Untitled Sermon (2)

SERIES TITLE: Who am I in Christ? 

Week 7: Captivated by God’s Beauty 

Outline:  

Trust His Timing (Ecc 3:11). 

Receive His gifts (Ecc 3:12-13). 

Stand in Awe (Ecc 3:14-15) 

Bottom Line: In Christ, we recognize and respond to the beauty of God’s design 

Scripture Passage(s): Ecclesiastes 3:11-15 

Doctrines to be Taught:  

Focus of the Message: As we experience God’s Truth and Goodness in our lives through Worship, Community, and Mission, we also ought to become captivated by His Beauty. In this message, we will explore how God’s Beauty helps to live out our identity in Christ. 

SERIES RECAP 

Welcome back to Woodside Students! For much of this Fall, we’ve been going through a series called “Who Am I in Christ?” and tonight we are wrapping this series up. I hope that it’s been beneficial to ask this question and that you’re beginning to see that this is actually really important to answer in our walks with Christ. I also hope you’re excited about where our church is heading because I know that I am. The last couple of weeks we’ve looked at how our Woodside values of Truth and Goodness help us live out our identity in Christ through Worship, Community, and Mission. Tonight we wrap up this series to see how the value of God’s Beauty also impacts these things. 

INTRODUCTION 

How many of you enjoy puzzles? (Wait for students to raise their hands/answer) Well, I’ll be honest, I hate puzzles but I’d hate them even more if I wasn’t able to see the picture on the box that shows me what they look like. 

(Bring a puzzle with you and dump it on a table, the stage, or floor in front of you but keep the box hidden)  

How many of you think you could put together this puzzle without using the box? (could make this a challenge to see how far students can get in 1 minute or something like that but you wouldn’t need to). I think some of you probably could for sure but it would make the difficulty level much harder. If I gave you the box depending on the puzzle it still might take you some time to complete but at least you’d know the direction you’d need to head in to complete it. This is because you would see the puzzle as the designer sees the puzzle. Now you still might have some questions that only the designer might know.  

Things like: why did you choose to make the puzzle that many pieces? Why do certain places in the puzzle go one place when they look like they go somewhere else? What made you choose this as the picture? While we may be thinking about this way more in depth than intended, these are questions only the designer could answer for you. 

TENSION 

And sometimes life can be a bit like a puzzle. You’ve got a bunch of pieces — school, friendships, sports, family, your future — but sometimes it feels like no one’s shown you the picture on the box. You start wondering: Why am I here? Does my life matter? What’s the point?  

In our passage tonight, we will see that this longing for the big picture is actually a good gift that God has given us to help lead us to the picture He has in mind. So while the puzzle box of our lives may at times be unclear, the puzzle box of the gospel gives us everything we need to be captivated by God’s beauty. So: 

################################Slide############################ How does God’s beauty change the way we see our lives? 

This is the question that we’re going to try to answer tonight in Ecclesiastes 3:11-15. As we look at this passage, we’ll see we can become captivated by God’s beauty. 

TRUTH 

################################Slide############################Trust His Timing. 

################################Slide############################ 

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. – Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV) 

The first 10 verses of this chapter help us understand what is meant here in verse 11. In the first 8 verses, we see God has pointed times for so many events and feelings in this world both good and bad. It leads to the question after this of what does the worker have to gain from his toil or work? Essentially, the question is what do we have to gain in a world where hard things happen? The good news is that God watches over our work and as we see in verse 11, God has made everything beautiful in its time – which includes the hard things we experience. Though the changing nature of this world can be hard, we’re not meant to view good things as a distraction from what is hard but see that everything has beauty in it because God has made everything beautiful. As a result we can and should trust His timing.  

This doesn’t mean this is easy because God has put eternity in our hearts. We long to understand what is our purpose in this life? Even what is the purpose of all life? We want the things we work for and even our lives to have purpose and to matter even after we leave this earth. If you don’t believe me all you have to do is look at the world around us. In sports we make a big deal of who is the greatest of all time in their sport. It’s because people want their lives to leave a legacy and not be forgotten that this discussion even exists. God has put eternity in our hearts but the truth is we cannot find out what God has done from beginning to end.  

In other words, we can’t know everything. That doesn’t mean we can’t know anything, it just means we can’t know everything because His ways are higher than ours. This is beautiful because God has given us everything we need to know who He is in Christ. That longing for eternity that all of us have is meant to point us to Jesus the only one who can fulfill the longing for purpose we have in our lives. 

And the beautiful thing is God gives us purpose in Christ, when we believe in the message of the gospel through faith in Jesus who saves us from our sin, we not only have purpose but realize it’s okay that we don’t know everything and helps us as we seek to trust God’s timing. As we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and see that the gospel transforms every part of our lives we become captivated by God’s beauty and empowered to be part of His story. This is because we see that the puzzle pieces of eternity He has made plain for us enable us to find our identity in Christ and encourage others to do the same through the Community and Mission, He has given us. So when you find yourself longing for eternity, marvel at the pieces God has already given to us, instead of complaining about what we can’t see. Trust His timing. 

{Main point of section: All things are meant for our good, and through Christ we can trust God’s eternal plan}

################################Slide############################Receive His gifts. 

################################Slide############################12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. – Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 (ESV) 

As we read these verses, we may choose to land on the conclusion that we can’t fully understand eternity, or all that God has planned from the beginning to end that we ought to bury these emotions deep. I want to be clear this is not what is being said here. If this were the could take we could take these verses that I need to focus on what makes me happy and pursue those things after all “there is nothing better…” “…than to be joyful and do good”, we’re told to “eat and drink and take pleasure.” 

But that would also fail to take into consideration the last part of verse 13, “this is God’s gift to man.” For the Christian, we ought to first see life as gift from God that is beautiful because it’s meant to bring God glory. In other words, it’s not that life should never be fun. Ecclesiastes not only shows us life should be fun and enjoyable here but also that God has purpose for us in the fun and enjoyment. Life isn’t meant to be meaningless fun but meaningful because of who has gifted life to us. As a result, as we enjoy the beautiful things of this world it ought to captivate us with the beauty of the one who gifted us these beautiful things. Understanding that life is for Him, should drive us into action for Him in this world. 

God didn’t just call us to His family as sons and daughters to stay in the huddle forever. Anyone who’s ever played football knows that’s not even the fun part of the game. The fun part is actually running that play to success and hopefully victory. If a team were to stay in the huddle the whole game, I can’t even imagine how many times they would get penalized for doing nothing. 

Catching the glimpses we get of God’s glory shows us how beautiful He is. As we’re captivated by His beauty it means yes – we should enjoy this life but that we also need to get out of the huddle of our student ministry small groups sometimes and go into the playing fields of our schools to help others who desperately need Jesus to see the beauty of who He is.  

Jesus is the ultimate gift we have been given and He actually sets the example for us as He came to this world, experienced life as we know it, and helps us see our sin and God’s beauty which were on full display through His death on the cross and resurrection three days later. He’s gifted us as part of our families with beautiful things and experiences but also with gifts that no one else has to take the gospel to places and people in this world that only you have access to. So yes, enjoy and take pleasure in this world as you also process the aspects of eternity God has made plain through the gospel and take this message to those in your lives you’re the gifts God has given you. Receive His gifts! 

 {Main point of section: God gave us life to be enjoyed and see his beauty, but it should call us to share and help others see that beauty as well}

################################Slide############################Stand in Awe. 

################################Slide############################  

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. – Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 (ESV) 

The humbling reality is that while we can’t see the full picture God has in mind and while we can’t guarantee that our lives will leave a legacy as we desire (most likely it won’t), whatever God does endures forever. This means that in an ever-changing world there is something unshakable that we can hold onto and that is the work of God. Nothing will be added to it or taken away from it. What God has done is so that people fear before Him or in other words stand in awe of Him 

This should captivate us all the more with God’s beauty because as we just looked at God allows us to be part of His work. This doesn’t make His work, our work but it does mean that His work in our lives gives us the meaning and purpose that our hearts long for in Christ. 

Whenever I hear someone say my story isn’t that good. I immediately look at them and say “what do you mean?” and usually it has something to do with them feeling like their story of how they came to faith in Jesus is ordinary. Students, let me clear there is nothing ordinary about any one of your stories, all of them are unique and are meant to celebrated as beautiful testimonies to the work God is doing in your lives. To say your story of faith isn’t that good is actually to minimize the work of our unshakable God in your lives. So write down your stories. We can help you with that if you need help. And as you do that remember that if you have faith in Christ, your story is wrapped up in His story and allow that to help you stand in awe of Him and His work on the cross to free you of your sin and bring you into a relationship with Him that starts now and lasts forever.  

But don’t keep that story to yourself. Let others stand in awe of the beauty of who our God is as well! And if they choose not to, don’t take it personally. You can still rejoice in the fact that God is at work in your life and helping you to share your faith with those around you. Stand in awe of His beauty. 

{Main point of section: You are a wonderful work of God, and are invited to be a part of his work too. On our own, we cannot make anything that will last, but what God makes is eternal and should make us stand in awe.}

DESCENT 

Hopefully from all of this tonight you have seen: 

################################Slide############################ In Christ, we recognize and respond to the beauty of God’s design. 

This doesn’t mean we will always understand God’s design fully or see the big picture of His plan for our lives. We may never get to see that puzzle box. The good news is that He has absolutely provided for us the puzzle box of the gospel, which is enough for us to know Him, stand in awe of His beauty, and not question the rest of the picture and purpose that we don’t always get to see. 

When you find yourself struggling to understand to see the big picture, trust His timing and remember you have everything that you need. See the purpose God has beautifully orchestrated for your lives and receive His gifts so that all might come to see the Beauty of who Jesus is. And then stand in awe of Him knowing that He didn’t have to allow your life to have the purpose it does now that your story is wrapped up in His story, but He still did anyway.  

LANDING  

Let God’s beauty shape the way you see your identity in Christ as you engage with God through Worship, Community, and Mission. And even when your struggling to see it remember, in Christ, we recognize and respond to the beauty of God’s design. 

Let’s Pray!