Before It's Too Late | Jerry Harris

All right. Hey, how you doing?

How's everybody doing? It is good to be in the house of

the Lord and it is always good to be with the people, the Lord.

And when you're around the people, the Lord you just get

better. And I'm just thankful that we

get to share this time together. We you think of this stage, huh?

It's coming along. It's big and what you don't

know, what you don't realize is that for years now we've been

standing on a portable A portable platform and it was

being held up by boxes. This is the truth.

And so you know, not exactly a small man and I'd walk in and

it's because I like that, you know?

And so it was always an exercise of Faith to come out here and

and now, you know, it's like I'm standing on the solid rock, you

know? It's just, it's, it's absolutely

awesome and something else that you all don't know, at all of

our locations. We're putting in new equipment,

a lot of new equipment, upgrading our Tech equipment,

and that's why I'm look at that. Anybody know what that is?

It's called a Bible. Anyway, you know, I were

usually, we usually have a, like, a screen up here and stuff

like that and they're still in process, but if you would have

been here yesterday, you would have seen boxes everywhere and

the place all messed up. And it was amazing how our Tech

teams just Just actually went to work and put it all together and

we all owe a lot of a lot of thanks and a lot of gratitude to

our Tech teams, all of our locations just turn around and

say thank you guys for everything that you do

appreciate you so so much every location.

So many of volunteers that do that and they're just tireless

at that and we really, really appreciate it.

Well I want to welcome all of those campuses across the

region. Buddy, that's inside everybody

that's online. You heard that incredible

announcement last week that there have been a thousand.

And I think it was 1002 baptisms that we've been able to

participate in in our inside location.

Since we started that over 1,000, just absolutely

incredible. My hat's off to build to Adele

who was a chaplain for many years at Western Illinois,

correctional center, he might Can be sitting over there right

now. Yeah, he is right over there and

just just incredible. The ministry that's happened.

And I know that was said last week, but sometimes, you know,

like, you may have heard me preach before, you got to say it

again, and I'm saying it again. Anyway, and we're in the middle

of Camp season, and God's doing incredible work at camp, and

everything is good this year, and we're not dealing with a lot

of the circumstances that we The deal with last year and you know

why it's so important. You may have never heard this

statistic but about 85% of decisions initial decisions that

are made for Christ happened before the age of 15.

And I, that makes sense to me because young hearts are more

open to Faith. You know, we get a little older.

We start to get crusty. Our hearts get hard and life and

experience, do a lot of things to us and it's just awesome to

see that those Open Hearts for Faith.

And Jesus told us that he told us that two thousand years ago

when he said did the little children come to me, don't

forbid them because that's what the Kingdom of Heaven is all

about and I love that. We have a special place to be

able to share those possibilities and to share those

victories and that's what Camp location is able to do and it

connects with this last sermon in the series from Ecclesiastes.

We've been calling chasing Shades because when Solomon

concludes this book, this rather dark cynical whole book that

we've been going through. He says something in the last

chapter that chapter 12 verse 1. He says, remember your Creator

in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come,

anybody can get a name in there because the days of trouble

come, don't they? Yeah.

Remember your creator in the days of your youth before the

days of trouble come and the years approach.

When you will say, I find no pleasure in them, So we really

believe in investing in infants, preschoolers children and

students here at the Crossing and we want to help parents to

have the tools. They need to help build their

faith. The faith of their children

because you know why? Let me tell you why this is so

important because it isn't going to be that long before they're

going to make all the decisions for you.

You. Some of you need to come to the

steps right now, don't you? Yeah, because that's kind of

scary that that could actually happen later on in life.

So there's a couple and a lot of times we think couple, you know,

we're thinking of like dating or young married.

Well, this couple is a little different than that Jake is 92

years old and his girlfriend is Betty and she's 89.

And Widow widower and they meet each other and they fall in love

and that a great story right there and they decide that they

want to get married. So Jake and Betty.

You're going to get married and they're walking down the street

one day and they're talking about their upcoming wedding and

Jake decides to go to the go into a drug store and ask the

pharmacist a few questions that he had on his mind.

And so this is what he asks. He says, do you sell heart

medication? And he says, yeah, we do.

This is how about pills for high blood pressure.

He got that and he goes, yeah, we have that.

How about something for hair loss?

Do you have that? He says, yeah, we have thats

over there on aisle 3 and how about creams that you can put

on, like, when your joints are stiff.

He goes, yeah, we have that as well.

Sure, what about something you can take for, like, memory loss,

like, Prevagen or whatever that stuff is, right?

He goes. That's on aisle five.

He goes. Do you have wheelchairs or

Walker's? Here he goes.

We got them, we can get them for you and all Shapes and sizes.

And he goes, that is so great. We're going to use this store as

our bridal registry. How many of you can relate to

that every day? Every day, I'm relating to that

more and more. Let's face it.

We're wearing out, right? Some of you don't realize it

yet, but time and experience is going to show you that you're

going to wear out. Mark, Lowry a singer and a

comedian says that he doesn't bother with those BMI numbers

anymore. That's how many of you are.

Okay, with not bothering with BMI number.

Anymore. Yeah, I hate that like you have

to be like 100 and zero and six foot nine to be in the right

spot on that chart. They have at the doctor's

office, I hate that, I hate that.

So what he has he's come up with this own, his own way of

figuring his body mass index and he just does it with the number.

So like if you ask Mark, you know, what is what your BMI

he'll say? I'm a 6.

And okay, that sounds good. Like, okay, I can have the way

he does that, is he steps out of the shower?

He looks in the mirror, he has a stopwatch, he Stomps his foot

hits the stopwatch when everything stops jiggling That's

his number. So he's like 6 seconds before,

everything stops moving. I like that idea.

I don't know about you. So this is such a depressing

chapter, I had to start with some jokes.

Anyway, Solomon gives us a very very poetic way of looking at

the harsh reality of getting old.

And that's really what Ecclesiastes 12 is about.

So I'm going to start, we already did 12:1, remember the

Creator in the days of your youth, right?

12:2. Says this.

Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow

dark. In the clouds, return.

After the rain, What does that mean?

Remember your creator before this stuff happens before the

sun and the light and the moon? The start you know what he's

talking about? He's talking about the loss of

your mental faculties. It's a poetic way where he's

talking about you struggle with remembering.

And you know you can't recall things that you just did.

How many of you been to the refrigerator and you don't

remember if you were taking something out or putting

something in I mean yeah. So you know it would be great

and some of you have experienced a real tragedy of this in your

family with Dementia or with Alzheimer's and and some of you

been Caregivers for that and that's just a reality.

And that's what he's describing in Ecclesiastes, 12 to because

those the days come when this becomes a reality in your life,

You lose your mental faculties. in 12 3, he says, when the

keepers of the house, tremble, And the strong men stoop. when

the grinder cease, because there are few and those looking

through Windows grow dim, The keepers of the house, tremble.

Have you ever seen a? I know, I remember this for my

mother. My mother had my father too.

Had incredible handwriting. They don't even teach cursive

writing. I don't think anymore, but back

then, they did right. And and people took great pride

in how good a penmanship they had, and they could write so

beautifully, but when they, but when my parents got older, It

was hard even to see what they were writing or to decipher,

what they were riding. Because the keepers of the house

were trembling The strong men stoop.

Talking about arthritis, it's talking about arthritis in the

back or you know, different kinds of illnesses that we have

where we are no longer able to straighten up. when the Grinders

cease because they are few, how many of you know what that's

talking about talking about your teeth, That's what it's talking

about course, you know. Now we have different ways of

solving that problem back, then it was just pull the teeth,

right? The Grinders cease because they

are few. And those Looking Through the

Windows grow dim, Talking about what losing your eyesight.

Let's look at verse 4. When the doors of the street are

closed in the sound of grinding, Fades men.

Rise up at the sound of birds. But all their songs grow faint.

talking about your mouth being closed because you can't eat,

what you used to be able to eat how many of you remember, when

you could do, you could eat whatever you wanted and you

could just It would just work out, right, and anymore, you

can't do that. And how many of you remember,

when you could sleep till noon and you could just keep going

and now you can't do that. You can't sleep long enough

because you rise up at the sound of birds, you don't sleep as

deeply or as long as you'd like. And how many of you?

Don't hear the sound of grinding anymore.

Because your ears don't work like they used to and all their

songs of the birds that they rise up to, they grow faint.

Look at verse 5. when men are afraid of heights and of dangers

in the streets and when the almond tree blossoms and the

grasshopper drags himself along and desire is no longer stirred,

Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about in

the streets talking about when you get older, there's an

increase in fear. you don't have the same level of confidence

that you had before, and so that's why he says you're afraid

of the Heights and dangers in the streets, you know, one fall

And you may not be living in your home anymore, right?

Something could happen. You could break a hip or

something else. You're afraid of the Heights and

you're afraid of dangers in the streets and so you're a lot more

careful about, you know, keeping your doors locked.

And are you, you know, are you safe where you are and that fear

of safety? And when the almond tree

blossoms, you know, when the almond tree blossoms, it turns

White. So, it's talking about your

hair. Turning white.

In the grasshopper drags himself along when it's hard to get up

and walk. You remember, when you could

just sit some of you you could just sit on the floor and you

didn't need anybody to give you a hand and you didn't need to

kind of work yourself to your feet.

Yeah. The Grasshoppers dragging

himself along and desire is no longer stirred.

You know what that's talking about.

Talking about your sexual appetite.

And then man goes to his eternal home.

And mourners go about in the street.

I actually like that verse because Solomon actually gives

you a glimmer of hope that he actually believes that there may

be something later, even though he doesn't really investigate it

in this book, he doesn't talk about it much.

He does say that one line man goes to his eternal home. if you

read the rest of the book, you'd know that he really kind of

considers death as the end, but he does give you a couple of

little glimmers and that's one and mourners go about in the

street. Look at verse six.

Remember him before the silver cord is severed.

The Golden Bowl is broken. before the pitcher is shattered

at the spring or the wheel, broken at the well, Now we can

conjecture about this, but it's talking about different ways.

We die. the silver cord being broken, could be talking about a

spinal cord injury or paralysis, The Golden Bowl being broken is

head trauma or stroke. When he talks about the pitcher

is shattered at the spring. About heart issues or a heart

attack than the wheel broken at the Wells, talking about

circulation problems. These are the same things that

we died of now. Right.

And then sums it up in verse 7 and the dust returns to the

ground. It came from and this is the

second time, he says it in this chapter and the spirit returns

to God, who gave it? Another glimmer of hope.

Man goes to his eternal home and the spirit returns to God, who

gave it? How depressing was all of that?

Was there any part of that? That was an encouragement to

you? Certainly wasn't to me.

But you have to admit, this is just life.

Isn't it? This is just the lower story.

This is what happens to everyone.

And in many ways, it describes a pretty scary future.

I didn't know how your read that or you think about your future

and then you realize, because maybe you've seen it with your

grandparents, your parents great-grandparents.

You've actually watch this happen participated in it, how

you can have this, underlying fear this underlying emotion

about what's happening to happen in my future.

Now, we have a lot of Technology, don't we?

We have a lot of stuff that we trust in today and with that

technology and the science behind it, and all the things

that we know now we can hold it off for a while.

You know what you can do, you can take just the right set of

pills. And your doctor will help you

figure out what those are right. And they'll hold this back, you

can work out. You can buy just for men.

Keep that almond tree Springtime all around, right?

You can do lots of dental work, put in implants and then the

Grinders aren't for you. They're not yours but they're

not few. In the windows that grow dim.

Well, you can have cataract surgery.

And you can get more time out of your eyes, or you can have hair

implants. If you're losing your hair, or

if you can't hear the sound of the birder, the grinding you can

buy hearing aids, or you can have LASIK, or you can have knee

replacement, or you can have hip replacements.

So the strongman doesn't stupid anymore and you can buy a home

security system. So you won't be afraid of who

might want to break in. You can get yourself a handgun

and take some lessons or you can buy some Viagra.

For that last line. But eventually.

All that's going to fail. And the same conclusion will

come. True.

So far, this sermon is really depressing.

I just want to leave. How about you you want to take

off right now? Yeah.

And that makes sense because, you know, the person who wrote

this book was coming from that place.

He really was, he was a man who was dealing with depression.

I think it this is a book that were a man is dealing with being

severely depressed because he's writing it in old age.

And he has done all these things in life and he's realizing that

all of the opportunities he had all the money, all the power,

all the relationships, all that stuff really didn't get him

anywhere because his body Going to fail.

He was realizing something, he was realizing he was mortal.

And so over and over, in this book, he prefers to death.

Doesn't he talks about death? And makes sense, that he would

say, it's all meaningless. Because he looks at his life all

that he's accomplished, all that he's done, all of these

experienced and he is feeling his old age and he's looking at

life and kind of in a retrospective way and he's

going, what's the point? It doesn't really make any

sense. she was looking for something to satisfy him for the

Long Haul and even though the things that he was doing with

satisfying him in the moment, none of that was supplying what

he needed. For the Long Haul.

But just because Solomon didn't have a handle on it, it doesn't

mean that it needs to escape you.

And that's really what I want to talk about.

I said all of that. So I could see this in

Ecclesiastes, 12 verses 13 and 14.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

He says now all has been heard Here is the conclusion of the

matter. Fear God and keep his

Commandments for this is the duty of all mankind, for God

will bring every deed into judgment including every hidden

thing whether it is good or evil.

Now, there's an interesting word here that I want to point out to

you, when he says, fear God and keep his Commandments.

For this is the whole duty of all mankind and that's an

English word. And an English phrase that

doesn't do justice to the original language, but we're

Duty. Because when you look at that in

its original language, what you actually find out is that the

word that really describes, what he's saying is wholeness, Fear

God and keep his Commandments for this is the wholeness of

mankind. What does that mean?

Wholeness To give a sense of completion to give a sense of

satisfaction. That goes beyond the things of

this world fear God, and keep his commands and it'll provide

this wholeness. Now, I got to ask you a

question. Do you feel wholeness?

In your life right now. Or are there empty spaces and

places that you just can't seem to get filled up.

It's always looking for the next thing, the better thing, the

more up-to-date thing because that's what's going to actually

you think is going to fill that up.

Well, you should know from The Book of Ecclesiastes that just

doesn't happen. Do you have a wholeness?

Is there a way that I can find it?

Is there a way that I can find wholeness and how in the world

am I supposed to trust this guy that has literally tried

everything else? you know what, I think, I think

that the biggest secret in the Book of Ecclesiastes is that

Solomon knew the answer I think he knew the answer the whole

time. I think that he knew after God

told him. What he was supposed to do in

life because he had two conversations with God.

He just didn't want to make the investment in that direction he

wanted to make the investment in worldly things.

So he laid up his treasures on the earth rather than his

treasure in heaven and because of that wholeness escaped him,

Now, you still knew what was right?

You just didn't walk it out. The wholeness that he and we are

searching for can only be found in one place.

You realize that And that is in what he said, fearing, God and

keeping his commands. And when you think of those two

terms fear, God keep his commands.

It's actually talking about what's going on in your heart

and mind fearing, God is something that's happening

internally, right? It's a mental understanding and

it's also an emotional understanding.

So it's a heart and mind thing. And then the actions that go

with, it are keep his commands, right?

So what what God is saying through Solomon is that we need

to have the right heart and mind to fear God and then we need to

walk that out in our daily life. Now this word fear really trips

us up Doesn't it fear God, because what we do?

Is we come up with this idea? That God's mean he's unforgiving

and he's intimidating and he never stops measuring us.

And so we have to be afraid of him.

In order to understand the term, we need to understand ourselves

as God's children. now, some of us have struggled with parents,

some of us have nightmare stories about parents, And so

the idea of fear has very different context with you, but

some of us had really good parents.

But that doesn't mean we didn't fear our parents.

Here and I'm saying you can have bad parents and for bad reasons.

You are afraid of them. You can have good parents and

you can still fear them. But it's not the same because to

fear is not the same in this context as to be afraid of.

Okay, it carries a different connotation.

So I want you to understand that I want you understand that

connotation for those of you that have had good parenting

and, you know, you're very thankful for whose who God put

in your life as parents, you think you're, you'll capture

this more for those of you that have.

Struggles with parents, it'll be a little bit harder to grab

ahold of, but I want you to try. Okay, because what I'm going to

do is I'm going to break the word fear down into an acronym

and F.E.A.R, okay? So here's the first because this

is where it applies, this is where you apply it.

Number one, F the F and fear meets to have faith.

To have faith that God is here. That God is near that, he is a

God who sees that, he's a God, who knows?

And that, he's a God, who remembers?

How you doing? You understand how that can be

fear? I lived in a neighborhood where

if I did something wrong three mothers had called my mother

before I ever got home. You hear what I'm saying?

so, if I was doing something wrong, I would be afraid.

But you have to ask, you have to, you have to internalize

that. How do you feel about a god

who's here? How do you feel about a god

who's near? How do you feel about a God?

Who sees, how do you feel about a God who hears and knows and

remembers. Faith this funny in it because

we've won the think of Faith as a positive word, but in the

different context, it can be actually a scary word.

Right? Because like I don't know if I

want God to hear or see or know or remember what I do.

There's two sides to that. The only issue is, is the win,

right? Is like, what am I doing at this

particular time? So face actually, this idea of

faith is actually very sobering to me.

Fear, God have faith in God but that means it's that God.

What does the E stand for experience?

His grace? Experiences Grace because just

the F just the just the have faith in God that he can see.

All that actually that is a very sobering and can be very

frightening. But if I put the e in there to

experience his grace, this is what I also know about God.

He loves me. He protects me.

He forgives me. and like it says, in First Corinthians 13,

he keeps no record of wrongs even though he's a God, who

remembers He keeps no record of wrongs.

Wow, while my faith can frighten me his grace, calms me down.

To fear. God means I understand the

reality of the truth about who he is and what he knows and

where he is. But the other part of his grace

experiencing his grace means that I know this about his

nature. That is not a harsh.

Mean-spirited God. And, you know, that brings me to

the AA and fear. Because when I think about those

two things together, it gives me a sense of awe, and that's what

a stands for. Aw, I'm in awe of a God who can

know every flaw every secret thought in me and still will

extend his grace. I'm in awe of that.

And the r stands for resolved. Resolved, I am resolved.

If I want to fear God, I am resolved to live for a God that

I cannot fool. That isn't gullible or naive,

whose firm, but loving who's just, but merciful who's strong,

but tender, who has all the answers.

But is always listening is passionate but kinder. in

control, never surprised but filled with wonder, Someday I'm

going to stand before him and so, will you and everything I

ever did will be brought into judgment every hidden thing,

whether it's good or evil will be exposed to that light.

Now, that's a scary thought and this is where Solomon story

ends. But it's only the beginning of

mine. And it's only the beginning of

yours. because I know that when those records are brought out

and everything I've ever done or thought, Is recorded in those

books. I know that Jesus will step

forward and he will take those records away because Jesus Paid

It All. See that he paid it all.

And that's the gospel. That's the gospel in

Ecclesiastes is I have plenty of reasons to be afraid of God but

I have a God who extended his grace when he sent his son Jesus

down here to this earth to live to die.

Not for anything, he did. But for what I've done That he

paid my debt. Not his that he was nailed to my

cross. Not his Did he took my beating

not his? That he endured my death.

When he died, but proved his power over death when he rose

from the dead. That's the gospel.

So today I can fear God but I don't have to be afraid of

God's. Matter of fact, the Bible says I

have confidence to approach the holy place to be in the very

presence of God, I can confidently, stand in the

presence of God because he sees his child.

Because of Jesus Christ. How about you?

Are you afraid of God? Or do you fear God?

You want to keep his commands. This is the whole duty of man,

kind, this is what makes you whole.

God will bring everything into account.

Whether it's good or evil. But he's taken care of all that

evil through the grace that was given to us through his son

Jesus. Solomon says, remember your

creator in the days of your youth before the days of

trouble. Come And I find in you find no

pleasure in them. I say.

You will never be younger. Than you are right now.

Amen. So just like it said in the book

of Acts Today is the day of salvation.

Don't wait for tomorrow. We're moving to a time of

decision. How do I do that?

How how do I take that step? I love being able to explain

this every time I stand on the floor right here, I love being

able to explain that. That God knows you're a sinner

just like you do. That you can know that everybody

sitting around, you is no better than you that we're all in a

boat and it's sinking. and we all share in the same fate

except for somebody gave you something that you didn't

deserve. You could never earn.

It was too expensive to ever pay for and that's what Jesus did

when he died on the cross was buried.

And he rose again that gospel message. and when you take God

at his word, And you believe that he loves you that much,

that he would not withhold the life of his only son so that you

can spend eternity with him. And you agree with that truth.

And you realize that, Or you want to accept a truth that

maybe he's hard for you. That Jesus didn't die for the

whole world he died for you. He died for you.

It's easy to say that Jesus died for the whole world, but when

you say that you seem pretty insignificant but God doesn't

want you to feel insignificant. He wants you to know.

Did Jesus died for you? He knew your name.

Two thousand years in the future, he knew your name.

When he was dying on that cross. That's why the Bible says it was

for the joy. Before him that he endured the

cross, the joy of spending eternity with you.

Some of us are going well, you don't know, you don't know.

No, I don't but he does. And he's not a liar.

Regardless of what you've done, he loves you.

And Jesus is for you and just like Jesus said, only sick,

people need a doctor and only Sinners need a savior.

We're all the same in this room. And if you have never made that

personal decision to say, I want to be in an intimate personal

relationship with Jesus Christ. You can do that right now.

There's going to be somebody standing right over by the

baptistry that would love to talk with you, pray with you

answer any questions that you have?

You could be, you could get in that water.

We've got all the stuff for you to change in water's warm.

And you could bury that old self.

You could die, be buried, and rise from the dead, and be a new

creation in. Jesus Christ, you could do it

today. There's nothing standing in the

way but you many of you here today have made that decision

you live in that reality but don't try to fool everybody to

think that you've got it all figured out because you don't

neither do I And that's why. We have these steps.

We always have these steps. Cuz we just need to be able to

approach God to do business with God. and I want you, if you've

got a burden that you're caring for yourself or someone else, To

come up and not be too proud to get on your knees and humble

yourself before an almighty God. And say, take this burden.

Help me. Like Peter did when he sank when

he was walking on water. He just said, Lord, save me.

Sit And the hand went down and he lifted him up and put him

back in the boat. And he'll do that for you today.

Would you stand with me? Let's pray together in Jesus

name, Heavenly Father, take this moment.

Take this moment from our perspective because the moment

every moment, every breath it belongs to you, but take this

moment because we acknowledge your ownership of it.

And I pray. Father that You would just

produce a harvest with it in our hearts.

You're so good. Help us to trust you and to go

to you in this moment. I pray in Jesus name.

Amen. You're so good.

Help us to trust you and to go to you in this moment.

I pray in Jesus name. Amen.