ONLINE Sunday Service (M909) | Mount Zion Church | 5 April 2020 | God’s Perfect Timing | Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

The Bible said that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. Believers must know and believe that there is always God behind everything, God is in control. Even in the disaster that Job had in his family, the storm that Paul experienced, the prison that Peter went in, the famine and the drought in the day of Elijah, God was behind all of that and God is always in control! One thing we can know for sure that God is faithful, He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that we may be able to bear it 1Cor.10:13. The book of Ecclesiastes provided a long list note about God’s perfect timing and then concluded with a very important truth that we must always remember.

Everything Has Its Time ¹ To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: ² A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; ³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶ A time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; ⁷ A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace. ⁹ What profit has the worker from that in which he labours? ¹⁰ I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

He has made EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL in ITS TIME. There is a time to have church in the church building, and there is a time to do church at home. There is a time to have a church picnic, and there is a time to do social distancing. There is a time to embrace, and there is a time to refrain from embracing! God sealed everything with one of the strongest statement that we can find in the Bible: He has made everything beautiful in its time.

There are 3 things that we can learn about God’s perfect timing, so that we can have a better understanding about His works and then we can find our perfect peace in Him Is.26:3.

1: EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL

Believers must agree with God when He said that everything beautiful in its time. We may never understand about every single thing happen in our life and that is totally okay. God said: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law Deut.29:29.” We are not supposed to understand everything, and God never require us to understand all His secret. Even when God revealed heavenly secret to Daniel, not everything was opened to him. Daniel wrote: “Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, ‘My lord, what shall be the end of these things?’ And he said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end Dan.12:8-9.’”

God only ask one thing from us, that we DO all the words of the law, all the words that already given to us. We are not God, and we will never able to understand God completely, but it does not mean that God does not exist. God said: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways; For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts Is.55:8-9.”

Even though we are not able to understand everything, but God ask us to have a strong faith in Him, that everything will be beautiful! When Job got so many bad things happened in one day, he lost his property and his children, he was not able to understand everything, but one thing he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord Job.1:21.” Later we can read in the last chapters from the book of Job that so many beautiful things happened. Job got deeper and stronger experience with God! Before that disaster, Job just heard God by the hearing of the ear, but then Job said that his eyes see God more Job.42:5. How beautiful is that! His marriage and his family also restored, and then he got the very blessed daughter. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job Job.42:15. His property also restored as he got everything double. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning Job.42:12. How beautiful is that! Let’s declare this word of faith: “God has made everything beautiful in its time!”

2: HE HAS PUT ETERNITY

The beautiful thing not always happens in this world when we still alive! This is the next important truth about God’s perfect timing. Our journey with God in this world is only a little bit compared to the eternity. That’s why we must focus in the eternity rather than all temporary things in this world. Our God is the everlasting God Is.40:28 and He has loved us with an everlasting love Jer.31:3. The covenant between God and us is called an everlasting covenant Gen.17:7.

What does it mean for us? Just in case that we don’t have the opportunity to see that beautiful things in this world, even until the end of our life, so it means that we will definitely see that beautiful things in the eternity. Why? Because he has put eternity in us. The animal, the plant, and any other things in this world is not created to endure for everlasting, they will end in rubbish bins. But humans are created totally different, we are created according to His image, we are eternal Gen.1:26-27!

God’s perfect timing is also including the eternity. If we only reckon that God’s perfect timing will only happen in this short world we will get it wrong, because He has put eternity! Paul suffered from so many things during his life, he got persecuted, living in a prison, and he finished his life inside the prison at Rome. He wrote to Timothy that he was already being poured out as drink offering and the time of his departure was at hand. Instead of giving up, he looked upon the eternity and said: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing 2Tim.4:6-8.” Jesus said: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also Jn.14:2-3.” Our hope will not end in this world only, our hope is so strong, even until the eternity! Let’s say: “Thank you Lord, as You put eternity in us, so that we can know for sure that we will experience Your goodness to eternity!”

3: THE WORK OF GOD FROM BEGINNING TO END

Ecclesiastes wrote that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. The thoughts and the ways of God are very high, as the heavens are higher than the earth. But what God has done from beginning to end already revealed in the Bible for a purpose that we can have better understanding and we can have a perfect peace with God. We may not know every single thing but what we are allowed to know God already disclose it. If we want to pay attention to what God had done from beginning and what God are going to do in the end, we will find more beautifulness of His grand plan!

The final part of His works is so amazing! The Bible has so many records about it. God revealed His works at the end of everything not only in the book of Revelation, but we can find it since the beginning of everything, even since the day of Enoch just like what we learned last Sunday Jud.1:14-15. In the book of Daniel, God revealed the secret about 70 weeks to finish everything. 70 weeks in the Daniel’s prophecy is the secret of God’s perfect timing as well.

²⁴ “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. ²⁵ “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. ²⁶ “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷ Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:24-27

We had been told that 70 weeks divided into 3 parts: 7 weeks, 62 weeks, and the lucky last 1 week. The first part and the second part already finished as the Messiah already came in this world and finished His mission upon the cross when He said: “IT IS DONE Jn.19:30!” So, now we are waiting for the last week, the 70^th week of Daniel’s prophecy which will finish everything, make an end, seal up all vision and prophecy. So, how could we understand more about that 70^th week? Daniel had been told that in the middle of that 70^th week everything will become very bad, the wing of abominations will rule everything. The book of Revelation then mentioned how the antichrist will rule completely and tread the holy city underfoot for 42 months, which equal to 3,5 years Rev.11:2. God also mentioned how the beast in Revelation chapter 13 was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for 42 months, which equal to 3,5 years Rev.13:5. From those 2 verses about the full reign of antichrist, and also from other verses about rapture, we then can understand that the half of 70^th week is 3,5 years and the whole week is 7 years. Lot of things will happen during that week, and we can believe that it is the part of God’s perfect timing!

There is a time for everything! There is time for the Messiah came to this world, there is time for the church to grow and expand globally, specially with this online method nowadays, there is time for the latter rain, there is time for rapture, there is time to finish everything!

CONCLUSION & CHALLENGE

Next steps:

Since God already plan everything from the beginning to the end, so these are what we can do:

: : 1 : : Let’s belief and declare that He has made everything beautiful in its time. No matter what your season is now, maybe it is a good season or maybe a challenging one, let’s say that everything is beautiful, God is good all the time.

: : 2 : : Since God created us for eternal, so let’s stop focusing about this world and let’s set our mind in things above. Our world is getting older and will pass away, but the good news is that the eternity waiting for us!

: : 3 : : The beginning of God’s work is the history, but the end of everything is our future. Let’s talk more about what will be happen in our future! Let’s pay more attention about what God will do in the future to finish everything and get ready for that. AMEN.