When a man has hope, he will work on in the face of death.”
–Max Brand (Harrigan)
“But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.”
“But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.”
–Ecclesiastes 9:4-5 (NKJV)
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I want us to contemplate Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 this morning. Take time to read it once, then again more slowly looking at each verse, but also keep in mind the context of the whole. Right out of the chute comes the concept that all will die. The rider on the black horse is grinning, swinging his scythe reading to reap whomever he can. It will happen. People while living face evil and madness, but then death comes. People who wreck mayhem and wickedness on others succumb to death. There is no escape from it. In all of this keep in mind that God is sovereign.
I’ve heard several say recently that it is not where you’re going but how you lived your life in the here and now. There is a smattering of truth there, but it does matter where you are going–there is a heaven for those bought by the blood of Jesus Christ, and there is a hell for those who refuse His redemption. Yes it is important to live a good life, but more important that you know Jesus as your Savior.
The materialist will say–he who dies with the most toys wins. The Epicurean/hedonist–let’s party-hardy. The humanist may say–“I thank whatever gods there may be for my unconquerable soul.” And then there is the fatalist–what’s the use; what will be, will be. Ha, there is something they have forgotten–the hand of God. No one, the Christian, the pagan, the apostate, the heathen, the scoffer, the mocker can escape the fact that “God is there and He is not silent.” (Francis Schaeffer)
Listen, if we take life seriously, and we should, then we cannot treat death flippantly. Death is an appointment and it is one to which you will be punctual. Some people may say RIP, but those who do so probably do not know the Lord and it is only wishful thinking. Some say the person is just asleep, others may say the individual is resting. Others may be blunt and say that he is on his way back to becoming a clod.
“Oh why do people waste their breath
Inventing dainty names for death?”
–John Betjeman
There is a brevity to life, especially in regards to eternity. Now is the day of salvation; now is the time to find the Lord. Now is the time to be born again so that when death arrives at your doorstep, people can say with the words of Paul, he is only sleeping. For we know that to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Live righteously and in the love of His light and death has no fear. Remember that one day there is to be a grand and glorious homecoming. Solomon reminds us that while we are alive there is hope. Find meaning for life–now or as Ken Gangel has said, “Have a blast while you last.” What are you living for? What are you dying for? Those are pertinent questions that need an answer. Look at life, then look at it in the light of eternity–do you have hope? “A hope that can be destroyed by death is a false hope; and must be abandoned.” (Warren Wiersbe) Look to Jesus, the sure foundation, the Giver of true hope.
—————————–
I want us to contemplate Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 this morning. Take time to read it once, then again more slowly looking at each verse, but also keep in mind the context of the whole. Right out of the chute comes the concept that all will die. The rider on the black horse is grinning, swinging his scythe reading to reap whomever he can. It will happen. People while living face evil and madness, but then death comes. People who wreck mayhem and wickedness on others succumb to death. There is no escape from it. In all of this keep in mind that God is sovereign.
I’ve heard several say recently that it is not where you’re going but how you lived your life in the here and now. There is a smattering of truth there, but it does matter where you are going–there is a heaven for those bought by the blood of Jesus Christ, and there is a hell for those who refuse His redemption. Yes it is important to live a good life, but more important that you know Jesus as your Savior.
The materialist will say–he who dies with the most toys wins. The Epicurean/hedonist–let’s party-hardy. The humanist may say–“I thank whatever gods there may be for my unconquerable soul.” And then there is the fatalist–what’s the use; what will be, will be. Ha, there is something they have forgotten–the hand of God. No one, the Christian, the pagan, the apostate, the heathen, the scoffer, the mocker can escape the fact that “God is there and He is not silent.” (Francis Schaeffer)
Listen, if we take life seriously, and we should, then we cannot treat death flippantly. Death is an appointment and it is one to which you will be punctual. Some people may say RIP, but those who do so probably do not know the Lord and it is only wishful thinking. Some say the person is just asleep, others may say the individual is resting. Others may be blunt and say that he is on his way back to becoming a clod.
“Oh why do people waste their breath
Inventing dainty names for death?”
–John Betjeman
There is a brevity to life, especially in regards to eternity. Now is the day of salvation; now is the time to find the Lord. Now is the time to be born again so that when death arrives at your doorstep, people can say with the words of Paul, he is only sleeping. For we know that to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Live righteously and in the love of His light and death has no fear. Remember that one day there is to be a grand and glorious homecoming. Solomon reminds us that while we are alive there is hope. Find meaning for life–now or as Ken Gangel has said, “Have a blast while you last.” What are you living for? What are you dying for? Those are pertinent questions that need an answer. Look at life, then look at it in the light of eternity–do you have hope? “A hope that can be destroyed by death is a false hope; and must be abandoned.” (Warren Wiersbe) Look to Jesus, the sure foundation, the Giver of true hope.