Sermon Snippet – If Deadlines Don’t Kill Me, I’ll Work ‘Til I Die
INTRODUCTION – The word deadline has ominous origins and overtones. During the Boer War of 1899-1902 in South Africa, Dutch prisoners of war were placed together, lines were drawn around them, and British guards were ordered to shoot any prisoner that crossed a line – hence, the term deadline. For us today, it means time demands, onerous obligations, stress. Let us consider a bit of what the Bible has to say on this issue. I wonder if I will meet my noon deadline.
1. NOT EVERYTHING IS A CRISIS
Do you recall the Y2K hysteria? How can AI kill us all within a decade when we were promised that climate change will wipe us out by 2030? With the election of President Trump, democracy is destroyed – except, of course, it isn’t. The sky is falling – no, it isn’t, although one day it will collapse (Revelation 6:12-17). Certainly a time limit can create a crisis: knowing that you have to go to the doctor sometime in the next ten years is not the same as an ambulance trip to the emergency room in the next ten minutes. The Rapture of the Church or the death of the believer, as we have recently studied, is real (although we do not know the timing of either). There is a limiting time factor. I would argue that the great existential crisis is spiritual, as we just read in Revelation 6. The surprised responses of the people in Malachi (1:1-2, 6-7; 2:17; 3:7-8, 13-15) tell us that this attitude of shocked sensibilities is a sham. Saying to God “What are You talking about?” is never a good idea and, in fact, reveals a personal crisis point. Making everything into a crisis obscures the real problem of personal sin.
2. WE ALL NEED STRUCTURE IN OUR LIVES
I try to look at deadlines as needed structure in my life; I do not want to live an aimless, wandering existence. I may ramble sometimes when I’m preaching, but I do not want to be a rambling man. I often return to the account of Elijah (I Kings 17-19). The perturbed prophet receives specific work to do (19:15-16) – what we often today call purpose. Another memorable Old Testament example is Esther, who saves her people from genocide (see especially Esther 4:13-14). The words of Moses in Psalm 90:12 must resonate with each one of us: “So teach us to number [to value] our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Let us value the purpose that God graciously places in our lives.
3. LET US SEE DEADLINES, THEN, AS EVIDENCES OF GOD’S SOLICITOUS SOVEREIGNTY
The example of Jesus Christ, God the Son, is ever before us. He never forgot the purpose of His Incarnation: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). His self-imposed divine deadline is an exemplary example to us: “And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). This literal deadline defined the ministry of our Lord.
CONCLUSION – Jesus completed His saving mission. May each one of us trust in Him for eternal salvation, and may we learn to appreciate the kind structure that He gives each day.