WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.876 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.876 --> 00:08.316 We're so glad you're here and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.316 --> 00:12.476 builds your faith, and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.476 --> 00:15.516 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.516 --> 00:18.236 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.236 --> 00:20.756 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.108 --> 00:26.928 If you have your Bible, please open it with me to the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. 00:27.548 --> 00:34.068 We're beginning today a brand new series of messages going verse by verse through Ecclesiastes 00:34.068 --> 00:39.488 in a message and a series that I'm calling Life Under the Sun. 00:40.468 --> 00:42.548 Now Ecclesiastes is right in the middle of your Bible. 00:42.668 --> 00:46.548 If you don't know where it's at, you find Psalm, flip a few more pages, Proverbs, then 00:46.548 --> 00:48.548 it's Ecclesiastes. 00:48.833 --> 00:55.333 Now the book of Ecclesiastes has sort of a funny name, but it has a very profound message. 00:55.786 --> 01:02.146 Solomon, the human writer, poetically and powerfully describes the emptiness of a life 01:02.146 --> 01:04.286 lived without God. 01:04.286 --> 01:10.026 Now, as we read Ecclesiastes, if you're not careful and you don't understand the context 01:10.026 --> 01:13.986 of the book, you may even question why it's in the Bible. 01:13.986 --> 01:16.466 Because at first glance, it's quite pessimistic. 01:16.466 --> 01:20.886 I would even say at first glance it's a depressing read. 01:21.183 --> 01:24.523 But there's a reason the Holy Spirit inspired it 01:24.523 --> 01:25.362 to be written. 01:25.363 --> 01:27.363 And to me, the reason's clear. 01:27.363 --> 01:30.583 God gave it to us so that we would slow down 01:30.583 --> 01:34.243 and we would really contemplate the purpose 01:34.243 --> 01:35.303 and the meaning of life. 01:35.594 --> 01:39.074 Now, there's two phrases that are key in understanding the book. 01:39.174 --> 01:43.114 The first phrase is life under the sun. 01:43.694 --> 01:47.394 And Solomon uses this phrase 29 times throughout the book. 01:47.794 --> 01:52.774 Most of the book is about what life is like under the sun without considering God. 01:53.294 --> 01:58.034 Which brings me to the second key word, and that is this word vanity. 01:58.034 --> 02:01.494 Solomon uses it 38 times in the book. 02:01.994 --> 02:04.854 Now, vanity simply means empty. 02:05.581 --> 02:08.021 Futile, meaningless, nothing. 02:08.481 --> 02:13.481 It was a word that was used to describe a vapor that's here for a moment, but then it's gone. 02:14.061 --> 02:18.901 Solomon is going to tell us that life without God is vanity. 02:19.321 --> 02:21.361 It has no real meaning. 02:21.359 --> 02:23.819 Now, Solomon's a little more poetic than that. 02:23.899 --> 02:26.579 He's a little more methodical in the way that he makes his point. 02:26.579 --> 02:30.539 He didn't come out and say right up front, life without God is vanity. 02:30.999 --> 02:33.399 He says life is vanity. 02:34.039 --> 02:41.679 But as we'll see throughout the coming months, whenever Solomon interjects God into the issues of life, his tone changes. 02:42.082 --> 02:47.082 from vanity and despair to a sense of joy and fulfillment. 02:47.422 --> 02:50.162 Pastor O'Brien, in his study on Ecclesiastes, 02:50.162 --> 02:52.022 said that it's like Solomon has 02:52.022 --> 02:55.502 two different pairs of glasses, 02:55.502 --> 02:58.102 and throughout the book, he switches back and forth 02:58.102 --> 03:00.762 which pair of glasses he's wearing. 03:00.762 --> 03:04.242 Sometimes he has the under the sun glasses on, 03:04.242 --> 03:05.802 which filter God out. 03:05.802 --> 03:07.942 And whenever he has those glasses on, 03:07.942 --> 03:10.622 life looks boring and empty. 03:10.617 --> 03:16.817 But whenever he puts on the second pair of glasses, the above the sun glasses, he brings 03:16.817 --> 03:22.697 God back into the equation and purpose and significance return. 03:22.697 --> 03:28.777 Throughout Solomon's life, he was on a quest for meaning, a search for significance, a 03:28.777 --> 03:30.797 pursuit of purpose. 03:30.797 --> 03:37.137 And in many ways, Ecclesiastes, the book, serves as a journal about his findings. 03:37.145 --> 03:41.805 Now, we find out that Solomon is the author from the opening line of the book. 03:41.805 --> 03:44.245 Verse one, he says, The words of the preacher, 03:44.945 --> 03:47.985 the son of David, king of Jerusalem. 03:48.445 --> 03:52.885 Now, King David had many sons, but the king of Jerusalem part, 03:53.145 --> 03:57.085 it narrows it down for us because there really was only one king 03:57.085 --> 03:59.845 in Jerusalem after King David. 04:00.285 --> 04:02.785 That was before the kingdom was divided. 04:03.305 --> 04:05.405 And that was his son, Solomon. 04:05.410 --> 04:09.090 Now, Solomon calls himself here, and throughout the book, he calls himself the preacher. 04:09.470 --> 04:11.650 Some have translated that as teacher. 04:12.110 --> 04:14.930 And I think that's probably a pretty good translation. 04:14.930 --> 04:19.730 It refers to a person who has gathered information together in order to share it with others. 04:19.850 --> 04:22.930 And really, that's what Solomon did throughout his life. 04:23.770 --> 04:27.770 He wrote three books of the Bible that ride in the middle of our Bible. 04:28.130 --> 04:30.850 Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. 04:31.590 --> 04:38.430 You see, after Solomon's dad died, King David, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. 04:38.430 --> 04:41.850 He said, ask anything you want and I'll give it to you. 04:42.383 --> 04:48.443 Sort of like the Disney movie Aladdin, you know, where Aladdin rubs the lamp and out pops the genie and gives him three wishes. 04:48.563 --> 04:50.803 Well, this was different because it wasn't three wishes. 04:50.803 --> 04:52.002 It was one. 04:52.003 --> 04:53.063 And it actually happened. 04:53.683 --> 04:55.363 God gave Solomon one wish. 04:55.523 --> 04:56.723 You ask, you'll have it. 04:57.043 --> 05:02.263 And Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge to understand the difference between right and wrong. 05:02.263 --> 05:06.643 And because he asked for wisdom, God made him the wisest person in the world. 05:06.783 --> 05:09.203 Plus, he made him the wealthiest. 05:09.738 --> 05:13.978 it's been estimated that in today's currency Solomon was worth nearly 05:13.978 --> 05:14.797 three 05:14.798 --> 05:16.358 trillion dollars 05:16.358 --> 05:18.478 that's four to five times more 05:18.478 --> 05:22.438 than what Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, today is worth 05:22.438 --> 05:27.438 and as a very wealthy and wise man Solomon ruled the nation of Israel as 05:27.438 --> 05:29.458 king 05:29.458 --> 05:31.078 now as a young man 05:31.068 --> 05:33.888 Solomon wrote Song of Solomon. That's in our Bible. 05:34.268 --> 05:36.748 As a middle-aged man, he wrote the book of Proverbs. 05:36.908 --> 05:40.708 And I think as an old man who had experienced all that life had to offer, 05:41.188 --> 05:42.988 he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. 05:43.108 --> 05:46.168 I think probably just before he died. 05:46.168 --> 05:51.888 And so Ecclesiastes is written by a man who had experienced tremendous success in life. 05:51.948 --> 05:56.428 And Solomon says, that's all a big, fat nothing without God. 05:56.728 --> 05:59.928 So let's begin. Verse number two. 05:59.924 --> 06:00.323 He says, 06:00.324 --> 06:15.764 He says, 06:16.428 --> 06:18.528 The book starts out pretty depressing, 06:18.528 --> 06:20.408 and I wish I could tell you that it gets better, 06:20.568 --> 06:24.288 but as we'll see, when Solomon describes life without God, 06:24.588 --> 06:27.128 his description of it remains bleak. 06:27.488 --> 06:30.268 He says, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 06:30.568 --> 06:32.628 Life is nothing but nothing. 06:32.748 --> 06:34.248 It's all nothing. 06:34.588 --> 06:35.827 It's empty. 06:35.828 --> 06:37.048 It's meaningless. 06:37.428 --> 06:38.628 There's no profit in life. 06:38.708 --> 06:40.988 I mean, what return on the investment of your life? 06:41.068 --> 06:42.468 What do you get in the end? 06:42.972 --> 06:50.232 At the end, we all die. Death is sort of the great equalizer. One generation comes and it dies. 06:50.572 --> 06:57.252 It's followed by another generation who comes and they die. But the earth, it keeps on going. 06:57.252 --> 07:02.752 So Solomon says, you think all of your work, you think you've got such great significance, 07:02.872 --> 07:09.572 so the labor under the sun, you're accomplishing something. Think again. Sounds pretty bleak, but 07:10.006 --> 07:11.466 He continues in verse number 5. 07:11.546 --> 07:11.765 He says, 07:11.766 --> 07:33.246 He says, 07:33.243 --> 07:40.823 Solomon uses three illustrations from nature to describe how nothing is ever really actually accomplished in life. 07:40.823 --> 07:46.303 He says the sun rises and then the sun sets and then it goes back around to where it first arose. 07:46.583 --> 07:52.163 And it does the same thing over and over again. He's saying life is monotonous. 07:52.160 --> 07:55.700 It's boring. It's just the same thing every day. 07:56.560 --> 07:57.959 Ever feel like that? 07:57.960 --> 08:01.600 You wake up in the morning, you brush your teeth, you get around for the day, 08:01.680 --> 08:04.580 you go to work, you come home from work, you go to bed, 08:05.360 --> 08:07.680 only to wake up again and do the same thing. 08:07.720 --> 08:10.340 You brush your teeth, you get ready for the day, you go to work, 08:10.480 --> 08:13.960 you come back home, you go to bed, and it's just on repeat. 08:14.060 --> 08:16.120 Same thing over and over again. 08:16.220 --> 08:19.380 Sometimes it feels like we're on the hamster wheel of life. 08:19.379 --> 08:21.319 You ever see a hamster on a hamster wheel? 08:21.459 --> 08:23.399 I mean, that thing, he's really getting after it. 08:23.439 --> 08:25.499 He's running and running, fast as he possibly can. 08:25.879 --> 08:28.278 He's not going anywhere. 08:28.279 --> 08:32.039 Sometimes that's what I feel like at the gym when I'm on the treadmill, you know. 08:33.339 --> 08:38.399 All this running, all this labor and striving, but it's the same view. 08:38.579 --> 08:41.179 It's the same thing over and over again. 08:41.499 --> 08:42.799 Solomon said that's life. 08:43.595 --> 08:44.995 The wind blows from the south. 08:45.155 --> 08:45.954 It turns. 08:45.955 --> 08:46.914 It blows from the north. 08:46.915 --> 08:48.615 It comes full circle. 08:49.335 --> 08:53.795 He's saying there's all this motion, this power from the wind, but it doesn't really go anywhere. 08:54.115 --> 08:56.895 It just comes back around to where it began. 08:57.515 --> 08:59.415 He said the rivers are just like that as well. 08:59.415 --> 09:02.955 They all run to the sea, yet the sea is never full. 09:03.495 --> 09:07.855 The waters of the rivers, they just end up back where they first started. 09:08.688 --> 09:12.068 What Solomon is doing is he's describing the water cycle. 09:12.068 --> 09:14.448 The water's moving, there's action, 09:14.448 --> 09:16.728 but ultimately it's not going anywhere. 09:16.728 --> 09:20.308 And Solomon's saying, that's what life's like. 09:20.308 --> 09:23.608 We're moving, we're active, we're going. 09:23.608 --> 09:25.048 We think we're going somewhere, 09:25.048 --> 09:27.608 but actually we're not making a difference at all. 09:27.608 --> 09:31.688 It's vain, it's futile, it's empty. 09:31.688 --> 09:34.748 Verse number eight, he said, all things are full of labor. 09:34.748 --> 09:36.428 That means they're wearisome. 09:36.430 --> 09:37.530 Man cannot express it. 09:37.550 --> 09:39.290 We have a hard time articulating it. 09:39.610 --> 09:45.030 The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 09:45.650 --> 09:48.470 He said, whatever we have in life is never enough. 09:48.990 --> 09:52.730 Whatever great things that we see with our eyes, we just got to see more, don't we? 09:52.730 --> 10:00.010 He said the average person spends between five and seven hours on their phone every day. 10:01.270 --> 10:07.590 endlessly scrolling, their eyes being given a form of entertainment that's addicting. 10:07.750 --> 10:12.950 In fact, over 45% of adults admit they're addicted to their phones. 10:13.890 --> 10:15.390 Think what our teenagers would say. 10:15.390 --> 10:23.310 It's estimated that the average American will scroll 86 miles this year. 10:26.532 --> 10:34.852 It's estimated that the average American will likely spend 12 years of their life of vanity looking, staring at their phone. 10:35.092 --> 10:37.252 Why? Their eyes are never satisfied. 10:37.332 --> 10:39.852 They've got to look and see the next thing. 10:40.172 --> 10:42.332 Our ears are like that. They're never full. 10:42.652 --> 10:45.652 If you question that, just count how many songs you have on your playlist. 10:45.812 --> 10:47.492 I'm guessing it's a lot. 10:47.491 --> 10:50.731 I've noticed that most people are uncomfortable with silence. 10:50.991 --> 10:51.570 They're riding in the car. 10:51.571 --> 10:53.491 They've got to have the radio on. 10:53.731 --> 10:55.391 They're in their house, maybe even cleaning. 10:55.491 --> 10:58.111 They've got to have the TV blaring in the background, noise. 10:58.371 --> 11:00.351 Whatever experience we have, it's not enough. 11:00.431 --> 11:01.950 We need more. 11:01.951 --> 11:03.230 We eat a big meal. 11:03.231 --> 11:04.791 Oh, we're so satisfied. 11:05.911 --> 11:09.691 A few hours later, we're rummaging through the fridge trying to find something to eat 11:09.691 --> 11:12.091 because we fill ourselves, but it's not enough. 11:12.091 --> 11:13.851 We need more. 11:14.751 --> 11:16.464 Verse number 9. 11:16.465 --> 11:22.465 He says, "'That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done. And 11:22.465 --> 11:27.025 there's nothing new under the sun. Is there anything which can be said? See, this is new. 11:27.565 --> 11:34.545 It has already been in ancient times before us.'" Solomon says, we're all searching for some new 11:34.545 --> 11:37.825 experience in life that's going to bring meaning to our lives, but he says, 11:37.825 --> 11:39.945 "'There's nothing new under the sun.'" 11:41.221 --> 11:43.141 Our culture is searching for something new. 11:44.001 --> 11:47.681 Our culture largely blames Christian values for their emptiness, 11:48.341 --> 11:50.101 for their vanity in their life. 11:50.401 --> 11:54.261 They think that if we could just remove the concept of right and wrong, 11:54.361 --> 11:55.421 then people would be free. 11:55.781 --> 11:56.780 They would be happy. 11:56.781 --> 12:01.181 Hey, the Bible, what it says about sexuality, it's holding us back. 12:01.241 --> 12:02.100 It's oppressing us. 12:02.101 --> 12:02.880 So here's what we need. 12:02.881 --> 12:04.861 We need something new. 12:05.041 --> 12:07.761 Let's sleep with whoever we want, whenever we want. 12:07.961 --> 12:09.841 Let's try something new, right? 12:10.094 --> 12:13.514 Folks, a sexualized culture is not new. 12:13.814 --> 12:16.094 It's been the norm throughout human history. 12:16.634 --> 12:20.394 The Romans embraced what our culture is now embracing as a culture. 12:20.734 --> 12:22.314 It led to the collapse of their empire. 12:22.814 --> 12:28.414 There's nothing new under the sun that's going to be meaning and significance to your life. 12:29.154 --> 12:30.833 Verse number 11. 12:30.834 --> 12:31.173 He says, 12:31.174 --> 12:38.614 There's no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who come after us. 12:39.507 --> 12:44.207 You know, later, Solomon's going to write in Ecclesiastes that God has written, He's 12:44.207 --> 12:46.027 put eternity on our hearts. 12:46.147 --> 12:48.347 We want lasting significance. 12:48.707 --> 12:54.847 God has wired us with a deep desire to matter, and that's because we do matter to Him. 12:55.207 --> 12:57.127 But that's not what the world says. 12:58.007 --> 13:01.547 Evolutionists are telling our kids that, you know, you're a product of blind chance. 13:01.587 --> 13:04.567 In other words, you're an accident, and if you're an accident, that means you don't 13:04.567 --> 13:05.266 really matter. 13:05.267 --> 13:08.587 I mean, that's the natural conclusion of an atheistic worldview, isn't it? 13:09.055 --> 13:14.115 And so Solomon reminds us of that, of how futile life is without God. 13:14.115 --> 13:20.395 One generation passes, another one comes, and someday all those generations, they won't remember us. 13:20.598 --> 13:21.698 They're not going to remember you. 13:21.878 --> 13:25.358 They're not going to remember all of your accomplishments here in life. 13:26.238 --> 13:32.098 Oh, there's a few, a few people who get their names written in the history books, 13:32.118 --> 13:33.738 but those people are rare exceptions. 13:33.738 --> 13:39.638 And I've found that most students, as they study for a history exam, they forget it the next day. 13:39.638 --> 13:40.476 Okay. 13:40.477 --> 13:46.317 It don't matter if the history remembers you or not. We are going to be forgotten. Solomon is 13:46.317 --> 13:51.277 pointing out the sad reality that we've got to come to grips with, that someday, not too many 13:51.277 --> 13:57.917 years from now, no one's going to remember us. Our family won't even remember us. Oh, our name may 13:57.917 --> 14:03.357 come up, some Thanksgiving meal, you know. What was her name again? Her name was Kelsey. 14:03.933 --> 14:05.312 I think you're right. 14:05.313 --> 14:07.293 What was her husband's name? 14:07.553 --> 14:10.273 And after a moment of no memory, 14:10.473 --> 14:14.053 stuff another bite of potato salad in her mouth, 14:14.113 --> 14:14.972 they'll move on. 14:14.973 --> 14:16.133 We're not going to be remembered. 14:16.433 --> 14:17.292 You think I'm lying? 14:17.293 --> 14:19.373 You tell me the first names 14:19.373 --> 14:21.433 of all of your great-grandparents. 14:21.433 --> 14:22.089 Yes. 14:22.090 --> 14:25.570 My guess is you can't, not unless you consult a genealogy. 14:26.210 --> 14:27.430 Solomon says it's all vanity. 14:27.910 --> 14:28.849 It's empty. 14:28.850 --> 14:29.990 There's no meaning in life. 14:30.130 --> 14:30.369 Why? 14:30.370 --> 14:35.010 We want to be remembered by our loved one, by our own flesh and blood a few years from now. 14:35.930 --> 14:39.350 Verse number 12, Solomon tells us about the quest. 14:40.282 --> 14:45.702 for meaning that he's been on. The quest of meaning for life. It really is the context of the book. 14:45.702 --> 14:46.761 Verse 12, he says, 14:46.762 --> 14:52.142 I, the preacher, was king over Israel and Jerusalem, and I set my heart to seek and to search out 14:52.142 --> 14:59.142 by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heaven, under the sun. This burdensome task God 14:59.142 --> 15:03.182 has given to the sons of man by which they must be excellent. In other words, all of us are on 15:03.182 --> 15:07.782 this search. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and indeed, 15:08.092 --> 15:11.472 All is vanity and grasping for the win. 15:11.832 --> 15:16.532 What's crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered. 15:16.612 --> 15:18.941 It can't be counted. 15:18.942 --> 15:23.782 Now, Solomon's wisdom and wealth was the envy of the ancient world. 15:23.882 --> 15:27.842 So much so, the Queen of Sheba came to him, and after her visit said, 15:28.102 --> 15:30.882 the half has not been told about King Solomon. 15:30.882 --> 15:33.522 In other words, he's so much more. 15:34.222 --> 15:38.562 We've heard about how much great Solomon is, how amazing he is. 15:38.882 --> 15:41.902 He's much more than we've ever been able to describe. 15:43.175 --> 15:50.475 So now, that being the backdrop of Solomon's life, a life of prestige, a life of envy, a life of honor, 15:50.475 --> 15:56.495 now he comes to the end of his life, having experienced all that a person could want, 15:56.615 --> 15:59.735 wealth, wisdom, power, women, strength. 15:59.795 --> 16:01.815 He had it all, and he says, it's all vanity. 16:03.115 --> 16:05.435 All along, I've just been grasping for the wind. 16:05.535 --> 16:07.475 There's nothing to take hold of. 16:08.605 --> 16:09.925 You ever feel like that in life? 16:11.045 --> 16:14.105 Like you're trying to grab onto something significant, 16:14.765 --> 16:18.205 something of substance that actually matters in life, 16:18.385 --> 16:20.645 but it's like you're grasping for the wind. 16:21.865 --> 16:24.045 Solomon says, what's done is done. 16:25.005 --> 16:27.365 What's crooked can't be made straight, 16:27.445 --> 16:28.985 and what doesn't exist can't be counted. 16:29.868 --> 16:33.548 This word crooked describes a world that's been broken by sin. 16:34.168 --> 16:39.788 He's saying the world is so broken, it's so messed up, it's so crooked, we can't possibly fix it. 16:40.348 --> 16:45.388 All the politics in the world, social reform, all of these, we cannot fix what's been broken. 16:45.528 --> 16:47.508 We can't create purpose where there is none. 16:47.508 --> 16:48.885 Amen. 16:48.886 --> 16:50.506 Verse number 16, he continues. 16:51.446 --> 16:59.546 He says, I commune with my heart, saying, look, I have attained greatness and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. 16:59.546 --> 17:06.626 My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge, and I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. 17:07.066 --> 17:16.646 I perceive that this also is grasping for the wind, for in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. 17:17.843 --> 17:20.643 What a weary and tired soul. 17:21.983 --> 17:25.223 But I love it because Solomon is being honest. 17:26.223 --> 17:28.983 Most people aren't honest about life. 17:29.470 --> 17:37.230 They know deep down inside, they know that they have no lasting significance, yet they act like they do. 17:37.810 --> 17:39.990 Their lives don't have significance, but they act like they do. 17:39.990 --> 17:45.550 They're content to live in the matrix of existence and meaning they've created for themselves, even though it doesn't exist. 17:46.090 --> 17:47.509 But that's not Solomon. 17:47.510 --> 17:48.049 No, no, no. 17:48.050 --> 17:49.390 He's at the end of his life. 17:50.350 --> 17:52.410 The pride isn't there like it once was. 17:52.430 --> 17:53.510 He's being very honest. 17:53.850 --> 17:55.810 He's being very vulnerable with all of us. 17:55.850 --> 17:57.550 And he says, I got everything I ever tried. 17:58.934 --> 18:03.234 I got everything I ever tried and it all left me empty inside. 18:04.374 --> 18:06.314 Now what's interesting is that 18:06.914 --> 18:13.354 here and throughout Ecclesiastes, Solomon admits, he says, I tried wisdom, but I also tried folly, foolishness. 18:14.514 --> 18:17.314 He said both left me empty. 18:17.954 --> 18:25.114 Now as Christians, we can think, well, I can understand how foolishness is vanity, but how is wisdom 18:25.411 --> 18:31.531 Vanity. Well, because no amount of knowledge or education is ever going to bring significance and satisfaction in your life. 18:31.951 --> 18:36.491 If it did, our college campuses would be the happiest place on earth, but they're not. 18:38.151 --> 18:42.911 Nothing in this universe brings lasting purpose. 18:43.451 --> 18:44.951 All of this has been created. 18:46.252 --> 18:52.772 And if there's nothing that brings purpose within our universe, there must be someone who is not bound by the universe. 18:52.892 --> 18:58.832 Someone who's outside the universe's system who can provide that purpose and meaning for us. 19:00.132 --> 19:03.772 Now, let me frame the book for you this way. 19:03.772 --> 19:10.732 Throughout Ecclesiastes, we're going to see that there's three ways that a person can live. 19:11.260 --> 19:20.200 Now, that's a little different than earlier in Solomon's life when he described in the book of Proverbs basically two ways a person can live. 19:20.480 --> 19:23.640 A life of foolishness and a life of wisdom. 19:24.680 --> 19:33.640 But I think as an old man nearing death in his repentance, Solomon is recognizing there's a third category that's important to point out. 19:34.042 --> 19:39.442 He describes all three ways, and we've got to pay careful attention to what he's on. 19:39.762 --> 19:41.102 He's putting on these different glasses. 19:41.522 --> 19:44.922 The first, though, he describes as a life with foolishness. 19:45.302 --> 19:47.702 This is the wrong way to live life. 19:47.802 --> 19:51.062 This is a life that has lived contrary to God's design. 19:51.622 --> 19:58.082 This is a person who's living for the here and the now with no thought of the consequences, no thought of the repercussions. 19:58.682 --> 19:59.922 It's the most... 19:59.911 --> 20:06.091 empty and miserable life there is, a life of foolishness. But Solomon also describes a life 20:06.091 --> 20:13.251 with wisdom. This is doing the right thing. This is a life of knowing and living in accordance 20:13.251 --> 20:18.011 with God's design for creation. The person with wisdom is the person who understands certain 20:18.011 --> 20:23.771 principles of life that have been written, have been coded into creation by its designer. 20:25.021 --> 20:30.121 Solomon tells us throughout the book, he said, I lived the wrong way, and it was vanity. 20:30.741 --> 20:34.521 I lived the right way, and it also was vanity. 20:34.521 --> 20:40.801 He even says here, the right way, this way of wisdom, it caused me more heartache, more grief. 20:41.361 --> 20:42.280 Now, why would that be? 20:42.281 --> 20:46.961 Well, it's because really smart people can often identify the problems of life. 20:47.881 --> 20:51.461 They don't always experience the solution to life. 20:52.207 --> 20:58.867 So Solomon says, he says, life with foolishness is vanity. Life with wisdom is also vanity. But 20:58.867 --> 21:04.387 there's another way. There's a way of life that brings significance and meaning to you, and it is 21:04.387 --> 21:12.747 a life with God. Solomon nears his death. He gives the conclusion of life at the end of the book in 21:12.747 --> 21:16.527 chapter 12, verse 13. He says, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. 21:17.992 --> 21:22.992 Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. 21:24.412 --> 21:28.372 Now, the fear of God doesn't mean a terrifying fear. 21:28.472 --> 21:32.852 No, it means a loving reverence, a respectful fear, an awe of God. 21:32.852 --> 21:35.632 It's one nuance in the Bible of biblical faith. 21:36.512 --> 21:41.052 What he's saying is trust God and obey everything that God tells you. 21:41.552 --> 21:42.831 For this is man's all. 21:42.832 --> 21:45.112 This is man's purpose. 21:45.768 --> 21:53.048 It's like the old hymn that says, trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. 21:54.028 --> 22:00.448 Solomon, sadly, lived most of his life with his under the sunglasses on. 22:03.200 --> 22:04.300 No experience of God. 22:05.180 --> 22:08.000 His dad, King David, knew God personally and intimately. 22:08.220 --> 22:09.980 He was a man after God's own heart. 22:10.120 --> 22:15.040 He walked with God, and no doubt, the wisdom David gleaned from a life with God, 22:15.340 --> 22:17.100 he no doubt passed on to his son Solomon. 22:18.260 --> 22:21.760 So Solomon gained all of this wisdom, the right things. 22:22.000 --> 22:23.280 So Solomon was wise. 22:23.380 --> 22:28.600 He had all the answers, but he ignored the biggest answer to his most pressing question, 22:28.600 --> 22:29.800 what is the meaning of life? 22:29.880 --> 22:31.600 And that is a relationship with God. 22:32.630 --> 22:35.450 See, we were all created for a relationship with God. 22:35.530 --> 22:37.590 You were created for a relationship with God. 22:37.750 --> 22:42.530 But because of your sin, because of my sin, we have been separated from that relationship. 22:42.650 --> 22:43.990 We've been separated from God. 22:44.690 --> 22:46.870 So now we're left wandering about. 22:47.190 --> 22:48.330 Jesus said we're lost. 22:48.730 --> 22:52.270 We're trying to find our way, but the more we search, the more lost we become. 22:52.270 --> 22:56.470 We're trying to find purpose apart from God, which is an exercise in futility. 22:57.450 --> 23:00.017 Solomon says it's vanity. 23:00.018 --> 23:03.158 Now to be clear, Solomon knew the right answers. 23:03.298 --> 23:05.358 He even knew the God answers. 23:05.778 --> 23:09.618 I mean, he wrote earlier in his life, Proverbs chapter 9, verse number 10, 23:09.698 --> 23:09.937 that says, 23:09.938 --> 23:12.318 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, 23:12.718 --> 23:15.538 and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 23:16.918 --> 23:19.838 But while Solomon knew the right answers in his head, 23:19.998 --> 23:24.418 he chose to walk away from his personal relationship with God. 23:25.778 --> 23:28.658 See, God had told Solomon very clearly, 23:29.195 --> 23:34.155 You are not to marry foreign wives because they're going to pull your heart away from me. 23:34.535 --> 23:37.935 They're going to cause you to start worshiping their pagan gods. 23:37.935 --> 23:44.675 But we read in 1 Kings 11 that Solomon loved many foreign women. 23:45.595 --> 23:49.595 In fact, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. 23:50.535 --> 23:52.275 I'll just let that sit in for a moment. 23:52.955 --> 23:54.975 You can understand why he was so miserable. 23:59.570 --> 24:05.470 He had problems. 24:05.510 --> 24:06.369 Here's what happened. 24:06.370 --> 24:14.450 In Solomon's sexual sin, he chose to leave God out of his 24:14.490 --> 24:19.830 life, and now as an old man, he's dying, and he says, 24:19.850 --> 24:22.350 I made a terrible mistake. 24:22.621 --> 24:28.221 I'm writing you this book so that you know that from a person that has experienced all that life has to offer, 24:28.481 --> 24:29.901 please learn from my mistakes. 24:30.141 --> 24:31.160 Please learn from me. 24:31.161 --> 24:33.681 I tried to find meaning in sexual pleasure. 24:33.781 --> 24:34.620 We're going to read about it. 24:34.621 --> 24:36.541 I've tried to find meaning in my work. 24:36.641 --> 24:40.901 I've built all of these amazing things in all of my gold, all of the wealth. 24:40.981 --> 24:43.501 I tried to find it even in wisdom doing the right thing. 24:43.501 --> 24:44.641 But now I know. 24:45.241 --> 24:50.461 Now I know that the only thing that matters in life is a life with God. 24:51.680 --> 24:57.320 To be connected to the one who made us to be surrendered to him. 24:58.460 --> 25:03.700 In 1989, Jason Lehman wrote a poem, a powerful poem that he wrote. 25:04.060 --> 25:06.120 He entitled, Present Tense. 25:06.640 --> 25:08.080 I want to read it for us this morning. 25:09.360 --> 25:09.999 He says, 25:10.000 --> 25:12.520 It was spring, but it was summer I wanted. 25:13.120 --> 25:14.980 The warm days and the great outdoors. 25:15.929 --> 25:21.049 It was summer, but it was fall I wanted, the colorful leaves and the cool dry hair. 25:21.789 --> 25:27.329 It was fall, but it was winter I wanted, beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season. 25:27.329 --> 25:33.129 It was winter, but it was spring I wanted, the warmth and the blossoming of nature. 25:34.103 --> 25:38.683 I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted, the freedom and the respect. 25:39.383 --> 25:44.003 I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted, to be mature and sophisticated. 25:44.883 --> 25:50.343 I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted, the youth and the free spirit. 25:50.343 --> 25:55.583 I was retired, but it was middle-age I wanted, the presence of mind without limitations. 25:56.743 --> 26:00.723 My life was over. I never got what I wanted. 26:03.415 --> 26:06.275 That's us. Far too many times, isn't it? 26:06.735 --> 26:09.855 Always thinking the grass is greener on the other side. 26:09.935 --> 26:14.295 But if we would just invite God into our present, into our lives right now, 26:14.295 --> 26:16.935 He'll make it greener right where we're at. 26:17.624 --> 26:24.264 You see, God brings joy and purpose even into the most mundane tasks of life. 26:24.264 --> 26:28.524 So if you're punching a clock or you're changing a diaper or you're mowing the lawn, 26:28.804 --> 26:35.504 if God is with you, he's giving you purpose in that moment, being connected to the one who loves you. 26:36.604 --> 26:43.104 See, the key to a significant and satisfying life is the presence of God. 26:44.033 --> 26:48.353 Whether you're in a high moment of joy or a low moment of despair, 26:48.653 --> 26:51.533 it is the presence of God that is the meaning of life, 26:51.573 --> 26:53.893 to be connected to the one who made you. 26:54.333 --> 26:56.053 The one who made us, the one who loves us, 26:56.093 --> 26:57.933 the one who died on the cross for our sins, 26:57.973 --> 27:03.173 so that we could be reconnected and joined again with God forever in eternity. 27:03.173 --> 27:05.278 Amen. 27:05.279 --> 27:07.419 who's a philosopher, Blaise Pascal, 27:08.299 --> 27:11.399 who said that within every human person 27:11.399 --> 27:13.859 is a God-shaped vacuum, 27:14.719 --> 27:16.534 a hole. 27:16.535 --> 27:18.635 Solomon would say, God shaped vanity. 27:19.315 --> 27:20.754 There's nothing there. 27:20.755 --> 27:24.995 Now, the hole is shaped like God, and the hole is there because of our sin. 27:25.495 --> 27:27.095 God didn't create us with the hole. 27:27.735 --> 27:30.675 No, everything God created, it was very, very good. 27:31.055 --> 27:35.675 We created the hole with our sin and our rebellion that caused God to leave us. 27:36.035 --> 27:39.195 And when he left us, he left a giant hole behind. 27:39.795 --> 27:41.014 And so what do we do? 27:41.015 --> 27:42.135 We try to fill the hole. 27:43.079 --> 27:45.899 with everything that we can possibly think of, we know it's there. 27:46.179 --> 27:48.539 We're striving for meaning and significance and purpose. 27:48.939 --> 27:52.099 We know there's something missing in our life, so we try all these things, 27:52.099 --> 27:57.539 drugs and alcohol and parties and money and sex and power and fame and influence, 27:57.739 --> 28:00.019 prestige, honor, all of these things. 28:00.299 --> 28:02.519 We try this, it doesn't satisfy. 28:02.659 --> 28:08.879 We try that, it doesn't satisfy, hoping that something new will fix the problem. 28:10.130 --> 28:12.630 Listen, we do not need something new. 28:13.190 --> 28:16.350 We need to be made new. 28:17.285 --> 28:24.245 We need God to come back into our lives, to fill the hole where there's no longer emptiness, 28:24.565 --> 28:30.225 to make us new. And that's what God offers to do through his son, Jesus. He offers to put his 28:30.225 --> 28:35.445 spirit who departed from us because of our sin. He offers to put his spirit back in the hole to 28:35.445 --> 28:42.685 fill us up and to make us new creations in Christ Jesus. I'm talking about a miracle. 28:43.643 --> 28:49.643 That's what God offers. He offers a miracle for you to actually live your life with Him, 28:49.883 --> 28:57.963 Almighty God, a life of significance and meaning, a life that actually matters, a life with God. 28:59.003 --> 29:05.343 Jesus said, I came. Why did I come? I came to give life and life more abundantly. 29:05.767 --> 29:09.607 Oh, Jesus certainly, when we come to him in faith, he gives us eternal life, 29:09.767 --> 29:12.327 but he doesn't wait until we're dead before he gives us life. 29:12.547 --> 29:14.967 No, he offers us abundant life today, 29:15.627 --> 29:20.867 a life of significance and joy and purpose and meaning if we'll just surrender to him. 29:21.627 --> 29:27.027 Jesus said, what prophet is a man if he gains the whole world and yet he loses his soul? 29:27.147 --> 29:28.066 That was Solomon. 29:28.067 --> 29:31.787 He'd gained everything, all the gold, all the women, all the power. 29:33.610 --> 29:34.630 What profit is it? 29:34.650 --> 29:35.950 He's going to die like the rest of it. 29:36.050 --> 29:37.330 He's coming to grips with it. 29:37.750 --> 29:42.730 What profit is it if you gain all of those things and yet you lose your soul? 29:44.130 --> 29:50.830 You see, the Bible teaches that the key to life isn't a life under the sun, S-U-N. 29:51.690 --> 29:55.030 It's a life in the sun, S-O-N. 29:55.930 --> 29:58.370 And his name is Jesus. 29:58.370 --> 30:00.306 Jesus. 30:00.307 --> 30:05.647 One of the greatest Christian minds of the last century was a theologian by the name of Karl Barth. 30:05.727 --> 30:12.507 Now, there's a lot that I disagree with concerning Barth's theology, but there's no denying his brilliance. 30:13.247 --> 30:16.507 Well, Barth, one time, he took a long journey around the world. 30:16.647 --> 30:17.366 He visited Latter-day Saints. 30:17.367 --> 30:18.667 all seven continents. 30:18.667 --> 30:20.747 He received, 30:20.747 --> 30:21.747 you know, awards 30:21.747 --> 30:23.627 for his contributions in theology. 30:23.627 --> 30:25.927 He spoke at large cathedrals. 30:25.927 --> 30:27.287 He spent a lot of time in nature, 30:27.287 --> 30:28.467 various parts of the world, 30:28.467 --> 30:30.127 searching out the deepest 30:30.127 --> 30:32.707 truths of reality. 30:32.707 --> 30:35.167 Well, when he returned home, 30:35.167 --> 30:36.767 a friend asked him, said, 30:36.767 --> 30:39.227 What's the single most profound 30:39.227 --> 30:42.567 thought you had on your journey? 30:42.567 --> 30:46.107 Bart thought for a moment. 30:46.107 --> 30:48.045 And he said, 30:48.046 --> 30:53.866 Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. 30:55.986 --> 30:57.166 Barth was right. 30:57.666 --> 31:02.466 That is the most profound thought we could ever have. 31:03.206 --> 31:07.126 That the God of this universe, the God who made us for Him, 31:09.173 --> 31:12.113 And we walked away from him in rebellion and our sin. 31:12.113 --> 31:16.033 We wanted it our way instead of his way. 31:16.033 --> 31:16.892 We did all of that. 31:16.893 --> 31:20.413 We broke his heart, we broke his word, we broke his will. 31:20.413 --> 31:25.073 And yet God still loved us so much 31:25.073 --> 31:28.233 that he sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. 31:28.233 --> 31:31.433 What greater thought is there than that? 31:31.433 --> 31:33.073 So my question to you 31:35.033 --> 31:37.973 is have you accepted Jesus' love for you? 31:39.312 --> 31:41.311 Have you received it? 31:41.312 --> 31:47.572 I found that there's a number of people who don't receive Christ's love for them 31:47.572 --> 31:49.312 because they don't think they're worthy of it. 31:51.032 --> 31:52.772 Pastor, you don't understand. 31:53.272 --> 31:54.512 You don't understand my thought life. 31:54.612 --> 31:55.812 You don't understand my motives. 31:55.912 --> 31:57.552 You don't understand what I've done. 31:57.692 --> 31:59.452 Listen, I understand what Jesus has done. 32:00.292 --> 32:03.772 He died on the cross for your sins, and he loves you. 32:05.013 --> 32:14.393 I want to invite you to receive His love today, to experience His love, to receive Him. 32:14.393 --> 32:22.313 Now, have you received His love and received Him into your life, or are you simply running 32:22.313 --> 32:25.353 on the hamster wheel of life? 32:25.353 --> 32:31.653 No purpose, no direction, no real destination, but, well, man, there's a lot of movement, 32:31.653 --> 32:34.193 there's a lot of effort going into it, but you're not going anywhere. 32:35.253 --> 32:38.453 I want to invite you to just get off that hamster wheel today. 32:38.553 --> 32:43.913 Just step off of it today and to trust Jesus with your life and experience real life, 32:44.613 --> 32:48.093 the life that God offers you, a life with him. 32:48.173 --> 32:52.793 The starting place for that is to trust Jesus as your Savior. 32:52.793 --> 32:56.353 Open your heart in humility to admit that you need him. 32:57.033 --> 32:58.053 Admit your sin. 32:59.233 --> 33:00.773 Cry out to him for his forgiveness. 33:00.953 --> 33:01.792 He'll meet you. 33:01.793 --> 33:04.233 He'll forgive you, and he'll bring you life. 33:05.020 --> 33:08.000 Let's bow together in an attitude of prayer, both here and at Olive Drive. 33:08.760 --> 33:11.960 This is a holy moment in the life of our church. 33:11.960 --> 33:12.960 The Bible says, 33:13.120 --> 33:16.680 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 33:17.440 --> 33:23.420 that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. 33:24.700 --> 33:29.260 I want to invite you to experience the life that Jesus offers you today. 33:29.260 --> 33:31.099 It's a gift. 33:31.100 --> 33:32.460 The gift is Himself. 33:34.771 --> 33:35.931 Well, you've got to receive Him. 33:37.191 --> 33:38.911 You've got to open your heart to Him. 33:39.891 --> 33:41.511 You've got to say yes to Him. 33:44.651 --> 33:49.791 Many, many choose a life without God 33:49.791 --> 33:53.951 because they love their sin more than they love Him. 33:56.451 --> 33:58.111 I want to invite you. 33:59.898 --> 34:01.818 to trust Jesus as your Savior today. 34:01.818 --> 34:05.338 In just a moment, on both campuses, I'm going to pray. 34:05.338 --> 34:07.298 As soon as I pray, we're going to stand to our feet, 34:07.298 --> 34:09.858 and we're going to sing a song together. 34:09.858 --> 34:12.178 It's a moment of response for our congregation. 34:12.178 --> 34:14.298 There's going to be pastors and other leaders 34:14.298 --> 34:15.698 and prayer partners here at the front, 34:15.698 --> 34:17.918 and we're going to ask you to just step out 34:17.918 --> 34:19.758 and come and give your life to Jesus. 34:20.758 --> 34:22.198 As you are, you come as you are. 34:22.198 --> 34:23.978 It's not that you clean up your life and then come. 34:23.978 --> 34:25.538 No, you come as you are. 34:26.881 --> 34:32.661 You allow God to meet you where you're at and to forgive you and to make you clean before Him. 34:39.641 --> 34:42.521 No one has ever loved you like Jesus. 34:44.127 --> 34:47.067 I want to beg you, receive it today. 34:47.907 --> 34:49.347 Allow Him to change your life. 34:49.727 --> 34:53.007 Maybe you say, I want to be baptized like others today. 34:53.947 --> 34:56.207 You'd like to join our church family. 34:56.327 --> 34:57.766 This feels like home. 34:57.767 --> 35:00.727 God's brought you here, and you want to formalize that and make that official. 35:01.087 --> 35:01.926 You come let us know. 35:01.927 --> 35:05.407 Or maybe you just want to come to these steps. 35:06.087 --> 35:08.787 Let Him serve as an altar between you and the Lord. 35:08.787 --> 35:10.787 You've got business to do with God. 35:12.882 --> 35:19.762 There's been thousands of people before today that have used these steps as a meeting place between them and God. 35:19.762 --> 35:27.302 There are many, many times in the middle of the week, something heavy upon my heart, something burdening me. 35:28.002 --> 35:31.562 I'll walk over from my office and I'll kneel at these steps. 35:32.062 --> 35:38.522 I'll pour out my heart to the Lord and give Him the burden and just let Him carry it like many, many others have done. 35:38.903 --> 35:42.123 Maybe that's what you need. You don't need a pastor. You just need the master. 35:42.723 --> 35:49.703 These steps are open for you to do business with him. Let's have a life with God, not a life of 35:49.703 --> 35:57.883 trying to do right, not a life of foolishness, but a life with God in the center of it. 35:59.440 --> 35:59.939 Let's pray. 35:59.940 --> 36:03.240 Father, we thank you so much for your love. 36:04.060 --> 36:08.680 Thank you that we love you because you first loved us. 36:09.040 --> 36:10.240 You've pursued us. 36:11.060 --> 36:17.260 You saw us wandering and lost, pursuing a life of vanity. 36:17.260 --> 36:22.360 And so you stepped out and came for us to rescue us and to save us. 36:22.560 --> 36:25.520 And Lord, right now you see some people. 36:28.027 --> 36:29.527 that you love so much 36:29.527 --> 36:32.087 and your heart breaks for them 36:32.087 --> 36:34.387 because you see the vanity of their lives 36:34.387 --> 36:35.186 that they're living. 36:35.187 --> 36:35.906 It's empty. 36:35.907 --> 36:36.726 It's pointless. 36:36.727 --> 36:39.107 It has no eternal value. 36:39.387 --> 36:41.607 And Lord, you're looking on them in love. 36:41.727 --> 36:42.466 And I pray, Lord, 36:42.467 --> 36:43.747 that your spirit would touch them 36:43.747 --> 36:44.927 in a deep place right now. 36:49.255 --> 37:00.295 You would go beyond anything that I've been able to say, Lord, and that you would meet them where they're at in their brokenness, in their pain, maybe even in their success. 37:01.875 --> 37:09.455 That has brought them to the point where they've realized even the successes of life are empty without you. 37:11.210 --> 37:13.430 Lord, would you do a great work in our midst? 37:14.070 --> 37:17.150 Would you draw our hearts closer to you, open our hearts? 37:17.390 --> 37:21.890 Would you give the people courage that it's going to take to step out and come? 37:23.070 --> 37:27.710 Maybe you're pressing on some people's heart to do that, to make a decision for you, 37:27.790 --> 37:36.490 but they're fighting it and they're wrestling with it because they fear how uncomfortable it might be to step out and come. 37:36.630 --> 37:38.650 Lord, I pray that you would give them the courage. 37:40.454 --> 37:41.854 to take that step of faith. 37:42.814 --> 37:44.934 I pray Lord that we would love them very well 37:44.934 --> 37:46.014 as a church family. 37:47.094 --> 37:50.214 Lord, we give this time to you, it's your time. 37:50.214 --> 37:52.134 It's dedicated completely to you. 37:52.134 --> 37:55.214 This is our time for having a life with you. 37:55.214 --> 37:58.994 Lord, we set aside this moment to respond in faith. 37:58.994 --> 38:01.034 So some of us, Lord, we need to be convicted. 38:01.034 --> 38:02.954 Would you convict us? 38:02.954 --> 38:04.274 Some of us need to be encouraged. 38:04.274 --> 38:06.194 Lord, would you encourage us? 38:06.779 --> 38:10.179 Some of us desperately need answers. 38:11.099 --> 38:13.499 Would you give us the answer? 38:14.279 --> 38:16.739 We ask in Jesus' name, amen. 38:17.849 --> 38:18.889 Thanks for listening today. 38:19.229 --> 38:20.709 We hope you enjoyed this message. 38:20.949 --> 38:24.089 And if you did, we would be so grateful if you left us a review. 38:24.749 --> 38:26.849 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 38:26.849 --> 38:29.709 if you would like to be notified when a new sermon is released. 38:30.309 --> 38:33.449 If you feel the Lord calling you to take the next step in faith 38:33.449 --> 38:37.329 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 38:37.947 --> 38:41.407 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 38:41.407 --> 38:44.947 That's podcast to 88988 or connect with us 38:44.947 --> 38:47.327 on one of our social media platforms. 38:47.327 --> 38:50.487 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 38:50.487 --> 38:53.027 to find even more great resources. 38:53.027 --> 38:55.247 No matter where you are in your journey, 38:55.247 --> 38:57.947 know that we love you, we're praying for you 38:57.947 --> 39:00.987 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.