Richard Ellis Talks

Guest (Male): Today on Richard Ellis Talks. What if they don't know about me? It's not going to matter. You're not going to be here that long. If Jesus comes back, we're out of here. You got to get your head around it a little bit. You got so much time, only so much sand. Figure out what God made you to be and be that and do what He made you to do and do something with your life already.

Welcome to Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. So many of you have shared how important this program is to you and how Richard's messages have impacted your life. We also know that there are many others who have positively influenced your life and how to be a better Christ follower. We are devoting this entire month to celebrate and give honor to those in our life who have made a great impact and how we want to do the same in the lives of others. So, we're introducing a new feature on our website to help you share that story. More on that later. But for now, with today's talk, here's Richard Ellis.

Richard Ellis: The title of today's message is but dust. The 1662 version of the Book of Common Prayer indicated the manner and text of the burial service. So, this is what would happen in a funeral. Then while the earth shall be cast upon the body by some standing by, the priest shall say, "For as much as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take into himself the soul of our dear brother here departed, we therefore commit his body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself."

If you go in Dallas, Texas to a cemetery on Northwest Highway, there are a lot of graves there. I drive by there often and I happen to have a slightly important box there myself. My mom is buried in that cemetery. When she died, the morticians did the best they could to make her look as good as they could. But my mama was a beautiful woman.

If you saw her when she was young before Parkinson's and osteoporosis attacked her, she was some kind of looker. On the inside and the outside. But by the end, death was attacking her. She was a shriveled up old woman, young old woman at 70 something. Her eyes were still intact, though. Still the eyes of the young girl that had lived in there for so long.

But if we were to go over to that cemetery today and get some shovels and some backhoes and take all that out of the ground and pop the lid on my mama's casket. It's worse than it was the day we buried her because there's a pretty good chance that all of those bones and all of that skin and all of that stuff has done what? Has gone back to dust. The longer she lays there, the longer Jesus tarries his return, the more that body will decompose until it's just nothing, nothing but dust. Nothing but dust.

It is a crazy thing to stand here before you with a voice, with hands, with feet, with a body, with a heart, with all of this physicality, all of this functioning, and to be able to think and see and communicate and do everything God's asked me to do to the best of my ability, and to think that I will end up a pile of dust like that unless Jesus comes back in my lifetime. I can work out, I can eat right, I can do everything that I can do, but I cannot control how much time I have.

Let's start, I'm still trying to go left to right. Genesis chapter 2, so go there. Genesis chapter 2, verse 7 says this, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being." That's just unbelievable. What kind of pottery, what kind of artist? This is the thing you have to get your head around at some point. You're dealing with an artist. You're dealing with a creator. You're dealing with a God who can make dirt and reach down in the dirt and begin to form a human being with all of the intricacies that go with that. I mean, there is no way to explain to you what kind of God you're dealing with. Fearfully and wonderfully made, the psalmist says. He makes this being and then He breathes in the nostrils of that thing He has made and it comes to life. It's unbelievable.

Genesis chapter 3, verse 17, it doesn't take but one chapter to mess the whole planet up, sin. Verse 17, "Then to Adam He said, because you have heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree which I have commanded you and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for dust you are and to dust you shall return." How encouraging is that?

There was no death before this. Part of the huge consequence of sin is death. No sin, no death. Go to Genesis 18. This is a story where God is about to wipe out Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham is interceding on behalf of this part of the country. He starts to negotiate. God, if there were 50 people, would you spare it? The numbers come down, he finally gets down, he says, you know, for five or less. Five less than the 50 righteous. Verse 25, "Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked." He's saying, what if there are righteous? We've got to wipe everybody out. What if there's some righteous? "So that the righteous should be as the wicked, far be it from you, shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" So the Lord said, "If I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake." So God says, if I find 50, I'll spare it for their sake. You know why God said that? There weren't 50. He already knew there wasn't anybody there, but he says, okay, Abraham, I'll give you 50. Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord."

He's saying, now here I am going to negotiate with God himself about saving these people thinking there might be 50 people. Then he goes on, "Suppose there were five less than the 50 righteous. Would you destroy the city for lack of five?" So he said, "If I find 45, I will not destroy it." And he spoke yet again. Abraham's negotiating because he knows there are not that many. "Suppose 20 should be found there." I will not destroy it for the sake of 20. Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, but I speak once more," verse 32, "Suppose 10 should be found there." And he said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of 10." So the Lord went his way, as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place, and they couldn't even find 10.

Now go to Psalm 39. Psalm 39, verse 1, "I said, 'I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue. I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle while the wicked are before me.' I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good and my sorrow was stirred up. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue. 'Lord, make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.' Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths and my age is as nothing before You. Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Surely every man walks about like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up riches and does not know who will gather them."

Going down and read this little phrase. Yes, it says it again, verse 11, "When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth. Surely every man is vapor." It's just you're here and you're gone. Then some people say, well, I've only got so much time. I'm going to make a name for myself. Make a name for Him for Christ's sake. Nobody cares if you say, well, what if they don't know about me? It's not going to matter. You're not going to be here that long. If Jesus comes back, we're out of here. You got to get your head around it a little bit. You got so much time, only so much sand. Figure out what God made you to be and be that and do what He made you to do and do something with your life already.

You say, well, I don't know what that is. Then get in a closet somewhere and cry out to Him and say, God, you've got to help me. Read some more verses. Psalm 90, it's all over the place. Everybody gets it but us. Psalm 90. Look at verse one and following. "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man to destruction and say, 'Return, O children of men.' For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past and like a watch in the night." A thousand years goes by and God's like, what was that? It's nothing to Him. To us it just drags on.

"You carry them away like a flood, they are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up. In the morning it flourishes and grows up, in the evening it is cut down and withers. For we have been consumed by your anger and by your wrath, we are terrified. You have set our iniquities before you. Our secret sins in the light of your countenance. For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We finish our years like a sigh. The days of our lives are 70 years and if by reason of strength, they are 80 years. Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away." Boom, and you're out of here. "Who knows the power of your anger, for as the fear of you, so is your wrath." And then this phrase, "So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Number your days. You say, I don't know how many I've got. You got less than you thought. Now, I buried this week a 94-year-old man, a family member on my wife's side. 94 years is a long time. He outlived everything, right? The place is empty because all his friends are dead except for his family. Even if you make 94, you say, well, I'm going to make 100. Okay, knock yourself out, make 100. And then what? You're going to die.

So let's go with 100. Everybody do the math. How old are you now? You're going to make 100. Let's say that. Max it out. That's a disaster for some of you. You might live another 40 years. You're not doing anything with this week. What are you going to do with 40 years? Oh, well, I'm going to have fun. Oh, really? You better figure out what fun is. What did He make you to do and leave you here to do? Figure it out. Well, I got a job. They might let you off at 84. Well, I got a nest egg. A bunch of those eggs got cracked a few years ago. You're relying on a bunch of stuff. You might die an old, lonely, sick person with nobody. Is that encouraging? No, not particularly. You can't die alone if you're not alone.

What if you live? What a nightmare that might be. You might live. It's hard enough to make one day at a time work, much less think about another 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years at this rate. And do you know how fast you can burn up 50 years? Boom, just like a vapor. You may have made a scene for a minute, but it's over.

Psalm 103. Let's jump in at verse 11. "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him." I love this verse. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him, for He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust."

Do you ever have the thought in your Christian life about just quitting? Just like, you know what, there is no way that God could be using me, should be using me. I know how many of you kind of have an idea what a scumbag you really are inside. You know what you're capable of. Anybody kind of know what's in there? If left to yourself where you can end up? I think I know what I'm capable of. It's probably worse than even I know. I'm thinking, God, what are You thinking? Why do You keep using me? And there's what I get. He knows our frame. He remembers that we are. It doesn't say there, but dust, but we are dust.

He knows that about you. So somewhere in this process, you're going to have to get this in your head and in your heart. You are probably not going to live a perfect sinless life between now and when you see Jesus. There's probably going to be some bumps in the road. Hopefully the undulations will smooth out and there'll be less. But you can't fall on your butt and stay on your butt, you've got to get up. If you have sinned, he says, if you confess it, he is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you. So get up. You say, well, I've fallen and I can't get up. Then make sure when you fall, you don't fall by yourself. The Bible talks about all this stuff. Make sure you got people around you to help you up. But get up.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So you don't have some big story. If you've got sin, you've got a story because you need Jesus just as bad as the rest of us. He remembers that we are dust. Go to Job 10. This is some guy who's lost all of his kids, all of his livestock, all of his possessions. Only his wife's left. He's got boils from his head to his toe. He's scraping them, you know, stuff off his skin. He's such a mess. His three buddies show up and then there's all these conversations with these three buddies and with God, and he's just hammering it out. Job 10, verse 8, talking to God. "Your hands have made me and fashioned me and intricate unity. Yet you would destroy me. Remember, I pray that you have made me like clay. And will you turn me into dust again? Are you trying to kill me? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with the skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You have granted me life and favor and your care has preserved my spirit."

Trying to figure out what's going on. Look, you're not always going to get what's going on. You may get really, really sick. You may suffer crazy stuff. You've got to decide somewhere along the way, though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. You've got to decide that before you get to the crisis. Because when you get to the crisis, it may be too much for you to bear. You've got to decide I'm going to follow Jesus today, tomorrow, you get in the groove, get in the habit of doing that. Then when the tough stuff comes, you can hold on. Having been all, you still can stand.

Go to Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Now, if you go read Ecclesiastes, for instance, it's very real, it's very cut to the chase. It'll help you kind of grasp some things. But all the Bible is not all that encouraging necessarily. It just helps you realize God knows what's going on. He gets this. Ecclesiastes 3, verse 18. "I said in my heart." This guy's thinking this, "Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals. For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals. One thing befalls them. As one dies, so dies the other. Surely they all have one breath." Animals and human beings are breathing the same air. This is why people say, oh, the animals are just as important. "Man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place, all are from the dust and all return to dust. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men which goes upward and the spirit of the animal which goes down to the earth?" So he makes a distinction there. There is a difference. But this writer is saying, it looks like, you know, your dog dies, your mom dies, they're both dead. So what's the difference? Because we all go back to dust. Even the animals go back to dust. But there is a difference. Thank God Jesus came to, you know, to save us.

Ecclesiastes 12. And it's interesting how he starts. He says, "Remember now your creator in the days of your youth." Why is it important to remember your creator early on? "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, the moon and the stars are not darkened and the clouds do not return after the rain. In the day when the keepers of the house tremble." It's talking about getting old. "And the strong men bow down." Ever seen that? Big old strong men walking around all crouched over. Their body's changing on them. "When the grinders cease because there are few and those that look through the windows grow dim. When the doors are shut in the streets and the sound of grinding is low. When one rises up at the sound of a bird." You can't even sleep anymore. A bird makes a noise and wakes you up. "And all the daughters of music are brought low. Also they are afraid of height and of terrors in the way. When the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is a burden and desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home and the mourners go about the streets. Remember your creator before the silver cord is loosed or the golden bowl is broken or the pitcher shatters at the fountain or the wheel broken at the well." Talking about symbols of death. "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it."

Now, I understand, I'm an old man at this point compared to some of the kids in here. You go, remember the Lord in the days of youth. You know, I got all kind of time. You're going to mess me up. All my friends are having fun. You're going to lock me up somewhere in a church in a youth group and we're going to do nothing but read the Bible and pray and all my friends are out there having fun. What are your friends doing? What exactly is going on out there? I can't even say out loud what I know is going on in the world right now. And the peer pressure, the peer pressure, I'm going to get left behind. I'm going to get left behind. Then about, I keep saying this, 15, 20 years from now, I kept up, but it doesn't work. The tragedy after tragedy after tragedy. We're having fun and the whole crowd was going this way. And I'm going to be careful and we had a designated driver and on and on and on it goes, and I took precaution. This is where it ends up. They're not having fun.

Is it fun? Absolutely, or no one would be doing it, but it doesn't last. It evaporates on you. The consequences are way bigger than you can stand. You cannot cover the checks you're trying to cash. You throw the warning out there and kids blow by and do what they're going to do. Why? You know they do that? Because that's exactly what we did, right? And you're praying to God that some kid looks up, pays attention and goes, oh my gosh, I see it. It messed my family up, my friends up. Maybe I should make a different turn, do something different and see what God's way looks like. Are you going to be as popular? Maybe not. Is that going to matter? I don't know. I don't think so.

Go to Second Corinthians chapter 4. Second Corinthians chapter 4, I'm going to jump in at verse 6. "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Then look at how he explains it. "But we have this treasure." What is the treasure? It's not a what is the treasure, it's who is the treasure. If you are a Christian, you have God inside of you. You've got to stop and think about this.

My oldest daughter was done. It didn't work on the other two. You know, that little precious thing, tiny, five pounds, however many ounces, put her in the car like it was nitroglycerin. She's in the middle car seat and I'm driving on the ramp, you know, being so careful. Her little head would probably snap right off of her body if I hit a bump, right? Terrified. Poor Catherine, you know, has whiplash from taking her home. Why? Because I figured out I, you know, no big deal. I know what they can survive. Hurry up, we got to go, right?

You got to get back to the moment when you realize that you, that we, if you're a Christian, you're like carrying around God. So wherever you go, he's stuck with going. He's stuck in your body doing everything you're doing when you're doing it. Think of the things that we expose God. We're the limo driver and he says, okay, I'm going to use you. I got to get some places like I said earlier. I need you to drive me around. And he says, okay, we're going from here to here. Let's go. You go, oh, you don't understand. We got to make a stop and I'm going to ask you to wait in the car and I'll be right back. Really? Problem is he can't get out. So wherever you go, he goes, whatever you see, he sees. Whatever you say, you're his representative. Then there's a lot of shut up, shut up. Leave me alone. Man, it's me. That's my turn now. We've done it your way all this time. I need a moment. I need a break. I'm on break. That's what I am. I'm on break. I'm tired of driving you around, doing what you want to do all the time. I'm the boss now. Right? You say, well, that doesn't sound good. That's what we do. I'm just trying to put it in terms you understand.

"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, clay pots, dirt. And why is it that he's allowed it to be that way?" Look at the next phrase. "That the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." I am just used to transport Him around and hopefully, the longer I live, get out of the way. And stop being so distracted and so deceived so that I can be a great servant to my great master and let him take me where he wants to go and just get to participate, just get to be there with Him when it happens and see Him work and see Him do.

Now the sad thing about all this is if you do drop dead today or whenever it happens and you see Jesus, just like that, I believe you're going to go, oh my gosh, what was I thinking? I missed it. There was so much more I could have done, but I was busy building my own thing, doing my own thing, being my own thing, telling God how it was going to be. And how did that work out for you? At that point, not very good.

Keep reading here. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power might be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying about in the body the dying of our Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore, because of all of that, therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man, this body, this flesh is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction." This is how he sees it. Well, look at that list he just read. That didn't sound like light affliction compared to the big game. It's light affliction. The big picture. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment." Why is it but for a moment? Because we're but dust. We are a vapor. We're here, we're gone. "Is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Start looking at the eternal side of things. Don't spend so much time looking in the mirror. It's depressing the older you get. Time and gravity do horrible things to people. Spend more time in the dark with Him, in His Word, or praying or something. Don't be looking, oh my gosh, what's happening to me? I'm getting old. Of course, you're getting old. You're not dead, you're going to get old. It's coming. Then figure out in spite of what I look like or what I feel like or what adversity or what challenge or what suffering, I am going to get a hold of that for which Christ has gotten a hold of me and I'm going to do something. I'm going to live.

I'm going to tell you what my plans are. When you become dust, your plans cease unless you put something in order that will go on past your life. The reason I am eating different and working out is that if I am laying in a nursing home and the Holy Spirit sends some kids, somebody, and all I can do is lay there and listen and maybe speak a few words as a 90-something year old man, if I live that long, I am going to try to hit the finish line whether I can preach or pray or do anything else out loud. I can make disciples till the death. If I do live another 40 years, I can take a lot of people with me. And that is my plan. If I get to preach, great. But if I'm too old to stand up here and do this, let me tell you something, you won't shut me down because I've got a target. I've got a reason to be alive and I may be but dust, but he uses but dust.

Guest (Male): Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to listen to Richard Ellis Talks. We know these programs encourage and inspire you because we hear from so many people about them. Richard has such a unique way of speaking right to the heart because it always comes straight from his own heart. And maybe there are others who have greatly impacted your life as well. So, who is it in your life that was a great example as a Christ follower? Possibly a parent, a grandparent, a friend, pastor, neighbor, co-worker. Well, we have just the place where you can share this story. There's a brand new feature on our website called A Legacy Wall, where you can tell us who made a huge difference in your life in your growth as a Christ follower. And this same inspiration is what you want to make sure gets passed on from you in leaving a legacy too. If it's important to you, it's worth sharing. So, let me encourage you to go to our website, RichardEllis.com and share that story. We'd love to hear it and it would inspire others as well. That's RichardEllis.com and share that story. Finally, these are challenging days for us and we really could use your help in a generous way. Please go to our website, RichardEllis.com and click on the contribute tab at the top to send us your very valued gift that will be used to continue reaching the hurting and lost. Again, that's RichardEllis.com. You can also send us your gift by calling 855-6-Richard. I can't tell you just how much that will mean to so many people including Richard. We need to hear from you today. RichardEllis.com. So, until next time, thank you for listening. Thank you for your generous gift. Thank you for your faithfulness to this ministry and we'll see you again right here on Richard Ellis Talks.