Start Right Here

Good morning!

Last week we finished out chapter eleven by looking at what it means to live in truth.

We do that by living in the moment with God.

Not living for ourselves, but living with the understanding that all we could ever want has been and will be provided to us by God.

We can live in the moment while keeping a watchful eye on what the future will hold.

We enjoy God’s gifts as He intended by enjoying them WITH God.

God created us to be in a relationship with Himself.

If we want to make sure we are enjoying the gifts in the proper way, we simply need to do those activities with God in mind.

Lastly, we live life with God.

Instead of focusing solely on the rules, we put our energy and focus on our relationship with God by abiding.

Through Jesus and His power, we will be live a life of obedience.

Christ is our righteousness and when living in obedience, we are living within the law, but not because we are trying to.

This is the natural outcome of a Christ-centered life.

The law is still there, but it is fulfilled by Christ in us and not our good works.

Today we are going to do the first half of chapter twelve.

I’m not gonna lie, I stole this title from a Casting Crowns song.

As I was studying, their song came on and I couldn’t get this idea out of my head.

It is a great way for us to wrap up this study.

Unless God says otherwise, next Sunday will be our last in this book.

So, with that said, let’s look at this together and see what God has for us today.

Ecclesiastes 12:1–7 CSB

So remember your Creator in the days of your youth: Before the days of adversity come, and the years approach when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain; on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind grain cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly, the doors at the street are shut while the sound of the mill fades; when one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song grow faint. Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street; before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well; and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

I titled this message “Start Right Here” because all of us fall into this category that is described as a youth.

This Hebrew word isn’t defining an age, but rather a time period in one's life.

It begins with birth and ends with death.

I am pointing this out because it would be easy for some of us to read this and assume that we are no longer in the category that the author is describing and therefore this no longer applies to us.

As I have read and studied this passage, I get more and more a sense of beginning.

Isn’t it interesting that when we are forced to think about death or the end, we then consider the present?

We have spent this year studying the life of a man and his conclusion on what is to be pursued.

And here at the end, the tells us that of all the things that the world has to offer, if we don’t live in a right relationship with God now, we will not be able to enjoy it as we get closer to death.

When I say I get a sense of beginning, I’m not thinking about a time period of life, but a time of understanding.

In studying this book, we have a new understanding of life and death.

Because of Covid, these storms, and all the rest of this year that we have lived through, we have a different understanding of what it means to live.

For example, we no longer take for granted the simple joy and warmth of a hug.

I loved KB’s post this week about getting a hug from Glen.

We “Start Right Here”, from this place of new understanding.

It is easy when thinking about this year to focus on the things we didn’t like.

Isn’t that usually where our minds go?

Here we are in the last few messages of this nearly year-long study and I have purposefully looked back on where we began.

We will discuss some specifics next week, but overall, we are different people now than we were when we began this study in February.

Our perspective has changed because of this study in concert with the way 2020 has gone.

When we read the author of Ecclesiastes say “Before the days of adversity come, and the years approach when you will say, I have no delight in them;” we have a better appreciation for the sorrow he is communicating.

There have been some incredibly difficult things we have walked through together this year.

Yet, there have also been some incredible joys we have experienced in-spite of our world being upside down.

For example, we have had several babies that have joined us this year and just this week we are celebrating Cypress!

God has also given us more opportunities to spend with Him while we were quarantined.

God has called some out of this body to begin new ministries and has also called some from this body to take a step of faith into new ministry here.

As difficult as this year has been, God has proportionately given us opportunities for growth.

I hope you have taken advantage of those opportunities.

How has God used this year to mold you more into his likeness?

We began this study with the idea that there were areas of our lives where we were placing our trust, sense of self-worth, and purpose in what this world has to offer.

The idea we started with was that if we would press into our relationship with God, living and enjoying life as He intended, then we will be His love in a broken world.

Well, the world is certainly broken, but have you made the most of God’s work in your life?

We have a new understanding of what is important.

What we used to count on for happiness, in a lot of ways is still not an option.

What we are learning from our text today is that this phenomenon is not unique to 2020.

This is actually the nature of our being.

As we grow older, the things that used to bring happiness, no longer will.

I know this sounds unfair and it is.

In reading of this passage, I am reminded of my Grandpa Cliff who, after loosing my grandma, just began to die away.

It wasn’t a quick process.

If you have ever lost any one to Alzheimer’s disease, you understand.

A man that was full of joy and life, slowly lost both.

It was incredibly sad and difficult for us to deal with.

We must remember though that this is not how God intended for life to be.

Life is difficult and ends because of sin in the world.

Alzheimer’s disease isn’t what the author is speaking directly to, but we are all aware that as we get older, life changes, and the things we could do when we were young are no longer enjoyable or doable.

I shared with you guys a few weeks ago about climbing a tree to try and find a squirrel.

I’ll be honest, it is much harder and scarier to climb trees at 37 than it was at 10.

When I was a kid, it was not big deal for me to jump down eight feet.

I haven’t tried in a while because at 30 it became painful.

Now I think I would break something.

Our bodies and minds age, which was not the intent when we were first created.

The difficulties we face were not part of the plan, but are the result of living in a sinful world.

Have you allowed this truth to change your perspective on how you choose to live life?

If you think about it, knowing the end of the story is a huge blessing.

There is no surprise at any point.

There is no “Gotcha”.

We are told upfront that as we age, life will change and one day the light will dim, our hearing will fade, and our strength will leave.

This is a blessing because it allows us to manage our time.

If you have worked closely with me on anything or tried to schedule a meeting with me, you know that my life is controlled by my calendar.

If you would have told me twenty years ago that my life would be as structured as it is today, I would have said you were crazy.

I used to love to live by the seat of my pants.

Go where ever and whenever and just let the chips fall where they may.

Twenty years ago, that was okay, because I was a knucklehead and I had no real responsibilities.

Today, because of how God has chosen to use me and my family, we have to use every ounce of structure we can.

Now, I will tell you that this didn’t happen over night.

There we many, many times where I disappointed people by not showing up to something because I forgot or double booked myself.

Because of those past experiences, I have learned that it is good and necessary for me to use certain tools in order to manage my time and the way live.

God has used those negative experiences to help me see what is needed in order for me to be the man He is calling me to be.

This is a reality for all of us.

As we grow older, we must allow God to change us into who He needs us to be.

This is how we bring His love into a broken world.

This is the same idea we talked about last week.

We are made into His likeness as we pursue Him.

Christ fulfills the law through us as we allow Him to be in control of our lives.

This why knowing the end of the story is so important.

It gives us the perspective we need.

We begin to see the importance of living for God now.

We can’t wait until we are older.

There are a few reasons that come to mind.

God has work for us to do right now.

We may not be able to do that work when we are older.

There is also work to be done later and if we put off today’s work, we won’t be available or ready for tomorrow.

We could chase that rabbit for a while, but you get the point.

Matthew 6:33–34 CSB

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We are all fully aware that life is difficult and the world is sinful.

This is no surprise to us when we read Ecclesiastes.

We need to heed the words of Jesus.

At the beginning of this passage in Matthew 6 he says...

Matthew 6:25 CSB

“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Worrying does not benefit our lives.

Tomorrow will have troubles of its own, and therefore, we need to focus on today.

Do what God has instructed you to do today and figure out tomorrow when you get with Him tomorrow.

Knowing in advance that the world is broken gives us the realization today of the importance of each day.

Live with no regrets by pursuing God; “Start Right Now.”

No one has flat out said this to me, but I often get the sense that many are waiting.

What are they waiting for, I don’t know.

But it seems often that we know what God wants, yet something holds us back.

I’ve noticed for years, and not exclusively in our congregation, but also in our culture, that people are often non-committal because they are waiting for a better offer.

I see people hurting others and wasting away their lives because they miss out on life due to waiting for something better to come along.

My fear is that there will be a large number of people in our culture that look back on their lives at some point and realize that they missed out on friendships, community, and joy.

They missed out because they were waiting to see if there was a better offer.

The other downside to this culture is that they hurt others in the process.

When we live this way we are communicating to our loved ones that our desires are more important than they are.

I think it is worth reflecting on to see if you have been guilty of such.

This is not for the sake of condemnation, but to the contrary, it is a gesture of love!

If we choose to live in community, if we commit to relationships, and are pursuing God, there will never be a better offer!

Not only that but at the end of our lives, there will be no regrets because God is the ultimate source of satisfaction.

If we are waiting for our satisfaction to come from waiting for that better offer, we are going to be incredibly disappointed.

Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary c. ‘Today, When You Hear His Voice …’ (12:1–8)

where God has been neglected, the capacity for joy will be lost. The passing years will press the unheeding reader to self-confessed (you will say) despair.

If God has given you a directive then there is no better offer that will ever come.

The preacher has written all this down so that we can learn from his experience.

After all that he has seen and done, he leaves us with this final warning.

How many here have used the navigation app Waze?

If you haven’t used it before, the way it works is it uses crowd sourced information.

What that means is that users of the app, who are already where we are heading, can mark when they see things like road closures, accidents, speed traps, traffic cameras, etc.

As you are driving, you will get notifications that will pop up on your map showing the hazards that are ahead.

If there is a delay due to an accident, the app will figure out another route so you don’ have to sit in traffic.

Also, if you get an alert about a speed trap, you get the opportunity to check your speed before it is checked for you.

It’s a really slick app and I’ve used it for years with all my travel.

Here’s the thing, if I got the notifications but decided to stay my course, who’s fault is it if I’m late?

Is it the apps fault or mine?

Of course, it is my fault. I was given a heads up and choose to stay the course.

What about a speed trap.

If I am notified about a speed trap and choose to speed anyway, who’s fault is it if I get a ticket?

Still me.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

We have been given a warning about what lies ahead for each of us in life.

We now have a choice to make.

Will we heed the advice of someone who has already been where we are headed or do we ignore that experience and chance it?

If you thought it was foolish for me to ignore the Waze app, then you must also see the foolishness in ignoring the advice of the preacher.

We have been given a glimpse into the future and we know what lies ahead for all of us.

Living for ourselves or for culture will cause us to regret the life choices we made.

God has used this year to help us to see this truth.

Even though this year has been difficult, it has not been without purpose.

God uses the circumstances of our lives to refine us.

When we go through difficulties, the truth of what we believe and the level of faith we poses is revealed.

One of my readings this morning was this passage in Zechariah.

I looked at its referenced passages as well and the Lord is speaking that He is using all that we have been through to prepare us for the work He has set before us.

Zechariah 13:9 CSB

I will put this third through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’, and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ”

Psalm 66:10 CSB

For you, God, tested us; you refined us as silver is refined.

Proverbs 17:3 CSB

A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold, and the Lord is the tester of hearts.

Isaiah 48:10 CSB

Look, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Malachi 3:3 CSB

He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.

I know that we don’t like to think about things like this.

No one enjoys being refined, but the results of refinment are loved by all.

Refining is difficult, but the results are beautiful.

This process is what makes silver and gold appealing.

God has used this year to show us the brokenness of this world first hand.

He has been and is working in our hearts, refining us into the people that we are meant to be.

I want to end today with a story that we are all familiar with.

Look at this story with the perspective that God has given us this year of being His love in a broken world.

Just prior to where we are picking up in chapter four, John the baptist’s disciples were complaining to John that Jesus was now baptizing more than they were. lol

Classic popularity competition.

John breaks it down for them and then we see this passage.

John 4:1–2 CSB

When Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing more disciples than John (though Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were),

Real quick side note.

If you are looking at this in an app or in your bible you may see a little “k” next to the word “making”.

Look at that reference.

Matthew 28:19–20 CSB

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Who was making and baptizing?

The disciples, under the authority and power of Jesus.

This is our commission church.

This is our call and command.

Keep going with me in John.

John 4:3–7 CSB

he left Judea and went again to Galilee. He had to travel through Samaria; so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. “Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her,

We aren’t going to read this whole passage this morning, you know how it goes.

Jesus begins with a request for water and that simple request begins a conversation about who Jesus is and why He has come.

God turned a simple question into a spiritual conversation that didn’t just change her life.

John 4:28–30 CSB

Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They left the town and made their way to him.

What was the result of her changed perspective on who this person of Jesus was?

When she learned the truth, she immediately went to tell others and then look at what happened next.

John 4:39–42 CSB

Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. Many more believed because of what he said. And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”

We have talked about before the baggage that comes, for most of us, with the idea of making disciples.

If we are abiding, the simplest of conversations can be used by the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth about who Jesus is.

This isn’t a burden, but an incredible, joyous opportunity to bring truth into the world.

It is an opportunity to bring light into darkness.

Conversation with the new kids that came two weeks ago about the planets.

I didn’t really know anything about them, so I just started a discussion.

Let’s move forward together into obedience to God to just be His people.

Abide in Him, moment by moment, and allow Him to change the world through simple conversations.

There is more adventure, excitement, and joy to be found in the purpose God has for your life than this world could ever offer without God.

Let’s show the world who God is by living for Him.

They will experience God vicariously through us until they come to know Christ for themselves.

It will happen just like it did in the passage about the woman at the well.

Let’s be God’s love in a broken world by simply abiding and letting Christ work through us.