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Living Hope SDA Church

Christian Martin

Prioritizing by Faith, Not by Sight

Thank you, Amanda and Gracie, for that beautiful and inspired song.

How many of you remember the panic of the year 2000 computer bug, otherwise known as Y2K?

Many of you weren't born, I understand that.

What's interesting is that many countries invested millions of dollars, literally, in backup systems and upgrades to prevent disasters.

The total cost of the work done in the United States of America alone in preparation for Y2K was upwards of $100 billion.

And in the end, I don't have to tell you, at the end, absolutely nothing happened.

When the Computer dates turned from 99 to 00.

And consequently, country after country after country reported no serious effects.

The chairman of the Council on Year 2000 Conversion said of his organization's global tracking, he said, at this point, we are not aware of anything that is broken as a result of Y2K.

All that, all that panic, all that stress, all that anxiety, all that money.

And as they say, if a day broke, don't fix it.

Yet, was anything learned from this experience?

Come on, there has to be something that we learned from that experience.

He said, the truth of the matter is this.

All the hype forced companies to do 1 thing and 1 thing alone.

It forced competent managers around the globe to examine their computer systems.

It forced them to examine their computer systems.

You know, when the end of all things appears To be on hand, man was compelled to reprioritize and examine what matters the most.

My message today is entitled, prioritizing by faith, not by sight.

Will you bow your heads with me as we acknowledge God.

Father in Heaven, yes, Lord, throughout the history of this world, There's been impending disaster.

And nearly every time, without exception, as a society, as humanity, we are called to examine our lives and examine what is most important to us.

And we're pausing, Lord, to acknowledge you and pray that you would speak to our hearts, for We know that the end of all things is at hand.

Have us, Lord, understand what matters most in these last days.

The devil is getting more and more wickedly furious.

And Time is running short to steal, kill, and destroy, because that's all he does.

And why, why does he know that time is short?

You and I know that there's far too many people on this planet that have no clue.

Well, that's because he's intimately familiar with the Signs that Jesus told his disciples of his return, as recorded in the 24th chapter of Matthew.

You better believe that the devil knows that chapter well.

He also knows the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.

And so as a result, he knows that he only has a short time.

And if I were the devil, I would do everything possible to ensure that you do not know that time is running out.

I would see to it that you would never understand the difference between what is urgent and what is important.

And most of all, I would make sure that you do not do what's important first.

I would bombard you with everything under the sun, to keep you as occupied as I could, to prevent you from concluding.

The time is short and I don't have a lot of time.

And there's a lot to be doing, except what is the most necessary and important.

Evidently, Thomas Dorsey, that name might ring familiar with those that enjoy music, gospel music.

Thomas Dorsey, he was the father of Gospel music.

He knew something about our most important need, and he wrote about it in a song that he composed in 1943.

And I have to apologize for those who didn't bring their reading glasses.

The song says this, if we ever need the Lord before, we sure do need him when?

If we ever needed the Lord before, we sure do need him now.

Can you agree with the words of that song?

It's a call to examine our hearts, to know ourselves as God sees us.

It's time to examine the depth of our sense of a need of God.

And God, and God alone, knows the true nature of our condition.

And it's high time that We take the prayer of the psalmist seriously.

God searched my heart and know me because I'm afraid that I might not even know myself.

It's a time to examine what matters most, to examine our priorities.

And today, as we have the Word of God, we're going to go to Scripture.

So, I invite you to open your Bibles, to take your Bibles.

The Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, pleaded with the recipients of his epistle when he wrote in 2 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 5.

This should go without saying, but you understand that the recipients of this epistle, otherwise known as the Corinthians.

Yes, there were a time of people long ago, but because this workbook is inspired by the Holy Spirit, you better believe that today as we read the Word of God, we ourselves become the recipients of the inspired writings of the Bible.

You and I do well to take heed to Paul's plea.

He says there in verse 5, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.

Do you not know yourselves that Jesus is in you?

That is to say, unless you're living an unexamined life.

That's Paul's take on being disqualified.

You're living an unexamined life, not taking time, not taking time.

He says, know yourselves, know yourselves.

Some of us have the gift of knowing everybody's business except ours.

I'm not sure if I would call it a spiritual gift.

Know yourselves, Paul wrote, Emphasis on the reflective pronoun yourselves.

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Prioritizing by Faith, Not by Sight

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