Hoist Your Sails

I don't want to let you off easy.

I want to begin this year with a challenge.

Honestly, the very passage that I speak from today is a challenge in itself.

It's one that many have had a hard time understanding,

but it also is one that throws the challenge out to us.

It's found in the book of Ecclesiastes, a challenge in itself.

Ecclesiastes is an autographical book of advice from a man who experienced about all that you can

and learned from it and talked about as an old man,

wrote Ecclesiastes and talked about his exploits theologically.

And as we look at chapter 11, he begins his summation.

Of what he's experienced in his life at the end of this book.

And I believe there's value here as we stand here today on the first day of 2023.

It's in Ecclesiastes chapter 11, beginning in verse 1.

Ecclesiastes 11 · chapter mention

And it says,

Cast your bread upon the water,

for you will find it after many days.

Give a portion to seven or even to eight,

for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

If the clouds are full of rain,

they empty themselves on the earth.

And if a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where the tree falls,

there it will lie.

He who observes the wind will not sow,

and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child,

so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

In the morning sow your seed,

in an evening withhold your hand,

for you do not know which will prosper this or that,

or whether both alike will be good.

There are some things that just make sense in life.

When clouds fill up,

it's going to rain.

And when a tree falls on its own,

it's going to lay there unless you move it.

And if you get too worried about those things,

you will become unproductive.

Instead, you watch.

And be wise.

The way to sow in biblical days was a sling of a seed.

You don't sling seed on particular windy days.

Because if you do,

the seed won't fall where you want it to.

And it may fall on a path where it don't work.

And Jesus spoke a whole parable about where the seed falls.

And you don't go to the field to harvest

if you know that you're going to get bogged down in the mud

from the coming rain.

You use wisdom in those things.

But you can't get caught in the paralysis of analysis.

Because if you're not careful,

you won't do anything.

If you wait on a perfect moment,

it will never get done.

You can't overthink.

Because if you do,

nothing will be done.

Before we moved here,

we lived on about a third of an acre

on a little cul-de-sac.

And when I moved there,

we had 33 tall pine trees on that little lot.

Most of those trees were over 100 feet tall.

A couple of them over 160 feet tall.

And even if I were a skinnier man,

two of me couldn't reach around the trunk

of two of those trees.

Storms came through that area

and they got our attention.

So what do you do?

You panic?

No.

The bad news is that big storms

take down big trees.

And the good news is

for trees to be that big,

they've withstood a lot of storms.

So,

we serve a big God.

And we trust Him.

And we cut trees

as often as we possibly could.

And the only tree

that ever hit our house

was one that was being done

by a good Samaritan

helping me out

to make sure a tree

didn't fall on my house.

And that's the one

that fell on the house.

God worked those things out as well.

That's the things

that verse 3 and verse 4

talk about

in this passage.

And then I want you

to notice verse 5.

verse 5.

Which says,

As you do not know

the way the Spirit

comes to the bones

of the womb

of a woman with child,

so you do not know

the work of God

who makes everything.

We know a lot more

about the womb now

than they did then,

yet even with all

that knowledge,

the world is dying

for the opportunity

to kill a baby in a womb.

Kind of fascinating.

Talk about people's rights.

What about the rights

of an unborn child?

Has anybody ever

thought about that?

Solomon in all his wisdom

when he wrote this

did not have an ultrasound

to see a child.

Did not know all

that we do

about that process,

yet even with

all of our knowledge

we still cannot grasp

how God

puts a soul

into a child

in the womb.

It's amazing.

Because God's amazing.

He works in amazing ways.

And that's what

verse 5 is talking about.

But all of that

is just a follow-up

to this beginning verse

in Ecclesiastes 11.1

which can be

a very confusing verse.

Cast your bread

upon the waters.

I'm just going to tell you

if you try that

it's not going to work.

You're going to get

soggy bread.

Every time I read

this passage

I think about

a very sweet man

that my grandmother

married in her latter years.

I don't know

what that man

had done in life

to deserve my grandmother

but he got her.

They lived outside

of Grand Rapids, Michigan

and so

we did not see them

very much

but when we did

Nick wanted to

make the most of it.

he had one of those

Volkswagens

that had been converted

into a dune buggy

and I was learning

to drive

and he wanted me

to drive it.

He's that kind of guy

you know

and so I got in

that dune buggy

and he put on his derby

and I was riding

down the road

on that dune buggy

and gas was dripping

on my foot

as I drove

and I said

this leaking gas

he said

go a little faster then.

So he just

he was just that kind of guy

you know

he wanted it to be

an experience

and I think

my grandmother

thought it's best

for children

not to be seen

or heard

but not Nick.

He wanted

a fun experience

and one of those

experiences that he wanted

was to go feed the ducks.

He woke up one morning

and said

we need to go feed the ducks

we got to go feed the ducks

kept talking about

feeding the ducks

till finally

we all jumped in

I think the LTD

the 76 LTD

and took off

to go buy supplies

to feed the ducks

we bought generic

saltine crackers

a sin against God

only premium

and

and

and

and

and

Cheeto puffs

of course not Cheetos

cheese puffs

you know

and I mean

we didn't buy a few of them

we bought a bunch of them

I would say

we filled up the trunk

of that LTD

but you could lay several bodies

in the trunk of an LTD

so I

I don't know about that

but we had a bunch of stuff

and we went to this little park

in town

and it had a little lake

out there

and ducks out there

and we

broke out the crackers

and broke out the cheese puffs

and

started feeding

the ducks

and

found out soon

that ducks

love

saltine crackers

and man

they'll eat them up

they don't like cheese puffs

and at least

for a good time

cheese puffs

float

and we had huge

not family

but party sized

bags

of generic

cheese puffs

probably

it's not set

to expire

until today

even though this has been

more than two decades ago

and

and we

we threw those out

and there were cheese puffs

floating all over that lake

families with their small children

walking around

strolling their children

and wondering

what are these orange aliens

on the water

what has happened

and

finally

when we realized

we were out of crackers

and out of cheese puffs

because we didn't let up

we were kids

man

we just sheepishly

got in the LTD

and left

you know

for the cheese puffs

I feel sure

that we left

our carbon footprint

that day

so when I read

this passage

about cast your bread

upon the water

that's what I think about

but that's not really

what it's talking about

it's often debated

exactly what it's talking about

and

many times

people talk about it

meaning trade

on the seas

maritime trade

was a

a very risky matter

in biblical days

I mean

there'd be

ships that would leave

and you just wouldn't see them again

nobody really knew

ever knew what happened to them

they didn't have the coast guard

to go

search them down

you know

it was a very risky deal

and to put all your grain

on a boat

and ship it out

you know

it's a good way to make money

or

to barter for something else

but

it was

of high risk

Solomon

as a businessman

could have been speaking of that

so it could be saying

to make a profit

take a risk

put it out

and

see it come back to you

the problem is

if you send out grain

you don't want grain

to come back to you

that's what you were sending out

you want something else

to come back to you

whatever you bartered for

whatever you traded for

when I look at this passage

I tend to think

that it's something else

some believe that it speaks

of giving generously

that what comes around

goes around

and you give to others

and it'll come back to you

as a matter of fact

verse 2 even points to

diversifying

dividing portions

and giving

and just watch

what comes back to you

as you give

I'd love to begin the year

talking about that very thing

but I really don't believe

that's what this passage

particularly

is talking about

I actually agree

with the scholars

that believe

that this is kind of

a both and

kind of passage

that the point of it

is more about risk

than it is about

how to trade

and barter

or than it is about

how to give

and that is

cast it out

throw it out there

take a risk

as Peter saw

walk on the water

venture out

whatever it is

that God would have

you to do

throw it out there

do it

now I must be honest

I don't have a clue

what 2023 holds

I'm excited about it

I look forward to it

but I don't have a clue

I preached on the first Sunday

of 2020

and preached a sermon

that a lot of other preachers preach

not the same sermon

but the same title

and that is

Vision 2020

and we love the idea

that 2020

was perfect vision

or good vision

or whatever

and that it was

we ought to have

that kind of vision

for what God would have us

to do in the days ahead

we had such a clear vision

and we cut a ribbon

on a new building

two months later

and ready to launch

new ministries

and three weeks

after we did that

we locked that building up

and did everything online

for several weeks

due to COVID

the brand new building

wasn't even utilized

until

for much of that year

because of COVID circumstances

preaching on Vision 2020

and none of us

had a vision for that

nobody predicted that

we had no clue

what was coming

in those days

our world changed

I said at the time

I felt like

that it was as big

as 9-11

now I say

I believe it's a whole lot bigger

at least spiritually

the tentacles

are still floating

dangerously in the water

from COVID

and I don't know

what 2023 holds

but I know

who holds 2023

and I challenge

you to trust him

I challenge you

to serve him

and to love him

and to share him

and commit yourself

to him

like you never have before

and that is a pertinent matter

in the day

in which we live

because something

happened to commitment

when COVID happened

something changed

in people

and it was happening

before COVID

but it just

got fast forward

and made so much worse

due to COVID

people have become

half committed

to the Lord's work

in the church

compared to what

they did before

things have changed

in that way

every Sunday attendance

for too often

has turned into

every other Sunday

and every month

has turned into

once a quarter

and those quarter comers

have turned into

Christers

that's Christmas and Easter

but let me ask you

something

what in the world

should we be more

committed to

than Jesus Christ

I mean

who has done more

for us

than Christ has

he is committed

enough to us

to die for us

and to provide

a way of salvation

he spent the bulk

of his earthly ministry

training 12 men

to found and establish

the church

to carry on his work

in the world

when he ascended

into heaven

for those who place

Christ first

in their life

what is most important

to you

by your commitment

to follow Christ

you've said

it is what's

most important

what is most important

to give to

what is most important

to talk about

if you're a child

of God today

who has had

the biggest impact

on your life

not only now

but for all eternity

some of y'all may remember

the old license tag

that said

let me tell you

about my grandchildren

I saw a car

the other day

that was as old

as that tag

and I was thinking

man just keep driving

that was kind of

another way

of saying

you better avoid me

because I'm going

to hold you up

I think people

actually put that

that license tag

on the front of their car

to keep people

away from them

to leave them alone

because people love

to talk about

their grandkids

they love to talk

about their grandkids

grandkids are

God's reward for you

for not killing the kids

you know

they love to

talk about

their grandkids

and they love to talk

about their favorite

sports teams

and they love to talk

about sometimes

and they love to talk

about their pets

and they love to talk

about their kids

when they're young

they grow strangely

quiet when they're

teenagers

but anyway

but let's begin

2023

talking about

what is most

important to us

because nothing

has made an

eternal impact

on us

more than Christ

and eternal

is pretty big

and I want you

to understand

when I say eternal

I'm not talking about

just a quantity

of life

I'm talking about

a quality of life

Jesus said

the thief comes

but for to steal

kill and destroy

but I have come

that you might have

life and have it

more abundantly

and he wasn't

talking about

just longer

he was talking

about better

so I ask you

today on this

first day

of a new year

has there ever

been a time

in your life

when you've

acknowledged

the sin

and the wrong

in your life

and ask the Lord

Jesus to forgive

you

to change

you

to save

you

if that's

never happened

to you

there is not

a better

way

to begin

a new year

by surrendering

your life

to Christ

today

Lord I know

I'm not

who I need

to be

Lord I'll

never be

who I need

to be

outside of

you

God will

you forgive

me

cleanse

me

save

me

and change

me

on the

authority

of scripture

if you'll

surrender

your life

to Christ

today

he'll save

you

it's not

his will

that any

should perish

but that

all come

to Christ

what a great

opportunity

you have

to begin

the year

committing

your life

to Christ

if you've

done that

have you

ever obeyed

him by

showing

others

through

baptism

what Christ

has done

to you

inside

baptism

is just

a

physical

picture

of what

God does

on the

inside

when he

cleanses

us

and changes

us

from the

old self

that we

are

cleanses

us

and makes

us new

again

the old

is gone

the new

has come

so we're

a new

creation

in Christ

and baptism

celebrates

that

it's a

wonderful

way of

not only

that first

step of

obedience

when you

come into

a relationship

with Christ

man what a

testimony it

is to

to be a

part of

that

we baptized

four last

week

and I

will tell

you the

fruit of

that will

come evident

in the

days ahead

we even

saw the

morning they

come

that by

two

coming

another

came

it comes

it happens

that way

when we

obey God

when we

just step

out on the

water and

do what

God tells

us to

do

just cast

it out

just

obey

just

trust

verse

six

of

Ecclesiastes

11 says

in the

morning

in the

evening

withhold

not

your

hand

for you

don't

know

which

will

prosper

this

or that

whether

both

alike

will be

good

in other

words

cast your

bread upon

the water

throw it

out there

take a

risk

for the

Lord

he will

help

you

and he

will guide

you

I don't

know what

God's got in

store for

2023

my question

this morning

and my

challenge

for you

and for

me as

well is

will we

take a

risk for

the Lord

will we

simply obey

him when he

speaks to

us

will we

commit our

lives to

follow him

in whatever

he'd have us

to do

an old

preacher was

preparing for

a sermon

and needed

a good

illustration

for a

sermon that

he was

entitling

the wind

blows

where it

wills

he was a

Scottish

pastor

so he went

down to

St.

Andrews and

found a

seasoned salt

sailor

mending his

sails on a

ship

and he said

oh sailor

you sail the

seven seas

I want you

to tell me

how the

wind blows

and the

old sailor

said I

don't know

how the

wind blows

but you

sail the

seven seas

old

sailor

you've

seen it

all just

tell me

how does

the wind

blow

I don't

know how

the wind

blows

he was a

desperate

preacher on

a Friday

afternoon

then tell

me

something

and the

old sailor

looked at

him and

said I'll

tell you

what I do

know

and that

is when

the wind

blows

I have to

hoist

my sails

I don't

know

how the

winds of

the Holy

Spirit

will move

and work

in our

midst

in 2023

I am

excited

about what

I sense

but whatever

it is

let's hoist

our sails

let's get

ready to

let God

blow us

anywhere and

everywhere he

would have

us to go

to cast it

out to lay

it out before

him to

commit our

lives to

follow him

and watch

him work

and move

in our

midst

what are

you willing

to do

in 2023

because the

winds of the

Spirit of God

are going to

blow

so I say

we hoist

our sails

I say

we sell

strong

for the

Lord

with every

head bowed

and every

eye closed

I want to

ask you

this morning

what is it

that God

is speaking

to you

about

what do

you feel

probing you

in your

heart

could it

be a

personal

relationship

with Christ

that opportunity

that I spoke

of of

surrendering

your life

to Christ

maybe it's

making that

private decision

that you've

already made

public

or maybe

God's

drawing you

to be a

part of

this church

you know

this is

where God

would have

you to

join us

along our

journey

I encourage

you to

simply be

obedient about

that

more than

available to

talk to you

about that

in the coming

days

but if God's

leading you

today I

encourage you

come

maybe it's

just an

individual

thing

for the

most part

that's what

it'll be

it'll be

God speaking

to you

in your

life about

what he

would have

for you

in 2023

and not

so much

a clear

vision of

all that's

going to

happen in

this year

because we're

not going

to get

that

we don't

know

that

but the

question is

is our

heart

ready

for whatever

God would

have for

us

are we

ready to

cast it

out

are we

ready to

take a

risk

are we

ready to

trust him

to sense

the power

of the

spirit of

God

blowing in

our midst

and to

hoist

our sails

and go

with what

God would

have

that is

my prayer

and if

there's a

hindrance in

your life

today in

that then

get it

right

whether it's

where you

are at

this altar

or with a

pastor praying

for you

get it

right

let's go

into 2023

clean and

ready for

God to

do a

wonderful move

in our

individual lives

and in the

life of this

church

heavenly

father thank

you for your

word and

your wisdom

I ask God

that you'll

help us

to be

diligent

to follow

your will

and your

way

in whatever

you would

have for us

to do

God

in Jesus

precious name

amen

so

you

together

assistance