What really matters in the end? | 1 Timothy 6:7

You sometimes hear people that they say life is short, enjoy it. That is the consequence for them, since they know life’s short. They want to enjoy to the fullest. As a Christian, we need to say eternity is long, prepare for it, and that is really the question. Are we prepared to go into eternity, to pass out of this life and to an eternity that’s never ending? And I’m quite aware that usually we use this question to address unbelievers. And the question that goes with it is, where will you spend eternity? And of course that is the most important question. That is first question, that needs to be asked. Where will You spend Eternity? Well, I think that those who are listening to this message, they have answered that question already. You know that you will spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe in the one that died for your sins there on Calvary’s cross? You now that your sin are forgiven, because there has been that point in your life where you realize your sinfulness. that you are hopelessly lost and that your need a savior. And when you cried for a Savior, there he was, the Lord Jesus Christ who died on Calvary’s cross to redeem us back to himself. Identity is long prepared for it that calls for thinking about beyond the point of death. And that is something that even believers need to do. I think that it is a message even for our hearts, where we as believers are addressed, that we ask ourselves, what does it really matter? What does really matters at the end? When I breathe my last, What was my life worth? What are we living for? What stays, what remains at the end? As we ask ourselves those questions, that we really may live in the light of eternity. I would like to read two Bible verses, one from Ecclesiastes chapter 5, where it says in verse 14, speaking about those who are rich, And it says verse 15, as he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as He came, and He shall take nothing from His labor which He may carry away in His hand. If you go to the New Testament, there’s one Bible verse which quite or at least very similarly, says the same. 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 7, it says, For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. We have brought Nothing into This world. Naked we came into the world and naked we will leave this life again. I will come back to this by the verse in a bit. But my first thought I would like to emphasize on this life is short. We can compare life with a timeline. We live between these two poles that we call birth on the one side and death on other side. And in between those two pole we have life. What we don’t know actually is how long we will live. We don´t know how this time span between birth and dead will be. It can be days, months, years, many decades, we can live up to a high age, but we also know that there are those cases where even young people die. We don’t know how long this span that we call life between birth and death actually is. Neither, and this is even more important, we do not know where on that timeline we are. Are we still at the beginning and we have the majority of life of months and years and decades still in front of us? Are somehow in the middle or are we more actually to the end? If we are young people, we might think we’re quite at the beginning of that timeline and we have a full life in front of us. If you’re middle-aged, you say, well, in the middle, but I still have many years, many decades in from of me and maybe then we’ll be getting older and say well at least a few years I’ll still live. But no matter where we think are, it is one solemn fact. We don’t know where are. Even though if we were young or middle aged, We might be quite at the end of our personal timeline. Life is short and we don’t know when it’s going to end. Yes, that is a solemn message, but I think we need to remind ourselves of that. If you go to James chapter four, we read, for what is your life? That is the question that is raised there. What is you life, it is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. For a time, that vapor is seen and than it vanishing away, That’s the imagery that’s used here. If you go to the Old Testament in Psalm 90, we read something very similar where the writer writes about the shortness of life and he says the days of our lives are 70 years and if by reason of strength they are 80 years, Yet their boast is only labour and sorrow, for they soon cut off, and we fly away. Life flies away.” Psalm 90 verse 10. What is the consequence out of that? Well, one consequence is that we indeed ask ourselves, what does really matter at the end? And let’s face it, in a hundred years from now, it will not matter how much money I had. It will simply not. Or what house I lived in. What car I drove. what kind of clothes I wore. or what career I did. It will not matter how well respected I was in society and many many other things that we could Mention they will Not matter in a hundred years from now something else will matter but these things they were not Matter and coming back to what we have read at the beginning of this message first Timothy 6 7 for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out of it. Whatever house you live in, you can’t carry it with you. whatever car you drive, whatever amount of money you have, You cannot take it, with You. You will leave this World empty. What kind whatever diplomas you, have what kind of respect people have to you in this life, many of these things we cannot take with us. None of those we can take. Those things all will stay behind. But there’s another solid fact. And that is that we will have to give account. Yes, even as Christians, we have have appear before the Lord Jesus Christ once more at the judgment seat of Christ, and we’ll have give an account for our lives. Every person is at one point going to stand before Jesus. And yes, once we want to ask the question, is Jesus your savior or your judge? Those who have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ in their life, they will stand at the end before the great wide throne, Revelation chapter 20. But even us as Christians, we will have to stand before Jesus in order to give account of how we have lived our lives, may it be shorter or longer or No matter how much time God has granted us, we will have to give account for how we have lived that time. Romans chapter 14 tells us verse 10, for we shall all stand before the judgment seed of Christ. And then in verse 12 it says, so then each of us shall give a count of himself to God. Since that is the case, there must be consequences. And I want to come back to Psalm 90, where the writer of that Psalms reminded himself of the shortness of life, but then he gives a consequence himself. Two verses later, in verse 12, he says, so teach us. That is now his prayer towards God. He says teach to number our days. to be aware that this life is short and that every day is valuable and we live every as we are supposed to live it in the light of eternity. He says, so teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. We must really ask ourselves, what does it really matter, our life, in light, of, eternity? I would like to read another verse that we read in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 also. We have read from this chapter already and in verse 18 we While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at things that are not seen. For the thing which is seen are temporary, for the think which aren’t seen is eternal. I think in the light of this Bible verse, Jonathan Edward had this prayer and he said, Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs. And I think what he was requesting here is that he wanted to see time in the light of eternity. He wanted see everything from the perspective of Eternity and he want to live his life in light eternity so that everything he did and also these things that didn’t do had a meaning in the light of eternity. He didn’t want to live a wasted life, but a life that was lived to the glory of God and for the blessing of people. Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs and may this also be a request that we have. That God gives us more sense of numbering our days and that we live every day in the light of eternity. At the end of this message, I would like to quote this poem that was written by C.T. Studt. Only one life will soon be past. And in this poem he writes, two little lines I heard one day, traveling along life’s busy way, bringing conviction to my heart, and from my mind would not depart, only one life, till soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, yes, only one. Soon will its fleeting hours be done. Then in that day my Lord to meet and stand before His judgment seat. Only One Life will soon be passed. only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice, Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave. Only One life till soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, a few brief years, each with its burdens, hopes and fears, Each with it’s clays I must fulfill, Living for self or in his will. Only One Life will soon be passed, Only what’s done for Christ will last. When this bright world would tempt me sore, when Satan would a victory score, oneself would seek to have its way, then help me, Lord, with joy to say, only one life till soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last. Give me Father a purpose deep in joy or sorrow, that word to keep, faithful and true, what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life, Only one life till soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last. O let me laugh with favor burn, And from the world now let turn, Living for The and The alone, Bringing The pleasure on Thy throne. Only one life, yes, only one. Now let me say, thy will be done. And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I say it was worth it all. Only life will soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.