I just need to be able to see my slides. I know I'm going to offend most of you with the shirt. That's why I did it. All right.
Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for bringing us together this evening. We thank you for our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Thank you for the life we have in Him.
And the song says we owe all to Him. We do. Thank you for sending such a one that He would die for us and meet our greatest need, the need to be saved from our sins. We thank you in His name.
Amen. We're in Ecclesiastes continuing, a title of tonight's messages, enjoying life under the sun. But I actually had a second title. The second title is You're Going to Die, but You're Up, You're Alive Now.
So I knew Nick would get that. And Mary, but when I read this chapter, that's kind of what it says to you. You're going to die, but you're up. You're alive today.
I want to read before we start in light of all things that are important to people today on this particular day, Super Bowl Sunday. I'm not a football fan. I'm wearing this shirt. And I actually bought this at your left stadium.
So I was down for meetings a few years ago. And I have been, if I had it here for football team, it's always been the New England Patriots. So I'm not a guy who jumped on the bandwagon. This is from when I was 12 years old.
And I used to not watch some practice when I visited my aunt and uncle when I was 12 years old, or 13 around that age, 12, I guess. And so I said, yeah, okay, if I have to cheer for a football team, I don't understand how it's played, I still don't understand how it's played. I'll cheer for them because I used to go on these summer days and watch some practice. I read this article today.
This is about Tom Brady. And this is in the Washington Post. And the title of the article is for Tom Brady. Now, he's the quarterback.
If you don't know anything about football, he's like the greatest guy on the team, okay? And he's kind of the head of the team. And he's the guy who makes the plays happen. And Tom Brady, I think, whether you like football or not, is probably one of the...
He's the Gretzky of football, when you say Sam, even though you're not a fan. Sam hates the Patriots. But he'd have to admit, he's like the Wayne Gretzky of football. So here is an article in Washington Post.
And this has nothing to do with my message, but it has everything to do with my message, okay? Seriously, it does. It does become religion. No, really.
Here are some facts on Tom Brady. He won his first Super Bowl at 2002, five Super Bowl wins. He's 40 years old. Most of his playoff wins.
Most playoff wins of any quarterback in history, four Super Bowl MVP awards. The most for any single player in NFL history, his wife, Giselle Wunchen, is worth more than 400 million US dollars, not to mention his own personal wealth. And his father says, Tommy wants to play at least 70. So here's a quote.
This is February 2nd, two days ago, in the Washington Post. Tom Brady told the journalist, I want to know the wise in life. I do not want to know, or I do want to know why we're here, where we're going, trying to find a deeper purpose, to live it through sports is a very authentic way and makes so much sense to me. That I read that and I thought, how sad?
How terribly sad that the answer to life, why you're here and where you're going is found in football. That's a very sad and sobering thing for a young man, 40 years old to think that. Actually back 10 years ago, when he was interviewed, he said, this is not 60 minutes, Steve Croft, asked him some questions. And he said, why do I have three Super Bowl rings?
It was three at the time then, and still think there's something greater out there for me. I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, hey, man, this is what it is. I've reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, it's got to be more than this.
I mean, this isn't. This can't be what it's all cracked up to be. He's 30 at the time. And I'm thinking, we're reading a chapter and we're studying a book that so, if you ever think that the ancient words of this book are not relevant today, the thoughts of Solomon are so relevant today, because Tom Brady, two days ago, asked the very same questions that Solomon asked 2,500 years ago, the very same things.
What's life all about? I mean, it's got to be more to within this. It's got to be more to within building castles and accumulating wealth. So let's turn in our Bibles, please, to Ecclesiastes chapter 9.
Now, I'm going to, I don't know if you can see that. And the reason I'm putting it up there, the whole passage is because it's from the N.E.T. And I just thought for something, just a different version, different translation, to read it. I kind of like, it was just a different way to say it.
And I just thought I'd put that up and maybe we could read this one. Solomon writes, so I reflected on all this, attempting to declare it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hands of God, whether he will be loved or hated. No one knows what lies ahead.
Doesn't it sound like what I just read from a guy two days ago? It doesn't sound exactly, almost the same quote as Tom Brady made. Everyone shares the same fate, the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonial, clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner.
What happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows. This is the fortunate fact about everything that happens on earth and the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil and there is folly in their hearts during their lives. Then they die.
But whoever is among the living has hope, a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything. They have no further reward. Even the memory of them disappears.
What they loved, as well as what they hated and envied, perished long ago and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth. Go eat your food with joy and drink your wine with a happy heart because God has already approved your works. Let your clothes always be white and do not spare a precious ointment on your head. Enjoy your life with your beloved wife during all the days of your fleeting life that God has given you on earth during all your fleeting days.
For that is your reward in life and your burdensome work on earth, whatever you find to do with your hands. Do it with all your might because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place that you will eventually go. Again, I observed on this earth, the race is not always won by the swiftness and the battle not always won by the strongest. Prosperity does not always belong to those who are the wisest.
Wealth does not always belong to those who are most discerning nor to success come to those who are to those with the most knowledge. For time and chance may overcome them all. Surely no one knows his appointed time. Like fish that are caught in the dead lead net.
Like birds that are caught in a snare. Just like them, all people are ensnared and unfortunate time falls upon them suddenly. This is what I observed about wisdom on earth. It is a great burden to me.
Once was a small city with a few men in it and the mighty king attacked it. The mighty king attacked it, be sieging it and building strong siege works against it. However a poor but wise man lived in the city. He could have delivered the city by his wisdom but no one listened to the poor man.
So I concluded that wisdom is better than might. But the poor man's wisdom is despised. No one ever listens to his advice. The words of the wise are heard in quiet more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war but one sinner can destroy much that is good. So this evening we will continue in our series of Ecclesiastes. As I said, enjoying life under the sun is the title. Sorry about that.
It is the title of the message. There's really two conclusions that he comes to in this whole chapter. The first being from verses 1 to 10 is that death is unavoidable. Death is going to fall across the path of every man.
Every woman, every child, either when they're young or when they grow up. And the second conclusion that I believe he comes to in this chapter is that life is unpredictable. One does not know what may be fallen in life. It takes twists and turns.
That being the case, the best thing we can do is trust in God, live by faith and enjoy whatever blessings God gives us. And that would be some of the conclusions and recommendations of this chapter. There. Now you can go home, watch the Patriots beat the Eagles.
So it's over. You know, Solomon had a difficult task as a preacher. There you go. Death is unavoidable.
Life is unpredictable. He had to try to draw an audience I'm sure to preach but he never had to do it on Super Bowl Sunday. So here it is Super Bowl Sunday and I do thank you for coming out. Oh, I didn't know those numbers were on there.
I don't know where they came from. Anyway, I guess I'm odds maker. I must have got a hold of this thing. So but as we get into this, there's two terms that I want to talk about first.
And these are two terms that we're familiar with. The first one, sovereignty. We use this often. We talk about the sovereignty of God.
God is sovereign. God is ruling overall and God is supreme. We don't use the term providential very often in reference to God. We don't speak of the providence of God.
But I think it's important that we understand that because that is part of what we're speaking of here. When I speak of sovereignty, we're speaking of the dominion of God. He's His claim over all things. He's the most perfect and preeminent of all beings.
He is before all things. He rules all things. He holds all things together. And He is sovereign.
Personally, I would prefer to use the term that He is Lord and King than to say He is sovereign. And the reason for that is because you can have a seat of government that is thought of as sovereign. You can have an organization that's thought of as sovereign of ruling over things. But this when you say He's Lord and King, He's a personal Lord.
He's a personal King. God is a person. And God is above every other person. He's not just a reigning authority.
He is a person who is above all other people. He is over at all. And so that is His position. Now to say God is, to speak of God's providence, that is not so much His person.
It's His plan. God is over His plan. He has a divine purpose and He has a divine plan. Now you know, there's many skeptics today and they've even infected Christian community to adopt this kind of view that everything happens because of fixed natural causes.
You can explain away earthquakes and volcanoes and you can explain away all of these things and all of these phenomena because they're just natural causes. God made the universe. He just sat back, put His feet up on the chair and just let it all wind down and all of this stuff and doesn't really get involved in those things. I totally disagree.
He is actually there. He is part of it all believers who read their Bible, understand that they have a cute sense that this is our Father's world and the affairs of men and nations and in the final analysis, all things are in His hands. And that's what Paul says when you read in Romans 828. And this is one of the better verses speaking of divine providence.
It says, and you know that all things, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose. Everything that happens in the life of the believer, to those who are the called, those who are His, they happened because of God's purposes, God's divine plan. Another example, and this is interesting, so much of today kind of things that were said right from breaking the bread, right through the morning teaching and so on, have come together. You may have this verse up this morning.
Acts 2, 23, Him, Jesus Christ, being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, He have taken, and by wicked hands of crucified and slain. You see, the death of Jesus Christ on that cross was not just a misfortune of somebody who ran up against a bunch of angry mobs of Romans and Jews who, through circumstance, put them on a cross. This was the divine plan of God. God planned this.
It was a foreknowledge and the plan of salvation that was going back into the days of eternity. That's kind of a weird thing to say, days of eternity because there are no days in eternity, but you know what I'm saying here. Now, I want you to be careful with this whole idea of providence because there are theologians who have built and established doctrines and they hang these truths or they hang on these truths of divine providence and they hang these teachings and say, well, yes, the responsibility of man in salvation is not there because God rules over all, God makes it all happen. So let's just sit back and see who gets saved.
And Calvinism is one of those areas, one of those areas, one is taken to an extreme. So we have to be careful when we think of those things. We don't know God. We don't know the mind of God.
We know parts of the mind of God. We know a bit of what God is like because we have His word, His revealed nature is revealed in His word, but we don't know everything about God. We don't know everything about His designs. We don't know everything about how He works and we don't know everything about what He has planned.
If we did, we would pretty much be God too and we're not. But Solomon here is trying to understand these things as he's going through and seeing these things happen and unfold in life. So I'd like to look at part one of the message I've broken into three parts is the observations versus one to six. So in the first six chapters, it speaks of vanity and futility of life under the sun.
In chapter 7 to 12, Solomon gives us advice. It's almost proverbial on how to live this life under the sun. In chapter 9, specifically teaches or speaks to us about enjoying life under the sun. So much of what we see in the first six verses here refers to Solomon's observations of God's sovereignty, God's provenance, and even on death.
Now there's some really perplexing questions here. When Solomon writes this and he starts off in verse 1, he says, if you have your Bibles there and are looking at them, he says, for I have taken all this. I have taken all this into my heart and explained and so on. So what does he take it into his heart?
I take it refers back to what Nick spoke on in chapter 8. And in chapter 8, verses 12 and 13, we read these words. Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know it will be well for those who fear God and who fear him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man, for he will not lengthen his days like a shadow because he does not fear God.
And then if you read in verses 16 and 17, when I gave my heart to no wisdom to see the task which has been done on earth, even though one should never sleep day or night, and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laborously, he will not discover. And though the wise man should say, I know he cannot discover. Now I read that, it just sounds like a bunch of words.
But what he's really saying is, I don't know, I'm trying to figure this out. Trying to figure out life is very, very difficult. So verse 1 is really kind of a contrast to this. He's saying, okay, so now I've taken all these things into my heart.
I'm just watching and observing and seeing all these things happen and trying to figure it out. Now he's saying, I've taken these things into my heart and I've examined the destiny that weights the wicked and the uncertainty if his life is based on man's wisdom, where is he going? Now for the believer who reads this, there's a comfort in the statement. There's a comfort in knowing that, knowing God, we rest assured that we will be with God.
If we've trusted Christ, we will be with him for eternity. We know the end. We know where we're going. But if you're an unbeliever, if you're a person like Tom Brady, as I read at the opening, you realize I don't know where I'm going.
I don't know what's going on. I just know that there's more to it than this. There's more to it than winning football games. There's more to it than selling cases.
There's more to it than designing ships. There's more to it than whatever I might be doing. And you're bewildered by this thought of what is it that's more to life than this? And this is the observation that Solomon makes.
It says in this chapter, you read, no man knows. You do not know. Christians often try to understand and interpret the problems of God from circumstances. And sometimes we look at things around us and why did this happen?
Well this must have happened because God's upset with me or this must have happened because God is pleased with me. And we get into this kind of thing where we start trying to figure it all out from the circumstances around us. And that's a mistake because we can't understand the province of God from looking at external signs. We can't just from, we see a Christian killed in a car wreck and we think, ooh, I can't figure that out.
Why did that happen? That seems strange to me. So looking at circumstances will not answer those questions. If we look at the circumstances around us.
I keep wanting to flip this thing. So, Providence, God's eternal plan, remember when I say Providence, that's what I'm speaking of, cannot be read necessarily by looking at external signs. Now there's a couple of examples in scripture that you look at it and think, here's Paul going along, they land in, is it Malta? Where he, yes, and they're building a fire?
They're warming themselves by the fire and sticks his hand in the witness' snake attached to his hand. And they can go, why did that happen? I mean Paul, he's got enough stuff going on. Paul's a good guy.
He's, you know, he's witnessing all these things. Why would that happen to Paul? You look at Daniel's friends and you're thinking these are righteous men. These are godly men.
They're standing up for what they believe. Yet God allows it to go to the point that they get actually thrown into the firey furnace. So you're looking at these circumstances saying, like, really, where's God in all of this? It's perplexing.
And you have Christ and the disciples, they meet a blind man. You may be talking about a blind man. I don't know if it's the same one. I don't think it is.
Christ is asked by the disciples, okay, who sinned to cause this man to be blind? His parents? So you're trying to tie what's going on in the circumstances to God's working. The God make this man blind because his parents did something rotten.
And I think that we had to be careful ourselves, we'll torture ourselves, we'll put ourselves in a metal hospital. If we start thinking that, okay, God's got to be mad at me because I did this five years ago. Now, believe me, there are sins, there are consequences, and I'm not downplaying that. But I'm thinking sometimes if we're trying to figure out why did I lose my job?
Sorry, I don't need to pick on somebody's last job. But it might happen to me this week. I don't know. But you start thinking, why did I lose my job?
God must be really mad at me because I wasn't faithful enough on that to witness for him. Or because of my dealings with somebody in the past, God is doing this to me today. So we got to be very, very careful when we look at circumstances. The provenance of God is not going to be interpreted from external signs necessarily or in those external situations.
I want to read what William McDonald writes about the providence of God. This is one of my favorite William McDonald books. And you guys remember that, don't you? Maybe?
Yeah? Sam probably doesn't. Benwood anyways, mature. When the guys were young, I got to hold this book when I was, I think I got it for a gift.
And it's called The Wonders of God. And it's written by William McDonald. And it's just filled with little stories and anecdotes about stuff. I mean, the first part of it is the wonders of God in creation, the wonders of God in providence, and then the wonders of God in redemption.
It's the three sections of the book. They're just short little things you can read about, just fascinating little things. And he says, God is not only the creator, he is a sustainer. And him all things consist.
He is the one who holds matter together, in fact, which incidentally answers one of the problems that still baffles physicists. He directs the course of history since he is sovereign. It is, it is, it necessarily follows that history is his story. He ordains human governments, sometimes exalting the basis of men.
That's a quote from Nebuchadnezzar. The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like rivers of water. He turns it wherever he wishes. He is the divine chess player, moving the pieces on the board with absolute finesse.
Now he is doing all this. He guides all his people in answer, in answer to the earnest prayers for light in their various paths. He protects his people from dangers, seen and unseen. Nothing touches them without first passing through the filter of infinite love.
He who keeps Israel so never slumber or sleep. I like this quote. Someone has said, we are kept by the insomnia of God. I thought that was pretty cool.
No evil comes from God, either illness, tragedy or death. But he permits these things to happen, then overrules them for his own glory, for the blessing of those involved and for the benefit of others. He outwits Satan, demons, evil men, and overrules are wickedness for the accomplishment of his purposes. In that way, he makes their wrath praise him.
He church the course for every virus, every germ, every allergy. At the same time, he controls every spear, arrow, bullet, and missile. Even the timing of traffic lights. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without him.
Such is his perfect knowledge and universal presence. He numbers the hairs of every head. He faithfully ordains day and night and the seasons of the year. The winds and the waves obey him.
In the words of William Calpers and mortal, him. He plants his footsteps on the sea and rides upon the storm. I thought that gives a good perspective of how God is sovereign overall and he works all of these things for his benefit and for our blessing. So when we look in chapter 6, or what the first one is not saying is that the Christian wonders whether God will love him or hate him in the future, rather no one can tell by observing a person's situation or circumstances whether he is the object of God's pleasure or displeasure.
Chapter 6, we read these verses verses 2 and 3. It says, If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say better than miscarriage than him. So two points on this. Prosperity is not always a sign of God's favor, certainly.
And adversity or affliction is not necessarily a sign of God's displeasure. In chapter 7 verse 14, we read, In the day of prosperity, be happy, but in the day of adversity, consider God has made one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be made after him. So adversity doesn't mean a person is in sin or God is displeased with a person. It may mean God is training them as his child.
God brings adversity sometimes into our lives to see how we will deal with it, to bring it into our lives so that we may grow, so that we may be changed. In Hebrews, I didn't put this up here, I guess, Hebrews chapter 12 verses 5 to 8, and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons. My son do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord or faint when you are reproved by him. For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines and he scourges every son whom he receives.
It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as sons, for what son is there, whose father does not discipline or train. But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. The word for discipline here is training.
We talk about disciplining our children. People say, well, I know what that means. I mean, take them and give them a good weapon. Not really.
What it means is we train our children. We train them not to walk on the street. We train them not to drink poison, not to put their hand on a hot burner, all of those things. That's all disciplines that we teach them.
We teach them to work hard in life. We teach them to go find work. That's all disciplines of life. Teach them how to behave when they are in social settings.
Those are all disciplines and trainings. We read throughout the Bible those who are disciplined by God. It's perplexing to look at it and wonder why. You look at Job.
I read from Job this morning, I was thinking about that. Here's Job and you read all of these things that happened to Job. We're not told anywhere that Job sinned to bring those things on. We're not told anywhere that Job did something to bring all of this adversity onto him.
But we read the end of the story. God had done this, obviously, for building up the character of Job. God restored many times over those things that Job initially had. But I think it was to teach him a lesson about who God was.
Sometimes these adversities, these trials come into our lives, is to teach us that we are not just on our own out there trying to make our way through life. But we do have a father who cares for us, who wants our best for us. And he is training us. The purpose of Job's affliction was to show Job who was upright in character and loved God, but to teach him that in spite of his wealth, in spite of all that he had, he has to love God.
He has to know God. He has to know who he is. And his hope was not found in his wealth. His hope was found in the fact that his redeemer lives and in the day that he would stand before him.
He would see him in his own flesh. God may use affliction for several reasons. Educational, to teach us a lesson. Or just to bring glory to himself.
He may bring something into your life. And you are wondering why. And it could be as hideous as a death of somebody in the family. And he is bringing this along, why?
To bring glory to himself. To reveal his nature to others. You read the story of Hosea. You are thinking why would God allow him to go through such a thing?
Basically to marry a prostitute. I mean have his wife just go out and just be a prostitute. And you are thinking why? I don't know.
But it was to reveal the nature of God when you read the end of the story and understand with what we know now the way that God deals with us who were lost, who were out there. And how he has brought us to himself. How he has forgiven us. How he has restored us.
To mature us in the faith. If you read that in Romans 5 and 1 Peter chapter 6. I have to move along here. They are going to do a coin toss somewhere.
His observation is concerning death. He reminds us. I am only at verse 2 now. But believe me.
I will get to verse 18. I will go really fast. We just dragged the bog into the top of the hill. Now we are going to slide down.
Verse 2 reminds us that death falls on everybody. It is not discriminating and it shows no favor. William McDonald says this. As far as death is concerned.
The righteous person has no advantage over the wicked. They are all going to die. But like I said cheer up your life today. Once again if you look at the external death it would appear that God does not distinguish between the righteous and the wicked.
Now this is also and I want to make sure you understand this. Solomon is writing from an under the sun perspective. This is man looking back at death and saying I can't figure this out. How come good men die.
Bad men die. Good women die. Bad women die. That is the perspective that is written from.
I think somebody put sawdust in my mouth and I had a little nap. So dry. So Solomon observes that despite this observation that life is worth the living. And he comes to this conclusion.
Whoever is joined with all the living there is hope. Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living no and that they will die. But the dead do not know anything.
Nor have they any longer or nor have they any longer a reward for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished and they will no longer share in all that is done under the sun. So when he says a live dog he is not talking about a cute little pool sitting in your lap. You have to think of Solomon's day and think of where Solomon lives.
When you came to Canada didn't you find it very strange to see people walking around and picking up poop behind a dog. He still finds it strange. Don't you find it strange people driving around the cars with a dog with a ball sitting on their lap and driving the car. You see Solomon in the Middle East writing this was talking about that mangy beast that walks around the streets.
When he says it's better to be a live flea infested vermin infested dog alive than a regal beast, a lion, the king of beasts who's dead. At least the dog's alive the lion is dead it's done. That's what he's saying. Because the dog has life he's considered to be better off than the dead lion.
Even in adversity or affliction life is better than death. While one is alive he can enjoy the blessings and the benefits of life. But even Paul who would have way more revelation on life and the afterlife on the other side of the cross says this for me to live is Christ. For the believer we think for me to live is Christ.
We have great purpose in living. We have great desire to keep on living as believers. To live is Christ. And then really for us to end up like the dead dog it's game.
That's the last part of the verse. After living we go on to eternal life. It's a game for us. The grave brings an end to the under the sun life and brings us into the eternal state.
Solomon says here though but once you die never again will have part of anything. Ah anything that happens under the sun. So for the believer is great hope. But for the unbeliever if your view is that everything is here and now and on this earth super bowl rings and all of that stuff when it's over it's over.
So if you're not a believer you need to be a believer. You need to come to Jesus Christ so you have eternal life. You have hope beyond the grave. Because if you're living and thinking that I'm just going to live this life to the fullest and then I'm going to die well you're sadly mistaken there is eternity beyond that forever.
And that is the life you must live for. This must be like one of those. So the recommendations for the next part. Go then eat your bread and happiness drink your wine with a cheerful heart.
For God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time. Let that oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman who you love all the days of your fleeting life which he has given you under the sun.
This is your reward in life in your toil in which you've labored under the sun. And I'm sure I probably embarrassed my son. I can't embarrass my son if I wanted to. He's saying enjoy your food.
Enjoy the blessings of this life. We love potlucks don't we? Why? Because the food is good.
It's good to sit down and eat together. Enjoy that stuff. Enjoy drinking. We think oh that's all wrong.
We shouldn't be talking about that. No no no no no. Enjoy those things. You're bruised.
Never done anything like that before. You know what? Enjoy that kind of thing. Enjoy your vacation time.
Enjoy whatever you can do together. Enjoy the wife of your youth. That was taken two weeks after she became his wife. So Sam, there's your cousin Bob.
That was Friday. His 72nd wedding anniversary. So wouldn't you like to take marriage pre-martial counseling from that guy? From Bob.
And oh her name is Gaitney. Alice? They just live in Moncton? 72nd wedding anniversary on Friday.
I mean amazing. He's enjoying the wife of his youth. He's 94 years old. I've got to go 40 more years to catch up and marriage with him.
But they enjoy their life together. You see the two and together. Always smiling. They're always happy.
Enjoy the wife of your youth. Enjoy your relationships. One writes don't let the fear of the future or the problems of the present day deter you from enjoying your marriage. I'm going to move along here.
The next thing enjoy your work. I'm tired sometimes to enjoy your work. I've got a really tough week ahead of me. You can pray for me.
My week ahead is going to be a very very tough one. And I just know it's going to be filled with all kinds of challenging things. But it says whatever your, Ecclesi says whatever your hand finds to do with all your might. There's no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom and shield where you're going.
I'm not going to work when you're in the grave. But you have to work now. So enjoy your work. Enjoy what you do.
Your work, your planning and activity on earth. It'll come to an end. But enjoy it while you have it. We're commanded to be diligent.
The presence of evil in this world is not an excuse for inactivity. The other scripture I put up there, whatever you do, work hardly as for the Lord and not for men. Jesus said, and I, the little post is in the way, you're the light of the world. Let your lights shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
We're to enjoy our work, to be diligent in our work, to work hard. I thought I ran out of stuff. You were probably wishing. And then it says in the way to find joy in our work.
And then in verses 11 and 12, I'm almost there at the end because I'm going to end with a story. It says again, I saw unto the sun, the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the warriors, neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor of men of ability for time and chance over take them all. Moreover, a man does not know his time like a fish caught at a treacherous net and a bird trapped in a snare. He's a man who's a man who's a man who's a man who's a man who's a man who's a man who's a man and snared at an evil time when it suddenly falls upon him.
You know, the fast don't always win the race. Phil Kempton this morning, sharing it with the Lord's Supper. A little note that I had down here at David Goliath. Not necessarily the biggest and the strongest that win.
Interesting story, this gentleman that I have up here running is not any man. It's a man named Eddie Hart. Eddie Hart previously tied the world record. This is 1972 Olympics.
He was a strong favor. He was going to win the 100 meter dash, 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Then something inexplicable happened. He was disqualified after arriving a few seconds late for the quarter final.
Heat, 10 years of training to become the world's fastest human. The title that's attached to the 100 meter champion was lost in almost a heartbeat in just a few seconds. He missed the race. Why?
Because his coach made an error in the time of the qualifying race. The coach told him the wrong time. He showed up a couple of minutes late and was disqualified. The race is not always to the swift.
The fastest man lost. The second fastest got the gold medal. Time and chance had overtaken. The expected outcome.
1967, six day war, Israel against all the Arab nations all around them. And all the might of all those nations, all the air power, all the land power, all the tanks, all the foot soldiers and everything else. If you Google it and look it up, headlines will come up and talk about the miracle of the six day war, the miracle of Israel winning this war. Little Israel won this war against all those Arab nations.
It's not the mighty that always win the battles. Finally. What was that? Whatever.
This is just for show. I don't need another Super Bowl. I came to see wisdom under the sun and impressed me. He tells this little story about a small city.
A few men in it and a great king came to it. He constructed large siege works against it. There was found in it a poor wise man. He delivered the city by his wisdom.
No one remembered that poor man. I said, Solomon says wisdom is better than strength. The wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words not heeded. The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of the ruler among fools.
That's an amazing quote. There's a lot of shouting. Isn't there? A lot of shouting.
Think of one in particular world leader that does a lot of shouting. But it's just the wisdom of a quiet, hurting quietness. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Solomon's lesson, again, not necessarily a link between reward and merit.
The wealthy may not be wise and the wise may receive no worth of reward for their wisdom. Talent doesn't necessarily guarantee success. God may choose the slower and the weaker and the poorer to execute his promises. And one of the verses here that I thought I'd put it up.
I have to look it up now. First Corinthians chapter 1, close with this verse and a couple more. First Corinthians chapter 1 and verses 26 and 27. For considering your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. So conclusion in all of this, one, don't read or interpret providence from the external circumstances apart from what light the word of God sheds on it. Don't just look at some circumstances and say, ah, God's judging you for this.
You don't know. Right? Secondly, a recommendation to enjoy the life that God has given you and all that goes with it. Material blessings, relationships, marriage, and work.
God has given you all of these things. Enjoy them while you have them. Make the most of what God has given you. Be diligent in your work.
Evil and suffering are not excuses for inactivity. God wants us to work hard at whatever we're doing. Finally, wisdom is better than worldly wealth or popularity. Wisdom will bring reward, but it may not be in this life.
Two verses that I put at the very end here, and I think, ah, I think over the years as I look at these verses, they ring true more and more. So do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy where thieves do not break in or steal for where your treasure is there will your heart be also. And in Luke chapter 10, verses 20 and 21, I'm going to the story here, but Jesus says, nevertheless do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to your name, to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven. Just think, in heaven, your name is written down somewhere in heaven.
That's an amazing thought if you're a believer. And the other amazing thought is that you can right now send treasure forward to heaven. You hear about people going to Tim Hortons and paying it forward. You know, they bought coffee for the guy behind.
Oh, that's nice, nice little gesture, but here's the thing you can do today. You can build eternal wealth in heaven, not on this earth, but in heaven. Father, thank you this evening that we can look into your word. We thank you that as we look at these perplexing questions that have been asked, and these difficult things that Solomon studied and looked for, that the answers are found in your word.
The answers are found in understanding more and learning more of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for the great hope we have. We do not live life as life under the sun. We live life in the sun, the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
And Father, we can have eternal reward in heaven. We rejoice and have great hope because our names are written in heaven. Thank you for bringing us together tonight. I pray, Lord, that we have been able to learn and glean some thoughts from these teachings in the book of these guys.
In Jesus' name, amen.