"The Time Of Life"
The Lord and two angels appeared at Abraham's tent door; Abraham ran and dressed meat to give sustenance to them. They asked Abraham, "Where is Sarah thy wife? And he (Abraham) said, Behold, in the tent. "And he said I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah, thy wife shall have a son." Sarah heard and laughed, saying, "After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" Sarah was past childbearing years, being 90, and Abraham was 100. And it came to pass that "according to the time of life," Sarah became pregnant with Isaac. It's not over until GOD says it's over! There was a "time of life," a new birth, a restoration, a beginning of new things for Sarah ... and guess what? YOUR "time of life" is coming!
"And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the
the cankerworm and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm ..."
(Joel 2:25)
(Nathan the Prophet, with David, after he
committed adultery with Bathsheba)
"Thou art the man!"
The Prophet revealed David's sin through an intricate story of how a poor man had a precious ewe lamb and a rich man took it and killed it to feed a traveler, instead of taking from his own herd. David became furious, saying "that" man should surely die. Nathan looked him in the eye, as only a Prophet can do, and said, "thou art the man." (The story Nathan told was an allegory of David seeing Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop, desiring her, and taking her. Then, to cover his sin, he sent Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, who loved her dearly, to the battlefront to be killed, so he could have Bathsheba for himself and to cover up the fact that she was pregnant with David's baby.) {Behold the Prophets of the Lord; God "reveals" to them!} David hung his head in shame and said, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan said to David, "The Lord also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die." After this, David, in his utter state of repentance, wrote the beautiful Psalm 51:
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according
to your great compassion blot out my transgressions."
David's time of life came and he was restored. All through the Bible, people were forgiven, restored, resurrected; "the time of life" came to give them a rebirth, a second chance, and a reason to lift their heads once again.
Job restored!
Job's trial of losing all of his children, all of his cattle, all of his servants, all of his wealth, and his very health, came to a hideous culmination when his wife said, "curse God and die." But, Job never charged God foolishly for his unbelievable torments. His trial lasted nine months, and then he came to "his time of life." However, this was only after the Lord asked him a few definitive questions like, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" Job was sufficiently convinced that God "knows" what He's doing and He "knows what He's talkin' about!" "After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before." (Job 42:10)
Life really doesn't begin until one is born again; before that, we are all just existing. But, when we repent, we are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, and we receive the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues as the Spirit of the Lord enters our bodies, we begin "LIFE!"
What about you? Do you want back what the "cankerworm" stole? You gotta' have some fight! Say a few things like, "I ain't no ways tired; I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me!" And, hey, don't laugh when God says you're gonna' have a baby! Everybody has to have a "new birth," a new beginning, a new creative moment ... Rise from the dust, weary one! It's time to throw off the grave clothes, and proclaim YOUR "Time Of Life!"
Lazarus!
(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.
PromiseLand church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)
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