1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,200 Amen. Let's turn in our Bibles tonight 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:11,560 to Job chapter 14. Job chapter 14. 3 00:00:21,890 --> 00:00:24,490 We're going to read together the 1st 14 verses. 4 00:00:25,370 --> 00:00:38,880 Let's hear the Word of God. Job chapter 14 reading from 5 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:45,200 verse one for those online, the words will come up on screen. 6 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:51,240 You can follow or you can get a copy of the Bible and read it 7 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,800 for yourself. Let's hear God's word. 8 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:01,840 Man that is born of a woman is a few days and full of trouble. 9 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:06,920 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down. 10 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,680 He fleeth also was a shadow, and continue with not. 11 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:18,160 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bring us 12 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,880 me into judgement with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out 13 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,960 of an unclean? Not one seeing his days are 14 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:30,560 determined, the number of his months are with thee. 15 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,920 Thy has appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. 16 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:42,840 Turn from him, that he may rest till he shall accomplish as in 17 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,880 hiring his day. For there is hope of a tree, if 18 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,400 it be cut down, that it will Sprite again, and that the 19 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,000 tender branch thereof will not cease. 20 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:58,840 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock 21 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,920 thereof die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it 22 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,320 will butt and bring forth boys like a plant. 23 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:12,600 But man dieth and wasteth away. Yeah, man giveth up the ghost, 24 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:18,400 and where is he? As the waters feel from the sea, 25 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:24,160 and the flood decayeth and dryeth up, so man lieth down and 26 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,520 riseth not. Till the heavens be no more, 27 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,320 they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 28 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:38,400 Oh, that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou wouldst 29 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:42,720 keep me secret until thy wrath be passed, that thou wouldst 30 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,240 appoint me a set time and Remember Me. 31 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:51,000 If a man die, shall he live again all the days of my 32 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:55,480 appointed time, Will I wait till my change come? 33 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:57,600 Amen. We know God will stamp with His 34 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,200 own approval and blessing this reading of His own precious and 35 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:07,280 infallible word. Now my text tonight is taken 36 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:14,120 from Job 14 and 14. It reads as follows. 37 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,480 If a man dies, shall he live again all the days of my 38 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:23,080 appointed time? Will I wait till my change come? 39 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:29,400 And my theme this first Lords Day evening of 2026 even titled 40 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,120 Man's appointed time under Heaven. 41 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:40,000 Almost 4000 years ago, roughly, a wise man called Job who lived 42 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,520 in the land of Oz. This is what we read of him. 43 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,200 There was a man in the land of Oz whose name was Job, and that 44 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:53,720 man was perfect, upright and one that feared God and he shoot 45 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,600 evil. It was this man Job that uttered 46 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,400 these solemn words in the verse 14. 47 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:07,480 Now Job was speaking as a man acquainted with great sorrow and 48 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,520 deep grief. You see these words were spoken 49 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,040 in the depths of human suffering and pain. 50 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,959 Job had a personal interest in these words. 51 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,280 If a man die, shall he live again? 52 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,120 Why? Because there was a day in Job's 53 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:30,360 life when all his ten children, seven sons and three daughters, 54 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,440 died in the midst of the most dreadful circumstances. 55 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,440 The children were in the eldest brother's house, they were 56 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,960 having a party, and there was a great tornado came, tore through 57 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,040 the house, and all ten children died. 58 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:50,400 We read there in Job chapter 1 and verse 18 these words. 59 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,640 While he was yet speaking, there came also another. 60 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,840 This was another servant. And said, Thy sons and thy 61 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:00,280 daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest 62 00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:03,440 brother's house. And behold, there came a great 63 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,280 wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the 64 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:10,320 house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead. 65 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:15,040 And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 66 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:18,600 You see these words that Job spoke here. 67 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,280 If a man dies, shall he live again? 68 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,400 All the days of my appointed time when I wait till my change 69 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,160 come. These words were spoken of a man 70 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:31,920 who was in need of comfort, a man who was in need of counsel, 71 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:35,240 a man who was in need of clarity. 72 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:41,320 And it's amazing here that Job speaks of an appointed time. 73 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:48,000 Notice the words all the days of my appointed time. 74 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,000 Well, I wait. There's 29 references to 75 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,640 appointed time in the Bible. Three of them are found in Job 7 76 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:03,040 and 114 and 13 and 14 and 14. You see, whenever a man or woman 77 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,360 is suffering or in pain or in the midst of great grief, and 78 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,920 you only have to think of the grief that they make their 79 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,880 family is going through. Do pray for Marcus and Lisa at 80 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:18,400 this time I think of families who've lost their precious loved 81 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,960 ones in the Swiss ski resort disaster in Crohn's Montana. 82 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:30,280 The the latest count is that there's 40 dead, 117 seriously 83 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,520 injured with tremendous burns to their body. 84 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:39,840 The majority of them 16 year olds to 25, one of them at least 85 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:43,400 as a 14 year old. Could you just imagine the 86 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,000 horror and the agony and the pain? 87 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,960 And you see, when we suffer pain, when we are in agony, 88 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,800 we're tempted to imagine, we're tempted to believe that life is 89 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,960 random, that life is meaningless. 90 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:03,400 Now glory to God, the Holy Bible teaches us otherwise. 91 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:08,240 Life is not merely accidental. Life is not a nameless, 92 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:12,560 meaningless existence. We are not existentialist. 93 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:19,000 We're not self governed. No, life is an appointed time. 94 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:24,840 And Job is face to face with life in the midst of such horror 95 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:30,200 and agony of pain. And he comes, and he tells us 96 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:36,040 all the days of my appointed time, while I wait till my 97 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,880 change come. See, Job is face to face here 98 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:41,840 with God's sovereignty over life. 99 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,600 He's face to face with man's mortality because he knows that 100 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,920 life is of few days and full of evil. 101 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,200 He's face to face with the reality and the enormity of the 102 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,680 great eternity. Man's appointed time under 103 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:00,800 heaven. Think of these words in 104 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,280 particular. All the days of my appointed 105 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,080 time while I wait till my change come. 106 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,400 Four things very quickly. One, the fact of an appointed 107 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:13,560 time. All the days of my appointed 108 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,320 time. Do you know tonight that there 109 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,720 is an appointed time to man upon the earth? 110 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:26,600 Job said that 7:00 and 1:00 is there not an appointed time to 111 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,960 man upon earth. Are not his days also like the 112 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:36,880 days of an hireling? You see, that appointed time is 113 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,720 fixed. There's a God determined 114 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:44,280 lifespan given to every person. The word appointed in Job 115 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,920 implies A factual, fixed, determined span of life. 116 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,320 Life is not something vague. Life is not something flexible. 117 00:08:54,600 --> 00:09:00,720 Life is set, it is fixed. Life, your life and mine is a 118 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,120 measured term. Job compares man's days to the 119 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:08,600 days of an hireling. That that means a hired worker. 120 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:14,920 A hired worker doesn't choose when or what time his work 121 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,040 begins. If the boss says 6:00 AM at 6:00 122 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:23,520 AM, he doesn't want you once again at 7:00 or 8:00 or coming 123 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,240 at noon time. A hired worker doesn't dictate 124 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,480 as long as days last to the boss. 125 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:32,800 Hey boss, I'm coming in at 6:00 AM but I'm going home at 8. 126 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:38,600 AMA Hired worker doesn't say to the boss when his day actually 127 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,960 ends. You see his time is assigned, 128 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:47,240 it's a sign by the boss. His day is measured. 129 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:56,880 You think of a hired worker and he works from the morning till 130 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:02,680 the evening. He works when he clocks in, the 131 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:05,240 work day ends when he clocks out. 132 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:11,320 And so it is with man. His days are numbered. 133 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:14,440 Remember in Psalm 90 we read in verse 12. 134 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,840 So teach us to number our days, that we apply our hearts unto 135 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,520 wisdom. Man's days is fixed, because in 136 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:27,440 Acts 1726 we read and have made of one blood all nations of men. 137 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,200 For to dwell on all the face of the earth, and half determined 138 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,120 the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation, 139 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:38,960 that they should seek the Lord, if happily they may feel after 140 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,760 him and find him that we be not far from every one of us. 141 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:48,200 See, our lifespan is not self determined, it is appointed. 142 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:53,280 And remember what we read in the book of James and James 4 and 143 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:55,880 14. Whereas you know not what shall 144 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:58,320 be in the Morrow. For what is your life? 145 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,320 It is even a vapour that appears for a little time, and then 146 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:03,680 vanisheth. The way for that you ought to 147 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:12,760 say, if the Lord will we shall live and do this or that our end 148 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,080 is certain, because over in the book of Hebrews we read in 149 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:20,640 Chapter 9 and verse 27. And as it is appointed unto men 150 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,880 wants to die, but after this the judgement. 151 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:31,000 So the appointed time is the full spam God has allocated to 152 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,000 each person. And it includes the day of 153 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,360 birth. It can and include the day of 154 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:44,200 childhood and youthful years even in the teenage years. 155 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,800 It certainly includes the days of waiting and wondering. 156 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,120 Can't wait till I grow up and leave school. 157 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:55,160 Wonder what I'm going to do. Days of joy and happiness, days 158 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:59,760 of suffering and pain, days of labour and toil, a day of 1's 159 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:01,920 death. If you think of the tombstone, 160 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:07,560 and some of us go around the various cemeteries and I do that 161 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:12,560 regularly and take a wee look at what's on the headstone, you'll 162 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:19,000 find DODDOB, the date of birth. You'll certainly find DoD, the 163 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,280 date of death. But in between that, those two 164 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,440 dates, it's usually a little dash. 165 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,760 Well, that lifespan is the dash between. 166 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:35,480 In Job we learn that an appointed time includes and 167 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,960 covers every period of life, health, sickness, joy, 168 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,800 happiness, sorrow and pain, labour and laughter. 169 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,200 Nothing falls outside of God's appointment. 170 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,560 He has appointed the day of our birth, the day of our death. 171 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,400 He's appointed the day of our destiny. 172 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:58,080 So then everyone of us will give an account of himself to God. 173 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,880 And this appointed time is not merely an existence, but a 174 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,240 profound period of testing and preparation. 175 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,320 It's a God ordained time. You see, you and I are here for 176 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,560 a purpose. Man's she fenders to glorify God 177 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:16,400 and enjoy him forever. We're born into this world so 178 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:20,120 that we can know God, so that we can be brought into your right 179 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:24,840 relationship with God, so we can be saved by God's grace and born 180 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,440 of God's Spirit and washed in the precious blood of Christ and 181 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:32,120 testify to the saving and keeping power of God. 182 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:38,120 That's the facts of the appointed time very quickly. 183 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:43,720 Secondly, think about the focus of an appointed time. 184 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:51,160 Who appointed the time? The answer, of course, of 185 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,440 Reformed theology and of Holy Scripture is very clear. 186 00:13:54,920 --> 00:14:01,040 God alone appoints the measured time for each man. 187 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,440 It's interesting. Job never blamed chance. 188 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:09,760 He never blamed fate or circumstances. 189 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:15,080 He never claimed that his time was appointed by man or any 190 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,640 institution. You see the word appointed, What 191 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,560 does he say all the days of my appointed time? 192 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:30,200 The word appointed assumes an appointer, and the God of the 193 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:34,120 Bible is the one who appoints the seasons. 194 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,040 God is the one who appoints kings to rule in the throne and 195 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,440 removes them. Daniel 221. 196 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,480 God appoints the end from the beginning. 197 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,560 He also appoints man at time. We have already read there in 198 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:56,520 the book of Acts in Acts chapter 17 and have determined the times 199 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:01,000 before appointed and the bounds of their habitation. 200 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:06,800 This is not cold determination or cold determinism, but this is 201 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:11,360 a wise choice of God who appointed the measure time. 202 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,960 God alone. The way of God's appointed time 203 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:21,400 is he. God appointed time in wisdom, He 204 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:25,920 didn't appointed in cruelty. God's appointed time is 205 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,560 purposeful. You see, if life were random 206 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:35,720 without meaning, suffering and pain would be meaningless. 207 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:41,680 But God's appointed time has a purpose to it. 208 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:46,200 The waiting has a purpose because time is not appointed by 209 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:50,120 blind chance, but by a wonderful God. 210 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,880 Job never accused God of cruelty or of injustice. 211 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,840 Even in the death of his ten children. 212 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:00,560 Job acknowledges God's authority. 213 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:05,160 God has appointed the time, and Job knows that his suffering, 214 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:09,240 even his own personal suffering of health, has limits. 215 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,120 He knows that waiting on God has a purpose. 216 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:19,440 Life is finite, life is fragile, and he knows this, that one's 217 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,680 death, even if he were to die, is not the end of life's 218 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:25,960 existence. He asks the question if a man 219 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:30,200 die, shall he live again? And the answer, of course, is 220 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:37,520 yes, not only who appointed the measure time and the way of 221 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,840 God's appointed measure time is done in wisdom. 222 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,400 But think of what is God's appointed time. 223 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:48,960 You see, life, I believe, is a God-given temporary stewardship 224 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,720 to be lived before the face of God. 225 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:57,080 When we think of the day of our birth, when we think of the day 226 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:03,360 of our death, in between, the Bible describes life as brief. 227 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,920 We've already read in the book of James, and I'll read it 228 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:10,040 again. Whereas you know not what shall 229 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,160 be in the Morrow. For what is your life? 230 00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:16,119 It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time and 231 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:20,400 then vanisheth away. Life is like a breath. 232 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:23,040 It's like the steam that rises out of the kettle. 233 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,520 You see it for a second or two, and then it is gone. 234 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:31,960 But however long it seems, life is short. 235 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:36,960 We could live our life in our 20s and 30s forties, 50s, 236 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,960 sixties 708090 Remember what the Bible says. 237 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:45,440 Psalm 90 verse 10 Psalm 90 verse 10. 238 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:49,000 The days of our years are three score years and 10 and if by 239 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,160 reason of strength they be 4 score years. 240 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,760 Yet as their strength, labour and sorrow for this shouldn't 241 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:58,080 cut off and we fly away. Life is brief. 242 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,560 It's short when it's measured against eternity. 243 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,440 The day of our birth comes and goes and we grew up, but 244 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:10,600 eventually the strength of youth fades. 245 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:12,560 Opportunities past. Why? 246 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:16,320 Because time doesn't wait. What is life? 247 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,960 What is the measurement of time? Life is brief. 248 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:22,800 I'll tell you more than that. Life is not just short and 249 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,480 brief. Life's appointed, didn't we read 250 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:30,120 there in the book of Hebrews and Hebrews Chapter 9 and verse 27? 251 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:32,520 And so does appoint unto man wants to die. 252 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:37,320 But after this, the judgement, God is appointed not only the 253 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,080 day of our birth, but the day of our death. 254 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,640 Do you know tonight that when and where and the way that we 255 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,600 will all die has been set by God? 256 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,040 Aren't you familiar with the subject of death? 257 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:59,800 Death happens suddenly, sadly, young people die. 258 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:05,880 Christmas Eve, we were stunned with the tragic and sad death of 259 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:13,640 Callum McVeigh at age 23. Before that, in County Louth, I 260 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:18,920 think it was November 2025, five young people lost their lives in 261 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:23,160 a road traffic accident. Then we've just heard recently 262 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:27,160 of the death of a young man called Shane McCabe, who died in 263 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:34,000 a river tragedy in County Tyrone with George Bernard Shaw. 264 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:39,160 That said, 10 out of 10 die. Death can strike at any time. 265 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:45,600 Heart attack, brain malfunction. You could be driving the car and 266 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,800 unexpectedly and suddenly something had happened. 267 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,760 A tyre could blow out, the brakes could fail, somebody 268 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:52,720 could round a corner and run into you. 269 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:57,960 There's no guarantee death can strike us with a serious 270 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,280 illness. We're told it's terminal by the 271 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,800 doctor along of a got doc. Maybe 6 days or six weeks or six 272 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:06,840 months. We could die in our sleep. 273 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:10,600 I've known people to go to bed healthy and well and died in 274 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:12,680 their sleep. The wife is turned over and the 275 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,720 husband's dead, or the husband is turned over and the wife is 276 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:19,120 dead. Death can be due to an 277 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:23,320 unfortunate accident or an incident at work or on the 278 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:27,000 roads. You see, illustration after 279 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,800 illustration can be thrown out about life being an appointed 280 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:37,160 thing, not only brief, not only the day of our birth, the life 281 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,760 in between, but even the day of our death. 282 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:45,520 I heard about a young man in his 20s, He was married, he had one 283 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:49,640 little son, he was as strong as an ox, He loved the Lord, he 284 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:51,800 loved life. He was just newly married, had a 285 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,600 new baby son. The breakfast was over, he 286 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:58,440 kissed his wife goodbye, he kissed his little bit boy in the 287 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,640 forehead and he said some daddy will see you later. 288 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,000 And he went off to work, but he never come home. 289 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,360 Tragedy, terrible accident. Can you think of it? 290 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:13,160 Going to work. I'll see you later, son. 291 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:16,800 When you come home, you're not alive. 292 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:24,080 You're in a casket. It has happened to people at 293 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,760 work. It has happened to people coming 294 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:28,280 home from work. And we will have to think of the 295 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:32,360 late Matthew Arnold. Life is brief. 296 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:34,480 What is life? It's brief. 297 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:38,120 Life is an appointed thing. And I'll tell you better than 298 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:40,320 that. Life is proparity. 299 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,040 Why are we here? Amos 4 and 12 tells us. 300 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:48,960 Prepare to meet thy God. You see this life is not the 301 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:53,120 destination of man. Life on earth is proparity. 302 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,040 It's proparity for life and eternity with God. 303 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,280 And every day that we're given, all the circumstances that 304 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:06,840 arise, the situations that come to pass, are shaping our souls, 305 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,720 influencing us either towards a relationship with God or away 306 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,800 from Him. Every sermon, every tract, every 307 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,240 gospel witness that you come across in the street or on the 308 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,560 doors, you see, there's no neutrality. 309 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,600 No man liveth or dieth unto himself. 310 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:28,240 Neutral living is impossible. So I asked the question, if life 311 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:34,160 is brief and it is, and life is appointed and it is and life is 312 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:41,640 preparatory, that I asked this question, are you genuinely and 313 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,160 truly saved? Was there a time in your life 314 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:48,080 you were born again of the Holy Spirit knowing that the blood 315 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,000 mark was applied, that you believed in the Lord Jesus 316 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,080 Christ, that you received of Him by faith, that He's your Lord 317 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:57,480 and Saviour? Why do we exist? 318 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,880 Why are we on the earth? Here's the reason and meaning. 319 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,800 It's preparatory in preparation to meet God in the great 320 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,440 eternity. So then every one of us shall 321 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:12,800 give an account of himself to God very quickly, not when he 322 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,640 think about the focus of an appointed time, but think about 323 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,320 the fruit of an appointed time. See. 324 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,000 I asked a question. Sure was in the back of Job's 325 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,480 mind. What are you doing with your 326 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:29,200 appointed time? I believe the ungodly will waste 327 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,320 it. See, many live as if time was an 328 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,720 endless commodity. They spend it to themselves. 329 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,240 Men are lovers of themselves more than lovers of God. 330 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,840 Many who live for themselves neglect God in the things of 331 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:46,920 God. They ignore their sin, they 332 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,640 ignore their soul salvation, they ignore the Saviour. 333 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:55,400 And we have to say to them, this is a great act of folly. 334 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:59,240 You're wasting your appointed time. 335 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,440 This is a a dangerous thing. This is an act of rebellion 336 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:08,200 against the plan of God. If life is brief and God has set 337 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:11,680 that brief span for you and given you 10 or 20 years or 338 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:16,120 given you 80 or 90 years and life is appointed and life is 339 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:22,520 propriety, then it's a dangerous act of folly to waste that 340 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,400 appointed time. The unregenerate will rest it. 341 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:29,880 How many resent their time and earth? 342 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:32,560 They live a life of murmuring and complaining. 343 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,360 They asked, why is this life for me so hard? 344 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,280 Why this suffering and trouble? Why these limits? 345 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,920 I don't want to be a poor man. I want to be rich and famous. 346 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,200 Why? Why can't I be known in 347 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:52,360 Hollywood and across the world? I I want to be like, we'll call 348 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:57,520 her Britney Spears, or I want to be like Taylor Swift or I want 349 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:02,080 to be like David Beckham. You see, many as they journey 350 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,440 through life, they resent their life, they resent their 351 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,120 imitations, they resent their suffering. 352 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:13,720 And they're questioning the wisdom and the love and the 353 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,960 authority of God who gave them their appointed time because 354 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,760 they'd not be accountable for Britney Spears or Taylor Swift 355 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:24,600 or David Beckham. These individuals that are 356 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:28,520 named, they'll give an account of to God by themselves, but 357 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,120 you're only accounted for your own appointed time. 358 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,560 Sadly, the unregenerate rest full of murmuring and 359 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,640 complaining. Why is this? 360 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,280 Why is that? Here's Job in pain, full of 361 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:45,080 sorrow. He had lots to complain about, 362 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:51,120 but he doesn't resist. He doesn't resent, he doesn't 363 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:58,840 deny his time is appointed. What does he say all the days of 364 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:04,080 May appointed time? There's times he's full of 365 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,800 doubts, he has loads of unanswered questions, he's 366 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,200 accused by his friends of being a big Sinner. 367 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,320 Yet he doesn't deny his appointed time. 368 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,960 The unregenerate will rest it, the ungodly will wasted. 369 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,480 But listen to this, those born again will wait for it. 370 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:28,720 Look at the text, he says all the days of my appointed time 371 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:35,760 will I wait till my change come? Job's faith in the Lord is 372 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,720 shining forth here in this statement. 373 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,320 Job believes that his time has an end. 374 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,040 Job believes that the end of his life is not the end of 375 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:49,200 existence, because Job believes there's a change coming. 376 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,320 If a man dies, shall he live again? 377 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,680 And Job's answers Yes. Because all the days of my 378 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,000 appointed time will I wait till my change come? 379 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:04,280 Waiting is not a waste of time. Job lives in faithful submission 380 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:11,240 to the will of God. How will you and I live with 381 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:16,840 your appointed time? It's very important, the fruit 382 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:20,360 of an appointed time. What are you doing and what will 383 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:21,760 you do with God's appointed time? 384 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,240 Will you waste it? Will you rest it? 385 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:29,560 Or will you wait on the will and the outworking of God's 386 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:34,120 sovereign providential purpose? Think of this as we finish 387 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:38,320 tonight, the finality of an appointed time. 388 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:44,320 You see, every one of us, every person has an appointed time 389 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,960 beginning day of birth. Every one of us has an appointed 390 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:51,200 course, the span of our life, whether it's short or long in 391 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:57,320 our eyes, and we can walk with God, we can run the Christian 392 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,440 life. We could go on a journey, an 393 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:04,160 adventure with God. Every one of us has an appointed 394 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:08,160 course, whatever you how you describe it, but every one of us 395 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:13,280 will have an appointed end. Hebrews 927. 396 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:15,920 Again. And I quoted for the third time. 397 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:19,760 And as as. A point on the man wants to die, 398 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:24,240 but after this the judgement. You see, there's one question 399 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:29,240 you must answer in relation to your appointed time, and it's 400 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,160 this Are you prepared to meet God? 401 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:36,040 And what? Will you do with? 402 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:40,880 God, who's revealed himself in the fears and person and work of 403 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,720 his Son Jesus Christ. See the. 404 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,120 Question is. Not how long will you live? 405 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:50,520 How long have I to live? Only God can answer. 406 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:55,520 The question is not how successful have you been or will 407 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,000 be in life's journey? The question is not how much 408 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:01,920 money you will make on life's journey. 409 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:06,560 The question is this, are you prepared to meet God? 410 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,640 Are you ready to die if death should come unexpectedly and 411 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,920 take you away to meet God? Remember, death could come at 412 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,640 any moment, so therefore it's imperative. 413 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,160 Behold, now is the accepted time, Now is the day of 414 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,920 salvation that you're in a right relationship with God. 415 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:24,520 Have you? Repented of your sin. 416 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,680 Have you believed the gospel? Who or what? 417 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:30,920 Are you living for? Are you living for self or the 418 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:32,800 Saviour? Are you living for the glory of 419 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:34,400 God? Are you living for the glory of 420 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:41,280 gold? There was a young man he hired 421 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,440 out a. Private room in a fancy hotel. 422 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,880 He was very depressed. He was fed up with his life. 423 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:53,560 He wanted to end it all. He brought a rope, tied a knot 424 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,520 in it. This put it around. 425 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,680 His neck tied it to the. Ceiling light. 426 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,640 Got up in the chair, kicked the chair. 427 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:07,800 Away and as he plummeted. Down towards the ground. 428 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,520 Thankfully, in the mercy of God, the rope broke. 429 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,280 He lay in the floor. For a while he get up. 430 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,600 I don't know. What reason? 431 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:23,200 But he opened the drawer of the bedside cabinet in the hotel 432 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:27,000 room and discovered the words Holy Bible jumped out at him. 433 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:32,920 He picked it out and started. To read and his opening place 434 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:39,440 that he read was John chapter 3. And he came upon those words. 435 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:43,280 Marvel not that I say unto thee, you must be born again. 436 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:48,200 And thankfully, that depressed young man found Christ in that 437 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:52,440 hotel room. He started out on a journey. 438 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:58,400 And adventure with God, he discovered that the answer to 439 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:02,000 life is found in Jesus Christ. If a man dies, shall he live 440 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,040 again? And the answer to that is also 441 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,640 found in Christ because. Remember. 442 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,800 Jesus Christ did die in the cross, shed his precious blood, 443 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,280 but Jesus Christ didn't remain dead. 444 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:17,800 He rose again bodily from the dead One time he said mine are 445 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,080 has come the are of his death. And he suffered the horrible 446 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:25,080 death of crucifixion, the horrible death of shedding his 447 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:28,120 precious blood. But this man, after he'd offered 448 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:31,160 one sacrifice for sins forever sat down in the right hand of 449 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,680 God. And on the basis of that once 450 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,760 and for all sacrifice and the basis of shed blood, you and I 451 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,120 can have a full free and forever pardon. 452 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,080 And we can know the reality of we're born again. 453 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:45,640 And when our day comes to die, our death won't be in vain, 454 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:51,560 because as we wait for death to come, we're waiting in Christ. 455 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,240 We're waiting with gospel hope. We're waiting for a day of 456 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:59,160 resurrection, a day of reunion of soul and body, a day of 457 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,360 rejoicing when we'll be ready with loved ones. 458 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,240 He entered our world. He had an appointed time. 459 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:11,280 Appointed time to be. Born and appointed time to live 460 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:14,720 and appointed time to die. But he also had an appointed 461 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,400 time to rise again. If a man die, shall he live 462 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:19,840 again? The answer is yes. 463 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,480 How? The resurrection of Jesus Christ 464 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:26,160 broadly from the dead guarantees our resurrection. 465 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:30,760 As you think of time, the 4th day of January, as this day 466 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:34,000 draws to a close, do you know what? 467 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:40,000 Time is. Slowly and silently and steadily 468 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,920 moving on. And it's silently and. 469 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:50,200 Steadily and silently moving on, regardless of our activity. 470 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:53,960 We can ignore this. Appointed time. 471 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,840 We could mock it and laugh and say it doesn't really matter. 472 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,320 We can forget all about it and just carry on living. 473 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:07,080 But time will continue to move, and from the day of our birth 474 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:09,920 along our allotted course, it will bring us to the day of our 475 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,760 death. And Jesus said this, and I 476 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:18,240 finish If you die in your sins where I am, there you cannot be. 477 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:20,080 You know well. There's. 478 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:26,240 Two ways to die Die in Christ, die in the Saviour or die in 479 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:29,800 your sins. It's not what give great comfort 480 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:34,120 to the McVeigh family when they gathered last Monday over there 481 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:39,520 in Raffery Presbyterian Church, a packed congregation, because 482 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:44,080 many as 12-15 hundred gathered couple of 1000 live streaming 483 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,680 online. What gave them hope and comfort 484 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,640 in the midst of the death of their son and all the agony and 485 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:53,240 pain was it? Not this. 486 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:57,120 That the young man a couple of years before had received Christ 487 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:02,240 as his Lord and Saviour, and had testified that he was born of 488 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:07,680 God in love with Christ. The finality. 489 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:12,480 Of an appointed time. You have an appointed time. 490 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:18,480 Don't mock it, don't ignore it, don't forget it, because the 491 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,840 time is ticking silently. It's ticking steadily. 492 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:29,120 We could even say it's ticking. Stealthily, you're maybe not. 493 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,520 Aware. But time is moving on. 494 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:35,440 The fact of an. Appointed time. 495 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:41,000 The focus and the fruit. But I leave with you this 496 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:46,679 finality. You have to answer. 497 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:52,880 Whether you're prepared or ready to meet God or not, the. 498 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:54,040 Lord bless you. Thank. 499 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:57,800 You for coming. Thank you for listening if I 500 00:34:57,800 --> 00:34:58,840 can. Help anyone? 501 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:03,800 Please feel free to come and talk to me in the Lord's name.