[Darris McNeely] On February 20th, 1962, an American astronaut, John Glenn, became the first American to orbit the Earth. He went around Earth three times in his Mercury spacecraft called Friendship 7. He was the first American, not the first human. The Russians had done it first. And because we kind of thought we might be losing our edge at that point, when John Glenn made that successful flight, it was an electrifying event in the United States. It actually galvanized and encouraged the entire nation. I remember watching it. I had a little black-and-white television in my room at home and I remember getting up every morning because there were several delays before he finally launched off. And I remember seeing it and thinking, "Wow, what an event."

But instantly, John Glenn became a hero and an American icon. And then he later became a United States senator from, guess what? Ohio. John Glenn was actually born up here in New Bedford, Ohio. If you're ever running across Interstate 70 on your way to Wheeling, West Virginia, or those parts, you'll see New Bedford off to the left and one of these quaint little Ohio towns nestled up just below the interstate there. I pulled off one time to kind of just drive through the streets to see John Glenn's hometown, and he was an amazing individual.

In 1977, 15 years later, a movie called Star Wars was released. And as we know, Star Wars became an instant hit around the world. It spawned a new movie franchise, still going today. One of the characters in the Star Wars trilogy was named Princess Leia. Now, it was later revealed, now spoiler alert here, that she was the sister of Luke Skywalker, just in case you didn't know by now. But of course, that's still with us to this day. Now, last month, John Glenn died at age 95. I had kind of forgotten about him, as we do, I guess. But when I heard the news that he died in early December, last month, it just brought back the memories that I talked to you about, of what he meant to America and what he became.

I actually saw John Glenn one time. He and Robert F. Kennedy came to my small Missouri hometown when Robert Kennedy was campaigning for president in 1968. And John Glenn accompanied Bobby Kennedy to my hometown. I went down the street to watch, hear the speech, and I couldn't believe we had these two individuals from American history and just a few blocks from my hometown, and saw both of them at that time. So, when he died here a few weeks ago, for me, it was very, very nostalgic. Now, as we also know, Princess Leia died last month as well. At the very end of December, the last week of the year, unfortunately, Carrie Fisher, she also died.

Now, one of these individuals was a real Skywalker and the other was a fictional one. Their death is no less tragic for who they were. They were both human beings and they were both beloved. Carrie Fisher was the daughter of Debbie Reynolds who also died, unfortunately, just a couple of days later, made it a rather poignant week in American culture there. And my wife thinks that she was actually named after Debbie Reynolds because her mother really liked watching Debbie Reynolds in the movies. But at any rate, when both of those individuals died in December, there was a great deal of reflection upon that. I noticed that when Carrie Fisher died, since her fictional character was so well known and so many had been attached to it, that it hit many younger people quite hard.

And I was watching kind of some of the Facebook posts about it. And I smiled when I saw the reminiscences and how people reacted to the death of Carrie Fisher, because they so identified with her heroic role as Princess Leia, and even appearing last year in the revival of the Star Wars movies. John Glenn, almost forgot, as I said. In fact, when I put his picture up on my weekly world news and prophecy quiz for the students this year, quite a few did not know who John Glenn was because he's been gone so long from the stage. So, it was rather interesting and, quite frankly, it's a generational matter there as life goes on.

2016 was an interesting year. I was reading an article about the number of people who did die. You know, every year, at the end of the year they always do a retrospective, who died during the year and reflections upon the year. And 2016 was bad in many years. It certainly was not the worst year on record. There have been a lot worst years in many ways, but there were a number of major news events that took place. But if you look at the people who died, the article I was reading was pointing out something that I think is very interesting to note. The country singer, Merle Haggard died last year.

Writer, Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird, still in print and still a significant influence in literature. For those who are sports enthusiasts, there were three iconic figures that died. Muhammad Ali, at one time the most recognizable man in the entire world. Muhammad Ali could have walked down any village in any remote part of Africa and they would have flocked around him, and known who he was and idolized him. He transcended so much. Arnold Palmer, a legendary golfer. For those from Canada, Gordie Howe, a hockey player. Other actors, many of which again were part of, let's say, my particular period of time. Zsa Zsa Gabor died. And when she died I thought, "I didn't even know she was still alive." But she was one of those interesting characters, people that are just famous for being famous, is about all that you could say for that.

But the article that I was reading made an interesting point. It said that for the many who passed away, for baby boomers, it contributed to a sense of loss. Baby boomers are us old guys, born after World War II up to a certain period of time, roughly are 60s and above, and you know, we'll be getting into the generational distinctions there. But the article said this, "Baby boomers decided that they were never going to get old, never going to get sick and certainly never going to die," and that is so true. Some of you baby boomers are nodding your heads in agreement here with me here. That was the persona of the '60s, and it said that, the article goes on, "This year, so many people died, it's made it difficult to keep that fantasy going." And it's true. That's why, in a sense, it hit me the way it did and hit so many other people the way that it did.

But you know, thinking that you're going to live forever, that you're never going to die, you're never going to get sick, and never going to get old is not just something that us baby boomers have thought about. Every generation has thought that, whether you're a Gen X or a Millennial, in-between or whatever, all the latest ones we come up with to distinguish, everybody thinks that. That they will not get old, they will not get sick and they will not die. It is the one truth that, frankly, unites us all. Everyone of us in this room, everyone listening to this, it is the one truth.

This idea that we're never going to die, that is a shared calling that we share in so many different ways. And we share it in a way that transcends even the reality of the physical life because of the vision that God has given to us of His Kingdom, and the type of people that we are to be together as we hold that eternal truth of God's Kingdom. We have a shared vision, and no matter what our age, all of us have something placed within us that makes us want to think beyond where we are right now. Turn, if you will, over to Ecclesiastes 3, and let's notice the statement here that Solomon writes about. Ecclesiastes 3 and let's begin in verse 9.

“What profit has the worker from that which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time.” And indeed God has. The entire creation with all of its intricacies is beautiful. “Also He has put eternity in their hearts,” God has put eternity in our hearts. This desire to live forever, this desire to transcend time. This desire that we might have that we're going to experience everything, not get sick, not get old, is something that is within us here by God. “Except that no one can find out what the work of that God is from the 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.” A piece of advice that he repeats quite often in this book, as he weaves in and out of the particular theme that he has. But God has set eternity in our heart. And we see from this verse that what God has done is really hardwired into mankind, something that no other part of the creation has. It is in our being. It's a spiritual dimension that creates an awareness of the self, of other people, of time, and of something beyond. By virtue of being human created in the image of God, that is what God has put within us.

And this is the beauty of life. This is the beauty of life, that we are self-aware. We know who we are. We know that we can think and reason, and we can build and create. And we can look to the heavens and we can ask the question that David asked, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" And again, if in our exuberance and perhaps lack of wisdom, we think we may live forever, we'll never get old, well, time has a way of balancing all of that out. It's the beauty of life and it is also a terror of life, because we wake up some mornings and we realize we are aware. And you get to certain milestones and you realize you can't do this the same way or you have to think a little bit differently, and you have to accept certain realities as well. But it's a delicate and exquisite aspect of the nature of human life that we have.

Now, there are two biblical scriptures that do really set within our minds the reality of this world, this existence, and the reality of death. We know them well. In Hebrews 9:27, Paul writes that, "It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment." It's a statement of truth that it is our appointment, it will happen. But there is a judgment, there is a resurrection. The second scripture is in 1 Corinthians 15:26, when, in the resurrection chapter, Paul makes the statement regarding death, that “The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” Those are two comforting, wise, encouraging and even realistic truths about life and about death that we must always keep in mind.

The truth about death in reality, brethren, is our salvation. It is our hope. The truth about death is our salvation because, once we understand what death is and we accept it as part of being a human being, then we can get on with living. Then we can get on with living and experiencing all that there is to know and to have about this beautiful gift that God has given to us of life created in His image. That's the beauty of the truth. And when we come to understand what these two verses have told us, and the earlier we understand them the deeper they are ingrained within us, then it can help us to get on with living and we don't have to worry, we don't have to fear. Oh, we'll be shocked and, yes, we'll be saddened but we also can live our lives with meaning and with purpose, which is what God wants us to do. We do have a purpose beyond our physical existence.

In Ephesians 1, Ephesians the first chapter. A whole chapter that really shows God's purpose and plan through Christ. But looking at verse 13, Ephesians 1:13, Paul writes, "In Him," meaning God, "you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation…" Again, the truth about death is our salvation and the truth about life is our salvation. As we understand the fullness and the completeness of the gospel, that leads us to salvation and “…whom you also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

There's so many scriptures that teach us about the purpose that God is bringing to pass, the glory of salvation, the glory of eternity that He has placed within our hearts and minds. And from time to time, it's good for us to pause and to think about this matter of eternity. Not that we are going to know every aspect of it and every detail, but through the scriptures God has given us glimpses of eternal life or eternity, if you want to look at it, just the idea of eternity.

I remember one time as a kid thinking, when I was new into the church, following my mother to services and hearing about the Kingdom of God, and hearing about eternal life and living forever, as a 13, 14-year-old trying to wrap my mind around, "What in the world does that mean?" And I remember trying to think about eternity one time, and I could only think about it in concrete physical terms. And I kept thinking kind of like Groundhog Day, doing the same thing over, and over and over again, or the same scene, neighborhood, people or whatever. And I kept thinking that was going to stretch out forever, and I remember kind of getting starled and thinking, "Oh, that was scary." And I remember I stopped trying to think about eternity. And yet, God gives us glimpses of eternity.

The one glimpse that is fascinating to look at is back in Revelation 4. The apostle John was invited to have a glimpse of eternity. Revelation 4, along with chapter 5 in Revelation, you could look at this as a glimpse into eternity. Verse 1 of chapter 4, John says, "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking to me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.' And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne." He was invited to get a glimpse of the throne of God, the scene of God, and the angels, and the activity and the power that is at the throne of God.

Now, he was not the first human to get this invitation. We can go back to Isaiah and Ezekiel, who both had visions that are rather profound. Daniel had one in chapter 7 of Daniel. But this one here stands on its own. And as you read through it, there's one matter that kind of strikes out or stands out for me. As he sees the throne and the One sat on the throne, he goes on for a few verses here we'll look at, and he said, "He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald." These are the terms by which John is trying to write down the description of eternity.

“Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and… twenty-four elders… clothed in white robes with crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne” in verse 5 “proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God… and there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in the front and in the back.”

And so, it goes on, and it goes down to verse 9. “Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and casts their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘You are worthy, O, Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.’" As I was reading through this, the one thing this time kind of leapt out and struck me about this glimpse of the throne of God and eternity was light. Light, a rainbow and lightnings, and lamps of fire. God's throne, eternity in one sense could be said it's all about light, and it's there.

And the one thing that I think we can understand about eternity and the presence of God, the glory of God, and what these scenes do show us with many other things that we can bring into it is that, with God's presence, God's throne is always an eternal present. Eternity is not like our time-bound, spatially-bound time and existence that we have today. It's always now, it's always present. And I know that's vague and it's incomplete to try to wrap us around, but there are things about that, I think, that if you can begin to understand that this idea, the eternal present. And there's always now in the reality of the presence of God in that level of eternity and the glory that the Father and the Son share, and the angelic beings that all there.

It is, when you begin to think of the script, the throne of God and eternity like that, then when you see scriptures in Revelation and in other places, and some things there might not seem to square with what we seem to understand about things in our time and space continuum, recognize that God is describing things, and sometimes, through John here in Revelation, that cannot be fully understood by time and space, by the now in which we live. And that, when you do that, I think it helps, it keeps you from making certain leaps about certain teachings. Sometimes, we want to get into and try to describe certain events of God's purpose and plan, and we try to describe or understand them in the limitations of the physical. And keep that in mind because it could help you take a step back sometimes from ideas or teachings that will crop up in the church, that tend to distort a bit of the truths that we do have, and I think give an incomplete picture of what God really is teaching us about events either at the beginning of the Millennium or the eternity that is there.

This is not a sermon, necessarily, just about eternity. I started talking about an astronaut and a Skywalker, and our reaction to it. But it helps us to think about those matters as we focus upon God and help us to appreciate how we need to live now. There are things that we do need to understand about this life and how we live it, and our calling, and the truths of salvation that open up to us the destiny that God has called us to, and the understanding of God and how to live godly, righteous, successful lives right now. And all of us, young or old, Millennial or Boomers, Gen X, or Space X, or Car X or whatever, all of us need to get certain things right. What I call the three pillars of life. And we need to get it right now, in order to be successful, and to use the gift of life that God has given to us.

Those three pillars are these: Get God right, get your identity right, and get your stuff right. Those are three things we all need to get right. Let's look at them. First of all, let's talk about getting God right. For many of us, youth is the time to prove God in every way, to prove that God exists, to prove that He is, to prove that His word is His revealed revelation to us. To know and to come to understand what God is doing, and all the dimensions and the understanding about God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and God that we possibly can. Youth is the time to do it. Get it at that foundational part of life and so many other things fall into place. It's the time to prove God to yourself beyond doubt because it's the time when so many other ideas will crowd in from professors, from schools, from culture, that rip and shred our faith and our belief in God.

I used to marvel at our students when I lived in Indiana. We were only about an hour from Indiana University, the main campus at Bloomington. And time after time, I would see students go to Indiana University in Bloomington believing, good church kid having been brought up in the church, and then see their faith slip away. See their faith slip away. And it was amazing how college can do that. And it was not just IU, it's any major university today and, increasingly, even, our high schools and lower grades as well, and a culture that seems to want to shred that. But this is the time to lay the foundation that builds on the scriptural explanation of truth, about the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent to open for us the way to eternity.

John 17:3, to me, is a personal benchmark scripture about God and Christ. John 17:3, where Christ on this long prayer that He made before His arrest, on the night of His arrest and suffering before His crucifixion, prays to His Father. And in verse 3, He says, "This is eternal life…" So, you’re going to learn what a definition of eternal life is if you look at from that one point of view. And it is “that you may know… they may know You, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” “This is eternal life that they may know You,” the one true God, “the only true God in Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

To me, that's a profound scripture to continually study, to think about, to kind of go back to and use as a foundational verse about God and about Jesus Christ. And you know, in the context of this prayer, there's a lot to unpack regarding the glory of God and God's purpose but this, to me, is a verse. And if there's one verse that I would have to pick to kind of focus on in life, I might generally pick this verse right here, John 17:3, in order to plumb the depths of what it is speaking about. To me, it is a peek hole into eternity. It is a peek hole into our future and the hope that we have. As Christ uttered this, we could spend the rest of a lifetime plumbing the depths of what Jesus has said here. Get God right, get God and understand God.

You know, true science today, and there's some good science out there, and cosmology, the study of the universe and its origins, has opened understanding about the nature of the universe, the unfolding world, the universe that we can see and the ideas about it and the knowledge that is out there. It is deep, it's profound. And when it's written up by someone in a lay understandable language, it can deepen our faith. It doesn't and it will not destroy our faith. I'm talking about true science and a cosmology that is rooted in a true understanding of wanting to observe and to understand the origins of the universe. And I think a young person today in the church should read a level of that to understand what science has understood about the origin of the universe. Because what I have read affirms the book of Genesis, it affirms it. It affirms the creation, the Creator. It affirms God and has opened up an understanding. And I think even many of us who are adults and long-time members should expand our understanding in certain areas with some responsible study and reading that can help us in this way.

And quite frankly, as I have in recent years been challenged and done it my own self, I have found the value of it because it helps me to focus upon a scripture like this, John 17:3, and many other scriptures that speak to the truth about God and His Son, Jesus Christ. And it helps to avoid the insanity of ideas that continue to plague the church one way or the other about what is the name of God, or whether or not God can accurately deliver to His Church the knowledge and understanding of what is holy time and when is holy time? And keep one from going off into off-balanced and doctrinally wrong ideas about God, the Bible and Christianity. But we have to put our mind on God and the bigness of God, so get God right.

Secondly, get your identity right. Get your identity right, who you are. There's two aspects of this that I'd like to touch on today. It's a big subject, both of these two are big. But obviously, one aspect of getting yourself, you're getting your identity right, is to know why God has put life on this planet. The “why were you born?" question, which we have done a very good job to answer and to explain, historically, within the church. It is very important. It's the most important understanding to get right, again, while you're young, and it's the most important question for all of us to continue to understand throughout our life, beyond that of understanding who God is, what God is, but why has mankind been created?

As I teach the fundamental beliefs at the Ambassador Bible College, every year I spend more time on the doctrine about God, then Christ, and the Holy Spirit. And the two doctrines that talk about what is man and what is man's purpose, I combine those latter two together into one discussion. And I spend far more time on those than I have a lot of time to cover in class, but to me, they are the two big ones to get it right. Who's God? What is God? Who is man? What is man? Get God right and get your identity right. We're created in the image of God, to share that glory of God for eternity. And this life is a preparation phase for eternity.

I know there are clichés and then there are clichés. There's a statement from the movie Gladiator that came out about by 20-plus years ago. It goes like this, "What we do in this life echoes an eternity." And it's a cliché, I know it's a cliché. But you know, there's a truth in a lot of clichés, and there's truth in that one. This life is a preparation for eternity. That's what the physical realm is all about. And when that is understood, then our purpose has meaning, clarity, focus beyond anything else we would find to be able to live with the light of eternity in us today.

That's one aspect of the matter of identity. There's another dimension that I'd like to talk about for a brief moment, another dimension to this matter of getting your identity right. And it's that of getting real with ourselves, getting real with yourself. Now, you can call it being authentic. We like to use that word today, live an authentic life. You can call it being intentional, live an intentional life. You could call it being self-actualized if you're into psychology, pop psychology or whatever else. It doesn't really matter what other label. I like the word real, we need to get real. But what it is is a very raw, clear honesty with who we are and what we can be, and what life has dealt us. A clear, raw honesty about who you are, who you really are, what you can be, and what your destiny is, and what life that has been dealt to us and get real about it.

I tell this story, I told it the other day to the ministry down in Atlanta. I tell them, if it's a repeat for some of you, then that's what happens when we Boomers get old, we repeat ourselves. Church was moving our family one time from the hills of Eastern Kentucky down to Tennessee, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The big moving van, I think it was Allied Van Lines, pulled up to our door and up the holler in the house we lived in in Eastern Kentucky. And two guys got out, got busy packing up and loading all of our belongings to make the move to Tennessee. And as the day wore along, I watched these guys and I talked to them and they were a couple of grizzled-looking, rode hard, and put up wet truck drivers.

And I got to talking to one of them and, you know, he said, "What do you do?" I said, "Oh, I'm a minister," and, you know, I told him about the life of a minister and so he started telling me about it. I said, "Do you like your life? Being on the road all the time, driving a truck, moving people?" He said, "I love it, I love it." He said, "One time when I was a young man, I realized one day," he said, "that I was not going to be Roy Rogers, riding off into the sunset with Dale Evans on the back of my horse, singing a song. I was going to be a truck driver and I am a truck driver." And he said, "I accepted this life, I accepted who I am and I've made the best of it." And I thought, "That guy has got it all together."

Whatever else he didn't have together, at least he had that part of his life together. He knew who he was. You know, when you read the Prodigal Son, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, that son didn't like who he was. He fantasized something else for himself. And so, he took his inheritance from his father and he went to Vegas and lived the high life for as long as that money lasted. And then, when it ran out, all the relationships that he thought he had deserted him, and he was left to scrounge through the back alleys for whatever scraps of food that he could find to fill his belly. And it says in the key phrase of the entire parable, “When he came to himself,” he said, "I'll go back home and I'll be my father's son, and I'll just be a servant."

But he had to come to himself. He had a real moment when he finally, the fantasies that he had came to nothing and he saw just how empty they really were. You know, we all dream and we might fantasize to one degree or the other. I think there's something in all of us that kind of we, you know... maybe it's Mr. Darcy. Maybe it's that right person that just has the right words. There's a part of our life, probably in every one of us, that we dream a little bit and we kind of imagine. But we know that when the movie ends, when the lights come back up, you got to go home and make supper, change the diaper, go back to work the next day, and that's okay.

Be careful not to fantasize too much. Today, fantasy has grown darker and, I think, more dangerous. We've gone from innocent science fiction to fantasy. You can go from fantasy to myth, and now, increasingly, we can even go into virtual reality with whatever we choose. And as I look at it, at times, I see a sliding continuum that descends into the dark reality, sometimes, of the universe. And waiting on the other side is the dark world, Satan and the demon world. Be careful. Be very careful not to let your life slide out of control into that realm by whatever you think, dream, fantasize, mythologize, or want to get into because it can be very, very dangerous. Don't let yourself get caught in that kind of a web and don't fellowship with demons.

The third pillar I'm talking about is to get your stuff right. Now's the time, when you're young, to get your education, a real education that will prepare you for life. To make the right decisions that can ensure a level of personal contentment, a level of financial security and success in your life that is real and that is tangible. Let's turn over to Ecclesiastes 11. Back to the book of Ecclesiastes 11. I think this is what Solomon is saying here at this particular point, verse 9. He says, "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.” It is a time for joy. It is a time to dream, to plan, to get your feet firmly planted in the reality of God, who you are, and of the life that you can live. “Let your heart cheer you… walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these, God will bring you into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity.” Or empty, or meaningless if it's not grounded in the reality and the purpose of life.

In chapter 12 verse 1, he goes on, "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, 'I have no pleasure in them': while the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars, are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the rain." It goes on to explain why, if you don't get it right early, it can lead to certain disappointments later. Not that we still can't come to put our lives into certain order at any point in our life, we always can. We can repent, we can be forgiven, we can actually turn things around. But for a young person before that time and in the midst of opportunity, what Solomon is saying here is get your stuff right now, in your youth. Do that and our eyes can be focused plainly upon eternity and the life that God has called us. And the earlier we do it, the greater it is.

We're very pleased that Mr. Myers has started the 18-35 series of Bible studies here in the Cincinnati area. And sometimes, in my experience I think, you know, we could probably do with an 18-60, 18-65, 18-70, sometimes, approach. But here's the point, don't wait until you're 35. If you're 18, or 19, or 22 or 23, don't make them have to bump it up to 18-36, or 18-37 or 18-40. Get it together, get it together early. Get the education, get the sense, get God right, get your identity right. Get your stuff right. And then, we can begin to understand eternity and the purpose that God has for us. An astronaut, a Skywalker and eternity. One's real, one's fiction, but God is eternal, and God has put eternity in our hearts and it's very, very real. Let's all live in the present with the sheer hope of eternity. And let's all take to heart where we are and make sure that our eyes are focused on God and on eternity.