Living a Good Life: Making Sense of the Journey, Part 3

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Ecclesiastes 3, 1-15 makes it clear who orders our lives. God is master of life and gives life to us as a gift to be well stewarded.

So how do I turn control of my life over to the master of my life? This message continues the series on Ecclesiastes titled, Living a Good Life, Making Sense of the Journey. It was first preached on March 18th, 2018 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Listen in with us as Pastor Rich describes the master's purpose in life and our beautiful role within that purpose. Today's segment is the third part of the message. If you want to listen to it from the beginning, you can go to www.delightingrace.com And this is why he says, be joyful, take pleasure.

This is God's gift to men. Listen to this, God's purpose is for you to see him through the disciplines of life. Disciplines in the sense of what you devote yourself to developing skill and craft.

But also the disciplines that are corrective. God's purpose is for you to see him through the disciplines of life. The first scientists were men who believed in God and wanted to understand his creation. So they studied the creation.

And man in his arrogance when he got to a certain point said, okay, now we understand how everything works. We don't need God anymore. So now we have a scientism that is purely materialistic that has utterly catapulted God from the discipline. Not all scientists, no, not biological.

And faith and science are not against each other, not at all. Because William Dembski says, Christ has taken on our identity and he has entered our reality. He has thereby rendered all our studies and all our endeavors the study of himself. So be joyful, take pleasure, this is God's gift to man. Pursue God through the disciplines of life, know him.

Not only science but music and art, industry, relationships, creativity, all of it. Enjoy it. Master it as a craft, as a discipline, as a means of studying and knowing God. Be joyful, take pleasure, this is God's gift to man. Lastly, on God's purpose, verses 14 to 15, God's purpose is complete. God's purpose is complete.

This is staggering folks. Verse 14, I perceive that whatever God does endures forever. Nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it. God has done it so that people fear before him that which is already has been, that which is to be already has been and God seeks what has been driven away. God's purpose is complete.

Nothing added, nothing taken away. Consider once again back in verse 11, what does he say? He doesn't say he will make everything beautiful in its time, does it? Doesn't say that.

What does it say? God has made everything beautiful in its time. This is a glimpse into the infinite mind of God.

Here's what we need to resign to as we read this. There are things that you and I cannot understand. We cannot see how all the dots connect, all the stuff that goes into life. How does God make something beautiful from that? We can't see how all the dots connect but God does.

He's the one that's connecting them. And so in that, there are things that you and I cannot understand because we are limited in our perspective. We are limited in our understanding. We are limited in our capacity. The things that you can't understand are not meant to alienate you from God but to draw you to trust Him. It's a quote from Tommy Nelson.

It's a very, very good one. Why should I trust him? Because he is infinite.

Because he is perfectly just and perfectly good. Do I know that? Do I believe that? I want you to see an example of this. You know the story of Joseph, right? Where do you go to find the story of Joseph? You say, well, Genesis, of course. Well, let me give you a more complete picture. Turn with me to Psalm 105.

It's up on the screen if you want to see it there but look at this. You know the story of Joseph. Joseph was one of the youngest of the brothers and his brothers hated him and they sold him into slavery. He was a slave. He was somebody else's property and then he got falsely accused and then he was thrown in prison and then he got forgotten in prison.

You know the story, don't you? Here it is from the psalmist. When he summoned a famine, when God summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

His feet were hurt with fetters. His neck was put in a collar of iron until what he had said came to pass, until what God had said came to pass. The word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him. The ruler of the people set him free. He made him Lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions to bind to the princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.

There you go, folks. There is God's, a glimpse of God's mind. He has made, he has made everything beautiful in his time. I'm sure when Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and then sold into slavery and his feet were hurt in fetters and his neck put in an iron collar, he didn't see how all the dots connected. These were unpleasurable things for him, but God was connecting the dots.

And do you see how God used the unpleasant things for his beautiful purpose? What does it say? He sent a man ahead of them. For what purpose? To rescue his people from famine. Beautiful, beautiful. Verse 14 says God has done it so that people fear before him. You see his purpose is complete.

Joseph is a type of Christ where he has gone before you. He has endured suffering and he has been raised to rule, to rescue you from the famine of God's judgment. He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has done this so that people fear before him. God's purpose is complete. Kyle and Dalish say the work of God is that which is completing itself in the history of the world of which the life of individual men is a fragment.

It's just a fragment. We know it well. In your book were written every one of them the days that were formed for me when as yet there was none of them.

So let's bring this to so what? God's purpose is beautiful. God's purpose is pleasurable. God's purpose is complete. There is purpose behind all the stuff that goes into making life. There is someone connecting the dots and when the dots are all connected and they're already connected in his mind and he sees a very beautiful picture. So what does this mean for us in the stewardship of life?

So what? God's ordered arrangement of time. What does it mean for you and me today? First of all if God's purpose is beautiful it just shows that God is sovereign. He's the one sovereignly connecting the dots. So I should entrust my life to him. It only makes sense. It only makes sense.

There is only one appropriate response to sovereignty and it is surrender. As opposed to thinking that I'm in control of my life. Secondly God's purpose is pleasurable. What does that say of God? It shows that God is good and I should enjoy his benefits. So enjoy life. Enjoy the benefits. Bless the Lord oh my soul forget not all his benefits. Know that Christians. As opposed to complaining. As opposed to focusing on the hurtful unpleasurable things of life.

As I've said before a complaining Christian is a contradiction in terms. Thirdly God's purpose is complete. God is transcendent. That's what tells us that God is true. He is outside of time. Time exists as something that God created. And he known and has known the end from the beginning.

And he's connected all the dots. And if this is true of God that he is transcendent then I should submit to his purpose. As opposed to resisting. What sense does it make to resist against God?

Because eventually you will face him. You will stand before him. And he will ask you why did you reject my purpose for you?

It won't make any sense. When you understand that God's purpose is beautiful and it's pleasurable, it's complete. Then you can live a life of trust and joy and peace. And God can rescue us from striving to control. He can rescue us from complaining and despair. He can rescue us from our resistant pride. I want you to contemplate Psalm 105 now verses 14. This is the same Psalm where he talked about Joseph.

The sovereign God who connects the dots. He makes everything beautiful in its time. This is how he begins the Psalm because this is, listen, this is the point.

This is the point. Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the people. Sing to him, sing praises to him. Tell of all his wondrous works, glory in his holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his presence continually. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m.