something. 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:13.439 Well, these people have their confidence. 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:15.600 They boast in their confidence in what? 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:17.680 Their own arrogance. 00:06:18.219 --> 00:06:19.879 Their own self-sufficiency. 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:21.899 Their own self-confidence. 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:24.019 That they are in control. 00:06:24.019 --> 00:06:27.659 That's an easy trap for us to fall into, isn't it? 00:06:28.459 --> 00:06:30.379 Because it's the way of the world around us. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:33.399 Self-confidence is seen as a value. 00:06:33.899 --> 00:06:36.339 Something to be prized these days, isn't it? 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.620 You can read books about how to boost your children's self-confidence. 00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:41.680 You can hear a sportsman, they interviewed, saying, 00:06:41.819 --> 00:06:43.240 I had to back myself. 00:06:43.299 --> 00:06:44.139 I had to be confident. 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:47.620 When you look on millions of websites. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:49.000 Here's one I read this week. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:50.720 LiveStrong.com 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:52.339 That's a great website title, isn't it? 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:54.660 To achieve even the smallest goals. 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:57.160 And to get through life's daily duties and responsibilities. 00:06:57.980 --> 00:07:00.240 You have to have self-confidence. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:03.360 Self-confidence is something people aspire to. 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:07.540 And yet James wants us to see what that really is. 00:07:08.279 --> 00:07:11.860 A self-confidence that assumes we do not need God. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:14.639 But assumes that God does not matter. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:15.039 What is it? 00:07:15.039 --> 00:07:15.639 What is it? 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:17.279 What is it? 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:17.959 Verse 16. 00:07:18.019 --> 00:07:19.039 What does James call this? 00:07:19.979 --> 00:07:21.879 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:25.939 All such boasting is evil. 00:07:26.740 --> 00:07:31.879 All such self-confidence that thinks we do not depend on God is evil. 00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:34.039 That's a bit of a theme here. 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:38.219 If you look up to verse 4, James has warned his readers 00:07:38.220 --> 00:07:40.580 that their ambition, their desires 00:07:40.580 --> 00:07:45.140 are actually a sign of friendship with the world 00:07:45.140 --> 00:07:47.180 which is enmity with God. 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:51.440 And that then carries on with the self-confidence, 00:07:51.580 --> 00:07:53.740 this boasting, this planning as if God didn't matter. 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:55.480 It is evil, says James. 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:58.160 One writer puts it like this. 00:07:58.960 --> 00:07:59.320 He says, 00:07:59.380 --> 00:08:01.060 How astonishing how sobering it is 00:08:01.060 --> 00:08:02.320 to hear this criticism 00:08:02.320 --> 00:08:04.920 of our self-confident planning. 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:06.220 He says, 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:07.920 What we might consider an insubstantial 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:10.340 and passing feature of life, 00:08:10.780 --> 00:08:13.620 forgetfulness of our utter dependence on God, 00:08:14.340 --> 00:08:17.920 James sees as the hard core of the vaunting pride, 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.400 which is the mark and curse of fallen man. 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:27.040 This kind of living as if we are independent from God, 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:28.300 as if we don't need God, 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:32.320 is the heart, the mark and curse of fallen man. 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:35.500 For these readers of James' letters, 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:37.879 it was another symptom of their double-mindedness. 00:08:38.400 --> 00:08:39.260 Twice in this letter, 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:40.660 chapter 1, verse 8, 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:41.760 and chapter 4, verse 8, 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:43.160 he's called them double-minded. 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:45.800 They live as Christians with one half of their mind, 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:47.460 but in the other half of their mind, 00:08:47.520 --> 00:08:49.879 they live as if God doesn't answer prayer, 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:52.440 as if it doesn't matter if they read something in the Bible 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:53.520 and then don't do it. 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:55.320 And yet, 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.160 they're happy on a Sunday to see hymns in church, 00:08:58.680 --> 00:09:01.160 they think they'll be excellent teachers, 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:02.339 chapter 3, verse 1. 00:09:02.939 --> 00:09:03.959 They think they're mature. 00:09:05.079 --> 00:09:05.839 James says, 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:06.559 you're double-minded. 00:09:07.059 --> 00:09:08.279 What you're doing is evil. 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:11.879 You're falling into the very sin of Adam and Eve. 00:09:13.459 --> 00:09:15.620 When Satan disguised the serpent, 00:09:16.299 --> 00:09:17.779 tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:19.659 what was the heart of that temptation? 00:09:20.019 --> 00:09:21.959 The temptation to eat the fruit from the tree 00:09:21.959 --> 00:09:23.299 God had told them not to eat from? 00:09:23.299 --> 00:09:26.959 Part of the temptation was this, 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:30.439 to live as if they were independent from God, 00:09:30.979 --> 00:09:32.659 as if God didn't really matter. 00:09:34.099 --> 00:09:36.099 And that's the way of the world around us, isn't it? 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:38.679 It tells us we should have confidence in ourselves, 00:09:39.719 --> 00:09:41.799 and people believe God doesn't matter. 00:09:42.679 --> 00:09:44.419 Yes, lots of people believe God doesn't exist, 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.500 but lots of people say they do believe that God exists, 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:50.899 but they do not believe God matters. 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:52.820 And that is the heart of sin, 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:55.600 and that is why this attitude James is writing about, 00:09:55.960 --> 00:09:57.340 he condemns as evil. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:00.539 So how can we resist those pressures? 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:03.120 How can we resist the pressure 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.480 to feel we have to have confidence in ourselves, 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:08.299 and that we actually can live independently from God? 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:09.879 How do we resist those pressures? 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:13.939 Paul, writing for Romans, chapter 12, verse 2, 00:10:14.439 --> 00:10:18.120 tells us we're not to be conformed to this world, 00:10:18.220 --> 00:10:21.100 not to be moulded by the attitudes and ambitions 00:10:21.100 --> 00:10:22.480 and beliefs of this world, 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:26.860 but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:29.740 that we discern what is the will of God, 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:32.139 who is good and acceptable and perfect. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:35.240 And James here, that's a general principle, 00:10:35.659 --> 00:10:38.080 not to be conformed, but to be transformed. 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:40.160 And James, back in verse 6, 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:42.420 has really told us how we need to respond. 00:10:43.180 --> 00:10:44.680 If you look up to verse 6 for a moment, 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:45.660 it says, 00:10:45.900 --> 00:10:47.379 God gives more grace, 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:49.139 therefore it says, 00:10:49.540 --> 00:10:50.860 God opposes the proud, 00:10:51.300 --> 00:10:52.980 but gives grace to the humble. 00:10:53.660 --> 00:10:55.360 God opposes the arrogance 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.300 that says we can live life on our own, 00:10:58.160 --> 00:11:00.060 but he gives grace, help, 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:02.040 to the humble who will submit, 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:03.640 who will have the right attitude. 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:06.080 So how can we humbly submit? 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:08.639 How can we get this right attitude to God, 00:11:08.780 --> 00:11:11.200 as we inevitably plan for the future 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:12.680 and think about the future? 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.020 Well, let me give us three questions to ponder, 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:18.040 to help us get that right attitude. 00:11:19.040 --> 00:11:19.680 First of all, 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:21.000 who do you think you are? 00:11:22.040 --> 00:11:23.480 Who do you think is in control? 00:11:24.280 --> 00:11:24.879 And thirdly, 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:26.280 how then should we live? 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:28.060 Who do you think you are? 00:11:28.400 --> 00:11:29.740 Who do you think is in control? 00:11:30.180 --> 00:11:31.700 And how then should we live? 00:11:32.460 --> 00:11:33.740 So let's look at them in order. 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:34.180 First of all, 00:11:34.180 --> 00:11:35.120 who do you think you are? 00:11:35.659 --> 00:11:36.879 We'll go back to verse 14. 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:38.779 James more or less asks the same question, 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:39.220 isn't he? 00:11:39.940 --> 00:11:42.039 You do not know what tomorrow will bring. 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:43.580 What is your life? 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:46.299 You're a mist that appears for a little time, 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:47.399 then vanishes. 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:49.279 You are ignorant, 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:50.779 you are transient, 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:52.080 and therefore, 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:53.500 you are totally dependent. 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:54.639 That's what James is saying. 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:55.159 You're ignorant. 00:11:55.259 --> 00:11:56.299 You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. 00:11:57.320 --> 00:11:58.519 You might have all sorts of plans, 00:11:58.580 --> 00:11:59.740 but you do not know what will happen. 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:02.180 I know that every day. 00:12:02.259 --> 00:12:04.539 I start off with a list of things I'm hoping to do, 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:05.639 and it never works out, 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:06.899 because other things always happen. 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:09.500 We don't analyze what will happen, do we? 00:12:10.259 --> 00:12:11.519 A bus might run a saver, 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:13.039 a plane might land on your house. 00:12:13.560 --> 00:12:14.519 It might not land on your house, 00:12:14.539 --> 00:12:15.480 it might land on my house, 00:12:15.539 --> 00:12:17.039 run on the boat halfway to the North London, 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:19.680 so they go every 45 seconds at peak times. 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:20.980 We just don't know. 00:12:21.620 --> 00:12:22.340 We are ignorant. 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:24.419 Over the next few months, 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:27.220 we'll have politicians on either side of the debate 00:12:27.220 --> 00:12:28.660 telling us what will happen 00:12:28.660 --> 00:12:30.200 if we vote yes or no 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:31.540 to the in-out referendum. 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:32.820 The truth is, 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:33.639 no one knows. 00:12:34.060 --> 00:12:34.639 No one knows. 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:36.120 They'll do their best to try and persuade us. 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:37.720 I'm sure we have to plan 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:38.440 and listen to the argument, 00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:39.379 but no one knows. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:40.399 We do not know. 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:41.080 We are ignorant. 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:42.639 And we are transient. 00:12:42.800 --> 00:12:44.040 We're at the vapour from our kettles. 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:45.899 We're here one moment, 00:12:46.060 --> 00:12:46.860 and gone another. 00:12:47.560 --> 00:12:49.100 We don't know how long we'll live. 00:12:49.899 --> 00:12:52.080 And where do we get our abilities from anyway? 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:54.700 James' readers have these plans 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:55.420 of making money, 00:12:55.480 --> 00:12:57.180 but who gave them the ability? 00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:57.860 To make money? 00:12:57.940 --> 00:12:58.740 To trade and profit? 00:12:59.820 --> 00:13:01.860 Who gives you or I the ability to think? 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:02.519 To work? 00:13:02.980 --> 00:13:03.720 To learn? 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:05.120 To sow? 00:13:06.420 --> 00:13:08.300 It all comes from the Lord God, doesn't it? 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.180 And yet how easily we forget, 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:13.639 especially when life is going well, 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:14.779 we forget, don't we? 00:13:15.540 --> 00:13:16.300 That's why Moses, 00:13:16.420 --> 00:13:17.500 addressing the people of Israel, 00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:19.899 was there preparing to move into the promised land. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:21.100 In Deuteronomy chapter 8, 00:13:21.660 --> 00:13:22.700 he said this to them, 00:13:23.100 --> 00:13:25.980 Beware, lest you say in your heart, 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:27.039 my power, 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:28.759 and the might of my hand, 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:30.000 have gained me this wealth. 00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:33.060 You shall remember the Lord your God, 00:13:33.340 --> 00:13:35.600 for it is he who gives you power 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:36.659 to get wealth. 00:13:37.980 --> 00:13:40.379 Our abilities all come from the Lord God, 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:42.899 who are utterly dependent upon him. 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:45.439 That's why Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily bread. 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:47.679 It does not just come automatically 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:49.559 for our employees' benevolence 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:50.459 to pay our salary. 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:53.459 Ultimately, it comes from God, 00:13:54.059 --> 00:13:56.819 upon whom we are dependent for all things. 00:13:58.079 --> 00:13:59.000 In Luke chapter 12, 00:13:59.079 --> 00:14:00.379 Jesus tells a famous parable 00:14:00.379 --> 00:14:02.860 that illustrates our transience, 00:14:02.959 --> 00:14:03.579 and our ignorance, 00:14:03.699 --> 00:14:04.740 and our total dependence. 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:06.939 The parable of the rich fools, 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:07.779 we tend to call it. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:08.740 There's a man, 00:14:08.819 --> 00:14:09.539 a rich farmer, 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:11.159 who has a bumper crop, 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:11.399 who thinks, 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:12.339 what can I do? 00:14:12.839 --> 00:14:13.240 Oh, I know, 00:14:13.319 --> 00:14:14.839 I'll build even bigger barns. 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:16.259 I can store all my food 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:17.480 in those bigger barns, 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:18.679 and then I can relax. 00:14:19.199 --> 00:14:20.299 I can enjoy myself. 00:14:21.059 --> 00:14:22.439 I can go on a luxury cruise. 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:24.299 I can play golf every day. 00:14:24.599 --> 00:14:26.299 I can enjoy my retirement. 00:14:26.439 --> 00:14:27.659 I'll have all the money I need. 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:28.980 I can eat, drink, and be merry. 00:14:30.579 --> 00:14:32.480 And God appears to him and says, 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:33.700 you fool. 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:35.860 This very night, 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:37.820 your life is required of you. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:40.620 We are ignorant. 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:42.360 We do not know what tomorrow holds. 00:14:42.440 --> 00:14:43.120 We are transient. 00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:44.860 We're here today and gone tomorrow. 00:14:45.379 --> 00:14:47.300 We are utterly dependent on God 00:14:47.300 --> 00:14:48.620 for our lives, 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:49.420 for our abilities, 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:50.360 for everything. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:53.279 So who do you think you are? 00:14:54.259 --> 00:14:55.399 Who do you think you are? 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:56.879 And secondly, 00:14:56.980 --> 00:14:58.060 who do you think is in control? 00:14:59.779 --> 00:15:00.680 Well, James makes it clear 00:15:00.680 --> 00:15:01.759 in verse 15, isn't he? 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:03.779 Instead of having these plans 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:04.039 and saying, 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:04.659 I'm going to do this, 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:05.360 I'm going to do that. 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:06.720 Instead, verse 15, 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:07.740 you ought to say, 00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:09.500 if the Lord wills, 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:10.620 we will live 00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:12.460 and do this or that. 00:15:13.060 --> 00:15:14.340 You see the emphasis here. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:16.800 It's if we live, 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:18.740 if the Lord wills, 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:19.980 we will live. 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:22.879 It's not just if the Lord wills, 00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:23.620 we'll do this and that. 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:24.379 If the Lord wills, 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:25.080 we will live. 00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:27.259 If the Lord spares us another day, 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:27.940 then yes, 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:29.060 we'll go and do something. 00:15:30.060 --> 00:15:31.420 But we're dependent on God 00:15:31.420 --> 00:15:32.460 for how long we live. 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:34.620 Psalm 139, 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:35.399 verse 16, 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:38.360 your eyes saw my unformed substance. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:39.840 In your book 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:41.879 were written every one of them, 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:43.659 the days that were formed for me, 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:45.680 when as yet there were none of them. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:48.580 I don't know how long I'll live, 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:49.920 I don't know how long you will live. 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:51.360 But God knows. 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:53.500 He had them all written down in his book 00:15:53.500 --> 00:15:55.180 before any one of them came to pass. 00:15:56.019 --> 00:15:57.500 We're dependent upon him. 00:15:57.500 --> 00:15:59.299 So James says, 00:15:59.379 --> 00:15:59.740 we have to say, 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:00.919 if the Lord wills. 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:02.779 Now that's not a magic formula 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:04.460 with a dear, 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:05.279 retired, 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:06.419 missionary friend of ours 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:07.960 who sends us Christmas cards. 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:09.960 I actually got a car from her this week 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:10.840 which didn't have this saying 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:11.980 for the first time ever. 00:16:12.340 --> 00:16:12.759 And she writes, 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:13.220 DV, 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.960 at least once, 00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:15.399 DV, 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:16.220 Deo Volente, 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:17.679 if God wills. 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:20.059 Now I'm sure that was actually 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:21.600 meant very sincerely in her case. 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:23.659 She's a godly elder lady. 00:16:24.579 --> 00:16:26.159 But it's not just a kind of magic formula. 00:16:26.459 --> 00:16:27.259 If God wills, 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:27.659 I'll do this. 00:16:27.699 --> 00:16:28.299 If God wills, 00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:28.879 I'll do that. 00:16:29.719 --> 00:16:30.679 There are plenty of people 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:32.719 in the first century Palestine 00:16:32.719 --> 00:16:35.539 that did the era when James wrote, 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:37.339 who wrote things like God willing, 00:16:37.439 --> 00:16:38.360 if the gods permit, 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:39.439 on their statutes, 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:40.179 on their documents. 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:41.879 The people today, 00:16:41.980 --> 00:16:42.240 who say, 00:16:42.319 --> 00:16:42.419 oh, 00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:44.039 I'm going to get a promotion, 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:44.639 I'm going to get a payroll, 00:16:44.819 --> 00:16:45.559 touch wood. 00:16:46.059 --> 00:16:46.719 And they touch wood, 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:47.839 if somehow that makes a difference. 00:16:49.059 --> 00:16:49.759 There are plenty of people 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:50.839 who believe in fate 00:16:50.839 --> 00:16:51.939 or believe their stars 00:16:51.939 --> 00:16:52.799 have something to do with 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:54.359 the outcome of their lives. 00:16:55.259 --> 00:16:56.259 But James isn't saying 00:16:56.259 --> 00:16:57.319 any of those things. 00:16:57.819 --> 00:16:58.719 He's willing to cultivate 00:16:58.719 --> 00:17:00.539 an attitude of true dependence 00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:03.419 on the one who really has control. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:06.460 Notice three things 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:07.940 about this one who is in control. 00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:08.659 First of all, 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:09.519 he's personal. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:11.419 That's why James says, 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:13.399 if the Lord wills. 00:17:13.419 --> 00:17:13.879 He doesn't even say, 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:14.440 if God wills. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:14.579 He says, 00:17:14.659 --> 00:17:15.779 if the Lord wills. 00:17:16.139 --> 00:17:17.039 That's the word used 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:18.879 in the Greek translation 00:17:18.879 --> 00:17:19.700 of the Old Testament. 00:17:20.139 --> 00:17:22.159 To translate a personal name of God. 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:23.300 The Lord. 00:17:24.040 --> 00:17:24.420 Of course, 00:17:24.540 --> 00:17:25.720 the name 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:27.259 that is used 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:28.680 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:17:29.120 --> 00:17:30.060 God is personal. 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:32.740 He's not like the 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:34.220 impersonal force 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:35.140 in Star Wars. 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:37.080 May the force be with you. 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:38.420 He's not like the 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:39.420 impersonal force 00:17:39.420 --> 00:17:40.800 of Hinduism. 00:17:41.620 --> 00:17:42.220 He's not like the 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:43.120 distant deity 00:17:43.120 --> 00:17:44.740 of Islam. 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:45.140 Oh, 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:46.019 if Allah wills, 00:17:46.060 --> 00:17:46.620 we'll do this. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:47.840 Impersonal. 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:48.920 And distant. 00:17:49.340 --> 00:17:49.480 No, 00:17:49.540 --> 00:17:50.340 he is personal. 00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:52.659 He's come in the flesh 00:17:52.659 --> 00:17:54.399 to reveal himself to us. 00:17:55.659 --> 00:17:56.199 We see that 00:17:56.199 --> 00:17:57.000 through the Lord Jesus. 00:17:58.179 --> 00:17:58.599 So firstly, 00:17:58.699 --> 00:17:59.159 he's personal. 00:17:59.299 --> 00:17:59.579 Secondly, 00:17:59.939 --> 00:18:00.839 he is sovereign. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:01.599 He is utterly 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:02.759 in control of everything. 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:04.339 Those words, 00:18:04.439 --> 00:18:05.539 if we have our call to worship 00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:06.559 at the start of the service. 00:18:07.139 --> 00:18:07.879 Whatever the Lord 00:18:07.879 --> 00:18:08.299 pleases, 00:18:08.439 --> 00:18:08.839 he does. 00:18:08.939 --> 00:18:09.679 Psalm 135, 00:18:10.059 --> 00:18:10.679 verse 6. 00:18:11.139 --> 00:18:11.759 Whatever the Lord 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:12.119 pleases, 00:18:12.199 --> 00:18:12.619 he does. 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:14.179 In heaven and on earth, 00:18:14.539 --> 00:18:15.139 in the seas 00:18:15.139 --> 00:18:16.199 and all deeps. 00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:17.159 In other words, 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:18.200 everywhere in the universe, 00:18:18.600 --> 00:18:19.800 God does what 00:18:19.800 --> 00:18:20.380 he pleases. 00:18:21.600 --> 00:18:22.779 Ephesians chapter 1, 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:23.340 Paul says, 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:25.300 he works out all things 00:18:25.300 --> 00:18:26.759 according to the purpose 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:27.380 of his will. 00:18:28.540 --> 00:18:29.480 He is personal. 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:30.980 He is sovereign. 00:18:32.560 --> 00:18:33.040 Thirdly, 00:18:33.120 --> 00:18:34.400 he is good. 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:35.920 He is good. 00:18:37.060 --> 00:18:38.060 Hard times come, 00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:38.440 don't they? 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:40.740 Difficult things happen. 00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:43.500 When illness strikes, 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:44.759 when a loved one 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:45.880 is lost, 00:18:47.380 --> 00:18:48.480 when our hopes 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:49.559 are dashed, 00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:51.460 when dreams 00:18:51.460 --> 00:18:52.440 don't work out, 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:53.980 life can be hard, 00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:55.900 there can be grief 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:57.019 in many trials, 00:18:58.120 --> 00:18:58.859 and yet, 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:01.759 God is good. 00:19:03.099 --> 00:19:03.920 And we know 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:04.359 he's good. 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:05.859 We know he's good 00:19:05.859 --> 00:19:06.480 because he sent 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:07.240 his own son 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:08.920 to live the life 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:10.039 that we couldn't live, 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:11.440 to die the death 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:12.819 that we deserve to die, 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.019 so that rebels 00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:15.359 like me and you 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:16.319 could become 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:16.899 his children. 00:19:18.379 --> 00:19:19.139 And if he has given 00:19:19.139 --> 00:19:20.139 us his son, 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:21.460 as Paul says 00:19:21.460 --> 00:19:22.019 in Romans 8, 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:22.980 will he not graciously 00:19:22.980 --> 00:19:24.180 give us all things, 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:25.619 all things we actually need? 00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:28.259 He is good. 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:29.559 In Romans 8, 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:29.940 28, 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:30.639 Paul says, 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:31.559 we know that 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:33.519 for those who love God, 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:35.220 all things 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:36.279 work together 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:36.839 for good 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:38.339 for those who are called 00:19:38.339 --> 00:19:39.779 according to God's purpose. 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:40.599 God's purpose. 00:19:41.259 --> 00:19:42.159 So who do you think 00:19:42.159 --> 00:19:42.579 you are? 00:19:43.819 --> 00:19:44.599 You're in this. 00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:46.119 Who do you think 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:46.839 is in control? 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:49.359 The triune God, 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:50.339 the good, 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:51.440 sovereign, 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:52.859 personal God. 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:54.579 So how then 00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:55.180 should we live? 00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:57.220 How then should we live? 00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:57.700 Well, look back 00:19:57.700 --> 00:19:58.379 at verse 15. 00:19:58.500 --> 00:19:59.519 James sets us 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:00.259 in the right direction 00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:00.879 here, doesn't he? 00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:02.319 Instead of having 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:03.059 your own plans, 00:20:03.159 --> 00:20:03.759 instead of living 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:04.559 with an attitude 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:05.659 of independence, 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:07.019 be independent, 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:07.819 you should say, 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:08.960 if the Lord wills, 00:20:08.980 --> 00:20:09.519 we will live 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:10.599 and do this 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:11.399 or that. 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:12.799 So to submit. 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:14.939 God opposes the proud 00:20:14.939 --> 00:20:15.679 who gives grace 00:20:15.679 --> 00:20:16.119 to the humble. 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:17.399 We humbly submit. 00:20:18.019 --> 00:20:18.439 And there are two 00:20:18.439 --> 00:20:19.240 aspects to this. 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:20.399 We submit 00:20:20.399 --> 00:20:22.399 to God's providential 00:20:22.399 --> 00:20:22.879 ordering 00:20:22.879 --> 00:20:23.980 of events 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:24.679 in our lives. 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:25.659 We submit 00:20:25.659 --> 00:20:26.839 to God's providential 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:27.899 ordering of events. 00:20:28.279 --> 00:20:28.960 And we submit 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:30.339 to God's revealed 00:20:30.339 --> 00:20:30.779 will 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:31.720 in the scriptures. 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:34.019 So first of all, 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:34.419 we submit 00:20:34.419 --> 00:20:35.259 to his providential 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:35.500 ordering. 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:36.439 If the Lord wills, 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:37.659 he'll keep us alive. 00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:41.339 If the Lord 00:20:41.339 --> 00:20:42.200 wills something else, 00:20:42.379 --> 00:20:43.299 we'll submit to it. 00:20:44.139 --> 00:20:44.539 I was speaking 00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:45.119 to someone the other 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:45.939 day who told me 00:20:45.939 --> 00:20:47.419 about when they'd 00:20:47.419 --> 00:20:48.460 been given a diagnosis 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:49.899 of Parkinson's disease 00:20:49.899 --> 00:20:50.879 many years ago. 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:52.179 So I wanted to 00:20:52.179 --> 00:20:52.960 throw myself under 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:53.539 a bus. 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:54.779 Because I knew 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:55.639 what that does. 00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:57.059 I think another 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:57.919 friend of mine, 00:20:58.500 --> 00:20:59.359 a very fit man 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:00.819 in his early 60s, 00:21:00.879 --> 00:21:02.019 recently retired, 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:02.899 who was running 00:21:02.899 --> 00:21:03.399 one day, 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:04.700 he ran marathons, 00:21:05.399 --> 00:21:06.220 just tripped up, 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:06.539 and thought, 00:21:06.619 --> 00:21:07.099 that's strange. 00:21:07.099 --> 00:21:07.379 And he noticed 00:21:07.379 --> 00:21:07.899 one or two other 00:21:07.899 --> 00:21:08.299 things. 00:21:08.859 --> 00:21:09.399 He started to look 00:21:09.399 --> 00:21:10.000 into what was 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:10.819 going wrong with 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:11.299 himself. 00:21:12.199 --> 00:21:12.699 Within a couple 00:21:12.699 --> 00:21:13.019 of months, 00:21:13.099 --> 00:21:13.699 he had a diagnosis 00:21:13.699 --> 00:21:14.500 of motor neurone 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:14.839 disease, 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:16.000 which is a terrible 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:17.439 degenerative disease. 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:19.059 After about three 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:19.319 years, 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:20.279 he died last September. 00:21:21.879 --> 00:21:22.819 It's not easy 00:21:22.819 --> 00:21:23.839 to submit 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:24.619 the providence 00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:25.219 that God brings 00:21:25.219 --> 00:21:26.139 into our lives. 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:29.079 Some may be hard, 00:21:29.139 --> 00:21:29.879 those diagnoses, 00:21:30.439 --> 00:21:31.179 may be hard 00:21:31.179 --> 00:21:31.599 when we don't 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:32.139 go to the school 00:21:32.139 --> 00:21:32.819 we want to go to, 00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:33.419 or the university 00:21:33.419 --> 00:21:34.000 we think we'd like 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:34.559 to go to. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:35.940 What are we going 00:21:35.940 --> 00:21:36.579 to do in those 00:21:36.579 --> 00:21:37.059 moments? 00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:39.599 Well, 00:21:39.639 --> 00:21:40.240 James has told 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:40.440 this, 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:40.839 hasn't he? 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:42.339 We can submit 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:43.259 ourselves to God 00:21:43.259 --> 00:21:44.059 in verse 10 00:21:44.059 --> 00:21:44.720 of chapter 4, 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:44.960 he says, 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:45.759 humble yourselves 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:46.379 before the Lord 00:21:46.379 --> 00:21:47.279 and he will 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:47.859 exhort you. 00:21:49.139 --> 00:21:49.940 Instead of finding 00:21:49.940 --> 00:21:50.859 faults with God's 00:21:50.859 --> 00:21:51.399 providences, 00:21:52.220 --> 00:21:53.299 we can lean into 00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:53.500 him, 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:54.440 we can trust in 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:54.639 him, 00:21:54.899 --> 00:21:55.599 we can look at 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:56.480 his good promises. 00:21:57.179 --> 00:21:57.519 Remember, 00:21:57.639 --> 00:21:58.319 he is personal 00:21:58.319 --> 00:21:59.000 and good 00:21:59.000 --> 00:21:59.899 and sovereign. 00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:01.400 even when our 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:01.980 prayers aren't 00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:02.380 answered, 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:02.980 even when the 00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:03.740 healing doesn't 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:04.140 come, 00:22:05.040 --> 00:22:05.560 even when we 00:22:05.560 --> 00:22:08.160 live with 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:10.220 degeneration and 00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:11.200 decay in our 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:11.720 bodies, 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:13.700 we know he is 00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:14.080 good. 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:15.220 We know that 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:16.120 the one who 00:22:16.120 --> 00:22:16.519 could bring 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:17.440 ultimate good 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:18.060 from the ultimate 00:22:18.060 --> 00:22:18.540 tragedy, 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:19.019 the ultimate 00:22:19.019 --> 00:22:20.000 tragedy of the 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.519 death of his 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:22.380 innocent son, 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:23.100 the ultimate 00:22:23.100 --> 00:22:24.540 good of salvation 00:22:24.540 --> 00:22:25.220 for all who 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:25.580 will believe, 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:26.120 the one who 00:22:26.120 --> 00:22:26.940 can do that 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:28.519 can bring good 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:29.420 and give grace 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:30.920 to us in the 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:31.440 midst of our 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:32.279 heartaches and 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:33.039 disappointments. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:34.639 William Cooper, 00:22:34.819 --> 00:22:36.440 the poet, 00:22:36.920 --> 00:22:37.440 who suffered 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:38.119 a depression 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:39.099 and tried to 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:39.460 take his own 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:39.920 life several 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:40.440 times, 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:41.700 and it's him 00:22:41.700 --> 00:22:42.000 the Lord 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:42.420 works in 00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:43.099 mysterious ways, 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:43.460 but it's 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:44.599 this verse, 00:22:45.139 --> 00:22:46.039 Judge not the 00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:46.539 Lord by 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:47.440 feeble sense, 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:48.879 but trust him 00:22:48.879 --> 00:22:49.779 for his grace. 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:51.500 Behind a 00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:51.980 frowning 00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:52.579 providence, 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:53.799 he hides 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:54.480 a smiling 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:55.039 face. 00:22:56.779 --> 00:22:57.519 God gives 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:58.599 more grace, 00:22:59.099 --> 00:22:59.639 James tells 00:22:59.639 --> 00:22:59.920 us in 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:00.519 verse 6. 00:23:01.139 --> 00:23:02.079 Grace to 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:02.819 live for the 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:03.299 things he 00:23:03.299 --> 00:23:03.779 sends to 00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:04.480 our lives, 00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:05.779 grace to 00:23:05.779 --> 00:23:06.240 raise us 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:07.139 up on the 00:23:07.139 --> 00:23:07.779 last day. 00:23:08.639 --> 00:23:09.000 So we 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:10.079 submit to 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:10.339 God's 00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:10.839 providences, 00:23:11.619 --> 00:23:12.039 to the 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:12.359 things he 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:12.819 sends into 00:23:12.819 --> 00:23:13.500 our lives. 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:14.539 But secondly, 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:15.319 submitting to 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:15.579 the Lord 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:16.500 means submitting 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:16.839 to his 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:17.639 revealed will, 00:23:18.259 --> 00:23:18.759 submitting to 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:18.960 what he 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:19.579 commands us, 00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:19.799 what he 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:20.420 teaches us 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:20.940 in the 00:23:20.940 --> 00:23:21.279 scriptures. 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:22.759 There's 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:23.039 nothing we 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:23.440 get hung 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:23.639 up 00:23:23.639 --> 00:23:24.019 about 00:23:24.019 --> 00:23:24.700 questions of 00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:25.220 guidance. 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:26.420 Perhaps 00:23:26.420 --> 00:23:26.799 some of you 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:27.079 are thinking 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:27.500 that right 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:27.759 now. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:28.899 What should 00:23:28.899 --> 00:23:29.319 I do for 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:30.379 my GCSEs? 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:31.079 Which 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:31.779 university 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:32.099 should I 00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:32.519 apply to? 00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:33.039 Which job 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:33.379 should I 00:23:33.379 --> 00:23:33.699 seek to 00:23:33.699 --> 00:23:33.939 do? 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:34.659 Should I 00:23:34.659 --> 00:23:35.019 seek to 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:36.519 move jobs? 00:23:37.019 --> 00:23:37.359 Should I 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:37.559 move 00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:37.899 habits? 00:23:38.159 --> 00:23:38.519 Lots of 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:38.859 questions, 00:23:38.919 --> 00:23:39.099 we want 00:23:39.099 --> 00:23:39.699 guidance. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:41.379 Well God's 00:23:41.379 --> 00:23:42.240 guidance is 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:43.039 not primarily 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:44.980 about do I 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:45.939 do A or 00:23:45.939 --> 00:23:46.460 B, do I 00:23:46.460 --> 00:23:46.639 go to 00:23:46.639 --> 00:23:47.439 place A or 00:23:47.439 --> 00:23:48.139 place B. 00:23:49.159 --> 00:23:49.500 God's 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:49.740 guidance 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:50.500 primarily is 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:52.179 about how 00:23:52.179 --> 00:23:52.759 we live, 00:23:53.399 --> 00:23:54.199 not where 00:23:54.199 --> 00:23:54.579 we live. 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:55.859 So for 00:23:55.859 --> 00:23:56.159 example, 00:23:56.359 --> 00:23:56.980 Psalm 23, 00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:58.539 verse 3 00:23:58.539 --> 00:23:58.859 says, 00:23:59.379 --> 00:23:59.879 he leads 00:23:59.879 --> 00:24:00.220 me in 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:00.819 paths of 00:24:00.819 --> 00:24:01.359 righteousness 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:01.899 for his 00:24:01.899 --> 00:24:02.299 name's 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:02.639 sake. 00:24:03.939 --> 00:24:04.480 He leads 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:05.019 us to 00:24:05.019 --> 00:24:05.879 live his 00:24:05.879 --> 00:24:06.519 ways. 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:07.439 And as we 00:24:07.439 --> 00:24:07.759 do that, 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:08.319 he directs 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:08.579 us in the 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:09.279 paths he 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:09.639 wants us 00:24:09.639 --> 00:24:10.099 to be in. 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:11.240 And we 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:11.619 know what 00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:12.099 God's will 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:12.699 is generally, 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:13.199 don't we? 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:14.480 It's not 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:15.500 complicated to 00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:16.319 understand it. 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:17.159 It's his 00:24:17.159 --> 00:24:17.740 will that we 00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:18.699 love God 00:24:18.699 --> 00:24:19.119 with all our 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:19.740 heart, soul, 00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:20.259 mind and 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:20.759 strength. 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:21.839 It's his 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:22.319 will that we 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:22.839 love our 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:23.339 neighbours as 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:23.859 ourselves. 00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:25.220 It's his 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:25.659 will that we 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:26.240 don't worry 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:26.800 about what 00:24:26.800 --> 00:24:27.240 we'll eat 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:27.860 or drink 00:24:27.860 --> 00:24:28.519 and what 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:28.740 we're going 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:29.140 to wear. 00:24:30.180 --> 00:24:30.779 Jesus says 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:31.240 the pagans 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:31.640 run after 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:32.240 these things. 00:24:32.320 --> 00:24:32.480 No, 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:33.600 seek first 00:24:33.600 --> 00:24:34.380 God's 00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:34.800 kingdom and 00:24:34.800 --> 00:24:34.940 his 00:24:34.940 --> 00:24:35.380 righteousness 00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:35.700 and all 00:24:35.700 --> 00:24:36.060 these things 00:24:36.060 --> 00:24:36.279 will be 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:36.779 added to 00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:37.000 you. 00:24:38.300 --> 00:24:38.600 Now that 00:24:38.600 --> 00:24:39.000 gives us a 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:39.460 fair amount of 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:39.779 guidance, 00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:40.120 doesn't it, 00:24:40.120 --> 00:24:40.500 about what we 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:41.040 need to do. 00:24:41.840 --> 00:24:42.279 As we think 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:42.860 about decisions, 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:43.400 we think about 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:43.980 plans for the 00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:44.279 future. 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:44.980 Will this 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:45.500 help me to 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:46.500 love God 00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:46.800 with more 00:24:46.800 --> 00:24:47.200 heart, 00:24:47.300 --> 00:24:47.480 soul, 00:24:47.580 --> 00:24:47.900 mind and 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:48.300 strength? 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:48.720 Will it 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:49.500 help me to 00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:49.920 love my 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:50.380 neighbour as 00:24:50.380 --> 00:24:50.860 myself? 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:52.040 Will it 00:24:52.040 --> 00:24:52.620 help me to 00:24:52.620 --> 00:24:53.259 seek first 00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:53.740 God's 00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:54.160 kingdom and 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:54.319 his 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:54.759 righteousness? 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:56.619 If we find 00:24:56.619 --> 00:24:56.900 that our 00:24:56.900 --> 00:24:57.519 plans are 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:58.500 mainly concerned 00:24:58.500 --> 00:24:59.579 with making 00:24:59.579 --> 00:25:00.400 money purely 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:00.740 for our 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:01.400 own comfort, 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:03.400 getting a 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:03.879 good pension 00:25:03.879 --> 00:25:04.480 so we can 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:05.400 purely retire 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:05.720 from God, 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:06.000 of course, 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:06.420 not doing 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:07.660 anything ever 00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:08.079 again, 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:09.900 then probably 00:25:09.900 --> 00:25:10.339 that's not 00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:10.900 seeking first 00:25:10.900 --> 00:25:11.180 God's 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:11.440 kingdom. 00:25:12.379 --> 00:25:12.819 Probably 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:13.319 that's not 00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:14.000 actually loving 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:14.480 our neighbour 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:15.160 as ourselves. 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:16.559 So probably 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:17.180 that's wrong. 00:25:17.539 --> 00:25:17.779 Probably 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:18.220 that's not 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:18.779 God's will. 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:21.480 So submitting 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:22.079 ourselves to 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:22.500 God means 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:22.859 submitting 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:23.500 ourselves to 00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:24.160 purposes he 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:24.519 brings into 00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:25.200 our lives. 00:25:25.899 --> 00:25:26.299 And submitting 00:25:26.299 --> 00:25:27.519 ourselves to 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:28.619 his revealed 00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:29.099 will of the 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:29.420 scriptures. 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:31.259 Life is not 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:31.700 about building 00:25:31.700 --> 00:25:32.119 our own 00:25:32.119 --> 00:25:32.480 kingdoms, 00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:33.980 but about 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:34.440 being part 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:34.639 of the 00:25:34.639 --> 00:25:35.259 kingdom Jesus 00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:35.980 is building. 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:37.059 And of 00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:37.359 course that 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:37.619 can be 00:25:37.619 --> 00:25:37.960 costly, 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:38.480 can't it? 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:39.920 That can 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:40.460 be costly. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:42.059 I know 00:25:42.059 --> 00:25:42.480 people from 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:42.700 in this 00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:42.899 moment, 00:25:44.180 --> 00:25:44.899 stepping out 00:25:44.899 --> 00:25:45.180 of the 00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:45.660 rat race, 00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:46.279 stepping out 00:25:46.279 --> 00:25:46.740 of potential 00:25:46.740 --> 00:25:47.220 promotions, 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:48.440 so they've 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:48.759 got more 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:49.940 time to 00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:50.539 give to 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:51.700 serving 00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:52.240 our family 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:52.759 or serving 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:53.039 in our 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:53.519 church. 00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:54.920 For some 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:55.100 it will 00:25:55.100 --> 00:25:55.519 mean giving 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:55.920 up on 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:56.900 jobs or 00:25:56.900 --> 00:25:57.600 looking at 00:25:57.600 --> 00:25:57.980 jobs which 00:25:57.980 --> 00:25:58.400 keep them 00:25:58.400 --> 00:25:58.779 employed 00:25:58.779 --> 00:25:59.080 on a 00:25:59.080 --> 00:25:59.400 Sunday 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:00.920 because they 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:01.160 want the 00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:01.580 cost, 00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:02.480 they'll 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:02.820 take the 00:26:02.820 --> 00:26:03.180 cost so 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:03.360 they can 00:26:03.360 --> 00:26:03.700 be with 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:03.980 God's 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:04.200 people 00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:04.580 Sunday 00:26:04.580 --> 00:26:04.779 by 00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:05.140 Sunday. 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:07.000 We have 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:07.500 an example 00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:08.059 of following 00:26:08.059 --> 00:26:08.400 this, 00:26:08.620 --> 00:26:08.779 don't we? 00:26:10.120 --> 00:26:10.380 Our 00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:10.920 great high 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:11.580 priest knows 00:26:11.580 --> 00:26:11.880 what it 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:12.900 is to 00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:13.519 make costly 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:14.940 decisions to 00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:15.320 obey the 00:26:15.320 --> 00:26:15.740 father's 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:15.960 will. 00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:17.360 Jesus, 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:17.640 in the 00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:18.080 night that he 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:18.879 was betrayed, 00:26:19.379 --> 00:26:19.980 knelt in 00:26:19.980 --> 00:26:20.699 Gethsemane, 00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:21.759 sweating 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:22.460 blood, 00:26:23.679 --> 00:26:24.220 praying, 00:26:24.699 --> 00:26:25.259 take this 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:25.899 cup from 00:26:25.899 --> 00:26:26.179 me, 00:26:26.679 --> 00:26:27.319 yet not 00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:28.079 my will 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:28.819 but your 00:26:28.819 --> 00:26:29.319 will be 00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:29.619 done. 00:26:31.379 --> 00:26:31.720 And he 00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:32.059 went to 00:26:32.059 --> 00:26:32.679 the cross. 00:26:35.399 --> 00:26:35.799 And so 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:36.480 now as our 00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:37.039 great high 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:37.539 priest in 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:37.819 heaven, 00:26:38.699 --> 00:26:39.179 we find 00:26:39.179 --> 00:26:39.720 grace in 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:40.159 our time 00:26:40.159 --> 00:26:40.539 of need 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:40.779 as we 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:41.079 go to 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:41.339 the one 00:26:41.339 --> 00:26:41.480 who's 00:26:41.480 --> 00:26:41.699 made 00:26:41.699 --> 00:26:42.019 costly 00:26:42.019 --> 00:26:42.720 decisions, 00:26:43.439 --> 00:26:43.679 the one 00:26:43.679 --> 00:26:44.019 who knows 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:44.859 it's hard 00:26:44.859 --> 00:26:45.740 to trust 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:46.200 and obey 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:46.960 sometimes. 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:47.980 He has 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:48.480 been there 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:48.940 and done 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:49.440 that for 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:49.759 us. 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:51.420 So if we 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:52.039 submit to 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:52.460 the Lord's 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:52.720 will, 00:26:53.819 --> 00:26:54.480 we find 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:54.940 grace, 00:26:55.059 --> 00:26:55.500 grace from 00:26:55.500 --> 00:26:55.740 the Lord 00:26:55.740 --> 00:26:56.259 Jesus to 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:56.620 help us 00:26:56.620 --> 00:26:56.880 in those 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:57.299 times, 00:26:57.880 --> 00:26:58.380 grace when 00:26:58.380 --> 00:26:58.660 it is 00:26:58.660 --> 00:26:59.039 hard, 00:26:59.180 --> 00:26:59.779 hard to 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:00.079 live, 00:27:00.299 --> 00:27:00.759 hard to 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:01.140 obey. 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:03.180 That is 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:03.500 how we 00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:04.019 should live. 00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:05.700 There's also 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:06.140 a warning 00:27:06.140 --> 00:27:06.839 here back in 00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:08.319 verse 17. 00:27:09.059 --> 00:27:09.779 Verse 16, 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:10.259 as it is, 00:27:10.299 --> 00:27:10.759 you boast in 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:11.180 your arrogance, 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:11.599 all such 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:12.079 boasting is 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:12.299 evil. 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:13.720 In verse 17, 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:14.220 listen to this 00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:14.519 warning. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:15.359 So whoever 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:16.039 knows the 00:27:16.039 --> 00:27:16.619 right thing 00:27:16.619 --> 00:27:17.119 to do 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:17.879 and fails 00:27:17.879 --> 00:27:18.440 to do 00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:18.759 it, 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:20.700 for him 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:21.519 it is 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:21.919 sin. 00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:23.980 In the 00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:24.180 immediate 00:27:24.180 --> 00:27:25.240 context for 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:25.700 us and for 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:25.919 James' 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:26.319 readers, 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:27.259 if we keep 00:27:27.259 --> 00:27:27.819 on carrying 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:28.099 on, 00:27:28.379 --> 00:27:28.859 organising 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:29.359 our lives 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:29.799 and planning 00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:30.440 our futures 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:31.460 as if God 00:27:31.460 --> 00:27:32.159 didn't exist 00:27:32.159 --> 00:27:32.559 or as if 00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:33.419 God didn't 00:27:33.419 --> 00:27:33.799 matter, 00:27:33.919 --> 00:27:34.200 as if we 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:34.379 weren't 00:27:34.379 --> 00:27:34.799 dependent 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:35.419 upon him, 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:36.500 then that 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:37.059 is sin. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:38.299 That is 00:27:38.299 --> 00:27:38.680 rebellion 00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:39.419 against God. 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:41.079 If we 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:41.639 keep trusting 00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:42.040 our own 00:27:42.040 --> 00:27:42.820 self-confidence, 00:27:43.600 --> 00:27:44.220 not humbly 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:44.840 submitting to 00:27:44.840 --> 00:27:45.160 the Lord, 00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:45.860 that is 00:27:45.860 --> 00:27:46.200 sin, 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:47.060 James says. 00:27:47.780 --> 00:27:48.220 We can't 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:48.540 hide the 00:27:48.540 --> 00:27:49.100 fact that 00:27:49.100 --> 00:27:49.580 we haven't 00:27:49.580 --> 00:27:50.040 done anything 00:27:50.040 --> 00:27:50.380 wrong. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:51.040 James says 00:27:51.040 --> 00:27:51.340 you know 00:27:51.340 --> 00:27:51.620 better, 00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:51.980 you have 00:27:51.980 --> 00:27:52.160 done 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:52.480 something 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:52.800 wrong. 00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:53.540 That's a 00:27:53.540 --> 00:27:53.840 specific 00:27:53.840 --> 00:27:54.220 point. 00:27:54.780 --> 00:27:55.220 That's also 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:55.580 a broader 00:27:55.580 --> 00:27:56.000 point in 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:56.240 life, 00:27:56.280 --> 00:27:56.680 isn't it? 00:27:57.280 --> 00:27:57.940 If we 00:27:57.940 --> 00:27:58.460 know what 00:27:58.460 --> 00:27:59.360 God wants 00:27:59.360 --> 00:27:59.940 and we 00:27:59.940 --> 00:28:00.280 do not 00:28:00.280 --> 00:28:01.020 do it, 00:28:01.820 --> 00:28:02.220 that is 00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:02.580 sin. 00:28:03.620 --> 00:28:04.060 Paul 00:28:04.060 --> 00:28:04.220 in 00:28:04.220 --> 00:28:04.440 preaching 00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:04.680 on the 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:04.980 Viscals 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:05.240 a few 00:28:05.240 --> 00:28:05.640 weeks ago 00:28:05.640 --> 00:28:06.800 reminded us 00:28:06.800 --> 00:28:07.340 about sins 00:28:07.340 --> 00:28:08.240 of omission, 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:09.180 which we 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:09.620 often take 00:28:09.620 --> 00:28:10.120 quite lightly, 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:10.400 don't we? 00:28:10.620 --> 00:28:11.200 Confess the 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:11.620 wrong things 00:28:11.620 --> 00:28:11.960 we have 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:12.319 done. 00:28:13.120 --> 00:28:13.580 We often 00:28:13.580 --> 00:28:15.140 don't confess 00:28:15.140 --> 00:28:16.400 the good 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:16.680 things, 00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:17.059 the right 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:17.440 things we 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:17.960 fail to 00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:18.259 do. 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:19.420 We have 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:19.660 it in our 00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:20.100 confession 00:28:20.100 --> 00:28:20.660 Sunday by 00:28:20.660 --> 00:28:21.080 Sunday. 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:22.200 The good 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:22.420 we have 00:28:22.420 --> 00:28:23.380 left undone 00:28:23.380 --> 00:28:24.299 to confess 00:28:24.299 --> 00:28:24.779 this morning. 00:28:25.860 --> 00:28:26.160 So what 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.400 are some 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:26.539 of the 00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:26.980 things that 00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:27.319 you and 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:28.000 I know 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:29.059 are right 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:30.000 but do 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:30.500 not do? 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:32.680 Children, 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:33.400 what about 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:33.900 you at 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:34.220 school? 00:28:35.779 --> 00:28:36.100 You know 00:28:36.100 --> 00:28:36.580 it's right, 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:37.059 don't you, 00:28:37.700 --> 00:28:38.500 to love and 00:28:38.500 --> 00:28:39.019 be kind to 00:28:39.019 --> 00:28:39.559 other children. 00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:40.960 Perhaps 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:41.079 there's 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:41.399 someone in 00:28:41.399 --> 00:28:41.899 your class 00:28:41.899 --> 00:28:42.139 who's 00:28:42.139 --> 00:28:43.059 neglected 00:28:43.059 --> 00:28:43.599 and bullied 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:43.879 a bit 00:28:43.879 --> 00:28:44.259 and left 00:28:44.259 --> 00:28:44.639 out. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:47.179 Perhaps 00:28:47.179 --> 00:28:47.500 sometimes 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:47.879 you just 00:28:47.879 --> 00:28:48.639 ignore them 00:28:48.639 --> 00:28:48.879 or go 00:28:48.879 --> 00:28:49.240 along with 00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:49.419 that. 00:28:50.419 --> 00:28:50.779 If you 00:28:50.779 --> 00:28:51.200 know it's 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:51.539 right to 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:52.119 show love 00:28:52.119 --> 00:28:52.740 and kindness 00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:53.279 to them, 00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:54.379 then that's 00:28:54.379 --> 00:28:54.679 something you 00:28:54.679 --> 00:28:55.019 can do 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:55.399 tomorrow. 00:28:56.159 --> 00:28:56.319 You can 00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:56.940 pray today, 00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:57.759 pray that 00:28:57.759 --> 00:28:57.799 you're 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:58.019 mum and 00:28:58.019 --> 00:28:58.220 dad, 00:28:58.279 --> 00:28:58.599 mums and 00:28:58.599 --> 00:28:58.759 dads 00:28:58.759 --> 00:28:59.179 tonight, 00:28:59.899 --> 00:29:00.299 that God 00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:00.599 will give 00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:01.299 you grace 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:02.159 to love 00:29:02.159 --> 00:29:02.799 that child 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:04.039 and befriend 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:04.259 them. 00:29:05.019 --> 00:29:05.759 Not exclude 00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:06.059 them. 00:29:07.299 --> 00:29:08.500 Perhaps we 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:10.700 know there 00:29:10.700 --> 00:29:10.960 are things 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:11.299 we haven't 00:29:11.299 --> 00:29:11.799 sorted out 00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:11.940 yet. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:12.379 We know 00:29:12.379 --> 00:29:12.740 the son 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:13.159 we haven't 00:29:13.159 --> 00:29:13.659 said sorry 00:29:13.659 --> 00:29:13.940 to. 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:15.599 Some sin 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:15.920 we haven't 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:16.299 repented 00:29:16.299 --> 00:29:16.539 of. 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:17.639 Perhaps we 00:29:17.639 --> 00:29:19.819 know money 00:29:19.819 --> 00:29:20.240 should not 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:20.720 be gone in 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:21.279 our lives 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:23.480 and yet we 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:23.859 haven't yet 00:29:23.859 --> 00:29:24.619 got round to 00:29:24.619 --> 00:29:25.159 sorting out 00:29:25.159 --> 00:29:25.559 our giving. 00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:27.480 So easy to 00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:27.799 take that 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:28.039 drift, 00:29:28.139 --> 00:29:28.359 isn't it? 00:29:28.379 --> 00:29:28.579 I know 00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:29.740 it's easy to 00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:29.920 take that 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:30.019 drift. 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:30.339 I hate 00:29:30.339 --> 00:29:30.720 giving the 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:30.960 money. 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:32.639 Yet if we 00:29:32.639 --> 00:29:33.220 know things 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:33.619 that haven't 00:29:33.619 --> 00:29:33.959 done, 00:29:34.859 --> 00:29:35.439 James says 00:29:35.439 --> 00:29:35.779 that is 00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:36.139 sin. 00:29:37.439 --> 00:29:38.079 We know 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:38.339 we should 00:29:38.339 --> 00:29:39.099 talk to 00:29:39.099 --> 00:29:39.479 our neighbours 00:29:39.479 --> 00:29:39.859 about the 00:29:39.859 --> 00:29:40.319 Lord Jesus. 00:29:40.779 --> 00:29:41.000 We know 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:41.219 we should 00:29:41.219 --> 00:29:41.799 pray for 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:42.559 people to 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:42.859 come into 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:43.239 the kingdom. 00:29:44.659 --> 00:29:45.059 Yet do 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:45.679 we do it? 00:29:48.679 --> 00:29:49.279 So whoever 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:49.779 knows the 00:29:49.779 --> 00:29:50.199 right thing 00:29:50.199 --> 00:29:50.639 to do and 00:29:50.639 --> 00:29:51.139 fails to 00:29:51.139 --> 00:29:51.379 do it, 00:29:51.399 --> 00:29:51.799 for him 00:29:51.799 --> 00:29:52.659 is sin. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:54.459 Now I 00:29:54.459 --> 00:29:54.699 don't know 00:29:54.699 --> 00:29:55.139 about you, 00:29:55.179 --> 00:29:55.459 but I can 00:29:55.459 --> 00:29:55.899 feel very 00:29:55.899 --> 00:29:56.679 overwhelmed 00:29:56.679 --> 00:29:58.039 as I look 00:29:58.039 --> 00:29:58.459 at the list 00:29:58.459 --> 00:29:59.539 of good 00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:00.059 things I 00:30:00.059 --> 00:30:00.739 haven't done. 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:02.059 It can be 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:02.739 very overwhelming, 00:30:02.859 --> 00:30:03.239 can't it? 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:04.899 That's why 00:30:04.899 --> 00:30:05.179 we need to 00:30:05.179 --> 00:30:05.619 finish with 00:30:05.619 --> 00:30:05.899 this great 00:30:05.899 --> 00:30:06.500 promise back 00:30:06.500 --> 00:30:06.779 up in 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:07.379 verse 6. 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:07.659 Do 00:30:07.659 --> 00:30:07.859 look at 00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:08.279 chapter 4 00:30:08.279 --> 00:30:08.699 verse 6 00:30:08.699 --> 00:30:08.899 again, 00:30:08.939 --> 00:30:09.279 let's read 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:09.699 it again. 00:30:10.699 --> 00:30:11.299 But God 00:30:11.299 --> 00:30:12.219 gives more 00:30:12.219 --> 00:30:12.719 grace, 00:30:13.639 --> 00:30:14.359 therefore it, 00:30:14.439 --> 00:30:14.779 the scripture 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:15.119 says, 00:30:15.199 --> 00:30:15.819 God opposes 00:30:15.819 --> 00:30:16.339 the proud 00:30:16.339 --> 00:30:17.019 and gives 00:30:17.019 --> 00:30:17.639 grace to 00:30:17.639 --> 00:30:18.000 the humble. 00:30:18.679 --> 00:30:19.159 Submit 00:30:19.159 --> 00:30:19.579 yourself 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:20.139 therefore to 00:30:20.139 --> 00:30:20.459 God, 00:30:20.919 --> 00:30:21.579 resist the 00:30:21.579 --> 00:30:21.819 devil, 00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:22.679 and he 00:30:22.679 --> 00:30:23.339 will flee. 00:30:24.099 --> 00:30:24.679 If we 00:30:24.679 --> 00:30:25.000 humble 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:25.479 ourselves 00:30:25.479 --> 00:30:25.959 before the 00:30:25.959 --> 00:30:26.279 Lord, 00:30:26.639 --> 00:30:27.099 he gives 00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:27.659 us more 00:30:27.659 --> 00:30:28.139 grace. 00:30:28.759 --> 00:30:29.859 Grace to 00:30:29.859 --> 00:30:30.259 forgive, 00:30:30.419 --> 00:30:30.939 grace to 00:30:30.939 --> 00:30:31.459 cleanse us 00:30:31.459 --> 00:30:31.819 from our 00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:32.019 sin, 00:30:32.019 --> 00:30:32.960 grace to 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:33.400 make us 00:30:33.400 --> 00:30:33.740 new. 00:30:33.859 --> 00:30:34.119 We are 00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:35.079 the first 00:30:35.079 --> 00:30:35.579 fruits of 00:30:35.579 --> 00:30:35.980 God's new 00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:36.480 creation, 00:30:36.879 --> 00:30:37.200 as James 00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:37.660 says back 00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:37.940 in verse 00:30:37.940 --> 00:30:38.359 18. 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:39.299 Grace to 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:40.259 cope with 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:40.960 the illness, 00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:41.639 with the 00:30:41.639 --> 00:30:42.039 grief, 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:42.720 with the 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:43.259 pains, 00:30:43.559 --> 00:30:43.859 with the 00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:44.339 trials. 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:45.460 We will 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:46.299 submit ourselves 00:30:46.299 --> 00:30:46.500 to 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:47.579 faith rather 00:30:47.579 --> 00:30:48.079 than fault 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:48.619 finally with 00:30:48.619 --> 00:30:49.420 his providence. 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:50.680 God gives 00:30:50.680 --> 00:30:51.079 grace. 00:30:51.180 --> 00:30:51.519 And see the 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:52.279 ultimate promise, 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:53.099 verse 10, 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:54.619 humble yourselves 00:30:54.619 --> 00:30:55.220 before the 00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:55.559 Lord, 00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:56.500 he will 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:57.160 exhort you. 00:30:57.160 --> 00:30:59.080 That's what 00:30:59.080 --> 00:30:59.519 happened to 00:30:59.519 --> 00:30:59.779 Jesus, 00:30:59.880 --> 00:31:00.200 wasn't it? 00:31:00.220 --> 00:31:00.700 He humbled 00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:01.279 himself, 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:02.380 became obedient 00:31:02.380 --> 00:31:02.920 to death 00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:03.200 on the 00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:03.580 cross, 00:31:04.120 --> 00:31:04.500 and now 00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:05.120 is exalted 00:31:05.120 --> 00:31:05.820 to the 00:31:05.820 --> 00:31:06.600 highest place 00:31:06.600 --> 00:31:06.860 and has 00:31:06.860 --> 00:31:07.320 the name 00:31:07.320 --> 00:31:07.980 above all 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:08.500 names. 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:09.480 And that 00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:09.720 is the 00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:10.060 pattern of 00:31:10.060 --> 00:31:10.519 the Christian 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:10.820 life. 00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:11.360 We humble 00:31:11.360 --> 00:31:11.820 ourselves 00:31:11.820 --> 00:31:12.200 now. 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:14.519 We humble 00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:15.160 ourselves and 00:31:15.160 --> 00:31:15.680 submit our 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:16.259 plans to 00:31:16.259 --> 00:31:16.620 God. 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:18.340 We will 00:31:18.340 --> 00:31:18.820 not exalt 00:31:18.820 --> 00:31:19.360 ourselves, 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:19.820 but he 00:31:19.820 --> 00:31:20.460 will exalt 00:31:20.460 --> 00:31:20.900 us. 00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:22.320 And our 00:31:22.320 --> 00:31:23.000 exaltation 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:23.340 will be 00:31:23.340 --> 00:31:24.100 complete when 00:31:24.100 --> 00:31:24.779 Jesus comes 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:25.200 back. 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:26.240 We live 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:26.920 forever with 00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:27.220 him. 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:28.279 And every 00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:28.920 tear is 00:31:28.920 --> 00:31:29.779 wiped away, 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:31.080 every grief 00:31:31.080 --> 00:31:31.620 forgotten, 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:32.779 and every 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:34.080 joy complete 00:31:34.080 --> 00:31:34.519 for all 00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:34.980 eternity. 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:36.660 So Jesus 00:31:36.660 --> 00:31:37.400 suffered for 00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:37.700 sin, 00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:38.819 so that we 00:31:38.819 --> 00:31:39.440 can be God's 00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:39.779 children. 00:31:40.580 --> 00:31:40.980 So we 00:31:40.980 --> 00:31:41.920 submit ourselves 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:42.580 to him 00:31:42.580 --> 00:31:43.019 now. 00:31:43.539 --> 00:31:44.160 We can be 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:44.700 exalted 00:31:44.700 --> 00:31:45.140 there. 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:47.160 The 00:31:47.160 --> 00:31:47.480 sovereign 00:31:47.480 --> 00:31:48.259 Lord holds 00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:48.840 the future, 00:31:49.779 --> 00:31:49.960 so he 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:50.620 must humbly 00:31:50.620 --> 00:31:50.660 ! 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:55.840 submitting 00:31:55.840 --> 00:31:56.220 to his 00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:56.600 rule of 00:31:56.600 --> 00:31:56.840 the field 00:31:56.840 --> 00:31:57.360 and scriptures, 00:31:58.319 --> 00:31:58.759 and knowing 00:31:58.759 --> 00:32:00.259 one day we 00:32:00.259 --> 00:32:00.580 will be 00:32:00.580 --> 00:32:01.080 exalted 00:32:01.080 --> 00:32:02.019 with him 00:32:02.019 --> 00:32:02.620 as prayer.