The following message was given at Grace Community Church in Mendon, Nevada. Well, let's take our Bibles and turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Ecclesiastes chapter 9. We're going to read the first 10 verses and this is the reading of God's holy and inspired word. For I've taken all this to my heart and explain it that Righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hate. Anything awaits him. It is the same event for all. There's one fate for the righteous and for the wicked, for the good and for the clean and for the unclean, for the man who offers sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner. As the swearer, the one who makes an oath, so is the one who is afraid to make an oath. This is an evil. and all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards, they go to the dead. For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope. Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know they will die, but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward for their memory is forgotten. Indeed, their love, their hate, their zeal have already perished. and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun. Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life, which he has given to you under the sun, for this is your reward in life and your toil in which you have labored under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for there's no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom and shield where you are going. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides forever. Amen. You may be seated. Let's pray together. All glory be to Christ. His rule and reign will never end. All glory be to Christ. Father, we gather here on this first day of the week. Most of the world is home watching football or doing other things, but we're here in this place where things of lasting value take place. And so we would plead with you this afternoon that you would do our souls eternal good. Father, we do pray today for our dear brother, Marshall Smith, who is seemingly close to going home to be with you. We pray that you would sustain and strengthen our brother, and that when his time comes, he would close his eyes in faith and wake up with a sight of his Savior. We now pray that you would speak to us through your word. In Jesus' name, amen. So this morning, we finished up chapter eight, and we're not gonna review any of that, but then we got into chapter nine, and chapter nine is, in a sense, the explanation or the unfolding of the mystery of providence. So there's a mystery at the end of chapter eight of the righteous actually suffering like the wicked and the wicked prospering like the righteous and God is in control over all of it and Solomon's counsel to us is to enjoy life. I commend pleasure, he says. And then he goes back around, if you will, and talks about the incomprehensibility of God's work. And God's work is unfathomable because God himself is incomprehensible. And there's a mystery to his plan. There's a mystery to providence. We don't understand all that God is doing. And what Solomon's going to do is he's gonna start giving us, in a sense, examples of the mystery of providence. And the first thing that he does in verse one is he tells us that everything is in the hand of God, so the deeds of the righteous and of the wise, they're in the hand of God, and you don't know whether you're gonna experience love or hate, both are before you, and the idea is, is that the wisdom of the wise and the righteousness of the righteous doesn't secure any set outcome, there is no formula, there is no way, by the way, to determine whether God likes you or not, based on the circumstances of your life. It's an absolute mistake to think, well, I got a flat tire on the way to work, what did I do? Why is God upset with me? You don't know. You can't tell who God's friends are on the basis of how God treats his friends. There's no formula for us that interprets life. The second thing that is part of the mystery of providence is that death itself is an indiscriminate killer. You're going to die no matter how you live, whether you're religious, irreligious, whatever the case, we are all going to experience the same event, and that is death. And then Solomon says that there's this evil that's done under the sun, and that is the same event happens to absolutely everybody. And so we know that we're going to die, but the evil person still has a heart full of evil, and that is absolutely mysterious. And then Solomon tells us that there's actually an advantage to breathing. And the advantage, of course, is that a live dog is better than a dead lion. And here's the reality, the living know that they're going to die. So why is that an advantage? Well, because it affords us the the opportunity to reckon with the reality of death. Those who have already died have no more opportunity to reckon with the reality of death. The reality's already come. But if you're alive and you have the opportunity to reckon with your own death, you have the opportunity, as we said this morning, to live life backwards. That is, in light of knowing that you're going to die, you can now live life to the full. be prepared to meet God, have the opportunity to embrace life as a gift, to enjoy it. Death brings an end to all of those opportunities. And so what Kohelet is going to tell us is that when somebody dies, all of the opportunities of enjoying this life, all of the opportunities of the sweetness of this life are actually now no more from this side of the grave. And so death is an enemy that robs us of life. And so in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon never ever romanticizes death. You know, we live in a culture, it's odd, isn't it? We live in a death culture. that then turns around and romanticizes death. We celebrate abortion, we celebrate suicide, and Solomon would say, you are out of your mind. There is nothing that is good about death. And so, Solomon is not just going to cave in. Kohelet is not the kind to say, wow, all that bad news, I think I'll dig a hole and hide in it. Kohelet is actually going to meet the mystery of providence that culminates in death, and he's gonna meet it head on. He absolutely refuses to let death rob him of God's gift. It's as if he is digging in his heels and he is saying, death is not going to swindle me out of enjoying the gift that God has given to me. And so what do we do? In light of living, knowing we're gonna die, what do we do when not knowing when we're going to die, what do we do? Well, you kick death in the teeth by really living while you live. That's what you do. You pull the fangs right out of death by living well and embracing joy and loving the gift. I wanna say, let that sink in to you. Let it sink in. The more that you enjoy this life, the more you put death to shame. And so what Solomon is now going to do in verses seven to 10, is he's going to teach us how to live before you die. And I wanna know that. I said that this is one of the most important passages in the book of Ecclesiastes, and it's because this section that we looked at this morning and this afternoon is really the message of Ecclesiastes in a nutshell. Now Solomon is going to say, let me just read it for you, verse seven, go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart. Now, some people read that and they basically say, oh, well, what Solomon's doing here is he's just sort of resigning to the meaninglessness of life with the only remedy being a modicum of pleasure. And I wanna say that is absolutely 110% wrong. When Solomon actually says, go then, eat your bread, drink your wine, have a happy heart, he's not just saying, don't worry, be happy, you're gonna die, loser. He's actually telling us, live this life with full-orbed joy and it will lead to sanctification. and it will lead to the glorification of God. So God's will for your life is to enjoy this life as a gift. And in fact, God commands you to enjoy this life. In the Havel, in the mystery, in the sadness, he says, enjoy this life. You know there is a reality, and some of you have experienced it, of being joyful even while sorrowing. And so Solomon is gonna teach us something here. Now he's gonna give us a four-fold prescription for how to live before you die. Or you could think of it this way, a four-fold prescription for enjoying life, okay? So I see two doctors here. You write prescriptions and you expect people to do what? Take them, right? Craig, let me ask you a question. Let's say somebody comes in and they're sick, and you've diagnosed the problem, and you've given them a prescription, and you tell them, you take this, you'll get better. They come back two weeks and they're worse. And you say, did you take the prescription? And they say, no. What are you gonna tell them? Okay. I'd tell them to get lost and find a new doctor, all right? If you trust the doctor, what do you do? You take the prescription, all right? This is not just good ideas. You have lots of different options, and here are a few good ideas. This is God's prescription to us. And it's gonna sound to some of you not spiritual enough, and I wanna just say that's your problem. First prescription, enjoy food. Okay, I wanna tell you, there is a theology of food. So notice, eat your bread, and he's not just talking about your wonder bread, he's talking about your meals, your food, your sustenance. Eat your bread in happiness, drink your wine with a cheerful heart. And so, one writer says this, he says, when men understand the futility of earthly existence, and they understand it in the way that Solomon presents it to us, then they're equipped to eat their bread. Perhaps for the first time. So, enjoy food. You go, well, that sounds so earthy. It is. But food's a gift from God. And good-tasting food is a good gift from God. So follow my logic. All food is a gift from God, but good-tasting food is a good gift from God. Okay, which excludes certain things, like rubella. So God takes delight when we enjoy his gifts. This is what I want to actually just drill home to you. God takes pleasure when we take pleasure in his gifts. And so, first piece of divine prescription. Light up the barbecue. Marinate a steak. Bake a potato. Use butter and sour cream. Don't forget the salad. Well, maybe. And then sit down and eat it with a thankful heart to the glory of God. Do you know that that is just as spiritual as teaching kindergarten Sunday school? Eat a good meal with a thankful heart, giving glory to God. And you go, well, that sounds so earthy. Of course. The things of earth are a gift from God. They're temporary, they're passing, they are havel. But here's the reality, God has given them to you to enjoy. And so as the food delights the taste buds, give thanks. Sure, I'll say it, don't overeat, don't abuse the gifts, don't become a glutton, don't eat steak and baked potatoes and butter and sour cream every night, but for the sake of God's glory, enjoy the food that He's given to you. Well, that doesn't sound very New Testament-y. Well, it most certainly does. Paul, 1 Timothy 4, verse 4, everything created by God is good. And nothing is to be rejected if it's received with gratitude, for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. So the next imperative makes some of you a little nervous. Drink your wine with a cheerful heart. Now, wine in the Bible is not viewed from the prohibitionist perspective. Rather, it's viewed from the psalmist perspective, which sees wine as the gift of God that makes the heart glad, Psalm 104, verses 14 and 15. In fact, in the Bible, wine has a connection with God's blessing and with celebration, and that connection is unmistakable And again, it's too bad that we have to say it, but we live in a fallen world and we ourselves are fallen. Kohelet is not advocating abusing God's gifts, but he is advocating using God's gifts for God's glory by us enjoying God's gifts. Now of course the Bible prohibits drunkenness, and there are people, there are believers who should never drink wine again, just because it's just an area that makes provision for the flesh. But just generally speaking, as a principle, this is the idea of actually enjoying the life that God has given with something as simple as the fruit of the vine. And then Solomon turns around, he says something really odd, he says, for God has accepted your works. Eat your food with happiness, drink your wine with gladness, because God's accepted your works. Actually, this statement is a profound statement of liberation. So our works are in God's hands, 9-1, right? And if we live by the standard formulas of the fallible interpretations of providence, we'll never know whether we're accepted by God or not. You do understand that, right? If you live according to the standard formulas, of interpreting providence, you'll never know whether you're accepted by God or not. But if you live by divine revelation in the scriptures, knowing that God has accepted you, and he's accepted the work of your hands, then what that does is it liberates you from being on a performance track. And if you're living life on a performance track, what you're doing is you're trying to eke out favor from God. Rather, be liberated. and understand that you're on the already accepted track. And because of that, you now have a capacity to enjoy life as God's good gift. So listen carefully. Assurance of acceptance with God empowers us to enjoy God and his gifts to us. If I'm on the performance track and I'm not sure that God has accepted me, accepted my works, right, then what am I doing? Can I actually enjoy life to the full being on the performance track? And the answer's no. I'm always gonna be haunted by, did I use too much sour cream? God's accepted your works. live in the full assurance of God having accepted you because of Jesus Christ and his righteousness, and that absolutely liberates you to enjoy God's good gifts without worrying about, did I do that too much, did I do that too little? You just enjoy the gifts of God, the glory of God. So first prescription, enjoy your food. Second prescription, be a joyful person. Verse eight, I love this. Let your clothes be white all the time. You hear that, little boys? And let not oil be lacking on your head. You go, that's weird. So wear white clothes and put oil on your head? Actually, verse eight, is the antithesis to sackcloth and ashes. Sackcloth and ashes are a symbol of what? Grief and mourning. And so Solomon is telling us, listen, the apparel of grief is not what you're to be. Being a dour person who is always a bummer is bad advertising for the gospel of the glorious and blessed God. And so, get rid of the sackcloth and ashes, so to speak, put on the clothes of celebration. So the picture is one of, it's celebratory. It's not saying, make sure you wear cool clothes, get expensive haircuts and wear really good gel. But it is saying, Don't walk around like the sky is falling. Maybe it is. But don't let that rob your joy in this really short gift called life. Are there times where it seems like the sky is falling? Yeah, it's called election day. Actually, it's not even called election day, it's called election week. Solomon says, here's the divine prescription. Don't be a miserable, cranky person. Don't be a Dolores Aguilar, right, from the morning service. Don't be like that. Be a person who is actually joyful. Old Charles Bridges says, the charge of melancholy is a libel upon religion. One of the things, when I go around and preach in different places, people will say, so tell me about Ariel, tell me about your wife. I say the same thing all the time. She's absolutely crazy. I say she is the most consistently joyful, happy person that I know. And you know the kind of people you want to be around? At the end of the day, who do you want to be around? The grumbling crank? Or the person that actually just has a cheerful heart? John Newton, who I think knew a lot about cheerful, happy heart in Jesus, writes these words, solid joys and lasting treasure, none but Zion's children know. So let me just say something to you if you are a miserable person. A joyless person. No one will miss you when you die. If you're a person who enjoys life and enjoys the gifts of God, you are by definition a spreader of that joy. And you will be missed. So prescription two, be a joyful person. You say, well, what am I supposed to do? I mean, I'm just, I'm Dutch, I can't help it. Sorry, Dave Bogman. Dave's a joyful Dutchman. They just show it differently. You're not a joyful person. What do you do? Do you believe that when God saved you, the love that exists within the Trinity between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is poured out into your heart through the Holy Spirit who was given to you so that now you have the capacity? to be a loving person. Do you believe that's true? So the resources to be a loving person are there, right? You may have to relearn some things to employ that, but the resources are there. I wanna say just as sure as the eternal love within the Trinity exists and is a gift to you, so the eternal joy that is within the Trinity is also given to you. Part of what happens to us as we come into union with Christ, part of what happens to us as we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit is not only do we partake of the love of our triune God, but we partake of the joy of our triune God. And so the capacity is there. The capacity is there. So enjoy your food. Be a joyful person, verse nine, number three, enjoy your spouse. Every wedding, we have lots of them. Every time I sign a card, I'll write Ecclesiastes 9.9. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love. all the days of your fleeting life, which he has given to you under the sun, for this is your reward in life and your toil in which you have labored under the sun. So Kohelet, what he does here in verse nine is that he shows us that marriage is a vital ingredient in defying death's dark pull. Marriage is a gift from God. Marriage is a gift of joining together a man and a woman in love. It's significant that Kohelet actually adds the woman whom you love. One commentator says, the point is that man should marry a woman he loves, not say one who only brings a hefty dowry or family connections. And so the idea of marriage from Ecclesiastes perspective is that there is this beautiful relationship that is called marriage and there is romance. Don't let being reformed destroy the idea of romance. Believe in romance, I'm reformed. No! Romance, dare we say, sexual intimacy, and the companionship of marriage are supposed to be among the most exquisite delights in this short blip on the screen life. And so when Kohelet says, all the days of your fleeting life, he's telling you marriage brings a sweetness to your short days. Marriage is an elixir in our death row cell. It's a part of our portion, it's a part of our reward in the midst of toil. And so since that's God's design, Married people, there ought to be a sanctified indulgence in the joys of marriage. When we lived on Hornet, I poured, I don't do concrete, but I poured concrete in the backyard to fill in a planter that we'd pulled out. And I wrote on it, Proverbs 5, 18 and 19. And Ariel comes out to see my handiwork and she sees the text. Actually, I wrote Brian and Ariel, Proverbs 5, 18 and 19. And she looks and she says, is that the passage I think it is? I said, you better believe it. She says, what if the people who buy the house don't look that passage up? Maybe their marriage will get better or they'll get saved. You need to take that out, no I don't. Let your fountain be blessed. And rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breast satisfy you at all times. Be intoxicated always with her love. The Bible forbids intoxication, except here. Be intoxicated with her love. You cannot tell me that the Bible is not interested in an intimate, wonderful, romantic, loving relationship between a husband and a wife. And in fact, when that is the case, that marriage, enjoying the pleasures of marriage and the joys of marriage is a glory to God. You know what's not a glory to God? Being at each other's throats all the time. You know what's not a glory to God? Being a cranky, critical husband. You know what's not a glory to God? Being a chirping, dripping wife. That doesn't bring God glory. You want to glorify God in your marriage? For the love of God, enjoy your marriage. Now, I'm very aware that some application needs to be made here. Because for some, God does not give this gift. And they remain single their whole life. And if that's you, what you need to hear is this. Marriage is not what completes you. It's Jesus Christ who completes you. And so if God withholds this gift from you, seek your contentment in him and look to the other gifts that he's given to you to enjoy. Second, for those who do enjoy this gift, remember, God one day will take it away. When that day comes, and your spouse goes into the presence of the Lord, the sadness and the sorrow will be there. But so will the joys of the gift while you had it. Don't let the sorrows and the grief overshadow the joy that God gave to you while he gave it. My hero is Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards was more romantic than you might think. But Edwards died of a smallpox inoculation 30 days after taking the presidency at Princeton. His dear wife, Sarah, wrote this letter to their daughter, Esther. By the way, Esther would die before she ever read this letter. And this is what Sarah Edwards, that saintly, godly woman, said. My very dear child, what shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. Oh, that we may kiss the rod and lay our hands on our mouths. The Lord has done it. Now listen to this. He has made me adore his goodness. that we had him so long. But my God lives, and he has my heart. Oh, what a legacy my husband and your father has left us. We're all given to God, and there I am, and love to be your very ever affectionate mother, Sarah Edwards. For however long you have each other, That is God's gift to you. For those who have the gift but don't enjoy it, repent. You say, well, that's easy for you to say. There's too much water under our bridge Too many hurts. Too much misery, not enough joy. And what I want to say to you on the basis of God's word is nonsense. God is a God of restoration. In Joel chapter two, he makes up for the years that the locusts have eaten. And you might say to your own little shriveled black heart, Well, I don't like the gift that God gave me. This is Christmas morning and sibling number one gets the GI Joe. And you get socks. And you go, I don't like the gift. If God would have given me that gift or that gift, then I'd really be happy. If you sit there and you say, I don't like the gift God gave me, repent. Because that man or that woman is the gift that God has given to you. Don't ruin the gift. by perpetually not liking it, wishing it was different. Grumbling and complaining about your spouse is the heart of not only discontent, but it is the heart of rebellion. So you say to yourself, OK. I unwrap the package and. God help me. When you look at that spouse, that wife, that husband. And maybe it is absolutely true that God has some serious work to do on the gift that he gave you. But I would remind you that he has serious work to do on you too. And so if you struggle, learn how to pray with each other. Learn how to pray for each other. And I don't mean, oh God, have mercy on my soul, please. This gift you gave me is no bueno. No. You actually pray for your spouse. And you pray for yourself. Maybe, just maybe, you are the biggest problem. You know, the reason that I might suggest that is because there's this passage, you may have heard of it, You're going to go and try to take a speck out of your brother's eye. And all the while, you have a log in your own. One of the reasons some couples can never enter into any kind of conflict resolution is because they both have logs in their eyes that are so large that they bludgeon each other to death within 10 feet of each other. Get into the word together. You know, it's hard to be angry with somebody that you've just prayed with, read scripture with, and start to grow. You're going to be accountable if you made the other person miserable. Fourth prescription, then we're done. Work hard. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. There's no activity, planning, knowledge, and wisdom and shield where you're going. In other words, there's a limited time to work. And so Kohelet concludes this section with a command to have a positive, robust, hearty approach to life and to work. And so there's absolutely nothing half-hearted about His instruction, right? So whatever your hand finds to do, you do it with all your might. That pertains to your work, it pertains to your marriage, it pertains to your worship, it pertains to your enjoyment, earnestness in what God gives us, helps us to enjoy it. Of course, the refrain comes back about death, but death is not then thrown back in our faces to sort of scare us. So work hard while you still have time, because one of these days you're gonna die. The idea is, look, you have a short period of time. to actually do this, to enjoy it, to be an earnest person, to be a person that pursues the enjoyment of God by doing everything you can with all of your might. One of these days, those days are gonna be past. And so in a sense, work hard, be energetic, be zealous while you still can. Those are the four prescriptions. So you can do these today. Have a really nice dinner. Not a frozen burrito. Be a joyful person. Don't get in the car and just start criticizing. Get in the car and start commending and praising and affirming and just being joyful. Watch the sunset with your spouse. And marvel at the glory of God. And then everything that you have to do that's put in front of you, you do it with all of your might. No half-hearted effort. You do it with all of your might. So a distorted view of worldliness or earthliness may actually sap the pleasures out of this life which God has required us to enjoy. What is he demanded that we enjoy? The things of earth is the gifts of God. When we enjoy God's gifts as gifts from him, we enjoy them, but we do not worship them. When we enjoy God's gifts as gifts, we glorify God. And I said this a couple weeks ago, and since we sang it, I need to say it again. We sing this song, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. There's a sense where that's true. The more your heart is for heaven, the less attached you are to the idols of this age. But I wanna say that Kohelet would twist that a little bit. And he would say, turn your eyes on Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, for the things of earth grow strangely bright in the light of his glory and his grace. Why is that? Because God's gifts to us in this life, listen carefully, God's gifts to us in this life are a precursor to the new heavens and the new earth. where we will enjoy all of God's gifts and all of God's blessings with unsinning hearts, without the specter of death peering over our shoulders, and without the pain of Hevel, it'll all be gone, and what we experience and taste right now in terms of the goodness of God and the enjoyment and the pleasures that He's given to us actually speak of greater joys and greater pleasures in the age to come. So don't disdain the gifts here, which are simply a precursor to the gifts there. These gifts in the new heavens and the new earth, yes, better and brighter will they be if Christ is ours. If Christ Jesus, Christ God's greatest gift is ours by faith, then all the lesser gifts of this life grow strangely bright. And then in the life to come, all of the greatest gifts will be enjoyed with no more tears, no more pain, no more death. No more death. When on that day, the great I am, the faithful and the true, the lamb who was for sinners slain is making all things new. Behold, our God shall live with us and be our steadfast light and we shall air his people be all glory be to Christ. Father, we thank you. that you've given us these short, fleeting lives to live and Lord, we pray that you'd forgive us. for seeking our own misery and the misery of others, whether by our sins or our pride, Lord, whatever the case, and we pray that you would give us an earnest, passionate desire to glorify you by enjoying the things that you've given us in this life for your sake. We pray, Father, that as we take pleasure in the good things of life, whether it's a meal or our marriage, whatever it may be, that our hearts would be filled with a gratitude. This, too, is the gift of God. Receive our praise in Jesus' name, amen. We hope that you were edified by this message. For additional sermons as well as information on giving to the ministry of Grace Community Church, please visit us online at gracenevada.com. That's gracenevada.com.