Eternity is on our side

"Eternity is on our side"

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)"...He (God) has also set eternity in the hearts of men..."

In our God-given mission to help people find the love of Jesus (Matthew 28:19), I think as Christians we sometimes get the idea in our head that eternity is working against us and that it's a race against the clock we cannot possibly win, and while I totally believe we must have a sense of urgency in dealing with people who don't yet have a relationship with Jesus, I'm not entirely convinced that this is the case.

Infact, I believe that God is working eternity in our favor!
Let me explain. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that God has placed eternity in the hearts of men. Simply translated, 'God has put something in each of us that causes us to long for more than just what we have on earth.' I'm sure we are all familiar with the 'if I could only have that' experience, whatever 'that' may be (whether a car, relationship, house, career, looks), but once we get 'that' we are left to that when we have 'that thing', we still feel a sense of emptiness.

CS Lewis in his book 'Beyond Personality' writes this:
"The fact we desire something this world cannot provide should alert us to the possibility that we were not infact created for this world." He then uses this example to illustrate his point. "We are so little reconciled to time that we are even astonished at it, 'My, how he's grown', we exclaim, or, 'How time flies,' as though the universal form of our experience were again and again a novelty."

The band Plum, in their song "God shaped hole" wrote these lyrics:
"There's a God shaped hole in all of usand the restless soul is searching.
There's a God shaped hole in all of usand it's a void only He can fill"

I just figure that since God has placed a sense of eternity in the heart of every person, and since He is the same God that works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, then that sense of eternity in people's hearts must work for us, not against us.

I have great news, as Christians, our fight for people to spend their eternity with Jesus is a battle that we can win (with the power of Jesus working through us!)
There is a great story in Acts 8 about a guy called Philip meeting an Ethiopian, and after his encounter with Phillip this Ethiopian became a follower of Jesus Christ. I think there are some things we can learn from this story that will help us to share Jesus more effectively.


1. Obey Promptings from the Holy Spirit
Acts 8:26-29

26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert
road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way
he met an Ethiopian[d]eunuch, an important
official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This
man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his
chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to
that chariot and stay near it."

Firstly I need to explain something. In this story we read that the Etheopian is a eunuch, however, in this case it doesn't mean a man who had his goods tampered with (if you know what I mean). History actually records that by the first century the term had become a government title use for important military or polital officials. So this Etheopian eunuch was actually really high up in the government, you could say "People know him." He was hip hoppin, chillaxin with the Queen!

The Holy Spirit didn't give Philip all the details, he pretty much just said "Go talk to that guy!". Faith in God means being able to move and obey without explanation.
So If God is prompting you to speak to someone, give somebody a gift, take somebody out for lunch, invite a friend or family member to church, then do it! You may be shocked at what opportunities open up from your obedience to God.

2. Let your life speak for you
Acts 8:30-31

30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the
prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31"How can I,"
he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and
sit with him.

Wow, did you get that? The guy actually invited Philip to come up and hang out with him in his chariot!

Let me ask you a question. Does your life speak in such a way that your unsaved friends and family ask you to journey with them? Remember what St Francis of Assisi said "Preach the gospel at all times, use words if necessary."
I want to be the the kind of Christian that people look at and wonder what makes me different. I believe if we keep living Jesus out (not just talking about Jesus) in our life everyday, people will come to know the love of Jesus in their life!


3. Only answer questions when asked
Acts 8:32-34

32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to
the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open
his mouth. 33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his
descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."[e]
34The eunuch asked
Philip, "Tell me, please, who is theprophet talking about, himself or someone
else?" 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the
good news about Jesus.

I love the fact Philip didn't just shove the Gospel down this guys throat, but as soon as he asked about Jesus, Philip started to tell him! Now I'm not saying we shouldn't talk about Jesus, no way, we need to pray and believe that God will give us opportunities to share about Jesus with everybody we know (or maybe don't know yet!). However, I do think it's important we understand, we only have to answer the questions we are being asked. If somebody asks you about Jesus, you don't need to tell them about the 10 commandments or why you believe the earth was created in 6 days.

Just answer the question you were asked, stay away from all the 'super-spiritual' Christian jargon, and just answer in simple terms what you were like without Jesus and the difference he has made in your life! I would love to recommend reading Bill Hybels book 'Just Walk Across the Room', if you don't have it, you should buy it and read it!

4. Never give up
Acts 8:36-40

36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said,
"Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"[f] 38And he gave orders to
stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the
Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went
on his way rejoicing. 40Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about,
preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

History tells us that having heard the message of Christ's sacrifice for sin, the Etheopian responded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Irenaeus, an early church father who live between A.D 130-202 wrote that the eunuch returned to Ethiopia and became a missionary to his own people!

So can I encourage you with this thought. Never give up! If you know people who don't yet have a relationship with Jesus.....please don't give up on them! They are so so valuable to God! You never know the impact they could have on this world and on heaven! Eternity is on our side!