What Is Your Life?

What Is Your Life?

What is your life? If I ask this question tonight, how will you answer? What is your life? You might tell me about your work. Maybe you are a carpenter, mechanic, teacher, or insurance salesman. When I ask you what your life is, maybe your answer has to do with your work. I know other people who are really into sports. They might say baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey or football is their life. Others may say sailing, kayaking, boating or fishing is their life. 

But none of these answers really describe your life. Oh, these descriptions may tell us your occupation or your hobbies, but they really don’t tell us what your life is. What is your life? Do you know what the Bible says? James 4:13-15 says Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

The Bible says in James 4:13 that your life is just a vapor. It appears for a short time, then it’s gone. It vanishes away. I was thinking about this the other day. My grandfather on my mom’s side lived to be 104 years old. That’s something else isn’t it? I really remember my grandfather Virgil and I even remember my great grandfather Johnny because he lived to be 104 years old. But I never met his dad and I don’t even know his name.

Are you listening tonight? I knew my grandfather and great grandfather, (two and three generations away from me) but I don’t know anything about my great-great-grandfather. Four generations away and he is forgotten. It made me think of my own life. I have four children. Someday they will have kids (hopefully) and I doubt that I’ll see any past that. So when my (future grandchildren) grow up and have kids, their kids won’t know anything about me. I will be forgotten after three or four generations. I don’t think I’m unique in this. Most of us aren’t famous and most of us will be forgotten in four generations.

What Is Your Life? Your Life Is Short

What is your life? Your life (like mine) will be short, even if we live to be 104 like my great grandfather. Yes, your life is short. Your legacy probably won’t last past four generations. Most of us really won’t have much of lasting impact upon this world.

Isaiah 40:6-8 states: The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Again, just like James, Isaiah is saying your life is next to nothing. It doesn’t last very long. In Isaiah here it points out that God blows upon the grass and the flower and they die. Our lives are also as grass. Here today and gone tomorrow and God is sovereign over all. God gives you every breath that you take (and yes, that even includes you God-mockers and God-haters tonight) and the Lord will one day give you your last breath.

Just like you have a date you were born, you will have a date that you die and that dash between is pretty small. Headstones have the birth date and the death date and the small dash in between. Your life is but a vapor. The grass withers and dies. We are only here for a short time. What is your life? It’s short. It doesn’t last very long, especially not compared to eternity.

God Is In Control

Again, God is in control. His word is what lasts forever. Jesus said But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him (Luke 12:5). Jesus said fear God. The Lord God Almighty is the one to fear. What are you supposed to do with your short time on this earth, before you die and are forgotten? You are to fear God.

Why should you fear God? Because all of us have sinned against our great Creator. Each and every one of us have fallen short of God’s glory. He is God and there is no other. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me (Isaiah 45:5). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

Oh, tonight, are you tired of being foolish? Are you tired of making the same old mistakes? Don’t you see tonight that the answer to life is not in the bottle or in drugs? Nor is it in empty, meaningless sexual relationships. Aren’t you tired of the lies and broken promises?

Are you ready for a change? Are your ready to admit that you have made a mess of your life up to this point? Aren’t you ready to admit to God that you have broken His Law, the 10 Commandments? Are you ready to confess that you are a liar, blasphemer, idolater, fornicator, drunkard, thief and reviler? Are you ready to come to Jesus Christ?

Jesus Is The Only Savior

Jesus is the only Savior of mankind. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The only Begotten Son of God can save you tonight. Again, we’ve all sinned against God. We’ve all broken God’s Law, the 10 Commandments. None of us have loved God with all of our heart, soul and mind every second of every day. None of us have done this so we all deserve eternal punishment. We really do deserve to suffer the torments of Hell for all eternity.

But God. But God demonstrated His love toward us that in while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus came to this earth (yes the same earth that He created) 2,000 years ago. He was born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. Jesus never sinned. Never. Not one time. He never told a white lie. Jesus never lusted, coveted, stole anything. Nor did He ever blaspheme God or worship any idols. Jesus obeyed the 10 Commandments perfectly.

Even though Jesus never sinned, He suffered, bled and died on the old rugged cross in the place of guilty sinners. The sinless died for the sinful. The innocent took the punishment for the guilty. Jesus bore God’s wrath over sinful men as He hung on the cross. The Lord died on the cross, was buried and rose again the third day. Jesus defeated sin, death, Hell and Satan. You can receive everlasting life if you will repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. We’re not asking you to walk an aisle or repeat a prayer. We are asking you to repent and surrender your life fully and completely to Jesus.

God Must Break Your Heart

God must break your heart over your sins. That’s why I’ve been quoting Bible verses tonight. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Is God convicting you tonight over your sins? Do you see yourself as the dirty rotten sinner that you are? Do you see your unrighteousness and God’s Holiness? Without holiness no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). You and I are not holy. We are not righteous. There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10). The only way to see God is by being holy and none of us are holy. That’s why you need Jesus. The Lord Jesus is Holy. He is righteous. You can receive His righteousness when He takes your sins. But you must come to Him His way and that’s through repentance and faith in Jesus.

Mark 1:14-15 says: Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. That’s right, Jesus’ very first message was repent and believe the Gospel. Jesus also said unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:3). Acts 20:21 says that we are to have repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 3:19 states: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. After Jesus rose from the grave He spoke these words: Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:46-48).

Jesus reminded His disciples that He had to suffer, die and rise from the dead. If Jesus hadn’t taken the punishment that we deserve, then He couldn’t offer you salvation. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission (forgiveness) for sins (Hebrews 9:22). But Jesus was beaten beyond recognition. He endured God’s anger over sinful men. He took the place of those who repent and trust Him. Jesus said that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name.

Be Saved Today

You are the guilty criminal tonight. You deserve to suffer God’s wrath forever and ever. But you don’t have to die in your sins and go to Hell. You can be saved. Repentance starts with godly sorrow because godly sorrow works repentance to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10). Admit that you are a sinner. Cry out for God to save you. Confess and forsake your sins. Have godly sorrow that works repentance unto salvation. Repent and believe the Gospel. Be ye saved.

Be saved today and receive eternal life. Your sins can be forgiven. You can be set free from your sins. Satan will no longer have a hold over you. Be washed clean. Be cleansed tonight. Your guilty conscience can be cleared. You can be forgiven. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus Christ. Oh, bow your knee and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Submit to His Lordship. Surrender your life fully and completely to Him. Do this tonight. Don’t put it off. Today is the day of salvation.

What is your life? It is a blink of an eye compared to all of eternity. You are here today and gone tomorrow. In three or four generations you and I will more than likely be forgotten. No one will remember us or care that we were here. The fleshly pleasures that you are seeking tonight are only temporary. Don’t sell your soul to the devil for a little bit of pleasure. What is your life? It is not very long in the big scheme of things and it doesn’t matter how long you live, but how you live.

If You Are Not Living For Jesus

If you are not living for Jesus, then God’s anger abides upon you. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36). You don’t have to continue barreling down the broad road to destruction. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13-14).

Jesus is the narrow way. Come to Him. Come to Him the only way you can, through repentance and faith. Repent and trust Jesus Christ. Do this tonight and be saved. Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Be saved tonight. Then what is your life won’t seem like such an important question because when you surrender your life to Christ, you receive eternal life. There’s nothing more important than your eternal soul and where you will spend eternity. Repent and believe the Gospel.

(This message was proclaimed in downtown Springfield, MO on June 9, 2017)