ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8
IT'S SEASONAL
Last Monday something happened that occurs four times a year. The seasons changed! We officially went from summer to fall.
As the seasons change so does the weather. And as the weather changes so do our activities.
Much of what we do is seasonal. We ice skate, snowmobile, and sleigh ride in the winter. We plant gardens and start fishing in the spring. We harvest in summer, as well as swim. In the fall we hunt and enjoy the foliage.
There are seasons in our lives as well. This week I asked the ladies in the church service at Balcony Towers, who are all 70 or older, how many of them were pregnant. Not a single one of them raised their hands. Why? It isn't the season of their lives for pregnancy. Then I asked how many of them had been pregnant at some time in their lives and everyone except a maiden lady raised their hands. There was a season in their lives for pregnancy.
I also asked the same ladies how many of them were gainfully employed. That is, how many were getting paid for work they were doing. Not one of them raised their hands. Again it isn't the season of work for them, it's the season of retirement. But most of them had been gainfully employed during another season of their lives.
We need to realize that there are going to be many "seasons" in our lives. Our situations will change. Sometimes things will go well sometimes they will go poorly. Sometimes there will be joy other times there will be sadness. Sometimes there will be good health, other times we will have poor health.
Solomon made a very important observation when he said in
Ecclesiastes 3:1 - To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
God has made it so there are many activities, events, and emotions in your life. These are seasonal. You don't necessarily experience them all at once. But as you allow God to lead you and mold you through each of these events, you will find, as Solomon says in verse 11, He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:
Romans 8:28 affirms this thought by saying, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
So what are some of the seasons that you can expect in your life? Solomon gives you a list of 28 of these in the next seven verses.
Ecclesiastes 3:2 - A time to be born, and a time to die;
Have you ever wished that you could have been born during another time period of history or in a different place, or even to different parents?
You and I could have been born in another time and in another place, but we weren't. God ordained when and where you would be born and under what circumstances.
You had a time to be born and you were. And no matter where you were born and no matter what circumstances you were born under, your birth was special.
Psalm 139:14 - I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
And just as surely as there is a time to be born, there is a time to die. As we said last week, each of us has an appointment with death.
We really don't understand God's timing when it comes to death. Sometimes we think that God has taken someone too soon. Other times we think that God allows people to hang on too long, and it would be better if they were to die.
My answer to this dilemma is found in Psalm 115:3 - But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
It is our righteous and holy God that makes these decisions, and we must accept his decisions as final.
For the person who has acknowledged their sinfulness and helpless before God there is hope. This person realizes that Jesus Christ has died for their sins, and has placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
Acts 4:12 - Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Romans 10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
God has a special promise for those who die trusting Christ as their Savior.
Psalm 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
The death of a believer, a saint, is precious to the Lord. And the Lord takes that person into His presence. Make sure that your faith is in Christ.
Ecclesiastes 3:2 - A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
Of course we all understand the agriculture in this statement.
In the spring, it is time to plant.
In the summer and fall there is a harvest. That which is planted is plucked up for food. And now, as plants stop producing, plants are plucked up and disposed of because they have served their purpose and are now useless as plants, but valuable as compost.
In a Spiritual sense, there is also a time to plant.
We plant when we study God's Word, when we meditate on it, when we obey it.
We plant when we do good works, letting our lights shine!
Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
We plant when we share the Gospel, with others, and sometimes we reap or "pluck up" when a person comes to Christ. Sometimes we plant and other times we "water" and help a person make a decision for Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:6 - I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
We "pluck up" or harvest when we produce "fruit" in our lives.
The Bible mentions:
The fruit of righteousness
The fruit of souls won to Christ
The fruit of the Spirit
Sometimes we need to pluck up that which is planted when we discover that we have planted weeds! We need to pluck out the weeds of selfishness, bitterness, anger, greed, pride, and a host of other nasty, weedy sins!
Ecclesiastes 3:3 - A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
In our front yard we have a pole as a boundary marker. Yellow jackets made a nest in the top of the pole it was a time to kill.
We eat meat as part of our diet and we go hunting. It's a time to kill.
A person commits first-degree murder, and according to the Bible, it's a time to kill.
Genesis 9:6 - Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Not only is there a time to kill, but there is a time to heal.
· Sometimes we can help a sick friend or loved one get better by taking care of them.
· Sometimes we can heal a broken relationship with someone who we have hurt or who has hurt us.
Romans 12:18 - If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
· Sometimes we can help heal a person who has fallen into sin.
Galatians 6:1 - Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
You know what urban renewal is. Urban renewal tears now old buildings and replaces them with new buildings. And in urban situations, you often have to break now before you can build up.
If we are honest, we will often note that we develop bad attitudes. Sometimes we have bad attitudes about work, school, parents, kids, or ever our husbands or wives.
Before we can build in a good attitude, we have to break down the bad attitude. We need to confess the bad attitude to God as sin and then ask God to help us build the right attitude.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 - A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Life is full of sorrow.
There are many times in our lives when the proper response to the loss of a loved one, to being hurt, or to the reception of bad news is to weep.
God has given us tears as a healthy outlet to the sorrows of life.
But we will make a grave mistake, if we allow the times of weeping to last too long. There are times when we need to just get on with our lives.
Psalm 30:5 - …weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
God not only allows for weeping, but He allows for laughter. There are times to laugh.
That's one of the things I like about this church. We are not afraid to laugh on occasion.
Very similar to weeping and laughing is mourning and dancing.
We mourn over our sins and receive God's forgiveness. The joy produced just make us feel like dancing!
We mourn over losses in our lives and then dance over the successes in our lives.
A while ago April mourned over a broken relationship with a former boyfriend. In two weeks it will be time for April to dance with Brandon at their wedding. But if April hadn't experienced the mourning, she wouldn't be experiencing the dancing!
Ecclesiastes 3:5 - A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A stone can be an obstacle. There is nothing wrong or right about stones. They are neutral. There are times when "stones" are in our way. There are things in our lives that we are tripping over or they are weighing us done. These stones need to be removed.
In our walk of faith with the Lord Jesus we are told to remove the things that are weighing us down.
Hebrews 12:1 - Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Is there a stone weighing you down? Cast it off.
There are also times in our lives when we need to gather stones.
Stones were gathered for the purpose of building.
Some stones are valuable, if they are qualities that God has given us.
Perhaps God has given you the stone of an iron will, gather that stone and use it for unflinching service to God.
Perhaps God has given you the stone of a beautiful voice, gather it use to serve the Lord.
Perhaps God has given you the stone of a compassionate heart. Gather it and use it to show the compassion of Christ to others.
Perhaps God has given you the stone of faithfulness. Be faithful to your God and to your friends.
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
In marriage, there are many times to embrace. In fact, that is the prime place for embracing.
Hebrews 13:4 - Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
And this embracing is not just to be during times of sexual activity. We need the encouraging touch of others. So I recommend holding hands, hugs, and goodbye kisses to all married couples.
There are also times to embrace your children, to give them an encouraging hug or touch.
And there are times when it is proper to give an embrace to a friend.
Especially in times of sorrow an encouraging embrace is effective.
Of course there are times to refrain from embracing.
In marriage, if there is illness or a brief separation embracing might not be proper.
With your children embracing is not proper if there is a discipline problem. When the problem is solved, then there can be an encouraging embrace.
If you love your friends, there will be times when you need confront them about a problem instead of embracing them.
Ecclesiastes 3:6 - A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
The New American Standard version says, A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; NAS
There are certainly times to search for something that is missing.
And there are other times when, instead of fretting ourselves any longer, we need concede that something is lost and not to be found.
I have a feeling that often when we can't find something, God wants it lost for a reason. Maybe it will change our schedule so we can be in the right place to help someone. Maybe the thing we lost is actually a hindrance to us instead of a help.
Verse 6 also says, a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
There are things worth keeping and so we keep them.
There are things not worth keeping so we throw them away.
Some of the things worth keeping in our lives include:
· Our husbands and wives
· Our good attitudes
· Our friends
· Our integrity
· Our relationship with God
· Our sense of humor
Some things worth throwing away include:
· Our bad attitudes
· Our prejudices
· Our bitterness and anger
· Our stubbornness
· Our judgmental attitudes
Know what to keep and know what to throw away.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 - A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
There are times when things need to be torn up, especially documents that keep us from close fellowship to God.
Sometimes we need to tear up something that is offensive to someone else.
Sometimes we need to figuratively tear our garments. That was a sign of mourning, sorrow and even repentance in the Bible.
There are other times when we need to sew. To sew is to mend.
We need to mend fences sometimes between us and our friends.
We need to mend our relationship with God when we have become backslidden.
We need to mend our ways, when they do not please God.
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
There are times when the best thing you can do is keep your mouth shut.
There are times when keeping your mouth shut is a travesty.
A friend of mine and I once witnessed an accident in Philadelphia. It was our testimony that saved a bus driver his job. If we had been silent, he may have suffered needlessly.
Ecclesiastes 3:8 - A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
The time to love includes a love commitment to fellow Christians.
John 13:34-35 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
A time of hate includes the hatred of sin, and the relative hatred of all others that I might please Christ.
Luke 14:26 - If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
A time of war would include the Spiritual warfare that we are engaged in against the world, the flesh and the devil. For this we must put on the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6.
A time of peace comes from the Lord Jesus.
John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 - To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Life is seasonal. Make sure you take advantage of the different seasons of life to please the Lord.