My mother, whenever I was a little boy, used to impart various pearls of wisdom to me as a little boy. She had never been to university. She hasn't any examinations or qualifications to her name. But yet, under God, she has a certain amount of wisdom. And whenever I was young, she used to just say simple things. Maybe whenever I was a teenager going out and different things, she would say to me, now be careful. It only takes a few minutes to ruin your entire life and your future. And she would also say things like, nothing goes faster than the time. And that's so true. Nothing goes faster than the time. I have left school now for over 20 years. I can hardly believe it. I remember thinking about 11 years ago that I'd left school 10 years ago, and I could hardly believe that I'd left school for 10 years at that time. And now I think about the 10 years that has gone by since that, and it's just been a blink. I can hardly believe that whenever I look back and think of certain events in my life, and whenever you think about the date that things happened, and it's maybe 10 or 15 or 20 or 25 or 30 years ago, and it seems just like yesterday, it's amazing how quickly the time goes by. Married now almost 10 years. Our first little girl, seven years of age coming. Been in cold rain now for seven years. And it's so true tonight that nothing goes faster than the time. I remember one time standing at the back of my cousin's house. He was working at a little 50cc RD Yamaha motorcycle that he had. And we were talking about things. He had left school. He was a painter and decorator. And I was lamenting the fact about how much I hated school. And he says, it'll soon be over. And I thought that it would just last forever. But soon, we'd left school. And that's so many, many years ago. And then we think about the millennium. Do you remember? In 1999, approaching New Year's Eve, everybody was talking about the millennium coming in. Some of you mightn't remember it well, but I was thinking about this millennium bug, and all the computers at midnight were going to explode, or whatever was going to happen, and your bank details would be erased, and everything would come crashing down. and anything that you had electronic in the house would just stop and your television wouldn't work and your telephone wouldn't work and your radio wouldn't be able to tune in because everything was going to stop because of the millennium bug. And that's 15 years ago and here we are tonight and the computers and the telephones and the televisions are all still working. I remember a man in Lisbon who took it all to heart and emptied his bank account and went out and bought as much tinned food as he could buy, took it up and stored it in the attic, and kind of had his house as a fallout for whatever would happen. And I suppose tonight, if he went to his home, he'd still be finishing off his corned beef sandwiches 15 or 16 years later. But nothing goes faster than the time. None of us know how many years we have on this earth. We might have one year. We might have 10. We might have 20. We might have 30. We might have 40. We might have 50. Some of us might have 60. Probably very few of us will have another 70 years. Looking around, I don't think there's anybody that's going to be here after another 80 years. Certainly none after another 90. And definitely none in the meeting, unless you get some miracle cure for aging, you'll not be here 100 years from now. And we can be certain as well that the years that lie before us will appear to go a lot quicker than the years that have gone behind us. And the Bible reminds us of the brevity of life. It says that our days are like a tale that is told. It says our days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. Our life is like a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanish away. It says like a flower of the field we flourish, and then like the grass we're cut down, and our life just seems to be, in the grand scheme of things, a very short season. And for this reason, the psalmist prayed, teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. The Apostle Paul said something in a similar vein whenever he exhorted the people that he was writing to in the church at Corinth not to be taken up with things that are temporal or things that are tangible, things that we can see and things that we can touch because he says all of these things will pass away. But he said, focus upon those things which are eternal. Your soul is eternal. God is eternal. Salvation is eternal. Heaven is eternal. Hell is eternal. You see, folks, 100 years from now, all that really matters is what did I do with Christ in that meeting. Was my soul saved? Are you ready? To meet God 100 years from now, every single person in this meeting will be in one of two places spoken of by the Lord Himself in Luke chapter 16, heaven or hell. And there's a few things that I just want to say, very practical things tonight, and I want you to assess each and every one of them and ask yourself 100 years from now, what will it really matter? First of all, your person. Your person. 100 years from now, where will you be as a person, as an individual? We said one other night that the most important possession that you have is your precious, never-dying soul. The Lord Jesus asks a question. He says, what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and yet lose his own soul? And then in one of the other Gospels, it records it this way. What is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose himself? You see, the real you, the real person, is not the flesh and blood that you live in. That's just your body. That's just the earthly tabernacle. That's just like a house or a tent. The real person is inside. And 100 years from now, your soul will have left your body, because your soul is eternal. The Scripture says the body can be killed, but the soul can't. And 100 years from now, your soul will be in God's eternity. Where will you be in that hour? The Scripture says those who are saved will be with Christ. Paul says he looked for a day whenever he would be absent from the body, present with the Lord. With Christ, which is far, far better. And he also spoke about the lost, and the Savior spoke about it as well, and he talked about this rich man in Luke chapter 16, and the Bible says he died. But it also says in hell, he lifted up his eyes and he was in torments. His body was buried, but he was fully conscious. The Scripture indicates that we don't only have a physical body, but we have a kind of a spiritual body. And he was aware of everything around him. And friends, 100 years from tonight, don't think that you'll be conscious of nothing. Don't think that you'll just be in some kind of sleep or slumber. Your person will be alive and conscious of everything in God's eternity. 100 years from now, what about your person? Secondly, 100 years from now, what about your problems? You know, the little book of Job says, it says, man that is born of woman is born onto trouble. as the sparks fly upward. And life is full of its adversity. Life is full of its problems. Many have financial problems. Other people have problems within their homes and within their families, and there's strife and there's disunity. Other people have problems within their minds. Many people have problems concerning their bodies, physical pain and sickness and suffering. Others have problems within their workplaces, and we've all got problems of varying natures. But 100 years from now, what about your problems? The Bible gives the Christian this wonderful assurance that the Lord has prepared a wonderful place for us. And John described it in the Isle of Patmos, the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, no more tears, no more death. And every Christian has the wonderful assurance that whenever they leave this world, all of their problems are gone. And there's no problem for the Christian whenever they get to eternity. We think here of Lazarus in Luke chapter 16, and Abraham said concerning him, whenever he was on this earth, he was covered in sores. He had nothing. He was a beggar. He desired the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. In life, he was tormented. He didn't have his problems to seek. Every day, he had his problems. But as far as eternity is concerned, he says, now he's comforted. All of his problems are gone. And I look forward to a day whenever I experience what the Lord Jesus Christ spoke about in John chapter 14. Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mansions, and I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare that place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. And in my Father's house there's no problems. All is peace forevermore. on that happy golden shore, what a day, glorious day that will be. But think about the rich man for just a moment. As we read about his life in Luke chapter 16, it doesn't tell us about any of the problems that he had. I'm sure he had his own problems, but they weren't of the nature that they affected the way he lived. He was wealthy. He'd get plenty of food. He'd get plenty of clothing. He'd get a large family. He never really wanted for anything. But in eternity, his problems are only beginning. If you're not saved whenever you leave this world, you might have problems in life, friends. And I don't minimize whatever they may be. I don't know your circumstances. But friend, if you die without Christ, your problems in this life are minimal compared with the problems you'll have in God's eternity. In life, there's always hope. There's no hope in eternity. In life, there's always the chance of relief. There's none of it in eternity. Think about the rich man. He said he was in pain. He was in torment. He was filled with remorse and filled with regrets. He's now got absolutely nothing, not even a glass of water. He's lonely, he's fearful, and his problems are only beginning. One hundred years from tonight, what about your person? One hundred years from tonight, what about your problems? 100 years from tonight, what about your pleasures? My pleasures will only be beginning 100 years from tonight. The hymn writer said, when we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. And you know, since I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. He came to give life more abundantly, life in all its fullness. And you know, tonight, I'm glad that I'm a Christian. I'm glad that I'm saved. I don't go about with a Colgate smile every day of the week. That's impossible. The day I got married, I was smiling genuinely. You know, you have to smile for the photographs anyway. But I really did mean it whenever I was smiling. But at the end of the day, my cheeks were so sore. Anybody know what that's like? And you're smiling for the cameras, and your cheeks are sore at the end of it? You can't go through life like that with a constant smile on your face. But there's a constant joy and contentment within that the world can never get. The men of grace have found glory begun below, celestial fruits on earthly ground, and joyful hearts may grow. But you know, whenever I get to heaven, the pleasure's only starting. The Bible says, the eye hath not seen, neither hath the ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that love him. But what about the unseen? One hundred years from now, what about your pleasures? They'll all be over forever. Every single pleasure that you enjoy in this earth will be over. Whether they're legitimate or illegitimate, 100 years from tonight your pleasures will be over. The Bible says concerning Moses that whenever he was come to years, around about the age of 40, he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God. than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. He was wise. He realized all the wealth of Egypt. I'm the next prince of Egypt. I'm called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. If I play my cards right, the biggest kingdom in the world will be mine. But he realized it's only for a season. And Moses lived to be 120. He would have had 80 years of more of the world's pleasures if he hadn't chose to go with God. But he realized it's just for a season, and he just yielded his life to God. The reality is anyway that the pleasures of this world, they don't satisfy for all of life anyway. Nathan Rothschild was one of the richest men that ever lived. He was a Jewish man. He was a banker. And on one occasion he had rented out a large house in London, one of the most eloquent houses or affluent houses, whatever you would call it in London, for a great banquet. And he was walking in and somebody said to Mr. Rothschild, you must be one of the happiest men in the world. He says, what have I got to be happy about? He said, just this morning I received a letter saying that if I didn't give somebody 500 pounds, which was a lot back in those days, they would blow my brains out. He says, I'm not happy. The more wealth he had, the more troubles he had. And the fact of the matter is, we'll take nothing with us. The rich man's wealth and pleasures were gone forever. Friend, hell is the interest. You pay on 70 or 80 years, if even that, the interest you pay on a life's pleasures without Christ. It's big interest, isn't it? Do you ever see some of these advertisements in newspapers or on the internet, cash for gold and all the rest of it, and you can ring up a number or send an email and borrow money, and then you look at what you have to pay back if you don't make your payments? It's astronomical. But friends, to pay back the interest on sin is immeasurable. One hundred years from tonight, what about your pleasures? One hundred years from tonight, what about your possessions? One hundred years from now, all of our possessions will either be rust or dust, one or the other. We'll leave them all behind. And somebody else might enjoy them for a season. Job says, I came into this world naked, and I'll leave it naked. An old Jewish proverb says, and it's so true, have you ever seen a little baby whenever it's born? It's one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see. We've seen it three times in our home. I don't think we'll see it anymore. Three's plenty, but we're so thankful that we've seen it. And whenever the little babies were born, their wee fists are clenched. And you put out your finger, and it just holds onto your finger and squeezes it. And it's quite amazing just the strength that that newborn baby has in its wee hands. But most of the time, whenever people die, they die with their hands open. And the old Jews used to say, you know what it just symbolizes? That whenever we're born into this world, we try to grab everything and hold onto it with a tight grip. But whenever we leave this world, we can't hold onto anything, and we leave this world empty-handed. 100 years from tonight, what about your possessions? Paul said, it is certain that we brought nothing into this world, and it's just as certain that we'll take nothing out of it. For the Christian, they'll only be beginning to possess their possessions. I'll be getting my keys for a great mansion. I'll be getting a robe. I'll be getting a crown. I'll be sitting with the Lord in the throne. You know, it's a wonderful retirement package that the Lord gives to the Christian. And I'll only be beginning to possess my possessions. But for the unconverted, all of the rich man's wealth in Luke 16, everything was left to others. And whether he had made a will or not, he had no say in who got their hands upon his possessions. Everything you have will be left to others. We had a friend and her family in her 70s and she decided I'm going to build a new house and that's what she did. And I thought, I can't think of anything more ridiculous than that. A new house, 70 years of age. You're going to actually build a house rather than just maybe rent someplace or get a wee fool somewhere and just going to build a house. So how long are you going to have in it? Five years, 10 years? All that stress just as if we're going to live in our houses, folks, forever. And we've everything tied up as if we're going to hold on to everything forever. But whenever you die, you die with empty hands. 100 years from now, what about your peers? Many people will not come to Christ because of the fear of man. What'll my wife think? What'll my husband think? What'll my boyfriend do? What'll my girlfriend do? What'll my parents think? What'll my children think? What'll the guys at work think? What'll the girls in the office think? What will the fella across the street think? What'll I do if I become a Christian and I have to tell people? The Bible says, the fear of man bringeth us near. But 100 years from now, what does it matter about your peers? 100 years from tonight, the Christian, the child of God, has the wonderful assurance that they'll be with the redeemed. I've had blessed family members over the years, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, many of them gone to be with the Lord. And there's tears imparting, and there's a tug at your heart whenever you think back about good times, and yet I have this wonderful assurance that I'll be with them again one day. You say tonight will we know one another in heaven? I believe so. You know a Scottish man was sitting with his wife and she was called Mary and he was called Jock or something. And she says, Jock, you know whenever we get to heaven, do you think we'll know each other? He says, of course we will. She says, how do you figure that? He says, well, do we know each other down here? She says, we do. He says, do you think we're going to be bigger Egypts up there than we are down here? Of course we'll know each other in heaven. It's going to be a wonderful thing. Even somehow in Luke 16, the rich man was allowed to see through that veil that separates heaven from hell, and he recognized Lazarus. And yes, we'll know our loved ones, but the wonderful thing, we'll know our Savior, we'll know our Lord, we'll be with Him, which is far better. But what about the unsaved tonight in the meeting 100 years from now? What about your peers? What about those people tonight that you're allowing to hold you back from the blessing of God's salvation? Whether it's your peers or whether it's some hypocritical church member that doesn't live the life? Are you going to allow them to rob you of your soul's salvation? 100 years from tonight, what about your peers? Who will you be with 100 years from tonight? You say, well, I'd like to think I'll be with my family. Folks, there are seven billion people on the earth at present. That number is escalating daily. Nobody could put a figure on it how many have gone before. And if we've got a dozen or two friends, do you think even if you could see them in hell, you would know them or find them? Furthermore, the Bible says it's a place of darkness. Furthermore, the Scripture says that in hell we'll receive resurrection bodies that are abhorring to all flesh. That's what it says in the last verse of the book of Isaiah. We'll not know each other in hell. We wouldn't even want to. I believe in such a thing as common grace. What is it that allows us to be able to experience love and friendship in this earth? It's the grace of God. But hell is a place without grace. where people are at their worst. There's an old song we used to listen to when we were younger, Highway to Hell it was called. One of the lines in it said, my friends are going to be there too. That might be right, but they'll not be your friends down there. 100 years from tonight, what about your perspectives? You know, whenever trials come into your lives, don't they have an unusual way of changing our perspective on things? Maybe you get diagnosed with an illness, maybe there's financial adversity, maybe there's a loss of a job, maybe a child gets sick, maybe there's a death in the family, and it so quickly changes our perspectives on life. But 100 years from tonight, all of our perspectives will have changed a lot, even for God's people. For example, I believe 100 years from tonight, we will have a completely different perspective upon life itself. We will look back and say, you know, it was so, so brief compared with eternity. Just a minuscule drop in an infinite ocean. And life was so precious. Only got one shot at it. And life was so unique. And life was a gift. And there was a wonderful purpose in life, to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. And then we'll also have a completely different perspective on death. Death was certain after all. Death was not the end after all. Death was very sudden after all. And death was very surreal after all. And we'll also have, I believe, a different perspective on God. There'll be those who will realize for the first time how holy God is, and how righteous God is, and how angry God is. And the Christian will realize more than ever how loving God is, and how merciful God is, and how gracious God is. And then some will have a different perspective on Christ. They'll realize that, yes, He was the pearl of great price. He was the most important and precious thing that I could have owned on this earth, but I didn't receive Him. 100 years from tonight you'll have a different perspective on God's salvation. Maybe tonight you despise the gospel, you have no time for it, you have no interest in it, you have no desire for salvation. But oh eternity, 100 years from tonight we'll give a different perspective on God's salvation. The Christian forever will rejoice and realize the fullness of redemption and the infinite love of Christ for their souls and the depths that he went to on the cross and the infinite value of his blood. 100 years from tonight, the unsaved will have a different perspective in God's salvation. 100 years from tonight, what about your ponderings? The things that you think of tonight, will you be thinking about them 100 years' time? The things that occupy your mind? You know, I believe tonight that your memory and my memory will be completely active 100 years from tonight, and it will be sharper than it is in this meeting. Now, I don't have a great memory, I admit that. My wife sometimes says it's selective. She sends me out to the shop for a pint of milk and a loaf of bread and I'll come back with a bottle of Coke and a packet of rich tea biscuits and wonder what all the hassle's about. Sure, I went to the shop and I brought you something, but it wasn't what I asked for and it's the memory. I forget things all the time. But I believe in eternity, 100 years from tonight, we will remember meetings like this. See how it says in Luke chapter 16, Abraham said, son, verse 25, son, remember. Remember in thy lifetime that thou receivest good things. What good things? Well, I'm sure he thought about the health, and I'm sure he thought about the wealth, and I'm sure he thought about his friends, and I'm sure he thought about his family. But Abraham reminds him, you had Moses and the prophets, that's the scriptures, and that was the best thing that you had. Do you remember it? Do you remember what it spoke about? Do you remember all of the opportunities that you had? Do you remember Lazarus every day who suffered at your gates? And I had him there. He couldn't understand why he had to lie at the gates of the rich man's house for so many years. Was it because God had him there as a testimony? Somebody was saved at his gates every day, but he never noticed him. He despised him. He was embarrassed about it. And he's thinking about all of these good things that he had. And then the Christian, the saved person, their ponderings will be taken up with Christ. Oh, isn't he wonderful? Isn't he altogether lovely? This is my beloved and this is my friend. Worthy is the lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. Yea, he is altogether lovely. One hundred years from tonight, what about your priorities? You know, a Christian is a person who, to some degree or other, have got their priorities right. Doesn't illness or accidents or bereavement often change our priorities? And we realize, you know, I would really need to spend more time with my family. I'd really need to spend more time in prayer and thinking about God and walking with God. But 100 years from tonight, we'll discover what the true priorities were. Salvation tonight is a priority if you're not a Christian. Acts chapter 4, verse 12, neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must, we must, we must be saved. You know tonight if I had two glass tumblers in each hand, one's full of cold water, the other's full of priceless diamonds. And I was to say to you tonight in the meeting, now, which one would you rather have? I think everybody would take the diamonds, wouldn't they? But you just change the scene a little bit. I take you to the Sahara Desert. You've been there for three days. It hasn't rained. You've had no food. You've had nothing to drink. Your tongue is sticking to the roof of your mouth. Your lips are broken out in blisters. You're parched. You're dehydrated. You're beginning to hallucinate. Your heart rate is changing speed. Life is ebbing from your body. Somebody comes and says, here's a cup of diamonds or here's a jug of ice-cold water. Which one do you want now? The water. But in this meeting it's worthless. And that's how some of you view God's salvation. In time, it's worthless, it's common, I just don't want it, I've no desire for it, I've no thirst for it. One hundred years from tonight? You think your priorities might change a little bit? What about one hundred years from tonight? Your passions, your lusts, your desires, the flesh. You know, we think here about those that are saved. Whenever I get to glory, all of my passions will be completely satisfied. I'll be completely satisfied. I'll not be discontent for a second. But think about the rich man in hell. He's still thirsty, but there's no water. He's still covetous, but there's no money. You see, the person who's addicted to pornography or illicit sex, they'll still have those cravings, but they'll not be able to satisfy them. Same with the alcoholic, same with the drunkard, same with the drug addict. Same with the gambler. Same with the magnet that just lives for this world and accumulating wealth. We'll all still have the same lusts. But 100 years from tonight, you'll not be able to satisfy them. Then our last thought, 100 years from tonight, what about your possibilities? What about your potential? What possibilities, what potential will there be for you if you're a Christian 100 years from tonight? For all eternity, You can love and serve and adore and worship and magnify your blessed Redeemer. You can enjoy fellowship with God's people. You can walk the golden streets. You can explore the new Jerusalem. You can transcend the new heavens and the new earth. And you'll have all eternity to do it with the family and fold of God. We don't even know where to begin whenever we think about the possibilities and the potential of what it is to spend eternity with Christ in glory. The eye hasn't seen, the ear hasn't heard, hasn't entered into the heart of mind the things that God has prepared. But what about the possibilities or the potential for those who die without Christ? Where will they be 100 years from tonight? What possibilities will they have? None. No hope. No potential. No possibilities. Abraham said to the rich man here, verse 26, he says, there's a great gulf fixed, and you'll never pass that way. Neither will anyone come from here to you. It's fixed. It's settled. It's sealed. It's forever. Think of a friend forever and ever and ever. and ever and ever. One hundred years from tonight. Eternity hasn't even started. One hundred thousand years from tonight. The hands and the clock haven't moved a hundredth of a degree. One hundred billion years from tonight. Think of it, folks. This is what the Bible teaches. Where will you be 100 years from tonight? Leonard Ravenhill asked the question, is what you are living for worth Christ's dying for? He died on the cross to save sinners. That's how precious he counts the souls of men and women in Portrush Town Hall tonight. He invites you to come. And if you come, I'll tell you tonight, 100 years from now, you'll not regret it. But if you harden your heart against the call of God for the last time in this meeting, 100 years from tonight, you know how you'll fail. Christ died for the ungodly. for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." You say, well, I don't really know how to get converted. I don't know how to be saved, but I would like to be. It's very simple. God has made it simple. He says, repent and believe the gospel. What is the gospel? The gospel is that Christ died for our sins. According to the Scriptures, He was buried, He rose again. That's the gospel message. He did it to save us. And our response is that we repent and turn from our sin, and we trust in Christ and in Christ alone, and we enter into newness of life, and it's all of grace. He will save you if you trust Him. He will save you if you come. He will save you if you repent. But you have to come. You have to trust. You must repent. If we can help you in any way, shape, or form, just wait behind or speak to me at the door or get in contact with me. But even in the closing moments of the meeting, why not call upon the Lord for salvation? Let us just take a moment or two and let us still our hearts.