Old Testament in a Year: Ecclesiastes 1-12; 1 Kings 10-11

It's so good to be with all of you today, church. What an honor it is to bring God's word. We have been going through our series in the Bible through the Old Testament. It's one giant, we're even calling it a series. We've just been going through chapter by chapter and book by book. And have you enjoyed doing that so far this year? Come on. It's been an inspired decision to even do, to go through the Old Testament together. And today I have the honor of breaking down the book of Ecclesiastes. I remember Pastor Jay asked me, he said, hey, you're gonna be speaking on this day. And in Ecclesiastes, he's like, oh, that's awesome. What part? And he said, all of it. And this is gonna be great. So first service went awesome. And so we're super, super, super excited to be here with y'all. Last week, Pastor Trent did a phenomenal job. Didn't he do a great job, church? Come on, one more time. Let's give it up. And in doing so, he talked about what it means to live a true life of worship. And as Pastor Trent broke that down for us, he talked about building the temple

and all the components and all the aspects that went into that. And one of the main characters of the person who actually built the temple was King, yeah, somebody got it, thank you. One person who's listening, King Solomon. Yes, King Solomon was the one who built the temple. Now, today, for today, as we talked about Ecclesiastes, King Solomon is gonna be our main character as well in breaking it down. But first, let's talk through some context about who King Solomon is. King Solomon, he's the son of King David and Bathsheba. He inherited the kingdom at a very young age and led the nation of Israel into great wealth and prosperity for 40 years. King Solomon also is known for building the temple. He fulfilled his father's dream by constructing the first temple in Jerusalem, solidifying it as a central piece of worship for the central place of worship for the Jewish people. And then Solomon also has something that was very different. He was unmatched in his wisdom. Man was super smart, you'd call him a savant because the Lord himself gave it to him. When God offered him anything he desired, Solomon asked for the discernment to lead his people. In 1 Kings 3 9-14, here's what King Solomon asked when God shows up to him and says, Solomon, ask me for anything and I'll grant it to you.

Here's what King Solomon asked for. He says, well, give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours? Well, the Lord was so pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies, I will give you everything that you asked for. I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has heard or ever will have. And I will also give you what you did not ask for. I don't even wanna throw in the things that you did not ask for. Riches and fame, no other king in all of the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life. There's a condition though that I overlooked multiple times. I've read this chapter so many times, I overlooked this. And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father David did, I will then give you a long life. In other words, a blessed life. Here's King Solomon who is the smartest man to ever walk the planet. In the tides of history, the smartest, smartest man. He's not only known in his region for being the wisest man in the world,

he's also known internationally. He's known by people from different countries and they would travel to come and visit Solomon and for just for his problem solving skills and can you figure this out for me? And Solomon, can you do this for me? And Solomon, he grew up as the wisest man. As he did so, he was able to direct his kingdom. However, Solomon's story is that of a tragedy. Solomon falls away from the Lord. The Bible talks about how his heart eventually was turned away from God. And here's a deal with Solomon. Solomon had two issues with his life. One, he had a problem with success. Solomon also had a problem with women. And here's the deal with Solomon, he, this is, I don't know, wisest man in the world, 700 wives for Solomon, 700 wives. First service, I joked around. I don't know if I can joke around too much this service because my wife is in the service, but I don't even know if I can meet the emotional needs of one woman. I don't know what the house looks like. So, come on, it's not, okay, anyway. 700 of them, oh my goodness. I don't know where we're headed with that. And then in addition to that, he had 300 concubines on top of that.

Crazy. Solomon was the wealthiest man at one point. Solomon had the most wives and relationships, and he had the most wealth in all the time, but he still fell short and still squandered all of it. God warned him. He said, Solomon, you gotta be careful when you're marrying people, and you're marrying all these wives from other countries and other nations. Solomon did not take God's advice. He kind of was casual about it, and with him being casual about it, here's what happened. In the name of forming political alliances and making sure Israel had the peace, Solomon would go ahead and marry the pharaoh's daughter. He would also marry multiple kings' daughters, 700 of them, like a bunch of them, and in doing so, what he invited into the palace and what he invited into his nation was pagan worship. What he invited into his space was all these women who were from different countries who were worshiping different gods, and especially the Egyptian women who were just pagan worshipers, and Solomon eventually, in order to patronize his wives, fell for those gods as well, and eventually the Lord was displeased with Solomon, and Solomon says, only because, I mean, God says, only because of your father David

am I sparing you right now, but your kingdom will fall. Your kingdom will fall. So this is Solomon in his old age now. He's old, he's seen it all, he's experienced it all, and the book of Ecclesiastes is him in his journal writing to us. Ecclesiastes comes from the word ekklesia, which means the gathering, the church. This book is meant for the church, and as he is doing so, one may see this book as the words of a cynic, one may see this book as the words of a skeptic, but he's gonna stumble upon some incredible truths during his time on the earth. You guys ready for that? So here are his words. Can I get all of y'all to stand up as we honor God's word today? Ecclesiastes chapter one, verses one through 11, and here's what it says. These are the words of the teacher, King David's son, who ruled in Jerusalem. Here's what he says. Everything is meaningless. Welcome to church, everybody. The teacher says everything is completely meaningless. What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, but then it hurries around to rise again.

The wind blows south and then turns north. Around and around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again into the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, here is something new, but actually it is old. Nothing is ever truly new. We don't remember what happened in the past and in the future generations. No one will remember what we are doing right now. Oh boy, buckle up, everybody. Here we go. Let's go ahead and declare these words that we do every Sunday. I will hide this word in my heart that I might not sin against God. This word is life to my body and it's health to my bones. And I'll be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. And I'm confident of this, that he who has begun a good work in me will complete it in Jesus' name. Amen, you guys can go ahead and get a seat. My wife and I, we moved to a brand new house this past year.

And one of the reasons and the draws for us to move was we were moving to a beautiful neighborhood with big walkways, but we knew our neighbors. We knew the people that we were gonna be moving next to, and that was a huge draw for us. And also that they had kids that were the same ages as our kids. And I was like, oh man, our kids can go outside and play. It's gonna be amazing, it's gonna be awesome. And so I have a picture here of my son and his buddy playing, right? I don't know, everybody, I hear it. Everybody's like, aw, like, me too, me too. So this is Miles and Noah, and they're playing next door, and they're playing with trains. Miles and Noah both have a huge affinity for dinosaurs, so they would line up the dinosaurs, and they eat each other, and it's just kind of crazy, and it goes wild. But if you have kids, or you have nieces and nephews, you may be able to relate to this. Have you ever come across your kids playing? Let's pretend. Anybody? Let's pretend. And as they play Let's Pretend, your kids may make a grocery store and they may bring you items out of the grocery store. They may make a restaurant and bring out a soup for you or a milkshake and usually my kids will come up to me

and say, daddy, what do you want? I'm like, well, can I get a hamburger? No, not a hamburger because we don't have that. We have milkshakes. We only have sugar in our world. Yes. And so I'll say, okay, I'll take a milkshake. Do you want the blue one or do you want the green one? Are those natural flavors? Okay, I will take the green one. That's fine. So we play Let's Pretend. Out of which my daughter, she plays hospital with me and she has a moniker and she goes by Dr. Banana Boom Boom. That's her doctor name. I know, this is a true story. She is Dr. Banana Boom Boom. She goes and adopts a brand new personality. She will come up to me and she will put her hand on my forehead and say, daddy, I think you're sick. Oh yeah, what makes you think that I'm sick? I just think you're sick. I think you need four shots. That's right. Four shots, does that make sense? No, you need four shots. And Dr. Banana Boom Boom will go away and come back with her little pretend shot. And she was like, okay, time to give you a shot in the neck and the shot.

I'm like, I don't know about all that, you know? And then she'll say, oh, we also need to wrap up your foot because you're sick. And I'm like, okay, none of these things make sense. But in her world, she is playing in her imagination and she creates her own language and she creates her own tone for what is happening. Come on, everybody. Can you give me a thumbs up or raise your hand if you know exactly what I'm talking about? Kids have a way of playing with their imagination. But what if I told you today that that's not how the real world is? In the real world, you can't buy whatever you want. Doctors can't always make everybody better. People in hospital are actually in pain. Forgiveness is the hardest thing possible. Real tears take a long time to dry. The book of Ecclesiastes is one of God's gift to help us live in the real world. The book teaches us to think that maybe there's more to life than what we have created for ourselves. I want to submit today, church, that maybe we have not grown out of the pretend world either. That we pretend that life is okay, that as long as my kids are okay and my husband's okay, then life is good. Maybe in our selfishness, in our pride, we have convinced ourselves

that the pursuit of happiness is what satisfies. Come on, we even have that in our own Declaration of Independence, don't we? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But notice even in the Declaration, happiness is not a guarantee. It's the pursuit of happiness. Because happiness is not a real thing. It's not. I heard Billy Graham say it like this one time in a stadium full of people. He said that thing that you pursue, happiness, so that you can fulfill the American dream and for you to feel that I'm happy and therefore my life is okay, that is not real. Happiness is a byproduct of following Jesus. Happiness is only found when we obey the commands of the Lord when Jesus is so close to us. That is when happiness is a thing. That is what truly satisfies our heart. We swing from object to object, from person to person, hoping we would find something that truly satisfied. If I date that girl, then perhaps I'll be happy. If I date that boy, then I am going to be happy. If I get all the, if I can invest in this bank account and if I get this job and if I get this promotion, that is the pursuit of happiness and I'm going to be happy. Don't we, haven't we seen it with even stuff? And as kids, think of the commercials that we would see as kids and the way

that the advertisers are designed to drive things towards the public and say, you really need this right now. And as kids, I would remember, as a kid, I would tell my dad, dad, I want that. And when I get that, I'm going to be happy. And then my dad would get it for me and I would say, oh, what's the next thing? I had a deal with my wife, I didn't say this at first, I had a deal with my wife that, you know, since I was a little kid, I wanted a Jeep Wrangler so bad. As my favorite car, it was a Jeep Wrangler, I wanted to drive it. And so my wife, when we were married really early on, I said, one day, right, Wendy, we were so broke and I was like, we're going to get a Jeep Wrangler, right? And she goes, sure, yeah, whatever, we're going to get a Jeep Wrangler. And so we had two cars and I made a deal with her, I said, the day we pay off both these cars, I'm going to go buy a Jeep. And she was like, okay, we paid off both our cars, so guess what I did? Did I ever for one second think, oh, we don't have a car payment anymore? Nope, went and got a Jeep Wrangler. Got the car of my dreams. Got a car payment again. It was actually an amazing car. I drive it. Usually when I'm sad, I go for a drive. It makes me feel better. It's awesome. But can I tell you, two years into this, two years into owning my Jeep Wrangler, I'm already looking forward to what's next. Have you gone through that before?

Have you been through that before, where you attain the thing that you were hoping for, we get the girl of our dreams, or we get the job of our dreams, and you get it, and then you're like, okay, what's next? Because our hearts were never truly designed to be pursued by things that are temporary. It never was. Here's what Ecclesiastes says, Ecclesiastes 1, 8-9. Everything is weary beyond description, no matter how much, look how true this statement is. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we're never content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing is ever new under the sun. So the author, the speaker of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, he says, life is just meaningless. Life is meaningless. Those things that you think satisfies your heart, the things that you pursue, and the things that you work so hard for, and the things that you sweat, and you do all these things for, it does not matter. Again, welcome to church everybody. I feel like I'm busting somebody's bubble. But the truth is, nothing truly satisfies, because Christ set eternity in our hearts. And the only thing that can truly satisfy your heart is eternity. It's how Christ designed your heart. The only thing that can satisfy your heart is Jesus. It's the things that are eternal. Those are the things that are going to satisfy. But we pursue, we pursue fulfillment. It's not coming. We pursue happiness. It's not going to happen. It's impossible. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 11, it says, He has made everything beautiful in His time. He's also set eternity in the human heart. Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Well here's the deal, because we can't find what our hearts are constantly searching for, we fully become integrated into a world of permanence. We think all of the stuff that we have, and all the things that we've built, the schedules and all of that, is all permanent. Rather viewing ourselves as we're only here passing by. A.K.A. the let's pretend world. We do this by living as though our greatest treasures are for the here and for the now.

We display our sense of permanence by our lifestyle choices. The home we live in, the money we make, the churches we build, the investments we pursue, the ROI's that come back from it, and the priorities we live for. We hold the good things of this world way too tightly, and lavish our affection on them too freely. Jesus knew this was going to be a problem for us. He even warned His disciples about this. He said in Matthew chapter 6, verses 19-21, Don't store up treasures here on earth, where even moths can eat them and rust can destroy them, and where thieves can break in and even steal them. You're not owed anything. Store your treasures though in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. To stop us from doing the wrong kind of storing, and the right kind of storing, God has given us the book of Ecclesiastes. You may argue with me today and say, Well, what about having fun, Pastor Prabhu? Well, I contribute to society. I'm building my wealth. I'm being wise with what I have. Nothing to be gained in those pursuits. Solomon argues that wisdom, pleasure, and work, and possessions are often the bubbles we live in, to insulate ourselves from discovering the true meaning of life. That could come in the form of our kids.

That can come in the form of, like, we hold things way too close, that we just completely skip out on. What is the meaning? Why life? Ecclesiastes 1.6-7 it says, The wind blows south and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. And the water returns again to the rivers, and flows out again to the sea. This is the water cycle. It happens over and over and over again. The life that we live, flows in circles. Have you ever asked yourself the question, what is the point of life? I have. Multiple times. Why am I doing all of this? What is the point of all of this? Is it going to get any better? If you've ever questioned these things, then this book is for you. Solomon says he has taken multiple roads. His work, pleasure, and wisdom. And as he took these three roads, he came up with conclusions. That conclusion is, life is meaningless. He went down the road of wisdom. He said the more people knew, the more people understood, you would think you're sophisticated, but it actually creates more problems for you. It brings grief, and it

brings sorrow. The more a person understands the world, the more they realize how much injustice and pain exist that they can't fix. So he goes down the road, and he says, okay, maybe laughter will help me. So he goes and gets the Nate Bargassis of the world, and he goes gets Tina Fey, and he gets them all into his palace, and he says, all right, make me laugh. And they try to make him laugh, and he's laughing, and he's laughing, and eventually he realizes this is no new material. He's heard all of it. He goes down the road of pleasure, but he realizes that pleasure is only temporary satisfaction. Luxury, entertainment, and wealth leave the soul feeling empty as soon as experience ends. I mean, this is a man with a thousand people there to fulfill his pleasure. Still empty. Well then, this is the one that I relate to the most, the road of hard work. What all hard work does, it creates more anxiety and despair. Humans must eventually leave all their wealth and fruits of all their hard work to an heir who might be foolish and waste it all. In other words, we work so hard to protect our titles, to protect our businesses, and to provide for our families. We work so hard, and here's the deal. You may create a legacy, but we seriously have a 50-50 shot that it's not going to an idiot after us. It's true. You are not in control as much as you think you are. So here are Solomon's discovery as an old grumpy man, whose heart is turned away from the Lord, but he's the wisest man in the world. Here are his discoveries. Discovery number one, first point. Life is not meant to be controlled. Life is not meant to be controlled. You can't control life. Ecclesiastes 1, 14 through 15, and it says, I observed everything going on under the sun, and really it is all meaningless, like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be made right, and what is missing cannot be recovered. We would think that word meaningless, Solomon would go on to use the word meaningless. Solomon would go on, in some translations you may see the word vanity. Solomon will go on to use this word 38 times in 12 chapters. Everything is meaningless. Everything is meaningless. And here's what he says. Meaningless is not like a college kid that comes home and says, what's the point of everything mom and dad? It's no point to anything. That's not

what he's trying to say. In fact, he says, in Ecclesiastes, he says, better is a handful of quietness than two hands of toil. Clearly he thinks one thing is better than the other. It doesn't mean that everything is meaningless. What he truly is trying to say is, when you dig down into the into the root word of where meaningless comes from, why is he choosing to use this word? He chooses to use the word, the Hebrew word, Havel. Now here is what Havel means. Havel translates to breath, vapor, smoke, or mist. As a visual, it describes something fleeting, insubstantial, or impossible to grasp. What Solomon is trying to say is, the life that we think that we're in control of, it's like smoke. It's like vapor. You can't, you can't hold it. You can't do it. Here's what it says. Solomon's dad writes this, King David, in Psalm 144, verses 3 through 4. Oh Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them? Mere mortals that you should think about them. For they are like a breath of air. Their days are like a passing shadow. Here's the thing about vapor or smoke. I actually have some for you right here. See if this works. Perfect. This is smoke. This is Havel. This is meaningless, is what he's trying to say. And all of us who try to catch the smoke, it's got substance. You can see it. It's as real as it gets. However, you cannot hold it. You cannot catch it. You can't attain it. In fact, your very action of trying to catch it, the speed of that, makes sure that it turns into something that you do not even intend for it to become. Smoke can take any shape that it needs to. In fact, it went away that fast. It can take any shape that it needs to. It doesn't realize, like you think, oh life is going to be one way. All the calculation, all the ways that we think, this is Havel. This is what Solomon's saying. Life is like this. You cannot catch it. It eludes you. It's fleeting. You can't hold it. It's like a breath. It's a real physical thing, yet it dodges your fingers as soon as they get near it. Your very attempt to get a hold of it causes it to disappear faster. If we try to gain control of the world and our lives by what we can understand, or what we can do, we will find the control we seek will elude us. This is why it rains on days when you don't bring an umbrella. This is one that I relate to a lot. When you think, oh, I'm going to get to work today,

it's going to be great, and I'm going to leave the house at a reasonable time, and you do everything right. You try to control all the variables, if you will, and you get on the road, and then you get stuck behind the slowest car known to man, who's going 20 under the speed limit. We think we can control the outcome of your kids. You think you can control the outcome of your schedule. You think you can control the outcome of your health. You think you can control the outcome of your dreams. Ecclesiastes confronts a reality, saying it is all meaningless. In other words, it's all fleeting. So Solomon asks in Ecclesiastes, verse 3, 1, verse 3, he says, what do people get for all their hard work under the sun? I work so hard. What is the point of this? I work, I work so hard. What do I get? What is my return? What is my ROI? Well, here's a problematic statement that we all ask already from the jump. The word get in there, that represents gain. That represents gain. The word get in there, that represents gain. What do we have to show for it? What is left over? What is remaining at the end? What is our surplus? What is the net positive for all of our work? Well, the answer is nothing. Nothing. Without Christ, it's all nothing. I leave only one thing behind, and that's the earth I used to live on, remaining right where it was when I first arrived. My life will come and go. Well, what about my children, pastor? Probably if I leave children behind, they are just part of generations who will come and go as well. Show of hands in here real quick, how many of you know the names of your parents? You know your parents' names. Okay, hands down. That's awesome. How many of you know the name of your grandparents? Their parents. Amazing. Put your hands down. How many of you know their parents' names? Okay, we're reducing in number. Put your hands down. How many of you know your great-great-grandparents' names? What if I told you today that there's a chance that all that we are doing today, nobody's going to remember this? What if I told you that everything that you're working so hard to do, everything that you're raising your kids, and you're doing all the good things, that nobody will remember you in a matter of two or three generations? Well, pastor, what about the legacy of my kids? Nobody's going to remember them either in a matter of two or three generations. Life is fleeting. There's smoke. It's vapor. This is such a good word at church today. I'm feeling the pressure up here. For all our control freaks out there, including myself, when we try to calculate and plan life, it boils down to an issue of trust. That's what it boils down to. The reason why we want to

control life is because we don't trust other people and how they would handle it. And more importantly, we do not trust God. Control is a spiritual issue. The real issue is, can you really The real issue is, can you really trust God? Trust is a complete reliance on the character, power, and promises of God, rather than human understanding or circumstances. Here's the deal today, church. Trust is not an emotion. Trust is a choice. Trust is your choice that you get to put everything that means the world to you in the hands of a loving and kind father. We have issues with that though, don't we? In how we raise our kids. I'm telling you, we raise good kids. All it takes is one setback, one bad conversation that they will have that's not under our roof. Can you control that? Probably. Is that healthy? Probably not. We may have a complete good bill of health. You may have eaten all the crunchy people out there. You may have eaten all the avocados and granolas of the world, and I am trying, and it's very difficult. You may have done all those things. All it takes is one medical diagnosis for it to go out the window. We cannot control this world, but you can trust. You can trust in the character of God, that he is good, and he is faithful, and he is Got your back. And he is permanent. And he is constant. Here's the deal with trust. It is a foundational bedrock for navigating relationships. If you don't have trust in your marriage, you don't really have a marriage. If you don't have trust in your friendships, you don't even have a friendship. If you don't have trust with your finances, you don't even know what you're doing with your finances at that point. If you don't have trust in your Little League soccer team that you coach, you don't have one of those. If you don't have trust in the people that you work with,

trust is the foundational bedrock to navigate any kind of relationship. You lack trust. You're saying, I'm challenging that to do things on my own. A lack of trust in God means the weight of the world now is on your shoulders. And you have said, I trusted myself ahead of God. We play God when we take control into our own hands. Here's what A.W. Tozer says. He says, the first and great commandment is to keep yourself from becoming an idol. And the biggest idol you'll ever have is yourself. Wanting your own way and wanting your own control. We need to get out of the way. My son and I, we love building Legos together. He really is like, he's a savant. He is building, we both built the Notre Dame Cathedral recently. And he's just incredible. But here's the deal. If I gave him 4,000, 5,000 pieces of Legos, and I said, hey, I need you to build this picture with me, but I'm not gonna give you the blueprint, I'm not gonna give you the guidebook, how do you think it's gonna go? Not well. That is the picture of control that I have in my mind. This is the same thing applies for people, like men in the room who try to build Ikea furniture. But the deal is, every piece has an order.

Every piece has a time. Every piece has a purpose. And as you start building the things together, you see the blueprint of your life, you start piecing all of it one piece at a time, together, together, and as the picture starts to emerge, we have direction. We do not have the guidelines or the instructions to our life in our hands. You're not in control. You trying to take control and build what you think your life should look like is a disaster. There are pieces that represent people. There are pieces that represent circumstances. And things have to go in the right order. And the only way they go in the right order is if you put your complete trust and confidence in God, who's holding all of it together. Here's the second thing that Solomon discovered. Life is not meant to be forever. Life on this earth is temporary. It is a season, a fleeting shadow, a passing breeze. Ecclesiastes chapter three, verses 19 through 20, and here's what it says. For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts, in other words, animals, is the same exact thing. As one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and the man has no advantage over the beasts.

For all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. We have no advantage over animals. We have no advantage over people. The wise and the fool, they both go into the ground at the end of the day. It doesn't matter how much you know. It doesn't matter how much money you make. It doesn't matter how better you are than other people. Winners and losers, it doesn't matter. You're all going to die one day, and we are all going into the ground. We're going to the same box. It's the same thing. There's two truths about life, and that it is time is a quiet thief, and death is an equalizer for all of us. The thing about time is it steals into our lives while we are distracted by trivial things. It quietly chips away at our youth. It steals our strength, and burns through the chapters of our lives faster than we care to admit. We fool ourselves into thinking, I'll focus on God when I get older. I'll make time for what matters next year. But time doesn't wait for our schedules to clear, does it? Here's the thing about wealth. About death, it ignores your wealth.

The billionaire and the beggar end up in the exact same plot of dirt. It ignores your wisdom. The most brilliant scholar and the simplest fool share the same finish line. It strips away your title. your bank accounts, your trophies, or your resume, to the valley of the shadow of death. Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 2, and it says, all things come alike to all. One event happens to the righteous, the same to the wicked, to the good, the clean, and the unclean. To him who sacrifices, and to him who does not sacrifice at all, death comes for us all. I lived my life, the majority of my life, thinking that I was alone. And because I was alone, I had to game life. I had to win at all costs. That life was about winning. Life was about gaining. Life was about taking ground and getting to the next plateau. Life was about promotion, and life was about how can I get better. And as I was preparing for this, I was reminded of a story that's near and dear to my heart, that is very sensitive to me, that I was, honestly the truth is I'm too chicken to even call out the story, so I wrote it as a poem. It's a story between my dad and I. And the reason how, how I turned out the way I did, it's kind of wrapped up into this story, into this poem. So if you can, if you just listen to it for a second as I read through this, is that okay? Can I do so? So this is a story of my dad and I, we shared the same exact day of birth. My hero, my anchor on this earth. I still remember how you sprinted out across an open six-lane highway, without a doubt, to pull me back from danger. You were fearless, you were bold. The carousel spins and the VHS tapes we'd hold, the Disney magic and the mall trips every day in the simplest, warmest of childhood play. Then the world shifted, the distance grew. You left for months. Work abroad, you wanted to pursue. My childhood measured by airport gates, saying hello and goodbye to shifting dates. You brought back suitcases, packed to the brim, new clothes, new toys, yet the light still felt dim. Watching other kids with their fathers around, I realized stuff was all that I'd found. I didn't want the treasures inside the trunk anymore, I just wanted my dad, before my heart sank. The teenage years pushed us farther apart. You bought new things to bridge the heart, or held the line with an overbearing hand. I watched from the car as you drove through the land, to practices, to church, to late-night tutoring at night, staring out the window till 10 at night. We talked some, but silence filled most of the space. Two people together in a distant place. Well, then university arrived. You made sure I got in. You drove a car from Texas so I could begin. Out of my own,

the truth was revealed. Without you around, my lack was unsealed. I didn't know general banking, or how to get gas in my car, how to swim, or fix engines in my car as the hard days would pass. I just didn't call home, because I didn't know how. It was during a time when I needed a calling card. I felt like a traveler with no home by now. Even married, I kept my protective wall high. You visited once, the usual. You bought things and said goodbye, and as you walked to your gate, tears started to fall. I wept at the airport, not understanding it at all. Why did it hurt for you to depart? When distance had governed the pulse of my heart, then sickness struck deep, and you almost died. I stood at the edge of your hospital bed, and I cried. I poured out my heart, the distance, the pain. I told you all of it, hoping my love at least would remain. You called me crazy, said I didn't know right. But something that day released in my spirit that night. A quiet truth whispered, forgive me, I mean forgive him, and be free. The weight fell away, and grace covered me. I chose to honor you, keeping you near. And watching you with my own kids made it very clear, the quick-tempered man with the burly, strong frame was changing inside, no longer the same. Parkinson's and age softened the fight, replacing the anger with laughter and light. Behind the old wall was a loving granddad, giving my children the joy I wish I had had. When the crisis returned, quadruple bypass surgery ahead. A dark, heavy shadow beside your bed, to wield you away for surgery towards the double doors wide to the line where I had to remain outside. I looked at your face, you were frightened and you were small, with tears streaming down. Once more, I offered my all, the only words I could muster up, thank you dad, thank you for everything I said. No words returned from your rolling bed, just silent tears streaming down your face. You received my thanks, wrapped up in pure grace, and right in the doorway, the Holy Spirit spoke. As the grief and the glory of a lifetime awoke, life is a gift. It's not a match to be won, not a prize to be earned beneath the sun. So many ruined their lives trying to gain and achieve, forgetting that love is just meant to receive. My dad, my hero, on our shared day of birth, you gave me life, and at last, you taught me what life is worth. That's the story of my dad and I. So many things that, you know, your mind can take you down, vain imagination, and your mind can take you down, things that you have to fend for yourself, and you start creating

these things that you think life is worth living for. But can I tell you today that as my dad is not perfect, and my dad, he's a lot of things, but you know what he is, is he was there, he's still there in my life. He survived the surgery, and today I have to hold his hand as he walks downstairs, or carry him and put him into my car. I sat there, and as my dad, who used to drive me all over the place, nothing became so clear, and the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Life is a gift. It's a gift. What do you gain by gaining life? In our days under the sun, death can change us from people who want to control life for gain into people who find deep joy in receiving life as a gift. Death is the equalizer. Death can make us scared that life is going to be over and I have to control everything, or death can give meaning to our life that the life that we live right now is important. Life in God's world is a gift, it's not gain. Listen to me, church, today, and I'm begging you. Your spouse today is a gift. Your marriage today is a gift. Your kids today is a gift. The house you live in is a gift. The things that you own is a gift. It's all a gift from a precious, loving God. It's a gift. Life is fleeting, but what gives life meaning is understanding that life is a gift. It's not worth arguing over the trivial things that we get mad at each other for. We could go to a really expensive restaurant, get an incredible meal, don't we sit there and savor for an extra 20 seconds, saying, wow, this food was so good, and you create a memory. Don't we go to the Yosemite or go to all these national parks and you take a gander of what the Lord has created and we can say to ourselves, man, I just wish I could stand here and take

it all in. Our lives need to do the same. Your spouse should do the same. Your kids should do the same. What's the point of working so hard that I barely have any time for my kids? What's the point of working so hard and doing all the things and making everybody happy, but I hardly go on a date with my wife to see her smile? Life is a gift. That's what Solomon's trying to tell us. And so in all these things, as Solomon writes, you know, you don't get to live forever. Life was not meant to be controlled. What is Solomon's conclusion? Solomon's conclusion is this, point three. Life is truly lived when we fear God and keep his commands. That is when we truly live. Life has no meaning when we go from point A to point B without God. Life has no meaning when you try to get through it. and you add God as a side dish or you add God as part of the plan and not all of the plan. That's what happens. Life is truly lived when we fear God and you keep his commandments. The cruel irony in all of this that Solomon is a man who writes this, is God actually told him this. I have missed this when I was a kid. When I was, I've read this this chapter so many times, 1 Kings chapter 3. It's ingrained into my head. I've read this so many times and I missed this. The condition, check this out. When God asked Solomon, Solomon asked me for anything in the world and Solomon says, give me wisdom, give me an understanding heart to discern your people for what is right and what is wrong and here's what he's, what God says, I will give you what you ask for Solomon. I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has ever had and I'll also give you what you did not ask for, riches and fame. No other king in the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life and if, if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father David did, I will give you a long life. Solomon's conclusion, Ecclesiastes chapter 12, the meaning to life, fear God. God told him that on the jump.

Solomon went all over the world, did all the things, experienced all the things that a man could possibly experience and he concluded exactly what God told him from the jump. I love the Bible's bookends. It's how Solomon concludes Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Ecclesiastes 12, 13 through 14. Now all has been heard, here is the conclusion of my matter. Fear God and keep his commands for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or whether it's evil. So Prabhu, what does fearing the Lord really mean? Tell you this, fearing the Lord is not that you are scared of God. It's not that you're cowering in fear and you're ducking from God. Fearing the Lord means to have a healthy, holy fear that you're terrified to be away from him. I've heard John Bevere say it this way. He says, when we're scared of God, we have a lot to hide. But when you fear God, you have nothing to hide. To fear him means to be terrified of him, of him being away from us. To fear him is to be in awe of him, to respect him, to esteem him, to be directed towards him, to acknowledge him, and to submit to his greatness, to respect him. And when you do so, when we respect somebody, when we acknowledge somebody, obedience comes easy and it becomes immediate. I want to tell you today, church, that loving God is different from fearing God. Loving God should not be confused with fearing God. Loving God is one thing, but fearing God enables ourselves, like keeps us from enabling ourselves with sin. Psalm 25 14, and it says, the Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. In other words, his secrets. If you fear God, you become a friend of God. And when you become a friend of God, you know the secrets of God. Without fear of God, without God, life is a closed loop, a short walk from dust to dust that leaves us empty. But when God is placed at the absolute center in all of it, here's what happens. Without the fear of the Lord, work is a desperate bid for self-worth. But with the fear of the Lord, work is a gift to be enjoyed and stewarded for God's glory. Without fear of the Lord, time feels like an enemy stealing our life away. With the fear of the Lord, time is a precious trust given to us by God to use wisely. Without the fear of the Lord, death is a terrifying dead end. With the fear of the Lord, death is a threshold to enter eternal life with the Creator. When you bow down, when you bow before God who holds eternity, the chaotic fragments of life fall into place. The vapor doesn't disappear, but suddenly it adds and carries eternal weight.

I want to end with this, and we're going to be done. And before I read this, I want you guys to really contemplate. What is the meaning of life? And Solomon says, there is no meaning to life outside of God. There is no meaning of life outside of your Creator. There is no meaning. We may have tricked ourselves into thinking, if I just do this I'll be happy, but that's not the case. Contemplate yourself, that have you built schedules? Have you put things in front of, whether they're good things or bad things? In life there are no winners, and there are no losers. In life, there's no villains, and there's no heroes. There's no bad guys. There's no good guys. Life is a gift. Have we put other things to insulate ourselves? Because we're terrified that time is a thief, and death is an equalizer. Can we focus on the Lord right now, and say, God, I put so many things ahead of you. God, I put so many things that I have built ahead of you, because I think that if I can control these things, that I'm gonna be good. But God, the truth is, I cannot control anything. I need you. God, we're desperate for you. Here's how Solomon ends it in Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verses 1 through 7. He says, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Before the days of trouble come, and the years approach when you will say, I find no pleasure in these things. Before the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars grow, and the clouds return after the rain. When the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop. When the grinders cease, because there are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim. When the doors to the street are closed, and the sounds of grinding fades. When people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint. When people are afraid of heights and dangers in the streets. When the almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper drags itself along, and desires no longer is stirred. And people go to their eternal home, and mourners go about the streets. Remember Him. Remember Him before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and in the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Can I get everybody to stand up real quick? But it's not only the first to admit that I don't preach the gospel so I can get numbers, so I can get people to come to the altar, and I start measuring by what it is,

but my hope and my prayer is that your heart is turned towards a loving Father, a loving and kind God who has your back. And that although a lot of us, we ask ourselves the question, is life worth living? Thousands of people are going to die today not knowing this truth, that life is meaningless without God. Thousands of people are going to die from that today. Just today. I don't know where you're at in your life, if all the meaningless stuff that we have put in front of ourselves, not knowing the true reality and the seriousness of what God has given us. Every head bowed, eye closed. If that is you, don't let pride keep you. Don't let your pride destroy you. Come on, can you get out of your seat and walk down to the altar today? If you're in your seat, you're still processing the Word of God today. Can you pray for those who are processing? Can you pray for those who's having a confrontation with their reality? Can we give God our best? Because we have not. We've been giving him counterfeit. We've been giving us, giving him what we build is not giving God our best.