The Helpful Foolishness of Vain Wisdom

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 50:1-15

Psalm 50:1–15 ESV

The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:1-3

Ephesians 4:1–3 ESV

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Sermon:

Good Morning Church!

I was Glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!

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Speaker 1

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Good morning church. I was glad when they said to me, let us go and worship. In the house of the lord. Solomon is most famous for three books of the bible. Right? One of them has his name, the song of Solomon, it's unique. It's a unique book in all of scripture really, with it's content and what what it seeks to present and teach us.

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The other two books. One, we've been in for the past 10 weeks now. Ecclesiastes. And proverbs. And thus far in our journey through ecclesiastes, it felt very different than the book of proverbs. In fact, some of the things Solomon said, in Ecclesiastes seem to go against the book of proverbs.

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Look a book of proverbs is a cherished book with wise sayings and wise thoughts. It's Cherished by many you talk to a lot of people who who read the bible regularly in faithfully and one of the things a lot of people do and this is good. And if you were to include this in your personal devotional time, This is a fantastic thing to do, but you know, what do you do?

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How do you read the bible every day? I read a psalm I read a book of the proverbs and then i read some other portion of scripture, i think that's good. It's there's wisdom to be gained And up till now in ecclesiastes it felt very different from solomon's other book.

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Whereas book of proverbs teaches us to be wise to to love wisdom, that it the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. And yet an ecclesiastes, he said, To be wise to seek after wisdom is vanity. To live a wise life.

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We saw in chapter 2 is ultimately vanity. Because the fool in the wise the same thing happens. They both die. So ecclesiastes, chapter 2, verse 17. All is vanity. And the striving after the wind. But yet, as we move now to chapter 4, we'll be looking at chapter 4, verse 4, to the end of chapter 4, The.

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The way the book of ecclesiastes is going to work is going to change just a little bit. Will be covering much of the same stuff, we're not going to lose the Ecclesiastes nature of the book of ecclesiastes. But it's going to feel a little bit more like the book of proverbs We'll get wise sayings, we'll get things where he sits down and thinks and he hits us with little bits of of knowledge and we hear and understand what is it that he's saying.

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And how can this Help us. Because ultimately, this is what we aim for. And so, as we move to this next section of ecclesiastes, I want to preface it. And the goal of this sermon in many ways is to preface. We'll end up being the rest of the book of ecclesiastes in many way.

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Solomon will give us. Helpful wisdom. Helpful thoughts, helpful, bits of information, helpful things that he has learned through his struggles and his trials and his life on this earth. So, The wisdom, he gives us. Is helpful. Still vain. To seek after wisdom as just wisdom to seek after these things without everything else that goes around in the world, It would be vain.

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Ultimately, we will see that there's some foolishness to understanding and grasping and knowing the way the broken world works. And so, what we're left with is this bit of Of a A nonsensical thing that makes a lot of sense. We're left with the helpful foolishness. Still foolishness, but it's helpful.

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A vein wisdom. It's wisdom. There's still some tinges of vanity, in all of this as we go through the book of ecclesiastes. What we will see is Even the right answer. Doesn't always feel great. Even knowing everything doesn't make it. All right? And just click together and work together but to understand and know what is being said here to understand and apply the this wisdom to our lives is is useful and fruitful and good.

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And right. As i said, our passage for today, is ecclesiastes chapter. 4 verses 4 through the end of chapter 4. And the way we're going to tackle, it is just a little bit different this morning. So instead of reading it all at once, we'll read each section before we dive into it, but let's open before we do anything else with a word of prayer.

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Dear lord. We thank you for today. We thank you for your grace and your mercy. We thank you for your word, given that we might know you. That you would teach us. And shape us and mold us. We pray that we would be those who hear your word and then apply it to our lives.

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That we would be changed. As we know and understand what you have done and said, We pray that you would use this time in your word. To conform us into the image of your son. Forwards and his name that we pray, the name above all other names. The name of jesus christ.

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Our lord Amen. And amen. Before we dive into the details of what's going to be said, In our passage, i want us to get our our minds. In the right place. How can we we get through all of this idea? Of, well, it's vain, but it's still helpful. It's wisdom.

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But there's still foolishness involved in this and there's one thought that will tie everything together. What? Solvent is going to show us? Is that it? Is. Better. What is it? What? We're going to cover a lot of things, but i just want to draw out that this is the thought that will tie all this together.

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Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, verse 6 will read it eventually, but here it starts with better. Is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil. Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 9. A very famous passage to are better than one. Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse. 13 better was a poor and wise you than an old and foolish king.

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With Solomon wants to get us to see is There's a betterness to the wisdom to to what he is going to show us. But understanding what this idea of better means and understanding how to apply. It becomes very important. In in hebrew, wisdom, literature in. In hebrew writing and even sort of thinking, in the way we see this, we see this idea of something being better.

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Often in the old testament. And it's good that we grapple with what exactly does this mean? We think. Better in terms of good better best, right? You have some things are good, some things are better. But then ultimately you get you aim for The best and that's not the sort of In a vacuum better, that Solomon is talking about here.

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The better we're going to be looking at today is much more like When david would write. It is better to be obedient than to offer sacrifice. We're not saying that, that something else is. Is in and of itself, inherently wrong. In fact, the other thing could be good. Everything.

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Better to be poor and wise youth than an old. Well, you don't be foolish but an old king. There are parts of these that we don't want to be mutually saying. Well, this is good and this is bad. But rather the betterness teaches us the higher way, the way that god has called us to And so, as we walk through these portions, All of the things we are looking at are good and high and praiseworthy.

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They're not going to fix everything. They're not going to make life just magically work perfectly. But, It's better. It's helpful. There's wisdom here that we can apply to our lives to understand what god has called us to in this life. So here's how we start. Ecclesiastes chapter 4 starting in verse 4.

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Then i saw, That all toil. And all skill and work. Come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after the win. The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. Better as a handful of quietness than two hands, full of toil.

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And striving after wind. What is solomon teaching us here in? What is better? Well, it's better. To be content. As we start, he says, one of the reasons we struggle we strive and it's all striving and vain searching. After the wind is what motivates our hearts. Is envy. We have a phrase in modern english.

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Keeping up with the joneses. Why do people work hard? Why do people work in toil and strive? It's because they want what their neighbor has. They want the nice car, the garage, the nice house. And so, we strive and we toil, because we want what others have? This solomon says is vanity and striving after the win, that's pointless.

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For a whole host of reasons. I want to work hard, so i can afford a nice car, but you'll never have the nicest. They'll always be someone richer someone with a nicer car. Someone with a better house. Someone with something better. If your motivation is to be as good as your neighbor.

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You'll never get there. So, it's vanity. It's better to be content. But before you think, okay, well all toil and skill comes from working after my neighbors. So i'll just go the opposite route. I won't. I won't envy after my neighbor, i'll just sit around and do nothing. Well then you're a fool says Solomon.

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Verse 5, the full folds his hands. And eats his own flesh. It's rather graphic. So this is what solomon saying, you can't sit around and do nothing. You will literally waste away. That's this idea of eating your own flesh. It's, it's sitting around and wasting away to nothing. But eventually you have things you need.

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So, here's the problem. You have to work because you have to eat. But if you work because you're trying to have what your neighbor has, That's vain striving after the wind and his pointless fruitless searching. So you can do nothing and that's pointless. Or you could work work to try to get what others have.

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And that's pointless. So here we have. It is better. Verse 16, better is a handful of quietness. The two hands full. Of toil and striving after the wind. Here's the point. Here's the wisdom. That is helpful to our souls. This idea of a handful of quietness. Matthew henry. Writes this, i find it very helpful.

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The idea of having a handful of one thing rather than grasping. It two of another. This is the, the point solomon's making This is what matthew henry writes. Let us buy honest industry, lay. Hold on the handful that we may not want necessities. But not grasp at both hands full, which would only create vexation of spirit.

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Moderate, pains and gains. Do best. So, let's break this down. It's good. To lay hold on the handful, that we don't want necessities. We should try and endeavor to work to grasp. That which we can hold. But not greedily, and With much striving and vexation. He says, Grasp, for both hands full to want and want The picture here.

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We could even look at like an old testament picture. All right, when God, sends manna to the people. Collect enough for today. And then don't collect anymore because when you collect more, they found it. Immediately would spoil, it wouldn't be good. There was much much vexation and trying to work more, so be content.

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Jesus taught us to pray. Give us this day, our daily Bread. And this is what solomon wants us to see. We should be content, not. Greedily seeking after what our neighbor has. But also not being lazy. We should be content with the work that we have, the work that we have been given.

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And it's better to live that way. And it's better to live that way. With others. It's better to be together. Verse 7. Again, i saw vanity under the sun One person who has no other either a son or a brother yet, there is no end to all his toil and his eyes are never satisfied with riches so that he never asks For whom.

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Am i toiling and depriving myself of pleasure? This also is vanity in an unhappy business. Two are better than one because they have good reward for their toil. For if they fall one, will lift up his fellow, but woe to him. Who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up.

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Again, if two lie together, they keep warm but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone? Two will withstand him a three-fold cord. Is not. Quickly broken.

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The point. That Solomon wants us to get to here. Is that it's better for us to be together. No, man is an island. We don't do this alone. This passage is famously. The second half of what we just read is famously. You read it. And hear it at weddings.

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Anything. It's right. It's appropriate that we would hear this passage at weddings as to become one, right? We have the the union, the one flesh union, under the holy bond of matrimony, that's good and right in this is definitely applicable there. But it's definitely applicable to a broad more many cases than just that Notice how we start?

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The, the problem for the first person, the one who is vain striving that it's not better. Is that there's no one not a son or a brother. He has no one. And as he works and strives works and strives, he never takes up step back and thinks. Why am i toiling and doing?

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Why am i depriving myself of these? Why am i working so hard? It's not like he has a son to leave everything to. It's not like he has a brother that he's taking care of and needs to work for He's just doing this, it's vain pointless, unhappy striving. And so, it's better.

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To be together. It's better. To have someone else. It's better because they have good reward for their toil. If two work, they get more done. In the land of of work in the way things work out in the economy of things we have right now, it's not always a case that one plus one equals two.

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Sometimes one plus one equals 3 in the amount of work that they can get done. But there's also this verse 10 if they fall, he can lift him up. Because this world is broken because this world is painful because these things don't always work, right? It's better to have someone to go with us.

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Because if we fall, they can pick us up if they fall, we can pick them up. We can keep each other warm as the storms of life rage around. As we have each other to keep warm. But it's not just against the storms of life. It's also the raging of man around us though, a man might prevail against one.

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Who is alone? Two will withstand him. It is far far better. To be together. To have each other. To not be in this, this life. Alone. I just this week got to meet with some people and share my thoughts and my hearts and why i think membership is such a good thing.

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Dare i say, There was Solomon was talking about here is part of why i think church membership is such an important thing. We have one another. We are not in this alone and it is far better. To be together. We have one another. And it's good and right, we can lift one another up in prayer but also in our physical needs, we can be there.

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We can care for love cherish. Hold on to keep each other warm as the storms of life, rage around us pick each other up. When we fall down, protect one, another as man tries to prevail against us, we have one another, and it is better to be together. We have a reason for our toil.

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Hit the one who has no one else. The one who is alone on this earth. Sits back and thinks why am i toiling? Why am i working? Why am i doing this? When we are together, when we have one another, we know the reason what Why do i strive in this world?

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That's a loaded question and there's there's a lot of answers. One of them is, why do i strive in toil and struggle? Because i have a wife and kids who need me to strive and toil and struggle so that they have a roof over their head and food in their mouths.

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So, we strive and we toil and struggle. But why do i strive in toil and struggle? It's because we need each other. As they go through the difficulties of life, i do it for not myself, and not just sort of My immediate family, we do it for one another.

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We have each other, it is good to be together. And so, we work. Together. We strive. Together. We struggle. Together. And this is good. There's one more thought. It's better to be content. Foreign contentment. We have what one hand can graphs not seeking more or giving up less It's better.

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To be together. Because we can lift one another up and we can care for one another and it's better solomon ends this chapter by teaching its better To be teachable. This last portion of ecclesiastes chapter 4 is very interesting. We'll start in verse 13. Better. Is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.

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For, he went from prison to the throne. Though, in his own kingdom, he had been poor. I saw all the living who move about under the sun along with that youth, who was to stand in the king's place. There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led yet, those who come later, sure will not rejoice in him.

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Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind what's going on here. Well, Solomon is teaching us. In some ways, this is a proverbs and a parable all wrapped into one. And there's also a little bit of a history lesson. Many commentators. I think they're right here. We've been going back to genesis a lot genesis.

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The beginning of here we actually can go back to the end of Genesis. To the story of joseph.

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And it's better. Solomon says. To be a poor wise youth in an older foolish king. Because as you look at the way this all goes down the the poor Wise youth. Make languish in prison verse 14. He went from prison to the throne And we look at the life of joseph and what exactly happened here, god used him in a mighty way.

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He was. He was maybe bragging a little too hard to his brothers, but god gave him the dream. He was being honest. When he told his brothers, the dream, Have a dream, get my nice coat. Sold in slavery. Work myoep head of pot of her's house, have some problems with her wife.

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Now, i'm in prison. Trend, like, interpret some dreams. Help, some people out. Now he's second in control of all of Egypt. It's a good place to be. His wisdom, got him to these places. His diligence, in god's favor, in his life, got him to these things. And this is contrasted.

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With a foolish king. But what makes this king foolish? He no longer knows. How to take advice?

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It's not just kings. Who struggle? Not knowing how to take advice. It's not just kings that think they know at all. They think they've seen it all and they no longer need people around them. And so though, this advice is specifically calling out kings and we look and we see like, the picture of someone rising from prison to the king and we see the king who's been there, but then here's the problem.

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No one cares about him. Once he's dead and gone. The king is dead long live. The king right. Someone else will step up into his place.

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And so, as we walk through this, what solen wants us to see, is the fundamental problem that the king is having it. What makes this situation? So difficult to his The king's not teachable. And so it's far better to be one who is teachable, no matter what your position in life is all of people, there's no end to all the people.

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We all have some station and some position in life. And to be foolish and unable to take advice to be unteachable Means you will be forgotten and drifting into nothingness. This is vanity and striving after the wind. But to be, Teachable to be wise. Well that may get you some semblance of moving out of your station and moving up.

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It's good. That may be rewarded. But we don't do it just for the reward. Do it. Because it's better.

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This is how we try to grasp and wrestle with what is going on. How do we understand? Ecclesiastes, i've said that the thought the theme that's tying this book together is how do we live life in a broken world? What we should live life intent, attempting. To be better to live better to follow the better advice.

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But this is not a promise. This is why ecclesiastes is so beautiful. Proverbs you read it. They're wise advice, but we don't get the context of life on this earth ecclesiastes. We get the wisdom and we get the context of this broken world. This better to be content. Doesn't mean it'll always go great.

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Doesn't mean you'll always have everything you want. It doesn't mean you will. Achieve whatever it is that you're aiming to achieve just because you're content now. But it's better to be content. To grasp what your one hand can hold. Not grasping with two hands, full, creating more vexation. Content with what you have.

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It's better to be together, but Sometimes in this life. We find ourselves alone.

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The painful part of The one who strived and worked with no one is We don't know if it was his fault or not. He has not a son or brother. It's definitely not his fault that he has no brother. He had no say in that matter. Maybe he wants a son and just can't have one.

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We're not promised these sorts of things. Two are better than one, but sometimes we find ourselves alone. It's better to be together. We're not promised that all the time. It's still better. Better to be teachable. But just because you're teachable, doesn't mean you are not promised joseph's meteoric rise to start them.

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You may be just one of the people. There's no end to all the people. Some of us are led by the king, some get to be the king. It's still better to be teachable. The point here that we're getting at, in the book of Ecclesiastes is there is a wise way to live and it's good and right and we should endeavor to live in this way.

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But ultimately, we submit to the hand of the sovereign, god who's in control of all things. And who teaches us? These things. It's better to be content. So have this mind among you, Which is yours in christ jesus, who though he was in the form of god, did not count equality with god, a thing to be grasped but humbled himself.

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He was contempt. Here on earth. Better to be together. Jesus had his disciples. He had those, he cared for But yeah. We went through the book of matthew, we read the end of the book of matthew, when When time got to be its worst as he faces the trial, and he walks the road to calvary and he hangs on the cross.

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Is alone. He endured. So can we And he is our teacher. The one who trains us who equips us, we must listen to our lord and master. This is how we live the better life that Solomon wants us to see here. It's in service to him. Let's pray.