James 4:13-17 ESV

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:13 ESV
¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow
When, what, where, how long, for what purpose

we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Presumption – we are in control

#1 Short
#2 Fragile
#3 NOT in you’re control; God is in control

¹⁵Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
When we don’t submit to His will

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Lectio Divina
∙ Lectio Divina: latin, “divine reading”
∙ Ancient practice of Hebrew origin

∙ Jewish culture:
∙ prayer – we speak to God
∙ read scripture – God speaks to us

∙ What is it? Repeatedly reading scripture with pauses and concentration on words
∙ With Lectio Divina, the Word studies us!

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∙ First Reading: read slowly, pausing between each clause

∙ Second Reading: read slowly, pause longer, write down special
words or phrases

∙ Third Reading: reread the word or phrase that touched you; stop
and repeat it a few times

∙ Pondering: reflect on the phrase that moved you; repeat it a few times;
let the words interact with your thoughts…What might God want to say
to me specifically?

∙ Prayer: turn the question above into a prayer to God; listen; write down anything you sense God might be saying to you

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∙ If the Lord wills, we will live (life)
(prayer)
❖ God is sovereign
❖ Every breath, every beat of my heart is counted
❖ God is in control
❖ Why am I fighting him for control?
❖ His will is perfect and he loves me…
❖ Life is in his hands and under his control

Help me trust you…

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James 4:14b ESV
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Job 7:7a ESV
⁷“Remember that my life is a breath;

Job 8:9b ESV
…for our days on earth are a shadow.

Job 14:1 ESV
¹“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.

Key Point: Life is so brief. We can’t afford to waste our lives. We must invest our lives in things that are eternal.

What’s keeping you from submitting to God’s Will?

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Why do we resist in our submission to God?

Those I’ve loved hurt me
I don’t love me, so how could God love me?
A life lived for God is a life of misery
What will he ask me to do?
How can I trust someone I can’t even see?
Clinging to the idols of our lives
Where might he ask me to go?
My sin is worse than anyone else’s
He didn’t answer my prayers when I needed him

We resist the God we don’t know or understand

We don’t know Him

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Getting to Know God

Exodus 34:6b-7a ESV
“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,”

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Getting to Know God

How will you respond?

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Submitting to God’s Will – Next Steps

Read/Listen to Psalm 119

This is the YouVersion Bible App

- Look for how the author states, “love your law” repeatedly
- Note the references to obeying and the promises of comfort, protection from shame, and his promise of steadfastness if we obey him
- We need to know his commands first, then obey…we need to read our bibles

Pray

- Pray that God would open your eyes to those things holding you back
from submitting to his will
- Pray that you would have the courage to submit to his will

Try Lectio Divina with Exodus 34:6-7

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Worship songs for this weekend
“Your Love Awakens Me” – Phil Wickham
“This I Believe” – Hillsong Worship
“Jesus Paid It All” – Kristian Stanfill
“Jesus Is Better” – Austin Stone Church

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Thank you for worshiping with us today at Koza!If you have any questions, ministry needs, or desire for prayer please come to the front of the worship center after the service and speak with one of our leaders who are ready to meet you. Have a great week! Please contact our staff at info@kozabaptistchurch.org for further assistance.