Ecclesiastes 11:9 – Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. THEME OF THE DAY. BE CAREFUL. BE VERY CAREFUL. Today’s scripture is the beginning…
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Ecclesiastes
My church holds two services on the Lord’s Day. Each Sunday morning, we gather for worship, fellowship, and instruction for about ninety minutes. Some Sundays we may go a little longer but we are generally in a corporate setting from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Then we have an evening service. It normally lasts from 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Like the morning service, we may go a little longer. Yet, we aren’t in a hurry. It is standard practice to see many people hanging around after both services to enjoy the togetherness as God’s people. There is something beautiful about the togetherness of God’s people on the Lord’s Day and having two opportunities is a delight and joy. And it is this beauty of our togetherness we want to consider from today’s scripture.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 – For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. A. Our Judge and Us Points 1 -3 are in Part 1. Point 4 is in Part 2. Who is our Judge? What qualities are in our Judge? What will be the standards of our judgment? What will be judged? What will be the…
Ecclesiastes 12:14 – For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. A. Our Judge and Us Points 1 -3 are in Part 1. Who is our Judge? What qualities are in our Judge? What will be the standards of our judgment? What will be judged? Romans 8:1, John 5:25 – Our works: 1 Cor.…
In this sermon, Pastor Jim begins a two part message on our day of judgement by touching on first three of five concepts: who our Judge is, what qualities our Judge has, and the first two standards of of our judgement. In the final verse of Ecclesiastes Solomon acknowledges a universal judgement, which is confirmed throughout the old and new testaments. For believers, this judgement is not punitive but is still certain and should drive us toward a desire to please God, not fear Him. This will allow us to have a proper perspective on our judgement and approach every day and situation with eternal purpose.
In this sermon, Pastor Jim continues the dissection of Ecclesiastes 12:13 by analyzing the next point, obedience to God’s commandments. In this transition he explains that the first instruction, fear God, produces in us the second instruction, obey His commandments. Pastor Jim then details three reasons why we obey God: we are responding to God’s love; we desire God’s fellowship; and we desire to be more like Christ. Finally he wraps up with what heartfelt, loving obedience to God looks like.