[Ecclesiastes] When Life Is Unfair | Dave Wong

well good morning church oh surely we can do a bit better than that good morning church hey there we go a bit of life in the house of god is always a good thing i hope you're doing well great are you guys ready for the word amazing amazing special greetings also to you if you're in the city campus or if you're watching us online welcome to you we're glad that you can join us we're about to head into uh our message for this morning and if you're ready i just want to give you a little bit of a preemptive warning that today's text can be quite heavy it is quite a low point in the book of ecclesiastes which is the book that we've been exploring as a church and going through the teacher is exploring the meaning of life and he's reaching this point where he's actually getting quite depressed and so we're going to read that passage am i going to hope that god can speak we know that god can speak that even in his sad reflections on a lot of things there is truth to be found and there is hope to be found in god amen and so before we start let's let's pray let's commit this time to god and then let's get going heavenly father we just submit this moment into your hands lord we ask that you would come and speak through your word holy spirit would you come and minister life to your people would you come and show us the beauty of the name of jesus would you help us to fall more in love with you and would you reveal yourself to us in this word today lord we thank you that every time we open your word it's a chance for us to hear the very voice of god as you speak to us so lord speak to us we are listening we are available and we are eager and all of god's people said amen amen well church if you have been following along this series you know that king solomon the teacher is exploring the meaning of life like i mentioned earlier he's looking at life from all different perspectives whether that's work whether that's pleasure whether that's time and today the teacher turns his attention towards people he begins to observe people he looks at how they live he looks at how they deal with one another and he comes down to a very sad conclusion which is that people treat each other very badly people treat each other horribly and life can be unfair sometimes does anyone resonate with that life can sometimes feel unfair and as he reflects on this his thoughts get more and more depressing more and more sad and that's where this picks up in ecclesiastes chapter three we're going to be reading from verse 16. so if you've got your bibles you can join me the scripture's also up on the screen let's read it it says moreover i saw under the sun that in the place of justice even there was wickedness and in the place of righteousness even there was wickedness and i said in my heart god will judge the righteous and the wicked for there is a time for every matter and for every work and i said in my heart with regard to the children of man that god is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts for what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beast is the same as one dies so dies the other they all have the same breath and man has no advantage over the beasts for all is vanity all go to one place all are from the dust and to dust all return who knows whether the spirit of man goes upwards and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth and so i saw there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work for that is his lot who can bring him to see what will be after him and in chapter four again i saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun and behold the tears of the oppressed and they had no one to comfort them on the side of their presses there was power and there was no one to comfort them and i thought the dead who are already dead are more fortunate than the living who are still alive but better than both is he who has not yet been and who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun he's a bundle of sunshine isn't he everyone feeling happy everyone feeling joyful after that reading well we're gonna we're gonna look at this passage and we have to understand that the wise man is making observations about how life is for people with the limitations like pastor benny has mentioned in previous weeks of under the sun as long as i live so he is looking at life from the perspective of a person who has no sense of god in their life that when you look at injustice when you look at oppression when you look at the way people treat each other these are the conclusions that you will naturally come to and to be honest as you were reading through this passage this morning you would probably have heard some of these thoughts come up when you talk to people who live without god who don't believe in god when you ask them what's the meaning of life what what do you want to do with your life a lot of the times the conclusions come down to the same conclusions that the wise man makes isn't it you know no one knows what happens after we die who knows um if we have a life after death no one can prove it no one can know it so why don't you just live your life do what you want to do enjoy your life that is your lot that's all there is to it that's all there is to the meaning of life have you heard that argument before and so the wise man is making these observations and so i'm going to unpack these observations for us and hopefully we're going to see whether his response to them to these observations whether his conclusions that he makes out of them can apply to our lives today and how they can be redeemed in light of who we are as people who have god with us amen amen okay so here's the first observation that i would like to outline for you the king solomon first notices that in the places where you would expect right judgment and righteousness he notices that he finds wickedness instead that where there should be righteousness and justice he finds wickedness you know isn't that true for even today in our world in our society today you know the internet is full of videos of injustice whether you want to search up law enforcement overstepping their jurisdiction a person being arrested without due process being violated and abused whether in court guilty criminals are let off due to technical uh legal technicalities or corruption whether innocent people are wrongly incarcerated and serve time in jail because they couldn't afford the means to defend themselves in court you know government officials are being given positions um depending on where you're at in the world based on shady reasons and entire nations are subject to the oppressive regimes and political systems that they're involved in even in the history of the church the catholic church they have been reported cases of priests who commit sexual abuse with minors and their parishioners you know there is a great feeling of injustice when the places which are expected to uphold righteousness to uphold good judgment end up using that power in the wrong way can anyone agree with me do you see that in the world today people with power the people the places where we expect righteousness and judgment we find wickedness instead you know the problem the problem is not actually with authority the problem is not actually even with these places it's not with leaders it's not with uh political governors it's not with um churches and and their priests the problem is with people the problem is with people sinful broken people because let's be honest when you take someone who is imperfect who is sinful and broken and you give that person leadership and power and authority how foolish would it be of us to expect that that person is going to wield that power perfectly right sinful broken people do sinful broken things authority and power simply amplifies and magnifies who we are on the inside and that is the problem that we're seeing today you know take even uh the presidential debate that aired this week i don't know how many of you guys have watched it but you would expect that at the highest levels of office the leaders of the free world would exemplify the highest levels of leadership of character of righteousness and of good judgment amen that's what you would expect but if you watched it you would notice the same thing that the wise man is seeing here in the places where you would expect those things we find sinful broken people doing sinful broken things and so that is what the wise man is observing it is not just a problem in his time but it's a problem in our time as well and that's why injustice is an unsolvable problem it's an unsolvable problem until jesus comes again and he establishes his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven because as long as people exist as long as people are sinful there will be injustice do you agree as long as broken people are in this world there will be injustice it will keep being a problem that rears its ugly head over and over again and this is what king solomon noticed that in the places where righteousness and justice should prevail wickedness is found instead here's the second observation that he makes he notices and he says people are like animals that's his observation people are no better off than beasts death awaits us all he observes that death is a great equalizer there's nothing that we can do to escape it whether you live a moral life or an immoral life whether you are wise or foolish rich or poor smart or not we all die just like the animals verse 20 says from dust we came and to dust we return who knows what happens after we die as far as we can see and as far as we can assume with our limited under the sun understanding death is the end and if that's the case then people and animals are just the same all of it is meaningless and you're gonna like i mentioned earlier you're gonna hear that same kind of observation and argument from people who don't yet know the lord who don't have god in their life you know death is a great leveler it awaits us all so life purpose it's meaningless why live morally why just do what you want be happy live your life the best way that you know how and here's the third observation his third observation is this the oppressed have no comfort from their oppressors you know the third thing that he finds is that those who are oppressed have no comfort from their oppressors those who are in power use that power to keep their positions while those who are oppressed have very little ability to change their position in life you know the bible records of all different kinds of oppressions kings oppress their people masters oppress their servants and their slaves the rich exploit the poor they give them high interest rates and impossible loans the foreigner the orphan and the widow are all mistreated and neglected in short what king solomon is observing is simply this he's looking around and he's observing that life is just not fair it's just not fair and it led him to three different conclusions now we have to remember i'm going to unpack these conclusions these responses that he has to these observations and we have to remember that again he is looking at life from under the sun as long as i live within the limited temporal scope of his life time very he's not looking at god very much he's not looking beyond that he's not looking at eternity he's just looking at life under the sun and so these are his conclusions all right his first conclusion is this when he saw that there's wickedness instead of righteousness and justice his conclusion is this god will judge everything in his time god will judge everything in his time and so for a brief moment this is the only happy moment in the sermon so just heads up the only happy moment in this passage is for this very brief moment where the teacher snaps out of his depressing under the sun thinking and he trusts god to be the final judge where sinful people and broken systems were unable to judge righteously king solomon believed that god would judge righteously in the end verse 17 he says i said in my heart god will judge the righteous and the wicked for there is a time for every matter and for every work and solomon was right come on church did you know that we serve a god who is the great judge he is the great judge the bible says that there will be a day where every person has to stand before god and give an account for their life for every action for every word whether good or evil they will have to give an account before god you know revelation 20 talks about this from verse 11 let me just read it for you then i saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it from his presence earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them and i saw the dead great and small standing before the throne and books were opened then another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done and the sea gave up the dead who were in it death and hades gave up the dead who were in them and they were judged each one of them according to what they had done then death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire this is the second death and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire so the bible talks about god being the final and great judge it's not something we like to talk about nowadays most often we talk about jesus being the loving savior the one who comes near to us the one who shows us grace and forgiveness and love and life but part of who our god is because he is the almighty god he is also the great judge humans in their imperfection in their brokenness will judge wrongly because that is who we are but god is a just judge he cannot be corrupted he will not be swayed with smooth words or legal technicalities he sees everything just as it is and he will judge it perfectly now this is a great comfort this is a great comfort for for us and it's a great comfort for anyone who is going through injustice because we know that even when we are going through situations that are not fair even when uh we are going through injustices in our life we can trust that god sees he knows and in the end he is in control everything has to be judged by god in the end nothing escapes his sight and what that means for us if we believe that and if we believe that god is the good and final judge of all things that it means that we don't need to be the judge of our own situations that when injustice happens to us we don't need to fight it we don't need to war for our own rights it frees us up so that god can win on our behalf even if we don't see justice even if we don't see what's fair in this lifetime we can trust that we serve a god who will bring justice on our behalf and even more than that even more than that it freezes it just doesn't just free us up so that we can let go when injustice happens to us but it helps us to be at peace with those who hurt us and even bless them romans 12 talks about it says if it's possible as far as it depends on you live at peace with everyone do not take revenge my dear friends but leave room for god's wrath for it is written it is mine to avenge i will repay says the lord on the contrary now listen to this if your enemy is hungry feed him if he is thirsty give him something to drink in doing this you will keep burning coals on his head do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good are you getting that church the key to being able to live a life that success that succeeds and flourishes even when life is unfair even when we go through the injustices of things that happens to us it's the theological anchor that we don't need to be the final judge our god is just vengeance is his he will repay we can entrust anything that happens to us into his hands amen and that's amazing that's amazing because when people treat you unfairly there's no need for us to to fight anymore there's no need for us to hold on to what we think we deserve we don't need to make sure that justice is served on our behalf we can do so much more than just let it go but we can actually overcome evil with good we can overcome evil with good and church that is the kind of people that we are called to be we are called to be the kinds of people who are not fighting for our own rights but who are overcoming evil with good when people hurt us when people do things that we don't like when people treat us unfairly we are called to love to give forgiveness and to bless in return and that is only possible because we know that god is the great and final judge is that cool cool here's the second observation or the second the second response that he makes so his his observation is that he saw that death is the great leveler right we're all like animals and his conclusion is this just enjoy life while you can life is short death awaits us all it doesn't matter how you live your life at the end of the day you can't escape the inevitability of death and so just enjoy your life while you can verse 22 i saw there's nothing better than the man should rejoice in his work for that is his lot who can bring him to see what will be after him now this is the very same conclusion that many people reach even nowadays it's especially common amongst those who believe that this life is all that there is you know eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die have you heard that before you know it's the natural conclusion for those who view life as here and now for those who view life without a sense of god and without a sense of eternity in their hearts and it makes sense because if this life is really all that there is why not just live your best life if this life is all that there is if these few years on earth is all that you have why not just do whatever makes you happy it makes a lot of sense there is a wisdom in that but we have to remember that there were things that the wise man didn't take into account because when he reached this conclusion when he said okay we're all just the same as animals there were some things in his observations in the things that he saw and believed that we need to correct and tweak according to the counsel of god's word for example let me let me point out some few things to you in verse 20 he says and he's talking about animals and man and he says look they all have the same breath and man has no advantage over the beasts for all is vanity you know king solomon saw that animals and mankind had the same breath the hebrew word used here is the is the word ruach it means spirit animals and man humans and beasts all have the same spirit but if you read back to the creation account in genesis you will quickly find that there is something wrong there you realize that the teacher had it wrong because when god made the heavens and the earth when he made the animals in the in the air he made the birds of the air the fish of the sea right he spoke them into being did he not do you remember in genesis chapter one you know every time you start your new bible reading plan everyone starts from genesis and hopes that they'll finish the bible so genesis chapter one is probably one of the most often read pieces of scripture but if you if you go back to that account you'll remember that god spoke and things came into being he said let there be lights and there was light right let the land produce animals uh each of its own kind and came to pass let the seas be full of uh swimming creatures teaming with life and all that kind of stuff and it happened but what happened when he came and he made man what happened when he made people everything else in creation he spoke and it came to be but everything except mankind genesis chapter 2 verse 7 and the lord god formed man of the dust of the ground and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul now that's actually amazing it's amazing because it shows that from the very beginning he didn't just speak us into existence he formed us everything else he spoke the mountains the galaxies the stars sun moon the light everything that we know was spoken into existence but we as mankind as people were formed by god the the word formed here has the picture of a potter who is molding and shaping clay god was hands on he was close to us as he made us god even from the very beginning has come closer to mankind than anything else in all creation from the very beginning isn't that amazing we have a special place in his heart he was not giving instructions from afar he was not let there be man and it should be all good but he came close he formed us off the dust of the ground and not only did he do that but he breathed into us and man became a living soul not only did he form us he breathed into us the breath of life he didn't do it for fish he didn't do it for cows or for chickens he didn't do it for whales or for elephants but god breathed into people like you and me he chose to make people in his image that's why let me read that verse genesis 1 26 then god said let us make mankind or people in our image in our likeness so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky over the livestock and all the wild animals and over all the creatures that move along the ground god breathed into us so that we might relate to him in a way that nothing else in creation can i want you to catch that for a moment because everything is declaring the praises of our god whether they like it or not they are declaring and witnessing to the glory of god when you look at creation everything witnesses to the glory of god but there is a special place for mankind where we are called to relate to god in a way that nothing else on this earth can we are not the same as animals we are not just beasts we are called to live with special relationship with our creator and what the teacher fails to recognize that is that people are not at all like animals we don't just share the same breath we are not made in the same image and we do not just return to the dust when we die right we don't just return to the dust when we die jesus christ did not come and die on the cross to save your goldfish but he went to the cross and he died because he loved people and he knew that our eternal destinies were at stake if this life is all there is to it then jesus christ need not come after all we enter into oblivion at the end of our life and that's all there is to it we don't need to worry about anything but our eternal destinies were at stake and that is why jesus christ had to come we were destined for destruction we were trapped in our sin there was nothing that we could do we were separated from god and that's why jesus christ had to come and restore us back to himself our in our intended purpose from creation to especially have this special relationship with god needed to be restored and so he came and he paid the penalty for our sin so our eternal destiny could be changed from darkness into light from death into life and now you and i can be restored to our original purpose to have right relationship with god you and i are very different from beasts don't let anybody tell you differently don't let anybody try to convince you that this life is all there is you're just like an animal do whatever an animal does whatever it wants and just live your life and now that we know now that we know that we're different from the animals now that we know that we were god breathed now that we know that god specially formed us and breathe into us that we were created for life eternally with god it is no longer sufficient to live our lives in a way which is just about enjoying life is no longer sufficient for us to echo the slogan eat drink be merry for tomorrow we die we were created for something more than that it's falling far short of what you and i were created for if we settle for that kind of life can i can i say this you and i were created especially for a relationship with god so pursue that prioritize it over everything that you do this is what gives our life meaning and purpose that we can have relationship with our creator are you getting that church prioritize it pursue it don't let anything distract you from it everyone is trying to find fulfillment and meaning in everything else whether that be in holidays good luck with that right now whether that be with food whether that be with pleasures whether it be with career progression power finances buying the boat living the life doing whatever that they want to do everyone is pursuing that dream but none of that can give you meaning only life with god can give you meaning because that was your original intended purpose that is what you and i were created for we are different than the beasts you know the teacher he king solomon he explored all possible options to try and find meaning in his life and his conclusion was always the same it's like it is all meaningless it's all vanity it's all like smoke it's here one second it's gone the next you know king solomon he had everything that anyone ever could ask for he had riches he had power he had women he had enjoyment and pleasures he could do whatever he wanted he had wisdom he was a smart guy and at the very end of it all he realized that nothing could satisfy him because the truth is that life without god is meaningless life without god is meaningless but life with god is infinitely meaningful so church can i encourage you don't just settle for a life of eating and drinking and being merry don't settle for that subpar life let's pursue life with god pursue life with god and allow him to take us on the adventure that he created us for amen amen so that was the second conclusion that king solomon came to which we needed to update and revise with the gospel is that okay the third one is this when he saw that the oppressed had no comfort from their presses he reaches a new low and he concludes you know what it's just better to die than live sunshine and rainbows verse two of chapter four says this i thought the dead who are already dead are more fortunate than the living who are still alive but better than both is he who has not yet been and who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun he reaches an all-time low he looks around he sees injustice he sees oppression he sees that they are things that are not going away quickly he sees that life is unfair and his conclusion is simply that it is better to die than to live and even better to never have been born in the first place it doesn't sound like a very fun person to be around does he you know but again we see that there are things that king solomon hasn't taken into account in reaching his conclusion because he's looking around and he's seeing that there's no one to comfort the oppressed twice he says this twice and perhaps it's true when you look around and you look at life without god when you look at the state of injustice in the world today when you see what's happening in the streets when you look at protests and riots and racism and poverty when you look at the injustice that happens around the world and you have no semblance of god in your heart that conclusion is actually not that far off that you know what it's just not worth life sometimes it's just not worth living when you look at someone who is stuck in poverty or stuck under an oppressive regime and they can't escape and their life the quality of life is so affected by that and they have no sense of comfort from anything eternal the conclusion that you know what they have no comfort maybe life is it's better to die than live maybe it's better not to have even been born but once we elevate our perspective we are reminded we are reminded that god is the great comforter he is the great judge but he is also the great comforter you know in fact one of the titles that is given to the holy spirit is the title the comforter it is what he does psalm 34 18 says the lord is close to the brokenhearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit matthew 5 verse 4 says blessed are those who mourn this is what jesus says for they will be comforted you know god is our comfort he is the one who endured the greatest injustice and yet he is our greatest comfort it is what makes him our greatest comfort that when we go through oppression when we see things that are unjust happening around us and to us we know that we serve a god who relates he relates he went through the greatest injustice he who knew no sin became sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of god in him when jesus christ came to earth you have to think about it the god of all creation subject himself to those he created for his own glory and it's rather than giving him the glory that he was due for creating them and giving them life they ridiculed him they mocked him they scorned him and they crucified him our god knows injustice like none of us ever do there's nothing on this earth that can can compare to that injustice and as a result of him going through that injustice we have now become beneficiaries you and i have eternal life we have forgiveness we have relationship restored with god and as those who have now benefited from the injustice that christ suffered not only is he our comfort but now we as those who have benefited are called to be that same comfort for those around us you and i are called to be ministers of reconciliation that's what the bible says we bring the same comfort that we received to those around us just as jesus christ took on the injustice of the world upon himself for our sake you and i are now called you and i are now called to take on the injustice of others for their sake second corinthians chapter 1 says this verse 3 praise be to the god and father of our lord jesus christ the father of compassion and the god of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles so that so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from god now isaiah chapter 1 verse 17 says this he says learn to do right to seek justice to defend the oppressed to take up the cause of the fatherless to plead the case of the widow you know for those of us who are believers this becomes now our response whenever we see oppression whenever we see injustice we don't simply point people to god the great comforter even though he is but we are called to be his hands and feet to bring comfort to those who need it around us we're not called to be passive we're not called to just que sera whatever happens whatever will be will be let it happen injustice will always be a part of our world but we are now called to go into the world and bring the comfort that we have received to those around us amen let me break this down for us in a way which can be a little bit more practical because we don't all need to now go and become involved in social justice initiatives that is not all of our callings that maybe some of us you know some of us are called to do national level things we're called to address poverty we're called to change things in our city in our nation uh maybe we're called to be some something like an abraham lincoln and abolish slavery in our time to to address an injustice in our time and some of us may be called to do those high-level kinds of things and if that's your call and that's your passion you should go ahead and do that with all your heart but all of us all of us here whether or not those high level things are your calling or not all of us are called to affect change on a small scale we can do things on a small scale and these smaller things are often overlooked you know can we treat our families with the respect and the honor that they're due even when we're not being treated fairly in our own eyes young people when you relate to your parents and they are being more harsh on you than you think you deserve when they are taking away certain privileges getting you to study making you do things that you don't want to do can you still treat your parents with honor and respect when you feel like you're being treated unfairly you can be someone who brings justice into unjust situations can you do something like sponsor a compassion child that in one small way is bringing justice to places where there is none can we look out for one another in our connect groups you know maybe offer a helping hand to someone who is doing it tough or going through a tough circumstance maybe host a meal or cook dinner for someone who um has maybe just lost their job during the season of covert can we do that that in itself again is bringing justice to unjust situations you know if you're in the workplace can you be an upright leader and manager you know not all leaders need to be jerks but that seems to be the the framework of the um the world nowadays that in order for you to be successful in order for you to be a great leader you need to be very hard on everybody you need to expect much and push people really hard and and come down hard on them when they're not doing their jobs but can you be a just leader can you be a just manager in the workplace can you make sure that those you have been given leadership over are well taken care of can we lift up the people around us those who are always being overlooked who are always being ridiculed and shamed for those who are who are going through tough times can we lift them up and look out for them you know if we can be faithful with the little things then perhaps over time some of the big things that are happening in our world today can begin to change too but can i encourage you church that we don't always need to look at the big picture things can i encourage you that you be faithful with the little that you have been given control over make sure that you pursue justice in those areas that you take care of those around you and over time we will see that the big things begin to change too but whatever the case may be god's desire is for his church that we would be salt and light amen amen now as we wrap up today we've kind of explored the wise man's view and his observations and his conclusions that come from looking at a life that is unfair and unjust and at the end of the day we are called to look towards a god who is the personification of justice he is the one who has everything in his in his hands he is in control he will make everything right in its time but right now i would be doing you a disservice talking about a just judge a just god if i didn't give you an opportunity to get right with god today you know it's comforting to us when we know that god will judge things righteously in the end when we face oppression right that someone will fight on our behalf that's comforting but it's also terrifying because that same just judge is going to be the one who judges us and you and i need to know that we are guilty in his eyes that if we just go through our life we are guilty in the eyes of the one who will judge all things righteously you know a lot of us are not scared of judgment day we're not terrified of this judge oftentimes because we view the exam wrongly you know a lot of us what we view judgment like is we think that god uh treats it like an exam it's a 50 past mark he takes all out all our wrongdoing and he takes all of our good deeds and he weighs them against one another and as long as we're kind of more of a good person than a bad person we deceive ourselves into thinking you know what god will god will see that and god will judge that and he'll know that i'm a good person but the thing is our judgment is not like an exam it's more like a court of law you know when a criminal comes into a court of law the judge doesn't take into account all the good things that that person has done in their life he just looks at the crime because for a judge for justice to happen the crime must be paid for it doesn't matter if a person has looked after the poor their whole life has lived a great generous life taking care of everyone around them loving their family and doing that if they have murdered a person they must be brought into account for their crime right and so in that judge's eyes that person is going to be guilty that person is going to be deserving of whatever punishment that that crime deserves and that is how god will judge us to that when we stand before him and we give an account for our lives you and i he will judge us for everything that we did for every lie that we told everything that we stole every word that we said in vain and for him to be just for him to be perfectly righteous he will have to cause us and say that we that the punishment that is due upon us for our sin has to come upon us and that's the predicament that you and i are in without him because regardless of whether you like it or not all of us have fallen short of the glory of god all of us have missed the mark we are all imperfect and so when we stand before god on judgement day the verdict will not be good if we do not have him but he offers us a way out that's the good news of the gospel church he offers us a way out he is a just and righteous god that is who he is he cannot let sin slide he cannot let wrongdoing and evil go unpunished but he has the good news that he took all the all the punishment that was due for every sin for every evil for every wrongdoing and instead of laying it upon you he laid it upon his son he declared you guilty and then sent his son to take the punishment in your place he sent his son 2000 years ago on the cross of calvary jesus christ the son of god the creator of the world the word at the very beginning sent his son to this earth to be mocked ridiculed and scorned by his creation crucified on a cross went through a death that he didn't deserve so that you and i can be free of the punishment that was due us and can be called the righteousness of god in him and so i just want to give an invitation right now to any of you who are in this place and you need to get right with god because our god is a just judge he offers you this lifeline he offers us the lifeline of his son that whosoever shall believe in him and what he did on the cross shall be saved the bible says that if we confess with our mouth that jesus is lord and we believe in our heart that god raised him from the dead we shall be saved and so today i want to extend the invitation to anyone here who has not yet been made right with god who does not yet believe in the cross and what jesus christ has done for us you have an opportunity right now to be judged righteous in the sight of a just and holy god who must punish evil and wrongdoing and so right now with all eyes closed and all heads bowed i just want to give that opportunity this is the most important decision that you can ever make in your life the most important thing that you can do and god is calling out to you today he wants you to come to him and he wants you to receive the forgiveness that he already paid for all you need to do is receive him all you need to do is put your faith in him so if that is you today and you say dave i want to be made right with god i know that there are things in my life that in my own heart that are unjust and wicked where there should be righteousness and good things in my good judgment in my heart there even there i find wickedness and you say i need to be made right with god i know this god that you talk about is a just god and that he loves me and he wants to provide a way out of my sin and my brokenness if you say that's what i want to do this morning i want to be made right can i ask you just right now just to lift your hands nice and high and i just want to pray for you and then i'm going to give another call i see that hand is there anyone else all across the city campus online city campus if that's you as well you can just raise your hands we have leaders there who are looking out they would love to be able to pray with you after this as well one last opportunity to be made right with god come on let's pray i see that hand all right church would you pray along with me say heavenly father i know that i'm a sinner i know that you are a righteous god and i know that we have been separated by my sin i believe in what you did for me at the cross i believe that jesus christ died believe that he rose again to take the punishment for my sin and to restore me to right relationship with my creator lord from this moment on i give my life to you i choose to follow you i choose to live in relationship with you come into my life show me who you are let me be yours forever amen amen well if you have prayed that for the very first time if you have made that decision to be made into right relationship with god i just want to say that you have made the very very best decision of your life the very best decision of your life church can we give a round of applause to those who have made that decision you know after this service we're going to have um leaders in the connect lounge at the connect corner at the city campus who would love to be able to meet with you and talk you through the decision that you made but right now i want to give a call for people here who are going through injustice in their life that when i say life feels and seems unfair you resonate with that in your heart you're going through a situation maybe you've lost your job maybe you've got some broken relationship in your life and you need to come back to god and you need to entrust your life back to god and say god take control you need to come back to the comforter and find comfort in this time if that is you we would love to be another source of comfort for you as well we would love to pray alongside with you we have leaders who would love to come along talk with you see how we can help and serve you pray along with you and commit your situation to god and pray for god to break through on your behalf and so if that is you what we're going to do right now is we're just going to sing a song and if that's you i would encourage you to come down to the front and receive ministry from the lord receive ministry and commit uh this season of your life this situation to god and we'd love to pray alongside with you and then we're gonna we're gonna pray after we sing so church would you stand to your feet let's let's worship the lord together for a while and if that is you you need to receive comfort from the lord you're going through a hard time and you need you need god in this situation would you just make your way to the front we'd love to pray for you come on let's sing

Channel: Faith Community Church Perth

Views: 1,795

Rating: 4.6923075 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 3XWxrjfAkF4

Length: 48min 53sec (2933 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 06 2020