A Time for Everything Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die,  a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal,  a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, 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 do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

God Appoints the Times and Seasons These words are words for every person, in every place, in every circumstance.  God has appointed the times and seasons, the events of our lives, the happy and the sad, the easy and the difficult. - On one hand this can bring worry, but on the other hand, it should bring you hope because we know that God is in control. - God has a purpose in what He does even if we have a hard time understanding what that purpose is. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT)

We Live in a World of Change The evidence of change is all around us: - Spring becomes Summer.  Summer becomes Fall.  Fall becomes Winter.  Winter becomes Spring.  - The young become aged and the new becomes old. Did you know that change is good. - Change helps you not become grace-potato Christians. - Change helps you learn to adapt to new situations and to grow inside. Christians go through some of the greatest changes. - First we are blind, dead sinners.  Then we are made alive. - Then we discover more of our sinfulness and God continues to change our hearts. - God wants to make our hearts more like His.

God Does not Change Imaging what it would be like if God changed on us. What if one day He were nice and another day He was mean. Or what if He altered between merciful and judgmental, or one day He decided to answer occurs in the next He did not. James 1:17: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Malachi 3:6: "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." That means you can count on Him to always be there and to do the right thing. - He won’t change His mind about you.

God has set everything for its time so enjoy yourself. “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” – Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 You should make the best of each event and of each season of change. - You should enjoy your life.  It's okay to have fun as a Christian. God has made every thing beautiful in His time - Everything has its purpose You must wait with patience for the full revelation of God's mysterious providence. All you can see is the middle of God's work, not its end.  He knows the beginning from the end and He has you where He wants you. But also, set aside place in your heart where you trust God to provide all of your needs because He loves you so much.

The Bible will still have the answers. Prayer will still work. The Holy Spirit will still move. God will still inhabit praise. There will still be anointed preaching. There will still be the singing of praise. God will still pour out blessings on His people. There will be room at the cross for His children. Jesus loves you. Jesus still saves.