If all you see in life is this life, then you're going to do all you can to make this life all of life. But Dr. Tony Evans says there's so much more life ahead, and focusing on that tomorrow will change today. If you believe that there is a life to come, the intrusion of God, that affects your perspective for living life under the sun. This is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, and founding pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. Life without God eventually proves empty and meaningless, despite our income, accomplishments, possessions, everything. Today, Dr. Evans will take us to the book of Ecclesiastes for a look at how a divine perspective can move us beyond momentary satisfaction to a more fulfilling present and an eternal future.
Let's join him. All of us knows what it is to look forward to something, to be excited about it, to think about it, for it to keep us up all night. And then, when it's over, to wonder, what was that all about?
In other words, the excitement dissipates almost as quickly as it comes. We're in chapter 7. He says, I've discovered all this, says the preacher, verse 27, adding one thing to another to find an explanation. I'm trying to make sense of life, which I am still seeking, but I have not found.
Now, he's the wisest man that ever lived. And all of his searching, all of his Google search, would not give him the answers to life's questions. In other words, what he's saying again is that the answer to life cannot be discovered in life.
I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all these. Behold, I have found only this, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices. In other words, men wonder from God. He comes to chapter 8. Who is the wise man, and who knows an interpretation of a matter?
A man's wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam. In other words, if you make good choices, you feel good about it. I say, keep the command of the king because of the oath before God, because of the oath before God. In other words, to obey legitimate authority, the command of the king, the government. He says, keep the command of the king, that is, obey legitimate authority.
Do not be in a hurry to leave him. Do not join in an evil manner, for he will do whatever he pleases. Because of the power of the government, the king, he says, be careful how you relate to him because of the power that they possess. Since the word of the king is authoritative, who will say to him, what are you doing?
He who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, that is, a governmental rule of regulation. For a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. All of us knows that timing matters. That when you do something is almost sometimes as important as what you do. Because you can do a good thing at the wrong time. Okay? You can do a good thing at the wrong time. In other words, that you shouldn't have said that then.
Okay? You shouldn't have done that now. We've all experienced unwise timing. One of the things we must learn to do, particularly if there's a question mark about it, because this is one of the Holy Spirit's jobs, is to direct us, is to ask the Lord, Lord, is this wise for me to do this now? Even if you know it's the right thing to do.
And let the Holy Spirit give you peace about doing it now, or not give you peace about doing it now. Because a time's—a word spoken wisely, meaning spoken in the right situation at the right time, if a person's grieving, there's certain things you wouldn't say during their grieving time. If somebody's rejoicing, you wouldn't necessarily bring them down with something that could go to a time that's a better time. When somebody's in a crowd, perhaps that would have been better said if they were by themselves. You know what I'm saying? And sometimes we say something just because we want to vent. We mad.
So I'm going to tell them how I feel while we roll the neck. So he's saying that timing matters. Verse 8, no man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death. And there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it. He says death is as inevitable as the wind, okay? And nobody can restrain the wind, and nobody can stop ultimately death. So there is a reality that we have to contend with.
We don't like it. When you get sick, when you give an ache and a pain, or you're waiting for a diagnosis to come back, you and I are reminded that like the wind, under the sun, men die. All this I have seen and applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun.
Here's our phrase. Wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt. He says, I have observed under the sun all manner of injustice, where people hurt people.
Every day you look at the newspaper. Every day you're reading something just where men have no conscience at all about the value of life. So then I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is fertility.
That is, after death, then you become a—you just become a name. Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly. Therefore, the heart of sons of men among them are given to fully do evil.
That's an interesting concept. Because people don't see anything happening to them now, they think nothing's going to happen. But the point is, he was saying that evil that goes unaddressed, people think that they're getting away with it. Because there is no sense—under the sun, there's no sense of eternal judgment. One day, the books are going to be open, and all of us will stand— Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Non-Christians will stand before the white throne judgment, two different judgments. The judgment seat of Christ will determine the reward of Christians for their service to the Lord. The white throne judgment will determine the judgment, the degree of judgment on non-believers.
So those are two different judgments for two different groups. And so there is a record. There is a record, a detailed record of our actions, good, bad, and ugly.
Now, that can make you feel real bad and real scared, you know? Because there is a record, and that record, that book will be open. So what he is saying is, don't think because there's delay in judgment that there will be no judgment. Because of the end, verse 11, because a sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly. Although a sinner does evil, verse 12, a hundred times, and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. Now, he does one of these punctuation marks in the history again. He says, okay, a sinner does evil a hundred times.
Looks like he's getting away with it. But he says, you keep fearing God and you keep fearing God openly. In other words, don't be ashamed of your fearing God and taking God seriously. Okay, because how things look is not equal to how things are or where things will wind up.
So you cannot have a short-term view of life. I love Psalm 73, when the psalmist says he saw the evil people prospering, and he saw the righteous not prospering. And he said, it's not fair. This is, Psalm 73 is a struggle of a man seeing evil proliferate and good not going anywhere. And he says, like we all say when we see that, it's not fair.
It's not fair. But he comes toward the end of the chapter. He said, in his depression, he went into the house of the Lord. And he said, when he went to the house of the Lord, he says, and I saw their end. God gave him a picture of where things were going to wind up as opposed to where things are. So don't get all shook up that things happen unfairly right now.
It ain't over till it's over. But it will not be well, verse 13, for the evil man, and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow because he does not fear God. Ultimately, there will be a price paid. So you got to believe that because you often don't see it. There is futility which is done on the earth. That is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say this to his futility.
Or to say it another way, it ain't right. He says, I observe that a good man has bad things happening to him and a bad man has good things happening to him. And he says, I observe this. And if we're going to be totally truthful under the sun, we all observe this. We all observe bad happening to good and good happening to bad. And he says that that's what you see under the sun.
So if under the sun is the only perspective that you have, then you're going to be frustrated. You're going to be miserable because you see all this stuff happening just like Solomon saw it. But that's why he keeps punctuating this. He's going to come to chapter 12. He's going to wrap all this stuff up for us.
So you'll see him wrap up everything in chapter 12. But right now he's observing and he's telling you what he sees and the frustration it's causing him. Verse 15, So I commanded pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. So he said, look, all this unfairness going on, so let me just eat, drink, and be merry.
Let me just party. Because I mean, it won't matter anyway because life is so unfair. He's observing, he's observing, and he's giving us his struggle, his frustrations, even though he will punctuate it with a God view. We'll come back in a moment with more about what that God view can do for us, especially when it comes to dealing with the unknown and the unexpected. But first, the message you've been hearing today comes from our teaching series, How to Avoid a Wasted Life, an honest and profound look at what the Bible has to say about the complexities of life, pleasure, meaning, and more. Through the lessons being presented, we've already discovered many reasons to embrace our relationship with God and find ways to enjoy his presence and promise as our perspective on life rises above cultural and worldly uncertainties. There's a lot packed into this powerful series, and if you've missed any of the messages along the way or want to explore and learn more from the additional material we haven't had time to present, you can get all nine messages as our gift, and thanks for your contribution to help support the alternative broadcast ministry. This is the final day we'll be airing this series, so if you contact us right away, you can receive the entire collection of messages, including the two sermons we haven't had time to touch on, along with a special bonus, our 365-day Kindness Flip Calendar, filled with inspiring quotes, scriptures, and biblical insights. To take advantage of this special offer, visit tonyevans.org today, where you'll find this deal featured right on the homepage, or give us a call at 1-800-800-3222 and let a friendly member of our resource team help you. I'll repeat that contact information after the conclusion of today's lesson. He comes to chapter 9.
For I have taken all this into my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred. Anything awaits him. So life under the sun is unpredictable, because we don't know what's going to happen. We don't know what tomorrow's going to be like. There is uncertainty. There's uncertainty on your health.
You know, you get nervous whether tomorrow's going to be as good a day as today was, or whether tomorrow's going to be worse than today. There's uncertainty under the sun. And it is the same for all, because we don't have all the information.
We have the information in our five senses per take-up, but we don't have all the information. This is an evil, verse 3, and all that is done under the sun, that there is one faith for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives.
Afterwards, they go to the dead. That is talking about their physical life, because he's talking about life under the sun. He says, so that death, whether you're good or bad, is going to be inevitable for all people, and that's where everybody's going to wind up. If all you see in life is this life, then you're going to do all you can to make this life all of life, whether good or evil, because you're going to do all you can, because this is all there is.
There's only this. But if you believe, as we all should now, that there is a life to come, the intrusion of God, then that affects your perspective for living life under the sun. For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope. Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.
I love that expression. Even though death is inevitable, life is better. Even with the struggles, even with the difficulties, you're alive, so that's still better than being a great dead person. I shared this in an earlier passage. People don't want to be forgotten. I shared one of the biggest ways that people raise money, or people try to get people to give money, is by telling them they will name the building after them.
You see, you go to Baylor Hospital, and you see all of those different hospitals with somebody's name on it. Well, that somebody gave millions of dollars for their name. They don't want to be forgotten. People don't want to be a memory, and so that's one of the ways to do something to keep their name alive, because if this life is all there is, then all you can hope for is to be in somebody's memory. You know, we say about people who have passed on, we'll never forget them. You give a couple of months or years.
Who are you talking about? I mean, you will be forgotten. You will be forgotten, because life moves on, and there are more generations, and there may be a picture of something, and that was your great-great-great-grandfather.
Okay, but what does that do? So life under the sun without the intrusion of God is ultimate emptiness or vanity. So a couple of more. Indeed, verse 6, their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun on earth. Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works.
I said this earlier. This phrase shows up a lot. Given under the sun on earth where men live, the limitations, that you'll be just a memory or not much of that, whatever life you have, live it to the max, because whatever life you have is a gift from God. Life is a gift from God. That's why we believe in life at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, because it is a gift. The only life that that baby has is the life you give it. If you take that life away, it has no other life to live. So live it, maximize it, don't apologize for the legitimate things in it, and live life but not independently of God. That's what chapter 12 is all about. We'll get there shortly. Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head.
In other words, dress nice and put on cologne or perfume. He's saying, maximize, maximize what God has given you. Just make sure you remember God gave it. This is in the New Testament, 1 Timothy chapter 6. He tells those of you who've gotten some wealth in this world. He says, enjoy it, but don't forget God. So it's okay to enjoy whatever God gives you. That is, if you've gotten it legitimately, it's okay to enjoy it as long as you're giving thanks to God for it.
So the question is, can I thank God for this legitimately? Okay? So you're not called to live miserably when you don't have to.
Why? Because under the sun, there's going to be enough misery to find you anyway. Under the sun, the way the world works, you won't have to chase misery. It knows where you live. Misery knows where—sickness knows where you live. Death knows where you live. Difficulty knows where you live. Bad economic circumstances know where you live. Downturns in the economy know where you live.
It all knows where you live. So if it hasn't knocked on your door yet, praise God for that and maximize with God, under God, under the sun, what He has given you. Because tomorrow could be a different day, because that's how life is under the sun. He says—we'll go down to verse 9— Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life, which He has given you under the sun. For this is your reward in life and is your toil in which you have labored under the sun. He tells you to enjoy marriage. To enjoy marriage. Well, that's like a miracle right there, isn't it?
That'd be a miracle. If you're enjoying marriage, that shows you God must be real, because that ain't— Very few couples enjoy marriage. Unfortunately, very few couples enjoy marriage. Most of them endure marriage. Most who stay married endure marriage. 50% of all couples get divorced, right? The other 50%, a large part of the other 50%, stay together because of money and children. That's why the divorce rate skyrockets when the last child goes off to college, because the binding fact of children is no longer there. The other reason is finances sometimes because of obligations. But to think of marriage as fun, which is how he describes it here for all the days of your life, is not the normal way people think about it.
And unfortunately, a lot of negative influences have influenced us this way, the media and our relationships. And what I'm saying is, the first two words are the key. He says, enjoy life.
Whatever is legitimate fun, that's fun for you, that's okay, because there's enough misery under the sun. He just doesn't want you to enjoy it independently of God. In fact, let me close, turn to 1 Timothy 6.
I'll show you, this is not just an Old Testament concept, but a New Testament one. 1 Timothy 6.17, instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. If God gave it, you don't have to apologize for it. You can enjoy it, okay? But he doesn't want you to fix your hope on it. He doesn't want you to treat it like it's a god, like it's an idol.
Your money can't be your god, your power can't be your god, your prestige can't be your god, your notoriety can't be your god, only God can be your god. But if God has given you something to enjoy, it's not wrong to enjoy it. Nor should you let people make you feel guilty that you are enjoying it.
Not if you got it legitimately and you're enjoying it properly. Then you don't need to be given false guilt that you are enjoying it, okay? Because if your hope is fixed on God, that means you're doing it within the priorities that God has established. So you enjoy life, but don't live life under the sun as though God does not exist.
Because one day, you're going to see Him face to face. This is a 365-day kindness flip calendar, good to be used in any year. But this is the final day we'll be featuring this unique resource package, so be sure to ask for it while it's still available. Just visit tonyevans.org to get the details and to make your contribution and request. That's tonyevans.org. Or call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you. That number again, 1-800-800-3222. Neglecting your faith is like leaving a garden untended. Weeds will eventually take over, and what was once vibrant and thriving will become barren and lifeless. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans will explain how believers can nurture and tend to their faith and why that's so crucial for overcoming life's challenges. Be sure to join us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative, and it's made possible by the generous contributions of listeners like you.
