What Is Your Life?

5/07/23

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Sermon Transcript

Good afternoon. What is your life? That’s the question we just heard from James 4:14. And I want us to look at that question tonight.

We’re not going to spend much time in the book of James. Instead, I want us to look at another book of the Bible, a book that is entirely focused on just that question, what is your life? Well, what book is that? Well, before I name the book, let me give you a few clues. It’s certainly one of the most fascinating and distinctive books in the Bible. In fact, in many ways, it’s unlike any other book in the Bible. It’s been called the most contemporary book in the Bible. It’s been called the only book of the Bible written on a Monday morning. It’s been called the only book of pure philosophy in the Bible. It’s been called the greatest of all philosophy books. I think maybe C.S. Lewis gave us the best description of the theme of this book that I haven’t named yet. And he said this is the theme of the book. It doesn’t really matter whether you grip the arms of the dentist chair or let your hands lie in your lap, the drill drills on. Well, you may have guessed by now, please open your Bibles to the book of Ecclesiastes.

Why should we study the book of Ecclesiastes? Well, the first answer to that question is immediate, and that is the book of Ecclesiastes is part of God’s inspired word, and so of course that is reason enough to study it. But also, as with any book in the Bible, there are other reasons to study it that are unique to the book itself. So what are some of those reasons? Well, first, Ecclesiastes may be the best example ever of the old adage that yes, we learn from our experiences, but it’s always better if we can learn from someone else’s experiences. And that’s certainly the case with Ecclesiastes. The author is never identified by name, but we know it’s King Solomon. The first verse identifies the author as the son of David. Verse 12 of chapter one says he was king over Israel and Jerusalem. Plus, we know from the text that it fits with the life and the reign of King Solomon, his wisdom, his riches, his pursuit of knowledge and pleasure. It’s hard to read about the old and foolish king in chapter 4:13 and not see King Solomon. What can we learn from the experiences of King Solomon? Well, we can learn a lot. If we’ve ever been tempted to seek meaning in our lives through worldly wisdom, well no one ever went further down that road than King Solomon. If we’re ever tempted to seek meaning in our lives through material wealth, no one ever went further down that road than King Solomon. If we’re ever tempted to seek meaning in our lives through sensual pleasure, no one ever went further down that road than King Solomon. What did he find at the end of those roads? Well, Ecclesiastes tells us.

But a second reason, I think, to study Ecclesiastes is that Ecclesiastes helps us proclaim the gospel to people with no fear of God, no knowledge of God, and no thought of God. The world is full of such people desperately in need of the gospel of Christ. I don’t suspect that my next statement will come as a newsflash to any of us, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach people with the gospel of Christ. And that’s especially true in this country as we’ve become increasingly secular and anti-religious. As recently as 30 years ago, two-thirds of Americans attended and supported a local church of some sort, two-thirds, 30 years ago. The most recent Pew Research Center reports it’s now down to about a third in 30 years. So where will we be 30 years from now? You know, we really don’t have to wonder about that. We can just look at Europe. When it comes to religious matters, the U.S. has always trailed Europe by about 30 years. And we look in Europe, 70% of young people in the UK self-identify as having no religion at all, 70%. And in other countries, such as the Czech Republic, the number is 91%. How do we reach such people? Ecclesiastes gives us a roadmap. Most of the people we’re trying to reach are busily exploring one of the roads that Solomon went down. They’re looking for meaning in their life, and they’re looking in the same place as Solomon looked. As Solomon himself said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” And the roads that he took are roads that people are still taking today. This book can provide a starting point to proclaiming the gospel to them. They likely already know the path they’re on is leading them nowhere, but they don’t know why, and they don’t know the solution. This book is a good starting point to reaching them, answering those questions.

A third reason to study Ecclesiastes is that Ecclesiastes can provide encouragement and hope to us who feel trapped sometimes on life’s treadmill. Is there anyone here tonight who hasn’t experienced or is unable to sympathize with the attitude in the opening verses of this book? “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, the sun goes down, hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north. Around and around goes the wind, and on its circuit the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea isn’t full. To the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. All things are full of weariness. A man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing.” You know, if there’s anyone who thinks a Christian can’t experience feelings like that, I don’t think that person’s been a Christian very long. Because Christians can become discouraged. We can become disheartened. We can sometimes feel like we’re walking in place on a treadmill. We can feel disappointed, we can feel let down by life. What’s the solution? What’s our hope? I think this book helps us answer those questions.

Well, how can we understand the book of Ecclesiastes? Because it’s a difficult book. It is a difficult book. You know I’ve studied and taught Revelation over 40 years and it has a reputation for being a difficult book. I don’t think it’s that difficult. Maybe it’s just because I’ve taught it so many times. But you know, I think the problem people have with a book like Revelation is they spend their time trying to drive a square peg into a round hole. No wonder it’s difficult. But Ecclesiastes is difficult for another reason. It’s just hard to understand. It’s hard to figure out where it sits in, how it fits in with the rest of the Bible. So how can we understand this book of Ecclesiastes? It’s so difficult. It’s caused people so many problems. I mean, people twist this book all around. If you’ve ever talked with a Jehovah’s Witness about the Bible, you know that this is one of the very first books they go to, the book of Ecclesiastes. Why? Because it’s easy to twist. Easy to twist. So how can we understand this book?

Well, let’s start by looking at how not to understand the book. There are some misconceptions about the book of Ecclesiastes. First, it’s a misconception that this book is wholly negative prior to its positive conclusion at the end of the final chapter. Look at Ecclesiastes 3:13, for example, “And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all of his labor, it is the gift of God.” That verse is an encouragement, it’s an encouragement to enjoy the gift of God. Optimism and joy are not absent from the book of Ecclesiastes. Second, it’s a misconception that this book considers life apart from God up until the grand conclusion when God is suddenly put into the picture. That’s just not what this book is about. Look at the verse we just read in Ecclesiastes 3:13. It is the gift of God. God is not absent from this book. In fact, God is mentioned over 40 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. I think third, it’s a misconception that this book never looks up from life under the sun until the closing verses. Look at Ecclesiastes 8:12, for example. “Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, as days be prolonged, yet surely I know it will be well with him that fear God which fear before him.”

And yet we find so much in this book that is difficult, so much that is confusing, particularly when placed along the rest of God by the rest of God’s word. You know, we’re trying to interpret the book of Ecclesiastes in light of the entirety of God’s word, and sometimes we just have to scratch our head. Look at Ecclesiastes 1:4, “One generation passes away, another generation comes, but the earth abides forever.” Really? Earth abides forever? Look at Ecclesiastes 6:6, “Yay, though he live a thousand years, twice told, yet hath he seen no good. Do not all go to one place?” Really? Are we all headed to one place? Look at Ecclesiastes 9:5. “For the living know that they shall die, but the dead do not know anything, neither have they any more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.” Really? The dead don’t know anything? They don’t have a reward? How do we explain such verses? How do we understand this book?

Well, two keys to unlocking the meaning of Ecclesiastes can be found in the first three verses. “The word of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem, ‘Vanity of vanity,’ saith the preacher, ‘vanity of vanity, all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labor, which he taketh under the sun?’” Notice the two key phrases there. Vanity, word occurs all throughout this book and “under the sun” that phrase occurs all throughout this book. Those two phrases are the all-important context for everything that follows in the book of Ecclesiastes. So let’s look at each of those two phrases. What is vanity? Anyone studying the book of Ecclesiastes has to start with that question. What is this vanity he keeps talking about? The Hebrew word translated vanity in verse two is the key to unlocking the meaning of this book, and it is, though, a difficult word to translate. And you get a lot of different translations. King James, that I read, says all is vanity. But other translations, everything is meaningless, everything is nonsense, everything is pointless, everything is futile. Those are other translations we find. The Hebrew word is hebel, found about 70 times in the Old Testament. Now one of the most interesting appearances of that word is all the way back in the book of Genesis. Genesis 4:2. “And again she bore his brother Abel.” You’re thinking now where is vanity in that verse? The word translated vanity in Ecclesiastes 1:2 is the exact same word that means Abel. Yes, Adam and Eve named their second son Vanity. Same Hebrew word. Why did they name their son Vanity? And the answer is they really didn’t. They named him Breath. Breath. That’s what the Hebrew word means breath, breath, breath or vapor. And because a breath or a vapor is transitory, it vanishes, that word later came to mean vanity. But it’s the Hebrew word for breath, breath. You don’t want to place your trust in a vapor. Why? Because when you need it, it’s not going to be there. And even if it was there, it any good. So let’s go back to Ecclesiastes 1:2. “All is vanity.” Doesn’t that phrase take on a different, perhaps deeper meaning when we translate it this way? “Everything is a breath. Everything is a vapor. Everything is a puff of smoke rising from a fire. Everything elusive, everything is insubstantial.” That’s what verse 2 is saying. Here’s another translation of verse 2 that I think is a little closer to the original meaning. “Smoke, nothing but smoke. There’s nothing to anything. It’s all smoke.”

Now think back a moment to some of those other translations I mentioned a moment meaningless, nonsense, pointless, futile. Do those translations make sense in verses like these Ecclesiastes 9:9? “Live joyfully with the wife whom thou loveth all the days of thy life of thy vanity which he hath given thee under the Sun all the days of thy vanity.” Do those translations make sense in Ecclesiastes 11:10, “Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity.” What’s the point of those two verses? Is the point to say that our childhood is pointless and meaningless or to say that it’s brief? Is the point to say that the time we have with our spouse is pointless and meaningless or is it to say that it’s brief? I think we know the answer to those questions. And what happens to the opening verses of this book of Ecclesiastes when we look at them from that perspective? “The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem, ‘Brevity of brevity,’ saith the preacher, 'Brevity of brevity, 'all is like a vapor. 'What profit hath a man for all the labor ‘she taketh unto the sun?’” A vapor isn’t meaningless, it just can’t be counted on. A vapor isn’t pointless, it’s just very brief in duration. A vapor isn’t futile, it just can’t be grasped, it can’t be held. And this book of Ecclesiastes opens with the startling pronouncement that everything is like that. And here’s the million dollar question, when we open the book of Ecclesiastes, what if he’s right? What if everything was like that? What if everything was like a vapor, something that appears for a little while and vanishes away? I think that’s the main question this book is dealing with. It’s the question posed in the opening verse. I’m not saying vanity isn’t a good translation. What I’m saying is that the underlying Hebrew word explains the reason for the vanity and the reason is the brevity of life. James of course makes the same point. In our scripture reading, James 4:14, “What is your life? You are a what? A mist, a vapor, a breath, appears for a little time and then vanishes. All is vanity.” Before we try to unravel more of the meaning of that strange statement. Let’s look at the second of our two key phrases, one that appears in the very next verse, Ecclesiastes 1:3, “Under the sun.” “Under the sun.” What does it mean to be under the sun? Well, once again, let’s start with what it does not mean. The phrase “under the sun” does not mean a life in which there is no God. Only a fool would believe there is no God. And Solomon was no fool, and this book was not written for fools. Ecclesiastes 5:1, Solomon wrote, “For God is in heaven and thou upon earth.” At no point in this book is Solomon looking at a life in which there is no God.

So what then does the phrase “under the sun” mean? You know, when that phrase “under the sun” I think we often think in spatial terms. I’m here, the Sun is there. I’m below the Sun, Sun’s up above me. I’m here, Sun’s there. But in the Bible, the Sun is usually a marker of time rather than space. Going all the way back to Genesis 1:14, God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night. Let it be for signs and seasons and for days and for years.” The Sun is a marker of time. And over and over and over in this book Solomon reminds us that we live under the Sun. I think the main purpose of that phrase “under the Sun” is not to say where we live but to say when we live. We are living in time. We are born in time. We live in time. We die in time and time is measured by movement of the Sun. In fact, one might say there’s a time for everything. And in fact, that is precisely what this book tells us in one of its most famous passages Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: “To everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” It’s a time for everything. That is what it means to live under the Sun. Not that we live without God, but rather that we live with time. Much and perhaps most of what is said in this book can be explained by the simple observation that in this life we are subject to time. The clock is ticking. The clock is ticking. We can do nothing to change that fact or to stop that clock. As C.S. Lewis said, “The drill keeps on drilling.” We can’t stop it. We can’t stop it. And what is it about that fact that man finds the most troubling? Well, think back on that list we just read from Ecclesiastes chapter 3. What was that item in verse 2, “time to die,” a time to die. That is precisely what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 9:3, “For man also knoweth not his time. As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, as birds that are caught in the snare, so are the sons of man snared in an evil time when it falls suddenly upon them.” Man knoweth not his time. Doesn’t everything else in this book of Ecclesiastes flow from that fact, that we do not know our time? Why is it vain to gather up great treasures because man knoweth not his time? Why is it vain to seek worldly wisdom because man knoweth not his time? If we live forever under the Sun then why not just try to gather more and more riches and more and more wisdom? But we don’t live forever under the Sun, not us, not Bill Gates, not Jeff Bezos. Nobody. There’s a time to die. That fact changes everything. And you know what, that’s true even for people who have no belief in God and no thought of God. That’s true for atheists who think they will just vanish into the ether when they die. Why gather riches and wisdom if someday you are certain to leave it all behind? The message of this book is the message for everyone on this planet. Why? Because all of us are living under the tyranny of time. We all live under the Sun. Time and chance happens to them all, Ecclesiastes 9:11.

Well, now that we’ve looked at the two key phrases, let’s see if we can put them to work. Let’s look, consider another question, Who was Solomon’s God? This book is not about the vanity that we would experience in a world without God, that’s just not what this book is about. This book is about the vanity we can experience in a world with God. At no point is God absent from this book of Ecclesiastes. But then why did Solomon find nothing but vanity? We’re forced to wonder, was Solomon seeing God correctly? That’s really the central question. And I think that’s the question as we read and study the book of Ecclesiastes, as we deal with this difficult text, as we try to unravel its meaning, I think that’s the question. Is Solomon looking at things right here? Is he seeing God correctly? And you know what? That’s also the question for each of us. A. W. Tozer said, “What I believe about God is the most important thing about me.” Did Solomon have, at least in some part of his life, some time in his life, a warped view of God? Well, let’s look at the evidence. At times, Solomon is certain the righteous will ultimately prevail. But at other times, it looks like Solomon is viewing God as his enemy, someone that’s out to get him, someone who’s intent on taking from him happiness he might be able to get and find under the sun. We know that Solomon believed in God. Did Solomon love God? Let’s look at some things Solomon had to say about God in this book. Ecclesiastes 1:13. “And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. This sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.” Ecclesiastes 7:13, “Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight which he hath made crooked?” Now notice he doesn’t say, “Who can make crooked what God hath made straight?” He says, “Who can make straight what God hath made crooked?” just going around breaking things. Look at the next verse, Ecclesiastes 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God also has set the one over against the other to the end that man should find nothing after him.” Ecclesiastes 11:9, “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”

How is Solomon picturing God for us in these verses? Is he showing us a God who is personal, a God who is loving? Or is he showing us a God who is distant and unapproachable? Is he showing us a God who made plans before the foundation of this world to redeem mankind? Or is Solomon showing us a God who creates problems we can’t fix, who bends things we can’t straighten, who delights in frustrating our plans? Think for a moment about the difference between what we just heard Solomon tell us about God in these verses and what his father David told us about God. Psalm 36:7, “How precious is your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.” Was the God of David also the God of Solomon? Did both father and son see God the same way? Unless I’ve missed it, there is not a single word in Ecclesiastes about the love of God. David, who endured repeated tragedies all throughout his life, could not quit talking about the love of God. But Solomon, who seems to have lived a charmed existence, had not a single word to say about the love of God. Despite all of his blessings, Solomon seems to have viewed God as just an opponent. As one commentator put it, “Solomon was not an atheist, but maybe he wanted to be.” Don’t we often see this same attitude in those who have left the church? Stephen Crane, the American novelist, was raised in a religious home, but he spent most of his life trying to separate himself from it. A friend later wrote, “He disbelieved it and he hated it, but he could not free himself from it.” I think Solomon, likewise, doesn’t seem to have been able to live with God or to live without God. Some people have just enough religion to make themselves miserable. Is that Solomon’s problem? We know that Solomon had been blessed with wisdom from God, but we also know that in this book, Solomon spends much of his time trusting in his own wisdom. There are a few rare verses in this book with a divine viewpoint, but for the most part, this book is page after page of I have seen and I said to myself over and over again. Solomon believed in God, but Solomon refused to look up in dependence on God. Very much unlike David, his father David, Solomon does not seem to view God as a personal and loving God. I think to Solomon God was like the moon. God was there, we’re here. God controls the tides in our lives, but he’s not personally involved with us. To Solomon, God was the sovereign over everything, but wasn’t really concerned about man. Ecclesiastes 7:14. To Solomon, God had a plan, but he didn’t share that plan with anybody. Ecclesiastes 8:17. To Solomon, God was a giver of all good gifts, but he was very whimsical on how he passed out those gifts. Ecclesiastes 6:2. To Solomon, God was a judge, but he was capricious in exercising and demonstrating his justice. Ecclesiastes 9:1-2. You know, perhaps it’s because Solomon was himself a king. Maybe he just didn’t want to be in subjection to anyone else, not even God. As a king, God was the only person Solomon answered to. Maybe he resented that. At times, Solomon seemed to be saying to God, “I’ve done my best to fix things up down here with all the mess you’ve made. You frustrated all my plans.” I think Solomon is saying, “Don’t blame me. How can I fix what God has broken? How can I straighten what God has made crooked?” At times in this book, Solomon doesn’t seem sad. He seems mad. You know, J.B. Phillips wrote a famous book called Your God is Too Small, and in that book he explored various false views about God and showed how they fell short of the biblical view of God. And one of the problems that he points out is that men often model God after themselves. And as Phillips wrote, “Man may be made in the image of God, but it is not sufficient to conceive God as nothing more than an infinitely magnified man.” Solomon seems to have fallen into this trap of trying to understand the attributes of God by comparing them to his own attributes. Perhaps Solomon’s real complaint here is that God was just not running things as Solomon would have run them himself. So how then did Solomon view God? Well, at times he seems to have viewed God as a distant, occasionally indifferent, sometimes cruel God. What is the explanation for that? David didn’t see God that way. Why did Solomon see God that way?

You know psychologists, I don’t often quote psychologists, but I think they’re onto something here. Psychologists tell us that our view of God is often determined by our view of our earthly father. And in fact, most of the world’s best-known atheists had a terrible relationship with their earthly father. Madeline Murray O’Hare once tried to stab her father to death with a pair of scissors. And that’s not the only example. But what about Solomon’s earthly father? Were Solomon and David close? Or did Solomon perhaps view David as a distant and unloving monarch? Much like his view of God. We read of Solomon’s birth in 2 Samuel 12 where we find that the Lord loved him. We don’t see much of Solomon again until late in David’s life. But you know what? I mean we’ve all studied the life of David. David had a whole lot to say about his son, how much he loved his son and cared for his son. But it wasn’t Solomon. It was Absalom. Perhaps Solomon was like that elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son. When you read Ecclesiastes, do you sense any rebellion by Solomon against the picture of God we find in the Psalms? Was Solomon perhaps trying to straighten out David and let the world know what God is really like?

“But wait,” you say, “the book of Ecclesiastes is inspired. How can it show us a false view of God?” The Bible certainly tells us the truth about God, but the Bible also has many false views about God. Starting off in Genesis 3, Satan gives us a false view about God. Think about the book of Job. In the book of Job, Job’s three friends spend the whole book giving their opinions about God. And what happens when God finally shows up? Job 42:7, He tested those friends, “you have not spoken of me what is right.” Those were false views about God. I think Ecclesiastes also has false views about God. In fact, I think we know it has false views about God. God is not distant. God is not unloving. God is not capricious. Those are false views about God, but they’re views Solomon held, at least at some time in his life. So what do we see in this book of Ecclesiastes? What we see is a man who is blessed by God with wisdom, power, and riches, yet who did not have a kind word in return to God who had blessed him so greatly. You know it’s interesting to compare the book of Job with the book of Ecclesiastes. Job actually endured the injustices that Solomon just wrote about. Solomon gained everything, Job lost everything, but you know what? Ultimately they each came to the same conclusion. “Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole of man.”

Where is Jesus in the book of Ecclesiastes? You know we often say that Jesus can be found on every page in the Old Testament and I believe that is true, but where is Jesus in this book? And I think the answer is that yes, the book of Ecclesiastes does show us Jesus, but this book shows us a perfect silhouette of Christ. Ecclesiastes shows us Christ by showing us what Christ is not. And remember that if Christ is not these things then neither is God the Father. John 14:9, “He that has seen me has seen the Father.” In God the Father there is no un-Christ likeness. Yes Solomon was very wise, but Solomon did not understand something that every child in this assembly knows. “Jesus loves me, this I know.” Solomon did not understand that. Solomon had a false view of God because Solomon did not understand the love of God. In fact, that misunderstanding was at the heart of all Solomon’s problems. The love of God was the answer he was seeking and he could not see it. He could not see it. And that which Solomon could not see, that which is conspicuous by its absence in the book of Ecclesiastes, that which if he had seen it, it would have answered all his questions, is Christ, the evidence for the love of God. 1 John 4:9, “In this, the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.” I think Job and Solomon had something in common. I think they each wanted to see God face to face and to confront God with their complaints. And they each struggled to find meaning in this life. Job and his suffering, Solomon and his abundance. All of their questions, all of their struggles are answered by a single verse. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, gave his only begotten son, whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It’s the answer to everything. That’s the answer to all of it. That’s the love of God that Solomon could not seek, but that his father David saw and spoke about all his life. What is the answer to the brevity of life? Christ is the answer. What is the answer to the search for meaning in this world? Christ is the answer. What is the answer to the pain and suffering that we endure? Christ is the answer. What is the answer to the injustice we see all around us? Christ is the answer. What is the answer to the vanity that seems to be at the end of every road? Christ is the answer. And Christ is the only answer. Solomon tried everything else. And in doing that, he left us a perfect silhouette of Christ, the thing he could not see. Far from inflicting injustice upon man, as Solomon phrased it, God inflicted injustice on himself to redeem man. Jesus was the answer that Solomon was seeking.

Earlier we read James 4:14. Let’s that appears for a little time and then vanishes. That’s the question. What is your life? James answers that question for our physical life on this earth. It’s a mist, it’s a vapor. We’re just here for a very short time. But is this physical life all there is to life? Or is there something more? 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that of the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed. We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Our physical life is a vapor, but our physical life is not all there is. Each of us will live on beyond the grave. Each of us will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. What is your life? What is your life? Everything about us is determined by our answer to that question. What is your answer tonight? Are you on the path of worldly wisdom? Is that your life? Are you on the path of material wealth? Is that your life? Are you on the path of worldly pleasure? Is that your life? Solomon tried them all. He found nothing but vanity at the end. Do we think we’re going to find something different? If you’re looking for the way tonight, Jesus is the answer because he is the way. John 14:6. If you’re looking for the truth tonight, Jesus is the answer because he is the truth. John 14:6. If you’re looking for the life tonight, Jesus is the answer because he is the life. John 14:6. And Jesus is the only answer. John 14:6. There is no other answer apart from Christ. What is your life? What will your answer be? If you want to walk in newness of life tonight, the waters of baptism await. We can help in any way. Please come while we stand and while we sit.