James 4 begins with war with God & ends with the will of God

• One out of God’s will becomes troublemaker • One in the will of God becomes peacemaker

– Lot moved to Sodom & brought trouble to family– David sinned & brought trouble to family & nation– Jonah sinned & almost sent ship to watery grave– Each had a wrong attitude toward God’s will

• Three attitudes toward God’s will:

1. Ignoring God’s Will

• James 4:13-14 NIV Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." (14) Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

• James 4:16 NIV As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

James addresses Christian businessmen

• They discussed & boasted about plans• No evidence they sought God’s will• No evidence they prayed about their plans• Measured success by how many times

they accomplished what they planned• James gives four arguments that reveal

the foolishness of ignoring God’s will

Argument #1: The complexity of life

• James 4:13 NIV Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."

Think of all that is involved in life

• Today, tomorrow, buying, selling, making money, losing money, going here & there

• Life is made up of– People & places– Activities & goals– Days & years

• We each make crucial decisions every day

Apart from God’s will, life is a mystery

• If we put His will first, life makes sense– It brings simplicity & unity to our lives – It gives us poise & confidence

• World no longer mysterious & threatening• We can sing, “This is my Father’s world!”

Argument #2: The uncertainty of life

• James 4:14 NIV Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. …

James alludes to Proverbs 27:1

• Proverbs 27:1 NIV Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

• Businessmen making plans for a year • They couldn’t even see ahead one day!

Like the farmer in Luke 12:16-21

• Bumper crop too big for barns – build bigger– Luke 12:19-20 NIV And I'll say to myself, "You

have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?‘

• Life not uncertain to God, but is to us– When in His will we can be confident of future

Argument #3: The brevity of life

• James 4:14 NIV … What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

A repeated theme of Scripture

• Life seems long & we measure it in years• In comparison to eternity, it is but a vapor• James borrows from Job’s word pictures

– Job 7:6 NIV My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.

– Job 14:1-2 NIV Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. (2) He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

We count our years but God tells us to number our days

• Psalms 90:12 NIV Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

• We live a day at a time & days pass quickly• Invest in eternity

– Joshua 1:8 NIV Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Argument #4: The frailty of man

• James 4:16 NIV As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

Man’s boasting only covers up man’s weakness

• Proverbs 16:33 NIV The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

• We cannot control future events– We have neither the wisdom to see the future

nor the power to control it– But God has both!

• Five word sermon in Carlsbad Caverns: – “Stay close to your guide”

2. Disobeying God’s Will

• James 4:17 NIV Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

These people know the will of God but choose to disobey it

• This attitude expresses more pride than does the first: “I know what You want me to do, but I refuse to do it!”

• 2 Peter 2:21 NIV It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

Luke 12:47-48 NIV

• "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. (48) But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

3. Obeying God’s Will

• James 4:15 NIV Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

“If the Lord wills” is not just a statement; it is a constant attitude

• Romans 1:10 NIV … I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

• 1 Corinthians 4:19 NIV But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing …

• 1 Corinthians 16:7 NIV I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.

Everything in this universe operates according to laws

• If we obey the laws, universe works with us• If we disobey, universe works against us• Example: certain laws govern flight

– Engineer obeys those laws in designing the plane– Manufacturer obeys them in building the plane– Pilot obeys them in flying the plane– If they disobey the laws governing flight, the

result will be a crash & loss of life & money

• God’s will is not unlike those basic laws

1. We must know God’s will

• Acts 22:14 NIV "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.

It’s not hard to know God’s will

• If we’re willing to obey, He’s willing to reveal – John 7:17 NIV If anyone chooses to do God's

will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

• God does not reveal His will to the curious• He reveals it to those ready to obey

2. We must understand God’s will

• Colossians 1:9 NIV … since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

God wants us to understand His will

• Child can know what parents want, but not why• Jesus wants us to know the “why” behind “what”

– John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

• Israel knew “what”, but Moses understood “why”– Psalms 103:7 NIV He made known his ways to

Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:

3. We must test & approve God’s will

• Romans 12:2 NIV Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Dokimazo means “to test with a positive outcome”

• We learn God’s will by working at it• Like learning to swim or play an instrument• You practice until you “get the feel” of it &

it becomes second nature to you• You start by doing what you know to do• Then God opens the way for the next step• You test & approve His will by experience

4. We must do God’s will from the heart

• Ephesians 6:6 NIV Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

Jonah knew God’s will and (after a spanking) did it

• But he did not do it from his heart• Jonah 4 shows an angry prophet who did

not love God, nor the people of Nineveh• He merely did God’s will to keep from

getting another spanking!• Secret of a happy life is to delight in duty

– Psalms 119:54 NIV Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.

Which of these three attitudes do you have toward the will of God?

• Do you totally ignore God’s will as you make your daily plans and decisions?

• Or, do you know God’s will and yet refuse to obey it?

• Each attitude is wrong and can only bring sorrow and ruin to the life of the person who holds it

Those who know, love & obey God’s will enjoy God’s blessing

• Our lives may not be easier, but they will be holier & happier

• Our very food will be the will of God – John 4:34 NIV "My food," said Jesus, "is to do

the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

• It will be the joy and delight of our hearts – Psalms 40:8 NIV I desire to do your will, O my

God; your law is within my heart."