Teague Bible Church

TIME DELAY
I had this great adventure presented to me in 1985. A man in our church told me he would teach me to fly his airplane for free. The plane was a normal gas engine plane. That means when you pulled the throttle you got an instance response.
Later He let me fly a turboprop plane which has a jet engine but normal propellers on the front. The difference? When you pull the throttle you get a delay before you “feel” the power. It is that delay I want to talk about.
On the positive side we see this delay when we pray. Several verses encourage us not to give up in prayer. Many times there is a delay, but sometimes you get an instant response. Luke 18:1,” Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart.”
With the recent events in Texas I wonder why anybody would be puzzled when the demonic clearly shows itself. Someone on the news will take the side of this mass murderer and blame “society.” Really what you are seeing is a time delay. A world view fleshed out for all to see. Deep inside this 26 -year- old, all along his life, he made decisions. His world view was being established. There was a delay between his beliefs and his final actions.
He chose who he would hang around and what he read and what he looked at on the internet. He was free to choose differently but he did not. There are not enough safety nets in the world to forever keep someone from doing such a thing.
Each person is responsible for their actions. ” Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11. The mercy of God gives all people a time delay to change their minds before it is too late.
This young man followed out what he really believed in the secret depths of his heart. The folks around saw many things in him that looked normal. That was only from an outside look, which is meaningless. He had set the throttle, and was probably shocked himself to see what came after the time delay expired; the final fruit of a tree planted long ago.
Flying a turboprop takes some getting used to. But once you set the throttle, and the power band rises up, you have another problem, a new problem. The power does not stop as soon as you pull back on the throttle! The point it that once you set your world view in motion you may get unintended consequences. You lose control, and forces take over which you cannot now stop.
Be very careful of what you put into your life. You may think it is ok to dabble in worldly things, or to run away from your problems, or blaming everybody else for your situation. You may think you can “fix’ it if the habits gets out of control. You would be wrong about that. Life is not a game. But this life can bring great purpose and joy if we abide in Christ daily.
And in those little daily inputs of “throttle” we will have a delay in results, but we will also have great reward and depth of heart that is more than a match for these evil days after the delay.
” For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” I John 5:3-5

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” Galatians 6:9

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15: 58

” For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12: 3

11/6/17 JWP