Here's Something Worth Remembering, Part 1

Hello this is Dave Speicher reminding you that at midnight tonight Insight for living will close the books on another ministry year to give your special year-end donation right now. Call us if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or go to insight.org and on behalf of Chuck Swindoll and the entire team at Insight for living. Happy New Year's Eve on the brink of a brand-new year. Glad you chose to study the Bible with us today what you're about to hear is a message never shared on the program until now. It's designed to help us set some goals and priorities for 2021 yesterday.

Chuck talked about the art of forgetting what lies behind today.

Looking forward, our primary text is the New Testament book of James chapter 4, Chuck titled today's message here something worth remembering your wee year to our lot. That may trouble some of you a Jew.

For some reason has never bothered the either in someone else's life, or in my own but there are many who worrying over getting older, as we often referred to it getting up in years Sarah Teasdale has helped me in her piece titled wisdom. She writes what I have ceased to break my wings against the fault in this of things. I learned that compromises weight behind each hardly open gate when I can look life in the eyes grown calm and very coldly why this life will have given me the truth and taken in exchange. My you wonderful trade-off. I've never met her. You who knew much of the truth don't mean that to be critical. It's just part of life takes years to learn truth, you learn what works and what doesn't. You learn what's best and what isn't. You are and what's worthwhile and what is it worth the time you learn the Scriptures. This body of truth and you discover how it slowly but very surely replaces all of you are a long-standing opinions of some of which may not be true and when you balance them against the book of God, you have gleaned truth and you've replaced error with what is reliable information.

As time passes. I hope you are regularly gaining truth and releasing old habits you have no business continuing long-standing offensive actions that really have no place in your life. It takes time to learn the truth. Today were going to be exposed to a few verses of Scripture. Toward the end of James chapter 4, you have your Bible with you. I invite you to turn, it's one of those passages that that lends itself to a new year. I don't know why but invariably when the old here is fading and new year is dawning. I often think of James for really verses 11 through 17 these last seven verses of this fourth chapter locate that in your Bible. I'm reading from the new living translation.

As you follow along with me as we think about something worth remembering something worth remembering. It's a truth I hope you will never forget beginning in verse 11.

Follow along with you. Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other when you're criticizing and judging God's will all and your job is to obey the law to judge whether it applies to you God alone who gave the law is the judge he alone has the power to save or to destroy so what right do you have to judge your neighbor. Look here, you who say today or tomorrow were going to a certain town and we will stay there year we will do business there and make a profit. How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow. Your life is like the morning fog. It's here a little while, it's gone. What you ought to say is if the Lord wants us to. We will live and do this or that otherwise you're boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. That last verse carefully.

The ultimate goal is not simply to know what to do it send to know what is right and then not do what is right. So today, as we learn of what is right my prayer. Our hope is that through this year will do what we learn is right and will stop doing what is wrong to search the Scriptures with Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to insight world.org/studies. Today's message is titled here something worth remembering. I title my first message for this new year here something worth remembering. Normally I would begin a message with a story or an illustration designed to sort of wet your appetite for what's coming, and cause you to wonder what it is that we should remember if it's so important to be speaking wanted on the very first Sunday of the year. What is that something while decided to just cut to the chase and not go into a story or give an illustration, but simply tell you what it is you are not in charge. Five words that some of you still don't believe so is like a personal I am not in charge hope that to happen. Say it with me to go. I am not in charge now say it like you mean here we go. I am not sure stop.

There are two realms really love to be in charge. We love to be in charge of others in the world that they get away with that or what's wrong with her. We love being in charge of others and I might as well say we love being in charge of ourselves as well were adults, we paid the price of reaching this age as Abraham Lincoln put it any man beyond the age of 40 is responsible for his own face.

I like that you're responsible for your own life.

But wait a minute, did you direct the affairs of your life over those past years.

Last time I checked you didn't really have a lot to do with it. You were the recipient of one who chose to direct your life with you cooperative not is another story, but the fact is I am not in charge of anyone else. I am not even in charge of myself. Unless you misunderstand what I'm saying and that second part is that I don't open my own doors are closed and I don't manipulate situations so that I'm able to do whatever I plan to do. I'm not speaking against wise planning. I am really talking about mistaken kind of thinking that I set my life in concrete and that's the direction I will take an on going there. Thank you, whether you like it or not, including God. So let's just put it right down and break it into the categories you are not in charge of others, you are not in charge of yourself that is what James chapter 4 verses 11 through 17 teachers. James is not a dreamer. He's a very practical mind so he speaks bluntly and I will do the same. James isn't worried about whether you like him or not he isn't worried about whether you feel good after you read what he writes.

I feel the same after telling you what I say. My responsibility is not to make you feel good. My responsibility is to tell you the truth in many ways.

Unlike a physician if I were your physician and you came to me and you had a tumor, it would make you feel better if I didn't tell you about, but that's called malpractice. I need to tell you the truth, for the you like to hear it or not, because only on the basis of the truth. Can you deal with reality. So that's where were going in these few minutes were together learning about this something that's worth remembering.

I hope you will say to yourself each week through the next number of weeks this year. I am not in charge just five words, easy to remember. Hard to practice to begin with. I'm not in charge of others. Verses 11 through 12 talk about that when I try to take charge of others. One of I do well I speak against them, and I judge them.

James addresses both look at it. Verse 11. Don't do that. Stop doing that since you are not in charge of anyone else. Do not speak evil against her criticize, dear brothers and sisters see the words speak against right here in the verse. Qatar love that O is the Greek combination of two words cut toppings down love that old beans to talk like yada yada yada to speak and when you put them together it means to talk down speak against put down, don't do that. Don't do that you're not in charge of anyone else.

You see when you do that you not only ignore your own faults and failures you do that behind the person's back. That's a cowardly thing to do if it's so bad and if something needs to be confronted and it's for the good of the other individual.

Wait until you're alone and at the right time and in the right tone confront the person to his or her face. That's not putting him down that's being faithful as a friend with a friend.

Proverbs 27 six faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful or the kisses of an enemy doesn't help me when my enemy kisses me.

It does help me when my friends wound me.

The Hebrew is quite colorful, faithful are the bruises caused by the one who loves you, but deceitful or the kisses of an enemy when I was in seminary I was an upperclassman about the finish that senior year and have been in chapel were a missionary had spoken and had not done a really great job and I took it upon myself to criticize the man who spoke in chapel and I was with a couple of my buddies who listen I was overheard by an underclassman who happened to be on the missions committee of the seminary and knew the whole story and he came up to me and he said Chuck what would you say that you know what that means been going through and I didn't by the way, that's also a reason not to criticize because you don't know all the facts like I didn't say do you know that the man's wife died three months ago. I didn't. Did you know that just this morning he received a phone call and his son was in terrible auto accident. He doesn't yet know the full condition but still he was willing to, and speak. Did you know that happened I will never forget the review the reproof even though it happened, 1962, the fall of 62.

He confronted me with my loose tongue all that everyone is work would be that good a friend when you hear something like that said about some other person that's negative asked individual.

Do you know all the facts. What are you saying that about what about your life.

You see right away.

We become convicted because of we are far from perfect, which takes us to the word judge.

That means to bring condemnation one another and only one is qualified for that. Who are you to condemn another you don't control destiny. And if you wonder about judging check out Matthew chapter 7. Remember the log in your own eye, as you look for the speck in your brother's eye. Don't go there. William Barclay has written. There are few sins which the Bible so I'm sparingly condemns as the sin of irresponsible and malicious gossip and to listen to a slanderous story and yet it is foremost a fascinating activity. The small group that you run with you critical in that group. Have you read such a low level that it's now about other people. Is that healthy. It certainly isn't right. I've spoken with coaches who tell me one of the best things they can do is coat to team up. I coached him up, which means I help the player know how to be better at that position. I helped him or her understand how to how to run that play or how to handle that particular moment how to dribble the ball how to take care of these very difficult parts of the game. I coached him up. This is desire here. If you criticize and judge each other your criticizing and judging God's law is not your call. You see we we step into a role that only God qualified to fill only he knows everything only he knows all the facts. Second, as I said earlier, we ignore our own false and failures. And third, I will add we assault our love relationship. When we do that. I know this when I really pray faithfully for another. I cannot say things ugly about so I know when I see things ugly or someone else and someone something going on. No prayer is going on. Member love hello VE when you love someone else you listen to them. Oh, you overlook faults the value, but they have a say in their presence. EU express your gratitude, your affection, you encourage them when you put them down. You do none of the above so for this year. Let's you and me, agree since you and I are not in charge of others.

Let's agree that we will not operate as though we are and will stop putting people down and judging. We would be miles ahead in relationships. If we would just cover those two bases. How wonderful it would be to have that kind of verbal integrity.

That's first. The second reminder if you were not even in charge of ourselves versus 13 to 16. Look here.

James begins this 13 verse and in this 13th verse he puts his finger on five things an individual does who attempts to control his own life or her own life. Number one look at how he puts it, you who say today or tomorrow.

So we began by setting our own hard and fast schedule. I will wait a minute waiting is going to be someone hearing this.

That's going to say what you we were not supposed to plan when I was posted organize our lightweight that's not Buddhist dealing with some of the clarified there is a proverb that says a man's heart devises his way with the Lord directs his steps everything right about devising your way every New Year's Day. You wouldn't know this if I didn't tell you so I'll let you in on a little activity I do virtually every new year is a virtually because some things have come up and I've been able to. But I think my day timer small book I carry, which is the calendar of every day in the year, January through December with all the pages in between double-page for the calendar and I go to the calendar of each month and I enter into that calendar. The events of that year. All the birthdays of those I love and want to remember all of the significant events that have been planned.

Those trips undertake speaking responsibilities on and on it goes takes me about 5 to 6 hours to complete my daytime I go through it meticulously. All the while, if not saying it aloud, thinking Lord at any time I'm at your disposal. You want to bring any change to any part of this, please do midway through a study in James chapter 4 there's much more practical wisdom. Chuck Swindoll wants to show us. He's titled this portion of our special New Year's Eve study hear something worth remembering to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org as you listen to Chuck describe his system for tracking personal appointments you'll be interested to know he uses a similar format to map out his preaching calendar each year. In fact, in the new year. He's plan to present a brand-new verse by verse study through the gospel according to Matthew, the first portion of the series is called the King's arrival now to prepare for this upcoming study in Matthew, we invite you to purchase the two hardbound volumes that comprise the brand-new comprehensive commentary from Chuck. It's called Swindoll's living insights commentary on Matthew. If you secure the two books now, you'll receive them in plenty of time to prepare for the study that begins on January 13 to purchase windows letting insights commentary on Matthew go to insight.org/store or call one of our friendly staff members. If you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 and then please bear in mind that we're counting the hours before insight for living closes the books on another ministry year. If this program has touched your life in 2020. It's imperative that we hear from you your gift today will not only help us meet the year-end goal. More importantly, your generous year-end gift will be used to touch a life in 2021. Thanks Dave.

As you prepare to kick back and celebrate a leisurely New Year's day with your friends and family. Remember that the day December 31 is a profoundly important day on the inside for living calendar. In fact, around here we call it the most important deadline in the entire year.

Please don't allow your good intentions to fall by the wayside. It might surprise you to know how many people listen to our program, but never get they've never given I'm talking about well-meaning loyalist you may be one of them.

If so, jot down this contact information, take a few minutes to call her to meet us online, do it right now. Thanks so much. If you're listening in the United States you can call us right now at 1-800-772-8888 that's 1-800-772-8888 or you can also go online to insight.org have of Chuck Swindoll this is Dave Speicher. Wishing you a happy new year.

Please join us again tomorrow New Year's Day to hear insight for living. The preceding message is something worth remembering in the sound recording were copyrighted in 2020 by Charles R. Swindoll.

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