WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980 Well folks, great to see you this morning. 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:06.280 By way of introduction, let me just speak about three books. 00:00:06.419 --> 00:00:07.900 The first one is your Bibles. 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:11.980 Let me encourage you to grab that Bible. 00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:16.179 If you don't have one, grab one round about you and turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 7. 00:00:16.300 --> 00:00:16.940 Turn back there. 00:00:17.019 --> 00:00:19.339 Just remember, this is how I've remembered it over this series. 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:21.980 It's Isaiah and back to, okay? 00:00:22.019 --> 00:00:23.660 If that helps anybody, you can do that. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:25.780 So Ecclesiastes 7. 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:29.859 Let me also, the second book, tell me about the book from yesterday's day away. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.539 Called Honest Evangelism. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.840 We ordered 40 of these yesterday and I think we sold three. 00:00:35.460 --> 00:00:38.960 So there are plenty to buy at the back of the hall. 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:44.039 Particularly if you missed yesterday, it will give you a really good idea of some of the things we're speaking about. 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:45.240 So that's a fiver at the back. 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:46.799 You can grab one of them. 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:52.320 And the final book, as you're turning to Ecclesiastes 7 and to get us in, 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:55.960 is the story that I read with my four-year-old the other day. 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:57.620 And I love it when you read the story and you think, 00:00:57.700 --> 00:00:59.439 oh, that would make a great sermon illustration. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:00.799 So here we go. 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:02.439 See if you can name this book, okay? 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:06.099 And bear in mind this is for a five-year-old, okay? 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.079 So it's simple language. 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:09.159 We'll get there. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:10.359 So here's the book. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:14.120 At last, it is the day of the royal parade. 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:15.780 Daddy really goes for it when he reads, okay? 00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:19.039 The two tailors help the emperor into his pretend clothes. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:21.780 The emperor stands in front of his mirror. 00:01:21.900 --> 00:01:23.159 He is very happy. 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.399 These clothes are the best in the land, says the emperor. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:28.340 But there are no clothes. 00:01:29.079 --> 00:01:30.519 It is all a trick. 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:34.239 The two bad tailors have gotten away with it. 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:38.239 But the emperor walks down the stairs wearing nothing at all. 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:42.379 Two servants hold the pretend corners of the emperor's pretend cloak. 00:01:42.379 --> 00:01:44.719 Lots of important people are waiting. 00:01:45.239 --> 00:01:46.239 The streets are full. 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:49.259 People have come from all over the land to watch the royal parade. 00:01:49.399 --> 00:01:52.359 The crowd begins to cheer when they see the emperor's horse coming. 00:01:53.140 --> 00:01:55.359 But as the parade comes closer and closer, 00:01:55.899 --> 00:01:59.640 the crowd goes quiet and starts to whisper. 00:02:00.679 --> 00:02:01.319 Know the story? 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:02.640 What's the story? 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:09.379 The emperor's new clothes, originally written by Hans Christian Andersen, 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:11.620 let me get on the screen, in 1837, 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:15.719 features a king who thinks he is the bee's knees. 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:17.900 He fancies the best clothes in the land. 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:20.659 He employs two tailors to make them for him, 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:24.780 and the tailors sense an opportunity to pretend that they've made clothes 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:26.060 when actually they've made nothing. 00:02:26.259 --> 00:02:27.360 So the king's in on this. 00:02:27.420 --> 00:02:28.020 He loves it. 00:02:28.020 --> 00:02:33.380 And nobody has the bottle to tell the king that actually he's wearing nothing. 00:02:33.820 --> 00:02:39.320 So the king, the emperor, goes on a parade down the street, 00:02:39.640 --> 00:02:43.900 and everybody sees the truth, but no one wants to point the truth out, 00:02:43.939 --> 00:02:46.700 except this little boy in the crowd who points, 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:50.900 and he says, the emperor's got no clothes on. 00:02:52.200 --> 00:02:54.060 And we kind of get the motto of the story. 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:56.660 There's a few mottos in that story, I think, if you look hard enough. 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:59.219 It is a five-year-old story, but there are a few mottos. 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:01.960 And one of the mottos, one of the points, 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:06.060 is that there are certain things in life where it is actually better, 00:03:06.379 --> 00:03:09.979 and it's easier, just to kind of go along with it 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:12.419 and not talk about what the reality really is. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:15.519 Now, if you think about it, I love it in our culture. 00:03:15.620 --> 00:03:18.379 We've got many phrases where we kind of talk about this kind of thing. 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:19.939 See if you've heard some of these. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:21.740 We talk about the elephant in the room. 00:03:22.419 --> 00:03:23.139 Yeah, I heard that one. 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:25.960 Or dumbbells in the house, that's what I like to say. 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:27.120 The elephant in the room. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:28.219 Dumbbells in the house. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:30.939 Something that's really obvious, we don't want to talk about it. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:33.320 We talk about kicking the can down the road. 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:35.920 If you were watching any politics over the last year, 00:03:35.980 --> 00:03:38.140 it was what Theresa May, people kept saying about her, wasn't it? 00:03:38.140 --> 00:03:39.819 She kept kicking the can down the road. 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:42.020 She didn't want to deal with the issue. 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:44.840 We're kind of paying a little bit of the price for that now. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:48.300 We talk about burying our heads in the sand. 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:49.360 We don't want to deal with something. 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:51.000 We talk about home truths, 00:03:51.140 --> 00:03:54.120 things that somebody tells us that we don't really want to hear. 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:57.620 If you're into films, one of my favourite films is A Few Good Men. 00:03:57.700 --> 00:04:00.020 It's got that line from a vintage Jack Nicholson in it. 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:00.620 What does he say? 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:03.539 The truth, you can't handle the truth. 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:07.000 It's one of the lines of our generation growing up. 00:04:07.060 --> 00:04:08.120 You can't handle the truth. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:11.420 Well, here's what we're going to see in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 today. 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:13.980 You probably read it and you thought, what on earth is that all about? 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:20.100 But actually what we see is it ties so well in with everything we've been thinking about this morning. 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:24.240 Because here is Solomon, who we believe is the teacher who wrote this. 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:25.560 It's probably easiest to understand that. 00:04:25.640 --> 00:04:33.000 Here is the teacher offering all of us his readers, the gathered ones who come to hear his wisdom. 00:04:33.080 --> 00:04:35.320 He's offering wisdom and life. 00:04:36.200 --> 00:04:40.800 Everything that life has taught him, here he is pouring it down in the pages of Scripture. 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:44.020 And he's going to say, here is wisdom. 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:48.060 And wisdom comes not with running away from the hard truths of life. 00:04:48.719 --> 00:04:55.560 Actually, true wisdom comes when you face up to the true realities of life. 00:04:56.859 --> 00:04:58.620 So Solomon's like the wee boy in the story. 00:04:58.699 --> 00:05:00.159 That's how our story connects. 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:02.919 He's like the wee boy in the story in Ecclesiastes chapter 7. 00:05:02.979 --> 00:05:04.000 He's pointing at things. 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:07.299 And he's saying, do you see it? 00:05:08.299 --> 00:05:08.939 Do you see it? 00:05:08.939 --> 00:05:11.879 So we've got four of these truths today. 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:16.959 They're going to come sharp and fast at us in these verses and follow along. 00:05:17.259 --> 00:05:19.160 Because they've got so much to teach us about life. 00:05:19.180 --> 00:05:24.160 And what we're going to see is actually what this guy is saying all those years ago is so relevant for us today. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:25.199 So here is the first one. 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:27.040 He says, think about four things. 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:29.779 First of all, would you think about death? 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:32.680 Here is his take in it. 00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:34.199 If you've got the text there, verse 2. 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:40.560 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. 00:05:40.599 --> 00:05:43.000 There's what he's saying again in verses 4 and 5. 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:50.060 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:55.939 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:58.180 Now you think to yourself, what is that all about? 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:02.399 I have such a challenge this week trying to wrestle with this stuff. 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:03.719 What is this guy saying? 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.720 But it really gets you to think, what is he saying? 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.380 Well, think about what he's not saying. 00:06:09.340 --> 00:06:13.960 He's not saying that there's more joy in the death of a person than there is in the birth of a person. 00:06:14.100 --> 00:06:15.580 Because we would just say, no, that is not true. 00:06:15.700 --> 00:06:17.800 That is not our experience of reality. 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:18.620 What are you on about, mate? 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:19.100 Jog on. 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:20.280 It's not what he's saying, though. 00:06:21.420 --> 00:06:24.580 What he's saying, and if you think about it, he's absolutely spot on. 00:06:24.579 --> 00:06:39.819 What he's saying is that, friends, we will learn more about life when we ourselves and when others that we love, when we see them go through hard times and come out the other side. 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:46.420 We will learn more about life in those times than we will when life is plain sailing. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:47.920 Right? 00:06:48.019 --> 00:06:51.180 Because nobody's thinking about the big questions of life when they're at the party. 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:54.360 No one's thinking about the big questions of life when they're lying on the beach in Florida. 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:54.800 Are they? 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.660 I was thinking about it this week. 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:07.480 I remember going to the gym a few years ago and they had, as they do, a music video on in the background and listened to this song thinking it's quite catchy. 00:07:07.580 --> 00:07:08.139 Do you know who it was? 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:09.060 It was One Direction. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:10.100 Okay? 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:10.939 One Direction. 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:14.560 In the video, you've got people singing away. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:19.400 You've got people by the pool, having a pool party. 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:20.139 They're on the beach. 00:07:20.220 --> 00:07:21.100 They're playing volleyball. 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:22.139 They're driving in limos. 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:23.199 They're singing at concerts. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:27.560 It's full of beautiful people singing and smiling to the lyrics. 00:07:27.719 --> 00:07:30.659 And I hate myself that I can remember these lyrics, okay, but they're in my head. 00:07:31.219 --> 00:07:34.319 You and me, girl, we've got a whole lot of history. 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:37.879 We can be the greatest thing that the world has ever seen. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:39.480 You and me, darling. 00:07:40.039 --> 00:07:41.419 Got a whole lot of history. 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:42.939 So don't let it go. 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:45.259 Let's, what was that line? 00:07:45.659 --> 00:07:46.240 Let it go. 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:47.219 Let's keep on going. 00:07:47.219 --> 00:07:48.439 We can live forever. 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:51.139 We can live forever. 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:52.159 This is what they're singing. 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:53.780 Everybody in this video is singing. 00:07:53.880 --> 00:07:55.900 I'm watching it thinking, that is escapism. 00:07:56.460 --> 00:07:57.040 Is it not? 00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:58.900 That is escapism. 00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:04.800 And we've got a whole generation of teenagers, and I'm sure a few adults in here as well, 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:05.160 singing. 00:08:05.280 --> 00:08:10.020 They're singing this song, believing that this is what the good life is all about. 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:13.360 Just not thinking about the big things of life. 00:08:16.300 --> 00:08:17.540 You see what Solomon warns against? 00:08:18.220 --> 00:08:18.820 Verse 5. 00:08:18.819 --> 00:08:21.540 He warns against listening to the songs of fools. 00:08:22.540 --> 00:08:26.800 He's not prophetically talking about one direction in this passage here, right? 00:08:27.599 --> 00:08:34.840 But what he is talking about is how so often we just absorb cultural norms about what life 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:40.139 is all about, and we base our outlook on life so often just on songs, don't we? 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:45.039 If somebody was just putting that forward in a debate, that kind of outlook on life, he'd 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:46.939 be like, no, I don't think that's right. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.740 But you sing a song, and all of a sudden you kind of absorb that way of thinking, don't you? 00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:54.600 This is what he's saying, the song of fools. 00:08:54.600 --> 00:09:02.040 True wisdom is all about when you see others around you and when you yourself have to face 00:09:02.040 --> 00:09:04.480 up to the limitations of life. 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:12.080 I can tell you one of the greatest privileges I have in life and in this job is seeing people 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:13.720 go through some of the hardest times in life. 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:19.040 I can honestly say that I've learned more about life when I've walked with some people through 00:09:19.040 --> 00:09:24.120 the hardest seasons of their lives, and I've seen them face up to the reality of death, 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:28.940 and I've heard them say that Jesus holds me. 00:09:30.700 --> 00:09:31.759 Jesus holds me. 00:09:32.820 --> 00:09:37.759 Let me just confirm the rumors as well that nobody gets to the hospital side bed and thinks 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:41.860 I wish I'd picked that holiday in Crete and not Sardinia last year. 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:45.539 Nobody sits there thinking, I wish I'd spent more hours at the office, but what they do 00:09:45.539 --> 00:09:48.080 sit there and think is, what have I done with my life? 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:50.460 What is it all about? 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:52.759 What have I spent myself for? 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:57.500 And particularly they think of their loved ones, and they think of the people who they 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:02.879 will probably leave, and they think, what have I passed on and modeled to them? 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:09.200 And when you see, friends, when you see somebody go through those hard times, it makes you 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:09.899 think, doesn't it? 00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:13.100 See the stuff that I'm stressing out about in life right now? 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:15.299 Really isn't that all important, is it? 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:25.159 He's saying that wisdom comes when you face up to your own limitations and your own mortality. 00:10:26.439 --> 00:10:28.019 You can sing along with One Direction, right? 00:10:28.019 --> 00:10:29.480 You can bury your head in the sand. 00:10:29.539 --> 00:10:31.199 You can sing along to the pool party. 00:10:31.259 --> 00:10:32.019 You can do it all. 00:10:32.079 --> 00:10:36.960 But see, when the tragedy comes, friends, you will be faced with that decision. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.160 Solomon's saying it's wisdom that listens. 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:41.440 It's wisdom that learns. 00:10:41.560 --> 00:10:42.519 It's wisdom that looks. 00:10:42.519 --> 00:10:49.819 Secondly, he wants us to think about our hearts and to admit to ourselves that we struggle 00:10:49.819 --> 00:10:53.899 in so many different ways when we look inside to our hearts, right? 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:58.559 And he's going to flag a few things, and it's almost like the button on your car. 00:10:58.620 --> 00:11:01.740 You know that feeling when you buy a new car, you're in a new car, and you see a warning 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:05.539 light flash, and you think to yourself, what is all that about? 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:08.579 I don't understand it, but I know something's not quite right. 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:12.639 This is what he's going to do here, is he points out a few of the things that we struggle 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:12.919 with. 00:11:12.959 --> 00:11:13.819 That's wisdom. 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:18.099 Verse 7, do you see where he kicks off? 00:11:18.339 --> 00:11:19.240 Oppression and bribes. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:20.779 He says they're not good for the human heart. 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:27.579 On a global scale, you'll be able to think of people, won't you, who have taken bribes, 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:30.939 who have opened to a backhander. 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:36.940 I think of the tragedy that we saw in the news this week with those 39 people in the 00:11:36.940 --> 00:11:37.760 back of that lorry. 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:46.100 And you watch it, and you think, what is going on in somebody's heart, down somebody along 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:46.580 that chain? 00:11:46.680 --> 00:11:51.820 What is going on in the human heart that somehow someone has made that decision that it's a 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:52.480 good thing to do? 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:56.120 Now, we don't know the full details of it, but it probably looks like human trafficking, 00:11:56.300 --> 00:11:56.700 doesn't it? 00:11:57.140 --> 00:12:00.660 Of course, as Christians, we want to be at the forefront of seeing that stamped it, because 00:12:00.659 --> 00:12:04.500 we believe all human beings are made, beautifully made in the image of God and are precious 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:05.000 to him. 00:12:05.339 --> 00:12:08.459 But it makes you think, doesn't it, the other side of the coin, the human heart. 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:12.939 What is going on that's caused that? 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:14.360 In verse 8, he keeps on going. 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:19.439 He says that pride isn't good when we see it in our hearts, and patience is better. 00:12:21.319 --> 00:12:21.519 Okay? 00:12:21.699 --> 00:12:22.600 Patience is better. 00:12:22.699 --> 00:12:26.620 Why would he need to say that if it wasn't for the fact that our natural inclination, 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:29.399 right, is not to be patient, it is to be proud. 00:12:31.219 --> 00:12:32.860 Pride says I want my own way. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:35.059 Pride says I am right all of the time. 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:38.059 Now, I don't know if you find this when you go driving. 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:40.279 I find I'm reminded of this all the time. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:44.179 All I hear, I see it myself coming out at times, all you hear, right, particularly this 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:48.000 time of year, is horn, horn, horn, horn, horn, isn't it, in the streets? 00:12:49.079 --> 00:12:49.759 Horn, horn, horn. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:53.259 Now, they teach you when you're learning to drive that the horn is a way of letting somebody 00:12:53.259 --> 00:12:53.980 know that you're there. 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:56.180 But that is not why we use our car horns, is it? 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:02.320 I always think it's a way of saying, I am right, I am right, I am right every time that 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:03.720 we hit our horn. 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:06.519 But we know this is true in our own lives, don't we? 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:09.779 Talks about anger, doesn't he? 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:11.440 I love the image he uses it. 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:12.259 Do you see the phrase? 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:13.440 And we know this is true. 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:16.320 He talks about the anger that lodges in the heart. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:21.060 What a lovely turn of phrase, lodges in the heart. 00:13:21.140 --> 00:13:22.600 It's in there, right? 00:13:22.660 --> 00:13:24.000 It's making itself a cup of tea. 00:13:24.100 --> 00:13:25.379 It's getting comfy on the sofa. 00:13:25.520 --> 00:13:26.620 It's planning on staying. 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:28.060 It's lodging. 00:13:30.140 --> 00:13:33.320 And he says, the problem is, how often do we say, do you want a chocolate biscuit with 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:33.960 your cup of tea? 00:13:36.400 --> 00:13:38.180 And we let it fester, don't we, anger? 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:40.520 And we see it come out in our own hearts. 00:13:41.800 --> 00:13:43.060 That's what the fool does. 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:48.359 Verse 10, say not, why were the former days better than these? 00:13:48.439 --> 00:13:51.239 For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 00:13:51.319 --> 00:13:52.000 What's he talking about here? 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:53.419 He's talking about nostalgia, isn't he? 00:13:55.299 --> 00:13:57.219 Nostalgia that says, do you remember those good old days? 00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:00.199 Do you remember how good it was back then? 00:14:00.259 --> 00:14:01.319 Do you remember those days? 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:07.699 Friends, I'll admit to when life is tough, I so often find my mind wandering back to my 00:14:07.699 --> 00:14:08.419 student days. 00:14:08.419 --> 00:14:12.439 And I think three lectures a day, 10 o'clock start, sport on tap. 00:14:12.680 --> 00:14:14.760 What would I give to be back in those days? 00:14:16.340 --> 00:14:17.780 But this passage says, what a fool. 00:14:17.880 --> 00:14:19.400 Because if I'm honest, you know what? 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:22.660 As a student, I was saying exactly the same thing about my school days. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:27.160 And I am certain that when I'm in my 40s, I'll be saying exactly the same thing about 00:14:27.160 --> 00:14:27.840 my 30s. 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.720 And he's saying it's not good for the human heart to do that. 00:14:32.760 --> 00:14:34.120 When you see it, what's going on there? 00:14:34.180 --> 00:14:35.580 It's discontentment, isn't it? 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:38.300 About what God is doing in the present. 00:14:40.540 --> 00:14:41.759 Discontentment in the human heart. 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:45.280 And it's distrust, actually, about who God is and what he's doing in this moment. 00:14:46.020 --> 00:14:46.940 And it was a sin, isn't it? 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:51.540 If you know the Bible story, it was the sin of the Exodus generation as they wandered in 00:14:51.540 --> 00:14:52.020 the wilderness. 00:14:52.280 --> 00:14:53.080 What did they say? 00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:55.700 Remember how we had cucumbers back in Egypt? 00:14:57.620 --> 00:14:58.680 Oh, we were slaves. 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:01.539 But do you remember how we had cucumbers back in Egypt? 00:15:01.739 --> 00:15:07.299 And it's held up, isn't it, to us as the danger of grumbling and discontentment. 00:15:08.239 --> 00:15:12.479 He says discontentment is not a wise thing to do. 00:15:12.959 --> 00:15:15.639 So do you see he's just flagging these things about the human heart? 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:18.319 Flagging these things about the human heart. 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:21.000 We know what he's talking about. 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:24.039 We see the warning signs that are there. 00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:27.000 We've got to think about what is going on there? 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:28.559 Where is this stuff coming from? 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:32.819 Thirdly, we're going to rattle off, keep shooting these things about control. 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:38.979 Because we love to think of ourselves as those who are in control, don't we? 00:15:39.579 --> 00:15:44.639 It's our whole advertising industry based on what giving us control, giving us what we want. 00:15:45.459 --> 00:15:48.079 Remember Virgin Media, it was have it your way. 00:15:48.199 --> 00:15:52.159 That was, when I signed up to it, that was the motto. 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:54.159 And I thought, I'm having some of that, having it my way. 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:58.159 It's the generation that we live in, people promising us control. 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:01.399 And Solomon's saying, I'm sure there's ways that you are in control. 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:07.259 But if you think about it, your life, friends, you are not in control. 00:16:08.339 --> 00:16:10.519 It's kind of what Naomi was talking about earlier, wasn't it? 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:14.299 The times when she realizes in her life where she's not in control. 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:18.079 Remember that film when we were growing up, Forrest Gump? 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:20.000 What did Forrest say that life is like? 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:22.320 A box of chocolates. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:22.720 Why? 00:16:24.040 --> 00:16:26.500 You never know what's coming next. 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:30.420 And I think the teacher, I think Solomon would say that's absolutely right. 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:32.759 Because it's true, isn't it, in our own lives, 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.440 that we don't know if tomorrow is going to bring tears of joy, 00:16:36.560 --> 00:16:38.620 or whether it's going to bring tears of pain. 00:16:38.820 --> 00:16:42.280 We don't know whether we'll be celebrating tomorrow or mourning. 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:46.659 It's impossible for us to fully know what tomorrow holds. 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:48.600 And nothing should humble us like that. 00:16:50.819 --> 00:16:57.240 Nothing should teach us our utter dependence on the God who is in control here. 00:16:57.740 --> 00:16:59.539 Now, here's a little exercise I want to do. 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:01.899 Okay, God's in control here. 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:04.220 Now, the teacher's made already this point. 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:07.359 If you've been through this series, we've seen him make this point before. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:15.799 If you want to flick there, you can turn to chapter 1, verse 15. 00:17:15.879 --> 00:17:16.379 That's what I meant. 00:17:19.399 --> 00:17:22.099 Because here's what Solomon's writing here at verse 13. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:22.379 He's saying, 00:17:22.459 --> 00:17:23.599 Consider the work of God. 00:17:23.919 --> 00:17:25.959 Who can make straight what he has made crooked? 00:17:26.679 --> 00:17:28.599 In a day of prosperity, be joyful. 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:30.500 And in a day of adversity, consider. 00:17:30.619 --> 00:17:31.539 So think about it. 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:35.259 That God has made the one as well as the other, 00:17:35.259 --> 00:17:38.519 so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. 00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:42.299 And I think it's in chapter 1, he said exactly the same thing. 00:17:42.379 --> 00:17:42.879 Do you see it? 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:43.920 Verse 15. 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:44.779 The same truth. 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:46.660 What is crooked cannot be made straight, 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:49.079 and what is lacking cannot be counted. 00:17:49.299 --> 00:17:51.119 So, but when he said it in chapter 1, 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:52.480 there was no mention of God. 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:54.359 Right? 00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:56.220 No mention of God. 00:17:56.740 --> 00:17:59.900 And yet here he is at chapter 7 saying exactly the same thing, 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:03.839 and yet he adds that even though his circumstances haven't changed, 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:08.000 here's a man who looks back and says, 00:18:08.059 --> 00:18:10.079 I learned that God was sovereign in control, 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:12.359 no matter what came my way. 00:18:14.379 --> 00:18:16.480 And so he says the good days enjoy them, 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:18.619 because they are a gift from God. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:22.140 And your bad days, do you see the word he uses there, 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:25.460 consider that God is in control in that day as well. 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:27.079 He is in control of the good days. 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:29.140 He is in control of the bad days. 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:34.559 And Solomon's learned that even though we don't know what will come, 00:18:35.259 --> 00:18:37.899 we do know in life who is in control. 00:18:39.299 --> 00:18:42.519 Now it's worth just pausing and asking ourselves at this point, 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:47.139 do you see how here is a man who has grown in his understanding of 00:18:47.139 --> 00:18:50.339 and trust in the good sovereignty of God? 00:18:51.139 --> 00:18:53.339 And this is exactly what Naomi was saying, 00:18:53.419 --> 00:18:55.960 and I couldn't have teed it up any better for us to think about, 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.859 is as a church community, as a body here, 00:18:59.859 --> 00:19:05.199 are we growing in our understanding for and trust in the goodness 00:19:05.199 --> 00:19:06.619 and the sovereignty of God? 00:19:06.679 --> 00:19:09.279 It's what the songs have been teaching us really this morning, 00:19:09.339 --> 00:19:09.779 haven't they? 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:11.399 About who this God is. 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:13.459 Who this God is. 00:19:15.439 --> 00:19:17.679 And you know people in your life, 00:19:18.679 --> 00:19:21.019 and I'm thinking of people in my life who I've met, 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:22.299 and in this congregation as well, 00:19:22.399 --> 00:19:25.199 who when the rollercoaster of life keeps on going, 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.100 there's a steadiness to their life. 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.200 There is a steady trust in this sovereign God. 00:19:32.340 --> 00:19:34.259 Remember one of the first hymns that we sang 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:35.920 when we first ever came to Brunsfield. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:38.920 When peace like a river attendeth my way, 00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:41.140 when sorrows like sea billows roll, 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:43.840 whatever my lot you have taught me to say, 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:46.960 it is well, it is well with my soul. 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:48.960 And this is what he's saying. 00:19:50.120 --> 00:19:51.240 God is in control. 00:19:51.420 --> 00:19:52.460 You are not in control. 00:19:53.120 --> 00:19:54.079 God is in control. 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:56.980 And lastly, he wants us to think about 00:19:56.980 --> 00:19:58.000 what it means to be good. 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:01.700 So he's talking about righteousness here. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:05.180 In other words, our standing before a holy God 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:07.100 who we thought about in chapter five. 00:20:08.380 --> 00:20:10.840 And he seems to have two groups of people in his mind here. 00:20:12.180 --> 00:20:13.920 He's thinking about those who are firstly, 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:16.220 who think who are overly righteous. 00:20:18.360 --> 00:20:21.140 Referencing those who think they've got life morally sussed. 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:23.600 Case in point, I guess, being that the Pharisees 00:20:23.600 --> 00:20:25.040 who we meet in Jesus's day. 00:20:26.120 --> 00:20:27.220 What do you mean I need a savior? 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:29.120 What do you mean we're not good enough? 00:20:29.320 --> 00:20:31.920 Those who are overly righteous in their own eyes. 00:20:32.040 --> 00:20:33.580 Solomon says that's not a good thing. 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:37.860 And secondly, he's got in mind those who are wicked, 00:20:38.080 --> 00:20:42.220 who have no intention of doing anything other than serving themselves. 00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:43.780 And Solomon says, don't be a fool. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:45.880 Don't be a fool. 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:49.420 And so he looks out on all humankind, all mankind, 00:20:49.860 --> 00:20:52.860 and he starts with his very own heart, 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.340 the depths of his sin that he knows. 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:57.160 And here's what he concludes, verse 20. 00:20:57.340 --> 00:20:59.940 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:01.780 who does good and never sins. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:05.480 That's what he perceives as he looks out on mankind. 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:07.740 And the thing is, what he's saying here 00:21:07.740 --> 00:21:09.900 is really just a consistent thread 00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:12.840 that runs through the Bible ever since Genesis 3, 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:15.179 when sin entered the world, 00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:16.439 that we are not righteous. 00:21:16.679 --> 00:21:18.959 We see Paul picking up on this in the New Testament, 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.119 Romans 3, he quotes Psalm 14, 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:23.619 where he says, there is none who does good. 00:21:25.059 --> 00:21:28.119 And all fall short, right? 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:29.959 Like an arrow, they miss the mark. 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:31.459 They're aiming at something, they miss the mark. 00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:32.059 That's what he's saying. 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:34.579 All fall short of the glory of God. 00:21:34.679 --> 00:21:36.279 And Solomon says, when I see mankind, 00:21:36.439 --> 00:21:37.659 I cannot figure it out. 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:40.720 I can't figure out why humans behave 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:42.240 sometimes the way they do. 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:43.539 And I think that's what, 00:21:43.620 --> 00:21:44.980 you're probably all wondering this, right? 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:46.200 I think that's what the reference is 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:47.980 to men and women at the end of this chapter here. 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:50.359 He thinks himself, do you know what? 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:52.299 One in a thousand men, I think I get. 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:55.140 One in a thousand, I think I understand how they tick. 00:21:55.500 --> 00:21:57.640 And as far as the female of the species is concerned, 00:21:57.740 --> 00:21:58.339 I don't have a clue. 00:21:58.579 --> 00:21:59.920 That's what he's saying, right? 00:22:01.099 --> 00:22:03.319 You don't really know what's going on inside a person. 00:22:03.380 --> 00:22:05.559 I can't really figure it out how we operate, 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:06.680 but here's what I do know, 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:08.960 that we all fall short of the glory of God. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:11.059 And there is not one who does good 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:13.680 in the sight of the eyes of this holy God. 00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:18.279 So Ecclesiastes 7, here's this wee boy 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:19.660 pointing things out, saying, 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:21.740 I see death. 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:25.059 I see heart problems. 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:27.259 I see a lack of control. 00:22:27.420 --> 00:22:29.220 And I see people who aren't good. 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:31.299 And you think to yourself, 00:22:31.380 --> 00:22:33.100 boy, I'm so glad I came to this church 00:22:33.100 --> 00:22:34.220 to hear this sermon this morning. 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:35.579 What do we do with this stuff, right? 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:37.519 He's absolutely right. 00:22:37.639 --> 00:22:38.919 What do we do with this stuff? 00:22:40.639 --> 00:22:41.359 Well, first of all, friends, 00:22:41.399 --> 00:22:43.139 we face up to the reality of what he's saying. 00:22:43.199 --> 00:22:44.779 We know that's true in our own hearts, right? 00:22:44.859 --> 00:22:45.639 We know that's true. 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:49.559 But let me just tell you, secondly, what we do. 00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:51.899 We were on holiday a few weeks ago, 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:53.819 and our girls love it. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:54.379 We're at the beach. 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:55.779 That's context to this. 00:22:55.819 --> 00:22:56.319 We're at the beach. 00:22:56.899 --> 00:22:58.439 And our girls love nothing more, 00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:00.159 and despite the fact that it is mid-October, 00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:02.599 running in and out of the sea, right? 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:04.219 So they're in and out of the sea all the time, 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:05.679 and they've only got pants on. 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:07.319 That's the context of this story, right? 00:23:07.959 --> 00:23:09.559 Just in and out of the sea, in and out of the sea. 00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:11.740 And they do it so often that they get... 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:13.000 Chloe, certainly our four-year-old, 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:15.039 got really confident that she was nailing this. 00:23:15.299 --> 00:23:16.659 So she would walk into the sea, 00:23:16.699 --> 00:23:17.539 and she would come up to her, 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:19.000 just below her knees. 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:21.379 And the first wave hit her, 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:22.799 and she kind of looked at me as if to say, 00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:23.559 I'm still standing. 00:23:24.179 --> 00:23:25.059 I'm still standing. 00:23:26.339 --> 00:23:27.379 A couple of waves go past, 00:23:27.439 --> 00:23:28.699 and a second wave hits her again. 00:23:28.699 --> 00:23:29.419 Oh, little wave. 00:23:29.500 --> 00:23:30.480 No, I'm still standing. 00:23:30.639 --> 00:23:31.339 I'm still standing. 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:35.419 And a third wave whacks her over, right? 00:23:35.439 --> 00:23:36.959 And we're in there trying to pull her out. 00:23:38.139 --> 00:23:39.519 She took a bit of a hit. 00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:40.599 Whacked her over. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:44.259 And the thing is about Ecclesiastes 7, friends, 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:45.759 if we face up to what this is saying, 00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:47.019 it should be just like those waves. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:49.199 Bash, it should knock us over. 00:23:51.099 --> 00:23:52.419 Bash, it should knock us over. 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:57.119 But here's one of my favorite quotes I've found 00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:58.819 helping me understand, 00:23:59.059 --> 00:24:00.259 and this is Charles Spurgeon, 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:02.119 and he said this. 00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:02.660 He said, 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.319 in my life, 00:24:03.379 --> 00:24:05.059 I have learned to kiss the wave 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:07.859 that throws me back against the rock of ages. 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:10.859 Friends, we get smashed 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:13.359 as we face up to our limitations. 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:15.619 But friends, 00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:16.779 as we get smashed this morning, 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:19.900 let's get smashed by this wave 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:21.160 and end up at the feet of the Savior. 00:24:23.160 --> 00:24:24.079 Let me just take you, 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:26.759 as we wrap it up this morning, 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:30.240 let me just take you to a man in the Gospels 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:30.779 who we meet. 00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:33.839 And he's a man who had, 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:34.180 I'm sure, 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:35.640 everything going for him in life. 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:36.680 Life is plain sailing. 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:37.559 Everything's going well. 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:38.720 And all of a sudden, 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:41.019 life just changes for the worse. 00:24:42.099 --> 00:24:42.980 And all of a sudden, 00:24:43.059 --> 00:24:44.240 he's hit with home truths. 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:45.720 He's hit with the fact that 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:47.700 he is not in control of life. 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:49.319 And he's hit with the fact that 00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:51.099 death is a reality for him. 00:24:51.299 --> 00:24:52.220 And all of a sudden, 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:53.220 the man who's in control 00:24:53.220 --> 00:24:55.539 doesn't have a clue what to do. 00:24:55.539 --> 00:24:56.700 And he's a man who we meet 00:24:56.700 --> 00:24:58.420 in Luke's Gospel called Jairus. 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:00.940 Now, Jairus, we get in the text, 00:25:01.019 --> 00:25:01.559 you'll see it there, 00:25:01.619 --> 00:25:03.579 is a synagogue leader. 00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:05.859 Okay, so he is a religious man. 00:25:05.940 --> 00:25:07.440 He would have been a respected man. 00:25:07.659 --> 00:25:09.680 And the other detail we get in the text 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:10.899 is he's a family man. 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:13.119 So he's got a family. 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:16.920 And he's just been hit with a massive wave 00:25:16.920 --> 00:25:18.180 because you know what's happened to this man? 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:19.899 His only daughter. 00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:21.119 Now, if you're a parent in here, 00:25:21.139 --> 00:25:22.460 you will feel the weight of that. 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:24.599 His only daughter is sick. 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:26.859 And she is dying. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:29.000 And she is 12, 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:30.359 which is a way of saying 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:32.420 that she has got her whole life ahead of her. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:33.519 We look at that and think 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:34.799 she died too early, 00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:35.779 before her time. 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:37.740 She's 12 with her whole life ahead of her 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:39.039 and she is about to die. 00:25:39.299 --> 00:25:41.299 And this man is powerless. 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:44.299 A man who's used to being in control 00:25:44.299 --> 00:25:44.980 his whole life. 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:46.599 And here he is faced with a situation 00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:47.019 and he thinks, 00:25:47.139 --> 00:25:48.639 I am not in control of this one. 00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:49.639 And what does he do? 00:25:49.700 --> 00:25:51.059 He hears that Jesus is in town 00:25:51.059 --> 00:25:53.759 and he throws himself at the feet of Jesus. 00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:56.500 And he begs Jesus, 00:25:56.619 --> 00:25:58.759 would you come and heal my daughter? 00:25:59.379 --> 00:26:00.539 He's got nowhere else to go. 00:26:00.940 --> 00:26:01.980 Nowhere else to go. 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:06.139 And the text tells us that as Jesus was going, 00:26:06.259 --> 00:26:06.740 in other words, 00:26:06.839 --> 00:26:07.940 Jesus chose to go. 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:09.500 You see, 00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:11.039 here is God in the flesh. 00:26:11.159 --> 00:26:12.500 Here is God incarnate. 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:13.379 And here he is 00:26:13.379 --> 00:26:15.220 in the messiness of life. 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:17.519 Here he is listening to Jairus' plea. 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:18.980 And I'm sure he could have said, 00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:19.639 listen Jairus, 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:20.359 I get it mate, 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:21.259 but I'm too busy. 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:23.819 But Jesus goes, 00:26:24.019 --> 00:26:24.779 Jesus cares, 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:25.619 Jesus loves. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:27.079 Here is a Jesus who is with us 00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:29.579 right there in the hardest days. 00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:31.879 Here is a shepherd who is with us 00:26:31.879 --> 00:26:32.839 and walking with us 00:26:32.839 --> 00:26:33.799 and protecting us 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:34.460 and leading us 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:35.379 even in the valley 00:26:35.379 --> 00:26:36.519 of the shadow of death. 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:39.059 And after an encounter 00:26:39.059 --> 00:26:39.900 with another woman, 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:41.839 by the time Jesus is back on track, 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:43.180 word has got to Jesus 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:44.180 and to this party 00:26:44.180 --> 00:26:45.059 who are walking back 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:46.599 that Jairus' daughter is dead 00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:47.119 and they say, 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:48.719 do not bother the teacher anymore. 00:26:51.019 --> 00:26:53.379 But Jesus takes control 00:26:53.379 --> 00:26:56.399 and goes to the house 00:26:56.399 --> 00:26:57.719 and enters that room 00:26:57.719 --> 00:27:01.779 and with his inner three disciples 00:27:01.779 --> 00:27:04.639 and is with Jairus and his wife, 00:27:04.959 --> 00:27:05.739 the girl's parents, 00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:06.359 he says, 00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:07.979 the girl is not sleeping. 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:08.539 What do they do? 00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:09.139 They laugh. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:10.139 She's sleeping. 00:27:11.199 --> 00:27:13.419 Which is some of the most unkind words 00:27:13.419 --> 00:27:14.599 you have ever heard. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:16.519 If she's dead. 00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:19.259 And yet Jesus says 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:20.259 to those listening, 00:27:20.379 --> 00:27:21.059 believe in me, 00:27:21.179 --> 00:27:21.859 look to me, 00:27:22.219 --> 00:27:22.939 come to me 00:27:22.939 --> 00:27:24.339 in your hardest moments. 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:26.000 Because then Jesus proceeds 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:27.119 to say two words, 00:27:27.699 --> 00:27:29.019 child arise. 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:31.659 And she gets up 00:27:31.659 --> 00:27:34.759 and the first thing Jesus says 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:35.759 is get her something to eat. 00:27:37.459 --> 00:27:38.359 Child arise, 00:27:38.459 --> 00:27:39.179 dead girl lives. 00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:40.100 Now I would have loved 00:27:40.100 --> 00:27:41.160 to have been a fly 00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:41.740 on the wall 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:42.940 in Jairus' household 00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:43.440 that night. 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:44.100 Would you not have? 00:27:45.240 --> 00:27:45.860 I think they're sitting there 00:27:45.860 --> 00:27:46.700 talking about the weather, 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:47.539 the three of them. 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:48.880 Sitting there, 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:50.299 do you wonder if Jairus is saying, 00:27:50.380 --> 00:27:51.460 now did anybody do anything 00:27:51.460 --> 00:27:52.240 interesting today 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:52.920 with their lives? 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:55.380 No, 00:27:55.380 --> 00:27:55.720 do you not think 00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:56.259 they're sitting there 00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:56.480 thinking, 00:27:56.600 --> 00:27:57.080 this man, 00:27:57.279 --> 00:27:57.600 Jesus, 00:27:57.779 --> 00:27:58.519 what on earth 00:27:58.519 --> 00:27:59.340 has happened there? 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:00.180 This man, 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:01.039 Jesus, 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:03.820 has just blown our minds. 00:28:03.899 --> 00:28:04.879 He's just blown life 00:28:04.879 --> 00:28:05.500 as we knew it, 00:28:05.679 --> 00:28:06.779 wide open. 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:09.339 And I bet she had 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:10.559 a wonderful story 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:11.279 to tell at show 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:12.159 and tell the next day 00:28:12.159 --> 00:28:12.759 at school, right? 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:15.480 Jairus' daughter was dead. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:17.000 Jesus is alive. 00:28:17.139 --> 00:28:17.439 And friends, 00:28:17.500 --> 00:28:18.119 see the thing is, 00:28:18.159 --> 00:28:18.740 as we face up 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:19.559 to these four truths, 00:28:19.639 --> 00:28:20.659 that we are so true 00:28:20.659 --> 00:28:21.740 for our lives today. 00:28:23.639 --> 00:28:24.039 Friends, 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:25.839 we need to let the wave 00:28:25.839 --> 00:28:26.779 hit us back 00:28:26.779 --> 00:28:28.139 against the rock of ages. 00:28:28.200 --> 00:28:28.960 As we face up 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:29.799 to our deaths, 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:31.619 here is Jesus, 00:28:32.779 --> 00:28:33.559 the man who conquers, 00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:34.460 conquered death 00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:36.220 and rose on the third day. 00:28:36.279 --> 00:28:36.939 As we face up 00:28:36.939 --> 00:28:38.000 to our hearts, 00:28:39.220 --> 00:28:40.220 here is Jesus, 00:28:40.379 --> 00:28:41.299 God in the flesh. 00:28:41.419 --> 00:28:42.279 Here he is living 00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:43.039 a perfect, 00:28:43.240 --> 00:28:43.980 sinless life 00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:44.720 before God, 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:45.319 his Father. 00:28:45.579 --> 00:28:46.480 As we face up 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:47.679 to our lack of control, 00:28:47.819 --> 00:28:48.559 here is Jesus 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:49.519 who is in control. 00:28:49.679 --> 00:28:50.399 Here is Jesus 00:28:50.399 --> 00:28:51.759 who right now 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:53.319 is holding the cosmos 00:28:53.319 --> 00:28:54.539 together with the power 00:28:54.539 --> 00:28:55.259 of his word. 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:56.279 Here is a man 00:28:56.279 --> 00:28:57.179 who is in control. 00:28:57.460 --> 00:28:58.339 As we think about 00:28:58.339 --> 00:28:59.619 the fact that we are not good, 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.799 let's remember Jesus. 00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:04.419 Solomon says, 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:05.379 there is no one good. 00:29:05.579 --> 00:29:05.779 Friends, 00:29:05.819 --> 00:29:06.579 there was one good, 00:29:06.859 --> 00:29:07.399 fully good. 00:29:08.879 --> 00:29:09.839 And as he takes 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:10.579 the penalty 00:29:10.579 --> 00:29:11.200 of our sin 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:11.960 on the cross 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:13.680 on himself 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:15.639 and in him 00:29:15.639 --> 00:29:16.339 by our faith 00:29:16.339 --> 00:29:16.859 in him, 00:29:17.139 --> 00:29:17.339 friends, 00:29:17.379 --> 00:29:18.319 we are clothed 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.099 in his righteousness. 00:29:22.740 --> 00:29:24.159 Let's learn 00:29:24.159 --> 00:29:26.000 to kiss the wave 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:27.819 that throws us back 00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:29.039 against the rock 00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:30.159 of ages. 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:31.480 And let me just finish 00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:32.600 with these lines 00:29:32.600 --> 00:29:34.840 by the old hymn 00:29:34.840 --> 00:29:36.600 by Augustus Toplady, 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:37.240 who you have to say 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:37.620 has just got 00:29:37.620 --> 00:29:38.660 the best name ever, 00:29:38.800 --> 00:29:38.980 okay? 00:29:39.740 --> 00:29:40.380 But he's famous 00:29:40.380 --> 00:29:41.480 for writing this hymn. 00:29:42.779 --> 00:29:43.840 Rock of ages 00:29:43.840 --> 00:29:44.980 cleft for me, 00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:46.800 let me hide myself 00:29:46.800 --> 00:29:47.420 in thee. 00:29:47.779 --> 00:29:48.779 Let the water 00:29:48.779 --> 00:29:49.660 and the blood 00:29:49.660 --> 00:29:51.120 from thy wounded 00:29:51.120 --> 00:29:52.300 side which flowed 00:29:52.300 --> 00:29:53.100 be of sin 00:29:53.100 --> 00:29:54.019 the double cure, 00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:55.360 save from wrath 00:29:55.360 --> 00:29:57.380 and make me pure. 00:29:57.380 --> 00:29:59.580 nothing in my hand 00:29:59.580 --> 00:30:00.160 I bring 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:01.500 simply to the cross 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:02.020 I cling 00:30:02.020 --> 00:30:02.480 naked 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:03.740 come to thee 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:04.360 for dress 00:30:04.360 --> 00:30:04.880 helpless 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:05.640 look to thee 00:30:05.640 --> 00:30:06.240 for grace 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:07.640 foul I too 00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:08.700 the fountain fly 00:30:08.700 --> 00:30:09.840 wash me saviour 00:30:09.840 --> 00:30:11.120 or I die. 00:30:11.600 --> 00:30:12.360 And that's where 00:30:12.360 --> 00:30:12.940 we should end 00:30:12.940 --> 00:30:13.540 this morning. 00:30:14.080 --> 00:30:15.120 Ecclesiastes 7 00:30:15.120 --> 00:30:16.120 don't trust 00:30:16.120 --> 00:30:16.900 in our own 00:30:16.900 --> 00:30:18.220 wisdom. 00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:19.500 Friends, 00:30:19.560 --> 00:30:20.460 let's throw ourselves 00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:21.280 at the feet of Jesus 00:30:21.280 --> 00:30:22.020 and look to him. 00:30:22.180 --> 00:30:22.620 Let's pray. 00:30:22.619 --> 00:30:26.699 And so Father, 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:28.299 in the quiet now 00:30:28.299 --> 00:30:29.079 we would want to bring 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:30.379 to you our own 00:30:30.379 --> 00:30:31.559 struggles. 00:30:32.739 --> 00:30:33.219 Father, 00:30:33.339 --> 00:30:34.219 realizing that 00:30:34.219 --> 00:30:37.159 many of these 00:30:37.159 --> 00:30:37.759 truths as they 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:38.199 come home 00:30:38.199 --> 00:30:38.779 this morning 00:30:38.779 --> 00:30:39.779 Father will bring 00:30:39.779 --> 00:30:41.859 many memories 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:42.379 and feelings 00:30:42.379 --> 00:30:43.019 for us. 00:30:45.779 --> 00:30:46.500 And Father, 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:47.099 we thank you 00:30:47.099 --> 00:30:48.919 for the wonderful 00:30:48.919 --> 00:30:49.959 news of the gospel. 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:51.779 Lord, 00:30:51.819 --> 00:30:52.600 that we are those 00:30:52.600 --> 00:30:53.480 who fall short 00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:54.480 of the glory of God. 00:30:54.600 --> 00:30:55.259 We are those 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:55.900 who violate 00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:56.680 your commands. 00:30:57.319 --> 00:30:58.340 And yet in Jesus 00:30:58.340 --> 00:30:59.259 what a wonderful 00:30:59.259 --> 00:31:00.220 saviour we have. 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:01.559 And so Lord, 00:31:01.600 --> 00:31:02.279 I just pray 00:31:02.279 --> 00:31:02.620 that you would 00:31:02.620 --> 00:31:03.279 help us all 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:03.519 Father 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:04.079 by the power 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:04.779 of your spirit. 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:06.340 Lord, 00:31:06.380 --> 00:31:06.880 not to lean 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:07.299 on our own 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:07.900 understanding 00:31:07.900 --> 00:31:08.860 but into all 00:31:08.860 --> 00:31:09.340 our ways 00:31:09.340 --> 00:31:10.000 and trust our 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:10.819 ways to you. 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:11.680 Lord, 00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:12.220 would you help 00:31:12.220 --> 00:31:13.480 us to look 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:14.000 to Jesus 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:15.319 and to find 00:31:15.319 --> 00:31:16.259 our all in all 00:31:16.259 --> 00:31:16.720 in him. 00:31:17.400 --> 00:31:17.799 In his name 00:31:17.799 --> 00:31:18.160 we pray. 00:31:18.500 --> 00:31:18.819 Amen. 00:31:19.960 --> 00:31:20.960 Amen. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:21.960 Amen. 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:22.960 Amen. 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:23.960 Amen. 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:24.960 Amen.