Holiness

When You Are Out of Time

Part of Weekly Sermons

February 28, 2021

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NIV®)
¹ I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

I. Be The Church!

A. Prepared For The “Day Of The Lord”

2 Peter 3:10-12 (NIV®)
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. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

B. Time, Eternity & Judgment

Isaiah 34:4 (NIV®)
All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 (NIV®)
⁶ God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power ¹⁰ on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

1 Corinthians 15:19 (NIV®)
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

II. We All Have a God Story—

1 Corinthians 13:12 (MSG®)
We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

III. At Home In The Realm Of The Eternal

A. New Possibilities

Matthew 19:26 (NIV®)
With God all things are possible

Luke 18:27 (NIV®)
The things that are impossible with man, are possible with God

B. Beyond Our Current Senses

Hebrews 11:3 (NIV®)
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Hebrews 11:9-10 (NIV®) [Abraham]
⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

1 Corinthians 2:6, 9 (NIV®)
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. … 9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”–

C. Beyond Our Current Value Systems

A Greater Power
John 19:10-11 (NIV®)
¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” ¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

Greater Wealth
Luke 16:13-15 (NIV®)
¹³ “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” ¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

Greater Rewards
Luke 6:22-23 (NIV®)
²² Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. ²³ “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.

Greater Treasures
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV®)
¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Tyranny Of Pleasure
Hebrews 12:3-4 (NIV®)
³ Consider him (Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

IV. What Is Your Source Of Information?

2 Peter 3:2-5 (NIV®)
² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. ³ 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.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, awaken me to your eternal purposes. Holy Spirit, grant me an understanding heart that I may order my days to be pleasing in your sight. May your kingdom become more real to me than the things of time. My desire is to walk in holiness and godliness. Redeem the days I have wasted and lead me in paths of righteousness, in Jesus’ name, amen.

^{Scripture quotations marked (NIV®) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica, Inc.®.}