Ecclesiastes: Chasing Satisfaction or Being Chased by Satisfaction

So we are making our way through this book of Ecclesiastes, which on the surface is incredibly depressing, but it leads us somewhere.

It is pointing us somewhere.

So Ecclesiastes is a book in the Old Testament.

It's King Solomon's life.

Some people think King Solomon wrote it.

Other people think somebody else wrote it in the voice of King Solomon about his life.

And he's letting loose raw feelings of a guy toward the end of his life who has tried a lot.

He has just gone for and he has tried a lot, and he is feeling incredibly disillusioned with all the pursuits he's gone after.

So he has money, incredibly like Bill Gates' money, that kind of money.

Incredibly, incredibly rich.

He's revered.

He's powerful.

He's insightful.

Remember, he wrote the book of Proverbs.

I mean, quite a book to write, the book of wisdom.

And I'm not sure what your Edward Jones account statement's saying when it comes in the mail or your job title, but the guy has you beat.

He has you beat, he has me beat, he's got us all beat.

And he says to all of that, he says, Havel.

That word vanity, vanity of vanities, Havel, which means vapor.

He says it's it's like it's here.

All those things that Jin just read, just it's just like one after the next.

It's like they're here and then they're just gone.

That next thing you want so badly because you just know, you know, this is this one.

Not the last one, but this one.

This thing will be the thing that solves all my problems.

And he says, Vapor.

The question we've been asking is what do you do when everything you thought that would give you meaning doesn't deliver?

What do you do?

What do you do then?

Uh last week we were at dinner in our kitchen.

I think Christy and I were sort of eating around the kitchen island.

Our girls were sitting at their stools around the island, and we asked them, we just said, hey, uh, if you got a day and you got to make every decision within the day, what would you do?

And so you got an eight-year-old, a six-year-old, and a three-year-old, what would you do with this day?

And so one said, 'You know, I didn't do swimming, there's something about movies, or something about a jumpy place.

But all of them, all of them talked about candy.

I mean, candy was this huge part of this day that they have autonomy.

Candy was a big thing.

It was, and it wasn't just like I'm to have some candy in the afternoon after lunch.

It was like, no, I'm waking up, I'm having candy.

You can tell what we don't give our children too much of.

I'm having candy for breakfast, I'm having candy all day, lunch, afternoon, dinner, I'm having candy, candy, candy.

And I you we've told them it's horrible for you.

You don't, you don't want it.

It's not gonna deliver.

We've told them this.

You know, and they're just being so childish.

These children.

And I don't know what I thought.

You know, I was actually standing there thinking, they are so ridiculous.

These my children, they're so like I thought they were gonna choose, you know, like, well, I'd like to go to the high museum and then maybe a k maybe a kale salad after that.

Like I thought that was gonna happen or something.

So I've been thinking about that because they were so childish.

Uh I've been thinking about that and reading this Ecclesiastes 2, and then thinking about my life.

And it's it's like it's just a whole bunch of candy, is what it feels like.

Like me thinking that something will be so great that it's gonna finally deliver me from this place.

This place of discontentment or inadequacy or shame.

And it never quite works.

And I'm even told this, right?

I mean, you're even told that we're told this and we still do it.

So, three points this morning as we work our way through this passage.

Point number one, and you know this, I'm gonna say it, you're gonna be like, I know that, I know that.

Point number one, the externals of this world do not deliver meaning.

The externals of this world do not deliver meaning.

Do you mean something?

Do you as a person do you mean something?

Does your life have meaning?

And where are you gonna find that like secure meaning that doesn't run out when your job ends or your marriage ends or your health ends, or friends end, secure, stable, forever.

I mean something.

And so let's work our way through these verses.

I'll reread them as we go through, because Solomon explains it pretty well because he has tried a lot.

So verses one and two, I said in my heart, this is Ecclesiastes chapter 2, 1 and 2, I said in my heart, come now, I will test you with pleasure, enjoy yourself, but behold, this also was vanity, vapor.

Ecclesiastes 2 · chapter mention

This was vapor.

I said of laughter, it is mad and of pleasure, what use is it?

So he says, uh, I'm just gonna have a good time.

That's what I'm gonna try.

I'm gonna try having a good time, I'm gonna amuse myself, I'm gonna escape a bit.

And he says, uh, maybe that'll do it.

Maybe that'll do it.

He says, Yeah, didn't work.

Vapor.

Verse 3.

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

My heart's still guiding me with wisdom.

So perhaps that's his way of saying, like, I'm not a wretched drunk, uh, but I'm trying to escape, right?

You know exactly what I'm talking about.

I don't want to be a wretched drunk, but I'll use a substance just to escape, just a bit, 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.

He says, I'm trying to elevate myself with a with a substance.

Just escape a little bit because I feel discontent or inadequate, I have shame.

Or this place, this moment, this present moment.

I I need something.

I need something.

He says, I tried wine.

It wears off, it doesn't work.

I need more, I need more, I need more.

Verse 4.

He says, Okay, here's what I'm gonna do.

I made great works.

I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.

I made myself gardens and parks, and I planted them all kinds of fruit trees.

I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.

So he says, This I'm gonna surround myself with beauty.

I'm gonna make it all perfect.

I'm gonna make my life and my surroundings perfect.

And if everything is perfect and then set, I got it dialed in, right?

Like I just have it just dialed in, then, then it'll be okay.

Maybe you've done this.

Like maybe maybe you've you've done this where you go, you know, you know, when we get crown molding in the den, like I know we have it in the dining room, but when we get it in the den, that is really, really gonna help me be content when I'm sitting in my den.

Like that's gonna be, that will be the change I need.

Or when we get the screened in porch, or the pair of shoes, or that grade, or that job, or that person, or friend.

You go, then that'll be it.

That'll be it.

Or or or like when I get that when I get that bigger house, right?

And then you get the bigger house and you think, man, that small house is really nice, and you go, oh, well, let's get a smaller house.

That was easier to take care of.

You get the smaller house, and you go, those tiny houses look amazing.

That we'd be outside a lot, and you get a tiny house, and then of course, immediately you're going, like, I want a really big house, is what I want.

And you're like, it's just, it's always another thing.

It's always another thing.

You live near the square and you go, it would be nice to live out by the mountain.

You live near the mountain, you go, I wish we were closer to the square.

You live closer to the square, you go, it would be nice just to get out a little bit.

Let's go east or let's go west a little bit.

See, it's just always another thing.

We keep creating another thing.

Verses 7 and 8, 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 have been before me in Jerusalem.

He said, I'm the richest guy there's ever been, is what he's saying.

I also gathered from a silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces.

So it's all beautiful.

And then he says, I'm just gonna fill it up.

Just fill it up.

I'm gonna gather stuff, I'm gonna buy stuff, I'm gonna keep stuff, I'm gonna save stuff, every gadget, everything new, you know, like I really do need the yacht with the submarine, like I needed the submarine also, or as simple as, I need a new rain jacket, and you got two in the closet, right?

But man, it makes you feel powerful to buy that rain jacket and you wear it for about six months, and then later on you're like, I need another, right?

We just keep doing it.

Second part of verse eight, I got singers, both men and women.

Like he bought a choir, right?

You're like, I'm not into choirs.

I mean, this is like he bought he bought cold play.

I mean, he went for it.

Like he went for it.

That's who I would buy.

That's the only reason why I mentioned it.

And I bought them.

Like they're in my house anytime.

And many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.

And I won't go into the crudeness of the language here, but he's saying he had as much as he wanted.

He went for it.

He denied himself nothing.

And he says to all of it, he says, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

He's saying, It's like I'm chasing and I'm running and I'm running and I'm running and I'm exhausted.

None of it's delivering.

Last year we went to a boat show.

I don't know if you were around.

I think I talked about the boat show at some point.

Because I'm a boat guy.

My family has owned a boat since I was born.

Um, and the best way to have a boat is for somebody else to own it, by the way.

That is the best.

So if you want a boat, you should talk a family member into owning the boat.

It's kind of like a Jeep.

You don't really want to own a Jeep, you want your best friend to have a Jeep.

Those are two things.

And so that's just extra wisdom.

So we get to the boat show, we get to the boat show, and we walk around, and finally we see in the back what we came for, a crisscraft.

Anybody?

You just know what I'm talking about?

A few of you know I'm talking about.

It's the most beautiful boat you can ever imagine.

And this is what I came for.

All everything else is just kind of fun, but to get back there and see a crisscraft, that I I'm gonna get in this thing.

I take my shoes off.

I get in it, I sit in the captain's chair.

I made Christy take a picture of me.

I send it to a friend while I'm sitting there.

I'm I'm like just kind of rubbing things, just kind of real gently.

I mean, it was a worship service.

It was a I was emotional.

I was happy.

I mean, I was very, very genuinely happy.

And I began to think, you know, if we if we bought a tiny house and we put it on a shoreline somewhere, it's possible.

It is financially possible.

If I bought a tiny house, like when I'm 60 years old, a tiny house, I could own this 24-foot boat.

It is possible.

And if I owned this boat, I bet, I bet all of my days, all of them, would be incredibly content and happy and filled with friends, and it would be perfect.

But here's the thing, and you know it, and I know it too, and I still do this, but I know it.

Here's the thing.

When an external thing of this world becomes the focus, we begin a chase that never ends.

And that's what Solomon's saying.

He's saying, I've been chat, I've been chasing vapor.

If we jump to chapter 2, verses 24 and 25, this is sort of his conclusion, and it's not even a good conclusion.

I mean, this is not a book full of solutions, by the way.

This is a book hinting towards something else.

In verses 24 and 25, he says, There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.

This also I saw is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment.

And this is not full solution here.

It's like he's halfway there.

He's like, you know what, we just have to enjoy all these little things.

But he doesn't quite know where he is going to find his full contentment.

Like he can't quite communicate that to us because he is living before God's incarnation to us in Jesus.

And so he says, you know what?

There's something about God's authority, there's something about enjoying God's gifts, but he doesn't quite know the fullness of the solution here.

Here's point number two.

You will spend your life chasing something.

You will spend your life chasing something, or you can spend your life knowing you have already been chased and are already found.

You can spend your life chasing something, or you can spend your life knowing you've already been chased and you are already found.

In John chapter 4, this great story, many of us know.

John 4 · chapter mention

Jesus approaches this lady who's going to draw water.

It's strange she's there at the time she's there, so she's probably running from something.

She has a certain discontentment in her life, and she's thirsting and she's going to get water.

And in verse 10, Jesus steps into the metaphor and he speaks metaphorically and he says, if you knew the gift of God, he's speaking to this woman, this needy woman, if you knew the gift of God, he's talking about himself, and who it is is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.

He says, Drink of me, and you will never thirst again, is what he says to this lady.

Right?

What he's saying is, he's not saying everything's gonna be perfect.

What he's saying is the chase can be over.

Like your chase can be over because I'm chasing you.

The thing that brings contentment has chased you and has found you.

So at this point, there's just two paths sort of like show up.

And we have this first, which is Solomon's way.

This is like Solomon just chasing things, just chasing the next thing, constantly chasing them, vainly hoping the next thing will deliver.

And Solomon says to it himself, after all these experiences, he says, he says, vanity, vapor, it's going, it's like he's going nowhere, he's just running and running and running and getting nowhere.

And then you have Jesus' way, and he says, I chase you.

In my love I come towards you.

He says, I am infinite love and righteousness for you.

I'm enough for your sin and your shame and your inadequacy.

That's what the cross is about, that great exchange.

And all of this, all of our chasing is our love for our autonomy and our wanting to self-deliver and self-save.

It's us wanting to be God to determine what will deliver us, what will redeem us.

This is what we're doing.

When we're chasing, it's us being God, is what it is.

It is the core of sin.

And Jesus says, hey, there's another way where I take on your chasing and I chase you, and I give to you righteousness, redemption.

And this is not found by you finding it, it's that you receive it.

Will you drink of me?

Will you spend your life knowing and resting in me?

I had my first session this week with my new mentor, sort of like a pastor coach, and he started to talk to me how we're gonna look at practicals in our church and uh all the ways that I don't do things well, and then how he's gonna help speak into that and help me do a better job, which I just constantly, constantly need as we move forward.

And then he says, Well, he says, Hey, by the way, we're also gonna be spending our first like 30, 45 minutes each time and talking about how you self-protect and how you self-deliver and how you self-medicate.

And I and I told him, I said, I said, that all sounds wonderful and it sounds really horrible.

Like at the same time, it sounds like both.

And he said, you know, this is scary free, is what he said.

He said, What we're gonna talk about is scary free.

And it made me made me flinch when he said it, because I sort of like self-medicating.

Like, like those few things that when I feel sort of inadequate and I can sort of run to, and I can kind of use them to it.

Maybe I'm not fully living, but I'm surviving.

I'm getting along, and it makes me feel like I'm in control, which I love.

And there's just this illusion, right?

There's this illusion of I create another thing and I just entertain myself with it, and then I can just keep doing this.

And this is self-deliverance and self-salvation, is what this is what this is.

It's it's sin, it's the core of sin.

It's my refusal to trust in Jesus as my sufficiency and satisfaction for this moment.

So there's this place in scripture where a lame man is lying by a pool.

This pool that people believe they could be healed at.

He's laying there and he's begging for money and food.

And Jesus comes by and he asks this guy, he says, Hey, would you like to be healed?

And a lot of times we read that and we think, oh, that's crazy.

Of course he wants to be healed.

He's at the pool.

I mean, he's he's lame.

Why would he not want to be healed?

But the reality is, maybe he doesn't want to be healed.

He's surviving, he's alive.

People are giving him money and food, he's getting along.

Right?

Being healed would change everything.

This could be really scary for him.

I mean, he had to let go of a lot of things that he's used just to get through the next moment.

And I'm just asking, like, do we really want to be free?

Like where Jesus is our sufficiency and satisfaction?

Or do we sort of want to say that and just use a lot of other things to get by on a day-to-day basis?

Do we welcome freedom that the Spirit is calling us to, to repent of idols?

Are we willing to face and feel it and repent of all the ways we self-save like Solomon rather than trust in Jesus for who he is?

Lastly, point number three, this is this is this is good news.

Even when Jesus is not your satisfaction, he is still your security.

I mentioned this, I kind of broke it down a few weeks ago, but it's important to say over and over and over again, because there's just a lot of moments when we sadfully, sinfully still live like Solomon, right?

All the time.

And even in those moments where we are not finding our satisfaction and sufficiency in Jesus, he's still our security.

And you know why?

Because it was finished on the cross.

It's big enough for that.

When he deems you righteous, he deems you righteous.

And you are righteous even when you screw up.

It's good news for us that your eternal well-being and your justification for the core of who you are, your meaning, whether you're living out of it or not, it is secure in God's love for you in Jesus, the finished work of Jesus.

There is nothing left for you to chase.

So, my brothers and sisters, you have been chased and you have been found.

And you mean everything to Him.

Let's pray together.

God, thank you that you love us so much that even while we were not chasing you, you chased us.

And we know it.

We know it in the cross that you come toward us.

And you chase and you find.

And it gives us great security even in our sinful moments.

Forgive us.

Forgive us for all the ways that we do not trust in Jesus as sufficiency and satisfaction, but rather create our own saviors.

And pledge our allegiance to those and forgive us.

Would you show us?

Would you show us those?

Would you reveal those to us?

Would you break our hearts so that we might joyfully repent?

And joyfully remember and rest in your sufficiency, and would we find great satisfaction in your love toward us, that you have given us meaning.

That the chase is over.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.