We all realize the need for making appointments in life. Appointments are as much a part of our lives as breathing itself is. There are two kinds of appointments.
Some of these appointments are VOLUNTARY APPOINTMENTS and some of them are INVOLUNTARY APPOINTMENTS. But whether they are VOLUNTARY or INVOLUNTARY we recognize appointments are necessary in life.
Every Sunday we have a voluntary appointment to be in the house of God.
• We have an 10 O’clock appointment for Sunday School
• We have an 11 O’clock appointment for the worship service
Setting the time for these appointments helps us to arrive at the same time. Without them we would be coming at different times which would cause chaos.
• Sometimes we miss appointments because we forget about them.
• Sometimes we miss appointments because of circumstances that come up and prevent us from keeping them.
However, the Bible mentions three appointments that we all have.
We are going to keep all three of these appointments!
Let’s look at these three appointments.
First, let’s look at-
I. THE APPOINTMENT OF DEATH
Death is something we do not like to talk about. Some people will not even attend a funeral.
We are told:
• In the world today approximately 155,000 people a day die,
• 6458 an hour,
• 108 people a minute,
• Every second 2 people die.
• For every breath you take approximately seven people have died.
Death is everywhere, and it happens to everyone. And we do not even want to talk about it!
But we must talk about it because one of these days we are going to be one of those numbers.
I think about death frequently.
• I drive by the cemetery daily and I can see the flowers on my mother’s grave from my car.
• I drive by the Mausoleum where one day my wife and I will be buried.
• I read the obituary column and I see friends who have past from this life.
• I conduct many funerals as a pastor. Yes, I frequently think about death.
Illus: I even think about how I will die. If I had my choice I would like to die like a preacher friend of mine. That is, after a busy day of serving the Lord he went to sleep one night and woke up in heaven.
God’s Word tells us to NUMBER OUR DAYS. Young and old die but when we reach a certain age we know that we are running out of numbers,
The DECISION of when we are going to depart from this life has already been made by God almighty. HE SETS THE DATE, TIME AND THE PLACE!!!
We do not have a thing to do with making this appointment, GOD HAS MADE IT FOR US AND WHEN THAT TIME COME EVERYONE IS NOT GOING TO BE ONE MINUTE LATE!
When this appointment comes:
• Sadly, some will go to their eternal home in hell
• Joyfully some will go to their eternal home in heaven.
Every sinner will be sad when that appointed comes, but every Christian will be glad!!!
Illus: An elderly couple passed away and found themselves at the pearly gates. Peter was there to welcome them.
• First he showed them their mansion. The man overwhelmed by the sheer luxury of it all asked, "How much does this place cost per night?" Peter replied, "Sir, this is Heaven, it doesn’t cost anything."
• Then Peter took them to the dining room where table upon table was piled high with the most delicious foods you could imagine. Again overwhelmed by the glory of it all the man asked, "How much for the meals?" Peter said, "You forget, this is Heaven, it’s free."
• Peter then took them out back where they saw a fantastically beautiful golf course. As the man stood there open-mouthed Peter said, "Now before you ask, there are no greens fees, this is Heaven, everything is free."
• The man looked at his wife and said, "You and your confounded bran muffins, I could have been here 10 years ago!"
When we Christians have our appointment with death we go to that glorious place call heaven.
However, again, we have no choice about when our APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH will be.
Illus: This is why it is wrong for us to take our own life or someone else’s life, because when we do, we are exalting ourselves to make a decision that is God’s decision alone.
When death takes place some folks accuse God of killing people in the same way that he condemns others for killing.
We must not forget that ALL LIFE HAS BEEN CREATED BY GOD and all life belongs to GOD.
Now if I kill someone I am taking a life that belongs to Him, but when God take a life He is taking a life that belongs to him. God has every right to take it because He created all life and all life belongs to Him.
Illus: For example:
• If I wanted to I could go out in the parking lot and locate my vehicle and take a sledge hammer and beat it until it becomes a piece of junk.
• If I take that same sledge hammer and start beating on your car I am going to be in a lot of trouble because that car does not belong to me.
God has the right to take a life because all life belongs to Him and He can do with it as he pleases.
God makes the decision about when we are going to depart from this life.
Hebrews 9:27 says, "It is appointed unto men once to die."
If the Lord does not come soon, every one of us has an appointment with death.
However, God does all He can to show us our appointment with death is getting closer and closer.
• Every grey hair is a constant reminder that the time is getting close.
• Every wrinkle on our face is a constant reminder that the time is getting close.
• The deterioration of our bodies is a constant reminder that the time is getting close.
But some folks even though they have the grey hair, wrinkles in their face, deterioration of their body they will not heed the warning that their appointment is getting close.
This appointment with death that we all have is not like the other kinds of appointments in our lives.
Illus: For example, when we go to the dentist and get ready to leave his/her office, the receptionist makes our next appointment, and she might say, “I have these dates and times available, which one would you like?” (And if you are like me, we choose the furthest one away because we are not excited about making such an appointment.)
Illus: A dentist was asked what the worst thing about being a dentist was. He said, “The worst thing about being a dentist is that you can have a book full of appointments that people don’t keep. You would be surprised how many will call in and cancel the appointment the day before, or just never show up for their appointment.”
But when it comes to having an appointment with death, we are not given any choices. The Lord Jesus Himself makes the appointment, He sets the date, time and place for our appointment with death.
And the fact is, none of us here knows when our appointment is, we do not have the slightest idea of when that date and time will be. It could be today or next year, WE DO NOT KNOW!
WHY DOESN’T THE LORD TELL US?
It is obvious that if we knew the day and hour, many would not live as close to the Lord as they should. But as that time drew nigh they would start to live close to the Lord.
Illus: Makes me think of my parents. They would both come home from work together around three thirty. And we children had chores to do and we would goof off until it was almost time for our parents to come home and then we would get our chores done.
And if we knew when our APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH was coming we would goof off until it was time for the Lord to return and then get our work done.
Before I leave our APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH let me show you two things about death:
A. THERE IS THE SURETY OF IT
“It is appointed unto men once to die,” the Word of God says.
• The best doctors in the world die just like we do
• The rich and famous die just like we do
• There is not a place where you can move to avoid keeping that appointment
• Every community has their funeral homes and cemeteries
We do not know what the future holds, but we all know FOR SURE, sooner or later we have an appointment with death.
When it comes to death, THERE IS THE SURETY OF IT. But also…
B. THERE IS THE SUDDENNESS OF IT
Look at 2 Samuel 20:3. We read, “…But truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.”
Illus: My sister-in-law came home from choir practice. She went to the doctor before she died and he told her she was in good health.
She went to her closet after getting home from choir practice to hang her clothes up. She took one step and she was dead before she hit the floor.
Death is always near us, and at any moment we can be snatched from this life.
Illus: As we ride down the highways, we see little crosses or flower wreaths that tell us that someone lost a loved one on that section of the highway.
This is good for several reasons:
(1)It is a way of honoring a loved one
(2) It is a way of reminding us that a person was killed on the highway so we will be careful
Psalm 23 talks about walking through the “Valley of the shadow of death.”
Illus: Notice, death here is related to a shadow. Why?
• A shadow is something very close to us.
• A shadow is something we cannot get away from.
Every day we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, death is always near us.
• We are only one heartbeat away from death.
• We are only one breath away from death.
• The Word of God says we are only a step away from death.
Since those things are true, and since death can come at any moment, it pays for us to be prepared.
This is why Amos 4:12 says, “Prepare to meet thy God.”
Make no mistake about it, every one of us has an with death. But also we have…
II. THE APPOINTMENT OF JUDGMENT
The Bible also says in Heb. 9:27, "But after this the judgment."
We are told in Romans 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Some teach that after this life there is a place called purgatory where people get a second chance to purge themselves from sin so they can enter heaven.
But nowhere in the scriptures can you find the word “Purgatory”
This teaching came from the Chaldeans when the Catholic church was trying to reach the Chaldeans for Christ they took some of the teachings of the Chaldeans and incorporated them into the Catholic teachings.
God’s Word says every one of us has an appointment with DEATH, and AFTER THIS THE JUDGEMENT.
That means SAINTS and SINNERS.
There will be two judgments:
A. THE SAINTS
The Saints will stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Look at 2 Cor. 5:10 as Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians, we read, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
The Saints will stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ and they will see what degree of reward they will receive in heaven.
B. THE SINNERS
The sinners will stand before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment.
Look at Revelation 20:11-15. We read, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
All the lost will appear at the Great White Throne Judgment to give account of the evil they have done in this life.
Illus: Sinners can come up with all kinds of excuses for why they can not come to church, but when the sinners' APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH comes every last one of them will be there.
But notice what verse 15 says will happen once they are judged, we read, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
They were not gently led to hell, the Bible says they will be “Cast into the lake of fire.”
Look at the word CAST!!!
What does it mean?
It means in general "to throw," with various degrees of violence; usually, with force, but not so necessarily, "cast a net," "cast lots."
God has been good to this crowd, merciful to this crowd, but at this point God is through with them and they are “Cast” into hell.
The Bible tells us it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.
Lost person, today God is patiently dealing with you, but one day His patience is going to come to an end. And when the lost stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment, they are going to discover God has washed His hands of that crowd FOREVER!
We have a…
• An appointment with DEATH
• And an appointment with JUDGMENT.
But here is the good news, we also have-
III. THE APPOINTMENT WITH SALVATION
Look at 1 Thess. 5:9, we read, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When it comes to salvation, every one of us has an OPEN APPOINTMENT.
Illus: I saw a sign the other day when I went by a barber shop that stated, "NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY."
That is, there are some barber shops who have "BY APPOINTMENT ONLY!"
But this barber shop was stating there is no set time for you to get a hair cut, you can come at anytime!
Listen, God does not have a book that states that we only can be saved at such a day or time. We can be saved any day at any hour.
• Paul was saved on the Damascus road.
• Zachaeus was saved in a sycamore tree
God wants us to understand that He does not want us to die and go to hell.
The Bible has made it crystal clear, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
God has provided a salvation for us.
Let me show you briefly three things about this appointment with salvation.
A. THERE IS THE "NOW" OF SALVATION
Look at 2 Cor. 6:2. We read, “…Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Sometimes, when you witness to lost people they will say, “I want to accept the Lord, but I do not feel the time is right.”
Then they begin to explain what they mean. They will say, “When that time comes, I will know it, and that is when I will accept the Lord Jesus!”
Listen, they do not need to wait for some goose bumps to pop up on their arm and cold chills run up and down their spine, the Bible makes it clear that our APPOINTMENT WITH SALVATION IS NOW!!!
The Word of God says, “…Now is the day of salvation.”
This is the NOW of salvation, but also:
B. THERE IS THE "HOW" OF SALVATION
Look at Rom. 10:9-10. We read, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
When people go through life denying they have sin, God can not help them.
Notice the Lord sets forth two things the lost person must do:
(1)CONFESS WITH THEIR MOUTH THAT THEY ARE THE SINNER AND CHRIST IS THE SAVIOR.
(2) BELIEVE THAT CHRIST IS MORE THAN JUST A MAN, HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
They must:
• Believe that He is the Savior
• Believe that He died for their sins
• Believe that He was buried and raised to life again, proving to us that He is the Savior of the world
God’s Word says if you will do this, “Thou shalt be saved.”
God’s Word did not say:
• Maybe you will be saved
• Perhaps you will be saved
It says, THOU SHALT BE SAVED.
If they will not do this, they cannot be saved.
We looked at the “NOW” and “HOW” of salvation, but let us also -
C. THERE IS THE "WOW" OF SALVATION
Look at 2 Cor. 5:17. We read, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Some say, “Preacher, I do not want to get saved until I know I can live it!”
Let me tell you something right now, you cannot live it until you accept the Lord Jesus.
He will make you a new creature, and when He does, “…Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Listen, people's lives are not going to straighten up:
• Because they made some new year’s resolutions
• Because they joined a church
• Because they started attending church every Sunday
• Because they started tithing each week
Their lives will never change until they are BORN-AGAIN and become NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST JESUS.
Once they become NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST, they will never again be the same. “WOW!”
WHY DOES GOD MAKE THE APPOINTMENT OF SALVATION A VOLUNTARY APPOINTMENT.
Heaven is going to be full of people who voluntarily want to be there. They were not forced to go there.
Conclusion:
Illus: Someone said, “There will be three things which will surprise us when we get to heaven;
1) First, to find many there that we did not expect to find there;
2) Another, to find some not there whom we had expected;
3) Third, and perhaps the greatest wonder, will be to find ourselves there.”
All of this sounds good, but the fact is, two of the three things are true.
1. I am sure we will be surprised when we get to heaven to find people we did not expect to find there.
2. And I am sure we will be surprised that some we thought would be there will not be there.
But it is the third thing that I disagree with and find unscriptural. I will not be surprised to find that I am there.
1 John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; THAT YE MAY KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Look at the word “know”, this is the word “eido” which means we can know for sure that we are saved.
God does not give us an:
• “I hope so” salvation
• “I think so” salvation
But an “I KNOW SO” SALVATION.
If you do not have that kind of salvation, you have every right to be concerned about your salvation.
I have preached to you about these three appointments. You might ignore everything that I have preached from God’s Word. But one day you will find out HE, ONLY, HAS THE RIGHT TO DECIDE WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO SPEND ETERNITY based on what you do with Jesus.
Illus: An umpire named Babe Pinelli once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. When the crowd booed with sharp disapproval at the call, the legendary Ruth turned to the umpire with disdain and said, "There’s 40,000 people here who know that the last pitch was a ball." Suspecting that the umpire would erupt with anger, the coaches and players braced themselves for Ruth’s ejection.
However, the cool headed Pinelli replied, "Maybe so, Babe, but mine is the only opinion that counts."
On the judgment day for sinners, they need to realize that God’s judgment is the only one that counts .
Illus: I heard a story about how the devil was trying to figure out the best way to get men to ignore this matter of salvation.
1) One of his demons said, “Why don’t you just tell them that there is no God.” And Satan said, “That’s stupid, only a fool could look at creation and come to the conclusion that there is no God.”
2) A second one said, “Why don’t you just tell them there is no such thing as a judgment?” The devil said, “That’s absurd, if there is a God then surely He will hold men accountable for how they live.”
3) And then a third one spoke up and said, “Why don’t you just say, there is no hurry?” And Satan said, “That’s it!” And he’s been selling that bill of goods for thousands of years.
Hell is going to be full of people who thought they had time to get saved but they will find they have gambled with their souls and they have lost.
Listen, the devil might tell you there’s no hurry but God says, “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die and not live.” Death is approaching and each and every one of us had better be ready.
I. THE APPOINTMENT OF DEATH
II. THE APPOINTMENT OF JUDGMENT
III. THE APPOINTMENT OF SALVATION
