The Vanity of Laughter Under the Sun
When the most often cited for Easter Sunday Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verses 1 through 14 if you have been around with us for the last this will be my fourth Easter here. You may know that I do not have the tendency of apologizing sermon series when comes the Easter it sounds weird. One of my reasoning for that is Jesus said every passage of scripture is ultimately about him you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life that it is a bear witness about me and that you refused to come to me that you may have life. Right? So just says all scripture is about him and so far the scriptures about Jesus and all of scripture contains the gospel in points to as I said this morning, the linchpin of the Gospel is the resurrection of the Resurrection didn't happen than the rest of the Gospel makes no sense at all falls apart. We Everything upon the resurrection and so my thought process and we can teach the gospel and we can teach the resurrection from any passage of scripture. And so that is where we are where we find ourselves this morning is the next passage of Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and I will admit this is a doozy so buckle up and I know I said that last week too but but to be fair last week saw them and gave us the warning himself and said hey, this message is really heavy. He doesn't give that this morning but as we will see what he has for us is a little is is a little on the heavy side as is the entire Book of Ecclesiastes. So with that in mind, if you don't if you need a refresher on what exactly we've been talking about in The Book of Ecclesiastes, so we're in week 8 at the moment and we are officially made it halfway through the book. So but if your book of Ecclesiastes is written by I'm someone who calls himself the preacher but who we believe is probably Solomon so can't necessarily prove that but he seems to be the most logical candidate and probably tradition is true that he wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes at the end of his life is kind of looking back on everything that he did in order to search for for for lasting meaning and joy and pleasure and and purpose in this life. Right? And what is his conclusion that he tells us right from the beginning Ecclesiastes. In fact Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 2. All is Vanity Vanity of vanity says the preacher vanity of vanities. All is Vanity. Right? And so he he makes this General massive Proclamation everything under the sun is futile. It's meaningless its purpose less. It is the nearest of breath to Vapor the tear today. It's gone tomorrow and that may leave us with what what help is Well the key to interpreting the entire Book of Ecclesiastes has been the addition that he keeps saying of one phrase. All is Vanity Under the Sun and the entire Book of Ecclesiastes has been him in compiling this gigantic investigation into all of life right after two. He talks about his pursuit of pleasure. He says whatever my ice and wanted I took it right and here's the deal. He says I actually got pleasure from it. But it was momentary. It wasn't lasting right in chapter 3 he talked about time and talk about the rhythms of time and talked about the chaos of time and how all of our time is running up and checked before we talked about community and how we need it. But we also break Community because we're falling creatures 5e talked about fearing God and then he concluded chapter 5 by talking about the vanity of wealth and last week. We saw that blessings even fall under that vein category when we choose to worship the gifts that God gives to us instead of worshipping The Giver himself, right? I said last week if he ended with two questions what good is there for man to do in this life? And who can tell a man will be after him, right? That is 2 questions that we still ask today. What in the world am I going to do with my life what's worth me doing with my life what's good for me to do and then the second question of and then what happens when I die. Those are the two questions that we keep asking and really for the rest of the Book of Ecclesiastes. He's going to a touch these two questions in roundabout ways and tried to tell us what exactly is good for us to do in this life and self the passage that we have today is a big one. He begins this teaching of teaching us what good is there for a man to do with a few days of his vein Life by giving us a list of Proverbs list of the short little wise sayings that there is a cohesive whole to them they all do have a big purpose and we will get to that and so but enough of introductions, let's read the passage will pray for the Lord's Grace the upon us and then we will study to work. Ecclesiastes chapter 7 beginning in verse 1 a good name is better than precious ointment. And the day of death than the day of birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. This is the end of all mankind in the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter for by sadness of face. The Heart Is Made glad the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning that the heart of fools is in the house of Mirth. It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 4 as a crackling of thorns under a pot. So is the laughter of the fools this also is Vanity surely oppression drives the wise into madness and a bribe. The heart better is the end of the thing that it's beginning and the patient in spirit better than the proud and spirit in your spirit to become angry anger lodges in the heart of fools say know why would former days better than these heard is not from wisdom that you ask this. Wisdom is good with an inheritance and advantage to those who see the Sun for the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money. The advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who have it consider the work of God who can make straight what he has made crooked in the day of prosperity be joyful. Adversity consider. God has made one as well as the other so the man may not find out anything that will be after him. Let's pray father. You have given us your word. And oh God your word we here. You're worried that we see your word. We Delight ourselves in. Help us to be like the psalmist to for claims. That your word is better than gold even much find gold and it's sweeter on our tongue than honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb. Father we know that there are wondrous things be had in your word this morning until open our eyes that we may behold them and give us ears that we might hear you speak to us.
Father we need your grace to make your holy spirit is not guiding us this morning. And we are wasting our time. Because us we pray he'll God In The Name of Jesus a man. A good name is better precious ointment. I think that this first line of the chapter is kind of a transition from even talking about the end of chapter 5 in chapter 6 into this new section that we talked about right because in chapters 5 and chapter 6, like I said, he talked about the vanity of chasing after wealth rights, and I remember you didn't say that wealth was bad in and of itself right? In fact, he ended chapter 5 by saying that it's good when God gives us wealth and possessions and the power to enjoy them, right? That means that God does blessed some people with well, that's a good thing, right? But the vanity of it is having a love of wealth that you constantly pursue and you can never get enough and he goes on to say in chapter 6 that that's like a man who has welcomed has possessions who has honored he may even got Maven multiply blessings to him and give to him a hundred children and let him live 2,000 years, but if God doesn't give him the power to enjoy them a stillborn child is better than him a heavy statement for part for Solomon to make here right? But I think that this first verse is the sort of transitioning cuz like I said, we we we have finished with these two questions that are kind of guy to the remainder of the Book of Ecclesiastes. What good is there for man while he lives the few days of his being life and who can tell a man will come after him what's good for me to do with my life here and now and then what happens to me after I die. Right into this verse kind of gives us this transition here in the fact that what he's going to be proclaiming to us with these Proverbs is exactly what is good for us to have in this life. And let me tell you what he is going to present as being good is completely topsy-turvy to what we think right the first of all he gives us a good name is better than precious ointment. So this fits so well with chapters 5 and 6 because those those the wealth of chapter 5 in the blessings of chapter 6, what are those things? They're material and their physical right? You get to live out your life to 2,000 years you feel that you're going to have a hundred children you get to see that with your own eyes, you get to have enough money that you can be called Scrooge McDuck you get to see that and dive into those piles of gold. Everything is concrete, but he says here a good name is an abstract concept write your reputation being known as a person of honor is better than having precious ointment. Which back in the day was a highly valuable item, right? We see this even in the New Testament when the woman break the bottle of perfume. It starts snowing King Jesus, right? She anointed a bottle of perfume that probably cost a Year's wages right into this was a highly valued piece of wealth. And Solomon is transitioning say hey, there's some things that are better than material wealth. There's some things in life that are better than having physical blessings and physical possessions and I'll tell you one of those things is a good name having a good reputation. Right? And so just as that first line is meant to subvert our expectations and flip them on their head. Exactly what he's going to do with the rest of this until my my my My overall title that I've given 4 verses 1 through 12 the series of Proverbs calling it the better things in life because essentially what he's going to be doing as he goes through this if he talks about the good things of life. Birds feasting laughter songs, and he takes those and he flips on his head and he says I'll show you what's better than those. And it is not what we expect right to look at what he says. So a good name is better than precious ointment. And the day of death than the day of birth.
And if that wasn't enough it's better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting and if that's not enough sorrow is better than laughter.
Just to seal the deal. The heart of the wise is in the house of the morning of the heart of fools is in the house of Mirth.
Pretty sisters what Solomon saying here? What is he getting at? Why why in the world would we ever think morning is better than feasting. Why in the world would we ever say sorrow is better than laughter?
First let me tell you what he is not say, okay. Good morning. Sorrow all these things are associated with death which song has been talking about throughout the entire Book of Ecclesiastes and let me say what he is not think he is not saying that death is good.
Give me hear me. He is not saying that death is good. We know from the from from scripture death is a curse. Write Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2. We know that that wasn't a part of creation. We were meant to live forever. And that's why in chapter 3. He said we still have eternity etched in our hearts. right It's only on occasion. We really let ourselves pause when you really think about the fact that we are mortal and and I don't know if you're like me, but you get that little like that tingling in your stomach almost feels like you're about to fall off a cliff right that same sort of feeling when you realize that one day. I'll be here in the next they all be gone.
We don't let ourselves feel that moment from time to time. The rest of the time when we live we live as though we are Immortal we live is no we are Eternal beings that says God created us for that. That's why every single death hurts us makes us it feels wrong, if feels like an injustice and it's cuz it's a curse.
Death is a consequence of salmon to what Solomon saying here is he's not saying that death is good. Instead we say death is inevitable. And so therefore it is wise to keep it before eyes.
Death is inevitable. I don't know if you know this but has a pretty good track record with human history. And yet doesn't it always come as a surprise. One person has escaped it, right? Even Jesus himself only person that could have taken a pass on death. Willingly submitted himself to it death has a great track record. And yet it always comes as such as a surprise it is inevitable. And so therefore the wise keep their eyes on it. Moses tells us this exact same thing right Psalm 90 verse 12. Tells us to teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. What in the world is he talking about Moses? He saying that a heart of wisdom comes from understanding that your days are limited.
How in the world can that be true? The imminence of death keeps us from living superficial lives.
Give me to repeat that one more time the Eminence the coming of death keeps us from living superficial lives. Because here's the deal if we date. If we feel I should say cuz we don't know that we're going to die.
If we feel in our souls that we're going to keep living forever. And what do we do with always got more time? Right. I can do this tomorrow. I can go I can go be a good husband. I can be a good father. I can be a good son always have tomorrow. Let me do what I want today.
The reality of keeping death in front of our eyes is that we understand that that is not a guarantee.
And if you if we don't live with the understanding that we ourselves or anyone that we love to be taken away from us in a moment. This is what happens.
Doesn't that change how we look at people? Does not change how you're going to love your spouse does not change how you're going to parent your children when you understand that your time with them is limited. Person centered doesn't that change how you view the people in your life that don't know the gospel.
I understand that their time in this world is limited. You only have so many breaths with which to proclaim the good news to them. And I think
the reason to Solomon Compares this sorrow to laughter in this morning to face thing is because it's not that those are bad things. Like I said, we're going to have a family feast to celebrate the resurrection right thing is good. We're going to have a great and joyous time. but unfortunately We particularly live in a culture to where we have such an abundance to wear just about every day becomes a feast and when everyday becomes a feast nothing really is. You get that when everydays a celebration nothing truly Becomes of Celebration. You diminish everything that goes on before and that's what we that's what we are in Solomon is pointing to his here. This isn't just us in Western 21st century America. This is a problem of the human soul. It's easier to be entertained than it is to understand that life is fleeting. I meant life is precious and so clean to it.
And we will do anything possible to try and keep those thoughts out of our brains.
What comedian says that's why we keep the radios on in our cars. That's why people can't let go of their phones and can't stop texting is because if we let silence creeping for just one moment, we understand who we really are.
Another Rider even calls it go so far as to call it the Terror of Silence.
It's not the joy. It's not that celebration. It's not that laughter are bad things. But when we take those things and we use them as distractions from the reality of life.
They keep us from properly enjoying life.
That is what he's getting at.
It keeps going. Respite is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of the fools in for the crackling of thorns under a pot. So is the laughter of fools this also is Vanity, sweetest song.
well, let's just tell another joke so we can just start laughing and he says you want the laughter of fools is It's just like you have the pot going for no good reason. It's just going to burn if you got nothing that you're actually doing with it. It's vanity verses 5 through 12. In general he's going to be talking to us about the talking to us about the advantage of wisdom for us in this life in this may sound a little bit weird for Solomon or at least we are coming from Solomon because I seen The Book of Ecclesiastes Solomon has more than once said what advantage does the wise man half of the fool. prank And you stop process has been the wise person in the fool both go Six Feet Under. Right go look at the cemetery and tell me which guy was wise tell me which guy was a fool. You can't and now Solomon is telling us but we have to have the full picture of the story and let me tell you exactly what the advantage of the wise person is Right surely oppression drives the wisent madness and bribe corrupts. The heart better is the end of the other thing that's beginning in the patient is spirit and spirit is better than the proud and spirited. I'll be quick in your spirit to become angry for anger lodges in the hearts of fools. St. Why were the former days better than these Ford is not from wisdom that you ask this? Wisdom is good with an inheritance an advantage to those who see the Sun for the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money the advantage of wisdom is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it? You simply don't have time to break into each and every one of these verses. But oh man, they are good. I think especially first 10 sticks out to me. as being said, it's not just people today that look back and say the good old days so much better than this. Simon Says 3,000 years ago people are going
How many Solomon say? That's not why it's not from wisdom that you ask this. Why because wisdom understands that everything comes everything goes there is nothing is new Under the Sun right The Human Condition is the exact same way. It was three thousand years ago when Solomon wrote this so we don't have time to break into each and every one of those as good as they are wisdom and foolishness, right? The white person is willing to hear the reticular rebuke. He's willing to endure the pain of a friend telling him something that he needs to hear the fool. All he wants to do is just here song only wants to do is laugh. And tells us that the wise person knows that anger shouldn't Lodge in his heart. Teton to anger. He stays angry becomes bitter, right? So what's he telling us? Telling us that ultimately forces 11 and 12 ultimately wisdom does have a benefit to it. Wisdom is good with an inheritance. And even if you happen to know if you have wisdom and inheritance, you'll spend it wisely. It'll be good for those who see the Sun and then noticed that this 12, especially with chapter 5 in talking about the vanity of wealth. This is super interesting for the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money. Denise and the money was vanity. No, he said the Love of Money write the pursuit of money money being your God is Vanity. And now he says the protection of wisdom is a lot like the protection of money, then think we can get a couple of things from that. like money Is wisdom a guaranteed protection? No. Right just because you have a large amount in your account. Does not guarantee that likes not going to throw you a curveball and you're going to lose it all tomorrow. right
In a lot of ways, that's how wisdom Works in this life. We know that wisdom is following after the pattern that God designed for us and we know the Book of Proverbs tells us that it is better to choose wisdom than to choose Bali right? It's better to go after God's wisdom. But it doesn't always work out. Right and in general The Book of Ecclesiastes has been telling us hey yet and also wisdom doesn't always work out. But now he's getting back into the Proverbs bucket and he's telling us but no wisdom does have an advantage but it's just like money. It's not a guarantee. There's no guarantees in this life that it is going to go completely well for you and supposedly says the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it? It's good. We seek it when bad things happen. We don't blame wisdom for it. It wasn't broken Fallen World choose wisdom, but it's not a guarantee that things go well for you.
Legal problems that he gives us the better things in life to sorrow choose morning consider your and consider that life is short choose God's wisdom. Numbers 13-14 he gives us these statements that I didn't kind of wrap it up and give us the message of these the overall message of these 12 Proverbs. Consider the work of God. Who can make straight what he has made crooked who can undo what God has done. Verse 14 in the day of prosperity be joyful in the day of adversity consider. God has made one as well as the other so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. What you say? God made both days of prosperity and he made days of adversity.
Need the good times made the bad times. He made the easy times made the hard times and he gives us two commands to do with each of those days right verse 14 in the day of prosperity. What do we do? Be joyful is a one commentator says about it. I love how you how you put it in the day of prosperity be happy. This literally reads in a good day be in good so many purges readers to take advantage of the enjoyment of good days Prosperity health and happiness the English idiom be in the moment approximates the meaning of 10. In other words. Do not miss the enjoyment of the good times Savers and treasure them to build memories to sustain hope during the more difficult times of life, right? It shouldn't come as a surprise to us because as we once again as we saw the last week, we saw that it's better to not exist than to have good things in life and not enjoy them. It is better to be dead than to go through life and have all of these blessings poured out upon us and then we don't have the ability to enjoy them. It's a Solomon is telling us once again, just in case we think that he's a killjoy. In the day of prosperity be joyful. Enjoy it, right. What is this mean? This means don't throw a wet blanket over the good days. Don't say what tomorrow is probably going to be different. Brentwood tomorrow, who knows what'll happen tomorrow? I mean, yeah things are going really well today. And I was home in saying enjoy take it in all over the wonderful blessings that you have that the Lord has given to you. Enjoy the good things that you have in life. Then tells us a number to but in the day of adversity consider. Interesting to note. This word consider is literally two words. In the day of adversity. Look this is a word that he's been using throughout the Book of Ecclesiastes when he says look I have seen Under the Sun this even when some has given us the continuous refrain throughout the Book of Ecclesiastes of what he say is is is is is is the best thing to do in life to eat to drink and to enjoy what God has given to us, right that word to enjoy in the Book of Ecclesiastes literally is to see good. To observe the good things to take them in to see what God has placed in front of you is what it means to enjoy life in the Book of Ecclesiastes. And now he saying when adversity comes don't stop looking Don't Close Your Eyes don't go and hide in a hole.
Good may not be happening directly in front of your eyes, but keep them open. Why? Consider that God has made one as well as the other. So that man may not find out anything that will come after him. when adversity comes when difficult times in life come keep your eyes open because you'll get to see that God is ultimately the one who is in control. Right to get to see that God is the author of good days. And he's the author of bad days. He's the author of prosperity. He's the author of adversity. All of these things are the work of God and on the day of adversity consider and reflect who can make straight what God has made crooked. He has me here for a reason. I may not I may not understand it. I don't have to understand it. Right. We use the example of Jobe last week job. Never did come to understand in this life. As far as We Know. Why why exactly the suffering befell him that it did? God did not give Joe Penny answers. And God doesn't have to give any answers. The days of adversities we look to God we see that God is in control. We take that for what it is, right if the day of adversity also teaches us that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
What exactly is he saying with that? I think the message of it is pretty clear that we ourselves are not. What God has made crooked cannot be made straight God has made one day as well as the other we can't find out anything will be after him understand that God is in control and we understand that God is in control. We also understand that we are not. We also understand that we are not gods and that we are simply not meant to understand and to know everything in this life and in fact. What are finite brains if we did come to understand everything in this life? I have a feeling that it would overwhelm Us in less than a second. right the song and gives us these two reasons. They have Prosperity be joyful Joy it take it in actually be present naturally be in the moment. Don't throw a wet blanket on it. Just enjoy what God has given in the day of adversity considered God's in control of your not and that's how life is supposed to be life is still functioning the exact same way that it's supposed to function. The world is not going to end just because your world maybe ending. Get that. That's heart. It's hard, but just because our world maybe tumbling out of control does not mean that the world is tumbling out of control God's got this.
One more thing. Do you have your Bibles open still and I hope you do can flip the 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. the love help Hall almost summarizes all of these things and put them together since beginning and verse 7.
If I had to summarize this I would say.
The call is taking all of this and putting it into a nutshell of in the day of adversity consider eternity. Consider that there is an eternity for those who are with Christ. And so let's just walk through this passage of scripture. I'll make a couple of comments as we go so 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7 and we have this treasure in Jars of Clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. And it's like you just like read Ecclesiastes and started writing this right? The got the power belongs to God not to us God is the one who made both days of diversity and prosperity. We can't know what comes after us. But we we are afflicted in every way but not crushed perplexed but not driven to despair persecuted, but not forsaken struck down but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies for we who live are always being given over to sake. So that get this show that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us but life in you pause Frozen sisters. Do you understand that the Christian faith is a walking paradox.
The Christian faith is a walking Paradox. Otherwise, how do you explain this? We are always carrying in our body the death of Jesus in order that the life of Jesus may also be in this. We're Jesus death in us so that we can also have his life in US. Princesses this is why we clean to the crucifixion and clean to the resurrection. This is why Paul says the Christian Life is one of Sorrow yet always rejoicing.
The Christian faith is one of the men's Joy, but it is not frivolous.
The Christian faith is anything but frivolous. It's anything but it's anything but Futile the Christian faith is a weighty heavy thing because we humiliation. And the death of our God stands at the center of everything that we do.
Immediately following that humiliation and death comes the most joyous day in human history. when he rose from the dead and not just a great conquered death itself, so that one day that enemy Against Humanity death that we've been talkin Hill defeated once and for all It'll be wiped out and we will never have to experience it again. That's good news, but it only came through the immense sorrow of the cross. Until we live our lives as those who are always carrying in us the death of Jesus show that the life of Jesus Walter be manifested in our bodies. We Are One walking Paradox of sorrowful yet always rejoicing if you don't know what it means to embrace the sorrow and the joy of the Christian faith, you don't have a full understanding of the Christian faith.
CS Lewis says that there is some joy and some happiness that makes you serious. That is what the Christian faith is. It's not a frivolous Joy. The laughter in the songs of fools, but instead it is a it is a joy that makes one serious.
since we have the same Spirit of Faith continuing on. Since we have the same Spirit of Faith according to what has been written I believed and so I spoke we also believe and so we also speak knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with cheese and bring us with you into his presence. British all for your sake as Grace extends the more and more people it may increase Thanksgiving to the glory of God.
Brothers because we believe in that because we know that he who raised Jesus from the dead will also raised us to be with Jesus in his presence. That's how we get this last paragraph of the chapter. So we do not lose heart.
You get time if you don't have that confidence of knowing that he raised the Lord. Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us into his presence then we don't get a say this next line of so we do not lose heart.
In the midst of what do we not lose heart though? Our outer self is wasting away. That sounds like vanity if you ask me. Outer self is wasting away here today gone tomorrow. Our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary Affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of Glory beyond all comparison. As we look not to the things that are seen. AKA not the things that are under the sun.
But the things that are unseen things that are seen are transient pain. The passing of the things that are unseen. are turtle you get that?
Do you get that? This is why we consider in the day of adversity to God made one as well as the other so that man cannot know what is going to come after him. This is why we take comfort in the fact control. We are not. Is because when we have that perspective we have the perspective of the God sent his own son to save us the God who died on the cross for our sins to take every weight of sin away from us and to give us his righteousness and set it to make us into his sons and daughters. We understand that God is in control anything that happens in this life is an Affliction to it is like and it is momentary. Compared to the Eternal weight of the glory that awaits for us.
I think sometimes we don't use this word. Wait in the in the way that politicians were it what he's making there when he Compares this the light momentary Affliction to the Eternal weight of Glory. Is it is calling the light momentary afflictions of this world? There's smoke.
Vista vapor The Shadow Where is the Eternal weight of Glory beyond all comparison? That's the real thing? Get that. Everything that happens to us in this life. It is a shadow. Jesus is the substance. This is the reality. Jesus is the way to Eternal Wade. Cousin sister's don't your heart yearn for eternity? I hate death. That's why we hate the temporariness of our selves. We each if we let ourselves consider long enough. We need to understand that we want to live for something. That's far greater than ourselves.
We know that we were meant for more. We know that there is something you know, what there's something more real here.
If you haven't filled felt that maybe hadn't seen a really good sunset in a long time. Maybe you haven't just seen a really beautiful tree.
He hadn't heard a baby laugh in a while.
Did you feel that there's those moments in life when you just get this feeling deep down in your soul that this is what it's all about. The taste of what I was meant for the taste of how life is supposed to be in that moment Fades away so quickly. I'm just go back into the vanity of everyday life.
Britton sisters the good news of the cross the good news of the Resurrection that good news of knowing that the day of death is better than the day of birth House of mourning is better than the house of feasting.
his knowing that we were meant to have it turn the etched in our hearts. Know that we were meant to live forever with our god with our savior. The one who is in control with made both the days of prosperity and the days of adversity. Let me leave you with this. What season of Life are you in?
Tom and boils things down boils all of life down two days of prosperity in days of adversity.
Which season are you in? May not even be seasoned. Which hour are you in? I know if you liked me, but sometimes each day kind of seems to live be a little bit mingled in in the prosperity and adversity, right? Wake up and I was worried. I'm so thankful for the family that you have given me and then a o and wakes up 30 minutes earlier than she supposed to and oh God. Why have you forsaken me?
right
Are you going to tell me that's not how your day feel sometimes? You immediately pray the prayer of Thanksgiving to God for blessings and then immediately your heart goes and just start crying out because those blessings aren't going exactly how you point.
Sunday not even be an overall season of prosperity and its season adversity. It may be a minute by minute thing. Are you in a time of prosperity or time of adversity time of prosperity and sisters pray for God to give us Grace to see the good that is around us.
Is Matt Chandler what is wrong with us that we can't seem to celebrate as believers?
We have every reason to celebrate if we are in our blessings or he is giving us prosperity. He is giving us the desires of our hearts. What is broken in our hearts that we can't celebrate that and taking enjoyment in it.
Go back to Ecclesiastes 6 something's wrong. You're in a season of prosperity and our prosperity. Pray for God to give you the power to enjoy it.
current season of affliction British consider the mysterious Providence of God
consider that we serve a god. His plan is so great. Did I say 53 tells us that it was the father's good pleasure to crush his son.
We serve a God that sent his own son to the cross for us and work the good news out of it. The single most tragic day in all of human history was the intricate design of the father. And by it we are all saved.
I think that he's got our suffering under control. I think that he's got plans for what we're going through. I think that he is working out good for all those who love and believe in him. If you brought good from the death of Christ, he will bring good from our suffering. He is a God, who knows us he is a God who loves us.
If you don't know, it's Jesus.
I don't know how you make it through the night.
I don't know how you deal with you seasons of joy and seasons of adversity without knowing that there is someone who is in control. I knowing there's a rhyme that there's a reason for all of this. Dollar for the we don't have to be left to just grow up with the vanities of life.
So what you cling to Christ?
The first timer for the thousandth time will you clean to Jesus Christ? He is the only one that gives us rhyme and reason to why were living he's the only one that makes each hour each moment of our days make any sense whatsoever.
Has everything was created by Him for him and through him. There is no reality outside of Jesus Christ. We cling to him this morning. That's bright. father
but we thank you that it pleased you to crush your son. Thank you that your love for us was so great that you did not spare Jesus Christ on the cross.
fit father
but the one who holds the universe by the word of his power the one to whom everything is given in subjection under him the one who is the author of life.
The one who is the word who's in beginning with you by whom and through whom and for whom all things were created went to a cross and died for us.
father
we can never in our finite Minds understand the weight of that.
He'll help us.
Will help us to understand the monument to work of the crucifixion and help us to understand the joy of the Resurrection help us to be a people father know we are saved we are not saved so that we can simply have a get-out-of-jail-free card, but we are saved for your glory and for your kingdom.
Give us the grace to the people who he will not waste our lives. End our lives on frivolous things that distract us from the reality that is around us help us father to be a people. People who understand that our time is short the time of those around us is short and help us to truly capture every moment that you have given to us. Days of prosperity board give us an enjoyment this stems from your hand. In the day of adversity help us to learn that you are God and we are not. At this light momentary Affliction will one day give way to an eternal weight of Glory.
A father be with us we pray. and in the name of Jesus we said hey, man.