Good morning. I'm glad you're here today. I wanna invite you to join me in Ecclesiastes chapter eight. In your copy of God's word or in your electronic device, we are continuing our series this fall through the book of Ecclesiastes, and today we come to chapter eight. The title of our message this morning is Our Response to Authority. And as we go through the message today, if you have questions, you can text those questions to the number on the screen or feel free to email me later on today with your questions and I'll get back to you with answers to those when I can. As we dive into our passage this morning, I wanna give you about two minutes to turn to your neighbor and discuss this question. Why is it difficult to obey those in authority over us? Why is it difficult for us to obey those in authority over us? Turn to somebody around you, discuss it for a couple minutes, then we're gonna share our answers. All right, I overheard some good conversation. Who would be brave enough to share their answer? Why did you say it's difficult for us to obey those in authority over us? What were some of the things that you said, some of the reasons? You want to be in charge? Go ahead, Tommy. Well, yeah, so as a part of the fall, we have a natural aversion to being told what to do. I don't know if anybody wants to follow that one, but if you want to, feel free to. So we can't always trust those that are in charge. Maybe they're not wise, they don't have motivations that we would agree with. In our passage this morning, the teacher, the author of Ecclesiastes, is giving instruction on how someone should respond to authority, to a king's authority. His original audience is those who served in the court of a king, so he's writing to give them wise ways to respond to the authority that existed in their time and in their culture. Now obviously, authority today looks a little different. We don't answer to an earthly king. Our authority is different today. So this morning what we're gonna do is we're gonna look at this passage and see first what did it mean for the original readers, for the author's original audience. And then we're gonna look at what does it mean for us? How should they respond to authority? And then how should we respond to authority that looks different in our world and in our culture today? As we look at these eight verses this morning, we're gonna see that we must be wise in our response to authority because God has authority over all things. We must be wise in the way that we respond to authority because God has authority over all things. God is our ultimate authority. And for that reason, we should use our authority in a way that also points people to Jesus. So I wanna invite you to stand with me as we read our passage this morning in Ecclesiastes chapter eight, starting in verse one. and going through verse eight. It reads, who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person's wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance. Obey the king's command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a king's word is supreme, who can say to him, what are you doing? Whoever obeys his commands will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery. Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come? As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. The word of God for the people of God. You can be seated. So let's begin this morning by looking at how the original readers should respond to authority, should respond to a king's authority. When we come to verse one of Ecclesiastes chapter eight, theologians and commentators are split over whether it should go with chapter seven, if it's the end of the unit of chapter seven, or if this verse should start chapter eight. As I was studying, some commentators put verse one with the unit of chapter seven, some put it with chapter eight. But this morning, we're gonna look at verse one as a hinge verse. between chapters seven and eight. The first half of verse one points back to chapter seven. It says, who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? In chapter seven, the teacher has already shown us that a wise person is hard to find. That it's very rare to find someone who is wise. And that's how this kind of summarizes chapter seven. And then with the second half of verse one, He transitions into chapter eight. He says, a person's wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance. The second half of this verse shows us that there is a benefit to wisdom. There is a benefit to earthly wisdom. And if you were serving in a king's court, If you were a servant of a king, especially at this time, you would want to respond wisely to the king and to his authority. So how should someone who serves a king serve them wisely? Well, the teacher is gonna give us three ways to do that in the first five verses. The first one is to be obedient to the king because of an oath sworn to God. Someone who is serving a king should be obedient because of an oath sworn to God. Now, grammatically, verse two could mean an oath that the king has made to God, or God to the king. It could also mean an oath taken to God, or as it's translated in the NIV, it could mean talking about a servant's oath before God that they've taken to the king. And I think given the context, given what the teacher is talking about, serving in a king's court, the NIV's meaning is most likely correct. When someone entered into the king's service, Especially at this time, they would swear before God to be loyal and faithful to the king, to be obedient to the king, whether they agreed with the king or whether they didn't. So it would be wise if you're in the service of a king to be obedient because you have sworn an oath to God. The second way that the teacher gives us to serve wisely is to be patient in the king's presence. Now, it would not be good for someone to go out from the king's presence and have family dinner around the table. And I was a fast eater then, probably still a faster eater than my parents now. But when we got done, we always had to say, can we be dismissed from the table? And sometimes mom and dad would say, yeah, you can be dismissed, maybe because they wanted to enjoy a peaceful meal without their two children getting on their nerves. Other times they would say, nope, we're having family dinner. You can sit there until we are all done eating because we were having family dinner and it was time for us to spend together. That's the same concept we can apply to the service of a king. Not only would it be rude for you to go out from the king's presence without being dismissed, it could be seen as a sign of rebellion if you choose just to leave and go out from the king's presence. A servant also would forfeit their right to speak to the king if they just left the king's presence. They would have no influence over the king. They couldn't come back into his presence until he called them back into his presence. So you wouldn't do that. You wouldn't just decide, okay, I'm tired of this, I'm going out of here. And the third way that the teacher gives us to serve wisely is to not oppose the king. In verse three, the teacher says, don't stand up for a bad cause. He's teaching his original audience, the original readers of the book of Ecclesiastes, to not support something that the king would oppose, something that the king may see as evil. Even if you disagree with the king, because you have pledged your service to the king, you should not support something that he opposes. Even if you disagree with him, even if you think that he is wrong, you should not support something that, so it would be unwise to challenge his authority by supporting something that he opposes. Even when a servant disagreed with the king, in verse five, the teacher advises them to be obedient so that no harm will come to them. Verse five says, whoever obeys his command will come to no harm. and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. So that is how the original audience should act wisely within the presence of the king, should respond to authority. But what about us? How should we respond to authority today? What is our authority today? Because there is no king over the United States. Well, before I answer that question, I wanna make a comment about our culture and our society. Because as I thought about this message and the discussion question that started the message this morning, why is it difficult for us to obey those in authority? I think part of the reason is because of our culture. Because our society influences us and teaches us to disobey those who are in authority over us. We live in a culture and in a society that teaches us to want things the way we want them and to make them that way. I want to take, for example, Hollywood, the entertainment industry, the movies and the TV shows that we watch. Last Sunday night, I asked our students what some of their favorite movies and TV shows are, and I'm gonna give you three this morning, and these three are a little more lighthearted. They're not super serious examples, but I'm not saying that they're good or that they're bad. I'm not telling you you should go watch them, but I'm also not telling you you shouldn't go watch them. Those that are in authority in these examples, I'm not saying that they're morally right. I'm not saying that we should agree with them. I simply wanna point out three examples, two movies and one TV show where we see a underlying sense of rebellion to those who are in authority. One of the first movies that one of our middle school boys mentioned came out in 2020. It's the movie Sonic the Hedgehog. Now, if you've never seen Sonic the Hedgehog or played the game Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic is a blue, super-powered alien hedgehog. And in the movie, he ends up landing on Earth. Those in authority in the movie are the government. and they tasked this government agent, played by Jim Carrey, whose name is Dr. Robotnik, to catch Sonic, to capture him, and study him, because the government is concerned about the safety of humanity, because a super-powered alien has landed on Earth. Now, even as you look at the movie poster, you can quickly determine, yes, the man on top is the bad guy, the hedgehog is the good guy. As you watch the movie, you begin to cheer for Sonic and you celebrate when he finally has victory at the end of the movie. But let's be honest, if this afternoon, a blue super powered alien hedgehog landed on earth, We would absolutely want the government to take whatever means necessary to capture this hedgehog and make sure that we were all safe. We would not be thinking, yes, let's rebel against the government because we really love this hedgehog. In 2014, the show, The 100, debuted. Now, The 100, the premise of this show, The 100, is that there's been nuclear war on Earth And Earth is now not livable. And so humanity has to go live in space, in a space station. And I didn't intentionally pick shows about space, it just kinda worked out that way. Humanity has to go live in this space station. But there's a problem. They're running out of room in the space station. And those in authority in the show are the adults on the space station, the parents on the space station. And so they decide, we're gonna send 100 teenagers to Earth, to decide if Earth is livable to see if we can survive there. Now they don't pick just any random 100 teenagers. All of these 100 teenagers have committed crimes and been arrested. So we would say that they are juvenile delinquents. They've rebelled against their parents. They've rebelled against the people in space who are trying to keep them alive because they wanna live how they wanna live. They wanna make their own decisions. It sounds kinda similar to the teenagers that we see every day. But when they get to Earth, they find out, yes, Earth is livable. Not only is it livable, there are still humans on Earth. And these 100 teenagers continue to do the same thing on Earth that they did in space. They rebel against the adults because they wanna live how they wanna live, and they think their decisions are the best. So this show came out in 2014. Is this a new trend in Hollywood? Like, just within the last decade, as Hollywood decided that we wanna have this underlying tone of rebelling against authority and getting people to rebel against authority. Well, let's go all the way back to 1977. And I know there are some people in here this morning who aren't gonna like this illustration like this example. But in 1977, there weren't nine Star Wars movies and however many TV shows and countless number of books. When those of you who were alive in 1977 went to the theater to see Star Wars for the first time, or maybe you were like me and you saw it for the first time on VHS tape at home and you didn't know anything about Star Wars, all you were told was that there was an evil empire and there was a galactic civil war going on. There was this group of rebels trying to overthrow the empire. At no point in the movie are you told why the empire is evil. Is it because they have weapons and they kill people? Could be, but you know who also has weapons and kills people in the movie? The rebels who are trying to overthrow the empire. We're told by Han Solo that the empire is evil and they're bad, but Han Solo is a smuggler and a criminal. So I don't think we can count on him to have an unbiased opinion of the empire. Now again, these are more lighthearted examples. I've seen all of these or read the books that these are based on. My point is not to sway you one way or the other in watching these shows. My point that I want to make is Hollywood has an agenda. They have an agenda for our children and for our teenagers. They don't want our teenagers to be obedient to authority. They don't want our teenagers to grow up and follow the Lord. So, dad, mom, we have to be vigilant about what. Get yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority, or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good, you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a coverup for evil. Live as God's slaves. Show proper respect to everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Just like servants were to obey the king in Ecclesiastes when it was written, we are to obey those who are put in authority over us. Now this does not mean that you are always going to agree with those who are in authority over you. In fact, I can guarantee you won't. We can just look at dynamics of children and parents and see that, yeah, we are not always going to agree with those who are in authority over us. But Scripture doesn't say obey and respect those that you agree with. Scripture also teaches us to pray for those in authority. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul writes, I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God, our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Paul does not just tell us in 1 Timothy 2, pray for those in authority over you. He tells us why we should pray for them. It's so we can live peaceful, quiet lives. We should pray for them because this pleases God and because God wants all people to come to a saving knowledge of him. And parents, this begins at home. Living this out begins at home. Demonstrate to your children what it looks like to obey and respect and pray for those in authority over you, even when you disagree with them. Because your children are going to disagree with you. And if they see dad and mom still respecting and praying for those in authority over them, They are gonna learn, parents, to obey you and respect you and even to pray for you. What greater gift as a parent than to have our children praying for us? When we respond this way to authority, even authority we disagree with, it points people to Jesus. Especially in the culture that we live in, and the divisiveness that politics brings in our culture today. Brothers and sisters, when we respond this way, this gives us an opportunity to tell those that don't know Jesus who Jesus is. Now, having said all of this about authority and our response to authority, I recognize there may be some mixed feelings out there right now. There may be a little bit of tension out there right now, considering in the next three weeks, three or four weeks, we're gonna know who the new president is, there's an election going on. I didn't plan this. The Lord planned this a long time ago. I didn't just decide, hey, Jerry, I wanna preach on authority. Jerry said, Corey, you're preaching Ecclesiastes 8, 1-8. no matter who wins the election this fall. Whether it's the candidate that you agree with, and you voted for, and you like, or it's the candidate you didn't agree with, and you didn't vote for, and you didn't like. Scripture is clear on how we should respond to those in authority. Whether it's authority at home, students with your mom and your dad, of whether it's the authority in the Oval Office. And in Romans 13, Paul tells us why we should respond with obedience, respect, and prayer, starting in verse one of Romans 13. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. We respond with obedience, with respect, and with prayer because God is our ultimate authority. God sits in authority over all creation, and there is no human authority in existence that he has not ordained or he has not allowed. So that's why it doesn't matter who wins the election this fall, because God already knows who's gonna win. God is in control, not who's in the White House, not who the governor of our state is. God is in complete control of all of his creation. He knows the future. No one has power over the wind, and no one has power over death. There is no human authority, no president, no boss, no parents, no authority whatsoever that can do any of these things. But there is one king who knows the future, and there is one king who has power over the wind and the waves, and there is one king who has power over death, and he is the king of kings, he is the Lord of lords, he has all authority, and his name is Jesus. And salvation comes to us only through Jesus. Forgiveness of sins comes only through Jesus. The only place that we can safely put our hope is in Jesus. It's not in who wins the election this fall or who wins the election in four years or eight years. It is only in Jesus. He is the only authority who will not fail us, who will never let us down. And if you have not surrendered your life to Jesus this morning, if you cannot say that He is your King and your Lord, I invite you to do that today. Romans tells us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, we believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. And you see, everything that the author of Ecclesiastes was teaching his original audience, it's true for us when it comes to being a servant of our King, Jesus. We are to obey his every command. We are never to support something that he would be against. And certainly, we never want to leave his presence. Thank God that one day for all of us who have put our faith in Jesus, when the United States is a distant memory and this earth is gone and there's a new heaven and a new earth, those of us who surrender to Christ will live forever physically in his presence and we will never before we move to our application this morning, I wanna give us two situations when it's okay to disobey those in authority. Now students, teenagers that are in here this morning, I want you to really pay attention. Do not go home and tell your parents you're not gonna wash the dishes or you're not gonna fold your clothes, because Pastor Corey said that there's times when it's okay to disobey authority. I'm giving you two specific instances, students, when you can disobey authority, not just whenever you don't want to. The first situation in when it is okay to disobey human authority is when obedience to authority means disobedience to God. When obeying human authority means disobedience to God, it is okay and right to disobey that authority. And I wanna give you two examples, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. In Daniel chapter six, some government officials were jealous of Daniel. They were jealous of his popularity and his authority and his power that the kings had given him over the years. So they went to King Darius. And they said, King Darius, we think it would be a really good idea for you to make a law that says people can only pray to you for the next 30 days. We think you should make a law that says you can't pray to any other human or any other God for the next 30 days. And King Darius says, you know, I think that's a really good idea. So King Darius signs this law, and says if you disobey the law, if you pray to any other human or any other God for the next 30 days, you will be cast into the lion's den. And in Daniel 6 verse 10, this is Daniel's response. Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened to Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed. giving thanks to his God just as he had done before. Daniel still respected King Darius, but Daniel refused to obey a man when it meant disobeying God. And so just as he had done before, he went home and he prayed three times a day. We know the rest of the story. Daniel was thrown into the lion's den and God shut the mouths of the lions. And the next day, King Darius comes and he sees that Daniel's fine. And he takes all those other government officials and all their family with them and throws them in the lion's den. And before they hit the bottom, the lions tear them to pieces. In Acts chapter four, Peter and John are arrested for preaching the gospel, and they're put in jail overnight. And the next morning, they're brought before the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the ruling authority over the Jews in that day, and they question them. The Sanhedrin questions Peter and John, and ultimately, they command them to stop teaching in the name of Jesus. And in Acts 4, 19, this is how Peter, as for us, We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. They go right on preaching the gospel. The Sanhedrin says, hey, don't do this. They said, nope, we can't stop doing this. They go right on preaching the gospel, and in Acts chapter five, they are arrested again, and they are brought before the Sanhedrin again. And in Acts five, verse 27, we read, the apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. "'We gave you strict orders not to teach in Jesus' name,' he said. "'Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching "'and are determined to make us guilty of Jesus' blood.' "'Peter and the other apostles replied, "'We must obey God rather than human beings.'" The apostles refused to obey man because it meant disobeying God. After this, the Sanhedrin have Peter and James beaten and they order them again not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore. And in Acts 5, 41 and 42, we read, the apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name. Day after day in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped preaching, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. Even after being beaten and being commanded multiple times not to teach in the name of Jesus, day after day in the temple courts, from house to house, they never stopped teaching the good news that salvation only comes through Jesus. that forgiveness of sins only comes through Jesus, that eternal life only comes through Jesus. When obeying human authority means that you have to disobey God, it is good and right to disobey human authority in those instances. And the second, situation when it's okay to disobey authority is when authority is used abusively. We acknowledge that we live in a fallen, sinful world. And unfortunately, there are times when authority is used abusively. And if you are ever in a situation where it's being used abusively against you, whether it's physical abuse, emotional abuse, mental or sexual abuse, it is good and right to apply this passage to our lives today. The first way that we apply this passage is to pray for those in authority over you, but put your hope in God. Pray for those in authority over you. Pray for the president. Pray for the vice president. Pray for your bosses, students. Pray for your parents. But put your hope in God. Don't put your hope in an elected official. Don't put your hope in your boss at work. Put your hope in God, not in some other human. And the second way that we can apply this to our lives this morning is to respond to and use authority in a way that points people to Jesus. We should respond to earthly authority in a way that points people to Jesus. And if you are a person who is in authority this morning, if you're a parent, if you're a boss, if you are a government official, Use your authority in a way that points people to Jesus. Recognize that God has given you that authority and that responsibility to lead others to Jesus.