TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS ARIGHT
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson; 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 24:15-28
Sermon Text; Job 14:1-6
There was a young lady who was a strong believer in Jesus, as her savior. She had a favorite uncle, who she was very concerned for, because he was not a believer in Jesus, as his savior. This young woman took it on her heart to try to talk to her uncle about the Bible and God's Word. But her uncle would always say to her, "Listen honey, I think that the Bible was written thousands of years ago by some old people and it doesn't apply to us any more today. It is not pertinent to us, anymore, today."
And as much as she tried, she just couldn't convince him that the Bible is actually very pertinent and relevant today, just as relevant as it was thousands of years ago, when it was written.
Finally, one day, she was able to convince her uncle to come to church with her. She thought to herself, "Now today, he is going to be able to hear the Word of God and he will see that God's Word is just as relevant today, just as pertinent today, as it was 2,000 years ago!"
She picked him up in her car, drove him to church, and then they sat down in one of the pews at her church. When it came time for the pastor to go up to the lectern and read the scripture readings for the day, the young woman said a prayer to God that the pastor would read something that was very relevant and very pertinent for her uncle. But when the pastor announced the scripture reading for the day, the young woman's heart began to sink. She thought she knew what he was going to read, because he said the scripture reading was from Genesis, Chapter 5.
And, then he began to read.
"When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died."
And the young woman thought to herself, "Oh no! He is reading a genealogy. A genealogy! My uncle is not going to think this pertinent, at all."
The pastor continued to read.
"When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether Jared lived 962 years and then he died."
And, then the pastor said, "This is the scripture reading for today."
At once, her uncle got up out of his seat and walked out of the church.
The young woman’s heart sank, as she thought, "This was my one chance. My one chance to have something pertinent from God’s Word, for my uncle to hear, and all he heard was this genealogy. Surely he must have left, because he was thinking, ‘See. See! God’s Word is for people of thousands of years ago and it isn’t pertinent for us, any more today.’"
She went through the whole week and couldn’t bring herself to pick up the phone and call her uncle. Finally, on Saturday night, her phone rang and it was her uncle calling her!
She started in, right away, by saying, "Uncle, I am so sorry. I told you that the scripture reading was going to be so pertinent to your life. I am so sorry that all my pastor read from scripture was a genealogy."
And, the uncle said to his young niece, "You know I have been trying to get that scripture reading out of my mind all week long. I have not been able to get it out of my mind all week long."
Confused she asked him, "Why have you been trying to get that scripture reading out of your mind?"
To which he replied, "Because your pastor read that ‘so and so’ was born, lived so many years, had sons and daughters and then…and then he died. And, the next person lived, had sons and daughters and then he died. And, the next one lived, had sons and daughters and then he died.
And, they died,
and they died,
and they died.
Honey, it made me realize that someday I am going to die! And that troubles me. I want to go back to church with you, again and hear how I can be freed from that troublesome worry of death."
You see, God’s Word is powerful, isn’t it? And, death is a very, very powerful preacher. It preaches to everyone whether we want to hear it or not. Our scripture reading for today says,
"Man born of woman
is of few days and full of trouble.
He springs up like a flower and
withers away;
like a fleeting shadow,
he does not endure."
"Man’s days are determined;
you have decreed the number of his months and
have set limits he cannot exceed."
Now, there is a preacher that every single one of us must hear and must listen to, whether we want to or not. That is the cold, hard fact. As the hymn verse says:
And death pursues me, all the way.
It comes by night.
It comes by day.
And takes its prey most surely.
A fleeting breath and I,
in death’s firm grasp I lie,
to face eternity today.
Death does pursue me all the way.
Death is no respecter of persons. Death comes to the proud and it comes to the humble. It comes to the strong and it comes to the weak. It comes to the rich and it comes to the poor. It comes to the mighty and it comes to lowly. It comes to the famous and it comes to the infamous. But, as surely as you are born, so surely there is one day that you must face and that is your day of death. Scripture describes us today in very fleeting terms. It lays on our hearts the brevity of this life. The Bible says, "Man is but of few days and full of trouble." Scripture elsewhere says that we are like the grass that grows up in the morning and in the evening is cut down and withers. Scripture also compares us to the flower that blossoms in the day, but then is cut down and withers. Scripture compares us to a fleeting shadow that is here but a brief moment. Scripture also compares us to a mist or vapor that is here for a moment and then gone. Oh, the brevity of life!
And, life is full of trouble. Get out the paper today, when you go home. Those are the events of the day. And, what are those events of this day? Well, it is full of trouble. You will read about wars, rumors of wars, economic problems, crimes, murders, and the obituaries.
"Man born of woman
is but a few days, and full of trouble."
Death is a very real and firm preacher. It is a voice that all of us have to hear and all of us have to listen to. And, yet for a Christian, it is not a voice that we hear that depresses us and saddens us, to the point of despair. But, a Christian is one who, when they hear the voice of death, and consider their own death, can continue to face life with joy, confidence and boldness!
And, why is that? Even though life is brief, but a fleeting moment and then it is gone, there are three reasons why you and I can face life and death with boldness, confidence and with great joy.
Number one reason is this. We know our Savior. Scripture tells us so clearly and plainly that our Savior, Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, God Himself, came to be your personal substitute! He came to take your personal sins, whatever they are, as His own! We know that we must die, because of our sin. The Bible says, "All men die, because all sin." My Savior, God, came to this world and took my personal sins, as His very own. That means that my God was willing to undergo whatever I deserve, for my sins. And, since it is true for me, that because of my sin, my days are but a few in number and full of trouble, that means that my Savior, as my substitute, chose willing to say, "I will take Mark’s sins as my very own. I will face all of the consequences that go with those sins. And, that means my life will be but a few days and full of trouble."
And, Jesus’ life was but a few days and full of trouble. Jesus didn’t live out the 70 or 80 years described in the Psalm, that we read today, as our responsive reading. Jesus only lived 33 years. He was cut down in the prime of His life. He was cut down like the grass that is here today and tomorrow it withers. He was cut down like the flower that blossoms today and tomorrow it withers. His life was like a fleeting shadow, here today and gone tomorrow. It was like a vapor. Because of sin, the brevity of life lay on our Savior’s shoulders.
Consider how He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, when He knew that His life in its brevity was about to come to an end. He sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. Don’t you think He considered His dear mother and how brief a time He had been able to be with her? Don’t you think He considered His brothers and sisters? And now their days together would be cut short. Don’t you think He considered His dear disciples? He had only been able to spend three, brief, short years with those disciples, and now…now to have it all come an end.
The brevity of life is so short and fleeting.
"Man is of but a few days and
full of trouble."
But, don’t you think our savior said to Himself, "I am taking Mark’s sins. He deserves to have his days but a few in number, and so my days will be few. They will be few. I will face death for Mark, because that is what he deserves. My days will be full of trouble, because I am taking what Mark deserves. And, I am doing all of this, because I love Mark."
And, His days were full of trouble. He was arrested. He was put on trial. He was mocked. His dearest, closest friends deserted Him. He was denied. He was betrayed. And, then Jesus died. My God died.
Your
God died,
for you!
Our
God died,
in our place,
for our sins!
Our God made His deathbed, where our deathbed must be made, in the cold, hard grave. With the stone rolled in front of His grave, there in the darkness lay my God, with my sins.
But we all know the Easter message. Our God did something that no one else on this earth has ever been able to do, or will be able to do. By His own power, by His own power, those dead eyes that could not see, opened! Those lungs that could not breathe, took a breath! That mind that had stopped functioning, began to think! And our God burst forth, and shattered the power of death! And, when Jesus got up out of the grave and He burst through the chains of death that hold all men, Jesus proclaimed to the whole world, "Mark’s sins cannot hold me in the grave. They have been defeated, utterly destroyed, and thrown into the depths of sea, never to be brought up again! And all the debt that sin brings, has been defeated."
Our savior says to you and me,
"Because I live,
you also shall live."
It is that Jesus, who says,
"Whoever lives and believes in me
will live,
even though he dies
and
whoever lives and believes in me
will never die."
It is that Jesus, who said,
"God
so loved the world that
He gave
His only begotten Son that
whosoever believeth in Him
shall not perish,"
Shall not perish!
"but have everlasting life."
That is the Jesus that we have! That is the Jesus who made the promise, "In my Father’s house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there, to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and I will take you to be with me that you also may be, where I am."
When we close our eyes for the last time, we will know His promise is true. When we close our eyes for the last time, Jesus is going to come back for us and He will deliver us. He will deliver us from this brief world, this brief life that is full of trouble, to the mansions in Heaven. He will deliver us to Heaven, where sin will be gone, where our souls will be safe, where the effects of sin will be gone. There will be no more trouble, sadness, sorrow or pain. May we say with the hymn writer,
"Teach me to live
that I may
dread the grave
as little as
my bed."
There is a second reason that Christians can face life and death with confidence and joy. About 50 years ago, back before they had the advanced kinds of surgery that we have today, there was a little girl who happened to be cross-eyed. One day she was given the assignment to write down in her journal, for her teacher, what was on her mind. She wrote down in that journal the following message.
Dear Teacher,
You know that I am cross-eyed. You also know that the other kids poke fun of me. I am ashamed that I am cross-eyed.
When that teacher got that journal and read the message, it broke her heart. She wished that there was something that she could do, but there was nothing.
Don’t you think that our Jesus knows those things? Don’t you think that our Jesus, who loves us more than any teacher, or mother, or father, knows those things about us? Don’t you think that His heart goes out to us? And, don’t you think that Jesus is going to do something about that? If you think that Jesus won’t do something about that, then your vision is too short. You are not looking far enough ahead, and you have not set your heart on things above. Our Savior surely will deliver His people from the troubles of this life. The Bible tells us, "What is sown in corruption will be raised in incorruption. What is sow in dishonor will be raised in glory. What is sown in weakness will be raised in power." Scripture tells us that our lowly bodies will be changed to be like His glorious body. And, surely someday our Savior, who has defeated death, will come and He will call us forth! He holds in His hand the keys to death and He will unlock the door. The dead will come forth! Jesus’ people, Jesus’ people will be delivered! And, that little girl will not be cross-eyed any more, because Jesus delivers His people! Those who cannot walk will walk someday, because Jesus delivers His people! Those who cannot see will see someday, because Jesus delivers His people! Those who have been separated from loved ones will be rejoined again someday, because Jesus delivers His people! May we sing with the hymn writer,
"Teach me to live
that I may
dread the grave
as little as
my bed."
We will wake up some day. We will wake up some day!
There is a third reason why a Christian can face the brevity of life and death, with absolute joy and confidence. St. Paul said it so well when he said,
"For me to live is Christ.
And, to die is gain.
Which shall I choose?
I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. But it is more necessary for
you
that I remain in the body."
You see, Paul desired to depart, be with Christ, and enjoy the joy of eternity in Heaven. But he knew that as long as I am here on this earth, it is better for someone else that I remain in the body. God has a purpose for you to be here. You are still here. You still have days to live. Your life has not come to an end yet, because there is a purpose. And, Christians have great purpose.
But what is our purpose for being here? Your purpose is to love your children and bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord, so that they may be with you in Heaven some day. Your purpose is to love your husband, to love your wife, take them by the hand and lead them closer and closer to the cross of Jesus, so that you can be together in Heaven someday. Your purpose is to serve your fellow Christians at your church, as you lead them closer and closer to our Savior Jesus, on their path to Heaven. Your purpose is to work with all of your might in your vocation at work. As scripture says, you should work as if you are working for your Savior, so that you may make the teaching of Christ attractive. Then, you can lead others to come to know Jesus as their Savior. Your purpose in life, with the days that you have left, is to reach out to those who don’t know their Savior yet and pull them safely aboard, through the Word of God our Savior. Your purpose during these days that you have left, is of great value. Your purpose is to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, and those who are lost, committing them into the hands of God. Our scripture reading says, "Man born of woman is but a few days and full of trouble." But we know that man born of the spirit is everlasting and full of joy!
Amen.
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