The Book of James – Part 12:
The Self-Willed
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON INTRODUCTION
Who knows what tomorrow brings, or in which
direction they should go?
Why do we as men think that we know what is
best for us?
Like children arguing with their parents
about what they want, confusing desire for need, we press our will against
God’s in our lives, stumbling along the broad path all the while the Holy
Spirit awaits, calling from the narrow.
James warns us about the self-willed, and
the dangers of bragging and prideful boasting about what we have, where we are
going, and how we are going to GET more.
Not only do you not know if you even have a
tomorrow, you fail to recognize that your time is short, even if you live full
of days!
How does the life of a butterfly compare to
that of a mountain? Or the life of a mountain to that of the sun?
Are you using this time to serve God, or
selfishly for yourself? Do you make plans based in His will, or what YOU desire
to acquire in your life?
James is asking the question we MUST ask
ourselves, and ANSWER!
Are the decisions you make in this life
based on God’s will (His GOOD and PERFECT WILL), or are they simply based on
your will (selfish, self-centered)?
Are you following God, or yourself in this
life?
Part 1 - Faith and Wisdom
Part 2 - Poverty and Riches
Part 3 - Endurance
Part 4 - Christian Living
Part 5 - Brotherly Love
Part 6 - Faith and Works
Part 7 - Taming of the Shrewd
Part 8 - True Wisdom
Part 9 - Worldliness
Part 10 - Submit Yourselves to God
Part 11 - Judging Others
TODAY’S SERMON
Part 12 - The Self-Willed
SCRIPTURE READING
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.”
I.
GOD’S THREE WILLS
OF GOD FOR EVERY PERSON
a. First will of God -
Salvation
i.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people
to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
ii.
John 12:32 “And
when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself.” - The Lord draws
us to Him, He has provided Salvation available to ALL!
1. Once we recognize
the need for salvation in our lives
(generally brought about by the 10 commands or biblical preaching on sin) we
MUST respond appropriately to the call!!
2. Revelation 3:19-20 “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be
earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come
in and eat with that person, and they with me.
3. Jesus is knocking,
but have you answered the door and opened it yet?
iii.
Salvation is simply a process of confessing and believing.
A man must confess that Jesus is Lord, which signifies his realization that
Christ must have full rule over his life with all of His righteous
requirements. This confession of Christ as Lord also assumes that it is Christ
who will work and fulfill His own righteousness within man.
iv.
Romans 10:9-11 “For
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in
your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your
mouth that you are saved.”
v.
Acts 2:38
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit"
1. It is at this point
in your walk with Christ the Holy Spirit will begin a work in you.
2. Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good
work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
b. Second will of God
- Direction for You (Instructed from the Holy Spirit you received at
your Salvation)
i.
Your Will vs. God’s Will
ii.
He will direct your path in life
1. Romans 8:14 “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these
are sons of God.”
iii.
The Holy Spirit of God will lead you AND equip you for
service to Him and His will!
1. Fruit of the Spirit
- Galatians 5:22-23 (God’s Character/Personality)
2. Whole Armor of God
- Ephesians 6:10-18 (For Spiritual Warfare)
3. Spiritual Gifts -
(To equip you to serve God by serving others)
c. Third will of God -
Working through You
i.
Your Will vs. God’s Will
ii.
The Fruit of the Spirit draws others to Christ through
you
iii.
The Armor of God protects you during your service from
spiritual attacks
iv.
and the Spiritual gifts are the tools for your service.
v.
God’s third will is how YOU will serve, specifically to
your calling.
d. And the point of
God’s 3 wills?
i.
To save you, and have you lead others to the same
salvation you received!
II.
YOUR TIME IS SHORT,
SERVE
a. You do not know if you even have a tomorrow!
b. What IS your
life?
i.
Evaluate time, and your place within it
ii.
Your life is like a vapor in the wind
iii.
What ARE you doing to serve the Lord’s
will?
c. Instead of boasting and bragging, following YOUR will,
you should;
i.
Ask if it is the Lord’s will (Search, seek Him)
ii.
“as it is”, you boast and
brag about your plans (your will)
iii.
All this boasting and bragging is evil!
1. alazoneia - Greek,
meaning self-confidence & pride
d. We generally think of self-confidence as a good thing.
i.
However, self-confidence means, having confidence in
ones self!
ii.
We need to know that we cannot have confidence in our
selves, but rather, we need to put our confidence in GOD alone!
III.
HOW TO SIN
a. ANYONE (saved or unsaved) who knows the good he ought
to do...
i.
The good you ought to do, is God’s will
ii.
The Holy Spirit will lead you in this direction
iii.
however, YOU must chose to walk it’s narrow path
b. ...and does NOT do it, sins
i.
Where there is no law, sin is not charged against you.
1. Romans 5:13 “To be sure, sin
was in the world before the law
was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account
where there is no law.”
2. However, the Holy
Spirit speaks God’s will to us, making it known. When we know this will, (the law of
LOVE), and chose it not, we sin.
ii.
Where there is no obedience, there is no reward.
1. Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith
it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who
earnestly seek him.”
Are you intently
seeking Him?
c. How much are you missing out on in life because you
failed to listen to the Holy Spirit give you what was good, and you chose NOT
to follow God’s will?
i.
How much are you missing out on in this life, as well
as your eternal life, because you chose;
1. to brag and boast
2. be self-confident
and prideful
3. follow YOUR will in
life and decisions
4. How many times did
you KNOW
what was good, but chose not to do it?
5. On the other hand,
perhaps, you do not even attempt to seek after the Lord to know His will.
ii.
You say you love the life you are living?
1. John 12:25 “Anyone who loves
their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for
eternal life.”
iii.
What does that mean?
1. John 12:25 is posing a
question to you...do you love YOUR will, if so you will end up losing your
eternal life over it. However, if you
hate your own will, trust in the Lord’s will, you will go from self-confident
to confidence in the Lord. THIS is
putting your trust in the Lord!
CONCLUSION
James has spoken about keeping our endurance to fight a good fight and
resist the temptations in life. He has
explained to us about WHAT Christian
living is, and looks like.
He has told us about Brotherly Love, and how to avoid worldliness. James tells us in the previous few verses that we need
to submit ourselves to God’s will, and not be self-willed.
You are saved? Good! Now listen to the Holy Spirit give you the
will of God for direction in your life AND follow that narrow path! In doing
so, as you follow God’s direction in your life, THEN He will use you to bring others into the Kingdom of God!
So many times people pray to be used, but
they themselves are not obedient, and do not DO the good they know to do. Your
time is short, but a vapor in the wind.
Seek the Lord and He will reveal His will to you. Obey it, and He will reward you in this life
and the next. Follow YOUR will, and you
will find yourself in desperate times in this life, and if you do not change,
you will find yourself lost for eternity after you die.
Want to learn more about
Salvation and Getting Saved?
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