"Turn, Turn, Turn" 8/1/10
BETH AND JACK AND I HAVE BEEN SINGING THIS SONG FROM THE 60’S FOR SOME TIME NOW, AND I WANTED TO PREACH THIS MESSAGE AGAIN AND RECORD IT AND THE SONG ON THE CD’S THAT WE HAD OUT WHERE WE SING.
IF YOU’VE HEARD US SING, YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE A QUIZ AFTER EACH SONG, 1) “WHO HAD THE HIT WITH THAT SONG?”
AND WITH THIS SONG, WE ALWAYS HAVE A 2 PART QUESTION.
WHO WROTE THE WORDS?
MOST ARE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT IT’S FROM THE BIBLE OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT TODAY IS WRITTEN BY KING SOLOMON.
THE BYRDS HAD THE HIT BACK IN THE 60’s, But the song was actually composed by the folk singer, Pete Seeger who was born back in 1919 and wrote the song in 1959.
THIS A MESSAGE ABOUT TIME AND LIFE.
EVEN OUR PLANET MARKS TIME AS IT SPINS AROUND ONE REVOLUTION ESTABLISHING A 24HR DAY.
365 REVOLUTIONS MAKING A YEAR, AS WE’RE HELD IN ORBIT AROUND THIS MEDIOCRE STAR IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR GALAXY.
AND THE DAYS AND THE YEARS TURN INTO DECADES AND CENTURIES AND MILLENNIUM….
SOLOMON, IS A MAN WHO HAD THE UNIQUE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE WISEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED.
HE RECEIVED THAT WISDOM FROM GOD…BECAUSE WHEN HE WAS TO TAKE OVER THE THRONE OF DAVID, HE DIDN’T ASK GOD FOR MONEY OR FAME…BUT A HEART OF WISDOM TO RULE THE PEOPLE….SO GOD GAVE SOLOMON ALL 3.
SO FROM THE POSITION OF THE WISEST AND WEALTHIEST MAN ALIVE, SOLOMON SET OFF ON A QUEST.
HIS QUEST WAS TO EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD FIRST HAND ….AND HE DID. (SELAH)
IF HE DESIRED IT…..HE GOT IT.
EVERYTHING THAT COULD BE TOUCHED OR SMELLED OR TASTED OR HEARD OR LOOKED UPON….SOLOMON ALLOWED HIS 5 SENSES TO INDULGE IN ALL THAT THIS WORLD HAD TO OFFER.
PRIMARILY, HIS QUEST WAS TO SEE IF THERE IS LASTING VALUE IN THIS LIFE ON EARTH, OR AS HE PUT IT… “UNDER THE SUN.”
ECCLESIASTES WHICH MEANS “PREACHER” …
IS BASICALLY A WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF A MAN WHO “DID IT ALL”.
WHAT A HUGE BLESSING WE HAVE TO HEAR HIS WORDS AS HE SHARES WITH US HIS CONCLUSION….
THOUGH IT’S NOT A VERY BIG BOOK OF THE BIBLE, WE CAN REDUCE HIS FINDINGS TO JUST ONE WORD…..“VANITY”
ALL IS VANITY UNDER THE SUN!
VAIN (WEB.)….USELESS OR WORTHLESS….
OR PERHAPS THE BEST SYNONYM ……EMPTY! (SELAH)
NOW WHEN ROGER MCGUINE AND DAVID CROSBY OF THE BYRDS SANG THOSE WORDS BACK IN 1965…
IT STRUCK A CORD IN THE HEARTS OF ALL OF US BOOMERS.
A BOOMER IS ANYONE BORN BETWEEN (1946 – 1960)
WHY ARE WE CALLED BOOMERS?
BESIDES BEING PART OF THE POST WW2 BABY BOOM,
WE WERE THE FIRST GENERATION TO GROW UP WITH THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION….
OUR GENERATION KNEW THAT AT ANY MINUTE, MAN COULD COMPLETELY ANNIHILATE ALL LIFE ON THIS PLANET.
AND EVERYONE WHO HAD THE MONEY, BUILT A BOMB SHELTER.
THEN, YOU ADD THE PROSPERITY OF THE 60’S…ANE WE WERE KIND OF LIKE SOLOMON….AS US “BOOMERS” HAD IT ALL…
AND MANY OF US DID IT ALL TO EXCESS…
WE CHANGED THE WORD PARTY FROM A NOUN TO A VERB.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE DIDN’T KNOW PHYSICAL HUNGER OR LACK OF THINGS, OUR PARENTS TRIED TO GIVE US EVERYTHING.
BUT THAT SONG, TOUCHED ON A REALITY HIDDEN DEEP IN EVERY FREE LOVIN, POT SMOKIN, PEACE CHANTING…BELL-BOTTOM WEARING, HIPPY HEART…
AS WE LOOKED AT LIFE FROM THE CONTEXT OF THE VIETNAM WAR. A WAR WE COULDN’T WIN… AND THE BODY BAGS OF 1,000’S OF AMERICAN BOYS STARTED COMING HOME. (58,000)
ABOUT HALF OF THOSE WERE BOYS 20 OR YOUNGER.
IN JUST ONE MONTH, MAY 1968…2,415 WERE KILLED.
REALITY HIT US BETWEEN THE EYES…
AND THAT SONG EXPRESSED MANY OF OUR THOUGHTS…
“WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE… LIFE IS REALLY EMPTY.”
“YOU’RE BORN…..AND THEN….YOU DIE!” (SELAH)
IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE… “WHY DO WE EVEN BOTHER?” selah
AND WE BECAME A GENERATION OF “DROP OUTS.”
LETS READ ECC. 3: 1- 8
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break 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 cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
PETE SEEGER AND THE BYRDS OPTIMISTICALLY ADDED…
“I SWEAR IT’S NOT TOO LATE.”
BUT, THEY DIDN’T NEED TO SAY THAT!
BECAUSE THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT TO THIS PASSAGE…
JUST LIKE THERE IS A TIME FOR WAR…THERE WILL BE A TIME FOR PEACE…IT WILL CHANGE.
But IT’S REALLY NOT A TOTALLY PESSIMISTIC OUT-LOOK ON LIFE.
BECAUSE, EVERY NEGATIVE IS BALANCED WITH A POSITIVE.
BUT I GUESS IT’S THE HELPLESS FEELING OF BEING OUT OF CONTROL AS WE PASS THROUGH THIS TEMPORARY LIFE AND EXPERIENCE ALL THIS STUFF THAT GIVES IT SUCH A MELANCHOLY SLANT.
Now, our text begins with an all inclusive proposition ….
To every thing there is a season. (tell someone)
Those things which seem contrary to one another, the opposite will take its place and come into play. The day will give place to the night and the night again to the day. Is it summer? It will be winter. Is it winter? Stay a while, and it will be summer again.
The clearest sky will be clouded, and the most clouded sky will clear up. See….Every purpose has it’s time.
Those things which (to us) seem so off handed and careless are in the counsel and foreknowledge of God.
They are punctually determined, and the very hour of them is fixed, and can neither be anticipated or postponed…
Hey….That’s life here under the sun!
See, Solomon mentions 28 things that happen in their own time and purpose. And far from simply a… “haphazard jumble”…
Solomon implies that there is a divine order to life here. (selah)
Fourteen pairs of opposites are used in an effort to cover every conceivable experience of man under the sun.
These events enter our lives at will, and we seem helpless to control their arrival, or their departure.
SO, ONE THING IS FOR SURE…WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF CHANGE.
SOME CHANGES ARE MORE OBVIOUS THAN OTHERS…
BUT, WE’RE ALWAYS CHANGING. EVEN THE CELLS OF OUR PHYSICAL BODIES ARE BEING REPLACED BY NEW ONES…
EVERY 7 YEARS ALL OF YOUR CELLS HAVE BEEN REPLACED.
EVERYTHING IS UNDERGOING CHANGE IN OUR WORLD.
THAT’S WHY TIME IS SO RELEVANT, TIME DOCUMENTS CHANGE.
SOMEONE SAID…
The lowest valleys join to the highest mountains. (selah)
AND ITS AT THOSE JUNCTURES IN LIFE…
THAT TIME SEEMS TO STAND STILL…AND WE CHANGE!
AND WE MARK IT, WE IDENTIFY IT.
HOW?... WITH TIME…A DATE!
Nov. 22nd 1963…Kennedy… Dec 7th 1941…Sept 11th 2001
WE MARK IT WITH A DATE BECAUSE WE ALL CHANGED. selah
NOW…WHY DO I NEED TO TEACH ON THIS? (selah)
WHY DO I HAVE TO PREACH THIS MESSAGE TO PEOPLLE WHO HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN, WHO HAVE THEIR HOPE IN HEAVEN.
AND HAVE ALREADY ENTERED ETERNAL LIFE WITH JESUS?
WELL THE FACT IS…WE CAN GET SO COMFORTABLE LIVING IN THIS WORLD…AND GET SO CAUGHT UP IN ALL THE TRAPPINGS THAT WE FORGET… WE’RE PILGRIMS. (TELL SOMEONE)
1Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
EVEN THOUGH THAT IS OUR IDENTITY, INSTEAD OF LAYING UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN, WE CAN GET SUCKED INTO THE RAT RACE, TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONES’S….AND WE TRY TO FIND FULFILLMENT AND VALUE IN LIFE UNDER THE SUN.
AND USUALLY, ONE OF THESE VALLEY’S COMES ALONG…
AND ROCKS OUR WORLD…AND WE QUESTION LIFE ITSELF…
AND EVEN MORE RIDICULES….WE QUESTION GOD?
BUT WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? (SELAH)
DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT LIFE WOULD STAY THE SAME? SELAH
IT’S KIND OF FUNNY, AND I’M SURE WE’VE ALL SAID IT…BUT YOU’LL HEAR PEOPLE SAY…
“We should be prepared, because if something happens…”
HEY…SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!
NOW, I’M NOT A PROPHET, BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT’S OUT AHEAD FOR OUR FUTURE as we live in this world…READY?
BIRTH & DEATH…PLANTING & HARVEST…KILLING & HEALING…
BREAKING DOWN & BUILDING UP…WEEPING & LAUGHING…
MOURNING & DANCING…
SPREADING OUT & GATHERING TOGETHER
EMBRACING & NOT EMBRACING…GAIN & LOSE…
KEEPING & THROWING AWAY…TEARING & MENDING…
SILENCE & SPEAKING…LOVE & HATE…WAR & PEACE…
THERE IS AN APPOINTED TIME FOR ALL OF THESE…
THERE IS A SEASON FOR EVERY PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN.
MOUNTAINS……AND VALLEY’S…….ARE CONNECTED.
BUT AGAIN, THIS ISN’T PESSIMISM. …IT’S REALITY.
BUT MORE THAN THAT…IT’S ORDER.
DIVINE, ESTABLISHED, SOVEREIGN ORDER IN OUR LIVES HERE.
AND THE WHOLE POINT IS…(THE REAL MESSAGE TO THIS TEXT)
IF YOU’RE LOOKING ONLY TO THIS LIFE AND TO THIS WORLD TO MAKE SENSE AND BRING FULFILLMENT….
YOU WILL BE TOTALLY FRUSTRATED AND DISAPPOINTED.
BECAUSE UNDER THE SUN, IT’S ALL VANITY…….IT’S EMPTY!
The wisest and richest man who ever lived checked it all out for us, and shared his findings with us…
NOTHING MAKES SENSE OUT SIDE OF THE SCOPE OF ETERNITY.
JESUS PUT IT ANOTHER WAY…Matt 16:26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
LISTEN, THE REASON ITS ALL VANITY UNDER THE SUN, IS BECAUSE EVERY THING HERE IS TEMPORAL….
EVERYTHING LASTS FOR AWHILE… AND THEN IT’S GONE…
BUT… WE ARE ETERNAL BEINGS!
YOUR SOUL, THE REAL YOU….WILL LIVE FOREVER SOMEWHERE.
SO IN THIS WORLD WITH ALL IT’S STUFF, IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW BIG OF A NUMBER YOU MULTIPLY TIMES ZERO…
IT’S STILL EQUALS…..ZERO.
BUT PRAISE GOD THAT WE HAVE HIS WORD! (BIBLE).
IT’S A LAMP UNTO OUR FEET, A LIGHT UNTO OUR PATH AS WE GO THROUGH LIFE HERE UNDER THE SUN.
AND….LIKE OUR SOUL, THE WORD OF GOD IS ETERNAL…
AND LIKE GOD….IT DOESN’T CHANGE.
THOUGH EVERYTHING AROUND US IS CHANGING…
THE WORD REMAINS.
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
And Heb. 13:8 Jesus Christ the same…
NOW, IF WE ARE ALL ETERNAL AND WE’RE GOING TO LIVE FOREVER SOMEWHERE…THE BIBLE TELLS US OF ONLY 2 PLACES OF ETERNAL ABODE. 2 PLACES, WHERE THE SOULS OF MEN WILL SPEND ETERNITY. HEAVEN…OR HELL. (SELAH)…
THE QUESTION IS… “WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?”
THE GOOD NEWS IS…. IT’S YOUR CHOICE.
HEY, NO ONE WOULD COME TO A “Y” IN THE ROAD THAT WAS CLEARLY MARKED “THIS WAY TO HEAVEN…THIS WAY TO HELL”
AND CHOOSE HELL. RIGHT?
BUT, THAT’S NOT HOW PEOPLE END UP IN HELL. (SELAH)
MAYBE IT’S BEST ILLUSTRATED IN A MODERN PARABLE OF SATAN SENDING OUT 3 DEMONS TO SEE WHO COULD GET THE MOST PEOPLE TO FOLLOW THEM INTO HELL.
1) “THERE IS NO GOD.”
2) “THERE IS NO LIFE AFTER DEATH.”
3) “THERE IS A GOD, AND THERE IS A HEAVEN AND HELL…AND IT’S YOU’RE CHOICE WHERE YOU SPEND ETERNITY…. BUT, JUST WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW.” (SALVATION 11/2/74)
WELL, ONE THING WE HAVE ESTABLISHED ABOUT LIFE ON THIS PLANET THAT’S CAUGHT IN TIME IS …THINGS CHANGE. (SELAH)
AND THE FACT IS, THERE ARE THINGS IN OUR LIFE THAT NEED TO CHANGE? THE LARGEST ROOM IN THE WORLD…IMPROVEMENT.
MAYBE THIS IS OUR TIME TO CHANGE AS A CHURCH.
MAYBE THIS IS THE SEASON FOR CHANGE.
A SEASON WE MOVE FROM WHERE WE ARE…
TO WHAT GOD HAS CALLED US TO BE.
TO MOVE FROM OUR PAST…TO OUR FUTURE.
BUT THAT KIND OF CHANGE USUALLY DOESN’T HAPPEN IN A “CORPORATE SHIFT”… FROM THE HEAD DOWN.
BUT, IT’S WHEN EACH ONE OF US, AS PART OF THIS BODY, ALLOW GOD TO HAVE HIS WAY IN OUR LIFE…AND WE CHANGE.
MAYBE, CHANGE….
FROM HALF-HEARTED COMMITMENT TO BEING SOLD OUT.
FROM BEING RELIGIOUS TO BEING CHRIST-LIKE.
FROM SUNDAY MORNING BELIEVERS TO BEING THE SALT AND
THE LIGHT IN OUR WORLD.
FROM PRAYER WORRIERS, TO PRAY WARRIERS.
FROM FEARFUL TO FAITHUL IN SHARRING THE GOSPEL.
AND, THE THING IS, GOD WON’T CHANGE WHAT ISN’T SURRENDERED TO HIM. SO…
LETS MARK THIS CHANGE IN TIME…TODAY…AUG. 1ST 2010
TODAY, WE SURRENDER OUR LIVES…ALL OF OUR LIVES TO HIM.
(STAND….WORSHIP TEAM)
ALL TO JESUS, I SURRRENDER……I SURRENDER ALL
IF YOU’VE HEARD US SING, YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE A QUIZ AFTER EACH SONG, 1) “WHO HAD THE HIT WITH THAT SONG?”
AND WITH THIS SONG, WE ALWAYS HAVE A 2 PART QUESTION.
WHO WROTE THE WORDS?
MOST ARE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT IT’S FROM THE BIBLE OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT TODAY IS WRITTEN BY KING SOLOMON.
THE BYRDS HAD THE HIT BACK IN THE 60’s, But the song was actually composed by the folk singer, Pete Seeger who was born back in 1919 and wrote the song in 1959.
THIS A MESSAGE ABOUT TIME AND LIFE.
EVEN OUR PLANET MARKS TIME AS IT SPINS AROUND ONE REVOLUTION ESTABLISHING A 24HR DAY.
365 REVOLUTIONS MAKING A YEAR, AS WE’RE HELD IN ORBIT AROUND THIS MEDIOCRE STAR IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR GALAXY.
AND THE DAYS AND THE YEARS TURN INTO DECADES AND CENTURIES AND MILLENNIUM….
SOLOMON, IS A MAN WHO HAD THE UNIQUE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE WISEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED.
HE RECEIVED THAT WISDOM FROM GOD…BECAUSE WHEN HE WAS TO TAKE OVER THE THRONE OF DAVID, HE DIDN’T ASK GOD FOR MONEY OR FAME…BUT A HEART OF WISDOM TO RULE THE PEOPLE….SO GOD GAVE SOLOMON ALL 3.
SO FROM THE POSITION OF THE WISEST AND WEALTHIEST MAN ALIVE, SOLOMON SET OFF ON A QUEST.
HIS QUEST WAS TO EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD FIRST HAND ….AND HE DID. (SELAH)
IF HE DESIRED IT…..HE GOT IT.
EVERYTHING THAT COULD BE TOUCHED OR SMELLED OR TASTED OR HEARD OR LOOKED UPON….SOLOMON ALLOWED HIS 5 SENSES TO INDULGE IN ALL THAT THIS WORLD HAD TO OFFER.
PRIMARILY, HIS QUEST WAS TO SEE IF THERE IS LASTING VALUE IN THIS LIFE ON EARTH, OR AS HE PUT IT… “UNDER THE SUN.”
ECCLESIASTES WHICH MEANS “PREACHER” …
IS BASICALLY A WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF A MAN WHO “DID IT ALL”.
WHAT A HUGE BLESSING WE HAVE TO HEAR HIS WORDS AS HE SHARES WITH US HIS CONCLUSION….
THOUGH IT’S NOT A VERY BIG BOOK OF THE BIBLE, WE CAN REDUCE HIS FINDINGS TO JUST ONE WORD…..“VANITY”
ALL IS VANITY UNDER THE SUN!
VAIN (WEB.)….USELESS OR WORTHLESS….
OR PERHAPS THE BEST SYNONYM ……EMPTY! (SELAH)
NOW WHEN ROGER MCGUINE AND DAVID CROSBY OF THE BYRDS SANG THOSE WORDS BACK IN 1965…
IT STRUCK A CORD IN THE HEARTS OF ALL OF US BOOMERS.
A BOOMER IS ANYONE BORN BETWEEN (1946 – 1960)
WHY ARE WE CALLED BOOMERS?
BESIDES BEING PART OF THE POST WW2 BABY BOOM,
WE WERE THE FIRST GENERATION TO GROW UP WITH THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION….
OUR GENERATION KNEW THAT AT ANY MINUTE, MAN COULD COMPLETELY ANNIHILATE ALL LIFE ON THIS PLANET.
AND EVERYONE WHO HAD THE MONEY, BUILT A BOMB SHELTER.
THEN, YOU ADD THE PROSPERITY OF THE 60’S…ANE WE WERE KIND OF LIKE SOLOMON….AS US “BOOMERS” HAD IT ALL…
AND MANY OF US DID IT ALL TO EXCESS…
WE CHANGED THE WORD PARTY FROM A NOUN TO A VERB.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE DIDN’T KNOW PHYSICAL HUNGER OR LACK OF THINGS, OUR PARENTS TRIED TO GIVE US EVERYTHING.
BUT THAT SONG, TOUCHED ON A REALITY HIDDEN DEEP IN EVERY FREE LOVIN, POT SMOKIN, PEACE CHANTING…BELL-BOTTOM WEARING, HIPPY HEART…
AS WE LOOKED AT LIFE FROM THE CONTEXT OF THE VIETNAM WAR. A WAR WE COULDN’T WIN… AND THE BODY BAGS OF 1,000’S OF AMERICAN BOYS STARTED COMING HOME. (58,000)
ABOUT HALF OF THOSE WERE BOYS 20 OR YOUNGER.
IN JUST ONE MONTH, MAY 1968…2,415 WERE KILLED.
REALITY HIT US BETWEEN THE EYES…
AND THAT SONG EXPRESSED MANY OF OUR THOUGHTS…
“WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE… LIFE IS REALLY EMPTY.”
“YOU’RE BORN…..AND THEN….YOU DIE!” (SELAH)
IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE… “WHY DO WE EVEN BOTHER?” selah
AND WE BECAME A GENERATION OF “DROP OUTS.”
LETS READ ECC. 3: 1- 8
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break 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 cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
PETE SEEGER AND THE BYRDS OPTIMISTICALLY ADDED…
“I SWEAR IT’S NOT TOO LATE.”
BUT, THEY DIDN’T NEED TO SAY THAT!
BECAUSE THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT TO THIS PASSAGE…
JUST LIKE THERE IS A TIME FOR WAR…THERE WILL BE A TIME FOR PEACE…IT WILL CHANGE.
But IT’S REALLY NOT A TOTALLY PESSIMISTIC OUT-LOOK ON LIFE.
BECAUSE, EVERY NEGATIVE IS BALANCED WITH A POSITIVE.
BUT I GUESS IT’S THE HELPLESS FEELING OF BEING OUT OF CONTROL AS WE PASS THROUGH THIS TEMPORARY LIFE AND EXPERIENCE ALL THIS STUFF THAT GIVES IT SUCH A MELANCHOLY SLANT.
Now, our text begins with an all inclusive proposition ….
To every thing there is a season. (tell someone)
Those things which seem contrary to one another, the opposite will take its place and come into play. The day will give place to the night and the night again to the day. Is it summer? It will be winter. Is it winter? Stay a while, and it will be summer again.
The clearest sky will be clouded, and the most clouded sky will clear up. See….Every purpose has it’s time.
Those things which (to us) seem so off handed and careless are in the counsel and foreknowledge of God.
They are punctually determined, and the very hour of them is fixed, and can neither be anticipated or postponed…
Hey….That’s life here under the sun!
See, Solomon mentions 28 things that happen in their own time and purpose. And far from simply a… “haphazard jumble”…
Solomon implies that there is a divine order to life here. (selah)
Fourteen pairs of opposites are used in an effort to cover every conceivable experience of man under the sun.
These events enter our lives at will, and we seem helpless to control their arrival, or their departure.
SO, ONE THING IS FOR SURE…WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF CHANGE.
SOME CHANGES ARE MORE OBVIOUS THAN OTHERS…
BUT, WE’RE ALWAYS CHANGING. EVEN THE CELLS OF OUR PHYSICAL BODIES ARE BEING REPLACED BY NEW ONES…
EVERY 7 YEARS ALL OF YOUR CELLS HAVE BEEN REPLACED.
EVERYTHING IS UNDERGOING CHANGE IN OUR WORLD.
THAT’S WHY TIME IS SO RELEVANT, TIME DOCUMENTS CHANGE.
SOMEONE SAID…
The lowest valleys join to the highest mountains. (selah)
AND ITS AT THOSE JUNCTURES IN LIFE…
THAT TIME SEEMS TO STAND STILL…AND WE CHANGE!
AND WE MARK IT, WE IDENTIFY IT.
HOW?... WITH TIME…A DATE!
Nov. 22nd 1963…Kennedy… Dec 7th 1941…Sept 11th 2001
WE MARK IT WITH A DATE BECAUSE WE ALL CHANGED. selah
NOW…WHY DO I NEED TO TEACH ON THIS? (selah)
WHY DO I HAVE TO PREACH THIS MESSAGE TO PEOPLLE WHO HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN, WHO HAVE THEIR HOPE IN HEAVEN.
AND HAVE ALREADY ENTERED ETERNAL LIFE WITH JESUS?
WELL THE FACT IS…WE CAN GET SO COMFORTABLE LIVING IN THIS WORLD…AND GET SO CAUGHT UP IN ALL THE TRAPPINGS THAT WE FORGET… WE’RE PILGRIMS. (TELL SOMEONE)
1Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
EVEN THOUGH THAT IS OUR IDENTITY, INSTEAD OF LAYING UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN, WE CAN GET SUCKED INTO THE RAT RACE, TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONES’S….AND WE TRY TO FIND FULFILLMENT AND VALUE IN LIFE UNDER THE SUN.
AND USUALLY, ONE OF THESE VALLEY’S COMES ALONG…
AND ROCKS OUR WORLD…AND WE QUESTION LIFE ITSELF…
AND EVEN MORE RIDICULES….WE QUESTION GOD?
BUT WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? (SELAH)
DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT LIFE WOULD STAY THE SAME? SELAH
IT’S KIND OF FUNNY, AND I’M SURE WE’VE ALL SAID IT…BUT YOU’LL HEAR PEOPLE SAY…
“We should be prepared, because if something happens…”
HEY…SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!
NOW, I’M NOT A PROPHET, BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT’S OUT AHEAD FOR OUR FUTURE as we live in this world…READY?
BIRTH & DEATH…PLANTING & HARVEST…KILLING & HEALING…
BREAKING DOWN & BUILDING UP…WEEPING & LAUGHING…
MOURNING & DANCING…
SPREADING OUT & GATHERING TOGETHER
EMBRACING & NOT EMBRACING…GAIN & LOSE…
KEEPING & THROWING AWAY…TEARING & MENDING…
SILENCE & SPEAKING…LOVE & HATE…WAR & PEACE…
THERE IS AN APPOINTED TIME FOR ALL OF THESE…
THERE IS A SEASON FOR EVERY PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN.
MOUNTAINS……AND VALLEY’S…….ARE CONNECTED.
BUT AGAIN, THIS ISN’T PESSIMISM. …IT’S REALITY.
BUT MORE THAN THAT…IT’S ORDER.
DIVINE, ESTABLISHED, SOVEREIGN ORDER IN OUR LIVES HERE.
AND THE WHOLE POINT IS…(THE REAL MESSAGE TO THIS TEXT)
IF YOU’RE LOOKING ONLY TO THIS LIFE AND TO THIS WORLD TO MAKE SENSE AND BRING FULFILLMENT….
YOU WILL BE TOTALLY FRUSTRATED AND DISAPPOINTED.
BECAUSE UNDER THE SUN, IT’S ALL VANITY…….IT’S EMPTY!
The wisest and richest man who ever lived checked it all out for us, and shared his findings with us…
NOTHING MAKES SENSE OUT SIDE OF THE SCOPE OF ETERNITY.
JESUS PUT IT ANOTHER WAY…Matt 16:26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
LISTEN, THE REASON ITS ALL VANITY UNDER THE SUN, IS BECAUSE EVERY THING HERE IS TEMPORAL….
EVERYTHING LASTS FOR AWHILE… AND THEN IT’S GONE…
BUT… WE ARE ETERNAL BEINGS!
YOUR SOUL, THE REAL YOU….WILL LIVE FOREVER SOMEWHERE.
SO IN THIS WORLD WITH ALL IT’S STUFF, IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW BIG OF A NUMBER YOU MULTIPLY TIMES ZERO…
IT’S STILL EQUALS…..ZERO.
BUT PRAISE GOD THAT WE HAVE HIS WORD! (BIBLE).
IT’S A LAMP UNTO OUR FEET, A LIGHT UNTO OUR PATH AS WE GO THROUGH LIFE HERE UNDER THE SUN.
AND….LIKE OUR SOUL, THE WORD OF GOD IS ETERNAL…
AND LIKE GOD….IT DOESN’T CHANGE.
THOUGH EVERYTHING AROUND US IS CHANGING…
THE WORD REMAINS.
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
And Heb. 13:8 Jesus Christ the same…
NOW, IF WE ARE ALL ETERNAL AND WE’RE GOING TO LIVE FOREVER SOMEWHERE…THE BIBLE TELLS US OF ONLY 2 PLACES OF ETERNAL ABODE. 2 PLACES, WHERE THE SOULS OF MEN WILL SPEND ETERNITY. HEAVEN…OR HELL. (SELAH)…
THE QUESTION IS… “WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?”
THE GOOD NEWS IS…. IT’S YOUR CHOICE.
HEY, NO ONE WOULD COME TO A “Y” IN THE ROAD THAT WAS CLEARLY MARKED “THIS WAY TO HEAVEN…THIS WAY TO HELL”
AND CHOOSE HELL. RIGHT?
BUT, THAT’S NOT HOW PEOPLE END UP IN HELL. (SELAH)
MAYBE IT’S BEST ILLUSTRATED IN A MODERN PARABLE OF SATAN SENDING OUT 3 DEMONS TO SEE WHO COULD GET THE MOST PEOPLE TO FOLLOW THEM INTO HELL.
1) “THERE IS NO GOD.”
2) “THERE IS NO LIFE AFTER DEATH.”
3) “THERE IS A GOD, AND THERE IS A HEAVEN AND HELL…AND IT’S YOU’RE CHOICE WHERE YOU SPEND ETERNITY…. BUT, JUST WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW.” (SALVATION 11/2/74)
WELL, ONE THING WE HAVE ESTABLISHED ABOUT LIFE ON THIS PLANET THAT’S CAUGHT IN TIME IS …THINGS CHANGE. (SELAH)
AND THE FACT IS, THERE ARE THINGS IN OUR LIFE THAT NEED TO CHANGE? THE LARGEST ROOM IN THE WORLD…IMPROVEMENT.
MAYBE THIS IS OUR TIME TO CHANGE AS A CHURCH.
MAYBE THIS IS THE SEASON FOR CHANGE.
A SEASON WE MOVE FROM WHERE WE ARE…
TO WHAT GOD HAS CALLED US TO BE.
TO MOVE FROM OUR PAST…TO OUR FUTURE.
BUT THAT KIND OF CHANGE USUALLY DOESN’T HAPPEN IN A “CORPORATE SHIFT”… FROM THE HEAD DOWN.
BUT, IT’S WHEN EACH ONE OF US, AS PART OF THIS BODY, ALLOW GOD TO HAVE HIS WAY IN OUR LIFE…AND WE CHANGE.
MAYBE, CHANGE….
FROM HALF-HEARTED COMMITMENT TO BEING SOLD OUT.
FROM BEING RELIGIOUS TO BEING CHRIST-LIKE.
FROM SUNDAY MORNING BELIEVERS TO BEING THE SALT AND
THE LIGHT IN OUR WORLD.
FROM PRAYER WORRIERS, TO PRAY WARRIERS.
FROM FEARFUL TO FAITHUL IN SHARRING THE GOSPEL.
AND, THE THING IS, GOD WON’T CHANGE WHAT ISN’T SURRENDERED TO HIM. SO…
LETS MARK THIS CHANGE IN TIME…TODAY…AUG. 1ST 2010
TODAY, WE SURRENDER OUR LIVES…ALL OF OUR LIVES TO HIM.
(STAND….WORSHIP TEAM)
ALL TO JESUS, I SURRRENDER……I SURRENDER ALL