Ecclesiastes 3: Discernment
You probably hear people from time, to time, mention, learn to discern. And unfortunately, that's kind of Taken on the philosophy of the person who is talking at the time. And so, it even can have the political overturned, overtones, and various kinds of things. But the idea is certainly important that concept of how do you know when and how to make certain decisions. And obviously his parents as we try to lead and teach our children and our families who want very much for them to know how to make the right decision. Not just about information because sometimes information isn't enough, it's about knowledge and experience and if you really spend some time with this, it's about wisdom which the Old Testament is just full of advice, especially about the idea of discernment. I started talking about Ecclesiastes chapter 3 weeks ago and I'm going to do two more lessons. I had invited the people to share with me the things that they're interested in. And so, a number of you had mentioned, the three that I'm going to be out today. And then we'll do one more Sunday next Sunday, before moving on, out of the Book of Ecclesiastes. But if you have time, if you're in a situation where you just looking for something to study something to read, this is a great book to spend some time with on a regular basis because there's all kinds of pertinent information there. begin with First Corinthians, 2:14
The person without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerns, only through the spirit insiders deal to know what you're supposed to hear. And it doesn't sound very effective, and it doesn't even sound very honest. That's really. Not what the writer here is talking about talking about our perception. He's talking about our willingness to accept and regard information, if we're not willing to talk about spiritual matters. If we're not willing to talk about things that are the teachings of God, we're not willing to go there. Then it's going to be very very difficult is obviously for us to learn that particular regard. So it's about opening our minds if we go. How to discern? We can't just look at the world, a part of discernment. We have to figure in the spiritual of the god ribbon part of it as well, cuz it's very, very critical will look at 3:50 Chapter 3 of this morning. The first one is a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing Now those are you know me well know that I'm not a big hugger. That's not something that's really a strong part of my personality, although I can give you all kinds of reasons for that. And I won't bore you with the with all those explanations and desperately to come home from Camp Granada, and he promises that he will even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me. If he can come back home and then want to stay, if they can't any longer, he's just had enough. And the worst thing he could think of was
David and Brent were kind of teasing with me, couple weeks ago, or maybe it was even last week we were talking about this embracing and, and I mentioned Willie Franklin. So, if you know, Willie Franklin Willy as a great guy, has been involved in churches in this area of for a very long. Of time. I I think probably is fair to say that at least up until not too many years ago. If you want to fill a church building, I get to do is put on the board to believe Franklin was coming. We had him at Guthrie a couple of times. All chairs to the walls, all that kind of thing. You just a very, very passionate guy and a very capable guy and a whole lot of ways. But Willie is a hugger, a big-time former OU football player and so he's fast enough and strong enough that you can get away from him. Really decides. He's going to hug yet. He's got a hug. Yeah, that's just the way it works. And you know, it's not too bad in a church building, it works, okay. But when you run into Willie at the mall, what is comfortable? He's a really impressive God, he's one of the guy who got my boys into their Bibles, talk to him to put a bee in their Bonnet, quite frequently as they were leaving class and it's bent. I'm sure he said to in the car on the way home, trying to look up passages that prove Willie wrong for the next day because of how to say, but that he made at the end end of one class. He said, I want you all to know that Noah was a woman. and the kids were like, Prove me wrong. Morrow, except for the guys were going through and I introduced him to the concept of concordances. They never would have listened about a concordance. So that particular moment in time, but the next day, where they go in the class, they're all ready for a they're going to prove willing wrong. Is this their big chance? They've got together? They talk on the phone during the night first ever Kidz in the class, has his particular passage ready to go. It's Genesis 6:9. Is this is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man blameless among the people of his time and he walked Faithfully with God. Because right areas in scripture, Noah was a righteous man. Bellissimo. Look at number. Chapter 26. This says, there's a little fed sound of heat for had no Sons. He had only daughters do things for Myla Noah milk.
And the kids were like, well, that didn't have anything to do with the art guy.
And Willie said, I need some attention to our guy still. Our guy involved here, I just made a simple statement but no it was a woman and there's the proof text for you guys, will they Grumble Grumble, Grumble about that makes it. You need to be better. Listen to what the question is talking about the power of touch. And it's a confusing thing for us today cuz we really don't know when the time to embrace and the time to hold back about 15 years ago. I attended a workshop better, do you? And it was a workshop on safetouch and there were experts from all over the United States. One guy from Harvard, they came and explained about safetouch. Well, it was a lot of people. It went to a lot of trouble and spend an awful lot of money. When this thing could have been handled in one email because it came down to all you needed, was a picture of a person with their shoulder colored because that's the only Safe Touch area there is in our culture. 426 in around your the point of your shoulder, only place, you're supposed to touch other people. Well, that just gives you an indication of where we gotten in our world. Are times when we need to embrace their time looking for for that touch. And yet, we know so many people who want and need embracing and that's not something that they do or can do. Remember that the whole Upperline topic here is this CERN it's knowing the time and knowing the moment. There are times when people will probably be offended if you didn't give him a hug when they're really hurting and then real desperate situation, but we always turn to risk and there are always things that have to be considered and there are things that have to be factored in and that decision to do that. The second one would look at this morning is a time to search. A time to give up.
And youth ministry of, unfortunately. Working with kids, sometimes you work in situations where Rob kids, leave home without two permission. I remember one time three of our boys about this time of year. They were juniors in high school and the three of them ran away from home. Didn't know it first with the they were together or not. But some of the other kids in the youth group start talking and yeah they're together their meeting in Mobile Alabama and go into Daytona Beach for spring break. These three High School juniors are going to meet up with all the college kids Course, once we knew where they were their parents informed, the police that the police got their, something to look back. Talk about in there, and they do that still. But, unfortunately, there are times when kids do run away, and it's real, that's hard and it's painful and I shared with you before their two situations where a young lady's left home and for at least 6 months, parents had no idea where they were or if they were alive, even and I can tell you, that's one of the hardest times, you see his parents, every time you're at church, have you heard anything? Do you know anything? Is there any indication at all that in both of those situations while the girls were safe? They certainly had been through a great deal by the time, your parents were able to make contact with them again and try to bring him home. Churchill, never give up. That's the philosophy that he bombarded the English with Z right about some things. And certainly when it came to that wore that they were in never give up. If you're looking for your loss child. Are you ever going to give up? No you're not. You're not ever going to do that. But other other things, that we sometimes need to let go of you seen that in the in the media, about the guy who's trying to buy a landfill,
Because he has 800 million dollars in crypto documents that he thinks is not landfill. He wants to buy the whole place. The snake picture. Is a picture of a shipwreck. This is the Atocha for Centuries people talked about this ship is Spanish ship, and the treasure that was buried or treasure. That was contained in that wreck guy by the name of Mel Fisher, studied it for years, thought he can find it and ultimately he did. and he and his sons of Salvage, the Atocha at the tune of 60 million dollars in gold You went to Mel Fisher today and said, would you do that again? He would say absolutely not. Because one of those sons was killed in the salvaging process. Is it worth sixty million dollars know and he would say, I wish I could quit. I wish I'd given up. I wish there was a place in the moment, but somebody's voice would have said, would have made the sense that some of the voices that we're coming in at the time. And whenever we're looking for something, we're going to have people say, keep looking, keep looking, keep looking, and we're going to other people say. And when it's a child, we never stopped when it's somebody that we love. We're not ever going to stop there times when sanity and discernment lead us to the place where we say, it might be best to Let It Go. I don't know what still waiting out there. I don't know what dangers are potentially there and Solomon's. They look at the world, sometimes Let It Go. The third one and this is probably up all these couplets that appear in this segment of think about or focus on the most. And that's very simply a time to be silent. And a time to speak.
Anybody in here, we've been wrong on this one.
Which way?
Both. Yeah, I can think of numerous times in my life, where I wished, I hadn't said something. And other times, when I wished that my hat, it's so hard to know whether to go ahead and say something or to hold back and kind of the essence of discern. It really comes down to our relationship with God, and then I will pay him about that. And others will say, when you have time to pray, God in that process, but it's certainly a challenge. To know whether to say something or not, I've shared with you before the lady. That got three, her family would come for a holiday and and she would come to me and say, give me some good scriptures cuz I'm going to start throwing them out of the minute. I walk in the door and end. There were a number of times when I said to her Loretta, why don't you not do that? Now there might be some other ways. This might be one of those times to be silent. And she said I don't know how many more chances I'm going to have you know I got to get a mother here and then she came to me and she said they're not coming this year. Well, I understood they were comfortable anymore. It wasn't about what she could hurl at them. They were looking for something different first Peter, 3:1 Does WYD in the same way, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that if any of you do not but any of them do not believe the word. They may be won over without words. Father behavior of their wives. Did Jesus teach without words. Numerous times before his first reaction is silence. Obvious times when he himself is dragged before, Pilate. His reoccurring answer it is. As you say, He's not going to talk, he's not going to speak because it says, in Isaiah 53:7, he was oppressed and Afflicted yet he did not open his mouth, he was 11 like a lamb to the slaughter as a sheet before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. The time to be silent if you like, and maybe it's that time. When the spirit is prompting you to just say, what needs to be said. You may be the only person who can of the only person who will. But we recognize that there are other moments when we actually communicate the message more fully By not saying something. Ephesians 5:8. Just for you were once Darkness. But now, you are light in the Lord live as children of light for the fruit of the light consist in all goodness righteousness and truth and find out what pleases the Lord. How do I get the message across?
Just go show it just don't model it, just do demonstrated. And if somebody wants to know more about it than you certainly share that information. The way they can, you get the attention is through your silence? Just as Jesus was. Ephesians 5:21 a little later in that same chapter says, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ in our submission to God, and to each other because of our relationship with God is one of the most powerful things. We communicate. In James chapter 3. Starting birth or inverse to we all stumble in many ways. Anyone who was never at fault in what they say is perfect. Able to keep their whole body in check. You want the barometer of self-control? What comes on 4 Mile? It's the things that we say, and that whole process is so confusing and it's so difficult. And it's so challenging. And yet, as I mentioned, at the very beginning of this point, we can all think of times when we wish we hadn't said it or we can think of
So lightly delicately, balanced at that discernment is so critical and I believe that God will lead us in the direction that he wants us to go. Even in those one with the moment situations. Bud. Light Spurs. The song 119:125. The song was Sarah, says, I am your servant. Give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. Connection between.
What we're thinking about you waiting in her mind and what God is telling us. We have to know the word so that we have a place to look for information. We have to have a relationship with God. So that we have that communication. We have to be led by the spirit. So we understand where God is taking us at that particular moment, but we recognize how critical those momentary decisions, whether it's stopping or starting or searching or being solid or continuous speed. God, what do you want me to do? And he said, listen to my word and follow my promptings and I will help you to make those difficult decisions. Would you play with me?
They're going to Father in heaven. We thank you so much for the wisdom of Solomon. We know that Solomon was a human and not perfect. We also know that he had great, great knowledge, great wisdom, B, shares that with us father, we pray that we might see to have your wisdom, that we may see to look at the world through your eyes that we may see to make choices of discerning choices, based on what you've taught us and what we believe will be in the best interest of your kingdom. Father, forgive us when we make mistakes, forgive us. When we do the wrong thing, he pray that we can learn from each of those situations so they don't repeated father, we thank you for your love and your kindness and your acceptance in your grace. We pray this all through your precious son, Jesus. Amen.
The Lord extends to you his invitation, you need to respond to that. We encourage you to do it while we staying at sing together.
