The Clock Is Ticking | Josh Shockey

Let's declare that He is amazing. Come on, hands up. ♪ Oh praise, isn't that amazing ♪ ♪ Oh praise, isn't that amazing ♪ ♪ Praise, isn't that amazing ♪ ♪ Oh praise, isn't that amazing ♪ ♪ Praise, isn't that amazing ♪ ♪ Hallelujah to the man on the middle cross ♪ ♪ Cause he didn't know the debt but he paid it off ♪ ♪ And he rolled it with a stone, now I'm getting up ♪ ♪ I'm getting up, I'm getting up ♪ ♪ Hallelujah to the man on the middle cross ♪ ♪ Now I'm getting up, I'm getting up ♪ ♪ Hallelujah to the man, hallelujah to the man on the middle cross ♪ ♪ Cause he didn't know the debt but he paid it off ♪ ♪ And he rolled away the stone ♪ ♪ Now I'm getting up, come on I'm getting up ♪ ♪ Hallelujah to the man, hallelujah to the man on the middle cross ♪ ♪ Cause he didn't know the debt but he paid it off ♪ ♪ And he rolled away the stone ♪ ♪ Now I'm getting up, I'm getting up ♪ ♪ I was headed, I was headed for heaven till He rescued me ♪ ♪ I was stuck in mystery, but now I'm set free ♪ ♪ Now heaven's my home for all eternity ♪ ♪ Now I see, I was headed for heaven till He rescued me ♪ ♪ I was stuck in mystery, but now I'm set free ♪ ♪ Now heaven's my home for all eternity ♪ ♪ I was without, but now I'm set free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah to the man on the Bible cross ♪ ♪ Cause he didn't know the debt, but He paid it off ♪

♪ And he rode away with my soul, now I'm getting it up, getting up, getting up ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah to the man on the Bible cross ♪ ♪ And he rode away with my soul, now I'm getting it up, getting up, getting it up ♪ ♪ I'm getting up, I'm getting up, I'm getting up, I'm getting up, I'm getting up... ♪ Come on, we're getting up to praise him today! Thank you! Oh, come on! ♪ And all the things that I want don't compare to your promise. ♪ ♪ When you found me broken, you made me whole. When you found me one, you called me back home. When you found me desperate, you made me whole. ♪ I came unsatisfied, and I found for Jesus, I found the light. I was striving just to get there, Thought my efforts would impress you, But all you wanted was my heart for living, Now and forever, I'm marked by your presence. When you found me broken, you made me whole, When you found me wandering, you called me back home, When you found me desperate, you came unsatisfied, And I found you Jesus, I found the light. Oh, I found my light. And how I long to see you break through, And I push through the crowd to touch you, And God, you said, believe in me, you Jesus, believe me. And how I long to bow before you, And here's my praise, the costly purview, That you have taught, and always made true, Jesus, believe me. And how I long to see you break through, And I push through the crowd to touch you, And God, you said, believe in me, you Jesus, believe me. And how I long to bow before you,

And here's my praise, the costly purview, That you have taught, and always made true, Jesus, believe me. And how I long to see you break through, And I push through the crowd to touch you, And God, you said, believe in me, you Jesus, believe me. And how I long to bow before you, And here's my praise, the costly purview, That you have taught, and always made true, Jesus, believe me. Jesus, believe me. Come and meet us here. Jesus, believe me. Come and find us where we are. Jesus, believe me. When you found me broken, you made me whole. Come on, sing this out. When you found me water, you called me holy. When you found me death, you found me Jesus. And I found you, Jesus. I found the life. I found you, Jesus. I found my life. I found you, Jesus. I found my life. I found. I found. I found. The book of Joshua, chapter four, it says that as the Israelites passed over the Nile,

they stacked 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. And the reason they stacked these stones is, or it was to make a memorial for what the Lord had done in delivering them. And furthermore, the more the reason of why was to show and to testify of this is our reminder that the Lord has brought us back. And so as we were going through rehearsal this morning and as we went through the first gathering, I just felt it in my heart for us. to reflect on when the Lord saved us. And if you haven't had that encounter yet in your own life, if the Lord has not saved you or you haven't given your life to the Lord, just know that He paid for you on the cross. He's waiting for you on the other side right now, just for you to say, Lord, I am willing and I am able and I surrender. And you have the opportunity to make those stones, that stack of stones, that memorial in your life here today. You have the opportunity to lay everything down before Him if you haven't already. And if you have, I just ask you, close your eyes and just put your hands out and try to remember that moment when you gave your life to the Lord. Whether you were small and young or whether it was just a few weeks ago,

I just pray that you would reflect on that moment and you would think of what He brought you through and what He delivered you from. Whether that's been many years or a few days and just begin to give Him thanks for that. And as we continue in worship, we just continue in a place of thanksgiving before the Lord. So just begin to say thank you to Jesus. Say, thank you, Lord. Thank you for how you delivered me. Thank you for bringing me out of sickness. Thank you for bringing me through with finances, Lord. Thank you for every way you've brought us through. And just continue to think of Him and thank Him for what He's done. For without Him, we would have nothing. So Lord, we lay down everything now, whether it's our first time, our second, or our hundredth. Lord, we lay it all down before you. We say, your way is better. And we believe that what you are doing in our lives is greater than we can comprehend. Lord, we thank you for the blood of Christ. We thank you for what you did upon the cross, the blood that was shed for us, that you, a holy King, seated in highest honor, would come down and humble Himself, become fully man and die a sinner's death while being fully perfect at the chance that we might know Him.

Yes, Jesus, we thank you for that truth today. We thank you that you sought us out, Lord. What a beautiful name it is. What a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ, my King. What a beautiful name it is. Nothing can stand against. What a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus. Sing it again. What a beautiful name it is. What a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ, my King. What a beautiful name it is. Nothing compares to this. What a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus. Sing what a beautiful name. What a beautiful name it is. What a beautiful name it is. The name, the name of Jesus Christ, my King. What a beautiful name it is. Nothing compares to this. What a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus. Because death could not hold you. The veil tore before you. You silenced the vows of sinning. You silenced the vows of sinning. The heavens are roaring.

The praise of your glory. For you are raised to life again. You have no rival. You have no equal. Now and forever, God, you reign. Yours is the kingdom of glory. It's the name above all names. And what a powerful name it is. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ. Lift it up in this place. What a powerful name it is. Nothing can stand against. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus. You have no rival. ♪ And you have no rival, and you have no equal ♪ ♪ Now and forever God you reign ♪ ♪ Yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory ♪ ♪ Yours is the name of the Lord ♪ You have no rival! Sing, what a powerful name it is. What a powerful name it is, the name. The name of Jesus Christ, my King. What a powerful name it is. Nothing can stand against it. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus. Yes, what a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus.

What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus. Yes, what a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus. What a powerful name, Jesus. Yes, we exalt you, Lord, in this place. We give you glory and honor. We marvel at the splendor of your name, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. ♪ How great is our God, sing with me ♪ ♪ How great is our God, and all see how great, how great is our God, oh ♪ ♪ Sing how great, yes how great is our God, sing with me ♪ ♪ How great is our God, we sing and all will see how great, how great is our God ♪ ♪ And all will see how great, how great is our God, lift it up this morning, we sing how great, oh how great is our God, sing with me ♪ ♪ How great is our God, and all will see how great, how great is our God, oh ♪ ♪ How great, how great is our God, oh ♪ Yes, Jesus, we thank you for who you are. We thank you that you reign in power, and we marvel at what you did on the cross. We thank you for your blood, Lord. How great a love that you would lay down your life for us, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. ♪ The precious fountain from Calvary's fountain ♪ ♪ Flowing down to you and I ♪ ♪ It washes us clean, oh what a mystery ♪ ♪ Oh what a mystery ♪ ♪ The red blood makes me white, and isn't it wild? ♪ ♪ And doesn't it make you wonder how something so profound could be so simple? ♪ ♪ How could it be so simple? Oh the blood, the blood, the blood, oh the one who created the world ♪ ♪ Wonderful blood ♪

♪ Your love, your love, your love ♪ ♪ Oh, the marvelous love ♪ ♪ Let the redeemed sing a song ♪ ♪ Praises belong to the Son we sing ♪ ♪ The blood, the blood, the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, the wonderful blood ♪ ♪ The precious Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm so thankful ♪ ♪ For the day you saved my life ♪ ♪ As I remember, my heart grows tender ♪ ♪ Tears begin to fill my eyes ♪ ♪ Isn't it wild, doesn't it make you wonder ♪ ♪ How something so profound could be so simple? ♪ ♪ Isn't it wild, doesn't it make you wonder ♪ ♪ How something so profound could be so simple? ♪ ♪ The blood, the blood, the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, the wonderful blood ♪ ♪ Your love, your love, your love ♪ ♪ Oh, the marvelous love, let it redeem ♪ ♪ Sing a song, praise and belong to the Son, sing it ♪ ♪ The blood, the blood, the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, the wonderful blood, oh ♪ ♪ We thank you for the blood, the blood, the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, there was no other way, so you came and made one Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, we thank you for the blood, pour it out, praise ♪ Come on, we lift up this song and testify that His work is finished. So come on, we sing together. ♪ The work you did is finished, all of our sins forgiven ♪ ♪ And now we get to live in the wonder of the working blood ♪

♪ The cross was your decision, but death was not the ending ♪ ♪ You rose and now we're risen, the wonder of the work you did ♪ ♪ The work you did is finished, all of our sins forgiven ♪ ♪ And now we get to live in the wonder of the working blood ♪ ♪ The cross was your decision, but death was not the ending ♪ ♪ You rose and now we're risen, the wonder of the work you did ♪ ♪ It's the wonder of the blood, it's the wonder of the blood ♪ ♪ It's the wonder of the blood, all the wonderful blood of your life ♪ ♪ It's the wonder of the blood, wonder of the blood of your life ♪ ♪ All the wonderful blood of your life ♪ ♪ All the marvelous blood, let it redeem us all ♪ ♪ Praises belong to the Son, yeah ♪ ♪ The blood, the blood, the blood of the wonderful blood of your life ♪ ♪ It's the wonder of the blood, wonder of the blood of your life ♪ ♪ All the marvelous blood, let it redeem us all ♪ ♪ Praises belong to the Son, yeah ♪ ♪ The blood, the blood, the blood of the wonderful blood of your life ♪ ♪ All the marvelous blood, let it redeem us all ♪ ♪ Praises belong to the Son, yeah ♪ ♪ The blood, the blood, the blood of the wonderful blood of your life ♪ ♪ All the marvelous blood, let it redeem us all ♪ ♪ All the marvelous blood, let it redeem us all ♪ ♪ Could have been the glory ♪ ♪ And I know it could have been the glory, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, precious is the glow ♪ ♪ That makes me white as snow ♪ ♪ No other fount I know ♪ ♪ Oh, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ Sing oh precious at the floor. ♪ Oh, precious is the glow ♪

♪ That makes me white as snow, oh no ♪ ♪ Oh, nothing but the blood of Jesus, oh no ♪ ♪ There's no fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ It was nothing but the working blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ It could have only been the working blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ It could have only been the working blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ Give Him praise, give Him all the praise, praise to you. That's the best news you've heard all day. So good. If you're newer to church, those lyrics may seem a little strange to you about blood and the work that it's doing. The Apostle Paul in the New Testament helps us understand those lyrics like this. He says, God was pleased that all of His fullness would live in Christ and through Him to reconcile, bring back into right relationship all things were the things in heaven on earth. And then He says, how? By making peace by His blood shed on the cross. The song just simply means that you and I were separated from God and there was nothing we could do to bridge that gap, but God in His own mercy paid a penalty of sin, died on the cross, the blood was shed, and now there's peace. And the Bible calls that reconciliation and redemption. So today, one of the things we do when we gather is we're just reminding ourselves of what He has done.

And so God, we just collectively say, thank you. In Jesus' name, everybody said, amen and amen. You may be seated. So glad you're here in the room. It's nothing like being in the room. I mean, online's good and we'll welcome those folks, but there's just something special when bodies show up together and you feel collectively just what God is doing. But we do have people joining in and we definitely wanna give a big shout out. Welcome to them, En Gedi Español. They're gathering together and in person, En Gedi Grand Rapids are gathering together. And then we've got some brothers and sisters from prisons and jails all across America that are tuning in to what's happening here and others joining in online. Welcome, no matter where you're at. As we mentioned earlier in the gathering, we talk a lot about partners here. And the Bible, when it talks about the church, it often does so in a plural sense and it means all the churches, not just individual churches. But when individual churches do get mentioned, frequently it's in the context of this church helped that church. This church supported that church. This church was a sponsor or a partner and maybe encouragement or teaching or coaching

or counseling or resources and financing. See it a lot in the Bible. And since 2020, we collectively, En Gedi Church, have had the privilege and honor of doing that for a church on the east side of the state in the heart of Detroit. We've had the opportunity of supporting through relationships at times, maybe coaching and encouragement, at times through resources and at times through finance. But six years, we've been supporting this church and six years, that church went from nothing is now seen collectively on a weekend, about 1,500 people show up. Six years later, two times on a weekend, the room was full of people worshiping God. Six years later, God's word is being communicated as clearly as ever. Six years later, there's not a week that goes by where people don't show up and for the first time, discover what it means to have their life changed by Christ. We had a part in that. Six years later to date, just this year alone, some 150 people have been baptized. Yeah. That church is Motor City Church. The pastor, Josh and his wife, Emily Shockey are with us this morning. In just a moment, Josh is gonna come and share with us God's word.

So would you join me in giving a big En Gedi Church. Welcome to Pastor Josh Shockey. En Gedi family, how you doing? I love being here. It's such an honor. I always feel like I'm your cousin on the East side of the state. It's like, we need money. You know, help us out. I know. Man, I don't know about you, but if I was sowing into En Gedi Church, I would wanna know, man, what's some of the fruit that you guys are seeing? You know, when we started Motor City Church, there were several church planting networks that were out there that heard that we were planting a church in Detroit, Michigan. And I had a guy in particular that pulled me aside. He said, man, I wanna tell you something. He said, you guys will likely, he said, I'm not saying you're not called to Detroit, but he said, you guys will likely never become a financially self-sustaining church, meaning you guys will always have to rely on the support of other churches to function. And man, I just believe that that wasn't true. I believe in Jehovah Jireh, that God is our provider. And three years from the time that we started our church, we were a self-sustaining church financially.

And over the past 12 months, I think that you guys will love hearing this. Our church, Motor City Church, has blessed financially six other churches around the world. So you guys, through your generosity, helped start a ripple effect that's now sowing into other churches as well. We've seen hundreds of people baptized since 2020, and God is doing an amazing work. So anytime I get the opportunity to preach at Enghedi, I just wanna pause for a moment and say, thank you. We're just honored to get to know you guys. My wife and I, we just so look up to your pastors, Pastor Brian and Christina. Some kids, when they grow up, they wanna be Batman or Superman or Spider-Man. I just wanna be Pastor Brian. That's who I wanna be. And man, we're so grateful for them. Last night, I was reminded of something that I wanna encourage you with before we dive into the sermon today. And that is that Enghedi Church is so unique in the sense, not only do you have a global impact, you also have a local impact. I think in America today, there are many of churches that try to have a global and local impact, but I'm just reminded that you guys aren't just trying, you are thriving at having a global and a local impact.

Last night, I was working out at a gym here in Holland. Some of you may have heard of it before, very nice establishment called Planet Fitness. And I see these two young men and they might be in the room right now, I'm not sure. They said they were coming to the 11 a.m. But I see these two young men and I feel like the Holy Spirit's like, hey, you need to go and invite these two young guys to church. So I'm like, oh no, not today. You know, and I have to start pumping myself up not to lift weights, but to evangelize. So I'm like, come on, you're a child of God. You're filled with the Holy Spirit. You're a disciple of Jesus. You're a pastor and a preacher. I'm like, all right. So I walk over and as I'm approaching these two guys that were working out, lifting weights, I see on the back of one of the guy's shirts, it looks like the logo of Enghedi Church. So I go, bro, is that an Enghedi shirt? He turns around, all caps, it says Enghedi Church. I'm like, bro, I'm gonna be there tomorrow. And they're like, me too, at 11 a.m. And I was reminded, you guys have a local impact. You're not just reaching the world, you're reaching West Michigan as well. And man, I'm just so honored

to get to call you guys friends. Hey, let's pray and we're gonna dive into the word of God together today. Heavenly Father, you are holy. Jesus, you are holy. Holy Spirit, you are holy. God, may we not take this moment in time lightly or for granted. God, we understand that right now we have brothers and sisters in the faith around the world who are being martyred, who are being killed for what we are freely doing right now. So God, we just want to acknowledge our gratitude for the freedom we have to gather here. And God, we also ask for a hedge of protection around our brothers and sisters around the world, God, to help them continue to go forth and advance the gospel. God, I pray that today you would meet us right where we are. God, that from your word, God, you would penetrate our hearts and lives. I pray that no one in the room today, no one in the room leaves the same way that they came in, myself included. God, when we leave here in sanctification, becoming more like your son Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives and dwells within us, God, we love you, we praise you, we honor you, and every faithful believer in the room shouted Amen. Today, I want to talk to you about something that is so valuable that if you took the top five wealthiest families from West Michigan added their accumulated net worths, they would not be able to purchase a sliver of what I'm talking about. If you took the greatest scientific minds at Hope College right now, they would not be able to create an ounce of

what I'm talking about. If you took the best advisors in Michigan, they would not be able to save for tomorrow what I'm talking about today. Today, I want to talk to you about time. You don't have to look far in culture today to see that many people in our culture are deceived. As Christ followers, you and I, filled with the Holy Spirit, we have wisdom, we have discernment to help us to not be deceived. We have the Word of God to help us to not be deceived. And I think there are a lot of people in our culture today and maybe some in the room today that are falling into some deadly deception in the area of time. Maybe for you, you've fallen into this deception that you think to yourself, I've got so much time, it's okay to waste some of it. One of my greatest pressures, I feel like in the season that we are in at Motor City Church, is we have a lot of young adults in our church. And as I look at the people that God has called for me to steward and shepherd, I often look at them and feel this great responsibility to shake them out of their spiritual slumber because I feel like many of them are wasting their time. The Bible has a lot to say about time. I want to show you some scriptures today. The first one, Romans chapter 13 verses 11 through 14. It says, this is all the more urgent. Everybody say urgent. For you know how late it is. Here it is. Time is running out.

Listen to these two powerful words. Wake up! Somebody do me a favor. Just elbow your neighbor. Tell him, wake up! Don't whisper it to him. Come on. Tell him, wake up! Wake up! For our salvation is near now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone. The day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes and put on the shining armor of right living. Verse 13. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and don't let yourself, don't let yourself, young person in the room today, don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. Today, I want to take some of your time to talk to you about what the scriptures say about time. Maybe some people can relate with this, but in my life, I'm a why guy. From the time I was this big, my parents have always told me, you just drove us crazy with it. Why? Why? Sometimes my wife, she'll give me like a why quota. She'll be like, you get three more whys today. After that, I'm not answering any more whys that you have for me. Maybe you're like the same and as I say this, I want to tell you what those scriptures say about time. Maybe you're like, why? Why would we look to the scriptures to tell us about time? To answer that, I would simply say because God created time. In fact, God is the only one that lives outside of time. He is The alpha and omega, he's the beginning from the end. So rather than learn about time from your cousin

who wastes his time, let's look to the scriptures to see what God says. If you're taking notes today, I have three points for you. The first one, write it down, the brevity of time. The brevity of time, James chapter four, verses 13 through 15, check this out. Look here, you who say today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and we'll stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit. How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog. I don't know what the fog is like here in West Michigan, but on our side of the state, our church is downtown Detroit, right next to the Detroit River. And there are some Sunday mornings that at our first service, our greeters are out front greeting people. And it's like, there's fog everywhere. You're like, by the end of the first service, it's gone. It's like a reminder for me every Sunday, your life is like the morning fog. It's here one moment and it's gone the next. It's, I don't care if you go the rest of your life and all you do is CrossFit and drink green smoothies, I'm telling you, like that. It's here one moment, it's gone the next. It says it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that. I love this, this is Psalm 90 verse 12. Teach us to realize the brevity of life

so that we may grow in wisdom. I wrote this sermon from my kitchen table and out of our kitchen table, there's a window that overlooks our neighbor's house. We have awesome neighbors. They're like in their mid to late 80s and this guy's been retired for years and his whole goal in life is to have the best yard on the block and that he does. And this man, as I'm prepping this sermon that I'm preaching to you now, I was watching him as he had scissors in the garden, making, sometimes I wanna open the window, but like, can you do mine next? Because his is just immaculate. And as I'm writing this sermon about time, I think to myself, that guy probably doesn't have much time. It was like the Holy Spirit did a round off kick to my stomach. It's like the Holy Spirit whispered to me, Josh, here you are talking about how people are deceived by time and you are deceived by time. Because you look at that man and say, oh, he doesn't have much time. I feel like the Holy Spirit told me, who's to say that you have more time than him? This could be my last day. That man could live a decade longer than me.

I was being, I think if we're honest, we would all say, I mean, there are moments that I am deceived in the area of time. In God's sovereignty, he already knows because he's the beginning from the end. He already knows the exact year, the exact month, day, hour, minute, second, and millisecond that you will move from this life into eternity. But you have no idea when. Proverbs 27 one, don't brag about tomorrow since you do not know what the day will bring. The second point I wanna talk to you about is the warning of time. We have the brevity of time and I wanna talk to you about the warning of time. This is not popular to preach. I knew that if I were to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and preach this particular sermon, I just knew it would be quiet today. There's three things. If you ever wanna have a quiet room, just talk about sex, money, or death. And it's like, everybody's like, there's no amens that'll be shouted today, but that's okay. I'm gonna be faithful to the text anyways, all right? I gotta say it. It will. Someday, be too late for your soul.

Time is too short for indecision. And if there's a young person in the room here today, I want you to understand this, because most people get into their late years in life and they fail to realize that your indecision is actually your decision. Your inability to go all in, to finally make a decision to follow Christ, your indecision is currently your decision. Eight weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, I walked into our worship center at Motor City Church. I see two new guys that look like they could be on the front cover of like a men's fitness magazine. These dudes are shredded. I'm like, who are these guys? They got a lanyard on. I said, what's up guys? They're like, hey, we're new on the Usher team. I was like, let's go. And so I start to ask them about their story. And you can just tell when somebody's on fire for the Lord. And I'm getting inspired just talking to these guys. They're both 21 years old. And he said, my friend here led me to Christ eight weeks ago. I experienced salvation. And then he brought me to Motor City Church. And he's like, bro, be on the Usher team. And here I am. And he's just on fire for the Lord.

It was his first Sunday serving as an Usher at Motor City Church. And it was his last Sunday serving as an Usher at Motor City Church. Because less than 24 hours later, he was involved in a drowning accident that took his life. Right? His grandmother would have looked at him and said, sweetie, you've got your whole life ahead of you. In the sovereignty of God, he had no idea he had less than 24 hours before he stood before the one that paid the price for his sins. I'm so thankful that this man in our church didn't say, oh, he's only 21. I'll reach him later with the good news of the gospel, that he was faithful. And I'm thankful that he surrendered his life to Christ just eight weeks before he will spend eight trillion, eight quadrillion years with the Lord. I want to ask you today, church, what are you doing with your time? Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 2. If you've got a student in here you're about to send off to college, you need to get a poster in their college dorm that's got this scripture. Ecclesiastes 7, 4. They'll be the only one at the college with it. A wise person thinks a lot.

How often? How often? Every once in a while? No, a lot. About what? Death. While a fool thinks only about having a good time. I had a really unique upbringing. My dad was not like in vocational ministry, but every day he would preach to my twin brother and I. This was back in the 90s. I don't think there was a lot of studies that talked about the attention span of a seven-year-old. And so my dad just assumed it was about 90 minutes. And so my dad would come into our childhood bedroom. My twin brother and I would be there on the bunk bed. And my dad would open up the Bible and proceed to read about 90 minutes worth of scripture to us. I had no choice but to be a preacher. And my dad would, from time to time, do this sermon illustration. Gen Z, as you hear this, you may say, that's abuse. In the 90s, they just called it good parenting. But my dad, he would lay down on the floor next to my twin brother and I's bunk bed. And my dad had this gift. He could hold his breath a long time. My dad would lay down on the floor. He would be so still, he would take a breath

and hold it for like 90 seconds. He would put his hands on his chest, and he would look like he was dead. I probably need counseling. My twin brother. Brother, I'm like, is he okay? And then he would go, he goes, boys, I wanna tell you something. One day, you're gonna see me in my casket. I'm gonna look just like that. And I want you to know something. I'm not there. I am in heaven because I have placed my faith in Jesus. In Jesus. And from the time I was this big, my dad would just remind me that life is short. And it's caused me to really try to be intentional with the way that I live my life. Because if you don't think about death, well, the scripture says you're not wise. And if you're not thinking about death, you will not live the life that God called you to live. And maybe you're here today saying, well, preacher boy, hold up, just wait a minute. You're like, I just don't like thinking about death. The scriptures say that a wise person thinks a lot about it. Hebrews chapter three, verses 12 through 15. Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters, make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving

turning you away from the living God. Verse 13, you must warn each other every day while it is still today. So that none of you will be, here's that word again, deceived by sin. This is sobering right here. And hardened against God. For we are, if we are faithful to the end, when I get to the end of the scripture, at least seven believers in the room better shout amen. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God, just as firmly as when we first believe, what will happen? We will share in all that belongs to Christ. That is a promise. If you are faithful to the end. It says like when you first believed, you remember when you first believed? Homie, you were on fire for Jesus. And what can happen is because we get deceived by time, we think I got more time, I'll do it later. Remember what it says. Today, today, when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled. Please hear me. A sermon, a message like this is dangerous. This sermon I'm preaching to you today, it is so dangerous. Why? Because through the text, God is warning you. And if you do not listen,

you rebel against the warning. Your heart could be hardened. That word that we see multiple times in that passage, the word today, it's emphasizing that responding to the Lord's conviction and guidance should happen immediately. Not making excuses or delays, today. The brevity of time, the warning of time. My third point, write it down. The urgency of time. The urgency of time. First Thessalonians chapter five, verses one through six. Now concerning how and when all this will happen dear brothers and sisters, we don't really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly like a thief in the night. Verse three, when people are saying, everything is peaceful and secure, then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. Don't just read past that. There will come a time where there is no escape to the young man in here who keeps playing church games, having one foot in and one foot out. There will come a time where there will be no escape but you aren't in the dark about these things dear brothers and sisters.

and sisters and you won't be surprised when the Lord comes like a thief for you are all children of the light and of the day talking about those that are believers we don't belong to darkness and night so be on your guard not asleep like the others stay alert and be clear-headed I drove three hours from Detroit to tell you wake up from your spiritual slumber wake up there are people's souls at stake we must live our lives with expectation and urgency for the things that actually matter Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15 through 17 so be careful how you live don't live like fools but like those who are wise listen to this make the most of every opportunity in these evil days I see this ignorant thought and statement all the time on social media from young people they're saying oh I don't know if I'll ever have children because I don't think I could bring them into this evil wicked world it's been evil it's been wicked the third man ever alive here on earth he killed his brother it's been evil but God's grace is sufficient and the Bible says that you and I we were born for such a time as this so you can play victim or you can be reminded that you are a victor in Christ as Christ followers we are not fighting for victory we're fighting from victory we've already won and God puts you in this exact room at this exact time this exact year for such a time as this and he's saying make the most of every opportunity verse 17 don't act thoughtlessly but understand what the Lord uh-oh what the Lord wants you to do what the God of the universe has something he wants you to do and I know I know because I also lead a church in America there are so many people in America today that go all right pastor all right pastor Brian get out there you get out there and you evangelize you get out there and you preach it you get out there and you teach it and while you're pointing the finger at the pastor and preacher you fail to realize there are three other fingers pointing at you what are you gonna do it's his opportunity it's his calling to equip the Saints who's the Saints every believer in the room to go and to do the work of ministry God puts you in that cubicle not just to give you a nine-to-five he put you in that office because the person next door to that cubicle does

not know Christ and pastor Brian is not ever gonna get the opportunity to meet them but you will and so when you hear the sniffles from the office next to you it's not for you to go around the water cooler and go hey you hear Susan she's crying again God put you next to her to give the good news of the gospel and so the question is what are you doing with your time what are you doing with your time God called you for such a time as this you see this is the the deadly deception from the enemy when it comes to doing the work when it comes to doing what God has called for you to do this is where people miss it when you hear the call of God on your life demons and the devil do not tell you don't do it you're too smart for that if every demon said don't do it you'd be like hold up you trying to trick me and some of you are so stubborn you just like just because you said don't do it I'm gonna do it so the the enemy when when God puts a calling on your life the enemy does not say don't do it he uses just one little word to deceive you He says, wait. Just wait. Because you get deceived into thinking, you know what, I am a good guy. I will get around to that. And you wait and you fail to realize that the time is now. Could you imagine that 21 year old at Motor City Church as he gets presented with the gospel for the first time by his friend if he had listened to the enemy that said, wait. He'd be in hell in this very moment. But he listened to the still small voice that said, today is the day of salvation. The time is now. John chapter 9 verse 4. We, we must quickly, quickly carry out the task assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming and then no one can work. James chapter 4 verse 17. Remember, oh man, hold up. Hold up. Hold up. We got to lean into this one. Everybody just lean in for me. Lean in. Come on. Come on. Lean in. Lean in. Lean in. Remember, it is sin. It's what? It's what? It's sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. In our culture today, we, we think sin is just those people. Those people that vote that way. Those people that dress like that, look like that, smoke that, drink that. Wow. Those are sinners. Homie, you're a sinner. And you can keep pointing the finger at them and saying, wow, I would never do that. Yeah, but I bet there's some sin in your life that you struggle with that they would

never do. So you can keep playing the, the comparison game the rest of your life and miss out on the call of God on your life. Or you can grow up spiritually and come to this realization that sin is also when the Holy Spirit whispers something to you. And rather than listening to when the Holy Spirit says, do it now, you listen to the enemy that says, wait, wait, you're 22. Come on. You'll give your life to Jesus in your thirties. Then you'll get married. You have 2.5 kids. You'll have the white picket fence and you'll have the Escalade in the garage. It'll be great. Who says you get to see your thirties? The time is now. There are some of you right now, the Holy Spirit today here in just a moment is going to call you to repentance. And some of you, you're about to take the step to fully surrender your life to Jesus. And every demon is going to shout at you. Wait, just wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. The time is now. Some of you, the Holy Spirit keeps whispering to you, share your faith with that family member that's far from God. And you've convinced yourself, I'm such a good guy because I'm going to do that. No, you've listened to the deception that said, wait, who's to say that person has another day? It's the urgency of time. So right now is the time to do as the scripture say, what you know you ought to do. If there's somebody you need to witness to do it now. If there's money that the Holy Spirit told you to give, give it now. If there's an area in the church that you've been called to serve in and you're dragging your feet, do it now. Some of you, you keep getting convicted every week because anytime I'm here, y'all talking about global missions. Hey, you need to go, go on this trip. And you're like, I'm 31. I'll do that in my forties. But the Holy Spirit keeps saying, do it now. Do it now. The time is now. Listen to the, it's a sin. When you know what you ought to do and you don't do it. It's almost like every time the clock ticks, it's almost as if it's whispering to you and I. Now, now. Now, now, now. I heard this story recently. This older gentleman, he decided to go see the ocean and walks onto the beach, and there was a storm the day before that just washed up all of these starfish onto the sands.

There's thousands of them. As this man begins to walk, kind of stepping over all of these starfish, he sees a little boy at the distance, and he's, I wonder what that kid's doing. He goes over and says, little boy, what are you doing? This kid's picking up the starfish, throwing them back in the ocean. The man starts laughing. He goes, you don't have enough time to get all of these back into the ocean. The sun is about to rise. All of them, they're gonna die. They're gonna be fried out here on the beach. You don't have enough time. It doesn't really matter. It doesn't really count. This little boy picked up another starfish, threw it into the ocean. He said it mattered for that one. He picked up another one. He said it counted for that one. And I think sometimes we get so deceived. We think, well, because I can't reach everyone. You can reach someone. Tomorrow, you could be the person at your job that people know something different. Some of you, you know, the Holy Spirit keeps convicting you. You need to call your coworkers together

for a morning prayer. We're a secular job. But you're a Christ follower. Do it now. It matters to that one. I wonder what would happen if everyone in this room just had that spirit, that every person, it matters to that one. It matters to him. It matters to her. Don't forget that you served the God that left the 99 for the one. It's the urgency of time. Ecclesiastes 9.4, there is hope only for the living. As they say, it's better to be a live dog than a dead lion. The question I have for you today is, are you alive? Well, yes, I am, preacher boy. My heart is beating. Your heart could be beating and you could be dead. You could be so spiritually dead going through the motions of life. I'm asking you, are you alive in Christ Jesus? Are you fulfilling the call of God on your life? Yes. There's too many souls at stake. I'm so thankful. So thankful that 20 years ago, pastors Brian and Christina didn't say, ah, I know God put this calling

on our heart to plant a church, but man, we're young, we'll just wait. They were faithful. They were obedient. And look at the ripple effect. Now, please hear me today, church. If you're here today and you're going, dang, I missed it. I wasted so much of my life. Don't forget who you serve. I wanna talk to a senior saint in the room. I wanna talk to somebody, maybe you're in your 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. I don't know where you're at. And maybe for your life, man, I wish I would have done this sooner, right now. Now. Now, the next five years of your life could be more impactful than all of the rest of your life combined when you just say, Jesus, use me how you see fit. It's like in America today. If you're not careful, you will allow the American dream to creep in to your spiritual journey. Everyone's dream, at least where I live on the East side of the state, everybody's like, man, all I gotta do is make this much money, and then I'm gonna go to church.

I'm gonna make this much money, and then I can retire and finally move to Holland. It's everybody's dream. I just wanna retire. Please hear me. There's nothing wrong with retiring occupationally, but you can never retire from doing the work of God. You don't retire from kingdom work. And I wanna talk to a senior saint. Maybe you're here today, and you're like, man, I kinda like the season we're in because I love in Getty churches, so many young people, they'll do everything. I'll just kinda sit back and get comfortable. Do not let senior saint in the room, do not let this mentality creep in of, well, I did my time. I did my time. It's their turn to serve me. I'm so thankful that Jesus did not say, I did my time, I healed everybody, I'm just gonna go ahead and ascend back to heaven. No, He carried the cross. He was whipped, beaten, willingly, for you and I. So that way, today, you and I could be saved. 2nd Corinthians 6, 1 through 2. As God's partners, listen to these three words. This is so powerful. We beg you, not, hey, it'd be so cool, bro. If you don't mind, if you ain't got nothing else going on, listen to the power of these words. We beg you, not to accept this marvelous gift of God's kindness and then ignore it. For God says, at just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you. Indeed, the, here it is, right time is now. Today is the day of salvation.

If you're here today, you're like, man, I've never given my life to Christ. Don't you dare. Don't you dare walk out of this door today going, I'll do that later. I got to do some more investigation. Here it is. This is the gospel. This is the gospel. You and I, we are infected with a nasty disease called sin. And we serve a holy God. He's perfect. He's holy. He's just. So God cannot just look at your sin and wink at it and go, get out there, try it again. No, the sin has to be dealt with. God the Father loved you so much. The Bible says that while you and I were still sinners, while you were still living for the world, while you were still ratchet, he died for you. He paid the ultimate price for your sins and mine. He was placed in a tomb. You cannot visit it today because he ain't in there. Three days later, Jesus rose again, conquering and defeating death, hell, and the grave once and for all. Why? Why? So if you put your faith in him, you can be saved by his grace. If you're here today, oh man, I really want that. Maybe I'll give an offering today. I'll sign up to serve. That's not the gospel. You can't work your way into it. You can't give your way into it. It's a free gift that you can only receive. The price was already paid by the blood of Jesus. Please hear me today. I'm not talking, young person here today, I'm not talking about, did you, did you get dragged to church today and you're like, Pastor, I'm batting a thousand. I've been going to church every Sunday in 2026. That's great. I'm not asking you if you took a Bible verse out of context and put it in your Instagram bio. I'm not asking you if you got a cross necklace on today. I'm asking you, have you really surrendered your life to him? Because as the scriptures say, today is the day of salvation. You are not promised tomorrow. I don't say that to scare you. I say that because I have to preach the reality of the text. Maybe you're here today and in your pride and arrogance you're like, bro, I've heard the gospel so many times. Isn't that crazy that the God of the universe loved you so much that even when you keep ignoring him, he brought you in here today to remind you, I'm giving you another chance, but eventually it's too

late and you have no idea when that moment is. All I know is today is the day of salvation. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, you are so good. You are so holy. We thank you. Thank you, Jesus, for going to the cross for us. If you're here today and you say, man, I've never received what you're talking about, this is your moment right now. I wanna lead you in a conversation with God the Father. Just say, God, forgive me of my sins. I admit to you, I am a sinner in need of a savior. And to the best of my ability, I believe that Jesus, you are who you say that you are. I believe that you died on the cross to take the punishment of my sins. I believe that three days later, Jesus, you rose again, defeating death, hell, and the grave. And right now, Jesus, I am putting my faith in you. I receive your grace today, receive your mercy and forgiveness. Heavenly Father, would you make me new? Heavenly Father, would you adopt me as one of your children and to your family? Would you write my name in the Lamb's book of life? I surrender all of me to you. I commit to living the rest of my life for you. As we remain in a moment of prayer, let me tell you, if you're making this decision today for the very first time, it is the most important decision you will ever make.

And before we close in prayer, maybe for you today, the Holy Spirit is just convicting you of something that you know you ought to do, but you keep dragging your feet and you keep asking God to give you an assignment. And maybe today, God brought you here to be reminded, you haven't been faithful to the last assignment I gave you. And it is a sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. And you can try to convince yourself that you're not feeling the stirring of the Holy Spirit of exactly what that thing is, or you could just go before your heavenly Father in this moment, go, heavenly Father, I hear you. I hear you today. He already knows that you do. Just acknowledge it. And some of you need to make a commitment right now and just say, heavenly Father, forgive me. I've known that you've told me to do this. I know that you've told me to serve in that ministry, to call that friend or family member to forgive them. Forgive me that I have not been obedient and I'm committing right now. Whatever that thing is, just say, heavenly Father, I'm gonna do it. God, I pray a special blessing over the senior saints of this house. I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit,

you wouldn't let any of them get comfortably, get too comfortable in their spiritual life, that you would remind them daily that as long as there's breath in their lungs, as long as their heart is beating, that God, you have a plan and that you've given them this wisdom over these years, not to hoard it for themselves, but to share it with the generations that are coming up. So that way their life would leave a legacy to impact generations to come. God, I pray a special blessing over the young people in this house. God, give them the boldness, give them the courage to walk in a holy life, to be set apart, not to wait until they're older, but to do it now. God, we thank you for all that you're doing in each and every one of our lives. God, we love you, we praise you, we honor you. It's in Jesus' mighty name, every believer said, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Young or old, we got a challenge and may we respond well to what we've heard today. If you prayed with Pastor Josh just a few minutes ago and made a decision to follow Jesus for the first time,

you've not made that prayer or maybe you've not meant that prayer in a long time. We've got a Bible and we would love to give you a Bible. We also have a book, just as you said, yes. Resource to help you follow Jesus more faithfully. If you prayed that prayer, I'm gonna ask you to do something really bold. If you would just raise your hand and these gentlemen with ushers throughout, they've got Bibles. They're gonna make their way through the aisles. You just raise your hand. Raise your hand, get their attention. They would love to put a Bible in your hand. There's also a card there. If you could fill that out, Pastor Brian would love to send you a text message this week just to encourage you in your journey. Well, hey, would you stand with me? That's a lot we heard. Each of us have a response. And as we sing this song, may we respond and talk to God. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Let's sing. Let's sing, set a fire. ♪ To set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control ♪ ♪ I want more of you, God, I want more of you, God ♪ ♪ To set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control ♪ ♪ I want more of you, God, I want more of you, God ♪ Come on, set a fire.

♪ To set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control ♪ ♪ I want more of you, God, I want more of you, God ♪ ♪ To set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control ♪ ♪ I want more of you, God, I want more of you, God ♪