<TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" BORDER="0"> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="#7F7F00" VALIGN=TOP> <FONT COLOR="WHITE"><FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco"><FONT SIZE="6">Friday Night Sermon</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Impact,Arial,Helvetica"><FONT SIZE="5"> --- </FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><FONT COLOR="#00007F"><FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">Ecclesiastes 3</FONT></FONT></FONT> <FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Verdana,Arial,Times New I2"><FONT COLOR="YELLOW">An Online Group Study Of God's Word</FONT></FONT></FONT></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%" VALIGN=TOP> I don't know about you guys. I just have really been getting a bunch out of these FNS's! Also, last night, as some of you know, I have been having a problem with someone at work, I was really blessed of God when He had Jim from the "Hope In The Night" radio program call me so that I could speak with June hunt. What does this have to do with this FNS? It ties in everywhere!!! I decided that I would first consult the people of God before consulting an attorney. I called them two nights prior and was not really ever expecting to be able to get on. When they called me back, it was a blast!!! I was given some great instruction and wisdom based upon God's Word to help guide my actions. Now, just think how different the book of Ecclesiastes would be if the writer had sought to seek God's wisdom first,&ldots; if he had asked God's people. Sure, he was wise. There's no disputing that. However, he sought the fruits of his own wisdom over that of the Lord's wisdom. It never pays to seek your own ways. Seek God's ways and don't be too shy or pig-headed to ask for help. There'll be a blessing leading towards the victory God has planned for you if you have faith enough to put your faith in action and seek Godly instruction. This goes far beyond the false thought that God helps those that help themselves. God helps whomever He wishes and He in well known to wish to want to heap blessings upon His faithful children. Faith is an active thing that, if we have it, should be practiced whenever and wherever possible. BTW, as long as you've got breath in your lungs it's possible. For more on this, read the book of James. That's a whole different sermon in and of itself. I do need to get on to this weeks FNS. I just need to Praise God and say, "Thank you Lord for looking after my heartfelt desire to serve you well. Thank you for sending your faithful servants to be a help to me and the others that are depending upon me to be faithful to you."</P> <TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" BORDER="0"> <TR> <TD WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="BLUE" VALIGN=TOP> <U><FONT COLOR="LIME">New King James Version</FONT></U></TD> <TD WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="#00007F" VALIGN=TOP> <U><FONT COLOR="LIME">New Living Translation</FONT></U></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN=TOP> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">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;</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">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;</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.</FONT></TD> <TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN=TOP> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">1 There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">6 A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">9 What do people really get for all their hard work?</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">10 I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do.</FONT></P> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">11 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.</FONT></TD> </TR> </TABLE></P> More than being just a really cool song you loved to sing back in the old days, these words are the very truth of our existence. We are in time. We are limited. Even our existence, God has shaped so that we might know his Greatness. He is without time. There is no border to His existence that He must not cross. We, on the other hand, are locked into these cycles and God has made everything beautiful in it's own time. Notice that, "in it's own time"! If your 12 yr old daughter were to come home to you and say, "Pass the peas and, oh, by the way, I'm pregnant.", would you get all starry eyed and think about how beautiful that news is? No, you would not! It's easy to understand that there is something happening well out of time. If the neurosurgeon working on your brain does not time his moves correctly, you might lose the ability to walk and talk. In everything we do, there is timing. It's all God given. He meant for us to use it well. Now, if you can accept that it's from God and that it's good, how is it that you can't seem to find that time to pray, study His Word, or witness to the lost? Where did the time go that you should have spent with your wife/husband and child? If God is good and supposed to know what He's doing, don't you think that He figured in enough time in your day to account for this? Oh, well, it was just a bad day right? O.k., what about your month then? Are you going to call God a liar and say that He hasn't provided time for what is He says is the right thing? Stop the excuses and get with the times! These are dark days we live in. Is it too much to ask that you be the beacon of light that God has made you? How else can you be this if you do not put forth the effort to (have the faith to) allow Him, who is the light, to shine through you? Do not forget the frustrations of the writer of this book. Seeking that new position at wok is fine if God says you have time for it. Marrying that one that sets your heart ablaze is wonderful so long as God has penned in the time in your spiritual date book. Doing anything is just fantastic when you've got the go ahead from God. The only thing is, how will you know you've got it when you swear up and down that you don't have the time to get into God's Word. You make excuses about not being a theologian,&ldots; I'm just a lay person. I can't serve in that ministry,&ldots; and,&ldots; I've got too much on my plate as it is. Well, let me ask you something? How much on your plate comes from God? I don't care how good it tastes, what it does for you, or how impressive the promises are, if it's not from God, you don't have time for it!!!! Now, listen to be here Christians. You don't have time for it!!!!! Yes, god does reward you with nice things. Still didn't we just learn that you'd better not put too much stock in the rewards of this life? It's far better to make an investment in the eternal. </P> <TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" BORDER="0"> <TR> <TD WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="BLUE" VALIGN=TOP> <U><FONT COLOR="LIME">New King James Version</FONT></U></TD> <TD WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="#00007F" VALIGN=TOP> <U><FONT COLOR="LIME">New Living Translation</FONT></U></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN=TOP> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.</FONT></TD> <TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN=TOP> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">12 So I concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose in this is that people should fear him.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">15 Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past. For God calls each event back in its turn.</FONT></TD> </TR> </TABLE></P> Now, we've already covered this in a previous FNS. Again, just to brush over it, enjoy what God gives. There's nothing wrong with having and enjoying stuff. Just don't let it become your lord and master. Another great thing to know is that God has set times of regular provision. He knows what the birds, the plants, and the bees need to survive. He knows and can meet your needs too. Don't stress over those hard times. It's not new to God. He'll never tell you, "Man! I don't know what kind of mess you've gotten yourself into." On the flip side, don't get high minded. That might be new to you but not to God. Your number is going to come up and if you are not firmly grounded in God, you whole world will come crashing down around you.</P> <TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" BORDER="0"> <TR> <TD WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="BLUE" VALIGN=TOP> <U><FONT COLOR="LIME">New King James Version</FONT></U></TD> <TD WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="#00007F" VALIGN=TOP> <U><FONT COLOR="LIME">New Living Translation</FONT></U></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN=TOP> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?</FONT></TD> <TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN=TOP> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">16 I also noticed that throughout the world there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">17 I said to myself, "In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds."</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">18 Then I realized that God allows people to continue in their sinful ways so he can test them. That way, they can see for themselves that they are no better than animals.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">19 For humans and animals both breathe the same air, and both die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">20 Both go to the same place – the dust from which they came and to which they must return.</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward into the earth?</FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,Monaco">22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why they are here! No one will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the future.</FONT></TD> </TR> </TABLE></P> You'll never get another shot at living in this life of flesh ever again. If you don't live it for God, and the way He has set for you, not only are you going to live a miserable life here as you search for something to fill the void, you're going to miss out on all the joys of an eternity with God. You'll get soaked twice! For all that we think of ourselves, God has made us subject to the same operating system as the animals. Sin has caused us all the same dysfunction. We die. Why rely upon what has proven to fail one for one every time. This flesh will crash and burn. It all goes back to the dust. Get with the maker's plan and set your clock by the maker's schedule and the hazards of being caught up in a system doomed to fail cannot be the driving force in your life. That is where joy in life comes from. That is how Christians can be happy even though a fellow saint passes on. Have that faith that has you do as God would have you do. Therein, you will find meaning and joy. Therein, God will shine His light in you.</P> </P> Have Active Faith,</P> ISDAMan</TD> </TR> </TABLE> [This message has been edited by ISDAMan (edited May 26, 2000).]