Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful week. I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person who likes to be self-sufficient and independent. I’d like to think that my accomplishments have gotten me to where I’m at today. I like to make my own plans. But really, it’s God Who has blessed me with these accomplishments and fulfills His plans in my life. Let’s dig into what He says about His sufficiency and authority today!

Follow along with these verses…

• Daniel 4:19-37
• Luke 16:1-15
• James 4:13-5:6
• Psalm 37:5
• Psalm 16:9
• Galatians 5:16-24
• Romans 8:28
• 1 Timothy 6:6-10
• Matthew 6:19-21

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a 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, then 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 are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

James 4:13-17 NLT

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Psalm 16:9 NLT

In his sermon this morning, my pastor called this the sin of presumption – thinking that we can make our own plans and carry them out purely of our own volition and power. We think we have the authority to determine what happens on a day to day basis, forgetting that God has a plan and knows how everything is going to happen! He is beyond the concept of time and space, so He see everything that’s going to take place in our lives. He gives us breath each day. He opens our eyes in the morning. Even when our sinful nature seems to have diverted us off of God’s plan for our life – when evil or grievous things happen to us – God knew this would happen as a result of humanities brokenness, and His plan is to redeem it and use it for His glory! I think we often forget the authority God has over everything. He made everything; therefore, He has sole authority to guide us in our paths. We need to trust that He will work things together for our good when we put our faith in Him and love Him (Romans 8:28). We have to stop trying to dethrone God in an attempt to enthrone ourselves – trust me, that’s never going to work out in our favor. It’s also a sin to idolize anything or anyone above God – even ourselves. Relying on our own wisdom and desires, or the world’s perspective of what we should do with our lives, means that we are rejecting the wisdom and direction of God because they are absolute polar opposites (Galatians 5:16-24). We need to learn what God’s will is and then follow through with it. So let’s remember that God knows what He’s doing and that if we choose to follow Him, He will guide us in His will for our lives.

Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.

James 5:1-6 NLT

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 NLT

My pastor called this the sin of consumption – when we are so obsessed with obtaining money or physical items that we completely forget about the eternal, heavenly wealth provided to us by God. If we are overcome with our desire to collect as much wealth as we can without regard to anyone but ourselves, or if we are spending the wealth we have recklessly and without gratitude, how can we expect to obtain and maintain heavenly wealth (Luke 16:11)? How can we expect to share God’s gospel message with the world in an effective way? How can we expect to bless and love others the way Jesus would? We can’t commit our lives to God while also being obsessed with worldly satisfaction (Luke 16:13). We ought to handle the treasure of God’s Word and His message with absolute awe and care! We ought to be so excited and passionate about Him and His love that we can’t help but invest ourselves in our relationship with Him and share it with others! We ought to know God and help others know Him, too.

What a treasure we’ve been given. God sent His only Son into the world to die for us and rise again three days later so that we may be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity in Heaven with Him! Let’s repent of our sins of presumption and consumption and turn to the Word of God for direction. Let’s pray and ask God to guide us with His Holy Spirit and give us His wisdom so that everything may be done to His glory and honor! Amen!