Illus: On July 4, 1952, Florence Chadwich, aged 34, waded into the water off Catalina Island and began her 21-mile swim toward California. If she completed her journey, she would be the first woman ever to accomplish this feat. The water was ice cold, and the fog was so heavy, that Florence could hardly see the boats in her own party. Sharks often began to attack Florence as she swam, and men armed with rifles in the boats surrounding her had to drive them off with carefully aimed shots. But the constant numbing cold of the water was her toughest problem. Fifteen hours after she began, she asked to be taken out, her muscles sluggish and unresponsive due to the frigid water. Her mother and trainer, alongside in the boat, told her they were near land. They encouraged her not to quit. But as she looked ahead, all she could see was the dense fog....so she gave up and asked to be taken out of the water. When they pulled her out, she was only a half-mile from the California coast! Only a small fraction of her journey was incomplete...she almost did it. Later, when Florence’s body began to thaw, the shock of failure finally hit her. To a reporter she blurted out, "Look, I’m not excusing myself. But if I could have SEEN the land, I might have made it." Two months after her failure, Florence Chadwick walked off the same beach into the same channel and swam the distance, setting a new speed record, because she could see the land. (Sermoncentral.com)
If we could see the future, we would do things differently. But none of us have the ability to see the future.
I know there are those who tell us that they have special gifts, talents, or abilities, and for a price they can tell us what the future holds.
Illus: Sometimes as a pastor, I wish I had such a gift:
• I could tell some young people not to marry a certain person because in ten years they are going to have 3 or 4 children and that person will walk off and leave them for someone else.
• I could tell someone not to buy a certain car because it is a lemon and it going to give him a lot of trouble.
• I could tell someone not to enter that business relationship with a person because it will cause him to lose everything he now has.
But I do not have such a gift. No one knows what the future holds according to the Word of God.
Some people seem to have the foresight to make good decisions based on the trends of the past. That is:
• There are some who have the foresight to see a piece of land that no one wants. They have the foresight to look into the future and see that particular piece of land could later could be sold for millions.
• There are those in the stock market that have the foresight to buy a stock when everyone else is overlooking it. They buy it knowing that one day in the future it will be worth millions.
There are people who have a special talent for recognizing talents and skills, and have become rich in doing so.
Illus: Elvis Presley is remembered as one of the greatest entertainers in history. Elvis received his first guitar as a birthday present around 10. His uncles, Johnny and Vester, taught him the basics of how to play the guitar. On October 3, 1945 a very shy, cute little guy named Elvis, made his first public appearance on a stage at the Alabama State Fair. He had to stand on a box to reach the microphone as he sang "Old Shep." He won a second place prize of $5.00 and free admission to the rides that day.
However, most of us never would have heard of Elvis if it were not for the talent of Colonel Tom Parker, who had a questionable character.
He was an illegal immigrant, and he always feared deportation. This is a fact he kept hidden during Presley's life, but one that assured Elvis would never tour outside the United States.
He had the ability to recognize untapped talent and began to promote Elvis.
• The Colonel outweighed Elvis by 100 pounds
• He outlived him by 20 years
• He out-earned Elvis by crafting deals that gave him more than 50 percent of Presley's income
• He never once had so much as one meal with Elvis
As questionable as the Colonel’s character might be, you have to hand it to him; he had the ability to recognize talent in the early stages of Elvis’ life. If it wasn’t for the talent of this man, we will have never known of the man we call the King of Rock and Roll!
Illus: The famous Howard Hughes heard Evangelist Billy Graham as a young man. He recognized his talent and started promoting him in his newspaper, and we know the rest of the story!
There are people who have the ability to recognize talent at its early stages and they can take that talent and turned it into something that will stagger the human mind. However, everyone does not have the foresight to be successful like that.
Illus: In 1899, Charles H. Duell, Commissioner in the U.S. Office of Patents said, "Everything that can be invented has been invented."
Since then, the world has witnessed the advent of airplanes, automobiles, manned space travel, plastics, computers, cell phones, and literally millions of other devices and products that we use and take for granted every day.
There are some who think they have the ability to spiritually look into the future and tell us what the future holds.
Illus: In 1988, a book was distributed to nearly every pastor in America. The title was: “88 Reasons Why Christ Will Return In 1988.” In that book, the author, Edgar Whisnant, predicted that the rapture would take place on Sept. 11, 12, or 13th of 1988. Many people believed the prediction.
Trinity Broadcasting Network, who makes a special claim to being filled and led of the Spirit, even went so far as to change their regular schedule. They broadcast selected videotapes telling non-believers what they should do if their loved ones suddenly disappeared.
Over 3,000,000 copies of that book were distributed, millions more believed it, yet it never came to pass. I suppose Mr. Whisnant couldn’t see too far into the future after all.
In truth, man just doesn’t know what the future holds. People spend millions of dollars each year calling psychics and visiting palm readers to no avail. They still don’t know any more than they did before they wasted their money. And it is good that we do not know the future.
Illus: Did you hear the story of a frog and his discussion with his psychic? A frog telephones the Psychic Hotline and is told, "You are going to meet a beautiful young girl who will want to know everything about you." The frog says, "This is great! Will I meet her at a party?" "No," says the psychic. "Next semester in her biology class."
Illus: A woman went to the local psychic in hopes of contacting her dearly departed grandmother. The psychic's eyelids begin fluttering and she begins moaning.
• Eventually, a voice comes, saying, "Granddaughter? Are you there?"
• The granddaughter, wide-eyed responds, "Grandma? Is that you?"
• "Yes granddaughter, it's me."
• "It's really you, Grandma?" the woman repeats.
• "Yes, it's really me, granddaughter."
• The woman pauses a moment, "Grandma, I have just one question for you."
• "Anything, my child."
• "When did you learn to speak English?"
We are able to look backward fairly clearly on the past, but we cannot look forward into the future at all.
GOD IN HIS WISDOM SAW FIT TO BLOCK THE FUTURE FROM OUR MINDS!!!
And it is good that God has done this. For example:
• Suppose a person knew exactly what day they were going to die. Can you imagine how this would affect the lifestyle of some? They could live a very wicked life, and the day before they die they give their hearts to the Lord.
• Suppose a person knows when the rapture will take place. Again, they could live a very wicked life, and the day before the rapture give their heart to the Lord.
The Lord blocks the future from our minds because He knows it is best that we do not know what the future holds. If we were able to see the future, our lives would be altered drastically. BUT THE FACT IS, NOT ONE OF US KNOWS IF WE WILL BE HERE TOMORROW!
James deals with the future by showing us there are THREE BIG MISTAKES that men were making in their lifetime.
I would like to share the THREE MISTAKES THEY MADE during his lifetime so we will not make the same THREE MISTAKES in our life.
I. THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH PLANS
Look at verse 13, we read, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain.”
One of the most foolish things a person can do in this life is to make plans about the future without consulting with God. All of our plans should be made with the condition: “If it is God’s will!”
Illus: Maybe you heard the story of the man walking down the road with a cow. A man asked him where he was going. He said, “I am going down the road to sell this cow!” The man said, “You mean, if it is God’s will you are going to sell the cow!” The man said, “No, I am going down to sell the cow!” He left, and in a few minutes he came back with his clothes torn and nose bleeding. The same man said, “What happened to you?” The man explained that a couple of fellows jumped him and beat him up and stole his cow. The man said to him, “Where are you going to go now?” The beaten man said, “I am going home, if it be the Lord’s will!”
The Christians during James time were making foolish plans. They said:
• We will go…
• We will buy and sell…
• We will stay there a year
James was accusing these people of ignoring God as they made their plans for the future. There is nothing wrong with planning for the future; we are not wise if we do not, BUT IT IS A PURE SIN TO LEAVE GOD OUT OF THE PLANNING PROCESS!
Simply stated, many people live their lives as if God did not even exist!
Illus: One of the best-known atheists in American history was a woman named Madelyn Murray O’Hair. She was responsible for prayer being removed from the public schools in this country. Miss O'Hair, along with her son and granddaughter were murdered for their money some years ago. During her life she was famous because she was an atheist. She said that she did not believe in God. She was an intellectual atheist, she said, "I do not believe that God exists."
Did you know that there is another kind of atheist? Some are sitting on these pews today!
• An “intellectual atheist” says, “I do not believe that there is a God.” They are honest, and while we may disagree with them, we can respect their honesty.
• The “practical atheist” is not so foolish as to say there is NO GOD. They just simply live their life as if there is NO GOD!
The Practical atheists:
• Do as they please
• Live as if God did not exist
• Make plans and live their life with no regard for the Lord’s will
We must LEARN to:
• Do nothing
• Plan nothing
• Attempt to bring nothing to past
Without first seeking the Lord’s will in the matter.
The reason we have so many messed up lives today is because we have all these “practical atheists” living their lives as if there is no God.
We see THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH PLANS and -
II. THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH PRESUMPTIONS
A presumption is a belief supported by a probability that something will happen. However, it is not a sure thing, it may or may not happen.
Illus: A female student comes to a young professor's office after hours. She glances down the hall, closes the classroom door, kneels pleadingly. "I would do anything to pass this exam."
• She leans closer to him, flips back her hair, and gazes meaningfully into his eyes. "I mean..." she whispers, "...I would do...anything."
• He returns her gaze. "Anything?" She said "Anything."
• His voice softens. "Anything?” She said "Anything."
• His voice turns to a whisper. "Would you...study?"
A lot of folks have PRESUMED something would happen a certain way and they discovered it did not happen that way. A good way to get ourselves into trouble is to PRESUME something will happen, because we do not know what the future holds.
Look what James has to say about this in verses 14-16, we read, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, 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: all such rejoicing is evil.”
Illus: There are those in this congregation that are PRESUMING that they have many years to live on this earth and plenty of time to get right with God. But that is not something any of us know. I must remind you that the cemeteries are filled with people who believed in God and planned to give their hearts to the Lord, but never got around to it.
Their fatal mistake was that they presumed THINGS WOULD HAPPEN THAT NEVER HAPPENED!
• They did not know that when they got into a car one day to go somewhere, it would be the last time they would ever get into that car alive.
• Some went to bed one night and they were not feeling well, but they never dreamed that night they would die in their sleep.
• Some decided they would go for a walk and they took a step not knowing it would be the last step they would ever take on this earth.
Life is filled with many variables, curves and disruptions. Many have failed to grasp the complexity of life. They counted on too many things going just the right way and it did not happen that way!
NO ONE KNOWS THE FUTURE!!! Even the smartest among us do not know the future.
Illus: Many years ago, in 1967, a Senate Sub-Committee PRESUMED some things would happen. They predicted that in the future:
• Men will be working 22 hours a week
• Men will be working three days a week
• Men will retire by the age of 38
The year all this was to happen - 1985!
People during the days of James made that same mistake. Look at verse 13, we read, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:”
But notice how James says we should respond in verse 15. We read, “If the Lord wills…”
They failed to grasp the brevity of life. At it’s very best, life is short. How could these people know whether or not they would be alive tomorrow, much less next year? It is a foolish mistake on our part to be PRESUMPTUOUS about life.
The smartest thing we can do is to make our plans by stating, “IF IT IS GOD’S WILL!”
In Luke 12 we see the rich man who was PRESUMPTUOUS.
Look at Luke 12:16-21, we read, “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, 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 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 whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
We see THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH PLANS, THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH PRESUMPTIONS, and -
III. THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH POSTPONEMENTS
Look at James 4:17, we read, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
When we put off what we know we ought to do in the Lord’s work, it is sin!
• There's nothing easier than not being able to find time to do the things you don't want to do
• Tomorrow must be the longest day in the week, judging from the number of things we are going to do then
Tomorrow may never come. What a tragedy it would be to have to face God with unfinished business hanging over our heads!
Illus: Can you imagine how it is going to be, when some stand before God as Christians trying to explain all the days, weeks, months and years God left them here on earth, and how they never got around to doing what God put them here to do?
Illus: Can you imagine how it is going to be when some stand before the Lord, lost, explaining how they had opportunity after opportunity to receive Christ but they never got around to doing it.
Illus: George W. Truett, long time Pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, TX, gave his testimony of his first efforts to win a friend to Christ. George Truett, just a young Christian, didn't know how to witness for Christ but was burdened for his friend, so he said to his friend Jim during the invitation, "Jim, let's go tonight." He said, "I'll walk down the aisle with you."
And Jim said, "I can't do it tonight, George. Let me off tonight. If I still feel this way I'll do it tomorrow night, but let me off tonight, George."
And to make a long story short, what happened is that Jim became seriously sick with a fever and with pneumonia. Jim died, but before he died, the last words he uttered were, "Not tonight, George. Let me off. If I feel this way tomorrow night I'll do it tomorrow night, but let me off tonight, George." And that's the way he went out to meet God.
Conclusion:
You don't know where you'll be on the morrow. Your life is a vapor, it appears for a little while and it's gone.
• What have you been putting off in your life?
• Have you been putting off serving the Lord?
• Have you been putting off coming to Jesus for salvation?
Come today, tomorrow may never come!
We have looked at:
I. THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH PLANS
II. THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH PRESUMPTIONS
III. THE MISTAKE OF FOOLISH POSTPONEMENTS
