Eternity In Our Hearts (part 1)

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Sometimes in the ordinary and monotonous routines of life, we can struggle to make sense of them.

As we’ve been walking through this book, we are discovering that Solomon is struggling to make sense of his life on earth.

He has pursued everything his heart desired and has come up empty every time.

He is describing his journey to discover the Meaning of Life…to find some sort of individual significance to his being on this earth…to find something he could point to and say there it is…this is what I’m here for, this is what satisfies my soul...

The problem was, Solomon was looking in all the wrong places…he uses the same phrase over and over “under the sun”…meaning on this earth, in this life right now…

Time and time again, he concludes “this too is futile and chasing after the wind”.

So within his heart is a colossal struggle to find answers to the question “why am I here”… what am I supposed to do? to make sense of everything.

If we are going to be honest here this morning, that is a question that every one wrestles with at some point in time…perhaps you are wrestling with that right now…and within your own heart there is uncertainty.

And I commend you for being here this morning, because in some small part or perhaps on a larger scale you believe there is a direct link of finding purpose and meaning to your life and your relationship with God.

You and I may not know what is going on inside the person sitting next to us, but we do know that God, who made us, knows exactly where we are, what we’re thinking, how we’re feeling, and how we are trying to make sense of life as it is presented to us.

Where we are in this text this morning, we see the discussion shift slightly…Solomon has been raging on and on about the futility and vanity of human existence under the sun…while on earth.

He has told us over and over again, that the things we do in this life are empty, meaningless.

There is nothing in this world to truly distract us from the harsh realities of life.

Pleasure doesn’t satisfy human longings...

Wisdom provides more pain...

Wealth gets left to the person who comes after you...

Everything we chase after is futile…like trying to catch the air.

All along, Solomon is trying to expose the foolishness of a life lived without God....he wants to push us to enjoy God and His gifts.

We got a small glimpse of that last week at the end of chapter 2…Read Eccl 2:24-26.

The meaningful life is a life that is satisfied in God…unless Jesus is the Lord of your life, you will continue to struggle in your search for something meaningful!

Solomon now introduces us to the concept of God’s sovereignty over life by writing a poem about time.

What we are going to examine this morning is really part of the larger context of chapter 3…we are only going to examine up to verse 10 this morning and then we will look at verses 11-15 next week.

Look for just a moment at verse 11…Eccl 3:11 “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”

So verse 1 is the summary statement of chapter 3 and our main point flows out of the entirety of chapter 3…it is this...

Main Point: Walk by Faith, Trusting in God’s Sovereignty.

This theme will carry over into next week’s text as well..

Some have looked at this poem and wrongly conclude it is almost totally pessimistic…that Solomon is being fatalistic…there is a time for this and a time for that and there is nothing man can do about it.

I would say that most of those critics struggle with the doctrine of God’s sovereignty.

Rather than finding encouragement in his governance of time and his determination of human events, they see God as arbitrary and random.

Look back at how Solomon concluded the previous section…he declares that we find enjoyment when our perspective is focused on God and that life is a gift from Him.

Verse 11 indicates that Solomon came to appreciate the sovereignty of God over time and eternity…Through his God-given wisdom, he has gained some insight into life and he wants to share that with his audience.

Let’s look at the insights Solomon gained...

God Determines The Purpose and Meaning of the Events of Life (1)

Eccl 3:1 “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—”

If we are going to have a biblical understanding of time and events, then we must begin with the sovereignty of God.

Although God is not mentioned in these first eight verses, He is in the text that follows.

Notice how Solomon shifts the focus a little…he now says here “under the heaven” instead of “under the sun”.... he is still talking about life on earth, but now he takes a little different perspective…there is a recognition of the God of heaven superintending the events under heaven.

Everything that happens in this time bound universe is under the authority of the God who rules in Heaven.

God is sovereign over time and all the events that happen in time.

God is not surprised by anything that happens in the course of history…as chaotic as this world is right now, God is still in control of all things…

and the chaos we see now is just a speck on the chaos meter of what will come in God’s program of Eschatology…the Bible describes the most chaotic point of human history that is yet to come as the Tribulation and Great Tribulation, and at no point of that does God ever lose control!

The scope of God’s sovereignty is further emphasized in Solomon’s poem.

Verses 2-8 are a poem with a parallel series of related opposites…he employs a literary device known as a merism.

Merism = a figure of speech in which two polarities make up a whole.

Examples…in Genesis 1:1 we read that God created “the heavens and the earth”… we understand that means God created the entire universe.

Similarly, each of the pairs in this text make up a larger whole…together birth and death comprise the whole of human existence…weeping and laughing summarize the full range of human emotion, and so on...

There is something comprehensive about each pair.

The pairs seem to take in the whole sweep of human experience…from birth to death, from war to peace…and everything in between.

See God is the King of time therefore, He is the one who regulates our minutes and our seconds…he rules our moments and all our days...

There is nothing in our life that catches God off guard…God is always on time with what he does…Toby Mac has a song in which he declares “He is never early, never late”…God is sovereign over time as well as eternity.

God is Orderly in Everything He does.

God is a precise God…He puts everything in its own time and place…

we see this in creation…everything was put in place in a very specific order....think about it…God did not create the fish before he created the water…he did not create the birds without giving them a place to fly....there was an orderliness to his plan.

God created the seasons…think about the natural progression of the seasons....

what if fall came before summer and spring came before winter…if fall came before summer, the shade trees would have no leaves to protect you from the summer sun…if winter came after spring, all the newly formed flowers and newly birthed animals would freeze...

In Ecclesiastes 3 we see that same sovereign control and order applied to human activities and relationships…for everything there is a season…not just the four seasons, but for everything that happens under heaven there is a divine purpose!

Solomon uses that term in the sense of a fixed time, a predetermined purpose.

The Greek Translation of the OT uses the term kairos (time is viewed as an opportunity) rather than chronos (time considered as duration) meaning that in God’s economy there is a suitable occasion or appropriate opportunity for everything that happens.

Solomon is not being fatalistic here by saying God is arbitrary and there is nothing we can do about what happens.

His point is there is reason for what happens.

This is where our faith kicks in and trusts that God knows what He is doing.

We often want to know why things happen believing we are entitled to know them…but we have to come to grips with the truth that there are certain things that God does or allows to happen that we will never know thy why’s and what for’s…

Deuteronomy 29:29 (NASB95)

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.

Instead of clamoring for an explanation, we must allow our knowledge of God to take our thoughts captive, and we trust Him because we know that God is good all the time. We believe that whatever He is doing is being done at the right time and with His eternal purpose.

God is Sovereign In Every Routine Cycle of Life (2-8)

What we have in verses 2-8 describes the routine cycles of life…Read Eccles 3:2-8.

For those of you who can actually remember the 60’s, the group the Byrds made this poem famous…to everything there is a purpose, turn, turn, turn.

Birth & Death

These are the two most momentous experiences in life…both of which God completely controls…none of us are in control of when we arrive or when we depart.

Ps 139:13 “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.”

Job 14:5-6 ““Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass. “Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest, Until he fulfills his day like a hired man.”

As much as we want to think we are in control of our time, we actually are not…regardless of how organized your daily calendar may be, it better be in pencil because God ultimately controls your schedule.

That really creates a problem for those who like to think they are in control of everything…all of us are like that, and we know it because how do we react when God changes our time table!

All of us exist under God’s authority…God gives life and death is that enemy that reminds of sin’s curse.

Planting & Harvesting

We really have no control over planting and harvesting do we…we simply respond to the time of year we are in and act accordingly..

The farmer does not determine when to plant and when to harvest…the farmer responds to the season that God has ordained…in the grand scheme of things there is a cycle of life to the planting and harvesting season…spring brings it, summer sustains it, autumn ends it.

Kill & Heal

The same farmer who cares for and nurtures the young calf recognizes there is going to be a day when that same slab of beef f is resting peacefully on the dinner table, whether his own or some other meat lover…it is the cycle that all creation endures.

Tear down & build up

We just went through a remodel of the bathrooms…It is my understanding those were the original bathrooms from 30 years ago…I’m sure that 30 years ago those may have been on the cutting edge of modern bathrooms, but the time had come for an update.

Someday that beautiful house you live in right now could very well be reduced to a pile of ruble and a new one built in its place.

God is sovereign over those times and events that need changed…God is not swayed by the cry of heart that says “but we’ve never done it that way before”…churches rise and fall at the sovereign reign of God…nations rise and fall…leaders rise and fall…when God decides something must come down, our best action is to hold on to Him instead of that which is being brought down.

Weep & Laugh/Mourn & Dance

There are times when God allows events in our life that cause sorrow if for no other reason ought to remind us of sin’s curse on our bodies and this world…

David cried deeply at his son’s sickness (2 Sam 12:15-23)

Jesus himself wept over Jerusalem and the loss of his friend (John 11:35).

Likewise, there are events that God allows to bring laughter in a darkened world…those moments when laughter becomes the medicine our soul needs to at least temporarily numb the pain of sorrow.

David danced when the ark came to Jerusalem (1 Chron 15:29)

Prov 17:22 “A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”

Cast Stones & Gather Stones

This was an ancient war practice…2 Kings 3:19-25.

It was part of the war strategy for Israel to cast stones on their enemies fields to make them unworkable…it disrupted their agriculture…Is 5:2 describes the process of clearing stones from a field before you plant a vineyard.

Gathering stones may have become an idiom for attempts at making peace.

There are times when God wants us to know the enemy and to make life difficult for them and there are times when God wants us to make peace.

Remember who your enemy is and is not…

your enemy is NOT your spouse, your boss, your neighbor, your rival sports team, etc. …God wants you to do your part to be at peace with all men…Rom 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

Our enemy is Satan and we need to cast stones into his field to make it difficult for him to harvest…

we do that by continually speaking truth to one another

by choosing to live righteously in obedience to God…

we make it difficult for him to harvest the minds and hearts of our children by continually teaching them the Word of God and how to evaluate this world through the lens of Scripture

I’m not one who really cares who wins what awards in the music industry....but the music/entertainment industry is a ripe field for our enemy and we need to be casting stones into Satan’s fields...This past Sunday the Grammy Awards show included a performance by an artist named Sam Smith (a gay man) and Kim Petras (transgender). They performed their hit “Unholy” (which ought to tell you something) with Smith being clad in red clothes with a horned top hat and Petras in a cage surrounded by dancers wearing Satanic headgear.

It was clearly understood that this was designed to worship Satan. One of the worst parts is BEFORE the performance, CBS sent a message on Twitter to the artist showing pictures of the rehearsal and said “We are ready to worship”.

If there is ever a time to “cast stones” on the enemies field, it is now… they enemy doesn’t even hide anymore....

Embrace & Refrain from Embracing

There are times when God wants you to greet friends with a hug and then there are times when we must sever friendships.

I think of what Jesus says in Matt 5:29 ““If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” …if those we allow to influence our thoughts and choices lead us away from God, sometimes the only solution is radical amputation.

The ultimate problem is not that time doesn’t stop.

The real problem in all of this, is that we can only see a fraction of the movement of time, and we are trying to make sense of our tiny little part in the vastness of it.

Our tendency then is to fill our lives with so much noise in hopes that we can somehow drown out the cries of our human psyche to find significance among the routine tyrant of time!

We constantly want to look at life from the bottom side of the stitches and that causes us to draw conclusions that just leave us empty and in search of something more.

We Need an Eternal Perspective (9-10).

In verse 9, Solomon returns to his original question from Eccl 1:3. What profit is there to the worker...

It is not a question about money…it goes far deeper...

He is saying, “what’s the point”… you work to get money so you can eat so you can go to work to get money so you can eat…and the cycle continues day after day, week after week, year after year...

Verse 10 provides the perspective…

I have seen the burden God has laid on men...

In other words, the frustration that all of us experience is actually the result of a God-given burden.

How can this be?...

… you will have to come back next week to hear the conclusion...

but there is enough on our plates right now for us to draw some applications...

Remember the main point: Walk by Faith, Trusting in God’s Sovereignty.

Wait for God’s Timing

Trust God knows the perfect time to act.

Ps 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

David knew that whatever time it was, whatever season of life he was in, God was still in control.

Solomon identified many of the experiences of life that are beyond our control.

So often we try to manage our own agenda to the point that we criticize God’s timing. Instead of getting impatient or stepping out in front of God’s timetable, we need to hurry up and wait for God.

Acts 1:7 “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;”

We are to wait on the Lord as Isaiah says and we will find our strength is renewed…Is 40:31.

Live Your Life Today Knowing Your Eternity Will Come

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”

Are you ready for that time to come for you…none of us are guaranteed tomorrow...

If you are here without Christ…(give gospel)…2 Cor 6:2 “for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”—”

Those who are in Christ, you know you are bound for heaven, so whatever this world may throw at you, you are an overcomer.

Regardless of the season of your life right now, you know that God is good all the time and that everything that happens in your life right now is never beyond God’s control.

God is in the business of shaping you and molding you into the image of his son…Rom 8:28-29 confirm this.

God sees you from the top side of the stitches and the picture He is weaving in your life right now is the image of His Son that he wants the people around you to see.

Redeem Your Time Well

Time is the most precious commodity we have…it is the priceless currency God gives us for doing work in His kingdom.

It is also one of the most difficult things to manage.

We all have the same amount of daily time, the question is how are we spending it? or are we wasting it?

Eph 5:16 “making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”

Get involved in God’s program of discipling your heart …stay actively engaged in your own growth process.

You cannot get lazy with your growth…you must discipline yourself for godliness.

1 Tim 4 7 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;”

don’t allow the attractions/distractions of this world to suck you in...

The moment we put our guard down is the moment Satan creeps in and seeks to destroy us.

Get involved in the discipleship of others.

We need to be casting stones on to Satan’s fields and one of the best ways to do that is to speak truth to all of life, to everyone.

Eph 4:15 “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,”

Col 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

We have a need in our children’s ministry for more teachers and workers (see Tammy Evans)…perhaps volunteering for camp (see Kurt Nixon)…youth (see Josh Loughmiller)…worship, etc.

we can never have too many people involved in the discipleship of and caring for people…it is a responsibility for all of us!

Our life with God is not an idle waiting on God while sitting on the front porch at Cracker Barrel in a rocking chair…our life with God is an active walk of faith…lets walk together trusting God knows what He is doing!