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Welcome to Mariners Church Weekend Message Podcast, inspiring people to follow Jesus and fearlessly change the world. Discover your purpose and get connected by visiting MarinersChurch.org or click the link in the show notes.
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Well, good morning, everyone. Good morning. We haven't met. My name is Steve Mainly, and I'm one of the pastors here, and it is an absolute joy to be with you this morning. You know, one of the things that I try to do every single year is I try to read through the entire Bible. And I really love the first few Old Testament books because it's all about the unfolding story of God's people in the Old Testament. And a book that constantly surprises me is the Book of Numbers. It's fresh, it has incredible insight, and I'm really excited because in a couple of weekends from now, we're going to be diving deep into the Book of Numbers. Now, you may not know this, but our church, we've been on a journey studying through Old Testament narrative books. So last year, we camped out in Genesis and Exodus, and in a couple weekends from now, we're going to be in the wilderness in numbers. And I don't want you to miss it. So if you're into a TV show or if you've ever watched a TV series, you wouldn't watch seasons one and two, Skip over season three and jump ahead to season four because you're not weird. No, no, you wouldn't do that because you'd miss the point of the story. You would miss the point of the story. Numbers is a part. Is a critical part of the unfolding story of the biblical narrative. And so I want to invite you to tune in. So if you missed last year, you can jump straight to our website. Catch Genesis and Exodus there, but don't miss numbers. Don't miss season three. Okay. Well, a couple of years ago, I received two major surprises in a span of just a couple of weeks. Surprise number one. I came home from the office, and before I could even put my stuff down, my wife asked me to sit down at our dinner table. She had a big smile on her face, and she said, hon, we're pregnant with baby number four. Yeah. Okay, that was a couple of years ago. You're scaring me. I blinked a couple of times and I gave her a hug after I regained consciousness. Surprise number one. Surprise number two. A few weeks later, I came home from the office, and the moment I walked through the doors, I sense my wife was on the phone with my. My mom. And I sensed that it was a really serious phone call. When she got off the phone, she shared with me that my parents had left the doctors and that my dad had just been diagnosed with cancer. And a couple of weeks after that, two major surprises in a few weeks. A couple of weeks after that, my pregnant wife, our three little kids at the time, and my parents. We met for dinner at a restaurant. And it was a really challenging dinner for me. I mean, I struggled with small talk. I couldn't even really enjoy the food because of what felt like a really cruel contrast right in front of me, where sitting on one side of me was life. Life that just in a few months from now, I'd be able to welcome into this world and hold and hug. But sitting on the other side of me was the looming thought of death, that I would no longer be able to hold and hug my dad. Life and death, side by side. Now, by the grace of God, they're both healthy today. And yet the reality still stands. There will still come a day when my dad, myself, and even my son, as hard and as painful as it is for me to admit, there will still come a day when we will all die. And so will you. Welcome to church this morning. I'm just so glad that you're here. I'm just bringing the good news for all of us this morning. But if this topic makes you uncomfortable, you are not alone. The writer of Ecclesiastes feels the exact same way. Notice what he says in Ecclesiastes 9. He writes, Everything is the same for everyone. There is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so also it is for the sinner. As. As it is for the one who takes an oath, so also for the one who fears an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun. There is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live. After that, they go to the dead. So you could sense that the writer of Ecclesiastes, he is exasperated, he is perplexed, and he is annoyed at this reality. In fact, he calls this. And he. And he. He called this in the text, an evil in all that is done under the sun. He's annoyed. He can't believe it. He. He's struggling to grasp the same thing that you and I are. Are struggling to grasp. Namely, that death. It is a universal and inescapable reality for all of Us, Every single one of us, every person on the planet. And in this room, we all face one singular fate. Death. And it doesn't even matter how you and I lived. In fact, if the writer were here alive today to really make his point, he might take all of us on a little field trip to a grave site or a burial ground. He may walk us to the very center of that place, and with an exasperated look, he might say, look around. Look. This is where we're all headed. This is our singular fate. And. And it doesn't matter what kind of a person you think you are. You think you're good, bad. Oh, you think you're a principled person or you're passionate, you're churchy. You're not church at all. Irrelevant. Death is the universal and inescapable reality for us all. So what do we do with this truth? Well, we could ignore it. We could ignore the big elephant in the room and pretend like it doesn't exist for our whole lives. According to a 2022 survey from Ethos, which is one of the largest term life insurance providers in the United States, they found that while Americans are thinking about death more often, we'd rather pretty much talk about anything else. In fact, when asked which traditionally taboo subjects we'd rather talk about, the surveys show that we'd rather talk about topics such as sex, politics, and religion. You know, all the topics that make Thanksgiving dinner go really great. We'd rather talk about those topics before the topic of death. Death came dead last. In fact, we're so terrified of this topic, not only do we want to ignore it, we'd rather spend our energies glorifying youth by fighting against aging itself. In the last few decades, there has been an absolute explosion in aging research, with billions of dollars being spent by government agencies and private companies. The consumer market report for anti aging products is set and projected to hit $93 billion by next year. A recent YouGov report found that one out of every three Americans are what you can call aging preventers, with no one trying harder than Brian Johnson. Brian Johnson, beginning in his 40s, began to invest $2 million per year, being advised by a team of 30 doctors and regenerative health experts. His goal was really to have his organs function as if he were in his late teens. In fact, here's how his treatment is going at the age of 48. It's pretty impressive, right? In fact, I think it's going so well. Here's what he looks like as of this week. Adorable. The psychology professor Solomon Sheldon once said, we are perhaps the most death denying generation in human history. So we could ignore it, or we could be influenced by it. We could be scared of death, or we could be shaped by it to live the life God desires. See, the writer of Ecclesiastes has a beautiful vision in mind for you and I this morning. He recognizes that while the topic is uncomfortable, he believes that if we will think about death, we will know how to live. That if we prepare to die, that we're actually prepared to live. And so the writer is going to invite us today to live backwards, to live with the end in mind, to be shaped by death, so that we live the beautiful, abundant life that God desires. So how does facing the end make us wise? Two ways. First, facing the end, it brings perspective for enjoyment. Now that sounds like a counterintuitive truth, doesn't it? You're saying that if I think about death, I'll enjoy life more. You would think it would have the opposite effect, right? That if I think about death, it would drain out, it would suck out all the joy of today. But no, according to the writer Ecclesiastes, if you think about death, you can enjoy the now more. Here's what he says. Go eat your bread with pleasure and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works. Let your clothes be white all the time and never let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife you love. All the days of your fleeting life which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and your struggle under the sun. Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength. Because there is no work, planning, knowledge or wisdom in show where you are going. Those who have read that passage, this passage, have often remarked how surprised they are by the description of the passage. Because the writer is talking about living with death in mind. But the writer did not describe life like a funeral, right? The tone of the passage was not somber doom and gloom. If anything, the writer wrote the passage like a party, like a celebration. It's as if the writer was saying, hey, guess what? You're gonna die, so throw a party. You're gonna face the end, so celebrate and enjoy life. In fact, the writer invites you and I not to just enjoy some part of life, but every part of life in its totality, every dimension and sphere. We know this because of four categories that the writer lists. First, he talks about feasting. Feasting. Go eat your bread with pleasure and drink your wine with a cheerful heart. Anyone have dinner reservations tonight? Yeah. The writer would say to you, savor every bite. Enjoy feasting. Second category, festival. Festivity. Festivity. The writer says, let your clothes be white all the time and never let oil be lacking on your head. In their day, white was worn for celebration. Oil was used for complexion. So the writer would say, hey, I checked the calendar. It's almost summertime. You should start getting ready to dress for the occasion. That is summer festivity. Third category, fellowship or relationships. Enjoy life with the wife you love. The writer writes, you have a spouse. You have friends. Treasure those relationships. Create memories. Laugh together until your stomach hurts. Fellowship. The last category, fervency. Fervency. Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength. Anyone have a job? Thinking about starting something new? The writer would say, go for it. Have at it. Live with purpose and intensity. Enjoy. Treasure. Savor life in its totality. Every dimension and sphere. Have at it. How. How could the writer say this in light of death? Well, I think the writer recognizes something important about the topic of death. See, he knows that while death makes us uncomfortable, it actually gives us an incredible gift. It gives you and I the gift of clarity, the gift of perspective. We're reminded how short this life is, how precious life is, and that we should actually enjoy it while it lasts. See, I have four kids, and when they were younger, much younger, and most of them were in diapers, my wife Angie and I, we used to take them to amusement parks. Mostly because they got to go in for free, right? It didn't even matter. Half the time we're just in the bathroom changing their diaper, right? But every time we would go into the amusement park, it would start out the same. The day would start with so much excitement. We would walk in, the kids are laughing and jumping around. So much excitement. And then, of course, they would get tired 45 minutes later, and they're complaining and whining and saying, oh, I want food. I want something to drink. And so here's the strategy, here's the tactic that my wife and I would use to motivate them. We would point them to the end. We would say, hey, hey, hey, guys. Hey, guys, we're not going to be here forever. You need to enjoy this while it lasts. We're going to leave in a couple of hours or 15 minutes. You gotta enjoy it while it lasts. And then at the end of the day, I would always give him this pep talk. Here's what I would say. I would say, okay, guys, this is it. This is the last ride. After this ride, we're gonna go home. This is it. So you need to enjoy every second of this ride. Treasure every single moment of this ride. Okay, here we go. And I would hop on that ride with them, and the entire time, I would just be stuck staring right into their faces, looking for smiles, for laughter, for screams of joy. Why? Because I wanted them to enjoy it while it lasted. That is God's heart for you. That is what God wants for you. He wants you to enjoy life while it lasts. That's what the writer meant, by the way, by the phrase, for God has already accepted your works. What's the work that God has accepted? It's the work of enjoyment. It's the work of enjoying. It brings God pleasure and happiness to see us enjoying the life that he has given to us while we have it. Now, I realize this invitation kind of meets all of us differently this morning. Because, you know, someone in the room, you're. You're a cynic. You're really smart. You're a cynic. And there's a part of you right now, you're like, I. I can't believe that's God's advice. Like, you're gonna die, so enjoy life. It just sounds so fatalistic. But God is radically practical. See, the writer says when you and I die, that there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom and show where you're going. In other words, the writer is saying, hey, you know, this version of life, right now, as you know it, when you and I die, we're never gonna be able to come back to this version of life. So what do you want to do? You want to sit around and cynically muse about the injustice of it all? Or do you want to maximize your life and enjoy? For God has already approved your work of enjoyment. Now, maybe there's a hedonist in the room, and you're all about enjoying life. And so there's a part of you, you. You've been tracking this entire time, and you're like, this is where we're headed. I want us to talk about death more often at church. This has been an amazing, amazing morning. And God has approved your work of enjoyment. But it is God who has approved your work of enjoyment, which means that that invites you and I to tilt our enjoyment, to aim our enjoyment, not at some fatalistic philosophy that says, eat, drink for tomorrow we die. Or what my generation, we millennials, coined as yolo. No, we tilt our enjoyment away from that philosophy, and we aim it at God, because he is the one who has approved our work of enjoyment. And he is the one who ultimately satisfies our souls. And maybe there's an aesthetic in the room and you're here and you are disciplined and you find indulgence a little suspicious. And your discipline is beautiful, and maybe your suspicion of indulgence may be beneficial. And I just wonder if God may invite you today to have a deeper philosophical conversation about enjoyment outdoors holding a really big ice cream cone. Because God has already commanded and invited and approved your work of enjoyment. And of course, there are the achievers in the room. You are running and you are running hard. Whatever your hand finds to do, you're doing with all of your strength. And that is beautiful. And the text did not say that only once you are fully done with all of your tasks, then for about 5, 10 minutes you can enjoy before you move on to the next thing. The text did not say that no, life is a gift that you did not earn. Which means that your enjoyment of the very thing that you did not earn is not predicated on you accomplishing instead the gift of God. The grace of God invites you this morning to lighten up, loosen up. You can't be everywhere, do everything and be everyone. You can't. And even if you tried, it would be imperfect. So enjoy. For God has already approved your work of enjoyment. And when you and I face the end, we enjoy more. But facing the end not only makes us wise to enjoy, it also makes us urgent. Secondly, facing the end, it brings urgency of eternity. See, according to the scriptures, yes, you and I, every one of us, we will die. And according to the scriptures, when we die, we will then proceed into eternity. This eternity will either be a forever and ever with God in relationship with God, or it will be a forever and forever apart from God, without relationship with God. And that invites us to an incredible present day urgency. The writer put it this way in chapter 12. So remember your Creator, in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach when you will say, I have no delight in them but for the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars and the clouds return after the rain, on the day when the guardians of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, the young men who grind grain cease because they are few. And the ones who watch through the windows see dimly, the doors at the street are shut, while the sound of the mill fades when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint. Also they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road, the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect, for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home. And the mourners will walk around in the streets before the silver cord is snapped and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well, and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Now, some Bible scholars, they have said that the various imageries that we just read, that the various imageries that the writer of Ecclesiastes uses is actually a poetic and an artistic description of one's deteriorating body in their old age, that it's an artistic description of one's body that is beginning to fail as they age. So these scholars would say, hey, you know the phrase the sun and the light are darkened? See, this phrase is actually describing one's diminishing eyesight. Or they would say, you see the phrase, the guardians of the house tremble. This is describing one's trembling hands as they near the end. Or the phrase, the woman who grind grains cease because they are few. It's talking about the few remaining teeth that one has near the end of life, deteriorating body. Now, other Bible scholars have said, yes, yes, it is describing that, but it's also describing something else, that this passage is also an allusion to the future great day of judgment, when everyone who has ever lived will come before the throne of God and that we will give an account of our lives on the great day of judgment. So these scholars will say, hey, you see that phrase? The sun and the light are darkened. This phrase is also used in other Old Testament promises or Old Testament prophecies like. Like Joel 2 to describe this great future day of the Lord, this great future day of judgment, and in fact, that Jesus himself in Mark 13, used similar language to describe the second coming, the second return of Jesus. Okay, so which is it? Is it deteriorating body or is it Day of Judgment? Deteriorating body or Day of Judgment. Okay, Whichever route you go, we are invited to the exact same place. Urgency. Urgency in the here and now. Why? Because there is a day coming when you and I will stand before the Creator and judge before his throne, and we will be asked to give an account of our lives that will be the most critical day of our existence. There could be no other day more important than that day. In fact, every other day will pale in comparison to that day. And so, which means right now, today is a day of urgency. In fact, you know, the seven Verses that we read in the original language. It's actually just one long run on sentence. It's one big breath of urgency. The writer is piling upon image after image to let you know, we're all going to die. We're going to come before the judge. Get ready now while you have the time. Maybe you remember as a kid growing up in your parents house, do you ever have that day when your parents left the house for the day and you got to enjoy the whole house by yourself for the entire day? And do you remember when you got that text message or that phone call will be home at 6pm and it's 5:30pm and you look around the house and the house is in utter disarray and you're like, oh my gosh, I'm going to be grounded for a thousand years. But in that moment, you suddenly become the most productive person on the planet. You are cleaning the house with an intensity and focus like never before. Are you using the vacuum correctly? Who cares? What do I do with this trash? Throw it into my sibling's closet. Has the dog been walked? Throw the dog into my sibling's closet. Why? Because they're coming back. They're returning. And so the house needs to be placed in order. In fact, they might be standing at the door. They might be standing at the door. Jesus is already standing at the door. He's returning. He is standing at the door. And so our hearts must be placed in order. How do we do that? Here's what the writer said in verse one. So remember your Creator in the days of your youth. He's saying when you have time, while you have time now, today, remember, just remember, it's not just a mental exercise. No, it's to trust in the person that is God. But it's also to entrust yourself fully and completely in surrender to him. It is to throw yourself, hurl yourself, at the goodness and mercy of God. Are you ready for the end? Are you ready for eternity? You know, that's the most important question that you can answer today. It's actually the most important question that you could ever answer in your entire life. There's so many ways that we can prepare for death. We could sign medical advance directives. We can have all of our legal and financial documents in order. And those things are important. But to have all of those things in order, but to not have our hearts ordered before God, that would be true vanity and futility. But if you will trust God and if you will entrust yourself to God, you can have peace like Steel in your spine, even as you face the end in eternity. There's an elderly man, a grandfather, my dad, who shared with me throughout his entire cancer treatment. I'm fully at peace, no matter what happens, because I know that I'm going to be with my Savior. There's a little five year old boy, my son, who, when I recently told him, I will love you forever, responded, what? How can you love me forever? And I said, I will love you forever in heaven, remember? And he responded, of course. Oh yeah, I forgot. You will love me forever in heaven. What about you? What will you say? And today, in fact, right now, in this moment, we want to give you an opportunity to place your trust in Jesus for the very first time. We want to give you an opportunity right now to prepare for the end and prepare for eternity. This moment now is going to be an incredibly sacred moment. So I want to invite full stillness in the room. Really the best way, the only way to prepare for the end is to trust in the one person who is fully reliable for the end. And that is Jesus. Do you know why you can trust Jesus? No matter who you are, where you've been, no matter how big you feel like your mistakes may be Jesus, he already died in your place. Jesus already died in your place. Deep down in our hearts, we all know already that we messed up. Every person knows deep down in our hearts that we sinned. Our sin messed up the world and it messed up our hearts. And our sin leads to really only one sentence on the day of judgment. But the good news of God is that God sent Jesus his son into the world. And Jesus lived the perfect, beautiful, righteous life that you and I could not live but on the cross. Jesus died the death that we deserved. Jesus died the death that we were already dying. Jesus already died in our place. But three days later, Jesus walked out of the grave. Jesus conquered sin and Jesus conquered death. He conquered both. Which means that if you will place your trust in Jesus today, your sins fully forgiven, fully washed away, which means death, you can say old death, where is your sting? Oh, I may die physically, but I will rise again and be with my Savior. And we want to give you an opportunity right now to prepare for the end at our church. Here's how you can profess faith in Jesus. It is by standing and saying out loud, I believe. Standing and saying, I believe when you stand, that represents that you're not trusting in yourself. And when you say out loud, I believe, you're saying that I entrust myself to the work of Jesus. So will you prepare for the end and for eternity? Now stand. We invite you. See, I believe. All right, extend your hands, please, and let me pray a prayer of blessing over you as we go. Jesus, I pray you'd bless your sons and daughters this week that you would remind them that you were gentle and approachable and that you love them, cause your face to shine on them. I pray they will experience your mercy and your joy this new week. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Go in peace. Have a great week.
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Thanks for tuning in to the Mariners Weekend Message podcast to support the ministry of Mariners Church. You can click the link in the Show Notes or download the Mariners App at your your favorite app store. If you've been navigating God's wisdom with us through this year's annual read and would like to hear personal reflections from pastors in your community, check out the Gospel Every Day podcast. Imagine feeding your heart, mind and soul with the kind of practical wisdom that will change your life. If you haven't picked up the annual read yet, visit MarinersChurch.org or download the Mariners app for more information on where to find it.