James on James 4:13-16

Whether you think it's you that can achieve them or you think it's others or if you're so focused on what we're accomplishing in the here and the now, you're drawing people's attention away from the gospel of truth, the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ. You are actually working against the reason that God has left us here.

And so James, going back to chapter one, remember he said, all circumstances, all this stuff in this world—remember, no matter what happens, all of that is an opportunity for us to see God at work and to point that out to others. That's why we're here. Don't let sorrows and sufferings and hardships in this world turn you away. Instead, fix your eyes upon the glory of Jesus Christ, the goodness and the hope of the gospel, and live for that.

CTK Sermons is a ministry of Christ the King Presbyterian Church. CTK is a community rooted in the depth of the gospel, refined by hard conversations, fueled by meaningful relationships, and committed to redemptive work in Raleigh.

And welcome. My name is James Sutton. I'm the associate pastor here and the reason I'm up here means that this is James on James week. We are back in the book of James—not looking at Hebrews or Judges. So before we begin our study of the book of James, many of you know that I'm from Asheville. A lot of you reached out to me this week because of the flooding that took place in Asheville. And indeed, that was extensive. And we want to take a little time to pray for our brothers and sisters who've been affected by the hurricane. So if you would, please bow your heads with me.

Most gracious heavenly Father, Lord, we come before you with hearts heavy for those affected by the hurricane, especially those in Asheville, Eastern Tennessee, and the broader Southeast. Lord, the devastation has been immense—more than we could imagine—and we lift up those who are suffering in the wake of this disaster. Lord, we pray for the families and friends of those who've lost their lives. We ask you to bring comfort in their grief. Lord, at last count, sixty-four souls have been lost, including mothers, fathers, children, even first responders.

Lord, would you draw near to the brokenhearted and remind them of your promise that you are close to those who are crushed in spirit.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. — Psalm 34:18

May they find peace and solace in your love even as they walk through this terrible moment and tragedy. For those still trapped or cut off from aid, we pray for swift rescue. Clear the roads, open pathways, provide power and communication to those in desperate need. Bring food, clean water, essentials to families who are running low. Strengthen the hands of all relief workers, volunteers, and first responders. Give them protection as they work tirelessly to serve others.

Above all, Lord, we ask that you use this tragedy to bring people closer to you. May those who are suffering feel your presence and know they're not alone. May they learn of the true love that you have for them displayed in Jesus Christ. May your church rise up during this time as a beacon of hope, pointing them to that love. We place all those impacted by the storm into your loving hands, oh Lord, trusting in your promise to restore what has been lost and to bring healing where there is brokenness. We pray this in your son, Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, it is a heavy, if not terrible way of bringing us to the passage that we're going to look at today, which deals with the plans of man in the economy of the kingdom of God. We are looking at James chapter four verses 13 through 16. But before we read it, I want to remind you of some points that James has made in his book leading up to this because they're important to the context of what he's saying here.

First of all, I want you to remember that back in chapter one, James talked about finding joy in all situations in life, recognizing that God is sovereign, that he's at work in all of those things, that even the hard things as well as the good things, God is always doing something good. He is always bringing his kingdom. He is always bringing about our sanctification. He is always bringing new believers to Christ. He's always at work even in the hard, and we've seen that throughout history.

Another thing that James points out again and again throughout the entire book is he talks about how we should be about ultimately God's wisdom and not man's wisdom. He says, there's the things of heaven. There's the things that come down from heaven, the wisdom that comes down from heaven, and then there's what we think. One of those is better than the other and it's the one that comes from heaven.

Another point that he's made again and again is the power of the tongue. The things that we say matter and they are indicative of our hearts and in fact, how we use our tongue can actually change and transform our hearts. So these are points that James has made.

He's made a lot of other points but these are some that I want you to keep in mind as we look at this passage. So, let's turn now to James chapter four verses 13 through 16. Let's read it together.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit." Yet, you do not know what tomorrow will bring, what your life will be. For you are like vapor that appears for a little while then vanishes. Instead, you should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. — James 4:13-16

You know, last week I was gone. We went to the beach. My son, Peter, had turned 10. And years ago, my wife promised a 10 year old trip to our oldest daughter, Josie. Guess what that means? Not only did we give Josie a 10 year old trip, we've now done four 10 year old trips, and we have one more to go. And it's determined, I guess, in our family—I don't know how. I'm not the planner, so it wasn't my decision—but we've always gone to Myrtle Beach for the 10 year old trip. We were at Myrtle Beach last weekend on Shriners weekend. It's nothing like 5,000 grown men driving go karts down the streets to celebrate being 10 years old. So that's what we did.

When we got there, we were staying on the beach, and I asked Peter, "What do you wanna do?" He said, "I wanna build a sand castle." I said, "Oh, we're gonna build a great sand castle. This is your 10 year old trip, son. Let's go down there." And Peter and I are basically genetic copies of each other. I'm not really sure that Katie's genes got properly inserted into him. Poor guy. I can tell him all that's about to happen to him in his life.

But we both go down there and we both have the same mindset. We are gonna build the greatest sand castle Myrtle Beach has ever seen. Right? And so we set to work and we start digging and digging and digging and we build this huge pile of sand. And then we start shaping and shaping and shaping. These two little old women are sitting behind us and they're like, "Wow, that's a really nice castle." We're like, "Thank you. We know." Then Peter says, "Dad, we should build a moat and a wall to protect it." I said, "Yes. Let's do that."

So we start digging a moat in the front, digging and digging and digging, and then we build a big pile of sand in front of the castle to protect it from the waters of the ocean. We checked every hour that we were in the hotel to see if the castle was still there. It was still there late in the morning. It was still there even into the afternoon. We went to bed that night. It was still there. We woke up in the morning. It was gone. We were pretty proud of that castle, but it didn't stand up to the waves.

My parents were in Asheville. My parents have a house in Asheville and Melbourne, Florida. And so they were in Asheville, and they heard that there was a hurricane coming up through the Gulf, and they said, "You know, we should probably go back and secure our house in Florida." So they drove down to the East Coast of Florida where they didn't get hit very hard, and then they watched on the news as all their neighbors dealt with the destruction of Hurricane Helene as it came through Asheville.

These are just a couple of examples of our plans versus God's plans.

Hidden Pride and Visible Consequences

Now, James here is not condemning planning. Jeff Bradford made me tell you that. Jeff in the relationship between the two of us is the planner. I am not. He's like, "James, don't you get up there and tell people that God says not to plan." That is not what God or James is saying in this passage. So everybody clear on that? That's not what he's saying.

But what he is saying is he's saying we need to rightly understand where our plans fall in the economy of God's kingdom. And so I have three points for today. One, hidden pride that is often within our plans and its visible consequences. Two, truth and humility that bring about spiritual healing. And then finally, keys for biblical planning.

Again, James isn't condemning planning, but notice the phrasing of who he has here. He's giving us an example of this person who says, "Today or tomorrow, we will travel to such and such city and spend a year there and do business and make profit." There are two things that he's pulling out of that statement that he wants you to see are arrogant and then he says evil. Arrogant and evil.

First, let's look at the arrogance. The arrogance of this is that it's all about them. Do you notice that? There's no consideration for the Lord. They're saying, "We're going to go to this or that city and we're gonna make a profit." Now, let me level with you. I think all of us do this.

Right? We live in one of the most prosperous countries in the world, one of the hardest working countries in the world. If you just look at our work hours, one of the most innovative countries of the world, we're called the land of opportunity. And within that land of opportunity, there's a shining city in the middle of North Carolina. Raleigh, North Carolina, which is known for being hardworking, well educated, innovative, having lots of jobs, being financially prosperous. We're a land of opportunity within a land of opportunity.

It's very likely that some of you in this room at one point said, let us go to Raleigh where there is work and we will do this and that and we will make some money. Right? That may have happened or maybe you were brought here by other things, but James' point is not that it's wrong to do that. It's simply that it's wrong to think that it's all up to you and that's the only thing to consider.

And I think we would all say, well, I said that, but of course I knew that God was sovereign. I have said so many things and so many times—things that point to my ability and my planning and the merits of that—with keeping in mind that the Lord is sovereign in the back of my mind. So James isn't so much going after those of us who have that mindset. However, he is warning you that if all of your words are about you, who are you really about? You.

And so this warning is a warning against arrogance, not against planning. James is well aware of all the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Proverbs 21 verse five, for example, says:

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. — Proverbs 21:5

So planning is good. It's not saying it's arrogant to make plans, but James does understand that the Bible and the Old Testament says there's a place where you must consider the Lord in all of that planning. For example:

Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established. — Proverbs 16:3

Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. — Proverbs 19:21

In other words, it's fine to make plans, but doing so without considering or acknowledging the Lord is the problem.

Now, lest you think that it's just planning and pride within planning that James is concerned about, let me go back to Jeff and me. Jeff is the planner. There's a document that plans out all of the sermons for the future of CTK. It's all rainbow colored and beautiful, and it has on each line with each Sunday not only the text, but what is happening on that Sunday. Jeff put that together back in 2012. Is that right? We have a record of everything that's happened in this church on Sunday morning since 2012 because of that document, and that document stretches into the future to dates unknown.

Jeff is always scheming about the next sermon series and the one after that and the one after that—when he's preaching and when I'm preaching and whether I'm preaching James or whether I'm preaching his sermon series. All that is planned out. He plans all of that, and Jeff gets on his knees and prays before he does that. He prays with me. He prays with others. He prays with our elders. It's not wrong to plan.

Meanwhile, I often will show up and I'll say, planning is dumb. I don't like planning. And people will present to me all sorts of opportunities, and I have trouble saying no. I can't say no to anything. In fact, no is not a word that is in my vocabulary. If you come and ask me today, James, will you do such and such? I will say yes. You know why? It's not because I think so much of my planning. It's because I think so much of myself. I think I can do it all, and more than that, I don't want to miss any of it. And I think I'm like God and omnipresent—I can be multiple places at once. In fact, some of you have experienced some of the suffering that results from that line of thinking where I've called you and said, hey, I triple booked myself. I'm really sorry, but I apparently can't be in three places at once.

So it's not so much the planning, right? It's the pride. You can plan in a way that is prideful and you can plan in a way that is not prideful. Either way, it is about pride. And the point is that James is focusing on "today or tomorrow, we will do this." Today or tomorrow, we will do this—either in the future or now, whatever. We are the ones, not the Lord. We are the ones that really matter. And that line of thinking—that thinking that we are the ones that matter—has an incredible impact on us, and it's terrible.

So I just mentioned all the opportunity and the wonderful things about our country and our city, but think about these things. These are some studies that have been done recently.

Overworking and the results of overworking in this country are detrimental. Fifty-five percent of US workers leave their vacation days unused, contributing to chronic exhaustion. You add that with the fact that we are one of the hardest-working countries in the world in terms of time spent working. We work more than we should because we think it's us.

Overworking is there, and in response to that, our bodies respond to that. It's linked to cardiovascular disease, insomnia, and chronic headaches. I'm a check, check, and check for all three of those. And so are so many of us. In fact, all of those conditions are on the rise in America, and most medical professionals think that it is linked to stress and overworking.

Seventy-seven percent of the United States workforce experiences burnout at some point or another, and forty-two percent say they almost live there all the time. Increased anxiety and depression affects one in five adults in America now. Overworking lends itself to the neglect of faith and family, and the breakdown of those institutions has had a detrimental effect on our country.

Unless you think that I'm just coming after those of you who are sitting out there, pastors and evangelical churches are some of the worst at this. Many pastors work more than fifty hours a week on a regular basis, sometimes even more than sixty. Forty-two percent of pastors have considered quitting due to overwork and stress. US pastors are spiritually drained and frequently say they're on the risk of spiritual burnout. And these are the people who get up and preach, me included. This is convicting, right?

The Pride and Evil of Self-Focused Living

How much we think about ourselves and the impact that that has on us is pretty detrimental. When it's all about you, it's all on you. And when it's all on you, it wears you out. It's prideful. It's arrogant, and hardwired into the system of this broken, cursed, fallen world is one in which the absolute horrible consequences of our pride are right in our faces.

But James doesn't just say that it's arrogant. He also says that it's evil. So let's consider that for a second. The man isn't just considering himself or his family—the "we." He's not just putting it on himself. He's also doing it for what reason? To do business and make a profit. He's concerned with the world, and we know from James up to this point, the world and heaven—one of those is better. It's heaven. You should be thinking about heaven, not so much the world.

When you are concerned merely with worldly things, then it becomes clear that there are wins and losses. Whereas when you're in the economy of the kingdom of heaven where Jesus Christ has already won everything for you, there are no losses. There are only wins. It is evil, he says, right, to basically engage in this worldly kind of pursuit, this worldly kind of success.

And this is where it gets, I think, a little convicting for us. Because I think more and more increasingly, we think less and less about heaven and spiritual things and more and more about our daily lives. And we can't help it. We're bombarded by ads. We're surrounded by people that we feel like we have to keep up with financially or in terms of status or clout. There's all sorts of things in this world that distract us, and we become enamored with them and we want to go after them and we want to achieve them. We want to earn them.

And suddenly we get to a point where a friend of mine was talking recently about a non-believer who had passed away. This was a Christian talking about his friend, the non-believer who had passed away, whom he knew was not a believer, but whom he admired for his thoughtfulness about his work. And he said, "I wonder what that guy thinks of me today." He totally put out of his mind that there would be any spiritual consequences for his lack of faith and was focused purely on his work in this world, thinking that was what was ultimate. He immediately recognized that and apologized and said, "What?"

But that's us, isn't it? Don't we get enamored with our work? Don't we become so locked in on what's going on in the world? It might not be our work. It might be other things, but whatever it is, something here on this earth—we get distracted by it and we get so locked into it. We kind of draw our attention away from the things that we are focused on in worship towards that.

And that's where I totally live. Jeff was gone this week, so the planner was away. And we had talked the week before about how we might consider revamping our staff meetings as a staff. So you know what I spent all week doing? I became the planner. I created a beautiful eight-page spreadsheet to help us through our staff meetings. I was so into it. I color-coded it, combined cells. It took me a while to figure out how to do that. There's even a picture of Lionel Richie at one point that makes an appearance in the spreadsheet just for fun.

I got so into this. It was like all I was doing. And at one point, Aaron, who's our facilities manager, he comes in and I said, Aaron, come check out this facilities spreadsheet that I created for you because I was really excited about it. And he's like, you're always telling me that you hate forms. Why are you creating this giant form? I said, I don't know. I was enamored with planning. The non planner got into it, and I became distracted, and it became my whole life. I remember at one point this week, I was sitting in prayer with some other people, and the prayer was going long. I found my mind going, I wish this could wrap up so I could work on my spreadsheet. And I'm like, I need Jeff to come back. Something terrible is happening to me.

James isn't saying that the planning is the problem. He's saying that getting preoccupied with your planning and being preoccupied with the world instead of what God has done in his kingdom is the problem. Again, he's pulling on passages from the Old Testament.

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. — Proverbs 15:16

But then he heard his brother teach this:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. — Matthew 6:19-21

If your heart is attached to this world, this world is going away. It is evil and wicked and under a curse by God. God will totally wipe out this world and replace it with a new one. He's saying James is saying that's evil. Don't be focused on that. Be focused on the beautiful kingdom that God has given you. Remember that. That is what is holy and good and right.

If you're living your life in such a way that you're so preoccupied with your nine to five or with the material possessions that you have in this world or worldliness in general—whether that's a sports team or whether that's something else that has totally captured your imagination—it's not that those things are wrong. It's not that it's not right to work a job, to be engaged in those things, to engage with the world. But if you totally lose any sense of being a believer, if Christians and non-Christians can no longer tell you apart from the rest of the world, then you have become a part of the world and you're no longer a part of the kingdom of God.

And James says that's not only prideful, but that is evil. You are leading others in a direction away from the thing that will save them. And when you think it's you that can achieve all of those things—whether you think it's you that can achieve them or you think it's others or if you're so focused on what we're accomplishing in the here and now—you're drawing people's attention away from the gospel of truth, the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ. You are actually working against the reason that God has left us here.

And so James, going back to chapter one, remember he said, all circumstances, all this stuff in this world—remember, no matter what happens—all of that is an opportunity for us to see God at work and to point that out to others. That's why we're here. Don't let sorrows and sufferings and hardships in this world turn you away. Instead, fix your eyes upon the glory of Jesus Christ, the goodness and the hope of the gospel, and live for that.

Yes, work a job. Yes, root for a sports team, but recognize that those things are not ultimate in your life and verbally and physically manifest that in your life. That's what James is saying.

Truth and Humility

Alright, so that's our hidden pride and its visible consequences. Let's move now to talk about truth and humility and how that brings spiritual healing. James in the second part of this passage reminds us that we're vapor. Does anybody know where that language comes from? It's from the Old Testament. Can you yell out the book? Yeah. Ecclesiastes. Proving that Raleigh is one of the most educated places in America. Well done. That's right. Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes, the author over and over again talks about how there's nothing new under the sun. All of our life is vapor. It's here one minute, gone the next. It's like a mist. You see it, but then it just goes away. And James is saying, that's the truth about all this stuff. It's like the sand castle. It's great. Have fun. Be all about it. Be a visible representation of Christ as you are working on your own little kingdom on the sand. But remember what Jesus said about building things on sand. It tends to just get wiped away. Remember what he said about himself—that he's the rock.

And so James is encouraging us to shift our mindset away from being focused on our sandcastles, our little developments, the little things that ultimately don't matter, the ones that we're prideful and think are so great until they actually have to bear the weight of the universe and then they crumble. And instead, look upon something else, him that is permanent and fixed and so much better and can never go away. He says, remember that. Remembering that is the first step and then he wants us to acknowledge. He wants to acknowledge that he, God, is that rock. So remember that he's the rock and then acknowledge it. That's what he wants you to do in terms of exercising humility and it being the key to healing.

Remember: Our Plans Are Temporary

So first of all, remember. I just talked about how great America was. We've experienced global dominance, social scholars say, for about seventy-five to eighty years since World War Two. We've been globally dominant. You could argue maybe a little more, maybe a little less, depends. The British Empire was around for two hundred years in global dominance. Spanish Empire was about 300. The Ottoman Empire lasted six hundred years and Rome—men, we all think about Rome, right? Multiple times a day. That's the meme. Well, here's your time today. Rome lasted a thousand years. All of it is gone. I don't know how long America will make it. It feels like the cracks are showing. But it doesn't matter, James says. Remember that those are not the things of ultimate importance.

Guys, every time you think about Rome, remember, Rome was brought down by a Jewish guy who was executed on a cross. It doesn't matter. But that crucifixion and his subsequent resurrection is what matters. The kingdom of God will last for an eternity. Jesus himself has been sitting on the throne, resurrected, and ascended for two thousand years. It far outshines anything that humanity can build.

And here's the thing. This is really great news. Remembering how much your stuff is vapor and how much you are vapor is really good news because the pressure is not on you. It is not up to you to maintain the universe. Good news. You have been invited into the kingdom on the basis of the Lord Jesus Christ and his work. You don't have to do anything. Start preaching that to your workaholism. Start preaching that to your anxiety. Start preaching that to your insomnia. It's not that those things are necessarily going to wipe away all of your medical conditions. That's not what I'm saying. But the gospel has a real impact on how we feel and the impact of our self-importance. Push back on that by remembering that what is ultimate and final isn't you, it's the Lord.

Acknowledge: The Role of "If the Lord Wills"

And then secondly, he says, acknowledge it. He says, instead, you should say:

If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. — James 4:15

So is James saying that every time we make any plans that we should say, "If the Lord wills"? I have a friend whom every time I see him, I say, "How are you doing?" and he says, "Better than I deserve," always the response. Does anybody say that? It's not a bad mantra, right? Because it's true. So some of you may say that. That's good. But I get kind of tired of this guy saying that to me all the time because I'm just like, sometimes I just like to hear a little bit about the recent current events in your life, other than just being reassured that your theology is still good, right?

So is that what James is saying? Is James saying, "Hey, we ought to be theologically correct in everything that we say all the time and make sure that we begin our phrases correctly"? That's not what I think. I do think that he thinks words matter, and I do think that he's saying that if the Lord is not in your vocabulary at all, that's a problem and might reflect where your heart is. And ultimately, that's what he's concerned with. Where is your heart?

And so look at your vocabulary. Look at how you talk about planning. Look at how you talk about your future. Is the Lord and his name a part of that? Is there some sense in which there's some action that is ultimate in your mind and in your vocabulary about what he's doing instead of just what you're doing?

You know, I thought about this recently. Goals. Goals are a big thing. Goals are a good thing. You should have goals, okay? You should have goals. But oftentimes in the church, when we make goals, I struggle with that because I'm not really in control. Like, if I set a goal for our church—"I'd like to reach a thousand people for Christ"—do I really control whether people believe in Christ? No. That's totally up to the Holy Spirit working inside of them. And so for me to set that as a goal puts a lot of pressure on me to bring all these people to Christ that I can't really do.

So I've shifted my vocabulary. I've stopped talking about goals, and I've started talking about prayer requests. This is my prayer. This is what I'm asking the Lord to do.

Do you see how that subtle change in vocabulary shifts my mindset? And it orients my heart differently towards my work. I recognize that very little of what I do is something that I'm really responsible for. It's the Lord that's at work. And again, goals are good. Planning is good. This is not fatalism. You don't just show up and say, hey, whatever happens happens. You do need to plan. But recognizing that it is the Lord who will ultimately bring about your plans, who will lay the foundations of any plans that he has above and beyond yours. And those are ultimately so much better. Will change the way that you look at life and it will bring about an enormous amount of relief.

So remember, remember that you're vapor and that the Lord is solid and that you have the Lord. Acknowledge that regularly, verbally, and consciously in your life and how you approach it.

Tips for Effective Christian Planning

And finally, wrapping up with this, let's talk about some tips for effective Christian planning. If it's not all fatalism, what do you do? Here's what you do.

First of all, I'm a history teacher. So if you're gonna plan, know your history. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. So you've got to remember, know the past. Know what has happened. Has God sent his son to die for you? Has God shown himself to be good over and over and over again? Has God shown himself to be powerful and sovereign over all things? If you look at the Bible, if you look at the history of the world, you can see those things clearly. So step one to planning for the future is to know your history. Remember those things.

Secondly, get on your knees. Notice what James says.

Instead, you should say, "If the Lord wills." If the Lord wills. — James 4:15

He doesn't call him if my brother, if Jesus, he calls him the Lord. Why? Because of his authority. Remember your place and the place of your plans. Get on your knees when you pray. You don't have to physically get on your knees every time, but recognize that when you're praying, when you're bringing your plans to God, that he is the one that is ultimately the authority. Come humbly.

Third, remember that your vocabulary matters. As you're talking to others about your plans, as you're thinking through things, talk about them in such a way that acknowledges the Lord and his sovereignty. Talk about them in such a way that acknowledges your non-permanence, your vaporous nature. Recognize that as you're saying things, if you speak definitively and you speak pridefully and you speak as though you're the only one in the equation, that's what people will see. So don't plan as though you're it. That will put an incredible amount of pressure on you and will take glory away from God.

So number one, remember your history. Two, get on your knees. Three, use the vocabulary that honors the Lord. And four, lift your gaze.

I love how James puts this.

Instead, you should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." — James 4:15

Do you get the sense that the "this or that" doesn't really matter to James? He's kind of like, you know, all these cool things that we're doing in this earth, that's the "this or that." The thing that really matters is the coming kingdom, the things that Christ has accomplished. So remember that this isn't your kingdom. You're headed to a kingdom that is perfect and never gonna change and is totally upheld by someone else and not dependent upon you. And what you do from now until then is "this or that." Approach that understanding that there is that heaven. Look at heaven even while you're living here.

And then keep an open heart and an open hand. Or another way of putting this is have a sense of humor about this. If any of you think that when you go before God in prayer and you tell him your plans that he's not gonna chuckle. God often looks at our plans and just chuckles.

Several years ago, we had been looking for a place to reside as a church in Downtown Raleigh for something like seven years. We hadn't found anything. We found this small little building. Jeff was on sabbatical and so it was all on me, or that's how I felt. And we made the decision to buy the building. I did email Jeff before we did it. And I thought for years, I've ruined the church. I've destroyed us. This church isn't big enough for us. This building is split level. It's weird. Nobody can find their way to the bathroom. If they do, they see all the flooring downstairs, which is missing about one every ten tiles. This is awful. Why did I do this?

And then COVID hit. And I started to go, well, maybe there was a reason. Because in the warehouse we were in before, we didn't have a parking lot where we could worship outside. So we started worshiping outside because of that. I was like, wow.

How good of God to use my very bad decision for Him to bring about a place where we can worship during COVID. Then we got a little further into COVID and everybody had an opinion on whether we should worship inside or outside. And everybody thought we were doing it all wrong, including me. I was like, where are we supposed to do this? And we were torn and we were outside and we were inside and we were back and forth, and we made mistakes, I'm sure, during that time. And everybody was at everybody and I thought this is a mess and it's all my fault.

And then years later, Pastor Mike from next door comes over and he says, "Hey, I've decided to give you all our building." And the reason is, "I saw y'all worshiping outside and decided you're real Christians." I thought, wow. How about that? God used even that.

And now we're about to move into that building. Some of you think that's not a good idea. Why are we moving into that building? And then the point is the building doesn't matter. The kingdom is what matters. Our plans about the building currently or in the past—it's just that they matter, but they matter secondarily to the things that God is doing.

And if you walk through these things with a little bit of a sense of humor and an open hand, you're going to enjoy them so much more. And you're going to feel the relief of the stress that comes from being worldly and self-centered. And it's going to come because you're going to trust in the Lord to work through all of the folly that you come up with. You understand that He laughs at your plans, and yet even the bad ones He uses for His good and His glory and our good.

Remember, it's not up to you. Laugh about your plans. Come at them with an understanding of the greatness of God and His permanence and trust Him.

Cnut the Great

I'll close with this. There was a powerful Viking king of England, around the eleventh century. His name was Cnut the Great. And Cnut had a court that loved to build him up. And they said, "Oh, you're so great, king. You can do anything." And he said, "Well, can I stop all of the armies of the world?" "Oh, yes. Great king. Your army is amazing. You can stop the great armies of the world." He said, "Oh, okay. And well, can I stop the waves from crashing on the seashore?" And they paused for a minute and then said, "Oh, yes, great king. Of course, you can. You can stop the waves on the seashore."

And as a way of mocking them and making the point that that was ridiculous, he went out to the beach, put his hands out, and said, "Stop." And guess what? The waves kept coming. Cnut had become a Christian, and he wanted his followers to understand that even as a great king, he was secondary to the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords who establishes everything.

Brothers and sisters, could we find a way—whether in sincerity or sarcasm like Cnut—to live our lives in such a way that points to our hope that is not in us but in Him, the Lord. That is James' point. It's going to be better for us if we trust in the gospel. It will be a fulfillment of why we are here and others will see that and they'll long for it because they're tired. They're tired of it all being on them. Aren't you tired of that? Remember that it's not on you and live your life in that way.

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you that you've done it all for us, that it's not all on us. Lord, help us to plan accordingly. Help us to be full of joy no matter what happens. Be with those who experience real tragedy and hardship in this world. Lord, remind them that there is another. And Lord, fill them with the hope of it. Indeed, fill us all. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to our CTK Raleigh sermons podcast. CTK is a community rooted in the depth of the gospel, refined by hard conversations, fueled by meaningful relationships, and committed to redemptive work in Raleigh. If you have questions about our sermon content or about our church in general, please visit our website at ctkraleigh.org.