I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and
take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and
then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead
and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and
then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead
and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and
then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead
and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and
then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead
and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and
then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead
and take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and
then I'm going to take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a
few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and then
I'm going to take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more
minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and then I'm going
to take a few more minutes and then I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes and
then I'm going to take a few more minutes and then I'm going to take a few more minutes
and then I'm going to take a few more minutes and then I'm going to take a few more minutes
so, Matthew chapter 24, verse 29.
Right?
Immediately after the tribulation of those days, clear verse on the timing of the rapture.
When is the rapture?
After the tribulation, right?
That's a whole other sermon right there.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened
and the moon shall not give her light.
so after this tribulation that takes place, there are going to be signs in heaven.
sun being dark and the moon shall not give her light. The stars shall fall from heaven
and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the Son
of Man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. They shall see the Son
of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and great glory. So God has given
us these signs in heaven to show us not only the birth of Christ but also his return. Obviously
the birth of Christ is a very small group of people that knew to even look for that
star in the east that even noticed it. It was just a few, a handful of men that went
and worshiped Christ in his nativity. However, God is going to give us signs in the heavens
for all of mankind at the return of Christ. Okay? At the return of Christ, you know, we
are to look up and see these things. Which is great, you know, because today, you know,
the Bible talks about how there are many antichrists, how there are many false prophets in the world
that are saying, you know, lo, Christ is here. You know, he is in this place. He's in that
place. And there's been even multitudes of people that have claimed themselves to be
Christ or many people that have set a date upon the return of Christ. But the Bible is
crystal clear here. Jesus out of his own mouth says it's going to be after the tribulation.
When are you going to come, Jesus? Well, it's after the tribulation, meaning we're going
to have to see the rise of the antichrist. You know, it's not going to happen until the
Son of Perdition shall appear. That's when Christ will come, when we see the antichrist
come into power. And not only that, we also know we won't see Christ come until these
signs in heaven are given. That's when the rapture takes place. Go to Revelation chapter
number six, Revelation chapter number six. This, of course, ties in and we've preached
other sermons and has been taught many times over this pulpit about the timing of the rapture,
how you can compare these chapters and see how they line up perfectly. It's not the point
of the sermon this morning, but if you look at verse 12 and it says, and I beheld when
he had opened the sixth seal, right? So that comes after the fifth seal, which comes after
the fourth and so on and so forth, right? It's the sixth seal that's being opened and
lo, there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the
moon can became as blood. So we have further description or further details of what Christ
described in Matthew 24, right? He said, hey, the sun's going to be darkened and so shall
the moon, the sun and moon shall be darkened. Well, the sun is becoming black as sackcloth
of hair and the moon is becoming as blood. In verse 13, and the stars of heaven fell
onto the earth. Now I believe what he's talking about. There is a great meteor shower, right?
Those would just be called the stars of heaven. Often if you see it, if you've ever seen a
meteor shower, they just look like stars. You know, if they're just moving through,
you know, near earth, we'll just see those bright lights in the sky momentarily. They
look like stars falling to the earth. So that's how the Bible is describing these things.
And as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. Okay.
And the heaven departed as a scroll and it's when it is rolled together and every mountain
and island were moved out of their places. So before the return of Christ, we have these
signs in heaven being given us, right? We're seeing all these things take place, the sun,
the moon and the stars, very significant events. Meaning this, you know, that we're not going
to see the return of Christ until those things come to pass. And these are the things that,
you know, God has set these things in the heavens for us to look to for those signs.
All right. Now, obviously that's not really something we're going to be doing in the,
in the, in the, in the new year. You know, I doubt anyone's going to go out tonight,
you know, when they're looking up there and saying, well, is the moon blood? You know,
and no one's going to go out in the morning and wonder if this is the day that the sun
is darkened. Okay. Those are things that, you know, we'll see kind of see coming. We'll
be anticipating those, those things because all these other things will come to pass with
the rise of the Antichrist, so on and so forth. Well, what does consider concern us when it
comes to signs and seasons, what is more applicable to our lives, what is more practical is the
seasons. Okay. God, you know, we, we want to think about all these great things that
are going to happen in the end times. And I'm glad that they're there. That way, no
man can deceive us when it comes to the return of Christ. You know, someone says, oh, Christ
is coming at any moment. It's like, well, you know, I, I haven't seen the moon turn
to blood, you know, and if you need further evidence, just continue reading, go to Revelation
chapter number seven, where you had this, the 144,000 are sealed, and then you have
a great multitude of all nation, kindreds and tongue appearing in heaven after, you
know, the sixth and seventh seal are open. You know, those things take place. Okay. That,
that is the rapture. It's not in Revelation chapter one, where, where John is called up
into heaven as, as you know, many people falsely teach. It's actually in Revelation
six and seven, it's perfectly lines up with other passages in scripture. But again, I
don't want to preach all that this morning, but I am glad that God has given us the sun,
moon, and stars for signs so that we can look and say, and look at these things happening
in heaven and say, this is out of the ordinary. Something is happening. Okay. We can look
at and look for the specific science effect before the return of Christ and not be deceived.
That's great. Now that's probably not going to apply to a lot of people. You know, there's
a chance it's probably not going to even really be anything that's going to apply to anybody
in this room. That might not be any, you know, anything that any of us in here ever has to
worry about, you know, the return of Christ. Maybe, you know, Christ, you know, the return
of Christ could be much closer than we think. It could be many centuries from now. Who's
to say? Okay. None of us really knows. However, when it comes to the signs and the seasons,
the seasons are something that would apply to us day to day, year to year, over the course
of our lives. And that's really what I want to focus in on this morning. If you would,
go ahead and turn over to, we'll go over to Colossians chapter number two, Colossians
chapter number two. The seasons are given to us to measure time, measure time. Now think
about it. If God is giving us these, these signs in heaven, right? Because they play
a very significant role in the end times that God wants, you know, God didn't just do, give
us the signs of the return of the son of Christ, the son of God, because of, you know, he's
just being dramatic. He's like, well, that'll make for a good, that'll make for good preaching.
You know, the moon turned to blood, the, the, you know, the stars falling, you know, God
did that for a very specific reason. It's kind of, you know, I don't care how, how good
somebody gets at deceiving other people. Nobody's going to be able to do those things. No one's
going to be able to make the stars fall from heaven. No one's going to be able to turn
the moon to blood or, you know, the sun, they're going to darken the sun. I don't care how
good AI gets. Okay. They're not going to pull that one off. They're not going to be able
to manipulate the natural world. Okay. I'm sure somebody out there has some far out ideas
about how they might pull that off, but you know, God has done that so that we can look
to those things and say, well, you know, Christ is not coming because these things have not
taken place. That's why God has given us these signs in heaven so that we can not be
deceived. And we're glad that those things are there. However, you know, what does apply
to us is the seasons. Those are given to us to measure time. These are the things that
we ought to be concerned with. Seasons are used to measure time. Psalms 104, it says
in verse 19, he appointed the moon for seasons and the sun knoweth it's going down. So he
appointed the moon for seasons. Okay. And, you know, in the old Testament, the nation
of Israel, that's how they measure time was using the moon. Okay. We don't use a lunar
calendar, obviously. We're on a solar calendar, but in the Bible, that's what they used in
ancient Israel. Right. And if you remember in Genesis, the, you know, the evening and
the morning were the first day. And if you study your script, study the scripture, you'll
also notice that when the sun goes down, marks the beginning of the next day. Okay. And there's
a whole nother sermon right there. Okay. You want to start the new year, right? According
to the Bible, you'd start that this evening when the sun goes down, right? That's when
you'd start doing the things you got to be doing in the new year. Right. Of course, none
of us is going to do that because we're on the solar calendar and you know what, and
I've got, I've got scripture to back that up. Why we can get away with that. Right.
You know, the point is this is that the moon has been given to us, the sun has been given
to us, the stars have been given to us to measure time. Okay. And again, we don't really
do that today. That's not how we do things. However, the concept of measuring time is
something that would behoove us to do. A wise person would consider the time that they have,
how they're spending their time, what they're doing with their time in light of eternity,
in light of the seasons of life that they're in. Okay. That's why he's given us the moon.
He's given us the moon for seasons. This is something that you see, uh, throughout scripture
in Leviticus 23, the feast of the Lord and the holy convocations will they proclaim in
their seasons. There were certain seasons when they would gather together and worship
God and make their sacrifices. Uh, the Levites, you know, were, were people that had to observe
these times and these seasons. However, today, of course, the seasons play a very much less
ritualistic role today. Don't they look at Colossians chapter two verse 16 says, let
no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respective and holy day or the new moon
or the Sabbath days. Those are all things that they practice in the Old Testament. They
practice these different feasts that were, you know, uh, based upon the movements of
the moon. They, you know, the Sabbath days, the holy days, and Paul here is telling the
Colossians, don't let any man judge you in these things or in meat. You know, he told
Timothy that every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused it for to sanctified
by the word of God and prayer, right? If it's received with Thanksgiving. Okay. So the dietary
restrictions have been lifted in the, in the New Testament, the respect of the holy days.
We don't practice these Sabbath days. We're not, you know, that's why we don't worship
on a Saturday, the Sabbath day. That's why we're not meeting in a temple. That's how
we're not sacrificing animals. Those things have all been done away in Christ, right?
He says, don't let any man judge you of these things versus having team, which are a shadow
of the things to come, but the body is of Christ. You know, the body is what, what cast
the shadow, right? Christ was casting that shadow. He was standing before that, which
is going to be unveiled, right? The light of the glorious gospel. And you know that
what they saw in the Old Testament was that shadow, the truth of it, where they could
discern the gospel in these things. But ultimately we have, you know, those things have been
removed. Okay. We, we, we behold Christ now, the body itself, if that makes sense. Look,
go over to Romans chapter 14, Romans chapter number 14. So again, let me say this, you
know, as I get into the more practical application of the sermon, you know, some people, you
know, are probably going to say, well, you know what, don't let any man judge you in
respect of any day. Why does, you know, the new year matter? Why is it any different than
any other day? And, you know, amen. Obviously people can make changes. People can plan things
any time of the year. You know, some, some people would probably do well to be reminded
of that. You know, sometimes people start out, oh, this is the new year. I'm gonna start
out right. And then they, they don't even get past the first couple of months and everything's
falling apart and they think, well, I'll just wait till next year. Right. You're having
too much respect for a day at that point. You know, you can start making changes in
your life at any point throughout the year. Right. But however, you know, I, I am a proponent
and a fan of, you know, you know, using the new year to set goals. I think it's a good
thing because it kind of forces people to do it. You know, and most people are kind
of, and have that mentality. They're already kind of thinking along that. So you have other
people you could be talking to, you know, there's going to be other material out there
that you can reference, you know, you can, you can collaborate with other people around
the beginning of the new year. Right. And again, this isn't going to be a how to sermon.
I'm not trying to do that. There's a whole body of literature on self improvement and
habit forming that people, if people are interested, they can go refer to that. Okay. To each his
own. However, you know, I still think it's important that people be reminded whether
it's on the new year or whatever time throughout the year, whatever season it is that we ought
to have this mentality of, of improving. Right. Of seeking to excel. You know, that's, that's
why that's up there to keep that in front of us that, you know, we should be people
that are trying to improve, trying to get better, striving to walk in the new man and
improve year by year, season by season, day by day. Okay. And, and, you know, God has
given us these things, has given us signs in heaven. He's given us bodies, heavenly
bodies for seasons. You know, God is somebody who tracks time. God is outside of time, but
God has given us these things so that we can track what season we're in. Look at Romans
chapter 14 verse five, one man esteem with one day above another, another esteem with
every day alike, let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. So, well, you know, I'll
make those changes later. Great. You know, I, I, I'm already, I'm already working
on goals. I started, you know, goal setting and doing things some other point in the year.
Fine. The point is you should have that. And if we're people who don't have goals, you
know, then we're not going to accomplish any goals. You know, if you don't aim at
anything, you're, you'll never, you'll never hit it. Right. Some people think, well,
if I never aim at anything, I'll never miss. Well, not hitting the target is the definition
of missing, right? So if you don't aim at anything, you're sure to miss, you know,
well, if I don't aim high, you know, I can't fall far. It's like, no, that's not
the mentality that we want to have in life. We ought to be people who are trying to achieve
something in life. So we see here that God has given us these seasons, especially in
the Old Testament. There, there were those signs that were in heaven were, were, had
to be observed much more closely, had to be given very careful attention to because
that's, you know, the, the, the things which, you know, the rituals, the sacrifices, the
holy days, the Sabbath, those things were used to revolve around that. They, that's
how they referenced those days. That's how they knew when to perform those things. Today,
we do really don't much. We don't think much of these, these lights in heaven. However,
as a whole, humanity is in a season. Okay. So we're talking about the seasons now,
right? The season of the new year, the season of 2024 that we're going into, right? The
next calendar year. Well, let's zoom out a little bit further. Okay. And let's look
at, instead of individuals or groups, let's look at humanity as a whole, right? What season
is humanity in? Well, it's, it's kind of in between those two signs we talked about,
right? The sign of the birth of Christ and the sign of his return there. It's the season
that humanity finds itself in and Christ is coming. You know, it's a short, you know,
we, we look at it and say, well, it seems like, you know, it's going to be forever,
but Jesus said, behold, I come quickly. And he said that several times throughout the
book of revelation, if you would go over to Matthew chapter number 16, Matthew chapter
number 16, you know, when we kind of zoom out and say, what, what season is humanity
in? Okay. Well, they are in the broader season of Christ's return waiting for his coming.
And, you know, it's been 2000 plus years, you know, around 2000 years. And some people
are wondering, you know, when is this going to happen? Is it ever going to happen? You
know, it seems like it's been a long time. And from our perspective, it is a long time,
but Jesus said, behold, I come quickly. And my reward is with me. He said, behold, I come
quickly. Let no man take thy crown. If Jesus has to issue that warning, right? Behold,
I come quickly. Let no man take that crown. It's that tells us that there's some people
that fail to recognize the season that they're in. You know, humanity scoffs at the return
of Christ. You know, first Peter chapter three, knowing this verse, that there shall come
the last day scoffers walking after their own lusts. What are these scoffers who walk
after their own lusts going to say? Saying, where is the promise of his coming? Right?
What do you mean we're in the season of, of anticipating Christ's return? What, you know,
where is the promise of his coming? He said he was going to come. He said, behold, I come
quickly. Where, you know, where is he? You know, thousands of years have gone by since
Christ ascended in heaven. You know, that's just some fable. That's what people say.
They scoff. For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as, as they were from
the beginning of creation. You know, humanity as a whole, there's many people, they scoff
at, at the season of Christ's return. They, they scoff at the season that humanity is
in. But also, you know, there's people, even God's own people who fail to recognize the
season that they're in. Okay. They don't consider their lives in the, you know, in
the light of eternity. That's how we have to live life. If you look there in Matthew
chapter 16, look at verse one. It says in verse one, the Pharisees also with the Sadducees
came tempting and desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. I mean, it's
not enough, all the signs he's doing on earth during his ministry, raising people from the
dead, healing lepers, you know, casting out demons, performing miracles. They're like,
well, if you're really son of God, you know, how about a sign from heaven then, right?
They're scoffers. Okay. He answered and said unto them, when it is evening, you say it
shall be fair weather for the sky is red. He's saying, you can look at the atmosphere
and tell us what the weather is going to be like. And in the morning it will be foul weather
for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky, but you
cannot discern the signs of the times. Right? And again, these were the Jewish people. These
were the Pharisees, those that were given the oracles of God that should have known
that this was Christ. They should have known that this was the time of their visitation.
And here they are scoffing and mocking and ridiculing. They don't understand the season
that they're truly in. And, you know, that's the way it is, even with God's own people
sometimes. Look, it's, it's, it's kind of understandable when, you know, the, the lost
world is scoffing and saying, you know, where is the promise of his coming? Oh, the return
of Christ, you and your, you know, the rapture, your Baptist fairy tale. You know, it's kind
of, you can get, you know, it's stupid, it's foolish, but at least it makes sense coming
from the lost world. You can at least kind of understand why they might think, you know,
they'd come up and been indoctrinated in some atheistic, godless institution called the
public school, you know, and the culture that we're living in has just brainwashed them
into rejecting the Bible outright. It's amazing to me how many people reject the Bible without
even having so much as cracked it open. But, you know, and that's understandable, but what's
truly shameful is when God's own people are much like these Pharisees where they have
Christ that, you know, they have Christ, they have the word of God. They can read it. They
could see all these things happening. They could see the God working in his life. And
they're, Oh, show us a sign from heaven. They're doubtful. They're not considering they're
hypocrites. They don't consider the signs that they have right in front of their face.
They're not considering the season that they're in. Look, signs are great. The star of the
east, the stars from heaven. These are great, dramatic signs. These are great. You know,
it's great to talk about those things and get excited about those things. But what really
matters in life is considering the season that you're in. Considering the season. Don't
be like these Pharisees. It says here in verse four, a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh
after a sign and there shall no sign be given it by the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he
left them and departed. He said, you're not going to get a sign from heaven. The only
sign you're going to get is my death, burial, and resurrection. Okay. So that's, you know,
that's how we can apply this to individuals, God's people. Our lives are composed of seasons.
Okay. We obviously, we need to live our lives in the light of Christ's return. Okay. But,
you know, we also have to make sure, how do you do that? What's the, how do you practically
do that? Well, you know, you have to live your life a certain way. Christ might not
return in our lifetime. You know, there's a good chance he won't. Least of mine. I mean,
some of you younger ones, maybe, I don't know. We have to consider how are we going to live
our lives day by day until that sign is given us. If you want to go over to Luke chapter
number 12, Luke chapter number 12. And this is what I'm, this is the practical part of
the sermon. This is where I'm making application. This is what many people fail to do. Even
God's own people. They fail to see the season that they're in in life. Okay. And to live
their lives accordingly. They fail to see their lives in the light of Christ's return.
Look at verse 13. And one of the companies said unto him, master, speak to my brother
that he divided the inheritance with me. Okay. So that was kind of custom practice. That
was something that was prescribed in scripture that the inheritance, you know, obviously
the firstborn got the double portion, but he didn't get everything. Okay. So, you know,
we don't know the, all the details here, but it sounds like, you know, there's always more
than one side to a story, but it sounds like this guy was in the right, you know, when
he's saying, Hey, my brother's Bogart and all the inheritance, he's hogging it up, right?
He's not even splitting it with me. He's not giving me anything. That's not right. That's
not what the Bible taught, but I love Jesus's response. And he said unto him, man, who made
me a judge or a divider over you, right? And this is the son of God. This is the, you know,
the Messiah, this is Christ talking. I mean, if there's anybody that's got some authority,
it's him. Yeah. I mean, God, he, if Jesus decided to make a judgment on this and, and
to pronounce, you know, pronounce a ruling, given a pronouncement, he would have judged
rightly. He could have said, yeah, your brother's in the wrong, but you know, he also, he, he's
saying what the guy's trying to do is like, make him do something, right? Well, I noticed
you could raise the dead. It doesn't seem like, you know, I noticed you could do a lot
of miracles. It doesn't seem like anything's off limits. Could you maybe just twist my
brother's arm and make him do what's right. But Jesus just saying, you know, don't make
me, well, who am I? Why don't make me a judge in this matter? I'm not going to sit here
to divide this thing over you. Is it because the guy was wrong? No, it's because the guy
wasn't living his life with the right mentality. That's what Jesus addresses. He didn't go
on and say, you know, it was right for your brother to take the inheritance. He didn't
say, well, I don't, I don't have any ability or have any power to do anything about this.
This is beyond my power. You know, this is, this is outside of my authority. No, it's
not. It's very well within the scope of Christ's authority. That's what the word said. That's
what that was prescribed in the Old Testament. Jesus is the word. You know, this was, would
have been the right thing. But he's addressing the guy's condition of his heart, his perspective,
the way he's living his life. And he said unto them, take heed and beware of covetousness
for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. I love
this story, especially just these few verses right here, because it's so applicable to
ministry, because people do this in ministry. They'll come to the pastor, they'll come to
the leader and say, hey, make so and so do this or make, you know, they'll, they'll try
to get you to give an opinion on something that's really none of your business, right?
Or it's outside of the scope of your authority. That's one thing I love about this. But the
other thing I love about this story is how Jesus, notice in verse 15, it says, and he
said unto them, right? This guy comes to him and says this in the, in the group, in front
of a group of people. And then the guy, instead of addressing him and says, hey, you know,
the problem with you is you got covetous. He doesn't take him aside and say, you need
to beware of covetousness. You know, your life doesn't consist of the abundance of possessions.
He takes this situation and then uses it as an example to preach to everybody else, which
is something you say, I don't like, you know, when the preacher, he's, he's talking about
me. Well, that's what Jesus did. And he did the same thing, you know, cause what's good
for the goose is good for the gander, right? And he's saying this in front of other people,
you know, if we're going to conduct ourselves and, and, and, and do things in our lives
that other people are going to see and observe, there's nothing wrong with that being addressed.
That's kind of how it works in ministry. Okay. So it's not Jesus trying to be, you know,
he's just desperate for material, you know, or he's just picking on this guy or he's just
mean spirited. He's saying, look, you got a problem with covetousness. Chances are there's
other people here that have problem with covetousness. So let me just address them. And you can just
sit there and feel awkward, right? You can sit there and get sweaty palms or whatever.
And he said unto them, man, who made me a judge or divide over over you. And he said
unto them, take heed and beware of covetousness for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance
of the things which he possesseth. And what a relevant message for 2024 America. I know
we're right on the cusp, right? Because this is what people are obsessed today with the
things that they possess. It's all about status and wealth and things like that. That's what
people's lives consist of. It consists of possessions. That's what they think life is
about. You know, and with probably if we search our own heart, it's true for us, too,
to some degree. But boy, some people get carried away with it. They make their life all about
their car, all about a pickup, all about a house, all about a certain brand of clothing,
all about a certain brand of smartphone. You know, they make their life about things and
stuff. What a vain, vapid, useless way to measure your life. It's a vain life. That's
not what life consists of. Life isn't about things. People need to consider their lives
in the light of eternity, the season of life that you're in. Is your life just about things?
In 2024, you're just thinking about the places that you go or the things that you own or
the things that you sell or the wealth that you get. I mean, there's a time and place
for that. I get it. We all have business to conduct. And we all have certain, you know,
leisurely activities that we can enjoy. I'm not against owning things. But let's not let
things own us. And understand that that's not what our life consists of. This guy's
so worked up about, well, where's my inheritance? So what if you don't get your inheritance?
Is that what your whole life is bound up in, in earthly possessions? You know, what if
I don't give it to you? What if I don't make your brother divide the inheritance with you?
Then what? Now what's your life about? Oh, nothing. It's pathetic, sad. So as we go into
this season of 2024, you know, let's ask ourselves, what does our life consist of? What is our
life going to be about this year? Look at verse 16. And he spake a parable on them,
saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said,
this will I do. I'll pull down my barns and build greater. And there will I bestow all
my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul that has laid up, has much goods
laid up for many years. And he's saying, oh, my life is going to, from here on out,
it's just going to be easy street. I've arrived. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be married.
But God said unto him, thou fool, this night, thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose
shall those things be which thou hast provided? All that stuff you laid up in store. You know,
you can't take it with you. And he's using this as an illustration, this parable of not
letting your life be about things and not assuming that you have all the time in the
world to do whatever you want, right? This night shall thy soul be required of thee.
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. If we're covetous
people, if our life is just going to consist about things, and we're just, you know, concerned
only about laying up wealth for ourselves, we're not going to be rich towards God. And
eventually that's going to be said to all of us this night. So thy soul shall be required
of thee. Eventually, you know, the bell is going to ring for us. You know, time, the
clock is going to run out for us. And we're going to die. What are we going to look back
on in life? What is it that we're going to say that we did? Well, you know, I made a
lot of money. I owned a lot of things. I went a lot of places. You know, I had a lot
of stuff. I made a lot of other people jealous and envious over the things that I possessed.
Yeah, but were you rich toward God? See, we need to consider the season that we're in
as individuals. Humanity at large scoffs at the return of Christ, but let that not be
said of God's own people. We ought to consider the fact that, you know, we don't know what
shall be on the morrow, as he says in James. You know, wise people will consider the seasons
of life in light of Christ's return. I'm not sure where I've had you go. If you're there
in Luke, go over to Luke 21. He said in 2 Peter chapter 3, the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are there
in shall be burned up. So he's talking about these signs about the return of Christ, right?
And does he say, is that what Peter says? Isn't that going to be cool? Pretty cool, huh?
End times prophecy. Look, end times prophecy is cool. It is. But you know what? There's
more to life than end times prophecy, folks. You can know everything about end times prophecy
and be a lousy Christian. You can know the timing of everything. You can have every subtlety
of every cryptic passage around it. You know, you could understand all those things and
still be a lame, lousy Christian. Because Peter, you know, he's talking about these
signs, you know, the great noise, the elements melting, fervent heat, everything being burned
up, right? And he goes on and says, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought ye be in all holy conversation and godliness? He's saying,
because there is this sign that's given us of the return of Christ, reflect on that.
When you think about that, when you think about that sign that is going to be given
in heaven, then you need to live your life in a holy way. You got to be holy in conversation
and godliness. That's the season that we're in. The signs are just kind of, that we have,
the birth of Christ, the return of Christ, those are just kind of bookends on, you know,
that time frame and God's calendar and we just make up a tiny little, not even, nothing.
Our life is just a tiny little dot on that calendar. And that's what we have to consider.
How are you going to spend that little dot on God's calendar because of these signs that
are given? Well, he tells us, be holy in all conversation and godliness. What's a good
goal for this year? Get holier. Get holier. There's a good goal. I'm not going to go into
all the details about that. I don't know. I don't know where everybody's at. But, you
know, I'm sure we could all look at our lives and say, you know what? I need to get that
bad habit out. I need to get this good habit in and do it. Even if it's just one thing.
Even if we just changed one thing this year about our lives that would make us holier
and godlier in all conversation. That's what Peter's stressing here in light of the signs
that are given us. That's how we ought to send the seasons of our lives. Look at Luke
chapter 21 where Jesus is expounding the end time events. He goes on and describes these
things and he says in verse 36, watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass and stand before the son of God. He
describes all these end times events, these things happening in the sky, you know, the
sun, moon and stars. All the tribulation is going to come upon the earth. All these great
signs that are given, right? And he says, now just sit around and just meditate about
that and think about how cool it's going to be. You know, and just go online and talk
about that. I don't know. And just pontificate about these things. And he says, in light
of that sign, watch, pray always. Why? So that you can be counted worthy to escape those
things which shall come to pass. Look, if we are that generation that sees these signs
come to pass, you know, we don't automatically get a pass on that. You say, well, what if,
you know, we're here for the tribulation, the great tribulation, what are we going to
do? You're going to go hunker down in a bunker with your batteries, bullets and beans? I
mean, God, you could just make the Antichrist drop, you know, a bunker buster right on your
bunker. All right. What good did that do? You know, the hordes will find you there.
I don't know. If you want to get through, if you want to be counted worthy to escape
all these things, then you have to watch and pray. You have to be vigilant, right?
That's what it means to be watched. We have to be vigilant. How many times are we exhorted
in the Bible to be vigilant, right? To be vigilant. Why? Because our adversary as a
roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. We ought to be vigilant against
the wiles of the devil, against our own flesh. We ought to be watching and praying always
if you want to escape these things. You got to live your life a certain way in order to
be able to escape this. You have to live the seasons of your life in the light of those
signs, in light of eternity. We were in Psalm 90. We'll close there. Go back to Psalm 90
and I'll wrap this up. This is, of course, is like a quintessential passage when it comes
to New Year's. And I remember, you know, some of these verses in here. I remember the first
time I ever read them or heard them. I remember being somewhere and they, someone, I believe
it was some Bible college somewhere. And they had, in Indiana, they had this verse put up
in their library. And I hadn't read the Bible, but I remember reading that and I remember
that, you know, that verse has stuck with me. If you look there in verse one, we'll start reading
through this. It said, Lord, thou has been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the
mountains were brought forth, or ever thou has formed the earth and the world, even from
everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. The only
person who's going to live throughout all of eternity is God. The only one who doesn't have
to concern himself with time is God, because he's God from everlasting to everlasting. God sets the
schedule, okay? Thou turnest man to destruction and say, return ye children of men. God turns men
to destruction and says, return. Right? God is not willing that any should perish. You know,
the hearts of the sons of men are before the eyes of the Lord, even more so than hell. For a thousand
years in the eyesight, our Lord has yesterday when it is past, and is watching the night. Thou
carry'st them away as with the flood. They are asleep in the morning. They are like grass which
groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and it groweth up, and in the evening it is cut down,
and withereth. Man, years, time, you know, these seasons, they just come and pass before God,
like a drop of water on a hot stove. It's just, it's there and it's gone. Look at verse nine. All
our days are passed away in thy wrath. We spend our years as a tale that is told. You know, a
tale is like, not like a story, right? But like, think about it, like a bank teller, someone who
counts. You know, our days are numbered. The days of our lives are a tale that is told. They're
counted. God already knows, well, this is how many days so and so has, and this is how many days so
and so has, because he's from everlasting to everlasting. He's outside of these seasons. The
days of our years are three score and ten. How many is a score? Twenty, right? Twenty times three
is sixty, plus ten, seventy. You know, you get to seventy, you're doing good. You're, after that,
you're on borrowed time, according to the Bible. And if they be four score years, yet is there,
and excuse me, and if by reason of strength they be four score years. If you make it to eighty,
it's probably because you took care of yourself. It's by reason of strength.
Yet is there strength in labor, sorrow, for it is soon cut off, and we fly at the way. Even that is
short. Look at verse 12. This is the verse that I was referring to earlier. So teach us to number
our days, that we may play our hearts unto wisdom. Look, God has given us seasons. God has given us
the signs, right? God has given us sun, moon, and stars for signs, right? But those are big events,
prophetic events. But he's also given those things for seasons. And maybe today we don't think about
seasons of life as much because we don't have to spend as much time, you know, we have to spend
much time thinking about time. When you think about it, you know, it's all, it's on a digital
calendar. You know, the clock just goes around, the hands of the clock just go around for us.
We don't have to measure things. We have to go find a sundial. We don't have to just watch the
sun come up and go down. But what we need to still do is to number our days. Number your days.
There's only so many you get. And, you know, you say, oh, we're promised seventy, we might
even make it to eighty. Well, that's just, that's the upper limits. Those are just the upper limits.
You know, caskets come in all sizes.
You know, there's not an age limit. You don't have to be this tall to ride that ride.
We don't, we don't know. We don't know what shall be on the mower. Thou knowest not what shall,
what a day shall bring forth. So number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Why? Because our life does not consist of possessions. Our life isn't just about
leisure. Our life isn't just about, you know, enjoying things. It's just, I'm not saying you
can never do those things. I'm not, you know, obviously God has given us, you know, food and
gladness, right? In fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. God has given us
good things to enjoy, right? God, but, you know, that's not what our life consists of. At least
it ought not. We ought to, you know, consider our lives in the light of eternity. So again,
the new year is made up of seasons, isn't it? There's going to be, I mean, it's not so,
it doesn't, it's not quite pronounced here in the Southwest as in other places. It's either cold,
or it's either, it's either hot or not hot. I wouldn't go so far as it gets cold here.
I know some people would argue with me about that, okay? But it's either hot or not hot. Those are
the two seasons, right? In Michigan, we had two seasons, summer and roadwork, or winter and
roadwork, right? That's another story. But the new year is made up of seasons, right? You're going to
have spring. You're going to have summer. You're going to have fall. You're going to have another
winter. Another 12 months are going to go by. Another 52 weeks. You know, we're going to go
around the sun again. We're going to be ripe, we're going to be, have another new year's,
you know, next year. We're going to be, you know, another similar sermon is going to be preached.
What are you going to do with this season of life? What are we going to do in the coming year?
You say, well, I wasn't planning anything different. You know, we need to get on that.
What is it, you know, what's measured is managed. If we don't set goals, if we don't measure these
things, we won't manage them. And this next year is just going to be one season of many in your
life. Hopefully, I don't mean to sound too ominous here, you know, but it's true. You know, that's
what the Bible teaches us. Number your days so you can apply your heart to wisdom. Well, how are you
going to spend this next year? How are you going to spend this 12 month season? How are you going
to spend those, you know, hopefully the multitudes, God willing, of seasons that you're going to get
with whatever time you have left? How are you going to spend it? You know, I could tell you one
thing, you'll spend it, you'll spend it the way in which you view it in light of eternity.
Your perspective on eternity will determine how you spend this next year.
Your perspective on eternity in light of that sign of the return of Christ
will be determined, you know, by that, like how you perceive that. So, obviously, we need to
consider the fact that, you know, Christ is going to return and his reward is with him.
That should affect how we live day by day, year by year. It should affect all the seasons of our life.
Let's go ahead and close the word of prayer. Dear Lord, again, thank you for this last year, Lord.
Thank you for, Lord, the health that was given us, Lord, even if we were in bad health, Lord, you
helped us to recover. Thank you for the ups and downs that we had this last year, Lord, as a
church, as individuals. Thank you for the many blessings. Thank you for the many trials. And,
Lord, help us to understand that these are just a few of many to come, Lord, that that is what life
consists of. It consists of your blessing, Lord. It consists of serving God. Lord, help us to
continue to do that in the coming year. And, Lord, help us to consider what manner of men we ought to
be in light of these things. Help us to be people who consider our lives in the light of eternity,
the light of your return, that great sign that will be given us. And, Lord, help us to live our
lives in holiness and godliness in all our conversation. We ask in Christ's name, amen.
All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we go.
Amen. Let's open up our hymnals to Psalm 44. Psalm 44, we'll work till Jesus comes.
We'll work till Jesus comes.
Thank you for coming over to the artist's place.
Thank you.