If you have your Bible this morning, would you open to the book of Ecclesiastes chapter number 12. The book of Ecclesiastes this morning, chapter number 12. I just want to read two verses in chapter number 12. Ecclesiastes chapter number 12, verse 11 and 12. The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings. They are given by one shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh." I believe that it's a truism to say today that everyone in the world has an innate understanding and a sense that things are not as they ought to be. That the world and our lives are in many ways turned upside down. That things are really messed up and out of order. In reality, life in this world can be quite miserable. And because of that, men spend much of their time doing all that they can do to divert themselves and to busy themselves and to distract themselves so they don't have to think very deeply about it. It's just too painful many times to face all of the disordered chaos. Now the writer of Ecclesiastes, he knows this. He knows that men think this way, and He knows that men need help in understanding the reason why things are as they are. And so He writes this book, the book of Ecclesiastes, to give clear understanding and guidance. But as you try to get a hold of this book and to gain an understanding of it, you have to understand that the preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes is operating under some presuppositions and with a particular philosophy of life. The writer of Ecclesiastes, he is presupposing the veracity or the truthfulness of the scriptural revelation that came before him. In other words, his interpretation in response to the difficulties that we see and that we experience in the world are rooted in the earliest revelatory accounts that are recorded in Scripture. In other words, his responses are grounded in the book of Genesis. Everything that he says in this book, I believe, builds upon at least these three presuppositions. In other words, these three fundamental things that he holds as true, and he gets them from the book of Genesis. Number one, the God of the Bible is the one true God and Creator of all things. Secondly, man is the special creation of the one true God. And thirdly, there is an authority-accountability relationship between God and man that started out good, but then went astray, resulting in massive problems in the earth. As a matter of fact, if you go back in Ecclesiastes 7, verse number 29, you see his summary statement. See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes." In other words, the writer of Ecclesiastes is explaining that life under the sun is messed up because of the fall of man into sin. This is his major presupposition. You see, the preacher in Ecclesiastes is seeking to show us that you cannot understand the world as you ought to until you look at it through the lens of this world being a fallen, sin, cursed world. In other words, you can't understand anything as you ought to without the biblical worldview. Without the biblical worldview, life will remain an enigma. And this is something that everyone has to face if they want to understand the situation as it really is. Furthermore, men seek to come up with all kinds of alternate worldviews and none of those will provide any anchors for the soul. And diversions and distractions that men engage in will do a person no good. You have to have God's revelation. You have to have the biblical worldview. Proverbs chapter 1 verse 7 puts it this way. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Without God as the precondition for all things, you can't know anything as you ought to know it. Now since it's the natural response of men in a fallen world to turn to erroneous philosophical explanations of things, and it's typical for them to turn to diversions and distractions in order to run away from facing the pain of it all, the preacher in Ecclesiastes knows that certain methods must be employed to take men, to awaken men out of their stupor. He knows they have to be awakened. So that they might then take time to actually give thought to the deeper issues of life. In other words, it's the burden upon the preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes to turn thoughtlessness into thinking. To secure the attention, to awaken men, to cause them to think deeply about the real issues of life. And the text that I read to you this morning reveals to us that he has a two-fold method for accomplishing this task. He uses goads and he uses nails. Look there again in verse number 11. The words of the wise are like goads and like nails, firmly fixed are the collected sayings, he says. Now what's a goad? I think we need to answer that question. It's not a word that's popular in our vocabulary. But a goad is a tool with a sharp end that was meant to drive cattle. And used in the context of the book of Ecclesiastes, he's saying that goads are those sharp pricks that come into our life that's to prod us and to force us to think deeply about life and the things that really matter. A goad is a thing that's meant to awaken you and to stir you and to lead you from one position to another. To bring you to decision points in your life and new courses of action. That's the point of a goad. And nails, what's a nail? A nail is a stabilizer. We all know that. A nail is a fastener. It's that which secures something into place. And so the nails that are in view here from the writer of Ecclesiastes are the truths of God's revelation. It's that which helps you to nail things down firmly in your mind. So if you take the goads and you take the nails and you put these two things together, goads are meant to move you from an old position to a new one and nails are to secure you to that new position. Now like the preacher in Ecclesiastes, my aim today is to goad you, to cause you to think deeply about life. I want to goad you to abandon error and false worldviews and ways of thinking that ultimately would destroy your soul. I want, in one sense of the word, to rescue you from diversions and distractions that you're engaged in so that maybe for the first time in your life you'll face the brutal reality of a fallen world and your great need because of it. Maybe you haven't been thinking about these things. My aim is to goad you and then stabilize you with the nails of God's revelation. Now with that, let's ask a question. What are some of the goads that produce occasions for deep thinking? I mean, what are the pricks that are there that are used to awaken and move men? Well, right here in verse number 11, it tells you, basically, that these goads are the words of the wise. It's truth from Scripture, we would say. It's a proper understanding of that which has been revealed and then preached or taught to people who are listening. But, you know, there's other things in life that serve as goads. In Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse number 2, the Word of God says, it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. For this is the end of all mankind and the living will lay it to heart. Wow! The writer of Ecclesiastes says that one of the things that causes somebody to think deeply is to go to a funeral. You ever been to a funeral? You sit there in the pew and you wait until Everything takes place and the minister perhaps comes up to stand before the people and offer some words. And you're sitting in your pew and you're looking towards the front and you see that casket. And that cold dead body in the casket. And it's in those moments that life gets real serious, doesn't it? It's where you begin to think deeply maybe for a moment and you say, you know what? One day that's going to be me sitting up there. You start thinking about your life. You think about the deep issues of life. You're not thinking about the current programs that are on the television, or the distractions and diversions that are common in your life, or the entertainments that you engage in. In that moment, you're thinking seriously and deeply. It's a goad, isn't it? It's something that awakens you and causes you to think deeply about life. So, a funeral is an occasion. It's a goad. It's an occasion to think deeply about life. Another occasion, another goad, another opportunity to think deeply about life is a church service, like what we're doing here this morning. In Psalm chapter number 73, Asaph was having a hard time. He was trying to figure some things out and he couldn't come to the answers. He wasn't able to really think deeply as he needed to, to come to the solution. And then he says this, When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task until I went into the sanctuary of God, and then I discerned. Then I understood. Asaph said there was an occasion where he went to be among the people of God in the temple and he was hearing the Word of God and then he began to understand the church service, the meeting, the preaching of God's truth is another occasion to be goaded or to be prodded. Again, I'm praying that that's what happens here today in our time together. There's another one in Luke chapter number 13 verses 1 through 5. Listen to this. Many times we find that moral atrocities and God's acts of providence serve as goads to cause people to think about life seriously. There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Were those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. And so here you have two situations in Luke 13. You have some worshippers that are in a temple worshipping and some men come in and kill them. There's a moral atrocity. There's a murder that takes place. And then there's this tower in the city in Siloam that falls and kills a bunch of people. And so naturally, because of these two events, the people are talking about it. It's causing them to think deeply about serious issues of life. God does this. He gives us these opportunities. Now I want to think about this one particular situation of God's acts of providence. I wonder how often we think about God's providence. I know that's a word in past times that was used a lot, but a lot of people don't use that word anymore. And I think a lot of folks don't even really know what providence means. It's talking about God's activity. The Bible teaches us that God has a sovereign plan. God has certain decrees that He has issued forth, and He works things after the counsel of His own will. And providence is sort of the rubber meets the road kind of way in which God intervenes and works in real historical events to bring about His purposes. Let's think about God's providence for just a minute this morning. Scripture teaches us in Romans chapter number 1, a very familiar text to you, verses 18 to 20, that men, because of their sinfulness, they suppress the truth about God in their unrighteousness. In other words, the Bible reveals to us that there is no such thing as an atheist. that all men have knowledge that God exists. All men have intellectual knowledge of the existence of God and the heavens declare the glory of God, right? God's attributes are clearly seen in the things that have been made so that men are without excuse. And although men have that knowledge, because they hate God, because of their sinful, rebellious heart, they spend their days suppressing and pushing down the truth of the knowledge of God. They do it all the time. We've already talked about some of the ways that they do that. They divert themselves. They distract themselves. They get engaged in so many things in life so that they don't have to think about God. And they're busy doing that all the time. That is the mode of operation for the unconverted lost person. They don't like to think about God. They don't like to hear messages about God. They want to suppress the truth because they are so sinful. And sometimes through acts of God's providence, God thwarts man's suppression of him by saying, here I am. You're not going to suppress me forever. In other words, by God's providence, God does things to spoil their suppression and causes men to think about him. He's not going to stay hidden forever. He's not going to stay in the shadows in the mind of a man forever. Sometimes in God's acts of providence, He pulls back some of His common grace restraints and this causes men to focus upon God. Think about it for a minute. The Bible teaches us that God gives common grace to men. In other words, a man who knows God and a man who doesn't know God, they both get rain on their crops, don't they? God allows people who are His enemies to have families, have children, to enjoy things from this world, to eat good meals, to have friendships, to enjoy so many things in the world. This is what we call the common grace of God. And men get used to the common grace of God. As a matter of fact, the Bible says it's the loving kindness and the patience of God and the common graces of God that are meant to lead people to repentance. And men get used to the common grace of God. And they fail to have thankful hearts towards God for all that He has done. And they continue then, because they're so used to His common grace, to presume on His goodness. Thinking that it's always going to be that way. And then sometimes He pulls back some of His restraints in a fallen world, and then begins to allow men to feel the effects of the fall, maybe in a greater way than what they have felt before. And it gets men's attention. It has a way of pushing back against their suppression of the truth. You know, I think it's safe to say that God has been goading the entire earth at the present time. You know what I'm talking about too, I believe, through the providential act of the outbreak of the coronavirus. Think about it today. God has not restrained it fully, has he? It's been breaking out and it's not just in one particular location. This virus is breaking out all across the world, isn't it? People are experiencing it. I mean, we're so interconnected today through the internet and through information and technology and whatnot. So everybody knows what's going on. You can get on the news and see what's taking place in Italy and Iraq and Iran. Places in Europe and here in America, you can see what's going on. And so this is going on right now. God has not restrained this virus fully. He is allowing it to break forth in the earth, and I believe He's definitely getting men's attention. I think of us sitting here today, all of us, I believe, are in a greater state of sobriety than usual. Everybody's thinking about it. And the proof that everybody's thinking about it, just go to Walmart and see the empty shelves. Everybody is thinking about it. Our minds are occupied with the pandemic. We're all thinking about it today. We've all noticed, I believe, that people are in a bit more serious frame of mind, that many of the trivial and the jovial things of life are taking a back seat to the contemplation of the more profound and serious. And it always happens this way, when God just pulls back on His restraints a little bit. and lets the weeds of a fallen world begin to choke people a little bit. And they start thinking about God. And you see, this providential act of God today, we need to capitalize on it. And we need to think about the fact that God is seeking to get our attention. It's meant to make you feel and to think and come face to face with more than just the temporal issues of life. It's meant to draw you and to cause you to think about the God that you know is there. Oh my friend, don't despise these opportunities from God. Don't despise this moment, even though perhaps it may be causing much pain and anxiety. There's always pain and anxiety associated with these kinds of things. Think of all of the people who have already died and the fear that grips men. I wonder if I'm going to get the disease or the virus. I wonder if I'm going to be overcome by this virus and die. You need to see this this morning as a grace from God. You need to wake up to the opportunity. Be stirred in the spirit of your mind. Feel the pressure on your soul. Be tested and tried by God's providential shaking and find out where you stand with Him. Think about God. Take advantage of the moment. Don't be thoughtless, but be thinking and think spiritually, not just temporally. Think about your soul, not just if you have enough toilet paper to last a month. Think about your soul. J.C. Ryle said, If sickness in a wicked world can help men think of God and their souls, then sickness confers benefits on mankind. You see, God knows your greatest need, and your greatest need is to be thinking spiritually, not about the things of a temporal world that are here one moment and gone the next. Well, I want to help you today. I think that God, again, is clearly using this goad of His providence to get the attention of men. And I want to cooperate with that today by adding to that goading words. Assuming today that you are more spiritually sensitive than usual, I want to press you still further today by directing your attention and your contemplation to what I believe are five of the greatest truths that you could ever consider. My prayer today is that you have ears to hear these truths. I pray that you are in a serious frame of mind and will give a full reception to these truths because they have such a tremendous bearing on your soul and your eternal destiny. In the first place, I want you to come to grips with the fact that life is short. Come to grips today with the fact that life is short. In James chapter number 4 verse 14, God's Word says, What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. You know, life is a precious gift from God, isn't it? It's a wonderful thing. That's why we always get excited in our thinking about when someone becomes, when a lady becomes pregnant. We think of that new life that is to come. It's such a joyous occasion, isn't it? It's a wonderful thing. We're excited about it. We know that life is valuable and that it's precious. But the Bible teaches us that life is a brief thing. And if you thought about it from this standpoint, that the moment that baby is born, that baby also begins the dying process. Life is brief, it's short. I like how James gives us the illustration, you are a mist that appears for a little time and then you vanish away. I've used the illustration so many times, but I love drinking coffee. And I'll pour it hot right out of the pot in the morning, and many times I'll just set the cup there, and I will dwell on this verse by watching my coffee mug. Because I'll watch the steam coming off the top of the mug, and I'll catch it right around the rim of the mug, and I'll follow it up with my eyes, and after about 8 inches of travel, it's gone! It's life. It's brief. It's here for one moment and it's gone the next. It's like a flower that blooms and then fades away. There's thousands of illustrations that we could use. You can think of life in seasons. You can think of the springtime of life, and then the summer, and then the fall, and then the winter of life. The child is born and there's the springtime, and then the child grows and enters into the prime of its life, and there's the summertime of life. And then as the body begins to wear out, and as we age, and things begin to slow down, we enter into those fall years where the leaves begin to fall off of the trees, and then before long the tree is barren, and winter has set in. You know, I remember when I was a kid, my dad, he would take us from time to time to the lake or to a pond to go fishing. And I'm sure that you can resonate with this experience, but one of the things we always just used to love to do was to stand on the bank and find the flattest rocks that we could find and skip those rocks across the pond. And we'd have a little game out of it, and we would try to see who could get the most amount of skips off of that rock. And I got to thinking about that this week, and you know, that's a picture of life, isn't it? A person's life, they come into this world and it's like a skip of a rock across the pond. A few splashes across the top and then that rock is sunk to the bottom of the pond not to be seen again. That's your life. A few splashes and then it's gone. Or like on the 4th of July, you take a firecracker and there's a few pops and flashes that come from the firecracker or the firework and then it's gone. It's over. It's done away with. And history proves this point as well. You think about great men who have come on the scene of life and then they're gone! They're here one moment and they live their life and they make their splash and then they're gone. How many times have you talked to the aged as they look back on life and they validate the sentiment by saying things like, it seems like only yesterday that I was raising my children. It seems like yesterday. Just like yesterday. I mean, I resonate with this son now. I'm only 41 years old and I'm already thinking like that. I think of my own children. I think about how fast they've grown. And I look back and I can remember being in the hospital the moment that they were born. And now, here we are now and they're running and they're playing and they're learning and they're doing all that they're doing. And it literally seems like yesterday that I was holding that little carrier out of the car and bringing them into the house. It seems like just yesterday. Here one moment and go on the next. Oh my friend, don't flatter yourself this morning thinking that it's going to be any different for you. Even if you live to be 120 years, life is still short. And look around the room this morning. Isn't it true to say, just take a good look at one another? Take a good look. In less than a hundred years, most likely, every single one of us in this room this morning will have exited this walk of life. What a short time. Life is short. The second great truth that I want to put before you this morning is that death is certain. Hebrews 9.27 says that it's appointed to man, for man, once to die. It's appointed for man once to die. Job chapter number 18 verse 14, it says, There comes a time when a man is torn from the tent in which he trusted and is brought to the king of terrors, meaning death. The Bible portrays your body as a tent that is the housing, so to speak, of your soul. And there's this tent that's wearing out. The Apostle Paul in Corinthians talks about that. How the tent gets torn and it wears down and it fades away, so to speak. And then he says, when he's torn from that tent that he trusted in, he's brought to the king of terrors. That's an interesting choice of words, isn't it? The king of terrors. Death is a frightening thing. The Bible teaches us in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 15 that men live in fear of death. It's a form of slavery. It's a form of bondage. Constantly afraid of the reality of death. And look around, we all have it to do, don't we? Every one of us have it to do. Death is going to come to all. And this isn't a great mystery. The Bible tells us why this is the case. Scripture reveals to us why all of us have to die. Romans 5.12 teaches us that by one man's sin, sin and death came into the world and spread to everybody. Scripture says in Romans 6.23 that the wages of sin is death. The Bible defines sin as transgression against the law of God. If you violated the law of God, you're a transgressor, you're a sinner, and the wages of that sin, or the payment that you receive for your sin, the wages in return for your labors of sin, the Bible says, is death. It's no mystery. You don't have to ask some university anthropologist to tell you why people die. He probably wouldn't have it right anyway. The right answer is found right here in the book. The Bible says it's the wages of sin that brings death. My friend, we are all sinners, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So guess what? We all die. There is a spiritual death that was brought into the world because of the first man Adam, but there's also this physical death as well. Every one of us have to die. It's a horrible thing too, isn't it? Have you ever seen somebody die? Have you ever been in the room with somebody when they passed away? My friend, it's not a fun experience. It's a very, very sad thing. It's a horrible thing to experience. And the thing about death that makes it so frightening is not only that it's going to happen, but you don't know when or how it's going to happen. It might be one thing if you knew when, although I think that could have even a greater terror to it if you knew the date when it was going to happen. But it's still a terrifying thing to think about the fact that you're gonna die and you don't know when that's going to happen. It is certainly a truism that we live our lives in slippery places and at any moment we could fall to our death. Deuteronomy 32, 35 says their foot shall slip in due time. History proves that there is no evidence that a man is not on the brink of eternity and that his next step won't be into another world. Wow, get a hold of that thought. Did you wake up this morning thinking that your next breath could possibly be your last breath? Did any of you wake up this morning entertaining the thought that perhaps this is the last day that you would be alive on this earth? Most people think, well, I have it figured out. Tomorrow's going to be just like it was yesterday, or today's like yesterday. Tomorrow's going to be like today. I'll have another day. I'll plan for the future. I have my scheme. I have everything worked out. I know that I'm going to live for a long time. No, you don't know that. Reality teaches us that people die of all ages. Children die, and the elderly die, and everyone in between. Everybody dies at some point and you don't know when that's going to happen. You don't know that today might be your very last day upon this earth. All of the unseen and unthought of ways that men depart from this world are innumerable and inconceivable. You think of the first person that's died from the coronavirus, do you think that was the thing they thought was going to take them out in this world? No! They probably had it figured out that they were going to live to be old age and see their grandchildren and just die peacefully in the recliner. Men die in all stages of life in a whole host of different ways. Man lives his life, as it were, in darkness. walking on a dilapidated bridge with rotten planks, and there are many places that are weak and will not bear their weight, and they're unseen furthermore. And man may fall to his ruin at any one of those places and at any time. Jonathan Edwards said, the arrows of death fly at noonday, and even a man with the sharpest of sight cannot discern them. You remember how they used to battle in the old days? You'd have two armies against one another and they would pull, the archers would pull the arrows back, the bowstring back, and they would let the arrow fly. And it would almost be like a rain shower of arrows. And those soldiers on the other end, they had no idea if one of those arrows at any moment might strike them. Furthermore, if it was a cloudy day, they might not even see the arrows. And so it is with death. You can't always see it. You don't always know. Some people know when they're going to die. Some people know that it's coming. Some people have some kind of insight to the fact that they're going to die soon. Oh, but how many times have we heard of those tragedies where people die unexpectedly? A car wreck, a terrible sickness, some kind of crazy thing happened that takes people out of this world. Every one of us this morning are exposed to our time of departure. And even our best plans and our best schemes and our most prudent efforts of sustaining our lives makes absolutely no difference because death comes as a thief. Ecclesiastes chapter number 2 verse 16, the wise man dies as the fool. Could it be today that your time of departure is next? And also, have you thought about the fact that it's only the goodness and the kindness of God that sustains and supports you from one moment of life to the next? It's God who is sustaining you. And by the way, He's not obligated to do so because you've sinned against Him. And the wages of sin is death. And He doesn't owe you another breath. It's only by His mere pleasure and grace and mercy if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ today that you sit in your pew breathing His gracious air given to you. He doesn't owe it to anyone. It's true. Life is short. Death is certain. And mark it down in the next place. The third thing I want you to see. Eternity is next. And there is only one of two places in which a man will eternally dwell. I'll say it again. Eternity is next. And there is only one of two places in which a man will eternally dwell. Luke chapter number 16, verse 22 and 23. The Bible says the poor man died. and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side." Life is short, death is certain, eternity is next, and our text reveals to us that a man will spend that eternal existence in either heaven or hell. Peter Abelard, a poet, wrote one of my favorite poems in terms of describing heaven. I'll just read a line or two out of it. He gives a description of heaven. Here's what he says, Oh, what their joy and their glory must be, those endless Sabbaths the blessed ones see. Crowned for the valiant, to weary ones rest, God shall be all and in all ever blessed. I like that statement. Oh, what their joy and their glory must be, those endless Sabbaths the blessed ones see. You know, here we are today on the Lord's Day. The Christian Sabbath, so to speak. And it's supposed to represent a little outcropping of heaven on earth. And we could testify, we could go around the room today to the believer and talk about the joy that they have experienced in their life through different times and being together with God's people on the Lord's Day. I hear you speak of it often. I mean, half the time I can't get you guys to separate to get the church started because you're too busy fellowshipping and sharing life with one another, which is a wonderful thing. It's joy, isn't it? It's a joy that you don't experience when you're out on your job necessarily, week to week, hanging out with people that don't know the Lord. You come in here and there's something special, isn't there? You're with the blessed ones. You're with the ones, you're with the saints, the excellent ones in the land, in whom is all my delight, the psalmist would say. And it's a little outcropping of heaven, just a little piece of heaven. Imagine what's going on in heaven even right now. As the saints are there and the angels in heaven are around the throne worshiping the Lamb who was slain. Endless joy, endless delight, never a pause in the action. Continual discovery of the great God who made you and everything else. You learn new things in heaven about this wonderful God as He continually reveals things about Himself and fall down in worship and praise because your heart is so full of delight. You see, that's one eternal place of existence that the Bible teaches us about. But then, contrast that with the experience of a man in hell. Oh my, what a difference. Paradise Lost, written by John Milton, he described it like this. Now the thoughts of both, of lost happiness and lasting pain, torments him. Imagine being in hell. There's the experience. Lost happiness and lasting pain torments him. A dungeon horrible on all sides round. As one great furnace flamed, yet from those flames no light but rather darkness visible. served only to discover sites of woe, regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace and rest can never dwell, hope never comes, but torture without end still urges in a fiery deluge fed with every burning, ever-burning sulfur, unconsumed." Wow! Listen to those descriptions again. Lost happiness, lasting pain, torment, a dungeon horrible, a great furnace flamed, no light, darkness, sights of woe, regions of sorrow, doleful shades, peace and rest are never there, hope never comes, torture without end, a fiery deluge that never consumes. That's quite a difference than what their joy and their glory must be. those endless Sabbaths the blessed ones seek. Crowned for the valiant to weary one's rest, God shall be all and in all ever blessed. Life is short, death is certain, eternity is next, and there's only one of two places in which a man will eternally dwell. Now for a fourth thought. How death finds you, eternity will keep you. Back to the book of Ecclesiastes in chapter 11, chapter number 11, verse 3. And if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. Now think about the weight of that statement. If a tree falls to the north, to the south, to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. You see, whether you die and go to heaven or to hell, your experience in that place will be settled. It will not be reversed. It will be eternal. Note the illustration in the text. Where the tree falls, there it's going to lie. Once it falls, it falls. And it remains where it falls. If you go out into the woods this afternoon with your chainsaw and you cut down a tree at the base of the tree, it's going to fall in some direction. And when it falls and hits the ground, that's where it's going to lie. There's no more setting it back up and no more making it fall in a different direction. Once it falls, it falls. And it settles where it falls. Oh my friend, what an illustration of what's going to happen to all of us once we die. There's heaven or hell for the soul to dwell. And once you die, whichever place you go to, that is your settled abode. It'll never change. It'll never be any different. There will never be any reversal of that situation. And can you even begin to wrap your mind around eternity? I've used these many times, but I hope through their familiarity they take deep root in your minds. But I've never found any better illustrations for eternity than these two. I'll share them with you again. Imagine a massive granite ball the size of the earth. And let's say that it was the job of a bird every 10,000 years to come to that granite ball and with his beak make one peck on the granite ball and then fly away for 10,000 years until he comes again. Now imagine him doing that. that every 10,000 years until finally he had pecked away the granite bowl the size of the earth and realized by the time that he had blasted the very last part of that granite bowl, eternity would not have even begun. Or imagine if it was your task to go to one side of the earth, to a beach. And it was your task to pick up one grain of sand at a time and travel to the other side of the world to another beach and deposit that one grain of sand. And you had to do that until you had emptied all of the sand on one beach to the other beach. By the time you had accomplished the task, again, eternity would not have even started. If the tree falls to the south or to the north in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. You see, for those that are in heaven, it will be a settled state of eternal joy and glory with no threat of reversal. Praise God for that. I have no other plea than the Lord Jesus Christ and God receives me based upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And once He does, it's settled, my friend. Oh, but the opposite is also true. For the one who goes to hell, it will be a settled state of eternal misery and pain with no prospect of hope for a different situation. Think about this still further. A man will bear the wrath of God age upon age with no mercy from God and no care from Him as to man's inability to endure it. The Bible teaches us that God is love. He is loving, isn't He? But there's another side to the attributes of God. It's His justice and it's His wrath. Oh, and my friend, God has in so many ways demonstrated love to you. Even if you don't know God as a child of God, even if you're an unconverted person sitting in the pew today, you could very easily take a piece of paper and if you were thinking rightly about it, you could draw page after page after page after page after page of the blessings of God upon your life that would point back to His great love towards you. But do you understand that once a man, the tree of a man's life falls, if he goes to hell, if he goes to that place, there will be no more thought from God as to your welfare. Will you be able to endure the tormenting flames of hell when you're there? Absolutely not. It'll be pain and misery. It'll never relent. It'll be that way age upon age, all throughout eternity. And God will give no care to you to your inability to bear it. No help, no grace, no comforts. Age upon age will pass. And it will be but the beginning of God giving no thought to the welfare of the man who is bearing His wrath. How death finds you, meaning in a reconciled state before God or estranged from Him, eternity will keep you. Now for a final thought. Your disposition towards Jesus is that which will determine your eternal destiny. The Bible tells us in John chapter number 3 verse 36, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." You see, the Bible reveals that Jesus is God's answer to the dilemma of man's estrangement from God. The writer of Ecclesiastes speaks about life under the sun, life in a fallen world, the fact that something went wrong, that man is estranged from God. And as we go through the rest of the scriptural revelation, and we come to the New Testament, and we see this man who comes into the earth, his name is Jesus, and we learn from the pages of scripture that Jesus is the answer to that dilemma, to that predicament of man being separated from God. Scripture teaches us that Jesus is exactly what sinners need to be right with God. He's a two-fold substitute for sinners. He is the provision from God that can legally reconcile the sinner to God. Jesus provides for the sinner what they can't provide for themselves, which is perfect righteousness before God. Jesus kept the standard perfectly with no blemishes or no marks. There was no deceit, no guile found in Him. He kept the law of God perfectly, something that none of us could do. Furthermore, He went to the cross and He died bearing the wrath of God upon the tree. Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain. He goes to the cross as a substitute, not because he deserved to go there, not because of sins that he had committed, but as an offering of himself to God so that sinners could then go free. And then the Apostle Paul, writing on this in Romans chapter 3 verse 26, he tells us that because of Jesus, God is just and the justifier of the wicked. You see, God can legally dismiss our case. God's justice has been satisfied. He doesn't compromise His holy character to forgive sinners. He satisfies it upon the Lord Jesus Christ, so that then He can turn to sinners like you and me, and He can forgive us of our transgressions against Him. The sinner can go free. The provision for sinners has been made. Oh, but my friend, the question of the hour today is, what is your disposition towards Jesus? Listen to the text again in John 3, 36. Whoever believes, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. You see, believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ equals everlasting life in His presence. Not believing upon Him equals eternal damnation in hell, suffering the unfavorable presence of God in the fullness of His wrath and His fury. You need to consider well your position today. What is your disposition to the Lord Jesus Christ? Get a hold of these five truths today. Life is short. Death is certain. Eternity is next. And there's only one of two places in which a man will eternally dwell. Fourth, how death finds you. Eternity will keep you. And lastly, your disposition towards Jesus is that which will determine your eternal destiny. With that, would you go back to Ecclesiastes and notice one more thought from the passage? Look with me again in verse 11. I'm going to read to the end of the chapter. The words of the wise are like goads. They're like nails firmly fixed on the collected sayings they are given by one shepherd. Notice. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh." The end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil. There in verse number 12, it's interesting. He says, My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh. What is the writer of Ecclesiastes seeking to communicate to us? Well, after he's written his book and he's given all of this instruction rooted in truth, it's as if he is saying, do not reject what I have told you because these are the true answers for life. It's a warning. He says, if you reject what I've said and if you go looking for other sources for answers, It's going to lead to an ongoing pursuit that will never find a resolution. You see, that's what makes false worldviews so sad. That's what makes things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ so dangerous to the souls of men. False ideologies. Things that were birthed out of the pits of hell itself. that exalt itself against the Lord Jesus Christ. People get their lives so wrapped up in the pursuit of that false knowledge, and they're looking for the answers to life. How do I figure it out? What am I here for? Where did everything come from? Origin, meaning, purpose, and destiny. What's my worldview to answer those questions? And the Bible has an answer for all of that. And if that message is rejected, If he says, all of my words are fixed, here's the collected saying, here's the master collection. Here's the full truth. He says, if you reject it, and you go out and you go and look for other answers, you're going to be looking in books in every library to no end, of making much study, of many books, of going beyond these things. It's a weariness to the flesh. It's just going to result in weariness to your body and no satisfaction at all for your soul. And so the writer of Ecclesiastes is saying, listen to what I'm telling you. Listen to my goads. Let me fix you and secure you with the nails of biblical revelation. If you reject it, your life will end in futility. It will lead to weariness. It will lead to misery. The end of the matter has been revealed. Life is short. Death is certain. Eternity is next, and there's only one of two places in which a man will eternally dwell. How death finds you, eternity will keep you, and your disposition towards Jesus is that which will determine your eternal destiny. My friend, there's purpose, there's meaning, there's life. To go beyond that will mean weariness and misery. You know, my prayer today is that these words would do a double work on you. That they would move you off, perhaps, of an old position to a new position, and that then you would be stabilized when you get there. Goads and nails. And with that, I want to leave you with a poem, one final goad to make you think deeply about life. The breezes in my memory leave a fragrance of yesteryear, of youthful joys and happy days of life lived without fear. A sweet, pleasing smell of those early times at home at laugh and at play is as pleasant as a meadow's walk on a sun-filled springtime day. Those days are past. They've come and gone, and if I could, I'd not go back. For life is lived not in the past, but moment by moment and day by day. The rivers of time keep flowing on, and they'll not stop for any man. So live life now, t'will soon be gone, and when gone, you can't go back. Though memory is sweet, like a pencil's mark, it fades with the passing of time, as does this life, for it's so brief, for there's a time to live and a time to die. Listen closely. And when you die, what will you do? for eternity will then be next. Will it be fair skies or will dark clouds roll? Do you fear? Oh, do you sigh? If you fear death, then look, I say, to the death of death in the one who died. Look now, look now to Jesus, and your fears, they will subside. Memory, precious, but hope far better. For a future with Jesus is the best. Look now, look now to Jesus and your soul will find sweet rest. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the goads and the nails of your word. And other goads, Lord, that you use, like acts of providence, like situations that are before us even now at the present time. Father, I pray that you would use all of these things to awaken men to spiritual realities, the value of their soul, the reality of eternity, the truth about Jesus. Father, I pray that your word today has gone forth in power and that it's been attended by your Holy Spirit. Lord, that you will take it and that you will use it and that you will sow seeds, that you will harvest to eternal life, Lord, for people. Oh Father, I tremble this morning for the one who is among us that doesn't know you through your Son. Lord, that their situation is so delicate. Only by your grace are they continuing to live one step away from eternity and your kindness is holding them up long enough so that prayerfully, Lord, today they would be hearing this message, this truth before it's everlasting too late, Lord. Lord, these are weighty matters, I know. These are deep things that many times people seek to push out of their thinking. They don't want to think about it. They'd rather be distracted. They'd rather give in to diversions. They'd rather live in their sin and their false worldviews. But Lord, I pray that the light of the gospel would break through today through those dark corners of the mind and the soul and that light would come and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ would be seen so that salvation would be the result. Lord, we praise you today for your kindness to sinners. Lord, you didn't have to save anybody. Lord, once we rebelled against you, you could have just left us to our sin and all of us could have gone to hell. But Lord, you were gracious and kind and you sent your son into this world. And he didn't have to come. He left the portals of glory and came to this sinful world. And he lived perfectly among us. He did what no other man could do. And then in His grace and kindness and mercy and love, He went to the cross. Oh, and Father, that perfect, that perfect relationship that He experienced with you from eternity past, Lord, He was made to feel the separation of that on that tree. Lord, you poured out your wrath upon Him so that you could spare us. And Father, we worship you and we bow before you today because of it. We just want more people to see what we've experienced and that they too would experience it and come to life. We love you today. We thank you for your gospel. In Christ's name we pray, amen.