James series – “The Litmus Test for life”

James 4:13-17

¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

So far as James has been walking us through the 8^th test, the “pride test” we have seen the reality of selfish pride. We saw not only the symptoms and the source of selfish pride but also the solution. Now as James continues to teach us about the dangers of pride he moves from talking about Selfish pride to pointing out our Presumptive pride. Why is Presumptive pride so poisonous, because it causes us to make plans based on our wants instead of God’s Will. It gives us a faulty perspective when it comes to time, causing us to forget that we are finite and have a limited amount of life to live. It causes us to waste our time on earthly treasures instead of investing in eternal truths. It causes us to start trusting in self instead of turning to and trusting the Savior. My prayer is that my plans would not be based on Presumptive pride but on God’s Will. As we find ourselves half way through the year it’s a good time to pause and reflect. Think back with me to the beginning of the year, what were your plans for 2023? What were your hopes, dreams and aspirations? I’m not talking about the resolutions you may have made, they rarely last a month. I’m talking about real plans. Now, I want you to think about the present and your plans for this year. Were or are you planning a career change? Are you planning a major investment? Are you planning to retire? A lot has happened even in the first half of this year, some things that we expected, and some we could never have imagined. Planning for the future can be not just a good thing but a God thing. You see God has given us the ability to think and plan for a reason. He intends for us to prepare for the future. The problem comes when we begin to see our plans as the ones that matter the most, instead of pursuing God’s perfect plan. It’s not just about making plans it’s about seeking His plan. God wants you to place your trust in Him instead of placing it in your plans. God has a plan that is preeminent and perfect, a plan that is guaranteed to be fulfilled. As you look back at the plans you made last year, can you say that your plans are guaranteed to be fulfilled? The most basic definition of pride is putting ourselves in the place where only God should be. When we looked last at selfish pride we saw what happens when we elevate our selfish desires above God’s desire. Today as we look at presumptive pride we’re going to see what happens when we elevate our personal plans above God’s plan. When we stop trusting in His timing and we pridefully presume upon God by placing our worries and problems over His providence. My prayer is that instead of prideful presumptive planning we will submit our plans to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In order to do that, we’re going to look at the three carnal characteristics of presumptive pride. 

1. Self-Sufficient instead of Savior dependent

2. Self-promoting instead of Savior proclaiming

3. Sinful instead of serving

What about you is there any area in your life where you are trusting in self instead of the Savior which leads to worrying instead of worshipping?