By Ronald E.
George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
When I was in college I wrote a descriptive
paragraph for my English teacher entitled:
“The Dreaded Blue Lights.” In
that paper I described the fear I felt when the officer came up to my car.
During one such event I reached for my wallet to only discover that I
had been robbed. It was a double whammy!
I was robbed while I had been swimming and I got a ticket for a pulling
West Virginia stop at a stop sign. Now,
have you ever tried to convince a police officer that you lost your wallet?
It wasn’t a pretty sight. Well,
the officer was kind enough to not give me a ticket for not having my license.
But…
What’s the charge officer?
Or you may have said when the officer walked up to the driver’s side
of you car, what did I do? Well it isn’t a law enforcement official that is pulling us
over today. It is the Holy
Spirit. He is pulling out his big
book and He is looking for your name. Are
you written there? What’s the
charge officer? He says, this
is the first day of the rest of your life.
How will you spend it? How have you spent it so far?
What about the rest of the days? How
have we spent them all? We
will be charged and we will be judged with the way we have spent our lives.
How will you pay? How will
you spend your life? Will we be
held accountable for our lives? Yes,
we will.
Scripture Text:
2Tim 4:1 I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his
kingdom;2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch
thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make
full proof of thy ministry. 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time
of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished
[my] course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me
at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his
appearing. 9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
1. The
charge is we are all humans? Are
you ready to die? We are
going to die. Be prepared. Don’t pretend that you are going to live forever and
don’t live like you will never die.
Heb. 9:22
As a human being you will die and you will be judged.
The storm was on. The
lightnings were flashing and the thunders rolling. The infidel stood in the
door and bared his breast and defied God. Said he, "God, if there is a
God, I dare you to strike me." And thus he raved and blasphemed God. You
say, "Did God strike him?" Oh, no, certainly not. Finally he ceased
his blasphemous ravings and as he turned to go into the house he sucked a gnat
down his windpipe. He began strangling and soon choked to death. No, God did
not waste His lightning on a creature like that. Just a small gnat would take
care of him. God does not usually mete out His judgments so quickly, but the
day of settlement will come. By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective
Illustrations."
2. The
charge is that we all have to be judged.
Are you ready to be judged? The only time that you have to be
judged is the time that you have been charged.
Friends we have all been charged here today before the Lord and before
all these witnesses. Paul told
Timothy that Jesus was coming to judge the quick or the living and the dead.
You and I will give account for what we have done.
A wicked man was near the end of life. He had
lived in awful sin and had blasphemed God. He was in terrible agony. He lived
near some lonely peaks of a high mountain. Just before the end he said,
"When I am gone bury me on one of those lonely peaks. Maybe God will
overlook me in the last day." No, he was mistaken. God will not forget.
John said, "I saw the dead, the small and the great stand before
God."
3. The
charge is that we are commanded to live with the Lord.
Are you living with the Lord? For
Timothy living with the Lord meant that he was to preach the word, be instant
in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and
doctrine. For us living with the
Lord means that we are to live with the Lord through answering the call to
become who He wants us to be. You
can write it down that the Lord has a plan for your life.
One day He will pull out the book to check to see how we have done.
He has a plan for your life he says.
Will we trust Him with our lives?
Have you given your life to the Lord?
He wants you to walk with Him and not go die alone.
Jer. 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future.
Warning!! It
isn’t going to be easy and it is going to continue to get harder and harder
as time goes by. But, it will be
worth it. Give God a chance to
show you that he is for real. Let
Him show you that He is God. He
can do what He says. He will do
what He says. He will never leave
you or forsake you. With God we
can do all things.
5 But watch thou in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy
ministry.
4.
The charge is that we are to fight the good fight.
Are you fighting on the Lord’s side?
5.
The charge is that we are to finish the course.
Are you on God’s course?
6.
The charge is that we are to keep the faith.
Are you keeping the faith?
7.
The Charge is today.
Are you ready today? 6
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I
have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto
all them also that love his appearing.
Two
things will bring you face to face with the Lord. Death and the second coming are two sure events that will
bring you to your appointment with God.
--Every time a boy went to his playmates house he saw his grandmother
studying her Bible. Finally, he asked his friend about it. Why is you Grandmother always reading that Bible?
He answered, I don't know. But I think she is cramming for her
finals."
It was Dr. R. T. Williams who related the following
beautiful incident a ship was wrecked. There were only half enough lifeboats
for the passengers. What could be done! The captain fell on this plan: A hat
was placed. The passengers were informed of the situation. Said the captain;
"We have just enough lifeboats for half of the passengers. In this hat
there are just as many cards as there are passengers. Babies not counted. On
half of these cards is a cross. Half of them are blank. We want all to pass by
and draw a card. Those who get a card with a cross on it will be permitted to
enter the lifeboat. That is your ticket. Those who draw a blank must remain on
the sinking ship." The passengers said, "It is fair." Thus they
filed by. The hat was covered. Were they drawing life or death? It was a
solemn hour. Among those who passed was a father, mother and child. They
solemnly drew their cards and passed. Almost afraid to look, finally the
husband looked and he was happy. He had drawn a cross. The wife looked and she
had drawn a blank. One ticket was to life. The other was a ticket to death.
The husband exchanged his ticket with her. She hesitated. He said, "Yes,
you must I have just one request. Be true and meet me in heaven. Take care of
our baby and the day she is twelve years of age tell her of this tragic
incident." There was no time to lose. The ship was listing. The man
kissed his wife and baby good-bye and tenderly helped them into the boat Soon
the old ship sank and he with it. The years sped by, and the day the little
girl was twelve years old arrived. True to her promise, the mother took her
into the living room and related the sad experience to her. Told her how her
father took their place. The father's picture was near by. As the mother
talked, the little girl wept bitterly. She took the picture up and kissed it
and pressed it against her cheek and said, "Oh, Daddy, dear Daddy. You
were a good daddy. You died for us and I love you so." That was
gratitude. But think of the sacrificial love of Jesus; He did not die for His
friends but for his enemies. "While we were yet sinners Christ died for
us." It is base ingratitude to refuse to love and serve Him.
By William Moses
Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."