SEASONS
The Book of Ecclesiastes #2
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
January 26, 2025
(Ecclesiastes 3:1–8, NLT) “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.”
(Acts 1:7–8, ESV) “[Jesus] said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
1. COOPERATING WITH GOD MAKES MY LIFE MEANINGFUL WHATEVER THE SEASON
(Ecclesiastes 8:5–6, NLT) “Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:11, NLT) “God has made everything beautiful for its own time.”
2. HAVE FAITH IN GOD DURING THE WINTER SEASONS OF LIFE
“Winter is when my knowledge about God and my experience of God are separated by a frozen continent; my theology and my reality are irreconcilable.” –Mark Buchanan
(Daniel 5:23, NLT) “God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!”
(Ecclesiastes 3:11, NLT) “God … has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
- I have spiritual thirst.
- I have eternal value.
- Only the eternal God can satisfy my thirst.
(John 13:7, NLT) “[Jesus] You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
3. ENJOY LIFE AND DO GOOD IN EVERY SEASON
(Ecclesiastes 3:12, NASB) “I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;”
(Ecclesiastes 11:4, LB) “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”
(Psalm 37:3, NLT) “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.”
(1 Corinthians 15:57–58, NLT) “Thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
4. THANK GOD DAILY FOR THE GIFT AND BLESSINGS OF LIFE
“Bad men live that they may eat and drink, good men eat and drink that they may live.” –Socrates
(Ecclesiastes 3:13, CEV) “God’s gift to us is the happiness we get from our food and drink and from the work we do.”
(Ecclesiastes 11:8, Message) “Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour …”
5. PLAN TO ACCOUNT FOR YOUR TIME TO GOD
“Keep short accounts with God.” –D. L. Moody
(Ecclesiastes 3:15, NIV) “God will call the past to account.”
(Romans 14:12, NLT) “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.”
(Ephesians 5:15–16, NLT) “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”