A Time for Everything

Here we are, we’ve made it to my last YC possibly ever. Before we dive in, I want to say that this was without a doubt one of the hardest lessons that I’ve ever had to write. It’s also probably the shortest because I want to spend more time hanging out with you guys. I basically sat with a blank document on my computer for like two days because I was just not sure where to go from here. I said it on Sunday and I’ll say it again tonight, pastoring here has been one of the greatest joys of my life. As much as we joke together, I really do love you all more than you could ever possibly know. But things are changing and change happens. Change is normal and God uses different times and different seasons to accomplish His eternal purpose. There are not unplanned changes in the world. Growing up one of my favorite musicians was a guy named David Bowie and in the 70’s he had a song called Changes where the chorus goes, “Turn and face the strange, ch ch changes just gonna have to be a different man. Time may change me but I can’t trace time.” It’s very philosophical and existential. It sounds really deep. Bowie is saying that the past is easy to understand but no one can predict what the future may hold. It’s a mystery! The future is an anomaly and it will bring changes with it that we might as well go ahead and embrace. Is it possible to trace or maybe even “predict” the future? In some ways I think it is because as we are going to see in the verses that I picked out for us tonight, time has a way of repeating itself. For one last time together, let’s open up in prayer and then we will look at Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

Ecclesiastes 3:1–14 NASB95

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear 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 throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. 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. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.

Times and Seasons

So, why do I want to talk about these verses on my last Wednesday night? Why not do one more night in Mark just to say that we got into chapter 10? Well in some ways it came down to that series on Mark. It came down to the timing of us leaving because I really did feel like we were starting to make some progress together with YC. I thought that we were really starting to turn a corner and we had some great events planned and really a list could be given as to why in my eyes at least, now was not a good time to go. I’ve known that Crossroads was probably my future since July or August and the reality that change was coming was something that I just sort of kept kicking further down the road because I didn’t know if I was ready for it. I wasn’t even 100% sure that I wanted it at the time. In fact throughout the whole process I kept saying that if it didn’t work it wouldn’t bother me that much because Crossroads reached out to me. I remember asking, “God why now? Why is now the time to stop ministering here and to uproot my family from where we’ve been happy for 5 years?” Why this time? Because in God’s timing, now is the perfect time to do it. Now is the appointed time to do it and if God has so orchestrated this to fit perfectly within His will, there is no better time than right now. Many believe that the author of Ecclesiastes was King Solomon and if you look at verse 1, you see that Solomon recognizes that there is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. There is nothing that is unplanned on Heaven’s calendar. The reason that we are leaving now is because it is God’s will for it to happen at this time, at this place, for this church, and this family. If this is God’s will, what other reason do we need? Charles Bridges said, “God’s will is always the best reason, and without it there could be no reason at all.” As you go through verses 2-8, we see Solomon talking about how there are appointed times for everything. Everything from your birth to your death is already planned out. Everything from when the farmers plant the seed to when they harvest it is scheduled. There is an appropriate time to tear things down and to build things up. We see that everything from weeping to laughing has a season. Life and history flows exactly how it is supposed to. Everything that happens this side of eternity is happening to get everything to the other side of eternity. You have heard me say this enough but God is not surprised by what He sees. God doesn’t turn on the news and get blown away at the state of the world. No, everything is happening at it’s appointed time and in it’s appointed place. That includes a time for one pastor to leave and that includes the time for another pastor to begin. Understand, if it is God’s will, it is good. It may not always feel good at the moment but it will always lead to that which is best. Matthew Henry said, “We live in a world of changes and every change concerning us, with the time and season of it, is unalterably fixed and determined by a supreme power; and we must take things as the come, for it is not in our power to change what is appointed for us.” Time really is a beautiful thing. I look at my time here and the Lord did amazing things during that time. Understand that for some of you, you were able to take in a whole lot of Scripture in what I still think was not a whole lot of time. In my 5 years here we went through the books of Genesis, the Ten Commandments, Joshua, maybe Ruth (I feel like we did but I also feel like we didn’t), Esther, Jonah, The beatitudes, Most of the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of John, the book of Acts, Philippians, 1-2 Thessalonians, the Armor of God, and 1 Peter. That’s not even counting what we did in Sunday school! In 5 years we went in depth through a dozen books of the Bible and there aren’t a lot of churches or youth groups that can say that. We went on amazing trips together like Great Wolf Lodge, Scaremare, Snowflex, we served in food pantries and with the salvation army and with Impact, God has been with us and doing great things in our midst over these years. And the best is still to come! God will do great things because God is great. God will work with this ministry. God will work with you in your life. Great things are ahead because ultimately it is all leading to Christ glorified. I’ve told you this before that everything in history that took place before the cross was heading to it and now all of history is responding to that moment and leading us towards the day of Christ’s return. Paul says in Galatians 4:4–5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Christ came at the perfect moment in time. Time is entirely about Jesus! Warren Wiersbe said, “How can life be meaningless and monotonous for you when God has made you a part of His eternal plan? You are not an insignificant insect, crawling from one sad annihilation to another. If you have trusted Jesus Christ, you are a child of God being prepared for an eternal home.” We cannot escape from eternity. It will be spent somewhere and deep down we all know it. The saved and the unsaved all know that! Look again at Ecclesiastes 3:11-14

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 NASB95

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. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.

Man’s Heart and Eternity

Man was made for eternity. There is a reason why we are not content with what we have and that is largely because we know that there is something greater out there. We all have these deep longings in our hearts but not everyone is sure what the answer is for that longing heart. But they know that something is missing. There’s a reason why people look up at the stars at night and long for more, there’s a reason why we get so easily lost in works of fiction and fairy tales, there’s a reason why we love success stories. It’s because there is a longing and restlessness in our hearts that we are trying to find an answer to. C.S. Lewis once said, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” We’ve talked about that too over the years. We have talked about how we all search for treasures but the only treasure that will last forever is found in Christ. Eternity is forever but where will you spend it? What does future look like? We know what the day to day probably looks like but what will eternity look like for you? That’s what I want to know before I leave. I want to know where you will spend eternity and if you aren’t sure how to answer that, when will you be sure? Thomas Watson said, “Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise.” God has given you great gifts. You have breath in your lungs and you have people around you that care about you. But will those gifts last forever? Will the things that you possess now last forever? It is Jesus and Jesus alone that will last for all eternity! Time is going to come and go but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Salvation has been and always will be through Christ alone. Do you have Jesus? You can have everything in the world and not have Jesus and still have nothing of any value. Only one life t’will soon be past only what’s done for Christ will last. We’re on God’s time. He knows the beginning as well as He knows the end. He is orchestrating everything according to His sovereign plan. Derek Kidner said, “The trouble for us is not that life refuses to keep still, but that we see only a fraction of its movement and of its subtle, intricate design. Instead of changelessness, there is something better: a dynamic, divine purpose, with its beginning and end. Instead of frozen perfection there is the kaleidoscopic movement of innumerable processes, each with its own character and its period of blossoming and ripening, beautiful in its time and contributing to the over-all masterpiece which is the work of one Creator.” That’s the life we live in. We aren’t living a life of uncontrolled chaos but we are living a life in which God is in control and knows the past, present, and future perfectly. Solomon says at the end of verse 14 that when you recognize who God is, when you recognize what He is in control and what He offers, that we will fear the Lord. Not in a scared for our lives sort of sense but we will stand in awe and wonder of the majesty and power of the Lord. Everything that we are capable of doing is totally inadequate in comparison to what He is able to do. Awe, wonder, and submission to the Savior. That is what I have tried to bring you to every time that we have come together. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” I think that is a great call for us to end our time together. It’s a great command that I hope is put into practice by every single person here. Fear the Lord and keep His commandments. If you are doing that, you’re in good shape. If you need help, you have a great set of leaders and I’m always just a phone call or a text away. Let’s pray.