If You Want to Make God Laugh…

The issue the issue is presuming you got another year. I have so when you tell people what's going to happen without the God factor that's the problem because you don't even know what's going to happen tomorrow.

A man plans in his heart the way he should go, but the Lord directs his steps hello and welcome to another great week here in Destin for victory with pastor Paul Sheppard planning never violates the will or the word of God. We should have plants. It's healthy to have goals but we need to be flexible enough to allow God to change our direction to take us down a road we never thought we would take today. Pastor Paul reminds us that God is the one who directs our path. Not only does he know the future, he knows us better than we know ourselves, stay right here or visit Pastor Paul.net to listen anytime on demand. That's Pastor Paul.net you can also subscribe to the podcast podcasts modify or were ever you get your mail is best. Apologies Destin for victory message.

If you want to make God laugh, James uses this letter to give a quick ride for a lot of different things we studied in the last message to quick guide to dealing with your attitude toward others not being judgmental and not speaking evil of others, and now he talks about this business of being presumptuous and being arrogant and wants to give us just a few key versus about what's wrong with believers who live a presumptuous life and who are practicing arrogance. Look again at verses 13 and the first part of verse 14 here with James for now listen, you say today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money when you look at that at first that probably doesn't startle you. It's, like, yeah, what's the problem, but James wants you to take thought of what is underneath that sentiment today or tomorrow were going to go here to this city were going to spend the year were going to carry on business I'm gonna make some money and the problem here is one of presumption is not saying we hope to I plan to the Lord allows it. If it is his will is just saying here's what I'm going to and he projects it out as far as a year today. Tomorrow going to leave the city go to another one to carry on business going to make money while spending the next year. There so number one of three points.

I'm going to make as I talk you through this passage is right this down if you want to make God laugh, talk about how things will be this time next year. If you want to give God a chuckle telling what about next year and you fill in the blanks. Now let's be clear, James is not rebuking us for planning. The problem is not one of planning because the Bible does not condemn or admonish people for planning. In fact, just the opposite. The Bible encourages us exhorts us to be people who are diligent about our practices and that would certainly include planning so limited. First of all make you understand what is not being rebuked.

Here it is not a problem of planning. The Bible endorses planning was wrong with a whole lot of us is we don't do enough planning. We live on the fly. We live by our feelings rather than our convictions.

Too many of us are thermometers rather than thermostats thermometer reflects the temperature that is of thermostats, sets the temperature for what it wants and too many of us just can't go with the flow and so we need to be people who plan the Bible endorses planning. Let me just give you a few quick file references that verify that Proverbs 14 eight. The writer Solomon says the wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception. Wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways. People who live with a degree of prudence of wisdom, of clarity, they don't just do.

They don't just act, they think before they act this be a season in your life when you think before you act when you don't just do an especially where most of the concern.

I hope you have learned by now that your emotions are meant to be passengers, not drivers.

If you let your emotions drive you are going in the wrong direction that you learn that already.

If you have it. This is the time allotted in your life. Never make decisions based on your feelings make your decisions by being thoughtful and deliberate and sometimes where emotions are concern, you have to deliberately give yourself time to divorce. Emotions from what you're about to do and so the wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to the ways Proverbs 21. Five the plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as Jesus leads to poverty.

There is a proverb that gives you the same principle, and it talks about financial gain or loss based on how you make your decisions look at it again. The plans of the diligent Proverbs 21 five lead to profit now these are truisms Solomon gives us truisms throughout his writing here in proverb so doesn't mean that it is always exactly true. Every single time and every single circumstance. The problems were written for that truisms are nuggets of wisdom that if you base your life on them. Generally speaking, you glorify God do the right thing but is not meant to tell you every time you make a plan deliberately and only the profit we all know that sometimes you deliberately make a plan that falls apart, Solomon is not saying that cannot happen. He's simply saying the way to live is to plan dismissively comes your money is to plan so that that can lead to profit rather than to make a hasty decision and it lead your property. Just one more biblical example of the fact that planning isn't a bad thing. Jesus in Luke chapter 14 beginning in verse 28 says this suppose one of you wants to build a tower, will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to completed for if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, this fellow began to build and was not able to finish. Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with 10,000 men to oppose the one coming against him with 20,000 if he is able he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask the terms of peace in the same way and if you does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple that Jesus of course was making that bottom line point had to be a disciple, but he is you gotta pay the full price.

He said you got to think this through. If you follow me, I want you to be all in was wrong with today's Christianity as a lot of us think I'm a follower of Christ because I pray a prayer that begins your journey is the journey that decides whether you're a follower of Christ, but understand that the day you asked the Lord in your life. Great day. Best day of your life so far, but it just begins your journey a follower is one who keeps on following and so he say to people if you're gonna follow me.

I want you to pay the full price want to be all in.

We see in today's world, expressions of hatred in the name of religion and what is that due to God. That's due to the fact that these people go to misguided when they became whatever religion they bought into.

They did it all in.

Of course we were followers of Christ are not going to ever do or say anything that's detrimental to other people because we serve a benevolent God. But don't miss the point that you want to have the same extreme commitment to Jesus that other people have these foreign philosophies that kill and steal and destroy. We follow Christ all have the same commitment to share life and love and hope with the world. Don't be one of these casual Christian kingdom can use casual follow that adjustment you got safer fire insurance now. Also, let me just say that clearly that's a really good reason to say that's a very good rate if that was all that still a good deal, but that's not why you should become a follower is just a fringe benefit should become a follower because he has a plan for your life purpose for your life.

He is the creator of your life, you designed you for his own glory.

And he wants you to be all Lynn Cosby and all that means he's setting you up to be blessed and be a blessing, but the point is, Jesus was saying you gotta think about what it means to be a follower of Christ, so the culprit here listening to destined for victory with pastor Paul Shepherd, senior pastor of destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont California and he will be right back with the second half of today's message to listen to destined for victory anytime download a free mobile app. The app allows you to select from any of pastor Paul's recent messages or to contact us for prayer. You can order resources from our online store you can even take notes on the daily messages right on your mobile device and the be waiting for you the next time you stop by search destined for victory in the App Store and download our free mobile app today. I'm reminded of the words in a familiar song.

This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue for the book of James hears pastor Paul rested today's message.

If you want to make God laugh planning isn't the corporate this is talking against presumption moving to Memphis.

I'm gonna stay here make a bunch of money and now probably be back. The problem with that mindset.

James is suggesting is who told you to go to Memphis who told you you'd make it to Memphis who told you what to do when you get to Memphis you see what I'm saying and you know that's what James is talking about because right after he sets up that scenario gives us those that very next words are. You do not even know what will happen tomorrow or next year, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Do you know there are people dying right now as I speak and went to bed last night thinking about anything other than dying.

You realize that you realize that thousands of people are going into eternity right now across this globe of several billion people went to bed last night as we get this last sleeping is going be it goes to bed as well.

You know, and enjoyed his sleep is my last one in his bay. We don't think like that we live life expecting like to go on. James said that we analyze the problem, he said, is not the issue.

The issue is presuming you got another year ahead of you. So when you tell God or tell other people what's going to happen without the God factor without the purpose fact without the destiny after in your mind and certainly in your word that's the problem. He says you can't be presumptuous, because you don't even know what's going to happen tomorrow. You're being safe doesn't guarantee you was going to happen tomorrow.

We don't have any guarantee about how long we will make it on this planet. How many of you know folk in their prime or early in their life who died completely unexpectedly see something course, we all do.

We all know somebody didn't work at all.

The norm didn't work at all.

We all know people like that. We all know people who seem to be well goal to get a checkup about one thing and the physician says will not tell you this but you are stage IV of some form of cancer or some life-threatening disorder symptoms. They went to get one thing checked out and accidentally it would seem found out that they only have days or weeks or months to live. Happens all the time to be old to check out here you have to be unhealthy, at least knowingly in terms of symptoms and all that. I'm glad that we all can do things to prolong our lives. We all can make choices that will help our case, but you're only dealing with probabilities and you need to live like you don't have the guarantee of long life so James is saying don't be a follower of Christ who talks knowingly about the future because you're right. The check that you can't cash.

We says well into next year you don't know whether you be able to do that or not. That's the first point is the second point I see in the passage. Write this down. It won't be long, soon will be leaving here I worded that way. In honor of Andre Crouch, late Andre Crouch. I love that man of God. God used him to write so many anthems that have blessed the body of Christ world wide. I had the privilege of ministering with him on the occasion several years ago. He was the guest music person. I was the guest speaker in the city of New York, so I took that opportunity to publicly thank him for his ministry and I played a clip on one of my numerous CDs is a clip of me talking about wanting to meet Andre Crouch or Lee shake his hand back in the 70s bunch of us were young people just getting save and Andre Crouch of the disciples were coming through Philly and will be down at the stadium where the Sixers played know that we were so excited.

We got tickets and we went down there and we were hoping to just maybe shake his hand and did not regret for some of Andre because he was our life because I like looking at him sing in church and he was harm, freedom from the hymns in our course knowing they fed us hymns until we start liking them to this day I love some ghetto hymns are benign and I got player singing to myself some good every now and then you can get better than the hymnbook, but we did need a break from no and no. So here he was coming back in the early 70s when he was first right no songs and he was touring the country in the world. Singing it won't be long and and although some and so we went to hear him and I was especially excited because I knew one of the young ladies that he had made one of his background singers. I knew her from one of the churches we always fellowship with in New York and so I told him folk in the church. Yet we go. I know one of the disciples. So after the service we all will go backstage, see if I can get her to come out and you know what have you and see if she can give us to hook up so we can meet or Lee shake hands 100 thing on the paycheck that I know to disciple that get us in, and so have to say that we went to the area where the bus was on his stuff and see what it will come in the building and sure enough disciples and musicians would have to start coming out eventually. And I saw the lady that I knew that because we knew her from my dad priest at their church and so when she came to her coronation. She looked at me and said hello hello and she said nice to see you how's your father is always good to great this and we came from. It is okay from our church. We did okay hello everybody. As she got on the bus. I went to see when she was done and I got discouraged. This was a Saturday night concert and it was late by the time the concert was over, and on got discouraged with her attitude because I thought if a disciple has that much attitude was undergoing the light don't stand a chance of him. Even looking at us background singers is conceded that I got this hello can we get a week ago Sunday school tomorrow and I'm going home and I left and some lives and we release 100 come out. This is closer than we were in the stadium so release one see them up close and get them to look at assembly and they said is ossified concert I went on the next morning after Sunday school.

Between Sunday school and church on the ball thousand 930 to 1030 and you had a half-hour break and Jesus came at 11 Richard will show up till 11 o'clock. The young folk would stay came on them is you have to you left too soon, said we Andre came out he saw.

He came out he shook the pictures went hungry and we really we and so that day I was speaking and he was a singer. I played the clip of me telling the church. That story, and he fell out laughing, and afterwards he and I were shaking hands. After the service and taken pictures with people as we were standing there waiting for the line to start and he said that you know who that was, who he gave her name is but I got the publicly thank him for his not only his anointing but is, no matter how long you live with her. 10 more minutes or 10 more decades your life is but a vapor here one moment on the next as you make your way through this world. Be sure to store up for yourselves treasures in the next you need prayer today and some 107.

King David writes then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

If you do have a prayer. Indeed, the destined for victory ministry team would like to join you in prayer from the homepage of Pastor Paul.net use the context he should let us know how we can pray for you while you're there, be sure to ask for pastor Paul's monthly letter of encouragement. Yours, at no cost or obligation.

Well we have a great resource to share with you today, a DVD video message from Pastor Paul Sheppard called get your hopes up know the word hope in English often conveys doubt. I hope my team win sore. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow but biblical hope has its foundation in God, in whom there is never any doubt, learn about biblical hope in this DVD from Pastor Paul is called get your hopes up as our gift to you this month by request for your generous donation to Destin for victory call 855-339-5500 855-339-5500 or visit Pastor Paul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destin for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. I hope you understand you can be a child of God and never experience anything but wilderness living if you're not careful you go to heaven when you die, but life is not going well because you are walking in faith and obedience and trust in the Lord. That's what happened with Old Testament Israel that's tomorrow. Would Pastor Paul Sheppard shares this message. If you want to make God laugh, until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory