St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

New Year’s Eve December 31, 2003

/New Year’s Day January 1, 2004

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

When I was little we used to watch The Andy Griffith Show, Leave It To Beaver and I Love Lucy—shows that are on Nickelodeon. When I was little we used to watch Bewitched. On Bewitched—Darren Stevens—would come home from work. He would put his briefcase on a table below the mirror in the entryway. Samantha his wife would say, “Darren, would you like me to fix you a drink?” Darren would wipe his forehead with a monogrammed handkerchief and say, “Better make it a double!” Perhaps tonight more than any night all year—people will drink alcohol. They will drink beer from a brewery that is 100 years old. They will drink eggnog with brandy in it—apple cider with whiskey in it. They will drink brandy and whiskey and Southern Comfort old fashioneds—with fruit or olives or pickled mushrooms. They will drink martinis in those distinctive stemmed glasses. They will drink champagne at midnight and yell happy New Year and kiss family, relatives, friends and strangers. They will fall asleep or pass out. They will wake up tomorrow with a painful hangover. They will have trouble remembering to write 2004 on their checks. But other than that—life will be painfully the same! Tonight here in God’s House we find comfort—not from a bottle but from the Gospel. We find comfort and encouragement and the ability to change from the Scriptures. We find wisdom and insight from the very Word of God—as we thank God for his blessings in the past and pray for his grace for the future. Tonight we remember:

Our Times Are In God’s Hands…

1. His wisdom is boundless; and

2. His love is endless.

The part of God’s Word we are concentrating on tonight is from Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes means the preacher or the teacher. It is wisdom literature—instruction and insight—breathed by the Holy Spirit. Much of this wisdom is born of painful experience—wisdom from the school of hard knocks—wisdom learned the hard way! Remember when by grace alone the LORD told Solomon—ask for a blessing—any blessing—and you shall have it. Solomon did not ask for great earthly wealth—gold and silver and precious stones. Solomon did not ask for long life—nor for the death of all his enemies. Instead—the LORD moved Solomon to ask for wisdom—for a heart with ears—a discerning heart—to lead God’s people faithfully—to live close to their Heavenly Father. The LORD granted that prayer—making Solomon wise—first in the most important way. To know that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. The LORD also gave Solomon insight into every other area, too. Solomon understood because God enabled him to understand about conies. Do you know what a coney is? A coney is a rock badger. Solomon wrote, “Conies are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags.” Proverbs 30:26 Conies are furry little creatures that live in the wilderness—hiding in the cracks between the cream colored stones. They are not big and powerful—yet they are tough. Conies live in the most desolate wilderness—yet your Heavenly Father takes care of them. So do not worry about tomorrow. Do not worry about the New Year—wondering what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear? If your Heavenly Father takes care of the conies—won’t he take care of you—oh, we of little faith!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Time—what a cosmic concept—time! Normally I would not care about a football game last Sunday down in Arizona. And yet late Sunday afternoon—I cared very much—and yet with little hope because time was running out. How could a team that had hardly scored in a whole game do so twice in less than 2 minutes? There just wasn’t enough time. And yet—there was one score. Still—not enough time! And yet—as time ran out—the play that had begun could be—must be completed. And it was—and what was almost a time for mourning became a time for dancing. People literally jumping up and down. Jumping up and down and shouting and cheering—for something as simple as winning a child’s game—and being able to play that same child’s game a week later on frozen grass in the north! If a children’s game is reason for such joy—how much more do we have reason to be joyful—no matter how these children’s games come out. Our souls are saved for eternity. I remember visiting a man named John—who was dying from cancer. When he couldn’t get out any more—he watched baseball games. I’d visit him and ask him the score and he always knew. Then—as he got sicker and sicker—he still had the ball game on—but when I’d ask him—what’s the score—he’d say—I don’t know. What does it matter? And the truth is—it doesn’t. In the forever scheme of things—so many of the things we spend so much time and energy on—don’t matter. They don’t matter at all. Only Jesus matters. Only his blood bought forgiveness matters. Nothing else comes close!

There is a time to be born and a time to die… Every 8 seconds someone is born in the United States of America. If you read The Watertown Daily Times almost every single day there are the names of mommies and daddies and babies going home from Watertown Memorial Hospital. The miracle of conception is a miracle that takes place in a place smaller than a grain of sand. That miracle of conception is a miracle only our Heavenly Father can bring about. Only he can decide when and where that miracle will happen. It is not up to people to decide they will be the captain of their own ship—the master of their own destiny. Our times are in the LORD’s hands—if and when he gives the priceless gift of a child—and when he decides in his wisdom and never failing love to call that child of his home to heaven! Once the miracle of conception has taken place—a little person exists—body and soul together. It is not for people to take pills within the first few hours—to make it impossible for that little person to Velcro themselves inside their mother’s womb—to grow and grow—bigger and stronger—towards the day they will be born. You become a person when you are conceived—not when you are born. There are people who have published articles saying maybe you should legally become a person say 30 days after you are born. Sort of like a 30 days or 3,000 miles test drive. They seriously argue that after 30 days if we are found to have parts that are defective—troubles and difficulties with our computer or our power train—our engine isn’t running smoothly—our headlights don’t work—then we can be scrapped! Rather than living a life full of operations and difficulties and frustrations and expensive medical expenses—we could be terminated. You know—like an abortion—only within the first 30 days after birth. One last safety check to make sure that everyone who becomes a person has a reasonable expectation of a pleasant and productive life! How horrible is that! Our times are in God’s hands. Our Heavenly Father and he alone has the right to bring about conception. And when a child is conceived that child is a person—to be born—to grow up—to live by the grace of God until the LORD decides it is time for us to come home to Heaven.

There is a time to be born and a time to die… Every 13 seconds someone dies in the United States of America. Every New Years season USA Today publishes two whole pages of lists of people who died this past year. The names and ages of people this world takes note of. Jay Morton died at age 92. He’s the guy who said of Superman—“faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!” Of all the things that Superman can do—the thing where he can make the world spin backwards—to make time back up—even a minute or two—to undo something painful and hurtful and wrong. Wouldn’t that be glorious—if you could back up time and take back words spoken in bitter anger and haste? Wouldn’t it be glorious—to back up time—and cars would not crash—people would not be shot and killed—adultery would not be committed—drinks would not be drunk—explosions would not explode! But you can’t. You can’t back up time—to take away your sins and mistakes. But God had something even better in mind. God sent his one and only Son—to pay for our sins—with his innocent life and his bloody death. Jesus took all our sins away. This past year Bobby Hatfield died. He was one of the Righteous Brothers—he wrote You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling. Did he know Jesus loved him with a love that never failed? Bobby Hatfield died because his physical heart failed. Did he know Jesus’ forgiving love never failed? Katharine Hepburn died. They showed her on TV saying “I don’t believe in any of that imaginary stuff. When you’re dead you’re just dead!” How sad is that? George Wyle died. He was a songwriter. He wrote that song about the S. S. Minnow and “a three hour tour…a three hour tour!” Remember week after week—Gilligan and the Professor—the millionaire and his wife—Ginger the movie star and Mary Ann—trapped on that island? No escape! There is no escape from death! Peter Safar—the anesthesiologist who invented the whole CPR thing—died! Bernard Dowiyogo, 57, the president of the world’s smallest independent republic died! Madame Chaiang Kai-shek—the widow of Chinese general Chaing Kai-shek—died in her sleep at the age of 106! Powerful and important—did she wake up to see Jesus? Did she know that Jesus washed away all her sins? Howard Sims died. He was a tap dancer known as the “Sandman”. I bet he was cool. He was such a good dancer—he taught Ben Vereen and Gregory Hines how to dance! Did someone teach the Sandman about Jesus? Is the Sandman dancing—dancing with all his might like King David danced before the Ark of the Covenant—with happy feet in Heaven? Daniel Patrick Moynihan died. He was a very powerful United States Senator. He taught at Harvard! And yet he died because his appendix burst! Did this professor from Harvard who had walked with kings and presidents know the simple Gospel that the children in Mrs. Kuehl’s preschool class know? J. Paul Getty Jr.—professional give money away to help other people died. What would he be profited—if he gained the whole world—but lost his soul? John Ritter died—suddenly and unexpectedly because he had a tear in his heart. Would we be ready if we had a tear in our heart today? This might be the day! Today might be the day Jesus calls us home. We are ready. We are ready to go home to Heaven—because Jesus is our Lord and our Savior!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven… We were at the Brookfield Square Mall the other day. They have these two seats—that look kind of like first class airline seats. The sign says you should sit there if you have stress! If you put a $1 in this little slot—for 2 minutes it will take away your stress! Watch your dollar get sucked away—lean back. This little roller thing starts to go very slowly up your spine. At first it kind of tickles—then it starts to feel pretty good! Up by your shoulders—up by your neck—stress is up there! Then slowly it goes down again. Then it does this kind of back and forth thing—very nice. Then—all of a sudden—it’s done. That’s the way it is with things in this world—pleasant and painful—they last for a time. They are temporary. They come and they go according to God’s loving plan. There is perhaps no day we are more conscious of the passage of time than today—New Year’s Eve. New calendars—new appointment books—new beginnings—new possibilities. Everything changes except Jesus’ forgiving love. That never changes—today and every day of the New Year that Jesus gives us by grace alone. Our times are in his hands. That’s the best place to be-in Jesus’ nail marked hands. Amen!

To God alone all glory!