September 20-21, 2003  LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT!     James 4:13-17

PLANNING AHEAD WITH WISDOM!

*** John 9:4 “All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end.” [New Living Translation]

TIME IS PRECIOUS – WE CAN MANAGE IT, BUT WE CAN’T MULTIPLY IT!

*** Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” [New International Version]

LIVE OUT THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN PLANNING AND PROVIDENCE !

*** Luke 14:28-30 "But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you!” [NLT]

HOW TO PLAN AHEAD WITH GODLY WISDOM!

1. BY INCLUDING GOD IN THE PROCESS!

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

YOU DON’T FIND GOD ANYWHERE IN THE SENTENCE!

A. SOMETIMES WE IGNORANTLY IGNORE HIM!

*** Eccles. 8:7 “Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?” [New International Version]

*** Eph. 5:17 “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.”

B. SOMETIMES WE INTENTIONALLY IGNORE HIM!

*** James 4:16 “As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.” [NIV]

*** Micah 6:8 “The Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

HOW DO WE INCLUDE GOD IN THE PROCESS?

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

***Pr. 16:1 “We may make our plans, but God has the last word.” [Today’s English Version]

*** Pr. 16:9 “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” [NLT]

PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES:

BE PRAYERFUL ! - 1 Thes. 5:17 “pray continually” [NIV]

BE OBEDIENT! - 1 Thes. 5:21-22 “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” [NIV]

2. BY KEEPING LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE!

*** James 4:14 “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.” [NIV]

THREE REALISTIC FACTS ABOUT LIFE:

A. LIFE IS BRIEF!

*** Psalm 144:4 “For we are like a breath of air; our days are like a passing shadow.” [NLT]

*** Psalm 39:5 “My life is no longer than the width of my hand.” [NLT]

*** Psalm 90:10 “The length of our days is seventy years--or eighty, if we have the strength yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” [NLT]

 B. LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE!

*** Job 14:1 "How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble!” [NLT]

*** Proverbs 27:1 “Don't brag about tomorrow! Each day brings its own surprises.”

 [Contemporary English Version]

C. LIFE IS INSIGNIFICANT ( WITHOUT GOD )!

*** John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends…..” [NLT]

*** John 15:13-14 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends…” [NIV]

PRACTICAL PRINCIPLE:

MAKE EACH DAY COUNT! - Matthew 6:34"So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.” [Living Bible]

**** Col. 1:16 “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.” [The Message]

3. BY FOCUSING ON PROPER PRIORITIES !

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

*** Luke 12:15 “Jesus said to them, "Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns." [New Century Version]

PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES:

MAKE TIME FOR FAITH! - 1 Tim. 4:8 “Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.” [NLT]

MAKE TIME FOR FAMILY! - 1 Tim. 5:8 “People who don't take care of their relatives, and especially their own families, have given up their faith. They are worse than someone who doesn't have faith in the Lord.”

MAKE TIME FOR FELLOWSHIP! - Romans 1:12 “What I am saying is that we can encourage each other by the faith that is ours.” [CEV]

MAKE TIME FOR FUNCTION ! - Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers…serve one another in love.” [NIV]

MAKE TIME FOR FUN! - Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

*** James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.” [NIV]

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time….”

Ephesians 5:15-16 [New American Standard Version]