God's purpose is greater than our plans

(Part 2) 

“Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”-Luke 12:16-21

In Luke 12 we read the story of a rich man, who accumulated great wealth. So much so, that he began to run out of places to store it. After giving it some thought, he determined that he would build bigger barns so that he would have room enough to contain it. He then decided that with this great windfall he would kick back, relax, and enjoy life. Never once did he consult the Lord about what to do with this great wealth. 

The Lord chastised him and declared that a person that stores up earthly wealth without being rich towards God is a fool. This man had his life planned out. He thought that the purpose of his life was to simply eat, drink and be merry; however James 4:14 cautions us against such thinking:

“How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”

Instead, James declares: “What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.”-James 4:15-16

Notice the alignment between God’s will and our will. Those are the only plans that will succeed. James calls the plans we make, apart from Him, pretentious which means exaggerated or more important than they really are. When we make our plans more important than His purpose then we are guilty of boasting. In fact, Proverbs 19:21 tells us:

“You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”

God’s purpose is greater than our plans. If your life isn’t turning out the way that you planned it, perhaps that’s because you never check to see if your plans aligned with His purpose. 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

God's purpose is greater than our plans (Pt.1)

(Part 1)

“Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”-James 4:13-17

It is not very often that you will hear me quote director and actor Woody Allen in a sermon message or article that I write, but he did say something one time that marries well with this message and that is this:

“If you wan to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans.”

Every person reading this article at some point has had some part of their life planned out. We planned where we would go to school, where we wanted to live, who we would marry, how many kids we’d like to have, and our career path. I wonder how many of you are still on tack with what you had planned? Most of us, I would bet, have already had to make some detours along the way. Because regardless of how much we may want something to happen, we are not in control of every circumstance, feeling, and decision that affects our life. A car wreck, pregnancy, lay off, divorce, and untimely death of a loved one can completely shipwreck our plans. All of a sudden those plans vanish. Now we are running blind. No road map. No real direction. It is usually in moments like this that we turn to God. 

However, regardless of how long we have been saved we all have a tendency to gravitate towards self-reliance. The moment that things begin to go well again, we recover, we get a new job, marry a new spouse we quickly gravitate back to the drawing board to plan our lives. 

We don’t sing Jesus take the wheel, we sing Jesus take the wheel, until I’m ready to drive again. This is a form of boasting. Webster defines boasting as to talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one’s achievements. This definition, however, although true, is also lacking. James teaches us in this passage that boasting is a disguise for self-sufficiency and self-confidence. 

“Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”-James 4:13

Notice the phrasing “We are going to a certain town” and “We will do business and make a profit”. Listen to how these words ooze with self-sufficiency and self-confidence. More importantly, they are communicating that we are in control and the master of our own fate. 

Although, God is certainly not against us making plans, His caution is that we stop making plans without consulting Him! 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

Patient in suffering (Pt.2)

Part 2

“Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look-the Judge is standing at the door!”-James 5:9

Waiting does not always bring out the best in us. Really? Am I the only one that has taken my anxiety out on someone who did not deserve it. I am worried or frustrated and I grumble and complain and heap my burden on other people because I am at a loss. The Bible said we are to bear one another’s burdens, but that doesn’t mean that we just go around heaping our frustrations on them. We need to learn how to be patient in our suffering:

 “For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.”-James 5:10-11

 James said that the Bible is packed with prophets that endured great suffering for Lord’s sake and demonstrated patience instead of frustration. James, however, specifically chooses to highlight Job as the model man of suffering. For those of you that do not have much background with Job let me give you a brief synopsis: 

Satan was given permission to torment Job’s life, but was not allowed to take his life. 

His children were all killed, his wealth was taken from him, his physical health was afflicted, his wife told him to to curse God and die, and his friends were convinced that all this was coming upon him because he had unconfessed sin. Come on you ever walk through season of your life like that? Just one bad thing after another? Wondering where is God in all this? We have the privilege of perspective to know that God was behind everything happening in Job’s life and that God was sovereignly keeping him. But Job had no idea. All he could do is trust God- He even makes this statement in Job 13:15 (NKJV): “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” 

That single statement communicates a lot about Job in the midst of his suffering. God demonstrated His faithfulness by walking with Job throughout his entire ordeal:

“We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy."-James 5:11

In the end God restored to Job twice what the enemy had stolen from him. Job 42:12 tells us that God blessed the second half of his live even more than the first half. However, that was not the objective of Job’s suffering. What Job walked away with, was not simply more wealth, but instead a greater understanding of the Lord’s tenderness and mercy.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church