Summary of my sermon, based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on January 19, 2025.
Last week, we kicked off our short series on Biblical Stewardship with a foundational truth from Colossians 1:15–17: Everything belongs to God—because He created everything. That includes our possessions, talents, and yes… even our time.
So if everything is God’s, then Jesus, “the firstborn of all creation,” has authority over everything. And when we’re faced with that truth, we typically respond in one of two wrong ways.
Some respond with idolatry—worshiping the created instead of the Creator. Others try to negotiate with God—“God, I’ll give You this if You give me that.” But as Romans 11:35–36 reminds us: “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
So what’s the right response? It’s stewardship—the careful and responsible management of what God has entrusted to us, all for His glory.
That’s what 1 Peter 4:10–11 teaches: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace… in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
Last week, we talked about being stewards of our “stuff”—our money and material possessions. And that can be both hard and easy. It’s hard because we work hard for what we have, and it’s easy to start thinking, why should I give glory to God for what I earned? But it’s easy when we realize that every opportunity, every paycheck, every skill we use—that’s all grace from God.
Even something as small as a tablet is a reminder of God’s grace. Grace that gave me a job to afford it, the energy to work, the wisdom to find it on sale, and a company that lets me pay for it interest-free over 24 months. Amen?
But today we’re turning our focus to something a bit harder to see as God’s grace: time.
Most of us know Ecclesiastes 3:1–8—not because we’ve studied the book, but because we’ve heard the song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds. It’s almost a direct quote from Scripture, except for six extra words at the end: “I swear it’s not too late.”
That version turns a passage about God’s sovereignty into a protest anthem—a plea for peace. And while the intentions might seem noble, it misses the heart of what Ecclesiastes is saying.
The common view is that time “just happens.” There’s a season for everything—life, death, sorrow, joy. That’s just life. Shikata ga nai, the Japanese phrase goes. “It can’t be helped.” Or, in modern terms: “It is what it is.”
But that perspective leaves God out of the picture.
As believers, we know that everything really is God’s. That includes time.
Isaiah 46:9–11 reminds us that God not only declares the end from the beginning, but He also brings it all to pass. He is sovereign—over kingdoms, over seasons, over migrations and decisions. As Job 12:23 says, “He makes nations great, and he destroys them.”
That sovereignty extends to our own lives. In Acts 17, Paul says: “He determined the allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God… In him we live and move and have our being.”
Your move to a new city, your job change, even the friends you’ve made—they weren’t accidents. God purposed them.
It’s easier to believe God controls the big picture—the “macro” level of time. But what about the “micro”? Does God really care how I spend my Wednesday afternoon?
I believe He does.
Now, theologians debate the specifics of how God’s sovereignty interacts with human free will. Some say God rules in general terms and gives us free reign in the details (libertarianism). Others, like myself, lean toward radical sovereignty: that even the moments are under His direction.
This raises tough questions—especially about sin and free will. But the Bible holds this tension: God is sovereign, and we are responsible. We must live within that mystery.
If time belongs to God, then what does it mean to steward it?
Colossians 3:23–24 tells us: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men… You are serving the Lord Christ.”
It’s not just about giving God our Sunday mornings. It’s also about our work hours, our family dinners, our leisure time. It’s about balance—because yes, even serving too much can be a form of imbalance, a way of substituting time for tithes or works for worship.
So ask yourself: Where am I not giving time to God? Where am I using time as a way to avoid other forms of obedience? Where do I need to rest, recharge, and refocus in Him?
Time is one of the most precious, most limited resources God gives us. But like everything else, it’s not really ours. It’s His.
So the question isn’t just, “What am I doing with my time?” It’s, “How can I glorify God with every minute?”
Let’s be good stewards—not just of stuff, but of the seconds.
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