Good to be here, see old friends. I do mean old now. That fits. Turn to James, the book of James
chapter 4. James chapter 4. I believe it was Ralph Barner said
one time, I have my notes, I hope I don't have to use them. I know
what he means now. After some years of preaching,
we need God to do this. I was telling Vicki the other
day, we was watching a program and I said, we're complicated people.
I said, people are complicated. Sin has complicated us. And we need God, I need God to
deal with me, to speak to me. I'm too complicated for anybody
else to deal with. I know that. In James chapter
four, let me read the scripture that I'm gonna preach from. In verse 13 through 15, I'll
read through 17. Go to now, or listen now, or give attention
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 you know not what shall
be on the morrow, for what is your life That's a searching
question, isn't it? What is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth
for a little time and then vanishes, vanisheth away. For that you
ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or
that. But now you rejoice in your boastings. All such rejoicing is evil. Therefore
to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is
sin. I can imagine James after a service
like this, hearing the people talk, He probably heard some
men say, what are you doing tomorrow? How's business going? One of them probably said, well,
I think we're going to go down to Damascus, and we're going
to spend some time down there, maybe even a year down there.
Business is good. Trade is good. OK, I'll see you
later. Hope the best for you. And that
bothered James. He's heard that probably more
than one time, and it bothered him. that the Lord was excluded
from their plans. No one knows what will happen
tomorrow. Hindsight is 20-20. Foresight is zero. It's absolutely zero. I have
no idea what's going to happen tomorrow. We don't know what's
going to happen the next second. Sunday we went out to dinner
after service and while we were there an ambulance rolled up.
I guess someone had had a heart attack and they put him on the
bed and carried him out to the ambulance. I know that person
did not have a clue or think that they were going to go over
to Outback and have a heart attack. It's not like they were thinking
that's a good place to have a heart attack. It just happened. I know a person that I've known
well for years that got up one morning and just fell over like
that. Dead. As far as this life's concerned,
we don't know. Tomorrow is going to bring some
happiness to somebody. Somebody's going to get up in
the morning and they're going to be happy. Something's going
to, as we would say, go their way. Somebody's going to get up and
weep. There was a car wreck this past week on the interstate around
Huntington, West Virginia. And that car was cut in two. It was cut completely in two.
The person that was in it died. And I told Vicky, as we were
driving down the road, I said, there's a hole. There's a hole. The hearth just got broken. I
said, they just got. I said, they're devastated. They're
devastated. That person had no idea. what
lay up ahead of the road. Tomorrow may bring happiness.
It may bring wealth. It may bring poverty. It may
bring poverty. It may bring sickness. It may
bring death. Only God knows. Only God knows. The Lord said to Ezekiel, Can
these bones live? What did Ezekiel say? Lord, thou
knowest. I don't know. Can any dead sinner in here live?
I don't know. Lord, you know. You know if that
person can live or not, because it depends on you commanding
life. Is that not right? Lord, you know. James is showing
us our dependence on God for tomorrow. Everything about tomorrow has
been purposed. You know that? Everything that will move, everything
that will happen tomorrow is purposed of God. Not a fly, not
a fly will fly in the air that's not under the control and purpose
of God Almighty. Everything about tomorrow is
in our Father's hand. I was glad we sang that song,
Fade, Fade Each Earthly Joy. That's been on my mind today,
and I was hoping I could... I was hoping if I could call
somebody and tell them to sing that. Well, you did. And that was under the purpose of
God. Under His purpose. It's under the purpose of our
Heavenly Father who is... Now listen. This is what gives
me and you who believe great comfort. It's under His infinite
wisdom. Could it happen any other way
better than it's going to happen? Can it happen any other way more
wisely than it's going to happen? You know what? You look back
on today. All that happened today. Everything
you know about today. You just witnessed the purpose of God.
You just saw it. Don't ignore it. Don't let it
go past you, over your head. You've just witnessed the purpose
of God for this day. He's infinite in knowledge. How
much do you know? How much do I know? We have an IQ. We can measure
our intelligence. We can't measure the knowledge
of God. Can't measure it. And he's infinite in power. He
has the power to make it happen. The power to make it happen.
You know, over in Revelation chapter 5, John is taken to heaven
and he sees a book. It's written within and on the
back side and it's sealed with seven seals. Go home and read
it tonight. And the cry goes out, who's worthy
to open the book? and to loose the seals thereof."
Who's worthy to open this book that has all the decrees of God,
all the counsel of God, every name of everyone whom God will
ever save is in that book? And a cry goes out, who's worthy?
And the answer comes back, none was found worthy. And John wept. And one of the elders said, weep
not, John. The Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to open
the book and to loose the seals thereof. And John turns and he looks and
he says he saw a lamb as it had been slain. He saw the Lord Jesus
Christ. And in verse 1 of chapter 6,
after the Lord, it says, walked up and took the book. He took
that book. And then in verse 1 of chapter
6, it says He opened it. He opened it. Look over there
in Revelation chapter 6. Revelation chapter 6. This is
after the Lord walked up and took the book from the hand of
him who sat on the throne. And he says in verse 1, And I
saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as
it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying,
Come and see. And I saw, and behold, a white horse. Here's
what's happening. That book is put into the hand
of the Mediator, and the Mediator now is making every purpose,
every decree of God happen. That's exactly it. I don't know
much about the book of Revelations. I'm not going to pretend that.
I know he does. I know he's the one who makes everything happen.
The only thing I know is that pale rider there is not Clint
Eastwood. That's the only thing I know about it. That's the only
thing I know. But he knows. He knows. And he makes it happen. If you
go and read that tonight, everyone, he opens, it happens, it happens,
it happens. And I tell you what, what happened
today was written in that book. And he made it happen today. Now, here's the question. What
is your life? Or what is the nature of your
life? And here he's talking about your
earthly life. We know this, it's the beginning
of a new person. I did not exist before October
the 11th, 1955. I did not exist before then. In this world, I didn't exist.
I know I was in the womb for nine months, but I didn't exist. It's the beginning of a new person
that did not exist before. It's the beginning, listen, it's
the beginning of a journey. I have ran probably most of my
journey. I know I've ran most of it. And then it's an inheritance
of a personality. I have characteristics, genetics,
sin. I inherited sin. That's what
makes up me. And this life happens in stages.
We're born. We come into this world as babes. We grow up in youth. We become adults. We grow old. Not everybody does. I had a friend that was killed
when he was 19 years old. We went to school together. He
lived a block up the street from me, 19 years old. Cold, rainy
morning. He had no idea that was it. What
is your life? But if the Lord allows us to,
we grow old and then we die. We die. But you know what? That's
not the end of it. We will exist forever, either
with Christ or without Christ in torment. We do not cease to
exist like animals. Once a person comes into this
world, that person is forever. Forever. Now the scripture portrays the
life of this flesh like grass and the flower of the grass. Turn over to Isaiah 40. In Isaiah 40, look in verse 6. Isaiah 40, verse 6. The voice said, cry. And he said,
what shall I cry? And here's the message. Here's what I want you to cry.
All flesh, whether it be a king or a pauper, All flesh is grass. It's grass. And all the goodliness
thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, but the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely
the people is grass. And he repeats it, the grass
withereth, the flower fadeth, You take that youth, I see some
of you young people, you're young. You're like a spring flower. Do I look like a spring flower?
That day is gone. That day is gone. I don't look
like a spring flower no more. No, I'm like the mown grass.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of God,
word of our God, shall stand forever. Forever. We have the bud, that's the babe
born. We have the full bloom, that's
the youth, the young man, young woman. And then we have decay. I saw on TV one time, It's been
some time ago. They showed the process of aging. It wasn't a pretty picture. They showed a baby born. You
know how they can show the time-lapse photography? You see a flower
coming up? Well, they showed this baby.
that was born, and they went through a time-lapse photography,
and it just started to grow, and it just looking youthful
and strong, and then it looked handsome, and then just watched
everything start to droop. Everything started to sag the
ears, and I mean everything started going downhill. That's just the way it happens,
like it or not. That's just the way it happens.
This is what sin has done to us. This is the nature of our earthly
life. What is your life? Now let's take a different look
at it. What is your life devoted to? We're devoted to something. To some, it's worldly gain. The
scripture tells us that our life is not in the things which we
possess. If it is, when you lose it, you
fall apart. That was your life. Is it worldly
wisdom? Constantly education, constantly.
Some people can't get out of school. Solomon searched out that earthly
wisdom and he found out that all is vanity and vexation of
spirit. Family? And it's not, we're devoted
to these things. We are devoted to our family,
we're devoted to our job, we know that. But our life is not
given to it. Not given to it. We're all devoted
to something. You know what this is? James
says it's a vapor. A vapor, a mist. You can see
a mist and you can swing right through it, can't you? Just no
substance. No substance. No real substance
at all. Apart from Christ, now listen.
Apart from Jesus Christ, your life has no substance. Period. Apart from Him, my life is nothing
but vanity and vexation of spirit. That's my life. This earthly life without Him. It is written in the scripture
that our life is swifter Swifter than a weaver's shuttle. You
seen that? You wanna see it again? That's how fast it is. That's
how fast it is. Swifter than a post. Swifter
than a shepherd's tent. It's just like a shepherd's tent.
A shepherd takes the sheep out to feed, he puts up a little
tent, and by that evening, it's gone. It's gone. Gone. We are taught by the word of
God and by experience the shortness and the frailty of this life. And that's what James is saying.
You know, he's overheard them talking and he's saying, brother,
you may not live to see tomorrow. Don't act like you You don't
live, now listen, you and I do not live independent of God. We do not live independent of
the will of God, or the purpose of God. Listen to this psalm. This is
a wise psalm. I'm gonna read it to you. Psalm
39, verse four. David said, Make me, make me, make this happen. Enable me to know my end. David's the king. Make me to know my end and the
measure of my days what it is that I may know how frail I am. You reckon we could really seriously
pray that? You think we can go home tonight
and say, Lord make me to know my end, the measure of my days,
and how frail I am. Now the scripture says he remembers
that our frame is dust. The problem is we don't remember
it. That's the problem. I forget
that I was made, this body was made from the dust of the ground.
From dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return. I don't, I can't tell you how
many funerals I've conducted. And one day somebody's gonna
conduct mine. You say, this is depressing.
Oh, it depends on your relationship with Christ. to be absent from
the body, be present with the Lord. Is that depressing? It tells us over in Revelation
21 that there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth, and God's
going to wipe away all sorrow, all tears, and He's going to
make all things new. Is that depressing? No. Depends on your relationship
to Christ whether this is depressing or not. Oh, he said, make me to know
how frail I am. And the translation of that is
this, what time I have left. What time I have left. When you
go to the graveyard, and many of you probably did this past
Monday, and you look at the headstone, and you see the date of birth
and the date of death, And in between those two dates, you
know what you see? A dash, and that's your life. That dash is your life. How important, I cannot stress
on you tonight, how important it is to know, to know Jesus
Christ. I can't stress that enough. Now, what is the believer's life? James said, what is your life?
What's your earthly life? But now, what's the believer's
life? Well, first, it's also a new birth. It's a new creation. It's a person that's been born
of the Spirit. And that which is born of the
Spirit is Spirit. No flesh has anything to do with
this. No flesh. That which is born of the Spirit
has the same nature of the Spirit. This is how we are made partakers
of the divine nature. It is a life knowing God in Christ. In John 17 3, and this is life
eternal. Here it is. He's going to give
it to us. You'd think we'd get up on the edge of our seats.
You'd think we'd be leaning over that God is speaking. You know,
when God's Word is read, this is not another book. When God's
Word is read, God is speaking. He's speaking. Now, I've already
got this typed out here. In John 17, 3. And this is life
eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. The believer's life is Jesus
Christ. Paul said this in one place,
for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Christ, listen,
Jesus Christ is my living. He's my living. Our Lord said in John 14, I am
the way, the truth, and the life. The life. My granddaughter sent,
or Jeremy sent it to Vicki. She's all-time, she's 11 years
old. She writes these poetry, poems. She wrote one the other
day, What is Life? And she gets, for an 11-year-old,
I told her, I said, Madison, every now and then, you gotta
come up for air. Because she stays down there too deep. I
mean, her thinking is beyond 11 years old. And I told her,
you need to come up for air now and then. And I told Vicki when
I saw that, I said, I can tell her what that is. She can write
these poems and it can, I mean, it can amaze you sometimes, but
I can simplify it. Listen to your grandpa. Life
is a person. Life is Jesus Christ. Eternal life is the life of God
in the soul. It's Christ in you. I'm looking at some people right
now that has the Spirit of Christ in them, in you. Our Lord said, this scripture
rings in my ear all the time. He said in Matthew 6, 25, therefore
I say unto you, take no thought for your life, this earthly life. He's not saying be careless.
You're intelligent people, you know that. Take no thought for
your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor
yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more
than meat and the body than raiment? Is not life more than this? Yes. It's the life of God. It's to know God. I don't want to spend my life because
I tell you it's going by fast. Yes, it's a vapor. And it's about
to disappear. And the place thereof shall know
it no more. Be forgotten. Be forgotten. Life is more than, well, you
know, we wouldn't be any better than animals if that's it. Really,
think about it. I'm no better than an animal
if all my existence is to eat for what I'm going to eat. I
know animals don't go around looking for something to wear,
but what am I going to eat or wear or place to live, shelter?
I'm no better than an animal. Life is to know God. You know salvation is not about
missing a place and going to a place. It's about being made one with
God again, in Christ. It's not trying to miss hell
and go to heaven. That's what Armenians preach.
Scare you to death with a place. It's to know God. It's to know God. Is not our life on this earth
more than eating, clothing, shelter? Is it not more than that? The
life of a believer is much more than that. It's being made a partaker of
the divine nature, communion with God, union with God, union with God. It's for the glory of God. My
life, you know, it's not for me. I wasn't made for me. I heard a song, I heard a country
song at work the other day, it said, let's talk about me. Let's talk about me. No, let's
don't talk about me. Let's change the subject. We were made for His glory. In my walk, in my talk, it's
for His glory. In the things that He puts me
through, the trials, the heartaches. If you believe God, if He hasn't
broken your heart, He will. He will. There's a train of trials coming. and all they'll do is bring you
closer to Him and wean you off this world. Listen to this in
Colossians 1, 16 and 17. For by Him were all things created,
that is by Jesus Christ, that are in heaven, that are in earth,
visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones, or dominions,
principalities, or powers. All things were created by him
and for him, and he's before all things, and by him all things
consist. They're held together. All things
were created by him. The devil's his devil. That's
right. Ain't nobody else's. Who do you think he answers to?
He answers to him. The answer's to Him. If you don't
have Christ, you don't have life. You don't have life, you don't
have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption. You don't have any
of those things you need to stand in God's presence. But if you
have Christ, you have all that. In Him, you are complete. You're
complete. And then everything connected
to eternal life is worth pursuing. Set your affection. If you then
be risen with Christ, it says in Colossians 3, 1 through 3,
if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.
Set your heart on those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth, at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, your heart, your mind, not on things on the earth, for
you're dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Satan came before God and
God gave him lead way to touch all that he had, the one thing
he told Satan he couldn't touch, his life. His life. Seek those things that are worth
seeking. The Kingdom of God. Scripture says, seek ye first
the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. The Gospel, it's eternal. Seek
it. Pursue it. The praise of God
is eternal. Let's do it now. Let's do it
now. If Christ is my life, if that
be so, then I have a life worth living. And I have a death worth
dying. But if not, if not, then I'm
in a lot of trouble. And let me close with this. Let
me go back to James. Let me close. He's asked us,
what is our life? What's this earthly life? He's
condemning this thing of saying you're gonna go do this or do
that and leave God out of it as though you and I are independent
of God. He says here in verse 15. Let me go to verse 14. Whereas you
know not what shall be on the morrow, for what is your life?
It's even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes
away. For that you ought to say, if
the Lord will, if the Lord will, we shall live
and do this or that. We are taught to pray, Thy will
be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
Our will is to be subject to His will. Not my will, the Lord
said this in the Garden of Gethsemane. Not my will, but Thy will be
done. And it's a willful submission. It's a willful submission. It's
to be done from the heart. And I think tomorrow I'm going
to go and I'm going to do a business transaction, if the Lord will. Because He might not. He might
not. He sure has changed a lot of
mine. He might not. He may take me south when I was
planning on going north. If the Lord will, we shall live.
Listen. If the Lord will, we shall what?
Live. You might not. You literally
might not. Some won't. I looked it up. I
asked Vicki last night. I said, I wonder how many people
die on this earth every day. She said, well, Google it. That's
a novel idea. Google it. That's what I did.
I wish I had my phone up here. I'd Google it. And I tell you,
I don't remember all the numbers, but every second, two people
die. Every second, two people in this
world die. 55 point some million people
die a year. And it gives it by the day, the
week, and the month, and the year. Unbelievable. There's just a constant train
people leaving this life. Every two seconds, I mean every
second, two people. Two people. If the Lord will, we shall live,
live. Our times are in his hands. Brethren,
we need to live in the reality of that. And we need to give
God the glory for that. I'm glad my times are in His
hands. Because no one can take me before
that time. I can stand in the middle of
the hottest battle on earth, and I can't die until it's my
time. If the Lord will, we shall live.
If the Lord will, we shall do this or that. All our actions. or according
to his will. Is that all right? You know what? Whether it's all
right or not, it still is. It don't matter if it's all right
with me or not. God's will is gonna be done. I won't be on
the side that says, yes, Lord, and I will be done. And this kind of attitude, in
verse 16, I quit, but now you rejoice in your boasting. Oh, we're going to do this, we're
going to do that. Oh, well, if the Lord wills you will. I tell
you what, if we get the attitude of submitting to the Lord's will,
it will keep us from vain boasting and a lot of trouble. A lot of trouble. Therefore,
to him that knows to do good and doesn't do it, you know what's
good. The Lord's will be done. That's
good. And to ignore that, he says, is evil. It's evil. Oh, that God would keep us ever
mindful of what this earthly life is, what our life in Christ
is, in his will in the whole matter. Lord, thy will be done. Thank you.