Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 - Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying - Sunday Service

Life is a gift that should not be taken for granted.

We should appreciate the small things in life, like breathing and having two hands.

The Bible teaches us to enjoy the good things in life and to see the beauty in all things.

We should not waste our time and energy, but rather use them to serve God and others.

COVID-19 has been very difficult for not only our nation, but for the world. It's been something that we've had to do to keep everybody safe. You know, wearing the masks and trying to distance ourselves from everybody and trying to do all this. And I think sometimes, yes, we're looking on the better end, but we can't lose sight of them. We still need to be a little bit safe still. We still need to kind of take it easy just because, you know, the majority of the population is getting vaccinated. And just because this is a, we don't need to start, we need to kind of still try to be a little bit safe, right? Still be a little bit safe, but there is something that I want to share with you that I think we have been doing this for so long. And it's kind of like that our world has almost felt like we've stopped living. I don't know if you felt that way or not through this thing But it kind of felt like that way sometimes It felt like, you know, you have to stay in the house And you have to stay away from everybody And you can't get around anybody And you can't talk to many people And you've got to stay six feet apart from me And all this It's been kind of difficult, right? So it's kind of felt like We stopped living in a lot of ways well there was an interesting book and movie that you know when I watch things it makes me think and there was an interesting book and movie it's called The Shawshank Redemption I don't know if anybody's ever watched that but it's an interesting movie and The Shawshank Redemption is about a man named Andy Dufresne who is sentenced to life sentences at Shawshank Prison for killing his wife, which he didn't do. So here he is serving this prison sentence and trying to find a way to prove his innocence so that he can get out. And he becomes so discouraged at one point, he's talking to his friend Red. And he makes the interesting statement this, this statement. get busy living or get busy dying and I was like wow that is so poignant so poignant get busy living or get busy dying and with COVID we kind of felt that way sometimes that we felt like you know we're not living we're not living And I think with businesses opening and with states opening and stuff like this, we're starting to see things, you know, that COVID has more or less destroyed businesses, destroyed families, destroyed churches. We've seen churches that have been literally destroyed by COVID. I mean, I don't know how many. I mean, I saw the report that the Baptist denomination has saw so many people that they've lost through COVID. It's crazy. Well, Solomon said something interesting. Solomon is considered the wisest man in the history of the world. And he made an interesting statement about living. And that's what I want to talk to you about today. About living and the purpose of life. Solomon wrote in verse 18 of Ecclesiastes 5, he wrote these words, Behold, that which I have seen, it is good and comely. Now this word here, comely, is from the original Jewish word, Hebrew, yaffe. meaning beautiful or fair. So he has seen what is good and beautiful or fair. Life is literally a gift. Life is not just something that should be wasted or taken for granted. And sometimes we do. Sometimes we take the things of life so much for granted. When's the last time that you really thought about just a daily thing that you do that we take for granted? Like breathing. Think about it. But take away oxygen for a minute and what happens? We're snuffed out. We're gone. If we can't breathe, we can't live. Right? When's the last time we thank God for the fact that we have two legs that we can get up and walk around? Or that we have two hands that we can do things, you know, pick up a bottle of water. Undo it, take a drink, you know? When's the last time we just stood and said, thank you God that I have two hands to do that? When's the last time we sat there and said, you know, thank you God, that, hey, I have eyes. I mean, you know, hey, yeah, but I still have eyes that I can see. Yeah, I may have to use glasses, but hey, I still have eyes to see. You know? These are things that we take for granted sometimes. Thank God that we have a house to live in, food to eat. You know? Thank God that He's given us the strength to mow grass and weed I know we don't like to do that But you know, we have the strength to do it You know, these are the things These are the things that we take for granted We need to stop taking things for granted Because the things of life are gifts that God gives us But we do, we so often take them for granted I love what James wrote in his book In James 4 and verse 14, he said these words, Whereas he know not what shall be on the morrow, for what is your life? It is even a favor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. And so often we take that life for granted so much. As a kid, you don't think about your life, you know? You just think about just doing what you're doing. As you get older, then you start thinking about it. And that's kind of what's happening to me as I'm getting older. I'm starting to think about the fact that, hey, okay, I'm getting older. Things are breaking down. I'm starting to feel the little things going on in my body. And it's like, oh, wow. Then you start realizing your mortality. You start realizing that, hey, things are getting older. Things are starting to break down. Maybe you don't live as long now. Okay, now we start to start thinking about things. You know? I'm trying not to take things for granted anymore. I'm trying not to take days for granted. I praise the Lord that I can come and I can preach. I praise the Lord that I can go to the radio station and I can share the blessing with some people Be able to pray for people be able to encourage somebody You know It's the blessing of my life to be able to preach and maybe bless somebody. To go to a radio station and say something funny or say something uplifting and to have somebody call me on the phone and say, You know what? I needed that today. That blesses me. that makes me feel like my life has purpose and has meaning. And I want to be that. I want to be a blessing to somebody. Sometimes the things I have to say seems harsh, but I'm saying it because I want you to be better. I want you to grow. I want you to get stronger in the Lord. You know? And so sometimes you've got to have a little harshness because, you know, it's a little difficult. There's an old belief, I'm not mistaken, it was Mary Poppins, the movie Mary Poppins. Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right? So what I try to do is bring a little bit of laughter and then give you the word. A little something that can help you laugh and then give you something, and then it helps the medicine go down. You know what I mean? That's what I want to be. I want to help you to grow. See, that's what Solomon said here. He said, Behold, that which I've seen is good and comely, for one to eat and drink and enjoy the good. I like that. To enjoy the good. Rahatome. Meaning, see the good. See the good. I love that. all of his labor, he continues, all of his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life which God giveth him for his portion. We should enjoy all the aspects of life. I mean, it seems strange to sit there and say, boy, I enjoy getting to work. But I do, I enjoy getting to go to work. It's kind of been kind of weird with COVID because people have, you know, lost jobs or whatever, right? Because of COVID, right? And then they had to get government assistance and they made more money by staying at home than going to work. And now people are saying, why should I go to work? because I can stay home and make more money. You know, and that's the bad part of the thing. God said in his word, what? That if a man does it or a man or a woman doesn't work, what? They don't eat. That's what he said. But we want to stay at home and just get money. And I'm thankful that during COVID that I had jobs that I still could work. Because there is something special about doing a job and getting money from it. There's something special about it. It's the joy of my life. I don't know. There's just something special about it. I tried so hard when I was just out of high school to get a job. And I couldn't find a job that was good, that I wanted. You know, something. And I prayed about it. And I said, God, I don't want to work on Sunday. I don't want to do that. I want to be there to help my dad. I want to do that. But I can't. And I couldn't find one. And I just kept praying, Lord, please help me. Lord, please help me. Lord, I need something. But I don't know what to do. And it was amazing because in our town, there was a Christian church, a little Baptist church. I shouldn't say a little Baptist church. It was quite a big church. But anyway, they had a college and a church, a college, and then they opened a radio station too. And my dad would listen to the radio station every week, all week long. And he started having a radio broadcast on the station as well. And then Brother Dean, the assistant pastor of the church and the guy that ran the station, one morning on his radio show, he said, we're looking for DJs. If you are interested, give us a call at WCLW. My dad goes in one day and he talks to Brother Dean and he says, I think my son would be really good at this if you give him an opportunity. And he said, well, bring him on by. I'd love to meet him. Dad came home after dropping off his broadcast stuff and came home and he said, I think I got you a job. And I said, what are you talking about? He said, you want to be a DJ? And I said, well, that would be cool, but I can't work on Sunday. I have to be there for you and for the church. I've got to do that. He said, well, if God opened the door, God will open the door. So go in, talk to him about it. Tell him what you feel and how you feel and see what he says. So I went in and talked to Brother Dean. and I told him how much I love music and how I love to sing and I love to do all this and I talked to him about it and he said, I like your enthusiasm. He said, I'll tell you what, we'll let you work. I'll open a station. You come on at 8 o'clock, 8 to 12. And I said, that's cool. I'm not, I can't work Sundays. Just can't do it. And he said, I didn't ask you to work Sundays. Monday through Saturday. And I was like, I thought, wow, okay God. You worked that out, didn't you? You know, and the interesting thing was that there was something so special. Getting up, going to work, sitting there and playing music, doing all that, going home, and then at the end of the week, at the end of the week going in and getting a paycheck. Like, it was just something special, man. I loved it. I loved it. And it's a workman that does a job and gets paid for it. It's just something special about it. I hate getting money for free. You know what I mean? I want to work for what I got. You know what I mean? That's what I want to do. But we're seeing a time where people are preferring to do it that way. And I think that's a bad trend. because there's something special about that and that's what Solomon was saying here. His labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life which God giveth him for his portion. It is something special that a man or a woman after their days of work is over they can sit down and they can say wow, I've had a blessing of the life. I've worked. I've enjoyed life. I've done things. It's a blessing, right? There's something special about it. But I love the fact that God blesses. He pours out. And we should enjoy every aspect of life, too. That's the point. Have you ever thought about sometimes when we eat right We just eat Okay Food provided We go down we sit down we shove it down our throat and we go on our way right As I'm getting older, I'm starting to appreciate the beautiful creation of God's creation of food. I'm eating much more vegetables and fruits now than I ever did in my life And when I look at the fruit and the vegetables now It's like there's something special about it Especially after reading this account and studying it I'm starting to appreciate God's creation of food more than ever before You ever look at broccoli? I don't know how many people. Anybody like broccoli? A couple of you? Okay. Okay. A couple of you do. Okay. That's good. I look at broccoli, and I see it's so beautiful. I mean, I know that may sound strange, but it is. It's a beautiful thing. When you look at it, it looks like a little tree. But it's so vibrant and green. And when you look at it, it's just like, wow, the most beautiful green. and you look at that and you go, wow, that is so beautiful. You look at apples and strawberries. An apple, golden, red, I mean, I'm not golden, well, you get golden, but I mean, this bright and vibrant, deep red, and the strawberries are so bright and red, and they're so beautiful. and it's something because when I eat my fruit and my vegetables now Jasmine our little dog she's right there and it's like hey I want my part of the fruits and vegetables too and you have to share a little bit of strawberry a little bit of broccoli a little bit of carrots a little bit of apple with her or I didn't do it one night I ate the entire apple and didn't give her a bite And she went over in the corner and laid down on her bed and went, it's something we should appreciate because it is from the creator. Hallelujah. I love that. Verse 19 says, every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth and hath given him power to eat thereof. God blesses every one of his children. sometimes financially, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally but God always blesses. But we should eat thereof of the blessings. What does it mean to eat thereof of the blessings? It means to use the blessings that God has given you to bless the kingdom of God. I mean, we're given blessings financially sometimes. We're given blessings of strength and whatever. and we should use those blessings to do something to bless God's kingdom. That's what it comes down to. Peter wrote in verse Peter 4 and verse 10, he wrote these words, As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. We should use the blessings that God has given into our lives to then bless the church and other people. That's what we should do. It's part of sharing the blessing. We need to share the blessings. See, because whatever we do, whether we do it for a stranger or whether we do it for the church, what did Jesus say? If you've done it to the least of these, you've done it unto me. and whatever we do if we see that you see something going on in the church something wrong or whatever and you sit there and go I'll take care of that if you can do it and you take care of it that's a blessing you're not looking for someone to come up and pat you on the back you're saying I want to do something for my church I want to do something so that God's church is a little bit better you know and that's what we need to do and that's what God is saying Don't take life for granted, but use the gifts that I've given to bless the kingdom of God. I love this. It's so cool. He continues and he says to take his portion and to rejoice in his labor. This is the gift of God. Beautiful. there's a thing that has gone on as we've seen that during this pandemic that people have left the church we've seen it all I'm getting reports from people that left the church and never came back never came back to the church and I mean when we were going through this pandemic it was tough and we need to be safe, and I get that. But to leave the church and never come back, and churches are seeing that all over, I'm thankful we didn't have that. I'm thankful we didn't have that in our church. I'm thankful for that because it's difficult. But that's what it comes down to. We're looking at a time, and we're not taking the gift of God literally. We're taking the gift of God for granted. We need to start praising the Lord for the gift. The gift of life. The gift of church. The gift of fellowship. This is something we need to thank the Lord for. Verse 20 says, For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God answereth him in the joy of his heart. Now, that seems really strange. When you read the King James Version, and we're King James people here, okay, my dad brought me up to be a King James man, and I'm a King James man, okay. I'm going to be a King James man until I die. I mean, that's just what I'm going to be. Now, that doesn't mean I don't look at other translations, but when I get down to the point of preaching, I'm getting King James. I mean, that's what I do. Right? But sometimes King James can be a little tough when you read it. You sit there and you go, what did I just read? You know? Well, I'm going to try to break it down in more layman's terms to where we can understand it better. What this verse basically means is this. the only things that is worth remembering are the things that we do in our life that leave behind a legacy. That's what it comes down to. That's the only thing that's really going to matter. What is my legacy? What is the thing that people will remember of being when the time comes that I pass. What will be the thing that people remember me the most for? And this is the point that for me, myself, I think what I want people to remember me about more than anything, and I do a lot of things. You know, I have a blog. I have a movie and TV blog. I do videos. I do all this type of stuff. And I want to be remembered for that too That something that I put a lot of work into but that not what I really want to be remembered for Probably what I would want to be remembered for most of all is the most it would be two things Number one that when I stood behind the pulpit, you knew what I was saying was the truth. Whether it hurt or whether it didn't, You knew that what I said out of this book was true. And number two, I hope that I brought a little joy. That maybe I made you, maybe not laugh out loud, but at least chuckle a little bit. Lift up your heart, bring you a little bit of joy. That's what I want. I think that's my purpose in life. I want to be that type of person that brings you a little bit of laughter, but then brings you the word of God. and do that. But the thing is, when it's all said and done, the only thing that is going to matter is not going to be how much money we build up and put in our bank accounts, how much property we own, or how many cars, or the things of this world that we have built. That's not going to matter. Because none of that we're taking with us. we're not taking anything with us when we go nothing sometimes you ever think about that sometimes you think boy I've built up a lot of stuff and I ain't taking nothing with me I do sometimes I think about that I think man I've built up a lot of stuff and I ain't taking nothing with me when I go I ain't taking a coat on my back I ain't taking nothing with me Everything's going to be left here for somebody else And I think about that sometimes And I think, wow Oh, thank God I'm going to leave you here for somebody else But then I think about it and I think Do I really need to take anything with me? Not really Everything's going to be provided when I get there So what do I need? But it's true The only thing that really is going to matter Is the legacy we leave truly that's what's going to matter so we need to stop worrying about things of this world and we need to start living life that's what it comes down to I want you to stop worrying about things now that doesn't mean don't be sick that's not what I'm saying but I'm saying stop worrying about things and start enjoying life enjoying the blessings of God that is laid out every single day. Look at the things that God gives you every day and look at it from the eyes of, wow, what a blessing. The next time you eat some broccoli or a carrot, just look at it for a second. Jasmine just falls. She doesn't worry about it. She just wants to get in her belly. That's it. I don't want to worry about what it looks like I will say this though this is really interesting sometimes when I get something new like a new vegetable or a new fruit and I give it to Jasmine it's funny she knows different vegetables she knows broccoli, she knows carrots she knows different things like that one time we had cauliflower and I took it and I went like that handed her a piece of cauliflower and she looked at it and she goes I'm like, okay, alright Then she told me, it's like, I have to examine this first What is this? I'm not used to this, what is this? So she did examine that one first But that's not sometimes I think what we need to do When we look at things before we just eat Look at it appreciate it. Say, God, thank you for your creation. Thank you for what you've done for me. Thank you for the strength that you've given me. I never want to take it for granted. Because if we don't start living life and appreciating life, what's the purpose? It comes down to this. get busy living or get busy dying. And that's the point. I want to get busy living, enjoying life. And I'm so thankful I can. And I'm so thankful that I can appreciate the blessings that God gives. Let's bow our heads before the Lord this morning. Maybe you've listened to this message this morning here in this place, or maybe you're listening to the, or watching the video, or whatever, but maybe you're listening and you've heard this message and you're saying, you know what, sometimes I take things for granted of life. Would there be someone that would be honest to God today, not to me, but to God, and would say, you know what, God, I need you to help me to appreciate everything of life. Will there be someone that will be honest to God and say, God, help me to appreciate life? Oh, hands going up today. I appreciate that. I got my hand up too at this point. It's so true. Maybe you're watching the video today and you're saying, you know what? I want to learn to appreciate life better. Raise your hand where you're at. Father God, you saw hands going up all over. In this house, people watching the video, Father God, you saw hands going up. I pray, Father God, that we as a people, people that love you, will begin to get busy living and stop getting busy now. We're going to get busy living and appreciating life and appreciating the blessings of God. We'll begin to look at the things that you do and be saying, wow, you are so good to us, God, that we will praise you every single day. Father God I pray that right now In Jesus name I pray that that will be our portion That we will have that kind of a blessing And that through that Thanking you every day For the good things that you do And that you provide That our hearts will be put on higher With you Father as we dismiss Father we ask that you will not dismiss us But Father God that you will go with us Father God keep us safe And then Father bring us back safe into your house that we may worship you once again. And Father, for all that you are, for all that you do, we praise you and we thank you for it all. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen and amen. Thank you. you

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