Set your house in order

[0:00] Let's go to 2 Kings, 2 Kings chapter 20 just to lead in.

[0:12] ! Don't forget again just to mention there's newsletters at the back with all the latest information about the church so take a hold of that.

[0:38] 2 Kings chapter 20 verse 1. 2 Kings chapter 20 verse 1. In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, set thine house in order.

[0:56] For thou shalt die and not live. Let us pray. Lord we thank you for your word, for our gathering together as your people here now. Lord that you would be glorified in every life and every family.

[1:10] Lord do your work in us we pray. Bless each one now Lord we pray. Help us to have ears to hear what your spirit would speak. Lord use me as a voice, as a channel for your word.

[1:23] To come forth clearly and as you would wish it to Lord. And all to your praise in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thus saith the Lord, set thine house in order for thou shalt die and not live.

[1:42] Hezekiah was a great king in Israel. He was facing death. And the prophet Isaiah said to him, get ready, set your house in order. How did Hezekiah react?

[1:53] How did he deal with this news? He was about to die. He asked for more time. Who would have done the same? I've got things to do. I'm not ready yet.

[2:03] He wanted more time. He was not ready to go. God said, set thine house in order. How much planning do you do before you set off on a trip? I've got some preparation to do yet Lord.

[2:15] I'm not ready to go. Now there's a thousand and one things that we have to set in order before we actually leave. It takes planning, time and effort when you want to go on a trip.

[2:27] Many fail to make those proper arrangements for holidays, for retirement, for other events. What if we fail to plan for our death? It is time to set your house in order.

[2:41] For we will die and not live. God calls us to order. Order. Set your house in order. That's the theme here just now is the theme of order.

[2:53] And set your house in order. Order is a hallmark of God's creation, isn't it? Look at the universe, the solar system, the globe. A hallmark of God's design.

[3:06] Order. Of God's will. In the period of judges, every man did what was right in his own sight. They did what was right in their own sight without regard for God's order.

[3:20] And without divine order, there's a state of chaos and confusion and disorder in the nation. That's what happened in these days. And friends, in 2 Timothy 3, verse 1 through 9, we see the context of the last days.

[3:37] And one of the descriptors of these last days, one of the marks of the last days in 2 Timothy 3, is disorder and lawlessness.

[3:48] That's what it says. Disorder. It's one of the characteristics of the end times. And I plead to you today, brother, sister, set your house in order. As we see, God's design in creation is order.

[4:05] He ordained order. And in the home too, we see in Genesis. God designed the home. And he creates order in the home. He's created marriage.

[4:17] It is by design. Marriage. It's a lifetime decision. It's the commitment of two hearts. The blending of two lives. And the home should be a place of love, of honour, of unity, of nurturing.

[4:32] A safe haven of virtue and goodness in this stormy world. And our Lord God, he is in the home building business. That's his business. There was a little boy named Danny who lived with his family in like a camper van.

[4:47] And one day someone came up to Danny and said, Don't you wish you had a real home? And Danny's reply was wise beyond his years.

[4:59] He said, We have a real home. We just don't have a house to put it in yet. The home. It's not the bricks and mortar, the house you live in.

[5:10] That could be a tent. Psalm 127 it says, Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain. That build it. Except the Lord build the house.

[5:24] That home. That home place. That household. They labour in vain. That build it. Friends, God has designed the home. And he's designed the roles of men and of women.

[5:35] He's designed manhood. womanhood, parenthood. And the devil, people today, I'll tell you, the devil is in the home demolition business.

[5:46] Isn't that right? You know, he's good at swinging that wrecking ball. He's in the home wrecking business, the demolition business. And he wants to weaken the family unit and bring the family under the rule of his kingdom.

[5:58] The enemy of our souls is still busy. And he's working away in this home demolition business. Now, how does he work? You've almost got to put your ear to the wood to hear the munching going on.

[6:15] You ever done that? In some homes, you can hear the munching going on in the wood. The termites eating away, eating away bit by bit. And the attacker of homes works like termites do, quietly and often unnoticed until it's too late.

[6:32] The family is God's idea. It's God's plan. Right from Genesis, the divine institution of the family unit.

[6:42] In the very beginning, God made them male and female, man and wife. He created the home, the family unit. And the family is the divine institution, ordained by God from the beginning of time.

[6:56] God's plan is order. He's designed a headship, a rightful order. And of course, we're speaking today to God's perfect plan. We know it doesn't always work out.

[7:07] In some families, we know that's the reality. And I know that's the case here. We know that happens. It happens. But we can look to God's ideal in his word and aspire to that and pray for that.

[7:22] Marriage and family was divinely created. God made the rules to help make it work. And the home is a God-designed place, designed for his honour, for honourable relationships.

[7:37] Our Lord has designed the home as an orderly place, as a healthy home where families honour him and follow his pattern. The home is God's design.

[7:49] His blueprint is here. It's house of a leaving and of a cleaving, that a man shall leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife. To cleave.

[8:00] It's got that sense of loyalty, of clinging to someone in affection and loyalty. It's that bond, that marriage bond, that glue that holds families together.

[8:12] This is God's design, that we can pray and seek God for, God's plan, God's order. A God-honouring home where there's love and nurture and honour and admonition and correction, where there's training and learning, where parents are those role models, godly role models, good role models, homes that need, homes need that living and loving faith in Christ, homes need that godly, dedicated, consistent living mothers and fathers.

[8:39] Homes need time dedicated to family, to play and pray together. And our Lord has designed this. It's the order that he has set in place as his perfect plan.

[8:50] The one who designed marriage, doesn't matter where the man redefines it, he can call it what he likes. It's not marriage. God has designed marriage. He said it's a man and a woman.

[9:01] It's a lifetime. That's marriage. Marriage. God is the one who's designed marriage. He's designed it to be a sweet and a sacred relationship. Marriage is for keeps.

[9:12] It's a covenant. God is committed to marriage. One plus one plus one equals one. Uphold each other. Support each other. Husbands and wives, cleave to each other.

[9:24] It means cling. Hold fast. Stick fast to. Be faithful. Cleave. It's like super glue. You're cleaved. It's an unbreakable bond.

[9:37] God has defined marriage. He's ordered it and he's sanctified it and he's made the sanctity of the marriage bond. Think of marriage as God has purposed it to be. It's a sacred covenant before God.

[9:50] Two lives becoming one. The bond of oneness in marriage is love. And we're talking here, not this soppy Hollywood love, that's when you feel like it kind of love, but real love.

[10:04] It's expressed in the commitment, the same commitment of our Lord to us. In Ephesians 5.29, it tells of a husband nourishing and cherishing his wife.

[10:15] There's a tenderness there, a warmth, a tender care. Now you might say, brother, you might say to me, my wife is as cold as a snowball from Antarctica.

[10:26] Have you tried cherishing her? Warmer, cherish her. Husband, be the loving, godly example you're called to be, to be the head of the home under God.

[10:40] The God-given order for marriage is this godly submission, this godly headship. Of course, we know the Lord Jesus must be the head of the home. Colossians 3, you might want to turn.

[10:53] Colossians 3 from verse 16. We're going to spend a little time touching on some of these verses here in Colossians 3. From verse 16, it says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord, and whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

[11:24] Then it goes on, some instructions about God's order. Verse 18, Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord.

[11:36] Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

[11:47] Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. God wants harmony, harmony in the home. And he speaks here to, as we see to start, he speaks to husbands and to wives.

[12:05] God's design is order in the home. God wants the man to be, to take a position of responsibility.

[12:19] Sorry about the sound there. I hope that's not too loud. Thirteen times, Paul says that the husband has a role to be leader within the family, to provide and protect the family.

[12:31] He's responsible and accountable as the head of the family. Husbands, love your wives, it says in Ephesians 5, 25, a parallel passage. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it.

[12:45] Now we can gloss over that, can't we? We can gloss over that. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. That's love, isn't it?

[12:57] Love with outstretched arms, pierced and bleeding and dying, for a sinful world. Love means giving, as Christ would love. Consider the deep and giving love of our Lord, unconditional, without conditions.

[13:12] It has no strings attached. It makes no demands. It's faithful, tender, sacrificial. God's kind of love, isn't it? As Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it.

[13:28] Husbands, that's the kind of love we're called to. Caring, providing, unselfish love. And a godly home, has this mutual respect, and love. A wife giving, loving submission, towards the husband.

[13:41] Ephesians 5.23, in part it says, the husband is the, head of the wife. He's the head. In other words, the ultimate decisions, he calls them.

[13:53] He has ultimate responsibility. And, man here today, it's a fearful, tremendous responsibility, we have before God, isn't it?

[14:04] As the husband, we're accountable before God. You know, someone has said, the typical modern day, Western Christian, here's a quote, instead of moving their family, into Sodom, like Lot did, they've moved Sodom, in the form of television, into their home.

[14:23] And it's almost impossible, to rescue these people, especially their children, husbands, fathers. We need to be gatekeepers. Let's not move Sodom, into our homes.

[14:37] Amen? Let's watch out for that. God tells husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church. In other words, love her to death. Love her to death, as Christ loved the church.

[14:50] The church, with all its faults and failings, the church, he loved the church. See, the church, with all of its fallibles, foibles, you know, the church, with all the mess, that the church is at times, Christ loved the church.

[15:08] Now, husbands are to love their wives, as God loves us. God loves us, even when we were dead in sin, it says. Now, it can be hard to love a corpse. When we were dead in sins, he still loved us, and gave himself for us.

[15:22] While we were his enemies, it says. The husband is to have that kind of love, unconditional, sacrificial love. So, let us develop that man, that kind of love, for our wife.

[15:33] You know, someone said, tongue in cheek, get this, an exhaustive study, was undertaken, and it shows that no woman, has ever shot her husband, while he was doing the dishes.

[15:46] So, you know, you might, you know, man here today, you might have a problem, your wife might have a problem with you, go and do the dishes, all right? You know, show your love, in other words, in some practical ways.

[15:57] You know, it boils down to attitude, doesn't it? Rather than focusing on our own rights, and rather, our responsibilities to each other. What about you and me?

[16:09] Is it a gimme, gimme attitude, where it's all about me, me, or do we love like Christ, the love that Christ has for his church? And husbands, the duty for us is to guide, to govern, to serve, with self-giving love, to lead in love.

[16:28] It's been said that leadership, in marriage, it's not, who wears the trousers, but who wears the towel. And it's be like Christ, don't we? Be like Christ. And the man is responsible, to take the lead, as provider, take your family to church.

[16:43] Don't miss that. And women, follow the lead. It's been truly said, that marriage is an unconditional commitment, to an imperfect person.

[16:54] Now, as much as Julie's very wonderful, she's not perfect yet. And you know, marriage is like that, isn't it? It's an unconditional commitment, to an imperfect person.

[17:05] And it says, the wife is called to reverence, or respect her husband. In Ephesians 5.33, respect him. In other words, reverence him, regard him, honour him, venerate him, esteem him, praise, love, and admire him.

[17:20] There's a call for that, selfless love. Husband to wife, wife to husband. Men, give your wife, what she needs. Now, here's another kind of tongue-in-cheek, story here, about one man.

[17:34] He, it was said of his love, for his wife. And the point I'm making here, is husbands, give your wife, what she needs. It says, to prove his love for her.

[17:46] He swam the deepest river. He crossed the widest desert, and climbed the highest mountain. She divorced him. He was never home. You know, we can, husbands, we can think we're doing the right thing, you know, pour ourselves out, as we, I'm sure we try to do, but we can miss what the wife really wants.

[18:09] What the wife really wants. And I'm guilty. I confess. I have to stand on a chair. Colossians 3.19, it says, Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

[18:22] Husbands, be loving, not bitter, harsh, or dominating. And the love spoken here, is of a self-giving love. It's got the sense of, keep on continuously loving.

[18:33] Supernaturally, sacrificially. It's been said, as someone has put it, although the husband is the head, he should not tread underfoot the wife. Eve was taken from Adam's side, to symbolise her place by his side.

[18:46] Eve was not to rule, but to be a helper, and a companion. Husbands must love their wives, each is to compliment the other. The wife was taken from Adam's side. And so we are not to be harsh or selfish men, not to be bitter, but forgiving.

[19:01] Appreciate your wife, serve her, be thoughtful. I'm preaching to myself this morning. I've got to put this into action now. Love your wives.

[19:13] It's a commitment, isn't it? That's what we call it too. It's through thick and thin, till death do us part kind of love. God's great love for us, is that kind of love. The love that he's lavished upon us.

[19:25] In Ephesians 2.4 it says, But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved us. What a great love, abundant love, unmerited love, undeserved love, and that's the kind of love, men, we are to love our wives with.

[19:42] Colossians 3.18, it addresses the women. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit, in the Lord. Of course, there's that proviso there. As it is fit, in the Lord.

[19:54] God's planned a divine order. The man needs to get in order. And then the wife will get in order. Under the authority, this word submit, it's got that sense it's fit, it's fitting, it's proper, it's right.

[20:07] Now this doesn't mean that the women have a lower status, or that men are some dictators, you know, that men should always get their own way. But this submission, it's a voluntary submission.

[20:19] It's a willing, it's a joyful, it's a glad submission. Under godly leadership, that recognition of authority in the home, it's the order. And there's that commitment, that concern, that the wife learning, helping, helping, working.

[20:36] It's a military term, this sense of submit, as it were, as a lining up of soldiers under the commanding officer. The home is meant to have an order, a harmony, and a leadership that is rightful.

[20:54] And of course we know men, we've got to get in order. Men need to get saved. Get in order. And the wife has a responsibility, not to be selfish, but to take her place in support, as a helpmeet.

[21:09] It's fitting, it's proper. We know Proverbs 31, tells us much, of the virtuous woman, virtuous woman, an excellent woman, a woman of worth. Titus 2.4, it says, that they may teach the young women, to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.

[21:26] Titus 2.5, tells of the wife being a homemaker. So we've seen the husbands, the wives. There's much we could learn, there's much more we could say. We see another place of order in the home, is parents and children.

[21:41] Christian parents. We've got such an awesome responsibility, a privilege, for discipline and instruction. And when we see order is missing, we see unruly children.

[21:54] We see a breakdown of respect and authority. And in society at large. But it starts in the home. That's where it starts. So children here today, and we're all children, aren't we?

[22:09] You've all got a mum or a dad, or both, hopefully. It says that, children, obey your parents, in all things, for this is well pleasing, unto the Lord.

[22:19] Colossians 3.20, obey. In other words, listen to them. Hearken, in everything. Listen, listen. Now listening means, keeping your mouth shut.

[22:31] Listen to them. Show them respect and honour. It says, obey. In other words, don't rebel. Hear what they tell you. It says that, this pleases the Lord.

[22:43] Of course we know, parents aren't perfect, and not everything they say is necessarily perfect either. But there's that sense of honour.

[22:55] And we as godly men and women, we can honour our father and mother, as we ought to. Even if they're not saved yet, we can honour them. It says it pleases the Lord when we do that.

[23:09] Bless them, by listening to them. Ephesians 6, it tells us, verse 2, honour thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth.

[23:23] So, show them respect and regard. Regard them highly. We know the world we're living in, there's not a lot of respect. I went to a shop recently, and the shop assistant called me, sir.

[23:37] I thought, wow, I must be getting grey hairs or something. I thought, that's almost surprised by that. But it's a pleasant surprise, isn't it? When there's that courtesy that is somewhat lacking these days, it seems.

[23:51] But in the home, even more so. In America, they say, yes sir, don't they, to the dad? Sort of a way that they do it in America. You know, there's that sense of that, honour your father, honour your mother.

[24:04] One of the last day's characteristics is disobedience to parents. 2 Timothy 3, 1 and 2. Don't you see that so much these days? Juvenile delinquency, we see much pregnancy out of wedlock, we see drug addicts, we see crime waves, we see violence.

[24:25] It's been said that, here's a quote, the juvenile mind yearns for the hand and voice of authority. That's what they want. They want parental authority and rightful discipline, given in the spirit of love.

[24:41] And fathers, mothers, we need that. And don't we see it today? Family authority, it's being undermined. Parental authority, you see the, not that I've particularly, know them in detail myself, but you hear of the soapies and of the popular, the Simpsons and whatever, they make the man look like a bumbling fool and they mock fathers and they mock parents in many of the shows, I'm told, these days.

[25:12] Parental authority is, it's like a joke, is how they treat it on the screens these days. But parental authority is so needful that we guide and control the home, that we seek to bring godly guidance and support.

[25:29] Now we know it's not easy being a parent. It isn't easy. You know, it's been said, insanity is hereditary. You can get it from your children. You know, children can be hard, hard to handle.

[25:42] Amen? And all the men said and the women said, but friends, we've got to keep strong as parents. Be a strong father, a strong mother, a loving mother, a loving father and instil that authority, that listening.

[25:59] There's so many barriers to this these days, isn't there? You know, the phones, the screens. You know, someone said, I put a mirror on my TV set, I wanted to see what my family looked like.

[26:14] That's how some homes are, isn't it? You've got to look at, you don't get a chance to talk face to face and then they're glued to the idiot box. And we need time with our family.

[26:28] Ephesians 6, verses 2 and 3, honour thy father and mother. If you want to live long and prosper, it says, honour your parents. So, children here today, respect is a feeling.

[26:42] Honour is an act. Honour, it speaks about that action you can take. So what could that be for young people here today? Young people, it could mean honour your father and mother by doing that schoolwork, by helping those chores around the home, by doing the dishes, by cutting the grass, making your bed, reading some good books, being polite and courteous and kind to your brothers and sisters, keeping your temper and your tongue under control.

[27:09] because disobeying or dishonouring your parents is very serious. But if we do the right thing, there's a great reward, a great reward.

[27:21] Colossians 3, 21, it says, Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. You know, fathers, we can get a bit heavy-handed. We can take it too far.

[27:33] Ephesians 6, for it says, And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. There's a real proviso there. How we are to bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.

[27:46] In other words, with encouragement and sensible discipline. With rightful instruction and training. Christ-filled home. That's our prayer. That's our goal.

[27:57] That's what we yearn for. For all of us. Fathers, men, every day you are setting an example by what you do and by what you don't do.

[28:08] You are setting an example and children need your guidance and support and they'll watch you more than what they listen to you. They'll see what you do. Whether it lines up, whether it really stacks up what you say and what you do.

[28:25] And so work at being a good father, a better father. Bring your children up with godly instruction. Train them. In biblical truth. And fathers were instructed don't vex them.

[28:37] Don't harass them. Don't provoke them. Don't be hard on them. In that harsh way. And people here this morning, we know we've all got room for improvement.

[28:49] I speak for myself. You may not be a perfect parent. You might look back and think, wow, I could have done a whole lot better. But you can be a positive example now.

[29:00] Even now, whatever your circumstance, you can be a positive example now to your brothers and sisters around you, to your family members, to your father, to your mother, to your children if you have them, to your spouse, to be that supporter, that encourager, that coach, that guide.

[29:17] You know, the evangelist, Gypsy Smith, said, there are five gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and the gospel according to you. The gospel according to you.

[29:27] You may be the only gospel some people read. And so, you are to be an example, especially to your family. Especially to your family. Parents to children.

[29:40] Children to parents. So let's, parents, let's exercise wise and loving authority. You're training your children whether you realise it or not. They're learning your bad habits.

[29:54] And you see the, what my son and, sons and daughters get up to and I shake my head and think, oh no, they've learnt that from me. Your bad attitudes. Proverbs 22, train up a child in the way he should go.

[30:08] And when he is old, he will not depart from it. Now, it's a fact that a child of three or four years of age easily picks up a foreign language without even trying.

[30:24] You know, we have to go to night classes and day classes and, and pour over books and, and try to get it in, in this brain space to, to learn a language. But young children, three or four years old, they'll, they'll pick it up as long as they're exposed to it.

[30:41] Exposed to it. Without any formal teaching. And, it's been said that, however, we're sometimes unwilling to admit that a child of that same age, three or four, picks up our unconscious attitudes and our prejudices and those, those silly things we say and do.

[31:03] They're picking it up, people. They're watching us. They're learning. And, often they retain that longer than any of their formal education. So, the home place is a training place.

[31:16] The Christ filled home is one where Christ is preeminent. Where his praise must come. His praise sounds from everyone's lips. And his name is honoured.

[31:29] And he has the greatest respect and honour in the home. It says in the word, in him we live and move and have our being. And so, let's maintain that godly conversation.

[31:40] In Ephesians 4 it says, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that may minister grace unto the hearers. Ask the Lord to help you zip your lip when you want to say something you shouldn't.

[31:57] Amen. And let's consider the interests of others and converse rather the word of God in the home. Speak the word of God. Sing the word of God in your home.

[32:09] Let there be melody in your heart and let it come out in your life. And show your children how to apply the Bible. We know in Deuteronomy 6 we read how it tells us thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.

[32:28] And it says, and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart and thou shalt teach them teach them teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine home and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest thou.

[32:48] Let these words be in your mouth. Speak them in the home. You know, it's great to have Bible texts on the walls of your home. Get some Bible texts and print them and stick them on the walls of your home.

[33:02] Let the Bible be evident. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Of course it goes on in Proverbs 13 He that spareth his rod hateth his son but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

[33:21] In other words he chastens him promptly. A Harvard Uni study of family life makes a powerful case for the traditional family structure. It says it's found basically so goes the children so goes the culture so goes the family so goes society.

[33:39] Starts in the home. Starts in the home. And parents we know we can make a mess of it. There was a man called Thomas Hansen in Colorado in 1978 he sued his parents for $350,000 on the grounds of malpractice of parenting.

[34:00] He thought his parents hadn't done a good enough job bringing him up. Mum and dad had botched his upbringing so badly that he charged them in this suit that he would need years of costly psychiatric treatment.

[34:15] Sued his parents for $350,000 malpractice of parenting. What a shameful thing that would be isn't it? Godly parenting that's what we need people of God people of God today.

[34:29] And so let's be encouraged let's pray for our families and people of God here today we are setting an example for the next generation.

[34:41] You know it's been said don't brag about your ancestors ancestors you might have famous lineage in your family tree don't brag about your ancestors rather give your descendants something to brag about.

[34:58] Leave a legacy give your descendants something to brag about. Pass on that godly heritage Psalm 127 low children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

[35:12] So we pray we pray for godly families godly men and women godly character God is a perfect plan he's designed the home the family to operate in a biblical way.

[35:26] How can I be a better spouse? How can I become a better parent? What does God expect of me in my marriage in my family? Joshua said it came to a crunch time here where it was a choice between following Baal the false gods the idols or following the Lord God and he says choose you this day whom ye will serve whether the gods which your father served before but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord as for me and my house we will serve the Lord the prophet Isaiah told Hezekiah he would die he says set your house in order for you're going to die set your house in order it's important that we set our house in order there's a rightful responsibility we all have an authority that's founded upon God's word how do we arrange our life how would we arrange our life if we knew we were about to die in a short time we should be prepared because the death rate is 100% one death for every birth 153,000 people die every day 6,390 die every hour 107 deaths every minute a person dies every 1.78 seconds thus saith the Lord set thine house in order for thou shalt die and not live

[37:07] Hebrews 9 says it is appointed unto man once to die but after this the judgment so we need to pass our life in order and be prepared of course we've been talking about the family just a moment on salvation we've been preaching really to Christian families here this morning if you're not saved if you don't know Christ as your Lord and Saviour you can make that same step that Mario's boss made you can make that same step it might have taken you years to come to that place that point of salvation choose you this day whom you will serve I pray that everyone here will know for a surety that Christ died for their sins was buried and rose again and confessed from your lips as Lord as you trusted him in your heart if you'd like prayer for that see me at the close the vital truth here this morning is that you set your house in order your life in order to know

[38:08] Christ as Lord as Saviour as Master as your everlasting King you can know him today because he died on the cross in our place took our shame and sin and paid it in full and so set your house in order prepare your soul for heaven some of you are living in sin you would be lost if you died now set your house in order get right with God Hezekiah prayed to God and he was given 15 more years he was given a bit more time to get it right wouldn't it be nice if you knew that God's given you 15 more years what would you do with that what would you do with that time precious time he was given time so he could set his house in order what would you do if you knew you only had one more week one more day are there some people you've got to get things right with some things you've got to get sorted that you've been putting on the shelf you haven't sorted it make it right make it right with men and with

[39:15] God make it right with your soul do that now you may not even have a day set your house in order thank you