The Two Great Equalisers

The scripture reading today comes from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and 10.

Ecclesiastes 9 · chapter mention

Please follow along on your own Bible, in the bulletin, or on the screen.

Starting in chapter 9, verse 1, we read,

But all this I laid to heart, examining it all,

how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God.

Whether it is love or hate, man does not know.

Both are before him.

It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked,

to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean,

to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.

As the good one is, so is the sinner.

And he who swears is as he who shunts an oath.

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

that the same event happens to all.

Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil,

and madness is in their hearts while they live.

And after that, they go to the dead.

But he who is joined with all the living has hope,

for a living dot is better than a dead lion.

For the living know that they will die,

but the dead know nothing.

And they have no more reward,

for the memory of them is forgotten.

Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished,

and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

Go, eat your bread with joy,

and drink your wine with a merry heart,

for God has already approved what you do.

Let your garments be always white.

Let not oil be lacking on your head.

Enjoy life with the wife whom you love,

all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun,

because that is your portion in life,

and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.

Whatever your hand finds to do,

do it with your might,

for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom

in Sheol to which you are going.

Again, I saw that under the sun,

the race is not to the swift,

nor the battle to the strong,

nor bread to the wise,

nor riches to the intelligent,

nor favor to those with knowledge,

but time and chance happen to them all.

For man does not know his time.

Like fish that are taken in an evil net,

and like birds that are caught in a snare,

so the children of man are snared at an evil time

when it suddenly falls upon them.

I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun,

and it seemed great to me.

There was a little city with few men in it,

and a great king came against it and besieged it,

building great siege works against it.

But there was found in it a poor wise man,

and he, by his wisdom, delivered the city.

Yet no one remembered that poor man.

But I say that wisdom is better than might,

though the poor man's wisdom is despised

and his words are not heard.

The words of the wise heard in quiet

are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner destroys much good.

Dead flies make the perfumant's ointment

give off a stench,

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,

but a fool's heart to the left.

Even when the fool walks on the road,

he lacks sense,

and he says to everyone that he is a fool.

If the anger of the ruler rises against you,

do not leave your place,

for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun,

as it were an error proceeding from the ruler.

Folly is had in many high places,

and the rich sit in a low place.

I have seen slaves on horses,

and princes walking on the ground like slaves.

He who digs a pit will fall into it,

and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.

He who quarries stones is hurt by them,

and he who splits logs is endangered by them.

If the iron is blunt,

and one does not sharpen the edge,

he must use more strength.

But wisdom helps one to succeed.

If the serpent bites before it is charmed,

there is no advantage to the charmer.

The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor,

but the lips of a fool consume him.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thank you, Anastasia.

Thank you for reading well.

And once again, we come to this interesting,

but tricky passage in Ecclesiastes.

And I think if you're anything like me,

the first time you read that,

you think,

okay.

On Monday morning,

when I sat down with my Bible,

and started to think about this morning,

I read that for the first time,

and thought,

okay, this is going to be interesting.

What is the author,

what is Kohelet, the teacher,

trying to say to us?

Well, the author is coming back

to one of the ideas that we looked at last week.

He is, in the second half of the reading,

he is considering wisdom once again.

Remember last week,

we spoke about wisdom,

and Kohelet, the teacher,

he said he sought for wisdom everywhere,

and he couldn't find it.

Well, he comes back to that idea this morning,

and I want us just to think about this,

because I didn't feel like last week,

I actually explained wisdom very well,

and so let's just take a minute or two,

to think about that.

What is wisdom?

I tried to say last week,

in the Bible,

wisdom is the skill of living life well.

It is, you could say,

knowing how to make life work.

It's the skill of knowing how to flourish in your life.

Now, when we think of wisdom,

it doesn't sound like a very sexy or exciting word.

I don't think too many of us lie awake at night thinking,

how can I become more wise?

Right?

We're scrolling Google about,

I don't think it's one of Google's top ten searches.

How do I become more of a wise person?

But if you think about it,

what the Bible promises that wisdom gives us,

how to make life work,

the flourishing life,

is actually something that all of us want.

How many of us don't want to make life work?

How many of us don't want to flourish?

How many of us, if you're young,

don't want to think about how not to waste your life?

It's the reason so many young people come to me often and say,

I'm looking for a mentor in life.

Can you help me find a mentor?

Someone who can guide me and coach me.

It's the reason we listen to TED Talks and podcasts

and read brilliant books

because there's a desire inside of us to make life work,

to not waste our lives,

to find out the way to a flourishing life.

And so we want to know how to make our finances work

and make relationships work

and make our careers work,

how to make work-life balance work.

And so wisdom is the skill

of knowing how to make life work

when you don't have the answers in front of you.

Wisdom is knowing,

is the skill of being able to find out

what is the right thing to do

when you don't know what to do.

And so that's why Proverbs says,

of all the skills you can get in life,

make sure you acquire the skill

of knowing how to make life work,

the skill of living.

Because it is one skill that can set you apart

from your colleagues and your friends and your families.

The skill of knowing how to make life work.

And the ancient biblical word for this skill

is the skill of wisdom.

Okay? Wisdom.

Wisdom.

Now, as I said last week in chapters 8,

the teacher, Kohelet,

is trying to search out,

seek for this wisdom.

And he looks everywhere,

but he can't find it.

In chapter 10 and 9,

he seems to have found it.

He seems to have stumbled upon it

because he talks about it quite a bit.

But the teacher is in two minds about it.

Because on one hand,

when Anastasia reads to us,

on one hand you think,

okay, he's really saying wisdom is a good thing.

He espouses some of the benefits of it.

But on the other hand,

he seems a little bit condescending towards it.

He seems like he says,

oh, you know,

get wisdom, it's good for you,

but actually it's not going to help that much

at the end of the day.

And so he seems to be in two minds about it.

Well, let's see what he says.

Look at chapter 9, verse 13 to 15.

Now, once again,

you're going to need your bulletin

or a Bible in front of you.

I don't have the scriptures on the screen,

so you're going to need to follow in front of you.

Look at what he says.

He says,

wisdom is able to be a great benefit to society.

It's actually able to save many lives.

He says, verse 13,

I have seen an example of wisdom under the sun.

It seemed great to me.

There was this little city with few men in it,

and a great king came against it and besieged it,

building great siege works around the city.

But there was found in it a poor man,

a wise man,

and he, by his wisdom,

delivered the city.

So here's this poor man.

He's not very wealthy.

He's not very well-esteemed.

He's kind of despised and rejected.

But by his wisdom,

he's able to save the city

and actually save a great many people's lives.

Wisdom is a great benefit to society.

And if you think about that,

that's true in our modern life today.

Think of the number of people who,

by their wisdom,

are able to save a great many people's lives.

Think of doctors and nurses

and people who respond in emergency situations.

They are presented with the situation before them.

They haven't been trained for that situation.

But by their wisdom,

they are able to find a solution

where no solution seems obvious.

And they save a great many people's lives.

We can be thankful for the doctors

and the nurses during COVID,

who many of them put their lives on the line,

many of them working insane hours

through the night,

finding solutions where there were no obvious solutions,

and saved a great many people's lives.

The teacher also says this.

He says,

Through wisdom,

we're able to find success

where success seems to evade us.

Look at 10 verse 10.

He says,

If the axe is blunt

and one does not sharpen the edge,

he must use more strength.

But wisdom helps one to succeed.

He's saying,

Listen,

you've got a situation before you

and you get stuck.

You come up against a brick wall.

You can't find a way through.

But actually,

wisdom enables you

to overcome the obstacles in life.

And again,

think of the great benefit this is to us.

Think of many of the things

that we take for granted in our lives,

but have not,

we shouldn't take for granted.

Think of things like running water,

transport,

engineering feats

that allow us to live in massive buildings,

airplanes that fly in the sky.

For centuries,

even millennia,

these things were things

that most of society

didn't have in front of them.

But someone was able,

through wisdom,

to find a solution

and to break through the barriers.

So we can be very grateful

you don't need to walk a kilometer

with a bucket in your hand

down to the river

to find fresh running water.

No, you just turn on a tap.

Wisdom is able to bring great benefit

to our lives.

But look at what else he says.

He says,

the life of wisdom

is a source of joy

and blessing

to those who possess it,

but also to those around them.

Look at in 10 verse 12,

the final words

that Anastasia read to us.

He says,

the words of a wise man's mouth

bring favor

or bring grace.

I don't know if you've ever spent

an evening

with a really wise person,

someone you really esteem

and look up to.

And they just being themselves,

but you feel so enriched

by them.

The Hebrew here

could mean that

if you're a wise person,

your words bring grace

and favor to your life

because you're able

to navigate the challenges

of life

or you bring grace

and blessing

to those around you.

If you ever spend time

with someone

who's really wise,

you feel like

just their words

deposit grace

into your life.

You come away

from spending time

with that person

just feeling enriched

in life.

You feel so much better.

And actually,

how much better

when such a person

is the leader

of a city

because Anastasia

didn't read it to us,

but in verse 10,

he says,

woe to you,

O land,

when your king

is a young

and immature

and foolish leader.

You've got a leader

of a city,

they're immature,

they're young,

they're foolish,

they're living for themselves,

they're self-centered,

they're not very wise.

And what happens?

The whole city

languishes

under their rulership.

But O blessed are you,

O land,

when your rulers

are wise,

they bring grace

and favor

and blessing

into your life.

And so,

again and again,

the Bible says

wisdom is a great blessing,

a great benefit.

It's a friend to us.

That's why Proverbs

says,

seek out wisdom,

search for it,

pay for it.

Even if it costs you,

whatever you do,

get wisdom.

It's a great friend.

to our lives.

Friends,

our lives

and the lives

of those around us

and our city

would be so much better,

so much more blessed

if we were able

to fill our hearts

and our lives

with wisdom.

But the teacher here

also notices

something else

and he says,

even the most wise,

even the most brilliant

of people,

even those that we

really look up to

in honor and esteem,

even they are not

immune from the

shortcomings

of wisdom.

He says,

knowing how to

make life work,

you know how to

flourish in life,

it can serve you,

it can be a friend,

but it's not a silver bullet.

It doesn't solve

all of life's problems

because even the

most brilliant,

the most wise of us

are still going to

encounter the

shortcomings of wisdom.

Look at what he says

in 9 verse 15.

Remember he talks

about that poor man,

that wise man,

who saved his village

by his wisdom.

He says there was

found in it a wise man,

he by his wisdom

delivered the city,

but the next line,

yet no one

remembered him.

No one remembered

his wisdom.

In other words,

here is a city

that is saved

by this man,

but 30 years later

he dies,

and another king

comes and besieges

the city,

and no one

remembers his wisdom,

and the city,

the village

is just wiped out,

and in the grand

scheme of things,

who remembers,

who cares?

Nobody.

He's forgotten.

And isn't that true

of our lives as well?

Think of this city

in which we live

a hundred years ago.

Many brilliant,

wise,

outstanding people,

very selfless people,

people who

laid down their lives

for the good

of their families

or those around them.

A hundred years later,

does anybody

remember them?

What difference

did their lives

really make?

Think of even

the names

that our streets

are named after,

right?

That's one of the

great things

about Hong Kong.

All these street names

named after

brilliant people.

Do any of us

know what they

actually did?

More than a handful

of them?

You can have

the streets

named after you,

you can have

a whole city

named after you,

but in 200,

300 years' time,

who cares really?

Wisdom is good,

but it's short-lived.

Look at what else

he says.

He says,

Wisdom is great,

but it so quickly

gets spoiled

or cancelled.

Look at 10,

verse 1.

He says,

Dead flies

make the perfumer's

ointment

give off a stench,

so a little folly

outweighs wisdom

and honor.

Isn't that such

a great picture,

right?

You've got a cake

to your birthday.

Someone bakes you

a cake.

You're so excited

and you cut it open

and there's a worm

inside.

And that little thing

spoils the whole cake,

right?

You're not going to say,

Oh,

I'll just remove

that little piece,

but the rest of it

lets enjoy.

What are you going to do?

You're probably going

to throw it all out.

But isn't that true

of life,

right?

You have somebody

who's really brilliant,

they're absolutely wise,

they may be a great boss,

a great leader,

it may be your company

or an industry,

maybe a great pastor,

they really invest

in your life,

and they make

one stupid decision,

one foolish act,

one dumb mistake,

and how are their lives

remembered

for the rest

of their lives?

They are forever known

as the one person

that brought down

that company

or destroyed

that industry

or ruined

that church.

Forty years

of selfless service

40 years

of brilliant

wisdom

and teaching,

40 years

of great leadership

is reduced

to nothing

in a moment.

Wisdom is such

a great gift,

but it gets cancelled

so quickly.

Friends,

you can spend

the next 40 years

of your life

building your name,

your reputation,

and in an instant

it can get cancelled.

It can get spoiled.

Look what else

he says here.

He says,

as great as it is

to be a wise person,

wisdom can't deliver you

from the unpredictableness

of life.

We all tend to think

that if we live life well,

if we have the smarts,

if we're academically

sharp and diligent

and we work hard,

we will make life work.

We will succeed.

And the teacher says,

not necessarily.

Even the smartest people

in life,

there's unpredictableness.

Look what he says

in 10,

verse 8 and 9.

He says,

a wise man,

he plans a building project,

he digs a pit,

oh, he falls into it

and he dies.

An architect,

an engineer,

he decides to break

through a wall

and he doesn't know

on the other side

death is waiting for him.

Verse 9,

he who quarries stones,

he wants to build

his retirement home

and so he gets

some stones

and he's just

chiseling them off,

just doing the final touches

to his dream home

and he's left blind.

Stone shoots up

and takes out his eye.

He who splits logs

is endangered by them.

Maybe you're the wisest person.

You plan perfectly,

you do your checks

and balances,

everything in order,

but there's a whole lot

of life that is unpredictable

and beyond your control.

Maybe you're a very

careful driver.

driver.

You drive very carefully,

you always stick

to the speed limit,

safety belt,

double safety belt,

you drive the safest car

on the road,

oh, but there's

a foolish driver

that's looking at his phone

and he cuts across traffic,

takes you out.

When I was growing up,

we had a very,

very close family friend

in South Africa

and he used to,

he drove motorbikes,

he loved motorbikes,

but he was an extremely

careful driver.

He always said,

you drive a motorbike

like you drive

the biggest lorry

on the road.

If you can't drive

a bus through that gap,

you don't take the gap,

very safe driver.

One day he flies

back into Johannesburg,

he phones his wife

at the airport

and says,

I've just landed,

I'll be home

in 45 minutes,

see you there.

He doesn't come home.

He's driving home

and a truck driver,

a guy didn't have

his license,

wasn't concentrating,

goes off the road,

cuts across,

hits him

and in the instant

he's dead.

You can be

the wisest person,

but there's a whole

lot of life

that is unpredictable.

You can't manage.

And so look at

what the teacher says.

Finally,

he says,

the final thing

about wisdom,

he says,

wisdom actually

can't deliver you

from the main problem,

the one enemy,

the one adversary

that all of us

ultimately must face

and that is

our mortality.

The fact that

one day

all of us

are going to die.

Look at what he says

in chapter 9

verse 11 and 12.

He says,

again I saw

under the sun

the race is not

to the swift

nor the battle

to the strong

nor bread,

he means economic

like food

to the wise,

nor riches

to the intelligent,

nor favor

to those with knowledge,

but time and chance

happen to all of us.

For man does not

know his time.

Like fish,

they are taken

in an evil net.

Like birds,

they are caught up

in an evil snare.

So the children of man

are snared

at an evil time

when it suddenly

falls upon them.

He says,

ultimately you can be

the smartest,

most brilliant person

in the world.

You can be the most

diligent,

hard working,

well organized,

sharpest person.

But ultimately

there is an adversary

that all of us

face

that none of us

can outsmart.

I heard a story

recently of a man

in the UK,

he goes to an

elders meeting

at church one night,

at the end of

the elders meeting

he gets a phone call.

Your wife has just

passed away.

So what happened?

She was healthy.

Adult sudden death

syndrome.

No medical explanation,

she is at home,

she suddenly just dies.

And the author

wants us to see

that the mortality

rate for humanity

is still 100%.

That all of us

ultimately

are going to die.

And that's what

the teacher

Kehelith is saying.

Even the brightest,

even the smartest,

even the shrewdest

escape artist

cannot escape

our one final enemy,

death.

Now I know that

in Asia

we don't like to

talk about death

very much, right?

It's the thing

we try to avoid

talking about.

We say when

someone dies,

we say they've

passed on,

they've passed away.

We have euphemisms

to soften it,

to not talk about it.

Death is the one thing

we all try to avoid

thinking about

and talking about.

Claire and I

have this friend

who's from Hong Kong,

he grew up

overseas abroad,

and when he was

younger,

his father

passed away

one day,

but the extended

family was still

here in Hong Kong

and for two years

they didn't tell

the family

that the father

had passed away.

And so the

grandparents would

phone

and my friend

would lower his

voice and answer

the phone and say,

yes, yes, no,

we're all doing

well here,

kids just send

their love.

And for two years

he would pretend

to be his dad

because they didn't

want to let the

family know that

their son had

passed away.

We all try to

avoid thinking

about it and

talking about it.

But actually,

Kohelet,

the teacher,

says that

thinking about

our mortality,

thinking about

the fact that

all of us

one day are

going to die,

is actually a

source of wisdom.

It's one of the

ways that we can

steward our lives

well.

Do you remember

the prayer that

Moses prays in

Psalm 90?

He says,

teach us to

number our days,

O Lord,

that we may get

a heart of

wisdom.

I know that

we all think

we're going to

live forever,

especially if you're

25 or younger,

you feel like,

I'm immortal,

right?

I'll never face

those things.

Old age is a

long way off.

Well,

take it from me,

your hair starts

to recede sooner

than you think.

Right?

Age old starts,

old age starts

to set in.

But the teacher,

Kohelet,

says that thinking

about death

actually is one

way that we get

wisdom.

Realizing that we

are not immortal

helps us to

steward our lives

well.

Look what he

says here in

chapter 9,

verse 7 to 10.

He says,

he's talking about

death and he

says,

so go and eat

your bread with

joy.

Drink your wine

with a merry heart.

He's saying,

listen,

you're not going to

live life forever,

so actually enjoy

your life.

And verse 9,

enjoy life with

the wife whom

you love.

Enjoy the days

of your vain life

that God has

given you under

the sun.

Whatever your

hand finds to

do,

do it with all

your might.

Now,

he's not saying

just go party

it up,

take drugs,

drink yourself

into a stupor

because,

hey,

you've just got

one life to

live.

YOLO,

you only live

once,

so just,

you know,

make it happen,

right?

Because what does

verse 8 say?

Read it with me.

He says,

verse 8,

let your garments

always be white,

let not oil be

lacking on your

head.

So he's saying,

live your life

with purity,

live your life

before the face

of God Almighty,

but before God,

live,

enjoy your life

to the one

life that he's

given you.

But ultimately,

what Koheleth

really wants us

to get about

death is this,

that death

is the great

equalizer

of all

humanity.

Death is

coming to

all of us.

He says,

it doesn't matter

who you are,

what your

background is,

what your

culture is,

how brilliant

or successful

you've been.

It doesn't matter

how healthy

you eat,

how much

exercise you do.

Exercise is good.

It'll mean that

when you are alive,

at least your life

will be maybe

better.

Exercise is good.

But even if you're

the best exercise

in the world,

even if you only

eat healthy food,

you are still

going to die.

He says,

it doesn't matter

whether you're

a billionaire

or whether

you sweep

the streets

for a living.

It doesn't matter

whether your name

is on lights

and newspapers,

your name is on

buildings all

around Hong Kong,

or nobody

knows your name.

all of us

one day

are going to

face death.

Look at how he

says it in

chapter 9,

verse 2 and 3.

He says,

it is the same

for all of us

since the same

event happens

to the righteous

and to the wicked,

to the good

and to the evil,

to the clean

and to the unclean,

to him who

sacrifices

and to him

who does not.

As the good

one is,

so is the sinner,

the one who swears,

and that means

swears an oath

to God,

and the one

who shuns his oath.

This is an evil,

there is an evil

that is in all

that is done

under the sun.

The same event

happens to all.

The hearts of the

children of man

are full of evil

and madness

is in their hearts

while they live.

And after that,

they all go

to the dead.

The teacher

is telling us

that death

is the great

equalizer

of all humanity.

It doesn't matter

who you are

or where you come from,

the ground

at death's door

is equal.

You know,

in Hong Kong

we love to compare,

right?

Where do you live?

What street

do you live on?

What school

did you go to?

What company

do you work for?

How quickly

have you progressed

through your career?

We love to compare.

And the teacher

here is saying

all those comparisons

ultimately

are meaningless

because

there is

an equalizer

that will come

to all of us.

The race

is not to the swift.

The battle

is not to the strong.

The rich

is not to the intelligent.

Time and chance

happen to them all.

This is

life

under the sun.

This is what

the teacher

observes

and sees

around him.

This is our lot

in life.

And so he says

seek wisdom.

Wisdom can benefit you.

Wisdom is good.

It can be your friend.

But it's not

the silver bullet.

It cannot

ultimately

save you.

Because one day

all of us

will face

the call

when death

comes and

knocks on our door.

Death is the one

great equalizer.

Except

that it's not.

Friends,

if you've been

coming to Watermark

for some time

you'll know

that there is

another

great equalizer

that the Bible

speaks about.

The great equalizer

of all the world

is not just the fact

that all of us

are one day

going to die.

In fact,

the greatest equalizer

that the Bible

speaks about

happened

to one man

and his death

upon the cross.

Because

Jesus Christ

went to the cross

and died

to once again

reset

the balances

and to equalize

all of humanity.

Listen to how

the Apostle Paul

writes it

in Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

He says,

God's gift

of grace

is given

to all

who believe.

For there is

no distinction

in life.

For all people

have sinned

and fall short

of the glory

of God.

And all

who are in Christ

are justified

by his grace

as a gift

through the redemption

that is in Jesus Christ

whom God put forward

as an atoning sacrifice

by his blood.

Friends,

the scripture says

that

all of humanity

is

infected

and affected

by the reality

of sin.

and all

of humanity

therefore

is under

sin's curse

called death.

He says

there is no distinction.

All people,

it doesn't matter

your culture,

your race,

your background,

your ethnicity,

it doesn't matter

whether you've got

a trillion dollars

in the bank account

or you've got nothing.

All humanity,

the great equalizer

is that all of us

have sinned

and fall short

of God's glory.

The rich,

the poor,

the righteous,

the unrighteous,

the pastor,

the drug addict,

all of us

are in the same boat.

That's what our passage says.

Look at chapter 9 verse 5.

He says,

What is this?

The hearts of the children of man

are set on evil,

set on madness.

But friends,

the good news of the gospel

is that

though all have sinned

and though all

have fallen short

of God's glory,

all are able

to be forgiven

healed,

healed,

justified,

restored,

ransomed,

healed,

because Jesus Christ

went to the cross

for the sins

of all those

who would turn to Him

and trust Him.

Friends,

Jesus didn't just go to the cross

for the righteous,

for the wealthy,

for the privileged.

Jesus didn't just go to the cross

for the poor,

for the marginalized,

for the downhearted.

Jesus Christ

went to the cross

for all humanity

who would come to Him

and trust in Him

and look to Him.

Elsewhere,

the apostle Paul writes,

and listen to what he says.

He says,

In Christ Jesus,

you are all

sons and daughters

of God

through faith.

for in Christ

there is neither Jew

nor Greek.

Now,

to us,

that doesn't sound

really radical.

But in the first century,

that is a radical idea.

That's like

walking into

Mississippi

in 1963

and saying,

there is no distinction

between black and white,

right?

That is a radical idea.

There is no difference

between Jew and Greek.

Paul says,

there is no difference

between male

and female.

Again,

a radical idea

in the first century.

There is no difference

between slave

and free

for Christ Jesus

went to the cross

for all humanity.

Friends,

the cross of Christ

is the great equalizer.

The ground

is level

at the foot of the cross.

Come with your pride

and your accolades

and your credentials

and you will be humbled.

But come empty-handed

with nothing in your hands,

feeling guilty,

worn down,

broken,

and you will be honored

with the greatest honor,

the name of Christ.

The name that Christ

will give you.

You will be called

the son or daughter

of the Most High King.

The ground

is level

at the foot

of the cross.

But the Bible says

that because Jesus

really is God,

because He died

and He rose again,

Jesus solves

the two great problems

that the teacher

is grappling with

in Ecclesiastes 9 and 10.

Look at how Jesus

solves the problem

of wisdom.

Jesus Christ

comes and gives you

a wisdom

that you can never achieve

by simply observing

life under the sun

on your own.

In the book of James

in the New Testament,

the apostle James,

who is actually

the half-brother of Jesus,

writes and he says,

there's actually

two different kinds

of wisdom in this world.

There's a wisdom

that's observed

that you gain

just by observing

life under the sun.

You listen to podcasts,

you listen to TED Talks,

you read great books.

There's a wisdom

that you can observe

that you can gain

by observing

life under the sun.

And it may help you

get ahead in life,

it may help you

to progress

in your career,

but very often

there's a trail

of pain

and destruction

and broken relationships

behind that kind

of wisdom.

And the apostle James

says there's another

kind of wisdom

that comes from

beyond the sun.

And it's an upside-down

wisdom.

It's a wisdom

that may not get

your name on lights,

it may not make you

the most famous person

in the world,

but it's a wisdom

that will answer

the deep questions

of life.

It's a wisdom

that will help you

to find out

what life is all about.

He says there's a

different kind of wisdom,

it's an upside-down

wisdom.

It seems like foolishness

to those who simply

observe life under the sun.

It's the kind of wisdom

that will help you

not to waste your life.

But it's the kind

of wisdom that comes

not by trying

to find wisdom,

but by setting your heart

on the one

who truly is wisdom.

In the book of Proverbs,

the writer says this,

he says,

the fear of the Lord

is the beginning

of wisdom.

And what that means

is this,

you don't find wisdom

by trying to be wise,

you find wisdom

by setting your heart

on Jesus

who is wise himself.

Do you see that?

That's a radically

important idea.

Think about that,

the more you try

to be impressive

or smart

or brilliant,

how do you come across?

You actually come across

foolish, right?

Have you ever come across

somebody who

in a social setting,

they're always trying

to look smart,

they're always trying

to be impressive,

they're always trying

to look as the wise

person in the room

and what do you think

about that person?

They actually come across

as foolish.

But who is the person

that's truly wise

and truly impressive

and truly brilliant?

It's actually the person

that forgets about themselves

and isn't trying

to be impressive,

but actually sets themselves

trying to serve

and love others.

The one characteristic

of all wise people

is that they're actually

not enamored

with themselves at all.

They've forgotten

about themselves.

The writer of Proverbs

says this,

if you set your heart

on trying to be wise,

if you set your heart

on trying to get ahead

in life

and trying to make life work

and trying to not

waste your life,

you'll waste your life.

But if you set your heart

on centering your life

on Jesus

and the gospel,

you will find

that actually

you will be wise.

in the New Testament,

the book of Colossians,

Paul writes this

and he says,

in Jesus Christ

are hidden,

that's an important word,

are hidden

all the treasures

of wisdom

and knowledge.

Now Paul's not saying

if you're not a Christian

you can't be smart,

right?

Okay?

He's not saying

only Christians

are smart people.

There's some people

that are very smart

and they wouldn't

profess faith in Christ.

Some of you

are here this morning.

But what he is saying

is this,

that the key

to unlocking

the secrets to life,

this key to unlocking

the vaults

of the treasures

of wisdom

are not found

by simply observing

life around you.

It's not found

by simply observing

life under the sun.

It's found

in coming to the one,

the author

and the designer of life.

It's found

in coming to the one

who created life.

This key to unlocking

the treasures

of wisdom and knowledge

are actually found

and coming to the one

who made you

and who created you

and knows the purpose

for your life.

Jesus Christ

being the author

of life

will show you

how life was meant

to be lived.

Not according to just

the natural wisdom

of this world

but according to

an altogether

different kind

of wisdom.

A wisdom that is not

found in life

under the sun

but found beyond

the sun.

we tend to think

that it's the strong

and the powerful

and the beautiful

that are successful

in life.

And Jesus is

blessed are the poor

and the weak

and the meek

and the poor in spirit

and the merciful.

We tend to think

that honor

and respect

and long life

are the signs

of a good life.

And Jesus is

serving others

and being humble

are actually the signs

of greatness.

We tend to think

that those who

accumulate great wealth

are the blessed ones.

And Jesus says

it's more blessed

to give away

than to receive.

We tend to think

that it's those

who have a big following

and a great name

and are esteemed

that are the great ones

in our generation.

And Jesus says

he whoever humbles

himself like a child

is the greatest

in the kingdom.

Friends,

Jesus says

that the wisdom

that you gain

by observing life

under the sun,

the wisdom

that our teacher finds

by listening to TED talks

and podcasts,

it's not wrong,

it's not pointless,

it's not sinful,

but it's not enough.

It does not help you.

It may help you

to get ahead in life,

it may help you

to focus on life,

but ultimately

you can still get ahead

in life and be a fool

because it won't help you

to discover

the true answers

to life's biggest questions.

And so Jesus

actually solves

the answers

that wisdom

poses.

But not only that,

Jesus also solves

the problem of death

because Jesus died

and rose again.

The teacher says

there's only one thing

in this world

that you can be

absolutely certain of.

All of us are going to die

and then after that,

who knows?

You can't be certain

of anything beyond the grave.

But Jesus Christ

died and rose again

so that those

who come to him,

those who trust him,

those who put their faith

in him,

truly can be certain

of life in this world

and of the world

to come.

And how do you know that?

Because under

the hill of Calvary,

there is a tomb

and that tomb

is empty.

Friends,

there are many things

in this world

that you cannot be certain of.

There are many

unpredictable things

in life.

But there are some things

you can be certain of.

You can be absolutely certain

that Jesus Christ

loves you

because he went

to the cross for you.

He died on the cross for you.

He shed his blood for you.

He took the nail-scarred hands

to go to the cross

for you.

You can be absolutely

certain of his love for you.

You can be absolutely certain

that if you are in Christ,

he has not abandoned you.

He has not forsaken you.

In Jesus Christ,

he went to the cross

and he died there,

but he didn't remain there.

He rose from the grave.

He rose.

He is ascended into heaven

and in heaven now,

he is interceding

for those who are in Christ.

Friends,

Jesus Christ was abandoned

on the cross

so that you will never

be abandoned.

Jesus Christ died

like a fool,

as Niels reminded us

a few weeks ago,

so that fools like you and I

don't need to live

in our folly,

but can discover the wisdom.

Friends,

Jesus Christ

went to the cross

so you can be

absolutely certain

that beyond death,

there is life

beyond the grave.

Jesus rose again

so that your hope

is not only in this life.

The Bible describes Jesus

as a poor,

wise man

who came not just

to save his village,

but to save all of humanity,

all those who would

trust in him,

all those who would

surrender to him.

Friends,

let's not be like

the village

in this parable

who rejected

and despised

the wisdom

of that poor,

wise man.

Jesus Christ

came to save

those who would

trust in him.

And so let's

take heed of his wisdom.

Let's bank our lives

on him.

Let's surrender to him.

Let's center our lives

on him.

And as we do that,

we will find the wisdom

to truly make life work.

We will find the wisdom

how not to waste

our lives.

We will find the wisdom

to,

we will find the skill

of making life work

if we will center

our lives on Jesus.

promises.

But not only that,

we will defeat

death.

We will escape

the one great enemy

that none of us

can escape on our own.

We will take hold

of life

and life everlasting.

Friends,

human wisdom

is good,

but it's limited.

Because life

is unpredictable,

and ultimately

it cannot save you

from the inevitability

of death.

And while death

is the great equalizer

of humanity,

there is another

equalizer,

the cross of Christ

that invites all of us,

sinners though we are,

to come and find hope

and fresh life

in him.

Friends,

Jesus died

and rose again.

Then we don't need

to die in our foolishness,

but that we can take

hold of life

and take hold

of his wisdom.

And so this week,

as you go into your week,

as you go to the office,

as you go to holiday,

as you parent

your children,

as you look after

your aged parents,

as you pursue

a relationship

or you try and reconcile

to a broken relationship,

as you mourn the death

of a loved one

or a friend,

friends,

don't just seek wisdom,

don't just try

and make life work,

seek Jesus,

the author of life,

the author of wisdom,

the one who really

did die and rose again

so that we may find life.

Let's seek not wisdom

in our own lives,

but Jesus,

who is wisdom.

Let's pray together.

Maybe actually before I pray,

let me just give us

a few moments

to respond on our own

in quiet.

In his word,

God calls us

to not center our lives

on trying to make life work,

but to center our lives

on Jesus,

who will give us

the wisdom

to make life work.

How's Jesus asking us

to respond to him today?

Amen.

What will it look like

for you to center your life

on Jesus this week?

Maybe I can ask you,

what is the one area

in your life

that you try to live

by your own wisdom?

For many of us,

the temptations,

we'll say,

I'll surrender everything

to Jesus,

but there's this one area

in my life

I don't want to let go

of control.

Friends,