What Is Your Life?

“For what is your life ? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14

The SOURCE

1. God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul (Gen 2:7).
2. And every living soul since then is formed by the sovereign power of the same God.
3. You were not asked if you wanted to exist. You exist as the result of a sovereign choice.
4. You have being and permanent consciousness of being by the dominating choice of God.

The BREVITY

1. Life is set by the Most High God at about 70 years, 80 if a strong man (Psalm 90:10).
2. Life is short (Ps 89:47) and compared to a vapor (Jas 4:14), a tale told (Ps 90:9), weaver’s shuttle (Job 7:6), a post (Job 9:25), an eagle (Job 9:26), a handbreadth (Ps 39:5), a shadow (Ps 102:11), and grass (I Pet 1:24).

The FRAILITY

1. Our breath is in our nostrils – we are fragile, weak, and temporal exceedingly (Is 2:22).
2. Man at his best state is altogether vanity; men of high degree are a lie (Psalm 39:5; 62:9).
3. Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble (Job 14:1; Genesis 47:9).
4. We are dependent on circumstances under God’s control to a very great degree (Pr 27:1).
5. Looks, wealth, wisdom, capital, and opportunity still leave life vain and vexing (Ec 1:14).

The JUDGMENT

1. The greatest calamity imaginable to the mind races closer, yet no one warns (Heb 9:27).
2. Trivial pieces of information about economics, politics, health, education, entertainment, nutrition, success, careers, marriage, children, and so forth is published widely with many eager readers trying to avoid insignificant consequences of poor choices.
   1. This is the ultimate extreme of folly, as all this information is of such little value.
   2. Why so much care to warn people about matters with such minor consequences?
   3. Why is there absolute silence about making peace with God, facing the certainty of death, and meeting Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ?
   4. If judgment is only 1% of what the Bible describes, it deserves the whole internet.
3. A minister does not have a choice about this matter (II Cor 5:9-11; Luke 12:4-5; Heb 10:31; Rev 20:15; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 24:15; Rom 2:5-10; 14:10-12; Colossians 1:28-29).

The DECEPTION

1. Satan, with our deceitful hearts and the wicked world, has created lies to deceive men.
2. Evolution means that man is merely a biological accident without any Divine Creator.
3. “Everyone else dies” and “I have lots of time” are lies to deceive us about life’s brevity.
4. By working out, eating right, sleeping well, and saving money, I can survive until 85.
5. I wouldn’t burn my cat to death with a torch, so surely there is not a God of Judgment.
6. Happiness without hurting others is the ultimate way to live for complete fulfillment.
7. As long as I love myself and take care of myself and accept myself all will be well.
8. Pampered children, a big house, a great retirement, and social esteem are the big goals.

The PURPOSE

1. Man’s whole duty found by wise and exhaustive research is to fear God (Eccl 12:13-14).
   1. Solomon applied great wisdom, capital, and effort and concluded with this result.
   2. His summary conclusion is based on the judgment of all works that is coming.
2. God made us for Himself; we are not made for ourselves; we are His (Pr 16:4; Rev 4:11).
3. God saved us to bring forth good works for His glory (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13).
4. Walk with God by eschewing evil, praying always, reading often, and seeking His face.

The PRIORITY

1. We must love the LORD God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mk 12:30).
2. Our priority should be the same as Paul’s: to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21).
3. We should hate the world; it is contrary to God and will soon pass away (I John 2:15-17).
4. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, not second (Matt 6:33).
5. We have one supreme priority – walking with God that crushes all minor priorities.
6. The Lord is worthy of our lives as Creator, God, Preserver, Judge, Saviour, and Friend.
7. Paul counted all things loss and dung for the goal of winning Jesus Christ (Phil 3:7-14).

The CONFUSION

1. The silence about God and coming judgment is deafening by its horrible consequences and implications of the total and complete depravity of the heart and attraction of sin. Why isn’t anyone warning of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come?
2. What confuses you? A job, children, their education, yard, your appearance, home decorating, great body, a happy marriage, money, pleasure, retirement, sleep and rest, hobby, social or political projects, business projects, memories of the past?
3. What if you gain the whole world and lose your soul? Is that wise (Matthew 16:26)?
4. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and should repent (James 1:8; 4:8).

The TRUTH

1. This life is a light affliction in comparison to the full weight of eternal glory (II Co 4:17).
2. Things seen are temporal and worth little; but things not seen are eternal (II Cor 4:18).
3. We must always seek to be strangers and pilgrims here with a view upward (He 11:8-16).
4. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. It is a choice (Col 3:1-4).
5. Rather than seeking to extend life, we should labor to give our lives to Him (Ro 12:1-2).
6. If you do lose your life for Christ, then and only then will you truly find it (Matt 16:25).

The GLORY

1. Are the purpose, program, and priority of your marriage to be heirs together (I Peter 3:7)?
   1. Can you picture you or your spouse dying with the final companionship spiritual?
   2. Marriage briefly described by Paul is leading about a sister. It is not Casablanca.
2. Those of you who are closer to God’s ideal are much happier than those who are not.
3. Knowing God and glorying in Him is a great blessing (Jer 9:23-24; Rom 5:11; I Cor 1:31; II Cor 10:17; Gal 6:14; John 17:3; II Cor 4:6; I John 5:20).
4. Paul declared He lived for Christ and death would only be His gain (Philippians 1:20-21).