03/02/2025: “Redeem Your Days”

This episode explores the life, legacy, and mortality of Abraham, offering valuable insights on how we live our own lives. We want you to reflect on the significance of your time and how it can affect your eternity. 

• Reflects on the reality of death and its impact on our lives 
• Encourages listeners to redeem their time for eternal value 
• Connects the legacy of Abraham to modern faith practices 
• Emphasizes Christ's promise of salvation 

Today, we invite you to reflect on your relationship with God. If you’d like to learn more or need support, feel free to reach out to us. 

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:22

Well, good morning church. If you have your Bibles with you, I invite you to turn with me to the book of Genesis. Today we find ourselves in Genesis, chapter 25. Genesis 25, and as you turn there, I'll pray for our time. Lord God, you've always had your people because you are full of grace and salvation and mercy and love. Everything about you is good. You have no character faults, no weaknesses, no inconsistencies. You are all that is beautiful, all in one, all the time. You came to Israel's temple in a cloud, for sinful people cannot see you and live. You came to Moses in the fire because sinful people can't see you and live. You came to Ezekiel in the strange vision because sinful people can't see you and live. Father, you came to us in Christ so sinful people could see you and live. You are good and faithful to us and you never leave us or shame us or reject us or scowl at us. There's no way to account for your faithfulness to us other than love. And so, lord, prepare our hearts to hear your word. Give us a love for your word. We are not interested in gathering facts about you. We want to meet with you. And so, holy Spirit, please attend to the preaching of your word and be our teacher. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Of your word and be our teacher. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 1 2:13

Genesis, chapter 25. I'm going to read verses 5 through 11. Abraham gave all he had to Isaac, but to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward to the east country. These are the days of the years of Abraham's life 175 years. Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man full of years, and was gathered to his people. Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar, the Hittite east of Mamre, in the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There, abraham was buried with Sarah, his wife. After the death of Abraham, god blessed Isaac, his son, and Isaac settled in Beelahai-Roy. This is God's Word.

Speaker 1 3:07

Well, I think one of the most powerful, heartbreaking songs that Johnny Cash ever recorded was. He actually recorded it about a year before he passed away, and the title of the song is simply Hurt. The song was originally written by a man named Trent Reznor and he had recorded it in the early 1990s and he had commercial success with it as a hard rock song. His song it's about a young man it's an autobiography, really, of Reznor, of his own downward spiral into depression, self-destruction and, of course, chemical abuse. Johnny Cash, however, slowed the song way down in Cash's style, and he interpreted the lyrics as a man near the end of his life, and the results are just haunting. By the time he recorded the song, he was already in his 70s, which of course is not that old, but by the time the video for the song was completed he was near the end, and you can actually see it in just how frail he looks. His beloved wife, june, would die just three months after that was filmed, and then, of course, johnny would follow.

Understanding Abraham's Life and Legacy

Speaker 1 4:16

Seven months later, cash suffered severe neuropathy and the rest of his health was failing, and the video for the song itself was shot in the derelict House of Cash Museum, a building that's dedicated to his life. He's literally surrounded by his memories and the glory days of who he was, and he sits there shaking an old, frail man. It's very heartbreaking to watch but if you're a Cash fan at all, I commend it to you what we can learn from Johnny Cash in our text Abraham. Here is that life is impermanence In the song. Everyone in Cash's life, whether family or friends, had moved on or had died. We see the same thing in our text Life is fleeting and the world moves on. The good news about Cash, of course, was that he was redeemed. He was a believer in Jesus Christ. He did live for the glory of God. Most of the time, as we could say about ourselves and, of course, abraham, the best of men are men at best. But this chapter is all about the imminence and the finality of that physical death.

Speaker 1 5:27

Death and aging, of course, are not things we consider that often, until you begin to age and the people around us begin to pass away. Of course, when you're young, it's all about birth, it's siblings and cousins and everyone was being born. And then time passage and marriage and you begin having children and those around you begin having children and you look around and you're like where did all these kids come from? I have four kids. I mean internally and I think mentally I'm still 17. Probably in my maturity as well, but in reality I'm much older and there's times I'm at my own home. I'm now a grandfather. I'm at my own home and I'm now a grandfather. I'm at my own home and I'm waiting for my mother or father to come in and give me a hard time about not picking up some mess I left somewhere else in the house. I'm sure I'm the only one that that happens to right. But time marches on. Of course you find those of your generation are no longer celebrating weddings, or even grandchildren. You're going to more funerals than anything else and Johnny Cash sings. Everyone I know goes away in the end.

Speaker 1 6:31

So today I wish it were a happier and more cheerful subject. But we're going to consider death head on. A few weeks ago, with Sarah's death, we developed a theology of death, if you will. But today it's much more simple and perhaps even a bit sadder. But I want to take three big steps through this passage, through this whole chapter, and I want us to put death in its biblical, proper context, to see the providential hand of God. Even in our final days we need to understand that God is in control. So let's start with this first heading, this first step. We'll call it Life.

Speaker 1 7:07

After Sarah, look back at verse 1. Abraham took another wife whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, jokshan, midan, midian, ishbak and Shua. What was life like for Abraham in these golden years? Well, I think we can look to the words of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He shared these thoughts.

Speaker 1 7:31

He wrote a book called growing old, and it might be what the patriarch might have said as well. This is what he said aging is in no sense of punishment from on high, but brings its own blessing and warmth of colors. There's warmth to be drawn from the waning of your strength. You can no longer get through a whole day's work, but how good is it to sleep into the brief oblivion of sleep. And what a gift to wake up once more to the clarity of your second or third morning of the day. You are still of this life, yet you are rising above the material. Growing old serenely is not a downhill push but an ascent. It's quite likely that Abraham's final years provided him with that same experience.

Speaker 1 8:13

His end is given unusual space, as these biblical death notices go as well as presenting a picture of completeness and satisfaction as well. I mean, I've done more funerals than I can remember at times, but I've seen more saints laid to rest than I ever thought I would, and I am thankful that, although a memorial service or a funeral, although it represents a life, it can never encapsulate who somebody really is and what they mean to their family and what they are now experiencing in the very presence of Jesus. Because what I feel in times of loss is great sadness and heaviness and mourning. But it's not about what I feel. It's about what I know, isn't it? And I know that in Jesus, death does not have the final say, death does not define us. Oh, death, where is your sting?

Speaker 1 9:09

Abraham looked beyond this world to the eternal city, if you will. He died an old man full of years, and today we might say he had a nice, full life. Often we speak of parents or grandparents that passed away in their 90s and we could say they lived a nice, full life. My grandfather, grant Goulet Christmas Eve last year it was 15 years since he passed. He was 95 when he passed away. Grant had his share of struggles, but he had a full life, and we're reminded that life is limited, that a span of time is allotted to every single one of us. All of our days are numbered, aren't they? Our full complement of years is already determined, and there's some beauty here in this passage as well.

Speaker 1 9:56

Isaac and Ishmael are estranged brothers, but they come back together in their grief and in their love for their father. Machpelah and its tombs were opened after 30 years since Sarah's passing. And by faith, Abraham's body. He's placed next to his princess, and all that remained of her at this point would have been bones, and even Abraham's flesh would fall away. And by faith, the remains of Isaac would be laid next to them. And when Isaac's time came, it would be the estranged brothers Jacob and Esau who would join together in the task. What a legacy this great man of faith would leave, not just for his family but for us. We are Abraham's descendants by faith in Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1 10:45

Abraham left a legacy of faith. His example is really the reference point in the New Testament that our salvation comes through faith. Paul says it in Romans 4,. Abraham believed the Lord and he counted to Him his righteousness. Abraham also shows us that faith works. A real, true faith is an obedient, working faith, james 2,. The argument is that faith without works is dead. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe there is one God Good. Even the demons believe that and they shudder. Then he goes on to use Abraham as the example Works are an essential evidence of our faith. Without Abraham there is no Christ.

Speaker 1 11:33

Galatians 3 tells us that the gospel was preached to Abraham that in you, all nations shall be blessed. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. Jesus is the ultimate child of promise. And then, of course, in Hebrews 11, it's the chapter about faithfulness to God, and at the center of it is Abraham. Abraham is the father of all who believed. The New Testament rides on the winds of belief, if you will, we come to Christ by faith, we live for Christ by faith, and the promise in Genesis 12 is that he would become a great nation and that God would bless him and then his name would be great, but, most importantly, that all the families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham. We see those first three fulfilled here, and the final is fulfilled in Jesus himself. We see those first three fulfilled here and the final is fulfilled in Jesus Himself. God also told Abraham he'd be the father of nations and die at a good old age. God promised him that Isaac would become the sole heir of the covenant and that Ishmael would greatly increase in numbers.

Speaker 1 12:42

God has proved faithful to every single word of promise to Abraham. God was faithful to Abraham and he is and will continue to be faithful to us in His promises in Jesus Christ. Amen. Somebody. God is faithful to every single person that he makes a promise to. His promise to you is that you have an inheritance in Christ and he will be faithful to that promise. I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. He's faithful to that promise. Glory to God. That brings us to the second piece. Then, if that's true, we need to redeem our days, verse 7,. These are the days of the years of Abraham's life 175 years. Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man full of years, and was gathered to his people.

Speaker 1 13:46

Death is a harsh reality that we try very hard to hide or ignore. We don't want to think about it, we don't want to live our life in light of it. I think the pandemic now of five years ago has made it difficult to disregard death, as all the news, even today, is still doom and gloom, and if you offer any hope in a dark world or any encouragement, you're typically met with a good bashing. But we would be wise to take the time to consider what the Bible has to say about us and then what we should do about it. Moses helps us do that in Psalm 90. You don't need to turn there, I'll reference it. Read it later today. But death reminds us that life on earth is short. Our life is like a dream that comes to an abrupt end. It is like the grass in an arid climate that springs up in the morning and is gone by night. Moses says they are soon gone and we fly away. Because life is short and that reality doesn't sink in for many of us.

Speaker 1 14:55

And I think, one reason that we don't truly understand we just don't truly understand time, because time seems to be relative. An hour with people you love, doing things that you love, feels like a minute. An hour with someone that you don't want to be around doing something you don't want to do, can feel like a minute. An hour with someone that you don't want to be around doing something you don't want to do can feel like ten hours. He's like well, that's not my experience. Then come up here and do ten push-ups or do a plank for 30 seconds. It feels like a day.

Speaker 1 15:25

Have you ever gone on a road trip with me and asked me how long it is until we get there and you can ask my kids the standard answer in our family about an hour, and you've got to say it like you're from northern Maine. How far Dad, about an hour. Now, that was handed down to me from my father, who said the same thing to me and it didn't matter if we were an hour or ten minutes or three days away. He'd say, oh, it's about an hour, which was his way of saying stop asking me questions. Little ones really don't understand an hour, right? What's an hour to a three-year-old? An episode of Bluey? I don't even know how long. Those are Five minutes, I don't know. If we're going to learn the lesson that life is short, we need to understand that our time will fly by and that time will be shorter for some than others.

Speaker 1 16:20

Death can come at any moment and I commend to you anything written by a man named Nabeel Qureshi. Nabeel Qureshi was raised in a devout Muslim family, but later, in his college years, he would come to Christ. He was an accomplished global speaker, an evangelist, an apologetics specialist. He had a medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School. He had a master's in arts and apologetics from Biola. He had a master in art, excuse me in religion from Duke. He had a excuse me. A master of philosophy in Judaism from Oxford. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2016. Twelve months later he died, at the age of 34. Very young man. He wrote a book called I think it's called Following Allah, finding Jesus or Seeking Allah and Finding Jesus. But at the end, this man who was 34 years old when he died, right before the end he said all my suffering is worth it to follow Jesus, because he is that amazing. I want to say that too.

Speaker 1 17:44

Why is life so short? Life is short because God ends it, doesn't he short? Life is short because God ends it, doesn't he? We've been talking about the providential power and kingship of God, so we must understand that if God is in control of the big things, he is in control of the little things as well. He is in the providential control of our life, and God is also in the providential control of our death. Listen to me your death, my death, will not take God by surprise, will it? God's not going to turn around in heaven and go oh, where did you come from? Death is not some mechanical, impersonal event. It is a deeply personal because God is ultimately involved, and that is true for all of us.

Speaker 1 18:30

Whether you are rich or poor, or wise or foolish, after a brief span of time, god will take you home. The Bible says he will sweep you away, as with a flood, when we see the power of a raging flood water that sweeps away everything in its path, we ought to stand in awe and fear the power of the water. When we see human beings being made in the image of God waste away due to illness or age, when we see them cut down in youth, we need to stay in awe and fear of the Lord, our God. We ought to tremble before the Lord. Death is not bad luck. It's not just the way things are. God is sweeping us away, as with the flood.

Speaker 1 19:12

That is why we need God to teach us to number our days. We need to understand life is short and why it's short, so that we can live wisely. And that's why I say, if somebody says how should we live, we should redeem our days. Every living person has the same number of hours in every single day. Busy people don't get a special bonus added on because they're busy. We all have equal measure.

Speaker 1 19:43

Where we differ is in how we redeem the time that is given to us. How men and women differ is how they redeem the time that God gives them. Every single one of us, if God is willing, will have 24 hours tomorrow. What do we do with it? When something's redeemed, it is rescued, it is purchased from some negative condition. The basic negative condition we are concerned with is the condition of waste.

Speaker 1 20:14

Isn't it Waste? To waste time is to spend it on that which has little or no value. Now, I'm not talking about things I don't consider valuable. I'm talking about things that God doesn't consider valuable. Vince Lombardi if anyone knows that legendary coach, he said I never lost a game, I just ran out of time. Football is a race against the clock. Stock car racing, baseball, soccer, hockey all races against the clock and the team that's the most productive in the time allotted wins. But in life we can't call a time out. I mean, I wish we could Anyone ever just see getting in life and you're like time out, I'll be back in three years.

Speaker 1 21:04

We need to ask God to reveal ways that we can redeem the time that is being wasted on things of little or no value. To redeem your days and we're going to talk about this more, but it means that we spend our time on that which gives us joy and brings eternal value. To redeem our days means we spend our time on things that give us joy and bring eternal value. You see, god, who is full of mercy, has come to us in our miserable condition and he's given us salvation, hasn't he? Our fear of God due to death and judgment should lead us to seek refuge in God. That's what Moses did. He prayed to God, the one who will end his life, and pleaded with him to return and have mercy on Him. He asks God to take away all affliction and suffering and replace it with love and joy and days of gladness. He asks God for a full and complete salvation, and the New Testament teaches us that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise of salvation.

Speaker 1 22:07

Jesus is the fulfillment of every prayer prayed in the Old Testament for salvation. Jesus is the fulfillment of every prayer prayed in the Old Testament for salvation. To Him, all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. Through His name, jesus appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Everyone who trusts in Jesus does not come into judgment but is passed from death to life. Or, as we all know, the beloved verse in John 3.16,. For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Speaker 1 22:47

Jesus is not just another way to be saved. Jesus is the only way to be saved. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Jesus is our only hope. He said in John 14.6,. Do you remember that verse, john 14, 6. I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me. Jesus is your only hope. We must follow Him in order to be rescued from our sin and death and the coming judgments.

Redeeming Our Days for Eternal Value

Speaker 1 23:34

Numbering our days, then redeeming our days, ought to lead us, first and foremost, to take refuge in Jesus before our brief time in this life comes to an end. Today is the day of salvation. God, in His great love, sent His Son that we do not have to die in our sins. The reality is we will die either from old age or something else. We don't have to die in our sins and we don't have to face eternal punishment, because there is forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Jesus replaces sorrow, suffering and death with eternal joy and peace and life. So please turn to Jesus and follow Him all the days of your life, and you will live forever in the presence and favor of God, the Maker of heaven and earth. Finally, let's consider, then, the last breath, our final heading.

Speaker 1 24:37

Abraham, sarah, isaac, jacob. They lived long, full lives. They've been gone for a very long time. If you were to walk from Iran into Iraq, israel and maybe even into Turkey, you'd be treading on the ground that they walked and lived on 3,000 years ago. But right now and perhaps for them it could seem as if no time at all has passed All of them stand in the presence of God, all of them in the presence of the promised Messiah, because eternity is eternal. I really wish we could understand it now, the way that we might understand it when we stand there with Abraham. I wish there was a way for us to see into the heavenly places, as it were, to get a glimpse of what eternity is and how long it is. That way, it would change our lives today. It would change how we live today, wouldn't it? It would change our priorities today. It would change how we talk to people today. It would change how we live today, wouldn't it? It would change our priorities today. It would change how we talk to people today. It would change how we come here all the time. It would change everything about us.

Speaker 1 25:45

I mean, you need to ask yourself what will your future be like? What's your income going to be in five years? What's your health going to be like in three years? We ask these questions, even if only to ourselves. In ministries, we put together five and ten year plans, don't we? And I can tell you, if the lord gives me 45 more years, I've reached my goal that, of course, the final 20 years living in the tropics somewhere which is probably gonna be right here, I don't know Is that, of course, the final 20 years living in the tropics somewhere? It's probably going to be right here, I don't know. But what about 200 years from now? What are you going to be doing? You say, well, I'm going to be dead, you're going to be somewhere. But about 2,000 years from now, what will you be doing?

Speaker 1 26:42

You see, the Gallup poll on religion in America indicates the majority of professing Christians believe in life after death. I don't know why it's not 100%, but they said the majority believe in life after death. But most of them polled however reject any idea of hell and the arguments for heaven without a hell. Most of them polled however, reject any idea of hell and the arguments for heaven without a hell are based primarily not on sound biblical teaching but on human sentiment and emotion. Well, I don't want to follow a god like that. My god wouldn't do that. Whenever you say I believe in a god, that everything else that comes after that is trash unless you're pulling it from the scripture, people simply prefer not to believe in a God that everything else that comes after that is trash unless you're pulling it from the Scripture. People simply prefer not to believe in hell but to deny the reality of hell. You must stand firmly opposed to the unambiguous teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, here's the reality of life and death as I see it in the Scripture. The Bible says it clearly in Hebrews. And death as I see it in the Scripture the Bible says it clearly in Hebrews it is appointed for a man to die once and then face judgments.

Speaker 1 27:42

Contrary to popular media, romanticized stories and movies, we do not become angels with wings. Angels don't get wings when a bell rings. In fact, the biblical picture of an angel is rather terrifying. That is why an angel appears to someone in the Bible. What do they do? They fall down on their faces in terror. And the angel's like fear not. And they're, like I have to Wings and eyes and wings and eyes, and wings and eyes. Fear not. This is the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. We don't become disembodied apparitions that haunt old houses. If I could haunt you people in this room, I would, but I'm not going to Some of you, especially Christians, we need to know what the Bible says.

Speaker 1 28:32

We need to live in truth. The truth is so much more comforting than the lie. The moment you die, you will be standing in the very presence of God and you will face judgment, and that's a problem, isn't it? Your family's going to be mourning you here. They'll get together for memorial service, maybe some refreshments, but they're going to get on with life Life without you. It's going to be challenging, but there's no choice, and no matter how much we want our loved ones back, they have moved on, as it were, to the heavenly courtroom, and in that courtroom, the verdict will only be guilty or not guilty.

Speaker 1 29:17

God will not take our goodness and weigh it against our badness. He will not take our good guy-ness or good gal-ness and weigh it against the people in our life that we think we are far superior to. No, the judgment will come down to one thing Did you die in your sin or not? What do I mean by that? I mean that if you, right now, are still living life for your glory, or you are either living it for your glory or you're living it for God's glory through faith in Christ, if God is your Creator and if you are accountable to God, you must understand that God's not going to ignore or tolerate sin, even yours. That's the problem. Right? God is holy, god is holy. God is holy and God is our judge. God is God and we're not, and we're guilty against God because we rebelled against Him.

Speaker 1 30:12

The Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We reject God, we reject His authority over our lives. So let's not think you have an exception to this. Nobody has an exception to this. For those who die far from Christ. They will stand before God in judgment.

Speaker 1 30:33

And at that moment, in that moment of judgment what you will hear from Jesus. Depart from me. I never knew you. You are a worker of iniquity and the Bible says you will be cast. Jesus says you will be cast into the outer darkness. Friends, if you were to ask me what are the most terrifying words in the Scripture, it's that the most terrifying words in Scripture come from the mouth of Jesus and the most comforting words in Scripture come from the mouth of Jesus.

Speaker 1 31:09

In that moment, whether atheist, agnostic, buddhist or however you identify, there's no negotiation. There's no bartering. There's no negotiation. There's no bartering. There's no condemning God to see your far superior viewpoint. No, you're just cast away into the outer darkness. There will be so much anger, so much hatred, so much conviction, so much weeping. It will be hell. That's why the good news is good news.

Speaker 1 31:42

Jesus lived the sinless life that none of us could. He willingly stood in your place and he took upon Himself the judgment for sin that you deserve. As he dies on the cross, the awful weight of our sin falls on Him and it crushes Jesus, not us, and Jesus dies, not us. He dies for me and he dies for you. It is finished. But glory to God.

The Necessity of Faith in Jesus

Speaker 1 32:08

The story doesn't end there, right. Jesus the crucified is no longer dead. The Bible says he rose from the grave. It's God's way of saying everything that Jesus said about Himself is true. But all of that is just information if you do nothing with it. I know a lot of people who are gatherers of information. You must be saved, you must turn from your sin, you must put your faith in Christ alone.

Speaker 1 32:37

Today, right now, in the quiet of your heart, cry out to God Save me, lord, I am a sinner. I believe I don't want to face that judgment. I believe Save me. And guess what he will save you. Well, how do you know? Because he saved me.

Speaker 1 32:53

And if there's anyone who doesn't deserve salvation, it's me. I didn't grow up in church. I don't wear a suit and tie, I don't use propaganda. There's nothing about me that's savable, except for the fact that Jesus looked at me with pity and he gave me his grace. Glory to God. And if you're sitting here now and you say, well, I know why Jesus saved me, because I'm me and I'm special Hogwash, repent of that, you stubborn, stiff-necked Pharisee I'm preaching now.

Speaker 1 33:36

When I die at the ripe old age of 95, or 97, I don't know and I stand before God, jesus will be there and He'll say this one's mine, this one's mine. I've taken everything His sin, his shame, it's mine. I've taken everything His sin, his shame, it's mine and I'll be not guilty. And I'm going to be not guilty because I borrowed that not guilty from Jesus and he gave it to me willingly. And I'll tell you right now, once I'm standing in eternity, I'm not coming back down around here ever. Eternally is more comforting knowing that I'm with Jesus. Listen, your friends and family who are with Jesus, listen to me, and I say this with a pastor's heart and someone who loves you, your friends and family with Jesus, is eternally better there than anything they ever had here and they're waiting. But it's eternally better there than anything they ever had here and they're waiting, but it's eternally better there. Join me, join them by coming to Jesus to save you from your sin, and he will. We need to redeem our days because life is short.

Speaker 1 34:55

During a recent meeting here with a really good team, one person asked me what prevents our church from just growing exponentially for God's glory? And I think there's two things. I'm going to share one of them with you now. The other one's a much bigger discussion All of our major changes are complete. The music is good, the preaching is fine, the programs are complete. The music is good, the preaching is fine, the programs are great, but we are held back by one big thing by a culture and a lack of inviting people to church. We are held back by a lack of inviting people to church. We can advertise. We are held back by a lack of inviting people to church. We can advertise. I can walk up and down the boulevard with a sandwich sign on going go to First Baptist, I can wear a silly hat and all that other stuff, but unless you invite people here, the church won't grow. That's what statistics tell us. 88% of the people in churches now are there because they were invited by a friend, not because of a catchy video or a reel that I make or some silly thing like that.

Speaker 1 36:05

You say, okay, well, what does that have to do with this? Listen to me Most often and this is probably what you're thinking right now and if you're in your life group, I know some of you answered this that way last Sunday because I put the question in your life group questions for a reason, and the common theme I got back from the life group leaders is people saying I can't invite people to church because all my friends are Christian and I don't know on church people. I hope you see the problem with that answer. I hope you see the problem with the answer of saying all my friends go to church and they're Christians. It's not an excuse for you, it's a condemnation against you.

Speaker 1 36:47

We love the Great Commission, don't we? We love having our lunches for missions, don't we? Until we realize it's our job. The Great Commission is our job, missions is our job. Our mission field is right outside of these doors and this town is dying because of sin.

Speaker 1 37:09

You say well, we're in the Bible Belt. The Bible Belt has fallen off man. The pants are gone. People need Jesus. We need to go. We need to go where the pants are gone. People need Jesus. We need to go. We need to go where the people are who don't know Jesus. We need to go where men and women are far from God.

Speaker 1 37:25

Because our time is short. What are we doing with our time? When you stand in glory, what an amazing thing it will be if you could be surrounded by all the men and women that you influenced for Jesus. He's here. She's here. Time is short. Redeem your days, be like Jesus, be about the Father's work. So I'll end this way. We need to understand. Jesus is our only hope. We need to follow Him in order to be rescued from our sin and death and the coming judgment.

Speaker 1 38:06

Numbering our days ought to lead us, first and foremost, to take refuge in Jesus before our brief time comes to an end. Today is the day of salvation. That's my invitation to you. We'll take the Lord's table together in a moment and after that, if you want to talk about Jesus, I'm not going anywhere. If you want to know Jesus, I'm not going anywhere. There's going to be a bunch of us down here. You can come and talk to any one of us and we can point you to the Savior. Let's pray together.

Speaker 1 38:37

Father, I thank you for this day and for the opportunity to worship you right here and right now. I pray that we'd be able to be still and know that you are God. Help us, lord, to number our days, to redeem our time, to know that this life is finite, but our life with you is infinite. I plead, lord, for those who are not near you, for those who do not know you, that today they would call upon you to be saved, and Lord for the hard-hearted, stiff-necked Pharisees among us and within us. Break our hearts for all the things that break yours, and bless us as we take the bread and the cup together. Amen.