WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.400 Let us take our Bibles now and open up to the 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:11.480 Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:16.879 chapter 2. Today we'll look at verses 1 through 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:22.760 11. Just a word of introduction while you're 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:26.559 finding that. We started Ecclesiastes just a 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:30.250 few weeks ago and Just to be reminded of some 00:00:30.250 --> 00:00:33.250 important things in Ecclesiastes, the beginning 00:00:33.250 --> 00:00:37.270 of the book says the words of the preacher. ESV 00:00:37.270 --> 00:00:39.789 uses preacher. Your translation may use a different 00:00:39.789 --> 00:00:43.329 word. It may use teacher. This is all coming 00:00:43.329 --> 00:00:48.270 from the Hebrew word kohelet. And so I may call 00:00:48.270 --> 00:00:50.909 him kohelet. I may say preacher. I may say teacher. 00:00:51.030 --> 00:00:54.530 I may call him Solomon, because that's who we 00:00:54.530 --> 00:00:58.710 believe wrote this book. But also, as verse two 00:00:58.710 --> 00:01:01.369 says, the vanity of vanities. Remember that we 00:01:01.369 --> 00:01:04.390 talked about the Old Testament, the Hebrew word, 00:01:04.849 --> 00:01:07.790 hevel. And so quite literally what that means 00:01:07.790 --> 00:01:13.170 is breath, or vapor, or mist. And it's translated 00:01:13.170 --> 00:01:15.489 a number of different ways, but what we've said 00:01:15.489 --> 00:01:18.430 is that all of life is fleeting and the things 00:01:18.430 --> 00:01:21.769 of this world are fleeting. So please keep those 00:01:21.769 --> 00:01:25.239 things in mind. As we read from chapter two, 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:27.579 verses one through 11, please give attention 00:01:27.579 --> 00:01:32.739 to the reading of God's holy word. I said in 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:37.799 my heart, come now, I will test you with pleasure, 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.340 enjoy yourself. But behold, this also was vanity. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:46.319 And I said of laughter, it is mad. And of pleasure, 00:01:46.459 --> 00:01:49.939 what use is it? I searched with my heart how 00:01:49.939 --> 00:01:53.280 to cheer my body with wine. my heart still guiding 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:57.280 me with wisdom and how to lay hold on folly till 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:59.780 I might see what was good for the children of 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:03.140 man to do under heaven during the few days of 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:07.500 their life. I made great works. I built houses 00:02:07.500 --> 00:02:10.360 and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:13.780 gardens and parks and planted in them all kinds 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:16.919 of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:20.159 to water the forest of growing trees. I bought 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:23.330 male and female slaves and had slaves who were 00:02:23.330 --> 00:02:26.629 born in my house. I had also great possessions 00:02:26.629 --> 00:02:29.930 of herds and flocks, more than any who had been 00:02:29.930 --> 00:02:34.090 before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself 00:02:34.090 --> 00:02:37.650 silver and gold and the treasure of kings and 00:02:37.650 --> 00:02:40.990 provinces. I got singers, both men and women, 00:02:41.449 --> 00:02:44.169 and many concubines the delight of the sons of 00:02:44.169 --> 00:02:48.740 man. So I became great. surpassed all who were 00:02:48.740 --> 00:02:52.900 before me in Jerusalem also my wisdom remained 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:57.699 with me and whatever my eyes desired I did not 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:01.000 keep from them I kept my heart from no pleasure 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.879 for my heart found pleasure in all my toil and 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:09.400 this was my reward for all my toil then I considered 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:12.460 all that my hands had done in the toil I had 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:15.960 expended in doing it and behold all was vanity 00:03:16.219 --> 00:03:19.199 and a striving after wind, and there was nothing 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:23.139 to be gained under the sun. Grass withers and 00:03:23.139 --> 00:03:26.460 the flower fades, but God's word stands forever. 00:03:26.780 --> 00:03:31.300 Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for 00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:34.599 this word. Even if it is perhaps perplexing to 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:37.000 us, even if it's difficult for us to read, we 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:40.300 ask that you, by your spirit, would grant us 00:03:40.300 --> 00:03:43.340 understanding and the application of this text. 00:03:43.460 --> 00:03:47.020 These things we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:52.219 Working our way through chapter one of this book, 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:56.500 we noticed how often that Solomon seems to mention 00:03:56.500 --> 00:03:59.580 things related to creation. He talks about the 00:03:59.580 --> 00:04:03.479 sun coming up and the sun going down. He talks 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:06.099 about the wind swirling around. He talks about 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:08.939 the streams flowing to the sea, but saying that 00:04:08.939 --> 00:04:12.400 the sea is never full. He continues to talk about 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:16.620 creation in chapter two. as you see some of the 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:20.060 things that he was striving to do. He was making 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:22.920 these vineyards and these gardens and these parks 00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:25.680 and these trees and these pools. All of it sounds 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:29.279 just glorious, doesn't it? I would like to see 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:33.259 this. Many have looked at this passage along 00:04:33.259 --> 00:04:36.379 with chapter one and said what Solomon is really 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:41.920 doing is preparing a place of paradise. It's 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:45.759 almost like a return to Eden. And certainly, 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:51.240 if we could go back to pre -fall Eden, it would 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:53.540 alleviate all the miseries of this life, all 00:04:53.540 --> 00:04:56.040 of the frustrations that we encounter in this 00:04:56.040 --> 00:04:58.540 life. What if the fall had never happened? Can't 00:04:58.540 --> 00:05:04.339 we just go back to that? The wise man and the 00:05:04.339 --> 00:05:10.019 wise woman knows you can't go backwards. And 00:05:10.019 --> 00:05:13.000 the more that you learn, the more that you know, 00:05:13.449 --> 00:05:17.470 the more vexation you have, for you remember 00:05:17.470 --> 00:05:22.730 how chapter one ends, for in much wisdom is much 00:05:22.730 --> 00:05:27.870 vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases 00:05:27.870 --> 00:05:31.930 sorrow. And so we need to be mindful of that. 00:05:31.949 --> 00:05:35.170 We need to understand that life is fleeting, 00:05:35.389 --> 00:05:40.209 isn't it? And yet, as Solomon recognizes this 00:05:40.209 --> 00:05:44.220 in his pursuit of meaning by wisdom, what does 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:48.180 he really understand? That even the pursuit of 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:51.819 meaning by wisdom can't deliver on all of its 00:05:51.819 --> 00:05:56.279 promises, can it? Wisdom cannot fix every problem 00:05:56.279 --> 00:06:00.699 in this life. Only the one who embodies wisdom, 00:06:01.019 --> 00:06:05.259 Christ Jesus, can fix all of the mess that we're 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:11.180 in. And so, underlying this chapter, I believe 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.939 is something that should remind us of Genesis 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:19.699 chapter three. We should be reminded of sin. 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:22.959 We should be reminded of the fall, right? Do 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.360 you remember what stood in the middle of the 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.779 garden? There was a tree there of the knowledge 00:06:28.779 --> 00:06:34.579 of good and evil. What was it about that tree 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:39.139 that made it off limits for Adam and Eve? Was 00:06:39.139 --> 00:06:43.279 it just... forbidden fruit? No, certainly. God 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:45.439 gave this command. You're not to eat of that. 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:48.860 And they should have obeyed, right? But let's 00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:53.360 also ask this question. What was enticing about 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:56.360 that tree? What was enticing about the fruit 00:06:56.360 --> 00:07:01.139 that grew upon it? You remember the serpent talking 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:04.680 with Eve in the garden, and he has her questioning 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:08.300 what God said. the serpent attempts to correct 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:12.279 God and he says you will not surely die But what 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:16.819 what will happen if you eat of that tree? Perhaps 00:07:16.819 --> 00:07:21.259 you remember Genesis 3 verse 6. Let me read this 00:07:21.259 --> 00:07:25.420 so when the woman saw that the tree was good 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:29.100 for food and that it was a delight to the eyes 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:33.480 and that the tree was to be desired to make one 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:37.899 wise she took of its fruit and ate and she also 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:40.759 gave some to her husband who was with her and 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:48.560 he ate to make one wise. It was called the tree 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:51.800 of the knowledge of good and evil for a reason 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:55.279 because the fruit gave insight to Adam and Eve 00:07:55.279 --> 00:08:00.800 that they were not supposed to have. And so we 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:05.449 should understand the limits of wisdom. Benjamin 00:08:05.449 --> 00:08:09.370 Shaw, who is a very fine professor, says, the 00:08:09.370 --> 00:08:14.110 supposition of the temptation is that wisdom 00:08:14.110 --> 00:08:19.089 will make life happy. But Solomon finds otherwise. 00:08:19.209 --> 00:08:22.370 His first conclusion is that this life is an 00:08:22.370 --> 00:08:24.990 unhappy burden. Why? Because there are simply 00:08:24.990 --> 00:08:30.149 some things that wisdom cannot fix. And when 00:08:30.149 --> 00:08:34.889 we understand that, then we are truly wise. But 00:08:34.889 --> 00:08:37.590 Solomon, seeing that, seeing that wisdom isn't 00:08:37.590 --> 00:08:41.690 delivering on all of its promises, he tries something 00:08:41.690 --> 00:08:48.210 else. And so look at verse one. He attempts to 00:08:48.210 --> 00:08:52.649 self -indulge. He attempts to find meaning in 00:08:52.649 --> 00:08:55.909 pleasure. I said in my heart, come now. I will 00:08:55.909 --> 00:09:01.230 test you with pleasure. Enjoy yourself. But he 00:09:01.230 --> 00:09:04.090 already tells us even this will not work because 00:09:04.090 --> 00:09:07.330 he calls it what? Vanity. And he says it's a 00:09:07.330 --> 00:09:09.990 striving after wind. We said last time that it's 00:09:09.990 --> 00:09:11.970 like a shepherding of the wind, a harnessing 00:09:11.970 --> 00:09:15.090 of the wind. It cannot be done. And so he's talking 00:09:15.090 --> 00:09:20.190 to himself. Notice all of the first person singular 00:09:20.190 --> 00:09:23.509 pronouns that are in this text. I said in my 00:09:23.509 --> 00:09:25.950 heart, I will test you. I said of laughter. I 00:09:25.950 --> 00:09:28.350 searched with my heart. I made myself all of 00:09:28.350 --> 00:09:31.820 these things. There is this focus from Solomon 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:38.500 now upon himself. It's almost like Solomon gets 00:09:38.500 --> 00:09:41.659 a taste of these things. And he says, I'm going 00:09:41.659 --> 00:09:45.840 to give myself fully to them. Have you ever done 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.879 that? And I'm not talking about bad things. I'm 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:50.840 talking about good things. Have you ever just 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:53.340 gotten a taste of something and you said, wow, 00:09:53.379 --> 00:09:55.620 I love this, and then you just pursued it with 00:09:55.620 --> 00:09:57.899 everything you've got? A few years ago, Brittany 00:09:57.899 --> 00:10:01.299 and I went up to Fairbanks, Alaska in January. 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:05.539 That's right, it was her idea. It's very cold. 00:10:06.179 --> 00:10:08.740 We wanted to see the Northern Lights, and I knew 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:11.740 I wanted to see these things, the Aurora Borealis, 00:10:12.299 --> 00:10:15.000 but once I got a glimpse of them, it was on. 00:10:15.289 --> 00:10:17.909 And I thought, I got to see these again and again. 00:10:17.929 --> 00:10:19.909 So we were setting alarms, getting up at the 00:10:19.909 --> 00:10:21.710 middle of the night. I had all these apps on 00:10:21.710 --> 00:10:24.149 my phone telling me when the aurora was coming 00:10:24.149 --> 00:10:26.549 out. We found ourselves on the top of a mountain 00:10:26.549 --> 00:10:31.970 at like 1 AM, negative 30 degrees. And we're 00:10:31.970 --> 00:10:35.029 looking for these things and just absolutely 00:10:35.029 --> 00:10:38.889 loving it. Sometimes when you just get a taste 00:10:38.889 --> 00:10:43.190 of something, you got to have more. And so this 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:46.899 is Solomon. Giving himself completely to these 00:10:46.899 --> 00:10:50.460 things and it's not really these things are all 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:54.220 necessary necessarily wrong It's just that he 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:58.000 is he is finding satisfaction in them when his 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.000 true satisfaction needs to be in God Look at 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:04.799 verse 2 to see what he tries first. I said of 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:10.000 laughter it is mad It's almost like Solomon here 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:13.519 is saying if I could just have a laugh track 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:17.600 in the background of life, everything would be 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:21.600 great. Like, let's make light of things. And 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:25.539 maybe the meaning is found in that. But he's 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:27.639 going to tell us in chapter three, there is a 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:30.240 time for laughter. Laughter is good. It's good 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:33.399 medicine, so they say. There's a time for laughter, 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:36.500 but there's also a time not to laugh. And so 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:38.960 ultimately, meaning is not found in laughter. 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:42.120 What's next? Look in verse three. I searched 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:45.580 with my heart how to cheer my body with wine. 00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:49.259 And so up next is alcohol. Now I don't believe 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:52.440 necessarily that this is talking about the abuse 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:55.220 of alcohol. He may be talking about that. And 00:11:55.220 --> 00:11:57.519 we know from Solomon that the abuse of alcohol 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:00.600 is wrong. He says in Proverbs chapter 20 verse 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:05.960 1, wine is a mocker, strong drink a browler. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:09.419 and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.799 So we know what he thinks about being intoxicated, 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:15.419 but it's not necessarily that he's talking about 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:18.399 that. Philip Riken says, maybe he was not an 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:22.259 alcoholic after all, but a connoisseur. Solomon, 00:12:22.299 --> 00:12:24.799 who we'll talk about here shortly, had all of 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.220 the money in the world. He could afford the fine 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:31.120 wine. He could drink the king of beers if he 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:35.500 wanted to. The emphasis, though, is on the result. 00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:41.279 It just doesn't fully satisfy. And so here's 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:45.620 why I want to make application. The problem within 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:49.559 this text is not the gifts that God gives. It's 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:53.080 what do we do with these gifts? Solomon, at the 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:55.039 end of chapter two, is going to talk about the 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:57.360 gift of eating and drinking and being merry. 00:12:57.539 --> 00:12:59.799 And these things are good. They're gifts from 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:03.220 God for us. But when we place our ultimate meaning 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:05.980 in those things, They're all going to come up 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:09.899 short. Look what else he looks at. Verses 4 through 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:13.860 7, all of his building projects. This is further 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:16.860 evidence that the author of this is Solomon, 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:20.139 because we know in places like 1 Kings 7, 1 Kings 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:24.159 10, 2 Kings 18 and 20, that he built all kinds 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:27.320 of things. Again, it's almost like Solomon is 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:30.679 recreating paradise. And what would you really 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:33.320 need to recreate paradise? You would need a massive 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:36.470 workforce. So Solomon talks here about these 00:13:36.470 --> 00:13:39.269 slaves, the servants who were born in his home. 00:13:39.490 --> 00:13:42.750 He has just this massive workforce that is tending 00:13:42.750 --> 00:13:45.769 to him hand and foot in building all of these 00:13:45.769 --> 00:13:50.450 things. You see, Solomon was not just the wisest 00:13:50.450 --> 00:13:54.570 man. Solomon was the richest man. And as Solomon, 00:13:55.009 --> 00:13:57.549 I believe, is at the end of his life, and he's 00:13:57.549 --> 00:14:00.509 looking back on all of it, and he's remembering 00:14:00.509 --> 00:14:04.029 the gold. He's remembering the food. He's remembering 00:14:04.029 --> 00:14:07.230 the music. Solomon's remembering how he tried 00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:13.409 out the good life. Look in verse eight. Towards 00:14:13.409 --> 00:14:16.789 the end, he mentions concubines here, the delight 00:14:16.789 --> 00:14:20.649 of the sons of man. This is an especially tricky 00:14:20.649 --> 00:14:23.929 verse because this is not the normal word for 00:14:23.929 --> 00:14:27.230 concubines. And so that's why if you're using 00:14:27.230 --> 00:14:30.580 a King James here, you're going to see. is talking 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:32.720 about musical instruments. If you happen to be 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.039 a Greek scholar and you're looking at a Septuagint, 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:37.340 you're going to see something about cup bearers 00:14:37.340 --> 00:14:40.200 here. And so what gives, why are all these translations 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:43.779 different? It's again, because this is the only 00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:47.220 place where this word is found in the Hebrew 00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:51.539 Old Testament. But we also know that Solomon 00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:55.200 did have a problem. How many wives and how many 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:58.500 concubines did he have? He had hundreds, right? 00:14:58.750 --> 00:15:02.769 So even he knows this and he would tell you this 00:15:02.769 --> 00:15:05.590 ultimate ultimate satisfaction is not found in 00:15:05.590 --> 00:15:08.649 sex Sex is a gift from God is to be enjoyed within 00:15:08.649 --> 00:15:11.090 the bounds of marriage But even that does not 00:15:11.090 --> 00:15:15.990 give you ultimate lasting satisfaction Look at 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:21.289 verse 9 All of these things he says and then 00:15:21.289 --> 00:15:24.830 so I became great and surpassed all who were 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:29.419 before me in Jerusalem All right, so essentially 00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:32.740 Solomon had whatever he wanted, but was it enough 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:38.220 for him? Excuse me. Were the servants and the 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:46.659 money, sorry, week three of the cold, the servants 00:15:46.659 --> 00:15:51.639 and the money and the music and the women, was 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:57.779 it enough for him? No, it wasn't. And yet sometimes 00:15:57.779 --> 00:16:01.399 people say things like, the person who dies with 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:06.639 the most toys wins. Is that true? Of course not. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:12.259 Of course not. And so as he looks on all of these 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:14.899 things, he tells you what he now thinks of them. 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:18.460 It's all vanity. It's all fleeting. It all comes 00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:21.779 and goes like the wind. Now for us today, we 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:24.700 might not describe ourselves like Solomon, right? 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:30.419 We don't have access to all that he had. So we 00:16:30.419 --> 00:16:32.740 probably don't talk about it all in this way. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:39.440 But think about it for a second. What is it that's 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:42.740 out there that you just wish you had? Fill in 00:16:42.740 --> 00:16:47.080 the blank, if I only had this, I would be happier. 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:50.460 I think when we really search our hearts, there 00:16:50.460 --> 00:16:53.600 might be things. And again, the gifts aren't 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:55.889 the problem. It's what do we do with the gifts? 00:16:55.990 --> 00:16:59.350 How do we think about the gifts? And are we content 00:16:59.350 --> 00:17:03.549 with what God gives to us? There is a slogan 00:17:03.549 --> 00:17:07.049 that says, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow 00:17:07.049 --> 00:17:09.750 we die. Have you heard that before? Eat, drink 00:17:09.750 --> 00:17:12.950 and be merry for tomorrow we die. Daniel Gibson 00:17:12.950 --> 00:17:15.950 says, people abide by that motto because they 00:17:15.950 --> 00:17:21.210 believe that this is all that life is. For the 00:17:21.210 --> 00:17:24.220 wise person. We don't believe that this is all 00:17:24.220 --> 00:17:27.539 that there is. And the things that we do have, 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:31.900 we thank God for them. There's an illustration 00:17:31.900 --> 00:17:35.119 that is used by, it seems, just about everybody 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:39.160 who preaches these days from Ecclesiastes, chapter 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:44.079 two. And I'm gonna use it as well. It's by a 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:46.640 football player who is mildly successful. You 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:48.279 may have heard of him. His name was Tom Brady. 00:17:49.940 --> 00:17:53.950 After he won his third Super Bowl, He was interviewed 00:17:53.950 --> 00:17:59.670 by 60 minutes, and he said this, there's time 00:17:59.670 --> 00:18:04.210 where I'm not the person that I want to be. Why 00:18:04.210 --> 00:18:06.670 do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think 00:18:06.670 --> 00:18:09.430 there's something greater out there for me? I 00:18:09.430 --> 00:18:12.809 mean, maybe a lot of people would say, hey man, 00:18:13.130 --> 00:18:16.089 this is what it is. I reached my goal, my dream, 00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:20.670 my life. But me, I think there's got to be more 00:18:20.670 --> 00:18:23.559 than this. I mean, this can't be all it's cracked 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:27.259 up to be. I mean, I've done it. I'm 27. And what 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:31.440 else is there for me? And then the interviewer 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:34.960 said to Tom Brady, well, what's the answer? And 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:41.400 Brady said, I wish I knew. I wish I knew. Friends, 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.039 the things of this life are fleeting. They are 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:47.819 heathal. And fleeting does not equal meeting. 00:18:48.430 --> 00:18:51.150 It comes in a go as Brady is not still winning 00:18:51.150 --> 00:18:54.349 Super Bowls, and Solomon is not still building 00:18:54.349 --> 00:18:57.769 pools and projects and all of these things. No. 00:18:58.970 --> 00:19:04.130 We need to seek that which endures forever. Life 00:19:04.130 --> 00:19:08.269 is brief, but we have been given the answer to 00:19:08.269 --> 00:19:13.250 life. Our choir already sang these words. Seek 00:19:13.250 --> 00:19:17.460 first the kingdom of God. and all these things 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:22.299 will be added unto you. Why should we seek first 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:26.660 the kingdom of God? Well, anything else is idolatry. 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:30.339 Anything else elevating any of the gifts of God, 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:33.180 anything of this life above God is breaking the 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:36.859 first command. It is idolatry. And secondly, 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:42.849 Solomon tells you it just doesn't work. If you 00:19:42.849 --> 00:19:45.529 haven't experienced what Solomon did, you will. 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:49.269 You will. You will recognize the things of this 00:19:49.269 --> 00:19:53.690 life are fleeting. But the kingdom of God and 00:19:53.690 --> 00:19:56.230 the righteousness of Christ endures forever. 00:19:56.869 --> 00:19:58.950 But you might say, well, how can I have the kingdom 00:19:58.950 --> 00:20:02.269 of God? How can I have the righteousness of Christ? 00:20:02.789 --> 00:20:06.630 Well, perhaps you remember 2 Corinthians chapter 00:20:06.630 --> 00:20:12.440 5, verse 21. This is. the kind of text that you 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:16.400 need to hide in your heart. For it says, for 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:20.720 our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.180 so that in him we might become the righteousness 00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:28.180 of God. You see, friends, the opposite of self 00:20:28.180 --> 00:20:32.500 -indulgence is what Christ did for us. The opposite 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:35.559 of self -indulgence is the humility of Jesus. 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:39.240 He did not indulge himself. He gave himself up 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:44.559 for us. He took our sin upon him. Perhaps you 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:46.880 remember these words from Philippians 2. I'll 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:51.259 read 5 through 11. Have this mind among yourselves, 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:54.880 which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.420 was in the form of God, did not count equality 00:20:57.420 --> 00:21:01.079 with God, a thing to be grasped, but emptied 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:04.980 himself by taking the form of a servant, being 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:09.339 born in the likeness of men. being found in human 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:12.759 form he humbled himself by becoming obedient 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:16.680 to the point of death even death on a cross therefore 00:21:16.680 --> 00:21:20.140 God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him 00:21:20.140 --> 00:21:24.299 the name that is above every name so that at 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:27.460 the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven 00:21:27.460 --> 00:21:30.980 and on earth and under the earth and every tongue 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:34.880 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:41.359 of God the Father. Friends, do you know what 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:47.380 you have in Christ? You have everything. The 00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:50.759 pleasures given by God are good things, but they 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:55.200 don't compare to what awaits you. And so Christian 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:58.460 keeps seeking the kingdom of God, knowing that 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:03.539 in God's presence is the fullness of joy. Let 00:22:03.539 --> 00:22:04.039 us pray.