A Friend Named Time
Scarlett Bonilla Preached on 8/29/2026Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
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43:27
Summary
Sister Scarlett Bonilla explores time not as a burden, but as a refining friend to the believer that works alongside wisdom, justice, and truth to reveal God's perfect plan. By surrendering our haste and trusting in God's timing, we allow Him to fight our battles and grow our character until every promise is fulfilled.
Key points
- •Time is a refining friend to the believer rather than a threat, acting as a tool in God's hand to sharpen and shape character.
- •Wisdom is time's first companion, teaching us to avoid the 'haste' of the enemy and embrace the patient fruit of the Spirit that provides perspective.
- •Justice is time's second companion, reminding us that we must leave vengeance to God and refuse to manipulate our own way into promises or retribution.
- •Truth is time's third companion, as time eventually reveals the fruit and reality of every seed sown in the hidden places of the heart.
- •While the world resents the passing of time, the child of God finds that their relationship with Jesus grows sweeter, deeper, and more potent with every passing year.
Scripture
Wisdom
Purpose
Spiritual Growth
Perseverance
Peace
Life application
This week, when you feel tempted to react in haste to a stressful text or situation, consciously choose to wait for 24 hours to allow wisdom to speak. Surrender one specific area of 'waiting' to God in prayer, acknowledging Him as the Just Judge who will bring about the right outcome in His perfect timing.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of your life are you currently feeling the 'haste' to make a decision without seeking God's face?
- Is there a situation where you are trying to take justice into your own hands instead of leaving it to the Just Judge?
- How has time revealed God's faithfulness to you in a season you previously didn't understand?
- Who are the elders or mentors in your life that you can glean wisdom from regarding your current season?
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Full transcript
0:00With your own voice, with your own
0:01words, come on, would you give him some
0:03glory right now?
0:05Hallelujah Lord.
0:08We bless your name, Lord. We bless your
0:10name, oh God.
0:12Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.
0:16Amen. Amen.
0:19Praise God. What a great, great
0:22atmosphere that we feel in the house of
0:24God. Amen. Is there a witness here
0:26tonight?
0:28Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, what a
0:30great honor it is, amen, to gather one
0:33more time on a Wednesday night and to
0:35celebrate Jesus Christ. Amen.
0:39Let us not forget that Jesus is the
0:41reason, not just for Christmas season.
0:44He's the reason for every season.
0:47And we celebrate him tonight, amen. We
0:49are just so thankful for what we feel in
0:51the house.
0:54You may be seated for a couple of
0:55moments here.
0:58I have the honor, amen, of introducing
1:00tonight's speaker.
1:02The speaker is no stranger to this
1:04church.
1:06She is a mother.
1:08She is an incredible wife.
1:11She has
1:13done so much for the kingdom of God in
1:15her younger years, her mid-age years,
1:18now.
1:19Amen. But, more than all these
1:23things I can say about her,
1:25I think the greatest thing I can say
1:28about
1:29um
1:30my wife is that she is a real Christian.
1:34She is a woman that loves God deeply.
1:39And in many ways, she has challenged me.
1:41She has inspired me. She has encouraged
1:43me. So, today, would you put your hands
1:45together, amen, for sister Bonilla as
1:48she comes and delivers the word of God?
1:51Can I get somebody to shout, "Preach,
1:53preacher!"?
1:55In Jesus name.
2:00>> Praise the Lord, Church of Pentecost.
2:04It is a privilege and an honor to stand
2:06here before you tonight.
2:08And man, isn't the presence of God so
2:11beautiful?
2:13I am honored to stand before you. I know
2:15you fought through the rain to get here.
2:18And so you really must love God, huh?
2:20You're willing to drive through the
2:22storm.
2:23Special when people show up even when
2:25it's storming. I'll tell you that's how
2:26I grew up.
2:27And I think that that's the church.
2:30And so it's such an honor to be up here
2:32with you all. I'm going to be reading
2:34tonight from the text Ecclesiastes
2:37chapter 3 verses 1 to 4.
2:40And as you find your way there,
2:43I want to honor the man of God for this
2:45house,
2:46Brother Olsen.
2:48I'm so grateful to him for the
2:49opportunity. That's right.
2:52To be up here.
2:54Me and my husband, we love him dearly.
2:57And it's been so beautiful, his and
3:00Sister Olsen's relationship in our life,
3:03how it's transformed into what it is
3:05today,
3:06is none other than God himself.
3:09And I'm just so honored to have him in
3:12my life and Sister Olsen to have had her
3:14in my life.
3:16And I we me and my husband love him, but
3:18I'll tell you what, there's nobody that
3:20loves Brother Olsen quite like my little
3:22girl.
3:23Let me tell you something. She asks for
3:26him every day. We taught her to call him
3:30Papa O.
3:32And so she's kind of created like a
3:34conjunction word and she calls him Papa
3:37O.
3:38Papa O. And every morning she'll wake up
3:41and she'll do her thing and have
3:42breakfast and then she goes, "Papa O."
3:45And I'll say, "Two sleeps and two sleeps
3:47we're going to see him. One sleep left."
3:50And so she loves him.
3:53All righty, and I want to say first of
3:55all, thank you for for that beautiful
3:57introduction to my wonderful husband.
4:00I'm thankful for you, and I'm thankful
4:03for your guidance, and your leadership,
4:05and your direction, and your vision, and
4:07your sensitivity to the people of God.
4:10It's a beautiful thing.
4:12All right. How many of you are ready for
4:14the word?
4:16Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verses 1 through
4:194 says this,
4:21"To everything there is a season, and a
4:24time to every purpose under heaven.
4:28A time to be born, and a time to die.
4:31A time to plant, and a time to pluck up
4:34that which is planted.
4:36A time to kill,
4:37and a time to heal.
4:39A time to break down, a time to build
4:41up.
4:42A time to weep,
4:44and a time to laugh. A time to mourn,
4:47and a time
4:49to dance."
4:51Can we just lay our Bibles down for one
4:52moment, close our eyes, and lift our
4:54hands to heaven. Jesus, I pray that you
4:56have your perfect way tonight. I pray
4:58that your words are spoken over this
5:00pulpit and not my own. I submit myself
5:03to you. We submit ourselves to you. God,
5:05we are simply nothing without you. We
5:08need your presence in this place. Impart
5:11to us the word that you would have us
5:13here. Let it take root in our lives. Let
5:15it produce good fruit in the name of
5:18Jesus. Thank you for the opportunity to
5:20be in your presence tonight. Your name
5:23be praised. Your name be lifted high.
5:25Your name be magnified in the name of
5:28Jesus and in this church, in this city,
5:31in this land, and all across the globe
5:34in Jesus' name.
5:36Amen.
5:38You may be seated.
5:46There is a friend
5:49that every child of God has.
5:52He has walked with you through every
5:54season of your life.
5:56He was there when you were young.
5:58He stayed with you when you grew older.
6:01He's been there in your victories
6:04and he's been there in your
6:05disappointments.
6:07He's been there when you were
6:08celebrating and he's been there when you
6:10were sitting in a season of uncertainty
6:13saying, "God, where are you?"
6:16All right, this is not God that I'm
6:17talking about.
6:20You can't escape him.
6:22You cannot outrun him.
6:25You can't negotiate
6:27and you definitely cannot tell him to
6:30wait for you.
6:32You can't ask permission before he
6:34moves.
6:36He doesn't stop when you're ready for
6:38him to stop.
6:39He just keeps
6:41on walking.
6:44Sometimes he's the kind of friend that
6:45you appreciate the most
6:47and sometimes he's a friend that you
6:48wish would just leave you alone.
6:51But whether you acknowledge his
6:53existence or not, he is moving alongside
6:56you every single day.
6:59And for someone who's been with us in
7:01humanity over our entire existence, we
7:05don't really understand him very well.
7:09I've come to you tonight
7:12to talk to you about a friend named
7:15time.
7:17A friend named time.
7:21Scientists have spent centuries trying
7:23to understand time, but he enjoys being
7:25an enigma.
7:27They have tried to measure him. They've
7:29tried to define him. They have built
7:32entire instruments to understand him and
7:35they have tried to write down equations
7:37to describe him. They've studied how he
7:40works with gravity and space and the
7:43universe itself.
7:45But the more that they learn about him,
7:48the more mysterious he becomes.
7:52We're constantly experiencing him, but
7:54we cannot physically hold him.
7:56We can't stop him.
7:58We can look back into him, but we cannot
8:00step back into him.
8:03We can plan for the future, but we
8:04cannot immediately step into the future.
8:07Amen?
8:08Time.
8:11Sometimes we don't understand where he
8:13is taking us,
8:15and we will ask him questions that he
8:17does not have authority to answer.
8:19Questions like, "Why hasn't this
8:21happened yet?"
8:23or "How much longer?"
8:25or "Why God did you not allow this to
8:27happen?" or "Why did you allow this to
8:30happen?" And time never explains himself
8:33because he doesn't have the right to.
8:37The reality it is The reality is we walk
8:39with time, but we were never meant to
8:41put our faith and our trust in time.
8:45We were meant to put our faith in the
8:47God who created him.
8:51Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning, God
8:55created the heavens and the earth." So
8:57before the beginning ever began,
9:00God was.
9:02Psalms 90:2 says, "From everlasting to
9:05everlasting, thou art God." So God is
9:09not trapped in time. He is not trapped
9:11by the limitations that we might
9:13experience. He works in time, in our
9:16days, in our seasons, in our moments,
9:19but he is not threatened by his own
9:21creation.
9:22In fact, God uses time as a tool to
9:26sharpen us.
9:29For the sinner,
9:31time does not bode well.
9:33But for the child of the king,
9:35he is a refining friend.
9:39And so, to get to understand this
9:41friend,
9:42I wanted to talk to you all tonight
9:45about who this friend associates himself
9:48with.
9:49Because who you associate yourself with
9:52says a lot about you.
9:55And so, I want to talk to you tonight
9:57about three companions
9:59that time has befriended.
10:02Amen.
10:04The first companion of time
10:07is time is a friend
10:10to wisdom.
10:12Proverbs 12:19 and 2 says,
10:15"Also, it is not good for a soul to be
10:17without knowledge, and he sins who
10:20hastens with his feet. So, wisdom tells
10:23us when to hurry up and when to slow
10:26down."
10:28Amen. The danger is not always that we
10:30don't know better.
10:32Sometimes it's that we we do things
10:35before we know better.
10:37All right?
10:38We think we have all the answers, and
10:40I'm guilty of this. We think we have the
10:42how-to and the know-how, but God doesn't
10:44move in haste.
10:46He moves with intention.
10:48I heard this the other day, and I find
10:50it I found it so powerful
10:52that
10:54that patience is a fruit of the spirit
10:56of God.
10:58And therefore, the enemy can't have it.
11:01So, what does that mean? It means that
11:02the enemy works in haste.
11:06So, you can disarm him by simply slowing
11:10down and having patience. Time is a
11:14friend to wisdom.
11:16Patience in your situation, in your
11:19circumstance, patience in confusion,
11:21patience in doubt, patience outlasts the
11:25schemes of the enemy, and all of the
11:27sudden what was once confusing fog
11:29begins to clear, and you've allowed the
11:31patience to settle in your spirit, and
11:33you're starting to see things clearly
11:35because you didn't work in haste.
11:39What once kept you tossing and turning
11:41at night, patience has brought a sense
11:43of rest to your spirit because you've
11:46given the timing to God. Patience brings
11:49wisdom. And time is a friend to wisdom.
11:55I was going over my notes with my
11:56husband the other day, and he thought
11:58about this phrase.
12:00And I thought it was real funny.
12:02I don't know if y'all have heard it, but
12:04it goes like this, "Wisdom is chasing
12:07you, but you're just faster."
12:13Cuz we are so eager sometimes to get
12:15things done and do things, and we think
12:17we've got it all figured out, but if we
12:18would just take a minute,
12:20we'll realize there's more to the story
12:22than what we see in a moment.
12:25We want to know what God is doing before
12:27we have had time enough to understand
12:29what he's teaching us in what he's
12:31doing.
12:33I have learned this personally.
12:35Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is
12:39not react yet.
12:42Don't respond to that text just yet.
12:44Don't you do it.
12:46I have learned when I feel the need when
12:48something Someone has sent me something
12:50that has rubbed me the wrong way.
12:53And the little fiery side of me wants to
12:55come out cuz it's there.
12:58I have learned in myself, you can wait.
13:03Oh, yes, you can wait
13:05because if you do it right now, you
13:06might regret what you say.
13:09You might make something out of nothing.
13:11Don't respond to the text. Don't burn
13:13the bridge just yet. Don't react in
13:15haste. Don't make an accusation just yet
13:18until you know all of what's going on.
13:20Do not quit just yet because you don't
13:23know what's on the other side of that.
13:25Don't make a decision just yet. Have you
13:27sought the face of the king of kings?
13:30Wisdom is a friend to time.
13:34Give wisdom time to speak.
13:36I have seen people in the middle of a
13:38season of confusion because they're just
13:40so tired of being confused, make
13:43decisions.
13:44And over weeks and months in their life
13:46they they have regretted those decisions
13:48because they made them in haste and
13:50confusion.
13:51Instead of saying, "I know everything
13:54doesn't seem to make sense right now,
13:55but let me sit back for just a minute.
13:58Just a minute and let patience have her
14:01perfect work."
14:03I have seen people
14:05make decisions in hype and excitement. I
14:08have literally seen people
14:10go to a city on vacation and they love
14:12the city so much on vacation that they
14:14said, "I'm moving here."
14:17In the moment, sure it seems exciting
14:19and it seems like a place you want to
14:20live, but you cannot change your entire
14:22life overnight and it be wise.
14:26You have to seek the face of God. Don't
14:28make big decisions in the middle of
14:29angst or excitement or hype. Time is a
14:33friend to the wise because time will
14:35give you something that emotion in a
14:37moment could never give you, which is
14:40perspective.
14:43Have you ever been convinced about
14:45something, so completely convinced,
14:47and then 6 months later, maybe not even
14:49a month,
14:51you look back and you say,
14:53"Thank God I didn't do that."
14:55I have.
14:58There have been times that I've looked
15:00back and said, "My God, I thank you that
15:03you did not allow me to make that
15:05decision." But we have to have the
15:06wisdom in a moment to say, "Okay, what
15:09is God saying right now?" Cuz the enemy
15:12works with haste, but God works in
15:14patience.
15:16Time is a friend
15:18to wisdom.
15:19Time teaches us what our emotions in a
15:21moment could never teach us.
15:24This is why we always must acknowledge
15:28those who have walked with time longer
15:30than us. Our need for elders.
15:35For those who have gone before us, who
15:37have walked the road ahead, they've seen
15:40things, they have experienced things.
15:44We can never outgrow our heroes.
15:48There have been people that they are so
15:50enamored
15:51and enthralled by their Sunday school
15:53teachers and they hang on every word
15:55that their mentors say. And suddenly,
15:58over time, they start to believe that
16:00they know more than the person who
16:02taught them.
16:03And they gain a little experience, they
16:05gain a little position, they gain a
16:07little success and somehow they think
16:09they have outgrown their heroes, but
16:11that cannot be us.
16:14We have to remember while we're growing,
16:16our mentors are growing. The elders are
16:20growing, too. They're still gaining
16:21wisdom. They're still gaining
16:23experience. They are still gaining
16:25perspective and they are living lessons
16:28that I have not yet lived.
16:31Never let your growth make you arrogant
16:34toward the people who helped you grow.
16:37It is sad to me when people forget where
16:38they came from.
16:40Where they started. Who blessed them and
16:43poured it into them when nobody else
16:45would. We have to stay teachable, stay
16:48humble, honor our heroes. We don't
16:51outgrow them, we build upon what they
16:53have taught us. Amen?
16:56That is the importance of a
16:58multi-generational church.
17:00That's why we don't just see one age
17:02bracket or age group in the Church of
17:04God because the younger glean wisdom
17:06from the elders and the elders glean
17:09strength and rejuvenation from the
17:12younger and we build each other up.
17:14Amen? But we have to acknowledge the
17:17wisdom of those who have gone before us.
17:21When I me and my husband took the our
17:23church in Miami,
17:26you know, some unforeseen circumstances
17:28had happened with the church and the
17:29pastor previous to us.
17:31And I think about um
17:34Reverend Forrest Gump. He said, "Life is
17:36like a box of chocolates. You never know
17:38what you're going to get."
17:41Praise the Lord.
17:43And um
17:46the church had accrued some debt.
17:48So, we are stepping into this process.
17:51There was some debt that we had to
17:53figure out and and manage.
17:56And then not too long after that, the
17:58building, which some of you know this
17:59story, the lease
18:01was taken out from beneath us and we had
18:03to leave the building we were in in 30
18:05days time in the middle of Thanksgiving
18:08and Christmas season.
18:09And here I am a 26-year-old newly
18:12married pastor's wife
18:14saying, "Lord, what is going on?"
18:18And I distinctly remember going to my
18:20mom
18:22and just saying, "Mom, I don't know what
18:24to do.
18:25I I I I don't know where to go. I have
18:28prayed. I have sought the face of the
18:30Lord. I just don't know what's next."
18:32And I remember my mom saying,
18:35"God's just going to have to do it."
18:39And I looked at her and I knew she
18:40wasn't being flippant with me.
18:43I knew she was being sincere.
18:45Because she's walked with time for quite
18:47some time.
18:48And she's seen some things that I at the
18:50time had not seen. She had been through
18:53building programs. They had been through
18:54living in the Sunday school classroom.
18:56They had been through starting from
18:58nothing and the Lord making it
19:00something. And so, when she told me that
19:02God's just going to have to do it, I sat
19:04there and believed the faith that she
19:05told me because I was gleaning from the
19:07wisdom that she had understood over
19:09time. I knew that God really would, if
19:12he put me between a rock and a hard
19:14place, he'd be the one to get me out.
19:16And so, I've got to trust that he's
19:18going to do it, and he will do it over
19:21time.
19:26Joseph
19:28Joseph had a dream. He had a a beautiful
19:30dream, and he told his brothers, "One
19:32day you will bow to me." And so many
19:34beautiful things in that dream
19:36transpired, and he thought it was going
19:37to happen. But, how much time I did not
19:40look this up.
19:42I believe it was 17 years between, and
19:45you can correct me if I'm wrong. Someone
19:46find me after service.
19:49But, between the dream and Joseph
19:53receiving the the answer of that dream,
19:55cuz I think he was 30 or 30-something.
19:59So,
20:00all that time passed.
20:03Joseph was sent to a pit by his own
20:06brothers.
20:07And from the pit, he became a slave. And
20:10from slave, he became he went to
20:12Potiphar's house. And in Potiphar's
20:14house, he was betrayed and sent to
20:15prison. And in prison, he was forgotten.
20:18And then eventually, he went to the
20:19palace. So, all that happened over time.
20:22The dream never changed. You know what
20:24changed? Joseph changed.
20:27Joseph understood after a while what
20:30only time could teach him, that a
20:33dream's not going to build in you what
20:35you need to make it happen. Only effort
20:37and perseverance and time in the
20:40presence of God can do that. It's one
20:44thing to receive a dream about
20:45leadership. It's another thing to become
20:48the leader you're meant to be in God.
20:51Time is a friend
20:53to wisdom.
20:57Ecclesiastes 7 and 8 says, "Better is
20:58the end of a thing than the beginning
21:00thereof, and the patient in spirit
21:03than the proud in spirit."
21:06Time is a friend to wisdom. Have
21:08patience, walk in humility, and let God
21:11speak to you in the process.
21:15The second companion of time
21:18that I want to speak about tonight
21:20is time is a friend to justice.
21:25One of the most difficult things in life
21:28is watching somebody do wrong
21:31and seemingly get away with it.
21:34You know what they did.
21:36You know what they said.
21:38You know how they treated you.
21:41Or if you're like me, it doesn't really
21:42matter as much about what they do to
21:43you, but if they get to the people you
21:45love,
21:47mm, you're going to see another side of
21:49me that you've never seen before.
21:53Romans
21:5512 and 19 says,
21:57"Vengeance is mine.
21:59I will repay,
22:01saith the Lord."
22:04Not too long ago, I was talking to my
22:06grandfather. I call him Poppy.
22:09And he was telling me a story about how
22:11he and my Nani, my grandmother,
22:14started their ministry. And I love these
22:16kinds of stories because again, I glean
22:18wisdom.
22:20And he told us about, and I won't say
22:22the state or the city, even though it's
22:24been decades now and it really
22:26it's fine,
22:27but
22:29he was starting a church in this city.
22:32And at first, everything seemed fine.
22:35Everybody liked him. Everyone was happy
22:37he was there until revival began to
22:39start up.
22:42And then some of the
22:45leaders and leadership positions,
22:50and I'll just say it because I'm the
22:51granddaughter, so I can. They got a
22:52little jealous.
22:54And they weren't happy that his church
22:56began to grow bigger than some of
22:58theirs.
23:00And so they started to scheme
23:02and dog on his name and collude against
23:05him.
23:07And he put up with it and his own
23:09people, they did too.
23:11And they just kept doing what the Lord
23:14told them to do, which was build me a
23:15church in this city and they did and it
23:18continued to grow and to grow and to
23:20grow.
23:21But I'll tell you my grandfather got so
23:23tired of constantly being
23:27attacked.
23:29That he got on his knees in prayer one
23:31early morning as he does every morning
23:33at 5:00 or 4:00 in the morning
23:35and he he sought the Lord in prayer and
23:37he said, "God, I can't deal with this
23:39much longer.
23:41I can't. I'm I'm I can't. I'm trying to
23:44build you a kingdom."
23:48It seems to
23:50to always happen this way where it's the
23:52the people that are the most fruitless
23:54that want to attack those who are trying
23:56to produce something.
23:59And they like to talk and they like to
24:01say all that they like to say, but the
24:02fruit speaks.
24:06And the Lord told him, he said, "Billy,
24:09he said,
24:10if you fight for yourself,
24:13if you open your mouth,
24:15I will not fight for you."
24:17He said, "But if you let me do it
24:21and you keep your hands off of it,
24:24I will fight for you
24:26and I will win."
24:28And my grandfather said, "Okay, I won't
24:30open my mouth."
24:32And the Lord fought and he won by a
24:34landslide.
24:36And those same people that were talking
24:39junk about him came up to him a couple
24:43years later on bended knee and said, "I
24:45am so sorry that ever happened. I'm so
24:48sorry. I was wrong." And you know what?
24:51My grandfather by that time, he was over
24:54it.
24:55God was already doing something so
24:56beautiful in his life that he wasn't
24:58even focused on what the enemy was
25:00trying to scheme in the background. God
25:02was using him for his glory.
25:05And that scripture that says what the
25:06enemy means for evil, God turns to good.
25:09Let me tell you how realistic that is to
25:11this and in your life because the very
25:13position that the enemy was using,
25:15district superintendent at the time, to
25:17go against my grandfather was the very
25:20position that my grandfather ended up
25:21moving and starting a church in another
25:23city, Denver, Colorado, where he became
25:26the district superintendent and he was
25:28that for 30 plus years. He is now an
25:31honorary board member on the general
25:33UPCI board. Not because of his glory,
25:36but because he let the Lord fight his
25:38battles and the very thing that the
25:40enemy tries to use tried to use against
25:42him, God strengthened him in and used
25:45him in and he will do the same for you
25:47if you only let him, but don't take it
25:50into your own hands. Let the Lord fight
25:52on your behalf because I promise you he
25:54will not forget the injustice.
25:58Now, he'll allow just mercy to triumph
26:01over judgment. So, make sure that your
26:03spirit and your flesh isn't involved.
26:06Because when his mercy shows up, you've
26:08got to let God be merciful.
26:10But don't forget that he will not forget
26:13what's happened to you, too. He will
26:15take care of his people.
26:20David is one of my favorite stories. I
26:22know he's popular and I know it seemed
26:24like I'm a bandwagon fan, but here I am.
26:27David is one of my favorite stories in
26:29the Bible. You want to know why? Because
26:31Saul was not just after his reputation.
26:34Saul wasn't just scheming to make his
26:36name sound bad. Saul literally was after
26:38his life.
26:40It wasn't a petty offense.
26:43And when David was in a cave and Saul
26:45was looking out to get him, Saul shows
26:48up in this cave and and he doesn't know
26:50David's in there and David has every
26:52opportunity to take vengeance and time
26:54into his own hands and say, "I'm tired
26:56of waiting on God to fix this thing. I
26:59might as well kill Saul while he's in
27:01front of me."
27:02Oh, yeah, he could have.
27:05He had a flesh just like you and me.
27:07He even had his own men
27:10egging him on that were with him in the
27:11cave.
27:13They might not have meant harm. They
27:15might not have been bad guys.
27:18But we have to be careful who we allow
27:20to speak to us in the middle of a
27:21situation like that that's sensitive.
27:25Because they might not mean harm, but
27:26they were not assigned to your battle.
27:28You were.
27:30So, we have to seek the face of God for
27:32ourselves. Seek out our own salvation
27:35with fear and trembling.
27:36The opportunity that David had
27:40to kill Saul, he says, "Mhm.
27:42I'll cut the hem of his garment, but I'm
27:44not going to kill him."
27:47Because the truth is
27:50I'm not going to do what God said is his
27:52job.
27:54First Samuel 24 and 12, I love what he
27:57said. He said, "The Lord judge between
28:00me and thee. And the Lord avenge me of
28:03thee, but mine hand shall not be upon
28:07thee." Why? Because I have an
28:08opportunity, but I refuse to put my
28:10hands in the place that God's hands
28:12belong.
28:13Justice is a friend to time. Let time
28:16and the Lord work on your behalf, and
28:19the truth will come out.
28:23God already told me what my future
28:25holds, so that means he must have the
28:27authority
28:28to get me there without my manipulation.
28:32David made no room for his flesh, not
28:35even a little bit. We can't let flesh
28:37creep in just a little bit.
28:41Oh Lord.
28:43I'll put myself out there just a minute.
28:46I had This was years and years and years
28:48ago.
28:50But something Someone came against my
28:53family. Now, I told you, you come
28:54against me, it's one thing. I have
28:56learned,
28:57you know,
28:58it is what it is.
28:59I know who I am.
29:01But if you come against my parents,
29:04if you come against even my siblings,
29:07and um
29:09they were coming up against my family
29:10and saying all sorts of things about
29:12them, and this was somebody
29:14that we loved dearly and we were close
29:16with, and it hurt.
29:18It hurt.
29:22And time passed,
29:25and all sorts of things were being said.
29:27But we allowed the Lord to speak and him
29:30to use the tool of time to speak.
29:33And what happened was the Lord began to
29:36in due season exalt us.
29:40And he blessed us
29:43despite what was being said.
29:46And um
29:48this individual,
29:49I don't know why they came up to me.
29:51They should have gone to one of my
29:52siblings.
29:53But they came up to me.
29:56The Lord It was the Lord.
29:57The Lord was teaching me something.
30:00And they saw what God was doing.
30:03Never did apologize.
30:05Never did acknowledge.
30:07But they just said,
30:09"Whatever you need,
30:11I'm here."
30:14And I just thought, "Isn't that
30:15interesting? Hmm."
30:19Now, when things are looking good, you
30:22want to be around.
30:25And I just was kind I didn't say, you
30:27know, and I just said, "Okay."
30:30And I walked away, and I thought in my
30:32heart, "Hmm, you better watch out. The
30:34Lord sees the heart."
30:37And I thought in my heart, "I'll never
30:39be calling them."
30:41That won't ever happen.
30:43And I felt the Lord convict me like
30:45that.
30:46And he said, "Oh,
30:48so you get to decide judgment then?
30:52I guess you're going to do that
30:54cuz you just said never."
30:58And I stopped myself and I
31:01I felt my flesh get riled up
31:04cuz I wanted to justify my reasoning.
31:08But God said, "Let me decide." I don't
31:11think he was necessarily wanting me to
31:13interact. I don't think that was the
31:15point. The point really was this. It was
31:18like Abraham with Isaac. If I asked you
31:20to, would you?
31:23Would you? Would you trust that I am the
31:26one that controls and handles justice?
31:28Would you trust that I know the the
31:31manner of a person's heart? I know what
31:33happened before and after. You only see
31:35a moment in time.
31:37Trust that I'll take care of you like
31:40I'm taking care of them, but keep your
31:42spirit right in the process because also
31:44if you don't keep your spirit right,
31:47something might happen with you."
31:49The Lord is trying to teach us in the
31:51process of life,
31:53keep your spirit right. And David didn't
31:56even let a little room for his flesh.
32:00Romans 12 and 21, be not overcome of
32:03evil,
32:04but overcome evil with good. You can be
32:07completely right about what someone did
32:09to you and completely wrong in how you
32:12respond to it.
32:16Sometimes God has to let time pass long
32:18enough for our flesh to lose its
32:20appetite for vengeance.
32:24There's that phrase, "Never Never
32:26wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty,
32:28but the pig enjoys it."
32:34David refused
32:37to force God's promise through his own
32:39flesh.
32:41He trusted that God had his back. And I
32:43ask you today, I don't know what you're
32:45going through, I don't know the kind of
32:47things that you've had to carry in here
32:49tonight. I don't know the kind of
32:50situations that have hurt you, harmed
32:52you, and I'm not here to say they're not
32:54real. I'm here to let you know God knows
32:56more than you could ever even know. He's
32:58going to take care of you, and he has
33:00got your back.
33:03Time is a friend to justice. Put it in
33:06the hands of a just judge, and it's
33:08going to be okay in Jesus' name. Whether
33:11in this life or the next, there will be
33:12retribution.
33:16Time is a friend to justice.
33:19Time will prove what David learned in
33:21the cave. When you leave justice in the
33:22hands of a just judge, you don't have to
33:25get your hands dirty
33:26because he judges better than we ever
33:28could.
33:29And that brings me to my next point.
33:32And I'm kind of closing.
33:35Time is a friend to justice
33:38because ultimately time is a friend to
33:42truth.
33:44We can conceal something for a season.
33:47Someone can pretend something for a
33:49season.
33:51We can make something look one way when
33:53it's really another
33:55for a time.
33:57But time
33:58keeps moving.
34:00Truth doesn't become true because time
34:02reveals it. Truth was always true. Time
34:06just sheds light on it in the end.
34:10Luke 12:2, "For there is nothing covered
34:13that shall not be revealed, neither hid
34:16that shall not be known." A seed does
34:18not become what it is when fruit
34:20appears.
34:22A seed has always had the DNA of a tree
34:24inside of it.
34:26The fruit reveals what the seed always
34:28was.
34:30Time will reveal what we have always
34:33been.
34:35There are things we might not understand
34:37today.
34:38That today we can't see them clearly.
34:41They may look different than what we
34:42expected today. Like a seed that seems
34:45to have no purpose and no life in it.
34:48We see a moment but God sees it all.
34:52And sometimes we get frustrated because
34:54we want God to reveal everything right
34:55now, right now, right now. But there is
34:57a reason that time exists. Time is a
35:01friend to the child of God. It is a
35:04sharpened tool in his hand. There is a
35:07process to revelation.
35:10To growth, to fruit.
35:14And if we'll trust God through that
35:15process,
35:17time will tell the story.
35:21I pray that this word tonight
35:24brings peace and conviction upon all of
35:27us.
35:30Because when I say time is a friend to
35:32the child of God,
35:33it is an assumption
35:35that we are walking in the will of God
35:38and the word of God.
35:40Because time tests everything. Doesn't
35:43matter what it is. It is like a a law
35:45written into nature itself. What goes up
35:47must come down. What you reap is what
35:49you sow. As time passes, truth is
35:53revealed.
35:54Character is revealed.
35:57Motives are tested and tried.
36:00Convictions are revealed. Relationships
36:03are tested. Faithfulness is tested by
36:07time. Time reveals what's being sown in
36:10the hidden place of your heart. For the
36:12child of God, that's a beautiful thing.
36:15But for those who are not walking in his
36:17word, but in secret places,
36:22let this be a convicting thing.
36:25Because there's still hope
36:27for you to make it right.
36:30If you are
36:31a child of God,
36:33if you are a friend of God,
36:35time is a friend to you.
36:38Jesus said, "You shall know them by
36:40their fruits." Notice he did not say
36:42you'll know them by what they say,
36:44you'll know them by how they appear, or
36:46how impressive they seem. That's why we
36:48can't follow trends, that's why we're
36:50not just here following what's popular
36:51or what looks good. We have to test the
36:53fruit that's being produced.
36:56It's a lot more than a trend. Fruit
36:59shows what we invest hours in, days in,
37:01weeks in, years of our life growing, not
37:04just in public, but in the private
37:06places of your life. Matthew says, "Pray
37:08to the Father which is in secret, and
37:10thy Father which sees in secret shall
37:12reward you openly."
37:21Fruit tells the truth about a tree.
37:24And that is why I love this book.
37:29Heaven and earth shall pass away,
37:31but my words, they won't pass away.
37:34The words in this book have never been
37:36disproved. They have not once slide,
37:40because time shows what is ultimately
37:42true. Every other book has faded, it is
37:45no longer relevant, it no longer stands,
37:49but this word is still just as powerful
37:51today as it was all those ages ago.
37:55That's the difference between God and
37:57the enemy. The Bible says that the enemy
38:00is the father of lies. So, time will
38:03ultimately erode and degrade his
38:06schemes. It may look fun in a moment,
38:10his lies might sound good for a day or a
38:12season, but the Bible tells us that the
38:15wages of sin is death. Eventually, time
38:19will make us pay.
38:23Time is a friend to wisdom.
38:26Time is a friend to justice.
38:29And time is a friend to truth.
38:33It takes time to build a prayer life.
38:36It doesn't just happen overnight. So,
38:37take the time. Time is a friend to the
38:40child of God.
38:42It takes time to build a strong
38:43marriage. It doesn't happen in one
38:45conversation. So, take the time. Time is
38:48a friend to the child of God.
38:50It takes time to see a healing.
38:53So, trust that it will happen. Time is a
38:56friend to the child of God. It takes
38:58time to concentrate. So, fast, read,
39:02pray.
39:04Seek the face of God.
39:07Another year passes in God's presence.
39:11The world
39:12The world is saddened by the passing of
39:14time
39:15because of what it's taken from it.
39:18But to the child of God,
39:20another day,
39:22another week, another year in his
39:24presence only grows sweeter and sweeter.
39:26Why? Because time is a friend
39:29to the child of God. I know there are
39:32people in this room that have lived for
39:34the Lord for many, many, many, many
39:36years and you can attest to the beauty
39:39of his presence over time. Your
39:41relationship just grows deeper. It just
39:44grows sweeter. It just grows more potent
39:47and powerful over time. The longer you
39:50walk with him, the more you know him.
39:53The more you know him, the more you love
39:55him. The more you love him, the more you
39:58want to be like him. And the more you
40:00spend time in his presence, the less the
40:03world has to offer you. David said, "For
40:06a day in thy courts is better than a
40:09thousand thou swear. I had rather be a
40:11doorkeeper in the house of my God than
40:15to dwell in tents of wickedness. Don't
40:19despise your waiting. If we can all
40:20stand here tonight,
40:28Oh, hallelujah. I know this word is for
40:31someone here tonight.
40:35Do not despise your waiting.
40:38Trust that God has given us time as a
40:41gift.
40:43Do not resent it.
40:45Use it.
40:47Pray through it. Grow, learn, serve,
40:49worship, consecrate yourself through it.
40:55All the time that's passing in the
40:56middle of your waiting is refining you.
41:00It's revealing things in you.
41:03And at the end of all time, when history
41:05has has finished its course and time
41:07ends, the word of God says that there's
41:10coming a day where truth will really be
41:12revealed and every knee shall bow and
41:15every tongue shall confess that Jesus
41:17Christ is the Lord. It doesn't matter
41:20how many have tried to deny it or to
41:22reconstruct the word. It doesn't matter
41:25how many times they've tried to mock it.
41:27The truth of time's going to be revealed
41:30that one day this would all be worth it
41:32in the end. So, trust the timing of your
41:35season. I open this altar right now. I
41:37open this altar for anybody and
41:39everybody that's not just experiencing a
41:42waiting season, but you're letting the
41:44Lord know, I trust you in the times and
41:46the seasons of my life. I trust you with
41:49the judgments of my life. I trust you,
41:51God. I surrender myself to you. I don't
41:54understand it all, but you've given me
41:56time as a gift to surrender to you. God,
42:00teach me wisdom. Let me glean from
42:02those, God, that have gone before me.
42:05Teach me, God, patience, Lord. Teach me
42:08to slow down in your presence and not
42:10work in a spirit of haste. Teach me,
42:12mighty God, to put my trust in you that
42:15you have my back ultimately at the end
42:17of the day. Teach me, mighty God, to put
42:20my word, my heart, my mind in your
42:22truth, Jesus. God, to offer my time to
42:26you, Lord, that your truth would be made
42:28known and manifest in my life, in this
42:31church, in your people. Oh, hallelujah.
42:36I encourage someone tonight to surrender
42:38where they're at. God, I give you the
42:41timing. I give you the timing.
42:46I give you, God, the authority.
42:49I won't take it into my own hands. I'll
42:52trust the dreams that you've given me
42:55will come into fruition because they
42:57came from you as a promise. I did not
43:00conjure them up in my own mind. I found
43:02them at an altar on bended knee, and I
43:05know that they're here because you told
43:07them to me. So, I hold on, God, with all
43:10that I've got, and I trust in the
43:12promises of your word, and I trust that
43:15time will lead to the truth.
43:19Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
43:22Thank you, Jesus.