Sermon Tone Analysis

G’day Village Church… How ya’ll doing?

My name is Guy and it’s a joyful privilege to be with you…

I love TEXAS and love love love this church!

Your heart for JESUS and passion for the gospel is a living testimony of God’s glorious grace.

I want thank Pastor Matt.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I recon it takes a pretty amazing pastor to raise a village… Matt is a dear friend and I’m thankful for his vision, integrity and love.

As Matt mentioned, I’m married, have four young children and pastor a church in Australia called “City on a Hill” … we started with a small team and a big vision to make a difference in our city for the glory of God… by His grace we’ve seen hundreds give their life to JESUS, new churches planted, and in a few weeks’ time, we’ll celebrate our tenth anniversary… it’s been an incredible journey, and yet in many ways we feel like we’re just getting started… so I want to thank you for your love, support, and prayers…..

I was actually chatting to someone earlier about my last visit to Texas.

I was hosted by a wonderful family from the Village Church in an amazing home overlooking Lake Lewisville … They treated me to some great Southern Hospitality, and, even gave me the keys to their SUV, which has got to be twice the size of any car I’ve ever seen in Australia…

It was so big you could fit the Sydney Opera House, The Great Barrier Reef and Russell Crow in the trunk….

AND in Australia, we drive on the left side of the road....

I was flying down the interstate and discovered that you call that the wrong side of the road… turns out Texans not only have bigger cars than Aussies, but bigger cuss words as well…

I should confess that I had one “slight” disaster.

While the family were out, I was “visiting” the bathroom upstairs, and after finishing what I needed to do I hit the button on the toilet….

…. and I discovered two things about America… water in the northern hemisphere goes clockwise… and when it’s blocked, the water doesn’t go down it goes UP!…

On this occasion it rose all the way to the top, and was teetering on the edge like a car hanging over a cliff...

At this point my heart was racing, because around me was a white marble floor, ornate statues, perfectly woven white rug…

And so being the “expert” plumber that I am… I think to myself, what can I do to save this situation?

I know… I’ll flush it again!!!

Do you know what happens when you flush an already blocked toilet?

It explodes!!! Like a fountain spewing out water… but not like a beautiful garden fountain… more like a fountain you’d see in Charlie and the chocolate factory…

What does a humble Christian pastor do?

Call the owner and tell him I flooded his bathroom and NEED his help?

Of course not…!

I race down stairs looking for whatever I can to clean up the mess…

But I don’t know where anything is … I can't find towels, I can’t find a mop… the best I got was a small fry pan… so here I am trying to ladle this mess into the shower… And I’m doing this fast…cause the last thing I want is the family to come home and see a pastor from Australia on all fours in a pool of my own mess with their fry pan in my hand!

In the end I conceded… called him up and thanks be to God he was more than gracious….

Looking back I did forgot to tell him about the fry pan…

All of which to say if you’re after a decent plumber this weekend….

I’m not your man… but I am glad to be back in Texas and thankful to open up God’s Word with you…

Before we do that, why don’t we pray?

Clearly I need all the help I can get.

I want to talk with you about the vanity of pleasure.

If you have a bible handy, come with me to Ecclesiastes chapter two.

As you’re going there I’ll begin by sharing the words of a song made famous by jazz artist Peggy Lee.

📷

Peggy was born in North Dakota before heading to the bright lights of Hollywood in search of success.

After a series of setbacks, she enjoyed an illustrious career in music, film and television that spanned six decades.

And in 1969 as she approached her 50th birthday she performed a song titled, “Is that all there is?”

The song was a huge hit, winning a Grammy and finding great resonance with her generation.

Here’s some of her words:

…. when I was a little girl, our house caught on fire

I'll never forget the look on my father's face as he gathered me up in his arms and raced through the burning building out to the pavement..… I stood there shivering in my pyjamas and watched the whole world go up in flames.

And when it was all over I said to myself, is that all there is to a fire?Is that all there is….? If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing.

Let's break out the booze and have a ball

….

When I was 12, my father took me to a circus, the greatest show on earth.

There were clowns, elephants and a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads.

And I had the feeling that something was missing.

I don't know what, but when it was over, I said to myself, "is that all there is to a circus?

If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing

Let's break out the booze and have a ball

Then I fell in love, with the most wonderful boy.

We’d take long walks by the river or just sit for hours gazing into each other's eyes.

We were so much in love.

Then one day he went away and I thought I'd die, but I didn't, and when I didn't I said to myself, "is that all there is to love?"

If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing

Let's break out the booze and have a ball

If that's all there is…

What do you make of Peggy’s approach to life?

If this life is all there is….. then why not break out the booze and have a ball?

Why not make the most of life and pursue a path of pleasure?

You may be surprised to hear – but that pursuit for pleasure is something of what the writer of Ecclesiastes set out to do.

He was a man of great fame and fortune… and yet he became deeply suspicious of life.

Instead of purpose he found futility, instead of meaning he found vanity.

And it was out of this deep angst with life, that he set out on the path of pleasure.

Like Peggy Lee, he thought “If this is all there is… why not break out the booze and have a ball?”

What did he find?

What did he observe about the pursuit of pleasure?

And how might his story influence our relationship with pleasure?

With those questions in mind, we’re going to navigate our text under three headings.

To begin, let’s talk about:

“When a King goes on Spring Break…”

In the opening of Ecclesiastes we’re told these “are the words of the preacher, the Son of David, King in Jerusalem.”

People have debated who penned Ecclesiastes, but it’s clear that we’re meant to have the life of King Solomon looming large on the stage of our mind.

And what’s fascinating about Solomon is that he thought deeply about his existence and what it meant to find satisfaction and meaning.

Look with me to verse 1,

Solomon says,

I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.”

The word “test” suggests that what follows is a deliberate and calculated attempt to learn through personal experience.

And the word “pleasure” reveals what he hopes to find.

And did you note were the conversation is taking place?

The heart!

In the ancient world, the heart referred to the innermost being – the mind, the emotions, the seat of the will.

In other words, he’s looking for more than superficial pleasure, but something that provides deep fulfilment and lasting happiness and joy.

Do you relate to that pursuit?

Of course you do!

Blaise Pascal famously said,

“All seek happiness.

This is without exception.

Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end.”

I remember walking into Costco with my four kids.

My eldest daughter was 6 at the time and became transfixed by the HUGE TV that greats you when you walk on in...

And next to the HUGE TV is A HUGE JACUZZI display….

And she’s looking at this TV AND HUGE JACUZZI with its cup holders and photos of people smiling and having fun….

And looks at me and says, “DAD....THAT… IS… THE LIFE!!!”

7 years old and she found herself at Costco….

What did she mean… “That is the life”…?

she meant that this TV/JACUZZI package was the answer to her deepest desires for happiness and fulfilment.

And we can laugh at the honesty of a child….

but isn’t it true that in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, we’re constantly telling ourselves something similar….?

If I could just have THAT … then I’d have THE LIFE!