Open your Bibles with me to Psalm
96. For those who come in after Sunday
school, our pastor's in Danville preaching for the folks down
there this morning. And I know they've been looking
forward to seeing him because they ask about him and Janet
every time we're down there. I look forward to a time to visit
and worship together. Psalm 96. Sing unto the Lord a new song. Sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord. Bless his
name. Show forth his salvation from
day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen. His wonders among all the people. For the Lord is great and greatly
to be praised. He is to be feared above all
gods. For all the gods of the nations
are idols, but the Lord, he made the heavens. Honor and majesty
are before him. Strength and beauty are in his
sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds
of the people. Give unto the Lord glory. strength. Give unto the Lord the glory
due unto his name. Bring an offering. Come into
his courts. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness. Fear before him all the earth.
Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth. The world also
shall be established that it shall not be moved. He shall
judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice. Let
the earth be glad. Let the sea roar. and the fullness
thereof. Let the field be joyful and all
that is therein. Then shall all the trees of the
wood rejoice before the Lord, for he cometh. He cometh to judge
the earth and he shall judge the world with righteousness
and the people with his truth. All right, grab your bulletins
and let's stand together as we sing the call to worship. you Hark how the gospel trumpet
sounds Christ and free grace therein abounds Free grace to
such as sinners be And if free grace, why not for me? The Savior died and by His blood
Brought rebel sinners home to God He died to set the captives
free Then why my soul, why not for me? Christ Jesus came the
poor to bless, to clothe them with His righteousness. The robe is spotless, full, and
free, then why, my soul, why not for me? Eternal life by Christ
is given, And ruined sinners raised to heaven. Then sing of grace so rich and
free, And say, my soul, why not for Thee? Turn to 223. Arise my soul, arise. Shake off thy guilty fears. The bleeding sacrifice in my
behalf appears. Before the throne my surety stands. My name is written on his hands. my name is written on his hands
he ever lives above for me to intercede His all-redeeming love,
His precious blood to plead, His blood atoned for all His
race, And sprinkles now the throne of grace, And sprinkles now the
throne of grace. grace five bleeding wounds he
bears received on Calvary they poor effectual prayers they strongly
plead for Forgive him, O forgive, they cry, Nor let that ransom
sinner die, Nor let that ransom sinner die. The Father hears him pray His
dear anointed one He cannot turn away The presence of His Son
His Spirit answers to the blood And tells me I am born of God
And tells me I am born of My God is reconciled His pardoning
voice I hear He owns me for His child I can no longer fear With
confidence I now draw nigh, and Father, Abba, Father, cry, and
Father, Abba, Father, cry. 267 All things work out for good
we know, such is God's great design. He orders all our steps
below for purposes divine, for purposes divine. This is the faith that keeps
me still, no matter what the test, and lets me glory in His
will. For well I know tis best, for
well I know tis best, So now the future holds no fear God
guards the work begun And mortals are immortal here Until their
work is done Until their work is done Someday the path He chose
for me will all be understood. In heaven's clearer light I'll
see all things worked out for good. All things worked out for
good. Open your Bibles with me to Ecclesiastes
chapter 3. We are Scripture reading. If
you're willing, this will serve as our text this morning. We'll read the first 15 verses. To everything there is a season. and a time to every purpose under
the heaven, 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 kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time
to build up, a time to weep, 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 together. A time to embrace, and a time
to refrain from embracing. A time to get, a time to lose,
a time to keep, a time to cast away. A time to rend, a time
to sow, a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. a time to
love, a time to hate, a time of war, a time of peace. What profit hath he that worketh
in that wherein he laboreth? I've seen the travail which God
hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath
made everything beautiful in his time. Also he hath set the
world in their hearts so that no man can find out the work
that God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know that there
is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice and to do good in
his life, and also that every man should eat and drink and
enjoy the good of all his labor, it's a gift of God. I know that
whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put
to it, nor anything taken from it, and God doeth it that men
should fear before him. That which hath been is now,
and that which is to be hath already been. And God required
that which is past. We'll end our reading there. Let's go to our Lord in prayer. Our God and Father in heaven,
we thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity
to gather together as a people. Thank you for this privilege
to gather together, and Lord, we pray you'd give us a heart
to worship thee this morning. Lord, set aside the thoughts
and cares of this world and let us see more of our Savior. Let us see the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, how we thank you for our
Savior. Lord, how we thank you for your
mercies to us in him. God, we thank you for this gospel.
Lord, bless us to hear it, to rejoice in it, and Lord, to rest,
to rest in our Savior, to rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord,
we thank you for these young ones, for these many young ones
you've blessed us with. And Lord, we pray your hand be
upon them, that you would protect and keep them in this in this
world, Lord, above all things, that you'd be merciful to them,
that in your time, Lord, you'd reveal unto them the Savior. Lord, cause us to look to Him,
rest in Him in all things. Lord, for those of our number
who are in a time of difficulty or trouble, Lord, be with your people. keep them. Lord, cause us to,
Lord, not look to this flesh as we're so prone to do, but
Lord, to look to and to rest in thee alone. Again, we thank you for your
many blessings. Thank you for, again, Christ
our Savior. Lord, bless us with a spirit
of worship here this morning. Cause our hearts to rejoice in
thee. We ask these things in Christ's name, amen. There came a sound from heaven
As a rushing mighty wind It filled their hearts with singing And
gave them peace within The prophet gave this promise The Spirit
will descend And from your inner being A river with no end There
is a river That flows from deep within Christ is the fountain
that frees the soul from sin. Come to this water, there is
a vast supply. Christ is the river that never
shall run dry. There was a thirsty woman who
was drawing from a well. Her life was ruined and wasted
Her soul was bound for hell Then she met the Master Who told of
her great sin And if you drink this water You'll never thirst
again. Christ is the river that flows
from God above. There is a fountain that's filled
with His great love. Come to this water, there is
a vast supply Christ is the river that never shall run dry come
to this water there is a vast supply Christ is the river that
never shall sitting there listening and I
wish that it just kept singing. Not sure how long it's been since
I've heard that song, but it's however long it's been too, it's
been too long. Thank you. Turn back with me to Ecclesiastes
chapter three. Ecclesiastes 3. The title of the message this morning
is A Time and a Purpose. A Time and a Purpose. Over the years, I believe I can
say this passage of Scripture is one that, at least in our
living room, we've turned to on more than on one occasion
to find, to seek comfort, to seek peace, and so thankful for it. David said
over in Psalm 119.50, he said, this is my comfort in my affliction
for thy word, thy word hath comforted me. We find a lot of places to
go to for comfort. But true comfort is found in
God's Word. And I believe it's found here. Do you have Ecclesiastes 3? Look
at verse 1. Here we read, to everything,
everything, there is a season. and a time and a purpose under heaven. Now, I would say
most if not everyone in this room is familiar with these times
written here. I think there's 28 of them. Verse
2, it says there's a time to be born. And I'll just, as a side note,
I'd say rarely is this on the day when the doctor projects
it, right? God knows the time. I'm thinking
with both the boys that, you know, you wait and wait and wait
for that day, and it's never, it's usually two weeks later
or something like that. There is a time, there's
a time when, back there in the Old Testament, there was a time
when Isaac would be born. God made a covenant. And he made
this covenant with Abraham. He said, you're going to be the
father of many nations. And time passed by. Weeks, months, years passed by. And Abraham grew impatient. God promised him. Abraham ended
up taking that into his own hands, didn't he? Trying to. And he
took his handmaid, Hagar, who bore a son, Ishmael. But that wasn't the promised
seed. The nation of Israel is not going
to come through Ishmael. No, it's going to be Isaac. And in time, Isaac was born. Not necessarily by one Abraham's
schedule. He said this, he said, shall
a child be born to him that's a hundred years old? Well, if God said there's going
to be one, there's no doubt about that, is there? Almighty God
determined there would be. There's a time to be born. There was a time when the Savior,
the time when our Savior was born. In Galatians 4 verse 4
we read, In the fullness of the time God sent forth His Son,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law, that we might have the adoption of sons. There's a time to be born. What about in Moses' day? When they're taking all the male
children and they're casting them into the river. Who's going to lead the children
of Israel out of Egypt? Think about all the... Moses,
there he is, hid in the bushes. Pharaoh's daughter is going to
raise him in her own house. There's a time, a time to be
born. Ecclesiastes 3 verse 2, time
to be born, and we read there is a time to die. The scriptures say 3 score and
10. Whatever that number is to each
of us, it's a set time. It's an established time. The
number of our days, in Psalm 90 verse 10, David wrote, the
days of our years are three score years and 10, and if by reason
they be 80, yet is their strength, labor, and sorrow, for it soon
cut off and we fly away. Scriptures declare it's appointed
unto man once to die. After that, the judgment. Paul
wrote this, he said, death, there's a reason for that, death passed
upon all men, for all have sinned. Job knew there was a time to
die, he said, seeing his days are determined, the number of
his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that
he cannot pass. A time, a time to die. Let's read on in our text, Ecclesiastes
3 verse 2. A time to plant. And a time to
pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill. And a time to
heal. A time when by man's wicked heart
and desire, these things are done. Back there after the fall. Cain slew his brother Abel. He killed him. Why? Angry. He was angry that God
had respect unto Abel's offering. David, David killed a man. David killed Uriah. He told his
servants, he said, you put him in the hottest part of the battle
and then withdraw from him. Why'd he do that? Trying to cover
his sin with Bathsheba. In the Gospel of Matthew, the
Lord Jesus Christ was delivered to Pilate. And Pilate asked the
people, he said, will you that I release unto you the one you
call the King of the Jews, or will it be Barabbas? Barabbas,
a murderer, a traitor. Well, that seems like a pretty
easy choice, doesn't it? We read that the chief priests
moved the people, they roused them, they got them all stirred
up, and they moved the people that he should rather release
Barabbas. Pilate said, what will you then
that I should do unto him whom you call the king of the Jews?
And they cried out, crucify him, kill him, destroy him, and do
it in such a way that it's gonna cause The most pain. There's man's free will on display.
There's what's left to ourselves. That's what we'll choose. We'll
choose Barabbas. We'll choose a traitor, a murderer. What's going on here? How can
that happen? How can that happen? How can an innocent man be put,
how can the Lord Jesus Christ be put to death? A man that went
about doing good, healing the sick. Paul said this, Him, being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken by wicked hands and have crucified and
slain. A time, a time to kill. And all
these things mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3, there's a time determined
for these things. Ordered of God. And for us, there's
a time for it. There's a time. Do you still
have Ecclesiastes 3 verse 3? A time to kill? A time to heal? A time to break down? A time
to build up? Verse 4, a time to weep, a time
to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance. You know, there's laughing and
dancing. We enjoy that, don't we? Don't
we enjoy those times of happiness and peace? But there's also times,
the Scriptures say this, a time to weep and a time to mourn. You know, I don't know if there's
sometimes shame associated with that. I think amongst believers,
sometimes we feel if we mourn or if we grieve, that people
might think ill of us or ill of our Lord, that we're finding
fault with God's providence. I think we feel that way. I feel
that way sometimes. I can't speak for you, but at
times I think, well, I shouldn't be. I shouldn't be upset about
this. I shouldn't be grieving this.
I should be thankful. You know, when Jacob died, we read the
Egyptians, they mourned for 70 days. 70 days. Man that is born of
woman is a few days and full of trouble. We read many, many
are the afflictions of the righteous. We read this, if you be without
chastisement, You're bastards and not sons. Be without chastisement as we're
all partakers. I know many in this congregation
right now, and many we know, many we love, have experienced
these times or are experiencing them right now. Those times,
the Apostle Paul, over there in Acts 27, he was on that voyage
to Rome. And he said this, he said there
was a time when all hope, all hope, all hope that we should
be saved was taken away. Paul, the Apostle Paul said that.
He said there was a time when all hope, all hope. But then
he said this. He wasn't left there, was he?
He said, be of good cheer. Be a good ship. For there shall
be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For
there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am
and whom I serve." That can only be the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul
would never speak of anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He
said, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, fear not. Fear not, Paul. You're going
to be taken to Rome. You've got to be taken to Rome.
You and everyone sailing with you. Paul said this, be of good cheer.
He said, I believe God. It's going to be just as he said
it's going to be, even as it was told me. God's Word says again this, many
are the afflictions of the righteous, but listen to the rest of this
verse, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Whatever it is He puts before
His people, He shall deliver. Now go back to verse 1 of Ecclesiastes
3. Everything. There is a season and a time. You go back this afternoon and
you can read all those. Everything, there's a season
and a time. Listen to the rest of the verse.
Everything, there's a season and time to every purpose. Every purpose under heaven, under
the heavens. The things that happen that bring
us joy and pain, those things that take our breath and keep
us awake at night. Spurgeon said this, those times
where the head hurts and the body grows weary. Those times
Paul was talking, he said there was a time when all hope, all
hope was lost, yet there's solid ground. There's solid ground
for the child of God, for His sheep. The Lord takes us as He
did Moses and He puts us in that cleft of the rock and He covers
us, covers us there with His hand. Oh Lord, hide me there. Take me to that rock. Hide me
there and cover me with Your hand. So many things that overwhelm
us. But we just see the times and
the seasons. Most often, sometimes we don't
even see, most times we don't even see that. My friends know
this, known unto God are all His works. All His works from
the beginning of the world. We may not know what's going
on at times, but He does. He orders and He directs them. A time for these things. They're
ordered of God. But listen to this. He has a
purpose. Almighty God has a purpose in
all that He is. And it's His purpose. He's a
God of purpose. Romans 8, 28. We love that passage,
don't we? We forget it so often. For we
know. We know. We know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
called according to His purpose. Listen to a few of these things.
We know this. He purposed, concerning His purpose,
we know He purposed to save a people. Look at Romans. Turn with me
to Romans 9 verse 11. Romans 9 verse 11. For the children being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth." A people, a people chosen of
God, chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world,
a people out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. Jacob
was an object of God's mercy. And it says here, having done
neither good nor evil, This choice was according to the purpose
of Almighty God. And this is the foundation and
source of mercy, the sovereign will of Almighty God. He can
choose me, he can save me, or he can pass me by. He's right
and just in what he does. Second, a people whom he purposed
to save. Turn to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 1, look at verse 9. Here we read, who hath saved
us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace. which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. A saved people. Saved with an eternal salvation. A called people. A people called
by the Spirit of God. A redeemed people. Not for any
good in the sinner. Not redeemed for any so-called
good works. If that were the case, that would
give us reason to glory, wouldn't it? No, He saved us by His power. He redeemed us. Now, whom He
purposed to save, those He chose in Christ, those who He gave
to His Son to redeem, He didn't leave us in our sin. He didn't
pass us by. But He called us to Himself and
He makes us, every last son, in the Beloved. And not only
does He make us accepted, He keeps us. He keeps us. Third, His purpose is an eternal
purpose. This purpose, it's an eternal
purpose. Ephesians 3 verse 11, according
to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ. He purposed. His purpose. All
the salvation of a sinner is according to his own purpose,
his eternal purpose. It didn't change. His purpose
didn't change in the garden. That's what some would say. He was going to save them by
the law, but they couldn't keep the law, so then he brought it. No. It's his eternal purpose. Purposed in Christ before the
world began. His incarnation, Christ was made
a man. His suffering, He suffered like
no man has ever suffered. His resurrection, all this decreed
by Almighty God from before the foundation of the world. We read this, the kings of the
earth stood still and the rulers were gathered together against
the Lord, against his Christ, for a truth against the holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together.
For what purpose? What were they gonna do? To do
whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined to be done. It's an
eternal purpose. What else did the Scripture say
about His purpose? Well, He purposed to put away
sin. Turn to 1 John 3, verse 8. 1 John 3 verse 8, He that committeth
sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth in the beginning
for this purpose. The Son of God was manifested
that He might destroy the works of the devil. Listen, not only
did the Lord Jesus Christ put away our sin, He bore the curse
of the law. He bore the penalty of sin. and He delivered us from the
power of Satan. That's what the Scriptures plainly
declare. Fifth, His purpose, it reveals
His sovereignty. His purpose reveals His sovereignty.
Romans 9 verse 17, the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For this
same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power
in thee, and that my name may be declared throughout all the
earth. God's sovereignty, God's absolute power, in His grace,
in His mercy, doing what He will to accomplish His purpose. Pharaohs, think about this, Pharaoh's
birth, Pharaoh's power, Pharaoh's conduct, were for one purpose,
for one purpose, and that was to accomplish His will. Accomplish Almighty God's will.
His will concerning Israel and to display His mighty power. The Scriptures over in the Psalm
declare that even the wrath of man shall praise Him. And then listen, this is my last
point. We're made heirs. We're made heirs by His purpose. Turn with me to Ephesians 1 verse
11. Ephesians chapter one and verse
11. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. We have an inheritance. That's kind of an exciting thing
to think about, to have, if somebody told me I was gonna inherit something,
I'd be pretty happy about that. But you know, in this earth,
we can be told we're gonna have an inheritance and somebody gets
mad or something happens and that gets, it just gets swept,
it just gets swept away, or we find out that it wasn't much
of an inheritance to begin with. My friends, this inheritance,
This is something catching our interest. An inheritance. We're made heirs, one. What an
amazing thing that is. We're made heirs. Typically,
you don't have an inheritance unless you're a child. We're
made heirs. We're made heirs. And we have
an inheritance that the scripture says, fate is not away. It can't
be taken away. It can't be removed. An inheritance
that faded away. And it's not by chance, but it's
by His own choosing. He's made us heirs according
to the purpose. What is that inheritance? It's
life. Life in His Son. It's not the
crystal seas and streets of gold. We're made heirs. We're made
sons. to inheritance that fadeth in
faith on eternal life in his son, according to the purpose
of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own
will. In times of weeping, in times
of laughing, in times of mourning, in times of dancing, Times of
embracing, those times when we refrain from embracing, and times
of love and hate, and all these things. Listen,
it's according to His purpose. His own purpose. He's God of
purpose. Scriptures plainly declare that. And He didn't save you by accident.
There's no accidents with God. No. The purpose of Him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. And listen, his purpose, we can't even mess
that up. Try as we may. No one, no one
can alter his purpose. Job said this, he's of one mind
who can turn him. Can't change his purpose. And
listen, what his soul desireth, I can think of a lot of things
I'd like to do. I've got a list at home of things
that I'd like to do. But listen, what his soul desireth,
he doeth. He has the power to do it. Nebuchadnezzar
said this, none can stay in his hand, or say unto him, what doest
thou? May God be pleased to put away
our doubts and our fears, and even for just a little bit, just
rest in His purpose, knowing this, that He doeth all things
well. We used to read at the end of
the service, this passage here, to the King, eternal, immortal,
the only wise God, Honor, glory, forever. Amen. All right, Isaac, you come lead
us in a closing hymn. Hymn number, if you want to grab
your songbook, hymn number 34. Hymn 34, Immortal, Invisible,
God Only Wise. Let's all stand and sing this
together. so Immortal, invisible, God only
wise, In light inaccessible, hid from our eyes. Most blessed, most glorious,
The Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we
praise. Unresting, unhasting, and silent
as light, Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might. Thy justice like mountains high
soaring above, Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and
love. To all life thou givest, to both
great and small, in all life thou livest, the true life of
all. We blossom and flourish as leaves
on the tree, and wither and perish, but not changeth thee. Great Father of glory, pure Father
of light, Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their side. All praise we would render, O
help us to see, Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.