WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.399 Well, good morning. It's good to see you all here. 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:14.040 In 1977, the band Kansas released one of the best progressive rock albums ever produced. 00:00:14.040 --> 00:00:21.699 ! We can have conversations about Pink Floyd later, Alan, but that's what we know is that it was one of the greatest. 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:28.400 Carrie Livgren sang these lines in the song Dust in the Wind. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:33.479 I close my eyes only for a moment, and the moment's gone. 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:37.439 All my dreams pass before my eyes with curiosity. 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:43.159 Dust in the wind. All they are is dust in the wind. 00:00:43.619 --> 00:00:47.500 Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea. 00:00:47.879 --> 00:00:52.239 All we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see. 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:57.299 Dust in the wind. All we are is dust in the wind. 00:00:57.299 --> 00:01:02.399 Now, don't hang on. Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. 00:01:02.559 --> 00:01:05.819 It slips away, and all your money won't another minute by. 00:01:06.979 --> 00:01:08.719 Dust in the wind. 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:13.120 All we are is dust in the wind. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:14.380 Dust in the wind. 00:01:14.380 --> 00:01:14.980 Dust in the wind. 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:20.820 As a teenager, I love this song because it voiced questions that were in my own… 00:01:20.820 --> 00:01:21.800 Yeah, that's how old I am. 00:01:23.939 --> 00:01:26.560 It voiced questions that were in my heart. 00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:28.960 What is my life for? 00:01:29.820 --> 00:01:31.360 Will it amount to anything? 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:34.020 If I were gone, would it make a difference? 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:35.240 Will anything last? 00:01:35.380 --> 00:01:36.600 What is the point? 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:44.859 These are questions that I think it wasn't just me as a teenager long ago who asked. 00:01:45.199 --> 00:01:47.159 But many of us ask these questions. 00:01:47.539 --> 00:01:50.099 They're common to our human existence, are they not? 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:55.079 Some of you maybe have struggled with these questions for many years. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:58.439 Some of you may be wrestling deeply with them today. 00:01:58.439 --> 00:02:06.259 Maybe some of you haven't yet gathered the courage to actually ask them and explore them. 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:14.280 Surprisingly and wonderfully, the Bible also asks these questions. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:21.919 Sometimes we think of church as a place where we come as happy people who have it all together. 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:25.919 Our lives are full and meaningful, and that's what it is. 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:33.879 But the Bible actually gives us voices to wrestle with these deep questions. 00:02:34.799 --> 00:02:37.679 And this leads us to our fall book series. 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:42.899 Starting today and going through Thanksgiving, we are going to be preaching through the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:51.639 And as we come to the book, I'm going to give you three introductory thoughts about how we're going to approach this book of Ecclesiastes. 00:02:51.639 --> 00:03:00.479 And then dive into chapter 1 and look at it where the author invites us on a journey of these question-asking things. 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:03.599 So, perspectives. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:07.119 First, we need to recognize that Ecclesiastes is different. 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:09.500 It is a different genre. 00:03:09.679 --> 00:03:12.979 In the Bible, there are lots of different kinds of literature. 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:13.939 There are letters. 00:03:14.279 --> 00:03:15.439 There are histories. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:17.479 There are prophecies. 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:19.539 There are proverbs. 00:03:19.799 --> 00:03:20.599 There's poetry. 00:03:21.139 --> 00:03:24.699 And each one is communicating truth, but in a different form. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:29.239 And often in church, we come because we expect the Bible to say, 00:03:29.679 --> 00:03:31.359 Thus saith the Lord. 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:40.879 And give us clear instructions or clear philosophical treaties on how we ought to think and how we ought to live. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:47.139 And so, we love books like Romans or Isaiah because it seems so clear what it says. 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:52.439 Ecclesiastes is a part of wisdom literature, and it is different. 00:03:53.519 --> 00:04:04.139 It's like sitting with your great uncle and hearing him tell stories, exploring his life and his experiences, 00:04:04.579 --> 00:04:08.560 his thoughts about where meaning came from and where he struggled. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:19.439 Listening for the nuggets of wisdom and being challenged by the breadth and depth of his perspective as he's lived his many years. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:25.100 So, as we come to Ecclesiastes, we're not going to get much of Thus saith the Lord, 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:31.879 but we're going to get a lot of our great uncle sharing thoughts. 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:34.819 So, we need to listen with a different ear to it. 00:04:34.819 --> 00:04:39.300 Secondly, we need to recognize that Ecclesiastes is complex. 00:04:40.159 --> 00:04:47.300 Again, because of its genre, it doesn't just present truth in a straightforward way in the ways we ought to. 00:04:47.659 --> 00:04:50.980 There are various voices that seem to speak in this book. 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:51.819 The writer… 00:04:52.459 --> 00:04:53.819 So, we're going to… 00:04:53.819 --> 00:04:56.019 We're going to call him Kohelet. 00:04:56.019 --> 00:05:02.879 That's the actual transliteration of the Hebrew word that in your Bible you'll see preacher or teacher. 00:05:03.259 --> 00:05:05.000 He's someone who… 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:08.859 The title refers to someone who leads a gathered assembly. 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:17.339 And he takes on the voice, particularly in the first couple of chapters, of a son of David and a king of Israel. 00:05:17.339 --> 00:05:21.939 He does it sometimes in the first person and sometimes in the third person. 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:26.599 And then we'll see at the very end of the book, it seems there's another voice that comes in to evaluate it all. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:33.759 And so, we need to think through how do we read this book because we have these multiple voices going on. 00:05:34.479 --> 00:05:34.879 Right? 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:37.039 And we don't know who the author is. 00:05:37.239 --> 00:05:40.219 It might have been Solomon who was king after David. 00:05:40.220 --> 00:05:48.280 But maybe it was an author who later compiled some of Solomon's thoughts and put in some of his own and compiled them together. 00:05:48.420 --> 00:05:50.820 Or maybe it was someone completely different. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:56.260 But speaking creatively in a Solomonic voice as a literary device. 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:07.500 Whatever it is, what we do see is a remarkably creative mind writing with passion about life under the sun. 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:13.259 That is life in this world without reference to God. 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:17.660 Life as the human condition as we know it. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:21.040 And we need to listen carefully to this voice. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:23.500 As he speaks in these different… 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:28.319 As these different voices speak, we're going to be looking at it like a diamond. 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:29.740 He's looking at life like a diamond. 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:37.220 We're looking through different facets so that we can see the beauty of the whole or the fullness of the whole that he's describing. 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:46.000 Thirdly, as we read the book of Ecclesiastes, it is maybe a lot like Esther. 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:50.279 It is a book that drives us to the rest of the Bible for more. 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:51.959 Right? 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:54.839 One of the commentators I read this week gave me this. 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:55.360 I couldn't… 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:57.399 I didn't write it down and then I forgot which one it is. 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:00.040 So, I'll try to find it and give it to you later if you want to know. 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:01.040 I didn't make this one up. 00:07:01.220 --> 00:07:02.500 But it's so helpful for… 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:05.860 We come to church often coming for answers, right? 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:06.819 Not questions. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:10.779 And this is right because God has revealed himself to us. 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:14.959 And we are looking in the right place for answers to deep questions. 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:24.839 But Ecclesiastes reminds us of the importance of exploring the questions without skipping to the answers. 00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:29.239 We need to sit with these questions and wrestle with them. 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:39.839 Interestingly, in Ecclesiastes, there are very few references to the grand themes of the Bible, of covenant, of redemption, of the history of God's people. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:48.299 But there are lots of hints along the way that there is more to life than life under the sun. 00:07:49.719 --> 00:07:59.419 And as we read it, I believe the author wrote it so that our dissatisfaction would look beyond life under the sun for something more. 00:08:00.659 --> 00:08:09.079 So, with that introduction, let's take a dive into Ecclesiastes chapter 1. 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:12.180 And I'm going to pray and ask for God's help, and then we'll look at it together. 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:13.439 Please pray with me. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:19.659 Oh, Lord, we thank you for your word in all of its grandeur and diversity and wonder. 00:08:20.259 --> 00:08:26.740 And, Lord, we thank you for this book that, Lord, speaks the questions of our hearts often. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:32.299 And helps us to wrestle with the reality of our experience. 00:08:32.299 --> 00:08:37.899 Lord, we pray that as we read it this morning, your spirit would help us. 00:08:38.339 --> 00:08:40.339 That we would have clarity of understanding. 00:08:40.939 --> 00:08:43.559 Lord, that you would help us to receive this word. 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:50.219 Lord, to be led by it into the questions and the wrestling that the author leads us into. 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:55.539 And, Lord, we pray that at the end, we would find you in the midst of it. 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:59.459 Lord, I pray for your help this morning as I speak. 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:00.959 Give me clarity. 00:09:01.299 --> 00:09:01.959 Give me help. 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.139 So that I might speak the words that I ought to. 00:09:05.259 --> 00:09:09.819 And so that we together might sit under the authority of your word this morning. 00:09:10.839 --> 00:09:12.399 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:13.219 Amen. 00:09:18.179 --> 00:09:20.079 Ecclesiastes chapter 1. 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:23.540 If you want to follow along in the Pew Bible, it will be on page 518. 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:27.560 It will also be up on the screen as we read this. 00:09:28.139 --> 00:09:30.740 Ecclesiastes, what we're going to do is walk through it in two sections. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:32.460 So we're going to look at verses 1 through 11. 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:35.040 And then we're going to look at verses 12 through 18. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:39.460 Ecclesiastes chapter 1. 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:43.620 The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 00:09:45.379 --> 00:09:47.960 Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:51.040 Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 00:09:51.900 --> 00:09:57.240 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:02.560 A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains forever. 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:07.200 The sun rises and the sun goes down and hastens to the place where it rises. 00:10:08.340 --> 00:10:11.800 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north. 00:10:12.160 --> 00:10:16.820 Around and around goes the wind and on its circuits the wind returns. 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:20.580 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full. 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:25.259 To the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:28.600 All things are full of weariness. 00:10:28.780 --> 00:10:30.019 A man cannot utter it. 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:33.960 The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:40.280 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done. 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:43.819 And there is nothing new under the sun. 00:10:45.079 --> 00:10:48.019 Is there a thing of which it is said, see, this is new? 00:10:48.339 --> 00:10:51.159 It has been already in the ages before us. 00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:57.799 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:01.559 yet to be among those who come after. 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:11.559 In these verses, the author is communicating that life under the sun leaves us grasping for meaning and permanence. 00:11:12.619 --> 00:11:17.199 The whole book is introduced in verse 1 by framing the author. 00:11:17.359 --> 00:11:19.079 He is introducing himself briefly. 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:27.000 And as the king in Jerusalem, as the son of David, you expect him to be speaking for God 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:31.560 and pronouncing something wonderful and glorious and tremendous. 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:33.120 And what does he do in verse 2? 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:37.060 He says, vanity of vanities. 00:11:37.400 --> 00:11:38.740 All is vanity. 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:41.860 He repeats it so many times. 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:43.480 Now, what does this word mean? 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:46.519 This is the old King James word that is used. 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:48.840 Vanity in… 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:53.200 And we might think of vain being sort of someone who's self-centered and egotistical, 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:55.000 but that's not actually the meaning here. 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:56.620 There are a couple of shades. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:01.920 This word is notoriously difficult to translate into one English word. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:02.920 It has… 00:12:02.920 --> 00:12:04.420 It's been translated meaningless. 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:06.420 It's been translated futile. 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:08.360 It's been translated fleeting. 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:13.480 It technically refers to a vapor or a breath or a mist. 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:18.580 And it's clearly used in many places in the Bible metaphorically. 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:24.360 So, it's something that's insubstantial without weight or without meaning. 00:12:25.019 --> 00:12:25.740 Right? 00:12:26.379 --> 00:12:30.960 And he says, all of life is like this. 00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:34.100 It's like hugging a specter. 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:36.379 It's like standing on a cloud. 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:37.939 God, we… 00:12:37.939 --> 00:12:42.080 We don't find that there's anything there in life under the sun. 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:45.000 And this is the theme of the book. 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:48.240 It's going to be a fun couple of weeks this fall, isn't it? 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:50.080 As we read this. 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:52.259 This is the theme of the book. 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:57.360 As he explores life under the sun in so many different ways. 00:12:58.220 --> 00:12:59.379 He's going to… 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:04.259 Then he says, let's explore… 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:08.240 Let's ask the question that we need to be answering as we're exploring this. 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:08.519 Right? 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:09.960 Verse 3 again. 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:16.299 What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:17.559 And by the name of the man… 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:18.519 What do you add? 00:13:18.980 --> 00:13:20.820 What's the profit here? 00:13:20.820 --> 00:13:23.940 He's not just saying like, are we sustaining something? 00:13:24.040 --> 00:13:27.420 But what's the good, the value added in this? 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.740 Does anything under the sun have meaning? 00:13:31.280 --> 00:13:32.640 Is it going to make a difference? 00:13:33.140 --> 00:13:36.379 And again, this phrase, under the sun, is so important. 00:13:37.040 --> 00:13:42.379 Because it means that he's describing the normal Christian life… 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:50.019 Or the normal human life, excuse me, the normal human life as we look at life on this earth without reference to God. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:52.840 And it's not that he won't ever talk about God. 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:56.320 But life under the sun is what does it look like for us to live? 00:13:56.500 --> 00:13:58.299 And this is the life that we live in. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:00.299 This is the life that our neighbors live in. 00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:05.960 This is the life that we share as common human experiences. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.600 And he asks this in some senses, I believe, as a rhetorical question. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:14.180 Because the expected answer is, what do we gain? 00:14:15.060 --> 00:14:15.500 Nothing. 00:14:16.340 --> 00:14:17.399 All is vanity. 00:14:17.680 --> 00:14:20.259 And he goes on to explain this in verses 4 through 11. 00:14:20.500 --> 00:14:28.920 He gives just a series of images to say, here's some examples of this ephemerality, this unsubstantialness of life. 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:29.519 Right? 00:14:29.820 --> 00:14:33.240 So first he goes to the monotony of the earth cycles. 00:14:33.379 --> 00:14:37.460 He says, the sun rises and it sets, and it rises and it sets, and it rises and it sets. 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:38.560 Does it make a difference? 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:41.599 Well, okay, so we know that it does at one level. 00:14:41.719 --> 00:14:47.000 But at another level, from his perspective, he's saying, it just goes on and on and on and nothing changes. 00:14:47.699 --> 00:14:49.359 And similarly, the wind blows. 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:51.459 And it blows around the earth and it keeps going. 00:14:51.719 --> 00:14:53.039 And it comes back again. 00:14:53.599 --> 00:14:55.759 And so the wind just, is it going anywhere? 00:14:56.239 --> 00:14:57.339 There's no destination. 00:14:57.500 --> 00:14:59.199 It just keeps circling the earth. 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:04.140 And even though he doesn't know about the water cycle and all of its particularities, he says, 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:08.920 have you ever noticed that the rivers constantly run to the ocean, but the ocean isn't overflowing? 00:15:09.520 --> 00:15:14.759 Somehow the water disappears and the rain falls and the rivers flow again, and it just keeps going. 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.240 With no end in sight. 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:27.000 And he pictures these creative, these created cycles as being, though permanent and ongoing, producing of nothing. 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:29.960 He says in verse 8. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.340 And this is what we experience as well. 00:15:33.820 --> 00:15:37.340 We are overwhelmed by the human cycles. 00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:40.240 If we get up, we do our work, we go to bed. 00:15:40.379 --> 00:15:43.060 We get up, we do our work, and we go to bed. 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:52.339 And so verse 8 tells us that all things are full of weariness, so that we can't even speak of it because it so weighs down our soul. 00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:58.539 In fact, all the things that we look at that might delight our eye don't satisfy. 00:15:58.939 --> 00:16:05.019 And all the things we hear that might give us joy don't ever fill us up. 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:14.860 And then in verses 9 through 11, he picks up this phrase that has entered into our common parlance, doesn't it? 00:16:14.939 --> 00:16:17.379 There is nothing new under the sun. 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:20.679 How depressing is this? 00:16:21.740 --> 00:16:22.039 Right? 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:23.340 There is nothing new. 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:25.559 If you've seen it, it's happened before. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:28.960 If you think something's new going to happen, don't count on it. 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:29.899 It's already been. 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:34.519 It's an interesting perspective, isn't it? 00:16:34.579 --> 00:16:39.259 That challenges, I would say, in particular, our modern spirit. 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:45.279 Because we are so committed to progressive idealism in this world, isn't it? 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:46.699 We're going to make a difference. 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:48.139 We're going to change the world. 00:16:48.319 --> 00:16:55.419 We're going to live a life that's going to be so significant that people will remember us. 00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:58.500 This is what it's going to mean to live a good life. 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:03.559 This is what we seek to gain by what we do. 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:09.059 Nick and I were talking about this week, and he asked the question, 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:12.420 how many of you know who your great-great-grandfather was? 00:17:14.299 --> 00:17:15.500 Yeah, like five of you. 00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:19.200 Because you're genealogically literate people. 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:21.359 But like most of us, we don't know. 00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:25.200 And you just have to go back a few more generations, and it disappears, right? 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:30.140 It might be a name on a page, but for most of us, it just disappears. 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:33.480 And friends, that's 100, 200 years. 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:34.600 Go back 1,000 years. 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:41.180 This is what Percy Shelley wrote in his great poem, Ozymandias. 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:47.900 And I'm going to read it to you because it just captures what the writer here is saying so well. 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:54.540 This was written, by the way, about the pharaohs in Egypt, about Ramses II, as a matter of fact. 00:17:55.180 --> 00:17:55.940 So he said this. 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:56.300 He said, 00:17:56.299 --> 00:17:59.440 I met a traveler from an antique land who said, 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.019 Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. 00:18:03.539 --> 00:18:07.940 Near them on the sand, half sunk a shattered visage lies, 00:18:08.399 --> 00:18:12.200 Whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:16.799 Tell that its sculptor well those passions read. 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:21.279 Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:25.139 The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed, 00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:28.940 And on the pedestal, these words appear. 00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:32.820 My name is Ozymandias, King of kings. 00:18:33.080 --> 00:18:36.020 Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:39.560 Nothing beside remains. 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:43.380 Round the decay of that colossal wreck, 00:18:44.120 --> 00:18:45.280 Boundless and bare, 00:18:45.860 --> 00:18:50.560 The lone and level sands stretch far away. 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:59.940 Even your own poets know that life under the sun is vanity, 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:02.720 And our life is but a vapor. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.179 So this is the opening salvo of the writer. 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:14.919 And then we move on to a more personal exploration in verses 12 through 18. 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:17.920 So let's read that together if you want to look with me. 00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:20.460 He writes, 00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:23.140 I, the preacher, have been king over Israel and Jerusalem, 00:19:23.140 --> 00:19:27.180 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:29.640 All that is done under heaven. 00:19:30.840 --> 00:19:36.120 It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of men to be busy with. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:39.759 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, 00:19:39.819 --> 00:19:44.640 And behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.720 What is crooked cannot be made straight, 00:19:47.860 --> 00:19:49.440 And what is lacking cannot be counted. 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:50.820 I said in my heart, 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:52.320 I have acquired great wisdom, 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:55.480 Surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me. 00:19:55.880 --> 00:20:00.259 And my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 00:20:00.800 --> 00:20:02.880 And I applied my heart to know wisdom, 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:05.420 And to know madness and folly. 00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:10.740 I perceived that this also is but a striving after the wind. 00:20:10.740 --> 00:20:14.380 For in much wisdom is much vexation, 00:20:14.660 --> 00:20:18.900 And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:22.339 This ends the reading of the Word of God. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:22.779 Let's pray. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:23.700 No, I'm kidding. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:28.440 In this second section, 00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:34.859 The writer expresses his own personal search for meaning under the sun. 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:40.819 And it leaves us still with this empty feeling, does it not? 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:42.379 Notice the voice changes. 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:46.299 The preacher in verse 2 is a third person. 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:48.059 He's being quoted. 00:20:48.879 --> 00:20:50.559 Here we see in verse 12, 00:20:50.919 --> 00:20:52.059 The first person, he says, 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:53.019 I did this. 00:20:53.399 --> 00:20:54.839 I applied my heart. 00:20:55.679 --> 00:20:56.779 I applied my heart. 00:20:56.779 --> 00:20:59.099 And heart was not just his emotional faculties, 00:20:59.099 --> 00:21:00.480 But all of his being. 00:21:00.719 --> 00:21:06.599 I spent my whole life searching out life under the sun 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:08.679 To see if in the wisdom and knowledge of that, 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:10.519 I would find anything meaningful. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:12.959 And his conclusion, 00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:17.079 It is an unhappy business that God has left us. 00:21:18.179 --> 00:21:20.240 Life under the sun is hard. 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:26.160 Verse 15 reminds us 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:31.539 That the experience of our lives is filled with overwhelming futility. 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:33.759 There are crooked things, 00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:35.339 And they're never straightened. 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:36.839 Right? 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:38.599 There are futile things, 00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:42.019 And they continue to pile up so much that they're uncounted. 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:44.180 We can't even account for them all. 00:21:46.099 --> 00:21:47.900 In verses 16 through 18, 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:48.640 He continues, 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:51.180 He doesn't only search out wisdom and knowledge. 00:21:51.580 --> 00:21:52.000 He says, 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:54.100 Well, if I haven't found it there, 00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:56.420 Maybe I'll look at madness and folly. 00:21:56.600 --> 00:21:58.640 Because maybe I'll find meaning there. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:01.640 And this is where it's interesting. 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:04.200 Because if this is in a Solomonic voice, 00:22:04.300 --> 00:22:05.380 Whether it's Solomon or not, 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:09.580 Solomon pursued everything under the sun. 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:10.900 If you look at his history, 00:22:10.900 --> 00:22:12.720 He was the richest man in the world. 00:22:13.100 --> 00:22:14.400 He had every pleasure, 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:15.320 Every wealth, 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:16.259 Every privilege, 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:17.800 Every possibility. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:22.520 In his exploration to go as far as he could, 00:22:22.580 --> 00:22:24.340 He was extremely successful. 00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:28.500 And yet his final evaluation, 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:31.820 Vanity, 00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:33.740 Meaningless, 00:22:34.800 --> 00:22:35.200 Empty. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:37.160 In fact, 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:37.860 Wisdom, 00:22:37.860 --> 00:22:37.880 Wisdom, 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:40.279 As we see in verse 18, 00:22:40.620 --> 00:22:42.240 Just brings vexation. 00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:45.420 And knowledge increases sorrow. 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:48.779 Because we don't get what we, 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:50.519 What our hearts long for. 00:22:51.380 --> 00:22:54.519 Because we know we were meant for meaning and purpose. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.319 And yet we can't find it under the sun. 00:22:57.319 --> 00:23:01.859 I saw this interview earlier this year, 00:23:01.859 --> 00:23:03.419 And I wanted to quote it from you. 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:06.000 Anyone a golf fan here? 00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:09.759 Scotty Scheffler is the number one golfer in the world. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:12.899 He has been so for over 150 weeks. 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:14.819 So that's three years. 00:23:15.159 --> 00:23:16.299 So if you don't know him, 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:16.679 Hey, 00:23:16.819 --> 00:23:17.339 He's like, 00:23:17.639 --> 00:23:18.759 He's the Michael Jordan, 00:23:18.879 --> 00:23:20.539 Tiger Woods of today in golf. 00:23:20.639 --> 00:23:21.980 He's really outstanding. 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:24.819 But in an interview recently, 00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:25.960 He said this, 00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:28.539 Is it great to be able to win tournaments 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:31.720 And to accomplish things I have in the game of golf? 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:32.200 Yeah, 00:23:32.339 --> 00:23:34.039 It brings tears to my eyes. 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:35.579 Just to think about. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:38.319 Because I've literally worked my entire life 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:39.640 To be good at this sport. 00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:42.279 I have that kind of sense of accomplishment. 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:44.539 I think it's a pretty cool feeling. 00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:48.240 But he goes on and says, 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:50.700 This is not a fulfilling life. 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:52.880 It's fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:56.900 But it's not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest part of your heart. 00:23:57.980 --> 00:23:59.259 There are a lot of people 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:00.840 That make it 00:24:00.840 --> 00:24:04.660 To what they thought was going to fulfill them in life. 00:24:05.100 --> 00:24:06.140 And you get there, 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:07.660 You get to number one in the world. 00:24:08.860 --> 00:24:09.559 And they're like, 00:24:09.700 --> 00:24:11.000 What's the point? 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:14.600 Now it turns out, 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:15.900 He's a professing Christian. 00:24:16.120 --> 00:24:18.680 He participates in Bible studies on the PGA Tour. 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:21.779 So he's not speaking this out of despair. 00:24:22.820 --> 00:24:24.440 But as one who has achieved 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:26.080 The highest pinnacle 00:24:26.080 --> 00:24:28.360 Of his life ambition. 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:30.480 He said, 00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:32.259 It's not enough. 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:34.980 It doesn't give us 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:36.640 What we want it to give us. 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:40.920 Maybe some of you 00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:41.759 Have felt that. 00:24:42.560 --> 00:24:43.920 Maybe some of this 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:45.380 Rings true to you. 00:24:45.380 --> 00:24:48.800 Maybe it's career aspirations. 00:24:49.380 --> 00:24:50.680 Maybe it's 00:24:50.680 --> 00:24:52.080 A relationship 00:24:52.080 --> 00:24:53.080 And a marriage. 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:54.520 Maybe it's 00:24:54.520 --> 00:24:55.240 A certain 00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:55.900 Accomplishment 00:24:55.900 --> 00:24:59.340 That you have set your heart on. 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:00.740 And you've actually succeeded. 00:25:01.520 --> 00:25:03.600 And you wonder why it feels so hollow. 00:25:05.380 --> 00:25:07.260 Many of us set our hearts on things 00:25:07.260 --> 00:25:08.080 And don't get there 00:25:08.080 --> 00:25:09.280 And live with the disappointment 00:25:09.280 --> 00:25:10.620 That we never got a chance 00:25:10.620 --> 00:25:12.060 To test this out. 00:25:12.059 --> 00:25:16.000 And so we've lived in disappointment 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:18.159 And falling short 00:25:18.159 --> 00:25:19.759 Rather than success. 00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:23.759 But the writer of Ecclesiastes 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:24.899 Would say to us 00:25:24.899 --> 00:25:27.639 It's all vanity 00:25:27.639 --> 00:25:28.879 Meaningless 00:25:28.879 --> 00:25:30.819 Grasping at the wind 00:25:30.819 --> 00:25:32.299 If we think 00:25:32.299 --> 00:25:33.179 That those things 00:25:33.179 --> 00:25:34.019 That we are pursuing 00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:35.720 Can give us 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:37.839 The heart's desire. 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:40.000 And we're going to explore this 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:40.879 In the coming weeks. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:42.560 Because what the writer of Ecclesiastes 00:25:42.560 --> 00:25:43.300 Does is he says 00:25:43.300 --> 00:25:44.640 Let's look at this. 00:25:44.800 --> 00:25:46.000 Let's look at this. 00:25:46.120 --> 00:25:47.080 Let's look at this. 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:48.300 Let's look at work. 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:49.580 Let's look at pleasure. 00:25:49.820 --> 00:25:51.200 Let's look at wisdom. 00:25:51.540 --> 00:25:52.940 Let's look at doing good. 00:25:53.060 --> 00:25:54.280 Let's look at justice. 00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:56.400 And all of these things 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:57.240 Under the sun. 00:26:00.060 --> 00:26:01.240 We'll explore it together. 00:26:01.380 --> 00:26:02.560 And we'll see what he has to say. 00:26:04.560 --> 00:26:05.760 So what are we to learn 00:26:05.760 --> 00:26:07.380 From Ecclesiastes 00:26:07.380 --> 00:26:08.460 Chapter 1 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:09.020 This morning. 00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:10.440 First 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:11.579 We need to be 00:26:11.579 --> 00:26:13.519 Challenged to not be naive 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:15.720 About the world we live in. 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:17.119 Again 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:17.700 I mentioned this 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:18.099 At the beginning 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:19.099 But our 00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:21.420 Our church culture 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:22.319 Can be 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:23.839 One where we think 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:25.759 We've got to all be 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:26.339 Happy happy 00:26:26.339 --> 00:26:27.440 And have it all together 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:29.000 And know where we are 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:29.160 And 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:29.799 And 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.139 And I think that 00:26:32.139 --> 00:26:33.839 There's a place 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:35.879 In our church life 00:26:35.879 --> 00:26:36.859 To recognize 00:26:36.859 --> 00:26:39.000 That life is hard 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:40.839 And it is often fruitless 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:42.339 In the ways that we want it to be 00:26:42.339 --> 00:26:46.559 So our church culture 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:47.359 Needs to be challenged 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:48.259 Not to be naive 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:49.899 But our broader culture 00:26:49.899 --> 00:26:50.459 Does too 00:26:50.459 --> 00:26:51.599 Because we live in a time 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:53.399 Of irrepressible humanism 00:26:53.399 --> 00:26:54.419 Even though the world 00:26:54.419 --> 00:26:54.980 Seems dark 00:26:54.980 --> 00:26:55.699 We keep saying 00:26:55.699 --> 00:26:56.980 We can do this 00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:58.319 If just we band together 00:26:58.319 --> 00:26:59.339 If only we could get 00:26:59.339 --> 00:27:00.159 Our right values 00:27:00.159 --> 00:27:01.059 If only we could get 00:27:01.059 --> 00:27:02.359 The right political leaders 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:03.399 If only we could just 00:27:03.399 --> 00:27:04.779 If we could do it right 00:27:04.779 --> 00:27:05.819 We're going to make 00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:07.579 The best of all possible worlds 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:10.839 And that is the hope 00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:11.339 That sustains 00:27:11.939 --> 00:27:13.000 Our culture 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:14.039 Here in the West 00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:19.339 Our human utopian 00:27:19.339 --> 00:27:20.439 Utopian dreams 00:27:20.439 --> 00:27:21.339 And visions 00:27:21.339 --> 00:27:23.099 Are shattered 00:27:23.099 --> 00:27:26.079 By the Ecclesiastes 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:27.399 Analysis of life 00:27:27.399 --> 00:27:28.740 Under the sun 00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:30.519 It's not going to 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:31.139 Get us there 00:27:31.139 --> 00:27:33.519 And given that 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:34.399 Then the second thing 00:27:34.399 --> 00:27:34.959 We're going to get 00:27:34.959 --> 00:27:36.039 From chapter 1 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:37.159 Is a word of comfort 00:27:37.159 --> 00:27:38.240 Because 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:39.939 Deep down 00:27:39.939 --> 00:27:41.199 We know this 00:27:41.199 --> 00:27:43.459 We've experienced this 00:27:43.459 --> 00:27:45.119 And if you haven't yet 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:46.619 I'm sorry to say it 00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:47.119 You will 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:49.679 You will find 00:27:49.679 --> 00:27:50.399 That life 00:27:50.399 --> 00:27:51.799 Will not give you 00:27:51.799 --> 00:27:53.919 It cannot bear the weight 00:27:53.919 --> 00:27:55.599 It is insubstantial 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:56.700 To give you 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:57.379 The meaning 00:27:57.379 --> 00:27:58.659 And purpose 00:27:58.659 --> 00:28:00.180 And life 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:00.700 That you 00:28:00.700 --> 00:28:02.700 Were actually made for 00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:04.899 The world is really 00:28:04.899 --> 00:28:05.819 Hard to live in 00:28:05.819 --> 00:28:07.000 And it's nice to know 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:08.639 That God knows that too 00:28:08.639 --> 00:28:10.339 And that his word 00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:11.799 Reveals this to us 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:13.419 So that we can see that 00:28:13.419 --> 00:28:17.799 It is a miserable business 00:28:17.799 --> 00:28:19.839 To live in this life 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:23.599 But finally 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:26.039 I think that it 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:26.899 Awakens in us 00:28:26.899 --> 00:28:28.399 A thirst for something more 00:28:28.399 --> 00:28:31.519 I remember one of my 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:32.259 Seminary professors 00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:32.980 Saying that 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:34.799 Apart from the gospel 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:36.480 Nihilism is the most 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:37.259 Honest 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:38.539 Philosophy 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:39.740 In the whole world 00:28:39.740 --> 00:28:41.439 And I think the 00:28:41.439 --> 00:28:42.199 Ecclesiastes writer 00:28:42.199 --> 00:28:42.579 Would say 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:42.899 Yep 00:28:42.899 --> 00:28:43.799 There you go 00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:44.799 Meaningless 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:45.379 Meaningless 00:28:45.379 --> 00:28:47.119 It's maybe not nihilism 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:48.139 And there are a couple of more 00:28:48.139 --> 00:28:48.839 You know 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:49.719 Creative versions 00:28:49.719 --> 00:28:51.039 Of how you deal with this 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:52.379 Absurdity of life 00:28:52.379 --> 00:28:53.079 And meaninglessness 00:28:53.079 --> 00:28:53.779 But 00:28:53.779 --> 00:28:56.059 But it feels like 00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:57.359 There's 00:28:57.359 --> 00:28:59.239 There's not a good alternative 00:28:59.239 --> 00:29:04.839 And if we reject that nihilism 00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:06.739 As being despair 00:29:06.739 --> 00:29:07.579 And destruction 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:08.259 And darkness 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:11.219 Then we need to look 00:29:11.219 --> 00:29:12.119 For something more 00:29:12.119 --> 00:29:13.299 And there are hints of it 00:29:13.299 --> 00:29:14.759 Even in this passage 00:29:14.759 --> 00:29:16.039 Recall 00:29:16.039 --> 00:29:17.519 That when he says 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:18.299 The writer says 00:29:18.299 --> 00:29:19.700 I was king in Jerusalem 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:21.740 Jerusalem is a place 00:29:21.740 --> 00:29:22.759 That has meaning 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:23.460 In the Bible 00:29:23.460 --> 00:29:25.079 It is the place 00:29:25.079 --> 00:29:25.960 Where God 00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:27.359 Dwelt among men 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:29.240 In a particular way 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:30.799 In the Old Testament history 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:31.859 Right 00:29:31.859 --> 00:29:33.579 It is the place 00:29:33.579 --> 00:29:34.079 Where 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:34.859 It is 00:29:34.859 --> 00:29:35.980 It is the image 00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:36.940 That then takes up 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:37.859 In a biblical theme 00:29:37.859 --> 00:29:38.859 It is the place 00:29:38.859 --> 00:29:39.919 Where God's people 00:29:39.919 --> 00:29:40.819 Will gather 00:29:40.819 --> 00:29:41.879 And worship 00:29:41.879 --> 00:29:42.879 God 00:29:42.879 --> 00:29:44.299 And so the writer 00:29:44.299 --> 00:29:45.960 Reminds us of this 00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:47.659 To remind us 00:29:47.659 --> 00:29:49.399 He has not abandoned God 00:29:49.399 --> 00:29:50.119 Even though 00:29:50.119 --> 00:29:51.079 He sees that life 00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:51.679 Under the sun 00:29:51.679 --> 00:29:52.599 Is meaningless 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:55.099 The second thing 00:29:55.099 --> 00:29:55.679 Is you see 00:29:55.679 --> 00:29:56.720 His heart's desire 00:29:56.720 --> 00:29:57.500 In his search 00:29:57.500 --> 00:29:59.399 Because there is 00:29:59.399 --> 00:30:00.139 Something more 00:30:00.139 --> 00:30:01.119 We grasp 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:01.980 Because we were meant 00:30:01.980 --> 00:30:02.619 To find 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:03.500 We ask 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:04.339 Because there is 00:30:04.339 --> 00:30:04.859 An answer 00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:05.460 We look 00:30:05.460 --> 00:30:06.419 Because there is 00:30:06.419 --> 00:30:07.379 Something to see 00:30:07.379 --> 00:30:08.500 As C.S. Lewis 00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:09.579 In The Weight of Glory 00:30:09.579 --> 00:30:10.279 Wrote 00:30:10.279 --> 00:30:11.500 We have hunger 00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:12.339 Because there is 00:30:12.339 --> 00:30:12.819 Such a thing 00:30:12.819 --> 00:30:13.359 As food 00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:15.039 And we were meant 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:16.079 To have it 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:19.720 So the writer 00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:20.920 Does not despair 00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:22.899 Though it may be 00:30:22.899 --> 00:30:24.259 Vanity under the sun 00:30:24.259 --> 00:30:25.740 Under God 00:30:25.740 --> 00:30:27.579 There is more to it 00:30:27.579 --> 00:30:31.000 And this is where 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:32.259 My third point 00:30:32.259 --> 00:30:33.059 In my introduction 00:30:33.059 --> 00:30:34.259 About what the Bible 00:30:34.259 --> 00:30:34.879 Does to us 00:30:34.879 --> 00:30:36.099 It pushes us 00:30:36.099 --> 00:30:36.879 To the rest 00:30:36.879 --> 00:30:37.599 Of the scripture 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:38.879 To the rest 00:30:38.879 --> 00:30:39.619 Of the Bible 00:30:39.619 --> 00:30:40.859 To give some 00:30:40.859 --> 00:30:41.719 Perspective 00:30:41.719 --> 00:30:43.239 And so I am 00:30:43.239 --> 00:30:43.559 Going to read 00:30:43.559 --> 00:30:44.019 A passage 00:30:44.019 --> 00:30:44.799 From Romans 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:45.639 Chapter 8 00:30:45.639 --> 00:30:46.779 Because it talks 00:30:46.779 --> 00:30:47.579 About the vanity 00:30:47.579 --> 00:30:48.159 Of life 00:30:48.159 --> 00:30:49.259 Under the sun 00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:50.799 So it will be 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:51.539 Up on the screen 00:30:51.539 --> 00:30:52.579 Romans 8 00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:53.459 Verses 18 00:30:53.459 --> 00:30:54.119 Through 25 00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:55.299 This is what 00:30:55.299 --> 00:30:56.539 The apostle Paul 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:57.159 Writes 00:30:57.159 --> 00:30:59.099 Regarding vanity 00:30:59.099 --> 00:31:01.199 For I consider 00:31:01.199 --> 00:31:01.199 00:31:01.199 --> 00:31:01.199 00:31:01.199 --> 00:31:01.919 The sufferings 00:31:01.919 --> 00:31:02.599 Of this present 00:31:02.599 --> 00:31:03.039 Time 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:04.159 Are not worth 00:31:04.159 --> 00:31:04.679 Comparing 00:31:04.679 --> 00:31:05.559 With the glory 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:06.299 That is to be 00:31:06.299 --> 00:31:07.219 Revealed to us 00:31:07.219 --> 00:31:08.379 For the creation 00:31:08.379 --> 00:31:09.539 Waits with eager 00:31:09.539 --> 00:31:10.139 Longing 00:31:10.139 --> 00:31:11.539 And the revealing 00:31:11.539 --> 00:31:12.259 Of the sons 00:31:12.259 --> 00:31:12.839 Of God 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:14.219 For the creation 00:31:14.219 --> 00:31:14.899 Was subject 00:31:14.899 --> 00:31:16.099 To futility 00:31:16.099 --> 00:31:16.679 There it is 00:31:16.679 --> 00:31:17.879 That's the same word 00:31:17.879 --> 00:31:19.119 Translated in Greek 00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:19.839 That was in 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:21.819 Ecclesiastes 1 00:31:21.819 --> 00:31:22.139 2 00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:24.800 The creation 00:31:24.800 --> 00:31:25.360 Was subject 00:31:25.360 --> 00:31:26.500 To futility 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:27.320 Not willingly 00:31:27.320 --> 00:31:28.060 But because of 00:31:28.060 --> 00:31:28.900 Him who suggested 00:31:28.900 --> 00:31:30.400 It in hope 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:31.620 That the creation 00:31:31.620 --> 00:31:32.860 Itself will be 00:31:32.860 --> 00:31:33.620 Set free 00:31:33.620 --> 00:31:34.780 From its bondage 00:31:34.780 --> 00:31:35.820 To corruption 00:31:35.820 --> 00:31:37.000 And obtain 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:37.800 The freedom 00:31:37.800 --> 00:31:38.740 Of the glory 00:31:38.740 --> 00:31:39.560 Of the children 00:31:39.560 --> 00:31:40.240 Of God 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:41.940 For we know 00:31:41.940 --> 00:31:42.700 That the whole 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:43.240 Creation 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:44.140 Has been groaning 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:44.920 Together in the 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:45.880 Pains of childbirth 00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:46.680 Until now 00:31:46.680 --> 00:31:47.580 And not only 00:31:47.580 --> 00:31:48.100 The creation 00:31:48.100 --> 00:31:49.000 But we ourselves 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:49.740 Who have the 00:31:49.740 --> 00:31:50.560 First fruits of the 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:52.599 Spirit grown inwardly 00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:54.500 As we wait eagerly 00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:55.500 For adoption 00:31:55.500 --> 00:31:56.299 As sons 00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:57.500 The redemption 00:31:57.500 --> 00:31:58.559 Of our bodies 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:00.720 For in this hope 00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:01.619 We are saved 00:32:01.619 --> 00:32:02.539 Now hope 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:03.220 That is seen 00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:04.019 Is not hope 00:32:04.019 --> 00:32:04.679 For who hopes 00:32:04.679 --> 00:32:05.480 For what he sees 00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:06.519 But if we hope 00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:07.980 For what we do not see 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:09.539 We wait for it 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:10.399 With patience 00:32:10.399 --> 00:32:12.000 Do you see 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:12.740 How Paul 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:13.659 Captures 00:32:13.659 --> 00:32:14.319 The heart 00:32:14.319 --> 00:32:14.799 Of the 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:15.839 The writer 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:16.740 Of Ecclesiastes 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:17.940 Suffering 00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:19.059 Is in the present time 00:32:19.059 --> 00:32:19.799 We wait with 00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:20.359 Eagerness 00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:21.000 And longing 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:22.079 For something more 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:23.219 We groan 00:32:23.219 --> 00:32:24.379 For something better 00:32:24.379 --> 00:32:25.839 And he says 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:26.919 There is a purpose 00:32:26.919 --> 00:32:28.099 Under God 00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:29.039 For the vanity 00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:30.399 That we experience 00:32:30.399 --> 00:32:32.539 God has subjected 00:32:32.539 --> 00:32:33.419 The world 00:32:33.419 --> 00:32:34.819 After the fall 00:32:34.819 --> 00:32:35.359 Of Adam 00:32:35.359 --> 00:32:36.899 To futility 00:32:36.899 --> 00:32:38.339 So that 00:32:38.339 --> 00:32:40.819 We might also 00:32:40.819 --> 00:32:41.819 Experience 00:32:41.819 --> 00:32:43.459 God's power 00:32:43.459 --> 00:32:44.319 Of redemption 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:46.259 And a glorious 00:32:46.259 --> 00:32:47.359 Eternity 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:49.339 As the children 00:32:49.339 --> 00:32:49.339 00:32:49.339 --> 00:32:51.219 Of God 00:32:51.219 --> 00:32:52.979 In a world 00:32:52.979 --> 00:32:53.979 That will be 00:32:53.979 --> 00:32:54.559 Redeemed 00:32:54.559 --> 00:32:55.779 Along with 00:32:55.779 --> 00:32:56.719 God's people 00:32:56.719 --> 00:32:57.459 At the end 00:32:57.459 --> 00:32:58.259 Of the age 00:32:58.259 --> 00:33:02.019 There is more 00:33:02.019 --> 00:33:03.220 Than life 00:33:03.220 --> 00:33:04.279 Under the sun 00:33:04.279 --> 00:33:06.640 God has spoken 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:07.519 And God 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:08.220 Has worked 00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:09.339 By sending 00:33:09.339 --> 00:33:09.900 Jesus 00:33:09.900 --> 00:33:10.680 To be 00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:11.640 That redeemer 00:33:11.640 --> 00:33:12.960 To achieve 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:13.859 That redemption 00:33:13.859 --> 00:33:15.599 Through his life 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:16.200 And death 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:16.960 And resurrection 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:17.740 He broke 00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:19.079 Into the futility 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:20.379 And meaninglessness 00:33:20.379 --> 00:33:21.240 And emptiness 00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:21.859 Of life 00:33:21.859 --> 00:33:22.459 And he said 00:33:22.459 --> 00:33:23.899 I am here 00:33:23.899 --> 00:33:25.819 To show you 00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:26.699 The kingdom 00:33:26.699 --> 00:33:27.279 Of God 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:28.119 Which has more 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:28.740 Substance 00:33:28.740 --> 00:33:29.639 More meaning 00:33:29.639 --> 00:33:30.159 Than you can 00:33:30.159 --> 00:33:31.139 Even imagine 00:33:31.139 --> 00:33:34.219 And like C.S. Lewis 00:33:34.219 --> 00:33:35.299 In The Great Divorce 00:33:35.299 --> 00:33:36.240 He points us 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:36.740 To something 00:33:36.740 --> 00:33:37.740 Whose reality 00:33:37.740 --> 00:33:38.699 Is so glorious 00:33:38.699 --> 00:33:39.479 And so great 00:33:39.479 --> 00:33:40.259 It's overwhelming 00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:41.000 To us 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:42.259 Who haven't yet 00:33:42.259 --> 00:33:43.219 Experienced it 00:33:43.219 --> 00:33:46.819 But Jesus came 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:48.779 To be a redeemer 00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:50.399 So that our lives 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:51.460 Are not empty 00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:52.080 And meaningless 00:33:52.080 --> 00:33:54.640 Because we can 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:55.440 Live life 00:33:55.440 --> 00:33:56.580 In the sun 00:33:56.580 --> 00:33:57.300 Of God 00:33:57.300 --> 00:33:58.220 Rather than 00:33:58.220 --> 00:33:59.160 Under the sun 00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:00.200 Without God 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:01.640 And this is what 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:02.900 The writer of Ecclesiastes 00:34:02.900 --> 00:34:04.720 Calls us to look at 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:05.820 As we go 00:34:05.820 --> 00:34:13.760 We have been 00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:14.800 In Jesus 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:15.960 And will be 00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:16.880 Freed 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:17.579 From the vanity 00:34:17.579 --> 00:34:18.360 Of life 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:19.660 Apart from God 00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:21.819 Let's pray 00:34:21.819 --> 00:34:27.379 Lord we thank you 00:34:27.379 --> 00:34:28.079 This morning 00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:29.699 For this word 00:34:29.699 --> 00:34:30.559 We pray that you 00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:32.399 Will help us 00:34:32.399 --> 00:34:33.839 Lord for those of us 00:34:33.839 --> 00:34:34.480 Who are wrestling 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:35.259 And struggling 00:34:35.259 --> 00:34:36.259 Will you 00:34:36.259 --> 00:34:38.079 Lord 00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:39.619 Plant 00:34:39.619 --> 00:34:40.980 With deep roots 00:34:40.980 --> 00:34:42.119 This word of hope 00:34:42.119 --> 00:34:42.960 Into our hearts 00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:44.679 For those of us 00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:45.299 Who are fearful 00:34:45.299 --> 00:34:46.579 To ask these questions 00:34:46.579 --> 00:34:47.579 Give us courage 00:34:47.579 --> 00:34:50.299 To plumb the depths 00:34:50.299 --> 00:34:50.659 Of them 00:34:50.659 --> 00:34:51.400 And to find 00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:52.400 That at the bottom 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:53.099 You are there 00:34:53.099 --> 00:34:55.179 And Lord 00:34:55.179 --> 00:34:55.920 For those who are 00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:56.699 Despairing 00:34:56.699 --> 00:34:58.639 Lord 00:34:58.639 --> 00:34:59.639 Will you remind them 00:34:59.639 --> 00:35:00.539 That there is something 00:35:00.539 --> 00:35:00.920 More 00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:03.079 Than life under the sun 00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:06.559 We pray this 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:07.319 In Jesus name 00:35:07.319 --> 00:35:08.039 Amen