Starting in chapter 7, verse 15, we read,
In my thing life I have seen everything.
There is a righteous man who perished in his righteousness,
and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evil doing.
Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise.
Why should you destroy yourself?
Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool.
Why should you die before your time?
It's good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand,
for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
Wisdom gives strength to the wise men more than ten rulers who are in the city.
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Do not take to heart all the things that people say,
lest you hear your servant cursing you.
Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
All these I have tested by wisdom, I said, I'll be wise.
But it was far from me,
the which has been as far off and deep,
very deep.
Who can find it out?
I turn my heart to know and to search out
and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things,
and to know the wickedness of folly
and the foolishness that is madness.
And I find something more bitter than death.
The woman whose heart is snares and necks,
and whose hands are fetters,
he who pleases God escapes her,
but the sinner is taken by her.
Behold, this is what I find,
says the preacher,
while adding one thing to another
to find the scheme of things
which my soul has sought repeatedly,
but I have not found.
One man among a thousand I find,
but a woman among all these I have not found.
See this alone I found,
that God made man upright,
but they have sought out many schemes.
Who is like the wise,
and who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man's wisdom makes his face shine,
and the hardness of his face is changed.
I say,
keep the king's command
because of God's off to him.
Be not hasty to go from his presence.
Do not take your stand in an evil course,
for he does whatever he pleases.
For the word of the king is supreme,
and who may say to him,
what are you doing?
Whoever keeps a command
will know no evil thing,
and the wise heart will know
the proper time and the just way.
For there is a time
and a way for everything.
Although man's trouble lies heavy on him,
for he does not know what is to be.
For who can tell him how it will be?
No man has power to retain the spirit
or power over the day of death.
There is no discharge from war,
nor will wickedness deliver those
who are given to it.
All this I observe while applying my heart
to all that is done under the sun,
when man had power over man to his hurt.
Then I saw the wicked buried.
They used to go in and out of the holy place
and were praised in the city
where they had done such things.
This also is vanity,
because the sentence against an evil deed
is not executed speedily.
The heart of the children of man
is fully set to do evil.
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times
and prolongs his life,
yet I know that it will be well
with those who fear God,
because they fear before him.
But it will not be well with the wicked,
neither will he prolong his days
like a shadow,
because he does not fear before God.
There is a vanity that takes place on earth,
that there are righteous people
to whom it happens according to the deeds
of the wicked,
and there are wicked people
to whom it happens according to the deeds
of the righteous.
I said that this also is vanity
and a combined joy,
for man has nothing better under the sun
but to eat and drink and be joyful,
for this will go with him in his toil
through the days of his life
that God has given him under the sun.
When I applied my heart to know wisdom
and to see the business that is done on earth,
how night or day or night
do one's eyes see sleep?
Then I saw all the work of God
that man cannot find out
the work that is done under the sun.
However much man may toil in seeking,
he will not find it out.
Even though a wise man claims to know,
he cannot find it out.
This is the word of God.
Great. Thank you so much, Joanne.
Well, good morning, everyone.
Let's pray together
as we look at this wonderful passage.
Heavenly Fathers, we come to your word this morning.
We really want to hear you.
We want to hear your word and your wisdom to us.
God, as Oscar reminded us this morning,
some of us are weary.
Some of us are anxious.
Some of us have been searching for the good life.
Some of us are discouraged.
God, we pray that your word will both provoke us,
but more than that will encourage us,
will draw us near to you.
God, this morning I pray as you draw near to us
and your word,
won't you help us by your spirit
to draw near to you,
to trust in you,
to hold on to you.
God, as we've prayed many times before,
even my words,
I pray if anything is not of you,
won't they fall on deaf ears.
God, we want to hear you speak to us this morning.
So come and help us, God.
Give me grace to open up your word
and so we can hear from you.
We pray this in your wonderful name.
Amen.
I wonder if you've ever found yourself
sinking in quicksand.
Maybe you haven't found yourself in mud,
but you've gone for a hike up a hill
and you find yourself in soft sand or shale
and you take one step forward
and it seems like you fall back three or four
and you're making negative ground.
I wonder if you've ever felt that
life is like grasping a handful of sand
that the more you try and grasp it
and hold on to it,
the more it slips through your fingers
and in the end you've got hold of almost nothing.
I wonder if you've ever found yourself
searching for answers
and the more you search,
the more questions you come up with
to your answers
and you find yourself even more lost
at the end of the search
than you were before.
I wonder how many of us feel frustrated
or maybe exasperated
by the lack of control we have over life.
It seems like so much of life
is really beyond our control.
Have you ever found yourself
being frustrated by the injustice of the world?
You find somebody who is honored
and esteemed and revered
and looked up to
and yet trailing behind him or her
is a trail of injustice and abuse
and yet an upstanding, good, righteous man or woman
just seems to be marginalized,
trodden over and ignored.
Today as we come to Ecclesiastes 7 and 8,
our teacher continues with his reflection
of life under the sun.
Remember Ecclesiastes,
there's two authors
and most of the book is written by this man
who observes life under the sun.
He knows there's a God out there
but it's not the God
that's the covenant-keeping God of Israel.
It's not the God that breaks in
and is involved in his life.
He observes life under the sun.
He's noticing and reflecting
what does life look like
if all you do is just observe
the world around you.
And today he's wrestling with these things
that leave him frustrated
and exasperated.
In his search for the good life,
the teacher, Kohileth,
has walked into three brick walls
that are in his path
and have stopped him finding
what he's looking for.
There's a constant refrain.
I don't know if you picked it up
when Joanne was reading to us.
It's the refrain,
I cannot find.
He says it seven or eight times
in the passage.
But look at the final verse
of our passage.
8 verse 17.
He says,
Man cannot find out
the work that is done
under the sun.
However much man may toil in seeking,
he will not find it out.
Even though a wise man claims to know,
he cannot find it out.
And throughout our passage,
he keeps on saying,
he cannot find
what he's looking for.
You know where this is going, right?
If the theme song of Ecclesiastes chapter 3
is turn, turn, turn,
the theme song of Ecclesiastes 5 and 6 is,
I can't find no satisfaction,
rolling stones.
The theme song of chapter 7 and 8 is,
but I still haven't found
what I'm looking for, right?
You too.
That's what he's getting at today.
I cannot find.
Everywhere I search and I look,
I still cannot find
what I'm looking for.
In this passage today,
the author is searching and longing
for three things,
three brick walls that he runs into.
The mystery of wisdom and righteousness,
the illusion of control,
and thirdly,
the yearning for justice.
Let's dive in.
Now, the first one's going to be the longest.
So, if you feel like after the first one,
boy, this is going to be a three-hour sermon,
don't worry, we'll come into land eventually.
So, firstly,
the search for wisdom and righteousness.
By the way,
if you need a Bible in front of you today,
or a bulletin,
we're going to be looking at a lot of the passages.
You're going to need it in front of you.
Now, in the first section,
chapter 7, verse 15 to 29,
he's going to talk a lot about this search
for wisdom and righteousness.
Wisdom and righteousness.
Now, in Hebrew thinking,
wisdom and righteousness
always are two sides of the same coin.
They always go hand in hand together.
And the reason is because they have their source
in the same being.
Wisdom and righteousness find their source
in God, God alone.
Wisdom, according to Hebrew Scripture,
is the skill of right living,
living life rightly.
And righteousness is loving what is right.
Okay?
So, wisdom and righteousness
always go together.
Do you remember how Proverbs says,
the beginning of wisdom
is the fear of the Lord.
That's where you start off with wisdom.
And the result of wisdom and righteousness
is prosperity, abundance, and life.
And conversely,
wickedness and foolishness
always go hand in hand together
because their origin,
their source,
is in the same source.
The rejection of God.
The rejection of God
as designer and creator of life.
Remember Psalm 14 says,
the fool says in his heart,
there is no God.
And the fruit of foolishness
or folly and wickedness
is death, destruction, ruin.
That's what the Bible constantly says.
Except our teacher,
when he looks at life,
that's not what he finds.
He finds it the other way around.
Look at verse 15 with me.
He says,
In my vain life,
I have seen everything.
There is a righteous man
who perishes in his righteousness.
There is a wicked man
who prolongs his life
and his evil doing.
He's grappling with the paradox
of life around him.
For him,
life is not working out
the way that it's meant to be.
Here is a righteous man
and he's dying.
Here is a wicked man
and he's prospering.
He's saying,
life is not working out
the way it's meant to be.
Life, for him,
wisdom is disappointing.
It doesn't turn out the way.
It doesn't deliver
what it promises.
Friends,
have you ever felt like this?
Maybe you're at the office
and you make a decision.
There's a difficult situation
and you choose
to take the ethical decision.
You're not going to do
what all your colleagues do.
You decide to do what's right.
And what happens?
You get sidelined
and marginalized.
And one of your colleagues
decides to cut corners,
fudge the truth a little bit,
not quite honest with your boss.
And what happens?
They get promoted.
And that's what
the teacher's grappling with.
What's his conclusion here?
Verse 16,
The teacher suggests,
listen,
if you want to make life work,
don't be too righteous.
Don't be too good.
I mean,
righteousness and wisdom is good.
But hey,
if you need to make life work,
if you need to get ahead in life,
you need to dabble
in a little bit of foolishness,
that's okay.
Just try and follow
the middle road somewhere.
Now remember,
the teacher is not giving us
orthodox biblical teaching.
Right?
He's describing life
under the sun.
He's saying,
listen,
I've observed life.
This is all I can see.
If you want to get a life,
be wise,
be righteous.
But don't be too wise.
Don't be too principled.
Sometimes you might just need
to take the middle road.
He's saying,
wisdom sometimes disappoints us.
It doesn't give us
what it promises.
It doesn't lead to
the abundant,
flourishing life
that I expected it to.
Look at the other brick wall
that he runs into.
He says,
wisdom is limited.
Sometimes it's beyond us.
Look at verse 19 to 21.
He says,
wisdom gives strength
to the wise man
more than ten rulers
to a city.
Okay, that's good.
So he's saying,
wisdom and righteousness
benefits a city.
It's a good thing for a city,
a civilization.
Oh, but there's a problem.
Because look at verse 20.
But surely there's not
one righteous man on earth,
one who does good
and never sins.
Here he's saying,
imagine a city
that is full of wise
and righteous people.
What a wonderful place
to live.
Right?
All you lawyers,
sorry,
you're out of a job.
There's no public prosecutors
anymore.
There's no more defenders.
A city's full of people
that are caring
and considerate.
Everyone's law abiding.
Everyone's a good neighbor.
Everyone is caring
towards their friends
and their neighbors.
Everyone's thoughtful
and wise.
What an amazing city
to live.
Oh, but the problem is
no such city exists.
Wherever there's people,
there's sinners,
he says.
Surely there's not
a righteous man on earth
who never sins
and always does good.
And how do you want to know?
If you want to know
that this is true,
how do you know
that it's true?
We'll look at verse 21.
Do not take to heart
all the things
that people say,
lest you hear
your servant cursing you.
He means slandering you,
gossiping about you.
For your heart knows
that many times
you've done that
to others.
Right?
So he's saying,
wisdom and righteousness,
right living,
good and rewarding.
Its benefit to society
is obvious.
Better a city
full of good citizens
than a city full of good
laws and regulations.
Laws and regulations
don't make a city prosper.
Wisdom does.
Righteousness.
How wonderful to have a city
that's full of good citizens.
Oh, the problem is
that city never really exists
because there is no city
that is full of perfect people.
Friends, can I say,
there's no church
that is full of perfect people.
Every church is full of sinners
that are broken like you
and like me.
And he says,
how do you know that?
Well, just consider the person
sitting next to you.
No, no, he doesn't say,
consider your own life, right?
None of us are perfect.
The problem is
who is completely wise?
Who is completely righteous?
Which city or society
has ever existed
full of people
that are completely wise
and righteous?
Surely there is
not a righteous man on earth
who does good
and never sins.
The limits of wisdom
and righteousness.
If only we could find
a place where
we could be like that.
But it's always
beyond our grasp.
Even,
the teacher says this,
the problem with wisdom
and righteousness
are twofold.
One,
he says,
is that it doesn't deliver
what it promises.
But two,
even if it did,
none of us
are completely wise
and right.
But look at the third thing
he says here.
He says,
the problem with wisdom,
it's evasive.
It's like trying to grasp
a cloud or a mist.
As soon as you grasp it,
it's out of your hand.
You can never quite find it.
What about the person
who truly seeks wisdom?
The person who truly seeks
the answers to life's big questions
and who's determined
to find them
and to live by them.
Someone who says,
okay,
fine,
everyone else,
they're a mess.
The rest of the city,
okay,
they can do what they want.
But as for me
and my household,
we are going to live rightly.
We are going to pursue
wisdom and righteousness.
Well,
look what he says
in verse 23.
He says,
all this I've tested
by my wisdom.
I said,
I will be wise,
but it was far from me.
That which has been
is far off
and deep,
very deep.
Who can find it?
The teacher is on a quest.
To find wisdom.
To find right living.
He wants to find
the skill of living right
and he wants a heart
that loves what is right.
But the problem is,
he says,
I can't seem to find it.
The teacher is like
a deep sea diver
with his goggles
and his snorkel
that is diving deep
to try and find the Titanic
on the ocean floor.
And the deeper he dives,
the more disorientated
and lost he becomes.
Look at verse 25
and onwards.
He says,
I turned my heart
to know
and to search out
and to seek wisdom,
to find the scheme of things
and to know
and to understand
wickedness
and foolishness
and madness.
But I found something
more bitter
than death.
A woman
whose heart
is snares
and nets,
whose hands
are fetters.
Fetters means like
chains.
He who pleases God
escapes her,
but the sinner
is taken by her.
Behold,
this is what I found,
says the preacher,
while adding one thing
to another
to find the scheme
of things,
that which my soul
has sought repeatedly,
but I could not find.
One man amongst a thousand
I found,
but a woman amongst all these
I have not found.
Now,
this passage
is very perplexing
and challenging,
right?
Look at what he says.
He says,
I sought for wisdom
and behold,
I found
a woman.
And how does he describe her?
More bitter
than death.
What's going on here?
Well,
it's a couple
of different things.
Some people suggested
the teacher
is clearly
a misogynist,
right?
Because,
I mean,
it's a thousand B.C.,
men didn't treat women
very well.
He's saying,
listen,
women are foolish,
and if you're going to,
all they're going to lead to
is just trouble
and difficulty in life,
right?
Men,
stay clear of women,
they're going to lead to problems.
Okay,
maybe,
maybe not.
Some people have said,
no,
he's warning us
against the sexually loose woman,
the lure
of the lustful woman,
right?
Because he describes her
as her heart is a net
and a trap.
Her hands are chains.
Don't be ensnared by her.
But I think that misses
the point altogether.
Remember,
the book of Ecclesiastes
is part of the Old Testament
Jewish wisdom literature.
There's five books in the Bible
that are part of wisdom literature.
Job,
Psalms,
Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes,
and Song of Songs.
And the pinnacle of wisdom literature
is the book of Proverbs,
right?
That's kind of like
the high point of wisdom literature.
Well,
in the book of Proverbs,
chapters 1 to 9,
personify wisdom
and foolishness
as two women.
It's kind of like,
you know,
in Central,
there's the statue
of Lady Justice.
She's blindfolded
and she holds the scales.
And it's a picture of
a personification of justice.
Well,
Proverbs says the same thing.
It personifies wisdom
and foolishness
as these two women.
Lady wisdom
and lady foolishness.
And Proverbs says
both of them stand
on the street corners,
lady wisdom
and lady foolishness,
and they call to passers-by
to come and dwell with them,
to come and live with them.
But the problem is
lady wisdom
and lady foolishness
have two very different characters
that lead to
two very different consequences.
And so the whole point
of Proverbs 1 to 9
is
beware of lady foolishness.
That's going to lead
to death and destruction.
Set your heart
on lady wisdom.
Okay?
So that's what's going on
in the background here.
So look at what
the teacher says here.
I turn my heart
to seek
and to find out
and to search for wisdom.
But what happens?
That which my soul
has thought
I could not find.
I have found one,
a man in a thousand,
but a woman
amongst all these
I have not found.
The teacher
is searching
for lady wisdom
but all he does
is he finds
lady foolishness
wherever he goes.
It's like a man
who knocks on
a hundred different doors
and every time
he knocks on the door
who opens the door?
Lady foolishness.
And he goes to another door
and he opens the door
and he says
maybe life and prosperity
and wisdom
is found here
and he opens the door.
No,
it leads to death.
And he says
maybe life and prosperity
and contentment
and abundant life
will be found here
and he opens the door
and all it is
is lady foolishness.
Look what he says
verse 27.
This I found
while adding one thing
to another
to find the scheme of things.
What he means is
by observation.
I looked here,
I searched there,
I've added all my observations
together
and what have I found?
I still haven't found
what I'm looking for.
Friends,
by searching for wisdom
with only human wisdom
and human observation,
what he finds
is the opposite
of what he's looking for.
He is searching
for lady wisdom
for life's answers
to questions
but all he finds
is more questions.
He finds foolishness.
Friends,
I wonder if you can relate
to the teacher.
Maybe you've been searching
for the good life.
You've been searching
for the answers to life.
Looking for contentment
and hope
and deep peace
and the abundant life.
Maybe you've gone
and you've knocked
on the door
of love and romance
and you've downloaded
the dating app
and you've tried one date
and you've tried another date
but all of them
have not,
you haven't found
the deep abundant life
that you've been looking for.
Friends,
maybe some of you
feel like
the problem
is not with those people
out there,
the problem is with me.
Maybe I'm the wrong gender.
Maybe if I change
my gender
that will be the answer
to deep contentment.
Then I'll find peace.
Then I'll find,
I'll finally be at peace.
And so maybe you've gone
a knocking on that door.
But as the door's open,
you haven't found
the contentment
or the peace
that you're looking for.
Whereas maybe some of us
have knocked on the door
of career success
and you think,
if I can get on
that management trainee program
and I can get
that extra qualification,
finally I'll make it
into the broad
and wide road
and then my life
will be set.
Then I can sit back
and life will finally be made.
And as you've progressed
through your career
one step into the other,
you still have not found
what you're looking for.
And the lesson
that the teacher
wants us to find is this.
If you go looking
for ultimate answers
to life's big questions
by your human understanding
and your wisdom alone,
you will tire yourself out.
Because you will never find
the answers
that you're looking for
by human wisdom.
The answers
that you're looking for,
the deep peace,
the deep contentment,
the abundant life
that you're looking for
is not found
by looking within yourself
and is not found
by exploring
all the things out there.
Those,
the answer,
the revelation
must come to you
from outside of yourself
but it's got to come to you.
The answer to life's questions
don't come from within,
they come from
another source to us.
And how do we know that?
Well, look at verse 29.
Because the preacher
doesn't find the answer
he's looking for
but he does find
something else.
He says this,
See this alone I have found
that God has made man upright
but they have sought out
many schemes.
The teacher has noticed
that God has designed
mankind with a moral compass.
He says that
there's a compass within us,
there's a navigation system
inside of us
that is meant to lead us
to the truth
but the problem is
our navigation system
is broken.
It's been corrupted.
There's something wrong.
He says,
God has made man upright,
that means virtuous,
but we have sought out
many schemes.
His searching has revealed
that the wisdom
and the righteousness,
the truth and the goodness
are not merely
social constructs,
they're not merely
tools of economic oppression
as Karl Marx
would have us believe.
They are lodged
deep within us,
they're part of our DNA,
they're hardwired into us.
But the problem is that
a corruption has set in
so we can't find
the way that we're meant to.
It's kind of like
he says the navigation tools
of our heart
are corrupted and broken.
The problem,
says the teacher,
is that mankind
keeps on missing wisdom
and he cannot find it out.
It's like the navigation systems
of our hearts
have gone wonky.
Imagine you're on your phone
and your GPS system
is broken down, right?
And you're trying to find
that place you go to.
So it says go one direction
and suddenly it says
go another direction
and suddenly you've got to turn.
You can't find
what you're looking for.
He says God has made man
upright virtuous.
He's made man
with an assistant
to find the right way to live
but the schemes of man
we've broken,
we can't find our way.
This I observe,
God has made man upright
but they have become corrupted
by seeking out many schemes.
And the teacher's
onto something here.
He says ultimately
the problem with our minds
is ultimately
a problem with our hearts.
He says that sin
has corrupted
the compass
of our hearts.
The reason we can't find,
we can't live right
is because we don't know
what is truly right.
The reason we can't find
ultimate truth
is because our hearts
have been magnetized
by sin.
You know if you have a compass
and you hold a magnet to it
it messes up the compass?
That's what sin
has done to our hearts.
And so just because
something feels right
doesn't mean it is right.
We long to do
what feels,
we long to,
we seek what we want
but we want
all the wrong things.
And the reason we stumble
in our search
for what is true
and right and good
is because we cannot find
what's true
and right and good.
Because our truth seeking
instruments of our hearts
are off kilter.
And so the question is this,
where are we going to find
one who will bring us
wisdom and righteousness?
Where are we going to find
one who truly is
a righteous man?
Who never sins
and has done good on the earth?
Where are we going to find
that outside revelation
that's going to come in
and lead us back
onto the paths
of righteousness?
Well the answer is
Jesus Christ did come
and to be our wisdom
and to be our righteousness
and to lead us
and to be our redemption
to bring us onto
the paths of righteousness.
There's a fascinating verse
in the New Testament
in 1 Corinthians chapter 1
Paul writes and he says
the wisdom of God
is wiser than the foolish
no, let me get that right.
He says even the foolishness
of God is wiser
than the wisdom of man.
Even the weakness of God
is stronger than
the strength of man.
And he goes on and he says
God has made
God has shamed
the strong things
of this world
through his own weakness.
And he's talking about
Jesus' death on the cross.
And then he says this,
he says Jesus Christ
came to be our wisdom
and our righteousness
and our redemption.
Paul is saying this,
the way to true wisdom
and righteousness,
the way to find truth
and life,
the way to living
the right life
is not through self-discovery,
it's not by diving deep
into philosophy
and to the many things
of life,
it's not by searching out
wisdom and truth
on your own
by your own observation,
revelation,
it's found
in a person.
It's found in revelation
coming to us
from outside of us.
And what is the ultimate
revelation of God?
It's the person
of Jesus.
Jesus Christ came
to show us
wisdom and righteousness.
Jesus Christ came
to be for us
wisdom and righteousness.
Jesus Christ came to us
so that all those
who trust in him
and look to him
may not find
every answer in life,
but he will lead us
on the paths
of righteousness
and wisdom.
Psalm 119 says this,
Your word is a lamp
to my feet.
Well, Jesus Christ
is the ultimate word
made flesh.
Those who trust in him,
those who follow him,
will not find
every path lit up,
but they will find
the light to their feet
leading them
and guiding them.
Jesus said,
I am the way.
I am the truth.
I am the path
to life.
Friends,
Jesus doesn't promise
that if you follow him,
suddenly all your questions
will be answered.
Jesus doesn't say,
follow me
and I'll give you
the cheat sheet to life.
I'll give you
the secret code book
and you'll know
everything you need to know.
But he does promise you
to light up your path.
He does promise
to guide you
in the way of wisdom
and righteousness.
Jesus came to be
our wisdom,
our righteousness,
our redemption,
that those who trust
in him
are no longer left
floundering in the dark
looking for the answers
to life.
The teacher
is searching
for wisdom
and righteousness.
Okay,
does that make sense?
Okay,
thank you,
Oscar.
The second thing,
the second brick wall
that the teacher runs into
is the illusion
of control.
The teacher
wants to
find,
he walks into
the brick wall
of human control
and he discovers
that he's not quite
in control of his life
as he thought he was.
Look at chapter 8
verses 2 to 4.
He says here,
I say,
keep the king's command
because of God's oath
to him.
Do not be hasty
to go from his presence.
Do not take your stand
in an evil
or rebellious cause
for he does
whatever he pleases
for the word
of the king
is supreme
and who may say
to him,
what are you doing?
Now,
the basic idea here
is that all of us
are under
some kind of authority,
some kind of
authority
over our lives
that we are not
the supreme
authority of our lives.
the basic idea here
is that if you try
and bend
the authority
that you sit under
to your will,
you are going to
encounter some
strict limits
in your ability
to do that.
He says,
who can say
to the king,
what are you doing?
The king is
an authority over you.
So for instance,
if your boss
has rejected
your proposal
to him
and you keep
on harping on
about that proposal,
it's not going to
serve you very well
in the long haul.
Sometimes you just
got to realize
he's the authority
and I've got to
listen to him.
If you argue
with the traffic
officer
about the laws
of parking
in Hong Kong,
you can argue
as much as you want
but that's not going
to change
your illegal
parking ticket
that you just
received,
right?
If you argue
with the judge
about the outcome
of the case,
it doesn't matter
how much you tell
the judge
whether you like
his ruling
or not,
he is the judge
and you are not.
There are certain
limits to your
authority or your
ability to control
the outcome of life
according to your will.
Does that make sense?
So he's saying
you are not
sovereign in life.
You are not
ultimate authority
in what happens.
You are under
authority in this life.
But now,
he says the word
of the king
is supreme.
Kicking against
the limitations
of human sovereignty
is like punching
a brick wall.
Only one of you
are going to come
off second best
and it's not going
to be the brick wall.
But you ask,
but what about
the king?
Is the king
under any authority?
I mean,
especially,
you know,
1000 BC,
the king is supreme,
right?
His word goes.
Whatever he says
happens.
So what about
the king?
What about
billionaires?
What about
those world leaders
that sit on top
of the world?
I mean,
they are not
subject to any
authority.
Surely they can
do whatever they
want.
Well,
look at verse 8.
He says,
no man has power
to retain the spirit
or power over
the day of death.
He says,
you think of yourself
as all power
without any constraints?
You're destined
to be disappointed
because no matter
how much power
or how much authority
you possess
in this life,
there are some things
that even kings
and billionaires
have no control over.
The most powerful
leaders in the world,
they've got control
over nuclear bombs
and military arsenals
and economic levers
and parliaments
and political powers.
Even dictators
have great power.
There are some things
that even the most
powerful dictators
in the world
have no control over,
like the day
of their death.
No man has power
to retain the spirit
or the day
of his death.
Look at the second
half of verse 8.
there is no discharge
from war.
He says,
when that final battle
comes that each one
of us are going
to have to fight,
you can't call in sick
on that day.
There's no sick leave
on the final battle
that you've got to fight.
You can't call in
the substitutes.
You can't say to your coach,
hey, I'm injured,
call in the subs.
You can't tap out
of that final battle.
There is no discharge
from war,
he says,
nor will the wickedness
deliver those
who are given to it.
He says,
even those who thought
that they could strike
a deal with the devil
will not be delivered
from that day.
Ultimately,
he says,
every human being,
sovereignty is limited.
You are not God,
he says.
And the point
that the teacher
is making this is,
think of yourself
as sovereign over your life,
as the captain
of your fate,
the master of your destiny.
That's an illusion
that is soon
going to be shattered.
You are not in control
of your life
any more than you
are in control
of the weather
or the wind.
Friends,
I wonder how many of us
can relate to that.
How many of us
feel frustrated
by our lack of control
in life?
Maybe you're here
in Hong Kong
and you've got parents
that are abroad
and they're sick
and you desperately
want to go visit them
and COVID hits
and regulations
and quarantines
and you're stuck here
and you want to get
to go see elderly parents
but you just cannot
get to them.
Friends,
maybe you've got
a career path
for yourself
and you think
I'm going to do this,
I'm going to study,
I'm going to go abroad,
I'm going to get
some experience,
I'm going to jump
on that management path
and my career
is going to be set.
And every step
of the way
there's one setback
after another
and your life
just can't get moving.
Friends,
maybe you have a child
and you hear of
and your child
is sick with COVID
and you think
I don't care
what they say,
I will not be separated
from my child
when I go to hospital
and you go to hospital
and you just realize
there's just a limit
to how much
you can put your foot down.
Friends,
you see what the Bible
is telling us?
You are not in control
of your life.
It doesn't matter
how much authority
you have,
how much power
you have,
how much money
you have,
the limits
of your sovereignty
will eventually,
you will run
into that brick wall.
And so what is
the resolution?
there is one
who is truly sovereign.
There is truly one
who is Lord
of all creation,
who lives beyond
the limits
of time and space,
the limitations
of our world.
There is one
who Isaiah says,
for him,
the nations of the world
are like dust
on a scale.
One breath
and they're all gone.
There is one
who truly brings
galaxies and stars
and universes
and multiple universes
into existence
and being.
Friends,
there is one
who sets up kings
and removes kingdoms,
who sets up empires
and can blow them
over in a day.
There is one
who is truly sovereign
over all creation.
Do you remember
the words of the disciples
when they're in the boat
with Jesus?
They said,
who is this man
that even the wind
and the waves
obey his voice?
Friends,
there is one
who is sovereign
even over the grave,
over life,
and death
because the tomb
that he was put into
2,000 years ago
stands empty
and he lives
and he reigns.
And he says
that for those
who trust him,
those who come to him,
those who surrender
to him,
even the final,
the one thing
that is beyond
all of our control,
death itself,
even that he has
conquered and mastered.
And so the apostle Paul
writes in Corinthians
and says,
death,
where is your sting?
Death,
where is your victory?
Even the one battle
that none of us
can beat,
it has been beaten
because there is one
who is truly sovereign
and Lord of will.
There is one king
to whom every king
and empire
and dictator
and sovereign
will one day
bow the knee.
Jesus Christ
is truly sovereign
and Lord.
And so friends,
when you run
to the brick wall
of time limits
and the limits
of your authority
and your autonomy,
when you come
to the end
of yourself
and you can do
no more,
Jesus Christ
stands ready
and saying,
come and turn to me.
Come and trust me.
Jesus doesn't promise
that he will make you
sovereign.
He doesn't promise
that he will overcome
all the limitations
of your life.
Jesus doesn't promise
to give you every answer
and to solve
every frustration.
But he does promise
that if you come to him,
he will give you a peace.
He will give you a wisdom.
He will give you
an understanding
that will transcend
even the roadblocks
of this life.
Come to him.
Now friends,
the third part
of our passage,
I'm going to skip over,
we're not going to get to it.
It's the yearning
for justice.
And in this passage
he says,
I went to a funeral
and I saw this man
and everyone honored him
and esteemed him
and praised him
and everyone said
about what a wonderful
man he was,
but actually he was
a scoundrel.
Where is justice?
And then ultimately
he says,
oh, there is one
who has got to bring
justice to bear.
Friends,
in this world
of paradox,
searching and injustice,
you may never find
the answers
to your questions.
But there is one
who has true wisdom,
who has true righteousness,
who is truly sovereign,
who truly administers
justice and mercy,
who truly holds
the keys to righteousness,
who has come
that we may no longer
need to walk
in our own wisdom.
Friends,
this week
you will run
into the brick wall
of your wisdom
and righteousness.
You will come
to the end
of yourself.
And when that happens,
turn to Jesus,
the one who is wisdom
and is righteousness
and who is justice.
Friends,
this week
you will run
into the brick wall
of your sovereignty
and your control
over matters of life.
And when that happens,
turn to Jesus,
the one who truly
is sovereign
and truly is control.
Friends,
this week
you will run
into the brick wall
of injustice
and things will happen
and you will think,
where is the justice
in that?
And when that happens,
turn to the one
who truly brings
righteousness
and justice
and mercy to it.
The one who will come
and judge the living
and the dead.
Friends,
don't trust in yourself.
Don't trust in your ability
to find the answers
in life.
Don't trust in your ability
to make it in life.
Don't trust in your ability
to get through life.
Turn to Jesus,
the one who came
from outside of this world
into this world
to save us,
to rescue us,
to give us what we need.
And to lead us
on the paths
of righteousness.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus Christ,
this passage is challenging,
but it's inviting.
God,
you confront us
with our own limitations.
The limitations
of our own wisdom.
The limitations
of our own control
of life.
But God,
that confrontation
invites us
to come to you.
God,
I pray
for my friends,
my brothers and sisters,
I pray for myself.
Lord,
I pray that this week,
God,
when we run
into the brick wall
of our own limitations,
may we in that moment
turn to you.
God,
may we come
and bow our knee
to you.
May we surrender
freshly
to you.
God,
may we
for you.
Maybe this morning
you feel
the frustration
and the exasperation
of having run
into one brick wall
of another.
Maybe you've
knocked on
a hundred different doors
looking for the answers
to life,
looking for
the answers
to right living.
And every time
the door's been opened
and it hasn't satisfied,
it hasn't given you
the answer
that you're looking for.
Friends,
why don't you freshly
come to King Jesus
this morning?
Why don't you come
and surrender to Him
and hand over
your life to Him?
Friends,
maybe you're a Christian
this morning,
but actually,
if you're honest,
you've lived
like an agnostic.
You've lived
by your own wisdom
and your own understanding.
Why don't today
you change that?
Why don't today
you freshly come
and surrender
to King Jesus?
Friends,
maybe you're here
this morning
and you're not a Christian.
Jesus Christ says
He came
to this earth
to die on the cross
and to rise again.
so that you don't
need to save yourself,
that you don't need
to have all the answers
for your own life.
Jesus came
to bring ultimate truth
and revelation
and wisdom
to save you.
Come and bow down
to Him this morning.
Lord Jesus,
come and have Your way
in our lives,
we pray.
Today,
God,
come and have Your way.
We hand over our lives.
We surrender.
We bow down to You.
In Your wonderful name
we pray.
Amen.