Please turn with me your Bibles to Ecclesiastes.
If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.
We'd love to give you a copy that you can use and have.
If you don't have a Bible, feel free to raise your hand.
We'll bring one over to you.
We're in Ecclesiastes chapter 12.
We are in the final passage of the book of Ecclesiastes,
which was a 14-week series.
And we'll be in verses 8 to 14 this morning.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father,
you have the words of life.
Where else can we turn?
To whom else can we go?
So we have come once again to you,
to your words of life,
for your word is truth.
Please address us from your words so that
all of our beliefs,
all of our attitudes,
perspectives,
may be conformed to your word.
Speak to us and transform us so that
all of our priorities,
all that we say and do,
might be conformed to your word.
Lord,
so that we might be a humble people,
governed by the word of God,
living in a manner that pleases you.
Give us listening ears,
listening hearts,
and glorify the name of your Son,
Jesus Christ,
as we behold him in your word.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Please stand,
and if you are able,
as we honor God,
as we read his word,
I'm going to read the passage I would like for us,
Ecclesiastes 12,
verses 8 to 14.
Vanity of vanities,
says the preacher,
all is vanity.
Besides being wise,
the preacher also taught the people knowledge,
weighing and studying and arranging
many proverbs with great care.
The preacher sought to find words of delight,
and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
The words of the wise are like goads,
and like nails firmly fixed
are the collected sayings.
They are given by one shepherd.
My son,
beware of anything beyond these.
Of making many books,
there is no end,
and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
The end of the matter.
All has been heard.
Fear God,
and keep his commandments,
for this is a whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
with every secret thing,
whether good or evil.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
You shouldn't judge a book by its cover,
but the cover of a book
does tell you important things about a book.
On the front cover,
you find the title of the book.
The back cover usually has a summary blurb of the book,
along with maybe a few endorsements.
And the cover of a book
frames the book
and brings all the pages together into a unity.
That's the function of Ecclesiastes 12, 8-14,
which I just read.
It's the back cover of this book,
and it matches the front cover of the book,
which is Ecclesiastes 1, 1-11,
and there are important parallels
between the beginning and the end of the book.
In chapter 1, verse 1,
we were introduced to the main voice of the book,
which is the preacher.
It said,
the words of the preacher,
the son of David,
king in Jerusalem.
And then in chapter 12,
verses 9-10,
we're introduced to the same preacher.
The preacher also taught the people knowledge.
The preacher sought to find words of delight,
and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
So at the beginning of the book
and at the end of the book,
we see the author of the book,
the redactor of the book,
peeking through.
And as it began in chapter 1, verse 2,
so here it ends in chapter 12, verse 8,
with the refrain,
the thesis of the book,
vanity of vanities,
says the preacher.
Vanity of vanities,
all is vanity.
Throughout our 14-week sermon series in this book,
we've seen that word,
vanity,
48 times,
or 38 times,
sorry,
and it's a translation of a Hebrew word
that means breath,
or wind.
It's the Greek equivalent of the word
that is used in Romans 8-20
to describe that all creation
has been subjected to futility.
That word,
futility,
vanity,
breath.
After Adam sinned and humanity fell,
we,
ever since then,
we have been living in a world
that is a mere breath,
the merest breath.
Our fleeting lives vanish
like a puff of wind
in the blink of an eye,
and all of our earthly strivings
and accomplishments
come to naught.
In such a world,
how then shall we live?
Ecclesiastes 12, 8-14
answers that question
and brings the book
to its climactic conclusion,
and this is the main point
of the passage
and of the book as a whole.
To be fully human
is to fear God
and keep his commandments.
And we're going to see,
explore this in two parts.
First,
we'll look at the words of truth
for every season,
and secondly,
we'll look at the words
of the shepherd
for every sinner.
Many Bible commentators
and theologians
think that the author
and the narrator
of Ecclesiastes
is here contradicting
the kind of the dark
and sobering
and grim message
of the preacher
throughout the book
and that he is now
finally bringing everything
back to the traditional
biblical wisdom
of fearing the Lord.
However,
that's a misinterpretation
of this book
and it's only a surface level
analysis of this book
and misses the main point
of the book
because this is not
the first time
that we've been told
to fear God.
We've been told
to fear God
many times already
in chapter 3,
verse 14,
chapter 5,
verse 7,
chapter 7,
verse 18,
and chapter 8,
verse 12.
Far from contradicting
the preacher,
the narrator here
endorses the preacher.
In verse 9 and 10,
besides being wise,
the preacher also taught
the people knowledge,
weighing and studying
and arranging many proverbs
with great care.
The preacher sought
to find words of delight
and uprightly he wrote
words of truth.
The narrator,
the author of the book,
the redactor of the book
is here affirming
the words of the preacher
that he has been relaying
to us all throughout
the book of Ecclesiastes.
So the main argument,
vanity of vanities,
all is vanity,
is still true.
We live in a fallen world
where everything is vanity.
All comes to naught.
It's all undone
by our last enemy, death.
And it's when we recognize
that our lives
are but a breath,
that we are fleeting creatures
who have no control
over the passage of time
and no control
over the events of life,
that we become
a humble people
who fear God,
who are submitted to him.
There is an intriguing parallel
between Ecclesiastes 12,
9 to 10,
and 7, 29,
that one of our
incoming church members,
Charles Dye,
actually pointed out to me
in our conversation
earlier this week.
And I have a slide
to show the comparison.
Ecclesiastes 12,
9 to 10 says,
besides being wise,
the preacher also taught
the people knowledge.
weighing and studying
and arranging
many proverbs
with great care.
So the preacher
sought to find
words of delight
and uprightly
he wrote words of truth.
Now compare that
to Ecclesiastes 7, 29.
It says,
see, this alone I found,
that God made man upright,
but they have sought out
many schemes.
You see the highlighted words
that are repeated
in those two verses,
found,
many,
sought,
upright.
It's as if the preacher
intends Ecclesiastes
to be a corrective,
an antidote
to what he found.
And what he found
was this,
he found that humanity
as a whole
has strayed
from the uprightness
or straightness
in which God created them
and have instead
sought out
many schemes.
And for that reason,
preachers sought
to find many proverbs
to counteract
their many schemes.
And uprightly
he wrote words of truth
so that those
who have strayed
from their uprightness
may be guided back
by these words
to return
to the righteousness
of the Lord.
This interpretation
is confirmed
by the use of the word
arrange in verse 9.
Arranging many proverbs
with great care,
the word arrange
means more literally
to make straight.
And that's a word
that's used
only three times
in the entire Bible
and two other times
also occur
in the book
of Ecclesiastes.
It says in Ecclesiastes 1.15,
what is crooked
cannot be made straight,
cannot be arranged
or ordered.
7.13,
consider the work of God
who can make straight
what he has made crooked.
In both contexts,
the preacher spoke
of the futility
and vanity of life.
Human beings
cannot make straight
what God
has made crooked.
We,
no matter how hard
we try,
cannot undo
the subjection
to futility
due to sin
that creation is under,
that all of humanity
is under.
Only God
can make straight
what he has made crooked.
And so the preacher
cannot straighten out
this fallen world.
So instead,
he does,
the best thing
he can do
is to straighten
and order
the many proverbs,
the words of the wise,
which are given
by the one shepherd,
namely God,
as it says
in verse 11.
And it's the word
of God
and the fear
of the Lord
that can straighten
out the sheep
that have strayed
away from
the uprightness,
the path of God.
So then the author
of Ecclesiastes
is exhorting us here
to cherish
these words of wisdom.
The preacher,
whose words
the author
has reproduced here,
was wise.
And this wise man
weighed and studied
and arranged
many proverbs
with great care.
In fact,
Ecclesiastes 1.16
told us
that this preacher
had acquired
great wisdom,
surpassing all
who were over
Jerusalem before him.
This is why I think
that this is an allusion
to King Solomon,
the preacher,
who is specifically
noted in 1 Kings 4
as possessing wisdom
that surpassed
the wisdom
of all the people
of the East
and all the wisdom
of Egypt,
for he was wiser
than all other men.
He also spoke
3,000 proverbs.
Verse 10
continues to command
the words
of the preacher
to us.
The preacher
sought to find
words of delight
and uprightly
he wrote
words of truth.
The word delight
in the phrase
words of delight
is used
in two primary senses
in the book
of Ecclesiastes.
In the first sense,
it means pleasure
or delight
and that's the way
it's used
in chapter 5,
verse 4
and chapter 12,
verse 1.
In that sense,
it means that
the preacher
sought to discover
and express
the many proverbs
not only truly
but in a witty
and memorable
and delightful way
which is evident
in the poetic imagery
and the beauty
of the phrasing
in both the book
of Proverbs
and Ecclesiastes.
But there's
an important second
meaning of that word,
delight,
and this is the way
it's more commonly
used in the book
of Ecclesiastes
and it means
matter
or way.
For example,
in Ecclesiastes 3,
verse 1,
it says,
for everything
there is a season
and a time
for every matter
under heaven.
The word matter
there is a translation
of the same Hebrew word
that is rendered
delight
in chapter 12,
verse 10.
Again,
Ecclesiastes 3,
17 says,
God will judge
the righteous
and the wicked
for there is a time
for every matter
and for every work.
Again,
Ecclesiastes 8,
verse 6,
for there is a time
and a way
for every matter
although man's trouble
lies heavy on him.
The preacher's concern
in this book
has been comprehensive.
It has encompassed
all of human life
under the sun.
And here
are the words
that are true
and delightful
for every time
and season,
for every matter
under the sun.
Fear God
and keep his commandments.
for this is
the whole duty
of man.
These are
the words
of truth
for every season.
Whether you are
rejoicing or weeping
right now
in your season of life,
whether you are
single or married,
whether you are
healthy or sick,
whether you are
young or old,
pay attention
to these words
the author
is telling us
because these are
the words of truth
for every season
written by
someone who is
wiser than all of us.
And these are also
the words
of the shepherd
for every sinner.
I mentioned this already
but note that
these words of wisdom
do not ultimately
belong to the preacher.
He is not the originator
or the creator
of these proverbs.
He doesn't say
that he thought
of these
or came up with these
or he created
these words.
Those are not
the kinds of verbs
that is used here.
Instead,
he says he simply
weighed and studied
arranged,
sought,
and found them.
The word way,
which means to ponder
or think about,
comes from a word
that means year.
The Hebrew word
for year.
It means to listen
or consider carefully.
The preacher
listened to wisdom.
He sought
and found wisdom
because the wisdom
of Ecclesiastes
does not belong
ultimately to man,
not to Solomon,
but to God.
It says in verse 11,
the words of the wise
are like goads
and like snails
firmly fixed
are the collected sayings.
They are given
by one shepherd.
The words
collected sayings
and many proverbs
are contrasted
with the emphatic word
one,
the one shepherd.
The many proverbs
and this extensive
collection of sayings
all ultimately
have one author
and one owner
and one originator
and that is God.
And we know
that the one shepherd
is a reference to God
because of the way
he is singled out
as the one,
the one shepherd
and because
throughout scripture
God is described
as the shepherd
of his people.
In the first book
of the Bible
in Genesis 48, 15
at the end of his life
Jacob says,
God has been my shepherd
all my life long
to this day.
In the last book
of the Bible
in Revelation 7, 17
it says,
the lamb
in the midst
of the throne
namely Jesus Christ
will be their shepherd
and he will guide them
to springs of living water
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.
And in between
the first book
of the Bible
and the last book
of the Bible
there are many references
to God
as our shepherd.
We read
in the assurance
of pardon,
the Lord
is my shepherd
I shall not want
Psalm 23.
God is the shepherd
and overseer
of our souls
1 Peter 2, 25
O shepherd of Israel
you who lead
Joseph like a flock
Psalm 80 verse 1
and this is what
the words of the shepherd
the words of God
are like.
They are like goads
and like nails
firmly fixed.
These vivid images
convey two different
characteristics
of God's word.
First,
the words of God
are like goads.
We don't really use
goads very much
nowadays
but this is a
traditional farming
instrument.
It's just a long
stick that has
a pointed end
and the farmers
would use it
to goad oxen,
prod the animals
to go in a certain
direction
by pricking them
so that,
you know,
and if an ox
refuses to heed
the prodding
of the goat
then it can stray
and fall into a ditch
or it would certainly
be useless
for farming
because it's not
moving in the direction
that the farmer
wants it to move.
The words of God
are like goads
that direct us
and keep us
on the upright
path of God.
In Acts 26, 14
Saul,
also named Paul,
mentions that
when Jesus
appeared to him
on the road
to Damascus
he said,
Saul, Saul,
why are you
persecuting me?
It is hard for you
to kick against
the goats.
Saul was busy
persecuting
the church of Christ.
He was busy
trying to stamp out
the gospel of Jesus Christ
from the face
of the earth
and Jesus
appears to him
in a vision
and says to him,
it is hard for you
to kick against
the goats.
The word of God
and the way
he is directing
the course of human history
he is trying
to direct Paul,
here are the goats
pointing to him
with the stick,
they go this way
and Paul is kicking
against it
and resisting it
screaming all along
the way
but finally
he responds
to the goading
of the word of God
and he repents
of his sins
and turns around
and he becomes
the famous apostle
to the Gentiles
who perhaps
more widely
and more effectively
proclaim the gospel
and plant the churches
than anyone else
in human history.
Being poked by goats
is not fun.
It hurts
but it's pain
that leads to life
and salvation.
It's pain
for our good.
It's pain
that aligns us
with the purposes
and priorities
of God.
Where in your life
do you feel
the poking
of the goads
of God's word?
is there
a sin
or a habit
that you
refuse to give up?
Stop kicking
against the goats.
Follow
where the shepherd
is leading you.
The words of God
also like
nails firmly fixed.
If you've ever
tried to remove
a nail
that has been
driven into a wall
with a hammer
with your hands
you know that
it's impossible
to do.
I'm not talking
about a nail
that's loosely
hanging on drywall
that you forgot
to use the drywall
anchor in.
That's just kind of
like barely hanging
in there
and just falls
right out.
I'm talking about
a nail
that's driven
firmly into
a wall stud
into a beam
of wood
with a hammer.
Unless you have
the proper tools
for it
you will never
be able to
pull that nail
out
no matter
how strong
you are.
I have
in my bedroom
above the bed
Matthew 11
28-29
written in
Korean calligraphy
framed
and it's a big
heavy frame
it's like
five feet
by three feet
it's unwieldy
to carry
but if I remember
correctly
that massive frame
is hanging
by one nail
one nail
firmly fixed
that one nail
firmly fixed
holds that entire
weight of the frame
which I would have
a hard time
holding for more
than a few minutes
24 hours a day
365 days a year
year after year
after year
it's amazing
on nails
firmly fixed
you can hang
the heavy frames
of your life
likewise
on the words
of God
which are like
nails firmly fixed
you can hang
your entire life
every choice
that you make
every word
that you speak
everything you believe
every relationship
you have
you can hang
it all up
on the word
of God
and it can bear
that weight
but if you hang
your life
on other words
words of men
the wisdom
of this world
would be like
trying to hang
a heavy frame
on a plastic
thumbtick
pushed into a drywall
it will keep
falling off
and you've done
this before
I'm sure
like you're just
trying delicately
to make sure
it stays
it's wobbling
and then
you walk away
and then that
footfall
boom
vibrates
and it falls
to the ground
you can't bear
the weight
of your life
Jesus said
in Matthew 24
35
heaven and earth
will pass away
but my words
will not
pass away
the word
of God
shall not
change
and shall
not be moved
the word
of God
is like nails
firmly fixed
are you
betting your life
on the words
of God
or on the words
of men
what do you
give more
weight to
in your life
do you care
more about
what scripture
says
or
do you care
more about
what scripture
says about
the social
and political
issues in life
or do you care
more about
what your
friends say
or what your
social media
news feed
says
what popular
opinion says
what the
newspaper
pundit
says
do you
spend more
time listening
to or
reading God's
word
or more
time listening
to other
podcasts
other people
talking
reading other
books
magazines
every word
of man
that is posted
and published
throughout human
history
will fade
and be
forgotten
but the
words of God
will remain
forever
so the
author of
Ecclesiastes
gives us some
paternal advice
in verse 12
my son
and if you're a
woman you can
hear my
daughter
beware of
anything beyond
these
of making
many books
there is no
end
and much
study is a
weariness of
the flesh
the words
many books
and much
study form an
intentional contrast
with the many
proverbs
from the
words of the
shepherd in
verse 9
every single
day I mentioned
to you a few
weeks ago
every single
day 7.5
million blog
posts are
published online
every single
year up to
1 million books
are published
and if you
include self
published books
that number is
closer to 4
million
that's about
11,000 books
published every
single day
every year I
have I come
up with a
reading plan for
myself at the
beginning of the
year I work
through try to
work through all
of them I only
get to about half
of them and
and and I feel
like I'm making
progress and I
read every day
but guess what my
list of books to
read or books that
I want to read just
grows longer and
longer and longer
and longer every
single year
and with each
passing year my
conviction grows that
it's better to
reread an old book
that has stood the
test of time than
to read a new book
and with each
passing year my
conviction grows that
the best books to
read are books that
contain the most
scripture books that
help me to understand
scripture better because
scripture is the
pearl of divine
wisdom amidst a sea of
worthless rocks I
can't count the
number of times I've
read something and
thought it was all so
novel and insightful
only to find months
later years later oh
it's been in God's
word all along I can't
count the number of
times I've read things
or and heard things
and thought oh that
is so true and so
wise only to find out
in further study in
the months down the
line or years down
the line oh actually
the word of God
actually contradicts
that and that thing
very thing is exposed
to be false and
foolish I talk a lot
about scripture when I
preach and you know
why it's because apart
from it I don't have
anything useful or
helpful to say
this is why I take
care not to recommend
books to people by
saying that oh that's a
must read I sometimes
slip and I do say that
but don't believe me when
I say that about any
book other than the
word of God there is no
book outside of holy
writ that is a must read
second Timothy three
teaches us that in the
last days people will
be lovers of self
lovers of money lovers
of pleasure rather than
lovers of God having
the appearance of
godliness but denying
its power always learning
and never able to arrive
at a knowledge of the
truth second Timothy
four verse three
continues this morning
for the time is coming
when people will not
endure sound teaching
but having itching ears
they will accumulate for
themselves teachers to
suit their own passions
academic fashions are
always changing new
ideas are always being
proposed new dissertations
are always being written
and the people of this
world are always learning
but never able to arrive
at the knowledge of the
truth you can study
philosophy and theology
for decades and cultivate
an air of sophistication
and an appearance of
godliness even yet know
nothing of the power of
God for salvation for
those who believe
you can go to a therapist
for decades
peeling away layer after
layer of your own life
and of your own past
learn ever more about
yourself and about your
upbringing and turn every
stone and every trauma
and trigger in your life
and yet never arrive at a
knowledge of the truth
because transforming power
lies not in knowing self
but in knowing god
in fact you cannot even truly
know yourself apart from
knowing god
john 17 verse 3 says
and this is eternal life
that they know you
the only true god
and jesus christ whom you
have sent
first corinthians 1 21 says
for since in the wisdom of
god the world did not know
god through wisdom it
pleased god through the
folly of what we preach to
save those who believe
the wisdom of god is
revealed in the gospel of
jesus christ in the folly of
christ crucified not in
worldly wisdom
the great divorce is is c.s
lewis's allegorical work
about a bus ride from hell
to heaven
it has some theological
problems but it's
nonetheless insightful as all
of lewis's writings are
in the book there's a
series of dialogues between
bright what he calls solid
people
these are the people from
heaven
there's a conversation
there are conversations
between these bright solid
people and these immaterial
ghosts
they're the people from hell
the bright solid people try to
bring the ghosts that they
knew in their life on earth
to get them to finally repent
of their sins to confront
their sins to repent of
their sins so that they can
come to heaven with them
in chapter 5 the solid being
named uh named dick tries to
get a ghost who was a bishop
and a theologian on earth to
repent of his heresy and
apostasy
instead of listening to the
solid being the ghost
corrects him and tries him
saying
because because this solid being
used to be a heretic along
with him
but then later in life he
repented
and but this is what what the
what the ghost says to the
solid being
you became rather narrow-minded
towards the end of your life
believing in a literal heaven
and hell
when the solid being tells the
ghost that he was right to
believe in a real heaven and
hell
and that the ghost had in fact
been sent to hell
because of his apostasy the ghost
is
livid
it's like what
and this is what he says of
himself
mine certainly were honest
opinions
they were not only honest but
heroic
i asserted them fearlessly
when the doctrine of the
resurrection ceased to
commend itself to the
critical faculties which god
had given me i openly
rejected it
i preached my famous sermon
i defied the whole chapter i
took every risk
but the solid being challenges
the ghost's delusion
what risk
what was at all likely to
come of it except what
actually came
popularity
sales for your books
invitations
and finally a bishopric
our opinions were not
honestly come by
we simply found ourselves in
contact with a certain
current of ideas and
plunged into it
because it seemed modern and
successful
at college you know we just
started automatically writing
the kind of essays that got
good marks and saying the kind
of things that want applause
when did we put up one
moment's real resistance to
the loss of our faith
we were afraid of crude
salvationism
afraid of a breach with the
spirit of the age
afraid of ridicule
afraid above all of real
spiritual fears and hopes
the dialogue goes on
and the solid being urges the
ghost
one wrench and the tooth will
be out
you can begin as if nothing
ever had gone wrong
white as snow it's all true
you know
christ is in me for you
with that power and i i've
come a long journey to meet
you you have seen hell you
are inside of heaven
will you even now repent and
believe
the dialogue goes on
but the ghost demurs saying
that he would consider it but
that he first needs some
assurances
these are the assurances and
concessions that he seeks from
the solid being who is in
heaven
i think i have this to show
maybe not
i should want a guarantee that
you are taking me to a place
where i shall find a wider sphere
of usefulness
and scope for the talents that
god has given me
and and
and an atmosphere of free
inquiry
in short
all that one means by
civilization
air
spiritual life
but then the solid being
responds this way
no i can promise you none of
these things
no sphere of usefulness
you are not needed there at all
no scope for your talents
only forgiveness for having
perverted them
no atmosphere of inquiry
for i will bring you to the land
not of questions
but of answers
and you shall see the face
of god
unfortunately the stubborn ghost
insists
on his need for the free
wind of inquiry
of always learning
never arriving
and then returns to hell
we are always swimming
in a world of questions
and hypotheses
and suggestions
but here
is the book of answers
the people of this world
are always learning
and never able to arrive
at a knowledge of the truth
so beware
of anything
beyond these
of making many books
there is no end
and much study
is a weariness
of the flesh
but here are the many
proverbs
the words of the wise
that are given
by the one shepherd
are you paying attention
to that word
this is the end
of the matter
he says in verse 13
all has been heard
fear God
and keep his commandments
for this is
the whole duty of man
the word duty
was added there
to help us understand
the main thrust
of the verse
but the word duty
is actually absent
in the original Hebrew
so it's more literally
that fear God
and keep his commandments
for this is
the whole of man
this is what it means
to be man
this is what it means
to be human
what is man
what is humanity's
identity
what is humanity's
duty
Plato claimed
to have found
the answer
he defined human
this way
man is a two-footed
featherless animal
profound
and he was much praised
for his definition
so another
Greek philosopher
he may have been
the first troll
to ever exist
Diogenes of Sinope
plucked a chicken
of all its feathers
and brought it
into Plato's academy
and said
behold
Plato's man
he's exposing
the fact
that merely
describing
and distinguishing
man
from other animals
in terms of
physical features
is not the same thing
as defining
what man is
what is a man's
essence
what is a man's
purpose
countless philosophers
priests and poets
scientists have tried
to answer the question
what is man
and have come up
short just like Plato
more recently
BBC Earth
launched a video
series
entitled
I forget the title
but it's a video
series attempting
to answer that question
what is man
what is human
and this was
their conclusion
to be human
is to be at the
center of your
own universe
to experience life
in all its colors
and all its potential
to be
the greatest wonder
in the world
that's the first thing
that came up
when I searched
on Google
that's a boldly
man-centered way
of looking at the world
but hey
at least it's honest
because that's how
most human beings
in this world live
like they are the
center of the universe
like the world
and their life
and everybody around them
revolves around them
but the word of God
tells a very different
tale doesn't it
it says
fear God
in verse 13
the word God
is actually fronted
for emphasis
in the Hebrew
so literally it says
God you shall fear
that's the way
it's translated
that same expression
Ecclesiastes 5 7
God is the one
you must fear
the order of the word
itself conveys
the point that the
author is making
wisdom
does not begin
with I
or me
or you
it begins
with God
God
you shall fear
I heard this
helpful illustration
in one of the sermons
at the Sovereign Grace
Pastors Conference
this past week
that I was at
before Copernicus's
publication
of the revolutions
of the heavenly spheres
in 1543
most people in the world
believed that
the sun revolved
around the earth
and the planets
revolved around the earth
but unsurprisingly
the math didn't add up
because if you observe
the planets
from the vantage point
of earth
it looks like
they're moving backwards
in their orbit
which doesn't make sense
but lo and behold
when you put the sun
at the center
of this galaxy
all the math
adds up
that's what spiritual life
is like
man-centered philosophies
man-centered theologies
man-centered psychotherapies
never work
the spiritual math
simply doesn't add up
it's only when God
is on the throne
of our lives
when God
is the center
and the heartbeat
of our lives
that everything
falls into place
seek first
the kingdom of God
and all these things
will be given to you
as well
if your goal in life
is to please yourself
and make yourself
happy
by doing
what you want
for yourself
rather than
what God wants
you will never be happy
I guarantee it
because as long
as you are
the center
of your universe
the math
will never add up
but if you put God
at the center
of your life
and make your life
about glorifying him
and enjoying him
and pleasing him
then you will be happier
than you ever imagined
second century church father
Irenaeus
once said this
the glory of God
is the human being
fully alive
because to be fully human
is to fear God
and keep his commandments
that is the whole
of what it means
to be human
this is the end
of the matter
the fear of the Lord
is the beginning
and the end
of wisdom
why
verse 14
for God will bring
every deed
into judgment
with every secret thing
whether good or evil
because to be human
is to be a creature
that is accountable
to the creator
to be human
is to be a servant
that does the bidding
of the master
that's why
when Jesus
the son of God
took human flesh
took on human flesh
and became a man
it says in Philippians 2
7
that he emptied himself
by taking the form
of what
form of a servant
being born
in the likeness
of men
what does human form
and the likeness
of men
entail
servitude
that's what it means
to be human
and we can't rightly
understand ourselves
with our own
dim lights
around the world
we need
the word of God
John Calvin
who is probably
the most influential
theologian
of the Protestant
Reformation
begins his classic
work
the Institutes
of Christian Religion
by saying
that without
knowledge of God
there is no
knowledge of self
why
because we were
created in the image
of God
and our very being
our entire selves
are contingent on God
in him we live
and move
and have our being
act 17
we can only
therefore rightly
know ourselves
in relation to God
knowledge of self
apart from knowledge
of God
is impossible
and our standing
with God
whether you are
righteous or not
also we cannot
understand apart
from God's own
revelation
think about it
this way
in a dimly lit
restaurant
sometimes I
the cynical side
of me assumes
that this is why
restaurants always
dim their lights
so you could barely
see anything
everything
in a dimly lit
room looks romantic
and warm
right
and then you can't
see anything
but imagine
if you took a whole
bunch of fluorescent
light bulbs
and lit the entire
place up
right
now you can see
everything
oh those
that little stain
on that white
tablecloth
and that
oil
that grease streak
on your plate
and your silverware
and that
oh that cockroach
crawling on the edges
of the wall
and then oh
you could even see
the food stuck
between the teeth
of the person
that you're eating
with
you can see
everything
when we look
at ourselves
against the
darkness
of our
surrounding world
it's easy
for us to think
oh yeah
I'm wise
yeah
I'm righteous
but when
we look
at ourselves
against the
light of the
world
Jesus Christ
then we see
all our sins
and shortcomings
as they really
are
Calvin puts
it this way
as long
as we do not
look beyond
the earth
being quite
content with
our own
righteousness
wisdom
and virtue
we flatter
ourselves
most sweetly
and fancy
ourselves
all but
demigods
suppose
we but once
begin to raise
our thoughts
to God
and to ponder
his nature
and how
completely
perfect
are his
righteousness
wisdom
and power
the straight
edge
to which
we must
be shaped
then what
masquerading
earlier as
righteousness
was pleasing
in us
will soon
grow filthy
in its
consummate
wickedness
God's
perfect
word
is the
standard
the
straight
edge
the ruler
to which
our lives
must be
shaped
we can
only know
ourselves
rightly
in the
light of
the knowledge
of the
glory of
God
in the
face
of Jesus
Christ
so then
what can
we do
when we
behold
our own
consummate
wickedness
the hideousness
of sin
in the
light of
the glory
and holiness
of God
what can
we do
what can
we do
when Isaiah
53 verse 6
the word of
God tells us
that all of
us
we like
sheep
have gone
astray
we have
turned
everyone
to his
own way
when God's
word tells us
that God
made man
upright
but they
have sought
out many
schemes
that's what
we all
have done
we have
all
kicked
against
the
goads
of God's
word
heavenly
when we
are sheep
that go
against the
goat
and kick
against the
goat
how can
God
make us
lead us
to green
pastures
and make us
lie down
by still
waters
and restore
our souls
when we're
going our
way
kicking
against the
goat
and we've
made a mess
of our
lives
that's
where the
good news
of Jesus
Christ
comes in
in
Ezekiel
34
15
God
promised
God
is the
shepherd
remember
he promised
I
myself
will be
the
shepherd
of my
sheep
and I
myself
will make
them lie
down
declares
the Lord
God
because
God
saw
that
no
human
shepherd
can
lead
them
to
righteousness
no
human
shepherd
can
feed
them
God
himself
he said
I
will
be
the
shepherd
of my
people
and so
he
sends
his
only
son
the
son
of
God
Jesus
Christ
to
become
the
son
of
man
to
take
on
human
flesh
so
that
he
is
fully
God
and
fully
man
and
he
lives
a
life
of
perfect
obedience
that
we
could
never
live
never
once
straying
from
the
perfect
path
of
righteousness
God
set
before
him
and
yet
it's
not
us
the
foolish
sheep
that
are
going
astray
that
die
Jesus
the
shepherd
who
becomes
a
sheep
to
save
the
sheep
dies
as a
sacrificial
lamb
of
God
on
the
cross
for
our
sins
sheep
that
is
why
Jesus
said
in
John
10
11
I
am
the
good
shepherd
the
good
shepherd
lays
down
his
life
for
the
sheep
this
is
all
backwards
guys
the
sheep
exists
for
the
shepherd
the
sheep
exists
to
give
its
wool
so
that
the
shepherd
might
be
warm
the
sheep
exists
so
they
might
give
its
meat
in
times
of
hunger
for
the
shepherd
the
sheep
exists
for
the
shepherd
the
sheep
is
the
servant
the
sheep
serves
the
master
how
can
it
be
that
the
shepherd
lays
down
his
life
for
the
sheep
how
can
it
be
that
God
the
son
of
God
dies
to
save
sinful
men
like
you
and
me
and
yet
that's
what
he
did
and
Jesus
died
as
the
lamb
the
sacrificial
lamb
for
our
sins
and
then
he
was
raised
from
the
dead
so
that
all
who
believe
in
him
might
be
reconciled
to
God
have
eternal
life
and
be
clothed
with
the
righteousness
of
Christ
that's
the
promise
I
hold
out
for
all
of
you
on
the
authority
of
God's
word
so
come
to
him
do
you
feel
him
go
ing
you
come
to
him
where
you
can
be
firmly
fixed
and
stable
like
nails
firmly
fixed
let's
pray
together
father
you
are
such
a
gracious
shepherd
thank
you
for
not
leaving
us
to
our
own
devices
we
had
no
hope
of
finding
the
way