Seeking God’s Will

A sermon based on James 4:13-17 developed by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett

Verse 13 - 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.”

• As we begin to draw near to God, life begins to get better.
• When life begins to improve, we have the emotional, spiritual and physical energy to begin to dream of what our future may look like.
• It is good to look to the future and plan for it.

Verse 14 - You don't even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are a bit of smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

• It can be a challenge to plan for the future because we do not know what the future holds.
• Life often takes us in directions that we never thought possible.
• James says our life is like a “bit of smoke.”
• The Greek word used for smoke is “atmis” which can also be translated as mist or steam.
• The point James was trying to make is that life is just a small blip in the eternal scope of things and it can be gone in a moment.
• Therefore, whatever plans we make must take this uncertainty of the future into account.

Verse 15 -Instead, you should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

• James says that we should live our lives in such a way that we can say “If the Lord wills” we will accomplish our plans.
• This does not mean that we have to literally say “if the Lord wills” to everything we plan.
• It means that we have to LIVE, ACT and PLAN for a future that is in keeping with God’s plan for our lives.
• The way Christians plan for the future is different than the way non-Christians plan, for we must include the spiritual dimension in our plans.
• We should be seeking God’s will for our lives, not merely seeking to fulfill our own desires.
• Though God has unique plans for each of us, there are some things He expects us all to do.
• God expects us to read the Bible and pray regularly (Joshua 1:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• God expects us to help those in need (James 1:27, Matthew 25:35-40)
• God expects us to share the Good News of Christ with others (Matthew 28:19-20)
• God expects us to avoid habitual sin (1 John 3)
• In order to discover what the unique things are that God wants us to do in our lives, we must first be doing the general things that God expects all of His children to do.
• As we faithfully follow the Lord’s general plan for our lives, the Holy Spirit will begin to reveal to us God’s specific plans for our lives.
• Therefore, all the plans we make for our future must take God’s general plan into account.
• As God reveals His specific plan for our lives to us, then our future plans must be adjusted so they are in line with God’s will for us.

Verse 16 - But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

• Unfortunately, most of the people that James was writing this scripture too had not taken God’s will into account when they made their plans for the future.
• They only thought of their own desires.
• Planning our future without taking God’s will into account is arrogant.
• The Greek word for arrogant is “alazoneia” and means that it is vain pretension. Vain pretension implies that it only thinks of us and not of others or of God.
• Because such plans are so self-centered, they are more than arrogant, they are evil.
• The Greek word used in this verse for evil is “poneros” and it literally means “hurtful.”
• Therefore, plans made for the future without taking God’s will into account will actually HURT us and those around us who are all affected by the plan.
• Why would any Christian want to make plans that will hurt themselves or others?
• God resists those plans because of His great love for us.

Verse 17 - So, for the person who knows to do good and doesn't do it, it is a sin.

• When we do something that is clearly wrong, we COMMIT a sin. This is called a sin of COMMISSION.
• But there are also times when we simply choose NOT to do what we know is right.
• This is also a sin. It is a sin of OMISSION. We have omitted correct behavior from our lives.
• Once God has shown us what His will is for our lives, if we fail to follow it, then we have committed the sin of OMISSION.
• Sometimes we think that so long as we do not commit a WRONG action then we are okay.
• But living the Christian life is more than just NOT doing wrong things.
• Living the Christian life is also choosing to do the RIGHT things.
• Have we chosen to follow God’s general plan for our lives?
• Have we chosen to follow the specific plans that God has revealed to us about our lives?

Conclusion:

• God expects us to plan for the future.
• But God expects us to include His will for our lives in the plans we make for the future.
• Including God’s will in our lives in not just something we “say.” It must be something we do.
• When we fail to do what God has called us to do, we are in sin before God and need to correct it.

Biblical Baptism

After church today someone asked me about being baptized. Perhaps this post will help answer many questions people may have about this important issue.

Our church has a large number of people who did not grow up going to church on a regular basis. As a result, many people who come to our church do not know much about one of the most basic pieces of theology, that of baptism. Since baptism is such an integral part of the Christian faith, followers of Christ need to gain a biblical understanding of it.

According to the New Testament, baptism is the way that Christians publicly proclaim their faith in Christ. It is a picture of how Christ died for us, was buried for us, and rose again for us. When we stand in the water we are saying that we are taking our stand for Christ. As we are dipped under the water it symbolizes us dying and being buried to our old way of life. When we come up out of the water it symbolizes how we are raised to new life through our faith in Christ.

Baptism does not give us salvation, instead it demonstrates to others that we have already been saved from our sin and have made the choice to be a Christian. The New Testament makes it very clear that every person who has trusted Jesus as their Savior and made a commitment to follow Him should be baptized after making that decision. Obviously, if a person has never been baptized at all, then it makes sense that they would be baptized after they make a sincere commitment to Christ. If we realize we are in this category, we should pray about getting baptized right away out of obedience and devotion to Christ. It will enhance our connection to God and improve our personal spirituality.

Sometimes people were baptized by their parents before they were old enough to understand what it was all about. While that is a very lovely ceremony to watch, we cannot find any examples in the Bible of an infant or small child being baptized. In the Bible, people were baptized only AFTER they made a deep and sincere commitment to Jesus Christ. When people who were baptized by their parents finally make the choice for themselves to become Christians, they should bet re-baptized as a testimony of their own faith. It does not mean they do not appreciate what their parents did for them, nor does it "undo" their previous baptism, it simply means that now they are making this decision for themselves. Parents should rejoice that their children have come to a place of committed faith in Christ and support them in their own faith decision.

While there is no specific age that a person has to be baptized, I often recommend that children wait until they are at least 13 years of age in order to ensure they really understand what they are doing. Though I have baptized children as young as ten on rare occasions when they were able to clearly articulate their faith, I often recommend to young people that they wait until they turn 13. I have also baptized people as old as 89 years old because it took them that many years to really be ready to take this important step of faith. The "perfect" age is whenever a person is spiritually and emotionally mature enough to think this through this issue on their own and come to this conclusion for themselves without being pressured by their parents or peers.

There is something spiritually uplifting about being baptized. It gives us a sense of spiritual cleansing. It makes us feel closer to God. It is also a step of obedience to God, since He is the one who commanded us to be baptized after we trust Christ as our Saviour.

The next opportunity to be baptized at Faith Community Church is June 5, 2011 at 10 AM. If you want to be baptized, you need to set up an appointment this week to talk to me about it. Once we are both confident that you understand what baptism means, I would consider it an honor to baptize you. If you have not yet been baptized in the way the Bible teaches, make it a matter of prayer and then respond as the Holy Spirit leads.

The “Nice” Things Christians Say

Have you ever known a Christian who used “nice” words to say mean things? I lived in the Bible Belt for a while and would often hear a person say “Well, bless your heart.” At first, I thought the person was being nice by speaking a blessing to whomever they were talking to. I eventually realized what that the individual was using that phrase to mean “I think you are a complete idiot, but I am too nice to be honest with you.” Once I realized the real meaning of this “nice” phrase, it did not seem very nice at all.

Then there are those Christians who will find a scripture, often quoted out of context, and use it as a weapon against a person they disagree with. And if you try to disagree with them, then you are automatically going against God and since that is a bad thing, then you are not really allowed to disagree with them. The problem is that they have often ignored the full teaching of scripture on the subject and only lifted out the section of scripture they wanted so they could twist it into something God did not intend for it to say. This can be frustrating for those who really do want to follow scripture, but want to be true to its REAL meaning instead of the twisted meaning that some people want to give scripture.

Then there are those Christians who say they are “praying for you.” But the context of the conversation or tone of their voice, or their body language indicates that they are actually judging us and are not likely to be praying for us at all. Not all Christians do this. Many are genuinely praying and since most of us can use all the prayer we can get, then we are encouraged when someone says they are praying for us. But when Christians use the “I am praying for you” phrase as a nice way to tell us they think we are bad people, it takes away whatever encouragement we might have gained from genuine prayer.

Then there are those Christians who like to say harsh things to others but insist they are saying those harsh things out of “love.” There are times when we must say difficult things out of love. That is part of really caring about each other. But there are also times when we let “speaking the truth in love” become an excuse for giving our personal opinions out of a heart of bitterness. One way we know if a person who claims to “speak the truth in love” is really saying these things in love is if they are also willing to HEAR the truth in love. If we can actually have a gracious conversation with each other about difficult things, then it has probably been spoken in genuine love even if it seemed harsh at the time. But when one person wants to do all the harsh talking and expects everyone else to just listen, love is probably absent. When one person is willing to point out the weaknesses of others, but is unwilling to hear about his or her own weaknesses, love is probably absent. Anytime a conversation turns into a one way lecture instead of a two way discussion, love is probably lacking.

I am not suggesting that Christians should stop trying to be nice. Our world has become a pretty harsh and rude place. We need MORE niceness in our society, not less. I am simply observing that sometimes we Christians like to hide behind nice words to say mean things. Most people can see right through this thinly disguised human arrogance. They know it is not an example of true spirituality. It is one reason so many people are turned off by religious talk. We are not demonstrating genuine niceness when our behavior does not correspond with our words. More importantly than how people can so easily see through our false piety and Pharisaical self-righteousness, God sees through it! God knows our hearts. He will hold us accountable for using His Word, prayer and Christian phrases in selfish ways to hurt others. Perhaps we should keep this in mind as we say “nice” things to people today.

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus. 

The “Terrible” Rumor

A gentle older couple from a church across town stopped into my office the other day. They wanted to make us aware of a “terrible” rumor going around town about our church. The rumor was that our church allows ANYONE to worship with us no matter their past, their background, or their current state of sinfulness. I do not know where that couple heard this rumor, but I was quite happy to confirm that the rumor was TRUE! Our church has worked hard to let everyone in the community know that we accept each person who comes just as they are. I am glad the word is getting out about this and that people are talking about it openly in our community. I can think of worse rumors floating around out there about churches.

Jesus encountered the same kind of “rumors” in His ministry. Luke 5:30-32 (HCSV) recounts the story: But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to His disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus replied to them, "The healthy don't need a doctor, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." In this passage, as well as many others, we see that Christ reached out to people who did not fit the typical “religious” stereotype. Christ reached out to those often spurned by the church. Many people did not understand or like what Christ was doing. If His actions were going to be misunderstood by so many, why would Christ take these anyway? Christ did this because He loved all kinds of people. His love compelled Him to reach out to anyone He came in contact with, including those that others may have considered untouchable. But do not be confused. Though Christ took each person where they were, He loved them too much to leave them where they were. Christ challenged people to consider their spiritual condition before a holy God and called them to repent of their former lifestyle and become His followers.

Our church feels the same way as Christ does about the people whom God is bringing to worship with us. We accept them as they are. But we love them too much to leave them as they are. We sow the Word of God into their lives and watch as the Spirit of God transforms them. We are ever mindful of Hebrews 4:12 (HCSV), “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” We do not have to judge the behavior of others. All we have to do is share the Word of God with them. The Spirit does the convicting and brings about repentance and faith in Christ. This is what all churches should be doing.

I thank God that our church is filled with really messed up people who found a loving and accepting place where they could discover Christ. I thank God even more as I watch each of us in the church be transformed by the Spirit’s power through the washing of the Word. If you know someone in Central Vermont who cannot find a church that will take them as they are, send them our way. But do not expect them to be the same when we send them back to you!

I pray that this “terrible” rumor about our church continues. I pray that this rumor begins to be whispered about more churches in our little state. When that begins to happen, we may yet see another great spiritual awakening sweep across our land.

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus. 

Draw Near to God – A sermon developed by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett based James 4:1-10

James 4:1- What is the source of the wars and the fights among you? Don't they come from the cravings that are at war within you?

• James asks what the source is of the “wars” we fight.
• James is not talking about actual wars with armies and airplanes and bombs.
• James is talking about the fights, feuds, conflicts and struggles that we have on a daily basis with other people.
• James then uses a second question in a rhetorical way to answer to his first question.
• James identifies that source of these conflicts as the internal “cravings” that we all have.
• Another translation uses the word “passions.”
• We all have internal cravings and passions which fuel external fighting and discord.

James 4:2 - You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask.

• The internal struggles that we face often come from unfulfilled desires in our lives.
• We desire to be loved and accepted by others.
• We desire to have a good (and long, and healthy) life.
• We desire for our kids to be happy and comfortable.
• We desire the material possessions necessary to provide the things we just listed.
• And our desire for material stuff is seldom satisfied.
• If we were honest, we would also admit that we desire pleasure.
• Our lust for pleasure is seldom satisfied either.
• Though we do not like to admit it, our desire for “stuff” and our desire for “pleasure” are often driving factors in our lives.
• James uses hyperbole to make his next point.
• Hyperbole is when a statement is EXAGGERATED on purpose in order to make a point.
• James says that we murder in order to obtain our desires.
• Though in some rare cases people have actually committed murder in order to fulfill such desires, most would never go that far.
• But we will destroy someone’s reputation or their hopes and dreams if they get in our way.
• But such desires will never be fulfilled because they are like a cancer that keeps growing.
• In our human depravity, we will never have enough pleasure, or possessions, or love.
• If we need more fulfillment in life, we need to seek it in our relationship with God.
• Have we asked God to meet our inner needs?

Psalm 42:5 - Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

• When our inner longings begin to push us to take external actions that are inappropriate, instead of ignoring those longings, we should talk to the Lord about them.
• We should ask God to meet our inner need and then we should refocus our external activities on praising God.

James 4:3 - You ask and don't receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.

• Some might argue that they have asked God to meet their innermost needs and God has not done it.
• James points out that when we ask God for help, it is often for selfish purposes.
• When we ask selfishly, God seldom gives us what we want because it would cause us to become even more selfish.

James 4:4 - Adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy.

• There are few things in life that hurt more than when one spouse cheats on another.
• Though the pain of adultery can be overcome, it is very difficult and takes a long time.
• James uses the word “adulteresses” to illustrate how God feels when we are more concerned with getting our desires met than in communing with Him.
• Friends are the people that we enjoy being around and whom we often have things in common with.
• When we enjoy being in the world more than being in the spirit, we are committing spiritual adultery against God.
• When we make a conscious choice to have more in common with the world than we do with God, we have made the choice to be God’s enemy.
• While that may be an acceptable situation for non-Christians, believers are supposed to be on God’s team, not warring against Him.

James 4:6 - But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

• God knows that we are only human and that we make mistakes.
• That is why God gives us grace.
• Grace is the undeserved favor or blessing of God.
• Every good thing in our lives is a gift of grace from God (James 1:17).
• Proud people do not think they need God in their lives. They think they can do it on their own.
• When we try to do it all on our own, we tend to make a big mess of things.
• If we could fix all the mess on our own, we would have already done it.
• But James takes it one step further by saying that God “resists” the proud.
• God is actively working to help proud people see their weaknesses and learn humility (James 1:9-10).
• If God is against us, there is NO CHANCE for us to be successful!

James 4:7 -Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

• Since we obviously want our inner desires to be fulfilled, and cannot make that happen without God’s help, then we MUST submit to God.
• The word “submit” comes from the Greek word “hypotasso” which means “to place under.”
• When we submit to God we place ourselves under Him.
• That might sound overly simplistic.
• But far too few of us have actually placed ourselves UNDER God.
• Most people have placed themselves OVER God by choosing their desires over God’s desires.
• Some have removed God completely from their lives leaving only their own desires to guide them.
• Learning to submit to God is far more challenging than we realize.
• One way we learn to submit to God is by resisting the Devil.
• The word “devil” comes from the Greek word “diabolos” and means “accuser.”
• The Devil delights in reminding us how our inner needs have not been met and that it is our fault. He accuses us of being failures.
• We must resist Satan’s attempts to convince us that we are failures at the things we desire most.
• We must instead receive the grace of God afresh and anew.
• We may have some failures in our lives, but we’ve read the last chapter, and in the end, we win!
• Romans 8:28-30 reminds us that ALL things work together for good, even our failures, to make us more like Jesus and one day we WILL BE what God wants us to be.
• When we resist the Devil, he WILL FLEE from us. Why? Because he has read the last chapter too!

James 4:8 - Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!

• We must not only resist Satan, but we must draw near to God.
• There are many ways to draw near to God, but the best part is that once we start heading His direction, He runs out to meet us!
• For those who do not know how to start heading God’s direction, we can try confessing our sins (cleansing our hands) and reflecting on our motives (purifying our hearts).
• We can try having a single focus in life, which is to glorify God in EVERYTHING we do.
• That eliminates a lot of inner conflict.

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

• When we make Christ our single focus, then God begins to meet our inner needs.
• Once our inner needs begin to be met, we have fewer external conflicts.
• When we have fewer external conflicts, we tend to gain more of the things that we wanted but could not attain on our own.
• It is through humility that we are lifted up (exalted).

Conclusion:

• Unfulfilled desires cause us internal struggles which often result in external conflict.
• We should ask God to meet our internal needs in a supernatural way instead of trying to meet them ourselves in merely human ways.
• God will not do that unless we draw near to Him through confession and spiritual reflection.
• When we draw near to God, Satan no longer has the power to remind us of our failures and life gets better.

Using Music to Reach the Next Generation

In my efforts to reach the next generation for Christ, I have found music to be a powerful tool. Music is the language of the next generation. When the lyrics of a song are biblically based and it has a great musical score, a song is transformed into a sermon that young people can grasp.

Sadly, many churches that I interact with fail to grasp this important truth. Somehow they equate “church music” with “funeral music.” While there are appropriate times for “funeral music,” I can think of many times in which that genre would not be the best choice (for example: weddings come to mind!).

Though in the 1970’s and 80’s “modern” Christian music tended to be five words sung fifteen times, contemporary Christian music has come a long way since then. Many “modern” Christian songs are actually based on various Psalms. The book of Psalms was the “hymn book” of ancient Israel and the early Christian church. This means that many “modern” Christian songs are merely adaptations of ancient biblical worship.

Though many churches have become accustomed to having only a piano and/or organ accompany their music, this has not always been the case. Jewish worship as described in Psalms was quite robust and utilized a large number of instruments that were to be used for worship.

Consider this list of biblical worship instruments:

1. Castanets – two chestnuts attached to the fingers and beat together – Psalm 150:5
2. Cornet – hollow, curved horn – Psalm 98:6
3. Cymbals – two concave plates of brass where were clanged together – Psalm 150:5
4. Drum (also called timbrel or tambour) – wooden hoop with animal skins pulled across the frame – Psalm 68:25
5. Harp – a wooden device with strings attached that made music when the strings were plucked – Psalm 33:2
6. Organ – reed instrument made of wood, ivory or bone that was similar to the modern oboe – Psalm 150:4
7. Psaltery – similar to the harp but was bottle-shaped with strings – Psalm 71:22
8. Trumpet – made from the horn of ram or goat – Psalm 98:6
9. Zither – ten-stringed instrument – Psalm 144:9

God created music. God wants us to use music to connect our hearts with His. If we desire to impact the next generation for Christ, we will want to work through this issue and come to biblical conclusions instead of human preferences. It may be delicate, but it is also important. Lord, give us Your wisdom in how to use music to honor, worship and glorify You.

The list of musical instruments above was adapted from:
Willmington, H. L. Willmington’s Book of Bible Lists (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1989), 213.

A Lesson in Rudeness

I was at McDonalds today and in less than an hour watched two different arguments between complete strangers. Both started with one person being extremely rude to another.

In the first situation a young man was in line ordering. He had his ears gauged but had taking the gauges out. This left a huge hole in his ear lobe. Though I do not find that particular style of body piercing to be particularly attractive, it's his ear so I just decided to look elsewhere. The man in the next line over decided to make a rude comment. He said that he found the boy's ears "disgusting" and then went on to say that he thought it was "unfair" that the boy would come into a place with "gross ears" and expect us to eat. The boy made some comments back. I thought for sure the two were going to come to blows. Finally, the boy took his order and left in anger. I am sure he was embarrassed. Though I did not care for his ears either, I thought it was rude for a stranger to comment publicly on them and speak negatively to others about it.

The second situation happened about 30 minutes later. Two older ladies were having a conversation between themselves and said something negative about a politician. In my opinion, the statement was accurate, but I was not a part of the conversation so I just kept eating my salad. They were talking quietly between themselves, not loudly or addressing any of the other patrons. But apparently one fellow three tables away heard it because he suddenly jumped up and ran over to the ladies screaming at them about how the previous politician in that office was far worse than the current one. The ladies were quite taken about by his brash interruption into their private conversation. They responded by saying they disagreed with the young man. But he want on and on, berating them for their opinions. Finally two older men nearby told him to sit down or they would intervene. He sat down but kept making comments. Being a bit frustrated by his rudeness, I snapped a picture of him having his tantrum. He saw me take the picture and stormed out angry. (It occurs to me that it was rude of me to take his picture without his permission, so I'm guilty of rudeness too!)

As I reflect on this experience, it just seems so odd that complete strangers were all so rude together. Why did they feel so compelled to speak their opinions publicly to people they did not know? Why did they cause a scene? What has happened to our society when such behavior has become acceptable?

Lord, help us all learn to respect each other more.

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus.