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GOD’S
FOUR KEY APPOINTMENTS FOR MAN
PLEASE READ IN THE BIBLE (JOB 7:1;
In the passages of scriptures
listed above we have what we might describe as “God’s Four Key Appointments for Man”.
God’s four key appointments
involve YOU personally. These
appointments are between YOU and God. Sometimes
in our social or business life we have appointments we are required to
keep. There may be times when we arrive
late or we are unable to keep the appointments at all. This will not happen, however, with God’s
appointments. YOU will be there and you
will be on time. We want to consider
this subject by way of the following outline:
God has appointed man life (time) and he must
live it. God has appointed man death and
he must experience it. God has appointed
man a time for judgment and man must appear for it. God has appointed man a place of refuge from
the coming wrath and judgment and man has the opportunity to avail himself of
it. Dear reader, do you know about God’s
refuge? Have you availed yourself of
God’s refuge? Let’s consider this
subject beginning with;
God has appointed man life (time) and he must
live it. In (Job 14:14),
Job spoke of “All the days of my appointed time”. Job understood that his life, his
time, was appointed by God. It could be
that you have never considered that your “life time” has been appointed by
God. King Solomon wrote in, (Ecclesiastes 9:9) “All
the days of the life of thy vanity which
God hath given thee under the sun”. Our
days have been given to us by God. God
has given life to each of us that have been born into this world. Our life is made up of that precious
commodity called “time”. Have you ever
given thought as to what God expects from you, from the time appointed to
you? It says in, (Ecclesiastes 12:13) “Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the
whole duty of man”. History has
proven that man is not only ignorant of God’s commandments, but he is both
unwilling and unable to keep the commandments of God. In fact, the Bible paints a very dark picture
concerning man. Man is an ungodly
sinner, a condition that begins from birth.
It says in, (Psalms 58:3) “The wicked are
estranged from the womb: They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking
lies”. Did you ever notice that a
young child does not have to be taught to do wrong? He does this naturally. But, he does have to be taught to do right as
long as he lives. It says in, (Proverbs 22:13) “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a
child: but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him”. The Bible discloses that man is a
sinner by nature and by practice. What
man is in himself and what he has done are alike sinful. What man is within himself is far worse than
anything he has ever done. The Lord
Jesus said, (Mark 7:21-23)
“FROM WITHIN, out of the heart,
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness,
wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
All these evil things come from within,
and defile the man”. From these
words we see the connection between mans sinful nature and mans sinful
conduct. The guilt of sin applies to all
mankind, to all who are born of human father and mother. It says in, (Romans
3:9-12; 23) “Jews and Gentiles, they are all under sin”. “There is none righteous no not one”. “There is none that understandeth there is
none that seeketh after God”. “There is
none that doeth good, no not one”. “For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. Dear reader, this includes YOU. There are no exceptions and no
exemptions. God’s word means what it
says and says what it means. This is God’s
portrait of fallen sinful humanity and a dark picture it is, indeed. Man truly deserves to go to hell. He is unclean and deserves nothing but
punishment. This leads us to God’s
second key appointment for man;
God has appointed man death and he
must experience it. Speaking about death, Job said in, (Job 7:1) “Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth”. We
each have an appointment with death. It
says in, (Hebrews 9:27a) “It is appointed unto men once to die”.
We all know the truth of this statement do we not? Most of us have family and friends that have
kept their appointment with death. We
will keep ours also, at God’s appointed time.
Why is it so that man must die?
It was never part of God’s original creation. When sin came in death came in. God said to Adam, (Genesis
2:17) “In the day that thou eatest thereof (the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil) thou shalt surely die”. Adam
and Eve disobeyed and sinned against God and death came in. It says in (Romans
6:23)” The wages of sin is death”. It
says also in, (Romans 5:12) “Wherefore, as by one man
(Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned”. Death is the direct result of sin. The brevity of life, which is emphasized over
and over again in scripture, is also the result of sin. There are no “Methuselah’s” in these days
that live to be 969 years. There are no
“Abraham’s” in these days who live to be 175 years. (Psalm 90:10) gives us the divine allotment
of the life of man in the normal course of events. It says, “The days of
our years are three score and ten (70) and if by reason of strength they be
fourscore (80) years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon
cut off and we fly away”. Mankind,
however, can not count on having seventy
years. There are many whose lifetimes
are much shorter because of disease, accidents, etc. It is a sobering experience to walk through a
cemetery, any cemetery, and observe the ages of those who have died. Many were relatively young when they kept
their appointment with death. It says in, (James 4:14)
“Ye know not what shall be on the morrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapor (a puff of smoke) that
appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away”. Life is not only brief it is
uncertain. It says in, (Ecclesiastes 9:12) “Man knoweth not his time: as the fishes
that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare;
so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them”. Dear reader, are YOU prepared
for eternity? Are YOU prepared to meet
God? Have YOU taken refuge from the
coming storm of God’s wrath and judgment?
Death will end your opportunity to be saved. If you die in your sins there will be sudden
and eternal confinement in hell and the lake of fire. Man has another appointment following death. This leads us to;
God has appointed man a time for
judgment and man must appear for it. It says in, (Hebrews
9:27) “It is appointed unto man once to die, BUT AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT”. Those
who die in their sins, unsaved, will be resurrected for judgment. It says in, (John
5:28, 29) “The hour is coming, in which all
that are in the graves shall hear His voice (the Lord Jesus Christ), and
shall come forth … they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation
(judgment)”. Please note God’s following appointments related to the
subject of judgment:
We are given various
details concerning this judgment which is called “The great white throne judgment” in (Revelation 20:11-15;
21:8). This is the final settlement of
God’s controversy with fallen man. There
will be no mercy or grace shown, only
inflexible, invincible justice. There
will be no mistakes, no absentees, no
appeals and no escape at this judgment. The
verdict is final. Please notice the
following about this judgment. We have;
In (Numbers 35:11-15) we
read the account of six cities provided by the mercy God to be a place of
refuge for the man slayer. The man
slayer would escape for his life from the “avenger of blood”. Since there were six cities, there was always
a place for the man slayer to go to flee from impending judgment. Within the gates of one of these cities was a
place of safety. Within, he was
perfectly safe; without, he was thoroughly exposed to judgment. By way of application, we may liken this
picture to the condition of a guilty sinner before a holy God. Dear
reader, if YOU are unsaved, still in your sins, you are in imminent
danger. You are only a breath away from
an eternity in hell and the lake of fire.
YOU have an urgent need to flee for refuge. Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners. He is God’s place of refuge. It says in (Hebrews 6:18), of those who
are saved, that they, “have a strong consolation, WHO HAVE FLED FOR REFUGE TO LAY HOLD UPON THE
HOPE SET BEFORE US”. God gives
strong encouragement in His Word to all who have fled to Christ for refuge from
coming judgment. It says in, (Romans 8:1)”There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”. To be “in Christ” means that one
has believed on Him and received Him as their personal Savior. (John 3:18) “He that
believeth on Him is not condemned (judged): but he that believeth not is condemned
(judged) already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God”. (John 3:36)”He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him”. Have you believed on Him? Are you “born again”? Are you
“in Christ”? It says in, (2 Corinthians 5:17) “”If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things have passed
away; behold all things are new.” Have
you had this conversion experience?
Dear reader, I can tell you on the authority of
the Word of God, that God loves you. He
wants you to be saved. It says in , (2 Peter 3:9) “The Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. God has proved this by sending His
beloved Son to die on the cross for your sins.
You are traveling the “highway of life”.
Now that you have read this message, you have come to “the
crossroads”. Which way will you go? Will you continue to reject the Savior and
God’s offer of salvation? Or, will you
believe on Him and receive Him as your Lord and Savior? It is your decision and your responsibility.
Please give this matter your most serious
attention. Will you be a believer or a
non-believer? Your eternal destiny
depends on your decision.
Christian Messenger