The use we make of our time is extremely critical in our Christian journey. God has given us time and we must use it wisely, for time wasted can never be regained. Minutes lost are gone forever. You will be called to give an account for every moment you wasted. When God gives you a message that will save you from perishing and you neglect that God-given opportunity there might not be another chance for you. Therefore, today is the day of your salvation and it is now that you must accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.

“Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear His voice,  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness. . . . While it is said, To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.”  Hebrews 3:7–8, 15

TIME SERVING PEOPLE

Many professed Christians today are time servers. They know their Master’s will. They hear the words of God but do not abide by them. The Apostle James warned, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” James 1:22–24

In the time of John the Baptist many professed to be his friends. They wanted to find favour in the sight of the coming Messiah but they had no real conviction of sin. John’s message was, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17. In the Spirit of Prophecy we read, “Many of the scribes and Pharisees came confessing their sins, and asking for baptism. They had exalted themselves as better than other men, and had led the people to entertain a high opinion of their piety; now the guilty secrets of their lives were unveiled. But John was impressed by the Holy Spirit that many of these men had no real conviction of sin. They were timeservers. As friends of the prophet, they hoped to find favor with the coming Prince.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 105

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5

John the Baptist continued “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” Matthew 3:7–8

“John declared to the teachers of Israel that their pride, selfishness, and cruelty showed them to be a generation of vipers, a deadly curse to the people, rather than the children of just and obedient Abraham. In view of the light they had received from God, they were even worse than the heathen, to whom they felt so much superior. They had forgotten the rock whence they were hewn, and the hole of the pit from which they had been digged.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 106

THE GIFT OF SALVATION MAY PASS YOU BY

Many Christians today, after God has sent them warning, hear the words and tremble because their sins are being pointed out. Sadly though, many will not repent of their sins.

The message today is, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19

“But let no one neglect present opportunities and delay repentance, presuming on the eleventh-hour conversion of the thief, and trusting to a death-bed repentance. Every ray of light neglected leaves the sinner in greater darkness than before, till some fearful deception may take possession of his mind, and his case may become hopeless.” –The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, p. 159

God desires every soul to be saved and He bears long with the sinner, but there is a limit for His grace. Many people are rejecting His mercy and may have reached this limit.  “But when men pass the limits of divine forbearance, that restraint is removed. God does not stand toward the sinner as an executioner of the sentence against transgression; but He leaves the rejecters of His mercy to themselves, to reap that which they have sown. Every ray of light rejected, every warning despised or unheeded, every passion indulged, every transgression of the law of God, is a seed sown, which yields its unfailing harvest. The Spirit of God, persistently resisted, is at last withdrawn from the sinner, and then there is left no power to control the evil passions of the soul, and no protection from the malice and enmity of Satan.” –The Great Controversy, p. 36

TODAY IS THE DAY OF YOUR SALVATION

“And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.  And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Acts 24:24–25

“A ray of light from heaven had been permitted to shine upon Felix, when Paul reasoned with him concerning righteousness, temperance, and a judgment to come. That was his heaven-sent opportunity to see and to forsake his sins. But he said to the messenger of God, ‘Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.’ He had slighted his last offer of mercy. Never was he to receive another call from God.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 427

“But instead of permitting his convictions to lead him to repentance, he sought to dismiss these unwelcome reflections.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 427.  Then he went on to say, “Go away for the present, when I have an opportunity I will summon you.”

Oh, my dear fellow believers, it is now time for each of us to search our hearts and lives. How have we treated the warnings which are being sent from heaven to us? Have we  slighted the free gift of salvation as did Felix? He was being instructed in all points of truth so that he may repent of his sinful deeds. However, instead of welcoming the truth, he slighted the only remaining opportunity to save his life. Did he have another opportunity to hear the voice of God? No, never! That was his final opportunity.

Christ says today, “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”  Revelation 3:18

May the Lord help us that each one of us may bring forth fruits meet for repentance through Jesus Christ.

God bless you. Grace be unto you. Amen.

Jenifer Akello, Uganda