Your Appointments with God
by Clark Copeland
November 21, 2021 · Apostolic Lighthouse Church, Dayton
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Acts 9:1-5, Hebrews 9:27, Ecclesiastes 9:12, 2 Corinthians 5:10

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/clark-copeland--your-appointments-with-god
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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well it's good to be in god's house on a sunday morning i am thankful today to be in god's house thankful for what i feel i love i love this church i love the presence of god that i always feel when i come into this church i honor your pastor and his family i love the smith family how many is thankful for your pastor this morning amen amen an incredible preacher and pastor i'm honored to be here this morning with this church i also want to honor all the faithful saints of god all our visitors today thank you for being here we're honored that you would bless us by being here in the house of god this morning let's go to acts chapter 9 and verse number one you know every once in a while god requires us to do an examination a check up on ourselves and i want to tell you that there is no one that is alive today that is too spiritual to be lost there's nobody that has a safety net to where they can live how they want to live and do what they want to do and have no possibility of them losing out with god i believe today god is wanting some people just to take a little inventory of our hearts and our lives and see if there's some things in our lives that maybe ought not to be there acts chapter nine and verse number one the bible says in saul yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the lord went unto the high priest and desired of him letters to damascus to the synagogues that if he found any of this way whether they were men or women he might bring them bound unto jerusalem and as he journeyed he came near damascus and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven and he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him saul saul why persecutest thou me and he said who art thou lord and the lord said i am jesus whom thou persecutest it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks so saul was just going through life just another ordinary day for him and all of a sudden he had an interruption in his life and he had an appointment with god one more verse hebrews chapter 9 verse number 27 hebrews 9 verse number 27 the bible says and as it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment it is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment we've got some appointments with god they're on the schedule for each and every person that are here today and i don't know about you this morning but i want to be ready for my appointments with god i want to preach today on this subject simply this your appointments with god your appointments with god would you lift your hands for a minute and help me pray god i feel the anointing of the holy ghost i feel that you've given me a word for this congregation this morning i'm asking you to anoint me as i preach the word god anoint the ears of every listener that is in this place today in the name of jesus i wonder if you'd put your hands together one more time thank you holy ghost hallelujah amen and you may be seated this morning thank you for standing we all have different appointments in our lives we have job interviews we have doctor's appointments we have dentist appointments and there are some appointments in life that are more important than other ones but i want to tell you this morning that we have some appointments on the schedule that are far more important than any of the ones that i just mentioned we have a few appointments in our lives that are divine and that are the most important ones that you and i will ever be summoned to there are some appointments in life that you can skip

there's some appointments that are optional for example if you don't want to go to the doctor's office and have an appointment guess what you can just skip that appointment if you decide that you just want to skip your dentist appointment then guess what you don't have to go to the dentist but i want to tell you that there are a few appointments in your life that you have no option about and you will attend these appointments whether or not you feel like it it does not matter really today if you don't feel that you're ready for them it does not matter if you feel that you aren't prepared it does not matter if you feel you just ha you wish you had a little bit more time these appointments you can't reschedule and and you will be here at these appointments in life we usually choose the time that we want to have an appointment but i want to tell you that with god's appointments we don't get to choose the time god is the only one that knows when your appointments are with him and you will want to be ready for these appointments and i will want to be ready for these appointments and we will not want to be caught empty and we will not want to be caught sleeping at the time of your appointments with god so number one i want to tell you that you have an appointment with jesus saul was on his way to kill christians and he had been going through different cities and killing anyone who believed on the lord jesus christ and he had no idea but on this particular day he had an appointment with jesus christ himself and i've come this morning to tell somebody that whether you realize it or not today is a day that you have an appointment with jesus christ god knew each and every person that was going to be here today and i don't believe anybody is here by accident you may think you're just here by chance and you may think you're just here because hey somebody invited me or maybe you think you're here because somebody obligated you to come but i've come to tell you this morning that jesus knew each and every person who would be here today i've come to tell you what you're not just hereby happenstance but god divinely ordered your steps for you to be in this house today i've come to tell you maybe you think you're here just to see some friends and maybe you think you're here just to see your neighbor but i've come to tell you you are here today because jesus christ wanted to have an appointment with you you're here today because jesus christ is knocking at the door of your heart the bible says i stand at the door and knock if any man will let me in i'll come in and sup with him that's what jesus is doing today he's knocking at the door of your heart he's saying will you let me in i want to tell you don't you underestimate what god can do on a sunday morning don't come into this house and think it's just another sunday just just another service that we've got to get through and and get back to life and and it's just another deal that we do on sunday did you know this morning that this service will be exactly what you make it if you came for fun that i believe you might have fun if you came for a good time i believe you'll have a good time but if you came today needing a word from god i believe you can leave this place with a word from god if you came today needing a healing in your body i've just got enough faith to believe you can leave this place with whatever you need if you came empty you can leave full if you came hungry you can leave satisfied because you've got an appointment with jesus we read in the bible about a woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years she was sick for 12 years the bible says that she spent all of her money trying to get well everything that she had she went to different doctors and different specialists trying to get better but the bible says that she only grew worse but she heard that jesus was coming to town and she said within herself i may have spent everything i had on doctors and physicians and i may feel hopeless right now and i may feel that this is the thing that's going to take me out of this world but hey if i can just get in the presence of jesus if i can just get close enough and reach out and touch the hem of his garment the bible lets us know that the crowd was heavy there was a lot of people trying to get to jesus

but she pushed her way through that crowd until she reached forth and touched the hymn of his garment and the bible says she was healed hey you may be here today and there may be circumstances that are keeping you in between or are that are between you and god there may be some doubt there may be some insecurities there may be some problems but i'm telling you if you could just push past that and of jesus christ you could get whatever you need today you may have come hurt you may have come broken but if you can reach out and touch the hem of his garment i promise you this morning he will meet your need if anybody believes that i wish you'd clap your hands to the lord come on if there's anybody that can testify of the goodness of jesus i wish you lift up your voice and give god a shout all over this place right now so jesus today is calling you he's calling you he's summoning you but it's up to you this morning it's up to you to decide how you're going to handle how you're going to handle this encounter with jesus will you let him touch you today will you leave the same way that you came we let them come into your heart and in your life and fill you with the holy ghost or are you going to leave the exact same way that you came i was reading about simon and andrew where jesus called them to be disciples they were out fishing just a day-to-day thing that they did and this was their occupation and the bible says that when jesus passed by and he called out to them and said follow me the bible says that they immediately everybody say immediately right away there was no procrastination the bible says that they left their nets they left their boat they even left their dad and they left that place and they began to follow jesus they had a realization and an understanding that this was their appointment with jesus christ they realized that in that particular moment they had an opportunity that may never come again they didn't sit there and think about all the things that they were leaving behind they didn't think about the boat and the nets and their dad but they began to look at jesus christ and they said i'll give anything to follow that man i want to tell you hey you may have to leave some people behind hey if your daddy doesn't follow jesus you need to make up in your mind hey i'm going to reach for him but i'm going to follow jesus my neighbors my friends may not follow jesus but i've made up in my mind come what may i'm gonna follow jesus so they had an appointment with jesus the bible lets us know they made good on that appointment that they accepted the invitation of jesus christ so once again i want to tell you god is in this place and he's reaching for you but you can walk out and ignore the call of god absolutely you can walk out of this place and not allow the holy ghost to change anything in your life it's it's basically an optional appointment but can i tell you tonight that there are two other appointments that you and i have with god and these appointments they are not optional and they are not just up to you if you want to do them or not but the bible lets us know that they are inescapable and that they are absolutely mandatory and required and once god calls your name for these next two appointments i want to tell you there's going to be no postponing them there will be no window of opportunity where we say just give me a little bit more time to make sure that i'm ready for this appointment and can i tell you that how you handle your appointment with jesus today today is going to have an impact on what will happen at your next two appointments with god number two today you have an appointment with death you've got an appointment with death the bible says that it is appointed unto men once to die i know this isn't typical for a sunday morning service and i know

it's not something that we enjoy talking about but the bible lets us know that david said that he said i go the way of all the earth what was he saying he was saying everybody's got a time to die and everybody has an appointment with death he said i go the way of all the earth you know a lot of people go through life and and we try to stay busy with careers and we try to stay busy with family and different things and and we don't like silence because it's in those moments that there's a little voice in the back of our heads that says hey don't you know one day you're gonna die we begin to hear a little voice in the back of our heads that says what's gonna happen after you die nearly two people die each and every second 105 people die each and every minute since this service has begun this morning and i tell you over 6 000 people have died over 6 000 people have died since this service this morning has begun i just want to remind somebody that you have no idea when your appointment with death is nobody does you could be on your way home today and get in a car crash and be taken out of this world but guess what you would have no idea of it right now because that's just the way that death works can i tell you this morning that i know it may just feel like a sunday morning but did you know that there will be a sunday morning when it is your last sunday morning there will be an appointment with jesus where is your very last appointment with jesus ecclesiastes chapter 9 and verse number 12 says that man does not know his time man does not know his time that's why you and i have to stay ready the bible lets us know about 10 virgins and at one point every single one of them had oil in their vessels at one point there was a time where if the bridegroom would have come they would have all been ready but just through the process of time and maybe just getting a little bit careless there were five of them that at the time of their appointment with the bridegroom that they found themselves empty it gives the possibility of somebody being in the church and at one time being in the presence of god and at one time being full of the holy ghost but still somehow missing out on their appointment with god the bible says if a tree fall toward the south or toward the north or toward the east or the west and the place where the tree falleth the place where the tree falleth there shall it be what does that mean that means that when your life is over your opportunity to get it right is over that means that when death comes and just like the verse says the way that the tree falls that's the way it's gonna lie that means the way that you lived your life is the way that you're gonna die and after death comes can i just tell you that there will be no more chances to get it all right with god the number three today we read about an appointment with god at the judgment the bible says it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment second corinthians chapter 5 and verse number 10 says that we must all appear everybody say the word all we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body whether it be good or whether it be bad it says we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ and i want to tell you that that includes you and that includes me and we must all appear that before the judgment seat of christ and i just want to remind somebody today that you're going to be judged off of everything that you did or you won't be judged just off of that which was public and which everybody knew about what the bible says we're going to be judged on the secret things in our life i want to tell somebody you may have hidden it from your spouse and they may have never found out about it you may be able to hide things from your parents but i've come to tell you you can't hide it from god you can't hide your sin from god

i've come to tell you you will be judged off of the way that you lived your life you will be judged off of the decisions that you made when you thought nobody was i looking you lift your hands with me he caught up mosaic in the name of jesus god let conviction fall in this house says tomorrow come on would you lift up your hands in the name of jesus help us tonight holy ghost and i tell you today that it bothers me it bothers me when i see young people that are more scared of getting in trouble by their parents than they are about god taking a look at their heart it bothers me that i meet people who are more concerned about what everybody else thinks about them than they are about what god thinks about them and i'm preaching to myself this morning we think that hey just because nobody found out and just because nobody was looking over our shoulder that that hey we got away with it and that everything's okay but i've come to tell you that god was there while you were sinning hey we feel the presence of god in this place but guess what the presence of god is also at your house when you go home i want to tell somebody today god was there when you were on that website god was there when you were on that app god was there when you were having that conversation that you shouldn't be having i've come to tell you we're gonna have to give an account of the way that we lived our lives we're gonna have to stand before the judgment seat of christ and give an account of what we did with our lives i say unto you that every idle word every idle word that men shall speak they're going to give an account of in the day of the judgment every conversation you had hey i don't care if it was with your best friend on the phone the bible says every idol word that men shall speak they're going to give an account of in the day of the judgment god will bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good and whether it be evil every secret work every secret work is going to be made known everything that you and i thought we got away with that isn't covered by the blood of jesus christ you're going to give an account of the day of the judgment i just felt an urgency in the holy ghost this morning i did not intend on preaching this at all but i just felt to tell somebody that there's a judgment day coming there's a judgment day coming for you and for me there's a judgment day coming and we're going to be judged off of the decisions that we made the things that we did did we make god our priority it was church just something that we learn how to do did we live a double life where we one thing when we came into the house of god and were we a different thing when we were outside of this place what did we do when nobody was watching the bible says that surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life but i want to tell you that lets me know that when your life is over so is mercy and so is grace there will be no more mercy for you when your life is over there will be no more grace for you when your life is over come to the music i'm hurrying to a close the bible says many will come to me in that day they did we not do so many wonderful things in your name we did prophesy in your name we did miracles in your name but i will say to them depart from me you workers of iniquity i never knew you never knew you i want to tell you this morning you can't really get to know somebody

that you don't spend time with you can't get to know somebody that you don't spend time with and some of us think that we could go weeks and weeks and i never really spend time with god and that everything's okay but i want to tell you if you never spend time with god don't expect god to be able to know you you can't really get to know somebody if the only time you hear from them is when they're in trouble it's when they're in a dilemma it's when they're in a bind you can't really get to know somebody if every time they talk to you you can tell that they don't want to be around you that they don't even want to be there but they'd be rather rather be doing something else and i tell you people don't just end up in heaven and people also don't just end up in hell it's our choices it's what we decide to do with services just like these here today these are your appointments with god these are your appointments with god i suppose today those that will have the most regret out of anybody in hell are those who sat through services just like these do you realize the opportunity you have this morning do you realize what can happen at an altar just like this where if you just throw your hands up that god could take away all the sin god could forgive your past it doesn't matter what you've done do you realize the opportunity that you have this morning stand with me all over the house i want to ask a couple questions to you this morning i just want you to answer these to yourself not out loud answer them to yourself but i want to ask you this morning what is the condition of your soul that's something only you know that's something only god knows what is the condition of your soul do you really have a relationship with god i want to ask you this morning are you ready to meet god if death was to call your name today are you ready to stand before the judgment seat of christ i wonder if you'd bow your head just for a moment and close your eyes i want to read to you some lyrics from an old song from many years ago the song says i dreamed that i had died and gone to heaven i stood just outside the eastern gate the man from within said have you been born again and is your name written in the lamb's book of life i said please search the book again i thought my name was there i went to church on sunday though i never knelt in prayer please search the book again it's too late now i know please search the book again before you make me go i told him all the deeds that i had done and i told him all the trophies that i had won but the man said to me have you been set free it is your name written in the book of life and then he turned and left me standing there i knew it was too late now for prayer oh my friend if you want to make it in your name must be written in the lamb's book of life and i tell you if you're not born again if you're not full of the holy ghost this morning you're not ready hear me today the bible says if any man have not the spirit of christ he is none of his if you're not full of the holy ghost and i tell you you're not ready for your appointment with god if you haven't been baptized in the name of jesus christ for the remission of sins i've got to tell you you're not ready for your appointment with god would you lift your hands with me right now you come on is there somebody that would help me pray right now come on i felt an urgency just to tell somebody why don't you check your heart come on you know the secret parts of your heart come on you know where things are that nobody else knows about you know what you do when you're behind closed doors you know what you do when nobody's looking over your shoulder come on i want to open up these altars right now come on we've got an opportunity today to repent come on we've got an opportunity right now to get it all right with god come on if you don't have the holy ghost why don't you walk up to this spot and throw your hands in the air and i'm telling you if you've really repented god will fill you up with the gift of

the holy ghost come on lukewarm saying to god maybe you've had the holy ghost at one time but you know right now right now you're not where you ought to be with god come on i'm asking you this morning don't you wait until it's too late for you to ask god to search the book come on notes you wait until your opportunity has come and gone for you to say would you look for my name in the lamb's book of life come on we've got to be full of the holy ghost if we want to be saved come on one time and enough come on one touch ain't enough you've got to be full and running over with the gift of the holy ghost come on i need to hear somebody pray today come on i want to tell you there's power and crying out to god come on that's what attracts god if you'd open up your mouth and begin to cry out i promise you god will hear your prayer come on somebody needs to step out from where you are right now come on somebody needs to step out of that view right now and come to this altar and find a place to pray come on don't be worried about what everybody else thinks don't be worried about what other people may say you've got an appointment with jesus christ right now