Ecclesiastes, Part 4

Today is part 4, the finale, if you can say that, the finish to our four-part series on the Book of Ecclesiastes. And so I wanted to touch base on, for those of you who have been studying, for those of you who have not, I hope you will find that it's an incredible book that a lot of people do not read, but you will also find it very enlightening and very empowering when it comes to knowledge and wisdom.

And in part 1, we talked about the man and the author of being Solomon and how he wrote this at the end of his life. Part 2, we looked at the chapters 2 and 3 and other ones and saw the pursuits that he pursued in this quest to know everything and to find true happiness. And then part 3, which we did last week, we looked at some of the nuggets of gold, those nuggets that he left us in the inspired word of God so that we could not only learn from his mistakes, but also learn from his wisdom and hopefully not make some of those mistakes, and also use some of his incredible words to propel us towards the kingdom of God.

So today we come to part 4, which is actually the conclusion of the whole matter, put in his words, as we come to the end of this. And it's his life in a nutshell. He's 68 to 70 years old. He knows he's about to die or will die soon. And so after describing his life through this incredible book, he comes to the end and leaves us and his family and his sons and all that were left, his daughters, with hopefully some valuable insight into how to live their lives and how to find happiness.

Wisdom is a very valuable virtue. I think all of us would like to have more wisdom. All of us have said things that we wish we hadn't said. We have thought things we wish we hadn't thought because then they usually led us to actions that we wish we had not taken.

So in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon made probably every kind of mistake you could make. Hopefully we do not have to make those. But one of the things that he talks about in there is what comes out of our mouth. And that's why we're actually going through that since the Williams triplets came up with that Bible study for this afternoon, which is also very good because the book of James does talk about our tongue and what we say and what we shouldn't say and how that can affect our lives, can affect our future, and going to the true source of wisdom, as James points us to.

So we'll kind of go into that later. I had a man I knew growing up. He was about my father's age, but I did work for him off and on in the farming. We were farming. And I wouldn't call him a wise man. He's been probably called a wise other things, but not a wise man.

He told me, and I guess I was 13 or 14 working at the time, and he was a funny character to work with sometimes. But he talked about his wisdom. And he talked about a man that he knew, and I think he was talking about himself. He talked about a man that he knew whose wife was working at a business. It was an insurance business, I believe, at the time. And so he could tell after she had been there for a little while that obviously her boss thought a lot more of her than he should have.

And so this gentleman told me that he didn't want his wife to lose her job. He didn't want to make a scene, and he didn't want to put his wife in between a rock and a hard place. And so using his wisdom, he knew this was going on. And so he drove by the man's vehicle in the parking lot of where his wife worked one day, and he decided to leave a note on the man's window.

So you would think, well, that may be a mistake. But I said, well, what was on the note? Because he said it stopped. His wife came home and actually told him after this that everything had gotten so much better. And boy, she was so thankful for that. And he never said a word. Matter of fact, he said the man never told his wife. And I said, what was on that note?

And he said, the note said, a wise monkey don't monkey with another monkey's monkey. And I said, say that again. He said, a wise monkey does a monkey with another monkey's monkey. And the man got the message. And that's as wise of a saying that that man ever said, because most of his life, after that, spiraled down to a pathetic situation. To where I actually met him, where we were married, and actually felt sorry for him.

Because he didn't possess any wisdom. At one time, he went to the top of his field, made an incredible amount of money to which he lost at all within a matter of years. So I think about this individual, because he's passed on now. And I think about the knowledge and the wisdom he could have gotten by reading just the book of Ecclesiastes. Because he was a man that did not go to church, didn't really believe in God, believed in a lot of things, but not very many of them were good.

God did not leave us orphans, as you might say. God imparts wisdom to us. As a matter of fact, in James 1, we all know that it says, if you lack wisdom, if any of you lack wisdom, ask of God, who will give to all liberally and without reproach.

That's an instruction to us. So, godly wisdom is a gift, according to James. Have you asked lately for the gift of wisdom? Have you asked for more wisdom than you have now? I have, sometimes, though. Sometimes the wisdom does not come like I want it to. Sometimes that wisdom comes out of experience, doesn't it? It's interesting that we covered last week chapters 4 and 5 of Ecclesiastes. I'd like you to go there if you don't mind.

I'll read from the New Living Translation. Back to Ecclesiastes chapter 5, because one of the most poignant sayings there is in chapter 5. In verse 15 and 16, and I will read this to you from the New Living, verse 15 says, We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born.

We can't take our riches with us. Can't take our riches with us. And verse 16, and this too is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing like working for the wind. It's interesting, you can't take it with you. You hear that often. As a matter of fact, I'd like you to turn back to 1 Timothy 6, because I believe that's where Paul got this, as he was writing these words of wisdom to his adopted son, Timothy, in 1 Timothy 6. And I'll start in verse 7 from the New Living Translation.

He said, after all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So, if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content, as we heard about earlier, as we heard about last week. Verse 9, We can't take it with us. I think there was a song, I don't know what kind of song it was, I just remember the line that said, you've never seen a hearse hauling a yoo-hah.

Because once it's done, it's done. And so, he left us with these words so that we hopefully can enjoy life, enjoy what we have, enjoy the food that you eat, enjoy the bed you will sleep in tonight, enjoy the relationships you have, and enjoy your relationship with God. It's about the sum total. And he says it many, many times, that everything else is just grasping for the wind. All is vanity, or all is meaningless, as the different translations say.

Well, I would like to go to today, as we finish this up in chapter 10. I'll read from the New King James, chapter 10 of Ecclesiastes, if you don't mind going with me there. As we touch on these final words in 10, 11, and 12, various scriptures, but also I hope that we can come to the same conclusion at the end of our lives, whether it is today, because for some it can come today.

I know our minister, Dave Roensby, didn't expect last week to be his last week on earth, but it was, and none of us know exactly when. And so, while we live in this body, we should take care of it, but also learn to live with it, and live with some bit of satisfaction. I know people have different ideas of what success is. I know at one time I thought success was making a certain amount of money.

Well, when I got there, guess what? It wasn't this pinnacle I thought. It must be a job then. I found out that the job after a few years was just that, a job that you had to do. In chapter 10 and verse 8, it seems that he writes this, and I'm wondering, what's so great about this? Isn't this just simple stuff? Then I had to study it, and I read chapter 10 from the New King James in verse 8.

He said, he who digs a pit will fall into it. That's a nugget? That's gold? I think I go, wait a minute, anybody who digs a hole, you can fall into it. What's he... Wow! Did I miss something here? Then he said, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.

I thought, well, that's a negative way to look at things. That's a glass half-empty kind of guy. We're supposed to be learning something from his sky. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits wood may be endangered by it. And then verse 10, if any of you have ever chopped wood, anybody chopped wood?

Okay, yeah, we've got a few. Okay. I didn't have to be told this. I knew this one when I was Joshua's age. If the axe is dull, the one who does not sharpen the edge, and the one who does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength. But wisdom brings success as he brings it to the end. So I go, oh, I just couldn't really grasp that being something that would enhance my life.

This was the wisest and richest man to have ever walked on earth beside Jesus Christ. Then I started thinking about it. And he's writing not only to his Son, but he's writing to all those who will come behind him. And he who digs a pit will fall into it. What's he saying? Well, in today's language, you would actually say he's explaining to you Murphy's Law. Anybody know Murphy's Law? Right? If anything bad can happen, it's going to, basically. Right? So he's actually teaching us that we must think before we act.

I had a friend of mine. He had a farm not far from it, and they had to break up some rock. So he actually took the sledgehammer to break up this rock to move it. And he chipped off, and it went up and hit his eye. And he lost about half the sight in one eye. I was talking to him afterwards, and he said, You know, I just didn't take the time to go get some glasses on, because there was only going to be a couple slices of that rock that I needed to break off. He wished he'd have thought before he acted. Even though his parents had told him, you know, we have these goggles whenever you break something like that.

And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. Because you know there are things behind walls that we don't even know. And if someone took the time to break open a wall, it may be something that you want to check out first. Just little bitty saints here. But things that can actually change your life, as it would have changed the guy who is now 50-something years old, and his eyes are not as good as they used to be, and now he only has half of one. These are things not only for us, but they are things that we can teach other people.

We see in Deerfield Beach, where I live, there was a young man that lived, I think he lived in Boca, which is right next to us. And he decided about a week ago, he was 16 years old, to hijack a car, and from a valet at an actual restaurant. So he picked up the, stole the keys out of a car, out of a Mustang, jumped in the car, and of course, the police were not far behind him. And he actually ran through some lights until he came just south of Deerfield towards Pompano, and he hit a car, and he killed the woman in the car.

Killed her, and now he is, he was fine. Police got him. Now he'll probably spend the rest of his life in prison, or something close to it. He had no idea that that serpent was behind the wall. He had no idea that he could fall in the pit that he had dug. So there are many decisions you and I are going to make in our lifetime. There are some big ones you want to make sure that Solomon says you really need to think about.

Murphy's Law There used to be a famous book I read many years ago from the actual designer and creator of SEAL Team 6. He designed the team as an anti-terrorist team. And I remember so much in his book because he would actually bring up that when they planned a mission, like storming a cruise ship that was being held for ransom, oil well that was being held for ransom, he would design everything and go through this with his men, and they would go through every step they were going to take.

In great detail, and they would even build scale models to practice on so there was nothing left. And then the last thing they did before they left for the meeting, for their job or task, is he brought everybody in a room and they went through it one more time on paper. And by this time the guys were like, we got it, we can do this in our sleep. And then he would go, okay, Mr. Murphy's going to show up during this mission. Where's he going to show up?

Where would you think he's going to show up? And the last thing they did before they went on the mission was to think through everything that could go wrong. And one of the things that he said is, he told them, one of the reasons I want to do this is it's not an oil well.

It's not a ship. It's not a plane. It's people that matter. And every person matters. And we're sent in to rescue those people. They're waiting for somebody to rescue them. Wouldn't you want them to go through this last step? Very wise words. And I think of Solomon. This is what he's trying to tell us as his people. Think. Let's think. Chapter 10. Chapter 10 as we go to verse 11.

Said, A serpent may bite when it is not charmed. The babbler is no different. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up. The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, and the end of his talk is raving madness. Know many people like that? I have in the past. People that just babble on. You see them on TV all the time. I remember somebody telling me about the first time I ever saw the...what was that guy's name?

Now I forget the TV show. But there's a show like it. Mari Povich has it. And there was a guy that originally did it. What was it? Jerry Springer. Thank you, sir. And that's who I was. I had never seen the show. Jerry Springer. And I heard people talking about it. And so I said, well, let me see what it's about. And I watched one show. And it was like watching a train wreck. Right? And then you watched it again. Another show. And it was the same train wreck. Two different people. Right? And then I remember a man talking about the show on the radio. And he said, is this what TV has become? And he said, an endless parade of human debris. An endless parade of human debris. Because those people rattled on and on and come to find out. I did not know this till now there's other shows just like this Jerry Springer. There's three or four, as I've heard. And the one thing they all have in common when they were talking about it is they bring these people with their very destructive lives and their way of life. And they put them on a stage like trained animals. But the one thing they all have in common on an article I read is they have what they call the green room. Before you go on TV, it's this room where you're holding and then you're ready. And the one thing they do is they have all kinds of alcohol. They let them have as much alcohol as you could possibly want.

Destruction.

Solomon and Sane, a fool also multiplies words. No one knows. What is to be? Who can tell him what will be after him? Are we learning that less words are usually better than more? Especially when somebody pushes your buttons. Somebody gets you upset. I find it very interesting that when you watch the presidential debates, sometimes it's the one who says the least. It certainly looks the smartest. In verse 20 of chapter 10, he said, Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

But what is he telling us? Let's watch what we say. We throw around words, and this impulsive, petulant tongue that we all have tends to say more than what is required. And you know, it's interesting. It's only about three, three and a half inches long. And it causes us more problems than about anything. And Solomon is trying to say, because, you know, he judged the entire nation.

And he was king, and he was wise. And people came before him to get a rendering of their issues. And don't you know that he had heard previously about someone from someone who then showed up in front of him? And as they were before him, he probably said, I wish I didn't know what I know about them.

A little mystery in life is not that bad. And he tells us to watch the tongue. Like you go to chapter 11. Chapter 11. Read this from the New Living Translation. It actually says in the New King James, chapter 11, verse 1, said, Cast your bread upon the waters.

I always heard that growing up. Never really understood it. Of course, with Solomon being so wise and so rich, he had his ships. And he cast the bread of that nation all across the world, as he sent those ships out to do business.

And would bring things in that they didn't have and ship things out, that they had plenty of. But in the New King James, he said, Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Giving a servant to seven and also to eight. And I thought, okay, I don't really get that. But the New Living Translation translates it better from the original Hebrew. And verse 1, it says, Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.

Then he says, But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risk might lay ahead. Diversification. Diversify. Any good financial advisor will tell you. Especially if you listen to Dave Ramsey's A Money Game, if you've heard him. He says, Don't put all your money in one place. If you have... Okay, not bad to have a little gold. Don't put it all in land. Don't put it all in houses. You know, don't put it all in one stock.

Because if that all falls at one time, you've lost everything. But if you diversify, if you put your money different places, don't put everything in one place. It will save you. And here, this is before there were investment. Authorities and advisors. Solomon knew. Spread things out. What about you? Are we using that advice? That's what he wants us to have. Go down to verse 7. 11-7. Because under my title here, it says, Advice for the young and the old. So I think that covers about everybody in this room.

Whether you think you're old or whether you think you're still young, should cover everyone. Right? And Solomon is looking and telling this incredible thing here. Verse 7 says, Light is sweet. How pleasant to see a new day dawning. You get up and are you thankful? Or do you get up and go, Oh, no, I've got to get up. I've got to cut a work. I've got to do another day of this stuff. That's not how you need to enter life.

How you continue in life. That's not a half full glass. So what's going to happen? You're going to start that day very negatively. You're going to start it saying, Oh, no. Instead of, Oh, yes. Solomon is trying to say that. And he's saying this to the young because guess what? If you start the habit of saying, Oh, no, I've got to get up. Instead of, Oh, yes. There's a bright future ahead of me. If you do that long enough and you do it every day where you are negative, guess what kind of person you're going to be when you get older?

Guess what kind of other person you're going to attract? It won't be a good one. What kind of kids will you raise if everything comes out of your mouth is negativity? You're going to raise negative kids. What do you think their view of life will be? And if you're old, how many days? Number your days. Count your days, as it says. If you like a golf analogy, I'm on the back nine.

I've already played the front nine. I'm probably on number seven or eight, ninth. I'll be on the fourteenth, fifteenth. Hopefully, I'm not on the seventeenth hole. But I don't know, and neither do you. How do you want to be remembered for those last few years, those last month, the last days? You want people to remember, boy, I guess he's glad he's gone. Because everybody else is. You know? Because he just made everyone miserable, no matter where they went.

And nobody really wanted to be around him. Verse 8, When people live to be very old, let them rejoice every day of life. Wow! I don't do that. Something I need to take in, because sometimes I get up and go, man, I've got to do this today.

Man, I really don't want to do that. My back hurts. My hair is getting too thin. It's way too gray. No. I'm alive. You know, it's amazing how sometimes when you're sick for a few days, you catch something, and you just, you really even can't get out of bed or anything. And then all of a sudden, you get better. Oh, you feel good. I'm going to start doing this. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to start working out.

And then you go on. He said, But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Yes. Everything still to come is meaningless. It's vanity. Everything to come, because your time is short. Don't waste it. Don't waste it on just useless pursuits. A waste of time. It's like we will sit there sometimes if we don't watch a whole lot of TV, but we'll sometimes in the evening watch a show.

And he's like, We did this week an old show. It was on Thursday night. Old show we had seen before. It's from 20 years ago. It was so meaningless. It was a waste of time. It's an hour. I won't get back. And I think about all the hours that I've wasted.

How about you? Either watching some or listening to something or entertaining someone that was just like, Wow. You spent too much time on Facebook or emails or, Wow, I get on here and I find something on Google. And then it takes me over to this one. And then it takes me over to this.

And then I start typing in this. And I'm like, Wow, I didn't know that. And then I didn't know that happened. At the end of the day, I've wasted an hour or two just useless stuff. This is what Solomon's trying to tell us. Then he says in verse 9, Young people, young people, everybody's young is those who are younger than 56. Me. Right? So if you're younger, if you're 56 or below, you're young.

Okay? Young people, it's wonderful to be young. Yes, it is, isn't it? It's wonderful to be young at heart. We have an incredible friend Mary has in Ohio. She's a woman that you would think you'd spend time with her. You'd think she's 16 years old. And she's 70-something. She is fun to be around. And everybody knows it, and everybody likes to be around her. Okay? She can kind of balance things out. That's her view of life. And she has a lot of...she has some health problems, and her husband, you know, health problems, and she has things in life.

But the glass is not half full. It's full all the time. Okay? And if it gets empty, she wants to fill it back up. I think that's what Solomon was looking at. Boy, he had the opportunity to have everything, and he kind of wasted it. There. Young people, it's wonderful to be young. Enjoy every minute of it. Do you remember when you were, well, 15? I know. It's a stretch for many of you. Right? But you remember when, wow, you could just do anything, and it was fun.

And you'd look even as simple as things were fun. Hang out with people is fun. You just did this. You enjoyed life. And then the second time around, it's not as much fun. And then that's why young people do not understand. Most of us have been down a fun lane, that fun road many times. And fun changes after you've done fun for decades, doesn't it? He said, do everything you want to do.

Take it all in. Wow! License! My dad never read that to me when I was 18. Here, let me tell you what Solomon says. He says, son, do everything you want to do and take it all in. Say, you're dead, dad. Hand me the keys. And a lot more money, and I'll go do it all. But you have to put it in context because Solomon wasn't done. He's saying, enjoy that time when you're young. But he said also, but remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.

So refuse to worry and keep your body healthy. Wow! Refuse to worry. Well, he's kind of being redundant because if you don't worry, when you do worry, it does put stress on the body. Like things experienced by many people in here, worry is something he says, hey, I'll take care of the big stuff. Don't worry about the big stuff.

Just take care of the little stuff, and really don't worry about it. As the saying says, don't sweat the small stuff because it's all small stuff. Right? That's what God wants us to do. Solomon's trying to tell us, keep your body healthy. Boy! Sure could have used that advice 30 years ago. But I remember my father telling me that, you know, hear you're 12, 15 foot off the ground. Don't jump. Come down the ladder. Oh, no, Dad. I'm tucking the roll. You know?

Then after falling 30 foot one time, falling a couple times after that, my body now at 56 can't do what it did. And I'm frustrated, but it's my fault because I could have kept my body a lot more healthy than I did. So now Solomon is actually telling us, maybe it's time we do. Now, before it's too late, get our bodies a little more healthy. So we can be able to enjoy those last years. But he says, but remember that youth with a whole life before you is meaningless or vanity. Well, that sounds half empty again, doesn't it?

But he goes back and forth through the whole book. Oh, it's great. No, it's not. What is your life? It's a lot of ups and downs, isn't it? In God's way of life, it's a lot of ups and downs. We have control. We can either say we're on the top or we're in the valley. It depends on how you look at it, doesn't it? And how long we stay in a valley. It kind of, a lot of times, depends on us, doesn't it?

Like as we wrap up here today. I'd like you to go to chapter 12. Because this is the conclusion. The conclusion. And Solomon does something here that my grandfather did. Maybe your grandfather did it with you when you were younger. Kind of reflect back on life. As I spent time with my father's father before he died, I did his funeral. He was 92.

Which he didn't have a great life. Mainly because of himself. But he would just say these words of wisdom. Or trying to tell me. Because like he said, I never wanted or dreamed I'd live to be 90 years old. He didn't want it. He lived a hard life. And he thought, 70 years old, he'd be dead. But he buried two wives. And it's kind of like the old saying, well if I knew I was going to live this long, I'd taken better care of myself.

All of us are that way. Physically, but also spiritually. And this is what Solomon is trying to tell us. We have the chance to make the change. Every day you get up, you have the choice. It's going to be a good day or a bad day. You choose. Now things may come at you that are bad, but you have a choice. Then, am I going to take it as a learning lesson or am I going to just crawl back into bed and go, well, it's this other day. We have choices. We can choose to enjoy life and live it.

I think of the woman that I was at her bedside when she was 40-something years old and was really healthy. And she worked for the TSA. And she came down with something. I have her own doing because she usually kept herself in, you know, eight pretty well and kept herself in shape. And something came in and nobody knew, but she picked up some. And then she had all kinds of tests done all over. It was some type of... They didn't know if it was a virus. They didn't know if it was some type of strange bacteria they had not seen before. They ran all kinds of tests all over because she was TSA. They were very concerned. That something was brought into the country because she worked for an international airport.

In a matter of weeks, she was dead. And I was there when her husband had to make the choice of... She'd already had two or three heart attacks because her body had shut down. He was just trying to fight this and he had to make the choice. And he didn't want to see her go through as they were just keeping her alive on a ventilator. Mary, you remember, we went over and had lunch with them and she thought she was getting better and then... Boom! He calls me in the middle of the night. It was 12 o'clock at night crying because they had taken her to the hospital when I got there. She was just on respirator. This was as healthy or healthier than everybody sitting out here. And that shocked me because I had to drive all the way to... What was it? Fort Myers. Fort Myers Hospital that night. I drove and had two and a half, three hours talk to God about this. Because she's...younger hours, she's only 40-something years old. A lot of life ahead. And finally we got her son in and her daughter's in from out in Washington State. And they went in and said goodbye to their mother. And so then I was with him and he was holding one hand and I was holding the other as they took her off that. And we prayed. I prayed over her.

And then there was just no breath anymore. She had no idea this was going to happen. Her husband had no idea. Her family, who she was estranged from because her kids were like, We all want you going all the way across the other side of the country. We're over here. Why do you have to move over there just to take a job with the DSA? It wasn't a good...and they didn't want it to end that way. And they came hoping that she would...you know, they could say, I'm sorry, why did we make this big thing out of this little thing? Solomon's trying to tell us that, brother. Let's keep them small things. Let's not have big things. Change our lives and ruin our lives. Time's too short. Anybody tell you that? I'm 56 years old. That's an old man. Except to you that are older than I am. Right? I don't want to live out my...whatever I have left with the glass half empty. I want to get up in the mornings and, hey, the sun's coming up. I get to see sunrise. I get to go to the beach. I've tried to make my things, so I take one day a week and go to the beach and pray. Take a long walk with God on the beach. Because I lived in Tennessee for 40 years. There's no beach. Okay? And I would go to the Feast of Tabernacle and I'd go to a beach. And I just like...that's where I did my prayer. It's like, wow, this wonderful thing. So I said, wow, that I'm here by a beach? Why don't I go to the beach? And the next thing you know, I went to the beach. And then I didn't go to the beach. And then I guess got caught up and I'm going, wait a minute. People travel from across the whole United States and the world to come here. To see the water in the beach that we live right by. And the beauty that God has given us. And I don't want to let that go. I need to remind myself and take myself to go. At least once a week and talk to God on the beach. You know, when you look out at that water and you look at a long beach, you realize just how small you are and how big he is. It's a beautiful thing. I think Solomon would think that too. That's what he's trying to teach us. So let's go here, chapter 12. I'll read from the New Living Translation. He said, Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Last chapter, last words he's ever going to write. Last words we're ever going to get from this incredible man that God blessed with more wisdom than anyone else and wealth and everything. He said, Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. I did when I was younger and I know some of you, I've heard your stories. You did too. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say what? Life is not pleasant anymore. Life is not pleasant anymore. When is life not pleasant? Today, you look back there, and in about 10 more minutes, we're going to go attack that food back there. And it's going to be good. I know it is. I just don't always get enough of it because you guys eat off or I get there. But, sorry, that glass is half empty and that should not be. But see, that's how I can look at it.

But I know some of the things that...because people bring a lot of the same things because we said comfort food and there's some very good comfort food and very good. We're going to taste that. And from the ponset to the other stuff that's made that is unique to this congregation that people bring in, we're going to be able to taste that. You know, I have a grandmother who's 98 in Illinois, and I went up and saw her about a year ago, a year and a half ago. And she's pretty much in a wheelchair now. But she...the thing that she didn't get is, now whenever I go, I used to bring her a box of chocolates or I would bring some... now I always bring roses or some type of flowers whenever I see her. And she likes that. And she told me one time because of the flowers I brought, the roses. She said, I like this so much, I can't taste anything anymore. I can't taste food. And you know, those that help in the healthcare business here, health services and so forth, they know a lot of people, they just put all kinds of salt on it when you get older because you can't taste it. Okay. Brethren, let's taste it back here today. You know, let's taste it tonight. Let's enjoy taste because there's people who can't, and you live long enough, you won't either. And you know, the eyes, they're going to go. They're going to go.

Enjoy what you see. Right? And like my dad, my mom found out way before we did, that, Charles, you can't hear. Charles, Charles, what? What? It's going to happen to us if we live long enough. Chances are. Are you going to take care of somebody that it will happen to? I'm sure Mary will lose her hearing. She doesn't listen to me half the time anyway now. But it's going to happen so we get older. So let's enjoy it.

Verse 2, Remember Him. Who? Remember Him before the light of the sun, moon, and the stars is dim to your eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. You see, His language here is just incredible because He uses metaphors. As a matter of fact, you can read commentaries on this, and even they get lost in some of the language of what He's trying to do. But He's trying to paint us this picture. He's trying to tell it so that people... Because if He made it so plain, some people would just read over it. But He didn't. He made it so you go, well, what's He talking about? He's talking about us. He said, Remember Him before your legs, the guards of your house start to tremble. Guards of your house.

Boy, if you've ever sprained your ankle or knee or anything else or hurt, you appreciate being able to walk. Right? He said, Remember Him before, because chances are it's going to happen. Right, Eleanor? Yep.

Before your shoulders, the strong men stoop. He's talking about your shoulders being strong men because He sees soldiers. And if you've ever been to West Point or you've ever been to a military camp, you'll see the back straits. Shoulders are back. You know, they're standing like this, which even now hurts my back. But He's saying, That's when you are strong. Remember Him. He said, Start to tremble. And before your shoulders, the strong men stoop and stoop over. Faith, aren't you in the hospital? Or Annie, you've had people that they're so stooped over that they can't straighten up. Nobody in here is that way yet. How about a thank you? Not yet. I'm thankful we're not. Remember Him before your teeth. Your remaining servants stop grinding. Some of you probably have false teeth here. I'm not going to ask you to. Only if Olivia has false teeth, because then I would have married you under false pretenses to your husband. Okay, but it's, you know, I don't have false teeth, but boy, I've got quite a few thousands of dollars I have to have in these teeth. And we only want to talk about how much money was in her mouth, you know. I mean, we just, we waited and waited, and then all of a sudden we needed all this dental work, and we had it done, and guess what? A guy's got a car, I guess. But he says, remember Him before your teeth, your remaining servants. So he's talking to your teeth, or your servants, because we're going to go back there today, and I'm going to see some servants going at it. Right? And we should enjoy it before no longer they can even grind, because, well, it doesn't matter anyway, because I can't taste the food. Wow. But what's the theme here? I've got it in my Bible. Unline, remember, remember, remember, remember, remember your Creator. Remember Him. And it says, remember Him. Oh, I don't want to miss that other. And before your eyes, the women looking through the windows. And she's talking about these eyes being women looking through the windows. See dimly. How about your eyes? They're pretty good? They're only going to get worse. Right? Well, yes, but the glass half empty is, you're not blind yet. You still have your eyes. And we live in a country where you can have your eyes fixed.

And you can actually see. What a blessing, because it's not everywhere. It's not everywhere. Verse 4, remember Him before the door to life's opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. You get old, you retire. Why? Because you can't do it. Right, Louie? You retired. He's pilot, flew airplanes. Well, they don't want Him flying airplanes anymore at His age. And I don't want you flying me either. Okay? Love you, but, you know, I want a young guy. You know? He's saying this is going to happen. So remember Him before. You're retired. He said, now, you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all the sounds will grow faint. You're going to lose your hearing. Remember Him before you become fearful of falling and worrying about the danger in the streets. Happens, doesn't it? Face-ant changed her life, changed her face off. She fell. And you break a hip. Right? That's the worst thing a lot of older people can do because a lot of them, they don't come out of it. They're on the last leg. So be thankful that if you fall, you can get up. Remember Him. Before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper. We don't have that yet. Let's remember Him. Let's not forget God. Let's get up tomorrow morning. Let's go to bed tonight. Thank Him. If you don't say nightly prayers, lay in bed. Thank Him for giving us day and giving me a good one tomorrow. And the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. I'm not going there today. Remember Him before you near the grave, your everlasting home when the mourners will weep at your funeral. That's why it's important to go to funerals, right? Because you realize your mortality. And hopefully it helps you to enjoy life a little bit longer. Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young. Before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. It's too late on your deathbed. It's too late.

For then the dust will return to the earth and the Spirit will return to God who gave it. Everything is meaningless or vanity, says the Teacher, completely meaningless. Keep this in mind, the Teacher was considered wise and He taught the people everything He knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express true truth clearly. The words of the wise are like cattle prods, painful but helpful. Do we look at that? People want to give us advice? Do we look at it like, I'm telling you, it's pain. You know? Now, we should look to people who can help us. That's why we're going to do something on health a little bit later in the year. We're going to be able so we can get people who can help us to live life more abundantly. So we can be a little better educated and put this temple in such a good condition that God can pour out even more. Because more can be done. Finally, verse 12, but my child, let me give you further advice. Be careful. For writing books is endless and much study wears you out. Making a book, there is no end, but this too is wearisome to the soul. You can study, study, study, study. Well, that too. So, in verse 13, that's the whole story. We're at the end now. That's the whole story. Here is my final conclusion. Final conclusion. Fear God and obey His commands. For this is everyone's duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. Fear God and obey His commandments. The sum total of everything. So, I hope you will use this in the future. I hope you will not forget Ecclesiastes. I hope it will be something that you go to for inspiration. You go to for clarity. It will also inspire you. So, you can either look at it as the useless ramblings of a senile old man, or some precious gold nuggets from Solomon for discernment and wisdom. You have a choice. It's up to you. The book of Ecclesiastes is both physical and spiritual goldmine. Contain nuggets of gold for us, because we understand not only Solomon, but more than that, we understand God, and we understand why we're here. And that's to remember our Creator. And the conclusion is, remember here. Fear God, revere Him, and keep His commandments.