FUTURE – POSITIVE?
or NEGATIVE?
- What do we want out of life?
- The Average person?
Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.
7:7 O remember that my life [is] wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
7:8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no [more]: thine eyes [are] upon me, and I [am] not.
7:9 [As] the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no [more].
7:10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
Psalms 10:3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, [whom] the LORD abhorreth.
10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.
10:6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for [I shall] never [be] in adversity.
10:7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue [is] mischief and vanity.
39:4 LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it [is; that] I may know how frail I [am].
39:5 Behold, thou hast made my days [as] an handbreadth; and mine age [is] as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state [is] altogether vanity. Selah.
Proverbs 13:11 Wealth [gotten] by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also [is] vanity.
2:2 I said of laughter, [It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
2:3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what [was] that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.
Ecclesiastes 2:22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
2:23 For all his days [are] sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
2:24 [There is] nothing better for a man, [than] that he should eat and drink, and [that] he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it [was] from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all [is] vanity.
3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this [is] also vanity.
Ecclesiastes 6:12 For who knoweth what [is] good for man in [this] life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any [thing] that is done under the sun.
- The Seekers after God!?
Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment.
11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth [are] vanity.
Ecclesiastes 12:11 The words of the wise [are] as goads, and as nails fastened [by] the masters of assemblies, [which] are given from one shepherd.
12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books [there is] no end; and much study [is] a weariness of the flesh.
12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.
12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.
Isaiah 40:17 All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
40:18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
40:19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
40:20 He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, [that] shall not be moved.
40:21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
40:22 [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
40:23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Isaiah 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.
Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, [in whom] my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, [and] them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
42:8 I [am] the LORD: that [is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
- The One who has ‘Tasted and seen’ ‘God’s perspective and principles?
Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD [is] good: blessed [is] the man [that] trusteth in him.
Psalms 24:1 A Psalm of David. The earth [is] the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
24:5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
- Does This life ‘Really’ satisfy the Cravings of our ‘Soul’ (Innermost being)?
Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
- If we are realistic what do we see all around us?
Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
- Is life on this planet getting better generally? Or worse?
- (Even So-called ‘Preachers of Righteousness’)
2 Peter 2:17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2:18 For when they speak great swelling [words] of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, [through much] wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
24:8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
- What sorts of people appear to be the happiest?
- Money hungry?
Psalms 10:3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, [whom] the LORD abhorreth.
10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.
Isaiah 57:20 But the wicked [are] like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
57:21 [There is] no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
- Those Content with Just Enough?
Proverbs 30:7 Two [things] have I required of thee; deny me [them] not before I die:
30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
1 Timothy 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
6:7 For we brought nothing into [this] world, [and it is] certain we can carry nothing out.
6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
- The Richest?
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this [is] also vanity.
- The Poorest?
Deuteronomy 15:11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
- Or those who concentrate on ‘Serving Others’?
Job10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
10:18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
Acts 20:33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
20:35 I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
- What’s the good of ‘Serving Others’ when you are not willing to ‘Serve your Creator’?
- Â ie. What good will it do you in the Short term?
Ecclesiastes 2:21 For there is a man whose labour [is] in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it [for] his portion. This also [is] vanity and a great evil.
2:22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
- Â The Long term?
2:15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also [is] vanity.
2:16 For [there is] no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now [is] in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise [man]? as the fool.
Psalms 53:1 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, [A Psalm] of David. The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God.
Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do [this], saith the LORD of hosts
.
- What does total, complete, un-compromising surrender to our Redeemer/Creator do for us ‘Now’?
Mark 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions;
- What about in the ‘Long run’?
Mark 10:30 …and in the world to come eternal life.
- What type of person or individual would you ‘really’ like to be?
Malachi 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, [they that] tempt God are even delivered.
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name [is] Holy; I dwell in the high and holy [place], with him also [that is] of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Exodus 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth [generation].
- God can change you, re-create you, in His Image and yet maintain your Unique-ness or Individuality as He has purposed for all mankind right from the Beginning!
Hebrews 8:10 For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
1 Corinthians 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known
.
- Not only our Mind and Character, but also our Body!
Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected [the same] in hope,
8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
8:23 And not only [they], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body.
8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for [it].
- God’s Word is Straightforward and Clear enough if we read it slowly and carefully!
- I have accepted it in ‘My life’, and I rejoice in His ‘Forever Companionship’ as He Re-creates Me!
- I invite you to do the ‘same’!
AMEN
