So, as we continue our journey, for those visiting us, we're going through the book of Ecclesiastes. We are currently on chapter 3, so if you'd like to turn your Bibles there, I will again read for the purposes of context. Chapter 3, verse 1 through 8, please read along with me. For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven, a time to be born, a time to die, 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 lose. A time to keep and a time to cast away. A time to tear and a time to sew. 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. So in this particular passage, we have come from the examination of life under the sun. Just to remind you of kind of where we're at and what I believe is Solomon's argument, his defense of what it means to live life. If you were to live life alone under the sun, if you were an unbeliever, you didn't embrace the biblical God as your creator, that you rejected his word as your guide to all matters of life and faith, All you would have is vanity chasing after the wind under the sun. Life is meaningless. You can't really give meaning to your life apart from your creator. Your creator is what properly structures the context that you live in and gives you meaning. And now we've now crossed that line into who is our sovereign creator and what is he in control of? He's in control of everything. All matters under the sun. As we see here in the beginning of chapter 3, it's all life under heaven. Life isn't merely just under the sun. Life is to be carried out in light of who we are under heaven, particularly being made in God's image. What does it mean to be an image-bearer of God? And what does it mean to live life in that light? We looked at time. We looked at time, how time is really, in many cases, unavoidable, right? We live in time, we're bound by time. We're structured in time. Our lives are defined by time. Our existence is defined by time. We can't control when we're born and when we die. And there are many things about time that we can't control at all. That is a more universal view of time and our understanding of who we are in relationship to time. Then we move to the more granular aspects of time, that there are unavoidable moments in time, in terms of how time brings to light everything. Who we are, what we are, how we think, how we live our life, what we believe, right? And we make decisions in that. Today's focus is a moment in time. A moment in time, what I was thinking of when I read this text is just think about all the times when you were in a particular moment where you were forced to make a decision, or, and you didn't. Right? So here you are in this moment, and you have to make a decision. It is time-bound. Time is of the essence. I think that's exactly what Solomon's getting at here. Our choices, really, if you think about it, to seek, lose, keep, cast away, tear and sew, keep silent and to speak. Every one of those moments before the Lord counts. Every one of the moments. What is my proof text for that? The end of Ecclesiastes, what does he say? The end of all matters, all has been heard, fear God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole duty of man, for God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil. What do I think he's getting at is your thought life, where your heart's at. what extends from your heart. So when you think about the momentary decisions that you are forced to make bound by time, God cares about the way you think about them, how you perceive them, and then how you act. Every bit of it. There's not one moment that we can escape that reality. That reality is always ever before us, and we're left really to make a choice at a very moment in time, a very specific moment in time. What does that require of us? Well, we need to be self-aware, we need to be introspective, we need to be self-conscious, ready to act, as Scripture says, in season and out of season, like the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy, to be prepared to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. And we know that that's only possible in Christ. Because apart from Christ, we do quite the opposite, don't we? And even some in Christ still do the opposite. And that's the purpose of this instruction today. So when you think of this text, think of timeliness, how there are timely actions that require us to act in a particular way. The reason I chose James as one of my favorite texts, actually the first text I ever memorized, because it relates timeliness often throughout scripture Preparation done in wisdom the way we act as we act in wisdom is done in a timely manner. It's pointed. It's specific It's favorable. It's useful It finds opportunities to act correctly and rightly it's prompt. It's punctual. It's apt fitting and expedient Sorts of actions think about that The one thing I think many of us can respect and really do appreciate is when someone comes to us in a timely way at an opportune moment and does certain actions that benefit us in a fitting way, when they're prompt. when they act when maybe no one else is acting. Or they act a way like no one else is acting. And we look at that and say, wow, that was really timely, that was really fitting. They did something that very few other people do. And then we usually link that directly to wisdom. This person is very wise. They're slow to act, they're slow to speak, they're very watchful. And they're the kind of people we like to spend time with because they have a fitting word at every opportune moment. And sometimes those words are very few because not much needs to be said. And sometimes nothing needs to be said at all. Right? We love those people. We love to be around them. So let's dive into verse 6. and take a look at some of the examples I believe in Scripture provides for us on what a moment in time looks like when it's done promptly, punctual, fitting, and expedient, or maybe when it's not as examples for us. In verse 6, it says, a time to seek and a time to lose. Because decisions are incredibly important to the Lord, and the reason why I think they are incredibly important to the Lord is decisions do what? They demonstrate when they're made promptly, when they're made in a timely manner, someone's character, they reveal and convey our character. Think about it, when you have to make a knee-jerk decision and respond, it immediately represents what you believe, doesn't it? Right? When you don't really have time to ponder or think about it, time to apologize, kind of like shoot first and ask questions later kind of thing, right? It reveals your character and your deepest core beliefs. So consider moments in your life Or maybe what you observed in others when you said to yourself, well, that was really well timed or fitting. This was definitely a moment for something like a time like this. That was perfect. Was it good? Was it a good outcome? Or maybe if you thought these things in the negative light, it was a really negative outcome. That couldn't have come at a worse time. What we seek and are willing to lose, what we keep and what we cast away, will also, in time, demonstrate to which group we belong. Are we part of the wicked group or the God-fearers? Time will reveal. Think about what the wicked promote when they think about things like seeking and losing, keeping and casting away. Think about what they promote. A self-consumed, idolatrous mindset. One's own kingdom and one's own self-righteousness. Their own pride of life. That's what the wicked pursue when they think about seeking things. Right? I had a conversation with a co-worker this Yesterday as a matter of fact and he said in light of seeking and attaining and casting away That he was disgusted at billionaires who hoard wealth for themselves to the detriment of others I said, why does that why does it make you mad? Why is that upset you? Well, they're only pursuing their own self-interest Seeking their own self-interest and it comes to the detriment of others. Remember he's this this man is not a Christian and So what would be your response? What would you say to him? Exactly what I said, Andrew. So what? Why does that matter to you? You're not a Christian. Christians are the ones who should care about those things. But you're not. You reject Christianity. You're an atheist. Well, I never said I was an atheist. No, you live as an atheist. You reject the living God as your creator. You reject his ways. You reject the fact that you're made in his image. And so what if a billionaire decides they want to hoard all the wealth that is theirs? Do they have to give it away? Well, it's coming to the detriment of others. Why is detriment to others a bad thing in your beliefs? I understand as a Christian why they're bad. I understand why those things should be avoided. I understand why we need to love and care for others. I said, what kind of standard do you live by? Why does that even matter to you? Well, what was his response? He says, well, his position would be a desire to make and leave our planet a better place. We should be working toward that end. Why is exactly what I asked. So what? Who cares about working toward that particular end? Why are you seeking the well-being of others? He goes on to say, everyone should have the freedom to believe the way they want, and of course, as long as it doesn't harm others, and they should have a full stomach and a warm home. I said, again, I don't understand why that matters to you. Why would you be pursuing that end? How do you make decisions in your life that are benefiting that of others? Why does it even matter to you? And he really didn't have much of a response. He said, bro, you're just speaking that from thin air. And that's definitely what you believe. And that's how you dictate and govern your life. And what's interesting is, meanwhile, you bag on other people who believe different than you do, don't you? You don't really think that everyone should be able to hold the views as long as they don't harm others. Because you want to control what people believe and what they don't. And so what if I'm a billionaire and I hoard everything and I don't want to work to the benefit of others? As a matter of fact, why don't you just give me your shoes right now? He said, what? I said, I mean, give me your shoes, bro. I'm not kidding you. I'll shank you. He was like, you know, we laugh, right? But that's real. Like what difference does it make if there's nothing beyond this life, if life was only under the sun? I use the exact example from our text today to say, who cares about your pursuits? Who cares about what you seek? Why do you choose to keep some things and cast away others? Who cares about any of that? All we are is, bro, under the sun. He goes, well, that's a really, you know, grim way of looking at the world. I said, that's exactly what you believe. I don't look at the world that way. I certainly don't. I'm a Christian. I'm in Christ, bro. I believe there's more to this life than what's under the sun. I believe that you're going to give an account to God about the way you handled your wealth. Because it's really His. He's given it to you to steward it. I believe God's going to hold that billionaire accountable for hoarding his wealth maybe to the detriment of others. Maybe working intentionally to destroy the lives of others with his billions and billions. He's accountable to the living God. Man's all is to fear God and obey his commandments. Preached it right from Ecclesiastes. My other co-worker came out and he's like, whoa, what kind of conversation's happening here? Here, let me change that back to some more crude stuff and let me completely flip the subject. I don't want to talk about this right now, right? But I used this very text to explain to him why nothing matters under the sun. It's all vanity. It's chasing after the wind. It's ridiculous that you think that way. And that people should honor one another and love one another. That they deserve a warm house and that billionaires shouldn't hoard their bucks. That's ridiculous. That you believe that. Think about that. He said, man, that's really grim. I don't like that. I said, tough. You're going to have to live with it. You're not a Christian. That's reality for you. There's another thing that moments in time Establish. It establishes our priorities, doesn't it? The way we make decisions at particular moments in time establish where our priorities are set, where our ultimate aim is, where our purpose in life is established. Remember, history is moving, as we know, time is moving toward a particular direction and so should our lives. Our lives should be lived in light of those things, right? What did Jesus say? What should prioritize our time in terms of our seeking? What should we seek first? You guys know the text. The kingdom of God. And what else? His righteousness. Exactly right. We should be seeking first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness. That will prioritize our lives. In Matthew 16, 24-27, Jesus says those priorities and moments in time in your life should reflect something along these lines. If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the entire world and forfeits his soul? What shall a man give in return for his soul? The Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and He will repay each person according to what he's done. There are consequences for what you do with your moments in time in life. There are consequences for the way we prioritize our time. If our mind is not fixed on the kingdom of God and its advancement in our families and our family life, as Jonathan shared this morning, which is a huge blessing. I'm so glad we're doing this study together on marriage. Let me use this as an opportune time to encourage you all to come. Fantastic. Whether you're married or not, please come. He mentioned this morning that our family life is a fixture of the advancement of the kingdom of God. If we're kingdom-minded people, we'll be kingdom-marriage people, kingdom-family-oriented people, kingdom-society-oriented people. And when those moments in time come up, we'll make decisions like taking up our cross and following Christ, despite the outcome. And you'll be pressed. The time will come and you'll go, oh, here we go. It's either I'm going to take the cross up, or I'm not. And what did Jesus say? If you don't, you're not my disciples. What did Jesus say about His word? You're my disciples if you believe my word and follow it, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. And if you really believe that, you're going to behave and act a certain way. You're going to pick up your cross when that moment comes, when the call comes, and you're going to follow Him despite the outcome. Paul says in the same vein of thinking, bragging about who he was as a Jew, He says, whatever gain I had, Philippians 3, 7-11, whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know Him, the power of the resurrection, and may share in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that I might attain the resurrection from the dead." So when you are seeking, in some cases, it will cause you to lose. And when you are losing, in some cases, it will cause you to seek. and a moment in time will present itself for you to make the choice. You're either going to go in a Godward direction or a wicked direction. And it's unavoidable. You're forced to do them every single day, aren't you, in light of these things? So if your only view is life under the sun, you're going to say the exact opposite of what Paul said. I'm so upset I lost everything that I had. I don't give a rip about the righteousness of Christ. I don't care about God's kingdom. Matter of fact, I'm going to do everything I can to exploit it and destroy it. I'm going to be an agent of this world, a destroyer of shalom, a destroyer of peace. Or, at this moment in time, despite what might come, what I might lose, What I might have to pursue, I'm going to make a choice that is God-honoring, that restores shalom, that builds up something that God will bless and can never be taken away nor shaken. And that goes into the next verse, a time to tear and a time to sew. These are moments where this outward action, like tearing one's garment, reflects an inward condition of the heart. It can be a time of intense mourning or zeal even. We think of examples all throughout the scriptures where, you know, I think of the message when it came to Joseph that he was lost, right? That he'd been taken, killed. His father tore his garments. Job tore his garments when he got news of all of his kids being killed and his land being stripped away. There's examples of, you know, out of zeal, the prophets tearing their garments for the wickedness of Israel. And then there's interesting hypocrisy examples, like this one in Mark 14, 61 through 65. Let's see a wicked response of an outward action that is a wicked response done in the name of zeal for God. The high priest asked Jesus, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Note he said, you will. He's speaking to the high priest. They would see that. They would see that judgment coming. What did the high priest do? He tore his garments and said, what further witness do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? They all condemned him as deserving death. And then some began to spit on him and cover his face and strike him saying prophecy. And the guards received him with blows. So here, this tearing of the garment, this outward expression of an inward condition, was an expression of zeal, of religious zeal, wanting to basically do the right thing. But inwardly, it was wicked, wasn't it? They basically took the testimony of false witnesses. They didn't listen to Jesus. They didn't believe what Jesus was telling them. And Peter calls them later, he was delivered into the hands of wicked men to be killed and crucified. It was wicked, it was a wicked action done. And Jesus gives us a little bit of insight to that wicked action, that hypocrisy. He says in Matthew 23, 23 through 28, he says, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, this outward action is really not what's true in your hearts, right? You tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat to swallow a camel? Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but the inside are full of greed, envy, and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee first clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside may also be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanliness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you're full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." So their outward expression revealed the inward condition of their heart. What is a God-fearing response in Scripture? Look at what Joel says. Joel 2, 12-17, "'Yet even now,' declares the Lord, "'return to Me with all of your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments.'" Who cares about your outward expression? "'I care about your heart,' the Lord says. You can tear your garments all day long in religious zeal, and it means nothing to me. Come back to me, return to me with your heart. Rend your heart, meaning you should be torn to pieces in your heart so much where it humbles you and causes you to come back to me, pleading for forgiveness. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and He relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the people, consecrate the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room. the brighter chamber between the vestibule and the altar let the priests the ministers of the lord weep and say spare your people oh lord and make not your heritage a reproach a byword among the nations why should they say among the people where is their god a heart condition Jesus says later, he goes on later to say that what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, which leads us into our next passage. Look at the second half of verse 7. It says there's a time to keep silence and a time to speak. So moments in time test our patterns of speech as well, right? So we have this idea of what kind of decision we're going to make in the moment. We have this idea that those things expose the reality of what our focus is, where our priorities are set. And our speech does the same thing. Time tests our speech as well. Is your speech going to be wise or is it going to be foolish? Is it God-fearing or wicked? The Lord addresses that root cause. He says that everything that comes out of your mouth proceeds from your heart and it defiles a person. For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. It just spews it, it comes out. Those who are apart from Christ, this is all that can spew out and come out. Consider how the speech of the wicked are characterized apart from Christ, according to Paul in Romans 3, verses 10 through 18. He says, none is righteous, no, not one. No one understands, no one seeks after God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood, and their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." This is just a fuller expansion of exactly what Solomon is driving home. We know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. And fools despise it. They hate it. Like we looked at earlier, Proverbs 8 says, the lady wisdom says, all who hate me love death. They would rather pursue their own ends. People would rather pursue what is right in their own eyes. Let's look at some patterns of speech conveyed to us in Scripture. We're going to nail a lot of Proverbs here. You guys ready? Proverbs 17, 27 through 28 says, whoever restrains his words has knowledge. He who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding, and even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise. When he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent." I love that verse. Even a fool is considered wise when he just shuts up. Just kind of observant, but totally a fool, right? That man's wise, right? So think about it. Your ability, your capacity to restrain what you're saying, You really want to inside, you're really driven to say something, and you're able to go, nope, I'm gonna guard my tongue, in the moment. And it's that moment, like when your wife says something to your car, a car ride on the way over, right? Or maybe at home when you wanna play Call of Duty, right? When you really wanna do something, or you're really upset, you really wanna say something, you have this word for him. And you prayed about it a bunch, and now I got something to say to you. You're able to restrain that. It's like you're able to... One who is able to restrain their speech is perfect in every way, because you don't just let it fall out like a fool. I love this passage. Proverbs 18.21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat of its fruits. Think about that. Death and life. We all know what it's like when someone absolutely destroyed us with their speech. And it just leaves permanent imprint, a scar on your mind. They just destroy us. Kids are really great at doing that with one another, aren't they? Just destroying each other with their speech. You may as well have hacked your brother or sister down with some things that you say. They have the power of death and life. You think the famous saying, the pen is mightier than the sword, right? Well, your speech is mightier than the pen because it's proclaimed through it. And what you say and how you say it matters. And it only has two possible directions. Godwardly or wicked. One fears God and controls their speech. The other one just lets it loosely fall out and says whatever they want to say. They speak their mind. I'll tell you right is the attitude you guys all know this one Proverbs 15 1 through 4 says a soft answer turns away wrath But a harsh word stirs up anger the tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly and The eyes of the Lord are in every place keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Think about that. We have all experienced that. And what's interesting is it was in that moment when the moment was so precious and so opportune that it either pours out knowledge to be commended or folly and destructiveness, right? We've all experienced what that's like. And sometimes we're like, man, I really wish I wouldn't have said it that way. I wish I would have been a little bit more gentler. I can say I personally failed with that with my kiddos. Right? I'm sorry, you guys. I should be gentler in my speech. I have a tendency to be sharp and direct, and sometimes come across impatient and unloving. I apologize for that. And these kinds of texts quickly correct me the moment I think about, wow, my kids are going to remember how mean their dad was for their whole life, and they're going to hate me when they get older and never want to hang out with me. Think about the way we treat our spouses and the way we treat others, especially those who we disagree with, right? Well, I got a sharp word for you. And what ends up happening is you end up stirring up their wrath and not dismantling it. I tell you what, a soft answer really does turn away wrath. I had a moment at the previous brewery that I worked at. The owner was quite a piece of work and thought he was the world and the world owed him everything. He really did. And I had made a decision to stop a process because I was worried about spoiling a very expensive batch of beer, one that had been basically conditioning for almost a year. to give you an idea. It's, for the entire duration I worked there, this beer was conditioning. And it was very expensive, very expensive ingredients. And I was moving, getting ready to transfer it on Palisade peaches, very expensive, you know, came from Palisade. The fermenter was really warm, and that's not a good thing for those who understand fermentation. It was very warm, like the actual chilling system had broken down. I was just getting ready to set everything up, and I put my hand to stabilize myself on the manway, and I went, whoa, that is super hot. Try to make phone calls, try to make phone calls. Didn't go through, and so I decided to call it. I just made an executive decision. I'm not going to transfer this. Don't waste the time. Don't waste the chemicals. Save the man hours. Those kinds of things. I thought it would be wiser to do that. This guy told me he was going to fire me. I said, that's not your decision to make. And I got really pissed. And I lit him up. Lit him up. Bro, I roasted this guy. I was so angry because I was trying to do the right thing. And I called the vent to one of my buddies. And you know what he responded with? Hey, Jeremy, bro, we all know it. A soft answer turns away his rap, bro. Anyway, and a harsh word certainly stirs up anger. This dude was so mad at me, he was going to let me go right there on the spot. I almost lost my job for the way I lit him up, right? It was a mistake, a huge mistake, and I'll remember that for the rest of my life. I really should have genuinely slowed down, thought about it, and just said, hey, bro, I was just trying to do the right thing. I respect your business. I respect your decisions. You just weren't answering your phone. And neither was the head brewer at the time. So I thought, to do the right thing, this is what I should have done. And I guarantee you, if he would have seen that I cared about his business as much as he did, maybe more. that he would have probably been a little bit gentler with. Instead of saying, do you know who you work for? You work for the best brewery in the world, right? And I puffed up his arrogance, and I made him more harsh with me. So let my failures and mistakes be a lesson to you. Don't do that. Don't be harsh. Soft answer turns away wrath. Think of this proverb, Proverb 15, 23. It says, to make an apt answer is a joy to a man. A word in season, how good it is. Think about that. We love that. Proverbs 25.11 says something very similar. It says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Proverbs 15.28 says, The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out all evil things. And Proverbs 26 says, Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. Let me share that verse. That verse has been really precious to me. I heard an exposition of this verse first from Greg Bonson in his Defending the Christian Worldview Against All Opposition. And it's earth shattering for me. It was paradigm changing for me. And I'd like to share kind of a brief exposition of this for you in light of what we're reading today. So in the first part, notice it says, answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. And then it seems like he's contradicting himself, saying, now answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. But it's not a contradiction. Check this out. First, you don't want to answer a fool according to their folly, lest you be like them, right? What does that mean? That means you're embracing their perspective of reality. You're answering like them. You're behaving and acting like them. In that very moment, you're in essence validating their beliefs. You're validating life under the sun. You're saying to them, yep, that's exactly, you know, the way you're speaking, this pattern, that's exactly how I should. I should endorse and embrace your beliefs and behave and act just like you do. Right? And then there's the other side of it, which is, answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. This is the heavenly perspective. Answer them from scripture. Answer them from a godly position, a position that doesn't adopt their worldview, it doesn't adopt their behavior patterns. In that moment, you are to correct them from a biblical worldview, and you're to correct them in their folly, and not adopting their worldview, their belief system. It's very powerful when you think about that. When we jump into the worldview of the unbeliever, when we take We validate the view that, for instance, someone says, prove the existence of God, right? Well, we all know that's foolish because the beginning of knowledge is the fear of God. You must be a fool if you reject the existence of God. So do I adopt his perspective, take in his foolishness and go, okay, let's say for a brief moment that God doesn't exist. The moment I've done that, I have become like the fool. exactly in their mindset, and I've said basically, yeah, that's valid. That's a valid belief to have, to not believe in the existence of God. And some of you might be thinking, well, Jeremy, I know people who say that they don't believe in God. They're very legitimate, you know, genuine atheists. They reject the existence altogether. Who are you going to believe? Are you going to believe what Scripture says? Like Paul says in Romans 1, that no, no, they know God. Not only do they know Him, they know His attributes, His power, They know He's their Creator. They know in their heart of hearts, no matter how much they reject it, and they suppress that truth in unrighteousness. They love their descent rather than know exactly what their conscience is making them very well aware of. They know their Creator. Why? They're made in God's image. It's inescapable. Your answering should be according to Scripture. Are you going to stand firm on the Scripture, or are you going to be like the fool Adopt their worldview and then begin to try to prove God's existence as though they could actually reject it Are you gonna believe scripture that says they can't reject it. They're just suppressing the truth and unrighteousness the truth that they know They're exchanging that truth. He later says for a lie and they worship something else Rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen, which you gonna believe I You're going to be like the fool if you adopt their view and validate that they can actually be an atheist for real, and reject everything that Paul said, or you're going to trust God's Word that says they can't do that. And you're going to correct them from God's Word. And you're going to do it faithfully, gently, lovingly, directly. You're going to call them to repentance, hopefully. And that is how At that very moment when you'll be tested, when someone challenges you that way, the way you respond will dictate what you really believe. The moment will show. There are also moments that call for speaking up, that will challenge our beliefs, maybes, and the beliefs and values of others. So our own personal beliefs, we stand up, we speak in moments. that might challenge our own beliefs or beliefs and values of others. An example, key example, I can think of, you probably all can, Esther. Her uncle came to her and said, listen, you were made for such a time as this. You're brought to this for this purpose. God providentially brought you here, even though it doesn't say that. God's never mentioned once in Esther. But you can understand that it's been God that has appointed this time for her and raised her up and exalted her to a status that she could speak on the behalf of Jewish people and save their lives. She was made queen and she approached, to the risk of her own life, the king to have a word with her, to have a word with him before his scepter was raised, allowing her permission to come enter into his presence. People would lose their lives if they entered in without permission of the king. because they were, in a sense, exalting their authority over him. So it was a terrifying thing. There are moments where we need to absolutely keep our mouths shut. Silence is a good thing. Time to keep silent. Think about what Job says about his friends. I love this passage. How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words? His friends were silent for seven days, they were grieving with him, and then once that seven-day period lifted, they just pursued to rip him to pieces and torment him with their words, right? What did time reveal about his friends? They weren't really loving and comforting, were they? And they were accusing him of something he didn't do, to the point where he despaired. Moments where we choose words that encourage build-up. or destroy. Think about the wicked. James 1.26, it says, if anyone thinks he's religious and does not bridle his tongue, deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. If we cannot maintain our speech patterns, if we are not self-aware, developing self-consciously a biblical worldview, seeking for an opportunity to respond in wisdom, Our religion is useless, James says. He even goes on to say later, he says, let not many of you become teachers, my brothers, for you know that those who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he's a perfect man able to bridle his whole body. Like you have perfect control if you do not stumble in what you say. If we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also, they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder, wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet boasts of great things. And think about what he says here. Listen how powerful the tongue is. I love this language. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and seeing creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind But no human can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison With it we bless our lord and father and with it we curse people made in the likeness of god From the same mouth come blessing and cursing my brothers these things ought not to be so Does a spring pour forth from the same opening of fresh and salt water can a fig tree my brothers bear olives or grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. If your heart is wicked, wickedness is going to perpetually come out. Foolishness and folly, destructiveness. It's just going to pour out of there. And it can't help but do so because it's a salt water pond, not fresh. Think about the way false prophets are characterized by their speech. False prophets arose among the people, according to 2 Peter 2, 1-3. They arose among the people just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow in their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. In their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation is from long ago. It's not idle. And their destruction is not asleep. In 2 Timothy 4, 1-5, Paul warns Timothy. He says, listen, God-fearers, I, the Apostle Paul, charge you, Timothy, in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, who is the judge of the living and dead, and by His appearing in His kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching. But having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, enduring suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." Think about how important words are. In the beginning of creation, what does it say? God spoke and it was. In the beginning was the Word. John says, the word was with God and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Everything that was created was created through this word. It says about Jesus that he upholds and sustains all things by what? The word of his power. Jesus prays for the disciples and says, Lord, sanctify them by your word. My word is true. And if you're my disciples, you'll follow it and you'll be set free by this truth. My Word will accomplish what it was set out and intended to do in Isaiah. Nothing can resist it. Nothing can restrain it. Jesus says that not one jot or tittle will pass. All will come to pass. My Word will not fail. It's by the Word that we are born again, Peter says. The Word preached. The Word of God is what? The power of God for salvation. We should be governed and directed by God's Word, and His Word should guide our lives in our speech patterns. And in doing so, what do we do? We advance the Kingdom of God. Our focus is set towards this intended end. We are a part of building up and not breaking down. We encourage shalom by speaking words of edification toward one another. We encourage Shalom in society when we hold our governors accountable, our lawmakers accountable, our executive staff accountable. We encourage peace in society when we work to build things up by our words. And that includes Facebook and Twitter. Your words matter. Your words are meaningful. And the reason why they matter and they're meaningful is because you bear God's image. Because His word matters. His word is meaningful. It's pretty amazing when you think about it that way. The fact that we can communicate to one another in a meaningful way, that we can instruct and teach one another, correct one another when necessary, is amazing. It's beautiful. And the only account that we have for language is the Bible. Language itself, by the way, there's a philosophy of language. Study it. Go look into it. And you'll see how confused people really are about communication. Some would go as far as to say words have no meaning. It's really just left up to the interpreter. You can't actually know the meaning of anything. All is meaningless. What's really interesting about that is when they say that in their scholarly form, writing out all their scholarly essays, they assume that you know what they mean. While they're trying to tell you that everything's meaningless. Words have meaning. Words are powerful. Words matter. I love what Paul concludes here. This will be the conclusion or sermon today. In Colossians 4, 2 through 6, he says, continue then steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word. to declare the mystery of Christ on an account for which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak." And listen, he says, walk in wisdom toward outsiders, make the best use of the time, let your speech always be gracious, season with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person who believes that life is merely only under the sun. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this word. How important it is that we are careful even before you, as Solomon says later in Ecclesiastes 5, I believe, that we need to recognize that you are in heaven and we are on earth. We're mere creatures and that you are God. And so in that light, we should let our words be few. Jesus said something very similar about the pagans in their prayer. They think that through the use of many words, they'll be heard by you. Lord, you look upon us on those who are contrite and humble, who believe your word, who follow you, who fear and tremble before you and recognize and acknowledge the reality of who you are. That in that light, we see the light and that should govern and guide our life. The way we make decisions in that very moment really truly reveal providentially according to your structure, the way you've designed everything. what we believe, what we believe about our lives, what we believe about our speech, what we believe about our thought life, all of which will be brought in a judgment in the end by you. Truly it is our all, our whole duty to obey you in Christ. That is only possible in Christ. And I pray for those here today who don't know you, who don't follow you, who don't care about what you have to say. their hearts would be transformed and changed by the hearing of your word. They would repent and once and for all believe the gospel and love you and adore you for such and decide to walk after you as new creatures in Christ Jesus. I pray that in Jesus name. Amen.