Who Controls Life? (Ecclesiastes 3)

Ecclesiastes 3

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Who controls our life?

Intro

I took two pictures this past week while I was in Nashville, one of the view from my room and another of the Ryman Auditorium. In one picture, there was a zoomed out lens where you could see the area of the city I was in. In the picture of the Ryman, it was solely the Ryman that was captured. You couldn’t see the construction workers that were closer to me than I was to the Ryman. You couldn’t see other SBC messengers walking towards the Music City Center in the same direction I was headed. You couldn’t see the whole picture of what was going on.

Often as we look at moments in our lives, we are zoomed so far in, that we can’t even think or consider the big picture of life. Let alone where God is at in the midst of those moments. Thankfully, the Preacher here in Ecclesiastes is aiming to help us refocus and begin to focus on the correct thing.

Recap

We have continually seen that all is vanity under the sun, that in all of it we are to enjoy God in all our toil. But how do we do that? That is where we pick back up in week 3 of our study of the book of Ecclessiastes.

Main Point: Christian, behold our God who is seated on the throne and sovereignly reigning over every season of our lives.

Points:

A time and season for all

A Sovereign God over all

A Worthy Task given

A Time and Season for all

What do we make of our lives? What do we make of the ups and downs, the twists and turns? How do we think through the wide range of emotions? The aging bodies? These things are the realities of our lives as mankind. And here is the thing about the Bible, it is sufficient for all of life. It is sufficient in helping us understand who we are as mankind and helps us think through it.

A Season and Time for All

First we see in our lives, that there is a season and time for everything. This is what we see there in verse 1. It says that: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. Then in the next 7 verses, the Preacher unfolds this there in verses 2-8. He shows us the ups and downs of everyday human life, as well as our lives as a whole. And the reality is that our lives are very complex. Brothers, sisters, and friends, I think we can all acknowledge the reality of this in our own lives. However, what is missing is grasping the fullness of this reality from a zoomed out lens from the example I used in the intro this morning. We are often too zoomed in as we look at these ups and downs and complexities of life, that we miss what is going on.

Therefore, let’s zoom out and consider the 7 verses here in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8. In these verses we see 14 things that are being compared, starting with a time to be born, and a time to die there in verse 2. There is the moment we enter into this world and the moment we leave. It is this end that continues to be driven home. For each of us, just as we have a birthdate, we will in the end have a death date. And in between, there will be seasons of all kinds of craziness in our lives. Or even as we see in verses 19-20, to the dust we shall return just as the beasts of the field.

But, as we understand death is the end, as we understand the craziness of life in between, we can see that they come in seasons, in times, and that we can press on because of the other seasons of life. Some of the pairs in verses 2-8 are clear with one bad thing and another good. We see this in a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to love, and a time to hate; and a time for war, and a time for peace. These three are clear cut on good and bad. Then we have some that aren’t clearly good or bad such as a time to keep silent, and a time to speak; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. Both can be good in the right moment, even times of a time to search and a time to lose. There are times for all of these to be good things. And then the others are describing good times and hard times, such is the reality of life.

David Gibson states in Living Backwards, “Killing, tearing down, weeping, mourning, hating, warring: these are times of life we will experience that show us in the most painful ways that we live east of Eden and under the curse. More than this, the fact that there is no chronological sequence or discernible purpose to the order of each of these items is itself part of the Preacher’s point that we have no control over any of these things.”

And then, add insult to the reality of living outside the garden of Eden, in a fallen and broken world, death is the end. The Preacher in verse 9 asks: (READ).

For the reality is, there is no gain in this life. With the end being death, what gain is there? We live life to its fullest, experience all the things, try to make a name for ourselves, and yet nothing is gained under the sun. Our end is to be put in a box and into the ground, for the end is death. And while once more we feel the morbid nature of the start of Ecclesiastes. And yet, it is in this that we are to begin to grasp the reality of this truth. For we cannot live until we see the big picture, see death itself coming. And because of this, I want us to grasp 3 things about our lives.

First, in seeing that there is a time and season for everything, we need to remember that we live in a broken world. This point should go without saying, but I think we often forget just how broken our world is. There is evil and wickedness within the world. This is why there are times of war, mourning, and weeping. This is why we read in verse 16, (READ).

We live outside of the garden, and sin and its effects are real. They have affected every part of our lives. Sin affects our physical lives, our relational lives with one another, and of course our relationship with God. And thanks be to God for his grace to us in Jesus Christ. That Jesus who was without sin became sin for us, that we could be made righteous in him. Friend, if you are here this morning and you see the reality of your sin, know that Jesus invites you to turn from that sin and come to him. That despite that sin, if you will confess and turn from your sin and come and rest in Jesus for salvation, you will be saved. Sins' affects are real, but they don’t have to be final, for this is the hope we have been given in Christ.

Second, in seeing that there is a time and season for everything, we need to remember that the season we are in now will not be the same forever. In understanding life’s challenging turns, we realize that yes these seasons will come, but that they are not permanent and lasting. If we are currently mourning and weeping, times of laughter and dancing are coming. Likewise, if we are currently in a time of peace, war can be on the horizon. And while this reality doesn’t change the difficulty of these situations we face, it does help equip us to handle the expectations of life. If we are the bubbly and go lucky types that think nothing bad can happen, we will sorely be disappointed. And the same if we are the always gloomy Eeyore, never thinking we will come out of the bad seasons and times, we miss that life is ever changing. And with both, we miss seeking God in the middle of the season.

Thirdly, in seeing that there is a time and season for everything, we realize we are not the ones who are in control. We don’t get to pick and choose our seasons like some all-you can eat buffet. We don’t get to just choose all the macaroni & cheese we want, but then ignore the broccoli. Therefore, we will do well to stop trying to grasp power and control over our own lives. For what did James say in James 4:13-16? He wrote:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

We are not the ones who are in control, and to think we are is arrogance. We need to humble ourselves, realizing just how finite we are. Our lives are complex with highs and lows. This is the reality of living outside of Eden in a broken world. But while we aren’t in control and live in a broken world, there is one who has made himself known to us, and that is our God, who created the heavens and the earth, who created us in his image. And this is where we want to turn in our second point, a Sovereign God over all.

A Sovereign God over all

While we are not in control, God is in complete control of our lives and the world around us. And that is what we see in verses 9-22. Following the preacher’s question of what gain has the worker from his toil? The Preacher begins to examine the business, the work that God has given us there in verse 10, which reads...

All is beautiful

Each of the seasons, each of the times God has given is beautiful. As hard as it is for us to see it in the moment, those low moments are as beautiful as those high moments of life. For the beauty of them comes not from the low point itself, but how God is at work in and through the situation. He often is either working in us either through teaching us or deepening our trust in him in the midst of trials or he is using us to encourage others in the midst of low moments.

One instance where I have seen this very true in the lives of dear brothers and sisters. One, a sweet dear family who was serving as missionaries prior to Covid-19 came home on furlough right as COVID began. Their hopes were to be here on furlough during the lock-down and then return to their home in East Asia following things returning to normal. Well, now they are here a year and a half later, recently learning they cannot get back into their home and quickly working towards finding a new place to call home. And yet, through it all they continue pressing forward and trusting in the LORD, our God in his sovereignty. They continue to have their faith deepened even in the midst of many unknowns still. Therefore, not only has God been at work strengthening them through this, their faithfulness continues to encourage myself and many of our other dear friends.

We can be certain the low moments of life will come, and they will have difficulties and challenges. But as they come, God doesn’t abandon us. He is our refuge and our rock; he carries us through them. He will not abandon us or leave us, therefore let us continue to hold firm to our trust in the LORD, our God! Brothers and sisters, some of you are currently in these moments, allow God to strengthen you and sustain you in the midst of these low moments. Keep remembering who God is and what he has done in order to rescue us from our sins. Therefore, how much more will he see you through until the end? And while it may feel far off, the weeping and mourning will turn to laughter and dancing. As time moves on, healing can take place.

Others, we are in seasons and moments of peace. During this time, prepare now for the low moments by learning more of who our God is. Continue to learn to lean on God, even when things seem calm in the moment. For it is that constant dependence on him that allows us to endure trials and testings and other low moments of life.

Whatever season we are in the midst of, let us remember that it is all beautiful. For as we find in Romans 8:26-30 it says:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

All things are working for our ultimate good Christian. God is at work through them for our sanctification and deepening our dependence on him. Therefore Christian, in the midst of the low moments of life, let us rest in the Sovereignty of God as he works all for our good.

His work endures

But not only is God at work in working all things out for our good, his work endures throughout all time. If you will look there with me at verse 14, it reads (READ)...

Our work and our toil fade, they are all vanity. However, when it comes to the works of God, his works stand forever and ever. Look at the earth herself. As generations come and generations go, the earth continues to cycle through its course over and over again. It endures. Likewise, God’s work in leading and rescuing a people for himself endures. God’s word endures, it does not change as time goes. And God’s promises endure. Nothing can be added to it nor taken away from any of this. God has done all of this.

As we compare our works to the works of God it should humble us and cause us to marvel at who our God is. It should cause us to fear him, knowing that God has done this all. How little we fear God, because we are too quick to make much of ourselves. We need to see the beauty and glory of God in his work. God’s work has been a masterful piece of glory from creation to redemption. All of it has been done because he spoke. And that is why as a church, we are to build everything we do around this powerful and lasting word. For there will never come a time in which this word ceases to be or is changed by addition or subtraction.

This church is why it is so crucial that we stop trying to be relevant to the world. Those of the world are ever changing. Trends, fads come and they go, lasting a few years. The danger is that we try to become relevant to them in our approach to how we relate to them. Shane Pruitt, the Next Gen Evangelism Director for the North American Mission Board shared, “Being relevant doesn’t mean us being influenced by culture so that they will think we are cool. That is irrelevant. Being relevant means this, we stick to the word and influence the culture around us.”

Brothers and sisters, we must hold firm to the everlasting God. Fearing him as we see his lasting work in light of our fading work and fading lives. This should both humble us and give us great hope in knowing our God and that his work will endure forever! There is nothing that can ever change this.

He seeks those driven away

And still yet, not only is all seasons beautiful and is God’s work enduring, but he seeks that which is driven away. Those moments that have seemed to be stolen or lost, those seasons in which we are left wondering what is going on, God will gather and reveal as part of the grand story. Or as David Gibson puts in in Living Life Backwards, “But my story is not the story. ‘The story reveals that there will be a time of judgment, and believers trust that judgment will finally prevail.’”

God, like a good shepherd, seeks that which is lost. He seeks to right all the wrongs, the sufferings, the effects of sin. In fact, he has sought us by the sending of his beloved Son, Jesus. He has sought us out as we were wandering away from him and purchased us by the blood of his own Son. For all who have believed in Jesus, they have been found, they have been rescued, they have been redeemed.

He brings justice

Likewise, God will search out the injustice in the world, he will judge the righteous and the wicked. For it adds there in verses 16 and 17 (READ)...

While justice at times prevails in this life and wickedness steps in the place of righteousness, this will not stand forever. For God will judge the righteous and the wicked on the day of judgement. The day of the LORD is coming, in which we will all stand before the throne of the LORD and give an account for all that we have done. In Revelation 20:11-15 we read:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of faire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

All will give account for their deeds on this day. The wicked who have not trusted in Christ will be condemned for their sins, being cast into the lake of fire forever and ever. And those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Christ will be found in the book of life. It gives the evidence of their faith in their works, and they will enter into God’s kingdom forever and ever.

Justice in the end will prevail. It will not be escaped. Our God is a God of justice, and he will right all the wrongs both of individuals and the world. He will turn the world in the end upside down as death and sin are conquered when Christ returns. And this is the day we await as Christ followers. To once more quote from Living Life Backwards, David Gibson writes, “Every tear and every sighing sorrow for my wrongs, whether through things I have done or had done to me—each one will be sought out by the God who is perfect justice, truth, mercy, and love.”

We have brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering from injustice as they are persecuted for their faith. We have brothers and sisters suffering here as they are harassed, slandered, and maligned because they don’t line up exactly with other so-called Christians. This was one of the things that was addressed this past week at the Southern Baptist Convention. Again, looking back at verses 16, along with verse 17, we live in a place where injustice takes place instead of justice and righteousness. And yet, through all of these God’s justice will come in the end. None of these things will escape God’s eye or his justice from coming down on it.

The work of God is a work that is to help us see his glory and beauty, leading us to fear and worship him alone. God’s work endures forever, it is beautiful in every season, he seeks that driven away, and he judges with righteousness, rooting out wickedness. What a mighty God we have.

A worthy task given

So, how are we to respond to our God? In our final point this morning, we look at the worthy task given to us. As we see in verses 18-21 the Preacher examines how God is testing the children of man in our comparison to beasts. The reality here is to show that we like beasts have the same end, we return to the dust just as we were created from dust. This points to the first man, Adam, being formed from the dust in Genesis 1 and 2. So with all vanity and no advantage over beasts in our lives as the children of man, we are called then to rejoice in our work. We see this in verse 22 which reads (READ)... And we also see this back in verses 11-13 which says (READ)...

As God stands forever, and our lives are but a vapor, as we go through our short lives we are called to be joyful and do good. We are called to take pleasure and rejoice in our work. But what does this mean and how does this look?

Be Joyful

First, we are called to be joyful. The call to be joyful doesn’t mean we have to be all smiles all the time. It doesn’t mean we have to constantly be bubbly. But it does mean that we are to have joy deeply rooted in us as we see who God is and what he has had for us, especially in Christ. Brothers and sisters, we are to be full of joy regardless of what comes our way, for to live is Christ and to die is gain. We are to be joyful in all that we do, because we know the one who holds all things together. We are to be joyful because while our earthly lives are a vanity, we were created to enjoy God forever.

Do Good

Second, as we are called to do good, we need to see that part of being a disciple of Jesus is to do good. As Christ followers, we are called to be the Good Samaritan who shows care and compassion for others around us. We are to do good in speaking up for the vulnerable and the innocent. We are to do good in loving one another well, in refraining from gossip, slander, and hatred. We are to do good in impacting our community with both the gospel and real means of change. We do good, because we understand that we are a part of God’s creation and while we are a blip on the timeline, we are to glorify him in all we do. To do good is to understand the one we follow came and did good by serving others as he went to the cross.

Take pleasure in our work

Finally, we as Christ followers are called to take pleasure in our toil. For this is God’s gift to us. As we look around the room, different one’s of us are gifted very differently with different skills, different hobbies and interests. And this is a beautiful thing. Therefore, we are called to pursue these skills and use them in the work God has given each of us to the glory and honor of God. Taking pleasure in this work, not in trying to find gain, but in worshiping God for the skills and gifts he has given each one of us and using these skills to honor him and proclaim his glory to the ends of the earth.

Conclusion

Christian, let us behold our God in all his glory and power in seeing how he is over all things and working through them all.

Christian, let us live our lives in light of it passing by as a vapor enjoying God as the various seasons pass us by.

Let us therefore have our hearts rooted in the joy of Christ