~ Do You Know Whose Terms They Are? ~
Background ~
(1) In one sense yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all God’s terms. “Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrew 13:8). (2) In a different sense none of these terms are Gods terms since He is eternal—there is no
time, as we understand it, with God. (3)
There is a third concept that is important to recognize; “today” is God’s word
while “tomorrow” is Satan’s word.
Amplification
~ Satan seeks to
have us procrastinate on eternal matters!
First, this is absolutely true regarding salvation for those who don’t
believe—he desperately seeks to keep individuals from seeking truth [Jesus Christ]. Second, he strives hard to have Christians
procrastinate in all aspects of obedience to Jesus Christ.
On the other hand now is
God’s word. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2
Corinthians 6:2b). “Therefore, as the Holy
Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His
voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
in the day of
trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
and saw My
works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation,
and said, “They
always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.” So I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest.”’ Beware,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing
from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin. For we
have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end, while it is said: ‘Today, if you will hear His
voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion’” (Hebrews
3:7-15). “Again He designates a
certain day, saying in David, ‘Today,’
after such a long time, as it has been said: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’” (Hebrews
4:7).
Quotation
~ Between God’s command and our obedience is the wasteland of Satan. When we hear what God tells us to do, we
should say, “I will obey today.” If we
don’t say that, we will hear “tomorrow” ringing in our ears. And one of those days our tomorrow will be
gone!
When D.L. Moody first started to preach the Gospel in Chicago, he would
say at the end of each service, “I want you to go home tonight and think about
what I’ve said and come back tomorrow night ready to make a decision.” For years that was his standard procedure.
On the night of the Great Chicago Fire, he gave the same
instruction. And many of the people who
were in his congregation that night perished in the fire, never having
responded to Moody’s message.
From that day until he died, Moody never gain said those closing
words. He learned the power of
today. He realized that the message of
the Gospel usually comes home to our hearts when we first hear it. Maybe a light goes on. Maybe we realized, I’ve known about Jesus, but I’ve never trusted Him as my Savior. When that happens and you know God is
speaking to you, the time to do something about it is not tomorrow, not the
next time you meet with God’s people, but today. ~ I Never Thought I’d See the Day! – Culture
at the Crossroads, Dr. David Jeremiah, page 89.
Application ~ (1)
For Christians: Is your Christianity
ancient history or current events?
(2) For those who do not know Jesus Christ personally: How about today? You may not be given any tomorrows! “Seek the Lord while He may be found,
call upon Him
while He is near. Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on
him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah
55:6-7).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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