1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:04,120 Welcome to Heaven Earth Church. 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:06,040 My name is Ross Stackhouse. 3 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:09,040 I'm the founding pastor of Heaven Earth Church. 4 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:13,280 From the beginning, our heart was to be a church for people who 5 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,040 don't fit neatly into church. 6 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:19,200 Our heart is to meet people where they are, to learn their stories, 7 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:20,720 to honor their stories. 8 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,840 Because in every human story is God's story. 9 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:27,840 In this podcast you'll hear more about the people who now call 10 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:29,400 Heaven Earth Church home. 11 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,420 Their stories, in many cases of misfits who are discovering or 12 00:00:33,420 --> 00:00:34,700 rediscovering faith. 13 00:00:34,860 --> 00:00:38,140 If you want to know more about us, you can go to heavenorthchurch.org 14 00:00:38,620 --> 00:00:41,660 Otherwise, we invite you now into the story. 15 00:00:44,060 --> 00:00:44,980 Hello good people. 16 00:00:44,980 --> 00:00:49,660 Brad Miller here, the producer of the Heaven Earth Church podcast. 17 00:00:50,140 --> 00:00:53,700 One of the main benefits of being a part of the Heaven Earth 18 00:00:53,700 --> 00:00:59,850 Church community is our Sunday morning conversations taught by founding 19 00:00:59,850 --> 00:01:02,170 pastor Ross Stackhouse. 20 00:01:03,450 --> 00:01:08,250 You can watch and participate in the Sunday morning conversation 21 00:01:08,810 --> 00:01:17,210 this Sunday morning, 9:30am Eastern time at YouTube.com heavenorthchurch. 22 00:01:18,730 --> 00:01:23,690 The audio version of the Sunday morning conversation is available 23 00:01:23,690 --> 00:01:28,370 here on the podcast, which you can find at Apple Podcasts, Spotify 24 00:01:28,850 --> 00:01:38,210 and on the website, which is heavenerthchurch.org Here is heaven 25 00:01:38,210 --> 00:01:43,650 Earth Church pastor Ross Stackhouse with the message Ecclesiastes 26 00:01:44,290 --> 00:01:48,450 the frustrating worthy search for meaning. 27 00:01:51,410 --> 00:01:55,570 Lord, I just ask that you would fortify our trust in you. 28 00:01:55,650 --> 00:02:00,050 If it's just up to our human minds and perspective, it's going 29 00:02:00,050 --> 00:02:01,890 to be hard for us to get there. 30 00:02:02,690 --> 00:02:05,930 With your help, we can have faith that moves mountains. 31 00:02:05,930 --> 00:02:07,330 And so we're asking for that. 32 00:02:07,410 --> 00:02:09,570 In Jesus name, Amen. 33 00:02:10,050 --> 00:02:11,730 So do you know what that is there? 34 00:02:11,970 --> 00:02:13,170 It's called grass. 35 00:02:15,010 --> 00:02:22,510 It's this green stuff that it grows from the ground and, and, and 36 00:02:22,670 --> 00:02:25,470 if you can believe it, it grows high enough that people take 37 00:02:25,470 --> 00:02:29,070 these things called mowers and they mow it in the summer and stuff. 38 00:02:29,950 --> 00:02:33,870 I don't think we're going to see grass again for a while. 39 00:02:34,910 --> 00:02:36,590 Adam loves that, apparently. 40 00:02:36,990 --> 00:02:38,190 Good for you, Adam. 41 00:02:40,830 --> 00:02:43,750 But today we are gonna. 42 00:02:43,750 --> 00:02:47,990 We're starting a new series of conversations that has to do with 43 00:02:47,990 --> 00:02:50,390 the stuff that's on that grass there. 44 00:02:52,470 --> 00:02:56,950 There's a word in Hebrew that this, this teacher in this book uses 45 00:02:56,950 --> 00:02:59,270 repeatedly that is like that. 46 00:02:59,430 --> 00:03:01,110 I'll go straight to it right now. 47 00:03:01,350 --> 00:03:02,390 It's a really. 48 00:03:03,590 --> 00:03:05,510 This guy seems really hopeful. 49 00:03:05,670 --> 00:03:08,990 The words of the teacher of the assembly, David's son, king in 50 00:03:08,990 --> 00:03:09,750 Jerusalem. 51 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,440 He's got some lovely words to share with you. 52 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:13,120 Are you ready? 53 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,480 Perfectly pointless, says the teacher. 54 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:17,680 Perfectly pointless. 55 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:19,600 Everything is pointless. 56 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:20,800 Yay. 57 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:24,800 Aren't you glad you came to church today. 58 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:27,800 He uses that word right there. 59 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,040 I'm honestly, I don't think that's a very good translation. 60 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,280 It really means, like, something like dew on the grass, 61 00:03:36,370 --> 00:03:37,970 that everything is like that. 62 00:03:38,370 --> 00:03:39,770 It's like one minute you. 63 00:03:39,770 --> 00:03:43,010 You look at something and you observe it and it's beautiful. 64 00:03:43,890 --> 00:03:47,250 Then you turn around and then you look back and it's gone. 65 00:03:47,410 --> 00:03:48,770 The dew evaporates. 66 00:03:48,930 --> 00:03:52,690 And so he's frustrated as we're going to see that, like, everything. 67 00:03:52,930 --> 00:03:57,330 He's searching for something that's reliable, something steadfast, 68 00:03:57,730 --> 00:04:00,290 something true, something you can count on. 69 00:04:00,290 --> 00:04:02,800 And he just goes through the search and everything, everything 70 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:08,880 he says, when I just keep looking at it all, all of it is that 71 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:10,080 havel. 72 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:14,160 Dew on the grass, it evaporates. 73 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:16,320 I'm sick of it. 74 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:18,240 There's nothing you can count on. 75 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:19,760 Nothing is reliable. 76 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:22,320 Everything is meaningless. 77 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:23,760 Do you feel that way at all? 78 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:25,320 Do you relate to that? 79 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:26,320 I'd love to hear from you. 80 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,370 Do you relate to his feelings at times circumstantially. 81 00:04:30,450 --> 00:04:31,090 Okay. 82 00:04:31,170 --> 00:04:32,690 When you relate to him, why do you. 83 00:04:32,690 --> 00:04:33,730 Why do you feel that way? 84 00:04:33,730 --> 00:04:38,170 What gets you to this point where you're like, tucker, I would 85 00:04:38,170 --> 00:04:38,490 love it. 86 00:04:38,490 --> 00:04:40,530 I'm an over complicator, bro. 87 00:04:40,610 --> 00:04:41,570 That's what I do. 88 00:04:42,290 --> 00:04:45,650 Tucker throws in this possibility, if it's a multiverse, 89 00:04:45,890 --> 00:04:48,810 there's always a possibility in some other universe, you made 90 00:04:48,810 --> 00:04:49,610 a different choice. 91 00:04:49,610 --> 00:04:51,570 So I'm just gonna throw that in there this morning. 92 00:04:51,570 --> 00:04:52,050 Okay? 93 00:04:52,210 --> 00:04:53,170 Actually, I didn't. 94 00:04:53,170 --> 00:04:55,650 Tucker, did we think the same dude? 95 00:04:58,530 --> 00:04:59,090 Yep. 96 00:04:59,570 --> 00:04:59,930 Yeah. 97 00:04:59,930 --> 00:05:00,890 Was it even worth it? 98 00:05:00,890 --> 00:05:02,210 I did all this hard work. 99 00:05:02,530 --> 00:05:03,410 It's in here. 100 00:05:05,250 --> 00:05:05,810 Yep. 101 00:05:05,890 --> 00:05:06,410 What else? 102 00:05:06,410 --> 00:05:06,770 When you. 103 00:05:06,770 --> 00:05:07,250 When you. 104 00:05:07,570 --> 00:05:08,690 If you feel this way. 105 00:05:08,690 --> 00:05:09,650 When you feel this way. 106 00:05:09,650 --> 00:05:09,970 Why? 107 00:05:10,370 --> 00:05:11,890 There's nothing that's reliable. 108 00:05:11,890 --> 00:05:13,090 Everything is fleeting. 109 00:05:13,250 --> 00:05:14,930 There's nothing you can count on. 110 00:05:15,410 --> 00:05:18,050 Does anything have any meaning that's worth it? 111 00:05:18,210 --> 00:05:19,970 It doesn't have to be a negative thing. 112 00:05:19,970 --> 00:05:20,250 Always. 113 00:05:20,250 --> 00:05:21,970 Can you say more about that, Ava? 114 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,480 Oh, did you read the Cliff Notes on this book? 115 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,360 This is literally one of the things he says in here. 116 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,000 If nothing matters, then just kind of do what makes you happy or 117 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,400 do what you want, you know? 118 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:38,560 Have you ever heard the phrase, eat, drink and be merry? 119 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:40,240 Guess where it comes from? 120 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:42,160 This book. 121 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,200 The phrase comes from this book. 122 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:45,920 What? 123 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:46,480 Sorry? 124 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:48,520 The book of Ecclesiastes. 125 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:50,640 I'm going to introduce it properly in a minute. 126 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:59,080 If you're a Dave Matthews fan, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow 127 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:00,200 we die. 128 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,960 If you don't like Dave Matthews, you're like, this sucks. 129 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:05,800 I'm not coming to church anymore. 130 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:09,320 Yeah, sorry. 131 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:10,000 I'm sorry. 132 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:10,680 I'm sorry. 133 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:11,720 Sorry. 134 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:12,600 I'm sorry, man. 135 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:14,360 That's what comes to mind. 136 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:15,600 We're going to start. 137 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,440 We're going to do this series as sort of an extension of our last 138 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,460 series where we talked about finding the Bible to be holy again, 139 00:06:21,540 --> 00:06:23,860 rediscovering the power and beauty of the scriptures. 140 00:06:24,020 --> 00:06:26,900 I wanted to take you into a book of the Bible that's different. 141 00:06:27,140 --> 00:06:31,940 It's very different to help you, like, see that we're talking 142 00:06:31,940 --> 00:06:36,380 about a library of scriptures and we don't engage them all the 143 00:06:36,380 --> 00:06:36,660 same. 144 00:06:37,060 --> 00:06:40,460 So this one is very unique because it's part of something called 145 00:06:40,460 --> 00:06:41,620 the wisdom literature. 146 00:06:41,780 --> 00:06:43,460 It's the book of Ecclesiastes. 147 00:06:43,460 --> 00:06:46,750 It's attributed to a guy by the name of Solomon, though, to be 148 00:06:46,750 --> 00:06:47,590 honest with you. 149 00:06:47,590 --> 00:06:50,230 Did he probably write this by himself? 150 00:06:50,310 --> 00:06:55,070 No, it's a community of people gathering wisdom and expressing a 151 00:06:55,070 --> 00:06:55,510 struggle. 152 00:06:55,990 --> 00:07:01,230 That, yes, is sourced with him largely, but together they were trying 153 00:07:01,230 --> 00:07:02,870 to compile a perspective. 154 00:07:03,750 --> 00:07:08,550 And the wisdom literature includes Ecclesiastes, another book, 155 00:07:08,790 --> 00:07:12,400 you may have heard of it called Job, or heard of that one. 156 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:14,240 Another book called Proverbs. 157 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:17,080 It's called the Wisdom Literature. 158 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:21,240 But really, what this section of the library is like, if you had 159 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,120 to describe it, it's in a sentence. 160 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:27,120 It's like, we thought we knew, but now we know we don't. 161 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:29,520 That's kind of what the wisdom literature is like. 162 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:34,760 So, for example, Job is all about, like, there's this super righteous 163 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:35,440 guy, right? 164 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:42,030 And all this suffering comes upon him, this terrible, brutal suffering, 165 00:07:42,990 --> 00:07:47,670 and his friends, whom Job will call miserable comforters, anybody 166 00:07:47,670 --> 00:07:48,670 got friends like that? 167 00:07:48,910 --> 00:07:52,790 They come up to him, he's lost everything, and they're like, hey, 168 00:07:52,790 --> 00:07:54,110 Job, what did you do, man? 169 00:07:54,910 --> 00:07:55,710 Because you must. 170 00:07:55,710 --> 00:07:57,710 You've done something to deserve this. 171 00:07:57,870 --> 00:07:59,070 Why did they say that? 172 00:07:59,470 --> 00:08:03,230 Because their framework, their understanding of how the world works 173 00:08:03,230 --> 00:08:05,870 with God is that if you're righteous, you're blessed. 174 00:08:06,870 --> 00:08:08,790 If you're wicked, you're cursed. 175 00:08:08,870 --> 00:08:09,790 And guess what? 176 00:08:09,790 --> 00:08:11,550 They didn't make that up out of thin air. 177 00:08:11,550 --> 00:08:13,990 It's expressed in the first five books of the Bible. 178 00:08:14,150 --> 00:08:17,710 The wisdom literature is like, you know, maybe that isn't how the 179 00:08:17,710 --> 00:08:18,390 world works. 180 00:08:18,710 --> 00:08:20,510 So his friends keep coming back to him. 181 00:08:20,510 --> 00:08:22,790 They're like, hey, what did you do? 182 00:08:23,350 --> 00:08:25,910 Bad stuff doesn't happen to righteous people. 183 00:08:26,710 --> 00:08:32,590 And Job is like, look, listen, I might have done something, but 184 00:08:32,590 --> 00:08:35,110 there's nothing I could have done to deserve this. 185 00:08:35,569 --> 00:08:38,129 He loses his family, he loses everything. 186 00:08:38,609 --> 00:08:41,969 And in the end, he's faithful, right? 187 00:08:42,769 --> 00:08:45,569 And he gets a new family, and he Gets new stuff. 188 00:08:46,209 --> 00:08:47,649 Everything is solved, right? 189 00:08:48,049 --> 00:08:49,249 No, Come on. 190 00:08:50,289 --> 00:08:53,769 If you lost everything you loved and you got replacements, would 191 00:08:53,769 --> 00:08:54,609 you be cool with it? 192 00:08:54,689 --> 00:08:57,729 This is where the Christian church has stunk. 193 00:08:57,889 --> 00:08:59,169 It's not been any good. 194 00:08:59,489 --> 00:09:01,609 We turned off our brains when we engaged. 195 00:09:01,609 --> 00:09:04,890 The scripture job ends with a mystery. 196 00:09:04,890 --> 00:09:07,610 And that's the point of the wisdom literature. 197 00:09:07,850 --> 00:09:12,130 It is a space for reflecting on what you thought you knew, but 198 00:09:12,130 --> 00:09:13,370 now you're not so sure of. 199 00:09:14,090 --> 00:09:16,010 Ecclesiastes is like that too. 200 00:09:16,250 --> 00:09:19,450 This person is like, everything is pointless. 201 00:09:19,769 --> 00:09:22,970 The things that I thought had meaning don't. 202 00:09:23,210 --> 00:09:26,370 And so I want to take you on a tour through the book one because 203 00:09:26,370 --> 00:09:29,410 I want to help you be exposed to another section of the library 204 00:09:29,410 --> 00:09:32,290 of scriptures to teach you that you don't read them all the 205 00:09:32,290 --> 00:09:32,570 same. 206 00:09:32,900 --> 00:09:35,940 But also, this is such a good book for our time. 207 00:09:36,340 --> 00:09:36,900 So good. 208 00:09:37,220 --> 00:09:40,820 So, hey, let's take a tour through this guy's lovely perspective. 209 00:09:40,820 --> 00:09:41,620 What do you say? 210 00:09:41,780 --> 00:09:44,260 Aren't you excited to hear all this pessimism? 211 00:09:45,940 --> 00:09:46,500 Let's. 212 00:09:47,140 --> 00:09:47,460 What? 213 00:09:47,460 --> 00:09:48,180 What was that? 214 00:09:49,780 --> 00:09:50,380 I'll tell you. 215 00:09:50,380 --> 00:09:53,060 Yeah, the Cliff note, the spoiler alert. 216 00:09:53,860 --> 00:09:55,140 Everything is meaningless. 217 00:09:55,220 --> 00:09:55,860 Okay. 218 00:09:56,660 --> 00:09:57,940 That's the spoiler alert. 219 00:09:58,020 --> 00:09:58,580 Okay. 220 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:00,600 All right, let's. 221 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:01,680 Let's do it. 222 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:04,080 I am the teacher. 223 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,480 I was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 224 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,200 So again, this is attributed to a guy by the name of Solomon, 225 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,960 who is regarded as the wisest king in the history of Israel. 226 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,040 He was the son of King David, the greatest king in the history 227 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:16,880 of Israel. 228 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,400 At one time, Israel was a united monarchy. 229 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,360 Solomon is the last king, I believe, of the united monarchy. 230 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:26,640 And then it divided into two north and south. 231 00:10:27,730 --> 00:10:30,812 The northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 232 00:10:30,928 --> 00:10:31,450 BC. 233 00:10:31,450 --> 00:10:34,690 The southern kingdom was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 234 00:10:34,690 --> 00:10:35,090 BC. 235 00:10:35,970 --> 00:10:39,250 When that stuff happened, people were asking questions. 236 00:10:40,210 --> 00:10:41,730 How does the world actually work? 237 00:10:42,450 --> 00:10:43,890 I thought we were favored. 238 00:10:43,890 --> 00:10:45,250 Here's his reflections. 239 00:10:45,890 --> 00:10:46,930 I am the teacher. 240 00:10:47,170 --> 00:10:48,690 I was the king over Israel. 241 00:10:49,250 --> 00:10:52,370 I applied my mind to investigate and explore by wisdom 242 00:10:52,370 --> 00:10:53,730 all that happens under heaven. 243 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,280 It's an unhappy obsession that God has given to human beings. 244 00:10:57,760 --> 00:10:58,680 Amen, brother. 245 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:00,640 I'm sick of being so darn analytical. 246 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:04,880 When I observed all that happens under the sun, I realized 247 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:06,160 that everything is pointless. 248 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:07,200 Did I tell you that? 249 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:08,560 That is the conclusion here. 250 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:10,480 A chasing after the wind. 251 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:11,920 It's all like dew on the grass. 252 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,400 What's crooked can't be straightened. 253 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:16,880 What isn't there can't be counted. 254 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:21,000 I said to myself, look here, I've grown much wiser than any who 255 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:22,400 ruled over Jerusalem before me. 256 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:24,640 My mind has absorbed great wisdom and knowledge. 257 00:11:25,710 --> 00:11:28,670 But when I set my mind to understand wisdom and also understand 258 00:11:28,670 --> 00:11:32,750 madness and folly, I realized this, too was just wind chasing. 259 00:11:33,310 --> 00:11:37,670 Remember, in much wisdom is much aggravation. 260 00:11:37,670 --> 00:11:39,150 The more knowledge, the more pain. 261 00:11:39,870 --> 00:11:40,830 Amen, brother. 262 00:11:42,830 --> 00:11:44,590 I said, oh, we're not there yet. 263 00:11:44,590 --> 00:11:45,070 Yeah. 264 00:11:45,630 --> 00:11:49,870 So even the pursuit of wisdom, Is there any point to it? 265 00:11:50,270 --> 00:11:53,760 No, everything is all right. 266 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:54,600 We'll get used to this. 267 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:55,400 We're going to get better. 268 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:56,160 Everything is. 269 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:58,320 Yes, that's right. 270 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:02,040 I said to myself, this is chapter two. 271 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,080 Now, I will make. 272 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:05,640 Come. 273 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,240 I will make you experience pleasure, Enjoy what is good. 274 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,840 But this, too, was merriment, I thought, is madness. 275 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:14,400 Pleasure of no use at all. 276 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,400 I tried cheering myself with wine by embracing folly. 277 00:12:18,740 --> 00:12:20,420 In other words, I just started to party. 278 00:12:21,220 --> 00:12:23,140 I figured it's all meaningless. 279 00:12:23,780 --> 00:12:25,500 Eat, drink and be merry. 280 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:28,420 And when he says drink, he means a lot of it. 281 00:12:29,620 --> 00:12:31,580 Until I might see what is really worth doing. 282 00:12:31,580 --> 00:12:34,779 In the few days that human beings have under heaven, I took 283 00:12:34,779 --> 00:12:35,820 on great projects. 284 00:12:35,820 --> 00:12:37,220 I built houses for myself. 285 00:12:37,220 --> 00:12:38,820 I planted vineyards for myself. 286 00:12:38,820 --> 00:12:42,460 I made gardens and parks for myself, planting every kind of fruit 287 00:12:42,460 --> 00:12:43,220 tree in them. 288 00:12:43,700 --> 00:12:47,140 I made reservoirs for myself to water my lush groves. 289 00:12:47,660 --> 00:12:50,060 I acquired male servants and female servants. 290 00:12:50,140 --> 00:12:52,140 I even had slaves born in my house. 291 00:12:52,220 --> 00:12:55,540 I also had great herds of cattle and sheep, more than any who 292 00:12:55,540 --> 00:12:56,700 preceded me in Jerusalem. 293 00:12:56,700 --> 00:12:57,540 Do you like this guy? 294 00:12:57,540 --> 00:12:58,060 Very much. 295 00:12:58,220 --> 00:12:59,580 There's a point to that, too. 296 00:12:59,980 --> 00:13:04,140 You're supposed to be like, oh, this fella. 297 00:13:04,620 --> 00:13:08,540 I amassed silver and gold for myself, the treasures of kings and 298 00:13:08,540 --> 00:13:09,140 provinces. 299 00:13:09,140 --> 00:13:11,580 I acquired male and female singers for myself. 300 00:13:11,820 --> 00:13:16,100 He had backup singers to his backup singers, along with every 301 00:13:16,100 --> 00:13:18,940 human luxury, Treasure chests galore. 302 00:13:20,220 --> 00:13:23,420 So I became far greater than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 303 00:13:23,420 --> 00:13:25,900 Moreover, my wisdom stood by me. 304 00:13:26,540 --> 00:13:28,860 I refrained from nothing that my eyes desired. 305 00:13:28,860 --> 00:13:30,700 I refused my heart no pleasure. 306 00:13:31,100 --> 00:13:34,100 Indeed, my heart found pleasure from the results of my hard 307 00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:34,460 work. 308 00:13:34,700 --> 00:13:37,180 That was the reward from all my hard work. 309 00:13:37,420 --> 00:13:42,340 But when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had 310 00:13:42,340 --> 00:13:47,620 worked so hard to achieve, I realized that it was a chasing after 311 00:13:47,620 --> 00:13:48,140 the wind. 312 00:13:48,860 --> 00:13:51,740 Nothing is to be gained under the sun. 313 00:13:52,380 --> 00:13:53,420 Oh, we ain't done. 314 00:13:55,340 --> 00:13:58,380 Oh, can we be done with this pessimistic fellow already? 315 00:13:59,180 --> 00:14:00,380 Christy, here you go. 316 00:14:01,020 --> 00:14:05,580 I hated the things I worked so hard for because I'll have to leave 317 00:14:05,580 --> 00:14:06,860 them to some schmuck. 318 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,760 He doesn't say that, but that's kind of his point. 319 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,800 And who knows whether that one will be wise or foolish. 320 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:16,080 I'll work so hard, and then I'll have to give it to this person 321 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:17,680 who Might be a complete moron. 322 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:20,080 That, too is. 323 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:21,080 All right. 324 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:22,080 I thought you were with me. 325 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:22,960 That, too is. 326 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:24,400 Yes. 327 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,120 And so then I gave myself to despair. 328 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,120 If everything's pointless, I may as well just like, wallow in 329 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:30,720 despair. 330 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:32,480 Anyone ever get there? 331 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,160 Yeah, I've been there recently, a little bit, as I thought 332 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,560 about all my laborious hard work under the sun. 333 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,240 Because sometimes those who have worked hard with wisdom, knowledge 334 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:43,920 and skill must leave the results of their hard work as a possession 335 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:45,560 to those who haven't worked hard for it. 336 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:47,080 This, too is. 337 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:49,240 It's a terrible wrong. 338 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,720 I mean, what do people get for all their hard work and struggles 339 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:53,400 under the sun? 340 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,480 All their days are pain and their work is aggravation. 341 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,200 And even at night, their hearts don't find rest. 342 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:01,160 This, too is. 343 00:15:02,390 --> 00:15:03,510 What a lovely guy. 344 00:15:04,230 --> 00:15:06,510 Chapter five What'd you say? 345 00:15:06,510 --> 00:15:09,190 Bobo, Aren't you so happy you came to church today? 346 00:15:10,310 --> 00:15:11,670 Here's why I want to do this. 347 00:15:12,630 --> 00:15:16,390 What if you're in your own time and you say to yourself, I really 348 00:15:16,390 --> 00:15:19,110 actually want to engage the library of scriptures. 349 00:15:19,270 --> 00:15:21,510 I want to try to find them to be holy again. 350 00:15:21,750 --> 00:15:24,910 And you come across this, I want you to have stronger muscles 351 00:15:24,910 --> 00:15:25,350 for it. 352 00:15:25,430 --> 00:15:26,790 I want you to be able to do it. 353 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:27,720 Because this is. 354 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:29,680 All this kind of stuff is all over the Bible. 355 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,960 I want to help you have confidence to find the beauty and 356 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:35,000 power of the scriptures again. 357 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,120 And there is beauty and power in these words. 358 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:37,920 We'll see it. 359 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:38,840 Chapter five. 360 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:39,720 We're almost done. 361 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:40,240 I swear. 362 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:41,360 The tour is almost done. 363 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,080 We're just in chapter five now. 364 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:43,960 Watch your steps. 365 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:45,400 When you go to God's house, it's. 366 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:49,200 It's more acceptable to listen than to offer the full sacrifice. 367 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,080 They have no idea that they're acting wrongly. 368 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,440 In other words, he goes to church and he's like, even this stinks. 369 00:15:56,190 --> 00:15:58,630 All these people are doing this religious stuff and they look 370 00:15:58,630 --> 00:15:59,310 like idiots. 371 00:15:59,470 --> 00:16:01,230 Isn't he an exciting fellow? 372 00:16:01,470 --> 00:16:04,990 Don't be quick with your mouth or say anything hastily before God, 373 00:16:04,990 --> 00:16:06,790 because God is in heaven, but you are on earth. 374 00:16:06,790 --> 00:16:08,350 Therefore let your words be few. 375 00:16:08,990 --> 00:16:11,070 He's starting to be a little bit wise, actually. 376 00:16:11,549 --> 00:16:15,190 Remember, dreams come with many cares and the voice of fools 377 00:16:15,190 --> 00:16:16,030 with many words. 378 00:16:16,350 --> 00:16:19,070 When you make a promise to God, fulfill it without delay. 379 00:16:19,070 --> 00:16:21,070 Because God has no pleasure in fools. 380 00:16:21,070 --> 00:16:22,190 Fulfill what you promise. 381 00:16:22,670 --> 00:16:25,710 Better not to make a promise than to make a promise without fulfilling 382 00:16:25,710 --> 00:16:25,950 it. 383 00:16:26,110 --> 00:16:30,230 Again, he saw all these people making promises, these big grand 384 00:16:30,230 --> 00:16:32,270 promises, and then they weren't fulfilling it. 385 00:16:32,350 --> 00:16:34,910 Don't let your mouth make a center of you, and don't Make. 386 00:16:35,230 --> 00:16:37,310 Don't say to the messenger it was a mistake. 387 00:16:37,310 --> 00:16:40,470 Otherwise God may become angry at such talk and destroy what you've 388 00:16:40,470 --> 00:16:41,150 accomplished. 389 00:16:41,790 --> 00:16:47,190 Remember, when dreams multiply, so do thoughts and excessive 390 00:16:47,190 --> 00:16:47,590 speech. 391 00:16:47,590 --> 00:16:49,560 Therefore fear God. 392 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,560 If you witness the poor being oppressed or the violation of what 393 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,440 is just as and right in some territory, don't be surprised because 394 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,600 a high official watches over another word. 395 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:05,200 In other words, you better get used to seeing poor people get oppressed 396 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:07,400 with the kinds of folks we got in power. 397 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:08,920 I will keep going now. 398 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,920 When good things flow, so do those who consume them. 399 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,080 But what do owners benefit from such goods except to feast their 400 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:18,120 eyes on them? 401 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:20,520 Here's my irony for you. 402 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:21,480 We're done with the tour. 403 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:22,080 You made it. 404 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:23,400 Give yourself a round of applause. 405 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:24,120 You did it. 406 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:26,920 Aren't you glad you came to church today? 407 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:29,640 Here's the irony of this. 408 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:32,280 This guy's a big complainer. 409 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:34,280 You know what the irony is? 410 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,280 He was the first offender of all these things. 411 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,400 He complained about all these things. 412 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:41,880 All these things that he said were meaningless. 413 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,920 He was doing them as much or more than any other person. 414 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:50,560 This teacher was a big old fat hypocrite. 415 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:55,440 And yet God said to us, ross, I want you to study the diary of 416 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:57,600 this hypocrite and learn from it. 417 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,120 Isn't that cool that God would put such a thing in here? 418 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,600 God would breathe something into this that we need to investigate 419 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:05,280 for ourselves. 420 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:07,920 That's one of our greatest. 421 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,080 I'm going to turn it over to you in a minute. 422 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:14,660 I think I have three frustrations that I think here that 423 00:18:14,900 --> 00:18:19,700 I think lead to us sometimes feeling like we're lost in meaninglessness. 424 00:18:20,180 --> 00:18:24,540 There are three things that for me, I think we get stuck in that 425 00:18:24,540 --> 00:18:29,380 keep us mired in this feeling like he feels like there's no point 426 00:18:29,380 --> 00:18:29,940 to anything. 427 00:18:29,940 --> 00:18:32,540 There's nothing you can rely on, there's nothing you can count 428 00:18:32,540 --> 00:18:32,900 on. 429 00:18:33,220 --> 00:18:35,380 And he is number one for me. 430 00:18:35,940 --> 00:18:36,980 Hypocrisy. 431 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:39,280 What does it mean if you're hypoglycemic? 432 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:40,640 Somebody who's a smart person. 433 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:42,000 Low what? 434 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:46,320 Hypocrisy literally means hypo. 435 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,560 You're low on criticism for yourself. 436 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,440 Now some of you are going, ross, I'm not low on criticism for 437 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:54,800 myself. 438 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,200 All I do is talk bad to myself. 439 00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:58,640 But we vacillate. 440 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:04,640 We go from like, bad self talk to, like, hyper criticism for others. 441 00:19:06,260 --> 00:19:11,580 So this guy is like, everybody is the worst when he's doing all 442 00:19:11,580 --> 00:19:13,140 the stuff, more than anybody. 443 00:19:13,540 --> 00:19:16,460 One of the things we struggle with as human beings is like, we 444 00:19:16,460 --> 00:19:20,420 don't do Well, a lot of times with self examination because it's 445 00:19:20,420 --> 00:19:21,140 hard to do it. 446 00:19:21,140 --> 00:19:23,460 Especially like when life has been hard. 447 00:19:23,780 --> 00:19:27,060 It's hard to look at yourself honestly in the mirror. 448 00:19:27,700 --> 00:19:29,220 Do you know what's super easy? 449 00:19:30,100 --> 00:19:30,740 Denial. 450 00:19:32,650 --> 00:19:37,090 So like when there was a book that was called Unchristian and they 451 00:19:37,090 --> 00:19:40,530 interviewed 16 to 29 year olds who considered themselves outside 452 00:19:40,530 --> 00:19:45,210 of Christianity and 95% of them said that Christians are hypocritical, 453 00:19:45,450 --> 00:19:48,410 I was like, well, yeah, but you are too. 454 00:19:49,290 --> 00:19:52,810 That's not unique to Christians, that one I'm going to 455 00:19:52,810 --> 00:19:54,490 give us a little bit of defense on. 456 00:19:54,970 --> 00:19:57,970 Human beings are by nature hypocritical. 457 00:19:58,690 --> 00:19:59,890 It's a hard thing to do. 458 00:20:00,290 --> 00:20:03,210 I got two more reasons why I think we get stuck in this thing. 459 00:20:03,210 --> 00:20:05,810 And then I want to ask you, why do you think we get stuck in 460 00:20:05,810 --> 00:20:07,650 this like everything is meaningless stuff? 461 00:20:08,050 --> 00:20:10,850 The second thing that I want to come, I want to tell you about 462 00:20:11,490 --> 00:20:13,730 is what I call the SAT burden. 463 00:20:13,730 --> 00:20:14,610 Like sat. 464 00:20:14,610 --> 00:20:15,890 No, I don't mean the test. 465 00:20:16,290 --> 00:20:18,530 I mean that where all of us. 466 00:20:19,090 --> 00:20:21,330 I'll bet you I can get an amen on this. 467 00:20:21,810 --> 00:20:24,450 Our sad, angry and tired. 468 00:20:24,770 --> 00:20:25,890 Anybody in the room? 469 00:20:25,890 --> 00:20:27,490 Sad, angry and tired. 470 00:20:27,810 --> 00:20:32,370 When you're sad, angry and tired, it's hard to pay attention 471 00:20:33,090 --> 00:20:36,290 to things that are worthy of paying attention to. 472 00:20:36,450 --> 00:20:38,290 It's hard to find meaning in things. 473 00:20:38,290 --> 00:20:43,450 When you're sad, angry and tired, it's easier to go, this is 474 00:20:43,450 --> 00:20:44,370 all pointless. 475 00:20:45,010 --> 00:20:47,890 Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. 476 00:20:48,210 --> 00:20:50,650 This book is for people who are sad, angry and tired. 477 00:20:50,650 --> 00:20:54,340 The last one is it just becomes a cycle of pessimism. 478 00:20:54,980 --> 00:20:55,380 Right? 479 00:20:55,940 --> 00:20:58,180 Anybody stuck in a cycle of pessimism? 480 00:20:58,340 --> 00:21:01,940 If you're not, by the way, if you're feeling joyful and meaningful 481 00:21:01,940 --> 00:21:04,420 today, you don't got to come over to the SAD camp. 482 00:21:04,420 --> 00:21:04,980 Okay? 483 00:21:06,900 --> 00:21:08,180 Stay right where you are. 484 00:21:08,180 --> 00:21:09,460 We want to catch up to you. 485 00:21:09,700 --> 00:21:15,620 Okay, but like we get stuck in a pessimism cycle, we start paying 486 00:21:15,620 --> 00:21:20,510 attention to the things that, that truly are worthy of despair. 487 00:21:20,670 --> 00:21:22,230 But then that has a way of. 488 00:21:22,230 --> 00:21:26,550 We, we put on the despair glasses and now everything looks 489 00:21:26,550 --> 00:21:28,190 like it's of despair. 490 00:21:28,350 --> 00:21:29,270 So we get, we get. 491 00:21:29,270 --> 00:21:33,510 We're sad, angry and tired and pessimistic and hypocritical. 492 00:21:33,510 --> 00:21:36,390 And then it just becomes this cycle where we just get deeper in 493 00:21:36,390 --> 00:21:36,910 a pit. 494 00:21:36,990 --> 00:21:38,590 Am I just talking about myself? 495 00:21:38,830 --> 00:21:40,110 Past pessimism. 496 00:21:40,110 --> 00:21:42,750 Sad, angry, tired, hypocritical. 497 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:45,640 Aren't we lovely people? 498 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:47,560 All right, what about you? 499 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:48,760 And then we'll. 500 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:51,320 We're going to find a word of hope today, I promise. 501 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:52,840 Why do you Think we. 502 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:53,600 I want to start. 503 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:54,520 Come back to the beginning. 504 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:58,280 Why do you think we get stuck sometimes, like, feeling like there's 505 00:21:58,280 --> 00:21:58,920 just no point? 506 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:00,360 Kara, we have. 507 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:01,000 Yeah. 508 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:01,560 Yeah. 509 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:02,520 Right. 510 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:03,840 Yeah. 511 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:04,040 We. 512 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:05,800 We have access to so much information. 513 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:11,210 It is a truly, in some ways, a blessing and. 514 00:22:11,210 --> 00:22:13,650 And one of the worst curses that has come to us. 515 00:22:14,130 --> 00:22:14,690 Yep. 516 00:22:15,250 --> 00:22:20,090 And the algorithm is geared towards making you sad, angry, and 517 00:22:20,090 --> 00:22:20,450 tired. 518 00:22:20,690 --> 00:22:21,330 Yep. 519 00:22:21,810 --> 00:22:22,370 Can be. 520 00:22:22,370 --> 00:22:25,010 It can be Regina for sure. 521 00:22:25,410 --> 00:22:25,810 Right? 522 00:22:25,970 --> 00:22:26,490 Yep. 523 00:22:26,490 --> 00:22:27,010 Yep. 524 00:22:27,090 --> 00:22:29,090 There's no time or space to suffer. 525 00:22:29,170 --> 00:22:30,610 How many days do you get? 526 00:22:30,770 --> 00:22:31,730 If you're in a. 527 00:22:31,730 --> 00:22:34,210 In a company, how many days for grieving do you get? 528 00:22:34,290 --> 00:22:35,570 Two for a spouse. 529 00:22:35,570 --> 00:22:36,050 Yeah. 530 00:22:36,450 --> 00:22:37,410 Three for a spouse. 531 00:22:37,410 --> 00:22:37,890 Okay. 532 00:22:38,370 --> 00:22:39,250 Plenty of time. 533 00:22:39,490 --> 00:22:39,970 Yeah. 534 00:22:42,130 --> 00:22:42,650 Take a. 535 00:22:42,650 --> 00:22:43,650 Hey, hey. 536 00:22:43,730 --> 00:22:47,250 Take the weekend and then we'll see on Monday. 537 00:22:48,210 --> 00:22:50,290 World send flowers to the funeral. 538 00:22:50,530 --> 00:22:50,930 Yeah. 539 00:22:50,930 --> 00:22:51,250 That. 540 00:22:51,250 --> 00:22:53,570 That's also why I want to show you the Bible. 541 00:22:54,690 --> 00:22:56,210 I say this repeatedly. 542 00:22:57,250 --> 00:23:00,450 40% of the Psalms are laments. 543 00:23:01,010 --> 00:23:04,770 The Bible is a safe space of expressing sorrow. 544 00:23:05,460 --> 00:23:09,180 This whole book is like, I don't know what to do with the world 545 00:23:09,180 --> 00:23:09,860 anymore. 546 00:23:10,340 --> 00:23:15,860 It's an invitation to face what's hard and to find God on the 547 00:23:15,860 --> 00:23:16,420 other side. 548 00:23:16,820 --> 00:23:17,460 Kara. 549 00:23:18,980 --> 00:23:19,580 Yep. 550 00:23:19,580 --> 00:23:19,900 Yeah. 551 00:23:19,900 --> 00:23:22,900 The Jewish culture has much more space for grieving. 552 00:23:23,220 --> 00:23:23,980 Weird thing. 553 00:23:23,980 --> 00:23:25,140 Jesus was Jewish. 554 00:23:26,340 --> 00:23:28,140 So he literally has. 555 00:23:28,140 --> 00:23:32,260 Takes a moment like Jesus is grieving all the time. 556 00:23:32,260 --> 00:23:36,000 In the New Testament, when his best friend Lazarus dies, he just 557 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,200 stops to weep with people he knows. 558 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:40,280 He's about to go over there and tell him to get up out of the 559 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:40,640 tomb. 560 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,600 But as he does, he rushed through the grieving. 561 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:44,000 No. 562 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:45,360 Jesus wept. 563 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:46,880 Yeah. 564 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:47,440 P.T. 565 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:50,000 yeah. 566 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:52,960 Yeah, sure. 567 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:53,440 So. 568 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:55,600 So we don't. 569 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,360 So maybe the way our family system has changed, the way our family 570 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:00,520 dynamic has changed. 571 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:06,310 We don't live with our elders as much to learn ways of going through 572 00:24:06,310 --> 00:24:07,270 that kind of stuff. 573 00:24:08,790 --> 00:24:09,270 Brad. 574 00:24:12,550 --> 00:24:13,110 Yep. 575 00:24:14,070 --> 00:24:14,470 Right. 576 00:24:14,710 --> 00:24:15,270 Yep. 577 00:24:16,070 --> 00:24:16,550 Yep. 578 00:24:16,630 --> 00:24:18,470 So that's part of why I want to show you in this. 579 00:24:18,470 --> 00:24:18,950 And we'll. 580 00:24:18,950 --> 00:24:20,550 We'll transition on that point. 581 00:24:20,550 --> 00:24:26,270 Is that, like, admire that what we have in front of us is. 582 00:24:26,270 --> 00:24:29,590 Is like we're invading somebody's personal journal. 583 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:31,240 He's working through. 584 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:36,200 They are working through this, like, struggle for meaning. 585 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,560 It's an invitation for us to do the same. 586 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,840 Not to avoid it, but to actually process and move on. 587 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:43,000 And I want to show you that. 588 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,240 Hey, there actually are some good things that are. 589 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:48,560 That are interspersed in here. 590 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:49,320 I'll just show you. 591 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:51,800 We're not going to hit them the next two weeks. 592 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,240 We're going to look at specific things where he started 593 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:55,080 to identify. 594 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:57,160 Here is some meaningful stuff. 595 00:24:57,770 --> 00:24:59,370 But I'm sure you've heard this before. 596 00:25:00,250 --> 00:25:02,330 Maybe you didn't know it was from Ecclesiastes. 597 00:25:02,730 --> 00:25:05,650 There's a season for everything and a time for every matter 598 00:25:05,650 --> 00:25:06,570 under the heavens. 599 00:25:07,210 --> 00:25:08,650 This is Ecclesiastes. 600 00:25:09,050 --> 00:25:09,970 You ever heard this? 601 00:25:09,970 --> 00:25:12,330 A time for giving birth and a time for dying. 602 00:25:13,289 --> 00:25:16,330 A time for planting and a time for uprooting what is planted. 603 00:25:16,410 --> 00:25:18,450 A time for killing and a time for healing. 604 00:25:18,450 --> 00:25:22,050 A time for tearing down and a time for building up, so on and so 605 00:25:22,050 --> 00:25:22,410 forth. 606 00:25:22,810 --> 00:25:27,410 Part of what he, as he searched and he processed, he was 607 00:25:27,410 --> 00:25:31,010 like, there is, like there is some sense of timing with God. 608 00:25:31,170 --> 00:25:32,450 I don't know what it is. 609 00:25:32,450 --> 00:25:33,410 He'll say that. 610 00:25:33,650 --> 00:25:35,410 In fact, I'll fast forward to it. 611 00:25:35,410 --> 00:25:37,810 Let's see, it's in 3, 11. 612 00:25:37,970 --> 00:25:41,690 I want to say he's frustrated. 613 00:25:41,690 --> 00:25:42,450 Did I tell you? 614 00:25:42,690 --> 00:25:45,650 He says God has made everything fitting in its time. 615 00:25:45,650 --> 00:25:47,490 There is a timing to this life. 616 00:25:47,810 --> 00:25:50,610 There is a timing to when, like, things will get worked out. 617 00:25:51,330 --> 00:25:56,540 And God has placed eternity in our hearts, but also without enabling 618 00:25:56,540 --> 00:25:59,180 them to discover what God has done from the beginning to the end. 619 00:25:59,740 --> 00:26:02,580 So he's starting to get to something like, eternity is in our 620 00:26:02,580 --> 00:26:03,100 hearts. 621 00:26:03,660 --> 00:26:07,060 Part of the reason we're frustrated is because eternity is 622 00:26:07,060 --> 00:26:07,820 in our hearts. 623 00:26:09,020 --> 00:26:11,580 Sometimes when you're frustrated with the way the world 624 00:26:11,580 --> 00:26:16,620 is, I would invite you to not experience that as despair, but experience 625 00:26:16,620 --> 00:26:19,500 it as a sign that God has planted something higher in you. 626 00:26:19,940 --> 00:26:22,980 So if you're really displeased and you feel desperate about, like, 627 00:26:22,980 --> 00:26:25,980 say, what's happening in the world, it is a sign that God has 628 00:26:25,980 --> 00:26:27,620 placed eternity in your heart. 629 00:26:27,860 --> 00:26:31,740 CS Lewis says, one of his evidence for God, he's like, some 630 00:26:31,740 --> 00:26:35,380 of us have this intuitive sense of, like, the way things ought 631 00:26:35,380 --> 00:26:37,300 to be, right? 632 00:26:37,940 --> 00:26:40,340 CS Lewis says, where did you get that ought? 633 00:26:40,820 --> 00:26:42,260 Where did you get that ought? 634 00:26:42,580 --> 00:26:44,740 You didn't learn it from your fellow humans. 635 00:26:45,230 --> 00:26:49,430 Deep inside you is eternity in your heart, a sense of the way things 636 00:26:49,430 --> 00:26:50,430 ought to be. 637 00:26:50,510 --> 00:26:52,270 He starts to grapple with that. 638 00:26:53,310 --> 00:26:53,910 Keep going. 639 00:26:53,910 --> 00:26:55,550 This is one of my favorite ones. 640 00:26:56,190 --> 00:26:57,550 I do this at wedding. 641 00:26:57,550 --> 00:27:00,430 The last wedding I did know, the second to last. 642 00:27:00,989 --> 00:27:02,110 I read this one often. 643 00:27:03,070 --> 00:27:04,750 One of the things he arrives at. 644 00:27:05,950 --> 00:27:08,350 This is something I want to teach you about reading the Bible. 645 00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:11,790 The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is all about patterns. 646 00:27:12,220 --> 00:27:13,820 So in this, what does he keep repeating? 647 00:27:14,140 --> 00:27:16,980 Everything is, what are you still with me? 648 00:27:16,980 --> 00:27:21,420 Everything is, pay attention when he says something. 649 00:27:21,420 --> 00:27:22,620 When he doesn't say it. 650 00:27:23,340 --> 00:27:24,940 That's something you do when you read the Bible. 651 00:27:24,940 --> 00:27:27,900 When a pattern gets broken, pay attention. 652 00:27:28,860 --> 00:27:33,140 And here, two are better than One because they have a good return 653 00:27:33,140 --> 00:27:34,300 for their hard work. 654 00:27:34,460 --> 00:27:37,180 If either should fall, one can pick up the other. 655 00:27:37,180 --> 00:27:40,340 But how miserable are those who fall and don't have a companion 656 00:27:40,340 --> 00:27:41,060 to help them up? 657 00:27:41,060 --> 00:27:43,630 Like Regina said, we need a village. 658 00:27:43,950 --> 00:27:46,470 Also, if to lie down together, they can stay warm. 659 00:27:46,470 --> 00:27:48,430 But how can anyone stay warm alone? 660 00:27:48,670 --> 00:27:52,430 Also, one can be overpowered, but two together can put up resistance. 661 00:27:52,430 --> 00:27:54,830 A three ply cord doesn't easily snap. 662 00:27:54,830 --> 00:27:56,590 I want you to read that part with me. 663 00:27:57,230 --> 00:28:00,670 A three ply cord doesn't easily snap. 664 00:28:01,150 --> 00:28:04,350 One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible is right there. 665 00:28:04,350 --> 00:28:08,750 And it's buried in this book that you think is just being cynical 666 00:28:08,750 --> 00:28:09,710 and pessimistic. 667 00:28:11,350 --> 00:28:13,270 Does he say everything is pointless? 668 00:28:13,270 --> 00:28:15,190 There a pattern got broken. 669 00:28:15,190 --> 00:28:19,750 He's saying one thing I discovered is community is everything. 670 00:28:20,310 --> 00:28:21,510 Can I get an amen? 671 00:28:21,670 --> 00:28:23,030 That's why we show up here. 672 00:28:23,110 --> 00:28:25,670 We're not trying to go through some religious performance. 673 00:28:27,110 --> 00:28:29,030 I'm here today because I need you. 674 00:28:29,030 --> 00:28:32,390 If I fall down by myself, I'm in deep trouble. 675 00:28:32,630 --> 00:28:35,590 But when I fall down with you, I got a shot. 676 00:28:35,900 --> 00:28:36,860 That's why we do this. 677 00:28:37,340 --> 00:28:41,740 All right, so even I want to show you like this is the beauty 678 00:28:41,740 --> 00:28:43,020 and the power of the scriptures. 679 00:28:43,020 --> 00:28:45,820 Okay, just a couple more. 680 00:28:46,620 --> 00:28:47,540 Actually, you know what? 681 00:28:47,540 --> 00:28:48,380 Let's fast forward. 682 00:28:48,380 --> 00:28:49,180 We need to go. 683 00:28:49,260 --> 00:28:51,660 I want to give you a few things to take away with. 684 00:28:51,980 --> 00:28:53,100 Take away with you. 685 00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:55,100 Four and I'm done. 686 00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:55,660 Okay? 687 00:28:56,220 --> 00:28:59,180 Part of what this thing is teaching us is this point right here. 688 00:29:00,220 --> 00:29:04,460 God breathed into the words of Ecclesiastes an invitation to us. 689 00:29:04,460 --> 00:29:07,580 Be honest with your frustrations and contradictions. 690 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:11,480 Turn your life toward what is wise and worthy in God. 691 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:13,960 Don't give up the search. 692 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:16,360 Don't give in to despair. 693 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,000 Don't give in to pointless. 694 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:19,520 Like everything is pointless. 695 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:23,080 This guy keeps searching and so he finds some things that are. 696 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,320 He finds some things that are worth it. 697 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:28,840 So it's worth it to search for what is wise and worthy. 698 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:29,800 Do not give up. 699 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,080 Do it personally, but also do it in community. 700 00:29:33,790 --> 00:29:36,590 Listen, I love all the people who are saying this. 701 00:29:37,390 --> 00:29:41,790 Folks who say I believe in God and I don't need a church to do that. 702 00:29:42,030 --> 00:29:43,710 I get why they're saying it. 703 00:29:44,270 --> 00:29:46,430 I love them and they're dead wrong. 704 00:29:46,670 --> 00:29:47,870 We need a village. 705 00:29:48,270 --> 00:29:50,590 Two, don't be a hypocrite. 706 00:29:52,510 --> 00:29:54,110 Easier said than done, right? 707 00:29:54,350 --> 00:29:56,670 It's okay to be critical of what's happening. 708 00:29:57,790 --> 00:29:59,950 Practice self examination with yourself. 709 00:30:01,220 --> 00:30:04,180 Prayer journaling in groups and on Sundays. 710 00:30:04,340 --> 00:30:05,860 Tell the truth about yourself. 711 00:30:06,980 --> 00:30:12,580 Three, deal with that sat burden, sad, angry and tired in meaningful 712 00:30:12,740 --> 00:30:13,860 Lasting ways. 713 00:30:14,900 --> 00:30:19,220 Listen, I'm sure Candy Crush Saga is a great game or whatever 714 00:30:19,220 --> 00:30:20,340 your favorite game is. 715 00:30:20,660 --> 00:30:23,220 I'm getting a look from somebody in the front row. 716 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:29,280 Look, we can't do meaningful stuff all the time, all right? 717 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:31,720 I'm just like you sometimes. 718 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,720 I'm just re watching the same show that I've watched just to feel 719 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:35,280 comfortable. 720 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,760 We're re watching Grantchester right now. 721 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,840 It's about this good looking vicar who solves murders. 722 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:42,000 I relate to him a lot. 723 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:45,760 Come on. 724 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:48,320 I, I, I, I have a little room for some fun. 725 00:30:51,850 --> 00:30:54,650 Somebody on the live stream, I don't even know who it was last week 726 00:30:54,650 --> 00:30:57,450 said that I looked old so I needed to make a comeback. 727 00:30:57,450 --> 00:30:58,490 Did you see that? 728 00:31:00,010 --> 00:31:00,730 I love you. 729 00:31:00,730 --> 00:31:01,690 Whoever that was. 730 00:31:02,330 --> 00:31:04,170 They said you look teacher old. 731 00:31:04,170 --> 00:31:05,210 I don't know what that means. 732 00:31:07,449 --> 00:31:08,010 Whatever. 733 00:31:08,330 --> 00:31:13,250 We can't, we can't always do meaningful, profound, analytical 734 00:31:13,250 --> 00:31:13,690 stuff. 735 00:31:14,650 --> 00:31:16,090 We need times to just rest. 736 00:31:16,490 --> 00:31:21,050 But if that's all we ever do, we won't stop being sad, angry and 737 00:31:21,050 --> 00:31:21,410 tired. 738 00:31:22,850 --> 00:31:27,850 This right here is a meaningful, lasting way to deal with 739 00:31:27,850 --> 00:31:29,330 being sad, angry and tired. 740 00:31:30,130 --> 00:31:31,090 So keep doing it. 741 00:31:31,090 --> 00:31:35,050 You guys chose to get up today when it was like negative 50 or whatever 742 00:31:35,050 --> 00:31:35,650 it is outside. 743 00:31:36,370 --> 00:31:37,170 Praise God. 744 00:31:37,410 --> 00:31:40,650 This still matters so much and I'm so thankful for it. 745 00:31:40,650 --> 00:31:42,290 And lastly, this one's an easy one. 746 00:31:42,290 --> 00:31:42,930 Fear God. 747 00:31:45,060 --> 00:31:45,300 What? 748 00:31:46,820 --> 00:31:48,460 I'm going to give you the spoiler alert. 749 00:31:48,460 --> 00:31:50,580 In the end, he's like, that's all we got to do. 750 00:31:51,460 --> 00:31:54,580 Proffer says at the beginning of the wisdom begins with it's. 751 00:31:54,580 --> 00:31:58,180 It's fearing God doesn't mean like oh my God. 752 00:31:58,340 --> 00:32:02,300 God is like this wrathful lightning bolt throwing thing up 753 00:32:02,300 --> 00:32:02,900 in the cloud. 754 00:32:02,900 --> 00:32:07,180 No, it means like have a profound reverence for the one who 755 00:32:07,180 --> 00:32:11,550 made all things keep trying to turn toward him. 756 00:32:11,630 --> 00:32:15,230 It doesn't mean like scary fear, like horror movie kind of thing. 757 00:32:15,550 --> 00:32:21,190 It means like have a profound respect, reverence and pursuit for 758 00:32:21,190 --> 00:32:22,390 the holy things of God. 759 00:32:22,390 --> 00:32:23,150 Keep doing it. 760 00:32:23,230 --> 00:32:24,190 All right, I'm done. 761 00:32:24,510 --> 00:32:25,310 Let's pray. 762 00:32:27,150 --> 00:32:31,630 God, thank you for showing us in the scriptures that it's okay 763 00:32:32,110 --> 00:32:33,950 to wrestle with what is meaningless. 764 00:32:33,950 --> 00:32:36,750 It's okay to whine and complain. 765 00:32:37,950 --> 00:32:39,230 Help us in our search. 766 00:32:39,470 --> 00:32:41,870 Help us to search and to find you. 767 00:32:42,110 --> 00:32:44,590 Help us to have a right sized view of ourselves. 768 00:32:45,790 --> 00:32:49,590 Help us to be a village in a safe space, to express sorrow, to 769 00:32:49,590 --> 00:32:52,110 grieve and also to rejoice. 770 00:32:52,510 --> 00:32:55,630 Help us to know what it even means to fear you. 771 00:32:55,790 --> 00:32:57,710 In the name of Jesus, Amen. 772 00:33:00,750 --> 00:33:05,170 Thank you for participating in the conversation happening at Heaven 773 00:33:05,170 --> 00:33:06,250 Earth Church. 774 00:33:06,810 --> 00:33:12,090 Your next opportunity to do so live is this Sunday morning 9:30am 775 00:33:13,130 --> 00:33:17,690 Eastern time either at the main campus at 309 East Main in Whiteland, 776 00:33:17,690 --> 00:33:21,690 Indiana or online at YouTube Live. 777 00:33:22,090 --> 00:33:29,170 That's@YouTube.com heavenerthchurch the audio podcast 778 00:33:29,170 --> 00:33:34,820 is is always available at Apple Podcast and on Spotify. 779 00:33:35,220 --> 00:33:39,620 You can help others find out about the Heaven Earth Church podcast 780 00:33:39,860 --> 00:33:44,660 by going to Apple Podcasts and or Spotify and leaving a five star 781 00:33:44,660 --> 00:33:46,340 rating and your review. 782 00:33:47,060 --> 00:33:51,060 Instructions on how to do just that and links are in the show notes. 783 00:33:52,020 --> 00:33:57,630 You can always find out more by going to the church website heavenearthchurch.org 784 00:33:58,110 --> 00:33:58,390 we. 785 00:33:58,390 --> 00:34:00,590 Want to thank you for spending time with us today. 786 00:34:00,750 --> 00:34:04,110 My name is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor to Heaven Earth Church 787 00:34:04,510 --> 00:34:07,830 and you may think out there that your story is over, but in fact 788 00:34:07,830 --> 00:34:10,830 your faith story may just be beginning. 789 00:34:11,230 --> 00:34:14,070 If you want more information about our church or you're interested 790 00:34:14,070 --> 00:34:18,110 in the next step, you can go to heavenorthchurch.org otherwise 791 00:34:18,110 --> 00:34:21,280 we look forward to being with you next time at the Heaven Earth 792 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:22,280 Church Podcast.