Time Matters
Notes
Transcript
Intro; Sometime around March/April of this [2024] year, I began reading a daily prayer devotional entitled Pause For Prayer, written by Warren W. Wiersbe. The devotion is much like other devotions but at the end of each devotion there is a section called Something to Ponder. There is a question asked about the devotion and the scripture reference. I usually run past that pretty quick and don’t spend much time there.
But somewhere around day 104, I began to really ponder what I was reading and began to write down these days or save them to go back and reread them, because things began to jump off the page at me. So periodically for the next few months I want to share with you some of these prayers and preach on what they have taught me.
The first prayer is #110, Time Matters
Warren Wiersbe and his wife were on mission in Nairobi, Kenya ministering to hundreds of pastors at an Africa Inland Conference. They were tired from the trip but couldn’t wait to get started. One leader detected Warren Wiersbe’s impatience and told him, “You are in Africa now, and the first thing you want to do is put away your watch.”
Too often we get caught up in deadlines and schedules and we forget about how important time is. Instead of rushing through life with what time the Lord gives us, it would be better to make the time He gives count for eternity!
2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
Text; 1 Pet. 4:7-11
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1. Time is Limited; 7
1. Time is Limited; 7
Our time here on earth is limited. We will either leave this earth in a casket/urn or the Lord will return for us in the Rapture. And the latter may be first!
Peter warns that the “end” of all things is at hand.
“End” is the Greek word telos {tel’-os} which has the idea of “fulfillment, a goal or purpose that has been reached or attained. It is the end of an act or state.” In this verse, Peter has in mind the Second Coming of Christ.
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
“At hand”- eggizo {eng-id’-zo} “to draw near or approaching; to join one thing to another.” In other words, His coming is at the door and His judgment is imminent.
Look at the signs that are coming to pass in world affairs, in Israel, and the Middle East, and you can see that the Rapture could be today.
Because we know that our time is limited, then what will we do with it?
Peter tells us how we should spend our time for the will of God.
2. Be Sober and Watchful in Prayer; 7b
2. Be Sober and Watchful in Prayer; 7b
As Christians we should have a desire to be in prayer [intimate fellowship] with our Heavenly Father. But our prayers need to be sober and watchful.
Sober- serious-minded
This word is used concerning the Gadarene demoniac. He had so many demons in him that his name was Legion [6000]. He was crazy and violent. But when Jesus cast out the demons into the swine, then look at the man.
15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
We need to get right-minded/serious in our thinking about the Second Coming of Christ! We need to live each day as if it is our last day here on earth.
Watchful- looking and longing for
There is a difference between waiting for the return of the Lord and watching for it. The difference between these terms is illustrated by the story of a fishing vessel returning home after many days at sea. As they neared the shore, the sailors gazed eagerly toward the dock where a group of their loved ones had gathered. The skipper looked through his binoculars and identified some of them: “I see Bill’s Mary, and there is Tom’s Margaret and David’s Anne.” One man became concerned because his wife was not there. Later, he left the boat with a heavy heart and hurried up the hill to his cottage. As he opened the door, she ran to meet him saying, “I have been waiting for you!” He replied with a gentle rebuke, “Yes, but the other men’s wives were watching for them!”
Mattoon, R. (2011). Treasures from First Peter (p. 276). Rod Mattoon.
Are your prayers seeking the return of Christ or are they just prayers of seeking your needs?
3. Make Love a Priority; 8
3. Make Love a Priority; 8
Is love for others a priority of our time?
I want to quote Adrian Rodgers on this verse.
Now it’s very interesting that Simon Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would say, “Above all, have love.” Why? And he’s talking about the last days. And in the light of the last days, he says, “Have love.” Because, you see, Jesus also was speaking of the last days, and, Jesus said, concerning the last days, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12). Do you know what that means—That means, in the last days, there is going to be a tidal wave of lawlessness. The word iniquity literally means “lawless.” There’s going to be a tidal wave of crime, and immorality, and vice, in the last days. And because of that—because there will be great lawlessness—there will be great lovelessness.
Rogers, A. (2017). A Lifestyle for the Last Days. In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (1 Pe 4:7–11). Rogers Family Trust.
Peter is saying, “Don’t let that get to you. Don’t let the devil keep you from loving, in these last days. ‘Above all things have fervent [love].’ ”
Love looks beyond one’s failures and sees their need!
Love forgives instead of finding fault!
Love helps instead of hating!
Love reaches the unreachable!
1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13(NKJV)
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away….
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
4. Be Hospitable; 9
4. Be Hospitable; 9
Hospitality is an extension of love through one’s generosity and grace
In that day travelers, preachers, disciples, did not have hotels to stay in, and the inn’s were not very nice. They were more so a house of ill repute [Rahab the harlot].
Christians needed a place to stay and a meal to fill them. Churches needed homes to meet in. That’s where hospitality comes inn.
Hospitality can be expensive [food], hard work, time consuming and emotionally draining, because hospitality is focused on serving others!
But hospitality is also rewarding. It builds lifetime bonds and relationships that go far beyond food and lodging, and is reflected in eternity.
Matthew 25:34– 40 (NKJV)
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’…
40 … ’Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
5. Be a Good Steward of Gifts; 10-11
5. Be a Good Steward of Gifts; 10-11
Peter reminds christians that we have been given “grace gifts” and we are to be “good stewards” of them.
Steward- one that manages the materials and the affairs of another.
As christians we are to manage well all the spiritual gifts God has blessed us with. [Rom. 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:7-10, lists of spiritual gifts]
Peter breaks these gifts into two different categories; Speaking and Serving
Speaking Gift- preaching, teaching, exhorting, witnessing, worshiping, singing or praying, Peter tells us not to be silent but to speak the truth!
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord.
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—
21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
Serving Gift- gifts of help, leading, planning, working, giving.
Not everyone can preach or teach or stand before a crowd, but they can run sound, tech, clean, plan, help, fix things, cut grass, volunteer, visit and serve. A church does not function in the preacher but in the people!
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Whether you are speaking or serving, the gift is to be used in the power of God for the glory of God! Our spiritual gifts are to be used to build up believers in the church and to minister the Gospel to the world!
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
Close;
Time Matters. Whether we want to face this or not, we are all on death row; we are lighted candles quickly burning out.
Time is the boundary of opportunity.
1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
It’s time for God’s children to live like there is no tomorrow! Taking advantage of this opportunity to reflect the glory of Christ into a dark and weary world.
And if tomorrow does comes, then live it like we lived today!
Something to Ponder
Are there spiritual goals that you hope to accomplish before your own death? Then get started today!