The Bad Side of the Good Life

People who try in all the wrong places to find meaning and fulfillment in life and find their lives and hearts crushed and And then as this woman that we heard about came to Christ and Realized that was where true life was found and she poured out her love for him in worship at his feet That's really an example of what we're seeing in the book of Ecclesiastes We're on a journey on a journey with Solomon and invite your attention to the book of Ecclesiastes this morning We have traveled with him in our last stop in Ecclesiastes into the halls of academia and we have gone into the library and set at the study Carol and we have poured over the books to find out if the pursuit of knowledge really will give us the kind of fulfillment Peace meaning in life and purpose in life that it sometimes promises and we have seen that that is not the case That is good as education is as wonderful as the pursuit of knowledge is It does not meet the deepest need of the soul. It does not give purpose Meaning fulfillment and meet that deep longing that is within our hearts So let's change gears. Let's trade all of that in and we're gonna trade it in for for a $30,000 reachie suit $200 reachie tie $38,000 to stony shoes We're gonna trade it in for $1,250 to titanium aviator sunglasses like Brad Pitt wears We're gonna hop in our one million six hundred thousand dollar Lamborghini Reneventon which there are only 20 of them made One of them you see on the screen and we're gonna get in the fast lane today We're gonna take a drive down the road of living for pleasure and living for material possessions and we're gonna see what that will do for us That's exactly what Solomon does in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 He throws caution to the winds He decides that he will live the good life He decides that he will experiment he will do a carefully controlled experiment with if it feels good Do it you only go around once and so let's try pleasure Let's try everything that will make me feel good and let's try everything money will buy We'll see if that really develops the kind of peace and meaning and fulfillment that it promises I love the way David Hubbard in his commentary on Ecclesiastes introduces this section He says after all part of pleasure's lure is that it offers to heighten our senses We are created to enjoy a tender touch a tasty morsel a tangy beverage a graceful figure a delicate perfume From the standpoint of our senses we might conclude that pleasure is what we were made for The preacher Solomon sought to test that view of life by abandoning himself to pleasure He gave his senses every chance to thrill and tingle to stir and soothe Would he uncover life's purpose by arousing his sensitivities? He thought it worth a try And so he does he decides to throw off the restraints Kicked down the fences just leave his inhibitions behind and go where pleasure might lead him Go wherever his desires might take him and to live the good life to get all that he can get out of this life Solomon turned his attention to The good life and that is the message that our culture screams at us today If you will get all you can get and if you will pour yourself into enjoying all the pleasures you can find Then that is where life really is Solomon tries that And he has enough resources to make it happen He can live out the ultimate fantasy in his life because he's got what it takes He has almost a limitless supply of money the nation is at peace There is no war and so it's time to kind of kick back and just enjoy just enjoy life Whatever is pleasurable whatever is fun whatever I can accumulate That's what I'm gonna do Solomon says Will you please listen to him today? Will you please hear what he has to say? Because Solomon is gonna tell us I tried everything and More than you could even dream about So especially those of you who are young Teenagers 20 somethings those of you entering the workplace Beginning to to have earning power Setting your sights on what you want in life Will you please listen to what Solomon says? Will you please understand that he's been down that road to the degree that you will never you will never experience? And he's here to tell us today there is a bad side to the good life I Want to warn you Solomon says about the bad side of the good life And if you will listen to him you will save yourself years of heartache In running down the wrong paths to find fulfillment and meaning in life Let's see what Solomon says about the bad side of the good life He spends most of this passage the first 11 verses of chapter 2 describing the good life So let's begin there with his description of the good life there are three ingredients that he Tells us about and describes in in laying out for us what the good life involves First of all Solomon says it involves Entertainment look at what he says in verse 1. I said to myself come now I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good, but that also proved to be meaningless Laughter I said is madness And what does pleasure accomplish? He's already anticipating the result his conclusion which he will develop later in verses 10 and 11 But he's already anticipating where this is going to lead him Solomon tried all that you could do with entertainment. Let's take a closer look at what he says And so we get a grasp for exactly what he's going to do He said to himself come now. I will test you the word test is a word which means really a controlled Experiment he's conducting an experiment. He's not just dabbling in pleasure This shows resolve I am going to conduct a Well-conceived experiment in what pleasure can provide So I'm gonna test what's he gonna test? I'm gonna test you speaking to himself. I'm gonna test you with pleasure now the word for pleasure is used two ways in the book of Ecclesiastes Sometimes Solomon uses it of legitimate pleasures Which Solomon will affirm are good? But at other times Solomon uses this word of self-indulgent pleasures of the kind of pleasure that revolves around frivolous fun that's designed to Satisfy your sinful desires in other words whatever I really want Even if it crosses the boundary lines and goes into the area of sinful desire Whatever I really want that's what I'm gonna test. That's what I'm gonna experiment with sinful pleasure Why is he gonna do that? Well, he says I'm gonna Experiment with sinful pleasure to find out Interesting word it's a word which literally means to discover for myself In other words, I'm not gonna take what anybody else says I'm not gonna listen to what other people warned me about and this is so often the mindset of so many people I don't care what mom and dad say. I don't care what my grandparents have said I don't care what my friends say I'm gonna find out for myself. I want to sow my wild oats I want to do what I want to do. I'm gonna find out for myself. That's exactly the the meaning of that word So Solomon says we're gonna conduct this experiment with sinful pleasure so that I can find out for myself What? Well, he says what is good? Now the word for good here is a word which literally means worthwhile or of any real value We've seen a similar word with the word gain before in verse in chapter one What he's gonna do is he's gonna Pour himself into this experiment and then find out what the results are What really is left over what can I really find worthwhile of real value from this again? The pursuit here the goal is to find ultimate purpose meaning satisfaction in life to find something That will quench the thirst of my soul and will fill the emptiness in my soul. That's what he's looking for And then he talks about laughter in verse two Part of this experiment is going to include laughter. That's the first aspect of it entertainment Again, the word is used for different ways in the Old Testament But in the book of Ecclesiastes the word laughter is always used of frivolous laughter. It's always used of Mary making party and fun loving Bank winning drinking fun. That's the kind of laughter that Solomon's talking about So what you see here is Solomon is gonna immerse himself in a world of entertainment He's gonna rock the pleasure out of the palace He's gonna fill his palace with all the laughter and the good times that he can possibly have and The the palace is going to vibrate with hilarity with court gestures with entertainers with musicians with bankwits and Solomon did it to the hilt There is historical verification of this in the book of first Kings the kind of Lifestyle that Solomon lived in this frivolity and bankwitting and fun in First Kings chapter four just listen as I read these verses first Kings four verse 20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore they ate they drank and they were happy Verse 21 says and Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's Subjects all his life which indicates the kingdom had expanded its borders to the the greatest Expansive land that the Israelite kingdom ever had in the Old Testament. They were at peace. They were prosperous Everything was going great Solomon had other nations even under his control But now listen to this verse 22 says Solomon's daily provisions Okay daily provisions were 30 Chores of the finest flower 30 cores is about five and a half tons of Flower every day. That's a lot of bread Five and a half tons but that's not all and 60 cores of meal 11 tons of meal he went through every day That's not all 10 head of stall fed cattle 20 of pasture fed cattle he went through 30 cows a day And 100 sheep and goats as well as deer gazelles robux and choice foul That's a lot of food Scholars estimate it would take 30 to 40,000 people to consume that much food every day You talk about bank winning you talk about living it to the hilt in the palace Solomon knows what he's talking about The entertainment The gestures the laughter the fun That would go along with it Entertainment's big business today comedians musicians Movies TV programs amusement parks We entertain ourselves to death we pair entertainers more than we pay anybody else Why what are we looking for what are we in such a mad pursuit of Is it some way to quiet the voices within us that are crying out for meaning and purpose? I would say that's exactly what it is And if we can sue those voices or quiet them down so that we don't hear them for a while Put a bandaid on them medicate them with entertainment We'll do it And although we may not do it to the extent that Solomon had available to him we still try to do the same thing Please please don't misunderstand me. I'm not attacking good humor laughter fun That's a necessary part of a balanced life and it's a it's a good thing But parties and sitcoms Can never fill the deepest need of your soul They cannot Fill the deepest longings and the cry of your heart for some real meaning and purpose in life Chuck Swindall tells the story of a man who had developed such a depression that he decided to go to a psychiatrist and Try to find out what was going on. What was wrong with him? I could get over this and so he spilled out his story to this Psychiatrist and the psychiatrist listened and took some notes and finally he said you know I I think you just need to I know you can need some laughter. I think you need to get out and have a good time and just forget about your troubles And and try to laugh some and that will be good for you. He said Tell you what there is a new comedian in town that I read about in the newspaper and you ought to go buy ticket to a show Go see a show just have fun. Just have a good time and that will help you feel better The guy dropped his head and said I am that comedian So you see entertainment does not satisfy the deepest need of the soul But we are still trying what Solomon tried With entertainment Well, that's only the first ingredient of the good life entertainment the second ingredient is external stimulation In verse three Solomon tried this too He said I tried cheering myself with wine again the word tried is the idea of testing or exploring this is a Controlled experiment now and the way says it is very interesting. He said I'm gonna try I'm gonna experiment with cheering myself with wine I lived 10 years in North Carolina some of the best soda available in this country is cheer wine and when I read this I thought of that um, but that's not what he's talking about He's talking about the real stuff But he says it in a very interesting way I would cheer myself with wine again This is a controlled experiment. He's testing. He's exploring what he's exploring is what alcohol will do to me I want to find out how it will make me feel I want to find out how much it takes to give me a certain level of excitement or a buzz I want to find out then where I go from there and how much it takes to kind of get me to the next level I'm gonna control this but I'm gonna experiment with this. That's the way it always starts So I'm gonna cheer myself with wine. Didn't notice what he says and embracing folly The word embrace literally means to grasp hold of and folly is a lifestyle that Solomon will eventually recognize is foolish But he's gonna grab it for all he can get. He's gonna grab all the gusto he can get To use the lingo of a famous beer commercial Solomon is doing the same thing that the culture screams at us to do today stimulate yourself with something that will make you feel good So Solomon says I'm gonna try that. I'm gonna do that And notice his next expression in verse 3 he says my mind still guiding me with wisdom What he's saying again is this is a carefully controlled experiment Please don't get the wrong idea here. Don't think of Solomon as a uh, you know A drunk that's stumbling into a rescue mission somewhere Or even someone who's so depressed he just decides to get bombed and forget it all No, no Solomon says we want to keep my senses In the sense that he says this is a controlled experiment I'm gonna experiment with external stimulation to find out how much it takes But Solomon will find out as everyone finds out that what begins that way does not end there So many fall into the same trap today Whether it's alcohol marijuana pills cocaine I'm just gonna experiment to see what it's like I know people have told me I shouldn't drink this or I shouldn't take that But I want to find out for myself. That's exactly what Solomon says I'm not gonna listen to what anybody else says. I'm gonna find out for myself How it makes me feel That's how it starts But this never how it ends Because external stimulation of the kind that Solomon's talking about gets its clutches in you It gets its claws in you And before you realize what's happened you are in bondage There's no meaning and fulfillment in that What promises fulfillment delivers exactly the opposite And that's why Solomon's gonna say the end result of all this when he gets to chapter or verse 11 The end result of this was it was I was empty. It was meaningless. It left me emptied and that's where it will always take you and by the way, it's not just alcohol and drugs and those kinds of things The same thing can happen with pornography The same thing can happen with gambling The same thing can happen to some extent with food Anything that you allow to get It's clutches in you and become an addictive compulsive behavior You will find the same thing It will get hold of you to the extent that it will begin to control your life And when it is in the driver's seat it will run you over the cliff That's what Solomon would find Again, Swindall in his excellent book on ecclesiasties Talks about listening to a radio talk show Several well-known professional athletes were talking about Their struggles with drug abuse and they talked about how they got started One of them said what kept me going back to it was that warm feeling down the back of my neck that helped me go to sleep every night frankly it felt marvelous Another one admitted when you do drugs you open doors inside you that nothing else can open It's spectacular. It's indescribable with the pressure I'm under and the money I'm making and the public It's after me and the job I've got to keep up at this level. I got to have a little coke I got to have a few drugs. It helps me get going. It helps me slow down It'll put me in the right frame of mind so I can do my thing because I'm great That's sad Both of those men started that way Both of them ended up losing everything they had You see that's how it leaves you that's where it takes you any of those compulsive behaviors that I mentioned Earlier will take you down that same road Please listen to Solomon Don't do the same thing he did don't say I'm gonna try this for myself. I don't care what you say I don't care what the Bible says. I don't care what anybody else says. I'm gonna find out for myself What? Folly You want to feel like you want to you want to feel what it feels like to be hit by a truck? I Don't care what anybody else has told me. I don't care what I've seen of people who end up getting hit by a truck I want to see what it feels like for myself What foolishness Please please listen to Solomon the good life Entertainment External stimulation But oh look at this now you talk about the good life look at the next ingredient possessions stuff things and again Solomon knows what he's talking about he had more than anyone this room has All of us put together or ever will have We'll see in a moment. Notice what he says verse four. I undertook Great projects and he's gonna list them at least seven areas of possessions that Solomon's gonna list the first one is houses You see it there in verse four. I built houses for myself Notice the plural houses If you go back to first Kings chapter four you will find the description of his houses Excuse me first Kings nine and ten describe his houses. He built a palace took 13 years to build That's twice as much time as it took to build the temple the temple is one of the wonders of the ancient world Solomon's temple was took him twice as long to build his palace That was some house But that's not the only house he had the the Bible also says in first Kings He built another palace in the forest of Lebanon And he built a third palace for one of his wives Who was the daughter of Pharaoh in Egypt? And then he built at least three others that had great halls in them and he built six cities Six cities to store his stuff Yeah, he had houses plural many of them Notice what else he says not only houses Projects. Let's just call them that. He says that in verse four I undertook great projects to build houses for myself and planted vineyards Verse five. I made gardens The word is literally orchards. So these are fruit orchards And he says parks. I made parks The word that's used there for parks the the original word is a word which was used in the ancient world for the exclusive secret parks of oriental kings Babylon had them a Syria had them The Middle Persian Empire had them Solomon had them They were secret parks built just for the pleasure of the king Whole parks just for me Yeah, he had projects. All right For six Or verse five. It says he planted all kinds of fruit trees in these parks and then verse six I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees You can still see those reservoirs today. They're called Solomon's pools There are three of them just south of Jerusalem. Here's what they look like This is a picture of two of them. It's hard to get them all in one picture unless you get really up high The one you're looking at there is the one that's Almost two football fields in the link over 580 feet long pools of water With intricate delivery systems through water channels into the city of Jerusalem to water all of his forests his his parks his trees This guy had it You talk about projects engineering projects building projects He had it He did it You say well that doesn't sound like me. Well, you've got projects maybe not on that scale But your collections that things that you collect your house maybe your project your yard Maybe your project your garden maybe your project your sewing Stuff maybe your project your woodworking maybe your project your gun collection maybe your project Whatever it is you got projects things that you poor time and energy into that bring you some degree of satisfaction Right Solomon had projects Houses projects he also had what I'm going to call conveniences He would call them servants or seven About male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house He had household servants to do everything for him You do too No, I don't yes you do You don't call them slaves you don't call them servants we call them conveniences we call them appliances we call them That kind of stuff, but you have them You've got the washer and the dryer I know that some of these conveniences may May promote more work than help you with work, but can you imagine ladies and any gentlemen that may venture into this Doing wash the old-fashioned way some of you in here may remember the washboard I don't remember that but I've heard my mother talk about it and how she washed cloth diapers when four of us were still in diapers First four of us born in five years and she washed cloth diapers on a washboard Did not have a washing machine Some of you can remember those days you want to go back to that The good old days No, you've got washers you've got dryers you've got refrigerator stove and microwave a dishwasher a chainsaw You got a laptop a GPS a smart phone a tablet Yeah, we got all kinds of servants all kinds of conveniences Is that satisfied? Well, it's all part of the package it's all I'm talking about Notice fourthly talks about his assets. He's got assets In verse seven middle of verse. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me The way you measured wealth in biblical times was How many herds and flocks you had blocks of sheep and goats herds of cattle how many flocks do you have? How many animals do you have and that was your portfolio Okay, today it would be our real estate in our houses and cars and boats and motorcycles and and bank and accounts and investments But all of that wrapped into assets in his day would be herds and flocks And he says I got a bunch of them more than anyone else before me So he's got plenty of assets But notice he's also got money verse eight. I am asked silver and gold for myself And the treasure of kings and provinces Treasure of kings and provinces Solomon actually redesigned the kingdom of Israel into provinces and began to tax them heavily But he also brought tribute from other surrounding nations that were under his control So he had all kinds of money coming in lots of cash flow big huge cash flow Again, I'm not going to take the time to look back at this, but it's an interesting read So I would encourage you to do it sometime jot it down first kings chapter 10 verses 14 to 29 tell us about Solomon's tremendous cash flow Let me just give you some of the basics every year every year He had six hundred and twelve million dollars in gold coming in alone that didn't account all the other precious metals or all the other trading He was doing six hundred and twelve million dollars a year. He made just in gold Take everything else he was pulling in well over a billion dollars a year. That's in today's Terms today's money But well over a billion dollars a year you can put him on a scale with anybody in the world today pretty much And that's kind of money he was making That text also says that he built some large gold shields I forget how many of them there were but there were a bunch of them each of them cost two hundred and forty five thousand dollars And then he made some smaller shields each of them cost over sixty thousand dollars Those were just for display in his court The guy had money More money than you and I will ever see or even think about all kinds of money But not only they have money He loved music and he had plenty of it look at verse eight I acquired male and female singers Didn't have the sound systems in that day so he just brought the singers in You know he got the people who were cutting the records have been living in our day and he brought them in He had them there in the palace and they were singing maybe some of his thousand plus songs that he wrote He had the entertainment right there in the palace all the singers he could want And then seventh He had erotic pleasure Look at verse eight the end of the verse says and a harem as well the the lights of a man's heart You may have a note beside a little number or letter beside the word harem It will the note as I have in my Bible that says the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain And it is an unusual Hebrew word only occurs once in the Old Testament so we don't have any basis of comparison with how to use in other places It's a word that some people say means musical instruments, but there's no indication That that's true most scholars believe it comes from the root word comes from the Hebrew word for breast And thus what Solomon is saying is I had women available to me To delight me with erotic pleasure whenever I wanted The Bible tells us in the book of first kings that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines Women that were just available to him anytime he wanted them a thousand You see this man explored To the very depths What it meant to be satisfied with erotic pleasure he lived out the playboy philosophy You say well, I certainly don't have that. I hope not sure hope not But the reality of the fact is that same thing is available to anybody today through the internet Unlimited erotic pleasure through pornography and Ladies, I'm not just talking to the men For weeks for weeks now the USA today best-selling book the top three Have been the 50 great shades of great trilogy which are From what I read I haven't read the books, but the reviews I've read of them highly sensual novels I don't think men are reading those women are reading them What pornography is to a man Romance novels are to a woman and it basically does the same thing Okay So the same erotic pleasure is available in the same quantity today as was available to Solomon And there are millions and millions of people who think that's where I can find some kind of fulfillment in my life Well Solomon summarizes all of this Maddening grasp for meaning in fulfillment in verse 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me In all this my wisdom stayed with me you say oh really After what we read Solomon's not saying that everything he did was wise what he was saying was this is a carefully controlled experiment At least that's how it started I was I was experimenting with all these things in a carefully conceived and carried out plan to find out What would happen? What would what would find where I would find real meaning and so verse 10 He says I'd denied myself nothing my eyes desired. I refused my heart. No pleasure That's the summary of Solomon's maddening pursuit in the realm of pleasure and possessions Has to what would bring him fulfillment in life And you know what he concluded we can't stop without seeing his evaluation of the good life Oh, he's described the good life in a way that Donald Trump would be proud of By the way Donald Trump in his book Trump Surviving at the top says this He says my attention span is short And probably my least favorite thing to do is to maintain the status quo Instead of being content when everything is going fine I start getting impatient and irritable and notice this next statement that Donald Trump made For me the important thing is the getting not the having Oh, what a telling statement How true that is with anyone who goes down this road Ultimately where it brings you is the the important thing is not The having but the getting The getting Solomon's going to come to that very same conclusion notice his evaluation of the good life in verse 10 Middle of verse after describing all of this he says my heart took delight in all my labor And this was the reward for all my toil The first thing that we must admit and be realistic about is the fact that all of this brings Momentary pleasure It really does It's fun You'll laugh a lot You'll have a great time For a little while So Solomon says yeah, it was fun my heart took delight in all this it was this was the reward of all my toil worked hard And I got it I got it it was fun But he doesn't stop there He continues in verse 11 There's not only momentary pleasure There's also no lasting fulfillment no lasting fulfillment Verse 11 says yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had to achieve Everything was here's our word again meaningless A chasing after the wind Nothing was gained Under the sun Okay, here's where I really want you to listen to Solomon Because Solomon is going to tell us you live out your pleasures To whatever extent go headlong kick out the fences and just indulge yourself No boundaries you do that I've done it And it will leave you empty that's where it will take you Pour your life into possessions and again possessions in and of themselves are not wrong They can be wonderful blessings of God to be used for his glory But pour your life into possessions for possessions sake and I'll tell you where it will leave you empty meaningless chasing after the wind nothing really to grab on to nothing was gained So word we've seen before in chapter one bottom line is there's really nothing left over There's nothing there's nothing there Solemn anticipates that back in verses one and two look at what he says there verse one He says come now I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good, but that also proved to be meaningless the word proved is the key word The word proved is actually the Hebrew word behold Look So he's inviting us right up front to enter into the surprise of what he's going to find With all of this stuff This is what I found look Look with me here it is here's the proof It was meaningless And verse two laughter I said is madness and what does pleasure accomplish there's no lasting fulfillment When you really consider it and think through it and you get to the end of it all It did not provide the purpose in life the meaning the fulfillment that I thought it would that's what Solomon is saying I Love again the way David Hubbard summarizes this he says it this way Living for pleasure has another snare and here's the reason why What Solomon tried in this chapter will not work Here's the reason pleasure satisfies only during the act Repetition is the key to pleasure And we can all identify with this One drink one sexual fling one contest one that the gambling place one project accomplished one wild party none of these Nor all of them put together can be enough to bring satisfaction the quest for pleasure is like eating and I love this analogy It's like eating salted peanuts It is impossible to stop after the first bite One bite leads to another because the first one leaves no lasting impact Now listen the way phrases this to reflect on the delights of the first peanut Is far less gratifying than to reach for the second Far from comforting us each act of pleasure leaves us thirsty for the next One of the wealthy celebrities in our country has said that I read you the quote just a moment ago Donald Trump said that For me the important thing is the getting not the having And so when you have it You think it's going to satisfy and give you a real purpose in meaning in life And all it does is create a thirst To have more to get more To get more whether it's pleasure or possessions It sinks its claws in you and it puts you in bondage With the thirst that must have more That's the way it works solomon is just one of many living examples of that And here's the reason why bottom line here's the reason why pleasure and possessions will never give you ultimate meaning and Satisfaction and fulfillment in life God Created you To have a relationship with him You were created for that man was created to live in relationship with God his father Adam sinned and trashed that in the garden And When Adam did that everyone born from Adam since that time is born with a whole With no relationship with God far from God the relationship is cut off from the moment you're born you inherited that from Adam And therefore there is a missing element in your life A Missing element that some people try to fill with pleasure thinking that will make me feel better That will give me some purpose in meaning in life that will answer the question isn't there more than this Some people try to fill it with possessions But the missing dimension of your life cannot be filled by anything Except a relationship with God because that's what you were created for In that hole in your soul that emptiness deep down That you feel feel and you try to fill it with other things That emptiness is the hole in your soul that can only be filled by a relationship with God Now Solomon will go on to say that later in this chapter and several other times throughout the book And he will also say that once you come to God to find the relationship with him that will give you true meaning and purpose in life Then all the other pieces of the puzzle fit together too you can find legitimate pleasure and legitimate enjoyment of possessions that God gives you But only if the hole in your soul is already filled and you're not looking to those things to fill them Relationship with God and we know that the Bible teaches there's only one way to have that And that is through his son Jesus Christ God sent his son to take care of the problem that created that hole in the first place Adam send broke the relationship with God thus creating the hole in our soul We're all born with it God sent Jesus his son to pay for our sin So that we might be brought back into relationship with God and find the only true meaning and purpose for which we were Put on this planet That is a relationship with God then everything else begins to fall into place But it is only when you come to Jesus Christ as your Savior and you realize that his death on the cross Is paid for your sin so that you can be reunited with God And have a relationship with him again It's only when you do that That you will find the ultimate purpose and meaning of life Solomon saying I've done it. I tried it. I explored it. I went through a carefully designed experiment to find out where it would take me And when I got done with all the pleasure I could get and with all the possessions I could get I was empty Empty and you will be too Let's pray together Father I pray that we would all hear this morning Take a deep look into our hearts To see what we're trying to fill that hole with And if there's anyone here this morning Who is trying to fill that hole with other things other than you Maybe pleasure maybe possessions I pray that they would recognize today As They may even feel it this morning. They're empty Like chasing the wind. There's nothing to really grab onto I pray Father that you would help them to come to Christ today I ask Father that everyone in this room we would all examine our hearts to make sure That we know Jesus as our Savior and we've come to the cross to find true meaning and fulfillment in life Some Jesus name we ask it. Amen