WHAT TIME IS IT?

BASED ON COLOSSIANS 3: 1-5A ,12 -17

WHAT TIME IS IT?  12/31/2010

It is Old Year’s Night 2010 and New Year’s Eve 2011.  Tonight we are thinking about time because the year is changing.  If we focus our attention on all the media
hype of what has gone wrong in the past year, we are probably eager to enter a
new year just in the hope that times will change for the better.  But I believe there is a better way to look
at the past, the present and the future as we spend a few minutes looking at
Time & Eternity Tonight.

We will search Colossians 3   to answer the question:  “WHAT TIME IS IT?

  It is essential that we understand the difference between “TIME” AND “ETERNITY” and also explore their relationship to each other to answer any question about living in our time.

 Perhaps the simplest and best definition I can offer you for “time” is that it is a period of duration from one point to another.”      AS a personal-
example:   from point A, my birth in 1948
to another point, which is this moment when I am speaking to you, is a period
of duration defined as time.  I will save
you the trouble of doing the math of the time elapsed from point A to this
point in my life.

 It is 62 years, one month, 3 weeks, 6 days, 4 hours, 21 minutes and about 17 seconds.  For those of you who think this time is a short period of duration I
thank you.  For those of you who believe
the personal example I related to you should not be defined as time, but rather
as an eternity……I will try to dispel your misguided perceptions in spite of
what to you may appear to be an older bald man with delusions of
youthfulness. 

 There are only so many hours in a day, and so many days in a week, and so many weeks in a month to accomplish all the things we believe we should be doing.  Many of
us use technology to regulate our lifestyles.  
This allows us to achieve everything we consider important without creating
conflicts or over committing more time to activities we really cannot fit into
our life style.   The reality of time for
us as human beings is that we understand time as the going through or
participating in unrepeatable events which have an endure for a certain length
of time and then end. 

And sometimes these events carry more significance for us than others, like joy of a birth, a divorce or 25 years of marriage, or a graduation.  And sometimes these events are as routine as
brushing our teeth.  The point is we
often set our own agendas on the events we choose to participate in based on
our view of what life should be for us or the outside pressures we feel to
involve ourselves in by our physical circumstances.

     Sometimes we chastise ourselves for not doing enough for God, the church and our friends because we already have so much time committed to living.     The reality is we live in a physical world surrounded
by massive choices  of ever present
temptations that lure us into believing that time belongs to us!  We are encouraged to think, plan, buy, select,
choose, act, and live for what is best for us at this moment.  We are encouraged to sacrifice to the god of
time rather than the Creator of time.

 Okay- Let’s look at Eternity. 

Defining eternity is even more difficult than understanding time.  Eternity is not simply the total sum or combination of all periods of duration past, present or future. It is an
infinite period of time that has no beginning point or ending point that has
been revealed to us by God.  I believe
eternity can best be described as the essence of time or if you prefer, the
meaning of life.   Based on how we live,
what we choose to do, what we believe give us a peak into why we exist!     How
we have used our time in the past, how we use our present time and how we will
use our time in the future is the key to moving through physical time into the limitlessness
of eternity.  We experience some events
in time which make us believe we are latching 
on to the meaning of eternity that God originally created for us to
enjoy.

 God set eternity in our hearts at the moment he created Adam in His own image.  We were created in God’s image and as such we have a natural desire to seek an
eternal spiritual relationship with God that cannot be satisfied by things
which are not eternal. 

But then sin entered the world and Adam broke the eternal relationship that existed between man and God.  Like Adam, our sins
condemned us to both physical death and separation from eternal life with
God.  WE need the forgiveness of our sins
to restore us to eternal life with God.  

 God did not condemn us to live our limited physical lives hopelessly cut off from the realm of his limitless eternity with HIM.  Instead God chose to send Jesus to
earth as both a human and as the Son of God. He sacrificed His sinless Son as
satisfaction for our sins. He did this so that we could again live eternally in
pure communion with him.   When Jesus
lived, died, arose and returned to heaven he became the gateway for us to move
away from our self structured broken existence. 
He did not restore our immortality and thereby confined us to a limited
physical existence,    but through
believing in Jesus Christ we can continue our journey by making Christ driven
choices on how we live to with our hearts fixed on God.

`Listen to Ecclesiastes 3:11 It speaks very clearly about the role of eternity.

“HE HAS MADE EVERY THING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME.  HE HAS ALSO SET ETERNITY IN THE HEARTS OF MEN: YET THEY CANNOT FATHOM WHAT GOD HAS
DONE FROM BEGINNING TO END.”

The beauty is that God knows we cannot fathom everything God has done or plans to do.  We do know that He chose to set eternity in our hearts.  What God is saying is that I
love you!    I know that your time on
earth is limited, but I also want you to know that I have a plan for you every
moment of your life on earth.  I am
restoring our relationship by the presence of my Holy Spirit in your
heart.  I will fill you with the promise
of spending eternity beyond your physical death with me, and I never forget my
promises .  

 God invites us see that He is the creator of both time and eternity.  And even though we cannot clearly comprehend why we experience all the events we have in the
limited time we exist, or even comprehend the fullness of eternity, both are
God’s gifts to us to celebrate now and for eternity!   What he calls us to do is make choices on how
we live based on what we profess we believe regarding God, Christ and The Holy
Spirit

  Secure these first 5 verses from Colossians 3 in your hearts!

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 
Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden
with Christ in God, When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will
appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your
earthly nature.”

SO WHAT TIME IS IT?  It is time for us to accept

GOD’S PERSONAL FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS THROUGH HIS ETERNAL GIFT OF JESUS CHRIST. IT IS TIME FOR US TO LIVE  OUR PHYSICAL TIME
ON THIS EARTH AS THANKFULLY AS POSSIBLE FOR GOD’S LOVE WITH OUR ACTIVITIES
FOCUSED GOD’S PROMISE OF ETERNAL GLORY. 
LET THE DESIRE FOR ETERNITY BE ALIVE IN OUR HEARTS! 

AGAIN WE ASK THE QUESTION “WHAT TIME IS IT?  But now we need to frame our question in the context of celebrating together the end of
the year 2010.

 What reasons could we possibly have for celebrating the end of 2010 when we know what a mess this world seems to be in, and how we failed at times to live as if eternity was the focus of our daily
lives at every moment.

Old Year’s Night 2010 can only be a special celebration for us if we have accepted Jesus Christ as we read in the first few verses of Colossians.  We are called to set our minds on heavenly
things and God invites us in Colossians 3:12-15 to learn what that meant to the
people of the  churches in Paul’s day as
well as you and I in First church tonight!

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each
other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another, forgive
as the Lord forgives you.  And over all
these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let
the peace of God rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were
called to peace.”  “and always give
thanks.”

So ask yourself did you experience compassion, kindness, gentleness or patience in 2010 or did you offer these heavenly gifts to someone else? Were you forgiven
or did you forgive someone?  Did you
share the love that binds us together or was that love shared with you in 2010?    What
can you share with us about living as God’s chosen child that testifies to
God’s peace in your life or someone else’s life in 2010?  Only you can answer these questions for your
behavior for the past twelve months and tonight you will have the opportunity
to testify to each other of God’s love to you and each other as testimony to
being God’s chosen people in 2010.

So how do we answer the question of “what time is it?”  

BE THANKFUL FOR BEING ONE OF GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE.  BE THANKFUL THAT GOD GAVE US THE WORDS OF COLOSSIANS TO TEACH US WHAT IT MEANS TO
LIVE ETERNALLY IN A PHYSICAL WORLD.  BE
THANKFUL THAT HE GAVE US OPPORTUNITIES TO LIVE FORGIVEN AND TO GRANT OTHERS
FORGIVENESS.  BE THANKFUL GOD GAVE US
OPPORTUNITIES TO SHOW COMPASSION.  BE
THANKFUL THAT HE GAVE US EXAMPLES OF KINDNESS AND PATIENCE IN EACH OTHER’S LIVES.  BE THANKFULL WE WALK THIS JOURNEY THROUGH
ETERNITY TOGETHER.  Be thankful for what
June read in the Clerk’s report!

So how do we answer the question for 2010,  of “what time is it?”  it is time to – BE THANKFUL
FOR the example to live like JESUS CHRIST!

 -WHAT TIME IS IT? so What Time will it be when we complete our countdown to 2011 and the new year begins?

 AS 2010 ends and 2011 begins we can live as He has planned for our journey each day with unbridled anticipation of his continuing presence moment by moment in to his limitless eternity. How is it that we can
live with such confidence for what is yet to come?  The answer is found in these words from
Colossians 3:16-17:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in
your hearts to God.  And whatever you do,
whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God the Father through him.”

In these two verses he invites us to continue to live our earthly lives with eternity filling our hearts and minds and spirits, just as He did when he made us the
promise of restoring us to eternity.   This
is God’s invitation for us to celebrate 2011.  Because of Christ the answer to the question
in 2011 of what time is it will be “IT IS TIME TO GIVE THANKS FOR JESUS CHRIST!”

God repeats His answer to what time is it  3 times in Colossians.

 GOD’s ANSWER IS THAT IT IS TIME FOR US TO TAKE THE FOCUS OFF OF TIME BEING OURS.   WE ARE CALLED TO SEE TIME AS GOD’S GIFT TO US.  He calls us TO LIVE THANKFULLY IN THE
RHYTHM OF DYING AND RISING WITH JESUS CHRIST – NOT JUST AT THE END OF ONE YEAR
AND THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT YEAR – BUT TO MARK OUR TIME ON THIS EARTH BY LIVING
IN THE RHYTHM OF EVERY SECOND, EVERY MINUTE, EVERY HOUR, EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK,
EVERY MONTH AND EVERY YEAR IN THANKFULNESS TO GOD AS WE CELEBRATE OUR
RESTORATION TO ETERNAL LIFE WITH CHRIST.  

 Closing statement:  It is with unbridle joy that I thank God for the love, compassion and hope we have found in your expressions of God’s eternal love to us during the past years of physical trials, and the continued
care during 2010, and we believe it will continue in 2011 and beyond into
eternity.  I have been healed by the
truth of what we learned in Colossians and understand that this wheelchair
cannot be a barrier to God’s plan for my life to share the gospel of Jesus
Christ!  It is my prayer that you too may
experience the joy of traveling eternally to God.

In Christ, Steve