Chasing Bubbles | Pastor Daniel Floyd

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) Good morning church. Welcome to Gateway. Time to praise and worship the Lord. (upbeat music) I'll praise in the valley. Praise in the mountain. I'll praise when I'm sure. I'll praise when I'm doubting. I'll praise when I've numbered. Praise in the mountain. Oh, 'cause praise is the water. My enemy's drowning. As long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise the Lord of my soul. Praise the Lord of my soul. I'll praise when I'm feeling. I'll praise when I'm done. I'll praise 'cause I'm lonely. You're still in control. 'Cause praise is a weapon. It's more than a sound. Oh, yes it is. My praise is a shout that brings share. I'll praise every pull down.

As long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise the Lord of my soul. Praise the Lord of my soul. I won't be right. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside? Oh, Praise the Lord of my soul. Yeah. Praise you, God. We love you with all of our hearts. Oh, oh, yeah. I'm breathing, sorry. Praise 'cause you, rain. Praise 'cause you rose and defeated the rain. I'll praise 'cause you're faithful. Praise 'cause you're true. Praise 'cause there's no body greater than you. Come on, praise. So, so, oh, praise 'cause you, rain. Praise 'cause you rose and defeated the rain. I'll praise 'cause you're faithful. Praise 'cause you're true. Praise 'cause there's no body greater than you. Praise the Lord of my soul. Oh, praise the Lord of my soul. Oh, praise the Lord of my soul. Oh, praise the Lord of my soul. I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside?

Oh, I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside? I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside? Oh, praise the Lord of my soul. - We'll give morning church. It's a good day to be in the house of the Lord. Come on, we're gonna live tight. The name of Jesus, amen. ♪ She is good, he is good ♪ ♪ You're good, he is good ♪ - You see, the Lord is my shepherd. (upbeat music) ♪ My shepherd, my refuge and my shelter ♪ ♪ The wind in me surrounds ♪ ♪ He's my defenders ♪ ♪ He's faithful and patient ♪ ♪ He's loving and he's gracious ♪ ♪ From age to age ♪ ♪ His goodness never changes ♪ ♪ So I will sing ♪ ♪ Well I will sing praise ♪ ♪ I will sing praise ♪ ♪ For the Lord is good always ♪ ♪ All of my days were held by His grace ♪ ♪ For the Lord is good ♪ ♪ The Lord is good always ♪ ♪ Always, always ♪

♪ You are ♪ ♪ And I'm proud He's in my treasure ♪ ♪ He's good beyond all measure ♪ ♪ Oh I've tasted and I've seen there's nothing better ♪ ♪ So forever I will sing praise ♪ ♪ I will sing praise ♪ ♪ For the Lord is good always ♪ ♪ All of my days were held by His grace ♪ ♪ Oh the Lord is good ♪ ♪ The Lord is ♪ ♪ I will sing praise ♪ ♪ I will sing praise ♪ ♪ For the Lord is good always ♪ ♪ All of my days were held by His grace ♪ ♪ Oh the Lord is good ♪ ♪ The Lord is good always ♪ ♪ Always, always ♪ ♪ Yes, yes, yes ♪ ♪ The Lord is good always ♪ ♪ Always ♪ ♪ Oh the Lord is good ♪ ♪ The Lord is good ♪ ♪ Yes, yes ♪ ♪ Oh the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Then I'm standing on the rock ♪ ♪ The rock of ages ♪ ♪ Holding to the hope that's never failing ♪ ♪ I've got all I need ♪ ♪ 'Cause I've got you ♪ ♪ Oh we're standing on the rock ♪

♪ Yes, I'm standing on the rock ♪ ♪ The rock of ages ♪ ♪ Holding to the hope that's never failing ♪ ♪ I've got all I need ♪ ♪ 'Cause I've got you ♪ ♪ 'Cause I've got you ♪ ♪ Oh I'm standing on the rock ♪ ♪ The rock of ages ♪ ♪ Holding to the hope that's never failing ♪ ♪ I've got all I need ♪ ♪ 'Cause I've got you ♪ ♪ And I will sing ♪ ♪ Oh I will sing praise ♪ ♪ I will sing praise ♪ ♪ For the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Always ♪ ♪ All the Lord is good ♪ ♪ And by His grace ♪ ♪ For the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Always ♪ ♪ Oh I will sing praise ♪ ♪ I will sing praise ♪ ♪ For the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Always ♪ ♪ All the Lord is good, the Lord is good always ♪ ♪ All the Lord is good, the Lord is good always ♪ ♪ Always, always ♪ ♪ The Lord is good always ♪ ♪ All the ways, all the ways ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm standing on the rock, the rock of the angels ♪

♪ Holding to the high that's never failing ♪ ♪ I've got all I need ♪ ♪ 'Cause I've got you ♪ ♪ Yes I do ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm standing on the rock ♪ ♪ The rock of the angels ♪ ♪ Holding to the high that's never failing ♪ ♪ I've got all I need ♪ ♪ 'Cause I've got you ♪ ♪ That's it ♪ ♪ Oh, I've got all I need ♪ ♪ 'Cause I've got you ♪ ♪ It's privacy ♪ ♪ Oh, I'll see face, I'll see ♪ ♪ Oh, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ All of my days held by His grace ♪ ♪ Oh, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Oh, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Always, always ♪ ♪ Always, come on, tell 'em ♪ ♪ The Lord is good ♪ ♪ Always ♪ ♪ Yes, yes, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Always ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ So I throw up my hands ♪ ♪ And praise you again and again ♪ ♪ 'Cause all that I have is a hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah and I know it's not much ♪ ♪ I'm nothin' else fit for a key ♪

♪ Except for a heart singin' hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah so I throw up my hands ♪ ♪ I throw up my hands and praise you again and again ♪ ♪ 'Cause all that I have is a hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah and I know it's not much ♪ ♪ I'm nothin' else fit for a key ♪ ♪ Except for a heart singin' hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah we sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah to me ♪ - Yeah, come on, let's just lift a thankfulness in this place today. You know, the atmosphere changes when we just fill our mouths with gratitude to the Lord. We fill our hearts with thanks. We sing of His goodness. I was reading in Acts this week and just reminded of the fact that what we're doing here in this room today is something that was laid out for us a couple of thousand years ago where we sing spiritual songs together. We hear an encouraging word where we open up the word of God. What we're doing right now, we're taking place in thousands of years and just glorifying Jesus today. And you know, when a step further, the word says that we gather around His throne singing, "Holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty."

Who wasn't is and who is to come. And so what we're doing today in this place is we're joining with all eternity and just lifting up the name of Jesus, singing, "Holy, holy, holy are you, God." And what I love is our youth team, our incredible youth team wrote a song about just that. So I want us just to sing this, just to join our voices together and sing about His holiness, sing about His kingdom here on earth. (gentle music) ♪ Yes, we magnify you, Jesus ♪ (gentle music) (light music) (dramatic music) Lift our voices, heaven sings You and You alone You and You alone Our praises rise as angels cry Forever You are lifted high Surrounded by a song Surrounded by a song Holy is Your name Holy is Your name Our Father in Heaven Hear Your children singing Holy is Your name It's Your hope We lift our hearts to all Your ways

To all that is within us praise Let Your Kingdom come Let Your will be done Holy is Your name Holy is Your name Our Father in Heaven Hear Your children singing Holy is Your name It's Your hope So holy, so holy are You Lord We've seen Yours as the kingdom For Yours as the kingdom The power of the glory Forever and ever Yours is the name that will reign over all things Forever and ever Yours is the kingdom The power of the glory Forever and ever Yours is the name that will reign over all things Forever and ever Yours is the kingdom The power of the glory Forever and ever Yours is the name that will reign over all things Forever and ever Yours is the kingdom The power of the glory Forever and ever Yours is the name that will reign over all things

Forever and ever We've seen the Holy Is Your name Holy is Your name Our Father in Heaven Hear Your children singing Holy is Yours is the kingdom The shore is the kingdom The power of the glory Forever and ever Yours is the name that will reign over all things Forever and ever Yours is the kingdom The power of the glory Forever and ever Yours is the name that will reign over all things Forever and ever Yours is the kingdom The power of the glory Forever and ever Yours is the kingdom The power of the glory We've seen the Holy Holy is Your name Holy is Your name Our Father in Heaven Hear Your children singing Holy is Your name Come on, do we believe that today? There is nothing like You, Jesus

So all hail, keep Jesus, all hail the Lord of Heaven and done, all hail, keep Jesus. All hail the Savior of the world, there is no one like you Lord, no one like you Lord. We sing, all hail, keep Jesus, all hail the Lord of Heaven and done, all hail, keep Jesus. All hail the Savior of the world, all hail, keep Jesus, all hail the Lord of Heaven and done, all hail, keep Jesus. All hail the Savior of the world, there is no one like you Lord. Let everything ever meet, come out before the King of Kings, let everything turn. Come fast and see His Lord, if there's no pure shout, let us join with the Lord of Heaven. Let's sing, all hail the Lord of Heaven. Let's sing, all hail the Lord of Heaven. Let's sing, all hail, keep Jesus, all hail the Lord of Heaven and done, all hail, keep Jesus. All hail the Savior of the world, there is no Jesus. Let's celebrate our Savior who's alive and well and seated at the right hand of God. Come on let's give a praise, you're worthy of Jesus. You're worthy, you're the Savior of the world, the King of the universe. You're the major of Heaven and Earth. I love when we sing that song because it reminds me of something that my kids do. You see, when we have family come in town and especially their cousins, we'll let the kids know a few days before, but then the day that they're supposed to arrive, we typically let our kids know about five minutes before arrival time. And when we tell them that, they run to the windows and they start going back and forth and they are pacing impatiently because they're trying to see when their cousins are going to get there. And then out of nowhere, when the car turns into the driveway, there is an eruption in my house. The kids start screaming, they go crazy, they literally turn into animals, I'm not like just animals. And then they'll yell out, they're here, they're here, they're here. And the reason why they are so excited is because the person that they love is present. Now maybe you're here this morning and you're wondering why do these people shout the way they shout? Why do they sing the way they sing? Why do they clap the way they clap? It's because we believe that the person we're singing about is not dead, but he's alive, and he is present, and he is active, and he is moving in our lives, and his name is Jesus. His name is Jesus. And here's what I love. Jesus actually said this. He said we're two or three. And so guess what, he's here.

And if Jesus is here, anything is possible, amen? If Jesus is here, healing is possible. If Jesus is here, joy is possible. If Jesus is here, peace is possible. Come on, whatever you need today is found in Jesus Christ. If you believe that today, can we give him one more shot of praise? Praise you, Jesus. Praise you, Jesus. Amen, amen. Well, listen, it was so great worshiping with you. And this is just the beginning. We've got a great service today. And I do just want to take a moment and welcome all of you to Gateway Church, especially if you're here for the first time or maybe the first time in a long time, we are so honored you chose to worship with us church. Can we put our hands together and welcome all of those that are new to Gateway Church? So thrilled that you're here. And look, we would love the opportunity to personally connect with you. And there's a couple of ways to do that. First of all, you can just take out your phone and you can tap the tap tag on the seat back in front of you and we can follow up with you there. Or after service, there's an area called Connect Central, which is located in our lobby. And I'll be there along with some of our leaders.

We love to meet you, shake your hand, answer any questions that you have, and get to know you a little bit. And so if after service you can stop by there, that would be great. And if for whatever reason you can't do either of those, you can just text the word connect to 71010 and we'll follow up with you there. Also, I do want to remind you that tonight at six o'clock, we're having a night of worship and prophetic ministry that you do not want to miss. We believe that God's going to speak and really encourage us tonight. And we do have kids ministry from birth to sixth grade. So come out and be a part of tonight. Today, Pastor Daniel is beginning a brand new series that you are really going to love. But before we turn our attention to him, why don't you turn to two or three people, greet them and welcome them to Gateway Church. (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) - They put it in a grave. They put it in the tomb. (gentle music) But Jesus rose from the grave.

(gentle music) Jesus opened the gate and kept. (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) - Every box is an opportunity to tell them about Jesus Christ. - This shoe box will take the gospel to every corner of the world. - And it is our prayer that this glorious light of the gospel will flow among the nations. - We want every child to hear the gospel. - In Jesus' name. (gentle music) - Isn't this amazing? It's so important that these children hear that Christ came to this earth to them. Keep back in these boxes and continue to pray for these children. We couldn't do this without you. God bless you. (gentle music) (gentle music) - Well, welcome to Church, everyone. How are we today? Come on, let's put our hands together for Jesus at every location. (audience applauding) What a great day to be in God's house. And as you just saw, we have an incredible opportunity

to live on mission, one of the things that we're here to do. And that is through Operation Christmas Child. And if you've never done it, it's simply, or very simple, you just grab a box in the foyer and there's gonna be a list of things that you can pack and can't pack. And then you bring it back at the drop-off time and then that goes to a warehouse and from there goes all over the world to bless children in the name of Jesus. And so I want everybody to be involved. I think everybody can be involved in some way. And so take part of that at every service, at every campus. And the next Saturday, or this coming Saturday, the 24th is serve my city, everybody. And it's gonna be a big day. So many of you have signed up if you haven't yet. I think you still can. I don't really know. I just work here. But so make sure you're, if you signed up, you're on your project and all that Saturday, just thousands and thousands of red shirts are gonna be all over the DFW in Wyoming, giving a couple of cold water in Jesus' name as the scripture tells us. And then we're gonna let that bleed over into Sunday as well. And so next Sunday, if you're like, "Man, there's no way I can be a boy."

food banks in the areas that we have campuses. And so if you could bring canned goods or non-perishable food items, just bring them to church with you, drop them off when you're out grocery shopping or doing your Walmart Target order or however you get it. Just add a few more things to the cart and bring it with you next Sunday. And I know for many of us, we eat more than we should sometimes. Amen, everyone. And we forget there's people that have barely enough to eat. And so why don't we bless them and be a part of blessing our community, all right? We're not here just to do church. Amen. We're here to be the church. And that's one simple way that you can live on mission, all right? We're kicking off a brand new series today called Fools Gold. Going to be looking at the book of Ecclesiastes for the next four weeks. And anybody remember Little House on the Prairie? Okay. Anybody watching the new Little House on the Prairie? It's making a comeback, you know, Netflix. I think it's in the top 10 now. But I've watched the original one back in the day. When you were the remote, I was my dad's remote. Get up and turn the TV, son. I was the remote, all right? And so there was this episode wherever Laura was out one day. She thought she found gold in the creek and then she panned for gold and she built this whole pile of gold only thinking it was going to change her family only to find out that all the effort all the work she'd put in was for gold that was fake. It was Fools Gold. And so I think Ecclesiastes is going to show us that there's some things we're giving so much energy to in our life that at the end of the day they don't have the value we thought they had. It could be we're chasing Fools Gold. And if you're the note-taking type, today's message title, you can write this down. If not, go ahead and write it down anyways. It's called this chasing bubbles. Chasing bubbles. Let's pray before we get into the word. Father, we open our hearts and minds to you and we ask you to speak to us. Holy Spirit, would you transform us from the inside out by your word and by your spirit? We want to hear from you today. We love you. We pray this in Jesus name. Everybody said a big amen. Amen. How many parents you've ever bought one of these? Yes. Are you been at Disney? You paid 75 bucks. And it ended up in the garbage by the time you get home. You know, whenever I was a kid, it wasn't this advanced. It was simply a little wand or something. You had to blow it or whatever. Now you just pull the trigger and there they come all out. And what does every kid want to do? Every grand kid? What do they want to do? They want to try to catch the bubble, right? What happens the moment that you try to catch the bubble? It's gone. And the writer of Ecclesiastes discovered this thousands of years ago that sometimes life can be that way. That life can be like bubbles that

we're chasing. And the moment that we try to grab it, the moment we try to think we got it in our grip, it's like it disappears. It's like it's vanishing. And most believe that Solomon is the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes. And they believe that it's written later in his life. And if you're new to church, Solomon was the son of David. He was king over Israel. And he was said to be the wisest man that ever lived and the richest man. He prayed that God would give him wisdom to lead the people. And God said, I don't only give you wisdom, but I'll give you wealth and riches as well because he prayed with the right motive. And so this is Solomon. And if anyone had the resources to pursue and to try everything that life had to offer to bring pleasure, it was Solomon. And so then he comes down to the end of his life. And it's almost like he's journaling the conclusion that he's come to. Someone said that Proverbs is probably written in the middle of his life. It's very principle based. It's very if you do this, and this will be the outcome. And if you walk with wisdom, this will be the outcome. Then he gets to the very end of his life. And he's writing to Ecclesiastes. And he's like, yeah, at the end of the day, it's all meaningless. It's like I got to the end of life and I poured my life into everything. Matter of fact, this is what it says in Ecclesiastes chapter 1. It says the words of the teacher. This is why I believe it's Solomon. Son of David, King, and Jerusalem. That describes him. He says, meaningless, meaningless says the teacher. Utterly meaningless. Everything is meaningless. All right, let's pray. Y'all have a great week. That's like the most depressing scripture in the Bible. What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? So this is how he starts the book. Not very encouraging. We're going to get encouraging by the end, everybody. Don't worry, you're going to leave the press today. I hope not in Jesus' name. But he says meaningless, meaningless. In other words, Solomon had the ability and had that could bring pleasure in this life. The philosophical word would be, he tried the hedonistic life. That life is about me and life is for me and life's ultimate end is that I find pleasure and wherever I can find pleasure, however I can find pleasure, that's what I'm living for.

And Solomon says, I've done it all. I've owned a lot. I've had a lot of relationships. I've had all the pleasures that this life can bring it at the end of it. I found that it was meaningless, meaningless. Everything is meaningless. Now the word meaningless there is this Hebrew word, hevelle. And hevelle has several meanings. One of them is this, is that it's a vapor. It's actually hevelle haleem, which this construct of meaningless, meaningless, it's kinda like song of songs or vanity of vanities. Are y'all with me? This is the, it's like reinforcing the meaning of this. One scholar said this, that what he's saying is life is the breathiest breath. But it's a vapor, it's a mist. You can see it, it's real, but then it's gone like that. And this is our life, that the life lived under the sun is this way, it's, and he says this kind of life is a meaningless life. It's so quick, it's, it's, it's, you can't grasp it. It's the moment you try to get it, it's chasing a bubble. But it also has this idea that life has purpose, but it seems out of reach. That there is a meaning to life. So he's not saying that it's meaningless in the sense, the translators are saying it's meaningless in the sense of your life is meaningless, so just wait till heaven.

And then you can have some purpose in life. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is this life has meaning, but the, but the life that we live under the sun doesn't have meaning. He says under the sun 29 times in the book of Ecclesiastes, he uses this word Hevel 38 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. And so here's what he's saying, when you frame your life without God, you will get to the end and find it had no meaning. That when you live your life without pursuing the things of God, you're gonna get to the end of it and find it was like chasing a bubble. Because how many of you know that the line keeps moving? Well, whenever I get married, then it's gonna do the thing that I thought it would do. Well, then whenever we have kids, then I'll have the feeling, the fulfillment that I thought I would have, and then you had the kids. I was like, wow, that brought a lot of work, but. Then it's if I could get into this neighborhood. And then if it's if I could drive that car, if I could get this promotion, and it's not saying those things are bad, but if that's the motivation of your life, if you're living life for just what's under the sun, when you were created for what is above the sun, then you're gonna find out that life is meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless. If it's all about what you can get,

enjoy, feel, do under the sun, 'cause you and I were not created just for what's under the sun. We were created for something that's much greater than that. We were created for so much more than that. And matter of fact, your soul longs for something more than just what's under the sun. That's why there's this dissatisfaction. That's why the next thing is never enough, because you're so long something more than a promotion. More than the next deal, more than the business, more than the next sexual encounter, more than the next hit. Your soul longs for something more. This is why we have a culture that medicates it with binge watching. 'Cause I need, my soul is longing for something more. We're doom scrolling because my soul is longing for something more, this can't be all there is. And we know that intuitively. And Solomon shows us that whenever we live for just what's under the sun, he shows us three things. And after these three things, then we're gonna kind of get encouraging, okay? Y'all with me, say amen. Okay, number one, he says this, life is fleeting. Look what he says in the very next verse, verse four, he says, generations come and generations go, but the earth remains. He's talking about a funeral and a sunrise in the same sentence.

Generations come and generations go and guess what? You and I, we're the part that goes. We're not the part that remains. That this life is fleeting. That there were people that came before you and now they're gone and there'll be people after you and then they'll be gone and you'll be gone and we'll all be gone because this life have 4,000 weeks if you live to be 80. I pray you live way beyond that. But you have 4,000 weeks. I'm through about 2,600 of mine because life is fleeting. This is why they say things like, "Wow, it goes so fast." We took faith to a college visit this week. And I'm like, "How am I already here? How is this little girl now going to be moving out of my house? I'm not okay with this, everybody. I'll need therapy next fall." Oh, when I was fine, I was like, "Go get him son." Her, I'm like, "Can you stay?" Girl dad, all right. His life is fleeting, right? Life is just moving on. Maybe it's why Tom Brady, whenever he was 27 in a 60-minute interview in 2004, 2005, said this to the interview, "How? How do I have three Super Bowl rings and feel like there's still something I'm missing?" It's because it's bubbles. It's I'm grasping for it. I'm chasing it. I'm trying to get it. I'm trying to hold on to it. I'm trying to grasp it. But the light life is fleeting. It kind of goes through our fingers. Solomon says, "If you're living for just under the sun, then your life." It's a miss. It's a vapor. It's the breathiest of breath and it is fleeting. But he also says this that life is exhausting. Look what he says in verse 5. He said, "The sun rises and the sun sets and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north, round and round it goes. Every turning on its course, all streams flow into the sea. Yet the sea is never full." To the place the streams come from, there they return again. He talks about the sun. He talks about the wind and he talks about these streams. He's given us three different things that are exhausting in life. And number one is this, the exhaustion of repetition. The alarm goes off

every morning. You hit the snooze every morning. Some of you, I don't know. Right, I mean, it just goes again. You get all of your bands and loops created on your Apple watch. And what happens? Come midnight, it resets. You got to do it all over again the same day. How many of you know there's a repetition? Same commute, same drive to school, same thing in the work, same office, just the same. There's just this exhaustion of repetition that happens in our life over and over and over. Same laundry pile. The parents said it, right? I mean, there's just this exhaustion. The sun rises, the sun sets. The sun rises, the sun sets. The sun rises, the sun sets. Then also, there's this exhaustion. He talks about the wind of control. Right? The wind, it goes to the north and it goes to the south and round and round it goes. And you never know which way it's coming from. And this is the metaphor of life. And there's this exhaustion of control or the illusion of control we have. That we think we're in control of things and then something happens and we realize we're not in control. That life is kind of like the wind. You can't control which way that life goes. You didn't control the diagnosis. You didn't control the decision that someone made that had impact on your life. Because ultimately, we're not really in control. It's like the wind. The wind goes where it wants and the wind does what it wants. And then he talks about rivers, he says, they come out of the stream and then they return right back into the stream. This is the exhaustion of never full. You pour your life out and out and out into things that never say we're full like the ocean. We just give of ourselves when this is when we're living for things just under the sun. When we're living for the things that are just under the sun, he says there's an exhaustion to life and it's not that it's not that you maybe don't need a vacation. Maybe you do. I don't know but I'm talking about something deeper that there is this exhaustion in the soul whenever I'm living for things that are just under the sun. When I'm living in the rat race thinking that this is the pinnacle, that this life is it. That this is where I need to pour all of my energies. I need to put all of my eggs in the earth basket and Solomon says you live that way. You'll be exhausted because here's what Lily Tomlin said. This is

kind of funny. The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat. I didn't call you that. More spiritual is what Augustine said in his confession. He said, you have made for us yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in you. We were made for God and until we find our rest in him. Because we were made, you were made, even if you don't know Him yet, you were made for God, and you were made to find your rest in God." He also says this in verse 8, he tells us that life is never satisfied. So it's fleeting, it's exhausting, and it's never satisfied. Can you be more encouraging? Sure, I want to encourage you that it's fleeting, it's exhausting. Verse 8, he says this, "All things are weary some, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear, its fill of hearing, the two gates into our life, our eyes and our ears. What has been, will be again, what has been done, will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. This should take a little bit of pressure off of you. There's nothing new under the sun, everybody. The new iPhone they're trying to sell you, it's still a phone, right? I mean, this is new color, new packaging, but the camera's better, okay, whatever. No, but we put all this pressure on us and we've got to find something new, I've got to do something new." And he just says, "Listen, what's been done, it's been done, what's going to be done, it's already been done before. There's nothing new under the sun," and he goes on to say, "Is there anything of which someone can say, 'Look, this is something new.' It was already there, long ago. It was here before our time." And then he says this really sad phrase, "No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not, will they not be remembered by those who followed them." It's like the one, two punch, Solomon says, "Life won't fulfill you and people will

forget you." God bless you. Hope you make it. How true is it though? I mean, how many generations do you go back in your own family before you don't even know the names of the people that came before you, because generations come and generations go and one generation doesn't remember the next generation? Here's what he's trying to say. In this whole story of life, you're not the star. You're not the main actor. That the stage will outlast your appearance. That God is the main story. God is the main star of the show. He's the producer of the episode, or y'all with me. And at the end of the day, the best we are are extras. The best we are is we're in the background, in the cloud, in the choir, in the ensemble. That is the best in this life that we are, because life is never satisfied. It's never enough. I love what C.S. Lewis said, and mere Christianity said, "If I find myself, look at me." Listen to this, a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy. No amount of money, no amount of pleasure, no amount of travel, no amount of whatever you want to fill in the blank. The most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. Now listen to me, Church, you were not made for this world. This is not your permanent home. And so to try to find pleasure, fulfillment, whatever you want to put in the blank, under the sun will be meaningless, meaningless, everything will be meaningless. But if you live the life you've been given under the sun, in light of the life you will live above the sun, then life can have purpose, and life can have meaning. And no matter how brief your life, the breathiest of breath, it can still have value.

No matter a fact, I would propose that God set the whole thing up this way. Look at what Romans 8, 20 says this, it says, "For the creation was subjected to frustration." So we're subjected to frustration, not by its own choice. So all of creation wasn't subjected by its own choice. It was subjected by the will of God. The will of the one who subjected it, and this was the hope. The hope that the creation itself would be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Here's what Paul is telling us in Romans. The whole ecosystem of this fallen world is subjected to frustration. It's subjected to this is meaningless, and there's got to be something more than this, and my soul doesn't fulfill it in this, that God set it up this way. Why in hope that you would long for something beyond this world? In hope that there would be something in you going, this can't be all there is to life. This can't be it. This can't be what I was put on the planet to do, and you're right because all of creation has been subjected to that frustration. being a child of Almighty God, if all you're living for is under the sun." Meaningless. But if you begin to live your life for what is beyond the sun, fulfillment, purpose, destiny. I love how John Pfeiffer put it. He said, "The great hindrance of worship is not that we are pleasure-seeking people. There's nothing wrong with seeking joy, seeking in pleasure, enjoyment, pleasure, whatever you want to fill in the blank, but that we are willing to settle for such pitiful pleasures." And we spend our life settling for pitiful pleasures when we could find full pleasure in relationship with God, in serving God, in enjoying the presence of God. Piper is saying that what gets in the way of you living that kind of life of worship to God is that you settle for pleasures like entertainment. You settle for pleasures like the next promotion. You settle for pleasures like the next house.

And not that any of that is bad. Are you all hearing me? But when that becomes the pursuit of pleasure of your life, you're missing it. Because the greatest pleasure you'll find in life is in the presence of God, walking in the will of God. Then what is under the sun starts to have some meaning. And when you live that kind of life, your life lives on beyond you. I don't know about you, but I want to live a legacy kind of life. I want to make sure that what I spend under the sun, generations don't forget about. Because I lived it for what is beyond the sun. This is the life in the story of April, Hebrews chapter 4, the Hall of Faith we call it. It says, "And by faith, Abel still speaks even though he's dead." I don't know about you, but I want that to be the story of my life. That my life is still speaking even though I'm not here anymore. That my life still tells a story even though I may not be. See, it's not the problem isn't the berevity of life. The problem isn't hevel. The problem isn't that life is short. The problem is, what do we do with this life? That we don't invest this life as if this place is the permanent place. Because this is not your permanent home if you don't know that. Your permanent home is in heaven in the presence of Jesus. See, Abel, if you don't know the story, Cain and Abel, they were brothers. Cain was the older brother. And Cain and Abel brought gifts to God. And Abel, just a half-hearted offering to the Lord, but Abel brought his very best offering to the Lord. And the Lord blessed and honored Abel's offering, but he did not honor Cain's offering. This made Cain really, really mad. And so Cain decided he would kill his brother Abel.

And when he murdered his brother Abel, he dies, but the Bible says his story still speaks. Did you know the name Abel literally means vapor? So with his vapor, he gave his best to God. And because he gave his very best to God, his life still speaks thousands of years later. We're talking about it on this Sunday morning in October because he used his vapor for the purposes of God. I just want to ask you, what are you using your vapor for? What are you using the breathiest of breaths that you've been given, this time on earth? I don't know how many years it will be, but what are you doing with it? How are you investing it? How are you using it? Are you using it just to make life about you? Are you using it for the glory of God? Because life is like chasing bubbles, and the moment you get your hand on it, it disappears. If all you're living for is what's under the sun. And so how do we combat this? How do we combat this gravity pull of life towards meaningless? Three things real quick. Are you all with me? Say amen. All right. Here, you're going to be encouraged now. Number one. Number one. I'm not saying these are easy. This is what you do. One, you've got to release your grip. You've got to release the illusion of control because at the end of the day you're not really in control. All you need to do is be a parent to know that, right?

I was always like, "Lord, couldn't you give them a free will at twenty-five after their brains developed? Why do we've got to..." (audience laughing) You've got to release control or the illusion of control. Say, "God, I trust you, God, I'm going to live open handed before you. I'm going to live for your purposes, live for what you want in my life, God. I'm going to get the grip off thinking, I'm managing this, I'm student man. If your whole life is on your shoulders, no wonder you're exhausted." Scripture says we come to God, his burden is easy and his yoke is light. Carries it with us, so we release. Control number two, we rest in God's goodness. Matthew 11, 28, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, some of you that you, and I'll give you rest. Some of you, you're not vacation tired, you are soul tired. You're exhausted in your soul. You're weary in your soul because you've been on the rat race. I'm going to make it happen, I've got to make this. It doesn't give you an excuse to be lazy, it's just what are you depending on? More hours, more work, more this, more striving, more on the treadmill. Are you saying, "God, use all my efforts for your glory." And I believe you're good, and I believe your intentions towards me are good. I'm going to rest in your goodness. I'm going to trust you with everything that I have. Number three, how do you combat this meaninglessness and you rely on God's grace? Paul told the church in Corinth what the Lord told him was this, "That my grace is sufficient for you and my power is made perfect in your weakness." I think it's interesting how we want to come to God and hide our weaknesses like he doesn't know. When he actually says, "It's in the place of your weakest moment where I get to show

myself the strongest." When you go, "God, I don't have this figured out and I am running this rat race and I do feel exhausted." And you just get honest enough to go, "God, that's my weakest area." He goes, "Guess what? My strength can be made perfect." Not my strength is enough. My strength is perfected in the place of your weakness. So, God, I'm going to rely on your grace. It's sufficient for me. I got sufficient grace for today. I'm not going to stress about tomorrow because when tomorrow gets here, I'll have sufficient grace for tomorrow. And when the next day gets here, then I'll have sufficient grace for that day. So I'm not going to get all wound up tight. I'm not going to live chasing. I'm not going to strive. I'm not going to think it all depends on me. I'm not going to be on the phone 24/7, seven days a week because if I miss something, a ball falls, then the whole life will fall apart and all the dominoes will fall over and life will go. No, no, no. God, I'm resting in your goodness. I'm relying on your grace that you've given me the grace I need for today and you'll give me the grace I'll need for tomorrow and you'll give me the grace for that need for the day after that. Come on, do you believe that church? You don't have to strive. You don't have to run. You don't have to live under the sun, only for under the sun.

Now, if I had to guess, some of you are thinking, "Well, pastor, are you just saying that I need to go home and just settle my couch and just chill, like just chill, just rest in God?" Does that mean I don't have to go to work tomorrow? Does that mean I don't have to have ambition? No, you may get fired. The Bible says you don't have selfish ambition and so there's a tension that we live in of God. I want to expend everything I have in my life. I want to be a good steward of everything you've given me and here's the tension, but I'm going to do it for the glory of God. I'm not living for just what's under the sun. I'm living for what is beyond the sun. I'm living with an eternal mindset. And when we do that, it's not meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless. It's purpose, purpose. Everything becomes purpose. Do you hear that? Everything becomes purpose. Your job becomes purpose. Your relationships become purpose. Your home becomes purpose. Everything becomes purpose. Not everything becomes meaningless. If you're living for what is beyond the sun. Do you receive the word of God today? (audience applauding) Will you pray with me with every head bowed, every eye closed, at all of our locations? If you can, where you are online?

Maybe today you're here and chasing bubbles describes your life. Thought, wow, that's me. I'm chasing things and can never seem to get it and never seem to hold it. Now I just want to encourage you that maybe you're chasing the wrong thing. Maybe what you should be chasing is an authentic relationship with Jesus. Because until you have that, everything under the sun will be meaningless. Until you know your creator and you begin to discover why he created you. And so if you've never taken that step of releasing control, surrendering your life to him, of saying, God have my life. I'm done calling the shots. I'm done being the director of my life. I thought I was the star of the show and I'm releasing control to you. If you've never done that, I want to give you an opportunity to do that today. To give your life to Christ. Maybe you're here and there was a moment in your life where you were really walking with the Lord, but you know that you're really far from him right now. And today is a day that you need to come back. And so with no one looking around, we're going to pray in just a moment. There's nothing necessarily special about the words I say,

but it's about your faith. It's just me helping you communicate to God the desire of your heart. But if you say pastor, that's me. I want to know who I'm praying with. And so I'm going to count to three in a moment. When I do, I just want you to shoot your hand up high enough and long enough for me or the pastor at your location to see no one's going to come to you or point you out. You just say, that's me. I need a fresh start in God today. I need to release control. I need to stop chasing bubbles. I need to start chasing Jesus. And so if that's you on three, you shoot your hand up high one, two, three. You just shoot your hand up if God's speaking to you. God bless you. God bless you, keep it up. God bless you. God bless you and you. God bless you and you. The very, very back row. God bless you and you. Both hands up. God bless you, brother. God bless you. You can put them down. Church, will you pray this out loud with me at every campus for the benefit of those

who just slipped their hand up? Just say, Jesus, I need you. I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. I believe you died for me. I believe God raised you from the dead. Today I make you my Lord and Savior. Thank you for a brand new beginning. In Jesus' name. Everybody said a big amen. Amen, come on, can we put our hands together for those who made that decision? (audience applauding) - Amen. Such a great message, hun church. Such a such a great message. And also we had such a great response of people lifting their hands saying yes to Jesus. And I want you to know, if you made a decision to follow Christ today, you just made the best decision ever. We are so proud of you, church. Can we one more time put our hands together on all of those that said yes, so, so proud of you? And I want to tell you, that's not the end, that's just the beginning. We want to help you take some next steps in your journey. And there's a couple of ways that we can do that. First of all, you can just take out your phone and tap the tap tag on the seat back in front of you. And you can click on I made a decision for Christ.

And our team will follow up with you there. Or in just a moment, I'm going to have everyone stand to their feet. And we're going to have prayer team members come down to the front here. We'll also have prayer leaders there in the balcony. And we would love the opportunity to personally pray with you. And so when I have people stand up, you can come forward and do that. Also, if you're carrying a burden, a concern, a need, you need prayer for any reason at all, our prayer team will stay here as long as we need to. We would love the opportunity to pray with you. So when we stand up, if you have a need today, you just start coming forward and we'll pray with you and believe God to do a miracle in your situation. Just one reminder for you, on your way out today, we have out in the lobby those Operation Christmas Child Boxes. So we want you to grab one of those or grab a couple. And listen, we're going to be a church that lives on mission, amen. And so this is our opportunity to bless a lot of kids. And so I encourage you to grab some of those on your way out. Would you stand to your feet? And I invite our prayer team to come forward now. And if you made a decision to follow Christ, you can start making your way forward. Or if you have a prayer need, you just

start making your way forward. I'm going to pray a blessing over us out of the Book of Numbers, chapter 6, as we close out our time together. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen, God bless you. We love you and we'll see you next weekend. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] (gentle music) [MUSIC PLAYING]