LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING
From the desk of Pastor W.C. Blankenship
TEXT: 2 KINGS 20:1-6
1 ¶ In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
I’VE BEEN LONGING TO TELL THE CHURCH CONGREGATION SOMETHING. EVEN THOUGH WERE NOT ALL HERE I FEEL THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME. IT’S ONE THE SECRETS OF LIFE.
IT’S NOT HOW TO GET RICH QUICK, BUT IT WILL ENRICH YOUR LIFE.
IT ISN’T THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, BUT IT WILL KEEP YOU YOUNG AT HEART. IT PROBABLY WON’T MAKE YOUR LIFE LONGER, BUT IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER, FULLER, DEEPER, BROADER, BETTER…”LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING!”
It’s simple. The best things always are. I hope it becomes your prayer, your motto, your mantra. I hope it becomes a part of you. Every day.
There is a song that caught my attention for this message today. You may have heard it. It was written by Tim Nichols and sung by Tim McGraw in titled “Live Like You Were Dying.” This song has crossed over from the country line up into the Christian music world. Listen to the words:
He said, “I was in my early forties, with a lot of life before me,
When a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
And I spent most of the next days looking at the x-rays
And talking ‘bout the options, talking ‘bout sweet time.”
And I asked him when it sank in
That this might really be the real end.
“How’s it hit you when you get that kind of news?
Man, what’d you do?” He said,
“I went sky diving; I went rocky mountain climbing’
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying.”
And he said, “Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying.”
He said, “I was finally the husband that most the time I wasn’t.
And I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all ‘a sudden going fishin’ wasn’t such an imposition
And I went three times that year I lost my dad.”
“And finally I read the Good Book and I took a good long hard look
At what I’d do if I could do it all again…and then
Like tomorrow was a gift
And you’ve got eternity to think of what you did with it…
What you did with it…What did I do with it?
What would you do with your life if you were told that you were dying?
What changes would you make?
What plans would you put into action?
Tell the story of the misdiagnosed man:
We’re all terminal. Some of us are just lucky enough to know it.
James 4:14
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Phil 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
21 ¶ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Paul had a hold of what I am preaching today.
Paul and Silas were thrown in prison. No not a Paris Hilton kind of prison but a dungeon kind of prison.
If you want to hunt tigers, you have to go where the tigers are.
We can’t control the length of our lives. Only the depth.
Read the Story of Life:
I am beginning to suspect that the moment we have been waiting for doesn’t require waiting. And the things we’ll remember most won’t be things at all.
You have the power to change your course and walk with God and those around forever. Today, tell God you need Him, Today tell your spouse you love them, Today tell your children you love them, Today tell your friends you love them. You’ve waited long enough.
2Cor 6:1 ¶ We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
“What’s the secret of your success?’ the question was asked of an old veteran music man. He had been in London with the Beatles, in LA with the Eagles. He had become rather wealthy and managed to make himself a living legend in the process of constructing an amazing career that spanned the decades and the globe. “The secret to my success is a lot simpler than you would imagine,” he said. “It’s one-way tickets.’
“What?” He was asked.
“One way tickets,” he said, “I went everywhere knowing that I was going to have to make it wherever I landed and that there were no other options.”
Hey, would someone just do me a favor today? JUST LET IT GO.
I KNOW HOW LONG YOU’VE CARRIED IT AROUND AND HOW HEAVY IT IS.
JUST LET IT GO!
YOU’VE HAD IT SO LONG, IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT IT.
JUST LET IT GO!
YOU KNOW YOU WEREN’T MADE TO HANG ON TO IT
JUST LET IT GO!
TAKE ALL OF THAT FORGIVENESS LOCKED UP DEEP INSIDE OF YOU AND…
JUST LET IT GO!
RIGHT NOW. THIS MOMENT. YOU’VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH
JUST LET IT GO.
YOU HAVE PROMISED GOD I AM GOING TO LIVE FOR YOU AGAIN SOMEDAY
JUST LET IT GO!
MAY WE DIE LIKE WERE LIVING! MAY WE LIVE LIKE WERE DYING
