Wisdom to Live | Ecclesiastes 9:1-10

Now, we have another opportunity to dig into

Ecclesiastes this morning. We're in chapter 9.

Our goal is to cover half of it today. Lord willing,

we'll get to finish the chapter before the end

of the year. And then, can you believe it, we'll

only have three more chapters left. It's only

been two plus something years. We'll get there.

Now, today I've titled the sermon, Wisdom to

Live. And on the screen here, we'll take a look

at the outline again so you can see how it fits.

There it is. We're going to see how knowing God

can help us to live before we die. Think about

that. I know awkwardness is a choice. Think about

how knowing God can help you to live before you

die. You may think that's so simple, but if that

statement is confusing at all, then I pray that

today's sermon is for you. Let's go ahead and

stand for the reading of God's word, Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9. We're going to read verses 1 through

10. For I have given all this to my heart and

explained it that righteous men, wise men, and

their service are in the hand of God. Man does

not know whether it will be love or hatred or

anything may be before him. It is the same for

all. There is one fate for the righteous and

for the wicked, for the good, for the clean and

for the unclean, for the man who offers a sacrifice

and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the

good man is, so is the sinner. As the swearer

is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This

is an evil in all that is done under the sun,

that there is one fate for all. Furthermore,

the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil.

and madness is in their hearts throughout their

lives. Afterwards, they go to the dead. For whoever

is joined with all the living, there is confidence.

Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know they will die, but the dead

do not know anything, nor have they any longer

a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.

Indeed, their love, their hate, and their zeal

have already perished, and they will never again

have a portion in all that is done under the

sun. Go then, eat your bread in gladness and

drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has

already accepted your works. Let your clothes

be white all the time and let not oil be lacking

on your head. See life with the woman whom you

love all the days of your vain life, which he's

given to you under the sun, all the days of your

vanity, for this is your portion in life and

in your labor in which you have labored under

the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do. Do it

with all your might, for there is no working

or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol

where you are going. You may be seated. Now,

last week we had probably the most fun application

from Ecclesiastes. Enjoy the center of the cinnamon

roll. How many of you wanted a cinnamon roll

afterwards? You probably did. I know I did. I

didn't make it up to Pismo. I'll have to wait

for that one. If you have not been, you should

go. You will enjoy it. Old West Sin Minerals.

Now, I'm not getting paid for them or anything,

just to be clear. Now, as silly as that application

sounded, it was wisdom being displayed. There

are so many troubles to endure in this life.

Why add to them by being overly bothered? Why

not just enjoy what you have while you have it?

We were left in chapter 8 with a firm statement

and a humbling one. No matter how hard man tries

to find out the work of God, he simply cannot.

We are limited. We are finite. We are unable

to fully comprehend the infinite almighty and

all the great things that he has done. Further,

we are unable to know what comes next. We don't

know what comes next for us. This is a hard one.

We don't know what comes next for our loved ones

and parents. That bothers us. But in the unknowableness

of the future, there is wisdom to respond. There

is joy to be had amidst the hardest days. There

is grace to be glad. But we need to learn from

the Lord on high how to live. God needs to teach

us to understand that things are not what they

seem. That eternal hope changes how we live today.

Thankfully, we do have a bit of an outline for

the passage today. for wisdom to live. We have

the first few verses, the fate of all. Then verses

four through six, the opportunity of breath.

And seven through 10, the way of wisdom. So as

we look at verse one, we've been moving along

in our study. We haven't taken the words or the

phrases of Solomon as disconnected ideas. We

haven't taken this as the Proverbs. We've seen

that he's wisely moving us through thought by

thought so that we'll be encouraged to follow

God's ways. So when we look at verse 1, he speaks

of all of this that he's given his heart to explain.

You have to bear in mind what he has said previously.

All of this is what he has just spoken of. It's

like the Old Testament equivalent of therefore,

right? Last week, verse 12, chapter 8, it says

it will ultimately go well for those who fear

God. In verse 13 of chapter 8, it will not go

well for the wicked. He made that clear. And

why? Well, now we have verse 1. The why is because

the righteous are in God's hands. In his hands.

What passage does that remind you of? Did you

think of John chapter 10, verse 29? Did you think

John 10:29

of that one? I did. No one is able to snatch

them out of my Father's hand. The true sheep

in this passage respond to the true shepherd.

They follow him and he gives eternal life. And

that promise is eternally secure. Why? Because

it's not based on man's ability to follow God.

It's based on God's ability to powerfully hold

life in his hand. Now where else do we see this

in scripture? You might have thought of Job chapter

Job 12 · chapter mention

12. He says, in whose hand is the life of every

living thing and the breath of all the flesh

of man. Deuteronomy 33. Indeed, he loves the

people. All your holy ones are in your hand and

they followed in your steps. Everyone is bearing

up your words. And we read this morning, Grant

read our call to worship, Psalm 73, a different

way of phrasing it. But he said, nevertheless,

I'm continually with you. You've taken hold of

my right hand. With your counsel you will lead

me and afterward take me in glory. I love that

one in Psalm 73 because Asaph turns it a little

different. He says that Yahweh grabs his right

hand and leads him to glory. I don't want you

to miss the messianic promise that's hiding in

plain sight here in Ecclesiastes. If you were

to read John 10, which confirms all of those

Old Testament thoughts, whether it's Job, whether

it's Deuteronomy, whether it's Psalms, then you're

going to come to the next verse. We read verse

29, but verse 30 says something incredible. After

he talks about being secure in the Father's hand,

Jesus says, I and the Father are one. Do you

see that Solomon is pointing to the Messiah?

Even 2 ,000 years prior. We're 2 ,000 years since

Christ. Got to get the math right. Think about

this. Jesus gives eternal security. And if you're

a believer today, you know that. You've heard

it. It's been preached about. Well, what did

the Old Testament saints hope in? Pre -incarnate

Christ, right? They didn't have the visible representation

of Emmanuel God with us, but they still had hope.

They had a trust. In who? In God Almighty. Now

their full realization of the gospel was not

for them. Isn't that amazing? That's why the

New Testament says saints have longed to look

at the things we get to see. Isn't that incredible?

And it comes down to this statement, I and the

Father are one. The righteous are in the hand

of God not because of their goodness, not because

of what they do, but because of The righteous

are in the hand of God because of Christ. Faithful

believers, faithful followers of Christ live

for him. They have lives that are marked by their

service to the king. And we're going to come

back to this because verse 7 in chapter 9 is

going to talk more about it. But be encouraged.

Friends, Christ is the only way to have security

and eternal rest. Solomon longed to see that

day of Emmanuel. We get to see it. Isn't that

amazing? Through Christ, we can have confidence

to be presented spotless. You think about Asaph

being led unto glory, hoping for what he didn't

see, and now the risen Christ has been revealed.

We have something that is absolutely incredible

in the scope of human history. Do we realize

it? Do we recognize it? Now, the second half

of verse 1 poses a little bit of confusion at

face value. But if we consider what we read in

chapter 7, it will make sense. Do you remember

that Solomon pointed out the righteous perish

and the wicked prosper? There's your alliteration

grant. That the world is upside down. That things

don't make sense. He pointed that out. He repeated

it in chapter 8. Well, the second half of verse

1 is stating the same thing again. You ought

to pursue righteousness, but you have no guarantee

of outcomes. here on earth. Often you are reminded,

especially in this church, that God is sovereign,

right? We talk about that. We know that one day

God will, he will meter out justice according

to Christ. But you need to remember this. There

is no predictable outcome with your works here.

There's a predictable outcome in eternity, in

glory. but you don't have the ability to predict

your outcomes this side of glory. So love or

hatred may await you. He's just saying the same

thing again. And the focus is not on interpreting

whether you receive God's love or hatred. It's

just the unknowableness of outcomes. Anything

may await you in this life, no matter what you

pursue. You could be righteous. You may get bad

things. You could pursue bad things. You may

get good things. We've talked about that. Can

you tell who God's friends are by whether they're

blessed in this life or not? Interesting question,

right? Can you discern whom God loves based on

how they're treated in this life? Now you see

what Solomon is saying. Now the great and foolish

Mark Twain is reported as saying God would have

more friends if he treated the ones he had a

little better. That's why I say great and foolish.

Some of you have a love for that movie that I

still haven't seen. I'm so sorry. The play Fiddler

on the Roof. I know. My wife just said, yeah,

I know. But there's a line. I know there's a

line from Tevye, right? He says this. I know,

I know. We're your chosen people. But once in

a while, can't you choose someone else? Now,

whether you think you're on the receiving end

of love or hatred in this life, Solomon is teaching

you there's no way to predict it. You may have

had that same thought. You may have wondered

like Asaph did in Psalm 73. Why do people suffer

when they seek to do good and the wicked prosper

and enjoy so much in this life? But we've learned

prosperity is not always a blessing. You remember

in Ecclesiastes chapter six, verse seven, all

a man's labor is for his mouth, yet his soul

is not satisfied. You work so hard and you don't

get it. That prosperity that you may gain here,

may end up meaning nothing. What about chapter

7, verse 2? That trials and adversity are the

great teachers in this life. This is better to

go to a house of mourning than to go to a house

of feasting because this is the end of all mankind.

The living puts it in his heart. Or verse 14

in chapter 7. In the day when there is good,

be of good cheer. But in the day when there is

evil, see this. God has made the one as well

as the other. so that man will not find out anything

that will be after him. You can't produce a formula

to get what you want from God in this life. There's

no way to ensure a desired outcome here and now

to either receive God's tangible blessing or

to avoid the burdens of this life, the sorrows

of this life. But whether you perceive to receive

blessings or burdens, he brings us to this fact.

there's one fate for all of mankind. Death. The

righteous and the sinner will both meet the same

end. That's the reality of all. You know this

from Romans 5, verse 12. As through one man,

Romans 5:12

sin entered the world, and death through sin,

so death spread to all men. Because all sinned,

and all means all. Sin has brought death. We

learn that. from Paul's writings. When people

wonder why the world is upside down, we shouldn't

point the finger at God. So many do, especially

unbelievers. Tell me why your God is good if

the world is so broken. Well, Solomon tells you

to turn around and look at yourself. Look at

your heart. If you want to know why the world

is broken, look at the heart of man. Ecclesiastes

9 .3 makes it clear. He says the heart of mankind

is for perpetual evil. Evil. They're not for

God. As you look at verse 2 in Ecclesiastes 9,

you see... Solomon gives this contrast, says

clean and unclean, sacrificial, irreligious,

the good versus the sinner, the one who takes

an oath, which really means committed to God,

versus the one who is uncommitted to God, afraid

of commitment. That harkens back to chapter 8,

verse 1. You remember the one who takes an oath

to God as his basis for yielding to authority?

He gives all these contrasts, but he says it

doesn't matter which side you're on. There's

one fate, and he calls that fate evil. Solomon

still hates death. I said many sermons ago, death

is no friend to those who love God. Death is

the final enemy, according to 1 Corinthians 15.

The last enemy to be abolished is death. Yet

we don't blame God for the reality of death.

Romans 6 .23 teaches us death is the consequence

for sin. The wages of sin is death. If you grew

up in Awana, you grew up learning this verse.

But the gracious gift of God is eternal life

in Christ Jesus our Lord. We know that. Death

is brought not because of God, but because of

us. We've sinned, and the payment is death. But

here's what's crazy. Even though we know death

is coming, do you know anyone who is oblivious

to the reality of death? They may act like it,

but are they truly oblivious to it? Everyone

knows about death. Everyone. And yet, Ecclesiastes

9 .3 says that man is full of evil intent. Psalm

73, Asaph talked about being like a beast, like

a madman, just pursuing passions and pleasures.

You remember in Ecclesiastes 7, the end of it,

verse 29, God made men upright. But what? Man

sought out many devices. The evil is that death

does not respect those who are righteous by faith.

It's evil because those who do righteousness

and those who pursue wickedness arrive to the

same end. Now, I know that seems all very grim.

Death comes to all, whether you pursued righteousness

or not. Hence why Asaph was saying, so what does

it matter then? I might as well pursue wickedness.

Well, look at that even. Man is bent towards

evil. Even when you're doing righteousness, when

you see the evil prosper, then you're bent towards

it. Wow. That's the heart of man. You can't predict

an outcome even if you try to do good. You can't

know what's coming next. But you know you're

going to die. So what do you do with this information?

Well, the next few verses, verses four through

six, they explain something to us in a really

weird, different way than we talk. But it's this

thought, as long as you have breath, you have

an opportunity to respond to truth. As long as

you have breath, you have an opportunity to respond

in truth. The first part of verse four says it

clearly. The living is preferred than to be among

the dead. And that word confidence, you could

also render it hope. That as long as you're joined

with the living, there's hope. There's an opportunity

moving forward. When you're alive, you could

have at least some measure of hope. That next

phrase, though, is a little harder. What does

it mean to be better as a live dog than a dead

lion? Well, in ancient times, sorry dog lovers,

dogs were not fluffy man's best friend types

that you have today. There were no Pomeranians

hanging out in clothes and strollers and all

of that. Some of you are big dog people. I know

it doesn't apply, okay? Now, dogs back then,

they were not domesticated animals. They didn't

just eat food out of your hand and live in your

house. In ancient days, dogs were mangy. They

were lowly. They were gutter feeders. Today,

the equivalent would be like the New York City

rats, which are almost the same size of dogs.

Think about hyenas but smaller. like coyote -sized.

Dogs ravaged in the wilderness of Israel. They

ran in packs. They were brutal and disgusting.

It's okay if you love dogs today. That's just

what they were, okay? Today's animals are very

different, but you need to know how they were

viewed in Solomon's day. Now, what about lions?

Lions were the exact opposite. Lions represented

honor, strength. an animal to be admired as much

as it is to be feared. There were no superhero

stories in Solomon's day, not like we have today.

We didn't have, you know, they didn't have DC

or Marvel and cartoons and movies and all that.

But the kids of ancient Israel, when they were

imagining something powerful in their imagination,

they would have seen the lion as what they wanted

to be, powerful and strong, courageous. So when

Solomon says that it's better to be a living,

breathing dog rather than a dead lion, he's saying

it's better to be a misfit reject in society,

poor and destitute, this side of glory, fighting

for the scraps of this life rather than to get

all the pomp and circumstance and yet be dead

with no eternal security. That's what he's drawing

a comparison to. He says, why? Because if you're

still breathing, if you're still breathing according

to verse 5 in chapter 9, you have an opportunity

before it's too late. So what's that opportunity?

You have an opportunity to prepare to meet your

maker. You have an opportunity to be in the hand

of God that verse 1 comforts, that the righteous

and wise man's works. are in the hand of God.

Living in light of impending death gives you

the opportunity to embrace what you've been given

and to consider how you may meet God one day.

Will you meet God as one who pursued wickedness,

giving yourself to all your base desires? He

tells us in verse 13 of chapter 8, we talked

about that last time, it will not go well for

that wicked man. He will not prolong his days.

Because he doesn't fear God. Are you going to

meet him that way? Or are you going to meet God

as the one who fears him openly? As Ecclesiastes

8 .12 says, that it will be well for those who

fear God openly. The reality of death also brings

another sobering thought. Verse 6 tells us that

their love, their hate, their zeal have perished.

and they will never again have a portion under

the sun. Knowing about death while you have breath

helps you to live well before death comes to

you. And you should be shocked, you should be

startled when you consider that death erases

a person's opportunities to respond. And not

only are they no longer able to prepare to meet

the maker, But everyone else is going to cease

to enjoy or be burdened by their life. The memory

of the dead fades with time. You can't talk to

them. You can't hold them. You can't hug them.

You can't laugh with them. Death is not to just

be understood as freedom from the burdens of

this life. Death should be understood as an inescapable

evil that we all will endure. And considering

that wakes you up. It gets you out of foolish

thinking. It splashes water on your face so you

can see how things really are. The world will

distract you with so many things. And God, through

Solomon, he's shaking you. He's saying, wake

up, be alert. Don't be lulled into the slumber

of lethargy and this worldliness that so many

people are ensnared by. Your only opportunity

to live. is knowing that you will die. Now, here's

the thing though. The believer doesn't need to

fear death, but he doesn't need to welcome it.

You see the nuance there? The believer doesn't

need to fear death, but you don't need to welcome

it. So in light of that thought, in light of

being sobered, we should ask, how should we live?

How should we live knowing that we will die?

And the final verses of this section in Ecclesiastes

chapter nine, at least the first half, tell us

plainly. He says very clearly, go, go, eat your

bread in gladness, drink your wine with a merry

heart. Now you don't take that as the Spartan

creed. Some of you have heard eat and drink for

tomorrow we die. Solomon isn't advising us to

resign ourselves to futility. What he is saying

is he's saying go. Now that's an imperative command.

Actually, all the verbs that are pointed toward

the reader in this section are imperative commands.

The literal Hebrew rendering would be something

more like, you must go. You must eat. You must

drink with gladness. You're being commanded.

Why? He says, because God has already accepted

your works. Earlier I said we come back to verse

7. And consider mankind in the work of Christ.

Now we know from Solomon, chapter 7, verse 20,

he knows that mankind is not intrinsically good.

Nor is man saved on his merit. Chapter 7, verse

20, indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth

who continually does good and who never sins.

But then Solomon states this in verse 7 of chapter

9, that God has already accepted your work. So

that seems to be a conundrum. That seems to be,

A contrast, and it could be seen as God misunderstanding

himself, but it's not. To the fool, yes. God

is both ways. To the wise, God is consistent.

God remains the same. Now when you look back

at verse 1 of chapter 9, you consider that the

righteous man and their service, their work,

is in the hands of God. Then this can make sense.

Your eternal security cannot be bound up solely

in what you do. Your good works will never be

good enough. Never. You'll never have enough

confidence in yourself on the day of your death

unless your security or your works are in the

hands of God. For those who fear God, their offering

of life, of service toward others, is seen as

even fulfilling the law. Here are some passages

that remind us about faith and works and following

the Lord. Galatians 5, verses 13 through 14,

Galatians 5:13–14

you were called to freedom. Only don't use your

freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but

through love, serve one another. The whole law

is fulfilled in one word, in this, love your

neighbor as yourself. That's the response of

the faithful. The prideful and the arrogant,

though, they trust in their works, but their

works are an indictment, is what Hebrews 6 .1

tells us. Their works and their faith are false.

We're called to leave the elementary teaching

about Christ of all these rituals and to press

on toward maturity, not laying a foundation again

of repentance from dead works and faith towards

God. It's in the negative sense, meaning we're

not to trust in those things that we do, not

from faith, the things that we do out of ritual.

Things that we do that are not according to Christ.

And you know James chapter two, our Monday night

study will be there soon, TJ, I'm sure of it.

Maybe in a couple months. James chapter two,

verse 17 and 18. Faith, if it has no works, is

dead by itself. Some will say, you have faith,

I have works. Show me your faith without the

works and I'll show you my faith by my works.

We know that works don't save. You've heard it,

I'm sure of it. Only God does. If that's true,

if works do not save, and yet you see so much

emphasis on pursuing them, and yet only God saves,

then this command in Ecclesiastes chapter 9 is

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

actually very liberating. It becomes an attainable

goal. So when Solomon says to go, eat, drink,

and be merry, He's telling you that spiritual

maturity looks very different than you probably

think it does. Why do we tend to think that being

spiritually mature means having some very deep

knowledge or mastery of theology or doctrine

or biblical languages? And I'm not knocking any

of those things. But why do we think that that's

the measure of biblical maturity? To Solomon,

biblical wisdom and maturity looked like a person

who feared God, who lived in submission to him,

who enjoyed as much of this life as he could

in a manner pleasing to Yahweh. I would encourage

you this. Don't devote yourself to an idea of

faithfulness. Devote yourself to the commands

of God and his word. We all have ideas about

what we think it looks like to be faithful or

mature. And there is goodness to imitating those

who have walked before you. But don't chase an

idea. Chase the commands, which means you're

going to be chasing Christ. And consider that

simple command, to eat, to drink, to enjoy. Food

is a gift. God gave us taste buds, right? Most

of us, I think. There are some who avoid. Delicious

sauces. I'm thinking of our two Jeffs here. I

know that there are also people who have allergies,

alternate aversions, my sad cinnamon allergy.

And there are foods that just taste good to us,

right? There are things you're like, man, I really

like that. Even the Jeffs who don't prefer sauces

prefer other food items, right? That's the thing.

So it's just a matter of what it is. We like

so many things. We like salty things. We like

sweet things. We like tangy and sour, spicy,

earthy, crunchy, soft. How do you look at death

in the eye and scoff at it? Enjoy life. Marinate

the steaks. Throw the sauce on. Or not. Or not.

Bake the cookies. Be the Christian version of

an Epicurean, one who enjoys the delights of

food and drink, but you recognize the God who

gives it. You shouldn't simply view food as just

fuel. It's not, according to God. According to

God, it's a command to enjoy it. Argue with him.

Any of those books, you've got to pick it up

with God. But don't overdo it. Don't pursue the

good gifts and let them poison you. How many

times have we been cautioned here in Ecclesiastes

to avoid the extremes? Avoid them. Gifts are

gifts. Gifts are not gods. So don't worship them.

But eating and drinking with joy should draw

you back to your anchor, your refuge, God. You

can labor well, but don't trust in your outcomes.

You can do well and it may go poorly for you

in this life. That's reality. You could also

do really poorly and it might go well for you.

But what you can trust in is that if you're pursuing

worship of the one true God, your works and your

life will be in his capable hands. Your earthly

end will result in an everlasting blessing. Not

because of what you did, but because of his mercy

in Christ. So if your confidence is in Christ,

then you can eat, you can drink, you can be glad

without second guessing the good gifts in this

life. Now verse eight tells us to be dressing

up for celebration all the time. Be joyful. You

know, white clothes and oil on the head. That's

the antithesis of sackcloth and ash. It's the

exact opposite. Now, he's not telling you to

go get some Gucci and get an expensive haircut

or the fanciest perfume you can find. He's not

saying that. But he's saying, don't be chicken

little. Don't walk around like the sky is falling,

even if it is. Because if you know the one in

whose hand is the falling sky, You don't need

to fear. You can be dressed in white. You can

let your head be anointed with oil. You can be

a joyful person. You can reflect the light of

Christ to everyone in your midst. Now, I don't

know if people read obituaries these days. It

was a big thing with the newspapers, you know,

those things that were on print they used to

hold and they used to be at airports and coffee

shops. I know we don't have many of those anymore.

Not the airports and coffee shops. newspapers.

Have you ever seen a discouraging or sad obituary?

They exist. The kind where the person's not missed.

The family is unfazed by their departure. Even

glad. How tragic it is when the impression that

one leaves behind on their family and their loved

ones was one of misery and joylessness. Consider

the contrast of the passing of a dearly loved

saint, one whose death doesn't bring relief to

their loved ones, but whose loved ones will miss

them terribly, most of all because of the life

of Christ that they represented. So Solomon says,

let your days be filled with joy. Laugh, be glad,

enjoy what God has given. And in verse nine,

enjoy with whom? God has given. Now Solomon,

he clearly abused the privilege of marriage.

700 wives, 300 concubines. But here, here, he

encourages proper marital relations. He learned.

He learned. To see life with the one whom you

love is singular. It's intentional. He didn't

say with the ones. The one. Definite articles

mean something. The means singular, one, not

plural. To see life with the one that you love

is to experience it, to understand it, to live

it, to walk it through with your companion. Now

that flies in the face of all of his arranged

marriages that he did for wealth, for property,

for alliances. It points to a monogamous marriage

between a man and a woman. And it also points

to the reality that marriage can be one of the

best delights in this short life. Remember that

vain doesn't mean futile. It doesn't mean pointless.

It points to the temporary nature of this life,

the fleeting nature of this life, so that we

orient our gaze back towards God. Now marriage

can be one of those great enjoyments in this

temporary life. But we also have to acknowledge

that marriage is not what completes a person.

Some people are single now, but were not before.

Some who are single now may not be one day. And

some who are single now will remain so the rest

of their lives. Marriage is not the definition

of being a Christian. Christ is the definition

of being a Christian. Identity in Christ is what

completes us. So if you're not one to whom God

has given this gift of enjoyment in marriage,

you can still seek contentment in him. And you

can look to those other base gifts that he gives

us to enjoy. That's why he starts with eating

and drinking, the most basic parts of life. Now,

for those who enjoy the gift of marriage now,

remember, though, that it's temporary. The gift

of marriage will one day be done away with, whether

by death or by glory. So be thankful and appreciate

the good gifts while you have them. And for those

who have the gift but are not enjoying it, you

repent. Repent. We've heard before, I don't like

my gift. Repent. I wish I had a different one.

Repent. There's too much water under the bridge.

Repent. Remember that your spouse is the one

that God gave you either by your once upon a

time wisdom or by their I didn't know any better

folly. Go back and listen to that if it didn't

make sense. You find yourself as a husband and

wife though for God's glory. Miserable, grumbling

and complaining. is not going to yield you anything.

It only reveals a discontent heart. Now, God

may need to do some serious work towards restoring

a marriage if you've had those thoughts, if you're

perpetuating those thoughts. That work will be

on you and your spouse, your gift. Think about

a spouse as a gift. The end, though, of enjoying

that gift is to grow in the likeness of Christ.

God is in the restoration business, is he not?

He delights when his people return to him. As

long as you still have life and breath, which

is why it's better to be a living dog than a

dead lion. Now verse 10 serves as a great capstone

for this section. He says, serve the Lord with

gladness in whatever you do. So life is not vanity,

it's not pointless, even if it is fleeting and

temporary. Put your effort into enjoying life.

Put your effort into enjoying your spouse. Put

your effort into working and living for God's

glory in whatever you do. Don't be lukewarm.

Don't be half -hearted. Don't be lazy. You can

labor. You can pursue wisdom. You can pursue

knowledge and understanding only while you live.

When he speaks of Sheol here at the end of verse

10, it's just the world of the dead. It's the

grave. He's not speaking of... the everlasting

eternal torment of the unsaved. So Solomon's

statement on working with all your might, you

might think of the New Testament commands that

are very similar. Colossians chapter 3. Whatever

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

you do in word or deed, do all in the name of

the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father

through him. 1 Corinthians 10 .31. Whether then

you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to

the glory of God. You see the consistency of

God's word? He's not trying to confuse us, not

trying to throw you off. His emphasis is on living

while you can. Live before you die. Now we come

to another abrupt stop on the ride of Ecclesiastes,

but don't miss the simplicity of that last statement.

Live before you die. Live in whatever you do,

but live for God's glory. Live by the grace of

Christ. In our culture today, So many people

strive after so many things, do they not? And

you hear it, if you're in the secular world for

work, you hear about all the things they're working

towards before they can enjoy life. All the aims

for retirement, for finances, working so hard,

attaining so much, before what? Before they can

finally enjoy it. Then they're given the freedom

in the later years of life when they no longer

have the energy, but they have all the means.

But like the bad aspects of all of our unsaved

society, we're always encouraged to enjoy things

too much and in the wrong way. But with wisdom,

we're taught how to live even though we know

we're going to die. In fact, the reality of our

impending death helps us to live. That's the

wisdom of God. Now for the fool, the one who

doesn't know God, everything's meaningless. They

might as well have their best life now. That's

what Solomon keeps telling you. If your hope

is here, this is the best life you have, so get

it all. But if you see beyond this world, if

you recognize that you are temporary and there

is an eternity, there is a maker, there is a

creator, amidst all the chaos there is yet, rhyme

and reason, then he says, look beyond what you

can see. Don't live for what you can hold and

touch. Live for what lasts. Live as one who fears

God. Live as one who serves him. Live as one

who knows Christ is Lord and who lives as if

Christ is Lord. You have to remember, this life,

it's not better than the one to come, but it

can still be enjoyed. Can you hold that intention?

It's not better for the believer than what is

to come. What is to come is infinitely better.

But did you know that you can still enjoy this?

In the midst of being homesick for heaven, this

life under the sun can be enjoyed for what it

is. It's a gift. And in enjoying this life, you

can honor the creator. You can honor the savior.

And we're all gonna face the same fate, but the

future has a fork in the road. So while you have

breath, while you have life, take the opportunity

to learn to live for God's glory. And the truth

of God's word gives us hope for a secure future.

Through these ups and downs of life, even though

you know the death is coming, you can count on

the nearness of God through Christ. We read about

the nearness of God in Psalm 73, and yet we know

that the name Emmanuel is God with us. How much

nearer can he be? So as you think about how to

live before you die, Think about who Jesus is.

Who is Christ? If Jesus is our greatest gift,

if he's our greatest treasure, if he's our true

friend, if he's the one who makes us complete,

then even the other bright and wonderful gifts,

the shiny things of this life, they're going

to grow strangely dim as we sing, right? In the

light of his glory and grace. And if Jesus is

our greatest gift, then when that last enemy,

comes to take our breath away, Jesus will breathe

into us anew. And what was once dust to dust

will from that point be from glory to glory.

That's the story. Let's pray together. God, we

want to learn how to live in the face of death.

We want to learn how to scoff at death and yet

also take it very seriously. We want to learn

how to hold the balance of being homesick for

heaven and yet living joyfully this side of glory

until you call us home. So we need your help.

We ask you to help us to embrace the life that

we have now, the one that you've given us. And

all of the things, the good, the bad, the blessings,

the burdens, the love, the hate, we ask you to

help us to know how to be joyful in these things.

Help us to grow in knowing the gospel of Christ.

Knowing Jesus changes everything, but we need

help. We need help to see how. We need help to

see that eternity's promises, eternity's assurance

impacts today's troubles. Help us to look at

Jesus as our dearest friend. Help us to not just

say wonderful things about him, but to truly

count him as our treasure. Help us not to just

go through the motions of religion, but to see

the Savior who has sacrificed for us to be broken

by our sin, to repent, and to turn to him and

ask for his grace, his help constantly. Not just

one time, but daily. And in that, as we daily

look at our own sinful tendency towards evil,

like Solomon has warned us, help us to have joy

to live in this life. Help us to look death in

the eye knowing that it's coming and still enjoy

the little blessings and the little graces of

this life. We don't need to be so morbid, so

serious, nor do we need to be flippant. Help

us to rightly assess our situation as creatures

who will one day meet death and who also trust

that death will be no more. So help us to grow

out of our grumbling and our complaining of things

here and now. Convict us. Help us to repent.

Help us to not be arrogant and demand things

of you and outcomes that we can't control. And

cultivate in us a heart of gladness, a heart

of thankfulness for whatever you've chosen to

do. Our desire as we gather today, help us to

praise the name of Jesus. As we walk out of here

later today, we think about everything that we

sang and everything we read and everything we

learned, talked about, wrestled with. May we

come away knowing that the one thing that matters

is knowing Christ as Lord. And if Christ is our

Lord, then our hearts may be glad. And so help

us to that end. Change our affections. Change

the way that we approach life. Change the way

that we think about things so that we would see

your goodness here and now and long for things

to be finally, fully good. Give us hope for that

future, we pray. In Christ's name, amen.