Why is it Important to Think About the Afterlife Part 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Why is it Important to Think About the Afterlife Part 1. He will be reading out of Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11-14.

If we imagine that there is no heaven or hell and that all we have is just living for today, then we have also imagined a universe that is not only out of kilter but a universe where the scales of justice are never bound. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from the Open Door Church here in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and we are broadcasting our radio ministry entitled Hope Worth Having and today we’re gonna be in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3. We’re starting a brand new series, we’re talking about eternity, we’re talking about heaven, we’re talking about hell and questions that people have about eternity. So the first question that we want to tackle for these next few weeks is why is it important to think about the afterlife? So I want you to get your Bible and join me as we study together.

Now if you have your Bible this morning I want you to join me in the book of Ecclesiastes. The book of Ecclesiastes. You say, Pastor, where is the book of Ecclesiastes? Well let’s start in the Old Testament.

We have in our Bible the Old and the New Testament and then let’s find the book of Psalms. When we find the book of Psalms we’re starting to make some progress and so when you go to the Psalms you go to Proverbs and then you bump into Ecclesiastes. Always say excuse me and then get to chapter 3 and that’s where we’re going to be spending some of our time this morning.

As you know we finished up the book of Acts last week and what a journey that was through the book of Acts and we enjoyed every minute of it and it was kind of a little anticlimactic when we got to chapter 28 because we’re really not told what happened to the Apostle. We know through history what happened but we’re not told of any details. But anyways I had promised you that I would preach a sermon series after the book of Acts not knowing when we would ever get to the book of Acts but we finally made it.

I told you Church one time I had an evangelist here and he asked me what some of my goals were and I told him that my goal would be to preach through the entire book every book in the Bible and he said well what book are you on and how many have you done and I told him he said you’re not gonna make it and I said thanks but he said you spend too much time in the books I mean as far as I break them down too much and so we did get through the book of Acts so we’re making progress and that is the I was adding it up the other day the 18th book in the Bible that I preached through we still got a lot to tackle and of course you know there’s 66 books and you know I am getting older Church you know that I may have to find out what is out there if there’s any fountain of youth or not but if there isn’t then we’re gonna have to somehow maybe make it till we’re a hundred and twenty you know Moses lived to be a hundred and twenty did you guys know that and so that may be what I have to do is preach to you until I’m a hundred and twenty could you guys listen to that long that’d be rough wouldn’t it now I told you I would begin a series entitled five questions about heaven and five questions about hell to lay the table if you will or to kind of prepare the way for that series I want to share with you today why is it important to think about the afterlife why is it important that we should even think about heaven or think about hell in his popular song imagine John Lennon asked us to imagine a universe in which there is no heaven nor any hell below us in Lennon’s ideal world people would forget about living for some fictitious pie-in-the-sky afterlife but instead focus only on the real world living for today let’s think about that for a second suppose we only had a physical world a world in which all that existed was what we see and what we feel and what we know imagine if there is no heaven above and there is no hell beneath there is no spiritual realm populated by demons angels or God the universe arose from clumps of stardust banging together eons ago through random unguided processes these same processes somehow brought forth human beings evolving us into the highly complex people that we are today eventually we see the world from that mindset or that worldview as a universe that will wind down it’ll burn itself out passing away with a bang or perhaps it’ll only pass away with a whimper but long before that happens you and I will just simply live we will live in time we will die and we will slip into oblivion without even leaving a trace if this describes our ultimate destiny does such a view affect our aspirations does it impact our behavior today does it change the way that we live our lives conversely let us consider the worldview that we are more than just some biological machine that we are actually eternal creatures with a soul a spirit created with a body that is made in the likeness of a personal loving and just God with that results in a different way of living our lives would it change the way we see the world and how we would respond to all that is taking place in our world the author of the book of Ecclesiastes he addresses these very issues and he brings to our attention in chapter 3 the understanding of not only that God is sovereign that he’s in charge and that he is in control but the things that we should contemplate not only in the framework of now our time but beyond we begin in verse 1 and the scripture says to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven under the inspiration of the Spirit of God the author begins to then describe for us those seasons and those times in a poetic presentation he helps us to see the highs and the lows of life the triumphant and the tragic of life and then we come down to the main part of our text this morning in verse 11 and the Bible says and concludes that he has made everything beautiful in its time it’s hard to digest that verse because if you found yourself more on the tragic side than the triumphant side of time it’s hard to conclude he has made everything beautiful in its time the author is speaking from the point of a sovereign God who is in charge of all time he is in charge of all of our circumstances and all that we encounter and deal with day to day in life and he goes on to say in verse 11 also he has put eternity in their hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor it is the gift of God verse 14 and here is the crux of the matter that we eventually want to get to in our response to God I know that whatever God does it shall be forever nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it God does it that men should fear or revere or worship before yeah the Bible teaches us in this text that God has put eternity in our hearts the Bible reminds us that we have a sense of the past and we have a sense of the future it is in our minds it is in our spirit it is in our soul it is in our very heart we have eternity built within us and that makes us unique as humans unlike animals who will live only for the present you and I have the ability to study the past we cannot only study the past but we can contemplate the future we can think about what life is what it has been what it will be we can consider the values the morals of our choices and even the choices of society where God has given to all humans a self consciousness that enables us to transcend the present and reflect upon the past and to think about the future and so this morning I’d like to have us consider this question why is it important to reflect or to think about the afterlife why is it important I submit unto you three things this morning first is that our belief in the afterlife causes a hunger for justice in our hearts you see we know that there is evil in this world and the Bible teaches us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God when we talk about the sinfulness of people we’re not just simply saying that yes we’re all sinners but we’re also understanding that the presence of sin and the presence of evil is even in this world we know that we live in a world there is a battle of good and evil and we see this all the time as we look on our social feed as we look and watch the news we are reminded that there is evil in this world the Bible teaches us that we are sinners it doesn’t mean that as a sinner I live out the full capacity of my selfishness or my sinfulness but it does teach us that the ability and some have lived out to the full capacity of their sinfulness and that’s why we conclude that some of the evil that is in this world is heinous it’s almost unspeakable it’s horrible it’s hard for us to even contemplate what has taken place on October 7th you and I heard the breaking news that Hamas had invaded Israel and began to kill and murder people and rape the women and we learned that they took 40 children preschool children some of them infants and cut their heads off even while they were living how heinous was their crime and sin and evil we learned through news reporting that they took one little infant baby and put it in an oven and made the parents watch the baby be baked. Death. It’s hard it sometimes becomes so much for me I have to turn it all off because I’m weary I’m tapped out with so much of the evil that’s in this world that it’s hard for me to process it all but from our hearts there is no doubt that whether we are believers or not believers that we wonder where is justice for the victims where is justice for the victims of human trafficking and those who are oppressed we could all tell stories and we could all talk about these particular horrifying things and perhaps even some could give testimony this morning of some of the horrific things that they have endured in relating to abuse and neglect the question is where is the justice let’s be honest this morning if we imagine that there is no heaven or hell and that all we have is just living for today then we have also imagined a universe that is not only out of kilter but a universe where the scales of justice are never balanced they’re never balanced but if we believe that we are eternal creatures and God has put eternity in our hearts that we are the image of an eternal God and we are endowed with a clear sense of what is right and wrong and that God has given us this moral compass and it is either trained by the Word of God and enhanced and enrooted by the Word of God or it is trained and enhanced by society or our own sinful nature but we understand that in every person there is a sense of justice and there is a sense of things that are right and things that are wrong and so we begin to contemplate a world without heaven a world without hell a world without an afterlife and how would there ever be justice because I’m here to tell you that everything in this world is not always dealt with appropriately is it there are times we have to say Lord I give this to you maybe you have been personally wrong and it just seems like it should have been handled differently it seems like there should have been other things done to bring about the justice to right the wrong but it was never done and here you are left to work through that emotionally and to work through that spiritually and to somehow make sure that your heart doesn’t become bitter and that you don’t let the root of bitterness to begin to dig deep into your spirit and soul and then you watch what’s going on in this world are we in a crazy world or what? Crazy times church but I want you to know something I want you to be reminded of something I want you to jump down to verse 17 of Ephesians chapter 3 the author writes under the inspiration of God chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 17 I said in my heart God shall judge the righteous and the wicked for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work you see friends there is a time there is a season God has these times and though everything in this world is not always dealt with as it should be I promise you that one day Jesus Christ is going to right every wrong in this world and if you yes go ahead and clap amen if you spend your life trying to right every wrong you’re gonna be like the dog chasing its tail and you’re gonna become weary you’re gonna become overwhelmed and there comes a point that you understand that you are like what the scripture says a person who comprehends that God is working and though as we learn back in verse 11 he has put eternity in our hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end and here’s what he’s saying not that you and I can’t know what God is doing but that we don’t know the full scale or scope of all that God is doing you don’t know how God is working all the time and what you might think is being left undone and God is not rightly dealing with it we are reminded that God is always at work and he’s not only always working in us and he is always working around us and through us that God is always dealing with what is before us as believers and we don’t have to be bitter and we don’t have to be angry yes there’s a sense of justice and if it doesn’t happen in this time span I promise you that we will stand before God and everyone will get an account of their life and the scriptures teach us in Romans chapter 2 verse 5 and 6 but because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will repay each person according to his what church deeds now I often get asked the question are there degrees in hell yes you see every person will be judged according to their deeds and Jesus said there’s a greater condemnation for those who hurt these little ones see I’m just telling you you start messing with the children and God is going to put the smackdown on you and it may not always happen in the time that I want it to happen and it may not always happen in the way that I want it to happen but I promise you in the scope of all eternity God is going to make every person have to deal and give an account and repay for the deeds that they have done and so church remember go back to chapter 3 verse 1 to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven a time to be born a time to die a time to plant a time to pluck what is planted a time to kill a time to heal a time to break down and a time to build up now hear me there is a judgment time in God’s sovereign plan no one will escape what is done in secret will be proclaimed the scripture says on the housetop and everybody will give an account God will judge the wicked but he will also reward the righteous we rejoice in that there is a time for everything and we sometimes say Lord we give that matter to you and sometimes we wonder is what am I doing doesn’t have any impact my friends it does and there are even if you will I like to put it like this if you will degrees in heaven in that some will be rewarded more than others perhaps I have often thought that maybe God out of great compassion and sympathy for me that he would reward me with the responsibility of overseeing all the golf courses in the new millennium because I am the worst golfer at the open-door church that not even my own sons would allow their own father win a particular golf game that there are members in this church who have made every effort to make sure they humiliate me on the golf course and not even give their pastor that 20-foot putt see I have the Sanders rules and there’s a rule that if the club can reach the ball from the hole then it’s a gimme we live by grace but as you are serving Jesus Christ and you consider that God is just that he is not only just to deal with the wicked and the heinous crimes that have gone unpunished but he is also a God who is rewarding and he is blessing and he is giving grace to those who love him and that’s why we hunger for justice we hunger for it to be dealt with the prophet Nahum gave us a promise and Nahum 1 verse 3 and he said the Lord is slow to anger and great in power and he will not at all acquit the wicked the Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet I don’t want you to be discouraged Church I don’t want you to throw in the towel I want you to do as the scripture says I want you to see it there in verse 12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives what can I rejoice in I can rejoice that he has made everything beautiful in its time I can rejoice that verse 1 to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven I can rejoice in these things and what should it motivate me to do to do good in their lives you see friends God will right every wrong now why should we think about the afterlife number two is that our belief in the afterlife motivates us to live sacrificially for others so we must contemplate this question why sacrifice for the needs of others if in the end nothing we do will make a difference if we are just the result of evolution and we are just going to end with a whimper or perhaps even a bang if we’re just going to be done then why would we ever sacrifice why not eat drink and be merry and live for self right are we made for something more did God create us for a higher purpose if there is no afterlife of heaven and hell after you die then your life does not have meaning a worldview that regards others as made in the image of a good just loving God are going to see the world totally different they’re going to see eternal value not only in ministering and serving humanity but bringing glory to God and it is that very motivation that spurs us to practical application or action in eliminating people’s misery what we do to help others has no expiration date because go back to our text he says in verse 11 he has put eternity in our hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end and I know that God that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives and then look at verse 14 I know that whatever God does it shall be what forever you think listening to that hurting heart is meaningless but it’s not you think helping people who are struggling has no impact but it does you think giving a gift to someone who’s without doesn’t really make an impact but it is having a ripple effect on people’s spiritual lives I’m reminded that a few weeks ago my class went down to the rescue mission as many of you have and I was when we get down there we do we feed them and then we do a chapel program for them and I like to go amongst the people and talk to them and interact with them and kind of hear their story and ask them questions and one guy said to me he said where are you from I said the Opendoor Church he said the Opendoor Church the Opendoor Church I got saved at the Opendoor Church I said you did he said yeah he said I was a young man I was bussed in I got saved at the Opendoor Church how would God bring it full circle in the midst of his tough time the Opendoor Church would be there to minister to him we got to encourage him and give him some next steps on what he should be doing to get his life aligned with Jesus Christ again and he committed in his heart that evening that he would begin to reaffirm his love for God and his commitment to follow Jesus Christ that’s what I’m trying to say to you is that because eternity matters and because there is an afterlife we are motivated to live our lives sacrificially for others because we don’t always see the ripple effect of what God is doing I think about the history of America and one thing stands out in the history of America that it is through the work the sacrificial work of Christians who lived in light of eternity that they have done more to alleviate the plight of the downtrodden and the suffering than any other faith or religion or philosophy has ever done has been the Christians who’ve always been on the forefront well the most important thing about your life is where you will spend eternity for us we must understand that we either are going to spend eternity with Christ in heaven or separated from Christ in hell and I know that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance that you would spend eternity with Jesus Christ and so you need to think about afterlife and if you have questions about the afterlife and you want to know more about it reach out to us on our website hopeworthhaving.com hopeworthhaving.com go to the contact button up in the right corner and send us a message we’d love to talk to you and interact with you about the afterlife and more than anything we want to see you to become a born-again believer and spend eternity with Jesus this is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope