In this special New Year’s Eve sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia examines Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 and Solomon’s teaching about the different times or seasons of life. Pastor Dave explains that, rather than romantically musing about life’s different times, Solomon shows how people ultimately have no control over their times. Solomon then presents how to respond wisely to and make the most of the frustratingly uncontrollable times of life:
1. Realize God’s Control (vv. 10-11)
2. Rejoice in God’s Good (vv. 12-13)
3. Revere God (vv. 14-15)
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all right since it is New Year’s Eve New Year’s Eve morning we are all thinking about how this last year went and what this new year has for us and I think at such an uh a moment in time when we’re thinking about time what a great time to go to the Book of Ecclesiastes which is very much about how we think about life and even the times that we encounter in it before we do let’s pray one more time great God you have such wisdom for us in your word and Lord we we want to hear it and I want to Proclaim it but Lord I pray that my voice coughing those types of things Lord they would not distract at all from your truth rather Lord that we might be able to focus in on what the word of Christ is a word that so necessary for us because otherwise we will live a frustrated discouraged unwise Unholy life God I pray that this people your people who have gathered here and those who are listening online Lord that they would humble themselves before you the Lord of time the Lord of all times and we would say with holy reverence your will be done God I will trust you and just seek to make the most of these times in Jesus name amen you know one of the aspects of living in New Jersey that I’ve always enjoyed always loved is that we have the Four Seasons we have the Four Seasons in all their Glory now some some places in the world don’t have that they only have two seasons wet and dry I’m thinking about Los Angeles in particular but in New Jersey you do get the Four Seasons you get the budding spring flowers you get the hot summer sun you get the absolutely gorgeous Fall Foliage all the deciduous trees we have around here and then you have even some soft winter snowfalls it’s a special place variety as they say is the spice of life and we do have that spice here and it helps that new Jersey seasons are generally moderate it’s not too wet it’s not too dry it’s not it does get hot in the summer but not too hot it does get cold in the winter but not too cold and you can compare that too to other places in the world which technically have the Four Seasons but they have such extreme Summers or such extreme Winters that it’s dangerous to go outside thankfully we don’t have that here but as much as it is a blessing to experience changing the cycle of the Four Seasons it’s worth noting that the different seasons of Earth are also a fundamental source of frustration no matter where you live seasons are our source of frustration how so well just think about it sometimes the transition from one season to another is not when you expect and it’s not according to the time marked on the calendar they like spring sweet I can start wearing my you know my warmer clothes you go outside it’s still cold no it’s not spring yet or a seasonal change comes suddenly and catches you off guard so kind of like the reverse you find yourself saying when did it get so cold when did it get so dark when did this happen you weren’t ready or sometimes there’s unseasonal weather within a season and that totally messes up your plans I don’t know if any of you are looking forward to snow this winter but it is possible it’s happened before we go through a whole winter season with no snow and like what that I was cheated going any snow this winter sometimes happens another frustration of seasons is that you have to endure Seasons you don’t like or that you don’t want to experience very long now I don’t no offense to all you snowbirds out there but I actually don’t like winter very much I can’t wait for winter to be over I don’t like the darkness I don’t like the cold but you know what I got to go through winter and so do you or maybe you don’t like summer and you say I can’t wait for summer to be over it’s so hot it’s sweaty I can’t go outside I just have to be in the AC all the time well guess what you still got to go through summer you got to go through the seasons you don’t like and even the seasons you do like well they’re a source of frustration too because they don’t last forever do they you want them to last forever but you get to the end of summer and you say what it’s already over I hardly did anything this summer or I one wanted to do something but then I got sick and I couldn’t do anything or I love spring but the colors of spring the flowers only last like a week or two same thing for the brilliant colors of fall you get that Peak and then it fades away and you just have those leafless trees you say to yourself why can’t it just last a little longer it’s so beautiful it’s so nice why can’t it last a little longer that’s the way it is with Seasons they keep on marching on and the good ones can’t last forever though we humans truly do love variety to a certain degree we also long to see that which is good remain this longing is frustrated by the seasonal nature of our world we don’t have the power to make what we want to last and to stay permanently and of course all of this is just to help you think about something more important if we have frustration with the seasons of Earth weather Seasons what about the seasons of Life the seasons of Life give us all the same kinds of frustrations but in a more profound way maybe some of you are frustrated by the season seasons of living in this country socially politically say can’t wait till this election season is over or these trends that have that are so popular in the culture that are damaging to our society wish they would just end maybe there’s something you really like about what’s going on right now and you’re like I don’t want this to go away that’s nationally but even personally you may be going through Seasons some that you really don’t like and you can’t wait till they’re gone maybe you’re having some sort of financial trouble or as we all know I think many of us are going through a health problem season some of them more serious than others say I didn’t want this season I want it to go away soon maybe it’s a season of strained relationships or maybe you have something wonderful going on in your life right now but it’s it’s annoy at you the back of your heart because you say I I want this to last maybe your a parent who’s really enjoying where your kids are right now and you’re like I don’t want them to grow up anymore this is such a sweet time with them but you know what they’re going to grow up or maybe you have made some good friends here in this church or and where you live and you don’t want them to move away but you know what that’s a reality of of Life your friends are not going to be around forever still you say I wish I could enjoy this a little bit longer make it last all other types of Seasons that you may be encountering or soon will it’s a source of frustration but how are you to respond how are you to respond to the changing seasons or Changing Times of life is there a way to control our times to avoid the Bad seasons to make the good ones last or if not how can we still approach life seasons in a way that is wise that is Holy and that even leads to your happiness well God’s going to tell us he’s going to tell us from Ecclesiastes chapter 3 so please open your Bibles to Ecclesiastes 3: 1-15 God’s going to speak to us through his writer Solomon King Solomon of Israel title of the message today is make the most of your times make the most of your times Ecclesiastes 3 is on page 671 if you’re using the Pew Bible and just give you a tiny bit of the context here in Ecclesiastes 1 and two our author King Solomon he tells us that life is a vapor of vapors you’ve heard it famously vanity of vanities all is Vanity but more literally Vapor of Vapors everything is vapor it’s insubstantial it’s mysterious it doesn’t last that’s what life is that’s what life in a cursed and Fallen World is and one of the reasons it is that way as Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 1 and 2 is death death that fundamental ending of living things in this world it makes life vaporous but there’s a way to respond to that Christians god-fearers they can’t Escape that frustrating reality but they can respond to it wisely and Solomon tells us how to do so in the end of chapter 2 proper Pursuits and perspective that you should have but in chapter 3 Solomon’s going to do something different or G to do something similar but not about death he moves on from the subject of death to the subject of times and that’s what he pursues for the rest of the chapter and we’re just looking at the first part the main part Ecclesiastes 31-15 so follow along with me as I read eclesiastes 31-15 there is an appointed time for everything and there is a time for every event under Heaven a time to give birth and a time to die a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted A Time to Kill and a time to heal a time to tear down and a time to build up a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to dance a time to throw stones and a time to ga gather Stones a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing a time to search and a time to give up as lost a time to keep and a time to throw away a time to tear apart and a time to sew together a time to be silent and a time to speak a time to love and a time to hate a time for war and a Time For Peace what profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves he has made everything appropriate in its time he has also set eternity in their heart yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime moreover that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor it is the gift of God I know that everything God does will remain forever there’s nothing to add to it and there’s nothing to take away from it for God has so worked that men should fear him that which is has been already and that which will be has already been for God seeks what has passed by now if you weren’t here when we went through this section of Ecclesiastes before you’ve probably heard the first half of this portion that we just read it’s very famous the poem of the first half of this passage may be the most widely known text of the Bible it’s quoted in movies read at funerals even set to music but as enchanting as the poem of Ecclesiastes 31 to8 is it cannot really be understood without its context and that’s Solomon’s explanation of the poem in verses 9 to 15 many assume that Solomon’s poem here is a wistful celebration of the different seasons of life but a closer reading of these words and their context reveals something quite different here Solomon presents for our instruction one of the most frustrating aspects of living life in a fallen World namely that man is not in control of the times he faces but is instead under their tyan Brethren just as you cannot control the four seasons of the earth you cannot control the times of your life you can try to plan out your story in all its chapters you can try to be like the Arrogant man of James 4: 13-1 17 and says he and says to himself here’s when I’ll do this next year I’ll do this that’s when I’ll accomplish this and I’ll make sure to do this first you can try and think that way in your mind you can believe that you have the power to make things happen you can force the times that you want but sooner or later you’ll find out that you don’t in fact have that power and you ultimately are not in control you will eventually have to submit to and endure whatever times are given to you whether they are good or bad now this frustrating fact can lead you to despair or to bitterness towards God towards other people you can yield to prideful anger and not having life go the way that you want and lots of people do or you can turn to a better way the way that Solomon himself counsels you in verses 9 to 15 let’s take a closer look at this profound text we’re going to approach it in two parts first we’ll examine the poem where Solomon shows us the frustratingly uncontrollable times of life and then second we’ll examine Solomon’s counsel as to how we should live in response start with the poem verses 1 to8 there’s no denying that there is a certain trans transfixing Beauty to this poem there’s something very pleasant about the symmetry of the lines the regular rhythm their sweeping capture of the various aspects of human existence we can also discern a purposeful structure within the poem every verse presents a pair of merism I may ask what is a merism a merism is just a figure of figure of speech that expresses totality or comprehensiveness by referring to the two extreme ends of a topic so if you know a subject from A to Z well you know it from one end to the other you know everything there is to know about it you know the two extremes and everything in between that’s a merism that’s what we see many many times in this poem with the many contrasting descriptions that we see in these verses Solomon is not merely saying that there is a time for each extreme act act on this side and act on this time but really everything in between he’s including them all he’s capturing the totality of life in this poem with all theisms there’s a total of 14 merism presented here or seven pairs of merism and that’s significant seven is a number that emphasizes completeness is often associated with the works of God some of the Paris theisms are clearly related to each other for example in verse two the first mirm describes describes the two ends of human existence and then the second pair describes the two ends of a plant’s existence so you see okay this first pair of merism is clearly purposefully put together in terms of content Solomon has been Keen in this poem to account for all of life Within These seven poetic lines we have Life Death work relationships speech emotions construction destruction conflict Pleasure and Pain you’d be hardress to find some aspect of life that does not fit into the categories presented to us here either literally or metaphorically so this poem then does represent a pleasant purposeful and complete picture of Life what a nice poem but there are aspects of Discord and frustration in this poem as well content wise let’s face it not every time presented in this poem is intrinsically good or Pleasant to experience who wants to weep who wants to kill who wants to give up as lost who wants to hate who wants to go to war even though the form of the poem is beautiful some of the content is quite sorrowful the structure is also a bit enigmatic even appearing at times to be totally random why for example do the merism of verse 5 follow theisms of verse four doesn’t seem to be a clear order to the verses not just there but elsewhere and why does the poem end as it does with hate love War and Peace the answer is not clear furthermore though we have seven pairs of merism and some within the pairs are clearly related like we saw in verse two others within the pairs don’t seem to be related at all for example going back to verse five what does throwing stones have to do with embracing or what does tearing apart have to do with being silent in verse 7even commentators have come up with ingenious explanations to connect the pairs of merism to explain why they’re put together but these explanations remain shaky and unsatisfying is there really a true purpose in each pairing in this poem or in the arrangement of the poem as a whole or take the merms themselves why they at first glance seem like they are opposites of one another not all of them really are they’re not actually opposite extremes for example going back to verse two that first merism it’s well translated in The New American Standard 95 five version of the Bible the Hebrew does say a time to give birth and a time to die not as in some other translations a time to be born and a time to die to be born would be the exact opposite of to die but that’s not what the Hebrew says it’s not an exact opposite or you can take the first verism merism from verse three healing is not the exact opposite of killing though it is a strongly contrasted idea so what does this all mean well considering the poem as a whole even while we recognize the pleasantness the purpose and the totality represented in this poem about life we also recognize unpleasantness apparent Randomness and even incompleteness in the same poem about life why I think the answer is because this is just like life isn’t it life has its beauty life has its ugliness life has points where you can discern clear purpose in what God is doing and other points where you cannot discern at all and just as in a sense we understand comprehensively what it means to live as people in another sense we don’t understand at all this is life Under the Sun this is life in the Fallen World even for Christians this is that Vapor of Vapor’s existence that Solomon tells us about in Ecclesiastes 1:2 now having observed the poem broadly let’s briefly walk through the poem look at the introductory line in verse one there is an appointed time for everything and there is a time for every event under Heaven note that phrase appointed time that’s a good translation of the Hebrew alternatively is captured as season there is a season for everything other Bible translations say that Solomon says everything in life has a season every event whether good or bad it has an appointed time is the time set by someone also note that verse one and the following is descriptive not prescriptive that’s an important point it’s descriptive not prescriptive Solomon is not commanding here in verses 1 to8 he’s just observing he’s observing what happens in life he’s not necessarily endorsing any of these actions or commanding you to pursue them now let’s look at what those actions are the merism starting in verse two excuse me a time to give birth and a time to die a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted well here Solomon appropriately starts with beginnings and endings we have the celebratory start of potential and the often sad ending of potential first with people then with plants birth and death planting and tearing out life contains these times as well as all the existence that happens in between verse three A Time to Kill and a time to heal a time to tear down and a time to build up these lines have primary application to war and recovery from war but other kinds of necessary destruction and construction are also in view Our Lives contain seasons for each of these verse four a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to dance here Solomon considers emotions both private and public there will be both tragic and wonderful happenings in our lives and we will find ourselves moved both to sorrow and to gladness at different turns verse five a time to throw stones and a time to gather Stones a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing now the meaning of these phrases involving Stones is very debated the best view is that throwing stones refers to filling an enemy’s field with rocks to make it unproductive we do see a reference to that in other places in the Bible Well Gathering Stones would be then to re remove rocks from a field to restore it to productive use you can’t Farm a rocky field but if you remove the stones you you can in other words there will be times in life where you are forced to make something that is normally productive unproductive in other times when you are moved to restore something’s usefulness second merism is more straightforward about relationships sometimes you will be able to embrace others in full trust and acceptance but other times you will have to remain aloof and even refuse Association verse six a time to search and a time to give up is lost a time to keep and a time to throw away here Solomon speaks about how we regard what is valuable especially possessions there are times in life where you’ll be forced to search for or hang on to something valuable but there will be other times where you have to give up or throw away what was a treasure verse seven a time to tear apart and a time to sew together a time to be silent and a time to speak the first merism here may refer to mourning in the ancient near East people often tore their garments as an expression of grief or outrage there is a time for expressing such trouble but there’s also a time to move on however Solomon may have also in mind metaphorical meanings of tearing and joining perhaps in regard to relationships or ways of living or thinking the second merism involves speech life will have times to speak times to say nothing and everything in between the Book of Proverbs says much about knowing when and how to speak and then verse eight a time to love and a time to hate a time for war and a Time For Peace intriguingly the poem ends with two merism involving conflict starting first with private emotions that stir up or amarate conflict then with what these emotions lead to ultimately and publicly War and Peace life will be full of times involving love and full of other times involving hate sometimes in life we’ll be forced to go to war and other times we will be allowed to enjoy peace and this is the end of the poetic section now I mentioned to you already that Solomon really is only observing life in this poem not telling which extremes we should pursue in our lives or even telling us to be mindful or to be ready to engage in the appropriate action for each time we face that’s not the point here no as the following verses are about to confirm for us Solomon is instead emphasizing for us how all the different times or circumstances that we find ourselves in in our lives circumstances in which we are exercising real choice and agency it’s not like we’re just drifting along not doing anything we’re making decisions we’re making choices nevertheless these times they are given to us and not brought about by our own will or power not ultimately our times are given to us and our necessary responses to those times is already determined for us after all just think about verse one or rather verse two can a pregnant mother refuse to give birth when her time has come her body’s going to act by itself or per can a person keep on living when it is his time to die no or consider again verse four does a person really choose to weep or laugh mourn or celebrate no he’s moved he’s moved by the tragical or wonderful circumstances he finds himself to these emotional responses and think about this too from this poem what is the use of resisting any time that is given to you I’d say there is no use you only end up hurting yourself if you do so while your compelling circumstances remain consider verse one again I’m sorry verse two the first marm when it comes to agriculture there is a set time for planting and there’s a set time for uprooting roting or harvesting what you’ve planted unless you plant at the appropriate time your crops are not going to grow well unless you tear out the appropriate time your yield is going to suffer yes we’ve got modern technology green houses Etc today but think normal circumstances especially at that time if you don’t follow the set times of a plant cycle you will suffer for it or consider verse eight if you remain at peace when the time has come for war you are going to suffer for it and you probably will be forced to go to war in the end David was forced to fight his beloved Son Absalon when absam rebelled he didn’t want to but it was forced upon him just as the Allied Powers were forced to fight na Germany in World War II when all efforts at appeasement had utterly failed and only made the problem worse on the flip side if you remain at War when the time has come for peace your stubbornness will only result in your own hurt and you will be forced to peace eventually just as King Saul futilely pursued David but wasn’t successful and he ultimately perished just as the Japanese in World War II refused to seek peace with America until their major cities have been devastated by atomic and incendiary bombs no when a season of life is given to you resistance is futile your hand will be forced and finally notice this Solomon presents many different times of life but how do you know which time is coming upon you next answer you don’t oh you might know to expect various seasons in your life at different points and you might broadly understand that childhood and adulthood and old age they will eventually come upon you in a certain sequence but you still won’t know the specifics and you may not make it to all those other stages you’ll find that not only do you not know which seasons of life will come upon you but when they will come upon you it can happen very unexpectedly and sometimes this is a happy occurrence come on this is not all doom and gloom I remember I’m sure this is a common experience for anybody who’s been in school but I remember in seminary one time becoming increasingly concerned about certain essays deadline I was working on it furiously and becoming more and more distressed but all of a sudden my morning turned to dancing the professor emailed that he was giving a lengthy extension to all the students wonderful when something like that happens in life right but sometimes the sudden shift is in the opposite direction even in the most overwhelming way as some of you know or you follow the solid Christian blogger Tim Chalie you may remember how his 20-year-old son Nick died suddenly on November 3rd 2020 Chie said that Nick was playing a game with Nick’s fiance when Nick suddenly collapsed and he never regained Consciousness the coroner later reported that Nick likely entered cardiac arrest after his heart for an unknown reason suddenly shift shed into into an unsustainable rhythm in other words Nick was a healthy 20-year-old whose heart simply stopped working chice wrote that the family had been looking forward so much Nick’s return from college over Thanksgiving not just because he’d be home but because he was bringing his bride to be but the family’s laughing was turned to weeping instead of the family growing it shrunk instead of welcoming their boy home they took him to the funeral home how quickly the season of Joy can change but what can we do to foresee it or to stop the appointed time so Brethren don’t get the wrong idea about Solomon’s poem this is not some happy meditation on the circle of life this is a presentation of the tyranny of times over mankind even over every one of you here you are not in control of the times you face you cannot choose which times you’re going to experience you cannot choose when or for how long you will experience them and you do not know for certain what will be coming next is this not a terribly frustrating aspect of life to be so limited to be so powerless and so with this in mind we can understand what Solomon says next in verse 9 what profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils this question will seem like it comes out of nowhere unless you understand that in this poem Solomon is exposing man’s fundamental lack of control over the times the seasons of Life Solomon is asking a similar question to what he asked in the very beginning of this book Ecclesiastes 1:3 he asked what is the point of striving if no amount of hard work can overcome death and now he’s asking the point what is the point of toiling if we cannot ultimately change our times or protect ourselves from sudden changes in the future what profit is there why toil so hard the answer here is the same as it was in back in chapter one there is no lasting gra gain there is no lasting profit in such striving you cannot change your appointed times but there’s more Solomon’s words they are not meant to make you despair but they’re meant to make you ask well how should I then live that’s the right question and will answer that for you in verses 10 to 15 Solomon he urges three wise responses three wise responses to make the most of the uncontrollable times of your life three wise responses to make the most of the uncontrollable times in your life and this is the real takeaway from today’s message the first wise response is in verses 10 to 11 and that is number one recognize God’s control the first wise response to make the most of the uncontrollable times in your life is to recognize God’s control let’s read these verses again I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves he has made everything appropriate in its time he has also set eternity in their heart so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end Brethren it’s true that you cannot control the times of your life but somebody already is in control and that’s God verse 10 says that God is the one who has given you the work of your life not so that you can find Ultimate gain or achieve Mastery over your times but to function for you as your lot as your portion as that which is to occupy you during your Earthly sojourn furthermore verse 11 says that he God he has made everything appropriate in its time now appropriate is an interesting word the Hebrew word can also be translated beautiful you might even see a note about that in your Bible there’s the idea of Beauty in this term appropriate so what is Solomon saying that even though our times can often be difficult they are always changing they are hard to understand they are not ultimately given to us randomly or Cru rather a good and wise God has made each one of these times fitting or beautiful when it appears now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying this does not mean that every time is beautiful in and of itself that God enjoys death God enjoys seeing you suffer no that is not God’s heart but in the wider scheme of God’s plans and purposes for the world what is happening to us will be shown in the end to be perfectly appropriate even beautiful and this is exactly what we long to know and understand isn’t it how what we’re facing is good and beautiful and purposeful and appropriate in the grand scheme of time it would be so much easier to bear if we just knew the purpose of it saw how it fit in the divine plan Solomon admits this himself in verse 11 when he says he has also set eternity in their heart that is God has placed a sense of timelessness in man such that man not only longs for permanence of that which is good but he also longs to understand how everything in time fits together I want to know what God’s doing how it all works how it’s all going to work out and this sense is no doubt connected to man being made in the image of God according to Genesis one God sees in such a way we long to see in that same way however because of sin because of the Fall God has made man time bound and unable presently to see or comprehend what what God has been doing from the beginning to the end even though man desperately desires to see and understand he cannot so in essence what Solomon is saying in these two verses is my friends you can take comfort that your times are being purposefully and perfectly arranged by God just as that eternity in your heart desires you can rest you can say this is not random this is not cruel this is my good God arranging everything to be fitting in its time that’s a comfort but Solomon would continue you must accept the frustrating fact that you will not and cannot see what that Arrangement is during your life thus the sense of Eternity in your heart will also remain agitated and unfulfilled you can take comfort that there is a purpose but you can’t know what it is not yet as was Solomon’s previous Council in Ecclesiastes 2 regarding death Solomon cannot totally erase for us the frustration the frustrations of Life due to uncontrollable times but he’s showing us the best way to deal with it the first wise response to your uncontrollable times is to number one recognize God’s control the second wise response is in verses 12 to 13 number two rejoice in God’s good rejoice in God’s good look at verse 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime moreover that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor it is the gift of God this is similar counsel to what Solomon gives at the end of Ecclesiastes 2 even though life is frustrating even though times of great hardship and sorrow can hit us at any time Solomon says you know what you should do in response you should enjoy your life you should enjoy life Rejoice Solomon said says enjoy your food enjoy your drink enjoy your work enjoy the fruits of your labor enjoy any of the gifts that God has given in your life don’t fail to appreciate them to make use of them enjoy them why because God gave these little gifts for you to enjoy as you sojourn through this world that’s his purpose don’t seek any of these things as your ultimate good or as the key to unlocking lasting gain I just work work work work work and then finally I’ll be free of these frustrations no that’s not going to happen but whenever God gives you good in life and whatever good he gives enjoy it gratefully don’t miss out on God’s good don’t be so focus on your frustrations that you failed to appreciate all the good that you still have all the things you have still to be thankful for they can be simple things they can be profound things and by the way there’s something in this list which we don’t see in some of the other lists that Solomon gives in this book about how you should enjoy life notice that Solomon says in verse 12 one of the things that we should enjoy amid the uncontrollable times of Our Lives is doing good doing good now some commentators think that this phrase just refers to enjoyable activities do good by enjoying your food and drink Etc but I don’t think so because later on in Ecclesiastes we see the same phrase doing good as referring to living righteously and not indulging in sin so Solomon is telling us here something profound he says you want to be able to enjoy life in the midst of frustrating circumstances that you cannot control then do what is good stop focusing on yourself and on your unmet desires serve God love others and you know what you’ll find Joy after all don’t the Psalms speak similarly about how joyous it is to keep God’s commands that’s always available to you no matter what circumstance you’re in we don’t we really are proving disobedient to God when we seek lasting gain in the world via its Treasures or we seek to use them as some means of overcoming death or uncontrollable times these are impossible they are the wrong way of using God’s gifts but there is a right right way and that’s what Solomon is counseling us about he says to make the most of your times these uncontrollable times of your life do good and enjoy life rejoicing in God’s good is a second wise response and then the third and final wise response to make the most of uncontrollable times appears in verses 14 and 15 number three Revere God Revere God verse 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever there’s nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it for God has so worked that men should fear him that which is has been already and that which will be has already been for God seeks what has passed by as we behold the contrast between our inability to change any of our times and God’s full ability to arrange times exactly as he wishes we should be moved Solomon tells us to Holy fear and regard of God end of verse 14 says that this has been God’s purpose all along maybe you’re said to yourself why can’t God just do what I want him to do why can’t God just let me have my plans go the way that I want them to well guess what he gives you an answer a direct answer right here verse 14 why doesn’t God make circumstances easier for you why doesn’t he explain himself from beginning to end why doesn’t he make you powerful enough to arrange your own life so that you would fear him so that you would rever him as he rightly deserves God is God he is the Lord he is the Lord of Eternity and time and you are not he’s big you’re small you cannot stop him from doing whatever he wants you can’t do a single thing unless he says you can you cannot undo his arrangement of times he cannot add to or take away from anything that he has decreed you can only do what man is already done which gets you and everyone else nowhere fundamental new as the beginning of verse 15 says God does but you and I cannot which helps us explain one of the last phrases we see here notice in verse 15 it says God seeks what has passed by and that’s kind of a weird phrase right that is long puzzled interpreters of this passage literally the Hebrew is God seek that which is being pursued God seeks that which is being pursued Solomon what are you talking about what’s being pursued are you talking about past events talking about persecuted people what’s this mean and what’s it mean in Context well the answer that makes the most sense to me is that God seeks what man seeks but in vain God is able to seek and find what man unsuccessfully seeks man seeks truly Earth shattering achievements he wants to change the world man also seeks eternity encompassing knowledge I want to know everything from beginning to end I want to see how everything works I want to know it all God says those are for me those are for me to pursue I’ll take care of the great things because I am great I’m God but remember who you are trust me fear me and enjoy all the good that I give you so much of the Bible I’ve said this to you before so much of the Bible is God revealing himself to us so that we would properly fear him so that we would regard him in the appropriate way he deserves our reverence he deserves our awe awe that is yes mixed in with a little bit of knee- knocking Terror do you realize who God is he’s the Lord of times he has arranged every particular moment and molecule of your life and you’re going to get upset with him that things don’t go a certain way who are you don’t you remember who he is how patient and gracious he has been towards you and towards me but that patience it need not last any longer apart from the grace of Christ The God Who is deserves our trust obedience and worship and to help us actually as a kindness towards us God says that’s why I’ve arranged your life the way that it is and that’s why I happen to even explain to you the whole thing so that you would come to me in the appropriate way and we would have a right relationship you know everything I’m saying about God here I’m also saying about Jesus Christ because Jesus is God so did you know know that Jesus is the Lord of times Jesus is Elohim Jesus is Yahweh he is the one who makes things happen he is the word of God after all and the word of God As We Know from Isaiah 55 does not go forth and come back void he’s the Shaker of Heaven and Earth he gets things done he’s the Lord and we by contrast we’re just dust dependent on Jesus in every way so will we not also fear Jesus with holy fear with that affectionate reverence with which he is due will we not take Father Son and the Holy Spirit seriously as we ought this is God’s design don’t kick against this design you’re not going to win humble yourself before the Lord the scripture is saying and what is promised to you you will be exalted but the proud they will be humbled so Brethren this is the word of God to you today now that you’ve seen aresh what life really is how will you respond how will you even face this new year in response to this Revelation as long as you exalt yourself before God in Christ you trust in your own strength insist on your own lordship stubbornly commit to your own plans without regard to God’s plans then I have to warn you life will bruise you again and again and again as God repeatedly overturns your plans it will not profit you to kick against these goats even worse your arrogant living and refusal to fear and serve God to do good during your life it places you under the Judgment of God which he must pour out on all Sinners but if by God’s grace responding to the word of God through Solomon you choose a better way you choose to respond to the frustration of controllable uncontrollable times with the Lord’s own wisdom you know what the result will be you will be blessed you will you will walk upon the way of wisdom and life wouldn’t you rather take that way won’t you humble yourself before God acknowledge his control gratefully receive his good live in proper reverence of him I want you Embrace God’s son Jesus Christ by faith he is God in human flesh he is the savior but he is also the Lord the perfect provision for sin pays for all your arrogance by his own death all your insistence on your own way way clothe you with his own perfect righteousness the righteousness that you should have had but did not and as Pastor Bobby prayed he intercedes for you now as a Heavenly high priest you know Jesus really is the perfect example of the lived out wisdom of this passage Jesus came into the world and he lived under the sun with us and he laid down his own will to serve his father’s will and what ever the father had planned for him and was that plan easy you think about the seasons that Jesus went through in his life you think that was easy but Jesus did it and Hebrews tells us he did it for the joy set before him he knew that there was happiness in gratefully receiving and making the most of whatever the father gave him cuz he was wasn’t about his own will it was about the will of the Father the same can be true of you Jesus has laid down an example for us to follow he’s not just Our Savior and Lord who deals with our sin once and for all but he’s our example and he says if you will lay down your own will if you will take all those carefully crafted plans that you have and you’ll just put them down and say Lord your way is better you know my desire sword but your way is better I want to make my life about you whatever you choose to give me I want to make the most of it but your will be done Jesus showed us that’s the way of joy and blessing so won’t you take that way now I don’t know what metaphorical seasons are coming up for you and me next both nationally personally but whatever our good and wise God has determined is right and we can’t change that reality we can’t change our perspective though as we trust in the Lord of all times and Seasons you know Proverbs 3:5 is a famous verse but I wonder how much we believe it trust in Yahweh with all your heart all your heart and lean not in your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths sometimes we get so miserable so anxious so angry so depressed because we forget the truth of th those few verses we say I I need to see it all God before I’ll Trust you or I need you to do it my way before I trust you God says no no no no go back to square one trust in me with all your heart I’ll take care of you and he will that’s something though that we need encouragement for and that’s why God gave us the body we need to encourage one another in this help one another in this and may the Lord help us to do that this upcoming year let’s close in prayer Heavenly Father we have we confess what we think of as really good plans for our lives really good plans for our church really good plans for our Ministries really good plans for our families our marriages and Lord we we will confess we we have consulted your word in our plans we say yes these are the things that the Lord likes surely they should happen in just this way maybe but Lord we don’t see the end from the beginning like you do and we have a a body bias towards ourselves we think much more generously about ourselves than we ought and we say to ourselves I’m I’m not in need of Greater sanctification I’m surely enough like Christ now therefore I just need things to go well for me from here Lord you know better Lord it is a frustration we know that you didn’t Design This World in the beginning to be frustrating to us like this and in the end Lord when you bring us into your kingdom when you bring those who have trusted Christ who have repented of their sin and trusted Christ by faith when you bring them into your kingdom they not going to be this frustration anymore when we are living in your new heavens and new earth we will see the work that you have for us to do it will last it will be fulfilling it will be perfectly in line with your own will but you have permitted the world to be subjected to futility for a purpose yes so we would groan for Redemption but also so that we would be Sanctified during this time and even fundamentally that we would fear you you are God you are God you are he who is high and lifted up but how wonderful that you are our God yes the Lord of times he’s our God and he arranges the time for us perfectly even the hard ones are appropriate in their time but Lord help us to trust you help us to encourage one another in this because you know that we frequently turn our eyes off of you and off of your truth and onto our feelings or onto the wisdom of the world and that will not help us bring us back lord bring us back to a sane perspective as we go to this new year that says I can trust what my God says his word even when I don’t fully understand because he’s God and His word is tested Lord we love you and we will believe your word if you will give us the grace and you promise that you will we will follow after you in whatever circumstances you choose for us help us to stand help us to keep coming back to your word even in a disciplined way so that we don’t away from him in Jesus name amen let’s Stand Together As we sing Our Last Song