"It’s Just A Matter of Time"
(Eccl. 3:1 & 2)
Does anyone here know what time it is? How do you look at the day and time we live in? Do you see this hour as if it is just one hour of millions you have in your life? Allow me to give you some possible measurements of time:
• 1 picosecond (1 trillionth of a second) - about the shortest period of time we can currently measure accurately
• 1 nanosecond (1 billionth of a second) - 2 to 4 nanoseconds is the length of time that a typical home computer spends executing one software instruction
• 1 microsecond (1 millionth of a second)
• 1 millisecond (1 thousandth of a second) - The typical fastest time for the exposure of film in a normal camera. A picture taken in 1/1000th of a second will usually stop all human motion
• 1 centisecond (1 hundreth of a second) - the length of time it takes for a stroke of lightning to strike
• 1 decisecond (1 tenth of a second) - a blink of an eye
• 1 second - an average person’s heart beats once each second
Then, we examine the higher, more tangible, elements if time:
• 60 seconds - one minute
• 60 minutes - an hour
• 8 hours - The typical workday in the U.S., as well as the typical amount of sleep a person needs every night
• 24 hours - a day. The amount of time for the earth to rotate one time on its axis
• 7 days - a week
• 40 days - about the longest a person can survive without food
• 365.24 days - a year. The amount of time it takes for the planet earth to complete one orbit around the sun
• 10 years - a decade
• 75 years - The typical life span for a human being
• 5,000 years - The span of recorded history
How is it we can measure time from its most finite position to its known extent, yet we cannot know, realize or accept what hour we are in right now?!
Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:13 - "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." I have heard some say: "…I have heard preachers say for years that ’Jesus is coming.’" Then, here we are…2002…And, Jesus has yet to return! So, how does one answer this? How does one combat any doubt that might set in while we ponder that Jesus has yet to return? Let me put it this way: We must live minute by minute as if He was to return this very day! And, we must realize to our very core of being that at any moment…in a snap of a finger…we could be ushered out to meet the Lord!
So, when we examine the hour we are in, we must chase away all the besetting thoughts and notions that suggest to us that we have all the time in the world. As much as we may not like to think on these things, time does matter! The thing we call our lives are literally swallowed up by this one fact: Our lives are nothing more than a matter of time!
So, I wish to look at what time it is for us…Let’s examine three facts of what time it is for all of us:
I. It’s Time to Stay Close to The Lord!
(Isa. 55:6) "Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near." David Kimchi gives the true sense of this passage: "Seek ye the Lord, because he may be found: call upon him, because he is near. Repent before ye die, for after death there is no conversion of the soul." In this approach, we see that the Lord is poised and waiting for His children & the unsaved alike to seek Him! Friends, it’s time to seek the Lord…it’s time to draw close to Him!
(Heb. 10:19-22) "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Adam Clarke says this of this passage: "Let us come with the blood of our sacrifice to the throne of God: the expression is sacrificial." We must be sincere if we are to be right with the Lord in any shape, way or form. We cannot accept the lie of the devil when he tries to convince us that we can "part & parcel" our lives to the Lord; that is to say to live our
lives just 30, 40, 50 or even 90% committed to God. This is a lie from the very depths of hell! Don’t believe it for a picosecond!
And, James reminds us in his letter (James 4:8) - "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…" This is a promise that God will not wait one moment to answer for you. The Lord will draw near, if you will! You are the initiator of this Divine transaction. Don’t you want to draw near to Him? Is that really in your heart to do so? It should be!
II. It’s Time to Stay Close to the Church!
(Heb. 10:25) "…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." Now, I do realize that this passage helps support the principle of consistent Church attendance, but I wish to emphasize the latter portion of this verse. Again, I defer to our brother of days gone by, Dr. Adam Clarke: "’That day’ - the time in which God would come and pour out his judgments on the Jewish nation (which historically this is what the writer was literally referring to). We may also apply it to the day of death and the day of judgment. Both of these are approaching to every human being. He who wishes to be found ready will carefully use every means of grace, and particularly the communion of saints, if there be even but two or three in the place where he lives, who statedly meet together in the name of Christ. Those who relinquish Christian communion are in a backsliding state; those who backslide are in danger of apostasy."
As in the times of these Hebrews, we find ourselves in a comparable hour. We, too, are in days that our society offers us almost nothing conducive to spiritual health & well being. On the contrary, this world we find ourselves in offers us nothing less than an atmosphere that works overtime in attempting to topple us in our walk with the Lord. Therefore, God, in His infinite wisdom and grace, has offered us His Words of warning…We are to seek the confinements of our fellowship as fellow-believers & children of God to assist one another against the wiles of the devil!
We see many offers of assistance throughout the Scripture: (Heb. 3:13) "…exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb. 10:24) "…let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works…"
(James 5:16) "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed…" (1 Peter 4:9) " Be hospitable to one another without grumbling." (1 Peter 4:10) "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." And, (1 John 4:11) "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." I could go on & on, but I believe you get the point. The Church is our sanctuary from a world and a devil that seeks nothing but our total demise…Do not seek to be released from the bondage of our fellowship, rather seek to have a heart for more opportunities to take part in it!
(Lastly…)
III. It’s Time to Share the Good News That We So Freely Partake Of!
We all know the Great Commission well - (Mark 16:15) "…Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…" But, we are often confused as to who this command is specifically given. We take the easy way out, don’t we! We say: "That’s the preacher’s job," or we say: "That’s for those who have a burden, or for those who have a special gift at witnessing." The funny thing is that I have yet to meet one Biblical scholar (alive or deceased) that find this to be the actual Biblical mandate, or to be what Jesus actually meant when He said it!
Why is it we don’t share the blessed truth of salvation of the Lord? Is it for fear? Is it because we accept that we are tongue-tied, or we don’t know what to say? Are we afraid of offending anyone? If so, allow me to remind you of the title of our message - IT’S A MATTER OF TIME!
Time is of an essence, friends! It is imperative to realize that the clock is ticking…And, all the while the clock is ticking, our friends, our family, our communities are not saved! WE HAVE THE ANSWER! We say we are going to heaven, that all is well in our hearts & lives with the Creator. But, we do not heed His commands! He tells us what happens when we do not invest in the "talents!" Jeremiah 8:20 tells us: "The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!"
