8-16-07 #Disciple Bible Study Titled: “CHRISTIANITY IN SHOE LEATHER"

[Disciple]

“CHRISTIANITY IN SHOE LEATHER"
“Is Life Really That Fragile?”
James 4:13-17

Intro.
A. Occasionally something will happen to us or to someone we know that will remind us that life in this world really is very fragile.
1. How sad has the death of the Ferguson baby been – it is especially tragic when death involves a child
2. You would think that we would quickly learn the valuable lesson that life in this world is just a short time.
3. We do know that death is inevitable for each of use- we just don’t think it will happen to us-
a. If I again may quote the actor, Woody Allen – “It’s not that I’m afraid of dying, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

Ill- I read a humorous story a while back- a man visited his doctor complaining of constant headaches- the doctor ran several extensive tests- he told the man, “Well, I’ve found the reason for your headaches and I’m so sorry to tell you that your condition is terminal’- the man asked, “Terminal? You mean I’m going to die’- again the doctor said, “Yes, I’m so sorry”- then the man asked, ‘How much longer do I have?’- and the doctor said, ‘Ten’- the man said, ‘Ten? Ten? Ten what? Days, months, years?’- and the doctor looked at his watch and said ‘9,8,7,6…’

4. All of us in this physical realm are what we can properly call ‘terminal’
a. and so, to answer our question, ‘yes, life really is that fragile’
b. Ps. 90:3-6- You turn men back to dust, saying, Return to dust, O sons of men. For a thousand years in your sight is like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning- though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dray and withered.
5. James shares three realities with us that we need to recognize about life that we live here

I. We Cannot Be Certain About Tomorrow
A. We see how James addresses this reality-
1, James 4:13-14- 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. Why you don’t even know what will happen tomorrow..
2. The problem James is discussing here is that of being presumptuous about the future
a. you can see that here is a discussion that involves making plans for the future.
b. now before anyone gets the wrong idea, let me say there is nothing inherently wrong with planning for the future
c. in fact, in our society today, planning and preparing for tomorrow has itself become a large industry-
1. experts in the world of business try to spot trends, they do feasibility studies and market ****yses, and in some sense predict what will happen in the future
2. we even see the idea of planning for the future in the church.
a. many churches develop a ‘5 year plan’ or a ’10 year plan’- they want to have some idea of where they will be and what they will be doing in the future
3. There is nothing inherently wrong with planning ahead for tomorrow
a. the problem is when we forget that God is the one in control
4. Just as surely as we can say that planning is necessary for success, we can just as surely say that planning is foolish because tomorrow is beyond our control-
a. Prov. 27:1- Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
5. Since we cannot be certain about tomorrow, what should we do then?
6. James gives us the alternative to presuming about tomorrow-
a. James 4:15- Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.
b. the Scriptures speak about the controlling will of God in our lives-
1. Matt. 7:21- Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
2. Heb. 10:36- You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what he has promises.
7. I need to clarify something here- just saying the words ‘if it is the Lord’s will’ is not a magical formula that guarantees success in our adventures and endeavors.
a. James is not interested in merely spouting off words- James is more interested in our actions than in our words
b. it is good for us to say ‘if the Lord wills’ when we make our plans, - but it is better to mean it by living our lives under his control every moment of life


II. You Are Only A Mist
A. This is how James describes our lives-
1. James 4:14- …You are only a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes
2. Scripture often speaks of the brevity of life in such a way
a. Job 7:7- Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;…
b. Ps. 102:3- For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
3. It is significant that James does not say ‘You are like a mist…’
a. rather, he says, ‘ you are a mist.’

Ill- there is one simple thing we each can do today to realize the brevity of our life- place your finger on your wrist and feel the steady beat of your pulse- then think that all that is required for life to be over for any of us is that steady beat of the pulse to stop
4. You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes- it is gone to be no more in this world
5. How much this single verse in James 4 reminds us of the story Jesus told of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21
a. here is one who had received his goods and had plans for enjoying them for a good long time
b. but God said – Luke 12:20- You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you…
6. Do we need a stronger reminder that we are not going to live here in world and our life in this world is not going to last forever?
a. many people live their lives in complete neglect of God in any way, shape or form
b. can you understand that to neglect the fact that you do not have control over your life is a display of arrogance toward God?
7. Here is one area in which we need to show great wisdom-
a. realizing that life is short and that it could come to its end this day, we need to be preparing and planning for eternity
b. James S. Steward, preacher of years ago, said, ‘Let us live as people prepared to die, so we might die as people prepared to live.
c. Ps. 39:3- Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.


III. Presumption About Tomorrow Is Evil
A. Boasting about future plans without considering God’s will is evil
1. It amounts to sheer arrogance-
a. James 4:16- Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
b. #1 – it may simply be a general statement regarding sins of omission-
1. if this is the case, it would apply to saying, ‘if it is the Lord’s will’-
2. this would mean then that if you know it is the right thing to depend on the Lord and you don’t do it, then you are sinning-
3. we must live our lives according to what God says and what we know is the right thing
4. but how often we sin by not doing what we know is the right thing for us to do
c. #2 – ‘doing good’ is often used in Scripture to mean ‘caring for those who are in need’
1. consider that James has talked about the orphans and the widows and caring for them- James 1:27
2. James has talked about those who are in need of clothing or food- James 2:15
3. it may be that James is warning his readers against not only making plans for the future and ignoring God and not taking God’s will into consideration, but also making plans without considering the poor and needy
4. this would be saying to us then, that we need to do all the good we can today for those who are in need because we may not have tomorrow to help


4. Let’s not forget that we’re just passing through here- let’s not presume on God’s will for our lives



Conc.
You may recognize and remember the name John Connally- he was Governor of Texas and was riding in the car with John Kennedy when Kennedy was assassinated November 22, 1963- Governor Connally was also shot that day but he survived- in an interview later, Governor Connally said, “As far as my wife and I are concerned, this event brought into sharper focus what’s really important in life. We try not to parti****te in things that are shallow or in the long run meaningless-

His words are insightful, aren’t they? – he was saying that life is too short to be caught up in meaningless things here

Maybe this is what David had in mind – remember David’s words
Ps. 90:12- Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

We need to live wisely all of the time we have here

Life really is fragile- it is so uncertain from moment to moment- it is so short- it is going to come to an end-