Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of life. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Preaching and teaching God's word is a dangerous responsibility. Preaching and teaching God's word is a dangerous responsibility because sometimes people can misunderstand and misapply what you are striving to explain from the text. And sometimes, as the preacher, you fail in your clarifying the truths of God's word in a biblical, balanced, and practical way. Said another way, one reason some people do not benefit from the public proclamation of God's word as they should is their fault. It's possible that the hearers were not listening properly. And by the way, there is a difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is passive. Hearing is the act of perceiving sound. But listening is active. Listening involves the process of paying attention to and interpreting that sound in its proper context. Parents, you know something about this. Have you ever heard or have you ever said, are you hearing me? Let me assure you, they are hearing you. They just may not be listening to you. One reason some people do not benefit from the public proclamation of God's word as they should is their own fault. Another reason some people do not benefit from the public proclamation of God's word as they should can be the preacher's fault. It's possible for the preacher to assume that everyone understands what he is saying or trying to say. Correspondingly, it is possible for the preacher to fail to explain any unnecessary misconceptions in the hearts and minds of his hearers. Again, parents, when you say something to your child and you want them to listen, Sometimes it's important for you to take the time to clarify what you mean in different ways so that there are no misunderstandings about the truth you are trying to communicate. So I say again, preaching and teaching God's word is a dangerous responsibility. It's an honorable responsibility. but it is a hazardous responsibility. We're talking about the truths of God's word and eternal souls. Now in my wrestling with the Lord about what to speak to you about this evening, thoughts started flooding my mind about the proper interpretation of the book of Ecclesiastes. Having just begun a new preaching series through the book of Ecclesiastes on Sunday mornings, I want to make sure that I'm leading you to correctly comprehend the meaning of its message in a way that is biblical, balanced, and practical. Knowing that Ecclesiastes is a book of the Bible that is not commonly preached, knowing that some of the phraseology in the book can be a little difficult to grasp, and knowing that there have been wrong interpretations about the meaning of the book throughout the years that leads to confusion about the message and the meaning. As the under-shepherd of this spiritual flock, I want to make sure that I do everything to help you received the truths of God's word in its original, literary, historical, theological, Christ-centered context. So that being said, in the time that we have together this evening, I want to communicate and reiterate a few truths as it relates to reading, studying, and understanding Solomon's summary of life under the sun. lest we are led to believe things we shouldn't believe, lest we are led to practice things we shouldn't practice. I want to give you several interpretive keys that will help you unlock the sermon that Solomon preaches. So let's go back to the first sermon and think about the author. This is point number one. And under this first point, I want to give you five connecting sub-points. Point number one is the author. The author is King Solomon, the son of David, the one who ruled from Jerusalem over Israel for 40 years. Let's think about his ancestry. Solomon was, as I've mentioned, the son of David, the man after God's own heart. By the way, Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. He was, can we say, an illegitimate child? One not born through holy matrimony? This is an encouragement to us, isn't it? God can take that which is crooked and make it straight. God can use our sinful messes for our good and his eternal glory, praise the Lord. But this is his ancestry. He grew up in the palace under his father, David, and he saw things that pertained to the kingdom, that pertained to ruling and reigning as king. And then when he took the baton from his father, David, we read in scripture that God blessed him with a unique understanding. He was well-educated. God gave Solomon an opportunity to ask for anything in life Rather than asking for fame or riches, Solomon asked for an understanding heart. He asked for wisdom to do God's work in God's way. And not only did God bless him with that specific request, God added to that and gave him riches and honor and blessing after blessing. So we perceive something of his ancestry, his father, David. growing up in the palace, understanding things as it pertains to the kingdom. We understand also his achievements and his attainments. He was one of the wisest man who has ever lived. He was one of the most successful kings in Israel's history. His 40 year tenure as king can be summed up in two words, peace and prosperity. Never once did Solomon enter into war, which mean that he could pour his whole time and energy into making Israel a prosperous country to live in. Throughout scripture we read that Solomon was used of the Lord to build the first temple in Jerusalem. Solomon constructed an elaborate royal palace. Solomon significantly expanded his military particularly his cavalry and chariot forces. Solomon fortified and rebuilt different cities for defense and trade. And furthermore, Solomon was a well-renowned author who penned the Book of Proverbs along with an abundance of songs that inspire God's people to worship their Lord. According to 1 Kings 4, 32, Solomon penned 3,000 proverbs and over 1,000 songs. Solomon is also the author of the Song of Solomons, or the Song of Songs, as well as this book we call Ecclesiastes. So we see his ancestry, we see something of his achievements and attainments, and then it's important that we remember his aberration, or his deviation from God. 1 Kings 1-10 speaks of Solomon's progress in his own spiritual life, in his ruling and reigning as king, in his being a great influence around the world. And then we come to 1 Kings 11. And 1 Kings 11 records Solomon's downfall or his backsliding. In 1 Kings 11, the Lord would have us to know that Solomon's heart was turned away from the Lord through sexual lust and being politically motivated by marriage. In short, the wisest man became the biggest fool. But then we see forth his age. While we do not know the specific year of age through which he wrote the letter of Ecclesiastes, we do know from what we read in Ecclesiastes that this is his Psalm 51 exclamation. Solomon was living for the Lord for the greater portion of his life. He strayed from following the Lord wholly. He started worshiping gods that were no gods at all. And Ecclesiastes is his repentant sermon. Ecclesiastes is Solomon in his older age, looking back at his life. Parents, grandparents, you know what this is like. Don't you? We do this. even at 39 years old, I do this. There are times in which we want to gather our children and tell them of things that we thought were important that in the assessment of scripture are not very important anymore. We want to gather them together as an assembly and speak truth as it pertains to mistakes that we've made and lessons we've learned along the way so they won't follow in our footsteps. This is Solomon. This is the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon is preaching a sermon. Remember, he's a preacher, and he is saying, listen, I had this, I did this, I was this, but that's not the most important thing in life. And then we assess his attitude. We see his ancestry, his achievements and attainments, his aberration, his age, and then his attitude. His attitude. In your reading of Ecclesiastes, you must remember that Solomon is not some kind of Ebenezer Scrooge who looks at everything in life and says, humbug. Solomon is not saying, well, that's dumb, and that's dumb, and that's dumb, and that's dumb, and unless I'm reading my Bible, praying, worshiping the Lord at church on Sundays, or evangelizing in the marketplace, my life is a waste. Solomon is not saying that. Solomon is not the brother of the Grinch. He is not some old geezer who refuses to see the silver lining behind the dark clouds of life. On the contrary, he is speaking of life as an honest observer. Remember, I said Solomon is not an optimist, neither is he a pessimist. Solomon is what I'm calling a theological realist. He is a man who is teaching us about life in this real world that has been universally affected by sin. There was a time in this world where everything was perfect. Man dwelt in paradise, but when man fell, sin ruined everything. And with sin ruining everything, man needs a savior. Man needs some hope. Man needs to see that there is life beyond what we see. So there we have point one. Point one is the author. And if you rightly understand truth about the author, you will rightly understand truth about the author's message. Looking to point two, I want us to examine the one overall message that Solomon is seeking to drive home to the hearts of his hearers. Among the entirety of the book of Ecclesiastes, the word habel occurs no less than 39 times, which expresses something of its significance in the message that Solomon is trying to communicate to his hearers. While the Hebrew word habel, which is translated into the English word vanity, can mean unsatisfactory, meaningless, empty, and futile, most Hebrew scholars affirm habel to mean vapor or breath. Vanity of vanities, Solomon says over and over and over, all is vanity. What is he saying? He's saying vapor of vapors, saith the preacher. Vapor of vapors, all is vapor. I wanted to bring some dry ice from Vons and show you what that looks like. Here one moment and gone the next. This is Solomon's summary of life. Life is like a vapor. Life is like a shadow. Life is like a shiny bubble. It's here and then quickly fades away. It's here and pops in your face. For a moment, everything seems as if it will last forever. But in reality, it's frail, it's brief, it's something you cannot fully grasp from a physical standpoint. As hard as you try, you cannot put your hands around vapor and hold on to it. And during those moments you think you can, you will soon find the hard way that it has all vanished away. So Solomon wants his readers to understand, yea, to feel that there is more to life than that which we can see, touch, taste, smell, and hear. Solomon wants his hearers to recognize that there is more to life than that which is physical. His message is to pursue something greater than the kingdom of men, which, by the way, includes our kingdom. Our greatest work on earth, as the text tells us, is to fear God and to keep His commandments. Solomon's message is essentially, look up. Look up. Look beyond yourself. Look beyond this world with all of its education and pleasures and people and look. Look to the king of kings. Look to his kingdom. Look to his word. This is the same message we've been studying from the Psalms of Ascent, right? Look. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence my help comes from the Lord. This is what it means to live in light of eternity, to look up and to gaze at the author and the finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. So this leads me then to clarify in my third point a few needed truths about a balanced application of Solomon's message. Now if we are not careful, we might be tempted to think that when the preacher, this preacher, says that everything in life is sinful and should be avoided because it's all, quote, vanity, it's possible to swing to a place of extreme and overzealousness, okay? possible when you hear vanity of vanities, all is vanity, we ought not to live life under the sun, we ought to live life for God above the sun, you might be tempted to say to yourself, that's it, we're getting rid of the kids' history curriculum, and from now on, we can only study the Bible. Throw away the math, throw away the English, throw away the vocabulary, and you're gonna memorize 50 verses today, whether you like it or not, because that's spiritual. Two plus two equals four is carnal. You might be tempted to think in this message of Ecclesiastes, we're done drinking ice lattes. No more chocolate milk, all we're gonna drink is water now. Throw away the television screens because the pastor said everything that provides entertainment is of the devil. Or perhaps we should find a cottage on the backside of Landers and just stay away from the world altogether so we can serve God with our own whole heart. Vanity of vanity, all is vanity apart from God. So what's the use of having friends, driving cars, owning homes, going on vacations, watching sports, taking the family on vacations, and so on and so forth, right? In my third point, I want to make sure that we have a balanced application of Solomon's message. And in so doing, I want to make a few important declarations as it relates to what Solomon says. And the first declaration I want us to recognize is the truth that not every pursuit and pleasure in life is sinful. Let me say it again, not every pursuit and pleasure in life is sinful. Well, let's take the two pursuits we've considered thus far in our examination of Ecclesiastes, namely the obtaining of knowledge and the pursuit of entertainment and employment and put them under the microscope of God's word. Number one, the obtaining of knowledge in and of itself It's not sinful. It's human. It's normal. I would even say it's noble. God does not want us to be naive and foolish. The Proverbs has a lot to say about that. Knowledge is a gift from the Lord. As I've mentioned before, I'm glad that there are doctors who spend years of their life seeking after medical knowledge. I'm thankful that there are architects who use their brains to design the bridges that I drive on. I expect the pilots who fly the planes that I travel on to have an education about how to fly heavy machinery. I don't want a nitwit flying the plane that I'm on. Paul was a theologian. I'm thankful that there are preachers and pastors who give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word so I can benefit from their wisdom. Now question, can the obtaining of knowledge be sinful? I just said the obtaining of knowledge is in and of itself is not sinful. Now I'm asking, can the obtaining of knowledge be sinful? Answer, yes. Romans chapter one. Professing themselves to be wise, they show themselves to be fools. These are the intellectual atheists and philosophers of our day. They're pursuing an education without God in the picture. It's possible to obtain an education when the goal is to be someone great, when the motive is to debunk the existence of God. And furthermore, not even live in light of God's word. How about the obtaining of pleasure? Is the obtaining of pleasure in and of itself sinful? I would say no. God created this world for us to enjoy. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. Is it sinful to leave here tonight to gaze up into the sky and behold the works of the Lord? God created us as people with taste buds and emotions. Praise the Lord for that. Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the honor and glory of God. Listen, I'm gonna glorify God by having a piece of cheesecake sometime soon. I praise God for taste buds. It's not sinful to hike a beautiful mountain that God has created. It's not sinful to enjoy a nicely cooked steak that God provides through cows. It's not sinful to work. God created us to work. And by the way, work was there before the fall. It's not sinful to be married. Marriage is a gift from the Lord. Sexual intimacy within the bonds of marriage is also a gift from the Lord that ought to be enjoyed frequently. Again, just read Proverbs. Sleep is not sinful. God's word says, we'll come to it soon, Psalm 127, and so he gives his beloved sleep. Encouraging your children to get a good education is not sinful. Watching a baseball game, a football game, a basketball game is not inherently evil. Owning a home is not sinful. Driving a nice car is not sinful. Being rich and successful is not sinful. Job was rich. Abraham was rich. Joseph of Arimathea was rich. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3, 12 and 13, I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice and to do good in his life, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God. Pleasure can be a gift from the Lord. Now let's take that and flip it. Could hiking a mountain that God created be sinful? Sure, if it's keeping you from other Christian responsibilities. Could eating good tasting food be sinful? How about work? Well, if it means you're neglecting your responsibilities at home. What about sleep? Being a lazy bum? The Bible word is being a sloth. You're like a hinge on your bed, you just turn and turn and turn and turn and turn. About owning a home, could that be sinful? Well, yes, if it's obtained in a spirit of discontentment and covetousness, and it drives you to greater levels of debt, that can be sinful. What about encouraging your children to strive for straight A's? Could that be sinful? Sure, of course it can, because you want them to do well so you can go around puffing out your chest saying, look what my kids did, and they're on the presidential honor roll, and I'm a good parent. Meanwhile, they're not walking with the Lord, and you're not emphasizing spiritual things in your home. What about watching sports? Could that be sinful? Of course, if it captivates your mind and your heart and your emotions, and you feel like you have to watch it every single game, and you're irritable if you miss a game. Watching a sports game in and of itself is not wrong, but it could be wrong. So the question remains, how do I know if I'm living above the sun or below the sun? How do I know if something is acceptable in the sight of the Lord or not? Simple answer, by examining your heart by the scriptures. All right, as you examine the scriptures, it's helpful to keep these three points in mind. And I'll close with these. Number one, it's important to seek proper biblical balance. Proper biblical balance, and that word balance is not necessarily used in the scripture, but the idea, the truth is there. God says don't stray to the left and don't stray to the right. We as people have the tendency to overcorrect to the left or to the right. So we need to strive for proper biblical balance. The striving for biblical balance, it's important that we ask ourselves questions. The question we need to ask ourselves is, is there a truth or principle that can support the activity or action we give ourselves to? Or is there a clear command, truth, or principle that forbids or discourages it? All right? Drunkenness, obviously, is a sin that God's word speaks about. Sex outside of marriage, otherwise known as fornication or adultery, is a sin that God hates. Becoming a workaholic so that you have no time for family or the things of God is pursuing things that are under the sun, not above the sun. So you need to ask yourself, is there something that scripture says about this specifically? And if not specifically, are there other truths or principles that would support the activity or forbid the activity? All right. Let me just throw one out there because I've been talking about it with several of you. Some of you know about our carnal habits of going to Knott's Berry Farm. Every other year my mom gifts us for Christmas a season pass for the whole family to go to Knott's Berry Farm. And we're always excited about that. So we put that on the table. Well, should the pastor be going to Knott's Berry Farm or not? He preaches to us he needs to live above the sun. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Is this the best use of his time? Well, is it sinful? Is it permissible? It depends, doesn't it? Well, how much money does it cost? How often are you going to go? Does it lead you from other responsibilities you need to fulfill? Does going tempt you to sin in any way? Well, in our little realm, in our little coolman bubble, we can tell you, well, it cost us nothing to go other than the gas to drive down there and the food that we have for lunch or dinner. And on average, we go once a month, apart from June, July, and August, and the end of December, because that's when all the crazies go. You've got to wait two, three hours for one ride, and I don't have patience for that. And then considering this trip to Knott's Berry Farm, I'm thinking, this is a time for my wife and I to enjoy talking there and back. We look forward to those times. In the busyness of life, we're forced to sit down and talk. And it's a time for our family to enjoy one another's company and to make blessed memories. My biblical justification behind going to Snoopy's Playground are Ecclesiastes 12.12 and Proverbs 17.22. My verse, Ecclesiastes 12.12 says, too much studying will wear out your body. And I can tell you that this preacher has a tendency to put his nose to the grind and just be here and study and feed the flock and go on visits and make calls and not take a day off. That's this preacher's temptation. So the Bible is calling this preacher to step outside. Be with family. Put away the books for a while. Rest your brain. Take a Sabbath. Proverbs 17, 22 is another one. Laughter does good like medicine. I say going down to Knott's Berry Farm, part of my spiritual medication. It's a time where we laugh and laugh and laugh. And I come back refreshed in that. So it's important in our assessment of the employments and enjoyments of life that we strive for a biblical balance. Now, if we were going every other day and it was keeping me from doing my responsibilities here at church and keeping me from home and raising my children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and if I went to Knott's Berry Farm and I was not strong enough to look away at certain things that would cause me to stumble, I would say, Casey needs to stay home. The key is moderation as opposed to excessiveness. So number one, it's important to seek proper biblical balance and then it's needful for us to assess the proper motive why we do what we do. So somebody works 70 hours a week, I would ask why do you work 70 hours a week? Is there anything you can cut back on so you don't have to work 70 hours a week and pay for things you don't need to pay for? Why are you gone from your family so often? Why do you want to live in a large mansion? Well, this home just isn't doing it. So we need something bigger. We need something newer. We need something nicer. We need that brand new home upon the rocky hills above Yucca Valley. Okay, maybe. Is it gonna help the kingdom of God in some way? Are you starting an orphanage? Will you be hosting missionaries throughout the week? What's the goal? What's the motive? So you want to pursue a greater level of education. That's not wrong, per se, but again, I would ask, why do you think you have to pursue a greater level of education, and what's the cost that's attached to it? When I was first married, Becky and I had our first home here. I had graduated from Bible college. There was a new program being offered for a master's, And I said, I wanna give myself to that. Pure motive, just wanting to learn more about the scriptures and to sharpen my sword, so to speak, as it pertains to pastoral responsibility. So I began, first month, you had to read through the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, five times. One of those five times you had to do in one sitting, and alongside of that, you had to read two big, thick commentaries. Keep in mind, I was Pastor Watkins' assistant. I was working full-time at the Calvary Baptist Church School, newly married. I was up till 12, 1, sometimes 2 o'clock. A month later, I said, this isn't cutting it. It's not worth it. It's not worth it. Why do we do what we do? Is it necessary? Or is there some hidden satisfaction or conceited spirit to be someone great in the eyes of men? Proverbs 16.2 says, all the ways of man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. The Lord tests the motives. And then finally, it's important in our assessment of the employments and enjoyments of life that we keep the right perspective. Keep the right perspective. In other words, where is my focus? You begin to date someone, you become all googly-eyed and emotionally twisted inside. What's the focus? What's the goal? Does it honor the Lord? Does it help you spiritually? Does it help them spiritually? You skip church every other week because you sleep in, you watch football, and you become persuaded that Sundays are fun days and Sundays are days to chum around with the family. And again, I say, where is your perspective? You can't read your Bible, but you can read novels. You can't witness, but you can talk politics to people at Stater Brothers. You can't visit a church member at a nursing home, but you can go to the Republican National Convention. You can't give to missionaries who are taking the gospel around the world, but you can give to the NRA. You see? Where's the focus? Where's the perspective? As Christians, we are called to lay up our treasures in heaven. We're called to seek first, to seek first primarily the kingdom of God and Christ's righteousness. We are to work the works of Him while it is day because the night is coming, the moment is coming when no man can work. Proper perspective, proper motive, and a proper biblical balance. As we move through Ecclesiastes, we're gonna see this more clearly. But I wanted to just lay it before us tonight, so in our journey through the book, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, you will just soak it in as it has been given to us by the Holy Spirit. Does that help? A little bit? Clear? Clear as mud. We gotta live for eternity. We ought to live for Christ. We ought to be consumed with the advancement of his kingdom. We ought to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we are called to abstain from every kind of earthly entertainment, creature comfort, or enjoyment.