Title: God's Timetable
Contents
♡♥♡ God's time schedule / John 11:1-6, 39-44
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Among people’s curiosity, ‘future time’ is probably one of the top three things. So, people search for gods, find philosophical views of bravery or fortune tellers, and even try their luck.
People who claim to believe in God are no exception to this concern. Many believers seek out people who have mystical beliefs and who say they “prophesy”. They want to know whether what they have planned will come true and whether they will be able to pass the exams at work or at school. They also want to know how their prayers will be answered. However, one of the things that people are not given is ‘one’s life for the future’.
Among Tolstoy's works, there is an article titled 'What do humans live for?' Among them is this story. As a punishment for disobeying God's command, an angel named 'Michael' became a shoemaker on earth. 'Michael' had to solve several problems while working, and one of them was 'What is not given to humans?'
One day a gentleman came to the shoeroom where Michael worked. He ordered Michael, “Make me a pair of sturdy shoes that I can wear for a year.” But Michael saw the angel of death next to the shrine. A person close to death is 'one year... ‘Michael sees the mourning and smiles softly knowing that ‘what is not given to humans’ is the time of death.
In Proverbs 27:1, God says, “Do not boast about tomorrow. For you do not know what will happen in one day.” And in James 4:14, “You do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears.” So the Lord said in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow, worry about tomorrow;
This is to teach that the time “tomorrow” does not belong to man, but to God. In other words, since everything in the world is moved according to God's timetable, he says that people must faithfully live the time given to them today, relying on God. This fact is presented by countless evidences in the Bible. Among them, let’s consider ‘God’s time schedule’ shown through the family of ‘Lazarus’.
First, let's summarize and summarize the story of the text in order.
Lazarus's family consists of his sisters Martha and Mary. The three brothers and sisters depended on each other to live. Jesus loved this family especially. However, Lazarus, the head of the family and the pillar, fell ill. The two sisters hurriedly sent to Jesus, saying, “Your brother is sick, so please come quickly.”
When Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, Jesus said, “This sickness is not to die for, but for the glory of God. So that the Son of God might be glorified through this.” He replied calmly and stayed there for two more days.
Eventually, Lazarus died in the meantime, and after Lazarus died, Jesus informed his disciples that Lazarus was dead and said, “Let’s go to wake him up.” When Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, it had been four days since Lazarus had been dead and had been buried. While weeping, comforting the sisters who complained that Jesus had come late, Jesus said, “Believe in the resurrection.” And he went to the tomb where Lazarus was buried. After giving thanks to God, Jesus called to the tomb, “Lazarus, come out.” Lazarus came out just as he had bought the body.
There are two perspectives and two times in this event.
One is the ‘reality’ in which Lazarus’ illness and the sorrowful feelings of the sisters Martha and Mary are portrayed. For the two sisters, the seriousness of their brother's illness, the only source of strength, was a real life crisis. Relying on Jesus, who is the power, in this urgency was the only hope for the sisters. However, because of Jesus' delay, the older brother died, and the sister fell into despair. Martha clings to Jesus. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” This is a person's point of view, the time in which a person is actually living. In Greek, time that can be felt and measured by a person is called 'chronos'.
The other is ‘Jesus’ perspective and time’, who went to Bethany after two more days as if he was waiting for something after hearing the urgent and sad news of the sister. Jesus awaited the death of Lazarus. And after Lazarus died, four days later, the funeral was held, and he raised Lazarus from the dead, already smelling rotten. Before raising Lazarus, Jesus said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always listen to me. But I am saying this for the sake of the crowd that surrounds me, that they may believe that you have sent me.” This is the point of view of Jesus, the time called 'kairos', which represents the 'definite time' that cannot be measured. This ‘appointed time’ belongs to God’s time schedule.
Through this fact, Jesus teaches us God's time schedule.
If you want to know God's time schedule, there is something you must do first. It is learning to ‘stand behind the Lord’. Standing behind the Lord means not being ahead of Him in anything.
People today use the word 'busy' as a habit. Adults and children alike live busy lives chasing after something. We are so busy and have no time to pray and we have no time to sing. There is even less time to quietly read the Word and meditate on the Lord. Ironically, there is no time to meditate on the Word and prayer because there are so many things to do in church work. This is what precedes the Lord.
One morning, the farmer opened the window wide and was startled. Because morning glory flowers were in full bloom on the wall. I muttered to myself as I gazed at the enchanting sight I had never seen before.
‘I hope you enjoy the day looking at the morning glory flowers, but today I have to plow the wheat field, so I will return to plowing quickly and enjoy those flowers.’
When the farmer came back from the field late in the evening, all the flowers had already withered, and they looked unattractive. The next morning, the farmer murmured as he saw cute birds chirping in a beautiful sound on a branch outside the window.
‘Quickly milk the cows and enjoy the beautiful birdsong.’
When the farmer came home from work, the birds had flew away and were gone. The farmer saw beautiful things like this every morning, but he died one day without ever enjoying the beauty because he was busy with other things.
People are so busy with the things they have created that they do not consider the time with the Lord, which makes life the most beautiful. 'I'm busy', 'I don't have time', 'I'll do it later!', 'Just a little bit more!', and 'I'll finish this work!' . Then, one day, he ends his life without preparing for eternity.
Is God busy just because I'm busy? Does God hurry according to my will because I am in a hurry? It never is. God never comes to us early, nor does God come late. He comes at the right time at the right time.
It is an emergency that Lazarus is ill. It is understandable that Martha and Mary urgently turned to the Lord for help in that dire situation. However, the ‘appointed time’ has not yet arrived in God’s timetable. That is why the Lord was delayed. This is God’s ‘appointed time’.
Then, what should be the life of the saints who wait for God's time?
It's simple, without a long explanation. Trusting God's time for me, I am faithfully managing the time now given to me.
John Wesley (1703-91), the founder of Methodism, is famous for saving time. He is said to have read many books while traveling on a horseback. He said, "There shouldn't be time when you're not doing anything. But what is wasting more time than this is wasting time on useless things.”
It is said that time and tide cannot be stopped by anyone.
If you trust in God's time, don't get ahead of Him. Even if you come up with excuses that you are busy or that you do not have time, first check God's time schedule. The way to check God's time schedule is to meditate on the Lord through the Word, prayer, and praise. Ignoring God's timetable and running fast doesn't mean you'll reach your destination first. Rather, it just loses its destination and drifts.
Do you remember the two suggestions we made at the conclusion of last week's sermon? Or are you doing it now? This is not just a suggestion, it is the only way to a successful and beautiful life of the Spirit. Set aside an hour a day to check God's timetable. You can never expect a successful life without investing an hour a day.
The Lord says Galatians 6:7, “Do not deceive yourself. God is not despised; whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”