MAN'S TWO INEVITABLES

HEBREWS 9:2

A. THERE ARE THINGS IN THIS LIFE WHICH MAN SEEKS TO AVOID
  1. Sickness and sorrows: It is perfectly normal for a rational being to attempt to avoid sickness and sorrows, even though these are common to most persons.
  2. Poverty and dependency upon others are still other undesirables: Prov. 30:8
  3. Some are, so it seems, successful to evade these undesirables:
B. BUT OUR TEXT POINTS TO TWO INEVITABLES WHICH WE ALL FACE, REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE MAY THINK OF THE FUTURE
  1. "It is appointed unto men once to die":
    1. That is one appointment which is as certain as life itself.
    2. Medical Science tells us that we carry the elements of death and decay in our very bodies.
  2. Our bodies are so constituted that we are in constant danger of death: Jas. 4:13-17
  3. Our natural life seems to hang on a very thin and undependable thread; ready to break at any moment: Isa. 40:6; 1 Pet. 1:24
  4. It is the most precious and yet the most uncertain thing man possesses:
    1. If our breath stops, life ceases.
    2. If the heart stops, life has come to an end.
  5. Our service today is just another grim reminder of the appointment we all face sooner or later; let us face it!
C. "AFTER THAT THE JUDGMENT"
  1. That is the other inevitable appointment we all have to meet: Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10
  2. That signifies two things for us to take to heart:
    1. That death is not the end of us or our lives. Some people commit suicide, thinking that by doing so they can escape it all. But our text shows that is not true.
    2. That we are going to be held accountable for the deeds done in this body, whether they be good or bad - 2 Cor. 5:17; Luke 17:1-8
  3. The knowledge of this unavoidable appointment has shaken some noted characters like nothing else could:
    1. Belshazzar and his lords - Dan. 5:1-7
    2. Felix the Roman governor - Acts 24:25
  4. It will cause the greatest prayer meeting ever experienced by sinners: Rev. 6:15, 16
D. FRIENDS, HOW DOES OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE TWO INEVITABLES AFFECT US TODAY?
  1. We know that they are certain!
  2. We also know that while we live we have it in our power to make the needed preparation for both events:
    1. Christ in our lives will make the difference -- It did for Paul - 2 Tim. 4:6, 7; it did for Simeon - Luke 2:29; it can for us!
    2. What will be your answer?


Design © John Bryant 2011