I've entitled the message for
tonight, What God Does is Forever. Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon,
the son of David, is really like no other book in the Bible. You
read Ecclesiastes and you won't find any other book. It's got the same message, but
it's said in a much different manner. And there's a phrase
that Solomon uses nearly 30 times in this book. Things done under
the sun. Have you noticed that? Things
done under the sun. Things done here. Look in chapter
one, verse one. The words of the preacher. That's
what Ecclesiastes means. The words of the preacher, the
son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the
preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all
his labor which he taketh under the sun. Verse nine. The thing that hath been, it
is what shall be. And that which is done is that
which shall be done, and there is no new thing under the sun. Verse 14. I have seen all the
works that are done under the sun. And behold, all is vanity
and vexation of spirit. Look in chapter two, verse 11.
This is after he speaks of all the things that he's going to
do. He says in verse 11, then I looked on all the works that
my hands had wrought and on the labor that I'd labored to do
and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit
and there was no profit under the sun. Verse 17 of the same
chapter. Therefore I hated life because
that the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto
me for all is vanity, vexation of spirit. all my labor which
I had taken unto the sun, I hated all my labor which I had taken
unto the sun, because I should leave it unto another man that
shall be after me. Look in verse 22. For what hath
man of all his labor and of all the vexation of his heart when
he hath labored under the sun? For all his days are sorrows
and his travail grief. Yea, his heart taketh no rest
in the night, This also is vanity. Now, is this a pessimistic attitude? Is this a negative attitude? No. Because he also speaks of
these times under the sun that have God's purpose, all God that
is God purposes. And that means while we can look
at things and a lot of the way we are think this is vain, God
is in control of everything. Look what he says in chapter
three, verse one. To everything there is a season
and a time to every purpose under the heaven, a time to be born
and a time to die, a time to plant. A time to pluck up that
which is planted. A time to kill. A time to heal.
A time to break down. A time to build up. He's talking
about times under the sun. A time to Weeping, a time to
laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance, a time to cast away
stones, a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace,
a time to refrain from embracing, a time to get and a time to lose,
a time to keep and a time to cast away, a time to rend and
a time to sow, a time to keep silence, a time to speak, a time
to love, a time to hate, a time of war, a time of peace. What
profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth? I've
seen the travail which God has given to the sons of men to be
exercised in it. But all that's done under the
sun, listen to this summary of it. He has made everything beautiful
in his time. Also, he has set the world in
their heart so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
from the beginning to the end. You know what that means? We
don't get it. We don't get it. I don't. I know that there's no good in
them, but for a man, so this is not pessimism, but for a man
to rejoice and to do good in his life and also that every
man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all of his
labor. It's the gift of God. And here's our text. I know. How do you know Solomon? Because
I know who God is. That's how I know. I know that
whatever he does is forever because I know that's who he is. If you know God, you know that
is so. I don't have to try to explain
it to you. If you know the living God, the
all powerful God, the eternal God, you know this is so. Whatever
he does, is forever. This knowledge comes from knowing
God and this is consistent with the attributes he's revealed
with regard to himself and his word. If he's eternal, he's immutable. He can't change. He's sovereign. His will must be done at all
times. He's all powerful. He has the
power to make sure whatever He wills comes to pass. And what
He does is eternal. If you could add to it, it wouldn't
be eternal, would it? If you could subtract from it, it would
no longer be eternal. But what God does is eternal. We read of his eternal purpose,
which he purposed in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Known unto God are
all his works from the beginning. This is who he is, and this is
what his word teaches concerning him. Whatsoever God doeth is
forever. It is eternal. This is who he is. This is what
his word teaches concerning him. I love the verse of scripture
in Hebrews chapter four, verse three, when it says all the works. What's that cover? Everything.
All the works were finished from the foundation of the world. So complete is what God does
that nothing can be added to it or taken from it. And here's why God does this.
I love this. Look at verse 14. I know that
whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put
to it or added to it, nor anything taken from it or subtracted from
it. It can't be diminished. And God
doeth it for this reason, that men should fear before him. Now there's only one appropriate
response to this. The fear of God. The reverence and the awe of
God. God does this that men should
fear before him. And that's every believer's response. The fear of the Lord. This is
not the fear of hell. You know, I've had that all my
life. When I was a little boy, I'd lay awake in bed at night
in fear of going to hell. But this is not talking about
the fear of hell. This is not the fear of punishment. This
is not the fear of loss. This is not the fear of mistrust
and unbelief. This is not the fear of the future.
This is not the fear of the unknown. This is not the fear of embarrassment.
This is not the fear of man. This is not the fear of failure.
This is not the fear of having no control. You know, I feel
sorry for control freaks because you can't control anything. And
yet, what torment they put themselves through. This is the fear of
God. Anybody that really believes
what's being said here, they truly fear God. Now, no unbeliever has the fear
of God. The scripture says there's no
fear of God before their eyes. No reverence. Oh, they fear maybe
getting smashed or punished. But I'm talking about that fear
and reverence and awe of God that Esau certainly didn't possess. He didn't think God was worth
a bowl of soup. That's how important God was to him. But every believer
has this fear, awe, and reverence for God. All who know him fear
him, and all who do not know him do not have this fear that
we're reading of in this verse of scripture. The fear of God. I love the scripture, the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. If you don't have the fear of
the Lord, You have no true knowledge. True knowledge begins with the
fear, the awe, the reverence for the Lord. The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If I don't fear the Lord, I am
void of wisdom. Now I may be very educated and
may be able to do all kinds of things that are helpful to my
fellow man, but if I don't fear the Lord, I am void of wisdom. Joshua said in Joshua 24, 14,
fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth. Anything else is insincere and
falsehood. Psalm 130 verse four, David said,
There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Do you know the only people who
fear God are the people who are forgiven? Someone who is not
forgiven has no fear, no reverence, no awe of God. You see, that
person who's forgiven knows something about what it takes for them
to be forgiven through the work of Christ on the cross and how
that fills our heart with the fear and awe of God. The fear of the Lord is a fountain
of life. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. I'd like you to turn for a moment
to Jeremiah chapter 32. I'd like you to read this with
me with regard to the fear of the Lord. It's God's work. If you have the fear of the Lord,
it's because he put it in you. That's why you have it. You didn't
just come up with this on your own. Look in Jeremiah chapter
32 verse 40. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do
them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts that they
shall not depart from me. God is the one who puts this
in our hearts. And you know what? Because of
that, we're not going to depart from him. Now, what is the fear of the
Lord? When does a man fear the Lord?
I'll tell you exactly when a man fears the Lord, when he believes
the gospel. That's when a man fears the Lord. When he looks
to Christ only and he's afraid to look anywhere else. He knows
enough about himself to know he can't be saved by his works.
He's afraid to look to himself, to his works, to anything about
him. He has no confidence in the flesh. That's the man who
fears the Lord. He looks to Christ only. And he continues looking to Christ
only. And he never graduates from looking
to Christ only. That is the fear of the Lord. And I believe that that's the
best description of a believer. Somebody who fears God. It's
throughout the Old Testament. Look at the way Solomon ends
this book in Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Verse 13, let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments
for this is the whole duty of man. You want to know what your
duty is? Fear God. Keep his commandments. Believe
the gospel. I love what the Lord said in
Luke chapter 12, verses four and five. He said, I say unto
you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body. And
after that, there's no more they can do. But I will forewarn you
whom you shall fear. Fear him who after he hath killed
hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear him. Now, what God doeth, what God
doeth is set against what man does. And I've already stated
this with regard to everything that goes on under the sun. All
the stuff you participated in today, from the time you got
up this morning to the time you go to bed tonight, and even while
you're asleep, it's all things done under the sun. Solomon said
in this book he gave himself to no wisdom and folly and pleasure
and laughter and wine and great works and buildings and acquisitions
of wealth and music and the arts. And look what his conclusion
to all this was. We've already read it in 2.11. Then I looked
on all the works that my hands had wrought and on the labor
that I'd labored to do. And remember, this is man in
his best state, Solomon. Wisest man to ever live. And how does he summarize it? Behold, all was vanity and vexation
of spirit, and there was no prophet under the sun. I think of what
Solomon's father David said, man in his best state. His best
state is altogether Vanity. There are no merely human works
that are eternal. There's nothing that men do that
lasts. His greatest building achievements
will crumble, won't they? They won't last. The works of man are temporary. The greatest governments that
are here to end all problems, they won't last. They'll prove
to be flawed. There is nothing that a man does that cannot said to be sinful. I don't care what it is. Scripture
says the plowing of the wicked is sin. There is a temporary
weak mutable nature to everything that man does. All the works
of men, including me and you, all the works of men are sin. There's not a thing I've ever
done that I can say there's no sin in that. Not once. There's never been
a second when I don't have unbelief along with my faith. All that's
done under the sun, this wise man says, is vanity and vexation
of spirit. And no matter what you do, no
matter what you achieve, you know where it's going to end
up? You in a coffin. and the wages of sin is death.
You can achieve all kinds of great things and help your fellow
man, and I'm all for that. I'm not discounting that. I want
everyone to live good, productive lives and help each other, but
here's where you end up. In a coffin, dead. And the reason
is because the wages of sin is death. And that's why you're
there, that's why I will be there, It was, I can't remember who said it,
somebody famous. Yes, Benjamin Franklin. He said,
everyone cannot avoid these two appointments, paying taxes and
death. Benjamin, you're wrong. There's
been a lot of people avoid paying taxes, but nobody can avoid death. That is the end. With regard
to all your accomplishments, the wages of sin is death. Now, over the dead body of every
man, woman, boy, and girl to ever live, the wages of sin is
death. But, let's go back to the text,
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, the wages of sin is death.
If that's all I had to say, this would be very depressing, wouldn't
it? But the gift, the gift of God, the free gift of God, how
he can give, oh, his power to give. I love when the Lord said
to that woman at the well, if you knew the gift of God. And
who it is that saith thee, give me to drink. You would have asked
and he would have given you living water. The gift of God is eternal
life. Now that eternal life is a life
that never had a beginning. And it'll never have an ending.
You know why? It's the life of Christ. It's
my life before God. That's eternal life. Yes, eternal
life is knowing God and all the things associated with the new
birth. But what did the Lord mean when he said, I am the way,
the truth and the life. It's my life, he says, that is
going to make you accepted before God. Oh, to be found in him. The gift of God is eternal life. Thy throne, O God, that speaks
of His sovereignty, is forever and ever. He reigneth forever
and ever. This God is our God. He's our
God forever. His mercy endures forever. From everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God. His word shall endure. forever. You know, this is the
only book that will endure forever. Everything else is going to be
destroyed and forgotten. But this word is eternal. We read in the scripture of eternal
salvation, a salvation that never had a beginning and will never
have an ending. We read of eternal judgment. And that's seen in
Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. All
judgment was taking place even then. We read of eternal redemption
and eternal inheritance. God said in Psalm 132, 14, this
is my rest forever. And it's God's people's rest
forever too. The rest that's in Christ Jesus.
He rests in his son, we rest in his son. Now I wish that I
could say this as clearly and forcefully as it should be said,
but salvation is what God does. Let me repeat that. Salvation
is what God does. It's not a cooperative effort
between God and men. It's what God does. And what God does is what he
eternally decreed to be done. If you're saved before time began,
God decreed your salvation. He purposed your salvation in
His Son and you were saved before you ever had any existence in
the purpose of God, in the decree of God. God decrees in eternity
everything that takes place in time. You just read it, the lot
is cast into the lap. But the whole disposing thereof
is of the Lord. The covenant, the everlasting
covenant, was made between the three persons of Godhead. God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And that
covenant was made before the universe was brought into existence.
Ponder that. Think on that. God the Father
gave his Son a people to be his bride. And it was on the condition
that he would put away their sin and make them perfectly righteous. He said, I'll do it. God, the
spirit agreed to give those the father elected and the son agreed
to redeem life. And this covenant, like David
said, is ordered in all things and sure. What a glorious covenant. Now, election is what God does. You don't have any hand in this.
He didn't look and see if there's something new that would make
you worthy of election. Election is what God does simply because
he wills to do it. Predestination is what God does. God predestinated me to be perfectly
conformed to the image of his son. Predestination is what God
does. Justification is what God does. If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? God justified them. That's what He did. You
didn't do anything in this. I didn't do anything in this.
I've been given a perfect standing before God. I'm without sin,
perfectly righteous, having never sinned. That's His work. He did
this, and it's eternal. It can't be added to. There's
nothing I can do to make this better, and there's nothing that
can be taken away from it. What God does is eternal. Redemption is what God does.
Hebrews 1.3 says, when he had by himself. Don't miss that. You didn't have anything to do
with it. When he had by himself purged our sins. Hebrews 9.12
says he obtained eternal redemption for us. Salvation is what God
does. It's what God the Holy Spirit
does. It's what Jesus Christ does. By one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Calling is what God does. When
it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach
Him among the heathens, immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood. The new birth is what God does. As many as received him, to them
gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them which
believe on his name, which were born, which were birthed, not
of blood, not of the will of the man, not of the will of the
flesh, but of God. What God does is forever. It's eternal. It can't be improved.
It can't be diminished. It can't be added to. It can't
be taken from. Being kept. I'm looking at some people who
have been kept up to this point, and I pray that the Lord keeps
us all the way to the end, but we're kept by the power of God
through faith. unto salvation. Listen to this
scripture. First Thessalonians 521. Faithful is he that calleth
you who also will do it. Now, what does it say? Does it
say, well, he'll enable us to persevere? Well, he does. I wouldn't
say it doesn't mean that, but that's not what it says. It says
faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. He's the one who does it. Resurrection. is what God does. In the resurrection of Christ,
he raised himself from the dead because he's God, but it was
God doing it. God the Father raised him. When he gave us resurrected
life, spiritual life, and the new birth, it's what he did.
When we're raised in that final resurrection, it'll be what he
did. What he did is forever. Nothing can be added to it. Nothing
can be taken from it. Glorification is what he does. Whom he justified, them he also
glorified. That's his work. Now I'd like
you to turn with me in closing to Jeremiah chapter 31. Verse three. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying. Now here's what he does. Yea,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love, a love
that never began, a love that will never cease, a love that
can't be added to, a love that can't be taken from. I have loved
thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
have I drawn thee. If you're anything like me, and
I suspect you are, when you commit sin, a horrible
thing, you feel like probably God loves you just a little bit
less. You might not say it, but you feel it. Not so. I have loved you with an everlasting
love. Can God love less? No. I've heard people talk about
Esau and they say, well, when he says he hated Esau, it means
he loved him less. God love less? God doesn't love less. He said,
behold, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore,
with loving kindness, have I drawn you a love that can't be subtracted
from under any circumstance, a love that can't grow greater. That is why Colossians chapter
two, verses nine and 10 is true. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete. lacking absolutely nothing. Nothing can be taken from that
completion, nothing can be added from that completion. You are
complete in Him. 1 John 4, 17 says, as He is,
so are we in this world. That's how complete this is.
Now, in Isaiah 9, verse 6, we don't usually quote verse 7,
but let me quote Verses 6 and 7. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders.
His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And the increase of his government
and peace, there shall be no end. You see, what God doeth is forever. And everybody that believes that
fears him with this holy fear. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you that what
you do is eternal because of who you are. And Lord, we're so thankful that
nothing can be taken from it, that nothing can be added to
it. And Lord, we confess with Jonah, salvation is of the Lord. And Lord, we love it that way.
We wouldn't want it to be any other way. Bless your word according
to your will, through our hearts. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.