“A Time for Everything”
(based on the devotions of Selwyn Hughes: “Every Day Light”)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:16
Introduction: Last week we started our sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes. We saw how everything in life seems meaningless if it is not lived with God guiding us. It is God who can give us understanding to life, and God who can make the things in our lives meaningful. When we live to the glory of God, we can indeed have meaning in our work, our relationships, and life itself!
This week we turn our attention to time. The poet Longfellow once asked: “What is time?” He then went on to say that although time could be measured, it could not be clearly defined.
Another important question is: What gives meaning to time? A few months ago Tyler’s science class was given different projects. They were paired up with another classmate, they then had to choose a project to do together. Tyler and his friend Ryan did an experiment to see if temperature affects the magnetism of magnets. They discovered that warmer temperature takes away a magnet’s magnetism, while colder temperatures increase it. The school had a night where we went to see all the different experiments. Tyler and Ryan won for best experiment. One experiment I found intriguing was where a team would put a person in a room for five minutes. The person was to just sit there for five minutes. After the time was up, they would come out of the room and they were asked how long they had been in there (they didn’t know what the length of time was). The people gave answers all over the board: from 1 minute all the way up to about 11 minutes! People had trouble measuring time without something to connect it to.
So let’s look at what King Solomon has to tell us about time.
I. The Meaning of Time- (Ecclesiastes 3:1-22)
a. The events of life- Solomon says to us in the early part of this
Chapter, that life is full of events. In our lives there will be many different kinds of events that will happen, and all of the events have meaning for our life, as he says in 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” He uses opposites to show us this truth.
1. Birth and Death- Solomon starts out with birth and
death. This can seem obvious. We know that we are born, and we know that we die. And yet, if we really understood it, then it wouldn’t be so hard for us to have people die. There are many times I have had people ask me: Why did he/she have to die? Our head knows the answer, but our heart doesn’t want to come to grips with it. Sometimes it is a person’s time because they are old or sick. Sometimes it is because of an accident, or some evil thing that another person did. We all have a time on this earth. We don’t all get the same amount of time. So we should do the most with the time we have!
2. Planting and Plucking- The next comparison is planting
and plucking. There is a time in the seasons when it is best to plant, and there are times when you don’t plant. If you plant at the wrong time you could lose your crop. If you wait too long to pluck up the crop it will no longer be good. Timing is everything in farming.
3. Killing and Healing- This next one, killing and healing we
need to be careful with. Going back to the farm, there are times when an animal needs to be killed because it is suffering and will not survive. There is a time when healing needs to take place. Another situation might be if your life is in danger. Would you kill someone to save your own life? The answer would probably be “yes”. Life is to be savored and appreciated. We need to seek to heal those when we can. But unfortunately, killing has become a part of living.
4. Breaking down and Building up- There are times when
you have to break something down before you can build it up. If you remember the movie “An Officer and a Gentleman,” Richard Gere plays this wild, undisciplined man who decides to join the military. He doesn’t want to follow the rules or orders that are given to him. His commanding officer had to break him down before he could begin to build him up into a soldier. God sometimes has to break us of our sin before He can build us up. While building people up is vitally important, there are times when breaking down is equally important.
5. Weeping and laughing- If I were to ask you when is the
right time to weep, you might give answers such as: at a funeral, or in joy at a wedding. When you find out your divorce is final, or when someone you love has been seriously injured. There are many times in life when weeping is appropriate. If not, then God would not have created us with the inclination to cry. Likewise, laughter is important as well. God desires for us to laugh. Laughter is a healthy and helpful thing in this world. It can help us overcome difficult times. It shows others when we are having a good time. It can lighten our mood or give us a new frame of mind.
6. Mourning and dancing- The same is true of mourning
and dancing. We mourn when we are sad. We dance when we are excited, or responding to good music. You see mourning happen at a funeral, or a mortuary. You see dancing happen at a night club, or a wedding, or at a party. The creators of “So You Think You Can Dance” are so excited about dancing that they have now created the “Dance for Your Life” day. This is a day where they are trying to get everyone to dance at the same time, because they believe that dance is good for your health.
Now I could go on and on as Solomon compares throwing away and gathering, embracing and not embracing, seeking and losing, tearing and mending, keeping silent and speaking, loving and hating, war and peace. Solomon wants us to understand that there is indeed a time for everything. How do we know when is the right time for each of these? We ask God for wisdom to guide us!
b. God given tasks- For us to be perfect we would have to act
appropriately in any given event. If you are anything like me, this is not true. I don’t always say the right thing, or react in the right way. Doing the right thing at the wrong time is almost as bad as not doing right. “What time is it?” we often ask. In regards to life’s events, how often we wish we knew.
In verse 9 Solomon asks: “What do workers gain from their toil?” Or to put it another way: “What benefit do we get from time?” Time might seem to be a blessing, but sometimes it is a burden. Solomon reminds us that without God, time is boring and futile. That is really how we feel when we aren’t using our time wisely, or when we feel like we are just spinning our wheels in life. When we get to 3:11 Solomon shows how we can brush aside the feelings that life is futile, as he says: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” When you look at life through our human eyes it seems futile, but when you look at it through the lens of faith, and thus catch a glimpse through the eyes of God, IT IS BEAUTIFUL!
How is this change made? God takes what seems to be a calamity and turns them into opportunities. As the saying goes: “God turns lemons into lemonade.”
ILLUS> It is like the story of a little girl who was sitting on the floor playing. As she looked up she saw the back of her mother’s needlework. Then she said to her mother: “That doesn’t look good at all.” Her mother was startled by this statement, but then looked at the back of the needlework and saw that it did indeed look bad. But when she turned the needlework around so that her daughter could see the other side, her daughter was able to see the beautiful picture her mother was making!
The timing of things may not be as you would like them to be, but remember, just like the needlework, He is making everything beautiful—in its time.
c. Judgment and the future- While we know imperfection, the Lord
knows perfection. While we know temporary, the Lord knows eternal. If we are patient, and wait on time, God will bring things to its right conclusion. And when this happens, Solomon says, we will stand in awe.
This will include how the future plays out. There are times when we see evil and injustice seeming to win out in this world. We get frustrated that judgment doesn’t seem to be brought by God. But if we have an eternal perspective, we can understand that the future holds judgment. Actually, the future holds judgment for those who are righteous (made righteous because of the blood of Jesus), and the wicked. Solomon wondered about this as well, but reminds us in verse 17, “I said to myself, ‘God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.’”
Wrong will not continue forever. The TIME is coming when all corruption and injustice will be called to judgment before the throne of God’s truth. God seems to be more patient about this than we are. God seems to understand that there will be a time for judgment. We must be patient and seek to see this through the eyes of God. We must seek to have a different perspective on life here on earth, and life after death.
If we are not careful, we will tend to get cynical about life, death, and judgment. We will stop having hope for the future, because we are too keyed up about what is going on now. Understanding time is a careful balance between living now, and hoping for what is to come. Whenever we get confused about this, we should seek God’s word, which teaches us about when the time is right for each event!
II. Vanity under the sun- (Ecclesiastes 4:1-16)
a. Life in solitary- As we turn to chapter 4, we see Solomon looking
around and seeing people caught in oppression. As he sees this, it causes him much despair. He starts to feel that it would be better to have never been born than to be in oppression. And those who have been oppressed in their lives might agree with this assessment. Solomon sees people in rivalry with each other and in competition with each other.
And it hasn’t gotten any better today. Maybe the rivalry and competitiveness is even worse today. Life is really meaningless when we can’t live together, but rather we are at odds with each other. This does not follow the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” But every once in a while this mindset is broken.
Illus. I’ve used this illustration before, but it is so fitting for this point. It is the illustration of Derrick Redmond. Derrick was a runner for Great Britain in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Derek qualified for the 1992 Olympics, and it was an amazing feat since he had undergone twenty-two surgeries on his Achilles’ tendon. He qualified to be in the semi finals of the men’s 440 meter race. He was in one of the center lanes, the gun fired and he shot out of the blocks leading the pack. The starter’s gun fired and Redmond set off. 140 metres down the track he was in a strong position when his hamstring gave way. He collapsed to the ground. Medics ran out to assist him but Redman waved them away. He was determined to finish the race, even if he couldn’t win it. And so he crawled and hobbled his way along the track. A man ran down from the grandstands. He pushed his way through the security guards and ran on to the track towards Derrick. It was Jim Redman, Derrick’s father. He placed an arm around Derek, saying ‘You don’t have to do this’ Jim told his son.’Yes I do’ Derek replied.“Well then we’re going to finish this together,” said his father.
Just before they reached the finish line, with the crowd screaming in support, Jim Redmond let his son go, so that he could cross the line on his own.
When we are in rivalry and competition with others, we will live so much of life in solitary. We must have a different approach to life. We must allow others to come along side us. As Solomon says it verse 6- “Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” God has designed us to experience tranquility in life. How can we do this? Solomon tells us in the closing verses of chapter 4.
b. The value of friendship- Solomon finishes the chapter talking to us
about the importance and value of friendship. In verses 9-11 Solomon tells it to us straight: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?”
Now this doesn’t mean that you have to always have someone around you, but it does mean that you need supportive, loving friends and family around you to support you. Why? “Because a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” We can get beaten down in life pretty easily, but if we have others in our lives who come along side us and encourage us, strengthen us and build us up, then we can accomplish all that God calls us to do. Satan cannot attack us, because our support will counter his attacks!! Your strength plus your friend’s strength produces an even greater strength.
Solomon’s point is that if you want to make it through the difficult days you will face, if you want to make it through those times you are disillusioned, then the secret is friendship. There is no comfort like that of a friend!
And yet, it is still possible to have friends and be lonely. Listen again to 4:13, “Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.” If you have a friend, but do not listen to the advice and warning of your friend, then you will be lonely, and you will be weak. Nobody has all the wisdom they need. And nobody knows how to completely listen to the wisdom that God gives us. We need the help of trusted friends. To these friends we have in our lives we must listen.
The loneliest person, the person whose life will ultimately be lived in meaninglessness is the one who fails to listen to the wisdom of others. He longs to be comforted, but refuses to accept comfort. He longs to know God, but has hardened his heart to God and others.
Conclusion: In all of this, Solomon wants us to understand that the wise are those who understand that while human friends are important, the best friend to have is God. God is the one who gave us life. God is the one who gave us time. God is the one who can make our efforts meaningful, and help us to use our time wisely.
So as you leave here today, I want you to think about the time you have. How can you live your life in a meaningful way? Ask God to show you this. How can you be strong in life? Ask God to give you friends to help guide you and help you to hear the voice of God. Don’t go through this life alone. Let others be a part of your life. Don’t live in competition and rivalry with others. Seek to share God’s love with all. Don’t let life get you down, but seek to understand with an eternal perspective all that happens in your life, knowing that God brings it together in His time. Amen.
(based on the devotions of Selwyn Hughes: “Every Day Light”)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:16
Introduction: Last week we started our sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes. We saw how everything in life seems meaningless if it is not lived with God guiding us. It is God who can give us understanding to life, and God who can make the things in our lives meaningful. When we live to the glory of God, we can indeed have meaning in our work, our relationships, and life itself!
This week we turn our attention to time. The poet Longfellow once asked: “What is time?” He then went on to say that although time could be measured, it could not be clearly defined.
Another important question is: What gives meaning to time? A few months ago Tyler’s science class was given different projects. They were paired up with another classmate, they then had to choose a project to do together. Tyler and his friend Ryan did an experiment to see if temperature affects the magnetism of magnets. They discovered that warmer temperature takes away a magnet’s magnetism, while colder temperatures increase it. The school had a night where we went to see all the different experiments. Tyler and Ryan won for best experiment. One experiment I found intriguing was where a team would put a person in a room for five minutes. The person was to just sit there for five minutes. After the time was up, they would come out of the room and they were asked how long they had been in there (they didn’t know what the length of time was). The people gave answers all over the board: from 1 minute all the way up to about 11 minutes! People had trouble measuring time without something to connect it to.
So let’s look at what King Solomon has to tell us about time.
I. The Meaning of Time- (Ecclesiastes 3:1-22)
a. The events of life- Solomon says to us in the early part of this
Chapter, that life is full of events. In our lives there will be many different kinds of events that will happen, and all of the events have meaning for our life, as he says in 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” He uses opposites to show us this truth.
1. Birth and Death- Solomon starts out with birth and
death. This can seem obvious. We know that we are born, and we know that we die. And yet, if we really understood it, then it wouldn’t be so hard for us to have people die. There are many times I have had people ask me: Why did he/she have to die? Our head knows the answer, but our heart doesn’t want to come to grips with it. Sometimes it is a person’s time because they are old or sick. Sometimes it is because of an accident, or some evil thing that another person did. We all have a time on this earth. We don’t all get the same amount of time. So we should do the most with the time we have!
2. Planting and Plucking- The next comparison is planting
and plucking. There is a time in the seasons when it is best to plant, and there are times when you don’t plant. If you plant at the wrong time you could lose your crop. If you wait too long to pluck up the crop it will no longer be good. Timing is everything in farming.
3. Killing and Healing- This next one, killing and healing we
need to be careful with. Going back to the farm, there are times when an animal needs to be killed because it is suffering and will not survive. There is a time when healing needs to take place. Another situation might be if your life is in danger. Would you kill someone to save your own life? The answer would probably be “yes”. Life is to be savored and appreciated. We need to seek to heal those when we can. But unfortunately, killing has become a part of living.
4. Breaking down and Building up- There are times when
you have to break something down before you can build it up. If you remember the movie “An Officer and a Gentleman,” Richard Gere plays this wild, undisciplined man who decides to join the military. He doesn’t want to follow the rules or orders that are given to him. His commanding officer had to break him down before he could begin to build him up into a soldier. God sometimes has to break us of our sin before He can build us up. While building people up is vitally important, there are times when breaking down is equally important.
5. Weeping and laughing- If I were to ask you when is the
right time to weep, you might give answers such as: at a funeral, or in joy at a wedding. When you find out your divorce is final, or when someone you love has been seriously injured. There are many times in life when weeping is appropriate. If not, then God would not have created us with the inclination to cry. Likewise, laughter is important as well. God desires for us to laugh. Laughter is a healthy and helpful thing in this world. It can help us overcome difficult times. It shows others when we are having a good time. It can lighten our mood or give us a new frame of mind.
6. Mourning and dancing- The same is true of mourning
and dancing. We mourn when we are sad. We dance when we are excited, or responding to good music. You see mourning happen at a funeral, or a mortuary. You see dancing happen at a night club, or a wedding, or at a party. The creators of “So You Think You Can Dance” are so excited about dancing that they have now created the “Dance for Your Life” day. This is a day where they are trying to get everyone to dance at the same time, because they believe that dance is good for your health.
Now I could go on and on as Solomon compares throwing away and gathering, embracing and not embracing, seeking and losing, tearing and mending, keeping silent and speaking, loving and hating, war and peace. Solomon wants us to understand that there is indeed a time for everything. How do we know when is the right time for each of these? We ask God for wisdom to guide us!
b. God given tasks- For us to be perfect we would have to act
appropriately in any given event. If you are anything like me, this is not true. I don’t always say the right thing, or react in the right way. Doing the right thing at the wrong time is almost as bad as not doing right. “What time is it?” we often ask. In regards to life’s events, how often we wish we knew.
In verse 9 Solomon asks: “What do workers gain from their toil?” Or to put it another way: “What benefit do we get from time?” Time might seem to be a blessing, but sometimes it is a burden. Solomon reminds us that without God, time is boring and futile. That is really how we feel when we aren’t using our time wisely, or when we feel like we are just spinning our wheels in life. When we get to 3:11 Solomon shows how we can brush aside the feelings that life is futile, as he says: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” When you look at life through our human eyes it seems futile, but when you look at it through the lens of faith, and thus catch a glimpse through the eyes of God, IT IS BEAUTIFUL!
How is this change made? God takes what seems to be a calamity and turns them into opportunities. As the saying goes: “God turns lemons into lemonade.”
ILLUS> It is like the story of a little girl who was sitting on the floor playing. As she looked up she saw the back of her mother’s needlework. Then she said to her mother: “That doesn’t look good at all.” Her mother was startled by this statement, but then looked at the back of the needlework and saw that it did indeed look bad. But when she turned the needlework around so that her daughter could see the other side, her daughter was able to see the beautiful picture her mother was making!
The timing of things may not be as you would like them to be, but remember, just like the needlework, He is making everything beautiful—in its time.
c. Judgment and the future- While we know imperfection, the Lord
knows perfection. While we know temporary, the Lord knows eternal. If we are patient, and wait on time, God will bring things to its right conclusion. And when this happens, Solomon says, we will stand in awe.
This will include how the future plays out. There are times when we see evil and injustice seeming to win out in this world. We get frustrated that judgment doesn’t seem to be brought by God. But if we have an eternal perspective, we can understand that the future holds judgment. Actually, the future holds judgment for those who are righteous (made righteous because of the blood of Jesus), and the wicked. Solomon wondered about this as well, but reminds us in verse 17, “I said to myself, ‘God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.’”
Wrong will not continue forever. The TIME is coming when all corruption and injustice will be called to judgment before the throne of God’s truth. God seems to be more patient about this than we are. God seems to understand that there will be a time for judgment. We must be patient and seek to see this through the eyes of God. We must seek to have a different perspective on life here on earth, and life after death.
If we are not careful, we will tend to get cynical about life, death, and judgment. We will stop having hope for the future, because we are too keyed up about what is going on now. Understanding time is a careful balance between living now, and hoping for what is to come. Whenever we get confused about this, we should seek God’s word, which teaches us about when the time is right for each event!
II. Vanity under the sun- (Ecclesiastes 4:1-16)
a. Life in solitary- As we turn to chapter 4, we see Solomon looking
around and seeing people caught in oppression. As he sees this, it causes him much despair. He starts to feel that it would be better to have never been born than to be in oppression. And those who have been oppressed in their lives might agree with this assessment. Solomon sees people in rivalry with each other and in competition with each other.
And it hasn’t gotten any better today. Maybe the rivalry and competitiveness is even worse today. Life is really meaningless when we can’t live together, but rather we are at odds with each other. This does not follow the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” But every once in a while this mindset is broken.
Illus. I’ve used this illustration before, but it is so fitting for this point. It is the illustration of Derrick Redmond. Derrick was a runner for Great Britain in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Derek qualified for the 1992 Olympics, and it was an amazing feat since he had undergone twenty-two surgeries on his Achilles’ tendon. He qualified to be in the semi finals of the men’s 440 meter race. He was in one of the center lanes, the gun fired and he shot out of the blocks leading the pack. The starter’s gun fired and Redmond set off. 140 metres down the track he was in a strong position when his hamstring gave way. He collapsed to the ground. Medics ran out to assist him but Redman waved them away. He was determined to finish the race, even if he couldn’t win it. And so he crawled and hobbled his way along the track. A man ran down from the grandstands. He pushed his way through the security guards and ran on to the track towards Derrick. It was Jim Redman, Derrick’s father. He placed an arm around Derek, saying ‘You don’t have to do this’ Jim told his son.’Yes I do’ Derek replied.“Well then we’re going to finish this together,” said his father.
Just before they reached the finish line, with the crowd screaming in support, Jim Redmond let his son go, so that he could cross the line on his own.
When we are in rivalry and competition with others, we will live so much of life in solitary. We must have a different approach to life. We must allow others to come along side us. As Solomon says it verse 6- “Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” God has designed us to experience tranquility in life. How can we do this? Solomon tells us in the closing verses of chapter 4.
b. The value of friendship- Solomon finishes the chapter talking to us
about the importance and value of friendship. In verses 9-11 Solomon tells it to us straight: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?”
Now this doesn’t mean that you have to always have someone around you, but it does mean that you need supportive, loving friends and family around you to support you. Why? “Because a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” We can get beaten down in life pretty easily, but if we have others in our lives who come along side us and encourage us, strengthen us and build us up, then we can accomplish all that God calls us to do. Satan cannot attack us, because our support will counter his attacks!! Your strength plus your friend’s strength produces an even greater strength.
Solomon’s point is that if you want to make it through the difficult days you will face, if you want to make it through those times you are disillusioned, then the secret is friendship. There is no comfort like that of a friend!
And yet, it is still possible to have friends and be lonely. Listen again to 4:13, “Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.” If you have a friend, but do not listen to the advice and warning of your friend, then you will be lonely, and you will be weak. Nobody has all the wisdom they need. And nobody knows how to completely listen to the wisdom that God gives us. We need the help of trusted friends. To these friends we have in our lives we must listen.
The loneliest person, the person whose life will ultimately be lived in meaninglessness is the one who fails to listen to the wisdom of others. He longs to be comforted, but refuses to accept comfort. He longs to know God, but has hardened his heart to God and others.
Conclusion: In all of this, Solomon wants us to understand that the wise are those who understand that while human friends are important, the best friend to have is God. God is the one who gave us life. God is the one who gave us time. God is the one who can make our efforts meaningful, and help us to use our time wisely.
So as you leave here today, I want you to think about the time you have. How can you live your life in a meaningful way? Ask God to show you this. How can you be strong in life? Ask God to give you friends to help guide you and help you to hear the voice of God. Don’t go through this life alone. Let others be a part of your life. Don’t live in competition and rivalry with others. Seek to share God’s love with all. Don’t let life get you down, but seek to understand with an eternal perspective all that happens in your life, knowing that God brings it together in His time. Amen.
posted by Logan's Blog at 3:30 PM
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