WEBVTT 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:04.860 It's good to worship with you, and it's a joy and an honor to be able to preach God's 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:05.580 word to you this morning. 00:00:06.379 --> 00:00:10.439 Please turn with me in your Bibles to Ecclesiastes chapter 1. 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:17.719 We're beginning a new sermon series today in the book of Ecclesiastes, which is part 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:21.640 of the Old Testament's wisdom literature along with Proverbs and Job. 00:00:23.980 --> 00:00:29.980 And Ecclesiastes has baffled scholars throughout the ages with its refrain that all the 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:31.420 all is vanity. 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:39.359 Again and again, the preacher of Ecclesiastes tells us all is vanity, which on the surface 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:43.780 seems contrary, contradictory with the rest of Scripture. 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:48.679 After all, 1 Corinthians 15, 58 says, 00:00:49.380 --> 00:00:55.159 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:59.040 the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:07.500 But Ecclesiastes teaches that all of our work and labor and toil on earth are in vain. 00:01:08.539 --> 00:01:14.439 For this reason, some people have discounted and dismissed the book of Ecclesiastes as too 00:01:14.439 --> 00:01:16.420 pessimistic and too skeptical. 00:01:16.420 --> 00:01:22.079 And in fact, some have even discredited the book as heretical, arguing that it doesn't belong in the 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:23.240 canon of Scripture at all. 00:01:24.060 --> 00:01:30.820 However, Ecclesiastes 7.20 is cited as Scripture in Romans 3.10, and it has been accepted as canon 00:01:30.820 --> 00:01:37.060 as the inspired and authoritative word of God from the earliest ages by both Jews and Christians. 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:40.140 And so we don't have the option of ignoring it. 00:01:40.540 --> 00:01:45.820 We must wrestle with the difficult passages and make the best sense of it that we can and 00:01:45.820 --> 00:01:47.140 live in accordance with it. 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:49.659 So that's what we're going to attempt to do in our series in Ecclesiastes. 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:52.900 Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word. 00:01:52.900 --> 00:02:01.400 Heavenly Father, you are God and we are not. 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:04.880 You are eternal. 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:07.219 We are finite. 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:11.460 You are unchanging. 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:14.520 And we change. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:17.700 We get old and die. 00:02:17.699 --> 00:02:23.679 We want your name this morning to be exalted. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:26.679 We want the pride of man to be humbled. 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:35.399 We long to be reminded of the hope that we have in Christ Jesus, our Savior. 00:02:36.739 --> 00:02:43.799 We want to be renewed in the love of the Father and filled more and more with the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:49.380 So I want you to address us now from your word and do the work that only you can do. 00:02:50.320 --> 00:02:51.640 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:02:52.160 --> 00:02:52.439 Amen. 00:02:57.160 --> 00:02:59.540 Ecclesiastes 1, 1 to 11. 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:04.320 If you are able, please stand and join me for the reading of God's word. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:15.859 The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 00:03:17.079 --> 00:03:19.560 Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:21.459 Vanity of vanities. 00:03:21.959 --> 00:03:23.379 All is vanity. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:28.419 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:34.159 A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:40.799 The sun rises and the sun goes down and hastens to the place where it rises. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.859 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north. 00:03:44.979 --> 00:03:49.719 Around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 00:03:50.939 --> 00:03:54.439 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full. 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:58.299 To the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:02.079 All things are full of weariness. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:04.560 A man cannot utter it. 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:10.400 The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 00:04:10.920 --> 00:04:16.639 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done. 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:19.939 And there is nothing new under the sun. 00:04:21.080 --> 00:04:23.080 Is there a thing of which it is said? 00:04:23.460 --> 00:04:25.000 See, this is new. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.399 It has been already in the ages before us. 00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:38.819 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:41.579 This is God's holy and authoritative word. 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:42.139 You may be seated. 00:04:42.139 --> 00:04:56.419 If you have read through the book of Ecclesiastes, which I hope all of you have, you will notice that it is a difficult book to grasp or to pen down. 00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:59.079 And I think that's actually the point. 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:12.539 The main point of Ecclesiastes is that life as we know it is a chasing after the wind, which, of course, I hope none of you have tried to do, because you can't ever grasp the wind. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:15.719 It is impossible to control. 00:05:16.299 --> 00:05:16.799 You can't. 00:05:17.060 --> 00:05:18.319 That's what life is like. 00:05:18.419 --> 00:05:22.539 You can't take life into the control of your own hands. 00:05:22.540 --> 00:05:28.319 You can't grab hold of your life's circumstances and mold it to do what you want it to do. 00:05:28.420 --> 00:05:30.060 You can't control life. 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:32.640 You can't make something of life. 00:05:32.760 --> 00:05:36.560 It slips from your grasp when you try to do so. 00:05:38.460 --> 00:05:45.460 The elusiveness of the book mirrors the elusiveness of life that it's talking about. 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:51.360 Likewise, the sheer repetitiveness of the book makes a similar point. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:59.500 The author has some 28 favorite words and related phrases that he uses over and over and over again. 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:05.500 And the style of his writing mirrors the subject of his writing, vanity of vanities. 00:06:06.340 --> 00:06:07.800 All is vanity. 00:06:08.699 --> 00:06:13.340 For the created world and human history repeat themselves endlessly. 00:06:15.699 --> 00:06:19.960 The word vanity is the key word in the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:21.919 It occurs 38 times in the book. 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:28.180 It's a translation of the Hebrew word hevel, which means breath or wind. 00:06:29.239 --> 00:06:34.259 In other words, everything under the sun is like a puff of breath. 00:06:34.979 --> 00:06:36.099 The passing wind. 00:06:36.939 --> 00:06:38.079 The wisp of smoke. 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:40.599 The vaporizing mist. 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:50.860 It's a metaphor that conveys the reality that life is temporary and transient and fleeting and futile. 00:06:51.700 --> 00:06:54.200 It's ungraspable and uncontrollable. 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:57.360 So it says in Psalm 39, 5 to 6, 00:06:57.420 --> 00:07:00.000 Behold, you have made my days a few hand breaths. 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:02.599 My lifetime is as nothing before you. 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:07.139 Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath. 00:07:07.379 --> 00:07:07.920 That's hevel. 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:11.759 Surely a man goes about as a shadow. 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:14.959 Surely for nothing they are in turmoil. 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.019 Man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather. 00:07:19.019 --> 00:07:22.560 This is the main theme of Ecclesiastes. 00:07:22.939 --> 00:07:25.740 And that's why we've titled our sermon series, 00:07:26.339 --> 00:07:27.959 Life is But a Breath. 00:07:29.339 --> 00:07:33.039 The book opens with this thesis statement in verse 2. 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:35.759 Vanity of vanities, says the preachers. 00:07:35.919 --> 00:07:38.279 Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 00:07:38.899 --> 00:07:43.180 And then it closes with the same refrain in Ecclesiastes 12 verse 8. 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:45.539 Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. 00:07:45.719 --> 00:07:47.219 All is vanity. 00:07:47.220 --> 00:07:53.180 In the Hebrew language, you express the superlative of something by using repetition. 00:07:53.380 --> 00:07:59.860 For example, the most holy place in the temple and in the tabernacle in Exodus 26, 33, for example, 00:08:00.320 --> 00:08:04.740 the most holy place is literally in Hebrew, the holy of holies. 00:08:05.520 --> 00:08:07.600 So likewise, so it means most holy place. 00:08:07.660 --> 00:08:11.980 So when you say king of kings, for example, when Jesus is the king of kings, 00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:14.040 that means he's the most high king. 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:19.960 And so when the author of Ecclesiastes says that life under the sun is vanity of vanities, 00:08:20.300 --> 00:08:22.800 he's saying that it is the most vain. 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:27.980 Vain not in the modern sense of being conceited or self-absorbed, 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:32.720 but in the sense of being without value, offering no gain. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:38.139 The Bible scholar Ian Proven translates this beautifully. 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:38.660 He says, 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:40.560 The merest of breaths. 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:42.720 The merest of breaths. 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:45.080 Everything is a breath. 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:54.080 Most people live in a pretend world that they imagine to be linear and logical. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:01.139 They imagine that if they can put their nose to the grindstone and get that next promotion 00:09:01.139 --> 00:09:03.700 or get that next paper published, 00:09:03.780 --> 00:09:07.139 or if they can be the best helicopter parent they can be, 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:11.600 or the best tiger mom that they can be and raise up healthy and successful children, 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:17.620 or if they can live frugally and invest wisely and save up so that they can buy that shiny new house, 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:22.159 or if they can woo a beautiful woman or woo a beautiful man, handsome man, 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:23.240 and finally get married, 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:27.679 if only then they can make a different life for themselves, 00:09:28.200 --> 00:09:30.919 then they will be satisfied. 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:36.259 Then they will have a lasting memorial to their name. 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:38.620 But they won't. 00:09:40.019 --> 00:09:43.120 Because death undoes it all. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:46.519 Poof. 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:48.100 Breath. 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:49.200 Gone. 00:09:51.060 --> 00:09:57.960 We live in a frustrating and confusing world that is cyclical and circular, 00:09:58.419 --> 00:10:04.220 and all creation is groaning under the weight of sin, as Romans 8.22 tells us. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:12.379 Ecclesiastes is intended to be a splash of cold water to awaken us from the stupor 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:14.940 with this soldering reality. 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:19.040 This is the main point of our passage this morning. 00:10:19.540 --> 00:10:22.500 Recognizing that life under the sun is but a breath, 00:10:22.900 --> 00:10:26.220 we should put our hope not in what we do, 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:28.820 but in what Christ has done. 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:32.940 First, we're going to talk about how we are fleeting. 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:35.780 Second, we'll talk about how we are never filled. 00:10:36.160 --> 00:10:39.220 And third, we will talk about how we will be forgotten. 00:10:39.220 --> 00:10:46.920 That, in the end, my friends, we are fleeting, unfulfilled, and forgotten. 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:49.779 That's the good news I have for you this morning. 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:54.159 And I'm not being sarcastic because I mean that. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:55.299 That is good news. 00:10:55.299 --> 00:11:02.899 If knowing that we are fleeting, unfulfilled, and forgotten on earth is depressing and discouraging 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:07.620 to you, then you do not yet appreciate the wisdom of the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:11:07.620 --> 00:11:15.019 But if knowing that truth, that you are fleeting and unfulfilled and forgotten, 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:16.100 that's what you will all be, 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:20.080 if knowing that makes you crack a smile at your own smallness, 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:24.720 if that makes you feel the freedom of insignificance, 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:28.700 if that makes you fear God and take God seriously, 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:31.919 but make yourself take yourself less seriously, 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:36.019 then you are starting to appreciate the profound wisdom of Ecclesiastes. 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.959 That's what we'll be learning over the next few months in the book. 00:11:42.939 --> 00:11:45.379 Before we dive further into the text, which I'm eager to do, 00:11:45.459 --> 00:11:47.159 let's get some preliminary things out of the way. 00:11:47.599 --> 00:11:50.179 The title of Ecclesiastes comes from verse 1, 00:11:50.259 --> 00:11:54.000 The Words of the Preacher, the Son of David, King in Jerusalem. 00:11:54.699 --> 00:11:57.240 The word preacher translates to Hebrew, 00:11:57.439 --> 00:12:00.360 which in Greek is Ecclesiastes. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:01.319 That's where we get the name. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:07.459 It means the one who gathers or the one who assembles or convenes an assembly. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.500 The Greek word for church is ekklesia, 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:14.079 which is related to Ecclesiastes, the gathering. 00:12:14.339 --> 00:12:15.299 Church means gathering, 00:12:15.479 --> 00:12:20.120 which is how we get the English translation for this word as preacher in the ESV. 00:12:20.579 --> 00:12:24.379 Someone who gathers an assembly together in order to address them. 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:27.500 And that begs the question, who is this preacher? 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:29.639 Verse 1 gives us a clue. 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:33.779 The words of the preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. 00:12:34.419 --> 00:12:37.819 We know that this preacher was a descendant of David. 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:39.699 That's what the phrase son of David means. 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:44.240 Not that he's necessarily his biological son, though that can be true. 00:12:45.460 --> 00:12:47.379 And that he was a king in Jerusalem. 00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:49.100 But we're not given a name. 00:12:49.100 --> 00:12:52.480 So strictly speaking, the book of Ecclesiastes is anonymous. 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:53.759 The author is anonymous. 00:12:54.920 --> 00:13:02.820 This is different from Proverbs 1.1, which tells us explicitly the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. 00:13:03.420 --> 00:13:05.399 So we can't know for sure who it is. 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:14.139 With that said, traditionally, both Jewish and Christian scholarship has often attributed the book to King Solomon from the 10th century BC. 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:21.659 The main reason for this is that there are several autobiographical hints in the book. 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:24.719 For example, in Ecclesiastes 1.16, 00:13:25.439 --> 00:13:31.339 I said in my heart, I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me. 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:35.159 And my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 00:13:35.819 --> 00:13:40.759 The narrator of the book confirms in 12.9 that besides being wise, 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:48.580 the preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many Proverbs with great care. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:58.879 So unsurpassed wisdom and the composition of many Proverbs are things that King Solomon is specifically associated with in Scripture. 00:13:59.980 --> 00:14:04.860 And also in chapter 2, verses 4 to 9, the preacher notes his unprecedented wealth, 00:14:04.860 --> 00:14:11.279 that he undertook great construction projects, and that he had many concubines, 00:14:11.379 --> 00:14:15.440 which also fits the description of King Solomon in 1 Kings. 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:21.419 Some modern scholars have argued that there's no way it can be Solomon because the language, 00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:25.080 the features of the language of the Hebrew in Ecclesiastes is too late. 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:30.440 But using linguistic evidence to establish the date of composition is very, very difficult. 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:37.820 And we must remember that Jewish scholars whose native tongue is Hebrew have traditionally affirmed that Solomon is the author, 00:14:38.180 --> 00:14:39.220 or at least the preacher. 00:14:40.380 --> 00:14:43.200 Moreover, even if the preacher is Solomon, 00:14:43.680 --> 00:14:48.220 we know from the text that there was a later editor involved, a redactor involved. 00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:49.080 How do we know that? 00:14:49.560 --> 00:14:53.580 At various points of the book, the preacher is referred to in the third person. 00:14:54.180 --> 00:14:56.160 For example, in 727, it says, 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:02.579 Behold, this is what I found, says the preacher, while adding one thing to another to find a scheme of things. 00:15:03.319 --> 00:15:07.539 So even though the words of the preacher make up the bulk of Ecclesiastes, 00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:13.919 this preacher, who is most likely Solomon, is not the final author and or redactor of the book. 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:21.100 The preacher himself is a character in the book and distinct from the final author of the book, 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:22.919 who remains formally anonymous. 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:27.860 We can see this most clearly in the framing structure of Ecclesiastes. 00:15:28.199 --> 00:15:30.819 Our passage this morning, chapter 1, verses 1 to 11, 00:15:30.979 --> 00:15:34.439 and the last passage of Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, verses 8 to 14, 00:15:34.839 --> 00:15:38.419 serve as brackets that frame the entire book together. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:40.759 And in both of those sections, 00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:45.939 the narrator reveals himself in the text by referring to the preacher in the third person, 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:50.179 and then summarizes and commends the words of the preacher to his audience. 00:15:50.179 --> 00:15:53.719 So then first, there is the preacher, 00:15:54.359 --> 00:15:56.159 and then two, there is the narrator, 00:15:56.500 --> 00:15:59.359 who has put the sayings of the preacher together in the current book format. 00:15:59.839 --> 00:16:02.759 And finally, behind and above them both, 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.199 there is God, the divine author, 00:16:05.599 --> 00:16:07.779 who has inspired this book of scripture. 00:16:08.219 --> 00:16:13.459 And we see all three of those levels of composition in chapter 12, verses 8 to 12. 00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:16.360 Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:17.700 All is vanity. 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.139 Besides being wise, the preacher also taught the people knowledge, 00:16:21.280 --> 00:16:23.960 weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 00:16:24.400 --> 00:16:26.340 The preacher sought to find words of delight, 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:28.420 and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:30.860 The words of the wise are like goads, 00:16:30.900 --> 00:16:33.540 and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings. 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:37.379 They are given by one shepherd, that is God. 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:41.439 My son, beware of anything beyond these, 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:43.539 of making many books there is no end, 00:16:43.639 --> 00:16:46.100 and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:50.720 So you see all three of those authors, so to speak. 00:16:50.820 --> 00:16:52.539 Here's the narrator addressing his son, 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.939 for whom he's written this book in part. 00:16:56.379 --> 00:16:59.019 And then he references the preacher whose sayings he has collected. 00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:02.159 And then there's the one shepherd, God, 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:06.319 who has given these words of the wise to goad us, 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:10.279 to push us to go and to live in the right direction. 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:13.000 Now that we've seen the forest, 00:17:13.539 --> 00:17:15.180 let's look more closely at the trees. 00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:19.019 And the first dose of reality that Ecclesiastes gives us 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:21.059 is that we are fleeting. 00:17:22.639 --> 00:17:26.460 Verse 3 poses the main question that the rest of this passage answers. 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:32.620 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:36.700 The answer to this question is nothing. 00:17:37.860 --> 00:17:42.000 Man gains nothing by all his toil under the sun. 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:48.059 The word translated gain here means profit, advantage. 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:52.200 It conveys the human desire to make a profit, 00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:57.740 profit, to find yield, a surplus, to earn dividends, 00:17:58.019 --> 00:18:00.759 to have something to show for their efforts. 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:07.000 But because we live in a hevel world that is the merest of breaths, 00:18:07.860 --> 00:18:10.039 there is actually nothing to be gained. 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:13.360 The phrase under the sun, 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:17.019 which is repeated 28 times throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:19.920 conveys the universality of this reality. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:23.960 Is there anyone in the world that does not live under the sun? 00:18:24.840 --> 00:18:25.840 No, the answer is no. 00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:32.360 Under the sun is an expression that conveys the universality of this reality. 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:35.580 Some well-meaning interpreters of the Bible in the past 00:18:35.580 --> 00:18:40.940 have understood the phrase under the sun to mean life lived apart from God. 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:46.279 A life with an earthly rather than a heavenly perspective. 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:51.879 They have contended that people should live with an above the sun perspective 00:18:51.879 --> 00:18:54.000 rather than an under the sun perspective. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:57.899 And they have asserted that the vanity that Ecclesiastes speaks of 00:18:57.899 --> 00:19:01.039 only applies to unbelievers and not to believers. 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.599 The life of unbelievers is meaningless, 00:19:05.299 --> 00:19:07.740 but the life of believers is full of meaning, so they argue. 00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:12.579 But the author of Ecclesiastes never makes such distinctions. 00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:15.500 As we will see in the coming chapters, 00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:18.879 even when we live with a divine perspective 00:19:18.879 --> 00:19:21.699 and with the wisdom that God gives us, 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:22.799 we'll see this in chapter two, 00:19:23.339 --> 00:19:27.939 there is a vanity and a futility to our toil here on earth. 00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:31.319 Life is but a breath, 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:34.179 not only for the existential nihilist, 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:37.720 but for everyone who lives under the sun, 00:19:38.220 --> 00:19:39.899 Christians and non-Christians. 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:43.380 It's the universal reality of living in a fallen world. 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:48.259 Let's look at the answer of verses four to seven more closely. 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:49.240 It says in verse four, 00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:52.220 a generation goes and a generation comes, 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:54.740 but the earth remains forever. 00:19:56.060 --> 00:19:59.720 This isn't an absolute statement about the permanence of the earth. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:01.640 We know from other parts of scripture 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:04.660 that the earth will in the end pass away, 00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:09.480 but it's a statement about the relative permanence of earth 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:11.480 compared to our fleeting lives. 00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:17.220 In 2021, Google Earth produced a video entitled 00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:20.120 Our Cities, Time-lapse in Google Earth. 00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:20.820 Have you guys seen that? 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:21.340 Anyone seen that? 00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:22.500 Wow. 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:22.980 Yeah. 00:20:24.460 --> 00:20:26.400 It's exactly what it sounds like. 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:31.620 Noting that our urban population has grown by 2.3 billion people 00:20:31.620 --> 00:20:32.920 in the last 35 years, 00:20:33.300 --> 00:20:38.140 it shows a time-lapse video of several major cities developing during that time. 00:20:38.300 --> 00:20:38.940 Satellite images. 00:20:39.860 --> 00:20:43.340 And in 1984, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:46.640 only had 325,000 people. 00:20:47.360 --> 00:20:49.180 And from the aerial perspective, 00:20:49.340 --> 00:20:51.540 the city looks mostly like an empty desert. 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:53.960 But the time-lapse view, 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:56.039 the ticks through each year, 00:20:56.180 --> 00:20:58.220 like a second per year or something like that, 00:20:58.240 --> 00:20:59.779 until it reaches 2020, 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:02.519 and the change is breathtaking. 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.319 It's a sprawling metropolis, 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:09.099 an urban center with 3.4 million people, 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:13.039 with all what used to be desert dotted 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:15.500 with these thousands and thousands of gray dots. 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:23.539 It's amazing to look at how rapidly the cities have developed. 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:26.160 During those 35 years, we could ask ourselves, 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:30.319 how many millions of people have come and gone in that city? 00:21:31.460 --> 00:21:34.400 How many millions of people were born in that city? 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:37.380 How many millions of people have died in that city? 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:41.519 But you know the one thing that doesn't change 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.480 in any of those time-lapse videos? 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:45.119 The Earth. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:47.640 It looks exactly the same. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:49.779 It doesn't move. 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:56.980 How many innovations have taken place in those cities? 00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:00.079 How much capital has been generated in those cities, 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:03.740 but the immovable mountains and the bedrock below 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:06.359 don't bat an eye? 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:10.240 By contrast to the Earth, 00:22:10.579 --> 00:22:11.779 we human beings are fleeting. 00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:16.859 It's a truism that time flies the older you get. 00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:19.399 Our lives pass before us in the blink of an eye 00:22:19.399 --> 00:22:20.759 as the Beatles song goes. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:24.099 Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be. 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:27.160 There's a shadow hanging over me. 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:29.980 Oh, yesterday came suddenly. 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:34.799 We naturally tend to be forward-thinking people. 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:38.000 We live for tomorrow, knowing that tomorrow will soon be today, 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:42.180 but we don't remember as often that today will soon become yesterday, 00:22:43.180 --> 00:22:46.519 that we'll all soon become things of yesteryear. 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:53.359 We know theoretically that we're all going to die one day, 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:57.180 but we tend to live functionally like we're going to live forever, 00:22:57.180 --> 00:23:00.079 like someone else is going to get cancer, 00:23:00.180 --> 00:23:02.339 but, oh, no, that's not going to be me. 00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:09.000 I had a good friend in seminary who was one of the healthiest people that I knew. 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:13.799 He ate this huge plate of salad before every meal, 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:16.980 more vegetable than I'd consume any entire day, 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:22.019 and then he ate as organic as whenever he could. 00:23:22.179 --> 00:23:25.699 He exercised every week, almost every day, running. 00:23:25.700 --> 00:23:31.059 When he came over to my house one day and found out that kimchi is a healthy probiotic, 00:23:31.080 --> 00:23:34.340 he ate a plate full of it by himself, all by itself, without any rice. 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:35.660 Yeah. 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:40.240 He's a great guy, a better man than I was, and I am. 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:42.600 He died when he was 40 years old. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:44.600 Died of cancer. 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:46.660 It was my first funeral for a friend. 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:51.720 If anybody deserved to live a long, healthy life, he did. 00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:54.319 It's heaven. 00:23:55.700 --> 00:23:57.519 A mere breath. 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:06.400 Life is always beyond our grasp, 00:24:06.980 --> 00:24:10.600 and Ecclesiastes teaches us to live with the end in view, 00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:12.720 to live with our certain death in view. 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:17.100 Contrast the brevity of your life with the longevity of the earth, 00:24:17.600 --> 00:24:21.100 the transience of your life with the relative permanence of the earth. 00:24:21.100 --> 00:24:24.039 A generation goes and a generation comes, 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:26.420 but the earth remains forever. 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:33.000 Then the preacher uses examples from nature in verses 5 to 7 to illustrate this truth. 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:48.259 Do you see the cyclicity, the circularity of it all? 00:24:48.259 --> 00:25:01.220 The whole creation comes and goes. 00:25:01.220 --> 00:25:06.579 In Hebrew, this fact is emphasized all the more by the repetition of certain words. 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:10.220 In verse 4, it says a generation goes and a generation comes. 00:25:10.220 --> 00:25:19.460 The word goes in Hebrew is the same word that is translated blows and goes in the wind blows and around goes the wind in verse 6. 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:26.420 The same word is translated as run and flow in all the streams run and the streams flow in verse 7. 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:35.680 Similarly, the words comes in a generation comes in verse 4 is the same Hebrew word that is translated goes down in the sun goes down in verse 5. 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:44.720 So then the coming and going, the coming and going of generations is mere than the coming and goings of the sun and the wind and the streams. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:51.500 I know some of you really like the musical Filler on the roof. 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:56.900 I think there's some of you who have performed it to each other and maybe have memorized the whole thing. 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:01.059 There's a beautiful and haunting song. 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:01.900 I won't name any names. 00:26:02.539 --> 00:26:08.319 There is a beautiful, haunting song called Sunrise Sunset in that musical that goes like this. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:10.839 Is this the little girl I carried? 00:26:11.439 --> 00:26:13.019 Is this the little boy at play? 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:15.399 I don't remember growing older. 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:16.500 When did they? 00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:19.000 When did she get to be a beauty? 00:26:19.439 --> 00:26:21.220 When did he grow to be so tall? 00:26:21.919 --> 00:26:23.619 Wasn't it yesterday when they were small? 00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:25.559 Sunrise, sunset. 00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:27.659 Sunrise, sunset. 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:30.039 Swiftly flow the days. 00:26:30.859 --> 00:26:32.960 Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers. 00:26:33.379 --> 00:26:34.879 Blossoming even as we gaze. 00:26:35.539 --> 00:26:36.799 Sunrise, sunset. 00:26:37.159 --> 00:26:38.259 Sunrise, sunset. 00:26:38.899 --> 00:26:41.759 Swiftly fly the years, one season following another. 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:45.799 That's what our life is like. 00:26:46.859 --> 00:26:49.899 Every day the sun rises, the sun sets. 00:26:50.439 --> 00:26:53.019 Every day people are born and people die. 00:26:54.099 --> 00:26:55.179 Sunrise, sunset. 00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:57.659 A generation comes and generation goes. 00:26:58.419 --> 00:27:04.480 Some people are so desperate to hold on to their lives, to live another day, to live another year. 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:09.180 But our lives are like the wind which blows to the south and goes around to the north. 00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:11.360 You can't hold on to it. 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:13.079 You can't control it. 00:27:13.380 --> 00:27:14.980 Around and around goes the wind. 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:17.579 Maybe you'll make it big with your business. 00:27:17.579 --> 00:27:19.000 Maybe you won't. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:21.799 Maybe you'll make a lot of money. 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:24.460 Maybe you'll lose it all in a stock market crash. 00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:27.119 Maybe you'll live till 90. 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:30.099 Maybe today is the last day of your life. 00:27:30.099 --> 00:27:33.099 You will never know. 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:37.859 Your life is like the wind that blows. 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:40.059 Similarly, verse 7 says, 00:27:40.139 --> 00:27:42.819 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full. 00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:45.979 To the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:49.179 Every day we can observe the ebb and flow of the seas. 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:51.959 The waves come in and then they go out. 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:55.139 All the rain water comes down to make the streams. 00:27:55.419 --> 00:27:57.859 And then those streams all flow down to the sea. 00:27:58.899 --> 00:28:02.379 And then some of those waters evaporate until the clouds get heavy. 00:28:02.380 --> 00:28:03.620 And then it rains again. 00:28:03.620 --> 00:28:07.140 And then the process repeats itself again and again and again. 00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:10.580 Just as the created world is cyclical, 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:14.460 the generations are cyclical. 00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:15.660 They come and go. 00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:21.600 Verse 7 and 8 continue this theme and teach us that we are also never filled. 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:23.580 It says in verse 8, 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:25.540 All things are full of weariness. 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:27.040 A man cannot utter it. 00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:31.160 The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:35.960 The word filled, there is the same word that was used in verse 7, 00:28:36.380 --> 00:28:40.220 when it said all streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full. 00:28:40.860 --> 00:28:45.180 Once again, the author of Ecclesiastes is suggesting that the pattern of creation 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:49.100 is mirror in our own lives, in the state of humanity. 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:53.400 No matter how many streams for how many years empty into the sea, 00:28:53.840 --> 00:28:55.060 the sea is never full. 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:57.940 Likewise, humans are like that. 00:28:57.940 --> 00:29:02.360 And verse 8 mentions three things about human beings that are never full, 00:29:02.700 --> 00:29:04.660 that are never filled, never satisfied. 00:29:04.900 --> 00:29:07.660 First, all things are full of weariness. 00:29:07.779 --> 00:29:09.220 A man cannot utter it. 00:29:10.420 --> 00:29:15.420 The Hebrew word that is translated things here is the same word that also means words. 00:29:16.220 --> 00:29:17.460 So there's a parallel here. 00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:24.420 The word utter in Hebrew is a verbal form of that same word that was translated things. 00:29:25.600 --> 00:29:29.880 All words, all things, all words are full of weariness. 00:29:30.019 --> 00:29:31.480 A man cannot utter it. 00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:39.039 The weariness of all that is under the sun is such that a man cannot utter it. 00:29:39.380 --> 00:29:42.740 He cannot adequately express it. 00:29:42.740 --> 00:29:48.720 No words suffice, no matter how many hours and how many days I stand here and preach to you, 00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:52.380 I can never finish talking about the weariness of the earth. 00:29:54.700 --> 00:29:57.539 No matter how much one speaks about it, it's not enough. 00:29:57.640 --> 00:29:59.539 There is no end to human speech. 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:06.420 Similarly, the eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing. 00:30:06.420 --> 00:30:13.360 There's been approximately 500,000 feature length films that have been released and way more TV shows. 00:30:14.580 --> 00:30:17.060 But will we ever get to a point where we say, 00:30:17.600 --> 00:30:18.580 well, I've seen enough. 00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:20.180 I won't watch anything anymore. 00:30:21.320 --> 00:30:23.600 No, there's a line at the cinema every summer, isn't there? 00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:32.380 Will there ever be an end to people ogling eye candy? 00:30:33.380 --> 00:30:34.220 Male or female? 00:30:36.420 --> 00:30:39.740 Will there ever be an end to tourism? 00:30:40.360 --> 00:30:44.820 Visiting national parks and monuments, UNESCO World Heritage Sites and so on? 00:30:45.600 --> 00:30:46.880 No, there's no end. 00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:52.340 The eye is never filled, never satisfied with seeing. 00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:56.519 Nor the ear filled with hearing. 00:30:57.600 --> 00:31:01.160 Spotify has more than 100 million tracks on it. 00:31:02.120 --> 00:31:05.620 100,000 tracks are added to it every single day. 00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:09.300 But people are still always looking for new music. 00:31:12.500 --> 00:31:16.700 Like the sea that is always being filled yet is never full. 00:31:16.980 --> 00:31:19.519 Our mouths never have enough of speaking. 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:22.120 And our eyes never have enough of seeing. 00:31:22.320 --> 00:31:24.340 And our ears never have enough of hearing. 00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:27.459 We will never get to a place where we have said, 00:31:28.259 --> 00:31:31.859 I've said enough, I've seen enough, I've heard enough, 00:31:31.859 --> 00:31:36.959 in order to remedy the weariness of all our toil here on earth. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:44.079 This is why it is foolish to try to fill and satisfy ourselves here on earth. 00:31:45.579 --> 00:31:48.720 To seek fulfillment here under the sun. 00:31:49.660 --> 00:31:53.740 John D. Rockefeller was the richest man in the world in the 1900s. 00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:57.920 He was once asked by a reporter, how much money is enough money? 00:31:59.500 --> 00:32:04.559 To which he famously replied, some of you know, just a little more. 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:12.419 Tom Brady, who was formerly the quarterback of the New England Patriots, 00:32:13.619 --> 00:32:15.759 is considered the greatest quarterback of all time. 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:21.119 In 2005, Tom Brady was interviewed by the TV show 60 Minutes, 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:23.940 where he reflected on his success so far, saying, 00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:30.179 why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think that there is something greater out there for me? 00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:34.740 I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, hey man, this is what it is. 00:32:35.259 --> 00:32:36.900 I've reached my goal, my dreams. 00:32:37.660 --> 00:32:39.799 But it's got to be more than this. 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:43.660 This can't be what it's all cracked up to be. 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:44.759 I mean, I've done it. 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:46.560 What else is there for me? 00:32:48.340 --> 00:32:50.660 And the interviewer asked him, so what is the answer to that question? 00:32:51.259 --> 00:32:52.600 And he says, well, I wish I knew. 00:32:54.320 --> 00:32:57.519 And then later in the interview, when he was asked by the same interviewer, 00:32:57.519 --> 00:33:00.339 which of your Super Bowl rings is your favorite? 00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:01.440 Which one do you like the best? 00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:02.599 He had three at that point. 00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:04.339 His answer was revealing. 00:33:05.379 --> 00:33:06.400 The next one. 00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:09.480 The next one's the best. 00:33:12.259 --> 00:33:14.420 We are never satisfied. 00:33:17.879 --> 00:33:20.920 Tom Brady retired with seven Super Bowl rings, 00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:24.740 saying that he wants to spend more time with his family. 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:28.579 His wife, Gisele Bundchen, was pleading with him to have more time with his family. 00:33:28.660 --> 00:33:30.839 So he retired with seven Super Bowl rings. 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:34.420 And then he came back out of retirement to play again. 00:33:36.920 --> 00:33:39.400 Because he still wanted that next ring. 00:33:40.599 --> 00:33:42.039 And then his wife divorced him. 00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:49.240 We are never filled. 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:54.620 What are you trying to fill your life with? 00:33:59.620 --> 00:34:03.519 What are you seeking to be fulfilled by here under the sun? 00:34:06.620 --> 00:34:09.039 Remember that we are a bucket without a bottom. 00:34:12.179 --> 00:34:13.500 We will never be filled. 00:34:13.659 --> 00:34:16.159 So it is futile to try to fill ourselves. 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:21.960 As fourth century African pastor Augustine says to God in his confessions, 00:34:22.500 --> 00:34:25.199 thou movest us to delight in praising thee. 00:34:25.539 --> 00:34:28.000 For thou hast formed us for thyself. 00:34:28.259 --> 00:34:31.659 And our hearts are restless till they find rest in thee. 00:34:33.319 --> 00:34:36.739 Our hearts are restless until they find rest in God. 00:34:36.879 --> 00:34:39.219 Because God has formed us for himself. 00:34:39.219 --> 00:34:44.219 What are the things in life that you're seeking to be filled and satisfied by? 00:34:44.299 --> 00:34:45.019 Is it relationships? 00:34:45.659 --> 00:34:46.679 Is it success? 00:34:46.819 --> 00:34:47.719 Is it respect? 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:48.899 Is it fame? 00:34:49.019 --> 00:34:49.799 Is it wealth? 00:34:49.939 --> 00:34:50.719 Is it sex? 00:34:50.839 --> 00:34:51.559 Is it affection? 00:34:52.839 --> 00:34:54.739 God says in Jeremiah 2.13, 00:34:54.839 --> 00:34:56.699 My people have committed two evils. 00:34:57.139 --> 00:34:59.819 They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, 00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:02.259 and hewed out cisterns for themselves, 00:35:02.759 --> 00:35:06.359 broken sisters that can hold no water. 00:35:06.360 --> 00:35:13.039 Life under the sun can never fill up. 00:35:13.640 --> 00:35:14.720 It was never intended to. 00:35:17.740 --> 00:35:20.260 There is a third humbling truth that we find in this passage, 00:35:20.380 --> 00:35:20.960 and that is this. 00:35:21.539 --> 00:35:23.300 We will be forgotten. 00:35:25.660 --> 00:35:27.300 He says in verses 9 and 10, 00:35:27.300 --> 00:35:29.380 What has been is what will be. 00:35:29.580 --> 00:35:31.820 And what has been done is what will be done. 00:35:32.019 --> 00:35:33.840 And there is nothing new under the sun. 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:36.039 Is there a thing of which it is said, 00:35:36.200 --> 00:35:37.240 See, this is new? 00:35:37.620 --> 00:35:40.940 It has been already in the ages before us. 00:35:41.539 --> 00:35:44.100 This is one of the most famous lines from the book. 00:35:44.140 --> 00:35:45.360 I'm sure you've heard it before. 00:35:45.740 --> 00:35:48.340 There is nothing new under the sun. 00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:50.380 What has been is what will be, 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:51.900 and what has been will be again. 00:35:51.900 --> 00:35:58.780 When the astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person ever to walk on the moon in 1969, 00:35:59.000 --> 00:35:59.440 he remarked, 00:35:59.579 --> 00:36:01.460 That's one small step for a man, 00:36:01.860 --> 00:36:03.599 one giant leap for mankind. 00:36:05.200 --> 00:36:06.139 But was it? 00:36:07.579 --> 00:36:08.840 Was that really groundbreaking? 00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:09.800 Was that really new? 00:36:12.019 --> 00:36:14.579 No, something like that has happened many times before. 00:36:14.579 --> 00:36:19.319 When Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas in the 16th century, 00:36:19.699 --> 00:36:21.039 connected Europe to the Americas, 00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:23.619 when Zhang He, the Chinese admiral and explorer, 00:36:23.739 --> 00:36:26.659 traveled to Brunei, Java, Thailand, Southeast Asia, India, 00:36:26.799 --> 00:36:29.519 and Horn of Africa and Arabia in the 15th century, 00:36:30.380 --> 00:36:33.799 when the Venetian merchant Marco Polo 00:36:33.799 --> 00:36:36.860 traveled through Asia along the Silk Road in the 13th century. 00:36:37.619 --> 00:36:38.759 It's already been done. 00:36:38.760 --> 00:36:46.220 And what has been done is what will be done again. 00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:50.780 Do you think that now that we have put a man on the moon that we're done? 00:36:51.180 --> 00:36:51.460 No. 00:36:51.820 --> 00:36:52.600 Next is Mars. 00:36:54.660 --> 00:36:55.640 What's after that? 00:36:56.060 --> 00:36:57.120 Maybe the next planet. 00:36:57.240 --> 00:36:59.920 If the technology is advanced and we could travel faster than light, 00:37:00.140 --> 00:37:00.620 who knows? 00:37:02.160 --> 00:37:04.200 You could explore the entire Milky Way 00:37:04.200 --> 00:37:06.240 and the human beings will still not be done 00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:10.079 because there will be two trillion other galaxies still left to explore. 00:37:12.879 --> 00:37:15.079 What has been done is what will be done. 00:37:15.359 --> 00:37:16.899 And there's nothing new under the sun. 00:37:17.439 --> 00:37:21.159 Is there anything in the world of which we can truly say this is new? 00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:25.519 This will interrupt the cyclicity and circularity of life? 00:37:25.979 --> 00:37:27.299 No, there is no such thing. 00:37:28.619 --> 00:37:32.379 Is anything really new in an absolute sense 00:37:32.380 --> 00:37:37.079 before Albert Einstein developed the proposed general theory of relativity, 00:37:37.640 --> 00:37:40.840 explained how gravity is connected to space-time in the 20th century. 00:37:41.200 --> 00:37:42.680 Before him, there was Isaac Newton, 00:37:43.240 --> 00:37:46.340 who explained the physics of gravity and motion in the 17th century. 00:37:46.780 --> 00:37:48.460 And before Newton, there was Galileo, 00:37:48.660 --> 00:37:50.340 who discovered the principle of inertia 00:37:50.340 --> 00:37:53.700 and figured out how to calculate acceleration of objects by gravity. 00:37:53.699 --> 00:37:59.299 Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928 00:37:59.299 --> 00:38:04.659 is estimated to have saved 200 to 500 million lives over the last 100 years. 00:38:05.500 --> 00:38:08.839 A study published in The Lancet in 2024 estimates 00:38:08.839 --> 00:38:10.659 that vaccinations throughout the world 00:38:10.659 --> 00:38:14.559 have saved 154 million lives over the past 50 years. 00:38:15.739 --> 00:38:19.319 We now have imaging technologies like x-rays and ultrasound, 00:38:19.480 --> 00:38:21.099 CT scans and MRI scans. 00:38:21.099 --> 00:38:23.759 We even have gene editing technologies like CRISPR. 00:38:24.139 --> 00:38:31.299 But the 2019 to 2020 average lifespan is still 72.6 to 73.2, 00:38:32.339 --> 00:38:38.819 which is exactly what Psalm 90.10 said 3,000 years ago. 00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:41.639 The years of our life are 70, 00:38:42.099 --> 00:38:44.380 or even by reason of strength, 80. 00:38:46.599 --> 00:38:47.739 What's really new? 00:38:51.099 --> 00:38:54.219 Sure, we can travel through the sky on planes nowadays, 00:38:54.319 --> 00:38:56.279 which has radically changed the way we travel. 00:38:56.839 --> 00:39:00.319 But is that really all that different from the invention of the internal combustion engine 00:39:00.319 --> 00:39:02.460 and the rise of locomotives and the automobiles? 00:39:02.779 --> 00:39:05.679 Is that really more revolutionary than the invention of the wheel 00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:09.239 and the invention of ships in the fourth millennium BC? 00:39:10.380 --> 00:39:12.699 All the same, we still live on the same old earth 00:39:12.699 --> 00:39:14.880 that human beings have lived on since the beginning of creation. 00:39:14.880 --> 00:39:21.519 It's hevel. 00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:24.800 Mere breath. 00:39:27.539 --> 00:39:29.480 Are you infatuated with novelty? 00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:33.800 Are you always looking for the next big thing? 00:39:34.559 --> 00:39:35.860 Do you think something new, 00:39:36.680 --> 00:39:38.780 a new job, a new invention, 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:40.980 a new technology, a new house, 00:39:40.980 --> 00:39:44.199 a new car, a new phone, a new robot, 00:39:44.579 --> 00:39:46.719 or new boyfriend, a new girlfriend, 00:39:47.199 --> 00:39:50.940 will finally satisfy you and make your life all that is cracked up to be? 00:39:52.780 --> 00:39:54.860 The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis 00:39:54.860 --> 00:39:57.579 is an imagined series of letters between two demons, 00:39:57.699 --> 00:39:59.219 the senior demon, Screwtape, 00:39:59.460 --> 00:40:01.880 and the junior demon, Wormwood, 00:40:02.460 --> 00:40:03.699 who happens to be his nephew. 00:40:04.360 --> 00:40:07.179 And this is the counsel that Screwtape gives Wormwood 00:40:07.179 --> 00:40:09.440 on getting Christians to turn away from God. 00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:13.420 The horror of the same old thing 00:40:13.420 --> 00:40:17.500 is one of the most valuable passions we have produced in the human heart. 00:40:18.579 --> 00:40:21.800 An endless source of heresies in religion, 00:40:22.300 --> 00:40:23.400 folly in counsel, 00:40:23.760 --> 00:40:25.019 infidelity in marriage, 00:40:25.260 --> 00:40:27.400 and inconstancy in friendship, 00:40:27.900 --> 00:40:31.420 driven by the drive for the new thing. 00:40:31.420 --> 00:40:41.500 Dovelty always brings diminishing returns. 00:40:42.420 --> 00:40:43.320 That new thing, 00:40:43.460 --> 00:40:44.320 that next thing, 00:40:44.360 --> 00:40:45.700 is not going to satisfy you. 00:40:47.940 --> 00:40:49.680 Verse 11 continues the thought, 00:40:49.800 --> 00:40:51.720 there is no remembrance of former things, 00:40:51.780 --> 00:40:53.900 nor will there be any remembrance of later things 00:40:53.900 --> 00:40:55.559 yet to be among those who come after. 00:40:55.559 --> 00:41:01.699 Being forgotten is a disheartening prospect for all humans, 00:41:02.380 --> 00:41:07.039 but being forgotten is an especially disturbing idea 00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:09.500 for the biblical imagination. 00:41:10.739 --> 00:41:13.840 Your memory of being wiped off the face of the earth 00:41:13.840 --> 00:41:16.659 is considered the ultimate curse in Scripture. 00:41:18.000 --> 00:41:21.259 So speaking of tyrants that God has delivered his people from, 00:41:21.260 --> 00:41:23.280 Isaiah 26, 14 says this, 00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:24.140 they are dead, 00:41:24.520 --> 00:41:25.640 they will not live, 00:41:25.960 --> 00:41:26.860 they are shades, 00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:28.000 they will not arise. 00:41:28.360 --> 00:41:29.040 To that end, 00:41:29.120 --> 00:41:30.560 you have visited them with destruction 00:41:30.560 --> 00:41:34.240 and wiped out all remembrance of them. 00:41:35.820 --> 00:41:37.440 But being forgotten 00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:39.820 is the ultimate lot 00:41:39.820 --> 00:41:43.240 of all those who live in the fallen world, 00:41:43.660 --> 00:41:44.920 Christians and non-Christians. 00:41:44.920 --> 00:41:49.280 Maybe some of you have been watching 00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:51.000 the Paris Olympics this past week. 00:41:51.220 --> 00:41:51.980 Have you guys been watching that? 00:41:52.200 --> 00:41:52.300 Yeah. 00:41:53.159 --> 00:41:54.039 A few more people 00:41:54.039 --> 00:41:55.880 than the Google Earth video. 00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:58.360 Surely everyone knows 00:41:58.360 --> 00:41:59.800 who Simone Biles is, 00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:03.360 the Olympic gold medal winning gymnast. 00:42:05.220 --> 00:42:06.460 Everyone knows her now. 00:42:07.680 --> 00:42:09.599 But will people know who she is 00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:10.980 50 years from now? 00:42:10.980 --> 00:42:16.679 Do you know who Olga Corbett is? 00:42:18.240 --> 00:42:19.019 No, you don't. 00:42:19.139 --> 00:42:19.240 Yeah. 00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:22.380 Do you know who Nadia Comaneci is? 00:42:22.760 --> 00:42:24.559 Who Larissa Latinina is? 00:42:24.659 --> 00:42:26.579 Who Vera Kaslavska is? 00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:30.059 I don't know who they were either. 00:42:31.099 --> 00:42:33.039 These are all female gymnasts 00:42:33.039 --> 00:42:34.740 who dominated the Olympics 00:42:34.740 --> 00:42:35.860 for decades, 00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:37.340 50 to 60 years ago. 00:42:37.760 --> 00:42:39.000 And not a single one of you know. 00:42:40.980 --> 00:42:45.179 Even the most well-known, 00:42:45.320 --> 00:42:46.480 the most famous people 00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:47.199 throughout history 00:42:47.199 --> 00:42:48.320 are not known today 00:42:48.320 --> 00:42:49.360 like they were known 00:42:49.360 --> 00:42:50.219 in their own days. 00:42:50.699 --> 00:42:52.159 There is no remembrance 00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:53.260 of former things. 00:42:54.019 --> 00:42:54.980 Nor will there be 00:42:54.980 --> 00:42:55.599 any remembrance 00:42:55.599 --> 00:42:56.519 of later things 00:42:56.519 --> 00:42:57.219 yet to be 00:42:57.219 --> 00:42:58.480 among those who come after. 00:42:59.460 --> 00:43:00.539 Maybe you're consumed 00:43:00.539 --> 00:43:02.900 with leaving a lasting legacy, 00:43:03.760 --> 00:43:05.159 with making a difference 00:43:05.159 --> 00:43:05.800 in the world. 00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:07.760 Maybe you want to break 00:43:07.760 --> 00:43:09.420 new ground in your research. 00:43:09.420 --> 00:43:11.079 But there is nothing new 00:43:11.079 --> 00:43:11.659 under the sun. 00:43:13.159 --> 00:43:14.320 I could assure you 00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:15.500 from the authority of Scripture 00:43:15.500 --> 00:43:17.119 that you will not break new ground, 00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:18.380 but what is certain 00:43:18.380 --> 00:43:19.579 that you will be buried 00:43:19.579 --> 00:43:20.119 in the ground. 00:43:20.119 --> 00:43:22.119 that you will be buried 00:43:22.119 --> 00:43:23.119 in your life. 00:43:27.359 --> 00:43:29.039 That's the humbling wisdom 00:43:29.039 --> 00:43:29.839 of Ecclesiastes. 00:43:31.779 --> 00:43:33.619 We jostle with one another 00:43:33.619 --> 00:43:35.480 to get ahead of one another. 00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:37.440 We compete against each other 00:43:37.440 --> 00:43:38.900 for scarce resources 00:43:38.900 --> 00:43:40.019 and opportunities 00:43:40.019 --> 00:43:41.960 in the rat race of life, 00:43:42.659 --> 00:43:44.219 not realizing that we're all 00:43:44.219 --> 00:43:44.940 on a hamster wheel. 00:43:46.900 --> 00:43:47.779 What's the hurry? 00:43:47.780 --> 00:43:52.700 But here's why 00:43:52.700 --> 00:43:53.560 this is good news. 00:43:55.480 --> 00:43:56.460 Here's the difference 00:43:56.460 --> 00:43:56.860 it makes 00:43:56.860 --> 00:43:57.600 in the way we live. 00:43:58.320 --> 00:43:59.320 If we know 00:43:59.320 --> 00:44:00.740 that we're on a hamster wheel, 00:44:01.740 --> 00:44:04.040 if we know 00:44:04.040 --> 00:44:05.300 that this fallen world 00:44:05.300 --> 00:44:06.200 is cyclical, 00:44:06.820 --> 00:44:07.920 that we're not going 00:44:07.920 --> 00:44:09.800 to run ourselves haggard 00:44:09.800 --> 00:44:11.320 and work our fingers 00:44:11.320 --> 00:44:12.200 down to the bone 00:44:12.200 --> 00:44:14.180 in order to achieve something 00:44:14.180 --> 00:44:16.100 or find significance 00:44:16.099 --> 00:44:16.920 under the sun 00:44:16.920 --> 00:44:17.860 because we're not going 00:44:17.860 --> 00:44:18.940 to find that here. 00:44:22.579 --> 00:44:24.139 And knowing this 00:44:24.139 --> 00:44:26.500 gives us the presence 00:44:26.500 --> 00:44:27.179 of mind 00:44:27.179 --> 00:44:29.299 and a sense of humor 00:44:29.299 --> 00:44:31.839 to enjoy the ride. 00:44:38.559 --> 00:44:39.400 Does that mean 00:44:39.400 --> 00:44:40.400 we don't work hard anymore? 00:44:40.860 --> 00:44:41.679 Not at all. 00:44:41.679 --> 00:44:44.099 We work very hard, 00:44:44.619 --> 00:44:46.219 but not for the sake 00:44:46.219 --> 00:44:47.059 of our gain. 00:44:47.980 --> 00:44:49.039 Not for the sake 00:44:49.039 --> 00:44:49.899 of profit. 00:44:50.399 --> 00:44:51.799 Not for some dividends 00:44:51.799 --> 00:44:53.539 or some guaranteed outcome 00:44:53.539 --> 00:44:54.879 here on earth. 00:44:56.899 --> 00:44:58.559 Not so that we can be filled 00:44:58.559 --> 00:44:59.519 and satisfied 00:44:59.519 --> 00:45:00.259 under the sun. 00:45:01.539 --> 00:45:02.819 Not in order to leave 00:45:02.819 --> 00:45:03.699 a lasting legacy 00:45:03.699 --> 00:45:04.339 to our name. 00:45:04.940 --> 00:45:06.419 No, we work hard 00:45:06.419 --> 00:45:07.319 for the sake 00:45:07.319 --> 00:45:08.879 of faithfulness 00:45:08.879 --> 00:45:09.460 to God 00:45:09.460 --> 00:45:12.559 because it pleases Him. 00:45:14.559 --> 00:45:15.940 Our righteous toil, 00:45:16.179 --> 00:45:17.380 even in this futile 00:45:17.380 --> 00:45:18.740 and disappointing world, 00:45:19.139 --> 00:45:20.500 is pleasing to Him, 00:45:20.860 --> 00:45:22.059 brings glory to Him. 00:45:22.320 --> 00:45:23.440 That's why we work hard. 00:45:27.240 --> 00:45:28.300 Recognizing that life 00:45:28.300 --> 00:45:29.079 under the sun 00:45:29.079 --> 00:45:30.039 is but a breath 00:45:30.039 --> 00:45:30.860 enables us 00:45:30.860 --> 00:45:31.820 to put our hope 00:45:31.820 --> 00:45:33.519 not in what we do, 00:45:33.800 --> 00:45:34.800 but in what Christ 00:45:34.800 --> 00:45:35.860 has done. 00:45:35.860 --> 00:45:39.400 The most important thing 00:45:39.400 --> 00:45:39.980 about us 00:45:39.980 --> 00:45:41.720 is not what we have done 00:45:41.720 --> 00:45:42.559 or are doing 00:45:42.559 --> 00:45:43.579 or will do. 00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:45.680 It's what Christ 00:45:45.680 --> 00:45:46.920 has already done for us. 00:45:48.640 --> 00:45:50.120 That's where we find 00:45:50.120 --> 00:45:50.760 our identity 00:45:50.760 --> 00:45:51.960 and significance. 00:45:52.920 --> 00:45:54.200 It's at the cross 00:45:54.200 --> 00:45:55.160 of Jesus Christ 00:45:55.160 --> 00:45:55.880 that we learn 00:45:55.880 --> 00:45:56.900 that we are simultaneously 00:45:56.900 --> 00:45:58.059 more sinful 00:45:58.059 --> 00:46:00.820 than we have ever feared, 00:46:00.820 --> 00:46:03.320 but also more loved 00:46:03.320 --> 00:46:04.140 and cherished 00:46:04.140 --> 00:46:05.320 than we had ever 00:46:05.320 --> 00:46:05.980 dared to hope. 00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:10.360 Brothers and sisters, 00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:11.280 we don't create 00:46:11.280 --> 00:46:12.180 anything ever 00:46:12.180 --> 00:46:13.059 that is truly new 00:46:13.059 --> 00:46:13.580 in this world 00:46:13.580 --> 00:46:14.480 because there's only 00:46:14.480 --> 00:46:15.140 one person 00:46:15.140 --> 00:46:16.760 who makes something new 00:46:16.760 --> 00:46:18.519 and that's Jesus. 00:46:20.140 --> 00:46:22.000 It says in 2 Corinthians 5, 00:46:22.059 --> 00:46:22.840 14-17, 00:46:23.080 --> 00:46:24.559 Christ has died for all, 00:46:24.960 --> 00:46:26.240 therefore all have died 00:46:26.240 --> 00:46:27.740 and He died for all 00:46:27.740 --> 00:46:28.620 that those who live 00:46:28.620 --> 00:46:28.960 might, 00:46:28.960 --> 00:46:30.579 and He died for all 00:46:30.579 --> 00:46:31.840 that those who live 00:46:31.840 --> 00:46:32.720 might no longer 00:46:32.720 --> 00:46:33.559 live for themselves 00:46:33.559 --> 00:46:34.900 but for Him 00:46:34.900 --> 00:46:36.300 who for their sake 00:46:36.300 --> 00:46:37.579 died and was raised. 00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:38.360 Therefore, 00:46:38.599 --> 00:46:39.820 if anyone is in Christ, 00:46:40.059 --> 00:46:42.139 He is a new creation. 00:46:42.780 --> 00:46:44.420 The old has passed away. 00:46:44.720 --> 00:46:45.099 Behold, 00:46:45.159 --> 00:46:46.820 the new has come. 00:46:47.980 --> 00:46:49.820 The sinful world is, 00:46:49.920 --> 00:46:50.980 this fallen world 00:46:50.980 --> 00:46:51.740 is hevel. 00:46:52.519 --> 00:46:54.579 It's the merest of breaths. 00:46:54.579 --> 00:46:56.759 But Jesus came 00:46:56.759 --> 00:46:58.239 to redeem His children 00:46:58.239 --> 00:46:59.079 and indeed 00:46:59.079 --> 00:46:59.699 to redeem 00:46:59.699 --> 00:47:00.840 the whole creation 00:47:00.840 --> 00:47:02.319 which has been subjected 00:47:02.319 --> 00:47:03.119 to futility 00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:04.259 and is stifled 00:47:04.259 --> 00:47:05.199 by its bondage 00:47:05.199 --> 00:47:05.799 to corruption 00:47:05.799 --> 00:47:08.400 by dying on the cross 00:47:08.400 --> 00:47:09.440 for our sins 00:47:09.440 --> 00:47:10.179 and being raised 00:47:10.179 --> 00:47:10.699 from the dead 00:47:10.699 --> 00:47:11.819 as the first fruits 00:47:11.819 --> 00:47:13.099 of the resurrection life. 00:47:13.679 --> 00:47:15.360 Jesus makes us 00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:16.099 something 00:47:16.099 --> 00:47:18.019 that is truly new. 00:47:18.019 --> 00:47:22.179 And Jesus promises 00:47:22.179 --> 00:47:23.940 in Revelation 21 verse 5, 00:47:24.019 --> 00:47:24.519 Behold, 00:47:24.780 --> 00:47:26.099 I am making 00:47:26.099 --> 00:47:28.360 all things new. 00:47:30.099 --> 00:47:31.259 The new heaven 00:47:31.259 --> 00:47:32.000 and a new earth 00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:32.840 are coming. 00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:34.840 And that's why 00:47:34.840 --> 00:47:35.559 human history, 00:47:35.759 --> 00:47:36.659 although it is cyclical, 00:47:36.780 --> 00:47:38.440 it's not an endless cycle. 00:47:38.559 --> 00:47:40.139 It's not viciously cyclical. 00:47:40.840 --> 00:47:41.880 There is a direction. 00:47:42.079 --> 00:47:43.400 It's like a conical spiral 00:47:43.400 --> 00:47:45.360 which gets closer 00:47:45.360 --> 00:47:46.000 and closer 00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:46.620 and closer 00:47:46.620 --> 00:47:47.220 and closer 00:47:47.220 --> 00:47:48.960 to that climactic point. 00:47:53.400 --> 00:47:55.300 And if we truly get this, 00:47:56.300 --> 00:47:57.579 then we can make peace 00:47:57.579 --> 00:47:58.420 with the futility 00:47:58.420 --> 00:48:00.200 and the vanity of life. 00:48:01.980 --> 00:48:03.559 We can have tranquility 00:48:03.559 --> 00:48:04.200 in a world 00:48:04.200 --> 00:48:05.220 that is but a breath. 00:48:07.900 --> 00:48:09.380 We can heed the words 00:48:09.380 --> 00:48:10.500 of the 18th century 00:48:10.500 --> 00:48:11.240 German pastor 00:48:11.240 --> 00:48:13.960 Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, 00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:15.220 which I'm sure 00:48:15.220 --> 00:48:15.760 you guys 00:48:15.760 --> 00:48:16.780 have forgotten. 00:48:18.440 --> 00:48:19.539 He once said, 00:48:20.599 --> 00:48:21.320 Preach the gospel, 00:48:22.179 --> 00:48:22.519 die, 00:48:23.519 --> 00:48:24.240 be forgotten. 00:48:25.880 --> 00:48:26.820 Preach the gospel, 00:48:27.440 --> 00:48:27.699 die, 00:48:28.579 --> 00:48:29.159 be forgotten. 00:48:31.039 --> 00:48:31.940 Heavenly Father, 00:48:32.860 --> 00:48:33.940 help us to do that. 00:48:37.460 --> 00:48:39.139 Help us to remember you 00:48:39.139 --> 00:48:41.720 so that we don't live 00:48:41.720 --> 00:48:42.760 to be remembered here 00:48:42.760 --> 00:48:43.460 under the sun. 00:48:43.960 --> 00:48:51.320 give us the wisdom, 00:48:52.599 --> 00:48:55.800 the humility 00:48:55.800 --> 00:48:57.639 enjoined to us 00:48:57.639 --> 00:48:58.220 in this book 00:48:58.220 --> 00:49:01.360 so that we know 00:49:01.360 --> 00:49:02.659 how to laugh at ourselves 00:49:02.659 --> 00:49:04.940 and the futility of life 00:49:04.940 --> 00:49:08.139 and still live faithfully 00:49:08.139 --> 00:49:08.980 with joy. 00:49:08.980 --> 00:49:12.940 in Jesus' name we pray. 00:49:13.519 --> 00:49:13.840 Amen. 00:49:13.840 --> 00:49:13.940 Amen.