Untitled Sermon (57)

It looks like, Lord willing, we will have only two more sermons after this in Ecclesiastes. The Quester has been telling us all about life under the sun...it is all frustratingly absurd.

And really what he has been doing for 10 chapters is deflating us. He’s telling us that everything is vanity. But finally we’re going to get some advice...

He’s been telling us that we are finite and sinful human beings living in a broken world as broken people. As such that means we aren’t really able to understand God that well. Who knows what He is going to do? The only thing really certain to Q it seems is that we all die, we’re going to be forgotten, and it all seems kind of meaningless...

That’s kind of depressing...so what do we do with that? Tell us...if it’s all so frustratingly absurd, how now shall we live. Listen in to one of his answers here...(we’ll see his other answers in the next couple weeks).

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

11 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. 2  Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. 3  If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. 4  He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. 5 As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. 6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. 

Okay what is he telling us here? Let me try to illustrate this for us...we’re going to play a bit of a game...I hope this works.

We’re going to say that everyone is playing. You don’t get a choice. Because this is to symbolize life...and you don’t really get a choice as to whether or not you want to be born...

So let’s say that you can pick 1, 2, or 3. And you don’t really know for sure what the result of your choice will be.

You might win $1 (imaginary of course),

a punch in the nose (probably imaginary),

an insult about your mama

a kind word

in really very rare instances death

and on occasion you’ll win the jackpot...whatever that is

Let’s start with the right side...or my right side...pick a number 1, 2, or 3.

you win a kind word (you look very nice today)

you win $1

punch in the nose

Congrats!!!

Now let's move one section over. Pick your numbers.

Yo mama so...

You win $1

punch in the nose

Now let’s move on section over. What are you thinking? How are you processing this...you’ve been observing, right? This is you as a child or a teenager...you’re learning what life is like.

Or maybe you’re thinking...ah, I bet there is some trick here...hmmm...but you are processing this information. You’ve had two scenarios and that is enough information to try to detect a pattern. What are you going to do with it...

Your hair is fabulous...your eyebrows are on fleek...

punch in the nose

jackpot

Now that is frustrating isn't it? You thought you had detected some kind of pattern...and if we had done this over and over and over again...where we had the $1 on 2 and the punch in the nose on 3...you’d have been thinking...there is a pretty secure pattern here.

That would have given you confidence....but when it didn’t pan out you'd have been really baffled. That is what Q has been telling us happens in life. Yes, there is some measure of predictability, some things are better than others, but at the end of the day it is all frustratingly absurd.

So what do you do with that...you’ve got to pick a number and you just cannot be certain what the outcome is going to be.

Now we figure that these guys to the far left are going to get to go again...but unpredictable, right...so we’re going to go back over here...you get to play again.

What are you thinking at this point? My guess is that there are a few responses. The problem here is that it’s all kind of imaginary and so you probably don’t feel this quite like you would if it were something in real life. Something you really cared about. You know I’m not giving a real $1 and you know I’m not going to actually punch you in the nose, and you’re certainly not going to die, and I don't have the resources to give you anything that might be considered a jackpot. So you don’t have the emotional investment in this that you would if it were something more real...

But if you did, and if you can play pretend with me for a second, here are a few options .

The Overthinker....you’ve taken some mental notes, you thought you might have spotted a pattern, but it broke last time. Now you’re trying to calculate your odds. You’ve kind of frozen...you might be a little angry and frustrated or you might be paralyzed. Stupid game anyways...and so you aren’t going to really all that enthusiastically pick your number

This is the person in life who won’t make a decision unless you are 100% certain. You’re going to wait for the perfect financial conditions to give, or to start a project. You don’t move forward unless God gives you a detailed 5 year plan. If I can’t be sure...I'm going to just keep on thinking until I am.

The Fearful Avoider...now if you really were risking death or a punch in the nose you’d just check out. Maybe get up and go to the bathroom...this game is dumb...I'm going to avoid play altogether...

Very similar to the over thinker, you also want guarantees...but you are more motivated by safety. The over thinker just probably doesn’t want to fail or look dumb. You don't want to get hurt. And so you will avoid a relationship if it means you might get hurt. You’ll avoid an opportunity if it means it could make you unsafe. You’ll complain about others taking risks.

The Bitter Resenter--now this might not be. you as much as it is the people over there who thought they had a pattern and got burned. If I went back over to them and said, “you get another chance” they aren’t going to play the game the same way. They are angry...have a chip on their shoulder...resentful...bitter. Life isn’t fair. They want an explanation for why the game isn’t fair. You might walk away in frustration or dig your heels in and try to win...cynical....

Compare your life other to other people and feel cheated. You are angry at how life has turned out and how unpredictable it is. And so you might play, still go through life, but you are jaded...it’s not an adventure, it's a slog. You hate every minute of this dumb game...even if you win you are looking for the other shoe to drop. There isn't goodness and joy to be had. We might say that you go into the game wearing a shield...keeps you from getting punched but also from being able to receive the prizes.

The Reckless Gambler--doesn’t really matter anyways does it? Who can know...might as well roll the dice...live it up. I think here of some who might go into the game just totally numb. Drugs or drink or other pleasure related things! Eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we all die.

And Q has kind of edged up to this one throughout. And you can almost make an argument that this is the way of faith...who can really know...just roll the dice...go for it...enjoy the game..even if you get punched in the nose.

But here in chapter 11, Q is going to give us another option. We might call this the bold sower. Look at verse 1...

cast your bread upon the waters for you will find it after many days...

What does that mean? Okay, bread means $ or provisions. When you put bread on the water it changes...you don’t exactly do that...it isn’t necessarily wise and you probably don't expect it to come back to you...but here Q is saying it does, it comes back.

What do you do in a world of uncertainty...throw your bread out onto the waters.

Some have seen here a possible connection to international trade. Maybe. I don’t exactly see that. I think it’s more connected to either investing or giving..and probably both. It’s saying life is unpredictable...rather than hoarding or trying to get security...throw it out on the water. Be a bold sower....

You see it more in verse 2. Give a portion to seven, or even eight, that’s saying to diversify. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket...and with the price of eggs you’ve probably only got a couple...you don’t know what disaster might happen so hedge your bets a little...that’s the advice he is giving us here.

Well...kind of. It’s actually not about investing for your own gain. Notice the word “give” there. He’s actually telling us to give without holding back. It’s an open-handed risky generosity in a world where you don't control the outcome.

You might be thinking, I can’t give money to the church, I can’t give to gospel causes right now...things are too unpredictable...price of eggs...got to hold on...things are unpredictable.

But Q is inviting us to something different. He’s not saying, “Oh, yeah it’s safe. Do this and God is sure to bless you...” that might be a point that we can make from other Scripture passages and even our own life story....but that isn’t Q’s point.

The world is unpredictable so be a giver. That’s his point.

Look at verse 3 and 4. He’s saying here that some things are inevitable. There are indeed some patterns. We can predict some things....but it’s also making a bigger point than that.

We live in an uncertain world and so we try to demystify it. We have meterology...that’s good. Helpful to have a guide on when a tornado might strike. We’ve done great here.

But...and this is Q’s point. There are many things beyond your control and you can’t stop them. Even the weather...clouds are full of rain...well it’s my wedding day...I don’t want it to rain. Sorry lady, you don’t get to pick that.

The world operates on forces bigger than you. And so you can obsess over trying to control things you can’t control or you can act upon what you can.

If you wait for perfect weather you are never going to plant. If you obsess over risk you are never going to take a step. You will never get a guarantee before you move forward. It’s the opposite of hedging your bets...it’s boldness in the face of uncertainty.

And then verse 5 we see mystery and as it relates to God. There are things you will never understand. Life is unpredictable not just because the world is chaotic and marred by sin and all of that...but it’s also because God is doing things beyond our comprehension.

We don’t understand God. And as soon as you think you do...you’re probably going to get a curveball thrown your way.

The Control Box Error (JI Packer)...as Christians we think we get in on that control box...

In a sense we kind of do...b/c we know the bigger story...but not really. We don’t know the ins and outs. We don’t know how it all fits together. And if you start thinking you do...well that is where you get frustration.

God is incomprehensible. He isn’t always going to make sense. If you think He does...like you think you have God figured out...well, that’s probably a god you’ve invented and not the real One.

So what do we do with all of this...

Well pick your number. That’s what verse 6 tells us...you don’t know which seeds will grow, so plant many. You don’t know what will prosper, don’t be passive. Be a giver. Be a bold sower.

Okay now 4th group go ahead and pick your number...you guys can too...

death

death

death

That’s what we’re going to see next time. That might be kind of discouraging, but that is where Q is taking us.

I think you wanted a happier ending there where I said $1, or jackpot, or something nice about you and your mother...

But that’s because you’re still thinking like the world isn't absurd and that death doesn’t still happen. You’re still thinking under the sun. And you’re taking some Bible verses, some real wisdom about how the world works...and you think you’re in that control box and now that you’ve got this info you can be successful...

And maybe you will. Or maybe you won’t.

But you don’t sow boldly because you think it gets you something under the sun. You see this is where the gospel actually supercharges Q’s points rather than negates them.

You boldly sow because you know the gospel. You know that there is a factor here that wasn’t calculated. Yes, it’s incomprehensible yes, it’ a mystery...but the fact that God is in control and God loves us...well that changes everything.

It means that every little thing has love woven through it. This is Romans 8 stuff.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. God’s Everlasting Love 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Because of this we can sow boldly. Yeah, the world is unpredictable. Yeah, we don't always understand what God is doing. But we can trust Him. We can sow in faith knowing that God uses everything. We can be bold and do bold things.

You don’t need certainty. That’s isn’t the answer to unpredictability. Christ is.