19 Minutes

[Have a countdown timer set for 19 minutes and START when you begin the sermon!]

Introduction: Famous Cathedral Archways

“A famous cathedral in Europe is known for its three arched doorways that lead from the [foyer] into the sanctuary. Over the right entrance, these words are carved into the marbled archway: “All that pleases is but for a moment.” Over the left entrance, leading worshippers into the sanctuary, are chiseled these words: “All that troubles is but for a moment.” Visibly etched over the main archway, leading down the center aisle, is this inscription: “All that is important is eternal.”

The message is clear for all who enter the sanctuary. All that is [temporary] is ultimately trivial. What is truly important in the present is that which will be important ten thousand years from today. This is the theme of Psalm 90 which is our text today, and this psalm, since it was written by Moses, is one of the oldest parts of the Bible. Follow along as I read Psalm 90.

Psalm 90:1-17—​1 Lord, You’ve been our refuge in every generation. 2 Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God. 3 You return mankind to the dust, saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.” 4 For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night. 5 You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning—6 in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up. 7 For we are consumed by Your anger; we’re terrified by Your wrath. 8 You’ve set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence. 9 For all our days ebb away under Your wrath; we end our years like a sigh. 10 Our lives last 70 years or, if we’re strong, 80 years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away. 11 Who understands the power of Your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due You. 12 Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts. 13 Lord—how long? Turn and have compassion on Your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity. 16 Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands—establish the work of our hands! (CSB)

Transition: The first point is taken from vv 1-2.

Acknowledge the Lord as God and your refuge and pass it on.

Psalm 90:1-2—​1 Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation. 2 Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God. (CSB)

Moses wrote this psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He said, “Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation.” He’d been taught of God’s great work in creation and through the lives of Adam and Eve. In that next generation, Abel knew God as his refuge even though he died early it seems. Each generation had to depend on the Lord as God and their refuge.

They learned from the previous generation, but they could not have a relationship with God through their parents or grandparents. They had to follow Him themselves.

Eventually, Abraham heard God’s call and began following. Then Isaac and Jacob. Then Joseph whom God used to save his family in Egypt. Eventually, Moses began following the Lord as God and his refuge. God did an astounding work in Moses’ own generation by delivering them from Pharaoh—through the ten plagues and through the crushing defeat of the Egyptian army as they drowned in the Red Sea. He says, “Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation.”

God’s always had some followers in every generation who taught others to follow the Lord as God and their refuge. The Lord is the One to whom Moses ran in good times and in times of trouble. Jesus talked about living in Him, remaining in Him, or abiding in Him. Moses abided in the Lord, and it showed in His walk and leadership.

I’m thankful that previous generations acknowledged the Lord as God and that He was their refuge, their dwelling place. I’m so thankful that they passed that down to the younger ones. Eventually, it was passed down to me by my parents and others.

This passing down of the faith is not automatic. That’s why America is in such bad shape right now. Christians dropped the ball in the past, and we’re reaping the long-term consequences. Now, I realize that it’s easy to blame people in the past for present problems. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes and pick up the ball and raise the current generation to recognize the Lord as God and their refuge.

Your stuff cannot be more important than the Lord your God. Your job cannot be first in your life. Your leisure cannot take priority in your life. Sports cannot come before the Lord. Your sin cannot come before God.

Even your family cannot be more important than the Lord. Your kids and grandkids must see that the Lord is #1 and that you acknowledge Him as God and your refuge.

My wife and I now have a married daughter. We’re definitely imperfect parents, especially on the husband’s side, but we spent a lot of time training her to follow the Lord. It was mostly informal, as-you-go training, and she is following the Lord. However, will she keep following the Lord, along with her husband, when kids come along? Every generation has to take up the mantle to follow Him.

I want to say with honesty, “Lord, You’ve been my refuge in my generation” so that I can join Moses in declaring, “Lord You have been our refuge in every generation.”

Moses went on to say in Psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God.”

God never became God. From eternity to eternity, He is God. He has always been God. He is the Creator, but whatever was before our world and universe, the Lord was God then. He is the Creator of our physical world which includes being the Creator of time itself, spatial dimension, and matter. Not only is He God now and in eternity past, but He’s God in eternity future. He’s the refuge to which we can run because He’s God.

Transition: Moses declared the truth about God. Next, he moves on to declare the sad truth about us.

Remember that your life is extremely short.

Psalm 90:3-4—3 You return mankind to the dust, saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.” 4 For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night. (CSB)

Moses was saying that God is everything to us, but we’re virtually nothing. Man was originally made from dust, and eventually, we become dust. God only has to say the word, and your life is over or my life is over. God controls life and death, and like a flood, He can swallow you or me up in death.

Remember that God is from eternity to eternity. A thousand years are like yesterday to Him, or even just a watch in the night. A watch in the night was just four hours. Moses says that a thousand years are like 4 hours to God. Even the oldest person to have lived on the earth, Methuselah, was only 969 years old, so even Methuselah was not even like a full four hours old in God’s perspective.

Illustration: What does that say about us? If you would happen to live even 10% of Methuselah’s lifespan, you’d be virtually 97 years old. If Methuselah’s lifespan is roughly 4 hours to God, your 97 years would only be 24 minutes to God. I’m sorry, but most of us won’t live that long. The average lifespan in America is around 78 years old. Even Moses says this in our text in v. 10. “Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years.” If we keep with Moses’ four hour watch as equal to 1,000 years in God’s economy, then 78 years would be like 19 minutes to God. Does that sober you up? The average American life is like 19 minutes to God.

Look at verses 5-6. Moses says, “They [people] are like grass that grows in the morning—in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up.” (CSB)

Moses is just saying that our lives are really short especially in comparison to God. Again, it’s not even a day old. Since our lives are so short, we must not think too highly of ourselves or give ourselves unduly to temporary things. Make your 19 minutes about the Lord and eternal things.

Psalm 90:7—For we are consumed by Your anger; we are terrified by Your wrath. (CSB)

We’ve already seen how inferior man is to God regarding time. Now we see that God is the Judge over mankind. Our 19 minutes have just begun, and then they’re over. Then comes judgment. Judgment automatically leads to fear when you’re guilty, and we’re all guilty before God the Judge. In fact, Moses declares, “You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.”

Illustration: Let’s say that you’ve committed a crime, a robbery. Police begin investigating and collecting evidence. You hope that you weren’t visible to any people or cameras. You hope that they won’t find any fingerprints or shoe prints to link you to the crime. You hope that they won’t question the person to whom you sold the valuables. Eventually, the case goes cold due to a lack of evidence.

Not so with God. Look again at what Moses wrote about God the Judge. “You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.” You may be able to hide your sin from friends or family or even your spouse, but the One who really counts sees it all. In fact, it’s like the Holy Spirit is the prosecuting attorney, too. He convicts us of our sin, and He sets all our sin before Father God who’s the Judge. All our secrets are open and known before God. The things that you’ve tried to hide and I’ve tried to hide are not hidden from God.

I’ve tried looking good to people, but it doesn’t matter how good I look to people. How does God see me? How does God see you? A preacher at the Empower Conference this week said, “Reputation is what others think about you. Reality is what God knows about you.”[1]

In light of our 19 minutes, reputation doesn’t really matter. What’s real matters, and God knows what’s real about you.

Our lives end with a sigh. Moses said in Psalm 90:10, “Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.” Remember the opening? “All that pleases is but for a moment. All that troubles is but for a moment.”

Our days are soon over, and we stand before God the Judge. Moses says in v. 11, “Who understands the power of Your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due You.” When we see the brevity of our lives and the immensity of God’s wrath toward sinners, fear is the natural result, and shouldn’t we have a holy fear toward God. We are, after all, sinners.

Look at v. 12 at Moses’ response to the greatness of God in light of Moses’ smallness and sinfulness. “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” When you only have 19 minutes, you better use them wisely. How much of your life have you wasted? Moses is saying that seeing the shortness of your life ought to lead you to see the importance of each minute that you’re living and to live those minutes wisely.

One preacher prayed, “O God, stamp eternity on my eyeballs!”[2]

[When the 19 minute timer goes off, say: That timer was set for 19 minutes. From the beginning of my message until now is 19 minutes, and that’s how brief your life is to God. Live your 19 minutes for the Lord.]

Seek the mercy and grace of God.

Moses possibly wrote this psalm when the Israelites were wandering around in the wilderness after they’d disobeyed the Lord. That current older generation was being punished for their lack of faith, and Moses was saying, “Lord—how long?” How long are we going to wander in this wilderness?

We say, “How long will we have to put up with COVID? How long until my boss starts treating me right? On Friday, my daughter Kelsey was possibly thinking how long until this pain stops (ovarian torsion)? Melody and Ella and others of you have thought, how long until this nausea vanishes? How long, Lord?

I won’t get into all the specifics of these final verses, but notice what Moses prays for after asking “How long, Lord.”

Psalm 90:13-17—13 Lord—how long? Turn and have compassion on Your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity. 16 Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands—establish the work of our hands!

He prays for God’s compassion.

He prays for God’s love.

He prays for God’s joy.

He prays for spiritual sight to recognize God’s work.

He prays for God’s favor or grace.

He prays for God’s support.

The problem is that Moses is sinful, and God’s furious wrath is burning white hot.

Moses prayed for grace as He looked to the future. The basis for any of us receiving any grace from God for mercy, compassion, love, joy, or spiritual sight—the basis for us receiving is Jesus Christ and His perfect life which He lived for us, His death on that cruel cross, and His resurrection from the dead. He did that for you and for me.

CLOSING: A Bird and a Grain of Sand

“Eternity is never-ending, but this concept can be hard to grasp. Think of it this way:” Suppose that down on the Texas Gulf Coast there’s a sand mountain that’s as high as Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.

“Now, if we had a bird that would take one grain of sand from that sand [mountain] every [1 million] years, how long would it take the bird” to finish moving the sand mountain? It would be an astronomical number of years. “Whatever that number is, when the bird finishes the last grain of sand, you will have been in eternity your first second.”[3]

Make your 19 minutes count for more than temporary things. Don’t live you 19 minutes for 19 minutes. Live it for Jesus Christ. Live it for eternal things.

That means you have to adjust your priorities. You have to repent of living for lesser things. For some of you, it means turning your life over to the Lord to begin following Him as your Savior and Boss. Some of you are young, but before you know it, you’ll have lived your 19 minutes. Will you have lived full on for the Lord? Some of you have lived most of your minutes, but it’s never too late while you’re still breathing to rearrange your priorities around the Lord.

[1] Jerry Chaddick’s sermon on adultery at the SBTC Empower Conference on Monday, February 22, 2021.

[2] Jonathan Edwards

[3] Evans, T. (2009). Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (p. 91). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.