In the sermon 'Young Men in Babylon' by Jeffrey D. Johnson, the speaker discusses the dual responsibility of living in the present while maintaining hope for the future. He emphasizes that although life in 'Babylon'—a metaphor for the worldly life—may last a lifetime, it is crucial to remain proactive and engaged in daily responsibilities. The ultimate goal is not to accumulate earthly treasures or raise children who are successful but disconnected from spiritual matters. Instead, the focus should be on building treasures in heaven and establishing God's glory on earth. This involves living as pilgrims, adapting temporarily to the world while knowing it's not the final destination. The sermon encourages believers to contribute positively to society while keeping an eternal perspective.

You're not living altogether for Babylon. So you have hope. It's like this is coming to an end. But you've got to realize 70 years for the length of a man's life could be the rest of your life. So you've got to have hope, but you also have to have this realization that I have to still live out tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

So I can't just wait on the Lord's return. I can't just wait to get out of Babylon. I've got to be proactive in what I do in the next few weeks, the next few months, the next few years. And that's what God has called us to do. We have our ultimate hope on the world to come.

We're really building, not treasures on earth. We're seeking to build and lay up treasures in heaven. And so this earth is not our ultimate purpose. Our ultimate purpose is not to raise good kids that don't know the Lord, but they're good and they have good work ethic and they have good businesses and they're good citizens and then they go to hell. That's not what our ultimate purpose is.

Ultimate purpose is glory. We're aiming for that. But that also incorporates that we're going to be here a while and our children's going to be here a little longer than we are going to be, then our grandchildren will be here. And so we're seeking to establish, we're seeking to establish God's glory on earth while we're living as pilgrims. I imagine me as an American citizen going off and living temporarily in a foreign nation.

I need to adjust myself to their rules and their laws and settle in there. But also realize I'm a pilgrim, I'm a stranger. And I know that while I'm here, I'm going to go ahead and buy a house, I'm going to go ahead and try to get some work, I'm going to go ahead and be productive, but knowing all the while that this will come to an end.