"The Test of Planning"

These are my notes from the sermon on Sunday by Jason

James 4:13-17

In verse 13 "we" is referring to our relationships
"such and such a town" refers to locations
"trade" is our work
"profit" is finances

We plan for all of these things

It's not wrong to make plans. We should be diligent workers but there may be a wrong way of planning

v14 we don't know what tomorrow brings..i.e. death, economic downturn, infertility,change of jobs

planning vs presuming

It's not OK to presume
Life is short..death comes quickly

Psalm 90:10-12

Number our days means value each of them one at a time

v15 "If the Lord wills" You hear this phrase a lot ..it's not just a cheesy christian phrase, it's a mindset of our hearts

we will live and do..100% is dependent on the plans of God
we act and live and plan as though we are the ones in control

v16 boast in arrogance..."look at what I'm going to do"
We have a lot of "I will" and " we will" in our lives
All boasting is evil

When we plan our future without taking God's will into consideration, we are living like practical atheists.

v17 right thing to do...depend on God for future plans
When we don't it's sin...sin of commission and sin of omission..not loving our neighbor, not forgiving, not encouraging

If we plan our future independent from God,
1. we have the wrong view of life
2. we have the wrong view of God
Our lives fall apart
We have made ourselves an idol

Saving faith works by planning our future with sense of complete dependence on God

How is God involved in your future?