THE OUTER LIMITS: ECCLESIASTES-Time In Your Bible-Time With God

 Time In Your Bible-Time With God Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 Time In Your Bible-Time With God Church, I pray that we know something important. When we pick up our Bibles - we pick up something entirely special and otherworldly. That’s why everything we do at this church, centers around it. Here we sit, in a 112-year-old building, reading a 2K-year-old book why? This book reveals God. In a way simply living could not. This book reveals God’s truth for life and the importance of it. This book reveals how God, through human kind, revealed His plan so that we could be sure of it. This book reveals what God says about you who he created. This book reveals to us today how God has ordered, time. This life drives us to questions ONLY this book can answer. God created a world that demands that we see, He exists. In fact nothing in this life could exist without a God concept. Life is too complex for happenstance, and so - the Bible informs us about this life, creation, and about people, satisfactory as nothing else can. It’s interesting coming to realize this for the first time. Most people, in fact all people start not believing in God. We’re constantly told, “there is no God, the Bible is ridiculous, and science can explain everything satisfyingly”. And then, God willing because of a church or some God loving soul talking to us and praying for us, we come to hear the truth of the matter - Not only IS there a God there MUST be a God. That God embodies and defines, and IS love. …and, while we hated God, He loved us and desires us to be His children but Solomon didn’t fully know that as we do with certain clarity today - God was still revealing that truth, in and through time. Time, which exists so that everything doesn’t happen at the same time. Time, which drives on - that you cannot battle against - time enemy and friend, time which for each of us is limited - and then what, time. God who is outside of time, created time, leverages time, and placed His story into - time. God who has a purpose for all in His creation - who is over time, has placed you, has placed us, and has placed His church into time. Though Solomon is the wisest man that was ever and would ever be, we have access to something he didn’t and he doesn’t. Your Bible - and if you make your time work to serve God rather than serve you - you’ll find that time in your Bible encourages you to spend time on your God. Ecclesiastes 3:1–15 (ESV) A Time for Everything 1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2  a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3  a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4  a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5  a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6  a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7  a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8  a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. The God-Given Task 9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. 14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. The preacher of the book of Ecclesiastes has laid a new line in his journey. Remember we said that this book lays out like scan lines on an old television, as they stack up, one onto another, they create a single image a story. And we’ve spun around a corner - abruptly at the close of chapter 2 so lets go back and catch it. We had Solomon who's been vexed searching for truth “under the sun” meaning without recognizing God - and he’s determined that it’s angering and a view of life ONLY from under the sun is abysmal. But… see what her said in Chapter 2 verses 24 Ecclesiastes 2:24 24 And so as we come to chapter 3 that sentiment isn't lost in fact - catch these first words; Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV) 1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: Did you catch it? You’ve been with Solomon now in this book of Ecclesiastes for 8 weeks nearly 60 days. Are you reading your Bible - are you keeping in this book of Ecclesiastes? I hope you are; I literally pray you are. Look again at the second part of verse 1 what did he say - “there is a time for every matter…” what? Under the sun, no - something has happened, a corner has been turned, and I want to dwell here. Have you turned that corner? You see Solomon is working his way through this classic conundrum - “is there a God, what importance is my life - and can there be joy and satisfaction”. And so, now as he moves from looking under the sun to seeing this: there is a time for every matter under heaven. His perspective has changed he’s turned a corner he’s seen that life demands that there MUST be a God and he’s onto something that we get to know more fully - with our Bibles! You see the importance here - the wisest man who ever was and ever would be found God, but couldn't know Him completely and couldn't’ know His plan, though he realized that He was there. It seems to be this battle with time that was the straw that broke the camels back - it was the ultimate pointer to the necessity of God! Time. Lets hear him out again - and lets do so knowing that the poem in 1-9 which repeats time 14 times, with 28 opposing theories that point to God’s completion divided into the 7 days of creation that all point to God’s sovereignty and lets let this drive our excitement for our God so that we’ll realize time in your Bible encourages you to spend time with your God. Ecclesiastes 3:1–9 (ESV) A Time for Everything 1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2  a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3  a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4  a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5  a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6  a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7  a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8  a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. The God-Given Task 9 What gain has the worker from his toil? Then with the theory laid in 1-9 the conclusion comes Ecclesiastes 3:9–15 (ESV) The God-Given Task 9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10  have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Oh but church - you can! You see Solomon had the opportunity to trust God, and to know that he’d seen the messiah, and to look forward to Him - but church oh we need to capture this is treasure this, and love this truth - and own it, and dote on it - we have presence with God because of our loving savior Jesus who love us and who rescued us, and who wraps himself around all our sin, and says I paid for it. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. And in Christ it’s all amplified - church we should not lament and ho-hum. I’m not saying be falsely motivated I’m saying, let your joy be sustained not by seasons and circumstances but by God’s goodness in Christ. 14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. And when we know this we can affirm in scripture: Matthew 6:25 (ESV) Do Not Be Anxious 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV) 5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV) 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now, I want to tread lightly and be cautious - here is why. Let me miss a meal - the above verses don’t characterize me the correct me. Let me get too deep into a season, these verses don’t characterize me - they correct me. But consider this - if God didn’t expect to need to correct us and remind us and direct us - scripture wouldn’t do these things, but God is loving, and knows who we are, what we’ll be tempted by and He loves us so deeply that He’s left us with these reminders, corrections, and truths - Join me in reading Ecclesiastes- so that the word of God, the Bible will be on the top of your mind, so that if it’s true that “time in your Bible encourages you to spend time with your God” then you’ll be encouraged to be with God, and spend time on God. Next Sunday we’ll study from Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 let that be the meditation of your week, of your election week - read those two verses every day, multiple times per day and be with your God. As you reflect on this season in 16-17 read back to Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 and read it out loud each day, either to yourself or with others asking of yourself and of God - if I was to spend time, like a budget What am I doing with my time? Is God in my time? What is God doing in me? What is God doing through me? What does God have for me, next? Lets recognize ourselves as people who are encouraged to spend our time, on God. And lets learn to have a satisfaction in all the season of time, because God is over it, in charge of it, and working in it Church, imagine if we captured this, and grabbed onto this, and worked at this. What if we gripped and knew that God was in charge over and author of all our lives seasons - and as we peruse scripture we see his faithfulness as the God who used coming to the edge of a sea with an army behind him for the good of those present and for the good of those to come after them, who lead Joseph through slavery and imprisonment into saving His people from famine, as the God who allowed your trials to befall you so that you’d see His grace and mercy - Maybe then we’d be able to expect that this election wouldn't reflect us perfectly because we’re not citizens here. Church imagine when you realize and are sustained by knowing, the grace of God found you, and loves you, and keeps you and works in you as He works through you - that the time of this life is temporary and it can be captured as you spend it on God, living out His plan, trusting His plan and glorifying His name - all at the same time. Church lets be transformed by the renewing of our minds and lets start this week as we read daily Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 and reflect back on Solomon’s poem in verses 10-15 Church, “time in your Bible encourages you to spend time with your God” and lets then echo Ephesians 5:16 (ESV) 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Time In Your Bible-Time With God THE OUTER LIMITS: ECCLESIATES – Time In Your Bible-Time With God Pastor John Weathersby Transcend Church 6 of 6 Sunday 11/6/2016