Introduction:
Control What You Can, Forget What You Can't:
(Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:15)
- I can't control Popular Opinion ...
... but I can control My Reputation .
(Eccl 9:13-10:1)
- I can't control People's Conduct ...
... but I can control How I Respond to People . (Eccl 10:2-7)Proverbs 15:1 - A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- I can't control Accidents Happening ...
... but I can control How Carefully I Work . (Eccl 10:8-11) - I can't control What People Say ...
... but I can control What I Say . (Eccl 10:12-15)Matthew 12:34 - For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:48-00:53
All right, open your Bibles with me please to the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9.
00:56-01:05
We're gonna be picking up in verse 11 and if you're still turning there I'd like to remind you that we are not in control.
01:07-01:11
And if you don't believe that, have kids.
01:14-01:17
And if you don't have kids, I'm sure you know somebody that does.
01:18-01:21
Ask them if you can come over to their house for the afternoon.
01:23-01:26
And you will learn that we are not in control.
01:28-01:34
My family and I moved to Chicago for a season back in 2010, and my kids were five and four.
01:36-01:40
And I drove the big yellow Penske truck, pulled into the parking lot.
01:40-01:49
were staying in these apartments and our apartment was actually an upstairs apartment and underneath this was the downstairs apartment.
01:49-02:05
So as we're unloading the Penske truck, as soon as we pull in, Owen, like I said he was five at the time, he just takes off running and he runs right into the downstairs neighbor's apartment.
02:06-02:08
Just opens the door and runs right in.
02:10-02:13
and fatherly instinct, I chase after him.
02:15-02:17
Some of you, this isn't sinking in.
02:18-02:20
So we're gonna tell it from another perspective.
02:21-02:38
Imagine that you're just sitting there with your family in your living room, like you normally do, when all of a sudden this kid comes running in and his dad right behind him, and all of a sudden we're standing in the middle of these people's living room.
02:39-02:49
And this guy was the dad, the man of the house was like, "Wait, wait, who's this kid?" And then I run in behind him and he's like, "What's going on here?" And like, he's obviously on defense, right?
02:49-02:50
I'm thinking I'm gonna get shot.
02:50-02:54
So all of a sudden, I'm standing in the middle of these people's living room.
02:55-02:59
And I'm like, "We're the new neighbors.
03:02-03:07
Where I come from in my country, this is how we meet people." Like, where are you from?
03:08-03:08
Pittsburgh.
03:11-03:13
So I profusely apologize.
03:14-03:16
I'm like, look, I'm so sorry.
03:16-03:19
My son, he, you know, we just moved here.
03:19-03:20
He didn't know where he was going.
03:20-03:22
He just kind of ran in and I kind of got scared.
03:22-03:23
I'm so sorry.
03:23-03:25
Like, we're not freaks or anything.
03:25-03:26
We're your upstairs neighbors.
03:27-03:28
And I'm just, I'm so sorry.
03:28-03:32
And well, finally the dude calmed down 'cause he was a little agitated at first.
03:32-03:32
He calmed down.
03:32-03:33
Everything's good.
03:33-03:34
Everything's good.
03:35-03:45
So we go upstairs to our apartment, and the man of our downstairs neighbor, he went out into his patio to have a cigarette and calm down.
03:46-03:52
Well, I had our dog, and I said it was a long ride for him.
03:52-03:58
So I put him out on our deck, 'cause the guy below us had a patio, and we had a deck, don't get ahead of me.
04:00-04:00
(audience laughing)
04:01-04:06
We had a deck with wooden slats, And poor Gordy was thirsty.
04:07-04:09
So I got him a big bowl of water.
04:10-04:12
And he just immediately put his face in the bowl.
04:13-04:13
(slurping)
04:13-04:17
And you know how like dogs, when they're thirsty, slurping and slobbering.
04:17-04:18
(slurping)
04:18-04:32
And then Gordy was like, oink, and flipped the bowl over so that my new neighbor, I was just in his living room by the way, my new neighbor had dog drool water rain down on his head.
04:33-04:37
And he was like, "Get away!" like Aaron put everything back in the truck.
04:38-04:39
We're going back to Pittsburgh.
04:42-04:43
You're like, what's the point of that story?
04:43-04:46
The point is we are not in control.
04:47-04:55
The point is this, as much as I try to be organized, I've learned that I have very little control over my life.
04:56-04:59
I have very little control over what happens to me.
04:59-05:09
And as we get to this particular passage in Ecclesiastes, Solomon, who's searching for the meaning of life, right?
05:09-05:10
That's what we've been on.
05:10-05:12
That's really what Ecclesiastes is.
05:13-05:18
It's a Holy Spirit inspired rant.
05:18-05:20
Christian, do the kids still call it a rant?
05:21-05:27
Okay, it's a Holy Spirit inspired rant as he's searching for the meaning of life and what works and what doesn't.
05:27-05:34
And in this passage, he addresses what is our biggest frustration in life.
05:34-05:38
and that's this, you can't control everything.
05:40-05:43
Not everything happens the way that you expect that it's going to happen.
05:46-05:48
I can't control everything.
05:50-05:54
But there is exactly one thing that I can control.
05:56-06:03
I can control how I respond to what happens to me.
06:05-06:15
You know, life circumstances, other people and their choices, I have no control over those things.
06:17-06:21
And there's somebody today that has to have that funeral.
06:23-07:29
But the one thing that I can control, the one thing, the exactly one thing that I can control. The one thing that only I can control is my walk with the Lord. And in that, living according to His wisdom. And we're going to talk about this today, living a life where things are out of our control, but at the same time living according to the wisdom of God. And I'd like to remind you that when we talk about wisdom, that's different than knowledge, right? Knowledge is just facts. Knowledge is, I know some verses and some things that the Bible says. That's knowledge, and knowledge is good, but knowledge isn't enough. Wisdom is actually applying the knowledge. Wisdom says this, God's word makes decisions for me. That's what wisdom says. Wisdom says, I need the power of God's Spirit to enable me to live the life that He's called me to live according to His wisdom.
07:31-07:36
And that's why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so important.
07:36-07:41
Because if you're listening to this and you're not a believer, none of this is going to make any difference to you.
07:43-08:00
Because biblically, when you believe in Jesus Christ, when you turn from your sin and you receive Him, The Bible says that you are born again, God pronounces you righteous, and God's Holy Spirit comes and lives inside you to give you the power to live the life that He's called you to.
08:01-08:05
And if you've never done that, today is the day.
08:07-08:11
And if you're not sure if you've done that, come and see me after service.
08:13-08:14
That's the most important thing.
08:17-09:25
9.11 Solomon says, "Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all." things don't turn out how you would think they should turn out, right? We see this all the time in sports, right? Oh, this team is going to destroy this team and it doesn't happen. Cinderella story. We see this all the time in politics, right? There's no way this candidate can win. And somehow he does. And we've all We've all been there just personally in our lives that we have these plans, and these big plans, and everything just sort of falls apart and it doesn't happen the way that we think that it should.
09:25-09:33
And Solomon says, "Time and chance happen to us all." Now we know God is sovereign and nothing happens outside of His control.
09:33-10:08
What Solomon is saying is from the under the sun, living on earth perspective, it just looks like sometimes we are the victims bad luck, right? Look at verse 12, he says, "For man does not know his time, like fish that are taken in an evil net." Can we stop there and acknowledge that? He doesn't say fish taken in a net. This isn't just a net. This is an evil net. "And like birds that that are caught in a snare.
10:10-10:21
So the children of man are snared in an evil time when it suddenly falls upon them." Again, Solomon's point, things don't happen the way you think they do and things can fall apart very quickly, can't they?
10:22-10:27
All of a sudden you're in the middle of a divorce that you never thought that you were going to experience.
10:27-10:29
Like, what?
10:31-10:35
Or you went to the doctor and got a diagnosis that you weren't expecting.
10:36-10:37
My life's forever different.
10:40-10:42
You experience the death of someone close to you.
10:43-10:46
How am I going to go on?
10:46-10:50
My whole life just changed so suddenly.
10:52-10:53
That's what he's talking about here.
10:55-10:57
There's so much that we can't control.
10:59-11:05
And you know what, as people, We are really funny.
11:06-11:21
Because there's all this stuff that we can't control, and we fret about that, we're frustrated by that, and we get so bent out of shape over all these things that we can't control, and what we end up doing is neglecting the things that we can control.
11:24-11:25
And we're gonna change that today.
11:26-11:31
So on your outline, very simply, Control what you can, forget what you can't.
11:31-11:32
All right?
11:33-11:36
Church, we are going to focus on controlling what we can.
11:38-11:42
And we're going to start recognizing these things that have us so stressed out and frustrated.
11:43-11:45
We're gonna hand those over to the Lord.
11:45-11:51
Say, "God, I can't control this, but you can." Are you with me?
11:53-11:54
Two of you are, awesome.
11:54-11:55
Do I need to start over?
11:56-11:57
Are you with me?
11:58-12:01
Okay, number one, write this down.
12:01-12:06
I can't control popular opinion, but I can control my reputation.
12:08-12:11
I can't control popular opinion, but I can't control my reputation.
12:13-12:16
Okay, so here Solomon's like, oh, okay, okay, okay, quick story.
12:17-12:22
He says, I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun and it seemed great to me.
12:24-12:27
There was a little city with few men in it.
12:28-12:36
"And a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege works against it." You get the picture?
12:36-12:37
You get the picture?
12:37-12:46
Solomon says in verse 15, "But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city." Wow.
12:47-12:48
Awesome, right?
12:50-12:55
He says, "Yet no one remembered that poor man." What?
12:56-12:58
He says, "But I say that wisdom is better than might.
13:00-13:08
Though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard." Okay, so Solomon says, "I got this story for you.
13:09-13:24
There's this poor wise man in this little city and this big king was coming and he was going to squash it and this guy saved the city and no one remembered or cared." Moving on, right?
13:24-13:29
You're like, "Wait, wait, wait. Why? Why is that?" Well, he tells us. Look at verses 17 and 18.
13:30-13:35
He says, "The words of the wise, heard and quiet, are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
13:35-13:48
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good." See, true wisdom is ignored. It's like a whisper, while foolishness is broadcast through a megaphone.
13:51-13:55
Now, verse 17, when it talks about ruler, A ruler is not always a king.
13:57-14:00
This refers to somebody that just has the ear of the people.
14:02-14:07
And who is it in our day that has the ear of the people?
14:08-14:09
It's actors and athletes, right?
14:10-14:12
That's who has the ear of the people.
14:14-14:15
Actors and athletes.
14:15-14:16
And it baffles me.
14:17-14:18
It absolutely baffles me.
14:19-14:23
I don't know why I'm supposed to care about what a basketball player thinks about the president.
14:25-14:28
Like, go dribble.
14:30-14:36
I don't know why I'm supposed to care what some actor thinks about gun rights.
14:39-14:44
Go pretend to be a rogue cop or whatever.
14:47-14:52
And Solomon says your wisdom is just drowned out by fools!
14:53-14:53
Like, why?
14:56-14:58
Because that's what people are interested in.
14:59-15:01
People are interested in foolishness.
15:02-15:09
Now we would think, I mean, it just makes sense, but we would think that people are interested in wisdom.
15:11-15:12
But they're not.
15:13-15:15
People are interested in foolishness.
15:17-15:18
You don't believe me?
15:19-15:21
The Kardashians have a TV show.
15:23-15:28
And that gets watched more than Taylor Brown's sermon got streamed when he preached here.
15:30-15:31
I think he should have their viewers.
15:32-15:34
I think he had some great things to say.
15:36-15:42
Sorry, Taylor, the world by and large in general is more important than what the Kardashians are doing.
15:45-15:46
That's the kind of stuff Solomon's talking about here.
15:48-16:00
I'll bet you, I'll bet you in the past few years, just take the past two or three years, I'll bet you have heard more about what Antonio Brown is doing than you've heard about what John MacArthur is doing.
16:02-16:09
And there are some of you right now who know exactly who Antonio Brown is, but you have no idea who John MacArthur is.
16:09-16:10
And that's my point.
16:13-16:15
It just bothers me.
16:16-16:18
It just bothers me.
16:20-16:26
See these clowns paraded on TV and everybody just can't wait to hear what they're gonna tweet.
16:26-16:28
And it just, it bothers me.
16:30-16:35
But then I'm reminded, I can't control popular opinion.
16:37-16:38
I can't control that.
16:39-16:41
The world hates God's wisdom, have you noticed?
16:41-16:48
And they drown it out with all this foolishness, but I can control my reputation.
16:50-17:03
That's where he goes, look at chapter 10, verse one, when he says, "Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment "give off a stench." Ew.
17:03-17:06
So a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
17:09-17:20
You can't control what everybody else, You know, the popular opinion, you need to focus on guarding your integrity, protecting your reputation.
17:23-17:30
And that's this reminder here in chapter 10, verse one, Solomon says one mistake can ruin an otherwise great legacy, right?
17:31-17:44
Like David and Bathsheba, like Ravi Zachariah, like Joe Paterno, You know how it is, look, you know how it is.
17:45-17:52
You can say 10,000 good words and one bad word.
17:53-17:54
And what are people going to remember?
17:57-17:57
Right?
17:59-18:02
You can't control popular opinion, but you can control your reputation.
18:03-18:04
Solomon says, go after that.
18:06-18:07
Number two, write this down.
18:07-18:09
I can't control people's conduct.
18:14-18:17
But I can't control how I respond to people.
18:20-18:20
Moving on.
18:21-18:22
Is it toasty in here?
18:22-18:23
Okay.
18:24-18:24
All right.
18:24-18:26
We must have forgot to pay the air conditioning bill.
18:28-18:34
So a wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.
18:37-18:41
"Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
18:42-18:55
If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest." The question, are you wise or are you a fool?
18:55-18:56
Which one are you?
18:58-19:07
You would say, "Well, I think I'm pretty wise." Well, Solomon says the answer to that question according to the way you live.
19:10-19:15
The way you live shows whether you're a wise person or a foolish person.
19:16-19:27
And Solomon says, "And a fool shows his true colors eventually." The fool makes it really obvious to everyone that he is a fool.
19:29-19:30
Then I'll look at verse five.
19:30-19:42
He says, "There is an evil that I've seen under the sun, "as it were an error proceeding from the ruler." Look at this, "Folly is set in many high places "and the rich sit in a low place.
19:42-19:55
"I have seen slaves on horses "and princes walking on the ground like slaves." Solomon's like, "Oh, speaking of wise and full, "here's a problem.
19:56-20:06
"When rulers put incompetent people "in positions of authority, and pass over the qualified people.
20:07-20:11
Solomon says, "I've seen that a lot." Have you ever seen that?
20:13-20:37
Have you ever seen somebody put in a position of authority and you're like, "I don't know why they're in that position." During the whole COVID thing, the doctor who was leading Pennsylvania through that was a mentally ill doctor who treats adolescents.
20:40-20:41
I'm like, why was he put in that position?
20:43-20:45
I'm like, you mean in the entire state of Pennsylvania?
20:46-20:47
How many people are in this state?
20:48-20:48
How many?
20:49-20:50
Oh, Jesse, I should have looked that up.
20:51-20:59
You mean of all the people in Pennsylvania, we don't have one infectious disease doctor, a, what's it called?
20:59-21:01
The virologist, is that right?
21:01-21:02
Is that a word?
21:03-21:03
Right?
21:03-21:05
We don't have one of those?
21:06-21:09
Like how did this person get to this position of authority?
21:11-21:13
That's what Solomon's talking about here.
21:15-21:22
You know, the president promised and delivered that he would only pick a black woman for the Supreme Court.
21:24-21:28
I'm like, is that regardless of who may be better qualified from any ethnic background?
21:30-21:35
It's getting really uncomfortable in here because right now, about half of you are going, oh, hang on a second, Pastor Jeff.
21:35-21:37
I think that's racist what you just said.
21:38-21:39
Is it?
21:41-21:41
Is it?
21:41-21:44
Okay, let's, okay, since you brought it up.
21:46-21:47
(congregation laughing)
21:47-21:49
Which statement is racist?
21:49-21:49
You tell me.
21:51-22:01
I'm going to pick the most qualified candidate regardless of skin color or gender, or I'm only picking a candidate of a certain skin color and gender.
22:02-22:04
Which one of those statements is racist?
22:06-22:08
All right, calm down.
22:11-22:17
Have you ever been passed over from a promotion at work because someone much less qualified got that job?
22:18-22:19
That's what Solomon's talking about.
22:19-22:21
He's like, it's so infuriating.
22:21-22:22
Solomon's like, I've seen this.
22:23-22:26
the wrong people in the wrong positions.
22:27-22:33
And God, as much as I'd like to, I can't control the choices that other people make.
22:35-22:40
But I can control how I respond to people.
22:42-22:43
Look at verse four again.
22:45-22:45
Look at verse four again.
22:45-23:23
He says, "If the anger of the ruler rises against you, look, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest." In other words, Solomon says, "Look, just because somebody else loses their temper doesn't mean that you have to lose yours." Proverbs 15, one says, "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Solomon says that in the face of anger, it is better and wiser to set a tone of calmness than it would be to just turn around and quit your job because your boss got mad.
23:25-23:31
A statement that we all need to learn, church, is this one, "My conduct isn't based on how other people treat me.
23:31-23:36
My conduct is based on the Word of God." I'm going to say that again so you can write that down.
23:36-23:37
You need to learn this one.
23:37-23:41
"My conduct is not based on how other people treat me.
23:41-23:53
My conduct is based on the Word of God." Solomon says, "Hey, I see all these infuriating things happening, and you know what, you can't control other people.
23:54-23:57
But you always have the choice on how you're going to respond.
23:59-24:01
All right, number three.
24:02-24:04
Here's one, I can't control accidents happening.
24:06-24:08
But I can control how carefully I work.
24:10-24:11
Look at verses eight and nine.
24:12-24:15
He says, "He who digs a pit will fall into it.
24:17-24:20
"And a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
24:20-24:30
"He who quarries stones is hurt by them, "and he who splits logs is endangered by them." Like, what's he saying?
24:30-24:31
What's he saying there?
24:32-24:33
He's just saying this.
24:35-24:36
Accidents happen.
24:38-24:47
I do a lot of reading, studying these passages, and so many people try to spiritualize these verses and try to make them say more than they actually say.
24:49-24:51
I don't think these are metaphors.
24:53-24:58
I think all Solomon is saying here is, in a world where we can't control everything.
25:00-25:01
Sound like a movie preview.
25:02-25:05
In a world where we can't control everything.
25:06-25:07
He says accidents happen.
25:09-25:12
There's inherent danger in just about everything you do in life.
25:13-25:17
Solomon's like, "Well, accidents happen." And you're like, "So what?
25:18-25:19
Thanks, I knew that.
25:19-25:21
So what?" Well, look at the next two verses.
25:21-25:23
He gives us some insight here.
25:23-25:34
He says, "If the iron is blunt and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed." In other words, lack of planning nullifies skill.
25:35-25:43
Solomon says, "Wisdom says, take care of your tools." If you work smart, you don't have to work as hard.
25:46-25:59
And then verse 11, he says, "If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer." So not only do we see lack of planning nullifies skill, but carelessness nullifies skill.
26:00-26:05
Now look, when I read verse 11, if a serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.
26:06-26:07
I'm just gonna shoot straight with you.
26:10-26:12
I don't know anything about how to charm a snake.
26:14-26:17
No idea, no background, no experience.
26:18-26:20
I don't have any friends that are snake charmers.
26:21-26:22
I don't know a thing.
26:23-26:33
And this might sound like I'm speaking out of ignorance, but one thing that I do know for sure, don't let it bite you, right?
26:36-26:38
It's like, you're a snake charmer, bro.
26:39-26:45
You should have learned this from charming school or your snake charming mentor or work experience.
26:46-26:49
But Solomon says, you know, if you're careless, that nullifies your skill.
26:51-26:55
And you can be very, very good at something and very, very careless.
26:56-27:00
And he goes, that's not gonna end well if you're careless, no matter how skillful you are.
27:01-27:03
I remember this story when I was a kid.
27:03-27:09
It was on Channel 11 News that this man was a skydiver.
27:10-27:54
and they said the man fell to his death because he jumped out of the plane without his parachute. They said he forgot to strap it on. And I'm not a skydiver either. But if I'm making a checklist of things that I need before I jump out of a plane, parachutes in the top four. And that's exactly what Solomon saying here, like, doesn't matter how skilled you are, if you're careless, no es bueno. He says, wisdom says, look, accidents happen, but you got to be prepared and you got to be careful and that will certainly minimize the risk.
27:54-28:05
Very practical stuff here that he's saying. I can't control accidents happening, but I can control how carefully I work. And then finally today, Number four, I can't control what people say.
28:07-28:09
But I can control what I say.
28:10-28:17
Look at verses 12-14, he says, "The words of a wise man's mouth went in favor, but the lips of a fool consume him.
28:18-28:23
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness.
28:24-28:38
A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, "And who can tell him what will be after him?" In other words, he says, "Fools talk just to be heard." You know anybody like that?
28:39-28:43
And you're like, "You Pastor Jeff." I'm like, "Ha ha." But you know anybody like that?
28:43-28:45
They just talk to be heard, right?
28:45-28:46
They can't stand silence.
28:47-28:50
And it doesn't matter that they have no idea what they're talking about.
28:51-28:53
They have no problem talking about it.
28:54-29:00
Solomon says, "This guy, he doesn't even know what's going on today, let alone what's going to happen tomorrow.
29:01-29:18
Then verse 15, he says, "The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city." He says, "Foolishness always ends up in incompetence." He can't handle the easiest job.
29:19-29:20
He can't find the way to the city.
29:21-29:29
It'd be like sitting someone down here being like, "Hey, can you show me how to get to Wexford?" And he's like, "Uh, uh, I don't know where that is.
29:29-29:37
I don't know how to get there." Incompetence can't handle the easiest job.
29:39-29:53
That's why we have a whole generation of people that are coming up who are going to educate you on why abortion is a right, who are going to tell you why it's necessary that those who paid off their student loans pay for somebody else's loans.
29:54-29:56
They're going to educate you on all of that.
29:57-29:59
But these same people don't know how to make toast.
30:00-30:03
And that's if you spot them the bread and the toaster.
30:05-30:09
And that's what Solomon's saying here, wisdom and foolishness, it always shows up.
30:09-30:12
And specifically here, he says, it shows up by what comes out of your mouth.
30:13-30:17
I'm reminded of the words of Jesus, Matthew 12, 34, Matthew 1, 2, 3, 4.
30:17-30:25
He says, "For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Are you a wise or are you a fool?
30:25-30:27
Well, let's have a conversation and we'll find out.
30:28-30:30
Because Jesus says your heart's like a well.
30:30-30:37
And every time you talk, all you're doing is sending the bucket down to the well and you're pulling out what's in there.
30:37-30:44
The heart is revealed by what you talk about, subject matter, how you speak, the words you say, it reveals your heart.
30:47-30:49
I can't control what other people say.
30:50-30:51
We've all been there, haven't we?
30:53-30:54
Like, please, please stop talking.
30:54-30:56
Please, please stop talking.
30:56-30:58
Please stop, stop, stop gossiping.
30:59-31:01
Stop, stop, stop talking about that person.
31:02-31:05
Stop telling these dirty jokes, stop.
31:05-31:06
We've all been there.
31:08-31:13
And that we can't control what other people say, but I can control what I say.
31:15-31:15
Right?
31:15-31:16
I can control what I say.
31:18-31:30
That's why again, verse 12, He says, "The words of the wise man's mouth win him favor." We can hurt ourselves or we can help ourselves by what we say.
31:31-31:34
I don't have to jump in with the perverted jokes.
31:35-31:38
I don't have to join the gossip, add to it, pile on.
31:38-31:39
I don't have to do that.
31:42-31:50
I can instead win favor by encouraging people, by comforting people, by lifting people up.
31:53-31:54
That's what I can use my words for.
31:56-31:56
God help us.
31:58-32:05
So much of your life is beyond your control.
32:07-32:12
And this week, you're gonna walk out these doors into cooler air this week.
32:14-32:17
You're going to hear foolishness spewed from the media.
32:20-32:22
You're gonna have to deal with fools acting like fools.
32:25-32:27
This week, you could possibly have an accident of some kind.
32:28-32:28
I hope that you don't.
32:30-32:33
But for sure this week, you're going to hear some foolish talk.
32:36-32:38
Like, what can I do about that?
32:40-32:40
Nothing.
32:43-32:44
Control what you can.
32:46-32:48
Forget what you can't.
32:49-33:05
Your conduct, your response to what happens, your work ethic, your mouth, the only person on the planet that can control that is you.
33:06-33:07
Are you?
33:09-33:10
Will you?
33:11-33:12
Let's pray.
33:13-33:31
"Father in heaven, we come alongside Solomon under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we come alongside him and then honestly Father we're just like, "Yeah, yeah." Life is very frustrating because so much of life is out of our control.
33:33-33:48
And if this king, who had all the money in the world, and all the influence in the world, if he felt this, we would be completely ignorant not to recognize it in our own lives.
33:50-34:00
But Father, today I pray for this flock, whether they're sitting here, whether they're streaming this at home, whether they're listening to this podcast later, I pray for this flock.
34:02-34:06
Father, we would stop getting so stressed about the things that we can't control.
34:09-34:17
And under the authority of your word and by the power of your Holy Spirit, our focus would be solely on what we can control.
34:19-34:21
And that is walking in your wisdom.
34:25-34:26
Thereby glorifying your name.
34:27-34:31
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:15
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Share something in your life that you have no control over. In that situation, what CAN you control (about yourself)?
In which area do you have the hardest time with self-control? Why? How can that change for you?
Since God’s wisdom is always successful and effective, why do you think the world is so enamored with foolishness (celebrity opinions, fools elected as rulers)? See Eccl 9:16-17, 10:5-6.
Breakout
Pray for one another as we officially launch Small Group season!