The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 3: Power

Episode Date: November 12, 2017

How are doing, church? Doing all right. Everybody's looking good. Grab your Bibles. We're going to be in Ecclesiastes. One and two, Ecclesiastes. If you're new to Bible study, it's towards the middle. A couple of announcements as you look for that.

And the reason is because if you'll do these two things that I'm going to announce, I want to re-announce one that just got announced. It'll help you smash the idol of power and success. Now, one, you just heard from all of our campus pastors about this, but I just want to say it also is that as we launch, we relaunch, and so we need you to serve. and anytime you serve somebody else, you make sure it's not all about you,

and that helps you smash the idol of success because it takes you out of the middle. And so sign up. We had over 300 people sign up last week, so way to go. We need just to do that one more time. That'll put us at about 600, and then we'll be ready to launch Arlington, okay?

So ready, go. Do it right now. All of you, all campuses go. So do that. Secondly, on your way out, you are going to receive this flyer, this very well-done flyer, about the McKinsey run.

How many have you done the McKinsey run before? All right, good, good, good. Well, we need more, okay? So this is what we do. This is one of our church's primary partners. The life and legacy of McKenzie impacts me more than I could ever describe or have time to tonight or today. But we do this. About 4,000 of us are going to show up at Everbank Field on the 18th.

And it's the partner with the McKenzie Wilson Foundation. They partner with us as a church. Educate folks in some needy communities around Jacksonville. Also, they partner with a Coa Refuge in East Africa, in Uganda, and have a children's home there, an orphanage there. And this is a part of what we do as a church. So show up with your active wear-owned, regardless of you're going to run, just pay the money. I don't run. If you see me running, I'm telling you, you think I'm joking.

I'm not joking. If you see me running one day, call the police. There's something is not good for somebody. Either I'm going to jail or running from jail. Okay. So, anyway, you're going to get one of these on the way out. In our very own Ryan page, she's on our worship staff right now. She will be featured, and you could get that information.

Be a part of that. All right. That's all for the announcements. Now we're going to just dig in. We're going to talk about the idol of power and success. What does it profit a man to gain the entire world and forfeit his soul? That's what we're talking about. That's what Paul's video was not the Apostle Paul.

video was about, man, you gain it all, and then what do you have? That's all you got, just this world. And I think you could take the same truth of that verse and flip it around. What would a man be willing to pay to attain his soul for all eternity? You see, we are going to talk about success, primarily about success. And so, first of all, I think we have to define success, and I would say how you define success. If you've read Stephen Covey's book, Seven Habits, Everybody Has, or you should, He says, he's got a great definition of success for you. He says, think about being at your own funeral. What do you want people to say at your funeral?

That's your definition of success. So live in such a way that people can actually say that about you when you're dead, and they're not lying. Because, you know, people lie a lot at funerals. He was a good guy. No, he wasn't. He was terrible. That's why I got shot.

Whatever. All right? So that's what he says. No, I think that's, I think that is such good advice that I tattooed the verse that I hope somebody can, with integrity, read about me when I'm done. Acts 1124. He was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and faith that a great number of people were brought to the Lord. That's all I want to live my life for.

It'll be a good dad, good husband, decent preacher, full of the Holy Spirit, that God had an easy time maneuvering me. Like a bridle in the mouth of a thoroughbred. And the Lord said this way, and I'd just go this way. Full of faith, not fear. And that a great number of people will be brought to the Lord. And a great number is not however many thousands come now. That'd just be one more, if one more person would come to Jesus. And so I think that's a good idea to think through that.

But I think if I ask you what's your definition of success, you would probably give a good one. I mean, give me a break. You're at church. So you'd be like, well, success is about meaning and life and Jesus. You throw Jesus in there for sure. Or about family and relationships. I think if we wrote down our definition of success, I think we'd probably get an A. So I don't think our definition of success is the problem, especially if you consider yourself a Christian.

I think what we have to pay attention to is what makes us feel successful and powerful. So think about it that way. Don't understand out loud. You're embarrassed yourself. But what makes you feel like a success? I can tell you, for me, ready? You. High attendance.

Makes me feel like I'm crushing it, all right? By the way, last weekend we had more people at church than any other time other than Easter. And we were talking about money in October. You all don't understand. In my world, that's like, all right? In fact, this came in the mail today, all right? I hadn't been all day. I walked in and somebody works with me.

Say, hey, look what you got. Boom, right here. You see this? We got an award. Literally today. It says a 2017 outreach, 100,000. fastest growing church, and then you get a trophy. Now, here's what I think is funny.

We follow a Savior that says, if you want to be first, be last. And yet, in evangelicalism, you get trophies for being first. We might be missing the point, okay? So I'm going to just lay that down right there. Yeah, but it feels better than nobody coming, but that does. It makes you kind of feel like a success, you know? And I don't think it's a bad thing. I want more people to come and hear the gospel and meet Jesus for sure.

What makes me feel successful is when I bump into you in places. And please don't ever apologize for saying, hey, man, we go to church together. We should talk. We're a family. We're a faith family. We should say, hey. And you say some very kind things to me, and that makes me feel awesome. When my kids and family do well, I feel like a success.

I know when my wife feels like a success, we're sitting at the little awards day. And when my kids get straight A's, my wife is like, yes. because she does all the work, you know what I mean? So, now, all of those are a good thing. But here's the thing about an idol, man. We got a tricky enemy. You take a good thing, like family and preaching and church, those are some of the things that I mentioned.

You take a good thing and you trade it like a God thing, and that's a really bad thing. That's idolatry. And here's where it begins to creep in. And here's why I say, I don't want to, like, ditch your definition and pay attention to what makes you feel like a success. I coach JP's baseball team all three of, well, two of the three that he's on right now. And part of the reason for us is to just be invested in our community.

It's one of the, you know, most of the people that I work with, I hope, are Christians. So I try to be in our community so I can meet some other families and stuff. And God has used me and a couple other guys on staff coaching these boys in baseball to lead a whole bunch of people to Jesus. They have. Most of my team now comes our church. And so after the season this last year, we have to do a baseball party and we say, hey, we'll host it in our house. Because God has blessed us like crazy.

We've got a pretty cool backyard. And we did that thing in the backyard to be the house that the kids would want to hang out at, right? And it's great. You know, we wanted them coming here instead of going the other places. And so we have them over and all that stuff. And so we host this party. I don't know. There's, you know, the whole baseball team, and everybody's got an older brother, a younger brother, half a sister, and, you know, three parents.

And so they all show up. And we grill and do the whole thing. And we're cleaning up after us. It was great. And Gretchen says, oh, how'd that feel? And here's what I said. I didn't think about it. I just said, like a success.

And I didn't mean the party. I meant me. And the moment I said it, we both at the same time went, uh-oh. Right? Uh-oh. And that's what I'm talking about. Is there anything wrong with throwing a party? Here's what I should have been celebrating that I baptized two or three of those boys from my team.

That's what I should have been celebrating. Instead of like, you know, the burgers and brats turned out good. and everybody would be impressed with our backyard. See, that's what I mean when I say that you've got to watch, not the definition, because I think we would put the right words on paper, because if we're not careful, we'll say the right words and we'll chase a feeling of power and success, and it is vanity of vanities.

You say, and I want you to get this. I mean, I really, I've prayed as much about this sermon as anyone I've ever preached. I want you to get this. and I want you to get this not the hard way. You see, what we're going to learn here in the book of Ecclesiastes is there's a difference between wisdom and experience. Wisdom's better. Because wisdom is learning from somebody else's experience.

Paul Williams in the video had to train wreck his life to get to the place where he was broken to the point where he could realize vanity of vanities. I think I am chasing out something that's not real. So what I would rather you do is not find yourself in the ditch and then learn your lesson, but learn from the wisdom of others. And this is what the book of Ecclesiastes is. I want you to get it.

So just imagine this. Imagine if your whole life lined up with God's definition of power and success. And imagine if you got up every single day and you were walking in step with the reason that you are on earth. Can you imagine that? that God would be glorified, and you would find more joy in that than anything this world has to offer. And so, Ecclesiastes chapter 1, verse 1, Solomon is going to help us with an experiment. It says this. We're going to read a bunch of Bible verses, so hang on tight.

We're going to go fast. The words of the preacher. The word there is Koheleth, all right? The son of David came in Jerusalem, so that means that's Solomon. Verse 2, he's going to give the conclusion of the whole book at the very beginning. I like Solomon, all right? He doesn't like try to trick you. He just tells you this is the conclusion. He says, Vanity of Vanity says the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. All right. It's not very

encouraging, is it? Okay. Here's what he means. He says, in that word vanity, if you grew up in, with an N-I-V, it said meaningless, meaningless, and doesn't really mean meaningless. Vanity's is a hard word to describe. The word is Havel. In Hebrew, H-E-V-E-E-L, Havel. Like, it's all. It's all. all going to Havel. That's what it means, okay? It means shallow or empty. It literally means cloud or vapor. So, remember the first time you were in an airplane? You flew through a cloud if you were a kid and you were like, oh my God, that's going to be bad. Then you go, you go right through it. Like, that was nothing. Solomon goes, that's life. It looks like a thing. And then just like, where'd it go? The thing that comes in my mind is when we used to have dogs, we'd feed

cotton candy to our dogs. Could be why they died of a heart attack at 10, but whatever. I don't know. But you give them cotton candy and you watch them like, oh God, I was on, way to go. That's it? And they would do it over and over and over and over. This is his conclusion. Now, the question, I shouldn't do that. That's all you'll remember. You won't remember. I've given you two Hebrew words already, Kohelith and Havale, and you'll be like, cotton candy. All right, so.

But now the question that he just answered is in verse three. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils, this is the most important part, under the sun? In other words, Solomon sets out, and he goes, all right, if my freshman biology teacher is right, if Richard Dawkins is right, he wrote the god's delusion, if we really are just an amalgamation of cells that just happenstance came together, that there's no purpose, you know, just a bazillion years ago, and all of a sudden, not of nothing, and here we are, and we used to be lizards, and then we grew up, but ta-da, okay, that we're just nothing. Purpiceless, but here we are. We might as well make the most of it.

Solomon's saying, if that is true, if I look at this life only under the sun, then you might as well be successful. You only live once. Might as well make the most of it. And so Solomon decides, well, I'm going to go on a success quest. I'm going to go on a success quest. Now here's the thing. Here's the reason why it's cool that Solomon does it.

Because if anybody could milk pleasure and meaning out of this world, it's Solomon. He's smarter than you'll ever be. The Bible says he's the wisest man to ever live. Jesus would be wiser, but he's a God man, so that doesn't count. He's the richest man to ever live. Like, you know, Bill Gates owns homes. This brother owned a country, all right? And he was like the most famous guy in the world.

And so this guy, he's got all the riches, he's got all the IQ, he's got all the fame, and he's going to set out. to say, all right, what does a man gain here on this earth? And so he's going to go on this success quest. And then verses 4 through 8 or 4 through 11 are going to describe this earth under the sun. It's not very encouraging. A generation goes and the generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, the sun goes down, and it hastens to the place where it rises.

The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north. And around and around goes the wind until it circuits. The wind returns. All streams run into the sea, but the sea is not full, to the place where the streams flow, where they flow again. All things are full of weariness. A man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which you said, see, this is new? It has already, it has been already in ages before. for us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. So he says, under the sun, this is all you can hope for. The third rock from the sun, it just chugs along like a machine. Chuk it like a little, every day. Sun goes up, sun goes down. We rotate around, the moon does it thing. All winter, spring, summer, do it again, over and over and over. Same TV shows, same ball teams,

same thing over and over and over, and then you die. That's it. and not only that not only do you die but how many thanksgivans go by before they even forget who you were that's what you have to look forward to should we close in prayer now I mean thinking about it

when's the last time you talked about your great grandparents at Thanksgiving coach Lee you got to let me to Jesus he used to always say boy you won't know how important it you are stick your finger in a cup of water pull it out and look for the dent thanks coach see we weren't snowflakes buddy I'm telling you no butterflies and rainbows here and so

that's what he's saying. So then basically, because of that, if that is life under the sun, if you only live once, let's make the most of it. And so he goes on the success quest. And the first thing he pursues is wisdom. A way to think about the book of Ecclesiastes is this, is that the first few verses in this success quest, it's kind of like your freshman year.

Remember your freshman year of college? Like you showed up, you're going to be smart, you're going to graduate in four years. You had goals. You got some truce. trapper keepers, like you were ready to roll. So he thinks, if I can just learn stuff and I can just get degrees, then I'll find the meaning of life.

And so, verse 12, I, the preacher, have been king over Israel and Jerusalem. In other words, I can afford the student loan. So here we go, verse 13. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. In other words, in other words, if I am educated enough, then I'll be fully and finally satisfied. Now, listen, this document is written like 3,000 years ago. Does that sound familiar?

You know, now I am pro-education, okay? I've got more degrees in Fahrenheit, but you should, but when you put your hope in these things, because that is our answer, right? The answer is always education. Would you say a 20-year-old today is more or less educated than there were 200 years ago? Things getting better?

Solomon say, we'll see, okay? I have applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. it is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that has done under the sun and behold, all is vanity, cotton candy, and a striving after the wind. Well, that didn't take long. One verse, he got his degree, and he says, all right, I thought if I just understood more,

then it would bring more meaning and satisfaction. To that in verse 15, he says, what is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. And in other words, I'm still just as dissatisfied with this world. I'm just more aware of it now. And so, look, man, if you're in school, you should get your degree. Just don't hang your life on it because it will not give meaning to your life is what Solomon says. And everybody here with the degree also says, amen, all right?

You should get it, but that and a bus ticket will get you ride on a bus. Verse 16, I said in my heart, I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge and I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly I perceive that this also is but a striving after the win for in much wisdom is much vexation. You hear that college kids?

For in much wisdom is much vexation. And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. And all the high school and college students said amen. All right? Now, he's not, none of these things you're going to see, he's not going to say that wisdom and degrees and knowledge is bad, but anytime you take a good thing, try to make it a God thing, that's a really bad thing. When you try to find meaning in life by knowing more about life, then it just won't provide what you're looking for. So that kind of, he flunks out on this one, okay? So he goes to round two.

Round two, he's just going to party like a rock star. So now he's like sophomore year. Freshman year, he made good grades. And he's like, whatever. Now he's going to pledge a fraternity or something, right? Round two. Chapter 2, verse 1, I said to my heart, come now, I will test you with pleasure, enjoy yourself. Treat yourself, is what he's saying. But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, it is mad and of pleasure. What use is it? That's his conclusion. So he goes to parties. He has fun. He's popular. He meets people. And he goes, so what use is it?

Verse 3. I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine. My heart still guiding me with wisdom and how to lay hold on folly till I might see what was good for the children of man's due under heaven during the few days of their life. So he tried to get drunk and party. And he's like, it was fun for a minute, but he just left me with a hangover. I woke up, missing a tooth, and a face tap. It's not good.

Made bad decisions. So then he decides, and I was like junior, senior year of college. And he goes, all right, well, I tried wisdom. You know, I learned more, but it didn't provide meaning. things were still vanity of vanities. Then I just entertained myself, but you know what? You can only be entertained so much, and there's some pretty serious repercussions there.

So now maybe I'll just throw myself into work. Verse four, I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I know a home improvement project. Then I will be fully and finally satisfied. And we say this in church, and you think, well, that's silly. But honest to goodness, there's this thing that happens in you, isn't it? like gosh, as soon as that half-bath gets done,

ah, then I'll be content. Really? So Solomon didn't start with like a half-bath and a granite countertop or a silver refrigerator or that kind of thing. He's going to really blow it out, man. He says, I made myself gardens and parks, and I planted in them all kind of fruit trees. I made myself pools, not I built a pool, pools, many pools.

They're like, what shape you want? You want the kidney? He's like, yep, give me one each. All right? From witch to water, the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves. Let me just give one little pause here. So in Hebrew, when the Bible talks about slavery, it's different than like transatlantic slavery when an American hears that word.

In Greek, the word is doulas. It would be like servant. It was like a bond servant that the person that was going to work moved in and signed off. their rights and could buy it back. It is a different thing than the horrific thing that the devil did in and through this country. Those are two different things. Okay. And so it is very, very important to understand the distinction between what was happening here. So when the Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt, that would be closer to the kind of idea that we have about slavery, like one people group treating another people group like they're not people.

In the New Testament, when it talks about masters and slaves, it's kind of unfortunate in the United States what lands on our minds in regards to what the Bible is talking about. It would be like closer to employer-employee. And I just want to say that because there is no way in the world a person with even a relatively normal IQ could read through the Bible, understand the Amago Day of God in each and every person created in God's image and come. up with any idea of any sort of racial superiority one group over another. That is just so far outside of the bounds of who God is. So that's not what he's talking about here. Basically, he is saying, in all of my home improvement projects here, I got a staff together. That's what he's saying. So I made myself pools from rich to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and

female servants or slaves. And I had slaves who were born in my house. I also had great possessions of herds and flocks more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. So he starts his own business. He says, I also gathered for myself silver and gold and treasure of kings and provinces. And then he gets crazy, okay? I got singers, both men and women and many concubines. Actually, the brother had 700 concubines and 300 wives. And every dude in here was like, what? I mean, you think that's, I don't know who would think that's awesome. Foof, I almost stop because I just have one very lovely wife who's awesome and here. So I'll stop.

The delight of the sons of man, that's what it says. So in other words, he just looked around and said, I'm going to get whatever I want whenever I want. I make enough money. I'm going to build houses and parks and pools. And I'm going to have singers at my house. and concubines, whatever I want. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also, my wisdom remained with me.

And whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. And so when he was sitting around the house and he was bored, he would just get on Amazon Prime and just click whatever he wanted and just drones coming. And man, that just stuff, whatever he wanted. Whatever he wanted. Now, listen, you read this and you think, man, this is, is crazy. Who would do this? All of us, to whatever agree we have the ability to? If you'll remember in 1 John, the Bible says, love not the world are the things of this world.

For all this world has to offer. In other words, all that the enemy can throw at us. We talk about this all the time. And the reason I bring this up all the time is because more than just explaining what a verse means, what my job to do as a shepherd of the sheep is to give you some of the sheep is to give you some tools by which to see all of the scriptures. So here's one. All that the enemy has is these three things. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. That's all he's got. And when you begin to, you see, if you begin to define success in regards to those three things, the lust of the flesh, well, I want to feel a certain way, so I think I've earned it. Or do you begin to define success with the lust of the eyes? Oh, I want that. Let me just click it.

Why? Because I can. or the pride of life, that's where that power thing comes. That's where you look out of the window from your corner office and think, ha ha, ha, I have arrived. And yet somehow you are Havel, empty, cotton candy on the inside. You see, nothing's new. Nothing's new. And this is what happens here.

He says, whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil. and this was my reward for all my toil. That's his conclusion. So you know what I did when I got everything this world had to offer? I only had everything this world had to offer. I mean, honestly, how many VH1 behind the music do you have to watch? Hey, here's your homework.

Watch Rick Flair, Nature Boy, 30 for 30. This is it right now. Oh, he was the dude, right? Whoa! Had his little walk, man, with his robe. For what? He attained every... He was like Solomon.

Not as smart. But famous, wealthy, had everything, and he was a wreck. Verse 11. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it. And behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind.

And there was nothing to be gained under the sun. The stuff didn't satisfy. The entertainment didn't satisfy. One day the party was over. had a thousand women, palaces, pools, and then the problem is, is one, every night you go to bed, it's just you, and you wake up, and it's just you again. And what do you do? And so then what he's going to do is, see, here's the crazy thing.

We would all look at Solomon and say success. I mean, he's starring on the lifestyles of the rich and famous, man. He's on the cover of Forbes. They're interviewing him about everything. and yet he begins to ponder his life, verse 12, so I turn to consider wisdom and madness and folly for what can the man do who comes after the king only what he's already been done.

Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly as there is more gain in light than in darkness. In other words, what he's going to say here is like, now don't get me wrong. If you've given the option between smart or dumb, choose smart. Healthy or unhealthy, choose healthy, successful or unsuccessful. These things are better. We don't look at this world and go vanity to vanity. We're all going to die anyway, so we might as well just sit here and wait. No. Verse 14, the wise person has his eye in his head. That's good. But the fool

walks in darkness, yet I perceive that the same events happen to them all. In other words, everybody dies and then, you know, dead. And then I said to my heart, what happens to the the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise? And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. For of the wise as of the fool, there is no enduring, remembrance seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten how the wise dies just like the fool. So I hated life because what is done under the sun was grievous to me for all is vanity and as striving. the wind. See, here's what Solomon is considering. Man, he's laying down in bed at night, and he's going, is this it? I mean, this is my life? You know, much of the time, we only think

about this, like if you go to a funeral, hopefully you'll reflect on that. And you've heard it said, you know, I didn't make this up, but when they dig a hole, put you in it, throw dirt in your face, come back to church, eat potato salad, and talk about how good you look. They're going to put a tombstone in your deal. It's going to have two dates, date you're born. 1973 for me, the day you die, whenever that is. And those are not the most important things. The most important things is that little dash in the middle. That one little is your whole life.

And Solomon is like, hmm, even if I milk this world for everything it has to offer, what's the point? If we all just end up dead anyway, what is the point? Like what matters? He's asking the question of identity. He's asking the question of, of, of, of, uh, purpose in his life. And if you don't slow down, I'm telling you, the enemy is doing a really good job at keeping us busy enough

to not ask that question. You see, I don't know if you've realized this, but in our country, man, we are perpetual graduates. So it's not until you quit graduating that it gives you time to look at your life and go, whoa. And what I mean by this is, you know, when we first put our kids in school and Greshals was like, come on, we've got to go to graduation.

I was like, it's just going from first grade to second grade. He has not graduated yet, all right? You know, you don't graduate from second grade. You just go to third. That's not graduation, you know? But in our world, as long as we can keep the next step right in front of you, then I'm telling you, that busyness is a trick so that you don't take time to just evaluate the dash and go, what am I doing?

What am I doing? And so Solomon, once he's gathering everything this world has to offer, now, you know what you have time? You have time to ponder, like, what, that's it? another party, another car, another house? Okay, why? We all just end up dead anyway, and then speaking of death, verse 18, he says, I hated all my toil in which I toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool, yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This is also vanity. We talk about it all the time. Everything you have one day will be sold in a yard sale.

Unless you make him bank, it's an estate sale. It's the same thing. One has cheese at it. That's the difference. Here's what he's saying, man. He goes, I busted my tail. I went to school. I built buildings. I did so many things. Some other guy, a few years from now, there's a guy I don't even know. He's going to be walking around in my pants. Think about that for a second. The pants you have on right now. one day via hopes closet to the glory of God there's some people you don't even know it'll be walking around in your pants think about your favorite thing whatever your favorite thing is I'm not anti-thing but think about what that your golf clubs some of you crazy do you love some golf man there's some fools going to have your golf clubs and he's going to be better

than you and he doesn't practice as much how does that make you feel huh somebody's going to move into your house mama Listen to me, somebody's going to move into your house, and they're going to be like, look at these dated silver appliances. We need some lime greens in here. They're going to put lime green, and they're going to wallpaper your kitchen. They are. They are. They're going to put wallpaper with roosters on it and stuff, all right?

Straight up. They go, they go look at these floors. Look at these fake hardwood floors. Man, you know it would be nice here? Some shag carpet. They go shag carpet your floors. You think I'm kidding? And so he begins to scratch his head.

And he's like, so is it just all pointless? I'm working myself to death and some other brothers wearing my pants one day. Verse 20, so I turned about and I gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors and under the sun. Because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave, look, what, must leave what? Everything. To who? Somebody. That's it, man.

And honestly, you can leave it to your kids. But they might be idiots too. You don't know. The verdict's still out. A lot of years, sweet now and then. Their kids. You know, leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This is also vanity and a great evil.

So he's still like, what am I doing? Why am I killing myself for this? And then he says, verse 22, What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? And listen, here's the thing. thing I need you to hear. Solomon is more successful than you will ever be. I mean, infinitely more, made way more money, more promotions.

He is king of the world. And he says, what has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow and his work is a vexation. Even in the night. his heart does not rest. This is also vanity. Even in the night. Listen, this is when it usually happens. It's when you turn the TV off, but you didn't fall right to sleep or you didn't fall asleep with it on, and you turn it off, and you got a few minutes. And you're just laying

there. And she's over there just, not her, you're her. Mine wakes up every time I exhale. She's like, what? I'm like, okay. And then you start thinking, man, and you go, you ask this. This the question. This is one of the most dangerous questions you can ask, especially if you consider yourself successful, is this it? I mean, this is it. That's why I live my whole life for. This is why I cram for those exams and studied hard and stayed late and got the promotion and worked hard to save and buy this and moving there. And again, man, there's nothing wrong with those things. Every good and perfect gift is from above. But it's when we begin to find our hope in those things, when we begin to try to put meaning art, like define ourselves by these things.

Things. It is meaningless. It's the merry-go-round of normality. You lay in bed at night and you go, is this it? So tomorrow, I'm just going to get up. I'm going to eat something. I'm going to drive something. I'm going to go somewhere and sell something. I'm going to come home, watch something, eat something, go to sleep and do it again. And then the biggest prayer of my week is, thank God it's Friday. That's it. I mean, you live for, you know, football and whatever your hobby is. and be careful. You get those minutes, those moments when you're not entertained, and you have to just deal with you, and you'll be right here, and you'll go, uh-oh, is this it? When I first moved to Florida in 2003,

I heard there were dog tracks here. I thought that's cool. And then a couple years later, I couldn't bring myself to go by myself. So a couple years later, I hired Pastor Ryan Stone. He used to do middle school ministry with me when I was doing high school ministry. and I knew this would be a great illustration. So I said, get in the truck, we're going to the dog track. And so we did.

Now, you have to understand this about me. I didn't grow up in church. I was radically saved as a teenager in and around some legal issues. And Pastor Stone, like, I think he was born on the altar and was like, hallelujah, that was his first word. Okay. He grew up very Southern Baptist. He looked at other Baptists and like, you're aren't conservative enough. Literally when he was a kid, they would not, you know how you'd make a suicide?

at the fountain drinks, and his parents wouldn't let him because that's a mixed drink, fact. Okay? Yeah, right? So, we're very different. So, I take him to the dog track, and he's so uncomfortable. He's like, I don't know if I'm supposed to be in here, because that's how he, I felt, I honestly felt more comfortable there than I do with a lot of churches. All right, so, but that's just me.

One time I took Stone to a casino, you should have seen him. He just walked in, he was sweating. He was like, what do I do? Now, Pastor Britt, way too comfortable. We had to talk about it afterwards, okay? So, anyway, what was I talking about? Oh, the dog track. So we go to the Greyhound place, right?

I've never seen it before. And, you know, you can add like he'd never been, but whatever. And, you know, they march the dogs out and people, it does seem like people that have the least amount of discretionary income or the people spending the most amount in there, but that's a different sermon. And so, you know, everybody's betting on the dog or whatever, and we do a dollar or something just to play along. And then, sure enough, sure enough, the dogs line up in their little kennels,

and this is what they were built for and bred for. They got their muzzles on. They've got the little numbers, you know, they've got the goofy names. And so, you know, you pick a dog, and then soon enough, I mean, the announcer comes on, you know, he announces them all or whatever. And then he does the here's Rusty, and this fake rabbit drops out in front of them. And when the fake rabbit Rusty drops in front of them, what do the dogs do? The dogs lose their mind. And then the bell rings or whistle goes off or whatever, and the gates open and what happens.

Man, the dogs are like, boom, everything they're made of. They're chasing this Rusty, this fake rabbit. And sure enough, it goes around, I mean, their elbow, and it doesn't matter if they kill their best friend over here next to them. They don't care. Their only mission in life is to catch this thing. They are motivated by it. I mean, they are just insatiable to try to catch this thing. They believe if I catch this, then all of my hopes and dreams will be fully and finally satisfied for all the days of my life. And sure enough, every time, every time they run around that corner and then what happens, boom, it disappears. And they're like, dang it, he got me again. Maybe he'll be back. And you look at that and you'd be like, what an idiot. I'm dumb a dog. Why would you chase the same thing? It's not even real, man. How could you spend your whole life chasing a thing and it's not even real?

How could you spend your whole life chasing after a thing? It's not even real. Day after day after day after day after day. And so I'm talking to some of the folks at the dog track and did you know that, I mean, Rusty is a mechanical object. So everything's mechanical can and will break down. See the book of Ecclesiastes. and did you know that if Rusty breaks down and the dogs can catch him, they will chew through their muzzle,

they will chew into that fake rabbit and discover, uh-oh, it's not even real, I've been duped. And those gray herons are no good anymore. That's why you can adopt them for like a nickel, I think. So it's true. It's true. And honestly, which one's sadder? To spend your whole life and you're tricked?

or to sink your teeth into what you've been chasing your entire life and realize I've been tricked. So Solomon would go, so which one are you? Are you chasing every single day after something that's not real, or have you grabbed onto it and been disappointed by everything under the sun? Millennials, you get picked on a lot because you're the easiest group of people to pick on in the history of people. But I will give you this.

The boomers and the busters, the generations older than me, I'm a Gen X, so we're right in the middle of the race right now. The boomers and the busters, most of them got to the end of the race and looked around and went, is this it? You mean this is it? You mean, I got the corner office. I had the house of the picket fence, and yet, you know, the people that I'm supposed to love don't love me. I got no purpose. I got no meaning. Is this it?

I spent my entire life climbing the ladder of success, and I get to the top and I realize I'm on this wrong wall. and Stephen Covey says, if your ladders leaned against the wrong wall, then every rung you take is a step away from what success actually is. Here's what I will give to the millennials. I believe you're asking that question before the race starts. I think your generation is looking going, is that it? I don't think that's real. Okay, so your car does what? Zero to what?

Oh, so? Now, but the danger is you can't look at the rat race. race that really our whole society is built around right now and then reject it and just go sit on your couch and be the king of Xbox. I do think you ask this question, is that it? And then throw yourself into what life is really about. And so he says, what has a man from all the toil and striving of the heart with which he toils beneath the sun for all his days are full of sorrow and his work is vexation, even in the night his heart. does not rest. It's also vanity. Verse 24. There is nothing better for a person than he should

eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. To which you go, how's that? Solomon, you just said it's all worthless. It's vanity. It's cotton candy. It's meaningless. This is how. This also I saw is from the hand of God. Now we're talking about something. Now what he's going to do, now he ran this whole world out, man. Anything you could ever hope or long for. He said, I achieved it. And I'm I promise you it's vapor. It's cotton candy. It will not satisfy. I'm not going to lie to you.

It is sweet for a second, but then boom, it is over, and you are not satisfied. And he goes, but, but when the hand of God gets involved. See, so now we are talking about not life under the sun, but now we're talking about life over the sun. Now we're talking about eternal life. What happens if you and I are not just an amalgamation of sales that just randomly came together? and you don't actually love your spouse, you know, that's just the pituitary gland. But what if the reason that you love your spouse is a real legitimate thing because God is love and created you in his image, and that's why you can love your spouse, because you were created

on purpose for a purpose, and glory to God and to free you up, and it's not all about you? Then if that is the case, then Solomon goes, well, actually, if you've got that perspective, the above-the-sun perspective, then there's nothing better for a person than he should eat and drink, can find enjoyment in his toil. This also I saw is from the hand of God. You see if you're not careful man, if you just keep your eyes under the sun, you'll think, how this is meaningless, meaningless. One time, this was years ago, 2003, 4, somewhere in there, 2004, I just moved to Jacksonville, moved here in 03 to be the youth pastor at Beach. And I was home one day by myself, and Gretchen was working, she used to be a physical therapist. And I was watching Braveheart. And for about the

73rd time, somewhere in there 211, I don't know, best movie of all time, okay? And you may have a different opinion, but you can be wrong. So it's the greatest movie of all time. And I'm watching Braveheart, and I'm just kind of caught up in the story of William Wallace and all that he lived for, you know,

freedom. And so I've got my sword, because why wouldn't you? All right? Because I had a sword, because I'm a Christian. And so Ephesian 6th is sword. And I don't own a kilt, but I had some plaid boxers. So there I am in my plaid boxers. just work that visual out for a second okay okay it's all right there'll be peptoe from the ushers

in a little while if you need that and i'm watching and the door opens and gretchen and i was like just so embarrassed because i'm a grown man in plaid kilt sort of and a sword watching brayhart if i had blue paint i'd have rusted it up i'd have been in it and so so legitimately that night i'm like Just kind of thinking through my life, you know what I mean? I'm like, my life is so meaningless. It's just so, I mean, I'm a, what am I doing with my life? You know, it's early 30s, youth pastor at this church, watching this movie about this man who gives his life for freedom of Scotland and people are still talking about him and you can go visit his castle and his sword. And I look at my life and I'm playing chubby bunny.

You know what that is? if you didn't grow up in church, you'd take marshmallows and put them in your mouth and say chubby bunny to the point where you go, and then you choke and die. That's usually what happens so you couldn't do anything. And so I'm looking at lock-ins and pizza and you, you know, and I'm like, what? Is this it? This is my life? And I'm legitimately praying like, Lord, I want to do something big. I want to, like, you know, get in the game here like William Wallace. And I'm legitimately just praying about it hard. I felt like the Spirit of God spoke to me.

He said, listen, that man while he did noble things was fighting for lines on a map. And you were fighting for the eternities of the students in and around Jacksonville. You see the difference? Man, if life is under the sun and that's all there is of this life, well then, hey, man, eat drink and be merry. It's going to suck. That is it. That is it. All you got to look forward to, if it's only life under the sun, the best you can hope for.

It's either a car wreck or cancer. You're going out one way or the other. See you. But I have also seen this, that there is no thing better for a person than to live this life, that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also I saw is from the hand of God. Here it goes in verse 25, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment. The answer, no one.

Now everybody can for a second like a dog eating cotton candy, but then it's gone. verse 26 for to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy but to the center he has given the busyness of gathering and collecting only to give to one who pleases God this is also this also is vanity and striving after the wind

and then if you keep going chapter 3 for the first eight verses about all these different feelings God gives us to navigate this thing called life and then when he gets to verse 11 And here's what he says. He says, God has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart. Do you know why this world can't satisfy you? Do you know why there's not enough money? You know why there's not a house? Do you know why there's not a job? There's not a title. There's not a degree. There's not a relationship. Do you know why there's nothing under the sun that can fully and finally satisfy you in the deepest longings of your soul?

it's God's fault because God put eternity in your heart. And the only way that you will ever be satisfied at the soul level is for an eternal God to fill it. That's it. Blaise Pascal is famous for saying that we have a God-shaped hole in our hearts and then he invented like trigonometry or something right after that. I would say it this way.

The reason it seems that we have an insatiable appetite of the soul is because it was meant to be filled by it. an everlasting God. C.S. Lewis says, if I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world. So listen,

hey, especially if you would say that you don't know Jesus, or maybe you would say you're kind of a casual checker-outer of Jesus, I would ask you, man, how's your soul? How about you? Have you been searching for success and satisfaction in the things of this world? Have you been looking for your identity and what your job is,

or who you're married to or where your house is or how much income you have. And then if you're honest, can I can I just ask honestly, so how's it working? It's not, is it? I mean, it numbs it for a minute, but if you're honest, it's just not working. That there's something in here

when you've achieved your goals, and you go, is this it? Is this it? Well, let me beg, let me plead that you would not seek the success of this world, but that you would use God's definition of success, that you would not seek the power of this world, but you would be filled with the power of God. It is available to you. It is. That you and I do have eternity in our hearts,

and the only thing that will fill it, the only thing that will fill it is an everlasting eternal God. And the good news is when he fills it, then and only then, can we actually fully enjoy this thing that he calls earth, this life that he has given us? And if you say, okay, well, how do I do that? I'm ready to get it out of the rat race. I'm ready to get off of the merry-go-round of normality and live for more than just me. How do I get on mission for God?

The gospel is found in verses 26, in verse 26. For to the one who pleases him, the one who pleases God, God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy. But to the center, he's just given toil in this earth. and so you go, okay, well then how do you please God? Because I think I'm a sinner. I think the fact that I put me in the center of the universe

and tried to make the whole world revolve around me by seeking after success, I think that's Exhibit A that I'm the biggest sinner in the room. So if those are the two categories, if you've got the sinner on one hand and he gets cursing and then you've got the one who pleases God and he gets the blessing, how do I move from here to there? I got good news and bad news.

The bad news is you can't. Now here's the really good news. Christ has already done it for you. There's only one way to please God. To live a perfect life. To live a absolutely perfect life. To stand holy and righteous and just so that God could look at you who has lived in a perfect life and say, well done, good and faithful servant. And if you're honest, you would go, well, I think I'm out.

And this is where the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is. that 2 Corinthians 521 that God made him who is without sin the one that lived the perfect life God made him who was without sin to be sin for us that we would be made the righteousness of Christ that he put forth his son as a propitiation for our sin that word propitiation just means a payment that satisfies which means if you say if you say okay I give up I don't want to live my life under the sun anymore I want to live my life above the sun I want to live my life above the son, I want to live my life in a right relationship with God. I want to live a life of purpose and of meaning and mission.

I want my life to matter. I don't want to just chug along and at the end of it go, cotton candy, vanity and vanities. That's all I got. I don't want to be at the corner office and say, man, I hope nobody actually knows how empty my soul is. I want more than what you want is Jesus, a relationship with Jesus. And so you admit it.

You admit it. Okay. I've been running the life of Solomon trying to find pleasure in this world on my own. But in this moment, I believe, I trust that when Christ died on the cross, somehow that counted for me. Somehow, if I put my faith in Jesus, then that makes me pleasing before the Lord. Why? Because he put forth his son as a propitiation for our sin, that Jesus took the payment that we deserve, and that was a payment that satisfies, which means God can't be dissatisfied in you anymore. And that when you surrender your life to Christ, he takes the payment for our sin,

and we are imputed or counted or reckoned or credited is a good word. And we are credited with his perfect life. So when God Almighty looks at us, no matter what you've done, if you're in Christ by faith, he looks at you and you get credit for the perfect life of Jesus. And you hear, well done, good and faithful servant. So smash the idol of success and power. And the way to smash the idol of power is you surrender. You surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in the way God's economy

you are. And then he fills you with the ultimate power that is his spirit. You will be loved. You are forgiven. You are adopted. One day you'll be glorified. And until then, right now you'll be justified. And from the moment that you're justified until one day when you're glorified,

in between that, you actually get to live this life on purpose. And trust me, trust me. It'll be the greatest adventure you ever going in your life. So I believe there's some people at all of our locations right now. And you've just been running the race, man. You're like the Greyhound. Wake up every morning, here's Rusty. Run as hard as you can, and you're just exhausted.

And to the exhausted, Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burden, and I will give you rest for your soul. You won't rest for your soul? Surrender your life to Jesus. Surrender your life to Jesus. Would you please bow your heads and close your eyes? If you're a believer in here right now,

I would ask you that you just remind yourself of the goodness of the gospel. I would just invite you to spend some time with the Lord and reject the temptation of this world to chase after the feeling of success and ask the Spirit of God to just satisfy you with His presence. And if you were here at any of our campuses, and right now for the very first time, You were ready to get off of the merry-go-round of normality. You're ready to quit chasing, chasing after the wind,

and you were ready to surrender your life to Christ, to meet your maker in a way that gives you purpose and meaning, forgives your sins, and adopts you into the family. Would you raise your hand high and say, here I am, Father, I surrender. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of trying to keep up. It feels like vanity of vanities. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, we thank you that you love us.

And God, we thank you that you come running after us. And God, you don't need us, but because you are love, you want us, and you love us. And God, we reject the values of this world. And God, may you give us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to feel what is so important. That is your glory that we have been created for your glory. And God, may every single one of us live on that kind of mission. so that we would never look at our life and say vanity of vanities, but we would say meaningful, meaningful is every breath I take for the glory of God in our joy.

And so, God, I pray for the man, I pray for the woman, I pray for the student who right now, in this very moment, is surrendering their life to you. And we join with the angels, and we thank you and we praise you for that one who once was lost and now is found. And God, I pray, and I thank you, that they would get off that merry-go-round of normality. They would hop out of the rat race,

and they would jump into the loving arms of their heavenly father who loved us and came on a rescue mission for us. And God, we thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. It's not by what we have done, but what you have done on our behalf that makes us pleasing in your sight. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.