Speaker 1: 0:00

Come on, graduates. Come on, man. Graduating school is not easy. I said it, sister, I said it. I said it Right there. I see you Middle school, high school or college. It's not easy, but a lot of these students and their lives, all of them, their lives are evidence of God's faithfulness and evidence of his goodness, and it's an honor to be before you this morning. And for those of you guys that don't know, my name is Pastor Matthew. I get the wonderful honor and the privilege of being the youth pastor of this church, and I've seen so many students grow and lives changed and lives healed and transformed, and so I'm looking forward to getting into the word of God.

Speaker 1: 0:46

Here at Free Church, we take the proclamation of God's word very seriously, and so what I'm going to do is ask you politely to remove all distractions and put your phones on silent and make sure your coffee cups don't spill on the carpet so we don't have to clean that later on today. I wish you knew how much I wasn't joking, and, uh, really not even joking, um, and I just want you guys to put out your hands. I'm going to pray and we're going to go right into god's word, and if you have your physical bible. Please get it ready, remove all distractions. We love to worship and we love the word of god. So, everyone, put your hands out in front of you like this Be ready to receive something and we're going to go straight into God's word. Father, right now, in the mighty name of Jesus, we thank you for your word, father. We thank you because your word has the power to transform lives. We thank you, god, because your word has the power to change our minds. We thank you, god, that one word, that one scripture, one phrase from the holy word of God can change our entire month. We thank you, god, because your word is true. We thank you, lord, that you are the same yesterday, today and forevermore. So, father, right now, we submit our agenda, we lay down this service before you, god, and say God, have your way through the proclamation of your word.

Speaker 1: 2:00

Father, I pray that you would search me. I pray that you would search me. I pray that you would look upon me, god, and anything that is in me and on me that is not of you, father, I pray that you would remove it. God, let every word that I say, let every word that I teach and proclaim, be something that Jesus Christ would say himself Father, I bind all demonic distractions in this room. In the name of Jesus, I pray that our minds and our hearts would be tethered and fixated on nothing but your face, your presence and your word. Father, we love you, holy Spirit, would you rest on this word, strengthen me, oh God, I cannot do this without you, a weak vessel, without your power. Father, use me for your glory and change lives, and I pray that we would all walk out of this room changed, transformed and different. We love you, father, we love you, jesus, we love you, holy Spirit, and it's in your precious, holy, matchless and mighty name that we pray. And everybody said amen. Come on, someone, make some noise for the Lord, jesus Christ. My family.

Speaker 1: 3:02

I looked up this word graduate, my family, I looked up this word graduate and we just celebrated over 17 students that have graduated, that are moving on from one level to the next. And when we look at the definition of the word graduate, it means to pass on from one stage of experience or one stage of proficiency, or it means to go from one level to the next and it means to go higher. But there's a verse that I'm reminded of in the scriptures in Romans, chapter 12, where Paul is begging the Romans to not be conformed to the patterns of this world. And if we are not careful, we will follow the patterns of this world where we live in, a world that tells us to go higher and a world that tells us to get more power, more finances, more money, more esteem. But if you are in this room under the sound of my voice and you call Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, you are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, you are a citizen of the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is a very upside-down, backwards, countercultural way of living, whereas the word in the word, it says that we are citizens of the kingdom of God and the world will tell us to go higher, but the kingdom of God tells us to go lower. We graduate and we look to have status and we look to have money and all these things that watch this, that are futile and fading, and the kingdom of God tells us to go lower and watch this.

Speaker 1: 4:30

Matthew 6, 33,. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. I wonder if the reason why all these things are not being added unto your life is because you are seeking everything else but the kingdom of God, that we serve a God of priority, and many times in the Western church, in the American church, we don't like to think that we have idols in our lives. But idols are not just metal statues. Idols are mental. Idols are what you think about more than God. Idols are relationships that you have over. Your relationship with God, and God is over and begging and wanting Watch this, the devotion of your hearts. And so graduating means to go higher. But I felt compelled to tell everyone under the sound of my voice today, that if you are going to be a citizen of the kingdom of God, you are called to go lower In the kingdom of God.

Speaker 1: 5:24

The Bible says that the first shall be last and the last shall be first in the Word of God. The Bible says that the rich and this world will be poor in the kingdom of heaven and the poor in this world will be rich in the eyes of God. That we serve a backwards, upside-down way of living. This is the kingdom of God and if we are going to live according to the systems of this world, we will find ourselves broken and empty and yearning for things that were. Never was this designed to satisfy our soul, and so there are certain things that we should not graduate from In the Bible.

Speaker 1: 6:00

In James, chapter four, verse 7, james, who is the half-brother of Jesus, he writes to an audience of scattered and persecuted Christians. In James 4, verse 7, it says submit yourself to God. And then it says to resist the devil and that he will flee. And sometimes the Achilles heel of the charismatic and the evangelical church is that we are so focused on resisting the devil that we are not focused on our submission to the Holy Spirit. What we must understand in this room, church, is that the enemy is only a respecter of sons and daughters who are watch this submitted unto God. That your resistance against Satan and your resistance against demonic principalities and your resistance against the things of this world, that you go through all trials, all tribulations, the ups and downs of this fading and futile world, your resistance against the enemy is only as great as your submission to God.

Speaker 1: 7:01

And that should challenge us in this room, because we are charismatic believers all across this room and we love the word commission, we love the great commission in Matthew 8, 2019, where Jesus says there go forth and make disciples of what All nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But before there can be a commission the word co it means the word cooperate, co-mission before we focus on doing things with the Lord, we must be under his authority. And that's hard for the American church because we love Jesus as Savior, we love Jesus that shows grace, we love Jesus that is kind, we love the fluffy Jesus, we love Jesus that shows mercy and and gives us chance after chance. But when it comes to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, it is difficult because many people in the Western Church have a problem. Watch this word authority. We don't like being told what to do. We love the idea of Jesus Christ says Savior, but is he your master? Is he your Lord? Are you submitted to his authority?

Speaker 1: 8:09

The Bible says in first Peter, chapter 5, verse 8, that the enemy prowls around like a lion, seeking to whom, to whom ever he may devour, and the people that he devours the sons and daughters are. Watch those who are not submitted to God if who are not submitted to God. If you are not submitted to God, you are not under the shadows of his wings, you are not under his protection and God wants us to be submitted to him. And in order for you to be submitted, submission means under the mission, under the authority of God. You cannot submit if you are not willing to go low. And so we need to come back to a church that is willing to find themselves at the foot of the cross.

Speaker 1: 8:52

And one of the ways that we stay, the way that we stay low, the way that we stay submitted, is watch this through the fear of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, jesus Christ. When we talk about that word fear, it means the awe, it means the reverence, it means to be amazed by God, it means to not take God commonly. In Proverbs, chapter 9, verse 10, the word of God says watch this. It is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom. That true wisdom doesn't start with more books. It doesn't start with ChatGBT. It doesn't start with Google. It doesn't start with Instagram, it doesn't start with TikTok. It starts with getting low and fearing the Lord, having a reverence for His presence, a reverence for His word, a reverence for the gathering, a reverence for tithing, a reverence for offering, a reverence for laying your life down so that he may be glorified in and through you.

Speaker 1: 9:52

It is the fear of the Lord that makes us wise, and there's a difference between having information and revelation. We are living in a social media era. We have computers and screens, and teenagers and even people from older generations are addicted to their phones. And we have information, we have knowledge, but we have no revelation of who God is in our lives, and so we have a generation that is starving for truth, starving to have a revelation of God. Who have you called me to be? And we go everywhere and anywhere except the holy revelation of God. Who have you called me to be? And we go everywhere and anywhere except the holy word of God, when the scriptures have the answer on who God has made you to be. The scriptures have the answer onto your purpose, your assignments. The scriptures have the answer to who he has designed you to be. For this purpose and for this time.

Speaker 1: 10:43

It is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom, and my fear is that if we don't get back to reverence and if we don't get back to fearing the Lord, we will start treating him like a genie, we'll start treating the Holy Spirit as common where we only come to him when we're in trouble. We treat God like a 911. When we only come to God, we need a blessing, we need a favor and we forget that God is a relational being and he wants to be intimate with you day in and day out. One of the ways that revival will hit the Western church hear me if you remember nothing else about this sermon today one of the ways that revival will not just hit this church, but the American church, is when reverence comes back to our pulpits and reverence comes back to our worship songs and reverence comes back to our sermons and reverence comes back to our gatherings and reverence comes back to the word of God, where we stop compromising the truth.

Speaker 1: 11:39

To please watch this, to please people. When you fear the Lord, you are not concerned with pleasing people. When you fear the Lord, you're not concerned with what family members think. When you fear the Lord, you're not concerned with the opinions and the comments on social media. Why? Because we have an audience of one. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's the fear of God. If you want wisdom, the Bible says to get wisdom and get understanding, you have to have a reverence and stop treating god as common. I've got news for somebody in this room that god is not just your genie, that god is not someone in a bottle, that you rub a lamp three times and he comes out and grants you three wishes. No, god is the creator of the universe. If you need a reminder, let me remind you. No, no, let me remind you need a reminder? Let me remind you. No, no, no. Let me remind you who our God is. Let me remind you who Jesus Christ is. Let me remind you who the Holy Spirit is. He is El Shaddai. He is Jehovah Rapha. He is Jehovah Nissi. He is wonderful counselor. He is my Prince of Peace. He is Jehovah Shama. He is Jehovah Rapha. He is El Roy. He is everything that I've ever needed, and more.

Speaker 1: 12:55

We need to get back to a point church where we start to get bothered by the lack of reverence that we see around the world today for the Lord Jesus Christ. There is lack of reverence that God has wanted to bring back to his church. There is reverence that God is wanting to bring back to watch this biblical community. We're not just gathering for the sake of looking cute on Instagram and taking photos and posting hashtags and going viral. God is looking for. Watch this a holy bride set apart, spotless and without blemish.

Speaker 1: 13:23

Proverbs says in 1, verse 7, proverbs, chapter 1, verse 7, that it is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of what. Watch this knowledge. And the Bible says that my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. It is the fear of the Lord that gives us wisdom, gives us knowledge. I think about a verse in Psalm 25, verse 14, where the Bible says that friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear him. And that's a convicting scripture to understand when you realize, church, that God's love is unconditional, but God is not friends with everyone.

Speaker 1: 14:02

There are many people in our churches today, many people that sing on platforms, many people that have online churches from their living room with two people watching on Facebook Live, that think they have a friendship with the Lord but they don't fear him. There's no honor, there's no reverence in the secret place To be a friend of God. You must watch this. Fear him, you must honor him. You must have a reverence. The Lord must be serious to you. God, you must watch this. Fear him, you must honor him. You must have a reverence. The Lord must be serious to you. His word must be serious, the gathering must be serious to you To know that God's friendship is. Watch this, it is conditional. His love is unconditional. God loves you, but friendship with the Lord is not for everyone and my fear is that we have a lot of people that are walking and watch this word deception, thinking that they're friends with God but far from him because the lack of reverence in their hearts. We must understand that God is an intimate being and God is very intimate in his character and he wants to know you, but he wants your heart above anything.

Speaker 1: 15:09

So I felt compelled to not just tell the graduates, I felt compelled to tell the whole congregation this morning that in a world, in a Western culture system that tells you to go higher to get more status and get more money, build that 401k, get that Roth IRA, to do more and get more popularity, no, I've come to remind you that God's way of being great in his kingdom, according to his holy word, is to stay and remain low through the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord, because seasons will change, people will change, circumstances will happen. When we look at the word fear. Let me just teach this for a moment. The Greek word for fear again. Let me just teach this for a moment. The Greek word for fear again, it is awe and it is reverence.

Speaker 1: 16:03

The Greek word for fear is called phobia or phobos. It's where we get the word phobia. Some people have a phobia of public speaking, some people have a phobia of roller coasters, some people have a phobia of death, some people have a phobia of spiders, some people have a phobia of rats and mice and frogs, or whatever your phobia is. Everyone has a fear of something and I wonder what it would look like if we had the phobias of the Lord. The Greek word for phobias is awe, reverence, and it means to be afraid to offend God.

Speaker 1: 16:34

I wonder what our lives would look like if we started analyzing our actions, not just in public but in private, and asking ourselves God, is what I'm about to do? Does this offend you Lord? Is what I'm about to post? Does this offend you Lord? The way I'm treating my wife, does this offend you Lord? Offend you Lord? The way I'm talking to my husband, the way I'm not honoring his leadership, does it offend you Lord? What if we grew in conviction? Everything we did, everything we said, public and private your social media, even how you handle your finances, god, it's how I'm stewarding my finances. God. Does it offend you, lord? And what if we had a holy fear of offending the God that we're living for, offending the God that we serve? We have a phobias of fear.

Speaker 1: 17:33

Lord, I want to live a life of not perfection, because we're all going to make mistakes. Our goal is not to be sinless, but to sin less. But as we sin less, as we sin less, our conviction grows. There are certain things I used to do four years ago that I don't do anymore. Why? Because I have a conviction.

Speaker 1: 17:52

God, this offends you when I do this. It offends the Lord when you gossip. It offends the Lord when you gossip. It offends the Lord when you dishonor your spouse, husbands and wives. It offends the Lord when you watch this dishonor your children. It offends the Lord when you take for granted the gatherings that we have here every single Sunday morning, while there are churches all around the world, in the Middle East right now, that are gathered in caves and have to tear pages out the scriptures to memorize them. And here, no persecution, no challenge. Our greatest challenge here in Chicago is a December winter, and I wonder if we offend God with our pride, our arrogance, thinking that he's entitled to give us something.

Speaker 1: 18:42

I don't want to live a life that offends God. What would it look like? By growing in the fear of the Lord, watch this. We ask the Holy Spirit to give us watch this a conviction about sin, that when you grow in the fear of the Lord, nobody talks about this. It's not just about loving what God loves, it is hating what God hates. There's a lot of people in churches, on platforms I'm telling you what I know a lot of people that sing about God. A lot of people that sing cute worship songs. A lot of people that preach cute sermons that have no conviction in their heart about sin.

Speaker 1: 19:21

One of the ways that you know you're growing in the Lord is when sin starts to bother you when you gossip, and you get a conviction about that. When you talk to your children a certain way, and you get a conviction about that. When you talk to your wife a certain way, and you get a conviction about that. When you're dishonest at your job, and you get a conviction about that. When you lie to your spouse, and you get a conviction about that when you curse someone out through road rage, and you get convicted about that when you give someone the finger and it was out of character in your flesh, but you get a conviction about that. Conviction is a good thing, conviction is a beautiful thing. Conviction is a sign that watch this the Holy Spirit is dealing with you.

Speaker 1: 20:05

We are in dangerous territory when we can sin in private and it no longer bothers us. We have to begin to love what the Lord loves. He loves his people, he loves his bride. But make no mistake about it God hates sin. He hates sin. And when you grow in the fear of the Lord, when you are submitted to the Holy Spirit, you get a perspective on what he loves. You get a perspective on what he hates. And when you hate sin, you deal with it in the secret place. You're honest with the Lord and say Lord, I've got some pride in my heart, I've got some lust in my heart. I've got some arrogance in my heart. I've got some fear. I've got some control issues in my heart. I've got some things that I need to lay down at the altar. So, god, the life that I live does not offend you, in public and in private. It's the fear of the Lord. The Hebrew word for fear is called Yira, and again, all reverence, but it also watch. This includes the fear of the punishment of God, because God would not be a good father if he did not watch this discipline his children.

Speaker 1: 21:15

I don't know about you, but I grew up in a biracial household. I have a mom who's old school Hispanic like old, old school Hispanic. You know what I'm saying. And so for all my Hispanic moms, there's this word that when mom uses it, you know it's going down the chancla. All right, you know what I'm talking about. My mom would use that chancla and it didn't matter whose shoe it was. She would take my shoe off me and beat me with this. Sometimes she would grab any shoe from in front of the door. She would grab a spatula, anything she could grab her hands on, but mostly for me, for my mom, it was the chancla, and I would find myself trying to duck like a boxer and trying to move and, and, and then I got a father who's black. I mean blackity, black, black. You know what I'm saying. So so I, I literally got the best of both worlds. I got a mom that could do it in Spanish, a, a dad with a thick New York accent. He had these thick his large hands and man would just smack me upside the head and you know I used to get this.

Speaker 1: 22:14

This is a cuss word in today's generation. Watch this. I used to get spanked. I used to get spanked. Listen, I'm going to just keep it so real. Listen, I'm just being honest. Up here I can look at a kid in a grocery store and say you have never been spanked in your entire life. I've never seen nothing like this before. It makes me so nervous. You got little Connor cussing out his mom in aisle five of Jewel Osco. You got little Jesus going crazy. You got little Jaquavius going crazy. All moms and pops just going down.

Speaker 1: 23:04

And, man, I grew up in an old school. Old school parents and nowadays parents are like well, let's talk about it and what are your feelings? And let's just do this and just talk about it and it's just. I don't understand. I don't understand. My mom and dad would give me one look. Sometimes my mom and dad would take me to the bathroom of wherever we were at and go to town on me. But watch this. It was the discipline that my earthly parents gave me that made me happy. Watch this, an honor and a reverence for their parenthood. I'm not saying I was the most perfect kid, but when I look back on it right now, my mom is watching me. Right now I would not take back a moment of discipline because watch, this Discipline builds, watch this word character. I've had people tell me man, pastor Matthew, you're so respectful and man, you're so well-spoken, like whoa, like what is going on? I'm like because I got whooped, got whooped and that's convicting man.

Speaker 1: 24:22

We have a lot of parents and I'm just, I'm calling the truth out in love but we have a lot of parents that are more concerned with being their kids' friends and not disciplining them. Parents, hear me in this room, be offended. If you want, send me an email, I do not care. Discipline your children, discipline your children. I've never seen anything like it today.

Speaker 1: 24:46

I hear students call their parents by their first name. I'm like you get to do that. People are like well, pm, what do you call your parents? Mom, dad. See students on the phone calling their parents. I'm like, oh my gosh, like Sarah. I'm like who's Sarah Mom? I'm like that's your mom, hi, Sarah. Like who's Sarah mom. I'm like that's your mom, hi, sarah, I'll never be on a first name basis. My mom and dad watch this because I have honor for them and even though I'm older, I still address them with respect.

Speaker 1: 25:21

The Bible says to honor your parents. The Bible says in Ephesians 6 to entreat to honor your father and your mother, which is the first commandment, with a promise that it may be well with you that you may live long on the earth to know that when you dishonor your parents, you are shortening your lifespan here on earth. So if we have fear for our earthly parents, how much more fear should we have for our heavenly father, for the Lord Jesus Christ, who made the heavens and the earth, the stars and the galaxy, the one who calls us by name, the one who died for us on the cross and knows every single mistake and every single trespass that we're ever gonna do and still chooses to watch this willingly love us. I'm closing the message right now, but when I think of a man, when I think of a scripture and verses that resemble what it looks like to achieve everything but to realize that this life is useless without the fear of the Lord, I think of a man who goes by the name of Solomon, if you don't know who Solomon is. Solomon was the son of King David. Solomon had achieved everything in this lifetime he had money, he had status, a thousand wives, and that's complicated. He built the temple. Solomon did all these things, all these things, and yet he realized one thing that you can accomplish so much but life without the fear of the Lord in this futile world is meaningless or, as the scriptures would use the word, vanity.

Speaker 1: 26:56

So turn your Bibles with me as we close to a passage in the book of Ecclesiastes. The book of Ecclesiastes means ecclesia, so this is Solomon addressing a gathering, reminding these people that life is futile, that life is vain, that if you do not have the fear of the Lord in your heart, if you are not submitted under the Holy Spirit, if you don't have a reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ, then everything in this world, you will be tossed back and forth by the seasons, by the status, by the change people coming, people going. So Ecclesiastes, chapter three, verses one through 11, read with me in the status, by the change people coming, people going. So Ecclesiastes, chapter three, verses one through 11, read with me in the scriptures. Open up your Bible. It says for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven Stop.

Speaker 1: 27:40

What I love about this verse right away is that we are reminded that God is the orchestrator of every season in our lives. That just because you may not have planned for a season, just because it took you by surprise that God is sovereign to work all things out for the good of those who love him and are called, watch this according to his purpose, not yours. His plan's not yours. His kingdom, not yours. His agenda, not yours. So when you submit your agenda to him, he is the author, the orchestrator for every season, every time, every matter under heaven.

Speaker 1: 28:15

And Solomon almost writes a poetic style within these verses and he says there is a time to be born and a time to die. There's a time to plant. There's a time to plant seeds in the ground and there's a time to pluck up what is planted. There's a time to plant seeds in the ground and there's a time to pluck up what is planted. There's a time to kill and there's a time to heal. There's a time to break down and a time to build up. What things in our lives need to be broken down? What things in our lives need to be built up. There's a time to weep and there's a time to laugh.

Speaker 1: 28:55

For anyone who has been in a season where there's been countless amounts of tears at night that no one sees, that no one might understand, can I tell you that god says in his holy word there's a time and a season just for weeping. I just want to stop right there because sometimes we don't give ourselves a chance to watch this. Just weep before the lord and be sad, and not always have to put a christ jargon sticker and be like God is good. No, god is good, but I'm sad right now. Leave me alone, let me be sad, let me weep. The shortest verse in all of scripture is watch this Jesus wept to show us that this life we live by faith. But it doesn't mean that we negate our emotions. There's a time to weep, there's a time to laugh. If this has been a joyful season, man, laugh. Enjoy the goodness of God, enjoy his blessings, enjoy his favor, enjoy the promotion, enjoy the new child, enjoy the raise, enjoy the opportunity.

Speaker 1: 29:44

There's a season and a time for weeping and laughing, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace people and a time to refrain from embracing people. Sometimes you have to use discernment in your relationships. Not everyone gets emotional access to your hearts. There is a time to embrace, there's a time to love and there's also a time to watch this youth discernment and to know that people carry things when they come into your life, and so sometimes you have to refrain from what's just embracing everyone. There's a time and a place to embrace and to refrain, a time to seek, a time to lose. And, man, I wish I could go through all of these for the sake of time.

Speaker 1: 30:40

But a time to keep, a time to cast away, a time to tear, a time to sew. Back then, when you were grieving, you would tear your garments because your garments were very important back in ancient Eastern culture. Back then we didn't have closets full of clothes and summer outfits and winter outfits and 30 pairs of shoes. You had one or two robes and when you were grieving, when you were mourning the loss of a friend, a loved one, no matter what it was, you would tear your garments as a sign of grieving. The Bible says there is a time to tear the garments, there's a time to mourn, there's a time to grieve, there's a time to keep silence and a time to speak. For those of you guys where you feel like this is a season for silence, stay silent and know that the Lord will fight your battles on your behalf. He will fight for you and he says there's a time to speak for those of you guys who have been silenced, for every lie of the enemy that has made you think your voice is not important, that has tried to keep you shut. For anyone in this room who has felt led to watch this share their testimony and the enemy has convinced you to stay silent and you know that you're entering into a season where it's time for you to speak. I want you to open up your mouth and declare the good things that God has done for you, in you and through you.

Speaker 1: 31:57

We are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of all the things that we post on social media. We're so willing to offend people with our political beliefs. Why don't you offend someone with your thoughts and your perspectives on the kingdom of God? All this nonsense, all this nonsense and posting about candidates that don't even know your name, and here you have a God that loves you died for, you bled on a cross and you're silent about all the right things. There's a testimony from your life that if people heard they would say wow, god must be real, god must be healing, god must be restoring, god must be doing marvelous things throughout the world. Why? Because we have overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. I'm almost done right here.

Speaker 1: 32:47

A time to love and a time to hate. Again, the fear of the Lord will cause you to love what God loves and to hate what God hates. For all of my brothers and sisters in this room, ask the Lord to give you watch this a hatred for sin. You cannot live in holiness and flirt around with sin, whatever sin is in your life. There is grace and mercy awaiting For watch this those who repent and set their heart before God and say God, this is in my heart, I repent. Repenting means to turn from your own ways and turn to him, because I've got news for you your own ways are not working anyway. There is life, there is grace, there is mercy for those who are willing to repent. Ask the Lord to give you a hatred for sin. It's called righteous indignation. There's a time for war, a time for peace.

Speaker 1: 33:45

Verse nine we're done right here. What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with all these tasks going to work, all these roles, responsibilities being a parent, being a youth leader, being a worship leader, a pastor, an entrepreneur, a businessman, a businesswoman. I've seen all the work that men and women have. I've seen the busyness that God has given to the children to be busy with Verse 11,.

Speaker 1: 34:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time. That every season is beautiful in the eyes of God, whether you see it that way or not. That God can use any and every season in your life to glorify himself through you. Do not negate the season that you are in, and these students right here, and maybe even some of you guys in this room, are about to head into a new season. Head into college, become a new parent, get a new job, get a new promotion, move to a new state, move to a new city. God has made everything beautiful in its time. So instead of complaining, instead of whining, instead of blaming other people, instead of being irrational about God why do you have me here. Fix your eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and realize that if he is the author and the finisher of my faith, then this season must be beautiful, because I am submitted under his authority. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has put eternity into man's hearts, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. And man, no matter what season you find yourself in, transitioning, graduating man, we're not trying to go higher, we're trying to go lower, and the lower you go, the more you submit yourself to God. Lower you go, the more you submit yourself to God. He gives you watch this a desire for eternity, to know that life goes beyond what we can see with our physical eyes.

Speaker 1: 35:33

I've got news for somebody in this room. Whether you want to hear it or not, this world is not our home, that we are citizens of heaven. And my fear, especially for us American Christians. We were so spoiled and we have materials and we have money, we have cars, we have status and beautiful buildings. We forget that we are passing through here, we're not staying here. The Bible says that this life is but a vapor and God has put eternity into every man's heart. So this longing for what is beyond what we can see, and also the mystery that God is not going to reveal everything at one time, is completely ordained by him.

Speaker 1: 36:14

I want everyone to stand on their feet as we close and we're gonna go back into another worship song in just a couple of moments and I wanna end on reading this verse Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, verse 13 and 14. It says the end of the matter. This is Solomon writing Again. You must understand the context that Solomon is an accomplished man and some of you guys in this room might feel just like Solomon.

Speaker 1: 36:38

Pastor Matthew, pastor Chuck, pastor Roshanna, I've accomplished everything. I have the money, I have the cars, I've had kids, I've done it all and something feels like it's missing. Solomon says the end of the matter. All has been heard, all has been done, but the call of every son and daughter, the reason for your existence is to fear the Lord. Fear the Lord and keep his commandments.

Speaker 1: 37:07

The Bible says in first John, chapter five, verse two, again, that to love the Lord is to keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome, that actually living under the commandments of God is light. Why? Because the Bible says that his yoke is easy, his burden is light. I wonder how many of us in this room are experiencing the heaviness because we are living apart from the commandments of God that are found right here in his word. I wonder if it's your own disobedience that is bringing your own burdens upon your own shoulders. Maybe it's not a demonic attack, maybe it's your lack of discipline. Maybe the enemy's not after your life. Maybe you need to submit yourself to God's holy word. Well, pastor Matthew, I don't want to do that. Pastor Matthew, this makes me uncomfortable. God is more concerned about your holiness and setting you apart and setting you apart. Fear the Lord, stay low, stay submitted to God. We're gonna end this service on singing a song of gratitude and we're gonna pray for all of our graduates. And would you just begin to lift up your hands and church?