Cornerstone



Good morning and please open up your Bibles to Ecclesiastes 12 as we come to a conclusion of our study of the book of Ecclesiastes today. On January 5, the very first Sunday of 2020, we opened up the book of Ecclesiastes and started making our way through seeking to discover what God has to reveal to us through the Preacher of this book. So much of what he has had to say has been intended to wake-up us up to reality of the brevity of life. That life is short! And if we’re not careful, we can too easily be fooled into thinking we’ve got nothing but time. We can be too easily persuaded that what this world has to offer is our primary focus. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes has sought to warn us, guide us, and show us a better way. Because whatever the world does have to offer, it’s fleeting, the pleasures and temporary gains that this world can give us are just that, they are temporary. They are just a breath.And he has challenged us through this book to live life backwards. To take the one thing in the future that we are certain of – our death – and work backward from that point into all the details and decisions and treasure hunts and passions of our lives, and to think about them from the perspective of the end. For it is the destination that makes sense of the journey. If we know for sure where we are heading, then we can make better evaluations ofwhat we need to do before we get there. Ecclesiastes has invited us to let our end design our priorities and goals, reshape our greatest ambitions, and give a makeover to our strongest desires. For we are to be a people who are numbering our days… not numbering what is in our bank account, not seeking short sighted goals, not living as if this life is the only life there is. For the Christian, if you are a Christian, you have been saved by the grace of God through the precious blood of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. You once were lost, but now have been found. You were blind, but now through faith in the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ, you see. In Him is where true and lasting joy is discovered. And every pursuit separated from Jesus Christ for enjoyment, satisfaction, purpose and meaning will come up empty. All that the world has to offer, when it is separated from God, is an empty well (a dead end road, something that will not provide what you’re truly looking for). There is enjoyment/satisfaction in life, but it cannot be separated from God Himself. And through the wise words of the Preacher of Ecclesiastes, he has sought to be A Guide Through the Darkness of this life. We don’t have to wander aimlessly without hope. We should not stumble along in an attempt to figure this life out on our own. Rather, we must turn to the Word of God as we look to our Creator to direct our steps. And as we observed last week, God has used the wise words of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes to lead us in the right direction; and he’s explaining that in these closing verses. We looked at a portion of this last week and we will finish it off this week. But let’s read this passage, I’ll give a brief review of what we have already discussed, and then we’ll press on towards the conclusion of this series. Read Ecclesiastes 12:9-14If you recall, this is a sermon in two parts as Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 serves as a summary to the entire book where the Preacher explains that he has written all of this in order to bring us four things. We talked about two of those things last week. We saw that the Preacher wrote this book to bring us 1Pleasure (10). He underscored the reality that God is not a killjoy or a horrendous dictator in the way that he made this world. But rather, is a benevolent and gracious God who has given so many good gifts to enjoy. We also saw that the Preacher wrote this book to bring us 2Pain (11). We all have foolishness imbedded within ourselves; we think we’re right, or we think that our feelings are the greatest guide through the darkness, or we think we’ve learned/discovered the right way but have actually turned down a dead end road. So as painful as it may be, occasionally we need some brutally honest words to make us sit up and take notice. Words to stop us in our tracks and turn us around and get us going in the right direction. Our Good Shepherd, God Himself has used the words of Ecclesiastes to bring us pain. These words are not thrown out as jabs and daggers simply to wound us, but to redirect our attention and lead us in the right direction. Now, let’s turn our attention to the final two explanations as to why the Preacher of Ecclesiastes wrote this book. He wrote it give us a 3Perspective on life, and to ensure that we 4Prepared to stand before God one day. Look at verse 13 once again as we consider the 3rd reason the Preacher wrote the book.Read Ecclesiastes 12:13This is the perspective that we are to embrace in life. The Preacher delivers a comprehensive and all-inclusive mindset that we are to carry into everything that we do. Our entire duty and responsibility from day-to-day, is to fear God and to keep His commandments, in everything that we do. Let me tell you a story from the Old Testament.In the book of Exodus, the Israelites had a front row seat to the mighty hand of God! Thousands of Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years and then through a series of plagues Pharaoh finally relinquishes his control and sets the people free. But it doesn’t take long for Pharaoh to regret his decision. Pharaoh and his officials get together and ask themselves? “What have we done? We’ve let the people of Israel go! We’ve lost our slaves and all the work they used to do for us! What are we going to do now? Do the labor ourselves?! That sounds like a horrible idea!!! Let’s go get those despicable Israelites back!!”So, Pharaoh rally’s his troops and is going to attempt to enslave these people who he has just set free. He chases them to the edge of the Red Sea, but by the time that he gets there, God has miraculously parted the waters and the people of Israel had crossed to the other side. But Pharaoh was stubborn. He was used to getting his own way and had determined in his heart that he was not backing down now, so foolishly he rushed with his soldiers into that parted sea to chase after the Israelites.And at that time the Lord instructed Moses to reach out his hand over the sea. Moses followed the Lord’s instructions and the water came crashing down on the Egyptian army; destroying every single one of them. That day the Israelites saw once again the amazing power of the Lord. And we see their response at the end of Exodus 14. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. Exodus 14:31In that moment, the Israelites realized who was in control. It definitely wasn’t the Egyptians! They were a worldwide superpower of the day and they had just been squashed like a fragile bug. The Israelites also realized that it wasn’t them in control! God is the One, the ONLY ONE who reigns in absolute power yesterday, today, and forever! Any type of physical strength that we acquire, any type intellectual understanding that we pick up through our lifetime, any amount of prestige and respect that we are capable of acquiring in private or in public… all pale in comparison to the greatness of God. The Israelites had this incredible “Aha moment” of, “Alright, I know who is in control. It’s the Lord.” And full discloser, the Israelites would continue to wrestle back and forth with fulling following after the Lord. They were prone to wander and forget who is to be feared and obeyed… which led to all sorts of rebellion against God in sin. But we do the exact same thing. Our attention can easily wander away from our Savior Jesus Christ, the love of our Father, and the leading of the Holy Spirit to things of lesser value. We could probably list off a number of times that we veer away from this perspective of fearing God and obeying His commandments. But let me just list several that I could think of. We too easily can drift from this proper perspective on life…When our current circumstances are difficult. Enjoyable circumstances are pretty nice! Relationships that are in harmony. A steady income. Good health. We like it when things are going our way. But what about when they don’t. We lose our job. The doctors report isn’t favorable. Conflict with people keeps popping all over the place. In moments where challenging circumstances seem to be around every corner, we can easily start to become frustrated and impatient with waiting on God. And if we’re not careful we can start to doubt that He actually is control. That is where temptation has its opportunity to persuade you to dismiss who God is and what He has to say… and lead you astray. When other people are urging us in different direction. Not too many people like to stick out like a sore thumb, or go against the flow, especially when it comes to people that you have developed a great relationship with or at least admire from a distance. Because we like being in harmony with those who are close us and those we respect. Those that have drawn us in close and have influenced our lives in some way. So, when these admired individuals make compelling arguments in a way that seems genuine and thoughtful, although contrary to the Word of God, if we’re not away from our primary responsibility. When the emotions of our heart don’t align with what is right. Sometimes it feels like there is this epic Lord of the Rings type battle raging on within me; good verses evil! Where I know what is right. I know what is good. I know what the Lord desires… but it’s a fight to convince my heart to be patient and kind. It’s a struggle to withhold that harsh word. It’s an all-out brawl to convince the emotions of my heart to align with my mind with what is good, right, and true. I could definitely go on to talk about more… We can be persuaded to drift from fearing God and obeying His commands… But a worthy pursuit of yours would be to seek to remind yourself of and to seek to convince your heart of daily (considering that this is your whole duty v.13); that God is the One to be feared and that He is the one to be obeyed 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. You must come to the recognition of who God is and who you are. God is God; the One that is high and lifted up. He is the King of all kings. The Creator of the heavens and earth. He is the One that is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present. “Oh, the depth of the riches and?wisdom and knowledge of God!?How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rms. 11:33) “For?from him and through him and to him are all things.?To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rms. 11:36)The infinite God has called you into a loving relationship with Himself. Allow that reality to reshape your perspective on how you go about living every moment of your life! Allow that perspective to bring you to your knees in humility, seeking to follow His directives because He always knows what is best. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes has been seeking to press that perspective upon you throughout this entire book. He has written this book so that you don’t stumble through the darkness of this life, but can be guided with the proper perspective of fearing God and obeying God’s commands. That is the third reason for writing this book, and there is one more.The Preacher of Ecclesiastes also wrote this book so that you would be prepared. Read Ecclesiastes 12:14The wise words of the preacher has been preparing for the end. One of the hardest things in Ecclesiastes is letting it instruct us that there are no immediate answers for some things in life. Do you remember when we looked at this verse?I?saw all?the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had?no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. (4:1)What do you say to that? What do you say to people who have experienced those circumstances? There is ultimately only one answer –God will put it right. And we should prepare to meet Him. When we lived in Michigan I remember being jolted awake one night by someone banging on the door! I looked over at the clock and it was 4 am. I’m surprised but also a little scared. Who knocks on the door at 4 o’clock in the morning? And it wasn’t one of those timid and delicate knocks… it was like the Hulk was trying to get our attention. So cautiously, I made my way to the front of the house. As I rounded the corner of the hallway and could see through the window of the door, there was a man standing there with a flashlight peering in. He sees me and shouts out, “Open the door! Does Lori live here?” (2x) I’m still trying to come to my senses on what is happening (it’s 4 o’clock in the morning!) Finally, I recognize that it’s a Police Officer and he’s responding to a 911 call. But somehow he got the wrong address. We talked for a few moments and then he moved on to another house. Someone showing up like that when you’re not prepared can be absolutely terrifying.And the Preacher of Ecclesiastes is saying that there is coming a day when some people will discover that they are not prepared for the most important event in the history of the world. They will be jolted awake, not by a knock on the door, but by the reality that they are standing in the presence of God Himself, the creator of all things. Their life has been one long exercise in avoiding reality and ignoring what is coming toward them –death and judgement. The words of the Preacher are meant to be like the hand on the shoulder that vigorously shakes us from our sleeping and ends the dream, bringing us back down to reality. But for the believer in Jesus Christ, death and judgment are not things to fear. If you are prepared to stand before God because of having placed your faith in the perfect work of the Son of God, it will be a time when the terrors of this world will give way to the glory of the new world. It will be a time when only what is good will be rejoiced in. The conflict between good and evil will come to an end, as will all arguments about motives, intentions, and who’s right and who’s wrong. Error will be exposed and the goodness of God will ever so clearly shine through! So, in his closing argument the preacher of Ecclesiastes stresses that we must be prepared for that moment. Stop seeking to gain so many futile, vain, and worthless things from this world. As the Preacher of Ecclesiastes has stressed earlier in this book, barely anything, that we do will receive accolades and rewards on this earth. Most of what we do on a day to day basis will be forgotten within a generation or two. But that’s OK, because we live with the understanding that our very lives are a gift, offered for a short period of time and then taken back once again. But what are we to be doing with our time? With our lives? Pouring out it for the glory of God! Living for the approval of One! No one else may heap praise upon your life… But know this, God is watching and He is with you. Live for His glory for that is the ONLY thing that will last. Embrace life for what it is, rather than what you would like it to be. Live out your life before God, reverencing and obeying Him. Because if you’ve gained Jesus Christ in this life, you have gained everything. Living with Jesus, living for Jesus, communicating with Jesus through prayer, growing in your understanding of Jesus, faithfully following after Jesus in the way that you think, talk, act… that is the pathway on which joy exists, even though puzzlement and pain will also be found there, and there are no guarantees about how things will turn out. If you have gained Christ, if you have placed your faith in the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross, if Jesus is the Lord and Savior of your life, that is the only thing prepares you to stand in the presence of God, And if gained Christ, you have gained everything and that allows you to die to everything else. Church, I urge you to live for the eternal, and allow your ultimate end to reshape your present life. The life that you have is a breath. Life may not be turning out the way that you have dreamed but that’s OK. Because we’re not living just for this moment. We’re living for the moment that we’ll stand in the presence of God. And until that time I encourage you to continually come hear the words of the wise for PleasurePainPerspectivePrepared ................
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