Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity
Sermons. This week we're wrapping up our teaching
series called A Matter of Time, where we're talking
about what time is, how we should best use our
time. And Rob has spent a lot of time telling
us that we have a limited amount of time. But
what about eternal life? Doesn't Jesus say that
we will live forever? How does that work? And
how does eternal life impact our life today?
Today we are completing a four -week teaching
series that we've been doing called A Matter
of Time. And over the past few weeks, we've been
looking at the topic of time from a few different
angles, right? We talked about how our time is
limited and how Psalm 90 says, Oh God, teach
us to number our days. So that we may gain a
heart of wisdom. And then we talked about how
to make time. How to prioritize time in our lives
for things that are most important. And especially
to seek first the kingdom of God. And then last
week we talked about focused time. And how we
realize that we can't do everything in this life.
And just because something needs to get done
doesn't mean that it needs to get done by me.
So over the weeks, we've been saying things like,
you know, life is short. You've got limited time.
Your days are numbered. Which is why on a day
like today, what I'm about to share with you
is going to sound like a bit of a contradiction.
Because some of you are probably already asking,
when you look at that, you're probably saying,
but Rob, what about eternal life? right? Doesn't
the Bible say that we're actually going to live
forever? And so, yes, true, life is short, but
don't we actually also have this thing that Christians
call everlasting life? Which is it then, right?
Do I have limited time, or do I have all the
time in eternity? Are my days numbered, or will
I live forever? Now, I want to say right off
the bat that many people here, They frankly,
they just don't believe in the whole concept
of eternal life, right? For you, and there's
no problem believing this. We're glad that you're
here. But for you, you totally say, look, what
you see is what you get. And it's only things
that I can touch with my hands and measure with
my eyes. Those are the only things that real.
And all this talk about eternal life, that is
just like stories that human beings made up over
time in order to deal with the tragedy. of life
and the finality of death. Anything else that
people might come up is just wishful thinking.
And if that's where you are today, that's totally
fine. A lot of people just do not have time for
the subject of eternal life. For others, you
actually don't like talking about eternal life
because it's always sounded a little escapist
to you. It's as, you know, Christians sometimes
talk about it is in this way. They say, yeah,
yeah, yeah, life is hard, but don't worry. One
day you're going to get to go to this other place
and it'll be so much better, right? So just get
through this life and then you can enjoy eternal
life. And so they treat eternal life almost as
an escape hatch from this life. And still others
of us find the whole concept of eternal life
very childish. And that's because the images
that we have in our minds are pictures of things
like pearly gates and clouds and harps and angels.
And you might actually be open to having a real
conversation about the topic of eternity and
eternal life. But it can't be from a child's
point of view. You need an adult version of that
teaching. And still others would say, well, I
don't even really care about this. I mean, why
worry? If there's eternal life, great. I'll find
out when I get there, I guess, right? But it
doesn't really make any difference to my present
life. I mean, we can talk about it at funerals,
but what does it have to do with my Monday morning
or my work or my everyday life? And finally,
some of you are probably also saying, Rob, this
is Pentecost Sunday. What the heck are we doing
talking about time and eternal life still? Shouldn't
we be talking about the Holy Spirit? Well, today
I want to push back against all of those questions
and ask this question, but what if, right? What
if actually there is more to this life than what
we see with our eyes? And what we can touch with
our hands. And what if eternal life is not just
like some escape hatch. And it's not a fairy
tale. And it's not some vague comfort that we
get and talk about at funerals. And what if,
here's a big one. What if eternal life is not
just about the future? But it's about a life
that you can have right now, a life that does
make a difference on your Monday morning, on
your drive to work, and in your everyday life.
And finally, for all you people wearing red today,
what if... Pentecost Sunday is actually the perfect
day to talk about all this. That's where we're
going to go in the next few minutes. I've given
you some teaching notes to follow along just
so you don't get lost. But let's begin by talking
about something we can all acknowledge. And this
is whether you believe in eternal life or you
don't believe in eternal life. It is this. We
all have this ache within us for something more.
We all have this. ache for a life that lasts
an ache for forever there is just something in
us that when we look at the beauty of this world
when we see love or friendship or when we're
gathered around a table with good friends or
when we watch a sunset over a lake in the evening
it just something in us says this can't be all
that there is, right? We have to have been made
for more than this. Life cannot just be this
random little flicker of light between two vast
darknesses on either side. No, right? Every culture,
every generation, every civilization has said
that deep down, gosh, there has got to be more
to this life. Surely my life. is connected to
something larger. And that ache, it's there in
all of us. It shows up in our stories and in
our movies. And, you know, Peter Pan, right?
Highlander, The Eternals. In Harry Potter, Voldemort
rips his soul into so many pieces in a pursuit
of immortality. Harry himself dies and comes
back to life. And man, I think we have this longing
within us to say, gosh, I hope. Is there some
way we can beat death? Could it be that we too
could live forever? And what about the whole
anti -aging industry, right? What about our obsession
with health and longevity? What about billionaires
who are investing money in life -extending technology?
Do you know that right now about 500 people on
earth are cryogenically frozen? Hoping that one
day science will figure out how to beat death.
Underneath all of it is the ache. We want life
to last. We don't want love to end. We don't
want beauty to vanish. We don't want our loved
ones to be gone forever. We don't want death
to have the final word. But that ache. is not
accidental. In the book of Ecclesiastes, we read
that God has planted eternity in the human heart.
We feel the ache for eternal life because God
has planted it in us, right? We long for more
because we are actually made for more. We ache
for eternity because we were made for eternity.
Maybe that's actually part of what it means to
be made in the image of God. God, this eternal
being, kind of made us and somehow baked into
us or it rubbed off on us this sense that, yes,
there's got to be something eternal. There's
got to be something beyond this life. You know,
C .S. Lewis wrote that, if I find in myself a
desire which no experience in this world can
satisfy, The most probable explanation is that
I was made for another world. In other words,
that ache, that longing for eternity is itself
a clue. We weren't just made. For a few good
decades and then a nice obituary. We were made
for eternal life. And that's why death feels
so wrong. Oh, but Rob, death is natural. Yes,
of course, death is natural. But it still feels
wrong. It still feels like it's the enemy. And
when someone we love dies, it does not sit right
with us at all. God has set eternity in the human
heart. We know there's more. But we just don't
know how to get there. Right? We ache for it.
We search for it. We write stories about it.
But we can't create it. Because while we long
for eternal life, only God can give eternal life.
We can extend life, maybe. We can improve life,
hopefully. We can preserve memories and legacies,
maybe. But only God can give eternal life. And
so here's the question. Has he given it? Right?
Has God given us eternal life? Is eternal life
just a human longing? Or has God actually answered
that longing? Well, if you ask Jesus, the answer
is yes. But maybe not in the way. that you expect,
right? Jesus does speak about heaven. He does.
He speaks about the resurrection. He speaks about
a life in the world to come. But when Jesus speaks
about eternal life, he talks about it totally
differently than you or I would ever talk about
it. And here's why, okay? Here's why. Because
for him, eternal life wasn't a life after death.
For him, it was a kind of life that begins now.
What? You say, no, I'm serious. It's right there
in our Bibles. If we actually read, when we hear
the word eternal life, what do we think? We think
of a future that goes on and on and on and on
and on and on and on. And again, that's not necessarily
wrong. But when Jesus uses the phrase eternal
life, especially when he uses the phrase in John's
gospel, He is not talking about how long a life
lasts. He is talking about the kind of life that
you are living. For Jesus, eternal life is not
about quantity. It is about the quality of your
life. Here's what I mean. The phrase eternal
life comes from two Greek words. Ionios. Zoe
means life, but not just like biological life,
not just like breathing, eating, sleeping. There's
another Greek word for that, bios. Zoe, no, Zoe
means abundant life. It means the kind of life,
life as it was meant to be lived. That's what
Zoe means. And then there's that other word,
Ionios, which our Bibles translate as eternal.
But even when you look at it, you can see there
are other words in there. Words like Eon, or
era, or age, whatever. So, zoeionios gets translated
in our Bibles as eternal life, but it literally
means life of the ages. Life of the ages. I love
that phrase, okay? Eternal life is a life of
the ages. A life of the age to come. Imagine,
if you will, history divided into two great ages.
This present age, which is marked by sin and
death, and a future age that is marked by healing,
justice, and joy. The amazing claim of the New
Testament is that the age to come has already
come. Not fully, not completely, but truly and
really. It's what scholars sometimes call the
already but not yet. The kingdom of God is already
here. It's not fully here yet, though. The eternal
life has already begun, although we don't experience
in its fullness just yet. New creation has already
started, but the old creation is still groaning.
Now, if you don't believe me on this, let's...
read how Jesus talks about this. I mean, you're
going to be gobsmacked. Look, this is Jesus talking
about eternal life. In John 5, 24, he says, very
truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes
him who sent me will have eternal life? No. Might
have eternal life? No. One day down the road
will get eternal life after they die if everything
works out? No. Jesus says, anyone who hears my
word and believes him who sent me has it. Like
as in now. You have eternal life now. You are
living it now. Or how about this one? Now this
is eternal life, says Jesus. Oh good, thank you
Jesus, because we're actually wondering what
eternal life is. This is eternal life. That they
know you, the only true God. and Jesus Christ
whom you've sent. That's eternal life. Not a
future place with harps and clouds. He says eternal
life is knowing God. So eternal life, according
to Jesus, is not mainly about more time. It is
about a life with God. Because let's be honest,
more time is not necessarily good news. If you
are miserable, then more time just means more
misery. If you are lonely, then more time just
means more loneliness. If you are anxious, bitter,
afraid, or exhausted, then more of that, that
going on and on and on, does not sound like heaven.
It sounds like the other place. No. Eternal life
is a different kind of life. It's a life with
God. It's a life from God. It's a life shaped
by the kingdom of God. It's zoeionios. It is
the life of the age to come. That you can live
now. That's what Jesus said. You can go back
to your Bibles and you can read it. That's exactly
what he is saying. In fact, John Ortberg wrote
a book, and I love the title of it. Eternity
is now in session. That is it. Eternity is not
later. Eternity is not after. Eternity is not
a someday. It's in session. It's happening. You're
in it. Now, or at least you can be. And I know
that it's really hard for us to believe this
because we look at our lives and we say, this
is eternal life. My life does not look like the
life of the age to come, Rob. I get up every
morning. I make coffee. I answer emails. I sit
in traffic. I scroll on my phone and then I go
to bed and I repeat the same thing day in and
day out. And you're saying that's eternal life.
Fair enough. Fair enough. But Jesus is not trying
to say that every moment of your life is going
to feel heavenly. What he is saying. is that
there's a new kind of life that you can be living.
It's a life of the ages and it's available in
the middle of your ordinary life. It's a life
where forgiveness is possible, where joy can
survive suffering, where peace can exist in the
middle of chaos. It's a life where love is stronger
than fear. Love is even stronger than death,
where your limited little life can somehow connect
with God's eternal purposes, and you can start
living that life now. You know, N .T. Wright
uses this great analogy, and I've often referred
to it. He says, eternal life is like this. It's
like someone learning a new language before they
go and live in the country where they speak that
language. You learn the language now so that
you'll be at home there when you get there then.
So, for example, if you're going to go live somewhere
else someday, you don't wait until you arrive
in that place to begin preparing. No, you start
learning the language now. You start learning
the customs now. You start learning the culture
now so that when you arrive, you actually feel
completely at home. And many people, I would
say, if you were, not you personally, but many
people, if they were to show up in heaven right
now, they would not like it. And they would not
want to stay because they're not prepared for
it. And it would seem strange. And it would seem
foreign and uncomfortable to them. But for those
who start living eternal life now, they will
feel right at home. And that's why we need to
start practicing eternal life. Learning forgiveness
now. Learning holiness now. Learning worship
now. Learning generosity now. Learning peace
now. Learning love now. We don't wait for eternity.
We begin practicing eternity. This is why the
Christian life is not just about believing the
right thing so that you can go to heaven when
you die. It is about becoming the kind of person
who could live the life of heaven. right now.
That's what discipleship is. That's what spiritual
formation is. That's what communion is. That's
what prayer is. These are all practices of eternal
life, which means this. If eternal life actually
starts now, then your Monday mornings can actually
be a little slice of eternal life. Dinner with
your family tonight can be a taste of the age
to come. Caring for someone in need can be the
zoe ionios. It can be a sign of the age to come.
Moments when God's future is showing up in the
present. Guys, this is a radical, radical claim,
and I hope you're getting it, but eternal life
starts now. You're in it, or at least you could
be. But here's where I think your mind is actually
going to get really, really blown. Today's Pentecost
Sunday. And yes, Pentecost is the moment when
the church is born, when all the different languages
were spoken, when that little band of scared
disciples who were hiding behind closed doors
went out into the world and told everybody about
the good news of Jesus Christ. But Pentecost
is even more than that. It is the moment when
the life of the age to come, got poured out into
the present. It is the moment when the eternal
life of God got poured into human hearts by the
Holy Spirit. Let me show you what I mean. Acts
2. When the day of Pentecost came, they're all
together in one place and suddenly a sound like
the blowing of a violent wind came from where?
Heaven. And they saw tongues of fire and all
of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. Notice
the direction of flow here. From heaven. This
is not a story of humanity reaching up, trying
to grasp at things eternal. No, this is God reaching
down to give it. The Spirit comes from above.
Pentecost is God's answer to our ache for eternity.
We long for forever, but we can't create it.
We sense there must be more, but we can't manufacture
it. So God pours the life of heaven into ordinary
people, not someday after they die, but right
here in the middle of history, in the middle
of your ordinary life through the Holy Spirit.
God pours eternity. Into the present. The Holy
Spirit is not just this vague spiritual feeling
you get. It's not just the goosebumps that you
get when you're singing worship songs. It is
the zoe, ionios, within us. It is the spirit.
It is the power of the age to come. Arriving
ahead of schedule. So you see, eternity is not
just something. that we long for. Eternity is
someone who lives within us. Do you remember
Ecclesiastes? God has put eternity into the hearts
of humankind. Well, quite literally at Pentecost,
that is what happens, right? God places his eternal
spirit into human hearts. Paul writes, when you
believed, you were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing.
Our inheritance. You know what a deposit is?
It's a payment. It's a payment of something greater
still to come. I put a deposit on a house. What
does it mean? It means, yes, I don't have the
whole house yet, but what I do have is real.
It means that the rest is coming. It is a pledge.
It is a guarantee. It is a promise. The Spirit
is God's deposit of eternity. Through the Spirit,
we are receiving now a taste of what one day
we will experience in its fullness. Not everything
happens yet. Resurrection hasn't happened yet.
People still die now. But it's a down payment.
And it's the first installment of heaven. The
first installment of forever. Paul actually says
elsewhere, he says, if anyone is in Christ now,
there is a new creation now. The old is gone
and the new is here now. Not will come eventually.
The new is here. Eternal life has arrived. The
last question we have to ask then is, well, then
have you received it? Have you begun living eternal
life? And I guarantee most of us sitting here
would say, yes, I want that. I want that deposit.
I want the Zoe Ionios living in me. I want that.
How? How? How do I get it? Well, Jesus already
told us. He told us. He says, remember, he said,
this is eternal life. That you know the one true
God and Jesus Christ, his son. Do you know God?
Have you trusted in his son, Jesus Christ? Do
you believe that he died and that he rose again?
And I'm not talking about Harry Potter here.
I'm talking about really. When we put our faith
in Christ, eternal life begins. And secondly
then, you will start seeing signs that eternity
is breaking into your life. When the Spirit gives
you peace in the middle of anxiety, that is eternal
life breaking into you. When the Spirit gives
you courage to forgive, that is eternal life
breaking in. When the Spirit gives you power
to resist sin in your life, that is eternity
breaking in. When it gives you compassion for
someone who you would normally ignore, that is
eternity breaking into your life. And you will
know that it is. Eternity is breaking into your
life when it changes like the way you spend your
time, right? Prayer no longer is just like wasting
time. It's practicing for eternity. Going to
church is not just a Sunday habit. It is practicing
for eternity. Forgiveness isn't just good manners.
It is practicing for eternity. Being generous
isn't just supporting the budget. It's practicing
for eternity. And you will finally know that
eternity is broken into your life when it changes
how you see death. Because if eternal life starts
now, then death is not the beginning of eternal
life. Death is not the door where Christians
finally say, okay, great, now the real thing
begins. No. In Christ, the real thing has already
begun. Death is just this moment when we... move
from what's already begun to that thing in its
fullness. Near the end of his life, Dallas Willard,
the great spiritual writer and speaker, he was
talking to one of his friends. He was literally
on his deathbed. And at one point, Willard, he
said something fascinating. He said, I think
when I die, it may take me a while to realize
it. And at first, I was kind of startled by that
statement, but he's right. For someone who had
already begun living the life of the age to come,
death is not an abrupt beginning to eternal life.
It's simply a continuation of a life that is
already underway. Death's not the end. Death
is real. It is painful. It sucks. It is still
the enemy. But it doesn't get to define the horizon
of our life anymore because eternal life has
already begun. And Pentecost means that we don't
just have the promise waiting for us in the future,
that we have the presence of God living with
us now. And Pentecost means that we do not merely
have a hope for another world, but we have God's
new world breaking in right now. And Pentecost
means we do not have to wait for heaven. Heaven's
begun to work in us already. Guys, isn't this
so much better? than the old version of eternal
life. The old version says, hang on till you
die, and then you'll start living. The gospel
says, in Jesus, by the Spirit, you can start
living that life now. The old version says, eternal
life is later, but Jesus says, no, no, eternal
life is now. Old version says, heaven is somewhere
else. Pentecost says, no, no, eternal life in
heaven, right here. And so maybe the best way
to end today and to end this series, Remember
we began with that prayer. Lord, teach us to
number our days. But on Pentecost, we should
perhaps pray, Holy Spirit, help us to fill our
days. To fill our days with eternal life. Life
is short. Yes. Life is limited. Yes. Time is
running out. Yes. Our days matter. But in Jesus,
by the Holy Spirit, those limited days can be
filled with the life of God. So don't spend your
life waiting for eternity. Let God fill your
days with eternity because forever starts right
now. Thanks be to God. Amen. Thanks for tuning
in to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons.
This sermon was recorded at Trinity Church, Streetsville
in Mississauga, Ontario on May 24th, 2026.