 Let's begin reading here. I'm going to introduce by just reading verse one We're going to be reading to actually looking at verses one through twenty But I'll begin with verse one and I'm going to spend a good portion of our study Just looking at verse one and then picking up and moving through until we close tonight study at verse 20. So Solomon begins at verse one in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 by saying a Good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death Than the day of one's birth So he's opening up chapter 7 by letting us know letting his readers know what makes life better that word better is A word that means something that is esteemed as valuable or something that is excellent So in the first 10 verses of chapter 7 Solomon is going to use the word better eight times and So he's winding us to know what makes life better And so the very first thing he begins with here in chapter 7 verse 1 The first thing that is better is having a good name a good name We all know that is as having a good reputation if you will now as we've been going through Ecclesiastes Solomon has seen what people value They value novelties. They value worldly wisdom. They value fame They value having a good time. They they value unlimited sexual pleasure or luxury homes with gardens and vineyards They value silver and gold or beautiful music personal achievements They value power over people They value outward religion and they also value the things that are gained by working hard and all of these things Have one thing in common and it's the one thing in common that he's been pointing out to Throughout the several chapters. We've already looked at all of these things have one thing in common and that is this they are Unsatisfying to the soul in chapter 6 verse 7. He said all the labor of man is good for his mouth And yet the soul is not satisfied So what could be even remotely better than all the things that someone has gained? Well, he says having a good name having a good reputation is better And he makes it clear. He says a good name verse 7 verse 1 chapter 7 a good name is better than precious ointment and so when he says a good name is better than precious ointment he's saying that a good name is better than Expensive luxury items at that time precious ointment was greatly valued. It was pleasing to people. It had pleasant fragrance is very useful But he's saying a good reputation is better than having this expensive luxury item Now it's something similar to what he had said in what has written rather in the book of Proverbs in Proverbs 22 verse 1 where it says a Good name is to be chosen rather than great riches Loving favor rather than silver and gold So precious ointment was highly regarded in Israel possessing it was an evidence of your financial status If you had it it could be a source of financial security Against future difficulties. You see if I found myself in a pinch in a financial crunch I could sell it and I'd have money. I could live comfortably So it was something that was an evidence of my personal value in terms of my financial worth, but it's also a source of security Precious ointment is something you find in the scriptures that is used Normally on special occasions, and I'll give you one example. It's found in John chapter 12 Where it speaks there in verses 2 through 5 in this way it speaks of how they made Jesus They made him a supper and Martha served but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him And Mary took a pound of very costly oil of sphagnard Anointed the feet of Jesus wiped his feet with their hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil Then one of his disciples Judas Iscariot Simon's son who would betray him said Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 dinari and given to the poor? So it was a valuable item that he's speaking about a good name He's saying is better than precious ointment precious ointment was a material thing that people like they wanted to possess They gave him security and he's saying it's better to have a good reputation than than to be financially rich to be materially rich Well, why would that be well one obvious reason is is that rich people don't always have good names You don't always associate virtue with a wealthy person You don't speak about the goodness of certain people who are very rich they very often You don't think of people who are of great wealth as being also having great virtue. You just don't and So rich people don't always have good names and when they die Sometimes there's no one even to speak well of them at their funeral. We saw that in chapter 6 verse 3 and So it's better to have a good reputation It's interesting how he goes on and says the day of death is better than day of one's birth So he's saying that when you're born your whole life is before you there's so many things you can do There's so many paths that you can and will take So he's saying with that in mind live daily in preparation for the day that you die Live in a way that secures a good reputation When your death comes there'll be many who will have been blessed by you and That results in people actually saying good things about you at your funeral I've said this before I I think of it when I teach on this particular subject I've said that I want to live in such a way that when my sons or daughters eulogize me Eulogize the word eulogize is a Greek word Simply means saying good things or speaking good words when they eulogize me. I don't want them to lie. I Don't want them to come up and say all my dad was this and my dad was that when in fact I wasn't I think it's very sad when When a son can't say a good thing about the father So what I've tried to do is I've tried to live a life that would Enable my sons and my daughters the day that they come and speak of my going home Which they will or else they're not getting an inheritance. That's That's in their living trust I Would never want them to come up and say things about me that weren't wasn't true I want them to be able to say this is the man that I grew up with This is the man that raised me and say good things and that's how you want to live by the way You don't want and somebody to welcome and say, you know, man They had the greatest car and look at his body in the in that in that in that casket. Look at those biceps. You really That's not really The thing that you want to hear. Let me share something. It's more personal for a moment here I was taught by my father to seek to have a good reputation For me when I grew up I learned this from my father. My father didn't speak much, but when he did I listened and He taught me Some things that are very important to me to this day when my father when I was growing up for my father his reputation and his integrity were very high in his personal priorities very high and He tried to instill honor and integrity into me his son and at first obviously it didn't appear that he succeeded But after I came to faith in Christ those things that I I respected my father became part of who I am and My dad taught me some things my dad taught me to work and to work hard He he taught me to live modestly. He taught me to love my wife and to love my kids My father taught me to have good credit My father provided a roof and food and clothing, but my father never spent needlessly My father would pay his bills before he bought groceries Vacations for us as a family were luxuries Going out to eat Very occasional. I don't even I don't even remember my father taking us to anything called a restaurant More than maybe one time in my life He was so cheap. No, it was We just didn't if we were if we're eating anything. It may be a hamburger You know, but we didn't go to restaurants. That wasn't part of our life. That wasn't part of our diet My dad didn't spend money on things that he didn't need my dad didn't spend money on things that were not necessities My father's credit meant everything to him because his credit was his name. It was his reputation So he took care of his bills and he would pay for his bills He'd pay his bills before he bought us something to eat and sometimes We didn't have that much because as I grew up my mother was ill And so my father spent a lot of money as I grew up as a little boy He spent a lot of money on doctor bills and so he worked two jobs sometimes My dad was a truck driver, but he also did upholstery on the side And I can still remember looking out from the window of the house into the garage seeing my father working late as he Was upholstering so he could make some extra money. That was my dad And so when people talk about their luxury vacations and going to the hotels and eating at these special restaurants You know, there's nothing wrong with that and I'm not saying there is what I'm saying is I didn't grow up that way I Grew up with a man who was responsible a man who took care of his family a man who paid his bills a man Who put food on the table a man who paid for his house make sure his house was taking care of those kinds of things And he taught me that and he taught me that my my reputation was everything And at the end when my father went home to be with the Lord I found out that the simple things of life are the most important things to him Having a good name for him respect was expected But it was also earned and he lived in such a way that it was retained and Though others may not respect him. He made sure this family did and I learned that from my dad I learned that having a good reputation having integrity having a Having a this good name is Very important. I think every man in this room ought to believe the same thing That your name your reputation ought to mean something now me coming from a Hispanic background I don't know what it's like in other cultures forgive me if it sounds self-serving, but from a Hispanic my father said my We would speak about our name in a different way My mom would say that's your father's name and that meant something to me That's your father's integrity. That's your father's reputation. My mom would say your father's respected in the neighborhood Don't do anything to bring dishonor to his name. So this word here a good name. I would I grew up with it I understand what that means. I Understand it's speaking about a man's reputation It's who the man is when he doesn't know somebody's when he's what it's what a man is when nobody's watching Because sometimes people can be something in front of people that they're not by themselves So a good name is something that doesn't just begin in the outside. It's something that begins in the inside It's something that you are always always and That to me is of high value Now I'll go back for a minute when he says in verse 1 the day of one's birth and the day of one's death Well, when he speaks of that he's contrasting to things what he's really Contrasting in the way we speak today would be your birth announcement with your obituary and What happens between the day of your birth and the day of your death what happens between those two days? Will determine how you're remembered If you lived righteously your day of death is better. Why because it reveals that you had a good life Remember this that the headstones that you see in the graveyards and all Remember that a headstone has two numbers that is that are separated by a hyphen my dad's is 1927 hyphen 2001 1927 hyphen 2001 everything in your life is that hyphen Everything is that hyphen From those years that was you and he's saying a good man for a good man His death announcement will be one that is filled with honor The things that are said about him will reveal a life that was well spent and in the end That is really what I aspire to you know The day is going to come and it's not that long now every day is closer That I'll be going home to be with the Lord. It's not a day that I'm afraid of it's a day I embrace I look forward to it to be with him But every day that I live is one day closer to that day And I don't fear it what I want to do is be prepared for it Because I don't want people to remember me. I'll say it this way to you. I probably won't say this again Till tomorrow. No, I won't say this again but I I Don't want to be remembered for having Been a pastor of a good church. I Don't want people to remember me as pastor David what I want them to remember me is It's a man who loved his wife a Man forgive me a man who loved his children and a man who loved his grandchildren I want to be that man Not the pastor It's just a fact because people will forget I've told John this and he gets bugged when I say but it's true I've said one day comes. I'll close the door. I'll walk out. I won't be the pastor of this fellowship God will have somebody else and the people will embrace him and I'll be forgotten and that's okay That's all right because I only had a certain time. I was supposed to be there It's all right whoever comes in after me. They love him and serve the Lord with him and all of that So the people in the church will forget me, but my wife never will My kids never will My grandchildren never will and that's what matters to me And I want to be remembered as a good man who loved the Lord and was faithful To his God and his family and to his church and to his church and so a good name It's to be desired The announcement when he's gone will be one that is good Now he moves on in verse 2 and says better to better to go to the house of mourning Then to the house of feasting for that's the end of all men and the living will take it to heart So better to go to the house of mourning. Why is that? Well funerals remind us That this is the end of all men We all one day he's saying will die and this knowledge should produce a sobriety in us There are those who say well, let us eat and drink for tomorrow. We die But we're not to do that Instead what we do is spend a life preparing for that inevitability and so it's better to go to the house of mourning it reminds us of The frailty of our life verse 3 sorrow. He says is better Sorrow is better than laughter for by a sad count and it's the heart is made better and so sorrow has a way of refining our faith it has a way of Removing the garbage we carry around that doesn't matter Lightning that load so that the things that we do embracing carry are the things that do matter Sorrow has a way of refining us. It sharpens our vision of eternity the result is a sober awareness of how brief life can be and Because it is you prepare Now remember that Solomon has grown older and he has seen many people die Including his own father So experiencing such deep things has made him much more aware of what really does matter in Psalm 39 verse 4 Lord make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days? That I may know how frail I am Psalm 90 verse 12 teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom Now obviously It's more pleasant to laugh and enjoy ourselves, but where do we really learn the best lessons? He says the heart in verse 4 the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth And so obviously the deeper lessons we learn come through the times of the sorrow and the difficulty Remember that when Adam fell sin entered in and death because of sin and the ground that once produced Bountifully was cursed God said in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life in Genesis 3 17 So Adam you will have toil and you will have grief The hard toil will produce dissatisfaction with life under a curse Now earlier in Ecclesiastes 3 11 Solomon said that God has put eternity in our hearts an Awareness of its end so that produces within us a longing for something greater It produces in us a longing for someone to help us So you can have every material thing you desire, but you're empty spiritually Money's needed But it can't buy peace and contentment Ecclesiastes 612 says all the days of our vain lives pass like a shadow So Christian funerals serve to remind us of that reality the fear of death that grips our hearts is Defeated by faith in Jesus Christ and the fear is overcome by our knowledge that Christ overcame death on our behalf In Hebrews 2 14 and 15 it says in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood He himself likewise shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death That is the devil and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetimes subject to bondage subject to bondage I Still see people behind counters with their masks on That trips me up. I want to slap them But they still have their masks on They still buying into that Even though it's been demonstrated that the masks are wearing are completely useless, but they're wearing them. Why why do they do that? Why are we like sheep? Why do we believe everything that said to us? What is it? It's because we're trying to preserve ourselves because we're afraid to die No, I'm not saying go run in front of a car on the freeway right now You don't go to heaven. I'm not saying that don't tempt the Lord. You're God What I'm saying is don't live in fear either Don't live in fear either You know the awareness of my my my one day going home shouldn't be something that I'm frightened about Because the fear of death. Oh, like Paul said, oh death, where's your sting? Oh grave. Where's your victory? You know, there is no there is no victory. We already have it in Christ That doesn't have the victory over us. Jesus already has victory over it So what I have is eternal life and I have an appointment an appointment to see him one day It's appointed and demanded I once and after this judgment So I have an appointment So I don't have to be afraid of it and the Christian funerals when you go to one It reminds you it reminds you the shortness of your life. It reminds you I mean we have we've had you know one of the things and when we get to chapter 12 It's a chapter I've grown to understand a little bit more because chapter 12 is talking about being an old geezer And I've grown to understand it a bit more through my experiences in life I understand much of what he's saying on a personal level now When you're young you're gonna live forever You can do anything you can eat anything you can stay up late and go to work, you know, and now New Year's was that I'm gonna stay up late tonight. I'm gonna go to bed at 9 30 and so We do everything when we're young thinking we're gonna live forever But as you grow older you begin to realize they should be preparing to meet your maker And you should be preparing others to meet him too. That's what our ministry is all about, isn't it? And we should encourage people to know the life they can have in Jesus Christ He goes on in verse 4 and he says the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning The heart of fools is in the house of mirth So the truly wise will live with sobriety. They're aware that life is brief and James 4 verse 14 why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow What is your life? He said you're a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes So knowing this has given them the ability to enjoy life as they prepare for eternity He goes on in verse 5 and says it is better. It's better to hear the rebuke of the wise Then for a man to hear the song of fools For like the crackling of thorns under a pot So is the laughter of the fool This also is vanity Solomon compares wise correction with the sound of thorns that are burning Crackling thorns produce a noise, but they don't produce lasting good So what is he saying? He's saying listen be a person who is able to receive correction an ability to receive deserved correction Will be a blessing to you And it encourages you in your growth Proverbs 1710 says rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool If you're wise to listen to correction when it's deserved It's a good thing for you because you'll be able to grow by it in verse 7 surely oppression destroys a wise man Reap man's reason and a bribe debases the heart When he speaks of oppression, that's speaking of extortion So even a wise man's judgment can be clouded when money's involved in Exodus 238 you shall take no bribe for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous And so he's saying be very careful that you can't be bought. That's integrity once again In verse 8 the end of a thing is better than it's beginning the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit These are proverbs, but each one has a rich kind of meaning to it when he says the end of the thing is better than it's beginning We don't know the results of something we're doing when we first begin to do it So we patiently wait for the results and we'll see that it was Something good, you know the first time I asked Marie my Wife the first time I asked her out on a date. I Didn't know what the end would be. I didn't know that she was going to bewitch me with her charm. I Didn't know what the results were gonna be and Very often we really don't So a lot of times what happens is the end is so much better than the beginning We patiently wait and as you wait the results begin to show themselves And it reveals whether it was good or whether it wasn't good now Sometimes that journey is filled with elements that develop our faith and our character and when we come to its conclusion We find that we've learned many things sometimes you'll start out something with something And it doesn't seem to be going the way that you wanted it to and you struggle and you have tough times and Sometimes some tears sometimes some agony sometimes disappointment But then you hold on because you know it's what you should be doing and you know It's where you're supposed to be and then it seems to just straighten itself out sometimes And then you realize that those afflictions and the things you went through were part of the way that you were growing in your understanding your love or your faith and Sometimes something seems good at first, but it ends up being anything but good Again, you never really know if it's good until it concludes or runs its course When we determine our own path though, we can suffer eternal consequences When we reject God's direction and his standards, we reap those consequences Proverbs 13 15 says good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard So the end would not be better than the beginning for that But on the other hand when our ways please the Lord our lives are blessed That's because the Lord's hand of blessing is on you all the days of your life and even during the more difficult times You know that you're never alone You know that you're never alone If there's anything that the Lord wants me to remember always, it's that one thing every one of us have different elements in our life that that God wanted to work on certain things within us that That were at the key for him to get hold of your heart for me. It was loneliness For me, it was loneliness. My mom was the only woman in the in our neighborhood who had a job That's common now. It wasn't common when I grew up in my neighborhood All the mama stayed home I only I was the only one who didn't have a mom at home And I would come home when I was five and six years old and seven years old And when I was seven and eight and nine I'd be taking care of my little sisters when I was nine ten eleven And so I grew up in a very lonely Environment and I didn't know if anybody ever loved me or cared for me as a kid. I thought that I was abandoned and rejected So I tried to find relationships. I tried to find love through a woman And in fact is there was no woman alive who could love me as much as I needed to be loved And that's how come it was easier for Christ to get hold of me because he said I'm the one who'll never leave you I'll never forsake you. I'll be with you always Always, you know, and one of the words that God gave to me was out of the gospel of John And Jesus said I am alone and yet I'm not alone for you are with me and those were things that mattered to me What was it that mattered to you? Those are the things that that that give us I think hope in the end and and a knowledge of of what what what God's all About what love actually is and sometimes we go through things in in our relationships that make us question whether or not This is a wise choice or should we have and but you hold on and as you hold on you begin to learn lessons that you would never have Learned any other way and you discover what love truly is and what relationship truly is and what faith and God truly is But it takes time But all these things that you go through work together for the good of those who love God to those who are the called according to His purpose So we hold on because over a lifetime We'll see that the Lord was with us through all of our difficulties In verse 9 he says do not hasten in your spirit to be angry Anger rests in the bosom of fools do not say why were the former days better than these For you do not inquire wisely concerning this During difficulties it's easy to get angry at the Lord and to blame him To blame him for our circumstances. We can lash out We can live miserable lives We can be mad at God for everything that's happening around us He says in verse 10 we can even say it was better in the old days There are the Lord there are those who who've come to faith in Christ and they came out of a you know bad situation whatever it may be they came out of a bad situation and And they have a joy when they get saved but they go through a dry season and After a while they begin to think man, I made a bad choice. You know, what am I doing now? It's Friday night. He's a party on Friday party on Saturday. I don't have any friends anymore They're all you know when I became a Christian they rejected me so I'm by myself here in the house I'm lonely and you can be tempted to think that the days that you had prior to Christ Or better than the ones that you're living right now There are a lot of people Who especially as I remember back in the Jesus movement were very excited that they were getting quote-unquote saved But after a while they got bored and they went back to the old life like the the pig It went back to the mud like the dog that went back to the vomit They went back to those old lives why because the enemy was whispering and saying to them in their in their heart Whispering in their ear if you will, you know, it was better in the old days You had friends you had things going on yet parties you you know and he did that to me He did that to me and I had to remember. I had to I had to consciously remember It wasn't fun Getting so drunk that I Vomited all over myself. That was not fun. It wasn't fun getting arrested three times for drunk related Crimes. Yeah, that was not fun You know, I was in jail and I'm leaning on the floor and my best friend is vomiting all over my face That was not fun and yet the enemy tells you oh it was It was fun. It was great. Man. You were really living No, that's why I got saved Because I didn't want that anymore because they didn't like the anger. I didn't like the I didn't like the alcoholism I didn't like doing the drugs. I didn't like those things anymore. Those things were killing me the About a month and a half before I got saved I've never been a big person. I've always been a small man, but I I weighed about a hundred and seventy seven pounds and I went down to a hundred and forty in a month Because they stopped eating I Was only drinking and smoking pot For 30 days. I didn't eat. I need an occasional sandwich and I dropped all this weight You know, my life was just spinning down spinning down One step at a time once that I started doing crazy things. I started doing crazy things. I Drank all about three-quarters of a half gallon of wine and drop five reds and Anybody who knows what red is a lily a forty second. I'll whatever you call them downers They'll kill you and I almost died. I was in the back seat of my station wagon actually and I had made it into a bed and I was almost died I Felt myself wanting to vomit and I knew a guy named Freddie Reyes and Freddie Reyes had died Drowning in his own vomit. He had done exactly what I had done He had dropped a lot of reds and drank wine. It paralyzes you and you can't move your head And I was laying on ice to remember with my laying on my back beginning to dry heave and I knew That if I should start to vomit I couldn't move my head. I was going to drown myself in my own vomit Those are the good old days, right? Those are the good days. Those are the days you want to go back to, right? Well, that's what he's saying here He's saying this that's there's no way that we should be saying why were the former days better than these? Are you kidding me? No, they weren't better. That's why we got saved What are we to do? Well, I learned to remain as close as I can to the Lord to trust the Lord To bring me through whatever it is that I'm experiencing in James 5 11 indeed We count them blessed to endure you've heard of the perseverance of Job and seeing the end Intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful Hold on it gets better in Verse 11 he says wisdom is good with an inheritance Inheritance profitable to those who see the Sun for wisdom is the defense as money is the defense But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it So wisdom he's saying is better Why well because money can lose its value through inflation or money can be stolen It can be lost through poor investments. It could be misplaced So wisdom is good. It's better, but it's better with an inheritance Why why is that why is wisdom better with an inheritance because someone can foolishly misuse their inheritance? They can receive something and just go crazy with it Sometimes these people who win the lottery quote-unquote when they win the lottery Sometimes these people because they don't know how to handle money They get worse and they don't get any better and they get broke very very quickly So let me give you some practical advice my as well. Why not? We need to remember that we are responsible to steward our finances Now as a parent, I'm gonna speak as a parent for a moment as a parent Do your best to train your child to put the kingdom of God first Live in such a way that they know you do I remember on one occasion I spoke to my son Joseph who was young a younger boy at that time And I and this is what I'm trying to illustrate it with I say this with say this As an illustration I said to him I said Joseph. What is it that your father loves? I want to know Tell me and don't hold back. Tell me the truth What is it that your father loves and I wanted to hear because I wanted to give myself a score If you will test myself to see if I was succeeding or not with him. He was in his teens and it's a Joseph What do I really love And he looked at me and he said you love the Lord That was what I wanted to hear That's the best thing you could hear. I didn't want him to say well You love sports or you love your car or you love mowing your lawn or you I wanted to hear that first That's a that's how I live. That's how I I think we all should live And so I think that it's very important for us to train our children in the things of of God As as you watch them grow sometimes you'll see that they can be irresponsible with money So it's a great error to leave a large sum of money to someone who's irresponsible Because they're gonna go out maybe buy a car by house take expensive vacations buy some clothes and then just waste the money So your finances cease being used in the kingdom and your rewards Conclude remember that your finances continue reaping dividends after you die in Philippians 417 Paul said it like this. He said not that I seek the gift But I seek the fruit that abounds to your account So don't leave a large amount of money to someone who's going to misuse it My advice again, I'm just trying to make this practical at this point meet with a financial planner Somebody's who's good at it develop a strategy If you're leaving in an inheritance develop a strategy of dividing that inheritance Establish sums that each one will get and If you if you can set up a schedule depending on their age and their maturity I mean if you have young children and you leave them a life insurance policy and the home and all of that Leave them leave them with a schedule have a schedule appoint an executor who can follow the orders in your living trust We set up a living trust for our children when When my father went home in 2001, I Never had had any financial Plans at that at that point and I realized that because my father died my father left my mother a house in $10,000 in life insurance She had to sell the house to live my father didn't set anything up for and and none of the children None of us wanted any inheritance. We wanted my dad not what he had But none of us really received anything either because dad didn't leave anything behind and So I learned at that time and I went to a financial planner And I said help me set up a living trust and I want to divide this with my children and my children a certain age right now And so I wanted to be set up that they receive things in stages because they're too young at this moment to handle Anything I'd leave them. Maybe they'd be tempted to use it for something. They didn't need so make make those plans think it through and If you're young, it's it's never too soon to start putting something away So that one day you may may have something to leave something behind for somebody else You're not doing them any favors and your finances sees benefiting the kingdom when you're not responsible He says in verse 12 wisdom is a defense as money is the defense so money provides for you in difficult times But it doesn't buy your way into heaven Why is that well wisdom is from above and that's what provides for you here and that's what gets you there He says in verse 13 consider the work of God for who can make straight what he has made crooked in The day of prosperity be joyful in the day of adversity consider Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other so that men can find out nothing that will come after him So consider the work of God learn to cooperate with what you have no power to change Instead of kicking against God's will learn to trust his wisdom Verse 14 in the day of prosperity be joyful in the days of adversity consider So Solomon is counseling us to be balanced have an eternal perspective When our lives are blessed and all goes well rejoice be thankful for God's blessings enjoy them Remember it's God who's blessed you be grateful When we go through hard times learn through the affliction Remember that the things you go through are not without good results So God gives us blessings to keep us happy and burdens to keep us humble In verse 15, I've seen everything in my days of vanity. There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness There's a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness Well, that's an interesting thing. I've seen good people die young and scoundrels live long lives I had to question that one when my father went home to be with the Lord and I saw other people that just didn't live for Christ and knowing my dad did and I had I wrestled with that and One day the Lord finally gave me peace by reminding me that he gives people space to repent And my father was ready to meet Jesus and there are others who don't and so rather than me saying How come that scoundrel over there has got all of this, you know, and my dad's a good man He left my mother with nothing The Lord says no, I'm giving them time to repent Verse 16 says do not be overly righteous nor overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? That's interesting He's saying he's he's saying don't be a hypocrite. He's condemning hypocrisy and the arrogance of the spiritually proud When he says don't be overly righteous That's that's the hypocrite who is who who is is Giving the impression that he's more than he really is and when it speaks to being overly wise That's the arrogant person who who's always answering like if you say something to them They always have well, you know what the Bible says and and you know that they're just quoting scripture But they don't know what they're talking about and sometimes that bothers me when people want to come for me with words That they're not living themselves So don't be overly righteous and don't be overly wise He's condemning hypocrisy He goes on in verse 17 do not be overly wicked nor be foolish. Why should you die before your time? So some people who are wicked live long lives and Just because this is true shouldn't provoke a person to choose to do evil just because they live long lives Doesn't mean they won't receive justice So if you're overly wicked you may do something to shorten your life So don't live such an evil life that you end up in a premature death And finally he goes on Verse 18 finally it is good that you grasp this and and also not remove your hand from the other for he who fears God will escape them all wisdom strengthens the wise more than 10 rules of the city for there is Not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin and So there's an internal strength that comes from wisdom Proverbs 24 5 says a wise man is strong. Yes a man of knowledge increases strength It is more important than any other human quality The strongest people I have ever met the strongest people I've ever met Are not big powerful weight lifter type people. There were people with integrity and character There were people there were there were there were people who knew their God There were people that I could trust They were not compromises and I people like me I look for people like that in my life. I want them to be a help to me I want to have an example. That's what my pastor Chuck Smith was to me Is it was an example of someone who stood strong with the Lord and that's what I think we need So wisdom strengthens you it's an internal strength that you have But it says that 10 cities devoid of wisdom are not as needed as one has it so they may have Intelligence and they may be strong but without wisdom. They're useless without wisdom They're not able to protect the people of the city and then finally There is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin So that's an obvious thing, but let's close with a couple scriptures to remind us of that I think it's very important. I should say this and then I'll go on and close Be very careful That you don't how do I want to put this Be very careful that you don't trust in man more than God and what do I mean me that you already know that But I've said this before if you trust me completely. I am sure I'm going to disappoint you. I Know I'm going to why human beings disappoint each other What's gonna keep me from doing that to you and People say I don't want to go to church because that pastor is a hypocrite. He's he preaches one thing and he's another Well, I don't go to church so that I that I can find perfect people I I go to church because I know I need help to become a better person and that happens through to the word and the spirit and in my life, I've had men that I Regarded highly and the Lord taught me a long time ago To keep my eyes on him many years ago. There was a pastor in my life that I appreciated an awful lot I really did I won't give his name. It wasn't pastor Chuck was another fellow and He he was very To me and I was a young believer. I was 23. I was a young believer 24 and I admired him and I asked a friend of mine to come with me to church because this guy Always gave invitations and many people were getting saved and I wanted my friend to to see what? Uh, what a powerful minister this guy was and I really had a lot of appreciation for him and so We went together someplace. He wouldn't come to the church with me But my pastor at that time the one I looked at as pastor in my life at that time Was there and he came up and I hit my friend and he said this is the guy that I've wanted you to hear And I'm thinking oh, you know, he'll see what a great guy. He is and what did he do? he He comes out and he says there are There are 50 people who have a $20 bill in your wallet right now Come and give it to God and he starts snapping his fingers telling people to come up and put money in some and Is there's 40 of you who have a hundred and he's calling out denominations of money? They have in the wallet and I'm just kind of shrinking in the seat I'm saying this is crazy and as I'm doing that this guy in front of me says who is this idiot? Anyway, this guy said and then like it's my pastor. No, I I'll never forget that I'll and the Lord the Lord taught me something. I've never forgotten Keep your eyes on me Keep your eyes on me because man will let you down. I will let you down I don't want to but I will because I do and So there's none good. No, not one. There's none righteous. No, not one There's not a single person even as he says not a just man on earth who does good and doesn't sin We know that Proverbs 20 verse 9 who can say I've made my heart clean. I'm pure for my sin and so The bottom line is every human being has to deal with that thing and every one of us needs forgiveness and So Solomon is just making very clear as he's going through these various things But there's one thing that is better and that's having a relationship with God That's the best thing that you can have and with that we'll stop here and we'll pick up next time at verse 21