I'll never forget the day when my mother looked at me in her
backyard and said Joe, I blinked and I turned 50.
I wonder now if there's someone watching this video who can say
the same thing. I blinked and I was 50I blinked
and that was it. I was 60, I was 70.
I think time's kind of similar to driving a car when you're 10
years old. Everything feels like it's going
so slow. It's like it's going at 10 mph
and you think, I can't wait to turn 11, then you get to 30,
then you get to 40, OK, now. Now we're speeding up.
Now things are going faster. And let's be honest, perhaps
there's someone watching this video now who's thinking, well,
Joe, I'm over the speed limit. Things are going really fast
now. I'm getting into older age.
So there's one thing I want every single person to know by
the end of this video, and it's this.
You've actually not got that much time left.
Whether you're 10 years old or whether you're 70 years old,
none of us have got as much time as we think we have left.
So here's my question to you. What season of life are you in
right now? You see, we've all got these
doors of opportunity. There are doors that are open
today that tomorrow will be shut.
There are windows of opportunity that are open today.
You can go through it today, but tomorrow those windows might be
closed. So every single one of us needs
to think, where am I at this point in life and how can I
manage my time? How can I have good command over
my time to do as much as I can for the Lord in these times that
He's given me? So Young man, young woman, work
hard, study hard, get your studies, get your degrees.
Make sure that you do not fritter away the time playing
video games and procrastinating. Get your studies down.
Read as many Christian books as you can.
Now whilst you're single, go on short term missions because once
you get married, once you get children, suddenly things are
going to become busy and you need to get as much knowledge.
You need to remember your Creator in the days of your
youth while you still can. Mothers cherish your children
while they are young. The first five years of a
child's life are so, so precious.
And we only get as parents. We only get one chance to get
that right. We only get one chance to absorb
every happy memory. And that's it.
It's gone forever. So don't be anxious, Don't be
worried. I'm a warrior.
I worry a lot, but you know that it robs you of your joy.
The devil wants you to be so anxious that you don't enjoy the
blessings that God pours out into your life on a daily basis.
So today, maybe after this video, get your small children,
sit them on your knee, read them a nursery rhyme and enjoy them.
Look into their eyes while they're young and say thank you
God that you have blessed me with a beautiful child.
Dads, husbands, shepherd your wives and children and bring
them closer to the Lord. Again, you only get one
opportunity to be a husband, to be a father.
You only get one opportunity to guide those precious hearts to
the Lord Jesus Christ. So don't work every single hour
that you can. Don't spend so much time with
your friends and and doing all of your own pursuits.
Make sure that you look after your family.
And guys, I'm preaching to myself now.
You know, there's one thing I'm totally ashamed of.
I've been married to my wife Emma for six years now, and to
this day, I have still not established a firm family.
Quiet time. We don't do family worship every
night. We rarely do family worship, and
it's not good enough. And perhaps there's another man
watching this today who knows that they too need to get their
family together and read the word of God on a daily basis.
And then to the retired, to the seasons that are watching my
video. OK, you've worked hard.
No one can take that away from you, and you deserve to rest.
You deserve to to enjoy the fruits of your labour now in
your old age. But I would like to just say
this one thing. Don't spend all of your time
playing golf. Don't spend all of your time at
growing vegetables. Do it a little bit, but make
sure that you use these latter years to work for the Lord God.
You have more time now to pray. You have more time now to to
give. And if your body is able to, why
not become an evangelist in your old age?
Many older people have become evangelists in their latter
years of life. A professor who was dying was
once asked when he was interviewed at a Christian
conference. Are you now going to stop doing
as much open air preaching? Are you going to now stop doing
as many missions now that you're so sick and you're coming
towards the end? This was his response.
When an athlete comes very close to the finishing line and there
he can see there's that line, it's just at the end, does he
slow down? No, He runs faster and faster.
And so there might be people watching this, and you know that
you're coming to the end, but soon you're going to see your
master. Soon you're going to see your
Lord and Saviour run faster. Do more now, because God can
certainly use you right now in the place that you are, if
you're willing to be used by the Lord, young or old.
Every single one of us, without exception, will one day give an
account for the time we have lived on this earth to our Lord
God. So let us remember this.
None of us are spectators. None of us are called to be
passengers. None of us are on holiday while
we still have breath in our lungs, while our heart is
beating today, let us find out what is the will of God for our
lives. What is the work that God wants
me to do? And let us make sure that while
we have energy, while we are healthy, while we're able to do
so, that we live every single second for the Lord God keeping
our eyes on the pride. So hey, now, let's get real
practical. How much sleep do you get at
night? What time do you go to bed?
What time do you get up at? How much do you read the Bible
for every day? How much time do you spend in
prayer? How much time do you spend
following selfish pursuits? Are you obedient or do you waste
time in sin? Now, I could be totally wrong
about this, but as I was writing notes for this message, I felt
compelled to say this. I believe there could be someone
watching this video right now who is about to make a total
mess of their life. You're going to make the biggest
mistake you've ever made in your life, and I want to say this to
you, if that's you right now, I beg you, I plead with you, don't
do it. Stop letting your mind dwell on
sin and turn from it. Because the fact is this, There
will come a day when you would wish that you had the money to
buy a million clocks, a billion clocks, in hopes that just one
of those clocks had the power to turn back the time.
So if that is you, confess your weakness to this loving Heavenly
Father, and he will have mercy on you and he'll guide you right
back to the shepherd's side, because you know, that's where
you belong. In the 1990s they did a study on
American Christianity and they asked many, many Americans how
long do you spend watching television every single day.
Their answer was around 2 1/2 hours.
And then they asked the American Christians this How long do you
spend reading the word of God? Do you know what they said?
Just 7 minutes a day? Can I ask you a question?
Are you cheating God of your devotion?
Am I giving God the very creme de la creme the best hours of
the day? You see, God has given us the
most precious book in the world, the Bible, and we are to feed on
it. We are to relish it every single
day. Just like a starving man feeds
on that food, that bread, and it satisfies his soul.
So we are to be satisfied by the word of God every time we flick
through the pages. Now I'm going to choose my words
very, very carefully. But if you're a person who is
away from God, I want to chat to you right now.
Hebrews 3 verses 7 to 8 say this.
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says today, if you hear His
voice, do not harden your hearts.
So if you right now are away from the living God, can I ask
you a question? What are you pursuing your time
with? Perhaps it's good things.
Maybe you're searching after a relationship, or maybe you're
looking after family members. Perhaps you're working on your
career and you're putting in lots of hours to to to help the
business grow. Maybe you're just working on a
project on yourself, going to the gym, on a diet.
But whatever it is, be honest with me now, it's not God, is
it? Well, Jesus Christ, the Son of
God has a word for you, He once said about people who are rich
to themselves but a poor to God. He told them that they are fools
because this very night their life will be required from them.
Oh, mark my words, one of the biggest lies that the evil one
is infecting into the minds of the masses is that they've got
plenty of time. They've got lots of time left.
There is an urgency to your decision.
Oh, my dear friends, my dear friend, if you can hear today
the Son of God breathing his last breath, if you can see him
on the cross, you can see his soul in turmoil, being smitten
by God, bearing in his body the sins that you and I have
committed. If you can see that today, don't
look the other way. If today, this very day, you can
see the Son of God triumphant over the grave, he beat the
grave He conquered death. If you can see him triumphant,
raised over all of his enemies, and today he knocks on your
heart and says, open the door, let me in.
I want to give you eternal life. Whatever you do.
Don't shut the door in his face. Today, this very day, come to
the gentle Saviour, the one who loves you, the one who says you
don't have to do anything to earn your salvation.
It was done at the cross. I love you.
Just receive this gift of salvation.
Put your trust in me. Put your faith in me, and I'll
give you eternal life. I have no authority to say to
you today, Go away and think about it.
I have no authority to say come back next week, watch another
video, and then give your life to Christ.
No, The only authority I have is the authority which is written
in the word of God. And it says now is the accepted
time, today is the day of salvation.
So whoever you are, wherever you're from, whatever your plans
are for the next hour, they can wait.
The next YouTube video, it can wait.
If you have not yet, put your trust in the saviour of the
world, if you have not yet cried out to God to have mercy on you,
for you are a Sinner. I am a Sinner, then do it right
now. Because let's be honest, the
clock is ticking and none of us know if we'll be here tomorrow.