Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / The Vanity of Power (Ecclesiastes 8:1-17)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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The Vanity of Power (Ecclesiastes 8:1-17)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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And so, yes, would you take your Bibles and open
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them to Ecclesiastes chapter 8? Ecclesiastes
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chapter 8, and we will look to do, or at least
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to read through the whole chapter. If I can say
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something about chapter 8, it's notoriously difficult
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to translate. And so as we may be looking at
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different versions within our English Bibles,
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you may notice that yours sounds a little bit
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different than mine. Again, it's notoriously
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difficult to translate, but here is where prayer
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helps us. We ought to always pray as we read
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Scripture, and so I'm going to read this passage
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for us, and I'll pray asking for the Lord's help.
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Would you follow along? from Ecclesiastes 8.
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Who is like the wise and who knows the interpretation
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of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine
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and the hardness of his face is changed. I say
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keep the King's command because of God's oath
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to him. Be not hasty to go from his presence.
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Do not take your stand in an evil way. For he
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does whatever he pleases. For the word of the
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Lord or the word of the King is supreme. And
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who may say to him, what are you doing? Whoever
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keeps a command will know no evil thing. And
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the wise heart will know the proper time and
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the just way. For there is a time and a way for
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everything. Although man's trouble lies heavy
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on him. For he does not know what is to be. For
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who can tell him how it will be? No man has power
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to retain the spirit or power over the day of
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death. There is no discharge from war, nor will
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wickedness deliver those who are given to it.
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All this I observed while applying my heart to
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all that is done under the sun when man had power
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over man to his hurt. Then I saw the wicked buried.
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They used to go in and out of the holy place
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and were praised in the city. where they had
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done such things, this also is vanity. Because
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the sentence against an evil deed is not executed
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speedily, the heart of the children of man is
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fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil
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a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I
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know that it will be well with those who fear
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God, because they fear before him. But it will
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not be well with the wicked. neither will he
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prolong his days like a shadow because he does
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not fear before God. There is a vanity that takes
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place on earth that there are righteous people
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to whom it happens according to the deeds of
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the wicked and there are wicked people to whom
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it happens according to the deeds of the righteous.
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I said that this also is vanity and I commend
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joy for man has nothing better under the sun
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but to eat and drink and be joyful. for this
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will go with him in his toil through the days
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of his life that God has given him under the
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sun. When I applied my heart to know wisdom and
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to see the business that is done on earth, how
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neither day nor night do one's eyes see sleep.
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Then I saw all the work of God that man cannot
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find out the work that is done under the sun.
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However much man may toil in seeking, he will
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not find it out. Even though a wise man claims
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to know, he cannot find it out. Friends, this
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is God's word. Let us pray. Heavenly Father,
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we come before you with your word open before
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us. And in what is perhaps a difficult chapter
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for us, we ask for your help. We know that it's
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your word. and we know that you are all -wise
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and all -powerful and all -righteous and that
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your word is indeed truth. Lord, would you help
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us to see it that way? Would you open up the
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eyes of our hearts to trust you as we study Ecclesiastes
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8? We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Do any of
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you own or have you owned a greatest hits album?
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You know what I'm talking about? Maybe your favorite
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artist has been producing music for many years
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or even decades and they've had all their hits
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on the radio and So they come out with a new
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album. That's not really all that new It's just
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their best hits on the same album. You know what
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I'm talking about. I have some of those Ecclesiastes
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chapter 8 is kind of like Solomon's greatest
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hits. As I have read this, maybe you're thinking,
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well, I've heard a lot of this before, right?
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You've heard the classic hit, Eat Drink and Be
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Joyful. You've heard of that chart -topping single,
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There's a Time for Everything. You certainly
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know of the song, Applying My Heart to Wisdom,
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and my personal favorite, The Fear of God. We
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have heard these things before. Is there anything
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new for us in Ecclesiastes chapter eight? Yes,
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there is. There is something new here, but it's
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mixed in with all of these phrases that we have
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heard before. And yet there is an overarching
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theme that is here. Ecclesiastes chapter eight
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is talking about the limits of mankind, that
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we are limited in all sorts of ways. And because
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we are limited, in maybe our wisdom, maybe our
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knowledge, or our power, we must look to the
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one and rely upon the one who is perfect in all
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of these ways. As we recognize our limitations
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from this text, let us look to the God who is
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all -powerful and who is all -wise. We see this
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right from the start in verse 1, this rhetorical
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question, who is like the wise? And who knows
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the interpretation of a thing? The implied answer
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is of course the wise do. The wise are the ones
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who know the interpretation. And so what Solomon
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is doing here is once again upholding wisdom
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to say it's a good thing. But yet also look at
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the very last verse of the chapter. Even though
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a wise man claims to know, He cannot find it
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out and so yes on one hand he upholds wisdom
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on the other hand He says we don't have all of
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the wisdom in the world Why because that certainly
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belongs to God now just because we don't have
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it all just because we are limited in these ways
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Do we do we throw the baby out with the bathwater?
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Of course not because he upholds wisdom, and
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yet there are other things in our lives where
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we recognize our own limitations, and yet they're
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still good things. Think about the human body
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for a minute. The human body is wonderfully made,
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right? Think about the athletic achievements
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of the human body. The sub four -minute mile,
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I find that incredible. Those weight lifters
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who can just lift so much weight or high jumpers
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that can get to new heights quite literally.
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Think about a rock climber, one of those solo
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free climbers who are just clinging to the rock
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face with their fingertips. That's incredible.
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But what happens if that climber or that athlete
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forgets the limitations of man? the results can
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be dangerous, they can be catastrophic. And the
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same is true with wisdom. When we forget that
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we are limited in some ways in wisdom, we become
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wise in our own eyes and yes, the results of
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that are equally damaging. And so you see where
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this is going here. It's talking about the limits,
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but it's talking specifically about the limits
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of power. Look in verse two. I say keep the King's
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command because of God's oath to him. There is
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a theological element to our earthly submission
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to authorities. Westminster Confession 23 says
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God the supreme lord and king of all the world
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has ordained civil magistrates to be under him
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over the people for his own glory and the public
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good. And so what God does is he is the supreme
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king, the ruler, the one with absolute power,
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but underneath him are rulers who were installed
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in positions of power. And in verse four, the
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king that is mentioned here appears to wield
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near absolute power over his subjects. But friends,
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this king's power mentioned here is real, but
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it's not absolute. Why? Because look at verse
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eight. No man has power to retain the spirit
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or power over the day of death. Notice that it
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says no man. It's not just talking about kings
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here, but certainly that applies to kings as
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well. Kings and other rulers, other people in
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positions of authority, they will die too. They
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do not have power over their own death. God installs
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people in positions of power. But he is the one
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with absolute power. This week, some of you went
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on a mission trip down to Mullins, South Carolina.
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And it was a mission trip of service. And no
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doubt, you, we worked with power tools. On my
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job site, doing the Sheds of Hope, there must
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have been about 12 DeWalt drill drivers that
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were there. But how good are those drills if
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they're not plugged in, if they're not charged,
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right? They have to be charged to be effective,
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to do anything whatsoever. Well, friends, when
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it comes to authorities and rulers in this life,
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God's the one who puts them on the charger. God's
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the one that gives them the power, right? No
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single person has absolute power. All authority
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is derived from God and this is not just found
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in this text it's actually taught throughout
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the scriptures. Romans chapter 13 verse 1, let
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every person be subject to the governing authorities
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for there is no authority except from God. But
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that too is not the only place. First Peter chapter
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2 is another go -to location for this. First
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Peter 2 13 says be subject for the Lord's sake
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to every human institution, whether it be to
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the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent
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by him to punish those who do evil and to praise
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those who do good, for this is the will of God."
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What these scriptures are showing us is what
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I've already said. God is the one with the power,
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but he does place kings, presidents, governors,
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mayors, people who were in positions of authority
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on the job, people in positions of authority
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in the church, God installs those people. Should
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we rebel against those people? Well, Peter has
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something else to say about this in 1 Peter 2,
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17. He says, honor everyone, love the brotherhood,
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fear God, honor the emperor. Now how incredible
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is that that Peter says to honor the Emperor
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knowing what we know about the early church and
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the persecution that came upon the Christians
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and yet Peter's encouragement his exhortation
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is not to rise up to take down the Emperor no
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it's to honor the Emperor and again it's not
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just Peter and it's not just Paul we actually
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see this in so many other places in the scriptures.
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Jeremiah writes to the exiles and says seek the
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welfare of the city or perhaps you remember Joseph
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in Egypt or Daniel under Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon
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and especially those two are important because
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they show us not only submission to authority
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but they also show us wisdom. Because Joseph
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and Daniel were the only ones able to interpret
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the dreams in all of those empires such that
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I think that verse 1 is very very true of people
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like Joseph and Daniel. Look at the second half
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of verse 1. A man's wisdom makes his face shine
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and the hardness of his face is changed. The
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very wisdom of God changes who we are. Philip
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Riken says here, it is strange, but true. Godly
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wisdom makes a difference in the way people look.
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People who live without God in the world often
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show the proud demeanor or stern expression that
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comes from a heart hardened by sin. What the
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preacher calls the hardness of face, but the
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wisdom of the gospel turns the frown of sin into
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the smile of grace. God's grace and his wisdom
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changes everything about us. Even as we go through
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the miseries of this life, I have had so many
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conversations with so many of you as you go through
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hard times and what do you say time and time
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again that gets you through? It's God's grace
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and what do you ask for? You ask for wisdom.
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We rely upon God who is bigger than our problems
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Mighty enough to handle them and friends should
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you find yourselves lacking in these things lacking
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in wisdom? Remember the book of James James says
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to ask God for wisdom and he will certainly supply
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but that's that's not all that's going on in
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this text because actually as Kohelet Solomon
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here the teacher speaks about power in the king.
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He seems like he is addressing, yes, a familiar
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topic, oppression and injustice. He raises it
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again here in order to encourage, because verses
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two through five seem like they're written to
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a servant in the king's court. And what does
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he tell this servant? He says to go about his
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work quietly. without causing a scene. He's essentially
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saying in these verses, don't stand up for yourself
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just because you're not getting your way. It
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is wisdom to know it will not go well with you
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in such a scenario. Look at verses five and six.
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Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing
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and the wise heart will know the proper time
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and the just way. For there is a time and a way
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for everything, although man's trouble lies heavy.
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on him. You see, the wise man knows the right
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thing to do and the right time to do the right
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thing. The wise man knows the right thing to
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do and the right time to do the right thing.
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Let me illustrate this, and I'm going to illustrate
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it with perhaps, in light of this text, a silly
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illustration. Certainly nothing on the level
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with what's being described here, but I want
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you to get the point of submission to authority.
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and using wisdom. When I was in the 10th grade,
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I played baseball. Not very well, but I played.
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And that year, the head coach of the varsity,
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who is also in charge of putting players where
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they ought to be on the field for the JV, told
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me right before the season started, you're going
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to be our starting second baseman. I said, yes.
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But a couple days later, that head coach quit.
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He just up and quit baseball altogether. And
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the JV coach now was the varsity coach, and he
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got to make all of the decisions about who would
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start. And right before a preseason game, I was
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in the on -deck circle, getting ready to no doubt
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hit a home run or maybe just ground out. But
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he comes over to me and he says, hey, Kenny,
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I've been thinking a lot about it. And you're
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not going to start at second base. Joe's gonna
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start in front of you. And I thought, what? Joe's
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in the ninth grade. I'm in the tenth. Pride,
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right? And so I stepped into the batter's box
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and I drew a walk. Nothing exciting, just a walk.
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But then I stole second. And then I moved to
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third base. And when I got to third base, that
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coach was standing there as also the third base
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coach. And I said to him, coach, I've been thinking
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a lot about what you said. And I tell you what
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I'm gonna do. I'm going to score. I'm going to
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touch home plate, and then I'll come back to
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you. I'm going to hand you my jersey. I'm going
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to get my stuff, and I'm going to leave. And
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I quit. And that's exactly what I did. When I
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got home, I was absolutely crushed. I'd quit
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the baseball team, all I'd ever wanted to do.
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Now, that coach is in a position of authority.
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Maybe it's a small position of authority, but
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still a position of authority. And what I did
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was not submitting to authority. It was seeking
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to show up the coach, right? To somehow prove
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that I was better than what he thought. Friends,
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that's not how Christians are to be. That's not
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the encouragement from this text. No, it says
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keep the King's command. We are to be in submission
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to the King. Really what this is all getting
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at in a way is the fifth commandment. The fifth
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commandment to honor your father and your mother,
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right? But by extension of that as Jesus teaches
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on it we recognize that we are yes we are supposed
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to honor other people too or in positions of
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authority Now keeping the fifth commandments
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pretty easy When you like everything that that
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person does when you've got that great boss or
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that great coach or that great mayor or president
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or whoever it may be But how are we to be? When
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we don't like those people And we don't think
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they're doing a good job. Well friends, let's
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think about this as well. God is the supreme
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ruler, the supreme. He is the king of kings,
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right? He is generous and he is kind and he is
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loving and do we keep his commands? Do we always
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honor God? No, we don't. And so how much more
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do we need God's grace? with those who are oppressive
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or who are perhaps bad rulers. Now, I know what
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you may be thinking. Is there a time to take
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a stand? Is there a time to say no to those wicked
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rulers? Yes, of course. When wickedness arises,
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we are to take a stand, but not just for self
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-interest, but to take a stand against evil.
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There is a time to stand up, and it's against
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sin. Benjamin Shaw says here, to follow the command
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of God is always a wise path. As Paul observes
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against such, there is no law. But friends, we
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do not combat wickedness with more wickedness.
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We do not seek retaliation. That's not the instruction
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that the text offers to us, and neither does
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Jesus. Jesus, like Solomon, called his disciples
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to exercise wisdom. in such situations. Jesus
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said in Matthew 10 -16, be wise as serpents and
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innocent as doves. This is who we are to be,
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asking God for his help, asking for him to supply
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us with wisdom when we find ourselves under difficult
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authorities. But we should also take the long
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view in these things. Look at verses 11 and 12.
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Let me read 11 again. Because the sentence against
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an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart
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of the children of man is fully set to do evil.
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Sometimes those who perform acts of wickedness
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seem like they're getting away with it, so they
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keep doing it. And sometimes we who observe this
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think they're getting away with it, and we lose
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heart. But also, look at 12 and 13 here. Though
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a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs
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his life, yet I know that it will be well with
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those who fear God because they fear before him,
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but it will not be well with the wicked. Neither
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will he prolong his days like a shadow." What
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you see in here is this sentence that says that
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the sinner will prolong his life in verse 12,
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but in verse 13 it says he will not prolong his
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life. And so the question we have naturally is,
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is this contradiction? Which is it? Does he prolong
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his days? Or does he not? Well, don't forget
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about the important little word in verse 13 of
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shadow. The key word there is shadow. Any prospering
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of the wicked is only a shadow. The wicked may
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seem to prolong their days. The wicked may even
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seem to prosper, but do not be discouraged. The
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prospering of the wicked will not last. It will
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not be well with them. A shadow only exists while
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the sun shines upon something, but when there
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is no sun, there is no more shadow, just darkness,
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and the sun will set on the wicked because they
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do not fear God. And as I begin to wrap up here,
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I just want to spend a few minutes on this idea.
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The fear of God, the fear of the Lord. Solomon
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has touched upon this previously and he's gonna
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touch upon it again in chapter 12. So consider
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this the fear of the Lord part one. Just three
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quick ideas about the fear of God. To fear God
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is to forsake sin. To fear God is to have a proper
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object of fear. And to fear God is to believe.
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You see, within the text in verse 12, the sinner
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just goes on sinning. His ways are called wicked.
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Unrepentant sin and the fear of God do not go
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together. They are incompatible. You cannot fear
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God and enjoy your sin at the same time. You
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can't. Paul addresses this in Romans chapter
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3 when he says, there is no fear before their
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eyes. He's talking about universal sin. He's
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talking about unrepentant sin. He's saying there
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is no fear before their eyes. Matthew Henry says,
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where no fear of God is, no good is to be expected.
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And so that's quickly point one. Point two, to
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fear of God is to have a proper object of fear.
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We have many misguided fears in this life, and
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I'm going to elaborate more on this, Lord willing,
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in chapter 12. Many misguided fears, and there
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are many fears that we may have, that we see
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within Ecclesiastes, the fear of the oppressive
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ruler, the fear of the unknown, the fear of losing
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wealth, the fear of suffering and the fear of
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death. Christian, what do you fear? These things
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are not to be feared. These are things that if
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you do fear them, to take them to the Lord, ask
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for repentance, ask for forgiveness, and fear
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God alone. Thirdly, to fear God is to believe,
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to wholeheartedly trust in Him. An unbeliever
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can tremble before God and they will if they
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remain in their unbelief, but the believer fears
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God in faith, a trembling belief and reverence
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in awe of who God is. and the fear of God produces
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in us a desire for righteousness that is not
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present in the unbeliever. Psalm 112 verse one
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says, blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
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who greatly delights in his commandments. But
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maybe there's somebody in this sanctuary today
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and you're asking, how can I fear the Lord? How
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can I have this belief? Friends remember what
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I've been talking about talking about limits
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here You are limited by your sin You cannot produce
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belief or the fear of God in yourself You're
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dead in your trespasses and therefore you who
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are not in Christ. You need God to move You need
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a new heart planted in yourself Because Christ
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has done what we could not do again from first
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Peter, which begins, according to his great mercy,
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he has caused us, he does the work, to be born
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again to a living hope through the resurrection
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of Jesus Christ, to an inheritance that is imperishable,
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undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
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Jesus does this. Now you talk to all kinds of
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Christians, About what God can do and just about
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every Christian will say God is sovereign. Yeah,
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I believe that But then when it comes to salvation
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People want to insert themselves into the equation
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as if they have something to do with their salvation,
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but no friends It is all God's grace God is not
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limited where we are. He has done what he does
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within us and it's something we just could not
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do. And knowing this, knowing what God has done
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in Christ Jesus for us, this should produce incredible
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amounts of joy in our lives. And so final thing
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here, there is a link between the fear of the
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Lord and the joy of the Lord. Psalm 47, clap
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your hands all peoples, shout to God with loud
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songs of joy, for the Lord the most high is to
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be feared, the great King over all the earth.
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Solomon in verse 15 commends joy immediately
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after this section on the fear of God. You see
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friends, when you are regenerated, when you are
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born again, when you come to faith in Jesus Christ,
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you do not come to God kicking and screaming.
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Because God changes our affections. We love Him
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because He first loved us and sent Christ to
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die for us such that what we find at the end
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of this section is truly true. We can now in
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Christ Jesus enjoy God and we can enjoy what
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God gives to us such that I would say Westminster
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short of catechism number one. is very, very
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correct when it says, man's chief end is to glorify
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God and to enjoy him forever. It's written, this
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is written in such a way that only the believer
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can truly understand. Fear of the Lord is the
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joy of the Lord. Friends, let us recognize our
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limits. Let us trust in Jesus, the one who is
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unlimited in all that he can do, and let us live
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wisely and joyfully giving thanks always for
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what Christ has done for us. Indeed, thanks be
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to God. Let's pray.