Ecclesiastes 9:11-18 / Pastor David VanAcker

11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. 13 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. 17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

The big idea of this sermon is that under the sun wisdom has real and inevitable limits and it has real and genuine benefits. That is, wisdom doesn’t help in the ultimate sense because it isn’t foolproof. There’s always the chance that you’ll find success, having ordered everything according to wisdom, and then for reasons you could never have predicted, everything will get completely upended. The main takeaway, then, is to learn its benefits and limits and live accordingly.

Service Order

Memory Verse

Colossians 4:6 – Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Service Times

Prayer
9:45am-10:00am
Worship Service
10:30am-Noon