Do you like old pictures? Old Videos. Some of us here in church are part of a Facebook Group called Forgotten Oklahoma. It’s really interesting. Old pictures of towns and farms here in Oklahoma. Some of the towns don’t even exist anymore. And some of these were bustling towns that had populations up in the HUNDREDS but now they are just open fields.
Avant, the little town just up the road here used to be a large town. Grocery stores, movie theaters and banks. Now there’s really not any businesses in town now. Do you know why? There’s several reasons. Some of them were oil boom towns. Some dried up during the Dust Bowl. Others were bypassed by the Railroad so people moved away. But when you really get down to it, THE ROOT CAUSE ... It’s because ... TIME MARCHES ON.
People are born and people die.
Good things happen and bad things happen.
PEOPLE LIVE THEIR LIVES and TIME MARCHES ON. And it’s been this way from the Very Beginning. Let’s look in our Bibles to the first BOOK. Genesis. Genesis 8 and we’re going to read Verses 15 - 22.
“And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
The GREATEST CALAMITY that mankind had ever known had just happened. The entire world was WIPED OUT. All of the people and the animals EXCEPT those that were on the ARK were DEAD. But yet ... TIME MARCHED ON.
Even a CALAMITY like the FLOODING of the entire earth didn’t stop TIME from MARCHING ON.
Even the death of MILLIONS of people didn’t stop TIME from MARCHING ON.
So that’s what I want to talk to you about this morning.
TIME MARCHES ON. Let’s Pray.
Brother ____, would you lead us?
I. As we look at these Verses, the ARK had rested on Mt. Ararat. It was time to get off and go on with life. The animals were to BREED and MULTIPLY. I’m sure thankful for that because I REALLY LIKE a GOOD STEAK. And I really like FRIED CHICKEN so I’m really glad that those CHICKENS got off that boat and began to BREED. And to be totally honest I really like my Old Dog George. So I’m glad that those DOGS got off the ark and made little baby puppies. I’m GLAD that TIME MARCHED ON.
I’m NOT GLAD that the Copper Heads and Rattle Snakes got off the ARK. They should have just stayed on BOARD. And I wish the TICKS and CHIGGERS WOULDN’T have hitched a ride on the animals as they got off.
But never-the-less, TIME MARCHED ON.
And we see here where Noah and his family got off that boat and the first thing that they did was to build an ALTER and make a Sacrifice to God. I believe this was a COMMITMENT to do what GOD wanted them to do. This was a COMMITMENT to SERVE HIM the rest of their days.
Because TIME was going to MARCH ON.
And then they got to work replenishing the EARTH.
ALL OF US TODAY are the OFFSPRING of one of the SONS of NOAH. And therefore, we are ALL the OFFSPRING of NOAH himself. Genesis 6:8
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
We are all the OFFSPRING of a man who found GRACE in the eyes of the Lord.
We are ALL the OFFSPRING of a man who LISTENED to GOD and OBEYED even when it seemed like ALL OF HIS WORK was in VAIN.
And everyone of us sitting here today are here because a man LISTENED to God, and his BOYS and their WIVES listened to God, they got onboard, and TIME MARCHED ON!!!
And let me tell you something, I am here today because of a mama and daddy who listened to God and taught ME ..... to listen to God. I HEARD the MESSAGE, I felt the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD DRAW ME and I RESPONDED.
My MAMA and DADDY are here because a PREACHER named Dick Shade PREACHED the WORD of GOD and the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD moved upon their hearts and they RESPONDED to it.
Somebody PREACHED the WORD of God and DICK SHADE responded to GOD’S CALL. TIME MARCHES ON.
And let me tell you something. YOU are here today because someone listened to God and told you about Him.
Now it’s TIME for you and I to TELL SOMEONE about HIM. It’s TIME for us to “PREACH” and TELL OTHERS.
LISTEN, it was PASSED DOWN to us and we need to PASS it down to others. We need to be the ONES to have OFFSPRING. To BEAR FRUIT. REACH OUT to the HURTING. TELL others about Jesus and what He will do for them. Why? Because TIME MARCHES ON.
You and I are given a LIMITED AMOUNT of TIME to be here on this EARTH. We ALL come with EXPIRATION DATES. TODAY could be YOUR LAST DAY to talk to your LOVED ONES. To TELL your NEIGHBOR, your CO-WORKERS or SOMEONE that God has laid on your heart, that GOD has a plan for their life.
Like I said, we ALL have expiration dates. And most things do. But GOD’S WORD and HIS TRUTH never does.
ILLUS: There was a church sign down in Florida advertising for a church. It had a depiction of a Stereotypical Gramma. Blue Hair, too much makeup, glasses down her nose, a bright flowerdy house dress. And the sign read, “This ain’t your Grandma’s Church.” Well listen, I get the point. They probably had a young handsome pastor who could really relate to young folks. They probably had a Great Children’s program and a fully staffed NURSERY. A GOOD COFFEE BAR out in the lobby. And there’s really nothing wrong with some of these things.
But what I’m afraid of is that it’s NOT just Grandma’s Church and the WAY that they DID CHURCH that people REJECT TODAY. It is GRANDMA’S TRUTH. The TRUTH of the GOSPEL. The TRUTH that Jesus is THE ONLY WAY. That there really is a HELL to SHUN and a HEAVEN to gain. But the TRUTH of GOD’S WORD NEVER EXPIRES.
It’s important that we GET OFF the BOAT, or out of these CHURCH WALLS and LIVE for GOD OUT THERE. Not just in here. LIVING for GOD OUT THERE is how we will win others. We MUST GET BUSY because ... TIME MARCHES ON. It doesn’t STOP.
II. And the second thing I want you to see is TIME MARCHES ON, towards an END. Let’s look at Verses 21 and 22 one more time.
“And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
In the next chapter over, God put a RAINBOW in the sky to REMIND folks of His promise to NEVER destroy the EARTH AGAIN WITH WATER ...... “WHILE the Earth REMAINETH!!”
I can stand here and GUARANTEE YOU that we will never have another FLOOD like they did in Noah’s Day where everyone died except for those IN the ARK.
But I can also stand here and GUARANTEE YOU that there is coming a DAY when God is going to DESTROY this EARTH with FIRE. And ALL will DIE except for those in the ARK of Jesus. Because TIME MARCHES ON towards an END.
A. But until then Verse 22 tells us that there is still a time to plant and a time to HARVEST. Folks that time is NOW.
Paul tells in 1 Corinthians 3:6 and 7,
“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”
We ALL have to work together. We have NO OTHER CHOICE because we can’t do it alone. We ALL WORK together and then GOD STEPS IN and GIVES the INCREASE.
THATS’S HOW the KINGDOM of GOD is BUILT.
TIME MARCHES ON TOWARDS AN END.
B. But until then there are still SEASONS in LIFE.
COLD and HEAT will still continue. Last Tuesday morning I saw -15 on my thermometer and next Tuesday afternoon they are calling for 65. That’s an 80 degrees difference in ONE WEEK. Cold and Heat continue around here. This Summer we’ll be begging for some COOL WEATHER.
SUMMER and WINTER will continue.
I’ve thought often about our lives being filled with different SEASONS.
I think of the SPRING as the EARLY PART of our lives. Everything is FRESH and NEW. New growth in our YARDS and GARDENS. New things to EXPERIENCE.
ILLUS: Rachel and I were talking the other day and I said, “I just don’t really enjoy sledding anymore. Now I used to, but I’m just too old to enjoy it.” Rachel agreed, but then she said, “I enjoy watching the kids sled.” Now that’s the FUN PART. You watch the KIDS run into the TREES instead of yourself!!!! But SPRING MUST END because TIME MARCHES ON.
I think of the SUMMER as the GROWING PART of our LIVES. We begin to MATURE and we GROW. We settle down, meet someone, get married and start a FAMILY. It’s a very busy time that we experience. Most of us have experienced these times. If you’re right in the middle of it I KNOW how hard it can be. But let me give you some advice. SAVOR these times. You’re gonna miss them Because TIME MARCHES ON.
The FALL is when things begin to SLOW DOWN. Kids are raised. You don’t work as much as you may have before. It’s time to look back at the other two seasons. Enjoy the MEMORIES. You may have a little more DISPOSABLE INCOME. Maybe do a few of the things you’ve always wanted to do. ENJOY IT BECAUSE ... TIME MARCHES ON!!!
The last SEASON is WINTER.
Winter time kind of gets me down.
People face depression more in the Winter Time than any other time of year.
This last few weeks have been TOUGH.
In WNTER TIME everything DIES.
It’s so cold outside it’s hard to ENJOY GETTING OUT.
Things BREAK. Cars BREAK. Pipes BREAK. And if you SLIP ON THE ICE ... BONES BREAK.
Life can get REALLY HARD in WINTER. That’s TRUE for the ACTUAL WINTER that we’re going through but it’s TRUE for the SYMBOLIC WINTER of this SEASON of people’s LIVES.
Your BODY or MIND begin to slip.
Failing Health.
Doctor Appointments.
Losing Loved Ones along the way.
I know it has to be DEPRESSING at times.
And I know some of you all are in the WINTER of YOUR LIFE. TIME HAS MARCHED ON for many years.
TIME MARCHES ON TOWARDS AN END.
C. It goes on to tell us that the DAY and the NIGHT will not CEASE. As it told us earlier, the EARTH continues to ORBIT around the SUN. Seasons come and seasons go. But not only that, the EARTH still ROTATES on it’s own AXIS. So we still have a SUNRISE and a SUNSET everyday. A DAY and a NIGHT ... EVERYDAY!!!
Someone once said that the Sun wasn’t shining on a certain day. But I beg to differ. The SUN shines everyday. We just can’t always see it. And the writer here, most think it was Moses, tells us that there will be a DAY and a NIGHT as long as the EARTH REMAINS. But someday there will be NO MORE SUN to shine. Because TIME MARCHES ON towards an END.
III. So what is that END that we’re MARCHING TOWARDS?
2 Peter 3:10 tells us:
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
1. There will be an END to TIME.
2. Death will CEASE.
3. There will be an END to REPRODUCTION. Both PHYSICALLY and SPIRITUALLY. I’ve heard it said, “We have all eternity to tell of victories won for Christ, but we have only a few hours before sunset in which to win them."
4. No more PLANTING and HARVESTING.
5. No more SEASONS. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
6. NO more DAYS and NIGHTS.
7. And no more MARCHING towards the END. We will be at the END of this world as we know it. And all that will be left is the JUDGMENT and after that ETERNITY in HEAVEN or HELL.
Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
So where will YOU spend ETERNITY when TIME NO LONGER MARCHES ON?
ILLUS: A young student in China decided to play a trick on his elderly teacher one day. He caught a small bird and cupped it in his hands behind his back. He then approached the sage with this plan in mind. He would ask the old man what he had in his hand. If he answered correctly, he would then ask the teacher if the bird was dead or alive. If the old man said, "Alive," he would crush the bird. If he answered, "Dead," he would release the bird.
Upon approaching the teacher, the young student said, "Old man, what do I have in my hand?" The man responded, "A bird, my son."
"Is he dead or alive, old man?" the boy asked with a grin.
The old sage thought for a moment and then he replied, "The answer to that question, my son, is in your hands......it’s in your hands."
When time STOPS, when we REACH the end, “Where you will spend eternity is in YOUR HANDS. You have a decision to make about Jesus. Because you can’t stop time. Only God can do that.
You can say Maybe Later and risk eternity in HELL.
You can say NO, I’m not interested and guarantee an eternity in Hell.
Or you can say YES and accept Him today.
But the CHOICE is in YOUR HANDS.
TIME MARCHES ON. WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS? Let’s Pray
