One Fate for All Men

Father, we thank you for today We thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to spend time in your word And we pray, Lord, that you would open our eyes to behold the beauty of the Lord Lord, you are good to us You brought us here safely We are grateful And pray, Lord, that our time in the word tonight would be beneficial to all of us That we would see, Lord, those things that would enable us to live for you And that our lives would be submissive to the authority of your word And trust, Lord, that the things you teach us will enable us to honor you more, not just today, but for the rest of our lives

We pray in Jesus' name, amen There is a preacher, he's from the old school, but he speaks as boldly as ever He is not very popular, though the world is his parish He travels every part of the globe, and he speaks in every language He visits the poor, he calls upon the rich, and preaches to people of every religion, and even those of no religion And the subject of his sermon is always the same He is an eloquent preacher, often stirring feelings which no other preacher could, and bringing tears to eyes that never weep His arguments, none are able to refute

Nor is there any heart that has remained unmoved by the force of his appeals He shatters life with his message Most people hate him Everyone fears him His name, his name is death Every tombstone is his pulpit Every newspaper prints his text And someday, every one of us will be his sermon Because there is one fate that befalls all men Men It's the same fate for us all When we were growing up, maybe you know this, there was a nursery rhyme that we used to say We would go in the backyard, and we would hold hands, and maybe you probably know it very well

And we would say, ring around the roses, pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down And of course, we would do that, and we would all fall down, not having any idea as to the origin of that nursery rhyme Its origin goes all the way back to the mid-1300s, during what is commonly called the Black Plague Happened in Asia and in Europe They say that somewhere between 75 and 200 million people died They say that the statistics in Europe were somewhere between 30 to 50% of the population was killed All because of a bacterial infection caused by fleas

The first time that the song was heard, or the nursery rhyme was heard, was by an old man pushing a cart stacked high with corpses Many people erroneously thought that the plague came from polluted air, and that walking in the garden among fresh flowers was a way to breathe cleaner air Well-meaning medical doctors filled their pockets with petals from flowers, and brought them into the hospital rooms, which were full of people who couldn't get up, and walk around the roses and posies

These physicians would sprinkle the petals onto the patient, hoping somehow the fragrance would clean their lungs of pollution Others blew ashes into their faces of plague victims, hoping to cause a sneeze again to clear the lungs, but they all nevertheless fell down They all fell down And now you understand, ring around the roses and pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down Death looms large on the horizon of everyone Nobody is exempt There is one fate for all men And that's what we'll call wisdom's realization

Wisdom realizes that there's the same fate for all men, and it's the same one, it's called death It is inevitable, it is inescapable At sometimes or some moments it's insurmountable, but nonetheless, every one of us is going to face death And so we need to understand how to deal with death and begin to realize that death does teach us many, many things Solomon speaks a lot about death There are 10 specific passages in Ecclesiastes that address the topic of death

We told you a few weeks ago that death is a major topic of scripture. 924 times the word is used in the Old Testament. 432 times the word is used in the New Testament So over 1,300 times the Bible speaks about death It's a fairly large topic And yet we don't like to talk about it very much We wanna ignore the topic as much as possible And usually the only time the topic comes up is if we're gonna go to a funeral, someone close to us dies, or we hear about some famous person who dies And then for a brief moment, we will think about death

But other than that, we push it aside because we don't wanna deal with it We don't wanna talk about it But Solomon is getting up in years And so by the time he writes the book of Ecclesiastes, he realizes that death is on the horizon, that he's gonna die And so he addresses the topic of death many times in the book of Ecclesiastes, simply because he wants you to come to grips with the one fate for all men The Bible in 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that it is the last enemy Death is the last enemy Enemy Billy Sunday, in a ceremony entitled Heaven, the great evangelist said these words about death

He said, death is a cruel enemy He robs the mother of her baby, the wife of her husband, the parents of their children, the lover of his intended wife Death is a rude enemy He upsets our best plans without an apology He enters the most exclusive circles without an invitation Death is an international enemy There is no nation which he does not visit The islands of the seas, whose mothers rock their babies to sleep to the lullaby of the ocean's waves, the restless sea, the majestic mountains, all are his haunts Death is an untiring enemy

He continues his ghastly work, spring, summer, autumn, and winter He never tires in his ceaseless rounds, gathering his spoils of human souls But death is a vanquished enemy Jesus arose from the dead and abolished death Death happens because of sin Death is caused by sin In Genesis chapter two, God said to Adam and Eve, you can have any tree in the garden except one, just one All the rest are yours But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from But that's the one tree they ate from That was in Genesis two, Genesis chapter three, the Satan comes, the temptation is there

They fall prey to that temptation And by one man, sin entered the world and death by sin God said to Adam and Eve, the day you eat, you will die They ate and they died You say, well, wait a minute They didn't die, they still lived Yes, but they did die They died spiritually It's what we call spiritual death The Bible speaks of three kinds of death, spiritual death, physical death, and eternal death, which is described as the second death You are born spiritually dead Ephesians two says that you were born dead in your trespasses and sin When you were born, you were born separated from God

When Adam and Eve sinned, they died because death is defined as separation That is spiritual death is me being separated from God And if I don't rectify that before I die physically, I then will experience the second death or eternal death So when you're born, you're born dead, spiritually speaking The Bible says, the soul that sins, it shall die Ezekiel chapter 18, verse number four The Bible says the wages of sin is death And so when you die spiritually, you are separated from God That's what happened to Adam and Eve So they died spiritually

That had to be rectified through the shed blood of animals until the coming of Christ, when he would die on Calvary's cross and be that one sacrifice that would allow us to receive the forgiveness of sins Physical death is when the soul is separated from the body James two, verse 26 The soul that separates from the body is dead So we know that physical death is the separation of body from soul So when you go to a funeral and someone is in the casket, that's their body But their soul is either in glory or in Hades, the place of the dead

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5.8, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord So when you die physically, your soul is separated from your body See, the one thing that every one of us has in common is that number one, we're alive That's why you're here That's why you're looking at me That's why some of you are starting to fall asleep already, but you're still alive, right? So we have that in common The second thing we have in common is that we're all gonna die And the third thing that we have in common is that we're all gonna be resurrected That's in John chapter five

That one day, all of the graves will hear the voice of God and all be raised, some to a resurrection of life, others to a resurrection of judgment, but all will be raised And the Bible says in Revelation chapter 20 verse number 14, that death and Hades will be cast into the lake of fire Death is the condition, Hades is the place It tells us that Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades That's Revelation one, 17 and 18 In one day, death and Hades will be cast into the lake of fire Now, note this, the lake of fire is nowhere in this universe, nowhere It's outside the universe somewhere

How do we know that? Well, we know that the lake of fire was prepared for the devil and his angels Jesus tells us that in Matthew's gospel But in Matthew chapter 20, he destroys this present universe, this earth And in Revelation 21, he's gonna create a new heaven and a new earth, but in between the creation of the new heaven and the new earth and the incineration of this present earth and this present universe, there's gonna be the great white throne judgment And death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire That's how you know the lake of fire is somewhere outside this present universe

It's specifically designed by God But the last enemy, death, will be cast into the lake of fire So death is caused by sin, and death is characterized simply by separation Spiritual death is the separation of man from God Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body And eternal death, the second death, is the separation of soul and body from God forever That's called eternal death That's why it's imperative that God call you to be saved Why? Because dead men can't respond They're dead They can't respond to anything spiritually They're dead in their trespasses and sin

So God has to call you out of death into life, like Lazarus Lazarus was dead, right? Jesus says, Lazarus, come forth If he would have said just come forth, everybody who was dead would come forth So he had to make sure he qualified who he was calling Lazarus, come forth Lazarus was not gonna come forth on his own Why? Because he was dead Same is true with you and me We only come to God because he calls us We only come to God because he beckons us to come to him And when he calls, we are spiritually raised from the dead We are no longer separated from God, but now we're together with God

We become children of the living God We become part of his life In fact, we obtain his life Christ now is our life Now you have real life In other words, if you don't know Christ, you're a spiritual zombie You're a walking dead person, dead in your trespasses and sin, separated from the true and living God And so we need to understand that as we look at what Solomon says about death Because he wants to show us that death is gonna teach us something We know that 2 Timothy chapter one, verse number 10 says that Christ abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel

We know that in Revelation chapter 21, there's not gonna be any more death That is no more separation No more separation of body from soul Why? Because you're gonna have a glorified body No more separation from God, no spiritual death Why? Because you're all going to be in the new heaven and the new earth for those of us who know Christ as Lord and Savior There will be no more death And yet there is one fate for all men And that is, it's to put it in a man who wants to die after that the judgment

The exception would be, of course, the rapture of the church, the translation of the church into glory That would be an exception That's not the rule It's like Enoch It's like Elijah, okay? Enoch walked with God and was no more Elijah was taken up into heaven and the world went They didn't die They're the exception, not the rule Those of us who are caught up to be with the Lord in the air at the rapture of the church, we're studying on Sunday morning, we would not experience physical death But none of us knows when that time is going to be

And so the Bible says it's appointed to the man who wants to die and after that, the judgment So death is on the horizon for everyone It was Woody Allen who said these words He said, he said, I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens Unfortunately, he will be You've heard the saying, this is the first day of the rest of your life That's true Today is the first day of the rest of your life But this also might be the last day of your life But you don't know that Nobody knows that Only God does And for the believer, death is precious

Psalm 116 says that precious in the sight of the Lord are the death of the saints The Bible tells us that blessed are those who die in the Lord, Revelation 14, 13, for they rest from their labors and their rewards follow them And the Bible also says in Philippians 1, Paul says, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain So death is a blessing for the believer And yet for most people, they look at death, they think about death, they see death, and there's great fear in their lives

Yet Hebrews 2, 14 says these words, therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same that is Christ, that through death, he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives So if you're a believer, you've been freed from the fear of death, the bondage of what holds you in that fear is a fear of the unknown, a fear of separation from God But if you know God, you don't fear that because you know you'll always be with him

You will live in Christ, you will die in Christ, and you'll be raised in Christ Once in Christ, always in Christ That's very, very important So if you got your Bible, Ecclesiastes chapter nine, Ecclesiastes chapter nine, verses one to 12, one fate for all men For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred, anything awaits him It is the same for all

There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked, for the good and for the clean and for the unclean, for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice As the good man is, so is the sinner As the swearer is, so is the one who's afraid to swear This is an evil in all that is done under the sun that there is one fate for all men Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives Afterwards, they go to the dead For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope

Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion For the living know they will die, but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward for their memory is forgotten Indeed, their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished and they will no longer have a share in all that is under the sun Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart for God has already approved your works Let your clothes be white all the time and let not oil be lacking on your head

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which he has given to you under the sun For this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might For there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to manifest ability For time and chance overtake them all

Moreover, man does not know his time like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare So the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them Solomon's gonna teach us what death teaches us Death is a school and death teaches us what we need to know about living in this life In fact, the best way to prepare to live is to prepare to die If you're prepared to die, you are prepared to live If you're not prepared to die, you are not prepared to live So make sure you prepare yourself to die

Remember years ago when my dad had ALS and he knew he was gonna go home and be with the Lord So we sat down and had a conversation about his funeral, his memorial service He said to me, he says, look, I don't care what you preach on, just make sure you hit the fact that man needs to be ready to meet their God Tell them they're all gonna die, just tell them they need to be prepared to die, be ready to die So that's what he preached on

Are you ready to die? To make sure that everybody was there and there were a lot of people there, a lot of people that he knew, he was an insurance salesman for over 40 years And so he had a lot of friends that came to his memorial service that were unsaved people The question comes, are you ready to die? And so we went through the scriptures and explained to them, how do you know you're ready to die? Because if you're not and death comes, you are in a whole boatload of trouble

Because you're gonna die without God, right? And so the fact of the matter is, to prepare to live, you must be prepared to die Solomon knows that, Solomon understands that As he makes his way towards the end of his life and realizes that his journey is almost over, he addresses the subject of death several times because he doesn't want anybody to be surprised when it comes So we have four points that we wanna give you tonight The first point is this, death explains the master's hand Death explains the master's hand

He says, for I have taken all this to my heart and explained it, that righteous men, wise men and their deeds are in the hand of God What a beautiful statement Everything is in God's hand, everything Nothing is outside of the hand of God It speaks to his control over everything It speaks of our accountability to him for everything Because everything is in God's hand He goes on to say this, man does not know whether it will be love or hatred, anything awaits him That means that you don't know what tomorrow brings It could be lovely, it could be hatred, you don't know, but God does

Because everything that you do is in his hand What a beautiful statement Everything is in the hand of the living God Listen to what the Bible says in the book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy chapter 33, verse number three Indeed, he loves the people All your holy ones are in your hand and they followed in your steps Everyone receives of your words Moses is speaking, he's about to die He wants to assure Israel that they are in the hand of God In fact, he says in verse 27 of chapter 33, the eternal God is a dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms

Emphasizing the fact that you are secure because of God's hand and God's arms It says in Isaiah chapter 62, verse number three, you will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God The prophet Isaiah speaks about Israel's future and how they are going to be the beauty in the hand of the living God That's why the Bible says that no man can pluck you from my hand, John 10 It's the hand of security It's the hand of love and peace It's God's hand In fact, it was the Lord who said, the son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinful men

The hands of sinful men are in the hand of the living God Jesus knew that And so him being delivered into the hands of sinful men would only explain even further that those men are under the direction of the hand of the living God God is in control of everything He's in control of his own life He would say that no one takes my life from me. I lay it down on my own initiative, John 10, 17 and 18 If I lay it down, I'll take it back up again Why? Because everything was in the Father's hand Everything was controlled by the Father The Lord knew that, could rest in that He believed in that

That's why it's so important to do, as Peter says, way back in 1 Peter 5, verse number six, when he says this, therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God The mighty hand of God speaks of the destiny of God's people in the Old Testament It speaks of the discipline of God's people in the Old Testament Peter picks up on that and says, you need to submit yourself, humble yourself under God's mighty hand, the controlling hand of the living God And so death teaches us because it explains to us the master's hand In other words, nobody dies by accident They die by divine appointment

He says this in verse number two, it is the same for all There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked, for the good and for the clean and for the unclean, for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice As a good man is, so is the sinner As a swearer, so is the one who is afraid to swear In other words, God is not a God of partiality Everybody's gonna die Rich, poor, strong, weak, handsome, ugly, everybody dies because you're all under the hand of the living God Verse three, this is an evil in all that is done under the sun that there is one fate for all men

It's gonna happen Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives We've heard about the depravity of man Well, how about the insanity of man? Everything about the heart of man is evil, it's mean Everything about the heart of man is insane, it's madness Solomon knows that He's observed life under the sun He understands those things Man has an unthinking kind of mind simply because he has a reprobate mind It's a mind that cannot think straight That's because man is filled with insanity

So therefore, we recognize that there's going to be judgment upon all men Why? Because death explains to us the hand of the master, the mighty hand of God Everything is under his control And that's why we should never be surprised when someone dies because God is in control of all those things He's in charge of all those things The Bible says in the book of Deuteronomy, the 32nd chapter, I'm the one who gives life and I'm the one who takes life He holds the keys to death and Hades They're all in his hand So death explains the master's hand Death extinguishes each moment's hope

In verse number four, for whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope In other words, if you're alive, there's hope But once you die, there is no hope So death extinguishes your moment of hope Once you die, there is no hope While you're alive, there is still hope Hope for salvation, hope for repentance, hope for grace and mercy It's still available to you For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion Think about that The lion is the king of the jungle He's the majestic beast But if he's dead, he's nothing

So a live dog, and dogs are not like dogs like you and I have like nice house pets that we love on and they can sleep in our bed and we can have them lick our face No, these dogs were scavengers They were filled with diseases But better to be a live dog than a dead lion So Solomon gives us a little bit of a proverb While you're alive, you have hope But once you're dead, there is no hope So that's what the Bible says Today is a day of salvation Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness Today, you need to respond

So he says in verse number five, for the living know that they will die Isn't that interesting? The living know they will die Everybody's alive knows they are going to die They don't wanna face death They don't wanna talk about death, but they know they're gonna die But the dead do not know anything There's no hope He says, nor have they any longer a reward for their memories forgotten Indeed, their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun Solomon's whole point is, look, you have a brief moment of hope

While you're alive, there's hope While you're breathing, there is hope But once you die, all hope is gone So whatever you're gonna do for the Lord, do it now Whatever decision you're gonna make about Christianity, do it now Because once you're dead, there's nothing you can do And so death explains the master's hand Death extinguishes each moment of faith Each moment of hope And number three, death encourages a manifestation or your manifestation of true happiness Look at this This is so good Solomon says this, verse seven

Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works Let your clothes be white all the time and let not oil be lacking on your head Enjoy life with a woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life, which he has given to you under the sun, for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going Death does something

Death encourages us to live a life of joy Solomon says, okay, you know you're gonna die You have these brief moments Once you're dead, there is no hope God's in charge, he's in control of everything So while you're alive, do four things Make sure that you enjoy your daily activities Number two, make sure you enjoy your spiritual identity Number three, make sure you enjoy your marital fidelity And number four, make sure you enjoy your vocational ministry First of all, he wants you to make sure that you enjoy your daily activities The eating and drinking is your daily activity

It might be monotonous, it might be mundane, and for most of us, it is Some people, they eat, and it's an event for them For a guy like me, it's not an event. I sit, I eat, I stand, I eat, and then I'm done, then I move on, okay? But a lot of people like to sit around the table and talk to each other, and it's not an event We like to talk and eat and fellowship Not us, we eat and move on Eating is an event, it's not an event in our house We just eat and move on It's a very mundane, monotonous kind of activity And Solomon uses it that way

Whatever you're doing, even the most mundane things, that's why God says, whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all of the glory of God He says, in the most mundane things of life, like eating and drinking, do it for the glory of God Solomon says the same thing Go then now, move on with your life Enjoy what God has given to you Enjoy the mundane things, the simple things in life Enjoy them, have fun with them, because God gave them to you And then he says, may your garments always be white May oil continue to flow off your head

And that all deals with the identity of the person whose works are approved by God In fact, over in Isaiah chapter 61, it says this, that God is going to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting, so they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified The garments are garments of festivity The oil is something that God does for you You can use it as the purity of the believer But he says, let all your garments be white

In other words, live a life of purity, live a life of holiness, live a life of truthfulness, and do it with a glad heart, a cheerful heart In other words, your appearance should manifest the fact that you have a joy in your heart And then he says very clearly, enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your life You know you're gonna die, have no regrets Enjoy the woman that God gave you Have fun Your marriage should be more exciting than your honeymoon That's the way it should be Your marriage should be more exciting than your honeymoon

Your honeymoon's only a week or 10 days or maybe two weeks, right? But your marriage is forever And your marriage should be one that is enjoyed daily, experiencing the love of your life and enjoying your time with her And Solomon says, listen, you're gonna die anyway, right? So don't die with regrets or don't let her die with you having regrets because you didn't spend your time wisely and you didn't use your time wisely and that you didn't enjoy the life with your wife

And then he says these, whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going In other words, whatever you're going to do, do with all the energy you have, with all the gusto you have. I love what Jim Elliot, the great missionary said when he said these words He said, wherever you are, be all there Isn't that good? Wherever you are, be all there Whenever you're home, be all there Whenever you're with your kids, be all there Whenever you're at work, be all there Whenever you're at church, be all there

In other words, wherever you are, be there With all your energy, with all the gusto, with all the life, with all the excitement, with all the intensity that you have, be there And be there for the glory and honor of our great King To make sure we do what we do with all of our might Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might Have you ever noticed that so many times we do things haphazardly? We do things just to get them done, but we don't do them with all of our might Solomon wants us to do everything with all of our might

And then he says this, death eliminates the matter of haughtiness, pride, and self-confidence Listen to what he says He says, I again saw unto the son that the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the warriors And neither is bread to the wise, nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor to men of ability For time and chance overtake them all Moreover, man does not know his time Like fish caught up in a treacherous net, and birds trapped in a snare So the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them We get seduced by society

We think that success comes to the swiftest, comes to the strongest, comes to the best The only thing that comes to them is the same thing that comes to everybody, death It's coming It comes upon all men because God is not partial to any man And man engaged in all the activities that he does, does not know about the time or the occurrence that happens to him Why? Because disasters are unpredictable Misfortunes are inevitable They're going to come In fact, he says, think of the fish If the fish knew that the net was there, they'd swim away They wouldn't go towards the net

If the birds knew the trap was there, they wouldn't go towards the trap But because they don't know, they get entrapped in it, and therefore they perish Same is true for man If man knew when he was going to die, he would change things up He would do things differently If man knew the disaster that was going to happen tomorrow or the next day, he'd reroute his course to work or do something different He doesn't know Nobody knows That's why it says back in verse number one, anything awaits him Anything But you just don't know what anything is But it's coming

But man has this idea that he's autonomous and that he's self-confident and his pride runs his life But death extinguishes all that, eliminates all that Why? Because you don't know the day you're going to die You don't know how you're going to die You don't know when you're going to die You don't know anything Because everything is in the hand of the true and living God No one knows On January 2nd, 1997, America's leading psychic, Gene Dixon, predicted that a famous entertainer will leave a nation in mourning within weeks Dixon herself died two weeks later of a heart attack Some psychic

She had no idea that was coming Bob Cartwright was disappointed when he was unable to accept an invitation to fly to New York with his friend Tyler Stanger and the professional baseball player named Corey Lytle for a playoff game between the Yankees and the Tigers He felt differently when he saw the news that Stanger and Lytle had crashed into an apartment building and perished Cartwright said, I was supposed to be on that plane Yet just one month later, Cartwright himself was in a plane crash and died

Donald Peters, who bought two Connecticut lottery tickets on November 1st, 2008, just as he had for the previous 20 years As it turned out, one of the tickets was worth $10 million But Peters was not as lucky as one might think because he died of a heart attack later on the very day that he bought the winning ticket You just don't know. A tombstone in an old cemetery reads this way, pause stranger when you pass me by As you are now, so once was I As I am now, so you will be So prepare for death and follow me Someone read that and added these two lines

To follow you, I am not content until I know which way you went That's good Here's the news It's good news You're going to die Probably sooner than you think We tend to think we're going to live forever But will you die satisfied? That's a great question The Bible tells us in the book of Genesis, the 25th chapter, that Abraham died satisfied What a great way to go It says in verse 7 of Genesis 25, these are all the years of Abraham's life that he lived, 175 years That's a long time Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied

He was gathered to his people. I wonder if you can say tonight, you will die satisfied The question comes, how do you die satisfied? Well, first of all, you've got to be forgiven by God, right? Genesis 15, verse number 6, the very first time the word believe is recorded in the Bible, it says that Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness Abraham was a forgiven man That's why he died satisfied Not only was he forgiven by God, he was a friend of God James tells us that in James chapter 2, verse number 23

He says it, quoting Genesis 15, verse number 6, that Abraham was a friend of God Those who are forgiven by God are friends of God Remember our Lord told the disciples, I no longer call you slaves, but I call you friends You want to die satisfied? Then you die forgiven by God and a friend of God Number three, you die satisfied when you're fulfilled by God Genesis 15, verse number 1, God told Abraham, I am your great reward. I am. I'm not your son, son of promise. I am Abraham needed to learn throughout his life how God would fulfill his life

To die satisfied means you're forgiven by God, you're a friend of God, you are fulfilled by God, and number four, you're faithful to God Abraham was When he was called, he came What he was promised, he performed When he was tried, he trusted When he was blessed, he bestowed blessings upon others When he was burdened, he beseeched the Lord When he rebelled, he repented He was faithful to his God But most importantly, he feared God Genesis 22, verse number 16 says, God said to him, now I know that you fear me, Abraham

That's why he died satisfied, forgiven by God, a friend of God, fulfilled by God, faithful to God, all because he feared the true and living God Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at the age of 35 He wrote this letter to his father on April 4th, 1787 This is what he said

He said, since death is the true end and purpose of life, I have made it my business over the past few years to get to know this true, this best friend of man so well that the thought of him not only hold no terrors for me, but even brings me comfort. I thank God that he granted me the good fortune and opportunity to get to know death as the key to our true happiness. I never go to bed without reflecting on the thought that perhaps, young as I am, the next day I might not be alive anymore

And no man knows, and no man knows me, who knows me, will be able to say that in the social intercourse I am sad For this happiness, I thank every day my creator, and with all my heart, I wish this happiness for all my fellow men He did not view death as an enemy He viewed death as a benefactor He saw death as an opportunity to move him into the presence of the living God How about you? How do you view death? It's the one fate for all men

And Solomon hits it hard, but he hits it in such a way that he wants you to know that you can live for God today, knowing that you're going to die, knowing that your death is in the hand of the living God, and so is your life Live life with enjoyment, because you know where you're going Live life to the fullest Enjoy your wife Love her deeply and intensely Make sure your life's spotless and clean Make sure that when you work, you do it with all that you have, because you don't know how long you have Because one day, God's going to call you home

Are you ready? Do you know for certain that if you died tonight, you'd spend eternity with the living God? I would trust that's the case Let me pray with you Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and the opportunity you give us to spend in your word We realize, Lord, that your word speaks a lot about death, but you are the God of life who grants life to all those who believe in you, to all those who call upon the name of the Lord They shall be saved

And our prayer tonight, Lord, is that if there's someone here who doesn't know you in the true biblical sense of the word, that, Lord, they give their life to you tonight They realize that, Lord, they have no idea what tomorrow brings They have no idea what awaits them around the bend You do They do not So while they are living and breathing, there is hope, the hope to embrace the Messiah, to embrace Christ as King of their lives, to obtain the forgiveness of sins, to live in the beauty of your holiness

Our prayer, Lord, is that there would be none here tonight that leave not knowing you as their Lord and Savior, so that they would wake up each day knowing that death is not the enemy Death is the opportunity to enter into the presence of the living God In Jesus' name, amen.