Two Daily Choices That Will Change Your Life — Ecclesiastes 2:1–11

Name: Two Daily Choices That Will Change Your Life — Ecclesiastes 2:1–11
Uploaded: 2026-10-26T22:00:18+00:00
Duration: 38 min 55 s
Channel: Medical Lake Community Church

00:00going to start this morning with a little story. And I actually asked for permission so I can tell

00:07this story. When I was, I don't know, maybe 12 or 13 years old, we used to go camping

00:13like weeks out of the year. We just go camping all the time. Well, one time I remember we went

00:18camping and I had a mountain bike and my father, who's actually sitting right there, he got this

00:26new bike and I think it was made out of fiberglass. It was like, it was one of those, you

00:29know,

00:29even as a, even though, you know, I was, as you can tell, I was completely, you know,

00:34ripped back then too. You know, it was one of those bikes, you know, you could lift up. It was

00:37like really, really light. And it was like a racing bike and you couldn't, you weren't allowed to ride

00:41this bike. You know, I had my mountain bike. That's what I used. Well, every morning you had to go

00:46and you had to go pay for your spot to camp. So one morning, you know, my brother and I

00:53get up and

00:54dad says, got to go pay for camping. Oh, no problem. Can I take the bike?

00:59And he looks at me and he goes, yes, you can take the bike. Cause my brother's bike was broken

01:05or something. And my brother took my bike and he said, you can take the bike, but don't race the

01:12bike. No problem. No problem. So we, we, we went down there and we paid for our spot and it

01:19was all

01:19good. And we got, and I got on the bike to go back and I looked over and my brother

01:23gave me that

01:23look. You know, the look I'm talking about, like, you think you could take me? Oh yeah. Well,

01:30you know, the mountain bike can go through the other campsites. I'd have to stay on, I'd have to

01:34stay on the pavement. So, you know, he gave me the look. Well, you can't give me the look, you

01:38know?

01:38So I'm like, all right, let's go. So, you know, he, he kind of went a little faster and I

01:42went a

01:42little faster and he went a little faster and I went a little faster before long. I was flying low

01:47on

01:47this bike. I mean, the wind is going, I must've been going at least 95, right? And I'm cruising.

01:53I am just cruising on this bike. And, and, and we get right to the campsite and I'm like, I'm

01:59winning

01:59and it's great. And I turn over and I look. And when I turn and I look, dad is staring

02:05at me from

02:05the seat as I'm flying on this bike. And I'm like, oh, and I turn forward and right in front

02:11of me is a

02:11tree. Bam. I hit that tree dead on. And somehow by the grace of God, I flew. And I just

02:19like the

02:19tree, like grazed the side of me. And, you know, I, I kind of did a roll on the floor

02:22and I'm laying

02:23on the ground and I'm just kind of, oh, and also in the shadows over me and I'm going, and

02:28I look up

02:29and, and I see dad's face. And first thing he says, because he's a loving, caring father, are you

02:36okay? I'm fine. The second thing he says is, what did I tell you? Don't race the bike. Don't

02:44race the bike. What did I tell you? Don't race the bike. So the, um, the tire was kind of

02:52bent on

02:52and off to the side a little bit. The front, uh, you know, the front bars of the bike, we're

02:57touching

02:58the middle part of the bike. Cause I bent it all the way back. Um, he picks up this bike

03:03and he grabs

03:04those two front bars and goes, and he bends them out. And I'm like, oh, my femur's next. This is

03:09fantastic. I am a dead man. And as he says, he says, what did I tell you? Don't race the

03:16bike,

03:16you know? And I'm going, oh, okay. And you know how any parent will understand this. You know how

03:21when you have to repeat yourself over and over, you get a little more agitated every time you have

03:24to say it. So he, he, we start walking back to the campsite and he's agitated with good reason.

03:30And he takes the bike and he goes, what did I tell you? And I said, don't race the bike.

03:34And he takes the bike and he puts it on the ground while the kickstand happened to come down

03:38right as he put it on the ground. And the kickstand just pops right off, breaks right off.

03:42At this point, I'm like our father who art in heaven. And he says, what did I tell you? And

03:48I

03:48said, don't race the bike. And he picks up the kickstand and he's agitated again with good reason.

03:55And he tosses the kickstand and the kickstand goes into the back of the pickup, bounces three

04:00times. It goes right out the window. And at that point, I'm like, I leave my GI Joes to my

04:05best

04:06friend, Brett. My brother doesn't give anything because, you know, it was his fault that I'm in

04:09this to begin with, you know? And I look up and I'm ready. I'm like, that's it. I'm done.

04:16Sayonara. And he looks at me and I kid you not, no anger in his face. All he said, and

04:21that

04:22is why we don't get angry. And he sets it down and he walks off. I'm going, he's going to

04:29get

04:29something big to beat me with, right? He didn't, you know, they came back, you know, I found out,

04:34you know, I was just, luckily I was just scraped up, but you know, they came back that, you know,

04:37they patched me up, you know, I was, I was a real man about it. Didn't cry at all. You

04:41know,

04:42I was bawling like a baby. It was terrible. Right. But, but that was it. Like I wasn't punished. He

04:46didn't yell at me. He didn't need nothing. Now the thing is, is when we get older, we have an

04:51opportunity to pass on lessons to the people that, that come after us. Right. Now, when,

04:58when I get angry, if I get angry, there's, there's this little voice in the back of my head.

05:02That's like, that's why we don't get angry. Right. I remember these, this little lesson

05:05that he passed on to me and we get that opportunity to pass on lessons as we get older,

05:11because we experience these things. We experience what it's like to, to, to have something bad happen

05:18in your life or to have anger happen in your life or to make mistakes in life. And instead of

05:22just

05:22holding onto it, you know, especially if you have kids, you say, this is kind of what happened. This

05:27is what you don't want to do because you don't want them to repeat your mistakes. Solomon is old at

05:35this point. We're going to be in the book of Ecclesiastes, just so you guys know. Solomon is old

05:39at this point and Solomon is writing the book of Ecclesiastes. And if you've ever had the chance to

05:44read the book of Ecclesiastes, you'll know. And if you haven't, I encourage you to do so because

05:49Ecclesiastes will change your life. Solomon writes Ecclesiastes to tell us how to live our life,

05:55to tell us this is what you don't want to do, to tell us this is what you want to

05:58do to have a happy

05:59life. We think we have everything and, and, and, and we, we think that we have what we have to

06:09make

06:09us complete, right? And Solomon is telling us at this point, he's, we're in, we're going to be in

06:14chapter two, as you see, but Solomon is telling us that we think we have everything complete because

06:19Solomon had everything he would need to be complete, but he said that it's not the case because in all

06:26reality, life is actually a meaningless life if you look at things the wrong way. Before we jump to

06:34chapter two, we need to look at how Solomon opened the book. So Ecclesiastes one, one, and two tells

06:39us where Solomon's heart is when he's writing the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes one, one, and two

06:44says, the words of the preacher, who Solomon, the son of David, king in Jerusalem, vanity of vanity,

06:50says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Now, vanity is the word that, that we need to focus

06:56on here because vanity is a really interesting word here. We think of vanity as being vain, right?

07:02In all reality, the word here is a Hebrew word and it's the, it's the word, and I hope I'm

07:07saying

07:07this right. It's the word hebel, H-E-B-E-L. And what this word actually means is a vapor

07:13or a breath.

07:14So he's essentially saying a vapor of vapors, says the preacher, vapor of vapors, all is a vapor.

07:21That's kind of weird. What does that even mean? I like this example because when I think of vapor,

07:28this is what I think of, you take water and you put water in a pot to boil it. And

07:32what happens?

07:33It starts to boil. And as it boils, vapor comes out, right? And what happens to the water?

07:39It disappears. Well, you have a whole lot of vapor on the ceiling, right? Like, like it just collects.

07:44So you can collect the vapor and put it in a bag or something. No, that disappears too.

07:47What he's saying is, is, is everything is like vapor. It's all going to disappear. Everything that you

07:52have here, everything that you're collecting in this pot, it's going to go away.

07:57Everything that you think you need to have that complete life, it's not going to be there.

08:01It's just going to disappear. It's going to dissipate. Like the vapor that's in this pot,

08:05it's just going to disappear. A couple of examples. Proverbs 21.6 says,

08:12the getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death. Okay.

08:19Psalms 144.4 says, man is like a breath. Also the word hevel. His days are like a passing shadow.

08:30Life here is a vapor. Life here is fleeting. Life here is not, we're not going to be here forever.

08:37Sooner or later, right? We're going to die here on earth. Our human bodies are going to,

08:42are going to go away. And Lord willing, we're going to be in heaven with Jesus.

08:48And Solomon's saying, you need to understand this is a vapor. What you guys are doing here,

08:54everything we're collecting, if you're doing it for the wrong reasons, if you think you're going to,

08:58to make yourself happy for the wrong reasons, you got to understand it's a vapor. It's not going to

09:02last, it's going to go away. The commentary I used, I just loved how they put it. They said,

09:13everything is transitory and therefore has no lasting value. People are caught in the trap of

09:19the absurd and pursue empty pleasures. They build their lives on lies. Like to me, that fits. That's

09:29so well. Because everything is, we spend our whole lives collecting things, trying to make

09:35ourselves happy. And in all reality, they're going to go away. I want, is Solomon saying,

09:42I wanted happiness. I did everything that I wanted. I tried everything that I wanted.

09:45Nothing made me happy like I wanted. Now remember, Solomon is the wisest person ever. And I love the

09:52fact that when Solomon had the opportunity to ask God for something and God said, what do you want?

09:56And I'll give it to you. Instead of asking for riches or power, Solomon says, give me wisdom.

10:03So it's not like Solomon was dumb. Solomon was the wisest person ever. Solomon had the wisdom that

10:08God gave him. That's his gift. So he told us why he thought that life was fleeting, why he thought

10:16that life was like a vapor. He gave us three separate ways in chapter two, verses one through 11,

10:22why he thought that this was the case. And he uses example instead of just giving us his opinion.

10:29Starting in Ecclesiastes 2, the first thing he did was empty pleasure. Ecclesiastes 2, verses one

10:35through three says, I said in my heart, come now, I will test you with pleasure. Enjoy yourself. But

10:42behold, this was also vanity. I said of laughter, it is mad and of pleasure. What use is it? I

10:48used,

10:48I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine. My heart still guided me with wisdom and

10:54how

10:54to lay hold on folly till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under

10:59heaven during

11:00the few days of their life. The first thing that Solomon does here to try to fill that void, to

11:06try

11:06to, to try to, to give himself that happiness that he thinks he so desires is he tries laughter. And

11:12you're going, well, how is that such a bad thing? I mean, you know, isn't it a scientific fact that

11:18laughter raises your, I think it's endorphins or something? I don't know. I'm a theologian. I am

11:23not a scientist, but I think it's endorphins, right? So, like, laughter is good. Laughter makes

11:30you feel better and laughter is great. But the type of laughter that Solomon's trying to give himself

11:34isn't the type of laughter that we need. See, Solomon's like, I'm going to call in the comedians and

11:40the clowns. I'm going to call in people to make me laugh. I'm going to call in the court

11:45jesters. I'm going to call in people just to make me laugh because I just want to laugh.

11:49And if I laugh, if they tell me a funny joke or a joke that makes me go, oh, that's

11:53so bad,

11:54like I would give, right? Then that's going to help. That's going to fill that void.

12:01An anonymous person said, you can make the whole room laugh and still struggle to find a reason

12:06to smile when you're alone. Now, there's nothing wrong with laughter. Laughter is great. I love

12:14laughter. Obviously, if you've ever heard me preach, I love laughter, right? Even if it's me making

12:19myself laugh, I like to laugh. That's just, you know, it's fun. But if it's not, if it's surface

12:25level laughter, if it's not laughter that actually matters, it doesn't last. One of my favorite

12:33comedians and actors of all time is Robin Williams. Love Robin Williams, right? Just, I mean,

12:40he, I thought, I always thought he was so funny. And then his movies, you know, he just, he's that

12:44guy that you can watch and you just smile when you watch him act because he just seems like he's

12:49that

12:49guy that's fun. And yet Robin Williams, one of the funniest people that I've ever heard,

12:55was so depressed that he took his own life.

13:00Well, that doesn't make sense. His whole life is making people laugh. He was like Bob Hope,

13:04right? He'd go overseas and he'd talk to the troops and make them laugh. And his movies, I mean,

13:10you know, he's so funny and he's so talented. And you listen to him and it's just like, man,

13:15this guy gets what laughter is because he just gets it. And yet when he's by himself at home,

13:21there's no laughter, nobody's laughing with him. And he says, I am so sad that he can't stand to be

13:27on the planet. And he took his own life. Why? Because it was surface level.

13:37It was just that laughter. That's like on the top, you know, that like, oh, that's funny. And then

13:42you're done laughing. You're like, oh, I need another joke. I'm not smiling anymore.

13:50Again, happiness is a good thing. And I want to reiterate that. Proverbs 15, 15 says,

13:54all the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

14:02The type of laughter that Solomon wants, I like to say, is like a cup of coffee, right? It's that

14:10first cup of coffee that you give that's going to give you that first little jolt to get going.

14:13But what happens after a while? You got to get that second cup, right? Or in my case,

14:18it's a Red Bull. Coffee, stunt your growth. I'm still hoping for a couple inches, you know.

14:29On the other hand, there's a laughter that comes when you're surrounded by Jesus.

14:33And that laughter is pure and it's amazing. And a prime example of this, how many of you have ever

14:38been sad and sang a worship song, sang a hymn? What happens? You feel lifted, right? Because

14:50for a second, you forget the fact that, man, I'm just sad and this is going on and this is

14:55going on

14:55and life is bad and life is hard. And for that short instance, you go, I'm going to focus on

15:02Jesus

15:02and I'm going to sing to Jesus. And I'm going to sing a song of joy to Jesus because he's

15:06worthy

15:07of it. And when you do that, that joy comes deep. And it makes you feel something that you were

15:15longing

15:15for. That's the type of laughter that you want. Solomon's looking to bring in the clowns and he

15:23laughed and he laughed and he found out that that laughter was empty laughter and it didn't work.

15:29And he's telling people, I tried everything I could and it didn't work. The second thing he tried

15:35was wine. And it's just how it sounds. He said, I'm going to drink myself to happiness.

15:41I'm going to throw parties. I'm going to drink until I'm happy. And he would drink and drink and

15:49drink and he would get all the wine he wanted and he would drink all the wine he wanted. But

15:53guess what

15:53happens? Sooner or later, he sobered up. And when he sobered up, he was just as sad as he was

15:59before.

16:01I'm not here to tell you whether drinking is good or bad. That's a different day and that's for you

16:06to

16:06decide. But I will say, and I have zero qualms saying this, substance abuse is rampant in our country

16:16and not just drinking. Drinking, drugs, even nicotine, caffeine, whatever you need to get

16:27yourself, you know, where you need to go. That seems to be where our country is going, you know?

16:36But they don't fix the problem. And if anything, I would argue a lot of the times it just makes

16:41the

16:42problem worse. In the end, these empty pleasures didn't fix Solomon. So Solomon said, well, if these

16:51empty pleasures didn't work, you know, I did everything I could. I tried drinking and that

16:56made me happy for a second or two. And then that didn't work. I tried laughing. The clowns were great,

17:02but after a while, they just got creepy like clowns always do because clowns are creepy, you know?

17:06And that didn't work. So he said, so if these experiences don't make me feel that happiness

17:13inside that I want, that need to be filled inside, then what do I do? So he came up with

17:19a second

17:19idea. And if empty pleasure didn't work, he thought, let's try empty measure. An easier way to say this

17:27is Solomon thought that stuff would fix his problem. Ecclesiastes 2 verses 4 through 9 says,

17:34I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and

17:39parks and planted them in all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest

17:44growing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had slaves who were born in my house. I also had

17:50a

17:50great possessions of herds and flocks more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered

17:56for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women,

18:02and many concubines, the delight of sons of man. So I became great and surpassed all who were before

18:08me in Jerusalem. Also, my wisdom remained with me. Solomon had everything he could possibly want.

18:16So let's look at the list of what he says he has here. Solomon had houses, not one, many houses.

18:23He had,

18:24you know, his house, you know, his palace, and then he had the house on the beach, and then he

18:31had the

18:31house in the country, and, you know, he had the house, you know, wherever he wanted. I want a house

18:37there now. Why? Because I have a house. I don't want a house. So he had houses. He had vineyards.

18:41He had

18:41more vineyards than anybody in the world, right? So he could look out wherever, whatever house he was

18:46at. He could look out and say, look at all my vineyards. These are all mine. He had gardens and

18:51parks. This is the Solomon National Park right here. This is the Garden of Solomon here. This is Solomon's

18:59garden here. He had all of them. He had all kinds of fruit trees. He said he had massive pools.

19:07In

19:07Israel, there are still remnants of these pools that Solomon built for himself, okay? Thousands of

19:15years later, there are still these remnants because they were so massive and so majestic, right? That he

19:21could look out and be like, I made these pools for myself so I could do whatever I want with

19:25them.

19:26He said he had slaves, both male and female, to make sure his every wish was taken care of.

19:34He says, he sneezed and five people showed up with a Kleenex, right? He wanted a grape and 16 slaves

19:41would run out to the vineyard and be like, you know, pick, pick, pick. It didn't matter. He had

19:45everything he wanted. It says that he had herds and flocks. And an important part here, it says,

19:51more than any who had been before him in Jerusalem. And he wrote this. I had so much that I

19:57had more

19:58than anybody before me. I need you to understand that. Like, when I say I had herds and flocks,

20:03I'm not talking a cow and a sheep. I'm talking, man, I had so many that the people before me

20:10were

20:10like, whoa, he's got more than me. I had everything I could possibly want. It said that he had silver

20:16and

20:16gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. So he wasn't hurting for money. He says he had

20:23singers. So, you know, I mean, it wasn't quite, you know, didn't have the iPod yet.

20:29He had I Solomon, right? But any song he wanted, he's like, I feel like I want to listen to

20:35this

20:36song. And bam, a singer would come and sing him this song or whatever he wanted. He had all those.

20:40And then it says that he had concubines and not just concubines. It says both men and many concubines,

20:49the delight of sons of man. 1 Kings 11.3 says that King Solomon had 700 wives who were princesses

21:01and 300 concubines and his wives turned away his heart. Now I did some math.

21:12Don't know if I did math correctly, but I did some math. I teach Bible, not math. That's a thousand

21:19from where I can figure out, right? So if he had a date night with one of his wives or

21:26concubines,

21:27every single night, he had a date for three years. He's just like, you know, it's day 645. So,

21:39you know, concubine number 645. Hey, how's it going? And then she's like, okay, see you again in like

21:44three years, you know, like he wasn't hurting for, for, for company. And anytime he wanted a date,

21:49he could just say, I want a date. And they say, okay. He said just that one, you know, I

21:56mean,

21:56it was simple, crazy, but simple. And then at the end of that, which absolutely, you know, crazy,

22:04he says, I had more than anyone and I had my wisdom. I would argue he wasn't using his wisdom,

22:14but he had it. He was trying to fill his life with all this stuff, right? Anything he wanted,

22:20he just, he could have. I want women. Okay. Here's women. I want, I want, I want livestock.

22:27Here's livestock. I want, I want property. Here's property. I want things. Here's things. It doesn't

22:32matter if he wanted it, he could have it because that need to want something meant that he had to

22:38go buy something or get something. And if he got that something that should fill whatever was missing,

22:43right? The problem is, is every time he bought something else, it didn't help. So he had to keep

22:49buying stuff and he kept buying stuff and it didn't help. And he's going, I don't get it.

22:57I'm trying everything to make myself happy and it's not working. I don't get it. Why am I not happy?

23:02I have everything I could want plus more. I have everything anybody could want plus more,

23:08and I'm still not getting it. C.S. Lewis says, no matter how many such things one has,

23:14he is always lusting after what he has not. That's wisdom.

23:22He had everything he wanted, yet it wasn't enough. This was because Solomon had amassed

23:28massive wealth, things, and experiences, but it just wasn't doing what it was supposed to do.

23:36So finally in verses 10 and 11, he explained why. And he told us that he had searched and searched

23:45and it was for nothing but empty treasure. Verses 10 and 11 says, and whatever my eyes desired,

23:52I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure for my heart found pleasure in all

23:57my toil.

23:58And this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done

24:02and the toil I had expended doing it. And behold, all was vanity. That word again, vanity.

24:09And all was vapor and striving after wind. And there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

24:17What he's saying is, man, I just threw it all to the wind. I tried everything. He says,

24:23whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. If he saw something shiny on the ground,

24:28it was his. If he saw something that he maybe wanted, it was his. If he saw something that he

24:34didn't even want, but he didn't want somebody else to want, it was his. It didn't matter what it was.

24:39He saw it, he wanted it, and it was his. And then he says, he kept his heart from no

24:45pleasure,

24:46his heart found, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil. What does that mean? I deserve it.

24:54I deserve it. Whatever Solomon wanted, he got. Right and wrong didn't matter. What he thought would

25:05fix things didn't matter. He deserved it. He's the king. He's Solomon. All that mattered was what

25:16Solomon wanted. He did all the work, and he deserved all the prizes. And we look at that,

25:23and we go, that's kind of crazy, right? Like, why would you do that? But at the same time,

25:28we absolutely get like that. Instead of seeing things as blessings from God and being thankful

25:34for everything that we have, we have things that we deserve. Well, yeah, this car's not good enough.

25:42That car's what I should have because that car's better because I work hard enough,

25:47I should deserve that car. You know, or, you know, I know that this phone works great and all,

25:59but I deserve a better phone because I work hard for it. I work hard for my house. I work

26:07hard for my

26:07car. The food that I put on the table, I work hard for that food. You know, my kids? I

26:15work hard for

26:15you. Mike's like, yeah, no. I'm just using you as an example, bud. You know, I mean, I work hard

26:22for

26:22the, you know, when I was able to, when God gave me my kids, he gave me those kids because

26:28I deserve

26:29those kids. I don't know that they deserve me, but I deserve them. I have these things that I have.

26:36Do you know why I have them? Because of me. That's why, and I deserve them.

26:43And the more I have, the better my life is going to be.

26:48It's a crazy, selfish way to look at things, but that's the way we see things.

26:55Anytime you look at something and you say, I have this because of me,

26:59it's a selfish way to look at things. Does that mean that you don't deserve what you work for?

27:04No, of course you do. Who goes to work and gets a, you know, goes to work 45 hours a

27:09week

27:10and gets a paycheck and comes home and puts food on the table and goes, man, I didn't deserve that.

27:16You know, you deserve that. Good for you. I'm not saying you don't, but I'm saying if you sit there

27:21and you say, everything that I have is because of me and none of it is because of thee, you're

27:25missing it.

27:28Solomon was missing the thing that would give him what he really wanted,

27:31and that thing was completeness, the feeling of satisfaction,

27:34the feeling that was fulfilling the purpose that he was actually here for.

27:39Solomon was empty because he was filling his heart with the wrong things.

27:45There's only one thing that will fill a need like that.

27:49And that thing is God.

27:55See, that's the hole that Solomon was experiencing.

27:59Now, I know what you're saying. Jesus wasn't there yet. He hadn't died on the cross.

28:03I get that, but he knew who God was.

28:08He knew what that hole was.

28:10I mean, think about it. His dad was David.

28:13It's not like it was a secret who God was at that point.

28:20We're not different than Solomon.

28:23God admit, you know, I don't know if you guys saw this.

28:25The new iPhone came out.

28:28And I saw it and I went, ooh.

28:32And now they have this one that opens up, you know?

28:36And I was like, ooh.

28:40And I'm thinking to myself, there's got to be a reason why I need this phone.

28:42And I'm looking. I think it's like $3,000. It's crazy.

28:47Two. I'm sorry. Thank you, Ben.

28:49It's only two. Only two?

28:51I need somebody else to close. I got to go.

28:53No, no, right? No.

28:54But like, you know, you see it and it's just like, ooh, pretty.

28:56And then I'm looking at my phone and my phone, I have a good phone.

28:59You know, it's only like a year old.

29:01It's a really good phone.

29:03I'm looking at it and I'm like, oh.

29:06My phone is old.

29:08That phone goes like this.

29:09Ooh. And every time it opens up, it goes, ooh.

29:11Ooh, even if it's me saying it, it's like, ooh, right?

29:14It's like, wow.

29:14And I don't need that phone.

29:17I want that phone.

29:19But I don't need that phone.

29:23As humans, we want more and more to fill that emptiness

29:28with things that aren't God.

29:30Because if we fill that emptiness with things that are God,

29:34we have to rely on God to fill that.

29:36And we can't do that.

29:38I'm independent.

29:40I can do it on my own.

29:41I do the work.

29:44Last week, Pastor Mark was talking about being self-sufficient, right?

29:49We don't need God.

29:51We can do it on our own.

29:55Doesn't work like that.

29:56God didn't create us that way.

29:58God created us to be with him.

30:01God created us.

30:01He's like, I want to walk with you.

30:03I want to talk with you.

30:03I want to carry you through the good times, through the bad times.

30:06I want to help you through life.

30:09Everything that you give, I want to give to you.

30:11Like, I want to be part of you.

30:16And for some reason, we as humans sit there and we go,

30:20that's nice of all God, but I think I can do it on my own.

30:23I think I can figure this out on my own.

30:24And it's crazy.

30:26And okay, let's for a second, right?

30:28Let's take non-Christians and put them over here.

30:31And just focus on the Christian aspect of it.

30:33We're Christians, right?

30:35Christians.

30:36That means that we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

30:39We ask him to come into our hearts and he is dwelling in us every single day.

30:44Hallelujah.

30:45Praise the Lord.

30:46And yet still as Christians, we go, I don't need you today.

30:50Thanks.

30:52It's crazy.

30:54Why would we do that?

30:56I'm talking to myself.

30:57I'm not talking to anybody but myself right now,

30:59because I do this all the time.

31:02I think my middle name is independent.

31:06It's just the way it is.

31:07Like, I have to fix things on my own.

31:11I struggle with letting go and trusting God with things

31:13because I have to be able to fix things on my own

31:15because if I fix things, then at least I know that they're done, right?

31:20Yeah, they might be done, but they're going to be done wrong.

31:25There's two ways that we can fix this problem.

31:27There are two ways that we can fix the mental problem of feeling empty

31:34or of thinking we don't need God.

31:37And if we do these two things every single day,

31:40it's going to change the way we look at life, okay?

31:44The first thing that we need to do is we need to give thanks to God

31:47for absolutely everything.

31:51Okay, how many of you pray before a meal?

31:54Right?

31:57We're used to it.

31:58We're used to it.

31:59You sit down for a meal.

32:01You know, if you were raised in a house like I was,

32:03okay, let's thank Jesus for the meal.

32:06Usually it's something, you know, really quick, you know.

32:09You know, thank you, God, for the food.

32:11Amen.

32:12You know, good food, good meat, good God.

32:14Let's eat.

32:15Let's go, you know.

32:16Well, my parents thought, you know, a German,

32:19I don't even know what it means,

32:20but it works for meals apparently, right?

32:22Like you say, thank you for the meal.

32:24But do you thank God for everything else?

32:25When you wake up and you put on your shoes,

32:27do you say, hey, God, thanks for giving me shoes

32:29to put on my feet?

32:30When you get in your car that barely turns over

32:33because it's old, you say, hey, God,

32:35thank you for letting the car turn over.

32:37When you get to the job that drives you nuts,

32:39but that gives you a paycheck, do you say,

32:41hey, God, thank you for giving me this job

32:43that feeds my family.

32:48When you get home and you see your wife and kids

32:51and you've had that long day, you know,

32:53I really appreciate Leo reading the armor of God

32:57because I tell you, there are some days

32:58where I feel I need that a lot more than others.

33:01There's that whole part where it says

33:03that it protects you from the fiery arrows

33:05of the evil one, right?

33:07And we picture like, you know,

33:09the devil up there with like one arrow,

33:10you know, like Cupid up there.

33:13I picture it like, you know,

33:14have you seen those like old school movies,

33:16like, you know, Braveheart type thing

33:18where you got a whole line up of people shooting arrows

33:21and there's that, you know,

33:23there's the army down there and then the arrows

33:25and it's just like, it's raining arrows, right?

33:28That's life.

33:29That's what it's talking about.

33:31It's not talking about one arrow.

33:32These things are coming by the thousands.

33:37And if you're not wearing that armor,

33:39man, you are putting yourself in jeopardy.

33:41And God's like, I'll give you whatever armor you need.

33:45So you get home and you're just having that rough day

33:47and you see your kids and your kids come up

33:50and your son goes, daddy, can we play Mario Kart?

33:54And you're like, the last thing on earth

33:56I want to do right now is play Mario Kart.

34:00But you play Mario Kart.

34:01You know what you say?

34:03Thank you for giving me a son

34:04that wants to play Mario Kart.

34:07You say thank you for every single thing

34:10that you have in your life.

34:11And what happens is you get an attitude of thanks.

34:14Your heart becomes thankful.

34:16Your heart becomes the heart that it's supposed to be

34:19that looks to God and says,

34:20thank you for every single thing that I have.

34:23It changes.

34:24And instead of sitting there going home,

34:26going, man, my day was terrible.

34:28And man, my day was bad.

34:29You go home and you're like,

34:30I have so much to be thankful for.

34:32And I'm happy about it.

34:33Yeah, it was kind of a rough day.

34:35Yeah, I wish it was better, but thank you anyway.

34:38Maybe all you have left is God.

34:41Thank you for giving me breath

34:42because that's all I have left today.

34:45But at least you have breath.

34:47The second thing you need to do is you need,

34:50this is so important, guys.

34:52I cannot, I cannot, please, please, please.

34:54If you hear anything I say today, hear this.

34:57You have to put God first.

35:05You have to put God first before things, before people,

35:12before your family, before God has to be number one.

35:19In every single thing you do, God has to be number one.

35:27This is something that is absolutely gone by the wayside.

35:36I mean, all you have to do is walk outside

35:41to see that this isn't the case anymore.

35:45You have to put God first.

35:47And if you put God first in your life,

35:49if everything that you do has God first,

35:54your life will never go astray.

35:58Yeah, bad things will happen.

35:59Yeah, hardships will still come.

36:01Yeah, you'll still be down there

36:03and that rain of arrows are still gonna come

36:06and it's gonna be hard.

36:08But with God first, everything else falls in line.

36:12God says it may be hard,

36:13but I guarantee you where we're going

36:15is where you wanna be.

36:19But you have to choose this every day.

36:22Every day you choose God first.

36:25God before my family.

36:26God before my job.

36:29God before politics.

36:31God before money.

36:33God before things.

36:35God first.

36:36Everything else after.

36:40I encourage you, go home

36:42and I actually encourage this with my youth group.

36:44Make a list of your priorities.

36:47First, you make your list of priorities as they are

36:50and be honest with yourself.

36:52This is a list between you and God

36:53and you make a list and you say,

36:55this is where my priorities are right now.

36:57And maybe God's first.

36:58Maybe your family's first.

37:00I don't know.

37:00That's between you and God.

37:01But make a list of like your top five priorities.

37:05Okay?

37:08And then look at the list and pray over the list

37:10and rewrite the list how you want it to look.

37:15Maybe it looks the same.

37:16Maybe it looks different.

37:17But I encourage you to do it.

37:19But if you give thanks to God

37:21for everything that you have,

37:24good and bad,

37:25you say, thank you, Father,

37:26even because I'm just breathing.

37:28And if you put God first,

37:31then that happiness that Solomon was searching for,

37:33that he's telling us that he did everything he could to get

37:36and he couldn't get a grasp on that happiness,

37:40you're going to find it.

37:43If you don't believe me,

37:45wait till you get to heaven and ask Peter.

37:47I mean, not Peter, but Paul,

37:50how were you able to sing in prison

37:52after you got beat to almost death?

37:56Because he thanked God for everything

37:58and he put God first.

38:00And even in the face of death and pain and agony,

38:03not knowing what's going to happen tomorrow,

38:05he said, it doesn't matter because I've got God.

38:09Let's pray.

38:12Father God, I thank you for this day.

38:13I thank you once again for who you are.

38:16I thank you for the good that comes in our lives.

38:19I thank you for the bad that comes

38:20that teaches us to trust you.

38:23I thank you for giving us things that we need

38:26and for giving us happiness, Father.

38:30I thank you for everything that you do for us.

38:33I just pray that we put you first in our lives.

38:35We put you first in our family's lives, Father.

38:38I pray that we see you in every single thing.

38:41And Father, I pray that we have that happiness inside

38:43that radiates out of us

38:44where people can't help but notice

38:46that something's different

38:47and that they see you in us, Father.

38:50I thank you and I praise you

38:52for everything you do for us, Father.

38:53In your name we pray, amen.

Two Daily Choices That Will Change Your Life — Ecclesiastes 2:1–11

Category

Transcript

Recommended