The Sad Case of the Boastful Businessman (0521)
Submit everything to Him, today. Ask Him what He would have you do. And worship Him through your obedience.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: James 4:13-17

Adrian Rogers says, “The man who says there's no God is a fool. But he may not be the biggest fool. There may be even yet a bigger fool: the man who says there is a God and then doesn't live like it.”

James 4:13-17 shares a great illustration of this through the example of an astute businessman with some very big plans. He knew exactly where he was going, how to get there and how to succeed...at least he thought so.

Yet, in the eyes of God, his success was counted as a failure.

The Bible says it is alright and proper to make a profit. However, this boastful businessman did it all in a spirit of self-sufficiency. He has planned out everything: his time frame, the place, his procedure, even the profits he would make—all without any guidance from the Lord, or any reverence toward Almighty God.

This businessman also made an assumption we should not make: the promise of tomorrow.

Life is fragile. This passage calls life a vapor: it appears for a little while and then vanishes.

We never know when our time is up. Today could quite possibly be our last. It is God and God alone who determines our days.

And finally, we learn from this businessman that despite the seeming success, morality or productivity of one’s life, the sum total of that life without God is sin.

“Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not to him it is sin.”

You can do wrong by doing wrong, and you can also do wrong by not doing right.

Adrian Rogers says, “The sin of omission is greater than the sin of commission. Do you know what the greatest sin in the world is: to leave God out of your life; don't you forget it.”

We can’t afford to be self-sufficient, we can’t rely on tomorrow, and we can’t leave God out of our plans. Let us not boast. Instead, let us praise God for His blessings, which are more than we can count.

Apply it to your life
Have you made some grand plans without the counsel of Almighty God? Submit everything to Him, today: your life, your plans, your dreams. Ask Him what He would have you do. And worship Him through your obedience.