1/1/23 Sermon Ecclesiastes 3: I -13 "True Meaning of Life" 16 Minutes

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

This morning I'll be reading Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verses 1 through 13. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon as he searched for meaning in the world today. He thought that with his wealth and knowledge that he would surely be able to find it if anyone could. Ecclesiastes 3:1–13 (HCSB) 1 There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; 3 a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build; 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; 6 a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak; 8 a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. 9 What does the worker gain from his struggles? 10 I have seen the task that God has given people to keep them occupied. 11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. 13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday was Christmas Day,,, and we came to church,,, on that day,,, to worship together as we celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior,,, Jesus Christ!

We looked at John 1:1-14 and we seen that John wrote these words to help us see that Jesus was the Messiah,,, and by believing in Him we will be saved,,, and we celebrate His birth because it was through that event,,, that all of this was made possible.

That day is set aside to make sure that we remember His birth,,, and the sacrifice that He made for us!

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So as we celebrate Christmas,,, we remember to give God thanks for His love for us,,, and the way that He shows His love for us through the sacrifice that He made!

We have Jesus with us daily through the Holy Spirit,,, and the help that we get to guide us each day,,, got it’s start,,, from the birth of Jesus!

As Christians,,, we should show others the true meaning of Christmas by our actions,,, the way that we live our lives.

And we do that by being obedient to the words of Jesus,,, as we celebrate the birth,,, of our Lord and Savior,,, born in a manger,,, that night so many years ago,,, but most importantly,,, we live that life of obedience,,, each and every day.

This morning we will look at these verses in Ecclesiastes and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verse 1 says: 1 There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:

Solomon,,, in his search for life’s meaning,,, observed that there is a predetermined season for everything,,, and a fixed time for every happening.

My commentary says that history is filled with cyclical patterns,,, and these recur with unchangeable regularity.

So man is locked into a pattern of behavior which is determined by certain inflexible laws or principles.

He is a slave to the cycle of life and death.

Verses 2 through 8 are a poem of 14 opposites,,, each of which,,, happens in its time.

Fourteen are positives and fourteen are negatives.

In some ways,,, they seem to cancel out each other so that they equal out to be zero.

Which is what we are left with,,, if God isn’t at the forefront,,, of our very being,,, and life!

___________________________________ Verses 2-4 say: 2 a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; 3 a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build; 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

The list begins with a reference to the beginning and end of a person’s life,,, two events over which he really has no control.

Solomon continued by referring to the deliberate acts of one who begins and ends vegetable life (a time to plant and a time to uproot),,, takes and saves human life,,, and constructs and destroys buildings.

Perhaps all these are suggested by the concept of birth and death.

Then,,, from the concept of death and destruction,,, Solomon wrote of the human responses to those events.

People experience weeping and mourning,,, and their opposites,,, laughing and dancing,,, two activities by which joy is expressed.

___________________________________ Verses 5-8 say: 5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; 6 a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak; 8 a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

Verse 5 seems to refer to clearing land for cultivation,,, by throwing rocks and other material away so that you can plant,,, then gathering stones for building houses,,, walls,,, etc.

Then he refers possibly to the affections of one person to another,,, as we do sometimes thru our actions as we relate to one another.

The last part of verse 6 could refer to the actions of clearing out things that aren’t needed!

And could very easily relate to the things of this world that we don’t need anymore,,, especially if they hinder our relationship with God!

Verse 7 may refer to actions associated with mourning,,, (tearing one’s clothes and remaining silent; as we can see from Job 2:12–13),,, and then of course,,, what would happen after,,, (sewing one’s clothes and speaking out).

If so,,, it would relate to the mourning in Ecclesiastes 3:4.

Solomon closed his list of opposites by referring to life’s two basic emotions,,, love and hate,,, and the most hostile expression of hate,,, which would be war,,, and its opposite,,, peace.

It may be significant that the list closes,,, somewhat as it began,,, with a set of opposites,,, (war and peace),,, over which a person has little control.

___________________________________ Verses 9-11 say: 9 What does the worker gain from his struggles? 10 I have seen the task that God has given people to keep them occupied. 11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

Solomon has been talking about the way that every activity has its time,,, and here,,, he again raised a similar question,,, like he asked in Ecclesiastes 1:3 “What does a man gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?”

And he asked that question again,,, and the answer is still,,, nothing!

With all of our vast knowledge,,, we are forced to admit,,, we know almost nothing about so many things,,, creation,,, the world,,, our bodies,,, or,,, even,,, about God!

So many things that we can't begin to understand!

___________________________________ Verses 12 and 13 say: 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. 13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.

Since Solomon has decided that everything that happens in a mans life leaves him with nothing at the end,,, the best thing to do,,, is to be happy and enjoy the good life.

But,,, he has also learned,,, that it is,,, a gift from God,,, to enjoy the fruits of his labors,,, and we need to remember that as well.

___________________________________ There is so much more that could be covered in these scriptures,,, but really,,, we must remember the main point of Ecclesiastes,,, that we are mortals,,, doomed to perish,,, and that our work will perish with us.

No human work is eternal,,, and our activities,,, whether building or tearing down,,, must change as the situation dictates.

We naturally prefer to stay on the positive side of the list—to laugh rather than to weep, to love rather than to hate, and to have peace rather than war—but as long as we live in a world of change, conflict, and death, we must accept the fact that we cannot have things the way that we would like for them to be all of the time.

Even so,,, as verse 11 says,,, everything is “appropriate in its time.”

Mourning and separation are painful,,, but there is a time when it is right and even beautiful to mourn.

We must accept the fundamental fact of mortality: we are creatures who live in time.

We must respond appropriately to the seasons of life as they come.

___________________________________ And we have an easier time of doing that successfully if we trust in the Lord the way that we should!

We can see from these words of Solomon that nothing in this world can give us true peace and satisfaction!

Only God is capable of that,,, and we can have that peace,,, when we truly trust God in every part of our life,,, from the time that we wake up,,, to the time that we lay down at night!

So I urge you to remember as you set your goals for this New Year,,, to put God first in your life!

As Solomon discovered,,, this world gives us nothing that we take with us when we die,,, but God has provided for eternity with Him,,, and peace in our hearts today,,, if,,, we turn to Him,,, as we should,,, instead of striving to gain whatever we can,,, in this world.

God loves us,,, and watches over us,,, even while we make mistake after mistake.

So be sure,,, that your most important goal,,, is to trust God,,, in every part of your life,,, and,,, every day going forward,,, this New Year!

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