
The writer of Ecclesiastes encouraged readers to enjoy vibrant, adventurous, generous lives. But there's something we need to keep in mind as we celebrate in the here and now. Find out what that is when you join us on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
“Remember Your Creator”
Ecclesiastes 12:1–8 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 37:07 • ID: 2306
Be a Doer
As believers, our lives can and should be marked by minds that are trained in and subjected to the truth of God’s word, and we should surround our circumstances with prayer (Philippians 4:6-8). But still, if we are to know and enjoy God’s power at work within us, we must take what we hear in the Scriptures and put it into practice. We should be diligent in our attention to the Scriptures each day, and in our attendance when the word of God is being expounded, but we should never fall into the trap of thinking that attending, paying attention, and listening carefully are enough. We must be “doers … and not hearers only.”
In John 13, on the night before Jesus’ death and after He has been teaching the disciples for a while, He says to them regarding His lessons, “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:17). If you wonder why you’re not experiencing God’s blessing, it may be because you aren’t putting His words into practice. The Lord has given us rich instruction and He has given us the Spirit to be our Helper. Now we are responsible for drilling our minds in the truth of God’s word and then doing what we have learned, received, and heard.
What a great sadness it is when churches become like dusty old libraries, filled with so many lives that are like volumes of truth just sitting there, never used. The temptation as we become increasingly aware of the truth is just to sit and think about it without ever taking action. James puts that kind of life in stark terms: it is to deceive yourself. No—a church is to be a gallery of living experience. There ought to be a vibrancy about believers, so that when we face the world’s many problems—problems we ourselves are not immune to—we can see them for what they are and respond by holding out the truth of God’s word as we ourselves live it out.
Determine today not to be a hearer only, and so deceive yourself into thinking you are a growing Christian when in fact you are a shriveling one. Resolve to be a doer of the word. Look honestly over your life now and identify any areas about which you have heard how to live for Christ but have never actually obeyed. That will be the part of your life about which the Spirit is saying to you right now, Do not be a hearer only. Be a doer—for that way blessing lies.
How is God calling me to think differently?
How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
Hearing and Doing the Word
19gKnow this, my beloved brothers: let every person hbe quick to hear, islow to speak, jslow to anger; 20for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21Therefore kput away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with lmeekness the implanted word, mwhich is able to save your souls.
22But be ndoers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25But the one who looks into the perfect law, othe law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, phe will be blessed in his doing.
26If anyone thinks he is religious qand does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's rreligion is worthless. 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: sto visit torphans and widows in their affliction, and uto keep oneself vunstained from the world.

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.

Doing Good
He went about doing good.
Few words, but yet an exquisite miniature of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are not many touches, but they are the strokes of a master's pencil. Of the Savior and only of the Savior is this true in the fullest, broadest, and most unqualified sense. "He went about doing good." From this description it is evident that He did good personally. The evangelists constantly tell us that He touched the leper with His own finger, that He anointed the eyes of the blind, and that in cases where He was asked to speak the word only at a distance, He did not usually comply but went Himself to the sickbed and there personally worked the cure. A lesson to us, if we would do good, to do it ourselves. Give gifts with your own hand; a kind look or word will enhance the value of the gift. Speak to a friend about his soul; your loving appeal will have more influence than a whole library of tracts.
Our Lord's mode of doing good sets forth His constant activity! He did not only the good that came close to hand, but He "went about" on His errands of mercy. Throughout the whole land of Judea there was scarcely a village or a hamlet that was not gladdened by the sight of Him. How this reproves the creeping, loitering manner in which many professors serve the Lord. Let us gird up the loins of our mind and not grow weary in doing good.
Does the text not imply that Jesus Christ went out of His way to do good? "He went about doing good." He was never deterred by danger or difficulty. He sought out the objects of His gracious intentions. So must we. If old plans will not answer, we must try new ones, for fresh experiments sometimes achieve more than regular methods. Christ's perseverance, and the unity of His purpose, are also hinted at, and the practical application of the subject may be summed up in the words, "Christ . . . leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."1
1) 1 Peter 2:21

Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.
Daily Bible Reading for July 28
12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, m“Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the nArnon to the oJabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” 14Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: pIsrael did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, 16but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness qto the Red Sea and rcame to Kadesh. 17sIsrael then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ tbut the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel uremained at Kadesh.
18“Then they journeyed through the wilderness and vwent around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and warrived on the east side of the land of Moab and xcamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19yIsrael then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ 20but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24Will you not possess what zChemosh your god gives you to possess? aAnd all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. 25Now are you any better than bBalak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? 26While Israel lived cin Heshbon and its villages, and din Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? 27I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. eThe Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.
Jephthah's Tragic Vow
29fThen the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30And Jephthah gmade a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31then whatever1 comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites hshall be the Lord's, and iI will offer it2 up for a burnt offering.” 32So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of jMinnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.
34Then Jephthah came to his home at kMizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him lwith tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, mand I cannot take back my vow.” 36And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” 37So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” 38So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, nwho did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 40that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
The Jerusalem Council
1yBut some men came down from Judea and were teaching zthe brothers, “Unless you are acircumcised baccording to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and cdebate with them, Paul and Barnabas and dsome of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ethe apostles and the elders about this question. 3So, fbeing sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, gdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and hbrought great joy to all ithe brothers.1 4jWhen they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and kthe apostles and the elders, and gthey declared all that God had done with them. 5But some believers who belonged to lthe party of the Pharisees rose up and said, m“It is necessary nto circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
6oThe kapostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7And after there had been much pdebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, qthat by my mouth the Gentiles should hear rthe word of sthe gospel and believe. 8And God, twho knows the heart, ubore witness to them, vby giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9and whe made no distinction between us and them, xhaving cleansed their hearts yby faith. 10Now, therefore, why zare you putting God to the test aby placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples bthat neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11But we cbelieve that we will be dsaved through ethe grace of the Lord Jesus, wjust as they will.”
12And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul fas they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13After they finished speaking, gJames replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14hSimeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ia people for his name. 15And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
16j“‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
17that the remnant2 of mankind kmay seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles lwho are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18mknown from of old.’
19Therefore nmy judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who oturn to God, 20but should write to them pto abstain from qthe things polluted by idols, and from rsexual immorality, and from swhat has been strangled, and from sblood. 21For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, tfor he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers
22Then it seemed good to uthe apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called vBarsabbas, and wSilas, leading men among xthe brothers, 23with the following letter: x“The brothers, both uthe apostles and the elders, to the brothers3 who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ygreetings. 24Since we have heard that zsome persons have gone out from us and atroubled you4 with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25it has seemed good to us, having come bto one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our cbeloved Barnabas and Paul, 26dmen who have erisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27We have therefore sent fJudas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28For it has seemed good gto the Holy Spirit and hto us ito lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29jthat you abstain from kwhat has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
30So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32And Judas and Silas, who were themselves lprophets, encouraged and mstrengthened nthe brothers with many words. 33And after they had spent some time, they were sent off oin peace by nthe brothers to those who had sent them.5 35But pPaul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
Paul and Barnabas Separate
36And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit nthe brothers qin every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37Now Barnabas wanted to take with them rJohn called Mark. 38But Paul thought best not to take with them one swho had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39And there arose ta sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. uBarnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40but Paul chose Silas and departed, vhaving been commended by wthe brothers to xthe grace of the Lord. 41And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ystrengthening the churches.
The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
1jAfter Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem kJeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with lthe officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, mtwo baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. 2One basket had very good figs, nlike first-ripe figs, but the other basket had overy bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
4Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, pwhom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6qI will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. rI will build them up, and not tear them down; sI will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7tI will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, uand they shall be my people uand I will be their God, vfor they shall return to me with their whole heart.
8“But thus says the Lord: Like wthe bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat xZedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who ydwell in the land of Egypt. 9I will make them za horror1 to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be aa reproach, ba byword, aa taunt, and ca curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10And I will send dsword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”
Teaching About Divorce
1zAnd he left there and went ato the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.
2And Pharisees came up and in order bto test him asked, c“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4They said, d“Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5And Jesus said to them, “Because of your ehardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6But ffrom the beginning of creation, ‘God made them gmale and female.’ 7h‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,1 8and ithe two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9jWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
10And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11And he said to them, k“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12and lif she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Let the Children Come to Me
13mAnd they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples nrebuked them. 14But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, o“Let the children come to me; pdo not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15qTruly, I say to you, whoever does not rreceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16And she took them in his arms and blessed them, tlaying his hands on them.
The Rich Young Man
17uAnd as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and vknelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to winherit eternal life?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19You know the commandments: x‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20And he said to him, “Teacher, yall these I have kept from my youth.” 21And Jesus, zlooking at him, aloved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, bsell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have ctreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22dDisheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23And Jesus elooked around and said to his disciples, f“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter gthe kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples hwere amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, i“Children, jhow difficult it is2 to enter gthe kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter gthe kingdom of God.” 26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,3 “Then who can be saved?” 27Jesus klooked at them and said, l“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28Peter began to say to him, “See, mwe have left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, nthere is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and ofor the gospel, 30who will not receive a hundredfold pnow in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, qwith persecutions, and in rthe age to come eternal life. 31But smany who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
32tAnd they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and uJesus was walking ahead of them. And vthey were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33saying, “See, wwe are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will xcondemn him to death and ydeliver him over to the Gentiles. 34And they will zmock him and aspit on him, and flog him and kill him. And bafter three days he will rise.”
The Request of James and John
35cAnd James and John, dthe sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us ewhatever we ask of you.” 36And he said to them, f“What do you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Grant us gto sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, hin your glory.” 38Jesus said to them, i“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able jto drink the cup that I drink, or kto be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, l“The cup that I drink myou will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, nyou will be baptized, 40but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, obut it is for those for whom it has been pprepared.” 41And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42qAnd Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles rlord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43But sit shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,4 44and whoever would be first among you must be tslave5 of all. 45For even the Son of Man came not to be served but uto serve, and vto give his life as a ransom for wmany.”
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus
46xAnd they came to Jericho. And yas he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, za blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47And when he heard that it was aJesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48And many brebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, c“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50And throwing off his dcloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51And Jesus said to him, e“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, f“Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; gyour faith has hmade you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
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