The Grand Conclusion

This morning's reading comes from Ecclesiastes chapter 12.

Ecclesiastes 12 · chapter mention

Starting in verse 8, we read,

Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, all is vanity.

Besides being wise, the preacher also taught the people knowledge,

weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care.

The preacher sought to find words of delight,

and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

The words of the wise are like goads,

and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings.

They are given by one shepherd.

My son, beware of anything beyond these,

of making many books there is no end,

and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

The end of the matter all has been heard.

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the whole duty of man,

for God will bring every deed into judgment,

with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

This is the word of God.

Great, thank you, Celeste.

Let's pray together briefly as, before we look at this word.

Heavenly Father, once again, as we come to your word,

we do come with humility.

We come, God, not to sit over your word in judgment,

thinking that we have the final say.

We acknowledge that you are God and we are not.

Lord, we come to your word because we want to encounter you,

the living God.

We want to hear you speaking to us,

to both challenge us and to comfort us,

to draw us near to yourself.

God, this morning we pray that you help us

to understand your word,

and to hear you speaking to us,

and help us to respond appropriately.

God, help us to love you more,

and to trust you more,

and to obey you,

because you have spoken to us today.

And so we pray these things in your awesome

and your majestic name.

Amen.

Now, in order to understand our passage today,

we need to just be reminded of the structure

of the book of Ecclesiastes.

If you're new, let me explain it to us again.

Ecclesiastes kind of has two authors,

or two voices that are speaking.

The majority of Ecclesiastes,

almost everything actually,

from halfway to chapter one,

or the second verse of chapter one,

right up to almost the end of chapter 12,

is the voice of this skeptic,

who the author calls the teacher.

In Hebrew, his name is Koheleth.

And Koheleth, or the teacher,

he is not the author,

but the author is using his words

to make a point.

And what is his point?

Well, the author,

who employs the words of this teacher,

the author's main point is this,

life is not meaningless.

The author has used the hopelessness

of Koheleth's worldview

to provoke us

and to think about life beyond

just life in the sun.

The teacher, Koheleth,

he looks around him,

he's not very aware of God,

he knows there is a God out there,

but this God doesn't seem

to break into his life.

And he looks around

and he just thinks life is meaningless.

And the author's kind of

using this teacher,

this Koheleth,

to provoke us

and to think about the meaning of life.

It's kind of like

when I was a teenager,

I loved listening to music,

U2,

and Dave Matthews' band,

and these other bands.

And one of my favorite things to do

was to try and work out

or listen to or research

the story behind the lyrics to the songs.

So you hear a great song,

you think,

oh, that's a nice song,

and then you go and find out

what prompted the writer to write that.

And you hear the reason behind

the actual author's intentions,

and suddenly it makes the song come alive.

It's kind of like maybe

another analogy might be

you read Macbeth,

some Shakespeare,

and you find out what's going on.

And then at the end,

you hear Shakespeare actually stepping in

saying, okay,

this is what I want you to take from it.

Or maybe you read

The Lord of the Rings,

and you think,

I don't know what's going on.

And then you listen to an interview

by J.R. Tolkien.

So you say,

ah, okay, I understand.

Well, the author of Ecclesiastes

has been employing the words

of this teacher, Koheleth,

to provoke us.

And the teacher's been saying,

meaningless, meaningless,

everything's meaningless.

And the author's saying,

is that really the case?

Is that really the case?

And so in chapter 12,

today we sit down with the author,

and we get to hear him speak

and tell us his intentions

for writing the book of Ecclesiastes.

Okay, does that make sense?

You following?

And he does this in two ways.

In verses 9 to 11,

he summarizes the work of the teacher.

And then in verses 12 to 14,

he gives his own conclusion.

Okay?

And so let's dive in

and see what happens.

And so the last six weeks,

we've been following this teacher,

Koheleth, on his quest.

And he's been searching for meaning

and purpose,

wisdom and knowledge,

justice and truth.

And look at how the author

sums up the work of the teacher,

verses 9 and 10.

He says,

Besides being wise,

the teacher also taught

the people knowledge,

weighing and studying

and arranging many proverbs

with great care.

The teacher sought to find

words of delight

and to honestly write

words of truth.

So he's saying,

the teacher's like a collector

of fine sayings.

He's traveled around,

he's asked many people,

and he's collected

these words of wisdom,

and he's arranging them

and putting them in order,

and he's trying to come up

with the summary

of his explanation

of the meaning

and the purpose of life.

Ecclesiastes is his summary

of his work.

But has this worked?

Has the teacher's approach

really got him anywhere?

I mean, he's been on this quest

and this journey,

and what is his conclusion?

Where has he arrived?

Has it actually helped him?

Maybe another way

of asking that is,

should we follow the teacher

and go about things

the way he has?

Should we go and read

all the sacred texts

and interview thousands

of people

and collect all our summary

of wisdom

and come up

with our own answer?

And if so,

will we find the answer

to the questions

that we ask in our heart?

Well, the author answers

yes and no,

both positively

and negatively.

Look at what he says

in verse 11.

First he says,

yes,

the teacher

has some wisdom.

Look at verse 11.

The words of the wise

are like goads,

like nails firmly fixed

are the collected sayings.

They are given

by one shepherd.

So the author tells us here

that these wise sayings,

the kind of things

that the teacher's been

on his journey

to go and collect

and find

and navigate

and arrange

and study

and put together.

These sayings

are like goads.

Do you remember

a few weeks ago

we said what a goad is?

It's that sharp pointed stick

that a farmer uses

to provoke the sheep

and the cattle

to go where he wants them to go.

And so as the author's been,

as the teacher's been

collecting these sayings,

he says,

these words of wisdom

are like a goad

that are meant

to provoke us

out of our slumber,

out of our laziness.

They get us thinking.

They get us thinking

about what is life

really about?

What is the meaning

and the purpose of life?

And so the author is saying,

actually the teacher's

in his quest

to find the meaning of life,

he's been provoked,

he's been challenged,

he's been provoked

out of his complacency.

Sometimes words of wisdom

are uncomfortable.

Sometimes God's word

is uncomfortable.

uncomfortable.

Sometimes God's word

can feel like

it is provoking you,

challenging you.

And if you're new to faith,

that might feel uncomfortable

at times.

You read something

in the Bible

and you think,

hang on, hang on,

I don't know

if I can believe that.

But isn't that exactly

what you'd expect

from a God

who's different from you?

I mean,

if you just agree,

if the Bible agrees

with everything

that you believe

and your worldview,

is God maybe not

just exactly like you?

Sometimes God's word

can provoke us,

can challenge us,

can offend you even.

But the words of wisdom

are like that.

They challenge our complacency.

And so the author says,

yes,

Kohelet's search

has yielded some wise words

which are meant

to help us think

about the meaning

and the purpose of life.

There's some wisdom there.

But on the other hand,

the author says,

actually,

this doesn't really help

Kohelet.

In many ways,

he gets back,

he comes back

to where he began

in the first place.

Look at verse 12.

He says,

My son,

beware of anything

beyond these.

Or another translation says,

Furthermore,

my son,

be warned of this.

Of making many books,

in other words,

writing many wise things,

there is no end.

And much study

is a weariness

to the flesh.

The author's telling us here,

you can search

for all eternity

and explore human philosophy

and human wisdom

and never arrive

at anything concrete,

any conclusion.

You can read

a thousand sacred texts

and you can travel

to the Himalayas

and go to this temple

and sit under

this Buddhist teaching

and listen to that preacher

and listen to a million sermons.

And if all you're doing

is filling your head

with more and more knowledge,

you can go round

and round in circles

and wear yourself out

and never arrive

at anything concrete

or substantial.

In fact,

this is exactly

what happened

with Kohileth.

If you got your Bible,

turn back with me

to chapter 1,

verses 2.

The opening sentence

of the teacher,

these are his words.

Meaningless,

meaningless,

says the teacher.

Meaningless,

meaningless.

Everything is

meaningless.

meaningless.

That's how he began

his search.

And 5,500 words later,

220 verses later,

12 chapters later,

how does the teacher

end his search

for meaning?

Well, look at the very

last thing he says

in chapter 12,

verse 8.

Meaningless,

meaningless,

says the teacher.

Everything is meaningless.

Here this wise man,

this teacher,

has gone on this

lifetime exploration

of the meaning

and the search of life

and he's collected sayings

and he's interviewed

hundreds of people

and he's sat under

the very best teachers

and where has he ended up?

At the exact same place

where he began.

He has gone round

and round

in circles

and made no ground.

I don't know if you remember

Nielsen's very first sermon

from six weeks ago

in chapter 1.

He spoke

from chapter 1

about how the teacher

says,

life just goes round.

The river runs down

and gets into the sea

and the sea never gets full.

The wind blows

from east

to west

and west

to east

and east

to west.

The sun rises

and it sets

and tomorrow

it rises

and it sets.

There is no change,

there is no gain,

there is no point.

Do you remember that?

Well that's exactly

where Kohelet has landed.

The opening sentence

of his search

is identical

to the closing sentence

of his search.

Meaningless,

meaningless

says the teacher

there is no meaning.

And so having explored

wisdom

and pleasure

and work

and money

and death

and youthfulness

and old age

and truth

and justice

the teacher

has come back

full circle

to where he began.

The author says

verse 12

Be warned

my son

of these

there is no end

of the making

of many books

there is no end

and much study

is a weariness

to the flesh.

And at this point

the author

steps out

from behind

the curtain

Shakespeare

comes out

from behind

the pen

the songwriter

comes out

from behind

the album

and he

tells us

that he

respectfully

disagrees.

He has arranged

the words

of the teacher

like goads

to provoke us

and to challenge us

and just when we think

we might be tempted

to agree

with Kohelet

he says

no

that's not

the point of life

don't listen

to Kohelet

that's not

what I want

you to say.

Look at verse

13 with me

the end

of the matter

in Hebrew

there's just

two words there

end matter

it's emphatic

it's like

final conclusion

the end

of the matter

all has been

heard

fear God

keep his commands

for this

is the whole

duty

or the essence

of man.

The teacher

has gone round

and round

in circles

and ended up

back where he

started

and just when

we're thinking

this has been

a monumental

waste

of six weeks

of coming

to church

the author

steps in

and says

wait

let me put

you back

on the path

let me put

your feet

on a solid

rock

the end

of the matter

all has

been heard

in the turmoil

and the confusion

in the disorder

of life

here is a word

that will break

the cycle

of futility

that will cause

you not to

waste your life

when you feel

like you're walking

on sinking sand

and you're sinking

deeper

and deeper

and deeper

when the ideas

and the philosophies

of world views

take you nowhere

here is a rock

upon which you can

build and bank

your life

when the winds

of change blow

in a post-modern

post-truth world

where everything

is up for grabs

and nothing is certain

the author

steps in

and says

here is a word

of conviction

here is a word

of certainty

here is a word

of clarity

when all has

been heard

and said

fear God

keep his commands

this is the essence

of mankind

or humanity

now

if you're new

to church

or new

to faith

that instruction

to fear God

may sound

pretty odd

I mean

we've got enough

things in life

to fear already

right

we don't need

to add more

to it

what's up

with this instruction

to fear God

the word fear

feels like a very

negative emotion

it feels

disempowering

when you fear

something

you want to draw

back and retreat

right

I remember

when I was a boy

we grew up

in Johannesburg

and you know

we don't live

in apartments

in South Africa

you have a garden

and my brother

and I used to play

cricket

most afternoons

and we invariably

hit the tennis ball

over the wall

and so you'd jump

over the wall

to go and fetch

the tennis ball

but the neighbors

had some big dogs

and so you'd jump

up on the wall

and you had to look

under the trees

if the dogs were around

and then you'd jump

over quickly

get the ball

throw it over

and often the dogs

would hear you

jumping over

and would run

like crazy

down the garden

and you had to

leap up

grab on the tree

and climb back

over the wall

before the dogs

got you

right

fear

feels like something

you want to run

away from

or escape

so what's up

when the Bible

says we should

fear God

I mean that

he says this is

the sum total

the essence

of what it means

to be human

when he says

this is the whole

duty of man

the Hebrew

doesn't have

the word duty

this is the essence

of humanity

well admittedly

the Hebrew word

to fear

is a difficult

word to translate

sometimes it can

mean fright

or scared

but generally

it means

an awe

or reverence

before something

that is majestic

to be an awe

or reverential

before something

of authority

listen to how

Sinclair Ferguson

describes it

this is the best

description of the

fear of God

I can find

he says this

to fear God

is to know him

and yet to love him

wholeheartedly

and unreservedly

because of who

he is

and what he

has done

to have this

profound sense

of being

in the presence

of majesty

it is a thrilling

awareness

that we have

this greatest

of all privileges

mingled

with the

realization

that now

the only thing

that really matters

in all the world

is his opinion

to have the assurance

of his smile

is everything

and yet to feel

that he frowns

on what we may

do

is desolation

or anguish

to fear God

is to be sensitive

to both his greatness

and also his

graciousness

to fear God

friends

is to humbly

and yet assuredly

bring our entire

lives before him

and say

here I am

have your way

in my life

knowing that

you are completely

known by him

anyway

and yet somehow

loved by him

nonetheless

and the bible

says

new testament

and old testament

that this is actually

one of the most

important ways

to relate

to God

if you want to

know God

if you want to

experience

the living God

one of the ways

to relate to him

is to relate to him

like this

to fear him

let me read a couple

of scriptures

just to show us

this

Deuteronomy 10

says this

and now

what does the

Lord your God

require of you

but to fear

the Lord your God

to walk in his ways

to love him

to serve him

with all your heart

and with all your soul

or think of Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

in the new testament

the apostle Paul

after writing about

the majesty of Jesus

who went on the cross

for sinners like us

says this

therefore now

brothers and sisters

as you have always

obeyed in my absence

so now much more

in my presence

now much more

in my absence

work out your salvation

with fear

and trembling

with a sense

of trepidation

knowing that God

is at work

in your life

or in Hebrews

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

writes this

let us offer

acceptable worship

to God

with fear

and awe

knowing that our God

is a consuming fire

in other words

we don't approach God

with just a callousness

and a casualness

and a oh well

you know

we'll see what happens

there's a reverence

for who he is

this is the sum total

all has been heard

and said

fear God

keep his commands

now what does that

actually mean

what does that look like

in our lives

well a couple of things

on the one hand

it means to trust

God supremely

in scripture

to fear God

means realizing

that God

is bigger

than our issues

and therefore

we can trust him

with our issues

in Exodus chapter 20

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

as the people

are in the wilderness

Moses says this

to them

he says

do not fear

the giants

the problems

the wilderness

the things around you

don't be afraid

of those

for God

has come to you

to test you

that the fear

of God

may be before you

and that you may not sin

so saying

you're going to come

against a whole lot

of obstacles

don't be afraid

of them

but have a worldview

see in your mind

the majesty of God

fear him

and trust him

as you face

these challenges

and so friends

what are some of the challenges

that you face

this week

are the economies

and tatters

maybe work is

challenging

maybe uncertain

whether you're going

to keep your job

that's okay

don't fear that

fear God

God is bigger

than your work

God is bigger

than your travels

God is bigger

than your challenges

fear God

he is God

work is not God

your boss is not God

the economy is not God

no God is God

and therefore

you can trust him

it's to trust him

supremely

it's a call

to prioritize God

as first

in our hearts

and our lives

to fear God

is to live

with the realization

that God is God

and I am not

that God

is the center

of the cosmos

the universe

and I am not

now that's not

just being humble

that's being honest

that's not humility

that's just reality

the problem of course

with humanity

is that we tend

to think of ourselves

as the center

of the universe

and that causes

all sorts of problems

right

and this is what

the teacher

wants us to see

what the author

wants us to see

he's saying

you may never

find the answer

to every question

that you ask

you may not

find the solution

to every philosophical

conundrum

that's okay

following Jesus

doesn't promise

to solve every problem

or make life easy

and a bed of roses

in fact

if you're going

to follow Jesus

sometimes that's going

to make life

more difficult

but what he is saying

is this

if you fear God

you will break

out of the cycle

of futility

if you want to find

the essence of life

know this

he is God

he is the center

of the universe

you are not

so it's a call

to prioritize God

but it's also

a call to enjoy

the blessings of God

without being ensnared

by them

I don't know

if you've noticed

over the last couple

of weeks

as we've gone

through Ecclesiastes

there are these

kind of weird passages

throughout the book

that Tremper Longman

calls the Carpe Diem

passages

they say

drink

be merry

eat your bread

enjoy the wife

of your youth

do what you want

live it up

and if I'm honest

as one of the preachers

we've kind of skipped

over them pretty quickly

have you noticed that

okay

maybe in CG

you've asked that question

why don't they ever

talk about these things

okay

and the reason is

because these are

pretty difficult passages

I mean what do you

do with them

right

are these passages

God's wisdom to us

that we should obey

or is this

the foolishness

of the teacher

that we should reject

right

well what do we do

with these

Carpe Diem passages

well I think

the answer is this

the answer is

if you fear God

obey them

and enjoy the blessings

of God

but if you don't

be very careful

in other words

if you want to enjoy

the good things in life

without being ensnared

by them

without being mastered

by them

make sure that

God is your God

not the pleasures

of life

don't live for the

pleasures of life

they'll ensnare you

live for God

and if you live for God

you get to enjoy

the pleasures of life

and be free

from their snares

and their tentacles

the way to enjoy

the pleasures of life

without them

becoming your God

is to live for the

one true God

and to center

your life on him

because when you

live for Christ

and his approval

when he is your

deepest longing

and your greatest

ambition

when what God

thinks about a matter

is the most important

thing to you

when you fear God

then you can live

however you please

maybe another way

of saying it

is like this

friends love the

Lord your God

with all your heart

and all your soul

and all your might

and all your strength

and you'll figure

the rest out

as you go along

so as a Christian

there are many

things in life

that the Bible

doesn't give us

answers to

should you

take that promotion

that new job

well fear God

and you'll figure it out

maybe you're dating

somebody

and there's a hole

of questions

you're not sure

how do you handle

this relationship

what's appropriate

what's not appropriate

well fear God

and you'll figure it out

maybe you're not so sure

about money

how much is enough

I mean

how much should I give away

how much should I save

the Bible doesn't give you

an answer to that

well fear God

sent to your life

on the majesty of Jesus

and you'll figure it out

so when you come to

those Carpe Diem passages

the answer is this

let the fear of God

being your guiding rock

the light of the path

and if you do that

you can enjoy

the pleasures of life

without them

becoming your God

does that make sense

the fear of God

is a clarifying word

in a world of confusion

but here's the other thing

it means

the fourth thing

the final thing

is this

it's a call

to eternal significance

look at verse 14

with me

of our passage

it's the final verse

in the whole book

of Ecclesiastes

and this is what it says

the end of the matter

all has been heard

fear God

keep his commands

this is the essence of man

verse 14

for God will bring

every deed

into judgment

with every secret thing

whether good

or evil

what the author

tells us here

is that one day

each one of us

is going to be

accountable to God

for the lives

that we've lived

he says

every deed

whether good

or evil

positive

or negative

now on the one hand

that should cause

a humility

because we should know

that we're going to be

answerable to God

for the way

that we've lived our lives

every careless word

that you've said

every dumb tweet

that you've loaded up

on social media

right

every grudge

that I've held

in my heart

every stupid thing

I've done

I'm going to one day

be accountable

to God for that

but it's not

not only the negative things

it's also the positive things

look at what he says

for every deed

whether evil

or good

in other words

what he says

every little thing

that I do

in God's name

for the glory of God

is not going to be forgotten

Jesus actually says

this in Matthew 10

he says

every cup of cold water

that you give

to a little child

in his name

and for his glory

you will

how does he say it

you will by no means

lose your reward

and what Jesus is saying here

is you can do

little things

that nobody

in the world notices

every good motivation

in your heart

every little thing

that you do

has eternal

significance

because sovereign God

in heaven notices

and it's not

inconsequential

and so

that little thing

that you do

that nobody notices

it

or put it this way

it transforms

the meaningless things

of our life

into that

which has eternal

significance

and purpose

suddenly the myriad

of things

that Kohelet looks at

and thinks

meaningless

vanity

purposelessness

are suddenly impregnated

with eternal meaning

and so think about this

tomorrow

you're going to go to work

and if Kohelet is right

meaningless

vanity

purposelessness

who cares

your job is just a means

to get a salary

to earn some money

and then you're going to die

but if the author is right

if God is going to bring

every little thing

that you do

and remember it

nothing is inconsequential

and so suddenly

that transforms

your work

into just an opportunity

to earn a salary

and get money

into a vocation

into a calling

into a chance

to bless somebody

a chance to glorify God

in your workplace

it's a chance to

as you go

and teach in the classroom

to impact students

and to grow them

as you do your research

it's a way to find out

about the world

that God has made

and make it a better place

as you write up a contract

as a lawyer

it's a chance

to do justice

and do what's right

to protect someone's interests

as you make money

it's a chance

to provide for somebody's pension

and care for their future

knowing that your life

is not inconsequential

changes your workplace

it impregnates

every little thing you do

with eternal significance

and meaning

or think about pleasure

if you're in Christ

and you seek to honor God

and live by faith

the things that you do

enjoy in life

are not just distractions

from the arbitrary

meaninglessness of life

to keep you going

through the drudgery of life

they are gifts of heaven

for you to enjoy

they are gifts

from your father

and so as you go

on that trip

or that overseas holiday

as you go

and enjoy time

with your kids

these are a gift

from God

for you to enjoy

or think about money

and wealth

for the teacher

money was an enigma

it was something

he was meant to enjoy

but it only ended up

causing pain

but if Christ

is supreme

if he's the one

that you love

and treasure unreservedly

you get to enjoy

the blessings of God

without feeling guilty

because money

is not your God

but God is

well friends

think about the fact

that one day

you're going to get old

and one day

you're going to die

for Kohelet

this is completely meaningless

arbitrary

we get old

ultimately

death is the final enemy

none of us get to defeat it

and that's the end

but for the author

he says

that's not true

if you're in Christ

if you live for God

if God is the one

that you live to please

the most important one

in your heart

then you can truly say

with the apostle Paul

to live is Christ

and to die

is gain

because the grave

has been defeated

one day

at the end of your life

death gets transformed

from an enemy

into a servant

that will take you home

what the author

is saying here

is that

to live

for the majesty

of God

makes every little

meaningless

and arbitrary

thing in life

suddenly impregnated

with significant

and eternal consequence

because nothing

is forgotten

friends you

but now

see what he says

he says

there is a point

if you don't want

to waste your life

and I don't want you

to waste your life

then walk away

from the futility

of life under the sun

abandon empty philosophy

abandon humanistic

wisdom

abandon your striving

after the wind

trying to grasp

the wind

center your life

on God

and who he is

truly the God

who is the center

of the cosmos

who knows you

better than you

know yourself

who loves you

better than

you could ever

love yourself

or hope to be love

set your hope

on him

friends the words

of the author

is this

give yourself

to the only one

whose opinion

really matters

in life

live under the

greatness

and of his grace

give yourself

to him

don't waste

your life

live for the

one who knows

you infinitely

better than you

could ever hope

to imagine

and yet who loves

you to the cross

and back

all has been

heard

this is the end

of the matter

fear God

live for him

set your hope

on him

this is the

essence

of humanity

well as we

come to a

close

how should

we do

this

how should

we grow

in the

fear of

God

well I want

to give us

three quick

suggestions

three very

simple ways

to do this

how do we

become those

who are not

enslaved by the

trappings of

life

but live in

the fear of

God

how do we

become those

who as

Sinclair Ferguson

said

live with the

assurance of his

smile as the

most important

thing in our

life

how do we

live with his

opinion as the

most important

thing to us

well three brief

things

first do this

dive into the

scriptures

dive into the

scriptures

Christian writer

and author

Tim Talley

says this

there is an

inseparable

relationship

between the

revelation of

God in the

scriptures

and the fear

of God in the

heart

Cynthia you okay

you're welcome

to go

to the degree

that we are in

the scriptures

is the degree

to which the

fear of God

will reside

in our hearts

friends you

want to be those

who fear God

you must come

to know him

as he reveals

himself in the

scriptures

you cannot grow

as a Christian

without being

committed to his

word

friends day by day

start off your

day getting on

your knees and

saying God

come and reveal

yourself show

yourself to me

I want to know

you as you reveal

yourself to me

in your word

dive deep into

the scriptures

secondly feed

your soul on the

majesty of God

J.B.

wrote Phillips

wrote a book

and he says

your God is too

small

I think that's

true for most

of us

even as

Christians our

view of God

is infinitely

infinitely

small

friends if you

want to grow

in the fear

of God

if you want

to be rooted

and anchored

into a solid

rock

Christ our

assurance

in the midst

of the storms

and the uncertainty

of life

get to know

the majesty

and the

immensity

and the

sovereignty

and the

holiness

and the

infinite

glory

of who

God is

don't have

a small

view of God

get to know

his majesty

friends the

one true

God of the

Bible is

infinitely more

majestic

and glorious

than you can

imagine

grow your

understanding

of who

God is

to the

degree to

which we

know his

majesty

and his

sovereignty

and his

holiness

and his

splendor

is the

degree to

which God

will consume

our hearts

know the

depth of

his majesty

and then

finally

prayerfully

surrender

to Christ

prayerfully

surrender

to him

Psalm 86

Jeremy put

this up

on the

slide

earlier

I didn't

know that

Jeremy was

going to

but Psalm 86

says this

this has been

my prayer

for my

heart

this week

and my

prayer

for us

as a

church

and I

want to

urge you

to make

this your

prayer

this week

there is

none like

you amongst

the gods

oh lord

nor are

there any

works like

yours

for you

are great

and do

wondrous

things

you alone

are God

and then

here's the

prayer

another

translation

says give

me an

undivided

heart

to fear

your name

God don't

allow me

just to

honor you

and revere

you on

Sunday

morning

on a

Thursday

night

at CG

unite

my heart

give me

one heart

that whether

I'm in the

marketplace

whether I'm

on the

sports field

whether I'm

out with a

friend

whether I'm

dating

somebody

whether I'm

at home

or exhausted

when I'm

singing songs

of worship

may my

heart be

undivided

united

teach me

oh God

your ways

that I may

fear your

name

God give me

an undivided

heart

to revere

you

and to

know me

to know

God

deeply

to have

a heartfelt

love

so deep

and so

rich

that it

changes

the way

you live

begins

with a

prayer

of surrender

begins

by saying

Lord

have

your

way

in me

teach

me

your

way

show

me

your

majesty

guide

me

in

your

truth

give

me

an

undivided

heart

that

fears

your

name

the

end

of the

matter

all

has

been

heard

fear

God

keep

his

commands

this

is

the

whole

essence

of

man

let's

take a

few

minutes

to

reflect

and

respond

and

then

I'll

lead us

in what

to do

next

I want

to encourage

you

let's

just

maybe

sit

quietly

for a

minute

or so

what is

an

appropriate

response

for you

let's

take

time

to do

that

more

how

AND

opportunity

to

seize

the

next

minute

and

to

explore

all

and

what

And

well

even

I'm

writing

I'm

writing

videos

and

do

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, God.

Thank you, God.

Thank you, God.

God, I pray that we will have such a glimpse of your glory, God, that living for your opinion will be the most important thing in our life.

Thank you, God.

Thank you, God.

That knowing that the only thing that matters is what you say and what you feel.

Thank you, God.

Thank you, God.

To have the assurance of living under your smile.