The Vanity of Pleasure

hi Pastor Matt listen thank you for downloading or streaming this sermon pray that it blesses your heart two quick things that I want to lay before you before we get started in the proclamation of God's Word the first is and I love that you're dialing in to hear what the Lord's put on our heart here at TVC but I ask that you would only consume these messages as supplemental and in no way replacing your commitment and your listening to your local church pastor these are good gifts of God's grace for the people have got to grow in and yet they are not to replace ever meant to replace our belonging to a covenant community of faith where we are the the second thing want to lay before you is is that there are a lot of man-hours that men and women here at the village church put behind not just the creation of this but the creation of all kinds of resources that are meant to help you grow and develop as a disciple of Jesus Christ and so if this blesses you or the other resources that have been created have blessed you would you consider giving back to the village church to support not just these things but the creation of even more resources for you and really for anyone who wants to indulge in them now I pray that God stirs your affections for Jesus Christ as you listen now to the proclamation of God's Word I want to introduce to you a friend of mine this is guy Mason you should almost immediately feel your coolness shrink come on I'm saying I'm just couldn't pull that off brother I mean you it's just stunning all right now god it's pastor of city on a hill Church in Melbourne Australia and so if you have no context oh if you have no context for Melbourne Australia think San Francisco California they're very similar to one another in culture very similar to one another in weather in fact we were having a talk earlier today and he was like Dallas weather is incredible as I go you remember when I was in Melbourne and it was sunny and beautiful for those three or four days and you're like no no this is not our weather this is not our like we're getting a cool front right now if you were here a month ago you would have combusted and flames and so and so God's grace on the cold front you're welcome for that ya prayed that employee but God planted a church called city on a hill in Melbourne Australia and God has just blessed it and then on top of what God's doing there is they gathered thousands of people every week in a movie theater he has been used by God to plant church they his church did something called the ten city initiatives and there are initiative and they have planted churches in the ten larger cities of Australia so that God has not been just used powerfully by God in Melbourne but but also across the major cities in Australia you have partnered with them without even knowing it and so we've been very much involved with city on a hill guys in the acts twenty nine network with us and men it it is by God's grace that he is here today he's just such a gifted preacher of the gospel and so he's gonna open up the Word of God and then feed us today from there but I want to do one more thing before we pray for God and we dive in pastor Jeffrey I know you're here would you where'd you go ah there you are pastor Jeffrey so unbeknownst to me I'm in the foyer this morning I watched pastor Jeff I was like oh my gosh that's pastor Jeffrey so pastor Jeffrey pastors a church or actually runs an orbit Isabella he does all sorts of things that that list is too long for our service in the slums of Kenya al-bukhari this brother makes fifteen hundred dollars a year and has faithfully served among the least of these I mean among drug-addicted kids orphaned kids I mean the work he doesn't one of the more dangerous places in the world and I say this in the nine brother you you humble me the Spirit of God in you humbles me and so here's what we're gonna do we're gonna pray a prayer over Jeffrey and then I'm gonna pray a prayer over guy and then we're just gonna dive in and see what the Lord has for us today and and I'll just I said this they're not I'm gonna say it again if you got some cash in your pocket and you want to just slip that to Jeffrey many you should do that and but here's my word I said in the night I'll say it again you cannot take any of the money they give you and give that away or that you need to receive this as a blessing on you and on your wife and on your family for your faithfulness our cake right so if you make $1,500 a year how much is 10 bucks right until we can bless this problem you know rich it's a stupidly rich here in this place so if you got it you don't even feel guilty if you don't man you got 10 bucks you just walk them give them that $10 handshake and you ain't rewiring the orphanage with this all right you love your bride you're gonna get a little yes amen right all right fix up that car so you can make it back and forth between where your wife is three hours from you where you're working like you just receive the blessing of Jesus on your life pastor you hear me all right let's see here's what we're gonna do we're gonna stretch our hand out to Geoffrey it's not witchcraft you're not a Jedi you're not putting anything on them this is us just saying we are with this brother and then I'm gonna finish premier going to pray forgot we're just gonna swing our hands over again you're not Jedi's you're not magical this is just us saying agreeing with one another yes Lord amen Lord bless this man Lord all right so let's do that I know some of you like I thought we were Baptist no we're Christians right that's what we do all right let's do this father we bless Jeffrey in the name of Jesus Christ we thank you for what he has sacrificed his physical pain his the way he has slept on cots he slept on concrete floors he has fought and wrung out from his life for hundreds of orphans and drug-addicted teenagers and and the the have-nots and want nots of that culture there in the slums of of kajabi and in other parts of cadence we just bless him in the name of Jude build him a file that pray is just pocket to be filled with your blessing as he leaves this place you've already blessed him with your nearness you've blessed him with spiritual power and I just asked him now but in your kindness he would receive your kindness this morning as that I thank you for this servant he humbles me want to be more like him thank you for your grace we pray for a guy I think he's just turned into international Sunday at the village church and I think I thank you that from for what you have done in Australia to connect us as friends and and to see already this week in what you've done in the hearts to the people of the villagers I think that the word of God is living and active it continues to go forth it is going forth all over the world right now and in Australia there in the future but they heard the word last night which was their Sunday morning now and it shaped him and here we are today sitting under the word again bless your servant as he preaches a fourth time to us and just ask that you would build him up and strengthen energy in Spirit of God that you would burn brightly through him that you would stir all of our affection for Jesus Christ we need you today help us not just do church like we do church rescue us from that and invade this space we need you it's for your beautiful name amen amen thank you Matt love you too good a village church how you all doing so good to be with you I love Texas and I love love love this church so thankful for your love for Jesus you are an evidence of His grace and I just really rejoice in God for you and give a lot of thanks for pastor Matt you know they say it takes a village to raise a child I think it takes a pretty amazing pastor to raise a village so I'm thankful for him thankful for his love for Jesus his integrity his friendship and his faithfulness as Matt mentioned I am from Australia I did a church called city on a hill and by God's grace we've seen hundreds of people come to know Jesus we've seen some new churches planted in fact this month in just a few weeks we will celebrate our 10th anniversary together as a church and I want to thank you guys for your support your investment in the gospel down under and your prayers your ongoing prayers for that I caught up with a mate just yesterday was talking about the last time I visited Texas I got to stay with a host family from the village church in this amazing home in Highland Village amazing and they they were great people and they treated me to some wonderful southern hospitality love that he and he even lent me the keys to his huge SUV black truck thing it's it was massive right like in Australia our cars are half the size of this I think you could probably fit the Great Barrier Reef the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Russell Crowe in the one of these huge and the other thing is in Australia I Drive on the left hand side of the road and so I'm going down the interstate flying along and discovered you call that the wrong side of the road and and I learned in that moment that Texans not only have bigger cars than Australians were bigger cuss words as well so thank you for that I I did have one slight disaster and it's embarrassing but we're family right good good so so the host family was out and you know I was visiting the bathroom as you do and I hit the flush button and discovered something about America the water moves in a clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and if it's blocked it doesn't go down it comes up and on this particular occasion it went right to the top and was teetering on the edge like a quite a car on a cliff face kind of moment and I'm freaking out because this mansion of a place and this bathroom is amazing pristine white white Persian rug ornate statues it's the Genesis one of bathrooms beany expert plumber that I am I know we'll fix this I'll hit the flush button again yeah you know what happens when you flush an already blocked toilet it explodes water it like a fountain not like it kind of a fountain you might see in a god and more like a fountain in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory okay you're welcome so at this point you think that a humble Christian man should call the the house owner and say I made this mess can you come and help me out no no no I'm far too proud for that I'm racing through the house trying to find something to clean this up before they get home can't find any mops can't find any towels all I could find is a small fry pan so picture me like this in this amazing bathroom like ladling it into the shower trying to clean this up as quite fast as I can because the last thing I want is the family to come home and find me like this in the bathroom terrible terrible eventually conceded called him up told him what I'd done he was more than gracious more than thankful and that was awesome looking back I did forget to tell him about the fry pan so whatever all of which to say if you're looking for a decent plumber this weekend I am NOT your guy but I'm very thankful to be in Texas and love the opportunity open up God's word with you I reckon it's a good time for us to pray clearly I need all the help I can get so would you join me in that Heavenly Father we Wow we marvel at your goodness and your kindness and your grace to us we thank you that we woke up this morning we woke up in your mercy which was a new every day I thank you that every single person here you know by name but they are fearfully wonderfully made and it's no accident that we've gathered together and your kindness and your Providence and your purpose you've brought us together to be one I pray Lord that as your word goes out you would achieve your purpose in this hour thank you Lord that your word never returns empty so I pray that you take my dead words and make them come alive I pray that you take our dead hearts and make them come alive may we come alive to your wonder to your glory and your goodness and pray this for our good we pray this for your glory we pray this in the precious name of Jesus and all of God's people said with one super loud voice amen amen I want to talk this morning about the vanity of pleasure the vanity of pleasure and so if you have a Bible handy I want you to come with me to the book of Ecclesiastes chapter two please yes these chapter two and as you're going there I want to share with you some lyrics to a song made famous by a jazz artist named Peggy Lee Peggy Lee grew up in Dakota before moving to the bright lights of Hollywood in search of fame and success and after a few setbacks she enjoyed an illustrious career in music film and television and in 1969 just before her 50th birthday she recorded a song called is that all there is is that all there is and this song found great resonance with her generation and she won a Grammy in the following year let me share with you the lyrics to this song listen on in she says when I was a little girl our house caught on fire I'll never forget the look on my father's face as he gathered me up in his arms and raced through the burning building out to the pavement I stood there shivering in my pajamas and watched the whole world go up in flames and when it was all over I said to myself is that all there is to a fire is that all there is if that's all there is my friend then let's keep dancing let's break out the booze and have a ball when I was 12 my father took me to a circus the greatest show on earth there were clowns elephants a beautiful lady and pink tights flew high above our heads and I had the feeling that something was missing I don't know what but when it was over I said to myself is that all there is to a circus if that's all there is my friends and let's keep dancing let's break out the booze and have a ball and then I fell in love most wonderful boy we take long walks by the river or to sit for hours gazing into each other's eyes we were so much in love then one day he went away and I thought I'd die but I didn't and when I didn't I said to myself is that all there is to love if that's all there is my friends then let's keep dancing let's break out the booze and have a ball if that's all there is what do you make of Peggy Lee's outlook on life if this is all there is why not break out the booze and have a ball if this is all there is why not make the most of this life and pursue and get your hands on us as much pleasure as you possibly can you might be surprised to hear this but that pursuit of pleasure is exactly what the writer of Ecclesiastes set out to do it's a man of fame success man of fortune and yet he came deeply suspicious with life instead of purpose he found futility instead of meaning he found vanity instead of something he looked at everything and said it was nothing more than a chasing after the wind and it was out of this deep angst with life that he liked Peggy Lee sought a path of pleasure he thought well if this is all there is why not break out the booze and have a ball what did he learn from the pursuit of pleasure what observations did he make and how might you and I here today learn from his experience as we navigate this text together I have three headings first let's begin with when a king goes on spring break so in Ecclesiastes 1 verse 1 it says that the words of the preacher the son of David King in Jerusalem now a lot of speculated about who actually wrote Ecclesiastes but it's clear that the life and lessons of King Solomon are to be looming large on the stage of our mind he was a man of great Fame and in fortune and had a great thirst and a great hunger for meaning purpose and life look with me to chapter 2 verse 1 begins I said in my heart come now I'll test you with what pleasure enjoy yourself the word test signifies that what follows is somewhat of a scientific experiment where he wants to discover through personal experience and the word pleasure highlights what he wants to find and did you note however where this conversation is taking place I said in my heart now in the ancient world that the heart was kind of code for the inner being the depth of mind spirit soul the the seat of your affections and will in other words he's after more than just a good time or a fun night out he's after deep fulfillment deep satisfaction deep lasting joy do you relate to that that hunger that thirst that desire of course you do Blaise Pascal famously said all seek happiness this is without exception whatever different means they employ they all tend to this end I remember the first time I've got four kids and I remember the first time I took my kids into the doors of Costco right it arrived in Australia huge and the first thing you're greeted with I don't know if it's a me the first thing we were greeted with was the biggest TV screen sound system you'd ever seen and then to the left of that this huge jacuzzi package you know jacuzzi with all the special cupholders and people with balls throwing them and having a great time and my daughter her name's summer was seven years old at the time she looks at the the TV screen she looks at the jacuzzi package she looks at me and says this is the life seven years old and she found herself at Costco right what did she mean this is the life I mean this is where true happiness is this is where you get fulfillment and lasting pleasure now of course we can all chuckle at the honesty of a young child but isn't it true that that same tape is played in our heads all day long if I could just have that then I'd be a somebody then and I'd be alive if I could just get there then then I'll truly be living well what if you could have it all now there were no limitations no limitations to money time resources opportunity could have it all where would you go what would you find well let's look at King Solomon's journey and where he began have a look with me to verse three well I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine my heart still guiding me with wisdom and how to lay hold on folly so I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven so it's as if the preacher heads to the wine cellar and pours himself a full glass of red and he tells us that he tried to cheer his heart and sometimes he did it with wisdom and sometimes he did it with folly and those of you familiar with the Old Testament know that folly you know refers to foolishness or ungodliness and so there's a sense in which sometimes he drank in moderation enjoying every sip smelling it whatever you do when you do that and other times he was foolish he pushed the limits right I I didn't grow up going to church I wasn't raised in a Christian home I first tested my heart with alcohol when I was 13 years of age we went to the to the bottle shop my mate same age as me somehow managed to convince the owner that we were 18 years of age which is the legal drinking age in Australia and we thought we'd enter into the scene with just a few beers turns out it's cheaper if you buy a case who would have thought I I don't know if you know this but a 13 year old testing their heart with a case of beer not a good idea we spent the night you know singing and shouting and spewing and then sleeping and then we woke up the next day talked about it with our mates and then come Friday night next week we did it all again and then we did it all again and that was pretty much the cycle I went on all through middle school and there's a sense in which King Solomon had it that kind of cycle he kept testing his heart with alcohol seeing if this would satisfy him until he got bored of that and tried something else have a look with me to verse 4 then I made great works I built houses and planted vineyards for myself I made myself gardens and parks and planted them in all kinds of fruit trees I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees historians point out for his friends that Solomon not only had these huge parties that would cater for upwards of 10,000 of people but spent a decade building this huge mansion palace Kingdom massive massive up the palace included a Treasury it included a judgement hall for his ivory throne it included a particular Palace for the daughter of pharaoh multiple rooms for his multiple wives which we'll come to and and all of these gardens spanning outside and forests and trees it was huge in fact such as the scope of the work that you'll notice in verse 4 that every single thing he mentions is in the plural not the singular so he didn't build a house he had houses all right he didn't build uh he didn't build a garden he had Gardens he he didn't install one TV he went all the way to best fires and said I'll take a lot he had everything a song with my wife Vanessa about you know what is your happy place what's your happy place and for me it's quite easy it's the beach a lot of great beaches in Australia love to get to the beach cool drink in one hand full rack of ribs in the other write something light and just that's that's my happy place for my wife it's her happy place is the garden she loves to be in the garden I should say that I'm never in the garden which may explain why it's her happy place but she loves to plant things watch them grow and it's not about necessity is it we don't need the tomatoes it's about the pleasure of seeing the work of your hands there is a sense friends that when Solomon is building growing building growing he is doing that in pursuit of pleasure he's testing his heart look then to verse 4 no we've done that verse 7 I bought male and female slaves and had slaves who were born in my house I had also great possessions of herds and flocks more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem now when he says he bought many slaves he is being a little modest in fact in 2 chronicles for example we read that there was a point in which Solomon did a census of all the foreigners living in Israel which tallied up 150 3600 people do you know how many of the 150 3600 were forced into labor 150 3600 why you say guy was very obvious he needed to build all this stuff and he did people to run the Empire true but think with me on a little bit deeper level Solomon has shared with us that this is all part and parcel in his pursuit for pleasure what is the pleasure in having all of these employees and having all of these servants in having all of his staff what I suggest to you that it is the pleasure of power the pleasure of being in control søren kierkegaard has a brilliant quote listen to what he says if I had a servant in my employ who when I asked him for a cup of cold water brought instead the world's costliest wines blended in a chalice I would dismiss him for true pleasure consists not in getting my wine but in getting my way you hear what he's saying pleasure comes from being in control pleasure comes from having power and there were none who had as much control as much power as King Solomon look there into verse eight I got singers men and women and many concubines the delight of the sons of man all right so picture huge festivals parties and he books out Beyonce Justin Timberlake Michael Bleeker right the best and then he starts scrolling tinder do you guys have tinder no one's putting up their hand I understand you guys have seen Dino and so he's swiping right and he gets tired of swiping right that he just gives the phone to his chief of staff and says you know I just bring all the women in I'll have them all historians point out he acquired for himself 300 concubines 300 chosen women whose purpose was to satisfy whatever sexual fantasy or whatever need he had seven or 300 concubines alongside 700 wives I know what you're thinking that's a lot of anniversaries to remember how did he keep up I don't know but he did make Hugh Hefner look like a nun too soon right verse 9 note the humility hmm so I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem also my wisdom remained with me and whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them but those words whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them think about that this is a man with more money than Bill Gates more intelligence than Stephen Hawkins more creativity than Steve Jobs more power than Donald Trump more parties than Charlie Sheen more followers than Justin Bieber and more women than Ryan Gosling in one direction combined what did he learn what did he discover from his adventures in Spring Break its leads to our second insight which I've called the morning after verse 11 then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it and behold which means take note all was vanity and a striving after wind and there was nothing to be gained Under the Sun I picture Solomon at this point waking up after a huge night out and his women sprawled out in his room to his left an empty bottle of Scotch to his right a new tattoo he kind of gets outta bed lights a cigarette walks out to the balcony opens the doors looks out on his kingdom below and as he's met with coolness of the morning breeze he begins to consider his life he begins to consider all that he has done and all that he has built and he begins to consider the man he has become and that word considered in the Old Testament literally means to look something in the eye to confront it to face it to ask the big deep question and it's in that moment that he says vanity vanity all is vanity the word vanity speaks of meaninglessness it's not to say that he didn't have a good time it's not to say that he didn't enjoy his success it was great parties or or women is saying that when he looked at it all it was it was empty it didn't satisfy the deep longings of his heart it was there and then it went it was fleeting like chasing after the wind it was outside of his grasp it came and then it went as I was thinking on this as a reminded of this work of art by Damien Hirst I think what a picture of it - sculpture 18th century is an 18th century skull encrusted with 8,000 diamonds it's worth something like a hundred million dollars I know what you're thinking this would make the ideal Valentine's gift for your ex alright alright not the kind of thing you want to wake up to in the morning but there's something about this piece of art that I that I like because on one hand it speaks of opulence and prosperity and wealth and at the same time it confronts you with your own mortality because while diamonds are forever we are not the good things of this world are good but they're fleeting they don't satisfy the eternal lungs there's an emptiness the futility have you ever considered that he has stopped inand wonder why it is that the good things of this world don't ultimately satisfy for me for me that that also kind of rubs against everything I've been told about this world everything I've been told about life I remember listening to an interview with Russell Brand the English guy he said I thought it would be good to be rich and famous to be good to have stuff would be good to have money and be invited to the party well I've been invited I've been in and there haven't and we're having this chat and this swish private men's club in East London it's super cool there's bare brick walls and everyone is double good-looking but I've been inside now I've seen the other side of the looking glass and he ain't flippin worth it it ain't flippin worth it it doesn't feed your soul I still feel empty inside his words were a little more colorful than that I gave you the light version right you hear the point we all grow grow up don't we believing that if we could just have blank we'd be satisfied and one of the ways you and I deal with the dissatisfaction of blank is telling us well maybe I just need more of blank I've got success hmm maybe I need more success I have some beauty I guess I need more beauty I'm having decent sex I guess I need better and more sex I have her approval I guess I need her approval and we run and we strive and some of us pray and we work and we go in and out we try day after day striving and running for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but what if what if King Solomon is right what if Russell Brand is right what if that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is nothing more than illusion a myth it brings to mind are the words of a great philosopher of our day and my vote for the next president Jim Carrey he said I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that that's not the answer why aren't these things the answer why aren't these things the answer firstly did you notice the most dominant word in our text today it's actually the word I I searched I made I bought I had I became I surpassed King Solomon uses the word I 40 times 40 times now admittedly it's an autobiographical work but it does hint at just how self seeking and self orientated he became you say what's the problem with that the problem is that almost all studies in the field of happiness in the church or out of the church reveal that lasting joy is never found in what you can get from the world but the meaningful living relationships that you share with others in the world right so - nobody comforted themselves on their deathbed by counting the number of Mercedes Benz that they owned no one comforted themselves by counting off the number of women that they slept with no we find comfort in our deathbed recognising and being surrounded by people we love and know and people who know and love us but here's the deal you will never have lasting loving relationships with others if life is all about you meaningful deep relationships require what sacrifice they require us taking our own pleasures and sacrificing them for the sake of the other here's a example just a small one in my life I've got a good mate his name's Luke is actually a pastor in one of our churches and and he was being ordained by the denomination we are in and it's a big deal and in a minister's life they go to like this you know Gothic cathedral building they dress up in big gowns from the 16th century they recite liturgy there's you know all this kind of stuff and family and friends are invited in to kind of to mark that special occasion but here's the problem the service goes for longer than two hours and is dead boring and by dead boring I mean if you try and sit through the whole thing you could in fact die so I had agreed to go months in advance of course I'll be there brother of course I'll be there you're my mate right we're good friends wake up in the morning the Sun is out and the beach is calling my name all right where's my happy place the beach so I'm thinking of excuses car busted car doesn't work Oh my wife's a bit unwell one of my kids had an accident that could be arranged right now you you'll be happy to know that I did go right but but the battle was real and I just share that because I know what life is like and that you would know what it's like why because I like so many in our generation worship one God made up of three persons me myself and I the idol of self is I would say the greatest tempting idol of our culture and generation and the idol of self who call you to sacrifice the needs and wants of others for your own glory your own joy your over own self seeking pleasure let me just think about it just in really simple and practical ways do you ever click maybe on Facebook because you just want to keep your options open do you struggle to commit to your girlfriend or your boyfriend because you always just want to keep your I over their shoulder and see who else is coming through do you always move from one job to the next job one friendship to the next friendship one church to the next church because you're constantly evaluating things based on what you get out of it here's the deal friends if you make your life all about your needs your wants your pleasure your desires you will in the end die a lonely and unsatisfied individual it's true it's sad but it's true and in fact it's even more than that because the pursuit of self seeking pleasure not only dehumanizes others in the process it actually destroys your own soul I read a brilliant book about 12 months ago called the portrait of Dorian Gray it's white Oscar Wilde the great Oscar Wilde this is your spoiler alert weren't were warning the books been out by buret for about a hundred years so no excuses for you guys it's amazing book it's about a young guy called Dorian he's a wealthy and and good-looking man who has a portrait a portrait painted of him and it captures his beauty it captures him and and he looks at any marvel and then he's struck by a terrible thought this portrait will will capture his beauty for all eternity they'll never age they look wonderful forever unlike him he will age he will lose his beauty and he'll immense this and he bargains with heaven and he says let this painting take on the stain of age let this painting take on my weariness and my despair and my shame and my brokenness let it take it so that I may walk with eternal beauty and eternal life and under that bargain he then enters into the world and pursues all the kind of self seeking pleasure that he wants he becomes a disciple of hidden ism he gets into a relationship with a young actress they're falling in love and yet after one failed performance which embarrasses him in front of his mates he dumps her cold that night he goes home looks at the painting and notices that it's changed it now sneers he's frustrated by this he goes to seek out the young girl only discover that in response to the break-up she kills herself doesn't know what to do his friend says don't worry about it see it as a triumph an artistic triumph - your romance since your love and he accepts this advice and goes deeper and deeper into his path of hedonism pursuing all manner of sin all manner of self-indulgence all manner of debauchery all the while the painting contorts and distorts its uglier a more grotesque and so vile that in the end Dorian spends more time trying to hide the portrait from anyone seeing it than he does for shooing his own pleasure why did Oscar Wilde write the portrait of Dorian Gray I believe because he knew something of the futility and vanity of self-seeking pleasure he knew that it not only dehumanizes others but will in the end stained your soul for good and friends this is the sad irony of Ecclesiastes King Solomon had all the wealth all the wisdom and yet he lived the life of a fool instead of sharing all that he had with others instead of extending himself and building healthy loving relationships with others he was a lonely man and he lost the pleasure he lost the beauty he lost what was good there's a third and fundamental reason though why these things of the world are not the answer and this leads me to the final point which I've called the mansion too big to fill so in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 he pens some of the most beautiful words in the entire book verse 11 he says this God has made everything beautiful in its time also he has put eternity into man's heart think about that on one hand he's saying there is beauty in this world God has made a beautiful world and God has made us to enjoy the beautiful things of this world there's beauty in food there's beautiful beauty in in wine this there's beauty in in work this beauty in sex there's beauty in friendship there's beauty in in family there are beautiful things that God has made for us to know and enjoy and yet at the same time he recognizes that God has also placed eternity in our hearts in other words we were created with eternal desires we were created for eternal beauty we were created for eternal pleasure we were created for eternal joy and ultimately we were created for eternal love you know that you were made for eternal love the great author Victor Hugo came to the exact same conclusion about life he said the greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved love for ourselves or rather loved in spite of ourselves brothers and sisters you have to ask the question where you can know a love like that where you can rest in a love like that where you can know and be secure in a love that transcends all the other loves of this world and of course the answer in the Bible is God and God alone you were made for him you were made for God listen to the listen to the passion of the psalmist write some 63 your steadfast what love is better than life some 73 whom have I in heaven but you beside you I desire nothing on earth my flesh and my heart may fail but who God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever Psalm 16 in your presence there is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures forevermore some 80 for love this better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere I've been all of those rooms I tried all this but better is one day with you Psalm 136 give thanks to who the Lord for he is what good for he said fast love endures forever he said fast love endures forever don't you love the passion don't you love what is gripping their hearts right unlike Solomon who looked at everything under the Sun and found vanity and saw nothing they look at everything above the Sun and found everything it's not to say that they had life easy he's not to say that they didn't struggle in life is not to say they didn't face suffering or brokenness or despair distraction or doubt it is to say that in the midst of all of that they had their anchor in God he was their security he was their answer he was their hope he was their love and their joy I want you to ask yourself today is that true of your life is that true of your life do you know this God I'm not asking do you come to church regularly I'm asking have you tasted his seeing that he is good so good that you know with great joy and confidence that this God of goodness this god of glory this God of cosmic wonder and clothes for you in Christ that he pursued you that he sought you out it's great love a great cost to himself that you would know the wonder of God and I mentioned before didn't I about the portrait of Dorian Gray and how the portrait took on all his sin and age and shame man isn't it incredible to know that when Jesus came to this world he came to take on our sin and shame he took on my drunkenness my lust my greed my pride my self seeking this he took it all on himself he took on your drunkenness he took on your greed he took on your lust he took on your pride he who knew no sin became sin Jesus became the portrait do you know what happen to the portrait of Dorian Gray it became so vile - Dorian that in the end he took a blade to it to try and destroy it forever it is staggering it is staggering to me to know that Jesus knew the costs of him entering the stage of human history that there came a time where we found his face so vile so grotesque that we put a blade to him the Bible says that Jesus embraced the horrors of the cross that Jesus endured the wrath of God and he did all of that willingly and joyfully out of the love and security he had with his father and if his love for you through his life through his death through his resurrection he knew you could be forgiven for all your sin he knew you could be set free from all your self-indulgence self seeking pleasure and he knew above all else that you could be brought home to the loving arms of God this is love says John this is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins this is the only love this is a love that's better than life I know you long for love you were made for love but you're not gonna find it in the world not gonna find it in yourself you'll find it in God and him alone I spent so many of my years trying to find something meaning purpose satisfaction in the world was empty 14 15 years of age someone gifted me very courageously with a Bible think you might want to read this it was a good news Bible it came with pictures which I needed I'm gonna read about this Jesus began to hear of his truth not just historical truth but truth of the heart and to see his compassion his power and his love you know I've had a lot of doubts and distractions and highs and lows ever since giving my life to Jesus but I tell you today it was the best decision I ever made you remember what Jesus said this I have come that you'd have life and have it what abundantly we don't need to speculate what that life is because he goes on to say in John 17 this is life that you would know God the Father and Jesus Christ whom he has sent you were made for him do you know him is he your everything the awesome thing about Jesus friends is he not only satisfies our heart but I have come to see that he helps redeem all the pleasures of this world in Jesus I I can redeem the pleasure of relationships because people are no longer objects to be used but image-bearers to be loved in Jesus we can redeem the the gift of work instead of running to your worth to try and earn your approval and earn your status and identity you can live out of your identity in Jesus as a son and daughter of the Living God instead of instead of worshiping sex as your God you can you can redeem it as a gift to be enjoyed like all other gifts that are found in the purpose and pleasure of God himself right Jesus's is like the son that has to sit at the center of the solar system holding all the other planets in orbit that's what he does without pleasures but he must be central in your life he must be your greatest love your highest joy your most passionate pursuit Charles Haddon Spurgeon who could just be the fourth member of the Trinity once said this if Christ is not all to you here's nothing to you he'll never go into partnership as a part savior of men if he'd be something he must be everything if he'd be something to you he must be everything village church please know this Solomon was not an atheist he believed in God but to him God was like the moon which is there but not here it was controlling the tides of life but never occupying the affections of his heart or governing the direction of his will do not make the same mistake do not give your life to lesser futile pleasures find your rest in Jesus find your security joy and love in him would you stand with me as we pray and commit ourselves to our good god Heavenly Father we rejoice in your wonder your majesty and your beauty we thank you to by your spirit you are ministering to us right now though we confess how easy it is Lord to give ourselves to other pleasures to give our desires to lesser laughs well we thank you that you know us you care for us and that your mercy is in you every day and so I thank you that even right now you are calling us a home even right now you are calling us into a deeper living loving relationship with Jesus Christ Lord may we be content in him and hungry for more may we be satisfied in him and thirsty for more we thank you Lord we love you Lord we pray this for our good and your glory in Jesus name Amen

Channel: The Village Church Resources

Views: 30,489

Rating: 4.8133335 out of 5

Keywords: The Village Church, Guy Mason, Ecclesiastes, City on a Hill Church

Id: Uuc7F9TAgiI

Length: 56min 30sec (3390 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 09 2017