And this is Leslie Curran saying hello and welcome in the Saviour's name to our gospel broadcast. I'm glad you're joining us today and here to let the Bible speak is the Reverend John Greer. Thank you Mr Curran and may I add my own words of welcome to you all as you listen in today to this another gospel program.

In fact our final program for this year and we want just to take the opportunity to thank all our listeners who have been tuning in faithfully. We appreciate your support in this way by listening to this broadcast. Let the Bible speak and I trust that as you hear the word of God today your heart will be blessed and your mind will be challenged by what the Lord will say to you.

We draw near to the end of this year. It's a very solemn time actually when you consider it from that perspective that the close of a year being the close of a period of time is a reminder to us all of the fact that life and time are very quickly passing away. And as I thought about that particular point my mind was turned to some words that are found in first Samuel chapter 20 and the verse number three.

The final words of that verse they are the words of David and the words are these, there is but a step between me and death. There is but a step between me and death. Now when we think about the words of David here he had valid reasons to make this conclusion that his death may only have been a step away.

His words refer directly to the situation that had developed because of Saul's hatred for him. Due to his jealousy and his troubled mind Saul had already tried to slay David and had done so on a number of occasions. Furthermore he was continuing to hunt David down and we therefore understand why David who's a fugitive who's fleeing from a relentless foe would come to this conclusion that there was but only a step between him and death.

The predominating features of his life at that moment could not have led him to believe otherwise. And there are ever-present features in human life in general which combine to reveal to men the very fact that David observed that there is but a step between men and death. It's important to note at once that every feature of life which is a reminder that there is but a step between death and us exists because of the entrance of sin into the life of man.

In Romans 5 verse 12 we have the epitaph of the human race in its fallen state. Notice the terms of this verse. By one man sin entered into the world and that one man is Adam and we are reading here of Adam's willful disobedience by which sin came into the world of humanity.

Then it goes on to say and death by sin. This is the implementation of the penalty that was pronounced by God in Genesis 2 verse 17 where he said to Adam that if he disobeyed he would surely die. And therefore it goes on to say here in this text so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.

The penalty inflicted on the entire race for Adam was the representative of that race is what's in view in these words. So death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Therefore death between which and you there is only a step has come into the human race because of sin.

And you need to think about that very carefully and as I've already indicated there are many features in daily life which remind us that there's only a step between us and death. There is life's frailty. Life at its very best and its very strongest is frail as many scriptures show in striking terms.

We find throughout the word of God various men who came to that realization that they were weak that they were frail. If we take as a vivid example Samson we deal with a man who in his own day was renowned for his profound strength. Of course he was given that strength by the spirit of God and therefore he towered above all men as far as strength is concerned.

But he said on one occasion if I be shaven then my strength will go from me and I shall become weak and be like any other man. Notice the final words of the text like any other man. Samson confessed that the secret of his great strength did not lie in the physical proportions of his body but in his consecration to God and in his being endued by the Holy Spirit.

And if he lost that supernatural strength he would become weak and be like any other man. Notice what Samson is saying when he speaks of being weak and like any other man he is referring to men of his day who were mighty warriors great men strong men but what he's therefore saying is that man at his best is physically weak and frail and therefore in this very remarkable way we are reminded of the frailty of life. Over there in 2nd Samuel

“The sermon from 1 Samuel 20:3, “There is but a step between me and death,” reminds us of the frailty, brevity, and uncertainty of life. Like David, who faced constant danger from Saul, we too live with the reality that death may be just one step away at any moment. Scripture shows that this reality exists because of sin’s entrance into the world, and the evidence of life’s shortness is seen all around us. Since we cannot retrace the final step of death once it comes, we must urgently prepare for eternity today by seeking the Lord Jesus Christ, for without Him that final step will be fearful, but with Him it becomes the doorway to everlasting life.”

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14 verse 14 the woman of Tekoa said we must needs die and are as water spilt in the ground which cannot be gathered up again.

So we are reminded there in all these terms in all these ways of the frailty of life that tells you there's only a step between you and death your life is very frail it's very very weak at its very best it is marked by weakness and by feebleness. Then there is life's brevity the short limited span of our lives is plainly emphasized in scripture by the measurements of scripture in terms of the fact that life is measured in days and there are many verses that make this absolutely clear that man's life at at the longest is only so many days. Jacob who lived until he was 147 said that the days of the years of my life we want to mention what age he was and therefore Jacob realized that though he was an old man 147 years old yet his life was very short it was brief it was an affair that was merely a flash it was gone and gone forever once it came to a close.

So you have the measurements of scripture and then you have the metaphors of scripture the bible says that life is a vapor James 4 verse 14 it says that life is grass it is wind it is like a flower cut down and all these are metaphors and they're all used to bring home to us how brief life actually is and how short it is at its longest. So life is frail and life is brief and then life is most uncertain the uncertainty of life is that we have absolutely no guarantee of one more second of time in the book Job 24 22 it says that no man is sure of life and the most striking solemn thing about life's uncertainty is that we are unable to tell what one day ahead will hold it says in Proverbs 27 and verse 1 and James 4 verse 14 this very fact that we don't know what shall be on the morrow and therefore there is about our lives an uncertainty an uncertainty that affects our entire relationship to our earthly existence in that we do not know how long we will live and we do not know when we will die. Now those are facts men and women with which you are familiar and furthermore you see these features of life life's frailty brevity uncertainty all the time around you there are strong healthy men been cut down you notice people passing away and you say to yourself that their life is gone it was just perhaps a short life or maybe it was someone who lived to a good old age and yet measured by eternity it's very short and furthermore how uncertain oh how alarmed you've been when you've heard of the death of a neighbour a friend an acquaintance and you've said to yourself how quickly that came how soon that person passed away and when we combine all these features that mark life it's frailty it's brevity it's uncertainty we are truly taught that there's only a step between us and death and this evidence that's there all around us is designed to deliver us from the foolish presumption from the self-confident planning in which men indulge and furthermore from the neglect of the soul of which so many are guilty and all these features of life are designed as well to urge us to give diligent attendance to the great matter of preparing for eternity and preparing for the end of life's journey i want you to think about that there's only a step between you and your death and therefore you must make preparation for that death that is inevitable it must be individual preparation no one can make it for you you must prepare to meet god and furthermore it must be immediate you must prepare for eternity today because you don't know how much time you have as we have noted and how soon your life might end and therefore the command and the consensus of scripture is that you should seek the lord immediately seek ye the lord while he may be found call ye upon him while he is near Matthew 6 33 seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness because let me remind you that when you take that last step that is the step between you and death when you take it it cannot be reversed we often talk about retracing our steps a man goes out he gets lost and he he retraces his steps to find where he went astray and we can do that in various areas of life but when it comes to death oh i tell you there's no retracing of that step there's no reversal of it it's final it's a final step and one day you're going to take that step and my dear friend when you take it then it is final and furthermore it will be a fearful step if you take it without Jesus Christ if you go into god's eternity not knowing the saviour today seek the lord with all your heart with all your soul come and trust him for yourself and may god write his word on your heart