All right, well, thank you, Pastor Bobby. One of the strange and sometimes amusing experiences of life is spotting a lookalike. It is someone who looks just like someone you know, but who is actually not related to that person. I used to have this experience all the time when I was attending school at Rutgers. I'd say to myself, wait, is that so-and-so? He doesn't even live in the United States. What would he be doing in one of my classes of all places? That can't be him, but man, he looks just like him. It's a strange experience. These lookalikes are sometimes called twin strangers, or my favorite term, doppelgangers. Doppelganger is a German word. It literally translates to double walker, like someone who walks and lives as if a human double. It truly is a mystifying experience to encounter a lookalike, especially if that is a lookalike of you, a person who looks like you. So it's no surprise that in earlier times, some people offered supernatural and even kind of dark explanations for this phenomenon. They would say that the double was the ghost of a departed person who had temporarily returned, or that the double was a spirit pretending bad luck or imminent death. or even that the double was an evil twin intent on some nefarious purpose. Now, I mention all this about lookalikes because the next section of Ecclesiastes that we're going to examine functions as a kind of double to the passage that we've been recently studying in Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes 5, specifically in Ecclesiastes 5, 8 to 20, you'll know if you've been following along with us previously, Gliese 5.8-20 is all about the vanity of wealth, the vapor-like nature of wealth. And just to review, our author, King Solomon of Israel, he first admonished us in the first verses of that section, verses 8 and 9, not to be surprised when people with power corruptly used that power to advance their own desire for wealth. But Solomon points out how vain and profitless this pursuit of wealth is by teaching first in verses 10 to 12 of Ecclesiastes 5, that wealth ultimately won't satisfy. And then second in verses 13 to 17, how wealth ultimately won't secure. Solomon finally counseled us on a better course in verses 18 to 20. Stop striving for more and instead gratefully rejoice in whatever portion you have received from God. Whatever wealth you have is enough to be happy. It's enough if you fear God and if you Make him your ultimate treasure and security and not the passing things of the world. Now Solomon's climactic exhortation even in that last section is verse 20 where Solomon taught us that the truly wise and happy person is the one who focuses on the good of the moment and does not give inordinate thought to the past or the future. Now as we move into Ecclesiastes chapter 6, we're going to hear some of these same ideas repeated, but in a new way. The Hebrews were a people who often loved to use symmetry in their writings. Symmetry that's more a symmetry of ideas than of sounds. Ecclesiastes 6, 1 to 12, it features extensive symmetry with Ecclesiastes 5, 8 to 19. With Ecclesiastes 5, 20 serving as the highlighted center point or the hinge between these two generally mirror images. But as we're going to see, the second image given to us in Ecclesiastes 6 is darker than the one we saw in Ecclesiastes 5. Whereas Ecclesiastes 5, it ended up with Solomon highlighting what is the good and wise way to live. Ecclesiastes 6 is going to highlight for us what is the foolish and miserable way. Sadly, as stubborn, proud humans, we often must have the terrible alternative shown to us and emphasized to us before we're willing to take seriously God's good way. And so we're gonna see some of that today. this bleaker parallel section in Ecclesiastes 6, it will not only underscore the message we've already heard about the vanity of wealth, but it will also review and tie off the teaching of the whole first half of Ecclesiastes. Teaching that has been emphasizing to us the vapor-like nature of life in this world. And all of this is to provoke in us a very crucial question. It's one that you need to keep in your minds today. Ask yourselves, am I living God's wise way? Or am I in fact living a miscarried life? That phrase is going to be the title of the sermon today. The miscarried life. If you haven't yet, please take your Bibles and open to Ecclesiastes chapter 6. Ecclesiastes chapter 6 is where we'll begin reading and then examining today's text. Ecclesiastes 6 verses 1 to 12, the entire chapter. Let's listen now to the very breath and wisdom of God. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is prevalent among men. A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction. If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and does not even have a proper burial, then I say, better the miscarriage than he. For it comes in futility and goes into obscurity and its name is covered in obscurity. It never sees the sun and it never knows anything. It is better off than he. Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things, do not all go to one place? All a man's labor is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living? What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind. Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is, for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man? For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow, For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun? This passage we have before us today is organized in a pretty straightforward manner. Solomon gives us a main idea in the first two verses, and it's followed by a number of supports to the main idea. We could summarize the main idea in verses one to two in this way. Life without grateful enjoyment of God's good gifts is misery. Life without grateful enjoyment of God's good gifts is misery. Let's see how Solomon presents this main idea. Look at the beginning part of verse 1. He says, There is an evil which I have seen under the sun. We've seen this kind of phrase before a number of times already in Ecclesiastes. Solomon is introducing to us another observation about something tragic that is part of our fallen world. But notice the symmetry. Notice the symmetry that connects us back to chapter 5. Ecclesiastes 5.19, Solomon said, here's what I've seen to be good. But now, in kind of like the Twilight Zone version, Solomon says, here's what I've seen to be evil. Now look at the next phrase in verse 1. Well, that's disconcerting. Whatever this calamity is that exists under the sun, it is great or much or prevalent among mankind. A lot of people fall into it. We're gonna have to pay close attention. What is this prevalent evil or this great and common misfortune? It tells us in verse 2. A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction. What Solomon says is a prevalent evil is for a person to gain for himself everything he could ever want in this world, but then never be able to enjoy it. Instead, someone else does. Have you ever had something like this happen to you in your life? In a small way, maybe? Maybe you make a delicious meal for yourself and you put it away for later, but when you go to look for it, someone else has eaten it. Probably a sibling. You work to save and buy admission to this one show that you've been really wanting to see, but then, as the date to attend draws near, you get sick, and you can't get a refund, so you have to give the tickets away, and someone else gets to go watch it. Or maybe you finally buy that new phone, that new computer, that new car. You know it's a splurge, but you figure, hey, this will serve me nicely for years to come. Someone simply steals it, or they borrow it and inadvertently destroy it. Ever had something like that happen to you? How does it feel? Is it not painful? Does it feel like there's something just not right about that? Life shouldn't work that way. Now considering that feeling, up the ante to what Solomon's describing here. Imagine someone who has abundant, riches and wealth and honor. Not just money possessions, like Solomon mentioned in Ecclesiastes 5.19, but honor too. This guy has a great reputation. He's well respected. And the Bible says that's even more valuable than physical wealth. This man has it all. There's nothing his soul desires which he does not already have or own. But, we're told, He never gets to enjoy any of it. He never gets to eat of it. Before he can, it's all taken away. A foreigner, that is a stranger, someone who's not his friend or his family, this stranger is the one who gets to enjoy and eat from all that this man has obtained for himself. Would that not be a terrible calamity? The very opposite of what we believe should rightfully happen? Come on, this first guy works for it. Why can't he enjoy it? Who brought about this tragedy anyways? Well, if you look again at verse 2, Solomon gives the answer. God. God is the one who gives the riches, the wealth, and the honor. But God is also the one who, in this tragic case, withholds the ability to enjoy it. God, we're told, has not empowered or authorized or given opportunity for the man to eat from the abundance that he has gathered. Now before we go further, we're confronted with an immediate problem. Because what we just read in Ecclesiastes 6-2 seems to contradict what Solomon just said in Ecclesiastes 5-19. If you just glance back there for a moment, Solomon just told us Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor. This is the gift of God. Wait a second. Ecclesiastes 5.19 says everyone who has riches and wealth is empowered by God to enjoy them. But Ecclesiastes 6.2 says that God withholds this power from some. What gives? Is this a contradiction? And it's at this point some interpreters would say, and this is evidence that the original writer was despairing and confused. But to that I say, come on guys, do we really have so little faith in the authorship of scripture? Do we really have so little imagination as to how these two truths might fit together? Would the original writer really lose his wits in the span of three verses? Or did he deliberately put together two statements that seem contradictory to make us think? Assuredly, the latter is the case. But how do these verses fit together? The answer must be that Solomon is referring to two different kinds of divine empowerment. It is true, Ecclesiastes 5.19, that God authorizes, He commands, He commends that everyone gratefully enjoy whatever wealth and possessions they have as a gift from God. But who will actually do so? Only those who actually humble themselves before God to listen to His Word. only those who actually fear God and have faith in Him. These are the ones who are then empowered by God to actually enjoy and eat from their wealth. But for everyone else who will not humble themselves in that way, even though they've been authorized in one sense, in another sense they have not been authorized, and they can't enjoy their wealth. They can't enjoy their honor. Their state is exactly as Solomon describes here, and even the same as Solomon already described in Ecclesiastes 2.26. Ecclesiastes 2.26, just to remind you, Solomon said this, for to a person who is good in his, that is God's sight, he has given wisdom and knowledge and joy. Wow. While to the sinner, he is given the task of gathering and collecting. so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight." For a lot of people in this world, they just gather and collect. They don't really get to enjoy their wealth. And do you know that this is true even of some of the wealthiest people in the world right now? They don't really enjoy their wealth. And it's not just them. Solomon tells us that this problem is prevalent among mankind. The vast majority of people do not have or find contentment, rest, or real enjoyment in their lives. It's because they will not fear God. They will not listen to His counsel, and therefore they are not empowered. These stubborn ones, they still live as if there's some kind of ultimate gain to reach for in this world. So they strive and strive and gather and collect, hoping that someday they will have enough to rest and enjoy. Or someday they'll find that thing that they've been looking for for so long. But you know what's gonna happen before they do. Solomon tells us. God will take away everything they've gathered and give it to someone else. It will be a wasted life with only scraps of enjoyment instead of the feast that God intended. Now brethren, this is a real tragedy. Solomon calls it a vanity and a severe affliction. Vanity, we know that term. We've seen it so many times. It's the Hebrew Havel, which means vapor or breath. All that toil, all that gathering, gone like a puff of smoke with no real enjoyment to show for it. This is a severe affliction. It's a terrible misery. It's suffering for no good purpose. That's very depressing. But what's the takeaway for us? I think maybe you see it already. If this is the case for many in the world, Solomon is telling us, don't let it be true of you. Don't be one of those stubborn foolish ones who will not heed the wisdom of God. Stop striving in such a way that you only allot time for grateful enjoyment later. Oh yeah, I know I should rest, I should enjoy, but I don't have enough yet. Later I will. Guess what? Might not be a later for you. What you already have, it will be taken away. Fear God. Be content with what you have now. Do not be like the rest who are not really able to enjoy life. That's the main point of this section. Life without grateful enjoyment of God's good gifts is misery. Solomon's not done. He's now going to tell us even more why we should listen and heed this truth. I'm going to frame it this way for the rest of the passage. In Ecclesiastes 6, 3 to 12, Solomon gives three reasons why you should gratefully enjoy God's good gifts instead of pursue useless misery. Three reasons why you should gratefully enjoy God's good gifts instead of pursue useless misery. And we see the first reason given in verses 3 to 6. Number one, More days and more descendants are empty without enjoyment. More days and more descendants are empty without enjoyment. And we'll take these verses together, verses three to six. If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and does not even have a proper burial, can I say, better the miscarriage than he? For it comes in futility and goes into obscurity and its name is covered in obscurity. It never sees the sun and it never knows anything. It is better off than he. Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things, do not all go to one place? We can see some parallels in these verses with Some things in chapter five, specifically verses 13 to 17. There Solomon spoke about a man fathering a child, of a person's coming by birth and going by death, and of the darkness in which a foolish wealth grasper lives. These concepts return in these verses, but in a bleaker way. Verse three, Solomon introduces a certain hypothetical man with carefully chosen characteristics. See, in ancient times, people often said that the truly blessed man had three prizes. Wealth, long life, and many children. If you really want to know whether someone's blessed, he had those things. Now, Solomon has already dealt with wealth. showing that wealth without enjoyment is no blessing at all. That's verses one to two. So now Solomon considers a life of longevity and many descendants and how that fares if there's no enjoyment. So Solomon imagines a man with 100 children, which is a ludicrous amount, except for maybe the most polygamous of kings. He also imagines this man living an incredibly long life, up to 2,000 years, which no one has ever lived. Methuselah, the person who's lived the longest in the Bible, he didn't quite reach 1,000, though he was close. This is twice Methuselah. Wow, what a long life. But the question is, for this character, and we'll call him the aged father, just for convenience, how good would the life of the aged father be if he couldn't also have and enjoy good things? Solomon's answer is in verse 3. The child who perishes in the womb is better off. Literally has more rest. In other words, it doesn't matter how long you live or how many descendants you have. If you are never able or willing in your life simply to stop and enjoy God's good gifts, you will be so miserable that the miscarriage's life is to be preferred to yours. That's pretty heavy, but really think about it. What advantage would this aged father have over this stillborn child? A stillborn lives and dies in darkness, so does the aged father, metaphorically speaking. The stillborn doesn't have an honorable burial, neither does the aged father. If we consider, as those people would have at that time, a decent burial as a good thing. No good things in your life, no decent burial, wow, you're just like the stillborn. What's the difference? But the stillborn does have one advantage that the aged father doesn't have. The stillborn, Solomon tells us, never knows or understands anything. Whereas the aged father, he knows only too well the many frustrations, injustices, and miseries of a fallen world. Perhaps these verses remind you of what Solomon told us in Ecclesiastes 4. Ecclesiastes 4, 2-3, Solomon is remarking on what life is like for those without any comforters in the face of oppression. And he said this, But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed. and has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun. To never see it, to never know it, that's an advantage. That's an advantage for the stillborn. It's like Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1.18, Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. Now, perhaps these words from Solomon, they strike you as unfeeling, even sacrilegious. What a callous and jaded character, this Solomon. Why listen to this guy? While his words are heavy and maybe hard for us to hear, I submit that Solomon is not unfeeling at all. Actually, Solomon feels and understands the pain of life probably better than any of us do. Consider how well Solomon's words here in Ecclesiastes in chapter 6, they correspond with the words of another wise and righteous man who lost every good thing in his life and couldn't help but conclude that God had totally turned against him. Who am I talking about? Job. Job in chapter 3 verses 11 and 19 wrote this, Or said this, Job 3, verses 11 and 19. Why did I not die at birth? Come forth from the womb and expire. Why did the knees receive me? And why the breast that I should suck? For now I would have lain down and been quiet. I would have slept then. I would have been at rest with kings and with counselors of the earth. who rebuilt ruins for themselves, or with princes who had gold, who were filling their houses with silver, or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be as infants that never saw light. There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary are at rest. The prisoners are at ease together. They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. Small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. Solomon gets it, guys. Life in a fallen world is so full of confusion and suffering. A gracious God has yet given us good things to enjoy in the midst of it, to help bear the burdens of this broken world. But if you refuse to receive and enjoy these good gifts from God, then Solomon asks you, how is your life any better than the stillborns? If you will not fear God and live thankfully and contentedly with whatever lot you have, you will live a miserable life. As one writer said, better the miscarriage than the miscarried life. Now let's be clear. No one, even the most hardened atheist, has absolutely no enjoyment in life. All people experience God's common grace, as was described for us in Acts chapter 14. Everyone enjoys some measure of good things from God, whether they believe in Him or not. Thus, we must understand that Solomon's theoretical man in Ecclesiastes 3-6, he does represent an extreme. No one is quite like that. Still, the main point still stands. It's on that basis that Solomon appeals to us. In light of the vapor-like nature of life, in light of death, in light of the great difficulties and uncertainties that surround us in this world, Why will you choose to miss out on life's good things for the sake of pursuing some ephemeral gain? Wealth, power, knowledge. They're not gonna provide what you're looking for, but you will sacrifice enjoyment of God's good things. Why do that? And you know what I find really poignant about these verses? Ecclesiastes 6, 3 to 6. Long life and children are still two of the most common reasons that people will refuse to enjoy good things. You know what I'm talking about? Like the people who eat gross food because they think it's healthy and they want to live longer. Or the people who never take a day off from the work because they're just thinking of the children. My friends, what is the point of a long life if it's not filled with any joy? And why kill yourself for your kids when you cannot ultimately guarantee their prosperity, no matter how much you work? It's good to be able to leave an inheritance to your children, but not at the cost of misery. So here's the first reason to enjoy God's good gifts instead of pursue useless misery. More days and more descendants are empty without enjoyment. Excuse me a second here. The second reason appears in verses seven to nine. Number two, more things will never satisfy the soul. More things will never satisfy the soul. And let's reread the verses that say this. We'll take them all together once again, verses seven to nine. All a man's labor is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have knowing how to walk before the living? What the eye see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind. There's another parallel in this section to Ecclesiastes 5, this time verses 10 to 12. The mirror continues to grow here. Both sections emphasize eating. And they state plainly that no amount of wealth, no amount of consumption will fully satisfy a person. And notice how Solomon begins that point here in verse 7. Excuse me. All man's toil, he says, is ultimately for his mouth. Yet, the appetite, or we could also translate that word, the soul, is not satisfied. As kind of irony presented in this, man needs to eat to live. And motivation to work ultimately boils down to the need to get more food and survive. The Bible is actually pretty clear about this. Proverbs 16, 26 says, hunger drives a worker forward. It says, man, I want to get food. I guess I'll work. And Paul basically plays on that, or bases a command on that in the New Testament. When there were lopers in the Thessalonian church, he commanded, if they're not going to work, don't let them eat. Hunger will bring them around. While this is true, it is also true that as much as you fill the mouth and fill the stomach, you can never finally sate the appetite. You can never satisfy the soul, no matter how many things or experiences you accumulate and consume. And every person has this problem, as verse 8 clarifies. The wise may be better at obtaining wealth and maintaining wealth. But where does that get them in the end? They can't find satisfaction in those things. Or the poor but wise man. You say, oh, he's got an advantage. He's not as distracted. He's not as weighed down by the rich with their goods. Well, the poor man too will not find full satisfaction for his appetites. And where does it get him? Solomon then gives us a proverb in verse 9, which probably is not intuitive to us at first. Its meaning is along the same lines of what verse 7 presents to us. In verse 9, in this case, what the eyes see doesn't refer to window shopping or what the Bible calls in another place, the lust of the eyes. Rather, the eyes behold what is in front of a person. That is, what he actually has. Whereas the desires of the soul, more literally, kind of interesting here, the goings of the soul, They are not for what is in front of a person. They are for what is elsewhere, what you do not have. So the meaning of this proverb is one that we're, I think, readily familiar with. Kind of captured in the common saying, better is a bird in the hand than two birds in the bush. Better to be content with what you have than to keep striving after what you don't. Seeking to finally fill the soul with the things of the world is, as Solomon says, futility. Or that's that word vapor again, Havel. And it's striving after wind. And we've seen this phrase a number of times now in Ecclesiastes. We're familiar with these metaphors. They epitomize totally empty, frustrating, and profitless activity. You're grasping after vapor and wind. more things will indeed never satisfy the soul. Thus, the wise one won't settle for a striving, discontented existence, but will instead gratefully enjoy God's good gifts. Solomon then gives one final reason in verses 10 to 12 to gratefully enjoy God's good gifts instead of pursue useless misery. His third reason is, number three, more knowledge will never reveal new secrets. More knowledge will never reveal new secrets. If you're thinking that the way to life's lasting gain, even through wealth, it really does exist. It just hasn't been discovered yet. You know, I know this guy, like he figured it out. I'm gonna go listen to him. Solomon's gonna tell you, if that's what you're thinking, you're just plain wrong. Look at verses 10 and 12. Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is, for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. There are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man? For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime? During the few days or few years of his futile life, he will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun? These verses really summarize the main points Solomon has been teaching in Ecclesiastes thus far about man's fundamental limitations in a vaporous world. And they also directly contrast the picture given in Ecclesiastes 5, 8 to 9. Here again is that reflection between these two passages of the powerful and corrupt rich. They feel like they've got the power. They can accomplish their will. But now, on the other side, Solomon says, you're in the same boat as everybody else. There are some on earth who seem like they've got the answers. They found the way to the gain for which everyone is striving. But the reality is, None of us have found that game or will be able to do so We're all in the same lowly place before god Solomon says in verse 10 that whatever exists has already been named That is people have already identified and described the fundamental nature of this world. There's nothing new under the sun There's not going to be a new discovery there. That's truly meaningful Moreover, it is known what man is, and Solomon's been telling us about this. Man is the fundamentally dignified yet base creature. He has eternity in his heart, yet he's subject to death. He's aware of the law of God, and he admires it, yet he's committed to serve himself. He longs for permanence and control, yet he is at the mercy of changing times and circumstances. So many cultures throughout time have recognized all these things. Despite man's aspirations, he cannot hope to truly change the nature of his existence. He cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. And who would that be in this instance? It's got to be God. Mankind can't overcome the limits set by God, the curse put on this world. Nor can man demand from God the knowledge that man desires. And though, as verse 11 describes, man multiplies words, he engages in philosophical discussions, he reads and writes many books, man will never arrive at any answers beyond what is already known. Man can speculate. Man can offer answers that he wishes were true. but he cannot fix himself or overcome this broken world. So verse 11, what is the advantage to a man? What's the profit from all this searching, all this discussion, all this debating? It's like Job and his friends. They fill more than 30 chapters of that book with discussions about realities that they do not fully understand and cannot come to a firm conclusion about. So in the same way, without God's intervening revelations, man's words of steady are mere hot air. Just a big waste of time. Truly, Solomon asks in verse 12, who really has found the way to ultimate good for man? Who has found the key to overcome this broken existence? There are many claims to this. The search always continues, but no one has the answer. Because there is no answer beyond the basics that Solomon has already outlined based on the revelation given to us by God. We must all face the fact that life in this world is fundamentally vaporous. It is spent like a shadow, Solomon says, which is another interesting metaphor. What characterizes a shadow? It's fleeting. It appears and disappears in an instant. I mean, you just turn on the light and shadow's gone. It's insubstantial. There literally is nothing to a shadow except lack of light. And it is inscrutable. When you see a mere shadow, it's often hard to make out what is casting the shadow. It's nature. It's dimensions. It's attitude. And I think we do this, or we see this when, I don't know if people do this as much anymore, When you're a kid, it's like somebody shines a light and you put your hands in front of it and you make it like creatures and butterflies and dogs and all those kinds of things. That's not actually there. It's just the appearance of it in the shadow. That's like life, Solomon says. That's like the life of man. It's inscrutable. You can't really tell what's making that shadow. All these things, the fleeting nature, the insubstantial nature, the mysterious nature, They describe life, life in this world for mankind. And when such is man's life, how will man ever be able to discern, much less affect, what will occur after him? How will anyone be able to judge with certainty or make unassailable provision for what will take place on earth after a person dies? And I think I shared with you before when you're studying history, it's so interesting if there's a monarchy or an empire or something like that and a guy designates a certain person to be his heir. It's just amazing. So many times those plans are dashed. Even when everything's set so nicely, as soon as that person dies, the next person becomes the heir, it all falls apart. That is so often the case. Who can really say or who can guarantee what will be after a person? These things are and always will be beyond us as humans, as Adam, as those formed from the dust and bound to return to dust in just a short while. So what's the point of bringing this to our attention again? Well, because all of this is true, because more knowledge will never reveal new secrets to alter man's vaporous existence, why keep striving for that knowledge? Why keep searching for a way to gain and thereby miss out on the good that God has already given you now? If you want to experience good, stop reaching for the good out there. God has already given it to you if you're willing to humble yourself to receive it. The quest for more is futile and it just leaves one discontent and miserable. So we see Solomon's main point is emphasized again and again. Solomon shows us that life without grateful enjoyment of God's good gifts is misery. And he's given us three reasons to show this. are three reasons to gratefully enjoy God's good gifts instead of pursue this useless misery. Number one, more days and more descendants are empty without enjoyment. Number two, more things will never satisfy the soul. And number three, more knowledge will never reveal new secrets. So let's now return to the question I raised in the beginning, and you really do need to consider this question for yourselves. Are you living in God's wise way of happy contentment? Or are you living a discontented, miserable, and miscarried life? Because you fear God, because Christ is your ultimate treasure and not money or wealth or anything in this world, because you know that you can trust God to take care of you, does it show up in the way you live? Do you actually take time to enjoy life? To enjoy the fruits of your hard labor? Come on, we're all toiling. Do you ever enjoy the fruit of your toil? Do you make time for rest, for friends, for family, for church, for gospel ministry? Or do you make time only for work, or for some obsessive hobby you have, or plainly for sin? Do you keep telling yourself, Can't stop yet. Just a little more. It'll be enough. I'll finally arrive to that place where I can enjoy. Consider these questions and hear the wisdom of God. This is God speaking to you today from his word. If you're on that foolish path that takes misery over the goodness of God's gifts, then repent. Turn. Give that up. Turn aside from that foolish path, not only for the sake of your life now, but for the sake of life to come. A life lived for passing treasures and not for God will not only remain unsatisfying and frustrating now, but it will result in God's judgment. Because when you serve those things instead of God, God calls that idolatry. And only He is worthy of your devotion and worship. But a life lived for the Lord Jesus knowing Him, following Him, wanting to become more like Him, that life, I think many of us can testify to this, that life is happy now, even amid trials and troubles. But that life is happy now, and it will result in, it will eventually end in eternal life with the Lord. So which do you want? It's not rocket science. It's kind of like a no-brainer, isn't it? But the only reason, the only way you'll take God's wisdom is if you have a humbled heart. Whether you're willing to believe the Lord, whether you have faith. Believe the Lord. His word can be trusted. Believe the wise counsel of God given in this passage. As we come to the end of Ecclesiastes 6, Solomon has largely finished the task of the first half of the book, which is mainly to show us that work, wisdom, wealth, and joy, what they cannot do for us in this world. You understand their limitations. They can't do what you hope and think that they will do. Now that we go into the second half of Ecclesiastes, Solomon is going to now tell us more what these things can do for us in this world. There is benefit to wisdom. Wealth can help you. Work can be enjoyable. There is a way to experience joy in this world, but only if you appreciate the limitations of these things. So we'll get more into the latter half next time we come back to Ecclesiastes. But that's it for today. Let's close in prayer. Lord, thank you for this word. Thank you for your wisdom. Without your revelation, we would be like Job's friends, just arguing, speculating about things that we really could not find answers to. We'd always be supposing that there was some secret out there that if we could just discover it, it would unlock the way to ultimate gain, ultimate protection. These things don't exist. Instead, you give us your word which lights up our path and shows us if we cease striving for more, that's when we can be truly happy. That's when we can know wisdom and be content. Because you've given us so many good things, Lord, you've given that to all people. You make your sun your shine on the good and the evil. You send rain on those who rebel against you and those who who actually obey you. You are a good and gracious God, yet God, we're aware from this scripture that only those who humble themselves before you are the ones who can really enjoy those good gifts. So I pray that be true for everybody who's heard this word today. Lord God, that you would so work in their hearts, and God, that they would give up that stubbornness and pride and say, I'll let go of these things. I'll let go of believing there's gain out there. Instead, take God, take you, Lord, as their gain, and then just enjoy your good gifts. Lord, you've given us so many kind gifts, and we thank you, God, because this world is hard. And Jesus, you know that, because you came and lived among us. You were beset with all our weaknesses. You dealt with our frustrations. You, though you were God, you are God, you did all this in order to save us. So you know, you know. And you continue to extend your kindness to us. Lord, I pray that we would receive it, and that we would fear and love you for it, and that we would follow after you with all our hearts, just as Pastor Bobby prayed, Lord, everything that we are seeking you and your kingdom that is coming. Lord, in that kingdom, All those things that are frustrating us right now will be made new. Those frustrations will be gone and it will just be good. Good with you. In Jesus' name, Amen.