WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.876 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.876 --> 00:08.316 We're so glad you're here, and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.316 --> 00:12.476 builds your faith, and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.476 --> 00:15.516 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.516 --> 00:18.236 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.236 --> 00:20.796 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.547 --> 00:27.347 We're going to continue our series of messages through the book of Ecclesiastes as we continue 00:27.347 --> 00:32.607 to look at Solomon's pursuit of significance. 00:33.467 --> 00:41.347 Now the verses that we're going to read this morning are famous verses as Solomon gives 00:41.347 --> 00:48.347 us 14 sets of opposites that really summarize the different seasons of life. 00:49.087 --> 00:53.987 And I can really think of no better way to introduce this message 00:53.987 --> 00:58.827 than to begin just by reading the first few verses of this chapter, 00:58.827 --> 01:06.987 because they are among the most beautiful and the most poetic verses in all of the Bible. 01:06.987 --> 01:11.187 You're also going to find, as we read the first eight verses, 01:11.187 --> 01:15.827 that Solomon was one of the writers for the birds. 01:15.833 --> 01:21.373 Because they took the words of Solomon and their big hit turn turn turn 01:22.653 --> 01:26.653 Became a very famous song in fact years ago 01:26.653 --> 01:31.873 I was sitting right over here when the birds sang this song 01:32.453 --> 01:37.933 At Buck Owens funeral and they did an amazing job. It is an amazing 01:38.933 --> 01:43.333 passage of Scripture because it is from the Holy Spirit and 01:44.183 --> 01:51.123 It is God helping us to understand his plan and his purpose within our life. 01:51.223 --> 01:53.463 And so let's begin reading verse number one. 01:55.143 --> 01:57.943 To everything there is a season. 01:57.943 --> 01:58.914 Season. 01:58.915 --> 02:02.095 And a time for every purpose under heaven. 02:02.815 --> 02:05.775 A time to be born and a time to die. 02:06.355 --> 02:09.375 A time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted. 02:09.715 --> 02:11.895 A time to kill and a time to heal. 02:12.055 --> 02:15.395 A time to break down and a time to build up. 02:15.815 --> 02:18.275 A time to weep and a time to laugh. 02:18.375 --> 02:19.555 A time to mourn. 02:19.840 --> 02:27.700 and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace, 02:27.820 --> 02:34.760 and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to gain, and a time to lose, a time to keep, 02:34.760 --> 02:42.960 and a time to throw away, a time to tear, and a time to sow, a time to keep, and a time to speak." 02:42.959 --> 02:45.339 Or to keep silent in a time to speak. 02:45.739 --> 02:48.159 A time to love and a time to hate. 02:48.479 --> 02:52.339 A time of war and a time of peace. 02:53.259 --> 03:00.519 Solomon finds one of the most beautiful ways to say that God has a specific plan for your life. 03:01.059 --> 03:03.239 That you are not an accident. 03:03.239 --> 03:07.739 That you were made on purpose for a purpose. 03:08.439 --> 03:09.859 But here's the problem. 03:10.617 --> 03:15.617 you and I are not in the control of the plan for our life. 03:16.957 --> 03:21.257 And so the big idea of this passage is how to plan 03:21.257 --> 03:25.177 when you are not in control. 03:25.177 --> 03:27.637 Now plans are very important because the only way 03:27.637 --> 03:30.357 to create positive emotion within your life 03:30.357 --> 03:36.277 is to have a noble plan and to watch yourself make progress. 03:36.284 --> 03:41.284 And one of the first steps to coming up with a good plan 03:41.284 --> 03:45.284 is to accept what you cannot control 03:45.284 --> 03:50.744 and to plan for what you can control. 03:50.744 --> 03:53.524 Now before we look at Solomon's 03:53.524 --> 03:56.724 advice on how to plan 03:56.724 --> 04:01.444 within our lives, I want to summarize how the Bible tells us to make plans. 04:01.444 --> 04:04.524 First, we are to consult 04:04.516 --> 04:06.376 The Word of God. 04:06.376 --> 04:09.256 The first question in every decision is, 04:09.256 --> 04:12.056 what does the Bible say? 04:12.056 --> 04:17.556 What is the direction that God wants me to take? 04:17.556 --> 04:24.276 The second step is that we consult wise counsel. 04:24.276 --> 04:27.176 You see, all of us have things within our life 04:27.176 --> 04:28.756 that we don't know. 04:29.288 --> 04:34.468 But there are other people that know what we don't know, and often it's people that we know. 04:34.468 --> 04:40.368 And so it's important within our life that we seek not ungodly counsel, 04:40.668 --> 04:44.968 but that we seek wise counsel in making plans. 04:45.648 --> 04:51.568 But the third is that we are to take everything to the Lord in prayer. 04:52.475 --> 05:00.695 God wants us to seek his face in every plan and every decision that we make. 05:01.195 --> 05:05.215 Now, we need both prayer and planning. 05:05.975 --> 05:09.795 If all we're doing is praying, then we're being passive. 05:10.395 --> 05:14.755 If all we're doing is planning, then we're being prideful. 05:15.728 --> 05:18.088 God wants us to do both. 05:18.688 --> 05:22.668 God wants us to prayerfully plan. 05:23.928 --> 05:29.048 Now, why is it so important that we make plans? 05:29.048 --> 05:35.828 Well, you're not really serious about any area of your life until you have a plan. 05:36.164 --> 05:40.284 I mean, a guy who likes a girl is not really serious about it 05:40.284 --> 05:43.264 until he has a plan to do something about it. 05:43.664 --> 05:48.824 And that's how you know that you're serious about something in your life. 05:48.824 --> 05:53.444 And so how do you know that you are serious about pursuing Christ? 05:54.244 --> 05:55.524 You have a plan. 05:56.164 --> 06:00.364 How do you know you're serious about following God? 06:01.409 --> 06:03.389 and what he wants for your life. 06:03.389 --> 06:08.389 You have a plan put in place to follow the Lord. 06:10.289 --> 06:14.249 Now Solomon gives us four ways that we can plan 06:14.249 --> 06:15.489 when we're not in control. 06:15.489 --> 06:19.829 And so let's begin reading some more in verse number nine. 06:21.237 --> 06:24.297 He says, what profit has the worker 06:24.297 --> 06:25.657 from that in which he labors? 06:25.657 --> 06:29.797 This word profit is what's left over after the transaction. 06:29.797 --> 06:32.137 He's already given us these lists of opposites 06:32.137 --> 06:34.957 and what Solomon is saying is sometimes it seems like 06:34.957 --> 06:38.237 the bad kind of cancels out the good. 06:38.237 --> 06:41.717 In verse 10 he says, I have seen the God given task 06:41.717 --> 06:44.797 with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 06:44.797 --> 06:48.937 He's saying God is the one who's in control of the pain 06:49.216 --> 06:50.796 and the pleasure within life. 06:51.176 --> 06:52.536 And then in verse 11 he says, 06:53.476 --> 06:58.376 God, or he, has made everything beautiful in its time. 06:59.156 --> 07:02.076 Also, he has put eternity in their hearts, 07:02.116 --> 07:08.156 except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 07:08.892 --> 07:11.552 Solomon says, here's the good news. 07:11.892 --> 07:15.812 God has a master plan for your life. 07:16.352 --> 07:20.092 And God has given all of us a sense of eternity. 07:20.452 --> 07:25.772 That our lives are a part of bigger than something, bigger than just ourselves. 07:25.772 --> 07:30.452 They're a part of a grand scheme and a master plan. 07:30.792 --> 07:38.012 That God is building history and he is building your life toward a final destination. 07:39.098 --> 07:40.638 But Solomon says, here's the problem. 07:41.658 --> 07:43.858 We don't know God's master plan. 07:44.938 --> 07:51.198 We can't see, nor do we know, how all of the different pieces of our life fit together 07:51.198 --> 07:54.258 and ultimately accomplish God's purposes. 07:54.678 --> 07:58.218 We can't see the final destination. 07:58.958 --> 08:00.577 And so here's the principle. 08:00.578 --> 08:06.458 Make a plan to trust God with what you cannot control. 08:07.448 --> 08:10.288 Solomon says there's good to life and there's bad to life. 08:10.368 --> 08:14.168 There's good seasons of life and there's bad seasons of life. 08:14.248 --> 08:17.148 And God knows that we're going to face both. 08:17.148 --> 08:19.528 But God also knows that we need both. 08:20.328 --> 08:25.848 There are some things that you can learn in pleasure that you cannot learn in pain. 08:26.990 --> 08:31.950 There are some things about God that you learn in pain 08:31.950 --> 08:34.570 that you cannot learn in pleasure. 08:34.570 --> 08:39.570 And so we need to trust God in both the good in life 08:39.630 --> 08:42.990 and what appears to be the bad in life. 08:44.070 --> 08:47.050 Now, we are to trust God in every area of life, 08:47.050 --> 08:49.510 but there are three specific times in life 08:49.510 --> 08:53.630 that we really need to lean in to trusting the Lord. 08:53.630 --> 08:55.330 The first is when you are afraid. 08:56.572 --> 09:01.252 Now we are afraid when we're not in control. 09:01.252 --> 09:09.972 And so what you are saying is, God, I am going to trust you when I'm not in control because 09:09.972 --> 09:14.832 I know that you love me and that you are in control and that you're going to work all 09:14.832 --> 09:17.872 things ultimately together for good. 09:17.872 --> 09:20.812 But also we are to trust the Lord when we doubt. 09:22.171 --> 09:28.331 Now we doubt when what we read in the Word is not what we see in the world. 09:29.377 --> 09:36.857 And so we tell the Lord, Lord, there's a gap between what I'm reading in the Word and what I'm seeing in the world, 09:36.917 --> 09:39.797 and I'm going to fill that gap with trust. 09:39.797 --> 09:45.177 I'm going to trust you with what I don't know and what I don't understand. 09:46.017 --> 09:53.917 The third time that we need to trust the Lord is in the direction and the decisions of our life. 09:55.347 --> 10:01.067 You see, you can't change the past, and you can't control the future, 10:01.067 --> 10:06.287 so the only thing that you can do is to trust God in the present. 10:07.632 --> 10:14.792 And God is leading you, not by showing you his master plan and all that he is doing. 10:14.792 --> 10:18.872 You probably couldn't even comprehend it if he did. 10:19.452 --> 10:27.932 What God is doing is just showing you the next step so that you will learn to depend upon him every step of the way. 10:28.878 --> 10:36.878 God wants you to have an intimate and dependent relationship upon him. 10:37.138 --> 10:40.998 And he's using everything in your life to draw you closer to him. 10:41.778 --> 10:46.638 Solomon says God makes everything beautiful in its time. 10:47.458 --> 10:50.938 Now notice he doesn't say that everything is beautiful. 10:50.938 --> 10:51.776 He says everything is beautiful. 10:51.777 --> 10:58.077 But he says that God makes everything beautiful in its time. 10:58.097 --> 11:01.057 Or maybe we could say in his time. 11:01.917 --> 11:03.437 Now that includes your loss. 11:04.817 --> 11:07.897 That includes brokenness. 11:08.821 --> 11:11.421 God has used brokenness in my life 11:11.421 --> 11:16.181 to draw me into a closer fellowship and communion with Him, 11:16.181 --> 11:20.681 to deepen my faith and to strengthen my love 11:20.681 --> 11:23.061 for other people and for Him. 11:23.061 --> 11:27.041 God wants to use your battles and your shattered dreams 11:27.041 --> 11:31.821 and everything in your life to draw you closer to Him. 11:33.121 --> 11:37.061 It's like watching a world champion chess master 11:38.133 --> 11:40.213 Sometimes he may make a move and you go, 11:40.293 --> 11:42.373 well, that's the dumbest move I've ever seen. 11:43.013 --> 11:44.833 I mean, that's a stupid move. 11:45.113 --> 11:46.253 But you know what he's thinking? 11:46.373 --> 11:47.693 He's thinking that's checkmate. 11:48.693 --> 11:50.833 Because he can see what you can't see. 11:51.153 --> 11:54.653 You and I are thinking one or two, maybe three moves ahead, 11:54.733 --> 11:57.553 but he's thinking 13 to 20 moves ahead. 11:58.233 --> 12:01.213 And sometimes something happens within our life 12:01.213 --> 12:03.373 and we're thinking, God, this doesn't make sense. 12:04.424 --> 12:11.684 I can't see the design or the purpose or the reason for this because we're thinking a move or two ahead, 12:11.784 --> 12:14.344 but God's thinking 13 trillion moves ahead. 12:15.024 --> 12:20.724 He's looking out into the master plan of his greater purposes for your life, 12:20.724 --> 12:28.444 and he's saying, I'm going to take that tragedy and that trial, and I'm going to make it beautiful in eternity. 12:30.260 --> 12:36.040 My sister, Charity, made my dad a Father's Day gift. 12:36.780 --> 12:39.480 It was a bookmark, and it was made of yarn, 12:39.640 --> 12:43.440 and on one side, it had the word Father. 12:44.580 --> 12:46.040 And he kept that bookmark, 12:46.038 --> 12:53.638 bookmark in his nightstand, and he kept it later in his desk. And I often would take it out, 12:53.678 --> 12:58.278 and I would look at it. Well, it wasn't too long after she gave him that, 12:58.738 --> 13:02.938 that she was hit by a car and suddenly and unexpectedly died. 13:04.550 --> 13:11.610 And after she died, he said he looked at that bookmark and he said on one side, 13:12.330 --> 13:20.010 there was all these different colors of yarn and they were knotted and they were twisted and chaotic 13:20.010 --> 13:25.130 and it didn't look like there was any design or any purpose to them and it didn't make any sense. 13:25.130 --> 13:29.170 But he said, if you flipped it over to the other side, 13:29.558 --> 13:37.858 All of those knots weave themselves together in such a way that they spelled the word Father. 13:39.258 --> 13:41.778 And sometimes that's how life is, isn't it? 13:42.637 --> 13:46.077 We look at life and our life seems to be in knots 13:46.077 --> 13:48.457 and it's twisted and it's chaotic 13:48.457 --> 13:50.937 and it doesn't seem that there's any design 13:50.937 --> 13:52.817 or purpose in the pain. 13:53.037 --> 13:54.477 But when we get to eternity, 13:54.777 --> 13:58.477 written in large letters over the totality of our life 13:58.477 --> 14:02.037 for all of eternity is the word Father. 14:03.427 --> 14:14.267 See, God can weave the past, the present, and the future in such a way that your life becomes a masterpiece of His glory and grace for all of eternity. 14:15.587 --> 14:18.187 God took the worst thing in history. 14:19.154 --> 14:21.314 The murder of the Son of God. 14:21.914 --> 14:27.234 And He made it, in its time, the best thing in history. 14:27.574 --> 14:29.754 Your salvation and my salvation. 14:30.214 --> 14:35.374 Don't you think that God can take the triumphs and the tragedies of your life 14:35.374 --> 14:38.074 and weave them together for your eternal good? 14:39.294 --> 14:45.094 See, the power by which God governs the universe enables Him to govern your life. 14:46.475 --> 14:53.575 The love that God had in sending his son is the same love that is providentially working in your life, 14:53.635 --> 14:55.395 in the good and in the bad. 14:55.715 --> 15:02.915 And God is able to take every pain in your life and turn it into your everlasting good. 15:02.915 --> 15:05.915 God is able to make it beautiful. 15:06.472 --> 15:14.752 in his time. Notice what Solomon says in verse 12. He says, I know that nothing is better for 15:14.752 --> 15:21.072 them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives. And also that every man should eat and 15:21.072 --> 15:26.472 drink and enjoy the good of all his labor. It is the gift of God. 15:27.464 --> 15:33.664 Solomon says there's so many things in life that you can't control, but there's one thing you can control and that is to enjoy 15:34.304 --> 15:35.464 God's 15:35.464 --> 15:36.704 grace 15:36.704 --> 15:42.844 And so here's the principle make a plan to enjoy God's gifts of grace in 15:43.504 --> 15:45.284 your life 15:45.284 --> 15:47.084 don't let the 15:47.084 --> 15:50.404 grace and the gifts of God pass you by and 15:51.494 --> 15:57.414 About a year ago, I was in the backyard and it was a beautiful morning. 15:57.594 --> 16:05.374 I was spending time with the Lord and I was praying and just asking the Lord just to have his way in my life. 16:05.374 --> 16:11.634 And one of the things that God convicted me of is that I was spending too much time watching the news in the evenings. 16:13.313 --> 16:20.073 And the three things that I was kind of watching is politics, the economy, and wars, what's going on. 16:20.073 --> 16:26.193 And as you can imagine, whenever you watch politics, everybody's mad at everybody all the time. 16:26.253 --> 16:28.517 You ever notice that? 16:28.518 --> 16:30.638 And the economy, when people are commenting, 16:30.638 --> 16:32.618 there's always those people that the sky is falling. 16:32.618 --> 16:35.798 And of course, wars are tragic and negative. 16:35.798 --> 16:37.858 I thought, boy, I've got a lot of negative emotion 16:37.858 --> 16:42.658 in my life and I think the Lord's want me to take it out. 16:42.658 --> 16:44.318 But the one common denominator 16:44.318 --> 16:46.518 between all three of those things 16:47.758 --> 16:49.198 was that all three of those things, 16:49.198 --> 16:52.778 I have absolutely no control over what's going on. 16:53.543 --> 16:56.083 I don't determine the outcome of those things. 16:56.183 --> 16:58.423 And so I was praying and I said, 16:58.503 --> 17:01.423 okay, Lord, I'm going to fast from watching the news for a month. 17:01.503 --> 17:03.823 I continued to read a few articles a day, 17:03.843 --> 17:05.043 so I knew what was going on, 17:05.083 --> 17:07.563 but I wasn't going to spend so much time 17:07.563 --> 17:11.563 having the news recycled over and over again. 17:11.563 --> 17:15.283 And I'll tell you, I had the most amazing month. 17:16.561 --> 17:24.461 I made plans to spend more time enjoying the Lord, and I had some great times with God. 17:24.461 --> 17:31.501 I made plans to spend more time enjoying my wife and go on more walks and go to the park 17:31.501 --> 17:35.761 and have more conversation and more time together. 17:35.761 --> 17:42.081 I had a wonderful time making plans to enjoying my kids more. 17:43.088 --> 17:48.428 It seemed like every night I ended up having at least one conversation with one of my kids 17:48.428 --> 17:53.808 that I otherwise wouldn't have had if I was employing my time by watching things that 17:53.808 --> 17:55.308 I couldn't control. 17:55.308 --> 18:00.268 And so at the end of the month, I told the Lord, I have no reason to go back. 18:00.268 --> 18:04.688 See, I'm not saying that we shouldn't watch the news. 18:04.688 --> 18:05.748 That's not my point. 18:05.748 --> 18:08.848 My point is the same one that Solomon is making. 18:09.515 --> 18:14.775 We spend so much time and energy on things we can't control 18:14.775 --> 18:20.615 instead of focusing on the things that we can't enjoy. 18:21.475 --> 18:25.495 I was letting what I couldn't control destroy what I could enjoy. 18:26.455 --> 18:30.655 And so Solomon says, don't let what you can't control 18:30.655 --> 18:37.095 get in the way of making plans to enjoy what you can enjoy. 18:38.607 --> 18:41.207 Now how many of you have a beautiful wife? 18:42.887 --> 18:44.647 Enjoy her. 18:44.647 --> 18:45.606 Enjoy her. 18:45.607 --> 18:47.267 Enjoy conversation. 18:47.267 --> 18:48.547 Enjoy time. 18:48.547 --> 18:51.307 Enjoy doing things together. 18:51.307 --> 18:54.647 She is a gift from God, the Bible says. 18:54.647 --> 18:58.787 And so make a plan to enjoy your spouse. 18:58.787 --> 19:02.887 My wife and I, we found that we're so aspirational, 19:02.887 --> 19:05.867 but nothing really happens unless we put it on the calendar 19:05.867 --> 19:06.967 and we make a plan. 19:07.818 --> 19:12.478 And so be intentional to enjoy the gift of your spouse. 19:13.098 --> 19:15.658 How many of you have beautiful children or grandchildren? 19:16.778 --> 19:18.637 Enjoy them. 19:18.638 --> 19:20.057 Make a plan. 19:20.058 --> 19:22.578 Get down on the ground and put some Legos together. 19:23.427 --> 19:25.347 Go to the park and have a good time. 19:25.687 --> 19:26.606 Go on a trip. 19:26.607 --> 19:27.687 Have conversation. 19:28.307 --> 19:33.187 Get down on their level and watch their interest and have a wonderful time 19:33.187 --> 19:37.727 enjoying the gift and the blessing of God within your life. 19:39.587 --> 19:43.067 Now, how many of you have a beautiful Dr. Pepper in the fridge just like me? 19:45.347 --> 19:49.227 I'm telling you right after this service, I have a plan. 19:50.107 --> 19:57.547 to pull that sucker out and enjoy it with thanksgiving to the glory of God 19:57.547 --> 20:01.887 I went to Chipotle this week and boy I they said what meat do you want I said I 20:01.887 --> 20:05.107 I'll have some steak please and I'll have some hot sauce and I put all these 20:05.107 --> 20:06.287 things together 20:06.287 --> 20:10.747 and after I was done eating I said thank you God that was beautiful 20:10.747 --> 20:15.947 it was beautiful Solomon says whether you eat or drink or whatever you do 20:16.617 --> 20:21.997 Whatever gifts God has given you, whatever grace is in your life, he says, make sure to enjoy that. 20:22.197 --> 20:27.957 We spend all of our time thinking about the things we don't have and missing out on enjoying the things that we do have. 20:28.417 --> 20:29.596 Why? 20:29.597 --> 20:34.057 Solomon says, every good thing in your life is a gift of God's grace. 20:35.657 --> 20:40.917 See, you and I deserve to be in hell right now for our sins. 20:41.477 --> 20:44.077 And so anything other than that is a great day. 20:45.288 --> 20:49.008 The Bible says rejoice in the Lord. 20:49.628 --> 20:52.128 Today is the day that the Lord has made. 20:52.528 --> 20:55.048 Rejoice in the Lord. 20:56.148 --> 20:59.748 You know, God has called us 21:00.138 --> 21:02.438 to live by His grace. 21:02.438 --> 21:04.698 Jesus said, you can do nothing apart from me 21:04.698 --> 21:08.938 and it is only God's grace that we are connected to Him 21:08.938 --> 21:12.338 through His Son and by His Spirit. 21:12.338 --> 21:15.858 And God's grace leads to a privilege mentality 21:15.858 --> 21:17.798 instead of an entitlement mentality. 21:18.858 --> 21:23.358 You know, the key to joy is gratitude for what you do have, 21:23.358 --> 21:25.738 not entitlement for what you don't have. 21:26.618 --> 21:28.618 And so start spending time 21:29.500 --> 21:33.380 enjoying and being grateful for whatever gifts the Lord has given you. 21:33.680 --> 21:36.540 You may be going through a good season of life. 21:36.620 --> 21:39.560 You may be going through a hard season of life. 21:39.680 --> 21:43.420 Most of us are going through a hard time much of the time. 21:43.420 --> 21:50.620 But even in that, Solomon says, enjoy whatever gifts of God's grace that you have within your life. 21:51.820 --> 21:57.640 You know, I have found that the greatest blessing from God is the blessing of God. 21:59.268 --> 22:02.368 To rejoice in the presence of God. 22:02.888 --> 22:08.228 To rejoice in His grace and His love and His goodness towards me. 22:08.508 --> 22:15.108 To live in the pursuit of intimacy and fellowship with God. 22:16.068 --> 22:18.568 Notice once again what he says in verse 12. 22:19.568 --> 22:23.828 He says, I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice. 22:23.828 --> 22:28.448 And then he says, and to do good in their faith. 22:29.120 --> 22:38.480 lives. Solomon says, make a plan to do good in your life. You say, well, I'm not in control of 22:38.480 --> 22:44.220 it all. No, God ultimately is in control, but we still are to make plans and then be flexible 22:44.220 --> 22:51.380 to allow God to work in whatever way He chooses. Have you ever noticed 22:52.340 --> 22:55.480 that we love to use the things that we can't control 22:55.480 --> 22:59.660 as excuses not to do anything about the things that we can control. 23:01.720 --> 23:04.380 Solomon kind of looks at our life, 23:04.500 --> 23:06.940 and he frees us up a little bit by saying, 23:06.940 --> 23:09.220 there are no safe options in life. 23:10.261 --> 23:13.441 There are some things that are going to happen that you can't control, 23:13.561 --> 23:17.701 and they're going to happen at a time that you didn't plan and that you didn't want. 23:17.981 --> 23:23.661 And so he says, make sure that you don't use that as an excuse not to plan to do good. 23:23.881 --> 23:29.201 And as you go along, make sure that you trust the Lord in the things that you can't control. 23:30.701 --> 23:35.881 You see, you can make excuses or you can make progress, but you can't do both. 23:37.733 --> 23:42.533 And so how many of you are making excuses instead of making progress? 23:43.977 --> 23:50.277 You say, well, I'm going to make plans, but where do I need to make plans? 23:50.437 --> 23:55.977 Well, we ought to invite God into every plan in every area of our life 23:55.977 --> 24:01.257 as we're seeking to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit within our life. 24:01.257 --> 24:08.057 But maybe the best place to start is to make plans in the exact same places that you're making excuses. 24:10.117 --> 24:12.517 To stop making excuses for your marriage 24:12.517 --> 24:14.857 and to start making plans. 24:15.857 --> 24:18.197 To stop making excuses for your health 24:18.197 --> 24:19.257 and start making plans. 24:19.557 --> 24:21.937 To stop making excuses for your finances 24:21.937 --> 24:24.157 or your job or your ministry 24:24.157 --> 24:26.417 and start making plans 24:26.417 --> 24:29.977 and prayerfully ask the Lord to lead you 24:29.977 --> 24:34.837 and guide you in the plans that He has for you. 24:36.337 --> 24:38.757 See, if you don't make plans... 24:39.817 --> 24:43.577 What you will be is just an older version of who you are right now. 24:44.797 --> 24:46.157 And you don't want to do that. 24:47.277 --> 24:48.297 You don't want to do that. 24:49.437 --> 24:51.057 And so ask yourself the question, 24:51.597 --> 24:54.237 what do I need to start doing today 24:54.237 --> 25:00.317 that I will be so glad that I started doing six months or a year from now? 25:01.357 --> 25:02.577 And start doing them. 25:03.777 --> 25:05.432 Now, 25:05.433 --> 25:09.693 How do we make plans within our life to do good? 25:09.693 --> 25:12.173 Solomon says there's nothing better than to rejoice 25:12.173 --> 25:16.153 and enjoy God's grace and to make plans or to do good. 25:16.153 --> 25:17.453 Well, how do we do that? 25:17.453 --> 25:19.833 Well, ask yourself the question, 25:19.833 --> 25:23.093 what would it look like for your marriage to be amazing? 25:24.113 --> 25:29.493 I mean, what would it look like for Jesus to be at the center of your relationship and 25:29.493 --> 25:35.473 for him to be the Lord of how you feel about your marriage and how you approach your marriage 25:35.473 --> 25:37.093 and how you do marriage? 25:37.093 --> 25:41.973 And so what are the good things that need to happen for you to get there? 25:43.033 --> 25:45.533 Well, that sounds like a pretty good plan, don't you think? 25:46.422 --> 25:50.942 Well, what would it look like for me to have an intimate relationship with God? 25:51.042 --> 25:57.142 What would it look like for me to be all in and pursue the Lord and to follow him in every area of our life? 25:57.482 --> 26:01.342 Well, what are the good things that need to happen for you to get there? 26:01.342 --> 26:04.482 Well, that's probably what your plan is going to look like. 26:05.963 --> 26:11.523 What would it look like for your finances to be in such a way that you could generously give to the kingdom of God? 26:11.683 --> 26:17.023 And what are the good things that you need to do between now and there then to get there? 26:17.243 --> 26:20.423 So come up with a plan and put it in play. 26:22.349 --> 26:25.029 Let me ask you, when it comes to ministry, 26:25.989 --> 26:31.509 what if you discipled one new believer every year for the next 20 years of your life, 26:31.569 --> 26:34.169 or maybe even the next 30 years of your life, 26:34.169 --> 26:41.069 and you left an army of Christian disciples and disciple-makers for the next generation? 26:41.729 --> 26:43.549 Don't you think that's a pretty good plan? 26:45.049 --> 26:46.209 Put it in place. 26:47.273 --> 26:52.753 Now, I know what we often think, because it's just kind of the excuses that we make. 26:52.833 --> 26:57.353 We say, well, what if something happens and throws my plan off? 26:57.373 --> 27:00.993 Or what if some of the people don't end up following the Lord? 27:01.093 --> 27:02.492 And you're right. 27:02.493 --> 27:09.673 Some of the people won't follow the Lord the way that you hoped or the way that you planned and sought after. 27:09.853 --> 27:12.053 And the truth is, you're not in control of that. 27:13.153 --> 27:16.233 But some of those people will follow the Lord. 27:17.041 --> 27:20.181 And they'll produce a hundredfold harvest. 27:21.581 --> 27:26.081 You see, it's really important as we come up with plans for our life 27:26.081 --> 27:30.461 to recognize that God is in control of the outcome. 27:30.861 --> 27:34.181 And because of that, God gets all of the glory and the praise. 27:35.001 --> 27:36.401 And isn't that freeing? 27:37.392 --> 27:45.132 to know that your responsibility is not to control the outcome, but to just focus on what 27:45.132 --> 27:49.992 the good that God has called you to do. It kind of takes the pressure off, 27:50.552 --> 27:56.012 and it makes life and everything in it so much more enjoyable. 27:57.777 --> 28:02.777 One of the most common questions that we get as pastors is, 28:05.337 --> 28:07.977 what is God's will for my life? 28:09.016 --> 28:14.596 Well, in the Bible, it speaks of God's will in several different ways. 28:14.716 --> 28:20.016 There is God's will of decree, and that is God's secret sovereign will. 28:20.716 --> 28:28.256 That includes all of the things that God allows in the world and in your life for his greater purposes. 28:28.256 --> 28:33.176 And you will never completely know God's will of decree. 28:33.416 --> 28:34.436 And so we must... 28:34.784 --> 28:40.904 trust the Lord in the things we don't know and the things that we don't fully yet understand. 28:41.864 --> 28:50.124 But also in the Bible, there is God's will of desire. And that's a part of God's will that 28:50.124 --> 28:58.984 we can know because it is God's stated will within the scriptures. And you will never 28:59.742 --> 29:07.682 Know God's will as well as you could until you know God's Word. 29:08.762 --> 29:14.502 The only way that you'll know the will of God well is to know the Word of God. 29:14.802 --> 29:17.762 That's why it's important that we be in the Word every day. 29:18.262 --> 29:26.162 That as we're in the Word, God is teaching us and instructing us about His will for our life. 29:26.162 --> 29:26.640 Amen. 29:26.641 --> 29:30.961 And every time I open the Bible and I spend time with the Lord and I ask the Holy Spirit 29:30.961 --> 29:36.321 to give me understanding and wisdom of what it means and how to apply it to my life, God 29:36.321 --> 29:40.361 begins to teach me his will for my heart and for my life. 29:40.361 --> 29:47.421 And even the things that I already knew, he deepens my understanding and the application 29:47.421 --> 29:49.541 of it to my life. 29:50.741 --> 29:55.961 First Thessalonians 4 says, this is the will of God that you be holy. 29:57.202 --> 29:59.862 1 Thessalonians 5 says this is the will of God, 29:59.942 --> 30:03.042 that you be joyful, prayerful, and thankful. 30:04.042 --> 30:05.942 You say, well... 30:05.943 --> 30:09.023 I have a decision to make and I don't know what to decide. 30:09.023 --> 30:10.883 I don't know which way to go. 30:10.883 --> 30:12.183 Fair enough. 30:12.183 --> 30:15.783 Ask the question, where can I be holier? 30:15.783 --> 30:18.643 Where can I be more joyful, more prayerful, 30:18.643 --> 30:19.983 and more thankful? 30:19.983 --> 30:23.723 That is probably the better decision and the better plan. 30:24.623 --> 30:29.103 Look what Solomon says in verse number 14. 30:30.040 --> 30:33.460 He says, I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. 30:34.260 --> 30:36.760 Nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. 30:37.140 --> 30:40.280 God does it that men should fear before him. 30:40.580 --> 30:44.340 That which is has already been and what is to be has already been. 30:44.740 --> 30:47.880 And God requires an account of what is past. 30:48.839 --> 30:54.119 Solomon says that God is the one who's able to bring purpose to every event in life 30:54.119 --> 30:59.739 because he weaves it together in such a way that it accomplishes his greater purposes in the end. 31:00.559 --> 31:04.939 But then he also says that God is working through all of these things 31:04.939 --> 31:09.059 that we might learn to fear him. 31:09.779 --> 31:10.799 So here's the principle. 31:12.059 --> 31:17.839 Make a plan to pursue God's glory in everything. 31:19.012 --> 31:24.272 Now, this word fear in English often has the idea of being scared, 31:24.372 --> 31:26.812 but that's not the meaning in the Hebrew. 31:27.232 --> 31:31.852 This word has the idea of a reverential awe of God, 31:32.312 --> 31:35.792 a passion and a zeal for the Lord. 31:35.792 --> 31:40.072 And I think the idea here within the context is that he's saying, 31:40.232 --> 31:45.572 God is doing all of these things that you might worship him. 31:47.210 --> 31:51.750 God is sovereignly working in your life 31:51.750 --> 31:56.750 to accomplish his purposes so that you will worship him. 31:59.190 --> 32:04.190 The most important decision of your life 32:04.310 --> 32:05.610 is what will I worship? 32:07.090 --> 32:08.890 Will I worship God 32:10.010 --> 32:14.230 or will I worship someone or something else? 32:15.323 --> 32:22.203 And the main message of Ecclesiastes is that when your life is about you, it is empty. 32:22.963 --> 32:29.243 Because you were never made or designed for your life to be just about you. 32:30.423 --> 32:37.543 Ultimately, you were made and designed for your life to be about God and a relationship with Him. 32:37.543 --> 32:44.943 And so anything other than that leaves you unsatisfied and unfulfilled within life. 32:46.559 --> 32:53.539 But then Solomon says, when your life is about God, it's amazing. 32:54.819 --> 32:57.699 That you experience the attributes of God. 32:57.859 --> 33:00.939 That's the glory of God is His attributes. 33:01.119 --> 33:06.179 You experience His love and His grace and His goodness. 33:06.179 --> 33:11.399 And you experience Him working in your life to... 33:11.399 --> 33:14.619 bring about your eternal good and to make you 33:14.619 --> 33:20.159 more like Christ and suddenly everything in your life starts to have meaning 33:20.159 --> 33:25.679 and purpose and suddenly the good and even the bad becomes 33:25.679 --> 33:28.799 with a sense of significance 33:28.799 --> 33:35.139 and even satisfaction. You know that that's true in every area of life? 33:35.139 --> 33:38.899 When your marriage is about you 33:40.272 --> 33:42.231 You will be miserable. 33:42.232 --> 33:47.732 And by the way, your spouse will be miserable too, if you haven't noticed. 33:48.692 --> 33:55.472 But when your marriage becomes about Jesus, something amazing happens. 33:56.452 --> 33:59.932 Suddenly, you invite Jesus to be the Lord of your relationship. 34:01.012 --> 34:02.912 And he begins to change your heart. 34:03.392 --> 34:08.632 And he begins to work in your heart and through you to minister to your spouse. 34:08.732 --> 34:10.852 And he begins to change their heart. 34:11.012 --> 34:15.452 And he begins to do things that you're not in control of and that you could never do. 34:15.452 --> 34:19.552 But he begins to do because instead of asking him for your idols, 34:19.832 --> 34:23.912 you begin to pursue him as the ultimate meaning of your marriage. 34:24.052 --> 34:28.932 And suddenly you experience the glory and the grace of God within your relationship. 34:28.932 --> 34:30.172 And that's amazing. 34:32.078 --> 34:34.498 When your ministry is about you, it's miserable. 34:35.858 --> 34:40.938 But when your ministry becomes about God, it's amazing. 34:42.238 --> 34:47.398 Suddenly, instead of walking into the room and saying, well, me, me, me, me. 34:49.021 --> 34:53.141 You walk in the room and you say, it's no longer I who live. 34:53.221 --> 34:57.661 I've been crucified with Christ, but it is now Christ who lives in me. 34:57.921 --> 35:02.821 And you begin to look around and you say, God, who do you want to love on through me today? 35:04.192 --> 35:06.412 Who do you want to encourage? 35:06.412 --> 35:08.292 Who do you want to bless? 35:08.292 --> 35:12.212 Would you give me the grace and the wisdom 35:12.212 --> 35:17.212 to know what you want to do in my life today? 35:17.632 --> 35:21.032 And suddenly ministry goes from a duty 35:21.032 --> 35:24.692 to one of the most wonderful delights. 35:26.112 --> 35:30.632 Invite God into every area 35:30.632 --> 35:33.112 and every decision of your life. 35:33.993 --> 35:37.553 Put God at the center of every plan. 35:37.913 --> 35:41.653 I have gotten so much trouble in life when I came up with a plan, 35:41.953 --> 35:44.993 and it all fell apart, and I looked back at what went wrong, 35:45.053 --> 35:47.413 and I realized that I left God out of my plans. 35:48.733 --> 35:53.233 That I decided my way was the way to go, 35:53.433 --> 35:57.053 instead of consulting the Lord and saying, 35:57.173 --> 36:00.673 God, what is the way you want me to go? 36:01.853 --> 36:11.213 And so as you make plans, make sure that your plans serve God's greater purposes of his glory 36:11.213 --> 36:19.673 and his grace in your life. Make sure that your plans involve God's greater glory and his grace 36:19.673 --> 36:29.733 in the lives of other people. You see, God's ultimate plan was to send his only son 36:31.013 --> 36:37.253 To die on the cross to pay for your sins so that you could be reconciled to him. 36:39.012 --> 36:44.012 God made us for a relationship with him, but sin separated us from God. 36:44.012 --> 36:50.352 And so God, in his infinite love and grace, gave the Lord Jesus Christ, his only son, 36:50.512 --> 36:57.892 to pay the penalty for our sin so that we could be restored back to what God made us for. 36:58.532 --> 37:03.212 To know and enjoy him for all eternity. 37:04.814 --> 37:08.594 The Bible says, for by grace you have been saved 37:08.594 --> 37:15.454 so that God could pour out the riches of his kindness and mercy upon you 37:15.454 --> 37:18.594 forever and ever. 37:20.794 --> 37:24.914 Let's bow together in an attitude of prayer. 37:28.714 --> 37:33.174 In a few moments, we're going to have a time of invitations. 37:34.970 --> 37:39.670 And there's going to be people here at the front, prayer partners that can pray with you. 37:40.310 --> 37:45.430 But we want to invite you to come forward and make whatever decision the Lord leads you to make. 37:46.570 --> 37:53.550 Maybe you're here this morning and you say, I've been living my life apart from its purpose. 37:55.068 --> 38:00.508 I've been trying to live life under the sun instead of looking above the sun, 38:00.788 --> 38:02.868 and it's not working. 38:03.668 --> 38:06.468 I feel this sense that something is missing. 38:06.608 --> 38:08.668 Let me tell you, that something is God. 38:10.188 --> 38:15.828 And God wants to invade your life and to fill it with his glory and his grace. 38:16.948 --> 38:19.768 And so I want to invite you to give your life to Christ this morning, 38:19.768 --> 38:24.768 to recognize that you can't come to God based on your own. 38:26.236 --> 38:33.936 That you need to repent of the pride of self-righteousness and trying to come to God on your terms. 38:33.936 --> 38:41.496 And you need to come to God on your terms through the Lord Jesus Christ and accept the gift of his grace. 38:43.236 --> 38:49.536 That Jesus is the only way that you can come to God. 38:51.582 --> 38:59.122 Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you eternal rest. 39:00.242 --> 39:09.862 I want to invite you to come to Jesus and experience his peace, his joy, and his forgiveness and grace. 39:11.309 --> 39:15.169 Maybe you've given your life to Christ and you say, I need to follow him in believer's baptism. 39:15.569 --> 39:18.289 We invite you to come forward and say, I want to be baptized. 39:19.189 --> 39:25.689 I want to identify with Jesus and let everyone know that I belong to him. 39:25.689 --> 39:31.149 I want them to know that he's my Savior and that he is my Lord. 39:32.909 --> 39:35.909 Maybe this morning the Lord's leading you to join this church. 39:36.849 --> 39:40.989 You say, I feel a tug of the Holy Spirit to be a part of this faith family 39:40.989 --> 39:47.089 and to follow Jesus together with people who love Jesus and love me. 39:47.229 --> 39:52.409 And I want to be a part of God's greater purposes here on earth. 39:53.699 --> 39:58.879 As we work together to do the mission and the ministry that Jesus has given us, 39:58.879 --> 40:01.819 I want to encourage you to come forward and say, I want to join the church today. 40:01.819 --> 40:08.619 We'd love to set that up and for you to become an official member of our church. 40:08.619 --> 40:19.879 Maybe this morning you would say, you know, I have been wasting my life with sin. 40:22.252 --> 40:27.692 I've been wasting my life in neglect. 40:30.232 --> 40:34.172 And I'm so angry about the things that I can't control 40:34.172 --> 40:41.132 that I've missed out on so many of the things that I can enjoy. 40:43.992 --> 40:47.012 Maybe the Holy Spirit is tugging on your heart 40:47.012 --> 40:51.192 to just surrender all of that to God. 40:51.192 --> 40:53.031 Amen. 40:53.032 --> 40:57.872 To say, God, I'm going to trust you with the things I don't understand and I can't explain. 40:58.712 --> 41:01.632 And trust that someday I'll see your master plan. 41:03.552 --> 41:12.292 To bring your brokenness to the Lord and say, God, could you use it for your glory and my good in some way? 41:13.372 --> 41:15.432 That's a prayer that God loves to answer. 41:18.243 --> 41:22.223 You know, as you surrender your life to Christ, 41:22.323 --> 41:26.043 what you're really saying is, I surrender my time to Christ. 41:26.663 --> 41:28.403 Because that's what life is made of. 41:28.463 --> 41:31.563 It is made of time, and it's precious and valuable. 41:33.103 --> 41:35.583 And so would you just pray right where you are? 41:35.703 --> 41:38.323 God, I surrender my time to you. 41:39.043 --> 41:42.583 Would you show me how you want me to spend my mornings? 41:44.348 --> 41:46.688 Would you show me how you want me to spend my day? 41:46.688 --> 41:49.308 Would you show me how you want me to spend my evenings 41:49.308 --> 41:54.308 and my weekends and the precious time 41:54.508 --> 41:56.368 that you've given me here on earth? 42:00.648 --> 42:04.388 Whatever God wants as he tugs on your heart, 42:04.388 --> 42:05.888 would you just give it to him 42:07.108 --> 42:11.308 and make the plan to follow him? 42:13.188 --> 42:18.008 Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time that you've given us. 42:18.128 --> 42:22.008 And Lord, I don't believe that it's an accident that we're here today. 42:22.828 --> 42:27.968 That you are working in each of our lives to bring us to this moment for such a time as this. 42:29.468 --> 42:33.088 And God, there are some things that you want to do in our life 42:33.088 --> 42:37.368 that maybe we weren't aware of before this moment. 42:37.488 --> 42:39.768 But Lord, it's the next step that you want us to take. 42:39.868 --> 42:41.788 And God, I pray that we would follow you. 42:45.200 --> 42:50.200 God, help us to let go of control 42:50.200 --> 42:54.400 and to give you control. 42:56.720 --> 42:59.200 Help us to stop fighting you, Lord, 42:59.880 --> 43:05.720 and to live with you and to walk with you. 43:08.453 --> 43:11.693 God, there have been several in each of our services 43:11.693 --> 43:15.033 that have brought their life to Jesus and said, 43:15.033 --> 43:18.753 here it is, I surrender it. 43:18.753 --> 43:22.653 Forgive me, come into my life and lead me. 43:22.653 --> 43:26.393 And Lord, I imagine there are many right now 43:26.393 --> 43:27.553 that that's where they are. 43:27.553 --> 43:30.313 Lord, move in their hearts, 43:30.313 --> 43:34.773 open their hearts and their eyes to your glory and grace, 43:35.813 --> 43:37.933 to how desperately you love them. 43:40.229 --> 43:46.049 And how glorious what Christ has done is for them. 43:49.409 --> 43:51.389 Lord, move in our hearts. 43:53.049 --> 43:59.849 May we have open hearts and open lives before you in this moment. 44:00.929 --> 44:02.389 In Christ's name we pray. 44:03.609 --> 44:05.389 Amen. 44:05.390 --> 44:06.430 Thanks for listening today. 44:06.790 --> 44:08.250 We hope you enjoyed this message. 44:08.510 --> 44:11.630 And if you did, we would be so grateful if you left us a review. 44:12.290 --> 44:14.390 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 44:14.390 --> 44:17.250 if you would like to be notified when a new sermon is released. 44:17.830 --> 44:20.990 If you feel the Lord calling you to take the next step in faith 44:20.990 --> 44:24.870 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 44:25.505 --> 44:28.605 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 44:28.945 --> 44:31.225 That's podcast to 88988 44:31.225 --> 44:34.165 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 44:34.885 --> 44:37.905 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 44:37.905 --> 44:39.925 to find even more great resources. 44:40.625 --> 44:42.285 No matter where you are in your journey, 44:42.845 --> 44:44.124 know that we love you. 44:44.125 --> 44:45.245 We're praying for you 44:45.245 --> 44:48.245 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.