title of this message, Inventory,
or What is Your Life? What is your life? Let's start in verse 13. This
is where he starts this at. Go to now, for come now, consider
this, lay this to heart, ye that say, and I said this. There have
been times that I've said, I'll see you tomorrow. Well, maybe
you will, maybe you won't. Ye that say, today or tomorrow
we will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy
and sell and get gain. There's not one person in this
room, there's not one person in this world who can tell you
what's going to happen tomorrow. There is one thing that I'm sure
of that will happen tomorrow. If tomorrow comes and it's this,
the Lord's will, it will be done. That will happen tomorrow. Outside
of that, I can't tell you anything else. I cannot tell you whether
the sun will come up or not, whether I will do this or that
or not. We have no control over tomorrow. We know what yesterday
is all about, but we know what happened anyway. We know a little
bit about what happened. We know what happened in our
little fishbowl. But a whole lot went on yesterday that we
don't know about. But the Lord knows about everything. Everything
that happened yesterday happened according to the will of God.
Everything. Everyone that was born into this
world was born into this world by the will of God. And everyone
that was taken out yesterday was taken out by the will of
God. He said not even a sparrow will fall to the ground. And
He's not saying without your Heavenly Father knowing about
it. That's not what He's saying. without your Heavenly Father
being directly involved in it. Taking that sparrow's life. Life
is His to give, and it's His to take. It's His. I put this
in the bulletin. Tomorrow may bring happiness,
and for some, I'll tell you this, throughout this world, Lord willing,
tomorrow comes, it's going to bring happiness for some. Some
people are going to wake up happy. They may recover from an illness
that they've had. They may get a job that they've been after.
They're going to be happy, joyful. Some may, it may bring wealth.
I saw on television the other day where someone won the lottery.
I know someone woke up happy, ended up wealthy for a little
while, a little while. Some may recover and be healthy. But some are going to wake up
tomorrow to great sorrow. One is always set against the
other in this life. Some are going to wake up to
great poverty. Not knowing where the next meal is going to come
from. Some are going to wake up sick. Some are going to find
out from a doctor you've got a disease or a fatal disease. They're going to find this out.
And some are not going to wake up tomorrow. Tomorrow's it. It's
over. There'll be no more tomorrows.
I want you to take the old school hymn. Turn to page 555. I'm going
to read two stanzas. We're going to sing this at the
end of the service. I'm going to read this, the first
and third stanza. I don't know about tomorrow. I just live from day to day. I don't borrow from its sunshine
where skies may turn to gray. I don't worry for the future. I have to say that we too often
sing above our experience, don't we? We sure do. For I know what Jesus said, and
today I walk beside him, for he knows what is ahead. I don't
know about tomorrow, it may bring me poverty, but the one who feeds
the sparrow is the one who stands by me. And the path that be my
portion may be through the flame or flood, but his presence goes
before me, and I'm covered with his blood. Many things about
tomorrow I don't seem to understand. You know what? I don't need to.
I just need to know the one who has tomorrow in his hand. I don't
need to understand that. I just need to know him. But
I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand. That's
tomorrow. Now, James asks in dealing with
this, he says, go to now, either say tomorrow or today or tomorrow,
we will go into such a city and continue there a year, buy and
sell, get gains, whereas you don't know what will be on tomorrow
for What is your life? And what he's saying is this,
what is the nature of your life? What's the nature of this earthly
life? What is it? Well, first of all, it's the
beginning of a new creature, a person that never existed before
now exists. The oldest person in here at
one time was a baby, was a new existence, a ray of sunshine,
Unless you were the seventh child. Like in my family, there was
seven. That beam had just about gone out by then. You know, you
beam over that first one. You do. You beam over it. And
that second one, the beam's still there. But when you get down
to seven, I had a great aunt that had 14. I'm sure there wasn't
a beam left by 14. I know it sounds humorous, but
that thing gets dim. I tell you, you know the heartaches
and the trouble that's coming after that first one, the second
one. Then you start learning about the heartaches of life
and the heartaches of raising a family. You start learning
something about it. But it's a new beginning. It's
a new beginning. It's a person that did not exist
before. And it's the beginning of a journey. You don't know
that child, that baby that you're looking at may grow up to be
a president or a pauper. You don't know. It's the beginning
of a journey. It starts in the cradle and it
ends in the grave. This life, I'm talking about
this life now, this life. And then it's an inheritance.
We inherit a body. I got this body from my parents.
We inherit characteristics from our parents. And sad to say,
we inherit sin. I didn't do one thing, say one
thing to become a sinner. I was born one. And my parents
were born that way and it goes all the way back to Adam. Now
this life, what is your life? What's the nature of it? We have
it in two stages. The first part is brief. It's brief. And it happens in
this world. It's a vapor. How long does a
vapor last? Your life and my life in the
light of eternity is just a mist. It's just a mist. It's very brief. It happens in this world. And
Job said this, man that's born of a woman is a few days and
full of trouble. Man is born to trouble as the
sparks fly upward. That's what the Scripture has
to say about this life. That's the way it is. But the
second part of it has no end. It has no end. It happens in
eternity. When you leave this life, that
next life, whether you believe on Christ or not, you're eternal. You're not like an animal that
ceased to exist. You and I are going to live forever
somewhere with someone. I promise you that. We do not
cease to exist. We are now eternal beings. Our
life on this earth here is but a vapor. It's so swift. Turn
over to Job chapter 9. Job chapter 9. Job learned something
about this. Especially going through this
trial. Job chapter 9. Look at verse... Job chapter
9. My days are swifter than a post. They flee away. They see no good. They are passed away as the swift
ships, as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. You ever see an
eagle dive after its prey? There are some of them, these
hawks, that can reach a speed over 200 miles an hour in a dive. He said, my life is that swift. It's that swift. We are here
today for a very brief time. You young people, enjoy your
youth. You got it today. Tomorrow, you're
over. We have it today, and then we're
gone. Then we pass into eternity. Pass into eternity. The Scripture
portrays us like a flower. Look over in Isaiah 40. A man is like the flower. He
comes on, he looks good and strong and healthy. In verse 6 of Isaiah 40, the Lord
said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the
goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. Do we come
in like a flower does in the bud? And then the sun shines,
and when you open up, you have this beautiful flower. Beautiful flower. But the grass withers. Nature's
teaching you something every year. Every fall, pay attention. You will go the same way, and
I will go the same way. The flower of youth and of beauty
will pass away. It'll pass away. We'll grow older.
I'm growing older. I know that. The mirror says
it. The mirror says it. I look at
it every day and I see the wrinkles and I see the aging. I see it. You think we've learned something,
don't you? You think we've learned? The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, that beautiful, beautiful flower fades and then eventually
we lay it in the ground. It grows old and we lay it in the
ground. When I read this, I thought of
Helen Holbrook. She was an attractive elderly
lady. But when I went to do the funeral, I was given a picture
of her. She was stunning. She was movie
star quality. She was stunningly beautiful.
I said, is that Helen? She was an attractive elderly
lady, but I'm telling you this, it fades, don't it? Now let's
be honest, it fades. It fades. The grass withers, the flower
fades, because the Spirit of the Lord blows upon it. And purely
the people's grass, that's the nature of your life. It's here
today, and it's gone. Gone. I had my best friend that
I went to school with. We did a lot of things together. Nineteen years of age, gone in
a car wreck. Gone. Here's a question. What is your
life? Now let's take this to heart.
What is your life? He's not just saying what is
life. I just covered that. What is
your life? What is your life devoted to? What is your life,
what is my life absolutely committed to? Is it worldly gain? Is it gathering the stuff of
this world? Spurgeon said this, get it all
you can and can't eat all you get. Is that what it's given to? Is
it devoted to worldly wisdom and knowledge? I watched Jeopardy
the other day. Me and Jason were watching Jeopardy.
I answered two questions. Jason answered most of them.
What a waste of space. What an absolute waste of space.
I need all the gigabytes. I need all the memory that I
can get. I don't need to store all that stuff. If I need to
know it, I'll look it up. Worldly knowledge. Always learning. Scripture is always learning
and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Always digging, finding out more,
but never knowing the One who created all things. Is that my life? Solomon said,
he searched out everything and said, all is vanity and vexation
of spirit. The increase of wisdom, he said,
is the increase of sorrow. He's not talking about godly
wisdom. Is it devoted to popularity? Is that what drives me? The Pharisees, our Lord says,
they do what they do to be seen of men. We're devoted to something. Everyone
is devoted to something. I don't care if it's being lazy.
I know people who are devoted to being lazy. We are devoted
to something. Our life is devoted to something.
Or someone. Or someone. Is it devoted to
family? I know a man that every time
I talk to him, everything's about his family. It's everything about
his family. Nobody here. It's everything
about his family. I do this for my family. I love
my family. Well, you know what all this
is? Vapor. Real life, now real life, the
nature, the nature of real life is eternal life. It's eternal
life. I'm not talking about how long
it is, I'm talking about the quality of it. I'm talking about
the life of God in the soul. Is Christ my life? What is your life? That's the
nature of it. Who's your life? Who is your
life? Is it a life spent? Is it a life
spent knowing God? Look over in John 17. Here's eternal life. As I said,
it's not how long it is. Everybody's going to live forever
once they're born into this world. In John 17, verse 3, and this
is life eternal. Here it is. You want it? Here
it is. That they might know thee, the only true God. Not just know
that He exists. You know, the devil believes
God and he trembles. He knows God exists and he believes
God. But he's lost. He's as lost as
lost can be. It's to know God. It's a union
with God in Christ. that they might know thee the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, which it's
impossible to know the only true God apart from Jesus Christ whom
he has sent." Now, that's life eternal. That's
what it is. Look over in Matthew 6. Look in verse 24. No man can
serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love
the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God in mammon.
Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought, no anxious, worrisome
thought for your life on this earth. What you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor
yet for your body, what you shall put on. And this scripture has
stood out to me for a long time. Is not the life more than meat? Is the life that I have, is it
not more than what I'm going to eat today, what I'm going
to wear, where I'm going to live, where I'm going to work? Is it
not more than that? Real life has to do with God. It has to do with knowing God
in Christ. Is not the life more than meat
and the body more than raiment? Is not my life on this earth
more than that? If not, I'm not any better than
an animal, really, if it's not any more than that. Life, life, real life is to know
the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over to Philippians 3. Well,
first of all, turn to Philippians chapter 1. Turn to Philippians
1 first. Paul says in verse 21, For me to live is what? Christ. To die is dying. But you know another rendering
of this is like this. My living is Christ. Jesus Christ
is my living. He's my living. He's my living. He's my life. Now turn over to
Philippians 3. And Paul proves it. He says in
verse 18, Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do countenance
but done, that I may win Christ, that I may have Christ and be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith, that I might know Him who is my life, that
I might know Him every day, that I might grow in grace and in
knowledge of Him. I listened to a message this
morning. It was about a 14-minute message of Henry preaching on
the radio program down at Rocky Mountain. He's growing in grace
and in the knowledge of Him. Good message. That's what Paul
said. I want to grow in Him. I want
to know Him. And I want to know the power
of His resurrection. I want to know the power of His
resurrected life in my daily walk. I want to know it. I'm not just believing the story
and waiting to die. It's a living union. It's a living
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it is. What is your life? What is your life? The life of a believer is more
than meat and drink. It's more than meat and drink.
The life of a believer is Christ. The life of a believer is for
the glory of God. In my walk, in my talk, my very
existence is for the glory of Christ. All things are made by
Him and for Him. I was made for Him. To the praise
and glory of His grace or the praise and glory of His justice.
One way or the other, I'm made for Him. Christ is my life. Christ is
my living. It says in 1 John 5, 12, he that
hath the Son hath life. You know, just because you and
I can walk, talk, and reason, doesn't mean we have the life
of God in us. That's natural life. Any man, any woman, any
child can do that. But he that hath the Son hath
the life of God. That's divine life. That's on
a different level. It's on a whole different level. If you do not have Christ, then
all you have, and all you are, is a vapor. In a little while, you'll vanish.
Where you're sitting will be empty. Now listen, and I'm going to
wind this down. Anything that is connected with
eternal life must be eternal itself. If I'm going to have eternal
life, the life of God, then that which is connected to it has
to be eternal. That which is worth pursuing
must be eternal. The world to come. I spoke of that new heaven and
new earth. Set your affection where? On things above. Where
our Lord sits at God's right hand. Seek ye first what? What is the very first thing
we are told to do? What is it our Lord tells us
to do? To set our hearts to, to seek, to strive after. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness. And all these things will be
added to you along the way. He knows what I need. He knows
what I need a whole lot more than I know what I need. He knows. I'd eat cupcakes all the time.
When I was a child, I would just eat junk food all the time. But
my parents knew that I needed to eat solid food. He knows what
I need. He knows what you need. Seek
ye first, set your heart on the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Strive after Him. Seek after
Him. Seek to grow in grace and in
knowledge of Him. There's something else that's
eternal and worth pursuing. The gospel. It's called the everlasting
gospel, isn't it? The everlasting gospel. Give yourselves to know it. Christ
said, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. Well, the only way
you're going to learn of Christ is in the gospel. His Word. There's something else that's
eternal. worth pursuing, giving your life,
giving yourself to, knowing the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Give yourselves to know them.
There's only one God. Give yourselves to know that
one God. Give yourselves to knowing the
Father who chose us, the Son who purchased us, and the Holy
Spirit who regenerates us. Give yourself to know that God
is. It's eternal. They are eternal. And then the
praise of God's eternal. Give yourself to it now. Give yourself to the praise of
God now. And someday, someday, you'll
hear the Lord say, enter in. Our good and faithful servant
to the kingdom prepared for you by your Father from the foundation
of the world. Now, once again, what is your life? Last Sunday, I brought the message
giving thanks unto the Father, the way to start a new year.
This may be the follow-up to it. Inventory. What is your life? What's the nature of it? Is the
nature of your life after godliness? Is it after godliness? Is Christ my life or is it just
a vapor? A vapor. Turn to Colossians chapter 3,
and I'll close. If Christ is your life, you have
something to rejoice in. Look in verse 1. If ye then be
risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection, your
mind. Now, that word set, that means
determined. You know, the Lord, it says in,
I believe it's Isaiah, set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem. Absolutely determined to go there
and die, fulfill the will of his father. Set. Determined. Paul said that to the Christians.
I'm determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
him crucified. Set. your affection, your mind
on things above. Now set it. I know we have to
live in this world, but our minds can be set on Him. It can be
set on Him. Not on the things of this earth.
Don't let that be your life. That's a vapor. For you are dead
and your life is hid with Christ in God. Now listen, when Christ,
who is our life, That's what I want to end with. This is for
everyone who believes God here this morning. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. That's not a vapor. That's eternal. That's eternal life. What is
your life?