Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
August 9, 2015 - W1532

Today we are going to talk about a very timely message as it relates to our hearts. Having traveled a lot, I have never missed a plane; however, this was the first time that I did. After traveling from LA to Denver, I was scheduled to have a lay-over before proceeding to the East Coast. So I thought, “Great, I’ll spend my time studying and catching up on e-mails, because I have three hours before my plane leaves at 10. Well, 8 o’clock comes, and then 9 am, so I start moseying over to my gate. When I arrived, the gate said my flight had boarded and left. Looking at this Indi Airline official who was doing some work by the gate, I told him, “Hey my plane left and I am not on it!”   He replied, “Yah, it’s gone – do you know what time it is?” I replied, “Yes, it’s 9 o’clock.” He then said, “Did you come from LA? Because there is an hour difference in your time, and you did not change your time.” During this whole scenario and afterwards, these words that he had said kept wringing in my mind – “Do you know what time it is?”  

I missed my plane because I did not set my watch correctly. Do you know what time it is based on God’s clock, and not based on the clock on the wall? What is God doing in this season of your life? Maybe it’s time to renew a spirit of humility, because you were letting things go to your head. Maybe it’s time to address broken relationships. Maybe it’s time to get your finances right. Maybe it’s time to start serving instead of being served. Through defining moments, and through set-backs, what is God doing in your life. In the book of Ecclesiastes, there is a time and a season for everything.

If we don’t know what time it is on Gods clock, then like me and the plane I missed, we can be too late. Some of the greatest problems we as Christians have is bad timing, because our timing is not in sync with God’s clock. You know the detriment that bad timing has on music. When the timing is off, it sounds terrible. You need timing, because we cannot live in dissonance.

Here is a story about good timing. These two buddies are working together as bank clerks at the same bank. All of a sudden brash robbers come in with masks and guns and say, “Everyone up against the wall.” However, instead of stealing money from the bank drawers, they go down the line of employees and ask them for their money, their belongings, and for their jewelry. Being at the end of the line, one of the buddies hands his friend $100.00. The other guy says, “Dude, what is this?” The first clerk replies, “That’s the $100.00 bucks I owe you.” Good timing…good timing.

The Bible says, “The Pharisees and Sadducees came up and testing Jesus, they ask Him to show them a sign from heaven.” Mathew 16:1

Let’s think about this. They were polar opposites. Like oil and water, they never got together. The Pharisees were very legalistic, super conservative, and believed in the Tora and the Old Testament. Whereas the Sadducees were very liberal, did not believe in Heaven or in Hell, and were like “whatever”. However, they had one thing in common – a hatred for Jesus. Although they had seen a draft of miracles performed by Jesus, such as multiplying the fish and loaves of bread, they came to Jesus and asked for another miracle. Are we like that?

Although God has done so much for us, we are not satisfied and want to see more. Time wise, it would take us until eternity to tell Him thank you for everything that He has done for us. Getting up this morning wasn’t guaranteed; however, He got us up. He gave us breath and our health –yet we still want another sign.

When the Pharisee and the Sadducees told Jesus they wanted another sign, the Bible said. “But He replied to them, ‘When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.” And in the morning, “There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.” Do you know how to discern the signs and the times?’” Mathew 16: 2-3 What God is saying is that you can discern the signs in the skies, but you can’t discern the signs of the times.

You have many ways to discern what is going on. You have an iPhone app to tell you the weather, or to get a surf report; but do you understand what is going on with God’s clock?

One of the ways to discern what time it is, is by being aware of the signs or events that are happening around us. Signs of the end-times are happening today. There is a down turn in morals of the world and in the church. There is an increase in earth quakes, famines, and floods, and an unrest amongst the nations. These things are happening with greater frequency. In the last seven years, over half a million people died in earthquakes that occurred in various countries. There are nuclear threats. No borders are secure anymore due to the infiltration of Isis. Never before in the history of the United States have we been worried about our economy. Every single day, we pay 73 million dollars in interest to China. Every 24 hours we pay 1.2 billion dollars in interest to different countries. This amounts to 51 million dollars in interest paid per hour. We have dollars, but they are not worth much, because of the debt that we owe to other nations.

Now I want to talk to you about one fact and about one application. We have to realize

1. We are in the last days.

I don’t know what part of the chapter we are in, but we are in the last chapter. We know this because of the signs. The Bible says, “Nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines … When these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:10, 11, 28

Notice that it says when these things “begin” to take place. Watch these things because they are signs warning you of impending dangers. If you see a big red sign in the road that says stop, a lot of people will just slow down.

There was a story of two Christians holding a sign on the roadway that said turn around now and follow Jesus. As drivers were going by, one guy zips buy and yells, “You crazy religious people – fanatics!” All of a sudden his tires squeal around the corner and they hear a splash!   Then one Christian said to the other, “Maybe it would have been simpler if we wrote, “Bridge out ahead.” Signs mean something.

Look around – what is God doing in your life, and in the world? These are signs of the last days. It is going from bad to worse. People will start mocking and calling us religious fanatics. Persecutions are happening now in our own college. We have had inquires to see if we were allowing people with certain kinds of sexual orientations to come in and be hired. “Know this first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’” 2 Peter 3:3-4

Would you write this down in you notes somewhere – Even though we are in the last days, and there are an abundant amount of signs, it will not be obvious to many.   They will miss it. Scripture says, “The coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the Ark and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Mathew 24:37-39

They will not know until they are dead. God is saying. “Do you know what time it is on my clock?”

Let me share a funny story about a Christian who prayed to God to rescue him during a flood.

As the waters started to rise, he got up on a chair and said, “Oh God, rescue me from this flood.”

A guy comes up to him in his boat from down the street which has now become a river, and yells “jump in”. He responds by saying, “God is going to save me.” He then prays “Oh God save me.” So the boat goes away. Now he is up on the roof, and he prays, “Oh God save me from this flood.” Well, a helicopter hovers over him with a ladder and the driver says, “Grab the ladder!” He responds, “No, God will save me from this flood.” Soon, the water rises over his head, and he dies. When he gets to Heaven he asks God why he didn’t save him. God replies, “I sent three people to save you – you dummy!” There are going to be a lot of Christians like this, with bad timing. Are we going to miss all of the signs and things that God is telling us?

Whenever you go through a set-back or a difficulty, don’t fight and blame others, don’t hold on to bitterness, instead ask God what is He saying. This will allow you to become a person of great insight and great discernment, because you are watching God’s clock and not man’s clock.

In these days, one of the things that God is saying is

2. GET YOUR HEART RIGHT with…

*God

*People

What profits man if he gains worldly treasures and recognition, but loses his soul?

When you see the signs, straighten up and get your heart right because your redemption is at hand. God says the greatest law is “You should love the Lord our God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength, and then love your neighbor as yourself.”

When people are in their last days of life, they are not thinking about money, or business deals – they are thinking about getting their relationships with God, and with people. It’s like God has to bring us to the end, for us to realize what is of utmost importance – relationships with God and relationships with people. As last days saints, we need to think about this too – our relationship with God, and our relationships with people.

A lot of people are holding on to stuff that they should have let go. They have bad timing. God brought all kinds of pestilence against Israel, because He wanted His people to turn back to Him; however, they would not.

One of the ways that God judges a nation for their evil, is by giving them bad leaders. One of God’s judgements is mentioned throughout the entire Bible. He gave bad leaders, and everyone suffered because of it. “An evil and adulterous nation seeks after a sign but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Mathew 12:39

In other words, God is saying that everyone wants another sign, but the sign is about the death and the resurrection of Christ. If you miss this, then you have missed the sign. Things will happen in our lives that we need to address or to let go.   This is why God says when you see things happen, straighten up. When you do, God will say, “Now you are on My time, and not the worlds. When you are on My time, everything goes correctly”.

Questions:

• How can we prevent bad timing?

• Do you know what time it is for this season of your life?”

• Discuss one thing that we can get right with our church ohana.