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Guest (Male): Always ask, what difference does it make? Let's talk about it on Key Life. It's for freedom that Christ set us free and Key Life is here to bring you biblical teaching that encourages you to never give into slavery again. Our teacher on Key Life is Steve Brown. He's an author, broadcaster, and seminary professor who's sick of phony religion.

Steve Brown: Thank you, Matthew. This will be the last day of a very long series. I know you were thinking it was never going to end on some of the basics of the Christian faith. And because of very careful planning, we're ending it by talking about the future and the difference the future makes.

Now, if you've been listening this week, we've talked about some facts. The facts are that the world is going to end and Jesus is going to clean up the mess. The fact is that the church, even if it limps, even if it's wounded, even if it's divided, is never going to end; it's eternal. And thirdly, you are eternal too, because Jesus promised.

When I was a professor at a seminary, one of the things that I said in communication preaching classes was this. People aren't interested in your theology. People aren't interested in how much you know or how many books you have written. People are not interested in how spiritual you are. People want to know, does this make any difference? And if it makes any difference, what is that difference and how can I apply it to my own life?

I taught that to hundreds of students and I hammered it in over and over again. When you write your sermon, stop for a moment before you preach it and say this to yourself, "What difference will this make?" And if you can't find an answer to that question, "What difference does it make?", then rewrite the sermon.

Because it's not a sermon, it's a lecture, and it will do nobody any good in their life on Monday morning when they crawl to live it.

I was a young pastor on Cape Cod. I served a little church in East Dennis while I was in seminary and a year or two after I got out of seminary. And I loved that place and I loved the people. We often in the summer during the tourist season, would have 15 or 20 pastors in the congregation. And throughout the year, there were pastors in the village who had retired.

And they loved me and they encouraged me and they could have destroyed my ministry if they had been different. So I have fond memories of Cape Cod and that little church on Cape Cod. But the mentor that I had in those days was John Stanton.

Dr. John Stanton had served a major and large congregation, a prestigious one in Pennsylvania. And then he collapsed in the pulpit. After a lot of tests, a lot of effort, a long time in the hospital, the doctor said, "Dr. Stanton, you must never preach again. If you do, you will die."

Now, that's hard for a preacher. Wouldn't be hard for me, I could go watch television. But for a lot of preachers, that was hard, and that was hard for him, never to preach again. And I don't want to draw too much out of that, but I believe that when he said, "Okay," and moved to East Dennis on Cape Cod, it was God who provided John Stanton, and this is one of the reasons, as my mentor and my teacher and my friend. I learned so much from him.

He used to say, "Don't tell people that you're a minister, but if they find out, don't let them be surprised." One time I told him that I'd told them everything I knew in the sermon on Sunday. And he said, "Son, come here, I want to show you something." He took me into a back room in his home on Cape Cod and it was stacked with gigantic containers. And he opened one of them, trunks.

And it was filled with sermons. And he said, "When I was your age, I thought the same thing. And you'll always have something to say because God has called you to preach." I could go on and on and on. But I remember one Sunday in particular. When I had preached what I, I was at the point at that point, a student at a graduate school in Boston at Boston University.

And I thought I was an intellectual. And I wanted people to know it. And after the sermon, Dr. Stanton waited until everybody had left. And then he came up to me and I'm sure he was going to say, "Good job. That was a wonderful sermon." He said, "Son, listen to me. You did well, but nobody understood a word that you said." And later that day, he gave me a thesaurus. So I could get some words that were smaller than the big ones that I used in that sermon.

And I could get the fodder down to a place where there was an answer to the question, "What difference does it make?" So, I've given you some facts about the future. You can now really live. First, because you know the future, you don't ever have to be afraid of anything again. Jesus said, "Have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the rooftops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." That's Matthew 10:26 through 28. There is nothing, absolutely nothing the world can do to you that will have any ultimate significance.

At the dog track, dogs are persuaded to do something as dumb as run around a track because they're convinced they will catch a mechanical rabbit, which is always kept just so far in front of them so they can run. Those dogs think they are scaring the mechanical rabbit, they think they will catch the mechanical rabbit, they think that they will best that rabbit around the track, but it'll never happen because the man who runs the mechanical rabbit is always in control. The rabbit will always get to the finish line before the dogs. The Christian's life is like that mechanical rabbit. The world may think it will destroy, hurt, and devour, but it won't because Jesus is in control and it's already decided.

And then secondly, because the Christian knows the future. The Christian is free to spend his or her life for Christ with the knowledge that after this life is spent, there will be much, much more. Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20.

And then finally, because one knows the facts of the future, I can relax. I can laugh and dance and sing. I can enjoy what God has given. I don't have to constantly look over my shoulder. I don't have to pretend to be something that I'm not. I don't have to be uptight about everything. And why is that? Because I know the future. Because I know that I can dance. Because I will be dancing forever before the throne of God. That's it. We're going to land this plane and it's a good place to land the plane.

You know why? Because of the future. Because the future is assured. Because you personally are assured. Because He lives, you will live also. Hey, you think about that. Amen.

Guest (Male): Thank you, Steve. And remember that you can stream this entire teaching series for free at keylife.org/family. Tomorrow, of course, is the nearly world-famous Friday Q&A with Steve and Pete. And family, I have some exciting news. Next week, Holy Week, we have Steve and Pete teaching about the Resurrection, Monday through Good Friday. You do not want to miss that.

Hey, speaking of missing things, there's a few features at keylife.org that you may have never taken advantage of. First, keylife.org/magazines. That's all of our past print and digital issues of Key Life Magazine available for free. Also, the Vault. The Vault is growing like crazy. If you're not familiar, this is a special collection of digitized and restored sermons from Steve dating back to the early 70s. Get the details and hear a free sample at keylife.org/vault.

And the Key Life app lets you take the best articles, shows, and sermons from Key Life with you wherever you go. So check that out now at keylife.org/app. And all of this is possible thanks to the generous support of listeners just like you. If you'd like to donate, then call us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE. That's 1-800-539-5433. To send a donation by mail, go to keylife.org/contact for our mailing addresses or email Steve at keylife.org. You can also charge a gift on your credit card, include a gift in your envelope, or simply text KEYLIFE to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and Forcey in Canada, and Key Life is a listener-supported production of Key Life Network.