James chapter 4, let's read verses
13 through 17. Go to now, ye that say, today
or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year
and buy and sell and get gain, whereas ye know not what shall
be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is
even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth
away. For that ye ought to say, if
the Lord will. we shall live and do this or
that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings,
and all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore, to him that knoweth
to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. This is a word to believers.
He's writing, remember, to the brethren. He says it over and
over again. My beloved brethren. And it is a word of reproof and
rebuke. For how often do we all say that
we're going to do something without saying the Lord will? All of
us are guilty of this, all of us. And this is a word of correction,
instruction to tell us that we ought to say about everything
before we do anything. We ought to say, if the Lord
will, if the Lord will. He says our life is such a vapor. And may the Lord make these sayings
sink down deep into our ears and write them on our hearts.
And let this be the supernatural speech that comes out of our
mouth about everything. Let this be our constant language,
if the Lord will. If the Lord will. Lord willing. And it's something we need to
work on too. In verse 17, so he says, to him that knoweth
to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. It's especially
sinful to us, to the brethren who know better. He claimed to
know and believe God and His Word, and so it's especially
wrong for us to do it. That's what he's saying there.
And you know what a clear denunciation of man's so-called free will
this is? What a denunciation. What a conclusive
denunciation of man's free will. Look at verse 15. He says, We ought to say, if
the Lord will, we shall live. We don't know if we're going
to take our next breath. That's what he said. What is
your life but a vapor? And surely he's even talking
about a breath. We're just one breath away from
leaving this place. It's just a vapor. One breath.
And what a denunciation this is of all talk of free will. So, verse 13. He says, ìGo to
now, ye that say, ìToday or tomorrow weíll go into such a city and
continue there a year, and buy and sell.î James 4, verse 13,
ìContinue there and buy and sell and get gain.î Now Godís Word,
I love. the Word of the Lord. I know
you do too. It speaks very clearly, very
plainly. Proverbs 8 said there's nothing
forward, nothing perverse, nothing hidden. It's all plain. He doesn't
mince words. He speaks in a way we can clearly
understand, up front, straightforward. And we need that, don't we? We
need that. He speaks as a creator to the
creature. Like our Lord said to Job and
his friends after they did all that talking, He said, where
were you when I made this world? Remember that? Who is this? Go to now. That's what He's saying.
Will you listen up now, you that say that? I like that language,
don't you? Like a judge. Let's see now,
what is it you're saying? or like a father to a son, I
heard what you said. And what have you got to say
for yourself? And yet the truth spoken by our
Lord to His people is always in love. Let the righteous smite
me, He'll be a kindness. Oh, whom the Lord loves, He chastens,
but He says it very plainly. And in a way we can understand,
yet he says it in love and mercy. You that say, go to now. Go to
now. Just hold on now. You that say. That's what he's saying. Just
hold on now. You that say. Tomorrow we're
going to do this or do that. And every one of us are guilty
of that. And now, the first thing, not only is he correcting us
and rebuking us about not saying the Lord will about everything. The Lord will. We will do this
or do that. But he's rebuking covetousness. He said we'll go into such a
city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain. You see that? The next chapter
is all about riches. The very next chapter he deals
with riches and just warns and warns and warns. And talks about
the rich weeping and howling for the misery that's come on
them. That the gold and silver, the canker of it, the rust of
it is going to rise up in the judgment. He just warns and warns. And the Scriptures, all through
Scriptures, warns and warns and warns of the deceitfulness of
riches and how many have drowned in it. Most people do. And it's a great danger to believers.
More people fall away from prosperity than anything. Children of Israel
in the wilderness. And so he condemns this. He rebukes us about saying we're going to get
gain. What did Paul say about the things
of this world. Gain? No, he says loss. It's loss. Everyone wants to be rich, and
if we're honest, If we're honest, we'll all say, you know, if we
just had all the money that we could have, all the money we
needed and some more, that we'd just be content and happy. We
all think that. It's honest, don't we? It's foolish. It's foolish. So this verse is condemning any
talk of I will, but especially of covetousness. Look at Luke
chapter 12 with me. The Gospel of Luke chapter 12. Covetousness. Go to now. You say we're going to get gain.
Luke chapter 12. You know these passages, but
we need to hear them over and over again. The ground of a certain
rich man, verse 16, Luke 12, 16. He spoke a parable unto them. This was to his disciples. He
said, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.
And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do? Because
I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said, this
will I do. I will do this. I will. pull down my barns and build
greater. There will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And
I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much good laid up for
many years. Take thine ease, eat and drink, and be merry.
And God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee. Then who shall those things be
which thou hast provided? But now, it says, he that layeth
up treasure for himself is not rich toward God. But down in
verse 31, seek the kingdom of God. All these things will be
added unto you. There's one thing needful that
we need to be rich in, which we're all very poor in. Grace and the knowledge of our
Lord. We're all very poor. We need to be rich in that. Rich
in faith. Fear not, little flock. Oh, I
love this verse. It is your Father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. Sell that you have. Give alms
that support the gospel and those in need. Provide yourself bags
which wax not old. Treasure in heavens that faileth
not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. Where
your treasure is there, your heart will be also." It's just
so, isn't it? The more we have, the more we
worry about it, the more we think about it, and the more we think
about getting. Luke 17. Go over there. Luke
chapter 17. Luke 17, verse 26. He said, "...as it
was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of Man." They did eat. They drank. They married wives.
They were given in marriage. And there's nothing wrong with
these things, aren't there? Nothing wrong with these things.
The Lord ordained. marrying and eating and drinking. He did,
but it is when you don't give God a thought about it, when
you don't say the Lord will, you don't seek His will in these
things, who to marry and whether you eat or drink. You're supposed
to do it for the glory of God. Verse 27, they did eat and drank,
no thought to God. They married wives, they were
given in marriage until the day Noah entered into the ark and
the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, also, as
it was in the days of Lot, Sodom, where we live now, Sodom. They
did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold. We will buy and sell. They planted, they built. Nothing
wrong with these things, is it? But it is wicked and evil when
you give no thought to God. When you think of these things
more than him, and consume with and lust after these things,
and your desires not set on God, that makes it idolatry. In the same day, verse 29, Lot
went out of Sodom, and the Lord had to pull him out, didn't He,
being merciful to him. It did rain fire and brimstone
from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so, even thus shall
it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed." So he that's
on the housetop, he said, his stuff, stuff, that's all it is. Got your stuff in the house?
Forsake it. Forsake that stuff. Hold Luke's Gospel there. It
says that they bought and sold. There's nothing wrong with that.
Now, the Lord doesn't condemn making plans. The Lord doesn't
condemn making plans. He said what you ought to say,
if the Lord will, we shall. It's an industrious person. It's
a wise person that does not sit down and count the cost and make
some plans. But what you say is, should say
the Lord will. Seek the Lord's will first about
those plans. Lord, should I do this? Should
I go there? Should I buy this? Oh, yes. There's
nothing insignificant. Little things often give us the
greatest trouble. Paul said to the Philippians
in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
make your request now. Would you have me do this? Would
you have me go there? Would you have me buy this? Huh?
And Lord, if you do, allow it, forgive it. Don't let it consume
me. Don't let it make me... I love
the proverb that says, that wise man said, give me neither riches
nor poverty. One thing have I required of
thee, say, I'll ask of thee. Withhold it not. Give me neither
riches nor poverty. Don't give me riches, I'll forget
you. Don't give me poverty, lest I steal and deny you." So we
ought to say, if the Lord will, concerning everything. But he
says, don't seek to get gain. Material gain is usually great
loss. What shall it profit? Luke 18. Look at Luke chapter 18. Our
Lord said, what shall it profit a man if he gained the whole
world and lose his soul? Our Lord talked about rich people
in the world. He said, how hardly shall they
that have riches enter the kingdom of heaven. He said, it's easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man
to enter heaven. How many really, really rich
people worship the Lord? It's just very rare. Very rare. And usually the Lord makes someone
rich before He reveals Himself to them. I've known a few, haven't
we? We've known a few millionaires. And now you've got to be a billionaire,
don't you? Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Never enough, is it? But I've
known a few, very rich, and the Lord saved them. And when He
saves a man's heart and soul, He saves their wallet too. They
began to be very generous and liberal. Luke 18,
verse 22, He said to this rich young ruler, He said, "...Yet lackest thou
one thing, sell all that thou hast, distribute unto the poor,
thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me." Now the Lord, this is God speaking
here, and He came to earth and He didn't have a place to lay
His head. He didn't have a house. He didn't know where His next
meal was coming from. I started to say He didn't know
where His next meal was coming from. Oh yes, He did. But the
point is, he didn't have a kitchen and didn't have a can in the
cupboard. Not a loaf of bread in a sack. And never missed one meal. And didn't lack anything, perfectly
content and blessed. But this rich young fellow, he
said to this fellow, sell everything you have, you have treasure in
it, and come and follow me. He heard this, verse 23, he was
very sorry for him because he was very rich. And that's when
the Lord said, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye
of an eagle. And you know, Paul wrote this. And Paul didn't have
anything either. He didn't have anything. He depended
on the Lord and God's people for his every meal. And he was
traveling around and the Lord met his every need. But Paul
said this, he said, I count all things lost. for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things." But it's just bull. It's just done. Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in Him. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ. Oh, that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection,
the fellowship of His suffering be made conformable unto His
death by any means. I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead." Now, here's riches. Oh, Lord, give me that attitude.
Give me that heart. Give me that desire. How often
the Lord warns and reproves and rebukes in this matter of riches. It's a great revealer of the
heart. It really is. Our Lord said, where your treasure
is, that's where your heart is. And those who sow to the flesh,
they'll reap flesh. But those that sow to the Spirit,
My, my. So go back to our text. So that's
the lesson here for believers. Not only if the Lord will, but
gain? What is gain? To lose everything for Christ
is great gain. Here's the fact of the matter.
You know what the fact of the matter is? We are going to lose
everything. Everything. Everything and everyone. You know, there's a reason why
the book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. Look at verse 14. It says, You
know not what shall be on tomorrow. You don't know what's coming.
You say, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. I'm going
to get gain. I'm going to build up. I'm going to do this. I'm
going to do that. Oh, brethren, what tomorrow may hold. The book of Job. One morning
he got up and his whole world changed. It was never the same. He lost everything. Everything. There's a reason why that book
is the oldest book in the Bible, a long book, isn't it? It teaches
us old, vital truth. And the whole lesson is, boy,
if the root of the matter is not in you, if you don't know
your Redeemer, you lose everything. If you know
Him, you lose nothing. As Job said, in all this, you
know the story of Job. He lost everything and everyone
at seven. sons and daughters. He loved
dearly. He lost them all. He lost his
health. He lost everything that a person
considers dear in this life that we all love and hold dear and
nurture and all that. He lost it all at one time to
show us to show us that faith is real. God gives one of His
people true, saving faith. In all of this, it says Job did
not sin with his lips or charge God foolishly. In fact, he blessed
with tears running down his face. He blessed in the name of the
Lord. He said, the Lord gave it all to me. He said, I came
into this world naked. I didn't have a thing. And He
said, I'm going to leave this world naked. And the Lord gave
me all this. He loaned it to me. It was just
borrowed stuff. And He loaned it to me. And I
sure enjoyed it when He gave it to me. But He took it away
and blessed me in the name of the Lord. Now that's real faith. That's real. It's real grace. Our Lord said, as thy days shall
thy strength be. And that day for Job was the
worst day of his life. That is, humanly speaking. But
it revealed faith that he didn't know he had. It revealed the truth that God's
grace is real. God's grace is sufficient. He
promised strength for the day. He revealed to us that true faith
is going to be tried. It's going to be tried. And it's
generally in the things that we hold dearest. We don't know what tomorrow holds,
do we, Margaret? A dear brother that you all know,
he just found out that he has bladder cancer. At the exact
same time, he found out his daughter, his oldest daughter, has breast
cancer. At the exact same time, he found
out that his other daughter, granddaughter, expecting the
first child has a child with clubbed feet. all at the same time. We don't
know what tomorrow may bring. But if you know who holds tomorrow, and you trust Him, Job said,
though He, oh God give me this faith, though He slay me, I'll
trust Him. I don't feel like I have that
right now, do I? Well, we'll find out. We're going to find
out, aren't we? We're going to find out. We don't
know what tomorrow may bring, but oh, bless God, if we know
who holds tomorrow and cast all your care upon Him. Chapter 5,
verse 11 says, we count them happy which endure. Remember
how He started this whole book? Oh, blessed is the man that endureth
temptation, trials, Trial of your faith. Work with patience. It's a good thing. Tough, painful, sorrowful, grievous,
no trial, the Hebrew says is pleasant, but whom the Lord loves,
He sends it and it works for us a good thing. Exceeding eternal weight of glory. Reveals faith. Life is a vapor,
isn't it? It's just a vapor. The fog in
the morning, early morning fog, gets here for a little time and
vanishes away. We're watching these kids grow
up. They're born. They're no sooner
born until they're teenagers and then they're young adults
and parents. And we're old and our dear old
dad and mom, and they're gone. And we become them. And man,
it's just bam, bam, bam. And how often does the Scripture
tell us this? Just over and over again. Over and over again. Life is
vanity. Life is a vapor. Life is short.
Redeem the time. Your redemption draweth nigh.
Look up. Oh, that they were wise and they
would consider their latter end. This is the theme of Scripture
to God's people, isn't it? Don't observe lying vanities.
All of this is just vanity. Everything is vanity. Look unto
me, you see. Verse 15, for that, you ought
to say, in consideration of that fact, that life is a vapor, for
that, in consideration of that, for that, that you don't know
what tomorrow holds, for that, for that, that everything is
in God's will, It might be His will that your life ends tomorrow. For that, you ought to say, if
the Lord will, we shall live. We will breathe our next breath
and maybe do this or maybe do that. He said in verse 16, you
are rejoicing and your boasting is evil. All such rejoicing is
evil. Oh my, all of man's boasting
of free will is just the most evil thing there is. It's a denial,
isn't it, of God's will. This started with Satan in the
garden, didn't it? Well, it actually started with
Satan before the world began. In Isaiah 14, Satan said, I will
exalt my throne to the stars. Didn't he? Satan said, I will. And he took a third of the heavenly
host with him. I will. And God said, you will.
Oh no, there's only one person that can say, I will. And that's God. And Satan said
that. And that's the lie he's been
feeding mankind from the garden. He said to Adam and Eve, you
will be as God's. Who is he to withhold from you
what you will? You have a will exercising. You have your free will. Don't
let anybody tell you you don't. Huh, Adam liked that. Eve liked
that. And man likes that. The big problem
is, it ain't so. It's not so. James said, Scripture is right, Daniel, the
God in whose hands our breath is. Thou hast not glorified to say,
if you will, I'll breathe, let alone do something tomorrow.
If you will, I'll live. Man's rejoicing, boasting of
his free will is not only foolish, but he calls it here evil. It's
evil. It's rejection of God's sovereignty
and the will of God. Our Lord tells His people, you
pray this way, thy will be done. Thy will be done. It's evil.
Man's rejoicing. Defying God. Man defying God. Taunting God. Tempting God. Isn't
it? He's tempting God and taunting
God, saying, here's what I'm going to do. And man's getting
more and more and more brazen and rebellious in what he's doing,
you know. What he's saying. Declare their
sin like Sodom. And he that sits in the heavens laughs. He's angry, but he's
laughing. It's like ants and worms declaring
what they're going to do. But now, for us, we know better. We know to do good. It's a good
thing to say, I will. It gives God the glory, doesn't
it? It's a good thing to seek His will, seek His faith. It
makes us think right. Think of things the way we should
think. Think on things above. And we know better, don't we?
We ought to say, Lord willing, I'll do this or do that. Or better
yet, like the lepers said, Lord, if You will, if You will, You
can, if You will. Alright. Okay.