Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / The Vanity of Time (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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The Vanity of Time (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Let's take our Bibles now and open them up to
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the Old Testament wisdom book. Of Ecclesiastes.
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Ecclesiastes chapter 3. We're going to look at
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verses 1 through 15 today. Now. Said it before.
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Many people in churches avoid this book like
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the plague. because they think it's pessimistic.
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Maybe it's hard to understand. They think it's
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a downer, that it's depressing. But as we saw
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last Sunday, there is actually great joy within
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this book. There is great joy. We saw that last
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Sunday. We're gonna see a little bit more of
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it today as well. But even though people sometimes
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neglect this book, When they get to chapter 3,
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especially verses 1 through 8, all of a sudden
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people kind of perk up and they say, hey, I know
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that one. But what I want you to hear today is
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that Ecclesiastes 3, 1 through 8, yes, it's poetry,
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but it's more than just a beautiful poem. This
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poem actually shows us the sovereignty, the majesty
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of God over all of our lives. over every single
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moment of our lives. And so I hope that you will
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take away from this God's sovereignty and His
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goodness and how we are to be towards Him. And
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so let's read Ecclesiastes 3 1 through 15. Please
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give attention to the reading of God's Word.
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For everything there is a season and a time for
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every matter under heaven. A time to be born
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and a time to die. A time to plant and a time
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to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill and
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a time to heal. A time to break down and a time
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to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh.
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A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to
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cast away stones and a time to gather stones
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together. A time to embrace and a time to refrain
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from embracing, a time to seek and a time to
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lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away,
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a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to keep
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silence and a time to speak, a time to love and
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a time to hate, a time for war and a time for
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peace. What gain has the worker from his toil?
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I have seen the business that God has given to
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the children of man to be busy with. He has made
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everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has
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put eternity into man's heart yet so that he
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cannot find out what God has done from the beginning
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to the end. I perceive that there is nothing
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better for them than to be joyful and to do good
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as long as they live. All so that everyone should
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eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil.
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This is God's gift to man. I perceive that whatever
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God does endures forever. Nothing can be added
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to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done
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it so that people fear before him. That which
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is already has been. That which is to be already
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has been. And God seeks. What has been driven
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away This is God's word, let's pray Father I
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pray that as we look at this text that you would
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grant us a heart of wisdom And with the words
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of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts
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Be pleasing in your sight for you are our rock
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and our Redeemer This we pray in Christ's name
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Amen. Last Sunday, we sang a very familiar hymn
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called Crown Hymn with Many Crowns. It's familiar
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to us, we sing it often, but what might not be
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so familiar is that that song actually has many
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more stanzas to it and it's got different versions.
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And one part or version that we did not sing
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We sang something similar to it, but it goes
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like this. Crown him the Lord of years, the potentate
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of time, creator of the rolling spheres ineffably
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sublime. All hail Redeemer hail, for you have
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died for me. Your praise shall never, never fail
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throughout eternity. Now that sounds beautiful.
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I agree. but we may still be wondering what in
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the world is a potentate of time. I doubt that
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anyone's gonna use that word tomorrow morning.
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And so what's it all about? What is this teaching
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us? It's teaching us that Jesus Christ, who is
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in the beginning with God and through whom all
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things were created, that Jesus, is the very
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Son of God and yet He is eternal and He is the
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Lord of lords and He is the King of kings and
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what Jesus did for us as one who is God, He stepped
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from outside of time because time was created
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by God. He stepped out from it and into it. He
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stepped into our time in order to save us. Jesus
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steps into time in order to save us. And yet,
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time can be a tricky thing, can't it? There's
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never enough time, but sometimes there is maybe
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too much time. Sometimes we waste time, and sometimes
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time slows to a crawl. Time marches on with such
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rhythm and precision. Time is never off by a
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single millisecond. And yet many of us can't
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seem to keep the time. Time is money. Time's
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of the essence. And if I preach too long, somebody
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will tell me about it. The South Carolina philosopher
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Darius Rucker once sang, Tomorrow's just another
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day and I don't believe in time. What is the
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purpose of time? This passage helps us. Within
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this passage we see that in time God shows us
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who we are and God shows us who he is and God
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shows us how we are to relate to him. Let's look
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at who we are first. in verses one through eight.
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This is a poem, as I said, and many read this
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poem as a picture of what man does in life. And
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even non -believers know, many of them, this
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text that's been popularized in music. And people
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read this as an expression of human experience,
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but friends, this poem, one through eight, is
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not firstly about you. And it's not firstly about
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me. The emphasis is on God and how he completely
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controls all of life. And you can see this from
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the jump, from the get -go in verse two, that
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there is a time to be born and a time to die.
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You did not beget yourself. You didn't have anything
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to do with being born. God controls this, doesn't
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he? God... Controls this and what this is really
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showing us is that God controls all of it on
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the macro level all of time and all of history.
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But God controls right down to the very micro
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right down to us as people to the very dates
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on our tombstones. Martin Luther once said you
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cannot live any longer than the Lord has prescribed
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nor die. any sooner. And so verse two actually
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acts as kind of bookends for this of our lives.
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There's a time to be born and a time to die and
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all the other stuff happens in the middle. Everything
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flows between birth and death and so this shows
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totality. This shows completeness that and that
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God doesn't just govern us as individuals but
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God governs all of his creation. This is evidenced
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at the second part of verse two. there's a time
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to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted.
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Friends, we're entering strawberry season. Anybody
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like picking strawberries? Or anybody actually
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just like eating the strawberries while you're
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picking them? I know, I do it too. Is the time
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for picking strawberries in the spring or is
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it at the end of the summer? No, don't wait on
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those things. They'll be dried or withered, gone,
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whatever. And so God governs these times. But
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he also governs the times of the planting, not
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just the plucking up of the planting. Most of
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you probably, if you're gardeners or farmers,
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you don't do the bulk of your work of planting
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within the dead of winter, right? God has seasons
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for these things. And yet even as he has seasons,
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he doesn't always tell us the order for these
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things. We know with the planting and the plucking,
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yes, but with some of these other things, we
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don't know where they all will fall within the
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chronology of our lives. Right. God doesn't tell
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you beforehand the day that you're going to smile
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and the day that you're going to cry. Right.
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But he is in charge of these things that everything
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is fitting for him. And it makes sense that as
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we look at this some of these are very negative
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things. Right. They sound heartbreaking death
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and killing here in a time for war and a time
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for hate. This is all fitting isn't it for we
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live in a very fallen Hevel kind of world don't
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we that it's all fleeting it's all going away
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and so while sometimes the pieces don't seem
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to fit we should we should trust God because
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everything that God ordains will come to pass
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perfectly as he would have it to and So friends
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sometimes maybe when life is feeling like it's
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just going too fast Or maybe when it's going
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too slow. Or maybe when the times are too weighty,
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they're too heavy, the point of it is to trust
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God who's in charge of all of your times. The
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times of gladness and the times of sadness, they
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are all His. This also teaches us not to cling
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too tightly to the things of this world, right?
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Because they are all fleeting, they will go away.
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And yet the time is always right and ripe to
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cling to God, to embrace God through Christ Jesus
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our Lord. And the way that this is written should
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help to show us this because this is written,
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as I said, as a poem, but it's written as marisms.
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Maybe you've heard that term before. It's a feature
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of Hebrew poetry. that uses opposites to show
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completeness. The time for war is the opposite
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of the time for peace, right? A time for loving
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and a time for hating. And so all of this is
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showing completeness here. There's 14 of these
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things and therefore there's 28 of these things,
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which they're all involved with the number seven,
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right? A term, a number showing completeness
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here. It's meant to show that God governs it
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all. all of the times. And yet I don't know exactly
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what all of you are going through. I know what
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some of you are going through. But perhaps you're
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in some of these seasons even right now. Maybe
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you are in a season of searching or losing. Maybe
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you're searching asking God, Lord, how would
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you have me to serve you? Maybe you're searching
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for meaning in this life. Maybe you're searching
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about who this person of Jesus is. But maybe
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you're also in that season of losing, which seems
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to be an implied sense of losing intentionally.
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Putting off that which is unnecessary or that
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which is not good or that which is not beneficial.
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Putting off sin, right? You may be in this season.
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Or maybe you're in a season of mourning or a
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season of dancing. The morning being you've lost
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a loved one. Maybe you've been to a funeral recently
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and you've felt the weight of that. But maybe
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you're also in a season of dancing. A celebration
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of God's good gifts. Maybe a celebration of marriage.
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Maybe there's a celebration of children, of new
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life, right? You might be in these seasons. Maybe
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you're in a season of casting away stones or
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gathering them, as it says. in verse five. And
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what's this talking about? It seems like casting
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away stones is meant to show us that somebody
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is intending to clear a field for the purposes
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of planting of agriculture. You got to get the
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stones out of there. But it also mentions the
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collecting, the gathering of the stones. Maybe
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Solomon here is talking about building. We know
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that Solomon built many things. And so what are
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you trying to build right now? Trying to build
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a family? You're trying to build your career,
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whatever it might be. Maybe you're in a season
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of embracing or refraining from embracing. One
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of the things that we should learn from this
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is that we are to understand what is appropriate
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in season. And so yes, there are appropriate
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times to embrace, but there may be also in times
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to refrain from embracing. Maybe you're in a
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season of tearing or sewing. We know as we look
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at the Bible that when people were in great mourning,
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maybe over loss of someone's life or maybe mourning
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over sin, that they oftentimes tear their clothing,
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right? Maybe sitting in a pile of ashes. Maybe
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you're in that season right now of tearing. But
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Lord willing, there will be a time of sewing,
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of mending, of putting your life back together,
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right? Or maybe you're in a season of loving
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or hating. And maybe you even look at this and
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say, is there a season for hating? I thought
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I was only supposed to love. Well, friends, it
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is true. We are to love God and love our neighbor
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as ourselves. But as we are sanctified, as we
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mature in the faith, we should recognize there
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are things that God hates. And we should hate
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those things too. We should hate sin. We should...
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We should hate the effects of sin. We should
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hate injustice. We should hate idolatry. We should
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love what God loves and hate what he hates. And
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the conclusion of all of these things here, and
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I'm not going through all of them, is to show
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us that we are residents in God's world. We are
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underneath him, right? To use another hymn, since
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I've mentioned one, this is my father's world.
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And you are residents in it during the time he
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would have you to be here. And so I hope that
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what you actually see is this is teaching us
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just as much about us, maybe more so it's teaching
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us about who God is. So let's focus on verses
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10 through 15. We should recognize that in life,
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God is behind the wheel. God is the one steering
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the ship. One day comes after the next. and you
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and I are not in charge. There was a theologian,
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a Christian teacher named Didymus the blind in
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the fourth century who likened us in this life
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to being on a boat, on a ship in which we don't
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see the captain. He said this, God himself manages
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the cosmos and looks after it. When you see a
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ship which is piloted and holds its course, You
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perceive the idea of a helmsman even if he is
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not visible. Likewise, the creator is known by
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his works and the order of his providence. And
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so, yes, even when we cannot see God, that children's
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first catechism is true. He always sees us and
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he is in total control. This is getting to the
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idea of sovereignty or providence. The Heideberg
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catechism notes this and says the Almighty and
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everywhere present power of God, whereby, as
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it were, by His hand, He still upholds heaven
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and earth with all creatures and so governs them
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that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful
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and barren years, meat and drink, health and
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sickness, riches and poverty, yes, all things
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come not by chance. but by His fatherly hand.
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Verse 11 says that He has made everything beautiful
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or everything fitting, everything appropriate
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in His time. But also look at verse 11, for it
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tells us something else that God gives. God gives
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us, He places within us eternity. into our hearts.
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We are placed in time but with an implanted sense
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that there is more there than even we can see.
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Professor Benjamin Shaw says, the idea is that
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God has placed us in time but with an implanted
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sense of eternity. The recognition that what
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we see under the sun is not all that there is.
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And friends, the very fact that we are even asking,
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like, what's up with time, I think reveals something.
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God gives us this sense of eternity. He places
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it into our hearts. He speaks of it in His Word.
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And what does He tell us to do with all of the
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times that we live in? We are to trust Him and
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trust Him completely. And when it's too befuddling,
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when we don't understand it, we should recognize
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that God's ways are higher than our ways. It's
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like Jesus said, it's not for you to know the
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times. And so we ought not question God's timing
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or the seasons that we are in, even when we are
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in difficult seasons. And friends, this is illustrated
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beautifully by the prophet Daniel. Daniel, lived
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in a very difficult time and yet he trusted God
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in the season that he was in. Daniel chapter
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2 verse 20 and 21. Blessed be the name of God
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forever and ever to whom belong wisdom and might.
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He changes times and seasons. He removes kings
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and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise
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and knowledge to those who have. understanding
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Daniel knew it in his day do you know it in yours
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maybe you've all in your lives been able to look
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back on how God was working even when you couldn't
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see it this is called reading Providence backwards
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this happened to me many years ago when I was
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the part -time youth director here living in
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the man's next door many of you knew me then
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and you knew that I was raising funds money to
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go on the mission field. And sometimes that money
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didn't come in as fast as I wanted to. And I
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would see missionary after missionary going onto
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the mission field and I would be like, Lord,
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I feel that you've called me to this. Why is
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the money? Why are the funds? Why is the support
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not coming in? Well, two months before I left,
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I met my wife. I was talking with my grandmother
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after I met Brittany and my grandmother said
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to me, do you realize that if you had left for
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the mission field when you wanted to, you would
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not have met your wife. You would not have two
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beautiful children, right? So sometimes we have
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to look back on life, read Providence backwards
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to see how God was in total and utter control.
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control, and that timing is illustrated most
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perfectly in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider
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how God's perfect timing is most clearly evidenced
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in him. For one, Jesus was born right on time,
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Galatians 4 .4. When the fullness of time had
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come, God sent forth his Son. But also Jesus
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died, was crucified right on time, Romans 5 6
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at just the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
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But Jesus also rose perfectly on time. He was
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not late. Luke 24 46 the son of man should suffer
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and on the third day rise from the dead. And
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Jesus will also return right on time. Hebrews
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9 26 Christ having been offered once to bear
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the sins of many will appear a second time. not
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to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those
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who are waiting for Him. Friends, are you waiting
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on the Lord? Are you trusting in the Lord? Do
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you realize, recognize His sovereign control
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over your life? Well, if you do, then you might
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say, well, good, but how does this impact me
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today? How does this impact me? tomorrow. How
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do I live? Look in verses 12 and 13 for our application.
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How do we relate to God? I read it again. I perceive
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there's nothing better for them than to be joyful.
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And then it mentions the food and the drink and
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the taking of the pleasure in these things, right?
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Yes, in this life that God has given you and
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between the times on the tombstone, you are to
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enjoy Him. and to enjoy his good gifts. This
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is the application of the text, enjoying him
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and enjoying what he gives to you. But also you
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see in verse 12, this conveying of this moral
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good that is there tells us to do good. Now,
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some Bibles don't. It's a little more difficult
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to find there. Some translate it differently,
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but I can assure you in the Hebrew, there is
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an emphasis there in verse 12 on doing good as
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long as they live. We recognize that as believers,
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Paul speaks of this in Ephesians, chapter two,
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that you were created for good works, which he
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prepared beforehand for you to do. So yes, we
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are to do good. We are to do the things pleasing
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in God's sight Psalm 34 14 says turn away from
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evil and do good Seek peace and pursue it and
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so application enjoying God and his good gifts
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Secondly doing good, but thirdly look in verse
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14 I perceive that whatever God does endures
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forever, nothing can be added to it, nor anything
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take it from it. God has done it so that people
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fear before Him. Why has God placed us in this
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time, in this season where we are? In order that
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we would fear Him. In order that we would revere
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Him and be in awe of Him, that we would worship
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Him and obey Him. And friends, this is actually
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the answer to the entire book of Ecclesiastes,
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not to give it all away. But if you were to go
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to the end of the book, chapter 12, the second
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to the last verse, you see the point of all of
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this. The conclusion when all has been heard
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is this, fear God and keep His commandments because
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this applies to every person. The reason that
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you are here is to fear Him. We ought to be like
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Isaiah when he's confronted with the very holiness
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of God. He says, woe is me, I am a sinner. I
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am undone. We should be like the tax collector
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who wouldn't even look up to God in his prayer.
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But he says, be merciful to me. We ought to be
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like Hebrews chapter 12. It tells us to offer
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acceptable worship with reverence and awe This
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is the responsibility of the Christian And imagine
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if you will imagine what it would be like if
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every human being enjoyed God's gifts in him
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every human being did good towards one another?
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What if every human being on the face of the
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earth revered God? What would that be like? Friends,
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what you are imagining is eternity for the believer
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because he has put eternity into our hearts and
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it's not simply a concept, it's not simply an
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idea, it is a fact. And friends, the clock is
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ticking. The clock is ticking. For the Christian,
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eternity with God is what is promised. But for
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the unbeliever, what is promised is hell. It
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is eternity apart from God's good pleasure. And
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yet there's the free offer of the gospel to be
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received by faith. all who call upon the name
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of the Lord will be saved. And so today, if you
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are unsure of what to make of Jesus, today is
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the day of salvation. Right now, there is no
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time like the present to embrace Christ in faith.
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And so friends, if it seems like life is lacking
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in some way, If it seems like there has to be
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more than this, if you feel the tension of the
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already and the not yet, that is intentional.
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You are longing for more. You are longing to
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be rid of sin. You're longing to be rid of the
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effects of sin, and you are longing to be with
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God for eternity. And as I close, verse 15 gives
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us comfort in this way. for it reads that which
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is already has been and that which is to be already
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has been and God seeks what has been driven away.
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If we put this very literally there at the end
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of verse 15, it says God seeks out what he pursues,
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meaning that God is working out all of his purposes.
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He is not done. For everything there is a season.
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And friends, It will all be accomplished perfectly
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in His time. Come, Lord Jesus, let us pray.