WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:05.879 And if you would turn with me to the Old Testament 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:13.140 wisdom book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 00:00:13.140 --> 00:00:22.120 12. We will look at verses 9 through 14. And 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:25.300 this is the end of this book, which brings us 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:28.120 to the end of our sermon series through Ecclesiastes. 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.949 I'm sad about that. I love this book. We will 00:00:31.949 --> 00:00:34.490 be moving Lord willing into the book of Hebrews 00:00:34.490 --> 00:00:37.149 next and so look forward to that even read ahead 00:00:37.149 --> 00:00:41.130 in Hebrews But for now, let us see these closing 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:50.429 words of God's Word Ecclesiastes 12 9 to 14 Besides 00:00:50.429 --> 00:00:53.450 being wise the preacher also taught the people 00:00:53.450 --> 00:00:58.450 knowledge weighing and Studying and arranging 00:00:58.450 --> 00:01:02.140 many Proverbs with great care The preacher sought 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:05.840 to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:09.299 words of truth. The words of the wise are like 00:01:09.299 --> 00:01:13.700 goads, and like nails, firmly fixed are the collected 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:18.640 sayings. They are given by one shepherd. My son, 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.200 beware of anything beyond these. Of making many 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:27.359 books, there is no end. And much study is a weariness 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:31.500 of the flesh. The end of the matter. All has 00:01:31.500 --> 00:01:36.060 been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:41.159 for this is the whole duty of man. For God will 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:45.620 bring every deed into judgment. Blessed is he 00:01:45.620 --> 00:01:49.200 who hears and keeps what is written. Let us pray. 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:56.579 Father, we do thank you for Ecclesiastes. And 00:01:56.579 --> 00:02:00.230 as we come to the end of this series, I pray 00:02:00.230 --> 00:02:02.430 that we would see that you still have much more 00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:05.790 for us. And so would you open up our ears, open 00:02:05.790 --> 00:02:09.110 our minds, open our hearts to hear from you now. 00:02:09.629 --> 00:02:15.930 For we pray in Christ's name, amen. I saw a comic 00:02:15.930 --> 00:02:22.949 strip recently that pictured a man climbing the 00:02:22.949 --> 00:02:27.490 peak of a mountain. Very high mountain, snow 00:02:27.490 --> 00:02:30.629 capped. High above the other mountains, it might 00:02:30.629 --> 00:02:33.789 as well have been Everest. And the man is climbing 00:02:33.789 --> 00:02:36.129 it and he gets to the very summit and he kind 00:02:36.129 --> 00:02:40.969 of peeks over the top of the peak. And there 00:02:40.969 --> 00:02:43.889 was a wise, what appeared to be a wise man sitting 00:02:43.889 --> 00:02:47.050 on top of the mountain. You know how this is 00:02:47.050 --> 00:02:49.349 pictured. There's a wise man sitting there and 00:02:49.349 --> 00:02:51.689 you climb to the top to find the meaning of life. 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:54.520 And that's what this climber was doing. And so 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:57.900 he hoists himself up onto the peak and he sees 00:02:57.900 --> 00:03:02.780 this supposed wise man sitting there and he says 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:06.800 to him, would you tell me the meaning of life? 00:03:08.180 --> 00:03:11.099 And this supposed wise man laughs and he says, 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:17.319 the meaning of life. You want my brother, third 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:23.159 mountain down on the right. I'm just a hermit, 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:30.240 he said. We've all pursued what we thought was 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:33.439 the meaning of life. What we thought would bring 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:37.360 us happiness and satisfaction. What we thought 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.879 would bring us all of the answers to this life. 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:44.460 Friends, we have all climbed the wrong mountain. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:50.360 In Ecclesiastes, though, the teacher shows us 00:03:50.569 --> 00:03:54.469 that he has climbed all of the wrong mountains 00:03:54.469 --> 00:04:00.469 for you. He pursued pleasure. He pursued work. 00:04:01.009 --> 00:04:04.110 He pursued hobbies. He pursued riches. He even 00:04:04.110 --> 00:04:08.289 pursued wisdom and so much more. And yet, ultimately, 00:04:08.310 --> 00:04:13.569 he found them all to be lacking. Solomon has 00:04:13.569 --> 00:04:17.870 climbed the wrong peaks so you can climb the 00:04:17.870 --> 00:04:23.699 right one. Fear God and keep His commandments. 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:29.319 I wonder how your view of Ecclesiastes has changed 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:32.519 after having studied it. Have you seen the wisdom? 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:36.519 Have you seen the joy? Have you seen the cautions 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:40.240 this book offers? Well today what I want you 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:44.300 to see is that Ecclesiastes speaks as the Word 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:48.420 of God and Ecclesiastes speaks of the meaning 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:53.009 of God. So the word of God today and the meaning 00:04:53.009 --> 00:04:58.649 of God look at verses 9 through 12 to begin Throughout 00:04:58.649 --> 00:05:03.870 history Really since this book was written the 00:05:03.870 --> 00:05:07.730 the canonicity Its place in the Bible has been 00:05:07.730 --> 00:05:11.029 questioned and because you have statements in 00:05:11.029 --> 00:05:14.110 Ecclesiastes that saying things like well, don't 00:05:14.110 --> 00:05:19.639 be too righteous and don't be too wise Head scratcher, 00:05:19.660 --> 00:05:23.560 right? Or you have statements just like the mantra 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:26.180 throughout Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities, 00:05:26.259 --> 00:05:28.779 all is vanity. You write things like that, you 00:05:28.779 --> 00:05:32.660 put it into a book, and people question it. They 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:35.000 have serious questions. Should this be in the 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:39.160 Bible? Why is this here? But friends, chapter 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:42.779 12 is written in such a way as to have you know 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:49.230 that this is from God. Look at verse 9. Verse 00:05:49.230 --> 00:05:54.769 9 shows us here that the preacher, and he's either 00:05:54.769 --> 00:05:57.230 talking about himself in the third person or 00:05:57.230 --> 00:05:59.870 perhaps some have suggested there's a narrator 00:05:59.870 --> 00:06:03.970 here, but he shows us that he did not acquire 00:06:03.970 --> 00:06:10.709 wisdom simply for himself. No. He acquired wisdom 00:06:10.709 --> 00:06:16.689 in order to teach others. And one way he does 00:06:16.689 --> 00:06:21.779 this is by studying Proverbs, the ESV says here. 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:25.579 He taught the people knowledge, weighing and 00:06:25.579 --> 00:06:28.000 studying and arranging many Proverbs. Now, this 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:31.139 could refer to the book of Proverbs, the Proverbs 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:33.800 that are in that, but it could also refer to 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.939 other wisdom literature. Either way, what we 00:06:36.939 --> 00:06:39.680 recognize about this teacher is that he's not 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:42.819 just a writer of wisdom literature, he's also 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:46.139 a student of wisdom literature. And his goal 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:50.279 was to put truth before the people. He sought 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:54.459 to find true words and he also sought to write 00:06:54.459 --> 00:07:00.740 them. But sometimes those words can hurt. Look 00:07:00.740 --> 00:07:05.819 at verse 11. The words of the wise are like goads. 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:11.560 Anybody here have sheep or cattle? I know a couple 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:15.350 of people, a couple of you do, right? Well, What 00:07:15.350 --> 00:07:18.389 is a goat? A goat is like an ancient cattle prod, 00:07:18.889 --> 00:07:22.350 like a large pointed stick or maybe a stick even 00:07:22.350 --> 00:07:24.730 with some sort of a nail in the end of it that 00:07:24.730 --> 00:07:28.230 you would use to get the animals to move in the 00:07:28.230 --> 00:07:31.009 right direction. This sort of instrument works 00:07:31.009 --> 00:07:35.490 because it hurts. Well, friends, if the words 00:07:35.490 --> 00:07:40.029 of Ecclesiastes have hurt at times, if the words 00:07:40.029 --> 00:07:42.910 of Ecclesiastes have stepped on your toes, as 00:07:42.910 --> 00:07:47.509 some of you have said, That's intentional. In 00:07:47.509 --> 00:07:50.850 some ways, commentators have said, Ecclesiastes 00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:55.250 acts like the opposite of Psalm 23. You remember 00:07:55.250 --> 00:07:58.250 Psalm 23, your rod and your staff, they comfort 00:07:58.250 --> 00:08:03.870 me. Well, here we have in Ecclesiastes 12, not 00:08:03.870 --> 00:08:07.589 the rod and staff that comfort, but the cattle 00:08:07.589 --> 00:08:12.810 prod that hurts. But we need that painful instruction, 00:08:12.889 --> 00:08:16.500 don't we at times? It is true the Lord disciplines 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:21.920 those he loves, but it's not just the prodding 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:25.759 that happens. Look at the other imagery that's 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:30.060 used here, like nails, firmly fixed. This might 00:08:30.060 --> 00:08:34.940 be more accurately translated pegs or stakes. 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:37.620 Pegs are stakes that are driven in the ground 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:41.529 to hold something. Think of a tent. If you have 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:44.129 your tent and it's staked into the ground, even 00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:47.850 when the wind comes, you'll be taken care of, 00:08:48.090 --> 00:08:52.009 right? You'll be grounded in safety. And that's 00:08:52.009 --> 00:08:55.610 what biblical instruction does. It keeps us grounded 00:08:55.610 --> 00:08:59.070 in the truth. But friends, you gotta have the 00:08:59.070 --> 00:09:02.230 truth, don't you? Because if you don't have the 00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:05.669 right instruction, then you're inflicting pain 00:09:05.669 --> 00:09:10.240 for no good reason. or you're being staked down, 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:13.980 nailed down into something that's not true. And 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:17.879 that's why the end of verse 11 is so critical. 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:23.539 Look there. The nails firmly fixed are the collected 00:09:23.539 --> 00:09:29.799 sayings they are given by one shepherd. This 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:33.919 kind of phrasing of one shepherd, to the best 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:36.600 of my knowledge, is only used in three places. 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:42.539 in the Old Testament, one here and two in Ezekiel. 00:09:42.820 --> 00:09:45.279 And in Ezekiel, what's going on when it talks 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:49.139 about this one shepherd is it is the Lord promising 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:53.419 to Israel a glorious future under one shepherd, 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:56.320 a king like David. Listen to this from Ezekiel 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:59.919 37. My servant David shall be king over them 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:05.720 and they shall have all one shepherd. My servant 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:12.149 David. shall be their prince forever. Now friends, 00:10:13.730 --> 00:10:17.330 David was a fantastic king, but he wasn't king 00:10:17.330 --> 00:10:22.789 forever. And so who is this one shepherd? Who 00:10:22.789 --> 00:10:26.970 is this really talking about? Well, the New Testament 00:10:26.970 --> 00:10:31.590 helps us with this because Jesus actually refers 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:35.009 to himself as the one shepherd. And he refers 00:10:35.009 --> 00:10:39.649 to himself as the good shepherd. Jesus identifies 00:10:39.649 --> 00:10:43.629 himself in these ways. And didn't Jesus in his 00:10:43.629 --> 00:10:48.509 teaching ministry talk like this? Yes, he did. 00:10:49.009 --> 00:10:52.789 Sometimes he used painful instruction as well, 00:10:52.870 --> 00:10:56.529 like these goads that are mentioned. Jesus used 00:10:56.529 --> 00:10:59.629 his words as goads when he told Peter, get behind 00:10:59.629 --> 00:11:03.279 me, Satan. Or when he told the people, he called 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:08.159 the people, you brood of vipers. Or listen to 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:17.480 this, from Acts chapter 26, Acts chapter 26, 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:21.980 12 through 15, this is the apostle Paul speaking 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:26.899 of the time that he heard the words of Jesus. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:32.500 In this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:35.340 the authority and commission of the chief priests. 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:38.620 At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:42.039 heaven brighter than the sun that shone around 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:44.320 me and those who journeyed with me. And when 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.419 we had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:52.039 saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:56.679 are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:00.639 kick. against the goads. And I said, who are 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:05.299 you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:10.419 you are persecuting. The goading words of Jesus 00:12:10.419 --> 00:12:17.539 on the Damascus road turned Saul into Paul. The 00:12:17.539 --> 00:12:22.200 goading words of Jesus turned the persecutor 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:27.690 into the preacher. Yes, it's true. The Lord disciplines 00:12:27.690 --> 00:12:31.590 those he loves, and his word is truth. Well, 00:12:31.590 --> 00:12:35.629 let me ask you, what kind of instruction, what 00:12:35.629 --> 00:12:38.529 kind of wisdom, what kind of truth, if you can 00:12:38.529 --> 00:12:42.129 have kinds of it, are you absorbing these days? 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:45.230 We live in the information age, don't we? I wonder 00:12:45.230 --> 00:12:47.450 what Solomon would have thought of an Alexa. 00:12:48.909 --> 00:12:54.409 What would Solomon think of AI? Friends, Christians, 00:12:54.549 --> 00:13:00.419 be careful. of what you listen to. This instruction 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:04.480 here, if you can look at verse 12, my son, beware 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:07.299 of anything beyond these, of making many books, 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:10.600 there is no end. And much study is a weariness 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:13.679 of the flesh. Now students who are in school, 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:16.659 please don't quote this to your parents and say, 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:19.639 I don't need to study. It's not what's going 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:24.740 on here. I like what preacher, Douglas O'Donnell 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:27.240 said, what is required is not more books for 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:31.539 more study, but more obedience to what has already 00:13:31.539 --> 00:13:36.659 been revealed. And what is revealed here, as 00:13:36.659 --> 00:13:40.200 we move into verse 13, is of the utmost importance. 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:44.960 So look there. Again, kids, when you're in school, 00:13:45.139 --> 00:13:48.230 you're learning to write. And your teacher might 00:13:48.230 --> 00:13:50.429 be teaching you to write a paper and say that 00:13:50.429 --> 00:13:53.309 in a paper you have a beginning, a middle, and 00:13:53.309 --> 00:13:56.330 an end. And sometimes they'll tell you in the 00:13:56.330 --> 00:13:58.570 end of the paper you should say something to 00:13:58.570 --> 00:14:01.190 indicate this is the end. And so you say, in 00:14:01.190 --> 00:14:04.850 summary or in conclusion. But then when you get 00:14:04.850 --> 00:14:07.070 a little older, the teachers They tell you not 00:14:07.070 --> 00:14:09.350 to do that anymore. It sounds mechanical. It 00:14:09.350 --> 00:14:11.669 sounds fluid. Find a better way to say this. 00:14:11.950 --> 00:14:15.330 Well, Solomon here, inspired by the Holy Spirit, 00:14:15.470 --> 00:14:17.529 does not have a better way of saying this. He 00:14:17.529 --> 00:14:21.389 wants you to know very clearly in black and white 00:14:21.389 --> 00:14:28.529 the summary, the conclusion, the end of the matter. 00:14:30.389 --> 00:14:35.379 And here it is, the big point. Fear God. and 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:38.600 keep his commandments. But what does it mean 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:41.899 to fear God? Well, it's a central concept of 00:14:41.899 --> 00:14:43.899 wisdom literature that's expressed throughout 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:48.460 the Bible to fear God. It's a very big and important 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:52.120 phrase, and it's very hard to define. But we'll 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:55.320 try it anyway. To fear God is to believe in God 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:58.639 and in believing in God, recognizing who he is 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:03.419 and his holiness. Think about the Westminster 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:06.639 Shorter Catechism. As it asks the question, what 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:10.600 is God? And it answers, God is a spirit, infinite, 00:15:11.059 --> 00:15:14.440 eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, 00:15:14.740 --> 00:15:19.000 power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:22.779 When we consider the fear of God and His holiness, 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:26.059 we should be like Isaiah. When Isaiah the prophet 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:29.580 was confronted with the holiness of God, he exclaimed, 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:36.610 woe is me, I am undone. We should have this trembling 00:15:36.610 --> 00:15:39.929 reverence for God while also recognizing this 00:15:39.929 --> 00:15:43.450 holy God, the creator of the universe, omniscient, 00:15:43.830 --> 00:15:46.450 omnipotent, omnipresent, and immutable. He is 00:15:46.450 --> 00:15:50.830 also love. And in His love and in His mercy, 00:15:50.990 --> 00:15:55.850 He saves sinners through the life and the blood 00:15:55.850 --> 00:16:00.200 of His own Son. recognizing what he does and 00:16:00.200 --> 00:16:05.700 who he is should manifest itself in worship and 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:10.220 in holy living and in obedience and in loving 00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:13.279 him with all of our hearts quite frankly the 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:21.440 fear of God should make us more like Jesus I 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.000 wonder if you've ever considered this passage 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:30.169 before in this way Isaiah chapter 11. Isaiah 00:16:30.169 --> 00:16:33.330 11, the beginning of it, is a text that is usually 00:16:33.330 --> 00:16:36.889 quoted at Christmas time, and yet it speaks of 00:16:36.889 --> 00:16:39.210 the fear of the Lord. Listen to this. There shall 00:16:39.210 --> 00:16:42.889 come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and 00:16:42.889 --> 00:16:46.299 a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. and 00:16:46.299 --> 00:16:48.779 the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the 00:16:48.779 --> 00:16:51.259 spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit 00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:54.539 of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge 00:16:54.539 --> 00:16:58.980 and the fear of the Lord, and his delight shall 00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:06.380 be in the fear of the Lord. Friends, the fear 00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:15.719 of Yahweh is Jesus's delight. Is it yours? Is 00:17:15.719 --> 00:17:22.640 it yours? Do you fear God? I find that there 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:25.819 are some obstacles to us being able to rightly 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:29.000 fear God. I want to give you three of them. One 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:34.359 obstacle to the fear of God is our own sin. You 00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:37.619 remember in the garden, Adam and Eve, they fell 00:17:37.619 --> 00:17:41.619 into sin and they began to hide from God. Their 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:44.579 relationship with God was interrupted. It was 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:48.200 interfered with and our sin interferes with our 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:50.980 relationship with God. Friends, when we realize 00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:55.180 how heinous our sin is and yet how holy God is, 00:17:55.240 --> 00:18:00.579 we should fear Him. Hebrews 10 says, it's a fearful 00:18:00.579 --> 00:18:03.579 thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:06.799 And yet let's also acknowledge that this is true. 00:18:07.420 --> 00:18:11.440 We. We're gonna either fear him as he intends 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:16.240 or we're gonna fear him on the last day. Preacher 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:19.799 Jeff Thomas said, a stranger to the fear of God 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:24.619 is a stranger to the living God himself. So our 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:29.900 first obstacle is our own sin. Secondly, though, 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:34.059 we fear the wrong things. President FDR famously 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:37.549 said, the only thing we have to fear is fear 00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:41.210 itself. But friends, when we rightly fear God, 00:18:41.250 --> 00:18:44.809 it puts all the other fears into place. Whether 00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:47.390 you're scared of heights, whether you're afraid 00:18:47.390 --> 00:18:50.009 of the dark, whether you fear losing a loved 00:18:50.009 --> 00:18:52.529 one, whether you fear losing your job, whether 00:18:52.529 --> 00:18:54.890 you fear losing your health, whether you fear 00:18:54.890 --> 00:18:57.609 a stock market crash, whether you fear from a 00:18:57.609 --> 00:18:59.769 scary movie or the fear from the loss of your 00:18:59.769 --> 00:19:04.029 own reputation, many of us fear things rather 00:19:04.029 --> 00:19:09.180 than fearing. and trusting God. And so that's 00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:13.019 the second issue we have. But the third issue, 00:19:13.019 --> 00:19:15.440 and I think it goes along with number one, is 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:21.359 perhaps the most saddening. We are cavalier about 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:26.160 God. We are cavalier about God. And what a foolish 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:30.220 thing that is. Modern culture tells you that 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:34.019 Jesus is your homeboy. and that the Old Testament 00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:37.099 God is one of wrath and the New Testament God 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:40.019 is nothing more than a benevolent grandfather. 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:42.880 Friends, we need to have a better understanding 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:47.599 of who God is and a better understanding of what 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:51.559 God does. Think about all that God does throughout 00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:54.839 the Bible that we can read about. We recognize 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:58.640 that God was able to speak the world into existence, 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:01.980 that He created all that there is. Our triune 00:20:01.980 --> 00:20:04.880 God looked upon the wickedness of man and flooded 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:08.460 the entire world. Our triune God parted the waters 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:11.839 to deliver his people from slavery. Our triune 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.440 God provided bread from heaven and water from 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:17.420 a rock. Our triune God defeated enemy nations 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:20.660 along the way, slaying giants, speaking through 00:20:20.660 --> 00:20:24.140 a donkey, closing the mouths of lions, and opening 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:26.799 the mouth of a great fish to swallow a prophet 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:32.980 and save him. Our triune God defeated enemy nations 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:36.079 along the way. He raised up the patriarchs and 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:38.819 the judges and the prophets and he used some 00:20:38.819 --> 00:20:42.920 of the most unlikely men and women to accomplish 00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:47.099 his purposes. And then just at the right time, 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:55.259 God sent forth his Son, born of a woman conceived 00:20:55.259 --> 00:21:00.650 by the Holy Spirit. This son, Jesus, the second 00:21:00.650 --> 00:21:03.069 person in the Trinity came to live and die in 00:21:03.069 --> 00:21:07.190 our place. And as he was crucified, as he breathed 00:21:07.190 --> 00:21:10.529 his last, the sky went pitch black and the sun 00:21:10.529 --> 00:21:14.809 cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken 00:21:14.809 --> 00:21:17.450 me? And the curtain of the temple was torn in 00:21:17.450 --> 00:21:19.970 two, an earthquake happened, tombs were opened, 00:21:20.309 --> 00:21:22.970 bodies of the saints came out of the tombs, and 00:21:22.970 --> 00:21:25.509 a Roman centurion watched all of this and he 00:21:25.509 --> 00:21:31.119 said, truly. This was the son of God. And Matthew 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:37.440 27 says he was filled with awe, meaning in that 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:43.240 moment he feared God. Friends, to fear God is 00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:46.460 to believe in God. And to rightly believe in 00:21:46.460 --> 00:21:49.200 God is to believe in Christ. And to believe in 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:51.579 Christ is to know that he died in your place. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:56.539 And knowing that he died in your place. It happens 00:21:56.539 --> 00:22:00.619 at the cross. That's where the fear of God lies 00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:06.220 at the cross. And such fear should produce within 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:09.019 us obedience. And so back to the text here as 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:12.900 I begin to wrap up, it says fear God, but it 00:22:12.900 --> 00:22:16.859 also says this, keep his commandments. This is 00:22:16.859 --> 00:22:19.359 reminiscent of Jesus telling his disciples. Why 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:21.799 do you call me Lord Lord and don't do what I 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:25.579 tell you it is an oxymoron To call Jesus your 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:30.619 Savior But not your Lord Keeping his commandments 00:22:30.619 --> 00:22:33.359 is spoken in the same breath as fearing God and 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:36.599 so to disregard the Word of God is to disregard 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:40.880 God himself the one who fears God obeys God and 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:44.319 verse 14 says that every deed will be brought 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:49.039 into judgment Friends, God knows all, and every 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:52.539 single person will have to give an account for 00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:57.980 their every thought, every word, and every deed. 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:02.619 And if I can show you as I conclude how important 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:06.200 this is, as if you couldn't see it already, hone 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:13.480 in here on the end of verse 13. The ESV, the 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:18.380 NIV, the NLT, the King James Version all render 00:23:18.380 --> 00:23:22.839 this the whole duty of man. And the New American 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:25.599 Standard Bible says this applies to every person. 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:27.980 But friends, if you were to able to look at this 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:30.940 in the Hebrew, you would actually see there is 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:34.819 no word here for duty or responsibility. And 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:37.079 the Hebrew goes beyond saying this is just for 00:23:37.079 --> 00:23:41.220 everyone. Literally, this says this is the all 00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:47.009 of man. I like the new King James on this. It 00:23:47.009 --> 00:23:50.569 says, fear God and keep his commandments for 00:23:50.569 --> 00:23:56.029 this is man's all. You see, fearing God and keeping 00:23:56.029 --> 00:23:58.829 his commandments, believing in God, it's not 00:23:58.829 --> 00:24:02.509 firstly a duty or responsibility. It describes 00:24:02.509 --> 00:24:05.430 who man is to be. We might say it like this, 00:24:05.630 --> 00:24:09.450 to be a human being is to fear God and keep his 00:24:09.450 --> 00:24:11.490 commandments. Note that I didn't say to be a 00:24:11.490 --> 00:24:13.940 Christian is this, no. That wouldn't be going 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:17.680 far enough. To fear God is central to who we 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:24.299 are as people. To be alive ought to be to fear 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:29.579 God. Who we are as people made to fear God is 00:24:29.579 --> 00:24:32.079 then not firstly about your responsibilities 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:36.329 or what you do. Fearing God is not firstly about 00:24:36.329 --> 00:24:39.130 your church membership. It's not firstly about 00:24:39.130 --> 00:24:42.069 your denomination, your attendance, your titles 00:24:42.069 --> 00:24:45.009 within the church. Fearing God is not firstly 00:24:45.009 --> 00:24:47.809 about how many years you spent teaching Sunday 00:24:47.809 --> 00:24:50.230 school, how many years you spent singing in the 00:24:50.230 --> 00:24:53.250 choir, or how many terms you served as an elder 00:24:53.250 --> 00:24:57.210 or deacon. Fearing God rightly is not firstly 00:24:57.210 --> 00:24:59.369 about how many mission trips you've gone on, 00:24:59.569 --> 00:25:02.109 or how many hungry people you have fed. or how 00:25:02.109 --> 00:25:04.890 much money you give away. Fearing God is not 00:25:04.890 --> 00:25:07.609 firstly about how many systematic theology books 00:25:07.609 --> 00:25:10.289 that you have read, which Bible reading plan 00:25:10.289 --> 00:25:14.170 you choose, or your favorite Christian podcast. 00:25:14.849 --> 00:25:17.549 It's not firstly where you went to Bible college 00:25:17.549 --> 00:25:21.390 or which conferences you've been to or which 00:25:21.390 --> 00:25:23.910 seminary you've been to. It isn't firstly about 00:25:23.910 --> 00:25:26.289 how many sermons you've preached or lessons you 00:25:26.289 --> 00:25:29.180 have taught. Listen. All of those things are 00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:32.039 very good things and they might be part of your 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:37.140 fearing God. But those things are all fleeting 00:25:37.140 --> 00:25:41.240 and those things can actually be done without 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:44.680 a heart for God. Sometimes friends, I think that 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:48.660 we like to substitute the fear of God for the 00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:52.400 things that we do. And God is not impressed. 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:58.619 The fear of God. isn't firstly what you do. The 00:25:58.619 --> 00:26:02.740 fear of God firstly is who you are. And what 00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:07.700 you do flows from who you are. The keeping of 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:11.059 His commandments flows from your trembling reverence. 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:14.960 And so let me ask you, who are you? Who are you? 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:21.819 Are you a God -fearer? Are you in Christ? Or 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:25.690 are you not? The one who is in Christ gets the 00:26:25.690 --> 00:26:30.970 meaning of life. But the one who is not has climbed 00:26:30.970 --> 00:26:34.910 the wrong mountains. I hope you'll agree with 00:26:34.910 --> 00:26:39.650 me. The message of Ecclesiastes is not about 00:26:39.650 --> 00:26:43.230 meaninglessness. It's about how every single 00:26:43.230 --> 00:26:47.150 thing in this life is meaningful. And the meaning 00:26:47.150 --> 00:26:51.309 is this. Fear God and keep His commandments. 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:56.019 Because this is your all. Let me pray.