Thesis
Drawing from Ecclesiastes 12, Pastor Jeff Reinhart warns that life moves faster than we realize, and if we keep postponing a wholehearted pursuit of God, we will drift into bitterness rather than growing better. The remedy is to 'remember' God — not merely to think about Him, but to pay attention to Him with the intention of obeying. Practically, this means developing a healthy fear of God (beholding Him for who He truly is), learning to obey Him by trusting His love rather than trying to earn it, and genuinely knowing Him as Lord and Savior so that our time, talent, treasure, and testimony are invested in His eternal kingdom.
Key points
- 1
Life moves faster than we expect, and if we keep putting off following God, we will wake up one day having drifted far from Him.
- 2
People who forget God grow bitter with age; people who remember God and place Him at the center grow better over time.
- 3
Remembering God means paying attention to Him and considering Him with the intention of obeying — not merely thinking about Him.
- 4
Fearing God is not being afraid of Him; it is being afraid of being away from Him — a reverence that draws us close rather than pushes us away.
- 5
Obedience is not earning God's love through rule-keeping but trusting His love — responding to what Jesus has already done by living out His word with the Holy Spirit's help.
- 6
God will one day judge everything we do, so we must ask: did we truly surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior, and did we steward our time, talent, treasure, and testimony for His kingdom?
- 7
The disciplines of fearing and obeying God produce a progression from discipline to desire to delight, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Outline
Introduction: How Did I Get Here?
Pastor Jeff uses humorous stories about turning into his father — lecturing kids about the TV remote, policing the thermostat, and embracing a minivan — to illustrate how quickly life changes and how easy it is to drift without realizing it. He connects this to the spiritual danger of drifting from God.
Series Context and the Big Question
Jeff situates Ecclesiastes 12 within the 'Never Enough' series, explaining that Solomon has spent the book warning against substitutes for God (money, politics, work) and now finally answers what is truly worth pursuing in life.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 — Remember God Before Life Fades
Pastor Jeff reads and unpacks Solomon's extended poem about aging, showing that Solomon is not being a 'party pooper' but is urgently warning that delay in following God leads to one of two outcomes: becoming bitter by forgetting God, or becoming better by remembering Him.
What Does 'Remembering God' Look Like? — Part 1: Fear God
Using Exodus 20 and examples of people who encountered God's full presence (Isaiah, John), Jeff explains that the fear of God is not terror but a right view of who God truly is — all-powerful, holy, and yet a pursuing, loving Father. He challenges the congregation to stop treating Jesus as a 'side dish' or a miniature figurine they pocket in uncomfortable moments.
What Does 'Remembering God' Look Like? — Part 2: Obey God
Jeff contrasts performance-based religion with the grace of the gospel, arguing that obedience flows from trusting God's love, not earning it. Using a gym-partner analogy and Philippians 2:12, he shows that the Holy Spirit empowers believers to move from discipline to desire to delight in obeying God.
What Does 'Remembering God' Look Like? — Part 3: Truly Know God
Jeff draws on Ecclesiastes 12:14 and the image of standing before Jesus as judge to call the congregation to genuine surrender — not just head knowledge or church attendance. He closes with a story about a youth volunteer who chose to spend his birthday serving middle schoolers because he had settled that nothing else satisfies, and he invites people to pray and give their lives to Jesus.
Memorable moments
fear of God isn't being afraid of him, it's being afraid of being away from him
Having the fear of God, it's not a scare tactic, it's an intimacy tactic
Think too many of us, Jesus is a side dish in our lives. He's not the main course
It's not by trying harder, but it's by trusting His love more
I'm done wasting time. Today is the day that I'm gonna start following God closely before my life fades quickly because that's what life is about
the issue becomes when we only sit in information and we never let information turn into transformation in Christ
Application
Pastor Jeff's call to action is direct and personal: stop postponing a wholehearted pursuit of God and start following Him closely today, before life fades. Practically, that means carving out even ten minutes this week to get into God's Word and simply reflect on His greatness, His love, and His care for you — letting that develop a genuine fear of God. It means inviting the Holy Spirit into the specific area of your life that does not yet line up with Scripture, trusting that He will give you both the desire and the power to obey. And it means honestly asking yourself how you are stewarding your time, talent, treasure, and testimony — because at the end of life, only what was done for Jesus will matter. For anyone who has never surrendered to Jesus as Lord and Savior, today is that moment.
