"Questing for Purpose" Ecclesiastes 1:12–2:26

Before we go on, let's ask the Lord's blessing as we open his word.

Father, we need desperately to be humble, honest people.

!

Not because humility is a good virtue, and if we're honest, we like to be around humble

that we won't hide behind accomplishments, good behavior, politeness, but Lord, we will

see us for how we truly are, people that are in desperate need of a savior, people that

look to all sorts of different things to be a savior to us, and yet all these things come

short.

Lord, help us to have eyes to see and ears to hear and minds to comprehend what you would

speak to us this morning from your word about.

We pray this in Christ's name.

In 1940, Viktor Frankl and most of his family were rounded up and sent to a Nazi concentration

camp.

He endured years in multiple camps.

He actually survived, but he lost his entire family, including his wife, whom he had recently

married.

After he was liberated, he wrote a book titled Man's Search for Meaning.

In it, he recounts that, among other things, that prisoners who found purpose were able

to endure the horrors of the camps, whether or not they were murdered or they survived.

He would say in his book, quote,

Those who have a why to live can bear with almost any how.

I think it's a remarkable book, and although it is not gospel truth, there's a lot of wisdom

in Frankl's writing.

Having a purpose is so very essential to what it means to be human.

We need to understand and feel that what we do matters.

Nobody wants to work for it to count for nothing.

We want to know we're not just a cog in a machine, but we have a place.

But how do we find such meaning?

That's the real challenge.

We know that we need a purpose, but where do we find it?

We search for our meaning in things that do not last or cannot last, and we become lost

when the thing that defines us no longer works.

And what follows is a crisis of purpose.

We're in our second week in Ecclesiastes.

I've chosen, even though the English Standard Version of which we're reading calls

the teacher or the main character, the preacher.

I like to call him the sage.

And here the sage begins his real investigation.

If he kind of laid out what the problem is in verses 1 to 11 of chapter 1,

what follows could be called him getting into the quest.

The search for purpose.

The quest for meaning.

To find out what exactly humanity's true purpose and meaning in life look like.

So, this is a longer text.

We're going to touch on just about every aspect of it.

We'll look at chapter 1 of 12 to 18.

That's what Brad read for us, but we're going to actually go through the rest of chapter 2.

We're going to look at the quest itself.

The sage will lay out the parameters for his quest.

And he will look at three aspects of where we, as 21st century Canadians,

and also Israelites from 3,000 years ago, where we will find or look for meaning.

Specifically, we'll look for meaning in pleasure and in culture.

And we'll look for meaning in wise living.

We kind of call that clean living now.

And then finally, work and vocation.

So, the sage, he begins his quest, verses 12 to 18 of chapter 1.

And he introduces himself as a Solomonic figure.

So, King Solomon, the third king of Israel, the successor to King David, King David's son.

He was a grand figure, kind of Israel's high point in the kingdom.

Whether or not Solomon wrote this, I think is besides the point.

I think we can glean some stuff if we, you know, read it as if Solomon himself wrote it.

I think we can glean other things if we see it in a different way.

I will just say that this sage, whether or not he is Solomon,

he is introducing himself as a Solomonic figure.

A kind of king that has unbelievable wealth and renown,

who has philosophized and investigated the meaning of life and death.

And he has done it in such a way where all of his money and his resources and his faculties have been employed.

Every rock, so to speak, has been overturned in the quest to find meaning.

Therefore, the Solomonic figure, he's to be trusted.

He has done such a thorough job, far better than anything we could do.

And he is saying, listen, right off the bat, I have undertaken this quest.

It is far more thorough than anything that anybody else has tried.

Like, just trust me on this.

And yet, this most capable and well-equipped sage states from the very beginning

that such an inquiry, it did not lead to an answer.

In fact, it only caused him more difficulty and frustrations.

It caused him to have more questions.

Despite his great efforts, such an inquiry was ultimately fruitless.

For the sage, he could not find the answers to the questions he sought.

This is what he says in verse 14, and I'll read to 18.

I've seen everything that is done under the sun.

And behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.

And just a bit of a reminder from last week, if you forget or if you weren't here,

vanity is this term that we'll see throughout Ecclesiastes,

and it describes vapor, mist.

I described it last week as a cold, frigid February morning,

and you breathe, and you just see mist.

You see it.

You can't grasp it.

You can't keep it.

You can't bottle it.

It is gone.

Go back to verse 14.

I'll read it again.

I have seen everything that is done under the sun,

and behold, all is vanity, all is vapor, all is mist,

and a striving after the wind.

What is crooked cannot be made straight,

and what is lacking cannot be counted.

I said in my heart,

I have acquired great wisdom surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me,

and my heart has had great experiences of wisdom and knowledge.

And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly.

I perceive that this is also but a striving after the wind.

Verse 18.

For in much wisdom is much vexation,

and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

It's not as if the sage here is saying that there is nothing good under the sun,

that life is devoid of any goodness.

Rather, he is describing our collective inability to exhaust all there is to know.

So the most capable, the smartest, the wealthiest of all philosophers,

of all investigators,

he is realizing that there are limits he's bumping up against.

He can only know so much.

That's really what verse 15 is getting at.

What is crooked cannot be made straight.

What is lacking cannot be counted.

There are limits to our ability to understand.

In fact, the more the sage investigated,

the more he understood that the world is not as it should be,

and we are not as we ought to be,

and yet there must be an answer to this crisis,

this search for purpose and meaning,

because no human being is satisfied with just existing.

It's not enough to just breathe and eat and sleep and wake up and do it all again the next day.

So the sage, right from the beginning,

it's if he's sitting in an armchair as an elderly man,

giving this story of, you know,

back in the day I did a wildly thorough investigation of life.

It came up short.

Now let me tell you about it.

Let me walk you through it.

It's like almost a bit of a retrospect here.

You'll get into the first investigation of pleasure and culture.

Starting in chapter 2, verse 1.

I said in my heart,

Come now, I will test you with pleasure.

Enjoy yourself.

But behold, this also was vanity.

I said of laughter,

It is mad,

and of pleasure,

What use is it?

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

my heart still guiding me with wisdom,

and how to lay hold on folly

till I might see

what was good for the children of man

to do under heaven

during the few days of their life.

I made great works.

I built homes.

Sorry, I built houses

and planted vineyards for myself.

I made myself gardens and parks

and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.

I made myself pools

from which to water the forests of growing trees.

I bought male and female slaves

and had slaves who were born in my house.

I had also great possessions of herds and flocks,

more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.

I also gathered for myself silver and gold

and the treasure of kings and provinces.

I got singers, both men and women,

and many concubines,

the delight of the son of man.

I'll pause there.

The sage now seeks pleasure

in this quest to find ultimate meaning.

He aims to engage all the physical senses

to discover if any ultimate meaning exists in there.

He visits the finest restaurants.

He drinks the best vintage.

He parties with the A-list.

He enjoys the top entertainment of his day.

He undertakes large building projects

as if he were some kind of ancient Emirati.

He designs grand gardens that rival Eden itself.

I think I'll touch on this a bit later on.

The language here of building a park,

in the original language,

it has Edenic kind of overtones to it.

Again, fruit trees, pools, forests.

This man is undertaking

an incredible legacy building project

to enjoy culture and goodness and pleasure.

He then explores sensuality

with whoever he desires,

even if it means against their will.

Clearly slavery and concubines here.

He has servants for every need,

vacation homes,

he has cottages,

and more money than he can spend.

I mean,

it really is a no-holds-bars deep dive.

And somehow, he says at the beginning of all of this,

that somehow he kept his faculties.

He wasn't given completely into hedonism.

Hard to understand how,

but nevertheless, this is what he says.

And the question is,

has it brought him any long-lasting,

deep, eternal meaning?

He continues on in verse 9 and 10.

So I became great and surpassed

all who were before me in Jerusalem.

Also my wisdom remained with me.

That's kind of like he didn't let himself go

into all sorts of

an uncontrollable, hedonistic experience.

Verse 10.

And whatever my eyes desired,

I did not keep from them.

I kept my heart from no pleasure,

for my heart found pleasure in all my toil,

and this was my reward for all my toil.

There are no kings or queens among us,

but modern Western life is about as close

to a royal existence that anybody has had

in the history of mankind.

It's really incredible what we have at our fingertips.

We're no longer subsistence farmers.

We have options,

and plenty of them.

So many options that we get exhausted from our options.

And many of you, if you're honest,

myself included,

I see some of myself,

you might see some of yourself in these verses,

recognizing a similar experience to the sage.

Like the sage, you haven't really held anything back

that your eyes have desired.

Any things that your heart has wanted,

you have indulged in.

You have enjoyed both lawful and wonderful pleasures,

but also maybe unlawful and illicit pleasures.

But have you felt a sense of purpose and meaning in them

that still resonates today,

that continues on,

that doesn't diminish in any way?

You still feel that sense of purpose and meaning,

that great enjoyment,

or has it waned?

Even worse,

do you feel guilt around it,

some of those illicit things?

I know I do.

Maybe you do as well.

The sage continues, verse 11.

Then I considered all that my hands had done,

and the toil I had expended in doing it,

and behold,

all was vanity and a striving after wind,

and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

You know,

we engage in this consumption

that really doesn't have many limits.

I'm speaking generally here.

Thinking that it will gladden our hearts,

and yet we all know that getting everything you want

does not lead to pleasure,

but it is a kind of,

I don't want to say hell on earth

because it seems too dramatic,

but it leads to maybe more heartache

than it does to a heart that's gladdened.

When children are given everything they want

and no is not a word that they've heard,

usually these children don't grow up to be

fine, wonderful, thoughtful, caring,

selfless, well-rounded adults,

what do we say?

They become spoiled.

This is what it looks like to pursue pleasure as an end,

completely devoid,

completely without God.

In fact, the sage,

like I mentioned before,

he tries to imitate the reality of Eden,

of a paradise,

but Eden

had God

residing in it.

The Eden he's creating

is completely

without God.

And in fact,

you'll notice how God

is completely absent

from this

complete

pursuit of pleasure.

What does he say?

I made,

I built,

I gathered,

I had,

I grew,

I got,

whatever my eyes

desired,

I did not keep from them,

I kept my heart from no pleasure.

It's me,

it's I.

He is trying to build himself up,

to bring himself glory,

to engage in all the things

that will elevate him

to the very

highest of thrones.

His self-esteem is like

at an 11.

But bolstering one's self-esteem

is not a recipe

for meaning and purpose.

Really interesting.

Some of you may know

Arthur Brooks.

He is a happiness expert,

if you can even call

somebody that.

He's a Harvard professor,

and he's wrote

a ton of books.

I listened to

a podcast

this week

where he was talking

about this

pursuit of the me,

this embrace

of the I.

And this is what he said.

Quote,

left to my devices,

I'm going to think

all day long

about my stuff,

all the things

that I'm actually doing.

And that's really boring,

and it's tedious,

and it's terrifying,

and it's terrible.

It's hard to break out of that,

as a matter of fact.

It's one of the characteristics

of clinical depression,

ruminating,

thinking about yourself.

And it's almost like a prison.

It's like you're locked up with,

it's like you're locked up

with you all the time.

That's one of the characteristics

of clinical depression.

You get peace and perspective

instead from zooming out

into the universe

and finding your smallness.

It's paradoxical, isn't it?

It feels like you should be

less happy when you're small,

because your self-esteem

would be lower.

Side note,

the self-esteem in literature

that everybody thought

they knew,

which is that if your self-esteem

is higher,

you'll be happier.

It doesn't stand up.

And a lot of really good scientists

have questioned that.

Why?

Because of this autofocus.

It's maddening to be thinking

about yourself all the time.

Me, me, me.

I'm so great.

I'm so important.

I'm so interesting.

And then he says,

no, you're not.

And thank God.

That's important for us

to remember.

An intense focus on me

is no recipe for salvation.

It is a recipe for disaster.

And if such,

and it kind of begs the question,

if such unchecked pleasure

will not bring meaning and purpose,

surely the opposite, right?

A morally upright

and intellectually vigorous life

will give us pleasure.

So if an engagement of hedonism

and enjoyment without limits,

if that will not give us pleasure,

let's pendulum swing to the other side.

Let's look at the next section

starting in verse 12 to 17.

The sage returns to the quest.

So I turn to consider wisdom

and madness and folly.

For what can the man do

who comes after the king?

Only what has already been done.

Then I saw that there is more gain

in wisdom than in folly.

So, sorry,

I'll start verse 13 again.

Then I saw that there is more gain

in wisdom than in folly

as there is more gain in light

than in darkness.

The wise person

has his eyes in his head

but the fool walks in darkness.

And yet I perceive

that the same event

happens to all of them.

Then I said in my heart,

what happens to the fool

will happen to me also.

Why then have I been

so very wise?

And I said in my heart

that this

is also vanity.

For the wise,

as of the fool,

there is no enduring remembrance,

seeing that in the days to come

all will have been long forgotten.

How the wise dies

just like the fool.

So I hated life

because what is done

under the sun

was grievous to me.

For all is vanity

and a striving

after the wind.

I've committed to living

a good life,

you might say.

I'll pursue morally

upright activities.

I will avoid associating

with degenerates.

I will donate

to the right charities.

I will support

the right candidates.

I will contribute

to my church.

I will compost.

I'll offset

my carbon footprint.

I will do whatever

is necessary

to live according

to the vision

of a good,

morally upright life

from whatever perspective

I support

and I choose to embrace.

Surely this will give me

a sense of meaning

and purpose

beyond this life.

And the answer,

the sage says,

is no.

You will perish

in the same way

as the fool.

So what's the point?

The sage,

he is rattled.

He is vexed.

He is upset.

And he says

that he has hated life

not because he has

developed a suicidal,

a set of suicidal thoughts

but because his quest

kept falling short.

This is what a frustrated

person looks like.

This is what hopelessness

looks like

when it begins to set in

and begins to take hold.

Have you ever felt this way?

Right?

I mean,

the sage is laying out

his experiences

so we can think about ours.

Have you ever felt this way?

There's much to be gained

in a morally upright life.

Hear me out

what I'm saying.

Listen,

I'm not saying

be done with morally

upright behavior.

It's a good thing.

But does such behavior

achieve for you salvation?

And the answer is no.

It is a vain pursuit

for death will come

to everyone.

And this is something

that seems morbid

and maybe not very

kind of the power

of positive thinking.

But it's important

that we will remember

that we will die.

Philosophers of old

and Christians of old

as well

talk about

a memento mori

to remember your death.

death.

If you look at any art

around the time

of the Black Plague

you will see

humans

with skeletons

and reapers

kind of hanging out

eating dinner with them.

It seems very morbid

but it was a way

for our Christian

forebearers

to remember

their death.

To be accustomed

to it.

Death will come

for us all.

The truly wise person

understands that

their days are numbered.

True wisdom

provides a perspective

and guides us

but it knows

that such knowledge

cannot save us

when death

comes for us.

And by the way

that doesn't mean

we should be okay

with death.

It is an incredibly

unnatural

and frightening thing.

Death should never

be sanitized.

It is ugly.

It is painful.

It is full of sorrow.

Death was never

meant for us.

Next week

we'll look at

chapter 3

and we'll touch

on verse 11

which I think is

I mean

it's such an

insightful verse

but it talks about

how God has

written eternity

into the hearts

of men

which is to say

that we were meant

to not touch death.

Well one of the things

it'll mean

is that we were not

to touch death

and yet here we are

accustomed to it.

there's a universal

revulsion towards death

and that only proves

that

Ecclesiastes 3

Ecclesiastes 3:11

verse 11

that eternity

is written on our hearts

it only proves

that it's true.

We live in a very

bizarre time

where

there's like

two very

contradictory

kind of

schools of thought.

One that

embraces

death

in a culture

of death

and another

that rejects

death with

an incredible

amount of intensity.

So on one hand

you have

a medically

assisted

regime

medically

assisted suicide

regime

in our country

that continuously

broadens the

criteria for

accessing

euthanasia.

The Post

just this past

week

on the 11th

ran a story

to highlight

this

and gave

two examples.

One of a man

who became

a widower

and his grief

was so much

that somehow

he qualified

for euthanasia

because of his grief

he was sad.

Another woman

was obese

and refused

any medical

intervention

until she was

granted

her suicide.

Friends

that's a culture

of death.

Okay.

On the flip side

we have

this

health

and wellness

fitness

culture

that continues

to grow

and by the way

if you're going to

choose one

obviously

eat healthy

eat your greens

everybody

alright

lift a weight

go for a walk

whatever

it's a good thing

they're not like

equally terrible

things.

Nevertheless

it's a rejection

of death

with such an

intensity

that

I've mentioned

him before

but this man

Brian Johnson

who is

a millionaire

futurist

he is convinced

he is convinced

in his lifetime

that he will

solve the problem

of death

with science.

A very bizarre

time we live in.

But the reality

is and what this

text tells us

is that we are

not in control

of death.

We cannot

choose

the day

we die

in a way

that is not

suicidal.

And this can be

very difficult

for us

because if you are

very health conscious

God forbid

and I really mean

this God forbid

I mean

get your blood work

it comes back

super clean

you're just

you're firing

on all cylinders

and then you get

in a car accident

okay

and either

you're

handicapped

for your life

or you're dead.

and then

there's other people

who are

they're

they're smoking

a ton

they're living

like a very

unhealthy lifestyle

and somehow

they crack 80

like

where's the fairness

in that

right?

We do not

control our health

or sorry

our death

we do not

and we can see

how the sage

if he is saying

listen

I've tried

hedonism

I've tried pleasure

now I'm trying

clean living

mindfulness

wisdom

right living

everything that I need

to do

and still it's not working

my goodness

I am rattled

I am frustrated

you can feel the angst

maybe you feel the angst

so surely

we're going to move on

to the next thing

if I can't

get ultimate meaning

from pleasure

if I can't get

ultimate meaning

from wise living

then maybe

through my work

and through my vocation

I can find something

I can create a legacy

that will last

that I can pass on

and it will continue on

until time ends

read with me

verses 18 to 23

I hated

I hated all my toil

in which I toil

under the sun

seeing that I must

leave it to the man

who will come after me

and who knows

whether he will be

wise or a fool

yet he will be

master of all

for which I toiled

and used my wisdom

under the sun

this also

is vanity

so I turned

about

and gave my heart

up to despair

over all the toil

of my labors

under the sun

because sometimes

a person

who has toiled

with wisdom

and knowledge

and skill

must leave everything

to be enjoyed

by someone

who did not

toil for it

this also is vanity

and a great evil

what is a man

from all the toil

and striving

of heart

with which he toils

beneath the sun

for all his days

are full of sorrow

and his work

is a vexation

even in the night

his heart

does not rest

this also is vanity

strike three

you're out

he is not

finding much success

in his quest

for meaning

one thing I love

about this section

is that the sage

is he's highlighting

the absurdity

of a total

work culture

a work culture

that doesn't help

our lives flourish

as much as

our lives

existing

to serve

our work

there's never

enough money

to earn

never enough

promotions

to chase

never enough

time to spend

on a project

constantly

thinking

about work

so that even

in our sleep

we are busy

we have busy minds

what should provide

us with life

robs our hearts

of peace

and again

I just want to

just say

really quickly

work is a beautiful

wonderful thing

it's valuable

the Bible's actually

full of other

bits of

wisdom that say

do not be

slothful

I think later on

in Ecclesiastes

it's like

be like the ant

work hard

be studious

be honest

hard working

integral

work hard

but again

if we're thinking

about the sage

who's on a quest

to find meaning

ultimate purpose

it is not found

in his work

he is looking

for work

to become

his sense

of identity

but it will

demand more

and more

from him

and from us

and the things

and people

we really cherish

will suffer

there's a

lovely couple

downtown

at the downtown

Messiah

and

he was

retired now

but he was a

major in the

military

but he had a lot

of promise

his father

was

a general

and he made

the decision

when his kids

were in high

school

to

basically step

away from the

military

to go into the

private

service

and then his

kids went to

university

and graduated

and then he

went back

to the military

and then he

just stayed

at his rank

of major

and he did

not continue

on

and he

talked a bit

about this

about how

I don't know

if it's the

case anymore

but back

then

if you

wanted to

become a

general

the saying

was

it'll cost

you a

marriage

if you

want to be

a general

it'll cost

you a

marriage

I'm sure

that's not

the case

all the way

through every

general

is divorced

but that

phrase always

stuck with

me

because that

is this

total work

culture

where everything

everything is

sacrificed

because

of the

meaning

that is

associated

upon me

that has to

do with our

work

that I'm

finding my

identity

in our

work

and the

sage is

saying

and we

all know

yet we

fall into

this

all too

easily

that we

cannot make

work a

totalizing

endeavor

so we've

looked at

pleasure

and we've

looked at

wisdom

and we

looked at

work

and we

found them

all wanting

now what

is there

another

category

there's no

more categories

at least in

this section

but now

what

where's the

hope

I hope

that you

felt the

weight of

this quest

I mean

it's been

just a

20

25

30 minutes

whatever

I hope

you have

felt

disillusioned

to some

degree

or another

but in

a good

way

if our

reality

of pleasure

and wise

living

and work

is built

upon a

false promise

of ultimate

meaning

then to be

disillusioned

with it

is to make

steps towards

reality

and to make

steps towards

freedom

and joy

and real

purpose

and real

meaning

what could be

better than

knowing

that all

the

pleasure

moral

living

and total

work

culture

we find

ourselves

in

is utter

vanity

if it

does not

give us

what we

think it

will give

us

how blessed

are we

to come

to this

realization

hopefully

before it's

too late

this is a

blessing

okay

being disillusioned

right now

is a gift

from God

we cannot

hold on

to pleasure

we can't

rest on

our laurels

we can't

keep even

a single

coin

forever

it is a

blessing to

know this

ultimately

pleasure

and wisdom

and good

work

that we

do

are all

gifts

from God

but the

pleasure

sorry

but the

problem

arises

when these

things are

emphasized

without any

mention of

God

without any

consultation

with God

looking to

him

asking him

for strength

or salvation

God

in this

section

is mentioned

in verse 13

and then

is completely

absent

until

this last

portion

verses 24

to 26

he is

nowhere to

be found

okay

God is

absent

from

the

sages

quest

this

whole

endeavor

is

unbelievably

self-centered

and if

we're engaged

in it

it's

unbelievably

self-centered

for us

as well

see the

sage

shows us

that although

we are

people who

live under

the sun

okay

in this

mortal

life

we also

have

eternity

written on

our hearts

and that

means

eternal

meaning

and purpose

it's

what we

deeply

crave

and it

cannot be

found

under

the sun

only

then

when we

come to

this

realization

can we

truly

turn to

Lord

as

people

that

are

desperate

for

only

what

he

can

give

and

what

we

desperately

need

imagine a

life that

is growing

towards

I don't

want to

say is

completely

free

of

because

we'll

still

falter

but is

growing

towards

freedom

from

vain

attempts

at

controlling

every

aspect

of our

life

trying to

curate

every

move

every

promotion

every

strategic

financial

decision

from

the way

we're

raising

our

kids

who

they're

playing

with

the cars

we drive

the

neighborhoods

we live

in

that can

feel

like a

weight

that is

growing

and growing

and growing

upon our

shoulders

imagine

having

an identity

that does

not need

to be

reinvented

every

few

years

imagine

the freedom

of that

again

we're

growing

into

this

but

imagine

if

that's

the

trajectory

of your

life

imagine

having

meaning

that is

rooted

in the

eternal

God

who

scripture

constantly

says

is

unchanging

unchanging

this is

what the

sage is

beginning to

realize

in this

last

section

I'll

read it

read it

with me

starting

in verse

24

there is

nothing

better

for a

person

than

that

he

should

eat

and

drink

and

find

enjoyment

in

his

toil

this

also

I

saw

is

from

the

hand

of

God

there

it is

it

becomes

a

gift

and not

an

ultimate

end

in

itself

for

apart

from

him

who

can

eat

or

who

can

have

enjoyment

for

to

the

one

who

pleases

him

God

has

given

wisdom

and

knowledge

and

joy

but

to

the

sinner

he

has

given

the

business

of

gathering

and

collecting

only

to

give

it

to

one

who

pleases

God

this

also

is

vanity

and

a

striving

after

the

wind

when

we

see

life

as a

gift

from

God

we

begin

to

become

incredibly

generous

people

again

not

overnight

but

we

become

incredibly

generous

people

our

suffering

is no

longer

an

existential

threat

to

our

very

identity

so

that

we

can

endure

knowing

our

frailty

and yet

through it

all

have

joy

and

when

death

comes

even

though

we

will

have

fear

and

it

is

still

scary

and

it

is

scary

the

fear

will

not

crush

us

and

the

answer

is

because

of what

Christ

has done

on the

cross

why

because

in his

death

and

resurrection

Christ

defeats

death

and he

makes a

mockery

out of

it

he

suffers

but then

endures

and is

victorious

in his

ascension

he goes

to prepare

a place

for us

so that

we will

enjoy

pleasures

forevermore

because

his work

is completed

upon the

cross

we need

not work

for a

salvation

that we

could never

win

instead

we

receive

it

by

faith

it's

a

gift

to

us

so

we

can

enjoy

Christ's

labors

and

therefore

our

work

is

freed

up

so

that

it

is

not

attached

to

our

identity

and

rather

it

becomes

redeemed

and

we

can

get

promotion

and

we

can

celebrate

that

and

we

cannot

get

a

promotion

and

it

won't

crush

us

we

can

learn

to

work

and

give

for

the

benefit

of

others

around

us

and

ultimately

for

the

glory

of

the

Lord

so

even

though

in

this

life

we

are

but

dust

that

we

ought

to

remember

our

death

in

Christ

we

have

a

completely

fulfilled

existence

forevermore

in

eternity

in

the

presence

of

the

one

true

God

but

that

that

is

for

us

in

this

life

and

that

we

learn

to

grow

into

that

life

by

faith

because

of

the

grace

that

God

gives

to

us

in

Christ

Jesus

let's

pray

Lord God

disillusion

us

help us

to see

the

unreality

of our

lives

if it

is rooted

in the

pursuit

of

pleasure

or

clean

wise

living

or

work

that

is

an

end

to

itself

that

is

the

means

by

which

we

think

we

will

have

eternal

purpose

and

meaning

Lord

shake

us

up

help

us

to be

very

real

people

that

desire

reality

even

if it

is

a bit

unsettling

Lord

ultimately

we want

this

reality

to lead

us

to

truth

to

your

son

who

has

gone

the

distance

for

us

so

that

we

may

know

pleasure

forever

more

eternal

life

and that

we

do

not

have

to

ultimately

fear

death

Lord

as we

continue

on in

this

series

help

us

to

be

very

sober

minded

people

point

us

towards

your

son

we

pray

this

in

Christ's

name

Amen

God