WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.800 Okay friends, well let me encourage you to turn back to that book of Ecclesiastes. 00:00:04.020 --> 00:00:07.179 And if you need to use the contents page of your Bibles, then please do that. 00:00:08.259 --> 00:00:11.939 And just as we begin, let me read some words from Psalm 121. 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:16.019 Couple of verses, Psalm 121. 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:19.219 I lift my eyes to the mountains. 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:23.059 Where will my help come from? 00:00:23.059 --> 00:00:31.439 My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:37.979 And this book of Ecclesiastes is helping us, and a lot of you mentioned that to me, not so many words last week. 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:44.700 That it's helping us understand that in life, these big questions, these big things that happen in life, 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:49.980 it's teaching us not to look to the world for our answers, and not to look inside for our answers. 00:00:49.979 --> 00:00:54.640 But to look to the creator of the heavens and the earth, to look to God. 00:00:55.839 --> 00:00:58.439 And so this is what we're going to see in this passage this morning. 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:03.319 We're going to be encouraged to lift our eyes to the creator of the ends of the earth. 00:01:03.419 --> 00:01:05.659 So let me just do two things by way of introduction. 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:09.620 That didn't work. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:15.239 Okay, one more. 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:19.699 Here we go, first one to light the candle. 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:20.500 It's a difficulty. 00:01:22.160 --> 00:01:22.380 Okay? 00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:29.659 And the second one is to ask you, if this is the answer, what is the question? 00:01:30.240 --> 00:01:30.500 Okay? 00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:34.300 What's the answer? 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:35.620 What's the question, rather? 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:39.880 So this is the meaning of life. 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:41.260 Okay? 00:01:41.260 --> 00:01:49.520 If you're a bookworm, and you have read Douglas Adams' book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 00:01:50.520 --> 00:01:54.280 in this book there is a supercomputer that they ask questions to. 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:58.320 And they ask the computer this question, what is the meaning of life? 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:03.519 And this is the answer after a very, very, very long time that the computer comes up with, number 42. 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:09.979 So if you Google this, after Wikipedia telling you that it's a number that comes after 41, helpfully. 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:10.060 Okay? 00:02:11.679 --> 00:02:15.939 This is the answer that comes up in Google, 42. 00:02:16.079 --> 00:02:17.280 Now there are all sorts of theories. 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:19.780 If you're into this book, and again, you'll find this on the internet. 00:02:19.899 --> 00:02:21.179 I had great fun this week searching. 00:02:21.799 --> 00:02:27.000 People have come up with all sorts of theories as to how Douglas Adams came up with this number, 42. 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:27.739 Right? 00:02:27.799 --> 00:02:28.780 Was he on to something? 00:02:28.959 --> 00:02:30.639 Is he kind of a modern day prophet? 00:02:30.799 --> 00:02:32.299 Is he seeing something that we're not? 00:02:32.300 --> 00:02:34.760 And recently Douglas Adams came out and he said, 00:02:35.260 --> 00:02:37.920 I've had great fun watching everybody kind of come up with their theories, 00:02:38.040 --> 00:02:41.420 but actually I just sat in my garden one day, looked out the window, and I came up with a random number. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:43.280 Okay? 00:02:43.320 --> 00:02:44.500 Douglas Adams doesn't have a clue. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.020 And he's making a wee joke at it, actually. 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:49.939 He doesn't understand what the meaning of life is. 00:02:50.220 --> 00:02:51.680 But let me ask you today, right? 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:55.280 If you had to answer that question, what is the meaning of life? 00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:56.500 Right? 00:02:56.540 --> 00:02:57.120 What would you say? 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:00.680 Where's purpose to be found? 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:02.180 In everything that we do. 00:03:02.760 --> 00:03:03.480 Under the sun. 00:03:03.540 --> 00:03:04.800 Remember, this is the key phrase of the book. 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:05.860 What are we doing with our time? 00:03:05.920 --> 00:03:06.660 What's it all about? 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:11.660 Because we start understanding what our purpose is and start trying to grapple with what that means. 00:03:11.760 --> 00:03:15.600 We understand that this is the place where satisfaction is to be found in life. 00:03:16.480 --> 00:03:17.820 Where joy is to be found. 00:03:17.900 --> 00:03:20.880 What the Greeks called the telos, the purpose. 00:03:20.880 --> 00:03:25.480 This is where we'll find our satisfaction in life. 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:28.040 And the amazing thing about this passage today, 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:33.039 full of different ideas, different concepts, different places. 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:36.039 This passage today is going to tell us where to find it. 00:03:36.039 --> 00:03:40.259 So here is Solomon. 00:03:40.459 --> 00:03:41.179 Here he is. 00:03:42.019 --> 00:03:42.759 Look at the text. 00:03:42.859 --> 00:03:43.359 Verse 12. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:44.099 The king of Israel. 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:44.759 Here he is. 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:47.319 The man who, verse 16, has great wisdom. 00:03:47.819 --> 00:03:50.000 And the man who, verse 10 of chapter 2, 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:55.019 has kept his heart from no pleasure. 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:56.519 So this is what he's saying of himself. 00:03:56.659 --> 00:03:58.340 He's kept his heart from no pleasure. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.159 Now, let me just explain to you what that means. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:02.340 I was watching Match of the Day last night, half past ten. 00:04:03.460 --> 00:04:05.139 Just before Match of the Day came on, 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:08.840 the person came on the BBC One saying, 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:11.019 this is today's winning lottery numbers. 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:11.560 Right? 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:14.479 Four, four, 25, 25, whatever it was. 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:14.740 Okay? 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:16.579 These are today's winning lottery numbers. 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:20.300 And lo and behold, nobody got the winning lottery numbers. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:21.819 So it rolled over once again. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:22.399 Okay? 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:26.000 So apparently it's 12.3 million, I think, off the top of my head, 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:26.800 remembering it last night. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:28.879 12.3 million is up for grabs. 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:29.600 That's a lot of money. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:31.300 Let me ask you, what would you do with that kind of money? 00:04:33.460 --> 00:04:34.460 Do a lot of things. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:35.920 12.3 million. 00:04:37.260 --> 00:04:40.040 This guy Solomon, he doesn't need to enter the lottery. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:40.620 Do you know why? 00:04:41.840 --> 00:04:48.280 Because he has absolutely everything that he could ever want in life. 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:50.660 He has absolutely everything. 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:53.400 Money is no obstacle to him. 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:54.879 Right? 00:04:54.939 --> 00:04:55.439 Imagine that. 00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:57.040 He's got contacts aplenty. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:59.300 He has people working for him. 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:01.900 He has people waiting on his every need. 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:06.259 And he has all the power and all the influence to make sure that stuff happens. 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:12.539 And the thing is, today, he is going to go with that stuff, what he's got. 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:17.740 He is going to go on the all-out pursuit to try and find satisfaction under the sun. 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:18.519 This is him. 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:22.120 If you remember last week, if you were here, if not, you can go back and listen to it online. 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:28.219 Here he is trying to disprove the way he understands life in the first 11 verses of chapter 1. 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:29.880 And he's trying to disprove his own theory. 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:33.200 He's trying to find satisfaction under the sun. 00:05:33.700 --> 00:05:36.560 And maybe this is where this becomes a bit more real to us. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:42.780 Because aren't we tempted to think, as we live our lives in this world, that if we only had a little bit more stuff, 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:46.019 or if we only had a little bit more luck with our job, 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:50.199 or if we only were able to marry that person or have that family, 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:52.039 take your pick from what it is. 00:05:52.119 --> 00:05:55.799 We're tempted to think that if we had these things, 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:00.019 then we'd be a little bit more happy and we'd find satisfaction in life. 00:06:00.019 --> 00:06:02.359 And the thing is, Solomon is telling us today, 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:05.240 here's what he tried, 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.459 and we'll find out they're very modern ideas that he tried, modern things. 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:12.199 Here is what I tried, and here is what I learnt. 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:18.439 So come with me and let's do a whistle-stop tour of chapter 1, verse 12, 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:21.279 to chapter 2, verse 11, right? 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:22.639 You can just scan your eyes over it. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:29.359 And Solomon's going to tell us very quickly what he tried in his pursuit of satisfaction. 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:33.199 So this is a whistle-stop tour, so have the text in front of you, 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:36.639 and we'll kind of go through it and see what he's tried. 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:38.939 Right, verse 13, here's our first pit stop. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:43.539 He's tried using his God-given wisdom. 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:46.500 Now, if you know anything about Solomon, you know this is a guy who is blessed, 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:48.219 God has richly blessed with wisdom. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:53.859 And he's taken this wisdom, and what he's decided is he is going to live a good life, 00:06:53.939 --> 00:06:55.139 which is a great thing. 00:06:56.219 --> 00:06:58.399 Verse 13, he knows that is a good thing. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:02.560 Living a good life, a moral life, as opposed to darkness and folly. 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:06.339 What he means when he says he tries to live life according to his wisdom 00:07:06.339 --> 00:07:09.419 is he's trying to understand life according to his knowledge. 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:15.359 He's trying to understand life in his brain, and he comes to two conclusions, 00:07:15.919 --> 00:07:19.319 and he explains the two conclusions by talking about two riddles. 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:22.899 Verse 15, he says, 00:07:22.899 --> 00:07:24.859 What is crooked cannot be straight. 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:27.899 So there's where his wisdom is taking him. 00:07:29.179 --> 00:07:32.079 Which is his admission that he looks out into a broken world. 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:35.699 This is his admission that he cannot fix it. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:38.879 Verse 18, 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:42.500 The more he knows, 00:07:42.980 --> 00:07:44.860 the more he learns, 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:47.600 the more it crushes him in the inside. 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:50.740 You say, what on earth is he on about? 00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:52.279 Well, let me just put it like this, okay? 00:07:52.939 --> 00:07:53.920 Remember my sister-in-law? 00:07:54.019 --> 00:07:55.339 She used to work for Sport Relief. 00:07:56.339 --> 00:07:56.579 Right? 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:58.740 Love watching Sport Relief from the BBC when it comes on. 00:07:58.759 --> 00:07:59.259 But what happens? 00:07:59.319 --> 00:07:59.819 Sport Relief. 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:01.079 There's humor, humor, humor, humor. 00:08:01.219 --> 00:08:02.639 Entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. 00:08:03.159 --> 00:08:04.100 Bang, there's a video. 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:06.800 He's a project we're supporting. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:09.840 What's the temptation every time we see that video? 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:12.060 It's to go, 00:08:12.379 --> 00:08:14.180 I'll click a few channels to channel for it, 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:15.480 and I'll watch the Simpsons rerun. 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:16.660 Because I really, 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:18.319 I can do without knowing about that. 00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:20.060 Because when I see it, 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:20.800 I just feel helpless. 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:22.500 And I think, 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:23.879 why is this happening in the world? 00:08:23.960 --> 00:08:24.720 And actually, to be honest, 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:25.800 if I just avoided it, 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:28.259 then I could just kind of get on with my life. 00:08:28.460 --> 00:08:29.900 And this is what he's talking about. 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:32.460 It's why in one sense today, 00:08:32.539 --> 00:08:34.720 the happiest people in this building today 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:36.840 are the little children as they run around. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:38.080 Right? 00:08:38.160 --> 00:08:38.779 They're just playing it. 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:39.460 I'm pointing over here 00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:40.460 because it's mainly my little two. 00:08:41.019 --> 00:08:41.940 They're playing in this corner, 00:08:42.040 --> 00:08:42.519 they're running around. 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:43.759 They don't got care in the world. 00:08:44.580 --> 00:08:45.480 They don't got care in the world. 00:08:45.540 --> 00:08:46.300 They don't understand. 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:48.160 They've not seen it. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:49.160 They don't know what's going on. 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:50.300 This is what he's talking about. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:51.960 Solomon's wisdom 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:54.779 has led him to go on Google 00:08:54.779 --> 00:08:55.899 and Google thinking, 00:08:56.100 --> 00:08:57.720 I want to find the t-shirt that says, 00:08:57.820 --> 00:08:58.540 Ignorance is blessed. 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:00.220 That's what I want for my life. 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:01.519 I don't want to understand that. 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:03.019 It's just getting me nowhere. 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:05.980 He's saying that wisdom isn't the answer. 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:07.340 And then if you look at chapter 2, 00:09:09.079 --> 00:09:10.500 he rhymes off the other places 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:11.539 very quickly where he went 00:09:11.539 --> 00:09:12.019 looking for satisfaction. 00:09:12.699 --> 00:09:14.019 He went looking for laughter. 00:09:14.779 --> 00:09:15.759 Did you see it mentioned that one? 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:18.139 So Solomon tries to be 00:09:18.139 --> 00:09:20.240 the life and the soul of the party. 00:09:20.319 --> 00:09:22.000 He tries to fill the palace 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.500 with the finest comedians around. 00:09:24.659 --> 00:09:26.740 I mean, he is hosting live at the Apollo, 00:09:26.860 --> 00:09:28.860 at his palace every night, 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:31.179 hoping that they can kind of laugh the way 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:33.399 out of the despair of the world. 00:09:33.959 --> 00:09:35.259 Trying to cover up the pains 00:09:35.259 --> 00:09:35.859 and the questions. 00:09:35.979 --> 00:09:36.620 He's the kind of guy 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:37.839 that's going around the dinner table 00:09:37.839 --> 00:09:39.259 on his phone, YouTube, 00:09:39.419 --> 00:09:40.819 looking at dogs chasing your tails 00:09:40.819 --> 00:09:41.099 and thinking, 00:09:41.199 --> 00:09:42.099 isn't that so funny? 00:09:43.339 --> 00:09:45.019 He's trying to escape it with laughter. 00:09:47.099 --> 00:09:48.079 And laughter doesn't work. 00:09:48.179 --> 00:09:49.379 Verse 3, he tries wine. 00:09:49.459 --> 00:09:51.519 He tries to cheer his body with wine. 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:54.859 Which I don't think is Solomon's admission there 00:09:54.859 --> 00:09:58.439 that he's getting drunk all the time. 00:09:58.519 --> 00:09:59.259 That's not his... 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:00.419 I don't think that's what he's saying. 00:10:00.460 --> 00:10:01.159 What he's telling us is 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:03.279 that he became a wine connoisseur. 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:04.740 Right? 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:07.179 Loved a lovely bottle of Merlot, 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:07.899 bottle of red, 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:09.179 the most expensive one around. 00:10:09.319 --> 00:10:09.419 Right? 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:10.240 He's got the app. 00:10:11.299 --> 00:10:12.580 He's into the smell test. 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:13.639 He even knows what that means. 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:15.139 He's the kind of guy, 00:10:15.179 --> 00:10:16.100 when he went to a restaurant, 00:10:16.179 --> 00:10:16.759 you imagine this, 00:10:16.779 --> 00:10:17.620 he looks at the menu 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:17.980 and he thinks, 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:19.919 I'll have the most expensive one 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:20.840 on that menu. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:23.360 And I'll have four of them, please. 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:26.399 He's looking for his answer 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.120 by looking at wine. 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:30.159 Wine doesn't cut it. 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:32.179 Verse 4, he tries great works. 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:34.179 You see him? 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:34.919 He's just running around 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:35.799 from thing to thing. 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:38.799 He's set about great building projects. 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:39.980 He's building houses. 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:40.980 Do you see what he's saying? 00:10:41.019 --> 00:10:42.299 He's building vineyards. 00:10:42.459 --> 00:10:46.240 This is presumably where his wine is coming from. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:48.240 He's building gardens. 00:10:48.379 --> 00:10:49.159 He's building pools. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:50.399 He's trying to live the life of luxury 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:54.019 with his many slaves, 00:10:54.139 --> 00:10:55.799 which is just employees, I think, 00:10:55.860 --> 00:10:56.959 people working for him. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:10:59.919 He's got possessions. 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:01.919 He's got more than anyone else 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:04.679 who's ever lived possessions. 00:11:04.939 --> 00:11:06.179 He's got silver and gold. 00:11:06.299 --> 00:11:06.399 Right? 00:11:06.419 --> 00:11:07.980 Every night he's there doing snow angels 00:11:07.980 --> 00:11:08.600 in his money. 00:11:08.699 --> 00:11:09.659 He's got tons of it. 00:11:10.019 --> 00:11:11.019 He's got singers. 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:13.579 So as well as live at the Apollo in his house, 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:15.500 he's hosting last night at the proms. 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:16.639 He's got the finest musicians 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:18.319 to come and to play their music. 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:20.320 And then he tries concubines. 00:11:20.520 --> 00:11:23.160 He tries lots and lots of sex 00:11:23.160 --> 00:11:27.060 with lots and lots of different women. 00:11:29.040 --> 00:11:30.600 And if you know anything about Solomon, 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:32.500 the way that he's portrayed in the Bible, 00:11:33.660 --> 00:11:35.500 is someone who got it tragically, 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:37.820 tragically wrong in terms of his obedience 00:11:37.820 --> 00:11:38.500 to the Lord, 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:42.420 particularly when it came to his love of women. 00:11:44.520 --> 00:11:46.080 And so Solomon's on the wild goose chase 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:47.160 trying to chase all of this, 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:49.860 trying to find satisfaction in his life. 00:11:49.939 --> 00:11:51.419 And he comes to two conclusions. 00:11:51.579 --> 00:11:53.799 And the first one might shock you a little bit. 00:11:54.459 --> 00:11:55.059 Maybe it won't. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:55.500 I don't know. 00:11:55.579 --> 00:11:57.319 Here's the first thing he says. 00:11:57.419 --> 00:11:58.459 It's all the things he tried. 00:11:59.319 --> 00:11:59.600 Right? 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:00.719 What does he say? 00:12:02.059 --> 00:12:02.639 Verse 10, 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:03.379 it was pleasurable. 00:12:05.860 --> 00:12:06.779 Things he tried, 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:07.620 if you think about it, 00:12:07.659 --> 00:12:07.839 friends, 00:12:07.899 --> 00:12:09.319 they are good things from God. 00:12:11.199 --> 00:12:11.779 Think about it. 00:12:11.779 --> 00:12:13.360 C.S. Lewis used to call these things 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:14.819 joy pointers. 00:12:16.439 --> 00:12:18.360 Things that weren't ends in themselves. 00:12:18.459 --> 00:12:20.419 They were pointing beyond themselves 00:12:20.419 --> 00:12:22.399 to the God who created all things 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:24.019 and who is the God of all joy. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:26.360 Just think about a few of these things. 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:27.559 I mean, 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:28.459 how good is it 00:12:28.459 --> 00:12:30.319 to share a meal 00:12:30.319 --> 00:12:31.179 and to laugh 00:12:31.179 --> 00:12:32.100 with friends? 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:33.679 It's a wonderful thing. 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:35.019 Alex and I have got friends that we, 00:12:35.259 --> 00:12:36.039 we've got two friends 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:37.480 and we call them the radiators. 00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:40.360 Because we spend time with them. 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:41.639 We spend time in their presence 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:42.740 and we have a laugh with them. 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:43.820 We enjoy their company. 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:44.379 And do you know what? 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.460 It is a tonic for the soul. 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:50.259 Laughter is a great thing. 00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:51.180 It's a wonderful thing. 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:52.480 Some of you will love music. 00:12:53.539 --> 00:12:53.700 I mean, 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:55.440 how good is good music? 00:12:56.860 --> 00:12:57.960 Some of you will love 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:00.519 rock music. 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:01.580 Some of you will love 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:02.560 classical music. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:04.200 I know some of you tell me 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:05.519 about your love for classical music. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:05.740 You say, 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:06.820 Handel's Messiah 00:13:06.820 --> 00:13:07.620 and you go 00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:08.480 and you hear it played 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:09.879 in somewhere like the Usher Hall 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:12.879 or the Albert Hall. 00:13:13.020 --> 00:13:13.920 These wonderful 00:13:13.920 --> 00:13:16.300 designs of architecture 00:13:16.300 --> 00:13:17.780 that people would come up with 00:13:17.780 --> 00:13:19.720 and you think, 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:20.020 wow, 00:13:20.140 --> 00:13:21.420 isn't this incredible? 00:13:22.760 --> 00:13:23.680 The intuition, 00:13:23.940 --> 00:13:25.500 the creative flair 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:26.740 that God has given mankind 00:13:26.740 --> 00:13:28.540 that we can design this stuff. 00:13:29.140 --> 00:13:29.420 And friends, 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:30.240 I think that is why 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:31.120 there was such an outpouring 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:31.720 of emotion, 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:32.220 wasn't there, 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:33.280 when we saw Notre Dame 00:13:33.280 --> 00:13:34.560 go up in flames. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:36.899 Just an outpouring of emotion, 00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:38.399 just that wonderful building. 00:13:38.459 --> 00:13:39.319 We want to keep it. 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:40.459 It's why I'd imagine 00:13:40.459 --> 00:13:41.959 there was an outpouring of money 00:13:41.959 --> 00:13:42.779 at the same time 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:44.039 to try and restore it. 00:13:45.459 --> 00:13:47.859 And God's good gift of sex. 00:13:47.939 --> 00:13:48.059 Remember, 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:49.219 we thought about this last week, 00:13:49.299 --> 00:13:50.500 this book that God has given us, 00:13:50.579 --> 00:13:51.619 the Song of Songs, 00:13:51.619 --> 00:13:53.359 the Song of Solomon, 00:13:53.459 --> 00:13:54.659 where we see this man 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:55.299 and this woman 00:13:55.299 --> 00:13:57.559 celebrating God's good design 00:13:57.559 --> 00:13:58.159 for sex 00:13:58.159 --> 00:13:59.119 within their marriage. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:00.879 this wonderful gift 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:02.100 that God has given us. 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:03.759 All these things, 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:05.740 good gifts from God. 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:08.539 But what happens 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:10.340 is that we take the good things 00:14:10.340 --> 00:14:13.340 and we make them God things. 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:16.480 We see them as ends 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:17.940 in themselves 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:18.600 and we think that 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:19.779 these things alone 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:21.740 will satisfy us. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:23.180 And we want the gifts, 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:24.639 we don't want the giver. 00:14:24.740 --> 00:14:25.779 And that's where we make 00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:27.600 our greatest mistake. 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:28.680 What is it that happens 00:14:28.680 --> 00:14:30.720 when we take these things 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:31.540 and we use them 00:14:31.540 --> 00:14:33.000 for our own pleasure? 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:34.399 You think about laughter, friends. 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:35.820 Where is it that often 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:38.200 we do all the time, 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:38.759 I'm sure, 00:14:39.680 --> 00:14:40.860 people in our world do. 00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:41.500 Where is it people 00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:42.420 get their laughs from? 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:43.040 They get it from 00:14:43.040 --> 00:14:44.560 the expense of other people. 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:47.600 Alcohol leading people 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:49.300 into addiction 00:14:49.300 --> 00:14:50.540 and all sorts of 00:14:50.540 --> 00:14:51.840 social issues. 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:53.460 Music that identifies, 00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:55.700 objectifies women 00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:58.220 and sexual objects, 00:14:58.379 --> 00:14:59.220 money that's also 00:14:59.220 --> 00:14:59.980 often connected 00:14:59.980 --> 00:15:01.240 to the abuse of power. 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:01.720 What is it? 00:15:01.740 --> 00:15:03.340 We take these good things. 00:15:05.280 --> 00:15:06.140 Friends, we abuse them 00:15:06.140 --> 00:15:06.720 and use them 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:08.440 for our own desires. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:10.580 If you look at the text again, 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:11.620 here's the key phrase 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:12.840 that Solomon is telling us 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:13.320 what he did 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:13.920 and how he used 00:15:13.920 --> 00:15:14.780 these things before. 00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:15.940 And it's that phrase 00:15:15.940 --> 00:15:16.800 for myself. 00:15:18.980 --> 00:15:19.700 Got it there 00:15:19.700 --> 00:15:20.640 at the end of verse 4. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:22.700 Chapter 2. 00:15:22.700 --> 00:15:23.640 I planted vineyards 00:15:23.640 --> 00:15:24.420 for who, Solomon? 00:15:25.140 --> 00:15:26.020 I planted them 00:15:26.020 --> 00:15:26.700 for myself. 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:28.640 Right, verse 5. 00:15:28.740 --> 00:15:29.720 I made myself 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:31.560 gardens and parks. 00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:32.240 Verse 6. 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:33.660 I made myself pools. 00:15:34.620 --> 00:15:35.220 Verse 8. 00:15:35.280 --> 00:15:36.700 I gathered for myself 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:39.120 gold and silver. 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:39.840 So what he's doing 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:41.100 is he's using these things, 00:15:41.259 --> 00:15:41.460 looking, 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:42.720 treating them as ends 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:43.540 and looking for his 00:15:43.540 --> 00:15:44.700 satisfaction and purpose 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:46.400 in life from these things. 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:47.580 He wants the gifts. 00:15:47.660 --> 00:15:48.780 He doesn't want the giver. 00:15:49.280 --> 00:15:50.180 And he tells us 00:15:50.180 --> 00:15:51.080 that it was pleasurable. 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:52.780 But what he also tells us 00:15:52.780 --> 00:15:53.660 in verse 11, 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:55.060 that as he contemplated 00:15:55.060 --> 00:15:57.100 all the energy 00:15:57.100 --> 00:15:57.940 that he expended 00:15:57.940 --> 00:15:58.500 in all of us, 00:15:58.540 --> 00:15:59.160 he concludes that 00:15:59.160 --> 00:16:00.100 it was vanity. 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:02.400 We thought about that word 00:16:02.400 --> 00:16:02.960 last week. 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:04.759 It was meaningless. 00:16:05.060 --> 00:16:05.580 And this word 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:06.720 that's probably best seen 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:07.540 by the blowing out 00:16:07.540 --> 00:16:08.120 of a candle. 00:16:08.300 --> 00:16:09.139 Remember we saw this. 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:12.700 What are you seeing? 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:15.000 The pleasure. 00:16:15.280 --> 00:16:16.020 It was there. 00:16:17.020 --> 00:16:17.920 But when I tried 00:16:17.920 --> 00:16:18.620 to grasp it, 00:16:18.660 --> 00:16:19.540 I couldn't get it. 00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:20.579 When I tried to catch it 00:16:20.579 --> 00:16:21.299 and put it in my pocket, 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:21.639 I couldn't. 00:16:21.699 --> 00:16:22.839 When I tried to bottle it 00:16:22.839 --> 00:16:23.539 and live in the moment, 00:16:23.599 --> 00:16:24.399 it was here, there, 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:25.639 and then it was gone. 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:29.099 Here's what he's concluding 00:16:29.099 --> 00:16:30.319 in his all-out search 00:16:30.319 --> 00:16:32.139 for satisfaction 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:33.599 in life without God, 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:35.779 that it was all vanity. 00:16:38.459 --> 00:16:39.500 It was like the smoke 00:16:39.500 --> 00:16:40.079 from a candle. 00:16:40.459 --> 00:16:40.740 And friends, 00:16:40.779 --> 00:16:41.419 the thing is 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:42.480 that it's not just Solomon 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:43.500 that's saying these things. 00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:44.879 Actually, 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:46.159 you see this all the time. 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:47.439 Let me just give you 00:16:47.439 --> 00:16:47.919 really quickly, 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:48.480 because of time, 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:49.980 two people 00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:51.899 who've said this recently. 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:53.480 Johnny Wilkinson. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:55.399 Okay? 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:55.679 Now, 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:56.759 I remember exactly 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:57.219 where I was 00:16:57.219 --> 00:16:57.679 when he slotted 00:16:57.679 --> 00:16:58.360 this drop goal. 00:16:59.219 --> 00:17:00.319 Exactly where I was, right? 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:01.240 Even as a Scot, 00:17:01.319 --> 00:17:01.879 I allowed myself 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:02.860 a little smile. 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:04.799 I remember exactly 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:05.220 where he was 00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:05.659 when he slotted 00:17:05.659 --> 00:17:06.259 this drop goal. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:07.159 He lived every 00:17:07.159 --> 00:17:08.899 boy's dream. 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:11.940 Picked for his country, 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:13.240 stand off, 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:14.399 gets to the Rugby 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:15.280 World Cup squad, 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:16.259 gets to the Rugby 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:17.060 World Cup final. 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:18.700 Last seconds of the game, 00:17:18.780 --> 00:17:19.900 he's presented with a chance 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:21.120 to win the World Cup, 00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:22.759 the men's Rugby World Cup 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:23.680 for his country. 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:26.240 And he slots it. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:29.860 And the thing about him 00:17:29.860 --> 00:17:30.880 is that he said this 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:31.660 in the final moments 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:33.580 of that game, right? 00:17:33.620 --> 00:17:34.040 He said, 00:17:34.100 --> 00:17:35.380 I sat in the changing room 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:35.900 in Sydney 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:37.980 after that epic battle 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:38.940 until pretty much 00:17:38.940 --> 00:17:39.920 everyone had left. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:41.920 I didn't want to 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:42.680 wave goodbye 00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:44.360 because I didn't want 00:17:44.360 --> 00:17:45.600 to let go of the moment 00:17:45.600 --> 00:17:46.759 and give in 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:48.259 to its inevitable passing. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:50.900 I had already begun 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:52.779 to feel the elation 00:17:52.779 --> 00:17:53.820 slipping away 00:17:53.820 --> 00:17:55.500 during the lap of honour 00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:56.200 around the field. 00:17:56.279 --> 00:17:57.120 Isn't that interesting? 00:17:58.759 --> 00:17:59.900 Couldn't grasp it, 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:00.900 couldn't bottle it, 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:01.700 couldn't take it, 00:18:01.740 --> 00:18:02.519 didn't want to lose it, 00:18:02.580 --> 00:18:03.120 but it went. 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:04.960 Right? 00:18:05.120 --> 00:18:05.680 Another guy, 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:06.380 Jim Carrey, 00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:07.240 was one of my favourite 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:08.240 actors growing up, 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:08.799 said this, 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:09.779 I think everybody 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:11.000 should get rich and famous 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:11.779 and do everything 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:12.720 they ever dreamed of 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:13.559 so that they can see 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:14.680 that it's not the answer. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:17.399 Friends, 00:18:17.460 --> 00:18:18.099 both testimonies 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:18.740 to the truth 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:20.559 that is it not 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:21.440 that what our world 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:22.720 offers us 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:23.819 is the good life. 00:18:25.399 --> 00:18:25.799 Friends, 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:26.319 it's at times 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:27.379 shockingly shallow. 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:29.539 And the challenge 00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:30.599 of this passage today 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:31.759 is to allow God, 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:32.859 our creator, 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:34.460 to define for us 00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:34.919 and tell us 00:18:34.919 --> 00:18:35.819 what the good life is. 00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:39.359 Solomon's saying, 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:41.179 I get you Jim, 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:42.399 I get you Johnny, 00:18:42.500 --> 00:18:43.460 I tried it too, 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:44.939 I tried it too, 00:18:45.339 --> 00:18:46.059 I lived my dream, 00:18:46.139 --> 00:18:46.619 I did everything 00:18:46.619 --> 00:18:47.379 I ever wanted 00:18:47.379 --> 00:18:48.519 and it didn't last. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:49.399 And here's, 00:18:49.439 --> 00:18:50.500 he's learned two facts 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:51.679 from his pleasure search. 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:52.500 Here's the first one, 00:18:52.539 --> 00:18:53.259 here's what he found. 00:18:54.819 --> 00:18:56.039 He thinks about the grave. 00:18:56.579 --> 00:18:57.339 After all of this 00:18:57.339 --> 00:18:57.639 he said, 00:18:57.720 --> 00:18:58.500 after he's tried it all 00:18:58.500 --> 00:18:59.599 he thinks about the grave 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:00.859 and he says, 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:02.720 verse 16 of chapter 2, 00:19:03.919 --> 00:19:04.919 how the wise 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:06.360 dies like the fool. 00:19:09.060 --> 00:19:09.360 Right? 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:09.860 He calls it, 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:10.360 what does he call it? 00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:11.880 The same event 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:12.720 happens to them both, 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:13.680 the same fate. 00:19:16.100 --> 00:19:16.400 Friends, 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:17.019 it doesn't matter 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:17.860 whether the defining 00:19:17.860 --> 00:19:18.980 letters of your life 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:19.720 are PhD 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:21.420 or LSD. 00:19:22.300 --> 00:19:22.460 Friends, 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:23.259 at the end of the day 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:25.140 we face the same event. 00:19:25.259 --> 00:19:25.880 Let me just tell you, 00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:26.480 we've moved house 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:27.080 to Libertin 00:19:27.080 --> 00:19:29.180 and I'm reminded 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:29.940 of this 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:31.240 every single day. 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:32.700 Opposite our house 00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:34.100 is our co-op funeral directors. 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:34.939 Right? 00:19:35.399 --> 00:19:36.279 Just up the road 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:37.500 is Morton Hall Cemetery, 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:38.639 crematorium rather, 00:19:39.459 --> 00:19:40.379 which means that our street 00:19:40.379 --> 00:19:41.539 is the street 00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:42.619 that hearses go up and down 00:19:42.619 --> 00:19:43.480 all the time. 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:45.619 And right opposite 00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:46.259 our house again, 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:47.299 just up from the co-op 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:47.939 funeral directors 00:19:47.939 --> 00:19:48.919 is Libertin Cemetery. 00:19:50.199 --> 00:19:51.079 And I take the girls, 00:19:51.159 --> 00:19:52.019 I walk them to nursery 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:52.659 every morning 00:19:52.659 --> 00:19:53.319 and we walk through 00:19:53.319 --> 00:19:53.799 the cemetery 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:55.139 and they have great fun 00:19:55.139 --> 00:19:55.919 just pointing at the 00:19:55.919 --> 00:19:56.399 gravestones 00:19:56.399 --> 00:19:56.959 and thinking about 00:19:56.959 --> 00:19:57.919 all the different things. 00:19:58.939 --> 00:19:59.439 Let me just tell you, 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:00.899 there are two types 00:20:00.899 --> 00:20:01.399 of gravestones 00:20:01.399 --> 00:20:01.939 that you get 00:20:01.939 --> 00:20:02.579 in that cemetery 00:20:02.579 --> 00:20:03.199 and imagine you get 00:20:03.199 --> 00:20:03.980 them in every cemetery. 00:20:05.019 --> 00:20:05.939 You get the ones 00:20:05.939 --> 00:20:06.879 full of marble, 00:20:07.419 --> 00:20:08.939 right centre piece, 00:20:09.399 --> 00:20:10.159 pride of place 00:20:10.159 --> 00:20:10.599 in the middle 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:11.319 of the cemetery, 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:12.659 full on marble, 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:14.919 maybe a cross there as well. 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:15.679 You've got angels 00:20:15.679 --> 00:20:16.500 kind of with their things 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:17.199 pointing in. 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:18.519 You've got lined candles. 00:20:18.639 --> 00:20:19.159 You've got flowers 00:20:19.159 --> 00:20:20.039 from the side. 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:21.720 You've got people 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:23.019 round it all the time 00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:24.019 coming to lay stuff 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:24.980 again and again and again 00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:25.879 and you've got the person 00:20:25.879 --> 00:20:26.439 in the corner 00:20:26.439 --> 00:20:28.699 who's got a stone 00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:31.039 and on the stone 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:32.160 is a scribbled name. 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:35.400 But friends, 00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:36.140 the same event 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:39.240 happens to them both, 00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:42.600 happens to us all. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:43.960 That's what Solomon's 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:44.460 concluded. 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:46.559 Yes, it's great 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:47.740 to live a wise life 00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:48.640 and to not live 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:49.039 as a fool, 00:20:49.120 --> 00:20:49.600 but you know what, 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:50.279 at the end of the day 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:52.500 it's the same event. 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:54.360 And secondly, 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:55.519 he thinks about his stuff, 00:20:55.600 --> 00:20:56.080 so he thinks about 00:20:56.080 --> 00:20:56.740 all this stuff 00:20:56.740 --> 00:20:57.620 that he's worked so hard 00:20:57.620 --> 00:20:58.220 to accumulate 00:20:58.220 --> 00:20:59.019 over the years, 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:00.039 all the energy 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:00.900 he's expended 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:02.160 and he thinks to himself, 00:21:02.380 --> 00:21:02.960 I'm going to have 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:03.779 to leave this 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:05.319 and I'm going to have 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:06.380 to leave it to somebody 00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:07.440 and I'm going to have 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:09.380 to leave it to my son 00:21:09.380 --> 00:21:11.200 and who knows 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.079 whether he's going to be 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:13.500 a wise man or a fool. 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:15.160 Right? 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:15.299 I mean, 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:15.940 he might just take 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:16.740 all my stuff 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:17.779 that I've worked so hard 00:21:17.779 --> 00:21:18.519 for over the years 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:19.400 and just go on 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:20.799 the party of parties 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:22.240 and just blow it all. 00:21:23.059 --> 00:21:23.599 And it must have been, 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:25.339 all my toil, 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:26.500 has that been worth it? 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:28.920 For instance, 00:21:28.980 --> 00:21:29.980 if you know your Bibles, 00:21:31.779 --> 00:21:32.559 Solomon's son, 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:33.140 Rehoboam, 00:21:33.220 --> 00:21:34.200 boy was he a fool. 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:37.160 Solomon says it, 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:38.859 it's like the candle, 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:39.920 it's all vanity. 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:41.960 What was I doing? 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:43.319 What is it all about? 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:44.319 And it's almost 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:45.279 as if this point 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:47.480 in the story 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:50.599 that Solomon 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:51.759 comes to his senses. 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:54.940 And do you notice 00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:55.480 that the me, 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:56.480 me, me, me, me, me, 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:57.379 me, me, me, me, me 00:21:57.379 --> 00:21:58.000 language 00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:59.319 that dominates 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:00.240 that first section, 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:03.039 when we hit verse 24, 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:05.640 and this is the key bit 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:06.460 for us this morning, 00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:07.960 when we hit verse 24, 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:09.200 it turns into 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:09.619 God, 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:10.160 God, 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:10.579 God, 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:10.980 God, 00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:11.319 God, 00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:11.779 God, 00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:12.420 God, 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:13.079 God language. 00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:14.420 Look at what he writes. 00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:19.220 He writes this, 00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:20.440 There is nothing better 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:21.339 for a person 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:22.519 than that he should 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:23.440 eat and drink 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:24.559 and find enjoyment 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:25.960 in his toil. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:27.559 This also I saw 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:28.579 is from the hand of God, 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:30.019 for apart from him, 00:22:30.100 --> 00:22:31.360 there's a key phrase, 00:22:32.259 --> 00:22:33.920 for apart from him, 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:35.500 who can eat 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:36.500 or who can have 00:22:36.500 --> 00:22:37.039 enjoyment? 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:38.900 For to the one 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:39.839 who pleases him, 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:41.140 God has given wisdom 00:22:41.140 --> 00:22:42.559 and knowledge and joy, 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:43.360 but to the sinner 00:22:43.360 --> 00:22:44.420 he has given the business 00:22:44.420 --> 00:22:45.700 of gathering and collecting, 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:47.039 only to give 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:48.220 to the one 00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:50.000 who pleases God. 00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:51.440 Here is Solomon's conclusion 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.839 after all is said and done. 00:22:53.619 --> 00:22:53.859 Friends, 00:22:53.980 --> 00:22:54.940 I looked out there 00:22:54.940 --> 00:22:55.940 for all my answers. 00:22:56.099 --> 00:22:56.859 I looked out there 00:22:56.859 --> 00:22:58.259 for satisfaction in life 00:22:58.259 --> 00:22:58.799 and do you know what? 00:22:58.819 --> 00:22:59.960 I did not find it. 00:23:01.159 --> 00:23:02.399 And he's encouraging us 00:23:02.399 --> 00:23:03.500 to lift our eyes 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:04.480 and not to look 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:05.420 for our answers 00:23:05.420 --> 00:23:06.759 and our meaning in life 00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:07.920 in this world 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:08.920 or inside 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:10.220 according to how we feel. 00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:11.519 He's encouraging us 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:12.319 to lift our eyes 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:13.299 and look to the creator 00:23:13.299 --> 00:23:14.019 of the ends 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:15.079 of the earth. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:19.319 The only place 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:19.960 we're going to find 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:21.579 satisfaction in this life 00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:22.200 and purpose, 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:22.899 and by the way, 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:23.680 that does not mean 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:24.440 life is easy. 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:25.539 The only place 00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:26.119 we'll find it 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:27.639 is by looking to Jesus. 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:30.359 And Jesus tells 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:31.460 a similar story, 00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:31.960 doesn't he? 00:23:31.980 --> 00:23:32.879 Not about a king 00:23:32.879 --> 00:23:36.079 who came to his senses, 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:36.960 but about a son 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:37.940 who came to his senses. 00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:42.139 A son who wanted 00:23:42.139 --> 00:23:43.240 his father dead. 00:23:44.159 --> 00:23:45.480 A son who bought 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:46.500 into the lie 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:47.319 that the good life 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:48.079 was to be found 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:49.660 away from his father 00:23:49.660 --> 00:23:50.619 rather than with him. 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:53.160 And so he says effectively, 00:23:53.299 --> 00:23:54.240 Dad, I want you dead. 00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:55.119 Dad, I don't want you. 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:56.140 Dad, I want your stuff. 00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:58.079 And the way the Greek 00:23:58.079 --> 00:23:58.460 is there, 00:23:58.539 --> 00:23:59.500 the father is literally 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:00.140 said to have 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:02.180 his insides ripped apart 00:24:02.180 --> 00:24:03.539 by his son's request. 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:05.559 But he gives his son 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:06.420 what he wants 00:24:06.420 --> 00:24:07.740 and the son lives 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:08.960 the life of Riley. 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:09.900 He goes girls, 00:24:10.039 --> 00:24:10.940 he goes parties, 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:12.240 he goes clothes, 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:13.640 he goes popularity. 00:24:13.640 --> 00:24:16.520 But the son's problem 00:24:16.520 --> 00:24:17.259 is that he believes 00:24:17.259 --> 00:24:17.780 the good life 00:24:17.780 --> 00:24:18.420 is to be found 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:19.520 away from his father. 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:23.300 And where does 00:24:23.300 --> 00:24:24.500 his search for pleasure 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:25.520 and joy take him? 00:24:25.540 --> 00:24:26.400 It takes him to 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:27.200 the pigsty. 00:24:28.520 --> 00:24:29.560 Lower and lower 00:24:29.560 --> 00:24:30.240 and lower 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:30.980 and lower 00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:32.060 he gets 00:24:32.060 --> 00:24:33.120 until he is there. 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:35.440 And there's that moment 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:36.140 in the story 00:24:36.140 --> 00:24:36.860 where he comes 00:24:36.860 --> 00:24:37.700 to his senses. 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:40.100 And he remembers 00:24:40.100 --> 00:24:40.819 his father. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:41.580 He remembers 00:24:41.580 --> 00:24:42.920 his dad. 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:43.920 And he thinks, 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:44.920 I need to get 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:45.759 to my father. 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:46.660 So he starts 00:24:46.660 --> 00:24:47.660 making the journey 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:48.120 back. 00:24:48.259 --> 00:24:48.880 And the thing 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:49.580 that's amazing 00:24:49.580 --> 00:24:50.340 about this story 00:24:50.340 --> 00:24:51.600 is that a walking 00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:52.539 son is met 00:24:52.539 --> 00:24:53.180 by what? 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:55.120 A running father. 00:24:56.200 --> 00:24:57.660 A father who runs, 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.380 who embraces 00:24:58.380 --> 00:24:59.039 his son, 00:24:59.120 --> 00:24:59.799 who was lost, 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:00.660 who is now found, 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:01.680 who embraces 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:02.420 the shame 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:03.279 that his son 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:03.759 deserved, 00:25:03.900 --> 00:25:04.860 who takes the shame 00:25:04.860 --> 00:25:05.880 on himself. 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:06.460 And says, 00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:06.840 son, 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:07.799 I love you. 00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:09.819 Fattened calf, 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.000 ring on your finger. 00:25:12.620 --> 00:25:12.900 Says, 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:13.079 son, 00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:13.700 welcome home. 00:25:14.340 --> 00:25:15.420 Jesus tells that story 00:25:15.420 --> 00:25:16.059 for a number 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:16.980 of different reasons. 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:18.019 Let me just tell you one 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:19.539 and it's to help us see, 00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:21.220 prodigal see, 00:25:21.400 --> 00:25:22.059 that true joy 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:22.819 is to be found 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:24.160 not away from the father 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:25.299 but with the father. 00:25:27.220 --> 00:25:28.279 And Jesus goes 00:25:28.279 --> 00:25:28.980 to the cross, 00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:29.440 friends, 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:30.559 so that I can know 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:33.140 that passage 00:25:33.140 --> 00:25:33.920 in Luke 15 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:34.440 not as just 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:35.299 a nice story. 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:37.500 But as a stunning 00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:38.660 reality 00:25:38.660 --> 00:25:39.259 that somebody 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:40.039 like me 00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:40.720 could come 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:41.519 to know God. 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:44.900 So why is Jesus 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:45.819 going to the cross? 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:46.920 Why does he go there? 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:48.240 To propitiate, 00:25:48.360 --> 00:25:49.180 to take the wrath 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:49.620 of God 00:25:49.620 --> 00:25:50.400 that I deserve 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:51.079 for my sin 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:52.160 against the holy God 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:53.100 on himself. 00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:54.740 Why does he go there? 00:25:55.620 --> 00:25:56.840 Why does he choose 00:25:56.840 --> 00:25:57.620 the cross? 00:25:58.000 --> 00:25:58.980 Why does he take 00:25:58.980 --> 00:25:59.559 the nails? 00:25:59.980 --> 00:26:00.799 Why does he spill 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:01.400 his blood? 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:02.680 Why does he suffer 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:03.880 the most humiliating 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:04.539 and horrific 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:05.279 of deaths? 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:06.559 answer, friends. 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:07.160 If you think about 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:07.579 what we read 00:26:07.579 --> 00:26:08.700 in John 15 earlier, 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:09.460 you can check out 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:10.740 in John 17 later. 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:12.240 He goes there 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.500 for my joy. 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:17.539 And for your joy. 00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:21.839 He goes there 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:22.399 so that I would know 00:26:22.399 --> 00:26:23.500 the joy of sin's pardon. 00:26:23.619 --> 00:26:24.160 He goes there 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:24.700 so that I would know 00:26:24.700 --> 00:26:25.279 the joy 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:26.460 of coming 00:26:26.460 --> 00:26:27.579 into this joyous 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:28.319 relationship 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:30.119 that has existed 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:31.099 for all eternity 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:32.359 between God the Father 00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:33.220 and God the Son. 00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:36.059 welcomed as an adopted 00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:37.180 child of God, 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:38.980 not because of who I am 00:26:38.980 --> 00:26:40.339 and not because 00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:41.620 I've got it sussed in life 00:26:41.620 --> 00:26:42.880 and I live a moral life. 00:26:42.980 --> 00:26:43.779 No, he does it 00:26:43.779 --> 00:26:45.980 simply by his pure grace. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:47.779 And he says, 00:26:47.900 --> 00:26:48.960 welcome home, son. 00:26:49.339 --> 00:26:50.360 This is life. 00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:51.420 This is purpose. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:52.400 This is meaning. 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:53.799 This is joy. 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:54.440 Friends, 00:26:54.519 --> 00:26:55.519 the gift of the gospel 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:56.559 is not stuff. 00:26:57.740 --> 00:26:59.420 It is not an easy life 00:26:59.420 --> 00:27:00.759 as our world defines it. 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:01.900 The gift of the gospel 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:02.720 where true joy 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:03.460 will be found 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:05.359 is when life 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:06.779 with the Father. 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:12.420 And see when you can 00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:13.019 compare that 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:13.700 with what our world 00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:15.759 offers us. 00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:18.160 Friends, 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:19.240 nothing compares. 00:27:22.539 --> 00:27:24.299 Well did C.S. Lewis say 00:27:24.299 --> 00:27:24.759 that we are 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:25.920 half-hearted creatures 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:26.640 fooling about 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:27.660 with drink and sex 00:27:27.660 --> 00:27:28.200 and ambition 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:30.440 when infinite joy 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:31.700 is offered to us. 00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:33.559 We are like a child 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:34.420 who wants to go on 00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:35.380 making mud pies 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:36.200 in the slum 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:37.920 because we cannot 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:39.019 fathom 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:40.600 what is meant 00:27:40.600 --> 00:27:41.440 by the offer 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:42.279 of a holiday 00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:43.000 at the sea. 00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:44.019 Our problem is 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:44.819 that we are well 00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:47.120 too easily pleased. 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:50.980 And so the call 00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:51.500 of heaven 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:52.140 this morning, 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:52.519 friends, 00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:53.140 and it has been 00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:54.740 a heavy time 00:27:54.740 --> 00:27:55.259 being reminded 00:27:55.259 --> 00:27:55.759 of the world 00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:56.480 in which we live, 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:58.240 is to lift our eyes 00:27:58.240 --> 00:27:59.380 to Christ 00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:00.759 and to know 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:01.400 that this is not 00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:02.259 about us having 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:02.940 all the answers 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:03.380 in life 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:04.460 and it is to know 00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:05.180 that this is not 00:28:05.180 --> 00:28:06.059 about the strength 00:28:06.059 --> 00:28:06.900 of our faith. 00:28:07.180 --> 00:28:07.860 This is about 00:28:07.860 --> 00:28:08.980 the Christ 00:28:08.980 --> 00:28:10.319 that we cling to 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:11.740 and his ability 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:12.640 to hold us. 00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:14.900 And he loves us. 00:28:15.779 --> 00:28:16.380 And the 00:28:16.380 --> 00:28:18.319 urge of this passage 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:19.140 is to run 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:19.720 to him. 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:23.660 So we started 00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:25.940 by asking ourselves, 00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:27.240 if this is the answer, 00:28:27.320 --> 00:28:28.019 what is the question? 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:28.640 Right? 00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:31.039 Well, let me just end 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:31.940 by flipping it around 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:35.420 and asking you 00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:36.380 if this is the question, 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:37.220 what is the answer? 00:28:37.340 --> 00:28:37.539 Okay? 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:39.380 And the question 00:28:39.380 --> 00:28:39.820 is the one 00:28:39.820 --> 00:28:40.400 that we find 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:40.880 in the 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:43.000 Westminster Shorter 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:43.700 Catechism. 00:28:43.840 --> 00:28:44.920 And a catechism 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:45.720 really is a 00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:47.039 document 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:48.559 that certain people 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:49.160 in the church 00:28:49.160 --> 00:28:49.700 in the UK 00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:50.860 at a certain point 00:28:50.860 --> 00:28:51.220 in time 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:51.960 got together 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:52.840 and they thought 00:28:52.840 --> 00:28:54.240 let's solidify 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:55.220 everything we believe 00:28:55.220 --> 00:28:56.519 about the Christian faith. 00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:58.299 And he put it together 00:28:58.299 --> 00:28:59.000 in a question 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:00.140 and answer format 00:29:00.140 --> 00:29:00.700 so that 00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:03.059 we could get it 00:29:03.059 --> 00:29:04.120 in our bloodstreams. 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:05.779 And people 00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:06.539 in our world 00:29:06.539 --> 00:29:07.600 could question, 00:29:07.819 --> 00:29:08.140 answer, 00:29:08.299 --> 00:29:09.279 get it in our memories, 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:10.500 get it in our bloodstreams. 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:11.059 We could read it 00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:11.579 on our own. 00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:12.160 We could read it 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:12.559 at work. 00:29:12.660 --> 00:29:13.120 We could read it 00:29:13.120 --> 00:29:13.539 at church. 00:29:13.620 --> 00:29:14.100 We could read it 00:29:14.100 --> 00:29:14.680 at Sunday school. 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:15.519 We could read it 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:16.700 at home with our families 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:18.019 as a way of passing 00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:20.279 on what the faith 00:29:20.279 --> 00:29:21.380 is all about. 00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:22.960 Question one asks, 00:29:23.140 --> 00:29:24.080 what is the chief 00:29:24.080 --> 00:29:24.860 end of man? 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:26.539 Right, 00:29:26.600 --> 00:29:27.460 exactly the same question 00:29:27.460 --> 00:29:28.000 we've been thinking 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:28.460 about today. 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:29.720 What is it all about? 00:29:29.940 --> 00:29:30.759 Why are we here? 00:29:31.059 --> 00:29:31.660 Where is purpose 00:29:31.660 --> 00:29:32.240 to be found? 00:29:32.360 --> 00:29:32.860 Where is joy 00:29:32.860 --> 00:29:33.539 to be found? 00:29:35.819 --> 00:29:36.259 Friends, 00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:37.420 the answer they came up with 00:29:37.420 --> 00:29:40.080 and it's gloriously true 00:29:40.080 --> 00:29:41.559 and it has encouraged 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:42.259 the saints 00:29:42.259 --> 00:29:43.960 down the generations. 00:29:44.220 --> 00:29:45.000 What is the chief 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:45.740 end of man? 00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:50.380 man's chief end 00:29:50.380 --> 00:29:52.920 is to glorify God 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:55.180 and enjoy Him 00:29:55.180 --> 00:29:56.340 forever. 00:29:57.640 --> 00:29:58.059 Friends, 00:29:58.140 --> 00:29:58.940 where does our help 00:29:58.940 --> 00:29:59.480 come from? 00:30:00.600 --> 00:30:01.620 We lift our eyes, 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:02.620 Psalm 121, 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:03.299 and remember that 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:04.600 our help comes 00:30:04.600 --> 00:30:06.000 from the Lord. 00:30:06.340 --> 00:30:07.559 It comes from the Lord 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:08.380 who is the creator 00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:09.160 of the heavens 00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:09.880 and the earth. 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:12.180 So friends, 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:12.640 let me just, 00:30:13.299 --> 00:30:14.120 let's just have a time 00:30:14.120 --> 00:30:14.299 of, 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:15.360 just for 30 seconds 00:30:15.360 --> 00:30:15.600 or so, 00:30:15.660 --> 00:30:16.680 just a time of silence. 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:20.319 And let me just invite you 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:21.319 to bring your own prayers 00:30:21.319 --> 00:30:22.039 to the Lord. 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:24.200 In light of everything 00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:25.960 that's gone on this morning, 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:27.059 let's bring our own prayers 00:30:27.059 --> 00:30:27.539 to Him, 00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:30.000 knowing that this is 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:30.640 the kind of God 00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:31.200 that He is. 00:30:35.220 --> 00:30:35.759 And so, 00:30:35.880 --> 00:30:36.019 Father, 00:30:36.080 --> 00:30:36.980 we would want to commit 00:30:36.980 --> 00:30:37.700 ourselves to 00:30:37.700 --> 00:30:39.019 your loving care today. 00:30:39.019 --> 00:30:41.440 Lord, 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:42.599 we realize that we are 00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:44.220 human beings 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:45.480 who are so easily 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:47.000 distracted 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:48.619 and content 00:30:48.619 --> 00:30:49.500 with other stuff. 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:51.240 And Lord, 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:52.259 I pray for each of us 00:30:52.259 --> 00:30:52.559 today 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:53.259 that you would help 00:30:53.259 --> 00:30:54.539 every single one of us 00:30:54.539 --> 00:30:56.720 to find our identity 00:30:56.720 --> 00:30:57.700 in your Son, 00:30:57.859 --> 00:30:58.119 Jesus. 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:00.480 And so, 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:00.680 Father, 00:31:00.740 --> 00:31:01.879 we cling to His words 00:31:01.879 --> 00:31:02.299 today, 00:31:02.420 --> 00:31:03.279 thinking of those words 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:04.339 that the disciples said 00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:05.200 in John's Gospel. 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:06.740 Where else will we go? 00:31:08.080 --> 00:31:09.420 For you have the words 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:10.400 of eternal life. 00:31:11.860 --> 00:31:12.279 So, 00:31:12.360 --> 00:31:12.460 Lord, 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:12.960 we pray, 00:31:13.819 --> 00:31:14.740 increase our faith. 00:31:15.900 --> 00:31:16.720 And in Jesus' name, 00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:17.460 we commit ourselves 00:31:17.460 --> 00:31:17.900 to you, 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:18.160 Father. 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:18.920 In Jesus' name. 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:19.680 Amen.