WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.279 You would take your Bibles now and open them 00:00:02.279 --> 00:00:09.779 up to the book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 00:00:09.779 --> 00:00:14.660 chapter 11. We're gonna look at verses just one 00:00:14.660 --> 00:00:17.920 through six today. And as you turn there, you're 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:21.719 probably going to see that we're getting towards 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:25.640 the end of this wonderful book of wisdom, but 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:29.940 we're not done. By no means. This is an important 00:00:29.940 --> 00:00:34.619 passage for us as they all are and So would you 00:00:34.619 --> 00:00:38.179 now give attention to the reading of God's word? 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:49.439 Ecclesiastes 11 1 through 6 Cast your bread upon 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:54.020 the waters For you will find it after many days 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:59.320 Give a portion to seven or even to eight. For 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:03.520 you know not what disaster may happen on earth. 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:07.579 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves 00:01:07.579 --> 00:01:10.859 on the earth. And if a tree falls to the south 00:01:10.859 --> 00:01:13.299 or to the north, in the place where the tree 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:17.959 falls, there it will lie. He who observes the 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:21.840 wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:26.420 will not reap. As you do not know the way the 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:29.260 spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman 00:01:29.260 --> 00:01:33.379 with child, so you do not know the work of God 00:01:33.379 --> 00:01:37.900 who makes everything. In the morning, sow your 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:41.379 seed. In an evening, withhold not your hand. 00:01:42.180 --> 00:01:44.879 For you do not know which will prosper, this 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:49.540 or that, or whether both alike will be good. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:54.359 This is God's Word. Let us pray and ask for his 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:58.120 help and understanding Father we do bless you 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:02.420 and we thank you for this word But Lord as many 00:02:02.420 --> 00:02:05.060 of these verses and passages and chapters and 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:08.159 Ecclesiastes are they can be difficult And so 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.639 I ask you to open up our ears our hearts and 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:15.120 our minds to hear from you now Give us understanding 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:22.810 we pray for Christ's sake. Amen There was once 00:02:22.810 --> 00:02:26.250 a Bible study that was going on in the student 00:02:26.250 --> 00:02:31.169 lounge of a college dormitory There were two 00:02:31.169 --> 00:02:34.370 students at the table. They both had their Bibles 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:39.330 open but there was a third Bible and There was 00:02:39.330 --> 00:02:43.330 a third chair and it was open and the two students 00:02:43.330 --> 00:02:46.030 motioned for another student to join them. Hey, 00:02:46.110 --> 00:02:51.590 come on that student walked over sat down and 00:02:51.610 --> 00:02:55.770 and looked down at the open Bible and he saw 00:02:55.770 --> 00:03:00.330 Ecclesiastes chapter 11 verse 3, specifically 00:03:00.330 --> 00:03:03.330 the part about the tree that falls to the south 00:03:03.330 --> 00:03:05.150 or to the north and the place where the tree 00:03:05.150 --> 00:03:08.629 falls there it will lie. And the student immediately 00:03:08.629 --> 00:03:13.490 knew upon reading that verse that he was the 00:03:13.490 --> 00:03:18.590 fallen rotting tree just lying there on the ground. 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:22.800 And the student went back to his room, and he 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:26.819 pleaded with God for mercy, and God was merciful 00:03:26.819 --> 00:03:32.539 to him. And the young student was converted that 00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:35.919 night. He became a believer in Jesus Christ. 00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:40.360 Friends, that student was the late R .C. Sproul, 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:43.840 who said that he's probably the only person in 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.219 all of history to be converted through Ecclesiastes 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:51.699 11 3. Indeed, I would imagine nobody within this 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:55.620 sanctuary has Ecclesiastes 11 .3 as their life 00:03:55.620 --> 00:03:59.840 verse. But this shows the power of God's word. 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:05.080 It will not return void. If it were up to us, 00:04:05.979 --> 00:04:10.120 truly up to us to convert people. Well, I would 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:12.740 at the very least take them down the Romans Road 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:16.120 not Ecclesiastes 11 3 actually if it were truly 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:19.600 up to me I would say Jesus you must perform a 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:22.379 miracle in front of this person right here and 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.560 right now to let them know that you are real 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:29.600 But that's not what God did in that situation 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:33.199 actually the normal means for God to change and 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:38.350 transform hearts is by his word And as this opening 00:04:38.350 --> 00:04:42.709 illustrations shows, his entire word, his whole 00:04:42.709 --> 00:04:48.009 counsel is used to convert hearts and to strengthen 00:04:48.009 --> 00:04:51.470 faith. Only God could save someone through a 00:04:51.470 --> 00:04:55.250 text like this about a fallen tree on the ground. 00:04:56.730 --> 00:04:59.009 But as we look at this passage, we may wonder, 00:04:59.290 --> 00:05:04.170 what is this all about? And so perhaps a theme 00:05:04.170 --> 00:05:07.310 will help us, a summary statement. And so it 00:05:07.310 --> 00:05:10.850 is this, since God's ways are higher than our 00:05:10.850 --> 00:05:16.009 ways, we must learn to trust him and serve him 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:19.689 with all diligence. Let me show you what I mean. 00:05:19.730 --> 00:05:23.529 Look at verses one and two. Cast your bread upon 00:05:23.529 --> 00:05:27.529 the waters, it says. Are you imagining now a 00:05:27.529 --> 00:05:31.060 loaf of bread floating down the river? What good 00:05:31.060 --> 00:05:35.439 would that be? And so we need to figure out what's 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:38.759 going on here. There are a few different interpretations 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:40.920 of verses one and two. I'm going to share just 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:44.519 two interpretations with you now. Some believe 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:47.779 that casting your bread upon the waters has to 00:05:47.779 --> 00:05:51.660 do with philanthropy, of almsgiving, of giving 00:05:51.660 --> 00:05:55.720 to the poor. And as it says seven or eight, it's 00:05:55.720 --> 00:05:58.839 saying be generous with your wealth. Be generous 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:03.550 in helping those in need. Indeed, I think we 00:06:03.550 --> 00:06:05.790 would all agree with that. We should be generous 00:06:05.790 --> 00:06:10.629 with what we have. But also it says that you 00:06:10.629 --> 00:06:13.610 don't know when disaster may happen on the earth. 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:16.509 And so what some believe here is that this is 00:06:16.509 --> 00:06:18.990 talking about casting your bread on the waters, 00:06:19.310 --> 00:06:21.610 giving to the poor, because there may be a time 00:06:21.610 --> 00:06:24.930 when you yourself will need to be the recipient 00:06:24.930 --> 00:06:29.860 of somebody else's help. If that is the true 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:33.139 interpretation, it's very similar to the parable 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:36.480 of the shrewd manager. Do you remember that one 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:43.180 from Luke 16? There is a master who has a servant, 00:06:43.579 --> 00:06:45.860 and the servant does the work for the master, 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:49.879 but the servant has been doing it dishonestly. 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:54.740 And when the master finds out what the manager 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:59.379 has been doing, he seeks to fire him. But knowing 00:06:59.379 --> 00:07:03.240 that this is coming, the manager of the master's 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:07.579 money goes to the different clients. And he changes 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:13.079 their contracts. He changes what they owe. Because 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:16.139 he's thinking, if I show this kindness to them, 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:20.629 perhaps they'll show kindness. to me. Now there's 00:07:20.629 --> 00:07:23.389 something commendable and there's something incommendable 00:07:23.389 --> 00:07:27.389 about that passage. One, being dishonest and 00:07:27.389 --> 00:07:30.069 wasting your master's possessions, that's not 00:07:30.069 --> 00:07:33.490 good. But the part that is commended is looking 00:07:33.490 --> 00:07:37.689 out for your future. And so perhaps that's what's 00:07:37.689 --> 00:07:41.290 going on in Ecclesiastes 11, one through two. 00:07:41.470 --> 00:07:44.709 Be generous with your wealth, help other people, 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:47.990 for you may need them to help you at some point 00:07:47.990 --> 00:07:52.360 in the future. But the second possible interpretation 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:56.500 is that this is referring to international trade. 00:07:57.300 --> 00:08:00.899 So the word that's used here in the ESV, the 00:08:00.899 --> 00:08:04.899 word cast, it's very literally the word send. 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:08.259 Send your bread on the waters. And so what many 00:08:08.259 --> 00:08:10.740 people believe about this passage is this is 00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:15.079 saying send out your grain, send out your products, 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:21.259 buy ship, send them far away, dealing in trade 00:08:21.259 --> 00:08:24.730 and business. and then you will receive a good 00:08:24.730 --> 00:08:27.990 return. Now, this could be it. Indeed, I think 00:08:27.990 --> 00:08:31.750 this is probably the correct interpretation. 00:08:32.570 --> 00:08:37.169 The NIV has it very literally. It says ship your 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:42.129 grain across the sea. After many days, you may 00:08:42.129 --> 00:08:44.590 receive a return. But there's something we should 00:08:44.590 --> 00:08:46.730 understand if this is the correct interpretation. 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:50.149 This is actually risky business. Okay, they didn't 00:08:50.149 --> 00:08:54.840 have Amazon Prime two -day shipping in those 00:08:54.840 --> 00:08:58.659 days and so what this would be with Solomon or 00:08:58.659 --> 00:09:01.379 whoever it would be putting their goods onto 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:06.539 a ship and sending it very far away and It could 00:09:06.539 --> 00:09:11.440 be months It could be years before you get something 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:13.980 in return and along the way what might happen 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:19.360 to the ship it could it could be sunk right but 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:25.629 if you don't Go for it You don't receive a good 00:09:25.629 --> 00:09:29.149 return Solomon indeed I believe was engaged in 00:09:29.149 --> 00:09:31.950 this kind of thing because of first Kings in 00:09:31.950 --> 00:09:35.210 that book it says that Solomon engaged in this 00:09:35.210 --> 00:09:38.950 very kind of venture with his own fleet of Ships, 00:09:38.970 --> 00:09:42.230 and so he knows what this is like and he also 00:09:42.230 --> 00:09:45.169 knew that it was risky business Commentator Sidney 00:09:45.169 --> 00:09:48.690 Gridanus says this was a risky business, especially 00:09:48.690 --> 00:09:52.149 in those days The journeys were long and hazardous 00:09:52.149 --> 00:09:55.409 and the owners had no idea how their ships or 00:09:55.409 --> 00:09:59.669 goods were faring. Many shipwrecks dot the bottom 00:09:59.669 --> 00:10:04.450 of the Mediterranean Sea. But friends, this is 00:10:04.450 --> 00:10:09.049 not a message about sending your grain by ship. 00:10:10.389 --> 00:10:14.970 I think we need to take this and apply it to 00:10:14.970 --> 00:10:19.149 our spiritual lives. Philip Riken says the preacher 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:24.139 invites us to handle our spiritual business the 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:27.919 same way. What we invest in the kingdom of God, 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:31.820 our time, our talent, our treasure is never wasted. 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:36.919 God calls us to exercise our gifts for the good 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:41.120 of his kingdom. Now I've already mentioned one 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:43.539 parable. Here's another one for you that Jesus 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:46.340 tells. Do you remember the parable of the talents? 00:10:47.850 --> 00:10:51.129 Within that parable there is a master who has 00:10:51.129 --> 00:10:54.610 to go away for a time and he's got some servants 00:10:54.610 --> 00:10:58.009 and he leaves them with money. The word talent 00:10:58.009 --> 00:11:02.029 there is referring to a unit of money, of currency. 00:11:03.110 --> 00:11:06.789 And so to one servant he gives five talents. 00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:11.710 To another servant he gives two talents. And 00:11:11.710 --> 00:11:15.360 to the third servant he gives just one. And as 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:19.379 I said, the master goes away, but he intends 00:11:19.379 --> 00:11:21.679 to come back. And he intends for those servants 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:25.379 to do something with what he gives them. And 00:11:25.379 --> 00:11:28.440 the first two do a good job with it. The first 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:32.039 servant is able to multiply the five talents. 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:34.899 And so he's able to present to the master 10 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:38.179 talents. He's doubled what he was given. The 00:11:38.179 --> 00:11:41.620 second servant does the same. He multiplied his 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:44.980 two through wise investment. And so he's now 00:11:44.980 --> 00:11:49.240 able to give back four to the master. Well, do 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:51.399 you remember what the third servant did with 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:55.159 his talent, with his money? He buried it in the 00:11:55.159 --> 00:12:00.639 ground, didn't he? He buried it in the ground. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.539 And Jesus speaks strongly within that parable 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:10.340 when he says, for to everyone who has will more 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:14.200 be given and he will have an abundance but from 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:16.960 the one who has not even what he has will be 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:21.279 taken away and cast the worthless servant into 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.159 the outer darkness in that place there will be 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:28.059 weeping and gnashing of teeth to our ears that 00:12:28.059 --> 00:12:32.279 perhaps sounds like strong language but friends 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:36.639 it should because that third servant knew what 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:41.129 was expected of him And yet he was too afraid 00:12:41.129 --> 00:12:46.429 to use what was given to him for good. He was 00:12:46.429 --> 00:12:49.750 paralyzed by fear, not from love and obedience 00:12:49.750 --> 00:12:52.990 toward his master. He knew what was expected 00:12:52.990 --> 00:12:55.389 of him, and yet he did nothing to accomplish 00:12:55.389 --> 00:12:58.289 it. Instead, he actually, within that parable, 00:12:58.470 --> 00:13:03.029 blames his inaction on the master himself. And 00:13:03.029 --> 00:13:08.250 he just hides that talent in the ground. Friends, 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:13.210 We should do something with our lives. We should 00:13:13.210 --> 00:13:18.330 do something with that which God gives to us. 00:13:18.710 --> 00:13:22.190 Perhaps it's helpful to think of our lives as 00:13:22.190 --> 00:13:27.330 an investment. How much should you invest in 00:13:27.330 --> 00:13:35.110 living for God? All of it. We should invest all 00:13:35.110 --> 00:13:39.139 of ourselves in living for God. And so let me 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:43.139 ask you, how are you investing yourselves in 00:13:43.139 --> 00:13:47.340 kingdom living and work? Friends, God expects 00:13:47.340 --> 00:13:51.440 us to use our lives for his kingdom. When Jesus 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:55.639 returns, what will he find us doing? Whether 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.860 you go on a mission trip or whether you start 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:01.980 a Bible study or whether you get together with 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:06.269 somebody who just needs prayer. Whether you share 00:14:06.269 --> 00:14:09.710 the gospel with somebody, every time you do that, 00:14:10.049 --> 00:14:17.330 you are investing in the kingdom of God. Why 00:14:17.330 --> 00:14:22.450 don't we though? Why don't we invest all of ourselves? 00:14:24.690 --> 00:14:29.389 I think I know why. Because we're scared. We 00:14:29.389 --> 00:14:34.169 are scared. We don't know. The outcome. We don't 00:14:34.169 --> 00:14:37.830 know what's ahead. And we're scared because we 00:14:37.830 --> 00:14:40.289 can't control all of the situations in which 00:14:40.289 --> 00:14:43.570 we find ourselves. And that's where verses three 00:14:43.570 --> 00:14:47.809 and four are going. Look there. It seems that 00:14:47.809 --> 00:14:51.289 Solomon is not just a king, and not just a wise 00:14:51.289 --> 00:14:54.750 man, but apparently also a meteorologist. Because 00:14:54.750 --> 00:14:58.259 he's talking here about the wind, right? And 00:14:58.259 --> 00:15:01.299 he paints this picture of a farmer looking up 00:15:01.299 --> 00:15:04.360 in the sky, looking at the clouds, observing 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:08.419 the wind. The farmer here is endlessly assessing 00:15:08.419 --> 00:15:12.100 situations. This farmer is always looking at 00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:14.799 the weather channel. He's always reading the 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:18.259 farmer's almanac. This farmer is always at Home 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:21.720 Depot talking to his buddies about when is the 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:27.580 best time to plant. Friends, certainly there 00:15:27.580 --> 00:15:30.960 is real wisdom in timing. Ecclesiastes 3 shows 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.039 us this. There's a time to plant and a time to 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:36.539 pluck up what is planted. But the one who never 00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:39.940 plants because the conditions are not perfect 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:46.139 is the one who will never reap a harvest. And 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:49.259 the person who will never plant because the ideal 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:53.850 conditions are never good enough. This person 00:15:53.850 --> 00:15:57.429 is doing what this passage is warning us against 00:15:57.429 --> 00:16:01.690 he is afraid He is afraid that the situation 00:16:01.690 --> 00:16:04.990 is not perfect for what he needs to do And I 00:16:04.990 --> 00:16:07.389 think we act in this way because we just don't 00:16:07.389 --> 00:16:11.149 know what's ahead And we can't control all things 00:16:11.149 --> 00:16:16.809 a few years ago. I was in my backyard and I was 00:16:16.809 --> 00:16:19.850 cutting some limbs from a tree I had these two 00:16:19.850 --> 00:16:22.149 trees in the yard. I got more than that. But 00:16:22.149 --> 00:16:27.169 this this one tree fell into another tree. And 00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:30.190 so tree number two is holding up tree number 00:16:30.190 --> 00:16:33.049 one. So I climbed up in tree number two with 00:16:33.049 --> 00:16:35.809 my chainsaw, started cutting away the limbs. 00:16:36.149 --> 00:16:38.190 So tree number one would continue following. 00:16:38.429 --> 00:16:42.090 But at that moment, I looked up and I noticed 00:16:42.090 --> 00:16:45.110 the sky was getting really dark. I mean, really 00:16:45.110 --> 00:16:47.970 dark. And I thought I I got to get out of here. 00:16:48.190 --> 00:16:50.789 So I hopped out of the tree I started walking 00:16:50.789 --> 00:16:53.610 briskly with my chainsaw back to the house and 00:16:53.610 --> 00:16:56.990 I heard this loud crash and I looked behind me 00:16:56.990 --> 00:17:00.350 and it was like something out of just an intense 00:17:00.350 --> 00:17:04.390 action movie as Tree number three gets struck 00:17:04.390 --> 00:17:07.450 by lightning falls into tree number one and tree 00:17:07.450 --> 00:17:11.240 number two And a year later, Helene came and 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:13.400 tree number four would fall on what was left 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:16.000 of tree one, two, and three. Friends, the whole 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.220 point of this is stay away from my backyard. 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:22.180 The second point of this is you don't have control 00:17:22.180 --> 00:17:26.619 over some of these things, do you? You don't 00:17:26.619 --> 00:17:31.440 have control over the wind. The lightning did 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:38.420 not consult with me first, did it? when we observe 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:42.500 these things and we're petrified by them, this 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:47.279 is us not trusting God. And the good news is 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:51.940 that when we don't know what's ahead, or we don't 00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:55.519 have the control, we can trust in the one who 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:59.250 does know. and who does have the control. These 00:17:59.250 --> 00:18:02.450 are God's incommunicable attributes, which I 00:18:02.450 --> 00:18:05.190 know is a big phrase. Basically what it refers 00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:09.130 to is God has some attributes like omniscience 00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:13.130 and omnipotence and omnipresence and immutability, 00:18:13.609 --> 00:18:17.269 sovereignty, that he does not share with us. 00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:21.109 We don't have those attributes, but he does share 00:18:21.109 --> 00:18:24.930 with us other attributes that he has, like the 00:18:24.930 --> 00:18:29.279 ability to love. and have knowledge and wisdom 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:33.400 and to even speak, right? But there are things 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:37.019 that just belong to God and to God alone. And 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:39.900 this is actually good news for us because the 00:18:39.900 --> 00:18:43.579 one with infinite knowledge is also the one with 00:18:43.579 --> 00:18:46.779 infinite power. And friends, where the rubber 00:18:46.779 --> 00:18:50.660 meets the road here is to recognize this world 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:55.279 is broken and yet we can't fix it all, can we? 00:18:55.549 --> 00:18:59.549 That is the work of God. Indeed, that work has 00:18:59.549 --> 00:19:03.769 already happened because Jesus has fixed it, 00:19:03.950 --> 00:19:06.849 promises to make all things new, because Jesus 00:19:06.849 --> 00:19:10.529 went to the cross to redeem people for himself 00:19:10.529 --> 00:19:15.269 as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. When we 00:19:15.269 --> 00:19:18.089 think about the things we can't know and can't 00:19:18.089 --> 00:19:22.029 do, consider this, Jesus knew exactly what he 00:19:22.029 --> 00:19:24.210 was getting into when he came to save us from 00:19:24.210 --> 00:19:28.089 our sins. Philippians 2 says it best, he emptied 00:19:28.089 --> 00:19:31.450 himself by taking the form of a servant, being 00:19:31.450 --> 00:19:34.109 born in the likeness of men, and being found 00:19:34.109 --> 00:19:38.690 in human form. He humbled himself by becoming 00:19:38.690 --> 00:19:43.589 obedient to the point of death, even death on 00:19:43.589 --> 00:19:47.490 a cross. Jesus knew exactly what he was getting 00:19:47.490 --> 00:19:53.450 into for you and for me. So you see, this is 00:19:53.450 --> 00:19:57.299 about trusting God. who can do what we cannot 00:19:57.299 --> 00:20:01.460 do, and he knows the things that we cannot know. 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:04.359 And that's where verses five and six are going. 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:07.039 Look there. Just as we don't know the way of 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:10.500 the wind or how the bones form in the womb, we 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:14.619 cannot fully grasp the work of God. Now, being 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:18.359 that scripture uses the same word for spirit 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:21.160 and for wind, it's a little bit difficult to 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:25.259 discern exactly what verse five is talking about. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:31.319 However, consider it could be talking about both 00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:35.109 here. As it talks about the wind, it may also 00:20:35.109 --> 00:20:37.970 be talking about the work of the spirit, but 00:20:37.970 --> 00:20:42.089 consider also what it says about the bones in 00:20:42.089 --> 00:20:44.930 the womb of a woman with child. Have you really 00:20:44.930 --> 00:20:50.089 truly reflected on just how amazing it is that 00:20:50.089 --> 00:20:55.630 children are born? A few years ago, when Brittany 00:20:55.630 --> 00:20:58.549 was pregnant with Hazel, a good friend of mine 00:20:58.549 --> 00:21:02.410 texted me and he said, your daughter, is the 00:21:02.410 --> 00:21:07.410 size of a kumquat right now. We can know the 00:21:07.410 --> 00:21:12.369 stages of development within a child in the womb, 00:21:12.450 --> 00:21:16.890 but how does it really work? I don't know, and 00:21:16.890 --> 00:21:20.730 I'm married to a neonatologist. Friends, this 00:21:20.730 --> 00:21:27.599 is the work of God, isn't it? It really is. And 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:30.140 as you look at verse five and you see this thing 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:32.920 about the wind and all, actually I believe that 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:37.799 what's happening here is actually gonna be picked 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:41.119 up later on by Jesus himself. Do you remember 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:46.110 Jesus talking with Nicodemus in John three? Nicodemus 00:21:46.110 --> 00:21:49.470 asks, how can a man be born again when he's old? 00:21:49.609 --> 00:21:52.670 And Jesus says this, which again I think sounds 00:21:52.670 --> 00:21:56.309 a good deal like Ecclesiastes 11 .5, the wind 00:21:56.309 --> 00:21:59.509 blows where it wishes and you hear it sound, 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:02.509 but you do not know where it comes from or where 00:22:02.509 --> 00:22:06.029 it goes. So it is with everyone who's born of 00:22:06.029 --> 00:22:08.930 the spirit. And so Jesus does the same thing. 00:22:09.029 --> 00:22:12.230 He uses the word for wind to teach us about the 00:22:12.230 --> 00:22:15.329 work of the Holy Spirit. And friends, talk about 00:22:15.329 --> 00:22:19.150 something we cannot do. We cannot save ourselves. 00:22:19.950 --> 00:22:24.049 We cannot regenerate ourselves. The Spirit works 00:22:24.049 --> 00:22:27.450 faith into our hearts just as God gives us the 00:22:27.450 --> 00:22:29.809 physical birth, and we don't have anything to 00:22:29.809 --> 00:22:32.130 do with that. You cannot make yourself be born. 00:22:33.089 --> 00:22:37.250 You also cannot make yourself be reborn. It is 00:22:37.250 --> 00:22:43.940 the work of God. And Ecclesiastes 11 .5 highlights 00:22:43.940 --> 00:22:45.940 the work of God. Look there at the end of the 00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:49.440 verse. You do not know the work of God who makes 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:52.859 everything. The word that's used there in the 00:22:52.859 --> 00:22:56.980 Hebrew for make is also the same as the word 00:22:56.980 --> 00:23:00.220 for do. And the point is this, God knows and 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:07.960 does what we cannot. Namely, He saves us when 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:11.859 we were dead in our trespasses. But friends, 00:23:11.880 --> 00:23:14.579 sometimes we think we bring a lot to the table. 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:17.599 Sometimes we think that we're more powerful and 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:20.440 more intelligent than we really are. And when 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:23.519 we start to behave like that, we need to put 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:27.079 ourselves in the sandals of Job. Do you remember 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:29.839 towards the end of the book of Job when God finally 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:32.839 speaks and he starts asking questions of Job? 00:23:33.579 --> 00:23:38.599 He says to Job, where were you when I laid the 00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:42.180 foundations of the earth? It's a rhetorical question, 00:23:42.180 --> 00:23:45.740 but the implied answer is, I wasn't created. 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:48.839 Have you commanded the morning since your days 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:51.099 began and caused the dawn to know its place? 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:55.980 No, can't say that I have. Where is the way to 00:23:55.980 --> 00:24:00.400 the dwelling of light, Job? I don't know. Job, 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:02.460 have you entered into the springs of the sea 00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:04.880 or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have you, 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.859 Job? No. Can you lead a constellation, Job? No. 00:24:10.059 --> 00:24:13.539 Can you send forth lightning, Job? No. Then answer 00:24:13.539 --> 00:24:16.599 me this, who are you to contend with the Almighty? 00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:26.099 Friends, when we start acting like we know everything 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:30.400 about God, when we start behaving like we have 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:34.440 more power than we really have, friends, this 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:40.380 is not strength. This is not intelligence. This 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:44.900 is foolishness. God's ways are higher than ours. 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:49.539 And because God's ways are higher, verse six 00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:51.700 gives us our course of action. Look there as 00:24:51.700 --> 00:24:54.759 I begin to close. It says, so in the morning 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:58.420 and in the evening, for you don't know which 00:24:58.420 --> 00:25:01.839 will succeed by God's providence. And just because 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:04.279 we don't know all things and we can't do all 00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:07.140 things, does that mean we just give up working 00:25:07.140 --> 00:25:10.809 and serving God? Of course not. That's actually 00:25:10.809 --> 00:25:14.450 what Solomon here is saying not to do. But some 00:25:14.450 --> 00:25:18.490 of us live so paralyzed by the fear of failure 00:25:18.490 --> 00:25:22.009 that we wait for the perfect ideal conditions 00:25:22.009 --> 00:25:26.269 before we'll serve somebody else. Before we'll 00:25:26.269 --> 00:25:28.970 trust God to do what he has called us to do. 00:25:29.970 --> 00:25:33.210 Before we'll share our faith or use any of our 00:25:33.210 --> 00:25:35.750 gifts. But friends, when we behave like that, 00:25:35.769 --> 00:25:38.509 when we're always looking for the perfect moment, 00:25:40.410 --> 00:25:47.609 it'll never come. Let's say that you work with 00:25:47.609 --> 00:25:52.470 somebody and they need to know the gospel. And 00:25:52.470 --> 00:25:54.490 you say to yourself, I'm gonna share the gospel 00:25:54.490 --> 00:25:57.009 with them, but I gotta wait for the right day. 00:25:58.089 --> 00:26:00.309 Friends, if that's your mentality, it's always 00:26:00.309 --> 00:26:03.180 gonna be a little bit too rainy. a little too 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:07.200 windy, a little too overcast. You're not gonna 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:12.420 feel it. And then one day that coworker will 00:26:12.420 --> 00:26:15.579 up and leave the department. The coworker may 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:21.059 leave the company. The coworker may leave this 00:26:21.059 --> 00:26:25.940 life. Friends, God does not give us spiritual 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:29.299 gifts to be hidden. And he does not call us to 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:33.170 a task without ordaining. the outcome. He is 00:26:33.170 --> 00:26:36.930 the one who saves. Our part is to be obedient 00:26:36.930 --> 00:26:40.910 to share the gospel and trust him with the result. 00:26:41.309 --> 00:26:45.970 Christian, do not be paralyzed by the unknown. 00:26:46.710 --> 00:26:49.730 Recall Ecclesiastes 11 3 and the student who 00:26:49.730 --> 00:26:54.130 was converted through it. Proof that God's word 00:26:54.130 --> 00:26:57.789 accomplishes its purposes. Let us be faithful 00:26:57.789 --> 00:27:03.230 then. to cast our bread on the waters, trusting 00:27:03.230 --> 00:27:07.970 God even when we cannot see the outcome, and 00:27:07.970 --> 00:27:11.369 leaving the results to Him. Amen.