All In Good Time

0:00 I'm really excited for the message. I might seem like a fire hose, which is not abnormal for me, but this message is burning in my heart. It feels like a fire in my bones, like Jeremiah said, and it's blessed me, and I hope that I know that God's going to speak to you as we have ears to hear tonight. And so, if you guys have your Bibles, I'm asking you to open up to a rather unique book, and that is the book of Ecclesiastes. And yes, that is a book in the Bible. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verses 1 through 15 is where we're going to be studying tonight with a message entitled, All in Good Time. All in good time. Now for many of us, we have both heard these words spoken and probably repeated them ourselves. To the little kid who wants it to be Christmas already, to the teenager who wants to drive so badly to the engaged couple anticipating their long-awaited wedding day, we would say, well, all in good time.

1:09 But is it true, all in good time? Will you and I get everything we desire in good time? Do good things come to those who wait? Well, possibly, but certainly not always. I would suppose it's really dependent on one major factor, and it would be how you and I would define the word good. And rather, who would define what is good? If God, who is the source of all goodness, as the Bible tells us, is the one to define what is good, then the answer to the statement, all in good time, is absolutely yes. that the resounding word of God would say that for the one who loves God and is called according to his purpose, then yes, all in good time as God works everything together for good, our good and his glory. Really, we can almost change the title tonight to this, all in God's time, because they are one in the same, because God's time is always good. And so tonight we come to one of the most famous passages in the Bible on the topic of time. This passage that is before us is commonly used at memorial services and celebration of life services as our loved ones pass on into eternity. And while we live within the realm of time, there is one who, as the Bible describes, as the everlasting father. Maybe you've heard that description before of God.

2:46 You actually find it in Isaiah chapter 9, often talked about around Christmas time, as the child who was to be born, the son that was to be given, and then it lists these different names. And one of those names confuses people because it calls the Messiah the everlasting father. And people get confused because they don't know about the original language. The idea of everlasting is the, really, we could say it like this, it's the length of forever. and the idea of father is not so much referring to father God, but the founder or the originator, the one who causes something to begin. So you could say it this way, that Jesus is the father of everlasting. He's the father of forever, the father of time. I like this one, that he is the architect of the ages. And truly Isaiah 57 15 says that God is the one who inhabits eternity.

3:48 Daniel 2 21 speaks of God as the one who changes the times and the seasons. He is the one who was, the one who is, and the one who is to come. He is the beginning and the end. And God is sovereign over time and everything that happens within it because he is not only the creator of it, just read Genesis 1.1, in the beginning, the creation of time itself, but according to the scriptures, he is the sustainer of time. And we will find today in our study that it is God who will make everything beautiful in its time. And this hope, this promise of scripture, you and I as followers of Jesus, we can cling on to it and trust in his goodness. Because from the cradle to the grave and everything in between, God is what we would call sovereign over time. We won't always know or understand the whys of life, but we can conclude this from the scriptures very clearly, that God is accomplishing his divine purposes on his divine timetable, all to the praise of his glory. Can I get an amen? Now, without this understanding, if we don't get this, then the years that we have on this earth will be dreadful and they will be draining. But with it, you and I will be able to see the limited time we have here in light of unlimited eternity, and you and I will be able to behold the time that God gives us as the God who makes it beautiful in his time. And so with that, would you stand with me for the reading of the Word of God? Again, I told you this passage is traditionally read in different ways at funerals and services of celebration of life because it gives us the understanding that death is a part of the nature of life currently. Well, it hasn't always been that way, but death is not something

6:00 that is outside of the realm of God's sovereignty. In fact, he is the one who we'll find today appoints it. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, starting there in verse 1, and then we'll read down to verse 15. This is the word of God. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break 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 cast away stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to gain and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to sow. A time to keep silence and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time of war and a time of peace. Verse 9.

7:03 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor. It is the gift of God. I know for whatever God does it shall be forever nothing can be added to it and nothing taken away from it God does it that men should fear before him that which is has already been and what is to be has already been and God requires an account of what is past Father would you bless our time in your word tonight speak to us we ask in Jesus name and all God's people said amen once more. You guys can be seated. Last time you're getting up, I think, until you leave service. But Ecclesiastes 3, as we work our way through this passage, I first want to come to this poem that is found in verses 1 through 8 that really describes God as the setter of time, the one who sets time to everything there's a season a time for every purpose under heaven solomon starts out this chapter with really a summary statement of what is coming notice here that it's an all-encompassing type of statement using the words everything and the word every this is actually the same Hebrew word repeated twice. And it simply is pointing us to the totality of time and seasons.

8:59 To everything, he says, there is a season. Now what does he mean, season? Is he talking about summer, spring, winter, fall? I got those in the wrong order, but you get the idea. No, he's not talking about seasons as we maybe think of them. This is the word, the Hebrew word for season. It means a set time. It could include a season like summer, but it's much more broad. An appointed time, a specific time, a particular time, a fixed time, or a, you could say, fitting time. It could also be translated as a prescribed time with a predetermined purpose. a season is a fixed and definite portion of time that everything under heaven has a beginning and everything has an ending now as it is now everything as it is now is not forever there are these seasons and he's going to expand on this in a moment now using another word to season he uses a what we would call a synonym, and he uses the word time. Time. In this Hebrew word, though similar, is different, and it means a suitable moment or the right time. So it's not speaking about a fixed time, but a proper time. There's a time for every purpose, that every event or matter, thing, there is a certain time for it. The right time for every matter, event, affair, or thing. Now you might say, what is he getting to? Well, it's really this. We could summarize it in this way, that everything that happens within the realm of time is not random, it is not chaotic, as crazy as it feels, and it is not without purpose. Benjamin Franklin rightly said, and he was convinced, that God governs in the affairs of men. And he said that at the end of his life as he began to see things.

11:01 See, this is one of the major differences between a deist and a theist. A deist believes that God set the universe into motion like the setting of a clock and then stepped back and just let it whirl, let it go, and take its natural course. A theist, which is what the Bible teaches, is that God not only set the universe into motion, but is the one who sustains over every detail and providentially rules over it. And then notice that he says that there's a time, there's a season for every purpose, and he says under heaven. Now, I don't know if you've ever read through the book of Ecclesiastes. You have to read through it pretty carefully, or you might come out depressed unless you read the end, really important. But in this very unique book, Solomon lays out really this search for the purpose of life apart from God. And he'll conclude that there isn't one.

11:59 He normally uses this phrase, under the sun. In our portion today, it's actually one of the unique places. It's only three times in the book where he uses the term under heaven. It's a clear distinction. and throughout this book such as in this third chapter there are these moments where Solomon speaks of life not just from under the sun but it's contrasted with under heaven showing a perspective that God is in it and this poem this this portion of scripture is said in the perspective that God is the one who sets the time he is the one who sets the seasons time is as it were under God's authority. In fact, this is what Jesus told his disciples right before his ascension. They wanted to know some of the timeline. Say, God, when is this whole thing going to happen?

12:54 You know, you're going to set up your kingdom, and we're going to be like next to you, and it's going to be great. When is that? And Jesus responds in this way, Acts 1-7, and he said to them, it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the father has put in his own notice authority. We know this from the words of Jesus that the times and seasons are under the authority of almighty God. That is that he has the power of choice. The idea of authority is jurisdiction. It's his power of rule and governing the liberty to do what he pleases. The Bible's clear that God does what he wants when he wants to. That his counsel, the Bible says, will stand. And nothing and no one will ultimately thwart his purposes. And so with all that said, we come to a poem here on the events that take place within time and seasons that are under God's authority. I want you to notice that though it's a long list, it's not an exhaustive one. It is supposed to be more of a poem than a list of every single thing that happens. However, it does really point to the totality of life. The reason and the type of poetical nature that this is written in points to us that he is talking about life from beginning to end every time, every season. Now a couple things for those of you that might be some Bible nerds out there. There are seven verses here. Seven verses. Starting in verse two all the way to verse eight. Seven verse poem. We looked at the introduction and in these seven verses there are seven pairs of opposites. Now we know seven is set apart as the number of completion and that goes in line with the idea of this poem. Now within these seven pairs of opposites, I told you, if you're a Bible nerd, you'll like this. Within the seven pairs of opposites, look in your Bibles,

15:04 seven verses, seven pairs, 14 contrasts, 14 contrasts, 14 positives contrasted with 14 negatives. Altogether, there are 28 events mentioned. Now I lay that out to you, the 7, 14, 28 is because there's a very much, there's a beauty and a purpose in which this is written. Solomon wasn't just like, let me throw some random things together. He wasn't like, let's throw some random events and just, and it'll be nice. No, this is very structured and formatted. And he uses this poetical device of bringing polar opposites together. And this device is called mirism. It is used to suggest a totality of something. You might be familiar with Psalm 139, where David speaks of the omniscience of God.

16:02 And he says, God, you know my sitting down and my rising up. He was using opposites to describe that God knows everything about me. Well, he employs, Solomon employs that same thinking here to this poem. And if you had a Hebrew Bible in front of you, most likely a lot of Hebrew manuscripts, they find that this list is arranged in two columns, which actually would be helpful, though you don't find it too often in English Bibles. Two columns so that the contrasts are very clearly compared to one another. Now, the most familiar, and we're not going to go through all of these, or else I would need to keep you until 10 o'clock. But the most common one and the most familiar one that we're familiar with is a time to be born and a time to die. And really all the events that are listed after the first one fall in between those two polar opposites, between life and death.

17:05 And what we must understand is that it is God who determines when life happens. He's the one that opens the womb. and he also determines when death happens. The Bible says that God is determined in Acts 17 our predetermined or pre-appointed times in which we would be born. In fact, our days, according to Psalm 139, were all written in advance in his book. Our days being fashioned before we ever lived yet one of them. Job 14 5 describes not only our life but also our death that God has determined the number of our days Job 14 verse 5 says since his days are determined the number of months is with you you have appointed his limits so that he can not pass God is sovereign over life and death Martin Luther said it like this, you cannot live any longer than the Lord has prescribed nor die any sooner.

18:14 Now I want to tell you this passage is very frustrating for control freaks. People that want to control everything, this passage will send you into a frenzy because it will show you that you have control of just about absolutely nothing. And that is a great place to come to because when you come to the end of your control, God can begin finally doing his work in your life. Now if God has control over the bookends of everyone's life, you better believe he's sovereign over everything in between. Now do keep in mind, God's sovereignty or his providence does not discount nor diminish man's responsibility. I actually believe it puts it in its rightful place. You might say, how?

19:08 You know, a lot of people see these as contradictory realities. God's plan, God's sovereignty, and man's free will. No, no. When we understand this, it puts our responsibility in the rightful place, knowing that what we do or what we pray was never intended to change the will of God, because that's not possible. What it does is it aligns us with what God has already planned from eternity past. See, this is actually an encouragement. This can be a comfort to the one who can submit their control to God. And again, we're not gonna go through all of these things and they'd be worthy of a study of maybe another time, a time to plant, a time to pluck what is planted. And there's different perspectives on kind of maybe some Hebrew typology and things that it might be pointing to.

20:00 But here it is. From earth's perspective, we can look through this list of things and all these different events and the appearance is as though we have the power over these things. Meaning when we look at this list from the perspective of under the sun, as in without God, there is an appearance that we have the ability to set these things in motion. And yet from heaven's perspective, it is the Lord's. The Bible says that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and his plans and his purposes will not be altered. Now we might question his method and certainly we might question his timing, but there is nothing that falls out of his scope of authority no matter how big or small. In fact, Jesus said this, Matthew chapter 10, verses 29 through 31.

20:58 He said, are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore. See the sovereignty and providence of God causes the believer to have no fear. You are more value than many sparrows. I'm here to tell you tonight that there is no such thing as fate as the world thinks of it. There's no luck. There's no chance. Nothing happens haphazardly or random. God is the one according to his scriptures that governs over times and seasons and events. I'm so thankful that my dad taught me growing up never to say good luck to someone. He said there's no such thing.

21:50 And he was very sarcastic and tongue in cheek with us. And he would say, I don't believe in luck. The Bible doesn't teach luck. And it's true. And that truth is certainly based here in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. among many other passages. Now Solomon goes on from here to reflect on these great truths in the following verses. Now if we were to stop here, if we were to leave our, if we were to close our Bibles and walk out, we would certainly have some questions left unanswered. We would want to know a little bit more. And this next section is really Solomon's commentary on the poem. There's some Bible commentators who even think that this poem would have kind of been a familiar hear a passage amongst Jewish culture and maybe Solomon kind of adopted it here. And then now in verses 10 through 15 or 9 through 15, he begins to bring it into the purpose of this book. And so the Lord is not only the setter of time itself, but please note down number two, he is the beautifier of it. He's the beautifier of time. And yes, beautifier is a word. I looked it up. And the beautifier of time. He is who makes everything beautiful in its time. You know, Solomon repeats his opening question here from chapter 1 here in verse 9. He originally posed the question in chapter 1 verse 3, and he said, what profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? Translation, what is the point of living another day in life? What's the purpose of it?

23:30 It is what this book exists for, to seek to answer that question. Solomon, the wisest man, possibly certainly the richest man, one of the most powerful men to ever live, went down the path. And Ecclesiastes is he writes down the journey. But throughout the journey, like chapter 3, he has these moments where he records clarity. But he asks the question, he repeats it in verse 9. Look in your Bibles. He says, what profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

24:04 Is there any purpose? Is there any value? Well, the times and seasons in this life, as we just read, are ultimately beyond man's control. And so listen, someone could do everything right when it comes to, say, taking care of their body. 10,000 steps a day 5-6 days of strength training no processed sugar, no bread high protein supplements and they could still die before someone who smokes every day and has then also a pack of powdered sugar donuts For the control freak, that's a very frustrating reality. what assurance do you have in this life that what you do is actually going to benefit you anything in the next life outside of God you don't and that's the point this is the the crux of Solomon's point in this book is that outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ outside of fearing God and keeping his commandments, you have nothing. There's no point to life. There's no purpose, no profit, no benefit, because everything under heaven changes, and so we must not put our hope or trust in anything or anyone under the sun. If we trust in ourselves to make it happen, we will be disappointed. If we think that we have control, life will become very frustrating.

25:35 and he goes on in verse 10 and he says I have seen Solomon steps back and he says I have seen the God-given task or the God-given burden with which the sons of men are to be occupied Solomon says I see something he said something similar back in chapter 1 verse 13 you can see on the screen he said something very similar he said and I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven. This burdensome task, it's the same phrase, it's translated in English a little bit different, but it's the same idea. This burdensome task God has given to the sons of man by which they must be exercised or busy with. Solomon says this, that something has been given to man by God, and that is to search and seek out the meaning of life and the way that God has designed things in this life is that every road other than himself leads to a dead end.

26:41 It was deliberately designed this way. to look at this list of verses one through eight from a worldly perspective where God does not exist, the monotony of life without realizing God's hand could truly be burdensome. It could weigh you down. If that's it, I wake up and I go to work so that I can eat and feed my family, so that I can then wake up again and go to work so I can feed my family, and then one day I die. what is the point? You see, the way that God is designed, though it's a God-given task, life was never intended by God to be burdensome. It's supposed to be beautiful, and that's the point. The task of living this life is only burdensome when you try to control what you can't control, when you try to reign over that which God says, I have authority over.

27:42 And so in verse 11, he follows this thought and he says, he has made everything beautiful in its time. Beautiful. Please note down this word with me. It means good or excellent. That which is proper and right, appropriate or pleasing. Now this is referring to not only that which is past, but also future. This is what God does. he will make everything including what is bad now beautiful evil will not have the final word god will see to it and any and you can clap for that absolutely but what i want you to see is that this is god's word god says i'll do it i will make everything right good god will be the one that writes every wrong while we might not not know all the answers And we might actually disagree with maybe what we would see how God is doing something.

28:42 Or if we were God, we would do it different. And yet there is a certain bliss and joy and freedom that comes from just trusting that in time, God will make everything beautiful. because if we put that burden on ourselves, it will weigh us down and we will not experience the beauty of life every day that he's given to us as we should. And it's only as we really recognize this and trust his timing, right? God says, I'm gonna give you perfect peace, but it's only as you focus on him and his work, it's only as we seek him does he give us that peace that surpasses understanding where you look around at life and you say, this is insane. it is crazy i have no idea what's happening or what's gonna happen oh but how are you doing oh i'm peace i'm at peace how does that happen it only happens as we trust in the providential care of almighty god this is where romans 8 28 where i kind of referenced in our intro earlier romans 8 28 we all know this and it's great we should know it we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

29:58 Listen, this is only true if Ecclesiastes 3 is true. If God is not sovereign, impossible. But God is sovereign over time, over events, and over seasons. And this is a perspective that is transcendent from this world. This is an eternal perspective, which is actually something, whether you know it or not, God has put in you. Look what it says in verse 11. Also, he has put eternity in their hearts. He has put. He's placed. He's set. It's the same word than in Genesis 1 when it says that God set the lights in the firmament of the heavens. Same word, set. In Genesis 9, when he said, I set my rainbow in the cloud, he says, I have put eternity in the heart of every person. What does that mean, eternity? Well, it means exactly what you would think it means. It means everlasting, forever, an unlimited duration of time with a certainly a direct focus on the future. That God has put eternity in the heart of every person. What does that mean?

31:13 It means that they have an inherent awareness and knowledge of that which is eternal. Someone once said that humans are bound by time but wired for eternity. We're bound by time but the way that we're wired is for eternity. And what is eternity? No, we should ask the question, who is eternity? Because really, eternity or everlasting is a description of God himself. The Bible says that he is the everlasting God, known to have everlasting strength, everlasting kindness, and he gives everlasting salvation and his ways are everlasting. You see, we think of eternity and we think of a place but we should think of a person. John 17 3 said this is eternal life that you may know me. That is what eternity is and God has put eternity or himself as it were in the heart of every man. Romans 1 confirms this Ecclesiastes truth verses 18 and 19. It says for For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because they suppress it.

32:38 Because what may be known of God is manifest, clearly revealed. Why? Because God has shown it to them. The idea of suppressing is to hold down physically. That God has revealed himself. The Bible makes the case between Ecclesiastes 3 verse 11 and Romans 1, 18 and 19. It makes the case that there is no such thing as an ultimate atheist. It is someone who might make the claim. But that person has to fight against something that has been put within them by God. he has to suppress the knowledge that has clearly been revealed in him there is no ultimate atheist c.s lewis said it this way if we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy the most probable explanation is that we are made for another world and truly he's put eternity in our hearts, but that does not mean that we have the answers to everything. Notice how verse 11 ends, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

34:01 Listen, you might have eternity in your hearts, but it does not mean you have a full comprehension of God. Listen, if you think you have God and his ways figured out, you have the wrong God. because the God of the Bible, the Bible says of him that his ways are past finding out, that his judgments are unsearchable. Isaiah 55 says that God's thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways because his ways and his thoughts are higher. The Bible says that the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us. God lets us in on a little bit but there's much more maybe you've wondered what is eternity going to be like what are we going to do I think one of the main activities is going to be learning more and more as finite beings about the infinite God Matthew Henry said it this way he said there's a wonderful harmony in the divine providence and all its disposals so that the events of it when they come to be considered in their relations and tendencies together with the seasons of them will appear very beautiful to the glory of God and the comfort of those that trust in him.

35:20 Though we see not the complete beauty of providence yet we shall see it. And a glorious sight it will be when the mystery of God shall be finished then everything shall appear to have been done in the most proper time and it will be the wonder of eternity. You and I at this moment in time are incompetent to be good judges of what God is doing. Because we don't, we didn't see the beginning.

35:54 We have not yet seen the end. And so we're in this middle ground. But often we want to make judgments about the way God is doing something or his timing. But it's not fair to judge because any picture mid-drawing looks like a mess. To judge any house mid-building will not show the true beauty of it. And one day we will be in eternity and we will say, God, you knew what you were doing. God, you were so, I don't know how you did that, but you, we, it will be amazing. and God will get the glory for it. So what do we do in this middle ground? I thought you would never ask. We come to then verses 12 and 13, which is the giver of time. He's the setter of time, the beautifier of time, but he's also the giver of time. And in these two verses, they highlight our response to God in light of his sovereignty, in light of making everything beautiful in its time, In light of him putting eternity in our hearts and us not to be able to really understand all that God does, what do we do?

37:08 Well, Solomon concludes that the best thing, nothing better, he says, that we could do than to rejoice and to do good in our lives. To rejoice and to do good. This is the same kind of thinking that he ended chapter 2 with. ecclesiastes 2 verse 24 he said nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor this also i saw notice he said was from the hand of god so the emphasis here is that this is from the hand of god or as verse 12 says it is or 13 the gift of God to enjoy the lives he has given us. So what do we do as we think about the sovereignty of God? We rejoice. We choose joy over complaining. We choose joy over worry. We thank him for the beautiful stuff now, and we do good, not to control our life, but as grateful for the goodness of God. And so since we are not the ones who is sovereign over time, best thing we could do, rejoice and do good. Enjoy and be thankful for the good things God has given to us when he gives them. R. Kent Hughes, I think is helpful to us here, Bible commentator, he said, the good things in life so easily become our gods, which is absolute vanity, as the preacher has already told us. But the way to resist this temptation is not by avoiding everything.

38:48 Rather, we avoid idolatry by gratefully receiving the good things of life as blessings from God. Do not be a user and a taker, be a receiver and a thinker. This is all part of offering to God what he has given to us in joyful service while we have the time. See, these verses make some people uncomfortable.

39:11 Because they relate misery with godliness. And the Bible does not say that. That God is a good father who is the father of lights with no variation or shadow of turning. That every good and perfect gift comes down from him and he wants us to enjoy the days that he's given. And some people, because of the abuse of it, because people abuse this world, like Jesus spoke of that fool who spent his life working and then finally he had enough. and so he kicked up his feet and he said, I'm going to eat, drink, and be merry, and tomorrow we die. And his soul would be asked of him that very night. And so sometimes we go to this polar opposite, and we're fearful to enjoy things because we don't want to sin. In fact, it's actually when we are complaining, when we are thankless, and when we don't enjoy God's good gifts, the simple things in life, that I believe it to be sin.

40:18 You see, rather than stressing out over what we can't control, we enjoy the blessings that he's provided and seek to be a good steward over them, all for the glory of God. I love how simple Paul was in 1 Corinthians 10 31. He said, whether you eat or drink, he says, do it all for the glory of God. There's nothing you can't do for the glory of God, and I believe you are called to enjoy God's gift of life. Years ago, there was a sweet lady at our church, and if you were to ask her, hey, how are you doing? She would always say, oh, I am too blessed to be stressed. And it's just awesome, and it's true. Too blessed to be stressed. Psalm 128 verses 1 and 2. blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his way. And this verse two would surprise some people. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy and it shall be well with you. The New Testament speaks of this simplicity of life, this quietness, just enjoying the life that God's given us. Now listen, enjoying life as a gift from God versus pursuing enjoyment as the goal of this life are two very different things. Jesus did say that in the pursuit of your life, you'll lose it. But we can often go so far in the other direction. Ecclesiastes 2.25, I think the NASB 95 gets it really well. I think the new King James misses it a little bit.

41:49 But he asks this question. He says, for who, Solomon says, for who can eat and can have enjoyment without him. I love that. The Christian, more than anyone, should be able to enjoy the good things that God's given to us because we actually have someone to be thankful for. You see, an unbeliever, they go and see a sunset. What are they going to say? Thank you, Mother Earth? It's lame. You and I can go and we say, thank you, Father, for this sunset. Thank you, Father, for this cup of coffee. Thank you for this steak, whatever it might be. Thank you that I have something in the fridge. I have clothes on my back. And we know that they are not an end in and of themselves, simply good gifts. And there's more where that's coming from. 1 Timothy 6, 17 says, command those who are rich in this present age, not to be haughty. Don't be prideful and don't trust in uncertain riches because they are uncertain but in the living God I love this who gives us richly all things to enjoy you and I should be absolutely beyond joyful about the littlest of things but so often believers can get this wrong so much so that nehemiah had to tell people in his day this quick crying and mourning and he said this and you know this verse you know the end of this verse not too many people know what comes before it nehemiah 8 verse 10 says then he said to them go eat of the fat drink of the sweet and send portions to him who has nothing prepared so go enjoy it take the best part of the meat Enjoy it, for this day is holy to our Lord.

43:40 It's holy, so enjoy it. And he says, do not be grieved. Why? For the joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of the Lord is your strength. And so enjoy what God's given you, because what we don't have control over, we put in his hands. And we say, God, this is what you've given me today, and so I'm gonna rejoice, I'm gonna do good, I'm gonna be a steward, this is a gift from you, and all for your glory. And then in the sovereignty of God, our works are placed where they're supposed to be. Not to work for, not to try to earn, but to give God thanks and all the glory. So finally, similar to our first point, as God is the setter of time, Solomon brings us back to this unshakable truth that God is master over time.

44:33 and he does what he does so that we might fear him. And so our last point this evening will be the master over time, verses 14 and 15, as he brings us back to this unshakable truth. Now, he does this because you and I, because of our sin nature, and we can trace it all back to the garden of wanting to be like God. We would never say it. But when we want control of things that are in his control or we begin to question him, we begin to say something very similar to what the serpent began to whisper to Eve. And we must realize that he is the master over time. This is what sets us straight. And so Solomon presents this truth of his unalterable and unchanging purposes.

45:31 We got to get this. until he brings us back. Notice verse 14. I want to break this down in just three ways to you. I think it's helpful. He says, I know that whatever God does, number one, it shall be forever. Speaks of the permanence of what God does and nothing taken from it. This is the perfection of what God does and nothing, nothing taken from it. This is the preservation of what God does. And we must revel. We must rest in this fact that what God does, it shall be forever, it shall be permanent, perfect, and it will be preserved by him. This truth should put us in the very awe of who God is because there's no one like him. This description cannot be said of anyone else's work other than God's work. And why does he do what he does? We'll look at the end of verse 14. God does it.

46:29 God does those things and what he does that men should fear before him. Maybe you've questioned, and why did God do it that way? Why does he do what he does within time? He does it that men should fear before him. Translation, he does it for his glory. God does all that he does for his glory. As we consider the work of God within time, the only reasonable response is to fear, to revere, and to be in awe of him. Isaiah 46 verse 10 says, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, this is God, quote, My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. See, as a believer in Jesus, this should absolutely cause us to rejoice. And it should cause us to be amazed of who God is.

47:28 And you might ask why. What about this topic, the sovereign providence of God that I should rejoice in? well it's to know that this principle of his permanent perfected and preserving plan will come to pass and it rightly applies to his work in your life the reason we can rest and rejoice in this is because when he says things like Philippians 1 6 and he says this being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ we can trust him because he's got the power he has everything under control and so we say how God I don't see how it's all going to work out and we can trust him that he will never leave us nor forsake us that nothing will be able to separate us from our God that no one will be able to pluck us from his hand that all that God has said will come to pass And so we just must fear him and trust him as God.

48:36 And when we do that, our life begins to fall right into the place that God had always planned for it to be. Because of this, we should be able to say with the psalmist, Psalm 31, verses 14 and 15, But as for me, I trust in you, O Lord. I say you are my God. I love this. my times are in your hand. My times are in your hand. Now that's true. It's another thing for us to declare that truth over our lives. And thank the Lord because if my times were in my hands and your times were in your hands, we'd be in a whole lot of trouble. But our times are in his hands. He closes with verse 15 and he says that, and it sounds a little like mysterious, that which has already been, that which is has already been, and what is to be has already been. Okay, let me just help you with this a little bit. It took me a moment to wrap my brain around it. To God, that which is, so that which is present, has already been. And what is to be, that's the future, he's already been there. You see, God knows the end from the beginning because he is the beginning and the end. 2 Peter 3.8 says, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. God, you're taking so long.

50:09 It's not long to him. Our times are in his hand. And what is currently, he already knows, What is ahead, he already knows. And it's at this point that the unbeliever would look at a verse like 15 and would say, well then what's the point? If what is has already been and what is to be has already been, what's the purpose of my life and my decisions? And outside of a relationship with an eternal God, you have no purpose in your life. You're right. No purpose. Only one. Only one that really matters. because just because God is sovereign over time doesn't mean that you won't be held accountable for your actions and your choices. And Solomon's really clear. He ends verse 15 and he says it super clear. He says, God requires an account of what is past.

51:07 So for the unbeliever, that should bring terror to your soul. if you don't have the blood of Jesus covering your life it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God and just because he's sovereign doesn't mean you won't stand before him one day and give an account for everything done whether good or bad but for the believer it is actually this accountability that brings that much more value and purpose to every day of our life. Because it is God alone who will be able to answer the question posed in verse 9. And bring profit from what we do in this life as we live in the fear of God and we give him glory. It's actually only then that every day matters.

52:03 That every day will have a benefit because God says, I see your labor of love. And it will matter. There is a purpose beyond your life. To fear God is to trust his timing, his plans, and his ways, knowing that he is in total control. If you were to read on in Ecclesiastes, and I told you, you always want to make sure you read the end, or you'll leave very discouraged and depressed. Ecclesiastes 12, the last two verses, he says, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. What matter? The pursuit of the purpose of life. He would summarize it like this, fear God and keep his commandments for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment including every secret thing whether good or evil. That for the believer should not bring terror but excitement because what we do today matters in eternity. It really does.

53:02 C.H. Spurgeon said time is short, eternity is long and it's only reasonable that this short life be lived in light of eternity. and it's absolutely true. A couple more verses for you. Psalm 127, verses one through two. You've heard these before, but I want you to think about them in light of the sovereignty of God. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain then for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows. Translation, be all stressed out, for so he gives his beloved sleep. So does that mean we don't build or we don't guard? No, we do it with all that we have. But then at the end of the day, we lay our heads down on the pillow knowing I gave you my best today. And I'm so grateful that you have it all under control.

53:57 He gives his beloved sleep. And the one who is kept or keeping themselves in his love. that even though they don't know what the product of today will be, they don't know what tomorrow holds, they really know the one who not only holds tomorrow, but the next day and the day after that and the day after that, and we can trust him. the tapestry of life if viewed from the back will seem like chaos but one day in eternity when it's all completed we'll step back and we will see the purpose of god behind each placement of thread and we will see the beauty that god created Matthew Bridges in his hymn crown him with many crowns he refers to Jesus as the Lord of years and the potentate of time and truly he is he's the Lord of years and as the father of time the architect of the ages the beginning and the end the one who was and is and is to come the one who inhabits eternity what's so amazing about this is that the the father of time himself the creator of time stepped into time in the fullness of time just at the right moment galatians 4 4 through 5 says but when the fullness of time had come god sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those uh under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons is that the one who is outside of time entered time as a baby and that baby grew and he became a man and he lived a perfect life and he died a death on the cross and he rose three days later all for our redemption.

56:01 Romans 5, 6 says, for when we were still without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Due time, it was the suitable time. It was the most advantageous time for a particular purpose. Christ died in the fullness of time, and he died for not the righteous, but the unrighteous. He came for the ungodly. and because he came in the fullness of time it makes today your time the bible says that today is the accepted time that today is the day of salvation but i want you to know tonight that that window will come to a close we are in what is referred to as the age of grace and in the age of grace the invitation goes out all that will come. Whosoever would believe.

57:07 You can't change what happened tomorrow. You can't change what happened yesterday. You have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow. Today is your day. If you've been delaying to put your faith and trust in Jesus, the father of time, the everlasting father, you put your faith in him today because you don't know if you have tomorrow. God's will for your life. You want to know what God wants? Believe in the one whom he has sent. The Bible says, call on him while he is near. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Let's pray together. Father, we come before you and we're so grateful for the just hope of your word. It gives us, it is the anchor to our soul. when we start to feel like we have nothing under control we're right but you do and I love the fact that nothing disturbs you in the sense of moves you from your purpose the moment in heaven when Satan rebelled against you, you knew it was coming.

58:21 The moment that Adam and Eve took of the fruit, you knew about it. And you always had this plan of redemption. And we could ask, why did he allow it? If he knew it, why did he allow it? And we can take that same question, Lord, we can ask it to so many things in our life and yet Lord we might not know the direct answer to that question we do know the general answer which Lord we know that you do what you do that we might fear you that one day you would get all the glory because you will not share it with another Father I pray for my brothers and sisters here tonight and Thank you. Lord I pray for those that don't know you that tonight that they would have seen you in a way that they've never considered and they would put their faith and trust in the one who created it all the one who sustains it all and Lord for those that know you would you give them the assurance that if not one sparrow falls to the ground outside your will that nothing in their life happens unless it is Father filtered.

59:41 We're so grateful that we can just trust you. And we have good reason to trust you because you are a faithful God. And so tonight we put our faith and trust in you as Lord, as Savior, as the architect of the ages. We put our life, we put our times in your hands. and we thank you for this truth of scripture and we pray this in jesus name and all god's people