Living Under a Curse

How many of you watched the Summer Olympics in 1972 in Munich, Germany?

! Does anybody remember that?

You were there. Stop it.

! Linda Sears, our pianist, was there.

! Unbelievable.

Did you attend the gold medal basketball game?

Oh!

She's kicking herself ever since then.

Well, listen, that was one of the all-time great moments in the history of sports competition.

It was more than just a game.

The Americans walked into the gold medal basketball game in Munich, Germany, 1972, Summer Olympics,

with what felt like one hand tied behind their back.

There was all kinds of socioeconomic, political powers and all kinds of extracurricular things going on behind the scenes.

You're looking at the Cold War type situation.

And that bled over into competition and sports.

And so Olympic rules barred professional players from competing at that time.

Of course, nowadays, they allow the professionals to compete.

But back then, they couldn't.

So Team USA was made up of college stars, amateurs.

While the Soviets and many of the other Eastern Bloc countries, well, they found ways around the rules.

They stacked their team, their amateur squads, so to speak, with veteran state-supported players who function like full-time professional basketball players.

So that's what the United States had been dealing with throughout the competition.

And now they were in the gold medal game against the Soviet Union.

The gold medal game itself only deepened the sense that the deck was stacked.

As they began to play, they sensed this.

It was bruising, physical, controversial.

The Americans realized that hard contact and rough play were being tolerated in ways that were unusual.

Referees were not going to call these things in their favor at all.

American star Doug Collins went on to become a famous NBA coach.

Was famously hammered to the floor near the end of the game.

He still got up.

They actually called a foul for once.

He still got up and hit the go-ahead free throws, put the United States up in position to win the game with three seconds left.

The United States was leading 50-49.

Now, if you know anything about basketball, you know that's a very low-scoring game, 50-49.

And that tells you what kind of game it was.

It was brutal.

Survival of the fittest, I guess.

Three seconds left.

The United States stopped the Soviets from scoring and they won the gold medal.

Yay!

Except they didn't.

The officials cut their celebration short.

You can see a little bit on the picture on the right.

And they found a reason to give the Soviets another chance.

The Americans stopped them again and won the gold medal again.

Happy ending to the story.

Except they didn't.

Because the officials found another reason to put the three seconds back on the clock.

And this time, the Soviets threw the ball the length of the court.

One of the Soviet players seemingly might have knocked one of the American players down.

Scored a last-second layup.

And then they said, yep, Soviets won the gold medal this time.

Giving the Soviets three chances.

Three seconds.

Three chances to win.

The United States protested with the Olympic Committee.

They lost their appeal.

And to this day, that U.S. Olympic basketball team has never accepted their silver medals.

They stayed off the medal stand.

They didn't participate in the ceremony.

Because they walked away from the game that day feeling and realizing one thing.

The game was rigged.

They never stood a chance.

They fought valiantly.

Won it twice.

But it still went the other way.

Sometimes your life feels like that basketball game.

Sometimes it feels like the deck is stacked against you.

Life is rigged.

The good guys don't win.

You can do everything right.

You should come out on top.

And you don't.

The hardest worker gets laid off.

Meanwhile, the dishonest person gets promoted.

The kindest person gets sick.

The cruelest person seems to prosper.

Every time it happens, we ask the same question.

Why does life work this way?

Would you turn with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 9?

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

We have been in our study.

Ecclesiastes chapter 9.

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

By the way, as you're turning, here's a little peek at that basketball game I was talking to you about.

See the last second?

The U.S. guy laying on the floor.

The Russian guy making the layup.

It was crazy.

All right.

Moving on.

Ecclesiastes chapter 9.

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

They haven't moved on, but we can.

All right?

We can get in the Word of God.

We have been in our study of Ecclesiastes for several weeks.

We've got a couple of weeks left.

And this has been called catching smoke.

You saw the little video beforehand.

Ecclesiastes gives this vibe that life is meaningless sometimes.

You can give it your best shot and you still lose.

It's like chasing the wind.

You're never going to catch it.

It's like trying to catch smoke in your hand.

You can't hold it.

So Ecclesiastes chapter 9.

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

And let's look at verse 1 together.

Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and verse 1.

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

I'm reading from the New Living Translation.

This too I carefully explored.

Who is I there?

Who's talking?

It's the teacher.

We've identified him as King Solomon.

And so the teacher, the author of Ecclesiastes,

compares living this life under the sun to something as pointless

as chasing the wind or trying to catch smoke.

And he's brutally honest about the truth that we just talked about

and remembered through this crazy moment in the history of sports,

even bigger than sports,

that sometimes the wicked prosper, the good guys lose,

the righteous suffer.

And in the end, death comes for everyone.

Ecclesiastes digs into this.

Why?

Because it's not just bad luck.

The world is under a curse.

It's cursed.

Say, what are you talking about?

Are we like watching a pirate movie or something?

No, this is a real curse.

Ecclesiastes chapter 1.

Ecclesiastes 1 · chapter mention

He said, I carefully explored this.

Even though the actions of godly...

Did I say chapter 1?

Chapter 9, verse 1.

The actions of godly and wise people are in God's hands.

No one knows whether God will show them favor.

The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone,

whether you're righteous or you're wicked,

you're good or you're bad,

ceremonially clean or unclean,

religious or irreligious.

He says we do all these things to try to be the best,

and at the end, it doesn't matter.

The same fate awaits everyone.

Good people receive the same treatment as sinners.

People who make promises to God

are treated like people who don't.

It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun

suffers the same fate,

already twisted by evil.

People choose their own mad course,

for they have no hope.

There's nothing ahead but death anyway.

Man, this is crazy, isn't it?

What an outlook on life.

Ah, what does it matter?

There's nothing ahead but death anyway.

Where's he going with this?

Let's keep reading.

Verse four,

there's hope only for the living.

As they say,

it's better to be a live dog than a dead lion.

It's probably true.

In life, a dog wouldn't stand a chance against a lion,

but if the dog's alive and the lion's not,

better off to be the dog, right?

Verse five,

the living at least know they will die,

but the dead know nothing.

They have no further reward,

nor are they remembered.

Whatever they did in their lifetime,

loving, hating, envying,

it's all long gone.

They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.

So go ahead.

Eat your food with joy.

Drink your wine with a happy heart,

for God approves of this.

Wear fine clothes with a splash of cologne.

Whatever the ancient version of cologne was.

Live happily with the woman you love

through all the meaningless days of life

that God has given you under the sun.

Now in Solomon's case,

live happy with the thousands of women

he seemed to love.

Remember that?

How many wives and how many concubines?

900 wives, 700 concubines.

The wife God gives you is your reward

for all your earthly toil.

Whatever you do, do it well.

When you go to the grave,

there will be no more work,

no more planning,

no knowledge, no wisdom.

He says,

I've observed everything under the sun.

In verse 11,

the fastest runner doesn't always win the race.

The strongest warrior

doesn't always win the battle.

The wise sometimes go hungry.

The skillful are not necessarily wealthy.

How many of you say,

yeah, I'm skillful, but I ain't wealthy.

You can connect with that verse.

Those who are educated

don't always lead successful lives.

I've seen news reports

about people who have gotten their PhDs

and there just aren't enough teaching gigs

out there for them.

They're having to take menial labor jobs

or whatever they can get their hands on

because there aren't enough positions

for them to actually go teach in their field

that they're well qualified to teach in.

It's all decided by chance,

by being in the right place at the right time.

Isn't that an interesting perspective here?

In the Bible?

What's he talking about?

Verse 12,

people can never predict

when hard times might come.

Like fish in a net

or birds in a trap,

people are caught

by sudden tragedy.

Here's another bit of wisdom.

It's impressed me

as I've watched the way our world works.

He gives a little parable here,

a little story.

It might have been something

he actually encountered in his life.

We're not sure.

He doesn't exactly tell us.

He says,

there was a small town

with only a few people,

Henrietta, Texas.

Just kidding.

And a great king came

with his army

and besieged it.

Oh no.

A poor wise man

knew how to save the town

and so it was rescued.

I want to see the movie.

I want to read the book.

What happened here, Solomon?

You're kind of teasing us here.

But the point wasn't

how the poor wise man

saved the town.

He says,

afterward,

no one thought

to thank him.

You ever been that guy?

Came through for somebody

in the clutch

and they just didn't seem

all that grateful?

So even though our wisdom

is better than strength,

those who are wise

will be despised

if they are poor.

What they say

will not be appreciated for long.

So it's better

to hear the quiet words

of a wise person

than the shouts

of a foolish king.

A lot of times

foolish kings will shout.

They won't be quiet.

Verse 18,

he elaborates on that.

He compounds on it.

Better to have wisdom

than weapons of war.

But one sinner

can destroy much

that is good.

Okay, that was a lot.

We just read 18 verses.

And it was a lot

of doom and gloom.

But it was a lot

of reality check too.

It was a lot

of the facts of life.

Some of you maybe

who haven't dug

into Ecclesiastes

very much

are surprised

to read this kind

of thing

in the book

we call

the Holy Bible,

God's Word.

So where is he going

with all this?

Let's go back

to verse 2.

The same destiny

ultimately awaits everyone.

Death comes

for the righteous.

Death comes

for the wicked.

Death comes

for the wise.

It comes

for the foolish.

The teacher

looks at life

under the sun

and tells the truth

that life

is unpredictable.

It's unfair.

Something has gone

terribly wrong

with the world.

What Solomon

didn't have

when he wrote

these words

was the whole story.

he didn't have

the full perspective.

He had wisdom

for his life

given to him

from God

but he didn't have

the coming

of Jesus yet.

He didn't have

the full understanding

of the fall of man

and the curse

that this world

is under.

This leads us

to our first

main truth.

We were in

Ecclesiastes chapter 1

Ecclesiastes 1 · chapter mention

in verse

chapter 9.

I keep saying

chapter 1.

Y'all forgive me

for that.

Chapter 9

verse 1

through 18.

First main truth

is this.

Two truths

that I want us

to draw

from these 18 verses.

First,

life under the sun

is under

the curse

of sin.

This explains

everything

he just said.

Yes,

all those things

are true.

The good guy

doesn't always

come out on top.

The guy

who does right

doesn't always

finish first.

sometimes evil

seems to win.

Why?

Because this world

is broken.

This world

is warped.

This world

is under

a curse.

So that's

the bad news.

Look down

at verse 11

of chapter 9.

The race

is not to the swift.

The battle

is not to the strong.

Time and chance

happen to them all.

The fastest runner

doesn't always win,

right?

The smartest person

doesn't always succeed.

The strongest army

doesn't always

find the victory

in battle.

Then the teacher

gives an image

that explains

the frustration

of life

in the next verse.

Verse 12.

People are trapped

in an evil time

as fish

are caught

in a net.

That's the picture.

That's the illustration.

Human beings

moving through life

made in the image

of God

but moving

through this

cursed world

and suddenly

the net

drops around them.

They experience

loss,

tragedy,

serious illness,

even death.

So life

under the sun

is not functioning

the way

it was meant to.

Solomon recognized

this.

He knew

it was true.

He'd experienced it.

He'd seen it

and in all his wisdom

he'd seen

the injustice

of it

but he didn't

know why.

The apostle

Paul

in Romans

the letter

to the church

in Rome

chapter 8

verse 20

sheds light

on the why.

He says

all creation

was subjected

to God's curse.

Why?

Because of

sin.

We are

in a

cursed world.

We were talking

about this

in our starting point

course this morning

a little bit

that we are

living in

the domain

of darkness.

darkness.

Remember

the battle

the cosmic

battle

in the heavens

long ago

before any

of this

existed

and Satan

and Lucifer

and his angels

fought against God

and of course

they couldn't win

and so God

cast them out

of heaven

down

to this

earth.

This is the

domain.

And then God

came down

and created

things perfectly.

He created

man and woman

perfectly

but he didn't

make them robots.

He gave them

choice.

He gave them

free will

knowing that

they would

choose the

opposite of

him.

They would

choose darkness

over light

and the curse

set in.

Satan

instead of

man

was given

dominion

over the

earth.

God created

mankind

to have

dominion

over the

earth

but then

we surrendered

that authority

over to

the devil.

So now

we live

in his

domain

and it's

not perfect

as God

intended

for it

to be.

It's under

the curse

of sin.

So all

creation

all the

beautiful

that we

see all

around us

in nature

all the

majesty

of God's

creation

the intricacy

of the

human body

everything

that we

marvel at

and admire

in God's

creation

it's all

cursed.

It's all

under God's

curse.

Creation

itself has

been pulled

into futility

like all

your efforts

are futile

worthless

destined

to fail

because

of this

curse.

The world

is bent

justice

is often

incorrect

or at

least

delayed

outcomes

are

unpredictable

!

Death

shadows

everything

the Bible

doesn't

deny

that

it

explains

it

the world

is living

under the

curse

of sin

so yes

the world

is stacked

against

you

but here's

the good

news

that Solomon

didn't

have

Jesus

overcame

the world

Jesus

overcame

this

cursed

world

yes

the deck

is stacked

against

you

yes

the world

the flesh

and the devil

are trying

to stop

you

they're trying

to trip

you up

you're living

in the domain

of darkness

but Jesus

overcomes

it

that leads

us to

truth

number

two

Christ

broke

the curse

yes

this world

is cursed

but Christ

broke it

yes

life under

the sun

is under

the curse

of sin

but Christ

breaks

that curse

so Ecclesiastes

looks at the

world

and sees

the reality

of the

shadow

of death

Jesus

says

I can

walk

through

the valley

of the

shadow

of death

and I

can get

you

to the

other

side

the

gospel

tells us

what

happened

next

Jesus

the son

of God

stepped

into

the

very

curse

that

breaks

this

world

and his

death

on the

cross

looks

like

he

lost

it

looks

like

he

was

defeated

by the

curse

that evil

won

but his

death

on the

cross

was a

result

of the

death

that this

cursed

world

leads

to

death

he

had

to

die

because

sin

and

destruction

leads

to

death

sin

and

darkness

leads

to

death

and

destruction

so

Jesus

took

that

on

himself

he

said

I

will

take

your

best

shot

and

I'll

come

up

swinging

I'll

come

up

the

victor

you

can

do

your

worst

to

me

sin

death

hell

darkness

Satan

take

your

best

shot

kill

me

and

I

still

win

the

victory

because

the

curse

has

no

power

over

the

son

of

God

it's

got

power

over

you

it

had

power

over

Solomon

it

has

power

over

me

but

it

has

no

curse

over

God

so

we

literally

read

in

Deuteronomy

and

then

again

in

Galatians

that

anyone

who

is

hung

on

a

tree

is

under

a

curse

you

realize

what

Jesus

died

as a

result

of

the

curse

he

spelled

out

the

problem

for

us

then

the

resurrection

reveals

that

his

death

was

actually

the

means

to

victory

because

then

the

resurrection

happened

Jesus

didn't

stay

dead

he

didn't

stay

under

the

curse

he

broke

it

the

tyrant

behind

the

curse

had

been

conquered

the

cursed

one

did

his

worst

and

he

couldn't

defeat

the

son

of

God

so

Paul

gives

us

a

beautiful

picture

of

this

a

beautiful

expression

of

this

in

1

Corinthians

would

you

turn

there

with

me

real

quick

we've

got

a few

verses

to

read

in

1

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter

15

for

sake

of

time

I'm

going to

go ahead

and read

while you

turn

but

1

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter

15

look

all

the

way

down

it's

a

very

long

chapter

unusual

for

the

New

Testament

you

see

more

of

those

in

Psalms

but

1

death

is

swallowed

up

in

victory

oh

death

where

is

your

sting

oh

death

where

is

your

victory

the

sting

of

death

is

sin

the

sting

is

the

sting

that

results

in

death

and

then

verse

56

the

law

gives

sin

its

power

but

thank

God

he

gives

us

victory

over

sin

and

death

through

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

you

see

what

this

is

doing

he's

painting

this

poetic

expression

of

Christ's

victory

over

sin

yes

death

is

still

real

but

it

no

longer

rules

our

lives

it

no

longer

rules

the

story

the

sting

has

been

taken

out

the

curse

that

entered

the

world

through

sin

was

broken

through

the

resurrection

of

the

victorious

Christ

in

Latin

that's

known

as

Christus

victor

it

means

that

it

wasn't

so

much

that

Jesus

took

our

place

to

bear

the

wrath

of

God's

punishment

instead

that

by

his

death

and

his

resurrection

Christ

defeated

the

enemy

he

broke

the

curse

of

sin

and

death

that's

the

gospel

what is

the

gospel

it's a

word

we hear

around

church

it's a

word

you might

read in

the

Bible

it's a

word

you might

hear

if you

hang around

church

people

sometimes

occasionally

outside of

that

but what

does that

mean

the gospel

is a

word

that we

hear

but sometimes

we'll struggle

to put it

into words

I think

there's one of my

favorite authors

Brian Zahn

he says

the gospel

is the

beautiful story

of how God

is bringing

the world

out of bondage

to sin

and death

through the

triumph

of Jesus

Christ

that's a

really nice

definition

of what the

gospel is

it's the

story

of God

rescuing

us

freeing

us

from this

curse

of sin

that's

what the

gospel

is

that's

Christus

victor

victorious

Christ

it's the

best news

you'll ever

hear

it's what

gives meaning

to our

lives

so our

takeaway

from this

when death

lost its

power

life

gained

its

purpose

what's

the

purpose

of life

what's

the

meaning

of life

ultimately

it's all

meaningless

ultimately

there is

no purpose

and that's

what you

see from

Solomon

all throughout

Ecclesiastes

he keeps

hammering home

this idea

that man

you can try

you can get

in the rat

race

and you

can win

it

but at the

end of

the day

you're still

a rat

Walter

Brueggemann

said that

I didn't

say that

but I

repeated it

I love

that quote

you know

yeah at

the end

of the

day

you can

do

everything

right

you're

still not

going to

come out

ahead

you're

still not

going to

ultimately

win

because the

world is

cursed

but God

is the

X factor

Jesus

is the

X factor

he's the

one who

came down

and broke

the curse

there was

no hope

there was

only hope

of him

coming

but then

he came

and now

we get

hope

that is

alive

hope

that is

real

hope

that

happened

hope

that

took

place

now

hope

turns

into

faith

now

we have

faith

in the

one

who

did

come

the

one

who

did

win

the

one

who

did

break

the

curse

so

let's

bring

that

down

to

Henry

out

of

Texas

now

let's

bring

that

down

to

Clay

County

and

our

guests

from

out

West

this

morning

my

family

my wife's

family

is here

in town

my wife's

mom

and her

sister

and brother

in law

and they're

beautiful

little girls

so I don't

want to

exclude them

Henrietta

Texas

Clay

County

and all

the way

out

to

out

West

let's

bring

it

home

to

our

lives

what

is

the

direction

that

we

can

take

from

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

chapter

9

how do

we live

with

courage

in a

cursed

world

this

week

number

one

do

the

next

right

thing

even

facing

uncertain

outcomes

you

don't

know

if

your

week

is

going

to

look

like

the

gold

medal

game

from

the

1972

Olympics

and

the

deck

is

going

to

be

stacked

against

you

and

life

is

rigged

and

it's

just

you're

going

to

come

up

empty

do

the

next

right

thing

anyway

because

you

know

that

no

matter

what

life

the

world

the

flesh

the

devil

throws

against

you

you

know

that

that

curse

has

been

broken

yes

we're

still

surrounded

by

sin

yes

we

still

participate

in

sin

sometimes

because

God

is in

the

process

of

changing

us

we're

not

totally

changed

yet

so

our

job

is

to

do

the

next

right

thing

even

facing

uncertain

outcomes

secondly

it's

to

refuse

to

remeasure

your

life

by

immediate

results

we

let

this

trip

us

up

so

many

times

we

are

prisoners

of

the

moment

well

if

it

didn't

help

me

right

now

then

what

good

is

it

Jesus

was

never

a

prisoner

of

the

moment

he

was

never

in

a

hurry

his

best

friends

were

his

best

friend

Lazarus

had

died

and

he

wasn't

in a

hurry

to

get

there

and

fix

the

situation

because

he

wasn't

bound

by

immediate

results

he

knew

that

the

outcome

was

under

God's

control

we

should

know

that

too

in

our

heads

we

know

that

but

we

still

judge

our

lives

by

immediate

results

so

resist

that

temptation

remember

remember

that

the

curse

is

broken

nothing

can

ultimately

defeat

you

nothing

can

ultimately

harm

you

and so

refuse

to

measure

your

life

by

immediate

results

this

is a

marathon

with

Jesus

not

a

sprint

and

then

finally

enjoy

sorry

enjoy

the

life

that

God

gives

you

look

back

at

Ecclesiastes

9

and

verse

7

go

eat

your

bread

with

pleasure

drink

your

wine

with

a

cheerful

heart

!

enjoy

the

journey

now

because

you

are

no

longer

under

the

curse

you're

surrounded

by

the

curse

you're

dealing

with

cursed

people

that's

why

it's

silly

for

God's

people

to

get

so

angry

against

those

who

are

still

under

the

curse

well

of course

they're

going to

act

that

way

of course

they're

going to

take

the

wrong

view

on

things

why

are

you

getting

angry

at

them

they're

just

behaving

as

part

of

the

cursed

world

that

you

used

to

be

under

you

used

to

think

the

same

way

you

used

to

be

wired

the

same

way

God's

changing

you

now

make

sure

you

don't

show

the

same

anger

the

same

selfishness

that

they

do

enjoy

the

life

God

gives

you

now

enjoy

the

good

things

don't

so

much

long

for

heaven

that

you

don't

enjoy

what God's

giving

you

now

what

God's

doing

in

you

now

enjoy

every

step

with

Jesus

now

life

is a

gift

from

God

for us

it gets

to be

eternal