(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Music Music Music Music Music Music Music 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 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 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 This is life If I just had that sports car Yeah okay 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 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 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.