WEBVTT

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Would you now take your Bibles and open them

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to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 2. We're

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going to look at just three verses today, 24

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through 26. And we are returning there after

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a few Sundays away from this book. So just to

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remind you what we've already seen. Ecclesiastes

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chapter 2, we have seen Kohelet, which is the

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Hebrew name for teacher or preacher or very literally

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the assembler of people. He has been talking

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about finding meaning in life and he has gone

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through so many different avenues to try and

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find such meaning and he's found that there is

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so much, as he says, heathel, the word that's

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used for vanity in your translations or futility.

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He has found that everything is passing. But

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what he's going to do for us today is to look

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beyond those things, to look to the God who gives

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the good gifts. And he's going to tell us to

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enjoy those gifts, but to enjoy those gifts responsibly.

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And so would you look at this with me, Ecclesiastes

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chapter two, 24 through 26. For it reads, there's

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nothing better for a person than that he should

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eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.

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This also I saw is from the hand of God. For

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apart from him, who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

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For to the one who pleases him, God has given

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wisdom and knowledge and joy. But to the sinner,

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He has given the business of gathering and collecting

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only to give to the one who pleases God. This

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also is vanity and a striving after wind. This

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is God's word. Let us pray. Father, we give you

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thanks and praise for the book of Ecclesiastes,

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but certainly as we look at it, we at times don't

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understand. And so we need ears to hear and eyes

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to see. I pray that you will grant us these things.

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Give us discernment and understanding. We pray

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now in Christ's name. Amen. He really had it

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all when you think about it. He had money. He

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had power. He could have had pretty much any

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wife that he wanted. When you really think about

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it, Moses had everything. And yet we know this

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about Moses, that he gave up nearly everything

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in order to follow after God. This is the point

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of the book of Hebrews, or the point of chapter

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11 of Hebrews, 24 to 26. By faith, Moses, when

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he was grown up, refused to be called the son

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of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be

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mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy

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the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered

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the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the

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treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the

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reward. Moses forfeits temporary pleasures in

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order to please God. And what this text shows

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us and what the life of Moses shows us is that

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pleasure is not wrong. Pleasure is not wrong,

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but ignoring the source of pleasure is. It's

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very much like what C .S. Lewis once said, a

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famous quote. It would seem that our Lord finds

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our desires not too strong, but too weak. We

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are half -hearted creatures. fooling about with

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drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy

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is offered to us like an ignorant child who wants

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to go on making mud pies in a slum because he

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cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of

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a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

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Friends, in order to be pleased, in order to

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really enjoy God's gifts, we must first enjoy

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And that's what we see today in our text. I want

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to see it in two different ways. First of all,

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we're going to see what God gives to the believer,

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and then we're going to see what God gives to

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the unbeliever. Verse 24, go ahead and look there.

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There are three possible interpretations to,

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well, I'm going to combine two of them together.

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There's two possible interpretations to verse

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24. Let me read it again. There's nothing better

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for a person than that he should eat and drink

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and find enjoyment in his toil. And so what some

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say as they look at this is to say, well, life

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is meaningless. So just go ahead and eat and

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drink and live it up. Live it up while you can

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because it'll soon all be over. That's one interpretation.

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I don't believe that it's correct. The correct

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view is this. It's not with sarcasm. And it's

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not with fatalism, but we are to recognize that

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God gives good gifts to be enjoyed in Him. And

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I think that you would all agree with me here,

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for you're in this place. We are here for a very

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good thing. We are worshiping, and we are to

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worship the way that God tells us, but we're

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also to enjoy the other things of God as He would

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have us to do so. And yet, there are two dangers

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to this, and I've used this analogy before. You're

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on the road. And on one side is a ditch. And

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on the other side is another ditch. These are

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two dangers, okay, when it comes to our pleasures.

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One, this side, we forget the giver and we abuse

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the gifts. Meaning we elevate the gifts to a

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status that they ought not have. But on the other

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side, the other ditch, is that sometimes we forget

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how to enjoy life altogether. Friends, you're

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not more spiritual because you refuse to smile.

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And you're not more spiritual because you refuse

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to have a good time. No, this passage right here

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commends enjoyment, which is one of the things

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I think is wonderful about the book of Ecclesiastes.

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I know how you've probably felt about chapters

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one and two. I know, I get it, right? But actually

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we see over and over again that Solomon within

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Ecclesiastes He upholds joy. He tells us how

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to have it, right? Firstly, he mentions here

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eating and drinking. I think we could see this

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as kind of a metaphor for all of joy in life,

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right? We should understand that God does want

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us to have joy in this life, and he does give

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us these good gifts. But sometimes, As Kohelet

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is here, we live in a life that is difficult,

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that it's very trying, that it weighs us down.

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Can we still have joy in the midst of all of

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the hardships of this life? I would say absolutely.

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I've already referenced Moses. Psalm 90, Moses

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speaks about this. For he says in verses 14 and

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15, satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast

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love that we may rejoice and be glad all of our

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days. Make us glad for as many days as you have

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afflicted us and for as many years as we have

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seen evil. This is Moses's prayer and if you

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read the rest of it you would see his prayer

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amidst hardship. that he's saying life is tough

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but oh Lord please continue to make me joyful.

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Help me to enjoy the good gifts that you give.

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But sometimes we misplace those things or as

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I said we elevate those things to a place that

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they ought not be. Have you ever heard of something

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called the World Happiness Report? Maybe some

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of you saw that. I think it was released this

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week, it was very recently, the World Happiness

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Report. I wonder what you would guess would be

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the happiest countries in the world. I'll tell

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you it was Scandinavian countries for the most

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part because I think they get to see the northern

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lights. But the World Happiness Report, it sounds

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like a useful thing until you look at the criteria

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for happiness. The World Happiness Report, that

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has Finland in the top spot, it points to money.

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It points to social factors. It points to the

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government. But the World Happiness Report misses

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the source of happiness. It misses the source

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of all joy. Where does joy really come from?

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This text is clear. It comes from God. That's

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not the only place. Let me take you to another

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thing that Solomon wrote. Proverbs, or no, Solomon

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didn't write this one. I'll get to Proverbs later.

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Psalm 1, verses 1 and 2. Blessed is the man who

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walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands

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in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of

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scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the

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Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

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Some translations use the word happiness there

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instead of blessedness. Either way, we see that

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our delight is to be in the Lord. Now why is

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that? How is that? Amidst everything that we

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go through, can we really have such joy in God?

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Absolutely. For one, the word says it. But two,

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your joy comes from somebody who doesn't change.

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In our lives, circumstances change, and sometimes

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that changes our demeanor, who we are, right?

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But we can have joy in one who is steadfast.

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We can have joy in the immutable God who doesn't

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change at all. Therefore, when the storm clouds

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roll in, when we have a really bad day or we

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go through something very, very difficult, we

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can still have joy because it comes from God.

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And it is true, God does give us good things,

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and sometimes the best things are the most simple

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things. The seasons. How many of you are delighting

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in springtime, right? The azaleas are blooming

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outside, the grass is green, right? It's beautiful.

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This is one of God's gifts. Or maybe you're more

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like me and you like the cold weather. What about

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when the weather turns to autumn and the leaves

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change, right? It's sweater weather. What about

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the good gift of the smell of coffee in the morning?

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What about the taste of a sweet, juicy apple

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picked right from the tree? What about when you're

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at the beach and the waves are just slowly crashing

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against the shore? What about when you're in

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the woods by a babbling brook, like a little

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small creek we have in the woods behind this

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church? Friends, these are God's good gifts.

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They are to be enjoyed. And God has made us,

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He has designed us for pleasure. Think about

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the very garden of Eden and what that must have

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been like, truly beautiful. What about the promised

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land that God brought his people into, a land

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flowing with milk and honey? What about the description

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of the new heavens and the new earth? At the

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end of Revelation, these all sound just glorious,

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don't they? And very pleasing. God is the source

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of all of that. But according to our text here,

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he's not only the source of joy, he also gives

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wisdom and knowledge there in verse 26. For to

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the one who pleases him, God has given wisdom

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and knowledge and joy. Yes, God is the source

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of those things. Proverbs 1 -7, the fear of the

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Lord is the beginning of all knowledge. And friends,

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this is not something that we just put off till

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later. This is not something just for eternity.

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This is for something right now. You can have

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real joy and real knowledge and real wisdom right

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now. But friends, if you do not know God through

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Christ, what does God give to you? Look at the

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end of verse 26. This is probably a metaphor

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for work, for labor, for toil. Those who toil

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but don't know God cannot truly enjoy it. And

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when it uses the word sinner here, this is quite

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literally one who misses the mark. They miss

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the purpose of labor. They fail to see that everything

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that we do is to be done with God in mind, to

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please God. A person who doesn't please God will

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not be pleased by God. A person who doesn't please

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God will not be pleased by God. And so verse

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25 seems to ask this rhetorical question, apart

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from him, who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

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Can a person have real, true, lasting enjoyment

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apart from God? The answer to that is emphatically

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no. And friends, life is hard enough as it is.

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Don't take God out of the equation. We need the

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source of joy. And we need to recognize that

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these joys may be given to people, but ultimately

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for those who miss the mark, who are sinners,

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who don't know God, they will be unable to please

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God. And this text even shows us that those pleasures

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will be given to those who please God. And so

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yes, it is true that we look around and sometimes

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we see that There are all kinds of people out

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there who do not know Jesus Christ, they don't

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know God, they don't submit to Him, they don't

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respect Him, they don't honor Him, and it seems

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like they're living their best life. But what

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is communicated here is that they will not always

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live their best life. That those pleasures will

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be given to those who do know and please God.

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And this isn't merit theology. This is not prosperity

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gospel here. You don't earn God's favor. And

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there's no guarantee of material blessing. But

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we do see this time and time again in Scripture,

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actually. If I can take you to another thing

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that Solomon said here, Proverbs 13 22, this

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illustrates perfectly what I'm saying. A good

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man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.

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but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.

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Or even think about, think about some of the

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stories from scripture, the unrighteous versus

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the righteous. Think about in the book of Esther,

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right? So you've got Mordecai and you've got

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Haman, right? And Haman is working to destroy

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Mordecai and ultimately the Jews, right? But

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God has different plans in store. Haman thinks

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that he is working his way up the ladder. He

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is soon going to be clothed with the best crown

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and the best robe and there's going to be parades

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for him and all these things. But actually what

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happens according to the book of Esther, those

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things that Haman wanted, that he desired are

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ultimately going to be placed upon Mordecai,

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right? And what does Haman actually get? The

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very gallows that he built. It's there in the

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stories of Joshua with the Israelites in these

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Canaanite cities. The Israelites did not build

00:17:41.730 --> 00:17:44.349
these Canaanite cities, but they got to take

00:17:44.349 --> 00:17:46.930
them over. Or maybe you remember the parable

00:17:46.930 --> 00:17:50.789
of the 10 pounds or the minas in Luke 19. You

00:17:50.789 --> 00:17:52.940
remember how there is a There is a master who

00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:56.160
goes away for a time and he has servants and

00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:59.180
he leaves his money with the servants and says,

00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.799
do something with them. But when he comes back,

00:18:02.819 --> 00:18:05.079
there is one servant who has done nothing with

00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:09.220
his. And so he takes that money and he gives

00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:13.019
it to the one who has invested much. Friends,

00:18:13.579 --> 00:18:19.619
all this to say, don't miss the mark. People

00:18:19.619 --> 00:18:22.819
coast through this life. Without thought to God,

00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.180
without thought to his creation, without thought

00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:28.559
to his word, without thought to what he promises,

00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:32.920
people go through life convincing themselves

00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:36.619
that nothing is wrong. But isn't that one of

00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:39.920
the humongous points of Ecclesiastes? Friends,

00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:45.759
something is wrong. And pleasures won't fix it.

00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:49.160
I think this is accentuated by the very fact

00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:52.299
that as you read through the beginning of Ecclesiastes

00:18:52.299 --> 00:18:56.240
in chapter one through, in chapter 114 through

00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.140
about chapter two, verse 23, the very name of

00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:04.099
God is absent. But what happens when you get

00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:07.980
to 24? You have the name of God there. And then

00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:11.960
you see it again in verses 26. You see it twice

00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:16.660
in verse 26. Kohelet Solomon here is being reminded

00:19:16.660 --> 00:19:20.380
that God is the one to be enjoyed and he is the

00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:25.680
one who gives the gifts. Friends, God doesn't

00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:30.039
want you to find your meaning in stuff. He doesn't.

00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:35.759
Daniel Gibson says this, endless enjoyment does

00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:39.720
not come in the box with your iPhone. If it did,

00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:43.029
why have you been considering that upgrade? That's

00:19:43.029 --> 00:19:46.410
a good question. Enjoyment is not automatically

00:19:46.410 --> 00:19:49.849
part of sex, and it's not the key ring to your

00:19:49.849 --> 00:19:52.630
dream house. It doesn't ride with you on the

00:19:52.630 --> 00:19:55.390
passenger seat in your new car. We all know what

00:19:55.390 --> 00:19:57.569
it's like to have tasted the best life has to

00:19:57.569 --> 00:20:01.230
offer and still to be left wondering what comes

00:20:01.230 --> 00:20:05.049
next. Recently, my children have turned me on

00:20:05.049 --> 00:20:09.099
to a really good song. It's by an artist, a contemporary

00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:11.839
artist named Josiah Queen, and his song is called

00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:16.000
Dusty Bibles. He says this, we got dust on our

00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:20.259
Bibles, brand new iPhones, no wonder why we feel

00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:23.940
this way. We walk with our eyes closed, blind

00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:27.579
leading blind folks, and I'm done with these

00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:32.339
idols in Dusty Bibles. Friends, are you done

00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:36.589
with idols? Are you done with elevating the pleasures

00:20:36.589 --> 00:20:40.490
of this life above God? We live in a culture

00:20:40.490 --> 00:20:45.450
that is just governed by pleasure. We live in

00:20:45.450 --> 00:20:47.970
a culture that says live your best life while

00:20:47.970 --> 00:20:57.589
we ignore the one who gives us life. We all know

00:20:57.589 --> 00:21:00.849
this, I know it repeated a lot. Westminster Shorter

00:21:00.849 --> 00:21:04.990
Catechism number one. Man's chief end is to glorify

00:21:04.990 --> 00:21:09.730
God and to enjoy Him forever. We are to enjoy

00:21:09.730 --> 00:21:17.369
Him. Do you enjoy God? Do you ever just sit in

00:21:17.369 --> 00:21:22.849
quiet and ponder upon who God is? Philosopher

00:21:22.849 --> 00:21:26.930
Blaise Pascal once said, all of humanity's problems

00:21:26.930 --> 00:21:31.930
stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a

00:21:31.930 --> 00:21:37.529
room. We want to be constantly bombarded with

00:21:37.529 --> 00:21:42.309
pleasures and entertainment. And if I can show

00:21:42.309 --> 00:21:45.869
you how this has been in my own life. Many of

00:21:45.869 --> 00:21:50.349
you know I love music. If you ask me on a random

00:21:50.349 --> 00:21:52.450
Tuesday, what are you thinking about? There's

00:21:52.450 --> 00:21:55.430
probably a song going through my head and I'm

00:21:55.430 --> 00:21:58.789
thinking about the lyrics. For many years I would

00:21:58.789 --> 00:22:03.220
have music on nearly 24 -7. I would go to bed

00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:05.519
listening to music and I would sometimes leave

00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:09.660
it on all night and wake up to it. But somewhere

00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:12.880
in there I realized it was crowding out prayer.

00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:16.240
It was crowding out Bible study and Bible reading.

00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:19.640
It was crowding out service to others. And I

00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:25.000
had to learn to turn it off. And I wonder, in

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:26.839
your life, is there something that you just need

00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:29.160
to turn off? Is there something that you just

00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:33.339
need to put it away? And so ask these questions

00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:36.180
about yourself and about your pleasures. Do your

00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:39.339
pleasures come from God? Music, as I said, it's

00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:42.460
not a bad thing, but there need to be restrictions

00:22:42.460 --> 00:22:46.140
on these things, right? So, do your pleasures,

00:22:46.619 --> 00:22:51.079
secondly, help you enjoy God more? And thirdly,

00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:55.400
are your pleasures replacing family, church,

00:22:56.240 --> 00:23:00.960
work, service, or your walk with Jesus? Friends,

00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:04.599
our pleasures, they can be good things, but there

00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:09.460
need to be limits on how we enjoy them. Sex,

00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:13.160
for instance, is, as we know, to be enjoyed simply

00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:15.579
within the confines of biblical marriage between

00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:19.480
man and woman who love Jesus. There are limits

00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:24.420
to this. Food. Food is to be enjoyed. We even

00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:28.000
have a term for this, foodies. It's to be enjoyed,

00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:32.579
but with self -control. Gluttony is sinful. We

00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:35.519
ought to avoid overindulgence out of control,

00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:39.960
eating, drink. Solomon has already talked about

00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:42.859
this earlier in Chapter two about trying to find

00:23:42.859 --> 00:23:46.460
enjoyment in meeting in life simply in strong

00:23:46.460 --> 00:23:49.059
drink. Friends, he doesn't say that drinking

00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:52.319
is wrong, but he certainly says it is wrong to

00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:55.259
be drunk or to find your meaning in this. And

00:23:55.259 --> 00:23:58.039
Paul affirms this later in the scriptures. All

00:23:58.039 --> 00:23:59.640
that to say, you could probably do this with

00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:02.640
any of these pleasures. They are to be enjoyed

00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:08.240
the way God would have us to enjoy them. One

00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:10.599
more example for you as I begin to close, and

00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:13.599
I think this is a good example. We return to

00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:17.000
Eden. We see this over and over again in Ecclesiastes,

00:24:17.099 --> 00:24:20.759
this return to Genesis. In Eden, Adam and Eve,

00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:24.420
they had it all. Really, they did. Even more

00:24:24.420 --> 00:24:26.900
than Moses has, as I've already referenced him.

00:24:27.150 --> 00:24:31.970
They had it all, including God himself, but unrestrained

00:24:31.970 --> 00:24:35.130
pleasure led to the fall. Eve looked at that

00:24:35.130 --> 00:24:37.970
fruit, she saw that it was a delight to the eyes,

00:24:37.970 --> 00:24:41.470
and she decided her pleasure and the possibility

00:24:41.470 --> 00:24:44.750
of what it might bring was more important to

00:24:44.750 --> 00:24:47.569
her than obedience. And we can say the same thing

00:24:47.569 --> 00:24:52.289
for Adam. Friends, the pleasures we enjoy should

00:24:52.289 --> 00:24:57.220
lead us closer to God, not in rebellion. against

00:24:57.220 --> 00:25:01.559
him. Can I give you one more concluding thought?

00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:09.119
Would you like to know what Jesus's joy is? Hebrews

00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.839
chapter 12, one and two. Therefore, since we

00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:16.000
are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

00:25:16.740 --> 00:25:20.619
let us also lay aside every weight and sin which

00:25:20.619 --> 00:25:24.480
clings so closely And let us run with endurance

00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:27.720
the race that is set before us looking to Jesus,

00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:31.420
the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for

00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:35.559
the joy that was set before him endured the cross,

00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:39.039
despising the shame and is seated at the right

00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:44.700
hand of the throne of God. What is Jesus's joy?

00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:50.500
It's accomplishing the Father's will to secure

00:25:50.730 --> 00:25:57.930
redemption Jesus's joy is in his father and Jesus's

00:25:57.930 --> 00:26:03.329
joy is in you and friends there is no vanity

00:26:03.329 --> 00:26:08.309
no heathel in that because this what Jesus offers

00:26:08.309 --> 00:26:11.670
for us is eternal let us pray