Sunday Morning Worship Service
by Nathan Whitley
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, Ecclesiastes 1:16-17, John 4, Ecclesiastes 12:13

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/nathan-whitley--sunday-morning-worship-service-8
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
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Get your Bibles and remain standing. We're going to go to the word of the Lord. We're going to go to the Old Testament. We'll go to the book of Ecclesiastes. Right after Proverbs, Psalms, you'll find the the perplexing book of Ecclesiastes. That's we're going to go to today. And as you're turning there, we want to give honor to all the saints, all the leadership, all those who serve this great church and serves our Lord. I'm thankful for the opportunity to preach and teach his word. Don't forget, uh, we've not put this in our announcements, but we want to, uh, make everyone aware if you'd like, this weekend is also PIA's anniversary services. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon. Uh they'll have that in the event center. They have been preparing. They have been praying and fasting. And uh we're looking forward to having a great weekend uh this weekend, celebrating all the Lord is doing in our Spanish work. And uh we're so so proud of all of what they are doing. And we're going to celebrate with them this weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And you are certainly welcome to be there uh with us. Ecclesiastes chapter number three. I'm going to read verse number 11. Then we're going to jump over into chapter 12 and read a couple of verses there. He calls himself the preacher. He says, speaking of God, he hath made everything beautiful in his time. Also, he hath set the world in their heart. Now that's not a really a great translation because the actual translation should be heath set eternity in their heart so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Chapter 12 13-4. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Here it is. This is the summary. Fear God. keep his commandments. For this is the whole duty or responsibility of man. For God shall bring every good work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. I want to speak to you today this thought. Something's missing. The gospel according to Ecclesiastes. Won't you lift up your hands, lift up your heart, and let's ask the Lord to speak to us today. Lord, we are so thankful for your presence that we have felt from the very beginning since the doors have been opened today. Lord, we thank you for all the preparation that's gone into the today's service. All those that are here laboring and I now pray God that you would help me to minister your word with clarity today. Help me bring into my remembrance all things that you have taught me and help me to communicate it with the anointing and the uncction of your spirit today. Let the word of God find good ground in the hearts of your people. In Jesus' name we pray. And everyone said, "Amen." >> Now, clap your hands unto the Lord today before you're seated. A great songwriter, prodigy guitar player by the name of John Mayer. He wrote a song several years ago called Something's Missing. I heard the song. It's been kind of making its rounds on social media the last few weeks. When I heard it again, it just something just said when I heard it, that is the book of Ecclesiastes in song form. And if you listen to the lyrics that Mr. mayor uh pins and he sings. It's really a restless confession from a man who has everything that we think we think has everything and yet uh he thinks those things will make him feel uh fulfilled and yet he says something's missing. He's not alone. He's got friends, people love him, he has money, he's well-rested, he has romance. Uh he goes through this inventory or this list. And he goes through everything and he says, "I've got it all." He he he just he he makes this inventory and he says, "This is what I got. Friends, check. Money check. Love check. Guitar check. microphone check. And then he says this in the chorus. Something's missing. I don't know what it is and I don't know how to fix it. Something's missing. All of us in this room, believer and unbeliever alike, we all make this list or this inventory. We all have the list, the unofficial creed of what we think will make us whole. If we just collect the right life, the right stuff, if we can attain this thing, the ache that I feel will stop. Now, that's not just a celebrity problem. This is not just a a pop star, a rock stars problem. Every everyone in this room feels that ache or you have felt that ache or that emptiness at some point in your life. We think if I can just if I can just hit the check mark on the list on the bullet point, if I can just cross it off and say I have that, I've attained that. I've reached that then I've got it. And yet when you check those things off, the emptiness and the restlessness is still there. Little does Mr. Mayor realize is that that song was written in book form in the book of Ecclesiastes some 3,000 years before. And the writer of Ecclesiastes, he identifies himself as uh the king of Jerusalem, the son of David. And yet he gives him this him himself this moniker called the preacher or coal in Hebrew and he he begins to walk through life and if you've ever read Ecclesiastes you think well how cynical this whole book really is you know you have the laments the prayers the songs of psalms you've got the pathy sayings the wisdom of proverbs and you run into Ecclesiastes and you're like, "What is this really about?" And the writer gives us an insight to to life's struggle. Isn't it amazing about the Bible is that the Bible touches every part of our life. Somewhere in the Bible right now, you can find whatever it is you're going through, the circumstance you're going through or or you will go through. No matter where you are in life, you can find yourself in the scriptures. This is why I like the Bible is so relevant to us. It's not just listen to me now. It's not just about spiritual things, yet it is spiritual and it's not just about, you know, salvation. If I can just get saved and that's all the Bible's about. And it has that. That is the core of it. Yes. But not only are we saved spiritually, we live in this world and we have feelings and we've got emotions and we've got wants and we've got desires. All of these things can be touched upon in the Bible. And the writer of Hebrews says, or I'm sorry, of Ecclesiastes says this. He says, "Vanity of vanities, sayeth the preacher, vanity of vanities. All is vanity. What profit hath a man of all of his labor which he taketh under the sun?" Now, when you think of the word vanity, you might think of pride or swagger. But that's not what the word vanity means in the Hebrew. Instead, the Hebrew word for vanity is wind, vapor, a puff of smoke, like smoke rising from a chimney, or perhaps your uh your cup of coffee and the steam rising from your hot coffee in your favorite mug. That is what he is saying that everything in life, everything in life is a puff of smoke. Vanity of vanities or vapors of vapors. Everything that you try to pursue is like that puff of smoke. If you've ever tried to catch smoke or try to catch steam, it's elusive. As soon as you think you might have it in your grasp, it it seeps out through your fingers. No matter where you are, the vapor, the steam, the smoke, you can't catch it. You can't bottle it. It's just it's gone. And not only that, vapors and smoke and all all of that type of mentality. It's very empty. There's no substance to it, right? There's no life to it. It's just empty. It's elusive. And so that's why he can say vanity of vanities. Life is all vanity. Everything is nothing but a vapor. And that's what the whole point of the book of Ecclesiastes is about. Is that you can spend a whole life chasing and pursuing vapors and think that that's your purpose. Now, you got to think about who wrote this. This is not some bum who wrote this. Oh, of course he's saying that. He doesn't have anything. Of course, he he's, you know, he's he's some vagabond. He's never experienced, never never seen anything. Solomon, the wisest man to ever live. The richest perhaps to ever live. Builds temples, builds mansions, has love, has written thousands of proverbs and all these nice little sayings. This man has it. We would look at Solomon and say, "This this is life." That's what it's all about. And yet Solomon in Ecclesiastes says it's vapor. It's a chasing after wind. It's empty. Everything that I have and you are pursuing is empty. Everything that you think is going to give you purpose, everything that you think is going to make you feel fulfilled and whole, it's a vapor. It's a puff of smoke. It's steam. You're never going to catch it. And so this is Solomon who has accomplished all of these things, who has all of these things we think is at the pinnacle of life and success. And he's looking at us, looking at his congregation, looking at his audience and saying, "Vanity of vanities. It's all empty. It's Mr. Mayor's song. Something is missing." It's like Ecclesiastes puts its hand on the chest of human of humanity and says, "Can you feel the ache? >> Can you feel the hunger? Let me tell you what is not going to fulfill it. anything other than God. >> Hallelujah. >> Nothing that you pursue, nothing that you think is going to bring you value is going to fulfill you. There's an ache. There's a hunger. There is a hole. And the only thing that can fill that is God. And he says this chapter 3 11 he speaks of God. He says he hath made everything beautiful in his time. He hath set the world or set eternity in our heart. There is an eternity sized hole in your soul and money success relationships is not going to fulfill it. It's not going to is there's there's no way it can. And this is what idolatry is. Listen to me now. Idolatry is thinking that anything other than God can bring you fulfillment. >> You think of idolatry and you think of gold images and bronze images and people bowing down to it. That's not what idolatry is in the Bible. Idolatry in the Bible. Yes, you'll see that in there. But that's really just a picture of what God is trying to say is that what we are trying to do is make something that is not God give us something that only God can give us. >> And we serve that thing. We chase that thing. And guess what happens? It's this puff of smoke. You go to grab it. You go to to to to catch it, to retrieve it. And it's elusive. You never catch it. And therefore, you're still empty. And so here's what you do. You go to the next thing. thinking the next thing is going to fulfill you and yet it doesn't. So it's this constant chase, this constant pursuit to fill the emptiness or the void that is in your soul and the only thing that can fill it is God. This book of Ecclesiastes, I've been kind of infatuated over with it over the last week or so, maybe a little longer, because it really is a wonderful defense of the existence of God. And what I mean by that, it doesn't necessarily give us an argument of why God exists. It assumes that God exists. But what Ecclesiastes does, it says, "If you have the thing in your heart, that that that void, that ache, that hunger, you're never going to find fulfillment in science. You're never going to find fulfillment in philosophy. You're never going to find fulfillment in work. You're never going to find fulfillment in relationships. You're never going to find it in anything that you can name or enumerate in your life. the only thing that's going to fill that he says God has set this vast void into your soul into your heart that only he can fill. And until you come to the end of yourself, until you finally realize these things do not bring fulfillment, that's when you turn to your creator and realize that only what he has created in us, he could fulfill. y'all okay today? >> So he looks for a few things, three things quickly. I won't I won't I won't bore you with the details, but the writer gives him gives us three things that he he pursued thinking that they would give him fulfillment. Wisdom, pleasure, and work. And so the first thing he says is wisdom. I pursued wisdom. If you remember the story of Solomon, he when when he is um anointed to be the king over Israel, he prays a prayer and he says, "Lord, give me an understanding heart. Help me to lead your people. Give me wisdom." And God says, "Well, since you didn't ask for power, you didn't ask for riches. You didn't ask for your enemies. You asked for wisdom." He said, "I'm going to give you all those things that you didn't ask for, but I'm definitely going to give you wisdom." And so Solomon was wise, at least for the first three quarters of his life, he's wise. And this is what Solomon says. He says uh chapter 1:es 16-18, he says, "I have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem. Yay, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. I I gave my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. But look at what he says. I perceive that this also is vexation of spirit. Why was it vexation? And he says it's grief. Because he was allowed to see the world as it really was broken. He seen injustice in the world. He's seen the poor in the world. He's seen the sick in the world. And he said, 'I see all of these things. It's like the the rosecoled glasses have been removed and I see humanity as it is. And he goes, it's broken. All the wisdom in the world didn't make me feel any better about the world. And he says this in chapter two. He says, "What happens to the fool?" What happens to the fool? The fool who lacks wisdom dies. So what happens to the wise? He dies just like the fool. He doesn't have a better death. Now he might have a better life, but he has the same death as the fool. And he goes, "This is vanity of vanities." Vexation of spirit. Everything under the sun is vanity. I I I've got wisdom. I had wisdom. I see the world. It's broken. Then I look at the fool in his ignorance and he still sees the world that it's broken. And he dies. And guess what's happened to me as as a wise person? I die. And so what he is saying is I'm in no better shape. Even though I pursued wisdom and I got wisdom, I'm in no better shape than the fool. We both die. Do you see the cynicism here? That's really wisdom, isn't it? That even though you could pursue degrees, degrees is still going to lead you to your death. You can be the smartest man or you can be the dumbest man. I'm not saying against I'm not against education. You know I'm again I am for education. I am for learning. But let me just say this. You can fill your brain with information. >> And if you don't fill the void in your soul, you're going to die the same death as a fool. >> And listen, let me say this believer. You can fill your head with the right creeds and doctrines and still die as a fool >> because the doctrine and the creeds and the beliefs while those are right and they point to Christ if they if you never come there's lots of people who know lots of things about the scripture and don't know Christ >> there's lots of people who know how to be baptized and know how to be how to receive the Holy Ghost and know how to live holy and yet they don't know Christ >> they're just as empty as the fool who doesn't know those things. Now are you against that? I'm not I'm not saying that. But I'm I want you to understand that all the information should lead to transformation. >> And if the transformation does not lead to being conformed into the image of Christ, what's the point of the information? So you can fill your brain with the right doctrines. You can quote. There's lots of people who can quote scripture and don't live scripture. >> Brother Nate, you sound just as cynical as the preacher. That's the point. I want you to understand that if we don't have the right pursuit, we're going to end up in the wrong place. >> But if your pursuit is Christ and knowing him, Paul said this. He said, "I had everything. I was trained in the right courts. I had the right teachers. I had the right upbringing. I'm from the right tribe. I had all the right things hanging up on my on my walls. I had the right degrees. I had all of that." He said, "I I I'm the man." But I consider all of that dung, refuse, waste. Why? For the pursuit of the knowledge of Christ. In other words, if I don't have Christ, none of that matters. >> Does that make sense? That now that's wisdom. >> It's understanding that wisdom should always be subservient to pursuing the not that I might know him. So Paul would say that I might know him. So the writer says, "I pursued him in wisdom and I realized the wise and the fool die alike." The next thing he says this, he I pursued pleasure. Pleasure. Now in pleasure in Ecclesiastes is not evil. Pleasure is not evil in the first place. Some think that there's no pleasure in serving God. There's lots of pleasure in his presence. There is pleasures forever more. And so the writer says, "I pursued pleasure." He pursued it with wine. He pursued it with good times. He pursued it with laughter. He pursued it with people. But he he came to this conclusion. Therefore, enjoy pleasure. This is also vanity. He said, "Whatever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from any joy. For my heart rejoiced in all my labor. This was my portion and all my labor. Then I looked on all the works of my hands had wrought and on the labor that I had labored to do. And behold, all of it vapor, smoke, no profit. Isn't what that's what Mr. Mayor said. I pursued all of these things. I've got all of these things and yet it didn't fix me. Because here's the thing. Here's the thing about pleasure. It's momentary. Okay. People who try to live in perpetual pleasure are called addicts. You hearing me? It is the pursuit of feeling the thing that you felt when you did the thing. Fill it in the blank. Drugs, alcohol, sex, money, whatever. It's the p constant pursuit of that thing that gave you that dopamine hit of pleasure. And yet what happens is you come down off the high. You don't live in the perpetual high. You don't live in the perpetual pleasure. So it's momentary. And so what do you do? You go to the next thing. And when that thing doesn't do the thing that it did originally, now you got to up the dosage. >> And what happens is it never does what you think it's that's what sin is. Sin is a promise that it will give you perpetual pleasure and instead it gives you perpetual guilt. >> It leaves you a slave to your emotions. Are you all is this okay today? >> But I want you to understand that these things cannot give you it cannot fulfill you. If I can just do this thing, if I can just have the thing, if I I a man I remember when I was a kid, we used to do the thing. And that was fantastic. And so you try to relive it and you never grow up. because you think it's time. You think the you you've got it set somewhere in in in your history that if I can just ever get that's why nostalgia today that's why nostalgia in the is being so commercialized is because we're trying to get back to a time when we felt good >> and it's empty, right? Doesn't matter the packaging that Pepsi puts out, right? Oh man, I feel Oh man, I remember when I Oh yeah, look. And McDonald's does the nostalgia and Burger King brings back the old logo trying to make you feel a certain way. And guess what? It doesn't. You're still old. >> That's it. They're just you're just showing your age and they're just feeding that. It's ne if I can just say, "Oh, the 80s were the best." Or and like the 90s have come back. Kids who were born in the 2010s are like, "The 90s are awesome. I was there. It was pretty great. >> But it's not coming back. >> It's not going to because it will never do. The writer of Ecclesiastes says this. Don't say that the former days were better. >> That's a vexation of spirit. Oh, I remember when we had revival in the 1960s. I also remember when we didn't have air conditioning. >> I like coming in here with lights and air conditioning and heat. I like all that. The issue is not the environment. The issue is the condition of your heart thinking that if I can ever get back to a time, I'm telling you, it's the same. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. What needs to happen is a change of our our attitude and our spirit. >> Someone say, "Amen." >> Pleasure didn't give him, >> it didn't fill him. The world isn't too small because you haven't tasted enough of it. The world is too small because it's passing. It's passing. Next thing, almost done. Promise. Halfway there. Almost. Says, "I'm I'm looking for meaning in my work." Solomon accomplished much with his hands, built a beautiful temple, beautiful home, worked, wrote all of the things. And this is what we do, right? when we we meet somebody, what do you do? What what do you do? Because we think that what we do gives us our identity. And so you I'm I'm going to I'm coming for you today. If we're not careful, if we make what we do our identity and then we become too old to do the thing, >> we think we've lost our identity. >> You hear me? Your your identity is not what you do. Well, I'm I'm I'm the fill in the blank. I'm the singer. I'm I'm the musician. I'm the preacher. I'm the Sunday school teacher. I'm not saying you ever get too old for those things, but just going to be honest with you. I'm getting a little too old to play drums. Why? Because my elbows hurt and my hands. I've got it. It's in my family. Arthritis in our hands. Can't do it. Now, if my identity is wrapped up in the thing and I can no longer do it, >> you think you're worthless and useless and there's no part for you. What do I do here? What you do here is you come become a son and a daughter of Christ and you learn how to serve in a new way. >> You never stop becoming a son or a daughter just because you're older. I want you to understand something that you cannot if you think what you do is going to make you feel fulfilled, it won't. And this is what he said. This is what it's amazing what he says. He goes, "I I'm I'm I put all my time and all my effort into this work." And this is what he said. The man coming behind me is just going to tear it down. >> That's what he says. He said, "It's a vexation of spirit. I put all this work and effort into it." And guess what's going to happen? Somebody's going to tear it down or they're not going to do it the way that I did it. And if they don't do it the way that I did it, then again, my identity is wounded. more like your pride is wounded. >> And that happened, right? That's what happens with Riaboam and Jeroboam and all that. It tears down the kingdom because things that we do here are not going to last forever. It's passing away. So when you start to think that your work, your labor is work cannot be your god because it cannot bear the weight we set upon it. Achievement, now listen, achievement can feed a family, but it cannot feed your soul. achievement, success, a pay raise, a promotion could feed your family, but it will not feed your soul. And this is what the writer says. I'm moving fast, I promise. He uses this phrase, under the sun. Under the sun. Everything under the sun. He's not just trying to be poetic here. He's wanting us to see an angle that everything under the sun is vanity or a vapor or empty. Now, brother Anony's been taking some beautiful shots of of the stars and the and the universe and uh and all and the moon and I it's captivating, but we're only able to see so much from this angle. We're under it. And so everything under the sun is vanity. But the thing that we need is above the sun. It's the one who holds the universe. >> It's the one who flung the stars and the planets into place. >> When you when we me I'm I'm including myself. When you think anything under the sun is going to be bring you fulfillment or going to make you the thing and going to make you feel better under the sun, it won't. But if you can realize that there is something above that, there is something greater than this. There's something beyond this. And if I can ever get my eyes from under, if I can just make more money, and if I can just if I can just have a if I can just have the right man in my life and the right income in my life, and if I can just have the most beautiful wedding, and if I can just have the right amount of followers on social media, and if I could ever get that part, and if I can ever get that position, and if I can ever do that thing, it's under the sun. But if you realize that all of those things are serving the one who made it all and we put him in the center of our life and say, you know what, if I don't get the thing and if I that thing does not happen in my life, he's still God. I'm still serving him. He's still worthy. Come on, somebody. I'm not going to find my fulfillment or my purpose in things under the sun. I need to look above. I wish somebody would give him some praise right now. I wish I wish somebody would give him some praise right now. It's not that things are are are are bad and evil. Don't get the preacher wrong today. That's not what he's saying. But if we put them in the wrong place, >> if we put work above God, >> if we put chasing relationships above God, those things are going to leave you empty. >> Well, if I can just I'm going to go to the next city and if I'm I'm going to go to the next church, and I'm going to go to the next spouse, and I'm going to go to the next job, and it never fulfills you because you got it in the wrong spot. You you got it. You you're you're trying to give that thing power that it cannot give you. >> It will never be able to fulfill you. There's an eternity shaped hole in your soul. >> And you try to fill it. Oh, if I can just get the right job, if I can just get the right rife, if I can just get make this amount of money, if I can just be a preacher, and if I can just do the thing, if I can just have that position, it will never do it. >> Not trying to be cynical. I'm trying to let you understand that there's only it's only Christ. You don't need a better mall. I can just have the right mall, better clothes. If I if I was just in a better location, you're going to still be there >> with your sour spirit. >> It's not It's not the If I can just get the title, if I can just get the romance, it's under the sun. Few years ago, I read an article. It shook me. It was an interview based off of 60 Minutes, an interview with Tom Brady. So, I don't know who Tom Brady is. Super Bowl champion multiple times. This was in 2005. He's 27 years old. He had already won the Super Bowl three times at this point. And yet, this is what Mr. Brady said after his third Super Bowl win. He said, "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, "Hey, man, this is what it is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, God, it's got to be more than this. I mean, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be. I've done it. I'm 27. And what else is there for me?" The interviewer followed up and said, "What's the answer?" Listen to this. Brady said, "I wish I knew. I wish I knew." Then he said, "What's your favorite Super Bowl ring?" Mr. Brady said, "The next one." We think, "Wow, listen to the resolve and the pursuit of excellence." That's not what he's saying. He's saying, "I've already accomplished it three times, and it's not enough. It didn't do the thing I thought it would do." That's somebody who's multi-millionaire, had married a supermodel, has children, has I mean, deals galore, and he is saying, "There's got to be something more than this." Well, what is it? I wish I knew. Mr. Mayor, you have everything. What is it? Something's missing. Saint, what is it that's missing in your life? Unbeliever, skeptic, what is it that's missing in your life? It's a Godshaped hole, and you're looking for any and every other thing to try to fulfill it, and it won't do it. John Chapter number four. Jesus, who is the greater Solomon, the greater son of David, the wisest of the wise, spoke in parables, spoke true words. He meets a woman in John 4 at a well. He comes to her, sends his disciples away, sits there. He says,"Woman, give me some water." She goes, "You're you're a Jew. I'm a Samaritan. You're asking me for water." And he's like, "Ah, just give me some water." I don't know. He goes, "Well, just go get your husband." Um, she's started to change it to worship. Well, you Jews say, you know, here's a the right way to work. He go, I didn't say anything about worship. I said, go get your husband. Uh, well, I don't have a husband. He goes, you're right. You're on your fifth man right now. You think men are going to fulfill the emptiness in your life. Now get me some water. He wasn't trying to play gotcha with her. He was trying to get her to see that this water, this well that you've been drinking from of relationships keeps you thirsty. Jeremiah would say you've got a broken system. He says, "The water that I can give to you is living water and you'll never thirst again." She says, "What does she say?" She goes, "Give me this water. >> Give it to me. If you're you're telling me I'll never thirst again, give me this water." He said,"Woman, if you knew who it was that you were speaking to right now, my God, that I'm the man you've been looking for. My Lord have mercy. I'm the God you've been looking for. I'm the thing that's going to fulfill you. You see what he Jesus was trying to say is you keep going to wells that never quench your thirst. >> That's what Mr. Mayor is saying. That's what Mr. Brady's saying. Something's missing. I keep going back to these wells. I keep going back to these things and I'm still thirsty. I'm still hungry. I'm still empty. And so I go to the next thing and it's not there. It's not to this thing. It's not to that thing. I'm still empty. And Jesus says this to us today. Come unto me. You who are thirsty >> or you who are empty, I'll give you fulfillment. And this is for this is for the unbeliever, the sinner. You know, we we we Christian believers, we're pretty good at pointing out who needs what I'm talking about today. Let me see who's in the crowd today. I don't know. Yeah, he's probably talking to them. I'm talking to you. I'm talking to me. We can make busyness, kingdom busyness. >> If I can just work myself into a frenzy, that's what will fulfill me. And it never does. >> Serve the Lord with I say it every Sunday morning, serve the Lord with gladness, not out of obligation. >> Stand with me. Because when you try to do the thing serve, do I preached about it a few few months ago, I think. Mary and Martha have Jesus in their home. We see Martha busy working. And she gets all upset. Tell tell Mary to get up and work. We got work to do around here. And Jesus says to her, he goes, "Martha, Martha, you're you're busy all the time doing something. Can't you see that she's chosen the one good thing?" And that's he doesn't say that work is not good. Don't work. Don't serve. Don't do. That's not what he says. But there is a time when you need to stop. and rest because work will never fulfill you either. Service to service well I'm serving I'm serving the kingdom. Yes. Yes. But don't forget you need to know the king who you're serving. Do you know him something's missing and I don't know how to fix it. So this is what the writer says. I'm drawn to a close. What is the end of it all? Let's hear the conclusion of the matter. Put that up there. The last one. Chapter 12:es 13-4. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Work more, pursue more, love more. Get in more relationships, attain more. No, fear God >> and keep his commandments. Now fear here is not be terrified of God. We don't serve God out of you know we we sing a song. We used to sing a song called I I am a friend of God. I am a friend of God. Back when that song came out, we used to sing, "I am afraid of God." That's That's not what it says. Some of us serve God out of fear, like he's he's just waiting to just hammer down on us when we make a mistake. No, we serve God like a loving father. Use this illustration. Use it in a couple different places. Story goes that young girl, teenage girl is asked by some friends to go to a certain place she knows is trouble. And she says, "No, I'm not going to that place because there's trouble. We we'll get in trouble." And one of the friends who's pressuring her to go, he says, "Are you are you afraid that your that your dad will find out? Are you afraid that your dad will punish you?" And this is her response. said, "I'm not afraid of my father. I'm afraid that I might break his heart." That's loving and serving God. Not afraid of him that he's going to punish you when you make a mistake. Is that when you make a mistake, you're afraid I'll break his heart. I want I don't want to do that. There's some things that I don't do. There's some places that I don't go. There's some things I don't partake of. Not because I'm afraid of God, but I don't want to break his heart. And that's what I'm afraid of. Fear God and keep his commands. That's Now, parents in the room, I didn't hit on it Wednesday night when we're uh teaching on First Peter. He says, "As obedient children," right? He says, "As obedient children," and he ends it with, "Be holy, for your father in heaven is holy." Right? As obedient children. Now, what's the opposite of obedient? Disobedient. Now, parents in the room, you know firsthand what it's like to have a child who disobys. But you have real good firsthand experience because you were once a child who disobeyed, right? Like no, not me. I had angels in a halo when I came out. No obedient children as obedient children. When when you love somebody, right? When you love somebody, you don't serve them out of It's necessity, my responsibility. No, you serve someone that you love because you know the relationship is important. And I married this beautiful girl over here. I entered into a covenant. And the covenant is not, listen to, I'm almost done. The covenant is not a burden. It's the blessing, >> right? >> That the blessing of being in the covenant relationship is knowing that I'm serving her not out of I've got to do this and I've got to do that. No, I'm doing this because I love her and I want to please her and I want to show her by my by my actions and by my words that I love her. So, I fear God and keep his commandments, not because I'm afraid of him and I'm serving him begrudgingly. No, I fear him and keep his commands because I love him and that he loves me. And therefore, the hole, the emptiness, the void that is in my life can only be filled by doing that. And when I do that, you'll be if you Jesus said this, I'm closing. Start playing. Come on out. All right. They're like, "Long John Silvers is calling, Brother Nate. The buffet is calling. We're We got to meet We got to beat everybody there today. This guy's going forever. This sermon is vanity of vanities. It's a vexation of spirit. Brother Nate, no. May help you understand. Understand that when you ser when you put him first in your life Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness and all of these things will come. That'll happen. They'll they'll be provided for." Does anybody know that when you put Jesus first in your life, everything else begins to find its place? Anybody know what I'm talking about? >> Like when you when man when things tr things turned when you put him first. When you put him first in your marriage, things turned around. When you put him first in in your parenting, things turned around. When you put him first in your finances, everything turned around. Why? Because when you seek him first, it's not just doing it first first thing in the morning. I think that's important. But I want you to understand when you put him first in his rightful place, everything will find its place in your life. But when we flip it and when we we turn it upside down and seek all the things, Jesus simply becomes an add-on. And you're thinking, "How am I not blessed? Why am I not blessed? How come there's no peace in my home? How come there's no peace in my marriage? How come there's no You're like, "What?" Well, because you've made Jesus an add-on. But when you put him first, center of your life, center of your heart, center of your marriage, center of your serving, center in everything, everything else all of a sudden is like it came, it came together. So what is the conclusion of the whole matter? Fear God. and keep his commandments. I want you just to lift up your hand right now. And I know this is an unordinary Sunday morning service for saints, but maybe there's somebody in the room who said, "I've been searching for something else." I want you to understand Jesus Christ has come to be the thing in your life, the savior, the fulfiller, the thing that can make you whole. is putting your faith in Jesus, repenting of your sin, turning around, being baptized in his name, buried with Christ in baptism, and receiving the wonderful gift, the promise of the Holy Ghost. Come on, I just want you to pray right now. Maybe there's somebody in this room. You're like, I'm I'm looking for something. Maybe it's a saint. You've been trying to have something else fulfill that thing in your life. I'm telling you, the only thing that's going to be able to do it is Jesus Christ. I wonder if somebody would leave their seat, leave their pew today and be bold enough and brave enough and faithful enough to say, you know what, I want to put Jesus first. I want him to be center in my life. I want him to be my all in all. If I will seek him first, everything else will find its place, its rightful position in my life. Maybe I've got things out of out of out of place and out of order in my life, and this is where I need to do. Maybe I put my job. Maybe I put searching for a mate. Maybe I' I've put looking for success and more money. I've got it out of place. I'm telling you, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you. Now, would you lift up your hand and lift up your voice as they begin to sing? I want you to begin to pray and say, "Lord, I want you to be center in my life. I want you to be the thing in my life, oh God, that gives me fulfillment, >> Jesus. that there's nowhere else I can turn. I've tried drugs. I've tried alcohol. I've tried relationships. I've tried money. I've tried all the things. I've tried pride. But it keeps leaving me empty. I want you to know that Christ is here today. Jesus is here to give you life and give you life more abundantly. Come on. Would you let that be your prayer? Lord, give me life. Give me life today. Lord, give me fulfillment today. Give me fulfillment today. Oh God. There is nothing we want more. >> We want more. Yes, we want more. We want more of you, Lord. We want more. We want more of you, God. We want more. We want more. And I decrease as you increase. It's all about you. It's not about me. I decree. I decree. You free. You It's all about you. It's all about me. >> I increase, Lord. I decree. It's you. It's all about you. It's not about me. I increase, Lord. I decree to increase all about you. It's all about you. It's not about me. It's all about you. It's all about you. It's not about me. It's all about you. It's all about you. It's not about me. And from my heart to the heavens, Jesus be the center. It's all about you. Yes, it's all about you. Said from my heart to the heavens. Jesus be the center. It's all around you. Yes, it's all about you. From my heart to the heavens, Jesus be the center. It's all about you. Yes, it's all about you. From my heart to the >> Jesus is all about you. Yes, it's all from my heart. >> My heart to the heaven. Jesus be the center is all about you. Yes, it's all about you. Say high as you. It's all about you. It's not about I increase Lord. I decree you. It's all about you. It's all about you. It's not about you. I increase, Lord. I decree. >> All about you. It's all about you. about my degree. You It's all about you. It's all about me. It's all about you. It's all about you. It's not about me. It's all about you. It's all about you. >> >> It's not about me. Would you lift your hands and love Jesus right now? If you have a missing part, let me tell you, Jesus wants to feel that today. Hallelujah. It's just as simple as repenting of your sins, taking on his name and water baptism, and let his spirit flow through you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory, glory, glory, glory.