WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.799 Let's take our Bibles now and open them up to 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:09.900 the Old Testament wisdom book. Of Ecclesiastes. 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:16.679 Ecclesiastes chapter 3. We're going to look at 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:23.859 verses 1 through 15 today. Now. Said it before. 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:27.679 Many people in churches avoid this book like 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:31.480 the plague. because they think it's pessimistic. 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:36.060 Maybe it's hard to understand. They think it's 00:00:36.060 --> 00:00:38.820 a downer, that it's depressing. But as we saw 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:43.460 last Sunday, there is actually great joy within 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:47.000 this book. There is great joy. We saw that last 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:48.460 Sunday. We're gonna see a little bit more of 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:54.659 it today as well. But even though people sometimes 00:00:54.659 --> 00:00:59.109 neglect this book, When they get to chapter 3, 00:00:59.250 --> 00:01:01.609 especially verses 1 through 8, all of a sudden 00:01:01.609 --> 00:01:03.630 people kind of perk up and they say, hey, I know 00:01:03.630 --> 00:01:08.049 that one. But what I want you to hear today is 00:01:08.049 --> 00:01:12.629 that Ecclesiastes 3, 1 through 8, yes, it's poetry, 00:01:12.629 --> 00:01:15.870 but it's more than just a beautiful poem. This 00:01:15.870 --> 00:01:21.409 poem actually shows us the sovereignty, the majesty 00:01:21.409 --> 00:01:27.200 of God over all of our lives. over every single 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:31.019 moment of our lives. And so I hope that you will 00:01:31.019 --> 00:01:35.620 take away from this God's sovereignty and His 00:01:35.620 --> 00:01:39.319 goodness and how we are to be towards Him. And 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:44.480 so let's read Ecclesiastes 3 1 through 15. Please 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:46.439 give attention to the reading of God's Word. 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:52.359 For everything there is a season and a time for 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:56.420 every matter under heaven. A time to be born 00:01:56.420 --> 00:02:01.420 and a time to die. A time to plant and a time 00:02:01.420 --> 00:02:06.019 to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill and 00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:09.520 a time to heal. A time to break down and a time 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:14.039 to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh. 00:02:14.460 --> 00:02:18.199 A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:20.699 cast away stones and a time to gather stones 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:24.819 together. A time to embrace and a time to refrain 00:02:24.819 --> 00:02:29.800 from embracing, a time to seek and a time to 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:32.620 lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:36.759 a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to keep 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:40.240 silence and a time to speak, a time to love and 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:44.979 a time to hate, a time for war and a time for 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:48.960 peace. What gain has the worker from his toil? 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.219 I have seen the business that God has given to 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:55.199 the children of man to be busy with. He has made 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:58.900 everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:01.719 put eternity into man's heart yet so that he 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:05.719 cannot find out what God has done from the beginning 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:08.819 to the end. I perceive that there is nothing 00:03:08.819 --> 00:03:13.280 better for them than to be joyful and to do good 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:17.729 as long as they live. All so that everyone should 00:03:17.729 --> 00:03:20.569 eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. 00:03:21.229 --> 00:03:24.629 This is God's gift to man. I perceive that whatever 00:03:24.629 --> 00:03:28.069 God does endures forever. Nothing can be added 00:03:28.069 --> 00:03:31.449 to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done 00:03:31.449 --> 00:03:36.289 it so that people fear before him. That which 00:03:36.289 --> 00:03:41.409 is already has been. That which is to be already 00:03:41.409 --> 00:03:46.000 has been. And God seeks. What has been driven 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:55.879 away This is God's word, let's pray Father I 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:58.180 pray that as we look at this text that you would 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:01.139 grant us a heart of wisdom And with the words 00:04:01.139 --> 00:04:05.139 of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts 00:04:05.139 --> 00:04:09.219 Be pleasing in your sight for you are our rock 00:04:09.219 --> 00:04:13.539 and our Redeemer This we pray in Christ's name 00:04:13.689 --> 00:04:21.870 Amen. Last Sunday, we sang a very familiar hymn 00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:26.930 called Crown Hymn with Many Crowns. It's familiar 00:04:26.930 --> 00:04:30.329 to us, we sing it often, but what might not be 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:34.810 so familiar is that that song actually has many 00:04:34.810 --> 00:04:37.930 more stanzas to it and it's got different versions. 00:04:39.410 --> 00:04:43.069 And one part or version that we did not sing 00:04:43.370 --> 00:04:45.589 We sang something similar to it, but it goes 00:04:45.589 --> 00:04:50.290 like this. Crown him the Lord of years, the potentate 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:54.949 of time, creator of the rolling spheres ineffably 00:04:54.949 --> 00:04:59.829 sublime. All hail Redeemer hail, for you have 00:04:59.829 --> 00:05:04.310 died for me. Your praise shall never, never fail 00:05:04.310 --> 00:05:10.129 throughout eternity. Now that sounds beautiful. 00:05:10.790 --> 00:05:14.600 I agree. but we may still be wondering what in 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:18.579 the world is a potentate of time. I doubt that 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:21.120 anyone's gonna use that word tomorrow morning. 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:23.819 And so what's it all about? What is this teaching 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:29.079 us? It's teaching us that Jesus Christ, who is 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:32.500 in the beginning with God and through whom all 00:05:32.500 --> 00:05:35.540 things were created, that Jesus, is the very 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:38.379 Son of God and yet He is eternal and He is the 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:41.279 Lord of lords and He is the King of kings and 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:46.019 what Jesus did for us as one who is God, He stepped 00:05:46.019 --> 00:05:48.480 from outside of time because time was created 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:52.579 by God. He stepped out from it and into it. He 00:05:52.579 --> 00:06:00.660 stepped into our time in order to save us. Jesus 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:08.300 steps into time in order to save us. And yet, 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:13.519 time can be a tricky thing, can't it? There's 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:17.959 never enough time, but sometimes there is maybe 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:23.740 too much time. Sometimes we waste time, and sometimes 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:28.579 time slows to a crawl. Time marches on with such 00:06:28.579 --> 00:06:32.459 rhythm and precision. Time is never off by a 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:36.220 single millisecond. And yet many of us can't 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:41.800 seem to keep the time. Time is money. Time's 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:46.620 of the essence. And if I preach too long, somebody 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:53.139 will tell me about it. The South Carolina philosopher 00:06:53.139 --> 00:06:58.220 Darius Rucker once sang, Tomorrow's just another 00:06:58.220 --> 00:07:04.339 day and I don't believe in time. What is the 00:07:04.339 --> 00:07:10.079 purpose of time? This passage helps us. Within 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.920 this passage we see that in time God shows us 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:18.439 who we are and God shows us who he is and God 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:23.279 shows us how we are to relate to him. Let's look 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:27.379 at who we are first. in verses one through eight. 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:33.000 This is a poem, as I said, and many read this 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:38.500 poem as a picture of what man does in life. And 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:41.300 even non -believers know, many of them, this 00:07:41.300 --> 00:07:45.360 text that's been popularized in music. And people 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:48.019 read this as an expression of human experience, 00:07:48.100 --> 00:07:51.040 but friends, this poem, one through eight, is 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:55.459 not firstly about you. And it's not firstly about 00:07:55.459 --> 00:08:00.379 me. The emphasis is on God and how he completely 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:03.939 controls all of life. And you can see this from 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:06.000 the jump, from the get -go in verse two, that 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.079 there is a time to be born and a time to die. 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:13.319 You did not beget yourself. You didn't have anything 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:17.939 to do with being born. God controls this, doesn't 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:25.240 he? God... Controls this and what this is really 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.980 showing us is that God controls all of it on 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:31.879 the macro level all of time and all of history. 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:35.379 But God controls right down to the very micro 00:08:35.379 --> 00:08:38.879 right down to us as people to the very dates 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:45.659 on our tombstones. Martin Luther once said you 00:08:45.659 --> 00:08:50.159 cannot live any longer than the Lord has prescribed 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:54.740 nor die. any sooner. And so verse two actually 00:08:54.740 --> 00:08:57.360 acts as kind of bookends for this of our lives. 00:08:57.580 --> 00:08:59.580 There's a time to be born and a time to die and 00:08:59.580 --> 00:09:04.820 all the other stuff happens in the middle. Everything 00:09:04.820 --> 00:09:08.379 flows between birth and death and so this shows 00:09:08.379 --> 00:09:11.860 totality. This shows completeness that and that 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:15.279 God doesn't just govern us as individuals but 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:18.299 God governs all of his creation. This is evidenced 00:09:18.299 --> 00:09:21.009 at the second part of verse two. there's a time 00:09:21.009 --> 00:09:24.769 to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. 00:09:25.730 --> 00:09:28.049 Friends, we're entering strawberry season. Anybody 00:09:28.049 --> 00:09:30.769 like picking strawberries? Or anybody actually 00:09:30.769 --> 00:09:32.629 just like eating the strawberries while you're 00:09:32.629 --> 00:09:36.149 picking them? I know, I do it too. Is the time 00:09:36.149 --> 00:09:38.350 for picking strawberries in the spring or is 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:41.710 it at the end of the summer? No, don't wait on 00:09:41.710 --> 00:09:44.549 those things. They'll be dried or withered, gone, 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:48.480 whatever. And so God governs these times. But 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.000 he also governs the times of the planting, not 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:52.940 just the plucking up of the planting. Most of 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:55.299 you probably, if you're gardeners or farmers, 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:58.320 you don't do the bulk of your work of planting 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.500 within the dead of winter, right? God has seasons 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:06.019 for these things. And yet even as he has seasons, 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:08.159 he doesn't always tell us the order for these 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:10.500 things. We know with the planting and the plucking, 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:12.759 yes, but with some of these other things, we 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:16.100 don't know where they all will fall within the 00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:19.570 chronology of our lives. Right. God doesn't tell 00:10:19.570 --> 00:10:21.850 you beforehand the day that you're going to smile 00:10:21.850 --> 00:10:23.730 and the day that you're going to cry. Right. 00:10:24.669 --> 00:10:27.889 But he is in charge of these things that everything 00:10:27.889 --> 00:10:32.049 is fitting for him. And it makes sense that as 00:10:32.049 --> 00:10:33.990 we look at this some of these are very negative 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:37.950 things. Right. They sound heartbreaking death 00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:41.149 and killing here in a time for war and a time 00:10:41.149 --> 00:10:44.480 for hate. This is all fitting isn't it for we 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:48.159 live in a very fallen Hevel kind of world don't 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:50.840 we that it's all fleeting it's all going away 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:55.039 and so while sometimes the pieces don't seem 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:58.379 to fit we should we should trust God because 00:10:58.379 --> 00:11:01.720 everything that God ordains will come to pass 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:06.340 perfectly as he would have it to and So friends 00:11:06.340 --> 00:11:09.279 sometimes maybe when life is feeling like it's 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:13.039 just going too fast Or maybe when it's going 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.799 too slow. Or maybe when the times are too weighty, 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:19.960 they're too heavy, the point of it is to trust 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:23.460 God who's in charge of all of your times. The 00:11:23.460 --> 00:11:27.320 times of gladness and the times of sadness, they 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:32.759 are all His. This also teaches us not to cling 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:35.820 too tightly to the things of this world, right? 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:38.419 Because they are all fleeting, they will go away. 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:42.720 And yet the time is always right and ripe to 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:49.259 cling to God, to embrace God through Christ Jesus 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:53.919 our Lord. And the way that this is written should 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:56.940 help to show us this because this is written, 00:11:57.059 --> 00:12:00.139 as I said, as a poem, but it's written as marisms. 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:02.919 Maybe you've heard that term before. It's a feature 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:07.460 of Hebrew poetry. that uses opposites to show 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:10.600 completeness. The time for war is the opposite 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:13.580 of the time for peace, right? A time for loving 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:15.860 and a time for hating. And so all of this is 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:19.779 showing completeness here. There's 14 of these 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:22.279 things and therefore there's 28 of these things, 00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:26.159 which they're all involved with the number seven, 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:29.220 right? A term, a number showing completeness 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:32.399 here. It's meant to show that God governs it 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:39.200 all. all of the times. And yet I don't know exactly 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:41.139 what all of you are going through. I know what 00:12:41.139 --> 00:12:44.779 some of you are going through. But perhaps you're 00:12:44.779 --> 00:12:48.139 in some of these seasons even right now. Maybe 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:52.720 you are in a season of searching or losing. Maybe 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:55.659 you're searching asking God, Lord, how would 00:12:55.659 --> 00:12:58.759 you have me to serve you? Maybe you're searching 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:00.879 for meaning in this life. Maybe you're searching 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:05.679 about who this person of Jesus is. But maybe 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:08.379 you're also in that season of losing, which seems 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:12.460 to be an implied sense of losing intentionally. 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:15.519 Putting off that which is unnecessary or that 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:18.059 which is not good or that which is not beneficial. 00:13:18.139 --> 00:13:21.279 Putting off sin, right? You may be in this season. 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:24.500 Or maybe you're in a season of mourning or a 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:27.429 season of dancing. The morning being you've lost 00:13:27.429 --> 00:13:32.509 a loved one. Maybe you've been to a funeral recently 00:13:32.509 --> 00:13:36.169 and you've felt the weight of that. But maybe 00:13:36.169 --> 00:13:39.649 you're also in a season of dancing. A celebration 00:13:39.649 --> 00:13:43.590 of God's good gifts. Maybe a celebration of marriage. 00:13:44.409 --> 00:13:48.450 Maybe there's a celebration of children, of new 00:13:48.450 --> 00:13:51.669 life, right? You might be in these seasons. Maybe 00:13:51.669 --> 00:13:53.950 you're in a season of casting away stones or 00:13:53.950 --> 00:13:57.669 gathering them, as it says. in verse five. And 00:13:57.669 --> 00:13:59.629 what's this talking about? It seems like casting 00:13:59.629 --> 00:14:02.769 away stones is meant to show us that somebody 00:14:02.769 --> 00:14:05.750 is intending to clear a field for the purposes 00:14:05.750 --> 00:14:08.389 of planting of agriculture. You got to get the 00:14:08.389 --> 00:14:12.049 stones out of there. But it also mentions the 00:14:12.049 --> 00:14:14.309 collecting, the gathering of the stones. Maybe 00:14:14.309 --> 00:14:17.070 Solomon here is talking about building. We know 00:14:17.070 --> 00:14:21.129 that Solomon built many things. And so what are 00:14:21.129 --> 00:14:23.909 you trying to build right now? Trying to build 00:14:23.909 --> 00:14:28.090 a family? You're trying to build your career, 00:14:28.649 --> 00:14:32.250 whatever it might be. Maybe you're in a season 00:14:32.250 --> 00:14:35.309 of embracing or refraining from embracing. One 00:14:35.309 --> 00:14:36.950 of the things that we should learn from this 00:14:36.950 --> 00:14:40.029 is that we are to understand what is appropriate 00:14:40.029 --> 00:14:42.769 in season. And so yes, there are appropriate 00:14:42.769 --> 00:14:45.809 times to embrace, but there may be also in times 00:14:45.809 --> 00:14:49.769 to refrain from embracing. Maybe you're in a 00:14:49.769 --> 00:14:52.909 season of tearing or sewing. We know as we look 00:14:52.909 --> 00:14:55.429 at the Bible that when people were in great mourning, 00:14:55.490 --> 00:14:59.149 maybe over loss of someone's life or maybe mourning 00:14:59.149 --> 00:15:02.149 over sin, that they oftentimes tear their clothing, 00:15:02.570 --> 00:15:07.389 right? Maybe sitting in a pile of ashes. Maybe 00:15:07.389 --> 00:15:12.149 you're in that season right now of tearing. But 00:15:12.149 --> 00:15:14.269 Lord willing, there will be a time of sewing, 00:15:14.710 --> 00:15:18.009 of mending, of putting your life back together, 00:15:18.649 --> 00:15:21.519 right? Or maybe you're in a season of loving 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:24.740 or hating. And maybe you even look at this and 00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:27.379 say, is there a season for hating? I thought 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:30.440 I was only supposed to love. Well, friends, it 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:32.480 is true. We are to love God and love our neighbor 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:35.440 as ourselves. But as we are sanctified, as we 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.379 mature in the faith, we should recognize there 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:40.980 are things that God hates. And we should hate 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:44.940 those things too. We should hate sin. We should... 00:15:44.889 --> 00:15:47.350 We should hate the effects of sin. We should 00:15:47.350 --> 00:15:50.909 hate injustice. We should hate idolatry. We should 00:15:50.909 --> 00:15:55.889 love what God loves and hate what he hates. And 00:15:55.889 --> 00:15:58.269 the conclusion of all of these things here, and 00:15:58.269 --> 00:16:00.029 I'm not going through all of them, is to show 00:16:00.029 --> 00:16:04.070 us that we are residents in God's world. We are 00:16:04.070 --> 00:16:08.529 underneath him, right? To use another hymn, since 00:16:08.529 --> 00:16:11.429 I've mentioned one, this is my father's world. 00:16:11.970 --> 00:16:15.669 And you are residents in it during the time he 00:16:15.669 --> 00:16:19.230 would have you to be here. And so I hope that 00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:22.230 what you actually see is this is teaching us 00:16:22.230 --> 00:16:24.730 just as much about us, maybe more so it's teaching 00:16:24.730 --> 00:16:27.889 us about who God is. So let's focus on verses 00:16:27.889 --> 00:16:33.070 10 through 15. We should recognize that in life, 00:16:33.409 --> 00:16:36.710 God is behind the wheel. God is the one steering 00:16:36.710 --> 00:16:40.940 the ship. One day comes after the next. and you 00:16:40.940 --> 00:16:45.779 and I are not in charge. There was a theologian, 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:48.860 a Christian teacher named Didymus the blind in 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:53.759 the fourth century who likened us in this life 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:57.480 to being on a boat, on a ship in which we don't 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:02.120 see the captain. He said this, God himself manages 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:06.000 the cosmos and looks after it. When you see a 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:09.240 ship which is piloted and holds its course, You 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:13.180 perceive the idea of a helmsman even if he is 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:16.640 not visible. Likewise, the creator is known by 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:22.140 his works and the order of his providence. And 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:26.640 so, yes, even when we cannot see God, that children's 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:31.220 first catechism is true. He always sees us and 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:35.160 he is in total control. This is getting to the 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:39.160 idea of sovereignty or providence. The Heideberg 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:43.579 catechism notes this and says the Almighty and 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:46.319 everywhere present power of God, whereby, as 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:49.859 it were, by His hand, He still upholds heaven 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:53.700 and earth with all creatures and so governs them 00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:57.640 that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:01.200 and barren years, meat and drink, health and 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:04.319 sickness, riches and poverty, yes, all things 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:09.740 come not by chance. but by His fatherly hand. 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:14.339 Verse 11 says that He has made everything beautiful 00:18:14.339 --> 00:18:17.660 or everything fitting, everything appropriate 00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:23.779 in His time. But also look at verse 11, for it 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:27.799 tells us something else that God gives. God gives 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:33.460 us, He places within us eternity. into our hearts. 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:36.740 We are placed in time but with an implanted sense 00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:41.240 that there is more there than even we can see. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:46.279 Professor Benjamin Shaw says, the idea is that 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:49.200 God has placed us in time but with an implanted 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:52.000 sense of eternity. The recognition that what 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:56.859 we see under the sun is not all that there is. 00:18:57.309 --> 00:19:00.329 And friends, the very fact that we are even asking, 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:03.730 like, what's up with time, I think reveals something. 00:19:04.190 --> 00:19:07.029 God gives us this sense of eternity. He places 00:19:07.029 --> 00:19:10.390 it into our hearts. He speaks of it in His Word. 00:19:10.650 --> 00:19:13.289 And what does He tell us to do with all of the 00:19:13.289 --> 00:19:18.470 times that we live in? We are to trust Him and 00:19:18.470 --> 00:19:22.000 trust Him completely. And when it's too befuddling, 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:23.960 when we don't understand it, we should recognize 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:28.539 that God's ways are higher than our ways. It's 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:32.539 like Jesus said, it's not for you to know the 00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:36.099 times. And so we ought not question God's timing 00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:40.480 or the seasons that we are in, even when we are 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:44.640 in difficult seasons. And friends, this is illustrated 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:50.869 beautifully by the prophet Daniel. Daniel, lived 00:19:50.869 --> 00:19:54.589 in a very difficult time and yet he trusted God 00:19:54.589 --> 00:19:57.009 in the season that he was in. Daniel chapter 00:19:57.009 --> 00:20:04.630 2 verse 20 and 21. Blessed be the name of God 00:20:04.630 --> 00:20:08.990 forever and ever to whom belong wisdom and might. 00:20:09.450 --> 00:20:13.589 He changes times and seasons. He removes kings 00:20:13.589 --> 00:20:17.190 and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise 00:20:17.190 --> 00:20:21.180 and knowledge to those who have. understanding 00:20:21.180 --> 00:20:25.839 Daniel knew it in his day do you know it in yours 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:30.240 maybe you've all in your lives been able to look 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:32.940 back on how God was working even when you couldn't 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:36.339 see it this is called reading Providence backwards 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:39.700 this happened to me many years ago when I was 00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:41.779 the part -time youth director here living in 00:20:41.779 --> 00:20:44.799 the man's next door many of you knew me then 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:48.230 and you knew that I was raising funds money to 00:20:48.230 --> 00:20:52.930 go on the mission field. And sometimes that money 00:20:52.930 --> 00:20:56.029 didn't come in as fast as I wanted to. And I 00:20:56.029 --> 00:20:58.750 would see missionary after missionary going onto 00:20:58.750 --> 00:21:01.130 the mission field and I would be like, Lord, 00:21:01.950 --> 00:21:04.430 I feel that you've called me to this. Why is 00:21:04.430 --> 00:21:06.789 the money? Why are the funds? Why is the support 00:21:06.789 --> 00:21:12.509 not coming in? Well, two months before I left, 00:21:12.589 --> 00:21:16.940 I met my wife. I was talking with my grandmother 00:21:16.940 --> 00:21:20.579 after I met Brittany and my grandmother said 00:21:20.579 --> 00:21:23.940 to me, do you realize that if you had left for 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:27.000 the mission field when you wanted to, you would 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.119 not have met your wife. You would not have two 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:34.819 beautiful children, right? So sometimes we have 00:21:34.819 --> 00:21:38.059 to look back on life, read Providence backwards 00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:42.460 to see how God was in total and utter control. 00:21:44.639 --> 00:21:48.200 control, and that timing is illustrated most 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:54.859 perfectly in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider 00:21:54.859 --> 00:21:57.900 how God's perfect timing is most clearly evidenced 00:21:57.900 --> 00:22:02.119 in him. For one, Jesus was born right on time, 00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:05.619 Galatians 4 .4. When the fullness of time had 00:22:05.619 --> 00:22:11.259 come, God sent forth his Son. But also Jesus 00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:15.140 died, was crucified right on time, Romans 5 6 00:22:15.140 --> 00:22:19.759 at just the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:23.380 But Jesus also rose perfectly on time. He was 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:27.640 not late. Luke 24 46 the son of man should suffer 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:32.880 and on the third day rise from the dead. And 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:36.799 Jesus will also return right on time. Hebrews 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:40.380 9 26 Christ having been offered once to bear 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:43.720 the sins of many will appear a second time. not 00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:47.000 to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:51.440 who are waiting for Him. Friends, are you waiting 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:55.980 on the Lord? Are you trusting in the Lord? Do 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:59.319 you realize, recognize His sovereign control 00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:04.200 over your life? Well, if you do, then you might 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:07.660 say, well, good, but how does this impact me 00:23:07.660 --> 00:23:10.339 today? How does this impact me? tomorrow. How 00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:15.599 do I live? Look in verses 12 and 13 for our application. 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:20.400 How do we relate to God? I read it again. I perceive 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:23.359 there's nothing better for them than to be joyful. 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:26.220 And then it mentions the food and the drink and 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:29.380 the taking of the pleasure in these things, right? 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:33.279 Yes, in this life that God has given you and 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:36.980 between the times on the tombstone, you are to 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:41.519 enjoy Him. and to enjoy his good gifts. This 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.819 is the application of the text, enjoying him 00:23:44.819 --> 00:23:48.079 and enjoying what he gives to you. But also you 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:51.700 see in verse 12, this conveying of this moral 00:23:51.700 --> 00:23:55.490 good that is there tells us to do good. Now, 00:23:55.650 --> 00:23:57.809 some Bibles don't. It's a little more difficult 00:23:57.809 --> 00:24:00.269 to find there. Some translate it differently, 00:24:00.309 --> 00:24:02.529 but I can assure you in the Hebrew, there is 00:24:02.529 --> 00:24:06.730 an emphasis there in verse 12 on doing good as 00:24:06.730 --> 00:24:10.849 long as they live. We recognize that as believers, 00:24:11.390 --> 00:24:13.809 Paul speaks of this in Ephesians, chapter two, 00:24:13.849 --> 00:24:17.269 that you were created for good works, which he 00:24:17.269 --> 00:24:21.569 prepared beforehand for you to do. So yes, we 00:24:21.569 --> 00:24:24.009 are to do good. We are to do the things pleasing 00:24:24.009 --> 00:24:28.210 in God's sight Psalm 34 14 says turn away from 00:24:28.210 --> 00:24:33.690 evil and do good Seek peace and pursue it and 00:24:33.690 --> 00:24:37.869 so application enjoying God and his good gifts 00:24:37.869 --> 00:24:42.029 Secondly doing good, but thirdly look in verse 00:24:42.029 --> 00:24:46.380 14 I perceive that whatever God does endures 00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:49.599 forever, nothing can be added to it, nor anything 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:53.480 take it from it. God has done it so that people 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:58.259 fear before Him. Why has God placed us in this 00:24:58.259 --> 00:25:02.559 time, in this season where we are? In order that 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:05.920 we would fear Him. In order that we would revere 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:09.019 Him and be in awe of Him, that we would worship 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:12.819 Him and obey Him. And friends, this is actually 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:15.720 the answer to the entire book of Ecclesiastes, 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:18.900 not to give it all away. But if you were to go 00:25:18.900 --> 00:25:24.539 to the end of the book, chapter 12, the second 00:25:24.539 --> 00:25:28.160 to the last verse, you see the point of all of 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:32.220 this. The conclusion when all has been heard 00:25:32.220 --> 00:25:37.480 is this, fear God and keep His commandments because 00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:41.839 this applies to every person. The reason that 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:47.240 you are here is to fear Him. We ought to be like 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:50.319 Isaiah when he's confronted with the very holiness 00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:55.579 of God. He says, woe is me, I am a sinner. I 00:25:55.579 --> 00:25:58.460 am undone. We should be like the tax collector 00:25:58.460 --> 00:26:01.700 who wouldn't even look up to God in his prayer. 00:26:02.299 --> 00:26:06.519 But he says, be merciful to me. We ought to be 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:09.359 like Hebrews chapter 12. It tells us to offer 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:14.599 acceptable worship with reverence and awe This 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:22.039 is the responsibility of the Christian And imagine 00:26:22.039 --> 00:26:27.359 if you will imagine what it would be like if 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:31.880 every human being enjoyed God's gifts in him 00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:36.059 every human being did good towards one another? 00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:39.519 What if every human being on the face of the 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:45.539 earth revered God? What would that be like? Friends, 00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:49.079 what you are imagining is eternity for the believer 00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:52.500 because he has put eternity into our hearts and 00:26:52.500 --> 00:26:54.960 it's not simply a concept, it's not simply an 00:26:54.960 --> 00:27:00.759 idea, it is a fact. And friends, the clock is 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:06.930 ticking. The clock is ticking. For the Christian, 00:27:07.170 --> 00:27:11.069 eternity with God is what is promised. But for 00:27:11.069 --> 00:27:14.829 the unbeliever, what is promised is hell. It 00:27:14.829 --> 00:27:20.710 is eternity apart from God's good pleasure. And 00:27:20.710 --> 00:27:24.369 yet there's the free offer of the gospel to be 00:27:24.369 --> 00:27:28.299 received by faith. all who call upon the name 00:27:28.299 --> 00:27:30.599 of the Lord will be saved. And so today, if you 00:27:30.599 --> 00:27:34.099 are unsure of what to make of Jesus, today is 00:27:34.099 --> 00:27:39.880 the day of salvation. Right now, there is no 00:27:39.880 --> 00:27:44.220 time like the present to embrace Christ in faith. 00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:49.200 And so friends, if it seems like life is lacking 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:52.220 in some way, If it seems like there has to be 00:27:52.220 --> 00:27:55.180 more than this, if you feel the tension of the 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:57.960 already and the not yet, that is intentional. 00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:02.200 You are longing for more. You are longing to 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:05.619 be rid of sin. You're longing to be rid of the 00:28:05.619 --> 00:28:08.440 effects of sin, and you are longing to be with 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:15.599 God for eternity. And as I close, verse 15 gives 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:20.410 us comfort in this way. for it reads that which 00:28:20.410 --> 00:28:25.769 is already has been and that which is to be already 00:28:25.769 --> 00:28:30.450 has been and God seeks what has been driven away. 00:28:31.210 --> 00:28:33.329 If we put this very literally there at the end 00:28:33.329 --> 00:28:38.089 of verse 15, it says God seeks out what he pursues, 00:28:38.109 --> 00:28:41.829 meaning that God is working out all of his purposes. 00:28:41.829 --> 00:28:46.910 He is not done. For everything there is a season. 00:28:47.750 --> 00:28:53.769 And friends, It will all be accomplished perfectly 00:28:53.769 --> 00:29:00.430 in His time. Come, Lord Jesus, let us pray.