WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.300 You may have seen the classic film It's a Wonderful Life, in that the character George Bailey struggles to believe that his hometown of Bedford Falls can give him the wonder that he desires in life. 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:17.300 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:48.439 He's a Wonderful Life, in that the character George Bailey causes George Bailey to fidget with the mundane. He is restless to leave it all behind him. And he feels that he must travel to some other patch of this world, somewhere else, to do something worthwhile. 00:00:48.439 --> 00:01:06.680 He's ruled by those two words, if only. He says in the film, he says, I couldn't face being cooped up for the rest of my life in this shabby office. I wanted to do something big, something important. 00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:32.520 Satisfaction is never quite now, is it? It's never quite here, in this moment. We are a society obsessed with the new. We are a people obsessed with change, with invention, with the novel. 00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:51.120 As someone once said, somewhere else, doing something else, is the model of our advancement. If only I could get there, somewhere over the rainbow, my life will be alright. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:02:02.820 If only these things could change. If only these things could change, I would finally be happy. Somewhere else, doing something else, being someone else. 00:02:02.819 --> 00:02:17.219 As we open up the book of Ecclesiastes, we are going to go through it over the next few Tuesdays. We will probably take a break, and then maybe come back to it next year. 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:26.159 But what we find in this book is a teaching of a wise, godly man, who is about to burst our bubble. 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:36.300 He's about to take us on a grand tour of the world, to make us face things that perhaps we don't want to about the world. 00:02:36.300 --> 00:02:46.320 That there is no yellow brick road, that there is no end of the rainbow somewhere else. 00:02:47.320 --> 00:02:51.920 There is no shortcut to a wonderful life in this world. 00:02:51.919 --> 00:03:02.679 But he also holds the keys for showing us the enjoyment and satisfaction in this world as a gift from God. 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:09.219 For where you are, whenever you are, and whoever you are, right now. 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:19.000 It's a grand world tour of realism, but also of rejoicing in this life. 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:24.539 So firstly, listen to the words of this tour guide. 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:26.639 The words of the tour guide. 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:32.939 Now the name Ecclesiastes, it's not a word we use often, is it? 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:42.280 It's a word that is from a Greek word, that is used to translate a Hebrew word. 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:50.659 Meaning a collector, or a compiler, or a preacher, or a teacher. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:55.400 It's named after the preacher who is featured in the book. 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:58.479 And we're introduced to him in verse 1, aren't we? 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:01.439 The words of the preacher. 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:04.620 The son of David, king in Jerusalem. 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:08.900 Now we're going to learn more about this preacher as time goes by. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:13.120 But right from the beginning we are given his sermon text. 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:16.720 The words of this preacher's sermon. 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:20.600 And it's probably one of the shortest sermons that I've ever seen. 00:04:20.699 --> 00:04:22.439 It's just three words long. 00:04:23.139 --> 00:04:24.120 In verse 2. 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:28.980 Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:31.480 That's his text. 00:04:32.220 --> 00:04:34.960 A very, very short lunchtime talk. 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:40.400 He is going to unpack those three words over the whole book. 00:04:41.939 --> 00:04:43.660 But that's his sermon. 00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:45.280 Vanity of vanities. 00:04:46.900 --> 00:04:49.620 Now again, vanity is not a word we use often, is it? 00:04:50.280 --> 00:04:56.220 Some English translations of the original word there use the word meaningless. 00:04:56.220 --> 00:04:59.000 You might find that in your Bible at home. 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:01.640 Others use the word breath. 00:05:01.760 --> 00:05:03.120 Breath of breaths. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:04.740 That is helpful. 00:05:06.280 --> 00:05:11.680 Anyway, vanity stands for something that is vaporous. 00:05:12.260 --> 00:05:13.560 Like a breath. 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:17.160 Something that is futile. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:20.020 Gone at their one minute, gone the next. 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:23.960 Something that is ephemeral and vacuous. 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:28.139 Something that is pointless and meaningless. 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.299 This preacher's text sounds odd, doesn't it? 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:37.759 All is vanity, he says. 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:48.000 As we begin on this tour, with this tour guide, we might think somehow we have bumped into a madman 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:51.939 who is shouting out crazy things on the streets. 00:05:52.039 --> 00:05:54.399 He is shouting out nonsense here, isn't he? 00:05:54.740 --> 00:05:55.759 All is vanity. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:05:58.120 Really? 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:01.680 Marriage is meaningless. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:06.800 Friendship is pointless and vacuous. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.120 Really, creature? 00:06:09.139 --> 00:06:11.180 It's all vanity, come on. 00:06:12.699 --> 00:06:15.120 He takes us on this tour though. 00:06:16.019 --> 00:06:19.340 And we realise as he does that, he is not the madman. 00:06:19.960 --> 00:06:21.980 But he is the wise man. 00:06:22.840 --> 00:06:29.660 And he is going to show us a world that we know, deep down at heart, is a complex place to live in. 00:06:29.660 --> 00:06:33.100 It is a world full of loose ends. 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:37.740 Where there are rules, but there are exceptions to the rule. 00:06:38.760 --> 00:06:42.020 Where things that should not happen, happen. 00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:44.720 A maddening world. 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:47.280 A frustrating world. 00:06:48.080 --> 00:06:51.340 Where all at one level is vanity. 00:06:51.339 --> 00:07:00.419 And he is going to peel back the curtains, as it were, to help us to see what is going on backstage in the world. 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:02.219 To see the true reality. 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:06.519 It's like our tour guide, the preacher. 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:13.799 He is like one of those magicians who gets kicked out of the magic circle for revealing all of the secrets. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.120 You know, you hear those stories, don't you? 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:20.959 A magician who has learnt all of the arts and the tricks. 00:07:21.860 --> 00:07:24.740 He's learnt the sleight of hand and the distraction. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:29.420 He is in the know about how all of the tricks work. 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:34.519 But he breaks away from the system and he reveals all. 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:40.060 He tells the audience the secrets of all the tricks. 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:45.660 Where does the hat actually come from when it comes out of the hat, the rabbit? 00:07:47.280 --> 00:07:49.780 How do they saw the person in two? 00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:54.100 He gives us a revelation of the world. 00:07:54.980 --> 00:07:57.480 Behind all of the smoke and all of the mirrors. 00:07:57.699 --> 00:08:03.800 Behind the party line of materialism and consumerism and atheism. 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:09.220 And he gives it us straight, undiluted, honestly. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:15.819 And we will see that he is a brilliant, brilliant preacher as he does this. 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:22.139 Because he is like a magician who gets off the stage and sits with the audience. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:27.900 He is a preacher who gets down and sits with the congregation. 00:08:28.180 --> 00:08:32.139 And asks the questions about the world that they are asking. 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:40.139 He will avoid the trite and sentimental standard preacher's answers. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:44.139 And the dishonest answers. 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:47.379 To bring us a healthy dose of realism. 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:53.279 So he says, on my tour of the world I am going to give you two things. 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:58.299 The first thing I am going to give you is the genuine story. 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:01.419 I am going to give you the genuine story. 00:09:02.139 --> 00:09:06.679 Now in our little section on our sheets this afternoon. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:08.899 Verse 3 to 11. 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.059 We see that the story begins. 00:09:14.059 --> 00:09:18.639 Showing a world of inscrutable repetition. 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:24.759 A world that goes round and around and around. 00:09:25.659 --> 00:09:27.580 As if it is stuck on repeat. 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:35.400 Now throughout the book of Ecclesiastes there are two refrains that the preacher uses. 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:37.879 For his two main messages. 00:09:39.220 --> 00:09:45.980 And the first refrain we see in the title for his genuine story of the world in verse 3. 00:09:46.800 --> 00:09:50.040 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils? 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:51.039 Under the sun. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:52.039 Under the sun. 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:52.039 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:54.000 Under the sun. 00:09:55.379 --> 00:10:00.219 That's shorthand for life in this world as it really is. 00:10:00.579 --> 00:10:04.000 Everything that is from a human perspective. 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:11.399 And life under the sun he says is fundamentally repetitive. 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:16.519 It is ultimately fading and futile. 00:10:17.779 --> 00:10:19.539 Look at verse 9 there. 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.439 What has been is what will be. 00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:26.000 And what has been done is what will be done. 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:29.179 And there is nothing new under the sun. 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:36.179 It is a world where people and their achievements are endlessly being rehashed. 00:10:36.979 --> 00:10:38.839 And re-photocopied. 00:10:38.959 --> 00:10:40.379 Over and over again. 00:10:42.479 --> 00:10:44.399 In the film Edge of Tomorrow. 00:10:44.579 --> 00:10:47.579 Tom Cruise plays the character of an army officer. 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:52.259 Who is captured by a strange alien power. 00:10:52.599 --> 00:10:53.859 I don't know if you like sci-fi. 00:10:53.860 --> 00:10:59.820 But it forces him to relive the same day over and over again. 00:11:01.300 --> 00:11:07.240 And it's the day when humans plunge themselves into a war with another race. 00:11:08.539 --> 00:11:12.080 Now at first Cruise tries to fight. 00:11:13.060 --> 00:11:16.860 He uses this day to try and learn and train. 00:11:17.800 --> 00:11:21.980 He uses this one day to advance his combat skills. 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:24.500 One day to defeat his enemy. 00:11:24.800 --> 00:11:25.320 To develop. 00:11:26.920 --> 00:11:31.399 Only to wake up and have to do it all over again the next morning. 00:11:32.779 --> 00:11:37.379 The catchphrase, the catchline of the film is live, die, repeat. 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:41.259 He is living and dying and repeating. 00:11:41.680 --> 00:11:44.980 And in the film it's a harrowing and weary experience. 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:47.779 That he has to find a way to escape. 00:11:48.700 --> 00:11:50.980 Now spoiler alert, he does find a way. 00:11:50.980 --> 00:11:52.019 So it's a good ending. 00:11:52.800 --> 00:11:59.680 But the preacher shows us here that there is only escape from the living, the dying and the repeating. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.080 In a Hollywood film. 00:12:03.300 --> 00:12:07.720 Because that is exactly how this world is under the sun. 00:12:09.379 --> 00:12:10.879 Listen to him in verse 4. 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:24.539 Think about that. 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:29.839 The vast majority of people who have ever lived in this world. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:32.899 We have never known one single one of them. 00:12:34.099 --> 00:12:37.620 How many of us know our grandparents by name? 00:12:38.339 --> 00:12:39.299 Or our grandparents? 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:43.879 And the few people that we have known are soon forgotten. 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:52.579 In a clever use of language the preacher shows our transience in comparison with the earth that we live on. 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:53.139 Doesn't he? 00:12:53.139 --> 00:13:04.179 The constancy of the earth shows our repetitive life. 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:05.179 The same earth. 00:13:05.179 --> 00:13:10.099 The same earth lived on by generation after generation. 00:13:10.819 --> 00:13:13.299 Sweat away by the tides of time. 00:13:14.419 --> 00:13:17.779 The same earth that Socrates walked on. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:21.039 Constantine has been here. 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.120 Shakespeare and Leonardo da Vinci. 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:25.479 Michael Jackson. 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:30.340 The earth has seen them all come and go. 00:13:31.580 --> 00:13:33.680 They've all walked on the same earth. 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:37.600 And they've all seen the same sun that we see. 00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:45.259 That rises and goes down and hastens to the place where it rises in verse 5. 00:13:45.680 --> 00:13:48.759 We see that sun every day, don't we? 00:13:49.899 --> 00:13:54.120 But the sun won't necessarily see us every day. 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:56.759 We will die. 00:13:57.680 --> 00:14:00.539 And the whole thing will start all over again. 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:04.960 Moses writes in the Psalms, 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:07.720 We bring our years to an end like a sigh. 00:14:08.259 --> 00:14:10.240 The years of our life are 70. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:13.100 Or even by reason of strength 80. 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:15.580 Yet their span is but toil and trouble. 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:19.300 They are soon gone and we fly away. 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:27.979 The preacher tells us that even inanimate nature itself feels the futility of this repetition. 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:29.879 In verse 7. 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:34.599 All streams run to the sea but the sea is not full. 00:14:35.099 --> 00:14:38.679 To the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:43.339 Even the sea is constantly being filled. 00:14:44.259 --> 00:14:45.500 But it's never full. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:46.959 It's never satisfied. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.159 Round and round and round. 00:14:51.419 --> 00:14:52.659 Emptying and filling. 00:14:53.339 --> 00:14:54.439 Emptying and filling. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:58.939 And we know this is real, don't we? 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:03.880 We feel this inscrutable repetition in all that we do. 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:08.380 Just think of the events that have shaped our lives. 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:10.420 The events that we remember. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:15.140 Events that children now can only learn about in a textbook. 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:18.160 The flight of the Concord. 00:15:19.040 --> 00:15:21.980 The handing over of Hong Kong back to China. 00:15:23.040 --> 00:15:24.660 September the 11th. 00:15:24.659 --> 00:15:28.980 And those children will have the same conversations. 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:31.139 And the same elections. 00:15:31.459 --> 00:15:33.100 And the same constant debating. 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.240 And the same problems to solve. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:36.299 Over and over. 00:15:37.620 --> 00:15:40.000 The constant search for the new. 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:44.639 Is itself an ancient and much repeated search. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:46.879 Verse 10. 00:15:47.620 --> 00:15:49.799 Is there a thing of which it is said. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:51.000 See this is new. 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:54.620 It has been already in the ages before us. 00:15:54.659 --> 00:15:58.299 Now don't get the preacher wrong here. 00:15:58.439 --> 00:16:01.100 He is not wearing Nike trainers is he? 00:16:01.819 --> 00:16:04.439 And he has not written this on an iPad. 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:08.740 He is not saying that there will never be any inventions. 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:11.480 Or technological advances. 00:16:12.959 --> 00:16:17.240 But he is highlighting the absence of any real gain. 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:19.439 That these inventions provide us. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:24.240 We often hear those words quoted in verse 10. 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:24.800 Don't we? 00:16:25.140 --> 00:16:26.560 See this is new. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:30.020 We hear those words all the time. 00:16:30.140 --> 00:16:30.900 Every day. 00:16:31.780 --> 00:16:32.920 A new car. 00:16:33.680 --> 00:16:35.000 A new phone. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:37.360 A new way of travel. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:42.180 But the very repetition of that statement. 00:16:42.180 --> 00:16:43.379 Every day. 00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:47.659 Proves that even new things are not really new. 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:52.779 They are just updated versions of things that we already have. 00:16:52.779 --> 00:16:56.419 Looking for the genuinely new. 00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:58.139 Under the sun. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:00.759 Is an old mistake. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:05.099 The man who thinks he has found something new. 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:09.139 Is actually being something very old. 00:17:10.980 --> 00:17:14.899 Making the same old mistake of using the new. 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:17.980 To validate our repetitive existence. 00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:20.519 People do that don't they? 00:17:20.579 --> 00:17:21.799 I do that. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:25.880 I love the pleasure of opening a new box. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:27.819 Of something that I've just bought. 00:17:28.579 --> 00:17:30.620 Even if it's just a table. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:32.160 A table from Ikea. 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:33.200 Last Friday. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:36.500 And I love that feeling of opening the new. 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:39.519 Smelling that fresh pine smell. 00:17:40.620 --> 00:17:43.279 People record videos on YouTube. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:45.519 Of unboxing stuff. 00:17:45.660 --> 00:17:45.960 Don't they? 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:46.839 Have you seen that? 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:49.279 The thrill of the new. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:52.419 Because somehow the new. 00:17:52.659 --> 00:17:54.379 Validates my existence. 00:17:55.939 --> 00:17:59.439 It helps me feel like I'm breaking the repetition. 00:18:01.179 --> 00:18:02.679 A new table. 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:06.000 But the preacher says. 00:18:06.679 --> 00:18:08.319 Chris give me a break. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.720 Are you serious? 00:18:12.819 --> 00:18:13.500 Ideas. 00:18:13.679 --> 00:18:14.319 Technology. 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:15.299 Fashions. 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:16.819 Ways of ways of. 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:17.339 Thinking. 00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:18.279 The bad. 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:19.359 And the good. 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:21.939 Will eventually disappear. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:24.119 And reappear. 00:18:24.740 --> 00:18:25.659 And disappear. 00:18:26.419 --> 00:18:27.339 And reappear. 00:18:28.339 --> 00:18:30.299 And the new things of today. 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:32.619 Will be the forgotten things of tomorrow. 00:18:33.659 --> 00:18:35.699 And they will be the hand-me-downs. 00:18:35.699 --> 00:18:36.939 Of another generation. 00:18:38.879 --> 00:18:40.379 He says in verse 11. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:42.779 There is no remembrance of former things. 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:47.220 Nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be. 00:18:47.220 --> 00:18:49.259 Among those who come after. 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:59.220 Amazingly the Bible tells us that even the works of God in this world can be forgotten by the next generation. 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:02.600 Even the miracles of the plagues. 00:19:02.600 --> 00:19:03.539 The plagues. 00:19:03.539 --> 00:19:05.440 You know that famous story. 00:19:06.180 --> 00:19:08.519 And the rescue of the Israelites. 00:19:09.339 --> 00:19:13.660 Those things were forgotten just a few generations later. 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:15.040 By a new pharaoh. 00:19:15.040 --> 00:19:17.700 And a new generation of Egyptians. 00:19:19.320 --> 00:19:26.140 Because this world under the sun is simply an endless cycle of same old, same old. 00:19:26.140 --> 00:19:29.640 And so the preacher asks. 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:32.200 Therefore what is the point? 00:19:33.280 --> 00:19:35.080 What is the point really? 00:19:36.100 --> 00:19:37.200 In verse 3. 00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:41.259 What's the point of toiling and achieving and developing. 00:19:42.060 --> 00:19:43.780 In a repeated world. 00:19:43.980 --> 00:19:45.300 With a fading people. 00:19:45.840 --> 00:19:47.880 Full of repeated things. 00:19:50.040 --> 00:19:52.700 Now do you see what the preacher is doing here? 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:56.020 As he shows us the reality of the world. 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:01.380 He is beginning to convince us that our love for change. 00:20:02.040 --> 00:20:03.800 And the novel and the new. 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:07.200 Is not the answer to our satisfaction problem. 00:20:08.620 --> 00:20:12.720 We need to understand that there is no yellow brick road. 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:15.520 There is no end of the rainbow. 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:18.700 There is no somewhere else. 00:20:18.820 --> 00:20:20.020 Doing something else. 00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:21.259 Being something else. 00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:23.980 There is no something truly new. 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:28.660 That is going to make you or me happy under the sun. 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:33.539 This is the genuine story of the world he says. 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:38.039 So stop believing and trusting in that old saying. 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:40.460 The old, old thing. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:43.160 See something new. 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:45.579 Don't believe that. 00:20:45.579 --> 00:20:48.460 Don't trust in that. 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:48.460 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:50.359 To make you happy. 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:51.099 Now. 00:20:53.719 --> 00:20:57.339 We could be left thinking that our tour guide is just a depressive. 00:20:58.259 --> 00:21:01.879 We've gone on around the world tour with Leonard Cohen. 00:21:01.880 --> 00:21:04.920 but in his realism 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:08.980 the preacher actually is the ultimate optimist 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:10.180 about life 00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:14.460 because secondly and more briefly 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:17.640 the second thing he says is 00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:20.300 listen to the joyful story 00:21:20.300 --> 00:21:24.180 there's a genuine story about the world 00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:27.480 but there is also joy in the world 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:30.480 and this part of his message 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:32.180 comes in another refrain 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:34.380 that comes through Ecclesiastes 00:21:34.380 --> 00:21:35.720 from time to time 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:40.380 there is this life under the sun idea 00:21:40.380 --> 00:21:44.620 but there is also enjoyment under the sun 00:21:44.620 --> 00:21:47.059 which is a gift from God 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:51.460 later in chapter 3 verse 13 00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:54.460 he says everyone should eat 00:21:54.460 --> 00:21:57.880 and drink and take pleasure in all his toil 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:00.180 this is God's gift 00:22:00.180 --> 00:22:01.299 to man 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:04.580 seems contradictory doesn't it 00:22:04.580 --> 00:22:06.840 he's just said there is nothing to be gained 00:22:06.840 --> 00:22:08.039 from all of our toil 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:09.279 under the sun 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:10.360 and now he's saying 00:22:10.360 --> 00:22:12.320 actually the wise person 00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:13.840 can live under the sun 00:22:13.840 --> 00:22:15.660 and enjoy themselves 00:22:15.660 --> 00:22:18.000 this is a gift 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:19.080 from God 00:22:19.080 --> 00:22:22.259 and the truth is 00:22:22.259 --> 00:22:25.360 that if we are constantly looking for change 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.979 if we think that we can break from this repetition 00:22:29.979 --> 00:22:31.139 in the world 00:22:31.139 --> 00:22:32.479 and in our lives 00:22:32.479 --> 00:22:36.599 if we think that we can gain something 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:37.699 by our changes 00:22:37.699 --> 00:22:40.059 whatever it is that we think we've gained 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:41.500 will soon disappear 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:44.759 and we will disappear along with it as well 00:22:44.759 --> 00:22:49.480 but the preacher wants us to see 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:51.859 that part of real living in the world 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:53.059 is seeing that 00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:58.000 and understanding the true limitations of this life 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:01.440 seeing that one day 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:02.599 we will be forgotten 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:07.359 might actually put a wry smile on our face 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:10.939 if the genuine truth is 00:23:10.939 --> 00:23:13.199 that we live in a repetitive world 00:23:13.199 --> 00:23:17.619 therein lies the key to enjoying that world 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:20.579 he tells you that 00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:24.199 you will never find true gain under the sun 00:23:24.199 --> 00:23:28.539 so that you won't have to 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:31.239 to enjoy this life 00:23:31.239 --> 00:23:36.359 because he wants us to desire something bigger 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:38.039 and truer 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:39.659 and deeper 00:23:39.659 --> 00:23:45.959 those enslaved to finding gain under the sun 00:23:45.959 --> 00:23:47.199 will never find it 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:51.120 but enjoyment comes under the sun 00:23:51.120 --> 00:23:53.440 when we know we don't have to 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:55.299 find it 00:23:55.299 --> 00:23:57.059 and be enslaved to it 00:23:57.059 --> 00:24:00.500 when we know that we can't do that 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:01.580 on our own 00:24:01.580 --> 00:24:05.080 the preacher gives us reality 00:24:05.080 --> 00:24:08.559 so we can really rejoice 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:11.019 and this we will see 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:12.759 as we go through Ecclesiastes 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:14.759 is a gift from God 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:18.339 not something that we can strive to get 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:22.019 the preacher gives us reality 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:24.140 so that in the end 00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:25.900 we can really rejoice 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:28.299 this is a gift from God 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:32.879 at times it's going to be a painful journey 00:24:32.879 --> 00:24:35.039 maybe it's felt like that 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:36.200 this afternoon 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:38.900 it's going to be hard work 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:43.680 this tour of the world is not going to be easy 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:46.880 and it may take a while 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:48.480 for us to understand 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:50.200 and take the fruit 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:51.620 from it 00:24:51.620 --> 00:24:54.980 but he is going to jar us 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:56.400 into seeing reality 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:59.320 so that we might receive the gift of God 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:02.220 not somewhere else 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:04.359 doing something else 00:25:04.359 --> 00:25:06.059 but here 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:07.419 today 00:25:07.419 --> 00:25:09.179 right here 00:25:09.179 --> 00:25:10.419 in this world 00:25:10.419 --> 00:25:12.159 right here 00:25:12.159 --> 00:25:13.559 under the sun 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:15.980 let's pray 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:16.579 together