When Life Loses Its Luster

It's so good to have you with us tonight as we spend time in the word of the Lord. We just spent a whole summer in the Psalms and now we're gonna spend our evenings in Ecclesiastes. And so we're gonna have a great time together studying God's word. My vacation is over. And so now I'm back on the horse, in the saddle, ready to go. I had the opportunity to teach the youth on Sunday morning as a tune-up for tonight. And tonight's of course a tune-up for Sunday morning where I got to preach two services.

And so I'm excited about that, but it's always been a joy to be able to begin a new book. And I've looked forward to this for over a year as I've read and studied and finally put everything together.

And now you're gonna see the fruit of that over the next 25 Wednesdays, okay? Let's bow in a moment of prayer together. Father, we thank you for today. We are so grateful to be able to have the opportunity to open the word of the Lord in the study and to get to know the greatness of our God. Our prayer, Lord, tonight is that you would touch all of our hearts through the preaching of your word, that your spirit would deal with each and every one of us. I don't know what's happening in people's lives personally.

Only you know those things. In fact, Lord, I don't even have to know. It's only important that you know because you are the holy one of Israel, the omniscient King who knows all and can deal with us as you see fit. Our prayer is that you would go before us and that your word would speak to us as only you can through the power of your word. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ecclesiastes.

We are about to embark on a very unique journey. That journey is gonna take us through an individual's journal that he wrote about his life. The man's name is Solomon. Most of us know about King Solomon. He was the third king of Israel.

He's a son of David. And Solomon was more than just another king. He was a politician. He was a diplomat. He was a preacher or teacher. He was also a songwriter, an author, a poet, a father, a son. He was a unique person. And when you read the book of Ecclesiastes, you begin to realize that this man's life is put into print so you and I can begin to understand more and more about life. He lived a life unlike you and I will ever live. None of us will be able to accomplish the things that Solomon accomplished.

He was the great architect of the temple of God. He was a man who had riches beyond anything we can ever imagine. So much so that his utensils were made of pure gold. His cups were of gold, his bowls, his plates. Everything about his life screamed wealth and riches. He was a man of great power. For 40 years during his reign, there was not one single war. His father, David, fought in many wars, had many battles. But not Solomon. His name even means peace. And so as he reigned in the land of Israel for 40 years, there were no wars.

And so Solomon takes a journey. And that journey is recorded for us in the book of Ecclesiastes. And as we look at the journal, you begin to realize that Solomon understands how easy life loses its luster.

In fact, he says that life is nothing but vanity. That's how he begins, Ecclesiastes one, verse number one.

The words of the preacher. The son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Then he asked the question, what advantage does man have in all his work? Which he does, under the sun. In fact, he brackets the book of Ecclesiastes with that phrase, vanity of vanities. Chapter 12, verse number eight. He says, vanity of vanities, says the preacher. All is vanity. So as he records this journal, he brackets the journal with the same phrase. Everything is empty.

Everything is futile. Everything is meaningless. Now, if anybody could have found meaning in life, it would have been Solomon. After all, he could do whatever he wanted to do, whenever he wanted to do it, to whomever he chose to do it to. Because he had the power and prestige and money and riches to accomplish everything his heart desired. He withheld nothing from himself. But his conclusion was all is empty, futile. It's used 38 times in 12 chapters of Ecclesiastes. 38 times, more so than any other word, except for the word God, which is used 40 times.

The word is hevel in Hebrew. And the word hevel is described in a very unique way. I'm gonna show that to you this evening. I'm gonna show you what hevel is. Hevel is what's left over after the bubble pops. This is a great way for you to teach your children about the book of Ecclesiastes. Everybody likes to blow bubbles. But the issue is, is that when the bubble pops, the bubble represents life. But once it pops, what is left over is hevel. Nothing, zero, zilch. In Solomon's conclusion about his life, in his pursuits in life, his life ended up as absolutely zero.

That's not his end conclusion. His end conclusion will be stated in such a way that many of us know it. He says the conclusion, when all has been heard, in other words, when the story is done, when it's all over, chapter 12, verse number 13, is fear God and keep his commandments because this applies to every person. Ecclesiastes is Solomon's journey, leaving God out of it. If you're here tonight and God does not reign supreme in your life, you are the book of Ecclesiastes. Critics love the book, cynics love the book, hedonists love the book.

Why? Because it says, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you will die. And so they lived their life that way. And yet in context, you must understand what Solomon is saying about everyday life and what it means to live life under the sun. The book of Ecclesiastes is a cultural apologetic. Helps us understand what life is like without God and what life is like with God. Without God, emptiness. With God, fullness. So tonight, as we introduce to you the book, hopefully you have an outline. If not, they're still out in the back, I assume.

We're gonna cover four points. We're gonna cover the prelude to Ecclesiastes, the progression in Ecclesiastes, that's number two.

The purpose of Ecclesiastes, that's number three. And then lastly, some parallels from Ecclesiastes. In other words, how does Ecclesiastes written some 3,000 years ago parallel with your life and mine today? The word of God is living, active, and therefore it crosses all time barriers, all cultural barriers, because what was written in Genesis is as relevant as that which was written in Ecclesiastes. Which is relevant as written in the epistles, because it applies to every one of our lives. So let's begin with the prelude to Ecclesiastes by looking at two points, the man and his motto.

The man is Solomon. He says these words, Ecclesiastes chapter one, verse number one, the words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Says down in verse number 12, I, the preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. This is Solomon speaking. He is the son of David. He is the king in Jerusalem. He calls himself the preacher, koheleth in the Hebrew. It's a word that deals with one who addresses an assembly or a congregation. The Greek translation of koheleth is Ecclesiastes. It comes from the word ecclesia, the congregation, those who assemble together. So the koheleth is the one who addresses the assembly. So Solomon is addressing a congregation.

In other words, he's addressing those that have gathered together. He's addressing those who have gathered together as a congregation to hear the words of the preacher, the teacher. So it's almost like we have gathered together on this Wednesday evening in September to hear the words of koheleth, the preacher, about life and what it means and how we can live life to the fullest or live life completely empty. And we do that by looking at a man's journey. I believe that when Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, he wrote it later in life.

He wrote the Song of Solomon early in his life. I believe he wrote it to the one he loved the most. It's a beautiful love story. It's a romantic love story. In the Song of Solomon speaks of his love for his bride. He has children and as he grows older, he writes the Book of Proverbs, all these axioms that deal with everyday life and how he wants his son to handle life. But something happened between Proverbs and Ecclesiastes because by the time you come to Ecclesiastes, he's an older gentleman. In fact, if you go to Ecclesiastes chapter 11, he says in verse number nine, rejoice, young man, during your childhood and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood and follow the impulses of your heart and desires of your eyes, yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

So remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. He knows that. He's experiencing that. Time is flying by. I read that and I thought to myself, wow, that is so true. Life is fleeting. I've been here 30 years. It seems sometimes I've only been here 30 seconds. The life is fleeting. It's flying by. So he says in chapter 12, verse number one, remember also your creator in the days of your youth before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, I have no delight in them.

He's lived them. He knows them. And so he writes under the inspiration of the spirit all things concerning his life. Now you know the story of Solomon. You know how he began. Go back with me if you would to 1 Kings chapter three. 1 Kings chapter three. His father dies. He becomes king in Jerusalem. He says in verse number five, in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. And God said, ask what you wish me to give you. Don't you wish God asked you that question? Maybe, maybe you don't.

But God asked Solomon that question. Then Solomon said, you have shown great loving kindness to your servant, David, my father. According as he walked before you in truth and righteousness and a brightness of heart toward you. You have reserved for him this great loving kindness that you have given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day. Now, oh Lord, my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father, David. Yet I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.

Your servant is in the midst of your people, which you have chosen a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. So give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours? He just asked for wisdom. Discernment. Verse 10, it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him, because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice.

Behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart. Said there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor. Said there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. If you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days. God is pleased. When you ask for wisdom in a sermon, it pleases the Lord.

He's the God of wisdom. And that's what he asked. But if you go over to 1 Kings chapter 11, everything changes for Solomon. Remember, Solomon was raised in royalty, prosperity, nobility, but just because he was raised in that, doesn't mean it resulted in that. Instead, it resulted in futility, tragedy, and ultimately misery. How? How does that happen? It tells us in 1 Kings 10, 23, so King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

They brought every man his gifts, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. A number of years ago, we did a character study on Solomon. The title of that character series dealt with Solomon's success, setbacks, sadness, sin, and shame. Because that's the journey of his life. So when you come to 1 Kings 11, now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh. This is his downfall. Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, you shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after other gods.

Why is it we teach our young people do not date and marry the unbeliever? Do not do that. Solomon is the classic example of that because he did, read on. It says, Solomon held fast to these in love. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned their heart away. That's what happens when you date and marry the unbeliever. They will always turn your heart away. Now I can't even begin to wrap my mind around 700 wives because with 700 wives comes 700 mothers-in-law. Think about it.

I love my mother-in-law. She's a gem, but I wouldn't want 700 mothers-in-law because they all won't be gems. 300 concubines, 1,000 women. If you go back to the book of Deuteronomy, God gives the outline for his people Israel when they have kings. Deuteronomy 17, verse number six. Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, you shall never again return that way. He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away, nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

Shall I do that? But Solomon was fixed and steadfast on loving these women. For when Solomon, verse four, was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods. His heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord, his God, as the heart of David, his father, had been. When you begin to date and marry the unbeliever, this is exactly what happens in your life. We think that we're going to win them to the Lord. They're going to win them our way. They might come to church with you. They might even bring their Bible when they come with you.

But if they're unbelievers and you marry them, they will turn your heart away from the Lord, like they did with Solomon. It says in verse number six, Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not follow the Lord fully, as David, his father, had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemish, the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem. Which mountain is that? It's called the Mount of Olives. And for Molech, the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon, thus also he did for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

The Mount of Olives began to be known as the Mount of Scandal, the Mount of Offense, the Mount of Corruption, because there were so many altars built to pagan gods. Solomon's heart was turned away. And as his heart was turned away, he began to use all of his riches and all of his wealth to pursue some kind of satisfaction in life. And searched to and fro throughout the planet, doing whatever he wanted to do, however he wanted to do it, to somehow fill the emptiness of his soul. But that's what happens when you live a life without God.

That's what happens when the women or men turn your heart away from the Lord. You begin to live out ecclesiastes. You begin to live out life under the sun. And this is the man Solomon. He began with such great success, asking God for wisdom. God granted him that wisdom. Knowing that, God said, I'm going to give you riches beyond anything you can imagine. And God did. But he wanted more. Didn't have enough. Because his heart had turned from the Lord. And there is no verse of scripture in the Bible that says that Solomon ever repented of a sin.

But we have a book. The book of Ecclesiastes. That shows us a repentant person. For in the end, he says, when it's all said and done, when the story's been told, you must fear God and keep his commandments. Ecclesiastes is a warning. Ecclesiastes is the journal that says, beware of trying to fill your emptiness with the things of the world. Beware of your desires. Beware of where your heart might lead you. Beware, because the end result will always be soap bubbles. Emptiness. Futility. It never brings satisfaction.

So you move from the man to the motto. What is his motto? His motto is simply this. Life under the sun is empty. So live life above the sun or beyond the sun because that's where fullness is. He uses the word vanity 38 times. He uses the phrase under the sun 29 times. Because he wants you to look at life from a human perspective.

Life under the sun is living life without God. Life above the sun is living life with God. So he wants you to understand what life is like under the sun. And uniquely, he uses the word profit 10 times. Sometimes it's translated excellent. Sometimes it's translated gain. Because he asked the question, is there any gain, any profit? Is there any excellency under the sun? And the answer is no, there's not. It's all empty. It's all vain. It's all futile. And one of his favorite words is the word evil.

Used 31 times in 12 chapters. Sometimes it's translated grievous. Sometimes adversity or wickedness or misery or hurt or mischievous. But it covers everything that results in pain, sorrow and distress. It's one of Solomon's favorite words. Because he wants you to understand that there is so much evil under the sun. It only brings heartache and pain. Isn't it interesting that David's father had eight wives and ten concubines? Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Adds proof to the fact that as parents, whatever you do in moderation, your children do in excess.

Perfect example of that. Oh, by the way, David's last wife, Bathsheba. A truly repentant heart. He took no wives after Bathsheba. She was the last. But he had seven ones previous to that. So Solomon grew up in that home. Your children grow up in your home. What you do in moderation, they will do in excess. So do the right things in moderation, not the wrong things. So they will multiply that over and over again in the right way, not the wrong way. So Solomon, the man, the king, the architect, the poet, the songwriter, the man with 700 wives and 300 concubines, his heart was turned away from the Lord.

He was no longer devoted fully to the Lord. So he began a journey, a journey that Ecclesiastes records for us, trying to fill the emptiness, the void of his life. The great thing about that is that it saves you from having to do that because he's already been there. And he had more money than you'll ever dream of having, more opportunity than you'll ever dream of having, more power and prestige, more accolades than you'll ever dream of having. He had everything. So he could do everything. Yet the end result was soap bubbles.

There's nothing left. It's empty. So you move from the prelude to Ecclesiastes, looking at the man and his motto, to, number two, the progression in Ecclesiastes.

And this is very important because when you read through the book, you think it's a bunch of information just thrown together on a page without any kind of order, but that's not true. It begins in chapter one, verse number one, down through verse number 11.

That's the introduction. And he introduces everything by talking to you about the monotony of life. The sun sets, the sun rises. The sun sets, the sun rises. The rain falls, the rivers are filled. The sun comes out, dries up the rivers. They're dry, the rains fall, the rivers fill over and over and over again. It's just the monotony of life. Everything in life is a cycle. And it's something that, once you follow, is just more and more boring. So he introduces everything by telling us that the things under the sun are all in a cycle.

So much so that he says, listen, is there anything new under the sun? The answer is no. There's nothing new. It's all been accomplished. It's all been done before by someone somewhere else. And then when you come to verse number 12 of chapter one, all the way through chapter six, verse number nine, you move from the introduction to the exploration. This is where he begins to explore life. Look at chapter two, verse number one.

Think about this. You can fill in the blanks with your imagination if you choose to. Listen. I said to myself, come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself. Did you ever say that? I'm going to test myself. I'm going to enjoy the pleasures of life. And behold, it to us futility. I said to laughter, it is madness. And a pleasure. What does it accomplish? I explored with my soul how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely and how to take hold of folly until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.

I enlarged my works. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself. And I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves. I had home-born slaves. Also, I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men, many concubines.

Notice, it's all about me. Me, myself, and I. Solomon became very narcissistic because life without God is filled with narcissism. Life without God is all about me. And he seeks to find pleasure and satisfaction in life without God. So he says in verse number nine, that I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure for my heart was pleased because of all my labor.

And this was my reward for all my labor. Thus I considered all my activities, which my hands had done, and the labor which I exerted. And behold, all was vanity and striving after the wind, and there was no profit under the sun. Think about it. All my eyes desired, I did. I withheld nothing. There are many things that you probably desire, but you can't do. You might want to do them, but you can't because you don't have the resources to pull it off. But if you had the resources, you might want to do it.

You might actually engage in it. Solomon did. I did not withhold anything. But when it was all said and done, life without God under the sun, soap bubbles, vanity, emptiness. And so from chapter one, verse number 12, all the way through chapter six, verse number nine, it's all about exploration. He's using everything he has to explore whatever he can explore to fill the void of his life without God. And he can't. It's impossible. He can't do it. But he tried. And so then you come to chapter six, verse number 10, to chapter 11, verse number six.

This is what you call the reflection. Having explored everything, he reflects back now on those things and realizes upon reflection that you know what? I was wrong. I couldn't accomplish what I wanted to accomplish. He says, in essence, I pursued it all. I wasn't an observer of what I wanted. I was a participant in what I wanted. And as he reflects back on life, he realizes even more that it's emptiness. Chapter 11, verse number 7, all the way through chapter 12, verse number 8, is his realization about what's important in life.

How you need to invest in life. How you need to enjoy the life that God gives you because it's passing so quickly. And then in chapter 12, verse 14, having done all that, he comes to the conclusion, fear God and keep His commandments. So there's a progression in Ecclesiastes. As he introduces it, as he explores all his heart desires and reflects back on it, he realizes in the end there's only one way to live your life. It's to fear God and keep His commands. So what's the purpose in Ecclesiastes?

That's point number three. Three things. One is a revelation. Two is a recognition. And three is a realization. First of all, a revelation.

A revelation of life's futility under the sun. There's gonna be a revelation for your life. You're gonna go through the book of Ecclesiastes and God's gonna reveal to you through His word that nothing in this world will ever satisfy you because you will never be able to accomplish what Solomon accomplished. And yet, unfortunately, we keep trying to do it. We keep trying to climb the ladder of success, climb the ladder of education, climb the ladder of popularity, just trying to get more and more and more, thinking that somehow I will come to the end and be satisfied.

And Solomon says, it's not gonna happen. I tried. I was there. It doesn't work. It's impossible. And Ecclesiastes is a revelation about life's futility under the sun. Number two, it's a recognition of life's joy above the sun.

It's a recognition of life's joy above the sun. I find it very interesting what he says about this life when lived for God. Look what he says in chapter 2, verse number 24. There is nothing better for a man than to eat, drink, and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him, without God? For to a person who is good in his sight, he has given wisdom and knowledge and joy. See, God gives those things.

But when you live life for God and with God, you recognize the enjoyment that He has in your labor and in your endeavors because God is using you for His purposes. Look what he says in verse number 12. I know that there is... Sorry, chapter 3, verse number 12. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime. The word joy or rejoice is used 17 times in 12 chapters because there's something you can rejoice in under the sun if you live life under the sun with the perspective of being above the sun.

In other words, you can live life effectively horizontally if you live life focused vertically upon your God. So he says, moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor. It is a gift of God. Chapter 5, verse number 18. Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting to eat, to drink, and to enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him, for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor.

This is the gift of God. So he recognizes that God gives you life, God gives you riches, God gives you wealth. If you recognize that these are from God and you become a good steward of what God has given to you, you enjoy God in this life. In other words, Ecclesiastes can be looked at as a book that says how to enjoy life from God's perspective. Is life really worth living? Yes. If you live life with a perspective of God controlling, ruling, giving everything. But if you try to live life without God, as if He doesn't exist or doesn't matter or doesn't care about you, it's emptiness.

It's futility. There's nothing there. So the purpose of Ecclesiastes, number one, is a revelation of life's futility in earthly pursuits.

It's a recognition of life's joy in heavenly pursuits. And thirdly, it is a realization of life's accountability no matter what you pursue because you're accountable.

He says over and over again, you need to fear God. Chapter 3, verse number 7. I'm sorry. Chapter 3, verse number 14. I know that everything God does will remain forever. There is nothing to add to it. There is nothing to take from it. For God has so worked that men should fear Him. Then you move over to chapter 5, verse number 7. For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God. Then over in verse number 18 of chapter 7, he says, it is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.

And then you go over to verse number 12 of chapter 8. Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow because he does not fear God. And then, of course, he says at the end in chapter 12, verse number 13, the conclusion. When all has been heard is fear God. Why? Because you're accountable to God. That's why. You're accountable to God for everything.

Look what it says in chapter 3, verse number 15. That which has been already and that which will be has already been for God seeks what has passed by. Verse 17, God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man. And then over in verse number 9 of chapter 11, yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. Verse 14, the very last verse of chapter 12, for God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or whether it is evil. So he says you need to realize the accountability, this life's accountability, no matter what you pursue.

For one day we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive that which is done in His body, whether it be good or whether it be evil. So he says you need to realize that. Understand there's a revelation about the futility of life's earthly pursuits. But you also need to recognize the joy in life's heavenly pursuits. But also you need to realize the accountability no matter what you pursue. You need to fear God because He judges everyone and everything. So what are some of the parallels about Ecclesiastes?

Let me give you four. I think there are three in your notes. I'm going to give you four. The first one is this.

The lure of the world is ever before us. The lure of the world is ever before us. Listen, you know this. There's always a prettier face. There's always a newer or younger model. There's always a bigger house. There will always be a better car. There will always be a newer jacket. The lure of the world tries to pull us in every single day. The temptations are great. Solomon would face those temptations. He would succumb to virtually all of them because he withheld nothing from himself. Living life without God, you are lured into the things of the world.

You're pulled right back in. Ecclesiastes is a warning book that says, be careful. Watch out. Because it never brings what you think it does. Listen, the title page of the world is nothing like the contents within the book of the world. It's all lies. And yet the lure of the world is ever before us. How about this one? The lust of the world is always within us. Is that not true? The lust of the world is always within us. That's why James says it this way. James chapter 4. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?

You ever ask that question? Why do you bicker and argue in your family? Why do you bicker and argue at your church, at work? Why do you do that? Is not the source of your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. You're envious and cannot attain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives that you may spend it on your own pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?

Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose? He jealously desires a spirit which he has made to dwell in us. But he gives greater grace. Therefore, it says, God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. The lust for the world is ever within us. Because the lure of the world is before us, you need to resist it.

Because the lust of the world is ever within us, you need to repent from it. And number three, the loss from the world is all around us.

All around us. Therefore, you need to recognize it. The people around you, you don't even know what their lives are like in their own homes, but they've experienced so much loss because they spent their whole life pursuing the dreams that never take place. They pursue it over and over again, but it never accomplishes anything because they're living life without God in it. And the loss of the world is all around us. You can see it in homelessness. You can see it in terrorism. You can see it in conflict.

You can see it in the shooting today in Georgia where four individuals were killed and nine were wounded. You can see it in suicide. There is so much loss in the world. It's all around us. Those who are pulled into the world, those who lusted after the world only lose because of the world. So make sure you resist it. Repent from it. Realize it. And number four, the Lord of the world needs to be in us. The Lord of the world needs to be in us. You need to receive Him. Christ in you is the hope of glory.

Colossians chapter 1. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Look what it says in Luke 12. Verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man, who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you? Then he said to him, Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed. For not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.

He could have added, Ask Solomon. Doesn't have to because we can read the book. He told him a parable saying, The land of a rich man was very productive. He began a reasoning to himself saying, What shall I do since I have no place to store my crops? Then he said, This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.

But God said to him, You fool. This very night your soul is required of you. And now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. The Lord of this world, the creator of this universe, The king of all kings, the Lord of all lords says, You need me. You cannot function without me. Every journey you go on, Every avenue you pursue, Will always end up at the same place. Emptiness. Lifeless. Futility. Nothing. So therefore you must pursue me.

You must come to know me as your God. You must follow me. Constantly. Don't turn your heart away from me. Why? Because the Savior who promised joy, Is the Savior who provides joy. No one else does. The kingdom of heaven is righteousness, Peace, And joy in the Holy Spirit. I wonder tonight if you have that joy. Better yet, I wonder if you're on this journey like Solomon was. This empty pursuit of life's endeavors. Trying to find some kind of meaning in all that I pursue. Meaning in my work. But you were never meant to find meaning in your workplace.

You were always meant to bring meaning to your workplace. You can do that. But yet we find and search for meaning in the workplace. Or meaning in my marriage. Or meaning in having a child. Or having more children. Or meaning in gaining my inheritance. Somehow life must have meaning. But it doesn't. Because life in itself has no meaning. It's empty once it's gone. The only fullness comes through Jesus Christ our Lord. And while Solomon, as the Bible says, never ever repented.

The book of Ecclesiastes is his route back to God. Demonstrating a repentant heart. That says, you know what I've realized? God's going to judge everything I've done. Everywhere I've gone. All that I have said. I need to fear him and keep his commandments. When it's all said and done, this is the story. That's the story. I'm sticking to it. That's what Solomon says. The story is this. Fear God. Keep his commandments. That's the sum of all things for every man. 3,000 years ago, he said it and believed it.

Today it's still the same. Nothing's changed. How about you? Bow your heads with me for a moment, would you please? I know nothing about your personal life. What's happening in your home life. I know nothing. But our Lord does. And our Lord knows your heart. The Lord knows your pursuits and ambitions. He knows that for the most part, we search for meaning. We're looking to build our portfolio, our self-esteem. And yet he says, if any man come after me, he must deny himself. Come after. Come after me.

Take up his cross and follow me. And I wonder tonight how many in the room have truly bowed the knee to Christ as Lord and Savior. My prayer would be that if you have not, that tonight would be that night. If you have and your pursuits have left God out and you're on your own, Solomon warned you about the devastation of misery that you will face. If not, maybe you've already faced it. And my prayer for you is that you come back to the Lord and serve him. Father, we thank you for this night. We thank you for this opportunity.

We thank you. Thank you for the book of Ecclesiastes. One man's journey that really is a model or a picture of all man's journey throughout the existence of time. May we learn from his example. May we learn to submit ourselves to you, to fear only you and to serve only you by following your commands. We pray this in the coming King's name, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.