The Brevity of Life - James 4:14

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
James, Chapter four, verse fourteen says this, Yet you do
not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You
are just a vapor that appears for a little while
and then vanishes away. Let's pray together, Heavenly Father, thank
you for this new day. Thank you for your mercies
which are new every morning. Teach us from your word today. Lord,

(00:20):
we commit this time to you, and we pray this
all in Jesus, matchless name Amen.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
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Speaker 1 (01:44):
Well, welcome to this episode of the Weekly Wisdom Podcast.
I'm Pastor Jeff Stree from Tech Sar Canada, Texas, and
today I want to talk with you about the brevity
of life. You know, King David was the greatest earthly
king Israel ever had. Though far from pect his sins
are spelled out in scripture. He was truly a man

(02:04):
with a heart for God. He loved the Lord, he
loved the Word of God, and he loved his people.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Now.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
David served as king for a total of forty years,
and while on his deathbed at the age of seventy,
he said to his son and the future King Solomon,
I am going the way of all the earth.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Now.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
The way of all the earth is the way of
death and the grave. No one except Enoch and Elijah
has ever bypassed the grave. Abraham died, Isaac died, Jacob died,
the patriarchs Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Paul, and all the
saints of Scripture physically died. Even our Lord Jesus did

(02:48):
not escape death and the grave. He died and was
buried on Corinthians fifteen. But the big difference is that
he didn't stay dead and buried. He defeated the grim
Reaper on the third day. And those of us who
live and believe in Him, who is the Resurrection and
the Life, we never truly die. We simply breathe our

(03:09):
last on earth and are first in Heaven. And because
Jesus conquered death, hell in the grave, we can share
in his victory. Now James four fourteen reminds us of
the brevity of life and the certainty of death. Listen
to it again. You do not know what your life
will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that

(03:32):
appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Our
lives are just like a puff of smoke. Here today,
gone tomorrow. And you know, life when you're young seems
to move slowly, but as you get older, time begins
to pick up speed upon my life puts it this way.

(03:54):
When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept,
When as a youth I dreamed and taught, talked, time walked.
When I became a full grown man, time ran. When
older still I daily grew, time flew. Now I must
be traveling on time gone. You and I only have

(04:17):
so much time on this earth. We can live for
sin and self and lose our eternal soul in the process,
or we can live for the Lord and fulfill our
primary purpose to be his bold and faithful witnesses. Missionary C. T.
Stud wrote these words, only one life twill soon be passed.
Only what's done for Christ will last. So let me

(04:40):
ask you what are you doing with your brief time
here on planet Earth? As one wise man astutely surmised,
life is like a coin. You can spend it however
you want, but you can only spend it once. The
writer of Hebrews reminds us it is appointed for men
to die once. After this comes the judgment. We must

(05:03):
be prudent in what we do with the precious commodity
of time, and you and I must be living with
the end and mind. We don't know when the Lord
is coming back, and we don't know when our time
on earth is done. So we would greatly enhance our
enthusiasm for life and our effectiveness for the Lord if

(05:23):
we live this way, as if Jesus died yesterday, rose
this morning and is coming back tonight. When you and
I keep the death, burial, resurrection and return of Christ
near and dear to our hearts, we make the most
of each day. No doubt. Our world is in a mess,
and it's getting messier with each passing day, but we

(05:45):
don't need to fear. The Lord told us this would
be the case. By God's grace, May we be the
salt and light in this dark and dying world that
he has called us to be. Because people need to
know that Jesus is coming soon and their salvation only
in him. Let's pray together, Heavenly Father, teach us to

(06:06):
live with the end in mind. Life is truly a
blip on the radar screen compared to eternity. So help
us to live for you and for your glory. Help
us to make the most of the days you have
ordained for us. Convict our hearts, Lord of wasted time
and help us to redeem the time in these evil
days and be the salt and light you want us

(06:27):
to be. For we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Well,
thank you for listening to this episode of the Weekly
Wisdom Podcast. I'm Pastor Jeff Shreeve of Texarcana, Texas and
would love to connect with you. Please visit my ministry
website at Fromhisheart dot org for resources and other opportunities
to help you grow in your faith, for more wisdom

(06:48):
to last a lifetime, and to make prayer our priority
in your life. Download theprey dot com app. Hey, if
you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with someone in
your life who might also be encouraged by it. Thanks
again for listening, make it a great week, and may
God richly bless you