This sermon emphasizes the sovereignty of God over life and death, drawing parallels from Job's declaration of surrender and worship to Hannah's faithfulness and trust in God's power. It highlights the importance of acknowledging God's control over our lives, as seen in Deuteronomy and James' teachings, and warns against the dangers of pride and arrogance in assuming control over our future. The message urges listeners to seek God's will and purpose for their lives, rather than pursuing material possessions or worldly gains, echoing Jesus' call to prioritize spiritual richness over earthly treasures.

Saved his head, fell on the ground and worshipped and said, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Or as he said 12 chapters later, in his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Do you remember Hannah? She wanted a baby so bad and she was barren for years. Then God heard her prayer and she conceived and bore Samuel. And when she offered up Samuel, she sang a song. Listen to one of the lines in Hannah's song. 1 Samuel 2.6 The Lord kills and the Lord brings to life. The Lord brings down to shield and raises up. She had read her Bible well or learned it well from tradition. Deuteronomy 32.39 See now that I even I am he and there is no God beside me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal and there is none who can deliver out of my hand. If any of you lives through the night or if I do, it will be sheer grace. Jesus' brother James was tremendously gripped by this truth. I think James would have looked out across America and seen almost nothing but pride and arrogance because of what he said in chapter 4. Come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go up to such a town and trade a while and make profit. What? You don't know your life. You are but a vapor. You ought rather to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do such and such. But as it is, you boast and all such boasting is evil. Which means, if the Lord lives, if the Lord wills, John Piper will finish this message and not keel over. And if the Lord wills, you will not fall out of your chair dead tonight. And if he wills the opposite, you will. And he will have done you no wrong because your life is in his hands. He made you, he owns you, the Lord gives, the Lord takes and he never does anyone wrong. Whether he takes them at one month, one year, one decade or one hundred years, you belong to God and he may do with you as he pleases. You are his and therefore he knows what life is for. And the only way not to waste a life is to key off of the Almighty, to know what he would have you be. Jesus has something to say about it because he's really jealous that you don't waste your life tonight, really jealous. You're all students, most of you are students. And therefore, most of your life is in front of you, for most of you, not all of you, some of you have already lived most of your life. But for most of you, it feels like it could go on a long time. And Jesus is very jealous that you not waste it. If he were here, I think he would say, a person's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Life is not about accumulation. It's not about getting stuff. I think that's what Jesus would say to you right off the bat in America. And then he would tell a parable. A land of a rich man produced plentifully. And he thought to himself, what shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops? And he said, I'll do this. I'll tear down my barns, build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for you for years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. And God said to him, fool, I tell you, I don't ever want to hear that word addressed to me from God. Fool, this night your soul is required of you. And the things you prepared, whose will they be? So it is with everyone who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Oh, how jealous Jesus is tonight that you do not waste your lives. You have a gift. And it is called life. And it's not about accumulating things. This night your soul may be required of you. And then whose will all those toys be? No sane person on his deathbed ever comforted his heart with his possessions that his life was well spent. So hear Jesus. If anyone would come after me, let him come after me.