Introduction:
A. The word “time” appears 620 times in 563 verses of the 66 books of the Bible in the King James Version of the Holy Writ.1. The plural, “times”, appears 146 times in 142 verses of the 66 books of the Bible in the King James Version of the Holy Writ.B. Time is valuable and so is the usage of our time.
2. Many questions, concerns, and teachings from or of the Scriptures surround the subject matter of time.a. The time of the coming of the Lord is always questioned (Matthew 24:36).
b. The time of death (Hebrews 9:27).
c. The time in which one is in need of obeying the Gospel (James 4:17, Romans 6:23, etc.)
d. The time in which it took God to create to world is questioned, studied, and pondered (Genesis 1-2).
e. The time in which the world will be destroyed (II Peter 3:10).1. Paul said: (Ephesians 5:15-16)a. Time has a worth.2. Ephesians 5:17
b. This world in which we spend our time is evil (Galatians 1:4).a. We can be wise (II Timothy 3:15).
b. We can understand (Ephesians 3:4).
I. (Ecclesiastes
3:1) “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose
under the heaven.”
A. Defining the terms:II. (Ecclesiastes 3:2) “A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”1. A season defined: “A set time” BDB.B. God is in control of the times and season (Daniel 2:20-21).
2. Time is: “An age or occasion; A particular portion or part of duration, whether past, present or future. The time was; the time has been; the time is; the time will be.”. – BDB, Webster, Vinea. The exact moment something occurs (Acts 2:1-4).
b. The time or age in which something occurs (Hebrews 1:1-2).1. All of which the Lord knows and plans is not revealed (Deuteronomy 29:29).C. There is a time and season to every purpose under the heaven [upon the earth].
2. God does things because of His desire and based on His time frame, such was shown in cases like when the Lord saved Jerusalem from falling to the Assyrians for a reason (II Kings 19:34) .1. God’s providence is often missed, but is promised (Romans 8:28).
2. Such was the case in the lives of Abraham (Genesis 12ff., Galatians 3, etc.), Joseph (Genesis 33-50), Moses (Exodus 2-40), David (I Samuel 16 – Acts 2), Jesus (Genesis – Revelation), etc.
3. Things purposed by God typically occur in His time: (John 7:1-6).
A. Everything and everyone has a beginning with one exception:III. (Ecclesiastes 3:3) “A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.”1. Man and woman were created (Genesis 1:27).B. All things present upon this earth, with one exception, will cease to exist:
2. Mankind was then expected to procreate, thus giving life through birth to all generations to come (Genesis 1:28).
3. All things upon the earth, with the exception of those things man has made through the tools given to us by God, were created as well (Genesis 1:1-31).
4. God, the exception of being born and dying, is an eternal being:a. Psalms 90:2
b. Isaiah 40:28
c. Revelation 1:81. The world will end (II Peter 3:12).
2. Life in the flesh will end, but man’s spirit will live on (I Corinthians 15:21-22).
3. That time will be when the Lord comes: (Matthew 24:2-3; 35-39).
A. Herein are the actions of killing and healing not the results of such.IV. (Ecclesiastes 3:4) “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”1. The time for man to take life is in the case of punishing those who are evil (Romans 13:1-5).B. Many times there has to be a tearing down before there can be a construction of something good.
2. The time in which man can be truly healed is when he accepts and obeys God in the converting of his soul:a. Acts 28:27
b. I Peter 2:241. Jeremiah 1:9-10
2. II Timothy 4:2
A. At the sight of the sorrow that was occurring at the death of Lazarus (John 11:32-33), we find the shortest verse in the Bible illustrating a good time in which one could weep (John 11:35).V. (Ecclesiastes 3:5) “A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing." (Ecclesiastes 3:6) “A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.”1. Notice what Paul said to the brethren in Rome (Romans 12:15).B. Faithful Christians are those who should enjoy the times of joy:
2. Weeping occurs at the time in which great leaders depart (Deuteronomy 34:7-8).
3. When this life is no more and the faithful find themselves in Heaven, there will be no tears (Revelation 21:4).
4. In contrast, those who find themselves eternally lost will have plenty of weeping (Matthew 24:50-51).1. In bad times (II Corinthians 7:4) 2. Galatians 5:22-23
3. Unspeakable joy in Christ (I Peter 1:7-9)
A. When planting one would remove stones from such places even with spiritual matters such as Isaiah’s “Parable of the Vineyard” (Isaiah 5:2).VI. (Ecclesiastes 3:7) “A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”1. Matthew 13:20-21B. Embracing is the act of grabbing and holding onto or grasping.
2. However, a rock foundation is something that can be built upon if Jesus is the rock (Matthew 7:24-27).a. Matthew 16:18
b. I Corinthians 10:41. We should embrace things such as the truth and not let it go (John 8:32).
2. But error (Proverbs 23:23), unfaithful brethren (Romans 16:17), and all forms of evil (I Thessalonians 5:22) should not be embraced.
A. There are times in which we should rip or divide and then there are times when we should sew or bring together.VII. (Ecclesiastes 3:8) “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”1. Many believe that all division is wrong, but division of truth from error cannot be wrong since light and darkness cannot and do not dwell together, thus error is the cause of division, not the stand in the light for the truth:B. There are times to remain silent and time in which we must speak up.a. John 3:19-212. You would rip or divide yourself from any sinful situation or practices (Ephesians 5:11 and I Timothy 6:5).
b. II Corinthians 6:14
c. I John 1:7
3. To sew together would be to fix what has been torn or divided. Such, among brethren, could occur through teaching (Acts 18:24-27 and James 5:19-20).1. Remain silent when your words can do unrighteous damage (James 3:4-5).
2. Speak up when it is profitable to others and yourself (Proverbs 8:6-9).
A. While love and hate are opposites, we also realize that with the strong acts of love we do also show our hatred towards other things.Conclusion:1. We love God and obey Him with all of our hearts:B. War and Peace, just like love and hate, seem to at times join in the same type of actions:a. Matthew 22:372. Thus, while loving and obeying God we learn to hate sinful evil ways (Psalms 119:104).
b. I John 5:21. You love freedom, hate oppression, and therefore fight for the freedom.
2. You love God, truth, and the church; thus you fight the good fight of faith (I Timothy 6:12), so that through the victories over evil and error their can be peace in a local church.
3. While we look at physical war, and the fact that some brethren believe such to be sinful, we have to take to the text to see what God says: Deuteronomy 21:10a. Exodus 15:34. Peace often comes with the price of war (Deuteronomy 20:12-13).
b. Acts 10:1-2
5. The time for spiritual war is always (Ephesians 6:10-17).
A. Man’s time is limited (James 4:13-14).1. Job 7:1B. What will you do with your time?
2. Job 14:14a. I Corinthians 15:51-58
b. I Thessalonians 4:13-181. Acts 24:24-25C. Consider how many hours are in a year, month, or day and think about how many of those hours you spend on spritual matters (SEE CHART).
2. Acts 26:24-29
3. II Corinthians 6:2
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