Introduction:
5 Fantastic Things You Only Get from Adversity:
(Ecclesiastes 7:1-14)
- Perspective . (Eccl 7:1-4)
- Maturity . (Eccl 7:5-6)
- Patience . (Eccl 7:7-9)
- Wisdom . (Eccl 7:10-12)
Numbers 11:4-6 - Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."
- Reliance . (Eccl 7:13-14)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:00-00:01
All right, we're going to start with a little game.
00:01-00:02
You want to play a game?
00:04-00:07
I love the enthusiasm from both of you.
00:09-00:11
This is an easy game, okay?
00:12-00:14
We're going to play which is better.
00:14-00:24
I'm going to give you two things, and I'm going to give you a second to think about it, and then you're going to raise your hand on which one you think is better, okay?
00:25-00:25
All right.
00:27-00:27
Coke and Pepsi.
00:28-00:29
How many?
00:30-00:31
That's not how the game works.
00:32-00:35
Those of you who said neither, that's not how it works.
00:35-00:37
I'm gonna, let me explain again.
00:37-00:42
I'm gonna give you two things, and you're going to say which one is better, all right?
00:45-00:47
There's always a couple in every crowd, isn't there?
00:48-00:50
All right, Coke and Pepsi.
00:51-00:52
How many of you would say Coke is better?
00:53-00:53
Show of hands.
00:55-00:56
Wow, how many Pepsi?
00:58-01:00
Looks like there's more Coke people here.
01:01-01:02
All right.
01:04-01:05
Ford and Chevy.
01:06-01:08
How many people-- no, don't say Toyota.
01:08-01:10
How many people say Ford?
01:12-01:12
All right, Chevy?
01:14-01:15
That's a lot.
01:16-01:18
Looks like we're leaning a little more towards Ford.
01:18-01:19
OK, this is an easy one.
01:21-01:23
Marvel movies and DC movies.
01:26-01:28
How many of you say Marvel movies are better?
01:29-01:30
Yeah, that's the right answer.
01:30-01:32
How many of you say the DC movies are better?
01:33-01:34
A couple of you.
01:38-01:38
Well, party on.
01:40-01:43
All right, iPhone or Android?
01:43-01:45
How many of you say iPhone is better?
01:47-01:49
All right, Android.
01:51-01:53
I'm gonna give you one more, you ready?
01:54-01:57
Which is better, prosperity or adversity?
01:58-02:00
I'm gonna give you a second to think about that one.
02:02-02:05
How many of you would say that prosperity is better?
02:08-02:10
It just got really uncomfortable in here.
02:11-02:17
If you're watching this stream at home, or you're watching this recording later, you can cut the tension in this room with a knife right now.
02:18-02:23
Because it's like, I know what, okay, how many say adversity is better?
02:27-02:35
Really? I mean, let's think about this for a second. If I were to say to you, which is better, getting a new job or getting fired from a job, which would you say is better?
02:38-02:41
You're like, "It depends on the job." That's not how the game works!
02:43-02:51
But, okay, if you, if I were to say, um, which is better, getting a raise or getting a major demotion. Which is better?
02:55-03:04
That's not how you just voted though. I would say which is better going to a baby shower or going to a funeral? Which is better?
03:06-03:08
But that's not how you voted.
03:10-03:23
And you see we're on this quest for meaning through Ecclesiastes and you could say that this book is really an extended spirit-inspired rant.
03:24-03:26
Samuel, do the kids still call it a rant?
03:27-03:28
Ok, thank you.
03:29-03:30
That's a current term.
03:31-03:31
But it's a rant.
03:31-03:39
It is a spirit-inspired rant of Solomon saying, this is what gives meaning to life, and this is not going to help.
03:39-03:45
And last week we saw - and this was a hard sell - money won't make you happy.
03:47-03:50
Last week we saw Solomon said prosperity isn't always good.
03:51-03:57
And today we're looking at the other side of the coin, where he says adversity, it isn't always bad.
03:59-04:11
And if we were to have Solomon sitting here and say which is better, prosperity or adversity, I believe that he would say hands down adversity is better than prosperity.
04:14-04:15
Why is that?
04:17-04:17
And here's the sermon.
04:19-04:21
Adversity will make you a better person.
04:22-04:24
So much more than prosperity ever will.
04:27-04:34
There have been so many people throughout history who have become stronger through adversity.
04:35-04:43
And if we're honest, prosperity has ruined more people than adversity ever has or ever will.
04:45-04:45
That's the sermon.
04:47-04:48
You can go if you like.
04:49-04:56
But if you're still not convinced, you're outlined five fantastic things you only get from adversity.
04:57-05:07
There are things - I wouldn't just say important things, but probably the most important things about life - you only get it through adversity.
05:09-05:11
And that's where Solomon takes us here.
05:11-05:13
Number one, write this down - perspective.
05:14-05:17
Here's something you only get from adversity perspective.
05:17-05:18
Look at verse 1.
05:18-05:30
He says, "A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth." Interestingly, something you don't see in the English is this is a play on words in the Hebrew.
05:31-05:41
Because the word for name in Hebrew is "shem." And the word for ointment or perfume is "shemen." So it's kind of a pun.
05:41-05:47
He's like, "A good shem is better than a good shemin." What's your point, Solomon?
05:47-06:00
He says, "Well, perfume doesn't last very long, but a good name absolutely does." And then he says, "The day of death is greater than the day of birth." Like what are you talking about?
06:00-06:05
Well, you're going to see as we go through these verses, he's taking us to the funeral home.
06:06-06:06
Right?
06:06-06:08
That's where he's going with this.
06:08-06:12
And what he's doing in doing that is giving us perspective.
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In other words, it's better to evaluate a life well lived than to evaluate a life not yet lived.
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You see?
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That's why he's talking about it's better to have a good name.
06:29-06:30
Look at verse 2.
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Here's his point.
06:33-06:47
He says, "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, For this is the end of all mankind and the living will lay it to heart." Again, like a lot of things in God's Word, it seems backwards.
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I mean, if I called you up on a Saturday morning and said, "Hey, what are you doing?" You're like, "Nothing." I'm like, "Hey, I'd like to hang out with you.
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Would you rather go to a party tonight, or would you rather go to a funeral tonight?
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Which would you rather attend?
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And honestly, I would guess Not giving the Sunday school answer. Okay, but I would guess a hundred percent of us would say I'd rather I'd much rather go to a party into a funeral Solomon says no, it's better To go to the house of mourning. He says the living lay it to heart Meaning it gets us It changes our lives by the way that we think about it.
07:36-07:37
Go on here, look at verse 3.
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He says, "Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." Actually, "made right" is a better translation than "made glad." The heart is put right in approaching life.
07:52-07:54
And again, verse 4, same point.
07:54-08:26
He says the house of the wise or the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth See see his point it's about taking an honest assessment of your life It's about perspective and Solomon's point in these four verses is if you're wise Looking death in the face is going to make you evaluate your own life.
08:29-08:36
Because as it's been said so often, every funeral we attend anticipates our own.
08:38-08:47
Someday people are going to be lining up to pay their last respects to you, and your name is going to be on the little marquee outside the room.
08:49-08:51
That's going to happen to you and it's going to happen to me.
08:53-08:56
And attending funerals now should make us think about that.
08:57-09:04
To think, "You know, someday I'm going to die." I hope that wasn't a spoiler alert for anybody here.
09:04-09:10
But someday, your life on this earth is going to be over.
09:13-09:37
And the question you have to ask regarding that is, "What's going to be said about me?" In other words, "How did I spend my time here? What was my life about?" Those are the questions that we should consider that should change our lives, knowing that death is coming for us.
09:40-09:46
You know, in my time I've done a lot of what are called community funerals.
09:49-10:00
And there are people that die that they don't have a church home or a pastor, so they call me up and they're like, "Hey, would you do a funeral for us?" The funeral home calls.
10:01-10:06
I've got to tell you, some of those are the most heartbreaking stories.
10:09-10:16
I remember one time years ago there was a 28-year-old girl who died in an automobile accident.
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And in these cases when I don't know the person, you know, personally, I like to sit down with some family members and just say, "Hey, can I get some general just information?
10:27-10:40
"I don't wanna be presumptuous and stand up "and pretend like I know the person, "but you know, just to give some general eulogy information "and kind of set the table for the family "to share personal things, right?" So I'll sit down with a family member to talk about this.
10:40-10:42
And I sat down with this girl's father.
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And I said, "So tell me a little bit about her." And he just kind of looked down and kind of stuttered and muttered a little bit.
10:54-11:31
And he's like, "I don't know what to say." I said, "Well, what kind of hobbies did she have?" And he's, "I don't, I don't, uh, "she really didn't have any hobbies." I'm like, "Well, what kinds of things "was she interested in?" I'm like, "You're not really giving me anything here." I said, "Is there anything that she liked to do?" I'll never forget the look in this man's face.
11:33-11:53
I said, "Is there anything that she liked to do?" and he looked up at me, and with a perfect mixture of anger and sadness, he said, "She liked to do drugs." And I'm thinking, "Oh." It's a sad legacy to leave behind, isn't it?
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To think this girl lived 28 years on this earth, and that was the one thing her father could say about her?
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Really?
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It's heartbreaking.
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It is so heartbreaking.
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But you see, that's what Solomon's saying here is going to a funeral makes us think about what kind of legacy are we leaving?
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What's gonna be attached to our name?
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What are you doing with your life?
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See, it's about perspective.
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Nobody at a party is thinking about their time coming to an end.
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Nobody at a party is thinking, am I living on purpose?
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And while funerals are some of the hardest events that we experience in life, there's something fantastic about them.
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They give us perspective, don't they?
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Number two, five fantastic things you only get from adversity.
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Here's something else that you get only from adversity, maturity.
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Look at verses five and six.
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He says, "It is better for a man to hear "the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
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"For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools.
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This also is vanity." Okay, speaking of partying fools that he sort of introduced in the previous section, he says they're like crackling thorns.
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Like what's he talking about?
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Well, thorns in the fire, they burn quick and they give no heat and they make lots of noise.
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In other words, they're useless.
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They're useless.
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They just make a lot of noise, but they don't really help much.
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Those are burning thorns.
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And he said that's what the laughter of fools is like.
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And I always think one time, Aaron and I were at a restaurant, and there were these two adult women in the booth behind us.
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Adult women in the booth behind us.
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And we were by no means eavesdropping, which I'm sure he'll be convinced of here in a minute.
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But they were talking so loud.
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Have you ever been to a restaurant where people are talking so loud it's like they want everybody to hear what's going on?
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Do you know what I'm talking about?
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Well that's what these ladies were doing.
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And this was the content of their entire conversation.
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"Oh my gosh, last Friday night I got so hammered!" "Oh I must have drank six and then whatever, I can't remember, fireballs or whatever." But they were naming the alcohol.
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"Oh I was so hammered!" You thought you were...
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I was so wasted!
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I was sloshed!
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And that went on and on and on.
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These were adults.
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Did I mention that?
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On and on and on.
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And just bragging about how much we drank, how drunk we were.
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And Solomon says, "You know what that sound is like?
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It's like thorns on the fire.
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Lots of noise, but really..." Senseless.
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Some people never grow up, and some people never grow out of that mindset.
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And Solomon's here says, "Better than that noise of the thorns on the fire, better than that noise is hearing the rebuke of a wise person." I suppose we can file that under adversity, right?
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It's never fun.
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When you mess up and you refuse to acknowledge it, and then God sends somebody to point that out, ooh, let the good times roll.
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Rebukes are hard to hear, aren't they?
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And if you've ever been on the receiving end of one, you know.
15:40-15:51
But a rebuke can be so good for you, because if it's accurate, and if you receive it, it changes your course, and it makes you a better person.
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It leads to maturity.
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And I know some of you right now are saying, "What's a rebuke?" And I would say, yeah, exactly.
15:58-16:01
Because it's hard in our day because we're taught we have to affirm everything.
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Your orientation, your preferred pronouns, who you prefer to be with intimately.
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We have to affirm everything.
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That constant affirmation is a little more than thorns in the fire.
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This could be a whole other sermon, Listen, we have to have the courage to prayerfully and humbly and wisely address people who are out of line.
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And we need people in our lives who aren't afraid to tell us when we're out of line.
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Do you have somebody like that in your life?
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Do you?
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Do you have somebody in your life that when you're out of line, they're not afraid to tell you, "Hey, knock it off.
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you're thinking so wrong about this.
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Do you have somebody in your life like that?
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Because you need someone.
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Here over the next few weeks, we're going to be relaunching our small groups.
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That's one of the key purposes of small groups.
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We need to be watching each other's backs.
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Not harsh, not condemning, but loving.
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Solomon says that's wisdom, right?
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Five fantastic things you only get from adversity.
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You get perspective, you get maturity.
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Thirdly, you get patience.
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You get patience.
17:17-17:17
Look at verse 7.
17:18-17:26
He says, "Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart." He gets real specific here.
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"Have you ever been oppressed?
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Have you ever been treated unfairly, treated unjustly?
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If not, get ready, you will." And it's infuriating if you've been on the other end of that.
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You just want to retaliate.
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This isn't right.
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You shouldn't treat me like this.
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You shouldn't treat anybody like this.
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I'm on the receiving end of this and you just want to you just want to lash out then and look at verse 80 says Better is the end of a thing then it's beginning and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirits So the first part of the phrase he's saying first of all things will get better. No trial. No adversity lasts forever The second part of this is a another figure of speech He said the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit of another way you could say that is it's better to be long in spirit than to be high in spirit.
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In other words, he says this trial you're going through right now and we know a lot of you are, whatever this adversity is that you're going through right now, you want to get to the other side like a champ, you want that to be your testimony?
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Like yeah, I persevered, I endured, I grew and God brought me through. Do you want that to be your testimony?
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He says patience is going to get you there, and pride will not.
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Like, well, what will pride do?
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I'm so glad you asked.
18:47-18:48
Look at verse nine.
18:48-18:59
He says, "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, "for anger lodges in the bosom of fools." Pride is at the very root of anger.
19:02-19:05
The second things don't go our way, we lose it.
19:07-19:15
And if you're an angry person, you know, I don't think I'm an angry person, well, let's use some synonyms and see if that fits.
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Are you a person that is very easily annoyed?
19:18-19:22
Are you a person that is extremely frustrated all the time?
19:24-19:27
Are you a person that constantly feels put out?
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See, the problem is that turns into resentment, that turns into bitterness, and he says that lodges in your heart.
19:36-19:39
In other words, it makes its home in you.
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It dishonors God, it makes you miserable, and you will never be equipped to deal with adversity.
19:45-19:50
You see, learning patience is one of the greatest lessons you will ever learn.
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Because as the old cliche goes, life is not a sprint, but it's a marathon.
19:59-20:00
You've heard that one too, right?
20:01-20:04
But listen, it's a marathon in every arena of your life.
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In other words, you have to learn how to go the distance in everything.
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Right?
20:14-20:16
Married people, it's a marathon.
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You have to learn how to go the distance.
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And if you have children, you have to learn how to go the distance.
20:27-20:31
At your job you have to learn how to go the distance.
20:31-20:33
At school you have to learn what?
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How to go the distance.
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Go the distance if you're dealing with a chronic illness.
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You have to learn how to go the distance.
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And see, this is the love and the wisdom of God.
20:44-20:53
He allows adversity in our lives to teach us patience because we need patience in every single area of life that's worthwhile.
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You only get that from adversity.
20:57-20:59
You don't learn patience in prosperity.
21:01-21:03
You see, five fantastic things you only get from adversity.
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Well, you get perspective, you get maturity, you get patience.
21:08-21:10
Number four, you get wisdom.
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You get wisdom.
21:14-21:17
Here's something that people say when facing adversity.
21:18-21:31
Verse 10, "Say not, 'Why were the former days better than these?'" Solomon says, "For it is not from wisdom that you ask this." Let's be honest, how many people have said that at some point?
21:32-21:36
the good old days. The good old days. Come on, just me. All right. Awesome.
21:37-21:46
Just me. All right. A couple of you, a couple of you DC movie lovers back in the good old days.
21:46-21:50
When I was a kid, when I was a kid, people didn't act like that.
21:50-21:53
When I was a kid, it was so much better. People were nicer.
21:54-21:58
When I was a kid, uh, there wasn't all this garbage on TV.
21:59-22:03
You know, back in the day, back in the good old days, things were easier.
22:04-22:09
And looking back, everything looks so much better than it actually was.
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And Solomon reminds us that sometimes, it seems like time dims our memories.
22:16-22:20
Because when you lived through those times, they weren't really any better than things are now.
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They really weren't.
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Right? They really weren't.
22:26-22:28
Like when I was a kid, I couldn't wait to get to high school.
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And then when I was in high school, I couldn't wait to get out of high school and get to college.
22:33-22:35
And then when I went to college, i couldn't wait to graduate from college.
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And when I graduated from college, I couldn't wait to start my career.
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And then when I started my career, I couldn''t wait to get married.
22:40-22:41
When I got married, I couldn't wait to have kids.
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And then when I had kids, I'm like, I can't wait till my kids are older and I can do stuff with them.
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And now I'm like, I just wish I was a kid again.
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Right?
22:50-22:52
Because things were soo much better back then.
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But they weren't.
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They really weren't.
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And do you realize?
22:59-23:06
In 10 years, if our Lord doesn't return before then, in 10 years, today is going to be the good old days.
23:07-23:11
You're going to look back at 2022 like, man, remember how awesome 2022 was?
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Oh, those were the good old days.
23:15-23:16
True or false?
23:18-23:22
You can't face the difficulties of one age by pining for another, it is pointless.
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It's pointless.
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You know what we're like?
23:27-23:28
We're like Israel.
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We're like Israel.
23:30-23:39
Do you remember Israel, you know, slaves in Egypt, and the Lord sent Moses, you know the whole story, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, and there was all these problems along the way.
23:39-23:46
They were heading to the promised land, and God promised Abraham, and all along the way there was just a lot of complaining.
23:47-23:47
Right?
23:48-24:04
Well, Numbers chapter 11, it says, "Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving, and the people of Israel, look at this, also wept again and said, "Oh, that we had meat to eat.
24:05-24:52
"We remember the fish we ate in Egypt to cost nothing, "the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, "the onions, and the garlic, "but now our strength is dried up, "and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at." First of all, just look at that last phrase, "There is nothing at all but this manna to look at." your brain around how obnoxious that is. You mean the food, the perfect food that God miraculously provided for you every day by putting it on the ground and all you had to do was bend over and pick it up and you had this this perfect food from heaven that God gave you? "Oh we don't have anything but that." Wow. Talk about being an ingrate. But secondly about, you know what I'm calling baloney on?
24:52-24:54
as them pining for the leaks.
24:55-24:55
Come on.
24:56-25:03
Who in the history of mankind has ever been like, "Oh, I miss the leaks!" No, you don't.
25:04-25:05
But you see the point.
25:05-25:10
They look back on, "Oh, life in Egypt was so much better than being out here.
25:10-25:12
It was so much better.
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Oh, life in Egypt.
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Remember the good old days?" Yeah, do you remember the good old days in Egypt?
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Do you know what else was in Egypt?
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Slavery.
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Do you know what else was in Egypt abuse?
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Do you know what else was in Egypt? How about in fantasy side?
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The good old days, huh?
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We're just like him and you're look you're gonna go through adversity Nobody goes through life without it The question is you're gonna do it as a fool. Are you gonna do it as a wise person?
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Are you going to do it as a wise person that has right perspective, and is growing in maturity, and is growing in patience, and becoming even wiser?
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You see, in Solomon's point in all of this is, adversity should be teaching you wisdom, because wisdom is your advantage in every single chapter of your life.
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That's why he says in verse 11, "Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun, for the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money." And the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
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That's a call back to last week, right?
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Money won't make you happy, but you do need it to live.
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And he uses it as an illustration.
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Money is a protection.
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It is.
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But so much more so, wisdom is protection.
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And hopefully, you're wise enough to learn.
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you're wise enough to catch it.
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That adversity will bring wisdom into your life that ultimately will protect you from future and worse harm.
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Are you paying attention?
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Some kind of wisdom you only get from adversity.
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All right, finally, five fantastic things you only get from adversity.
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The last one is reliance.
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Reliance on God.
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Reliance on God.
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takes us back to the conclusion.
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Verse 13, "Consider the work of God.
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Who can make straight what He has made crooked?" What does he mean crooked?
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What's that mean?
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Well, crooked is just, it's a bucket.
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It's a bucket that just catches all pain and injustice and mistreatment, and poverty, and sickness, and accidents, and trials, and adversity, and here he calls it the work of God.
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And look, we can sit around all day and be like, "Well, does God cause it, or does God allow it?" Does it matter what the terminology is really?
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Does it matter?
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He has a purpose.
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And you can't stop Him.
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God has a purpose for your life.
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Look at verse 14.
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It says, "In the days of prosperity, be joyful.
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And in the day of adversity, consider God has made the one as well as the other." You've got to mark this down.
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We have this thing that we think, good days are from God.
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And on bad days, well, I guess God didn't show up.
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I guess God really wasn't there that day.
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That's not true.
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It says they're both from God.
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It all comes from Him.
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God, out of His infinite wisdom and His perfect love that we had just sung about, He has chosen for you this course for your life He wants to bring maximum benefit.
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He wants to bless you.
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And he's going to bring glory to his name through it.
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But it's all from him.
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And finally, it says, you know, like, why would why would God do this?
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Why would God bring prosperity and adversity into my life?
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And here it is. Look at this.
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So that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
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In other words, life is so full of the unexpected, so that we learn that we're not in control.
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God brings good times and bad so that we learn reliance on Him.
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So often when we're struggling, some well-intended person comes along and says, "Well, you know, God doesn't give you any more than you can handle." That is not in the Bible.
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And if you're struggling with something and somebody comes up and says that to you, somebody that's from this church, if somebody from this church says that to you, God doesn't give you any more than you can handle.
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You have my permission to bite them.
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And I don't mean like hard enough to break the skin or like that would get the police involved.
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I just mean hard enough so they know what time it is.
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But this whole God won't give you any more than you can handle, that is, that's a lie.
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God does give you much more than you can handle so that you learn that you need Him.
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And you would say, "Well, you know what, Pastor Jeff, I think it's a tragedy to consider that this hard stuff that I'm going through my life, that God's allowing it or bringing it about, that seems so tragic to me, Jeff.
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And I would say, "No, I think the bigger tragedy would be if God allowed you to go through life thinking that you didn't need Him." I got this.
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You're not going to give me any more than I can handle?
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Thank you.
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Then I'll take care of this and I won't need you." That's tragedy.
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And it is at this point in the message when somebody hears all this and says, "You know, I'm still not sold.
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I'm still not sold that good can come from adversity." And it is my job to remind you again that God demonstrated once and for all that it is His specialty.
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I would suggest to you it's His favorite thing to do, is to bring good out of adversity.
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You know, if you're still not convinced that God brings good out of adversity, I just want you to consider the cross of Jesus Christ.
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Just want you to think about the cross.
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Can God bring good from adversity on the cross?
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I mean, just think about that.
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There's one sense in which you could say the cross is the worst thing that's ever happened, right?
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I mean, think about it.
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God himself came to the earth.
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Our creator became a man and lived among us to teach us who he is and what he's like.
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And he lived among us.
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He never did anything but good and to love people.
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And what did we do?
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We hated him.
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And we beat him and we pulled his beard out and we mocked him and we insulted him and we beat him with a stick.
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And then we nailed him to a cross and we hung him in public shame.
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That's the worst thing that's ever happened.
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That God showed up and we would treat him like that.
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But you see, God used that in his providence and in his sovereignty.
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He used that to make that the best thing that's ever happened because it's through the death of Jesus Christ that our sin is taken away.
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He is the lamb of God whose blood washes away our sin.
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And it is through his sacrifice on the cross that we can be adopted children of God.
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We can be co-heirs with Christ.
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We have the promise of heaven.
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We have the promise of his presence as his Holy Spirit indwells all of his people.
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And nothing can ever take any of these promises away.
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He rose from the dead to give us the promise of eternal life.
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So when you look at the cross, Can you see how God took the worst thing that ever happened and he turned it into the best thing that ever happened?
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So whatever you're going through right now, you're going to be tempted to think there's no way God can bring good out of this.
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How could God possibly bring good out of this horrible situation?
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You gotta look at the cross and know that not only can he, but he will.
Small Group Discussion
Read Ecclesiastes 7:1-14
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Why is attending a funeral more beneficial than attending a party? Has a death of a loved one ever brought you to self-evaluation?
How well do you handle a rebuke? How do you typically respond?
Are you apt to rebuke a brother or sister in Christ when you see that they are out of line? How do you go about that, or do you try to avoid / ignore it?
Tell of how the Lord has used, or is using, adversity in your life. How have you grown?
Breakout
Pray for one another.