INL April 30, 2004  

SOUNDING OUT:
Behold, Now Is the Accepted Time

  In Isaiah 49:8 the prophet spoke God’s Word saying, “Thus saith the LORD, in AN acceptable time have I heard thee, and in A day of salvation have I helped thee.” In 2 Corinthians 6:2, Paul quoted this Old Testament promise to hear, help, and preserve His people, and then added, “Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation.” Primarily, his point was that the salvation the world had so long sought was now available through the accomplished works of Jesus Christ; the day of salvation had come. Nevertheless, a more immediate application is also implied. That is: That today, the present day, is the day of salvation. To not claim our salvation today puts us in jeopardy of never receiving it. Yesterday is history, and tomorrow is only a dream. Today is the only time we have, and today is epitomized in one little three letter word—NOW.

  Of the things the word “now” conveys, at the top of the list is a sense of urgency. There was a sense of urgency about salvation among the people the apostles taught. Three thousand obeyed the gospel on the day of Pentecost, the first day it was preached (Acts 2:41). The same day he learned about Jesus, the Ethiopian Eunuch asked if he could be baptized (Acts 8:35-38). The Philippian jailer was baptized “the same hour of the night” he heard and believed (Acts 16:33). There should likewise be a sense of urgency in the message we preach.

  The great truths of eternity must be captured and enjoyed, NOW. Although we are guaranteed to live forever, none of us are guaranteed to live tomorrow. Albert Einstein said, “Yesterday’s the past and tomorrow’s the future. Today is a gift?which is why they call it the present.” It’s what we do with this “present,” the here and now, which makes all the difference in eternity.

  Remember the dramatic healing of a lame man at the temple gate beautiful? The man was placed there daily for years, but one day Peter challenged him saying, “Look on us.”

Acts 3:5-9:
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

  What happened that day for that man? He made a choice… a choice to be whole… he received his salvation. Peter explained it later in chapter four.

Acts 4:10-12:
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

  The man made a choice to believe, but before he did, Peter made a choice to open his mouth. He spoke in the name of Jesus Christ, and at that moment in time, eternity was affected. The Lord God Almighty Who inhabits eternity reached into his life, and he was made whole. Choices were made that changed eternity for his man and many others who believed because of the miracle they saw in this man’s life. It is choices like this that bring the power of the eternal God into manifestation in the reality of the present. That’s the eternal NOW!

Deuteronomy 30:19,20:
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Joshua 24:15:
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

  When we know the will of God the best time to act upon it is NOW. The choices we make now. make all the difference in how we will spend eternity. Too many of us let what has happened in the past influence what we are doing in the present. Regret over the past and fear for the future only serve to cripple us in the present. The present is the only time we have to live and move and have our being in Him.