Turn back, if you would, to the Book of Ecclesiastes. I asked Obie to read that. We won't read it again, but I want to concentrate primarily on the first eight verses of this third chapter of Ecclesiastes. Before we begin, let me say that it is good to be back in Kingsport, as always. I love coming down here. And I count it an honor that I have been asked to be here. I count it an honor any time I can stand before God's people and attempt to exalt our Lord and Savior. And every time I do this, I think of the words to that song, brethren we have met to worship. Those words that say, all is vain unless the spirit of the Holy One comes down. And if that happens, we'll be able to leave this place rejoicing in He who is altogether lovely. Pray for me as I attempt to exalt our Lord and Savior. In these first eight verses of Ecclesiastes 3, we read many things. And Solomon, in all his wisdom, knew from experience that all these things that are listed here happen to most every man and woman as they go through this life. Good times and bad, happy times and sad, joy and woe, heartbreak and rejoicing. what we call life. And I've always read these verses, particularly these first eight verses, and applied them more or less in a physical manner to the things that we go through in this life. But I want to look at these in a little different light today. I want to look at these things listed here and try to apply them in a spiritual sense of what happens in the lives of God's people as we go through this journey of life. Verse one, it says, to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. Now I've taken my title for this message from this verse, a time for every purpose, a time to every purpose. Now our God, we're told throughout the scripture, is a God of purpose. All things, all things that come to pass, in this universe, not in this world, but in this universe, come to pass because God Almighty has purposed them to be, has purposed to bring those things to pass. And our God tells us in Isaiah 14, 24, he says this, the Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass. As I have purposed, so shall it stand. Now, in order for God's purpose to happen, unlike us, he doesn't even need to lift a finger. He simply thinks, and it comes to pass. Now, think about that. That's completely incomprehensible to my feeble mind. Maybe you might get it, but I don't. If we purpose something, when you all purposed to do this building, you had to take your thoughts and put them into action. Otherwise, nothing gets done, not so with our God. If anything happens, it happens simply because our God thinks it. He purposes it to come to pass. It's that simple. And these three verses, and three verses later, I should say, in Isaiah 14, we read this. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who shall disannul it? His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Nothing and no one. We also find this in verse 26 of that chapter. This is the purpose that is purposed in the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations, the sovereign God of this universe. His hand brings all things to pass in every occurrence of this universe. We don't comprehend, I don't think, the greatness of our God. We worry and we wring our hands. I was reading the other day, this is a little off subject, but the Voyager satellite that they launched, I think, in 1977, for 48 years, this thing has been zooming through space at 38,000 miles an hour. They said it is not quite one light day away from Earth. And yet scientists tell us that the observable universe is something like 120 million light years. This is the God that we serve. He simply thought. and spoke, and that universe came into being, and yet we wonder if we're gonna have something to eat tomorrow. It simply goes back to our heart of unbelief. Now in Ephesians 111, we read, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Now his own will, what is that made of? What is a will made of? It is made of thoughts. In all things which he purposes, which he purposes to come to pass, he is purposed in his blessed Son, because we read this in Ephesians 3.11, according to the eternal purpose which he hath purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. So when we read, to everything there is a season, to time, to every purpose under heaven, please understand that this is speaking only of the things that are predetermined by our God in the far ages of eternity past. Now I want to look at each of these phrases in the next seven verses and apply them to how God Almighty deals with the human race, both lost and saved, those that are his people and those who are not. And I want to apply these in a spiritual sense, how these pertain to our eternal soul. Verse 2 says this, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted, a time to be born. Each of God's elect have a predetermined time when they will come forth from the womb and be born into the world of men. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name, Isaiah 49.1. And what the Lord said of Jeremiah is true of all his chosen people. He said this, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, I set thee apart to serve my purpose. But there is a time for each of God's elect to be born naturally, and so there is a time when each of his elect children are born spiritually, born again, as Christ told Nicodemus in the third chapter of John, when we're given faith and life in Christ, given a new heart and a new nature. Verse two continues, a time to die. Now the scriptures clearly tell us this is appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment. We each have a time predetermined long before we were ever born, when we'll exhale our last breath, when our heart will contract one last time, and then we will go to be to the Lord in eternity. Now for believers, that will be a time of unimaginable joy and bliss. When we see our Redeemer's face as He is, But for the lost, it will be the beginning of torments that are beyond anything that can even be described by a human tongue. It's called in the scriptures everlasting torments. But if we apply this term, a time to die, in a spiritual sense, we know when our spiritual death took place. It took place when Adam disobeyed God, and partook of that fruit of the forbidden tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God warned him in the day that he ate thereof, he would die, die spiritually. And all those that were in him, the entire human race died that day too. That's why we read in Ephesians 2.1, and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. But Paul explains in the sixth chapter of Romans that we are also dead to sin. He said this in verse six, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now, if we be dead with Christ, We believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more. Death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died once unto sin. But in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive. unto God through Christ Jesus our Lord." All of these things are represented in these words, a time to die. And the second verse continues, a time to plant. Now Romans 6 verse 5 tells us this, if we have been planted together In the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. In Psalm 1, we read these words. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. He shall be as a tree planted, by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. And we read something similar in Jeremiah 17. It says, blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, whose hope the Lord is, he shall be as a tree planted by the waters that spreadeth out her roots by the river, the elect. are the planting of God, nourished by the truth of the preaching of the gospel, and watered by the abundant grace of our God, there'll be no end to trial that will uproot us ever, because we are grounded in the truth of Christ crucifying, forever nourished by his blood shed on our behalf. Verse two concludes with these words. A time to pluck up that which is planted. Now, in the natural world, this pertains, of course, to harvest time. Time to reap the benefits of our labor. Around us, there's a lot of agriculture, and as we go about around the different areas, you can see things being plucked up, being harvested. But in the spiritual world, this has a totally different meaning. Our Lord spoke of this several times in the Gospels. Now, after the Lord had offended the Pharisees in Matthew 15, he says in verse 13, every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up, shall be plucked up. And in Jude, he describes the loss this way. He says, they are like clouds without water, carried about of the wind, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. Look over with me in Matthew, Matthew 13. Matthew 13. We begin reading in verse 24. Matthew 13, 24. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. But while man slept, his enemies came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. And when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, Then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servant said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and pluck or gather them up? And he said, Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I shall say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barns. Now we just read in verse 25 of how the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. And it's speaking of the false prophets and the false brethren in God's church, the wolves that Christ described as being in sheep's clothing. But our Lord assured his disciples. that there would come a day when those terrors, those enemies of the truth, would be plucked up and cast into a fire. This is what Solomon meant when he said, there's a time to pluck up that which is planted. Now verse three in Ecclesiastes, a time to kill and a time to heal. a time to break down and a time to build up. Speaking in a spiritual sense, there is a time when the Lord God slays each and every one of his people. Hannah knew this. I love this prayer of Hannah's in the first book, or 1 Samuel chapter two. You're familiar with this. Hannah prayed and said, the Lord killeth and maketh alive. A time to kill and a time to heal. The Lord killeth and maketh alive. He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up. Now before our God shows mercy to any of his chosen people, he slays each of them first. Paul wrote of this in Romans 7 when he said, for I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment which was ordained unto life I found to be unto death. All right for sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. A time to die. But as the Lord raised up Lazarus from the dead, so he does spiritually with each and every one of his people. And you hath he quickened who were dead in sins and trespasses, quickened, made to live in Christ. And Hannah said, he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up. This is a continuance of the first part of this verse spoken by Hannah. When one is killed, he is put in a grave because he's dead. But our gracious Lord does not leave us in that state, but he promises in Hosea. I love this. It says, I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues. O grave, I will be thy destruction. And Paul, of course, wrote, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? And David praised the Lord when he wrote in Psalm 30, verse three, O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave. Thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit. These verses all pertain to the believer's experience in both a spiritual and a physical sense. And the verse continues, a time to break down and a time to build up. Before God breaks or before God saves an awakened sinner, he breaks down any idols that that sinner had previously put his trust in. All his hope in his good works, all his hope in doing the best that he can, all his hope in his prayers and his church membership and his Bible reading are all laid to waste. They are utterly destroyed and that sinner is left stripped and broken with no hope left whatsoever. Sure in his heart that he is as bound for hell as if he were already there. But thank God, after he is left in that state for a while, the Lord speaks peace and assurance and builds him back up. After he's been broken down, he's built back up. Let me say this. If you've never been broken, you have never been saved. The Lord does not know anything about what we call easy believism. Don, our pastor, used to describe it as walking down the aisle, popping your bubble gum with a big smile on your face that you're gonna come to Jesus, you're gonna make your decision. That does not happen. God breaks his people before he builds them up. But after he's left in that state, the Lord thankfully comes to him and speaks peace and builds him back up. Peter wrote of this in 1 Peter 2, starting in verse 4, speaking of Christ, Peter wrote this, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also, speaking of God's saints, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Verse 9 of Peter says, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation of peculiar people. that you should go forth, or you should go forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And Peter reminds him, which in times past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy, built up into an holy house in Christ our Lord. Verse four. a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance. David wrote of this in Psalm 30, verse five. He wrote, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And the reason he could say that is because of what he wrote in the first part of that verse. For his anger endureth but for a moment, in his favor, his life. When the Spirit shows us our lost, undone condition before a holy God, we weep, weep over our sins. And we weep because we have no hope of salvation. God breaks a man and takes away every shred of hope that he has. And many are left in that condition for years, some for minutes, some for years. And this is illustrated by what Paul, what happened to Paul and the others who were caught in that storm that is described in the book of Acts, if you remember that. He wrote in the book of Acts, this is talking about having no hope. Acts 27, 20, Paul wrote, and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared and no small tempest lay upon us, All hope that we should be saved was taken away. That is what happens to a man or woman before God speaks peace to their heart, before he gives them faith in Christ, he takes away any hope you ever had of anything you've ever done for salvation. But this hopelessness, thankfully, does not last forever. When he gives us faith and shows us that all we need is found in the person of work and his dear son, we rejoice. We're told with joy unspeakable and full of glory. We were made to weep, but we are now made to laugh. And it says a time to mourn and a time to dance. We were made to mourn. But now we dance with delight because of the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. Verse 5 in Ecclesiastes 3, a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain. from embracing. Our Lord scattered his chosen people throughout the earth. I was talking to someone the other day about this and how we look at things that are happening today and we get all tore up. We have to believe that all that God does, he does for a reason. When you think about the disciples being scattered back in the early days, scattered to all parts of the, because of persecution, being scattered to all parts of that section of the world, do you think those disciples said, boy, this is great, we're being persecuted and we have to leave our homes and everything that we own. But ultimately, that's how our Lord spread the gospel. And we just read in 1 Peter 1 5 that it says, ye as lively stones are built up into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, built upon Christ that chief cornerstone. Stones that were cast away are now gathered together to be made the bride, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this verse says, a time to embrace as the father did to the prodigal son, After our time of weeping over our sins, God sends his spirit to embrace us, to speak peace to our hearts, as that father did the prodigal. And the verse finishes with the words, a time to refrain from embracing. That time when the Lord Jesus Christ shall judge this world and all men in it, and we read that he will say to some, depart from me, I never knew you. Those who were expecting to be embraced don't find any embrace whatsoever, but are cast away into judgment and wrath. But I also see another meaning in this term, a time to cast away stones. What were the Ten Commandments written on? Stone. This is where our term written in stone comes from, from that time that God gave the commandments to Moses on the mountain. Now that law was strict and unbending. We already looked at that in the Sunday school hour. Obey and live, disobey and die. No middle ground, no gray area. But when that time of love, of grace, came to God's chosen people, the law was cast away as a means of attaining righteousness before God. Christ hath freed us. from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. As it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Since Christ died, we are no longer under the law. It is done away with. It is cast away as a means of being justified before God. Now, Paul said in Romans 4, we read this in the Sunday school hour, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, Now, I want to be clear on one thing here. I'm not saying that God cast away His law because He was done with it. He had no further use for it. Paul told the Romans, wherefore the law is holy and the commandment holy. and just and good. He told Timothy, we know that the law is good, but he also said in Galatians that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. But after faith has come, Paul told us we're no longer under a schoolmaster, no longer under the law. Now, if you're still in Galatians, or I know you're not in Galatians, but turn over there with me. We looked at this in the Sunday school hour, and like I say, these two kind of tie in with each other. In Galatians 3, starting in verse 21, Galatians 3, 21, is the law then against the promises of God, God forbid. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scriptures have concluded, all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given unto them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Now the stones on which the law were written are cast away when grace comes to one of God's chosen. We are no longer under the law. Verse 6 in Ecclesiastes 3, a time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away. In Proverbs 4, we're given some good instruction on what to get. It says, get wisdom, get understanding, and forget it not. Neither decline from the words of my mouth. Wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore, get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding. And in verse 16. or chapter 16, verse 16, it says, how much better is it to get wisdom than gold and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver? Solomon here advises us to get wisdom. And what is Christ called in the scriptures? He is called the wisdom of God. With all thy getting, get Christ Jesus. If you get him, You got it all. There's nothing lacking. When you have Christ, you have all that you need. But this verse also speaks of a time to lose. And what is the most precious thing that a man or woman can lose? It is your eternal soul. This is why our Savior warned, for what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? And then our verse in Ecclesiastes continues, a time to keep and a time to cast away. This is similar to what we already looked at. There are some chosen from eternity that our God will keep by his providence and others like Esau of old who are found to be forsaken of God and in the end cast away eternally. Verse seven, a time to rend and a time to sow, a time to keep silence, and a time to speak, a time to rend. This word rend, I looked this up, it says to tear apart violently, to lacerate mentally or emotionally. Now, Joel spoke of this in chapter 2 of his book, starting in verse 12. It says, Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Now, we've already looked at how our Lord breaks the center and then heals him. This is what this verse is speaking of, how that the Lord rends the heart of the awakened sinner and then heals it. how he rends his soul in the spirit and then sews it back together with his loving kindness and his tender mercies. The verse continues, a time to keep silence and a time to speak. Habakkuk wrote this, but the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. Now, when our God shows the awakened sinner his undone condition, All of the arguments that he previously put forth concerning his righteousness are put to silence. He has shown his true standing before a holy God that he has nothing to offer and is completely at the mercy of God Almighty, of the sovereign of this universe. His mouth is shut. Time to keep silence. Our Lord also gave us an example on time to keep silence when he stood before Pilate and Pilate questioned him and was amazed that he didn't even answer him. But the Lord knew the purpose of him coming to earth and didn't waste his breath on giving Pilate a reply. He did tell him, however, thou could have no power over me unless it were given thee from above. And then this verse ends with these words, and a time to speak. Isaiah 62, 6 says, I have set watchmen upon the walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace, day or night. Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence. Now these watchmen are gospel preachers. They're told, speak up. Shout it from the housetops. The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Then the last verse, verse eight, it says a time to love and a time to hate, a time of war and a time of peace. In Ezekiel 16, we looked at this in the Bible study this morning, the Lord is speaking to Jerusalem, but it most certainly is applying to the sinner who is chosen of God to be the recipient of his love and grace and mercy. And in verse eight of that 16th chapter of Ezekiel, It says, now when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was a time of love. And I spread my skirt over thee and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I swore unto thee and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord, and thou becamest mine. We were chosen in Christ in the far ages of eternity past. This is something that I have a hard time understanding, and it's because the finite cannot understand the infinite, but there's never been a time that we have not been in Christ. The scriptures say we've been in Christ from the foundation of the world, chosen in him. And that's hard for me to comprehend, that there's never been a time that God's people were not found in Christ. And this verse says this, there is a time to hate. David wrote of this in Psalm 139, starting in verse 19, he says, Thou wilt slay the wicked, O God. Depart from me, therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? Am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? David wrote, I hate them with a perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies. And of course that verse quoted so often in Romans 9, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now this truth is one of the most despised by modern religion and there's a reason why. that there is a truth to this, that some are chosen by God to be the objects of his love and mercy, and others are left to be the object of his sovereign hatred. And the reason I say modern religion hates this, because it takes away their favorite tagline, that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. In the second half of this verse, it says that there is a time of war and a time of peace. Every one of the sons of Adam that are born into this world are born with a nature at war with God, at war with the sovereign of this universe. Romans tells us that the natural mind is enmity, pure hatred toward God, that it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. It is perpetually at war with the God of this universe. But thanks to his great love toward his elect, there comes a time when that center is utterly broken, utterly defeated, and that warfare comes to an end. The center surrenders completely to the will of God and is given a new heart and a new mind that loves God and desires righteousness. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Isaiah 40, verses one and two. But even though our warring against God has ceased, we continue until our last breath to be at war with our own nature, with the old man who still dwells in this body and in this mind and despises everything good about God and His righteousness, about Christ and His finished work. But that warfare will also one day come to an end when we lay this body in the ground for the last time. And the last words of this verse tell us that there is a time of peace This word peace is found exactly 400 times in the King James Bible, so it's a subject that's well covered. Many times a God that we love and adore is called the God of peace. Christ Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, and he promised in John 14, 27, he told his disciples, and it's a promise to us as well, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Now Paul opened all of his letters, I looked this up, he opened all of his letters with almost the exact same words, grace unto you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Every single letter he wrote, he opened with those words. But the only true peace we'll ever know in this life is that peace which comes from God our Father. When the resurrected Lord appeared unto his disciples, he greeted them with these words, peace be unto you. And this is our hope in this life of woe and heartache, that in the middle of all the trials that we suffer, we are assured that the Spirit of God will give us peace to believe that all things do indeed work together for good to them who are called of God, to them that are the called, we're told, according to his purpose. Now, at the start of this message, I read this blessed verse from Isaiah. Let me close with it. This is our hope. This is our peace. The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass. As I have purposed, so shall it stand. That promise is the source of our peace, that our God, who does all things well, has promised that in the end, all that He has purposed for the glory of His Son and the good of His people will indeed come to pass. Thank you for your attention.