SF210 - IF I ONLY HAD ONE YEAR TO LIVE (Psalm 90 12)
SF210
1st Dover 12/90 - 1 prof
Mount Harmony 10/95 - 1 prof
IF I ONLY HAD ONE YEAR TO LIVE
Psalm 90:12
INTRODUCTION
NUMBERED DAYS
"If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400, that carried over no balance from day to day, and every evening canceled whatever part of that amount you had failed to use, what would you do? Common sense would tell you to draw out every cent!
Well, you have such a bank, and its name is 'Time'! Every morning the Lord credits you with 86,400 seconds, and at night rules off as a loss whatever of this treasure you have failed to invest to a good purpose. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow.
You must live in the present ‑ on today's deposit; therefore invest your fleeting moments well so that in eternity you will have no regrets about time."
TIME AND ETERNITY
Thomas Lister placed these words on nearly every grandfather clock he made:
"Lo! Here I stand by thee upright
To give thee warning day and night;
For every tick that I do give
Cuts short the time thou has to live."
If I only had One Year to Live I would...
1A SETTLE MY SALVATION
(2CO 6:2) For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
GET RID OF...
1B. Pride
2B. Pet Sins
3B. False Faith
2A. DEAL WITH MY UNBELIEF
MAR 9:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
MAT 13:58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
1B. Live Closer To God
1C. In Sickness
2C. In Adversity
3C. In Burdens
4C. In Danger
2B. Come Clean With God
PSA 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
3A. READ MY BIBLE MORE
(Psalms 119:9‑11) How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. {10} I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. {11} I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
4A. BE A BETTER STEWARD OF MY MONEY
1CO 4:2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
WASTEFULNESS
A lady fell out of a second‑story window and landed in a garbage truck that was slowly moving past the house. Half buried in the litter, she tried without success to get the driver's attention. A foreign diplomat standing on the sidewalk saw her and commented indignantly, "Another example of how wasteful Americans are! That woman looks like she's good for at least another 10 years."
5A. BE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY
1PE 3:10 For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
6A. MAKE RESTITUTION WITH OTHERS
THE PRICE OF A GRUDGE
Some time ago a middle‑aged woman sought to be reunited in marriage with her former husband. She told her pastor that they were both Christians when they established their home, and that they had been blessed with two sons. Then one day they quarreled, and harsh words were spoken. Each was too proud to ask the other's forgiveness, and the bitter feelings finally led to a divorce. Neither had found a new mate; and now, 25 years later, with one son dead and the whereabouts of the other unknown, this woman learned that the only man she had ever loved was in the hospital. She went to see him, and with tears they forgave one another.
At their request, the pastor gladly remarried them right there in the hospital room. As he left after performing the ceremony, he thought of the price they had paid because of their unwillingness to forgive. The prayers of both had been powerless, they could not experience the joy of their salvation and their sons had suffered because of a broken home. Although the husband and the wife had been reunited, the wasted years could never be recalled.
7A. BE MORE THANKFUL
1B. For God's Simple Blessings
2B. For My Family
3B. For My Church
4B. For My Country
8A. I WOULD WITNESS MORE
9A. I WOULD PRAY MORE
10A. I WOULD SEEK TO DO GOD'S WILL
"RIGHT QUICK!"
Vance Havner illustrated obedience in his Devotional Treasury with this anecdote: "When I was a boy, my father had a habit of calling me to do things with the summons, 'Come, right quick!' I didn't mind the 'come,' but the 'right quick' irritated me sometimes. He didn't mean, 'Take your time; think it over; come if you feel like it.' I had the impression that I had better feel like it! Father considered himself to be the head of the house, and the rest of us were inclined to agree with him."
Then Havner added, "The big word with God is 'now.' If we are going to get anything done for Him, we had better get at it now. He is the I AM, the Eternal Contemporary."
APPLICATION
Our Measured Life...
When the great artist Raphael died at the early age of 37, friends and relatives carried his marvelous but unfinished painting The Transfiguration in the funeral procession. His family felt that because of the limited time he was allotted to use his creative genius, the painting was an appropriate symbol of his unfulfilled earthly aspirations.
That half-completed picture has another meaning - a message that should impress itself on all of us; Life is fleeting and death may come unexpectedly. We should treasure each hour as a gift of great value and use it to the best advantage.
The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop,
At lat ore early hour. - Anon.
IT'S LATER THAN EVER BEFORE!
The magazine Christian Truth for the Household of Faith relates the story of a small boy who was lying on the living room floor playing with his toys. Nearby stood a large grandfather clock. Noontime was approaching, and when both hands of the old timepiece reached 12, the chimes began to ring. As he always liked to do, the little fellow counted each gong as it sounded. This time, however, something went wrong with clock's inner mechanism. Instead of stopping at 12, it kept right on chiming, 13‑14‑15‑16 times. The boy couldn't believe his ears! He jumped to his feet and ran into the kitchen, shouting, "Grandma! Grandma! It's later than it's ever been before!" Of course, the youngster didn't understand what had happened, but in his excitement he expressed a truth we all would do well to consider.
TREAT TIME WITH REVERENCE!
This interesting item was in a magazine: "Who am I? I haven't always been and I won't always be, but right now I'm on the move, measuring out life. People wait for me, submit to me, and fear me; but no one can stop me except the Lord Himself. Most men think I'm on the move forever, but I'm not. When God stops me, that will be it. Then it will be too late to forgive your brother, to apologize to your sister, to visit a sick friend, or to help the needy. Worst of all, it will be too late to repent and be saved. My name is TIME, and when I come to my end, you will go with me into eternity."