WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.500 As some of you will know, Malcolm Mugridge was one of the most famous journalist personalities of the last century. 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:08.500 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:39.600 That's success. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:48.000 Furnished with a little money and even a little fame, even the elderly, if they care to, may partake in trendy diversions. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:50.000 That's pleasure. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:01:00.000 It might happen once in a while that something I said or wrote sufficiently heated for me to persuade myself that it represented a serious impact on our time. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.000 That's fulfillment. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:17.000 Yet I say to you, and I beg you to believe me, multiply these tiny triumphs by a million and add them all together, and they are nothing, less than nothing, measured against one sip of that living water Jesus Christ offers. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:24.000 To the spiritually thirsty, irrespective of who or what they are. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:29.000 Now that's precisely the lesson that we're going to learn today. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:40.000 In the language of scripture, in the language of the prophet Jeremiah, the lesson is here to turn from drinking of idolatry's broken cisterns that cannot hold water. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:46.000 To the Lord, Jeremiah 2.13, the fountain of living water. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:52.000 For in the language of our Savior itself, it is to drink from him the water that quenches our thirst forever. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.000 A spring welling up unto eternal life. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:09.000 However, before we get to that living water that God offers to us in Christ, we first must walk through this waterless wilderness of coalesced testing of pleasure. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:16.000 Recently, my wife and I were watching the BBC's superb rendition of Dickens' Little Dorrit. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:23.000 As many of you know, Dickens had quite a knack for naming people and places within his novels. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:25.000 I think of some of the people, the characters. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:34.000 There's Jeremiah Flintwich, Mr. Chocum Child, Uriah Heap, Volumina Deadlock, great name for an elders meeting. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:36.000 Volumina Deadlock. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:38.000 And then, of course, Ebenezer Scrooge. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.000 And then you think of some of the places he created. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:45.000 The Curiosity Shop, Bleak House, Crooks, Bottle Shop. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:54.000 Well, here in proper Dickensian form, the person, I won't call him Koalef is the Hebrew name, but I'll call him King Solomon. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:55.000 King Solomon. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:56.000 That's the person. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:58.000 He takes us to a place. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:05.000 And the place he's going to take us to, I'll call the Hollow House of Hedonism. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:07.000 The Hollow House of Hedonism. 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.000 See, this house is filled. 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.000 It's filled with wine. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.000 It's filled with women, with garden, with gold, with songs and servants. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:15.000 But it's hollow. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:20.000 It's hollow when it comes to satisfying our deepest needs. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.000 Now, within the House of Hedonism, there are many rooms. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:31.000 Now, King Solomon is going to show us four of them here in our text in Ecclesiastes 2, 1 through 11. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.000 He'll show us the private pub. 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:38.000 He'll take us then to the garden, to the treasury, and finally to the bedroom. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:41.000 So first we come to what's called the private pub. 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:46.000 Now, I know pub stands for public, and so private pub is seemingly a contradictory phrase. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:53.000 But as I attempted to think of a place in our society that offers what Solomon first tested, 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.000 pub, I thought, fits best. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.000 It's private, however, because it's in his own house. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:02.000 And it seems to be for his soul entertainments. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:06.000 So look with me at verses 1 through 3 of Ecclesiastes 2. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:09.000 And then I'm also going to jump to the middle of verse 8 as well. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:14.000 I'm reordering things just a bit in this first room because we find these pleasures, 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.000 these three pleasures I'll talk about in a minute, in the pub. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:23.000 So the pleasures of laughter he finds, the pleasures of alcohol, and the pleasures of music. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:25.000 I said in my heart, verses 1 through 3, 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:28.000 Come now, I will test you with pleasure, enjoy yourself. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:31.000 But behold, this also was havel, vanity. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:34.000 I said of laughter, it is mad, of pleasure. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:35.000 What use is it? 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:38.000 I search with my heart to cheer my body with wine, 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:41.000 my heart still guiding me with wisdom. 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:43.000 And how to lay hold of folly, 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:47.000 so I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.000 during the few days of his life. 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:51.000 And then if you go to the middle of verse 8, 8b, it reads, 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:56.000 I got or I acquired singers, both men and women. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:01.000 Now we're later going to revisit the results of his pleasure experiment, 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.000 these verses that are in here. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:06.000 Behold, this was vanity, or what use was it? 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:10.000 We'll do that once we've gone through, once we've traveled through the four rooms. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.000 So for now, we're in the private pub, 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:17.000 and here Solomon is enjoying laughter and alcohol and music. 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:23.000 First, he had the best music of the day, seemingly on a daily basis. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:27.000 In verse 7, he begins his list of household possessions. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:30.000 He says this, I bought male and female slaves and so on. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.000 And then in verse 8, he says, I got singers. 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:37.000 You sort of wonder, did he just buy singers like he would a slave? 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:41.000 Or did he just hire singers for special occasions? 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:45.000 Well, based on the context, my sense is they simply served in his house like his servants did 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.000 and his concubines did. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:51.000 But whatever the case, when he wanted music, he got it. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:58.000 This is kind of the ancient version of the radio with one station available, choral music. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:03.000 However, unlike today's radio, it was, of course, it was live music. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:07.000 It was very expensive music and slightly exotic. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:13.000 It was exotic because if you remember from the Old Testament, in the temple choir, only men sang. 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:17.000 And here is Solomon having both men and women. 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:25.000 This rare musical experience, this rare musical pleasure in those days was not so rare for the pleasure preacher. 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:30.000 And then alongside the music was the alcohol with his heart still guiding him with wisdom. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:36.000 That is with a certain mindful self control or objective indulgence, if that makes sense. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:37.000 He tests wine. 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:42.000 He tests wine to see if it will cheer him enough to forget the few days. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:51.000 In other words, to forget his life, to forget to find some happiness through wine in the happy hour of his life. 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:55.000 And with, of course, the wine comes laughter, which is touched on in verse two. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:07:00.000 Like the fool in Proverbs who laughs while he is unwittingly playing with fire. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.000 Solomon's private pub is alive with frivolity. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.000 Another song is sung. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:07.000 Another round is served. 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.000 Another joke is told. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.000 We close the door. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:18.000 And there's nothing more to see or hear or smell, but the blur of a body lifting another glass. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:22.000 The subtle sound of bronze echoing in the air. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.000 And the faint residue of doom walking about the room. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:30.000 Onward and outward, we move to the next room. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:33.000 For the next place, we come to a garden. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.000 From the pub to a garden. 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:43.000 We open these cedar French doors out of the private pub into the most beautiful garden east of Eden. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:46.000 Look at verses four through seven. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:51.000 Look at Solomon's amazing architectural and agricultural achievements. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:55.000 He says, starting in verse four, I made great works. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:58.000 I built houses and I planted vineyards for myself. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:02.000 I made myself gardens and parks and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:06.000 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:11.000 And then to keep all this going, he needed to employ a massive workforce. 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:13.000 So I bought male and female slaves. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:15.000 I had slaves who were born in my house. 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:22.000 I also had great possessions of herds and flocks more than anyone who had been before me in Jerusalem. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:30.000 The commentator Derek Kidner writes here that Solomon has created a secular garden of Eden. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.000 Where there are no forbidden fruits. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:43.000 And secular is the right term because God and God's command for the man to cultivate creation is nowhere found here in Ecclesiastes. 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:47.000 But Solomon is actually doing all that Adam was supposed to do. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:54.000 The verbs that are used here to plant, to water, to make the same exact verbs you'd find in Hebrew in Genesis 2. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:55.000 As are the nouns. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:58.000 The nouns like garden, all the fruits of the trees. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:08:59.000 Same as Genesis. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:03.000 So Genesis is being echoed here in Ecclesiastes 2. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:09.000 But it's as if its nouns and its verbs, they bounce off the proud preacher. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:14.000 I, he says, not God or God through me, but I made great works. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:15.000 I build houses. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:16.000 I plant vineyards. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:18.000 I made myself gardens and parks. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:20.000 I planted fruit trees. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.000 I made myself pools. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:23.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.000 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.000 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.000 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.000 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.000 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.000 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.000 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.000 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:24.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:25.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:25.000 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:26.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:26.000 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:27.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:28.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:29.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:30.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:30.000 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:31.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:32.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:33.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:34.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:36.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:37.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:38.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:39.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:40.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:41.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:42.000 ! 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:43.000 I planted some trees. 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:44.279 Out of this rock. 00:09:45.700 --> 00:09:48.139 Well, here in Ecclesiastes 2, 4 through 7, 00:09:48.580 --> 00:09:52.279 we see a self-made man who's not only in a sense made himself, 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:54.740 he's made so much more around him. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:59.779 Like God, and with God-like control and creativity, 00:10:00.340 --> 00:10:05.019 he's created this little ideal world within the fallen world. 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:09.159 It's really like lifestyles of the rich and famous on steroids. 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:12.779 But again, there's no time to stop here. 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:15.240 In this room, he's moving us along. 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:19.500 No time to gawk or even to covet what he has or what he's done. 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:21.899 We're being moved along not only by the author, 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:24.919 but by the photographer from Better Homes and Gardens. 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:29.279 He wants to be certain to outdo the guy from Architectural Digest last month. 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:31.820 So Solomon's servants take us away. 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:34.820 And they take us back into the house, down this narrow stairway, 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:39.919 deep beneath the wine cellar, past the reporter from Forbes magazine, 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:45.240 and through this huge iron door into the treasury. 00:10:46.099 --> 00:10:46.719 The treasury. 00:10:47.579 --> 00:10:50.000 But how does Solomon afford all this stuff? 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.639 The houses, the vineyards, the pool, the parks, the servants, the singers, and so on? 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:56.459 Well, the answer is found here. 00:10:56.579 --> 00:10:56.919 Verse 8, 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:02.919 I also gathered for myself silver and gold, the treasure of kings and provinces. 00:11:03.479 --> 00:11:07.839 Now that's just an understatement if you know anything about the life of Solomon. 00:11:08.199 --> 00:11:10.959 Or if you've read about Solomon in 1 Kings 10, for example, 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:17.219 where we read about his incredible wealth that was obtained through taxes and through tributes, 00:11:17.299 --> 00:11:18.699 things that were given to him, and through trade. 00:11:18.700 --> 00:11:22.820 I'll read just a few verses from 1 Kings 10. 00:11:23.920 --> 00:11:29.960 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents. 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:30.800 So how much is that? 00:11:31.300 --> 00:11:33.420 Well, it's 25 tons of gold. 00:11:33.560 --> 00:11:36.540 In other words, it's a staggering fortune. 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:39.700 In American currency, it's hundreds of millions of dollars, 00:11:39.800 --> 00:11:43.520 maybe even a billion dollars a year he was bringing in. 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:45.759 Then read on. 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.740 So here's a sampling of what he did with all this gold. 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:53.860 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold. 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:58.319 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. 00:11:59.179 --> 00:12:01.580 The king also made an ivory throne. 00:12:01.779 --> 00:12:02.439 Great thing to do. 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:04.080 Ivory is expensive too, isn't it? 00:12:04.179 --> 00:12:05.200 An ivory throne. 00:12:05.319 --> 00:12:05.799 And then what did he do? 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.299 He overlaid the whole thing with gold. 00:12:11.059 --> 00:12:13.860 So to sum up, if you read 1 Kings 10, 00:12:13.860 --> 00:12:15.759 money was not an issue. 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.120 Money was not an issue for Solomon. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:20.960 Whatever he wanted, he got. 00:12:21.500 --> 00:12:22.919 He had the Chateau in Switzerland, 00:12:23.100 --> 00:12:24.340 the beach house in the Bahamas, 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:25.539 the penthouse in Paris. 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:28.980 He was the primary stockholder of BP and Ford. 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:32.860 He had that Rupert Murdoch snap of the finger to him. 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:35.820 He had Steve Jobs' business genius to him. 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:38.240 And most importantly, he had the Midas touch. 00:12:38.920 --> 00:12:41.980 Everything he touched turned to gold. 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:50.120 Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold. 00:12:50.259 --> 00:12:55.539 Thirteen times in 1 Kings 10, gold is mentioned. 00:12:57.539 --> 00:12:59.060 But gold is cold. 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:02.639 It can't embrace you. 00:13:03.800 --> 00:13:05.080 It can't touch you. 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:07.379 It can't make love to you. 00:13:07.379 --> 00:13:11.379 And so Solomon dialogued with himself. 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:14.519 Might the pleasures of the human body, 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:17.240 might that be the answer? 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:23.840 Let me see if women can quench this strange melancholy 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:27.620 that still exists, that's not satiated by money 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:29.620 and the stuff that money can buy. 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:33.720 Now get this, as the book of 1 Kings transitions 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:35.820 from Solomon's wealth in chapter 10 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:38.019 to Solomon's women in chapter 11, 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:41.879 so too does Ecclesiastes 2.8. 00:13:42.259 --> 00:13:44.019 It transitions in that last verse, 00:13:44.259 --> 00:13:48.039 I also gathered for myself many concubines 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:50.679 for the light of the children of Adam, 00:13:51.060 --> 00:13:51.659 of man. 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:54.779 A man's heart is how it might be translated. 00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:58.519 John Donne wrote to Solomon here 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:01.159 that he hides none of his sins. 00:14:02.319 --> 00:14:03.720 Solomon preaches himself 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:07.319 and he pours out his soul in that book of Ecclesiastes. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:10.120 That's true, but it is a tragic, 00:14:10.459 --> 00:14:12.519 it's a tragic tale that he tells. 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:15.620 The compromise of the covenant 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:18.799 is what led to his spiritual downfall 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:19.899 in the divided kingdom, 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:23.399 which is perhaps why it is listed last 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:25.000 among his pleasure experiences. 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:26.699 In other words, for emphasis. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:30.139 Now the Hebrew word here for concubines, 00:14:30.259 --> 00:14:32.679 it comes from the same word for breasts. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:35.220 It's why some translators think 00:14:35.220 --> 00:14:38.100 we should actually translate it breasts. 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:39.720 He had many breasts, 00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:41.620 or he had abundant breasts. 00:14:42.199 --> 00:14:43.600 And however you translate it, 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:45.179 it's a crude reference. 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:47.340 It's a crude reference to women 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:50.980 who are used as pleasure objects, 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:52.740 for sexual pleasure. 00:14:54.300 --> 00:14:56.200 Now while the king might have married 00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:57.660 for political reasons, 00:14:57.780 --> 00:14:58.879 for military stability, 00:14:59.060 --> 00:15:01.519 that's not the stress that's given here. 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:02.660 Sex is the stress. 00:15:03.160 --> 00:15:05.280 Sexual immorality is the stress. 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:07.379 Solomon was anti-Genesis 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:09.420 as much as he was anti-Jesus. 00:15:09.420 --> 00:15:11.900 That is, he was against God's command 00:15:11.900 --> 00:15:12.639 from the beginning 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:13.920 that it should be one man 00:15:13.920 --> 00:15:16.200 and one woman for life. 00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:19.460 But our culture is the same, isn't it? 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:21.100 It's anti-Genesis. 00:15:21.340 --> 00:15:22.259 It's anti-Jesus. 00:15:23.040 --> 00:15:25.200 Sadly, this bedroom scene here 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.220 isn't anything we haven't seen before. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:31.560 While our sex-crazed culture, 00:15:31.920 --> 00:15:34.980 we gasp at some of the sex scandals 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:36.160 that make the news. 00:15:36.980 --> 00:15:39.100 We don't gasp at a lot of other things. 00:15:39.160 --> 00:15:41.300 We don't gasp about teenage promiscuity 00:15:41.300 --> 00:15:43.720 or best-selling books about erotic bondage. 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:48.300 We don't gasp about the hundred billion, 00:15:48.540 --> 00:15:49.420 I have to look at the number, 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:51.440 hundred billion dollar porn industry. 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:54.019 We don't gasp at easy divorce 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:56.580 due to acceptable, inevitable adultery. 00:15:57.580 --> 00:15:58.820 And now we don't even gasp 00:15:58.820 --> 00:15:59.980 at homosexual behavior. 00:16:01.680 --> 00:16:04.600 Conventional morality has been shelved. 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:07.720 Biblical ethics are labeled outdated 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:09.320 or expired or even worse, 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:11.660 danger, poison. 00:16:13.660 --> 00:16:15.540 And what Woody Allen said to the media 00:16:15.540 --> 00:16:17.680 about the sexual relationship 00:16:17.680 --> 00:16:20.820 with the adopted teenage daughter of his wife, 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:23.980 the heart wants what the heart wants. 00:16:25.140 --> 00:16:28.460 It's become our slogan more and more. 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:32.540 We've listened to the seductive sounds 00:16:32.540 --> 00:16:35.500 of the sirens to borrow from Homer's Odyssey. 00:16:35.680 --> 00:16:37.440 We've sacrificed our souls 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:39.860 on the altar of sexual idolatry. 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:42.060 For what Solomon gives just one line to, 00:16:42.680 --> 00:16:45.519 our culture gives 10,000 libraries to. 00:16:46.540 --> 00:16:48.540 Solomon's private bedchamber 00:16:48.540 --> 00:16:50.620 is now open to public view. 00:16:51.900 --> 00:16:53.540 And nobody blushes anymore. 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:55.680 Nobody blushes. 00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:58.799 Christian, let's blush. 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:01.899 And let's turn our eyes away. 00:17:02.979 --> 00:17:04.519 Let's leave it all behind. 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:07.659 Leave behind this pub and this garden 00:17:07.659 --> 00:17:09.659 and the treasury and the bedroom 00:17:09.659 --> 00:17:11.099 of this hollow house. 00:17:11.639 --> 00:17:13.179 This hollow house of hedonism. 00:17:13.700 --> 00:17:15.019 Let's escape for our lives 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:16.099 and not look back. 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:18.379 It's time to flee vanity. 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:20.139 It's time to flee vanity fair. 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:22.299 And it's time to run over 00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:23.440 the delectable mountains 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:24.599 through the wicked gates 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:26.059 into the celestial city. 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:29.259 So listen, Solomon's pleasure test 00:17:29.259 --> 00:17:31.159 was an absolute failure. 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:33.079 And he admits as much 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:35.379 in verses 1 and 2 and 9 through 11. 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:37.379 And if you look at those verses, 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:39.000 just notice the word in the ESV, 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:39.559 behold. 00:17:39.719 --> 00:17:40.879 I love that they translate it. 00:17:41.139 --> 00:17:41.579 Behold. 00:17:41.899 --> 00:17:42.839 I said in my heart, 00:17:42.899 --> 00:17:43.299 now come, 00:17:43.339 --> 00:17:44.419 I will test you with pleasure. 00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:45.039 Enjoy yourself. 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:46.000 But behold. 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:47.179 Behold what? 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:48.799 Well, this was also vanity. 00:17:49.159 --> 00:17:50.839 Like smoke rising up in the air. 00:17:50.959 --> 00:17:52.099 Nothing of consequence. 00:17:52.099 --> 00:17:52.759 I said it. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:54.059 Laughter is mad. 00:17:54.159 --> 00:17:54.539 If pleasure, 00:17:54.639 --> 00:17:55.559 what use is it? 00:17:57.179 --> 00:17:59.079 And then we have the same bitter disillusionment 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:01.219 put differently in summary form 00:18:01.219 --> 00:18:02.859 in verses 9 through 11. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:04.839 So I became great 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:06.719 and I surpassed all who were before me 00:18:06.719 --> 00:18:07.240 in Jerusalem. 00:18:07.939 --> 00:18:09.799 Also my wisdom remained with me. 00:18:09.879 --> 00:18:10.899 And whatever my eyes, 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:11.740 outward delights, 00:18:12.139 --> 00:18:12.599 desired, 00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:14.339 I did not keep from them. 00:18:14.659 --> 00:18:16.159 My heart inward delivers 00:18:16.159 --> 00:18:17.439 from no pleasure. 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:20.420 Then I considered all that my hands have done. 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:22.440 All the toil that I expended 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:23.460 in doing it. 00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:24.440 And behold. 00:18:25.100 --> 00:18:25.940 Behold what? 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:26.920 All this vanity 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:29.940 and a striving after the wind. 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:32.080 Nothing was to be gained 00:18:32.080 --> 00:18:33.539 under the sun. 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:39.580 In the popular sitcom cartoon, 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:41.160 The Simpsons, 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:43.240 Homer Simpson, 00:18:43.779 --> 00:18:44.660 in one of the episodes, 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:45.740 he says to his boss, 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:46.440 Mr. Burns, 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:47.920 Mr. Burns, 00:18:47.980 --> 00:18:49.140 you're the richest man I know. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.440 To which Burns replies, 00:18:51.579 --> 00:18:51.859 Yes, 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:54.339 but I'd trade it all in for more. 00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:00.460 Well that is not how Solomon feels 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:02.240 the morning after. 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:04.420 The morning after his 00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:06.579 years long pleasure party. 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:09.940 Instead you've got to hear him humming 00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:11.859 those honest lines 00:19:11.859 --> 00:19:13.180 from the rock band 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:14.779 Nine Inch Nails. 00:19:15.740 --> 00:19:17.180 What have I become? 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:19.319 My sweetest friend. 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:20.740 Everyone I know 00:19:20.740 --> 00:19:22.099 goes away in the end. 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:24.319 You could have it all. 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:26.779 You could have it all. 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:27.960 My empire. 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:30.640 My empire of dirt. 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:33.880 At the beginning 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:34.940 and the end of our text, 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:37.200 King Solomon stamps 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:39.019 empire of dirt 00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:40.779 across everything in between. 00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:42.620 The wine and the women, 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:44.059 empire of dirt. 00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:45.759 The gardens and the gold, 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:47.119 empire of dirt. 00:19:47.220 --> 00:19:48.440 The songs and the servants, 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.039 empire of dirt. 00:19:51.139 --> 00:19:52.220 You can have it all. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:54.460 But why? 00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:54.960 Why? 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:56.039 What went wrong 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:57.679 with his pleasure 00:19:57.679 --> 00:19:58.919 and possessions experiment 00:19:58.919 --> 00:19:59.559 that in the end 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:00.899 he'd call it profitless? 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:02.679 Well, 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:04.720 two reasons he gives 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:05.879 for failure 00:20:05.879 --> 00:20:07.059 in this pleasure experiment. 00:20:07.419 --> 00:20:08.339 And first is this. 00:20:08.339 --> 00:20:11.199 putting self first 00:20:11.199 --> 00:20:12.959 ironically fails 00:20:12.959 --> 00:20:14.059 to satisfy self. 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:15.899 Putting self first 00:20:15.899 --> 00:20:17.579 ironically fails 00:20:17.579 --> 00:20:18.799 to satisfy self. 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:20.139 And second, 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:21.439 putting pleasure first 00:20:21.439 --> 00:20:22.459 ironically fails 00:20:22.459 --> 00:20:23.500 to give pleasure. 00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:25.859 The first failure 00:20:25.859 --> 00:20:27.019 breaks the second commandment 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:27.779 you should love others 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:28.779 as much as you love yourself. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:30.039 The second failure 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:30.939 breaks the first 00:20:30.939 --> 00:20:32.000 and greatest commandment 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.000 you should love God 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:33.759 with all your heart 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:34.220 and your mind 00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:34.639 and your soul 00:20:34.639 --> 00:20:35.240 and your strength. 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:37.839 So first I want to talk 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:38.420 about this issue 00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:39.279 of self. 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:40.420 Self. 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:41.180 I've already noted 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:42.839 in verses 4-7 00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:43.620 how much Solomon 00:20:43.620 --> 00:20:45.059 spoke about himself. 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:46.799 But further notice 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:47.640 how self just 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:49.359 saturates this section 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:50.299 of scripture. 00:20:50.420 --> 00:20:51.299 The word I 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:52.680 along with me 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:53.680 and my and myself 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:54.640 they just dominate 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:55.559 these verses. 00:20:56.779 --> 00:20:57.500 The word I 00:20:57.500 --> 00:20:58.880 is used 18 times 00:20:58.880 --> 00:20:59.620 in this little section 00:20:59.620 --> 00:21:00.079 of scripture. 00:21:01.259 --> 00:21:02.299 The word my 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:03.599 13 times. 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:04.339 Me 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:04.980 4 times. 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:05.620 Myself. 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:06.240 4 times. 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:07.039 Even the word 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:07.819 yourself. 00:21:08.220 --> 00:21:08.920 Enjoy yourself. 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:09.440 It's Solomon 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:10.420 talking to himself. 00:21:11.620 --> 00:21:12.460 It's a lot of 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:13.980 self-focus. 00:21:15.779 --> 00:21:16.319 And it's not just 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:16.799 the language 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.259 it's also the focus 00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:19.440 of the accomplishments. 00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:21.299 The list is all 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:22.539 self-serving. 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:23.819 It's not philanthropic. 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:24.640 That is on behalf 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:25.319 of other people. 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:26.880 He doesn't mention 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:27.579 anything about 00:21:27.579 --> 00:21:29.500 building public parks 00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:30.620 so the populace 00:21:30.620 --> 00:21:31.599 can enjoy it. 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:33.120 He says this 00:21:33.120 --> 00:21:33.960 I build houses 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:34.200 houses. 00:21:34.840 --> 00:21:35.380 And I built 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:36.340 gardens or 00:21:36.340 --> 00:21:37.740 vineyards for 00:21:37.740 --> 00:21:38.500 myself. 00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:39.940 For myself. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:40.880 The sole purpose 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:41.559 of doing it. 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:42.940 But here it's all 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:44.160 artistically intentional 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:44.880 what he's doing. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:46.160 He's written this 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:47.079 for us to see 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:48.100 what he saw 00:21:48.100 --> 00:21:49.120 and what he 00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:50.019 experienced. 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:51.840 He boasts in 00:21:51.840 --> 00:21:52.500 his achievements. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:53.319 He boasts in 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:54.120 his enjoyments 00:21:54.120 --> 00:21:54.980 because he's 00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:55.819 underscoring 00:21:55.819 --> 00:21:56.860 ironically 00:21:56.860 --> 00:21:58.680 their inadequacy. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.519 And it's brilliant. 00:21:59.519 --> 00:21:59.779 I think the 00:21:59.779 --> 00:22:00.579 literary artistry 00:22:00.579 --> 00:22:01.139 here is awesome 00:22:01.139 --> 00:22:01.779 but so is the 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:02.900 practical point. 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:04.759 We all know 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:05.779 that self-centeredness 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:07.200 and self-indulgence 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:08.799 never satisfies 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:09.379 long. 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:09.720 Right? 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:11.460 Why is that the 00:22:11.460 --> 00:22:11.879 case? 00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:13.359 Well it's common 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:13.879 grace. 00:22:14.059 --> 00:22:14.460 It's the way 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:15.400 God has designed 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:15.920 us. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:17.079 You can call it 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:18.059 the pleasure 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:18.819 paradox. 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:19.960 If we answer 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:20.519 the Westminster 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:21.019 Shorter's 00:22:21.019 --> 00:22:21.819 Catechism's 00:22:21.819 --> 00:22:22.599 first question 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:23.440 what is the 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:23.859 chief end 00:22:23.859 --> 00:22:24.240 of man 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:24.700 by saying 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:25.259 man's chief 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:25.680 end is to 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:26.440 glorify himself 00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:26.900 and enjoy 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:27.420 himself as 00:22:27.420 --> 00:22:27.740 much as 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:28.200 possible. 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:30.400 We'll always 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:32.100 discover that 00:22:32.100 --> 00:22:32.700 those earthly 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:33.779 pleasures that 00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:34.720 we grasp so 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:35.620 tightly in our 00:22:35.620 --> 00:22:37.039 hands it's as 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:38.299 if like sand 00:22:38.299 --> 00:22:38.880 they eventually 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:39.680 fall through our 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:40.279 fingers. 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:41.779 You see 00:22:41.779 --> 00:22:42.519 pleasure has a 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:43.720 way of promising 00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:44.519 more than it 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:45.200 can actually 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:46.080 produce. 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:47.620 David Hubbard 00:22:47.620 --> 00:22:48.360 says this 00:22:48.360 --> 00:22:48.860 that its 00:22:48.860 --> 00:22:50.220 advertising agency 00:22:50.220 --> 00:22:50.860 is better than 00:22:50.860 --> 00:22:51.940 its manufacturing 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:52.480 department. 00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:54.700 The one 00:22:54.700 --> 00:22:55.299 drink, the 00:22:55.299 --> 00:22:55.880 one sexual 00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:56.420 fling, the 00:22:56.420 --> 00:22:57.460 one contest 00:22:57.460 --> 00:22:58.740 won, one 00:22:58.740 --> 00:22:59.800 project accomplished, 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:00.600 one wild 00:23:00.600 --> 00:23:01.300 party, none 00:23:01.300 --> 00:23:01.800 of these or 00:23:01.800 --> 00:23:02.800 all of them 00:23:02.800 --> 00:23:03.740 put together 00:23:03.740 --> 00:23:05.380 can bring any 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:06.060 human being 00:23:06.060 --> 00:23:07.840 satisfaction. 00:23:09.360 --> 00:23:09.880 The sin of 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:10.840 selfishness, it 00:23:10.840 --> 00:23:11.580 actually won't 00:23:11.580 --> 00:23:13.120 satisfy and 00:23:13.120 --> 00:23:13.700 neither will the 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:14.360 other sin, the 00:23:14.360 --> 00:23:15.440 sin of idolatry. 00:23:16.360 --> 00:23:17.180 Putting pleasure 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:18.620 first ironically 00:23:18.620 --> 00:23:20.400 fails to give 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:21.019 us the pleasure 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:21.340 that we're 00:23:21.340 --> 00:23:21.980 looking for. 00:23:23.560 --> 00:23:24.539 Rabbi Harold 00:23:24.539 --> 00:23:25.380 Kushner wrote a 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:25.640 book on 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:26.580 Ecclesiastes and 00:23:26.580 --> 00:23:27.140 it was titled 00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:28.600 When All You 00:23:28.600 --> 00:23:29.480 Ever Wanted 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:29.960 Wasn't 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:30.520 Enough. 00:23:31.520 --> 00:23:31.940 Well, I don't 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:32.360 think it's the 00:23:32.360 --> 00:23:32.840 best summary of 00:23:32.840 --> 00:23:33.320 the whole book. 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:34.100 It's a great 00:23:34.100 --> 00:23:35.680 summary of this 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:36.160 section of 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:36.880 Ecclesiastes. 00:23:37.060 --> 00:23:37.780 When all you 00:23:37.780 --> 00:23:38.580 ever wanted 00:23:38.580 --> 00:23:40.360 isn't enough. 00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:41.920 Why isn't it 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:42.200 enough? 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:43.340 It isn't 00:23:43.340 --> 00:23:44.700 enough if God 00:23:44.700 --> 00:23:45.500 isn't first. 00:23:46.620 --> 00:23:47.220 John Wesley 00:23:47.220 --> 00:23:47.800 put it this way, 00:23:47.860 --> 00:23:48.420 there is no 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:49.220 happiness, true 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:50.180 lasting happiness 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:51.720 outside of God. 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:54.100 Listen, many of 00:23:54.100 --> 00:23:54.960 the pleasures 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:55.380 that are 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:56.100 mentioned here, 00:23:56.519 --> 00:23:56.940 such as 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:57.420 laughing, 00:23:58.019 --> 00:23:59.240 planting vineyards, 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:00.299 drinking wine, 00:24:00.460 --> 00:24:00.819 creating, 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:01.559 maintaining a 00:24:01.559 --> 00:24:02.460 garden, are 00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:03.339 all pleasures 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:03.920 you'll find 00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:04.900 commended in 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:05.299 the Bible. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:07.680 In fact, in the 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:08.279 wisdom literature 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:08.860 of the Bible, 00:24:08.980 --> 00:24:10.059 which I teach 00:24:10.059 --> 00:24:10.559 for a living, 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:12.299 I think especially 00:24:12.299 --> 00:24:12.819 in the book of 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:13.720 Proverbs and 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:14.740 Job, you'll 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:15.039 find that 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:15.579 pleasures and 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:16.259 possessions in 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:16.720 fact can be 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:17.539 rewards of 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:18.019 righteousness. 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:21.359 Even throughout 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:22.420 Ecclesiastes, 00:24:22.639 --> 00:24:23.159 pleasure is 00:24:23.159 --> 00:24:23.759 constantly 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:25.299 commended, as 00:24:25.299 --> 00:24:25.799 we'll find out 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:26.200 tonight. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:27.319 So what's the 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:27.920 problem then? 00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:28.500 What's the 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:29.220 problem with the 00:24:29.220 --> 00:24:29.879 pleasures that 00:24:29.879 --> 00:24:30.559 are listed here 00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:31.599 in 2, 1 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:32.079 through 11? 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:32.819 Well, the 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:33.339 problem is that 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:33.839 some of these 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:34.779 pleasures are 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:36.879 immoral, and 00:24:36.879 --> 00:24:37.700 that all of 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:38.539 them are 00:24:38.539 --> 00:24:39.420 idolatrous. 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:40.460 All of them 00:24:40.460 --> 00:24:41.399 are idolatrous. 00:24:42.139 --> 00:24:42.659 I'm the Lord 00:24:42.659 --> 00:24:43.240 your God who 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:44.059 brought you out 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:44.619 of the land of 00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:45.139 Egypt, out of 00:24:45.139 --> 00:24:45.859 the house of 00:24:45.859 --> 00:24:47.139 slavery, therefore 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:48.820 you shall have 00:24:48.820 --> 00:24:49.480 no other gods 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:50.140 before me. 00:24:51.300 --> 00:24:52.340 Solomon put 00:24:52.340 --> 00:24:53.420 pleasure, put 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:55.040 pleasures before 00:24:55.040 --> 00:24:56.440 the Lord God, 00:24:56.600 --> 00:24:57.060 before the 00:24:57.060 --> 00:24:57.880 worship of the 00:24:57.880 --> 00:24:58.480 Lord God. 00:24:59.700 --> 00:25:00.220 So then here, 00:25:00.300 --> 00:25:00.880 the lesson of 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:01.580 course, is that 00:25:01.580 --> 00:25:02.759 when God comes 00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:03.520 first, when we 00:25:03.520 --> 00:25:04.140 worship the 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:05.520 divine, then 00:25:05.520 --> 00:25:07.140 genuine human 00:25:07.140 --> 00:25:09.060 satisfaction follows. 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:09.660 That's the way 00:25:09.660 --> 00:25:10.220 it works. 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:13.060 Christ satiates 00:25:13.060 --> 00:25:13.820 the soul. 00:25:14.040 --> 00:25:14.220 It's a good 00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:14.360 way. 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:15.720 He brings that 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:17.040 water we talked 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:17.480 about at the 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:17.960 beginning of the 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:18.200 sermon. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:19.440 He satiates the 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:19.819 soul. 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:21.819 In the book of 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:22.779 Philippians, Paul 00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:24.339 commands Christians, 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:24.879 I think it's four 00:25:24.879 --> 00:25:26.079 times, to rejoice 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:26.940 in the Lord, rejoice 00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:27.659 in the Lord, rejoice 00:25:27.659 --> 00:25:28.579 in the Lord, rejoice 00:25:28.579 --> 00:25:29.019 in the Lord. 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:29.240 Why? 00:25:31.379 --> 00:25:32.019 Well, we can 00:25:32.019 --> 00:25:32.899 rejoice because 00:25:32.899 --> 00:25:34.220 Jesus, as Paul puts 00:25:34.220 --> 00:25:34.799 it earlier in 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:36.680 Philippians 2, in 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:37.839 humility, counted 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:38.700 others more 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:39.420 significant than 00:25:39.420 --> 00:25:39.799 himself. 00:25:40.579 --> 00:25:41.079 He counted 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:41.940 others more 00:25:41.940 --> 00:25:42.579 than significant 00:25:42.579 --> 00:25:43.319 than himself. 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:44.720 So much so that 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:45.319 he made himself 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:45.839 nothing. 00:25:46.439 --> 00:25:47.079 Taking the form 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:47.539 of a servant, 00:25:47.659 --> 00:25:48.200 being born in 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:48.879 the likeness of 00:25:48.879 --> 00:25:49.500 men and being 00:25:49.500 --> 00:25:50.339 found in human 00:25:50.339 --> 00:25:52.079 form, he humbled 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:53.079 himself by becoming 00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:53.819 obedient to the 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:55.299 point of death, even 00:25:55.299 --> 00:25:56.480 death on a cross. 00:25:56.579 --> 00:25:57.220 You see, Jesus, 00:25:57.439 --> 00:25:58.379 King Jesus, not 00:25:58.379 --> 00:25:59.240 King Solomon, but 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:00.619 King Jesus, is the 00:26:00.619 --> 00:26:02.419 epitome of 00:26:02.419 --> 00:26:05.099 selflessness, not 00:26:05.099 --> 00:26:05.980 selfishness. 00:26:07.139 --> 00:26:08.439 For our sake, for 00:26:08.439 --> 00:26:09.759 our salvation, he 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:11.279 denied the desires 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:12.079 of the flesh. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:13.119 He denied the 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:14.279 desires of the 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:15.919 eyes and pride in 00:26:15.919 --> 00:26:16.419 possessions. 00:26:18.139 --> 00:26:19.240 Also, Jesus is the 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:20.299 epitome of putting 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:21.159 God the Father 00:26:21.159 --> 00:26:21.699 first. 00:26:22.679 --> 00:26:23.419 When Jesus was 00:26:23.419 --> 00:26:24.299 tempted by Satan 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:25.079 and later by his 00:26:25.079 --> 00:26:25.839 own disciple, by 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:27.460 Peter, to take the 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:28.539 crown before the 00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:29.259 cross, to take the 00:26:29.259 --> 00:26:30.359 crown instead of the 00:26:30.359 --> 00:26:32.579 cross, he wouldn't 00:26:32.579 --> 00:26:33.659 bow the knee to 00:26:33.659 --> 00:26:35.960 this idol of 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:37.699 temporary power, of 00:26:37.699 --> 00:26:38.859 worldly pleasures. 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:40.259 Rather, as Hebrew 00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:41.160 puts it, it's for the 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:42.079 joy that was set 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:42.559 before him. 00:26:42.579 --> 00:26:42.920 It's such an 00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:43.660 interesting phrase. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:45.160 For the joy set 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:46.539 before him, he 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:47.539 endured the cross. 00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:49.759 You see, our Lord, 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:50.599 who taught us to 00:26:50.599 --> 00:26:52.119 deny ourselves, to 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:52.660 pick up our 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:53.720 crosses, he didn't 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:54.559 do so because he 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:55.140 was some sort of 00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:56.339 cosmic killjoy. 00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:58.099 Rather, because he's 00:26:58.099 --> 00:26:58.879 the one who knows 00:26:58.879 --> 00:26:59.579 the way to the 00:26:59.579 --> 00:27:00.539 pleasures of God. 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:02.599 In the presence of 00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:03.240 God, there is 00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:04.420 fullness of joy, the 00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:05.160 psalmist tells us. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:06.019 At his right hand 00:27:06.019 --> 00:27:07.059 are pleasures 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:08.559 forevermore. 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:10.279 He alone knows 00:27:10.279 --> 00:27:11.500 how and where to 00:27:11.500 --> 00:27:12.980 enter into the 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:13.819 Father's joy. 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:15.099 For what does it 00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:15.899 profit a man to 00:27:15.899 --> 00:27:16.759 gain the whole 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:18.839 world and forfeit 00:27:18.839 --> 00:27:19.419 his life? 00:27:19.639 --> 00:27:20.039 Nothing. 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:20.659 Vanity. 00:27:21.859 --> 00:27:23.220 The hollow house 00:27:23.220 --> 00:27:24.359 of hedonism is 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:24.740 hollow. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:26.619 But what does it 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:27.659 profit a man or a 00:27:27.659 --> 00:27:28.539 woman or a child 00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:31.039 to lose his life 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:32.519 for Jesus' sake 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:33.559 and for the sake 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:34.000 of the kingdom? 00:27:34.220 --> 00:27:34.539 He answers 00:27:34.539 --> 00:27:35.200 everything. 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:36.639 Everything. 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:37.420 Blessed are 00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:38.100 happy are the 00:27:38.100 --> 00:27:38.980 poor in spirit 00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:40.920 for theirs is the 00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:41.740 kingdom of heaven. 00:27:41.820 --> 00:27:42.180 Doesn't get any 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:42.880 bigger than that. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:44.640 Blessed are those 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:45.520 who mourn for they 00:27:45.520 --> 00:27:46.660 shall be comforted. 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:47.540 Blessed are the 00:27:47.540 --> 00:27:48.180 meek for they 00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:49.500 shall inherit not a 00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:50.100 big house like 00:27:50.100 --> 00:27:50.600 Solomon's. 00:27:50.600 --> 00:27:51.259 They shall inherit 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:51.560 all. 00:27:51.660 --> 00:27:52.259 They shall inherit 00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:53.020 the earth. 00:27:54.100 --> 00:27:54.820 Blessed are those 00:27:54.820 --> 00:27:55.460 who hunger and 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:56.240 thirst for righteousness 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:57.460 for they shall be 00:27:57.460 --> 00:27:59.520 satisfied. 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:01.400 Satisfied. 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:03.600 My brothers and 00:28:03.600 --> 00:28:04.940 sisters, let us 00:28:04.940 --> 00:28:05.700 flee. 00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:06.259 We're tempted 00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:06.940 every day, aren't 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:07.600 we, to flee. 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:08.799 We're tempted to 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:09.779 live in this house 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:10.500 of hedonism. 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:12.380 But let us flee the 00:28:12.380 --> 00:28:13.340 house of hedonism 00:28:13.340 --> 00:28:14.660 into the hallowed 00:28:14.660 --> 00:28:16.279 presence of our 00:28:16.279 --> 00:28:19.240 soul-satisfying God. 00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:21.559 Let's pray.