Rev. Scott Graham - Live Like You Are Dying - Psalm 90:9-12 - Oct. 13, 2019 (Sun. PM)

welcome to the house of the Lord everybody it's good to see everybody tonight I'm glad that we have another opportunity to praise the one true God amen praise God hallelujah you know I was thinking as I was entering in tonight and as I started to pray you know sometimes when we find it hard to pray or don't know what to pray I always just think on where I came from you know and just what God has shown me and revealed to me and and I just can't help but thank you amen and when I look upon all of us here it's the same thing like we all have a mighty journey that we're on right now right and so when I look I want to say welcome welcome veterans welcome veteran Saints welcome Bible study teachers welcome missionaries welcome evangelist hallelujah welcome to our Sunday School teachers welcome to our Wednesday night teachers and our drivers welcome to every minister that's in this place our pastors our leadership team amen welcome worshippers amen thank you Jesus you know five years ago I was not in church you know five years ago I was college kid doing what every other college kid in America does these days use your imagination it's probably correct but God one day showed up in my life and thank God he doesn't leave me right where I got the Holy Ghost cuz I'd still be back at Dixie amen praise God I might be in a jail cell right now so God saved me and ended up in the jail cell no but praise the Lord that we have a journey if we just walk with God and the cool thing the cool thing about God is that God sets the pace but it's my pace isn't the same as Matt's pace my pace isn't the same as Caleb's pace everybody has their own pace set with God and God sets that pace amen I'm thankful for another day with God another day where we get to walk in his presence and another day where we get to lift up his great name amen hallelujah cuz one day we'll be seeing him let's stand in this place let's just thank God for where we are today another opportunity amen do not miss this opportunity Lord Jesus I thank you God O Lord for this congregation for this church for this body Oh Lord I thank you God for the purpose that you've instilled in every single one of us Oh Lord I pray God that you would continue to pour out your vision for our lives Oh Lord hallelujah that we would take step after step towards your glory in your kingdom will Lord trusting and everything that we do trusting in faith O God that you would take control I thank you Jesus soul or for where you brought us from and I thank you God for where you're taking us to Lord would you open up our understanding tonight O God that we could walk in your word not just be hearers of the word but doers also mighty God that we would know you through our works but also Jesus through our trust in our relationship with You God hallelujah Jesus mighty God we lift up the king of kings and Lord of lords tonight praise God would you join us now as we praise the one true God amen [Laughter] we were invited this morning my god is Flores goddess not again [Music] God is fighting for we will we will not move Jesus you are he has overcome the and overcome we will not be safe we will not be Jesus No Oh we will [Music] he has overcome we will not be shaken Jesus [Music] I will Oh [Applause] right [Music] 4:19 says my god will supply all my need according to his riches and glory Emily I have Annie [Music] we will stop [Music] you know it is funny [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] with the voice of triumph shout with the voice of play the boys the boys shouted you got all of it I will shout give the boys a break shouted the boys trying Hey in battle we are victorious Oh with the boys trial the boys boys [Music] to play Oh oh Jesus me the boys tire the boys the boys trying oh boy it's every [Music] [Music] the boys I will shout in the voice of a with the boys yeah the boys Hey [Applause] Oh Lord finally just take another leave shouted because God is great then he was greatly to be praised he's worthy of our praise tonight Lord we glorify your name Lord in this place Jesus we praise You God hallelujah we come into your presence all right praise of our adoration of Jesus [Music] you you you we want you we need you you you just worship you can I don't deserve to worship you you're not on deserve to give you praise but God you allow me to let my voice you allow me to lift my hands Lord I'm gonna worship you I'm gonna praise you in this place Lord and Jesus saying he's a mighty God he's a mighty God you know he is our provider he is our protector he is our healer he is our everlasting counsellor he is our Father our Prince of Peace our King of Kings you know we can give them all the definite we can give them all these adjectives we can give them all these other ways to describe him but his name is Jesus that's the only name we need to know that his name is Jesus and I get to magnify that name aren't you glad we get to magnify the name of Jesus amen god is good as the ushers get ready you know I'm gonna take an offering and you know I was I was listening to there was a song that played during prayer and it everyone knows it's it's the wait on the Lord and it's a huge right now in our in our movement simply says I'm gonna wait on you Lord you know I'm gonna wait and sometimes and when we give that sacrifice offering when you give our tithes and you know what that blessing doesn't come you know that that pay raises that come that that job opportunity doesn't come and you know the devil begins to discourage you you know what just you know it didn't come this time to stop giving your tithes this time oh stop stop giving and that's special offering this night it worked last time so why would you give more you know I got I tried to discourage us and he tries to make you stop giving you tries to put junk in your head but I just want to encourage you today that just give a little more you know wait on the Lord just a little bit longer and see what God does you know you can't outgive God and then you can't outgive God you know he is our provider amen once we give it will be given back to us we cannot outgive God Lord we worship you in this place God you are my provider how do you are this church is provider how we know we cannot give you SoCo were to give what we can we're gonna give what we have left can't we know you're not gonna leave us you're not gonna forsake us Lord SoCal we're gonna make it we're gonna praise you in this form go we're gonna worship You Lord hell we know actually gonna move in this service tonight Lord as we magnify you as we worship you in this place can't allow a change to begin 1/2 and Lord and Jesus name and cheese's name March with us as we sing soon very soon [Music] yeah yeah yeah No you see the game see hallelujah Jesus we worship [Music] are you looking forward to that well we need to stay a little eternity focused I'm convinced probably most of us wind up for not care but get a little comfortable here and this is not home this is not home for citizens of another place and it's good for us to kind of now to stay focused on that a little bit I've got a friend who for the month of October and his church he pastored in Virginian for the month of October in his church they're doing this whole this whole kind of deal about the coming of the Lord every song is about it every sermon is about it every lesson whoever some school classes about it I mean everything all month long is about the coming of the Lord and he said you would be amazed what it's done to our lives just just living without awareness you know because we settle in don't we miles will be little honest we just kind of settle in and get comfortable and I think I read and they're the same how we're supposed to be watching for that supposed to be watching a man it's a great honor to be here thank you so much for allowing me to privilege to preach this evening your pastor said you want me to introduce you and that's a man if their memories are that short who is that guy I hate looks familiar I said no that is not necessary let me take you to the word of the Lord tonight and the 90th Psalm Psalm 90 and I will read beginning in verse number nine nope I'm four stickers tonight no no bumper stickers I don't have bumper sticker got something else imma tell you about that anyway Psalm 90 and verse number nine Bobble says this for all our days are passed away in thy wrath and we spend our years as a tale that is told the days of our years are threescore years and ten now that's seventy four the mathematically challenged [Music] and if by reason of strength they be eighty years yet is their strength labor and sorrow for it is soon cut off and we fly away who knoweth the power of nine anger even according to thy fear soul is thy wrath here's the verse verse number 12 so teach us to number our days why what will that accomplish in us that we may apply our hearts to wisdom hmm an awareness of the brevity of life will help us focus our attention correctly I'm gonna hold my title for just a few moments tonight so if you don't put it on the screen just yet if you've got that ready and I'm gonna let you be seated if you'll smile if you're gonna be a grump you can just remain standing so we can spot you a man now I'm gonna start tonight with a statement that I Lord helped me this is not meant to be offensive and-and-and it and if I'm not suggesting you should feel like I feel and and I'm not really really not at all unless your pastor says you should I'm not suggesting that you need to feel the same way is for me everybody say this for him that's just for me as for me I just I don't personally do the whole country-western music scene deal okay now that's me it has nothing to do with the style because if you get my car on any given time the XM radio is turned 265 enlighten which is southern gospel and I know some of the young people right now are going to like him it it so it's not the southern style that's cool with me no problem I like southern gospel old foot Samba quartet music and all that stuff I do all that but I just don't personally do the whole country music deal with alcohol and the fairs and all that I just I don't do that something about that pure true honest lovely good report think on these things comes into play it somehow saw that's just me having said that I'm not I'm not silly enough to recognize there aren't you know songs that are patriotic and all that kind of stuff that probably have some some good words and so I'm not I'm not throwing rocks at anybody some years ago my wife and I were moving into a home our church had it there was a parsonage up behind her old church before we sold that building or relocated and there was a beautiful home the dukas's had been living there and as we transitioned they moved out of that home my wife and I moved in as a beautiful place but we took that opportunity while that was happening to repaint and recarpet you know you do all that so I have this guy hired to lay the carpet in my house and it was it was a big homes it had missionaries like it a whole apartment thing in the basement that we used for missionaries it was a big place and so he and his assistant came and it was gonna be a two-day job now the house had an intercom system in it okay that went all through the house in theory you could you could you know set which room you wanted to talk to from the control panel down in the kitchen in theory you could speak to your kids and they would answer it was a nice theory but but the other thing you could do is you could hook it to a back in that day a CD player and you could play music all throughout you could play the radio all through the house or you could you could hook it to a CD player and play music and well we didn't have CD player in there yeah because we were just moving in so all we had was the radio huh wellness the carpool air came the first day and I subjected him the entirety of that first day to an all-day barrage of conservative talk radio I flogged him all day with with Limbaugh and Hannity and and you know the whole crew and and let's just let's just say it would appear to me based on his reaction that politically he did not necessarily ordinarily listen to those particular commentators would that be fair so at the end of the of the first day he came to me and he said he said we gotta work tomorrow to finish this and you're supposed maybe we could put it on a different radio station tomorrow well I mean I started saying dude it's my house but I didn't want to mess up my carpet and so I said well what what'd you have in mind he said how about Kaycee 95 now I've never listened to it once but I've seen the billboards and KC 95 in st. Louis is the big head banging heavy-metal rock music stay shot so that just I'm not happening ain't got time chase that many Devils out of my house I'm not doing that I'm sorry so he said what then how about country-western I didn't really care of the Devils regressive leather or denim I didn't really want them but I know well I can sanctify it later I don't want him messing up my carpets I said all right I can and besides I could turn it off in whatever room I was in each each thing at an individual speaker so I get nah but I could turn it off you know so all right so he's laying carpet and I've got the country-western station for the one-and-only day playing in the house I'm in the basement where he's already carpeted and I'm going around with paint touching up the baseboard because it scratches a baseboard when they put new carpet in so I'm Wharton on my knees probably needed to be going around and painting the baseboard so I'm crawling from from one room just into the next room you know and and I got in that room and I don't know if you have noticed as I have but his years have gone by gravity's getting stronger because getting up is harder than it used to be and so you know I was on my knees and the knob was up there I thought as I went on now that I tell you that whole story to explain to you how heard this song because I'm called around on the floor and the song comes on now hmm as I was describing if you tried to look very sanctimonious so you've never heard any anything like this when I start talking about this song don't act like you heard it okay you got to maintain the image that this song came on the radio and started playing and this has been admittedly you know good enough Lord probably 2005-2006 something like that and this is what the lyrics said okay now when I start don't if you want it to look like you don't know now's the moment the lyrics said this he said I was in my early 40s with a lot of life before me when a moment came that stopped me on a dime and I spent most of the next days looking at x-rays talking about options and talking about sweet time I asked him when it's sank in that this might really be the real end house it hits you when you get that kind of news man what you do and he said I went I said I know I know I know he said I went skydiving I went rocky mountain climbing I went two point seven seconds on a bull named bloomin shoe and I love deeper and I spoke sweeter and I gave forgiveness I'd been denied and here's the line the title song meant that mr. McGraw made so much money with and he said someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying he went on he said I was finally the husband that most of the time I wasn't and I became a friend a friend would like to have and all of a sudden going fishing wasn't such an imposition and I went three times that year I lost my dad I finally read the good book and I took a good long hard look at what I do if I could do it all again and then I went skydiving I went rocky mountain climbing he communicated in this song the importance of life and kind of enjoying the moments and he he said the perspective that brought him to that place was when you have an understanding that you're dying yeah I pray you'll pardon me tonight I don't really intend to try to produce a lot of chuckles this evening but I would like and I feel constrained of the Holy Ghost that the Spirit of God would like to accomplish in us spiritually what that song attempts to do emotionally because it would serve all of us well tonight to be remembered that this life is just an eye blink in eternity and that what we do here matters so very little compared to what goes on over there we've got to be reminded tonight that the sum of our days race by at such a furious pace and such an incredible rate that it before you know it a lifetime has passed away and when that closing day of our days arrives I wonder how much different on that day our priorities might be than they are when we think we've got an unending number of years before us I wonder how much different we might view some days somebody hear me right now I got a feeling when I draw my last breath little petty disagreements aren't gonna matter very much I don't think grudges will be held in that moment I think all the Sun will lay down every ambition in this life and decide it just doesn't matter when it's alongside our graves no I'm not giving you a warm case of the cheerful tonight trying to drag you forward some years into the future and look at what the end of our days will be and say how should I live right now knowing that that day is coming all of it is gonna be unimportant to us I wonder how much better we would be for God if we lived like we were dying need to remind you today of the transience of life our text reminds us that 70 years is really all we can expect and if 80 comes those closing ones will be days of pain I will confess to you two I read a while back a little something that says old it's 15 more than you are how old you are right now 15 more than that sounds old when you're 15 somebody that's 30 sounds old when you're 30 some others 45 sounds old when you're 45 somebody that's 60 I all of you're curious now I'm 54 now I don't mean to be unkind anybody that's right there but at 54 years old 69 sounds a little old sorry for those of you that are 75 didn't mean to do that to you you're 7 in 85 sounds already 500 sounds old it just it says that that it that it's that's 15 more than you are it's kind of the definition of old I'm 54 years old I like to think I'm middle-aged than I am if I live to be a hundred and eight I find it hard to get my mind around the pack tonight I preach that I'd understand they're young people and young adults hearing me it'll be a little hard for you to grasp this right now but I can hardly believe that it's been 30 years since I graduated three six years since I graduated from high school and it's been 33 years since in a moment of Glee I said I'd do so I don't know how it's happened I've turned around twice and decades have passed and all of a sudden my kids are grown and gone not ours but years have been consumed with working and playing diapers or washing clothes and it just seems to shake ourselves away from me and with every sunset coming ever closer to me is the day that waits on us all Hebrews 9:27 and as it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment you and I have an appointment I'm trying to be fatalistic we better be honest anything we're gonna do for God we better do it right now we better get busy with it right now you young parents you can't say but I'm so busy raising these kids I'll get my prayer life and harder when they're grown know now is the opportunity for those kids to hear you pray now is the chance rip into here you gotta grab this time now oh I pray I pray I pray that that appointment is many years in the future for every one of you but even hear me even if that appointment is still decades down the road time goes by so fast and you sell it's just human perception no that is the Word of God I don't think I gave these to you it's okay job seven and six my days are swifter than a Weaver's shuttle and are spent without hope Oh remember that my life is wind Psalm thirty nine and four Lord made me to know mine hand and the measure of my days what it is that I may know how frail I am behold thou has made my days has a hand breath and my age is that's nothing before you James 4 and 14 where has he know not what shall be on the morrow for what is your life it is but a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away scripture said your life my life is nothing more than like that vapor on old cold winter morning when you step out here in beautiful Michigan and that vapor shows up for just a minute rapture said that's what our life is like it may seem long in the passage but when you look at it through the light of eternity it's nothing you know a moment that rocked me to my core son for 9 years old he's just a little snot box he's nine years old he ain't even hit double digits yet and it hit me on that morning if he leaves home at 18 half my days to influence him are gone waiting on what am i holding off for at some point you gotta back up and say I gotta live this thing like I'm dying I'm gonna get to my point just stay with me death is a god-ordained part of life the conclusion of a life is woven into our existence from the very beginning and Jim 2:17 he said another tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die they died spiritually in an instant but the process of death began in them that moment physically oh yes I understand because the period of creation had not been ravaged by sin they live for an incredibly long time Adam lived to be 930 years old but he did die Methuselah the oldest of those that we know about lived him in 969 years old but when the time came he died consider what that means if Methuselah had died today he would have been born in the year 1054 said's when he was about fifty years old he would have been about 300 years old when the Black Death ravaged Europe he would have been 726 when the USA began but he'd had his sweet still be bury him today and he'd be just as dead trying to rattle you just a little bit to say you know what when I walk in the house of God on a Sunday I got I've got a worship now if I'm ever gonna pray I've gotta pray now I've gotta give now death isn't final and that's true and I'm very glad we don't sorrow like others aren't you thankful the death doesn't mean for us what it means for other people I heard a great story about a dear little later my heart's been moved today about this elder lady in your church that just wants to go on home I I read a little thing one time about this precious little old lady was on her deathbed it wasn't gonna be long unless something really changed the Lord intervened and somebody came to visit her and they they meant well and they said you know sister just it's just I hate to see you hate to see you leave in the land of the living she said oh no you got it all wrong I'm leaving the land of the dying I'm going to die into the living our perspective on this whole thing is different than our world I understand that it's all different for us I'm really glad the scripture has certain passages in it I'm really glad you can turn over to John 14 and read let not your heart be troubled he believed in God believe also in me in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you and if I go to prepare a place I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also I'm glad death in the end I'm glad that book says the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout in the voice of the Archangel the Trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first I'm really glad that book still says at the last Trump the dead are gonna be raised incorruptible when this corruption puts on in corruption when this mortal puts on immortality then is brought to pass the saying that is written death where is your sting I'm glad the grave has no victory death is not final for us final in regards to our eternity but it is final regarding what we're gonna do for him here when that's done there's nothing else to be done the Bible says this in the book of Ecclesiastes 11 and 3 it says if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north in the place where the tree falleth there shall it be death is final in regards there are opportunities to serve God to prepare our hearts for heaven to make right what needs to be made right to repent where it's needed death doesn't mark the final chapter of eternity but it does mark the last chapter that I get to write I'm just trying to be as simple as I can be tonight but any prayer I'm gonna pray I better get to pray in it now anybody I'm gonna teach a Bible study too I better get to teaching it now anybody I want to bring the church I better get to inviting them right now anybody I'm gonna forgive i better get about it right now any backslider i will reach out to I better get about it right now cuz we don't know how much more time we have and it's not just about when we breathe our last all it takes is one sound of the trumpet and all it takes is the coming of the Lord and whatever we're gonna do for God is done some of you may have known my bishop my pastor he went on to be with the Lord and September man I miss him his sweet wife married dougas passed away back in 2007 of of cancer now you got to know did you know her you know Mary she was a little southern belle she's from Jackson Tennessee she just sweet syrup she just sweet and kind gentle just olive press everything was pressing I'll pray he's his she prays he's I'm telling you to be talking about bin Laden oh he's precious I mean just a battery just everybody was sweet and precious wonderfulness all precious if sweetness sweetheart Frances I never saw I saw that lady I mean she would just Lord she was sweet just kind gentle and that didn't change but that last year of her life I watched her out conversations I'd never had ever seen her have before she walked through church just go up some teenage girl I'll make you a teenager hope that makes you feel good walk up to some teenage girl and say how precious I hadn't seen you in the altar in a while you need to be in the altar jesus is coming I heard her do that before she pulled her kids in she brought him in her house with her kids she's got a finger in her face I want you to live for God you don't want to burn in hell forever precious I mean she pulled those cuz she had a couple of one limb for God she pulled them kids in and she wasn't ugly but she got right up in their face you know what happened you had a doctor look at her and say you don't have much time left and the fact that she didn't have much time began to dictate how she I'm just preaching to somebody if we'd understand even if you've got 50 years that's not much time you know what prayer meeting would suddenly get more important I'm fixing a man myself in a minute all of a sudden being faithful to church wouldn't be a burden it'd be a privilege all of a sudden being a worshiper in song service wouldn't be a problem it'd be a privilege you know why cuz I don't know how much longer I've got and I want to give God everything i watch that presses lady go up and down her street invite every one of her neighbors to church why had she done that before she had years to do it before all of a sudden she knows it's weeks or months and that dictated even the devil understands this the Bible says in Revelation that Satan came down having great wrath knowing he has but a short time even the devil is racing the rapture even the devil has given everything he can because he knows he doesn't have much time I'm just trying to help somebody here tonight when the death rattle is in your throat there's no more time than to make things right there's no more time to get to the altar there's no more time to pray there's no more time to rearrange your priorities there's no more time to seek his kingdom first it's all I'm trying to be mr. McGraw tonight and say how would you live if you knew you were dying nobody gets that kind of news heavens lord please please I'm not I wouldn't want you to have to go through it I wouldn't want anybody to meet the doctor this week and the doctors say you probably won't see Christmas no how would you be in church next Sunday okay I'm not being ugly I'm not trying to be ugly it just comes natural but I promise you me too me too but if the doctor told me that Christmas was unlikely I just guarantee you church next Sunday will be like this I wish I had my phone you my phone wouldn't be like this cuz all the sudden there's not one thing on that phone that matters all the sudden the but the football scores don't matter all of a sudden who's texted me doesn't matter you know what matters is coming my family ready I gotta reach my neighbors I gotta see my church go forward I gotta have all the sudden everything gets screened out and filtered and the things that matter I was at home praying about coming up and I felt so impressed I was supposed to share this out I'm like doing this I'll still wrestle with God about on the airplane I got their plane up walking through the Detroit Airport last night six o'clock ish I saw store in the D terminal of the Detroit Airport the name of that store is frivolity and underneath it it says wonderfully unimportant store is selling stuff they're admitting you don't need just clutter just junk it's novel it's neat it's fun it's entertaining but there's nothing in this story you need there's nothing that this stores gonna cook your food or heat your house there's nothing in the store that you need to wear to stay warm in the winter there's nothing here that's really important just come in and waste some money on stuff that's wonderfully unimportant tie your life up and clutter your home with a bunch of frivolity just fill your days and shelves with stuff that really doesn't matter and I thought what a stupid thing and I took about three steps past it holy ghost check me that said Scott you better check your spiritual walk and make sure you haven't been shopping in that store you need to make sure your life's not cluttered up what they that are wonderfully unimportant until your days are filled with frivolity wit eternity is covered I'm asking somebody tonight I gotta focus on eternity and not serve Allah T I've gotta focus on what matters and not watch that important have to live I'm dying cuz you know what I am hope it's not this year I'm a dying man 54 like I said I like to think I'm middle-aged but I'm not I got a lot more Sun sets behind me than I've got in front of me I've got a lot more sermons I preach than I'll get to preach I got a lot and fewer chances to worship ahead of me than I have behind me right so that means when I walk in here and some is for the time they said why do you preach so passionately why do you worship like that cuz it might be the last time I ever get to work why do you go to go again if the doctor had told you yesterday this weekend's the last one you'll get you'll be dead within seven days I wonder how much he'd be in the altar tonight I wonder how much worship you'd be given I wonder how much praying you'd be doing you know what life would be changed say what's already true it's just sooner than you realize cuz it's coming for every one of us anyway even for new young people if it's 70 years of the future I know right now 70 years sounds like a long time but you're gonna turn around and blink twice and you're gonna be me wondering where the time went okay you this is pretty heavy I know you need a you need a story and I happen to have one in it convenient have a pastor friend another district one of the most brilliant one of the most brilliant men I've ever known incredible man of God great Church just sew together just just forward-thinking planner organizer is so good at what he did in his mid-40s he was given a diagnosis of a very grave disease that was ultimately gonna take his life the doctor told him something was so amazing to me this was just incredible he said preacher I tell you what I want you to do he said I want you to leave my office I want you to go down to Hobby Lobby or one of those places where all the ladies are and I want you to go in there and find a vase a big one a clear one now I'm not talking my little vase like you put on the on the table and stick half dozen roses in guys when you did something wrong I'm talking about one in big old mondo vases you know like your wife will sit over in the corner and fill up with dry weeds while we take allergy medication to try to keep from sneezing okay one of those kind of vases great big old thing he said now you're gonna have to go and visit every toy store in town to do what I'm about to tell you to do he said I want you to put in that vase 1825 blue marbles that's one a day for five years on top of that I want you to put 1095 white marbles thus one a day for three years and on top of that I want you to put 730 red marbles that's one a day for two years it's two years of red three years of white five years of blue he said now past her we're gonna take one out every day he said I'm gonna do everything I can medically to get you to a white one if you ever touch a blue one past her it will be because of your faith not my skill now let me give you good news okay that's probably been 20 years ago and he's still pastoring his church at Tennessee the vase is empty thank God but he told me he said Scott that vase changed my life because I said every morning when I get up and my feet hit the floor before I went in to brush my teeth before I went in to do anything he said I would walk over to that pace and I would reach inside and I'd pull out a marble and I would hold it up before the Lord and I would say this is the day that the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it he said and then I would put that marble in my pocket and I carried it with me all day long he said Scott every time I reached in my pocket that marble would preach to me I'd reach him to get my keys and that marble would say did you pray for your kids today he said I'd reach in to get my money clip and that marble would say who did you witness to today he said I'd be at the restaurant I reach in to get my credit card to pay for the meal and that marble would say were you timed to the waitress did you invite her to church what did you do for my kingdom today he said all day long that marble would preach to me and say you better do something I don't know how many more you get he said at the end of the day he said after I had my teeth brushed my own worn pajamas on he said the last thing I did before I laid my head down on the pillow as I would walk over to the trashcan and I'd take that marble and I'd drop it in because I never get that one back he said now my wife hated that vase because as the level kept going down she saw it as the fact that my life was going away she didn't like that vase until we emptied it and then it kind of became a point of celebration but he said she didn't like that thing because she looked like it was a visible sign that my life was wasting away but he said Scott in all my world I wouldn't have traded that vase for anything else I own I didn't my car up before I lost that vase he said I never have been a better Christian since I got that face I've never been a better pastor as I was once I got that vase because every day that thing said to me you better get about doing what God called you to do you better give yourself to it with everything you've got I don't care if you get bass I don't care if you get a marble but I wish you'd get up everyday and say god this is the day you made I'm gonna live this for you if you're a Sunday school teacher I wish you'd walk in next Sunday and teach like it's the last time to touch those kids maybe you teach those children on Wednesday night I pray you'd walk in here on Wednesday let's say I'm gonna give it the very best I've got cuz I don't know how many more times I'll get to touch these kids don't you get on the platform next Sunday and say God don't know if I'll ever get to do this again I'm gonna give my very best standing this pulpit of preacher kg what are you doing God's kingdom whatever it is I pray you are dying a friend of mine said I have never been a better husband than I've been since I got that face I've never been as good he said I wish I wish I had that face when my kids were born I'd have done a better job raising my kids I wish I had that face the day after I got married I'd have been a better husband he said I wish I had that face the first day I was pastoring this church I'd be a better pastor I'm just saying everybody you don't have to get a basement in your heart thank God I'm gonna live this day when everything I've taught because I am a dying man don't wait for the doctors words to rakia while you still got your strength while you still got the time while you still got the energy I preach to those really little younger don't wait till your body starts falling apart you don't have strength enough to do it give yourself to God now because the approaching footsteps of our death calls us to make some choices well I value eternal things or temporal things see okay come on let's just admit it it's pretty easy to get caught up in this life we spend more time concentrating on these 17 they would do getting ready for the next million we worry more about the condition of our home here in our home there I'm asking you tonight to examine something in your heart what matters to you what captivates your time what commands your attention what controls your desires what orders your priorities what dictates your dreams I'm just telling you thinking that Airport has worked on me I don't want to stand before God one day and he examines my life and sees it's full of the wonderfully unimportant somebody someone tested all by fire one day every man builds on this thing wood hay stubble wood hay stubble gold silver precious stones so I'll try a fire to see what remains and all that temples just gonna burn up and be gone I'm asking you do you spend more time on your home here or your home there are you more interested in amassing treasure here or laying up treasure there do you concentrate more on your fiscal security or your eternal security what matters to you because I can assure you when you draw your last breath you may have some regrets but one of them will not be I wish I'd spent more time on the job and less time with my family nobody on their deathbed has ever said to me you know pastor I sure wish I'd prayed less I've never had anybody the closer to I say you know I really regret the time I spent teaching Bible studies never had anybody tell me why wish I'd been less regular less faithful the house of God no but I've seen elder after held her saying if I could do it all again I'd give more I'd give more some years ago we had a nominal helmet one over some miles apart but we had this thing in the Midwest where I where I'm at it's been I don't know three four or five years ago something like that it it snowed every Saturday for like a month and a half now as a pastor you just like seriously I mean I know school kids they're doing the same thing why not well you know what pastors are saying the same thing snow every Saturday we don't ever cancer search we cancel more Church in that five stretch there I mean it's just world every I told my wife I told Bishop dudas I said we're having church this Sunday I don't care if nobody's there but me and the missus I'll preach what she needs to hear or I'll let her preach is what I need to hear we'll be there a long time I said we're having Church don't care whatever I'm Church we're having church I sent out the word don't even call don't even check we're having Church I don't care if the if the if the dogsleds can't get out we're having Church well sure enough now I'm sure for you beloved folks up here this would not be a big snow I know when you live in st. Louis you get eight inches that's a big snow okay sure enough man Saturday Saturday and Saturday evening overnight Saturday night it snowed about 8 inches we're having church we are having church so I got on the phone that morning I called a bunch of young bucks got all the young guys I said meet me there we're cleaning the walk we're having church so we got I'm in a suit man I'm shoveling snow and we're trying to get the sidewalks the steps cleaned off the plow has not even been there yet to plow the parking lot and but we're cleaning the sidewalks in I'm please understand in spite of my admonition not to call I have already gotten about 10 phone calls that morning from young able-bodied young couples families saying pastor it's bad I don't think we'd get there all right whereas they're shoveling sidewalks in the first car other than my shovel and crew pulls in the parking lot it's one of our founding members Marion Gunn that's Terri guns daddy he's 90 well I guess then he was probably about 86 87 he's pulling apart luck he can't even find the handicap spot he just pulls in and gets close and he gets out it gets out his Walker POW and rush through this I went running down there to him when I get to be a preacher I preached a message by this title some day I ran down there to him I said L what are you doing here he looked at me and said in it Sunday I'm gonna be faithful I don't care about whether I don't care about problems I'm 86 I don't know how many more years I've got if it's Sunday I'm going to church what gets up the data Lords that says I'm committed to this I don't care what happens I don't care bad against I don't care tough against I don't know how much longer I'm gonna live like I don't care about things here I care about things there well I build my kingdom while I build his we're all called to invest our lives in his vineyard this life here is not our own we are just stewards of it what will I do with his life will we spend our 70 years building our kingdom or building his how many the 25,550 hours that the psalmist offered us what we invested his kingdom do you realize in a year I'm sorry to show them in 250 level in a year you know there's 8760 hours that's a year 8700 so much you know if you're in church we're maybe in church about 260 hours a year that was my best guess for our church there's 8760 we're here 260 of them oh we're in church so much it is a stated fact it's been proven across organizational structures of all kinds religious non-religious that 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people your pastor told me tonight he said Sunday nights these are my leaders that's why God had me orchestrated do this tonight cuz I'm not preaching everybody it may be true for everybody but sure the group that can receive it you're the influencers you're the faithful people there hear hear me tonight you are the 20% that probably does 80% of the work but I don't want you to feel bitter or begrudge you look at it from this perspective I've given God everything I can because I've only got a little while to work for him I'll rest when I get over there I'll lay all the burdens down when I get over there but right now I've got one chance I'm asking you tonight God is calling you to invest your life and your family in the church God is calling you to make building his kingdom your eyes priority hey parents I encourage you to take time away with your family I'm not talking about never having a vacation I'm not talking about never time away with your family but you are not cheating your kids and you're not mistreating your kids when you bring them to church work night I'm gonna a man myself in a minute can you tell I'm a recovering pastor you are not mistreating your kids when you teach them of faithfulness to church is the most important thing in this world you are not cheating your kids when you give your tithes and you give your offering and you can't buy all the brightest toys that other people have you're not cheating them you teach those kids to be faithful by your example you live in a life like you're dying you have to understand I'm almost finished I spent a significant portion of my ministry for several years investing in young people there was a day I know this is shocking all your young people there was a day I was the youth president I know it's you find it hard to believe my daughter was about 17 years old Jessica she's about 17 years old something like that and she had this Epiphany she had this moment she looked at me and she said wait a minute she was eight years old while I left the youth division okay but she remembers it but she said wait wait wait wait a minute she said you she said you were Shay man he was the youth president during her teen years and she said you were your Shay man I said that's correct she said no no she said no he's cool I looked at her I said sweetheart I'm gonna tell you something that's gonna keep you up at night and give you bad dreams there was a whole generation of young people who thought I was cool I spent a large portion of my time preaching to teens and young adults and I would say to them things like you need to serve Him while you're young that's a biblical principle remember now that creator in the days of thy youth that's a Bible principle that's a valid point do you hear me if I can preach it to anybody I ought to get serious about it as those of us who see the years flying by because my chances I've got fewer chances and those teenagers have if anybody ought to get serious about it it's those of us who realize that life is running away with us and as the years go on we should have greater and greater commitment because we realize we have shorter and shorter time to do something for God I want of you to stand with me tonight years ago the songwriter put out a song so incredibly powerful you'd have to be of my generation to remember it or mine or maybe even a little over back when I was a kid Lanny wolf had that song how we used to sing only one life so soon it will pass wholly what's done for Christ will last only one chance to do his will so give to Jesus all your days it's the only life that pays when you recall you have but one life I don't know which song is more effective that one of the one that mr. McGraw wrote but I know the Word of God is the one that's the most effective and the Word of God says take a look for just a minute your life is but a vapor that appears for a minute and then passes away anything you're gonna do for God you need to get to doing it does that make sense so you know preacher I've never really developed a personal prayer life I keep planning to get around to that you better get started because Jesus is coming I really need to go talk to my neighbors and get to know them a little bit and invite them to come to church you need to do that this week because Jesus is coming you know I really have never been a worshiper like I know a lot of people then you need to get started because Jesus is coming how would you close your eyes with me right now how would this week be different than last week if you got up every morning with a clear awareness that you are a dying man or woman now again it would grieve me no end it would break my heart if your past tried to call me in a couple of weeks and say man somebody there that I've got horrible medical news this week no no I'm I'm not suggesting dying in the sense of some premature death certainly that could happen any one of us all it takes is one drunk driver to cross the lane on the way home and eternity starts tonight we live within uncertainties of life I know that but I'm not talking about something tragic or something or shaking or something that would bring any of us to that point out of due season no I'm just talking about the fact that life is a vapor and whatever you and I are gonna do we've got it you're gonna teach your kids to pray you have to get after it we're gonna teach your kids the oneness of God and memorized some verses of Scripture that talk about Jesus name baptism can't leave that sunday-school teacher you got to get about it you got to get busy you gotta get to doing it what do you want to be for God what do you want to do for God what do you want to offer God whatever that's gonna be you got to do it now now I know it would be easy so heavy message and I don't even like preaching like this but boy when I walked through that airport something swings to my spirit to know I was in the vein of the of the Holy Ghost for tonight for whatever reason God wanted you to hear this this evening I'm just asking and I who there is among us it might be willing it how would you pray how how quickly would you respond in the altar if you knew this was the last ultra service you'd ever have before you see God face to face think about that how much would I have to beg you to come pray if you knew this was the last time you'd ever get that chance would it be hard to go get you kids and say come on we're going to the altar together if you knew this was the last time you'd ever pull them in close beside you and pray with them would you really be in a hurry to get to Wendy's if you if you really knew that this was the last time how would tomorrow be different than yesterday if you got up tomorrow morning and you pulled a marble out of your mental vase and said God this one and living this one for you I have unburdened my soul I feel released in the spirit for what God constrained me to do this is now in your hands I invite you if you'd like to come consecrate some things to God this altar is open you come do what feels right to you and the Holy Ghost but God invites you tonight to come pray like a dying man would pray God invites you to consecrate your life like a dying person would consecrate them lies God invites you right now to come I don't know what else to do if if God has only spoken to one or two that's adequate but I really think like everybody here tonight probably I ought to find a place to pray and probably if you can everybody can't but probably if you can't you ought to get down on your knee and humble yourself a little bit on the side of God put your face in the carpet and say God I've gotten a little caught up in my own life I've got a little caught up in things down here I've been shopping for a little bit for volunteer filling my days with the wonderfully unimportant but God my hunger my desire tonight is to reconsecrate my heart to you and live the way you want me to now they're gonna sing but I need you to let your voice out of your mouth right now and pray a prayer of consecration before God would you would you lift your voice that you can about your head that's fine but your voice has to be involved I want you to pray and seek God tonight like a dying man would pray how would a dying man lay hands on his kids how would a dying man worship how would a dying man playing his weak what would a dying man do to get ready for the coming of the Lord that's what I'm asking you to do tonight give yourself to God unreservedly this evening live like you're dying to be I'll see you I should leave is to be [Music] that's what I'll be [Music] what you want me to me house [Applause] [Music] my is to be [Music] that's what [Music] me [Music] with me I'll say [Music] what me too what you called me to be I'll see [Music] Mises is to me me too that's love [Music] what you tell me harshly my teas not sure yes you call me to be that's what hallelu [Music] what you call me I'll see lord my [Applause] you what [Music] that's what [Music] I [Music] I'll say [Music] [Music] what you called me teary [Music] hi [Applause] my ears yes for me to read [Music] Oh [Music] you is degree please that's world [Music] three with you I [Music] No me yeah [Music] ah [Music] [Music] Jesus me [Music] Jesus me the [Music] but kingdoms of my [Music] Jesus me [Music] Jesus [Music] Jesus Pisa the kingdom son [Music] I pray Jesus be [Music] Jesus be [Music] me [Music] [Music] my Jesus or oh Jesus I see [Music] soon [Music] Jesus he Jesus [Applause] [Music] [Music] Jesus pee Muse's [Music] [Music] mom is a speed hello [Music] okay Oh Jesus feed [Music] look my Jesus sir to [Music] [Music] Jesus [Music] Jesus [Music] the key [Music] me love [Music] the key would you sing it is Oh [Music] Jesus he the kingdom [Music] Surrender is a sign [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] heard the word of the Lord my prayer would be that what God has spoke to us individually we heard the corporate message about living like you're dying but in the midst of that message God has spoken each one of us revealing areas changes need to come about in our lives don't be so hastily get up from this room and leave without realizing that was God speaking to us tonight God spoke to us corporately but I know he spoke to all of us individually what are those areas what is that commitment like in my life and I need to change brother Graham was absolutely right those that show up on when Sunday nights are our steady that hard deep-rooted individuals and I thank you for that but I was so convicted a couple weeks ago that I can get so busy doing Church work that I forgot the god of the church we could get so busy doing things around church and think well look what I'm doing but I need to take a closer look at my life as Jesus the Lord of everything in my life praise God thank you brother Graham for the word of the Lord would you say amen to that thank God that we have the ability to go back online and pick that up I would HIGHLY advise you to years ago we used to make you buy a tape you don't even have to buy a tape anymore you just go online and watch it all over again watch it as you drive down the road watch it as you sit in your living room when you could turn other things off and say God would you speak to me one more time and you know what the god that's in this house right now will be the god that will show up in your car show up in your living room wherever you'll spend time to just allow God to speak thank you brother Graham for the word of the Lord we're leaving this house living like no one that we're living like we're dying to borrow and we're gonna see what God will do in our hearts in our lives praise God is that lady on the radio says they'll go do the right thing let's go just do the right thing let's live right let's wake up tomorrow I'll reach for that marble thank God for another day say God what are you gonna have me do today what would happen to Saginaw Valley of all of us corporately would live like that the revival that we talked about last week would be something that's way out in the future somewhere it would be a revival that happens today would you stand with me right now or what I love you and I thank you for your word I thank you for your sweet presence that's in this house lord thank you that Lord you were concerned enough about us that you would send a man of God I preach a message to us that would stir us god I pray that it would just so soon leave us and as we wake up tomorrow this week in this month this year realizing that we have a purpose in this life we must fulfill it I pray now Lord that your hand would rest on brother Graham used mightily for your kingdom and his family bless his children and his wife bless his family Lord that the name of the Lord may be lifted high bless your people now I pray as we leave this house thank you for a great day in the house of God thank you for showing up once again in this house and Lord we yield ourselves to you the kingdoms of our hearts would you lead and guide and direct us I pray in the name of Jesus we pray god bless you Jesus me [Music] little Oh

Channel: Saginaw Valley UPC

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Id: PyyYZ9UqGc4

Length: 100min 48sec (6048 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 13 2019