From the Desk Of Toby Powers
Pastor of Truth Baptist Church
Bremen, GA
www.trumpetoftruthonline.org
LIFE IS TOO SHORT
Psalms 39
Intro: This entire Psalm is about the brevity of life. The Psalmist pauses in the midst of a busy existence and begins to meditate on his life, his Lord, and the length of his days. As he sits quietly, he begins to consider how short life is; furthermore, he considers how important it is for man to know how short life is (v. 4-7). It is in the brevity of life that he discovers that there is no real hope outside of the Lord, for he is eternal. He begins to call on God for forgiveness of sins and goodness of days. The theme of this Psalm, however, is v. 4-7. It is in these verses that the Psalmist really comes to understand that LIFE IS TOO SHORT. I want to preach on that today, “LIFE IS TOO SHORT.”
The Word of God has much to say on this subject, and I want to share some verses with you:
Gen 18:27, Abraham said, “(I) am but dust and ashes.”
I Sam 20:3, David admits, “there is but a step between me and death.”
II Sam 14:14, “For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person.”
I Chron 29:15, “For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.”
Job 7:6 & 7, “My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle.” “O remember that my life is wind.”
Job 8:9, “(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)”
Job 14:1-2, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.”
Job 17:1, “My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.”
Ps 22:29, “none can keep alive his own soul.”
Ps 103:14-16, “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.”
Ps 144:4, “Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.”
Prov 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
James 4:14-15, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
LIFE IS TOO SHORT:
I. TO LIVE IT WITHOUT LAUGHTER: Abraham was an old man when he began following after the Lord wholly. He was well stricken in years. Sarah was past the age of having children. Yet, God gave them a promise. They would have a child. Sarah laughed at the whole idea! An old man and an old woman with a little baby! (Gen 18:13). But, is there anything too hard for the Lord? A year later, they were laughing again as at full term, Sarah delivered a son. She called his name Isaac, meaning laughter, and she said, “God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.” Gen 21:6. Ecc 3:4 tells us there is a time to weep and to laugh. Life is not just sorrow, woe, and misery. God will give some laughter!
II.TO LIVE IT WITHOUT LOVE: I Corinthians 13:1-3, 13, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Life is too short to live it without love for:
A. OUR FAMILIES: Ephesians teaches us about husbands loving their wives, but we often miss the point of this scripture in that a man is the head of his house and the example unto the rest of his family. When a man loves his wife, he sets an example for the rest of the family to love one another as well. (Ill: I visited Hattie Brock this week. She lay there in that bed and said, “I don’t know what people who don’t have a family live for. All I think about is loving my family and praying for them to get saved and do right.” On this Mother’s Day, put aside any foolishness that you have squabbled over with your family and take time to love one another!
B. OUR FRIENDS: Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loveth at all times.” Proverbs 27:10, “Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not.” You may have many acquaintances, buddies, pals, comrades, associates, and cohorts with whom you are friendly, but REAL FRIENDS are very few and very far between and should be treasured! LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO LIVE IT WITHOUT LOVE FOR YOUR FRIENDS!
C. OUR FELLOWSHIP: The local church is a body of believers who have come together for the purpose of worship, fellowship, and prayer for the edifying of the saints, evangelism of the world, and the glory of the Lord until Jesus comes again. Life is too short to live it with a lackadaisical approach toward to church! It was important enough to Jesus for him to die for it! It should be important enough to us to love it and devote ourselves to it!
III. TO LIVE IT WITHOUT THE LORD: v. 7, the Psalmist realizes that life is too short to live it without the Lord. Psalms 73:24-26, “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” The Bible gives us some clear direction on this in:
A. THE STORY OF THE RICH FOOL: Luke 12:16-21
B. THE SCRIPTURE ON THE VALUE OF THE SOUL: Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
C. THE SAYINGS OF THE PREACHER IN ECCLESIASTES: Eccl 12:13-14, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Conclusion: We are only here today and gone tomorrow. It is more important than we can imagine to make the most of our days. Dad and Mom... as short as life is, your chance to rear those children is even shorter. Don’t squander your opportunities on foolish worldly pursuits. As short as life is, your opportunities to demonstrate love for your parents, grandparents, friends, and others you love is even shorter; don’t squander your opportunities seeking worldly pursuits! As short as life is, your chance to be saved is even shorter, for you can only come when God is calling you. If he is calling today, you better not squander this chance to get things right with him.
