Dwelling Place

Guest (Male): Coming up today on the Dwelling Place, we begin a new series in Ecclesiastes.

Al Pittman: Someone said one time, if I knew I was going to live this long, I'd take better care of myself. Sometimes we don't think we're going to live this long, but when you find yourself over 50 and you start looking back going, wow, I've learned a few things. There are some things that that I know that are true because I've lived through some stuff. And this is where I think I believe Solomon is. I think he's at the toward the end of his life and he's kind of looking back at stuff that he's done, you know, amen.

We look back at some of the things that we've done and we can shake our head too and go vanity of vanities, amen. Look at so many things that we've done ourselves.

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Dwelling Place with Pastor Al Pittman and a new series in the Book of Ecclesiastes. This book is attributed to King Solomon, the first of Israel's wise men. As wise as he was, we can see in the 12 chapters of this book that wisdom didn't necessarily bring peace to Solomon's heart. He had many questions about life. In fact, Solomon may have been the first man who suffered a midlife crisis. He had about everything a man could want, yet he felt empty. I don't know about you, but I know many people who are in that place today.

So what's the point of it all? Beginning today, we'll answer that question with an in-depth look at Ecclesiastes. Turn to Chapter 1 and join us. Here's Pastor Al Pittman.

Al Pittman: This book is a is a fascinating book. I mean, it's a it's it's it's a great book. Um just answering again some of the questions of life really looks takes a hard look at life. Tonight we're going to look at Chapter 1, the Book of Ecclesiastes. Want to go through some some technical things, to some background things maybe and and then get into the word here uh a little bit and uh let's see what the Lord does tonight. Uh but the author of the book is commonly believed to be Solomon, the son of David and um for three reasons and I want to give you those three reasons tonight.

There are many reasons, but here's three. Uh reasons why they believe that and indeed Solomon, who was the son of David, is the the author. Of course, the Bible tells us here right here in the very beginning that he was the preacher. This is the words of the preacher, Verse 1 of Ecclesiastes Chapter 1. Words of the preacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem. Uh number one reason is that the author has more wisdom than all those who were before him. And he mentions that in Verse 16 uh as we see here in uh uh the first chapter here, but it's also validated concerning Solomon.

That word was also mentioned or was also known about Solomon in 1 Kings Chapter 3 Verse 12. So he was he was someone who had great wisdom and there was no one who had wisdom beyond his, before him or after him, the Bible says. Uh secondly, he was the author. The I mean, the author here is is engaged in extensive building projects, something that was attributed again to Solomon uh in scripture, 1 Kings Chapter 9 Verses 1 to 19 and and here in the Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 Verses 4 to 6. The third reason is because again as it says here in Verse 1, uh no other son of David was king over Israel but Solomon.

So those who want to debate about whether or not he was the the the author, I believe is is pretty certain here and very strong evidence here being the son of King David, the king and him proclaiming himself to be the king of Jerusalem. Uh David only had one son that was a king uh in Jerusalem and that was Solomon. And um 2 Samuel tells us that 2 Samuel Chapter 12 Verses 24 and 25 speaks to the fact that David and Bathsheba had a son by the name of Solomon. And um and of course here Verses 1 and 2 speaks about the fact that he or Verse 1 in particular about the fact that he indeed was the son of David.

So those reasons give us uh help us understand that this he indeed was the uh uh this is this book is attributed to the author of this book is indeed Solomon, the son of David. Another uh kind of a sidebar uh thing to note about Solomon is that Solomon was given also the name uh Jedidiah. That name was given to him by Nathan the Prophet. And you remember Nathan the Prophet, he was the one that busted David. He was the one when David committed sin with Bathsheba. David thought he got away with it and Nathan came and basically told him a story about a man who had stolen someone else's little only little sheep and all this and David was enraged and and Nathan looked at David and said, David, you are the man who did this.

And um you know, you you you uh uh committed this great sin against your servant. And um David said, I've sinned against the Lord and he was convicted in all of that. And um but God blessed the and it's a whole another sermon, but God blessed uh Bathsheba and David's relationship. And I really believe it's because David generally repented. But when Solomon was born, he's given the name Solomon uh and Hebrew You ever hear that see that name Uh it's a Jewish name. And if you go to Israel, you hear you see and and what is that?

It means Solomon. And uh but Jedidiah He was given a name also Jedidiah. Jedidiah which means beloved of the Lord. And it was really a reflection of God's forgiveness to David. You know, David had messed up. And yet God had given him another child because the first child that Bathsheba had died as part of God's judgment. And uh but Bathsheba became pregnant again and uh she gave birth to Solomon. And Nathan said his name shall be called also Jedidiah, beloved of the Lord. So again, God's mercy and grace. Solomon reigned in in Israel. Uh the nation uh was not divided at this time.

Israel was one nation. Um later on under his son, Solomon's son Rehoboam, the nation would be divided. It would be a civil war between and Rehoboam uh Solomon's son would take southern Israel and northern Israel. The 10 tribes would go with Jeroboam uh and there would be a civil war uh and in all, but right at this time during David's reign, during King Saul's reign, during David's reign and now Solomon's reign, uh there was only one Israel. And he reigned for 40 years from 970 to 930 BC. He probably wrote this book toward the end of his life because it's usually toward the end of your life that you you finally learn a few things.

Amen. You know, when you're young and you think you know everything and I and God bless you if you're young, we're just envious, amen. Cuz you don't spend all your time at the doctor like I do and you know, guys. But but you know, when you're young sometimes you don't know and and you know, if they go after a few experiences and all, you know, uh you you begin to to to to to gain some wisdom. You know, that's the way life is. You know, like someone said one time, if I knew I was going to live this long, I'd take better care of myself, uh kind of a thing.

Um sometimes we don't think we're going to live this long, but when you find yourself over 50 and you start looking back going, wow, you know, I've learned a few things. There are some things that that I know that are true because I've lived through some stuff. And uh this is where I think I believe Solomon is. I think he is at the toward the end of his life and he's kind of looking back at stuff that he's done, you know, amen. We look it back back at some of the things that we've done and we can shake our head too and go vanity of vanities, amen.

Look at so many things that we've done ourselves. But he probably wrote this book again toward the end of his life after he had repented of idolatry and his pursuit of foreign wives. Solomon had a thing for the ladies, say the least. And he he did whatever he needed to do to get what he wanted. And you know, he would build idols, erect idols to whatever God his foreign wife desired to worship. And it was a great offense to the Lord. So I think this is again toward the end of his life where he started to reflect back on so many things and and he's repented of his idolatry and his womanizing.

Uh he's his recommitment through living God service really as a guide for us in our lives. I think for those of us who run into those pitfalls in life, we can sit here and read and go, amen Solomon. You know, you know you're right. And uh you know, but it's a guide for for whether you're old or young. It's a guide for all of us, a commentary on life. The Book of Ecclesiastes asks relevant searching questions about the meaning of life. And it declares the utter futility of living life apart from God. The futility of what what does life look like apart from God?

Well, Solomon spends a lot of time talking about that. He'll get into some of that tonight as we'll see. This probing book should be interpreted however in the light of its conclusion. You know, we're not trying to there's I mean, really just you you go to the end of the book, you find out what the whole thing is about. But the bottom line is he says, fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all. When he gets right down to it, when it's all said and done, this is man's all. You know, life is so precious and yet as the Bible says it's a vapor.

You know, I'm reminded of that this past week the tragic news of the uh and I don't know where what state it was in, but the young man playing football, you may be heard about it, 17 years old, senior high school athlete, you know, well liked in the town, whole thing. Throws a pass, touchdown pass, runs off the field. Coach says great job, turns around, he collapses, dies. That's not supposed to happen. And we've had tragedies here even in town at Prospect Lake. Two teenagers from Harrison High School lost their lives, drowned. It's not supposed to happen.

Life is so precious. And it makes you wonder when you hear those kind of stories, what's the meaning really the meaning of life? What is this really all about? You know, because if you if you're living for those things and 17 year old is not supposed to collapse on a football field or you know, two young kids having fun at Prospect Lake aren't supposed to drown and you know, it doesn't make sense and it to our human our finite minds. When we try to live life apart from God, apart from the fear of the Lord, you know, it can be devastating.

Guest (Male): We'll pause right here, but Pastor Al will be back in a few moments with part two of today's message in Ecclesiastes Chapter 1. We're all about sharing the gospel with the entire world. Would you pray about partnering with us financially to help accomplish that goal? To join our support team, please give us a call at 844-221-3363 or visit our website at cwcchs.org. And we have a brand new address to share with you for Pastor Al's podcast. It's anchor.fm/cwcchs-podcast. That's anchor.fm/cwcchs-podcast. Now let's return to today 's message in Ecclesiastes Chapter 1. Here's Pastor Al Pittman.

Al Pittman: Solomon says, fear God and keep his commandments. Fear God means to revere, to worship, to serve God, to turn from evil and to turn in all to the living God. It does not involve dread. People think about the fear of the Lord, oh God is going to crush me because I'm doing something wrong. You know, no, it means that I respect God. I I I revere his presence in my life. Do you know you're not you're never alone? Amen. Let's just cover that for a moment. You're never alone. You there's not a time yet even when you're in your tub, ladies, with the candles and the bubble bath and all that, you know, you're never alone, amen.

I just know about that because you know, Pastor Al, is that what you do? No, I'm just saying. I know that's what my wife does. She likes to do that, you know. But and guys we're never alone in the shower we're never alone. God is always with us and so I revere God. My life is not my own. To walk in the fear of the Lord is not walk in dread, but it's to walk in respect of God's presence that he is always with us. It's showing proper respect and obedience to God at all times.

And And when we mess up the the wonderful thing is that we recognize he's still there with us and we say, God forgive me. I don't say God forgive me because you know, I got to go to church tomorrow. I say, God forgive me because you're here because that that that that offends you. And I want to respect you. I want to obey your word. And that's a lifetime deal. It's not like you're going to plateau and go, woo, I've arrived. I never have to worry about ever being a jerk again. No, you still have to work on that, amen.

We still have to work on practicing the presence of God if you will and just you know, recognizing that I am not alone and God is with me. But you know, I was just I'll say this. And I've been a Christian for almost 40 years. Um but you never really live. Young people hear me out. Hear me now, believe me later anyway. Those old jokes who's Arnold Schwarzenegger? Who knows who he is anymore? Anyway, uh or pumping iron that was but you never start living until you learn to fear God. If you're waiting for a ship to come in, if you're waiting for that wonderful sexual experience, it will pass.

It will come and go. You never You could test me on this. I hope you don't, but I know human nature. You'll never live until you learn to fear God. It's like the sky opens and like the blessing of God pours down on you you because you know what? You can live your life. There's no shame in your game. There's no deceit in your speech. You can be open and honest with everybody you meet. That's freedom. It takes a lot of work to live deceitfully. Takes a lot of work to hide your shame. But when you live in the presence of God in the fear of the Lord, it's true liberty.

And God wants to set us free. He don't want to you know, he's trying to cram my lifestyle. No, he wants to set you free. Well, Solomon learns these things through his life. Finally comes to that place in his life where he says, you know what? This is what it's all about, man. It's about fearing God. This This is what it all boils down to. Whether you're a janitor or a rocket scientist, it doesn't matter who you are, how much money you got in the bank, the bottom line is when they close that lid on your face, did you fear God?

Cuz you're going to stand before him. The Bible says in Proverbs Chapter 14 Verse 26 and 27, in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence and his children will have a place of refuge. Amen. And for us fathers, our children will have a place of refuge. It's just something that's been God's been just he speaking to me about that today. Almost like like the Lord can give me a vision and say, you know, you're you know, you're you're older now and it used to be about you, but now you got grandkids. And you need to start getting your foot locker together.

Remember them old football lockers, mom, used to your parents used to used to travel with. Remember them foot lockers, them old metal foot You don't remember. Okay. If you remember somebody, please remember, amen. But them old foot lockers, man, and and you know, it's like God saying, you need to get your foot locker together, get your stuff in order, your house in order because you're not going to be here much longer. Now my daughter sent me a little text thing you know, you call on my phone, you know, you look at the picture and you know, I have to I have to I have to stop and figure out how to do it every time, you know, it's like but it was a little thing my my grandson Deon, one of my grandsons.

They're in Fort Hood, Texas. And my son-in-law by the way is in Iraq for the fourth time. But she showed me this sent me this picture of my grandson watching me on the computer during our live service last Sunday. She said he watched the whole thing. He's like 5 years old. Watched the whole thing. See some of y'all can stay there a whole time during the whole message. Here he is watching the whole thing because he loves his grandpa. But that would that just I can't you can't put a price on that. That's my that's that's the legacy.

That's the what I get to leave behind as it says here in Proverbs that that his children and his children will have a place of refuge. I'm making a refuge through faith in Christ for my grandkids and for my children because I'm going to be passing on. And it it doesn't sad me, it gives me great joy to know that I have given them something that's eternal. Ask yourself the question, dads, what are you leaving your children? The fear of the Lord it goes on to say is a fountain of life to turn one away from the snares of death, amen.

The fear of the Lord when you learn the fear of the Lord, young men, young ladies, you learn to fear God. It'll deliver you, it'll keep you. I got a email from a guy who is a brother in the Lord. And um you know, God wants to keep us out of snares, amen. Anybody believe that that God really wants to you get God's not trying to mess up your game, but you're just trying to keep you out of trouble. And this uh brother sent me these things to pray for me. It's a long story. I won't get into the whole deal, but he he's married around my age.

Got into a relationship with a woman on the internet. I I was telling somebody the other day I want I'm old school. I'm preaching, you know, take your eyes off the secretary. You ain't got to worry about the secretary at work no more. It's on the internet. That's where people have an affair. And the woman's husband found out, sent him a message. He said, I'd like to meet you, but I don't think you'd like to meet me. Leave my wife alone. He was busted. Wife found out, told her, confessed it, supposed to be done. But God wants to stay keep us out of snares.

He goes back by a year later, responds to an email that he thinks is from this woman. I miss you too, baby. Turns out it was from his wife. Now God's got to do some rebuilding and some healing in the relationship. See then you didn't have to do that. He You don't have to do that. You didn't have to go through you never have to now you got to win your wife's heart back and now you got to get the devil out of your house and your marriage, all that kind of stuff. God's trying to keep you out of snares.

That's why he gives us this word. But see we think we're smarter than God. But your sin will find you out. So you know, I mean, just you know, we we live in an age I'm I'm old school. I miss it sometimes, you know. Keep your eye off the secretary, you know. I ain't got to worry about the secretary no more. Keep your fingers off the buttons on your computer because people have these stealth relationships, but you know, the Bible says nothing is hidden from the sight of God. So God gives us this word to keep us to keep us from the snares as Proverbs says.

The snares of death. God may be warning somebody here tonight out in the overflow. God may be saying to you right now tonight, stop it. Stop it. Because there's there's times in my life, I'm going to be honest with you, God in my life where God's told me stop it. I won't live with it. And I believe to this day if I had not had not repented, I wouldn't be standing here today. But aren't you glad his mercies are new every morning? Great is God's faithfulness to us. In Verses 1 to 11, we have the prologue here in the Book of Ecclesiastes, prologue of the book.

And then in Verses 12 to 18 that we'll end with tonight, uh we have uh Solomon begins to examine what's what's good and what what good rather can be found in wisdom, the wisdom and the pleasures of the world. Cuz he's a guy that went for it. Woo, you know. He didn't hold back anything from him from his his flesh. As he'll say here, we'll read here in a little bit, but uh in Verses 1 to 11 in the prologue he says, the words of the preacher first himself is the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. The words of a man who's lived life who is the richest man, the wisest man in the world has ever known. Anything he wanted. He wanted that woman, I want her. He wanted that chariot or whatever, you know, if he was living in our day and time, he wanted that car, I want it. That house, I want it. Anything he wanted. What would we ask for if we could have anything we wanted? Now he didn't start out that way, did he? If you remember Solomon, he didn't start out that way.

In fact, God said, ask what you want, what you will. He said, Lord, give me wisdom to rule over your people because I'm but a child. And God said, because you didn't ask for your enemies, because you didn't ask for riches and land and all this stuff and material stuff, he said, I'm going to give you that and more. He started out right. Ended up wrong.

Guest (Male): You're listening to the Dwelling Place with Pastor Al Pittman. This broadcast originates at Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs. Email Pastor Al at amen at cwcchs.org. That's amen at cwcchs.org. And include a prayer request if you'd like to. If you're interested in hearing Pastor Al's message again, go online to cwcchs.org or call and request a CD copy at 844-221-3363. Again, we can be reached at 844-221-3363. If you've been blessed as you've studied along with us, perhaps you'd like to help support the ministry. We'd be so encouraged if you would. And you can donate online at cwcchs.org or text the word give to 719-354-2778.

Our address is Calvary Worship Center, 505 Castle Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80904. If you missed any of that, it's all available at cwcchs.org. If you're in the area and looking for a church home, stop by on a weekend to Calvary Worship Center and be sure to introduce yourself as a radio listener. Join us at our west side campus or our creek side campus. You can find service times and directions for both on our website at cwcchs.org. And then join us next time for the Dwelling Place with Pastor Al Pittman. Until then, may God bless you mightily as you dwell in his magnificent love.

Guest (Female): Dwelling Place, Dwelling Place, Dwelling Place, you are my Dwelling Place, Dwelling Place, Dwelling Place.