MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN, BROWNSVILLE, TX
A. Someone told me a long time ago that the older you get the faster time flies. If that is true, then it is no wonder that I no longer seem to have enough time to get everything done that I need to do.
ILL. Are you familiar with Big Ben in London? Big Ben is a 13 1/2-ton bell attached to a 5-ton clock in the tower of the Houses of Parliament. Built in 1859, it is famous for its accuracy. But several years ago scientists determined that in 20 years the clock had gained 1 second on God’s celestial time.
God’s celestial time? Yes, that’s exactly what it is. You see, the sun & stars & planets move so precisely in their orbits that scientists gauge the precision of our time-keeping instruments by their celestial movements.
But back to Big Ben, how did they fix it? How were they able to adjust the clock to keep it from gaining a second every 20 years? They did it by attaching a coin about the size of a penny to the top of the giant pendulum. And now it is in absolute accord with God’s celestial clock.
B. But God’s greatest measuring piece is not His celestial clock, it is His Word, & it is all wound up & ticking away. And when we begin to measure ourselves by God’s standards, I’m convinced that, just like Big Ben, we’ll find adjustments that we need to make, too.
There are 3 different passages of scripture that I want us to consider this morning, & each one is dealing with a different time.
The first one is Romans 13:11-14, "And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness & put on the armor of light.
"Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies & drunkenness, not in sexual immorality & debauchery, not in dissension & jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, & do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
PROP. With those words fresh in our ears, I want us to ask ourselves 3 questions: First of all, "What time is it in my life?" Secondly, "What time is it in the church?" Thirdly, "What time is it in the world?"
I think that God’s Word gives us answers to all 3 of those questions.
I. WHAT TIME IS IT IN MY LIFE?
A. Number one, "What time is it in my life?" Where am I in the great scheme of things as far as the beginning, the middle, & the end of life is concerned?
ILL. Are you familiar with Bill Cosby’s book, "Time Flies"? In it, Cosby says that something happens to you when you turn 50 years old.
When his father turned 50, Cosby says that for the first time he remembers noticing his father’s "love handles," those rolls of fat which develop around your waist sometime during middle age. Cosby attributes them to the force of gravity. He can remember seeing those "love handles" on his father, & promising himself that he would never develop such "love handles."
He also remembers his father grunting & groaning every time he sat down, & every time he got up. Bill Cosby promised himself that he would never grunt & groan unless he was carrying a football & was crossing over the goal line on a football field.
But back in 1987, when Bill Cosby turned 50, suddenly his dad’s "love handles" transferred over to him, & became "hate handles" instead of "love handles." And he found himself making weird sounds every time he sat down & got up, too.
He also observed that when you begin to get old your eyesight changes. Describing the time he put on his first pair of tri-focal glasses, he said, "I put on my tri-focals, & in the top lens the door-knob appeared to be 100 yards away. In the middle lens it looked like it was 50 yards away. In the lower lens it looked like I had already walked past it." He said, "I jammed my thumb 3 times reaching for that door knob."
He has the same problem many have. He can see quite well at a distance, but not up close. People who are far-sighted & who use their glasses only for reading are often losing them because they don’t wear them all the time.
Cosby relates that once he lost his glasses. He searched for them in dresser drawers, between the cushions of the couch, all over the place. He couldn’t find them anywhere. Until, suddenly, he happened to see himself in the mirror, & there they were, on top of his head.
APPL. You see, as time passes, things change. Our eyesight changes. Our hearing changes. Our whole physical make-up changes, & we begin to realize just how fast life is flying by.
B. But the question is, "According to God’s clock, what time is it in my life?" This could be my last year upon this earth. It could be your last year. You may be young or old. Age has nothing to do with it.
So Paul writes, "The hour has come to wake up from your slumber. The night is nearly over. Wake up! The day of our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The day is almost here. Put aside the deeds of darkness & put on the armor of light."
We can cover up a lot of things in the darkness, but the day is coming when all of these things will be revealed.
"What time is it in my life?" We must wake up & realize that time is quickly passing, & we may not have much time left.
II. WHAT TIME IS IT IN THE CHURCH?
In 1 Timothy 4:1 we find an answer to the second question, "What time is it in the church?" Paul talks about the situation that will be found in what he calls the "later times."
He writes, "The spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith & follow deceiving spirits & things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry & order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe & who know the truth."
A. Paul says that in "the later times" that there will be an increase in false teachers, & that some will abandon the faith because of them. Paul calls them "hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared."
I’m convinced we have seen this happen again & again during recent years. Religious leaders with tremendous followings have been exposed to be hypocrites & greedy, taking money from the poor to spend on their own pleasures, grasping for power, indulging in immorality, & deceiving the faithful.
Paul says that it doesn’t bother them because their conscience is gone. The result is that people will fall away from the faith, having itching ears, unwilling to accept the truth.
And the price we’re paying for deceitful leaders is not only confused & deluded believers, but also that the church, which has been bought & paid for by the precious blood of Christ, is being ridiculed by the world.
B. Paul also warns about "things taught by demons." It wasn’t many years ago when the unbelieving world made fun of the idea of a devil & of Christians who warned about the power of Satan & evil in the lives of his followers.
But not any more! Evidences of Satanism & the occult appear all around us, & I am sure that you are aware that this has become one of the most discussed topics in the media today.
Many people have come to the place where they care only about themselves. They want thrills & pleasure & gratification of every sensual desire. They want power, & Satan seems to promise it to them.
ILL. Do you remember that TV interview of the 3 boys involved in Satanism who beat a fourth boy to death? According to their testimony, as they began beating him, he asked, "Why are you doing this to me?" One of them answered, "Because it’s fun!"
Beware, the devil is a roaring lion prowling about, seeking whom he may devour! But the Bible says he often disguises himself as an angel of light.
Paul says, "Wake up! Become aware of the fact that there are many who look like & sound like Christian teachers but who are not. And many will abandon the faith because of them & their false teachings." So what time is it in the church? What time is it?
III. WHAT TIME IS IT IN THE WORLD?
A. Paul changes subjects in 2 Timothy 3, & now he is talking about the last days of the world. Here is what he says, beginning in vs. 1.
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
Do these words sound familiar? Are we lovers of money today? Are we lovers of ourselves? Go into the bookstore & you’ll see shelves filled with books emphasizing our own importance, & how to gratify our every desire. Paul says the result is that we become boastful & proud & abusive, without self-control, & brutal.
ILL. We have been hearing horrible stories from all across our nation of family members killing each other - a total disobedience & disrespect & lack of love for one another. We have become lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God.
Paul says that people have dethroned God, & have enthroned themselves. They worship their money & their pleasures instead of worshiping God. They appear to have a form of Godliness, but ignore His will completely.
B. So what time is it? What time is it in your life? What time is it in the church? What time is it in the world? Paul says that it is time to wake up, to open our eyes. It is time to look around & see what is going on.
It is time to come out of darkness into the light & to put on Jesus. It is time to build each other up. It is time to pray. It is time to grow in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is time to rescue the perishing. We don’t know how much time is left. All we have is right now.
CONCL. So this morning we offer God’s invitation. If you’re here outside of Christ we hope that you will take advantage of this moment, & realize how important it is for you to respond to God’s love, & to accept Jesus as your Lord & your Savior.
Eternity can begin right at this moment for you because God promises that time will never run out if you are His child, His son or His daughter. If you are part of His family, if you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, then eternal life is yours.
We extend His invitation & pray that you will respond to it as we stand & as we sing.
