What time is it? Useful for a Sunday near time changes.
PURPOSE: to motivate people toward action now; to create a sense of urgency in bringing people closer to Jesus.
Object lesson/children’s sermon idea:
Mount or display clocks showing different time zones. Talk about the time zones and daylight savings/ standard time
What time is it? Spring time. 11 O’ something. Time for lunch. Sermon time. Daylight savings time. Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country. Start time. Quitting time. What time do they keep in space?
Ecclesiasties 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: as the following verses suggest, is it
Time to plant? Time to dig? Time to embrace?
WHAT TIME IT IS DEPENDS ON YOUR ACTIVITIES
For the infant Israeli nation, Passover was time to be saved.
Exodus 13
Exodus 23: 15 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
16 "Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. "Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
17 "Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD.
18
Time to keep Passover, Firstfruits, Pentecost (Ingathering); time to Appear before the Lord
If you want to change what time it is in your life, change what you are doing to match what you want it to /should be. If you are living for self, it is party time, time to “get”, time to be served.
If you are living for the Savior, it is time to serve. Time to prepare.
Some of us need to stop waiting on God, and start doing what we know to do. When we start doing, we find the fulfillment of being involved in relationship.
Time to find grace from God. (Heb 4:16 NIV) “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
WHAT TIME IT IS DEPENDS ON YOUR LOCATION.
Right now it’s tomorrow on the Malaya Peninsula…(from the USA) In our today, missionaries to China are dealing with Monday night.
So, what is your location? You are physically in the *CDTZ,(Central Daylight Time Zone) but mentally where are you? Is it time to place the rolls in the oven? Time already in your mental trip to place out clothes for school tomorrow?
Spiritually, where are you? Your location determines what time it is.
Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Set your hearts and minds on things above, and you will be in the HGTZ , the Holy Ghost time zone. In this zone, it is not time to gossip, it is not time to be judgmental, it is not time to “refrain from embracing”. It is in fact, time to embrace. Embrace those you love, and those you need to love. Embrace those who are dying of AIDS.
(illus. of EKO doing that in Philly).
IN THE HGTZ You do not have time to cater to your selfish whims or pet sins. It is time to be holy, and righteous.
(1 Pet 4:3 NIV) For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
Time to repent. Now is the accepted time, behold today is the day of salvation. What time is it? Depends on your location. If you have come to the Cross or Christ, it’s time to make things right. At the cross, Jesus made ‘time’ for you. (The Cross as the timepiece in the HGTZ).
IN THE HGTZ, it’s Time to clean up, (1 Pet 4:17 NIV) For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
It is time to recognize God’s coming to you:
Luke 19: 42 (NIV) and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes.43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you."
(Illustrate here)
IF you miss the window of God’s opportunity, you will suffer loss, and will have grief--- until the next window of God’s opportunity.
WHAT TIME IS IT? WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?
WHAT TIME IT IS DEPENDS ON HOW YOU MEASURE IT.
What time is it in space? (to the audience) Look at your timepiece now, and tell us all what time it is. Different responses, because of differing measuring devices.
If You have a ‘this world time zone’, then you see what time it is here, but if you indeed live in eternity, you begin to see from that time zone.
[relate background of the passage]…
John 4: 35 (NIV) Do you not say, ’Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.
FRIENDS, it is time to bring people to Jesus. It is time to involve them in the life of the church. It is time to invest in the lives of unbelievers, the unwanted, and the uncaring.
(1 John 2:18 NIV) Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
Preacher, you say, he wrote that 2K years ago. I know. But he was measuring time in the HGTZ, with God’s clock…
2 Peter 3: 3 (NIV) First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
4 They will say, "Where is this ’coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation…”
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
WHAT TIME IS IT?
(Rom 13:11 KJV) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Time to look at the needs around us (like Dicken’s Ghost of Christmas Present, Future)
(Mat 25:13 KJV) Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
CONCLUSION:
Timing is everything in relationships. Since we have a relationship based- belief, then understanding the times is crucial. 1 Chrn. 12: 32 We don’t want to squander the time God gives to us, missing opportunities to get closer to Him, to bring others closer to Him. Waiting around until we feel compelled to get involved in ministry. To give to missions. To attend to prayer.
Do you know what time it is?
