Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

"SET THINE HOUSE IN ORDER"

1. The divine summons:
   1. Came unexpectedly. King Hezekiah was in his middle age and had a lot to look forward to.
   2. That summons came to Belshazzar, too, unexpectedly - Dan. 5:5
   3. And none of us knows when it might come to us.
2. It is the summons of death:
   1. "For thou shalt die, and not live"
   2. "This night thy soul shall be required of thee" - Luke 12:20

1. This divine summons is full of signification for all who face the inevitable:
   1. There are responsibilities that must be taken care of before we enter the shadows; before we leave this world.
   2. These solemn responsibilities may differ in each case, but they are here just the same.
   3. Hezekiah was the king of a nation and for that reason had kingly responsibilities to take care of.
   4. Our responsibilities may be limited to our immediate family -
      1. Some things may have to be made right in the family relation.
      2. A long neglected duty as a father or a mother may have to be performed before we depart out of this life.
2. The divine summons comes to us:
   1. Because God loves us.
   2. He desires for us to have no regrets on the day of judgment.
   3. Such a summons is a preparation, not only for death, but also for the life to come.
   4. When we leave this world we should have the hope to awake in the world to come with a clear conscience - "I am now ready . . . I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." - 2 Tim. 4:6-8

1. It is the one summons we all dread:
   1. "Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me" - Isa. 21:3
   2. "For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me." - Job. 6:4
2. But we know, too, that the summons is inevitable:
   1. For it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment - Heb. 9:27
   2. Death is a part of our present nature. Someone has said that death is a process of life in the human body.
3. When the summons of death comes to us, we should remember:
   1. That our Creator and Redeemer forewarns us for our own good.
   2. He knows the unfinished business of our life and urges us on to take care of whatever is unfinished -
      1. It may be that we are unprepared for death to overtake us.
      2. We may have to correct some action in our life, if neglected, would keep us out of the kingdom of God.
      3. There may have to be some humble confessions made to our loved ones.
      4. Or it may be that some business transactions need correction.
   3. Whatever reason the counsel of our heavenly Father may include, we must heed it with the utmost speed.
4. Friends of mine:
   1. What if this service this afternoon is God's summons to us -- "set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live."
   2. Shall we heed the summons?
   3. Shall we, at this very moment, search our hearts and life to find the unfinished business?
   4. Surely we do not want to enter the shadows of death without the needed preparation for this most solemn fate of our life.