Time & Change - Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Introduction  Do you realize that change is inevitable? Consider just a couple of changes we know are coming. Jacob is leaving on Tuesday and will likely not come back to live around here. That will be a change for him, for the Hugheys, for his friends, and for us as a church. The Leamans will be leaving soon as well. That will be a big change for them and for us. Not too long ago the Petersens dropped their baby daughter at a far away college. I'm sure that was a change for them.  Life is constantly changing. Think for a moment of all the changes that happened in your life just this past week: changes in schedule, relationships, at work or school, etc. The unavoidable changes in life teach us something about God and something about us.  I. What is change?  A. Change is to make or become different.  B. Change can be something very fearful.  C. People respond to change differently and most people have a default setting for interacting with and reacting to change.  II. Everything in life may change, but God will never change, 14.  A. This is a very comforting truth in view of all the changes in our lives.  B. No matter what change in our lives, we believe in and serve an unchanging God who will fulfill all his purposes and promises.  C. God is dependable and trustworthy because he never changes.  D. We, on the other hand, experience change at several levels.  E. We are all in seasons of change.  III. We should expect changes in our circumstances, 1-8.  A. This poem is a powerful description of changes in our circumstances.  B. God appointed each season to be lived to its fullest, 1.  C. I want us to see also that all change is redemptive to the believer because it is brought about by a sovereign and good God.  D. So, we must be rooted on the fact that change is the normal experience of life and God, who is good, is sovereign over all change.  IV. As Christians we are always changing because we are being sanctified.  A. Sanctification means progressive change.  B. The Gospel produces change in our lives.  C. So the desire that every thing remains the same is not necessarily a good desire – we not always called to conserve (be conservative).  V. One last word about change: because of the Gospel we will ultimately be completely changed.  A. This longing for eternity is programed in us, 11a.  B. We live through changes in this life longing for the ultimate change in glorification.  Conclusion  We all live in seasons of change. But every change is governed by our good and sovereign God, who makes every season beautiful in its own time. Praise be to him!

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