The 2 Minute Warning
I. Introduction
As much work, energy, effort and sweat that has been invested into a game it is inevitable. It is just a matter of time. The clock will run down. Time is ticking down. 2 minutes are left. Execution must now tighten. Everyone’s best effort must be given. The outcome of the game is on the line. The outcome will be determined in these last few moments. There is no time for division, distraction, break down in communication, or time for rest or to take a play off. It is go time. One term probably best describes what takes place during this moment of the game . . . Urgency.
I submit to you that one of the missing components in most believers and certainly in most churches is urgency. We have lost track of time. We have become complacent. We have become comfortable. We have become content. And while we slumber the hand of the clock has continued to move and time has been lost. It is a matter of time! I think we need to learn something about time.
1. The game is won or lost in clock awareness.
I can assure you from even recent game footage that if a player loses track of the time left on the clock the result can be disastrous! FOOTAGE OF DE ANDRE JORDAN.
Oblivious. Out of touch. Unaware. We must know how much time is on the clock.
Take a look at the clock. Jesus tried to help us understand how much time is left and what part of the game we are in. He said the clock was running down when we see . . .
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Rumors of wars.
The hate toward believers would increase.
The love/passion of many believers would wax cold.
We see these things and we just change the channel or we just say well people are stupid, it is jus a bad world and we fail to be clock aware. This is the signal. The final lap bell has sounded. The PA has announced the last few minutes. It isn’t just getting worse it is getting late! The sun is setting. We must become aware that the alarm has sounded and become filled with urgency again.
Jesus addressed the need for urgency.
John 4:35 (NIV)
35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Jesus confronts the idea of putting things off. He confronts the lack of clock awareness by the woman at the well and using a statement that they would use to put something off He says no the harvest is here now. There is no time to wait.
We must be clock aware! When we pray for movers the clock is running out. When we do outreach the clock is ticking. When we serve it is essential to serve with excellence but also with clock awareness . . . Our touch, our greeting, our smile, our welcome, our song, our screen change, our prayer may be the last play. It could be our simple part that either wins or loses the game.
2. The game is will be won or lost in clock management.
It is one thing to be clock aware and an entirely different matter to manage the clock. If we are aware that the clock is about to expire, then we must make the most of the time we have left. Ask Chris Webber or JR Smith what happens when you don't manage the clock correctly. The result is losing!
John 9:4
4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
In John 9 Jesus makes it very clear that will come a time when the clock will stop and we will no longer have the opportunity to run the play. The game will end.
Paul echoes this theme in
Ephesians 5:16-20
Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:15-16
Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
He is literally try to get us to stop and consider what we are doing and to manage the clock. He implores us that we don’t waste our life on things that don’t matter.
I want you to be clock aware. However, if you are aware that time is expiring but you also don’t stop and determine what is important you will then waste the time we have left. Are you wasting time? When the buzzer sounds will you be found doing the Master’s business or will you be taking care of your business?
A noted concert violinist who was asked about the secret of her mastery of the instrument. She said, “There are many things that used to demand my time. When I went to my room after breakfast, I made my bed, straightened the room, dusted, and did whatever seemed necessary. When I finished my work, I turned to my violin practice. That system prevented me from accomplishing what I should on the violin. So I reversed things. I deliberately planned to neglect everything else until my practice period was complete. And that program of planned neglect is the secret to my success.”
She was a violinist and she never forgot it. She was a violinist first, and everything else came after that.
I am calling you to planned neglect. There are some areas that neglect is a sin. However, we all need to manage time. Give your time to what matters most! What would happen if you were a disciple first? What would happen in your life if you would not check your email or surf the net until you spent time in the Word? What would happen if you would not turn on the TV until you had shared Christ with someone that day? What would happened if you served before you sat?
Jesus issues some final words that we need to hear . . . Revelation 22:12 - 12
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done."
The clock is counting down.
