Almost all of you know Brother
Moose Parks, Brother Tim James. What you probably don't know
is that Moose and Tim and I, Tim's wife Debbie, were all raised
on the south side of Winston-Salem, went to the same school. At different
times, I'm younger than them, but we all went to school same
place. As a matter of fact, Tim's sister
went to school with my younger sister. His brother went to school
with me. And his, Tim went to school with
my sister who just died last November. And his older brother,
Bill James, who pastors in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, just outside
of Winston, dated my older sister. So we know each other pretty
well. Tim and I have been friends for
a long time. He has quaint ways of saying things. And he's well
known for one statement he makes frequently. When we start to
part company with folks, we generally will say, I hope to see you again
soon. I look forward to seeing you again. And Tim's response
is always, when it's time. When it's time. That's the title
of my message tonight. If you'll turn to Habakkuk chapter
two and Hebrews chapter 10. Habakkuk chapter two and Hebrews
chapter 10. when it's time. There's much
speculation and much talk and much writing about the end time
and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though no
man knows the day nor hour of Christ's coming, There are a
good many ignorant men who have been so foolish that they think
they've outsmarted God and they announce that the Lord will appear
at a specific date. Reading whatever tea leaves they
happen to read or smoking whatever they're smoking, they presume
that they figured out when the day will arrive. They've all
been proved wrong. Well, I'm here to tell you with
absolute certainty exactly when the Lord Jesus is coming. I'll tell you exactly when he's
coming, when it's time. When it's time. And I'm happy
it's that way. Christ shall come exactly when
the Lord God appointed him to come, when it's time. This is what Habakkuk tells us
in our text. Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 3. For the vision is yet for an
appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it,
because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Now turn to
Hebrews chapter 10. There's no question that Habakkuk
2 and verse 3 is a prophetic declaration concerning the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. While you're turning to Hebrews
10, listen to the Septuagint translation, that's the Greek
translation of Habakkuk 2, verse 3. For the vision is for a time,
and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain, though
he would tarry, wait for him. for he will surely become and
will not delay. In Hebrews 10.37, God the Holy
Ghost tells us plainly that God's words to Habakkuk were prophetic
of Christ's coming. Now the man who was inspired
of God to write the book of Hebrews quotes here, not from the Hebrew
text, but from the Greek text. He quotes not the Hebrew original,
but the Greek translation, the Septuagint. Begin reading at
verse 35, Hebrews 10. Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. Don't give
up hope. Don't give up faith. Don't give
up your confidence in what God has promised you. Verse 36. For
ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of
God, ye might receive the promise. Yet a little while, and he that
shall come will come and will not tarry. Without question at
the appointed time, our Lord Jesus shall appear in his glory
with 10,000 of his saints. But we miss much, we miss very
much when we think of our Lord's coming only with reference to
that great day of his second advent. The Lord Jesus comes
to his people many ways, at many times. Always in set times. There is a set time for God to
favor Zion. This is how David sang of it.
Mine eyes reproach me all the day, and they that are mad against
me are sworn against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread,
and mingled my drink with weeping, because of thine indignation
and thy wrath. For thou hast lifted me up and
cast me down. My days are like a shadow that
declineth, and I am withered like grass. But thou, O Lord,
shalt endure forever, and thy remembrance unto all generations.
Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor
her, yea, the set time is come. There is always a set time for
God to favor Zion. It may not be as early as we
desire, it usually isn't. It may not come at the time we
look for it and expect it. That time set by God's infinite
wisdom and goodness may be deferred until our impatience has given
up every hope, every expectation, and every confidence. Nevertheless,
it will surely come. It will not tarry. It looks like
we would learn, but we don't. We're like impatient little children. Always anxious to pick fruit
before it's ripe. Always anxious to have things
done right now. But God is never in a hurry. He's never ahead of time. He's
never behind time. He's never boxed in. He's never
pushed. He's always right on time in
everything he does. He waits until the mercy he intends
to bestow is fully prepared. But that's not all. He waits
until we are fully prepared to receive that mercy he has prepared
for us. And when the mercy has been prepared
and received, it's dearer than words can express to our souls.
Because we're made to know that the Lord our God Appointed it
for us from everlasting back here in the back For the vision
is yet for an appointed time But at the end it shall speak
and not lie Though it tarry wait for it Because it will surely
come It will not tarry Now, I'm not gonna do much tonight except
quote this verse of scripture several times and the New Testament
quotation of it in Hebrews, and then I'll just make a few comments.
The vision is for an appointed time. In our minds, God's promised
mercy may seem long and wearisome in its coming. The time of our
waiting may seem excruciatingly painful. But God's promised mercy
never comes a moment beyond its appointed time, and it never
comes a moment before. And when it arrives, the mercy
received will explain the reason it didn't come sooner by making
us to understand how suitable and how seasonable it is once
it appears. We understand God's works and
God's ways in measure only as they are experienced, never before. We understand God's word in great
measure only as we experience it, never before. I recall as
a young man hearing Brother Ralph Barnard tell one time a lady
came to him And said to him, said, do you believe the whole
Bible? And Roth answered, I don't know. I haven't experienced all of
it yet. The fact is we only really believe what we experience. Facts are good enough for facts. but we only really believe what
we experience. Truth becomes truth in experience,
and then it's sealed to our hearts in that experience. For the vision
is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak
and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it,
because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Oh, my soul. let this portion of Holy Scripture
never be forgotten. Spirit of God, write it upon
my heart. Enable me to remember it and
to remember its message too. The vision is yet for an appointed
time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it
tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not
tarry. God's appointments are sure.
His people will never be disappointed in them or never disappointed
of them. Come they will and at the very
hour appointed and all these appointed mercies are but the
visitations of Christ to his people. As God brings mercy,
As God intervenes, as God shows himself gracious, it is but Christ
coming to his chosen and redeemed people. For yet a little time,
and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. We have examples
of this through the scriptures, two that are very prominent.
Israel, by divine appointment, was to be in the land of Egypt
in bondage for 400 years. Hundreds of years before the
captivity took place, God told Abraham, I'm gonna send your
seed into Egypt and there they will abide 400 years. And after 400 years, they'll
come out by a mighty hand. And you read the book of Exodus,
after God came to visit his people at the appointed time, and we're
told on the same day, the children of Israel came out of Egypt.
Exactly the same thing was true concerning Israel's 70 years
of Babylonian captivity, and their deliverance at the appointed
time. So it is with God's Israel in
all ages. In all our trials, In all our
spiritual exercises, the hour is marked, the time is set when
deliverance comes. The vision is for an appointed
time, though it tarry much beyond the time expected. Though it
tarry much beyond the time expected, it cannot tarry beyond the time
appointed by God our Savior. Did you hear me? The vision is
for an appointed time. Though it tarry much beyond the
time expected, it cannot tarry a moment beyond God's appointed
time. Oh, for grace on every occasion
to follow the counsel of inspiration. Wait on the Lord, be of good
courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on
the Lord. That's not just set back and
ignore things and wait for God to do something. That's stand
up on the tiptoes of faith and wait for God. Wait for God to
work. God's in this. Wait on the Lord
and be of good courage. When it's time, he shall come. Now, let me briefly apply this
prophecy to several things I know without question it speaks of.
First, without question, God's word to Habakkuk in our text
was God's own promise concerning our Savior in his first advent
and all the work of righteousness and redemption he would accomplish
for us by his obedience unto death as our substitute. yet
a little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. So the promise spoken of by Habakkuk
in Habakkuk 2 is a promise concerning a person, and that person is
Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Habakkuk tells us at the appointed
time, Christ will come. At the appointed time, he will
perform all that God said he would perform. The Apostle Paul
says, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. He says, when
the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made of
a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the
law. In John chapter 17, the scripture tells us that our Lord
Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is
come. This was the hour of all hours. This is the hour of which he
spoke when he said to his mother Mary, woman, what have I to do
with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. This is the hour he spoke of
when he said to his disciples, what shall I say? Father saved
me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. This is the hour, the great hour
of redemption. The hour prophesied, promised,
and typified throughout the Old Testament scriptures. This is
the hour in which the fulfillment of all things took place. The
hour of the cross. The hour of the sacrifice back
in the law. God appointed a time at the evening
sacrifice, the time of the sin offering. And those evening sacrifices
every day, every day, every day, every day, every day throughout
the history of Israel took place at three o'clock in the afternoon.
And at three o'clock in the afternoon, our Savior cried, it is finished.
This is the time of the sin offering, the hour for which God made this
world. Our Lord Jesus, speaking to his
father, said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son, that
thy son may glorify thee. You see, God's great work of
redemption is the revelation of the great glory of the great
God, our great Jehovah. Moses said, I beseech thee, show
me thy glory. And God said, I will cause my
goodness to pass before you. I will be merciful to whom I
will be merciful, and I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious. The Lord Jesus spoke to his father
and our father, to his God and our God, as he speaks of his
coming and the accomplishment of redemption glory. He said,
the hour is come, this hour of all hours. the climax of the
universe, the accomplishment of atonement, the redemption
of his people. The hour has come now, Father,
glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. Clearly
Habakkuk 2.3 is a prophecy of that hour when our Lord Jesus
would cry, it is finished, and breathe out his spirit. Second,
turn over to Matthew 24, Matthew chapter 24. without question. Habakkuk 2,
3 refers to our Savior coming in judgment to destroy Jerusalem
and the temple at Jerusalem and to utterly destroy Judaism. He came in Matthew 24, he tells
us about the coming when He would destroy the temple, Jerusalem
and Judaism. Matthew 24, verse 1, Jesus went
out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came to him
for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said
unto him, see ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you,
there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall
not be thrown down. This vision, the prophecy, was
sealed up by our Savior. He fulfilled everything exactly
as Daniel had described. Daniel said, 70 weeks are determined
upon thy people. And when Daniel 70 weeks, those
490 years were accomplished, those things which were determined
and appointed in that space of time, came to pass and were fulfilled
by God's Messiah, the Lord Jesus, when He, in the fullness of time,
came to satisfy the justice of God and put away sin. And then,
shortly after He had finished His work and ascended back into
heaven, He sent the Roman general Titus into Jerusalem. Yes, Titus,
the pagan, was His sword. Titus the pagan was his instrument. Titus the pagan was his hand
by which he came and leveled the city of Jerusalem and leveled
the temple, leaving not one stone upon the other, doing exactly
as he said he would do. Here's the third thing. I'm equally
sure that our text is talking about the promise of God that
Christ Jesus will come at the set time of love to every chosen
redeemed sinner in the mighty operations of grace. You're very
familiar with Ezekiel 16, but it'll do you good to look at
it again. Our Savior comes in saving mercy
precisely at the moment he has prepared his chosen to receive
his mercy. He prepares them to receive His
mercy. And some, He comes when they're
young. Some, He comes when they're young
adults. Some, He comes when they're older.
Some, He comes, as it were, at the very last hour. But all are
saved by His grace exactly according to His purpose for their everlasting
good and for the best interest of His church and kingdom. Hosea
and his wife, Gomer, you'll remember. God sometimes calls his prophets
to do strange things. Strange things. Ezekiel's wife
was killed. God said, don't you weep for
her. Don't you weep for her. He forbade it so that the message
might be heard. He told Hosea to go take a wife
of Hortums. Don't go down to the red light
district and find yourself a wife. I would never suggest that to
a son. I would urge him, stay away from that place. But God
told his prophet to go down and take a wife of Hortham's. And
Hosea went and got Gomer. But Gomer was still a prostituted
heart. And though she had three children
given her by God, she left Hosea and she went back to the red
light district. And at the appointed time, Hosea
bought her when she was useless and she was prepared in God's
providence by her desperate need to want Hosea. Then he came and brought her
home. So it is. that God prepares His
people and makes them willing in the day of His power. And
not one will come to Christ until God makes him want Christ. You understand that? Not one
will come to Christ until God fixes it so that he wants Christ. The same was true with Onesimus.
Onesimus had many advantages. He was raised in the home of
Philemon, a godly man who had a church in his house. But this
man Onesimus was a hard rebel. He heard Paul preach, the apostle
to the Gentiles. He heard Paul preach countless
times, countless times. Paul and his master Philemon
were good friends. And then at the appointed time,
Onesimus stole his master's goods and ran away to Rome. And he,
just as luck would have it, Just as luck would have it, he's
thrown in jail the same time Paul is, and they're cellmates. And now, Paul said, maybe you'll
listen to me. At the appointed time, the set
time, the Lord comes. I look at my own experience,
and you look at yours. Look back and understand. God
called you by his grace at the very best time for him to call
you by his grace. God brought you to hear his word
at the very best time for you to hear his word. A few days
earlier, you wouldn't have. A few years earlier, you wouldn't
have. But God prepares the vessel of mercy for his mercy to fill
it with mercy. Look here in Ezekiel 16, verse
six. When I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own
blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, live. Yea, I said unto thee when thou
wast in thy blood, live. I have caused thee to multiply
and bud as the field. And thou hast increased and waxen
great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments. Thy breast are fashioned,
thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now
when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold thy time, was
the time of love. And I spread my skirt over thee,
and covered thy nakedness, yea, I swear unto thee, and entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest
mine. We preach the gospel with confidence.
As I preach the word of God, I'm absolutely certain that at
God's appointed time, The Lord Jesus will come to save every
chosen redeemed sinner. I don't know when he'll come,
but I know when it's time he will come and save the soul bought
with his blood. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power, for the vision is yet for an appointed
time. But at the end it shall speak
and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it,
because it will surely come, for yet a little while. And he
that shall come will come and will not tarry. That brings me
to a fourth thing. Turn back to Exodus chapter nine. Exodus chapter nine. with every time of trial and
trouble, with every season of spiritual darkness and vanquishing
in our souls, with every storm, with every fall, there's a set
time for deliverance. Exodus 9 verse 1, then the Lord
said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the
Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve
me. Look at verse five. And the Lord
appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow the Lord shall do this
thing in the land. And the Lord did that thing on
the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died. But of the cattle
of the children of Israel, not one died. When God sent judgment
to Israel, and pestilence came at the appointed time. 70,000 people died from Dan to Beersheba
and God stopped the angel and said, it's enough, when it's
time. Turn to Isaiah 54, Isaiah 54. Pastor, how does this apply to
me? In every time of trial, in every
time of temptation, in every time of spiritual languishing,
in every time of spiritual darkness. God comes at the set time, best
to deliver. Isaiah 54 verse 9, this is as
the waters of Noah unto me. For as I have sworn that the
waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I
sworn that I would not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee. Sometimes it seems so. Sometimes
it feels so. But God has sworn he will not
be angry with his own. He made a covenant with his son. and swore by his name, his name
that's holy and reverend, he would never again be angry with
you. Read on, verse 10. For the mountains
shall depart, the hills shall be removed, but my kindness shall
not depart from thee. Neither shall the covenant of
my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted. Does that describe you? I've been pastoring now for nearly
50 years. And I've sat and wept with many
of you in the midst of heartache. and I try my best to comfort,
and I can't give any. No matter what I say, no matter
what I say, I get off the phone, and folks are just as discomforted
as they were before I talked to them. I say goodbye, they
leave the office, they go out just as uncomfortable as when
they came in. God speaks. He says, oh thou
afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted. Behold, I
will lay thy stones with fair colors, and thy foundations with
sapphires, and I will make thy windows of gates, and thy gates
of carbuncles, and all thy borders pleasant stones. And all thy
children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the
peace of thy children. God says to you who are afflicted
and tossed, not comforted, I'm going to make your house a house
rich with joy, rich with joy, rich with peace, and this is
my purpose for you. I don't know when he will come.
I don't know when he'll bring you out of your present trouble
and sorrow, but I know this, when it's time, He will come
to you walking across the stormy waters. He will step up into
your little boat and he will say to your soul, it is I, be
not afraid. I think often of Peter's fall. And I learned much from it. The Lord could have kept him
from that. He kept others from it. He could
have kept Peter from it. That would have been no problem
for him. He could have kept Peter from going to the judgment hall.
That would have been no problem for him. He could have stopped
the mouth of the little maid who was harassing Peter. That
would have been no trouble to him. That would have been no trouble
to him. But God, in great wisdom and mercy to Peter, said, Peter,
before the rooster crows twice, this night you'll deny me three
times. And he did. And he walked out. And not until after the resurrection
did the Lord come to Peter in Galilee. And when he did, he
confirmed Peter, restored him, and made him a better man and
a better preacher than he could ever have been had he not gone
through the horrible fall he went through. When it's time, when it's time. For the vision is yet for an
appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though
it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come. It will
not tarry, for yet a little while, and he that shall come will come
and will not tarry. Here's the fifth thing, and we
should always bear it in mind. I was talking to someone this
morning, we're getting a little older, about all of us are. There's
a set time, an appointed time fixed by God's wise decree, fixed
before the world began, when our Lord Jesus will come for
us, his chosen, his redeemed, in death, to take us home to
glory. What a prospect. What a prospect. Soon he's coming for me. Soon he's coming for me. And
when he does, remember these words, to be absent from the
body is to be present with the Lord. Rex, that's not just a
good scripture to quote. That's a blessed prospect. To
be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Is
there not an appointed time to man upon the earth? All the days
of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. Our Savior
said, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there you may be also. I don't know when the Lord
will come for me, but this I know. When it's time, I'm going home
and I'm glad. When it's time, I'm going home
and I'm glad. Several years ago, I got a note
from my friend out in Arizona, Brother Jim Jemsick. I don't
guess I'll meet him till we meet in glory, but we correspond a
good bit. He wrote to me about something
he heard a dear friend of his say to someone many years ago.
The man was dying. He was just 45 years old. But
before he died, he and Jim were together with some religious
folks, some real worship Armenians who accosted his friend. And
they said to him, if you knew you were going to die tonight,
what would you do? and Jim's friend had had just
all he could take, and he set up as best he could, and he said,
I'd go to bed early. I'd go to bed early. Oh, that's
it, when it's time. For the vision is yet for an
appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it,
because it will surely come, it will not tarry. For yet a
little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. I'm certain too that this prophecy
given by God's prophet Habakkuk has reference to our Savior's
glorious second advent. I don't know when Christ shall
appear and I really don't want to know. If I could know, I don't
want to know. Now I say that to you with emphasis
because I want to encourage you. Don't even think about it. Don't
even think about it. Well, what if this is, what if
that's decided? Don't go that way. Christ is coming. That's
good enough. That's good enough. Turn to 1
Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians chapter one. 2 Thessalonians
chapter one. To them that look for him, shall
he appear the second time without sin to salvation. Here in 2 Thessalonians
1, the apostle writes in verse 7, To you who are troubled, rest
with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power,
when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, to be admired
in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed. Behold, he cometh. Behold, he cometh. If I thought
there were a sign, I can look at it and say, now, this side
here says you're getting real close. That would encourage laziness,
indolence, neglect of every responsibility. Let's get ready, let's get ready.
Listen to me, listen to me. I'm ready for his appearance
right now. Well, how can you say that? I
believe God. and I'm watching for him to come,
for yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and
will not tarry. I don't know when our Lord shall
appear, but I know this, when it's time, the Savior will be
revealed in his glory, then the resurrection. He will change
our vile bodies and make them like unto his glorious body,
And after that, there's one more thing I'm sure this refers to,
the judgment. The judgment. There's an appointed
day of judgment called the day of judgment, when God will judge
all men according to their works, the righteous and the wicked.
And he that is holy will be holy still, and he that is filthy
will be filthy still. He that is righteous will be
righteous still, and he that is unrighteous will be unrighteous
still. I try always when I think about
the day of judgment to think about Roland Hill and his dream. He said, I dreamed a dream. I heard the trumpet of God, and
the judgment was set, and all peoples gathered before the great
bar, and I heard one name called after another, and men came to
stand before the great white throne, and then suddenly I heard
a loud voice, roll and hill, and I trembled, and said nothing,
and again, Roland Hill. And the hair stood on my neck
and I was terrified. And then even louder, Roland
Hill. And one stepped forward and said,
here is Roland Hill and stretched out his hands. The Lord Jesus Christ, our substitute. was our substitute from everlasting. He was our substitute while he
walked on this earth. Our substitute when he died.
He is our substitute still in glory. And we stand before God
in judgment, still our substitute. I'm anxious for that day. I'm anxious for that day. anxious
for that day, for God's elect, the day of judgment, will not
be awaiting a thing, see how things are gonna go. It will
be a declaration that this is right. Don Fortner must enter
into glory, for he is perfect, and there's no sin in him. Righteousness
deserves and shall have everlasting life. And that perfection, that
righteousness is mine because Christ is mine. That righteousness, that perfection
is yours if Christ is yours. For the vision is yet for an
appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it,
because it will surely come. It will not tarry. For yet a
little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. Just a little while. Just a little
while. Amen.