WEBVTT 00:00:04.187 --> 00:00:13.211 We're in the final stretch of a sermon series entitled Everything is Meaningless, I just like the return I think about. 00:00:13.211 --> 00:00:21.242 That was the sermon series title that we chose, but it really does depict very well what is communicated in this book. 00:00:21.242 --> 00:00:33.648 The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the wisdom books in the Bible, in the Old Testament, and it's different than, like the book of Proverbs, which says if you do this, then this will happen. 00:00:33.648 --> 00:00:37.926 If you don't do this, then this won't happen, or this will happen, right. 00:00:37.926 --> 00:00:49.088 So, cause and effect, the book of Ecclesiastes kind of goes outside of the rules and talks a lot about the exceptions to the rules, and so it's very different, vastly different. 00:00:49.088 --> 00:00:59.850 That's why, when you read the Word of God please listen to me you need to read the Word of God in its entirety in order to get fully what God wants us to get. 00:00:59.850 --> 00:01:16.346 If you're only reading one book of the Bible over and over and over again, you're not going to get the full picture of what God wants us to get and, most of all, you're not going to get the full picture of the character and nature of God that is found throughout all of Scripture. 00:01:16.346 --> 00:01:21.444 Ok, so we live in a fallen world, if you haven't noticed that. 00:01:21.444 --> 00:01:29.322 It's confusing, it's frustrating at times, and this book dives deep into those types of feelings and reality. 00:01:29.322 --> 00:01:32.548 So let's look at chapter 9, verses 13 through 18. 00:01:33.819 --> 00:01:39.908 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works. 00:01:39.908 --> 00:01:47.269 There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. 00:01:47.269 --> 00:01:56.606 A poor wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued, but afterward no one thought to thank him. 00:01:56.606 --> 00:02:04.509 So, even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. 00:02:04.509 --> 00:02:08.046 What they say will not be appreciated for long. 00:02:08.046 --> 00:02:14.387 Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king. 00:02:14.387 --> 00:02:18.247 Better to have wisdom than weapons of war. 00:02:18.247 --> 00:02:23.911 But one sinner can destroy much that is good. 00:02:23.911 --> 00:02:26.881 Let's pray together, father. 00:02:26.881 --> 00:02:37.205 We thank you for these words of wisdom that come to us from the book of Ecclesiastes, and, father, we ask that you would open our minds and our hearts to your truth. 00:02:37.205 --> 00:02:37.507 Today. 00:02:37.507 --> 00:02:41.881 We ask that you would prepare the soil of our hearts, lord. 00:02:41.881 --> 00:03:02.625 Where there are stones that need to be removed, where there are thorns and thistles, would you pull them out and would you work the ground so that, when this seed is placed in the ground, that it would grow and be watered by your spirit and produce the fruit that you desire for it to produce in each of our lives? 00:03:02.625 --> 00:03:07.042 We thank you for doing this in Jesus' name, amen. 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:12.788 I'm sure that many of us have heard of the band for king and country. 00:03:12.788 --> 00:03:15.067 How many of you know that band for king and country? 00:03:15.067 --> 00:03:16.100 All right. 00:03:16.100 --> 00:03:30.287 So for king and country, and for those of you who may not know who that is, if you're a Dolly Parton fan, you will have heard recently a song called God Only Knows, and she's singing that song with this group for king and country, right. 00:03:30.287 --> 00:03:41.550 And for some of us that are of a different age category over 50 I'll say I'm 51 today, so if you're over 50, I'm in your camp, right. 00:03:41.550 --> 00:03:51.966 So there was a young lady from our childhood named Rebecca St James, and she's another one that maybe that name will remind you of something from the past. 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:53.947 But there's a movie that's been made. 00:03:53.947 --> 00:04:11.867 It's gonna be showing in this next April and it's called Unsung Hero and it's the story of this family for king and country a couple of young men and then Rebecca, st James, a young lady, and all of them are from the same family and their family, their dad, is named David. 00:04:11.867 --> 00:04:20.223 He was a successful, he had a successful music company in Australia and all of a sudden things turned and he began. 00:04:20.223 --> 00:04:28.629 They basically went bankrupt and so they decided that they would move to America and start over with absolutely nothing right. 00:04:28.629 --> 00:04:34.889 They came to this country with hardly anything, any kind of finance, any kind of hope for the future. 00:04:34.889 --> 00:04:49.064 But they worked hard and the most important thing and the reason for this movie is to promote really not the bands or the music or the Academy, you know the awards, the Grammy Awards or any of those things. 00:04:49.064 --> 00:04:59.244 The whole reason for this movie is to thank their mom, helen, because Helen was a lady in the background throughout the whole story. 00:04:59.244 --> 00:05:37.487 They leave Australia with six children, her husband and herself, and she's pregnant, and they come to this country with nothing and through it all, the voice of their mother, quiet but strong, was we will trust in the Lord, our God, and through it all, god was faithful, as he always is, and the end of their stories obviously is beautiful in the sense that they have made music history in so many ways in the success that God has granted them, and the family has been blessed through that as well. 00:05:37.487 --> 00:05:39.504 So kind of an amazing story. 00:05:40.379 --> 00:06:06.505 It's interesting to me that we rarely pay attention to the people who are behind the scenes, the quiet ones in the backdrop, the ones who don't have a microphone in their hands or aren't on the stage right Of life I'm just talking about in life and yet it's so important for us to truly understand that there are people praying right now for each and everyone. 00:06:06.505 --> 00:06:09.548 I believe this that God has people praying for all of us. 00:06:09.548 --> 00:06:19.702 When I was so sick back in 2020, one of the things that was the most amazing to me was hearing from people around the world who were praying for me. 00:06:19.702 --> 00:06:25.067 That didn't even know me, but God had put it on their hearts to pray for me. 00:06:25.067 --> 00:06:27.745 All of us, I believe. 00:06:27.745 --> 00:06:43.870 And if not, even if you can't point to a person here in this earth, guess what we know for sure the Lord, jesus Christ, is seated at the right hand of his father and he lives to make intercession for us. 00:06:43.870 --> 00:06:48.951 Jesus himself is praying for us today. 00:06:48.951 --> 00:06:51.485 What's gonna conquer that? 00:06:51.485 --> 00:06:54.408 What's gonna be greater than that right? 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:08.745 So I think it is important and this story that we read here from Ecclesiastes really points to that, that there was this poor, unknown wise man who just rescues a town. 00:07:08.745 --> 00:07:10.447 It doesn't even give the strategy. 00:07:10.447 --> 00:07:13.389 It doesn't say how this happened or what he did. 00:07:13.389 --> 00:07:22.348 It just says there's a poor wise man who came to a town and rescued it because it was being taken over by a great king and his army. 00:07:22.348 --> 00:07:26.569 The sad truth was, afterward no one even thought of him. 00:07:26.569 --> 00:07:34.723 No one even paid attention to this poor wise man who had come to rescue them. 00:07:34.723 --> 00:07:41.697 His status as a poor man in their minds outweighed the wisdom that he used to save them from their enemy. 00:07:42.605 --> 00:07:48.978 We're going to return to this thought at the end of the message, but first let's review the content of the beginning of chapter 9. 00:07:48.978 --> 00:07:57.038 And maybe some of it will sound familiar, because it's an ongoing thought that is found throughout the whole book of Ecclesiastes. 00:07:57.038 --> 00:07:59.384 So let's start in verse 1 of chapter 9. 00:07:59.384 --> 00:08:04.754 And the passage of this little section is entitled we're All Gonna Die. 00:08:08.406 --> 00:08:09.288 There's no amends. 00:08:09.288 --> 00:08:22.404 There's no, it's true, though Unless Jesus returns in our lifetime, we will all face death. 00:08:22.404 --> 00:08:25.295 Ecclesiastes 9, verse 1 through 6. 00:08:25.295 --> 00:08:27.208 This too, I carefully explored. 00:08:27.208 --> 00:08:31.473 Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God's hands. 00:08:31.473 --> 00:08:34.558 No one knows whether God will show them favor. 00:08:34.558 --> 00:08:47.900 The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. 00:08:47.900 --> 00:08:55.277 Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don't. 00:08:55.277 --> 00:09:02.738 It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. 00:09:02.738 --> 00:09:08.797 Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. 00:09:08.797 --> 00:09:12.094 There's nothing ahead but death anyway. 00:09:12.094 --> 00:09:13.590 Are you encouraged this morning? 00:09:13.590 --> 00:09:17.129 There is hope only for the living. 00:09:17.129 --> 00:09:24.789 As they say, it is better to be a live dog than a dead lion That'll preach. 00:09:24.789 --> 00:09:29.191 The living at least know that they will die. 00:09:29.191 --> 00:09:31.275 But the dead know nothing. 00:09:31.275 --> 00:09:35.335 They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. 00:09:35.335 --> 00:09:41.357 Whatever they did in their lifetime loving, hating, envying is all long gone. 00:09:41.357 --> 00:09:45.414 They no longer play a part in anything here on earth. 00:09:45.414 --> 00:09:48.009 So we'd be dismissed. 00:09:48.009 --> 00:09:52.948 We literally all will, won't we? 00:09:53.309 --> 00:10:13.708 At one point in time this is a consistent theme throughout the book Solomon spends a lot of time or at least his use of the teacher spends a lot of time kind of going into the deepest, darkest thoughts and imaginations on death as he nears the end of his own life here on this earth. 00:10:13.708 --> 00:10:28.404 He's evaluating his life based on the fact that he realizes that he's getting close to the end of his life here on earth, and so, as he does that and understand, the word of God is inspired by Holy Spirit right? 00:10:28.404 --> 00:10:41.395 So this book was placed here for a reason not just to depress us or to make us feel bad about the end of things here on this life, but it is put here for reasons that are very important. 00:10:41.395 --> 00:10:43.110 We're going to talk about some of that this morning. 00:10:43.110 --> 00:10:50.057 Now, have you noticed that throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, that Solomon has not really mentioned the afterlife? 00:10:50.057 --> 00:11:11.400 He hasn't talked about the fact that, once we die here on this earth, that there is something that will happen afterward, that we will face God himself in the person of Jesus, and that Jesus will separate us out based on what we did with him and whether we believed on him, why we were here in this life. 00:11:12.225 --> 00:11:25.232 Those of us who, graciously, by God's grace, have been given the gift of repentance and have put our hope and confidence and faith in Jesus Christ will hear him say well done, my good and faithful servant. 00:11:25.232 --> 00:11:28.057 Enter into my father's rest. 00:11:28.057 --> 00:11:38.816 Those are the words we all long to hear right Now how many of us know that we cannot get there on our own achievement. 00:11:38.816 --> 00:11:45.384 We can't be righteous enough or holy enough to receive the benefit of those words from a holy God. 00:11:45.384 --> 00:11:53.778 So how in the world is a holy God, who never lies, going to be able to speak those words over us? 00:11:53.778 --> 00:12:16.138 It's because his beloved son Jesus came and took our sin and our shame and our guilt and our failings and our inabilities upon himself and was nailed to a cross and he said Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. 00:12:16.138 --> 00:12:21.797 And his final words on that tree it is finished. 00:12:21.797 --> 00:12:28.937 So when we stand before a holy God, it will not be our own goodness that grants us entrance. 00:12:28.937 --> 00:12:41.200 It will be the fact that we have been adopted into the family of God by the grace of God that's found in Jesus Christ alone. 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:55.077 On the other side of things, we realize also, unfortunately, there will be some who will hear the words depart from me, for I never knew you. 00:12:55.077 --> 00:13:01.369 They will be separated. 00:13:01.369 --> 00:13:07.259 There will be those millions of people who will be separated from God forever. 00:13:09.226 --> 00:13:15.178 A lot of people talk about hell as a destination in the sense of all of the things that people will encounter there. 00:13:15.178 --> 00:13:18.835 It's really what people won't encounter that matters the most. 00:13:18.835 --> 00:13:26.437 Can you imagine life for a moment in time without the presence of God? 00:13:26.437 --> 00:13:32.412 What would happen to this world if God removed his hand for one moment? 00:13:32.412 --> 00:13:51.120 The good news is in a couple of weeks Solomon is going to address the afterlife and we're going to see that where he leaves us hanging in all of these chapters beforehand is not the end of the story. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:54.094 There's more to it, but I don't want to jump the gun on that. 00:13:54.094 --> 00:13:57.384 But we do need to look at this seriously. 00:13:57.384 --> 00:14:07.818 It's something to consider, kind of like the Old Testament word silla, which means to sit and ponder, meditate on and think about something. 00:14:07.818 --> 00:14:08.960 Consider it. 00:14:10.166 --> 00:14:25.072 Solomon believed in the afterlife, but he was wanting us to focus primarily on the finality of death, when it comes to our inability to control when or how it will happen and how that should affect the way that we live. 00:14:25.072 --> 00:14:32.898 Remember we talked a couple of weeks ago about our desire to control everything and to take that out of God's hands. 00:14:32.898 --> 00:14:38.956 This is an area where we cannot control the outcome. 00:14:38.956 --> 00:14:47.217 It will come to those that the earth would consider the best of us and those that the earth would consider the worst. 00:14:47.217 --> 00:14:55.817 So, in knowing that we're all going to die one day, we should choose to enjoy the gift of life with those we love. 00:14:55.817 --> 00:14:57.789 Now we can say amen to that right. 00:14:57.789 --> 00:14:59.567 We should choose that. 00:14:59.567 --> 00:15:04.158 That's a choice that we must make every day, every day. 00:15:05.225 --> 00:15:14.811 In verse 7 through 10, he says so go ahead, eat your food with joy and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this. 00:15:14.811 --> 00:15:16.688 God approves of the disclaimers, right. 00:15:16.688 --> 00:15:22.714 God does not approve of drunkenness, right. 00:15:22.714 --> 00:15:26.011 Or he doesn't approve of gluttony, right. 00:15:26.011 --> 00:15:30.351 So he doesn't approve of overeating and he doesn't approve of starving yourself. 00:15:30.351 --> 00:15:34.932 Moderation, all things in moderation, right. 00:15:34.932 --> 00:15:37.508 So don't go crazy with that. 00:15:37.508 --> 00:15:39.494 God approves of this. 00:15:39.494 --> 00:15:42.731 God approves of the declaimers right. 00:15:42.731 --> 00:15:48.404 God approves of the declaimers, right. 00:15:48.404 --> 00:16:06.660 So, instead of being in close with a splash of cologne, how many of you, during the pandemic, when we were all locked up in our homes, got to a point in time where you actually realize that you stank Not that somebody else in your family stank, but you actually spelled your own. 00:16:06.660 --> 00:16:07.743 What is that called? 00:16:07.743 --> 00:16:19.440 You went off the couch and you went and took a shower and brushed your hair and shaved, maybe put some actual clothes on instead of jogging pants and whatever. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:22.630 I just wonder how many Zoom calls were. 00:16:22.630 --> 00:16:23.392 I'm not going to go there. 00:16:23.392 --> 00:16:26.970 You know what I was thinking, but I'm not going to say it out loud. 00:16:29.407 --> 00:16:35.057 There's so much we can get to the point to where we realize how many of you have ever seen the show alone? 00:16:35.057 --> 00:16:35.979 Do you know what that is? 00:16:35.979 --> 00:16:47.076 So there's a show alone where people are sent out into the wilderness by themselves and they have cameras that they have to film themselves and they're out there for like a hundred days with no power. 00:16:47.076 --> 00:16:51.361 No, I mean they have water in the sense that there's a place to fish and all of that. 00:16:51.361 --> 00:17:06.758 But it's always funny when their loved ones come to meet up with them and of course, they're hugging and kissing and a couple of times where that has happened after a hundred days, somebody is really honest and they say, whew, you stink. 00:17:06.758 --> 00:17:12.276 So I'm not trying to make a point about stinking. 00:17:12.276 --> 00:17:19.057 What I am saying is that you know, we all know we're going to die, but we don't have to live like that every day. 00:17:19.057 --> 00:17:40.809 Sometimes depression tries to keep us in states where we just don't get up, clean up, put on some decent clothes and go out amongst other people and live a little right. 00:17:40.809 --> 00:17:42.423 So I wanna encourage you. 00:17:42.423 --> 00:17:56.222 If you find yourself in that state, there are people here who will love you and pray for you, and I also just encourage you to ask the Lord for the desire to get back up again, to begin to live again, to breathe again. 00:17:56.222 --> 00:18:09.990 It's important to do that and then he goes, live happily with the woman you love, through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun, and I say amen, amen, amen. 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:21.909 I'm so grateful for my wife, amy, been married 30 years this last April, and somebody was asking me this last week what is the secret to the success of your marriage? 00:18:21.909 --> 00:18:26.448 And without even thinking about it, I said we started out as best friends. 00:18:26.448 --> 00:18:29.566 We started out as best friends. 00:18:29.566 --> 00:18:36.449 And then the other thing, obviously very quickly, is God brought us together, let's not forget that but we started out as best friends. 00:18:36.449 --> 00:18:40.603 And the thing about marriage is we have the privilege of both. 00:18:40.603 --> 00:18:46.568 We have the privilege of being friends, and if you're not friends, you can choose. 00:18:46.568 --> 00:18:47.761 You can choose. 00:18:47.761 --> 00:18:54.787 You can't control the other person, but you can choose to be friendly, right as far as your concerns. 00:18:54.787 --> 00:18:57.868 You can choose to be friendly to your spouse. 00:18:57.868 --> 00:19:07.125 And then the other thing is that you also can cultivate the types of things that lead to a healthy marriage, and we'll talk about that in just a minute. 00:19:07.125 --> 00:19:17.547 The wife God gives you as your reward for all your earthly toil, whatever you do, do well, for when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning, or knowledge or wisdom. 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:24.848 How many of you know that some of the best things in life happen around meals, happen around food? 00:19:24.848 --> 00:19:26.844 Right, can you think of some? 00:19:26.844 --> 00:19:30.007 How about what? 00:19:30.007 --> 00:19:30.248 Is it? 00:19:30.248 --> 00:19:32.143 Conversations? 00:19:32.143 --> 00:19:33.548 Yeah, it's conversations. 00:19:33.548 --> 00:19:34.584 How about laughter? 00:19:34.584 --> 00:19:41.868 Sometimes the greatest laughs that we have are around the supper table, the dinner table, right? 00:19:41.868 --> 00:19:59.547 How about stories that come out of times like that, stories that you hear that even our kids at times will tell stories from our childhood and they're like well, I didn't know about that, like well, I didn't think to say it until we were eating the chicken sausage, just brought back a memory, you know, whatever it is. 00:19:59.547 --> 00:20:01.702 How about birthdays? 00:20:01.702 --> 00:20:04.263 I don't know why I put that in there. 00:20:04.263 --> 00:20:06.442 I didn't put. 00:20:06.442 --> 00:20:07.065 Did you write that? 00:20:07.065 --> 00:20:07.943 No, just kidding. 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:18.372 Holidays, weddings, anniversaries, fellowship time, cookouts, marriage and how about the marriage supper of the lamb? 00:20:18.372 --> 00:20:40.983 My friends, our reunion with Jesus is not going to be a weary event, our reunion with Jesus, is going to be a celebration of all that he has done, so let's not forget to have meals together, one of the things that I see. 00:20:40.983 --> 00:20:48.525 Amy and I go out often and it's sad to see a family that sits together and none of them speak to each other the whole meal. 00:20:48.525 --> 00:20:50.810 They're all on their phones. 00:20:50.810 --> 00:20:52.827 Maybe they're texting each other from across the table. 00:20:52.827 --> 00:20:56.386 I don't know, that could be, they're very private people and they're just texting. 00:20:56.386 --> 00:21:07.686 But, man, especially after being married 40, 50 years now, I know that at times at that stage of life, you know each other's thinking pretty well. 00:21:07.686 --> 00:21:14.404 So you don't have to have maybe the same level of conversation, but take advantage of the time that you have together. 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:17.105 Celebrate marriage and family. 00:21:17.105 --> 00:21:18.390 Celebrate it. 00:21:18.390 --> 00:21:23.204 This is not something to regret or to have angst about. 00:21:23.204 --> 00:21:23.988 Celebrate it. 00:21:23.988 --> 00:21:24.803 Choose joy. 00:21:24.803 --> 00:21:26.903 Go out on dates. 00:21:26.903 --> 00:21:32.065 Hello, go out on dates. 00:21:32.065 --> 00:21:33.886 Take your spouse out. 00:21:33.886 --> 00:21:34.721 Listen. 00:21:34.761 --> 00:21:37.003 You might say, well, we don't have any money, it's too expensive. 00:21:37.003 --> 00:21:42.790 Make some PB and J at home and go to the park and swing. 00:21:42.790 --> 00:21:44.383 I can't swing. 00:21:44.383 --> 00:21:45.923 You know what I'm saying. 00:21:45.923 --> 00:21:47.183 Be creative. 00:21:47.183 --> 00:21:49.222 Weren't you creative when you were young? 00:21:49.222 --> 00:21:52.271 Be creative. 00:21:52.271 --> 00:21:57.248 Celebrate marriage and family with hugs and kisses. 00:22:00.326 --> 00:22:04.544 Don't let the affection go out of your, dwindle, out of your marriage. 00:22:04.544 --> 00:22:10.567 Share tears of joy and tears of pain. 00:22:10.567 --> 00:22:14.928 Here's something that's a heavy revelation. 00:22:14.928 --> 00:22:16.025 It takes two to fight. 00:22:16.025 --> 00:22:21.669 Be the one that chooses not to fight in love. 00:22:21.669 --> 00:22:23.521 Don't do it and go. 00:22:23.521 --> 00:22:27.285 Nanny, nanny, nanny, who's the holy one now? 00:22:27.285 --> 00:22:29.928 Yeah, that's fighting. 00:22:29.928 --> 00:22:31.645 You're fighting by saying that right there. 00:22:31.645 --> 00:22:34.864 Okay, you're picking a fight. 00:22:34.864 --> 00:22:37.705 Treat each other as God's gift. 00:22:37.705 --> 00:22:43.048 Live your life on this earth with joy. 00:22:43.048 --> 00:22:57.780 Enjoy every moment as a gift from God, because we literally don't know if you haven't heard it yet, we don't know when we're gonna breathe our last breath Now. 00:22:57.921 --> 00:23:18.105 I realize that this doesn't apply to everybody in the room or those that are watching online, because there are many people that unfortunately have lost loved ones, spouses, maybe even recently, or you find yourself in a situation where you're not living close to other family members, so you feel isolated at times. 00:23:18.105 --> 00:23:22.249 I want you to know that there's hope for you as well. 00:23:22.249 --> 00:23:34.407 Our Heavenly Father and his spiritual family just look around you right now, if you're here in the room will fill in the gap for those without earthly marriage and family. 00:23:34.407 --> 00:23:37.645 Note the Bible says about our Heavenly Father. 00:23:37.645 --> 00:23:57.990 It says that he's a father to the fatherless, that he's a defender of widows, that he places the lonely in families, that he has placed us into the household of God, each member providing what the other one needs. 00:23:57.990 --> 00:24:02.431 We are the bride of Christ. 00:24:02.431 --> 00:24:06.607 So be encouraged. 00:24:06.607 --> 00:24:22.575 Even if you don't have what Amy and I have and I'm so grateful for that but even if you're not experiencing that in your own life, I'm here to tell you there's no love that is greater than the father's love for us. 00:24:22.575 --> 00:24:33.724 And if Amy and I don't experience that for ourselves as individuals, we'll never be able to have the kind of marriage that we want to have. 00:24:33.724 --> 00:24:44.308 Right, every Christian of every age, whether married or single, needs to belong to a larger family of faith. 00:24:44.308 --> 00:25:01.391 One of the reasons that I believe that there is such a push, even amongst Christians, to walk away from church and to walk away from church life is because of the fact that Satan knows that we are stronger together than we are apart. 00:25:01.391 --> 00:25:09.825 Right, so be a part of a family of faith, and we sure hope that this is the one that God chooses for you. 00:25:09.825 --> 00:25:22.626 But if it's another one, get plugged in, be a part of that family and then finally do our work well as unto the Lord, and that work isn't always like a nine to five. 00:25:22.626 --> 00:25:34.771 Sometimes it's changing diapers, sometimes it's driving carpool, sometimes it is actually working your job as unto the Lord. 00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:43.666 Can you imagine what a difference Christians could make in a world where nobody cares, seems to care, about anybody else? 00:25:43.666 --> 00:25:56.884 How many of you have tried lately to find something in any store where you needed somebody's help, and what was your experience? 00:25:56.884 --> 00:26:03.823 I don't know. 00:26:03.823 --> 00:26:08.865 You know, or I'll get somebody else, or let me look it up. 00:26:08.865 --> 00:26:12.323 I'm like I can look it up, but I've looked it up, I can't find it. 00:26:12.323 --> 00:26:14.365 Can you please help me find it? 00:26:14.365 --> 00:26:21.067 Can you imagine Christians out in the workplace who were serving God and serving others? 00:26:21.067 --> 00:26:24.823 What a difference that could make, just even in the attitude. 00:26:24.823 --> 00:26:27.289 That's the way that we should be. 00:26:27.289 --> 00:26:31.009 We should make a difference in every aspect of culture. 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:36.990 This is in such opposition to the world's way of thinking. 00:26:36.990 --> 00:26:41.544 The world's form of happiness is fast food and a full schedule. 00:26:41.544 --> 00:26:45.288 It's the addictive pursuit of everything new. 00:26:45.288 --> 00:26:50.707 When is the next iPhone coming out and can I get my name on the list? 00:26:50.707 --> 00:26:56.230 It is live together instead of getting married. 00:26:56.230 --> 00:27:02.323 Sorry, it's true, it is breakup. 00:27:02.323 --> 00:27:05.084 Whenever you want it is. 00:27:05.084 --> 00:27:09.546 Take shortcuts to guarantee to avoid hard work but still get rich very quick. 00:27:09.546 --> 00:27:14.249 That's the dream that we've been given. 00:27:14.249 --> 00:27:18.488 How many of you know it is lacking in so many ways? 00:27:18.488 --> 00:27:24.045 Life's outcomes aren't easily determined, but death will come to all. 00:27:24.045 --> 00:27:27.744 There's another whole section that you can focus in on, verses 11 through 12. 00:27:27.744 --> 00:27:33.926 I'm not gonna read them for the sake of time, but it just says again death will come. 00:27:35.819 --> 00:27:37.526 So let's get now to the rest of the story. 00:27:37.526 --> 00:27:42.726 Let's go back to what we started with in the beginning, and I wanna just take a few minutes on this. 00:27:42.726 --> 00:27:45.867 So there was a small town with only a few people. 00:27:45.867 --> 00:27:55.167 I'm gonna give you what I believe could be an interpretation for this story that the teacher tells us about this poor man who had such wisdom. 00:27:55.167 --> 00:27:57.585 So what is this small town? 00:27:57.585 --> 00:27:59.285 What does it represent? 00:27:59.285 --> 00:28:09.865 I think it could represent any place that's vulnerable to attack, any place that is vulnerable, any place that is vulnerable. 00:28:09.865 --> 00:28:11.903 How about the Garden of Eden? 00:28:11.903 --> 00:28:13.824 Did it become vulnerable? 00:28:13.824 --> 00:28:16.786 Yeah, it became a vulnerable. 00:28:16.786 --> 00:28:17.448 And what happened? 00:28:17.448 --> 00:28:18.984 Satan attacked. 00:28:18.984 --> 00:28:23.789 How about the human soul? 00:28:23.789 --> 00:28:27.085 Can our soul be vulnerable? 00:28:27.085 --> 00:28:29.786 Can our soul come under attack? 00:28:29.786 --> 00:28:33.248 Yeah, we could go on and on. 00:28:33.248 --> 00:28:34.164 You could really put any. 00:28:34.164 --> 00:28:38.289 You could fill in the blank with almost anything in that scenario. 00:28:38.289 --> 00:28:39.344 How about Bethlehem? 00:28:39.344 --> 00:28:45.749 Was that a small town, a place kind of out of the way and hidden? 00:28:45.749 --> 00:28:48.944 You might see where I'm going with this. 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:53.342 A great king came with his army and besieged it. 00:28:53.342 --> 00:28:55.461 Who is this great king? 00:28:55.461 --> 00:29:03.217 Satan is always bent on invasion and destruction. 00:29:03.217 --> 00:29:04.728 That's what he does. 00:29:04.728 --> 00:29:06.528 He's not your friend. 00:29:06.528 --> 00:29:09.170 He's not somebody to be trusted. 00:29:09.170 --> 00:29:12.050 He's not somebody that's going to show you the way. 00:29:12.050 --> 00:29:17.694 He is literally evil incarnate. 00:29:17.694 --> 00:29:20.249 He is evil. 00:29:22.265 --> 00:29:28.174 Second Corinthians 4, verse 4, says Satan, who is the God of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. 00:29:28.174 --> 00:29:32.555 They are unable to see the glorious light of the good news. 00:29:32.555 --> 00:29:39.367 They don't even understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 00:29:39.367 --> 00:29:43.434 All of us at one time in our lives were like that. 00:29:43.434 --> 00:29:49.516 We were blinded by the king of this world, whose name is Satan. 00:29:49.516 --> 00:29:59.595 Ephesians 2, verse 2, says you used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers and the unseen world. 00:29:59.595 --> 00:30:06.278 He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 00:30:06.278 --> 00:30:12.816 It's not just a person's will or a person's level of depravity. 00:30:12.816 --> 00:30:13.978 That's within themselves. 00:30:13.978 --> 00:30:16.613 There is something greater that is at work. 00:30:16.613 --> 00:30:24.057 There is a king who is attempting to attack and destroy any point of vulnerability. 00:30:24.057 --> 00:30:28.571 That's what he does and he loves it. 00:30:28.571 --> 00:30:41.510 He loves it when Christians, or people who are about to become Christians, suffer and struggle and hurt. 00:30:43.684 --> 00:30:47.994 We all know the most famous verses of all in this category John 10-10. 00:30:47.994 --> 00:30:54.352 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:30:54.352 --> 00:31:12.115 He's loud and he's abusive, but he's also in some ways beautiful and magnificent, in the sense that he can become to people what they want. 00:31:12.115 --> 00:31:22.739 He can appear even as an angel of light to lure and to draw people into his trap. 00:31:22.739 --> 00:31:30.176 My friends, we cannot discount the enemy that we face. 00:31:30.176 --> 00:31:35.855 He is wicked, he is evil and he knows how to do this. 00:31:35.855 --> 00:31:39.189 He's been doing this for millennia. 00:31:45.644 --> 00:31:47.230 But thankfully, the story doesn't end there. 00:31:47.230 --> 00:31:55.696 It goes on to say that a poor wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. 00:31:55.696 --> 00:31:59.652 Who is this poor wise man? 00:31:59.652 --> 00:32:05.855 Who is this poor wise man? 00:32:05.855 --> 00:32:09.530 His name is Jesus. 00:32:09.530 --> 00:32:19.136 Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is wisdom personified and our only deliverer. 00:32:19.136 --> 00:32:28.598 But he didn't come to this earth with a voice of shout or the cry of archangels. 00:32:28.598 --> 00:32:31.333 There will be a day and a time when he will do that. 00:32:31.333 --> 00:32:34.049 And we're all looking for that day, aren't we? 00:32:34.049 --> 00:32:38.134 We're wishing and hoping and wanting and praying for that day. 00:32:38.644 --> 00:33:03.910 But when he came to this earth, initially in the incarnation born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, in a stable laid in a manger, a poor God who made himself poor so that we could become rich. 00:33:03.910 --> 00:33:21.435 Second Corinthians 8.9 says that you know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor so that by his poverty he could make you rich and put out of your mind dollar signs. 00:33:21.435 --> 00:33:23.928 What is the richest thing of all? 00:33:23.928 --> 00:33:29.786 To have a right relationship with our eternal God and Father. 00:33:29.786 --> 00:33:35.646 That's eternal, that's forever. 00:33:35.646 --> 00:33:43.178 John 10, 10b says I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:33:43.178 --> 00:33:47.528 That's what Jesus does, that's his job, that's his calling. 00:33:47.528 --> 00:33:49.386 First Corinthians 1.24,. 00:33:49.446 --> 00:34:00.866 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, colossians 2.3,. 00:34:00.866 --> 00:34:06.317 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 00:34:06.317 --> 00:34:20.355 This poor boy born in Bethlehem has become the King of kings and Lord of lords, and his name will rule and reign forever and ever. 00:34:20.355 --> 00:34:29.407 This is the truth that we believe, but the story doesn't end with the poor man rescuing the vulnerable. 00:34:29.407 --> 00:34:36.474 It says next, but afterward, no one thought to thank him. 00:34:40.364 --> 00:34:58.755 Often, my friends, when the crisis passes, when the destruction is over, when devastation is done, wisdom has had its way and Christ has come in as the Savior and the Redeemer, we forget to be thankful to the only one deserving of our praise. 00:34:58.755 --> 00:35:01.931 Somehow we work ourselves into the story. 00:35:01.931 --> 00:35:10.018 Somehow we created some form of energy or effort that assisted God in the process of recovery. 00:35:10.018 --> 00:35:14.215 Somehow it was circumstance or chance or situation. 00:35:14.215 --> 00:35:20.726 It was just blind luck that caused us to come out of that hole in the pit that we were in. 00:35:20.726 --> 00:35:26.813 My friends, we are, as a whole, an unthankful people. 00:35:26.813 --> 00:35:37.054 How many of us thank those who cook our food each meal? 00:35:37.054 --> 00:35:44.550 How many of us are thankful every time that we have the chance to put gasoline in our car? 00:35:51.777 --> 00:35:56.101 It grieved the preacher that the wisdom is better than power. 00:35:56.101 --> 00:36:09.556 He's saying that the wisdom of this poor man was greater than the power of this satanic king, and yet the poor man was subsequently despised. 00:36:09.556 --> 00:36:11.588 Look down upon. 00:36:11.588 --> 00:36:14.030 This is nothing new for Jesus. 00:36:14.030 --> 00:36:16.791 This is not a new invention. 00:36:16.791 --> 00:36:19.853 This is not a 2023 reality. 00:36:20.266 --> 00:36:25.769 Isaiah 53 says it very clearly he was despised and rejected by men. 00:36:25.769 --> 00:36:36.556 A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not. 00:36:36.556 --> 00:36:53.208 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions. 00:36:53.208 --> 00:36:56.893 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:36:56.893 --> 00:37:07.277 On him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 00:37:07.277 --> 00:37:10.449 Doesn't stop there, friends. 00:37:10.449 --> 00:37:15.233 All we, like sheep, have gone astray. 00:37:15.233 --> 00:37:26.047 We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 00:37:26.047 --> 00:37:40.690 Though this master and savior has delivered us with a great deliverance, how little he is honored and appreciated. 00:37:40.690 --> 00:37:49.668 Most people of this world live as if he never lived, never died, never was buried and never rose again. 00:37:49.668 --> 00:37:58.427 They pretend by writing him out of history, by making him a story along with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. 00:38:03.644 --> 00:38:12.594 And before we get too harsh or hard on the world around us, let's consider our own hearts, our own minds, our own lives, our own thought process. 00:38:12.594 --> 00:38:22.972 Often we, as Christians, are careless about remembering him and being thankful to him until the next problem arises. 00:38:22.972 --> 00:38:28.574 As long as things are going good, no reason to be thankful. 00:38:28.574 --> 00:38:32.693 As long as things seem fine, no reason to be grateful. 00:38:32.693 --> 00:38:36.612 Why should I enter into praise and worship? 00:38:36.612 --> 00:38:39.414 Why should I lift up my voice and shout? 00:38:39.414 --> 00:38:40.570 Why should I? 00:38:40.570 --> 00:38:54.539 Because the rich man became a poor man to rescue us from Satan and ourselves. 00:38:59.851 --> 00:39:02.916 It goes on to say so, even though wisdom is better than strength. 00:39:02.916 --> 00:39:06.090 Those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. 00:39:06.090 --> 00:39:09.632 What they say will not be appreciated for long. 00:39:09.632 --> 00:39:11.927 Better to hear the quiet words. 00:39:11.927 --> 00:39:12.971 Listen to this. 00:39:12.971 --> 00:39:21.036 Better to hear the quiet words, the whispering wisdom of a wise person, than the shouts of a foolish king. 00:39:21.036 --> 00:39:24.913 Better to have wisdom than weapons of war. 00:39:25.465 --> 00:39:30.717 But one sinner can destroy much that is good. 00:39:30.717 --> 00:39:32.331 And who is that one sinner? 00:39:32.331 --> 00:39:34.112 We can all get them in our minds. 00:39:34.112 --> 00:39:42.052 I, right now, we can think about the person that bothers us the most, the type of person, the category of person, whatever it is. 00:39:42.052 --> 00:39:46.934 But, friends, you and I are the guilty ones as well. 00:39:46.934 --> 00:39:52.635 We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:39:52.635 --> 00:39:58.771 How dare we become arrogant because we've been going to church for 40 years? 00:39:58.771 --> 00:40:07.027 That is not in the notes, but I believe it's true. 00:40:13.304 --> 00:40:33.159 When is the last time you heard the whisper of wisdom from the Savior, instead of tuning in to the shouts of a satanic being whose end is not very far away? 00:40:33.159 --> 00:40:37.630 And you know who knows it the most. 00:40:37.630 --> 00:40:41.353 He does, he does. 00:40:41.353 --> 00:40:43.224 He's an expert in the Scripture. 00:40:43.224 --> 00:40:46.271 So you will use the Scripture to divide us. 00:40:46.271 --> 00:40:52.072 That's why we need the whole counsel of the Word of God. 00:40:52.072 --> 00:40:53.871 We need to read the entire Bible. 00:40:53.871 --> 00:41:04.612 We need to understand the context of God's character and nature, so that he cannot use the very gift of the Word of God to bring division among us. 00:41:04.612 --> 00:41:16.927 Satan will scream at you and tell you all the things that you're used to hearing You're a failure. 00:41:16.927 --> 00:41:22.250 Nobody hates you, nobody loves you. 00:41:22.250 --> 00:41:24.469 You need to just quit. 00:41:24.469 --> 00:41:27.786 You need to give up your jerk. 00:41:27.786 --> 00:41:45.458 On and on and on, and all of the time, in the gentleness of a quiet moment. 00:41:45.458 --> 00:42:04.016 The very words that we need to hear, the words of life and words of hope, are waiting for us if we will just choose to tune down the shouts and tune up the whisper. 00:42:05.985 --> 00:42:07.851 Elijah was a man who had to learn this. 00:42:07.851 --> 00:42:29.255 He had just come from this great mountaintop experience where God showed up in fire and consumed the sacrifice and lapped up all the water that was placed on the sacrifice, and all of the prophets of Baal were killed, and all of a sudden, he's on his way back down the mountain and he hears the word Jezebel's going to kill him. 00:42:29.255 --> 00:42:36.152 How can you believe that After you just saw God did what he did? 00:42:36.152 --> 00:42:38.106 How can we? 00:42:38.106 --> 00:42:40.146 Can we be real? 00:42:40.146 --> 00:42:47.971 You know what, when we read the book of Ecclesiastes, I was feeling like this week, as I was trying to find a message in this chapter. 00:42:47.971 --> 00:42:57.032 To be honest with you, I was feeling like how many times can we say we're all going to die, and how many different ways can we say that? 00:42:57.032 --> 00:42:58.929 Here's the reality, though, guys. 00:42:58.929 --> 00:43:01.690 This is a picture of our thought life. 00:43:02.864 --> 00:43:07.014 The book of Ecclesiastes is so good because it's us on the page. 00:43:07.014 --> 00:43:12.735 We'd never say these things out loud, necessarily, but what is it that we meditate on? 00:43:12.735 --> 00:43:46.300 What is the thought that plays over and over and over again in our head, and why do we believe it more than we believe the gentle whisper of the only one who is wise enough to deliver us Part of that, part of that, is a choice that we make, choosing to be thankful and grateful and to listen in the stillness and the quiet. 00:43:46.300 --> 00:43:51.893 Those are things that we have the ability in some ways to control. 00:43:51.893 --> 00:44:10.360 So Elijah's in this cave, hiding, and God shows up, says what are you doing? 00:44:11.965 --> 00:44:22.690 Elijah says well, I'm sure you know this, but Jezebel's going to kill me and I'm the only one left of your prophets. 00:44:22.690 --> 00:44:27.137 And God says oh son, I've got so many other ones. 00:44:27.137 --> 00:44:29.610 I appreciate you for who you are. 00:44:29.610 --> 00:44:38.527 I know you're just come off this high, but there's thousands of others that haven't bowed their knee, and God is so gracious. 00:44:38.527 --> 00:44:46.875 He gives them a meal, tells them to take a nap and then, coming out of that, he does this show and tell for him. 00:44:46.875 --> 00:44:57.971 He lets him if, through his vision and all of his senses, he experiences this mighty windstorm that hits the mountain. 00:44:57.971 --> 00:45:06.128 It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. 00:45:06.128 --> 00:45:12.737 After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 00:45:12.737 --> 00:45:19.197 And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. 00:45:19.197 --> 00:45:30.626