Time is not on your side

Joh 4:35  “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

Greetings to you all in the blessed name of our LORD Jesus Christ!

As I sat in my office, I began to reflect on how fast time is moving in this present age. It just seems like yesterday when I think about certain events in my life. I have been married for 34 years, served 21 years in the military and now pastoring a church for 11 years. I often wonder where did time go?  I am sure many of you can agree!

I remember a song written a long time ago by a rock and roll group called the Rolling Stones. The song was titled “Time is on my side. ”

-As I thought about that song, I began to laugh because time is really not on my side!  When I was young I had more energy, I played lots of basketball, could run up and down the court and dunk with ease. When I ran track and field, I could long jump and run with the best of them, but now my knees speak clearly to me if I try to do that activity today! Can I get a witness?

But think about this friends and family! Time is not on your side. Time is on God’s side. He is the only one who has ordained time, controls time, but yet sits outside of time. The wise man Solomon said the following in:

Ecc 3:1  To everything there is a season, a  time for every purpose under heaven: 

Ecc 3:2 A  time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; 

Ecc 3:3  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

Ecc 3:4  A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 

Ecc 3:5  A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

Ecc 3:6  A time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 

Ecc 3:7  A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 

Ecc 3:8  A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 

As we can see, there is a time for everything under heaven, but time keeps on slipping, slipping into the future! 

I want to encourage you to respect time and to honor time, because tomorrow is not promised!  There are some people who don’t respect time. They show up late for appointments. They show up late for work, and they show up late for meetings. Time is nothing to them, as if you had all day to wait on them!  God gives us 24 hours each day to accomplish all that is in our hearts, and if you PLAN accordingly you will have less stress and headaches. Time should be a blessing, not a burden!

Maybe this is why the scripture says, “This is the day that Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Lam 3:22  Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 

Lam 3:23  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 

Remember yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but what you do today can change your tomorrow! What decisions and things are you procrastinating in that may hinder your tomorrow? You can change your tomorrow, today! That sounds like an oxymoron right? But its truth. What you do today affects your tomorrow! You can change that attitude today. You can apologize or forgive today. You can stop wasting your money today. You can make the right decision today that will drastically change your tomorrow!

Sometimes we dishonor time and we think that we have a lifetime to accomplish and achieve all that is in our heart, not knowing that tomorrow is certainly not promised.

Jesus told the disciples in John 4:35  Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 

Isn’t this an amazing scripture. Obviously the disciples must have thought they had lots of time to accomplish what they were called to do, but Jesus said something so profound:

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’?

Isn’t this the mindset of people today. I will do it tomorrow. I will do it next week. I will get it done when I can get it done. I mean we live in a microwave society and we are moving nearly at the speed of light, but yet we procrastinate on salvation, doing the work of the ministry, getting personal goals accomplished, or even doing something significant that can be a blessing to others in our church, community, city or country.

Jesus concludes that statement by saying, “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 

In other words, you say you have four months. I say the time is now.  You say you have two months, I say the time is now. You say, I will get done tomorrow, I say get it done today! In other words, open your eyes, lift up your eyes! Do you not see what I see? The fields are white for harvest!

Wow! This is truly an amazing and profound passage of scripture. It completely shatters procrastination and stagnation! It says why put off for tomorrow what you can accomplish today! It says the time is now, not tomorrow! It says I have a sense of urgency and “I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work.”  John 9: 4

I don’t know about you, but I believe my family, your family, the church, community, city and country need prayers now. We need divine intervention now.  We need unity now. We need to come together now. We need to be about the Fathers business now.

I know its summer, barbeque pits are smoking, the beaches are booming, vacation is on our minds, and you have to make that money. But in the midst of doing all that you do, let us remember that time is not on our side.  The LORD’s return is soon! I think a better song to sing is, “Time is on Jesus side!” “Time is on Jesus side!”

God Bless,

Pastor Quinn