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Now, let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip's son, Nate Heitzig. James chapter 4, we're going to be in verses 13 to 17 today. For a message that I've titled, Who's in Control? Who's in Control? Let me ask you a question.
Are you an ambitious person? Would you consider yourself an ambitious person that you feel like, man, I set goals, I set priorities, I set plans, I set timelines in place? Like you're one of those people where you're like, I am an ambitious person. In the world today, ambition is prized as a virtue. What?
One needs to get ahead in business and life in general is ambition. If you want to be successful in business, if you want to be successful in life, you need to be an ambitious person. For some believers, ambition would actually be considered a negative trait. But the real issue, and the issue that we're going to address and see in our text today, is not. Are you ambitious?
But what are you ambitious for? That's my question for you today. What are you ambitious for? Or phrase it another way: what are you passionate about? What drives you in life?
What gives your life vision and purpose? When you wake up in the morning, everyone has something that they have drive for, something they feel like gives them purpose, a reason to get out of bed each day, something they're ambitious for. For some, it might be their job. For some, it might be their family. For some, it might be a particular hobby they love doing.
For others, it might be the Lord. But what are you ambitious for? Let me ask you another question. Anyone in here ever been at a place in your life? Where are you?
Felt like things were out of control. Anyone ever been there? Where you just felt like things were out of control. You had no control over what was happening to you. They just spiraled out of control.
They got crazy. And you felt like there was nothing that you could do. That's a horrible feeling, isn't it? When things feel out of control in life, when you're stuck in bed at night and you can't shut your mind off because you just feel like your whole entire life is out of control, nothing's working out, there's no solid ground to stand on. Let me also ask you: have you ever been through a spiritual valley in your life?
Perhaps it can be rooted in not feeling like you had control over your life, where you felt like you were floundering in a particular situation. Maybe unexpected circumstances suddenly came crashing down around you, maybe a time when it felt like God Himself. Abandoned you, perhaps you even wondered that. It might have been a tremendous hardship that you're dealing with, or maybe family problems, or physical problems. Perhaps it was business problems.
You just couldn't get ahead. You felt like you couldn't succeed. Maybe a time of intense trials or temptation. Maybe even in those seasons, you wondered if that difficulty or valley was ever going to end. The term worry is an old English word that comes from a word that means to strangle or to choke.
Jesus spoke of the seed choked out by the worries of this world. That's a good way to describe the feeling of worry, isn't it? It feels like you're choking. When you're in one of those situations that it feels like things are out of control. It feels like there's no way out.
It feels like there's no solid ground to stand on. You're under immense trials. It's a helpless feeling. And you can feel like you're choking as those burdens, as those weights weigh on your chest, and you feel the anxieties start to rise up. You feel like you can't breathe.
You feel like you've just run a marathon, but you haven't done anything. But it's just the anxieties, the cares, the worries that are weighing down, and you feel like you're choking. Jesus said, How many of you through worry and anxiety can extend the length of your life for even a moment. Let me ask you a question. When you've been in those situations, and I think we all have been in those situations where it feels out of control, when you've been in those situations where you feel like you have no control, you feel like things are out of control, and all those helpless times, did worrying about what was going on help the situation at all?
The more you worry, did it make things better or did it make things worse? The more you stressed out, the more anxieties that you carried. The worse things get. And I think it's so funny. I think we think the opposite.
I think that we believe in our minds that. If we can be really controlling, if we can have really good plans for our future, that that's actually going to bring peace and push worry away. But it's not, is it? The more we're controlling, the more that we try to be strong and control our circumstances and make things work together the way that we think it should, it actually leads to more worry. And it's not until we give up control and we realize that we can't do it and we can't fix everything that we actually find peace, right?
And it's not just for things we're experiencing.
Sometimes we can worry about things that haven't even happened yet. Anyone ever done that? You're worried about something that's going to happen next year. Or 10 years from now, or something that's going to happen six months from now. You're like, man, Nate, it's 2024.
It's an election year. I feel that every single day. Worried about things that I don't even know what's going to happen. I don't even know what's going to happen. Worry, not only will it not extend your life, worry, did you know, might actually shorten your life?
Doctor Charles Mayo of the famed Mayo Clinic wrote this Worry affects the circulation. The heart. the glands and the entire nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who die from worry. But the reality is, if we're honest, it's hard not to worry because we are worriers by nature, aren't we?
We're worriers by nature. Hey, be honest. Who came in here today worried about something today? Worried about something in your life, something that's going on, an unresolved circumstance at work, something that's going to happen next week. Perhaps that's what you came and got prayer for today, is something that you're worried about.
We are worriers by nature. And usually worry comes, as I said before, when we feel like things are out of our control. And usually things feel out of control when we're trying to control them. That's the point of this. Things feel out of control when we are trying too hard to control them.
But guess what? There are some things in your life that you were never meant to control. There's some things in life that we can't control, that we're not supposed to control, and we're not supposed to carry the weight of trying to control them or the weight of the worries and the anxieties that are attached to them. We're not supposed to. We weren't meant to.
There are things in your life That are beyond your ability to manage. I don't care how good of a manager or a leader or a parent you think you are. There are some things that we cannot fix. There are some things we cannot manage. There are some things we cannot carry.
And in this section of James, he begins dealing with these topics. James is addressing here at the end of chapter 4 things like ambition. Control trust and worry. And he deals with the believer's heart. He deals with what our goals and our priorities are.
So, I ask you as we start out, what are your goals and priorities? Are you one of those? You know, I plan 10 years in advance. I've got my 10-year plan, my 15-year plan, my 20-year plan. I know there's some of you in here, if you're one of those planners, raise your hand up.
You're like, man, Nate, if you could see my planning schedule, my agenda, you'd be like amazed. It's color-coded and it's got everyone's activities and what we're going to do, and goals and priorities. You're one of those people. I get you, us type A personalities, right? We want to know how everything's going to go.
But really, what James is addressing is what we really live for. and what we value. He's not condemning earthly possessions. He's not condemning pursuits. He's not condemning planning.
But rather, James is condemning our attitude towards those things. Let me ask you once again, who's in control? of your life. Are you in control of your life? Are your plans Are your pursuits Who you think you are, your confidence, your success.
Is that who's leading? Is that who's controlling your life? Or is God controlling your life? Let's look at James chapter 4, verse 13 to 16. It says, Come now.
You who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city. Spend a year there. Buy and sell and make a profit. Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life?
It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say If the Lord wills. We shall live and do this or that. But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. We're going to see three things as we ask this question today. Who's in control? We're going to see, number one, you can't control the future.
Sorry, no matter how hard you try, you can't control the future. Number two, you must control yourself. And third and finally, let God control it all. Let's look at our first point and go back to verse 13 and 14. Let's read it one more time.
Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow, we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there. Buy and sell and make a profit, whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. We come now here to a section of James at the end of chapter four, and it's actually going to continue on next week in chapter five.
And again, if you read ahead in chapter five this week, you're going to see why I'm so glad I don't have to teach those verses next weekend. We're coming to a section here in James where James now addresses those who put their faith. Their hope. Their trust, their security, and their peace based on who they are and what they've accomplished. Based on their money.
Based on their job, based on their success, based on how much they have in the bank account, what house they live in, what car they drive, who they're married to, they find their purpose, they find their satisfaction in earthly things. And James is now addressing this issue that we can have, especially in the church where we say our eyes are fixed on heaven, but so often our eyes are fixed on things that are on this earth. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heidzig. We'll return to Nate Heitzig's teaching in just a moment. Have you ever struggled to study the Bible consistently?
or wondered how to really enjoy your time in the word? In his book, How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It, Pastor Skip gives you the tools and insights you need to dig into scripture with joy, clarity and confidence. This practical guide is our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to reach more people with God's Word through Connect with Skip. Request your copy when you give today at connectwithskip.com/slash offer. or call 800-922-8888.
Now let's get back to the teaching of Nate Heitzig. I want you to notice how many details James gives of this merchant entrepreneur. Notice it says. He's very precise as to time, today. Tomorrow, spend a year.
He's precise about the location. You're gonna go to such and such a city. He's precise about what he's gonna accomplish. It says, buy and sell, make a profit. Do you guys see this guy's a planner, right?
This is that guy who's got that 10-year calendar. He's got the agenda of what he's going to do, what he's going to accomplish, what those accomplishments are going to bring.
Now, the issue James is addressing here is not an issue with money. It's not an issue with money. Don't misunderstand what James is teaching. James is not extolling poverty as a great virtue here. As a matter of fact, one out of seven verses in the New Testament deal with the subject of money.
It's not often referred to as a bad thing. It's just a thing. 16 out of the 38 parables that Jesus told deal with money. Frame that in reference: that in Scripture, we have about 500 verses on prayer. We have less than 500 verses on faith, and we have over 2,000 Bible verses on the topic of money.
How we as believers are supposed to interact with it. And again, it is not an evil thing. Money is not evil in and of itself. And people will often quote and misquote the verse and they'll say, well, money is the root of all evil. No, the text doesn't say that.
The text says money is a root of all evil. The issue isn't that money is evil in and of itself. It's how we treat money, how we respond to money, and what we do with money that can be the issue. Nor is James condemning here planning and saving. Again, I asked if there's any planners in the house.
You're one of those people, you like to have a plan for everything. I imagine going on vacation with you is a nightmare because you want to have every little detail planned out. My wife's laughing because she's like, that's Nate, that's me, that's what I do on a vacation. I want to know what we're doing every single day, where we're going, where we're eating, what activities. It's all got to be planned out.
James isn't condemning you being a planner. He's not saying that planning is bad or that saving is bad. Scripture, as a matter of fact, commends the ant for storing in the summer food it will need in the winter. Proverbs 6, 6 says, Go to the ant, you sluggard, and consider her ways and be wise. James also isn't condemning you providing for your family.
1 Timothy 5:8 says, If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. The issue that James is addressing is not a planning issue. It is not a saving issue. It is not a money issue. The issue is a trust issue.
That's the issue that he's addressing. Do you put your trust? in your money. Do you put your trust in your plans? Do you put your trust in your future that you see?
Do you put your trust in your savings account? Do you put your trust in your relationships? Do you put your trust in earthly things? Or do you put your trust in God?
So I ask you that. Where do you put your trust? And don't give me the easy answer because we're all in church.
So it's easy for all of us to say, of course, I put my trust in God. But what does your life say you put your trust in? When you look at what keeps you up at night, when you look at what causes you to toss and turn, when you look at what brings you anxiety and stress, is it because you're trusting in yourself? and yourself is failing you? Is it because you're putting your trust in earthly things and those earthly things aren't working out, or is your trust in God?
I think the US currency is a good reminder. To us. If you have in your pocket or in your wallet a penny or a nickel or a quarter or a dollar bill or a $100 bill, pull it out really quick. I would do it if I had one in my pocket. But if you pull it out, all U.S.
currency has the same motto on it. You know what it says? In God we trust. What a good reminder that is, isn't it? That the money we hold on to with tight fists, the money that we think will help us achieve our dreams and our vision, that we think is going to give us security and a firm foundation to stand on, the money that we hold in our hand that withers and fades away, that moth and rust destroy.
that we use to pay for things, that we trust in. Says on it in God we trust. Says on it that this thing we hold, I don't trust in this thing. This thing is just a tool. I trust in God.
This thing that God's given me is just a thing. It's a temporal thing that's going to fade away and pass. And yet, so many of us hold on to that currency that says in God we trust, but our trust really isn't in God, our trust is in that thing. And we think in our minds, if I get more of it. If I invest it, if I save it.
If I use it in certain ways, then I'll be secure. Then I'll be confident. Then I'll have reliance. I'll have something to step back on. And we begin trusting in that rather than trusting in God.
This text is not a prohibition against planning and investing, but rather in trusting and relying on your plans and investments rather than on God. That's the issue that James is talking about. Yes, we can follow trends, market fluctuations, and developments. But our view of the future is fuzzy and dimly lit. I don't care who you are, you can't predict the future.
You might be the best stock analyst in the world. And you might have some good guesses, but no one knows the future. No one knows what's going to happen tomorrow. All we have is today. And when we put our trust in who we think we are, our knowledge, we are always going to let ourselves down and we're always going to be prone to worry.
Only God possesses absolute clarity about future events. We are incapable of predicting the future.
So, why should we not put our primary ambition in life and the accumulation of things?
Well, look at verse 16. James continues on and gives us the reason. He says, but now. You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
The boasting that James is referring to here is the hypothetical instance of verse 13. It's bragging about imagined business transactions that lead to profit. Bragging about who you are or what you've accomplished. Again, the idea is finding confidence in yourself. This is a very self-confident person.
They're very confident in who they are, what job they have, what their title is, what their role is, what their status is, how much money they have, what they look like. They're very self-confident. But to plot Plan Scheme and worry Apart from submission to God's will, is to assume that we're in control. But we're not in control. We're not in control.
To put hope in those things. To place our peace and our security in those things is to say that I'm in control of my own life. I'm in control of my own joy. I'm in control of my own peace, and my peace will be dependent on me, not on God. That's what that's saying, to live that kind of a lifestyle.
This is the arrogance, boasting and arrogance, is to say, hey, God, I know you say you're good. I know you say your plans are good, not evil, to give me a future and hope, but I think my plans are better.
So I'll take care of myself. And yet, this is the funny part, when things don't work out, who do we blame for not taking care of us? God. We've been taking care of ourselves this whole time and not letting God do it until things get messed up. We're like, Guy, God, why did you fail me?
He's like, bro, you've been doing it on your own all along. You failed yourself. Don't put that on me. Such thinking is pure arrogance, isn't it? As a matter of fact, such thinking is practical atheism.
Think about that. It is living as though God does not exist. Look, you can come to church, we can say we believe, but if we're relying on our own plans, our own money, if we're placing our peace and our security rooted in how we're doing, we are denying the will of God and we are denying that God's will is best for your life. It is practical atheism. It's one thing to say you believe.
It's another thing for your actions to show that you believe and trust in God. I may proclaim faith in God, but if I live as though I am in control, I am proud and overconfident. It's really an issue of reliance.
So let me put it this way. Do you rely on yourself? Or do you rely on God? Do you rely on yourself? For how you're doing?
Do you rely on yourself for your joy? Do you rely on yourself for your security and your peace? Or do you rely on God? For your security? Do you rely on God for your self-esteem?
Do you rely on God for your confidence? Who do you rely on? Because you can only rely on one. You can't rely on both. You can't rely on yourself and God.
And we can be so future-oriented that we begin to rely on ourselves for security. And that's what our plans are. We like to rely on plans, don't we? That's why when plans are broken, we say that they're unreliable plans. And someone is unreliable, we like to make plans so that we can rely on our plans because it makes us feel good.
I've got a plan.
So I can rely on my plan and trust that things are going to be okay. But that is relying on yourself. Self-reliance is not a biblical principle. I know some guys would really like it to be a biblical principle. I like to preach to our kids: hey, self-reliance, you got to do this on your own.
No one's going to fight for you if you don't fight for yourself. That whole mantra, right? You got to be self-reliant. We like to talk about it like it's a biblical virtue, but self-reliance is not a biblical principle. Self-reliance is a business principle.
Self-reliance will say, This is mine. I earned it. I worked for it. God-reliance will say, This is God's. God gave it to me, and God's going to continue to provide what I need because He knows my needs.
Self-reliance will say, I can do it myself. God-reliance will say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Self-reliance. will say, I understand. everything works, God reliance will say Lean not on your own understanding.
But commit all your ways to the Lord. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig, today featuring Pastor Skip's son Nate Heitzig. Before you go, don't forget to request this month's featured resource, How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It. This book from Pastor Skip offers practical, encouraging help to take your Bible study deeper and get more out of every verse. It's our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to help share God's Word with more people.
Call 800-922-8888 or visit connectwithskiff.com slash offer. and be sure to sign up for weekly devotionals and get your free one-sheet how to approach studying the Bible. It's a great tool to jumpstart your time in Scripture. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip-Heitzig. Make a connect.
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