Let's turn together to Psalm
90, how quickly time passes, how rapidly everything in this
world changes. My text tonight contains a prayer
that I have uttered more times than I can count. in the last
few weeks particularly. It lays heavy on my heart and
has for some time. Psalm 90 and verse 12. So teach us, because if you don't teach us
by your grace and your providence, we'll never do this. teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts
unto wisdom. Mortal man, all of us, have the
fanciful idea in our heads that we are somehow something beyond
mere mortals. We somehow have the idea that
we're going to be able, after all, to make it a while longer,
live a little longer, and we make our plans accordingly, or
make no plans at all. We foolishly think we can measure
others' mortality. You look at a man like Brother
Hubert. Frankly, I never expected him
to live the last several years of his life. You look at him,
he's gotten weak. wrinkled, his body frail, and
you say, well, he won't be with us long. And you look at a young
man and you see him, he takes care of himself, he exercises,
he diets, he's strapping and strong, and you say, boy, he's
got a life ahead of him. And so we presume that we can
measure others' mortality, but never stop to take stock of this
fact that we ourselves are just a breath from eternity. And that breath is in God's hands,
and it will be taken from us precisely as God from eternity
ordained it. Not one second longer, not one
second shorter. You say, well, but what about
this, what about that, what about this factor, what about that
factor? God Almighty set the number of our days before we
drew our first breath. and that day is not going to
exceed his time, not a second. It's evident that the great thing
needed to prepare for eternity is the persuasion of our own
mortality and our brevity of life in this world. We will never
apply our hearts to wisdom until we're brought to the numbering
of our days. And yet the fact is, no one will
ever be brought to number his days until God teaches him to
do so. Therefore, Moses prayed this
prayer, So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our
hearts unto wisdom. As we reflect upon the brevity
of time, we ought to be persuaded to set our thoughts upon things
that are As we look into the grave, which must soon be the
bed of these bodies, every one of us, we ought to be humbled
and made to know just how frail we are, just like the beast. These things came from the dust
to the dust they're going. Only unlike the beast, when the
beast dies, his spirit dies with him. When a man dies, his soul
lives forever. but we're not wise. None of us. None of us. Only the grace of
God can cause a mortal man to know the number of his days and
apply his heart to wisdom. Now let this be your prayer and
mine. So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Now I want this
evening to show you from the word of God, five words about
time. Let's turn back to Psalm 31.
I read this to the men back in the office a few minutes ago,
but look at this 15th verse. Here is a word of comfort. Oh,
what a word of comfort it is. We just sang it. Verse 15. Are you there? David is in the
midst of deep trouble, deep trouble. And if you read the psalm carefully,
you'll see that David speaks not for himself alone, but as
a prophet speaking of Christ himself. Much in the psalm could
only be interpreted really concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And this
is what he says. My times are in thy hand. Thank God my times are not in
your hand. I thank God my times are not
in the hands of my enemies. I thank God my times are not
in my hands. I even thank God they're not
in the hands of this lady who loves me more dearly than any
human being has a right to be loved. My times are in his hands. His hands. The time that I shall
live on this earth is in the hand of my God. it has been determined
by him alone. All my times in this world, the
time of my trials, troubles, and temptations, they're in his
hands. The time of my peace, prosperity,
and pleasure, that's in his hands too. The time of my darkness,
desertion, and despondency, as well as the times of dancing
and delight, all are in his hands. All my times are appointed by
my God, ordered by my God, and disposed of by my God for his
glory and my good. Now, if you can get hold of that,
if I can get hold of that, oh, it'll help you. I can think of nothing in the
world more comforting than this blessed assurance. My times are
in thy hands. The hand of my God, my God who
loved me with everlasting love, my God who redeemed me with the
precious blood of his darling Son, my God who sent his Spirit
to give me life and faith, my times are in thy hands. That's just where I want them. As this fact quietened David's
heart in the midst of his great trial, and as it quietened the
heart of our dear Savior as he as a man lived in this world,
so let it quieten our hearts through this veil of tears. Turn
to Job chapter 14 for a second. Job chapter I've already said this, but I
want you to see it from the Scripture. My time in this world has been
appointed by my heavenly Father. It was appointed by him before
the world began. You remember how Lord Jesus said,
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them
shall fall to the ground without your heavenly Father. That means,
Meryl Hart, that a worthless sparrow Not the most worthless
bird, I guess the only thing more worthless would be a starling.
Just a worthless sparrow cannot fall to the ground to pick up
a little seed, except by the decree of God from eternity.
Nor shall it fall to the ground by some mean little boy with
a new BB gun shooting his brains out, except by the decree of
God from eternity. Now why is that written? Does
God care for sparrows? No. Now, it's written for us,
and he says the very hairs of your head are all numbered. That's the message. Look at this,
Job 14, verse 5, speaking about man, seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee. Thou hast appointed
his bounds that he cannot Now, don't be careless. Don't be irresponsible. Exercise
proper responsibility to do what you can as a reasonable human
being to protect your health and protect your life. God's
put a head on your shoulders to use it for responsible action.
But your best discipline, your noblest exercise, your most earnest
efforts will not add one breath to your life. It's not going
to. Bob Potts is going to leave this
world when God ordained, and so is every child and every grandchild,
every one of them, exactly according to God's purpose. My times in
this world are not only determined by him, but they're ruled by
my Heavenly Father. He brings nothing to pass. except that which is for my good,
and allows nothing to be brought to pass, except that which he
has from eternity, ordained for my good and the good of his people."
Nothing. Nothing. You mean, Preacher,
you believe God has purposed everything, even the bad acts
of men? Well, of course I do. My soul,
I'd whole lot rather think the angels of glory were out of his
control than think the demons of hell were. If I had an option,
I'd whole lot rather think good folks were out of his control
than think bad folks were. I'd whole lot rather think health
was out of his control than sickness is out of his control. I'm here
to tell you that our God is God indeed. He rules everything absolutely. Nothing in this world takes God
by surprise, and it ought not take us by surprise. Nothing
in this world comes to pass by luck or chance or accident, but
by the decree of God. My God has ordained the days
that I shall live on this earth. And listen to this promise. You
can read it for yourself in Exodus 23, verse 26 later. Listen carefully. This is what it says. The number
of thy days will I fulfill. What does that mean? It means this. Mortals are immortal
here until their work is done. That's just what it means. The
number of thy days will I fulfill. How long are you going to live
on this earth? Till God gets done with me. Well, what about
till God gets done with me? Well, till God gets done with
me! That's how long I'm going to
live here, and you too. Now then, here's a word of warning. Turn
to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy. Blessed cook, for this is about
time. My times are in thy hands. Now
hear this warning about time. Paul here warns us of the perilous
times in which we now live. Second Timothy chapter 3. Know this also, that in the last
days perilous times shall come. He doesn't just say dangerous
times, He doesn't just say hard times. He says perilous times. Peril is imminent, serious danger. Perilous times. Now, as we read the context,
listen, he's not talking about folks down at the honky-tonk
in the bar room and the brothels. He's not talking about folks
over in the prison. He's not talking about just average Joe. He's
talking about religious men. He's talking about a religious
age that doesn't know God. Now, this is what it says. Men
shall be lovers of their own selves. Turn on the television
and go home and watch any picture you want until you can get on
any national television broadcast. Just turn them on. They're lovers
of themselves. And there are few exceptions.
Covetous. Boasters. Proud. Blasphemers. Blasphemers. Oh, but they preach from the
book. Blasphemers. They don't know God. They don't
know God. The God they preach is not the
God of this book. Disobedient to parents. Unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection. Truth-breakers. False accusers. You can't trust
them as far as you can spit them. Incontinent. Fierce. Despisers
of those that are good. Traitors. High-minded. Lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God. Well, preacher, how do you know
this stuff about religious folks? Having a form of godliness. You
see it? Having a form of godliness. They
got religion running out their ears. Got religion just painted
all over them. Wear signs and beads and crosses
and funny costumes and look silly and talk silly. Have a form of
godliness. Have rituals, religious ceremony,
religious creeds, religious customs, a form of godliness. Denying
the power thereof. And you know what the power of
godliness is? He's not talking about this holy
roller stuff. He's not talking about, oh, we had such a good
meeting, I just felt like, I just had a tingle down my spine. That's
not what he's talking about. The power of godliness is that
power by which God speaks to the hearts of men and calls them
from death to life. The power of God unto salvation,
buddy, is the gospel of his free grace. But this religious world
denies it. They just deny it. They despise
it. They're traitors, heady, high-minded, blasphemers. denying
the power of the very gospel of God. From such, well, pray
for them. No, it says, turn away from them.
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, they come
in under false pretense, and lead captive silly women, laden
with sins, led away with divers' lust. Ever learning, got so many
questions. What do you think? What do you
think this means? Ever learning, never able to
come to the knowledge of truth. Now then, skip down to verse
14, 2 Timothy 3, 14. How are you going to handle this,
these perilous times? Oh, my brothers and sisters,
my sons and daughters, continue thou in the things which thou
hast Plant your feet in concrete."
I had folks all the time want to debate, and I'd write back
to them, I'd say, my feet are planted in cement, have been
for years, I don't even consider anything else. Somebody asked
me one time, well, what if your doctrine changes in 20 years?
I said, it's not going to change. But how do you know that? Because
I ain't looking. I'm not looking. I found it. This is it. Continue
in the things thou hast learned and be assured of, you've been
assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. Now, if you
got them from a man, you can lose them by a man. If you got
them from the influence of a man's philosophy or man's personality,
somebody else come along, better philosophy and better personality.
But if you learned them from God, If God Almighty has inscribed
them on your heart with the finger of his grace, you stay right
here with that which you've learned because God taught it. And that
from a child. Oh, what a privilege. From a
child, Timothy, remember your mama and your grandma. They taught
you the scriptures. You who are children in this
assembly, who've been raised up, taught the Word of God. Oh,
what a privilege. A privilege that involves tremendous
responsibility, because God's going to hold you accountable
for what you've been taught. From a child thou hast known
the Holy Scriptures, this book, which are able to make you wise
unto salvation. How? which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness. I had a letter the other day
from a fellow taking me to task about something I'd written,
and he's going to school to be a preacher. He'd been saved for
six months, and he's decided he's going to be a preacher.
And he wrote to me and wrote a long letter, and in the whole
letter Trying to deny the gospel of God's grace, he just gave
an opinion, and this thought, this thought, and this is what
I think. Not one time did he even point to this book. And
I wrote him a short letter back. I said, would you kindly give
me some scriptures. The scriptures! The scriptures! This book alone
is profitable for doctrine, reprieve, correction, instruction, and
righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. In these days of apostate, freewill,
works religion, we must unceasingly, tenaciously, dogmatically, hold
to the old, old paths of gospel truth. Listen to this word from
Jeremiah. Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye
in the ways, and and ask for the old paths. Any time somebody
comes along and says, I learned something new, big question mark. God doesn't have any new revelation.
All right, I want to study something new. Study the old things, old
paths, wherein is the good way. And walk in these old paths,
for in them you shall find rest unto yourself. Some of you folks have been around
a while, and some of you have been through lots of paths. Let me ask you, don't answer
out loud, let me ask you. Just look at Bob and Sally. You
were involved in free will, works, religion, and you rest. Your religion leave you restless. You who come to believe on the
Son of God, to rest in free grace, to trust blood atonement, to
rest in God's sovereign purpose. You interested in getting out
of bed? We found rest for our souls. Why would you go somewhere
else? Walk in these old paths. I find
these things sustain my soul in the face of my sin, In the
face of my difficulties, in the face of trials and heartaches,
in the face of bereavement, in the face of sickness, in the
face of sorrow, in the face of trouble, in the face of great
heaviness of heart, this sustains my soul. My God rules! And he rules this world for me
because he chose me. He rules this world and I have
the token of his love for he redeemed me. Not only did he
redeem me with his Son's precious blood, effectually putting away
my sin, he's called me by his grace, and I have confidence
that this is the way it's going to be in the end, because he
keeps me." That's it. Nothing for you to do? You got
it. You hear what I say? You mean nothing depends on you?
That's what I'm preaching. You mean, preacher, that God's
work is permanent? That's what I'm saying. Permanent
from forever? Do you understand that? There's
no beginning with God. There's no starting point with
God. That which is, he purposed from eternity and he will bring
to pass in eternity. And I find rest there. I'll write
in a look at 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Here's a word of instruction. Pastor, what do we do in the
light of these perilous times? Verse 29, This I say, brethren, the time
is short, it's constricted. It remaineth that both they that
have wise be as though they had none. and they that weep as though
they wept not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced
not, and they that bow as though they possessed not, and they
that use this world as not abusing it, for the fashion of this world
passeth away." Now, what does that mean? Does that mean a man
is to be irresponsible toward his family? No, sir. Does that
mean a man be irresponsible toward the possessions God has put in
his hands? No, Does that mean a man is to be irresponsible
with regard to his work? No, sir. Well, what on earth
does it mean? It means, Gary, you don't let that woman or those
two boys or anything in this world come between you and the
will of God. That's what it means. It means
everything be subjected to him because the time is short. This world, these relationships,
these delights, are all just temporary. They're coming to
an end. The time for salvation is short. I don't know where this fits
in with the scheme of grace. I quit trying to make everything
jive in my mind a long time ago. My mind, nothing jives in it. Everything runs around loose.
But I'm telling you, I'm telling you, men and women, will bow
to Christ and believe on Christ when he passes by, or they'll
perish in their sins. Bartimaeus sat by the wayside,
and he heard Jesus of Nazareth passing by. He may just come
this way one time. He may just come one time. Well,
Bartimaeus, what are you going to do? I hear he's gracious and
kind. I hear I can call on him anytime. No, sir. What are you going to
do, Bartimaeus? Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me! This is the day of salvation. There is none other. Seek ye
the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Not only that, the time in which
I'll be able to do anything for my God in this world is short. I get more convinced of it every
day. The night comes when no man can work. Folks tell me all the time you
ought to slow down. You do too much, you're going to wear out.
My philosophy is I'd rather wear out than rust out. The time is
short. Short. I'm nearly 50 years old. Whatever I'm going to get done
for God, whatever I'm going to do in this world for the glory
of Christ, whatever I'm going to do in the interest of men's
souls, whatever I'm going to do for the furtherance of the
gospel, I've got to get it done now. I haven't got a little while
longer in this world in which I'll have any productive years
at all if God leaves me here for a while. Got to be done now.
And I'll tell you something else. Whatever your suffering is, whatever
your sorrow is, the time for suffering is short, too. The
God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by
Christ Jesus, after you have suffered for a while, make you
perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. The God of peace
shall brew Satan under your heels shortly. All right? Turn to Ephesians
5. Ephesians 5. What do we do with
this short, constricted time that we have? Here's a word of
admonition. Verse 16. Redeeming the time because the
days are evil. Another translation would be
this, buying up the opportunity. See a good deal, say I better
buy that up, won't come again. Once in a lifetime opportunity.
Let me tell you something, the time you have is all the time
you have right now. That's all. Paul urges us to
buy up the opportunity we have because we're naturally prone
to squander it. It's our responsibility to be
careful and diligent to use our time. That doesn't mean we have
no time for recreation and relaxation, but recreation and relaxation
ought to be just that, recreation and relaxation, not a way of
life. It does mean we should study to improve our use of time
and improve our opportunities. Nothing is more precious and
more valuable than time. Time and the opportunity of the
moment, once it's gone, is gone forever. David, how many times
in your life have you said, I wish I had? I'd let that get by. That opportunity,
that privilege, that blessing, that I wish I had. Word to God, we'd have enough
sense never to let another opportunity go by. Buy up the opportunity. Now then, here's a word of preparation.
Look at Ecclesiastes 3. To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the sun, a time to be born and
a time to die. a time to plant and a time to
pluck up that which is planted. The wise man says there's a time
for you to die. It is appointed unto men once
to die. A preacher, what do we do? Prepare
to meet your God. Prepare to meet your fixing to
meet him. You're fixin' to meet God. Steve
Martin, you're fixin' to meet God Almighty. If you'd ever stop
and think about that, it'd send shockwaves through your soul
unless you're prepared to meet God. Prepare to meet God? Prepare to meet God? How? Apply
your heart to wisdom. Not to study. To Christ. He's the wisdom. He shows us
the wisdom of God. He shows us the way to God. He
brings us in the way. Apply your heart to him. You
can't be prepared to meet God until you're robed in his righteousness,
washed in his blood, saved by his grace, united to him. Redeem the time. Prepare to meet
God. Number your days. and apply your
heart to wisdom unceasingly. Amen. All right, you come lead
us in the hymn, if you will. The deacons will come serve the
Lord's table. Brock, if you will assist them, please.