The scripture reading today comes from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and 10.
Please follow along on your own Bible, in the bulletin, or on the screen.
Starting in chapter 9, verse 1, we read,
But all this I laid to heart, examining it all,
how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God.
Whether it is love or hate, man does not know.
Both are before him.
It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked,
to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean,
to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As the good one is, so is the sinner.
And he who swears is as he who shunts an oath.
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun,
that the same event happens to all.
Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil,
and madness is in their hearts while they live.
And after that, they go to the dead.
But he who is joined with all the living has hope,
for a living dot is better than a dead lion.
For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing.
And they have no more reward,
for the memory of them is forgotten.
Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished,
and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.
Go, eat your bread with joy,
and drink your wine with a merry heart,
for God has already approved what you do.
Let your garments be always white.
Let not oil be lacking on your head.
Enjoy life with the wife whom you love,
all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun,
because that is your portion in life,
and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.
Whatever your hand finds to do,
do it with your might,
for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom
in Sheol to which you are going.
Again, I saw that under the sun,
the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong,
nor bread to the wise,
nor riches to the intelligent,
nor favor to those with knowledge,
but time and chance happen to them all.
For man does not know his time.
Like fish that are taken in an evil net,
and like birds that are caught in a snare,
so the children of man are snared at an evil time
when it suddenly falls upon them.
I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun,
and it seemed great to me.
There was a little city with few men in it,
and a great king came against it and besieged it,
building great siege works against it.
But there was found in it a poor wise man,
and he, by his wisdom, delivered the city.
Yet no one remembered that poor man.
But I say that wisdom is better than might,
though the poor man's wisdom is despised
and his words are not heard.
The words of the wise heard in quiet
are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
Dead flies make the perfumant's ointment
give off a stench,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool's heart to the left.
Even when the fool walks on the road,
he lacks sense,
and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
If the anger of the ruler rises against you,
do not leave your place,
for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun,
as it were an error proceeding from the ruler.
Folly is had in many high places,
and the rich sit in a low place.
I have seen slaves on horses,
and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
He who digs a pit will fall into it,
and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
He who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who splits logs is endangered by them.
If the iron is blunt,
and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength.
But wisdom helps one to succeed.
If the serpent bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
This is the word of God.
Great. Thank you, Anastasia.
Thank you for reading well.
And once again, we come to this interesting,
but tricky passage in Ecclesiastes.
And I think if you're anything like me,
the first time you read that,
you think,
okay.
On Monday morning,
when I sat down with my Bible,
and started to think about this morning,
I read that for the first time,
and thought,
okay, this is going to be interesting.
What is the author,
what is Kohelet, the teacher,
trying to say to us?
Well, the author is coming back
to one of the ideas that we looked at last week.
He is, in the second half of the reading,
he is considering wisdom once again.
Remember last week,
we spoke about wisdom,
and Kohelet, the teacher,
he said he sought for wisdom everywhere,
and he couldn't find it.
Well, he comes back to that idea this morning,
and I want us just to think about this,
because I didn't feel like last week,
I actually explained wisdom very well,
and so let's just take a minute or two,
to think about that.
What is wisdom?
I tried to say last week,
in the Bible,
wisdom is the skill of living life well.
It is, you could say,
knowing how to make life work.
It's the skill of knowing how to flourish in your life.
Now, when we think of wisdom,
it doesn't sound like a very sexy or exciting word.
I don't think too many of us lie awake at night thinking,
how can I become more wise?
Right?
We're scrolling Google about,
I don't think it's one of Google's top ten searches.
How do I become more of a wise person?
But if you think about it,
what the Bible promises that wisdom gives us,
how to make life work,
the flourishing life,
is actually something that all of us want.
How many of us don't want to make life work?
How many of us don't want to flourish?
How many of us, if you're young,
don't want to think about how not to waste your life?
It's the reason so many young people come to me often and say,
I'm looking for a mentor in life.
Can you help me find a mentor?
Someone who can guide me and coach me.
It's the reason we listen to TED Talks and podcasts
and read brilliant books
because there's a desire inside of us to make life work,
to not waste our lives,
to find out the way to a flourishing life.
And so we want to know how to make our finances work
and make relationships work
and make our careers work,
how to make work-life balance work.
And so wisdom is the skill
of knowing how to make life work
when you don't have the answers in front of you.
Wisdom is knowing,
is the skill of being able to find out
what is the right thing to do
when you don't know what to do.
And so that's why Proverbs says,
of all the skills you can get in life,
make sure you acquire the skill
of knowing how to make life work,
the skill of living.
Because it is one skill that can set you apart
from your colleagues and your friends and your families.
The skill of knowing how to make life work.
And the ancient biblical word for this skill
is the skill of wisdom.
Okay? Wisdom.
Wisdom.
Now, as I said last week in chapters 8,
the teacher, Kohelet,
is trying to search out,
seek for this wisdom.
And he looks everywhere,
but he can't find it.
In chapter 10 and 9,
he seems to have found it.
He seems to have stumbled upon it
because he talks about it quite a bit.
But the teacher is in two minds about it.
Because on one hand,
when Anastasia reads to us,
on one hand you think,
okay, he's really saying wisdom is a good thing.
He espouses some of the benefits of it.
But on the other hand,
he seems a little bit condescending towards it.
He seems like he says,
oh, you know,
get wisdom, it's good for you,
but actually it's not going to help that much
at the end of the day.
And so he seems to be in two minds about it.
Well, let's see what he says.
Look at chapter 9, verse 13 to 15.
Now, once again,
you're going to need your bulletin
or a Bible in front of you.
I don't have the scriptures on the screen,
so you're going to need to follow in front of you.
Look at what he says.
He says,
wisdom is able to be a great benefit to society.
It's actually able to save many lives.
He says, verse 13,
I have seen an example of wisdom under the sun.
It seemed great to me.
There was this little city with few men in it,
and a great king came against it and besieged it,
building great siege works around the city.
But there was found in it a poor man,
a wise man,
and he, by his wisdom,
delivered the city.
So here's this poor man.
He's not very wealthy.
He's not very well-esteemed.
He's kind of despised and rejected.
But by his wisdom,
he's able to save the city
and actually save a great many people's lives.
Wisdom is a great benefit to society.
And if you think about that,
that's true in our modern life today.
Think of the number of people who,
by their wisdom,
are able to save a great many people's lives.
Think of doctors and nurses
and people who respond in emergency situations.
They are presented with the situation before them.
They haven't been trained for that situation.
But by their wisdom,
they are able to find a solution
where no solution seems obvious.
And they save a great many people's lives.
We can be thankful for the doctors
and the nurses during COVID,
who many of them put their lives on the line,
many of them working insane hours
through the night,
finding solutions where there were no obvious solutions,
and saved a great many people's lives.
The teacher also says this.
He says,
Through wisdom,
we're able to find success
where success seems to evade us.
Look at 10 verse 10.
He says,
If the axe is blunt
and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength.
But wisdom helps one to succeed.
He's saying,
Listen,
you've got a situation before you
and you get stuck.
You come up against a brick wall.
You can't find a way through.
But actually,
wisdom enables you
to overcome the obstacles in life.
And again,
think of the great benefit this is to us.
Think of many of the things
that we take for granted in our lives,
but have not,
we shouldn't take for granted.
Think of things like running water,
transport,
engineering feats
that allow us to live in massive buildings,
airplanes that fly in the sky.
For centuries,
even millennia,
these things were things
that most of society
didn't have in front of them.
But someone was able,
through wisdom,
to find a solution
and to break through the barriers.
So we can be very grateful
you don't need to walk a kilometer
with a bucket in your hand
down to the river
to find fresh running water.
No, you just turn on a tap.
Wisdom is able to bring great benefit
to our lives.
But look at what else he says.
He says,
the life of wisdom
is a source of joy
and blessing
to those who possess it,
but also to those around them.
Look at in 10 verse 12,
the final words
that Anastasia read to us.
He says,
the words of a wise man's mouth
bring favor
or bring grace.
I don't know if you've ever spent
an evening
with a really wise person,
someone you really esteem
and look up to.
And they just being themselves,
but you feel so enriched
by them.
The Hebrew here
could mean that
if you're a wise person,
your words bring grace
and favor to your life
because you're able
to navigate the challenges
of life
or you bring grace
and blessing
to those around you.
If you ever spend time
with someone
who's really wise,
you feel like
just their words
deposit grace
into your life.
You come away
from spending time
with that person
just feeling enriched
in life.
You feel so much better.
And actually,
how much better
when such a person
is the leader
of a city
because Anastasia
didn't read it to us,
but in verse 10,
he says,
woe to you,
O land,
when your king
is a young
and immature
and foolish leader.
You've got a leader
of a city,
they're immature,
they're young,
they're foolish,
they're living for themselves,
they're self-centered,
they're not very wise.
And what happens?
The whole city
languishes
under their rulership.
But O blessed are you,
O land,
when your rulers
are wise,
they bring grace
and favor
and blessing
into your life.
And so,
again and again,
the Bible says
wisdom is a great blessing,
a great benefit.
It's a friend to us.
That's why Proverbs
says,
seek out wisdom,
search for it,
pay for it.
Even if it costs you,
whatever you do,
get wisdom.
It's a great friend.
to our lives.
Friends,
our lives
and the lives
of those around us
and our city
would be so much better,
so much more blessed
if we were able
to fill our hearts
and our lives
with wisdom.
But the teacher here
also notices
something else
and he says,
even the most wise,
even the most brilliant
of people,
even those that we
really look up to
in honor and esteem,
even they are not
immune from the
shortcomings
of wisdom.
He says,
knowing how to
make life work,
you know how to
flourish in life,
it can serve you,
it can be a friend,
but it's not a silver bullet.
It doesn't solve
all of life's problems
because even the
most brilliant,
the most wise of us
are still going to
encounter the
shortcomings of wisdom.
Look at what he says
in 9 verse 15.
Remember he talks
about that poor man,
that wise man,
who saved his village
by his wisdom.
He says there was
found in it a wise man,
he by his wisdom
delivered the city,
but the next line,
yet no one
remembered him.
No one remembered
his wisdom.
In other words,
here is a city
that is saved
by this man,
but 30 years later
he dies,
and another king
comes and besieges
the city,
and no one
remembers his wisdom,
and the city,
the village
is just wiped out,
and in the grand
scheme of things,
who remembers,
who cares?
Nobody.
He's forgotten.
And isn't that true
of our lives as well?
Think of this city
in which we live
a hundred years ago.
Many brilliant,
wise,
outstanding people,
very selfless people,
people who
laid down their lives
for the good
of their families
or those around them.
A hundred years later,
does anybody
remember them?
What difference
did their lives
really make?
Think of even
the names
that our streets
are named after,
right?
That's one of the
great things
about Hong Kong.
All these street names
named after
brilliant people.
Do any of us
know what they
actually did?
More than a handful
of them?
You can have
the streets
named after you,
you can have
a whole city
named after you,
but in 200,
300 years' time,
who cares really?
Wisdom is good,
but it's short-lived.
Look at what else
he says.
He says,
Wisdom is great,
but it so quickly
gets spoiled
or cancelled.
Look at 10,
verse 1.
He says,
Dead flies
make the perfumer's
ointment
give off a stench,
so a little folly
outweighs wisdom
and honor.
Isn't that such
a great picture,
right?
You've got a cake
to your birthday.
Someone bakes you
a cake.
You're so excited
and you cut it open
and there's a worm
inside.
And that little thing
spoils the whole cake,
right?
You're not going to say,
Oh,
I'll just remove
that little piece,
but the rest of it
lets enjoy.
What are you going to do?
You're probably going
to throw it all out.
But isn't that true
of life,
right?
You have somebody
who's really brilliant,
they're absolutely wise,
they may be a great boss,
a great leader,
it may be your company
or an industry,
maybe a great pastor,
they really invest
in your life,
and they make
one stupid decision,
one foolish act,
one dumb mistake,
and how are their lives
remembered
for the rest
of their lives?
They are forever known
as the one person
that brought down
that company
or destroyed
that industry
or ruined
that church.
Forty years
of selfless service
40 years
of brilliant
wisdom
and teaching,
40 years
of great leadership
is reduced
to nothing
in a moment.
Wisdom is such
a great gift,
but it gets cancelled
so quickly.
Friends,
you can spend
the next 40 years
of your life
building your name,
your reputation,
and in an instant
it can get cancelled.
It can get spoiled.
Look what else
he says here.
He says,
as great as it is
to be a wise person,
wisdom can't deliver you
from the unpredictableness
of life.
We all tend to think
that if we live life well,
if we have the smarts,
if we're academically
sharp and diligent
and we work hard,
we will make life work.
We will succeed.
And the teacher says,
not necessarily.
Even the smartest people
in life,
there's unpredictableness.
Look what he says
in 10,
verse 8 and 9.
He says,
a wise man,
he plans a building project,
he digs a pit,
oh, he falls into it
and he dies.
An architect,
an engineer,
he decides to break
through a wall
and he doesn't know
on the other side
death is waiting for him.
Verse 9,
he who quarries stones,
he wants to build
his retirement home
and so he gets
some stones
and he's just
chiseling them off,
just doing the final touches
to his dream home
and he's left blind.
Stone shoots up
and takes out his eye.
He who splits logs
is endangered by them.
Maybe you're the wisest person.
You plan perfectly,
you do your checks
and balances,
everything in order,
but there's a whole lot
of life that is unpredictable
and beyond your control.
Maybe you're a very
careful driver.
driver.
You drive very carefully,
you always stick
to the speed limit,
safety belt,
double safety belt,
you drive the safest car
on the road,
oh, but there's
a foolish driver
that's looking at his phone
and he cuts across traffic,
takes you out.
When I was growing up,
we had a very,
very close family friend
in South Africa
and he used to,
he drove motorbikes,
he loved motorbikes,
but he was an extremely
careful driver.
He always said,
you drive a motorbike
like you drive
the biggest lorry
on the road.
If you can't drive
a bus through that gap,
you don't take the gap,
very safe driver.
One day he flies
back into Johannesburg,
he phones his wife
at the airport
and says,
I've just landed,
I'll be home
in 45 minutes,
see you there.
He doesn't come home.
He's driving home
and a truck driver,
a guy didn't have
his license,
wasn't concentrating,
goes off the road,
cuts across,
hits him
and in the instant
he's dead.
You can be
the wisest person,
but there's a whole
lot of life
that is unpredictable.
You can't manage.
And so look at
what the teacher says.
Finally,
he says,
the final thing
about wisdom,
he says,
wisdom actually
can't deliver you
from the main problem,
the one enemy,
the one adversary
that all of us
ultimately must face
and that is
our mortality.
The fact that
one day
all of us
are going to die.
Look at what he says
in chapter 9
verse 11 and 12.
He says,
again I saw
under the sun
the race is not
to the swift
nor the battle
to the strong
nor bread,
he means economic
like food
to the wise,
nor riches
to the intelligent,
nor favor
to those with knowledge,
but time and chance
happen to all of us.
For man does not
know his time.
Like fish,
they are taken
in an evil net.
Like birds,
they are caught up
in an evil snare.
So the children of man
are snared
at an evil time
when it suddenly
falls upon them.
He says,
ultimately you can be
the smartest,
most brilliant person
in the world.
You can be the most
diligent,
hard working,
well organized,
sharpest person.
But ultimately
there is an adversary
that all of us
face
that none of us
can outsmart.
I heard a story
recently of a man
in the UK,
he goes to an
elders meeting
at church one night,
at the end of
the elders meeting
he gets a phone call.
Your wife has just
passed away.
So what happened?
She was healthy.
Adult sudden death
syndrome.
No medical explanation,
she is at home,
she suddenly just dies.
And the author
wants us to see
that the mortality
rate for humanity
is still 100%.
That all of us
ultimately
are going to die.
And that's what
the teacher
Kehelith is saying.
Even the brightest,
even the smartest,
even the shrewdest
escape artist
cannot escape
our one final enemy,
death.
Now I know that
in Asia
we don't like to
talk about death
very much, right?
It's the thing
we try to avoid
talking about.
We say when
someone dies,
we say they've
passed on,
they've passed away.
We have euphemisms
to soften it,
to not talk about it.
Death is the one thing
we all try to avoid
thinking about
and talking about.
Claire and I
have this friend
who's from Hong Kong,
he grew up
overseas abroad,
and when he was
younger,
his father
passed away
one day,
but the extended
family was still
here in Hong Kong
and for two years
they didn't tell
the family
that the father
had passed away.
And so the
grandparents would
phone
and my friend
would lower his
voice and answer
the phone and say,
yes, yes, no,
we're all doing
well here,
kids just send
their love.
And for two years
he would pretend
to be his dad
because they didn't
want to let the
family know that
their son had
passed away.
We all try to
avoid thinking
about it and
talking about it.
But actually,
Kohelet,
the teacher,
says that
thinking about
our mortality,
thinking about
the fact that
all of us
one day are
going to die,
is actually a
source of wisdom.
It's one of the
ways that we can
steward our lives
well.
Do you remember
the prayer that
Moses prays in
Psalm 90?
He says,
teach us to
number our days,
O Lord,
that we may get
a heart of
wisdom.
I know that
we all think
we're going to
live forever,
especially if you're
25 or younger,
you feel like,
I'm immortal,
right?
I'll never face
those things.
Old age is a
long way off.
Well,
take it from me,
your hair starts
to recede sooner
than you think.
Right?
Age old starts,
old age starts
to set in.
But the teacher,
Kohelet,
says that thinking
about death
actually is one
way that we get
wisdom.
Realizing that we
are not immortal
helps us to
steward our lives
well.
Look what he
says here in
chapter 9,
verse 7 to 10.
He says,
he's talking about
death and he
says,
so go and eat
your bread with
joy.
Drink your wine
with a merry heart.
He's saying,
listen,
you're not going to
live life forever,
so actually enjoy
your life.
And verse 9,
enjoy life with
the wife whom
you love.
Enjoy the days
of your vain life
that God has
given you under
the sun.
Whatever your
hand finds to
do,
do it with all
your might.
Now,
he's not saying
just go party
it up,
take drugs,
drink yourself
into a stupor
because,
hey,
you've just got
one life to
live.
YOLO,
you only live
once,
so just,
you know,
make it happen,
right?
Because what does
verse 8 say?
Read it with me.
He says,
verse 8,
let your garments
always be white,
let not oil be
lacking on your
head.
So he's saying,
live your life
with purity,
live your life
before the face
of God Almighty,
but before God,
live,
enjoy your life
to the one
life that he's
given you.
But ultimately,
what Koheleth
really wants us
to get about
death is this,
that death
is the great
equalizer
of all
humanity.
Death is
coming to
all of us.
He says,
it doesn't matter
who you are,
what your
background is,
what your
culture is,
how brilliant
or successful
you've been.
It doesn't matter
how healthy
you eat,
how much
exercise you do.
Exercise is good.
It'll mean that
when you are alive,
at least your life
will be maybe
better.
Exercise is good.
But even if you're
the best exercise
in the world,
even if you only
eat healthy food,
you are still
going to die.
He says,
it doesn't matter
whether you're
a billionaire
or whether
you sweep
the streets
for a living.
It doesn't matter
whether your name
is on lights
and newspapers,
your name is on
buildings all
around Hong Kong,
or nobody
knows your name.
all of us
one day
are going to
face death.
Look at how he
says it in
chapter 9,
verse 2 and 3.
He says,
it is the same
for all of us
since the same
event happens
to the righteous
and to the wicked,
to the good
and to the evil,
to the clean
and to the unclean,
to him who
sacrifices
and to him
who does not.
As the good
one is,
so is the sinner,
the one who swears,
and that means
swears an oath
to God,
and the one
who shuns his oath.
This is an evil,
there is an evil
that is in all
that is done
under the sun.
The same event
happens to all.
The hearts of the
children of man
are full of evil
and madness
is in their hearts
while they live.
And after that,
they all go
to the dead.
The teacher
is telling us
that death
is the great
equalizer
of all humanity.
It doesn't matter
who you are
or where you come from,
the ground
at death's door
is equal.
You know,
in Hong Kong
we love to compare,
right?
Where do you live?
What street
do you live on?
What school
did you go to?
What company
do you work for?
How quickly
have you progressed
through your career?
We love to compare.
And the teacher
here is saying
all those comparisons
ultimately
are meaningless
because
there is
an equalizer
that will come
to all of us.
The race
is not to the swift.
The battle
is not to the strong.
The rich
is not to the intelligent.
Time and chance
happen to them all.
This is
life
under the sun.
This is what
the teacher
observes
and sees
around him.
This is our lot
in life.
And so he says
seek wisdom.
Wisdom can benefit you.
Wisdom is good.
It can be your friend.
But it's not
the silver bullet.
It cannot
ultimately
save you.
Because one day
all of us
will face
the call
when death
comes and
knocks on our door.
Death is the one
great equalizer.
Except
that it's not.
Friends,
if you've been
coming to Watermark
for some time
you'll know
that there is
another
great equalizer
that the Bible
speaks about.
The great equalizer
of all the world
is not just the fact
that all of us
are one day
going to die.
In fact,
the greatest equalizer
that the Bible
speaks about
happened
to one man
and his death
upon the cross.
Because
Jesus Christ
went to the cross
and died
to once again
reset
the balances
and to equalize
all of humanity.
Listen to how
the Apostle Paul
writes it
in Romans chapter 3.
He says,
God's gift
of grace
is given
to all
who believe.
For there is
no distinction
in life.
For all people
have sinned
and fall short
of the glory
of God.
And all
who are in Christ
are justified
by his grace
as a gift
through the redemption
that is in Jesus Christ
whom God put forward
as an atoning sacrifice
by his blood.
Friends,
the scripture says
that
all of humanity
is
infected
and affected
by the reality
of sin.
and all
of humanity
therefore
is under
sin's curse
called death.
He says
there is no distinction.
All people,
it doesn't matter
your culture,
your race,
your background,
your ethnicity,
it doesn't matter
whether you've got
a trillion dollars
in the bank account
or you've got nothing.
All humanity,
the great equalizer
is that all of us
have sinned
and fall short
of God's glory.
The rich,
the poor,
the righteous,
the unrighteous,
the pastor,
the drug addict,
all of us
are in the same boat.
That's what our passage says.
Look at chapter 9 verse 5.
He says,
What is this?
The hearts of the children of man
are set on evil,
set on madness.
But friends,
the good news of the gospel
is that
though all have sinned
and though all
have fallen short
of God's glory,
all are able
to be forgiven
healed,
justified,
restored,
ransomed,
healed,
because Jesus Christ
went to the cross
for the sins
of all those
who would turn to Him
and trust Him.
Friends,
Jesus didn't just go to the cross
for the righteous,
for the wealthy,
for the privileged.
Jesus didn't just go to the cross
for the poor,
for the marginalized,
for the downhearted.
Jesus Christ
went to the cross
for all humanity
who would come to Him
and trust in Him
and look to Him.
Elsewhere,
the apostle Paul writes,
and listen to what he says.
He says,
In Christ Jesus,
you are all
sons and daughters
of God
through faith.
for in Christ
there is neither Jew
nor Greek.
Now,
to us,
that doesn't sound
really radical.
But in the first century,
that is a radical idea.
That's like
walking into
Mississippi
in 1963
and saying,
there is no distinction
between black and white,
right?
That is a radical idea.
There is no difference
between Jew and Greek.
Paul says,
there is no difference
between male
and female.
Again,
a radical idea
in the first century.
There is no difference
between slave
and free
for Christ Jesus
went to the cross
for all humanity.
Friends,
the cross of Christ
is the great equalizer.
The ground
is level
at the foot of the cross.
Come with your pride
and your accolades
and your credentials
and you will be humbled.
But come empty-handed
with nothing in your hands,
feeling guilty,
worn down,
broken,
and you will be honored
with the greatest honor,
the name of Christ.
The name that Christ
will give you.
You will be called
the son or daughter
of the Most High King.
The ground
is level
at the foot
of the cross.
But the Bible says
that because Jesus
really is God,
because He died
and He rose again,
Jesus solves
the two great problems
that the teacher
is grappling with
in Ecclesiastes 9 and 10.
Look at how Jesus
solves the problem
of wisdom.
Jesus Christ
comes and gives you
a wisdom
that you can never achieve
by simply observing
life under the sun
on your own.
In the book of James
in the New Testament,
the apostle James,
who is actually
the half-brother of Jesus,
writes and he says,
there's actually
two different kinds
of wisdom in this world.
There's a wisdom
that's observed
that you gain
just by observing
life under the sun.
You listen to podcasts,
you listen to TED Talks,
you read great books.
There's a wisdom
that you can observe
that you can gain
by observing
life under the sun.
And it may help you
get ahead in life,
it may help you
to progress
in your career,
but very often
there's a trail
of pain
and destruction
and broken relationships
behind that kind
of wisdom.
And the apostle James
says there's another
kind of wisdom
that comes from
beyond the sun.
And it's an upside-down
wisdom.
It's a wisdom
that may not get
your name on lights,
it may not make you
the most famous person
in the world,
but it's a wisdom
that will answer
the deep questions
of life.
It's a wisdom
that will help you
to find out
what life is all about.
He says there's a
different kind of wisdom,
it's an upside-down
wisdom.
It seems like foolishness
to those who simply
observe life under the sun.
It's the kind of wisdom
that will help you
not to waste your life.
But it's the kind
of wisdom that comes
not by trying
to find wisdom,
but by setting your heart
on the one
who truly is wisdom.
In the book of Proverbs,
the writer says this,
he says,
the fear of the Lord
is the beginning
of wisdom.
And what that means
is this,
you don't find wisdom
by trying to be wise,
you find wisdom
by setting your heart
on Jesus
who is wise himself.
Do you see that?
That's a radically
important idea.
Think about that,
the more you try
to be impressive
or smart
or brilliant,
how do you come across?
You actually come across
foolish, right?
Have you ever come across
somebody who
in a social setting,
they're always trying
to look smart,
they're always trying
to be impressive,
they're always trying
to look as the wise
person in the room
and what do you think
about that person?
They actually come across
as foolish.
But who is the person
that's truly wise
and truly impressive
and truly brilliant?
It's actually the person
that forgets about themselves
and isn't trying
to be impressive,
but actually sets themselves
trying to serve
and love others.
The one characteristic
of all wise people
is that they're actually
not enamored
with themselves at all.
They've forgotten
about themselves.
The writer of Proverbs
says this,
if you set your heart
on trying to be wise,
if you set your heart
on trying to get ahead
in life
and trying to make life work
and trying to not
waste your life,
you'll waste your life.
But if you set your heart
on centering your life
on Jesus
and the gospel,
you will find
that actually
you will be wise.
in the New Testament,
the book of Colossians,
Paul writes this
and he says,
in Jesus Christ
are hidden,
that's an important word,
are hidden
all the treasures
of wisdom
and knowledge.
Now Paul's not saying
if you're not a Christian
you can't be smart,
right?
Okay?
He's not saying
only Christians
are smart people.
There's some people
that are very smart
and they wouldn't
profess faith in Christ.
Some of you
are here this morning.
But what he is saying
is this,
that the key
to unlocking
the secrets to life,
this key to unlocking
the vaults
of the treasures
of wisdom
are not found
by simply observing
life around you.
It's not found
by simply observing
life under the sun.
It's found
in coming to the one,
the author
and the designer of life.
It's found
in coming to the one
who created life.
This key to unlocking
the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge
are actually found
and coming to the one
who made you
and who created you
and knows the purpose
for your life.
Jesus Christ
being the author
of life
will show you
how life was meant
to be lived.
Not according to just
the natural wisdom
of this world
but according to
an altogether
different kind
of wisdom.
A wisdom that is not
found in life
under the sun
but found beyond
the sun.
we tend to think
that it's the strong
and the powerful
and the beautiful
that are successful
in life.
And Jesus is
blessed are the poor
and the weak
and the meek
and the poor in spirit
and the merciful.
We tend to think
that honor
and respect
and long life
are the signs
of a good life.
And Jesus is
serving others
and being humble
are actually the signs
of greatness.
We tend to think
that those who
accumulate great wealth
are the blessed ones.
And Jesus says
it's more blessed
to give away
than to receive.
We tend to think
that it's those
who have a big following
and a great name
and are esteemed
that are the great ones
in our generation.
And Jesus says
he whoever humbles
himself like a child
is the greatest
in the kingdom.
Friends,
Jesus says
that the wisdom
that you gain
by observing life
under the sun,
the wisdom
that our teacher finds
by listening to TED talks
and podcasts,
it's not wrong,
it's not pointless,
it's not sinful,
but it's not enough.
It does not help you.
It may help you
to get ahead in life,
it may help you
to focus on life,
but ultimately
you can still get ahead
in life and be a fool
because it won't help you
to discover
the true answers
to life's biggest questions.
And so Jesus
actually solves
the answers
that wisdom
poses.
But not only that,
Jesus also solves
the problem of death
because Jesus died
and rose again.
The teacher says
there's only one thing
in this world
that you can be
absolutely certain of.
All of us are going to die
and then after that,
who knows?
You can't be certain
of anything beyond the grave.
But Jesus Christ
died and rose again
so that those
who come to him,
those who trust him,
those who put their faith
in him,
truly can be certain
of life in this world
and of the world
to come.
And how do you know that?
Because under
the hill of Calvary,
there is a tomb
and that tomb
is empty.
Friends,
there are many things
in this world
that you cannot be certain of.
There are many
unpredictable things
in life.
But there are some things
you can be certain of.
You can be absolutely certain
that Jesus Christ
loves you
because he went
to the cross for you.
He died on the cross for you.
He shed his blood for you.
He took the nail-scarred hands
to go to the cross
for you.
You can be absolutely
certain of his love for you.
You can be absolutely certain
that if you are in Christ,
he has not abandoned you.
He has not forsaken you.
In Jesus Christ,
he went to the cross
and he died there,
but he didn't remain there.
He rose from the grave.
He rose.
He is ascended into heaven
and in heaven now,
he is interceding
for those who are in Christ.
Friends,
Jesus Christ was abandoned
on the cross
so that you will never
be abandoned.
Jesus Christ died
like a fool,
as Niels reminded us
a few weeks ago,
so that fools like you and I
don't need to live
in our folly,
but can discover the wisdom.
Friends,
Jesus Christ
went to the cross
so you can be
absolutely certain
that beyond death,
there is life
beyond the grave.
Jesus rose again
so that your hope
is not only in this life.
The Bible describes Jesus
as a poor,
wise man
who came not just
to save his village,
but to save all of humanity,
all those who would
trust in him,
all those who would
surrender to him.
Friends,
let's not be like
the village
in this parable
who rejected
and despised
the wisdom
of that poor,
wise man.
Jesus Christ
came to save
those who would
trust in him.
And so let's
take heed of his wisdom.
Let's bank our lives
on him.
Let's surrender to him.
Let's center our lives
on him.
And as we do that,
we will find the wisdom
to truly make life work.
We will find the wisdom
how not to waste
our lives.
We will find the wisdom
to,
we will find the skill
of making life work
if we will center
our lives on Jesus.
promises.
But not only that,
we will defeat
death.
We will escape
the one great enemy
that none of us
can escape on our own.
We will take hold
of life
and life everlasting.
Friends,
human wisdom
is good,
but it's limited.
Because life
is unpredictable,
and ultimately
it cannot save you
from the inevitability
of death.
And while death
is the great equalizer
of humanity,
there is another
equalizer,
the cross of Christ
that invites all of us,
sinners though we are,
to come and find hope
and fresh life
in him.
Friends,
Jesus died
and rose again.
Then we don't need
to die in our foolishness,
but that we can take
hold of life
and take hold
of his wisdom.
And so this week,
as you go into your week,
as you go to the office,
as you go to holiday,
as you parent
your children,
as you look after
your aged parents,
as you pursue
a relationship
or you try and reconcile
to a broken relationship,
as you mourn the death
of a loved one
or a friend,
friends,
don't just seek wisdom,
don't just try
and make life work,
seek Jesus,
the author of life,
the author of wisdom,
the one who really
did die and rose again
so that we may find life.
Let's seek not wisdom
in our own lives,
but Jesus,
who is wisdom.
Let's pray together.
Maybe actually before I pray,
let me just give us
a few moments
to respond on our own
in quiet.
In his word,
God calls us
to not center our lives
on trying to make life work,
but to center our lives
on Jesus,
who will give us
the wisdom
to make life work.
How's Jesus asking us
to respond to him today?
Amen.
What will it look like
for you to center your life
on Jesus this week?
Maybe I can ask you,
what is the one area
in your life
that you try to live
by your own wisdom?
For many of us,
the temptations,
we'll say,
I'll surrender everything
to Jesus,
but there's this one area
in my life
I don't want to let go
of control.
Friends,
that's the one area
where we'll probably
be most foolish.
What's the one area
of your life
Jesus wants you to come
and center on him?
Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, we bring our lives before you.
In particular, we bring the areas of our life this morning that we find so hard to bring before you.
Father, where we are tempted to live by our own wisdom,
we confess that often we lead ourselves into foolishness.
We have a trail of brokenness behind us.
So Christ, we come before you this morning, and we ask you, come and have your way in our life.
Come and be our King. Come and be our Lord.
Come and be our Master.
Come and be our Lord.
Jesus, come and lead our lives, and give us the wisdom, God,
to not waste our lives, but to make our lives flourish.
By centering our lives in you, come and help us, we pray.
God, where we lack faith, where we find it hard, won't you help us to trust you?
Where we fear for God, won't you come and draw us near.
Where we are anxious and worried, Jesus, come and bring your peace, and help us to trust you, we pray.
In your great and gracious name, amen.
Bye.