WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:02.870 We're beginning a new series together on the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:07.500 And so to start this off, we're going to we're going to start our series here with a bang. 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:11.460 We're going to begin with a game, and it's called the honesty game. 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:12.190 And we've got a point. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:19.980 and so here's the way we're going to do this game is I'm going to the only way we can do a crowd this big is I'm going to ask a question and to 00:00:19.980 --> 00:00:23.140 answer this question, I want you to raise your hand, okay? 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:26.470 If you think that you agree with the question that I'm asking. 00:00:26.560 --> 00:00:26.720 All right. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:27.680 So here's the questions. 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:30.290 Raise your hand. 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:36.250 If you strongly dislike audience participation games. 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:37.860 That's me. 00:00:38.720 --> 00:00:44.340 Like, if I were in the crowd today, that would be the only question I would answer that I am playing. 00:00:44.340 --> 00:00:44.680 Oh that one. 00:00:44.940 --> 00:00:46.140 Okay. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:46.920 All right. 00:00:46.940 --> 00:00:47.590 Here's the next one. 00:00:48.120 --> 00:00:53.030 Raise your hand if you are just unsatisfied with your cell phone coverage. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:55.260 All right. 00:00:56.680 --> 00:01:00.780 Raise your hand if you would like to have more money. 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:02.900 Yeah that's right. 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:03.660 The rest of you are crazy. 00:01:04.860 --> 00:01:06.720 All right, all right. 00:01:06.740 --> 00:01:08.910 You can opt out if you want on these next ones here. 00:01:09.530 --> 00:01:10.280 But. 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:16.460 Raise your hand if you are dissatisfied with the way that you look. 00:01:19.820 --> 00:01:25.500 Raise your hand if you're dissatisfied with the job that you work. 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:29.000 If your boss is here. 00:01:29.320 --> 00:01:30.800 Lower, right. 00:01:33.580 --> 00:01:38.820 Raise your hand if you are unsatisfied with the way that you're living. 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:42.280 Who? 00:01:43.360 --> 00:01:44.100 A few years ago. 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:47.250 There was, well, quite a few years ago, there was a song you put your hands down. 00:01:47.360 --> 00:01:47.920 There was a song written. 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:52.080 let's see, some of you guys like to do this, so see if you can guess the song. 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:53.960 It came out. 00:01:54.020 --> 00:01:55.840 This is a rock song for you. 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:00.060 Rock lovers comes out and the chorus goes like this I can't get no. 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:06.080 Oh man, we got some rolling Stone fans this morning. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:07.280 Amazing. 00:02:07.360 --> 00:02:08.310 This is this is my impersonation. 00:02:08.600 --> 00:02:09.020 Impersonation. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:10.020 Like this. 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:12.820 That's Mick Jagger, right? 00:02:13.480 --> 00:02:14.060 You know it. 00:02:14.920 --> 00:02:21.960 Well, not only do you guys know a song by the Rolling Stones, you also know the theme to 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:23.200 the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:29.200 It's a book of lack of satisfaction in life. 00:02:29.660 --> 00:02:33.430 So we play that game this morning just to find out where we are in our personal satisfaction. 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:37.120 And Mick Jagger, we didn't even know all these years we've been singing this song. 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:41.050 And he is a preacher and he is proclaimed the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:48.580 The book of Ecclesiastes was written by a man called Solomon. 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:51.800 Solomon was the third king of Israel. 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:53.780 He was the son of King David. 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:58.020 He rose to the highest prominence of any king in the nation of Israel. 00:02:58.420 --> 00:03:01.160 He really, in essence, was a rock star. 00:03:02.480 --> 00:03:06.740 Bible describes in several different accounts of what it was like to know King Solomon. 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:07.600 This is what it says. 00:03:08.140 --> 00:03:11.080 So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth. 00:03:11.220 --> 00:03:13.160 In riches and in wisdom. 00:03:14.260 --> 00:03:20.910 All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:23.640 The Bible literally describes it. 00:03:23.820 --> 00:03:27.290 People came from all over the known world to see this man perform. 00:03:29.140 --> 00:03:30.890 I mean, he was a rock star. 00:03:32.040 --> 00:03:36.440 And Solomon as he's going through this journey in his life and the Lord is blessing him. 00:03:36.460 --> 00:03:43.780 Eventually he gets to the place where he becomes proud, and he really goes on a 40 year journey away from 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:50.080 God, seeking to find satisfaction and all other sources of life apart from the Lord. 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:55.680 And his response to that journey was the Book of Ecclesiastes. 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.780 If you've ever taken time to read this book, you'll account as you've studied it. 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:05.900 That Ecclesiastes is the way that it's written is as much like a journal entry on life. 00:04:07.720 --> 00:04:14.780 And Solomon records for us all the pleasures and all the satisfactions that he desires to find in this world apart from God. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:18.410 And like Mick Jagger, he screams, I can't get no satisfaction. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:28.570 Matter of fact, as you read this book, you'll discover very early on that it's somewhat of a glass half empty type book. 00:04:30.400 --> 00:04:36.060 Solomon describes the type of life in which he's lived in order to find satisfaction in the things that he's doing. 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:39.860 At one point he just decided to become a drunk. 00:04:39.960 --> 00:04:40.260 He says. 00:04:40.260 --> 00:04:43.360 I searched with my heart how to cheer up my body with wines. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.240 He became all about shopping in the credit cards, right? 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:51.680 He says, I possess flocks and herds and larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:54.330 Little different shopping back then than we do today. 00:04:54.640 --> 00:04:56.900 You know, you see my popularity by the cows. 00:04:57.300 --> 00:04:59.440 You don't necessarily hear that so much now, but. 00:05:00.940 --> 00:05:04.160 Solomon sought to find pleasure in money and sex, it said. 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:10.640 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces and concubines. 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:17.720 History tells us that Solomon had somewhere in the estimates of over 900 concubines, a part of his harem. 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:20.680 He was Hugh Hefner to the max. 00:05:23.260 --> 00:05:24.220 When it comes to entertainment. 00:05:24.840 --> 00:05:28.980 Solomon didn't just buy a ticket to go watch someone perform, he went ahead and bought the whole band. 00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:33.800 It says in verse eight, I bought singers, men and women. 00:05:33.840 --> 00:05:34.380 I'm not sure what he apparently. 00:05:35.020 --> 00:05:37.140 Maybe people thought one sex sang better than the other. 00:05:37.140 --> 00:05:38.360 He was like, I got them both, man. 00:05:38.740 --> 00:05:39.820 Men and women. 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:42.920 I own them whenever I want them to perform, I bring them into my courts and they perform. 00:05:44.840 --> 00:05:45.120 He says. 00:05:45.380 --> 00:05:47.340 He goes on and says buildings and projects. 00:05:47.880 --> 00:05:48.000 You. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:49.100 You think your house is great. 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:51.260 Not only did I build a great house, but I built a great everything. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:54.940 I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 00:05:55.820 --> 00:05:59.660 When it comes to intelligence, he thought he would find satisfaction in just being really smart. 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:02.380 As a matter of fact, when I read the book of Ecclesiastes, I think about that. 00:06:02.780 --> 00:06:04.420 Nerds and geeks, right? 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:05.500 That's the way you're supposed to say it. 00:06:05.780 --> 00:06:07.200 Just this nerd sound. 00:06:07.200 --> 00:06:12.760 And it says in verse 17, I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and fall and follow folly. 00:06:13.820 --> 00:06:16.860 I perceived that this also was but a striving after wind. 00:06:18.340 --> 00:06:19.420 And finally he just says, you know what? 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:20.140 Whatever. 00:06:20.140 --> 00:06:21.700 I thought my heart would find pleasure in that. 00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:22.860 That's just what I made my goal. 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:27.400 If it brought some sort of satisfaction, I just didn't limit myself from it, he said. 00:06:27.700 --> 00:06:29.120 I said in my heart, come now. 00:06:29.280 --> 00:06:30.860 I will test you with pleasure. 00:06:31.520 --> 00:06:32.440 Enjoy yourself. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:35.020 And he says, this also was vanity. 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:37.350 Even in his job. 00:06:38.820 --> 00:06:41.520 Solomon finally decided he would just devote himself to work. 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:44.850 Maybe if he just became a workaholic, he would find satisfaction. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:52.580 And he says, I considered all that my hands had done, and all the toil I had expended in doing and all 00:06:52.580 --> 00:06:54.520 was vanity. 00:06:57.520 --> 00:07:04.600 Solomon sums it up this way several times in his book he says, I have seen all the works 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:11.480 which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after the wind. 00:07:13.730 --> 00:07:21.400 A find in our American culture today because we sometimes quote the American Dream that the 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:29.640 book of Ecclesiastes becomes extremely practical to the satisfaction that we seek within our own lives, apart from the Lord. 00:07:30.200 --> 00:07:32.960 We relate to Solomon's rockstar lifestyle. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:39.010 Maybe we don't quite drink from the depths of the world that Solomon does, but we find that life just doesn't satisfy. 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:41.320 We've searched religion. 00:07:41.440 --> 00:07:42.540 It can't satisfy. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:43.820 We say things to ourselves. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:45.740 My spouse should satisfy our. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:48.940 If my kids would just obey, that would satisfy her. 00:07:48.940 --> 00:07:54.040 If I could find a new job or get that college degree, that would finally satisfy me. 00:07:54.040 --> 00:08:01.260 If my spouse would just come to church, or my parents would give me approval and validation, or I could find acceptance or just 00:08:01.260 --> 00:08:03.300 fit in or just have more money. 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:05.660 I would be satisfied. 00:08:07.620 --> 00:08:14.160 And as we taste of those waters, we find in the end we can't get no satisfaction. 00:08:16.140 --> 00:08:19.880 And Solomon begins this journal entry on the Book of Ecclesiastes. 00:08:21.940 --> 00:08:23.600 The literary style of this book. 00:08:23.780 --> 00:08:29.020 Just to give you a little background as we begin, the book of Ecclesiastes is described as poetry. 00:08:30.260 --> 00:08:37.159 It's one of five poetic books found in the Old Testament, beginning with job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. 00:08:38.340 --> 00:08:42.140 Out of your five poetic books, Solomon wrote three of them. 00:08:42.880 --> 00:08:47.960 Solomon writes this poetic book, and it's described in the genre of literature as wisdom literature. 00:08:49.640 --> 00:08:56.720 The way wisdom literature works in the Bible, especially in the book of Ecclesiastes, in the Book of Proverbs, is that God's goal in 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:01.780 inspiring someone to write those books is God desires for you to do something and not do something else. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:08.340 Meaning, God desires for you to live wisely and not live foolishly or stupidly. 00:09:10.540 --> 00:09:16.820 And so the wisdom literature has proclaimed to us in order for us to follow and pursue after God with wisdom. 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:20.820 It doesn't necessarily mean that you're this intelligent human being. 00:09:20.860 --> 00:09:28.040 What it means is that you understand where to go to gain the proper information, to live life the way that God has called 00:09:28.040 --> 00:09:29.160 you to live. 00:09:30.400 --> 00:09:33.420 And the Solomon writes this poetic wisdom literature. 00:09:33.700 --> 00:09:38.640 He also writes most of this wisdom literature in the form of what we call proverbs. 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:48.260 Proverbs are deep, memorable statements that help us grasp a hold of wisdom. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:48.420 Thoughts. 00:09:49.900 --> 00:09:56.920 You guys may not even consider this or have thought of this, but being in America and used to our culture, you have certain proverbs that 00:09:56.920 --> 00:10:01.320 you live by today that you probably say to yourself regularly, and you don't even think about it. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:02.260 Watch this. 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:04.160 Practice what you preach. 00:10:05.140 --> 00:10:05.240 Mm. 00:10:06.140 --> 00:10:06.860 No pain, no gain. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:09.620 Out of sight, out of action. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:11.680 Speak louder than. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:14.580 Don't throw the baby out with the. 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:16.880 Bathwater. 00:10:17.260 --> 00:10:18.980 The best things in life are free. 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:21.940 My son. 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.910 In all his wisdom, he must have known we were starting Ecclesiastes. 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:28.340 Today he comes to me with his two year old mind. 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:32.160 He's working on the platform of King Solomon here. 00:10:32.560 --> 00:10:34.240 I leave the church yesterday and I go home and. 00:10:34.580 --> 00:10:34.920 And I'm dirty. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:36.950 And he wants to impart from me this proverb. 00:10:37.640 --> 00:10:40.690 And so I walk in the house and I say hi to Stacey, let her know I'm home, and say hi to my sons. 00:10:40.920 --> 00:10:43.650 I get ready to go downstairs to take a shower, and I said, I'm going to take a shower. 00:10:44.060 --> 00:10:45.600 And I turn to walk and he says, wait, daddy, wait. 00:10:46.460 --> 00:10:49.300 And I look up and he says, well, what is it, son? 00:10:49.300 --> 00:10:52.100 He says, don't poo in the shower. 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:55.440 That is great. 00:10:55.520 --> 00:10:57.340 That is, you are wise beyond your years. 00:10:57.620 --> 00:10:58.740 I will not do that. 00:10:58.740 --> 00:11:00.270 In the same place I cleanse my body. 00:11:00.660 --> 00:11:04.700 Is Proverbs coming out everywhere all day long? 00:11:07.660 --> 00:11:13.170 You know, one of the most powerful proverbs I think I've heard comes out of the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:11:13.780 --> 00:11:19.900 It's really what turned me on to this book as a young man learning about the Lord, coming straight out of Bible college. 00:11:19.900 --> 00:11:27.240 I remember one day, the pastors of this church I was at were too busy to go to the hospital to visit with this older lady whose husband 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.160 just had a major heart attack. 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:35.450 And they managed to keep him alive long enough for her to get to the hospital and say her goodbyes. 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:41.380 And it was fell on my shoulders to go to the hospital and visit her. 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:48.860 And this was one of the first times I've ever gone as a pastor and ministry to visit someone in the hospital, so I had no idea what I was doing or what I was even going to say. 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:52.160 So you know, when people go through bad things, you always want to say the magic words. 00:11:52.160 --> 00:11:53.070 That makes it all better. 00:11:53.380 --> 00:11:55.390 And a lot of times we just don't have that. 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.420 The Bible tells us when it's time to grieve. 00:11:57.480 --> 00:11:59.040 You just grieve with those who are grieving. 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:01.910 Sometimes words can't make things okay. 00:12:02.640 --> 00:12:07.850 And I remember I walked into the this room just not wanting to step in there for the circumstances. 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:15.420 She's seeing her husband for the last time and she had an opportunity to maintain his life on 00:12:15.420 --> 00:12:16.540 a ventilator if she wanted to. 00:12:17.780 --> 00:12:21.040 And I was there when the doctors had come in and just gave her the option. 00:12:21.640 --> 00:12:25.200 Do you want us to pull the plug, or should we allow him to go on? 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:30.960 And, I was hoping to God, she wouldn't turn around and ask me that question, and I don't know. 00:12:31.260 --> 00:12:31.750 What are you saying? 00:12:31.920 --> 00:12:32.520 Something like that. 00:12:33.680 --> 00:12:38.700 And so then I became inquisitive as she sat there, as the doctor left the room, and I just asked her what? 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:40.450 What are you going to do? 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:45.440 And she said, my husband knows the Lord. 00:12:46.140 --> 00:12:46.560 And. 00:12:47.540 --> 00:12:48.620 In life today. 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:49.800 We're really good. 00:12:50.900 --> 00:12:56.100 At teaching people how to live well, but we're really bad at teaching people how to die well. 00:12:57.580 --> 00:13:00.280 And we cling to life like it's the most important thing. 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:03.840 But I know my husband knows the Lord, and where he's going is far better than here. 00:13:05.280 --> 00:13:10.440 And then she turned to the book of Ecclesiastes in chapter three and quoted, there is a time to live. 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:14.260 And a time to Die. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.480 This book contains profound wisdom for us in our lives. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:26.780 But I got to say, as you read the book of Ecclesiastes, the important thing to remember about a proverb is that a proverb isn't always true. 00:13:29.140 --> 00:13:33.740 Sometimes we read things in the book of Proverbs like laughter is better than sorrow. 00:13:33.780 --> 00:13:36.400 And there are times in life where just laughter doesn't fit the moment. 00:13:38.140 --> 00:13:43.720 And so while Proverbs are is wisdom literature, the proverb doesn't necessarily always ring true. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:49.340 And so when you read the Bible and you read about God's laws, God's laws are always true. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:53.080 When you read about God's promises, God's promises are always true. 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:53.880 When you read about Proverbs. 00:13:54.460 --> 00:14:00.700 Proverbs is just good, godly wisdom that seems applicable to most of the things that we encounter in life. 00:14:00.900 --> 00:14:02.700 And can I just say we need proverbs? 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:06.160 We need wisdom. 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:14.660 The reality is, in our lives, we think so much about things that are insignificant and think little about things that are really and truly important in life. 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:20.680 Sometimes we tend to just float around without asking the deep and significant questions for our lives. 00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:28.100 A lot of times we end up climbing the wrong mountains, seeking the wrong pleasures, and trying to find ourselves satisfied in 00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:28.860 the wrong things. 00:14:29.040 --> 00:14:30.480 And we can't get satisfaction. 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:35.240 And so Solomon begins to write this book. 00:14:35.300 --> 00:14:37.680 There's a couple of themes I want to make you familiar with. 00:14:37.700 --> 00:14:42.190 I'm going to make one big point that Solomon makes about the book, and we're going to call it done for the day. 00:14:42.940 --> 00:14:43.360 All right. 00:14:43.400 --> 00:14:44.020 That's like a short sermon. 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:44.920 Don't worry. 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:45.650 I'm a pastor. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:47.100 We go all day. 00:14:48.260 --> 00:14:48.520 All right. 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:52.940 So this is what Solomon says was he quotes in the in the book of Proverbs and excuse me, I want to leave this. 00:14:54.400 --> 00:14:54.720 Let me go back. 00:14:54.980 --> 00:15:00.740 In this verse, he points out two ideas for us that are important and significant to understanding this book. 00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:08.580 He says in verse 14, I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity. 00:15:08.780 --> 00:15:10.320 Some translations are going to say meaningless. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:16.100 The most accurate translation of that would actually say vapor, which means you just it disappears. 00:15:16.140 --> 00:15:16.770 It goes into nothingness. 00:15:17.160 --> 00:15:19.380 These things that we strive for, it's just it's nothingness. 00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:20.860 It doesn't matter beyond today. 00:15:21.900 --> 00:15:23.760 And so Solomon describes that as vanity. 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:31.980 And so when you read the book of Ecclesiastes, where he discovers the idea of the words under 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:37.720 the sun, and the idea of the words vanity carry an importance. 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:39.980 And what Solomon desires to communicate to us. 00:15:39.980 --> 00:15:45.060 The word under the sun literally means life away from God. 00:15:45.140 --> 00:15:52.420 It's describing someone who sort of puts their nose to the grinder, and never bothers to look up to ask God what it is that he desires to do in 00:15:52.420 --> 00:15:53.200 your life. 00:15:53.400 --> 00:15:56.860 And so you live life under the sun but never aware of the sun. 00:15:58.200 --> 00:15:59.780 And so Solomon describes this. 00:15:59.800 --> 00:16:07.260 And as you read this book and you see this phrase over and over, keep in mind as you're reading this, what Solomon is saying is this is the individual who's living life apart from God. 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:11.980 Because as you get through chapter eight, chapter nine, you're going to start thinking, man, Solomon is way depressed and he needs help. 00:16:13.380 --> 00:16:18.540 And what he's saying to us is, if this is you, these are the things you're striving at, then you're living life under the sun. 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:21.640 And the ultimate end of that is there is no satisfaction. 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:31.160 The other thing that he describes for us is vanity, which means there is no purpose, there is no meaning to it. 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:32.380 We like to attribute meaning. 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:34.300 We like to find some value in it. 00:16:34.300 --> 00:16:41.440 But when we get to the end of the road of this thing that we think satisfies our life, what we find in that end is that we as people are as empty as when we first 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:42.660 began that journey. 00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:51.400 It's a Solomon will discuss a little bit for us in his journal entries, and then he'll come back to this phrase under the sun and 00:16:51.400 --> 00:16:52.740 life is vanity. 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:58.180 And I just want to say this because this book is somewhat of a negative glass half empty book. 00:16:58.180 --> 00:17:02.140 We're not going to go all through this book, verse by verse, like we tend to do in some other books. 00:17:02.520 --> 00:17:09.599 Where we're going to do is we're just going to glean some truths from the book of Ecclesiastes, because this book is poetry, and because this book is Proverbs 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:13.400 and because it's wisdom literature, the way it reads doesn't make it as easy to preach. 00:17:14.040 --> 00:17:21.160 And so we're going to take some significant, important thoughts from this book and just travel through it together and see how it applies to our lives. 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:24.810 And Solomon's encouragement for us. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:32.420 One of the other frustrating things that you'll find if you were to leave today and just read this book, maybe even for the first time, is you'll see that there's a lot of questions 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:33.400 Solomon poses. 00:17:34.940 --> 00:17:35.630 Without a lot of answers. 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:42.860 And the reason that Solomon does this is that Solomon's desire is to provoke you in your own faith and thinking in this world. 00:17:44.040 --> 00:17:47.000 Meaning he's not the type of preacher that we like in our churches today. 00:17:47.020 --> 00:17:51.880 What we want to do is we want to come to church and we want to hear all this theological truth taught to us. 00:17:52.220 --> 00:17:55.940 And then we get to the end where there's this conclusion where you tell me, like these three points I need to remember. 00:17:56.120 --> 00:17:57.600 So when I leave, I don't have to think. 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:04.020 But what Solomon does is he's saying to us in this book that he wants us to think and challenge our own lives where we are. 00:18:04.560 --> 00:18:11.700 And so he poses these questions for us in our thinking and his desires for you just to prod, be prodded and what 00:18:11.700 --> 00:18:14.460 he's trying to communicate and seek out. 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:16.940 What is this wisdom mean to me in my life? 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:19.280 What is it God desires for me to know? 00:18:19.280 --> 00:18:20.740 How is it I can change my life? 00:18:21.060 --> 00:18:24.090 To stop living life under the sun and start living life for the son? 00:18:26.020 --> 00:18:26.780 And so Solomon records. 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:30.580 Eventually the Bible. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:34.240 If I were to go straight to the end this morning, that's what I'm going to do. 00:18:35.800 --> 00:18:37.270 See in the beginning he calls life vanity. 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:41.730 When you get to chapter 12, he explains to the very ending of what this book is about. 00:18:41.780 --> 00:18:48.780 So today we're really looking at the bread of the sandwich, and we're going to unpack the meat in the weeks ahead and whatever other vegetable things you put in your 00:18:48.780 --> 00:18:48.940 sandwich. 00:18:49.520 --> 00:18:53.370 But we're going to unpack that and see, see what it means for us as individuals. 00:18:53.620 --> 00:18:58.320 And you can imagine Solomon's writing this book, all of these chapters communicating to us, life is vanity. 00:18:58.340 --> 00:18:59.080 It becomes meaningless. 00:18:59.360 --> 00:19:01.160 We're not satisfied when the things we do. 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:08.200 Mick Jagger saying my book and he and he gets to chapter 12 and he's you can imagine if it was today, he was driving down the road and all of 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:12.880 a sudden this thought just drills him about what he's been trying to express in the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:19:13.340 --> 00:19:19.400 And he just pulls his car over on the side of the road, and he flips out his journal, and he wants to write down this last thought for us. 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:22.660 And if we could get anything from this book, this is the thought. 00:19:23.820 --> 00:19:24.100 He says this. 00:19:26.780 --> 00:19:27.820 Excuse me. 00:19:27.840 --> 00:19:29.620 Verse ten. 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:36.360 The teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. 00:19:37.040 --> 00:19:38.500 I don't speak Ebonics, let me tell you. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:40.650 This is called keeping it real, right? 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:43.760 If someone is about to keep it real, he says, this is it. 00:19:43.840 --> 00:19:47.140 If there's a one thing that I want to express to you this morning. 00:19:48.300 --> 00:19:50.800 He says in verse 11. 00:19:50.820 --> 00:19:54.320 The words of the wise are like goads. 00:19:54.630 --> 00:19:55.700 It's not an old person. 00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:56.610 I'll tell you what that is in a minute. 00:19:56.840 --> 00:19:57.430 They're like goads. 00:19:57.660 --> 00:20:01.940 They're collected sayings like firmly embedded nails given by one shepherd. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:04.300 Be warned, my son, of anything. 00:20:04.340 --> 00:20:07.380 In addition to them of making many books, there is no end. 00:20:08.280 --> 00:20:10.420 A much study wearies the body. 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:15.860 Solomon says to us, wise words are like goads, goads. 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:21.180 In biblical times, actually, if I were to be 100% truthful, no one knows for sure. 00:20:21.420 --> 00:20:28.420 If you look this up in dictionaries, it will say some of them will say, we don't know for sure, and then they'll go on to say this, but this is what we think it is 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:36.120 when a farmer would drive his oxen in the fields to plow the fields or to the store to buy whatever he wanted, if there were stores, he 00:20:36.120 --> 00:20:37.100 would take a goad with him. 00:20:37.100 --> 00:20:42.360 And what the goad did was it helped steer the oxen on the path for which they were to take. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:49.040 And he's saying in this passage of Scripture, the wisdom in which Ecclesiastes imparts to us is like a goat. 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:51.280 It helps us to stay straight. 00:20:52.520 --> 00:20:55.360 Pursuing after God in your life is like a goat. 00:20:55.500 --> 00:20:57.390 He helps you to stay straight. 00:20:58.620 --> 00:21:01.840 Now notice it's not saying that God uses this goad to whip you into place. 00:21:01.940 --> 00:21:04.300 What it's saying is God's words are used that way. 00:21:04.380 --> 00:21:07.500 They work within our heart to challenge us to seek after the Lord. 00:21:08.340 --> 00:21:11.810 And so the wise words are the words of a wise man are like goads. 00:21:11.900 --> 00:21:16.110 They're collected sayings like firmly embedded nails by one shepherd. 00:21:17.060 --> 00:21:23.460 I know a little bit about history, and I know this nails, today, aren't quite like nails the way that they used to be. 00:21:24.300 --> 00:21:31.300 And so when you were to build a house back in Solomon's days, if you bent the nail, too bad you got to bend it 00:21:31.300 --> 00:21:32.470 back and keep using it. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:32.620 Right. 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:34.380 There weren't as many to go around. 00:21:35.040 --> 00:21:40.600 And so what you find is you went into people's homes and you would walk into the entry of their home. 00:21:40.620 --> 00:21:46.240 They would oftentimes place near the door or placed near the place where they laid their head a nail on the wall. 00:21:46.600 --> 00:21:51.020 And what they would do with that nail is they would firmly embed it into the wall, and they would hang with string. 00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:53.280 The things that were important to them in their lives. 00:21:53.360 --> 00:21:57.040 So that way, whenever they got up to go out the door, they didn't reach on their dresser to grab their wallet. 00:21:57.240 --> 00:21:59.600 They reached to the nail and pulled it off of the string. 00:22:00.760 --> 00:22:01.980 And so the nail was important. 00:22:02.340 --> 00:22:03.700 It's their junk drawer. 00:22:03.760 --> 00:22:04.190 It's their dresser. 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:06.860 It carries the valuables of their life. 00:22:08.320 --> 00:22:12.860 And what he's saying for us is that wisdom works in that way. 00:22:14.220 --> 00:22:21.500 We seek wisdom in the Lord, that God could steer us straight, and that they could become firmly embedded nails through which we hang 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:23.080 the valuables of our life upon. 00:22:23.540 --> 00:22:29.100 And so it becomes important to us and all the things that the world communicates, that the one source that we listen to is the right source. 00:22:30.540 --> 00:22:37.680 And so he says this in verse 12, listen, be warned, my son, of anything, in addition to them of making many books, there is no end and much 00:22:37.840 --> 00:22:39.080 study wearies the body. 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:42.100 Here's a negative to freedom of speech. 00:22:42.180 --> 00:22:42.660 Freedom of speech. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:43.000 You'll love it. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:43.620 Here's a negative. 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:46.400 People say things without being accountable for what they say. 00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:52.750 If you feel like you want to say, you just spew whatever it is that you want to spew and everyone else has to deal with it. 00:22:53.500 --> 00:23:00.680 And what Solomon is saying in this passage of Scripture is that people just say things, and they don't even think about the repercussions of the things that they're communicating, whether 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:05.320 it's true what it's going to have long term effect on people's lives and whether it's even wise. 00:23:05.360 --> 00:23:12.640 They just say it and you got to be careful what you're listening to and what you're inundating your life with, because as you fill yourself up with things that don't 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:16.930 satisfy, even if you just call it entertainment, eventually you'll look at it as a source of satisfaction. 00:23:18.860 --> 00:23:21.420 And so it's important that you seek the wisdom of the Lord. 00:23:23.140 --> 00:23:28.340 As much time as the world has to work on you, it's important that you seek the wisdom of the Lord. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:33.280 And what he refers to this as is in verse 11, is a shepherd. 00:23:35.340 --> 00:23:41.060 These words as goads are like Shepherd's words, and these words as nails are like Shepherd's words. 00:23:41.080 --> 00:23:44.040 And here's the illustration that Solomon's pointing to us. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:47.160 I once knew a shepherd farmer from Kansas. 00:23:47.360 --> 00:23:48.180 They had tons of sheep. 00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:53.260 And so one day, because the Bible talks so much about sheep, I decided just to pick their brain about all these sheep verses I could find. 00:23:53.780 --> 00:23:55.480 And this is one interesting thing that he told me. 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:56.620 He didn't do this on his farm. 00:23:56.740 --> 00:24:01.980 But just about shepherds when you're walking the hill, countries say, of Jerusalem. 00:24:02.040 --> 00:24:02.560 There are no fences. 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:09.940 And these shepherds take their herds to places where they can have provision for their life, find restoration and strength. 00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:14.340 They get water for their bodies and food for their bodies, and they're protected by the shepherd. 00:24:14.520 --> 00:24:17.400 And the shepherd wanders the hills to make sure the flock is cared for. 00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:22.460 But as he's wandering along, so are other shepherds with other sheep. 00:24:23.320 --> 00:24:27.180 And eventually, because these animals aren't fenced in, they intermingle with each other. 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:32.340 Now, how in the world does one shepherd keep his sheep from mixing with the other sheep? 00:24:33.760 --> 00:24:41.160 Interesting thing about sheep is that when a shepherd gets a sheep for the first time, one of the first things that he does with the sheep is he draws it near, 00:24:41.300 --> 00:24:44.250 and he just begins to build a relationship with that sheep. 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:46.510 He even talks to it. 00:24:47.020 --> 00:24:48.780 And communicates with it. 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:57.280 So when the shepherd is walking the hills and he comes in contact with another shepherd with a flock of sheep, 00:24:57.360 --> 00:25:04.520 all the shepherd has to do to get his sheep from that field and away from the other flock is just tell it to follow. 00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:06.420 The. 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:10.180 The sheep recognize the shepherd's voice. 00:25:11.300 --> 00:25:18.140 The only time that sheep is ever in danger is that when they wander so far from the shepherd that they can no longer hear his voice. 00:25:21.360 --> 00:25:28.160 And what Solomon is saying to us is that the wisdom found in God's Word is the way that the Shepherd communicates to you. 00:25:29.300 --> 00:25:33.840 And the further you wander from that shepherd, the further you are from hearing his voice. 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:41.140 But if you spend time with him when the shepherd calls, and when the shepherd gives direction and wisdom, you hear his 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:42.040 voice. 00:25:44.440 --> 00:25:47.300 Matter of fact, Jesus even validated what Solomon said. 00:25:49.560 --> 00:25:50.940 My sheep hear my voice. 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:53.380 And I know them. 00:25:54.620 --> 00:25:55.300 And they follow me. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:25:59.730 A real sheep. 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:05.720 Following after Jesus knows what it sounds like when Jesus speaks. 00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:15.500 A real sheep who follows after Jesus seeks the wisdom of Jesus to stay near to that shepherd. 00:26:17.620 --> 00:26:19.680 It's like a goad for your life. 00:26:19.900 --> 00:26:24.520 It's like a well driven nail in your home through which you hang all the valuables. 00:26:26.460 --> 00:26:33.580 And the more you spend time with that shepherd, the easier it is to hear his cry in the world when 00:26:33.580 --> 00:26:37.380 he's calling for you to draw near because you're in danger. 00:26:40.220 --> 00:26:43.640 And so Solomon ends with this final thought in Ecclesiastes. 00:26:45.660 --> 00:26:48.520 It's important for you to be near the shepherd because he cares for you. 00:26:48.540 --> 00:26:52.000 And so he says in verse 13, now all has been heard. 00:26:53.340 --> 00:26:55.160 And here's the conclusion of the matter. 00:26:56.840 --> 00:26:59.000 Fear God and keep his commandments. 00:27:00.220 --> 00:27:02.300 For this is the duty of all mankind. 00:27:02.520 --> 00:27:09.270 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. 00:27:11.340 --> 00:27:16.900 So sometimes we hear that voice of the Lord and saying, Fear God, it's the greatest commandment. 00:27:17.400 --> 00:27:21.740 And sometimes that thought just doesn't settle with us, does it? 00:27:21.740 --> 00:27:23.200 Fear God and obey his commandments. 00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:24.940 All right. 00:27:25.520 --> 00:27:27.140 We want to be the king of our own world. 00:27:28.020 --> 00:27:28.860 God fear me. 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:29.740 I make my rules. 00:27:31.140 --> 00:27:38.440 And so when we hear this idea that God has created us to put this reverential all over top of us, that he is creator 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:42.380 and we are created, and that we are to fear him and obey him. 00:27:43.340 --> 00:27:44.750 There's a part within us that rebels. 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:54.650 On the other side of that, you hear those same words and you think, well, maybe I'm not rebelling, but I'm also burnt. 00:27:56.280 --> 00:28:03.320 So people of authority and positions have been placed in my life before, and they've said things like this to me, and it's and it's not worked out 00:28:03.320 --> 00:28:04.020 in my favor. 00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:10.780 I've been abused by religion or individuals that God has placed over me in my life, or that I thought God had placed over me in my life. 00:28:11.020 --> 00:28:12.880 And I hear that and it makes me angry. 00:28:15.020 --> 00:28:15.910 Can I just tell you this morning? 00:28:17.060 --> 00:28:21.600 Just some thoughts for us as we think about what the Bible is saying in this passage of Scripture. 00:28:23.140 --> 00:28:24.300 We talk about fearing the Lord. 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:29.550 What the Bible simply recognizing is that you acknowledge in your life he is in control. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:33.960 He is creator and you are created. 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:40.440 And no one knows better what you need than the shepherd who created you to provide the things in life that you need. 00:28:41.040 --> 00:28:42.420 God knows what you need better than you know. 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:46.290 See Mick Jagger as he's going along singing the songs I Can't Get No Satisfaction. 00:28:46.820 --> 00:28:48.440 The same with Solomon. 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:55.580 As he's singing these words, they're looking in things apart from God to find satisfaction from the very one who created a world through which they could find satisfaction in 00:28:55.580 --> 00:28:55.840 him. 00:28:57.460 --> 00:28:58.800 God knows what causes you to run. 00:29:00.120 --> 00:29:01.920 How you work, what brings you joy. 00:29:03.280 --> 00:29:06.520 And so when we say we fear the Lord, it's saying he is in control. 00:29:06.560 --> 00:29:09.020 But when the Bible talks about fear, it's not saying afraid. 00:29:10.080 --> 00:29:11.080 We're not afraid of God. 00:29:12.600 --> 00:29:14.680 But it's a reverential awe of who he is. 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:22.030 And reverence to his authority and power and holiness and glory. 00:29:22.800 --> 00:29:23.300 We Revere him. 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:28.050 And we don't take it lightly of the position that he has above us. 00:29:29.360 --> 00:29:32.000 We fear the Lord and we obey him. 00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:40.800 Respect for the Lord or fear for the Lord recognizes that we are created and we are created to honor something with our lives. 00:29:41.120 --> 00:29:44.840 Why not make it the one you were designed to worship? 00:29:46.460 --> 00:29:52.640 Respect and fear of God is important because you're not bowing down to a God who wants to suppress you. 00:29:54.100 --> 00:29:59.390 But while you're bowing down to is a God who desires to elevate you. 00:30:00.560 --> 00:30:01.380 And to lift you up. 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:10.360 The Bible refers to Jesus as a shepherd because the shepherd's responsibility, it tells us in Psalm 23, is to lead you beside 00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:11.460 still waters. 00:30:11.520 --> 00:30:18.680 I don't know if you know this, but sheep are so cuckoo sometimes that if they get beside water that's rushing or makes a lot of noise, they 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:19.250 get so frantic. 00:30:19.780 --> 00:30:23.700 They pee themselves more than they drink, they just can't stand it. 00:30:23.780 --> 00:30:24.500 They're frazzled. 00:30:24.500 --> 00:30:25.110 They sit there by the water. 00:30:25.780 --> 00:30:26.820 I don't know, Jesus. 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:28.160 The water's shaken, you know. 00:30:28.920 --> 00:30:30.220 And so Psalm 23 says this. 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:33.360 He leads you beside still waters. 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:36.330 That your soul could be calm. 00:30:37.780 --> 00:30:39.280 And that he could refresh your life. 00:30:41.020 --> 00:30:48.300 And so when we talk about a fear of the Lord, we're not talking about a fear that we often think about of an individual who wants to dominate you and 00:30:48.300 --> 00:30:52.760 wants to suppress you and just wants to boss you and everything that they do. 00:30:52.800 --> 00:30:57.970 But you're looking at one who desires to elevate you in your relationship with him. 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:01.540 Matter of fact, James said, that's the key. 00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:09.460 James 410 humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and he will exalt you. 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:11.620 Some translations go on to say, in due time. 00:31:15.420 --> 00:31:17.680 Meaning we're going through this world and we're seeking satisfaction. 00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:21.620 And maybe we've even tried to find satisfaction in the Lord. 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:26.290 But I love how some translations say in due time, meaning it's in God's time. 00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:31.500 We need to open up the doors for him to provide in our lives, to bring his joy into us. 00:31:31.560 --> 00:31:37.240 As it says in John chapter 15, he came to bring you joy, that your joy may be made full in him. 00:31:39.180 --> 00:31:40.660 And so we simply provide the opportunity. 00:31:40.840 --> 00:31:46.700 We open ourselves up to everything that the Lord offers us as a shepherd and allow him to have control. 00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:53.620 Satisfaction comes on his timetable as we pursue after him. 00:31:53.940 --> 00:31:56.440 But the Bible carries this important part for us. 00:31:56.440 --> 00:32:03.580 Rather than James saying fear, he talks about fear in God, but he talks about in our part that it's important we walk with humility. 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:08.540 Solomon describes this as his last point. 00:32:10.300 --> 00:32:13.940 Matter of fact, as you read this book, he describes it as this major point. 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:18.360 We can't get no satisfaction in life. 00:32:19.040 --> 00:32:26.480 And really the starting point to find your fulfillment and to find joy in your relationship with the Lord starts with 00:32:27.080 --> 00:32:27.670 fear in him. 00:32:29.260 --> 00:32:33.850 A reverential all of his authority over you and recognizing that. 00:32:35.360 --> 00:32:39.160 And maybe this morning, if we're honest, we're saying, God, I've been burned. 00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:40.500 Or God, I feel empty. 00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:42.710 God, I don't want to surrender. 00:32:42.900 --> 00:32:46.020 But God, you are God. 00:32:46.080 --> 00:32:48.920 So please help me. 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:50.940 Maybe this morning. 00:32:50.940 --> 00:32:54.500 If you're feeling empty on a relationship with the Lord. 00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:58.940 The good news is that you never have to supply the strength to begin with. 00:33:00.080 --> 00:33:00.570 It's the shepherd. 00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:05.520 All you do is hear his voice and draw near to him with your heart. 00:33:06.820 --> 00:33:11.100 And in that humility he provides the strength and lifts you up. 00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:18.060 This passage of Scripture that Solomon describes at the end of this book is the time for us where we make decisions. 00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:25.640 Understand that wisdom literature is written, that we don't do something and we do something else. 00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:29.060 We don't live like fools, but we live wisely. 00:33:29.060 --> 00:33:36.160 And so it becomes important for us when we encounter things like this, that Solomon communicates that we make decisions within our own heart. 00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:39.420 And can I tell you that this isn't just a decision that you make once in your life? 00:33:39.580 --> 00:33:43.980 This is a decision that you determine to live every day of your life. 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:48.370 Lord, let me hear your call. 00:33:50.800 --> 00:33:54.000 Don't listen to God because you see him. 00:33:54.580 --> 00:33:55.080 As a killjoy. 00:33:56.920 --> 00:33:59.600 Listen to God so you can enjoy. 00:34:01.620 --> 00:34:09.219 Doesn't matter how much money, vacation, relationships, houses, clothing, surgeries, 00:34:09.219 --> 00:34:12.840 whatever you want to have, what you find is Solomon's declared. 00:34:12.900 --> 00:34:18.409 In the end, if you live for no eternal purpose, you find no satisfaction. 00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:25.840 You were designed as human beings to find something far greater than yourself to live for. 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:34.780 The Bible says in Ecclesiastes, God has placed eternity in your heart, meaning if all you've strived is just for the pleasure of 00:34:34.780 --> 00:34:41.500 self, you find no satisfaction in that, because God has written eternity in your hearts for you to look at life as something far bigger than just you. 00:34:43.460 --> 00:34:48.750 Something that lasts far longer than just your life because it's a vapor. 00:34:51.600 --> 00:34:53.420 Solomon's desire. 00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:55.060 This morning. 00:34:55.300 --> 00:34:59.580 Is that for all of us to go on this journey of finding satisfaction in the Lord. 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:03.690 When you begin the book of Ecclesiastes, it starts here. 00:35:07.040 --> 00:35:07.930 I'm giving myself. 00:35:09.080 --> 00:35:10.640 To you. 00:35:11.200 --> 00:35:14.040 Because the rest of this world has left me empty. 00:35:15.420 --> 00:35:16.500 And Lord, what I want. 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:22.060 As you and only the satisfaction that you can bring.