Responsible men and women have
many concerns in this world. Responsible men and women are
concerned about the welfare of their families, folks dear to
them, folks for whom they have some responsibility, the welfare
of society as a whole, the stability of our democracy, those things
concern any responsible, reasonable person. But as a believer and
as a preacher of the gospel, there are some concerns that
lay heavily upon my heart that make these other concerns fade
into the background and seem secondary. I am concerned if I'm not deceived,
if I'm not deceived. If I know anything of my own
heart's deepest and truest desire, I want the glory of God above
all things. I want to subject everything
I am, everything I have, everything I do to the glory of God. That's indescribably more important
than my feelings, my pleasures, my pains, my desires, the glory
of God. I want to glorify God my Savior
and have him honored in my heart, in my life, in my home, in my
attitude, in my actions, in my preaching, in this congregation,
I want God's glory. I seek in everything we do as
a body of believers, as a congregation, above anything else, God's glory. No matter what the trends of
the day are, no matter what other people do, in this place, we
will not subject God's glory to the whims of the age, to the
pleasures of men, to carnal desire, and to those things that pass
for what people call worship in churches throughout this town,
throughout this county, throughout this state, throughout this world
in this day of blasphemous nonsense religion. The second great concern
in my heart is the gospel of God. Turn to Psalm 71 for a minute. It is my heart's prayer and desire
before God that I might be used of him in this generation for
the furtherance of the gospel. Wouldn't that be something? Wouldn't that be something? If
God would use us. I mean if God would use us for
the furtherance of the gospel. Would that be something? Look
in Psalm 71, verse 15. I'm going to have to preach from
this soon. My mouth shall show forth thy
righteousness and thy salvation all the day. For I know not the
numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. I'm not gonna talk about any
other imaginary righteousness. Oh God, thou hast taught me from
my youth, and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. God, you've taught me since I
was just a boy. And up to this point, I've done
what I can to declare all your wondrous works. Now also, When
I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not. Now watch this. Until I have showed thy strength
unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to
come. What a prayer. I want to be willing. I want to be willing. to do anything
the Lord God would have me do, and serve Him in any way He would
allow me to serve Him, be it small or great, for the furtherance
of the gospel of His grace in my generation. I don't presume,
I don't dare presume, that the Lord would use me for anything
great. But I am bold enough to believe that He might be pleased
to use me for something in this world, that he might be pleased
to use me in some way in this world for the furtherance of
the gospel in my generation. And I pray that he will. Third, I am greatly concerned
for you, the family of God, the church of God. I want to be able
to say with Paul that I do all things for the elect's sake.
I know if I am God's child and God's servant. The decisions
and actions of my life are governed and motivated by concern for
the welfare of God's church. The decisions of my life are
governed and motivated if I'm God's, if I'm God's. If I'm God's
child or God's servant, the decisions and concerns and actions of my
life are motivated by the welfare of God's church. We don't do
what we do to please ourselves, but to please God, and not to
benefit ourselves, but to benefit God's people. would to God this
generation of professed religious people could learn something
about that. It is our privilege, it is our responsibility to live
in such a way and to conduct our lives in such a way and to
carry on the business of our lives day by day in such a way
as to benefit God's church and God's people. There's something
more important than Alan Kidby and Don Fortner. That's the cause
of Christ. You understand that? Something
more important. I was talking to Lindsay just
a little bit ago. I try to help folks. God's allowed us to be
instrumental in establishing gospel witnesses in other places
around the world. And I'm willing to go anywhere. Preach to any group of people,
be them small or great. If somebody calls and asks if
I'll come preach for them. Now, where there's a strain and
it's not possible, you know, there's some places in the world
where folks just can't do this, but most places that's not the
case. I say, I'll be glad to come on one condition. You rent a public place to meet
and we'll meet together and see what God's pleased to do. Why
not meet in the house? Why not meet some other place?
People need the responsibility. Every believer needs the responsibility
of committing himself in some way to the cause of Christ, to
the church of God, to the fervence of the gospel. We have folks
all over the world who benefit from the ministry of this congregation,
other congregations just like this, and they They had the leisure
of listening to what they want to listen to, hearing what they
want to hear. They can turn on the computer
and listen to me for a little while. Well, I don't like what
Don's saying tonight. I'll listen to Brother Todd. Well, I don't
like what Todd's saying tonight. I'll listen to one of the old
preachers. Well, I don't like what Barnard's saying tonight. I'll listen to
one of the young preachers. And they choose what they want. And
they think of themselves as worshiping God and honoring God. You who
are gods, need to align yourselves with God's church, with a local
church where the gospel of God's grace is preached, and give yourselves
to the building of that church. I just said to a young man just
this past weekend, I said, nothing more important for you and your
wife and your children than for you to let your family know,
I'm going to be right here building this church. We're not moving. We're not going anywhere for
the glory of God, for the increase of God's kingdom, for the furtherance
of the gospel. And your family knows that commitment
on your part and sees that commitment. We as believers ought to be concerned
for God's church, for God's kingdom, for God's people. And fourthly,
I have a great burden concerning the will of God. Look at my text
this evening in James chapter 4. James chapter 4. I want the will of God to be
done in all things. I want to know His will, do His
will, bow to His will, and walk in His will constantly. My continual prayer is teach
me to do thy will for thou art my God. These are questions which
continually arise in my heart. Is this for the glory of God
or is this for me? Will this be best for the furtherance
of the gospel? Is this best for the family of
God? Is this the will of God? These things concern me more
now than ever, now that I'm old and gray-headed. I don't know
what the Lord may have in store for me, and I certainly don't
know what he has in store for you. I don't know what he may
have in store for us in days ahead together as a congregation,
but I hope we'll be content to faithfully serve him together
in whatever way he may be pleased to use us. In whatever way he may be pleased
to use us. The title of my message tonight
is God's Will About the Future. James 4 verse 13. 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 boasting, all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore
to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is
said. Let me make five statements from
these verses of Scripture, and I pray that they will be as barbed
arrows shot from the bow of God, to your heart as they have been
to mine. Number one, it is foolish, it
is foolish for anyone to count on tomorrow. Now that doesn't seem to be terribly
profound, but everybody counts on tomorrow. Most everybody is counting on
tomorrow. Go to now ye that say, today
or tomorrow we'll go into such a city and continue there a year
and buy and sell and get gay. When James makes that statement,
there is a word of sarcasm in what he's saying. When you read this statement,
read it just like this. Go to now. You either say today
or tomorrow we'll go into such a city and continue there a year
and buy and sell and get gain. Pooh. Pooh. Do what? What did you say? What did you
say? Well, tomorrow, tomorrow we're going to go over to Lexington. That's our plans. We're going
over to Lexington tomorrow. That's our plans. But don't count
on it. Don't count on We're planning
to go and take the family out to dinner tomorrow night. Don't
count on it. Don't count on it. Don't, don't
rest too highly on that presumption. The fact is none of us has any
assurance of tomorrow. Let me tell you what I'll guarantee
you. And for folks who aren't here to hear this, you do everything
you can to get them to hear it, will you? It doesn't matter who isn't here
right now in this congregation. If the folks here who profess
faith in our Redeemer, members of this assembly right now, thought
this is the last day we're going to have, you couldn't get in
the door back yonder tonight. You couldn't get in. I remember
back in 1994, I was preaching up in Tuscarora, Pennsylvania. Harold Camping with the family
radio outfit had predicted that the world was going to come to
an end September 4th, 1994. And why on earth, how on earth
he got in contact with me when we come to preach, I don't know.
But I was preaching at the last meeting they had up there two
days before it was all supposed to end. And the place was packed
out. I preached over 1,500 people
for three days. That's the largest crowd of folks
I ever saw in one place except the football stadium. You know
why? Because they were all scared
to death. This is it. This is it. The fact
is, men and women everywhere, believers too, act as if they're
immortal. Judging by the way people behave,
you would think that people feel they will never die. We want
to go to heaven when we die, if that day ever comes. They
think that life in this world will stand forever. How proudly,
how presumptuously ignorant people think and speak about tomorrow. That's really a fair sample of
the whole human race. Tomorrow, we're going to do this,
do that. Next week, this is what we'll
do. Next month, a year from now, this is what we're planning.
And boy, I hope to get an early retirement. We got everything
worked out. Everything worked out. Now we're
real comfortable. Everything's prepared for us.
They think everything's at their disposal. The one object of life
is to buy and sell and get game. and proud, self-sufficient men
and women confidently set out to accomplish their intended
purposes with all their strength. To them, everything's sure and
secure. They look on the future with
confidence. Now, I know other folks have
failed and I know other folks gotten sick and died, but I'm
strong and I'm smart and I'm going to make it. Such reasoning,
such actions are as foolish as they are absurd beyond description.
It's just not wise to count your chickens before they hatch. It's
foolish to build your hopes upon tomorrow, a tomorrow that may
never come. It's madness to risk everything
on an unsubstantial future. Those who live for this world
I wish you'd pay attention to me. And presume that the future is
safe. Are fools. We are, in fact, but
frail, insignificant, worms of the earth, creatures of dust. Your life in this world, even
if you live to be an old man or old woman, is but a brief,
brief existence. What is your life? You see that? What is your life? What is your
life? Just a vapor, just a mist, just
a mist. It appears for a little time,
then vanishes away. This world, everything in this world that
we fret about care about, make plans for, and try to hold on
to, this world is just crumbling clay. Oh God, why can't I learn
that? Why can't we learn that? Nothing
in this world is certain, substantial, and lasting. To live for this
world is to live for vanity. To invest in this world is to
invest in sand. To gain this world is to gain
nothing. Turn back to Luke chapter 15.
I'm sorry, chapter 12, verse 15. Luke chapter 12, verse 15. Take heed and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spoke
a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man
brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do? Oh, what shall I do? I've got
so much. Because I had no room where to
bestow my fruits. And he said, This is what I'll
do. I'll pull down my barns and build greater, and there will
I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine
ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But 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? So is he that layeth up treasure
for himself, and is not rich toward God. The fact is we're not strong
but weak. We're not immortal but mortal.
This world of time is not lasting but temporary. The world to come
is not temporary but lasting. And if you would live for this
world, you're not wise. but ignorant and foolish. Second, none of us is sure of tomorrow.
And second, we are all utterly ignorant of the future. Ye know
not what shall be on the morrow. This is what the wise man said,
Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth. We make our plans for the future
as if God didn't exist and eternity was not out there. Hell didn't
exist and heaven didn't exist. We foolishly plan things as though
we knew what the future life on this earth holds, but we don't. Will tomorrow come? Will I live
another day? If I do, will the future bring
sickness or health? Will it bring poverty or will
it bring wealth? Will it bring pain or will it
bring pleasure? Who can tell? This day may very
well mark the last day of my life. Bobby, I try my best to
awaken every morning with that thought in my mind and go to
bed every night with that thought closing the day. This day may very well be my
last. With God, there is no time. There are no tenses of existence. He alone knows the future, who
is the self-existent I am, who declares the end from the beginning
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying
my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. He has ordained
all that comes to pass and he controls all that comes to pass. Mr. Spurgeon made this observation.
I thought it was good. There are two great certainties
about things that shall come to pass. One is that God knows
all. The other is that we do not know.
God knows we don't know. Since God has not revealed the
future to us, we ought not pry into it. Isn't it amazing? Every newspaper
that I've ever seen in my lifetime Every newspaper I've ever seen
in my lifetime has a horoscope in it. And some of you folks
look at that nonsense. The answer is, well, I'll pay
attention to it while you read it. It has a horoscope in it. Everybody wants to know about
the future. Well, it just might give me a head. Everybody wants
to know about the future. Our Heavenly Father has wisely
hidden the future from us. He has wisely hidden the future
from us. It is not best for us to know
what comes tomorrow. If it were best for us, God would
have told us. It's best for us not to know.
If we could, if God should say, all right, Don, here is what
I've written out in the book of my decrees for you. Here,
I'll show it all to you. I would be wise to say, my God,
I would not long to see my fate with curious eyes. What gloomy
lines are writ for me are what bright scenes may rise. It's
infinitely sufficient that our Father knows. I ought to be content with that.
The fact of our ignorance and God's omniscience should greatly
humble us. We should remember the brevity,
the frailty, the end of our lives. We shall soon perish, but thou
remainest. Thou changest not, thou hast
the due of thy youth. Man is not great. You are not
great. I am not great. We're not even
significant. Man is less than vanity. less than vanity. Everything
depends on God. Nothing depends on man, not on
any man, not on all men, good or bad. Mark that ought to thrill
our souls. Everything hangs on God's decree
and God's will and God's purpose. be His name. Now here is the
third thing, we should and must trust the
will of God regarding the future and commit ourselves to it. Look
at verse 15, ye ought to say, this is what you ought to say,
if the Lord will we shall live and do this or that. Now I have
to say this, I hate, I despise religious cliches and pious sounding
words repeated by people thoughtlessly. I despise, I would just as soon
hear fellow cussers hear it. You say something and say, well,
I'm blessed. Well, how are you? Better than
I deserve. It sounds so pious. It's so impressive. I despise religious cliches. I despise pious sounding statements. And James is not suggesting that
we should simply use these words and say every time we say, well,
I'm going to town, if the Lord wills. I'm going to go across
the street, if the Lord wills. He's not suggesting that at all.
What he is telling us is this. It should be clearly understood
and consciously acknowledged by every believer that everything
is subject to the will of God. Everything. The will of God in
scripture seems to me to be set forth in a number of ways. There
is a divine will, God's secret will we commonly call it, that
governs everything. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. And that which is secret we leave
to God gladly. but it's His will, His purpose,
His decree that orders everything that comes to pass. He's ordained
the path of the ant, the perch of the sparrow, and the throne
of the king. So if we say, if the Lord will,
we're rejoicing and bowing to God's wise, sovereign, immutable
will. And then the Lord God has given
us in this book His revealed will. Which we are compelled to obey
and graciously compelled to willingly obey. His revealed will. So that the Word of God stands
for every child of God as the rule of His life in everything. In everything. Man owns a business
and he's a believer. He runs his business like a believer.
Man works for another man and he's a believer. He works for
him like a believer. His life is ruled and ordered
by the Word of God. In our homes, a husband and a
wife who are believers do things as believers, being ruled by
the Word of God. And in the house of God, we bow
to the Word of God, not to any creed, not to any confession,
to God's Word, so that we teach His doctrine. And we practice
His ordinances just as He's given them. And we don't make any moderation
in them, any change in them. And we conduct the business of
worship and the business of preaching the gospel in the pattern of
the New Testament. And we recognize also the providential
will of God as that which we must consult in the order of
our lives. In His good providence, God graciously
guides us into His will. It is a great act of wisdom for
a man or a woman, in any case of uncertainty, to wait on the
Lord. Wait for God to make His way
known to us. And He will. All my plans must
wait until God sets before me an open door. Isaiah 40, Isaiah
chapter 40. While you're turning, listen. The waiting I'm talking about
is the blessed discipline of grace. Wait on the Lord and be
of good courage. He shall strengthen thine heart.
Wait, I say on the Lord. Truly my soul waiteth upon God,
from Him cometh my salvation. My soul, wait thou only upon
God, for my expectation is from Him. It's good that a man should
both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Now
look at Isaiah 40 verse 31. They that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles. They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint. I had been trying to be a pastor
for 40, 45 years now. Wow. I've been trying. And well, I'll tell you what
I've observed in 45 years of trying to pastor. Every time
I decided I had to do something, we've got to do something, got
to do something. Every last time you got to do
something. Or I got pressed into thinking
I got to do something. Every single time, I wished I'd
have waited. Every single time. And I have
never yet waited for God that I regretted it. I have never
yet waited for God that I wished I'd done other things. Well,
Brother Doc, what is it to wait on the Lord? To wait on God is
to trust Him. Trust Him. Seek His will. Watch for the
revelation of His will. Patiently postpone doing anything
until you know what God's will is. So how will you know God's will? How will you know? I just frankly don't know, but
I know you'll know. I don't know, but I know you'll
know. If you seek His will, you'll know. He'll show you His will.
When should I wait for the Lord to reveal His will to me? Before
I make any decisions of any kind, before I undertake any service,
any ministry of any kind, in the midst of all my trials, and
as I seek to minister to the souls of men. Let us learn to
be still and wait before God until as Brother Bobby read to
us back in the office, the cloudy and fiery pillars moved before
us to show us the way which we should take. Isn't that amazing
what God did for Israel? He set a pillar of cloud in the
daytime to guide them right through Egypt, out of Egypt, through
the Red Sea and into the land of promise. And a pillar of fire
by night to guide them all the days of their sojourn. And that
pillar of cloud that guided them confused everybody else. Had
everybody else in a turmoil. So it is that God directs His
Israel through this world by His Spirit as we wait on Him. And there is what I'll call God's
royal will. What is that? It is God's will
that all His elect be saved and come to the knowledge of the
truth. If I can, in any way, do anything for the salvation
of God's elect, I want to do it. It is the will of God that
all His sheep be saved. Oh God, will you use me for their
salvation? May God teach us The meaning
of these words, if the Lord will. If the Lord will. This is what
it means. Child of God, put yourself utterly
at God's disposal. Leave everything in His hands.
Be content with His will and seek to do it. Fourth statement. It's presumptuous and sinful.
As sinful and presumptuous as it is silly for any man to boast
of or rejoice in the future, so far as the things of this
world are concerned. Verse 16, But now ye rejoice
in your boastings. Tomorrow we're going to go here
and there and do this and that. You rejoice in your boasting.
You're just all full of expectation because of what you're planning
to do tomorrow. You're just all full of joy. Boy, just can't
wait to find out what's happening tomorrow. Just can't wait to
see how this turns out. All such rejoicing is evil. Children of God, don't be presumptuous
and don't be unbelieving. Trust God. Come back to Matthew
6. Matthew 6. Brother Cody just read to us
in Luke that the hairs of our head are all numbered. How minute
God's providence. How intricate God's purpose. How detailed God's care. Let
us then trust Him. Matthew 6, 31. Our Savior says,
take no thought saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we
drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? Brother Don, you've
got to be concerned about what you're going to eat, and what
you're going to drink, and what you're going to wear. Why? Why? What does it say? After all these
things do the Gentiles seek. This is what everybody in the
world lives for. Look at your neighbors. Look at your brothers. Look at your sisters. Look at
your mothers and your fathers. Look at your sons and daughters.
All they know is to get what they can get, and can what they
get, and see if they can get some more. After all these things,
do the Gentiles seek? That's all they've got. But you
don't. But your Heavenly Father knoweth
that you have needed these things. I recall years ago, a long time
ago, Brother Bill Clark was in Marseilles, France, and a missionary
serving with him in Marseilles told Bill one day, he said, he
said, my wife and I are leaving. We're going back home. And Bill
said, why? Why? He said, well, we just can't
make it out here on what we're living on. And Bill paused for
a minute and looked at him, and he said, You mean you can't live
on what your Heavenly Father provides? You can't live on what your Heavenly
Father provides? Let me tell you something. I
can. By God's grace, I will. Wherever
God puts me, doing what God had me to do, He provides for me. He provides for me. I would consider
it a shameful thing for me to send someone to do something
for me and them not be able to fulfill what I sent them to do
in my name because I didn't give them sufficient with which to
do it. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you? My Heavenly Father
takes care of His own. Read on, Matthew 6. But seek
ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek this
to the exclusion of everything else. And all these things shall
be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for
the morrow. Don't have to be concerned about
it. Don't give it a thought. Oh, you can't read it that way.
Let's see if that's what it says. Take therefore no thought for
the morrow. Give it a thought. Don't give
it a thought. Merle, you'll recall when Eric
was thinking about work out in San Diego, and he asked me about
it. And I knew the kind of counsel he was getting. Everybody was
telling me, you've got to be careful, and you've got to weigh
this, and you've got to weigh that. I knew exactly the kind
of counsel he was getting. Kind folks always give. And I
said to him from this pulpit, he said, rather, I throw caution
to the wind. I just throw caution to the wind.
If you're going to do God's will, it's what you do. You throw caution
to the wind and go do what God has for you to do. Take no thought
for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things
of itself. You'll have plenty to worry about tomorrow. Sufficient
under the day is the evil thereof. One more statement. Look at verse
17. It is our responsibility before God to use the present. Therefore to him that knoweth
to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is said. Now if you want to read a bunch
of legalistic gobbledygook, get the commentaries and start reading
them on that text of scripture. You see what he's talking about
there? He's talking about doing the will of God. He's talking
about doing the will of God. You know, I don't know whether
it's best to wear this coat or wear a black one. I don't know
whether it's best to sit there or sit there. I don't know whether
it's best to go left-handed or go right-handed. I know it's
best to do what God says. I know it's best to follow God's
direction. I know it's best to do what I know God has me to
do. I know it's best to follow the
Spirit of God and not my own thoughts and my own devices.
I know it's best to follow the Word of God and not to counsel
somebody else. He that knoweth to do good and
doeth it not, to him it is sin. To you who are here without Christ,
don't postpone your obedience to the Gospel. Hear what God
says today. If you will hear His voice, harden
not your heart. Children of God, don't postpone
your intended service for Christ. Don't postpone your witness for
Him. The time is short. The time is short and will soon
be gone. Redeem the time, buy up the opportunity
because the time is short. I urge you, my brother, I urge
you, my sister, young and old, find the words of our Savior,
prove them to be so for yourself. My meat and my drink is to do
the will of Him that sent me. Amen.