WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:06.280 And in God's word, we turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:11.800 four. We're gonna look at the whole chapter today, 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:16.780 one through 16, simply picking up where we left 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:21.059 off. So I would ask you to give close attention 00:00:21.059 --> 00:00:27.739 for this is God's word, Ecclesiastes four. Again, 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:32.159 I saw all the oppressions that are done under 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:36.799 the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:41.240 and they had no one to comfort them. On the side 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:44.539 of their oppressors, there was power, and there 00:00:44.539 --> 00:00:47.979 was no one to comfort them. And I thought the 00:00:47.979 --> 00:00:51.259 dead who are already dead more fortunate than 00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:55.000 the living who are still alive. But better than 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.950 both is he who has not yet been. and has not 00:00:58.950 --> 00:01:02.009 seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:06.950 Then I saw all the toil and skill and work that 00:01:06.950 --> 00:01:09.969 come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This 00:01:09.969 --> 00:01:14.069 also is vanity and a striving after wind. The 00:01:14.069 --> 00:01:16.930 fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:21.269 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands 00:01:21.269 --> 00:01:25.769 full of toil and a striving after wind. Again, 00:01:25.790 --> 00:01:29.769 I saw vanity under the sun. One person who has 00:01:29.769 --> 00:01:33.829 no other, either son or brother, yet there is 00:01:33.829 --> 00:01:37.709 no end to all his toil. And his eyes are never 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:40.969 satisfied with riches so that he never asks, 00:01:41.670 --> 00:01:44.930 for whom am I toiling and depriving myself of 00:01:44.930 --> 00:01:49.310 pleasure? This also is vanity and an unhappy 00:01:49.310 --> 00:01:52.989 business. Two are better than one because they 00:01:52.989 --> 00:01:55.480 have good reward for their toil. For if they 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:58.780 fall, one will lift up his fellow, but woe to 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:02.159 him who is alone when he falls and has not another 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:06.200 to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they 00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:10.280 keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? And 00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:12.560 though a man might prevail against one who is 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:17.060 alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:21.240 is not quickly broken. Better was a poor and 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.729 wise youth than an old and foolish king who no 00:02:24.729 --> 00:02:28.050 longer knew how to take advice. For he went from 00:02:28.050 --> 00:02:31.009 prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom 00:02:31.009 --> 00:02:35.030 he had been born poor. I saw all the living who 00:02:35.030 --> 00:02:38.229 move about under the sun, along with that youth 00:02:38.229 --> 00:02:41.370 who was to stand in the king's place. There was 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:45.509 no end of all the people, all of whom he led, 00:02:46.189 --> 00:02:49.770 yet those who come later will not rejoice in 00:02:49.770 --> 00:02:54.650 him. Surely this also is vanity and is striving 00:02:54.650 --> 00:03:00.349 after wind. And this is God's word. Let us pray. 00:03:02.650 --> 00:03:06.050 Lord Christ, you are the word and the Bible reveals 00:03:06.050 --> 00:03:09.729 who you are. For we remember that you, Jesus, 00:03:09.810 --> 00:03:12.009 were on the Emmaus road and you were talking 00:03:12.009 --> 00:03:16.050 with those disciples and you revealed to them 00:03:16.050 --> 00:03:19.919 how the scriptures were speaking of you. Help 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:23.699 us to see you in this. Would you apply this passage 00:03:23.699 --> 00:03:27.000 to our hearts? And by your spirit, would you 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.879 use what I say in my weakness to strengthen our 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:35.520 faith? Would you impart your strength and your 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:40.620 power to encourage our hearts, to exhort our 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:44.520 hearts, to challenge our hearts that we might 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:49.490 grow in the grace and the knowledge of you? This 00:03:49.490 --> 00:03:56.969 we ask in your name. Amen Ecclesiastes chapter 00:03:56.969 --> 00:04:01.930 4 I wonder what you think of it There are some 00:04:01.930 --> 00:04:05.409 tough sayings in here There are some perplexing 00:04:05.409 --> 00:04:09.349 sayings in here and really what I think the writer 00:04:09.349 --> 00:04:12.629 of Ecclesiastes is doing who I believe to be 00:04:12.629 --> 00:04:17.920 Solomon as He's responding to objections regarding 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:20.920 chapter three. For you remember, especially in 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:23.779 the beginning of chapter three, it talks about 00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:26.860 there being a time for every matter under heaven, 00:04:27.300 --> 00:04:30.980 a season. And yet you could understand how someone 00:04:30.980 --> 00:04:33.459 would read that and say, is there really a season, 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:36.899 a time for oppression, which is mentioned in 00:04:36.899 --> 00:04:40.300 chapter four? Is there really a time for envy? 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:44.019 mentioned in chapter four. Is there really a 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:47.459 time for loneliness again in chapter four? And 00:04:47.459 --> 00:04:49.860 what is underneath all of these questions is 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:53.319 this big question. God, are you really sovereign? 00:04:54.660 --> 00:04:57.519 Do you really know what you're doing? Are you 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:01.980 really in control? Perhaps this is a question 00:05:01.980 --> 00:05:06.079 that you have. Well, I'm here to tell you. God 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:09.279 is in complete control of every single moment 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:13.620 of your lives and specifically chapter four talks 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:17.279 about how God is in control of our relationships 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:20.060 and it really mentions even though there's a 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:22.500 plethora of things mentioned here it really is 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:25.160 talking about two different types of relationships 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:29.100 the way that we relate to the authorities the 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:32.259 people in positions of power and the way that 00:05:32.259 --> 00:05:35.620 we relate to one another in community And so 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:38.399 that's what we're looking at, people in power 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:41.639 and people in the community. And what we should 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:44.939 see from this is that we were made for community. 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:48.939 You were made to be together with one another. 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:52.259 And that is why when we are sinned against, it 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:57.379 hurts so badly that it bothers us so much because 00:05:57.379 --> 00:06:01.870 sin interrupts our harmony. Sin is the answer 00:06:01.870 --> 00:06:05.069 to why there is oppression, to why there is envy, 00:06:05.350 --> 00:06:08.089 to why there is laziness, and to why there is 00:06:08.089 --> 00:06:11.069 loneliness, again, all topics addressed in chapter 00:06:11.069 --> 00:06:15.990 four. But the answer to these questions about 00:06:15.990 --> 00:06:20.009 community is Christ, who comes to make all things 00:06:20.009 --> 00:06:23.410 new, Christ who establishes the church, and Christ 00:06:23.410 --> 00:06:27.889 who he promises eternal life without the problem 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:32.620 of sin. And yet we do live under the sun in a 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:36.139 very fallen world. And it's a world at times 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:39.360 that seeks to oppress. And so let's look at the 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:42.500 reality of oppression from verses one through 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:46.819 three and verses 13 through 16. This section 00:06:46.819 --> 00:06:50.740 of chapter four. is really a continuation of 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:53.180 the end of chapter three. You remember looking 00:06:53.180 --> 00:06:57.879 at chapter three and we noted injustice and unrighteousness 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:00.399 that was there. It kind of carries over here 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:04.720 into chapter four, this discussion of oppression. 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:09.480 Again, verse one, I saw all the oppressions that 00:07:09.480 --> 00:07:12.680 are done under the sun. And so what Solomon is 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:16.540 showing us here is that oppression is prevalent 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:21.629 and it's pervasive. It's everywhere. And the 00:07:21.629 --> 00:07:25.670 real heartbreaking part of oppression is also 00:07:25.670 --> 00:07:29.930 mentioned there in verse one. Behold the tears 00:07:29.930 --> 00:07:33.750 of the oppressed. They had no one to comfort 00:07:33.750 --> 00:07:37.930 them. That's the real heartbreaking part of oppression, 00:07:38.410 --> 00:07:41.949 that people who are oppressed oftentimes feel 00:07:41.949 --> 00:07:45.810 terribly alone. They feel that no one's got their 00:07:45.810 --> 00:07:49.459 back. And as Solomon sees this, verses two and 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:52.060 three kind of come alive, I thought the dead 00:07:52.060 --> 00:07:54.660 who were already dead more fortunate than the 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:57.519 living. He's not saying that he wishes he was 00:07:57.519 --> 00:07:59.779 dead or that he wishes he was never born. He's 00:07:59.779 --> 00:08:04.600 saying, I have seen oppression and I cannot unsee 00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:08.350 it. Perhaps you have seen oppression. You have 00:08:08.350 --> 00:08:10.990 seen the wicked way that people treat one another, 00:08:11.310 --> 00:08:15.149 especially when governments now rule people in 00:08:15.149 --> 00:08:17.889 such an oppressive manner. Solomon, though, is 00:08:17.889 --> 00:08:22.149 the king, and yet he feels powerless against 00:08:22.149 --> 00:08:27.589 the oppression that he sees. Friends, there is 00:08:27.589 --> 00:08:30.370 a lot of oppression that happens in the world 00:08:30.370 --> 00:08:34.409 today. If you read the stories of the persecuted 00:08:34.409 --> 00:08:37.470 church, you realize how oppressive people can 00:08:37.470 --> 00:08:39.909 be towards one another and especially towards 00:08:39.909 --> 00:08:43.110 Christians. It's happening all over the world 00:08:43.110 --> 00:08:46.850 in places like Nigeria, in Eritrea, in China, 00:08:47.090 --> 00:08:50.309 in North Korea, in Afghanistan. It's happening 00:08:50.309 --> 00:08:54.110 all over the place. And yet the one thing that 00:08:54.110 --> 00:08:57.429 Christians say that they need the most when they 00:08:57.429 --> 00:09:03.820 are oppressed is prayer. For in prayer, they 00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:08.679 are not forgotten. In prayer, we appeal to somebody 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.279 who can actually do something about it, and so 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.340 we should remember our brothers and sisters in 00:09:14.340 --> 00:09:20.919 Christ in oppressed areas. It really is happening 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:25.639 all over the world. In the last several years, 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:29.259 in Rwanda, it's become especially prevalent. 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:33.019 I learned this not too long ago when I was in 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:35.220 Uganda and stopped over in Rwanda for a brief 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:39.059 second. Do you realize that in Rwanda, this kind 00:09:39.059 --> 00:09:41.519 of Eastern African nation, and it's not very 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:47.480 big, over 14 ,000 churches and houses of prayer 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:53.580 have been closed since 2018. 14 ,000 churches 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:57.019 and houses of prayer have been closed since 2018. 00:09:58.570 --> 00:10:03.570 What are the reasons for this? According to Rwanda's 00:10:03.570 --> 00:10:07.330 own government, according to their own website, 00:10:08.350 --> 00:10:10.529 the reasons for closing these churches, some 00:10:10.529 --> 00:10:14.610 of them are they're not up to par with building 00:10:14.610 --> 00:10:18.950 codes, they don't have adequate parking, they 00:10:18.950 --> 00:10:21.289 don't have sufficient soundproofing in their 00:10:21.289 --> 00:10:24.269 sanctuaries, and their bathrooms are not sufficient. 00:10:25.590 --> 00:10:29.100 These are the reasons that churches are being 00:10:29.100 --> 00:10:33.740 closed. And as it speaks to adequate parking, 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:36.840 Rwanda has one of the lowest rates of car ownership 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:43.200 in the world. Why do they need parking? Talk 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:47.000 about feeling alone. The government there is 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:50.460 making this a reality with these restrictions 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:54.320 of closing churches in the name of progress. 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:58.120 Friends, We should recognize this, and I think 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:00.460 this is where Solomon is going, that God has 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:05.899 placed authorities in power not to oppress, but 00:11:05.899 --> 00:11:09.600 to provide relief from oppression. The Westminster 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:12.940 Confession of Faith says here, God, the Supreme 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:15.879 Lord and King of all the world, has ordained 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:19.980 civil magistrates to be under him. over the people 00:11:19.980 --> 00:11:22.980 for his own glory and the public good. It also 00:11:22.980 --> 00:11:26.179 says that it's lawful for Christians to accept 00:11:26.179 --> 00:11:30.340 and execute the office of a magistrate to maintain 00:11:30.340 --> 00:11:34.639 piety, justice, and peace according to the laws 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.240 of each land. In other words, we have elected 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:41.179 officials who are supposed to work for the good 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:46.980 of the people, not to oppress them. There was 00:11:46.980 --> 00:11:50.730 a time when I saw what I viewed to be terrible 00:11:50.730 --> 00:11:54.909 oppression, and especially corruption. Living 00:11:54.909 --> 00:11:59.429 in Bulgaria from the end of 2012 through 2014, 00:12:00.149 --> 00:12:03.669 it was a time of oppression, many said. It was 00:12:03.669 --> 00:12:07.850 a time of corruption, as there was a new government 00:12:07.850 --> 00:12:12.070 in power every year, as cost of living was skyrocketing, 00:12:12.070 --> 00:12:15.250 and the people of Bulgaria began to be very upset 00:12:15.250 --> 00:12:19.799 and agitated. And so they began to assemble to 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:24.720 protest. And in those years of 2013 and 2014, 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:28.440 they set the all -time record for the most consecutive 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:34.679 days of protesting. They protested for 404 straight 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:38.340 days. People were brought in by the busloads 00:12:38.340 --> 00:12:42.139 to the capital city of Sofia in order to protest, 00:12:42.460 --> 00:12:46.279 tens of thousands of people protesting. because 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:50.399 what they saw was oppression and corruption and 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:52.879 it got to be so bad that the people began to 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:55.200 be a little bit violent and at one point the 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:58.179 government was meeting in the Parliament and 00:12:58.179 --> 00:13:01.120 the people decided to barricade them inside the 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:03.960 Parliament building and they wouldn't let them 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:06.559 out until the authorities intervened but then 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:09.679 the people were still angry at this and so they 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:12.659 began to barricade the bus that was being used 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:16.759 to get the government out of the city and they 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:19.379 dragged all sorts of things into the streets. 00:13:19.659 --> 00:13:23.779 At one point I saw a baby grand piano in the 00:13:23.779 --> 00:13:27.600 street in front of a bus carrying parliament. 00:13:29.259 --> 00:13:32.899 Oppression and corruption drive people to survival 00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:37.220 mode, drives them to desperate measures. But 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:40.639 friends, when we as Christians see oppression, 00:13:40.909 --> 00:13:44.210 and we see corruption and we see injustice. This 00:13:44.210 --> 00:13:49.350 should drive us not to those things. This should 00:13:49.350 --> 00:13:52.929 drive us to the King of Kings and the Lord of 00:13:52.929 --> 00:13:55.330 Lords. This should drive us to the one who can 00:13:55.330 --> 00:13:57.649 do something about it. This should drive us to 00:13:57.649 --> 00:14:02.370 Christ because his kingdom is everlasting. His 00:14:02.370 --> 00:14:05.149 kingdom's not made by human hands. His kingdom 00:14:05.149 --> 00:14:08.950 has no boundaries and Jesus has no successor 00:14:08.950 --> 00:14:11.850 waiting in the balance to replace him. He rules 00:14:11.850 --> 00:14:15.490 with perfect justice and righteousness and grace. 00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:20.370 There is no oppression in Jesus' kingdom because 00:14:20.370 --> 00:14:22.789 actually Jesus was the one who was oppressed. 00:14:23.789 --> 00:14:27.309 Jesus is the one who was oppressed for our sake. 00:14:27.570 --> 00:14:30.409 Jesus is the one smitten, stricken, pierced, 00:14:30.509 --> 00:14:35.509 crushed, chastised, and afflicted. Isaiah 53, 00:14:35.730 --> 00:14:39.549 by oppression and judgment, he was taken away. 00:14:40.789 --> 00:14:45.870 The same one who was oppressed is also the one 00:14:45.870 --> 00:14:50.250 who frees us from oppression. Revelation 1 says 00:14:50.250 --> 00:14:53.350 he loves us and has freed us from our sins by 00:14:53.350 --> 00:14:57.129 his blood, and he is the ruler over all the kings 00:14:57.129 --> 00:15:04.649 of the earth. And so if you should ever see oppression, 00:15:05.730 --> 00:15:08.309 if you should see injustice, if you should see 00:15:08.309 --> 00:15:14.590 corruption, friends, seek Jesus. He is the permanent 00:15:14.590 --> 00:15:18.929 and eternal King. And so what he shows us and 00:15:18.929 --> 00:15:22.809 what Solomon shows us here is the limits of human 00:15:22.809 --> 00:15:27.429 leadership. Look in verses 13 through 16. There's 00:15:27.429 --> 00:15:29.690 this story that is told here, and I don't know 00:15:29.690 --> 00:15:32.629 if it's a real story or something like a parable, 00:15:32.750 --> 00:15:35.049 but the way that it goes is that there was an 00:15:35.049 --> 00:15:39.850 older king who no longer knew how to take advice. 00:15:39.850 --> 00:15:42.950 He no longer knew how to take counsel and he 00:15:42.950 --> 00:15:47.629 is replaced by a young man who came from prison. 00:15:47.909 --> 00:15:51.769 And this is unexpected because typically in the 00:15:51.769 --> 00:15:55.009 scriptures and just in our own culture we view 00:15:55.210 --> 00:15:58.029 those who are older to have more wisdom. But 00:15:58.029 --> 00:16:01.309 here comes this young man from prison, maybe 00:16:01.309 --> 00:16:06.289 think Joseph here, to replace the king. But there's 00:16:06.289 --> 00:16:09.250 another twist to it, that apparently there's 00:16:09.250 --> 00:16:12.590 another youth who will eventually replace that 00:16:12.590 --> 00:16:16.629 king. Why? The text is telling us nothing stays 00:16:16.629 --> 00:16:21.769 the same. Kings come and kings go, no matter 00:16:21.769 --> 00:16:30.429 how wise, Vanity cannot be slowed simply by wisdom. 00:16:31.549 --> 00:16:35.429 The wise king will eventually be replaced and 00:16:35.429 --> 00:16:38.269 eventually forgotten. And friends, what this 00:16:38.269 --> 00:16:42.309 tells us then is that if you place all of your 00:16:42.309 --> 00:16:47.549 hope and all of your trust in a person fulfilling 00:16:47.549 --> 00:16:52.320 a role, you will be let down. Oppression can 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:55.980 return just as quickly as it left. Think of the 00:16:55.980 --> 00:16:58.659 kings of Israel. Think of the kings of Judah. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:03.279 Think of the cycle of the judges. Think, I mentioned 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:07.359 Joseph. Think about how Joseph was imprisoned. 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:11.299 Joseph was incarcerated and yet Joseph rose to 00:17:11.299 --> 00:17:14.019 power in God's providence, brought incredible 00:17:14.019 --> 00:17:19.779 blessing to Israel, but then he died. Exodus 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:22.940 chapter 2 tells us then came a king in Egypt 00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:27.579 a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph and oppression 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:32.559 followed. Oppression can come and go just like 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:36.559 that. Kings come and go just like that. But Jesus 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:41.779 is the same yesterday today and forever. He is 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:45.660 our eternal King and as our eternal King he tells 00:17:45.660 --> 00:17:49.430 us how to live. And so let's look at verses four 00:17:49.430 --> 00:17:53.569 through 12, as we focus on people in community 00:17:53.569 --> 00:17:56.950 with one another. You see in verse four, what 00:17:56.950 --> 00:18:00.309 Solomon is getting at, then I saw that all the 00:18:00.309 --> 00:18:02.869 toil and all skill and work come from a man's 00:18:02.869 --> 00:18:06.769 envy of his neighbor. What drives people to work, 00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:12.069 he observed, is envy. It's a desire to be better 00:18:12.069 --> 00:18:14.970 than our neighbor. It's a desire to have more 00:18:14.970 --> 00:18:18.190 than our neighbor. We are living in a constant 00:18:18.190 --> 00:18:21.789 game of comparison, trying to one -up one another. 00:18:22.029 --> 00:18:25.190 We are self -centered, and we want to see our 00:18:25.190 --> 00:18:28.950 own success. And certainly, this should bring 00:18:28.950 --> 00:18:33.869 to mind the 10th commandment. We are to be content, 00:18:34.589 --> 00:18:38.119 not envious of one another. and not envious of 00:18:38.119 --> 00:18:41.500 one another's possessions. Kohelet says, Solomon 00:18:41.500 --> 00:18:45.900 says, that this is vanity. It's hevel. Why is 00:18:45.900 --> 00:18:49.559 it hevel? Because there's always going to be 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:54.180 someone who is more successful, who is younger 00:18:54.180 --> 00:19:00.180 maybe, more diligent, faster, smarter. I realized 00:19:00.180 --> 00:19:04.039 this recently. I had a birthday. About a week 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:05.980 and a half ago, it's crazy how those things come 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:09.759 around once a year. Two days after my birthday, 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:11.900 I went to play some basketball with a friend. 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:15.700 Not even competitive basketball. We were playing 00:19:15.700 --> 00:19:19.640 horse. And afterwards, my knee swelled up to 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:23.920 the size of a grapefruit, right? There's always 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:26.940 gonna be someone younger, faster, smarter, more 00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:29.240 athletic, and I was never very good at basketball 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:32.440 in the first place. But when we're in this constant 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:37.440 game of envy and comparison, we are going to 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:42.339 be sadly mistaken, sadly disappointed when it 00:19:42.339 --> 00:19:45.940 comes crashing down and we're lying there on 00:19:45.940 --> 00:19:49.240 the floor of the basketball court. Remember, 00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:51.680 Solomon is likely near the end of his life as 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:54.559 he writes this, and he knows he can no longer 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:58.660 keep up. And this is a lesson that we must all 00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:02.029 learn. And so this is the danger with our work 00:20:02.029 --> 00:20:05.029 is that we work and we toil and we slave away. 00:20:05.049 --> 00:20:08.089 And for what? Just to show that we're better 00:20:08.089 --> 00:20:12.190 than someone else. And so that's a danger. But 00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:16.609 in verse five, we get the other danger. The danger 00:20:16.609 --> 00:20:19.849 of laziness. For we might push back on that. 00:20:19.970 --> 00:20:21.750 We might say, well, I don't want to be like that 00:20:21.750 --> 00:20:23.549 guy. I don't want to be envious and in competition 00:20:23.549 --> 00:20:25.890 all the time. So instead, I'm just going to do 00:20:25.890 --> 00:20:30.220 nothing. Again, the danger of laziness, of dropping 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:34.000 out of the race entirely, of forfeiting, of not 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.660 doing our work. And certainly this is written 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:40.420 in a way that makes us cringe. The fool folds 00:20:40.420 --> 00:20:43.779 his hands and eats his own flesh. What is that 00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:46.500 talking about? It's talking about how we, if 00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:49.240 we just choose not to do anything, we no longer 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:53.480 want to work, we just give up. This is destructive. 00:20:53.940 --> 00:20:58.529 This is self -destruction. The man who does this, 00:20:59.109 --> 00:21:03.109 who refuses to work, will actually waste away. 00:21:03.849 --> 00:21:06.910 And so where should we be? Not on this side, 00:21:07.109 --> 00:21:08.829 not on this side. We need to be right in the 00:21:08.829 --> 00:21:12.109 middle. We need to learn contentment. Look at 00:21:12.109 --> 00:21:18.109 verses seven and eight. Or actually, let's stay 00:21:18.109 --> 00:21:21.670 in verse six. Better is a handful of quietness 00:21:21.670 --> 00:21:25.250 than two hands full of toil. and a striving after 00:21:25.250 --> 00:21:27.710 wind. Yes, it's better to keep working and striving 00:21:27.710 --> 00:21:31.569 and providing for our families and for those 00:21:31.569 --> 00:21:34.269 who are in need. We need to ask ourselves, for 00:21:34.269 --> 00:21:37.869 whom do we work? Colossians three says it best, 00:21:38.230 --> 00:21:41.470 whatever you do, do your work heartily as for 00:21:41.470 --> 00:21:44.910 the Lord rather than for men. And so this is 00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:48.160 the answer to envy. When we work for the Lord 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:51.180 and for His glory, we are freed from needing 00:21:51.180 --> 00:21:53.859 the approval of our neighbor or trying to keep 00:21:53.859 --> 00:21:58.960 up with the Joneses, right? Whatever you do, 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:03.299 are you working for the Lord or are you motivated 00:22:03.299 --> 00:22:07.700 by envy? We all should understand that we need 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:09.880 to be working for the good of one another. Look 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:13.500 at verses seven and eight. This is communicating 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:17.470 someone who has nobody. The solitary worker who 00:22:17.470 --> 00:22:21.349 works tirelessly but has no one, no son, no brother, 00:22:21.569 --> 00:22:24.529 no friends, no family, and yet he never stops 00:22:24.529 --> 00:22:30.630 to think, for whom am I doing this? It's just 00:22:30.630 --> 00:22:35.450 herself, right? I saw a poll recently that I 00:22:35.450 --> 00:22:37.630 think illustrates this very well, and the poll 00:22:37.630 --> 00:22:41.049 just asked two questions. It said, how much do 00:22:41.049 --> 00:22:45.299 you make? And how much would you need to make 00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:49.720 in order to be happy? It's very telling that 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:53.279 the results of that poll showed that people overwhelmingly 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:58.940 said, if I just had 25 % more, then I would be 00:22:58.940 --> 00:23:02.319 happy. Now indeed, there are some who definitely 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:05.700 could use 25 % more. But to have that many people 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:10.299 saying, I just need a little bit more, shows 00:23:10.299 --> 00:23:15.470 us something important. about ourselves. It'll 00:23:15.470 --> 00:23:19.029 never be enough, will it? For you could get that 00:23:19.029 --> 00:23:23.609 25 % more and you would still want 25 % more. 00:23:24.230 --> 00:23:27.190 Friends, when we work only for ourselves, when 00:23:27.190 --> 00:23:30.470 we're seeking to satisfy only self, we are going 00:23:30.470 --> 00:23:34.890 to be, as I said, very disappointed and very 00:23:34.890 --> 00:23:39.269 lonely, which is our last point here. Verses 00:23:39.269 --> 00:23:43.299 nine through 12. it speaks to companionship. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:47.960 Companionship is better than aloneness. And Solomon 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.500 illustrates this with four examples, verse 9. 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:54.599 Two are better than one because they have a good 00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:58.119 reward for their toil. Working together you can 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:00.480 accomplish more good and therefore there will 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:03.700 be a greater reward for this. We should be working 00:24:03.700 --> 00:24:07.799 together on things that really matter, right? 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:11.400 like reaching our community for Christ. This 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:14.160 is done better when we all engage in it together. 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:18.180 Second example is verse 10. If one falls, the 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:23.200 other can help him up. To fall and be alone is 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:27.099 a dangerous and scary thing. Yes, physically 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:30.880 falling, but emotionally, spiritually and having 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:35.640 no one to pick us up, we need community. Verse 00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:39.259 11 for example 3 2 can keep each other warm. 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:42.619 We should remember in Solomon's time. They didn't 00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:46.359 have heat right and so what this is speaking 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:49.460 of is probably Travelers who are on the way to 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:51.559 a destination to have nowhere to stay and this 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:54.339 isn't talking about anything sinful here This 00:24:54.339 --> 00:24:56.740 is just talking about travelers who would sleep 00:24:56.740 --> 00:25:01.160 near one another to keep each other warm When 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:05.250 they're perhaps in the elements And then finally, 00:25:05.450 --> 00:25:09.849 verse 12, for example, number four. One who is 00:25:09.849 --> 00:25:14.150 alone may be overpowered, but two can stand against 00:25:14.150 --> 00:25:17.769 an attacker. Sometimes it just really helps to 00:25:17.769 --> 00:25:21.869 have somebody have your back, right? And so for 00:25:21.869 --> 00:25:26.009 all of these reasons, this proverb here in verse 00:25:26.009 --> 00:25:31.109 12 is true. This threefold cord that is not easily 00:25:31.109 --> 00:25:34.599 or quickly broken. He's saying what is often 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:37.799 communicated in wisdom literature, that if one 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:41.059 thing, if two things is good, then more than 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.980 that is better. If two is good, three is better, 00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:48.460 right? That there is strength in numbers. And 00:25:48.460 --> 00:25:52.539 so friends, to go through life without companionship 00:25:52.539 --> 00:25:58.759 is not just sad. It's downright foolish. We need 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:01.740 one another. Before the fall, God said it was 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:04.259 not good for man to be alone. And while that 00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:06.779 first referred to marriage, Solomon is making 00:26:06.779 --> 00:26:10.619 a broader point about the human need for companionship, 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:14.099 to have friends and family and people who are 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:18.480 with you. But where can we find this community? 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:22.619 Where does it come from? How can I have it? Well, 00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:24.720 here I could tell you to join a bowling league. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:27.339 Or if you're single, I could tell you to try 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:31.829 online dating. But no. I'm telling you, a great 00:26:31.829 --> 00:26:35.990 place to find companionship is right here, right 00:26:35.990 --> 00:26:39.490 now. We need one another in the church, right? 00:26:39.710 --> 00:26:41.950 We need a community that worships together and 00:26:41.950 --> 00:26:44.650 prays together and serves together and walks 00:26:44.650 --> 00:26:47.170 through all of the miseries of this life together. 00:26:47.170 --> 00:26:50.230 And I think that Solomon would absolutely agree 00:26:50.230 --> 00:26:53.569 because he's the one who built the temple. And 00:26:53.569 --> 00:26:57.690 his very name in this book literally. The title 00:26:57.690 --> 00:27:03.490 that is used here is Kohelet and that means literally 00:27:03.490 --> 00:27:07.329 convener or assembler for the purposes of teaching. 00:27:07.609 --> 00:27:11.140 His name means getting together. And so we ought 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:13.859 to be together. And if Solomon would agree with 00:27:13.859 --> 00:27:16.599 this, how much more would Jesus agree with this? 00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:19.420 That Jesus, the one who is followed by all the 00:27:19.420 --> 00:27:23.200 crowds, Jesus who assembled his own small team 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:26.900 of men, right? And Jesus who commanded us to 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:29.960 love one another, and you cannot keep that commandment 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:34.680 if you're not with one another. And Jesus who 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:38.240 is ultimately abandoned at the cross, My God, 00:27:38.339 --> 00:27:42.799 my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus knew 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:46.799 more than any of us what it was like to be completely 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:53.680 alone. And he went through it all for you. And 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:56.859 ultimately, when he did that, he kicked off the 00:27:56.859 --> 00:28:00.579 greatest organization in the world, the church, 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:05.009 the early church, the model for us. comes from 00:28:05.009 --> 00:28:08.029 Acts chapter 2 and I'll begin to wrap up with 00:28:08.029 --> 00:28:12.450 just two passages of scripture. Acts 2 42 through 00:28:12.450 --> 00:28:16.490 47 and they devoted themselves to the apostles 00:28:16.490 --> 00:28:19.490 teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of 00:28:19.490 --> 00:28:22.710 bread and the prayers and awe came upon every 00:28:22.710 --> 00:28:25.829 soul and many wonders and signs were being done 00:28:25.829 --> 00:28:28.569 through the apostles and all who believe were 00:28:28.569 --> 00:28:31.750 together. and they had all things in common, 00:28:32.130 --> 00:28:34.490 and they were selling their possessions and belongings 00:28:34.490 --> 00:28:37.970 and distributing the proceeds to all as any had 00:28:37.970 --> 00:28:41.589 need. And day by day, attending the temple together 00:28:41.589 --> 00:28:44.589 and breaking bread in their homes, they received 00:28:44.589 --> 00:28:47.750 their food with glad and generous hearts, praising 00:28:47.750 --> 00:28:51.230 God and having favor with all the people. And 00:28:51.230 --> 00:28:55.069 the Lord added to their number, day by day, those 00:28:55.069 --> 00:29:00.380 who are being saved. Perhaps you feel alone. 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:03.500 Perhaps those who are listening online maybe 00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:07.839 feel alone. Friends, you are made for Christian 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:12.329 community. In community, you grow in faith. In 00:29:12.329 --> 00:29:14.970 community, you bear one another's burdens. In 00:29:14.970 --> 00:29:18.170 community, you worship the living God. In community, 00:29:18.170 --> 00:29:21.430 you give help to each other in saying no to sin. 00:29:21.690 --> 00:29:25.049 In community, you look after the needs of those 00:29:25.049 --> 00:29:28.490 who are desperately in need. And in community, 00:29:29.269 --> 00:29:31.750 you prepare for the perfect fellowship that awaits 00:29:31.750 --> 00:29:38.269 you in glory. And so friends, let us have this 00:29:38.269 --> 00:29:43.559 closing statement, not from me. but from God's 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:49.779 Word. Hebrews 10, 24, and 25. And let us consider 00:29:49.779 --> 00:29:52.420 how to stir up one another to love and good works, 00:29:53.180 --> 00:29:56.400 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit 00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:00.460 of some, but encouraging one another in all the 00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:05.119 more as you see the day drawing near. Let us 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:05.359 pray.