"Quote" of the Week

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

SERMON NOTES FOR JUNE 19, 2011

MAKING SENSE OF LIFE’S MYSTERIES
ECCLESIASTES 8:10-17

Each and every one to some extent has this desire to understand why things happen the way they do, who’s responsible and why? But the problem is we don’t always get the answers we are looking for. Our world is filled with unresolved mystery. There are countless numbers things in this life that we can’t make heads or tails of.

We are continuing our sermon series through Ecclesiastes entitled “Lessons Learned Under the Sun” and in today’s text (Ecclesiastes 8:10-17), Solomon is going to help us “MAKE SENSE OF LIFE’S MYSTERIES.”

As we have discussed already, Solomon is an expert on life if there ever was one. Though this is the case, however, that does not mean that he has all the answers to life’s questions. Throughout this book, he addresses many of life’s mysteries and is going to revisit a few of these in our text for today. First, Solomon observes…

THE WICKED ARE OFTEN TREATED HONORABLY

10 Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.

Solomon in this verse shows how backwards our world is by mentioning how the wicked often end up being praised and honored in this life on the day of their death and are given a funeral worthy of a saint. A few weeks ago I mentioned in ancient Jewish culture ones funeral was very important. So many would seek to live righteously in order to have an honorable funeral. So Solomon here in this verse is miffed by this injustice of the wicked treated honorably on their death day.

And we can relate right? We have a lot of despicable people buried in honorable graves don’t we? There have been world leaders throughout history who are praised for being incredibly strong and courageous leaders who were really wicked and violent men. Each one of us can think of countless numbers of actors, athletes and musicians who have died who are praised by our society because they were masters of their craft while their off stage and off the field lifestyle was wicked.

And because this is the case Solomon reasons, like many would, "If you seek to live your life in a righteous way only to see wicked men praised at their funeral—what’s the point? This is vanity!"

JUSTICE IS OFTEN DELAYED WHILE EVIL THRIVES

11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.

Another mystery to Solomon is one he addressed in chapter 3; "Why is justice delayed?" Solomon explains here that this is one of the main reasons evil thrives. I mean what’s the motivation for criminals to commit crime? The chance they might get away with it.

If our justice system always got there man and appropriate punishment was given out 100% of the time there would be less crime wouldn’t there? Most if not all criminals commit crimes hoping they will get away with it and many of them do.

This is Solomon’s point in this verse. He says,

11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.

Solomon is deeply troubled by this. I mean he is thinking to himself, “If the wicked were swiftly sought out, arrested and convicted, this would send the proper message to those set on doing evil.” Instead Solomon shows us here that the opposite is true. Justice is delayed and as a result criminals are encouraged and crime increases.

For those of you frustrated by this mystery of life, let me remind you of Solomon’s words in chapter 3:17 when he is making sense of the injustice that is ever present in our world. Solomon says,

17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

Solomon says here that even though justice is delayed and at times denied in this life and though evil thrives, a time is coming when perfect justice will take place because it will be carried out by God.

But that’s what is to come right? That’s above the sun—that’s a vertical and eternal perspective. Here on earth—"under the sun" Solomon says that we have to deal with this mystery of justice being delayed while evil thrives.

THE WICKED OFTEN OUTLIVE THE RIGHTEOUS

12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

In 7:15, Solomon says “There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.” In this passage, Solomon shares his frustration with his readers about the fact that he has observed that the righteous are often snuffed out in this life while the wicked live on for years and years and live a long and prosperous life.

And because this is the case, Solomon explains in chapter 7 that at first glance it seems as if the way of the sinner is better. But remember that in chapter 7, Solomon addresses this issue with an “under the sun” perspective. He says, “Under the sun” this is frustrating—“under the sun” the way of the wicked does seem more desirable because they do live long lives with little heartache.

In 8:12-13, however, Solomon addresses this issue once again but gives an “above the sun”—vertical perspective on this mystery of life. Though it may be true that a sinner can do evil a hundred times over and continue to prosper in this life, Solomon says, “I know that life is still better for those who fear God.”

He says in v. 13,

13 But it will not be well with the wicked; neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

Solomon’s point here is that though the wicked often outlive the godly and though it seems as if they get away with sin time after time, he says, “The wicked will not lengthen their days like a shadow.”

Shadow here refers to the influence of one’s life after death. For example, though leaders like Pharaoh, Nimrod, Nebuchadnezzar, Ahab, and Herod (From the Scriptures) and Nero, Stalin, Mao and Hitler (From History) were big stuff in their day, the shadows of history now paints their picture in terms of the despicable and repulsive. The shadow that they have cast has been shortened.

So a good question to ask yourself is this? “After I’m gone will I prolong my days like a shadow—will I leave a lasting and godly legacy behind?" The best way to do so according to Solomon is to “Fear God.” Three times we see this phrase in vv. 12-13. Solomon is basically saying here, “You want to make an impact for the kingdom of God, live your life in awe of, astounded by, amazed at, and captivated by the one true God.”

Another mystery of life that Solomon has observed under the sun is that…

THE RIGHTEOUS OFTEN SUFFER WHILE THE WICKED ARE REWARDED

14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

As we have talked about in earlier chapters, as a student of life and a good one at that, one of the observations that Solomon makes when looking at life “under the sun” is that there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of justice in this life.

Solomon revisits this frustrating mystery once again in v. 14. He basically says that he has observed that the righteous often get what the wicked deserve while the wicked get what the righteous deserve.

Truth is no matter how righteous and faithful God’s people are, they still suffer in this life while the wicked are rewarded. Once again, we know this to be the case in our world don’t we? We often see the innocent dealt discipline while the guilty get off scott free. But what we find throughout the Scriptures and throughout history is that God works in and through injustice and proves time and time again that He is on the throne and He is to be trusted no matter what.

Could it be that when we are looking back at the difficulties of our life from “above the sun” with God that instead of questioning Him like we do today, we will in fact praise Him for the great work He has done in and through these difficulties of life?

THE HARSH MYSTERIES OF LIFE CANNOT BE FULLY UNDERSTOOD UNDER THE SUN.

15 And I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.

Though the Scriptures are crystal clear on the essentials—though we have everything we need to be saved and to live rightly for God, there are some things about God and His ways that are mysterious—they are beyond us, which is what we have been talking about today.

If you are you the type of person who has to have an answer for everything, according to this passage you are destined for disappointment because this world is filled with mystery. Through many difficult days and sleepless nights Solomon says he applied himself diligently to find the answers to life’s mysteries and after many wrestles days and sleepless nights he comes to the conclusion that many of life’s mysteries are unanswerable.

In vv. 16-17, Solomon concludes that there are things that God does that cannot be understood by us. It doesn’t matter how wise you are and how much you claim to know, Solomon is clear that there are certain mysteries in life that are beyond us.

Deuteronomy 29:29 clearly tells us,

29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever." Deuteronomy 29:29

There are secret things about God’s person and His work that we don’t know and probably could not wrap our minds around if God did reveal them to us. But like we have said before, this should not discourage us but should in fact encourage us because it shows us how great our God is. His person and His ways are beyond us. We can’t wrap our minds around all He is and cannot comprehend all He does. That’s how great He is.

In the past, I used to get upset by the fact that there were all these questions that I could not answer—mysteries I could not explain. Mysteries like, “Why do the wicked prosper? Why does evil thrive? Why do bad things happen to good people?”

But as I continued to study the Scriptures here’s what I found. I found that what God wants from me more than anything else is not for me to know all the answers to life’s mysteries. What God wants is for me to know that “He is God and I am not.” What God wants is for me to leave the secret things to Him and simply come humbly before him and trust in Him, and follow Him, and live for Him and enjoy my life in Him.

And that’s what God wants from you as well. He’s not concerned with what you know. He's concerned with who you know.

"Quote" of the Week

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever." Deuteronomy 29:29

SERMON NOTES FOR JUNE 12, 2011

MAKING SENSE OF AUTHORITY
ECCLESIASTES 8:2-9

On April 19, 1995, a yellow Ryder truck pulled into Oklahoma City and parked outside the Alfred P. Murrow Building. This truck was carrying a 2-ton ammonium nitrate bomb. This bomb went off blowing off the front half of the building killing 168 people including 19 children.

Our country was rocked by the news. At this time it was the worst ever act of terrorism on American soil. Our country just looked on wondering, “Who would commit such a horrible act of violence and why would they do it?” Shortly after the bombing, we had answers. In a short period of time the man responsible was in custody. His name was Timothy McVey a decorated war veteran.

He later explained that this act of violence was in response to his distrust and hatred toward the federal government. He shared that he began to feel this way after serving in the first Gulf War and was pushed over the edge after the raid in Waco.

Now many of you when hearing this story again and being reminded of these events in Oklahoma City you are probably just getting angry all over again thinking to yourself, “What a wicked man. How could a person be so messed up—this is madness, just pure evil.” But let’s be honest, though I know none of us would ever even think about taking actions into our own hands and doing what McVey did, we all have a certain amount of distrust toward those who are in positions of authority don't we? We all at times have shown a lack of confidence in and even a distaste for those in positions of authority, especially those in Washington.

All of us at times question our leaders. Many of us have often asked ourselves, “Do they really have my best interest in mind?” “Do they even care?” “Are they concerned with doing what’s right or are they just concerned with being reelected?” I mean we all have asked these types of questions at one time or another.

If you have your Bibles turn to Ecclesiastes 8. This morning we are going to be looking at vv. 2-9. As we have talked about already, in the first 7 chapters of this book Solomon discusses a wide range of topics from work, money, materialism and success to religious beliefs and practices. In our passage for today Solomon is going to continue with his thorough examination of life under the sun by helping us make sense of earthly authorities.

Let’s begin by looking at v. 9. Though we don’t normally jump around in the text like this, verse 9 is a summary statement of the passage. Solomon says,

9 All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt.

What Solomon is writing about in this passage is what he has observed first hand. And we know that he knew all about earthly authorities because he was one—he was king. So Solomon is speaking from experience here and is once again going to display his wisdom by explaining to us what the proper god-honoring response is to be from us toward those who are over us.

This text speaks so clearly to us and our culture today because we all have strong opinions about authority in our country and the opinions we have are often negative. When thinking about authority, some of the first words that come to many of our minds are words like abuse, oppression and corruption.

Solomon, however, gives us a biblical perspective of authority from Ecclesiastes 8 and tells us how we are to think about and respond to earthly authorities.

Here’s the first principle…

UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANTACE OF EARTHLY AUTHORITIES

Solomon says,

2 I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him.

Because we don’t have a monarchial form of government, we have to stop for a second when we read this verse of Scripture and step out of our context and into Solomon’s to better understand his point in v.2.

In the Old Testament, there were monarchies in place and the King during these days required total obedience from His followers. Those in the kingdom were required to swear an oath of obedience to that king, which could be good or bad depending upon who was in power. The people who took this oath were required to commit and remain faithful to these rulers regardless.

Now what many tend to do when reading this verse and others like is to think “Oh, Solomon is talking specifically about a monarchy so this must not apply to me.” That’s not the case here. Whether it is a king, an elected official, boss or parent, we all have authorities over us that we are to submit to and at times God’s word speaks of these other authorities. So the greater application to be made here is that we are to submit to and keep the commands of earthly authorities.

Now here’s the problem. The problem is we don’t like authority do we? I mean we are taught from a young age to challenge authority and as a result of this sort of influence, our kids and many of us have little respect for those in positions of power.

Like I said earlier, we view words like, “Submission and authority” as bad words in our society. Solomon says we need to learn to submit and be committed to our authorities because being under authority is not just a good thing—it’s a God thing. Did you know that God demonstrates this for us with the way He relates to Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? We see within the very relationship of the trinity both authority and submission.

You have the Father who sends the Son to earth and the Son comes to earth and is led by the Spirit and comes to fulfill the will of the Father. Then you have the Spirit who follows who comes to do the will of Christ and points to Christ and then you have the Father who gives the Son the name that is above all names. You see authority and submission within God Himself—within the Trinity.

So to be under authority goes beyond just being a good thing—it’s a God thing. Whether it be in politics, in education, in the workplace or in the home, the authorities that are over us are God-ordained. This is the way God has structured our world and these authorities should be followed. God’s word is clear that we should humbly submit ourselves to and obey earthly authorities because that is what is pleasing to Him.

DON’T REBEL AGAINST EARTHLY AUTHORITIES

3 Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases.

This verse speaks so clearly to us today because often times when someone in charge doesn’t do something we like—when we don’t get our way our solution is simple; “I quit.” This is often our attitude when it comes to authority. I have known people to walk out on a job because they didn’t get the day off they requested, walk out of a marriage over petty differences, or leave a church over carpet color. I mean we see this all the time in our world don’t we? It’s so easy for us to just check out when things don’t go our way; that’s easy. True greatness, however, is staying, being committed and seeing it through.

Solomon goes on to say, “Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases.” Once again what Solomon is saying here is so true to life. Often times, when People have an issue with authority and cut out, rarely do they go quietly.

Instead, they take a stand in their evil cause—they stir things up and make matters worse. If our leaders are appointed by God and God’s word is clear that we are to submit to their authority, how much worse is it for us to not just oppose their authority, but to also stir up others to rise in opposition?

Solomon says, “If you want to honor God, don’t be opposed to authority—don’t be quick to cut out on or rise up against someone who is over you because of petty differences. Instead, humbly submit to earthly authorities.”

HAVE THE PROPER RESPECT FOR EARTHLY AUTHORITIES

4 For the word of the king is supreme and who may say to him, “What are you doing?”

Another reason we have difficulty with authority is because many of us trust and think higher of ourselves than anyone else. We have our own ways of doing things and we think that our way is the right way. In v. 4, Solomon is warning us about questioning and refusing to go along with those who are in positions of leadership and authority because we think our way is the best. He wants us to realize that people in positions of leadership are there for a reason, which is why he says, “The word of the king is supreme.”

Now some of you may be thinking, “OK, I admit I have issues with earthly authorities. I have trust issues, I am always questioning authority. I don’t easily submit to and at times have even rebelled against earthly authority. But that’s earthly authority—that’s man. Man is fallen and sinful and that’s why it’s hard for me to trust in man. But when it comes to God, that’s different—I trust in and submit to God’s authority.”

Understand this because this is so important. The way we deal with earthly authorities is almost always the way we are going to deal with God. If you can’t go along with and obey earthly authorities—if you cannot humbly submit to those who are over you—to those earthly authorities who are visible and tangible, how in the world are you going to obey an invisible authority whom you have never seen? How are you then going to submit to Him?

We think on the one hand we can treat all earthly authorities terribly and on the other be humbled in the presence of God and submit to His authority, but it just doesn’t work that way. We need to take a close look at the way we view earthly authorities because chances are if we have issues with earthly authorities we are going to have issues with divine authority.

OBEY THE COMMANDS OF EARTHLY AUTHORITIES

5 Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing,

Now does Solomon mean here that if we obey earthly authorities we will never experience trouble? No. Once again Solomon is being poetic using hyperbole. He is not making a guarantee that if you always obey you will never have difficulty. He is simply making the point that obedience to authority brings about better results in life. Think this through with me. If you obey the laws of the land and follow procedure at work etc.—if you haven’t cut corners then you got nothing to worry about. You can live your life with a clear conscience instead of being concerned about all the consequences that will come upon you if you are caught cutting corners.

KNOW THE PROPER TIME TO OPPOSE EARTHLY AUTHORITIES (5b-6)

After hearing the above points, many of you are probably thinking to yourselves, “I know we are to obey earthly authorities, we are to humbly submit to them, and are not to rise up in opposition against them, but are there exceptions? Look at the second half of v. 5 through v. 6. Solomon says,

And the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. 6 For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him.

In the first part of v. 5 Solomon calls for us to obey the commands of earthly authorities. Here, however, in the second part of that verse he explains the fact that a wise person will know the proper time and the right way to go against authority.

In fact, the Bible is filled with stories showing these exceptions. One is found in in Daniel 3. In this chapter you have the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who are followers of the one true God who get themselves into some trouble when they deliberately disobey a direct order from the king.

In the story, we are told that King Nebuchadnezzar makes an image of gold and commands all the people when they hear the music to fall down and worship the golden image and if they don’t, they are told they will be thrown into the fiery furnace. Well the music sounds and three men remain standing—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Why do they disobey the king? Haven’t we been talking about the fact that we are to obey earthly authorities? Were these three being disobedient toward God by going against the king?

The answer of course is no and the reason why is because they rightly realized that there is a chain of command and God is at the top of that chain of command and God’s command is clear. He says, “You are to have no other God’s before me.” So, when man’s authority goes against God’s authority, Scripture says we are to go with God’s authority. That’s the exception.

So there are exceptions. Do we oppose authorities when they tell us to not speak for Christ and share His gospel? Absolutely. Do we reject authority when it says to worship another God? Absolutely. If authority calls for us to compromise ourselves morally and biblically by all means reject that kind of authority, but for the most part we are to obey earthly authorities.

UNDERSTAND THE LIMITS OF EARTHLY AUTHORITIES (7-8)

Though there are some who we have talked about already who care very little for earthly authorities, there are also many others who put too much stock into earthly authorities. For those in this boat, Solomon has a word for you in vv. 7-8. He says,

7 For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? 8 No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it.

Many think that the future of our world is in our hands. They think, “If that guy gets elected the world is coming to an end and if someone else gets elected it’s the answer to all our problems.” Many also believe that the future of our world is contingent upon what happens in a ballet box. Now don’t get me wrong, voting is our duty and as Americans committed to the democratic process we should vote. But we should not put so much stock into our civic duty that we lose our eternal perspective.

Solomon tells us here in these two verses that though earthly authorities are significant—though they are God-ordained—though the decisions they make can affect us, personally, nationally and globally; Earthly authorities have their shortcomings.

Solomon says that not even the most powerful of earthly authorities knows what is going to happen in the days ahead. No earthly authority ultimately has the power over our death. Not one of them can completely restrain evil, and all of them without exception will be subject to a greater judgment by the one true heavenly authority—the Lord God.

Though we should have a respect for, humbly submit to, and not rise in opposition against earthly authorities, more importantly we should be subservient to our heavenly authority. Solomon reminds us in these verses that it is God who is all powerful—God who is sovereign. He is the one we should ultimately follow because he is the one in control of the world around us.

"Quote" of the Week

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1-7

Hearing is important, as James has emphasized in (James) 1:19-21. Faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:17). However, actual faith must be something more than hearing. Hearing is a means, not an end. The end is faith, which results in obedience.

True believers cannot be hearers only. The Greek word for "hearer" (v. 22) is akroates, a term used to describe students who audited a class. An auditor usually listens to the lectures, but is permitted to treat assignments and exams as optional. Many people in the church today approach spiritual truth with an auditor's mentality, receiving God's Word only passively. But James' point, shown by his illustrations in verses 23-27, is that merely hearing God's Word results in worthless religion (v. 26). In other words, mere hearing is no better than unbelief or outright rejection. In fact, it's worse! The hearer-only is enlightened but unregenerate. James is reiterating truth he undoubtedly heard first hand from the Lord Himself. Jesus warned powerfully against the error of hearing without doing (Matt. 7:21-27), as did the apostle Paul (Rom. 2:13-25).

James says hearing without obeying is self-deception (v. 22). The Greek term for "delude" (paralogizomai) means "to reason against." It speaks of skewed logic. Those who believe it is enough to hear the Word without obeying make a gross miscalculation. They deceive themselves.

MacArthur, John. The Gospel According the the Apostles: The Role of Works in the Life of Faith. Nashville: Word Publishing. 2000. pp. 142-143.

"Quote" of the Week

"The branch which bears no fruit is no living branch of the vine. The union with Christ which produces no effect on heart and life is a mere formal union, which is worthless before God. The faith which has not a sanctifying influence on the character is no better than the faith of devils. It is a 'dead faith, because it is alone.' It is not the gift of God...In short, where there is no sanctification of life, there is no real faith in Christ." -J.C. Ryle