When The American Dream Becomes A "Nightmare" (Eccl. 1:12-2:26)

But I think it's going to warm up this week is going to be nice, though. It's cold. I tell you that Ice Cube's had chill, bumps this morning, but it is cold. I tell you. Well, miss Elsie was here this past Wednesday. So maybe her arthritis is acting up. So we want to pray for them and Jenny had a headache. I think this morning, so I will pray for her and And glad that she was able to be here, the last few weeks. We need to pray for our country as well. For the leadership. And And just the right decisions would be made. We need to do that. But it is good to see. I'm glad you're here. We're going to continue in the Book of Ecclesiastes this morning. And what we're going to do this morning. Is we going to begin? Where we left off last week, which was 12. And we're going to go from verse 12 all the way through chapter 2, which is verse 26. So we have about 6 vs left in chapter one, then we're going to do chapter two, as well. So here's our new series searching for heaven on our own Earth, and we're studying the book of ecclesiastic. And here's the days, message, when the American dream becomes a nightmare looking for meaning, in all the wrong places, and somebody sing a song looking for love in all the wrong places. I thought so. Well, this here is looking for meaning, in all the wrong places. That's when the American dream becomes a nightmare. So I have a couple slides, I'm going to show each week. Remember the, the word vanity we continuing, we need to continue to remember what that means. It means breath or vapor life is a vapor, but it can also Mill. So when we have something in our hearts and in our lives, that's more important to us than God that thing or that person. Tidal. And we worship it more than God and then the next slide, good things. And let's just name a few pleasure, sex money, success acceptance. Good things can become bad things, obsessions addiction and idles. When Good Things become ruling things in your life. What I'm saying, here is is when we take the gift that God give gives us and we start worshipping them instead of God. That's when Good Things become bad things. But what I want to do this morning is, first of all, his talk about the American dream. What is the American dry me? If you've heard that phrase throughout your life, the American dream. Now, you know, it started gentlemen. I can't remember his name. He wrote a book back in 1931. And he coined this phrase, the American dream now back. Then, this is what the American dream was that you own your own house. That you was married and you had started a family. And you either had a stable job or you owned your own business. That was the American dream. So just think of it like this. You were happy. You were content you were married. Maybe had a boy and a girl and a dog and a cat. And you had a home. You had a good job. You were financially secure. That is the American dream. Now today. The American dream has changed somewhat and also includes education. You have a good education and even health care that if you have Healthcare, you know, because a lot of them know how expensive it is. And if you don't have insurance, this is difficult. So now Healthcare and education is included in the American dream. Now we know and most of you here are probably married most You both do have a home. Most of us do have insurance. So I'm better than others. But most have insurance. Many of us have children. Most of us have pets. We've achieved the American dream. But yeah, the American dream. Is a big fat lie without God because the American dream will not satisfy. And when we put those things that Encompass, the American dream, first and foremost in our life, the American dream becomes the American Nightmare. And that's what I want to talk about today because Solomon is going to go through four areas of life that we probably all gone through and tried to find meaning in those things. And in the end, it always comes back and he says, vanity of vanities. He says, it's like chasing the wind. I like to see it. It's like plowing water and shoveling smoke. It's what it's like. Well, if you remember last week saw him and moved, we talked about how he observe, life from nature, from water, and the wind and things like that testimony, that he had tried everything and nothing satisfied to him. Everything was meaningless. And I look what he says in verse 12 of chapter one. The very first of all, he says I the preacher was King over Israel in Jerusalem. So he's putting that in the past tense. Soba Solomon is probably at the end of his life and he saying that one time I was King over Israel, so we won't pay attention what he says because I say, he was the wisest man in the world and be, he has all these experiences that we can learn from. And him being the wisest man in the world. What he's about to tell us, we ought to keep it in our hearts and in our minds because it is true. So he goes on this wisdom search and he concludes that, it's all miserable. He says, all of our activity is like, chasing. When now, I remember, when I was a little boy. My mama used to buy you. One of these little cans, you could buy and have a little round, like stick in it and it was Bubbles and you can stick it in there, and I would run in the yard and go like this and Bubbles will go everywhere. You know what I'm trying to do. I try to catch him for what happened. When you tried to catch a bubble. It would pop. It's like I'm trying to catch the wind, but I couldn't do it and I didn't understand it. Well, that's the idea here, our efforts in this Fallen World to try to find significance and meaning and purpose in life. Apart from God is like trying to catch a bubble. It's just going to pop you not going to be able to do it now people. And, you know, there's a lot of people today who suffering weather is financial or physical. And they say well if I had more money or if I had better friends, or if I could just get over this illness. My life would be better. But Solomon comes along and Ecclesiastes and he just destroys that notion because he says I'm a guy that had it all I had helped I had well I had everything in life was no better. Life was no better. He had all the wisdom in the world and all it did was bring him grief. And I know there's probably some times in your life. When you get you have gotten down on your knees and you beg God. And you prayed for things that you have. Now that we take for granted there was a time when you probably begged, God for a spouse or for children, or for a house, or for a car and then when you got them, we're still not content. Like I said, last week there was a time when I said, if I could just make $40,000 a year, I would be satisfied. No, not satisfy 40,000 don't buy much a whole lot anymore. And so, you know, we make more than that, but we're still not content. The American dream is alive and a big failure when we try to achieve it without God again. There's nothing wrong with the American dream. Nothing wrong with a spouse. Nothing wrong with children. Those all our guest from got nothing wrong. Good job, all of those are gifts from God, but think about this. In our time today, we live in a culture with more money, more entertainment, more pleasurable, experiences.

Moore Recreation, more stuff. You watch a movie, won't do no matter when it was me on the man and get on your phone and see anyting talk to anybody. See anybody on the we have more than any generation before but yet pain pills and anti-depressants are flying off the shelves. Like never before that. I want to tell you something that this Chase for the American drink this Chase for meaning and purpose in life when it's done without God in it is like plowing water and shoveling smoke. You will never reach the place that you desire to go. And if you do reach it, you'll rip their. There's always somewhere else to go. How many of you remember?

I thought he was one of the funniest actors Robin Williams. Remember him on Mork & Mindy in and he made a lot of movies. I remember one movie, he was training and he was working at McDonald's and he told the customer took my said come back next moon light. I thought that was so funny. I thought he was one of the funniest people that I ever saw on TV a stand-up comedian, whatever. He had everything movies, he could act, he was funny. He had money. And yet he killed himself in despair. Took his own life in despair. So what am I saying? I'm saying that there's something wrong in there. There's something wrong on this Earth. So I want to walk you through this morning, what Philemon tried and how he failed miserably. And I told you last week that I'm exhausted a I'm going to give you the secret to meaning in life. It's not a secret at all. It's here in the Bible and I'll do that at the end of this message. So Point number one, we going to look at Solomon. We're going to look the experiences. The experience of life for Solomon. And here's the first experiment he tried to find meaning in wisdom and I'll look at it in verses 12 through 18. In chapter one. He says, out of Range, Rover is on the roof and I set my heart to seat and search out by wisdom. Concerning all that is done under Heaven. This burdensome path may be exercised. I have seen all the work that are done under the sun and indeed, all is Vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked? Cannot be made straight when you see that word crooked in the Old Testament. Most I'm not stalking about seeing or the curse of sin. He saying this world is crooked and it can't be made straight. And what is lacking cannot be number. Then he said I commune with my car saying look I have attained greatness. I have gained more wisdom than all who were before me and Drew. So we know that to be true because he asked God's wisdom God. And he was the wisest man. In the world Solomon, what? He says my heart has understood great, wisdom and knowledge and I set my heart to know wisdom and to know, Madness and Folly. He knew it all. He knew what was right? He knew what was not right. I perceive that this also is what Grand for, in much wisdom, is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow, he says, I was the wisest man in the world. And, you know, something It didn't work. It's not worth a hill of beans. If you live life without God, you'll still not find meaning and purpose in life. A while back about 10 years ago. There was a girl in. She was a teenager and she was in think it was Fremont. California scored a perfect score on the perfect. And she wanted to go to University of California about the universe California. That way you have to take our entrance exam first before we let you in, even though you had a perfect SAT score. So she took California's demanding entrance exam. And guess what? She did a perfect. So they say, because of her habits of studying, and said, she had a photographic memory and an interview of reporter asked her, said you aced the SAT you Ace the entrance exam. What is it that you don't know? Could you, could you please explain to us what the meaning of life is? You know what? She said. She said, I have no idea. I would like to know myself. She'd have no idea she aced the SAT, and the entrance exam, the smartest teenager in America or across the world. You have no idea. This is what Solomon, the sea. I'm the wisest man in the world. I set my heart to know, Folly and to know wisdom. And in the end is all vanity. You say no matter how smart you are. If you don't know, God, he was a brave and a teenager. Who's great learning never produced, meaning in Life or Francis Schaeffer or philosopher said this. The damnation of this generation is, it doesn't know that it has any meaning at all. And that's exactly right. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. And he said, for in much, wisdom is much grief, and he who increases wisdom increases sorrow, that's what Solomon said. If education could bring meaning and purpose in life. Then people don't mind if they have a GED or a PhD, they would be the happiest and most fulfilled in the world. Education is not the source of meaning and purpose in this life Solomon, tried them in wisdom. And he says it is all vanity and useless. Well, there's something else he tried to do. He tried to find meaning. In a wildlife, let's just say it like that. He tried to find meaning in partying. This man was a party animal. Look at it and verse chapter 2, verse 1, through 3. I said in my heart come now, I will test you with mirth there for pleasure. I'm just going to have fun then he says, but surely this also was vanity. I said of laughter Madness, and what does it accomplish? I searched in my heart. How to gratify My Flesh with wine while guarding my heart with wisdom and how to lay. Hold on Folly till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under Heaven all the days of their life. So next Solomon tried to find meaning and partying and he's in, he says here, he says enjoy pleasure. So he tried fun. He tried amusement, and he says, what did it accomplish? In other words. He he made his whole life. Journey, and and of itself just having fun. Now, you may have tried that in your life before you just want to go out and you just you went out to all the clubs you just drank and you just you just went with your friends and you didn't care about anything and you tried this and that and you bar hopping and you did everything out. And eventually in your life. This is not the life that I need to live. This is just not right. It's not going to bring me happiness is not strip. I bet he had everything filled with bright lights, big city atmosphere. Lot of people have tried what Solomon did. But they still had this dull ache of meaninglessness and they have found what he found that, there's no musement, no, amusement, and pleasure and fun. It all goes away. It's just vanity upon back. And then after that, he didn't try the alcohol. Look what he said here in verse 3, I searched in my heart, how to gratify, My Flesh with white with wine. So he was a drink or two weeks, but notice, it says with wine while guiding my heart with wisdom, so he wasn't really a drunkard. He just go out, and he would drink some and have fun, but yet he kept his mental capacities and he is able to sleep me and what this means is, so he recorded his experience and he even Incorporated alcohol into his pursuit of meaning and he discovered the same thing. He says it is a flute, you maybe alcohol. But your heart will still be empty. He tried wisdom and he tried wild living. Well, next, he tried something else and this is something that many of you here. I probably try and that is he trying to find meaning in work in his work. How many of you here? Have a job? How many of you like your job. Everybody? How many of you like to make money at your job? Yeah, we need money, real job. Nothing wrong with a job. The Bible says, man that work and y'all not to eat. So you have to work, we out to like what we do. So wisdom and wild living didn't change. So I went so he decided he was going to throw everything. He had into his work. Look at it. Verses 4 through 6. I made my works great and I watch what he does. I built myself houses. I planted myself Vineyards. I made myself Gardens and Orchards and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself waterproof. What's that? That's a cement Pond Jethro Bodine. He's going down to the city, had put that I made myself water pools from which to Growing trick and times. He says, I did all all the building programmes. He undertook houses Vineyard Garden were oriented around his own need to find meaning and how did it turn over affect? What so ever, friends list and there's nothing wrong with work. Work does have meaning really in the short-term, but it's not in the Eternal sense, work is not a means to an end. It's not an end in itself. You can't work or build enough to feel The Eternity shape void in the heart member Ernest, Hemingway, this is what he said in his suicide note, after he lived a life full of full of Adventure, if you will, this is what he said. Life is just one bad thing after another. And then he took his own life Solomon. Would have agreed with Hemingway. We can find people throughout history who have sought to find meaning and accomplishments you, maybe sit here this morning, you may throw yourself so much into your job that you're going to be the best that you can be. And there's nothing wrong with that and you're going to make as much money as you can. There's nothing wrong with that and you're going to move up in the company and go to the Top. If You Can't there's nothing wrong with unless you do it on. And unless you start worshipping your work, instead of God is work as a means to an end or the end. It says when you start doing that it's all going to come back and you do nothing. This is absolutely useless. So Solomon learned, that a life lived without reference to God. And my knee was absolutely worth it. So what did Solomon do? Well, he tried to find meaning in wisdom and partying and then work. Well, there's something else that Solomon tried to find and he tried to find meaning. In money or in well not how many have not done that tried that before I was going to make all I can and I'm going to can I like well, what did Solomon say about it? Look at it in verses 7 through 10. I acquire male and female servants had service. Born my house. I had great actions of hers and plot than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I also got for myself, a special Treasures of Kings. In other provinces. I acquire male and female singers. He had singers in his house. Then the lights are the sons of men and musical instruments of all got it. His wife was just an ongoing party was all it was now. Look what he says the first night. He said, may know how would you like to be hit with the richest? You were the healthiest. You were the wealthiest, but you was also the smart and there's never been a man like that or woman. No one had. What he had. Look what he says in verse 10. Whatever my eyes desired. I did not keep from them. How would you like to go to Best Buy or somewhere like that? And everything? You looked at a car lot and you go to, I'll take that one. And I'll take that one. Doesn't matter. Just brand new, just send it on. I'll have I'll take it. I got the money to pay for, he said, whatever my eyes are. I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any play favor. And this was my reward for all my labor. What was his reward, anything you want? He had anything that he wanted. He would drink from Golden vessels in his house. He had so much gold. That silver was considered inferior. And not only did he go out and collect go, but roller from around the world. If you look at 1st, Kings, chapter 10, bring him gold and silver. So people was with just keep bringing him that. What is a writer for the Wall Street Journal? Who said he said, money is an article, which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven and a universal provider of everything except happiness. You can get anything you want to the money, but you can't go to heaven on money and money will not make you happy. He's a how do you know? Because Solomon said so and he had more than any of us will ever have you could combine all of our bank accounts and he had more than that. It will not satisfied. No matter how much you have. Well, that was the experiences in life, Let's go to point. And that is the evaluation of life now. So he's going to say I've done all this like he's told us and now he's going to evaluate it and he's going to look at it. Here is the first thing he says about the evaluation of like man's work. Does not satisfy. Look what he says in verse 8:11, painting. All this all the singers and all the male and female servants, all the gold, all this and looked on all the work that my hands had done. And on the labor, in which I had told, there was no profit Under the Sun. What is under design, me living life, without Ray. He said it didn't matter any, it didn't make it didn't air. It wouldn't satisfy him. He said I just looked at it all, all the work, the labor, which I had done. He said, the Man was created by God to be satisfied by God and not by God's gifts. Work is a gift from God. Well, is a gift gift from God. Wisdom is a gift from God. Having fun is a gift from God itself. No calendar, no amount of counterfeit efforts to find meaningful and he said it was not separating. You say, what do you mean by that? Look at, look at it in verses 13 to 16. Then I saw that wisdom excels Folly. So he said well wisdom is better than foolishness as light itself. Darkness the wise man eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness now what's so I said in my heart as it happens to a fool with it also happens to me. And why was I being more wise than I like the fool dies? So what does it matter what I do? If you leave God out, what does it matter what I do, or, how, wise, or how smart? I am foolishness. Looking for 16th. For I sat in my heart. This also is Vanity bar, 64. There is no more remembrance of the wise than enough. The fool forever since he said A wise man dies. Just like the food. What is he saying? He's saying this, you will never see a hearse pulling. You will never see a hearse, pulling a trailer. That's what they say. If you can't take anything with you will die, just like the food and if you die, like the fool. And you go in the ground, like the fool and if nothing happens and you just got into the dusk, what use? Is it a being wise? What you says? It of working so hard and accumulating so much and party and then what use is it? He saying it is no use whatsoever. Whether you lived a wise or foolish like the wise in the foolish. Both died the same way if this is life Under the Sun. If that's all there is then there's no difference between being wise and being foolish. So just quit school, but And then he says this.

Number three, man's work does not succeed him. Now. What do you mean by that? And I want you to gentleman here to look at this really carefully because this is going to pop your ego. Watch what he says. Therefore I hated life your been there was distressing to me for all is Vanity and grasping for the wind. Then I hate it all my labor, which I had told Under the Sun, all this work, everything that I had built, the bank accounts though, Orchards and Vineyards. The gardens the homes. He said I hate them all.

Because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. Who you going to leave? Everything that you do to me, lady to? There's no purse behind your casket. U-Haul trailer, who you going to leave it to when you die, all this stuff that you all your PhD degrees, all all the pleasures of all the nice yards and everything can put you on, leave it. What's going to happen when you die. Look what he says. I must men who will come after, make this your sons, or daughters will be a y, be wise or fool. They may sell everything that you give them, you say. I'm going to leave them a thousand acres of land. They they may just fell and get all the money and go out and blow it. What good is? Or worse yet.

You may die in your wife, Mary Mary.

And is he going to be wiser for? Who knows? Who knows you see how much is even getting right to the heart of the matter? Don't care so much about what you have in making this making that what you need to care about? Is your relaxed going to follow you. Everything else is going to be laughing. Who knows what your child is going to do with it. And who knows what I'm going to do? Yes, he will rule over all my labor and which I told her, which I have so much empty. Therefore, I turn in my heart and despaired of all the labor, which I told Under the Sun. For there is a man who's going to leave it all to someone who didn't work for it, who could care less, what you did. All they going to do it. They going to take that big account that you have is all of them. How does that make you feel? Don't make me feel too good with our thing about it. Does it usually exactly right for all his days are sorrowful, verse 23 and his work, burn some even in the night. His heart takes No Rest worried about what's all this going to do? My wife will be able to take care of this. My husband will be able to take care of this. Who's going to get it. She going to get remarried. You think my children going to be about my children's wife. How about my children's husband? Are they are they going to care for edit? Well, let's go to number three.

And that is the enjoyment of life. In verse 24 and 25. Look what Solomon says after going through all this and saying this just awful is terrible. No, meaning in this, look what he says, nothing is better for a man than that. He should eat and drink just eat it right? Just live your life work eat or drink. Nothing is better and that his soul should enjoy good. Also I saw and what's this was from the hand of God. What does Solomon say? He says look for your work work, hard and enjoy. Enjoy your family. Enjoy your spouse. Enjoy your vacation. Enjoy your leisure. Enjoy your labor. Enjoy your bank account. All the good things that come towards you. You see him as a gift from God and just enjoy it, and don't worry about who's going to get it? Where gift from God? How many of you enjoy your life. I mean you enjoy it. You think God for your life, most time we griping and complaints and turning them into a god eight times in Ecclesiastes, Solomon makes reference to eating and drinking and enjoy in life. It's not the ultimate but we are to enjoy it as a gift from God. You see? True and Lasting Joy is found only in God, but life does offer a measure of enjoyment and we shouldn't be afraid to take advantage of enjoy life. That God gives you enjoy your work. Yes. Work hard. Yes, accumulate. Yes, make money. Nothing wrong with that. As long as we put God first and see him that it is his gift to us. God's not some type of a killjoy. He don't want just to be miserable in this world. We ought to love the gifts that he give he gives us and be thankful for them. And if you can enjoy your life, you need to adopt Solomon's perspective. Here. We need to learn to view life with the backdrop of God, who created life, and he is giving it to us as a gift. So whatever God gives you in life. Just hold it with an open hand, and allow God to take it and give to others and then he will put more back in your hand. That's how we are to look at it. See God's not like drugs or alcohol. The more you get about, the more you need, you need more and more and more, but God is not like that. We're not increasingly being dissatisfied with God. We are increasingly satisfied with him, but the better, you know, him and the more you enjoy, he has gifts. So That's the end of the summer, but I'm going to tell you today. What Solomon says, is the secret to this, meaning finding meaning in life, because you're sitting here and you're saying, okay. I don't have an idol in my life. But life just seems boring and monotonous to me. Also. What is it? That gives us me? It can't be just that I'm saying because I'm saved and sometimes I still, I'm still bored with life and don't understand it. What is it? Well, let me see it like this. There's only two possible conclusions in life either. There is a God. Who has a standard that he will judge us? Or life is totally meaningless. Either, there is a God in our actions have meaning. Or there is no God. And kind of like Hemingway said, life is a dirty trick, a short Journey from nothingness to nothing. Now, which one is it? Well, lot of people think Christians are naive. I was talking to a guy, I used to work with this lady has probably been 15 or 20 years ago and I was talking to her. And this lady was not a Christian matter. Fact. She was an atheist. Is she used to talk to me? She was a nice lady and she worked at Nortel. Where when I was over there. Is she was heavily involved in things like? Human trafficking. Sex trafficking, she was trying to help these young girls. Get out of sex trafficking. I think she work with a, I think the organization was called the ladder of Hope. Is she was real big into helping the poor and she wanted to feed the hungry and clothe, the poor, and she was in even involved with Peter which would help animals as well. In other words. This lady was all about doing the common good for man. I mean just someone that you would look up to several this she's got it going on. She really wants to help. But yet, she told me that her birth was insignificant because you can come from pawns, or who knows where you come from. Your birth is insignificant, and she said, my dad will be in significant because when you die you go in the ground and you turn back to Dusty, said it will be I said, I want you to have the guts to tell me right now. That your life is insignificant.

I said, because if it doesn't matter about your birth and it doesn't matter about your death, all that in-between doesn't matter at all. I said, I want you to admit it if you're going to die and go back to the Earth and just be annihilated and waste away. I want you to admit that everything you do on this Earth is useless and insignificant. She said, I can't do that. I said why not? She said, because I want to help people. I said, of course you want to help people. I said because it's in your heart to help people because God put it there. Your life doesn't have me, it does. But what is it? That gives the meaning to life? What is it?

Turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 12 in will close with this. I should wait till my last sermon to give you this, but I want to give it to you now because I want you to be thinking about this as we continue this series, please ask these chapter 12. What is it that gives meaning to life? Look what Solomon says.

In verse 10. The preacher salt define acceptable, words and what was written was upright words of truth, the words of the wise, or, like Gold's in the words of Scholars are like, well driven Nails given by one Shepherd and father. My son be admonished by the ease of making many books. There is no end and must study is wearisome to the flash. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter right here. He's going to sum it up. Fear God, and keep his Commandments. For this is man's all. He says all you need to do is reverence. God respect God and Obey him. This is all that you're required to do. What why where does the meaning come from verse 14? For God will bring every work into judgment including every secret thing where they're good or evil. Franz Liszt, here's what gives meaning to your life.

One day, you going to stand accountable before God? That's what gives meaning to life. If your birth means, nothing, if your death means, nothing. Nothing in between means anything. Unless there is a God, unless there's an afterlife and unless there is a day of accountability. You see, that's what gives meaning to the mundane things in life. I was home at last week's clocking in and out 9 to 5 every single day for 40 years. Married to the same person are walking in the kitchen and seeing those dirty dishes, stacked hide. I got to load the dishwasher or I got to wash folding clothes at 12, midnight or changing, a dirty diaper at 2 a.m. In the morning. What gives that meaning is that you're going to stand before God one day and give an account of it. And what did Jesus say if you are faithful over the little mundane thing. I will make you ruler over many greater things in my kingdom. Friends, your life does count and it counts because one day we're going to stand before God if this life is all there is And there's no afterlife. There's no God and there's no accountability. No judgement day, then I would tell you what song did go out. Make all the money you can get all week. And can I call you get run around with this, man. This woman, whatever you want to do because when you dye, it means nothing because you're just going to go away, but it does mean something because there's a day of accountability. And the reason.

But when we tried to fill this void in her life, with the things of this world, God's good gifts. The reason we're so frustrated and the futility is so high is because in this sin cursed World, God allows us to suffer to do what to drive us to him. That's the reason we suffer. That's the reason things go wrong. It's to drive us to him. He's trying to show us. No wealth is not going to do it. Wisdoms, not going to do it. Your work is not going to do it. Money's not going to do it. You need to come to me to find meaning and purpose in life. So we're going to be called to account and he says here. Every work, including every secret thing. What does that mean? Not only everything you do, but everything, you think? Your words, your thoughts, your intentions, and motivations of the heart is going to be held up before God on the day of judgment. And we going to give accountability for that. You see our lives are broken by sin. But after you receive redemption in Christ, he gives us life Everlast. Instead of seeking satisfaction in the creative things, all of a sudden you become fully satisfied in your creator because you know, you going to have to stand before him one day you see the rain of death is strong. They claim Solomon and Abel, and David, and Adam, and Eve in one day, friends. It will claim us if the Lord doesn't come back. But let me tell you something. We live in a world full of grape, Lots. But there's one grade this empty. You say there's one grade. That's empty. The man whom the dust is not going to claim because his father would not allow his holy son to decay in this earth. Jesus is free from the curse and he offers that freedom to you. So this is what I want you to do this morning.

You may need to cry out to him and confession this morning because you tried to find meaning and purpose in something or someone other than him. How many times have we done that? And I'll leave you with this quote from Augustine? Val has made us for thyself. And our hearts are restless until they find rest in the amen. Let's pray. Father, that we tried to find meaning in this life without you, even Christians, we do that. We get caught up in the things of this world, making money and having fun buying this buying that, Lord is like, clown water and shoveling smoke. We know that to be true. We want you to inject meaning and purpose in our lives and we know that you do that and we live not in the present. But in the day that is to come the day of accountability that injects meaning in everything that we do, even the mundane things of life because you see it and you care about it and we're going to be judged for. Not only what we do. But we think and the motives and intents of our hearts, Lord help us to understand that today, help us to give our lives to you and help us to enjoy life. The gift that you give us. None of these things. We talked about today or bad. They're not bad at all, but we can't place more value on them than we do our relationship with you. So help us to enjoy life. Help us to worship you and help us to be a good witness in this fallen and broken World force. In Christ name, I do pray. Amen. All right. Well, thank you for being here. Today. I'm going to ask brother, John, if he would come and play softly Force something and I'm going to ask you now. If you would.