James 4:14
Do We Really Get It?
Woodlawn Baptist Church
August 29, 2004
Introduction
I want to welcome you to our services today and tell you that it is good to be in the Lord’s house on this special Sunday. What makes this Sunday so special? Is it the baptism that we will observe in a few minutes? or the Lord’s Supper that we will partake of after lunch? Perhaps it is the lunch that sets it apart from other Sundays. Of all our worship services, I like Fifth Sundays the best, because on those days we come together in worship and celebration, then go home to spend the afternoon with our families.
One of the reasons that I am glad of today is because of a lesson the Lord has been sowing in my mind for some time now, which finally began to bear fruit this past week, and it is time that I share it with you. Some of you will not think much of it, and that is fine. I have come to realize that some people don’t think much about anything. But for those of you who long for something deeper or better, I want you to think about a few things with me this morning.
In James 4:14, we read a statement that is very familiar to us. James writes,
“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.”
I have shared with a few of you that this last birthday I celebrated was the most difficult so far. I have welcomed every birthday of my life so far with great joy, and even when I turned 30 I was happy, because finally I wasn’t just a punk kid. Years 31 through 34 didn’t bother me either, but this year has been most difficult, and James 4:14 is why. Our lives are but vapors – here one moment and gone the next, and the question that looms in my mind has been this: “What have you done with your life?”
I used to hear about men going through a mid-life crisis and laugh. I know what a mid-life crisis is. Every man grows up with dreams about what life is going to be: what he will accomplish, how his marriage will turn out, and so on, but somewhere along the way he realizes that he hasn’t done it, and then makes a furious attempt at reliving those years. Other men will simply resign themselves to the humdrum, choosing instead not to live.
Before you get the idea that I am going to spend your morning in vain self assessment, let me pause and ask you this question: “What have you done with your life?” You see, I am convinced that there is more to life than what most of us settle for. Most of us, whether we realize it or not, resign ourselves to getting along in this world, with little thought for what we’re doing with the days God gives to us.
Do you remember Moses? Last Wednesday night we read that Moses realized that he was destined to be God’s man: the one who would deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage – but rather than waiting on God and getting prepared for his life’s purpose he jumped out there and made a mess of things. Moses then fled to Midian where he would spend the next 40 years tending sheep in the desert. It took Moses 40 years to get to the place where God could use him, and at 80 years of age he became one of the greatest leaders found in all the Bible. There is no place like the desert. I found myself there this past week, having fled there for personal reasons. I have been skirting the desert for some time now, but I finally went. I’m going to tell you this story so you won’t be confused by the metaphors, and some of you may identify with me.
God called me to preach and pastor a few years ago; a calling that I hold dear. I believe there is no greater calling in all the world, no greater job than that of proclaiming God’s Word and shepherding His people. When I went to seminary and began preaching, I began to believe that I was God’s answer for our associational work, and acted like it. Some of you will remember that last year I was given the opportunity to preach our local association’s annual message – and you prayed for me as I prepared. You remember that Moses jumped in and tried to deliver his people and ended up being rejected? That message was my attempt. Every word was true, but I was mistaken about my role and my time. Rather than accept what was said, I realized that I had alienated my brethren, and though you never noticed it, I began to tumble into confusion and self-doubt. I began to spend less time in study and more time finding odd jobs to occupy my time. I would pastor, preach, and leave well enough alone, all the while pursuing odd jobs to fill some void I was feeling. Those jobs became my Midian, my time in the desert, and during my time there I have done a lot of talking to the Lord.
This past week, I took a roofing job that I thought I could do pretty quickly – hire a couple of hands, on and off and be done – just another job, but it has become more than that. In the course of this job the Lord finally got through to me. Here’s the deal: I was to tear off all the existing roof, put down all new decking, then shingle it. I was going to get my help to work the days, and I would work the evenings, but on the first day things started going wrong, and something seemed to go wrong every day. Finally, toward the end of the week, I have a roof wide open, a storm coming in, a church I’m neglecting, and not enough profit margin to hire additional help. I was growing in despair, and all the while I was complaining to the Lord about why things were going so wrong.
I felt despair over the roof, and was loaded with guilt over the church, and at that moment the Lord seemed to break through the soil of my heart with this seed and He says to me in the still of the moment: “You don’t get it do you?” “Get what?” (I am not so bright sometimes.) “Don’t you know? Why are you on this roof in the first place? This isn’t what I created you for. It’s not what I called you to do. Your life is but a vapor, and it will be gone before you know it.”
Do you know what? That was one of the most startling moments of my life! I can’t explain to you what I felt right then, but here after this long year of confusion and searching, God helped me to see what was right before me all along, but I was too much on the go to realize it. It took getting me on the backside of the desert to see the glory of the living God! I have to add this last part too. You remember that Aaron came along shortly after Moses experience with the Lord? A while after I had this conversation with the Lord a good brother came walking up the roof who didn’t have any business being up there, who didn’t have to get off the couch to do it, and says to me, “Could you use some help?”
One man has rightly said that “the tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.” Listen to that again: “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.” Do we really get it? Do you really get it?
Think about salvation for a minute. Some of you have been hearing about salvation all your lives, others only more recently, but still you’ve never accepted Christ as your Savior. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is clear about the fact that God loves you and sent His one and only Son to die for you, but that doesn’t guarantee you a place in heaven. You have to come to the place where you acknowledge yourself as a sinner, repent of your sin, believe that what God did through Jesus Christ was real and was for you, and place your faith in Him for salvation.
If you can walk out of this place without having accepted Christ as your Savior, then you don’t get it. Your life is but a vapor – here today and gone tomorrow, and the only thing standing between you and eternity is God’s love for your soul and His grace, giving you the opportunity to respond to His goodness. Quit waiting! Quit putting it off! Quit making excuses!
Don’t you see? God created you for His pleasure, and so that you might find great pleasure in Him. You can spend your entire life going from one relationship to the next; from one job to the next, from one town to the next, from one church to the next, but the only thing that is going to fill that void and give you the satisfaction you long for is a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. If that is missing in your life today and you know it, then stop messing around and do something about it.
What about baptism? Do you need to be baptized? Perhaps you’ve accepted the Lord as your Savior, but you’ve never been baptized, or you were baptized, but you’ve come to realize that the Lord is not satisfied with it. We have had people who have visited our church for very long periods of time, but because their baptism isn’t right they won’t unite with us, even though they know God has been leading them to. “I don’t want to be re-baptized,” some will say. But listen, if God is leading you to do it, then do it! If there is a nagging in your heart over your baptism, then get serious about finding out what is the matter, and get it right with the Lord.
I could be talking about any number of things today to every one of you. Some of you have been flopping around as parents. You’re like the story of the two paddleboats I read about. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the slow pace of the other. Words were exchanged. Challenges were made, and the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the South. One boat began to fall behind for a lack of fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship’s cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo.
God has entrusted cargo to every one of us: children, spouses, and friends. Our job is to do our part in seeing that this cargo reaches its destination, but so often we get caught up in the rat race and we sacrifice our cargo along the way trying to achieve something bigger and better. While you’re out doing your thing, your family is left behind. You use them to get ahead. Listen, do you really get it? Then do something about it!
How long will we cry and complain about our finances instead of obeying God’s Word? How long will we struggle in our marriages before we begin to love our wives like Christ loved His church? How long will we struggle through worship before we begin to practice the daily disciplines of prayer and personal worship? How long will we try to ride the fences in our lives before we will finally commit ourselves to the purpose for which God has created us?
Think about your priorities for a minute. You may be like the guy that went deer hunting with some of his buddies. They paired off in twos for the day, but one night one of the hunters returned to camp alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck. “Where’s Harry?” one of the guys asked. “Harry had a stroke of some kind. He’s a couple of miles back up the trail.” “You left Harry laying there, and carried the deer back?” “Well,” said the hunter, “I figured no one was going to steal Harry.”
Now I’m not going to try to give you one of those “God first, family second” kind of lists. It is a shame that we have so compartmentalized our lives as to think we can do that. What I will do is say this: if you are walking with the Lord and are in fellowship with Him, your priorities are going to fall into place. What you have to be careful of however is allowing your fleshly nature to deceive your thinking. Some will claim that they have their priorities in order, but their families are crying out for attention, or they are neglecting their responsibilities to the Lord. If that is you, then wake up and realize that God is trying to get your attention! If you’re too busy to worship; if you’re too busy for your family; if you’re too busy to pray or study or serve, then you’re too busy.
God created you for His pleasure. His Word says,
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
I’ve told you this before, but it is worth repeating: the only reason you exist is to make God happy; to please Him; to bring Him glory. Now, Hebrews 11:6 says that the only way you can please God is by faith.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
It is only by faith that you can please God, which begins in salvation. Listen to the words of Ephesians 2:8-9.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”
You see, there is nothing you can do that has any merit with God concerning your salvation except placing your faith in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. You can’t be good enough, you can’t give enough, you can’t attend church enough. However, after you have accepted Christ in salvation, God expects you to do good works. In fact, He created you for them, and through them you continue to please Him. Ephesians 2:10 goes on to say,
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
So, according to 1 Corinthians 10:31,
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
Do you get it? Perhaps today the Lord has impressed upon your heart that every moment you put off doing what He wants you to do, you life gets that much further away from you. Whether you are young or old, you have a life to give to God. Don’t fear what He may ask of you. Don’t fear what you can’t see or know. Don’t wait for another opportunity. Place your faith in Jesus Christ today. Place your faith in God’s purpose and plan for your life and don’t ever look back, for before you know it your time on this earth will be over, and you will have missed the opportunity to really live: ever breathing and having life, but never really living. That is your great invitation today – do you get it?
