The Clock Is Ticking: A Time For Urgency

Preached on July 21, 2024

Scripture is filled with one repeating warning that often goes overlooked but requires us to move with urgency. Yet, where is the urgency? Join Pastor McCrary as he warns today’s generation about what is at hand. The bridegroom is coming and it’s important that we are not caught off guard when He arrives.

Introduction

Whether you realize it or not, the clock is ticking as the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  God’s judgment is drawing closer and closer – are you ready for His coming?  In this week’s message, I want to focus on the urgency of the day.  There is a seriousness that we should have as time draws closer and closer for us to stand before our Creator.

The End is Near

In 1 Peter 4:7, Peter warns that the end of all things is at hand.  This was and still is a very urgent warning to all people that shouldn’t be ignored.  What does Peter mean by “the end”, by “all things”, and it being “at hand”?

7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.  17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

KEY VERSE – 1 PETER 4:7,17 NKJV

Paul wrote that by the Lord, “all things” were created which are in heaven and on earth (Col. 1:16).”  For further clarity, Paul said that God created all that’s visible and invisible.  Paul included the creation of thrones and dominions, principalities and powers – that which is of the spiritual domain. So, all things is literally anything you can imagine and even more than that!  

Let’s make a note that Peter’s warning was not one he made up on his own.  Jesus, when He began His ministry on earth, announced, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand (Mark. 1:14-15).”  Christ’s first coming started the clock ticking towards “the end”.  So, every moment after Jesus’ first coming has brought the world a step closer to the end with each passing second.

What is the End?

So, what is the end?  In Matthew 24:2, at the end of His ministering years, Jesus warned His disciples that not one stone would be left that would not be thrown down.  As shown in Revelation 21:1, the end will come with the first heaven and the first earth passing away and a new heaven and earth coming to be.  Now, when Jesus gave this warning, the disciples wanted to know what the signs of the end would be.

Jesus explained to them that there would come great tribulation never seen before in the world (Matt. 24:21).  Immediately after the days of great tribulation, Jesus said the sign of the Son of Man (Christ) will appear in heaven and He will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt. 24:29-30). At His second coming, Jesus said that all nations will gather before Him and be separated as a shepherd divides his sheep from goats (Matt. 25:31-32). 

We should understand that the end will come with God’s final judgment.  First, it will come with Jesus taking His sheep out of this world. This is what led Peter to write, “the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17).” Again, there is a note of urgency in Peter’s writing that we the believer should be preparing for judgment.

In 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, Paul wrote that the judgment at the judgment seat of Christ will not be about salvation.  The reason why is because all who stand at the judgment seat of Christ will be there because they have salvation and cannot lose it!  This judgment will be about the giving of God’s rewards and riches to those whose works have earned them. 

Now, after the judging of His own house, God will turn His attention to those outside of His house. As shown in Revelation 20:11-15, this judgment won’t be pretty. God will judge all of those who chose to reserve a place in the fire of eternal condemnation.  The sinner will be cast into the fire of condemnation to never be in God’s presence again.  This is a judgment that nobody should be making a reservation for, but sadly, many in today’s generation are doing just that.

The Appropriate Mindset for the End

When urgent warnings are given, such as a severe weather warning, the hope is that they are heeded.  Nobody should ignore those warnings, right?  

If it’s not clear to you, the urgent warning to heed today is that the clock is ticking to the end— to God’s judgment.  This world is going to end!  So, there should be a sense of urgency (priority) for one to be prepared for His coming!  How do we prepare for His coming?

Moving with fervent love

In 1 Peter 4:8, Peter wrote that above all things, we should have fervent love for one another.  Love, Peter said in that same verse, has the power to cover a multitude of sins.  We have seen this power before as Christ was given to us out of love and He gave His life to pave the path to eternal peace. Peter added that we should also be hospitable (cordial/respectful) to one another without grumbling (1 Pet. 4:9). 

So, we prepare for the coming of Christ by how we live through our actions which should be of love. So, where is the urgency of respect and care?  Where is the urgency of sharing and uplifting?  Where is the urgency of love in our world today? There seems to be more of a priority to despise, hate, and divide than to love in today’s generation! Today’s generation is one to tell people to leave or go somewhere else if someone doesn’t look right, talk right, or have the same beliefs.

This notion led Peter to call on us believers to minister the gifts we’ve received from God as good stewards of His grace (1 Pet. 4:10).  As believers, we should be spreading love throughout the world! Yet, love is seemingly absent and has gone on vacation in today’s generation!

A serious mindset about the end

In my key verse, Peter called on believers to be sober-minded and watchful in prayer during this time.  To be sober-minded means that one is aware and attentive, serious and intelligent. 

As we have seen, we should be living with a serious mind for being faithful and growing in our faith.  We must grow in virtue and knowledge of the Lord while others choose to become more immoral in their way.  We must continually consult the Lord rather than ignore Him so that we are put into a winning position when we stand before Him.  

The serious believer is one that is prudent and considers their way.  As said in Proverbs 22:3, the prudent foresee evil and stay away from it!  However, the simple – the foolish – continue into evil and are punished.   So, we should not be lazy in our faith nor take everything as a laughing matter because the ever present wickedness of today is no laughing matter.  The clock is ticking to the end and now is not the time for one to be living with the mind of a fool!

Understanding the Urgency of Today

To fully understand the urgency of the day, I want to share with you Jesus’ Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matt. 25:1-13).  

Parable of the wise and foolish virgins

In Matthew 25:1, Jesus opened the parable by stating, “the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins going to meet the bridegroom.”  I want to be clear that Jesus wasn’t saying that heaven, the place, is going to be filled with ten virgins.

Now there was a sharp divide amongst the ten virgins with half considered to be wise while the other half were considered foolish (simple) (Matt. 25:2).  The wise virgins had brought oil with them to continuously burn their lamps.  The foolish virgins chose not to bring any extra oil because they presumed the groom would come right away (Matt. 25:3-4).  As I said last week, presumptions will get you into a lot of trouble!  

As the parable goes, the groom’s coming was delayed.  The delay was so long that all the virgins slumbered and slept (Matt. 25:5).  However, at midnight, a cry was heard that the groom was coming and the virgins arose to meet him (Matt. 25:6).  However, there was a major problem for the half of virgins that had only brought their lamps with no extra oil.  

The foolish virgins looked to the wise virgins and asked for some oil because their lamps were going dim (Matt. 25:8).  The wise virgins frowned, shook their heads, and told them to go run and get their own oil (Matt. 25:9).  The wise virgins had taken the groom’s coming seriously and came prepared – they didn’t want to miss his coming!

So, the foolish virgins ran to go buy some oil, but as it often happens, the groom then arrived while they were away (Matt. 25:10).  Jesus tells us that the groom, and those who were ready, went into the wedding without the others.  By the time the foolish virgins returned, the doors had been shut with no way to get in.  So, the foolish virgins cried out for the doors to be opened but the groom answered, without opening the doors, “Assuredly, I do not know you (Matt. 25:11-12).”

Get ready, do not procrastinate

This parable perfectly paints the picture of today’s generation.  Today’s generation has received warning after warning that the bridegroom is coming.  Let’s understand that the bridegroom represents Christ and the virgins represent all people.

With this in mind, the groom’s coming to this world is delayed.  Yet, even though He’s delayed, we should all be watchful and still waiting for his arrival.  We should all have our lamps and we should also have some oil so that the light of our lamps doesn’t go out.    

Now, Jesus pointed out that all of the virgins slumbered and slept during the delay.  Does this mean that we are all slumbering and sleeping today?  Absolutely not.  You see, Jesus warned, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour, in which the Son of Man is coming (Matt. 25:13).”  So, some of us have chosen to be wise and we watch and wait for His return.

However, many more are asleep to Jesus’ warning that the Son of Man is coming.  You see, there are many people that don’t believe in Christ nonetheless believe He is ever coming again.  In fact, there are many that openly mock the coming return of Christ!  

Sadly, there are many that profess to believe in Christ that don’t believe He will return in their lifetime. This is a mindset that is forgetful that even if He doesn’t come in their lifetime, they have to leave this world.  So, this forgetful mind procrastinates in their profession of faith and like the foolish virgins, they let their lamps burn out in their “faith”.  Therefore, the procrastinator puts themselves in a dangerous position because the groom is coming and they will be caught without a flame of faith.  

Now is not the time for you to be letting your light go out!  Now is not the time for you to slumber and sleep as sinners do!  As we have seen, when Jesus comes, the procrastinator will be caught trying to get oil for their lamps and will be too late! The procrastinator will end up missing the wedding with Christ.  

What Will You Be Doing When Jesus Comes

This is a thought that reminds me of an old song that asks:  What will you be doing when Jesus comes?   Have you ever considered what you will be doing when He comes?  Will you be ready or will you be caught off guard and without oil?  Will you miss the wedding? 

Jesus warned that there will be a day when He utters the phrase, “Assuredly, I do not know you.”  For me, that is a phrase that I never want to hear the Lord say to me! 

Do you understand why there should be a sense of urgency?  Now, the thought of urgency might confuse some of us since we are often encouraged to be patient.  So, I would be remiss if I didn’t add some clarity for those who may be confused about why all of the urgency.  

To be clear, there should be a sense of urgency for one to repent and return to God.  You see, today’s generation is in terrible need of repentance as it lives in adultery and strays further and further from the Lord.  What frightens me most is the lack of fear that so many people have about standing before God and being cast away from Him for eternity.

Peter asked, “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear (1 Pet. 4:18)?”  We take for granted the difficulty for one to be saved!  Don’t forget that Christ prayed about the bitter cup He had to drink in order to save our lives (Luke 22:41-42).  Christ met the suffering of the cross head on but what will we do?

Will we repent in order to be with Him?  The clock is ticking and the time is running out to turn away from sin to be with Him.

The sense of urgency to repent goes away with the true confession of faith, however, the urgency remains for the sincere believer to keep the faith.  It is an urgent matter for the faithful believer not to be caught up in sin.  This is why Peter called on believers to not suffer as murderers, thieves, evildoers, or busybodies in other people’s matters (1 Pet. 4:15).  

In other words, Peter was saying that the sincere believer shouldn’t be caught stirring up a bunch of mess!  There are more prescient matters of the soul for the believer to be concerned than anything else!  We should be caught serving the Lord by caring and uplifting others.  We should be caught helping to save souls rather than crushing souls.

So, I close this message on Peter’s words – this is a time to be of faith and committed to faith.  Peter called on us believers to commit our souls to the Lord in doing good, as to a faithful Creator (1 Pet. 4:19).  Who are we to tell the Lord that we are going to do otherwise?

Thank You For Visiting New Found Faith

Sign up to our newsletter today so that you can stay up to date with New Found Faith