When It's Time

Q: What does the Bible say about God's timing in delivering mercy?

The Bible teaches that God's mercy comes at an appointed time, as stated in Habakkuk 2:3. The scripture assures us that God's mercy operates on a divine timeline, as expressed in Habakkuk 2:3: '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.' This promise reminds us that while we may grow impatient, God’s timing is always perfect and is aligned with His eternal purposes. His mercy is preordained, and we must trust in His ability to deliver at just the right moment, illustrating His wisdom and grace throughout history.

Q: How do we know that Christ's second coming is certain?

Christ’s second coming is assured in scripture, particularly in Hebrews 10:37, stating 'He that shall come will come and will not tarry.' The certainty of Christ's second coming is firmly established in the Bible. In Hebrews 10:37, we read: 'For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry.' This assertion underscores that Christ will return in His perfect timing, fulfilling His promises to His people. The theological understanding affirms that believers are not to speculate on the timing but to live in anticipation of His return. This expectation serves as a source of hope and encouragement amidst trials, reminding us that God is sovereign over all history and will bring His redemptive plan to completion.

Q: Why is waiting on God's timing important for Christians?

Waiting on God's timing cultivates faith and reliance on His wisdom rather than our own understanding. For Christians, waiting on God's timing is crucial as it reflects our trust in His sovereign control over our lives. The scripture encourages us to wait patiently for the fulfillment of His promises, as highlighted in several passages like Psalm 27:14, which states, 'Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart.' This waiting is not passive; it is an active engagement of faith where believers seek God's presence and guidance, understanding that His timing is designed for our ultimate good and His glory. It allows us to mature spiritually, developing perseverance and character, ensuring we are prepared to receive the mercy and blessings He has ordained for us.

Q: How does God show mercy at the appointed time?

God reveals His mercy at the appointed time through His perfect providence, ensuring His chosen are ready to receive it. Divine mercy is a fundamental aspect of God's character, and He bestows it at precisely the right moment according to His divine plan. As stated in Isaiah 60:6, God declares His love and commitment to His chosen people, showcasing His readiness to extend grace. The sermon emphasizes that God's mercy often arrives when we are most in need, as noted in Ezekiel 16:6, where God acts to bring life amidst hopelessness. This timing is integral to our spiritual journey, as it prepares our hearts to recognize and appreciate the grace we receive, confirming the wise and benevolent nature of God's timing in our lives.

I don't ever have special singing,
special music in our worship services to be entertained or
to entertain you, but often I am enabled better to worship God
as I hear someone else sing and I follow closely to what they're
saying than I am when I've seen myself. Thank you. Thank you. My good friend, Pastor Tim James,
one of the most unique men I've ever known. I've known Tim since
we were both boys on the south side of Winston-Salem. He pastors
in Cherokee, North Carolina. And he's well known among his
friends for a phrase he commonly uses whenever partying with friends. Most of us say, well, hope to
see you soon, or we'll see you next spring, or hope to see you
maybe next year at the conference. Not Tim. He almost always says,
when it's time. When it's time. That's the title
of my message tonight. You'll find out very shortly
if you look at the text in Habakkuk chapter two. When it's time. Some of you are aware of the
fact that back in 1994, an old man on the West Coast by the
name of Harold Camping, a self-appointed prophet, the fellow who started family
radio ministry, made a prediction. I never said anything to you
about it from the pulpit here because I knew of no one here
who heard the prediction, and I figured there was no reason
for me to expose you to foolishness. He predicted that the Lord Jesus
was coming September 4th, 1994. He wrote the prediction plainly,
stated it plainly. There were folks running all
over California in 1993 and 94 with 1994 question mark at the
end of the t-shirt, had those slogans on there, bumper stickers
on their car. I personally knew people who
were so convinced that he was right that they sold everything
they had, gave it to Camping and Family Radio, and sat down
and waited for the Lord to come. That's what always happens when
people believe such foolish predictions. I had the occasion to ride a
good distance with Mr. Camping in his vehicle one day
after preaching at one of the Family Radio conferences. And
when I did, I said to him very pointedly, face to face, I said,
you are aware that no one in history who even professed to
believe the gospel of God's free grace in Christ has ever made
such a prediction? He said, yes, I am. I said, you're
also aware that no one in history, no one who made such a prediction
has ever recanted, backed up and said, I was wrong. You are
aware of that, aren't you? They've all found a way to say
they were right to start with, they were just misunderstood.
And they set another date. That he didn't answer. So I paused
a little bit and I said, are you prepared When you are proved
wrong, and you soon will be, are you prepared to declare that
you were wrong in making the prediction? And to that, he gave
no answer. Well, since that time, Mr. Camping
has made several other predictions. I haven't mentioned those to
you. Brother Allen mentioned it back in the office a week
or two ago. He predicted finally the last prediction. It won't
be the last one unless he dies before that. He predicted that
the Lord Jesus is coming May 21st, 2011. And I got an email
this morning asking me about the prediction. And the fellow
asked me what I thought about it, what I thought about the
things that they posted on the Family Radio website. And I wrote
to him. I said, I don't read garbage. I just read good stuff. I suggest
you do the same. But I haven't read those predictions. But I've got this to say about
it briefly. Nuts. Nuts. Nobody knows when Christ
is coming. They don't even have a clue as
to when it'll be close. Nobody. But what about what's
going on in the Middle East? It's been going on over there
since before Christ came the first time. What about wars and
rumors of wars? Our Lord said that's the way
it's always been, that's the way it's always gonna be. But
what about signs of the times? There are none! Can you get that
through your head? None. Oh, but I've always heard,
you've always heard wrong. Our Lord Jesus fulfilled all
the prophets of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah when he
cried, it's finished. And he told us not to look for
signs, didn't he? He said don't look for signs.
We are never at any point in the scriptures admonished or
encouraged in any way to look for signs of the Lord's coming.
Not one single time. And yet this whole religious
generation of Tomfoolery is wrapped up in prophecy nonsense. And
every time there's something that happens in the Middle East,
every time some Arab does something crazy, or every time some Israeli
does something crazy, we gotta, ho, ho, ho, ho, maybe this is
it! We're admonished to look for
the Redeemer. To live constantly on the tiptoe
of faith, looking for Christ to come, not looking for signs
of Christ coming. And so I said to this fellow
who wrote, in brief, nuts, but a longer statement is this. As it was true with regard to
September 4th, 1994, I said this to many folks, I'll say to you
and anyone who asks regarding May 21st, 2011, I know when Christ
is not coming. I know dead sure when he's not
coming. He's not coming May 21st, 2011. He may come May 20th, and he
may come May 22nd, but he ain't coming May 21st. I'm dead sure
of that. I'm dead sure of that. Because
no man knows the day or the hour. God has hidden these things from
us. He has not revealed them to us,
and it is best for us that he's hidden them from us and refused
to reveal them to us. Otherwise, if you really thought
the Lord was coming, May 21st, 2011, you'd go find your place
to pitch camp and say, well, buddy, this is the day. Ah, ah,
the Lord's coming today. And you sit out there in the
rain and sunshine and snow, if it happened to all three that
day. And midnight, you'd say, uh-oh. Well, what a fool I've been.
You'd say, well, maybe, maybe, maybe I had the wrong, maybe
I looked at the calendar wrong, maybe it's next year. Because
you'll always make an excuse for such foolishness. But I can
tell you exactly when Christ is coming. When it's time. Turn to our text, Habakkuk chapter
two, verse three. 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 if you will, turn to Hebrews
chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. We know for
certain that this prophecy given by God to his prophet Malachi
is speaking of the first advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, of
his glorious coming to accomplish redemption for our souls, and
inclusive of his second advent coming to bring that glorious
work of redemption and deliverance to its consummation in the resurrection
glory. We know that because it is plainly
stated in Hebrews chapter 10. In fact, Hebrews 10, the Holy
Spirit there quotes from the Septuagint translation of the
Old Testament Scriptures rather than from the Hebrew translation.
The Septuagint translation of our text reads like this, For
the vision is yet for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the
end. And not in vain, though he should
tarry, wait for him, for he will surely be come and will not delay. All right, look at Hebrews 10
verse 35. Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye
have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God,
ye might receive the promise for yet a little while. And he
that shall come will come and will not tarry. So the writer
of the book of Hebrews is moved by divine inspiration to quote
Habakkuk's words, God's words to Habakkuk in Habakkuk 2, 3,
as they're given in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the
Old Testament scriptures, and tells us that this promise is
not talking about just any promise, it is talking about the promise
of God wrapped up with the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
as is the case many times, I might say, I think properly, most times
prophecies regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus include his
whole coming, not just his first advent, not just his second advent,
but the whole coming of Christ in the accomplishment of redemption. Here he talks about a promise
of the Lord coming to favor his people. There's always a time,
a set time to favor Zion. We read in Psalm 102, mine enemies
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. God has a set time to favor Zion. It may not come when we desire. It may not come at the time we
expect, but God always has a set time to favor Zion. In infinite
wisdom and goodness, that time may be deferred until our impatience
has been clearly demonstrated and we've given up all hope of
its accomplishment and all expectation of it coming to pass. Nevertheless,
it will surely come and will not tarry. You see, we are all,
you and me, we're all like impatient children, anxious to pick the
fruit before it gets ripe. We always want to do so, but
God's never in a hurry. He's never ahead of time and
he's never behind time, but always exactly on time. He waits to
be gracious, the scripture says. He waits until the mercy he intends
to bestow is fully prepared. And he waits until he has fully
prepared his chosen to receive the mercy he intends to bestow. That's worth remembering, just
in case you want to write it down. God waits until the mercy
he is preparing is fully prepared. And he waits until his chosen
is fully prepared to receive the mercy he's determined to
bestow. He does it at a set time. And
when the mercy prepared has been received, It is dearer than words
can express when we receive it, when we realize that it is mercy
ordained and fixed and appointed for a set time by our God before
the world began. 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. The vision's for an appointed
time. In our minds, God's promised
mercy, God's visitations of grace may seem wearisome and long in
their coming. The time of our waiting might
seem excruciatingly painful. Indeed, it does. But God's promised mercy, Never
comes a moment beyond its appointed time and never comes a moment
before. And when it arrives, when it
arrives, when it arrives, the mercy will explain itself. When it arrives, the mercy experienced
will explain itself. When God prepares us for a need,
creates the need within us, causing us to seek His face, causing
us to bow before Him, crushing us beneath His throne. putting
our faces where they belong in the dust, in helplessness before
Him, and then sends His mercy to revive and refresh our souls.
The mercy He sends in the experience of it explains itself and explains
God's work to us. 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. Oh, my soul, let that sweet scripture
not be forgotten. Spirit of God, give me grace,
not only to remember these words, but to remember the message these
words convey. We see this Illustrated for us
throughout the scripture God's appointments are sure His
people shall never be disappointed in them are disappointed of them
Come they will come at the very time God is appointed and all
these appointed mercies are But the coming of Christ himself
to his chosen. We've already read in Hebrews
1037 where Habakkuk records the word it, it shall not tarry. The apostle writing in Hebrews
10 37 records the word he, he shall not tarry. So that all
God's promises and acts and deeds of mercy that we experience in
this world in time are the coming of Christ himself to his chosen
and redeemed people. Israel, by divine appointment,
was sent to Egypt for a specific set time. And when that time
was accomplished, God brought Israel out of the house of bondage. favoring Zion with his promised
grace and deliverance. Turn back to Exodus chapter 12.
Let me show you. Three times in this 12th chapter
of Exodus, we're told that Israel came out of Egypt at a set time. At the specific time God promised
Abraham he would bring them out, he brought them out. I'm not
talking about a day ahead of time or a day after. At exactly
the time God promised Abraham he would bring them out, he brought
them out. Exodus chapter 12 verse 17. And you shall observe the
feast of unleavened bread, for in the selfsame day have I brought
your armies out of the land of Egypt. in the self same day,
verse 41. And it came to pass at the end
of 430 years, even the self same day. Let's see, calendar. Mark them off. 430 years. On
the dawn of year 431. That's the day. That's the day. At the end of 430 years, even
the self same day, it came to pass that all the host of the
Lord went out from the land of Egypt. Look at verse 51. And
it came to pass the self same day that the Lord did bring the
children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies. I presume, Brother Bob, God intends
for us to understand that he brought Israel out of Egypt on
exactly the day he promised Abraham he would bring them out. On exactly
the day he promised Abraham he'd bring them out. Nobody believed
it. Nobody anticipated it. Israel
had long since given up all hope that they should ever come out
of Egypt. But on the same day, God brought it to pass as he
always does. He's always exactly on time to
favor Zion. Exactly the same thing was true
concerning Israel's 70 years of Babylonian captivity and their
deliverance at the appointed time. And so it is with God's
Israel in all ages. In all our trials, in all our
spiritual exercises, in all our seasons of darkness, in all our
languishing of soul, in all our difficulties in this pilgrimage
through this world. Though the vision tarry, he shall
come. He shall not tarry. At exactly
the time appointed of God. And Merle, the time God has appointed
to send relief is the perfect time for relief. The time God
has appointed to send deliverance is the perfect time for deliverance. Oh, for grace upon 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. When it's time, he will come. Let me apply this declaration
here in Habakkuk 2 and verse 3 to six or seven things of which
I'm certain it speaks. First, without question, God's
word to Habakkuk in our text was God's own promise concerning
our Savior's first advent and all the work of righteousness
and redemption he would accomplish for the deliverance of our souls
out of everlasting damnation. The deliverance of our souls
out of the house of bondage. The deliverance of our souls
out of spiritual death. by his obedience unto death as
our substitute. 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. He that shall come will come
and will not tarry. Turn to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. Verse six, when we were yet without strength
in due time, quite literally in the due time, Christ died
for the ungodly in due time. If you would care to go back
through the Old Testament scriptures, and if you don't want to do it
for yourself, you can look up where I've done it for you. and
mark the years and the dates given in the prophecies of the
Old Testament. Our Lord rebuked the Jews and
the Pharisees because they did not know, they did not discern
the time of their visitation. They should have known. They
should have known. They were all looking about the
time Christ appeared for the Messiah to come because all the
dates were lined up perfectly. And Israel was still a nation.
The Lord said back in Genesis 49 that the law would not depart
from Israel until Shiloh came. And so while Israel still stood
as a nation, before that nation was destroyed in 70 AD at the
end of Daniel's weeks of prophecy given in the book of Daniel,
before that came to pass, then Christ must appear. And that
was right at hand. It must be during a time when
Israel is yet as a nation in subjection to another power.
It must be at a time when Bethlehem is set and the Messiah is born
at Bethlehem. All those prophets in the Old
Testament, no person in history could fulfill the prophecies
except that man who was Jesus Christ called Jesus of Nazareth. He who is our Messiah, our Redeemer,
and our Savior. No man in history could meet
all the criteria. So they should have known, but
they didn't. Our Lord Jesus came to suffer
and die in our stead in the due time when it was all done. Paul
said in Galatians 4, when the fullness of time was come, when
time had been filled up, when the fullness of the time was
come, God sent forth his son made of a woman, made under the
law to redeem them that were under the law. Our Lord Jesus
said, Father, the hour is come. The hour is come. That's the
hour he referred to when he spoke to his mother and said I must
be about my father's business. Mine hour is not yet come. That's
the hour he referred to when he spoke to his disciples as
to why he would not go up to Jerusalem and let them make him
a king. He said mine hour is not yet come. But now he comes
to the appointed hour and he says, the hour is now come. The hour for which God made the
world. The hour upon which everything
hinges. The hour when God would show
forth his glory in the redemption of his people. This is the hour. This is the thing of which Habakkuk
was assured though. It seems that God has forgotten
the promise The vision is yet for an appointed time and he
that shall come will come and will not tarry and Christ Jesus
came Saying lo I come to do thy will. Oh my god turn to Matthew
24 Matthew chapter 24 Again without question Our text refers to our
Lord Jesus coming in judgment to destroy Jerusalem, the temple,
and Judaism in 70 AD. 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. Our Lord had been
preaching to them. And the disciples blessed their
hearts They were as slow to learn as I am. They'd look back at
Solomon's temple and they would just, oh, look at that. Look, oh, look at those windows
and that porch and those pillars. Look at that splendid, marvelous,
beautiful building. That which represents all that
we call dear. Look at that temple. Read on.
And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily
I say unto you, I'm fixing to turn it upside down. There shall
not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown
down. What a word that must have been.
Can you imagine how shocking? You mean, Lord, you're going
to do what Nebuchadnezzar didn't do? Nebuchadnezzar didn't destroy
it that bad. No. You mean you're going to
make this place more vile than Nebuchadnezzar made it? That's
exactly what the Lord said. He destroyed Jerusalem and destroyed
Israel as a nation at the end of Daniel's weeks of months described
in Daniel 9.24. Those 70 weeks, those 490 years, In 70 AD, the Lord Jesus, who
has now accomplished redemption and ascended back to glory, demonstrates
his power as God, overturning Jerusalem and Israel as a nation,
and forever destroying that nation and that people as a nation and
a people. Oh, but Israel regathered in
1948. Find me a Jew somewhere on this planet who can trace
his lineage back to Abraham. Find me one. No such animal exists. Not a one. Not a one. The records
in the temple that contain such things were gone in 70 A.D. God turned Israel upside down
and Jerusalem upside down for the purpose of destroying Judaism
as a religion and Israel as a nation because God Almighty set his
heart on another people and another nation called his church, the
Israel of God. So he destroys Jerusalem in 70
AD. And this prophecy was plainly
foretold by Daniel. Here's third thing. I'm equally
sure, turn to Ezekiel 60, I'm equally sure that our text is
talking about the promise of God that Christ will come at
the set time of love and mercy to every chosen redeemed sinner.
in the mighty operations of His grace. He will send His saving
mercy at the moment He has prepared His chosen to receive His mercy,
not a moment before. Hosea describes what he would
do for Gomer. He went down and found her, and
he could have brought her back at any time. She was his. He
could have brought her back at any time. He could have had her
stoned to death. She was his. She was playing the harlot. By
law, he could have put her to death, walked away, never thought
about her again. But God said, you go love a harlot
just like I love my people. And Hosea found out where Gomer
was and he provided for her and protected her all those years
she slept in the arms of her lovers. And he said, I'm going
to allure you to me in the wilderness. And I'm going to plant a hedge
around you. You can't escape me. And I'm going to speak to
your heart and you shall be mine. And at the time appointed, Hosea
came and found Gomer and took her home and Gomer was tickled
to death to go. So it was with Onesimus who stole
his master's goods. Onesimus had been a what was
considered a faithful slave in the house of Philemon all his
days. In that house, Onesimus heard
the apostle Paul preach many times. But in the house of Philemon,
where he was a man of such honor, Onesimus would never hear the
message of grace. He got to be brought down. You
got to be brought down. You understand that? You got
to be brought down. or you'll never hear the message
of God's grace, never. And Onesimus did something out
of character for him. He took his master's goods, stole
from his master, and ran away to Rome. And as luck would have
it, as chance would have it, the apostle Paul happened to
be there in prison. at just the time when Onesimus
was caught and arrested. Now, if you believe that nonsense,
I've got some oceanfront property in Arizona I'd like to sell you.
Luck, chance, as God in his wise providence arranged it. Onesimus
steals Philemon's goods and runs away to Rome, and Paul is on
board a ship headed to Rome. How come? Because now the time
of love has come, the set time, when God would visit Onesimus
in his grace. Look at Ezekiel 16, verse 6. 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
as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased in wax and
grape, and thou art come to excellent ornaments. Thy breast are fashioned,
and 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 I covered thine nakedness, yea, I swear unto thee, and entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest
mine. We don't engage in the tricks
of religion to get people to make a profession of faith. Ever. Ever. Just don't do it. Don't do it. I recall years ago, Brother Shanks
was telling me when Roth Barnard was preaching for him at a meeting
many, many years ago, and Brother Roth used to like to go to bed
early, I'm told. Somebody called about 10.30 one night after the
meeting and wanted to speak to Roth. So somebody went and got
him up, gave him the phone. He said, hello. And the lady
on the end said, Brother Barnard, would you Come visit my boy. He's in hell. I believe he's ready to get saved.
And Ralph said, he's in hell, is he? He's raised enough for
it. Good. Leave him there a while.
What? Leave him there a while? Yeah,
leave him in God's hands. Leave him for God to deal with
him. Don't speak peace when God doesn't speak peace. Don't give
comfort where God doesn't give comfort. We wait and we preach
the gospel with absolute confidence. At God's appointed time, every
chosen redeemed sinner, the Lord Jesus will come to him in mercy
and call him by his grace as only he can. A little while and
he that shall come will come and will not tarry. When it's
time, he saves his own. Fourth, With every time of trial
and trouble, with every season of darkness and vanquishing in
our souls, with every storm, with every fall, there's a set
time for deliverance. God told Moses, tomorrow at the
set time, I'll do this. Tomorrow at the set time, that's
what I'll do to my people. In 2 Samuel, David had been moved
to number Israel and God sent pestilence and destroyed thousands. And at the set time, he stayed
the angel and stopped the judgment and spoke again to David. Turn
to Isaiah chapter 54. Isaiah 54. Now understand this, child of
God, about your woe and your trouble. So many of God's people are hurt
for them. They seem to have troubles and
trials and heartaches, one on the heels of another. I remember Brother John Mitchell
woke up one morning, said to his wife, Verla, he said, Verla,
we ought to pray. He said, I'm sure we're in for
a time of real heartache and trouble. because God's been so
gracious to bless us with so much. Got done praying, got a
telephone call, the boy's in prison for life. Set time, trouble. But it's for
a set time. And Christ will come one way
or another and deliver you from your trouble. and he will with
the deliverance explain the trouble and the reason for him waiting
for the set time. 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. Now remember
that. God says concerning your trouble,
he said, now I've sworn, I've sworn to you, my people, I've
sworn to you, as I swore to Noah, I would never send a flood to
destroy the world again. I've sworn to you, I'll never
be angry with you and I'll never rebuke you as though I were angry
with you. Now read on, read on. For the mountain shall depart
and the hill 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 and
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 of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be
taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children. Great shall be the peace of thy
children. I don't know when the Lord will
come to you. I don't know when he'll bring you out of your present
trouble and your present sorrow. But I know this, when it's time,
he will come. He will come walking across the
stormy waters to your soul. He will step up in your little
boats. and speak peace to the storm. And he'll say to you in
his eye, be not afraid. This also speaks, I'm certain,
of the day of death. There's a day coming when the
Lord Jesus will come and come to call us home in that sweet,
sweet experience of death. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me, he says. For 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. 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 my days of my appointed time
will I wait till my change come. I don't know when the Lord Jesus
will come for me, but I know this, when it's time, he will
come, I'll be gone, and I'm glad. Let me share another email from
you. I got a note from Brother Jim Jimsick. I've been, I've
been sitting on this one for a few weeks just to the right
time to share it with you. He said, I had a laugh today. I
had listened to something I preached today. He said, he said, I couldn't
help but to remember something 10 years ago, a friend of mine
and I were with some folks discussing things with God. My friend was
dying. He was just 45 years old. And
I recall what happened that day. One of these wheel worshipers
accosted him and said to him, if you knew you were going to
die tonight, what would you do? And he said, my friend looked
at him and raised up as best he could and said without hesitation,
I'd go home and go to bed early. He said, I haven't laughed out
loud like that in I don't know when. Soon Christ shall come to take
me to glory. And if I knew for sure I'd go
home and go to bed early tonight. Certainly this refers to our
Lord's second coming. I know that because the passage
in Hebrews chapter 10 was written after the Lord's first advent. He shall not tarry. But He will surely come. When? I don't know. I don't have any idea. Nobody
else does. But to them that look for Him,
He shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation. To you that 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 they 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 sense
and to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony
among you was believed in that day. The vision is for a set
time and appointed time. But at the end, it shall speak
and not lie, though it tarry, wait for it, because it will
surely come and will not tarry. Yet a little while, and he that
shall come will come and will not tarry. When it's time, Our
Lord will appear. Behold, He cometh. And every eye shall see Him. He cometh. Just imagine. Maybe before I say amen tonight.
He cometh. He cometh. Not He's getting ready
to come. He cometh. Behold, He cometh. And every eye shall see Him. There is a day of judgment, an
appointed day set by God. It is appointed unto man once
to die, and after this, the judgment. Roland Hill, on one occasion, was preaching
and said, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed the resurrection was
passed and the judgment was set, and all the nations were gathered
before the judgment bar of God, and men's names were called,
one after the other, to appear before the judgment seat. And
at last I heard Roland Hill. It sounded like thunder echoing
across the universe, and I froze with terror. Again, roll and
heel! And every hair on my back stood
up. I couldn't speak. I was terrified. And again, roll and heel! And just as I was about to stand
forward, one stood in my place, the Lamb of God, and said, here
is roll and heel. Behold, roll and heel. Behold, the price paid and the
righteousness won. And I heard the voice of him
that sat on the throne say, come, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. Behold, he that shall
come will come and will not tarry when it's time. Amen. All right, let's sing a hymn,
Lindsey.

When It's Time

What does the Bible say about God's timing in delivering mercy?

How do we know that Christ's second coming is certain?

Why is waiting on God's timing important for Christians?

How does God show mercy at the appointed time?

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When It's Time

What does the Bible say about God's timing in delivering mercy?

How do we know that Christ's second coming is certain?

Why is waiting on God's timing important for Christians?

How does God show mercy at the appointed time?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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