Sermon Nuggets Mon April 13, 2009
Theme PREPARING FOR DEATH
Verses-Ecc 9:3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
The Predictability of Death
Edith A Reuss wrote article on “Time for the Lord.”
"Today our pastor preached on time for the Lord, but I'm just a kid, still in high school. I think he meant that for grown-ups; I'm in college now and I love it! So many new ideas! Every day I find myself passing the campus chapel and somehow it nags at me but I have so much studying to do I'm sure the Lord understands;
I'm' married now, and I love him so much! We've talked about taking time to pray together but with our jobs and housework and trying to get adjusted to each other..I don't push it just now; Three pre-schoolers! They keep me going all day and when they are finally in bed. I'm exhausted. We should have family devotions, but they're too little to understand now. I'll wait until they are older;
They're finally all in school. Now its PTA piano lesson and little league. Each day slips away from me before I know it. We never seem to be home at the same time;
Now My teens are so independent sometimes I feel I'm running a boarding house instead of a family. I suggested family prayer once and they all gave me that "Oh, Mother" look. I can't push them I guess;
The last one is married It's so quiet being just the two of us again. Now I have a job and I'm busier than ever adjusting to the business world again. When I get used to the new life then I'll have time for daily prayer and time for God;
Cancer is an ugly word no matter how kindly it is put. the hospital is a bustling place and I a steady stream of roommates, but I feel walled off and alone. I have time now . Nothing but time. I sit with my Bible open before me by my tears blur the words so I cannot read. I cannot pray! God seems so far away now. I wonder why?"
In his sermon in Ecclesiastes Solomon looks at all his accomplishments and concludes it is all for nothing. Without God life is vanity. All things that Solomon wanted were ultimately are in God's hands. All wisdom, knowledge, money, politics, authority all of it is meaningless when life lacks meaning and purpose.
When Solomon looked at the problems of the world and the injustices, the abuse of power and money life is so short lived and futile. There are two simple but often overlooked truths that Solomon talks about in Chapter 9. Death is Predictable and Life is Unpredictable. So my question is, what are we doing about it?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues April 14, 2009
Verses- Eccl 9:1-3 1 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.
2 All share a common destiny-- the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.
3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
Facing the Inevitable
Although death is not a popular subject to discuss it is a reality we cannot deny. Since Ecclesiastes addresses all subjects under the sun Solomon reflects on the inevitable. He tells us it doesn't make any different what you do, or how good or bad you are, you are going to die. It really doesn't make any different how rich, or important or unimportant you are you are, all go to the grave.
Statistically do you know what age most people die? The answer is by far the first year of life. In fact more die in the first year of life than any other combined up to 55 years of age. Yet we live in a culture that has been reluctant to face its reality makes jokes of it. The Bible calls it an enemy, for death is the price of sin in our world and all will die.
I have lead and participated in many funerals. I have found with the rise of Hospice care increasingly more study and attention has been given to addressing the needs of those with terminal illness. When I started as a chaplain in the health care field I was asked to speak on the spiritual needs of the elderly and infirmed at the Minnesota Association of Nursing Homes in the 70s. It was very well attended due to the fact very few years had such a seminar been offered in a non Christian setting. My statistics showed that the older population have an increased openness to discuss death and dying and the importance of spiritual resources than those who take care of them. Since that time the connection of health and spiritual concerns is addressed.
There are also practical matters when it comes to the inevitable. My aunt was married to a mortician. He talked with many people about preparing their funeral arrangements. He contacted leukemia. The doctors told him it was terminal. He had a prepaid burial. He purchased his wife a new car so she wouldn’t have to make those decisions when he was gone. He paid off debts and set up trusts with a lawyer. He took care of many practical matter, but with that did not provide my Aunt with his wishes regarding funeral home, services, or preferences of details of inheritances. He was better prepared than most, but there were many unanswered questions that my Aunt wished she would have asked him before he died. I had the new responsibility of taking over the planning of my Aunt’s burial and taking care of her affairs. Even though many things were in order, many things were not. Was she prepared to die?
There is lots more to being prepared than making sure you have a plot and what you want sung at your funeral. There is more to being prepared than having insurance or telling relatives where your important papers are located.
We all live under a spiritual judgment for all of us have a terminal disease-it is sin. The wages of sin is death. Solomon says it doesn't make a bit of difference if you are wicked or righteous, rich or poor, hard working or lazy, we all come to the final resting place. The reason is that no matter how good you are you are still a sinner in God's eyes. Mortality rate is still 100% We die because we are sinners. There is no one who is not.
Now some have looked at this chapter and claimed that it supports a humanistic viewpoint of death. When you're dead you're dead and there isn't anything more. That is not the theme of this book. Solomon is writing about the things under the sun. As far as this life is concerned under the sun means when our life is gone the things of this earth are all over. That is what he is saying. We are dead to this world and there is nothing more that can be done.
The reason things look bleak to Solomon is because all of his accomplishments which were great among men, lost their joy when he fell under the judgment of God. Joy comes not by what we do, but by the gift and grace of God and being in a right relationship with Him. This physical world does not offer to meet our needs in the next world. All throughout the New Testament the teaching of death and eternal life is very clear and repeated. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall never die. "
Facing the inevitable makes us sort out priorities, and to have a right relationship with Jesus Christ should be top on the list. To live for Him and for eternity seems obvious, but still many close their eyes to that which is most important.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds April 15, 2009
Verses Eccl 9:4-6 Anyone who is among the living has hope-- even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.
Work for the Night is Coming
I remember the old hymn that was sung often in a small church I attended growing up. “Work for the Night is Coming”. The three verses speaks of the importance of working “through the morning hours..through the sunny noon….under the sunset skies. The challenge is clear- “Work, when the day grows brighter, Work, in the glowing sun, Work, for the night is coming, When man's work is done.”
It was written by a farm girl of 18 years before the Civil War. It was inspired by John 9:4 when Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."
Solomon was not looking so much at the importance of work in this passage as he was the futility of life when all our work is done. He gives us a better perspective later in his writing, but if all we work for are the things of this earth it can be very futile. But with faith and hope of eternal life we need not fear death. The teachings of Jesus remind us of the value to be faithful to Christ unto death.
Whatever you're going to do, do it now, for when you die it will be too late. Hope exists as long as there is life. Just as it is predicted that all will die, so it is true that at death all decisions are completed. It is too late to do anything about eternity after the grave. This life is the time we make our peace with God or live unto our own desires. But as long as there is life there is hope.
I remember one night a college aged young person came to my door. He was full of tears. I let him cry for awhile and finally he told the story of his grandfather who had a stoke and was unconscious and not expected to live. He had a strong sense from God that he should share his faith with his grandfather, but kept putting it off. Now it was too late. After awhile I said to my friend, “Let’s pray that as long as there is life there is hope. Let's pray that somehow God might arouse you grandfather enough that he might hear the message at least for the last time.”
This man came to me a couple of days later and said, "God answered our prayer. I don't know if he understood or not, but he opened his eyes and watched me as I gave him my testimony. He answered our prayer.”
We don't know when it will be too late to tell a fiend, or loved one, neighbor or enemy, of God's saving grace. There is a possibility to respond to God; however the older one gets the more difficult it is. The more you say no to God and keep putting off a decision for Christ the less will be the desire to say yes. Resisting the Spirit of God is serious. Some people falsely think that when they get older and lived their lives they way they wanted, then they will give themselves to God. It doesn't work very often that way. Instead people become hardened to spiritual things and lose their interest because God has stopped convicting them of their need.
Are you prepared for death? For after that there is no opportunity to change what is done in this life. All the rewards that you will be acquiring in eternity will be based on what you do now. We are not saved by our works. But the Scriptures are clear about two things. When the door to the ark was shut it was too late. When the door to the wedding banquet was closed those foolish virgins could not enter. And secondly, there are rewards for the works God calls us to do as Christians. IF we are faithful to what he gives us then comes the reward when he says, "Well done thou good and faithful servant.”
Use the time we have to let God be glorified in your life while it is day, for the night comes when our work is done.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs April 16, 2009
Verses- Eccl 9:7-9
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.
8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.
9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun-- all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.
Prioritize your life.
When I was a chaplain in the nursing homes I decided to be creative and put together a Thanksgiving multi media program. I interviewed residents taking their pictures in different scenes. The interview was easy. I went around asking what they were thankful for. I included some music and patriotic scenes along with their comments.
It wasn’t long before I realized the three main themes of the responses from the people. After living a long life- (most were in their 90s) what mattered most were health they did have, family, and faith. Their basic needs were met in the home. They had a shelter. They had food. They had clothes. So after those needs were met they thought on what they could enjoy as long as they had life on this earth.
1 Tim 6:8 “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” In light of our present economy we tend to forget the basics and concentrate of all the stuff we lost or can’t have. After awhile we are miserable. When we think of what we do have we realize we are blessed.
With death in mind Solomon concentrates on enjoying the essentials while we have them. In these three verses he is thankful for food, clothes and family. Isn’t that worth praising God today for those gifts? Enjoy them. Life might be a struggle, but there are small blessings today you might miss.
When you are spiritually prepared to enter eternity you can enjoy the time you have while on earth as gifts from God. We will speak more about this next week. Now is the time to enjoy life that God has given you to enjoy and look upon the peace and joy with Him. Some Christian think life is no fun.
I have enjoyed food too much. But when I have enjoyed food the most are usually when I have been very hungry. The longer it has been before I had eaten the better the food tastes. After I had to fast before a surgical procedure, peanut butter on toast in my post operation room never tasted as good! I was starved. It was a blessing to eat again.
A couple of weeks ago I was able to celebrate with my friend who entered retirement. We went to a fancy restaurant. The food was plentiful and delicious. I enjoyed the company and the various foods properly prepared and options that I did not have before. Feasting times at holidays, birthdays, and special occasion can be enjoyed as blessing from the Lord. I never envied the very rich who work themselves up with such stress it results in ulcers. Their food was reduced to a diet of Maalox and milk toast all the time.
Contentment with something to eat and something to wear allows anyone to thank the Lord for today. There are some who go to bed hungry and naked. Enjoy these gifts. If you can get out of bed, get dressed, comb your hair, brush your teeth, get dressed and thank the Lord. Begin your day with Him and think on the gifts He has given you today to enjoy.
Thirdly, if you have a family, love them. Appreciate them. Realize they deserve your attention and your priority next to the Lord. They are also a gift from God to you. You have a part you play in this mini-organization whether you are a son, daughter, mom, dad, sibling or in law. Recognize that no one is perfect. All need forgiveness. If God gives you a spouse, enjoy him/her while we have life, for the day will come when we will be parted. Tell them you love them today while there is time.
I asked one man how he could live with his nagging wife. His answer surprised me. “If you get a lemon, learn to make lemonade.” Put some sugar in the relationship and be the one to give love. The movie, “Fireproof” has changed relationships when we see love is a choice. Enjoy your family.
Pastor Dale
Sermon nuggets Fri April 17
Verses- Eccl 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
Do it Now
This was one of the verses my Mother quoted often in the house. It was to encourage her lazy son to become more Biblical. Although, I will say she practiced what she preached. She wasn’t ADHD where she always had to be on the go, but my grandmother also would quote this verse to her. To be idle is to waste time when things could be accomplished.
Mom took up many hobbies and helped many people. She was a working mother in and out of the home. Ruth was somewhat of a perfectionist in her work and took pride in doing it right even if it meant doing it over. She didn’t comprehend my philosophy of “if you don’t see it, it doesn’t exit.” I am not talking about Spiritual things. I was talking about dirt.
Why would she move the refrigerator to regularly clean underneath? I tried to convince her no one would know it. She would retort, “I would know it. Now move that refrigerator for me.” If she was watching TV she would be crocheting, knitting, darning socks, or her favorite- doing a crossword puzzle. “That isn’t wasting time it is improving one’s mind.” She would say.
I can’t help but think of Mom when I read this verse for this is how she lived. She also loved to entertain. Fixing meals, doing dishes, or giving a hot dish to a neighbor was not work. It was serving the Lord with busy hands.
Mom was more of a Martha than a Mary. God creates them both. But like Solomon said in Chapter 3 there is a time for everything under heaven. Although he did not use this contrast, it was true in Jesus’ life. There was a time to work and a time to rest. He accomplished all he needed to accomplish in the three years of his public ministry.
I think we excuse ourselves from faithfulness by thinking we have little or no talent. But God takes what we have and uses it if we are obedient and faithful. Moses continued to shepherd for 40 years until God took that rod in his hand and it became the power rod of God. Samson took the jawbone of an ass and it became a weapon that destroyed the Philistines. Gideon took the lamp and bowl and with the power of God destroyed the Midianites.
The faithful worker is not found sleeping but working with what God has given him or her. There are many excuses for poor work. Some have a quitter’s spirit—quick to start, but have no endurance. Some are content to be mediocre—never give their best at anything, the church included. Unfortunately, some have lost their first love. The spark, enthusiasm of new birth is gone.
Most are not called to lead armies or free people from slavery, but we all are to be a witness for the Lord. We are being watched in the quality of work we do. We do what we do as unto the Lord with our work and with our rest. Col 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."
Pastor Dale
