'tis The Season

‘ TIS THE SEASON

Eccl. 3:1-8

INTRO.- ILL.- Someone described the seven ages of man in these ways: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills.

Spills - infancy.

Drills - childhood. We get drilled about doing this and that.

Thrills - Teen years perhaps. I’m not sure they are all that thrilling, however.

Bills - Adult living. Work. Marriage. Raising children. And lots of bills.

Ills - When our health starts to decline. Dan Sullivan went into the hospital for the first time at the age of 53.

Pills - One for arthritis. One for high blood pressure. One for this and two for that.

Wills - I haven’t made mine yet.

The inspired writer of the book of Ecclesiastes wrote, "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven."

I can’t say there is a season for every activity under heaven. At least, not for me. There are so many things in life that I haven’t done and I really don’t care to do.

ILL.- Take, for example, the "Survivor" TV show. I don’t know much about that show because I don’t normally watch it, but I sat down last Thursday evening and watched most of it. Let me tell you, it did not turn me on! Some of the stuff they did rattled my cage, but it did not excite me nor invite me to do it!

At one point in that show, the local African natives brought out a cow, poked a hole in the side of that cow, and blood started pouring out of it like someone turned on a hose. They filled some tin cans with that blood and two women drank it.

Uh uh! Ain’t no way I’m going to do that! Not for anybody. Not for a million bucks.

I don’t think God meant for us to try everything in life. I’m certainly not interested at trying my hand at everything even though I’ve done a lot in life. I’m a survivor of sorts, but I’m not going to be one of those kind of survivors.

Eccl. 3:2 "A time to be born and a time to die..."

A TIME TO BE BORN. Why were you born? When were you born? Where were you born? To whom were you born?

ILL.- I was born to Leo and Juanita Shepherd on December 9, 1944, in Joplin, MO, but I didn’t know I was going to be me! I thought I was going to be born Robert Redford or perhaps Brad Pitt. Pitt went to high school in Springfield, MO. That’s just 70 miles from my hometown. I think we got mixed up or turned around in our birthing somehow. I think he was probably meant to be me and I was meant to be him. THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IT’S MISSING!

No, seriously, I wouldn’t trade places with either Robert Redford or Brad Pitt. I WOULD MUCH RATHER LIVE MY LIFE BY SERVING THE LORD THAN LIVE THEIR WAY OF LIFE.

God put me to serve Him, not entertain people. God put me here to live for Christ, not cash. God put me here for His glory, not my own glory.

A TIME TO DIE.

ILL.- I finally went back to see my mom in the nursing home last week. She’s doing pretty good, considering everything. A time to die was very evident to me when I looked around that nursing home. Many of those people had the SOL appearance. By that, I mean "sick of living." Many were ready to die or perhaps wanted to die.

Not my mom. She’s too social. She loves living, likes to talk, visit, socialize, go places, listen to music, eat, and play bingo. Mom will fight "tooth and nail" all the way to the grave. At least, she appears that way.

Mom is a Christian. She can be a good one, but sometimes, she is not. But she will not be kept out of heaven because of her occasional stumbling nor will she go to heaven because of her occasional goodness. SHE WILL BE SAVED BY GRACE. By God’s graciousness in Jesus Christ. Just like the rest of us.

Yes, we are to believe in Christ, trust Christ, surrender to Christ, and serve Christ. But we are saved because of what He did for us, not because of what we do for Him!

A TIME TO BE BORN AND A TIME TO DIE.

Do you know what time it is? It’s a time and season for many things. It’s the time of the year when most people get excited. It’s the holiday season! We just finished Thanksgiving and we’re heading toward Christmas!

ILL.- One time a rabbi, a priest and a Christian minister were talking about how each of them celebrated Christmas. The minister and priest said that they give thanks for all of God’s blessings and on Christmas morning they open their gifts.