Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / The Vanity of Oppression, Envy, Loneliness, and Life Lessons from the Teacher (Ecclesiastes 4:1-16)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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The Vanity of Oppression, Envy, Loneliness, and Life Lessons from the Teacher (Ecclesiastes 4:1-16)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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And in God's word, we turn to Ecclesiastes chapter
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four. We're gonna look at the whole chapter today,
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one through 16, simply picking up where we left
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off. So I would ask you to give close attention
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for this is God's word, Ecclesiastes four. Again,
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I saw all the oppressions that are done under
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the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed,
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and they had no one to comfort them. On the side
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of their oppressors, there was power, and there
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was no one to comfort them. And I thought the
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dead who are already dead more fortunate than
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the living who are still alive. But better than
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both is he who has not yet been. and has not
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seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
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Then I saw all the toil and skill and work that
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come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This
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also is vanity and a striving after wind. The
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fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
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Better is a handful of quietness than two hands
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full of toil and a striving after wind. Again,
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I saw vanity under the sun. One person who has
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no other, either son or brother, yet there is
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no end to all his toil. And his eyes are never
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satisfied with riches so that he never asks,
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for whom am I toiling and depriving myself of
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pleasure? This also is vanity and an unhappy
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business. Two are better than one because they
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have good reward for their toil. For if they
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fall, one will lift up his fellow, but woe to
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him who is alone when he falls and has not another
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to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they
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keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? And
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though a man might prevail against one who is
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alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord
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is not quickly broken. Better was a poor and
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wise youth than an old and foolish king who no
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longer knew how to take advice. For he went from
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prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom
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he had been born poor. I saw all the living who
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move about under the sun, along with that youth
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who was to stand in the king's place. There was
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no end of all the people, all of whom he led,
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yet those who come later will not rejoice in
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him. Surely this also is vanity and is striving
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after wind. And this is God's word. Let us pray.
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Lord Christ, you are the word and the Bible reveals
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who you are. For we remember that you, Jesus,
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were on the Emmaus road and you were talking
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with those disciples and you revealed to them
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how the scriptures were speaking of you. Help
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us to see you in this. Would you apply this passage
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to our hearts? And by your spirit, would you
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use what I say in my weakness to strengthen our
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faith? Would you impart your strength and your
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power to encourage our hearts, to exhort our
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hearts, to challenge our hearts that we might
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grow in the grace and the knowledge of you? This
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we ask in your name. Amen Ecclesiastes chapter
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4 I wonder what you think of it There are some
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tough sayings in here There are some perplexing
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sayings in here and really what I think the writer
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of Ecclesiastes is doing who I believe to be
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Solomon as He's responding to objections regarding
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chapter three. For you remember, especially in
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the beginning of chapter three, it talks about
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there being a time for every matter under heaven,
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a season. And yet you could understand how someone
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would read that and say, is there really a season,
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a time for oppression, which is mentioned in
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chapter four? Is there really a time for envy?
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mentioned in chapter four. Is there really a
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time for loneliness again in chapter four? And
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what is underneath all of these questions is
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this big question. God, are you really sovereign?
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Do you really know what you're doing? Are you
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really in control? Perhaps this is a question
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that you have. Well, I'm here to tell you. God
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is in complete control of every single moment
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of your lives and specifically chapter four talks
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about how God is in control of our relationships
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and it really mentions even though there's a
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plethora of things mentioned here it really is
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talking about two different types of relationships
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the way that we relate to the authorities the
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people in positions of power and the way that
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we relate to one another in community And so
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that's what we're looking at, people in power
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and people in the community. And what we should
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see from this is that we were made for community.
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You were made to be together with one another.
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And that is why when we are sinned against, it
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hurts so badly that it bothers us so much because
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sin interrupts our harmony. Sin is the answer
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to why there is oppression, to why there is envy,
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to why there is laziness, and to why there is
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loneliness, again, all topics addressed in chapter
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four. But the answer to these questions about
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community is Christ, who comes to make all things
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new, Christ who establishes the church, and Christ
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who he promises eternal life without the problem
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of sin. And yet we do live under the sun in a
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very fallen world. And it's a world at times
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that seeks to oppress. And so let's look at the
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reality of oppression from verses one through
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three and verses 13 through 16. This section
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of chapter four. is really a continuation of
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the end of chapter three. You remember looking
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at chapter three and we noted injustice and unrighteousness
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that was there. It kind of carries over here
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into chapter four, this discussion of oppression.
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Again, verse one, I saw all the oppressions that
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are done under the sun. And so what Solomon is
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showing us here is that oppression is prevalent
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and it's pervasive. It's everywhere. And the
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real heartbreaking part of oppression is also
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mentioned there in verse one. Behold the tears
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of the oppressed. They had no one to comfort
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them. That's the real heartbreaking part of oppression,
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that people who are oppressed oftentimes feel
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terribly alone. They feel that no one's got their
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back. And as Solomon sees this, verses two and
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three kind of come alive, I thought the dead
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who were already dead more fortunate than the
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living. He's not saying that he wishes he was
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dead or that he wishes he was never born. He's
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saying, I have seen oppression and I cannot unsee
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it. Perhaps you have seen oppression. You have
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seen the wicked way that people treat one another,
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especially when governments now rule people in
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such an oppressive manner. Solomon, though, is
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the king, and yet he feels powerless against
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the oppression that he sees. Friends, there is
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a lot of oppression that happens in the world
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today. If you read the stories of the persecuted
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church, you realize how oppressive people can
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be towards one another and especially towards
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Christians. It's happening all over the world
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in places like Nigeria, in Eritrea, in China,
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in North Korea, in Afghanistan. It's happening
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all over the place. And yet the one thing that
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Christians say that they need the most when they
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are oppressed is prayer. For in prayer, they
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are not forgotten. In prayer, we appeal to somebody
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who can actually do something about it, and so
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we should remember our brothers and sisters in
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Christ in oppressed areas. It really is happening
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all over the world. In the last several years,
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in Rwanda, it's become especially prevalent.
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I learned this not too long ago when I was in
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Uganda and stopped over in Rwanda for a brief
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second. Do you realize that in Rwanda, this kind
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of Eastern African nation, and it's not very
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big, over 14 ,000 churches and houses of prayer
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have been closed since 2018. 14 ,000 churches
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and houses of prayer have been closed since 2018.
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What are the reasons for this? According to Rwanda's
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own government, according to their own website,
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the reasons for closing these churches, some
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of them are they're not up to par with building
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codes, they don't have adequate parking, they
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don't have sufficient soundproofing in their
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sanctuaries, and their bathrooms are not sufficient.
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These are the reasons that churches are being
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closed. And as it speaks to adequate parking,
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Rwanda has one of the lowest rates of car ownership
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in the world. Why do they need parking? Talk
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about feeling alone. The government there is
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making this a reality with these restrictions
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of closing churches in the name of progress.
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Friends, We should recognize this, and I think
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this is where Solomon is going, that God has
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placed authorities in power not to oppress, but
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to provide relief from oppression. The Westminster
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Confession of Faith says here, God, the Supreme
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Lord and King of all the world, has ordained
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civil magistrates to be under him. over the people
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for his own glory and the public good. It also
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says that it's lawful for Christians to accept
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and execute the office of a magistrate to maintain
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piety, justice, and peace according to the laws
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of each land. In other words, we have elected
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officials who are supposed to work for the good
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of the people, not to oppress them. There was
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a time when I saw what I viewed to be terrible
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oppression, and especially corruption. Living
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in Bulgaria from the end of 2012 through 2014,
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it was a time of oppression, many said. It was
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a time of corruption, as there was a new government
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in power every year, as cost of living was skyrocketing,
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and the people of Bulgaria began to be very upset
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and agitated. And so they began to assemble to
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protest. And in those years of 2013 and 2014,
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they set the all -time record for the most consecutive
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days of protesting. They protested for 404 straight
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days. People were brought in by the busloads
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to the capital city of Sofia in order to protest,
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tens of thousands of people protesting. because
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what they saw was oppression and corruption and
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it got to be so bad that the people began to
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be a little bit violent and at one point the
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government was meeting in the Parliament and
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the people decided to barricade them inside the
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Parliament building and they wouldn't let them
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out until the authorities intervened but then
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the people were still angry at this and so they
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began to barricade the bus that was being used
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to get the government out of the city and they
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dragged all sorts of things into the streets.
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At one point I saw a baby grand piano in the
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street in front of a bus carrying parliament.
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Oppression and corruption drive people to survival
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mode, drives them to desperate measures. But
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friends, when we as Christians see oppression,
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and we see corruption and we see injustice. This
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should drive us not to those things. This should
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drive us to the King of Kings and the Lord of
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Lords. This should drive us to the one who can
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do something about it. This should drive us to
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Christ because his kingdom is everlasting. His
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kingdom's not made by human hands. His kingdom
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has no boundaries and Jesus has no successor
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waiting in the balance to replace him. He rules
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with perfect justice and righteousness and grace.
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There is no oppression in Jesus' kingdom because
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actually Jesus was the one who was oppressed.
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Jesus is the one who was oppressed for our sake.
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Jesus is the one smitten, stricken, pierced,
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crushed, chastised, and afflicted. Isaiah 53,
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by oppression and judgment, he was taken away.
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The same one who was oppressed is also the one
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who frees us from oppression. Revelation 1 says
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he loves us and has freed us from our sins by
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his blood, and he is the ruler over all the kings
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of the earth. And so if you should ever see oppression,
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if you should see injustice, if you should see
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corruption, friends, seek Jesus. He is the permanent
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and eternal King. And so what he shows us and
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what Solomon shows us here is the limits of human
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leadership. Look in verses 13 through 16. There's
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this story that is told here, and I don't know
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if it's a real story or something like a parable,
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but the way that it goes is that there was an
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older king who no longer knew how to take advice.
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He no longer knew how to take counsel and he
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is replaced by a young man who came from prison.
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And this is unexpected because typically in the
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scriptures and just in our own culture we view
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those who are older to have more wisdom. But
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here comes this young man from prison, maybe
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think Joseph here, to replace the king. But there's
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another twist to it, that apparently there's
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another youth who will eventually replace that
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king. Why? The text is telling us nothing stays
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the same. Kings come and kings go, no matter
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how wise, Vanity cannot be slowed simply by wisdom.
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The wise king will eventually be replaced and
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eventually forgotten. And friends, what this
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tells us then is that if you place all of your
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hope and all of your trust in a person fulfilling
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a role, you will be let down. Oppression can
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return just as quickly as it left. Think of the
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kings of Israel. Think of the kings of Judah.
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Think of the cycle of the judges. Think, I mentioned
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Joseph. Think about how Joseph was imprisoned.
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Joseph was incarcerated and yet Joseph rose to
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power in God's providence, brought incredible
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blessing to Israel, but then he died. Exodus
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chapter 2 tells us then came a king in Egypt
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a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph and oppression
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followed. Oppression can come and go just like
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that. Kings come and go just like that. But Jesus
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is the same yesterday today and forever. He is
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our eternal King and as our eternal King he tells
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us how to live. And so let's look at verses four
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through 12, as we focus on people in community
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with one another. You see in verse four, what
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Solomon is getting at, then I saw that all the
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toil and all skill and work come from a man's
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envy of his neighbor. What drives people to work,
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he observed, is envy. It's a desire to be better
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than our neighbor. It's a desire to have more
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than our neighbor. We are living in a constant
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game of comparison, trying to one -up one another.
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We are self -centered, and we want to see our
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own success. And certainly, this should bring
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to mind the 10th commandment. We are to be content,
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not envious of one another. and not envious of
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one another's possessions. Kohelet says, Solomon
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says, that this is vanity. It's hevel. Why is
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it hevel? Because there's always going to be
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someone who is more successful, who is younger
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maybe, more diligent, faster, smarter. I realized
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this recently. I had a birthday. About a week
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and a half ago, it's crazy how those things come
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around once a year. Two days after my birthday,
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I went to play some basketball with a friend.
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Not even competitive basketball. We were playing
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horse. And afterwards, my knee swelled up to
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the size of a grapefruit, right? There's always
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gonna be someone younger, faster, smarter, more
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athletic, and I was never very good at basketball
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in the first place. But when we're in this constant
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game of envy and comparison, we are going to
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be sadly mistaken, sadly disappointed when it
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comes crashing down and we're lying there on
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the floor of the basketball court. Remember,
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Solomon is likely near the end of his life as
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he writes this, and he knows he can no longer
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keep up. And this is a lesson that we must all
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learn. And so this is the danger with our work
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is that we work and we toil and we slave away.
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And for what? Just to show that we're better
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than someone else. And so that's a danger. But
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in verse five, we get the other danger. The danger
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of laziness. For we might push back on that.
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We might say, well, I don't want to be like that
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guy. I don't want to be envious and in competition
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all the time. So instead, I'm just going to do
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nothing. Again, the danger of laziness, of dropping
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out of the race entirely, of forfeiting, of not
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doing our work. And certainly this is written
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in a way that makes us cringe. The fool folds
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his hands and eats his own flesh. What is that
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talking about? It's talking about how we, if
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we just choose not to do anything, we no longer
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want to work, we just give up. This is destructive.
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This is self -destruction. The man who does this,
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who refuses to work, will actually waste away.
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And so where should we be? Not on this side,
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not on this side. We need to be right in the
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middle. We need to learn contentment. Look at
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verses seven and eight. Or actually, let's stay
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in verse six. Better is a handful of quietness
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than two hands full of toil. and a striving after
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wind. Yes, it's better to keep working and striving
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and providing for our families and for those
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who are in need. We need to ask ourselves, for
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whom do we work? Colossians three says it best,
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whatever you do, do your work heartily as for
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the Lord rather than for men. And so this is
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the answer to envy. When we work for the Lord
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and for His glory, we are freed from needing
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the approval of our neighbor or trying to keep
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up with the Joneses, right? Whatever you do,
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are you working for the Lord or are you motivated
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by envy? We all should understand that we need
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to be working for the good of one another. Look
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at verses seven and eight. This is communicating
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someone who has nobody. The solitary worker who
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works tirelessly but has no one, no son, no brother,
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no friends, no family, and yet he never stops
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to think, for whom am I doing this? It's just
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herself, right? I saw a poll recently that I
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think illustrates this very well, and the poll
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just asked two questions. It said, how much do
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you make? And how much would you need to make
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in order to be happy? It's very telling that
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the results of that poll showed that people overwhelmingly
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said, if I just had 25 % more, then I would be
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happy. Now indeed, there are some who definitely
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could use 25 % more. But to have that many people
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saying, I just need a little bit more, shows
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us something important. about ourselves. It'll
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never be enough, will it? For you could get that
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25 % more and you would still want 25 % more.
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Friends, when we work only for ourselves, when
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we're seeking to satisfy only self, we are going
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to be, as I said, very disappointed and very
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lonely, which is our last point here. Verses
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nine through 12. it speaks to companionship.
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Companionship is better than aloneness. And Solomon
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illustrates this with four examples, verse 9.
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Two are better than one because they have a good
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reward for their toil. Working together you can
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accomplish more good and therefore there will
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be a greater reward for this. We should be working
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together on things that really matter, right?
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like reaching our community for Christ. This
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is done better when we all engage in it together.
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Second example is verse 10. If one falls, the
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other can help him up. To fall and be alone is
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a dangerous and scary thing. Yes, physically
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falling, but emotionally, spiritually and having
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no one to pick us up, we need community. Verse
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11 for example 3 2 can keep each other warm.
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We should remember in Solomon's time. They didn't
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have heat right and so what this is speaking
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of is probably Travelers who are on the way to
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a destination to have nowhere to stay and this
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isn't talking about anything sinful here This
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is just talking about travelers who would sleep
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near one another to keep each other warm When
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they're perhaps in the elements And then finally,
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verse 12, for example, number four. One who is
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alone may be overpowered, but two can stand against
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an attacker. Sometimes it just really helps to
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have somebody have your back, right? And so for
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all of these reasons, this proverb here in verse
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12 is true. This threefold cord that is not easily
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or quickly broken. He's saying what is often
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communicated in wisdom literature, that if one
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thing, if two things is good, then more than
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that is better. If two is good, three is better,
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right? That there is strength in numbers. And
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so friends, to go through life without companionship
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is not just sad. It's downright foolish. We need
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one another. Before the fall, God said it was
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not good for man to be alone. And while that
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first referred to marriage, Solomon is making
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a broader point about the human need for companionship,
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to have friends and family and people who are
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with you. But where can we find this community?
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Where does it come from? How can I have it? Well,
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here I could tell you to join a bowling league.
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Or if you're single, I could tell you to try
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online dating. But no. I'm telling you, a great
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place to find companionship is right here, right
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now. We need one another in the church, right?
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We need a community that worships together and
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prays together and serves together and walks
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through all of the miseries of this life together.
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And I think that Solomon would absolutely agree
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because he's the one who built the temple. And
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his very name in this book literally. The title
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that is used here is Kohelet and that means literally
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convener or assembler for the purposes of teaching.
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His name means getting together. And so we ought
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to be together. And if Solomon would agree with
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this, how much more would Jesus agree with this?
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That Jesus, the one who is followed by all the
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crowds, Jesus who assembled his own small team
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of men, right? And Jesus who commanded us to
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love one another, and you cannot keep that commandment
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if you're not with one another. And Jesus who
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is ultimately abandoned at the cross, My God,
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my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus knew
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more than any of us what it was like to be completely
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alone. And he went through it all for you. And
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ultimately, when he did that, he kicked off the
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greatest organization in the world, the church,
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the early church, the model for us. comes from
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Acts chapter 2 and I'll begin to wrap up with
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just two passages of scripture. Acts 2 42 through
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47 and they devoted themselves to the apostles
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teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of
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bread and the prayers and awe came upon every
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soul and many wonders and signs were being done
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through the apostles and all who believe were
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together. and they had all things in common,
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and they were selling their possessions and belongings
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and distributing the proceeds to all as any had
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need. And day by day, attending the temple together
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and breaking bread in their homes, they received
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their food with glad and generous hearts, praising
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God and having favor with all the people. And
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the Lord added to their number, day by day, those
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who are being saved. Perhaps you feel alone.
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Perhaps those who are listening online maybe
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feel alone. Friends, you are made for Christian
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community. In community, you grow in faith. In
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community, you bear one another's burdens. In
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community, you worship the living God. In community,
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you give help to each other in saying no to sin.
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In community, you look after the needs of those
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who are desperately in need. And in community,
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you prepare for the perfect fellowship that awaits
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you in glory. And so friends, let us have this
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closing statement, not from me. but from God's
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Word. Hebrews 10, 24, and 25. And let us consider
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how to stir up one another to love and good works,
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not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit
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of some, but encouraging one another in all the
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more as you see the day drawing near. Let us
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pray.