Embracing The Sovereignty Of God - [Ecclesiastes 3]

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the

Apostle Paul said, But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her

King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. What's your favorite Bible verse? Probably have one, don't you?

Your favorite Bible verse that you are comforted by, encouraged by, maybe even convicted by?

For many of you, does this sound familiar? For we know that for those who love

God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

Some people, that's their favorite Bible verse. And I don't blame them for having such a verse.

Here's my question this morning. What if that verse isn't true? What if Romans 8, 28 is a lie?

Does that affect anything in your life? Does it affect your outlook in life? I would say if that verse isn't true, to use the technical word, we're toast.

We are in for, we are done with. There's no comfort, there's no hope, there's nothing because it is what it is.

God is not truly sovereign. He's a deist, everything's wound up, and here we go, hold on.

But thankfully, that verse is true. God is sovereign, He rules, He reigns, He's in control of everything.

And we can trust Him. If you take your Bibles, we're in the book of Ecclesiastes, and we're in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 this morning, that God is sovereign.

He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He's your Lord, He's your Master. He is, as Pink said,

God in fact, as well as in name. God does everything after the counsel of His own will.

He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases, and the book of Ecclesiastes teaches that.

It's one of these doctrines where you say with David after you are reminded of it, Many, O Lord my

God, are the wonders which you have done, and your thoughts toward us. There is none to compare with you.

If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count. To try to look at the world and think,

If I walk by sight, there's despair and frustration, so therefore I must do what the

Bible says, and that is to walk by faith. Understanding who God is, even if I can't understand everything, even in this sin -curse world where I can't figure it all out,

God ultimately knows it, and He's ultimately ruling. Today, it's not a doctrinal sermon per se, like Romans 8 .28,

although that would be good. It's a sermon about God's sovereignty with poetry. How many people here like poetry?

I hope you raise your hands, or at least your hearts, because there's lots of the Bible that's poetry, and here we have poetry about the sovereignty of God.

I mean, if I were to explain sovereignty, I might say something like the Westminster divines would say, God foreordains whatsoever comes to pass.

And that would be true. But Solomon here explains it a little differently. In this book, the book of Ecclesiastes, I kind of think about it this way.

Life is difficult, life is frustrating, things are very, very hard, there's heartbreak, there's suffering, there's death, sadness, and everything in between, and then you die.

Is that really Ecclesiastes? No, no, it's this way. It's a cloudy day, and you're sitting at the beach, and every once in a while, the sun breaks through.

Have you ever been at a beach, and it's kind of a little cold and a little windy? Kind of like Maine beaches in July, right?

And you think, if the sun would just come out, it would warm me up a little bit, but right now, the clouds, it makes me want to put a jacket on.

And so Ecclesiastes is a book that deals with the frustration of life, but every once in a while, the sun comes out, it warms everything up, and you think, oh, that is how

I survive my life. That's how I enjoy my life, under the sun, in a cursed, fallen world.

Now, at Thanksgiving time, you might think to yourself, well, in our

Thanksgiving home, we would go around the table afterwards, and say, what are we thankful for?

Everybody gets a little verse of Thanksgiving, and they get to read it, and I'm thankful for such and such. Thanksgiving, it's a happy time, it's a fun time, it's a joyous time.

Everything that the Lord has done for us, we're thankful for. To God be the glory, great things He has done, and everything, give thanks.

It's not a depressing time, it shouldn't be, it's a thankful time. Do you know the book of Ecclesiastes was read in synagogues, in Jewish synagogues, during one of their harvest festivals?

Like Thanksgiving? How could such a depressing, dour, stifling book be read at Thanksgiving?

That's a really good question. And so today we're going to look at really the second divine imperative for us to make it through life with some joy and satisfaction.

Last week we talked about how everything in Ecclesiastes 1 and 2 drives us to say, we need to take the good from God as a gift from Him.

So let's just have a quick review in the book of Ecclesiastes that deals with the biggest questions in life, what's the meaning of life, why is there suffering, does

God care, does God know, how can I live my life when there's so much chaos and sin, is there more to life?

And here this book, this wisdom book, wisdom literature tells us in great detail from Solomon's own personal testimony.

Remember last week, verse 1 of chapter 1, the words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Israel.

And he said what in verse 2, vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

That's an important word, as you know, in this book, vanity. And it can either mean puzzling, you look at the world and you think, how do

I figure this out? It could mean futile or vain, this seems so frustrating, or most likely many times it's translated as just puff of air, vapor, smoke, temporary, it just doesn't last, transient,

I mean, it just fleets, life is here today and gone tomorrow. Speaking of beach,

I don't know why I'm thinking about the beach, maybe we'll go tomorrow, you make sandcastles at the beach, right, with your children, and then what happens when high tide comes?

All that work, all that digging, all those troughs, all those yellow Tonka bulldozers, remember what those are?

Kids have pictures of those on their iPhones, but they don't actually have them. There's nothing like a Tonka truck,

Tonka. High tide comes in and it's all gone, all the work we've done and tide comes in and destroys it all.

That's vanity. And nothing really lasts very long, does it?

Verse 3, what does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun in this sin -cursed world?

Everything is just futile and the next few verses he just has this cycle of futility, it's just like a washing machine washing your clothes, just going around and around and around and it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere.

Some of you know enough pop culture when I quote this song, you should be thinking this is part of the frustration of life and even these unbelievers wrote this and understood that.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's what? Sinking, racing around to come up behind you again.

The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older. Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Yes, in fact, for the first time in 25 years I've quoted Pink Floyd from the pulpit. Unbelievers know, we know there's frustration, it's cloudy everywhere, where are the rays of light?

In verses 12 to 18 of this first chapter Solomon says I'm going to try to figure this out.

This is the lot of everyone trying to just figure out how do I compromise and apprehend fallen life under the sun.

Is there something more than vanity? This pursuit of pleasure he goes into in verses 1 and following of chapter 2.

Possessions, pleasure, experience, Netflix, YouTube, Instagram, what can

I find to help me? One of the most devastating poems that I've read that would talk directly about the vanity of pursuing only life itself not recognizing it as a gift from God was written by Stephen Crane.

It's devastating. I saw a man pursuing the horizon round and round they sped.

I was disturbed at this I accosted the man it's futile I said you can never you lie he cried and ran on.

Disillusionment it doesn't matter if it's pleasure it doesn't matter if it's possessions it doesn't satisfy.

And so we learn at the very beginning of of chapter 1 it doesn't matter what you're looking for if you're trying to find meaning in this life you're not going to find it.

Chapter 2 is the same thing and then here comes the sun breaking through the clouds in verse 24 of chapter 2.

You remember? Here comes some good news it's kind of cold it's kind of bleak you've got your jacket under the beach and here comes the sun.

This will solve things even after Tom Brady won three Super Bowls he said why do

I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me there's got to be more to life than this.

That's what we're talking about and so that first ray of light comes through and we think oh there it is the solution.

Verse 24 there's nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil this also

I saw is from the hand of God for apart from him God who can eat or who can have enjoyment.

There the meaning of life isn't found in life the meaning of life isn't found in what we have our pleasures they're fleeting they're vain they don't go anywhere but now we have the scriptures that teach us that God intends dear

Christian for you to have your life be satisfying to be fulfilling even though it's hard even though one day we'll die we know because of the

Lord Jesus when he said if anyone thirst let him come to me and drink whoever believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water and Jesus isn't just talking about thirst for our physical thirst but spiritual thirst we were born to know something about God who is transcendent we were born not to just have our head down with blinders on thinking this is the world and so when we feel frustrated and we feel sad and we feel down and depressed and everything else it's a good check for us to go oh that light on the dashboard just went on it means there's a problem is there anything wrong with pleasure is there anything wrong with possessions

I think about it this way if you struggle with assurance am I really saved or not when you chase assurance you don't seem to get it when you chase the person the work of the

Lord Jesus by understanding him and praying and knowing the scriptures then you get assurance chase assurance you don't get it chase the

Lord Jesus you get assurance it's the same thing here if you chase pleasure and possessions as the ultimate fulfillment in life you don't get it but if you look to the triune

God who's great and awesome and who gives and who's generous proved by the fact he gave the Lord Jesus for us then everything else is good there's nothing wrong with sex and marriage pleasure food any of these things unless they're the ultimate unless they're the endgame

Thomas Brooks the Puritan said the rattle without the breast will not satisfy the child the house without the husband will not satisfy the wife and the world without Christ will not satisfy the soul no wonder

Moses in Psalm 90 said God satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love that we may rejoice and be glad all our days make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us and so we have two options it's the grim reality of this is it and then we die or this isn't it and when we die there's eternal life there's a sovereign

God and that's where we come to chapter 3 not only do we need to enjoy everything as a gift from God himself but also we need to embrace

God's sovereignty so let's keep the let's keep the alliteration going as long as we can I don't think it's gonna work next week but let's enjoy it now while we can enjoy everything as a gift from God and embrace

God's sovereign hand we think about the Lord Jesus do we not and how he was born under the sun toiled under the sun suffered and died under the sun taking the curse of death for us redeeming us from the curse and now we see ok we can not only enjoy

God but he is sovereign over everything well if you take a look at your

Bibles in chapter 3 verses 1 to 8 you probably see some indentation there it looks different than some of the other verses in chapter 2 for instance because it is again poetry let's take a look at the reality of God's sovereignty found in verses 1 to 11 and then let's take a look at some of the responses of God's sovereign hand so the reality that God the triune

God is sovereign verses 1 through 11 and again this is poetry this isn't gonna be his eternal purpose for his own glory he hath ordained whatsoever come to pass no no this is poetry and you're gonna kinda feel the the in and out of this it's kind of like this back and forth ebb and tide as we're going through the passage in and of itself if Jesus isn't raised from the dead it's sad in and of itself it's paradise lost but knowing who

God is and how he's sovereign and how we have an inheritance imperishable undefiled undefiled unfading kept in heaven for us it changes everything verse 1 for everything there is a season a time for every matter under heaven there's a time for everything

God's sovereign over everything nothing's random nothing's by chance nothing's by fate nothing's by serendipity nothing's by kismet nothing's by fortune nothing's by can you think of anything else?

it's all in God's control there's nothing haphazard going on every event

God's design every molecule every atom and he begins to illustrate his thesis with the word time used over and over and over and some of you know about grammar and when

I was growing up in elementary school in Nebraska I hated grammar and sometimes my grammar up here shows that but I actually like grammar and I like learning figures of speech because there are all kinds of figures of speech in the

Bible and similes and metaphors and everything else what this is in verses 2 -8 and you probably raise your hand and praise when

I tell you what it is it's a grammatical device called a merism does that make you just say praise

God from whom all blessings flow a merism it's a figure of speech that contrasts two things that would tell us it's a complete thing everything between when

God made the heavens and the earth he made the heavens and everything else and the earth right if you search for something everywhere that's how we would say it just dogmatically

I've searched everywhere for this product I've lost but how does a merism say it

I've searched high and I've searched low I've searched everywhere and that's what he's using here

I can tell by the looks of your faces you want to get back to the text I know but here this first merism can't you see it starts off pretty importantly a time to be born and a time to die did you know dear

Christian your birth was sovereignly decreed and your death is sovereignly decreed and everything in between your life your death everything else that's called a merism and here we understand that God's sovereign over all these things he's sovereign for who your parents were he's sovereign the way you're going to die it's all under God's sovereign hand and Ecclesiastes wants us to know that because if you don't get it you're gonna be frustrated and everything's gonna be full of vanity you need to know

God's sovereign in every area of life and death now man tries to control some of these things but he can't and there's no surprises with God Job 14 since his days are determined the number of his months is with you and his limits you have set so that he cannot pass you were born the day you were to be born and you're gonna die the day you're gonna die

I encourage people to work out for lots of reasons stress release other things but no amount of exercise surgery vitamins or anything else will prevent you from dying one day earlier than you're ordained to die

God ordains your life and your death and I have great peace knowing that I cannot die if 10 ,000 terrorists tried to kill me and God doesn't want me dead and I also get comfort knowing that if I had 10 ,000

SWAT team members trying to protect me the day I'm supposed to die they couldn't help me I'm supposed to die because the king ordains both the birth and the death well there's another merism here it's the second one a time to plant what was true in our world it's true in the agricultural world in the plant world a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted you know the life of vegetables anybody plant a vegetable garden yet?

anybody plant cilantro? some do I could have cilantro cologne that smells so good just the essence of the cilantro did you know the life of vegetables are under the sovereign plan of God like veggies yes vegetables planting harvest

God sets boundaries God sets times and of course the Jewish people would especially appreciate this agricultural discussion and the seasons verse 3 there's a time to kill and there's a time to heal obviously you know at this church there's a difference between the word murder and kill this is the word kill not murder there's a time for capital punishment is the idea there's a time for just wars that's the idea there's a time to defend your spouse and your home to kill but there's also a time to heal

Solomon just trying to make sure we understand that you have to grasp God's sovereignty or this world doesn't make sense when there's sickness in your family or you're in the hospital or ICU or NICU or wherever you are

Lemonster Med Surge Room 17 you better believe God is sovereign because He is and if you abandon it you're gonna act just like everybody else does in this world for the believer for the unbeliever life is hard it's difficult it's fleeting it's vain and we die and no one will remember us believer and unbeliever but there's something different for the believer he or she has the spirit of God in her or in him and they realize

Jesus has conquered death He's been raised from the dead He says to Lazarus arise He has raised

Himself from the dead on that cross who does that? the sovereign Lord of History does that the

King of Kings the Lord of Lords He does that and He will raise every one of our bodies up for that resurrection day and those trusting in Christ we aren't going to be judged by our actions because Jesus is judged for us and then there's purpose to life there's meaning of life what counts now counts for eternity because of the resurrection verse 3 a time to break down a time to build up there's a time to knock down a temple there's a time to destroy someone's house that you're warring against there's a time to take a wall that needs some work and knock it down and there's also a time to build up emotionally

God is sovereign over all this as well I don't mean God's emotions but our emotions a time to weep and a time to laugh and by the way as I go through these things you begin to say to yourself oh there's a time to weep

I remember the Lord Jesus and Him weeping over the city of Jerusalem there's a time to laugh joy laughter sadness they're all appropriate seasons verse 4 there's a time to mourn and there's a time to dance you lose a loved one it's time to mourn the

Ark of the Covenant is coming back to Jerusalem there's a time to what? dance for the

Eben -Droz the time to dance is Thursday night at 7pm for our ballroom dancing there's a time for that under the sovereign decree of God verse 5 using poetry to teach sovereignty a time to cast stones and a time to gather stones what in the world?

now this is easy for us New Englanders you drive past houses older houses in particular you drive down the 62 and what do you see everywhere?

houses trees yeah I know but particularly what do you see? stone walls we have frost heaves and so what did they do back in the day?

they have a field they want to plant some crops and all of a sudden there's a bunch of rocks there you got to get rid of the rocks where do you put the rocks?

well maybe some we could use for a fireplace but after that let's put them over there well we're just going to have a big sack why don't we make fences one writer said in New England when life gives you stones build a wall that's farm work and next year there's more

I did some research in 1871 the United States Department of Agriculture published a an article called

Statistics of Fences in the United States that's a good use of government money in New England and New York State alone there were 252 ,000 miles of stone walls enough to circle the globe 10 times and to build all the pyramids of Egypt Egypt 100 times over well if you've been to Israel and when you go with us this coming

February you'll realize there are a lot of rocks not just in New England but in Israel there's rocks everywhere tour guides say things like this

God told some angels to distribute stones all across the world and the angel tripped above Palestine what do you mean time to cast stones?

if a New England farmer says I've got to get rid of stones to have a place to plant crops if you wanted to destroy someone and you wanted to burn down their livelihood if you wanted to ruin their plot of land what would you do?

you would cast stones on them that's exactly what he's talking about here ruining a field so there could be no cultivation 2nd

Kings 3 and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city and shall fell every good tree and stop up all the springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones there's a time to tear down there's a time to build up there's a time to throw stones and there's a time to gather stones verse 5 there's a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing these are general things there's a time for sexual love and marriage there's a time for families loving care there's a time for kissing each other on the cheek in different cultures there's a time to embrace on a sweaty night there's a time to refrain from embracing there's times when it's inappropriate the most interesting one that I found this week when do you refrain from embracing and this particular commentator said you refrain from embracing a person with leprosy some things

I don't need to know because I do it intuitively God's sovereign over all this there's a time to seek and a time to lose actively you seek passively things are lost time time time time how many times is a word time used time to keep keep a time to cast away let's store up the grain like Joseph did let's cast things overboard as one commentator said there's a time to throw

Jonah overboard I said okay deal there's a time verse seven there's tear and a time to sew what's that talking about talking about God is providentially over even times of grief and sadness when you were really sad back in the day what'd you do you tore your clothes and when the mourning time was over when the weeping time was over when the bereavement time was over what'd you do to those clothes sewed them back up there's a time to bereave there's a time to mourn verse seven there's a time to keep silent there's a time to speak

I think of the Lord Jesus before the Sanhedrin not saying anything but there's a time to get rid of those walls around Jericho there's time for peace not just between God and man but Jew and Gentile now

I know you all want me to say something about the birds song turn turn turn because you are all into pop culture

I never am the birds use this that's true the birds sent some of the royalties to Israel because the lyrics were written by an

Israelite but the song adds at the very end to this final merism

I swear it's not too late and so you take a song a poem about the sovereignty of God and you turn it into an anti -Vietnam protest against war by adding those words so I will not say anything more about the birds

BYRDS band there is a season for everything a time for everything and that's what

Solomon said everything has its time and we are to embrace that God is sovereign do you believe

God's sovereign do you believe he's sovereign over the weather do you believe he's sovereign over whether you're single or married do you believe he's sovereign over whether you can have children or not do you believe he's sovereign over how many children you have the sex of your children we just keep going and going and going

God is sovereign over everything the lot is capped the lot is cast in the lap but it's every decision is from the

Lord who goes to heaven who doesn't go to heaven God's sovereign over that the evil acts of men the good acts of men

God's sovereign over that I submit to you that through Ecclesiastes that if you don't embrace the sovereignty of God you're going to grind your teeth at night when you sleep from man's perspective if God's sovereign not sovereign verse nine what gain has the worker from his toil by the way

I know sometimes at funerals people read verses one to eight but at unbelievers funerals led by unbelievers they never read verse nine what gain has the worker from his toil good thing it doesn't stop there the right perspective verse ten

I've seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with and he has made everything what and he has said appropriate here's the sovereign hand of God he has made everything beautiful in its time also he has put eternity into man's heart so that he cannot find out what

God has done from the beginning to the end the plan of God comprehensive the purpose of God all -encompassing everything

God does is according to his overarching eternal sovereign plan so I can't understand the depths of this divine providence the mystery of this providence that's true but we can say

I do know what I know and that means God is sovereign if God isn't sovereign that's a bad choice

God is so sovereign that even decreed the worst sin in all the world and that is the death of the

Lord Jesus those men that crucified Jesus were sinning yes they were that was decreed because God can even take in his sovereign rule and providence sin and turn it into something good he works all things together for good and we need to believe that or we're sitting at the beach on a cloudy windy cold day everything front -loaded with emphasis

God is sovereign over and wherever you investigate he's sovereign over that as well and you know what

God does verse 11 he puts eternity into man's heart he gives us this yearning for more there has to be more than this it can't terminate here on life there's got to be more to life than this even unbelievers know that how many people have seen the

Egyptian pyramids for instance only a few okay good well maybe not good but I was supposed to go see the

Egyptian pyramids and then one week before we were going to fly there we heard that the Muslim Brotherhood took over the

Egyptian pyramids so we didn't go and I said that's just the way that's the luck of the draw

I didn't say that sovereignty of God eternity in their hearts why do the tombs exist in Egypt why do the pyramids exist in Egypt because those

Egyptians have eternity in their heart and they're thinking afterlife they're thinking there's got to be more to life than this eternity was put in the hearts of these

Egyptians just like it's in our hearts wanting something more than just life can offer yes enjoy your life enjoy your wife enjoy your husband enjoy your children enjoy pleasures but there's something more

Augustine said God you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find peace in you every one of us has eternity in our hearts so how do we respond to the sovereignty of God here we go here comes the sun

I realize that's another pop reference song sorry I didn't mean that I don't mean that birds,

Pink Floyd George Harrison you notice how influential music is it just sticks how did

Arius the person that denied Jesus is the eternal son he's a created being the precursor to Jehovah's Witnesses how did he say

I'm going to change everybody's theology and teach them that Jesus is a created being and just the number one

God but not God God how did he do it through children's songs I could say something about Caleb but I'm not going to just be wise that's all

I'm saying verse 12 God's sovereign okay how do I respond

I perceive that there's nothing better for them than to be what so full of consternation because I can't figure out everything about God's sovereignty man's responsibility what is free will is there free will

I can't figure it all out no no for them to be joyful hey

God's sovereign I don't have to do anything I don't have to evangelize I can lay back and let God there's no responsibility for me at all no no be joyful and what to do good as long as they live also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil this is

God's gift to man Christian God is running the world relax relax doesn't mean you shouldn't pray doesn't mean you shouldn't serve it doesn't mean any of that stuff it just means

God's got it there's that story of Corrie Ten Boom who was in concentration camps in Germany during the

Nazi reign and before they were put in a concentration camp I remember her father, the watchmaker was going to go to work and he took

Corrie on the train and so he had his big tool bag of tools for his watchmaking and Corrie was reading the newspaper and it said something in the newspaper about sex sin and she was 12 or 13 or something like that and she said daddy what's sex sin?

he never answered her they got to their destination and he said Corrie please pick up dad's tool box and come with me let's depart she tried to pick it up and she said daddy it's way too heavy daddy it's way too heavy

I can't pick it up and then Corrie Ten Boom's father said Corrie it's just like sex sin it's too heavy for you to handle and when you're older we'll talk about it the way of the world and why things are happening it's too heavy for us trying to unscrew the inscrutable trying to figure out the world

Middle East America economics politics laws and legislation and all these different things listen

I can't do it I know I can't enjoy life now under the sovereign hand of God and do good now the days of my life

I don't do good because I want to please God I'm more saved than I was before because I'm doing holy things and good things no, because we're saved we do good works

God creates good works for us to walk in not because we're saved by good works no, we just want to do them and so we don't have to figure it out there's no end to all this trying to figure out the way the world works and all the what ifs

I used to read some of those history books called what if right? and what if Nazi Germany won and they're governing us in Manhattan okay, it's interesting but God is sovereign over all this the right response to a frustrated life that says

I've tried wisdom I've tried pleasure I've tried things I've tried everything else is to say well,

I'm going to enjoy what God has given me and He's sovereignly giving me these things thank you in addition, dear

Christians you've entrusted your soul to the Triune Creator can't you entrust also to Him God's perfect timing for your life

I'd like to have this particular job I'd like to have this particular person to marry

I'd like to have these children I'd like to have this amount of money I'd like to have this particular health

I'm going to go to the doctor this week and have a scan and I'd like it to be this and that you can want things like that they're good things you can desire those things you can pray for those things but you submit them to God's good care because He knows you

He cares for you He's the good shepherd we not only need to believe that God is sovereign but that we can trust

Him in His sovereign hand and in His timing if God's sovereign over my birth and my death and everything in between can

I trust Him for everything else no wonder the Lord Jesus said why act like pagans worried about what you're going to eat and what you're going to drink and what you're going to put on Matthew chapter 6

God's sovereign over all the timing Acts 1 -7 Jesus said it is not for you to know the times or seasons that the

Father has fixed by His own authority God's got the timing right

Romans 5 -6 at the right time Christ died for the ungodly Jesus in His ministry announces the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand

Jesus knows about timing at the feast of Passover He knew that His hour had come to depart out of the world to His Father and all the grossness of the world the ugliness of the world the ugliness of our own sin

God is sovereign we don't sin to say God sovereignly then make it better but since God's sovereign we tuck ourselves under the sovereign care of God I've said many times when our children were really little and I would try to comfort them because they had a bad dream or something in the night and I would just kind of hold them

I wasn't strangling them or anything but I would just hold them firmly like you pick up a kid and I just think it's like a football it's like Heisman thing no, you pick up a child you want to make sure you don't drop them but when they needed comfort

I just held them a little tighter right up to my chest and I wanted them to go

Daddy protects me Daddy's got me why does every father wrestle with his children?

or as we say where I grew up rassle I can just hear my kids say Dad, let's rassle

I feel like some kind of all -star wrestling Baron Von Raschke or something you wrestle with your children because your children need to know that you're strong and what's a good father do?

he not just pities but he protects you can trust him because he's strong you don't have to worry why do

I want my children to have to worry about the world and its problems? why do I say to myself

I don't introduce my children to carnal knowledge about sex when they're four years old or when they're in kindergarten because they just need to be protected

I've got it for you I protect you I've got you there's a time for everything and now is not the time how much more when it comes to the

Triune God for us do we really think you know what life is really hard on earth and if I just knew all the mysteries of providence it would be easier really?

it's the protection of God we don't need to know it's just like sex sin when you're old enough i .e.

when you're in heaven you'll figure it out and you'll that's pretty old there

Jesus said all things have been handed over to me by my Father no one knows the

Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal

Him it's all sovereign the sovereignty of God I just read you verses about the utter naked sovereignty of God what's the response?

come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light

God's sovereign our response is yes, enjoy yes, work but it's just to relax it's just to rest it's okay that's why

I think to myself I have daughters and what kind of theological acumen must my daughters what must be the men's theological acumen who want to marry my daughters

I mean, I've got a long list monocovinentalism is out infilapsarianism maybe no, no here's what

I want besides being a Christian God is sovereign because when you drive home from that hospital without the baby you don't know all the answers and you've lost the baby but you rest in God's sovereignty with a tear with sadness never forgetting but resting in who

God is you've got to have that you've got to believe in the sovereignty of God if you don't believe

God is exhaustively sovereign you can't have joy and maybe that's some of our problems

I'm not trying to be condemning but maybe your problem is you will not say uncle to God's sovereignty you will not just say you know what

God, you're God and I'm not Romans 9 I can't really swallow it and therefore I can't really deal with it maybe could

I just tell you as a friend why don't you just say Lord, would you just help me to resign my fact resign myself to the fact that you're sovereign that you're wise that you're exhaustively sovereign not just in theory but in my own life you're not to be embittered by God's sovereignty you're not to be perplexed by God's sovereignty you're not to be flummoxed with God's sovereignty look back at verse 12 you're to be joyful and do good as long as you live and eat and drink and have pleasure in all this toil

God's gift to you there's nothing better I have to get mental closure on the sovereignty of God and man's responsibility before I can rest don't say well you know what if I was sovereign the world would be a better place but true or false we all try to think like that most of the time if I was in charge what if no one was sovereign it wouldn't be good if I was sovereign it wouldn't be good if you all were sovereign what if no one was sovereign

God's timing can be trusted because God's sovereign God's goodness can be trusted because He gave

His Son for you dear Christian to die for you to suffer for you to experience the wrath of God for you and if He gives you that gift

He gives you everything else and you enjoy it from the gift of God's hand because that hand that gave it to you is sovereign

His own free will this universe is only big enough for one free will and God has it and that sovereign will is good and loving and kind maybe what we should do

I should start instead of complaining through life instead of becoming embittered in life

I don't have this and I don't have that and they have this why don't we just today enjoy what

God has given us and do some good works wouldn't that be good? kind of an easy task, isn't it?

do you ever hear that from somebody from this pulpit? just enjoy your life you think I have a huge smile and my name is

Joe Osteen or something just... pastor's losing it no, we as sinful people our sin has been redeemed we as sinful people sin when we say

God's not sovereign we sin when we say we're sovereign we sin when we say we want to run the world differently we sin when we don't enjoy

God and His good works but all those sins are paid for we confess them we repent and now we say you know what

I can't figure out God's sovereignty so I need a lesser goal enjoy life as a gift from God I need to rearrange my priorities the ultimate meaning in life

I'm gonna try to figure out in life, no I can't so I'll enjoy the presence the present as a gift from God God's sovereign enjoy

Him let's pray Father, thank You for Your Word I praise You that for many of us we've said uncle theologically to Your sovereign hand we don't know everything but we'll know one day to some degree as glorified creatures

Father, would You protect us from being bitter for being perplexed for trying to figure out everything instead of just enjoying all

Your good gifts thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit who comforts us would

You have Him comfort us today knowing that everything's alright we're protected we're held firmly in Your bosom as it were because You love us and protect us the world has death for a shepherd and we get the one

Father that You sent the Lord Jesus the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us oh, what a shepherd in Jesus' name we pray

Amen No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston Bethlehem Bible Church is a

Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text please come and join us our service times are

Sunday morning at 10 .15 and in the evening at 6 we're right on Route 110 in West Boylston you can check us out online at bbcchurch .org

or by phone at 508 -835 -3400 www .bcchurch