Sermon – 6/29/03 Now is the Time -
2 Corinthians 6:2
Audio Sermon
Now is the Time
“For He says: ‘In an
acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have
helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation”
(2 Corinthians 6:2)
We were down in a dark place in the ground
underneath Washington, DC, talking, in separate instances, with some
of the most helpful people we had met in quite awhile. It was
important to figure out how best to use the “Metro” (the Washington
Metro Area Transit Authority), during our time in that city. We
finally settled on week-long passes and purchased them from a
machine, as directed by “B. G.”, a gentleman who assisted us. The
Metro, we decided, hired good people.
B. G. mentioned something especially
fascinating when we inquired about certain areas of local interest.
“When this was built,” he said,
waving his hand,” Georgetown didn’t want
the Metro. Now that it’s been built, they want it; but it’s too
late!” There are circumstances where NOW is the time to
RECEIVE and Georgetown missed a great opportunity.
The Lord God, Maker of heaven and earth, built
everything! The earth, the stars, galaxies, blades of grass and
trees, you and me; everything! He also has given us the opportunity
to receive His Son, offered to us from beyond the galaxies, from
everlasting, enabling us to be a part of God and His forgiveness –
forever! We can, for now, say “Yes” or “No” to His offer. But,
there will be a time when the Offer will no longer be there. Each
of us can say “Yes” to Him now, but at some point, it will be too
late.
The Prophet Isaiah, in the midst of a larger
section about the Messiah (Christ) who was to come, quoted the
Father about Him: “I will also give You as
a light to the Gentiles, that you should be My Salvation to the ends
of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). The light of the Messiah would
be offered to Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) alike. All can receive
Him! Paul the Apostle read Isaiah many centuries later, citing
Isaiah 49:8 - “In an acceptable time I
have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Paul continued, “Behold, NOW is the
accepted time” (to receive the Lord), “behold,
NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Now is the
time for you.
In the Open Bible Commentary on 2 Timothy 4:2,
where Paul said, “Preach the Word, be
ready in season and out of season…”, we read this: “A
famous evangelist once ended a revival meeting in Chicago by
advising the unbelievers who were present that night to go home and
seriously consider the claims of the Gospel, and then return on the
following night prepared to make a decision for Christ. But on that
same night, October 8, 1871, the tragic Chicago fire broke out.
Before it was finally extinguished nearly four miles of buildings
were consumed, along with 250 human fatalities. The evangelist then
vowed never to end a service without giving an invitation to accept
Christ immediately.”
As led by the Spirit of God, NOW is the time to
speak to you about the Lord Jesus Christ, and NOW is the time for
you to receive Him, if you have not previously trusted in the Lord.
There is a hunger inside each man and woman of this earth -inside
YOU- that can only be satisfied through trust in Him.
He created you out of His love and He continues
to love you without limit. He cares for you even though, like the
rest of us, you fell short. The Father showed how much He cares by
sending His Son, who paid the penalty for your sins. Whatever you
have done, whoever you have pretended to be, whatever hurt you may
have caused, Jesus paid it all. Yes, you have sinned, and yes, that
sin may be humanly unforgivable, but the Sinless One died in the
place of the sinner - the price is paid for you and me.
It is indeed, from a human perspective, too
late. Your past cannot be undone, and there is nothing that can be
done about it – except in Him. It is NOT too late for Him. You did
it, but He died for it, and you are free – in Him!
Why did Mary weep as she washed the feet of
Jesus? (Luke 7:38 & context). Because she saw forgiveness and mercy
in Him; the Son of God. She WAS a sinner (Luke 7:37) and nothing
merely human could go back into the past and change what she had
done. But the Cross of Jesus Christ reaches back to the past and
forward in time, extending across every sinner who has ever lived,
stamping “Paid in Full” on every one of us, written in His blood.
Because of His cross, which reached to that
moment and stretched completely across Mary’s past - Jesus Christ ,
who has the authority to do what people cannot do, turned and said
to her, “Your sins are forgiven”
(Luke 7:48). And they were!
YOUR sins are forgiven when you trust in Him.
In God’s time it’s not too late, because He who has the authority to
forgive or condemn, loves you without limit, and He authenticated
His love by dying in your place.
Georgetown rejected the Metro when it was
available to them, and now it is indeed too late. The Chicago Fire
is a wake-up call. But life is more than subways and even great
fires: it’s about your need, which is great, and His love, which is
greater still.
You may have rejected the Lord until this
moment, and think “it’s too late” for you. But, if you feel a tug
at your heart, urging you to trust in Him, it’s not too late; no
matter WHAT your life has been. Just like Mary before you, He has “heard
you”, and “NOW is the accepted
time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians
6:2). He’ll bring you up from that dark place in your soul to the
light of His love.
Let’s receive Him right now. Like the Chicago
fire, you don’t know what the next moment will hold. “NOW
is the accepted time,” Paul said,
“NOW is the day of salvation.” Now is the time – for you.
Father, thank You that Your Son died for the
sins of the world. You’ve included each one of us, Lord, and we
thank You that the blood of Jesus reaches to us all. Jesus died –
for me! I receive Him – and His forgiveness – right now! I love
You, Lord, and I praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name. Amen.
