Title: Heaven Can’t Wait To Save You
Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:2
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
We are all waiting for something.
But then there is also another person that is waiting and that is God. God can’t wait. Heaven can’t wait.
Ezekiel 18:24 say, ‘But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Ezekial 18:25-27 ‘Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
These verses from Ezekiel demonstrate that an OT covenant person could:
be righteous, Ezek. 18:24
become wicked, Ezek. 18:24
become righteous again, Ezek. 18:27,28
The Mosaic Covenant (Old Testament) is a performance-based, conditional covenant!
NT acceptance by God is not performance-based, but the goal of both the OT and NT is a righteous people who reflect God’s character to a lost world!
The NT is also conditional covenant, which requires
Repentance
Faith, Trust, Belief
Obedience
Perseverance
- The urgency God’s saving power.
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
The phrase ‘accepted time’ is mentioned twice in just one verse, signifying urgency. The first ‘accepted time’ is quoted from Isa 49:8 applying to the Corinthians situation. The Messiah has come and now the invitation to be fully accepted by God has come to them. They must seize the moment. The church is meant to be an outpost of God’s kingdom in a fallen world: a beacon of light, hope, peace, and divine purpose. The second ‘accepted time’ points to an individual’s invitation to respond to the Gospel as well as to the life of service in the Messianic Kingdom.
John Piper preached on a sermon titled, ‘Does God know that exact day I will die,’ The answer is Yes, He does.
1 Samuel 2:6, “The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up
Deuteronomy 32:39, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.”
Remember that it is dangerous to count on tomorrow
Psalms 95:7-8 says, ‘Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart.’ This warning was considered important that the writer of Hebrew quoted it three times (Hebrew 3:7-8; 3:15; 4:17.)
The bible says, ‘all who don’t repent and receive Christ, are brought before the judgment and all are thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death.’
- His grace is not merely a future hope but a present reality
John 1:16 says, ‘And of his fullness we all received, and grace after grace.’
I believe that justification by faith is the foundational truth of Christianity. You can’t know true rest and peace until you are convinced you can never be made right in God’s eyes by your own works of righteousness
Unless you grasp this foundational truth, you cannot over survive in these last days.
The grace of God is not just a historical event (the cross) but a continuous and present reality in a Christian’s life.
The grace of God is a fact. The grace of God is about a day by day, moment by moment relationship between you and God
John 1:16 says, ‘And of his fullness we all received, and grace after grace.’ ‘Grace after grace,’ is the literal translation – like the waves of the sea. As one comes, there is another close behind it.
- God is actively at work to save us in this life
The invisible hand of God at work, not only in this world’s global issues, but individually God is at work in my own personal life.
Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.’
In conclusion, Heaven cannot wait to save you. But we keep rejecting him. We continue in our sinful ways. He told us clearly, now is the accepted time, but we procrastinate, because we kind of believe that our life will continue. There are things we still want to achieve. A career to build, a wife to marry, a house to build. A life to enjoy. Then God send his Son at the appointed time to save us. While on earth he came to His own and His own receive him not. He healed the sick, preach the truth but at the end He was rejected by all men. And at the accepted time, he was killed. Heaven did not save him. At the appointed time, God let him die. So that when Jesus was resurrected, we can come back to God. If you have sinned today, you can come back to him today. If you come close to him, you will experience his fullness and grace by grace daily. And you will recognize quickly He is actively at work to save your life, even right now.
