Class 3 from this series was used in GCT Episode 197
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This is day two of the 2022 Palm
Springs.
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Bible School.
Our first period, teacher is
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brother.
Dev Ram, Charan.
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His General.
Subject is the whole duty of
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man.
Today’s topic is life’s vanity.
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Observed, well, good morning
everyone.
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Those announcements sure are
something.
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Aren’t they?
When you look at the Book of
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Ecclesiastes, one of the ways
that might help you too,
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Understand it.
Is to look at it this way.
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A man gets up in front of a
Congregation of people might be
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Solomon, might be someone else.
He plays the role of a CO helath
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that is a preacher someone who
is talking to the assembled
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people.
For part of what he’s saying, he
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says let me talk to you.
Like, I’m a man of this world
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who has no faith, but then let
me talk to you about how you see
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things when you are a man of
faith.
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That’s the real alternates back
and forth between these things.
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It’s not that he is saying, I
struggle with all these things
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terribly, I have all these
massive doubts and then well,
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then God gives us this or does
that when he’s presenting is two
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views.
In the hopes that the
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congregation will recognize
which is the view that is valid
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for a believer.
That’s how I find it.
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It helps me to Grapple with the
complexities of the book when I
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was a young man in my 20s.
There were some books that I
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avoided like, the plague, The
Book of Job was one of them.
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Ecclesiastes was another and the
Song of Solomon, which I’m yet
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to put my foot into, it can be a
Minefield for interpreters and
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speakers.
So, the Book of Job is now
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something that I’ve done some
work in and Ecclesiastes even
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with its brevity of what only 12
chapters is sufficiently complex
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than one has to really be
thinking very carefully about
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what is happening in the gear.
Transitions as one goes from
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section to section, chapter 2
chapter in the book.
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So I find that that that
framework helps me to understand
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it better.
You may have a different way of
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looking at it. perfectly valid
to have different views on this
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book, but for me, what helps me
to put it together as a man,
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standing up, and voicing, to
opposite points of e, starts off
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with that dark Earthbound
worldly perspective, vanity of
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vanities, everything is useless
in the final analysis It’s the
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kind of conclusion that is drawn
by an extremely wealthy dying
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old man.
That that’s that’s the
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conclusion that they draw when
they look at everything that
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they’ve done and all that,
they’ve sacrificed their lives
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for and they way it.
It’s so light in the palm of
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their hands.
They look at their children,
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fighting each other over their
inheritance.
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They look at people who have led
their corporations organizations
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thinking, in terms of carving up
the empire for themselves, and
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they ask themselves.
Why, why did I do all of this?
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Why did I waste my life this
way?
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So that’s the one view.
Now, we’re going to go to
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chapter 2 and pick things up.
Where we left off yesterday.
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Verse 18.
As a consequence of that way of
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looking at his life, that way of
interpreting, everything he had
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achieved and accomplished.
He says, I hated all my labor
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that I taken under the sun.
Under the sun.
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Because I’m going to leave all
of this to a man who’s going to
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come after me?
Who knows what kind of man.
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He will be, but he be wise or
will be.
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Will he be foolish?
And we know the answer that
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question if it was in fact,
Solomon who was saying these
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things, First 21, there is a man
whose labor is with wisdom and
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with knowledge and with
skillfulness fulness, by the
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way.
In answer to what brother?
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Jeff said, earlier, I’m reading
primarily from the authorized
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version the King James version,
but periodically, I will drop
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into the revised version from
the 1880s, all right?
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As as modern, as I’ve been
getting today this but I love, I
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love the modern versions, some
so many wonderful ones today
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that we can learn from so bear
with me.
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He says, he says, in verse 21,
there’s a man whose labor is
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with wisdom and with knowledge
and with skillfulness fullness
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yet her, man, that hath, not
labored, they’re in jail, he
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leave it for his portion.
We all know about businesses
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that were worked on and so much.
Labor was put into them.
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Sometimes by people who came up
from from from Deep poverty.
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Only to hand the business off to
a child who wasted and
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squandered, everything
destroyed, the business had no
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clue what he was doing and
everything fell apart.
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All that hard work.
Just literally frittered Away by
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someone raised in the lap of
luxury who had no clue how hard
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it was to build.
What was built?
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This also is Vanity and a great
evil for what hath a man of all
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his labor and of the striving of
his heart we’re in, he’ll a
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breath under the sun for all his
days.
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Our bizarros it is travel is
grief.
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Yay.
Even in the night, his heart
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taketh.
No rest.
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Have you owned a business?
Do you own a business?
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And you know what that feels
like up all night worried?
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Are you going to make payroll?
Are you going to be able to pay
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your key vendors?
How are you going to manage the
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transition of your business from
one stage to the next your
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family, the Troubles of your
life?
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Whatever it is that keeps you up
at night.
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We know what that feels like
when our mind is not as rooted
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in God.
As it needs to be sometimes.
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All his days are but sorrows in
his travel grief, even in the
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night, his heart takes no rest.
The revised version says, and
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then There’s a major transition
away from the pessimism of the
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man, the woman in this world
whose whole hope is in things.
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They can see and touch and feel
in this life.
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And there’s a transition to the
optimism of the life of a
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believer.
He says, there is nothing better
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for a man.
Then that he should eat and
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drink.
And make his soul, enjoy good in
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his labor.
This.
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Also I saw that it is from the
hand of God. for, who can eat
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and who can have enjoyment more
than I For God.
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Giveth to a man.
That is good in his sight,
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wisdom and knowledge.
Enjoy.
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Now what does that mean that we
don’t have problems, we don’t
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have tears.
We don’t have disappointments,
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we don’t have tragedy and
Trauma, it’s not what it means.
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but what it is saying is that in
general terms, when we do our
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work as believers, We have some
kind of an opportunity to see a
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return on that work to enjoy the
fruit of our labors.
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I’ve known people in my life,
have been related to people in
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my life.
I am related to people in my
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life.
Whose entire Focus has been the
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accumulation of money.
Possessions.
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Land Investments.
But they have not enjoyed one,
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iota of those things.
One relative of mine.
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You know it was it was a
shocking thing for children to
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actually sit on the furniture.
And our three.
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Little hellions will run in and
start jumping on the woman’s
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Furniture.
It was not a good time for her
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at all.
She would often spend her
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Saturday’s polishing.
The facets of the pieces of
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Crystal on her chandeliers.
The the house was a master.
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It wasn’t a home.
And so it’s possible to be the
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kind of individual who has
wealth, who has money and yet
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doesn’t enjoy any of it, but
this is kind of crab it, you
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know, fervent effort to protect
it and to prolong it. as a what
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God is telling us through the
preacher through Cole health is
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enjoy would have blessed you
with Enjoy these things, not
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doesn’t mean that we enjoy them
to distraction and that we live
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a life that is fully given over
to the flesh.
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But we do recognize that what we
have received materially from
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God and through efforts that
he’s blessed, we can enjoy.
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And share and share these
things.
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Seeing them as from the hand of
God.
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For who can eat at all of these
things, verse 28, he then says.
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God gives to, to us not just
things.
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But for those who trust it.
Who love him.
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Who care about him who please it
does?
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That mean, does it say those who
are sinless that?
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That’s not what it’s saying.
But it’s saying is that when we
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care about God, Care about how
he feels.
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Do what we can in our faulty
failing and consistent lives to
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at least have a trend that is
towards him.
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And towards godliness and
gratitude in our lives that they
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blesses us with something that’s
bigger than any possession.
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We could actually possess he
gives us wisdom.
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And knowledge.
And joy.
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And those are the most precious
things you have and at this
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stage of your life.
These are some of the precious
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jewels that you actually have.
If they give your grandchildren,
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The joy that they bring you.
The love that you have the
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importance of your
relationships, you know.
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Now at this stage of your life,
what’s most important is not
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what you possess.
It’s your relationships.
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With god with you children with
other people and whatever
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vestiges of Health, you still
have at this stage of your life.
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Goes on your transitions into
this.
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Beautiful, passage that talks
about times.
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He says, look there’s a time for
everything.
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God has set things up.
So they happen in a particular
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way and general terms, he says
there’s a time to be born and
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want to die, a time to plant to
pluck up a time to kill and to
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heal, a time to break down a
time to build up to laugh, to
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mourn to dance.
To Cast Away stones and to
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gather Stones together.
There’s a little bit of
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diversity of views on what that
means.
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Some say, it talks about the
building of buildings where
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Stones were cast upon the
foundation of a house that was
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in disrepair to build a new
house.
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Others say it’s about casting
stones into a grave.
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Into a grave versus the next,
where the Gathering of stones
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together is is the opposite to
that, whatever that might imply.
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A time to embrace and a time to
refrain from embracing a time to
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get or to seek possessions, and
then a time to lose them.
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Now everyone in this room knows
what downsizing means, right?
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All those things you had at a
certain point in time you
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realized I have to move to a
place.
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That’s a fraction of the size of
where you’ve lived.
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And you ask yourself where did I
get all this stuff from?
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What was I thinking?
Nobody will take it.
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There’s no one who will take it.
If you have a collection of
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books, you try to get people to
take those books that are
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younger than you.
You’ll have quite a hard time
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This disposing of your library,
for instance.
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So there’s a time where we get
things and then there’s a time
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where we let go and for some
people that letting go is
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extremely painful, if you’re a
person in this world and that’s
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all you have.
Letting go is hard. but for us,
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even though we have affection
for the things and the memories
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that are associated with the
things that we have, letting it
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go letting those things go is
not as hard.
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There’s a time to keep and a
time to Cast Away a time to Rend
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and a time to sew a time to keep
silence and a time to speak time
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to love and hate a time for War
and Peace.
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All of these things, all of
these things, the life of
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mankind summarized in all of
these couplets together.
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Starting with the most important
being born and dying and
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everything.
Else.
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But is tied to what goes on in
between.
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Somebody said once a wit
somebody like Jeff said, once
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you know what are you look at
somebody who’s gravestone?
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Dev Ram Tran. 1962, 2X.
That little Dash is your entire
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life.
Your whole life.
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One lousy little Dash.
But really, it’s very humbling
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because it makes her realize.
Well, that is the way it is.
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And so, while we’re alive, We do
what we can to encourage each
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other.
To help each other.
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00:16:17,300 –> 00:16:21,700
To lift each other’s spirits.
One of our brothers this morning
220
00:16:22,200 –> 00:16:27,400
pointed out a kind of work that
you can enter to into when you
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00:16:27,400 –> 00:16:31,600
have gone into retirement.
You know, I think to myself
222
00:16:32,900 –> 00:16:36,300
Years of golfing and just
finding beaches to lie in would
223
00:16:36,300 –> 00:16:39,600
probably put me in the grave
within a couple of months.
224
00:16:39,600 –> 00:16:42,800
For sure.
There’s no way I could live a
225
00:16:42,800 –> 00:16:45,000
life like that.
I’m sorry if that’s what you’re
226
00:16:45,000 –> 00:16:48,300
living, and you like it, you
know, that’s enjoy, enjoy it.
227
00:16:48,500 –> 00:16:52,000
It’s just not for me, but what
the brother suggested was
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00:16:53,000 –> 00:16:56,600
There’s a kind of Sabbath, you
can enter into in retirement.
229
00:16:57,700 –> 00:17:01,400
We’re servile work that involves
work to make money is no longer
230
00:17:01,400 –> 00:17:05,000
done, but there’s all kinds of
work that can be done in the
231
00:17:05,000 –> 00:17:09,599
truth. everything from writing
articles, for the for the
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00:17:09,608 –> 00:17:15,099
Magazine’s, wonderful, Tidings
magazine that we have now, To
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00:17:15,200 –> 00:17:19,800
preaching work going out into
the mission field to doing other
234
00:17:19,800 –> 00:17:24,300
kinds of Labor.
Volunteer work for instance in
235
00:17:24,300 –> 00:17:26,900
prison, you have a lot of
brothers and sisters who
236
00:17:26,900 –> 00:17:29,400
volunteer in the in the Care
Homes.
237
00:17:29,400 –> 00:17:33,900
The long-term care retirement
homes which are owned by
238
00:17:33,900 –> 00:17:38,500
christadelphians groups, trusts
and they go into them and they
239
00:17:38,500 –> 00:17:44,600
volunteer They do the readings
and having a reading group, for
240
00:17:44,600 –> 00:17:47,900
instance, with a number of
older, brothers and sisters, and
241
00:17:47,900 –> 00:17:50,700
just keeping that going.
I know that there’s one that
242
00:17:50,700 –> 00:17:54,400
already exists and I heard it
has a wonderful impact on
243
00:17:54,400 –> 00:17:58,500
everyone, who participates what,
but there are things that you
244
00:17:58,500 –> 00:18:01,600
can do while you have years of
strength.
245
00:18:02,600 –> 00:18:07,400
To keep active and to actively
support and help your brothers
246
00:18:07,400 –> 00:18:12,700
and sisters.
So, don’t let his just be a
247
00:18:12,700 –> 00:18:17,400
period of relaxation from
everything that looks like work.
248
00:18:18,900 –> 00:18:23,500
But think about work, that’s not
survive work as our dear brother
249
00:18:23,700 –> 00:18:29,600
mentioned this morning and see
how you get yourself busy, it
250
00:18:29,600 –> 00:18:35,800
will actually keep your mind
healthy longer when you’re
251
00:18:35,800 –> 00:18:40,400
thinking beyond your personal
aches and pains to look after
252
00:18:40,400 –> 00:18:43,700
and help others.
So all of these things happened
253
00:18:44,000 –> 00:18:46,700
and their time including the
dash and everything that’s in
254
00:18:46,700 –> 00:18:52,100
that Dash. what what what the
the writer what God is saying,
255
00:18:52,100 –> 00:19:00,900
is I have it all under control
job I put the universe in place
256
00:19:01,400 –> 00:19:09,200
and have all these facets and
Times of human experience in
257
00:19:09,200 –> 00:19:17,400
place as they are right now.
Verse 10 says I have seen the
258
00:19:17,400 –> 00:19:21,500
travel which God hath given to
the sons of men to be exercised
259
00:19:21,500 –> 00:19:24,200
their with and that’s when you
cry out for a modern version,
260
00:19:24,200 –> 00:19:26,700
isn’t it?
This is what the new English
261
00:19:26,700 –> 00:19:29,900
translation.
The net translation says, for
262
00:19:29,900 –> 00:19:35,500
this particular verse, it says I
have observed.
263
00:19:35,500 –> 00:19:41,300
The burden that God has given to
people to keep them occupied.
264
00:19:43,000 –> 00:19:46,100
Is that lovely?
It changes everything doesn’t
265
00:19:46,100 –> 00:19:49,300
it?
The King James version is, is
266
00:19:49,300 –> 00:19:53,200
beautiful for its language.
Its impact on the language.
267
00:19:54,200 –> 00:19:57,300
It’s in so many phrases, we
still use today.
268
00:19:57,300 –> 00:20:02,300
It has altered the direction of
the language, Mighty river
269
00:20:02,300 –> 00:20:05,200
called the English language in
directions.
270
00:20:05,200 –> 00:20:07,800
That have made it the most
beautiful language on the face
271
00:20:07,800 –> 00:20:11,700
of the Earth.
But today we need modern
272
00:20:11,700 –> 00:20:13,900
versions to help us understand
these words.
273
00:20:14,500 –> 00:20:17,700
So there’s nothing wrong.
You’re not sinning, you’re not
274
00:20:17,700 –> 00:20:21,700
breaking.
Somebody’s Rules by picking up a
275
00:20:21,700 –> 00:20:24,500
modern translation.
I remember back in the 1980s,
276
00:20:25,300 –> 00:20:30,900
our Young Turks Rebels going up
there, reading the revised
277
00:20:30,900 –> 00:20:35,600
Standard Version in somebody’s
face, you know, revised Standard
278
00:20:35,600 –> 00:20:39,600
Version Now that’s just an
old-fashioned version of the
279
00:20:39,600 –> 00:20:43,500
mindful compared to what we do.
We read today, but there are so
280
00:20:43,500 –> 00:20:47,700
many good translations.
So I’ve observed that God does
281
00:20:47,700 –> 00:20:49,800
lots of things to keep people
occupied.
282
00:20:50,600 –> 00:20:54,700
It’s it’s all kinds of stuff
that we can do to keep occupied
283
00:20:55,700 –> 00:20:58,900
with God has made it so that man
has work to do.
284
00:20:59,300 –> 00:21:06,300
We were not made for relaxation.
You notice I didn’t say, golfing
285
00:21:06,300 –> 00:21:12,800
or beaches, or, you know, deep,
sea diving, or diving in Maui or
286
00:21:12,800 –> 00:21:15,400
any of that stuff.
I didn’t mention those things.
287
00:21:15,400 –> 00:21:18,500
Did I?
What I’m saying is he didn’t
288
00:21:18,500 –> 00:21:21,900
make us for leisure.
Pleasure.
289
00:21:22,100 –> 00:21:26,200
How do you say it in America?
Jeff Hardy, you said.
290
00:21:27,700 –> 00:21:30,000
Leisure.
He didn’t make us believe, sure
291
00:21:30,900 –> 00:21:33,500
because Adam was made to tend
the garden.
292
00:21:34,600 –> 00:21:39,700
He was made for work.
What happened was his experience
293
00:21:39,700 –> 00:21:46,900
of the work changed after sin.
The hardship that difficulty the
294
00:21:46,900 –> 00:21:50,000
Thorns, the thistles, the hard
ground.
295
00:21:50,400 –> 00:21:54,100
That’s now what he had to deal
with, but he was made for work.
296
00:21:55,000 –> 00:21:58,500
So this notion of people harping
with Harps and flying around in
297
00:21:58,500 –> 00:22:03,800
the clouds, nonsense is a stupid
as can be because that’s not why
298
00:22:03,800 –> 00:22:08,500
God made us, what will happen is
in the Kingdom, will experience
299
00:22:09,000 –> 00:22:13,400
a lack of exhaustion.
No limitations to serving God,
300
00:22:13,900 –> 00:22:20,800
continual delighted service.
And Boundless Energy to do it.
301
00:22:21,800 –> 00:22:24,200
But we were made.
We were made for work and look
302
00:22:24,200 –> 00:22:26,500
what he says.
Now, he has made everything
303
00:22:26,500 –> 00:22:30,900
beautiful in its time.
Now, that could mean that
304
00:22:30,900 –> 00:22:35,100
everything that exists has its
period of Youth and Beauty like
305
00:22:35,100 –> 00:22:40,800
you have and then goes through
what happens as time goes by or
306
00:22:41,800 –> 00:22:46,800
he could be saying there is an
inherent Beauty.
307
00:22:48,500 –> 00:22:53,400
And wonder.
In the cycles that God has
308
00:22:53,400 –> 00:22:57,400
brought into being that it
described in all these
309
00:22:57,400 –> 00:23:02,800
opposites.
Birth death and everything else.
310
00:23:02,800 –> 00:23:07,100
It’s a beauty to it.
It has a shape.
311
00:23:08,300 –> 00:23:13,900
It has a structure even in the
midst of chaos, it hasn’t
312
00:23:14,000 –> 00:23:18,000
orderliness to it.
That all comes from our father.
313
00:23:19,500 –> 00:23:24,500
Also.
He has set the world in their
314
00:23:24,500 –> 00:23:27,800
heart.
So that no man can find out the
315
00:23:27,800 –> 00:23:31,500
work that God makes from the
beginning to the end.
316
00:23:33,900 –> 00:23:40,100
Now that world that word that is
translated world, Has multiple
317
00:23:40,100 –> 00:23:46,200
meanings.
It can be interpreted to mean in
318
00:23:46,300 –> 00:23:51,100
eternity.
It can be interpreted to mean
319
00:23:51,600 –> 00:23:57,800
ignorance or forgetfulness.
It is associated with Darkness.
320
00:23:59,000 –> 00:24:02,000
And so what happens is the
translators, look at the general
321
00:24:02,000 –> 00:24:06,500
tenor of what’s happening and
determine looking at how that
322
00:24:06,500 –> 00:24:10,500
word is used elsewhere and
especially in passages that may
323
00:24:10,500 –> 00:24:13,000
have a kind of similarity to
this one.
324
00:24:13,500 –> 00:24:17,000
How do we interpret it?
Now, the way that I’m going to
325
00:24:17,008 –> 00:24:22,300
suggest is, is the way that the
majority of modern translations
326
00:24:22,500 –> 00:24:26,400
tend to look at it.
The way that they interpret it,
327
00:24:26,400 –> 00:24:31,700
is this God’s put eternity and
things related to Eternity in
328
00:24:31,700 –> 00:24:35,800
the heart of men.
So they’re continually yearning
329
00:24:35,800 –> 00:24:40,400
for something above and beyond
This Life as we know it, oh they
330
00:24:40,400 –> 00:24:43,800
may, they may ignore it.
They may turn away from it.
331
00:24:44,700 –> 00:24:49,400
They may go counter to it.
Please put right into Mankind’s
332
00:24:49,400 –> 00:24:54,100
heart.
A feeling for the desire.
333
00:24:55,200 –> 00:24:58,700
For Eternal things.
And yet.
334
00:25:00,500 –> 00:25:07,400
He’s made life such that we do
not and cannot ever fully
335
00:25:07,400 –> 00:25:12,000
understand what he’s up to.
Job, thought he could, he
336
00:25:12,000 –> 00:25:13,200
thought he could figure things
out.
337
00:25:13,200 –> 00:25:17,100
He thought he could build a
model within, which God operated
338
00:25:17,100 –> 00:25:21,200
according to sing some rules
that he thought were appropriate
339
00:25:22,200 –> 00:25:25,800
and God has to point out to him.
No, I’m God.
340
00:25:26,900 –> 00:25:31,800
But I do what I do.
And you are who you are.
341
00:25:32,900 –> 00:25:37,300
And so though, God has put a
feeling and desire for a
342
00:25:38,100 –> 00:25:42,300
hankering after Eternal things
in our hearts.
343
00:25:43,600 –> 00:25:47,800
He’s also put certain things in
place to cover his tracks.
344
00:25:48,400 –> 00:25:50,500
So we’re continually searching
for him.
345
00:25:50,600 –> 00:25:55,200
Looking for what he does trying
to interpret what he is doing.
346
00:25:56,300 –> 00:25:58,400
And finding we can’t always
figure him out.
347
00:25:58,400 –> 00:26:04,800
And that too is not a curse.
It’s a blessing for us because
348
00:26:04,800 –> 00:26:11,100
it casts us upon him in faith.
The baby that you carry in your
349
00:26:11,100 –> 00:26:14,900
arms, your little granddaughter,
your little grandson doesn’t
350
00:26:14,900 –> 00:26:16,400
understand everything you’re
doing.
351
00:26:17,300 –> 00:26:20,900
She doesn’t understand what you
were thinking of, as you take
352
00:26:20,900 –> 00:26:25,100
care of her, she has no clue
what you’re going to do next.
353
00:26:25,100 –> 00:26:28,200
You may have a general idea that
she’s got a diaper that needs to
354
00:26:28,200 –> 00:26:32,200
be changed, or she’s hungry or
her ears, hurt, or something
355
00:26:32,200 –> 00:26:37,500
along those lines, but your
mind, and you’ll care for her.
356
00:26:38,300 –> 00:26:43,000
Is above and beyond anything.
She can work out in her mind
357
00:26:43,400 –> 00:26:45,300
that its current level of
development.
358
00:26:46,300 –> 00:26:47,800
And that’s the way God is with
us.
359
00:26:49,600 –> 00:26:52,700
We can’t work out everything.
He’s doing where he’s going,
360
00:26:52,700 –> 00:26:55,500
what he’s up to and it’s not a
bad thing.
361
00:26:57,100 –> 00:27:01,000
It makes us realize, I need to
hold on to you and just believe
362
00:27:01,900 –> 00:27:05,900
that things will work out.
That everything will be okay in
363
00:27:05,900 –> 00:27:09,800
the end.
And he says, in verse 13.
364
00:27:10,000 –> 00:27:14,200
Oh, verse 12.
I know that there is no, there’s
365
00:27:14,200 –> 00:27:20,000
nothing better for them than to
rejoice and do good as long as
366
00:27:20,000 –> 00:27:23,600
they live.
So, there’s the balance for us,
367
00:27:24,200 –> 00:27:30,800
it’s not just about rejoicing,
it’s about doing doing good,
368
00:27:31,500 –> 00:27:36,900
doing good in our lives.
Now remember the, the story, the
369
00:27:36,900 –> 00:27:42,100
parable, Of the man who is given
the talent and the way he dealt
370
00:27:42,100 –> 00:27:51,300
with it was to go bury it. and,
his approach was not to do good,
371
00:27:52,300 –> 00:27:56,500
but to have an absence of doing
evil, That was his Focus.
372
00:27:57,200 –> 00:28:01,200
Just haven’t had an absence of
doing evil of doing wrong.
373
00:28:01,500 –> 00:28:05,200
I’m not going to lose any of
this because I know I work for a
374
00:28:05,200 –> 00:28:10,300
Stern strict and difficult man.
That was his attitude.
375
00:28:10,700 –> 00:28:15,200
Whereas the others took every
opportunity, they could to show
376
00:28:15,200 –> 00:28:18,100
a return on that investment.
The interpretation comes after
377
00:28:19,100 –> 00:28:22,000
when Christ in the parable talks
about those times.
378
00:28:22,900 –> 00:28:27,400
We visit and spend time with the
sick, the imprisoned, the
379
00:28:27,400 –> 00:28:30,100
hungry, thirsty, the naked, and
so on, and so forth.
380
00:28:30,500 –> 00:28:31,900
I know I don’t do enough of
that.
381
00:28:32,400 –> 00:28:37,600
We all have to do more as much
as we can, the talent was a vast
382
00:28:37,600 –> 00:28:39,700
amount of money.
Well, How do we then interpret
383
00:28:39,700 –> 00:28:41,900
it?
It was a vast amount of
384
00:28:41,900 –> 00:28:44,600
opportunities to serve God and
help others.
385
00:28:46,400 –> 00:28:48,100
That’s what the talent equates
to.
386
00:28:49,200 –> 00:28:55,700
So in the man buries a talent,
he does nothing in God’s family.
387
00:28:56,800 –> 00:28:59,700
It doesn’t help.
He doesn’t support.
388
00:29:00,300 –> 00:29:04,600
He doesn’t spend time with.
He doesn’t encourage, he doesn’t
389
00:29:04,600 –> 00:29:06,900
phone up on the phone.
He doesn’t sit beside and listen
390
00:29:06,900 –> 00:29:12,200
to he has no time for any of
that. that’s what bearing the
391
00:29:12,200 –> 00:29:15,000
talent is all about and so what
they, what they would call
392
00:29:15,000 –> 00:29:21,100
Hellas is saying here is that we
Rejoice before God seeing the
393
00:29:21,100 –> 00:29:27,600
blessings, he has given us in
our lives and also that we do
394
00:29:27,600 –> 00:29:31,100
good.
As long as we live.
395
00:29:32,100 –> 00:29:38,200
That’s what the revised version
says, as long as they live.
396
00:29:39,500 –> 00:29:44,800
So you’re above ground is still
living, this still good, you can
397
00:29:44,800 –> 00:29:49,200
do to encourage and support and
help each other.
398
00:29:51,200 –> 00:29:54,900
Brother told me a story about
trying to encourage someone and
399
00:29:54,900 –> 00:29:57,300
you get to that stage of Frailty
where there’s not a lot you can
400
00:29:57,300 –> 00:30:06,800
do physically. and so he talked
about, Encouraging a sister to
401
00:30:06,800 –> 00:30:12,100
pray, just encouraging her to
pray and and thanking her for
402
00:30:12,100 –> 00:30:15,100
the prayers that she must have
given for him.
403
00:30:16,200 –> 00:30:19,500
That in the morning, he woke up
and he didn’t have as much pain
404
00:30:19,500 –> 00:30:23,600
as he usually hadn’t felt great
and just buy that that little
405
00:30:24,000 –> 00:30:28,000
gentle tender bit of
encouragement.
406
00:30:29,000 –> 00:30:33,100
Prayer has begun to become more
important to that sister.
407
00:30:34,100 –> 00:30:35,900
Now, how much effort did that
take?
408
00:30:36,300 –> 00:30:40,900
Was it a massive feat of
intellectual prowess?
409
00:30:42,100 –> 00:30:48,000
Was it a physical strain?
It was just a quiet Act of love.
410
00:30:49,300 –> 00:30:51,300
That is helping to save
someone’s life.
411
00:30:53,000 –> 00:30:56,300
So we can all do something while
we live.
412
00:30:58,800 –> 00:31:04,500
You’re 16.
He looks Under the Sun at the
413
00:31:04,500 –> 00:31:09,200
place of judgement.
He looks at rulers in this world
414
00:31:09,500 –> 00:31:12,300
and even Solomon.
It’s Solomon acknowledging in
415
00:31:12,300 –> 00:31:16,000
his kingdom.
There is corruption, there are
416
00:31:16,000 –> 00:31:19,800
corrupt officials not doing the
right thing.
417
00:31:20,600 –> 00:31:23,500
And when I looked at the place
of righteousness and found that
418
00:31:24,300 –> 00:31:29,100
there was wickedness there, I
said in my heart, God shall
419
00:31:29,100 –> 00:31:32,400
judge the righteous.
And the wicked for there is a
420
00:31:32,400 –> 00:31:37,400
time there for every purpose and
for every work, I said in my
421
00:31:37,400 –> 00:31:42,800
heart concerning the estate of
the sons of men that God may
422
00:31:42,800 –> 00:31:47,300
prove them, and that they may
see that they themselves are
423
00:31:47,300 –> 00:31:50,900
beasts.
Then he talks about the fact
424
00:31:50,900 –> 00:31:55,000
that men and beasts have the
same thing.
425
00:31:55,800 –> 00:31:59,900
Oh, a man’s thoughts, maybe
upward and in the context, it’s
426
00:31:59,900 –> 00:32:02,000
not necessarily in a Godly
Direction.
427
00:32:02,600 –> 00:32:07,500
It may be in the direction of
ambition, desire for power, and
428
00:32:07,500 –> 00:32:10,300
all these sorts of things that
men have.
429
00:32:10,800 –> 00:32:18,000
We see Vladimir Putin doing
exactly that right now, Looking
430
00:32:18,300 –> 00:32:24,200
up word for power.
And then the Beast, whose whose
431
00:32:24,200 –> 00:32:29,100
groveling everyday work is to
find something to eat so that it
432
00:32:29,100 –> 00:32:35,900
can preserve its life.
He says, Mighty booty and the
433
00:32:35,900 –> 00:32:39,300
rat that is running around down
there on the ground looking for
434
00:32:39,300 –> 00:32:42,600
something to eat.
Both have the same experience at
435
00:32:42,600 –> 00:32:47,400
the end of their lives.
Neither is superior to the
436
00:32:47,400 –> 00:32:54,300
other. but for people of faith,
Another story is different, all
437
00:32:54,300 –> 00:32:59,300
that you are in right now.
Is the phase of life that comes
438
00:32:59,300 –> 00:33:03,700
before eternal life.
My forever.
439
00:33:04,700 –> 00:33:08,200
With all the strength you need
and all the focus.
440
00:33:08,200 –> 00:33:12,900
You need to be a perfect servant
for God.
441
00:33:14,000 –> 00:33:18,000
It.
So then we move back in to
442
00:33:18,300 –> 00:33:22,100
chapter 4.
So, I returned and considered
443
00:33:22,100 –> 00:33:25,800
all the oppressions that are
done under the sun.
444
00:33:27,700 –> 00:33:33,800
So Under the Sun is Earthly,
life divorced from God, and that
445
00:33:33,800 –> 00:33:36,500
we have God, and the life of The
Godly.
446
00:33:38,000 –> 00:33:42,100
I looked at all the oppression,
the tears of the oppressed, they
447
00:33:42,100 –> 00:33:45,700
didn’t have a comforter and on
the side of the oppressor.
448
00:33:46,200 –> 00:33:49,800
There was power.
But they had no comforter.
449
00:33:51,000 –> 00:33:55,000
And so I looked at them and as a
man of this world, I praise the
450
00:33:55,000 –> 00:33:56,700
dead.
And I praise those that have not
451
00:33:56,700 –> 00:34:01,800
even been born yet because they
have not had the chance to see
452
00:34:02,500 –> 00:34:04,800
the terrible things that are
done by people on the Earth
453
00:34:04,800 –> 00:34:09,000
Under the Sun.
Again, I looked at the travel
454
00:34:09,000 –> 00:34:15,000
the labor and every skillful
work that for this Amman is
455
00:34:15,000 –> 00:34:17,300
envied of his neighbor.
Let’s go with this.
456
00:34:17,300 –> 00:34:20,500
Then this also is Vanity and a
striving.
457
00:34:20,800 –> 00:34:24,900
To wind.
The fool folds, his hand
458
00:34:24,900 –> 00:34:28,100
together.
And eats his own flesh.
459
00:34:29,400 –> 00:34:32,400
Now, let’s back this up and look
at some of these verses.
460
00:34:34,000 –> 00:34:40,100
Then I saw verse for revised
version all labor, and every
461
00:34:40,100 –> 00:34:45,100
skillful work that for this
Amman is envied of his neighbor.
462
00:34:46,600 –> 00:34:49,699
and it gives you an alternate
translation of footnote in the
463
00:34:49,699 –> 00:34:56,800
revised version that says It
cometh of a man’s rivalry with
464
00:34:56,800 –> 00:35:00,300
his neighbor.
Well, how do we interpret that
465
00:35:00,900 –> 00:35:04,000
all the striving after money and
power?
466
00:35:04,000 –> 00:35:08,200
And possessions is about a rat
race?
467
00:35:09,300 –> 00:35:14,600
A competition among people.
One of my old bosses wonderful
468
00:35:14,600 –> 00:35:19,900
man named Corey Rose, not in the
truth but he wouldn’t be being a
469
00:35:19,908 –> 00:35:24,200
good brother.
He worked for the head of a
470
00:35:24,200 –> 00:35:30,000
major Canadian Corporation. and
he was at a company picnic and
471
00:35:30,008 –> 00:35:34,200
he said to the owner, I think
his name is Frank strong, Iraq.
472
00:35:34,400 –> 00:35:37,500
He said to Frank boy Frankie,
you haven’t made, you’ve got
473
00:35:37,500 –> 00:35:40,300
everything a person could want
you’ve got, you’ve got your own
474
00:35:40,300 –> 00:35:43,900
plane, you’ve got all of this
wealth, you’ve built an
475
00:35:43,900 –> 00:35:47,300
organization from the ground up
and, and you’ve done extremely
476
00:35:47,300 –> 00:35:50,600
well.
And Frank said to Cory,
477
00:35:51,200 –> 00:35:54,700
actually, no Cory.
It’s funny, you know.
478
00:35:56,300 –> 00:35:58,900
What do you get a jet?
And somebody else has a bigger
479
00:35:58,900 –> 00:36:01,800
jet than you.
You need to go get a bigger jet
480
00:36:01,800 –> 00:36:05,500
from them.
The competition never ends.
481
00:36:05,900 –> 00:36:08,500
You never have enough.
You never big enough.
482
00:36:09,300 –> 00:36:15,500
You never own enough. and that
was a very humbling thing for
483
00:36:15,500 –> 00:36:21,300
men in that sphere of life to
say, But it shows you that this
484
00:36:21,300 –> 00:36:26,800
competition that this
continually one-upping of life
485
00:36:27,200 –> 00:36:30,300
from from, you know, from the
people who live in this world
486
00:36:30,300 –> 00:36:34,600
and it can infect us to we can
be infected by this.
487
00:36:34,600 –> 00:36:36,400
We we can’t pretend that this is
not us.
488
00:36:37,500 –> 00:36:40,900
The competition to own things to
live in the best neighborhoods
489
00:36:40,900 –> 00:36:46,500
to to have not one SUV, but
three to have a five car garage
490
00:36:46,500 –> 00:36:48,500
and being ridiculous.
But you know what I mean?
491
00:36:49,500 –> 00:36:53,100
Holiday, and now strand.
Then fly over to fly over to
492
00:36:53,100 –> 00:36:57,200
Iceland and then make sure that
you, you you go to another
493
00:36:57,200 –> 00:37:04,600
country in 11 road trip.
My parents, I can’t say I grew
494
00:37:04,600 –> 00:37:09,100
up poor, I didn’t agree.
In a comfortable family.
495
00:37:09,400 –> 00:37:13,100
I remember my parents when they
were young and struggling, but
496
00:37:13,300 –> 00:37:19,300
my dad had a senior role in
government and Trinidad, and my
497
00:37:19,300 –> 00:37:23,500
mother worked in the University
of the country.
498
00:37:24,300 –> 00:37:27,600
And on top of those two good
jobs, they had a chicken farm,
499
00:37:28,600 –> 00:37:33,100
And there they came a point in
time where we’re well, they were
500
00:37:33,100 –> 00:37:38,100
doing extremely well.
And and one day, my dad said
501
00:37:40,100 –> 00:37:43,300
that we’re going to go for a
trip to Barbados and my sister’s
502
00:37:43,300 –> 00:37:46,600
turned up their noses and were
angry.
503
00:37:46,700 –> 00:37:50,300
Barbados, like, what, why are we
going to Europe?
504
00:37:51,200 –> 00:37:59,100
And my dad heard what they said.
And he shut down 60% of the
505
00:37:59,107 –> 00:38:02,400
farm.
Because he realized it was
506
00:38:02,400 –> 00:38:08,700
starting to destroy his kids.
He took the lifestyle and he’d
507
00:38:08,700 –> 00:38:10,500
come out of poverty.
As had my mum.
508
00:38:11,500 –> 00:38:15,300
And for someone who has come
from poverty, poverty to wealth,
509
00:38:15,900 –> 00:38:22,700
it is the most brutal thing.
To pull the gears and Ratchet
510
00:38:22,800 –> 00:38:27,400
your life back.
But he delivers kids, you wasn’t
511
00:38:27,400 –> 00:38:30,500
in the truth.
But he did that for his
512
00:38:30,500 –> 00:38:33,000
children.
And yes, it was all about
513
00:38:33,000 –> 00:38:35,800
competition.
It was all about comparing
514
00:38:35,800 –> 00:38:38,400
yourself to other families.
Where were they going on
515
00:38:38,400 –> 00:38:39,600
vacation?
What did they own?
516
00:38:39,600 –> 00:38:42,000
What do they drive?
How much do they have?
517
00:38:42,100 –> 00:38:43,900
What kind of boasting could
people do?
518
00:38:43,900 –> 00:38:47,500
I remember, family, gatherings,
where so much of it was about
519
00:38:47,500 –> 00:38:51,700
boasting and it wasn’t just
boasting about what people owned
520
00:38:51,700 –> 00:38:54,000
it was.
How is your son doing?
521
00:38:54,000 –> 00:38:59,300
Oh, he’s doing so well.
You know, he’s doing so well.
522
00:38:59,300 –> 00:39:02,200
He’s you know right now he’s
articling with one of the
523
00:39:02,200 –> 00:39:05,700
biggest law firms in Toronto,
right?
524
00:39:06,100 –> 00:39:10,800
And and that that nonsense which
which I hated as a child.
525
00:39:11,100 –> 00:39:13,800
Absolutely hated.
At the same time my wife Rose
526
00:39:14,100 –> 00:39:17,500
was growing up in a similar
family in Toronto, having the
527
00:39:17,500 –> 00:39:23,200
same experience so that when we
got together we walked away from
528
00:39:23,200 –> 00:39:28,000
all that.
My children, I didn’t realize it
529
00:39:28,000 –> 00:39:30,200
because we never talked about
those things with them.
530
00:39:31,500 –> 00:39:37,500
Saw a picture of my my family’s
estate and we’re speechless.
531
00:39:38,900 –> 00:39:42,000
They thought I had grown up in a
Hut in the jungle somewhere.
532
00:39:42,200 –> 00:39:47,100
They literally said that.
I said, watch like really, yeah,
533
00:39:47,100 –> 00:39:51,300
we thought you grew up in a hut
somewhere so why didn’t you say
534
00:39:51,300 –> 00:39:53,500
something to me?
This is my twenty something year
535
00:39:53,500 –> 00:39:57,100
old child telling me this.
We never talked about those
536
00:39:57,100 –> 00:39:59,200
things.
That’s the kind of thing.
537
00:39:59,200 –> 00:40:01,700
We never wanted to talk about
with our kids.
538
00:40:02,900 –> 00:40:04,700
Because it was all about
competition.
539
00:40:05,400 –> 00:40:09,400
And so what scripture is telling
us is what God sees in human
540
00:40:09,400 –> 00:40:11,800
life.
And he says, look all of this
541
00:40:11,900 –> 00:40:14,600
questing for wealth and and
prosperity.
542
00:40:14,600 –> 00:40:21,300
And so on can become just a
horse race, a rat race, that’s
543
00:40:21,300 –> 00:40:26,900
what it is but it can become for
some people often Then he says,
544
00:40:26,900 –> 00:40:30,600
in verse six or verse 5, and he
says, so you’ve got the people
545
00:40:30,600 –> 00:40:33,300
who out there striving and
striving and pushing, and
546
00:40:33,300 –> 00:40:35,600
pushing, and pushing and
climbing, and climbing and
547
00:40:35,600 –> 00:40:40,300
climbing, climbing, a ladder of
prosperity, and power and impact
548
00:40:40,400 –> 00:40:43,600
financially.
And then you have the opposite
549
00:40:43,600 –> 00:40:48,400
who does nothing the checked out
1960s Beach Bum.
550
00:40:48,900 –> 00:40:52,200
Do you remember those guys who
didn’t wash at all?
551
00:40:52,600 –> 00:40:55,900
They had headbands and they had
like a piece of leather which
552
00:40:55,900 –> 00:40:59,400
was Dirt at the bottom of their
bare feet and he didn’t want to
553
00:40:59,408 –> 00:41:02,500
get too close to them because it
knocked you out just a smell of
554
00:41:02,500 –> 00:41:06,400
them as they enjoyed the freedom
of the 1960s.
555
00:41:06,400 –> 00:41:09,000
Remember them.
Look what it says about them.
556
00:41:10,100 –> 00:41:14,400
The fool folds, his hands
together and eats his own flesh.
557
00:41:14,400 –> 00:41:18,700
In other words, he cannibalizes
himself through laziness the
558
00:41:18,700 –> 00:41:23,000
opposite of what the other
people are doing, who are
559
00:41:23,000 –> 00:41:27,000
fitfully trying to push
themselves. elves up and up and
560
00:41:27,000 –> 00:41:33,600
up verse 6 says, You know what?
Better is just a handful.
561
00:41:34,800 –> 00:41:40,200
With quietness or peace in your
life, the two handfuls with
562
00:41:40,200 –> 00:41:47,200
labor and striving after wind,
because that’s what it is, it’s
563
00:41:47,200 –> 00:41:49,400
a striving after wind, you can’t
catch the wind.
564
00:41:49,900 –> 00:41:53,500
What he’s saying is you can’t
catch, happiness, through
565
00:41:53,500 –> 00:41:57,100
material things.
And the accumulation of them,
566
00:41:57,900 –> 00:42:01,700
you can’t You might as well try
and catch the wind.
567
00:42:03,900 –> 00:42:07,800
Then I returned and saw vanity
under the sun.
568
00:42:08,700 –> 00:42:12,100
He talks about people being
alone and not having
569
00:42:12,100 –> 00:42:15,000
companionship.
He’ll then transition to talk
570
00:42:15,000 –> 00:42:17,600
about the kind of person who
works and works and works.
571
00:42:17,600 –> 00:42:19,700
He says he’s just a ver
workaholic in this.
572
00:42:19,700 –> 00:42:24,400
No, be to hand that result off
too if you wanted to have an
573
00:42:24,400 –> 00:42:27,000
image of, what kind of person
that is think of Ebenezer
574
00:42:27,000 –> 00:42:30,000
Scrooge before his
transformation, you know who
575
00:42:30,000 –> 00:42:32,000
that is.
I know, you didn’t know who Mick
576
00:42:32,000 –> 00:42:36,300
Jagger was, but you know,
There’s a scrooge is right.
577
00:42:36,700 –> 00:42:41,100
All right, are there?
No workhouses member.
578
00:42:42,100 –> 00:42:46,500
Remember how happy he wasn’t his
labor eating his little nasty
579
00:42:46,500 –> 00:42:50,300
bowl of gruel at home because he
wouldn’t spend money to eat
580
00:42:50,300 –> 00:42:53,200
proper food.
While there are people like
581
00:42:53,200 –> 00:42:56,000
that.
They work themselves to the
582
00:42:56,000 –> 00:42:58,900
Bone.
They have all kinds of money but
583
00:42:58,900 –> 00:43:05,400
no enjoyment of it what so ever,
verse 13 better is a, a poor and
584
00:43:05,400 –> 00:43:14,500
a wise child.
Then and old and foolish King.
585
00:43:15,800 –> 00:43:18,300
Who is this wise King writing
about?
586
00:43:20,300 –> 00:43:25,700
Himself.
I realize all the stupid things
587
00:43:25,700 –> 00:43:27,300
I did, I wouldn’t listen to
anybody.
588
00:43:28,700 –> 00:43:32,000
Why would I was the smartest man
on the face of the earth?
589
00:43:32,400 –> 00:43:35,700
I thought.
So everything I did, I thought I
590
00:43:35,707 –> 00:43:37,800
could survive it, I thought I
could get through, I thought I
591
00:43:37,800 –> 00:43:43,200
could just squeeze past touching
the edge of idolatry but
592
00:43:43,200 –> 00:43:46,300
realizing all those things don’t
exist, not realizing the impact
593
00:43:46,900 –> 00:43:49,000
I had on my own family and the
nation.
594
00:43:50,200 –> 00:43:54,300
Measure is a wise child than an
old and foolish King.
595
00:43:55,400 –> 00:43:57,900
And then he talks about a child,
a young man who comes out of
596
00:43:57,900 –> 00:44:02,200
prison who Rises out of the dirt
to become king of the nation and
597
00:44:02,200 –> 00:44:06,100
in the end, nobody can remember
what he achieved that comes
598
00:44:06,100 –> 00:44:10,000
after him.
And so he sees the limits of
599
00:44:10,000 –> 00:44:18,500
power He sees how tenuous and
fragile it all is, and how it
600
00:44:18,500 –> 00:44:23,200
just evaporates.
As we ourselves declined.
601
00:44:24,500 –> 00:44:26,400
He goes on.
He says, when you are in the
602
00:44:26,400 –> 00:44:28,800
meeting, be careful how you
speak.
603
00:44:30,900 –> 00:44:35,100
Be careful.
Don’t answer anything before God
604
00:44:35,100 –> 00:44:40,500
and not carry through on it.
And here this Society, perhaps
605
00:44:40,500 –> 00:44:44,600
an Arts to people would talk up
a storm about the things they’re
606
00:44:44,600 –> 00:44:48,200
doing for God, but there was
nothing behind it and they
607
00:44:48,200 –> 00:44:53,400
didn’t follow through.
He was a boastful materialistic
608
00:44:53,500 –> 00:44:56,500
Society.
This is not an age of
609
00:44:56,500 –> 00:44:59,900
boastfulness.
Is this not an age of
610
00:44:59,900 –> 00:45:05,300
boastfulness where where leaders
are more prone to boast about
611
00:45:05,300 –> 00:45:08,100
themselves and their prowess
than they are to talk about the
612
00:45:08,100 –> 00:45:11,500
needs of the nation and how they
intend to look after them?
613
00:45:13,000 –> 00:45:21,500
And So It Goes On. and he says,
in verse 8, if you see the
614
00:45:21,500 –> 00:45:26,600
oppression of the poor and
violent perverting, a judgment
615
00:45:26,600 –> 00:45:30,000
and Justice and a province,
don’t be surprised.
616
00:45:31,000 –> 00:45:36,600
Don’t be surprised.
For the somebody higher than
617
00:45:36,600 –> 00:45:38,400
that person, is keeping an eye
on him.
618
00:45:39,000 –> 00:45:42,600
And there are people even higher
than that, nice talking about,
619
00:45:42,600 –> 00:45:47,800
the way that God overseas.
What is going on in the earth?
620
00:45:47,800 –> 00:45:52,700
He has a vantage point.
That’s different to anything
621
00:45:52,900 –> 00:45:56,400
that we have.
It gives them a perspective that
622
00:45:56,400 –> 00:46:02,900
is above what we have.
And these people may look like
623
00:46:02,900 –> 00:46:04,500
a, they get away.
Murder.
624
00:46:05,600 –> 00:46:09,100
But in the end, God will do what
he does.
625
00:46:09,700 –> 00:46:13,300
And he will hold mankind,
accountable.
626
00:46:14,000 –> 00:46:16,700
Now, as I’m talking to you and
just really looking for a
627
00:46:16,707 –> 00:46:22,700
particular verse that I seem to
recall somewhere in the Psalms,
628
00:46:23,100 –> 00:46:28,000
I can’t find it right now.
I can’t find it right now but
629
00:46:28,000 –> 00:46:30,900
what I’ll do is I’ll look for it
in the break and bring it back
630
00:46:30,900 –> 00:46:34,300
to you tomorrow.
And what it is is it’s a
631
00:46:34,300 –> 00:46:40,900
particular Verse or couple of
verses that talk about God’s
632
00:46:40,900 –> 00:46:45,400
perspective on things.
Versus our own, very limited
633
00:46:45,500 –> 00:46:48,200
human perspective.
So in the grand scheme of
634
00:46:48,200 –> 00:46:52,100
things, remember the grandma
holding little baby and how she
635
00:46:52,100 –> 00:46:55,000
takes care of her.
The baby knows I’ve got a
636
00:46:55,000 –> 00:46:57,500
problem.
Got a diaper, I’ve got rash, it
637
00:46:57,500 –> 00:47:02,000
hurts, it burns.
And doesn’t realize that her
638
00:47:02,000 –> 00:47:05,600
grandmother is looking after
that and more for her that she
639
00:47:05,600 –> 00:47:09,000
wouldn’t even understand.
So God says hair through the
640
00:47:09,000 –> 00:47:14,800
writer yes there are things that
you see that are unfair but I
641
00:47:14,900 –> 00:47:19,900
know what’s going on and I keep
and I love these things.
642
00:47:20,200 –> 00:47:23,900
Verse 13, there’s a sore evil
which I have seen Under the Sun
643
00:47:24,300 –> 00:47:28,600
riches kept by the owners to
their hurt to their own hurt.
644
00:47:29,300 –> 00:47:32,800
But those riches perish by evil
Adventure.
645
00:47:34,300 –> 00:47:38,300
People who take their wealth and
they go, and they gamble them
646
00:47:38,300 –> 00:47:43,500
away, or they invest on stupid
things that they think will make
647
00:47:43,500 –> 00:47:45,500
them even more profoundly
wealthy.
648
00:47:46,600 –> 00:47:52,100
He says I see all these things.
It’s all part and parcel of the
649
00:47:52,400 –> 00:47:57,000
nonsense of human life apart
from me Verse 18 behold that,
650
00:47:57,000 –> 00:48:02,800
which I have seen to be good and
calmly for one to eat and to
651
00:48:02,800 –> 00:48:08,200
drink and to enjoy good in all
his labor where and he labor
652
00:48:08,200 –> 00:48:10,900
with Under the Sun and you
thinking, that’s a jarring.
653
00:48:11,100 –> 00:48:12,900
I thought Under the Sun is
always a bad thing.
654
00:48:12,900 –> 00:48:17,100
Well, it isn’t in this instance
and look how he gives these
655
00:48:17,500 –> 00:48:21,200
Hammer blows to underscore that
point.
656
00:48:22,600 –> 00:48:27,800
All the days of his life, which
God has given him for it, is his
657
00:48:27,800 –> 00:48:32,700
portion every man, also to whom
God hath, given riches and
658
00:48:32,700 –> 00:48:36,600
wealth and has given him power
to eat thereof and to take his
659
00:48:36,600 –> 00:48:42,600
portion and to rejoice in his
labor, this is the gift of God
660
00:48:43,300 –> 00:48:44,400
for.
He shall not much.
661
00:48:44,400 –> 00:48:50,600
Remember the days of his life.
Because God answereth him in the
662
00:48:50,600 –> 00:48:55,600
joy of his heart.
So God has given you.
663
00:48:57,600 –> 00:49:02,400
Life in a prosperous country
where you’ve worked hard and you
664
00:49:02,400 –> 00:49:07,200
have things that you have
accumulated to enjoy this life
665
00:49:07,600 –> 00:49:14,300
to share with others to do good
with all the days of your life.
666
00:49:15,500 –> 00:49:17,100
So enjoy what God has blessed
you with?
667
00:49:18,100 –> 00:49:22,400
And also remember that there’s
much to be done and there’s much
668
00:49:22,400 –> 00:49:26,000
that you can do to help others
in this life that you live right
669
00:49:26,000 –> 00:49:26,200
now.
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