Jump Start # 3301

Psalms 39:4 “Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days.”

Our verse today is a prayer of David. He was recognizing the brevity of life. What follows are, “my days as handbreadths,” and, “my lifetime as nothing in your sight.” He continues, “surely every man at his best is a mere breath.” In James, life is pictured as a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanishes away.

Lord, make me to know my end. Now, just how would the Lord do that for David? What was David looking for in that prayer? And, how would knowing this help someone? It seems that with this thought looming in our future, one would walk around with a bag over their head and be gloom and doom all the time. “I’m going to die,” would come up in every conversation. But, that’s not the spirit found within the Bible. Solomon after he went through a long section about death in Ecclesiastes, tells us to rejoice, enjoy life and make the most of the blessings from God. Paul, sitting in a Roman prison, would write, “Rejoice in the Lord.”

Some thoughts for us:

First, all around us are reminders of “the end.” Every movie ends. Every book ends, even God’s book. Every sermon ends (though some may question that). Every pet has an ending. Trees dies. Shrubs die. Animals die. Every day in the news there is reports of death. We cannot escape that fact, that all living things have an end. Are these reminders from God? Has God placed these things before us so we will never forget that we too are coming to an end. Eat well, you’ll still have an end. Exercise hard, you’ll still have an end. Take you vitamins, you’ll still have an end. See your doctor on a regular basis, you’ll still have an end.

For, David, there were vivid memories of the end. Through his hands, a lion, a bear and a giant were killed. His hands had so much blood on them that the Lord would not allow him to build the temple. Within David’s own household, the end came for Amnon, Absolom and others. A little baby that was born to him and Bathsheba came to an end before he ever learned to walk or talk.

Ecclesiastes tells us that it is better to go to the house of mourning than the house of feasting, because that is the end of every man and the living take it to heart. Make me to know my end.

Second, this is much more than acknowledging that we are going to die. Knowing my end, makes me realize that I only have so much time to do good. There is only so much time to influence others. There is only so much time to help others. The sand is falling quickly through the hour glass. Making the most of our opportunities is something that ought to be burning deeply within us. It’s not about making a name so we won’t be forgotten. It’s about helping people see the Lord.

Third, knowing that I have an end, and what happens at the end, will keep me walking closely with the Lord. From our side of the cross, we know about the resurrection. We know about Heaven. We know that our end, doesn’t really end. We merely switch places. We switch rooms. Our work here is finished, but we are not finished. Through eternity we will live. Loving the Lord and walking in His grace, brings sunshine to the darkest days. All problems will end someday.

And, if our lives just came to a screeching halt one day, and that was it, most wouldn’t think it’s all that bad. But, there is an eternity. There is a Heaven and there is a Hell. There is a God that we must stand before. This is why our words, our choices, our attitudes, our worship matters. There is so much more than the here and now, there is the forever that one must remember.

Lord, make me to know my end. For many, today is that day. Their lives will end this day. Some will be shocked. Some who never thought about the other side, will be on the other side. Were they ready for their end? Had they thought about that day? Are they ready to see God?

Make me to know my end…powerful thoughts for us.

Roger

Jump Start # 1715

Psalms 39:4 “Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.”

  This week we are going to look at reminders of eternity, in a series I am entitling, “Whispers of Eternity.” We have a dual nature, physical and spiritual. We are created in the image of God and within us is a soul that will never die, even though our bodies do. The world about us, the way we live, the emphasis upon the material and the here and now can shove the spiritual aspect of us so far into the background that we rarely think about it. Occasionally, usually at the funeral home, we wonder if this is it. But with our busy schedules with work, kids, appointments, coming holiday plans, ballgames can easily make it possible for us to rarely think of the eternal. I expect there are some who never think of the eternal. There are those who bought into the idea that there is no God and this is it. For them, this is as good as it will ever get. Those that worship God and are readers of the Bible understand and are reminded.

Our verse is a great one to set us on this journey. It’s more than a statement, it’s a plea and a prayer. Lord, the Psalmist asks, “Make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days.” David, who wrote this, may have been wanting to know some specifics, like, how long am I going to live and how is this all going to turn out. But for us, this passage reminds us that our days here on this planet will come to an end. People are living longer and longer all the time and medical research has made great strides against diseases that were once considered fatal, but still, with all of that, we come to an end here. Our days will end. His prayer was that God would make him know that.

There are several ways God does that for us. It’s not that this is a secret of Heaven. We know this but do we recognize this and do anything about this? That’s the question.

Here are a few ways that God lets us know our end.

First, the Scriptures teach that. Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointment for men to doe once and after this comes judgment.” God tells us so. In another Psalms, Moses tells us to number our days. Our days are not infinite. Our days can be counted.

Second, all around us are reminders of “the end.” Every newspaper, every news cast tells us of the fatality of man. Car wrecks, wars, disease, crime, disasters—death happens all around us and all around the world. According to current stats, more than 151,000 people die every day world wide. Most we don’t hear about. Most we don’t know. But there are the few that we know. There are church members that we worshipped with that pass away. There are co-workers and family members that pass away. There are those who die way to young. Those grab our attention. They shock us and stun us. They remind us that we, too, have “an end.”

Third, as we age, we are given reminders that the end is coming. We think we are twenty, but our bodies remind us that we are 60. We have pills to take in the morning. We have medicines to take at night. We put on our glasses, hearing aides and the more the years stack on, the slower we move. We are wearing out. We tire more easily. We can’t remember things. Some days, we simply do not feel well. We attribute this to getting older, but it is a reminder from Heaven that the end is closer than we may want to believe.

With these reminders all about us, there ought to be something that we do with knowing our end is coming. We can choose to ignore these reminders and live on as if nothing will ever happen to us and then one day it will. Ready or not, it will. We can become angry and bitter because of these things. Or, spiritually, we can use these reminders from God to help us prepare for the eternal. We do not last here. There is an end. But it is not the end of us. We will live on. That’s the value in these reminders. It helps us to shape our hearts and walk closer to the Lord. They remind us to use our time wisely. They help us to make a difference in the lives of others.

Knowing the end will come someday, what needs to be done? Have you thought about that? Do you want to think about that?

There are some things you can do financially that will help your family when your end comes. Get a will. Write out instructions about what you want done at your death. Get your important papers in one place and then let others know where they are.

With the end in mind, connect with the Lord. Pray. Read His word. Become what He wants you to be. Be a spiritual person. Be ready, as the parable of the wise and foolish virgins tells us. Get rid of the secret sins in your life. Be transparent with God. He already knows. Stand pure and holy before the Lord.

With the end in mind, get about doing the things that really matter. Maybe you have tossed around the idea of serving as a shepherd or a deacon in God’s church. Do it. Maybe you have always thought about teaching a class. Do it. It’s time to start doing and stop just thinking about things. The end will come. Every cemetery is filled with those who never got about doing what they wanted to. Fear, too busy right now, not sure, has kept many boats tied up to the dock. Spiritually, far too many churches have men who could do more in the kingdom if they understood their end. Why not? Why not now? If not now, when? There may not be a better time than now.

With the end in mind, speak what needs to be said. Say it kindly and with gentleness, but say it. Say what needs to be said to your family. Say what needs to be said to your co-workers. Say what needs to be said to your brethren. Don’t be ugly. Don’t be rude. But, likewise, don’t be quiet and still. Are your teens dating questionable people? When do you plan to say something? At their wedding? It will be too late. Afraid they will get mad at you and blow up? What will happen when two years into the marriage, they begin talking about a divorce? Say something. Got a loud mouth at work who thinks he knows everything about everything, especially, the Bible and God. His constant rants are usually off base and without any evidence. Say something. Got a church member who is always complaining and always negative. They forget to count their blessings. Say something. It’s easy, afterwards, for someone to proclaim, “I just knew that marriage wasn’t going to make it.” Then, why didn’t you say something? Got someone who is heading down a dangerous road with this thoughts, say something. The time will come when you won’t be able to say anything. This is something we preachers need to think about. Dump some of those nice pretty sermons and say what really needs to be said. Say it kindly. Say it helpfully. Say it Scripturally. But, please, say it.

Lord, help us to know our end. The whispers of eternity.

Roger