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.
