Appointed Time

1 Corinthians 4:4-6 - For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.


1 Corinthians 3:12-13 - Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

Romans 2:29 - But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

1 Corinthians 1:9 - God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Application:

· Will my work stand the test or will it disappear?
· Do I have true signs of belonging to God? Is the power of the Holy Spirit regenerating me from within?
· Is my view of man Biblical? Do I recognize man’s weakness and ever-present limitations?
· Do I trust God to do what He has promised? Will He keep me strong to the end?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

The Time Of My Favor...The Day Of Salvation

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 - As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.


1 Corinthians 15:2 - By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Isaiah 49:8-9 - This is what the LORD says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.

John 8:56 - Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

Application:

· Those who turn back from Christ show that their initial, apparent reception of God’s grace was not real but in vain.
· If I am not persevering in the Christian faith, this is an evidence that I did not have saving faith in the first place
· The day of salvation is now
· Abraham rejoiced that he would see the day of Christ

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Time And Chance

Ecclesiastes 9:8-11 - Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

Psalm 6:5 - No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?

Isaiah 38:18 - For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.

Application:

· Do I remember God's mercies and celebrate His deliverances?
· Do I praise God, sing His praise and have hope for His faithfulness?
· Do I think I am in control of events in my life?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

A Time

Ecclesiastes 2:24-3:8,17 - A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace…I thought in my heart, "God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed."

Psalm 31:15 - My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.

Application:

· God will override the perverse judgments of men!
· Are all the events and circumstances of my life in the hands of the Lord, my God?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

God

1 Timothy 2:5-7 - For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.

Romans 3:29-30 - Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

Titus 1:1-4 - Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Application:

• By appealing to the first article of Jewish faith, Paul argues that there is only one way of salvation for both Jew and Gentile, namely, faith in Christ
• Crucial events in God’s program are at His designated times in history
• His word is the authoritative message that centers in Christ
• Three times God the Father is called Savior, and three times Jesus is called Savior
• Paul’s purpose is to testify that, through His death, Christ has bridged the gap between God and man and made salvation available to all
• A herald is one who with authority make a public proclamation

Application:

• Do you have faith in Christ?
• Has God brought His word to light through you?
• Is salvation available to you?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible