June 7, 2026-Morning Service

The Same Fate, Ecclesiastes 9:1-10

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

You have your Bibles if you'll turn with me, Ecclesiastes in chapter nine, we're gonna look at verses one through ten. And you notice up there the title I put up there was called The Same Faith. So I just want to mention a little brief thing that happened this past week as an illustration on the concept of the same faith. Uh anybody, you don't have to raise your hand, but anybody in the room, have you ever been given a what they call a honeydew list? You ever got one of them? I've gotten quite a few of those in my lifetime. Now, some of you might say, Well, I'm not married or never been married. I get that, that's fine, but you still would have a list that you call a to-do list, right? Sometimes we're good at knocking that list out, sometimes we're not. But I would say the same fate hits us all in the sense that we all had that list at one time or one time or another. Well, I got some good news. So I want to talk to Ms. Gene Pervaux for a second. Y'all can listen in. Ms. Gene, six years ago, we bought from you that nice cast iron sink. You remember that? Well, I want you to know that to-do list, it got installed three days ago. After six years, there is hope. Now, the good news, Ms. Gene, is I've got another six years to get waterlined to it, but at least it's sitting where it's supposed to, and it looks pretty. We all have to-do list, all right? We that's just part of life, okay? The same fate. Sometimes we get it done quick, sometimes we don't get it done too quick, and sometimes maybe we never get it done. All right. And there's different reasons for that, okay? I mentioned that kind of that is a true story, but kind of in enlightening jest, because the truth and reality is when we're looking at the same faith, fate, what the great teacher Solomon is talking to us about has to do with the fate that one day we will take our last breath. The word they use there is called death. So that's what he's going to talk about this morning. So I want us to take a look at this to see um what he's talking about when it comes to how we all have the same fate and how we need to respond because of that. Look at what it says in Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Let's look at verse 1. It says, But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know. Both are before him. Now, what I like here is this teacher, Solomon, uh, the king, he spent time thinking about this, studying, observing this. It's not like he's just talking off the cuff and just writing something to be writing a novel or something. No, this is the word of God that they have for us. What do we see at the beginning of this? Well, it says here he's examined how the righteous people who are doing their best to live right, and they've gained wisdom and they're wise, their deeds, all they do, are in God's hands. Whether it's love or hate, you may not know, but both of them are before God. What does that mean? Well, let's think about it this way. I've always had this philosophy, you don't reason with the two-year-old. Now, I would say some of the greatest philosophers in life are two-year-olds. Because they ask the question, why? Not once a day, but once every 30 seconds, probably, if you let them. When it comes to discipline, it's not the time to reason with them. Because if you're not careful, they can learn to play the game to manipulate you to get what they want. You ever seen that happen? Yeah, okay, I'm gonna leave that alone. Okay, but you know where I'm at talking about, right? Well, think about it this way. What if the same were true with us in God? What if we could do all the right things, say all the right things to manipulate God to get what we want? If that were the case, what happens? God is no longer God, and we become our own God. That is a massive sin because we know there is only one true God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the universe, right? So there's a concept I want us to see here when it says they're in the hands of God, to understand that God is sovereign. Okay, that's a big fancy word. I put it up there sovereignty of God. Think it, let's keep it real simple. Over in England, have you ever heard of music expression, the sovereign says da-da-da-da-da, referring to the king or the queen? Okay, sovereign is like complete, total control. We have to understand theologically, when we describe God, one of his characteristics is that he is sovereign. He is in complete control. There's no other God above him, no God more powerful than him. He is it. He is at the top. Okay? I put a little quote there. There's lots of verses about the sovereignty of God in the Bible. I won't look at a lot of those. I just want to pick up one for a second. Proverbs 16, 9 says, the heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. We can do all the planning we want to do, trying to figure out life, and some of us can get good out of it, some of us maybe not. But God is still the one in control. Let's not play games with God thinking we can manipulate God. If I'll do this, if I'll come to church, or if I'll give this amount of money, or if I'll help my neighbor or do something like that, if I do that, God's gonna bless me or do something. Because the teacher is gonna see that God's in control and life is gonna happen. We're gonna have good things happen to us, we're gonna have bad things happen to us, stuff we can understand, stuff we don't understand why, some stuff we don't deserve, and some stuff we do deserve. But we have to understand God is still the one in control. When it talks about the idea of love and hate being before the person and they don't know it, that love could refer to God's blessing. The hate could refer to God's cursing. So when we look back at that verse, but all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Are we in control? No. God is, right? Whether it is love, blessing, or hate, a curse, man does not know. Both of them are before God or in the hands of the Almighty God. Verse 2 and 3, we're gonna look a little bit deeper at that concept of the same fate for all. What we all have coming to us. That is simply put, that we will all day, one day, we will all take our last breath, unless the Lord comes to take us home before that. Listen to what it says in verse 2. It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous, to the wicked, to the good, to the evil, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. So let me put a little lighter translation. There's one fate, one thing that's gonna happen to all of us. You know, sometimes there's things that happen to some of us and not others. Some people win the lottery, others don't. Some people play it, some don't, right? Some of us get good looks, and then some of us, you know, well, sorry, but some of you don't get good looks. I mean, that's just how it is, right? I ain't gonna point fingers at anybody or stare at anybody, but you know what I'm saying, right? But here's the deal. No matter how good you are or how bad you are, no matter how you try to sacrifice and do these right things or don't do the right things, et cetera, et cetera, no matter how much money you have, no matter how much money you don't have, one thing that we all have in common is that there's a day coming when we will take our last breath. The question is, are we ready for that day? And I'll be honest with you, don't like to think about it. It freaks me out sometimes. I have an overactive brain. I'm always thinking about stuff, and I'm thinking, like, if I had to choose how the Lord would take me home, I would like to recommend a few options, and I would like to say, Lord, there's a few options that should not be on the table. But that's not how it works because I'm not God. But the truth be known is, and hear me well, there is value in thinking about or meditating on the day that one day we'll take our last breath. Now that's not to say we need to do that because that's gory and depressing, but we need to think about it so that we have made our plans, we know that we're in a right relationship with God. So when we take that last breath, all of a sudden, the next one will be in eternity before the Almighty God worshiping him, as opposed to being in a place of eternal torment. Does that make sense? The idea, yes, we have one faith, yes, that's death, yes, that sounds depressing, but the idea of thinking about it now is to make sure that we know that we know that we know that we're in a right relationship with the Lord, that we're walking with him, we're talking with him, that we've submitted our life to him and we're committed to denying ourselves daily and following after him. We're gonna have good days, we're gonna have bad days, we're gonna have days we think the Lord's right there with us, we're gonna have days we think he's a thousand miles away. But if we don't settle this now about having a relationship with Jesus, and we think that we can wait till we die, what Solomon's trying to tell us is it's gonna be too late. We'll see that as we walk through this. Look at verse 3. It says, This is an evil and all that is done under the sun. The same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. So, this evil, the idea that life's just gonna end. Well, you know that wasn't God's plan originally. You go back to the garden, right? Weren't they gonna live forever? But sin entered and they got separated from the tree of life and the tree of good and evil, they got blocked away from them. Death entered. It's a punishment. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. They did something they weren't supposed to, the punishment, death. Did they die immediately? No, but they died later. That spiritual death took place immediately. For us, as we've inherited that, we're gonna die one day. And until we acknowledge Christ as the Lord of our life, knowing that he is who he says he is, and place our faith in him, if we don't do that, we're gonna be separated from him, or we are separated from him until we make a decision to follow him. That being said, that connects with that second part. The hearts of children are full of evil. You see, before we gave our life to Christ, we were not perfect. We're still not perfect, but we were certainly not perfect then, right? Living for our own self, doing what we wanted to do. Some of us were probably good people. We probably gave money to charities, things like that, and gave help people out. Others of us were just probably as mean as a snake. We won't take time for any testimonies on that right now, but you I think you know what I'm talking about, right? Also, it says the hearts of the children of men are full of evil and madness is in their hearts where they live, and then after that they go to the dead. So a believer, an unbeliever, a good person, a bad person, we all are gonna have the same fate. That's is we're gonna take our last breath. But there's hope in this, not for the dead, but for the living. And that's what we'll see in the next three verses, four, five, and six. Let's take a look at this. It says, but he who is joined with all the living has hope. For a living dog is better than a dead lion. Now, what are they talking about here? Obviously, those who are alive, there's hope. Well, what do you mean there's hope? Well, as we're taking our breath right now, there's hope that we can settle that relationship with Jesus, that we can pick up our Bibles and read it and communicate with Him. The idea is once we take the last breath, those decision days are over. So, you know, some people think they might get a second chance. After they die, they're gonna have a chance to hear the gospel again and make a decision to follow Jesus. If that were true, I'd say let's council the church and let's all head on to the beach or head to the river and let's just go live it up. And after we die, we get right. But that's not how God works. See, we can't control God. But he who is joined with all the living has hope. It says for a living dog is better than a dead lion. When you think about the living dog, you think about the lowest of animals. And I know today you think about a living dog, oh, how cute. We've got pets. Well, back then dogs weren't necessarily the cutest things to have around. They weren't necessarily domesticated like they are today in the same manner. A lot of them were more like scavengers. But then you had the lion. Of course, it's not domesticated either. It's more of a predator, a stronger, a bigger, uh, well-renowned animal. They make movies after him, like the Lion King, right? But here's the deal: you've got that big old strong predator that was so great in life and is now dead. There's no hope for it. But for that little dog that's scavenging around, he still has hope because he's still alive. Verse 5 says, For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. We know it's coming. We still have hope because we still have time to make that relationship with Jesus right. It says, But the dead know nothing, they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Old saying, when you're dead, you're dead, okay? But we know biblically, from a Christian worldview, that those who are with Christ, those who are believers, when they die, they'll be with Christ. Those who are unbelievers, it doesn't, their life just doesn't just end, they're dead, they don't know anything. Actually, they're still going to be alive, but they're going to spend eternity separated from God in what we call hell, a place of torment, right? Verse 6, their love and their hate and their envy has already perished, and forever they will have no share in all that is done under the sun. If you're living, you have a chance to participate, experience life, enjoy life, get to know the Lord, make amends with him. But when you're dead, all that is over with. If you're not a believer, it's gone. As a believer, you won't be walking around on the earth until he has a new heaven and new earth, but you'll be in a right relationship with him. Remember the story of the rich man of Lazarus? Rich man had it made while he enjoyed everything of life. He ate of the finest foods. And they would bring a man named Lazarus to the gate. And Lazarus just would love to just get some morsels off the rich man's table. They both die. Lazarus gets taken to the bosom of Abraham. We'll call it paradise, we'll call it heaven. Well, Lazarus, I mean, the rich man, he gets in a place of torment called Sheol or Hell or I think the scripture, depending on your version, might say Hades, right? And he's there in a place of suffering. The rich man says, he sees Abraham and says, Abraham, hey, could you send Lazarus down to give me a little touch on my lips just to quench my thirst because I'm suffering? Abraham says, Can't do it. Says, besides the fact that you've already experienced all the good in life, Lazarus had already experienced all the bad. Now he's getting all the good. There's a chasm between us. Well, see, the rich man thinks, well, maybe there's still hope. And for the living, there is still hope. But he asked for them to send Lazarus back to come back from the dead to go talk to his relatives and let them know about true hope so they won't have the same punishment in Hades like the rich man's happen. Does that make sense? Well, the conversation, Abraham said, that's not going to happen. They've got the law and the prophets. They've got the scriptures they had at the time. He said, no, but if you send somebody back from the dead, they'll work. And Abraham says, it doesn't work that way. They didn't listen to what they had, the knowledge they had at the time, they're not going to listen to anything else new. A sad reality that once we're dead, we're dead. While we're alive, we still have hope. Let's take that hope, let's put it in Jesus and make sure that we're secure that we've worked out our salvation. Now, this last little part gives us, while we're still alive, some instruction on how to live, looking at feasting, how we spend time with our family, etc. Let's look at verse 7. The teacher says, Go, eat your bread with joy, drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. You've got life, enjoy it. Yes, there's good times, there's bad times, there's hard times, but enjoy the lot that God's given you. Specifically, enjoy the feast times. Again, that's not saying you need to go out there and get three sheets under the wind, I think is the term. But enjoy the life that God's given you. Are you enjoying that life right now? If you're like me, you've had a good week. There's probably been some ups and downs. That honeydew list, some things got done, some things didn't get done. There's some interruptions, of course, in life. Got behind on some things, got ahead on some things. But in the midst of that, I asked myself, did I enjoy the week? Do I enjoy life? Solomon's saying, enjoy the life God's given you. No, it's not going to be like everybody else's. Don't compare it to everybody else's, but live it and enjoy the fate he's given you. Verse 8, let your garments always be white, let not oil be lacking on your head. Okay? This is not talking about the rule for Labor Day and Easter. Isn't it true you're not supposed to wear white after Labor Day? Is that an old saying? Okay? That's not what we're talking about here. The contrast of white, the opposite of that would be the sackcloth and ashes. Do I want to live my life in sackcloth and ashes, mourning about how depressed it is, like Eeyore, oh, woe is me, just another boring day, boring life. Or do I want to live it with joy, purity with white, and happiness, saying, This is my lot, I accept it. Lord, continue to guide me. Just let not oil be lacking on your head. Not the idea that I'm going to take a thing of vegetable oil and pour it on your head. Now, some of you probably wouldn't mind doing that. I think it'd be kind of funny. You'd probably like to do it mine. I don't know, maybe it'd help my hair grow or something. But the idea here is to be refreshed. You know, sometimes when people were in mourning, they went and showered, they went and bathed, and they just looked rugged. Or if they were fasting, they would do the same thing. Jesus was like, no, don't let people know you're fasting, you know. Freshen up, clean up. Okay? So enjoy the light that God's given you spit with your wife. It says, enjoy the life with your wife with whom you love all the days of your vain life that He's given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life, and in your toil, but you toil under the sun. God's plan one man, one woman for life. Things happen, life happens, but enjoy the time with your spouse. Many of us here I know maybe have never had a spouse, or our spouse has gone on, but we're still part of the bride, part of the body of Christ. So I pray that we would, those of us who have our spouses, we would enjoy that time with them through the good, the difficult times, but at the same time, keep pressing on in our relationship with Christ, the head of the church, as we are his bride. Verse 10 says, Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Shoal to which you are going. Basically, in the morning, when that alarm goes off, or when you just happen to wake up. Tell yourself, this is the day the Lord has made. I am going to rejoice and be glad in it. No matter if you had a rough night the night before, if you've got surgery the next morning, or whatever, it's in God's hands. We're still have a breath. Let's enjoy the life that God has given us. Job, listen to what he says. In the verse of all his struggling and temptations and losing his family and his children, his livestock, and all that, he says, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Not about you, but I want to be like Job. Now I don't want to go through all the loss that he had, but I want to have the attitude every day that God's the one who gives and God's the one who takes away. So let's enjoy life and just simply say, it's not about me, it's about you. Blessed be your name, the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, the name of the Lord. So some things to think about as we close up today. One is do we understand the idea of the sovereignty of God? The idea that God is in control and we're not. We just have to kind of let him be God. Does that mean he's going to tell us what to do and just be like a dictator or something? No, he gives us this thing they call free will, where we have the chance to make our own choices and decisions. We're not puppets. But understand, even though we don't fully understand why things happen on this earth, we have to be reminded that he's still God. And he's doing something. He's up to something. So let's trust him during these good times and the bad times, right? Secondly, it says, Will you take the light that you still have and submit it to God? Remember, we said there's still hope for those who are living? Like the scavenger of a dog that scavenges is better than somebody who's gone on. Looking around the room, we are all still alive at the moment. I'm grateful for that, obviously. But let's take every moment that God gives us, knowing that he loves us and he's working out all things for his good. Let's enjoy the light that God's given us and let's submit to it and be thankful. Now, if there's issues in life we need to correct because of our sin, well, let's ask forgiveness and get that right. And lastly, will you enjoy the lot that God has given you? You know, you look around the room, you think about what's going on in the world, you look at the newspaper, you think, man, some of these people, they've just got it made. That's not fair. They're getting to do this, and I'm stuck here in Orangeburg County or something, you know? Oh, oh, let's, let's, let's not look at others, but let us look to Jesus each and every day and enjoy the law that he's given us. Ask him to help us to enjoy it, knowing that one, he's the one who gives us life, and he's the one who takes away life. Remembering that one day he's going to take over our life when we had that last breath. So we want to make sure that we're in a right relationship with him, that we've confessed our sins, that we've made him the Lord of our life, and we seek to put him first in all that we do. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you, Father, for your word. Thank you, Father, for Solomon who uh obeyed you, received great wisdom, and has shared that with us. Father, help us to take advantage of the words that have been given today. Help us to meditate on, meditate on them this week. And Father, help us to understand that you are in control of all things, no matter how bad it may seem on a worldwide scale. Help us, Father, to remember that you've given us life and breath. Help us to take each moment of that to worship you and to make sure that we're in a right relationship with you, so that when the day comes and we take our last breath, we'll be in your presence and be able to hear you say, Well done, thy good and faithful servant. I pray now that you would speak to our hearts as we uh come for this time of invitation. I pray that each person will listen to your spirit. And Father, if there's decisions that may need to be made, I pray that they would be made today and the days to come. And Father, just continue to keep us close to you as we seek to humbly walk before you. We love you. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.