The Hour Has Come

by Don Sisk

Jesus said more than once that His hour had not yet come. However, just a few hours before He was to be crucified, He proclaimed in John 12:23, “The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified.”

When people came seeking Jesus, Andrew and Philip brought them to Him. His greeting was, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit,” John 12:24. In other words, He came to die for sinners. He must die. If He remained only a miracle worker, a great teacher, or a great example, He could not save man from his sin. He must pay for man’s sins. He must become sin so that mankind could receive His righteousness. He gave His life so that we could have life. He died so that we could live. What a wonderful Saviour!

As we stand on the threshold of a new millennium, only three short years away from the year 2000, I wonder if we have heeded the exhortation of the Psalmist when he prayed in Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” If I live until my birthday, May 30, I will have lived 23,360 days. If I live the allotted time as provided in Psalm 90:10, I will have 2,190 days left on this earth. These are not many days compared to the days I have already lived. I must ask myself the question, “What will I do with my remaining days, whether they are few or many?”

Considering the challenges presented to us in our generation, I trust that we, with the attitude of our Lord, will say, “The hour is come that I should do the work that the Lord has given me to do.” For the Lord, that meant dying. For serious Christians, it means the same thing. If we are to reach the great masses of unreached people of the world, we must die.

WE MUST DIE TO PERSONAL RIGHTS

Some of us must die to ideas or concepts that are not necessarily Biblical but are our personal preferences. Some of us must die to what we thought were our rights: our right to be comfortable; our right to possessions; our right to enjoy health and life; our right to be honored, respected and thanked. The cause of Christ is much greater than our rights.

WE MUST DIE TO CRITICISM

If Jesus had stopped to answer all his critics, He never could have finished the work He was sent to do. We cannot please everyone. We must be sure we are right with God and doing His work in His way. We must forget what people think. Refuse to answer critics; Jesus will answer them for us.

WE MUST DIE TO PRAISE

Many good people are hindered from a life of great service to God and mankind because they begin to read their press clippings. The sad thing in our time is that often the information for the article is dictated by the person being featured. John the Baptist set the example for us when he said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” By the way, He will never increase in our lives until we decrease. Don’t be spoiled by praise. Praise is like chewing gum. It does taste good, but it is not to be swallowed. Die to praise from man; praise belongs to the Lord.

WE MUST DIE TO OUR DESIRES

In our materialistic society, dying to our own desires is a forgotten virtue. We want whatever the world tells us we need. We want it in our time regardless of the cost. We are working ourselves to death to buy time-saving devices, luxury items, etc. We are strange people. We have more than most people of the world could ever dream of having. However, we are spending money we do not have in order to buy things we do not need so we can impress people we do not like. Die to selfish desires; live for the desires of our risen Saviour.

WE MUST DIE TO OUR WILL

Where are the Christians who will pray as our Lord did when He faced death on the cross, “Not my will, but thine be done?” Would not the mission fields be flooded if the millions of Christians of our day would pray that prayer? Would not the finances to support worldwide evangelism be sufficient if individuals and churches would seek God’s will for their finances? Pray and seek God’s will regarding the investment of your life and possessions.

THE HOUR HAS COME

Jesus could come at any hour. His coming does appear to be soon, does it not? Millions who have never heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ are dying every week. The harvest is ripe. The labourers and the means for the labourers are few. Where are the serious Christians who will say, “It is time for me to do the things that God has sent me into this world to accomplish”? Will you respond positively? “Here am I, send me. Here are my possessions, use them anyway you desire.” Your proper response could result in millions knowing our wonderful Saviour. However, if your response should result in only one person knowing Him, it would be worthwhile. One soul is worth more than the world. Christ died for you. This is individual love. Oh yes, He died for the world, but if you had been the only one in the world, He still would have died just for you. You are important to Him as are all of the billions of people who are living in our generation. This is Our Hour.