Faith In Time

Faith in Time

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: Matthew 6:24; 33; Philippians 4:13; 19

If I were to ask you “What time is it?” all of you would check your watch or phone to tell me the time. If I were to ask you “What season is it?” many of you would wonder what is going on in my head that I would ask such a question and then proceed to explain to me the current season. Now, if I were you ask you “What season are you in?” then you possibly would start thinking about your life experiences versus the seasons as it relates to the weather. This morning we will be talking about time.

This will be the last sermon that I deliver to you in 2021. The next time I stand before you, we will be in a new year; complete with new expectations and uncertainties concerning what the future holds. Generally, end of the year messages tend to focus on a reflection of the year that is ending, while a New Year’s message focuses on the expectations and the things we want to change in our lives during the upcoming year. In my message this morning, I want to do both. I want us to reflect on this year while establishing some expectations for change for 2022. The title of my message this morning is “Faith in Time.” Now this may sound like a little weird because we generally don’t think about faith and time together. But New Light, they truly are inseparable. When I link time with faith, I am not speaking of time as it relates to seconds, minutes and hours, nor am I speaking of seasons that we go through in life. What I want us to think about this morning as it relates to time is the “moment or period at which something takes place.” And when we think about faith, I want us to think about the words of faith that we have inside of us as we face those moments or periods of time and if we are truly accessing them. This will become clearer as I get into the heart of this message.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. 7A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

King Solomon lists twenty-eight “seasons of life.” As I list them, I want you to think about God’s Word – words of faith – which you have inside of you for each of these. A time to be “born, die, plant, pluck up, kill, heal, break down, build up, weep, laugh, mourn, dance, cast away stones, gather stones, embrace, refrain from embracing, gain, lose, keep things, throw things away, tear, sew, keep silence, speak your mind, love, hate, time for war, and time of peace.” When we examine these twenty-eight “seasons of life” most of us here today have experienced most of them. These verses tell us that we live in a world of changes and that the events of time and conditions of human life are vastly different from one another, and yet occur randomly. We are continually passing and re-passing through them, as in the revolutions of a day and a year. And here’s something I want you to think about: although each day is different and each year is different, what do we have available to us that is always the same? God’s Word, or for us, words of faith. As you think about what Solomon said, “Did you have words of faith you could draw upon during those times? All of us are closing out another year, a year that held stressful times and times of love and joy. It was a year that we had opportunities to step out in faith and times when we had opportunities to hesitate. It was a year of continual change. As you reflect on your year, let me change the question for you. As you reflect on 2021, “Did you have and use words of faith on the inside of you to help you through the year?” Remember, just because we know the Word does not mean we will use them in our life’s moments.