May 26, 1999, Manchester United was down to Bayern Munich 0 to 1 in the Champion League final. So that's soccer, for those that don't know. Uh, I, I can't, I can't call it football, uh, cause they got American football. I'm just gonna stick with that. So it's in the soccer Champions League final, and it got to what's called stoppage time. And so soccer plays with uh 2 45 minute halves, but the referee clocks or tracks when there's an injury or it goes out of bounds, and so when it gets to the end of the game, only the ref actually knows how much time is left. They give you an estimate, like, oh, there's gonna be 4 minutes, there's gonna be 7 minutes, whatever it is, but only the ref knows how much time is left in the game. And so when it gets to stoppage time, everything heightens up in in the match. And so Manchester United was down a score, it's the final, and when someone scored in the 91st minute to tie up the game, and people were going wild, they were going nuts, they were cheering, it was amazing. But there was still a little bit of time left. So not only did Manchester score in the 91st minute, they also scored in the 93rd minute. So in an unheard of comeback, they scored two goals in stoppage time to take home the 1999 Champion League final. And so that was awesome. It was a crazy moment, but why do I share that? I share that because I think culturally we are living in stoppage time. That we are living in an era where Christ could come back at any moment. And the stakes are high. Eternity is on the line. But no matter how much we feel like we're behind or or that we're losing or we're struggling or we're battling, understand that there is still hope for you and I today, that there is still hope for your health, there's still hope for your finances, for your relationships, where you are today, but we have to understand that there is, there's urgency of the moment. And that we don't know when Christ is coming back, and you don't know when your life is gonna come to an end, and so you don't know how much time you have left. And so, while we don't know how to truly count our days, we do have the opportunity to make our days count. And that's why today's message is entitled Faith in the Wild. Faith in the wild. How do we live amidst this stoppage time? How do we live surrounded By uncertainty, not knowing when things are gonna change. Or how much time we have left. If you're taking notes, I want you to write this down, that as a believer, you are called to live with eternity in your mind. And urgency in your heart. You're called to live with eternity in your mind and urgency in your heart. It's this idea that wisdom is knowledge plus obedience. And so you can plan for the future, right? That's healthy, but understand. That we need to stop pretending that we control the future. So plan for the future. But don't presume and and assume that you know how things are gonna go. Because we really don't have any idea what tomorrow is going to bring. And so James, the half brother of Jesus, is writing to a church that's being persecuted, that's being attacked, and he's writing very a very punchy letter, if you will. There's a lot of commands. In fact, there's 108 imperatives given in this letter, and so he doesn't hold punches, he's just saying, hey, do this, don't do this, hey. Times are tough. Things are real. Life is, is urgent that the best time to follow Christ is right now in this moment, because you don't know how much time you have left. And so I want you to follow Christ because it changes everything. That you have to live with eternity in your mind and urgency in your heart. So he writes these words as we pick up our study in in James chapter 4 verse 13. He says, come 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. I love how specific he gets, right? We're gonna go here, I'm gonna go to such and such a place. And spend the time, maybe a week, a month, a year, make some money, lose some money, you know. But it's true, isn't it? We get so worked up. We have our to do list, we have our plans. We're gonna go here, we're gonna do this thing. And then we're gonna talk to these people to get some money to then buy the stuff, and then, and then we're gonna go clean up the stuff, and then we're gonna try to talk about what we have or don't have, and then what's for dinner, and then we're gonna go out to eat, and then we're going to say to our spouse, like, hey, do you care where we eat? And then they're gonna say no. And then you say, well, how about this place? Well, no, I don't want to go there. And then you go through the list of of places where you want to go and. Then you go back and forth and then you go home and now we got to clean. Now we gotta get the kids ready for bed. But wait, when it's bedtime, oh no, I have this homework project due tomorrow. It's like, why didn't you tell me a week ago? And then you go through and now you're staying up late doing homework that you don't want to, and now you got to relearn math as an adult, and then you gotta go through and then you go to bed and you're like, OK, I'll go to sleep. Let me just turn on the TV for just a moment. Now you're 3 episodes into Netflix and now you're exhausted and you wake up and you do the whole thing again. You tracking with. It's just this wheel of activity and activity and activity and motion and motion and motion. But for what? James pauses here and says, what, what, what are we doing? What are we doing? He continues on in verse 14, and he says, Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? Since you are a mist that appears for a little while. And then vanishes. The entirety of your life from birth, childhood, teenage years, young adult, adulting. Grandparenting, everything is summed up like what you see of your breath on a cold day. Your whole life is summed up with a. Now I don't know where you are in the breath, maybe you're on the. Or maybe you're on the But that's it. That's all you get. Verse 15, he says, instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills. We will live and do this or do that. Our good friend, uh, Kyle Randall, who completed his Master of Divinity at GCU and then an internship with us, uh, just got hired locally at a church, super excited, proud of him. Uh, if you ever had a conversation with Kyle over the years when he was helping out here, anytime you ask him to do something, um, he would always respond back with, Lord willing, I'll be there. And I love that perspective because I'd be like, hey, Kyle, we got, let's meet tomorrow at 10. He's like, Lord willing, I'll be there. And I love that. I love that perspective of that always thinking, hey, if God allows me to do this, great. And just knowing that our time on Earth is short. So what are we gonna do with it? Verse 16, he says, as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. We don't know what's coming around. And look, church leaders are no different, right? We launched in 2018. 1st full year was 2019. And so myself, as well as every other pastor in the country, we're all excited to have our 2020 vision, right? We're like, 0, 2020, this is gonna be our year. And then a global pandemic happens just a few months later, right? Nobody knows what's gonna happen. You just don't know. That's why you have to live with eternity in your mind and urgency in your heart. What we see from these 4 verses are 4 realities of life. We have 4 realities of life. First verse tells us of the complexity of life. There's a lot of decisions to make every single day. I'm gonna go to such and such a place to meet with so and so many people, to do so many things, to make some money to buy some more stuff to then go home and manage and reorganize and clean and throw away or say I'm gonna organize and leave it on a corner somewhere for 3 months and then go back. You know what I mean? Like, we just get stuck in this in This cycle. Why? Because life is complex. There's a lot of decisions to make. Do you ever have your alarm go off, whether on your phone or alarm clock, and you just hear it and you go, nope. Because life is complex. Right Thankfully, God is all knowing. If you ever try to help your child at homework and you don't know, like if you ever, you ever help your child at homework and they come back and they get a bad grade and then you feel Like you just got a bad grade because you were helping them with that. Thankfully, God's not surprised. God is all knowing. And so no matter how complex life gets, it's not surprising to God. The second reality of life, though, is life is also uncertain. It's uncertain But thankfully, in the uncertainty of life, God is all present. He's constant, he's consistent. How many people's lives were changed by a phone call or a conversation, or an email, or a market turn or a job loss, or broken trust in a relationship, like, so much of life can change in a moment. So what do we do when life is complex? What do we do with the fact that life is uncertain? What do we do? Thirdly, with the brevity of life. Life is short. Like, we, we like to think, man, I'm gonna work out, I'm gonna train, I'm gonna eat right, I'm gonna do right, I'm gonna make money, I'm gonna save, I'm gonna do all these things, and those are all good things. But again, your entire life is summed up with a. When compared to eternity. Life is so short. Your life is a mist. But thankfully We have an eternal God. Who lives forever. So the fact that we have a complex life, we can take comfort in the fact that God is all knowing. The fact that we have an uncertain life, we can take comfort in the fact that God is always present. The fact that life is short, with the brevity of life, we can take comfort that God is eternal. And then lastly, Is the fragility of life. Within the fragility of life, we can take comfort in the fact that God is faithful. You know, coming on the other side of Halloween. Uh, you have a couple different types of people. You have your people that are November 1, Christmas time. Right? And like, when does the Christmas decor go up and Christmas music play? You have others that like, it's Thanksgiving time. Right? Others say you gotta go December 1st, and then people who procrastinate, it's like December 23rd or 24th, 0, we should put something up. Right. Uh, but one of the things I like about Christmas time is all the Christmas movies. Right, I love Christmas movies, like all the Hallmark movies, you know, did you see the one with the, with the big city business girl who goes back to her hometown to help her ailing parents and then meets the local Christmas tree farmer? Oh wait, that's every single Hallmark Christmas movie. Right I love some of the classics like Christmas Story. Right? And, and, and you got, you got the Red Rider BB gun and all that stuff, and then you get the dad who wins a prize, and it's the ugliest possible leg lamp looking thing, but it comes in a box. He's like, oh, it must be Italian, it's fragile. Can I tell you something? Like life as we know it is fragile. It's fragile I remember becoming a parent for the first time. I mean, I was the youngest boy. I wasn't really a babysitter. I was like I climb a tree, throw a ball, like work, hit stuff, laugh, right, hang out, right? So like I was just like, I like to work hard to do it, but I didn't really have a lot of experience with kids and so, so I'd never changed a diaper before and then we have a kid. I remember we're in the hospital and I'm just like, oh. I'm responsible for this little life. Like the day before, like I missbuttoned a shirt, like, and now I'm in charge of like this little, you know what I mean? But if we think about it All of life is fragile. And so what do we do with that? James writes to us in verse 17, he says, whoever knows the right thing to do. And fails to do it for him it's sin. He's saying, if your life is a vapor, if your life is a mist, if it's complex, if it's uncertain, if it's brief, if it's fragile, then what are we waiting for? Like, if you know the right thing to do, do it. If God has called you to do something, go for, what are we waiting on? My friends, Matt and Jillian are doing the possible craziest thing I've ever heard of. Uh, they're competing in a 100 mile race right now. Uh, they started yesterday at 6:30 in the morning. Um, they're still going right now. Uh, they're in mile 98 right now. I checked right before I came up on stage. Of completing a 100 mile race. I got tired coming from up those stairs. But I remember talking to them of, of saying like, man, what you guys are doing is inspirational, like the fact like you, you are stretching what we think is humanly possible. They're running 100 miles, right? Like, how do you even approach that? And I remember talking with Matt and he was saying like, well, obviously you need to train. Right? And, and what you put in your body, nourishment is important, and you need the community. So all those things are very important. Right. We're praying for them, send them a text right before I came up here, praying for them, they're hopefully gonna finish actually during the service. But the thing that stuck with me says that wherever you are in your journey, you have to run the mile that you're in. Whether it's mile 1 or in their case, 98 right now, 99. You have to run the mile that you're in. And while running a 100 mile race seems crazy to me, Some of you are in some type of battle right now. Something going through that. There's no way you thought you would ever be at this moment or in this place. But I want to encourage you. That whatever the situation or circumstances, the, the hill you're climbing up or the valley you're walking through, is you got to run the mile that you're in. That's what James is saying here. He goes into chapter 5, and he tells us then what are 3 ways that we can live for eternity? Because we have to live with eternity in our mind and urgency in our hearts. And he gives 3 really practical ways for us as believers to do this. He says 1 in verses 1 to 6, he says that we are called to trust God. With our wealth Do you trust God with your wealth? Do you trust God with your money? It says, and for time's sake, I'm just gonna read a couple of these verses, verse 1 and 2 and then verse 5. It, it says, come now, you rich. Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Say your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. And then verse 5, he says, you have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. So here's a group of believers who they got their money through bad methods. They mistreated people and the way they were getting that money, so they were getting it in a corrupt way and not paying the people who were helping them. And then when they got the money, they were hoarding it and keeping it to themselves, to spending on luxury and itself and never making a difference in the church or the kingdom. And, and what James is saying here is like, look, look, money is not bad. Money is not bad. It, it, it is a, it makes a great tool, but it makes a horrible idol. On a horrible God. I was talking with some pastor friends this week and they shared the story, and we don't know fully if it's true. There's some legend going around, but it's a fun story, so I'll share it. So back in the days, the knights of the Round Table, and some of those guys would get baptized. What they would do is when they got baptized, they would go under the water, except they wouldn't, they would hold their sword out of the water. So they go back holding their sword out, because what they were saying is that God changed my heart, come to every area of my heart, but not my sword. Cause that part's mine. I think in American culture today, we have people who, metaphorically are getting baptized holding their wallet out of the water. Because what we're saying is, God, I give you my life, but not my bank account. That's mine. I, I, I give you what I say to people and, and my occasional attendance, but, but what I give, no, that's That's mine. And look, it's not about an amount. Like my posture today, to be honest with you, is just one of humility and gratitude. Like I'm so grateful for those who've given to this vision mission and we're seeing lives change because of it. And I'm just telling you, my life has been changed by the practice of generosity. And so I want others to have that same thing because it's not an amount. Like, do you really think we can like give God something that he doesn't already have? And see, God doesn't want the money out of your wallet. He wants the idol out of your heart. It's a mindset It's this place of generosity that when we give, we're like Jesus here and saying, God, take everything, take my life, take my calendar, take my schedule, take my thoughts, take my obedience, and I give it to you. Why? Because eternity is at stake. Why are we gonna put so much emphasis on what we can purchase in the middle of a versus what's gonna advance the kingdom? We don't get to take anything with us. And again, money is not bad. Like God gave us these gifts and these opportunities and these talents to make a difference. Like there are wealthy people in Scripture. You look at David, you look at Abraham, these guys had some resources. You look at Lydia helped start the church in Philippi was a rich businesswoman. Like you see these people that God uses to advance the kingdom, but the difference is, is that it's, it's not about the amount, but your mindset. Because God also praised and and celebrated the widow. Who barely had anything but gave. Right? In the parable of the talents, they gave different people different amounts, and it wasn't the amount that mattered as much as what you did with what God gave you. So it's one thing to say, God, my life is short. I, I place it in your hands. There's another thing to say, you know what, God, I'm gonna trust you with my resources. Cause they're not my resources, they're your resources. And it's not wrong to make money or do it. No, like, go how God designed you, but understand that everything God gave you is not just for you. It's for him and it and it's that mindset and that urgency of heart. Right? I don't wanna die with the most stuff. I wanna die knowing that we're advancing God's kingdom together, right? So it gets practical, right? Do you trust God with your wealth? Number 2, do you trust God with your worry? Do you trust God with your worry? And, and just one more thought on this mindset thing, because it impacts into into worry too. When it comes to resources, like I think we just come at it from the wrong angle from being honest, right? Cause sometimes we come and I get it cause I've been there, where we think, OK, what's the least amount I can give God and still be OK? Like, what's, what can I give to where I can check that box versus What can I do to have the best relationship with God possible? See, the attitude of giving is is it translates in our relationships too, doesn't it? Right? You don't wanna go into a marriage with somebody thinking, what is the least amount I can give to this person to be legally married? Or do you want to come in and say, what can I do to bless you, to lift you up, to serve, because we're in this together. Right? That's why it's a heart. It's a mind like that's why we're getting after it. It's not after like a specific thing. But it's uh it's how are you approaching it? Do you live with eternity in mind and urgency in heart? And this thing comes into how do we trust God in the bad times? How do we trust God with our worry? He writes this in verse 7 and 8. He says, be patient, therefore brothers. Until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. You also be patient. I love this phrase right here, establish your hearts. For the coming of the Lord is at hand. That word established really means to make stable, to to place firmly, to turn resolutely in a certain direction. I love that. Say, hey, whatever comes of this world, I'm gonna plant my flag here. The author of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 6 says that we have an anchor for our soul. And our anchor isn't here on Earth, it's in heaven. It's, it's Jesus Christ who died. who conquered death itself, took on the weight of the world and everything that was thrown at him, and not only survived, but actually overcame. Like he physically died, was buried, and then rose again so that we cannot be overcome, but become overcomers. How? Through our faith. He's saying whatever you face right now, highs and lows, establish your heart. Decide ahead of time to be patient and to be strong, for he is with you. Ever been on a plane ride where you're just kind of going along watching your show or playing whatever mindless game on your smart device and you hit turbulence? You start believing in God real quick, don't you? Right, you hit turbulence, you're just like, oh. But you don't stay in that turbulent moment, right? You go through it. One of the most famous verses in the Bible, is Psalm 23:4. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Not around it, not avoid it, but through it, I will fear. No evil. Why? Because you are with me. Your rods, your staff, they comfort me. We have the word of God, we have the Spirit of God, we have the presence of God. Understand that God has given you the tools to hang on, to fight through it. Over the years, I've talked with people and like, man, I just don't feel close to God. Are you reading your Bible? No. Have you prayed? No. Are you worshiping? No. Are you going to church? No. Are you in community? No. Are you serving? No. Oh gee, I don't know why you're not feeling good. But can I, can I throw a little. Asterisk in there that we sometimes forget as Christians. That you can also do all of those things, go to church, read your Bible, pray, worship, give, serve, be in community, and life is still hard. And so when you face those trials and tribulations, maybe you're facing the consequence of a choice you made. Maybe you're facing the consequence of a choice somebody else made. Maybe you're suffering for your faith. Maybe you're suffering for a reason you don't understand. Maybe you are suffering adjacent. You're watching a loved one or a friend or a close person go through suffering, and you're not sure what to do. What James is saying here is be patient and establish your heart because life is short and God is good. Just hang on to your anchor. In a practical sense, what can we do? Number one, we can trust God with our wealth. Right? What are we doing with the resources God's given us? Work hard, get after it, invest, plan. Yes, plan for the future, but don't presume you have control over what's gonna happen. Right. Number 2, trust God with your worry. Whatever situation you're in, to be patient, to be strong, to understand that you can make choices for your faith and for your future, and it might not change your circumstance, but through prayer in the presence of God, God will change you in your circumstance, right? And it changes everything. And it will give you the perseverance to get through. And if you're struggling to see God in the present, remind yourself how God came through in the past. Man, I remember when I was back in that. State. I remember when I was struggling and down and God came through. God answered that prayer. And if you don't have those stories for yourself, go to the Word of God because you have story after story after story after story. Of God remaining faithful, even when we're faithless. Right. So trust God with our wealth, trust God with our worry. Finally, trust God with your words. Trust God with your words. He simplifies it. He says this in verse 12, he says, but above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth, or any other oath. Just let your yes be yes and your no be no. So that you may not fall under condemnation. Like we love the, the grand gestures, right? So many of those great, like movies in the eighties, for example, right? You, you end up at the closing scene, standing under a window with a boombox over your head and like, we have these big moments like, God, I'm, you're crying out love, maybe not for the person, but maybe it's for God, you're like, I, I'm never gonna do that again. I'm gonna make this commitment and we go through and, and those grand gestures are good, like they're memorable. But you also come to the point where you're just like, you have to say like, Yeah, OK. I'm gonna follow through what I say I'm gonna do. My words matter. My actions matter. How do we live for eternity? And with urgency in our hearts, 3 things. One, we trust God with our wealth. What are we doing with our resources? 2, we trust God with our worry. What are we doing with our tough situations? And number 3, trust God with our words. Are, are we living out? Are we saying and doing? Who God has called us to be. I want to end with this verse. Paul writes towards the end of his life to his young protege, Timothy, leading the Church of Ephesus, he writes these words in 1 Timothy chapter 6. He says, fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you are called and about which you were made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I, I love that it's, it's just that. Active faith that happens, where it's not about praying so that you can get into heaven, but more so praying and living in a way that heaven gets into you. Right? The fact that it's a fight means that you're in a battle. The fact that it's fight the good fight means that there are bad ones. Right? Are you fighting the right battles? And then it says the battle of faith. If you look throughout history, many wars are named after the location of the battle, right? The Battle of Gettysburg and so on, other places. So, are you winning the battle of faith? That's where Satan's gonna try to creep in. And to create shame and guilt and doubt and brokenness. But rather, not only is it the location, but it's also the key to overcoming. Can you take hold of the eternal life to which you've been called? It's one thing for Jesus to grab hold of you. It's another for you to just freely grab hold of him and say, God, I'm gonna love you with all that I am. I'm gonna live with eternity in my mind and with urgency in my heart. Gonna end with this story. Uh, parents can relate to this with young kids. Uh, uh, a few years ago, I asked my daughter Chloe to take a little shower, a little bath, and you know how little kids, it's like, they act like they've never taken one before. Right, all right, Chloe, you need to take a shower. Oh, and it's like this, like, no, no, you really stink, you need to go. Come on. Right, but then once they get in the shower, it's like the time of their life. It's like, wait, what? You were just fighting me and now you're like singing and you're going. And so, and it was like bedtime, and I thought she was just trying to delay bedtime, which she probably was. And I was like, Chloe, come on, come on, you got, like, what's taking so long? Like the whole bathroom's all steamed up, whatever. I knock on the door like, what are you doing? She's like, Almost done, like, so I opened the door and, and there there's steam everywhere, there's steam on the mirror. I, I look on the mirror and part of why she was having fun is she was riding on the mirror with the steam. And she wrote, she did a big heart and she wrote, I love my dad. On the mirror And I was like, take however much time you need, girl. Why do I share that? Your life is equivalent of the steam on a mirror. It's brief But what is the message you're going to write on that mirror? Is your message gonna say I'm gonna live for self? My own desires and my own needs. Are you able to write with the message and the brevity of your life, I'm gonna live for him. I'm gonna live for the God who made me and the God who saved me. I love my savior. I love my God. Is that the message on your mirror? I hope so. You can start today. Will you pray with me. Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for reminding us of the complexity of life, of the uncertainty of life, the brevity and its fragility. God help us to live with eternity in our minds and urgency in our hearts. That we can trust you with our wealth, that we can trust you. With our worries, and ultimately we can trust you with our words. May we live out who you've called us to be and, and to obey what you've called us to do. Let our message in the mirror. While brief May it be, I love you, God. I love you, Jesus. May our lives reflect that here on Earth. And impact eternity We commit our lives to you and your sons, and we pray. Amen.