What is Your Duty?

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14

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.

Scripture Commentary:

Solomon covers two ailments in Ecclesiastes chapter 12:

People who lack purpose and direction in life
People who think life is unfair

First, what is your purpose or duty in life? Is it to suit yourself or to serve God? Second, why would you think life is unfair?

Have you been fair or unfair to God?

Think about what God has done and what He is doing in your life. If you are reading this, then God has given you another day. What have you given God?

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, and have asked for forgiveness, then how can God give you direction in your life? We must go to God for purpose and meaning in life. In doing so, we will acknowledge the evil, foolishness and injustice in life and build a stronger relationship with Jesus.

This relationship comes when we pray and study God’s Word. Life is meaningless and futile without God. All of us will stand before Him and be judged. We cannot use life’s inconsistencies as an excuse for failing to live as His child.

Read the Entire Chapter:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes+12&version=ESV

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep …

Scripture: Psalms 3: 5-6

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

Scripture Commentary: I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

Sleep does not come easily during a crisis. David could have had sleepless nights when his son Absalom rebelled and gathered an army to kill him. But David slept peacefully, even during the rebellion.

What made the difference?

David cried out to the Lord, and the Lord heard him. The assurance of answered prayer brings peace. It is easier to sleep well when we have full assurance that God is in control of all circumstances.

Trust God with your burdens.

If you are lying awake at night worrying about things you can’t change or control, pour your heart out to God. Tell Him you trust Him, and give the burden to Him. God will take care of every situation. And by giving your problem to the Lord you are telling Him all your trust is in His hands.

Do this, and leave it alone. If you try to fix it, you’re saying that you don’t trust God. Give it to him, then thank Him and go to sleep.

Read the Entire Chapter:

Psalms Chapter 3

Have your iniquities separated you from God?

Sermon: Will You Be Prepared When Christ Returns? (Have your iniquities separated you from God?)

Part Two: Isaiah 59: 2

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Matthew 25:10-12

But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

How will you R.S.V.P? I will attend or I will not attend.

Read the Complete Chapters of the Scriptures Referenced:
Isaiah Chapter 59
Matthew Chapter 25

Read Part One of the Sermon, Will You Be Prepared When Christ Returns?

All Will Come to Worship the Lord

Scripture: Isaiah 66: 23-24

“All humanity will come to worship me from week to week and from month to month. And as they go out, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me. For the worms that devour them will never die, and the fire that burns them will never go out. All who pass by will view them with utter horror.”

Scripture Commentary: Be careful about what you worship.

Isaiah brings his book to a close with great drama by contrasting two ways of living. There are those who are humble and have a profound reverence for God’s messages and to applying them. These people live to worship before the Lord.

Do not follow society’s urges and the ways of the world.

Then there are those who choose their own way, transgressing against God. Don’t let your freedom to choose lead you away from God’s pathway to eternal life.

Isaiah 66 gives us a vivid picture of the great judgement that will occur at Christ’s second coming. It’s a sobering portrayal of judgement for the faithless.

The faithful will have eternal life with God.

In contrast, for the faithful there is a glorious picture of rich reward in that we will be with our Lord Jesus Christ.

The contrast is so striking that it would seem that everyone would want to follow God’s ways. However, we are often foolish and reluctant to change our earthly ways.

How foolish and reluctant are you? The day of judgement is coming. Are you ready?

Read the Entire Chapter:
Isaiah Chapter 66

God Has Prepared a Place for You

Sermon: The Lord Is the Great Shepherd (God Has Prepared a Place for You)

Part Three: John 14: 2

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

God tells us that He is our shepherd. Jesus tells us that He is going to prepare a place for us and that He will return for us. We can look forward to eternal life because Jesus has promised it to all who believe in Him.

Psalm 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Jesus has a place for you in His Father’s house, the banquet table is prepared, and your seat is waiting for you. He paid the ultimate price for your seat at the table when He went to the cross, died, and rose again.

Jesus’ words show that the way to eternal life, although unseen, is as secure as your trust in Jesus. All of the benefits of being God’s child will be yours.

Read the Full Chapters of the Scriptures Referenced:
John Chapter 14
Psalm Chapter 23

Read the first and second parts of the Sermon, The Lord Is the Great Shepherd
The Lord Is the Great Shepherd (Part One)
The Lord Is My Shepherd; He Restores My Soul (Part Two)

The Lord Is My Shepherd; He Restores My Soul

Sermon: The Lord Is the Great Shepherd (He Restores My Soul)

Part Two: Psalm 23: 1-3

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

God wants to take us to the green pastures and quiet waters. He restores us. If we are rebellious and disobedient, we are going against our best interests.

Yea, although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will have no fear because you are my God, my shepherd, and death has no hold on me. Since I am a child of God and know His son died and rose again on the third day, I know where I am going.

What about you? Do you where you are going?

Death has the last word on this side of life.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, death has lost. Without Jesus, death casts a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in its presence. We will struggle with enemies, pain, suffering, disease, and injury, but with all of our strength we cannot overcome death.

Only Jesus Christ can walk with us in the valley of death and bring us into His eternal light. Life is uncertain, but God is not.

Psalm 23: 5

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

In ancient near eastern culture it was customary to anoint a person with fragrant oil at a banquet. The host was also expected to protect his guests at all costs. God offers the protection for us even when the enemy surrounds us.

Psalm 25: 2

O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.

The Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, the Perfect Shepherd, promises to guide and protect us through life to bring us into His Father’s house.

Read the Full Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:
Psalm Chapter 23
Psalm Chapter 25

Read Part One of the Sermon, The Lord Is the Great Shepherd

The Lord Is the Great Shepherd

Sermon: The Lord Is The Great Shepherd

Part One: Psalm 23: 1

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

We are God’s child. He is our Father, Protector, the Great Shepherd. When David describes the Lord as a shepherd, he is writing about of his own experience as a shepherd when he was a young boy.

Sheep are completely dependent on the shepherd for provision, guidance and protection.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep.

The New Testament calls Jesus the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd. The Lord is the Good Shepherd, and we are His sheep. We are not to be frightened or passive. We are to be obedient followers who place ourselves in His hands. He will lead us in the path of rightness.

If we go our own way then we are going to walk the path satan has for us. Do not think that satan isn’t waiting to lead you.

Job 2: 2

“And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

Matthew 4:1

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[a]by the devil.”

Now the devil thought he could tempt Jesus. What do you think he can do with us?

When we put ourselves in God’s hands, we have contentment.

Psalm 23 does not focus on the animal-like qualities of sheep but on the discipleship qualities of those who follow Our Lord and Savior. However, when we choose to sin, we go our own way and we can’t blame God for the consequences of that choice.

Read the Full Chapters of the Scriptures Referenced:
Psalm Chapter 23
Job Chapter 2
Matthew Chapter 4

Join us later this week for Part Two of the sermon, The Lord is My Shepherd.

Thanks Be to God for All He Has Done

Scripture: Psalm 30: 1-4

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.

Scripture Commentary: Did you give thanks to God today?

Have you thanked him for bringing you through this year? Have you thanked Jesus for taking your place on the cross and dying for your sins? If not, give thanks now!

We can get so into ourselves that we forget to thank Him for giving us another day. There have been times when we’ve gone to bed sick and in the morning have been healed. Praise the Lord! Also, there have been times when we’ve placed ourselves in danger, and He has shown us a way out. Praise God!

God has done more for us than we have for Him. All He asks is that we praise Him, and love one another. You haven’t yet been called to the grave so God has work for you. Are you ready to work for Our Lord Jesus Christ?

What does the future hold for you?

God has kept you alive so sing His praises, carry His Word, and give thanks to Him.

Be happy and blessed!

Read the Entire Chapter:
Psalm Chapter 30

What Does A Man Gain from His Toil?

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1: 2-4

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

Scripture Commentary: Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.*

All of our human toil and accomplishment will come to naught. As it was with our forefathers, so shall it be with us. We need to keep this in mind as we journey through life. It we don’t, we will become either proud when we succeed (thinking we did this on our own) or sorely disappointed when we fail.

Solomon’s goal was to show that earthly possessions and accomplishments are ultimately meaningless. Only by pursuing God do we achieve real satisfaction.

We should honor God in all we say, think, and do.

As you take a hard look at your life, as Solomon did his, you will see how important serving God is above all other options. Perhaps God is asking you to rethink your purpose and direction in life. As you set out to find the meaning of your life, you must be ready to feel, think, question, hurt, and do more for God.

When we ignore God, it only highlights our problems because there are no answers without God’s eternal perspective.

True wisdom is found in God, and true happiness is pleasing him.

*Ecclesiastes 4: 6

Read the Entire Chapter:
Ecclesiastes Chapter 1

Additional Reading:
Ecclesiastes Chapter 4

God Can Hear Your Cry and Save You

Sermon: The One That Is Lost

Part Three (Final): Isaiah 59: 1

Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

Hear me, O Lord, I have sinned. Forgive me.

When you ask God for forgiveness, you are knocking on his door.

Matthew 7: 7-8

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Jesus is at the gate. He is in the wilderness, he is at the door, and he is in search of his lost sheep. If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do so now.

Knock on his door. His heart is open and he is waiting to accept you. He is saying to come as you are right now.

Matthew 11: 28

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

If you are one of the lost sheep, accept Christ now. The kingdom of God will rejoice, as each of his sheep return.

Knock, knock on his door, and he will open it!

Read the Full Chapters of the Scriptures Referenced:
Isaiah Chapter 59
Matthew Chapter 7
Matthew Chapter 11

Read the First and Second Parts of the Sermon, The One That is Lost
Part One: Jesus Came to Save the Lost
Part Two: Be Willing to Accept Jesus Into Your Heart