Thank God, You Know the Future
A sermon based on James 4:13-17
Sunday, December 31, 2017 – New Year's Eve
A few weeks ago we were talking about the prophets in Catechism class. We were discussing how God told them about the future, how he would someday send a Savior from sin for all of mankind. And that prompted questions about fortune telling and future predictions from one of the students: "What about Nostradamus?" she asked, "Was he a prophet? He claimed to see the future. And he made all kinds of prophecies."
"Sure," I replied, "He was a prophet. Just… he was a really, really terrible one. There's such a small percentage of things he got right compared to all the things he got wrong. But, you know the saying, 'Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.'" (I then had to explain the expression, "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.") :)
But then another student chimed in, "Plus, aren't his predictions a lot like the horoscope?"
"Good! But tell us, what you mean." I said.
"Well," the student said, "I mean… aren't the predictions so vague that it's hard to get them wrong? Like, 'Tomorrow, something good will happen to you, but also something bad.' Anyone could find a way to 'prove' those predictions 'true.'" And I was happy. My students get it.
It's that time of year again when so-called psychics make their predictions for the future. But given their accuracy, should they be trusted? Should they even be given the time of day? Fine, once in a while a bit of common sense, knowledge of current events, and some good guessing means they hit their target (or at least get close and claim credit anyway). But they're definitely wrong far more often than they're right. "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day."
But this is an area where God likes to show off. A lot. God's track record with future predictions boasts a 100% accuracy rate. Just page through the New Testament sometime and skim the footnotes. See all those Old Testament references? They're there to show how God predicted how this would happen exactly this way. It's God politely saying, "See? I told you it would happen."
So this morning, as well look back over another year now past, and look ahead, perhaps with some apprehension of what the future may bring, we can rejoice that, because of what God has revealed to us in his Word, we do know the future. At least we know all that we need to know. But first, a warning from God, found in James 4:13-17…
13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
Wouldn't it be nice to know the future? Wouldn't it be nice to know what tomorrow brings? Wouldn't it be nice to know which stocks would soar and which would tank, which team would win the Superbowl (so you could put a bet or two on the game), if the LNG plant reopening were a sure thing and when, if the lump was benign and not cancerous? Wouldn't it be nice to know what day would be your last on this earth? Maybe. Maybe not.
But either way, we don't know those things. We don't know what will happen tomorrow. We don't even know if there will be a tomorrow... for us or for anyone. For we are, "mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
So what hubris and arrogance to act under the presumption that we do. Boasting and bragging about this or that thing that we will do… when the bills are paid, when we retire, when the weekend comes. Sure, with a bit of common sense, knowledge of current events, and some good guessing you might hit your target (or at least get close and claim credit anyway). But doesn't our track record show that our predictions are much like those of the so-called psychics: definitely wrong far more often than they're right. You and I don't know what our future here has to hold.
Now, don't get me wrong. Planning isn't sinful. God tells us to count the cost of following him. In Luke 14(:28-33) he warns,
28 "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 complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
31 "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 ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
So the problem isn't in planning, it's in planning without God, in supposing that we know what future holds, in acting in a way that suggests we do:
"I'll recklessly spend today what I don't have and pay for it later when I have more. Someday, when I've paid for all I've purchased, then I'll be generous toward God."
"I'll snap at my family. But I know they'll forgive me. They always do. They have to. We're family."
Or, "I'll eat whatever I want. I'll drink as much as I want. I'm here to enjoy today. Who cares if it takes years off my life someday?" even justifying it with a false piety, "I'll go when God wants me to go. There's nothing to prevent that."
But we don't know the future. We don't know that another paycheck will come or a new job will follow. We don't know that we'll have another day with that parent, sibling, spouse, or child. Tonight might be their last. We don't know what health problems we'll face down the road for the choices that we make today. But we act like we know the future, like we are in charge, like we're here to serve ourselves, and we forget about God.
And for presuming we know the future, for acting like we do, you know what our future ought to hold for every one of us: It ought be a grim and bleak future, a horrible future of despair, an eternal future away from God and his love.
You and I don't know all the future has to hold. But we do know the past. And that's something to boast about. While James reminds us, "As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil," the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 6:14, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
You and I don't know all the future has to hold. But we do know the past. We know God's love for us what so great that he willingly sent his Son as an infant in a manger. We know Jesus' great love for us that made him choose taking on human flesh and leaving his heavenly home. We know what Jesus did as he walked this earth. We know how he never boasted in himself, though he alone had every right to! We know how he always entrusted his future to God the Father, even when that future meant torture and hell on a cross.
We know he did it all for us, that he might take our sin, our arrogance, our doubt, all on himself and give us his perfect record of obedience. And we know he did it all because he knew the future—the long-term future of what awaited him on the other side of the cross and what awaits us. The author to the Hebrews put it this way in Hebrews 12(:2), "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
And so, because of all God has done for us in the past, in a certain sense, we do know the future too. We know that no matter what 2018, or 2019, or 2020 all bring… no matter what we go through we know for certain…
· That God will work all things for our eternal good—even the suffering and the pain we endure. (Rom. 8.28)
· We know that our current sufferings are light and temporary when compared to the glory to come. (2 Cor. 4:17-18)
· We know that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. (Rom. 8:35-39)
· We know that his mercies are new to us every morning. He will never stop forgiving us. (Lam. 3:21-23)
· We know that he will send his Spirit to fill us with joy, peace, and hope in the toughest of circumstances. (Rom. 15:13)
· We know that he has left us his thoughts in the Bible which will give us instruction, encouragement, and hope. (Rom. 15:4)
· We know that we have an eternal inheritance that can never spoil or fade. (1 Pet. 1:3-4)
· We know that he will most definitely come again soon to bring us that inheritance and take us to be with him forever in heaven. (Titus 2:13, Rev. 22:12)
· We know that in glory, we will have glorified bodies with perfect healing. (1 Cor. 15:51-53)
· We know that in glory, we will soar, run, and walk without growing weary or faint. (Is. 40:31)
· We know that in glory, we will never experience hunger of thirst or sorrow or pain, ever again. (Rev. 7:16-17, 21:4)
Talk about knowing the future! And these predictions aren't just guesses. They're not like the predictions of the so-called psychics or the predictions of the weather man. God's track record with future predictions still boasts a 100% accuracy rate. So these promises are as good as done. You know they will all come true.
And now, in thanks to him for all he's done for us in the past, for the great promises he's given about the future, we eagerly live for him in the present. So live in the present to his glory. Make your plans for tomorrow. That's okay. Plan how you can serve him next week, next month, and next year. That's a godly thing to do if you're sure to add, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." But don't wait for tomorrow to start living for him. Live for him today.
Then, finally, whether that volcano erupts in 2018, or there's political turmoil (like that one's hard to predict), a celebrity couple splits up, or a Kardashian has another baby, who cares? Even if you lose your job, lose your health, or lose someone you love in 2018, it's not the end of the world. In fact, even the end of the world isn't "the end of the world." Because you know the future. At least, you know all of the future that you need to know. You know that God's mercy will be new every morning. Whenever you repent, he will forgive. He will strengthen your faith. He will keep you close to him. And one day soon he will take you to be with him in glory. And no matter what 2018 brings (and no one but God really knows), you can live for him today, and tomorrow (if there is a tomorrow), and every day until he comes. In Jesus' name, dear friends, thank God that you know the future! Amen.
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