 We're going to look at chapter 10 today in the Ecclesiastes and so I'll begin by reading verse one giving you a little bit of a Reminder and then develop that verse and then move on through the the rest of the chapter Ecclesiastes chapter 10 beginning at verse one reading verse one dead flies Putrify the perfumers ointment and cause it to give off a foul odor so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor As we've noticed and and I wanted to share this in my introduction as we've noticed Solomon has moved into giving Proverbs and There are a lot of Proverbs who've already looked at he's giving insights and Proverbs concerning life And so what he's doing is he's illustrating what wisdom is He's already stated some things he has said that life provides opportunity for enjoyment, but it also provides opportunity for sorrow and And so in light of the fact that all living will die He said we're to concentrate on those things that are very simple. So enjoy your meals rest in the Lord and Live joyfully with your wife He has said don't over concern yourself with the apparent Unfairness that you encounter in life because things don't always work out the way that you had hoped and most certainly don't work out the way you had planned and so he is saying if you have a desire for anything Desire wisdom and not only desire wisdom, but seek for it and There's something that I would add to that it takes a lifetime to build a reputation But it only takes a moment to destroy it So be aware of those things he's saying and that's what he's been saying leading up to verse one And that's why he begins in verse one by simply saying something that's kind of gross to to read when you think about it But it has a lot of wisdom when you apply it He says dead flies putify the perfumers ointment. What are you talking about? Well one the dead flies that he's speaking of are more than likely what have been called dung flies And so these flies that he's speaking about it is a type of fly that actually stings And so this is a it's an ugly kind of fly but beyond that when they make their way into a vase They die and when they die he says it says it putifies the ointment. So What once was fragrant and valuable becomes unstable and putrid In other words, it only takes a little bad to spoil something very good So that's going along with what he's been saying up to this point It only takes a little bad to spoil something that is good So he says in verse one so does a little folly to one respect it for wisdom and honor It only takes a little foolishness to undermine your entire reputation You can be doing well walking well be respected by many and then you do something foolish and all you'll be remembered for Is the foolish thing you did? So if I say to you give me something about King David Name something about King David most people the first thing they'll say King David. Well, he fought Goliath Absolutely, what else do you remember? Oh? He committed adultery with a sheba a Man who is known to be in this is what God said of David a man after my own heart is Remembered not only for the defeat of Goliath, but also for his own defeat Through a woman named a sheba. It only takes a little folly to destroy an entire reputation a lifetime of walking and doing can be wiped out with something Foolish and it can be done in a moment when he speaks of folly that that simply means lacking in good-sense judgment or discretion Foolishness always causes problems to those who engage in it the wise person must be careful to avoid acting the fool So he's saying guard your reputation Resist indiscretions Because a truly wise person will do all they can to avoid even a hint of foolishness You see many many leaders have made bad decisions and destroyed their entire reputation And so that's the point he's making in verse one verse two a wise man's heart is at his right hand But a fool's heart at his left Interesting the way he puts that Let's look at that for a moment in scripture. The heart Represents more than that organ that keeps us alive The heart in scripture represents the origin of thought word and action In Matthew 1335 Jesus said a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things an evil man out Of the evil treasure brings forth evil things So the heart is not simply your emotions. We use that You know, I love you with all my heart and all of that. We use that as a Emotional kind of thing but love is a decision and Loving God with all of your heart is really speaking about putting all of your thought life and everything that is you At his disposal because you love him because you have given to him that which is the deepest thing that you have and so He's speaking about the the heart and notice. He says a wise man heart is at his right hand Again, the right hand in scripture very often speaks of a place of power and protection. It speaks of a place of honor In Psalm 16 verse 8 I have set the Lord always before me because he's at my right hand I shall not be moved. So as a position of power and protection Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father So the right hand speaks of that it speaks of a place of honor and all of that but the left hand represents weakness and rejection Which gives us some insight Into the two men who died on the cross one on the right hand and one on the left hand of Christ and The one on the right hand of Christ is the one who spoke to him and said remember me When you enter into your kingdom the one on his left hand joined in with the rest and mocked and jeered at him and said If you really you know the Lord and all of that then take us down off the cross So you see that actually in scripture? It's also represented in the judgment of what is called the judgment of sheep and goats Matthew 2541 It says he will say to those on the left hand Depart from me you curse it into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels So the left hand is a place of rejection. It's a place of weakness the right hand power and authority and protection the left hand Rejection and weakness so he's saying that the wise man's wisdom is always with him and his wisdom can be used when needed So somebody asks the question Why is one person recognized as wise but another person is Considered foolish. Well the answer would be it would be because of the Inclinations of their heart and so Solomon says a wise man's heart is that his right hand the fool at his left In other words, we need to be careful what we allow to influence us so that we don't go in the wrong direction That's why Proverbs 4 23 says above all else guard your heart for it's a wellspring of life protect that which matters most verse 3 Even when a fool walks along the way he lacks wisdom and he shows everyone that he's a fool I don't know why this just came to my mind. I grew up watching Disney cartoons and There was a figure some of you will remember goofy Remember goofy. I used to have him on staff and he went and planted a church no goofy And he I had that that odd little voice. I I used to Play with my kids and go doop little doop. You know though That's that's what he would do and so for some reason my mind went to goofy kind of walking down the road You know the world owes me a living or whatever But that's what is what happens is because he doesn't cherish wisdom He gravitates towards the things that will lead him down a wrong path And so even when he walks along the way, he's lacking wisdom and he's showing it in the direction He takes you see his path or his way of life reveals to be without wisdom It reveals him to be a fool and so remember this if you mark anything in your heart or even in your notes Remember this we live out what we believe and our true self is always revealed by what we do There's a lot of people who say one thing and do another We don't practice what we preach So there are many people who will give wisdom and advice to people, but you watch their life And if they say to you, you know, this is the thing you ought to do I have a tendency especially when I was a younger believer of wanting to see the fruit of their life because if they're living out their own Wisdom and their life is blessed and that gives me a direction that I at least I can trust this person to have actually put into practice What he's telling me I ought to But I used to get in discussions as a brand new Christian with people and actually prior to becoming a Christian I would get in discussions because they would say you really ought not to smoke pot You know at that time it wasn't legal. We're talking on 50 plus years ago And I'd say why well, you know because it it does something to your orientation. It does something The way you think in this and that and that was argument. You really ought not to smoke dope We used to call it smoking dope you ought not to smoke dope and I'd look at him and said but you drink What's the difference? Well drinking is legal. Yeah, but it still makes you stupid So if you're gonna tell me not to be inebriated or If you're gonna tell me not to allow myself to be under the you know influence of something else practice what you preach If you don't drink and you don't do dope and you don't do these things you're telling me I shouldn't do I'll listen to you because I can respect you But if you're telling me to do certain things that you yourself entertain You've got no credibility and so his way of life reveals that he's without wisdom Proverbs 20 verse 11 even a child is known by his deeds Whether what he does is pure and right Now he goes on into verse 4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you do not leave your post For conciliation pacifies great offenses When you're walking in wisdom, you're gonna encounter obstacles And it can happen when someone in authority Becomes angry towards you Your initial response will be I'm just gonna quit you're gonna abandon your post But he counsels us not to respond rashly as a matter of fact He says try to bring peace to the situation if you can Remember Proverbs 20 verse 2 says a king's wrath is like the roar of a lion. He who angers him forfeits his life In Proverbs 25 15 through patience a ruler can be persuaded a gentle tongue can break a bone And so if you have a disagreement with your boss instead of just getting upset and quitting Try to reason with them. Remember that he has authority. You don't it's a reason with him He says conciliation pacifies great offense So sitting down with them and speaking to him is the best thing that you can do He goes on in verse 5 There is an evil I have seen under the Sun as an error Proceeding from the ruler folly is set in great dignity While the rich sit in a lowly place I've seen servants on horses Well, princes walk on the ground Like servants That's interesting now. I want to develop this with you for a moment Notice he says in verse 5. There's an error The word error is simply that it's a mistake an error is a mistake that comes through negligence accident or simply forgetting so The one who with authority this error the one with authority Ultimately when he makes these mistakes will affect the entire organization You see this is a problem. It's an error. He says it proceeds from the ruler So what is this error that you're speaking about notice? He says it's folly set in great dignity while the rich sit in lowly places now We saw that in the book of Esther When the king began to listen to the advice of Haman in Proverbs 15 verse 7 it says the lips of the wise dispersed knowledge, but the heart of the fool does not do so and So it's easy for us to listen to bad advice and thus Affect everything well when that error proceeds from the ruler it affects everything else Now what is interesting is he's contrasting I want you to see this he's contrasting the fool with the rich Now, why would he do that? Well the rich when he speaks of rich. It's the financially prosperous Obviously the wealthy Why would that be a contrast well remember in the Old Testament wealth is often equated with God's blessings in Psalm 112 verses 1 through 3 listen to what it says praise the Lord Blessed is the man who fears the Lord who delights greatly in his commandments his Descendants will be mighty on earth the generation of the upright will be blessed wealth and riches will be in his house and his righteousness endures forever and So very often in the Old Testament not always but often when somebody had gained great wealth It also was a an expression of God's pleasure or blessing on him Abraham was a very rich man And that was a demonstration of God's blessings on him David Solomon. They were very wealthy It was an indication of God's blessings as a matter of fact the book of Deuteronomy speaks about how that the Lord can Prosper you he says but don't take your eyes off of God and don't begin to take credit for receiving it Why he said because the Lord has given you the power to gain these riches and so in the Old Testament riches very often was a symbol of a righteousness and so when you understand it in that way He's saying folly verse 6 is said in great dignity while the rich sit in lowly places Folly represents the one who doesn't know God the rich is the one who represents knowing him and so very often We honor the wrong person is what he's saying and sometimes that comes from the ruler himself Notice first seven how he says I've seen servants on horses while princes walk on the ground like servants Now writing on a horse is a badge of honor It reveals dignity and value again when Haman thought that he was going to be rewarded and he was asked What should we do? He said oh well take the one whom you're going to reward and put them on one of your horses and Walk them around it was a symbol of honor and turns out that they put more decay on that and it really bothered Haman as you remember Well writing on a horse is a badge of honor But servants were not regarded They were unworthy of such an honor and so he's saying this very simply the righteous should be placed in positions of honor Don't be put in the foolish in those positions We can apply that today very easily In verse 8 he who digs a pit will fall into it Whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent What is he saying? Okay? Here we go again A person reaps what they sow Even if it takes a lifetime just because somebody doesn't Seem to suffer After immediately after doing something doesn't mean they doubt that they won't reap the consequences for it Sometimes they say how do they get away with that? They've been doing that for so long. How do they get away with that? You know, I when I first got saved used to bother me a lot I came to realize this because I wanted to get away with things and the Lord had to take that away from me But also I just saw that I thought once again how unjust is that? But he's saying listen if you dig a pit, you're gonna fall into it. You're gonna reap what you sow Proverbs 26 27 whoever digs a pit will fall into it. He who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him Job 4 verse 8 my experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same Even if it takes a lifetime if you don't repent from these things you will be reaping those things Then he goes on in verse 9 and he says he who quarries stones may be hurt by them And he who splits wood may be endangered by it Cory's stones. What are you talking about? Well? He who removes someone's property line remember the stones were used to as as is like lines property lines If you took that so and out you're stealing property from your friend and so he's saying there's repercussions for sinful actions when he says in verse 10 if the axe is dull and One doesn't sharpen the edge Then he must use more strength, but wisdom brings success Success is in the fruit or is the fruit of wise preparation so if you fail to prepare you're preparing to fail and So sharpen the axe he's saying so that it cuts easily. Why make things more difficult save yourself the wear and the tear Now verse 11 is something I've seen. Let me share this with you a serpent may bite When it is not charmed the babelers into different. Let me share some things. I've Take a moment to do this, but It takes a little bit little information to get to what his point is During the time of Solomon snake charmers Were entertainers snake charmers are actually mentioned in scripture for example Psalm 58 3 through 5 Even from birth the wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward and speak lies Their venom is like the venom of a snake Like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears that will not heed the tune of the charmer however skillful the enchanter may be So here is interesting in that snakes pick up sound waves through their bone structure in their heads When you see these people with these these these musical instruments going like that charming snakes The snakes actually following the flute. It's not really hearing with ears the way that we do It's actually picking up the sound waves through the bone structure So the movement of the charmer is holding the snakes attention and he controls it so he won't be bitten So Solomon is speaking of a charmer that fails to control the serpent He tries to charm the snake too quickly and he ends up being bitten Not only does the audience not pay him. He even can lose his life. So when I was in India they have They have snake charmers in India cobras and so I remember walking by and I think Randy walls and I were watching the snake charmer at a distance and It's interesting to see how they begin playing that musical instrument and and the snake, you know The Cobra will come out and they're very deadly all of us know that and then they're they You know, they're I don't know what you call it But they widen at the top like that right and then you see the charmer doing this and you're going Wow, that's that's really crazy and all of that. Well, I was I Was aware of the fact that snake charmers and cobras are emblematic of India so I decided to bring some gifts home for my children and I have four of them. So I bought each one a different gift. I brought my son David a Cobra not the real one, but maybe I should have but You know little wooden one that you could set up and all and My son Joseph, I think Joseph was maybe six years old at the time And he saw that his his brother got this very cool wooden snake and he's very excited So I brought out his package and what I got him was a little duck With wheels that you would kind of pull around the house. I Miss judged his age. That's probably a three-year-old's toy He got so mad. He started crying. It's a doc. It's a doc. He was so dramatic Just didn't like what I gave him kind of like when I asked Marie to marry me and I gave her a ring She didn't like it's a cheap ring. It's a cheap ring. I Hate it to this day my son Joseph remembers that lame duck and David to this day still has the snake And in the midst of all this emotion my eldest my Corinne begins to cry Which she really didn't do but she started yelling stop. She's she got dramatic. Stop Stop You're hurting daddy. I Was too busy laughing to be hurt I thought it was Absolutely funny. So whenever I read this scripture about a serpent and charming and all of that I Remember those things and I remember seeing those things and and all of that and so he's speaking of a Charmer that fails to control the serpent and if he moves too quickly He may be bitten in other words. He doesn't get paid any may die Now he speaks of the babbler now What is a babbler a babbler is someone who uses or speaks useless words? So he's saying someone who speaks useless words is like a snake Why because his words can be deadly and harm people That would be especially true of people who are teachers who teach error Their words bring great harm to people Now, how can you how can I how can we be protected from somebody who can bring great harm through their teaching? Well through discipline and patience discipline and patience are two attributes of a successful snake charmer and that's the point Discipline and patience. So don't be gullible. Don't believe everything that is said to you We have charmers that are babbling things out all the time on the internet all the time There I read it and when I read some of the things that are posted I shake my head and I say my goodness people actually believe this they actually believe this you see Proverbs 14 15 says the simple believes every word But the prudent considers well his steps So don't believe everything you hear and yes You can check me anytime. You want check out what I'm teaching you you should verse 12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious the lips of a fool shall swallow him up Solomon is sharing concerning the speech of fools that he just did and he's comparing it to the speech of those who are wise So the wise man's mouth the words are gracious So in contrast to the babbler that he just spoke of the one who has words that harm the word of the words of the wise Will blasts now notice how he says a wise man's words are gracious when he says the wise man's words are gracious a wise man's words produce favor His words bring life to the one who has been spoken to Remember how Jesus said in John 6 63 the spirit gives life the flesh counts for nothing the words I have spoken to you they are full of spirit and life So the words of one teaching the truth will bring life to you the one who is babbling is going to be destructive He says the lips of a fool will swallow him in other words will bring him into destruction He's going to pay the price for the things he said In Proverbs 18 7 of fools mouth is as undoing his lips are a snare to his soul So unbelievers only have unprofitable words because they're not filled with grace In verse 13 the words of his mouth begin with foolishness and the end of his talk is raving Madness from start to finish a fool will make Absolutely, no sense and The longer he talks The crazier it becomes Yeah, so he says go ahead go ahead Now I won't I'm gonna leave it alone. Just be careful what you listen to and just watch I better hurry up verse 14 because I want to tell you something so I won't a Fool also multiplies words no man knows what is to be who can tell him What will I will be after him the labor of fools wear is them? They don't even know how to go to the city and so a Fool multiplies words a fool loves to speak But in all those words he's saying nothing in Proverbs 10 19 in the multitude of words sin is not lacking he who restrains his lips is wise You see some people consider themselves the greatest living experts on everything They have an opinion about everything they have opinions about things. They've never done yet but they've already figured out how things would go better if they were in charge and in ministry I've seen that more than once and What it is is you have people who've never given a Bible study who will tell you how you ought to be teaching People who have never stood before an audience would tell you how you're supposed to act and I I don't I'm not above people Tell me things like I actually listen because I want to hear in case the Holy Spirit is speaking But sometimes people don't like the sound of silence, so they fill it with their own voice They're uncomfortable with quiet so they have to take over and speak and As they do that They just take over the audience they took over the room and before you know it There's nothing good taking place anymore other than this person who's speaking and that happens quite often Be wise enough to to listen before you speak be quick to hear and slow to speak Be the one who takes in what's being said listen carefully and Then if the Holy Spirit should prompt you then add the things that he has shared The things they'd provokes you to say and then have the wisdom to be quiet once you've said those things Because again, there are a lot of people who multiply the words and They consider themselves to be living experts on everything Some 141 verse 3 said a guard. Oh Lord over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips Notice in verse 14. He says no one knows What is to be who can tell him what will be after him? So the fool confidently will tell people what the future holds, but he doesn't know himself He may try to predict today. He may try to predict trends in culture or the stock market Trends in the world But only God really knows the future and unless revealed all we can do is put things together and make a guess Ecclesiastes 8-7 says that man does not know what will happen. So who can tell him when it'll occur? And so we need to be very wise that we don't go about trying to tell people I see this all the time listen I'll say this quickly, but one of the things I learned early on in my walk with the Lord is that there were always people prognosticating the return of Christ Always telling us when he was gonna come Always looking for the next thing and they were newspaper profits. I used to call them They would read the newspaper then they would say this is what the Bible says about what's the current event and all and sometimes You know, sometimes they were wrong. Sometimes they'd be saying things that were totally off There was a guy who wrote a book called 88 reasons why Jesus is returning in 1988 So 1988 came and went and the next year he wrote and this is true story and next year he made a new book 89 reasons Why Jesus will return in 1989 and so there are always going to be an odd There will always be an audience that gathers together to hear the latest thing that this person is going to predict It's going to take place only God knows the future What we should do is live as if Christ is returning today. If you do that every day, you're ready But if you wait and wait until the last moment, that's another case entirely So he goes on and will close When he says verse 16 What do you old land when your king is a child and your prince's feast in the morning? Blessed are you old land when your king is a son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time for strength and Not for drunkenness because of laziness the building decays and through idleness of hands the house leaks a Feast is made for laughter wine makes merry Money answers everything Do not curse the king even in your thought do not curse the rich Even in your bedroom for a bird of the air may carry your voice and a bird in flight May tell the matter That's interesting So woe unto you verse 16 when your king's a child he's speaking of bad leaders Those who and those who work for foolish rulers So in verse 16 when he says your king is a child your prince's feast in the morning He begins with the ruler and the ruler he's speaking about it's immature. He's childish and even impetuous and This ruler is at the command and direction of evil advisors Because he enjoys living off of other people's labor Life to him is a party They're lazy. They're foolish. They're self-indulgent. They're petty and they can bring a nation down they're given to pleasure and immediate gratification I Think that We're living in those days. I really do Notice how he says the prince's feast in the morning So they use public funds to party There was something that took place recently and it's still going on in Fulton County, Georgia Where the district attorney? was charged with misusing federal funds to purchase computers expensive clothing personal travel as well as hiring her lover and Him using the funds for expensive vacations. That's taking place right now and We were warned about that in the time of Solomon. He says this is the kind of thing that takes place He's speaking of the prince's verse 16 who are self-indulgent and Undisciplined they're unmotivated party animals. He's saying they're unqualified. They're inexperienced. They're self-centered and immature Isaiah 3 says it like this versus 4 and 5 I will give children to be their princes babes shall rule over them The people will be oppressed every one by another and every one by his neighbor The child will be insolent toward the elder and the base toward the honorable We're living in those days. We're inexperienced people are ruling leading making decisions and We're paying the consequences for that Solomon was saying this has been taking place even in his day But he goes on and says in verse 17 blessed. Are you a land when your king is the son of nobles? Why is that? Because you will be blessed to have righteous self-disciplined leaders in Proverbs 16 12 it is an abomination to kings to do evil for the throne is established by righteousness Proverbs 29 verse 2 when the righteous increase the people rejoice But when the wicked rule the people groan in verse 18 he says Because of laziness the building decays and through idleness of hands the house leaks So they're lazy. They're incompetent. They let things go Everything falls apart Because of their incompetence and neglect everything around them looks trashed Unless some Chinese people are gonna come to the city Then it'll be all cleaned up Until they leave. I'm telling you this is today This is not because of use but because of indifference and lack of concern He says in verse 19 a feast is made for laughter and wine makes merry, but money answers everything Now that's an interesting phrase A feast is made for laughter wine makes merry money answers everything the real life the real fun in life is spending money usually somebody else's and Money he says is the answer to all problems In other words, if you have a problem Throw money at it Raise taxes and Just keep throwing money at it So money can be sent to countries recovering from catastrophes But somehow the money that was to be sent to the country is used by bureaucrats For personal pleasure. They skim the proceeds. They buy themselves cars and homes and they travel They raise taxes for high-speed trains that are never used They allow roads to become filled with potholes bridges that need repair They vote themselves raises they live in areas that their constituents don't live in and They sell influence to foreign governments That's what he's talking about that kind of thing that they take what is Not theirs and use it for their own pleasure. That's why for some money answers everything It's used for feasting. It's used for wine It's used to buy the things that they want when they party They collect more and they spend it and they spend as much as they desire and nobody calls them into question If we took the time to read some of the things in some bills that are passed in our own government here in the 21st century they call it pork There are billions of dollars that are spent on things that don't matter. They just put them into the bills That's what we're seeing. There's no proper budgeting. There's no preparing for the future There's no preparing for the future of their own children So as stewards of God's resources, we're to be faithful in our use of finances We're to live modestly. We enjoy the fruit of our efforts, but or aware of the future And so and finally in verse 20 do not curse the king even in your thought do not curse the rich even in your bedroom Why a bird of the air may carry your voice a bird in flight may tell the matter Because you're gonna get busted That's where the saying the little bird told me originated by the way a little bird told me Though you may not respect the person in office respect the office Romans 13 tells us verse 1 everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities. There's no authority except that which is from God The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. I do not very often respect the one holding the office But I hold the office in high respect and that's why we pray That's why we seek the Lord. That's why we ask God to bring government That will represent the better part of the nation the ones who care deeply and so we need to be very careful with these kinds of things and and and I am trying to learn and I It can be hard. I'll be real with you. There are things I see that Are very that can be very discouraging, but I think we all see those things That's why I don't need to roll down that and say this this this you if you watch the news or you read your newspapers If you still have them Or you get your social media, whatever your information source is You can see an awful lot. That's not good The problem is is people like me Can get so upset that I can actually become angry and then the anger in my heart is brought to you And then you walk out angry and we do nothing. That's any good So what I want to do is always have the hope that God is still in control and God can take care of these things Not that I don't have a part in it. I have a right to vote. I have a right to make my voice heard I have things I should do. I should preach the gospel. I ought to be an honorable citizen I had to do these things why because I live in the freest country in the in the world and the most blessed country in the world and And it grieves me to see what we're doing to it But I still believe in a God who can bring revival. I still believe in I still do I believe that God can reach the chill the young people of this nation I really do and then that's You know, I it wouldn't be hard for you I better shut up, but it wouldn't be hard for me to come and tell you how difficult some things are for me to hold on to How difficult it is for me to see Because if you have any inclination towards a desire for God's rule If you have any sense of a righteousness that you can have an indignation with a righteous reason To know that multiple thousands of children have been brought across the borders of this great nation and Bellos Nobody knows where these babies are And nobody seems to care see I am being careful because I really feel strongly about these things But I also know that my anger doesn't change that anything the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God So I have to take these things to the Lord God if we the church can be that salt and light that you've called us to be If we could tell our friends and neighbors of the love of God and how God transforms lives And I have to remember how that When I got saved How that there the similar things of what our nation is going through now similar things not identical similar things We had you know, we had war we had riots we had Racial injustice You know, I I'm old enough to remember Bombing in Birmingham where little girls in a church were killed and the outrage I felt as a little young boy We've gone through the assassination of John F. Kennedy of Robert Kennedy Martin Luther King, Jr. We've seen these things. We've been around these things a hopelessness That was there We've seen it all we've been part of that we rejected authority with as a hippie You know the government's messed up man. Everything's plastic. Why would I I don't want to fight yet I don't want to kill somebody. I'm not even mad. I went through all of that the way my generation did And we were a hopeless generation There was a song that used the phrase a generation lost in space and that was us we were worried about space travel and and bombs and and we were told look at if there's An alert that goes off and there's an atomic bomb that is dropped. We were taught to get under our desks Is that stupid but we were Get under your desk. Wow. It's a good thing that it only blows the top of desks often doesn't kill little children See so we were raised that way. We heard all kinds of nonsense in garbage. We saw it We saw it. We saw the riots in Watts. Watts was only 15 minutes from where I grew up We saw it We saw it. I saw on TV. Lee Harvey Oswald assassinate Ruby no Jack Ruby assassinate Lee Harvey Oswald. We saw that I saw that I was walking through in Seventh grade I was walking in my at my school lakeside junior high when the announcement was made over the loudspeaker The president of the United States John F. Kennedy has just been assassinated People will ask the question. Do you know where you were to my generation? Where were you when you heard that news? I was walking in my in lakeside junior high in between classes when I heard that I watched John John the little boy when he saluted the The funeral procession and I wept and I was only 12. That's how deeply we're hit by that So we've seen pain We've seen hurt. We've seen injustice We have felt it. We've experienced it ourselves and That's why the gospel means so much it changes lives my anger doesn't But Jesus does That's why we preach the gospel so that people can know there's a hope beyond this earth That money doesn't answer all things the spirit provides for us the joy and the pleasure and at the right hand of God our pleasure is forever more so we serve the Lord now and will receive a reward then It's always been that way and so was a 20 year old hippie whose model was smoked dope You know, there's no hope without dope is what we used to say. There's no hope without dope You know, what was what was Friday? Friday was an excuse to get drunk But so was Monday and so was Tuesday and so is Wednesday Every day of the week they had the word day in it. It's a good day to get drunk That's how we were Party like there's no tomorrow because we were being told there isn't one And we were told that the earth is freezing Then they just changed it and now it's it's too hot I'm telling you it's it's the it's So I want to put my trust in that which does not change the word of God I put my trust in the one who does not change got himself and he's the one who gives us hope Solomon is saying I have seen these things We see these things too But you know what the wisest thing I can ever do is turn my tomorrow over to the Lord Not in an indifferent way because I really believe that we are to occupy until he comes We're to be busy at the master's business Sharing the good news of the gospel that transforms lives Because God moved in this nation in my lifetime 1970 for me and he can move again now if the church wakes up We are not going to elect a savior We already have one and his name is jesus That's what we do