Music
One hundred and fourteen. Let's turn to hymn number one hundred and fourteen. We'll begin by singing The Great Physician.
Don't forget we haven't got our sound system so we've got a bit of an introduction with music and then we'll be singing acapella which means you've got to sing extra well.
Alright, beautiful voices singing up to the Lord nice and loud hymn number one hundred and fourteen The Great Physician. If you can please stand, please do. One hundred and fourteen The Great Physician.
The Great Physician now is thee The sympathizing Jesus He speaks the drooping heart to cheer O hear the voice of Jesus
Sweetest note in seraph song Sweetest name on mortal tongue Sweetest carol ever sung Jesus blessed Jesus
Your many sins are all forgiven O hear the voice of Jesus Go on your way in peace to heaven And wear our crown with Jesus
Sweetest note in seraph song Sweetest name on mortal tongue Sweetest carol ever sung Jesus blessed Jesus
On the third. All glory to the dying Lamb I now believe in Jesus I love the blessed Savior's name I love the name of Jesus
Sweetest note in seraph song Sweetest name on mortal tongue Sweetest carol ever sung Jesus blessed Jesus
And when to that bright world above We rise to be with Jesus We'll sing around the throne of love His name the name of Jesus
Sweetest note in seraph song Sweetest name on mortal tongue Sweetest carol ever sung Jesus blessed Jesus
Beautiful singing. Let's go to a word of prayer. Heavenly Father Lord we do come before you Lord this morning to be gathered in your house and to be with you Lord to be in your presence to feel your Holy Spirit to touch our hearts and to touch our minds Lord and Lord we seek we seek to know you better Lord and to know your word and Lord I just pray that you receive our praise and worship Lord.
Lord I ask that you help us to sing unto you Lord a song that is pleasant to you Lord we do bless you bless you Almighty Lord and we do thank you for our blessed Jesus who has given us everlasting life.
God I just pray Lord that we would have a great time together Lord to the brethren that we would love each other that would serve each other Lord and that we would give you great worship and praise we pray these things in Jesus name.
Amen. You may be seated. All right let's just give me water. Okay our next hymn brethren is hymn number 45 and man you guys are so good without music right now but hymn number 45 when I can read my title clear hymn number 45 when I can read my title clear.
my weeping eyes and wipe my weeping eyes I'll bid farewell to every fear and wipe my weeping eyes
should earth against my soul engage and by regards behold then I can smile at satan's rage and face a frowning world and face a frowning world and face a frowning world
and I can smile at satan's rage and face a frowning world
let cares like a wild deluge come and storms of sorrow fall
may I but safely reach my home my God my heaven my all my God my heaven my all my God my heaven my all
may I but safely reach my home my God my heaven my all
on the last there shall I bathe my weary soul in seas of heavenly rest
and not a wave of troubled road across my peaceful breast
great singing
alright we'll have one more hymn before the barbering let's turn to hymn number 63 hymn number 63 what a day that will be excited for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
I am I'm definitely looking forward to it what a day that will be hymn number 63
there is coming a day when no heartache shall come no more clouds in the sky no more tears to dim the eye
all is peace forevermore on the happy golden shore what a day glorious day that will be
what a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see and I look upon his face the one who saved me by his grace
when he takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land what a day glorious day that will be
there'll be no sorrow there no more burdens to bear no more sickness no pain no more parting over there
and forever I will be with the one who died for me what a day glorious day that will be
what a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see and I look upon his face the one who saved me by his grace
when he takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land what a day glorious day that will be
amen wonderful singing all right we do have Christian visiting us from Melbourne and it's not his first time here
he was here on Wednesday but you know when people visit us we put them straight to work amen
all right so please take your Bibles take your Bibles and turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 6
please turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 6 and brother Christian's coming up for the reading
Ecclesiastes chapter 6 we're going to start reading the whole chapter
the Bible says
the days of his years be many and his soul be not filled with good and also that he have no burial
I say that this is an untimely birth is better than he for he cometh in with vanity and departeth in darkness
and his name shall be covered with darkness moreover he shall not see the sun nor know anything
this hath no rest than the other yea though he live a thousand years twice told yet have he seen no good
do not all go to one place all the labor of man is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not filled
for what hath the wise more than the fool what hath the poor that knoweth to walk before the living
better is in the sight of the eyes than the wondering of the desire this is also vanity and vexation of spirit
that which hath been is named already and it is known that it is man
neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he
seeing there be many things that increase vanity what is man the better
for who knows what is good for man in this life all the days of his life of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow
for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun
we are open to a word of prayer
the heavenly father come before you and I just want to thank you for this service
I just want to pray Lord God for the word that you are going to share with us Lord
I just pray that you keep our ears open Lord God and our hearts open to be attentive to your word
and I pray these things in Jesus' name
Keep your finger there in Ecclesiastes 6
You guys just sounded so good, let's just do one more hymn
Who's got a favorite? I haven't got one picked out
Who's got a favorite hymn that I'd like us to sing?
Anyone? Yes?
143 which is Blessed Assurance, alright good one, Blessed Assurance
Let's do one more hymn before we get into the sermon, 143, Blessed Assurance
Blessed Assurance
Born of his spirit, washed in his blood
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
On the last
Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blessed
Watching and waiting, looking above
Filled with his goodness, lost in his love
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
Amen, wonderful singing
I'm sure the Lord is delighted in our praises this morning
Alright so we're there in Ecclesiastes chapter 6
You know one of the challenges as we go through the book of Ecclesiastes
There is a lot of repetition, sort of the same thoughts
But sometimes those same thoughts are approached in different angles
You know I'm not the kind of preacher that kind of looks at things repeated and go
I won't cover that because I've already preached on that
When I see something repeated in the Bible
I'm like well it's repeated because I have to repeat it
It's repeated because we need to absorb it
You know God is telling us two or three times
Because he wants this to really be communicated and come across and not be forgotten
So we're there in Ecclesiastes chapter 6, look at verse number 12
Let's start there it says
For who knoweth what is good for man in this life
The title for the sermon this morning is what is good for man
What is, it's a question, what is good for man
So we're going to go through this chapter and then we get to the end of the chapter
And the question Solomon asks is what is life all about
You know how can I make sure that my life has meaning and purpose
And that I've got a lasting legacy and that I've done good
How do I achieve that, he's asking this question
In light of what we read leading up to that in this chapter
Let's start there in verse number 1, Ecclesiastes chapter 6 verse number 1
Solomon says there is an evil which I have seen under the sun
And it is common among men
Now this evil that he's about to speak about he says this is common
You know this happens a lot to many different people
What is this evil that happens to so many people
Verse number 2
A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth and honour
Now again just a reminder there that God is the one that gives us great things
He can give us riches, he can give us wealth, he can give us honour
But look at this
So that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth
He goes look this is common amongst men
That he has so much that he just has too much
You know he can't contain everything that he has
Right, I mean again I don't know
I'm just speaking to you as someone that has seen other countries
And has gone to South America
And look at how little people have
And sometimes it blows my mind to see how little
And yet they're happy and they're able to get through life
And then I come to Australia and I see how much we have
And then people are still upset
People are still thinking they're underpaid
People still want more possessions
They want more and more and more
And I look at that situation and I go
You know in Australia we have more than we really need
And we experience this when we move houses
You know several times when people are moving houses
They say look I just got too much
I don't know what to do with all the things that I've got
And then you've got things in boxes in your garage
Or in your shed
And you're like I've not opened this box for like five years
You know but you're holding on to these things
But you know you got too much really
You know but we still complain
We still complain as Australians
Because we kind of forget how the rest of the world lives
And we forget that we're so blessed
Okay, but what Solomon is saying here
Look there comes a point when you're given so much
That you just you know truly
You know you don't desire more
It's like man I got too much
But what is this evil that happens to man
He keeps going there
Because yet
So God gives him all these great things
Look at this
Yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof
But a stranger eateth it
This is vanity and it is an evil disease
Interesting
Because you know I've observed this is God's pattern with man
This is common
Where people have so much
They acquire so much
But they don't end up enjoying it
They don't end up using
Everything that they've attained and laboured for
Rather it gets used up by others
By the stranger
It gets all eaten up
Now of course Solomon is speaking about himself
You know we've seen that he's achieved so much
You know he's built big houses
And he's got the exotic animals
Right he's got the exotic zoos
And he's got the riches
And he's got you know seven hundred wives
And three hundred concubines
And he's got great wisdom
And he's popular amongst the earth
Because you got royalty coming to Solomon
Just to hear him speak and hear the wisdom of Solomon
You know it's been given so much
But then as we go through the book of Ecclesiastes
You realise it's all meaningless
It's all empty
Again why is it all meaningless and empty
Because he's trying to live a carnal earthly life
Not thinking about God
Not thinking about eternity
And so he goes this is an evil
This is hurtful
This is harm
You know we work so hard for things
But then we don't even get to enjoy it
You know he goes this is common amongst men
Now the lesson we should get out of that
Is let's enjoy what God gives us
Right I mean let's not labour so hard
That we miss out on the great things
That God has given us
You know I think about children
And I value my kids
And I see them grow
And I go man I don't have that much long with them
You know am I going to spend my time laboring
For a new car
Laboring for a bigger house
Or should I use the quality time
That God is giving me with my children today
Is that more important
You know because I'm not going to be with them forever
You know I want to enjoy what God has given me
And you'll soon see that this does touch upon the idea of children
As we keep going
But the other thought that I get here
From this passage in Ecclesiastes 6
Is if you can keep your finger then go to Luke chapter 12
You know Jesus Christ speaks of a parable that is very similar to this
Luke chapter 12 please and verse number 15
Luke chapter 12 and verse number 15
This desire to attain more and more and more and more
You know this is covetousness
You know the Bible says here in Luke 12 15
This is Jesus and it says
And he said unto them
Take heed and beware of covetousness
For a man's life consists of not in the abundance of the things which he possesses
You see that
Your life, the value of life is not what you achieve or what you attain
You know you think about okay what is my life all about
You know when I pass on
And people think about me
Are they going to think about my house
Are they going to think about my possessions
Are they going to be thinking about my educational qualifications
And my skill sets
God says that's not what life is about
Okay he keeps going then verse number 16
And he spoke a parable unto them saying
The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully
I mean that's great
You know this man's rich
He brings forth much
He's very fruitful
I mean that's great
Okay
But then it says this in verse number 17
And he thought within himself saying
What shall I do
Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits
This is kind of like Ecclesiastes 6
He's just got too much
He goes look I can't even enjoy everything that I've got
So he goes so what am I going to do with everything that I have
Now look
What should you do if you have too much
What should you do if you have more than you need
You know what should we do as a Christian
We should be looking for people in need
We should be looking for situations that we can step in and be a blessing
Right
That's what we should do
We should be thinking about others
But this rich man is only used to thinking about himself
Alright so what does this do
Verse number 18
And he said this will I do
I will pull down my bonds
And build greater
And there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods
He goes my bonds can't even contain everything that I've got
So I'll just build a bigger garage
A bigger shed
So I can keep putting things in my
You know I kind of
Are you guys familiar with hoarders
Have you ever gone to someone's house
And there's like no room
I've been to a house like this
Like no room to sit down
Because there's junk everywhere
The backyard's full of junk
You know and you speak to the hoarder and go
Like what do you know
Like what's going on
It's like oh yeah yeah I'm gonna take
You know I've got a project coming up
And you know I mean I just found this on the side of the road
And it's just too good to throw out
I mean you know I can make use of this
They've got so much
You know the hoarders
This guy's a hoarder right
He goes man I can't even fit in my barns
Let's build bigger barns
Verse number 19
And I will say to my soul
Soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years
Take thy knees
Eat drink and be merry
He goes you know what
Let's just get as much as we can
Profit as much as we can
And then I'm going to just relax and retire
And take it easy
Enjoy all my fruits
Again we saw this is a common thing in man
He thinks he's gonna enjoy his fruits now
He thinks he's gonna have a great life now
But then what happens
Verse number 20
But God said unto him
Thou fool
This night thy soul shall be required of thee
Then whose shall those things be
Which thou hast provided
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself
And is not rich toward God
You know so is he
You know what
If you lay up treasures for yourself
More more more more
Because I want to enjoy it all in the future sometime
Instead of thinking sacrificially
Instead of just enjoying what God has given you today
You know what God would say about you
Thou fool
You're laying up treasures for yourself
Does God want us to be rich
Well
Verse number 21
So is he that lay up treasures for himself
And is not rich toward God
God does want us to be rich
Rich toward God
Right
Thinking about eternity
Thinking about heaven
Laying up our treasures in heaven
Serving God today so he can reward us when we see him
You know when we see him in the clouds
When he takes us home
And we see Jesus and he can say
Thou good and faithful servant
Here's your payday
Here's what you have achieved
Here's what you've done for me
Go and enjoy eternity
That's what God wants
He does want us to be rich in heaven
But not laying up treasures for ourselves on this earth
You don't know if you're going to enjoy it all
So what's the point of working yourself so ridiculously
That you can't even enjoy what God has given you
The pleasure
And you know King Solomon says
This is common to man
This happens to everybody
This happens to many people
Okay
People don't actually
They work so hard
They such covetousness
They don't even get to enjoy it all
Okay
Back to Ecclesiastes chapter 6 verse number 3
He says
If a man beget a hundred children
How do you get a hundred children?
And live many years
Don't forget he's got seven hundred wives
Okay
Three hundred concubines
A hundred kids is pretty simple for King Solomon
Alright
But you know he's saying look
Even if you have a hundred
You know obviously in the days of the Bible
Having a lot of kids
Was considered great wealth
Okay
You know you're considered a prosperous man
If you had many children
It was considered a blessing not a burden
Alright
He goes
If a man beget a hundred children
And live many years
He goes
These are good things
Having a lot of kids
And living a long life
So that the days of his years be many
And his soul
Look at this
And his soul be not filled with good
And also that he have no burial
I say that an untimely birth
Is better than he
So what is an untimely birth?
That's a miscarriage
Okay
And I'll show you later how that's a miscarriage
Because you know what
Even if a man has a hundred kids
And lives a long life
But he doesn't get to enjoy
What he's been given
In fact he has no burial
Meaning that nobody even remembers his name
I mean look
Obviously if your loved one passes away
You know generally speaking
You're going to make an effort to be there at the funeral
Even if it's on the other side of Australia
You know generally speaking
You know you go to pay your respects
And you remember the loved one that has passed away
And you know there's some respect
Some honour that you're given in that situation
You know you're bringing your thoughts
Toward that person's life
But you know this person has no burial
Like there's no one to remember
You go but hold on he's got a hundred kids
Yeah but they didn't like their father
He didn't get to spend time
Quality time
Meaningful time with his own children
Even though he lived a long life
He goes it's better to just have died in a miscarriage
Than to have lived that kind of life
So you know
Basically it's saying this
You know we can live a life
That is so selfish
So much about our goods
That we don't create meaningful relationships
Even with our own children
Even with our own family
And we need to remember this brethren
That you know God has given us people
Okay we have this short life
You know if you're married he's given you a spouse
To spend the rest of your life with
If you have children
God wants you to develop good relationships with your children
Last in memories
You know please think about your family
Real people
You know the relationships that you build
You don't want to go to your grave
To your burial and no one remembers you
Or no one even desires to bury you
You know again burial is a sign of respect
If you get to a point where no one wants to bury you
And just leave your rotting carcass on the ground
Obviously no one cared for you
You know
But yeah but you had so many kids
And you know you lived so long
But what's the point of it
If you didn't get to enjoy
What God has given you
Parents we need to you know create lasting memories
And experiences with our children
You know and with our spouses
You know let's not be people
That just live under the same roof
We just coexist
You know and we're just getting through the days
We're just getting through the years
It's like well you know my kids
I've fed them
I've you know
We've clothed them
We've given them an education
Can't wait for them to leave the house
Can't wait for them to just get married and leave
I can't wait for them just to get a job
And just be out of the house
Get married and get a job
These are great things
But you know we shouldn't have the attitude
We're just going through the motions
We're just going through the days
And the weeks and months that God has given us
You know just can't wait for the kids to leave the house
That's not the right approach
Let's enjoy the time that we have with our children
You know we homeschool our kids
We homeschool our kids
And there are many reasons why we homeschool our kids
You know one of the most important reasons for me
Is that I get to spend more time with our children
We get to be more influential to our children
We get to spend more time with our children
You know when it comes to school holidays
We don't have to go to school holidays
When everyone else is having school holidays
Because it's expensive and you know it takes a long time
To be at certain places, a lot of traffic, whatever
You know we get to have school holidays
Whenever we want to have school holidays
We can create our own enjoyment
Our own memories, our own experiences
You know it's so important that you know
We give our children time
That they feel they're valued
And parents are you know
We all know what this is like you know
When you're busy
Your mind is busy on whatever it is
And you know a little child comes up to you
And say dad dad let me tell you something
Let me show you something
I drew this picture dad
Or mum I drew this picture
And you're like oh man I mean
I just got other things
More important things to do
And sometimes you know I have to force myself
You know I have to force
I might be in the middle of preparing a sermon in my brain
And I'm like dad dad look at this picture
And I don't want to lose my train of thought
Okay
Because I've got something on my mind
That I want to think about
And but I have to force myself to go
Oh what is it
And I have to remind myself that
Just that 30 seconds
Of my child showing them
Showing me some picture
That isn't the greatest work of art
Okay
Or hearing some story
Which isn't all that interesting to my adult ears
You know
Just those 30 seconds
One minute
Two minutes that I give them
You know will make their day
Will make their week
Will make their month
Just knowing mum and dad care about me
And really all I have to sacrifice
Is a couple seconds or a few minutes
You know
But we get busy as adults aren't we
We get busy and focused
And we forget how much
We need to value our children
That they feel that they're important to us
We make sure that the day we die
That our children are there
Paying their respects
You know
That shows that we've had a good relationship
We've had a good enjoyable life
You know
I do believe
We should take our children out
I do believe
We should try to find opportunities
Where our children can have good clean fun
You know
I'm not saying spoil your children
You know
Do everything they want to do
Or revolve your life around your children
But you should take time out of your business schedule
God has given you these kids
I promise you
You're going to regret the day when they leave
And you realise you've not spent time with them
You're going to regret it
Okay
Talk to any grandparents
Anyone that's lived a full life
And their kids are no longer home
How much they miss
Having their children
Or the times they had
And they regret not using that
And making that time more valuable
You know
Time goes so quick
It really does
And
You know
I might take my kids sometimes to a soccer game
To watch a soccer match
And you know
When I do that
My dad says to me
But what a waste of money
It kind of is a waste of money
You know
In one sense
Because why don't you just watch the game on TV
I guess I could do that
But I don't care about the game
I don't care about my team winning
I don't do that for that
You know
It's to give my children an experience
For them to grow up and say
Hey
When they talk to each other
Hey
Remember that time
They took us to the game
You know
And whatever
Whatever happened on that day
It's about valuing that time
That experience
Giving them something to remember
To hold on to
You know
It's not about the game
It's not about the team
I could care less who wins
The championship
Okay
But I want to spend time with my children
That they remember
You know
So I'm just saying
Parents please
You know
This is something we can take out of this
You know
If you don't
If you have a long life
And you have a hundred kids
But they don't want to bury you
Then it's just better if you're just
Miscarriage
It's better if you just didn't live a life
You know
And that you died early
In your mother's womb
Before you even got to experience life
Can you please keep your finger there
And go to Job chapter 3
Go to Job chapter 3
Job chapter 3
And this idea of the untimely birth
Also gets brought up in Job chapter 3
Now remember
You've got to keep Job in memory
He's lost it all
He's lost his children
He's lost his possessions
He's lost his house
His body's full of boils and sicknesses
From the devil
And
Job starts to feel sorry for himself
Okay
I mean I don't blame him
Okay
I don't blame him that he's feeling quite negative
And downcast
He says these words in Job chapter 3 verse 11
Why died I not from the womb?
Because I just wish I died
When I was in my mother's womb
Why did I not give up the ghost
When I came out of the belly?
Just maybe
It would have been just to live
Even a few minutes
And die
That would have been better
You know
Then what I'm going through today
Is what Job is thinking
Verse number 12
Why did the knees prevent me?
And why the breasts that I should suck?
For now should I have lain still
And been quiet
I should have slept
Then had I been at rest
He goes look
If I did just die early
Miscarriage or even at birth
He goes I would be at rest right now
You see
Job is able to think
Yes I mean
He's got a bit of a disaster of a life right now
When he's lost it all
But he's also thinking
Man if I just died early
I'd be at rest
What's he saying?
He goes I'd be in heaven
I'd be resting right now
Okay
I won't be going through the pain
And hurt that we receive in this lifetime
You know this is just another passage
That confirms for us
That when little children pass away
They go to heaven
Okay
They go to heaven
But let's keep going there
Verse number 14
It says
With kings and counsellors of the earth
Which built desolate places for themselves
Or with princes that had gold
Who filled their houses with silver
Look at verse number 16
Or as in hidden untimely birth
I had not been
So again
An untimely birth is miscarriage
Because it's a hidden one though
Because you know
A lot of ladies have miscarriages
But they don't even know about that
You know it's hidden
Because that would have even been better
If not only I died in the womb
But that no one even remembered me
That I even existed
Okay
Then he says this
As infants which never saw the light
He goes there
So there where the infant saw no light
There where the untimely birth takes place
Verse number 17
He goes there the wicked cease from troubling
And there the weary be at rest
So again he's giving that confirmation
That if a little child passes
That little child obviously is not burning in hell
Okay
The little child is in heaven
It's a place where the wicked are not troubling people
It's a place where you can have rest
Verse number 18
He says
There the prisoners rest together
They hear not the voice of the oppressor
So there's no oppression
There's no prisoners in heaven
Right
Verse number 19
The small and greater there
And the servant is free from his master
Okay
So we all have in heaven
We're all there
We're all free
We're all serving Christ
There in heaven
So what's the lesson that we take out of that?
That you know if you live a long life
And you're not remembered
You don't enjoy what you have
You know what you're not remembered
You just have a lousy life
You have bad relationships
Your kids don't care about you
It's just better if you just died in the womb
At least you go to heaven
I mean that's the advantage
At least you're in a place of rest
At least you're not hurtful
You're not going through hurts and sorrows and sadness
Like you do on this earth
Back to Ecclesiastes chapter 6 verse number 4
Now it's not saying desire an untimely birth
It's saying make use obviously of what you have
Your life
Please enjoy your life
God has given you life
If you woke up this morning
God has given you a new day
To enjoy
To praise God
I'm glad you're in the house of God
It's a great place to start your day
You know hey church is a place that you can create memories with your children
You know I mean it breaks the routine of life
I mean a lot of our days are very similar in our lives
And coming to church just mixes it up a little bit
Hey that's awesome
You know enjoy church
Ecclesiastes chapter 6 verse number 4
So again we're on this idea of the untimely birth
It says here
For he cometh in with vanity and departeth in darkness
And his name shall be covered with darkness
So again this is the untimely birth
He departs in darkness because he's in the mother's womb
Doesn't see light
And his name shall be covered with darkness
Like no one's going to remember that person's life
The little baby that's died in the mother's womb
Verse number 5
Moreover he hath not seen the sun
Nor known anything
He doesn't know anything about the earth
This hath more rest than the other
Again that's a better life than wasting your life
And having bad relationships
And no one cares about you
You know it's better
It's more restful to have been that person
Okay
Look at verse number 6
Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told
Yet have he seen no good
Do not all go to one place
Alright so
Solomon is comparing a person
That has lived a thousand years twice told
So two thousand years
Versus the untimely birth
I mean
Compare those two
You know you don't even see the sun
You don't come out of your mother's womb
Or you live two thousand years
What is he saying here
He says at the end of verse number 6
Do not all go to one place
He goes
You're going to perish
We all go to the grave
We're all going to be buried
So like what advantage does it have
To live two thousand years on this earth
Versus someone who has died in miscarriage
If we're all going to go to the grave
Okay
Again
I would rather live the two thousand years
Okay
But only if I enjoy those two thousand years
Only if I can create lasting relationships
Only if I can have great memories
Only if I'm serving my Lord God
All those days of my life
That is infinitely much better obviously
Than being an untimely birth
But if all we care about are earthly possessions
Covertiousness
Okay
And we find no mean, no purpose
Bad relationships
We go to the grave and no one wants to bury us
We don't go to the grave
No one wants to bury you
But if that's your life
Then what advantage is there
Versus the untimely birth
If we all just end up going to the one place
You know this just reminds us of James 4 verse 14
I'll just read it to you
It says for what is your life
It is even a vapour
That appeareth for a little time
And then vanisheth away
I'm not, like your life is everything to you right now
It's everything you've got
Okay
But in reality
In light of eternity
In light of
You know
Over 6,000 years since creation
It's a vapour
It's here one moment
It's gone
Okay
That's life
Now that's not to discourage us
And to go then oh what's the point
It's to understand the value
Of that little vapour
Okay
Your life, the little vapour
The little breath that you have in you brethren
Is valuable
Don't waste your time
On nonsense
Don't waste your time on covetousness
Don't waste your time
You know trying to amass as much wealth
And influence on this earth when your life is a vapour
Give it to God
Give what little you have to God
And God can make it into something great
Something that matters for eternity
What is your life
It is a vapour
That appeareth for a little time
And then vanisheth away
Ecclesiastes 6 verse 7
He says all the labour of man is for his mouth
And yet the appetite is not filled
Okay so again
Think of the poetic line
He's not saying that everything you work for you're going to eat
Because obviously there are things that you have that you can't eat
Okay
But the idea is you know you labour
And the idea is that you would
You know it would fulfil your appetite
Okay
And you think that
You think if I just had these things
I would be satisfied
If I just had this possession
Or if I had this station in life
Surely I would be satisfied
Now this is how the lost think
This is how the unsaved people think
Okay
But this is also how some Christians think
Okay
You need to overcome covetousness
You think it's going to satisfy you
Right
Alright
You know I'm sure many of you had breakfast this morning
Okay
You've eaten breakfast
You've been satisfied
Yeah I'm satisfied
You know what's going to happen in a few hours time
You're going to be hungry again
Yeah
And then you're going to have lunch
You're going to be like that's satisfying me
And then later on tonight you're going to get hungry again
Okay
What's it
You know what is this teaching us
No matter how much you consume
For yourself
Okay
It's never going to truly satisfy
You'll always get hungry again
This is life
If I just had that sports car
Yeah okay
I got it
I promise you once you drive that around the block once or twice
You'll want another sports car
Or you want something better
I mean this is life
You can't satisfy yourself with possessions
Or just care about your own personal needs
Just me me me me me
You'll never be satisfied
You'll never get to a point where you say
This is enough I'm happy in life
But there are some things that satisfy
Okay
It's obviously not earthly possession
You know this is again the cycle
Think of hunger
Think of food
That's what life
Kids this is what life is
Okay
Oh but if I just own the house
You're going to want the second house
You're going to want a bigger house
You're going to be looking at your neighbour's house
And go that's better
You're going to be looking and go you have your neighbour's house
That guy's land is better
Or that person's one is closest to the beach
You know that's better
No don't put your heart on the things of this earth
Put your heart on things that truly satisfy
Say what truly satisfies
Jesus Christ says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 6
I'll just read it to you
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
After righteousness
For they shall be filled
You want to be filled
You want to be satisfied
You hunger and thirst for righteousness
To do what's right in the eyes of God
Then that satisfies
Reverend you know when I preach
Right now I'm fulfilling some level of righteousness
It actually satisfies me
I'm actually like hey this is awesome
You know a job where I get to study God's word
A job where I get to preach God's word
I mean this is awesome
It satisfies
Your daughter is soul winning
You preach the gospel
You see soul saved
Reverend that is satisfying
I mean for all eternity
The soul that you get saved
Is going to be with you in heaven
You may never see that person ever again in your life
You get to heaven they'll be like hey thank you
For giving me the gospel
The satisfaction continues forever
You know we serve
If we serve God
We serve this body
New Life Baptist Church
This is the body of Christ
You can serve Jesus Christ right here
It will give you satisfaction
You live a life where you overcome your sins
You know you live a more holy and righteous life
You will be satisfied
Knowing that you're right with God
Knowing that you're walking with God
Knowing that you can have fellowship with God
Truly this satisfies
And I guarantee you there are some kids right now going
I don't think so dad
Cause I was like that in church when I was young
Or other kids that aren't my kids
It's like how does going to church really satisfy me
And I'm kind of looking forward to lunch afterwards
I'm kind of looking forward to whatever
I guarantee you in some child's heart that's what they're thinking right now
And again as a child you're learning you're developing
Okay
You haven't got it all together
But the adults know
That the only thing that really gives happiness
You know they have lived a decent life
And you've experienced parts of this
You know the hurts and the pain that comes in this earth
You know what I'm saying is true
The only thing that gives you great pleasure
And full satisfaction that fills your heart with joy
Is just to serve Christ
To do that which is right
Knowing that you can have a clear conscience before God
That is what truly matters
Okay
Back to Ecclesiastes 6 verse 8
Ecclesiastes 6 verse 8
The question gets asked
For what hath the wise more than the fool?
Again
From an earthly, carnal perspective without eternity in mind
Okay
So if you're a fool
I mean it doesn't matter if you have wisdom or you're a fool
If we're all going to go to the grave anyway
You know
And what hath the poor
That knoweth to walk before the living
He goes maybe it's just worth being poor
Because even the poor knows how to walk amongst the living
Like even if you're poor you know how to get through life
You're still able to sustain yourself to some extent even when you're poor
You still figure out how to get through life
Alright
So what advantage is there to be rich or poor
What advantage is there to be wise or a fool
Again if you're not living for God
There is no advantage to any of these things
Okay because you only go to the grave
And you're going to be forgotten
And you know
It's not going to be remembered
Verse number 9
Better is the sight of the eyes
Than the wandering of the desire
Now let me explain that first bit to you
So when he says better is the sight of the eyes
He's speaking about it's better to have something within your possession
Okay
Than the wandering of the desire
So let's say
Let's say I want a boat
I don't want a boat
But let's say I want a boat
Okay
So it's saying it's better to actually own the boat
Where you can actually see your eyes upon that
Than to desire to have one boat
Okay
It's better to actually have than to desire it
Now obviously this is an obvious truth
Obviously it's better to have the boat
Than to just dream about having a boat
Obviously that's better
Okay
And again
If you're serving the Lord
And you remind yourself
That every good thing comes from my Father of lights
You know my Father in heaven
Then you can enjoy the boat
Alright
Appreciate it
Thanking God for the blessings that he gives you in life
Okay
Obviously
That's important
But again
If you're not thinking of the Lord
You're not thinking of eternity
Okay
When it comes to owning the boat
Or desiring the boat
Like at the end of the day
He says at the end of verse number nine
This is also vanity and vexation of spirit
So it's better to own the boat
Than to just desire it
But even if you did own it
It's still vanity and vexation of spirit
Okay
Because it requires maintenance
It requires to be taken care of
Alright
Etc, etc
He goes but again
That's if you're just thinking
Earthly and carnally
And not thinking about how God has given you
Great riches
Verse number 10
That which have been
And but sorry
Before I keep going
Again I won't
Because Ecclesiastes is a book that you need to think about carefully
Alright
Every time you see that vanity and vexation of spirit
Again
Don't walk away from church going
Therefore life is vanity and vexation of spirit
Don't walk away from saying
When you get in your car and drive home
My car got my car but it's all vanity and vexation of spirit
You know
Don't have the attitude
When you get home and you're under the roof
And you sleep on your bed
What's the point of this house and my bed
It's all vanity and vexation of spirit
That's not the lesson
Of Ecclesiastes 6
Or the book of Ecclesiastes in general
That's the conclusion of a man
Who's living a life without God
Okay
When you live for God
It all matters
It's all important
It's all valued
You can give God thanks and praise him
And appreciate what you have
Because I've seen Christians
Who read through Ecclesiastes
Oh that's all vanity, that's vanity, that's vanity
Vexation of spirit
Well yeah
Basically you're putting yourself in position of saying
I live a life without God
Okay maybe it is all vanity and vexation to you
But what you're communicating when you say that
Is I'm just living for myself, carnally
And I don't care about eternity
And if that's your attitude
You've missed the point of the book of Ecclesiastes
Okay
Remember this is a journey
Solomon gets to the end of it all
He gets to his conclusion
And he ends up saying no
You know what life is all about serving God
Life is all about keeping his commandments
It all has meaning, it all has purpose
Because we're all going to be judged
For what we've done in this life
Okay
Verse number 10
That which have been, sorry
That which have been is named already
And it is known that it is man
So
That which have been is named already
Basically it's saying
You're not going to discover anything new on this earth
Okay
It's already been named
Okay and it is known that it is man
A man has named things before you
You know
You know some people want to leave a name for themselves
So they'll look into the stars and they'll find a comet
And they'll name that comet
You know that's Kevin the comet
You know
I found that comet
But I was saying actually someone's already found that before you
I mean you might get the luxury of having that named after you
But someone already knows about it
You know there's a man who already discovered that
Okay
I mean you may be viewed as the discoverer of that
But I've got to say it's all been already known by man
Okay people already know
Like you're not going to make a name for yourself
Or give something a name
You know that you're remembered and honoured
That hasn't already been named
Okay
Because that's what some people live for
Right
To live a legacy, a name for themselves
You know
And then it says
Neither
May he contend with him
That is mightier than he
He goes look
Another truth that is of the same parallel there
Is that you can't beat someone in a fight
That is stronger than you
You say well that's obvious
Of course that's obvious
But what he's teaching us here
Is that there's always someone stronger than you
Okay
So some people have it in their heart
I just want to be the best
At whatever it is
There's always someone better than you
Okay
So if you want to discover something
Or come up with some idea that no one else has
You're not going to achieve it
Because someone's already discovered it
Okay
If you want to have
I just want to be the best
You know I want to be the best pastor
I want to be the best preacher
No there's someone better than you
Okay
There's someone stronger than you already
Alright
You go no hold on pastor
You don't get it
Surely there's someone who's the strongest man on the earth
Right now
You know
Surely he's made it
He's achieved it
No no no
Let's read it again
Neither may he contend with him
That is mightier than he
There's someone stronger than the strongest man on the earth
Okay
That's our Lord God
That's our Lord Jesus
Okay
Our Lord Jesus is the one that's created all things
He knows all things
He's stronger
More powerful
Than anyone on this earth
So instead of living a life
Where you're trying to discover something new
Instead of trying to live a life where you're trying to be the best
You know what's even better than that?
Realizing that our God
Already knows it all
He's already named it all
Okay
And he's the strongest one there is
Right
It's better to learn
Instead of discovering something brand new for yourself
It's better to learn from the one who already knows it all
Instead of trying to be the best and the strongest
It's better for you to just hide
And be protected from the one that is strongest at all
Our Lord God
Okay
We can already reach those heights
Of discovery and strength
In the Lord Jesus Christ
Alright
The Bible says in Matthew 28 18
And Jesus came and spake unto them saying
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth
Hey who's the most powerful in heaven and earth?
Jesus
He's got all power
Our Lord God has all power
Then he says this
Go ye therefore and teach all nations
Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost
Reaching them to observe all things
Whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you always
Even to the end of the world Amen
The Great Commission
You want to know it all
You want to achieve the greatest thing you can achieve
You want to be the strongest you've ever been
You need to fulfill the Great Commission
Christ has all power in heaven and earth
And when you fulfill the Great Commission
Jesus Christ is giving you some of that power
For yourself
Alright
Looking for power and discoveries of your own
You're not going to succeed
No just rest in Christ
He's done it all
He's got all power
He can utilize you to accomplish great things
Yes winning souls
Yeah that's one thing
Baptisms
What else was there?
Teaching them to observe all things
Whatsoever I have commanded you
We're doing that right now
Teaching all things
Whatsoever I have commanded you
And lo I am with you always
Even to the end of the world Amen
You know fulfilling the Great Commission
That's the strongest you can be on this earth
You can accomplish amazing things
By being utilized by Jesus Christ
Verse number 11 Ecclesiastes 6.11
Seeing there be many things that increase vanity
What is man the better?
So this is saying look there's a lot that a man can do
There's a lot that a man can achieve
There's a lot that a man can strive for
But then it says what is man the better though
How does that actually profit you in the long run
Being the best
Achieving the most
You know again from an earthly karma perspective
What advantage is there at the end of the day
If we're all going to go to the grave
Whether you live 2,000 years or you're an untimely birth
What advantage is there
All these things that you could possibly spend your time on
Because at the end of the day it's all vanity
It's all worthless
If we're just living for ourselves
If we're just living for earthly things
Verse number 12
And this is where we get the title for the sermon from
Just you know again Solomon's thinking hard
You know he's asking these philosophical questions
You know trying to find meaning without God
Because man then what's the point really
You know just having so much
Living a long life having a hundred kids
You know if we all just die and it's all been for nothing
So he asks that question verse number 12
For who knoweth what is good for man in this life
Because then what is good truly
If it's all vanity and vexation of spirit
Then what truly is good
Like what can I do that at the end of it I can go
Wow this was fulfilling this was good
What a great life that I lived
He goes all the days of his life
All the days of his vain life
Which is spendeth as a shadow
For who can tell a man
What shall be after him under the sun
He goes so when I die
What comes after me
You know like if I die and it's all meaningless
And has no value
Then what's the point like
Moving forward you know what can I be excited about
You know what have I achieved to matter
For the rest of my life
Because who knoweth what is good for the man of his life
What truly matters then
You know how can I make sure that what I've done
Lasts and continues to last
Because people forget
You know powerful nations powerful kings
We read a lot about them in the bible
For your history books for those nations those powers
They've disappeared
You know man can attain
Much in this earth but
As the years go by after they pass away
It's all forgotten
Someone else has become the best
Some other empire has become the greatest
Someone else has become richer
Right
So he asks the question what good can I do
You know that really matters
Even after I'm dead
Well let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4
Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4
Let's end on this one
So Solomon's asking the question
We're going to answer the question here
In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16
And it's true we are all going to the grave
Yeah we're all going to pass away
Our life truly is a vapour
You know we can't even be guaranteed
That we're going to wake up tomorrow
We don't know
You know we could be heading home after church
And that could be the end of us
We don't know
Alright
But what I want is
I want you to value your life
To appreciate everything that you have
The people that you have around you
Your families
Okay
I don't care if you had a conflict this morning
With some family member
Okay
They're important to you
You need to create lasting memories
Experiences
You want your life to matter
The possessions that you have
Give God thanks
Say Lord thank you for what you've given me
Let me enjoy what you've given me
You know
But we are going to perish
It says here in 2 Corinthians 4 16
2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16
The apostle Paul says
For which cause we faint not
Look at this
But though our outward man perish
Yet the inward man is renewed day by day
Okay we're all going to be buried
But brethren that's the outward man
The outward man the flesh perishes
Okay
You as a believer
As a born again Christian
Who has trusted Christ for salvation
You have an inward man
Okay
You have the new man
You have the spirit
That which is born again
Again the battle between flesh
And spirit
The battle between the old man and the new man
Listen understand this old man is going to perish
Understand this old man gets sick
And has problems
And gets stressed
And is selfish
And makes mistakes
And sins
And if that's all you're focused on
Is the old man
That's all they have
Then life is going to be depressing
Meaningless
No purpose
It's all vanity
That's if you live after the old man
But you have the inward man
Renewed day by day
You say how can I stay excited about life
You live in that new man
That's renewed every day
It's a brand new start every day
Yeah you might wake up with a headache
You might wake up with a broken leg
On the outward
But the inward man is brand new every day
Refreshed every morning
Look at verse number 17
For our light affliction
Which is but for a moment
Yeah cause our life is a vapour
The afflictions that we go through in life
The Bible says just a moment
Worketh for us
A far more exceeding
And eternal weight of glory
Isn't that interesting
Even our afflictions
Our problems
Our trials
God is using that
Okay
To work
Let's say
A far more exceeding
And eternal weight of glory
God puts us through these experiences
So we can come out as better people
So we can come out
And be closer to God
We can come out
And be laying up treasures in heaven
And not focused on this earth
You know if I just had
The best health
Right
The best possessions
It's so easy to just live
A carnal earthly temple life
But you know what
When you go through struggles
And you go through sicknesses
And you know your body is breaking down
Then that should cause you to say
Hold on
Then I need to live for something
That is eternal
You know I want to have
The greatest glory
When I get to heaven
I want to have the maximum rewards
When I get to heaven
That's part of the problems of life
To shift our focus away from
The temple things
And to say well there's a much better life to come
In that new man
That I live day by day
And then verse number 18
While we look not at the things
Not at the things which are seen
But at the things which are not seen
For the things which are seen
Are temporal
But the things which are not seen
Are eternal
Reverend Ecclesiastes
The whole book
Is to instruct us
That if we just think
And focus our attention
On the things that are seen
The temporal, the earthly
Then your life is going to be miserable
Okay
You're not going to enjoy life
No, I want you to enjoy life
I want you to be happy Christians
I want you to be walking with God
What you need to do is
Forget this flesh for a minute
Remind yourself you've got the new man within you
A man that loves God
You know that wants to serve Jesus Christ
All the days of your life
That wants to lay up treasures in heaven
That is looking forward to the coming of Christ
Looking forward to his kingdom
Looking forward to the new heaven and the new earth
You give your attention to eternity
Reverend you will truly be satisfied
If you give your attention to righteousness
To the commandments of God
You will be filled
You will enjoy life
You will appreciate everything that God has given you
That's where your heart needs to be
That's where your minds need to be
Remind yourself please
Okay
Enjoy life
Enjoy possessions
Enjoy going to work
And feeding yourself
And buying nice things
Enjoy it
But be thankful to God
Don't lose sight
That everything you have has been given by the hand of God
Okay
And he wants you to be blessed
You know and he wants you to be keeping your eyes
Upon things that matter for eternity
Okay let's pray
Heavenly Father Lord I want to thank you
Again Lord for the continued reminder
That in the book of Ecclesiastes and
Lord I can see my own heart many times
When I read this book and
Lord I know there are many times that I personally
Start to think of temporal, carnal, earthly things
And Lord you know having your mind upon afflictions
And problems really Lord
We should be rejoicing in these things
Knowing Lord that our focus needs to be upon you
Upon your kingdom
Upon your righteousness
Lord help us to live a life that pleases you
Lord and I just pray that our children will grow up
Lord knowing that this earth can never satisfy them
Only you can Lord
Only serving you
Working for you Lord
Loving you
Being in fellowship with you can truly satisfy this soul
I thank you so much Lord for giving
Jesus Christ for us that we can be your children
We pray these things in Jesus' name
Amen
Alright brethren
Let's take our hymnals
And let's turn to hymn number 54
Hymn number 54
We're saying
Oh that will be glory for me
Looking forward to eternity
Brethren
Hymn number 54
Oh that will be glory for me
score
When all my labors and trials are o'er
And I am safe on that beautiful shore
Just to be near the dear Lord I adore,
Will through the ages be glory for me.
Oh, that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me,
When by His grace I shall look up His face.
That will be glory,
be glory for me.
When by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face,
Will through the ages be glory for me.
Oh, that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me,
When by His grace I shall look up His face.
That will be glory,
be glory for me.
Friends will be there I have loved long ago,
Joy like a river around me will flow,
Yet just a smile from my Savior I know,
Will through the ages be glory for me.
Oh, that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me,
When by His grace I shall look up His face.
That will be glory,
be glory for me.