Fear God and Obey His Commandments | Pr Stephen Kong

You're listening to a message to go from acts church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

So let's go to the work this morning.

And so I've been preaching like a few months, sass

back to back, and I just asked a lot a

lot to just review to me what he wants me

to share with you this morning.

And the word came to me.

It was very clear and re precise, and the word

was Eclesiast the teth And so I will attempt to

uh share with you from the Book of Ecclesiasts, which

is not the easiest because if you have read the

Book of Ecclicists, Uh, some people tell me that it's

very it's a very depressing book. Okay, But I pray

that today after I finished my message, or at least

halfway to a message, you will have a different perspective.

And you read the Book of Eclicists, okay, And I'm

gonna attempt to do that today, okay. And so the

Book of Eclists, to give you some context, is one

of the five wisdom books in the Bible, okay.

Uh.

The five wisdom books in a Bible include job Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastics,

and Song of Solomon.

Okay.

So the five Wisdom books, so eclesis this is one

of them, and clearly there's plenty of wisdom in the book, okay,

and sort of okay, So let let's go with the

title first. The book Ecclesiasts is derived from the Greek

word Greek word called ecclesia. Okay, So I've prepared a

simple stit just to help you. It is a it's

a Greek word ecclesia, which means an assembly, a congregation,

or a church, okay. And the Latin word, the Latin

word ecclesias is actually means a speaker before an assembly, okay,

speaker before an assembly.

Okay. And so the okay, So let.

Me just start off by reading the first few verses

for you, okay, and to help us with some context

of this book in the Bible.

Okay.

So if you have a Bible with you, why don't

you turn with me to Ecclesiastic Chapter one, the first

chapter of Ecclesiasts. Okay, it's quite the difficult book to

find if you flip it is Psalms, Proverbs, and then

Ecali says, this is quite to miss it, so just

go to Psalm's the biggest book you'll find it.

Then from Proverbs, then it's got easy. Okay.

It's after proverabs so Ecalisias chapter one. If you're there,

say yeah, okay.

Here we go. Chapter one.

I'm just gonna read four versus to give us some

context of this book in the Bible.

Okay.

So it starts by saying the words of the preacher,

the son of David King in Jerusalem. Okay, so let

me stop there first, the words of the preacher, the

son of David King in Jerusalem.

Okay.

So the Hebrew title is coherless okay, coherlets, which means preacher.

Okay.

So this book, we are not entirely sure who is

the author of the book, okay, because right now the

book starts off by saying the words of the preacher.

Okay.

That means the author and the preacher may be two

different people because it's writ think about somebody else's words. However,

most scholars would agree traditionally that the preacher is Solomon

King Solomon. Okay, although it's not. It's not mentioned explicitly,

but we can agree that it is Solomon because of

a few reasons. Number one, son of David. The first clue.

Second thing is king in Jerusalem. Okay, So that's two

clues to it is so that narrows down who are

the people? And the third thing is that Solomon is

the wisest king.

Okay.

The ever rule isual, and so because this book is

filled with wisdom, we can then conclude very accurately that

it should have been Solomon. Okay, So let's stick with

that for now. If you want to argue, we argue later.

Okay.

But yeah, most scholars believe traditionally that it is Solomon.

The preacher was Solomon, the wisest, richest, most influential king

in Israel's history.

Okay. And so it gets more interesting.

Verse two says vanity of vanities, says the preacher vanity

of vanities. All is vanity. What a way to start

a book. And I think the preaching just got harder. Okay,

so let me let me let me read another two

more verses. I'll come back to this. So worse three

says what profit has a man from all his labor

in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes

away and another generation comes, but the earth abides forever.

Okay, let me stop there.

Okay, because if I continue reading his entire book from

chapter one all the way to chapter eleven, you will

find that is the repetition of these same fuel sentences.

Okay uh.

And this word vanity appeared many times in this book.

In fact, it appeared thirty eight.

Times in a book that only has chelp chapters thirty

eight times. Okay, So what does this word vanity mean? Okay,

you can go to my slide. And so this word

vanity means in Hebrews is he well okay, well with

a B but pronounces the V well, and it just

means vapor or breath.

Okay.

That's what it exactly means, vapor or breath okay, and

also means, you know, with modern English, it also means

temporary of fleeting okay, or an enigma or paradox. Okay,

that's what this word vanity means. So it's like it's

like it's like a paradox. It's like smoke. Right when

you look at it, it's thick, it's solid. When you

touch it, when you grab on, you don't get anything.

You know, it's it's just not there.

You know.

It's a paradox, you know. And the way I look

at it in a simple sense. It's like when you

look at the riches of this world and the pleasures

of this world, and you have, you know, everything in

this world, one day you will not be able to

carry it to heaven or to eternity. You know, not

even your car, not your house, not the money, your

bank account, you know, not your your your your possessions,

not your books, nothing, not your degree certain on the wall,

nothing that you do on this world. You will be

able to carry it to eternity. In fact, that's a saying.

Probably the only thing is your issue. You can you

can bring your children to eternity, because if they are

saved in the Lord, and then they know the Lord,

you will see them in heaven one day. Everything else

you can't bring you will be left here. So it's

like a paradox in other In other terms, vanity is

is futile emptiness of trying to be happy apart from God.

That's what it means, okay, emptiness, emptiness okay.

Uh.

Figuratively something transitory or unseatist factory.

Okay.

If you look at different translational Bible, they translate it

as another word is called meaningless. Okay, However, I don't

really find this word meaningless in the in the actual

original meaning.

Uh.

It could be an English word used.

In the lack of another another better word, because actually

it means vapor, okay, vapor or breath.

Okay.

However, if you still like the word meaningless, it needs

to be put together in context, which I'm going to

come there in a while, Okay, hang on, hang on

with me for a while, Okay. So the book starts

by saying vanity or vanities. This is what we call

the ultimate vanity ultimate okay, because in the in the Hebrew,

the way how the writed is that, uh, that there's

this thing called a repetition.

Okay.

So you may have heard this thing called the King

of King, right, and mean, it's the king of all kings,

it's ultimate king, a lot of lords, so a lot

of all lords. There's another one called Holy of Holy

of holies, right, the holiest place. So here we see

that that repetition, the repetition called vanity of vanities. So basically,

King Solomon is saying that in this life, and hold

a thought, for in this life everything is vanity. That's

what King Solomon is saying. And hold the thought for Walla.

Stay with me, Okay, I'm getting somewhere. So the book

is better in a very distinctive perspective, Okay. Basically, the

perspective is in the eyes of a man who thinks

and believes as if God does not matter. Okay, not

that God does not exist, and he believes that God exists,

but it's more in a sense where by God does

not matter.

Okay.

So it's in that perspective. So for eleven chapters he

wrote in that perspective.

Okay.

So he started with this one simple conclusa that everything

is vanity Okay, until we get to the last chapter

later Okay, I'll come to that, okay. So one very

important thing when we look at this word, this word vanity,

is we have to put this word together with three

other words. And these three other words is called under

the sun. Okay, under the sun. Let me read it

to you again now. In chapter three, sorry, chapter one,

verse three, okay, really to me, he says a word

prophet has a man from his labor in which he

toils under the sun.

Okay.

So these three words under the sun is very important

when you read this book, okay, because we need to

read it in context, because if you only read vanities

of entities, vanity of nities and you stop there, you

would have missed the point, okay, and you would have

left reading this book feeling the press. But that's not

the point of the book.

Okay.

So what does the word under the sun mean? Or

this phrase under the sun?

Okay?

This phrase or the yeah, these three words was mentioned

twenty nine times.

In the book.

I actually counted it twenty nine times in the book. Okay,

so almost as many times as the word vanity by

because vanity had many repetitions, so that's why has more

times are okay, but twenty nine times in the book

mentioned under the sun?

Okay? And what does this under the sun mean? Okay?

It does not literally mean sunlight, or it doesn't literally

mean a sunny day. So doesn't mean in Malaysia we

have more sunny and we are we are under the sun. No,

that's not that's not what it means, okay. But it

basically means life here on earth with a human perspective

and without God in the picture. That's actually what it means.

Does it make sense, you know why everything is vanity

because that's what it means. Under the sun, describing our

visible world the word ever living in okay, without God

in the picture, and in other other times, and in

this book he uses the word on earth.

Okay, so that's why you re first too.

So when we put these two words together, or these

two phrases together, it is no wonder why King Solomon

said that everything is vanity, or if you read other versions,

uses a much stronger word everything is meaningless. He says, okay,

let me show it you equally says it's one fourteen

and one seventeen.

It's on the slide.

So he says, I have seen all the works that

are done under the sun. You see that, and indeed

all is vanity and grasping for the wind. So now

you see the two words come together, okay, in one

single verse, I have seen all the works that under

the sun, and indeed all its vanity and grasping for

the wind.

Another one verse seventeen.

Therefore I hated life because the work that was done

under the sun. Again, under the sun was stressing to

me for all its vanity and grasping for the wind.

You will find these occurrence, I think at least four

times in this book that it has this word vanity

and under the Sun put together.

Okay, So every single time you read.

This book, when you look at it, when King Solomon

says everything is vanity, remember he's referring to under the Sun.

That's the context of it.

And past the Man always reminds us to use scripture

to interpret scripture, and so I'm doing that right now.

Okay.

So the context and understanding of this book is very important.

And now when you look at it that way, we

understand why King Solomon wrote it like that. You know,

it sounds depressing, but we're going to get somewhere when

you get to the end. Okay, So let me begin

with my first point, which is all my points are

in p My first point is purpose.

My first point is purpose.

So there's you know, in our life, right there is

one thing that gives meaning to life, not only that

God exists, but that we answer to God in eternity.

One day all of us would have to answer to

God in the eternity, all of us, you know, on

what we have done here on earth. And so what

this book is trying to tell us the sa way

of it all, because I can't go to all eleven

chap does is too long okay, But the summary of

this book is that we all have a God shaped

vacuum and avoid in our hearts, in our hearts that

only God can feel, only God can feel. You know,

whereby everything on earth is vanity in a sense, whereby

it's all temporary. You and I would know that our

life here is temporary. You know, one day all of

us would die, not a single on ours can escape it. Okay,

we would die a physical death, but our sore will

live on, you know, and will be with the Father

if you believe in him. And so we in our

hearts here on earth we have a God shaped vacuum

or a void that only He can feel. And we

can try to do things on earth and try to

find for human find purpose, find pleasure in the things

of this world, but they will only feel you temporarily,

and everything one day will pass away, and he will

be meaningless because everything will passed away. And so when

we see it in God's perspective, Solomon actually summarizes it

that life has meaning, you know, and and he's he

actually writes in the book, and he says, eat, drink,

we joye, do good, live joyfully, but most importantly, fear God.

And keep his commandments. So it took Solomon all his years.

I don't know most he wrote this book in his

older days, okay, and he looked back in all of

his younger days, and then he wrote this book and

say that everything was meaningless if you take God out

a picture. Okay, everything is vanity under the sun. Everything

is meaningless if you take God out of the picture.

That's why he's trying to say, Okay, there's a context.

And so my encouragement to us today is that everything

that we do, we need to have an eternal perspective

in mind attached to it, everything that we do in life,

because if you're only working under the sun again the

three words under the sun, everything will be vanity as

return in the scripture, not my words.

It's in a scripture. You can read it.

And so I've learned how to live my life in

a place whereby I leave it with purpose. Let me

give you an example.

How so.

I have this belief that when I go to work

to earn a living, ultimately I earn a living is

so that I can continue to do the work of

God and to serve him. So I've come to a

place that I'm never too worried about my salary or

my work or my job, because I know that God

will use it to end unto me so that I

can continue to do his work and to serve him.

Amen. So I have that perspective, you know.

And likewise, for many of you who are also students,

maybe you're not working at and you think, okay, maybe

I don't earn the money, I don't earn income yet. Okay,

maybe you get there one day. Right, But even as

a student in your class, U still have a purpose, right,

God place you there.

Not just to study.

Of course, study is very important, and so that you

graduate well and with a testimony, but also so that

you can reach your friends. You know, you're there for

a reason. You're there to shine for him. You're there

to be a testimony, and you can also reach your friends.

And there's a purpose for.

You being there. Amen.

And so everything that we do we must have an

eternity purpose in mind and eternal purpose in mind, rather

than just doing everything in the natural here on earth.

Because again all is vanity under the sun. You will

passed away, you will be like vapor, and you will

you'll be meaningless. Very strong word, and so there are

four care things that every human heart is in search for,

and every religion has to answered this four things. Number

one origin where did we come from? I'll tell you

a purpose right, Number one? Origin where do we come from?

Number two is meaning meaning, what is my purpose here

on life? What am I called to do here on life?

The third thing is morality? How do we differentiate between

right and wrong? In today's world, it's much more difficult

to tell the truth, between truth and lies. I've read

this saying one time, you know, if someone told you

a lie, your believe is a lie. You know, if

if fifty people told you the same line, maybe becomes

half a lie. But if a thousand many people say

the same lie, the lie becomes the truth because now

you believe it. And so in today's world it's very

difficult to tell between the truth and lie. And as

AI is advancing, you know, sometimes you don't know where

is the person who say the thing, not because someone

can replicate your voice and say something on your behalf.

And so it's very.

Because we can tell you what is what's the truth,

what is right from wrong? And morality in different places

can be res subjective from one country one place, it

can be right or wrong in another place, it's different.

You know, something that is right in the country can

be wrong in another place, and vice versa. And so

we always need a compass. There's never changing. That's the Bible.

Amen.

So that's the third thing, morality, And the fourth thing

is destiny. As I said to you earlier, one day

all of us would die. The question is what happens

after we die?

Where do we go?

So these are the four main things that every religion

has to answer, and I'm proud to tell you that

Christianity can answer all four of them, all for the origin, meaning,

morality and destiny. So you and I have a purpose

here on earth. Remember we're not just here to do

things here on earth. I'm not saying that you should.

Leave a job.

I'm not saying it issues you should stop studying and

self God full time. No, that's not what I'm saying.

But what I'm trying to get at is that whatever

do you do, everything that you do, remember to have

an eternal perspective in mind, because whatever we do here

on earth, you will pass away. And so don't stop

treasures here on earth, but stop treasures in eternity.

Amen.

Even Jesus when he came to earth, he had a purpose.

What was his purpose? His purpose on earth was to

finish the work, and the work, to be specific, was

on the work on the court, to die on the

court for our sins so the man can be reconciled

with God. Jesus came to earth with a mission. He

came with a purpose, and he came to finish the work.

And that is why last week we celebrated Good Friday

and Easter. When Jesus was hung on a cross, he

said these three words. He said, it is finished. He

had finished the work that he was called to do,

finished the work on the cross. And I thank God

that he said it is finished. Thank God he didn't

say I am finished, because if he said I am finished,

then all of us are finished. But he said it

is finished. Amen, the work is complete. Thanks be to God.

Amen.

And so we celebrated that last week. And I won't

go into that end of the message because you already

heard the message last week. And so our purpose here

on earth is to know him, to love him, and

to serve him, serve him and others around us.

That's what we are called to do. For the Bible reminds.

Us that we are called to worship him, we are

made to worship him. All of this are connected together.

That's our purpose and our identity and our purpose only

comes from our creator, from the one who created us.

So I want to encourage us all. I want to.

Remind us to stop looking for our identity and our

purpose in the things of the world, but find your

true identity and purpose in Christ, in our creator.

Amen. Because I started by telling you.

In the Book of Equists, says that everything is vanity

under the sun.

Everything is vanity under the sun. Okay. So now I

finish the first chapter.

Let me just go to chapter three, and I will

go to the last chapter, okay, and then we're closed.

So chapter three.

Then, says, I'm going to read from verse one to

verse fifteen. He says, to everything, there is a season,

a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to

be born, a time to die, and a time to plan,

and a time to pluck what is planted. A time

to kill and the time to heal. A time to

now and a time to build up. A time to

weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn

and a time to dance, a time to cast away

stones and the time to gether stones. The time to

embrace and the time to refrain from embracing, a time

to gain and the time to lose, the time to

keep and the time to throw away, the time to

tear and the time to sow, A time to keep

silence and a time to speak, a time to love

and a time to hate, A time of war and

the time of peace. Verse nine says, what profit has

the worker from that in which he labors? I have

seen the God given tasks with which the sons of

men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful

in his time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts,

except that no one can find out the work that

God does from beginning to end. And worse Shop says,

I know that nothing is better for them than to

rejoice and to do good in their lives, and also

that every man should eat, doing and enjoy the good

of all his labor. It is the gift of God.

I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.

Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it.

God does it that man should fear before him that

which is, also that which has already been, and what

is to be, has already been, and God requires an

account of what is passed. So that's my second point

for us today is perspective. Perspective, Friends, I want to

remind us that God has made everything beautiful in his time. Everything,

by the way that sentence is past tense. Look at

it carefully. God has made everything beautiful in his time,

past tense. And so if you're still struggling, you not

you're not in a good place. Remember that if it's

not good, then it is not the end. God is

still working in your life. He never stops working. I

think he saying that earlier. He's a way maker, miracle worker.

He's still working. And if you're not in a good place,

then it's not the end yet. God is still in control.

And so what this chapter starts off by saying is

that King Solomon realized that everything here on earth is

out of his control. Do you agree with that? Can

you control everything?

No? We can't.

Right, we don't necessarily get to do everything that we

want or to choose everything. But instead we need to

recognize with the perspective that God is fully in control,

and you and I don't have to worry. Amen, God

is fully in control, because he says He has made

everything beautiful in his time. That's the perspective that he's

trying to bring to us this morning. That's the perspective,

you know. And he also says that God has put

eternity in our hearts, eternity in our hearts. That means

that all of us, whether you like it or not,

whether you believe it or not, we long for eternity.

We actually know that our time here on earth is shot.

In fact, the Bible calls us as pilgrims or we're

just like passing through it, passing through earth. And I

remember this guy who gave this picture, given analogy, if

life was a long rope, life here on earth will

just be one tiny bit of it and the rest

of it is eternity, you know. So our life here

on earth is short, is really very short. And so

King Solomon, out of his riches and out of it

as a king, has gone to so much, and yet

he can come to this simple conclusion that God is

fully in control. He has he has no control over it,

but God is fully in control. And hence you and

I just ought to take every day as a gift

from God, to live every life is a gift from God.

So enjoy it while last enjoy it.

Enjoy with a perspective of eternity in mind, not just

here on earth under the sun.

Remember that, and that's why I like this scripture.

In First Convencience, Chapter fifteen, verse fifty eight, it says,

it's therefore, my beloved regimen, it is by Paul. Therefore,

my beloved reregiend be stayed first, immovable, always abounding in

the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is

not in vain in the Lord. I really like this

verse because we get to see that our labor is

not in vain in the Lord. Because when you put eternity,

and you put the eternal God into what we do

in our daily life, into our work that we do

in our daily life, your labor will not be in vain.

Remember that God has been a picture, because the entire

Book of Equal says talks about under the sun. Under

the sun, God is out of the picture. It's a

human perspective. It's a human world. It's just on earth here.

It's temporary, it's you know, it's temporal. You know, and

one day you will pass away. So what's important is

for us to have a perspective of eternity in mind

in everything that we do, everything, and I pray the

changes your life today. So now I'm drawing to the

last lap. It says this chapter. Let's now flip to

the last book of the Bible if you have if

you have a chance, please go back and read the book.

And I pray with after that, with the understanding you

have this morning, it will change your perspective. And you

read this book and give you a better understanding. You know,

it does not mean that life is depressing. And see

what he's trying to say is that if we only

toil and work day and night under the sun here

on earth, then yes, it would be vanity.

But we need to include God into the picture. Amen.

Okay, So let me let me wrap up for the

last chapter, chapter eleven verse Okay, let me let me

go one one chapter back. Chapter eleven, verse nine says,

rejoice all young men in your youth. Okay, It says

this chapter eleven, verse nine, Rejoice all young men in

your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the

days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your

heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that

all these God will bring you into judgment basically and say, yes,

young people will say, follow your heart. That's what the

word tells you. Kings Solomon, as you say that, follow

your heart. But there's a bad the way. But remember

everything you will need to account. Basically, be very careful

what you choose. Be very careful, you know, walk in

your walk, in the ways of your heart and the

sight of your eyes. But know that all these God

will bring you into judgment. One day you and I

will stand before a creator and we will have to

give an account. So be careful what you choose in

your life, what you choose to do. Therefore, remove sorrow

from your heart. Verse ten says, and put away evil

from your flesh. For childhood and youth are vanity.

Okay. Remember you see the word vanity.

He's talking about here on earth, okay, under the sun,

under the sun.

It's just three words.

And the child says, remember now your creator in the

days of your youth. So because of this words that

he used, we can conclude, or we can make an

assumption that Solomon wrote this when he was in older days,

in his older days, okay, because he's talking about his

youth right now, Remember now we're creator in the days

of your youth, before the difficult days come and the

years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure

in them. So my encouragement, do you everyone in this

room is young. Today in access we have a saying

if you're ninety nine years oh and below, you're too young.

Just that some words I A and some of us

are very young. That's the difference. So he says, remember,

you're creating the days of your youth before the difficult

days come. I want to encourage all of you here,

young people, give God the best years.

Of your life when you are young.

Or when you are a younger, because the challenges in

life and the responsibilities in life will always become more

and more. I always say this is an addition. It

is never a substitute. It's an addition and never a substitute.

For example, if you know it's a single person, one

day you get married, you know, and then you have

a wife or a husband, depending on your gender.

And then when you.

Have a kid, When you have a kid, would you

say that, Okay, now I substitute my kid with my

with my spouse. No, it's an addition, right for one

kid you have a second kid. Can you say it now,

I substitute the first kid for the second kid. For

the first kid. I don't take care of the first

kid anymore. No, it is an addition. So, friends, our responsibilities,

our challenges in life are always in addition. What you

and I need to do is to increase our capacity

for more. Really, so I want to encourage young people

serve the Lord while you're still young, while you are active,

while you have strength in your bones, while you have vigor,

while you have energy, you have time, you have strength.

Serve the Lord when when you're young. Don't wait until

you're retired. Because I've heard people tell me, you know,

I will serve the Lord when my children have grown up. Well,

my question to them, what if you don't make it

to the age? You never know, right, you never know.

And in fact, when people get to the age, they

don't feel like serving the Lord anymore, you know, they

maybe they're tired or the energy is lower. So I

encourage young people serve the Lord, give him the best

days of your life. That's exactly what Solomon is saying

his younger self. You know, remember your Creator in the

days of your youth, before the difficult days come may.

I suggest to you it's easier and more important to

serve the lot when you're a student, because when you

come to the working world, it will be harder. It

will be ask something my Okay, adults here they will

tell you that because as a working a doubt, your

time you go to work and back and forth is

very fix on. You can't wake up one day and

say I feel like going to work late today or

I feel like keeping work today.

You can't. It doesn't happen, you know.

So as a young person, as a student, you still

have the freedom of time, much more freedom than a

working a doubt, much more freedom than a person who

has kids family. So I want to encourage you serve

the lot while you're too young, and you have energy,

and you you have time. Okay, let me continue. I'm

running out of time. Verse two days, while the sun

and the light, the moon and the stars are not darkened,

and the clouds do not return after the rain in

the day, when the keepers of the house trember and

the strong men bow down, when the grinders cease because

they are feel and those that look through the window

grow dimmed by the way.

These whole verses from Verse two. All the way to verse.

Seven is a poetic description of aging, okay, going from

getting older get advancing in age.

That's why, that's what it means.

Actually okay, when the doors are shut in the streets

and the sound of grinding is low, and when one

rises up at the sound of a bird, and all

the daughters of music are brought low. Also they are

afraid of height and of terrors in the terrors in

the way when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshoppers are

burden and desire fails for man goes to his eternal

home and the mourners go about the streets. He talks

about advancing age. Verse two, talks about advancing age.

Verse three.

The keepers of the house Trember talks about our feet

or shot our hands actually strong men bow down talks

about our feet getting weak.

Verse four.

And the doors are shut in the streets and the

sound of grinding is low, our ears are getting weaker.

It's actually a poetic way of describing our age. Sleep

becomes more difficult, you know. It says all the daughters

of music are brought low. It means that we no

longer appreciate loud music or rock or rock music talks

about aging. You know, verse five when the almond tree blossoms,

talks about hair becoming white.

The grasshopper is a burden.

The grasshopper is very active, can jump, but after a

while not not not as high anymore because we're aging.

And finally he says for men goes to his eternal home,

and the moners go about the street. And verse six

continues to say, remember your Creator. Before the silver cord

is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the

pictures shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at

the well. Then the dust will return to the earth

as it was, and the spirit will return to God

who gave it. So again, you and I, none of

us will know how much time we have here on earth.

So he's trying to say, remember your creator, because you

and I will never know. You will never know when

you will be called home to the Lord. Remember your

Creator in the days of your youth. And verse seven

says the dust will return to the earth as it was.

There's a scripture that says from dust, we came from dust.

We shall return and our soul or spirit says here

and the spirit will return to God who gave it

that talks about the end of our life. You and

I will never know when you will come. So I

want to carrye you. Love the Lord, know him, serve

him while you still can, while we're here on earth.

And watch how the book ends is the most important part. Okay,

Towards the ending of the book. Okay, verse eight, he

says vanity or vanity says the creature.

All is vanity.

So now the preacher ends the book with the same

sentence he started the book. Okay, that's the end of

his first conclusion. Okay, of life. Okay, there's the end

of it. Vanity of vanity, says the preacher, all is vanity.

He ended with the same verses he started with. Verse

nine says and moreover, because the preacher was wise, he

still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered and sought

out and said in order many proverbs. There's another sign

that it's actually Solomona, because he wrote, he wrote many proverbs.

The preacher sought to find acceptable words, and what was

written was upright words of truth. The words of the

wise are like goats, and the words of scholars are

like well driven nails given by one shepherd. And further,

my son be admonished by this of making many books.

There is no end.

Basically, the books will always be written. And much study

is verism for to the flesh. And those study for

the exam say.

You got it.

So much study is very verisome to the flesh. Too much,

too much can be can be weary. Okay, so don't

study forever. Verse thirteen says, let us hear the conclusion

of the whole matter, fantas this is the most important

verse of this book. After eleven and a half chapters,

all the way until chapter twelve, we come to the

last verse of the book, the last two verses of

the book. And what does he say, Let us hear

the conclusion of the whole matter? Fear God and keep

his commandments, for this is man's or. You see that,

So for the whole book, King Solomon said that all

is vanity vanity or vanity is under the sun. And

right at the end he makes a final conclusion, Fear

God and keep his commandments, for this is man's or,

for God will bring every work into judgment, including every

secret thing, whether good or evil. The summaray of it

talks about eternity. He talks about eternity. All of us

have a place in eternity one day with an eternal God.

And whatever they we do here on earth is temporary.

It is it's temporary. And so if we live our

lives as I'm closing right now, can invite the worship

to the come. As we live our lives under the

premise of under the sun again under the sun, everything

will be vanity.

But if we leave our life with an.

Eternal perspective, believing in the eternal God, everything would have

purpose and meaning. And I would encourage us, don't wait

for eternity before we experience it. You and I can

experience eternity here on earth. That's why in the last

prayer he says, let your will be done here on

earth as it is in heaven.

I call it heaven on earth.

Everything that we do heaven, eternity or eternal perspective in mind,

in everything that we do, and that will give you

meaning and purpose in all that you and I do.

And so here's a how I'm going to close work

close with two more final versus second convencience Chapter four,

verse sixteen to eighteen. If you have a Bible, you

can second conveintence from sixteen to eighteen. He says, therefore,

we do not lose heart, even though our outward man

is perishing. Yet the inward man is being renewed day

by day for our light affliction, which is but for

a moment. It's working for us a far more exceeding

and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look

at the things which are seen by the things which

are not seen, For the things which are seen are temporary,

but the things which are not seen are eternal. Amen,

he says, do not lose heart. Do not lose heart.

I pray to you and I today we will live

our lives with an eternal perspective, perspective of eternity in mind.

Would you include the eternal God into everything that you do.

Include Him so that in everything that you do there

will be meaning, there will be a purpose, and they

will be fruitful, and it will not be vanity like

how it was written in the Book of Ecclesiasts. And

so when I read the book he started off low.

Yes he did, but it's to come towards the end

of the book you realize that it all comes down

to these two things. Fear God keep his commandments. Fear

God keep his commandments, having eternity in mind, putting the

eternal God into your life and not excluding him. So

the question to us today is how do we live

our life with an eternal perspective. I'm going to end

with this last he Brews Chapter twelve was one to do.

He Brewish chelf one to two says, therefore we also,

since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us lay uside every weight and the sin which

so easily and stares us, and let us run with

endurance the race that is set before us, looking onto Jesus,

the author and finisher of our faith, who for the

joy that was set before him, and cured the cross,

despising the shame, and has sat down in the right

hand of the throne of God. Friends, all of us

are running these ways of life, all of us. And

what a scripture says that we are surrounded by so

great a cloud of witnesses. Many people have gone before us.

They are witnesses. They have gone before us. I hate

in the race of life. But yet the scripture never

tells us to look at them.

Did you know that.

Although we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.

Yet there's only one and one person only that the

Scripture tells us to look towards. That is looking onto

Jesus man. Other versions of the Bible users keeping our

eyes on him, fixing our eyes on him. That's how

we bring an eternal God into our lives. That's how

we bring eternity into our lives today. It's very important

that we get this perspective right in our minds today,

because if you can get this right, I really really

believe that you and I will leave victoriously for him.

No struggle or no challenge should be too difficult for you.

I say it again to you. I say it for

at the start, just now, God has the best thing

stopped us, and he if He has allowed something to

happen in your life, there must be a good reason

for it. And I can stand before you and tell

you that God will be glorified in it at the

end of the day. If you can stay true, if

you can stay faithful, fixing your eyes looking unto Jesus,

the author and finisher of your faith, God will be

glorified at the end of the day. Because you ask

yourself the two I mean, you ask yourself what should

I do back to the two same things that I

said in it says it's fear God and obays commandments.

Fear God obays commandments. What does fear God mean? Ask

God what he thinks about it? Give a care about

what God thinks. That's what fear God actually really means.

And I believe that you and I will live victoriously

when we can bring God into our lives, put Him

in to our perspective, into our picture, into every decision,

every thought, everything that you do.

Amen.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit as church Org. We

are also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that

this week is going to be a good week. I

hit for you. God bless