I would like for every one of
us here this morning to do some deep and serious thinking for
a little while on my subject, what is your life? All of us are prone to speak
in a joking fashion of growing old. We do it all the time. I
find myself doing it even more now than I used to now that I
am growing old. find myself laughing or joking
about it. And I'm not condemning that at
all. I'm not saying that we are to be bitter in our spirits about
this experience or to take it in a reluctant fashion. And then
we're prone also to joke about even this matter of death. We
talk about when my number's up, you know. And it's really not
a joking matter. There's not a more serious matter
to be considered. The scripture deals with it in
this fashion, teach me to number my days that I may apply my heart,
not to joking or to frivolity, but to wisdom. And then the scripture says,
it is appointed unto men once to die. And then there's no comical
statement to follow. The statement that follows goes
like this, and after that, the judgment. It's appointed unto
men once to die, and after that, the judgment. And the old prophet said, in
a few days I shall go the way from which I shall not return.
Now, I'm not suggesting that we miss the blessings of life
by dwelling on death. I'm not suggesting that at all,
because God has given us so many things to enjoy. I've been very
happy this morning. I'm happy to be back home. I'm
happy to be back in the pulpit. I'm happy to be preaching, teaching
my class. I was so glad to greet so many
of you this morning. But a wise man will continue
to consider what he is and where he's going, and what the future
holds, and what is his hope. I read a poem years ago about
a king who had a favorite jester. Jester, they called them idiots
and fools, and they were entertainers. They were comedians, like our
television comics today, comedians. But these jesters were private
comedians. They entertained the king in
his court. And this fellow was just so funny and so foolish,
the king thought so much of him, he was one of his favorites,
that he gave him a gift one day, called him in. And he said to
the jester, he said, I have a present for you. It's a gold-tipped walking
cane. The head of the walking cane
was solid gold, beautiful, carved gold and precious wood. And he
said, I want to give you this. You've meant so much to me. You've
entertained me through the years. And he said, tell you what. He
said, if you ever find a man that you consider a bigger fool
than you are, you give him that king. And so the years passed, and
the jester treasured this king, kept it in his possession. He
hadn't seen the king for several days, and somebody came to him
and said, the king is very, very sick. Very sick. He's dying,
in fact. and he wants to see you." And
so the old jester, by this time up in years himself, picked up
his gold-headed walking cane and he went into the king's chamber.
The king was lying there on the bed, you know, very ill, grievously,
gravely ill. And the jester sat down and the
king, they passed pleasantries and the king expressed appreciation
to him and said, He said, I'm going away. And the jester said,
your majesty's leaving? Yes, I'm leaving. Where are you
going? Well, I really don't know. And the jester said, well, how
long are you going to stay? Well, the king said, a very long
time. The jester said, and when are
you coming back? And the king said, I'm not coming back. But
he said, Your Majesty, what preparation have you made for this journey?
And tears came to the eyes of the king and he said, I fear
that I've made no preparation at all. And silence. And finally the jester got up
from his chair, picked up his walking cane and presented it
to the king. He said, Your Majesty, He said,
you told me when you gave me this, if I found a man that I
consider a bigger fool than I am to give it back, to give it to
him, I'm returning it to you. You're a bigger fool than I am.
And that's what I'm saying, a wise man not only consider what he
is, but where he's going, and what the future holds, and what
is his hope. I often wonder when I shall die,
don't you? I entertain those thoughts a
lot more the last two or three weeks than I have in previous
days because I realize that something's taking place that I haven't coped
with before, haven't dealt with before. I wonder when I'll die. I know I shall. Do you wonder? I wonder how I'll die. I know
I shall, and I wonder how. Scripture says the instrument
of death is already prepared. Did you know that? The instrument
of your death is already prepared. They may have made the car in
Detroit yesterday that'll take your life. That's right. It may be the germ entered your
bloodstream this morning that will finally, a year, two, three,
five, ten years from now, will take your life. The tumor may
have just begun to grow. You haven't even found it yet.
You see, the problem with the valve in the heart, the problem
with the bloodstream, the instrument of death is always, I wonder
how I shall die. I know I shall. And don't, like
I'm saying, I'm not suggesting you miss the blessings of life
and the happiness of life dwelling on this, but I'm telling you,
if you're going to take a journey next week from which you're not
coming back, you'd be wise to make some preparations, some
reservations. and give it some thought, and
you'd be a fool not to. Some of you are more careful
about your vacations next summer. You've already set a date for
it and where you're going and picked up some brochures at AAA. Well, your vacation is not nearly
as sure as your death. I often wonder what will be my
hope and confidence when I come to die. And when I say I wonder how I'll
die, I'm not talking only about the fashion in which I'll die,
but the attitude. My attitude. I want to die in the faith, don't
you? I want to die in hope. I want to die in confidence.
I want dying grace. I know somebody said to Spurgeon
one time, I don't have dying grace. Mr. Spurgeon said, are
you dying? He said, well, no. He said, well, you don't need
it. It'll be yours when you come to die. I'm hoping that's true,
because I'd have to say right now I don't have Cecil dying
grace. But this day is certain and sure,
and the Apostle James, let's look at our text, James 4, and
I know, like viewed by you young people, I'm standing up here
looking at Danny Blair, who's 22 or 23, talking about dying,
and I know it doesn't seem, to you it seems like a long time,
doesn't it? A long time. But there's some fellas in here. Life viewed by a young man seems
like a long experience. Life viewed by an old man, just
like that. I was at the YMCA the other night
eating supper. I ran into a couple I hadn't
seen in many, many, many years. Both of them have gotten very
gray-headed since I saw them last. Very. And he said to me,
he said, this is a momentous occasion. I said, what's the
occasion? He said, I'm retiring today, or yesterday was my last
day. 36 years, he said, I've been
with the company and now I'm through. I said, seemed like
yesterday? He said, seems like this morning.
That's what I'm saying, life viewed by a young man looking
that way. I thought I'd never get to 20.
And then I thought I'd never get to 30. I wanted to be 40,
really. I felt like to be a preacher, you nearly had to be 40. And
then suddenly I wake up, I'm nearly 60. I didn't want it to rush so,
you know, I mean. I'm asking you to look at four
things from the Scripture. There's an abundance of illustrations.
And this is what my mind, God gave me this message while I
was in that particular place where you think of messages like
this. So we're going to talk about the swiftness of life.
The swiftness of life. The Scripture talks about how
swift it is. Just like that. And then we're
going to talk about the uncertainty of it. The Bible has a lot to
say about the uncertainty of life. And then the changes. The Bible has a lot to say about
the changes of life. And then the hope of another
life. Turn first of all to Job chapter
4, Job the fourth chapter. This is my first scripture, having
to do with the swiftness of life. This is what I'm talking about,
the swiftness. Job chapter 9, the swiftness
of life. Now, as I said, to a young man
here, when you view life, it looks like such a long, drawn-out
process. But to the older man looking
back, it's just so swift, so quickly, it's here and gone.
If you compare your life to some of the trees, your life seems very short compared
to the trees, two and three and four hundred years old. If you
compare your life to the age of the earth, then your life
seems but a moment. If you compare your life to eternity,
Now there you're talking about just the batting of an eye, just
the twinkling of an eye. This is what the Scripture is
emphasizing in all of these illustrations, first in Job 9, verse 25. Now my days, see that verse?
My days are swifter than a post. Now my days are swifter than
a post. You know what this is? Let's go back. When you interpret
Scripture like this, you have to think in those days as things
were when they were written. They delivered messages. A post
here is like posting a letter. It's the mail. It's the message. And when they delivered a message
back then, especially a very important message, say two kings
of communicating or two highly seated magistrates of communicating,
a message delivered along ways, they used fast horses, rapid
horses, and they had relay stations. That was kind of like our pony
express. This is what he struck was swifter
than a post. This king gave the message to the rider. He got
on the fast horse and he rode that horse to the relay station,
climbed off of the exhausted weary horse, climbed on a fresh
horse and rode it to the next station, climbed off that weary
horse and climbed on a fresh horse and rode it to the next
station until finally he reached his destination. And that's what
he says, my life is like that, my days are like those swift
horses. I begin this day, scarcely six
hours ago, five hours ago, and in a few hours this old ale will
be weary and tired and laid aside, Bill, and I'll start another
one tomorrow. And I'll keep on, keep on, until I reach my destination. That's what he's talking about.
And brethren, they go just like that. My days are swifter than
a post, swifter than a relay horse, swifter than that fresh
horse that I ride. And then he's weary, and I put
him aside, and I got a new one tomorrow. But it's gone soon. That's what he's talking about.
Life is swift, like one drop in the ocean. It's not a slow
wagon. We're not riding one of those
slow wagons that drags along the road. We're riding those
swift horses. that go just like that. Look
at the next line. He says, My life, my days are
swifter than a post. Verse 26, They passed away as
a swift ship. Now some translate this, My days
pass away as ships hurrying home under full sail. See, we go back,
we're not talking about our modern destroyers and cruisers. We're
talking about the old full sail Jim, where the ship had all the
sails raised. and the wind was blowing and
they're headed home. And they're just stirring up
that foam behind, that salt water foam behind the ship. It's in
full sail and it's headed for the harbor. And it's never still
and the wind of time bears me along. I cannot stop its motion. Now then, the rudder of faith
can direct me to the right haven, but I'm moving and you're We're
moving like swift ships in the full sail, hurrying home. There's
no stopping the speed of these ships because there's no stopping
that wind. And we're headed for a haven, a harbor. But that rudder
of faith will direct that ship, by God's grace, into the right
harbor. But we're moving like a swift ship. We're not sitting
out there in the calm water, you know, fishing. We're hurrying
like swift ship. We don't. Look at this picture. as the eagle that hasteth to
the prey." Now, this is not an eagle sitting on a nest. Eagles
are not only known for their penetrating sharp vision, but
eagles are known for their speed. Mr. Spurgeon told about hearing
about a sea hawk that had picked up a fish and was flying through
the air with the fish in his mouth and an eagle spotted him
and swooped down toward him, and when he did, that sea hawk
dropped that fish and flew the other way, and that eagle caught
that fish before it hit the water. Just swooped down. An eagle hastening
to the prey. Not an eagle sitting on a nest.
My life's not like that. It's not standing still. My life
is not even like an eagle soaring pleasantly and slowly through
the sky, but my life is like an eagle that's spotted the object
of its desire. its prey, and he's under full
steam. And somebody gave this interpretation,
death seeks the body as its prey. It's spotted the prey, death
is after it, and it's too swift to be outrun. And as the ego
overtakes its prey, so death will have us. My days are swiftly
going by like a fast relay horse, like a ship under full sail with
the wind blowing, headed for the harbor, and like an eagle
that spotted its prey and swooped down quickly to grab it. But look back at Job 7. He uses
another illustration. This is the swiftness of life.
The best interpretation of Scripture is Scripture. If you ask a question
about life or death or the swiftness of life, like our question in
the text this morning, what is your life? Well, I'm telling
you what it is. It's like a relay horse, the days are. It's like
a swift ship. It's like an eagle seeking its
prey. And here, look at this, my days, Job 7, 6, my days are
swifter than a weaver's shuttle. This is something we don't know
a whole lot about now, but I've seen this. the fellow sitting
at the weaver's shuttle. I don't think I can describe
it, it's been so many years ago, but there are all these threads
on a wooden machine, and this shuttle, the bar goes across,
and it goes this way and then comes back, and as they change
the thread, it goes this way, and that's the shuttle. And it's
making this rug or a piece of cloth or whatever it is, and
that shuttle, It's faster than the eye. It just goes like this.
I've been in these modern mills where they make cloth and where
the thread just spins off those rolls, you know, and those shuttles
just go just so fast. And this is what Job is saying,
my days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. Swifter than a weaver's
shuttle. And then look at verse 7, my
life is like the wind. like the wind. I was watching
some of the football game yesterday and the sun was shining. I even
turned to Doris and I said, look at that sky down in Miami. Look
at that sky. Beautiful. And then in a few
moments, as the wind came up and started blowing those people
and the rain came down, And the fella said, we're having a tempest,
or something like that. We're having a tremendous wind
and rain storm. I sat there a few more minutes,
and it stopped. It was gone. And the sun came
out. And everything dried up. That's the way life is. That's
what it says, like the wind. Our Lord said, it bloweth where
it listeth. And you hear the sound there, you can't tell from
whence it cometh or whither it goeth. I've been preaching here
a long time. I'm sitting here waiting for
the message and looking out over this congregation. There's some
seats that are empty this morning where some people used to sit. And that's what I'm talking about.
They were here and now they're gone. It just seemed like they
were here such a short time. Oh, you say, they were here for
a long time. Yeah, but it seemed so short. Now that they're gone,
you see. Now, and you're here this morning,
and it seems like you've been here a long time. I believe Gerald
said something like ten years, you told me last night. I told
Iris this morning, I said, I can't believe Gerald's been here ten
years. But one day, God willing, I'll look up and that seat will
be empty. And those 10 years just seemed so short. That's
what he was talking about, the swiftness of life. And when you picture
it that way, like a fast horse and like a swift ship and like
a flying eagle, like a weaver's shuttle and like a stormy wind,
in a sense, we're moving rapidly. Well, here's my second emphasis
now, is the uncertainty of life. Let's look at James 4. Now, we
have abundant illustrations. And you say, what are you trying
to do? I'm trying to get this preacher and these young ministers
and this congregation to number our days and apply our hearts
to wisdom. I'm trying to get us amid the
happiness and joys and all of these other blessings and benefits
God's given us to think on eternal matters. to get things in the
proper perspective, to put the right value upon things, to know
that the fashion of this world passes away, that this life is
a temporary thing, that we're not here forever and ever and
ever. We're here such a really short
time. Now look at the uncertainty of life. James 4, verse 14, he
said, What is your life? See the middle line? What is
your life? Your life now, yours, yours and mine. It is even a
vapor. that appeareth for a little time,
and then vanisheth away." What do I see? I see we're camping
out in the country on the lake. We sat around the fire that night,
and we sang some songs, and then we went to bed in the tent. And
the next morning early, just as the sun began to lighten the
sky a little bit, we woke up. And we walked out on the shore
of the lake. And there was a mist rising from
the lake. You ever done that? Sure you have. The mist rises
from the lake. There it is. And you stand there
and look at it, the fog you call it, the mist, the early morning
dew. And it rises from the lake. You
look at it a little while and the sun's coming up over here.
And it keeps coming up. After a while the mist is gone. That's what he says your life
is. You appear in the early morning of youth. And then the sun rises
and you're gone. That's just exactly what your
life is. So uncertain. What's more fleeting than a thought? Can you think of anything as
frail as a thought? All it needs is a little sunshine. That's what he says life is.
Let's go to another one, Ecclesiastes 6. Here's another illustration
of, I hope that I'm impressing upon you that the uncertainty
of life. Ecclesiastes 6, verse 12. This is an interesting illustration. In Ecclesiastes 6, verse 12,
he said, Who knoweth what is good for man in this life? Who
knoweth what is good for man in this life? All the days of
his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow. Brother, there's
nothing with less substance than a shadow. There's nothing as
uncertain as a shadow. Now the tree's certain and firm
and standing, but the shadow is a very uncertain thing. That's
what my life is. The great wall that stands through
the years, like the wall of China, is certain, but when the sun
shines, the shadow of that wall is most uncertain. It's temporary. Here's another one, Isaiah. I
want you to look at this one. This especially appealed to me.
Isaiah 38, talking about the uncertainty of life. It says
in Isaiah 38, you have it there, verse 12. My age is departed and is removed
from me as a shepherd's tent. Not as the king's palace, not
as the Lord's castle. But here, my life is like a shepherd's
tent. A shepherd does not plant a garden
where he pitches his tent. It won't be there very long.
Nor does he put a white thicket fence around it. Nor does he
plant any fruit trees. But rather he goes out and finds
a pasture where his sheep shall graze. It looks good. He's not
going to be there long. But he has to get out of the
weather, the wind and the sand and the rain, so he pitches a
little old tent, just a lean-to tent, and nails down or drives
some stakes and puts his tent there, and he slips in there
and eats. But it's just a temporary thing, just a dwelling place
for the moment. And then one morning after spending
two or three days there, He takes down the tent, rolls it up, puts
it on his horse or donkey, and moves to another location. That's
the way Isaiah views life. It's removed like a shepherd's
tea. But look at Isaiah 40. We're
not through yet with this uncertainty. He says in Isaiah 40, verse 6,
he said, cry. The boy said, cry. And I said,
well, what shall I cry? He said, all flesh is grass. And the goodliness thereof, the
glory thereof, is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth,
and the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth
on it. Surely the people is grass." There is another illustration,
application of that in Psalm 103, if you want to turn over
there and look at it, that the Lord is talking about life is
so uncertain, it's like the grass and the flower of the field. People send you flowers. more
expressive or more beautiful. You bring in a bouquet of fresh
spring flowers in the hospital, they brought me some beautiful
red carnations. Magnificent. They're magnificent
for a while, Sheila, but not for long. Not for long. And then they're gone. And I'll
tell you, our lives are just that frail and just that fleeting.
Psalm 103, look at this. In verse 15, as for man, well,
let's read verse 14, he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that
we're dust. And that's where we're going. And as for man,
his days are as grass, as the flower of the field, so he flourisheth,
the wind passeth over and it's gone, it's gone, it's gone. And the place thereof shall know
it no more. But some place is going to know
it. That's what I'm saying. This place shall not. They're
not coming back here. David said of his son, he can't
come back to me. He can't come back to me. That
doesn't mean I can't go to him. Now you're talking about something
else. And our lives like a flower or grass may bloom beautifully
today and then grow old and withered and frail and as a shadow and
a mist pass away. And the place, we're not coming
back here. We're not dwelled here anymore. I'll go the way
from which I shall not return. But that's not annihilation.
I'm going somewhere. We know if our shepherds can't
be dissolved, we have a building, a house not made with hands eternal.
I have hope of another life. But let me show you something
else before I go to that, the changes of life. Turn to Genesis
47. All the changes of life. We've
noticed its swiftness. like a weaver's shuttle, like
a fast horse or a swift ship, would notice its uncertainty,
just a mist, a vapor, grass, a flower, a shepherd's tent. Now notice the changes. There
have been a lot of changes over the last 35 years. I came to
Ashland in 1947. This was a little narrower street
out here. Blackburn Avenue was made out of bricks. roads, there
wasn't any McDonald's, no Wendy's. I don't think there was one hot
dog stand in town. There was a bluegrass one in
Charlie, and I think one over here called Smitty's or Smutty's
or something, I forget. But this place has changed. Oh,
how it's changed. I've watched so many changes
in my life and your lives. I saw a lot of you playing baseball
out on the ball diamond, now you're granddaddies. Big change
there. put away childish things. That's
what Jacob said in Genesis 47 and 9. And Jacob said to Pharaoh,
the days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years. Few and evil have
been the days of the years of my life. Like a pilgrimage. He calls life a pilgrimage. A
pilgrim sets out on his journey. Pilgrim. This is a traveling
man. He sets out on his journey. And he goes for a while through
some, as he leaves his place of departure, and the road is
paved, and the grass and fields are green, and the weather's
nice and the trees are fine. But now he's not going to stay
in that area there all the time. He's got to climb the mountain,
and then he's got to go down into the valley, and then one
day he's walking out there in the desert on this pilgrimage,
it's hot, Then the water, he's weary, his feet stumble. And then he goes through the
storm and then the sun comes out, he finds a well of water
and he walks beside the still water for a while and sits in
the green pasture in the daytime. But there's a night season coming,
a long night, a dark night. And he stumbles along his way.
You see what I'm saying? And that's life. That's life. I see some of our little children
in the nursery. They're so happy. Everything's going their way.
Some of our children out here are so happy in high school,
in the band, the football, they're having a ball. But let me tell
you, young people, and you know this is so without me telling
you, there's some deserts, there's some mountains, there's some
rocky roads, there's some rough times, there's some tears, there's
some darkness, there's some happiness. There's some green fields and
still waters and green pastures, but there's some mountains. Life
changes. And that's what he's talking
about, a pilgrimage. Look at Psalm 90. Here's another illustration
of the changes of life. Psalm 90. Psalm 90, verse 9. How life changes. I don't know
what tomorrow holds. I don't know what tomorrow holds.
I don't know what happiness or what suffering. I know not what
failure or what success. I know not what mountain or what
valley. I know not what beautiful, happy times or what sorrowful,
dark and troublesome times. Thank God He knows. I know who
holds tomorrow. I don't know about tomorrow,
but I know who holds it. But Psalm 90 verse 9 says this,
Our days, all our days are passed away in thy wrath. We spend our
days as a tale that's told. In other words, he's just saying
this. You sit down with your child to tell them a bedtime
story. Once upon a time, there was a
little boy who was born in a certain home at a mother and daddy, and
this little boy grew and so forth, and you tell this tale for a
half hour or so, and then you come to the closing of the tale,
and you say that's the end. Every man has a history. Every
person here has a history. It would be interesting to hear
all that has transpired in your life or mine, our thoughts, our
so forth and so on, but every event. But one day, I do know
this, this tale will be ended. That's what I'm saying, someday.
Right now, it's a tale that's told. Right now, I'm living a
story, Bill. I'm living a life, a history. But believe me, every
story has an ending. Every one. I don't know why we
just can't put this into the story, but you know, I've heard
that some authors actually write the last part of the book before
they write the first. They know how it's going to end. And it would be far better for
me to give more attention to how this thing is going to end
than to run around and talk about how it started. or what's going
on even now. Here's another illustration,
Job 20. I won't turn over, I won't weary you much longer, but the
Scripture is just so full of illustrations about life, its
swiftness, its uncertainty, and its changes. Job 20, verse 7. Yet he shall perish forever like
his own dung. They which have seen him shall
say, Where is he? Where is he? Somebody asked one of our members
last week if I still pastor over here at 13th Street. He's been
there a long time. Is he still there? Is he still
there? One day they're going to say, he's not there. Where
is he? Where is he? He shall fly away
as a dream and shall not be found. He shall fly away as a dream.
It's a tale that's told full of changes. It's a pilgrimage
that's full of changes. And what's full of changes like
a dream? Do you dream much? I dreamed last night. I was preaching
at Dingus. Dreams are so changeable and
foolish. My dream made sense. I got there
on time this time thing. And they introduced me and I
got up to speak. And I was preaching. I thought it was a pretty good
sermon. I preach all night sometimes. And you know what I did? I got
tired and I just laid my head on the pulpit and went to sleep. I'm glad it was a dream, but
believe me, I laid my head on the pulpit
and just went to sleep. I'm used to the audience doing
that, but not used to doing it myself. But that's dreams. You'll be dreaming along and
you dream such, and that's the way life is. Things are going
so well, so beautifully, and then It's different. I like that hymn. Swept to its
close, ebbs out life's little day. Its joys grow dim, its glories
pass away. Change and decay, all around
me I see. O thou who changest not, abide
with me. I need a place, Cecil, to put
my feet that doesn't change. I need a person in whom I can
put my trust who doesn't change. Put no confidence in the flesh,
mine, yours, anybody else's. But you can have confidence in
Him. I need truth. I'm weary of the
voices, the world's voices, because they're just speaking their opinions
and their logic and their human reason. I want something that's
as sure as the throne of God, and that's the Word of God. All flesh is grass, and the glory
of man withereth and fadeth like the flower of the field, but
the word of God abideth forever." That's the reason I love this
church and this congregation, this pulpit, the things for which
we stand, because it's not just a doctrinal system, it's confidence
in a word that fadeth not away, in a person who never changes,
and in a work that's effectual and sufficient for the redemption
of his people. all the changes of life, but
he never changes. He's always the same. I may be
on the mountain today and in the valley tomorrow, but he's
at the right hand of the Father. I may feel so righteous and good
today and so wicked, crying, oh, wretched man that I am tomorrow,
but his righteousness is the same. His blood atones for my
sins. He is my refuge and my rock and
my hiding place. my shelter in the time of storm.
He's a rock in a weary land. He's the rose of Sharon, the
lily of the valley, the bright and morning star. He never changes. He'll do for youth or old age.
He'll do for birth or death. He's the foundation. Last of
all, let's look back at James, chapter 4. We talked about life's swiftness.
We talked about life's uncertainty, we talked about its, oh, many
changes, how it changed, like a dream, shifts gears so often,
like a pilgrimage. You encounter so many different
things and it's like a tale that's told. No tale would be interesting
if you didn't change scenes. And then the hope of another
life. Look at verse 14 again. You know not what shall be on
the morrow. What is your life? It's even a vapor that appears
for a little time and then vanisheth away. Verse 15. For that you
ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live. And do this and
that, if the Lord will. Now, I realize this goes back
to verse 13, because the man says, tomorrow I'm going to a
certain city and buy and sell. And James says, now you don't
know whether you are or not. Now, you may die tomorrow. Your
life's too frail and fleeting for you to make any plans about
tomorrow. What you need to say to the Lord willing, I'll live
tomorrow and do this or that. But this can be applied to spiritual
life too, another life, because it's in His will. It's in God's
will. Brother Terrell, that the covenant
of mercy was established. The Lord willing, I'll have another
life. Now that's the Lord willing. I'm talking about being raised
from the dead. I'm talking about being made
like Christ. I'm talking about living eternally.
I have no strength or power over any of those aspirations or expectations
or hopes. I say the Lord willing, I'll
come out of that grave. Because he's the one who'll have
to raise me. The Lord willing, this corruption will put on incorruption.
The Lord willing, this mortal shall put on immortality. The
Lord willing, I'll be a joint heir with Christ. The Lord willing.
It's not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth. It's
of God that showeth mercy. We're born not of the will of
the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God. If anybody makes
it, surely I will. Oh, that makes me tremble. I hope by thy good pleasure safely
to arrive at home. That's right, Jeff, it's by his
grace. Come thy fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing
thy praise. I hope by thy good pleasure safely
to arrive at home. The Lord willing, I'll live. Now you just better write that
down somewhere where you can read it and remember it. Talk about tomorrow, tomorrow,
the Lord willing, I'll live tomorrow. The Lord willing, I'll live in
God's tomorrow, too. The Lord willing. It's his will
that gave Christ. It's by the will of God that
Christ came. Please God to bruise him. It's
by his will that I'm born again. We're born not of the will of
the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God. And turn to John 17. Let me show
you this. And we talk about another life,
eternal life. I want you to see what it hinges
upon, what it rests upon, the very foundation. John 17, verse
24, there is our great high priest, our great mediator, that priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek, that priest who goes into the
holy place not made with hands but into heaven itself, offering
not the blood of an animal but his own precious blood. And that
priest whose prayers are always heard, who suffers not for his
sins but the sins of his own, he says, my father, verse 24,
John 17, I will, I will, that they also whom thou hast given
me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which
thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation
of the world. Brethren, that's my hope. Christ
prayed for me, died for me, intercedes for me, and lives for me. That's
my hope of another life. It's not this preaching or serving
or witnessing or writing or giving or going or whatever. My sole
confidence and hope and foundation of my trust is that Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, that great high priest forever, has prayed just
that prayer out there for me. I will. Father, I will. that
those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. And when
this life draws to a rapid close, swift as a ship headed for home,
that I'll sail into that harbor, that haven of rest, prepared
for me by my Master. And I'll tell you this, when
I get there, I'm not going to talk about my journey, or my
sufferings, or my merit, or my trials. I'm going to say, He
brought me safe thus far, and He'll take me home. He picked
me up and put me on his shoulders and took me home. Our Father, take the word which
we have read, which we have looked into this morning, and make it
effectual to our hearts and to our understanding. Enable us
to think on these things. Let not the birds of evil take
this seed away off the ground before it finds some root. And
let the root not be in the stony places or among the briars and
thorns, but that good ground prepared by the Holy Ghost. Make
it effectual. Give us a sober, serious attitude
toward these things while we enjoy with happiness and delight
the good things that you've given us in Christ. May he be our trust
and our hope forever, for it's in his name we pray. Amen.