Nothing like a story to motivate me. Actually, I've been hacking with sinuses myself, draining, and it's been rough. Kept Joyce up last night, kept my workers up from falling asleep at work, but that's a good thing. I guess the bosses probably like that. But gone from like pressure to drainage now. Oh, for Clarence, okay. I knew that he hadn't been doing well, so pray for that family and everything. So he had been a good long-time neighbor of the church and always kept an eye out for things going on, I know, and stuff. So those who have been here for a long time probably knew him for that long time. So we're in Psalms chapter 90. Psalms chapter 90 tonight, verses 9 and 10. So if you see me drinking, it might just keep me from coughing. And I've entitled this message tonight, Looking Beyond to the Incorruptible. Looking Beyond to the Incorruptible. For all our days are passed away in our wrath, we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are three score and ten, and if by reason of strength they be four score, yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away. Let's go to Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you for this Evening, You've given us that You've brought us together to glean the riches of Your Word and the truths that You'd have for us tonight. And Lord, to not set our sights on things below, but on that which is above and incorruptible, even that which is within Christ Jesus who lives within us, who knows Christ as our Savior. But Father, we do pray for those that are lost, that You would save their soul through the message tonight, through Your Word. Father, we also know in John 15, 5, you said, without you I can do nothing. And I'm always reminded of that. So I just pray that as your vessel for the evening, that your Holy Spirit work through me and you'd give us what we're in need of. For if not, it'll all be vanity, vanity, and vexation of spirit. In Christ's name we pray, amen. You know, when we look back at the world and life, what life has to offer us, we soon discover that even at its best, It does not last. Starting even with human life, the birth of a newborn baby. How many fathers here actually were in the room when their child was born? I had the privilege of being in for all three. And the second one, the doctor probably wished I wasn't. It's special, isn't it? It's like nothing else. Anybody who says there is no God, and yet sees the life of a baby be brought out into this world, it truly glorifies God and truly represents that there is a God. And there's so much beauty in that baby. Especially as they open their eyes, they flicker a little bit until they get that goop put into it. And then, soon, that beauty of that eyes tends to pass as that child gets older and older. Soon this baby will turn into a toddler and they're like a sponge just soaking in everything that they got. And if some of you have little ones still in that area, you're seeing how that is transforming, especially from the time of birth all the way on, you see some massive changes of that sponge just soaking up everything and putting it into practice. and adapting to this world, and getting acclimated, and becoming a part of this society in a new way, and what this world has to offer for them. As a toddler, to a preteen, to a teenager, to a young adult, to an adult, soaking up all that knowledge. Yet before long, we who are older here soon come to learn that one day that too shall pass. that no matter how much knowledge we seem to gain in this world, that knowledge is never enough. Things always are changing. You know, and therefore we always must keep learning, and that's just a fact of life. But the challenge is, is that we're always falling behind the older we get, and the ability to keep up with the knowledge so that we don't fall behind, and we stay productive, and we stay, you know, a productive citizen in this society. Things that once came easy to us are now very difficult to grasp. And it's frustrating it that way. I experience that more and more. I call them blank moments. Sometimes simple words will just go blank. How many have had that? And it's like I cannot believe I just forgot what I was saying or a simple word like then or something. in a sentence. But Psalm 30 verse 5 says, Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand breath. David talking here. And mine age is as nothing before thee. Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. See, even David and the old saints of God understood that even at our best, our life here on earth is but vanity, and it's filled with many shortcomings and many shortfalls. And Solomon grappled with this during a very dark part of his life, focusing on that which was under the sun. recorded through us through the first 10 chapters of Ecclesiastes that we've actually been going through in the adult class. And now we're on the back end, 11 and 12, where he comes out of it. And I'm so excited about those two chapters. Have I ever told you guys in my class how excited I am? I say that every time because I am excited. You know, when we focus on that which is under the sun, it can do nothing but bring us down and help us to realize how finite our lives are and how incomplete they are in and of themselves when we look to the world for that kind of stuff. And Solomon, you know, obviously knew, if anybody knew, you know, having and possessing the greatest wisdom and knowledge of anyone else outside of Christ Himself here on earth. And so surely God, you know, Solomon knew God telling Adam, you know, that in the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return, due to the curse of sin. So it's nothing new, but yet it's still something that we grapple with, isn't it? As we walk our lives here on earth. You know, 1 Corinthians 13a gives us a hope though of things that we should focus on. You know, charity never faileth, but where there be prophecies, they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish. See, the only thing out of that whole verse that doesn't fail is charity. But everything else that we grasp for in this life, we're going to find is going to vanish away or going to burn up. You know, this world quickly offers man great pleasures and material things, you know, such as houses, cars, boats. You know, and I've been blessed with being able to have new cars through leases and stuff. If we put our hope there, before long, it's all going to fade away, isn't it? And it all does fade away. And those who buy cars surely know how the cars tend to fade away in their quality, and they have to put repairs into them, and it seems like the longer they have them, the more repairs, unless they're blessed with a car that It becomes a perfect car the whole time, but I've not owned one of those. But I've known others that have bragged to me how they have when mine was broken down and I was putting a thousand dollars into it. But before long, all this is going to fade away and no longer satisfy man's need for that enduring satisfaction that we all seek for. If you want to turn over to Luke chapter 12, verses 19 through 21, We see the sad results of man putting his hope in this world and thinking that it will sustain him forever, from here into eternity. And Jesus said, speaking of a certain rich man who thought he had it all, And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thy knees, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that laith up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Over in Psalms 102 verses 25 and 26, if you want to turn there, Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure. Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment. As a vesture, thou shalt change them, and thou shalt be changed. Everything that you see here today and have seen of old, through Mount Rushmore's and all the beauty, one day will soon pass away. because it's corrupted by sin. And one day God will create a new heaven and a new earth, and that will all pass away. But sadly, there's many that are caught up into grasping and getting everything that they can out of this world, because that's where their hope lies. The frustration is that when us as believers get caught into that trap and fall into that same pit, Because we know that our hope does not lie within this world, but our hope lies above, within Jesus Christ, who rules and reigns, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for us, preparing a room for us, a mansion in heaven to one day be there that we might worship and praise him forever in the trueness of how he truly ever designed before the foundations of the world. I think of that, and I sort of envy Brother Sullivan. I envy many of their saints that have gone on and now are present with Him and experiencing things that only we could get a glimpse of through His Word. But none of us have been to the other side and come back, and no man will be to the other side. So if somebody said, I've been there, it's great. If you've been there, you're not back here telling us about it. And you wouldn't want to be back here telling us about it. with regards to that. But man will soon look to himself for glory. And then he might find that enduring satisfaction looking to the great accomplishments, you know, that he's made. But it won't be long before those accomplishments quickly gone. and no longer anybody remembers about it because now 20 years have passed, 30 years have passed and they're still telling the same old stories. Anybody have family or friends like that that are lost and they're so caught up in the age of old telling the stories of how great they were in the young days and yet just many people will politely listen, but most of it's going in one ear and out the other. Why? Because it has no value. It has no true substance. And even the world knows that. Even though they grasp for others to think that theirs is great, when they listen to others, it just goes in one ear and out the other. And that's because it's vanity of vanity, vexation of spirit, whatever is brought out of this world. First Peter 124 says, for all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as a flower of the grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. Nothing worse than having a plant that breaks out in flowers and is so beautiful, and then you come home and two or three are on the floor. And that's the end of that beauty before long. And that's how our life is for those that put it within this world. So we need to look to that which lasts. Look to those things that abide forever. Look beyond to the incorruptible because that's what's enduring and that's what lies within us if you know Christ Jesus is your Savior. So let's not put our hope and our desires back into this world when God has removed us out of the world and set our feet on solid ground and given us a new hope and a new place and glory within one day. And given us time to let others know that they soon could be there as well through repentance of faith in Jesus Christ. And that's for you. If you're here without Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have not yet had a personal relationship with Him of realizing that outside of Him lies no other hope. Today is a day. Eternity is waiting for you. Eternity waits for everybody. The difference is, will it be eternal life or eternal damnation? But my friend, eternity waits for everybody. Only if you look to Christ The one who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. Will you enter the gates of glory? Will you experience eternal life? You know, Philippian jailer, as the apostle Paul, what must I do to be saved? And Paul answered, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Sadly, though, the world would tell you you've got all these other things that you have to do with it, that that's just not enough. And you need to pull things from the world to really bring it together and bring meaning and stuff. My friend, if you bring anything else to the cross but yourself, it'll be turned away. It'll be burned up. And you'll go away sad and unaccepted. You might look to another way, and you might have been looking to another way, but when this life is over, and you wake up into eternity, again, my friend, it will not be an eternity of life, but it will be an eternity of damnation and fire, where the worm doth not, and the fire is not quenched. You might be saying, you're really mean. People don't like mean things. James, you're really mean. Don't be so mean. Be more loving. Relax. Enjoy life. But I'm just saying what I say because it's what God has said to all of us throughout the beginning of time, from the fall of man, that there is no hope outside of the hope that lies with Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son, who paid for the sins of those who repent and turn toward Him in faith. You're a sinner. I'm a sinner. And the sin within us requires a payment. So if you're lost today, you'll either pay that payment, or you'll turn toward Christ, who offers to pay that payment through repentance and faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul put it, dead in trespasses and sin. That's how you lie if you're without Christ today. But. For us in Christ. That first part applies. And you have he quickened. How precious is that? But my friend, maybe he hasn't quickened you yet because you still continue to follow the ways of your life and your own ideas and your own knowledge and your own wisdom and how you're going to get there. Don't follow that falsehood. As some would say, that's fake news. Don't listen to that fake news. You know, the Apostle Paul couldn't have stated this confidently to the Christians at Ephesus unless they were dead once. But Christ, in His infinite mercy, offers new life. Spiritual life. Eternal life. Paying the price for a debt of those who would repent of their sins and look to Jesus Christ. So where are you tonight? John 3.36 says, he that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. So that's wisdom, isn't it? It's a choice. If you ever raised your kids in the beginning, I think everybody has, where you think that the way to get your kids to do something is to just yell at them until they get tired and they do it, or just constantly give them consequences. But when you put a choice before them, many times, you know, you can take out the trash and have this occur, or you cannot take out the trash and have this occur, what would you like to do?" More times than not, they choose the right reason. My friend, isn't it great if we just follow the teachings of Christ and how He speaks to the lost and dying, and how He speaks to His children, that He puts it plain and simple out in front, and it's up to you to make the decision. Of course, we understand that unless the Holy Spirit opens a man's heart, that man will never react to the gospel. But it's our responsibility as ambassadors to be proper ambassadors and proper deliverers of the Word of God. And he says, he that believeth on his Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. My friend, what would you like in your life? Would you like the wrath of God abiding on you? Or would you like to experience the everlasting life that the Son provides? Well, I'll wait till tomorrow. Sadly, that's what many say. But don't say it tonight if it's you. Jesus paid my sin debt when He saved me. So I ask if you're lost, will you seek Jesus for real life? Now, if you're a child of God, which most are, and you've trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then instead of looking to the works of your hands and going back to that which you thought was valuable in the beginning and would produce satisfaction, joy, and comfort, look to your works for God, which are built to last, incorruptible, and provide a reward that will produce enduring satisfaction. Turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 13 through 15. 1 Corinthians 3, 13 through 15 says, Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. We talk about this many times in the scripture of the danger of entering heaven empty-handed. You know, the rewards that we get and the crowns that we seek are not for our own glory, but it's to pass to the foot of Jesus. To praise Him and glorify Him. And show Him our love for Him for all that He has done for us. Not to get His love. And if that's how you're building your rewards, if that's how you're building your works, then It'll sustain. But if not, it'll burn up. Let our work sustain us. Let us seek the incorruptible. Let us seek a crown of glory that fadeth not away. In 1 Peter 5 verses 1-4 it says, The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, in other words, not by force, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, Oh, I want to be a pastor because they really make the money. That's how you get rich. Well, if you ask any pastor, I think they'll deny that. But of a ready mind. Neither is being lords over God's heritage. but being in samples to the flock. And when the chief shepherds shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." Now many will say that this talks about pastors, but my friend, I believe that this falls true for leaders, for those that have oversight within the flock in a way to lead and exhort one another. in different positions. And ultimately, we all have a limited ability to do that from a one-on-one basis as brothers and sisters and family of God within this church, the family of First Baptist. So, that's where you need to do it. The world, the devil, and even your flesh, if not kept in check, will look for ways to bring attention to yourself. And I always have to keep myself in check that way. Let the world know you're the great one. That's what our flesh wants. But don't let light shine on us. Let the light shine on others. That's how you are glorified. And that's how you glorify God. And he'll glorify you through crowns and rewards. God says to those that take that path of the wrong side, for all flesh, remember I said, is as grass. And all the glory of the man is as the flower of grass. And the grass withereth, and the flower falleth away. So I say to you tonight, instead of relying on this world and yourself to provide you and your family, look to God as He supplies never-ending sustenance and substance. Psalm 102.25 says, Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure. Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment. We read this before even. As a vesture shalt thou change, and they shall be changed. My friend, God's works will never perish. Those things that you put in God's bank account will never deplete. They'll only grow. 1 Kings 19, verses 7 and 8, if you want to turn there. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose and did eat and drink, and went in the strength that meet forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. Of course, relying on God supplying your life means more than just food on the table, but the very sustenance needed for every day. And that sustenance sometimes can be courage. That sustenance can be strength to overcome the frailties of our body. That sustenance can be the ability to stand strong when the fiery darts come upon us as the world casts them trying to discourage us and dismiss us as non-valuable. Next, we need to look for food that fills not our body, but our soul, and that's spiritual food. John 6.27 is this transition. It's labor not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life. The Word of God, my friend. That's what puts your feet on solid ground and sets your hope toward glory. So, let's continue. Let's continue in that meat, because it's that meat that brings enduring satisfaction. It's that meat that continues to give us strength day to day. It's that meat that continues the Word of God, that helps us grow and be a lighthouse to the community, and keep our heads out of the sand. Isaiah 55, 2 says, Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." My friend, God's Word is that fatness. He desires you to delight yourself in His Word, because that will make you rich. That will make you rich internally, not rich financially. but rich internally. 1 Peter 1.25 says, but the Word of the Lord endureth forever. That's something that has sustenance. That's something that has substance. That's something that's life-changing. That's something that's organic and it continues to work in you day on and day out. And it also will reform your life when you get off the path of righteousness as a child of God to bring you back on. Look for faith. Look for hope. Look for charity. All these are things that are beyond into an incorruptible. 2 Corinthians 4 verses 18 says, While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And then of course in chapter 5, it says, for in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is in turn heaven. See, the closer we focus on those things that are incorruptible like faith, hope, and charity, My friend, the closer we continue to hunger to be in the presence of Him who is our all in all. Finally, and not finally, I almost tricked you there. Look to the unseen things. Actually, I did talk about that. So, look to the spiritual kingdom. So, Hebrews chapter 12. I need to get me some glasses here. Hebrews 12, verses 27 and 28. We started early. We might get out way early. This is a change for me. You've never had this happen. Hebrews 12, 27 and 28. And this word yet once more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. See, the kingdom of God is just that. It's God's kingdom. God's kingdom is solid as a rock. It cannot be shaken. When we build our kingdoms, when we build our walls, we're like the piggy, little piggies that built their houses out of hay and stubble and wood, and it all got blown down, and everything will fall. It'll be like us who build our houses on rocks. And the waves come and bust them up. But my friend, we have a kingdom that is far greater than any kingdom that you and I can build here on earth that might make us gain hope or think that we're going to get something out of it. And that's the kingdom of God. That is what we need to focus to the world around us. To those that are lost and dying, starting with our family, our loved ones. Letting them know that there is no hope outside of Jesus Christ. There is no sustenance in the things of the world, for it will all pass away. And it's all vanity of vanity and vexation of spirit. And just as David continued in the psalm, he prayed, so teach us. In that psalm earlier that I told you. He said, so teach us to number our days. That was in verse 12. We go back to the beginning of chapter 90, verse 9 and 10. And then in verse 12, he sums it up and says, Lord, now teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. We're rounding out the end of this year of 2017, and it just seems like it just started. and 2018 will soon turn the corner. Lord willing for all of us here tonight. But we don't know that. But how do we start our day? Do we start our day seeking the Lord to keep us focused on numbering those days? And may this day be the most productive day that I've ever lived for you, Lord, through your power and through your grace. Is that how you start your day? That's what David's heart was. That's what Paul's desire was. That's what Peter's desire was. That's what my desire is. And it's what your desire should be. Are we going to fall short? Are we going to fail? Are we going to trip? Are we going to stumble? Yes. But that should not dampen any of our spirits to get back up and say, Lord, guide my day. Let me make the most of this day, and may my heart be applied to wisdom, and not my wisdom, Lord, but your wisdom that is higher than the highest. Let's go to Lord in prayer as we close. Father, thank you for this evening you've given us. And Lord, so many times we, even as your children, get caught up and what this world thinks it has to offer us. And we get tricked by leaning unto the flesh and leaning unto our understanding instead of unto your understanding, unto the Word of God. But Father, let us look beyond to the incorruptible, for the things that perish not, for the things that has enduring hope, beyond the salvation that you have so graciously, through mercy and grace, provided us. And Father, when we fall, when we stumble, when we trip, As your longsuffering reneweth every day, may you continue to be longsuffering toward us, and bring us back onto the path of righteousness, and help us to enjoy the fruits of our labor of lifting Christ up before a lost and dying world. Lord, one day my life will end here on earth, and I'll be like Brother Sullivan, absent from the body and present with Thee. And what a day that'll be when Jesus I shall see. But there's so much that's left to be done. so much needful here on earth with regards to the lost here in Your Word, and those that aren't walking by faith as Your children, to have guidance and to be brought back to that line. Forgive us for our failures and shortcomings. Bless our pastor and his family as they're on vacation. Bless the coming services. Father, be with this church. Make us a lighthouse to the community. Convict our hearts, starting with mine, when we fall by the wayside. And Lord, I always look to the ever enduring hope that you provided us through salvation. For it's in Christ's name we pray, amen. You're dismissed.