 Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 1 who is like a wise man and who knows the interpretation of a thing a man's wisdom makes his face shine and the sternness of his face is changed so he says who is like a wise man who knows the interpretation of a thing in light of man's fallen nature he's saying who is capable of comprehending the purpose and meaning of life there are there are very few truly wise men few who can speak of the world world and the works of God he has already made it very clear that without God's help no one can fathom the meaning of life without the power of the Holy Spirit without the revelation of the word of God nobody will understand what their purpose in life is it requires God's Holy Spirit to illuminate our darkened understanding so that may we may realize that we're living in in a spiritually darkened state without Christ you know Paul would say to the Ephesians that they actually were meandering walking aimlessly without purpose because they didn't have a relationship with God and so what God has done is he's given to us the Bible which is a light unto our path it's a lamp to our feet it illuminates us not only on the outside but also on the inside God's Word provides for us understanding of the purpose and meaning of life and the direction that were to take so without God's help no one understands no one can fathom life's meaning life's purpose and meaning is something that is revealed to us in Luke chapter 10 verse 21 Luke writes in that hour Jesus rejoiced in the spirit and said I thank you Father Lord of heaven and earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and reveal them to babes even so Father so it seemed good in your sight for those who were professing to be wise and those who surrounded them saying that they were the things of the kingdom were actually not disclosed these things of the kingdom Jesus said were disclosed to the innocent to the babes to those who understood their need for direction and so that's the key so this means when when someone has proper wisdom there's going to be a dramatic result even his appearance may change that's interesting how he says in verse 1 a man's wisdom makes his face shine the sternness of his face is changed makes his face shine to shine speaks of his demeanor it speaks of his appearance he's saying joy brightens his face that's what he means when he says a man's wisdom makes his face shine joy brightens his countenance why because he's no longer miserable he doesn't walk around with this this attitude like everything's against me you know I I don't know how many of you remember Winnie the Pooh any of you you know E.R. remember E.R. anybody remember E.R. am I speaking to myself E.R. you know your is all going bad you know I've had E.R. friends in my life you know E.R.s well you know when the Lord is working in your life there's a joy yeah there's a sobriety yes we're sober-minded indeed but within us there's a joy because my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life because I'm just passing through because though I may be going through something these are light afflictions and they're going to be swallowed up with the reality of being in the image of Jesus Christ and so there's something that keeps you going and and that's the knowledge of the Lord and it can actually cause you to have a changed disposition you can look different to people who have known you best and that's true let's say what are you up to man what are you smiling about well you know I don't know I just got something in my heart the Lord is doing something in my life and so he's saying his face will shine the sternness of his face will be changed Proverbs 1513 a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance but by sorrow of the heart the spirit's broken and so he says when the man is gaining the wisdom from the Lord his whole disposition and even his appearance can be transformed in verse 2 I say keep the king's commandment for the sake of your oath to God do not be hasty to go from his presence do not take your stand for an evil thing for he does whatever pleases him so he begins to give counsel concerning our relationships interestingly enough with governmental authority when given orders we can have a variety of responses to the commands that are given we can first we can we can disobey the orders but if you disobey the order you're gonna pay a price and that's in just matters authority I mean you know if the judge tells you not to go from a certain place at a certain time whatever and you do and violate what you end up going back to jail right if you're in the military and and the officer or the sergeant and in charge gives you an order and you don't do it you're gonna end up doing extra duty or you're gonna end up spending time behind bars that's what happens if you reject orders you have a tendency of having to pay so when given orders we can have a variety of responses to the commands one we can disobey the orders we do pray we actually we do pay the price for doing so now with that said and again in context keep the king's commandment for the sake of your oath to God keep the king's commandment of course there are times that disobeying orders need to take place there are times you can work for a company that decides to print and distribute pornography you may be a salesman who's tasked with the assignment of going and selling this as a Christian can you do that there are those who argue that they do because it's just their job but there are other Christians who say no why would I promote something that enslaves people I can't do that and so there are times when you actually will say no that isn't something I'll do I was working in in a place Marie and I had been married for a while and I'm trying to remember yeah I don't remember if we already had Corinne or not our daughter all I know is I needed a job and and I was working in a place that was only about a mile and a half from our apartment we used to live in Roland Heights and and I was working at this place and I needed the job to provide for my wife and I believe for yeah for my Corinne because she was born and and I had the responsibility of loading and unloading trucks and then when they had will calls I had the responsibility of giving to whatever the person giving whatever the person had come to get I had the responsibility of giving them and we had to write down the tear weights on on the packages and all and so they had told me certain boxes weighed certain amount and then I find out actually inadvertently I didn't intend to find out wasn't like I was looking but somebody had come for a will call and I had and I asked my boss I said again what is this this box away and he says give him the bill and for the actual weight the actual weight is 25 pounds and I said actual weight because it turns out that I was signing a bill of lading saying that a certain amount of weight was being sent out and on we were paying for a certain amount of weight on the vehicles when in fact we were short changing the carriers that were distributing the materials that were sending on the carriers and and that was amounting to an awful lot of money that the company I was working for was ripping these people off for and I drove home at lunchtime and I spoke to my wife and I said Marie they have me signing my name on on bills of lading violating my integrity because I'm lying when I write this down I've been doing that every day without knowing it and we had a baby we had bills to pay I said I have to quit I said what do you think she said you have to do what the Lord leads you to do I said okay you go to work no I I said our because that's what he told me for you why submit to your own husband as unto the Lord and and so I went back I went back and I quit I went back and I quit I spoke to the my my overseer and I said to him I'm quitting I'm giving you my notice I'm not gonna stay working here and he goes why I said because you have had me violating my integrity you have you have you have had me violating my name and and my name matters to me my integrity matters to me I'm a Christian and so that I quit you know I went home and I told Marie I said I'm without money we're without a job but we were we were less than a year married and you know bills don't stop needing to be paid because you're not work a lot of you know that and I told Marie I said I'm not gonna violate my name I'm just not I was trained by the Lord and my father that my name means something and I won't do that and you know I think it made it may have been a little while until I got another job I think your dad I think Marie's dad actually gave us a gift to help us pay our bills and stuff because I was looking for work I couldn't find a job and then one day somebody called me up and said there's a there's a job available I went and I got the job and I was able to pay my bills but you know I made a hard choice I you know when you've got a young young baby and you've got bills to pay I just made the choice I'm gonna honor the Lord and he'll take care of me I did that long before I became a pastor so you work for a company that decides to do something or encourages you to do something wrong you know well I don't obey those orders your boss may expect you to take clients out for dinner and drinks and I won't do things like that they may say when the phone rings and you answer and they say is Jerry there and you look at Jerry your supervisor and Jerry says no tell him I'm not here I've been in that position and I'll hand him the phone and say you tell him because I'm not lying for you you know minimum wage isn't enough for me to lose my integrity over it's just not yeah I've told before I was a pastor I would say this I don't lie for you that is not part of my job description because honoring the Lord matters we recently or not so recently a while back now we heard of a county clerk who was asked to or actually demanded to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples and she refused she could have gone to jail for that kind of thing but she said no that's violating my conscience or you work in a bakery you're asked to make a wedding cake for same-sex couples and you refuse you get sued could lose all your business why you do that you do that because there are some things that you refuse to do that's why and there are times when when you will reject an order and you do that because of conscience we are to make decisions that are motivated by our faith we do the things that that we do because our faith informs us Peter and John are at a gate called beautiful it's recorded in the book of acts and in chapter 3 of the book of acts and and there is somebody there who's laying at that gate who's crippled and Peter and John the Apostles are walking in in the hour of prayer and as they do so the man looks up to him and and Peter Peter says to him look upon us and the man looks up to him and he's expecting to receive something we know the story and Peter says to him silver and gold I do not have but such as I have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I say unto you rise to your feet and walk and a man lifts up his mat and he begins to walk and he begins to leap and he begins to praise God in a miracle has occurred people knew this man he had been at that gate for a long time Peter looking at him gives him that command but later on they're arrested they stand before the religious authorities and it says in Acts 4 18 through 20 they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus but Peter and John answered and said to them whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God you judge we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard I was invited to go to high school to give a baccalaureate I might have mentioned this while back and they said before I went a teacher approached me before I went up to speak the teacher approached me and said you know you can't use the name of Jesus here you can't it's a high school it's a secular high school you can't use the name of Jesus here baccalaureate baccalaureate it's a worship service that's what baccalaureate is it all the way back in the history of having baccalaureates it's always been something that was a religious service but now you can't use the name of Jesus and she's saying that just before I go up and I'm not Mr. Rebel anymore I'm not somewhat but not that much and so she says you can't use the name of Jesus and I still remember going out there's there's you know all these students there and I said you know you've spent time going through classes you've learned a lot of things mathematics English you've learned literature you've learned science you've gained a lot of knowledge in your four years of going through high school if you've been a serious student you've learned a lot but I'm here to tell you about what you really need to know what you really need to know is Jesus Christ and sins forgiven that come through him so for many years they didn't invite me back but you want to know something I there you do what your conscience commands you to do how can I give a feel good message I can't I have to give a message that gives you a reason why you can feel good and that comes through Jesus Christ you see so you have to do that which is right in the side of the Lord so under ordinary circumstances we are obligated to submit to proper authority that is because as believers we realize that our allegiance is really to God and so when he says again in verse 2 keep the king's commandment for the sake of your oath to God your vow your oath to God that's another way of revealing that our true allegiance really is to him in Colossians in chapter 3 verse 23 Paul said whatever you do do it heartily as to the Lord not to men we goes on in verse 3 and says do not be hasty to go from his presence do not take your stand for an evil thing for he does whatever pleases him when he says do not be hasty to go from his presence don't withdraw yourself from the king's service out of discontent or frustration do not persist in doing something that is wrong don't obstinately reject his orders in a practical way you have a problem with the decision your boss has made you leave the room and people are gathering together they're complaining they're grumbling about that well instead of joining with them remember he's the boss and ultimately he's not doing anything or she's not saying anything that violates your conscience your faith in Christ so do your job you know a whole lot of of problems on the job would be solved that people would simply remember that their employees you get paid for what you're doing and and and when I was working before I was a pastor in this church I can tell you you know they paid me the same amount of money it was an hourly wage and I may agree I may not agree with what they wanted to do as long as it didn't violate my conscience I got the same wage they didn't ask my opinion they didn't tell me can you come in and direct our footsteps here in this company so if they said you're gonna do something I wasn't one of those guys who would walk out into the in another room with everybody and see man I can't believe this why we have to do this ad I just thought well we got to work we got to work it's a job doesn't matter to me I'm not the boss I get the same amount on my check but there are other people that take it so personally he's saying don't get caught up with that kind of thing don't so get don't get so upset instead of joining with those who are griping just remember who the boss is and also remember that that he or she may have information you don't have so don't judge in Proverbs 18 verse 13 he who answers a matter before he hears it it's folly and shame to him there are some things that that your boss knows that you don't know and there are reasons sees or she's having you do this so simply do your job and verses four and five where the word of where the word of a king is there is power and who may say to him what are you doing he who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment I'll see that he has authority there there's really nothing you can do to prevail against him anyway this person's word carries more weight and so it's obviously going to carry more weight than the word of a servant so in verse five by following his orders you actually preserve your job and avoid problems Proverbs 13 3 he who guards his mouth preserves his life he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction notice how it says in verse five a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment instead of acting on emotion a wise person waits until the proper time to act in Proverbs 14 29 he who is slow to wrath as great understanding but he who is impulsive exalts folly it's always good to restrain your emotions hold back don't react so quickly some people are very quick to react and then they make the big mistakes doing that verse six because for every matter there is a time in judgment though the misery of man increases greatly so discernment is exercised giving us wisdom as we make our decisions things can get worse before we know exactly what to do so again refuse to act impulsively verse seven for he does not know what will happen so who can tell him when it will occur it doesn't know what will happen who can tell him when it will occur Nehemiah in the Old Testament is a good example of someone who refused to act impulsively when you read the book of Nehemiah you discover that Nehemiah was an officer in the court of a purging king by the name of Artic Xerxes and when you read through the first chapter of Nehemiah you you read that that he had received a report that the Jews in Jerusalem were in distress and reproach the wall of Jerusalem was broken down the gates had been burned with fire well instead of acting impulsively for many days the scripture says he he wept he mourned he fasted and he prayed and then in God's timing he stood before the king and as he stood before the king he was his cupbearer the king looked at him and he says to him what's wrong your face is sad and Nehemiah says in his book he says I never stood before the presence of the king with the sad countenance and and he was afraid and the reason he was afraid is because if you bummed out the king you'd lose your head and so there he is the cupbearer and all of that is a high-position government for him and he's sad and his countenance could affect his life and so what does he do well he prayed he waited for the Lord and the Lord directed him and so in God's timing as he stood before the king he received permission to go and do the work that he desired to do in the city of Jerusalem now he was concerned but he didn't overreact he waited on the Lord to direct him so on 27 verse 14 wait on the Lord be of good courage he shall strengthen your heart wait I say on the Lord one of the things that you learn as you're growing in maturity is that God's timing is perfect and your impulses are not and for me I am somebody on a personal level personal illustration I am not an impulsive person I'm a person who waits I wait on the Lord because I know that if I act impulsively and I'm not talking about acting quickly because when I know what to do I do it quickly but I don't want to act impulsively just say oh I got to do something I'm actually whenever something is going on that's heavy you probably won't know it you know an example this has nothing to do with spiritual things but an example a few years ago now we were eating at the house at my house and and I was eating a piece of meat and when I started to swallow it it got stuck in my throat I've never had anything stuck in my throat like that before and I'm just sitting there and I'm thinking hmm and that's really what I did all of a sudden goes mm-hmm and I'm thinking hmm I can't breathe that's what I'm thinking I can't breathe so I get some water and I try to drink it just to and the water just doesn't go and I actually spit it all out on the floor and so I say well that didn't work and I stood up and I walked from where I was seated past one of the one of my sons-in-law who were sitting at that time was sitting on the couch and I just walked past him he doesn't look at me he was busy texting something and I walk into the kitchen my son David was there and my son looks at me and he says dad are you okay and I go and I shake my head no and I I forgot the universal thing about choking or whatever I don't even know how to do it now but I'm joking now this has been 30 40 seconds already at least because you know I'm not in a hurry so I'm walking and I go and I shake my head are you okay dad no so my son gets all like oh no and he runs over and he drives to do that Heimlich thing he doesn't know how so he's hurting me and now it's going on a minute and I haven't breathed and I I hadn't I didn't take a deep breath so you can imagine I'm starting to and finally my son-in-law looks at me and he's a police officer and he knows emergency things and if I put his phone down finishes and he comes and he does the Heimlich and out it comes and so that's why I'm here today he's my hero but I use that illustration to say acting impulsively wouldn't have done me any good it would have burned up the oxygen that I had already and it would have panicked everybody it just it just never wise even in critical things like that my disposition in the Lord is slow it down don't speed it up but there are a lot of people who speed it up they'll speed up that I have to do it we've got to do it right now if we don't do it right now it's not gonna happen well that's not true that's not true at all what you're doing is you're gonna get yourself in a position of making a bad decision and then you're gonna have something worse in your plan so wait on the Lord and you say but how do I know when God's saying to move you'll know God has a way of orchestrating things so there's a piece in your heart and you know now is the time let's go for it when we bought this property we came and looked at this property I used to with my family we would pull our car up right across the street and pray we actually drove onto the property and drove around looking at it praying and seeking the Lord long before we owned it it was a year before we actually bought this property I didn't tell the church for months that we're looking to do this because I put it before the Lord in prayer so that when we actually got this place we knew that it was the Lord who was saying pick up that property you always do you always need to wait on the Lord and that's right when he says Psalm 27 14 again wait on the Lord be of good courage he'll strengthen your heart wait I say on the Lord and wait learn to not be impulsive in your decisions and actions verse 8 now again I mean by the way I should say this just because I didn't get weird when I was choking doesn't mean that you shouldn't do everything you can to survive I don't want you to walk out say I'm joking but that's okay you're all by yourself you're all by yourself in the house waiting for somebody to bust in hope they didn't give you the wrong directions there okay where are we again okay verse verse 8 no one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit no one has power in the day of death there's no release from that war and wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it ultimately everybody dies and after we die we stand before God in judgment at that time all of our decisions will be judged by a righteous and fair judge it's been said death is the great equalizer because all die and then all deeds are examined so death is the one thing that is inevitable no one escapes it Psalm 89 verse 48 what man can live and not see death can he deliver his life from the power of the grave Job 14 verses 4 and 5 who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean no one since his days are determined the number of his months is with you you have appointed his limits so that he cannot pass it is appointed unto men to die once after this judgment so no matter how powerful the person may be he dies Solomon had already said this in chapter 2 verse 16 there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come and how does a wise man die as a fool so he's making a very clear point no one has the power of the spirit to retain the spirit but there's we need to remember there was one who retained his spirit until he relinquished it to God and that was Jesus remember in Matthew 27 50 how when Jesus was on the cross Jesus cried out and again with a loud voice and he yielded or sent away his spirit he did this as he was winning salvation for us on the cross because his words preceding those words where it is finished so Jesus is the one who dismissed his spirit Jesus said it is finished and then cried cry victory it is finished he's the only one who did that well everyone dies and everyone will stand before the judge of the whole earth and it's about most importance that we stand before him clothed in his righteousness verse 9 all this I have seen and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun there is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt so when he says all this all this refers to what he has been speaking about up to this point he's saying I've observed these things and I've learned from them I've applied the lessons that I've learned I don't want to miss the meaning of my life I carefully observed things he wasn't somebody in other words who just kind of let life pass him by he was one of these guys who had those eyes that he was always taking something in always watching it always figuring things out that was Solomon and so I've observed these things I've learned from them I've tried to apply the lessons and then he says in verse 9 the second portion there's a time in which one man rules over another notice to his own heart there are some leaders who mistreat others and they will end up reaping what they sow when we go to Israel we go to an area called Dan Dan nature reserve and it's really a very amazing place to go the area up there it's to the north in Israel it's in the north going towards the northern border by Lebanon and Syria now when you go into that area we take a walk through this nature reserve and it just beautiful it's got running water it's one of the tributaries of the of the Jordan and all and and you get to see that and as you walk through this place you go to an area that has Jeroboam's altar when you read the Bible in the Old Testament you read about a man by the name of Rehoboam and another man by the name of Jeroboam Jeroboam had been given a prophetic word that he was going to receive a large portion of the nation of Israel that it would be given over to him to rule because God was going to take the the rulership out of the hands of Solomon's son Jeroboam and so it's a long story and I'll I'll condense it at a certain point when Solomon dies Jeroboam who had fled to Egypt returns and he comes with the contingent a contingent that are representing the tribes of Israel he comes to meet with Rehoboam who has been given the kingship of Israel and and he makes a case to him and he says to him your father mistreated us overtaxed us and and and if you if you will be less harsh than your father was we'll serve you and so when he takes and presents that to to Rehoboam Rehoboam does something he he calls his older advisors in and he says this is the demand that has been made of me by Jeroboam and his representatives what is your advice and the older counselors say to him if you serve them one day they will serve you the rest of your life in other words reduce the harshness give in to their minor demand and you will retain leadership but he goes on to say I'm gonna talk to my younger man and he calls in the the guys he grew up with and he says they're saying that I should do this what do you say they say well treat them harshly you know show me you're a man and so he takes the advice of the younger guys and when he takes the advice of the younger men the ones whom he had grown up with he speaks to to to to to Jeroboam and he says to him my father scourged you with whips but I'm gonna scourge you with scorpions my father you know he he it was like if you can compare the tree trunk to a small finger the weight that I'm gonna bring on you of oppression is going to be manifest much more and as a result we see the splitting of the kingdom and they say what do we have to do to do with you son of David we have no part of you because there were ten other tribes they they fled and they said every man to his town let's get out of here and they went and that's when the the whole nation was split into the northern and southern tribes it came because of bad advice and harsh treatment and that's what happens when you when you make decisions that are that are wrong and when he says there's a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt that was a time where he was ruling over others but the result of the way he treated them and things that were done is he ended up reaping the repercussions it's been said the one who has much from that one much will be required so we're going to reap what we've sown and we do so either here or when we stand before our judge he goes on in verse 10 I saw the wicked buried it who had come and gone from the place of holiness and and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done this also he says his vanity so he's he's reflecting on a funeral he attended and the result of attending the funeral caused Solomon to think remember what he had said earlier what he had said in chapter 7 verse 2 it's better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting for that is the end of all men the living will take it to heart well he was taking notice of this at a funeral he took notice of the person had been buried this one was someone who had come and gone from what he calls the place of holiness so the place of holiness can be referring to a position of judge he was one who administered the law and the judges described as wicked which would mean that he was unrighteous he had been given a sacred duty but he didn't honor the office and though his funeral had great fanfare well he was quickly forgotten because he was evil and so he's saying I saw this this is a man who was maybe something was said at his funeral they said nice things but the fact is he was forgotten his deeds were forgotten because he wasn't worthy of remembering in verse 11 because a sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully said in them to do evil well this verse connects with the thought that had just been expressed it speaks it speaks of people knowing the official was evil and seeing he got away with it so this means that people see that God delays judgment of the guilty that can lead to people thinking that God doesn't deal with sin this mistake can cause people to become hardened in their own sin so they're saying listen I read the Bible the Bible says a man reaps what he sows this guy's a liar he's a thief he's immoral and nothing happens as a matter of fact it seems like his life is charmed and he's blessed that means the things I've learned about God in his moral law probably doesn't apply or it means that God looks upon it with favor and doesn't have a problem with it maybe those conservative Christians we could bring it to the 21st century who are so judgmental and harsh you know look at these people's life seemed to be okay you say that that a sinner is gonna gonna reap consequences but look at them they got brand-new car they have a nice house the kids are doing well in school they take vacations nothing happens to them and you may be the kind of person who thinks if I even have a bad thought ever then heavens are gonna open up and God's gonna yell at me and a lightning bolt's gonna hit me and so it seems unfair and that's the whole point he's making here because judgment didn't occur quickly men's hearts can be hardened they think that God must wink at this but they don't realize that no God is giving to this person some space to repent time to repent and that's something that we shouldn't take for granted bottom line is is what they're doing ultimately will be judged but the Lord has a way of giving a space to repent and so we can see people who go to church even habitually they remain unchanged in the way that they live instead of becoming humble they become religiously prideful and so we think well maybe God just closes his eyes to this no that's not true so the application to this when he says the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully said in them to do evil the application to this is a warning deal with sin quickly don't let it become entrenched in your life just because the Lord doesn't seem to deal with it immediately doesn't mean it's not going to be dealt with somebody said so a thought reap an action so an action reap a habit so a habit reap a character so a character reap a destiny so be aware be aware verse 12 though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his days are prolonged yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God who fear before him but it will not be well with the wicked nor will he prolong his days which are a shadow because he does not fear before God sometimes evil people seem to live longer lives and again they seem to get away with so much evil again don't take God's patience for granted don't mistake it for approval or permission be careful not to you see the fear of the Lord is what secures God's approval and his blessings in our lives the evil man may live longer but he doesn't escape judgment even if he lives many years there's still a shadow in the light of eternity it's like what James said in chapter 4 verse 14 what is your life it's even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away verse 14 there is a vanity which occurs on earth that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked again there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous I said that this also is vanity so wicked people again seem to get the praise that should be reserved for the righteous he noticed something that our kids notice as a matter of fact those of you are raising kids when they were younger may remember something that they said to you my kids said this it's not fair that's one of the first things they ever said the first word they ever said was no the second sentence they ever gave was it's not fair they have this amazing sense of justice apparently and so they say it's just not fair life doesn't seem to be fair if it were fair good people would live long lives evil would die young some lazy thieves live better than hard-working people this just isn't fair and in some ways you see that that's part of life that life seems to be unequally it seems that there are unfair things happening all the time I was talking to a guy today who was saying to me that he is a he's a guy who works construction he rebuilds bedrooms and you know he does interior construction and he was talking to me about somebody that that we both know and he said I used to work with him he says I don't work with him any longer I said really he goes yeah he said he had called me up and asked me to design something for him he said so I did he said I I basically ordered all the all the pieces it was a construction of some bathroom or something he said I ordered all the pieces I gave him all the ideas for how to do it he got it all put together it was he said it was so good they they they had some kind of competition and his design this friend mine's design and work actually won a very major competition but the guy he was working with never gave him credit for it at all he took all the credit and received all the awards for himself and so that I was thinking of that as I was going through this life sometimes doesn't seem to be fair you do all of this and and it doesn't work out for you and so at least it appears that way and he's saying it verse 14 there's a vanity which occurs on earth that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked again there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous I said this is also vanity so I commended enjoyment because a man has nothing better under the Sun than to eat drink and be merry for this will remain with him in in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the Sun when I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth even though one sees no sleep day or night then I saw all the works of God that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the Sun for though for though a man labors to discover it yet he will not find it moreover though a wise man attempts to know it he will not be able to find it and so instead of becoming frustrated over the unfairness learn to simply enjoy life the wheel of justice turns slowly don't wonder why people go unpunished learn to enjoy life for what it is allow God to sort out how to deal with people listen if you are always wondering when are you gonna get what you deserve you're gonna waste a lot of your life you really are you know and I have to tell you I'm at that age now where I realize that there's been there have been seasons of my life that have been wasted in that way just Lord what are you gonna do with that guy how can he get away with it you know it's wrong and he doesn't listen when corrected and and then the Lord says you know let me take care of him I'll take care of it in my time and I have come to realize that God has been merciful to me so many times I'm so grateful that he has extended his grace to me in periods of my life when when perhaps it could have been he could have dealt with me quicker but he didn't he allowed me to come to the end of myself so that I could finally realize that without him and without his help everything was futile and useless you know you've got the Apostle Peter and you've got the Apostle John and and Jesus is speaking to the Apostle Peter and he says to him something like when you were young you would dress yourself and go where you want to go when you're old somebody's gonna dress you and take you where you don't want to go and John says and this he was speaking concerning the death that he would glorify God with he's speaking of his martyrdom and so what is Peter's response to that you know the story what does he do there's John so he says what about him look at if I'm gonna die how about him can he die too that's kind of where Peter's mind was if I'm gonna die how about him can we die together and what is Jesus's response keep this in mind he says what does he got to do with you you follow me I memorized that a long time ago what does he got to do with you you follow me who are you to judge another man's servant his own master he will stand or he will fall God will God is able to make him to stand Paul told the Romans and that's true who are you to judge another man's servant to his master he answers and when I've gone to learn that my life goes a lot better but as he's speaking here again he says a man has nothing better under the Sun than to eat and drink in other words enjoy your life he says in verse 16 when I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth even though one sees no sleep day or night I saw the work of God that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the Sun for though a man's labors to labor though a man labors to discover it yet he will not find it moreover though a wise man attempts to know it he'll not be able to find it and so I applied my heart to this he was the wisest man alive he understood that life was beyond comprehension now somebody once said our knowledge is a receding mirage in an expanding desert of ignorance God does not expect us to know that which is unknowable there are simply many things that we can never expect to know and by the way an awareness of ignorance is a major step towards acquiring knowledge when I started going to school as a young man one of the first lessons I began to learn is the more I knew the more ignorant I was aware of myself for being I didn't come out smarter I came out with more questions and there's a certain wisdom in knowing that no matter how long you study there's more to learn so just keep your hand to the plow keep applying yourself to wisdom and watch what the Lord will do wisdom is important to the one who wants to get the most out of life and pursuing wisdom should be our goal but we need to realize that there's always more to learn that shouldn't deter us it should motivate us like Proverbs four seven wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and all you're getting get understanding the pursuit of knowledge the knowledge of the Lord the knowledge of his ways is a never-ending pursuit don't ever get tired of pursuing the Lord God's the wisdom God gives to you is like layers there's a depth to it you will read the scriptures and you'll get a certain level of understanding and you can come back to that same scripture a year later and you see something deeper in it and you can come back a year later and there's more to because as you begin to plumb the things of the Lord you start seeing the depth of God you start taking that scripture and comparing it to this scripture then you build up and you get a deeper understanding then you get those two scriptures and you see how it ties into this other scripture and so my life has been that as a as a Christian and as a pastor the first Bible studies I ever gave back in 1973 the first Bible studies were as shallow as a 23-year-old's Bible studies were going to be I was only two and a half years old in Christ when I began to try and communicate the depth of the Lord in some ways that's just kind of a ridiculous thing when I think about it and yet the Lord was very gracious and the little surface understanding I gained at that time has become a foundation for me for all the other things that he built on that over all of these years and the first lessons you learn sometimes are the deepest lessons but they have to be fleshed out by other scripture and other experiences and then you gain this wisdom in a heart of understanding and then one day you finally say Lord I get it and then he takes you you die I get it and then you see him face to face and that's what it's all about isn't it so don't ever get tired of pursuing the Lord don't get tired of his word because then it is life