Seven things you need to know before you leave this old world!

Luke 4:18-19

Start with story on page 37 of Hansen…

1.    God is love John 3:16

This passage tells us the whole story. “For God so loved the world that he gave…”

a.     God is love because He is!

It is within the character of God to show His love to all people. He is love.

b.    God is love because He gave!

What was it that God gave? He gave His only son. He gave of Himself through His only Son.

           God is love

2.    Christ is alive! Acts 1:3 “Jesus presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during the forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God”

There are several things that we know about Jesus. We know He was the Son of a carpenter. We know that He was born of a virgin. We know that He was tempted in all points as we and passed the entire test with flying colors. We know that He liked to hang out with fishermen, tax collectors, and despised the fundamentalism of the Pharisees. We know that He was crucified, that He died and was buried. We also know that He is alive. He is alive. He is alive….Acts 1:3, He presented Himself alive after His suffering.

          God is love

            Christ is alive!

3.    Sin is destructible (You do know that sin is destructible, don’t you?) Romans 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death…”

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4.    Grace is free Ephesians 2:8

An atheist said, "If there is a God, may he prove himself by striking me dead right now." Nothing happened. The atheist said “You see, there is no God." A very wise theologian said, "You've only proved that He is a gracious God."

You might take note of the fact that I did not say that grace was cheap but I said that grace is free. If grace would have been cheap it would have cost God nothing. Grace is free! Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; it is the gift (free) of God, not of works lest any man should boast. 

5.    Time is short Psalm 89:47

“Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men?

These days, sermons are short and tempers are as well. There are tall orders that need filled in our short lifetime. If we live to be 104, time is still short. We can have long days, endless weeks, and sleepless nights, but time is still short. David is pointing out to the Lord here in the Psalms that time is short. It’s as if David might have thought that God had forgotten how short time is for His creation. But God has not forgotten how short time is and we must not forget either.  It seems like just yesterday I was growing up in Alabama, riding my bike without hands, wearing a leather belt with my name on the back, cowboy boots, and a chunky little smile every where I went. But things have changed. 13 years of kindergarten, grade school and high school combined, 7 years of college, 5 years of seminary, 3 kids, 2 cars and 1 wife. Time has played tricks on me but more than anything time is short. If we are going to do anything for Jesus we better get started because time is short. If we are struggling with saving money we better get started because time is short. If we are going to do some winter projects this winter we better get started because time is short. Guaranteed, time is short.

6.    Eternity is long Isaiah 57:15

“The high and lofty one inhabits eternity”

Did you know that you can kill time without injuring eternity?  Henry David Thoreau.

I enjoy killing a little time riding Molly. I enjoy taking time to peruse a good book. (I have read several good ones lately….Sabbath, Wayne Muller, The Art of Pastoring, David Hansen, Thomas Oden’s, Pastoral Theology. It’s fun taking the time to read a good book.

      I love eating a butterscotch dipped ice cream cone from DQ and taking my good ole’ time doing it. Time is important to me. Problem is -- I don’t have enough of it. It passes me by. It makes me old. It causes wrinkles to show up on this handsome little face. Time is a deceiver. Time makes a big difference. Time has a way of healing wounds. Time has a way of slipping up on us. But eternity is different. Eternity is long. Only God inhabits it now. We will join Him or miss Him in eternity. Eternity is for men, women, boys and girls. Eternity is not restricted by time but time will give way to eternity. Eternity is long. Eternity is real. We have eternity planted on the inside of us in the form of a never dying soul. Eternity is long.

7.    Relationships are very important! John 15:12

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Relationships are very important. My relationship to God is very important. My relationship with my wife is very important. My relationship to my children is very important. My relationship to you, the church is very important. My relationship to fellow pastors in this community is very important. Relationships can make you or break you. In this text Jesus is speaking. When Jesus speaks we ought to listen. In this text Jesus says that relationships are so important that he commands us to love one another.

This last week was a very busy time fro me.

Get up 5:00a.m. --- on the road at 6:00 at school by 7:45, in class at 8:00. In class till 12:15, get back to the church 2:00 read and study till 5:30-6:00, go home, eat supper, play with the kids, pray, call it a day.

Needless to say, that kind of schedule is tough on relationships.

My friends,

God is love—

Christ is alive---

Sin is destructible—

Grace is free---

Time is short

Eternity is long

Relationships are very important!