WISDOM FROM COUNTING

 WISDOM FROM COUNTING

A brush with death will sometimes have a dramatic effect upon a person. It can (and has) cause(d) people to re-evaluate their priorities and reset their life on a completely different course. This phenomena has been the basis for several Hollywood blockbusters including, Big Fish (starring Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito), and Meet Joe Black (starring Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt) are two great examples. But it’s not just the stuff of movies. Throughout history there have people who have had a brush with death which has shaped them to live a life without fear and accomplish extraordinary things. Examples include Martin Luther, who nearly died in a storm and cried out to God to save him (he is now the second most written about person of all time), and Winston Churchill who nearly drowned as a child. How differently would you live if you knew when you were going to die?

¶ So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

MAKE YOUR DAYS COUNT

Talk to an older person and you’ll often hear them say that the years have flown by. In fact, I heard one man nearing his 70th birthday remark, “The years fly by while the days drag on!” The apostle Paul was someone who knew that he was about to face death. Before he left this life for the next, he wrote to his protégé, Timothy and said:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. ¶ Do your best to come to me soon.
Second Timothy 4:7-9

Paul described his life as like running a race and his death as being like a finish-line — but not the end of his life (since he went on to describe receiving a crown after the race). The grave is not the end of our life. Paul had lived a life where he had reasons to be confident that he could finish well. He wasn’t saying that he had been perfect, in fact, he describes himself as the greatest of all sinners (1Tim. 1:15). What Paul did do though was to make the most of the negative circumstances he was in so that he could be a blessing to others. From his imprisonment in Rome he wrote his epistles to the Ephesians (Eph. 6:20), the Colossians (Col. 4:18), to Titus, Philemon (Philem. 1:9) and to Timothy (2Tim. 2:9). And while he refers to be imprisoned, he never asked for his recipients to pray for his release or for his circumstances to be improved. Rather, his concern was for those he was writing to. To the Colossians, the death-row apostle counselled-

¶ Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
Colossians 4:5

Making the best use of time requires wisdom. The psalmist said that when we realise our days are numbered we will develop a heart for wisdom (Psalm 90:12). I guess therefore that the opposite is also true — that when ignore that our days are numbered and we assume that our lives will continue on indefinitely, we are more inclined to live foolishly. This is why the story of King Hezekiah’s final years is even more tragic than it ordinarily would be.

 

THE MAN WHOSE DAYS WERE NUMBERED

How different would you start living today if you knew when your life on earth would end? One of Israel’s greatest kings became horribly sick. He called for Isaiah the prophet to pray for him. Instead, the LORD spoke to King Hezekiah and told him that he was about to die. Hezekiah then wept bitterly and made an impassioned plea to God to preserve his life. Remarkably God did. Before Isaiah had left the palace the LORD once again spoke to him and gave him the remedy for Hezekiah’s illness and the news that God was going to give the king a further 15 years of life. Hezekiah’s days were then literally numbered (5,478 days left).

And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment,
Hebrews 9:27

What Hezekiah did with his 15 years of grace stands as a solemn warning for all God’s people. Rather than doing what the apostle Paul would later do, Hezekiah tragically grew increasingly arrogant and conceited. He mistook his increased wealth and fame as God’s blessing and approval. Rather than working at leaving a material and spiritual legacy, Hezekiah sired a successor who would commit the most godless atrocities in all of Israel’s history, and lead Israel into idolatry, apostasy, and its eventual destruction.

Plan for the future but live as if this day may be your last!

Not many of us will have the historical and global impact of a Martin Luther or a Winston Churchill, but we can gain a heart of wisdom to live our remaining days well by learning to number our days. While getting your golf handicap down or taking a cruise to another south Pacific island may be high on your Must-Do list, they probably shouldn’t be at the top of your list. The wisdom that comes from numbering your days should drive you to what the Westminster Shorter Catechism declares is the “chief end of man”, or, ‘the highest purpose of every person’ : The chief end of man is to know and enjoy God forever. Jesus described this as –

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ¶ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:33-34

We may not know when the finish-line of our race on earth will be, but we can still make sure that we run our race well and make each of our remaining days count by sowing seed into the soil of the future and taking deliberate steps to walk more closely with Christ through prayer and the guidance of His Word.  

¶ So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

 

Your pastor,

Andrew

The Importance of Looking

The First Look

Before my accident, I had already participated in two advanced rider training courses. One of the things that was stressed by our experienced professional trainers, was the importance of looking. They made us go through some drills where we had to suddenly dodge some obscured obstacles with one simple instruction: look where you need to go - not what's stopping you from getting there. My unfortunate accident didn't provide me with the opportunity to employ this new skill (because I was blindsided from behind). But this principle of looking is not limited to advanced motorcycle riding. It's also a life-skill.

A potential road accident provides several distractions. On a motorcycle your best chance of minimising harm is to look at where you have to go rather than the potential collision ahead demanding your attention. Even at the time, I pondered how profound the Advance Rider Trainer's words were. So many harmful things in life are caused by a lack of focus on the right things. I think the most common harmful distraction is the Urgent. We should always keep the Important as a higher priority. Yet urgent things jump out at us on the road of life and scream for our attention.

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?
Matthew 6:31

Not all distractions are themselves harmful. Our family has just had two weeks of delightful distractions. In the midst of times like this it is too easy to forget what Jesus taught about what should be our focus. At a time when the Romans had recently come through and massacred Galileans, Jesus gathers the survivors and nearby residents on a hillside and begins to tell them how they can have a blessed life by forgiving, serving underservedly, and being kind to their enemies! Sure, most people were still reeling from the recent Roman atrocities, but their most common distractions were far more urgent: What are we are going to eat or wear? In the midst of such horrific and mundane distractions, Jesus teaches the supreme instruction about priorities andlooking.

¶ "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Matthew 6:24

"Seek first", Jesus said. This tells us clearly that He regards what He is about to say as the priority for His followers. The fact that we have to be told to put this "first" indicates just how difficult this will be for us because we have so many other things vying for our attention (especially urgent things). But Jesus isn't giving us a merely urgent imperative. He is giving His followers the most important imperative. When it comes to priorities, this is "first", says Jesus.

We are told not just to make this our first priority, we are told how to do it. We are to seek. Last week, Kim lost her iPhone. We rushed back to the motel to seek it (to no avail). Compared to what Jesus is about to tell us to seek, an iPhone (despite costing $1200) is worthless! Christ tells us to seek. I guess the fact that we spent so much time and effort looking for a gadget indicates how Christ wants us to enact this supreme priority. He told the story of a woman who relentlessly searched high and low for a single coin lost in her house as a model for how we are to seek and the extraordinary effort required to obey Him in this.

¶ "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.'
Luke 15:8-9

"Seek first the Kingdom of God" Jesus said. Seek. First. The Kingdom of God. To His original audience, the Kingdom of Rome was all encompassing. It impacted every area of their lives. Jesus says, don't look to Rome. Don't seek Roman approval. Seek the Kingdom of God - first - where My Father is King.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

This is done through prayer and faith. Prayer, that surrenders our heart to God and acknowledges that He is King of our life. Faith, that takes up the Word of God and communes with our King each day. Prayer, that we might better know and represent our King. Faith, that we might obey our King even when so many distractions hinder us from doing so. Prayer, that increasingly sounds like worship. Faith, that increasingly acts like we love our King.

The next time you are distracted, either pleasantly or sadly, remember to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness(Matthew 6:33). Is Christ and His Kingdom "first" in your life? The New Testament lists three firsts for the follower of Christ: 1. Seek First the Kingdom of God; 2. Treat the Gospel as of First Importance (1Cor. 15:1-4); 3. Return to your First Love (Rev. 2:1-7). Be a person who puts first things first. Resolve to be a person of deep prayer and deep faith. When you do, quietness becomes your aid and your Bible your companion. This will rarely be urgent, but it will always be important.

Ps. Andrew