20250727 Carmack Life is But A Vapor

The transcription discusses the uncertainty of the future, warning against prideful assumptions about tomorrow. It references biblical passages from James, Proverbs, Luke, Isaiah, Micah, Acts, Hebrews, and 2 Thessalonians, highlighting the concept of the last days and the need for specific events, like apostasy and the revealing of the man of lawlessness, to occur before Christ's return. The apostasy is described as a departure from the original church structure outlined in the scriptures, leading to the establishment of hierarchical systems like the papacy. The speaker urges caution against false claims of the imminent end times. Let's take a look at James chapter 4, if you would. James chapter 4, starting in verse 13, tells us, "'Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow, we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there in a day's business to make a profit. 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. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'" Now, there are a number of things here that I think we could draw to our attention, but one of the things that I want us to take a look at, one of these, I guess what you would call a truism, something that we all understand, is that we don't know what our life is going to be like tomorrow. We can't predict the future. I know that there are some people who say that they can, but outside of a few, from the Old Testament and even the New Testament, we know that these individuals, they are false. We're fortune-telling those kind of things. Of course, there are all kinds of warnings to that effect. In Proverbs chapter 27, in verse 1, it says, "...do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." In Luke chapter 12, I hear something going on in my head. Luke chapter 12, of course, we have this parable, among other things, that Jesus told to demonstrate that among some other truths. In chapter 12, in verse 16, Jesus says, "...the land of a rich man was very productive, and he began reasoning to himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops? Then he said, This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grains and my goods, and will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, and drink, and be merry. But God said to him, You fool, this very night your soul is required of you, and now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said to his disciples, For this reason I say to you, Do not worry about your life as to what you will eat, nor for your body as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing." So what we have here is a rich man that he predicted his future. He thought that he had a whole future ahead of him, so what he was going to do was devote his entire life to storing up things for himself, storing up a retirement for his future, building barns and that sort of thing. And it turns out that that very night, just after all of his preparation, after all of his barn building, after all of his silo building, all that kind of sort, it turns out that his heirs got to get all of that property, everything that he had stored up for himself. And so among other things, this illustrates to us that tomorrow is something that none of us can predict. Now, of course, within this context, certainly we're talking about things that are present time, but there was a time where the existence of the future was a certainty. And in particular, I'm talking about the Old Testament period and the Old Testament dispensation. In Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 2, and of course this is repeated in Micah chapter 4, in Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 2 it says, Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains and will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will scream to it. So God through Isaiah is telling us that there is a last days coming. There's last days coming, and Isaiah is saying those last days are not now. The people of this time during Isaiah's time, they had a future. There was no question about that. They had a future. They knew that there was a time coming yet, and that the end of time was not imminent. At least it wasn't at that time. And he said this concerning the last days. In Acts chapter 2, the apostle Peter said, And it shall be in the last days, God says. Now remember, Joel chapter 2 is being quoted here. That I will pour forth my spirit on all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams, even on my bond slaves, both men and women. I will in those days pour forth of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. So it's clear, you know, when you're taking Isaiah chapter 2, and Joel 2, and Acts 2, and kind of align them together, it becomes clear that what's being talked about here is the beginning, the beginning of these last days. On the day of Pentecost was the beginning of the last days. But up until that time, it was not the last days. And he said it shall come past in the last days. You know, Peter identified those last days. I will pour forth of my spirit on all mankind. And of course, he's using that to explain the happenings on that day of Pentecost, and what was happening with the outpouring of the spirit on that day. But still, it was the beginning. It was the beginning of the last days. In Hebrews chapter 1, in verse 1, it says, God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets and many forces and many ways, in these last days, he has spoken to us and his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world. So again, we have the identity of the time, the beginning of the last days. And that began on the day of Pentecost. But even during that time, there was still a future, but it was the beginning of the last days. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, Apostle Paul, he talks about a rumor, a false one, and he's warning the church concerning some misdirections given about the return of Jesus. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, in verse 1, Paul writes, Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you. For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first. And the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. Just notice here that he says that the day of the Lord, the final day, and there were some among them that were saying the day is on us, it's here, it's come. But Paul is telling the church, no, it hasn't come. It hasn't come because some things have to happen first. First off, an apostasy. Apostasy must come first. And one of the things that my wife pointed out that, you know, something that I ought to mention is what is apostasy? An apostasy is a, for lack of a better description, it's a falling away. It's a leaving of the faith or a leaving of the pattern set, a pattern of worship set forth in the gospel. But Paul is telling the church that Jesus hasn't come yet, that there are certain things that are going to have to happen first, an apostasy that needs to come, but that hasn't come. He talks about this man of lawlessness. It hadn't been revealed when Paul was writing this. And he says that the end of time can't come until these things happen first. Number one, the apostasy comes. Number two, the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction is revealed who opposes them above every so-called god or object of worship so that he takes a seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as God. Paul is saying that these things must happen first. Who is this? A man of lawlessness, the son of destruction. I'm not going to spend time this afternoon identifying who that is. I got some ideas about who this is talking about. But what the apostle Paul is saying here is that he's saying the period of time when the Lord is going to come is not right now. And if there's anybody coming to you and telling them that the end is here, that Jesus' return is here, don't listen to them. Don't listen to them. There are certain things that haven't happened yet. But the fact is, as we know these things now, we are in the last days now. And we've been in the last days for about 2,000 years. Since that day of Pentecost, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Of course, that was the beginning of it. The point is that this is the last period of time. The apostasy, I contend, is something that's already happened. There was an apostasy. There was a falling away. Paul even said in 2 Thessalonians, in the 2 Thessalonian letter, that the apostasy was already at work at that time. In chapter 2 and verse 7. Over the time, over the centuries, there was a change. And, of course, you can see this in history through uninspired writing that there was a change to the organizational structure of the church. So early in the church, what started happening is people started to set aside the pattern of the church set forth in the Scriptures and change it to something else. They left the concept of a plurality of letters of elders. And instead of having a plurality of elders, what they started to do was, among them, they would appoint an elder. Or a bishop. It would be the bishop or the pastor. And there would be one over a particular congregation. And then over time, what would happen is they would appoint a bishop or a pastor over congregations in a certain city. And they would elevate this individual and create this hierarchy in the church that is not spelled out in the Scriptures. And, of course, all of the other elders and all the other bishops, they did away with those. And you got this apostasy, this falling away from the pattern of worship already underway. And, of course, by the time you get to the 7th century, you have one man that has exalted himself above the church. And they call him the papa or the pope. And they set him up as the vicar of Christ on earth. That is, the representative of Jesus Christ on earth. So the apostasy that Paul speaks of, any historian will tell you that over the centuries that there had been great changes that had happened in the hierarchy of the church as they moved away from the hierarchy that was set forth by the apostles in the 1st century. The point is that the Lord can come at any time now. It wasn't true when the church first started. There were some things that had to happen first. They still had a future. They still had a future assured. In the Old Testament, they still had a future that was definite. The last days hadn't even come in the Old Testament. Even when the last dispensation was first established, there must be some things that happened before the final day. But I can tell you that the apostasy has happened. The man of lawlessness or the man of sin has been revealed. And this last day, it can come at any time. And this is the message that we find in 2 Peter 3. In 2 Peter 3, starting at verse 8, it says, Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with the war, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. What does that mean? It's going to come when nobody expects it. Ever had your stuff robbed? Ever had anybody break into your house or break into your car? Did anybody leave a note for you saying that they were going to do those things? Did you expect it? Was it a surprise to you when you got up in the morning and you saw the glass sitting in the driveway? Like a thief. It's going to come at a time when no one expects. And that's the point of the second coming. It's going to be, the end of time is going to take place when people don't expect. The Apostle Paul had to address this in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. In verse 1 he says, Now as to the times and epics, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you, for you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. Just like what we were reading from 2 Peter chapter 3. It will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child and they will not escape. Just like a thief. While people are saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains. You have a lot of individuals that are looking for signs and some sort of signal that the end of time is coming, that the end of time is coming, that Jesus is going to come back. They'll look for things like strange weather patterns. They'll look for things like wars upon the earth. They'll look for things that are happening in the Middle East. They're looking toward unrest and disruption in the Middle East. They're looking for all sorts of things like earthquakes and natural disasters happening. These are going to be signals of Jesus' return. He's coming soon. Look at all these terrible things that are happening. It seems to me that when the passage says that while they are saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains. I'll tell you what, if you're looking for the signals on the return of Jesus, maybe instead of looking for wars and terrible weather and terrible things going on in the natural realm, and you're looking for all these, maybe instead look for times when things are going relatively well. Think times of general peace. Again, the point is it's going to be a time when people don't expect it, just like a thief. And we just don't know the future. We don't know the future. We can't even know what's going to go on an hour from now. But I think that we can, from Scripture, predict some things. There are certain things that we can come to know, some things that concerning the future, I think that we can say with a high degree of certainty. If the Lord grants us a hundred years, and that's a big if, I can say with a high degree of certainty that a hundred years from now, every one of us here in this room are going to be dead. There might be an exception. But for the most part, I think we can say with a high degree of certainty that we're going to be dead. You know, the Bible is very clear that man's life is but a brief duration. In Job chapter 14, verse 1, man who is born a woman is short-lived and full of turmoil. We read from James chapter 4. In James chapter 4, verse 14, you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You're just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. A vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away. I mentioned this a few weeks ago over at Morris Road. When I think of vapors that are here for a little while and then goes away, Wendy and I, we originally hail from San Jose in California. We were in the San Jose Valley. And in Santa Cruz Mountains, you can see in the morning all the morning fog just coming down the mountain, just creeping like fingers. It was just an amazing thing. But it seemed like about 9.30 in the morning, it all just goes away. All that fog and all that vapor just vanishes away. That's what we're like. We're just here for a little while and then we vanish away. And of course, when we're young, the perception is that we have a whole lot of time ahead of us. But when we get older, that perception begins to change, doesn't it? That perception has rapidly changed for me as I'm about to turn 50 here in a couple of days. I reflect on those things. I'm turning half a century. This means for me on average, now on average, I have about 26 years left in my life. 26 years. That means that I have completed 66% of my life already. That means I've got 9,490 days left on average. I've got 1,352 weekends. I've got 322 full moons left. Life's short. Life is short. Again, your perspective on things changes as you get older. And the older that I get, the longer that I've been, the longer that I've been. The longer that I've been, the longer that I've been on here on this earth, the more and more I realize the truism in that. Life is short. Hebrews 9, verse 27 says, And as much as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes the judgment. There's an appointment that all of us have. And we've got all kinds of appointments throughout our life. We've got appointments with the tax collector. We've got appointments with the doctor. We've got appointments with our kids' teachers. And some of them you don't have to go to. You don't have to make the appointments. Sometimes you might even show up late for your appointments. But there's one appointment that each of us are going to make. And we're going to make it right on time. That's the appointment that we have for all men to die once. And after that comes the judgment. All of us, we've all buried relatives, people that have been very close to us. And all of us, all these things can happen to every single one of us, suddenly, unexpectedly. But let me tell you, a hundred years from now, that's going to be a fact, probably for every single one of us here in this room. We're all going to be dead a hundred years from now, and we're going to have to face the judgment. And 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 24 says, For all flesh are like grass, and all of its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off. That is a fact. There are things that are true, not because they are written in the Bible. There are things that are written in the Bible because they're true. Another point that I want to make is, and we speculate, a hundred years from now, a hundred years from now, all of us are going to have a conscience to do this. A hundred years from now, it's not like we're all going to be asleep in the grave, not knowing what's going on. Now, I know that in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, the Apostle Paul is addressing those who are asleep in Christ. But it's just a gentle way of expressing those who have passed away, those who have died. But remember what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 6, We are always of good courage, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord. Looking at this, we can deduct something. That at death, something is going to be absent from the body. Something is going to leave the body and be at home with the Lord. And of course, this would be the spirit of man. The spirit of man that survives death. And at the death of the righteous, they go home to be with the Lord. And that's going to be somewhere where we're going to be able to enjoy a conscious existence with the Lord. Now, it may be the situation where many are not going to be at home with the Lord, but for those who are faithful, for those of the righteous, there will be a conscious existence 100 years from now. Another point I want us to think about is another 100 years, the church here, just like many other churches, can fall into apostasy and vanish. You know, even within the lifetime of the apostles, the apostle Paul could see something going on. He could see signs of lawlessness beginning to formulate, beginning to shape up. And he predicted that there was going to be trouble. In Acts chapter 20, the apostle Paul, he was talking to the Ephesian elders. In verse 30, he says, And from your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. That was the Ephesian elders. Where is the Ephesian church today? Where is the Ephesian church? I mean, we have a letter in our Bibles written to the church of Ephesus. Where is the church today? In Ephesus, even by the third century, the church that you read about in the Bible would have been hardly recognizable by us. So to say that in 100 years the church might fall into apostasy, this church may not exist 100 years from now. Maybe 10 years from now. Maybe 5 years from now. In 1 Timothy chapter 4, in verse 1, Paul writes to Timothy, but the Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will fall away from the faith. There's a falling away, that's an apostasy. They will fall away from the faith paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. This is a depressing thought, but something else I would like us to consider as we're speculating about 100 years, and of course this is going to be some encouragement for us, 100 years from now even though we may not be here on this planet 100 years from now our influences that we left here can still be felt. 100 years from now 100 years from now our great, great grandchildren should be alive. Next question, how many people know their great, great grandparents? You know the names of your great, great... Now, most people might know the names of their great grandparents, but concerning our great, great grandparents even though we may or may not know the names of these people they may still have an influence on our lives whether good or bad. What sort of influence are we going to leave? Have you ever known somebody or maybe it's a family in particular that they seem to have lots of run-ins with the law. What's a family? Look at the family's history, and their great grandparents might have been bootleggers from the 1930s. Who knows? You might have a whole family legacy of criminals or people being in trouble with the law, or you may not. The legacy might be different. Your great, great grandparents might have been faithful Christians and they raised children who were faithful Christians, and those children raised faithful Christians, and so on and so forth. We may not be able to influence our great, great grandchildren directly, but we can influence our children. We can influence our children, and we can do this by doing what the Lord instructs us as parents to our children, and as grandparents to our children. As Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 6, these words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons, and shall talk of them when you sit down in your house, when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as sprinkles on your forehead. Ephesians 6, 4 says, Fathers, don't provoke the children's anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Your children today might carry on the influences that you give to them today to their children, and their children's children. So 100 years from now, your influences can still be felt. It's not just for our children. Our lives can influence the world. In Matthew chapter 5, verse 14, says, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand. And it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. We're called by the Scriptures, called by the Gospel to be a positive influence on people. You are the light of the world. I mentioned some time ago, what sort of light are you then? Are you a candlelight? Are you a candlelight that shakes and flickers when any sort of wind of disruption comes about in your life? Or are you a light? Are you like a kerosene lamp? Is that what your light is like? Those kerosene camping lamps that you gotta pump the little stick to get it going, to get it shining brighter? Are you like that kerosene lamp that your light only shines bright if some of the brethren are there to constantly pump you up? Or is your light just like an electric light bulb? Being connected to that steady flow of energy? Being connected to the power grid of Jesus Christ, so to speak, so that your light is shining bright and shining steady. What kind of light are you? But nevertheless we are to be a light, a light of the world. No one puts the light or lights a lamp and puts it under a basket but on the lampstand. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. While you're here on this earth, be a positive influence on people. A hundred years from now, there are certain things that we cannot predict. We can't even predict 20 minutes from now. Reality of it. But a hundred years from now, we can all be certain that we aren't going to be here. We're going to be dead. So what does that mean? Prepare now. Prepare now while you're here. A hundred years from now, the church might fall into apostasy. So what do we need to make sure that we're doing? Sticking to the Word. Sticking to the things that the Lord has said. Following only the things that the Lord has revealed. And again, a hundred years from now, even though we might be dead, we're gone, our influence, the things that we've done here on this earth while we were still alive, can be felt. I want you to think about the impact that every single one of us as individuals can have on future generations. Please not think that everything that we do, how we operate, we operate in a bubble. We are going to have an influence on people, whether good or bad. Not neutral. Think about that. And prepare for it. Because a hundred years from now, we're going to be gone. Are you ready? Are you ready for that day when we're going to be gone? Have you followed the Bible prescribed way for preparation of that time? Let's entrust in Jesus and obey Him. Obey Him. And again, if you find yourself in a position where you've failed in your obedience, you've failed in your faithfulness, if you need help and prayers from the congregation, would you let us know how we can help?