Wisdom is Not the Answer

Ecclesiastes, right after Psalms and Proverbs, and we're reading chapter 1 of this intriguing book.

! Inspired by God for our edification, for these things were written for us, the New Testament tells us. Ecclesiastes, in chapter 1.

The words of the teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. Meaningless, meaningless, says the teacher, utterly meaningless.

Everything is meaningless. What has man gained from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises and the sun sets and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north.

Round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.

To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

What has seen will be again. What has been done will be done again.

There is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, look, this is something new? It was here already long ago.

It was here before our time. There is no remembrance of men of old. And even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.

I, the teacher, was king over Israel and Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men.

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun. All of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. What is twisted cannot be straightened. What is lacking cannot be counted.

I thought to myself, look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me. I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.

Then I applied myself to understanding of wisdom and also of madness and folly. But I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow. The more knowledge, the more grief. May the Lord give us light as we look into his word tonight.

Jason, come and preach. What do you do when you fall down the rabbit hole? In Alice in Wonderland, Alice falls down a rabbit hole.

And you remember where she falls. Into a world of complete and utter nonsense. And in the book, if you've read it, there are times where it almost appears like things are going to start making sense.

And then things fall apart. And people start talking past each other. And words switch meanings. And people get confused.

And the whole time, the Cheshire cat is there. And then he isn't. And then he's there. And then he isn't. And it's fun.

It's fun. If you like reading about nonsense. And I do. So it's a fun book. But Ecclesiastes is about life when you fall down the hole.

Fall down the rabbit hole. And where you find yourself in a world like ours. Where things are starting to appear like they're bordering on the nonsensical.

And at the same time, you know it isn't. It isn't nonsense. Sometimes you almost come to understand what's going on. And you put your hands around it.

And then you look. And your hands are empty. You've caught nothing. And the problem is, this life that we find ourselves in is not a book.

And it's not fun. It's frustrating. And frustration is driving Koalath. That's our teacher.

Our sage. And Koalath looks around at the world. And as in verse 2, it says, meaningless, meaningless. Says the teacher.

Says Koalath. Utterly meaningless. Everything is meaningless. And so we need to keep in mind, again, what this word means. In Hebrew, the word is Havel.

And it doesn't strictly mean meaningless in some sort of postmodern sense. He isn't saying, if you're the philosophical type, he's not saying with Nietzsche that this world that we live in is just a construct of our languages.

And that language is this army of metaphors where this word refers to this word. And this word refers to this word.

And this word refers to this word. And this word refers to that word. And then when you boil everything down, you know what you're resting on? Nothing. None of it makes sense.

And that is not what Koalath is saying. And I'm afraid that's what we hear with our modern ears when this is translated meaningless.

He isn't saying that this world is absolutely, essentially meaningless. Sometimes the word, it starts to border on that where we can't make sense of it.

But Havel is primarily what we saw last week. It's the frustration that God has put in the world because of sin.

We saw that from Romans chapter 8. Havel is the sentence that God has put on our world because of our sin. And so we've sinned.

And God has sentenced us to live in this world. And so now we live in bondage to decay, as Romans 8 says. And that decay affects every part of our life.

It affects all of our pleasures and our families, our lifetime, and our use of time. And everything about this world is marked by Havel.

And so it's vanity. It's empty. It's futile, absurd, useless, breath. Vapor, short-lived, temporary, enigmatic, incomprehensible, perplexing, and just downright frustrating.

And that is what Havel means. And so in Ecclesiastes, Kolath is going to be wrestling with Havel. And he's wrestling to find out how we should live in it.

And what God expects of us when we live in it. And so God invites us into watching Kolath's wrestling match. One commentator called Ecclesiastes a performance.

So we're invited to watch Kolath walk on the tightrope. And so at some points, he's almost ready to fall off on one side.

And then on other points, he's almost ready to fall off on the other side. But in the end, he makes it. And he holds the line. But it becomes precarious at some places. And he's walking the line.

He's wrestling with Havel. So you and I don't have to. A great deal of wisdom comes from watching others, doesn't it?

That's what you see a lot of in the Proverbs. And so young parents, if they're thinking, when they start to have children, they think about what their parents did. And they look at that situation and they say, you know what, what my parents did there, that didn't work.

And so I'm going to do something different. And then where they see something that works, they say, you know what, that was good. We're going to keep that. And so they learn wisdom from watching other people. A fool has to learn his lessons the hard way.

And so I hate it when a parent talks about their teenager in sort of this language of inevitability. You know, teens, they just have to learn things the hard way.

Well, teens, let me listen, talk to you. And if you were on Wednesday night, you already heard this. But you do not have to learn things the hard way. The hard way is the stupid way of doing things.

You don't have to learn that chopping your hand off hurts by chopping your hand off. You can just watch someone else do it and find out what you need to know. And so Coleth is going to wrestle with Havel so you and I don't have to.

And so that we, he's meaning for us to watch him, not to repeat what he does. And so his performance, it begins in verse 12. You'll see that chapter one, verse 12.

I, the teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And we've already discussed the possibilities behind this. It's not the point here to go into that.

It's either Solomon or someone donning a psalmonic robe to teach us a lesson. But why does he remind us again of who he is at the beginning of this performance?

Well, he wants us to know what kind of resources he had. So he's going to do this performance. He's going to get to the bottom of things. Now, what kind of resources does he have?

Well, he's the king. So he has all authority. Every man was under him. And he has immense wealth. And he has God-given wisdom.

And so you remember that. Solomon, he was a young man. And God came to him and asked Solomon, what do you want? And Solomon says, I want wisdom. And listen to how God responded to that from 1 Kings 3.

Since you have asked for this, and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have you asked for the death of your enemies, but for discernment and administering justice, I will do what you've asked.

I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for, both riches and honor, so that in your lifetime, you will have no equal among kings.

And so we need to understand that right now. And young people, you need to understand this right now. The person who is doing this performance has everything humanly possible that you need to figure out life.

He has all the money he wants. He has all the resources he needs. He has all authority to do what he wants. Only Jesus was wiser. He has all the power.

He had everything he needed. And he was smarter than you are. And he was richer than you are. And you will not be able to do what he could not do.

Do you understand that? When he gives you the verdict, don't expect that you're ever going to find out anything different. Because you don't have what it takes.

You don't have what he had in order to find out. Well, he has unlimited resources. And he is going to get to the bottom of this problem of Havel.

Of what God has done in this world. So verse 13. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heaven. I devoted myself.

I set my heart on it. And so this isn't some half-hearted attempt. He's not some philosophy professor sitting in the ivory tower pondering the complexities of life.

With nothing invested in it. And he's not some freshman college student nonchalantly arguing with his buddy in the dorm room.

He is giving himself to this. He's giving his life to this. And so he's absolutely determined to sort this thing out.

Well, his first foray into the fight, into the wrestling match with Havel, it begins with wisdom. So he says, I'm going to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven.

Remember, this isn't earthly wisdom. This is God's wisdom. And he's going to go into the fight with all of his faculties.

Fully prepared. Fully engaged. If anyone can solve this problem, it is going to be coalesced. If anyone has the ability to penetrate with their mind into the darkness and sort the problems of life out, it's going to be coalesced.

And so he begins with wisdom, with study, with analysis. And so he solved lots of problems. You know, he had lots of wisdom to administer justice.

And that means you have to sort out a lot of problems. Well, he's done that before. Now he's going to turn his attention to this problem. And right, it's going to be like everything else. I will get to the bottom of it. I'll clear it up.

I've been frustrated for long enough. So we're going to sort it out. Now what does he find when he peers into the darkness?

You see it there. What a heavy, what a heavy burden God has laid on men. He doesn't find an answer. He finds more Havel.

He finds a burden. And his wisdom fails. And he grasped his hands around the problem.

And then he looked at what he had found. And he had come up empty. Verse 14. I've seen all the things that are done under the sun. All of them are meaningless.

A chasing after the wind. So I looked with all my intellectual might. I looked with all my God-given wisdom. And I looked at everything that is done under the sun.

And this is what I discovered. That it is completely all Havel. A chasing after the wind. Now we need to clear up a few points. If we're going to understand his discovery of Havel.

If we're going to make it absolutely clear. The first phrase that we've passed over. It's been mentioned a couple times before. But now we're going to get to it. Is the phrase under the sun.

Under the sun. Under the sun occurs 38 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. And it doesn't show up in any other book of the Bible.

This is the only one where that little phrase under the sun occurs. And so we don't get any outside help to tell us what it means. A lot of interpreters have thought that under the sun meant some sort of code language for living life without God.

And so they picture Koalath saying. See everything in this world. When you do life. And you live without God in the picture. Everything is meaningless and cursed.

And you know what? That's true. That's true. And so they think that under the sun. It means living without God. And so this is the particular life that Koalath is talking about.

So they say. And that's what I used to think. That's a very common way to think. And in one sense. If you read Ecclesiastes that way. It kind of helps solve some of the problems.

But a careful reading of Ecclesiastes. Won't let us go down that way. It won't let us think that under the sun is some sort of code language for living life without God.

Because there's several times in Ecclesiastes. Where God and under the sun are mentioned in the same verse. That God is doing things under the sun.

Turn over to Ecclesiastes 5 verse 18. Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink.

And to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him. For this is his lot. So in this verse.

God is giving men life. And he's giving them good things. And he's giving them. Giving it to them to enjoy. And he's giving it to them. Where?

Under the sun. And so God is involved. With under the sun living. Ecclesiastes 8 15. You can turn over there.

And this echoes verse chapter 5 18. So I commend the enjoyment of life. Because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.

Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of his life God has given him under the sun. Again. Under the sun isn't life lived without God.

It's simply life here. Here and now. It's this life that we live. These are the days of your life. That's what under the sun refers to.

8 17 adds to that. Then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. So in this verse. God is doing something.

And he's doing it under the sun. And so. Basically. This phrase under the sun. It's life lived here.

Between punch in and punch out. Between birth and death. It's life lived here. It doesn't include the life after.

Now Ko'olev believes in the afterlife. But he's going to limit his quest. To what goes on in this life that we live. The days of our life.

Well let's go back to chapter 1 verse 14. So he says. I've seen all the things that are done under the sun. And all of them are havel.

A chasing after the wind. They are chasing after the wind. That's another one of Ko'olev's favorite phrases. So have you ever tried to chase the wind?

Have any of you ever caught the wind? Tomorrow. Go out. Try it. It's going to probably be a breezy spring kind of day. And so go out in your yard.

And work on catching the wind. So when you run. Can you keep up with it? And then when you run fast enough to catch up with it.

Can you get a hold of it? And so when you grab it. And you close your hands around it. What have you caught? You've caught nothing.

The whole point. It's useless to try to catch the wind. To chase the wind. It's all vain. And it's a pointless exercise in futility.

And so your neighbors tomorrow. When you're doing my experiment. When they see you running around. They're going to look out. And they're going to say. Hey hon. Look at this.

They've lost it. They're. Yeah. A few sandwiches short of a picnic. And. What are they doing?

But little do they know. That all of their life. Is just as pointless. It's all. Chasing after the wind. You're doing it one way.

And they're doing it another. That is life. Under. The sun. And that is the burden. That God has laid on man. You're going to work.

And work. And work. And work. Is never going to be satisfied. You're going to build a company. And then that company. After your death.

Or before your death. Will fall apart. And you're going to dig a hole. And the next guy. Is going to fill that hole in. And you're going to plant a tree. And the next person.

Who moves into your house. Will cut the tree down. And you're going to do the laundry. So that you can do the laundry. Again. The next week. And I used to. Work at 84 Lumber.

Where I spent long hours. Too many. If I think about it. Long hours. Of cleaning. And painting. And making the store look beautiful. And presentable.

But have you seen it lately? If you go. North on 31. Just south of Lakeville. You can turn to your right. And you'll see this big. Giant blue building. And it's all boarded up.

And all the painting. And all the cleaning. And all the sweeping. And all everything that I did. It's completely useless.

It's all Havel. And you say. What a heavy. Burden. God has laid on man. Well. Koaleth. He's going to set his heart on this.

He's going to. Clear up this burden. He's going to clear up this vapor of Havel. And he comes up empty. After all the analysis. Is done. He's going to find out.

That the questions. Are still unanswered. And the questions. Are. Unanswerable. It was just. Chasing after the wind. And verse 15.

Tells us why. What is twisted. Cannot be straightened. And what is lacking. Cannot be counted. And that's it.

If you have wisdom. And you have God given wisdom even. You cannot straighten. And the crooked things. And there's a very good reason. Because God has twisted them.

Ecclesiastes 7.13. Consider what God has done. Who can straighten. What he has made crooked. Who can straighten. What he has made crooked.

Wisdom cannot. Undo. What God has done. Wisdom can't solve the problem. Because standing behind the problem. Is God.

And wisdom can't figure it out. Because what is lacking. Cannot be counted. There's just not. Enough. Information. And you can't count things.

That aren't there. There. And so. It's sort of like. Doing a puzzle. And you dump out. The puzzle pieces. And you turn all the pieces over. And you look for the edges.

There are no edges. And there are some pieces. That no matter how you turn them. And no matter how hard you push. They will not go in. And then. You do get some of the pieces.

To go together. But. In the middle. There's giant holes. Here. And there. And that's why. Wisdom can't clear up. This problem.

Because wisdom doesn't have. The pieces. That it needs to put. The puzzle together. It doesn't have enough. Information. See. God's ways. Are past.

Finding out. Isn't that what Paul said. How unsearchable. His judgments. And his paths. Beyond. Tracing out. So. We sing the song. He puts his footsteps.

In the sea. Can you track someone. Who is walking. Through the ocean waves. You can't. And that is where God is walking. We can't see what he's doing.

No matter how smart. And how wise. You are. You can have Solomon's wisdom. And you cannot understand. What God is doing. And it's frustrating.

It is frustrating. And so let's. Leave the land of the theoretical. And go down. Into the land of the particular. Let's talk about your life. There are things in your life.

That are broken. You were raised in a family. With an abusive father. We'll say. Why? What good was that?

You marry someone. And then they turn out to be someone totally different. Than what you were expecting. And now you're. In an unhappy marriage.

Or they're saved. Or you're saved. And they're not saved. Why? Why is life like that? Can anyone answer those questions?

We can say some things. But we can never get to the bottom of it. We can't explain all the details. And we can't straighten.

The things that God has made crooked. Not even the wisest. Smartest man can explain it. And maybe that is precisely. The point. We can't figure it out.

Because God has done it. Why? Well. I think it is. Just to drive us. To God. We can't solve the problem.

We can't put the pieces together. But. You know what? God has said. He can. We can find him. So we can't find all the answers. But we can find God.

And so God has done this. He's twisted this world. In order to take us. And push us. Towards him. He's made the twisted things twisted. So that we would just fall down.

Before God. And. Admit. That he's the sovereign. And that we don't know. And that we need him. See God does not want you. To live a happy little life.

Where you have all the answers. And you don't live with him. And so he makes your life confusing. And he makes your life difficult. And even as Christians.

He does this. Have you ever faced a perplexing question. That. It doesn't seem. It's not a right or wrong question. But it's a question of. Which direction should I go.

And you. It's so hard to know what to do. Maybe it's the choice between two jobs. Maybe it's where to go to school. Stuff and I have thought about. What country to adopt from.

And you're faced with these. These decisions. And you know what. There's just not enough information. To make a good decision. And there's a lot riding on it.

But. The results. You can't even tell what you're going to choose. You might pick something. And you might not even get what you thought you were getting. You don't even know what you're going to get with your choice.

And so you think. You think of it one way. And then you come to this solid wall of darkness. Where there's no information. You can't. There's nothing there. It's dark. It's uncertain.

And then you decide. I'm going to look at the problem from a different direction. And then you go through. And you come to the same wall of darkness. Well what happens then? You're frustrated.

Aren't you? And you want an answer. You want to know what to do. And so you ask God. As James says. You ask God for wisdom. And that's good.

But sometimes. A lot of times. The problem isn't a lack of wisdom. It's just a lack of information. And there is just no way.

That you can get the information that you need. In order to make a decision. At least. A wise decision. Because what is lacking.

Cannot be counted. If it's not there. You can't. You can't tally it up. And so what happens then? Well you're frustrated.

You've. You don't know what to do. And you turn to God. And this time. You don't ask for anything. You just say. Oh God.

I'm going to make a decision. And I don't know what's going to come of it. But will you please. Be with me. Will you protect me. In this decision. Will you keep me.

In this decision. Will you love me. I can't make a good decision. But I'm just going to trust you. To take care of it. I'm going to trust you. In this darkness.

And that's where Ecclesiastes. Takes us again. And again. And that's. The beauty of this book. Because Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is going to take us. Again and again.

To our knees. Before God. And we're going to look up. Hopefully. And expectantly. At him. And say God. Just. Be with me.

I need you. I need you to be with me. I don't have all the answers. But I. Do have you. Well verse 16 and 17.

Koaleth. Reinforces. What he's already said. And he does it for a reason. He doesn't want us to think.

That we. Are going to have the wisdom. To figure out things. That when he couldn't. And so he says. I thought to myself. Look. I have grown. And increased in wisdom.

More than anyone. Who has ruled over Jerusalem. Before me. I've experienced much. Of wisdom. And knowledge. So in other words. For a moment.

Let's just put bragging aside. Let's put humility aside. Let's just look at. Just the facts. And here's just the facts. I was the wisest man ever.

And I looked at this problem. And I could not. Figure. It out. And so don't you dare think. That you're going to be able to figure out. What I couldn't. Don't think that you're ever going to solve.

The riddles of life. And come to some grand conclusion. Because you're not. Because. I knew. I experienced much of wisdom. And knowledge. And so don't think. That you're going to be able to.

Solve these problems. With your brain. And. At this point. Coleth. Contradicts. One of the great myths.

Of our age. And you know this myth. The myth is this. That the problem of society. The problems that we all face. Can be solved. With education.

With wisdom. People. Are racist. Because they need education. And people are poor. Because they need education. And. The reason that there's abuse.

In teenage pregnancies. And poor health. They exist because people need to be educated. And so let's educate them. People need to be smarter. To avoid the terrible realities of life.

If they were just smarter. Then we would solve all these problems. Is education important? Yes. It's vital for so many things. But.

Neither education. Nor wisdom. Is going to answer society's. Deepest problems. It's not going to answer. Life's.

Deepest. Problems. It won't. Solve. Havel. It can't. Solve. Havel. See. Cole Leth was smart. But. At the end of the day. He couldn't put Humpty Dumpty.

Back together again. And so the Rubik's Cube. That is this life. At the end of the day. No matter how smart you are. There's still missing pieces on it. And no matter how you turn it.

There's still going to be yellows. On the blue side. And greens. On the red side. And that's it. Wisdom doesn't. Have the answer. Education does not have the answer.

Wisdom does give you one thing. Cole Leth says. And that's heartache. And sorrow. And grief. Look at verse 18.

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow. The more knowledge. The more grief. Grief. And you've heard that. Proverb before. In a different form.

It says. Ignorance. Is bliss. And Cole Leth's version. Is saying. Wisdom. Is grief. And wisdom is good.

He's going to tell us that later. Wisdom is good. Because it opens your eyes. A fool. They walk around in the darkness. And they're just falling all over. We saw this morning. If you're a blind guy. You're going to fall in the ditch.

Wisdom is good. It opens your eyes. The problem is. It opens your eyes to realities. That you would rather not see. It opens you up to sorrow. And heartache. Stuff and I have been.

Doing a lot of research. On the countries of Rwanda. And Ethiopia lately. And into the orphan problem in general. And before we did. This research.

You know. We understood. We're not. Ostriches. With our heads in the ground. But. We understood about. You know. There's a lot of orphans. And AIDS has done a lot of problems. Has done a lot of damage in Africa.

And we knew it out there. But then. You start looking at it. And you start thinking about it. And you start thinking about what you could do. And the problem. Leaves out there.

And it becomes something. That you're faced with. That you're trying to live with. And it enters into your thinking. And it's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking. So Ethiopia is twice the size of Texas.

And has five million orphans. Five million children growing up in orphanages. Or on the streets. Five million children who will never have a mommy or daddy.

To tell them a good night story. And give them a hug. And that's not five million faceless people. I can't believe I'm doing that.

Those are little girls like Eowyn and Phoebe. And Riley. And Hallie. And those are little boys like Ryan and Andrew. And they're growing up.

And so look at them. And picture what that would be like. It's five million separate people. And then.

In 1994. Rwanda. Witnessed genocide. And one million people were slaughtered. In a few months. And the world watched.

And did nothing. And bodies were stacked. As barricades. Across the streets. And men and women and children were hacked.

With machetes to death. By the hundreds. By the thousands. And families were torn apart. And children were left homeless. And parentless. And that is reality.

That's reality. It's very different than what we experience here. It's very different than beautiful Midwest Spring Indiana. But it's still real.

Real. And those are people like you. And those are people like me. And those are families like yours. And their families like mine. And to see it. To have your eyes opened.

It brings sorrow. And grief. And ignorance. Is bliss. Wisdom. Coalesce. Is grief. So wisdom.

Wise people. They take those things in. And they consider them. And it doesn't make the problem better. It makes it worse.

See education. Wisdom. It can't solve the problem. It just puts more of a burden on you. And so look at your young, happy, healthy children. Completely ignorant of this world.

And what do we do? We educate them. And what do we do? As we educate them. We put more of a burden on them every day. This is what life is like. And so they leave the happy innocence of youth behind.

And then we introduce them to the very intelligent world of sorrow and grief. The most educated people are often the most tortured. So wisdom. Earthly or godly.

Coalesce says. Is not the answer to Havel. And that might surprise some of you. Because you might be saying. But what about Proverbs? What does Proverbs say?

What is the chief thing? Wisdom. Wisdom is supreme. Therefore, get wisdom. Though it costs all you have. Get understanding. Well, what about that? And Ecclesiastes says.

You know what? Wisdom is good. But this is a problem that's too big for wisdom. Wisdom is better than folly. Because your eyes are open.

But even at the end of the day. He's going to say that wisdom is Havel. And so. The bottom line for this sermon is that at the end of the day.

Wisdom doesn't give you any place to stand. On. In the storm. So where do we stand? Well, we stand on God.

We trust in God. Who is absolutely sovereign over sin. And genocide. In orphans. And he's sovereign over the confusion that we have.

And he's sovereign over the frustration that we face. In the big things. And in the little things. He's the sovereign. And so we rest. In him.

And we're going to find out more of what that means. Where do we stand? Well, we stand in Jesus Christ. On Jesus Christ. Because. When we fell down the rabbit hole.

There was no waking up. From a bad dream. This was the real. Life. This was real life. And when we fell down the rabbit hole.

Jesus loved us. And he went down into the rabbit hole for us. And he entered into our world of frustration. And confusion. To save us. And Jesus died.

In it. To rescue us. From Havel. So Jesus Christ. Is the redeemer. That wisdom. Could never be. See.

If you just have Proverbs. Proverbs. And it's great. But. You can have Proverbs. And not. Escape this world. Wisdom is not the answer.

But Jesus is the answer. He does what humans. With wisdom. Could never do. And at the cross. He began to. Roll back. The mist of Havel. And he started rolling it back.

And so when we stand on him. We stand on the only solid rock. Only he. Was powerful enough. To drive this away. And so if you have him. You have a place to stand. And if you don't have him.

You can be as smart as Solomon. And be completely on sinking sand. And so come to him. If you don't know him. Your life. It's tragic. Ecclesiastes is going to tell you.

It is completely meaningless. It's very hard for Christians. To find our way through this mist. It's impossible. If you have no place to stand. And so Jesus Christ.

Has died. In order to rescue us. From this bondage of disease. Decay. And it begins. When we're born again. And it will end. On the last day. When he takes us.

Back into paradise. When all the Havel. Is gone. And when he says today. You will be with me in paradise. And that is what we're hoping for.

Well let's pray. Our Lord Jesus. We. Thank you. That you came after us.

When we were groping in the darkness. And that you entered into this. Cosmic world of sin. And you began.

To deliver us. And that. You died. You died. To save us. And you rose to new life.

To open the doors. Of heaven to us. Father I pray. For all those who don't know you. Open their eyes.

To see the absolute futility. Of living. And the absolute hopelessness. If they don't have Jesus. And Father I pray.

That you would. Go on sanctifying your people. Will you help us to. As we progress. Lord willing. Through this book. To see more and more. Of what you have done for us.

In sending a savior. Thank you that you wounded. Your own heart. When you. Sacrificed your son. Father will you bind our hearts.

To your heart. And help us to love you. More and more. And. As we look upon you. And the kind of God. That you are. Will you help us. To rest in you.

In the darkness. To trust you. When we don't understand. And. To wait patiently. The day. When all the haveal. Will be rolled away. And we will see you.

Face to face. We long for that day. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen.