WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.839 And if you have a Bible, you can turn with me to the book of Ecclesiastes, that wisdom 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:10.720 book that we find in the poetry section. 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:20.760 We're going to read from chapter 6, verse 10, to chapter 7, verse 14, as we hear the 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:26.060 preacher teach us how to live wisely in the time that God sets for our lives. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.880 So chapter 6 and verse 10, let's hear the Word of God once again. 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:41.980 Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known. 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:45.700 No one can contend with someone who is stronger. 00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:50.879 The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone? 00:00:51.460 --> 00:00:56.120 For who knows what is good for a person in life during the few and meaningless days they 00:00:56.120 --> 00:00:57.659 pass through like a shadow? 00:00:57.659 --> 00:01:01.639 Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone? 00:01:02.699 --> 00:01:09.859 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. 00:01:10.399 --> 00:01:16.259 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is 00:01:16.259 --> 00:01:17.620 the destiny of everyone. 00:01:18.179 --> 00:01:19.939 The living should take this to heart. 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:25.599 Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:31.519 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 00:01:32.559 --> 00:01:38.219 It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools. 00:01:38.819 --> 00:01:43.399 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:45.459 This, too, is meaningless. 00:01:45.459 --> 00:01:52.479 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 00:01:53.259 --> 00:01:59.619 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. 00:02:00.419 --> 00:02:04.939 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. 00:02:05.639 --> 00:02:09.919 Do not say, why were the old days better than these? 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:13.299 For it is not wise to ask such questions. 00:02:14.459 --> 00:02:19.739 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing, and benefits those who see the sun. 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:23.199 Wisdom is a shelter, as money is a shelter. 00:02:23.739 --> 00:02:25.679 But the advantage of knowledge is this. 00:02:26.399 --> 00:02:28.500 Wisdom preserves those who have it. 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:31.879 Consider what God has done. 00:02:32.579 --> 00:02:35.060 Who can straighten what He has made crooked? 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:38.039 When times are good, be happy. 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:41.259 But when times are bad, consider this. 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:44.580 God has made the one as well as the other. 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:48.659 Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future. 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:53.420 And so we will leave our reading there. 00:02:54.659 --> 00:02:59.020 Perhaps you are familiar with the expression, 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:01.379 the best laid plans of mice and men. 00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:07.719 From Rabi Burns to a mice, the best laid plans of mice and men always go awry. 00:03:08.579 --> 00:03:13.400 It was a theme picked up by John Steinbeck in his book of mice and men. 00:03:14.079 --> 00:03:19.919 For those of us who had to read it in school, you might remember George and his big friend Lenny 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:24.599 and George's great plans for their security and prosperity. 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:26.759 But it all goes wrong. 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:30.359 Things tragically unravel at the point of the book, 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:34.120 the best laid plans of mice and men always go awry. 00:03:35.959 --> 00:03:39.859 It resonates with many, I guess, because we know it by experience. 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:45.159 We come to discover that so much lies out of our control. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:51.780 We discover often that we are taken by surprise, by events and circumstances. 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:56.840 Humility teaches us that we cannot explain everything. 00:03:57.740 --> 00:04:00.360 And that injustice and sadness are a feature of life. 00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:04.000 And the preacher in Ecclesiastes has been showing us these things. 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:10.680 But the question for us then is, how should we live in light of that? 00:04:11.659 --> 00:04:13.520 And that's where the preacher is going to take us. 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:15.300 He's going to give us practical advice. 00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:22.699 He's going to say to us, the way to deal with the fact that we lack control and times are confusing and uncertain 00:04:22.699 --> 00:04:25.460 is not escapism. 00:04:26.900 --> 00:04:32.939 It's not parties, not video games, not amusing ourselves to death, however we might choose to do that. 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:37.860 So it's not escaping reality, nor is it despair. 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:44.560 We're going to see in chapter 7, he says there are still good things, there are better things to find, 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:47.600 even in troubling times. 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:52.740 He's going to invite us to wisdom once again. 00:04:53.620 --> 00:04:58.199 And a particular wisdom, a wisdom that recognizes who God is, 00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:03.780 one who recognizes that the times of our lives come from Him. 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:09.579 And we can see this, here's our first point, that God sets the times for our lives. 00:05:09.619 --> 00:05:13.159 And we can see this because of the way the text is put together. 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:17.639 You can identify two brackets or two bookends. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:20.539 So think of a bookshelf, think of some bookends, okay? 00:05:20.619 --> 00:05:26.079 And those bookends are going to emphasize for us God's control and God's knowledge 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:29.699 in the face of our uncertainty and smallness. 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:34.839 So the first bookend, chapter 6, verses 10 to 12. 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:39.839 So as we've seen, and as you'll see if you read the book of Ecclesiastes, 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:44.480 often, because of the particular point that the preacher is trying to make, 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:48.740 as he imagines what would life be like if this was all there was, if there was no God, 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:51.819 often God goes unnamed. 00:05:51.819 --> 00:05:53.939 But look at verse 10. 00:05:55.060 --> 00:06:02.839 It says there, whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known. 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:10.100 Our preacher has in view God, the Creator who names all that exists, including us. 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:12.060 It goes on in verse 10. 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:14.719 No one can contend with someone who is stronger. 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:16.939 And who is the someone who is stronger? 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:18.279 It's God. 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:23.219 Job, another wisdom figure, came to realize that. 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:25.479 You can go down to verse 12. 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:26.759 Another question. 00:06:27.159 --> 00:06:29.519 Who knows what is good for a person in life? 00:06:29.679 --> 00:06:32.579 Well, often we don't, but God does. 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:34.599 He is the one who made us. 00:06:34.679 --> 00:06:36.500 Therefore, He knows what is good for us. 00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:38.199 Another question. 00:06:39.099 --> 00:06:43.059 Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone? 00:06:43.059 --> 00:06:45.439 Who is capable to tell the future? 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:48.300 Who is capable to tell the future beyond ourselves? 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:49.660 Obviously, we can't. 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:51.819 God can't. 00:06:53.219 --> 00:06:56.879 And so, He's going to give us lots of practical wisdom for living. 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:01.259 But first of all, He wants to remind us, here's our God. 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:02.720 He is our Creator. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:04.180 And He knows everything. 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:05.839 Now, why does He tell us that? 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:07.180 I think He tells us that. 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:08.620 To humble us. 00:07:09.159 --> 00:07:10.680 So that we would submit to Him. 00:07:11.300 --> 00:07:12.800 So that we might depend on Him. 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:18.920 There's a couple of conclusions that the preacher draws towards the end of the book. 00:07:19.020 --> 00:07:20.560 Chapter 12, verse 1. 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:24.939 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:27.620 Or chapter 12, verse 13. 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:30.019 Here is the conclusion of the matter. 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:34.379 Fear God and keep His commandments. 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:38.339 In light of the ups and downs of life, we fear God. 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:41.040 We remember our Creator. 00:07:41.159 --> 00:07:43.699 So that's one bookend on the one end. 00:07:43.779 --> 00:07:45.360 But then we go to the end of the section. 00:07:45.779 --> 00:07:50.019 And you see the second bookend there in verse 13 and 14. 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:52.560 Now, notice it's a wisdom book. 00:07:52.620 --> 00:07:54.879 So we're called to consider. 00:07:55.540 --> 00:07:58.159 So here is something to reflect on. 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:04.320 Who can straighten what God has made crooked? 00:08:05.320 --> 00:08:12.660 And to reflect on the fact that God made the good times and God made the bad times. 00:08:13.280 --> 00:08:18.020 In other words, our times are in God's hands. 00:08:19.080 --> 00:08:21.480 So to the preacher, He is our Creator. 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:24.740 And He is also our King. 00:08:24.740 --> 00:08:28.360 He establishes the times for our lives. 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:35.100 And that we do not have the ability to straighten what He has made crooked. 00:08:36.820 --> 00:08:41.060 Maybe it makes us think of that language in Isaiah and the book of Romans. 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:43.039 God is the potter. 00:08:43.740 --> 00:08:44.799 We are the clay. 00:08:45.659 --> 00:08:48.379 And so as the objects, we have no right to say to our Maker, 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:50.500 Why did you make us this way? 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:56.980 And again, what the preacher wants for us is that we would live with trust. 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:02.740 That regardless of circumstances, we would rest knowing God is God. 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:03.940 And we are not. 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:09.399 That God understands and has a purpose when we do not see and understand. 00:09:10.460 --> 00:09:16.019 And to accept that is what will enable us to receive the times that come into our lives 00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:18.340 with trust and with worship. 00:09:19.299 --> 00:09:23.559 As we would aim to live wisely in whatever comes our way. 00:09:23.939 --> 00:09:26.579 That we might pray with Jesus, our Savior. 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:30.299 Not my will, but yours be done. 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:34.240 As we recognize the goodness of our God and King. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.759 That we would be able to pray daily into your hands. 00:09:38.819 --> 00:09:40.159 I commit my spirit today. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:43.019 I want to trust in you today. 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:48.600 And understand too that we can trust in Jesus, our Savior. 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:55.719 As we sang at the beginning, He is the one who gives us strength and peace in the valleys of life. 00:09:56.279 --> 00:09:58.159 And ultimately, He is the one who has given us Himself. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:03.139 He is the one who went into the valley of the shadow of death for us. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:07.319 So that nothing can separate us from the love and goodness of our God. 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:09.839 So God sets the times for our lives. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:11.399 That's our bookends. 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:14.700 How then should we live? 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:18.500 It is the theme of chapter 7 in the first 12 verses. 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:22.420 It's almost like a bookshelf of practical wisdom. 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:26.700 And we're going to see there's a few different volumes on the shelf. 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:31.379 All with the theme of living wisely. 00:10:32.379 --> 00:10:34.720 So chapter 7, verse 1 to 6. 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:38.660 Here's our first book that the preacher pulls out from this bookshelf. 00:10:38.659 --> 00:10:43.240 Live wisely by listening to death. 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:55.560 There is a way in which death can function for us as a preacher or a teacher, inviting us to receive wisdom. 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:59.319 That our preacher here reminds us. 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:05.280 There's more wisdom to be found at a funeral than there is at a festival. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:16.620 There will be more depth to our lives when we live considering the reality of death rather than in consuming pleasure and trying to ignore the inevitable. 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:21.620 I think the first six verses want to drive home. 00:11:21.620 --> 00:11:25.100 Remember that we will all die. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:25.960 That's reality. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:28.360 So live well today. 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:37.560 And of course we as New Testament people would say that since the resurrection of Jesus, remember to live for eternity. 00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:40.659 So let's look at verse 1. 00:11:40.939 --> 00:11:45.559 Verse 1's got a very interesting, perhaps perplexing contrast. 00:11:46.479 --> 00:11:47.739 We maybe understand the first. 00:11:47.839 --> 00:11:50.579 A good name is better than fine perfume. 00:11:51.439 --> 00:11:58.939 You know, being known as a person of integrity and character, being respected, that's worth more than some luxury product. 00:11:58.940 --> 00:12:05.000 But then he goes on to say the day of death is better than the day of birth. 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:07.880 What's going on there? 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:16.440 I think the preacher is wanting us to understand that the day of life and the day a baby is born is a wonderful day. 00:12:16.520 --> 00:12:17.720 It's a day to celebrate, of course. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:26.240 But looking at a newborn baby will not teach us anything about their life because it's all still to come. 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:33.820 But the day of death is different because the day of death reveals, think about a funeral. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:38.460 We discover, don't we, what a person valued, what a person lived for. 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:45.539 And so the preacher is saying to us to live in light of that, to choose a good name. 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:51.899 To understand that what matters isn't my collection of fine perfumes. 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:54.279 It's the lives that we touched. 00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:55.860 It's our generosity. 00:12:56.699 --> 00:12:58.519 It's our values and priorities. 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:00.659 It's our faith in Jesus. 00:13:04.079 --> 00:13:05.299 Verse 2. 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:08.579 Again, not our natural instinct. 00:13:09.199 --> 00:13:11.579 Not the natural instinct of our city. 00:13:12.299 --> 00:13:18.279 It's better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting. 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:25.779 There is more to be gained from a funeral home than there is from a party. 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:26.240 Why? 00:13:28.079 --> 00:13:31.319 Because it keeps the reality of our own death in view. 00:13:32.259 --> 00:13:40.399 And when we live aware of our mortality and of eternity, often that serves to fix our focus. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:46.199 It can be very easy to drift and to prioritize things that don't really matter. 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:53.360 But as we consider what really matters in life, doesn't it help us to treasure life more? 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:55.559 To make more time for family. 00:13:55.819 --> 00:13:59.539 To be able to be content and to enjoy the good gifts that we receive. 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:02.620 It's an invitation to us to stop. 00:14:02.699 --> 00:14:04.059 To stop chasing the wind. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:09.759 It's also an invitation for us to consider, am I ready to meet with God? 00:14:09.819 --> 00:14:10.339 Am I ready? 00:14:10.459 --> 00:14:11.779 Am I right with God? 00:14:11.959 --> 00:14:13.199 Am I trusting in Jesus? 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:28.500 Speak, am I tilting in Jesus? 00:14:28.640 --> 00:14:29.240 Am I outfit my skinning? 00:14:29.300 --> 00:14:30.580 Am Ioothand? 00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:32.580 Am I Jac mourning? 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:33.460 Am I feeling like that? 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:36.000 Am I noticing thou? 00:14:37.300 --> 00:14:37.520 Am I veil is a sign of sin Anyway? 00:14:37.520 --> 00:14:38.520 Am I trusting there. 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:41.860 Where am I mới lugar with God? 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:43.120 Am I letting sweat back all my Essenians? 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:48.419 tragedy has happened or there's been some terrible situation that's taken place, often in the media, 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:56.519 maybe if families are being interviewed or people are responding, often they will include the 00:14:56.519 --> 00:15:01.539 message, you know, remember to treasure your loved ones. Hold your loved ones closer tonight. 00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:08.039 And that's one of the values of sadness, I think. It serves that wake-up call for us 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:15.399 to recognize what really matters. It's all about living with wisdom. Look at verse 4, 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:22.699 the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:33.639 The wise person wants to live with depth, not the short-lived escapism, not just empty froth or 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:42.539 laughter, but wants to live life forward. If I know that one day I will die, what legacy do I want to 00:15:42.539 --> 00:15:49.699 leave? Not chasing and stressing over the stuff that doesn't matter, but rather as the New Testament 00:15:49.699 --> 00:15:55.759 encourages us that we'd be treasuring heaven and storing up treasures in heaven, that we'd be 00:15:55.759 --> 00:16:04.500 trusting in our Savior, the one who conquered death. So even as we do reflect on death, we do so with 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:12.080 eternal hope when we're trusting in Jesus. Verse 5 and 6 tell us the wisdom of choosing the right 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:18.840 preacher and teacher. It's better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:24.100 fools. The songs of fools, the laughter of fools, it's like the crackling of thorns. Have you ever burned up 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:31.800 thorns or brambles in your garden? You know they go up in a whoosh and then it's done. There's no substance 00:16:31.800 --> 00:16:48.340 there. Wisdom pursues substance and death rather than empty laughter. It's an invitation to consider, 00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:55.379 to listen to listen to the reality of death so that our trust would be in Jesus ultimately, 00:16:56.040 --> 00:17:01.259 the resurrection and the life. The one who has gone to prepare an eternal home for his people, 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:09.940 the one who will return to take his people to be with him forever. And so we live wisely 00:17:09.940 --> 00:17:14.019 when we listen to death and we're aware of our own mortality. 00:17:14.019 --> 00:17:21.359 Okay, let's put that book to one side and let's pick up the next volume. There is a much thinner 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:30.359 volume. It's there in verse 7. Live wisely by guarding against the love of money. Extortion turns 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:37.019 a wise person into a fool and a bribe corrupts the heart. And so we just finished. Last week, 00:17:37.059 --> 00:17:42.059 there was a big section on the love of money and he returns to it here because it's such a big issue. 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:51.740 Another way that the love of money shows itself is it turns people to extortion and to bribery and 00:17:51.740 --> 00:18:04.179 corruption. Payday loans company, phone scammers, pursuing the love of money and extorting others 00:18:04.179 --> 00:18:11.819 in the process. But the warning here, did you notice the warning? Extortion turns a wise person into a 00:18:11.819 --> 00:18:22.220 fool. Even the wise. Even someone who wants to walk God's way can be sidetracked. The pool of money is so 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:29.799 strong that even the wise can fall into the ditch of looking to get rich quick, of stepping on others 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:37.399 to get ahead. And so we need to hear the preacher's wisdom. To borrow from last week as well, remember, 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:43.080 God is in control. God's in control of our lives, including the wealth that we have, the career we 00:18:43.080 --> 00:18:48.960 have, and our lot in life in general. That's all in God's hands. And so again, this is an invitation 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:54.980 to choose the wisdom of contentment rather than pursuing the love of money at the expense of other 00:18:54.980 --> 00:19:01.240 people. A couple of days ago, I was reading Psalm 4. And I'm going to turn there. I'm going to read 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:08.900 what David has to say towards the end of that psalm. He's discovered true contentment. 00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:12.279 Listen to how Psalm 4 finishes. 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:15.759 He prays, 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:41.059 David was going through a very hard time, but he had joy. He considered it joy to have the Lord shine on 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:46.839 him, to be revealing his love and his mercy to him. He was living in that peace that comes from 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:51.480 knowing God's presence and protection, and he wouldn't swap it for all the money in the world. 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:59.139 That's wisdom. That's true wealth and treasure. So live wisely, guard against the love of money. 00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:08.700 Okay, here's the next volume in this practical wisdom. Live wisely, choose the path of patience. 00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:15.140 Now, I think for many of us in the 21st century, this is a really challenging one, 00:20:15.900 --> 00:20:21.080 because everything seems so much quicker than it used to be. And the expectation is 00:20:21.080 --> 00:20:27.680 that there is a key, there is a life hack for everything, there is instant success to be found 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:36.160 wherever you turn. So on holiday, we had a nice beach holiday, and we decided it'd be fun to rent a 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:42.600 surfboard for a day. So we did what everybody would do who couldn't afford to pay for lessons. You go to 00:20:42.600 --> 00:20:49.980 YouTube, you watch a YouTube video that was called Learn to Surf in 10 Minutes. That's great. 10 minutes 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:55.420 in your living room, and you've got it mastered. Well, guess what? We didn't learn in 10 minutes. I doubt we 00:20:55.420 --> 00:21:00.400 would have learned in 10 years. But that's the temptation and the tendency and the age that we find 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:08.680 ourselves, there must be instant success. That's not the wisdom of the preacher. Look at verse 8, 00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:18.080 the end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. What's he saying 00:21:18.080 --> 00:21:24.519 to us? He's saying give things time. It takes time to complete a project. Don't expect to master 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:31.119 something in a moment. It takes patience and effort and discipline and perseverance with anything in 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:36.480 life to raise a family, to grow in biblical wisdom, whatever it might be. And he says that might 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:44.079 challenge our pride. Maybe we expect this will be easy. I'll be able to do this, no problem. Wisdom is 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:51.940 willing to plod patiently over time. So give things time. He changes his focus in verse 9. 00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:58.860 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. What's he saying 00:21:58.860 --> 00:22:07.039 there? He's saying take your time. Take your time in how you respond to someone else. Now, we live in a 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:15.900 day of the hot take and of social media. Our preacher has a lot to say to us. He's saying it's folly that flies 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:22.140 off the handle. It's folly that turns to instant anger and venting. You know, maybe we know that 00:22:22.140 --> 00:22:28.100 experience. It feels good in the moment, then we're left with regret. Wisdom takes a different path. 00:22:29.080 --> 00:22:38.140 Wisdom chooses to think the best of the other person. Wisdom is ready even to receive the grain of truth 00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:47.460 in any criticism, even when that criticism was not sought out. And wisdom exercises patience. 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:55.020 You can remember what Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 5 in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:22:55.940 --> 00:23:02.380 As he equated anger with murder, the command, do not murder. He spoke against being angry. 00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:10.400 He spoke against calling someone a fool in the heat of the moment. And then he called his people to aim 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:18.560 for reconciliation. So, we take our time in how we respond, that we respond graciously and wisely. 00:23:19.280 --> 00:23:26.480 And then verse 10, there is this invitation to read the times wisely. Do not say, 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:32.759 why were the old days better than these? For it is not wise to ask such questions. 00:23:33.860 --> 00:23:38.339 Now, I don't know if this has always been the case, but we're definitely living at a time where there is a 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:45.420 fascination with retro and with nostalgia. We seem a particularly nostalgic culture. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:53.000 It seems that you can't watch a TV show or a movie, even going to fashion, to music, without there being 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:59.579 some reference to definitely to the 80s and absolutely the 90s. I'm quite happy there, 00:23:59.660 --> 00:24:04.380 because I grew up in the 90s, and that's my happy place. But there can be a real temptation 00:24:04.380 --> 00:24:12.480 with nostalgia. And we put on our rose-tinted glasses, and we say, well, everything was better. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:17.099 Everything was wonderful in the good old days. Perhaps we find ourselves doing that. 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:22.559 Everything that you can look back and say, well, there was this time, there was a season in my life 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:26.799 where everything was just wonderful. And we can forget all the difficulties, and we can just, 00:24:26.879 --> 00:24:31.319 you know, kind of keep it in a glass, and it can seem perfect. We can do that in our country. We can 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:38.779 do it in our church as well. Look back to glory days. More people, more knowledge, more respect, 00:24:38.899 --> 00:24:44.480 whatever it might be. The danger, of course, there may very well be some truth in that, but the danger 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:47.640 is that if we're always looking backwards, 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:55.779 two things at least. There could be a temptation towards sort of bitterness and despair on the one 00:24:55.779 --> 00:25:02.420 hand. You know, the good old days were past, but also we can ignore God's presence in the present. 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:08.380 There's a real danger if we're always looking back with nostalgia to forget that God is still on the 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:14.580 throne today, and He's still working today. We can forget to look for Him, even in the day of small 00:25:14.580 --> 00:25:24.080 things. So wisdom, our preacher says, chooses the way of patience, even in hard times. Like David, 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:32.040 Psalm 40, I waited patiently for the Lord. Okay, here's the last volume in our bookshelf of practical 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:40.639 wisdom. Live wisely, because wisdom is the best protection. Maybe you've noticed as we've gone 00:25:40.639 --> 00:25:47.059 through that there's a series of better-thans in these verses. A good name is better than fine perfume, 00:25:47.579 --> 00:25:52.319 better to go to the house of mourning than feasting, better to heed the rebuke of a wise than listen to 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:59.720 the song of a fool's. And here's the last one in verse 11 and 12 where He says, wisdom is better than 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:10.039 wealth as protection, as security. Wealth is an inheritance, but wisdom is a better inheritance. 00:26:10.860 --> 00:26:15.579 This is interesting, isn't it? Because the preacher has just spent probably a chapter and a half warning 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:23.420 about the love of money. But this preacher knows life doesn't exist in black and white. So he can say 00:26:23.420 --> 00:26:29.600 to us, on the one hand, don't live for money. You're not going to find gain if you make money into 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:35.459 your God, into your idol. But he can say money provides shelter. Of course it does. We need 00:26:35.459 --> 00:26:42.459 money for our security. It provides for us. It provides for our family. But the thing of it is, 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:49.919 I guess, many in the world stop there. Working to earn, working to provide, trading and investing for 00:26:49.919 --> 00:26:57.119 property and prosperity and security. It does offer a measure of shelter, 00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:05.519 shelter. But it is not a savior. And especially as we consider all He's taught about the reality 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:15.299 of death. We understand that to build on money, and Jesus would say the same, it's like building on a 00:27:15.299 --> 00:27:23.659 house of sand. It will not stand in the judgment. That's why He says in verse 12, wisdom is a shelter, 00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:31.460 as money is a shelter. But the advantage of knowledge is this, wisdom preserves those who have it. 00:27:32.259 --> 00:27:39.680 God's wisdom is that good inheritance. It is that shelter that preserves, it protects us in life and 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:49.860 beyond our death. So living with God's wisdom, the preacher concludes, is the way to get through 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:54.740 difficult times, is to find shelter in the storm. 00:27:57.500 --> 00:28:03.479 And from our vantage point, there are certain things that the preacher could not know that we know. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:11.619 That we live since the coming of Jesus. We come since His death and resurrection. 00:28:11.619 --> 00:28:22.559 And so wisdom trusts in Jesus, who is described as the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30, 00:28:22.719 --> 00:28:32.019 Jesus has become for us wisdom from God. That is our righteousness, our holiness, our redemption, 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:41.720 our standing, our standing, our eternal standing, our welcome from God depends on the Lord Jesus. 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:50.460 And wisdom trusts in Him. The one who said in John 11, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:55.420 Whoever believes in me will live even though they die. 00:28:55.420 --> 00:29:03.440 So by way of conclusion, what has the preacher been telling us? He's been telling us that wisdom 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:09.460 lives through uncertainty, knowing life is under the rule of God. 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:18.820 Verse 13 and 14 is a good summary. He makes plain life is in God's hands. 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:26.579 We can trust God. Life is uncertain to us on the other hand. Therefore, what should we do? 00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:38.879 Verse 14, when times are good, be happy. Enjoy the good gifts that God gives. Enjoy food and drink. 00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:45.460 Enjoy our work and our rest and our family and our friends. Enjoy this world that God has made. 00:29:45.460 --> 00:29:52.960 And when times are bad, consider this. God has made the one as well as the other. 00:29:54.340 --> 00:30:01.900 When we know that we can trust God, the preacher has come to discover we can seek for the good 00:30:01.900 --> 00:30:13.100 even in bad times. I've been following a blog called 30 Days of Hope by a former pastor called 00:30:13.099 --> 00:30:21.119 John Onwuchekwa. And most of the blog, honestly, is reflections on his own personal grief and coming 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:27.399 to discover, after many years, hope and joy through pain. And I discovered he'd recently brought out a 00:30:27.399 --> 00:30:34.099 new book called We Go On. And so I decided to find out more about what it was about. And one review 00:30:34.099 --> 00:30:40.480 caught my attention. So this book, We Go On, is very much grounded in the book of Ecclesiastes. I 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:45.799 suspect it's going to be a very helpful book. Well, one reviewer said this. He said, 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:53.319 after I finished the book, I sang a hymn to my young son and I danced with my dog. 00:30:54.920 --> 00:31:02.839 That's it. That's wisdom. Not necessarily the dog part. But when we trust in Jesus, 00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:10.699 we know that we have security. We know that we have hope. Therefore, we can enjoy the good things 00:31:10.699 --> 00:31:18.179 of life. And we can trust our God in the difficult days of life. There is always, our preacher says 00:31:18.179 --> 00:31:28.439 to us, good to enjoy in life, even in the hard times, because we have the love of God in Christ Jesus. 00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:37.240 I'm going to go back and finish where we began our service, or almost began it, in chapter 8 of the 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:46.799 book of Romans and verse 37. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 00:31:47.559 --> 00:31:56.500 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the 00:31:56.500 --> 00:32:02.740 future, nor any powers, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:09.160 will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:32:10.259 --> 00:32:11.559 Let's pray once again. 00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:20.700 Father God, we thank You for the wisdom that we find in the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:32:20.700 --> 00:32:27.580 And we pray that as we reflect, You would give us wisdom to apply His lessons to our lives. 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:37.420 Help us to understand that You are our Creator, and that You are our King, that nothing is hidden from You, 00:32:38.620 --> 00:32:45.519 and that we can trust You, even when we are confused, even when we are struggling, even through the 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:56.460 doubts and the difficulties. Lord, help us to know what it looks like to live wisely, to live wisely in 00:32:56.460 --> 00:33:02.420 the light of our own death, that we would be ready to meet with You, that our priorities would be right 00:33:02.420 --> 00:33:12.279 day by day. Help us to live wisely in not living for money. Help us to live wisely by practicing 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:21.460 patience in our own lives and with the people around us. And help us to understand the security 00:33:21.460 --> 00:33:29.740 that is found in You and with our Lord Jesus, and the love that You have shown to us, so that we might 00:33:29.740 --> 00:33:37.779 be able to receive well from Your hand whatever You choose to give to us. Help us to enjoy the good 00:33:37.779 --> 00:33:45.240 things of life, and there are many, and we thank You for them. Help us to be able to receive wisely and 00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:53.119 humbly the difficult things, seeking to know how to live with faith and obedience and humble trust, 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:59.279 even as we walk through dark valleys and the shadows are deep and dark. 00:34:00.399 --> 00:34:05.599 So Lord, go with us and take Your Word and plant it deep in our hearts, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:34:07.779 --> 00:34:17.800 All right, let's bring our time together to a close, singing the hymn called Grace, and we'll stand 00:34:17.800 --> 00:34:19.099 together to sing. 00:34:19.099 --> 00:34:19.159 Amen. 00:34:19.159 --> 00:34:49.139 Grace that leads the sinner home from death to life forever, and sings the 00:34:49.139 --> 00:35:05.059 song of righteousness, thy blood and not thy merit. Your grace that reaches far and wide 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:35.039 grace that reaches far and wide, and has called my heart to enter in the joy of Your salvation. By grace I am redeemed, by grace I am restored, and now I'm free. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:37.039 Grace that leads the sinner home from death to life forever, and I'm free to sing to life forever, and I'm free to sing to life forever, and I'm free to sing to life forever. 00:35:37.039 --> 00:36:05.019 Grace that I cannot explain, not by earthly wisdom, the Prince of life without a stay, was traded for this sin. 00:36:05.019 --> 00:36:26.019 By grace I am redeemed, by grace I am restored, and now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord. 00:36:26.019 --> 00:36:49.800 Let praise rise up and overflow, my song resound forever, for grace will see me welcome tall, to walk beside my Savior. 00:36:49.800 --> 00:37:09.800 By grace I am redeemed, by grace I am restored, and now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord. 00:37:09.800 --> 00:37:31.160 By grace I am redeemed, by grace I am restored, and now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord. 00:37:31.159 --> 00:37:45.000 And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.