Forever Starts Now | Trinity Sermons

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.