FROG Discipleship

The Problem With Someday Faith

• Nick

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0:00 | 26:38
SPEAKER_00

Nick here. Welcome to Frog Discipleship. Sorry it's been a little bit since I've posted or made an episode. My daughter and I have been traveling to different college campuses for volleyball. It's been great. We hit five different campuses. She's had two offers, which right now she has a total of eight offers to come play volleyball at eight different schools. So we're still trying to narrow it down, but thank you so very much for your patience. Well, today what I want to talk to you is the problem with someday mindset, the someday faith. And what I mean by that is the someday I will do this or someday I'll do that kicks the can down the road, and typically it never gets done instead of let's do it now. There's no time better than now. Now, many people, many Christians, many, many non-believers, you know, they they intend to trust God, they intend to serve God, they intend to forgive someone, to take the next step of faith someday, but they never do. You know, a lot of times it's it's for, you know, we often tell ourselves, you know, someday I'll forgive somebody, someday I'll share my faith, someday I'll start to serve in the church, someday I'll trust God with with everything that I have. Someday I'll spend more time in prayer, someday I'll have that difficult conversation, maybe it's even someday I'll surrender my life to the Lord, right? Or whatever it may be. The problem is that someday can you know that someday faith cannot be lived in the present because you don't have it. You know, you can't give what you do not have. If you're trying to live a someday style faith, that means you don't have it today. You're hoping to get it later, means you're not trying with your everything today. So I want to come to the book of James and read this. And I want to read it in context, mainly verse 17, but I'm gonna pick up in James chapter 4, starting at verse 13 through 17, so that way we get good context. And it says in verse 13, Come now, you who say today or tomorrow, we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit. Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. But now you boast in your arrogance, all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it is sin. So there's a lot to unpack in this passage of Scripture. You know, he also describes sin as failing to do what we know is right. Okay, failing to do what we know is right. We know the right thing to do, but instead we choose something different. That is a sin. And what I want to focus on is in here is not just verse 17, but also the importance of today, present. You know, we boast in our arrogance, it says, about tomorrow. Well, what is your life? It's a vapor, it's temporary. Tomorrow might not come. Everybody has an expiration date. You know, and what I mean by that is there's there's a day that will be our last day here on earth. We don't know that. We don't know when that day is, we don't know when we will expire, when our expiration date is. So all the more reason to live today as the best day ever, you know. And if you don't remember that reference, there was a young lady in our church, you know, she might be, I don't know, 12, 11 or 12, and they were on a family gathering and a little get together, and she said, you know, to her mom, this is the best day ever. And then the very next day they were back at home just hanging out the house, eating a grilled cheese sandwich, and she said, Hey, this is the best day ever. The best day ever is all about perspective. The best day ever is the day you're in right now, because you can't go back to tomorrow or yesterday, excuse me, you can't go back to yesterday and redo it. It's in the past. You know, you can't do tomorrow because tomorrow hasn't came yet. So today has to be the best day ever. So when we look at this someday faith, what we see therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. You know, when we have these ideas, you know, someday forgive that person, or someday I'll go have that difficult conversation with that individual, or someday, you know, I'll I'll get up and I'll go to Sunday school, or I'll start serving in the church, or I'll volunteer, you know, or do this and that. It's not focusing on the present. You know, someday I'll study for the test I have to take. Well, procrastination is not your friend because then you're not adequately preparing for what is to come. The best time to prepare is right now. Many believers are not resisting God's will outright. They are simply postponing it. And what I mean by that is they're not deliberately trying to, you know, be disobedient in their mind. They're thinking, oh, well, if I if I just plan on doing it later, that's okay. Well, the problem with later is life happens between now and later, and then it never gets achieved. Oh, I want to read my Bible. Well, I can't right now. Um, I don't have a pencil or I don't have this. You create an excuse, and I'll do that later when I get home. Then the day goes by, you get home, you're tired, you're hungry, well, I gotta cook dinner, and you start prioritizing everything else other than that one-on-one time that you need with the Lord. And it never gets done. So that is the problem that we see time and time again. You know, they don't they don't mean to deliberately do it, they have the best intentions, but here's one thing we need to remember the road to hell is paved with the best of intentions. And what I mean by that is the best of intentions are just that. They're intentions. They're not actual actions that took place. Oh, I meant to do this versus I did do this. I meant to read my Bible, I meant to pray, I meant to call my brother in Christ versus I read my Bible, I did pray, and I had that wonderful conversation with my brother in Christ. Okay, there is a major difference than I meant to do this versus actually achieving that thing. You know, and we see a couple biblical examples. You know, we were do you remember the rich young ruler? He knew what Jesus required, but he walked away. He knew what Jesus required, but he walked away. I'll do that later. Okay? And then another example is Jonah. Jonah delayed God's call and brought unnecessary hardship upon himself. And not just unnecessary hardship upon himself, but unnecessary hardship on others. And see, what we don't realize is that our sin doesn't just affect us, it affects others. And Jonah is a great example of that. So when God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, instead he didn't. He went and ran and got on a ship and got in the in the bottom deck and was sleeping and everything like that. That storm that that ship was in didn't just affect Jonah. Jonah wasn't the only person in that storm, everybody else was. Okay? So your actions or lack thereof, or even it's not even just your actions, it's your intentions or lack thereof. You if you intend to do something but never follow through, that then flows into your actions to where you're not achieving that goal. Well, Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. He had that someday, Lord, someday I'll do that, but right now I can't do that. Right now I'm going to rebel. Well, that rebellion brought forth unnecessary consequences, not just on Jonah, but on innocent people. You know, Jonah's sin fell on others. And that's why it says, therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. Jonah knew he should have let listened to God, but he didn't. And it was sin. So again, life is but a vapor. We see here in James chapter 4. It is a vapor. What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. That's verse 14. Okay? We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, so we need to focus on the day. When do you make the most impact? When do you make the most difference in your life and others' life? Right now. Right now. Today. It's not someday you'll achieve this. Today is the day you can achieve it. You just have to want it bad enough. You know, so in Jonah's situation, it Jonah's danger wasn't in ignorance. The danger was in the delay, excuse me. You know, the future plan of I'll obey God, you know, and have some type of obedience later down the line. That's not how that works. The enemy does not always need to convince us to say no. So the enemy, the devil, doesn't always need to convince you to say no, I'm not going to do this. They just need to convince you to say, oh, I'll do that later. Because when when we say, I'll do that later, we kick that can down the road or whatever and put off for tomorrow what should be done today. We don't view that thing as a sin. But have you ever thought that this is how Satan worked? The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions. The I will do it later mindset, I will do that someday mindset to eventually it never gets done. It gets forgotten about. See, one of Satan's biggest things that he does to keep you from achieving your full potential in Christ is keeping you busy. Busyness. You know, you can be busy and not productive quite a bit, right? Busyness versus productive. You know, you can you can do a whole lot of stuff and achieve nothing. You know, it's like, oh, I'm gonna clean out my shop and I start cleaning out the shop, and then oh, I gotta stop and answer a phone, and then oh, while I'm answering the phone, I'm gonna start doing dishes, or I'm gonna start doing this, and I'm gonna and I'm busy, but the dishes didn't get completely done. I stopped to do something else. I started mowing the grass, the grass didn't get cut because you know I went back and cleaned the barn a little bit, and the barn didn't get done because I answered the phone. It, you know, it's a triple trickle effect to where you can be very, very busy all day, all the time, but not productive. Your faith is no different. You can be so busy, you know, with the desire. I I want to do this, I someday, I want to do this someday, not today, you know, and be busy with that mindset and never get it done. Well, when we see right here in 2 Corinthians, this is 2 Corinthians chapter 6, you know, starting at verse 1, we then, as workers together with him, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. Well, what does that mean to receive the grace of God in vain? Now remember what we just learned in James, those who know to do good but does not do it, it is sin. Okay, so knowing what to do and not doing it is sin. Okay. Same thing. That's exactly what this is saying. To receive the grace of God in vain is to hear. Imagine you're an individual, you sit in church every Sunday, every time the doors are open, yet you never confessed and lived a life for Christ. You never repented of your sins and gave your life to Christ because you always said, Well, I'll do that someday. I'll do that eventually, to where you're just then you just started going through the motions, you forgot about it, and you convinced yourself that you were a Christian. But that's not how it works. You never gave your life to the Lord. You never truly surrendered to Him. That someday faith is dangerous. To receive the grace of God in vain is to hear the gospel, to know what the gospel says, to know what is required, and then do nothing. That's what it means to receive the grace of God in vain. Verse 2, for he says, In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in that day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted, accepted time, behold, now is the day of your salvation. So, what I like about verse two is it tells us when, when we need to start acting, when we need to start growing. Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of your salvation. Now is your opportunity to fix that problem in your life. Now is the time to repent of your sins. Paul emphasized one word repeatedly. That is the word now. Now is that accepted time. You know, the the illusion of someday, someday feel safe because it allows you to avoid risk today. You know, because someday it'll do it. You're someday you're willing to take that risk, but you are avoiding that risk in your presence. So that is an illusion, that someday illusion is hindering you from meeting your full potential here and now. We always, we always assume that there'll be more time, you know, I'll have more confidence, there'll be a better circumstance, I'll have uh a greater clarity, you know, about this or that. That's not the case. You know, I am a firm believer. You learn a little bit, you do a little bit. You learn a little bit, you do a little bit. So in the in the business in which I just started, you know, I there's a lot more that I want to do with my website, with the people I'm reaching out to, and everything like that. But I can't try, I can't spend all my time trying to get every everything to be completely perfect because it's going to take a lot more time and a lot more money than I currently have. So I have to learn a little bit, do a little bit, okay, get some clients, and as my clients, you know, grow, my client list grows, well, then that gives me more income. So then I can grow a little bit more and do it little by little. You know, if I try to create something so perfect, well, I spend all my time trying to create something, but I never get to utilize it, I never put it into practice. So when I say learn a little bit, do a little bit, that is so vital to us in our growth and especially in your faith. Because what that does is you're taking what you know here and now and you're applying it in the present, in today. We often confuse preparation with postponement. You know, well, I'm preparing, I'm preparing for this, I'm preparing for that. No, yeah, in certain situations, yeah, that can be true, but in the majority of life examples, we are preparing and preparing, but realistically, we're just postponing and saying, I'm doing, I'll do this later. What do you think? Why do you think we often confuse preparation with postponement postponement, excuse me? Because preparation is necessary. You're justifying not acting now. Well, I need to, I need to prepare. You know, if you got a speech you got to deliver, you need to prepare that speech. You know, if you're going to go speak, you need to prepare. You know, so preparation is necessary. But again, learn a little bit, do a little bit. It's not where we have to prepare, prepare, prepare to so much to the degree that we are postponing actually achieving that goal. Preparation becomes postponement when we use it as an excuse to avoid taking action. And that's why Paul says, Do not receive God's grace in vain. Now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of your salvation. Now is the time to do. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. You know what you need to be doing. The question is, are you actually doing it? Or are you saying, hey, I gotta prepare a little bit more, I gotta do this, I gotta do that. No. Now some of the best things you can do, some of my greatest successes was just figuring it out along the way. You know, I I didn't, I didn't, you know, just all of a sudden, you know, I wasn't born an extrovert where I just, hey, I just love talking to people. No, I was a shy kid and this, that, and the other. But somewhere along life's journey, I just started talking to people and I realized, hey, guess what? People want to communicate. People want to share their stories. People want to be seen. So I learned from that. So I started just talking to people. I love talking to people. I love getting to know people, I love building relationships. And that's something I strive to do in some shape, form, or fashion, every single day. Learn something new, learn someone new, and add value to someone today. I don't want to plan on adding value to somebody tomorrow. I want to add value to somebody today. So we have to be in the present and not just focused on the tomorrow. See, faith requires movement. Faith requires movement. When we look in the in Hebrews 11, you know, I see that I call it the faith hall of fame. You know, we see, we I'm gonna use Noah as an example. Noah built the ark before the rain ever came, okay? Because faith requires movement. He could have said, well, Lord, you know, when I see rain, I'll start on it. No, no, no. He didn't do that. Faith requires movement. The Lord told him to build an ark. He said, Okay, I don't know what rain is. I don't know what this is going to look like, but I will build an ark. I don't know how these animals are going to come and fill it, but I'm going to build the ark and walk by faith, not by sight. And that's what Noah did. Because faith requires movement now, in the present. Peter stepped out on faith in the boat when he started walking on water. He didn't know he was going to walk on water. He said, Lord, call me to you and I'll come. And he's come. So he jumped out and landed on that water like it was concrete. And as long as he was focused on Christ and moving like he needed to, in the right direction, in the direction towards Christ. Because remember, for those who know what to do and don't do it, it is sin. So he knew what he needed to do. He was focusing on Christ. And he stayed walking on that water in that storm as if it was on concrete. But as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and focused his vision, his heart, his mind elsewhere, he started to sink. Faith requires movement. And there is danger in standing still. Every day that you delay obedience, your heart can grow harder, and opportunities that you have today can disappear. Disappear. Conviction can fade away. Your fear can grow stronger. You know, and that's the last thing we want is fear to grow stronger, or the conviction to fade away, or your opportunity to disappear. You only have the opportunity to possibly have that conversation with that person right now. So do it now. Growth begins when we take the next step. God has already revealed to you. What does that mean? Well, stop having that someday faith. He has already revealed to you what you need to do through his word. Okay. And remember, receiving God's grace in vain is just knowing what to do and never doing it. That's receiving God's grace in vain. Now, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6, excuse me, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of your salvation. Now is the time for you to make the difference. Today is the best day ever for you to start growing in your faith, to start your prayer life, to start losing weight if you need to, to start stop drinking if you need to. Now is the best day ever for you to start whatever. Not someday, now. Well, what happens when we keep saying someday? There is a cost of waiting. Well, something to think about. If you never try, if if you say, hey, I'm gonna fix that relationship someday, but you never do, that relationship remains broken and forgiveness is delayed. It's never achieved, it's never given. If it's never given, it's never received. You know, people remain unreached because we never share our faith. Have you thought about that? You know, if we say, hey, someday I will share my faith, but we never do it, that means every day we're not sharing our faith. People remain unreached. They're not hearing the good news. Spiritual growth, excuse me, spiritual growth stalls, stands still, because you never surrendered to the Lord now. You plan on doing it later, but you never did it now. So your spiritual growth stalls. It stays put, it doesn't move. The tragedy is not that we reject God's will. The tragedy is that we intend to obey it, but never did. That's the tragedy. Lying to yourself. I mean, yeah, it's bad enough to reject God's will, but the real tragedy is when you intend to do it someday, but never do it. And then you wonder why such and such happens. You know, there's going to be a lot of people that stand before the Lord and He says, Depart from me, I never knew you. You did it with lawlessness. Because they had the desire to do it someday, to someday I truly want to give my life over to the Lord. But then the final day comes and it's too late. There is not going to be a tomorrow. Am I asking for you to be perfect today? No. But I am asking you to realize that today is the best day ever. Today might be the only opportunity you have to say, I'm sorry, to say, I love you, to say, Lord, I need you, to give that hug to the person that needs it, to see someone that you walked by a thousand times and never said hello. Today is the greatest day ever. It is the best day ever because today is the day that you have opportunity to fix, to start, to begin, to move forward. Many people missed God's best because they said no. Or let me rephrase, many people missed God's best not because they said no, but because they said, I'll do it later. They missed God's best, not because they said no, but because they said, I will do it later. Don't let that be you. Don't let your life story be a tragedy because you said, I will serve God someday. I will start someday. Today, today, now is the accepted time. Thank you for listening. This is Nick with Frog Discipleship.