Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Ecclesiastes 11/12 - Live Joyfully

Episode Date: April 29, 2022

In this series, Jonny Ardavanis explore the main themes in the book of Ecclesiastes. Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. For the last few months, we've been studying the book of Ecclesiastes. And in this episode, we will look at the closing section of Solomon's book. Solomon is going to give us the conclusion to all of his reflections and observations on life. And the conclusion he provides is worthy not only of our attention, but our application as well. Let's dial in. If you're a sports fan, you're likely familiar with the name Mickey Mantle. The New York Yankee star was the face of baseball and the successor to Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. He was not only a

baseball star, but he was a cultural icon. Well, I recently watched an interview of Mantle that was conducted in 1994. Mantle was in his early 60s at the time and was in the hospital because of his 40-year battle with alcoholism. Mantle explained that he began each day with the breakfast of champions, a big glass of brandy. And because of that, the month prior to the interview, he had received a liver transplant. He was in the hospital recovering and he stated the following, God gave me the ability to play baseball and I wasted it. I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it. I want to start giving something back. He then

looks at the camera and it's amazing. You can watch it on YouTube. He says, you talk about a role model. And then he looks and says, don't be like me. I'm going to turn my life around. I'm going to spend the rest of my life making up for my wasted life. The doctor stated that the procedure that was performed on mantle would give him hopefully another five years but on july 28th six weeks following his surgery mantle re-entered the hospital because of spotting on his lungs and the doctors discovered cancer had spread to his abdomen and within two weeks he was dead mickey mantle thought he had the rest of his life to turn his life around, but as we've discussed before, death does not consult our calendars. In his old age, he had

realized the way he wished he had lived. If only he could start over. If only he could make up for lost time. But sadly, Mickey Mantle was out of time. This could be said of Solomon's life. He had everything going for him. He was the son of David, the man after God's own heart. He was supernaturally endowed with wisdom. He wrote the book on wisdom in Proverbs. And here Solomon is at the end of his life. He's picking up the pieces and through a level of tears and regret, he writes the book of Ecclesiastes. He's old now. The book of Proverbs was probably written when he was younger and Ecclesiastes is written towards the end of his life. Once the apparent invincible ruler of the world, Solomon is now acknowledging his undefeated

streak is coming to an end as he faces an undefeated opponent. Time. Solomon's mind has stayed young, but his body has grown old. And there is a depression that is produced by the apparent disconnect between the mirror and his mind. Old age has Solomon shaking his head as the moments and memories from 40 years ago feel like yesterday. Maybe you've heard an older person say, man, it feels like yesterday I was so young. Solomon says, it's true. Time flies. But in our Western context today, we pretend that time crawls.

But Solomon says, no, gravity wins and time is undefeated. But what we are going to see in this last section is that Solomon's realism regarding the inevitability of dying and aging, they're not catalysts for despair, but rather he's going to tell us they boost and spur us so that we might live well. And because of this, Solomon is going to issue commands to young people so that they might live wisely in their brief life under the sun. He's going to issue three pleas to those who are young. And before we begin with the first one,

when he says those who are younger in their youth, what we have to understand here is that that's not just referring to teenagers. It's referring to all those who still have strength, those who still have life in front of them. So first of all, Solomon is going to instruct us to rejoice. In chapter 11, verse 7, he says, the light is pleasant and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. Light here refers to life, but also depicts the bliss of being alive. Solomon says, rejoice in your youth, pour some coffee, watch the changing morning light. He's going to say in verse 8, rejoice as

well. And then in verse 9, again, he's going to say, rejoice young man during your childhood and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood and follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. In a broken world, Solomon is teaching us that we aren't just instructed to endure life, but we are called to enjoy life. This is not a secondary matter to the child of God,

but one of importance because one commentator states, I love this, the invisible God is made visible in his children as they enjoy life and exhibit joy. If you want to live wisely before God in God's world, you are to do so with joy. This is a question we must ask ourselves. Does the watching world have any interest in what makes us tick? Because there seems to be a thrill for living. Solomon says, if you can't answer that question affirmatively, you are falling short of how God has called you to live. So when the preacher here

instructs young people, he's not doing so in a rebuking manner, detailing the immaturity of their youthfulness. His instruction is not you're young, but don't forget one day you'll be old, but more so you're young. So make the most of it with every fiber of your being. God's command to young people is to rejoice and follow their heart to live vibrantly. Potentially, you didn't consider the word commands here, but the scripture bids us to consider that living joyfully and enthusiastically are not optional extras for the Christian. Maybe this provokes within you a level of contemplation that God seems to be actually invested and interested in your joy. Could this be true that God wants me to live joyfully?

Scripture says absolutely yes. Okay, read verse nine with me. It says, but know the second half that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment. So Solomon says, live joyfully, follow the impulses of your heart, but know that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment. So Solomon says, live joyfully, follow the impulses of your heart, but know that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment. What it might seem here that Solomon is saying is he's telling us to go off and have fun, but not that much fun. Judgment awaits those who sow their wild oats. Of course, it is possible that Solomon is issuing a reminder here that judgment awaits those who pursue pleasure in unwise and

ungodly manners. But I do not think this is the best way to read this verse. Solomon is certainly not encouraging loose living and wanton abandonment to the desires of our heart because he has already been too realistic throughout his book about what our hearts are really like. But rather, I think what Solomon is getting at here is the same truth he has already told us in chapters two and three and five and eight. He's stressing that our failure to enjoy life and live joyfully before God is what God will judge. Biblically speaking, enjoying life isn't just an offered

option. It's a clear command. And Solomon is saying that our failure to enjoy the gift of life is a failure to obey God for it is precisely in enjoying the gift of life that we express to God and to others that we have actually begun to grasp the goodness of God. In Deuteronomy 28, 47, Moses tells the people of Israel that the curses of the covenant will befall them because they did not serve the Lord, their God with joyfulness and gladness of heart because of the abundance of all things. Did you catch that? Moses says, Curses will fall upon the people because they fail to rejoice and serve the Lord with gladness. This means that Christians are not just susceptible to failure when they theologically compromise,

but when they compromise in their commitment to serve and live joyfully and gladly. In the book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis writes a religious satire where a senior demon named Screwtape exchanges letters with his nephew, Wormwood. And these 31 letters that he writes are aimed at ensuring the failure of a British man to get him from trusting God and living obediently to God, but rather to live in a way that is fulfilling the desires of Satan. And in one particular section, the devilish writer cannot contain his disdain for God's obsession with joy. It says, quote, he's a hedonist at heart.

All those fasts and vigils and stakes and crosses are only a facade or only like foam on the seashore. Out at sea, out at sea, there is pleasure and more pleasure. He makes no secret of it. At his right hand are pleasures forevermore. He has a bourgeoisie mind. He has filled his world full of pleasures. C.S. Lewis then continues by saying, everything that is of use to the devil is a gift that God has given that first has to be twisted by the devil in order for it to have any use to his cause. God is the giver of good gifts. He is a hedonist at heart. And Solomon tells you today through the word of God, a failure to rejoice is a failure to obey. The first sin in the garden, we often say is pride, which is true. But more than that, it was a failure to rejoice in the gifts that God had extended towards those whom he loved.

And this failure to find joy in the gifts that God had given is the garden where bitterness and gratitude and pride are grown. So first off, Solomon says, rejoice. But secondly, in chapter 12, verse one, he says to remember. Verse one says, remember also your creator in the days of your youth before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, I have no delight in them. Solomon says, in your endeavor to enjoy life,

don't forget your creator. To remember here doesn't just mean not to forget. It means to continually and constantly place God on the forefront of your minds. To remember God means that you make him your greatest treasure and your first priority. Solomon here uses strategic wording because there are no coincidences in the Bible. Rather than telling us to remember God, Solomon says, remember your creator. Because he wants those of us who are young to hear him realize that the doctrine of creation

is the foundation of a life well-lived. God is your creator is not a secondary doctrine. It's primary. It orients us to the truth about God and about ourselves. And this radically shapes the way we live. God isn't just our father. He's our maker. And this reality reminds us that we are creatures made on purpose and for a purpose by God. And one of those purposes is that we live joyfully and mindfully in the presence of our creator. We must remember our creator because he is the determiner of our days.

And one day he will bring all of our days to a close. And before the curtain comes down on the life we have been given, we need to establish God as our primary focus and our greatest treasure. James Russell Miller was a Presbyterian pastor in the 19th century in Pennsylvania. And he says this in his reflections as he neared the end of his life. And I love this. He says,

Old age is the harvest of all the years that have gone before. It is the barn into which all the sheaves are gathered. It is the sea into which all the rivers flow. He's talking about old age. And then he says this, we are building the house in which we shall live when we grow old. And that house will either be a prison or a palace. We make it a pillow to rest full or a pillow of thorns.

Nothing brings such pure peace and quiet joy at the close as a well-lived past. He then says, We are every day laying up the food on which we shall feed in the closing years. We are hanging up pictures about the walls of our hearts that we shall have to look at when we sit in the shadows. Even forgiven sins will mar the peace of old age for the ugly scars will remain. To live happily when we are old, he says, we must live wisely when we are young. And for people that live such as this, there is no fear of death. Miller here alludes to the realities set forth by Solomon. Live in such a way that when

you are old, you are filled with sweet memories and not bitter regrets. The important question is, how can we live this way so that in my old age, when it comes, it shall be beautiful and happy? I'm thankful for the natural tension of this book that causes us to ask this question presently, for to ask it when we are old, it will be too late. Solomon says, now in your youth, while there is still time in front of you, settle these convictions upon your heart. Don't delay. Don't say things like you will follow God when you are older.

Don't you understand? Solomon has already told us this throughout the entirety of the book. You're not promised another year and the rhythms of rejecting God that you establish will only become more and more ingrained as time goes on. So what's the answer? How can we do this? Solomon tells us at the conclusion of chapter 12, thirdly, we must live in the fear of the Lord. So first he says to rejoice. Second, he tells us to remember. And then

third, he says that we are to live in the fear of the Lord. In verse nine, he says, in addition to being a wise man, the preacher also taught the people knowledge and he pondered, searched out and arranged many Proverbs. The preacher sought to find delightful words and write words of truth correctly. The words of wise men are like goads and the masters of these collections are like well-driven nails. They are given by one shepherd. But beyond this, my son, be warned. The writings of many books is endless and excessive devotion to books is wearing to the body. And then here he draws everything to a close. He says, the conclusion when all has been heard is fear God and keep his commandments because this applies to

every person for God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. In verse 11, Solomon says, the words of wise men are like goads and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails. Maybe you have no idea what goads are and that's okay. Goads are like ancient cattle prods to get cattle in line. They were like sharp nails attached to the end of a stick to get them in line. They were like sharp nails attached to the end of a stick to get them in line. And nails are obviously things that keep something in line. And Solomon is saying Ecclesiastes both gets us in line and then keeps us in line. Meaning that it's not just a one-time study to consider what Solomon has set forth. It's a constant reminder that we must saturate and root our lives in.

Then Solomon says the conclusion is that you fear God and keep his commandments. Maybe you've wondered throughout this series, how can I live life well? Solomon says, fear God. Now, what does it mean to fear the Lord? And I think the answer is simple and profound. To fear the Lord is an awe of God,

inspired by a meditation upon the character of God, who is not only your creator, but also your father. It is the worship of God from a heart that is blown away by the reality that the God who forms and fashions planets is the God who formed and fashioned you in your mother's womb. It is the childlike admiration of a father, a father who you long to see smile upon your life

because he has granted you all good things and he has given to you the most necessary thing in his son, Jesus Christ. This fear of God produces holiness and it's not a dread of God. It's an awe of God. Martin Luther used to describe two different types of fear. One would be a servile fear, which would be a fear that a prisoner has before his torturer or his executioner. The other fear is called filial fear.

So there's servile fear and then filial fear. The second one is the fear or the admiration the respect the awe that a child has for his loving father the fear the Lord is not just caused by considering God's power and justice and holiness but also his love and his goodness. I love this passage, Psalm 130, verses three and four. The psalmist says, if you, Lord, kept a record of sin, then who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you.

Now listen here, that you may be feared. I love this because we would initially think that the forgiveness God offers us would cause us to not fear. But the psalmist says God's goodness and love exhibited by his forgiveness of sinners promotes fear, a reverential awe of God. And this fear drives us to mean what we have potentially grown up singing. Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me? I don't know if there's a stanza in hymn or song that better describes and condenses

what it means to fear God. It's to stand in awe of God at who he is. Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me? If you don't know Jesus as your savior, the one who bore the penalty of your sin on the cross and rose that you might have right standing with God, your fear of God is that one day you will stand before him as judge. But if you have placed your faith in Christ, your fear of God is as child. And Solomon says, all of my reflections, my regrets, my observations

have driven me to this conclusion. The most important thing in your life is that you fear the Lord for only when you fear God, can your life have meaning. The theme of the book of Ecclesiastes is not that everything is meaningless, but on the contrary, for those who fear the Lord, everything is meaningful. Assuredly, this is a constant theme, not just throughout wisdom literature, but the entirety of scripture. When Paul writes to the Corinthians, to the Romans,

and to the church of Ephesus, he tells them to fear God. When Peter writes to the churches scattered throughout Asia Minor, he tells them to fear God. And when the writer of Hebrews writes to his readers, he urges them to fear God. Potentially you've read or heard these verses and not understood what they meant. To fear God means to be awestruck by his love for you, his sovereignty over all things, and the marvel that he has extended himself to you. And this fear of God is the fuel of our sanctification. But not only that, as Solomon draws us to a close, he tells us that the fear of God is the antidote to a wasted life. Because as we grow in our fear of God,

we grow in our holiness. And as we grow in our holiness, we grow in our love for God. And as we grow in our love, we grow in our worship. And as we grow to worship God more, we view everything in life as a gift from God, and we desire to steward life wisely. Well, I've been thankful for all those who have been listening to this series, and I hope that the truth of Ecclesiastes are like goads and nails in your life that enable you to live joyfully and vibrantly before your creator. Life is not meaningless. Life is meaningful. Stay dialed in for more updates on episodes and series coming in the future. Stay dialed in.