Unity Baccalaureate - Sunday Eve. May 20th
Class motto for the Unity senior class of 2007:
We laughed until we had to cry,
We loved right to our last goodbye
but over the years we will recall
for just one moment, we had it all.
As I read your class motto the concept of time raced through my mind and my heart. I thought back to my High School years and pondered the thought “Time – how quickly it comes and goes! Then I thought – “Time is such a valuable commodity – It’s really priceless!”
Opening Video Illustration: In Time by Blue Fish TV -- This clip reveals to us how valuable our time is and how it should not be wasted.
Sermon Title: “Timing is everything!”
Thesis: Timing is everything so we must understand that we cannot waste our time but use it to make a difference for eternity.
Scripture Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1 -14 - main portion (15-22)
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9What does the worker gain from his toil? 10I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
15 Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account.
16And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
17I thought in my heart,
“God will bring to judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time for every deed.”
18I also thought, “As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. 19Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. 20All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. 21Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”
22So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
Introduction:
You could say, “Timing is everything!” There is a time to study and a time to take tests. There is a time to listen and a time to talk. There is time to ask questions and a time to be quiet. There is time to have fun and a time to be serious. There is time to prepare for things and a time to do things. Timing is a major part of life and learning “What time it is becomes crucial to success and to failure in life.”
For instance if I did not show up tonight on time then I could not be addressing you tonight. My timing would be off. If I showed up tomorrow night instead of tonight then I would have missed this wonderful opportunity to speak to all you graduate’s. Timing does make a difference in life as a matter of fact it’s critical.
T.S. - Our Scripture text which was read earlier highlighted the importance of timing in life and also the importance of how we use our time and it’s relation to eternity
I. The definition of time as it relates to eternity.
a. Time – Webster’s Dictionary states, “The period between two events or during which something exists, happens, or acts; measured or measurable interval.” He also adds time is also defined as period of duration, continuance “Indefinite, unlimited duration in which things are considered as happening past, present, or future; every moment there has ever been or will be.”
i. Eternity is defined as everlasting; there is no end to it.
1. Bevere states, “However (eternity), it’s not just a matter of ceaseless time, as it is not subject to time. Eternity transcends time. To speak of eternity in terms of merely perpetual duration is to miss the full picture. To capture the best view of eternity, we must look at God Himself. He is not limited in power, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and all glory, just to name a few. He is self-existent, forever was and forever will be God. He is called the ‘Everlasting Father’ (Isa. 9:6). Young’s literal translation read, “Father of Eternity.” He is called the “King of eternity” (1 Timothy 1:17, AMP). All that is eternal is found in Him; in fact, eternity itself is found in Him. All that is outside of Him is temporal and will change. No matter how good, noble, powerful, or enduring it may see, it will eventually cease. Even the earth and universe will change, but He will not… (Bevere, Driven by Eternity page 6, 7).
ii. Why is timing so important?
1. Quote “Time is given to us to prepare for eternity.” Francois Fenelon - (Workbook Driven by Eternity, page 4).
2. Do you believe this – your life time is given to you by God to prepare you for eternity?
iii. Indian Proverbs states, “When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced, Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.”
b. The Bible addresses the subject of time frequently listen to this thought from the Bible.
i. Psalm 90:12 (NLT) “Teach us to make the most of our time…and make our efforts successful. Yes, our efforts successful!”
ii. Psalm 37:18, “The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever” (NIV). The TLB version reads like this “Day by Day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men, and gives them eternal rewards.”
1. The Bible tells us not to grow weary in doing good because the Lord sees the good that you do and one day you will be rewarded for it.
2. So we need to make sure that we use our time wisely and for eternal purposes.
3. We do not want to waste away our time because when we use it up it’s gone never to return again.
T.S. – A proper understanding of time is essential for each of us today because time does matter and it can never be replaced once it used. Solomon who we heard from earlier in our Scripture reading learned from living his life that his most valuable asset was his time.
II. Solomon learned from trial and error that the most valuable asset he had was time.
a. Solomon is the author of Ecclesiastes:
i. He was considered very wise and very intelligent and people would come from far and wide to hear his decisions on certain cases. He helped Israel to prosper and he took her into the “Golden Age.” He was personally prosperous beyond measure. He would have been considered a millionaire in his day. He had a huge family. He knew what it was like to have 700 wives and 300 concubines. He had a palace to live in which was grandiose. He built great architectural masterpieces. He had fame which stretched worldwide. He had power and a huge army at his disposal. He had it all you could say!
b. Solomon lived the American - Israelite dream.
i. He experienced all of life’s pleasures and then toward the end of his life he wrote this thought provoking book.
ii. This book helps us to understand how to come to terms with the reality of life. This book is about real life experiences Solomon had with all of its toil, hardships and lessons to be learned.
c. He opens his book with this observation about life in Ecc. 1: 2 “Meaningless! Meaningless! …everything is meaningless.”
i. I read this and I thought he sounds rather distraught even overwhelmed. What do you think! But he opens up this book with a phrase that pricks your heart and then he takes the reader through his own journey of life. He points out what he did, what he accomplished, what he learned, what he experienced, what he regrets, and compares that to what is really the most meaningful part of life.
ii. He takes you through a thrill ride of his life and ends with a poignant thought on the true meaning of life.
iii. He actually ends his book with an observation of what matters most in life.
1. He concludes his book by making a very clear point in Ecc. 12:13-14, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
2. His power, fame, wealth, huge family, and extravagant lifestyle really was meaningless even pointless. What mattered most in life according to our wise King Solomon was having a relationship with the Lord and following after His purpose and plan for your life.
d. He knew the importance of timing! He knew that there was a law of timing. Solomon discovered that all the time that he spent doing things which had no eternal value to them were not worth the effort.
i. He discovered that it’s God who brings meaning and fulfillment to life and all the worldly things of power, fame and fortune have no eternal value to them.
ii. He learned the value of time and how valuable this commodity of time is to each of us. Why because his time was just about up.
1. Video Illustration: “Life is Temporary” by Blue Fish TV
a. Each of us has been given the gift of time to be used for eternal value.
b. We need to never forget that life is temporary so we must prepare for eternity by using our time for the glory of God.
c. Our clip reminds us that this short span of time that each of us has been given will either be used for eternal purposes or wasted.
d. We need to commit to use our time wisely and the best way to use our time is for eternal purposes.
T.S. - Solomon learned that there was a time for everything in life. We are responsible to make sure that we do not waste our time or throw it away needlessly. Why, because it’s all we have to prepare for eternity. Life is really about preparing for eternity and this life that you and I are living is all we get – when you time is used up that’s it – your out of time.
Conclusion:
Swindoll stated from His book Living on the Raged Edge this thought about telling time:
Let’s play “Let’s Pretend.”
Let’s pretend that your banker phoned you late last Friday and said he had some very good news. He told you that an anonymous donor who loves you very much had decided to deposit 86,400 pennies into your account each morning, starting the following Monday morning. That’s $864 a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. He adds, “But there’s one stipulation…you must spend all the money that same day. No balance will be carried over to the next day. Each evening the bank must cancel whatever sum you failed to use.” With a big smile, you thank your banker and hang up. Over that weekend you have time to plan. You grab a pencil and start figuring: $864 times seven equals over $6,000 a week…times fifty-two. That’s almost $315,000 a year that you have available to you if you’re diligent to spend it all each day. Remember, whatever you don’t spend is forfeited. So much for “Let’s Pretend.”
Now let’s play “Let’s get Serious.” Every morning Someone who loves you very much deposits into your bank of time 86,400 seconds of time-which represents 1,440 minutes-which, of course, equal twenty-four hours each day.
Now you’ve got to remember the same stipulation applies, because God gives you this amount of time for you to use each day. Nothing is carried over on credit to the next day. There is no such thing as a twenty-six-hour day (though some of us wish there were). From today’s dawn until tomorrow’s dawn, you have a precisely determined amount of time. As someone has put it, “Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you want to, but you can spend it only once.”
One of the most fascinating (and, I might add, frustrating) of all subjects is this four-letter word TIME. It’s amazing. We all have the same amount of time. Whether we are penniless or whether we happen to be the richest person on earth, whether we are young or old, single or married, employed or without a job, an adolescent in school or the President of the United States of America-we have exactly the same amount of time (page 67).
So the question now surfaces to the top – so what are you going to do with your time? How will you use it? Will you use it wisely? Will you throw it all away pursuing the wrong dreams or the wrong things in life? Will you only focus on the temporal things of this life? Or will you choose to live your life with an eternal view of success?
Question to the group: Do you know what time it is and how valuable that time is? Do you know how to tell time and use it for eternal purposes? Are you using and going to use your time wisely so that it makes a difference for eternity?
Closing video Illustration: “I was Here!” by Blue Fish TV – this clip shows how to make a mark on this world by using our time wisely and for the Lord.
