Times Up
I hate when time runs out. Like the coupon that expired the day before I go to use it. Or my membership benefits that I never really took advantage of. Or the sale that I missed, even though the commercials warned me that time was running out. It’s a terrible feeling for thrifty shoppers! Once that window of opportunity closes, it can’t be reopened. Ugh!
Noah and the people of his day experienced first hand what it feels like to have time run out. Though it took Noah sooo long to build the ark, he knew a day would come when his labor would cease and time would be up. And it wasn’t for him to decide when that time would be. In fact, it wasn’t even his job to close the ark door. It was God, Himself, that decided the timing and it was God, alone, who would close the door.
My friend, you and I are in a very similar situation. If we listen closely, we can hear the ticking of time as we inch closer to the Door closing on us, as well. It’s the Opportunity that’s presented to every human being on earth - the opportunity for Salvation through faith in Jesus. If we choose to receive it, the benefits are immediate and everlasting. If we choose to reject it, our regrets will be everlasting, as well.
Jesus tells us in the Book of John:
"Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.”
John 10:9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.10.9.nlt
And also...
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.14.6.nlt
God has made it clear that there is only ONE way to Heaven, and that is through faith in His Son. But this Opportunity to believe and be saved will not last forever. There is a cut off date. There is an expiration on this outrageous offer. And when times up, times up.
But until that point, Jesus will relentlessly pursue us. Revelation says...
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”
Revelation 3:20 NLT
http://bible.com/116/rev.3.20.nlt
He won’t give up trying to get our attention. He won’t give up on wooing us. He won’t give up because He loves us more than the ocean is deep and His heart breaks at the thought of losing anyone in eternity.
But don’t misunderstand. Though He loves us to the moon and back, time is still ticking and one Day the last second will pass and it will be too late.
He puts the choice in our hands. He forces no one, for He has given us free will. But I beg you - don’t gamble with your eternity. We do not know when the Door will close. It could be today.
The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Noah found favor with the Lord.
This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!
“Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.
“Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”
So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.
When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. Take with you seven pairs—male and female—of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the others. Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood. Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.”
So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.
Noah was 600 years old when the flood covered the earth. He went on board the boat to escape the flood—he and his wife and his sons and their wives. With them were all the various kinds of animals—those approved for eating and for sacrifice and those that were not—along with all the birds and the small animals that scurry along the ground. They entered the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. After seven days, the waters of the flood came and covered the earth.
When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky. The rain continued to fall for forty days and forty nights.
That very day Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and their wives. With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild, large and small—along with birds of every kind. Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.
Genesis 6:5-22 and 7:1-16 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gen.6.5-22.nlt
http://bible.com/116/gen.7.1-16.nlt
"When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
"And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business - eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building - until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, it will be 'business as usual' right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed."
Luke 17:26-30 NLT
Noah and the people of his day experienced first hand what it feels like to have time run out. Though it took Noah sooo long to build the ark, he knew a day would come when his labor would cease and time would be up. And it wasn’t for him to decide when that time would be. In fact, it wasn’t even his job to close the ark door. It was God, Himself, that decided the timing and it was God, alone, who would close the door.
My friend, you and I are in a very similar situation. If we listen closely, we can hear the ticking of time as we inch closer to the Door closing on us, as well. It’s the Opportunity that’s presented to every human being on earth - the opportunity for Salvation through faith in Jesus. If we choose to receive it, the benefits are immediate and everlasting. If we choose to reject it, our regrets will be everlasting, as well.
Jesus tells us in the Book of John:
"Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.”
John 10:9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.10.9.nlt
And also...
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.14.6.nlt
God has made it clear that there is only ONE way to Heaven, and that is through faith in His Son. But this Opportunity to believe and be saved will not last forever. There is a cut off date. There is an expiration on this outrageous offer. And when times up, times up.
But until that point, Jesus will relentlessly pursue us. Revelation says...
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”
Revelation 3:20 NLT
http://bible.com/116/rev.3.20.nlt
He won’t give up trying to get our attention. He won’t give up on wooing us. He won’t give up because He loves us more than the ocean is deep and His heart breaks at the thought of losing anyone in eternity.
But don’t misunderstand. Though He loves us to the moon and back, time is still ticking and one Day the last second will pass and it will be too late.
He puts the choice in our hands. He forces no one, for He has given us free will. But I beg you - don’t gamble with your eternity. We do not know when the Door will close. It could be today.
The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Noah found favor with the Lord.
This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!
“Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.
“Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”
So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.
When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. Take with you seven pairs—male and female—of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the others. Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood. Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.”
So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.
Noah was 600 years old when the flood covered the earth. He went on board the boat to escape the flood—he and his wife and his sons and their wives. With them were all the various kinds of animals—those approved for eating and for sacrifice and those that were not—along with all the birds and the small animals that scurry along the ground. They entered the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. After seven days, the waters of the flood came and covered the earth.
When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky. The rain continued to fall for forty days and forty nights.
That very day Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and their wives. With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild, large and small—along with birds of every kind. Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.
Genesis 6:5-22 and 7:1-16 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gen.6.5-22.nlt
http://bible.com/116/gen.7.1-16.nlt
"When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
"And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business - eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building - until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, it will be 'business as usual' right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed."
Luke 17:26-30 NLT
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