Ecclesiastes 2:3

Chapter 2, beginning in verse 1.

I said in my heart,

Come now, I will test you with pleasure.

! Enjoy yourself.

But behold, this also was vanity.

I said of laughter it is mad,

and of pleasure what use is it?

I searched my heart how to cheer my body with wine,

my heart still guiding me with wisdom,

and how to lay hold on folly

till I might see what was good for the children of man

to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

I made great works.

I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.

I made myself gardens and parks

and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.

I made myself pools from which to water

the forest of growing trees.

I bought male and female slaves

and had slaves who were born in my house.

I had also great possessions of herds and flocks

more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.

I also gathered for myself silver and gold

and the treasure of kings and provinces.

I got singers, both men and women,

and many concubines the delight of the sons of man.

So I became great and surpassed

all who were before me in Jerusalem.

Also my wisdom remained with me.

And whatever my eyes desired,

I did not keep from them.

I kept my heart from no pleasure,

for my heart found pleasure in all my toil,

and this was my reward for all my toil.

Then I considered all that my hands had done

and the toil I had expended in doing it.

And behold, all was vanity

and a striving after wind,

and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

This is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory and for our good.

And we would all do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Now this morning our focus is going to be

just on verse 3.

And we'll probably speed to the end of verse 11

in the coming weeks,

but this morning I want to look at verse 3.

And let me read just that verse to you again.

I searched with my heart

how to cheer my body with wine,

my heart still guiding me with wisdom,

and how to lay hold on folly or silliness

till I might see what was good

for the children of man to do under heaven

during the few days of their life.

Note first in the text

the brevity of life.

How very brief life is.

If you splice verse 3

and put it back together,

you could read,

I searched with my heart

till I might see what was good

for the children of man to do under heaven

during the few days of their life.

James writes in James 4.14,

What is your life?

For you are a mist that appears

for a little time

and then vanishes.

If we don't understand

how very brief our lives are,

we will not understand

how insignificant

what we can accomplish

under the sun

truly is.

Our perspective will be horribly inadequate

if we do not consider

the measure of our days

in the scope of eternity.

You are just a man.

You are just a woman.

And your life here and now

is fleeting.

It's vanishing.

It's like a vapor in the wind.

It will go so rapidly

in comparison to eternity.

David in Psalm 39, 4-7

prays this,

O Lord,

make me know my end

and what is the measure of my days.

Let me know how fleeting I am.

His prayer is,

he cries out to God

that he would understand

that very thing.

How brief his life is.

Verse 5,

Behold, you have made my days

a few handbreadths

and my lifetime

is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind

stands as a mere breath.

Surely a man goes about

as a shadow.

Surely for nothing

they are in turmoil.

Man heaps up wealth

and does not know

who will gather.

And now, O Lord,

for what do I wait?

So here's the result

of him understanding

the brevity of his life.

My hope is in you.

As he looks at eternity,

as he steps back away

and he sees how very brief

his life is

and understands the scope

of the rest of it,

the beyond under the sun,

he sees the weighty matter

that's before him

and he knows

that he must hope in God.

Remember the conclusion

of our preacher,

Ecclesiastes 12.13.

After he's weighed

all of this out

in all of the preceding chapters,

he says,

the end of the matter

all has been heard.

Fear God

and keep His commandments.

For this is the whole duty

of man.

Beloved,

we spend far too much time

acting as if this life

has great weight

in what we can accomplish

under the sun.

So many of us,

particularly those of you

who are young,

live as if you're invincible

and that what's happening here

and now

is of the greatest

and ultimate value.

And it's not.

We need to rightly have

our minds and hearts

put in proper perspective.

Seeing that we serve

an eternal God

who has an eternal purpose

and plan

and we should live

for that

now.

So the beginning of verse 3

presents

a joy,

a self-indulgent pleasure,

a thing that the king

sought after,

trying to understand,

if this is a thing

worth finding value in,

worth finding gain in.

We know already

his conclusion,

but it's still right and proper

that we look at

the why.

Why does he still come

to that conclusion?

First,

the beginning of verse 3

presents some challenges

for us in interpretation.

It's structured

very interestingly.

We have to ask the question

and kind of waffle between

is the preacher

talking about

partying

or is the preacher

talking about

appreciating.

He says,

I search with my heart

how to cheer my body

with wine.

But then we get this insertion,

my heart

still guiding me

with wisdom

and how to lay hold

on folly.

So it's interesting

and scholars,

commentators,

kind of line up

in different places

on the text.

Is he talking about

inebriation

or is he talking about

sophistication?

Some suggest

that he's simply

partying

until he drops

and then he's

later assessing

the value of that.

His heart's still guiding him

with wisdom.

He goes through the experience,

he sees

what is the end

of this

temporal pleasure

and then he stops

and weighs it out

and considers

was this something

to be gained

under the sun

and then he does it again.

I can see why.

I can understand that.

I think there's probably

at least a part of that

happening here

for the preacher.

The reason I would say

is because beyond

that insertion

it says

in how to lay hold

on folly.

Right?

In the pursuit

of cheering his body

with wine

he also wants

to lay hold

on folly

or foolishness

or silliness

is the type

of partying

that comes

with inebriation

of value.

I also can see

the sophistication

argument.

This insertion,

my heart's still

guiding me

with wisdom.

That he

was appreciating

the brewing process

and what could be

produced from it.

That he was

sampling

the various

notes

and flavor

that could be found

in wine.

That he was becoming

a connoisseur

of this thing.

That he was pursuing

it as a hobby.

And I think

probably both

are true.

Ecclesiastes 1.13

read it to you

just a moment ago

says,

And I applied my heart

to seek

and to search out

by wisdom

all that is done

under heaven.

And so I think

he explores

both sides

of what

wine has

to offer

humanity.

And so we'll

look at it

in that way

in those two ways.

The vanity

of inebriation

as well as

the vanity

of sophistication.

So the

vanity

of

inebriation.

I searched

with my heart

how to cheer

my body

with wine

and if you

delete the insertion

and how to

lay hold

on folly.

Now beloved,

the Bible gives

many strong

warnings

against the

foolishness

of out of

proportion

drinking.

Listen to a few.

Proverbs 21

wine

is a mocker,

strong drink

a brawler

and whoever

is led astray

by it

is not

wise.

Isaiah 5

22

and I really

like this one.

Isaiah says,

woe to those

who are heroes

at drinking

wine

and valiant

men

in mixing

strong drink.

Proverbs 23

23.

Turn here

with me

to verse

29.

Proverbs 23

29-35

who has

woe?

Who has

sorrow?

Who has

strife?

Who has

complaining?

Who has

wounds without

cause?

Who has

redness

of eyes?

And then here

verse 30

and on is the

answer to

those questions.

Those who

tarry long

over wine.

Those who

go to try

mixed wine.

Do not look

at wine

when it is

red,

when it sparkles

in the cup

and goes down

smoothly.

In the end

it bites

like a serpent

and stings

like an

adder.

Your eyes

will see

strange things

and your

heart

utter

perverse

things.

You will

be like

one who

lies down

in the

midst

of the

sea,

like one

who lies

on the

top

of a

mast.

They

struck

me,

you will

say,

but I

was not

hurt.

They

beat me,

but I

did not

feel it.

So there's

this abuse

happening to

the drinker,

right,

to the person

who's abusing

alcohol.

But their

logic is

perverted.

That's what

he's saying,

right?

They struck

me,

I wasn't

hurt.

They beat

me,

I didn't

feel it.

When shall

I awake?

I must

have another

drink.

There's this

unending

cycle of

sorrow for

those who

drown their

sorrow in

addiction.

And it's a

great problem.

The addict

medicates to

ease the

woes of

life.

But their

endless

medicating

heaps up

for them

more

woes.

Strong

drink and

the abuse

of it is

a great

danger.

A great

danger.

The Scripture

is clear on

this for

us.

Further,

Christian

people,

those who

profess to

follow Christ

are not

to be

drunkards.

1 Corinthians

5, 11-13,

Paul writes,

But now I

am writing

to you not

to associate

with anyone

who bears

the name of

brother if

he is guilty

of sexual

morality or

greed or

is an

idolater,

reviler,

drunkard,

or swindler,

not even to

eat with

such a one.

For what

have I to

do with

judging

outsiders?

Is it not

those inside

the church

whom you

are to

judge?

God judges

those outside.

Purge the

evil person

from among

you.

And Paul is

not saying

that if we

fail at any

of these

points,

that if you

know someone

who claims

to follow

Christ,

who at

one time

got drunk,

that you're

to have

nothing to

do with

them,

that the

church should

judge them,

that there

should be

discipline

placed upon

them.

But what

he's saying

is those

who are

unrepentant

in these

things,

those who

pick up

these things

as habits,

are giving

evidence that

they're not

found,

in Christ.

And it is

the job

of the

church to

not associate

with them

as the

church.

Not that we

don't love

and wrap our

arms around

those people,

but we

don't endorse

their sin

in so doing.

Christians are

not to be

drunkards.

So can the

Christian drink?

Are you

young people?

If you're

under 21,

no.

I cannot

tell you

how many

stupid

conversations

I've

been in

with

people

under

21

about

drinking.

No,

it's

illegal.

You

cannot.

If you

are 21

or older,

yes,

the answer

is yes.

I could get

myself in

all kinds

of trouble

as a

Southern

Baptist

preacher.

I'm saying

that,

but some

stances

made by

denominations

are wrong.

Some gray

areas,

people have

tried to make

black and

white,

and it's

not okay.

Jesus'

first miracle

was to

turn water

into wine.

And don't

come at me

with Greek

arguments about

what he

turned it

into.

He didn't

turn it

into grape

juice.

He turned

it into

wine.

It was

actually said

that it

was the

best wine,

which meant

it was the

strong wine

that he

turned it

into.

In fact,

he turned

it into

120 to

180 gallons

of wine.

It was a

party.

Paul commends

to Timothy

the drinking

of wine

for his

health.

1 Timothy

5.23

It's a

parenthetical

in our

English text.

No longer

drink only

water,

but use

a little

wine for

the sake

of your

stomach

and your

frequent

ailments.

The Scripture

nowhere forbids

the drinking,

but don't

forget the

strong case

made against

the danger

of it.

Please don't

set that

apart in

your mind,

young people.

There's strong

warning given

in the Scripture.

About what

drink can

do.

But drinking

in moderation

is okay.

I hear the

argument often

on the other

side of the

coin.

Those who

want to be

licentious in

their drinking,

who are

Christians,

say for those

of us who

choose not to

drink,

that we're not

practicing our

liberty,

that we have

somehow denied

the freeness we

have in the

Gospel,

which is

total hogwash.

I can

choose not

to drink,

which I

do,

just to

clear that

up for

you.

For

myself,

I choose

not to

drink,

which is

a practicing

of my

liberty in

Christ.

It's not

a law

placed upon

me by

my

denomination,

but it's

rather something

that I

freely choose

to do

in Christ.

It is a

practicing

of my

liberty.

Don't

think that

if you

decide not

to drink

that you're

denying

the freedom

you have

in the

Gospel.

Romans

Romans 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14.

In light

of much

debate in

that day

over the

consumption

of food

offered to

idols,

as well

as the

consumption

of foods

prohibited

by Old

Testament

ceremonial

law,

there was

lots of

hubbub

about food

and drink

in the

day in

the early

church.

And Paul

writes,

beginning in

verse 20

of Romans

14,

do not

for the

sake of

food

destroy

the work

of God.

Everything

is indeed

clean,

but it is

wrong for

anyone to

make another

stumble by

what he

eats.

It is

good not

to eat

meat

or drink

wine

or do

anything

that causes

your brother

to stumble.

The faith

that you

have,

keep between

yourself

and God.

Blessed

is the

one who

has no

reason to

pass judgment

on himself

for what

he approves.

But whoever

has doubts

is condemned

if he

eats,

because the

eating is

not from

faith,

for whatever

does not

proceed from

faith is

sin.

And I

bring that

text to

you to

say that

in the

culture in

which we

live,

which is

very split

on the

issue of

alcohol,

we should

be very

wise in

our day.

In fact,

I would

say to

you,

as you

consider

your freedom

in Christ,

as you

consider the

gray area

here,

that if

you have

doubt in

your mind,

don't.

If you're

in a given

situation and

you're just

not sure,

if you're

just considering

the issue

altogether and

you're just

not sure,

don't.

The text

says,

verse 23,

but whoever

has doubts

is condemned

if he eats

because the

eating is

not from

faith.

I believe

we have

much reason

to doubt.

Not making

a case that

you can't.

I'm just

making a

case that

maybe you

shouldn't.

So hear

that.

Hear the

freedom in

it, but

hear the

strong warning

as well.

We're

to be a

people set

apart.

There is

a vanity

in over

consumption of

alcohol, to

be sure.

There's also

a vanity in

sophistication of

it.

we know,

many of us

here know,

many people,

I believe,

at least I

know that I

do, who

really have

taken up

craft beer

as their

thing.

They're going

to try them

all and

know them

all and

very proud

that they

know them

all.

And I'm

not saying

that they

can't do

this thing,

but there's

no real

value found

in it.

This little

phrase in

the middle

of verse

3,

my heart

still guiding

me with

wisdom.

And as I

said, I

think both

things are

going on.

I think he

probably at

times was

becoming drunk

and seeing

the vanity

of that,

and at

times he

was not

becoming

drunk,

but rather

drinking in

moderation and

then soberly

and thoughtfully

accessing his

experience.

Is this one

good?

Is this one

lend to joy?

What is the

strength?

What is the

particular alcohol

content that I

appreciate and

enjoy?

So whether

in sophistication

or in

inebriation,

there is no

gain.

Neither the

connoisseur nor

the drunkard can

find true gain

at the bottom

of a glass.

Now the thought

that the preacher

possibly pursued

gain in his

sophistication in

wine leads me

to consider,

to go a little

bit beyond the

idea of just

alcohol,

just wine,

just the

vanity of

hobbies.

Now many of

us may not

endeavor to be

connoisseurs of

wine or craft

beer or anything

else of fine

cheeses.

You ever seen

at Ingalls the

olive bar at

Ingalls?

Who in our

culture eats that

many different

kinds of olives

and shops at

Ingalls?

I don't

understand.

Twelve different

types of

olives at

Ingalls.

Maybe there

are some

connoisseurs of

olives amongst

us, maybe even

today.

Those of you not

laughing, maybe.

We can have any

number of various

hobbies, things

that we pursue,

things that we

seek to become

experts in.

And beloved,

there's not

ultimate value

in these things

either.

Now hear me, I'm

saying ultimate

value, there can

be some value,

there's some

value in

enjoyment,

there's some

value in

disconnecting,

in creating.

My wife is a

wonderful painter,

I'm so thankful

for the production

of beauty that

she creates in

our home from

the paintings

that she does.

For me, not

so much now,

but, oh gosh,

over a decade

ago now, the

hobbies that I

pursued in an

unhealthy manner

that I looked

for gain in

were rock

climbing and

whitewater kayaking.

And I know

there's some

people in our

congregation that

like to do

both of these

things.

I loved it.

And in fact, I

loved it to the

degree that I

sought to find

all of my

identity in it.

I was Nathan

who was firstly

a rock climber

and a whitewater

kayaker.

I can remember

going to have

an injury

assessed by a

doctor who

asked me how

I got the

injury.

He was a

surgeon.

I didn't get a

surgery, but we

were considering

it.

And he started

to share with

me how much

he had climbed

in college.

He'd done some

amazing things.

He'd gotten to

go some wonderful

places and do

some rather

advanced rock

climbing.

And I said,

do you still

climb?

And he said,

oh no,

insurance premiums

are just way

too high now.

And I can

remember at the

time just thinking

what a betrayer

of his own

identity he

was.

But he rightly

saw it as a

hobby.

He rightly

saw it as a

thing he enjoyed

doing one day.

And he was able

to put it back

down at another

time.

For those of

you who are

climbers amongst

us, those of you

who aren't,

this will make

no sense.

Not that I was

the best of

climbers, but I

bouldered V8.

I was leading

sport 511,

looking to

push into

12s.

I loved to

climb.

I was really

disappointed if I

didn't climb at

least three times

a week.

And I wanted at

least two of

those times to

be outdoors.

Ask some people

who were close

to me in those

days, if I was

gone, it was

where I was

at.

I was usually

climbing somewhere.

There was always

someone better

than me.

There was always

another grade,

another level to

achieve.

There would be

all of the

passion and

pursuit of

being able to

accomplish

something.

And when I

accomplished it,

there was a

brief moment of

joy and then

another turning

to another

goal and

another endeavor.

I started

getting into

whitewater kayaking

because I had

nothing to do

on days that

it rained.

I needed to

go pursue

adrenaline in

another way.

I empowered

class 5

whitewater.

I became

an American

Canoe Association

whitewater kayak

instructor.

I heavily

invested myself

into these

things.

Spent

countless

hours

pursuing

these

activities.

And it

had no

ultimate

value.

Pull some

things out of

it.

Some things,

some little

things to

grasp onto,

but no

ultimate

value.

Not saying

that you

can't have

hobbies,

what I am

saying is

that your

hobby ought

not be

your God.

And you

need to

really carefully

assess if

the stuff

that you

pursue to

be sophisticated

in, to

be the

expert in,

grab your

attention in

a way that

it diverts

it from

God.

Praise God

through a

number of

injuries and

through a

decade plus

of chronic

pain.

I don't

really get to

do these

things anymore.

And sometimes

I'm jealous.

I want to.

I see you

guys going

and having

fun.

I really

want to get

in the

middle of

that.

But one

of the

goods,

and I

believe there

are many,

but one

of the

great goods

in that is

that God

exposed my

heart as

He took

something away

from me that

I worshipped.

And beloved,

there is

greater joy

than anything

in this world

that you could

possibly throw

your energy

into and

endeavor to be.

I could have

been the best

rock climber

in the world.

I could have

been going off

the highest

waterfalls

better than

anyone else,

setting world

records,

having all

of the

acclaim in

every magazine,

the star of

all the

videos,

and yet it

would have been

meaningless.

There's greater

joy,

and that joy is

found in

Christ.

In Nehemiah

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

the people of

God are

urged to

eat the

fat and

drink sweet

rind to

celebrate the

holiness of

the day.

But then it

reminds them

that true

strength is

found in

the joy of

the Lord,

a deep and

an abiding

joy, a joy

that's not

based on

circumstance

that cannot

be taken

from you

ever,

is found

in Christ.

That's why

the prophet

Isaiah cries

out to us

in chapter

55,

verses 1 and

2,

Come,

everyone who

thirsts,

come to the

waters,

and he who

has no money,

come,

buy and

eat.

Come,

buy wine and

milk without

money and

without price.

Why do you

spend your

money for

that which

is not bread

and your

labor for

that which

does not

satisfy?

Listen

diligently to

me and

eat what

is good and

delight yourselves

in rich

food.

There is a

food,

and a

drink that

comes from

God and

ultimately

satisfies.

Jesus says to

a Samaritan

woman at

a well in

John 4,

13-14,

Everyone who

drinks of

this water

will be

thirsty again.

Whoever

drinks of

the water

that I

will give

him will

never be

thirsty again.

The water

that I

will give

him will

become in

him a

spring of

water

welling up

to eternal

life.

Jesus stands

up in the

midst of a

great feast

and says in

John 7,

37,

If anyone

thirsts,

let him

come to

me and

drink.

If you

are in

Christ,

Christ is

to be your

supreme

satisfaction.

He is

our gain.

He gives

life meaning.

To be a

disciple of

Jesus Christ

is to fear

God and to

keep His

commandments.

If you're

not in

Christ,

you're chasing

around trying

to find joy

and satisfaction

and meaning

in this

world,

you're going

to come

up dry.

You will

not find

the answer

apart from

Christ.

You will

not understand

the proper

and right

created order.

We have a

good and

loving kind

creator that

you have made

your enemy

by your

activity and

you need

reconciliation

in Christ.

To pull

back in my

kayaking days

and an

analogy for

you,

there's a

river that's

on the

border of

Georgia and

South Carolina

called the

Chattooga and

there's a

section of the

Chattooga called

the Five Falls

and it is what

it sounds like,

a series of

rapids back to

back to back

which are so

much fun.

It makes me

want to be there

right now just

thinking about

doing the Five

Falls.

In the middle

of one of

those rapids

there's this

eddy that you

can catch,

which an

eddy is a

spot you stop

on the river.

Boy, I just

stepped out ahead

of some of you.

But below

that eddy is

what we call

a sieve where

all the water

drains through a

hole and usually

there's all kinds

of logs and

all kinds of

junk in a

sieve and you

do not want

to be in

that spot.

People drown

and die going

into sieves.

And if you

pull into this

eddy you have

to do what's

called the

hairy fairy.

Am I

remembering this

rapid correctly

Wes?

Okay, I am.

And it's called

the hairy fairy

because you have

to go above

that sieve and

a fairy is when

you're pointing

upstream and

you're moving

across the

river.

Okay, the

sieve's behind

you when you're

in the middle

of this rapid

doing this

thing and it

is a real

danger.

It is there

and you have

to be aware

of it.

You don't

take somebody

through the

five falls

that's never

been through

the five

falls and

not explain

these types

of things

to them.

You don't

say, hey,

follow me

into this

place and

not have

them realize

what will

happen if

they don't

do the

hairy fairy

properly,

if they

don't stay

upstream of

that sieve.

It's not a

place you

want to be.

If you're not

found in Christ,

hear me say

this to you,

there is a

danger at the

end of your

brief life and

it is eternal

damnation.

It is bearing

the weight of

God's wrath

forever because

you're his enemy.

That's where we

are on the river.

the rescue,

the way around

is Christ.

If you are

in Christ,

you must

treasure him

up the way

he deserves

to be

treasured,

the way he

ought to be

treasured because

it's for your

good and it's

for the good

of the world.

The vision

statement for

our church

is that we

exist,

Christ Family

Church exists

to glorify

God,

to bring a

claim to

his name

by experiencing,

proclaiming,

and displaying

the supremacy

of Jesus

Christ in

all things

to all

peoples.

Wes and I

at the beginning

of this

semester

got the joy

of receiving

a rather

scathing email

from a young

lady who just

really didn't

enjoy our

worship service.

And it was

shocking to me

for two reasons.

Firstly,

that she had

the audacity

as an 18-year-old

to speak to

the leadership

of a church

the way that

she did.

Shame on her

father for not

raising her

better.

But also that

she so

misunderstood

so much

of what we

did together.

And she was

very upset

about the

vision statement

of our

church.

Just didn't

wrap her mind

around it

at all.

And so let

me help you

this morning

by saying to

you that if

you're in

Christ,

there should

be a real

and a day-to-day

experience of

the supremacy,

the great value

of Jesus Christ.

It should be

something that we

experience.

It should be a

real thing for

us.

Not a

philosophical

idea that's

out there.

But that we

are walking

with him day

by day

by day.

That we are

experiencing this

supremacy.

And out of that

comes proclamation

that we will say

things that are

true of who he

is.

The things that

we enjoy,

that we like to

talk most about.

Jesus will be on

our lips.

And we'll display

him in the way

that we live our

lives.

We'll orient

ourselves differently

because he is

our treasure.

Because he is

supreme to us.

And this will be

the case in all

things.

And it will be

the case to

all peoples.

This is meant

to be the

practice experience

of the Christian

life.

And I think

that the challenge

for so many of

us is that we

don't experience

the supremacy

of Christ

in the day

to day

because we

don't engage

ourselves in

the activities

of a Christian

in the day

to day.

You don't know

how you encounter

Jesus today

and tomorrow

and all of the

days that follow?

In four ways.

Read the

scripture.

This attests

as the word of

God to the

word of God

who is Christ.

You see and

you behold him

here.

This is where

he speaks

to us.

You communicate

to him in

prayer.

You lay down

the burden

of your day.

You give back

to him what is

due him in

praise in