Ecclesiastes chapter 12. I have been wanting to go through
Ecclesiastes for quite a while. And before we started the book
of Acts on Wednesday nights, we've been going through Acts
for a year, year and a half, something like that. I wanted
to go through Ecclesiastes and we had a message from chapter
1. But I did not feel led to continue through it. And we'll
see if the Lord leads us to go through it for a Bible study
now. We'll wait on his direction. But Solomon wrote this book. Solomon penned this book. And the Lord gave Solomon great,
great wisdom. Great wisdom. We looked at him
and we looked at chapter 1 just a few Sunday nights ago. All
of the vast riches God gave him. 40,000 stalls of horses. You
remember that? But more importantly than that,
he gave him great wisdom. Great, great wisdom. And in this
book of Ecclesiastes, there is so much instruction and so much
help for the life of a believer. I really encourage each one of
you to just read the book. I really would encourage you
in the morning as you wake up, just read through Ecclesiastes. It's a wonderful book. It's a
wonderful book. There are answers to difficult
situations right here in this book. There are warnings in this book. God taught Solomon through experience. And as we read through this,
we see that Solomon said, I tried it. You know, and we can learn
from another man's mistakes. We don't have to repeat the mistakes.
And he can tell us, this didn't work and this didn't work, this
is the way. And God gave him great experience
and he taught him so much and we would honestly be wise. And it would go well with us.
This word talks about it going well with us in life. We can
do things to cause this life to go not so well for us. And
we can do things to cause life to go a little more well with
us. And it would go well with us
if God would cause us to hear what he has written in this book
and heed it. I mean, really follow it. And
in all of his instruction here and everything that he deals
with, every bit of it, He is getting to one conclusion. He's going to give a lot of instruction.
And in every bit of this instruction, He is pointing to and arriving
at one conclusion. Right here in chapter 12, verse
13 says, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God. and keep his commandments, for
this is the whole duty of man." If you want to know what the
end of a believer's life ought to look like, fear God. and keep his commandments, for
this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work
into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or
whether it be evil." Whether it's a good work, he's going
to bring every work before this judgment throne, whether it's
a good work or whether it's an evil work. Now, we fear God,
don't we? We fear God. We know how holy
and how right he is, and we know how sinful and how wrong we are,
don't we? And that causes us to fear God. Verse 14, God shall bring every
work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good
or whether it be evil. Now, can a man or a woman do
good? Can a man or a woman do good? Look with me over at Mark chapter
10. Mark chapter 10 verse 17 says, And when he was gone forth into
the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked
him, good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal
life? And Jesus said unto him, why
callest thou me good? There is none good but one, and
that is God. There is none good but one, and
that's God. Look with me at Romans 3. Romans 3 verse 10 says, as it is written, there is none
righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God, they are all gone out of
the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that
doeth good, no, not one. All right, well then why are
verses like this in the scripture? Why are verses like this in the
scripture? Turn with me to 1 Timothy 6. First Timothy 6 verse 17 says, Charge them that are rich in
this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain
riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things
to enjoy. And I'm going to give you, here's
a little key, you can, if the Lord would have us to go through
Ecclesiastes, That's the conclusion of the whole matter, right there.
If you want to set that to the side, that's what he's talking
about. They be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches,
but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.
Charge them, verse 18, that they do good, that they be rich in
good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate or give. Why does it say that? Look with
me at 2 Timothy chapter 3, it's over a page in my Bible. 2 Timothy
3 verse 16 says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness. that the man of God may be mature,
that's what perfect means, throughly furnished unto all good works. One more page, Titus chapter
2, verse 7, in all things showing
thyself a pattern of good works. a pattern of good works. Verse
13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself
for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. And we could literally just keep
going with this. I just grabbed a couple. This is the last one. Don't turn, just listen. This
is Hebrews 10, 24. Let us consider one another to
provoke. Let's provoke each other unto
love and to good works. Good works. So can a man or a
woman do good? And should a man or a woman strive
to do good? The answer is yes. It's yes, as long as we understand
it in light of this right here. We've got to turn to one more
scripture. Go to Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 verse 8 says, For
by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works. which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them." He said, it's not of works, it's
unto good works. Man, this thing is not of works,
it's unto good works. And we know what he's saying,
don't we? Salvation is not of works. We are His workmanship. It's
God that works in us, both to will and to do. And His work
in us, there's none good but God. But thank God, His good
work in us is a work, everything He does is good. Is there anything
that God does that's bad or evil? Everything he does, if he does
the work, it's a good work in us, and his work produces good
works. He produces a changed mind, doesn't
he? Repentance, a changed mind. He
produces a changed heart. He produces a changed will. You know, people say, I was in
this denomination or that denomination. It's all free will. If it's not
the truth, it's all free will and God gives a brand new will.
All of a sudden they start saying God's will. And then he gives
his people a changed walk. He really does. And the reason
is because for the first time in a sinner's life, he fears
God. That's the reason. He fears God. He never feared him before, but
he does now. And God gets a hold of him and
he says, I am, I will, I shall. And that sinner responds to it.
That's what happens. So with all that being said this,
this morning, all I wanted to do was give an intro to Ecclesiastes. With all that being said, Solomon,
God through Solomon, has a lot to teach us in this book about
the life we live, about how to live this life. And God gave
him great experience. And here's the one common denominator
that he says through it all. It's all vanity. And it's all
vexation of spirit. And the sooner we understand
that, it takes a little while to get a hold of that, but the
sooner we really understand the reality of this world and this
life, the sooner we can let it go. Just let it go and lay hold
of the only thing that has any substance. The only one who has
any fullness at all, Christ the Lord. Our Savior. As soon as our hearts get to
Him, the sooner we get to Him, the sooner we'll get to the conclusion
of the whole matter. The end of the whole matter.
Now, go with me to Ecclesiastes 1. We have recently looked at this
chapter, so all I'm going to do is tell you the summary of
what he's saying in it. Verse 2, Ecclesiastes 1 verse
2 says, Vanity of vanities saith the preacher, vanity of vanities,
all is vanity. It's all empty. Every bit of
it is just empty. Verse 7 says, All the rivers
run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. It will never be
full. It will never have fullness. Never. Now, I'm about to tell
us something, and I underlined and circled and drew arrows to
us. Starting with me. I'm about to
tell us something, and as soon as I do, all of us in here are
going to say, yep, that's right. And we don't get it. I promise
you, I don't get it. I do not get this, okay? We all
know this is true. Our flesh, though, does not get
it. Now here's a statement. Nothing
in this life can satisfy us. Can means has ability to. Nothing in this life can ever
satisfy us. Yep, that's right. Amen, brother. Now, if I could just get that. If I could just get that promotion. If I could just get that house. If I could just pay that house
off, if I could just work it out to get two weeks of vacation
instead of one week of vacation, isn't that us? Once we get that, we will not
be satisfied. Once we get that promotion, we
will not feel in our soul satisfied. Once we get that house, we will
not inside, in our being, feel satisfied. Once we pay that house
off, that's always been in the back of my mind since before
I ever owned a house. Before I ever owned a house,
all I wanted to do was pay it off. And once we pay that house off,
we will not, inside our being, feel satisfied. It is never enough. It is never enough. If you made
one million dollars a year, it would not be enough, I promise. I promise, it would not be enough.
You would not sit down and feel satisfied. you would feel like
you still hadn't quite attained that last thing or that last
amount that would put that final seal on your happiness and your peace, your satisfaction. Still one thing left. And what
God caused Solomon to see was that he spent his life chasing
emptiness. just chasing emptiness with all
of his might when all the fullness was in Christ. All the fullness. Now, I'll go as far as I feel led
to go, all right? We don't have much longer, but
chapter 2, verse 1 says, I said in my heart, go to now,
I'll prove thee with mirth. That means happiness. What I
said is, I'm going to take yoga. And I'm going to try to put myself
in a constant zen. And I'm going to be one with
nature. And enjoy pleasure. He said, behold, this also is
vanity. That didn't satisfy me. Verse
two, I said of laughter, it's mad and of mirth, what doeth
it? What good is it? That's what he said. What good
is it? Verse three, I sought in mine heart to give myself
to wine, yet acquainting my heart with wisdom. That does not mean
he became a drunk. He said, I still retained wisdom. Wine means feasting and entertaining
and getting together with people and just The good life, the fine
life. And he said, that didn't satisfy
me. Verse 4, I made me great works,
I builted me great houses. Man, Solomon built some houses.
He built some houses. And he said, I planted vineyards.
He said, none of that satisfied me. Not one bit of it. Verse 5, I made me gardens and
orchards. The word gardens means paradises. That does not mean I planted
some tomato plants and some okra. That means he bought Fiji. That's
what it means, paradises. And he goes on to say, I planted
trees in them of all kinds of fruit. I made a business out
of them. They were fruit trees. My pleasure profited. Verse six,
I made pools of water to water therewith the wood that bringeth
forth trees. I made it all sustainable. Verse
7, I got me servants and maidens and had servants born in my house,
so I had great possessions of great and small cattle above
all that were in Jerusalem before me. I gathered me also silver
and gold and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces.
I got me men singers and women singers and the delights of the
sons of men as musical instruments and that of all sorts. So I was
great. and increased more than all that
were before me in Jerusalem, also my wisdom remained with
me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired,
I kept not from them." If I wanted to do it, I did it. If I wanted
to buy it, I bought it. And I withheld not my heart from
any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was
my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works
that my hands had wrought, and all the labor I had labored to
do, and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there
was no profit under the sun." There was no eternal good in
it. Verse 12, And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness,
and folly. For what can the man do that
cometh after the king, even that which hath already been done?
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth
darkness. It is better to be wise than
to be a fool. The wise man's eyes are in his
head, but the fool walketh in darkness. And I myself perceived
also that one event happens to them all. They all die. That's what Solomon saw. He started looking around and
he saw everybody's dying. Then said I in my heart, As it
happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me. And why
was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart that
this is also vanity. For there is no remembrance of
the wise more than of the fool forever. Seeing that which now
is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth
the wise man? Just like the fool. Therefore
I hated Life. You ever been there? You ever
been there? You ever gotten to that place?
I am sick and tired of life. I hate life. I hate this miserable
life. Verse 17, I hated life because
the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me for
all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labor
which I'd taken unto the sun, because I should leave it unto
the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall
be a wise man or a fool? Yet shall he have rule over all
my labor wherein I've labored, and wherein I've showed myself
wise unto the sun. This is also vanity. Therefore
I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which
I took under the sun. For there is a man whose labor
is in wisdom and in knowledge and in equity, yet to a man that
hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion."
This also is vanity and a great evil. He's saying, everything
I've attained and built up, I'm going to leave it to somebody
who didn't do anything for it and it's all going to be wasted
and turned out to be empty. Verse 22, for what hath man of
all his labor and of the vexation of his heart wherein he hath
labored under the sun, for all his days are sorrows and his
travail grief, yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night.
This is also vanity. Solomon said, I'm laying here
awake. I'm losing sleep over stuff that
is empty. It's all empty. The whole thing
he said is vanity. I relate to this man. But here's
the thing, God taught him something. And there was a point in my life,
and I'm just going to speak from experience, there was a point
in my life after I came to really get a hold of the truth that
I was just ready to be done with this earth. And had it not been
for this right here, I would have just remained a
miserable believer. God taught him something, and
I honestly pray the Lord would confirm this in me right here. Everything Solomon has said to
this point is the view of life through the eyes of the natural
man. the natural man, the way he sees everything in this world. Solomon saw every bit of it the
way the natural man sees it, and he did every bit of it the
way the natural man does it. And in verse 24 though, He's
going to tell us how this life is perceived and lived in a man
that fears God. Verse 24, there is nothing better
for a man than that he should eat and drink and that he should
make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw that it
was from the hand of God. He has a changed mind. He has
a changed mind on this whole life. He has a changed outlook. He said, wait a minute, I'm looking
at this whole thing wrong. This whole thing, this meat and
this drink is not my satisfaction. The God whose hand I received
it from is. That meat will disappoint you
and that drink will disappoint you and that house will disappoint
you. It will rot and you'll keep pouring money into it and you'll
keep trying to fix it. It will not satisfy, but the
God whose hand it came from will. It will. The things, the things
in this life cannot satisfy, but the God who gives us life
There's where it is. That's the conclusion of the
whole matter. And he said, I started realizing that all these things
were not my portion. These are not my portion. They
were gifts from the hand of the one who is my portion. The whole
focus changed. And he said, looking at it in
that way, is it wrong to enjoy the things that God gives us?
No. No, not at all. Verse 25, for who can eat or
who can hasten thereunto more than I? For God giveth to a man
that is good in his sight wisdom and knowledge and joy. And all
three of those things are Christ. He gives Christ, Christ, and
Christ. He's our wisdom, isn't He? We're not going around this
world trying to get wisdom. We're trying to get Christ. And
we're not going around this world trying to get knowledge. We're
trying to get Christ. And we're not going around this world trying
to get joy. We're trying to get Christ. If we have Him, we'll
be wise. We'll consider our ladder in.
If we have Him, we'll have everything we need to know. And if we have
Him, we'll be as happy as a man could ever be. He's our happiness. It's not about health. I know
brethren right now that are going through cancer, and it's not
about that. It's about Him. And it's not about wealth. It's
about Him. And a wonderful example of that
is Moses. Moses went in that river. Pharaoh's daughter pulled him
out, brought him home. He was the grandson of Pharaoh,
heir to the throne. And he walked away from every
bit of it, counting the riches of Christ to be greater than
all the treasures of Egypt. That's wisdom right there. That's
wisdom, that's knowledge, and that's joy. In verse 26, God
giveth to a man that's good in his sight wisdom and knowledge
and joy, but to the sinner he giveth travail to gather and
to heap up that he may give to him that is good before God.
This also is vanity and vexation of spirit. Do you understand
what that verse is saying? He said to the sinner he gives all
this travail to gather all this stuff up that he may give it
to the one who is good in God's sight. Everything this world
does is for God's people. Every single thing this world
does is for God's people. It may all be vanity, and it
is, but God is going to make sure that his people are full
He said in here, Jehovah Jireh, didn't he? And it's just the
truth. The Lord is going to provide.
He is going to provide. All right, so that's now an intro,
and we'll see if the Lord leads us to continue through this or
not, all right? You're dismissed.