Very Rev. Jane Odom

Examine Your Relationship with God

Eternal Life in View — The One Thing That Matters

> “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” — Philippians 1:21

Primary Texts: Isaiah 5:1–7; Matthew 21:33–46; Mark 12:1–12; Philippians 3:13–14
Theme: Every believer must examine whether their relationship with God is producing eternal fruit, or whether they are living on sinking sand with no eternal hope.

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Sermon Summary

Very Rev. Jane Odom opens with a testimony of God’s faithfulness through a week of affliction that struck her household — first her son, then herself — declaring that had the Lord not been with them, they would not have been able to stand. She anchors the congregation in the hymn “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” (“All other ground is sinking sand”), testifying that God is the rock on which His people stand and that the plans of the evil one were foiled by the blood of Jesus. From there she turns to the theme of the message: examine your relationship with God in view of eternal life. Drawing on the Greek myth of Aurora and Tithonus — who was granted endless life but not eternal youth, so that his immortality became a curse — she distinguishes between mere endless existence and the eternal life God offers. She reads Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard and Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants as one continuous warning: God prepared a fruitful vineyard, but His people turned His kingdom into a private possession, rejected His messengers, and refused His Son. Very Rev. Jane Odom applies this to the congregation — warning against creating a church after our own ideas rather than living under the headship of Christ — and calls each believer to Paul’s determination: to forget what is behind and press forward toward the knowledge of Christ. She closes with the three inscriptions over the cathedral doors in Milan, the central one declaring that only that which is important is eternal life, and leads the congregation in Charles Wesley’s hymn “O for a Heart to Praise My God”, praying that God would write His new name of love upon every heart.

Movement of the Message

1. Opening testimony and call to worship — God’s faithfulness through affliction; the rock of ages that never falls; the plans of the evil one foiled by the blood of Jesus.
2. The theme announced — Examine your relationship with God in view of eternal life.
3. The Aurora and Tithonus myth — Endless life without renewal becomes a curse; only the life God offers has value.
4. The parable of the vineyard and the wicked tenants — Isaiah 5 and Matthew 21 read together; Israel’s rejection of God’s Son and the guilt of the Jewish nation.
5. Application to the church today — The danger of turning God’s kingdom into a private possession and building a church after our own ideas.
6. Paul’s determination — Forgetting what is behind, pressing forward to know Christ; the purpose of every Christian.
7. The call to self-examination — Do you have eternal life? Is Christ your personal Saviour? Are you living by the Word of God or by your own understanding?
8. The three inscriptions of Milan Cathedral — All that pleases is but for a moment; all that troubles is but for a moment; only that which is important is eternal life.
9. A new heart — Eternal life requires a new heart, not a patched-up old one; a new creation in Christ.
10. Closing hymn and prayer — “O for a Heart to Praise My God”; praying that God would write His new name of love upon every heart.

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Primary Scriptures

Anchor Texts

Isaiah 5:1–7 — “My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill… and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes… For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel.”

Matthew 21:33–46 — “There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about… and let it out to husbandmen… But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him.”

Mark 12:1–12 — “A certain man planted a vineyard… and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.”

Supporting Texts

Philippians 1:21 — “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Philippians 3:13–14 — “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

John 14:16–18, 26 — “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever… But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things.”

Matthew 6:12 — “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

John 16:33 — “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Revelation 3:15–16 — “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 — “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

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The Central Teaching — Examine Your Relationship with God in View of Eternal Life

The Distinction Between Endless Existence and Eternal Life

Very Rev. Jane Odom opens the teaching with the ancient Greek myth of Aurora, goddess of the dawn, who fell in love with Tithonus, a mortal. Zeus offered Aurora any gift she might choose for her mortal lover, and she asked that Tithonus might live and never die — but she forgot to ask that he might remain forever young. So Tithonus lived forever, growing older and more and more decrepit, until life became a terrible and intolerable curse. The Greeks saw clearly what many believers miss: a life that simply goes on forever is not necessarily a blessing. Zeus could offer endless life, but he did not have the power to give eternal life — because as Tithonus grew, he became weaker, and people could not even tolerate him.

> “Friends, life is only of value when it is nothing less than the life which God offers.”

The Vineyard and the Wicked Tenants — A Warning Across Both Testaments

Very Rev. Jane Odom reads Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard and Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants as one continuous message. God did everything possible to make Judah a righteous and fruitful nation, but they failed — and because they failed, God destroyed that vineyard. Isaiah’s prophecy points historically to the destruction of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah. Jesus, in the parable of the wicked tenants, pictures Israel’s rejection of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and points out the guilt of the Jewish nation: they turned God’s kingdom into a private possession, showed contempt for His Word, and refused to obey His Son.

The Same Attitude in the Church Today

The pastor presses the application inward: the same attitude Jesus condemned in the wicked tenants can be found among believers today.

• Some of us have the same attitude as the wicked tenants — we have rejected God’s Word and His true messengers and created a church after our own ideas.
• If this is not about us, it is about other churches — but we should know that the church is the body of Christ.
• If we are not living under the head — allowing the mind of God and the Spirit of God to rule our bodies, of which we are members — we will be rejected as Jesus said.
• Some of us are the hand; some are other members of the body of Christ — but if we choose to use our own minds and our own desires, we will be rejected.

Paul’s Determination — The Purpose of Every Christian

Very Rev. Jane Odom holds up the Apostle Paul as the model of a believer who examined his relationship with God in view of eternal life. Paul’s greatest longing was to know Jesus Christ and to have a personal relationship with Him — and that is the purpose of the church. That is why Christ gave Himself to us.

> “The purpose of every Christian should be that I will forget what is behind me and stretch forward, look forward, struggle that I may have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

• God’s plan is that He has prepared you to yield fruit — and we are to eat the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
• We are to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised, “I will send the Holy Spirit; He will be your helper, He will be your teacher, He will direct you, He will teach you, and comfort you.”
• When affliction came to her household last week, Very Rev. Jane Odom said, “Lord, you have given us a promise that you would never forsake us nor leave us.” If you have that eternal focus, you always cleave to your Lord and not to human beings.

The Call to Self-Examination

The pastor turns the question directly to the congregation:

• Examine yourself in view of eternal life.
• Do you have eternal life?
• Is Christ your personal Saviour in the Lord?
• Are you living by the Word of God, or by your own understanding?

Forgiveness and Justification — The Marks of Eternal Life

• If you want to have eternal life, then you have to be forgiving — forgiving people their sins just as our sins have been forgiven.
• We always pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
• You have to be justified and accepted by God through faith in Jesus Christ, so that one day you may get to heaven and see Christ face to face.
• That is why Paul said, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” He is going to gain eternally.

The Family Altar — A Warning to This Generation

Very Rev. Jane Odom pauses to issue a sober warning about the breakdown of the family altar.

• When we were young, our parents prayed with us and read the Bible with us every morning. If they could not do it in the evening, they did it in the morning — but they had to see that they prayed for us before we went to school.
• How many of us are doing it now? The family altar is totally broken down.
• This is a warning to us. The Lord will come and He will tell us, “I do not know you.”
• What we have to do is forget those things which are behind us and reach forth for complete and final salvation in Christ Jesus.

The Three Inscriptions of Milan Cathedral

Very Rev. Jane Odom closes the teaching with a striking image. Over the triple doorway of the cathedral in Milan — two small doors side by side and one main door in the middle — there are three inscriptions:

• Over one small door: “All that pleases is but for a moment.”
• Over the other small door: “All that troubles is but for a moment.”
• Over the main door: “Only that which is important is eternal life.”

> “So the main door is saying that only that which is important is eternal life. All that is important in this universe — for people who have been created by God and breathe and eat — is to seek eternal life.”

A New Heart — Not a Patched-Up Old One

To have eternal life, we need a new heart. Very Rev. Jane Odom uses the picture of a heart transplant: the heart is not good, so it has to be taken out and another one planted in.

> “A new creation in Jesus Christ is not just the old man patched up, but an altogether new person living in a new body.”

This is the cry of Charles Wesley’s hymn “O for a Heart to Praise My God” — a heart from sin set free, a heart that always feels the blood so freely spilt for me; a heart resigned, submissive, meek; a humble, lowly, contrite heart, believing, true, and clean; a heart in every thought renewed and full of love divine, perfect and right and pure and good — a copy, Lord, of Thine.

> “When people see us, they should see the copy of Christ in us. That means we are heading to eternal life.”

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Prayer Points

A. Thanksgiving for God’s Faithfulness Through Affliction

1. Thank God for His faithfulness through the affliction that came upon this household — first the son, then the pastor — and for bringing the family through.
2. Praise God that had He not been with us, we would not have been able to stand.
3. Thank the Lord that He is the rock on which we stand, and that all other ground is sinking sand.
4. Praise God that the plans of the evil one have been foiled by the blood of Jesus.
5. Thank God for the leaders meeting at this assembly and for the congregation who make this place a place of joy to serve God in.
6. Thank the Lord that by His grace He will take us safely home this week, because the devil cannot defeat our God.

B. A Heart That Seeks Eternal Life

7. Father, write Your new name of love upon my heart.
8. Lord, impart Your gracious nature onto us.
9. Give us the mindset of striving to go to heaven to see Christ face to face.
10. Let us say with Paul: if I live, I live for Christ; if I die, I die for Christ — so whether I live or die, I am Christ’s.
11. Lord, examine my relationship with God in view of eternal life.
12. Father, do not let me live and die without eternal hope.
13. Lord, help me not to postpone my salvation, whether I am old or young.
14. Father, if I have not confessed Christ as Lord and Saviour, let today be the opportune time — this is the day of salvation.
15. Lord, if I am lukewarm, make me hot; do not let me be spewed out of Your mouth.

C. Deliverance from the Attitude of the Wicked Tenants

16. Father, deliver us from the attitude of the wicked tenants who turned Your kingdom into a private possession.
17. Lord, forgive us where we have rejected Your Word and Your true messengers.
18. Father, forgive us where we have created a church after our own ideas instead of living under the headship of Christ.
19. Lord, let us not use our own minds and our own desires as members of the body of Christ.
20. Father, let the mind of God and the Spirit of God rule our bodies, of which we are members.
21. Lord, keep us from being rejected as the wicked tenants were rejected.
22. Father, make us a righteous and fruitful nation — a vineyard that brings forth good grapes and not wild grapes.

D. A New Heart and the Fruit of the Spirit

23. Father, take out the old heart and plant a new one in us.
24. Lord, do not patch up the old man — make us an altogether new person living in a new body.
25. Father, give us a heart from sin set free.
26. Lord, give us a heart that always feels the blood so freely spilt for us.
27. Father, give us a heart resigned, submissive, and meek.
28. Lord, give us a humble, lowly, contrite heart — believing, true, and clean.
29. Father, give us a heart in every thought renewed and full of love divine, perfect and right and pure and good.
30. Lord, make us a copy of You, that when people see us they see the copy of Christ in us.
31. Father, let us yield fruit and eat the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

E. Forgiveness, Justification, and the Leading of the Spirit

32. Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
33. Lord, give us a forgiving heart, forgiving people their sins just as our sins have been forgiven.
34. Father, justify us and accept us through faith in Jesus Christ.
35. Lord, help us to forget what is behind and stretch forward, looking forward, struggling that we may have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
36. Father, help us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit — our Helper, our Teacher, our Director, our Comforter.
37. Lord, help us to cleave to You and not to human beings.
38. Father, restore the family altar in our homes — let us pray with our children and read the Bible with them as our parents did.

Closing Prophetic Prayer

39. Father, we thank You once again for giving us the grace to come before Your throne of mercy.
40. Let Your Word, which is fire, burn within us until our whole being becomes Your temple in which Your Spirit reigns.
41. Those and other graces we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Prophetic Declarations Released

◆ All other ground is sinking sand — I stand on the Rock of Ages that will never fall.

◆ By grace, I am who I am today.

◆ The plans of the evil one have been foiled by the blood of Jesus.

◆ The devil cannot defeat my God — He brought me, and He will take me.

◆ I will forget what is behind me and stretch forward.

◆ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

◆ For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

◆ Whether I live or I die, I am Christ’s.

◆ I have eternal life — not endless existence, but the life which God offers.

◆ Only that which is important is eternal life — and I seek eternal life.

◆ All that pleases is but for a moment; all that troubles is but for a moment.

◆ I will not postpone my salvation — this is the day of salvation.

◆ I will not be lukewarm — I will be hot for the Lord.

◆ The Lord will never forsake me nor leave me.

◆ When people see me, they will see the copy of Christ in me.

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Memorable Lines and Quotables

> “All other ground is sinking sand.”

> “By grace, we are here. The plans of the evil one have been foiled by the blood of Jesus.”

> “The devil cannot defeat our God. He brought us, and He will take us.”

> “Life is only of value when it is nothing less than the life which God offers.”

> “A life that simply went on forever would not necessarily be a blessing.”

> “We have rejected God’s Word and His true messengers and created a church after our own ideas.”

> “If we choose to use our own minds and our own desires, we will be rejected as Jesus said.”

> “The purpose of every Christian should be that I will forget what is behind me and stretch forward, look forward, struggle that I may have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

> “Do you have eternal life? Is Christ your personal Saviour in the Lord? And are you living by the word of God, or by your own understanding?”

> “The family altar is totally broken down. This is a warning to us.”

> “All that pleases is but for a moment. All that troubles is but for a moment. Only that which is important is eternal life.”

> “A new creation in Jesus Christ is not just the old man patched up, but an altogether new person living in a new body.”

> “When people see us, they should see the copy of Christ in us. That means we are heading to eternal life.”

> “If you are lukewarm, you better get hot. The Bible says he will spill out those who are lukewarm.”

> “You can’t postpone your salvation. If you are here and you have not confessed Christ as your Lord and Saviour, this is the opportune time. This is the day of salvation.”

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Closing Prophetic Word

> “Father, let Your Word, which is fire, burn within us until our whole being becomes Your temple in which Your Spirit reigns.”

Very Rev. Jane Odom closes the message by leading the congregation into a time of personal reflection and prayer, asking every hearer to examine their relationship with God in view of eternal life. The application of the entire message is this: eternal life is not merely endless existence — it is the life which God offers, received through faith in Jesus Christ, evidenced by a new heart, a forgiving spirit, a restored family altar, and a life that presses forward to know Christ and Him crucified. The main door of Milan Cathedral says it plainly — only that which is important is eternal life. Every other pursuit, every other ground, is sinking sand.