They do not have a true view of life here and they are also not EXpressing a true view of life. and that bothers James. 5 things they take for granted. the trip, arriving at the destination, the time frame spent there, the set up of a business, and the success of that business. He then goes on to correct them. It matters to God in all your planning that whether it makes a bottom line difference or not. God wants us to see life he has given to us clearly through Him, when we are making plans and expressing them. We are made for more than those 5 things. God wants our lives to be about truth. Verbally expressed reality. We are made to be sent out to speak truth about the real bottom line. truth like vapor. James could be upset that these people are not considering a Godly world view in this simple plan. That is a big chunk or truth missing. "If the Lord wills..."... is what is missing. There are two basic truths in this passage about God. If He wills we LIVE, and if He wills we will DO. How basic is it to assume we will even be alive? God decides who lives, and we should talk that way in plans. Paul never knew if the next city he went to would be his burial place and he came close to it over and over again. it wasnt until the holy spirit told him he would make it to Rome did he know a destination clearly. James is concerned about this. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh. Next, James says that God not only governs whether you live or not, but also governs everything you do in your life. All achievements. Failures, successes. They were ignoring the fact that they are a vapor. All ability to live, and conduct business or anything is granted by the Lord. This is important to speak at work. People can see where a man puts his trust by hearing talk of his plans. To speak like the men in James making plans is to boast in arrogance. All boasting is evil. believers must believe in the heart and express with lips that God governs our lives. otherwise is arrogance. Piper approaches this delicately. soberly. there are a lot of things that a beleiver should do today that is perceived as arrogance. that is because arrogance is not wel understood. Who would you rather govern your life? the world? hades? disease? knowing that life is a vapor lets God get dirty in your life. when a child is dying of cancer are you going to wonder where God is? no you will say God wants you home for reasons I do not know. If you do not buy into God's soverghnty they do not make a pledge on this day of pledges. If He rules over all your life, then surely you will have grace that He will meet our needs. so you can give your life and money with confidence. (2 corinthians 9:8)
The above is what i noted down while listening to the sermon. i think it was a good exercise.
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/if-the-lord-wills
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