In this enlightening episode, Pastor Rick delves into the themes of future planning and the unpredictability of life. Through engaging storytelling and biblical references, he challenges listeners to reconsider their approach to planning without God’s guidance. Rick underscores the importance of living in the present moment, revealing the pitfalls of procrastination and the societal pressures to predict and control the future. With a focus on James’ teachings, this episode encourages a paradigm shift towards trusting God daily rather than making assumptions about what tomorrow holds.
00:00:02 Introduction to Preparing for Your Future
Hey everyone, welcome to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. We’re so glad you’re here. Today, Rick continues in a series called Preparing for Your Future, where he shares how God’s destiny for your life is good and how you get to choose much of your destiny. And now let’s join Rick right now with the final part of a message called Don’t Waste Tomorrow.
SPEAKER 02 :
So setting goals without God, planning without God is the first problem that most people fall into, the trap in thinking about their future. Here’s the second one on the back of your outline. James says the second common mistake is presuming about tomorrow. Presuming about tomorrow. Planning without God, presuming about tomorrow. In other words, thinking that you know what’s gonna happen in your future, you don’t. The fact is nobody knows what’s gonna go in the future. I don’t, you don’t, nobody does. A lot of people pay big money. In fact, if you wanna make a living, go into prognosticating, go into predicting, go into forecasting, because people will pay big bucks to know their future. And people will pay for all kinds of things, horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, tea leaf reading, crystal balls, crystals, and on and on and on. None of those guys, it’s all baloney. None of those guys know anything about your future. By the way, have you noticed you will never see a news headline that says, psychic wins lottery. You’ve never seen it. Why? Because they don’t know. They’re fakes. They’re phonies. It doesn’t work. The Bible says nobody knows the future. Nobody. Only God knows the future. Now in James chapter four in verse 14 and 16, it says this. How do you know what’s gonna happen tomorrow? The answer is you don’t. For your life is like the morning fog. It’s here a little while and then it’s gone. And you’ll just be boasting and bragging and all such boasting is sin. Now James says that predicting here is sin and he said it’s playing God and there’s two reasons it’s a mistake. The first reason he says is life’s unpredictable. He says you don’t know what’s gonna happen in your life. Life is unpredictable. You cannot predict it. Life is unpredictable. Even the best educated plans and ideas and predictions are often wrong. I remember at the beginning of this summer, the administration announced that the summer was gonna be the summer of the great recovery. Still waiting. The fact is we lost more jobs in the summer than we did in the spring. Nice try, nice guess, but nobody can predict the future. Nobody on September 10th, 2001 could have predicted what was gonna happen on September 11th. Nobody could have predicted it except the people who were gonna do it. And we don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow or next week or next month or next year in your life. So life is, we have no unpredictable. We have no assurance. We have no guarantees that you’re going to succeed. Now, James says, since we know life is unpredictable, we shouldn’t presume on it. Instead, we’ve got to trust God every day. That’s why God doesn’t tell you your future. First, it’s scary to death. And second, he wants you to trust him on a day-by-day basis. Give us this day our daily bread, not weekly bread, monthly bread, annual bread. God says, I want you to trust me each day. So I’m not gonna tell you what’s gonna happen next Tuesday. I want you to trust me just for today. And don’t worry about tomorrow. You can plan it for tomorrow, but don’t worry about it. He says, life is unpredictable. Second thing James says is, life is brief. He says, your life is like a morning fog. It’s here a little while and then it’s gone. He says it’s like a mist that vanishes. That word fog there, you know what it is in the original Greek in the Bible? It’s the word atmos. We get the word atmosphere from it. That’s the Greek word. It means your life is a vapor. It’s like when you breathe on a cold glass and it fogs up or on a mirror and then it just quickly goes away. I don’t have to explain this to you. Anybody who lives in Southern California understands June bloom. That morning, marine layer’s gonna burn off by noon. It’s not gonna last. And he says, you know what? Your life is like that. The words that the Bible uses to describe your life are words like breath, wind, shadow, cloud, mist, fog. In other words, it’s a puff of smoke. It’s like grass, it’s like a leaf, it withers quickly. You see, even if you live 100 years and not everyone is gonna make it 100 years, that’s pretty short compared to trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions of years you’re gonna spend in eternity. So what is he saying here? Now I want you to listen to this. Do not assume you got a lot of time left. That’s what he’s saying. Do not assume you have a lot of time left. That is one of the biggest mistakes people make about the future. I got plenty of time to do this. I’ll get around to it someday. He says, your life is a mess. You don’t know when your time card’s gonna be punched. You don’t know when your time’s up. I’m not guaranteed tomorrow, you’re not, better not take tomorrow for granted. Do not assume you’ve got a lot of time. Would you write this down? I’m only one heartbeat away from eternity. I am only one heartbeat away from eternity. It could turn on a dime just like that. I’m one fall away from paralysis. And so are you. Now I’m not trying to be maudlin or morose. I’m just trying to be realistic. He’s saying your life is short. You don’t know how long it’s gonna be. And to assume that you’ve got a lot of time left to get done what you think you’ve gotta get done in life is false. And it’s presumptuous. It’s presuming about tomorrow. In fact, the Bible says God mocks people who think they’ve got a lot of time left. I bet you’ve never seen this verse in the Bible. Here on the screen, Isaiah 56 verse 12 says this. Come, cries each one, let’s drink our fill of beer. And tomorrow will be like today, or even better, it’s Miller time. You only go around once in life, you better go with gusto. I suggest you better go with God. Hey, we got all day. We got plenty of time. Let’s go have a beer. Jesus talked about a guy who was very successful in his business and he had so much money, he filled his barns with all of the profits and he didn’t know what to do with it. Instead of giving it away, he goes, oh, I know what I’ll do. I’ll build more barns to store my money. And God says, you fool. Tonight, your soul will be required of you. You don’t know when your time’s up. I don’t know when my time is up. You know anybody with this attitude though? Hey, we got all the time in the world. Let’s go party. It’s party time in Dana Point. Let’s just go have a great time. Now look at these two next two verses. They sound contradictory, but I wanna explain them to you. Proverbs 27 verse one says, do not boast about tomorrow. In other words, don’t say, well, I’ll do it tomorrow. For you don’t know what a day may bring forth. Okay, and then the next verse says this. A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them. In other words, planning. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Now which is it? Don’t think about tomorrow, don’t boast about tomorrow, or plan for tomorrow and prepare for tomorrow? The answer is both. Now here’s what he’s saying. You must plan for tomorrow, but you can only live in today. You can’t live tomorrow. You’re not there yet. You can’t live yesterday. A lot of people want to live in the past. You can’t live in the past. You can’t live in the future. You can only live today. You are to plan for tomorrow, but you are to live today. Does that make sense? And he says, don’t go around saying, well, you know, all the stuff I’m going to do, you can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. You build a reputation on what you’re doing right now. Now, looking at these two verses, he says, don’t boast about tomorrow. But he says, plan. Well, does that mean I shouldn’t have any goals for tomorrow? And I should at least not even announce it because it might be boasting if I announce my goals? No, no, no, no, you’re missing the point. The Bible says you ought to set goals. And when you announce a goal, you’re making a statement in faith. Should I not announce my goals for my family? My goals for my education? My goals for my finances? Should I not announce my goals for my business? Should I not announce my goals for our church? Oh, no, no, no, no, not at all. When you state a goal publicly, it can either be a statement of arrogance or it can be a statement of faith. And the difference is motive. Why are you doing it? Are you doing it to build yourself up? Are you doing it to say, I believe God wants me to do this and I’m gonna go after it. Even if I fail and even if God changed my plans, that’s okay, but I’m gonna do it in faith. Whatever you’re gonna do with your life, get on with it now. Don’t wait for things around you to change, you change. That’s why we’re gonna do Decade of Destiny now, because we’re not gonna wait for anybody else. My life doesn’t depend on what the government does. My life doesn’t depend on what the economy does. My life depends on my faith in Jesus Christ. According to your faith, it will be done unto you. So, you stop waiting for the world to change and you change. You make the change. Get your horses ready for the battle. Now, as I said, we can plan for the future, but we can only live in today. James says life is unpredictable and life is brief. Well, just because it’s unpredictable and brief doesn’t mean you should worry, you should fear, or you should be insecure. What it does mean is you should trust God more. You should depend on him more. We do not know what the future holds. We don’t know what the next 10 years holds, but we know who holds the future. We don’t know what the future holds. We know who holds the future. Psalm 35, 15, David says, you’re my God, my times are in your hands. There’s one other thing, common mistake, that James says you need to avoid. Planning without God, presuming about tomorrow, and the third is putting off what’s right. Putting off what’s right. And he says that in verse 17. Anyone who knows the right thing to do but doesn’t do it, he puts it off, sins. Now this is the third great mistake and we’ve all done this, it’s procrastination. It’s delaying, it’s postponing. I have every intention of changing, just not now. I’m aiming to do this, I’m aiming to do this. Well when are you gonna stop aiming and when are you gonna pull the trigger? Do it now. Procrastination wastes my life. It only brings me sorrow. I know what I must do today. In fact, I will tomorrow. All procrastination does is waste your life. It’s killing time and killing time is suicide. Because your time is your life. You know what you need to do? He says, don’t put it off. Whatever you’re gonna do with your life, get on it right now. Don’t wait till next year. Don’t wait till next decade. Do it now. because you’re not guaranteed. Now, if I were to ask you, how would you define sin? If I said, give me your definition of sin, what would you say? Well, somebody would say, oh, and you start giving me a list of things. Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder people, don’t lie, don’t cheat, and you’d have your list of don’ts, and you’d say, that’s what sin is. Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t. I don’t drink, cuss, smoke, chew, or run around with girls that do. Friends, if all the Christian life was was a system or a list of don’ts, then anybody who’s dead would qualify as a Christian. Because they don’t do anything. No, actually, the Bible talks about things you don’t do as sins. I can sin by not doing anything. In fact, those are the sins Jesus was more concerned about. The sins of omission, the stuff that’s right that you ought to do that you don’t do. And in Matthew 25 of the judgment, he says, I was hungry and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty and you didn’t give me something to drink. I was sick and I was in prison and you didn’t visited me. I was hurting, you didn’t help me. It’s the good things we know to do, but don’t. We keep putting it off. One of these days when things settle down, friends, they’re not gonna settle down. That’s called life. It’s not gonna settle down. And if you’re waiting for things to settle down before you start serving the Lord, you start making things right with people, you start doing the right thing, you’re gonna wait a long time. You can be very proud of all the things you don’t do and still be sinning. Procrastination is this subtle trap of someday I’ll. One of these days. One of these days is none of these days. When I get around to it, one of these days I’m gonna go to the dentist. One of these days I’m gonna spend more time with my family. One of these days, I’m gonna give up that bad habit. One of these days, I’m gonna get some marriage counseling. One of these days, I’m gonna join Saddleback Church. I’m gonna start tithing. I’m gonna get in a small group, you know, whatever. I’m gonna invite that friend I’ve always intended to invite to church. One of these days is none of these days because you have no guarantee of tomorrow. Whatever you intend to do with your life, you better get on it right now. The Bible says this in Proverbs chapter three, do not withhold good from those who deserve it. In other words, don’t procrastinate, don’t postpone it when it is in your power to act. Don’t say to your neighbor, come back later, delay, postpone. I’ll give it to you tomorrow when you have it with you. In other words, do it now. Now you’ve heard me say this before, there are three things you can do with your life. You can waste your life, you can spend your life, you can invest your life. If you wanna waste your life, there’s plenty of ways to waste your life. Entertainment and all kinds of different things, you can just waste your life away. If you wanna spend your life, you can spend your life building your career, building your nest egg, building your wealth, building your fame, you’re gonna leave it all behind. The best use of life is to invest it in that which will outlast it. And you ought to live this day, today, as if it were your last because you don’t know when your last will be. I remember years ago there was a Peace Corps commercial on television that said, you know, if you’re not doing something with your life, it doesn’t matter how long it is. If you’re not doing something with your life, it doesn’t matter how long it is. As your pastor, I’ve tried to teach you that what is important is not the duration of your life, but the donation of your life, the contribution you make with your life. It’s not how long you live that matters. It’s how you live that matters. Now, if you’re not gonna do anything with your life in the next decade for God, why should God give you another decade? Why didn’t God just take you on home right now? If you’re just gonna slide into home plate, if you’re just gonna kinda coast in for the next 10 years, why should God give you 10 more years? Why didn’t he just take you on to heaven? He puts you on this earth for a purpose. And in Decade of Destiny, we’re gonna look at how to make the most of what you’ve been given. Some of you say, you know, one of these days, I’m gonna really get involved. I’m really gonna serve the Lord. I’m gonna, no, you’re not. It’s just an excuse. Just do it now. So today is your day. Now, let me ask you. I don’t know if you’ve even made any plans for your future, but if you have, did you involve God in it? Did you pray about it? Did you say, Lord, what do you want me to do? Does God have any say in your schedule? Does God have any say in your finances? Have you said, God, I want you to bless my business? Well, simple, make him a partner. How do you know if God’s a partner in your business? Simple, he gets part of the profits. Partners share the profits. God is saying to you, don’t waste another day. Don’t presume upon tomorrow. Don’t plan without God. Don’t put off what’s right. Let’s bow our heads. You know it’s sad to meet somebody who says I don’t believe in God. But it’s even more tragic to find somebody who does believe in God but lives like he doesn’t exist. So let’s get specific. Have you asked God what he thinks about your plans to go to school? Have you asked God about your plans for retirement and what he wants you to do with the rest of your life? Have you asked God about your plans to date and marry or to remain single? Have you asked God about your plans and the way you’re spending your money or your career decisions? The Bible says none of us has any right to plan tomorrow, next week, or next year without consulting God. That’s practical atheism. Are you presuming upon the future? You do every time you buy something on credit. That’s presuming upon, I’ll be able to pay this off. Do you take for tomorrow for granted? There’ll always be time later for my kids, my church, my husband, my wife. Let me ask you this. What have you known is the right thing to do, but you’ve been putting it off? Would you pray this prayer in your heart? Dear God, I don’t want to waste the next 10 years of my life. I want the rest of my life to be the best of my life. I want to prepare for the future. I want to plan, but I don’t want to do it on my own. I want to plan with you. And I want you to use me. And I want you to be the desire of my heart. If you’ve never invited Jesus Christ into your life, say, Jesus Christ, come into my life right now. Make yourself real to me. I want to follow you. I want to trust you. I want to believe in you. And I want to learn to love you. In your name I pray. Amen. Hi, everybody. This is Rick, and I hope you enjoyed today’s broadcast. You know, if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, would you let me know about it? There’s something real about sharing your commitment. So write me, Rick, at PastorRick.com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment. I gave my life to Christ. And I’ll send you some material that will help you on your journey with Jesus, and I’ll also pray for you. God bless you.
SPEAKER 01 :
One of the things that God wants us to do, and he says it over and over in Scripture, is to practice gratitude.
SPEAKER 02 :
Did you know that gratitude is good for us? The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5, 18, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. You wanna know what God’s will is for you right now? It is that you learn gratitude in all circumstances. There’s always something you can be thankful for. In fact, I’ve discovered and I’ve read many reports that experts have told us that gratitude is the healthiest human emotion. Did you know that gratitude makes you more resistant to stress? Did you know that gratitude makes you less susceptible to illness? Did you know that gratitude increases your overall happiness and satisfaction? That gratitude gives your life more meaning and significance? I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed that the more grateful a person is, the happier they are. That’s the power of gratitude. So I want you to live with the attitude of gratitude, the attitude of thankfulness. Now I’ve put together a brand new Bible study called The Power of Gratitude. And in it, you’ll find scriptures and teaching and exercises that’ll help you develop the habit, cultivate the habit of gratitude. You’ll discover how to stay in God’s will, how to defeat discouragement, how to conquer complaining, how to reduce stress, and how to experience God’s blessing through gratitude. Friends, I wanna help you develop a deep and a profound attitude of gratitude. The world is craving people like this, and you will be able to experience all that God has for you, so today, When you partner with me by giving a gift, a financial gift to Daily Hope to help us take the certain hope of Jesus to people all around the world, I’m gonna have my team send you the Power of Gratitude Bible Study. I just wanna say thanks to you. I wanna be grateful for you. You know, your support is essential for us taking the Daily Hope message of Jesus all around the world.
SPEAKER 01 :
Just go to PastorRick.com to get your copy of this great resource. That’s PastorRick.com or you can just text the word HOPE to 70309. Again, that’s the word HOPE to 70309. And thank you so much for your support. Your gift to Daily Hope helps us share the hope of Christ with people everywhere. Be sure to join us next time. as we look into God’s Word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope and your generous financial support.
