I want to do that. Go with me if you would back
to James chapter 4. James chapter 4, the middle of
verse 14. Let's read one question in the
middle of verse 14. For what is your life? What is your life? Do you ever ponder life? Do you ever ponder life? The older I get, the more I do
it. Ponder life. This life that our Lord has given
each one of us, each one of us have a life. You ever ponder
it? Our purpose of being here on
this earth, the time that He's given us to be here. Lord, what
would you have me to do? How much time do I have left? You ever wonder how much time
you have left? You know, things would be so different if we knew
how much time we had left. Wouldn't it be so different? Our accomplishments. I set out to do a lot of things
in this life. All these accomplishments, what
is our life? I have four things I want us
to consider about our life, and I hope this will be an encouragement
to us, an encouraging reminder of our reality, our reality. Before we look at those four
things concerning life, I want us to consider this. James goes
on to say, it's a vapor. He goes on to say that. It is
even a vapor. For what is your life? It's a
vapor. Whatever it is, it's quick. Whatever it is, it's
here and gone. It is here and gone. It's here and gone. That was
really hitting home to me. It's here and gone. He said in verse 14, it appears
for a little time and then it vanishes away. It is so quick. Eternity is so long. And our life on this earth is
so short. So, so short. Moses wrote, O
that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would
consider their latter end. Oh, that they were wise, that
they understood this and would put all of their emphasis on
their latter end. All of their importance on their
latter end. Oh, that they would do this.
Turn with me over to Job chapter 7. Job chapter 7. Job 7 verse 6, he said, My days
are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. spinning wheel and are spent
without hope. That means our days on this earth
are spent knowing the end is coming. You just can't get around
it. It's without hope. The end is
coming. We see it every time we look
into the mirror. We feel it, don't we? We feel
it in our bodies. We ache. The end is coming. It's getting near. Verse 7, he
said, Oh, remember that my life is wind. That's it. Verse 8, he said, The eye of
him that hath seen me shall see me no more. Thine eyes are upon
me and I'm not. Here and gone. That's it. Gone. Look at chapter 9, verse
25. Job 9 verse 25 says, Now my days
are swifter than a post, swifter than a man on a horse delivering
an urgent message. They flee away, they see no good. They are passed away as the swift
ships, as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. That eagle is just
soaring up there and all of a sudden he sees a prey. He said, that's how fast my life
is. It's so quick, so short. Our time is a vapor. Our time
on this earth is a vapor. But what is our life? That's the question. It's short.
But what is our life? Here's the first thing I want
us to consider. What does our life consist of? What should
we expect out of our life? What should we expect from it?
Turn with me over to Job 14. Job 14 verse 1 says, Man that
is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. Full of trouble. What is our
life on this earth? Trouble. That's what it is, isn't
it? It's trouble. We are always,
I am, I'll speak for myself, I'm always so shocked when trouble
comes. Trouble has come our way. So
shocked. I shouldn't be. I really shouldn't
be. You know, oh, here comes trouble. Our Lord has told us from the
beginning all the way to the end that this life is going to
be nothing but trouble, nothing but trouble. That's what He said,
nothing but trouble. Well, surely it's going to bypass
me and bypass my family and bypass nothing but trouble, nothing
but trouble. He told the very first man on
earth, He said everything is cursed for you now because of
your sin. It's all cursed. Everything. The truth is we ought to be shocked
when trouble does not come our way. We ought to be shocked when
we're not troubled on every side as the scripture says. Turn with
me over to Psalm 39. Psalm 39 verse 4 says, Lord, make me to know mine end. What a thing to know and dwell
on and consider and ponder. Lord, make me to know mine end
and the measure of my days, what it is that I may know how frail
I am. frail, how weak, how incapable,
how dependent I am, just so frail. Our life on this earth is not
going to be filled with triumph. That's good news, isn't it? We've
got nothing but good news tonight, don't we? Our life on this earth
is not going to be filled with triumph. It's going to constantly feel
like defeat. Constantly. Our sinful flesh
is going to see to that. This flesh is going to see to
that. It will constantly feel like we're being defeated. Our
life on this earth is never going to give us reason for pride.
Never. Only reason for pain. Now, this
is important. Everything I've said is the absolute
truth. This is important though. I do want to say this. That does
not mean that God's people are not happy. It does not mean that at all.
That does not mean that God's people don't consider this life
to be a good life. This is a good life. Our Lord
has given us a good life. Turn with me over to Ecclesiastes
chapter 2. In Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon, this
wisest man that the Lord made to be on the earth, he is talking
about a man's life on this earth. And he said in Ecclesiastes 2
verse 23, he said, For all his days are sorrows, and his travail
grief, yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is
also vanity. It's vanity. Solomon spent this
whole book of Ecclesiastes saying everything here is empty. Everything here is empty, it
won't satisfy. It will not satisfy. But he said
in verse 24, there is nothing better for a man than that he
should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy
good in his labor. This also I saw that it was from
the hand of God. He said God in his kindness has
revealed something to me. He has shown me something. It's
okay, and God even says it's good for a man to eat and drink
and enjoy the fruit of his labor, the good of his labor. It's good
to labor. This life is a labor, but it's
good to labor. It's good to work hard. Whatever
your hand finds to do, it's good to do it with all your might. As unto the Lord, give your all
to it. Absolutely give your all to it.
And if a man or woman will do that, that labor will bear fruit. And Solomon said it's good and
it's right and it's okay to enjoy that fruit. Look at chapter 3,
Ecclesiastes 3 verse 13. And also that every man should
eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor. It is the gift
of God. He keeps saying that throughout
Ecclesiastes. We could just keep turning. He
keeps saying the same thing. It's good and it's pleasant and
it's honoring to go out and work hard and earn a paycheck and
go to the grocery store and buy some nice food and come home
and cook it. and set a nice table out on the
back patio and invite your brothers and sisters over and share that
with them. Enjoy that with them and enjoy
talking about the things of eternity. Enjoy talking about the things
of God. Enjoy talking about our Savior. He said that's good. It's enjoyable. It's the gift
of God and it is. God's people don't hate their
life on this earth. They don't. He's given us families
to enjoy. He's given us brethren to enjoy.
He's given us jobs to enjoy, comforts to enjoy, and we acknowledge
that. We give him thanks for that. But with all that being said,
we need to understand the reality of what our life is. The reality of what life is going
to be on this earth. What our days are going to consist
of. Trouble. trouble, affliction,
trial, and trouble. We get moments in between the
storm. We get a little calm in between
the storm, but it's going to be back to back trouble. All right, now that leads us
into the second thing I want us to see about this. Here's
our second point. Okay, the first point is, what
is our life? Second point is, what is our
life? How important is it really? How important is it? What we
do on this earth, what does it matter really? Really, what does it matter?
To say that there are going to be more defeats than triumphs,
and there will be. But to say that there are going
to be more defeats than triumphs, what does it matter? Really, what does it matter? Compared to eternity, if the
Lord will let our minds and our eyes and our hearts look up for
just a minute compared to eternity, what does it matter? I told you this before, it's
funny to me now, but I'm telling you, I was serious. I was going
to be a millionaire by 40. I had my heart set on it. I didn't
make it. What does it matter? Really,
what does it matter? I failed, who cares? What difference
does it make? What is our life on this earth?
Even the accomplishments, even the things we've done, even the
things that we've attained, when we consider our victories, what
we consider to be victories, what difference do they make,
really? I did this, and I did this, and
I did this, and buddy, I gave my all, and I accomplished this.
What difference does it make, really? Look back at Ecclesiastes
2. Verse 14 says, The wise man's
eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness. And
I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. What event is he talking about? leaving life on this earth. Verse
15, Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool,
so it happeneth even to me. Here's Solomon, King Solomon,
wisest man on earth. He said the same thing that happens
to that fool is going to happen to me. And he went on to say,
Why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart that
this also is vanity. This. It's all vanity. It's all empty. It all turns
out to be worthless. Worthless. A man named John Rockefeller is considered to be the richest
person in modern history. Was. Is. Because he was. I did a little internet search.
Donald Trump is worth $3.5 billion. That's his net worth, $3.5 billion.
Bill Gates, the owner of Microsoft, is worth $85 billion. John Rockefeller
was worth $336 billion. The day he left this earth, the
very second he left this earth, there was no difference in the
man who built the Rockefeller Center and the bum who slept
on the sidewalk of the Rockefeller Center. No difference. It all
ended up being worthless. It all ended up being worthless.
Our Lord said, from dust you came and to dust you're going
to return. Does that mean, well, let's just
be lazy and eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die? No.
This is a good life. Whatever your hand finds to do,
do it with all your mind. It's good to work hard. Enjoy
the fruit of your labor. But our Lord said, from dust
you came and to dust you're going to return. He said, all flesh
is grass. And it's going to wither, and
it's going to fade, and it's going to be cut down. Therefore,
knowing that, here's the real question. Point number three.
Third thing to consider, okay? Here's the real question. What
is our life? Point number one is, what is
our life? Point number two is, what is
our life? Point number three is, what is
our life? Go with me over to Colossians
chapter three. Colossians three, verse four. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, Then shall you also appear with Him in glory. Verse 5, He said, Mortify therefore
your members which are upon the earth. Mortify means kill. Kill. Reckon yourself to be dead. Reckon yourself to be dead on
this earth. Dead to this earth. What is our life? We can answer
that question by asking this question. What is our death? What is our death? A believer
says, Christ is. What's our life? Well, what is
our death? Christ is. He's all. I died in Him. The
Apostle Paul said, I'm crucified with Him. Verse 3 right here says, For
you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. If the Lord would ever allow
me to get a hold of that. You are dead, and your life is
hid with Christ in God. What is our life? It's dead.
Our life is hid with Christ in God. Verse 1, he said, If you
then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection
on things above, not on things of the earth. What is our life? Well, it's not on this earth. It's not on this earth. Turn
with me over to 1 John chapter 5. 1 John 5. Verse 12 says, He that hath the
Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. He that hath the Son hath life. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. I am your life." He
said, this is life eternal that they might know Thee, the only
true God in Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. He said, that's
life. That's our life. That's the life
of my people. Knowing Thee. Knowing Christ. Why is that life? Why is that
life? It's because He gave His life
so we could have it. That's why it's life. Knowing
Him, union with Him, being hid with Him is life because He gave
His so we could have it. He is life. Greater love hath
no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends. What is your life? What is our
life? God took His life and gave it
to us. What is our life? His life is
our life. That's our life. Acts chapter
8 says, And His humiliation, His judgment was taken away.
And who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the
earth. What is our life? His life is
our life. That's amazing to me. That's
amazing to me. What is your life? Well, my life
is trouble. Well, you have trouble here,
yeah. Sorrow and pain and all those things. What is your life? Oh, it doesn't mean anything.
It's worthless. Well, that's true here on this
earth. But to a believer, what is your life? The very life of
Jesus Christ is my life. That's my life. That's my life. His life is our life. Look at
verse 11 just before it. And this is the record that God
hath given to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. What is our life if we can say,
honestly, if we can honestly say Christ is. If we can say Christ is, then
when these trials and these troubles come, we're going to be able
to say light afflictions. That's all they are, light afflictions
on the road to Him. When the defeats come, when the
triumphs come, either way, defeats or triumphs, either way, we're
going to be able to say it doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Somebody pat you on the back
and say, well done. Good job. It doesn't matter. Sorry. Better luck next time.
Doesn't matter. There's my victory right there.
There's my triumph right there. If Christ truly is our life,
then here's the last thing I want us to consider. Point number
four is what is our life? What is our life? Meaning, what
is life in Him? If our life is dead here on this
earth, hid with Christ in God, if He is our life, if our life
is His very own life given to us, then what is life in Him? We just read here in verse 11,
1 John 5 verse 11, this is the record that God hath given to
us eternal life. Eternal life. Eternal life. Could you imagine
eternal life? Absolute, no possibility of end,
no fear of end. Eternal life. Look back at 1 John chapter 3. Verse 2 says, Beloved, now are
we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like
Him. It's sinless life. It's sinless life. This life
that we are currently living is not our life. This is not
our life. This is not our life, you know.
Well, a man's got to do this, a man's got to do that. It's
not our life. This is not it. We have sinless life, painless
life, no sorrow, no tears, a life of total rejoicing. Verse 2 right here says, now,
beloved now, we are the sons of God, right now, we are the
sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be. Our life hasn't officially started
yet. It has started, but we haven't fully arrived
yet. Go over to John 6 with me. John
chapter 6. John chapter 6 verse 40. Our
Lord said, And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every
one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting
life. This is the will of God the Father.
This is what's in His heart. This is what He's purposed. That
everyone that sees the Son and believes on Him, may have everlasting
life. And our Lord said, I will raise
him up at the last day. I'll raise him up at the last
day. Our true living and moving and
have our being has not officially started yet. It hasn't even started
yet. We are alive. But we have not even started
living yet. We haven't even started living
yet. We all love to go on vacation. I don't know of anybody who does
not love to go on vacation, whatever they deem a vacation to be. There's an anticipation that
leads up to vacation. You think about it. You think
about it. It brings you happiness. There's a work involved in getting
ready to go on vacation. A lot of work. It's a lot of
work to go on vacation. It takes a lot of work to take
a break. And then you get in your car and you head out. We
love going to the beach. That's our place. As soon as
my tires leave my driveway, I'm on vacation. I mean, I am. Soon as we're done,
the house is locked, doors are shut. I'm on vacation. But it takes
me a day of driving to get there. I'm on vacation. I am. And you get out on John B. Dennis,
and man, it feels good to be on vacation. But I'm not fully there yet.
While I'm traveling down the road, I'm not smelling the salty
air yet. I'm not feeling that sand yet.
I have not officially arrived yet. I'm on vacation. But I have
not officially arrived yet. But it's okay. Here's the point.
It's okay because I'm headed that way. Knowing that, it makes all the
difference in the world. I don't smell salty air at that moment
just like I don't smell it right now. But it's okay because I'm headed
that way. I'm pressing toward that mark. There is a life coming. I don't know how to describe
it. If I did know how to describe it, it wouldn't be possible for
this man's mouth to utter it. It's a life in Christ. It's a
life because of Christ. It's the very life that Christ
has always had with the Father from the foundation of the world.
Whatever life has been like for Him, there is a life coming. There is an earth coming. There
is a new earth coming. There is a reward coming. There is an inheritance coming. There is a true rest coming that
we have not officially started living yet. We have not officially
laid hold of yet. Are we alive in him? Are we sons
of God? Absolutely. But we haven't laid
hold of it yet. What is our life? We'll soon
find out. We will soon find out. Just keep
going. It's almost there. We're almost
there. Keep going. Turn with me over
to Psalm 27. We're going to close with this. Psalm 27 verse 13. It says, I had fainted unless
I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living. I believe I can say the same
thing. I don't believe I could make it unless I believed to
see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He
said in verse 14, wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and
He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. The goodness of the Lord in the
land of the living is coming. Our life is coming. Moses said,
Lord, teach us to number our days. that we may apply our hearts
to wisdom. Teach us to number our days that
we may apply our hearts to Christ. Don't let us get caught up in
this thing that is not our life. Don't let us get completely taken
up with and completely sidetracked on something that is not our
life. I got caught up in not life. Lord, teach me to get a calendar
and put an X on every single day. Teach me to number my days. Count them down. It's coming. Life is coming. Lord, teach us
to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Our
true life with Him is about to begin. It's about to begin and
we're counting down the days. Alright, let's all stand together.
And...