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We're going to unpack the book of Ecclesiastes

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today, friends, and the title of the book

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of Ecclesiastes gets its English name from the

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transliteration of the Greek word Ecclesiastes, which means

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speaker of a called out assembly, and is

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derived from the word Ecclesia, which is the

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New Testament word for church.

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Solomon is the preacher here, and he has

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some truths he wants to share with us.

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The book of Ecclesiastes is proof Solomon turned

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back to God with a repentant heart, as

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did David his father.

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And Ecclesiastes is the extension and overflow of

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one who has experienced humility, contrition, penitence, and

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God's forgiveness, resulting in further blessings upon him

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from a deeper knowledge of God.

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Solomon learned to fear God as well as

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love God.

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King Solomon was a man who had had

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it all, seen it all, and done it

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all, and he was sick of it all,

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until he made God his all in all.

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I used to like watching the old detective

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show Columbo, and the actor Peter Falk, who

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skillfully played that bumbling detective, but who always

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got his man, because really he was a

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genius.

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And I was watching an interview one time

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with Peter Falk, and the person conducting the

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interview asked him a question.

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He said, is it true that money buys

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happiness?

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And Peter Falk laughed and said, I'm friends

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with the richest people out here, and I

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can tell you this, truthfully, they are all

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miserable, miserable.

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Well, I never forgot that.

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And King Solomon, in his book, has a

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major theme running through its pages, and that

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is, the things which men commonly look to

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for happiness, like riches, power, fame, sex, and

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the pleasures of this world, in the end,

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are all an empty bubble of vanity of

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vanities.

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When we read vanity of vanities, say it

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the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

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That's why when you read about the personal

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lives of celebrities, you'll find drug addiction, alcoholism,

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and multiple divorces.

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They can't even find a partner to satisfy

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them.

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All is vanity.

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And they live in the limelight and go

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down to the grave in darkness as they

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enter a crisis eternity.

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The book of Ecclesiastes begins with a graveyard

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and ends with a funeral, thus demonstrating the

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brevity of life and the certainty of death.

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For we read, one generation passeth away, and

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another generation cometh, but the earth abideth forever.

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Solomon spent his life seeking satisfaction in things

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he could see, touch, and taste, yet he

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laments in verse 8 of chapter 1 that

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eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the

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ear filled with hearing.

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Solomon found that he could have all the

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money in the world, to do all the

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things he wanted to in the world, that

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his heart desired.

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He sought out pleasure of every kind, from

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eating to laughter, to building things like houses

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and vineyards and gardens and orchids, things pleasing

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to the eye.

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He built pools of water to bring forth

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more trees for shade and lumber.

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He got him manservants and maidens, and he

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had great possessions of cattle and silver and

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gold, and he entertained himself with men singers

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and women singers and a vast array of

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musical instruments.

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And of it all he breathes a deep

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sigh and exclaims, And whatsoever mine eyes desired,

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I kept not from them, I withheld not

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my heart from any joy, for my heart

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rejoiced in all my labor, and this was

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my portion of all my labor.

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Then I looked on all the works that

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my hands had wrought, and on all the

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labor that I had labored to do, and,

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behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit,

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and there was no profit under the sun.

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Solomon was as happy as this world can

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make a man, but it was empty happiness,

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void of any reality of worth.

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The world was just an empty bubble that

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satisfied poor time, but then it popped.

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Men seek to find satisfaction in their businesses

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and careers, and they spend their days in

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a vain pursuit of money and position, and

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in the end they lie on a hospital

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bed dying, rich in the things of this

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world, but bankrupt in the soul.

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For what profit a man shall he gain

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the whole world and lose his own soul?

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So said Jesus.

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Well, there are several valuable lessons, friends, found

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in Ecclesiastes, that we can relate to.

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We read in chapter 3, To every thing

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there is a season, and a time, to

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every purpose under the heaven, and Solomon goes

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on to list the various seasons of life.

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Birth and death, planting and harvest, killing and

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healing, breaking down and building up, weeping and

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laughing, mourning and dancing, casting away and gathering,

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embracing and not embracing, getting and losing, tearing

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apart and sewing together, keeping silence or speaking,

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a time to love and a time to

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hate, a time of war and a time

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of peace.

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And what Solomon learns from all of this,

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friends, is those things that he thinks provide

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him with peace and security are really empty.

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He discovers that it is God who keeps

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the world in order, that God in His

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sovereignty causes all things to happen in their

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seasons, and it is a sovereign God who

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gives everything a purpose from His perspective.

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That He is all-knowing, for He knows

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the end of everything before it even happens

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to us.

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All is controlled by His providential hand, and

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all events of history, both nationally, corporately, and

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personally, will fit into God's own timetable.

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For we know that all things work together

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for good to them that love God, to

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them who are the called, according to His

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purpose.

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Solomon comes to realize that God is able

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to use anything or anyone for the carrying

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out of His purposes, that a sovereign God

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knows the end as well as the beginning,

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and knows the outcome of how each piece

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will fit into His providential plan.

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And since Solomon can't see the end from

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the beginning, he must trust completely in God

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and not in the material and passing things

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of this world.

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Solomon also learns you can't serve God with

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a divided heart and have any real usefulness

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to Him.

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You're either all out for God or you're

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not.

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And he learns the painful lesson that old

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age can be a spiritually dangerous time, as

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we see it was when Solomon was old

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that his wives turned his heart away from

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the Lord.

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And in the case of Abraham, it was

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in his old age foolishness he went into

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Hagar, his wife's maid.

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Well, that's a warning to all of us,

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especially us old folks.

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And it seems when the physical body is

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breaking down, if we're not guarded, there can

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be a breakdown spiritually.

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Another lesson learned by Solomon is the sovereignty

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of God over the affairs of our life,

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and that there is no guarantee of tomorrow.

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For man also knoweth not his time, as

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the fishes that are taken in an evil

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net, and as the birds that are caught

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in the snare.

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So are the sons of men snared in

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an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon

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them.

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The lesson of life that Solomon learns is

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that in God's providence He is over and

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in all things that pertain to us.

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In the end, all that matters is that

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we obey God and fear Him.

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For there is a common judgment day that

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is fast approaching, where every mother's son will

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be judged.

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Solomon's new favorite hymn is trust and obey.

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And he ends his book with both an

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admonition and a warning to us.

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If I may so speak, Solomon is pointing

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us to Revelation chapter 20, where there is

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a great white throne, and seated there is

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the judge of all the earth.

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And standing there is all mankind from every

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corner of the globe and from every generation.

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And books are opened, and men are judged

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by the things that are written in the

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books.

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And all men will be held up against

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the strictness and severity of God's unbending law,

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as He reviews their life under His intense

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scrutiny.

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And all will fail that test for all

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have sinned and come short of the glory

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of God.

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If you stand there, friend, in your own

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merits, you will fail that test.

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You must stand in the merits of another,

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the Lord Jesus Christ.

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And another book is opened, which is the

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book of life.

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And whosoever was not found written in the

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book of life was cast into the lake

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of fire.

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Listen, friend, I hope this little study from

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the book of Ecclesiastes has been helpful to

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you.

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And as we have seen, that whosoever was

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not found in the book of life was

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cast into that burning lake of fire, I

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would be remiss if I failed to tell

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you there is another whosoever found in the

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book of Revelation.

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It's found on the last page of the

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book of Revelation.

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And it is the last call to a

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lost sinner.

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Are you a lost sinner?

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When Jesus was here in His earthly ministry

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and in His humanity, He was dog-tired

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and He stopped to rest at Jacob's well.

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And a woman of Samaria came by to

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draw water, and she encounters Christ.

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Oh, friend, have you ever encountered Christ?

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And He tells her, if you drink the

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water of this well, you will thirst again.

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And He goes on to tell her of

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the living water.

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In John 4.14 we read, But whosoever

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drinketh of the water that I shall give

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him shall never thirst, but the water that

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I shall give him shall be in him

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a well of water springing up into everlasting

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life.

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But first, Jesus must confront this woman of

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her sinfulness in living with a man and

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having had five husbands.

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She has to feel her need of a

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remedy for sin, and so do you, friend,

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so do you.

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The gospel is for the hungry, the weary,

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and the thirsty.

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Let me ask you, friend, are you hungry

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for the reality of God?

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Are you sick and tired of your dirty,

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rotten sins?

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Are you parched and thirsty for relief in

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Christ?

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Then perhaps, as I read Revelation 22.17

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to you, through God's grace, you just won't

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hear the shaky voice of this old preacher,

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but you will hear God's voice speaking to

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you by His Spirit as it comes to

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you in all authority and power.

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Listen to the Word of God.

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And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.

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And let him that heareth say, Come.

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And let him that is athirst come.

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And whosoever will, let him take the water

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of life freely.