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