Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Reading
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
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;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
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;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
INTRODUCTION
We always say some of these phrases “My time is up, time will tell, time is money, time is not our friend, time is not on our side, time is far spent, this is your time” Time is very crucial in the life of every human being. Do you know one important thing about time? The human being started dying the day he or she was born because the time started running and counting on that child.
God had all the power to create the world just in a day, but He did not. God took time to create the world. We see this in Genesis 1:5b, “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” In verse 8b, “And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.” In verse 13 “And the evening and the morning were the third day.” Verse 19, “And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” In verse 23, “And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” Verse 31b, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
Our creator gave a model concerning time. In our text passage Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 talks about the different seasons. Everything around us changes, time waits for no one. This passage has 14 contrasting times that cover different lives, i.e., a time to be born and a time to die. I want to share with you the importance of time and why we need to caution ourselves about time.
(1) We need to realize that time changes.
What is happening now will change, and another thing will happen. When we know that, we will know how to prepare ourselves for the next thing to do. Time changes, but many don’t realize that. If we know that Time changes, we should try to do something with the time. We should realize that if we are somewhere today, we might not be there tomorrow, and if you are in a position today, you may not be there tomorrow. If you have money today, realize that you may not have the money tomorrow, and if you don’t have it today, that doesn’t mean you can’t have it tomorrow. You may be in Ghana today, who knows, you may be overseas tomorrow. We say, “No condition is permanent”. That means what happened today, something different can happen tomorrow. Realize that time changes.
(2) There is a lesson to learn in each time.
There is a time to be born and a time to die. These are determined by the Divine counsel, and as we were born, so we must die at the time appointed. The Bible says in Acts 17:26, “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”. Job also talked about life, in Job 14:13, “O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!”
Time teaches us that we need to prepare ourselves to accomplish why we are here. Time is not on our side, time is not our friend to tell it to wait for us. If we learn this, we will know that we need to serve our creator. In Ecclesiastes. 12:1, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”. In Psalm 90:9-10, “9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”
When we think of all these Bible passages, we can see that they remind us of what we can learn from each season of time. We do say, “Make hay while the sun shines.”
(3) We should recognize that seasons of time are not the same.
In Ghana, we have rainy/wet and dry seasons. Elsewhere, there are spring, summer, fall/autumn, and winter seasons. Each time tells us what to do. The spiritual time seasons for a Christian are a time to go soul-winning, time to go visitation, time to sing praises, go to Church, read the Bible, and time to study the Bible. Time to meditate on the word of God, even time for recreation and time to sleep. We should recognize the time to do each of the activities mentioned.
Some times are for losing others are for gaining. There comes a time when people lost their jobs, businesses, homes, vehicles, and other assets. When it happens, let’s remember that the time season is in the hands of God. That takes us to the last point.
(4) One important thing about life we need to know is that God is the author of time.
In Psalm 31:15, “My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.”
CONCLUSION
Examine yourself and your time. How are you spending your time, and on what is your time spent? Something profitable or not, remember your time is very short, let’s do something profitable now with our time.
Amen!!!