WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.160 Thank you, Geffen. 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:11.560 In the motion picture Interstellar, a crew of explorers seek to travel across space. 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:19.879 ! But according to Einstein's law of relativity, the faster and further they travel, the 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:24.400 ! more quickly time passes by on Earth back home. 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:33.879 One minute spent on their mission could mean years lost. 00:00:33.879 --> 00:00:40.159 Michael Caine, who plays the leader of the space project, says, I'm not afraid of death, 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:47.560 I'm a physicist, I'm only afraid of time. 00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:53.899 Time rules over all of us, whether we like it or not. 00:00:53.899 --> 00:01:01.920 Time takes it all and shapes all of our lives, says the writer of Ecclesiastes, the preacher. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:09.239 And the world that he has experienced is the real world, our world, a world where we need 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:13.719 to face the limitations of life. 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:22.180 We've seen him talk about the endless, repetitious, rolling empty set of life. 00:01:22.739 --> 00:01:25.000 A world full of fleeting pleasures. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:33.620 And now in chapter 3, a world where time holds us in its grip. 00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:40.000 The preacher, he's both a realist about the world, but he's also a wise, God-centred optimist. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:48.019 And to know and understand the limits that God has placed on us in this life is to begin 00:01:48.019 --> 00:01:56.519 to be free from fighting them and to enjoy life under the sun as a gift from God. 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:02.199 So to do that, this afternoon, he tells us three things. 00:02:02.199 --> 00:02:08.599 First of all, we need to face that we are servants of the seasons. 00:02:09.659 --> 00:02:12.519 We are servants of the seasons. 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:20.019 And the preacher reminds us what we already know in our experience in life. 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:26.700 We are all subject to the strange movements and passages of time. 00:02:27.640 --> 00:02:32.300 Notice how time dominates this section in the book. 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:38.560 He uses that word, doesn't he, time, on over 25 different occasions. 00:02:40.100 --> 00:02:42.060 And did you feel the repetition? 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:46.280 A time for this, and a time for that. 00:02:47.140 --> 00:02:50.000 A time for this, and a time for that. 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:58.740 He pulls us into the perception he has of the real world, where we are slaves of a routine. 00:03:00.040 --> 00:03:03.800 He summarises his point in verse 1, if you look there. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:10.200 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:18.080 All of life, he says, is governed by periods and rhythms and times. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:27.080 Like a year with its four seasons, there will be different moments in our lives that punctuate our experience. 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:29.500 With good or ill. 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:30.500 We are subject to events in time. 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:37.039 We are subject to events in time that we did not choose and cannot change. 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:43.039 And in the spectrum of time in life, there are these extremes, aren't there? 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.799 As the pendulum swings from one season to another. 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:50.759 From birth to death. 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:53.199 War to peace. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:56.699 Weeping and laughter, and so on. 00:03:56.699 --> 00:04:04.259 And each of these extremes comes to us on a timetable that we have very little control over. 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:09.839 We're swept along with time and its changing seasons. 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:17.060 And the rolling events of time dictate how we do everything in life. 00:04:17.939 --> 00:04:26.399 We find ourselves in situations where time tells us it is suddenly better to do one thing over another. 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:30.280 To plant rather than to pull up. 00:04:30.780 --> 00:04:33.899 To break rather than to build up. 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:37.120 To embrace or to turn away. 00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:39.419 Loving or hating. 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:43.099 The seasons of time rule over us. 00:04:43.179 --> 00:04:46.459 They say what goes in our lives. 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:49.899 Just ask yourself for a moment. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:54.579 20 years ago, did you predict what you'd be doing now? 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:56.459 Where you'd be? 00:04:56.459 --> 00:05:03.479 Are there things in your life now that even 10 years ago you did not picture? 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:06.659 Things that you did not expect? 00:05:07.180 --> 00:05:08.759 Even 5 years ago? 00:05:10.099 --> 00:05:11.959 Don't we often say to one another, 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.979 Who'd have thought I'd be here now doing this? 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:21.299 That's because we are less in control than we think. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:25.139 We are servants to the seasons of life. 00:05:25.139 --> 00:05:31.599 And what goes for us as individuals is true of us as a generation as well, isn't it? 00:05:32.599 --> 00:05:38.279 One generation may find themselves in a season that the other generation has not. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:40.759 A season of peace. 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:42.680 Or war. 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:48.459 I worked out this week that if I'd have been born 60 years earlier than I was, 00:05:48.539 --> 00:05:51.120 I'd have most likely been in battle right now. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:56.899 Men and women who we remembered only two days ago on Remembrance Sunday, 00:05:57.459 --> 00:05:59.519 Did not choose their season. 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:05.019 They were ruled by the time that they lived in as we are. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:08.620 We are doing what we are doing, 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:11.360 Or not doing what we are not doing, 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.280 Dictated by events that we have not chosen. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:20.159 We find ourselves serving the seasons of life. 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:24.399 Time is like a foreman on a building site, 00:06:25.019 --> 00:06:26.739 Limiting what we can do, 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:28.139 And when we can do it, 00:06:28.219 --> 00:06:29.319 And how we do it. 00:06:30.119 --> 00:06:31.459 It limits us. 00:06:31.739 --> 00:06:34.399 We are servants to the seasons. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.379 So secondly, 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:39.219 He tells us then, 00:06:39.359 --> 00:06:42.339 That we must move with the seasons of life. 00:06:43.039 --> 00:06:45.459 We must move with the seasons of life. 00:06:46.859 --> 00:06:47.419 True, 00:06:47.699 --> 00:06:51.219 That different seasons require different kinds of behaviour, 00:06:51.339 --> 00:06:51.679 Don't they? 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:52.699 Think of the year. 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:56.060 I don't wear a puffer jacket in summer, 00:06:56.719 --> 00:06:57.239 Do I? 00:06:57.679 --> 00:06:59.859 I don't eat salad in winter, 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:01.099 Or at least I don't. 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:04.780 Holidays depend on what season you are in, 00:07:04.840 --> 00:07:05.280 Don't they? 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:08.920 Times in the year dictates how you behave. 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:10.660 How we work. 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:11.840 Just think of a farmer. 00:07:12.280 --> 00:07:14.800 A farmer knows not to plough in winter. 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:17.960 He knows not to harvest in spring. 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:21.700 He knows what to do in each season. 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:27.400 And part of wise living is to see that life works like that, 00:07:27.400 --> 00:07:28.400 On the whole. 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:31.739 We are servants to the seasons, 00:07:32.019 --> 00:07:33.879 And we shouldn't fight that. 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:39.839 Living as if we can choose the time or the season that we're experiencing. 00:07:41.239 --> 00:07:44.500 But we battle with the seasons of life, don't we? 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:50.479 Young people want to grow up fast, 00:07:51.159 --> 00:07:52.259 And be older. 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:54.439 Young people want to grow up fast, 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:56.439 Young people want to grow up fast, 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:56.439 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:58.480 The elderly struggle not to hold on to the past. 00:08:00.159 --> 00:08:04.019 Young parents battle with raising children, 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:06.459 Or advancing their careers. 00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:09.339 More often than not, 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:14.399 We find ourselves wishing that we were in a different season to the one that we are. 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:18.360 Or experiencing a different time. 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:20.759 It's winter for me, 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:22.759 And I wish it was summer. 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:25.280 We want to laugh, 00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:28.580 When really the time for laughter has ended. 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:31.100 We want to plant, 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:33.800 When actually it's time to pluck up. 00:08:34.740 --> 00:08:36.500 It's time to be quiet, 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:38.680 When I want to speak. 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:42.120 And as the pendulum swings, 00:08:42.599 --> 00:08:45.500 All too often we think we can choose our seasons, 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:48.199 And we can't face the season we're in, 00:08:48.699 --> 00:08:50.419 And what it demands from us. 00:08:52.439 --> 00:08:53.439 Now for some of us, 00:08:53.500 --> 00:08:54.739 That might mean, 00:08:54.979 --> 00:08:58.099 That it's time to plant new things, 00:08:58.239 --> 00:09:00.639 And take on new endeavours. 00:09:01.579 --> 00:09:03.939 But we don't know how to start, 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:06.079 We just keep hitting snooze. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:08.720 Others of us though, 00:09:08.800 --> 00:09:09.040 Maybe, 00:09:09.340 --> 00:09:11.600 We don't know when to stop, 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:13.540 When it's the time to cease. 00:09:14.560 --> 00:09:16.520 We try to keep building, 00:09:16.740 --> 00:09:17.000 Maybe, 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:18.840 What needs to be torn down. 00:09:19.920 --> 00:09:22.600 We hold on to things from a past season, 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:25.740 And we need to let go of those things, 00:09:25.820 --> 00:09:27.160 And let others take over, 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:27.500 Maybe. 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:31.900 Some don't make the best of a good season, 00:09:32.040 --> 00:09:32.820 Of good health, 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:34.259 And of opportunities, 00:09:34.620 --> 00:09:35.420 Of relationships. 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:37.900 We take those things for granted, 00:09:38.020 --> 00:09:38.920 And we moan, 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:40.700 As if it's winter, 00:09:40.800 --> 00:09:41.940 When actually it's summer, 00:09:42.700 --> 00:09:44.420 And we need to tan up, 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:45.960 Grab life, 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:46.860 And go for it. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:50.480 Even when it's time to laugh, 00:09:50.680 --> 00:09:51.560 And love, 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:52.800 And make peace, 00:09:52.800 --> 00:09:53.540 We think, 00:09:53.900 --> 00:09:56.060 God must be playing a trick, 00:09:56.700 --> 00:09:58.940 And we're waiting for the next fall, 00:09:59.139 --> 00:10:01.900 And we don't grasp our opportunities properly. 00:10:01.899 --> 00:10:05.519 As servants of time, 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:07.759 We cannot control our seasons, 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:09.319 For good or for ill, 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:12.340 So we must move with them, 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:14.480 To tell the time, 00:10:14.579 --> 00:10:15.759 And live accordingly. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:18.460 We're restless, 00:10:18.460 --> 00:10:18.480 We're restless, 00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:19.220 Aren't we, 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:19.960 With our seasons, 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:22.059 We obsess about the future, 00:10:22.439 --> 00:10:25.379 And we dwell far too much on the past, 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:28.139 But it's learning to ask, 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:30.000 What time is it? 00:10:31.220 --> 00:10:33.120 The time I'm in, 00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:34.620 In the course of life. 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:38.539 So the couple that now have a baby, 00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:39.879 Well, 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:41.620 No more nights out, 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:44.899 But it's time to seek, 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:46.120 And to plan. 00:10:47.419 --> 00:10:50.779 The family whose children leave home, 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:52.940 It's now quiet, 00:10:53.419 --> 00:10:55.179 It's time to lose them, 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:55.879 In a sense, 00:10:56.659 --> 00:10:58.600 But it's time to reflect, 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:00.159 And be thankful. 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:05.219 Maybe my time is a time to advance my career, 00:11:05.939 --> 00:11:08.819 So I'm looking for opportunities to serve. 00:11:10.379 --> 00:11:16.120 The time comes when a grandparent's sight or body fails, 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:19.600 A time to learn to be more dependent. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:22.799 I meet a future spouse, 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:26.339 Time to think of being hospitable, 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:29.980 Or we lose a lifelong love, 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:34.080 Time to know God's comfort much more, 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:37.200 In all of these things, 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:40.600 We ought not to live as if we were somewhere else, 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:42.180 Or should I say actually, 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:44.060 Some time else, 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:46.240 Living in the past, 00:11:46.420 --> 00:11:48.240 Or hoping things will just get better, 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:51.379 We're slaves to the seasons, 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:55.660 So we need to move with the season that we're in, 00:11:55.659 --> 00:11:58.399 So how can we do this? 00:11:58.939 --> 00:12:00.100 How does this work? 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:01.679 How can we be content, 00:12:02.459 --> 00:12:05.699 With the hand that time has dealt to us? 00:12:06.579 --> 00:12:08.939 Content with our lot in time, 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:10.839 To face the responsibility, 00:12:11.439 --> 00:12:13.120 That time brings to us, 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:15.539 To take the opportunities, 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:18.559 Or to refrain from taking them, 00:12:20.059 --> 00:12:21.179 While thirdly, 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:22.539 The preacher shows us that, 00:12:22.899 --> 00:12:25.519 All is in God's good time, 00:12:25.659 --> 00:12:28.699 All is in God's good time, 00:12:28.699 --> 00:12:32.299 I wonder if there are, 00:12:32.459 --> 00:12:34.240 Seasons of life, 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:35.839 That you have spent, 00:12:36.439 --> 00:12:38.539 And committed your whole lives, 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:39.679 Trying to avoid, 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.859 We go through life, 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:45.019 Thinking that bad things will never happen, 00:12:45.959 --> 00:12:47.799 Or maybe we go through life, 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:49.459 Thinking that good things, 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:50.919 Are never going to happen either, 00:12:51.959 --> 00:12:54.359 But time and chance, 00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:55.199 Happen to all, 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:56.779 He says in chapter 9, 00:12:56.839 --> 00:12:58.620 We can't control the future, 00:12:59.739 --> 00:13:01.739 Stop thinking it will get better, 00:13:01.939 --> 00:13:03.779 And stop thinking it will get worse, 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:06.879 Move with the times, 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:07.600 But how? 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:09.620 Well whatever season, 00:13:09.959 --> 00:13:11.339 We find ourselves in, 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:12.659 The preacher shows us, 00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:15.299 That while time rules over us, 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:16.980 There is one, 00:13:17.079 --> 00:13:18.819 Who rules over time, 00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:22.560 Just look down at verse 14, 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:24.420 I perceive that, 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:25.580 Whatever God does, 00:13:25.660 --> 00:13:26.560 Endures forever, 00:13:27.300 --> 00:13:28.980 Nothing can be added to it, 00:13:29.420 --> 00:13:31.080 Nor anything taken from it, 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:32.420 God has done it, 00:13:32.980 --> 00:13:35.140 So that people fear before him, 00:13:36.280 --> 00:13:37.879 He is saying there, 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:39.640 That there is only one, 00:13:39.640 --> 00:13:40.780 Time Lord, 00:13:41.260 --> 00:13:42.480 God, 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:44.820 We are not, 00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:46.200 Lords of time, 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:48.680 We are servants of the seasons, 00:13:49.259 --> 00:13:51.519 But God is working, 00:13:51.700 --> 00:13:54.440 All things in his inscrutable plan, 00:13:55.300 --> 00:13:57.420 All that he does is fixed, 00:13:58.180 --> 00:13:59.360 Can't take away from it, 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:00.360 Can't add to it, 00:14:00.940 --> 00:14:01.759 It lasts, 00:14:02.019 --> 00:14:02.820 It endures, 00:14:02.940 --> 00:14:03.960 And it holds meaning, 00:14:05.220 --> 00:14:06.560 He says in verse 11, 00:14:07.060 --> 00:14:09.080 God has made everything beautiful, 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:10.279 In its time, 00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:12.759 God has made every season, 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:13.559 And time, 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:14.480 And every matter, 00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:15.319 Under heaven, 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:16.319 And under the sun, 00:14:16.839 --> 00:14:18.779 Work according to his counsel, 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:20.720 Time, 00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:22.799 Although it feels like it to us, 00:14:22.839 --> 00:14:24.179 Is not a chance, 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:25.419 Arbitrary thing, 00:14:26.199 --> 00:14:27.579 It's not just blind, 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:29.199 Pitiless chance, 00:14:29.559 --> 00:14:31.779 Whatever time we are experiencing, 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:33.639 And plunged into in life, 00:14:34.459 --> 00:14:36.559 It is God's time, 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:39.500 The God who is eternal, 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:41.120 Outside, 00:14:42.319 --> 00:14:43.039 Of time, 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:46.519 Peter in his second letter, 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:48.259 Chapter 3 verse 8, 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:50.500 He says that a thousand years, 00:14:50.579 --> 00:14:51.740 In God's sight, 00:14:52.459 --> 00:14:53.600 Are but yesterday, 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:55.179 When it's past, 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:57.299 Or as a watch in the night, 00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:01.159 Just imagine that kind of perspective, 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:02.100 On time, 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.079 How much has happened, 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:07.159 In the last thousand years, 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:09.699 Let me read to you a few things, 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:11.240 1066, 00:15:11.579 --> 00:15:12.799 The Norman Conquest, 00:15:13.539 --> 00:15:14.659 1271, 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:17.000 Marco Polo travels to China, 00:15:17.779 --> 00:15:18.939 1387, 00:15:19.179 --> 00:15:20.740 Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:22.519 1503, 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:24.139 Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, 00:15:25.139 --> 00:15:26.259 1564, 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:28.059 William Shakespeare was born, 00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:29.839 1642, 00:15:29.839 --> 00:15:31.359 The English Civil War, 00:15:32.199 --> 00:15:32.839 1788, 00:15:33.579 --> 00:15:33.839 Wilberforce's, 00:15:34.839 --> 00:15:35.939 Parliamentary ban, 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:37.139 On the slave trade, 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:37.839 1812, 00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:40.019 The US declares war, 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:40.599 On Britain, 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:41.839 1859, 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:43.599 Darwin's origin, 00:15:43.699 --> 00:15:44.419 Of the species, 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:45.839 1941, 00:15:46.719 --> 00:15:47.639 Japan invades, 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:48.419 Pearl Harbor, 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:49.899 1990, 00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:51.319 Nelson Mandela, 00:15:51.439 --> 00:15:51.919 Freed, 00:15:51.959 --> 00:15:53.299 From 25 years, 00:15:53.439 --> 00:15:54.079 In prison, 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:56.820 All of that stuff, 00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:57.780 And more, 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:00.180 Like yesterday, 00:16:01.300 --> 00:16:01.860 To God, 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:03.860 Like Monday, 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:06.660 A thousand years, 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:07.820 Like a moment, 00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:11.160 What kind of God is he? 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:14.720 We know that in Genesis 1, 00:16:14.920 --> 00:16:17.639 God himself creates time, 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:18.960 He says, 00:16:19.140 --> 00:16:20.680 Let there be light in the sky, 00:16:20.800 --> 00:16:22.480 To separate the day from the night, 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:25.539 He creates the boundaries of time, 00:16:26.300 --> 00:16:27.800 The patterns of creation, 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:29.379 Morning and evening, 00:16:30.300 --> 00:16:32.080 In eternity, 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:34.039 He is never ending, 00:16:34.920 --> 00:16:35.960 He is infinite, 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:37.740 No beginning, 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:38.899 No ending, 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:41.860 He bends and fills, 00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:44.220 And uses time for his purposes, 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:46.720 He's never late, 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:48.180 He's never early, 00:16:49.180 --> 00:16:50.980 He's the ancient of days, 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:53.840 And yet he does new things, 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.259 He never overworks, 00:16:56.379 --> 00:16:57.700 Or puts things off, 00:16:57.960 --> 00:16:59.420 He's never surprised, 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:00.539 Or bored, 00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:02.539 He never wastes time, 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:04.680 He does all things, 00:17:04.740 --> 00:17:05.980 At the right time, 00:17:06.420 --> 00:17:07.720 Everything beautiful, 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:08.960 In its time, 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.059 So we learn, 00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:13.920 To enter each season, 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:15.220 With contentment, 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:17.099 Knowing that, 00:17:17.420 --> 00:17:18.460 While we are ruled, 00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:19.440 By time, 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:20.700 And events, 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:22.680 Time is ruled, 00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:23.660 By this God, 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:25.620 Our seasons, 00:17:25.940 --> 00:17:26.420 For good, 00:17:26.860 --> 00:17:27.420 And ill, 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:29.420 And we can face, 00:17:29.500 --> 00:17:30.140 Those seasons, 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:31.000 With comfort, 00:17:31.120 --> 00:17:32.019 And security, 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:34.900 The Apostle Paul, 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:36.200 In that famous verse, 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:36.740 He says, 00:17:36.840 --> 00:17:37.840 God works, 00:17:37.900 --> 00:17:38.759 All things, 00:17:38.820 --> 00:17:39.600 For the good of those, 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:40.380 Who love him, 00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:42.720 Some things, 00:17:43.940 --> 00:17:45.059 Most things, 00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:48.139 All things, 00:17:48.879 --> 00:17:49.679 Arranged, 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:51.500 And made beautiful, 00:17:51.679 --> 00:17:52.720 In their time, 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:54.319 For his praise, 00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:55.879 And for his people's good, 00:17:56.399 --> 00:17:59.559 Are you the kind of person, 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:01.619 Who asks lots of questions, 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:02.559 In films, 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:03.519 They're so annoying, 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:04.339 Those kind of people, 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:04.720 Aren't they, 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:05.740 You're watching a, 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:07.339 A complicated story, 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:09.379 And they're asking loads of questions, 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.679 Why is he doing that? 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:12.500 Whose car is that? 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:14.660 Why is he wearing a mask? 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:15.900 Who's that? 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:16.880 Where's he going? 00:18:17.460 --> 00:18:18.779 Questions all of the time, 00:18:18.859 --> 00:18:20.240 And the only answer to that, 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:20.700 Is well, 00:18:20.859 --> 00:18:21.980 Just watch the film, 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:22.960 I don't know, 00:18:23.460 --> 00:18:25.420 See how the film plays out, 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.700 But aren't we so often like that, 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:29.319 In life? 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:32.079 We spend too much time, 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:33.119 Speculating, 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:34.839 And second guessing God, 00:18:36.099 --> 00:18:37.579 The preacher tells us, 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:39.259 We cannot find out, 00:18:39.380 --> 00:18:40.240 What God has done, 00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:41.700 From the beginning to the end, 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:42.620 Verse 11, 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:44.299 We just don't know, 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:45.180 The big picture, 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:48.380 So whatever you're facing, 00:18:49.299 --> 00:18:50.279 Watch the film, 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:51.220 And find out, 00:18:52.059 --> 00:18:53.799 With this confidence, 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.120 That we can move, 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:56.120 With our seasons, 00:18:57.160 --> 00:18:58.340 And live appropriately, 00:18:58.519 --> 00:18:59.080 Within them, 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:00.180 This confidence, 00:19:00.380 --> 00:19:00.960 Is the confidence, 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:02.580 That Paul the apostle has, 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:03.000 Isn't it? 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:04.000 He says, 00:19:04.140 --> 00:19:04.840 To the Philippians, 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:05.799 I've learnt, 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:07.039 In whatever situation, 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:08.240 I am to be content, 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:11.019 I know how to be brought low, 00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:12.120 And how to abound, 00:19:12.660 --> 00:19:14.460 In any and every circumstance, 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:15.880 I've learnt the secret, 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:17.099 Of facing plenty, 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:18.039 And of hunger, 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:19.359 Of abundance, 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.259 And of need, 00:19:20.980 --> 00:19:22.519 I can do all things, 00:19:22.660 --> 00:19:23.120 Through God, 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:24.259 Who strengthens me, 00:19:25.539 --> 00:19:26.960 It's not a natural thing, 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:27.539 That is it, 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:29.299 He's learnt that, 00:19:29.299 --> 00:19:31.619 And we see, 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:32.720 Jesus Christ, 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:34.240 Who did not fight, 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:35.159 The times, 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:37.099 The seasons, 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:38.039 Of his life, 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:40.539 He knew the time, 00:19:40.659 --> 00:19:41.299 To weep, 00:19:41.579 --> 00:19:42.180 And the time, 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:42.980 To mourn, 00:19:43.399 --> 00:19:44.759 He knew the time, 00:19:44.879 --> 00:19:45.680 To embrace, 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:48.240 And to let the rich man, 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:49.099 Walk away, 00:19:50.059 --> 00:19:50.980 He knew the time, 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:52.619 To tear down tables, 00:19:53.619 --> 00:19:54.279 And the time, 00:19:54.399 --> 00:19:55.240 To start building, 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:56.099 His church, 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:58.079 He knew the time, 00:19:58.220 --> 00:19:58.899 To speak, 00:19:59.299 --> 00:20:00.119 And the time, 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:00.859 To be silent, 00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:03.159 He knew the time, 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:03.960 To be born, 00:20:04.659 --> 00:20:05.639 And the time, 00:20:05.819 --> 00:20:06.299 To die, 00:20:07.419 --> 00:20:08.779 He faced his life, 00:20:08.879 --> 00:20:09.779 Under the sun, 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:11.319 In time, 00:20:12.339 --> 00:20:13.059 Trusting in, 00:20:13.180 --> 00:20:14.379 His father's will, 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:16.659 And moving with the seasons, 00:20:16.919 --> 00:20:17.599 And the hours, 00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:19.019 Appointed for him, 00:20:19.379 --> 00:20:20.119 Trusting, 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:21.960 The Lord of time, 00:20:22.899 --> 00:20:23.899 For his good, 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:26.359 He was a servant, 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:27.240 Of the seasons, 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:29.240 Moving with his, 00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:29.899 Times, 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:31.940 All in God's, 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:32.779 Good time, 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:35.779 And I don't usually, 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:36.319 Do this, 00:20:36.379 --> 00:20:37.019 But I want to finish, 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:38.039 By reading a poem, 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:39.480 To you, 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:40.000 And it's, 00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:41.759 You'll recognize it, 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:43.180 It's by Isaac Watts, 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:44.579 It's written in, 00:20:44.779 --> 00:20:44.779 00:20:46.779 --> 00:20:48.000 And it's often sung, 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:48.919 Along to music, 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:50.159 We sung it on Sunday, 00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:50.980 In our church, 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:52.799 I can't give you, 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:53.620 Every verse, 00:20:53.619 --> 00:20:54.219 Because it's, 00:20:54.219 --> 00:20:54.819 It's quite long, 00:20:54.879 --> 00:20:55.759 But I'll give you a few, 00:20:56.659 --> 00:20:57.679 Speaks of God, 00:20:57.739 --> 00:20:58.819 As Lord of time, 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:01.099 One in whom, 00:21:01.339 --> 00:21:02.619 We find contentment, 00:21:02.699 --> 00:21:03.559 In all the seasons, 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:04.159 Of life, 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:07.220 Our God, 00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:08.460 Our help, 00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:08.480 Our help, 00:21:08.820 --> 00:21:09.720 In ages past, 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:11.640 Our hope, 00:21:11.779 --> 00:21:12.820 For years to come, 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:14.640 Our shelter, 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:15.980 From the stormy blast, 00:21:16.800 --> 00:21:18.740 And our eternal home, 00:21:19.800 --> 00:21:21.380 Before the hills, 00:21:21.540 --> 00:21:22.560 In order stood, 00:21:23.120 --> 00:21:23.880 Or earth, 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:25.200 Received her frame, 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:27.320 From everlasting, 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:28.720 Thou art God, 00:21:29.379 --> 00:21:30.579 To endless years, 00:21:30.679 --> 00:21:31.200 The same, 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:33.799 A thousand ages, 00:21:33.939 --> 00:21:34.819 In thy sight, 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:36.339 Are like an evening, 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:36.879 Gone, 00:21:37.879 --> 00:21:39.159 Short as the watch, 00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:40.179 That ends the night, 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:41.960 Before the rising sun, 00:21:43.339 --> 00:21:44.039 Time, 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:45.819 Like an ever rolling, 00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:46.519 Stream, 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:48.779 Bears all its suns away, 00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:50.919 They fly forgotten, 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:51.679 As a dream, 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:53.379 Dies at the opening day, 00:21:54.639 --> 00:21:55.319 Our God, 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:56.399 Our help, 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:57.640 In ages past, 00:21:58.500 --> 00:21:59.100 Our hope, 00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:00.100 For years to come, 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:02.640 Be thou our God, 00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:04.220 While troubles last, 00:22:05.060 --> 00:22:06.240 In our eternal home, 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:08.800 Let's pray together.