Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2: 0:20

Welcome to a new week of the Daily Blade. And how about Derwin Gray from last week? Huh. Welcome to a new week of the Daily Blade. And how about Derwin Gray from last week? Huh, I mean, the dude is a straight killer. Joby and I are very, very thankful to be brothers in Christ and brothers in ministry with him.

Speaker 2: 0:30

But this week we will focus on a passage from chapter three of the Old Testament, book of Ecclesiastes. So the book of Ecclesiastes is traditionally attributed to King Solomon, the son of King David, and it was likely written in the late 10th century BC and Solomon wrote it towards the end of his life. So you can tell as you read it, as you read through really all of Ecclesiastes, that it seemed like Solomon is reflecting on his life and the lessons that he's learned over his life. And you know there were clearly some hard lessons and some that weren't so hard. But the audience was God's covenant people, israel, and broadly the writing tackles subjects like the futility of life and the folly of pursuing worldly things apart from God, and the passage that we are going to focus on this week is from Ecclesiastes 3, verses 1 through 8. I'll read it here For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven a time to be born and a time to die.

Speaker 2: 1:21

A time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing a time to seek and a time to loose. A time to keep. Refrain from embracing a time to seek and a time to loose. A time to keep and a time to cast away and a time to tear and a time to sow and a time to keep. Silence and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

Speaker 2: 2:03

So, to start, solomon says that for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. So the key doctrine of what follows is God's providence. Okay, so essentially God's sovereignty is applicable in all seasons and his involvement in the affairs of this world never ceases. But let's key in today on verse 2. A time to be born and a time to die. So I want to emphasize this that God is the Lord of life and death. So the beginning of our lives are not random and the ending of our lives are not random. Everything and everyone lives and dies in the purview of the sovereign will of our Creator. So that may seem a little dour to some of you, but it should be very encouraging actually. So, yes, god is in charge of the ways and means of life and death. But we have been given an incredible responsibility we are to steward well the time we are given. So my buddy, dakota Meyer he's a retired Marine and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He calls it owning the dash. Marine and a recipient of the Medal of Honor, he calls it owning the dash. So, essentially, one day all of our fleshly bodies will be buried in a wooden box about six feet under the ground and to mark who lies in that grave will be a tombstone with the day that we were born and the day that we died In between a dash, and that's where we come in and no matter what happens to or because of us during that time, we can have ultimate comfort and ultimate hope.

Speaker 2: 3:30

So I find ultimate comfort in verses like Psalm 139, verse 16. Your eyes saw my unformed substance. 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 before I was even a twinkle in my father's eye, right, god knew me, god had a plan for me and God was calling me to himself. I mean, that doesn't give me a big head, you know, it humbles me. It should humble all of us. The creator, god of the cosmos and everything in it, allowed me to come into existence and I am to serve him while I'm here. And the same goes for you.

Speaker 2: 4:07

And I find ultimate hope in verses like John 11, 24 through 27. So in John 11, we see that Jesus's good friend, lazarus, has died. And before Jesus goes to Lazarus's tomb to resurrect him from the dead, he's having a conversation with Lazarus's sister, martha, and Martha is distraught and confused because she thinks Jesus should have showed up before Lazarus died to prevent his death from happening. So Jesus actually informs her that Lazarus will live again. And here is Martha's response, in verse 24, and then we'll go through verse 27. Martha said to him I know that he will rise again in the resurrection of the last day.

Speaker 2: 4:42

Jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die yet, he shall live. Yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him yes, lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, who is coming into the world. So there certainly is a season and a time for every matter under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die. But for believers, we can rest assured that our earthly death is by no means the end. In the most ultimate of ways, it's just the beginning. If you want everlasting life, you must repent of your sins and put your faith in Christ. If you have never done so, let today be the day I compel you to come in.

Speaker 1: 5:32

Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go. If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.