WEBVTT 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:05.839 The word of the Lord from Ecclesiastes chapter nine. 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:16.800 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, whether it is love or hate, man does not know. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:18.239 Both are before him. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:30.640 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:36.880 As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:42.479 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:51.439 Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:57.359 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:05.200 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:13.040 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:20.799 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:25.519 Let your garments be always white, let not oil be lacking on your head. 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:36.879 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that He has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life, and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:46.079 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom and shield to which you are going. 00:01:46.480 --> 00:02:12.319 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happened to them all, for man does not know his time, like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in the snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time when it suddenly falls upon them. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:17.280 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:24.879 There was a little city with a few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege works against it. 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:30.159 But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:32.400 Yet no one remembered that poor man. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:39.280 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:44.479 The words of the wise heard and quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:49.199 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:50.400 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:51.680 You may be seated. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:54.240 Thanks. 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:56.879 Good morning. 00:02:57.759 --> 00:02:59.360 Thanks for joining us this morning. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:00.719 My name is James Rathman. 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.960 I'm the pastor here at Redemption Church Denver. 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:07.360 It's always a pleasure to gather with you on the Lord's Day to worship. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:09.919 It's great to sing Psalm 40. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.719 That's one of my favorite psalms in the book of Psalms. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:21.199 And uh this morning we are continuing through Ecclesiastes and we're going through Ecclesiastes chapter 9. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:24.639 But before we enter that, uh would you please pray with me? 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:34.400 Lord Jesus. 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:42.639 When you ascended into heaven like a good king, having conquered your enemies, you shared your gifts with your people. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.360 And in sharing your gifts with your people, you established your church. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:53.599 Giving us all we need, Lord, you gave the gift of evangelists, of teachers. 00:03:54.240 --> 00:04:01.199 Lord, you gave the gifts that fill this room, Lord, and by your spirit, you knit us together in love. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:05.439 Lord God, we pray that you would attend your church. 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:08.240 We pray for Redemption Church Denver, Lord. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:22.319 We ask that we might be filled with the knowledge of your will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of you, fully pleasing to you, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of you. 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:29.839 We might be strengthened according to your glorious might, Lord, for all endurance and patience with joy. 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:35.120 Lord God, I pray for the sick and hurting in our church. 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:37.759 Lord, we pray that you would bring healing. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:51.279 Lord, for those who are estranged from their families for a time, Lord, we pray that you would bring them back together and that you would bring the peace of homes, Lord, that are experiencing discord. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:05:01.040 Lord, I pray for the people in our church who are experiencing suffering and loss due to death or financial loss or loss of jobs. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:08.319 Lord, I pray that your promises would be true to them in their hearts, that they would be able to hold fast to you. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:14.879 Lord, I pray for the church, not just our church, but the churches in our city, particularly, Lord, I pray for our presbytery. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:18.000 I pray that you would equip our presbytery with unity. 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:24.319 Lord, before you ascended, before you went to the cross, you prayed that the church might be one even as you are one. 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:26.480 I pray that we would experience that. 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:38.720 Uh, in our relationships with one another, as a church body and Lord, uh, into our presbytery, I pray that that would be experienced and amongst all of the churches who preach your word, Lord, in our city. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:43.680 We pray that you would give us that gift and that we might have the humility to receive it. 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:54.319 Lord, we pray in hope, knowing that you care for your church and the good work that you have started, you will bring to a glorious future. 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:56.160 Lord, we praise you for that. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:01.920 We pray that we would pursue that with faith in you, with all endurance and patience and joy. 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:03.839 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:06.399 All right. 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:10.480 Let's move into Ecclesiastes chapter nine. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:23.439 So when you're moving through Ecclesiastes and you get to around chapter nine, you'll probably notice yourself that you're just constantly peering around the corner, looking for the moment of resolution. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:47.040 It's like he's building this constant tension, and every little glimpse of hope that you think he gives you that you might be able to understand what a meaningful life is, or how it is that in this life under the sun we might discover true meaning or something of true stability and something that lasts, he just wipes it away again. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:51.920 And so you get frustrated as you're reading, you think, when is he finally gonna put a bow on this thing? 00:06:52.240 --> 00:07:03.920 This is, I've seen movies before, and I understand how you gotta build tension for a little while, but eventually you've got to resolve it, otherwise we're we don't want to watch this, we don't want to watch this movie. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:07.199 It just feels terrible with no resolution. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:21.360 Well, what we begin to see, however, is that the resolution that he shows us, it appears not in a tight sentence where you can finally say, okay, I know the meaning of it all. 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:32.079 I'm able to understand what the world is like and how the bottom connects to the top and how this temporal suffering that we experience connects to a glorious future hope. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:33.839 He doesn't put it in a sentence. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:36.879 Instead, it's like he drops these hints. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:39.040 And this is kind of what life is like. 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:48.000 We've talked about this before, how interpreting Ecclesiastes and the way that Ecclesiastes presents itself to us is sort of like interpreting life. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:51.120 You circle the same themes over and over again. 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:59.519 An event that took place a couple of years ago, suddenly you're back in event, in an event that seems like it has almost the same shape. 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:04.560 But it's a little different this time because you've been through something like this before. 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:11.600 And there are hints that get dropped into these even repeating events, these repeating sufferings. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:21.040 There are these hints that you can there, and the wise will see them, and you'll see that in them there's there's a glimpse of something like hope. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:24.879 But you've just got to see it in the hints. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.480 So that's what we're gonna look at today in Ecclesiastes. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:37.200 How he'll take us to these twin villains, death and chance. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:44.480 And he'll show us how how totally powerful they are, death and chance. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:52.799 And it's almost like he'll pour concrete over any of our attempts to get out from under them. 00:08:54.559 --> 00:09:03.679 But then he'll have these little plants, you know, these little flowers break through the concrete. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:10.960 Like on like your aunt's Facebook post about flowers breaking through the concrete. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:15.279 That's what he'll show us. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:17.919 So hopefully we'll have eyes to see it. 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:20.240 So let's begin working through. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:23.360 First category that he tackles is death. 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:25.360 Ecclesiastes 9.1. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:31.759 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all. 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:36.799 How the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:42.559 Whether it is love or hate, man does not know. 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:44.799 Both are before him. 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:52.000 So Solomon takes one of his pauses throughout this text, and he steps back and he examines it all. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:59.919 And one conclusion that he is able to firmly arrive at is he must conclude that it is all in the hands of God. 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:09.679 The actions of the wise and the righteous, the only explanation for them is that they must be in the hands of God. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:21.840 But because this is Ecclesiastes, he does not ignore but but thrusts us headfirst into the tension, the ambiguity of that recognition. 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:23.840 It's all in the hands of God. 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:33.039 If you examine the world, the strange thing about the world is not the chaos. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:37.120 The strange thing about the world is the order. 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.600 There's an order to it, a pattern to it. 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:43.919 There's day and there's night. 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:48.240 And you know, the whole the whole world goes through this day-night thing. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.519 It happens almost every day. 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:58.879 And yet have you noticed that you also go through that same pattern. 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:08.960 You know, there's this there's this order to it that in in your own person, you have like a night and you sleep at night. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:14.320 And then there's a day and you're awake during the day, just like the world. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:17.360 And isn't that an incredible order? 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:20.559 What a great place to live for a thing like us. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:30.399 You know, if we lived in a place where there's no night or no day, that'd be either very tiring or boring or something. 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:37.039 But we happen to find that we live in a place where there's this order, this wonderful symmetry to us. 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:43.840 And so Solomon recognizes this fact, this reality that must be observed when you observe the order. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:45.840 Psalm 19:1 declares the same thing. 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:52.879 It says, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:59.360 If you just look and observe, the wise will always conclude God is doing this. 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:02.879 There is an order to this, this has been made. 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:07.600 I have been made along with the rest of creation, I am attuned to it. 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:13.360 There is an undeniable creator, intelligence, God that is behind all of this. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:15.519 Solomon concludes that. 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:31.200 But he recognizes there are problems with this, because in that very same verse where he recognizes this is all in the hands of God, he says, whether it is love or hate, man does not know. 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:32.960 Both are before him. 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.399 Is God upholding things because he has accepted us in his love? 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:45.519 Or is God upholding things in such a way to demonstrate that he has rejected us in his hate? 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:49.519 Solomon says, man doesn't know. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:13:07.600 In Ecclesiastes 9 2, it is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:14.000 As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:18.960 These are the most meaningful distinctions we could imagine. 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:37.840 These are the distinctions of the one who is righteous and the one who is wicked, the one who lies and the one who tells the truth, the one who makes sacrifices to God, that means comes to God in right worship, and the one who denies God and offers him no worship. 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:42.320 And Solomon says, the same event happens to them all. 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:52.399 If you were to prove, if you were to seek to test and measure, well, who is under the blessing of the Lord and who is under the curse of the Lord? 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:58.879 Solomon says, zoom out just long enough, and you won't be able to tell. 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:01.360 The same event happens to them all. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:03.759 Of course he's referring to death. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:06.960 The righteous die, the wicked die. 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:10.000 You cannot use this as a determination. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:11.360 It's frustrating. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:12.879 We would like to. 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:23.919 It would be better because at the end of our movies, it's a good movie, it's a comedy when the bad guy dies, and then when the good guy utters a cool quip. 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:27.679 Those that's what that's a good movie, right there. 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:39.679 But uh an upside-down movie, one that leaves us feeling that left and hung out to dry to dry, is when at the end there is no justice and there's no way to determine, well, who was good, who was bad. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:41.759 Did any of this mean anything? 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:45.600 Solomon says, that's what it's like out here. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:54.799 Amongst the most meaningful distinctions, we cannot prove that they meant anything. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:59.759 Then in 9 verse 3, he makes a judgment on this. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:08.720 He says, This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:21.840 Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.000 That's quite a verse. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:32.480 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. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:37.919 A stark realization. 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:43.360 But there's also something in it that is like a resolution. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:58.159 Because he said to us, I can't make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked by looking at their ends under the sun, because all of their stories end the same way. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.039 Death comes for them all. 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:03.360 So what did their righteousness mean? 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:05.120 What did their wickedness mean? 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:13.120 Perhaps there is not really such thing as the categories of righteousness and wickedness. 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:24.639 But then here he comes towards something that, if you glance at it from the side, feels like justice. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:30.960 It's an absolute that looks like an absolute judgment. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:35.840 Because the hearts of the children of man are full of evil. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:40.480 When your cup is full, is there anything left to put in it? 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:41.840 No. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:44.879 That's what that's what it that's what full means. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:52.159 If madness is in their hearts while they live, are they able to discern what is true? 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:54.000 No. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.440 And then after that, they go to the dead. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:12.319 One of the things that we'll be covering in our September 4th Bible study kickoff, which, if you're in a Bible study, come to this kickoff dinner. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:13.599 It's going to be great. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.519 Delicious food. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.039 And we're going to be kicking things off. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:21.279 That's fun. 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:29.119 Not Solomon would say the end of things are better than the beginnings, but still, we're going to have a great time at this kickoff. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:33.200 And one of the things we'll be covering is Romans 1. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:41.039 And in Romans 1, he lays out almost an identical point to what Solomon is laying out here, the Apostle Paul does. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:18:01.759 And what he shows us is the beginning of the second part of Romans 1 shows us that if you were to discern the world and if you look at the world and what it testifies about itself, then you must conclude that there is a divine order and a divine creator, and that he ought to be honored in his divinity. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:04.559 This is just what Solomon has concluded. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:11.119 And then Paul goes on and he explains: everyone denies the Creator. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:16.480 We all suppress the truth in our sin. 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:22.960 And we are given over by God in his wrath to a depraved mind. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:27.440 And so there is a plain truth to us. 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:29.359 God is over all things. 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:34.000 But our hearts are full of evil. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:35.920 And so we deny that. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:41.359 And then Paul goes on and he shows this gives us over to madness. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:47.200 And Paul will explain later in that book that the wages of this sin is death. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:53.680 So have we arrived at something like an absolute judgment? 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:58.319 That he cannot tell the difference between the righteous and the wicked. 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:00.240 Well, that's because everyone is wicked. 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:06.400 And they all go to the same place of death because this is what is justly deserved of all people. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:12.480 We've arrived at something that looks like an absolute. 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:24.160 That death really is just the necessary judgment against all people whose hearts, if you really look, are full of evil. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.920 You know, at least that's clean. 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:31.920 At least there's a meaning there. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:35.119 There's a difference between the righteous and the wicked. 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:36.880 There's just no righteous. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:41.279 There is a final justice in the world, but it just belongs to God. 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:43.599 But it's terrible news for you. 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:54.240 Because it means that the final judgment that you deserve is just death and nothing else. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:05.599 But Solomon, while he's pouring this concrete of death over everything, there's something breaking through. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:13.279 Because he'll make a judgment amidst this, where he says that life is better than death. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:16.160 Here's what he says in Ecclesiastes 9, 4. 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:20.720 But he who is joined with all the living has hope. 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:25.200 For a living dog is better than a dead lion. 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:31.440 He who is joined with all the living has hope. 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:37.119 That's a weird thing to show up in this context. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:40.799 Solomon says, Let me explain something to you. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:44.720 You know people full of evil. 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:50.000 You know their minds, if you try and reason them out of their evil, they're mad. 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:52.160 They can't be reasoned out of evil. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:54.880 You know what, you know how that story ends? 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.599 Death for everyone. 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:04.079 And you say, okay, well that feels pretty complete. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:06.240 There's not much to say. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:08.559 There doesn't seem like much of a way out. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:14.160 And then two verses later, he says, but he is joined with all the living has hope. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:15.279 Hope? 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:16.559 Why? 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:25.119 Why he who is joined with all the living knows what the end of his story will be. 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:28.880 And it looks like the end of his story is a just death. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:36.640 How are you able to call us towards hope in the face of death? 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:39.519 What is he doing there? 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:44.000 This is an odd mixture that he is calling us to. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:54.559 He is saying one of the things that he goes on to explain is that one of the benefits of the living is that they know that they will die. 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:58.960 So he's calling us to this odd mixture. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:06.240 Ingredient number one, you have uh knowledge that you will die. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:08.720 Knowledge that you'll die. 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:11.599 And it even seems like it's just that that will happen. 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:15.920 Ingredient number two, the living have hope. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:20.640 And then, you know, I don't know. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:26.799 It's been a long time since I've watched Cocktail with Tom Cruise, but that's a good movie, and I will watch it soon. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:33.680 How am I gonna drink this? 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:35.359 They don't seem to go together. 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:36.319 They don't mix. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:38.880 Hope and knowledge of death. 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:46.319 Okay, here's what I want you to see, what he's forcing you to. 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:51.279 He's pushing you by the the power of this paradox. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:23:00.559 It's like he's he's holding these two things, which you he's said, he's forcing you to hold together, and you're saying, I can't hold them together, they don't go together. 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:05.839 It's like pushing two magnets together, and so you've got to snap up to some new thing. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:11.119 He's forcing you into a position of faith. 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:17.839 He's forcing you to say, I can't reason to this from here. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:29.200 But I know in order to have hope, I must have faith in something beyond what I can see. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:37.200 That means I must have faith in something beyond death. 00:23:39.359 --> 00:24:02.960 That there is a judgment beyond death that might be good for the righteous, that there is a judgment beyond death that might be bad for the wicked, that there might be some true judgment beyond death, and I can't prove it from anything I could observe, because everything happens to everyone. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:07.359 The wicked get rich and prosper. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:11.440 The righteous face terrible calamities. 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:16.880 I can't prove their righteousness or their wickedness has any benefit. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.440 But by faith, I can look to something beyond. 00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:22.480 And so he takes us to what do I do? 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:27.680 What would a life of faith, if I were to forced into this life of faith, what would that look like? 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:28.480 What would I do? 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:29.920 How would I respond to that? 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:35.759 And that's where he goes to this familiar place, but it's no longer just an observation or a recommendation. 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:38.720 Now, for the first time in the text, it's a command. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:54.240 He says this in Ecclesiastes 9:7, go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:03.599 I think that this is the description of a Christian life. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:15.200 That is a life that trusts in the approval of God by faith alone. 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:25.039 In a life that trusts in the approval of God by faith alone is able to do things like this. 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:31.440 In the midst of a life where they know that death is coming, they're able to do things like go and eat their bread with joy. 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:34.400 Why? 00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:36.720 Don't you know that death has come to all? 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:38.799 Yes, but I have hope. 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:43.839 Drink your wine with a merry heart. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:49.359 You can know God has already approved what you do. 00:25:49.599 --> 00:26:00.799 I think that one way to read Ecclesiastes, it is like it is like the most complete argument against salvation by works. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:18.400 Now, what I mean by that, or justification by works, what I mean by that is that the world is structured in such a way where you, by your efforts or by your obedience, could earn the approval of God. 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:26.640 Ecclesiastes is this airtight argument against any possibility of that. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:30.480 Because what are your works before God? 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:32.880 They're vapor. 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:36.240 They amount to nothing. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:44.480 Like how much vapor are you going to have to stack on top of itself in order to climb up to the heavens? 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:49.279 You know, have you ever have you ever climbed up and stood on on top of a cloud? 00:26:53.119 --> 00:27:04.160 Isn't it weird how when you're flying in a plane and there's these giant boiling clouds that you just write through them. 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:05.519 No problem. 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:07.839 It doesn't look like that. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:10.240 But it's just no problem. 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:12.799 These are your works. 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:18.000 You stack them up and you say, Lord, grab onto them and they will prove my worth. 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.599 And then the hand of God reaches out to grab them and they are vapor. 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:22.240 They're nothing. 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:23.440 It's not there. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:29.519 They're useless towards the end of proving yourself to the eternal. 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:38.640 So then, where does the approval of God for you come from? 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:50.160 You realize Solomon is forcing us to realize it can only come from God Himself. 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:54.720 So then how might I receive it? 00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:57.599 Only by faith. 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:01.599 Only by faith. 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:21.759 But then if I have faith that I have received the approval of God and that God has already approved what I do, then in the midst of this world where you know that there is death coming and death looming, you can eat your bread with joy. 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:24.160 Drink your wine with a merry heart. 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:27.039 Do you think it's a mistake that it's bread and wine? 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:30.240 That this is the place where he starts? 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:32.480 What does bread and wine remind you of? 00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:36.000 Body and blood of Christ. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:38.480 Reminds me of the body and blood of Christ. 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:43.599 Well, how could we know the approval of God? 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:50.319 Perhaps the body and blood of Christ would be good evidence of the approval of God. 00:28:50.880 --> 00:29:04.000 In fact, if we had something to count on, to put our faith in, like the body and blood of Christ, oh then we could we could know the approval of God. 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:07.039 Because what does it mean? 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:12.960 His body is broken for us, his blood is poured out, it it covers our sin. 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:14.480 Don't you remember? 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:15.680 Haven't you heard? 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:18.799 Your heart is full of evil. 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:21.519 You are a madman. 00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:31.200 Well, the body and blood of Jesus means our sins are covered. 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:34.000 Hidden. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:39.359 Hidden from God. 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:41.920 Removed. 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:43.680 Taken away. 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:48.079 And what is the eternal work? 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:53.440 What happens when his body and his blood are poured out on our behalf into death? 00:29:54.160 --> 00:30:04.400 He takes them up again in life, eternal life, hope on the other side of death. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:08.960 And so he goes on, and how much does this sound like the Christian life? 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:11.119 How much does this sound like Jesus? 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:13.759 So he says, I'll read them all together, nine, seven through ten. 00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:20.160 Go eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:22.160 Ecclesiastes nine, eight through ten. 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.960 Let your garments be always white. 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:28.000 Let not oil be lacking on your head. 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:40.400 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that He has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life, and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:50.079 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol to which you are going. 00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:55.680 Let your garments always be white. 00:30:55.839 --> 00:31:00.880 Drink, eat the bread, drink the wine with joy, receive white garments. 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:09.440 As though you are covered in a priestly robe to come into the presence of God. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:15.200 Let not oil be lacking on your head, anointed into the royal family. 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:21.359 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun. 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:26.720 It's your portion in life and in your toil. 00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:31.200 We are the bride of Christ. 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:43.039 He makes a point to give us joy in him, to delight in us, his people. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:47.839 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:52.400 There is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom and shale to which you are going. 00:31:54.240 --> 00:32:05.759 You know, this death which erased all things and which you would think would stretch back into our lives and render everything meaningless because we know death is coming. 00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:07.839 We know it. 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:21.279 Instead, this knowledge that death is coming reaches back and it calls us to pursue what the Lord has set before us with all our might. 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:31.119 It feels like a contradiction until you recognize that it is done by faith. 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:37.119 By faith, that perhaps this is meaningful to God. 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:40.400 Perhaps there is something on the other side of death. 00:32:40.559 --> 00:32:44.160 Perhaps there is a real judgment which makes this finally meaningful. 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:48.079 I can't prove that to you from here, because it looks like everyone's the same. 00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:51.839 But by faith, the approval of God you might receive. 00:32:54.880 --> 00:32:57.359 Alright, so we found something like an answer. 00:32:57.839 --> 00:32:58.799 Don't get too excited. 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:00.160 We're still in Ecclesiastes. 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.720 Ecclesiastes 9, 11. 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:06.240 He's going to now present to us chance. 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:08.799 He's shown us death, now he's showing us chance. 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:20.799 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge. 00:33:21.119 --> 00:33:24.160 But time and chance happen to them all. 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:27.920 Time and chance happened to them all. 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:41.519 Speed, strength, wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, these are all better than their opposites. 00:33:42.160 --> 00:33:44.880 It's better to be fast than to be slow. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:48.160 You know, especially in a foot race. 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:51.200 Which is the way that most disputes should be settled. 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:54.559 It's better to be strong than to be weak. 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:56.319 Strength is never a weakness. 00:33:57.119 --> 00:33:58.720 Weakness is never a strength. 00:33:59.039 --> 00:34:01.279 I think that's from the knees over-toes guy. 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:04.240 Who's great if you have lower back pain. 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:09.119 Wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, these are all better than their opposites. 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:10.239 And what do they amount to? 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:13.280 Well, chance can just erase them all. 00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:17.199 Bad teams win. 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:21.119 Good teams make mistakes and lose. 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:24.159 You prepared and you got sick. 00:34:26.719 --> 00:34:30.400 There was a future planned and a terrible accident took place. 00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:48.559 Solomon is seeking to constantly convince you, and I want you to be convinced of this, so this is settled in your heart, that your religious life is never a hedge against bad things happening to you. 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:52.400 That is not the purpose of our faith. 00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:55.360 And our faith does not give us evidence against that. 00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:02.400 Your religious life, your faith in Christ does not mean, great, I found a cheat code. 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:09.280 And now I won't have to experience the terrors of chance or surprise bad things happening to me. 00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:10.719 It doesn't mean that. 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:16.000 No more than it means you would escape death. 00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:19.199 You won't escape it. 00:35:20.800 --> 00:35:30.239 What it means is, for both death and chance, there's another side that you could be brought through. 00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:45.440 Here's the way he explains it man does not know his time, like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time when it suddenly falls upon them. 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:52.239 We call these events, you know, with like a bird flying and all of a sudden, yeah, snared. 00:35:53.039 --> 00:35:54.960 Or fish, picture of fish swimming. 00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:56.320 What are they thinking about? 00:35:57.519 --> 00:35:58.159 You know? 00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:02.239 You ever look at a fish and think, not much going on in there? 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:04.880 We have a beta fish. 00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:13.679 And I at first we got this small container, and I was like, that's not gonna be enough of a world for this fish. 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:18.400 But after months and months of observation, I think, that's probably about right, actually. 00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:23.119 Bam, taken in a net. 00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:26.960 That's what that's what you're like. 00:36:27.519 --> 00:36:31.599 We call those events the apocalypse. 00:36:33.119 --> 00:36:37.920 There's a new prediction of the end of the world that I saw that's going around. 00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:41.599 Uh, rapture, end of the world, new prediction. 00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:45.760 Um I'll preach it to you later so that we can all be on the same page. 00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:48.400 No, it will be false. 00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:49.039 It is false. 00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:55.280 If we can predict an apocalypse, it's not an apocalypse. 00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:58.719 Apocalypse means revelation, and it springs on you. 00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:00.320 It's a black swan. 00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:08.639 And it means revelation because right after it happens, you realize all that you didn't know. 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:15.599 And you thought you could know and hedge against the future. 00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:21.039 You thought you would have enough strength and you'd be able to overcome this. 00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:25.360 Time and chance happen to everyone. 00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:28.159 Suddenly it falls upon us. 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:32.400 Chance and randomness, they cannot be overcome. 00:37:32.719 --> 00:37:38.079 This is certain in your life. 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:46.880 The chance and randomness will happen, and you will be shocked to discover the position that you're in. 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:57.679 And as you're shocked to discover the position that you're in, you'll realize all that you didn't know, how totally vulnerable you've been this whole time. 00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:01.920 How can you live in a place like that? 00:38:06.559 --> 00:38:15.760 You must have faith that there is someone in whose hands are happening all things. 00:38:17.280 --> 00:38:23.360