“Where Will You Be When You Get Where You Are Going?”
Part 3
For the Believer and the Non-Believer
How are you living?
We all are going to end up somewhere so the question is “Where Will You Be When You Get Where You Are Going”?
At the end of this life what is your destination?
The song “The Night” by Avicii Lyrics says “One day you’ll leave this world behind So…”
So, when you leave where will you be?
“The Night” by Avicii, Lyrics:
Once upon a younger year When all our shadows disappeared
The animals inside came out to play Went face to face with all our fears
Learned our lessons through the tears Made memories we knew would never fade
One day my father—he told me “Son, don’t let it slip away”
He took me in his arms, I heard him say
“When you get older Your wild heart will live for younger days
Think of me if ever you’re afraid”
He said, “One day you’ll leave this world behind
So, live a life you will remember” My father told me when I was just a child
“These are the nights that never die” My father told me
“When thunder clouds start pouring down Light a fire they can’t put out
Carve your name into those shining stars” He said, “Go venture far beyond the shores Don’t forsake this life of yours I’ll guide you home no matter where you are”
One day my father—he told me “Son, don’t let it slip away”
When I was just a kid I heard him say
“When you get older Your wild heart will live for younger days
Think of me if ever you’re afraid”
He said, “One day you’ll leave this world behind
So, live a life you will remember” My father told me when I was just a child
“These are the nights that never die” My father told me
“These are the nights that never die” My father told me My father told me.
Time To Know Why You’ll Leave This World Behind One Day
Sometimes the thought of the reality of inevitable death can steal your happiness away like a thief. You can own all the most beautiful and expensive things on earth but one day you’ll leave this world. Your entire life is limited. Why not prepare for this….?
Understand the fact that one day you will leave this world behind
“Life is short. Do whatever you can to help people – not for status, but because the 95-year-old you will be proud if you did help people and disappointed if you didn’t.” —Marshall Goldsmith
My brother Glenn once said that he wanted a U-Haul hooked to his hearse because he always heard “you never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.” To do away with the saying “that you can’t take it with you when you go”. So, he wanted it to look like he was taking it with him when he goes.
I really love what Pastor Andy Stanley said once, “You can’t take it with you so why don’t so just send it on ahead?” meaning the rewards we will have when the Believer gets to heaven.
Luke 12:32-34 (NKJV)
32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The average life span is 70 to 75 years. And as 5600 people die each day, someday you would be part of them. You can’t change this fate so you have to make a choice on how you are going to live here and what you are going to face on the other side.
Have you considered that feeling when someone tells you: “one day you’ll leave this world behind?” It sounds awful. Although it is very common to almost all of us.
You are going to either going live forever in Heaven or Hell and next week we will see the choice we can make.
No wonder, the wisest man ever to live on earth King Solomon the son of King David has observed almost everything happening under the sun. He, therefore, concluded that life is meaningless with out God in our lives to give us purpose.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-14 (NLT2)
1 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.
6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.
7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.
8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
Something of this sort is still rolling out in this century and there is hope, in the end, people would be able to live hundreds of years. In his defense, he said prolonging life artificially is tasteless. And so, he died elegantly – Albert Einstein.
A nurse in a Hospice Hospital told me after my Dad pass from this world to Glory. That she has seen believers pass away so peacefully, as My Dad did. He was laying there that last day and he opened his eyes and reached and stretched for the celling he wouldn’t take his eyes off of what he saw no matter who called his name. I think he got a glimpse of where he was going. Then he laid back said my Mothers name and puckered up and kissed her, then he closed his eyes and a few hours latter he went home to be with the Lord.
But the nurse said she had also seen the others that didn’t have a relationship with Jesus, and how the screamed and cried out as the left this world behind.
She said she never heard a person say that they wished they spent more time at work, or more time away from their family, more time fussing and disagreeing with family and friends. No, she said they always say if I could do it over, I would spend more time with and love my family more.
As you have seen “Where will you be When you get where you are going?” has nothing with the destinations here but it does on where you will spend eternity.
But in the pages of the Scripture, you can find “Eternal Life”
And you can’t prevent death from knocking at your door. All the things you have acquired would be left out. Listen to advice and live a life worthy of remembrance. I mean, a life that would glorify God.
Uh oh, that could demoralize you if you are currently chasing your dreams. But this shouldn’t stop you from working hard to make money, build your dream house and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
But whiles you wake up each morning, remember that one day you would not see the sunlight. This is the greatest fate that is common to man, animals, the rich, the poor, the wise and the fool as well.
The Bible Reminds You: One Day You Will Leave Everything Behind
The Bible has a chilling warning for anyone living under the sun. God has already told you: your days are numbered. But for Christians, we know that we are travelers on this earth.
We have been therefore reminded that it is useless to store your treasure on earth where moth can destroy. By knowing that one day you’ll leave this world behind, why not store your treasure in heaven?
Earthly riches are useless. It is not a sin to acquire wealth or to be rich though. But money and wealth don’t satisfy. It is better to follow Christ Jesus. Because in Him you can find everything, including eternal life. And one day you will see as a believer what is says in the book of Revelation
Revelation 21:1-7 (NLT2)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.
2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.
7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
And before you take your last breath you must live a life that will touch the heart of people who need your help. We as believers know we are just passing through. Or as the Bible puts it, we are sojourner’s
The term sojourner in the Bible refers to a person who is just passing through. Synonyms in various translations are foreigner, exile, and alien. Example’s:
During the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were sojourners in the wilderness (Psalm 105:12–13; 1 Chronicles 16:19). Even though they remained in the wilderness for forty years, it was not their home (Numbers 14:33–34). They were merely sojourners there, yearning for the Promised Land God would give them for a permanent home.
Abraham was a sojourner in Egypt when a famine swept the Promised Land (Genesis 12:10). Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus were also sojourners in Egypt when Herod sought to kill Him (Matthew 2:13–15). And the apostle Paul sojourned from region to region, starting churches and preaching the gospel (Acts 13:1–3, 13–14, 51). All of these people lived for a short time in foreign places.
Peter wrote his first letter “to the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1, ASV). Other versions have “exiles,” “foreigners,” “strangers,” or “refugees.” The recipients of 1 Peter were persecuted Christian Jews who had been forced to leave Jerusalem and were now residing in what we would call Asia Minor. In the next chapter, Peter’s use of the term sojourners takes on a more spiritual connotation: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
Peter’s appeal for holiness was based on the identity of his readers. They were Christians, bought by the blood of Jesus and made joint heirs with Him for eternity (Romans 8:17). They were not citizens of this world, only sojourners in it. They were not to adopt its customs or embrace its worldview (Romans 12:1–2). As sojourners, Christians must exemplify the values and standards of their permanent home, heaven. Paul reiterates that theme in Philippians 3:20, reminding the church that “our citizenship is in heaven.” We are sojourners here, ambassadors for our Father, the King (2 Corinthians 5:20).
This world is not our home. The knowledge that we are sojourners on this earth keeps us from setting our hearts on its treasures. Jesus warned us that this world’s treasures are subject to loss. Therefore, we must store up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19–20). We are to hold all God gives us with open hands, knowing that any earthly gain is only temporary. Sojourners don’t put down deep roots in the places where they reside because they know they will soon move on. Likewise, Christians don’t pour their hearts and passions into things that won’t last. The wise Christian is one who lives every day with bags packed, ready to move on when God directs and eager to vacate this world when our Father calls us home.
There is a native American proverb that says: “anytime the sun rises from the East and sets in the West; it takes part of your life”.
Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 (NLT2)
8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”
9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.
10 The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.
11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.
12 But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.
13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.
14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
Knowing God, or serving this world are the destination we have! So:
“Where Will You Be When You Get Where You Are Going?”
