So in chapter 90, what I want us to notice first of all in this chapter is that beginning
in verse 1 the Bible says,
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations, before the mountains were
brought forth, wherever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting
to everlasting, thou art God.
So a lot of great doctrine in this verse, but first of all right out of the beginning
we see that according to this very first verse is that God is an eternal God.
Our God is a God that is eternal, He has always existed, as it says there He is even from
everlasting to everlasting.
Now you're there in Psalm 90, but if you would also just keep something in Psalm 90 and then
also turn over to Psalm 39, we're going to go back and forth here a little bit at the
beginning of the sermon, but if you would just keep something in Psalm 90, turn over
to Psalm 39, and the first thing I want us to notice this morning is that God is an everlasting
God.
He is an eternal God.
The Bible says in Revelation 22 verse 13, I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end, the first and the last.
Other verses that are showing us that God is an eternal everlasting God.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33, there is none unlike to the God of Jeshurun, who rideth
upon the heaven and thy help, and in his excellency on the sky, the eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Another verse showing us that God is eternal, that he is everlasting.
Yet again in Isaiah 46, remember the former things of old, for I am God, there is none
else.
I am God, there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient
times the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand, I will do all my pleasure.
The Bible says in Romans chapter 1, for the invisible things of him from the creation
of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
So just several verses there showing us that our God is an eternal God, that he is immortal,
he is, again in 1 Timothy, the Bible says he is unknown to the king, eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, the honor and glory forever and ever, Amen.
So we see that God is eternal, that he is everlasting, that he declares the end from
the beginning, that his eternal power and Godhead is clearly seen, that he is the eternal
immortal God.
And the point I'm trying to make here this morning by pointing out the fact, something
that we're probably all well aware of if we know anything about the nature of God, that
he is eternal, this is probably no news to anybody, but the thing that we need to understand
about that is God's eternal nature gives him a very unique vantage point on our own lives.
Because God is outside of time, because God exists outside of the constraints of a mortal
life like we do, God is able to look at our life from a unique vantage point, a vantage
point that we can't really see it from.
God can see the beginning of our life, he can see everything that takes place in our
life, and he can see the end of our life.
God already knows the day that we're going to pass on.
God knows all the events that are going to take place.
Now I'm not saying that God plans those things, I'm not saying that God has any control over
the events.
He does have some control, but it's not like we're a puppet that he's manipulating, as
a Calvinist would have you believe, that God is just controlling every aspect of our lives.
I'm not saying that, but what I am saying is that God, from his eternal perspective,
can look at our lives and see it in its entirety.
God has a unique vantage point of our lives.
You're there in Psalm 39, you look at verse 4.
Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is that I may know how
frail I am.
Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreath, and mine ages as nothing before thee.
Verily every man in his best state is altogether vanity, zealot.
So we see from this verse that God, the Psalmist here says that mine age is as nothing before
thee.
And that's kind of how God sees our lives, as nothing really, in terms of the length
of those lives, not necessarily in terms of significance or the things that can be done
for him, but in terms of what our lives are in comparison to an eternal God, the Psalmist
here says that his age is as nothing before God.
You see, God sees the entirety of our lives before we have even lived it.
We notice there in Psalm 90 verse 9, for all our days are passed away in wrath.
We spend our years as a tale that is told.
What a great verse reminding us that God from his unique vantage point gives us this concept
that God, when already knowing the beginning from the end, our lives are as a tale that
is told.
You see, God's perspective, from his perspective, our days are very short.
As it says there in Psalm 39 verse 4, he said they are as in handbreadth, as nothing
before thee.
It's interesting that he uses that comparison of a hand, of a handbreadth, the length of
your poem.
Now think about that, if our days are as in handbreadth, if we were to hold those up and
compare it to the expanse of the universe, that's what our life is in the sight of, when
God looks at our lives in comparison to his eternal nature, he says your life is like
this, whereas God, the Bible says that his hand spans the universe.
So it's interesting that, what I'm trying to just lay down the fact is that God, because
of his eternal nature, has a very clear perspective on our life from the beginning to the end.
And though it might seem kind of bleak, he says our mind ages as nothing, my days are
in handbreadth.
It kind of makes us feel small and insignificant, which we really are, but I don't think God
uses this language to make us necessarily feel like we should just be down on ourselves
or you know, it might seem bleak, but we have to remember that the brevity of our lives,
how brief it is, how fleeting and how quickly it passes by, it is God's doing, that is how
God has designed it.
The Bible says in Psalms 39 verse 5, Behold, thou hast made my days as in handbreadth.
And it's God's doing, it is God's decision that our life should be short, that it should
be quick, that it should come and go.
Now of course, the beginning of the creation, God was not so.
But after man fell, he ate up the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and he disobeyed
God and the curse of death came upon him, that's when God began to institute death in
the world.
He said, the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
Of course the curse came and death passed upon all men, but that was all of God's doing
and that's why we can understand, we need to understand that even though God has made
our life short, we shouldn't let that be a source of grief or anything like that.
And the title of the sermon this morning is, Your Days Are Numbered.
That's all just an introduction to the sermon, the title is, Your Days Are Numbered.
We need to keep that in mind because the Bible says in Genesis chapter 6 verse 3, And the
Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also was flesh, yet
his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
So we see that even in the beginning of Genesis 6, God has already numbered man's days.
Meaning that there's a certain amount of your life that you're going to have on this earth
and that's it.
And it's numbered.
Your days are numbered.
Psalm 90 verse 10, if you're there, the Bible says, The days of our years are threescore
and ten, and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet as their strength
labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away.
So we see again just these verses showing us that it is God's decree that our days are
numbered.
Your days are numbered this morning.
Now I'm not here just to try and beat you up or make you feel bad or try to make anybody
fret but this is something that we have to keep in mind because what I want to preach
about this morning, in light of this fact that our days are numbered, I want to preach
about the subject of procrastination.
We should avoid procrastinating because our days are numbered.
Because our days are is in hand breath.
Because our ages does nothing before God.
Because God has set a limit on the amount of time we have on this earth to serve Him.
We need to be very careful that we do not procrastinate in doing the things that God
would have us to do.
The Bible says your days are numbered and that is why we should not procrastinate.
Because our days are numbered.
And because our days are numbered, we should be careful and we should also number our days.
As it says there in Psalm 39, make me to know mine end and the measure of my days.
The psalmist here is saying make me to know mine end.
He wants to know that his days are short upon the earth.
Why?
Then he might measure his days.
He might put a rule upon them and use them wisely.
And that's what I want us to do this morning.
I want us to understand that we ought not to procrastinate but we ought to measure our
days and use them wisely in the sight of God.
The Bible says in Psalm 90 verse 12, teach us to number our days.
That's the point of the psalm there.
That's the whole point of, not the whole point, but there's many verses that are showing in
that psalm about how God, our lives are short and that God in His wrath cuts us off often
sometimes.
People are cut off suddenly.
And we ought to number our days and we ought to be careful about how we walk before God.
Now this sermon will be kind of a how-to sermon and really it's just going to consist of three
points and there will be several statements mixed in there.
But to avoid procrastination, to understand that our days are numbered and to avoid the
sin of procrastination, we need to understand that we need to have the right purpose, we
need to have the right priorities, and we need to have planning in our lives.
Those are three things that we need to have in our lives if we're going to avoid procrastination.
Purpose, priorities, and planning.
So first of all, to avoid procrastination, you must have purpose.
And what do I mean by purpose?
By purpose I mean that we should have a drive in our lives, we should have a desire, we
should have a destination, we should have a goal, we should have something that we're
striving for, something that we're pushing towards.
That is what's going to give us purpose in our lives.
You see, procrastination, and if you would turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2, 1 Corinthians
chapter 2, procrastination can be a result of laziness or slothfulness.
Two words that mean the same thing, to be lazy or slothful.
That can be a source of procrastination.
And what laziness and slothfulness stem from is a lack of purpose.
Not having a drive, not having a desire, not having a determination.
Those things will lead to laziness and slothfulness, which will lead to procrastination, which
will lead to us not numbering our days and walking wisely before God and understanding
the measure of our days.
So procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing something, it's putting something
off.
And to remain purposed, to avoid procrastination requires effort on our part.
That's what it means to have purpose, to have that desire, that drive, that determination.
You're there in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 1.
And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you, say Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power.
You see Paul here, it says there, he came, he said, for I determined not to know anything.
You see Paul was a determined person, he had a goal for the Corinthian people.
There was a task that he had before him.
There was something that he was driving at.
There was a desire in his heart for the Corinthian people, and therefore he said, I determined
not to know anything among you, say Jesus Christ.
And although he was determined, although he had a purpose, it also required him a strong
desire to overcome the difficulty.
As it says in verse 3, I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
So though he had a purpose, though he had a drive, though he had a goal for the Corinthian
people, it still required a desire to overcome the obstacles that he faced in order to remain
purposed.
The Bible says in Proverbs 18 verse 1, through desire, a man having separated himself, seeketh
an inner metal of all wisdom.
You see it's desire that's going to drive us to become wise and to enter metal with
wisdom and knowledge.
Bible says in Proverbs 19, 15, slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep and an idle soul
shall suffer hunger.
So we see again that slothfulness and idleness are things that are used interchangeably and
these are things that lead to us procrastinating.
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 10, by much slothfulness the building decayeth
and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
So again we see that slothfulness and idleness are being used interchangeably and what are
those things?
They're attributes of a person who procrastinates.
And what happens when we procrastinate?
The Bible says here the building decayeth.
If we put off saving for the roof, eventually that roof is going to rot and it's going
to fall through.
Now practices, excuse me, we should purpose to seek and to enter metal with certain practices.
There are certain practices that we need to build in our life.
There are certain disciplines and certain activities, certain things that we need to
have as just the foundational building blocks of our house that we should not procrastinate
about so that our lives don't fall through.
We should not be idle in these areas.
Just practically speaking, some things that we need to remain purposed about in our lives
not procrastinate or put off are things like church attendance.
We should be consistently in church.
We should be showing up when the doors are open.
We should be listening to the preaching of the word of God because those things are going
to help us.
If we procrastinate, if we say well I'll get to church next week, well that next week
you might say the same thing.
And the week after that you might say the same thing again.
And then eventually you're not in the house of God.
Another thing would be prayer.
Prayer is one of those things that's really easy to look over because I believe it's one
of those things that nobody else sees.
Often the things that we want to do the most are the things that are easily seen by others.
And prayer is just not one of those things.
Prayer is one of those things that's a very personal thing.
But it's also something that we can procrastinate about.
It's something that we can say well I'll get to it later or I'll pray when I'm driving
down the road.
And that's fine.
That'll work too.
There are times in our lives where we have some serious, just alone time with God where
we express our hearts to God in prayer.
So prayer is another thing.
These are just some simple things in our lives that will make a world of difference if we
don't procrastinate and put them off.
Another big one would be Bible reading and how that's lacking today.
That's how we've gotten in the condition that we're in in these churches.
That's how these false prophets and people have been able to come in and prosper in the
house of God is because there's a procrastination of Bible reading among God's people.
And if God's people would be more serious about their Bible reading, they would be able
to discern between truth and error.
When they procrastinate, they put it off.
Because here's the thing about Bible reading, it's work.
Yes we love the word of God, yes we want to glean things from the word of God, but some
days the flesh gets in the way and if we allow ourselves, we'll procrastinate and we'll put
it off.
And then one day becomes two, two days become a week, and then a whole month goes by.
Yeah, even years for people where the Bible goes unread if we procrastinate and put these
things off.
Another area that we need to not procrastinate in would be soul winning.
We need to be out daily, at least weekly, as much as we're able to, to go out and knock
on doors and reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Soul winning is not something that should be put off or something that we should procrastinate
about.
And again, just as Bible reading, it's another source for the sad condition that we find
ourselves in today in this country.
It's because there's a procrastination, again, among God's people of soul winning, where
people are not being reached with the gospel, they're not being saved, they're not being
indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and they're being led about by the wicked one.
So these are just some simple areas, these are just these building blocks of a spiritual
house that we should not be slothful in, that we should not be idle in, that we should not
procrastinate in.
And if we're faithful in these things and if we're consistent in them, then we won't
have to worry about our spiritual house falling through.
You see, slothfulness and idleness and procrastination leads to decay in these areas.
When you put things off, everything tends to decay.
I think of the car I had before this one.
Let me confess a fault to you, my old Toyota Camry, the one that brought me and my family
out here with bald tires.
I put those tires off for a long time, and it wasn't until the threads started sticking
out, and eventually I did something about it, but it's not that it caught me by surprise.
I had known about it for months and months and months and months and months that these
things need to get changed.
And eventually I did, but what if I had put that off?
What if I continued to just put off getting the tires changed?
Well, one day you're going to be going down the road, hopefully your family's not in the
car and you're going to have a blowout, hopefully you're not on the freeway.
In fact, I think whenever my wife took the car at that time, I told her specifically
to not to avoid the freeway for that very reason.
It's just one of those things, there's so many areas in our life that we could find
ourselves procrastinating in.
There's spiritual matters, of course, that are very important, but even just practical
day-to-day things.
Now, the right thing to do is to rotate your tires, I've learned since then, you know,
if we do that, then the tires last longer.
But again, that's something that we procrastinate about.
I'm driving on my way up here this morning looking at the oil, I'm about three or five
hundred miles away from oil change, and I can't put that off.
And this oil change, there needs to be a tire rotation.
But if we procrastinate about things, things tend to decay, that's the point I'm trying
to make, is that procrastination, although we're not accomplishing anything, we should
still expect there's going to be results.
Even though we're not putting any effort, there's still going to be consequences.
It's just not going to be the results that we want.
So without purpose, without a desire, without a drive, without a determination, we will
suffer.
Because that's what it takes not to procrastinate.
We need purpose, we need a drive, we need a desire, we need determination.
The Bible says in Proverbs chapter six, go to the ant thou sluggard, consider his ways
and be wise, which having no guide or overseer or ruler, provideeth her meat and summer,
and gathereth her food and harvest.
How long wilt thou sleep, old sluggard?
When wilt thou rise out of thy sleep?
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, so shall thy
poverty come as one that travaileth and I want as an armed man.
So it seems like just a little sleep, just a little slumber, just a little folding of
the hands, just a little bit, it's not going to hurt anything to put these things off.
What does it say?
Thy poverty shall come as one that travaileth.
That's something that the Bible uses to describe a woman going through the process of childbirth.
So it's something that brings great grief and pain upon us as a source of sorrow.
It says that even though it's just a little bit of this, a little bit of procrastination,
a little bit of laziness, a little bit of slothfulness in putting things off, it's going
to end up in travailing and it's going to come as an armed man.
If you ever get caught by somebody who's armed when you're not, you're pretty much at their
women desire, you are a victim, you are at their mercy really.
So that's what poverty will do, it will come as an armed man if we're lazy, if we're just
a little sleep, a little slumber, just a little procrastinating.
And the example there is the ant, he says, go to the ant thou sluggard, and be wise.
What is it about the ant?
What is the admirable quality of the ant?
It's that yes, it's not only that it's a hard worker, and that it provides her meat in the
summer and gets her food in the harvest, it doesn't procrastinate, when it's time to get
out there and get to work, it gets to work, but it's also in verse 7 where it says, having
no guide overseer a ruler.
You see, the ant has a purpose, it has a drive, it has a desire, it has a determination, when
we have those qualities, we don't have to have somebody standing over us with a whip
making us do what we need to do, because that desire is innate, it's already in us to go
out and do the things that we need to do.
So just to review the first point, to avoid procrastination, you must have purpose, you
must have a desire, you must have a drive.
If you're there, turn over to Romans chapter 12, we'll move on to our next point.
The Bible says in Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12 verse 1, I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
So in the very first verse, Paul is laying a charge on these people, he's saying, this
is what I want you to do, this is what you need to do, you need to make a sacrifice,
so that you can be holy and acceptable, which is your reasonable service, so he's asking
something of them.
And he goes on and says in verse 2, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God.
See, this is the purpose in this verse, in this chapter, that Paul is laying down.
Here's the purpose that Paul wants these people to have.
He wants them to make the sacrifice and to not be conformed to this world, why?
That they may prove what is the acceptable and perfect will of God.
And he goes on in verse 3,
So he gets in this charge in the beginning, he says, this is the
purpose that I want you to have, that you could prove what is the perfect and acceptable
will of God.
Then he goes on and he lists all these different duties, all these different roles that people
can play within the house of God, all these different tasks that people can take on, them
that minister with ministering, them that teach it, them that exhort it, them that give
it, that rule it, all these specific tasks that are part of that purpose.
And they're given as priorities.
You see, not slothful in business, the chapter in verse 11, it says, not slothful in business,
fervent in spirit, why?
Why do all these things?
Serving the Lord.
See, we have to have purpose, but we also have to have priorities.
If we're going to avoid procrastination in our life, we also have priorities.
Because yes, purpose can stem from, or excuse me, procrastination can stem from the fact
that we don't have a drive or desire or that we're lazy or slothful.
That can be a source of procrastination, but even the person who is diligent, even the
person who is working hard, who isn't slothful, who isn't lazy, can also procrastinate in
certain areas because they don't have the right priorities.
We have to have purpose and we have to have priorities.
To avoid procrastination, we must have priorities.
Or procrastination can result from emphasizing the wrong purposes in our lives.
We must put emphasis on the things that matter most if we're not going to procrastinate.
If we're going to number our days as God has and understand our end and understand the
measure of our days, we need to make sure that we're putting emphasis on the things
that matter most.
This requires knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.
If we're going to have the right priorities in life, we need to have knowledge, wisdom,
and understanding of what is important.
The Bible says in Romans chapter 12 verse 3,
For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think
of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God hath dealt to
every man the measure of faith.
So we see that understanding, the word thinking, is coming up here over and over.
Not to think more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly.
We need to use our brains, we need to think soberly.
We need to have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding if we're going to have the right priorities
in order to avoid procrastination.
If you would turn over to Proverbs chapter 24, Proverbs chapter 24, we need to have the
right priorities, we need to use wisdom and understanding in order to avoid procrastination.
The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 24 verse 30,
I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding.
And though it was all grown over with thorns, and the nettles that covered the face thereof,
and the stone wall thereof was broken down, then I saw and considered it well.
I looked upon it, and received instruction, there's that same terminology we saw earlier
regarding the ant.
He had a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.
So shall thy poverty come as one that travaileth, and they want as an armed man.
Exact same, exact same verse, same words used here in this verse.
And why is it?
Because it was a man void of understanding.
You see if we don't have wisdom and knowledge and to understand what the proper priorities
are in our life, we're going to suffer the same end as the person who has no purpose
or drive.
Because they both lead to procrastinating.
See the Bible says here in Proverbs 24 that this man, he was slothful, yes, but he also
lacked understanding of what mattered.
He says he was void of understanding.
You see he emphasized his comfort, this man here who was void of understanding, he emphasized
his comfort over his condition.
So we see that he wanted to sleep, a little sleep, a little slumber, and he didn't consider
the fact that the wall, his wall was overgrown with thorns and that the stone wall was broken
down.
So this barrier in his life, this protective border in his life was being overgrown, it
was breaking down because this man emphasized his comfort over his condition.
We must emphasize our spiritual condition ahead of our physical comfort.
If we're going to have proper priorities in our life, if we're going to have wisdom and
understanding, if we're going to avoid procrastination, we need to make sure that we emphasize our
spiritual condition over our physical comfort.
Matthew chapter 6, I'll read it to you, the Bible says, Therefore take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?
For after all these things do the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knoweth that
ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall
be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the moral, for the moral shall take thought for the things
of itself, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
You see, it is not enough just to seek, it is not enough just to have the purpose, it's
not enough just to have the drive and the determination and the desire to accomplish
something.
It is not enough, we must seek first the things of God, we need to make sure that we're putting
the emphasis and the spiritual things in our lives over even our own physical comfort if
it demands it of us.
But many people today are purposed to do God's will.
They want to do God's will, they have a tender heart, they want to do things for God, but
they have not made it a priority in their life.
They haven't put the emphasis where it needs to be.
They want to serve God, they understand they need to serve God, but they haven't made it
a priority in their life.
And I'm kind of preaching to the choir here, but I think it's a good example, I would think
of those who have moved to Faithful Word and those who have not.
The only difference really between the people that have moved here and the people that are
watching online and are supporting the church and Faithful Word and this whole movement
that we're seeing take place, the only difference between the people that are a part of that
movement and the people who are just watching it by standards is that the people that are
here are here because they made it a priority.
They did not procrastinate.
They said, well one day I would like to get into the fight for God.
I would like to get with God's people.
I would like to move to one of these churches and get in a good church and get on fire for
God and get sold out.
They haven't made it a priority.
And why is it?
Why is it they have not yet made it a priority?
I would say that probably the number one reason is because of earthly attachments.
That's their priority.
It's their family.
It's their friends.
It's their job.
It's the persecution they might have to face.
That they say, hey I'm moving for a good church.
People are going to give you that like you're some kind of two-headed freak.
You're moving for a church.
What's wrong with you?
If you told them you're moving for a job, if you're moving for money, they'd understand.
People don't want to face that persecution.
They don't want to cut off, have to put that distance between them and the people they
know and love.
They have earthly attachments and that's the priority in life.
That's the difference between the people that are in this room and the people who are just
going to watch this sermon online, maybe give it a thumbs up, maybe now give it a thumbs
down, I don't know.
That's the difference between people who are just watching from afar and the people who
are in the flesh and blood is that they've made it a priority.
They've been purposed, yes, but they've also made it a priority in their life.
They haven't procrastinated and put off serving God with their life.
You see, purpose without perspective leads to wrong priorities.
If we have purpose but we don't have the right perspective, it's going to lead to us having
the wrong priorities.
The Bible says in James 4-13,
Go to now he that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there
a year, and buy and sell, and get gain, whereas ye know not what shall be in the morrow.
For what is your life?
It is even a vapor, that appeared for a little time, and then vanished away.
For ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.
You see, the Bible here in James is showing us that our life is a vapor.
Our days are numbered.
Our life is as a hand bread.
Being purposed is not enough.
These people had a purpose.
They said, we're going to go to this city, we're going to do this or that, and we're
going to have gain.
They had a purpose, they had a drive, they had a determination, they had a destination
they were driving in.
But being purposed isn't enough.
Priorities must be correct.
We must have the right purpose, we must have the right priorities.
If we're going to serve God with our lives, we're going to have to put Him above others.
Moving out to a good church might be one of those things that people are just going to
have to do if they're going to be serious about following God and serving God.
They're not going to do that, and what they need to think about is the fact that their
days are numbered.
And you're going to come to the end of this life quicker than any of us expected, we'll
be old gray-headed men before we know it, and what we've accomplished for our life,
that time has come and gone.
And we're going to go into eternity having accomplished whatever we have, or having accomplished
for God, and it's going to be over that quick.
Bible says here, it says a vapor.
It's like steam coming out of a kettle.
It just comes up and then it just vanishes away.
It's that fast.
So we need to have the right purpose.
We need to have the right priorities.
But also, if we have those things, that's not enough.
We also have to have a plan.
If we're going to avoid procrastination, we have to have a purpose, we have to have priorities,
and we also have to have a plan.
What is a plan?
A plan is just fleshing out your priorities.
It's just putting your priorities into action.
That's all a plan really is.
And this is more of the practical with us.
The Bible says in Colossians, and if you would turn to Ephesians 5, Colossians 4, the Bible
says to walk in wisdom toward them that are without redeeming the time.
Ephesians chapter 5 verse 14, Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, be purposed,
awake thou that sleepest, be purposed, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light.
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.
Have priorities in your life.
Don't be a fool.
Be wise.
Have wisdom.
You have right priorities.
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Have a plan.
Be purposed.
Have priorities.
Have a plan.
Wherefore, be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
We must not procrastinate, because we will give an account for our brief and fleeting
lives.
Though our days are as in hand breath, and our days are come and go quickly, we must
not procrastinate with the short time that we have, because we are all going to give
an account for that hand breath that we're going to, that's what we're going to give
an account for, that brief little time we have in this earth.
I'll just close by reading this quote, there are several, I do want to get this one in,
the Bible says, Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.
That's a good quote.
Time is what we want most, but what we use the worst.
Let that not be said of God's people.
This is written by a worldly man.
That should never be said of God's people.
God's people should say that time is what we have the least of, but what we use the
best.
Let's have right priorities, let's have a purpose, let's have a plan, let's not procrastinate.
And let's pray.
Heavenly Father, again thank you for the word of God, thank you for the, Lord just the practical
things that we can learn from it, Lord, and help us to each to understand the gravity
of what it means that one day we're going to stand before you and give an account for
all the things that we've done or have not done for you in this life.
Help us to not procrastinate, Lord, but help us to be purposed, to have that drive and
desire to see things accomplished for you and help us to have, Lord, the right priorities
for that we would understand that your work and your ministry is the most important thing
because we will all give an account for these things and, Lord, I thank you for those that
have come out this morning, guide each one of us as we go home now and the rest of our
day.
Amen.
All right, we'll go ahead and turn to song number 310.
Song 310, we'll close with a song this morning.
Song 310, Footprints of Jesus.
Song 310, on the first, Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling, Come, follow me, And
we see where Thy footprints falling Lead us to Thee, Footprints of Jesus that make the
pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go, Though they lead on the cold, dark
mountains Seeking His sheep, Or along by Siloam's mountains, Helping the weak, Footprints
of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go, Though they lead on the cold, dark
mountains Seeking His sheep, Or along by Siloam's mountains, Helping the weak, Footprints of
Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go, Then at last, when on high, He sees
us, Our journey done, We will rest where the steps of Jesus end at His home, Footprints
of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains,
Helping the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they lead on the cold, dark mountains, Helping
the weak, Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow.