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.
David wrote in Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Two years ago for Christmas, my daughter Clarissa gave me a book titled “Your Father’s Story – Dad I want to know everything about you.” It is a book filled with questions for me to answer about my life, from childhood to becoming a dad. Although I have been working for two years to complete this book I set my heart on giving it back to her completed for Christmas this year. As I have been answering the questions in this book, there is a recurring theme as the book transitions from my childhood to my becoming an adult. The questions relate to wisdom – what have I learned and what I would want to pass down to my daughters. As I have been answering those questions, some of my answers come from Scripture – words of faith I learned in the Word myself and words of faith I was taught growing up. I am a living witness of what James wrote in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him.” This book has made me reflect on the good and the bad of my life. It looks at the highs and the lows and what I learned from them. What I know now I wish I knew 35 years ago and it is what David said, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
When I read what David said and I reflect back on my life, I realized that I did not number my days – apply importance to all of them. I realized that in a lot of my “life moments” I did not practice wisdom – I did not access the words of faith that had been instilled in me – because I was not thinking about the outcome. I was not thinking about the final results that would follow an action that I took in haste. In short, I did not connect my words of faith to those times when, if I had accessed them, would have given me pause and a chance to make a different decision. You see, had I numbered my days (gave importance to each day) and understood them for the “only moments” I would ever have in that time, I believe that I would have exercised the words of faith inside of me to slow down and make a different decision.
Let me give you an example. In the book, one of the questions it asked was “Looking back, what do you wish you’d made more time for?” I paused and thought about this answer because it is something I have been thinking about for a while. My answer was “Family.” I wish that I had made more time for my family, especially when the girls were smaller. I can remember attending some of their events at school and being there in body only as I was tried from being on the road but I felt obligated to support their activities. I missed out on spending quality time with them because of my job. I also missed a lot of quality time with my wife for the same reason. I could be in her presence but my mind was often thinking about work-related things. I understand fully now that I have more days behind me than I have before me and I wish I had some of those days back so I could maximize those individual moments. If I could repeat some of those moments, I would make different choices. There is a time for everything but I missed some of those specific times because I was not prepared, interested, or was just too plain preoccupied and tired to care. I am sure some of you know what I am talking about.
Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus, “See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise. 16Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17) This is my desire for the rest of my life. Again, I wish I had done this when I was in my twenties. I believe that this is one of the reasons why Paul says the days are evil. Once they were gone, I could not go back and undo my mistakes, my wrong decisions or how I treated people. And I will tell you something New Light, there have been times when I have grieved because of those “evil days” and my contributing conduct in them. Jesus said, “Take therefore no thought for tomorrow: for tomorrow shall take thought of the things for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:34) In the verses preceding this verse, Jesus was explaining why we should not worry. He said that we should focus on the day at hand – the day we are living in. You see, so many of us are focused on yesterday – a day in the past that we can do absolutely nothing about because it’s already past. Remember Paul calls them evil? And here’s another reason why: the words of faith that we have available to us, if we don’t use them today, in this time, they cannot be used tomorrow to change the opportunities we missed today. We spend so much time thinking about what has passed that we fail to live in the present. How much time in the present have we lost fretting over yesterday? “Did you have words of faith on the inside of you to help you with yesterday?” Then there are those who are so focused on tomorrow – a day that they cannot control as it hasn’t arrived yet, that we fail to live in and enjoy the moment of the present day. How many times have we worried about tomorrow, about things that could happen but never did which stopped us from enjoying our present? This was the point that Jesus was making. But He was stressing that we can do this by believing in God and understanding that He has us. And New Light, this is why words of faith accessed today, in the moment, is so very important. So, again, do you have words of faith inside of you to access?
We are closing out another year as I said. For some of us this was a year of change. For all of us, 2022 will not be the same as this year, but there will be one thing that will be the same – us. We will still be the same person, but understanding how crucial it really is for us to live today – not yesterday and not tomorrow, but today – will enable us to make better decisions about how we are living. Solomon wrote that there was a time for everything under the sun; David, his father, asked God to help us number our days. Why? Because there is a time for everything under the sun! James wrote that if we lacked wisdom – if we lack words of faith – we could go to God and ask for it and He would give it to us. Why? Because there is a time for everything under the sun and we need wisdom, words of faith, in order to understand and operate each and every day of our lives. Finally, Jesus said that tomorrow will take care of itself and to focus on the present day. Why? Because we can do nothing about yesterday because it’s already passed! We can do nothing about tomorrow because it hasn’t happened yet. There is a time for everything under the sun. The question is this: In 2022, will you have words of faith on the inside of you to help you?
Before I close this final message of 2021, I want to share with you from the Word of God how we can use words of faith to navigate the challenges we will face in our “todays” in 2022. It’s really not that difficult when we understand the words of faith that God has already provided in His Word with what the Holy Spirit gives us instantaneously in the moment. First we are going to look at money and the role words of faith can influence how we think about it each day. And we will close with how words of faith can influence in our faith in believing what God has promised.
The first thing about money: Most Christians love it and the power that comes with it. We love earning it. We love spending it. Some Christians believe that you can never have too much of it. They spend a lot of time working to build wealth. Because some spend more than they make they have to work that much harder to earn more money to support their spending. They work a lot of hours and arrive home tired and exhausted. They do not have quality time for their families nor do they have time for God. They give “the man” 60 hours a week, but it’s a struggle to get up and be on time for Church on Sunday morning or give God an hour for Bible Study. Jesus said “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24) In 2022, will you have words of faith on the inside of you to help you address money issues? How much of your 2021 was spent earning money? How much Church did you miss? How many bible studies were you too tired to join because of work? With your time, who are you serving? Stop with the excuses because we have and make time for everything we want to do. In 2022, will you have words of faith on the inside of you to help you make the right choices?
The second thing related money: while people are spending many hours working to pay for their needs and wants, some people have placed themselves in a bind where making ends meet is very difficult. They spend many hours worrying about how to make adjustments to ensure their needs are met. If this is you, I want to encourage you with what Jesus said. “But seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) We spend a lot of our time worrying about things that God has an answer for. Remember what James said? If you need wisdom about your situation, ask God? He will answer you. He will provide you with the help you need. In 2022, will you have words of faith on the inside of you to give you the help you will need? How much of your 2021 did you spend seeking God and His righteousness and building words of faith in your life? How much time did you spend seeking your own desires?
The third thing related to money: People believe that their lives can’t change. They believe that what they are dealing with can’t change. They believe the road they are on can’t change. How much of 2021 did you spend thinking you couldn’t change, that you could not handle what you were facing? I want to remind of Paul’s confession to the Philippians. He said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) If you are feeling that you can’t do no more, you have nothing else to give, confess and believe what Paul said. In 2022, will you have words of faith on the inside of you to help you address not only money issues, but all issues?
The fourth thing related to money: In the fourth chapter of the book of Philippians, Paul wrote, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) Do you believe this? How much of your 2021 did you spend worrying about your needs being met? How much time did you spend stressing about the “What ifs” and not remembering what Jesus said about seeking God and His kingdom first and then the things you need would be guaranteed? I know we have needs. I know we have times of lack and times of abundance. My question to you though is this, “In 2022, will you have words of faith on the inside of you to help you address your money issues?” I want to close with one final Scripture that ties all of these together.
I have been talking about “words of faith” being within us to help us deal with our moments in time. God’s word is paramount for our survival in this world – if we are going to go through life believing Him. Placing His words in our hearts is critical to our growth and understanding of Who He is to us. Consider this, when we start a new job, we go through a training period where we must learn things about the company and how they work. We learn policies and things about the job that we were hired to do. We start doing all of this before we ever receive our first paycheck. Why? We do it because we believe – we take the company’s “words of faith” that they will pay us what we have “earned.” We haven’t seen it, but we believe it to be true, and we believe we will get paid. Well, why is it so easy to do that with a job and not with God? All of our interactions with God are through the words of faith that He has given to us to use. Everything that I have talked about today is through faith. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Are you spending your time questioning God or are you spending your time believing Him and looking forward to the next thing He will be doing in your life? Are you spending your time being disappointed about what you haven’t received or are you rejoicing because you know God have you? In 2022, will you have words of faith on the inside of you and will you use them to help you see God move in your life like never before?
I want to go back to what David said in Psalm 90:12. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” We no longer have time to waste. As I said earlier, as I completed the book for my daughter, I understand how much time I have lost and will never get back. I lost time with my family. I lost time serving God. I lost time being stupid. I lost time building my faith. I lost time worrying about things that never happened. I lost time worrying about how my needs would be met. I lost time wondering if God was truly hearing my prayers. I could easily say that I wasted time doing all of these things, but the word lost gives more clarity to something that is gone that I cannot get back. How much time did you lose in 2021? How much time are you planning to lose in 2022? I do not believe that any of you are actively planning to lose more time in 2022, but if you do not make any changes to your lives, you will repeat 2021 in how you respond to your moments and thus you will in fact be losing more time. Time is running out. I see that clearer today than I ever have. In 2022, will you have words of faith on the inside of you and use them to help you use the time that your Heavenly Father has given to you as a blessing to Him here on earth? That’s my plan for 2022. What about you?
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(We are once again conducting live services on Sunday morning beginning at 9:15 a.m. We will continue to broadcast live on Facebook Live at 10:00 a.m.. Please tune in to "New Light Christian Fellowship Church" and like our page if you wish to watch our broadcast and be notified when we go live. If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. We also have Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. via Zoom that you are also welcome to attend – please email me for the link. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. If you would like to donate to our ministry you may do so through our website: newlightchristianfellowship.org by clicking on the PayPal or Cash App buttons. May God bless and keep you.)
