Irrefutable Facts of Life

1. From the day we are born to the day we die, life isn’t fair.

1) Some are rich and others poor.

2) Some are intelligent and others are ignorant.

3) Some are fed and some are hungry.

4) Some experience good fortune and some ill.

5) Some are free and others enslaved.

6) Some are healthy and some are sick.

2. God never promised that life would be fair.

1) God promises that if we will seek Him then He will take care of us (Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”).

2) God promises that He will be fair in regard to salvation (Acts 10:34-35 “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”).

3) God promises that all will be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”).

3. If we don’t expect life to be fair, then we will not be as disappointed in life.

1. Time marches forward, not backward.

1) There are those who would like to “revise” history, but that simply means to ignore the parts that they don’t like.

2) The truth is that once something is in the past it is fixed forever and doesn’t change.

2. There are two corollaries to this truth.

1) Once our words and deeds are said or done, you can’t go back. Consider Psalm 141:3-4 “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.”

2) What is in the past is in the past and there is nothing that can be done about it. Consider Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

3. If we think about the fact that we can’t change history, that will help us prevent bad decisions.

4. It will also help us to move on to things that we can do something about.

1. Do you remember the old saying, “Sticks and stones…”

1) But the truth of the matter is that words can be very hurtful.

2) Why? Because words have meanings.

2. Notice these passages that talk about our words:

1) In Matthew 12:36-37 Jesus states: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

2) Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:6 “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.”

3) And Paul exhorted Timothy “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings” (1 Timothy 6:3-4).

3. Understanding that words have meanings will help us to choose the right words and avoid the wrong ones.

1. Newton’s third law of motion states: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

2. This is true spiritually as well.

1) Galatians 6:7-8 states, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

2) Consider also Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:”

3) There is not a choice that we make that doesn’t first originate within the heart!

3. Understanding that choices have consequences will help us measure our choices before we make them.

1. We have a proverb in America today: “There is no good deed that goes unpunished.”

2. Spiritually, Jesus has told us that we, as Christians, are going to be opposed.

1) Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

2) John 15:19 “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

3. Understanding that we are going to be opposed for doing what is right will help us prepare to do right regardless.

1. There are two different ways to learn in life.

1) You can learn from someone teaching you.

2) You can learn through experience.

3) More often than not, we choose to learn through experience and many times those experiences are rough.

2. There are principles in scripture that teach us to learn the easy way, not the hard way.

1) Consider Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.”

2) Proverbs 2:1-22 (read)

3. Understanding that learning the hard way often hurts, we will seek to learn from others first!

1. Just when you think you have life figured out, life throws you a curve ball.

1) The fact is that life is unpredictable and things change.

2) We may be expecting our lives to go one way, but they will end up going another.

2. Perhaps this isn’t illustrated any better than in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 It says, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

3. God’s word, however, doesn’t change because it is perfectly suited for every situation. Consider Hebrews 13:8 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

4. Understanding that things change will lower our expectations for the unpredictable future and prepare us to deal with things according to God’s word.

1. This is perhaps the most unavoidable truth of life.

1) There are some scientists who think they can prolong life indefinitely.

2) However, even they admit that the odds are against us.

3) That even if our bodies were to be able to live indefinitely, one day we would be involved in some accident that would take our life.

2. The Bible teaches that everyone will eventually die. Hebrews 9:27 states, “It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment.”

3. If we understand that everyone dies, then we will seek to prepare ourselves and others for death as well.