A lawyer, a doctor, and a preacher went hunting together and when a large deer ran past them and they all got excited and fired at the exact same time and then they watched as the deer dropped. The problem was, there was only one bullet hole in the deer and they didn't know which of them had shot it. So, they decided to take it to the registration center, hoping that the man in charge could figure out which of them could claim the deer. He said, “Let me take a look at it. Sometimes I can figure it out.” He asked a few questions, examined the deer carefully, and then he said, “It was the preacher who shot this deer!” Amazed, the doctor and lawyer asked him how he knew it was the preacher. And stooping down he pointed to the wound and said, “See here. It went in one ear and out the other.”
Before I begin, I want you to know that my wife has advised me, not to try to be witty; not to try to be funny; and not to try to be intellectual. In fact, she said, “Just be yourself”.
Job 14:1-14
“Man, who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. 2
He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
3. And do You open Your eyes on such a one, and bring me to judgment with Yourself? 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! 5. Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. 6. Look away from him that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day.
7. “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. 8 Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant. 10 But man dies and is laid away; indeed, he breathes his last and, where is he?
11 As water disappears from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dries up, 12 so man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep.
13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14 If a man dies, shall he live again?
We’ve all been to the visitation before funerals and stood before the casket and wondered, “Will I ever see this person again?” We all have many in our lives who’ve never made a public profession of their faith and although they were nice enough people, we were never really sure if they were ever saved.
I’ve heard many say, “Well, who knows what happened in the last moments of their life. They might have been like the thief on the cross who repented. And that’s true but most people who have ignored Jesus all their lives are not likely to turn to Him in the last few minutes.
So, what I want to do here today is to answer a question and the question is; where does one find hope in what seems to be a very hopeless world?
In the passage I read we find this man Job who according to the scripture had lived for and served God all of his life and then through no fault of his own he lost everything that was important to him. He lost his children, his friends, most of his servants and all his personal investments he had spent his entire life accumulating. In one day almost everything he ever valued was gone. And then three of his best friends show up and they were more of a nuisance than a comfort.
And this crisis caused him to stop and to take a very realistic look at life because from a human perspective all he could see were problems. And he begins by focusing on the human condition.
Job begins by speaking of the sinfulness of mankind when he says, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” The Bible tells us that all of us were born in sin and then we’ve spent our lives sinning. We inherited our sin nature from our parents and they got there’s from their parents; all the way back to Adam and Eve. And because of our sinful nature Job says, “Who can bring what is pure from what is impure?” And what he’s saying is, because of our sin and sinfulness we are incapable of being all that God wants us to be.
I remember when my son was born. He was the cutest baby you’ve ever seen. And a few days after he came home from the hospital, I was holding him and he started crying but it was more than crying because this cute little guy who was less than a week old had a look on his face like he was really ticked off and do you know what the problem was, he was hungry. And he was mad because he wasn’t being fed. He was only five or six days old and he already had expectations that weren’t being met. I told my wife, he obviously got that from your side of the family.
Job’s second complaint was, that life was too short. We’re born sinful and then we don’t live long enough. This kind of reminds me of the old joke of two Jewish guys in a restaurant when one says, “This is the worst food I’ve ever tasted and the second guy says, yeah, and the portions are so small.”
Job describes his life as being a few days, full of trouble, like a fleeting shadow, that does not endure. In spite of his sinful condition he felt that life was too short to do and enjoy all the things he wanted to do. And we can all relate to that because there never seems to be enough time.
I had a friend whose mother said to him one day, “Your grandfather is in the hospital and you’ve never spent much time with him, so why don’t you go for a visit.” Well, he went to the hospital and not knowing what to say he asked his grandfather a question. He said, “So, how has your life gone grandpa?” And the old guy just snapped his fingers and said, “Just like that.” We all need to realize that our time is limited.
I remember being in school as a kid and watching the clock and it moved so slow it felt like time had stood still but now that I’m older it seems like the hands of the clock are spinning and time is rushing by.
Psychologist William James, wrote that as we age, time seems to speed up because adulthood is accompanied by fewer and fewer memorable events.
You know, when you we’re a kid on December 1, you we’re faithfully counting down the days until Santa Claus would come down the chimney and bring your favorite toy but now that you’re older you’re a little more focused on your work, your bills, family life, schedules, deadlines, travel plans, Christmas shopping, and all that other boring adult stuff.
So, Job says life is too short, we’re all too sinful and on top of that he says, “And life is empty.” Most of us begin with lots of energy and good health, but then we end up with one condition after another. I don’t know about you but I’ve had a kidney transplant and I have to take twenty-eight pills every day for the rest of my life.
I heard about a group of seniors sitting around talking about all their aches and pains. One said, "My arms have gotten so weak I can hardly lift a cup of coffee." "Yes, I know," said another. "My cataracts are so bad I can’t even see my coffee." Another said, "My hands are so crippled from arthritis I have a hard time marking my ballot at election time." Another said, "My blood pressure pills make me so dizzy!" And then someone said, "Sometimes I forget where I am, and I even wonder where I’m going." "Well, I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old", winced an old man. "Well, count your blessings," said one woman cheerfully. At least we can all still drive."
So, Job says we have a lack of time, a lack of resources and a lack of hope because we know things aren’t going to get any better. And then he expresses his frustration of looking at this sin cursed world by asking the only question worth asking when life no longer makes sense; when he asks, “If a man dies will he live again?” Listen, that’s a great question, “If a man dies, will he live again?”
In his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul asked the same question in another way, when he asked, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” The conclusion we come to as we honestly answer this, not only affects our lives here but will also affect our lives for eternity.
If we say this is all there is and that life ends at 60, 70, 80 years or more and that’s it; then we need to be honest and admit that all our hopes and dreams, our goals and pursuits are meaningless, and that everyone we ever loved and lost are gone forever. And all the time we’ve spent with family and friends means absolutely nothing, because we’ll never see them again. And if that’s our perspective then the apostle Paul says, “We are most miserable indeed.”
Many years ago, when my two children were only three and four years old; we had a cottage by the ocean down in Nova Scotia. My wife always liked to sleep in but the kids and I always wanted to get up and go and do something. So, we’d wake up early, have a quiet breakfast and then we’d go for a walk and let her sleep.
One morning on our walk we passed by an old graveyard that was beside a little church that was only used in the summer months, but it looked like it had been busy at one time because it had a graveyard beside it and there were several headstones there. And these headstones marked the places where people had been buried as far back as 1850.
As we stood in front of one stone my son who as I said was only four at the time asked me what was written on the stone and so I read the person’s name, when she was born, when she died and the fact that she was ninety-five years old. And he said, “What else does it say?” And I said, “That’s it. It doesn’t tell us if she was happy, if she ever owned a dog or if she liked ice cream. It just says, she lived, she died and she was ninety-five years old.
Thinking about that headstone later on reminded me of a few things that weren’t written there but are true and the first one is; that death is inevitable.
In other words, everybody dies. I mean, think about it. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived; but he died. Alexander the Great was the greatest military leader this world has ever known. They say he conquered the entire known world by the time he was thirty and yet, he died. Albert Einstein was a genius but he died. Howard Hughes had an estate worth 4-5 billion dollars and yet, he couldn’t buy five more minutes of time. He died. Sooner or later everybody dies.
One guy wrote, "My friend's mom has eaten healthy all her life. She never had a drink of alcohol or ate unhealthy food and she exercised every day. She was thin and active and only took vitamins that were suggested by her doctor.
She never went out in the sun without sunscreen and when she did, it was for as short a period of time as possible. So, she did everything she could to remain healthy and now that she’s 76, she has skin cancer, bone marrow cancer and extreme osteoporosis.
On the other hand, he said, her husband ate bacon on top of bacon, butter on top of butter, fat on top of fat, and he never ever exercised. He would stay out in the sun until he was burnt to a crisp and basically, he took the approach that he was here for a good time and not for a long time. And now he’s 81 and the doctors say he’s got the heart of a young person.
And yet, sooner or later each and every one of us will die. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed unto man once to die.” Each of us in God’s own time are going to pass through the valley of the shadow of death.
And not only will we die but then each and every one of us will appear in the presence of God and we’ll either be saved from sin and safe for all eternity or we’ll stand there lost and condemned and listen, it all depends on what we do with Jesus now.
I spoke with a man on his deathbed and he told me about his life and how he had been born to a single girl who got pregnant when she had an affair with her pastor who was married. The pastor then paid for her to go away and give birth to him but he never wanted anything to do with him. And this man said to me, “I can’t wait until I stand in God’s presence so I can demand that God give account of Himself. And a week later, he was dead. So, how do you think he made out?
I got a call from a man in my church down east who asked me if I would visit his uncle in the hospital but he said he was hesitant to ask because he said my uncle is so wicked.
I said I’d go and I did. Next day I walked into the hospital room and sat down and asked the man how he was doing and we had a very pleasant conversation for about ten minutes. He told me how he had some problems and how he had ended up in the hospital.
And I guess it was because I was wearing a suit, he assumed I was one of the doctors but when I took out a New Testament and said I’d like to read a few verses of scripture he realized that I was a pastor and he started growling like a dog. I quickly read the scripture, prayed and left. I’ve never seen anything like that before or since.
I heard of another man who had spent his life arguing that God didn’t exist and someone asked him, “What are you going to do if you die and find out you were wrong?” And he said, “I guess I’ll say, ‘Oops.’” Well, that’s a good joke but it not going to be the time for telling jokes.
So, death is inevitable but I also noticed when I was looking at the headstones that life is uncertain because of all the people who were buried there. I mean, they all died at different ages. One was 95, another was 40 and a third was only 8 years old and so on. This tells me none of us know how long we’re going to be here.
I remember when I was first on dialysis I had to meet with the doctor and he told me I’d probably live for about five years but when he met with my wife, he said he’ll probably die within two years.
Well, I was on dialysis for nine and a half years and then I received a transplant and even though they said the transplant would only last about ten years; it’s been fourteen years and I’m still here and listen, I intend to be here until God calls me home.
The Bible uses several word pictures to describe our lives. I Chronicles 29:15 says, “Our days on earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.” A shadow only lasts while the sun is shining and as the sun moves across the sky the shadow fades and this tells us that our time on earth is short.
James 4:14 says, “What is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.” A vapour is like a wisp of steam that comes from a kettle and that means we’re here for a little time and then we’re gone and others will take our place.
So, death is inevitable and life is uncertain and the third thing I thought about as I stood in that graveyard was how sorrow is universal. Listen, the fact that there were headstones there told me that someone cared enough to mark the place and record the names of those who were buried there.
Each of us have experienced the sorrow of losing someone we’ve loved. That’s just part of who we are. Sorrow is a natural reaction in the face of death.
We sing a hymn that reminds us that we don’t have to go through it alone. It says,
Does Jesus care when I’ve said good-bye
To the dearest on earth to me
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks
Is it ought to Him, does He see?
Oh yes, He cares; I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Saviour cares.
Death is inevitable, life is uncertain, sorrow is universal and yet, standing in the middle of that graveyard was symbol of hope. There was a huge tree that was probably one hundred and fifty or two hundred years old but the Bible says tells us that man is the crown of creation and yet most of us will only live seventy or eighty years. So, if we’re the crown of God’s creation and trees live longer than we do, then it stands to reason that this life is not the end.
As you walk around a cemetery and read the captions on the headstones you get a sense of the hope of those who sorrowed. Some of the stones read, Till We Meet, Only Asleep, Gone to be with Jesus, Resting in the everlasting arms and in a Belfast cemetery there was one that said, “Here lies James. He entered into rest aged 79. He was an honest, upright, God fearing and deeply conscientious man, but his assurance of eternal salvation rested not on the beauty of his character but on the atoning work of his Savior.”
Listen, if there is any hope in the face of death it comes from knowing that we’ve been forgiven by the blood of Jesus that was shed upon the cross. And it’s not enough to just know this in our heads but we need to receive Him in our hearts.
D.L. Moody who was an evangelist wrote, "When I was a boy I thought of Heaven as a great shining city, with vast walls and domes and spires, and with nobody in it except angels, who were strangers to me.
By and by my little brother died, and I thought of a great city with walls and domes and spires, and a flock of unknown angels, and one little fellow that I was acquainted with. He was the only one that I knew there. Then another brother died, and there were two that I knew. Then my friends began to die, and the number continually grew. But it was not until I had sent one of my own little children back to GOD, that I began to think I had a little interest there. A second, a third, a fourth went, and by that time I had so many friends in Heaven that I no longer saw walls and domes and spires but I began to think of the residents of the Celestial City. And now so many of my friends have gone there, that it sometimes seems like I know more people in Heaven than I do on earth."
Listen, heaven is a wonderful place made by a wonderful God for people like you and I, who have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. As someone said, “You can go to heaven without health, without wealth, without fame, without a great name, without learning, without earnings, without culture, without beauty, without friends and without a thousand other things; but you cannot go to heaven unless you have Jesus because He’s the one who paid your way by dying on the cross and He’s the one who’s going to be the center of the eternal city.
So, death is inevitable and we are reminded of this constantly. The doorways of houses were built wide enough to accommodate a casket. Churches were laid out so the entry way and aisles can accommodate the dead. Insurance companies make millions every year based on the reality of death. And obituary columns remind us of the many who have died. And weakness, sickness and old age also remind us that we live in the valley of the shadow of death.
In the brief time that we have been here today hundreds have slipped into eternity. Some were saved and went to heaven while many more were lost for ever. And yet, each of them like you and I had faced the choice of either accepting or rejecting God’s provision of salvation.
I heard a story about how the devil was trying to figure out the best way to get men to ignore this matter of salvation. One of his demons said, “Why don’t you just tell them that there is no God.” And Satan said, “That’s stupid, only a fool would look at creation and come to the conclusion that there is no God.” A second one said, “Why don’t you just tell them there is no such thing as a judgment?” And the devil said, “That’s absurd, if there is a God then surely, He’ll hold men accountable for how they’ve lived.” And then a third one spoke up and said, “Why don’t you just say, there is no hurry?” And Satan said, “That’s it!” And he’s been selling that bill of goods for thousands of years.
I was visiting in the hospital when I pastored in Sackville, New Brunswick and some how I got into a conversation with a lady that was ninety-six years old. I asked her if she had ever gone to church and she said, “Yes, I used to go to a little Baptist church” and then I asked if she had ever received the Lord? And she said, “No, but I thought about it and some day I’m going to do it.” I asked if she’d like to accept Him right then but she said, “No, I’m going to do it later.” And she died two days after that.
Listen, the devil might tell you there’s no hurry but God says, “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die and not live.”
And do you know what the strange thing is? There are only two choices to make about our future. I remember when I was a kid and if I didn’t want what we were having for supper, my mother would always say, “You’ve got two choices, you can take it or you can leave it.” And God says, “You’ve got two choices, you can have the most wonderful experience for all of eternity that’s simply beyond description or you can have the worst torture imaginable that will last forever.” And each of us needs to make a choice.
The gospel message almost sounds too good to be true and it is too good but it’s also true.
There was a story that went around the news a while back about a couple by the name of Glen and Gloria Symes who lived in the states. They had had their taxes done by H&R Block and they were automatically entered into a contest and the prize was one million dollars.
There were seventeen million Americans entered into this contest but when the draw took place Glen and Gloria received a call from H&R Block telling them that they had won the million dollars. They politely hung up and thought, that was some kind of advertisement or some scam to get your credit card number and they forgot all about it. A few days later H&R Block called back again but they politely told them we aren’t interested.
Then they received some information in the mail but they thought it was false advertisement and they threw it away. Glen just told his wife it was some kind of scam and they ignored it. They received another call from H&R Block and they hung up on them in frustration. Finally, someone from H&R Block went to visit them but they wouldn’t even let them in the door.
At last, they were contacted by a news program and they realized this was for real. And they received their cheque for a million dollars on the show.
Listen, you can hear the gospel every which way but if you don’t receive it in faith then it won’t do you a bit of good. You’ll live for yourself and you’ll die by yourself.
Conclusion
Years ago, I read a book called, “Death of a salesman.” The central figure in this book was a man by the name of Willie Loman who was a salesman. Willie had just turned 60 and he felt like he was burnt out. He had never done anything spectacular but he always talked like he had and he kept telling his wife, his sons and his brother-in-law that he was on the verge of making it big.
Well, one day he asked his boss to take him off the road and give him a job closer to home but his boss decided he no longer needed him and he let him go. In the end Willie committed suicide with the hope that his wife would enjoy his insurance money.
The story ends at the graveside where his wife is talking to his grave and she makes it clear that she never cared about money or any of his lavish dreams. All she ever wanted was him.
Willie had spent his entire life trying to prove he was something he wasn’t by giving her things she never cared for only to deprive her of the one thing she always wanted – and that was him.
We often think like Willie Loman – that God is only interested in those who are willing and able to do the great things, when all He really wants is for each and every one of us to confess our sinfulness and surrender to Him.
Job closes this section with the line, “If a man dies, shall he live again? You will if you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and you’re living for Him.
And listen, it’s as simple as the ABC’s.
A – Admit your need, that you’re a sinner who needs to be saved. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
B – Believe that Jesus died for your sins and trust Him to save you and not yourself. Acts 16:1 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
C – Confess what you’ve done before others. In other words, tell somebody. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Listen, God promised that He’ll save anyone who comes to Him but we all need to come.
