Week 12 - Ecc. 9:11-10:20 | Choose Wisdom

What’s up everybody! Good morning and thanks for joining us to worship Jesus and hear from His Word together! Quick show of hands—who here has ever hosted a Basque student? Alright, nice—quite a few of you.

For those who don’t know, the Basque people live in Northern Spain and Southern France. Their culture goes way, way back. In fact, their language, Euskara, predates most others in Europe! They’re a kind, generous, and affluent people with a deep pride in their heritage. But as a culture, especially among younger generations, they don’t know Jesus. Out of 2 million people, less than 1% have a personal relationship with Christ, and only about 4% attend church or Mass regularly and again that’s weighted heavily towards people who are 70 and older. That’s why we have missionaries there—to help the lost get found in Jesus!

One way we partner in this mission is through our cultural exchange program. Basque students spend six weeks here with Christian families. They practice English, and we get to love them and give them a glimpse of Jesus. Rachel and I have hosted a student ourselves and have had many interactions with these kids over the years.

I’ll never forget one conversation. I asked a student what they thought happens when they die. Their response? “Black. It’s just black.” And that was about it. As a 14-year-old, I understood why they didn’t want to think too hard about death—it’s not exactly a fun subject. But if that’s your outlook—that this one life is all you get and then nothingness—that’s terrifying.

And I saw how that fear could steal joy. One moment we were laughing by the pool, the next—gone. The joy was stolen. Stolen by what? The thought of death, the “blackness” he believed was waiting.

Now, if you’ve noticed in our Ecclesiastes study, here we go again with another “positive and encouraging K-Love” way to start the sermon! Wan waaan waaaan. Levi the Debbie Downer strikes again! “Come on, bro, why you always gotta rain on the parade?!”

Fair observation. So why did start with this story?

Because it’s exactly what Solomon is about to show us in Ecclesiastes 9:1–10. Life is full of things trying to steal our joy. Solomon highlights three big ones: uncertainty, injustice, and the finality of death. They rob us of hope, motivation, and the ability to thrive.

But here’s the good news—God shows us how to fight back, and the fight is only possible through Jesus and His gospel.

Which brings us to today’s big idea: The gospel empowers us to fight for joy by embracing God’s approved gifts in this fleeting life.

And here’s the roadmap we’re going to use to unpack this: First, we're going to unmask these three great joy-thieves that Solomon identifies. Then, we'll discover God's three joyful delights—His "approved gifts" that He commands us to embrace. And finally, we'll see how the gospel radically transforms everything, defeating the thieves for good and giving us true, lasting joy and the ability to fight for it and from a place of it always!

So grab your Bibles or phones and turn with me to Ecclesiastes 9. Solomon is about to unmask the first joy-thief. He’s describing life “under the sun”—life lived from a purely earthly perspective, without the hope of heaven. Which, as we saw in my Basque friend’s response, is basically: “It’s just going to be black.”

And the first thief Solomon points out is…

Thief #1: The Thief of Uncertainty (v. 1)

Solomon writes: “Even though the actions of the godly and wise are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor.”

The Levi Paraphrase: “No one can really know whether they’ll be loved or hated. Life is uncertain.”

I that Bleak? Yes. But it’s true. Think about it: we can plan, work hard, and carefully craft our lives, yet we can’t control or predict the future. We don’t know if our efforts will bring success or failure, blessing or hardship. And let’s be honest—sometimes even when you do everything right, you still get the shaft!

That’s exactly what Solomon is saying: life under the sun is marked by uncertainty. We pray, we plan, we strive for good…and sometimes the stuff still hits the fan!

Now, in Jesus we do know God has shown us His favor. But sometimes, let’s be real—that favor doesn’t feel very favorable. Just ask Mary, the mother of Jesus.

In Luke’s Gospel, an angel shows up—pop! (that’s the sound angels make)—and says, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!” Translation: “Hey Mary, God loves you…and He’s about to completely blow up your life with His favor!” She’s given a child before marriage (a stonable offense in that culture), then has to run from King Herod as a refugee in Egypt for years.

Mary was favored—but her life was filled with uncertainty, hardship, and danger.

And that’s the point: even under God’s loving care, life is unpredictable. Sometimes our plans are wrecked by human sin, sometimes by the brokenness of the world, and sometimes by God’s own mysterious purposes. Either way, the uncertainty itself is a joy thief.

It robs us of present joy because we’re constantly worried about what tomorrow holds.

That’s thief #1. And Solomon quickly moves to the next—another thing that steals our joy…

Thief #2: The Thief of Injustice (vv. 2–3)

Solomon says: “The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone—righteous or wicked, good or bad, clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people get treated like sinners, and people who make promises to God get treated like those who don’t. It seems so wrong! Everyone suffers the same fate. Twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There’s nothing ahead but death anyway.”

Solomon takes us deeper here than uncertainty. You see having plans blown up is frustrating—like some of you know right now in the middle of a move, with contractors who don’t show up and plans constantly shifting. That’s uncertainty. Hard, frustrating, joy-stealing.

But Solomon takes it further: it’s not just unmet expectations that steal our joy—it’s when life feels flat-out unfair. Good people sometimes get bad stuff. Wicked people sometimes get good stuff. And that messes with us on a deeper level. It makes life under the sun feel chaotic, like no one’s really in control. Sometimes it doesn’t even look like faith or no faith makes a difference. Where’s the justice in that?

And if there’s no ultimate accountability for good or evil, then why be good? Why pursue righteousness? Honestly, it’s easier at times to just ignore the tension—but if we let ourselves see it, it can feel crushing.

This is the thief of injustice. And when we forget the gospel, that Jesus did something about injustice on the cross and He promises to set all wrongs right in the judgement, when we forget the gospel and see the injustice of the world, it breeds cynicism, bitterness, and the nagging thought that our efforts don’t matter. It robs us of joy, of motivation, of hope in goodness itself.

And apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ, Solomon says it leaves us staring down the final joy thief: death.

Thief #3: The Thief of Death (vv. 4–6)

After uncertainty and injustice, Solomon forces us to face the grim reaper head-on, drawing a stark contrast between the living and the dead.

“For anyone who is among the living has hope; certainly a live dog is better than a dead lion! The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.”

This is the worldview of “everything just goes black.” If death is absolute finality—if our experiences, memories, love, and hate simply vanish—then what could possibly matter? That logic drives people in one of two directions:

Despair—where nothing means anything, so why even try?

Frantic indulgence—a hollow “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” because if this life is all there is, why not grab for all the gusto before the lights go out?

But is Solomon telling us to embrace this empty way of living? Absolutely not! He isn’t prescribing hollow pleasure as the answer—he’s diagnosing the problem. This is where death, unchecked, steals joy and drains hope.

And thankfully Solomon doesn’t leave us here, he points us toward God’s divine prescription for joy—not in denial of death, but in defiance of it. He’s about to show us how God empowers us to fight for joy by embracing His good gifts—not as fleeting escapes, but as treasures with eternal weight.

2. The Joyful Delights: God's Approved Gifts (Ecclesiastes 9:7–10)

So, we’ve unmasked the joy-thieves: uncertainty, injustice, and the looming shadow of death. Heavy stuff, I know.

But here comes the good news! Solomon doesn’t leave us in despair. He pivots from bleak observation to radical command. In light of death’s certainty, God gives us a divine strategy—a set of powerful, God-given tools—to fight for joy.

And notice: this isn’t a suggestion. God doesn’t say, “Hey, if you feel like it, try being happy.” No—He commands us to pursue joy! That’s incredibly encouraging. The God who knows we live in a world that is constantly stealing our joy, He commands us to resist the thieves that steal from us by embracing His good gifts. God created us for joy folks, and He empowers us to fight for it. Joy thieves do exist, but God is not one of them, quite contrary. God is the author of Joy who, created His people for joy and He commands and enables us to fight for it!

So let’s look at what Solomon calls God’s “approved gifts”—not hollow pleasures, but sacred delights given by God for our good.

Delight #1: The Delight of Simple Gifts (vv. 7-8)

Firstly God commands us through Solomon: "So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!"

Now, hear me, this isn't a license for reckless partying or a "just do what feels good!" mentality. No, this is a command to find the sacred in the ordinary. God has approved these simple, daily blessings as good. So we’re not just plotting our own mad course and doing whatever we want, no, we're obeying God following Him into what He has approved for us, looking for joy in the things He’s approved and they manner for which he’s approved of us finding joy in them!

Let’s unpack that a bit from the text:

Solomon says, "Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart." In other places, God disapproves of gluttony and drunkenness, so we can’t hear this as a command to stuff our faces or get tipsy.

No, but with moderation, God does command us to savor the nourishment He provides through food and to enjoy it’s taste and enjoy the fellowship experienced around a good meal! He’s commanding us here to be grateful for the taste and variety He created and to see every meal as a chance to worship Him with a grateful heart for His provision and creativity.

Some of you know and remember Nate Hamblin. He’s about to become our Fellowship’s President. The next time Nate is here preaching or if some of you fellows make it up to Man Camp. Ask Nate about the time he followed this command on a date night he and his wife too to Saint Elmow’s in Indianapolis! In his words, “I can still taste the steak in my mouth if I think about it!” I’ve heard him talk about that steak mulptiple times… and that special visit to that special restaurant was years ago!

Solomon says, fight for joy by learning to savor the small gifts in life like food and drink! Within moderation and in accordance with God’s approval!

He also says: "Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!" This isn't about vanity or showing off. In Solomon's day, white clothes and oil were signs of celebration, not mourning. What God is commanding here is about embracing and expressing joy in ways that fit your cultural context. It’s about dressing up, putting on something nice, and even using pleasant scents as part of celebrating the life God has given you.

Plan a night on the town, if your single, a girls night or guys night, if you’re married a date night. Celebrate birthdays and life, marriage anniversaries. Get dressed up. Treat Yo Self! I’m partial to Polo’s Double Black cologne as is my Mrs! Life is short and while it’s not true that we only live once and then we get absorbed into black, it is true that Jesus came to give us life and life abundant now into eternity!

Folks do you know what Heaven is going to be? It’s going to be an unending feast of Joy and God commands us here to train for that reigning today! Look for ways to savor the goodness and gifts of God today because that’s what we’re walking into for eternity in Jesus!

When we choose to savor the good and beautiful moments God gifts us in the simple pleasures of the everyday, we are not just feeling happy; we are obeying a divine command! We fight for joy by receiving these moments as direct gifts from a loving God.

Delight #2: The Delight of Relationships (v. 9a)

Solomon then moves from the delights of the simple gifts of God to the delights of relationships. He commands: "Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil."

God places people in our lives to be a profound source of joy. Solomon singles out the spouse, but this principle extends to family, friends, and community. We fight for joy when we intentionally invest in and cherish the relationships God has placed around us.

This is why we’re constantly talking about fridge friends here at Crossroads! We all need a small group of people, of believers in Jesus who we regularly and intentionally connect with at a heart level! Our spouse can and should be a source of this joy, but so should our Church family!

Some of you all were putting this into practice this week at the fair. I saw lots of Crossroads people connecting and enjoying one another out there!

I just talked to one of my Connect Group guys yesterday. I helped him do some tech stuff over the phone and then we shot the bull for a few minutes and you can ask my wife, but after I hung up, I had a smile on my face and I said to her… I love that guy!

God made us a Church family and He intends for us to be glad to be with Him and to be glad to be with one another!

And I realize you don’t have to be Christian to have friends or even a good marriage, but Christ is the only person who can make our relationships last beyond this life! That’s the difference! And this is where the gospel transforms this delight! For those "under the sun," relationships are fleeting, ending in the "blackness." But for us, "in the Son," our relationships with fellow believers become eternal! They are one of the only things we get to "take with us" in a profound sense, because Jesus promises eternal life in Him, connecting us forever in His body. The joy we experience now with those in Christ is a foretaste of an eternal, unbreakable bond we’ll share with Christ and them in the next life.

God commands us to find joy in our relationships!

Delight #3: The Delight of Purposeful Work (vv. 9b-10)

And finally, Solomon gives us his most direct challenge: “Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.”

That’s a call to purposeful, wholehearted living. Solomon is saying, “Live well and work with all your might!” Why? Because from an “under the sun” perspective, our opportunities are limited.

This is your one life. Your one opportunity to make choices of eternal consequence. Anyone else rapping some Eminem in your head right now? “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow! This opportunity comes once in a lifetime!” Solomon’s saying, “This is it, folks!”

If you live only for the here and now, plotting your own mad course, the “blackness” you imagine is actually the best-case scenario. Scripture says what truly awaits is judgment and eternal separation from God in hell.

But for those who respond in faith to Jesus, the grave becomes a gateway!

Solomon wisely articulates the fact that we don’t get a do-over, and so he’s urging us to get after it in Jesus, stay focused on Jesus, and put your whole heart into following Jesus today. Don’t wait for later—later may be too late. You only get one finite life, and the choices you make matter for eternity.

Why the urgency? Because eternity is at stake. Solomon says in verse 10 that Sheol—the grave—holds no work, no planning, no knowledge, no wisdom. For those without Christ, that’s true: the grave is the end of growth, activity, and hope. But for the believer, the gospel announces resurrection and hope beyond the grave!

And Heaven isn’t going to be some meaningless sitting around on clouds, strumming harps, or singing songs like those fat little cherub babies from the Hallmark cards. No! Revelation 22:3–5 gives us the real picture: “No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.”

That’s our future: purposeful, joy-filled work, creativity, worship, and reigning with Christ forever.

Until then, the gospel makes our work here matter as well.

As Martin Luther said, God could feed everyone with a snap of his fingers. But He doesn't. He ordains the farmer, the truck driver, the grocery store clerk, and the chef. Why? Because He chooses to work through our work. And in Christ, even our ordinary work has eternal purpose.

Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 3:12–15: our work in this life—what we build on the foundation of Christ—will be tested. 1He writes, "If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames."

Here we see that God has a reward system in place. Our gospel-driven work—the gold and silver—will last. The wood, hay, and straw of self-serving efforts will burn. But every task we do for the Lord, no matter how small—changing diapers, working shifts, typing at a desk—carries eternal weight as we train for reigning with Christ forever.

Conclusion: The Gospel Defeats the Thieves

Well, there you have it: we’ve seen the devastating joy-thieves—uncertainty, injustice, and death—that haunt life “under the sun.” And we’ve seen God’s surprising commands to fight for joy by embracing the simple, daily gifts He’s approved: our food and drink, our relationships, and our work in Jesus!

But here’s the ultimate truth: these commands are not a burden. They’re not some desperate attempt to squeeze meaning out of meaninglessness. They are the Spirit-empowered response of those who have seen the light of the gospel.

Remember that joy-thief—the idea that hope is only for the living? (vv. 3–4) Solomon’s “under the sun” perspective leads to that grim conclusion. But the gospel destroys it! For the follower of Jesus, hope is not just for the living, it’s forever. Our hope doesn’t end at the grave—it begins there—because Jesus conquered death.

And that final joy-thief, the “blackness” worldview—that nothing but darkness awaits? That lie was shattered at the cross and the empty tomb! Jesus entered the grave, was crushed under its weight, and then walked out victorious. He opened the way to eternal life, to a heaven that is vibrant, purposeful, and filled with joy. And until He returns, He empowers us to live with that joy even now.

So here’s the call: Because the joy-thieves have been utterly defeated by Jesus Christ, we are empowered—not just commanded, but enabled—to fight for joy today! We can live with purpose, love with intention, and work with all our might, knowing that these fleeting moments are packed with eternal significance in Him.

This is the truth that confronts the darkness with the glorious light of Christ. Don’t let joy be stolen. Embrace His gifts. Live free in His gospel. And rejoice, for in Jesus you are truly alive.

Amen.