Now, we have another opportunity to dig into
Ecclesiastes this morning. We're in chapter 9.
Our goal is to cover half of it today. Lord willing,
we'll get to finish the chapter before the end
of the year. And then, can you believe it, we'll
only have three more chapters left. It's only
been two plus something years. We'll get there.
Now, today I've titled the sermon, Wisdom to
Live. And on the screen here, we'll take a look
at the outline again so you can see how it fits.
There it is. We're going to see how knowing God
can help us to live before we die. Think about
that. I know awkwardness is a choice. Think about
how knowing God can help you to live before you
die. You may think that's so simple, but if that
statement is confusing at all, then I pray that
today's sermon is for you. Let's go ahead and
stand for the reading of God's word, Ecclesiastes
chapter 9. We're going to read verses 1 through
10. For I have given all this to my heart and
explained it that righteous men, wise men, and
their service are in the hand of God. Man does
not know whether it will be love or hatred or
anything may be before him. It is the same for
all. There is one fate for the righteous and
for the wicked, for the good, for the clean and
for the unclean, for the man who offers a sacrifice
and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the
good man is, so is the sinner. As the swearer
is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This
is an evil in all that is done under the sun,
that there is one fate for all. Furthermore,
the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil.
and madness is in their hearts throughout their
lives. Afterwards, they go to the dead. For whoever
is joined with all the living, there is confidence.
Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.
For the living know they will die, but the dead
do not know anything, nor have they any longer
a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.
Indeed, their love, their hate, and their zeal
have already perished, and they will never again
have a portion in all that is done under the
sun. Go then, eat your bread in gladness and
drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has
already accepted your works. Let your clothes
be white all the time and let not oil be lacking
on your head. See life with the woman whom you
love all the days of your vain life, which he's
given to you under the sun, all the days of your
vanity, for this is your portion in life and
in your labor in which you have labored under
the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do. Do it
with all your might, for there is no working
or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol
where you are going. You may be seated. Now,
last week we had probably the most fun application
from Ecclesiastes. Enjoy the center of the cinnamon
roll. How many of you wanted a cinnamon roll
afterwards? You probably did. I know I did. I
didn't make it up to Pismo. I'll have to wait
for that one. If you have not been, you should
go. You will enjoy it. Old West Sin Minerals.
Now, I'm not getting paid for them or anything,
just to be clear. Now, as silly as that application
sounded, it was wisdom being displayed. There
are so many troubles to endure in this life.
Why add to them by being overly bothered? Why
not just enjoy what you have while you have it?
We were left in chapter 8 with a firm statement
and a humbling one. No matter how hard man tries
to find out the work of God, he simply cannot.
We are limited. We are finite. We are unable
to fully comprehend the infinite almighty and
all the great things that he has done. Further,
we are unable to know what comes next. We don't
know what comes next for us. This is a hard one.
We don't know what comes next for our loved ones
and parents. That bothers us. But in the unknowableness
of the future, there is wisdom to respond. There
is joy to be had amidst the hardest days. There
is grace to be glad. But we need to learn from
the Lord on high how to live. God needs to teach
us to understand that things are not what they
seem. That eternal hope changes how we live today.
Thankfully, we do have a bit of an outline for
the passage today. for wisdom to live. We have
the first few verses, the fate of all. Then verses
four through six, the opportunity of breath.
And seven through 10, the way of wisdom. So as
we look at verse one, we've been moving along
in our study. We haven't taken the words or the
phrases of Solomon as disconnected ideas. We
haven't taken this as the Proverbs. We've seen
that he's wisely moving us through thought by
thought so that we'll be encouraged to follow
God's ways. So when we look at verse 1, he speaks
of all of this that he's given his heart to explain.
You have to bear in mind what he has said previously.
All of this is what he has just spoken of. It's
like the Old Testament equivalent of therefore,
right? Last week, verse 12, chapter 8, it says
it will ultimately go well for those who fear
God. In verse 13 of chapter 8, it will not go
well for the wicked. He made that clear. And
why? Well, now we have verse 1. The why is because
the righteous are in God's hands. In his hands.
What passage does that remind you of? Did you
think of John chapter 10, verse 29? Did you think
of that one? I did. No one is able to snatch
them out of my Father's hand. The true sheep
in this passage respond to the true shepherd.
They follow him and he gives eternal life. And
that promise is eternally secure. Why? Because
it's not based on man's ability to follow God.
It's based on God's ability to powerfully hold
life in his hand. Now where else do we see this
in scripture? You might have thought of Job chapter
12. He says, in whose hand is the life of every
living thing and the breath of all the flesh
of man. Deuteronomy 33. Indeed, he loves the
people. All your holy ones are in your hand and
they followed in your steps. Everyone is bearing
up your words. And we read this morning, Grant
read our call to worship, Psalm 73, a different
way of phrasing it. But he said, nevertheless,
I'm continually with you. You've taken hold of
my right hand. With your counsel you will lead
me and afterward take me in glory. I love that
one in Psalm 73 because Asaph turns it a little
different. He says that Yahweh grabs his right
hand and leads him to glory. I don't want you
to miss the messianic promise that's hiding in
plain sight here in Ecclesiastes. If you were
to read John 10, which confirms all of those
Old Testament thoughts, whether it's Job, whether
it's Deuteronomy, whether it's Psalms, then you're
going to come to the next verse. We read verse
29, but verse 30 says something incredible. After
he talks about being secure in the Father's hand,
Jesus says, I and the Father are one. Do you
see that Solomon is pointing to the Messiah?
Even 2 ,000 years prior. We're 2 ,000 years since
Christ. Got to get the math right. Think about
this. Jesus gives eternal security. And if you're
a believer today, you know that. You've heard
it. It's been preached about. Well, what did
the Old Testament saints hope in? Pre -incarnate
Christ, right? They didn't have the visible representation
of Emmanuel God with us, but they still had hope.
They had a trust. In who? In God Almighty. Now
their full realization of the gospel was not
for them. Isn't that amazing? That's why the
New Testament says saints have longed to look
at the things we get to see. Isn't that incredible?
And it comes down to this statement, I and the
Father are one. The righteous are in the hand
of God not because of their goodness, not because
of what they do, but because of The righteous
are in the hand of God because of Christ. Faithful
believers, faithful followers of Christ live
for him. They have lives that are marked by their
service to the king. And we're going to come
back to this because verse 7 in chapter 9 is
going to talk more about it. But be encouraged.
Friends, Christ is the only way to have security
and eternal rest. Solomon longed to see that
day of Emmanuel. We get to see it. Isn't that
amazing? Through Christ, we can have confidence
to be presented spotless. You think about Asaph
being led unto glory, hoping for what he didn't
see, and now the risen Christ has been revealed.
We have something that is absolutely incredible
in the scope of human history. Do we realize
it? Do we recognize it? Now, the second half
of verse 1 poses a little bit of confusion at
face value. But if we consider what we read in
chapter 7, it will make sense. Do you remember
that Solomon pointed out the righteous perish
and the wicked prosper? There's your alliteration
grant. That the world is upside down. That things
don't make sense. He pointed that out. He repeated
it in chapter 8. Well, the second half of verse
1 is stating the same thing again. You ought
to pursue righteousness, but you have no guarantee
of outcomes. here on earth. Often you are reminded,
especially in this church, that God is sovereign,
right? We talk about that. We know that one day
God will, he will meter out justice according
to Christ. But you need to remember this. There
is no predictable outcome with your works here.
There's a predictable outcome in eternity, in
glory. but you don't have the ability to predict
your outcomes this side of glory. So love or
hatred may await you. He's just saying the same
thing again. And the focus is not on interpreting
whether you receive God's love or hatred. It's
just the unknowableness of outcomes. Anything
may await you in this life, no matter what you
pursue. You could be righteous. You may get bad
things. You could pursue bad things. You may
get good things. We've talked about that. Can
you tell who God's friends are by whether they're
blessed in this life or not? Interesting question,
right? Can you discern whom God loves based on
how they're treated in this life? Now you see
what Solomon is saying. Now the great and foolish
Mark Twain is reported as saying God would have
more friends if he treated the ones he had a
little better. That's why I say great and foolish.
Some of you have a love for that movie that I
still haven't seen. I'm so sorry. The play Fiddler
on the Roof. I know. My wife just said, yeah,
I know. But there's a line. I know there's a
line from Tevye, right? He says this. I know,
I know. We're your chosen people. But once in
a while, can't you choose someone else? Now,
whether you think you're on the receiving end
of love or hatred in this life, Solomon is teaching
you there's no way to predict it. You may have
had that same thought. You may have wondered
like Asaph did in Psalm 73. Why do people suffer
when they seek to do good and the wicked prosper
and enjoy so much in this life? But we've learned
prosperity is not always a blessing. You remember
in Ecclesiastes chapter six, verse seven, all
a man's labor is for his mouth, yet his soul
is not satisfied. You work so hard and you don't
get it. That prosperity that you may gain here,
may end up meaning nothing. What about chapter
7, verse 2? That trials and adversity are the
great teachers in this life. This is better to
go to a house of mourning than to go to a house
of feasting because this is the end of all mankind.
The living puts it in his heart. Or verse 14
in chapter 7. In the day when there is good,
be of good cheer. But in the day when there is
evil, see this. God has made the one as well
as the other. so that man will not find out anything
that will be after him. You can't produce a formula
to get what you want from God in this life. There's
no way to ensure a desired outcome here and now
to either receive God's tangible blessing or
to avoid the burdens of this life, the sorrows
of this life. But whether you perceive to receive
blessings or burdens, he brings us to this fact.
there's one fate for all of mankind. Death. The
righteous and the sinner will both meet the same
end. That's the reality of all. You know this
from Romans 5, verse 12. As through one man,
sin entered the world, and death through sin,
so death spread to all men. Because all sinned,
and all means all. Sin has brought death. We
learn that. from Paul's writings. When people
wonder why the world is upside down, we shouldn't
point the finger at God. So many do, especially
unbelievers. Tell me why your God is good if
the world is so broken. Well, Solomon tells you
to turn around and look at yourself. Look at
your heart. If you want to know why the world
is broken, look at the heart of man. Ecclesiastes
9 .3 makes it clear. He says the heart of mankind
is for perpetual evil. Evil. They're not for
God. As you look at verse 2 in Ecclesiastes 9,
you see... Solomon gives this contrast, says
clean and unclean, sacrificial, irreligious,
the good versus the sinner, the one who takes
an oath, which really means committed to God,
versus the one who is uncommitted to God, afraid
of commitment. That harkens back to chapter 8,
verse 1. You remember the one who takes an oath
to God as his basis for yielding to authority?
He gives all these contrasts, but he says it
doesn't matter which side you're on. There's
one fate, and he calls that fate evil. Solomon
still hates death. I said many sermons ago, death
is no friend to those who love God. Death is
the final enemy, according to 1 Corinthians 15.
The last enemy to be abolished is death. Yet
we don't blame God for the reality of death.
Romans 6 .23 teaches us death is the consequence
for sin. The wages of sin is death. If you grew
up in Awana, you grew up learning this verse.
But the gracious gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord. We know that. Death
is brought not because of God, but because of
us. We've sinned, and the payment is death. But
here's what's crazy. Even though we know death
is coming, do you know anyone who is oblivious
to the reality of death? They may act like it,
but are they truly oblivious to it? Everyone
knows about death. Everyone. And yet, Ecclesiastes
9 .3 says that man is full of evil intent. Psalm
73, Asaph talked about being like a beast, like
a madman, just pursuing passions and pleasures.
You remember in Ecclesiastes 7, the end of it,
verse 29, God made men upright. But what? Man
sought out many devices. The evil is that death
does not respect those who are righteous by faith.
It's evil because those who do righteousness
and those who pursue wickedness arrive to the
same end. Now, I know that seems all very grim.
Death comes to all, whether you pursued righteousness
or not. Hence why Asaph was saying, so what does
it matter then? I might as well pursue wickedness.
Well, look at that even. Man is bent towards
evil. Even when you're doing righteousness, when
you see the evil prosper, then you're bent towards
it. Wow. That's the heart of man. You can't predict
an outcome even if you try to do good. You can't
know what's coming next. But you know you're
going to die. So what do you do with this information?
Well, the next few verses, verses four through
six, they explain something to us in a really
weird, different way than we talk. But it's this
thought, as long as you have breath, you have
an opportunity to respond to truth. As long as
you have breath, you have an opportunity to respond
in truth. The first part of verse four says it
clearly. The living is preferred than to be among
the dead. And that word confidence, you could
also render it hope. That as long as you're joined
with the living, there's hope. There's an opportunity
moving forward. When you're alive, you could
have at least some measure of hope. That next
phrase, though, is a little harder. What does
it mean to be better as a live dog than a dead
lion? Well, in ancient times, sorry dog lovers,
dogs were not fluffy man's best friend types
that you have today. There were no Pomeranians
hanging out in clothes and strollers and all
of that. Some of you are big dog people. I know
it doesn't apply, okay? Now, dogs back then,
they were not domesticated animals. They didn't
just eat food out of your hand and live in your
house. In ancient days, dogs were mangy. They
were lowly. They were gutter feeders. Today,
the equivalent would be like the New York City
rats, which are almost the same size of dogs.
Think about hyenas but smaller. like coyote -sized.
Dogs ravaged in the wilderness of Israel. They
ran in packs. They were brutal and disgusting.
It's okay if you love dogs today. That's just
what they were, okay? Today's animals are very
different, but you need to know how they were
viewed in Solomon's day. Now, what about lions?
Lions were the exact opposite. Lions represented
honor, strength. an animal to be admired as much
as it is to be feared. There were no superhero
stories in Solomon's day, not like we have today.
We didn't have, you know, they didn't have DC
or Marvel and cartoons and movies and all that.
But the kids of ancient Israel, when they were
imagining something powerful in their imagination,
they would have seen the lion as what they wanted
to be, powerful and strong, courageous. So when
Solomon says that it's better to be a living,
breathing dog rather than a dead lion, he's saying
it's better to be a misfit reject in society,
poor and destitute, this side of glory, fighting
for the scraps of this life rather than to get
all the pomp and circumstance and yet be dead
with no eternal security. That's what he's drawing
a comparison to. He says, why? Because if you're
still breathing, if you're still breathing according
to verse 5 in chapter 9, you have an opportunity
before it's too late. So what's that opportunity?
You have an opportunity to prepare to meet your
maker. You have an opportunity to be in the hand
of God that verse 1 comforts, that the righteous
and wise man's works. are in the hand of God.
Living in light of impending death gives you
the opportunity to embrace what you've been given
and to consider how you may meet God one day.
Will you meet God as one who pursued wickedness,
giving yourself to all your base desires? He
tells us in verse 13 of chapter 8, we talked
about that last time, it will not go well for
that wicked man. He will not prolong his days.
Because he doesn't fear God. Are you going to
meet him that way? Or are you going to meet God
as the one who fears him openly? As Ecclesiastes
8 .12 says, that it will be well for those who
fear God openly. The reality of death also brings
another sobering thought. Verse 6 tells us that
their love, their hate, their zeal have perished.
and they will never again have a portion under
the sun. Knowing about death while you have breath
helps you to live well before death comes to
you. And you should be shocked, you should be
startled when you consider that death erases
a person's opportunities to respond. And not
only are they no longer able to prepare to meet
the maker, But everyone else is going to cease
to enjoy or be burdened by their life. The memory
of the dead fades with time. You can't talk to
them. You can't hold them. You can't hug them.
You can't laugh with them. Death is not to just
be understood as freedom from the burdens of
this life. Death should be understood as an inescapable
evil that we all will endure. And considering
that wakes you up. It gets you out of foolish
thinking. It splashes water on your face so you
can see how things really are. The world will
distract you with so many things. And God, through
Solomon, he's shaking you. He's saying, wake
up, be alert. Don't be lulled into the slumber
of lethargy and this worldliness that so many
people are ensnared by. Your only opportunity
to live. is knowing that you will die. Now, here's
the thing though. The believer doesn't need to
fear death, but he doesn't need to welcome it.
You see the nuance there? The believer doesn't
need to fear death, but you don't need to welcome
it. So in light of that thought, in light of
being sobered, we should ask, how should we live?
How should we live knowing that we will die?
And the final verses of this section in Ecclesiastes
chapter nine, at least the first half, tell us
plainly. He says very clearly, go, go, eat your
bread in gladness, drink your wine with a merry
heart. Now you don't take that as the Spartan
creed. Some of you have heard eat and drink for
tomorrow we die. Solomon isn't advising us to
resign ourselves to futility. What he is saying
is he's saying go. Now that's an imperative command.
Actually, all the verbs that are pointed toward
the reader in this section are imperative commands.
The literal Hebrew rendering would be something
more like, you must go. You must eat. You must
drink with gladness. You're being commanded.
Why? He says, because God has already accepted
your works. Earlier I said we come back to verse
7. And consider mankind in the work of Christ.
Now we know from Solomon, chapter 7, verse 20,
he knows that mankind is not intrinsically good.
Nor is man saved on his merit. Chapter 7, verse
20, indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth
who continually does good and who never sins.
But then Solomon states this in verse 7 of chapter
9, that God has already accepted your work. So
that seems to be a conundrum. That seems to be,
A contrast, and it could be seen as God misunderstanding
himself, but it's not. To the fool, yes. God
is both ways. To the wise, God is consistent.
God remains the same. Now when you look back
at verse 1 of chapter 9, you consider that the
righteous man and their service, their work,
is in the hands of God. Then this can make sense.
Your eternal security cannot be bound up solely
in what you do. Your good works will never be
good enough. Never. You'll never have enough
confidence in yourself on the day of your death
unless your security or your works are in the
hands of God. For those who fear God, their offering
of life, of service toward others, is seen as
even fulfilling the law. Here are some passages
that remind us about faith and works and following
the Lord. Galatians 5, verses 13 through 14,
you were called to freedom. Only don't use your
freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but
through love, serve one another. The whole law
is fulfilled in one word, in this, love your
neighbor as yourself. That's the response of
the faithful. The prideful and the arrogant,
though, they trust in their works, but their
works are an indictment, is what Hebrews 6 .1
tells us. Their works and their faith are false.
We're called to leave the elementary teaching
about Christ of all these rituals and to press
on toward maturity, not laying a foundation again
of repentance from dead works and faith towards
God. It's in the negative sense, meaning we're
not to trust in those things that we do, not
from faith, the things that we do out of ritual.
Things that we do that are not according to Christ.
And you know James chapter two, our Monday night
study will be there soon, TJ, I'm sure of it.
Maybe in a couple months. James chapter two,
verse 17 and 18. Faith, if it has no works, is
dead by itself. Some will say, you have faith,
I have works. Show me your faith without the
works and I'll show you my faith by my works.
We know that works don't save. You've heard it,
I'm sure of it. Only God does. If that's true,
if works do not save, and yet you see so much
emphasis on pursuing them, and yet only God saves,
then this command in Ecclesiastes chapter 9 is
actually very liberating. It becomes an attainable
goal. So when Solomon says to go, eat, drink,
and be merry, He's telling you that spiritual
maturity looks very different than you probably
think it does. Why do we tend to think that being
spiritually mature means having some very deep
knowledge or mastery of theology or doctrine
or biblical languages? And I'm not knocking any
of those things. But why do we think that that's
the measure of biblical maturity? To Solomon,
biblical wisdom and maturity looked like a person
who feared God, who lived in submission to him,
who enjoyed as much of this life as he could
in a manner pleasing to Yahweh. I would encourage
you this. Don't devote yourself to an idea of
faithfulness. Devote yourself to the commands
of God and his word. We all have ideas about
what we think it looks like to be faithful or
mature. And there is goodness to imitating those
who have walked before you. But don't chase an
idea. Chase the commands, which means you're
going to be chasing Christ. And consider that
simple command, to eat, to drink, to enjoy. Food
is a gift. God gave us taste buds, right? Most
of us, I think. There are some who avoid. Delicious
sauces. I'm thinking of our two Jeffs here. I
know that there are also people who have allergies,
alternate aversions, my sad cinnamon allergy.
And there are foods that just taste good to us,
right? There are things you're like, man, I really
like that. Even the Jeffs who don't prefer sauces
prefer other food items, right? That's the thing.
So it's just a matter of what it is. We like
so many things. We like salty things. We like
sweet things. We like tangy and sour, spicy,
earthy, crunchy, soft. How do you look at death
in the eye and scoff at it? Enjoy life. Marinate
the steaks. Throw the sauce on. Or not. Or not.
Bake the cookies. Be the Christian version of
an Epicurean, one who enjoys the delights of
food and drink, but you recognize the God who
gives it. You shouldn't simply view food as just
fuel. It's not, according to God. According to
God, it's a command to enjoy it. Argue with him.
Any of those books, you've got to pick it up
with God. But don't overdo it. Don't pursue the
good gifts and let them poison you. How many
times have we been cautioned here in Ecclesiastes
to avoid the extremes? Avoid them. Gifts are
gifts. Gifts are not gods. So don't worship them.
But eating and drinking with joy should draw
you back to your anchor, your refuge, God. You
can labor well, but don't trust in your outcomes.
You can do well and it may go poorly for you
in this life. That's reality. You could also
do really poorly and it might go well for you.
But what you can trust in is that if you're pursuing
worship of the one true God, your works and your
life will be in his capable hands. Your earthly
end will result in an everlasting blessing. Not
because of what you did, but because of his mercy
in Christ. So if your confidence is in Christ,
then you can eat, you can drink, you can be glad
without second guessing the good gifts in this
life. Now verse eight tells us to be dressing
up for celebration all the time. Be joyful. You
know, white clothes and oil on the head. That's
the antithesis of sackcloth and ash. It's the
exact opposite. Now, he's not telling you to
go get some Gucci and get an expensive haircut
or the fanciest perfume you can find. He's not
saying that. But he's saying, don't be chicken
little. Don't walk around like the sky is falling,
even if it is. Because if you know the one in
whose hand is the falling sky, You don't need
to fear. You can be dressed in white. You can
let your head be anointed with oil. You can be
a joyful person. You can reflect the light of
Christ to everyone in your midst. Now, I don't
know if people read obituaries these days. It
was a big thing with the newspapers, you know,
those things that were on print they used to
hold and they used to be at airports and coffee
shops. I know we don't have many of those anymore.
Not the airports and coffee shops. newspapers.
Have you ever seen a discouraging or sad obituary?
They exist. The kind where the person's not missed.
The family is unfazed by their departure. Even
glad. How tragic it is when the impression that
one leaves behind on their family and their loved
ones was one of misery and joylessness. Consider
the contrast of the passing of a dearly loved
saint, one whose death doesn't bring relief to
their loved ones, but whose loved ones will miss
them terribly, most of all because of the life
of Christ that they represented. So Solomon says,
let your days be filled with joy. Laugh, be glad,
enjoy what God has given. And in verse nine,
enjoy with whom? God has given. Now Solomon,
he clearly abused the privilege of marriage.
700 wives, 300 concubines. But here, here, he
encourages proper marital relations. He learned.
He learned. To see life with the one whom you
love is singular. It's intentional. He didn't
say with the ones. The one. Definite articles
mean something. The means singular, one, not
plural. To see life with the one that you love
is to experience it, to understand it, to live
it, to walk it through with your companion. Now
that flies in the face of all of his arranged
marriages that he did for wealth, for property,
for alliances. It points to a monogamous marriage
between a man and a woman. And it also points
to the reality that marriage can be one of the
best delights in this short life. Remember that
vain doesn't mean futile. It doesn't mean pointless.
It points to the temporary nature of this life,
the fleeting nature of this life, so that we
orient our gaze back towards God. Now marriage
can be one of those great enjoyments in this
temporary life. But we also have to acknowledge
that marriage is not what completes a person.
Some people are single now, but were not before.
Some who are single now may not be one day. And
some who are single now will remain so the rest
of their lives. Marriage is not the definition
of being a Christian. Christ is the definition
of being a Christian. Identity in Christ is what
completes us. So if you're not one to whom God
has given this gift of enjoyment in marriage,
you can still seek contentment in him. And you
can look to those other base gifts that he gives
us to enjoy. That's why he starts with eating
and drinking, the most basic parts of life. Now,
for those who enjoy the gift of marriage now,
remember, though, that it's temporary. The gift
of marriage will one day be done away with, whether
by death or by glory. So be thankful and appreciate
the good gifts while you have them. And for those
who have the gift but are not enjoying it, you
repent. Repent. We've heard before, I don't like
my gift. Repent. I wish I had a different one.
Repent. There's too much water under the bridge.
Repent. Remember that your spouse is the one
that God gave you either by your once upon a
time wisdom or by their I didn't know any better
folly. Go back and listen to that if it didn't
make sense. You find yourself as a husband and
wife though for God's glory. Miserable, grumbling
and complaining. is not going to yield you anything.
It only reveals a discontent heart. Now, God
may need to do some serious work towards restoring
a marriage if you've had those thoughts, if you're
perpetuating those thoughts. That work will be
on you and your spouse, your gift. Think about
a spouse as a gift. The end, though, of enjoying
that gift is to grow in the likeness of Christ.
God is in the restoration business, is he not?
He delights when his people return to him. As
long as you still have life and breath, which
is why it's better to be a living dog than a
dead lion. Now verse 10 serves as a great capstone
for this section. He says, serve the Lord with
gladness in whatever you do. So life is not vanity,
it's not pointless, even if it is fleeting and
temporary. Put your effort into enjoying life.
Put your effort into enjoying your spouse. Put
your effort into working and living for God's
glory in whatever you do. Don't be lukewarm.
Don't be half -hearted. Don't be lazy. You can
labor. You can pursue wisdom. You can pursue
knowledge and understanding only while you live.
When he speaks of Sheol here at the end of verse
10, it's just the world of the dead. It's the
grave. He's not speaking of... the everlasting
eternal torment of the unsaved. So Solomon's
statement on working with all your might, you
might think of the New Testament commands that
are very similar. Colossians chapter 3. Whatever
you do in word or deed, do all in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him. 1 Corinthians 10 .31. Whether then
you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to
the glory of God. You see the consistency of
God's word? He's not trying to confuse us, not
trying to throw you off. His emphasis is on living
while you can. Live before you die. Now we come
to another abrupt stop on the ride of Ecclesiastes,
but don't miss the simplicity of that last statement.
Live before you die. Live in whatever you do,
but live for God's glory. Live by the grace of
Christ. In our culture today, So many people
strive after so many things, do they not? And
you hear it, if you're in the secular world for
work, you hear about all the things they're working
towards before they can enjoy life. All the aims
for retirement, for finances, working so hard,
attaining so much, before what? Before they can
finally enjoy it. Then they're given the freedom
in the later years of life when they no longer
have the energy, but they have all the means.
But like the bad aspects of all of our unsaved
society, we're always encouraged to enjoy things
too much and in the wrong way. But with wisdom,
we're taught how to live even though we know
we're going to die. In fact, the reality of our
impending death helps us to live. That's the
wisdom of God. Now for the fool, the one who
doesn't know God, everything's meaningless. They
might as well have their best life now. That's
what Solomon keeps telling you. If your hope
is here, this is the best life you have, so get
it all. But if you see beyond this world, if
you recognize that you are temporary and there
is an eternity, there is a maker, there is a
creator, amidst all the chaos there is yet, rhyme
and reason, then he says, look beyond what you
can see. Don't live for what you can hold and
touch. Live for what lasts. Live as one who fears
God. Live as one who serves him. Live as one
who knows Christ is Lord and who lives as if
Christ is Lord. You have to remember, this life,
it's not better than the one to come, but it
can still be enjoyed. Can you hold that intention?
It's not better for the believer than what is
to come. What is to come is infinitely better.
But did you know that you can still enjoy this?
In the midst of being homesick for heaven, this
life under the sun can be enjoyed for what it
is. It's a gift. And in enjoying this life, you
can honor the creator. You can honor the savior.
And we're all gonna face the same fate, but the
future has a fork in the road. So while you have
breath, while you have life, take the opportunity
to learn to live for God's glory. And the truth
of God's word gives us hope for a secure future.
Through these ups and downs of life, even though
you know the death is coming, you can count on
the nearness of God through Christ. We read about
the nearness of God in Psalm 73, and yet we know
that the name Emmanuel is God with us. How much
nearer can he be? So as you think about how to
live before you die, Think about who Jesus is.
Who is Christ? If Jesus is our greatest gift,
if he's our greatest treasure, if he's our true
friend, if he's the one who makes us complete,
then even the other bright and wonderful gifts,
the shiny things of this life, they're going
to grow strangely dim as we sing, right? In the
light of his glory and grace. And if Jesus is
our greatest gift, then when that last enemy,
comes to take our breath away, Jesus will breathe
into us anew. And what was once dust to dust
will from that point be from glory to glory.
That's the story. Let's pray together. God, we
want to learn how to live in the face of death.
We want to learn how to scoff at death and yet
also take it very seriously. We want to learn
how to hold the balance of being homesick for
heaven and yet living joyfully this side of glory
until you call us home. So we need your help.
We ask you to help us to embrace the life that
we have now, the one that you've given us. And
all of the things, the good, the bad, the blessings,
the burdens, the love, the hate, we ask you to
help us to know how to be joyful in these things.
Help us to grow in knowing the gospel of Christ.
Knowing Jesus changes everything, but we need
help. We need help to see how. We need help to
see that eternity's promises, eternity's assurance
impacts today's troubles. Help us to look at
Jesus as our dearest friend. Help us to not just
say wonderful things about him, but to truly
count him as our treasure. Help us not to just
go through the motions of religion, but to see
the Savior who has sacrificed for us to be broken
by our sin, to repent, and to turn to him and
ask for his grace, his help constantly. Not just
one time, but daily. And in that, as we daily
look at our own sinful tendency towards evil,
like Solomon has warned us, help us to have joy
to live in this life. Help us to look death in
the eye knowing that it's coming and still enjoy
the little blessings and the little graces of
this life. We don't need to be so morbid, so
serious, nor do we need to be flippant. Help
us to rightly assess our situation as creatures
who will one day meet death and who also trust
that death will be no more. So help us to grow
out of our grumbling and our complaining of things
here and now. Convict us. Help us to repent.
Help us to not be arrogant and demand things
of you and outcomes that we can't control. And
cultivate in us a heart of gladness, a heart
of thankfulness for whatever you've chosen to
do. Our desire as we gather today, help us to
praise the name of Jesus. As we walk out of here
later today, we think about everything that we
sang and everything we read and everything we
learned, talked about, wrestled with. May we
come away knowing that the one thing that matters
is knowing Christ as Lord. And if Christ is our
Lord, then our hearts may be glad. And so help
us to that end. Change our affections. Change
the way that we approach life. Change the way
that we think about things so that we would see
your goodness here and now and long for things
to be finally, fully good. Give us hope for that
future, we pray. In Christ's name, amen.