November 09, 2018 Sharing Recording:

A Wise Man Lives in the Vanity of Vanities

The first chapter of Ecclesiastes speaks of life as the vanity of vanities. Generation after generation, everything under the sun is vanity and a striving after wind. As a preacher, if one cannot see clearly that living is the vanity of vanities, one cannot preach the Gospel.

Yesterday, I witnessed firsthand the case of a sister whose brother developed a mental illness. How did it happen? Her mother worshipped idols, filling the room with a smoky haze, and her brother's mental illness was triggered. When one of our sisters was leading them in prayer online, I noticed a serious issue: they were very keen on controlling her brother. In their conversation, everyone was anxious to solve her brother's problem, to the point that relatives and the praying sisters were all frantic.

Would I be frantic? I probably would not react at all, waiting for the commotion to pass. Because I am a preacher, a preacher must possess a certain quality: to see through many things. When matters are seen through, the emotions within a person become very stable. Know that emotions sometimes bring enormous negative impacts.

Why does a person develop a mental illness? It is because they take certain things too seriously. As soon as someone touches what they value, they become very angry. The root of a person's mental illness lies within themselves. When we can see through these things, knowing that everything is the vanity of vanities, can these things still have such a great impact on people!

My mother has been acting foolish lately, saying that she left her hometown at the age of four, and now, in her eighties, she wants to reclaim the house she used to live in. Why can people not see through that these things are worthless? Not only can they not see through it, but they are also deeply immersed in it. We can imagine a group of people suddenly coming to your house and saying: This is my house. Eighty years ago, I left this place, and now I am back. You must return it to me. What proof do you have that this house is yours? There is no proof! Even if you prove it, you still cannot get it back. Who can you find from so long ago?

There are many foolish people in this world. Many things done under the sun are considered very real by people. If you also think that these things in the world are very real, then there will be a consequence: this world will pierce your heart, and in the end, you will live miserably. Does your heart believe that this world is the vanity of vanities? When we do not believe it is the vanity of vanities, we cannot receive the true Gospel. Do not assume that just because you have the words Christian plastered on your forehead, you are necessarily a Christian. Nor should you think that a Christian only needs to wear a gold cross necklace and have a picture of Jesus on their vest.

Previously, I went to a crusade in Israel. On the plane, I had rhinitis and felt very uncomfortable, making noises that disturbed the person next to me who was trying to sleep. He was very annoyed with me. Later, in Israel, I discovered that the person preaching was the same person who had sat next to me on the plane. What made it even more unsettling was that all his plane tickets and expenses to Israel were paid for by my donations. It felt like eating dung, but it is also the vanity of vanities; it is not a big deal.

Seeing Through Worldly Matters to Receive God's Word

Today, I tell you that if a person does not feel that these things in the world are the vanity of vanities, they cannot receive God's Word. If people take worldly matters so seriously, how can they receive God's Word? Because God's Word is the opposite of what we see under the sun. The people recorded in the Bible, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, all had one characteristic: they saw through worldly matters. Because they saw through them, they did not care about them.

Are people not foolish! Because they do not have the Word, they cannot see through anything, so their thoughts and choices are foolish. Some people think that money is very important, so they desperately try to make money whenever they have the chance, believing that having money is good. As a result, they are arrested for corruption, go to jail, and lose everything. Originally, living is a very simple thing, but because we take money, fame, and fortune too seriously, not knowing that these things are all the vanity of vanities, we do not realize it is all for naught until we enter prison. This is devastating!

Today, I tell you, this Ecclesiastes speaks very well: people should live joyfully. If someone makes you unhappy, would you fight to the death with them? Therefore, brothers and sisters, you should enjoy your blessings. Even if you do not enjoy them, it is still vanity because vanity means that wanting to enjoy blessings does not guarantee you will enjoy them, and wanting to be happy does not guarantee you will be happy. You hope for blessings and happiness, but someone causes you not to enjoy blessings and happiness, then you will be frantic. Therefore, brothers and sisters, do you care about joy? Do you care about hardship? You do not need to care about these things! This is the mindset of a preacher. If you possess God's Word, you must have a very healthy concept: everything in this world is vanity. If you do not believe it is vanity, you cannot see through it and cannot not care about it.

I have seen those who lead healing and deliverance and those who are healed and delivered are all very emotionally excited. Excited about what? In my words: what is the hurry? People feel that these things are very urgent and very important, so they are troubled. In my own words, I do not even care if I die, why would I care if you die? Some may question, What kind of attitude is this? I tell you, this is the attitude of seeing through everything as vanity.

Be Filled with the Knowledge of God in Understanding, Knowing That the Things of the World Are the Vanity of Vanities.

As a preacher, one must be good at observing and thinking. Those who have thought seriously should thank God. Those who have not thought seriously and think they know, in fact, do not even know the basic options, yet they think they know. How can they possibly live well? Because only by careful observation, thinking, and verification will one be filled with the knowledge of God in understanding, and in understanding, know that the things of this world are the vanity of vanities. If one fully understands this matter in understanding, that is the greatest benefit.

Some brothers and sisters ask me, What should we do when people always have this or that problem in life? In fact, living in this world requires understanding in understanding what it means to love the world. Many people think that loving the world is the key to living well, but they do not live well. People love this world out of ignorance and a lack of understanding, indulging in catering to the flesh and fully engaging in discerning good and evil, not knowing that it leads to suffering, such that spiritual cancer eventually becomes physical cancer. Therefore, brothers and sisters, if we do not know in understanding today, do not assume that we know.

I sometimes deliberately give some brothers and sisters difficult questions. The question I pose is, How can one become shrewd? To this day, several months have passed, and no one has been able to answer it well. Why is it difficult for people to be shrewd? It is because of people's ignorance. The essence of not being shrewd is ignorance. Similarly, we must clearly know God in understanding and know what living is all about, understanding the content of the Bible in understanding.

The truth that God reveals to us is usually received through understanding. Do not assume that oral prayer can replace the knowledge of understanding. Like a little monk chanting scriptures without putting his heart into it, no matter how much you pray, you cannot break through in understanding. Therefore, one must know God in understanding. God has written out His Word, but few people believe it. In this world, the vanity of vanities, how many people can listen?

See the Essence of Things, Verify with Investigation

A classmate's father said, I will not live past this year, but I still have to make money! What kind of mindset is that? Even when about to die, he cannot let go of money and wealth. He truly cannot see through it! What did David's son Solomon say? I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine (my mind still guiding me with wisdom) and how to take hold of folly, until I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. (Ecclesiastes 2:3)

Solomon's wisdom was that he was willing to think and observe. What exactly should one think about and observe? For example, does a person's life have anything to do with Ecclesiastes? It may or may not. I think Ecclesiastes is very important because some people focus on form and not essence, while others focus on essence and not form; some focus on method and not purpose, while others focus on purpose and not method; some focus on cause and not effect, while others focus on effect and not cause. Ecclesiastes sees all of this clearly, but this is just the vanity of vanities.

For example, when we fly a plane, you cannot climb onto the wing of the plane to control it. You only need to operate the control stick, and the wing will change accordingly. That is to say, the entire flight of the plane is under the control of the control stick. But foolish people will try to control the wing because they see that the plane's flight status changes when the wing changes, but they do not know that there is a control stick in control, so they insist on messing with the wing themselves.

The plane flies at an altitude of ten thousand meters at eight or nine hundred kilometers per hour. The wind is stronger than a hurricane. Try going up there! No one would be foolish enough to do that, but upon careful consideration, many people are actually like this: focusing on form and not essence, focusing on method and not purpose, focusing on cause and not effect.

Today, we must realize that focusing on essence, focusing on purpose, and focusing on results is what makes a person powerful. A preacher who does not have the Word and cannot see what living is all about, what can he preach? Or we can try it, I use various means to stimulate you, to see if you will be frantic. If no matter what method I use, you are still not frantic, then you are amazing! Why? Because if you focus on essence, purpose, and results, you will basically be able to overcome anything you encounter.

Grasp the Essence of Things

I gave my mother a good talking to, urging her to be a sensible person and not do such foolish things anymore. After being away from that place for eighty years, what was she going back to find? I asked her: What were the houses in your hometown made of? If they were made of adobe, they would have turned into a pile of mud by now. If they hadn't turned into mud, who knows what that land has become. Anyway, after eighty years, no one will acknowledge your claim. Many times, people don't understand what they are doing because they don't care about the outcome. They busily do things aimlessly, and the result is that they lose their bait instead of catching the chicken.

Living in this world, one must know that what is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be supplied. Don't think you can do anything, or decide anything. You can't do anything, nor can you decide anything. If you can't see through this, you are just asking for trouble. If you can't see through it, and don't investigate, and don't know what purpose to achieve, and don't know what essence to pursue, it's all futile. Like my mother, not knowing the purpose and result of returning to her 80-year-old house, she insisted on reclaiming the old house in her hometown from 80 years ago. How foolish is that? Fortunately, my mother suddenly woke up and said she could understand my explanation. I was surprised. If I didn't explain it this way, wouldn't she be able to figure it out herself?

Those who preach must use their sermons to make people wise. Solomon, the king of Jerusalem, could eat whatever he wanted and drink whatever he wanted, but his heart still pondered how to guide myself with wisdom. In fact, he was just observing dispassionately because he already knew that all these things are vanity of vanities. So he adhered to wisdom, standing at an objective point of view to observe these things. Do our brothers and sisters have such wisdom? Many people, while observing, not only fail to see through things but also fall into perdition. I want to say that people in this world are really interesting.

When doing something, you must be clear from the beginning what purpose we want to achieve, what result we want, and what is the most crucial essence to grasp.

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water my groves. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. (Ecclesiastes 2:4-7)

In fact, many people can't explain what to do with so much. It's all vanity of vanities. Some people like to follow China's richest people, but what do they do after following? They don't know. If you haven't become China's richest person, you don't know. When you become China's richest person, you will find that you might turn into China's poorest person at any time—one rich and one debt. What is the meaning of this?

In one's lifetime, lying in a coffin is just a wooden box, and sleeping only requires a bed of two square meters. How much can a person eat, use, and wear in a lifetime? Actually, it's not much. A thousand acres of good land are only worth three meals a day. Ten thousand mansions are only worth a bed for sleeping. Even if you become China's richest person, how much can you eat and use? The concept of the richest person is actually to help the country manage wealth and create employment. But many poor people don't understand this and think it's good to be rich, thinking that eating chicken legs is better than eating corn buns, and sitting in a BMW is better than riding a bicycle. They just don't understand—are these things really that important? If you think they are very important, I want to tell you to be careful. Why? This is called foolishness.

I became greater than anyone in Jerusalem before me. My wisdom also remained with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:9-11)

Some people might say, How can you think that being the richest person is meaningless? I tell you that everyone ultimately has an end, which is that one day they will leave this world. After leaving this world, do these things still have any value? They have no value at all. Whenever this happens, I think of that particularly standard, helpless expression: So What! The president of a certain country likes to use that helpless expression. I particularly admire it—wrinkling his eyebrows, stretching out his hands, shrugging his shoulders, and making a meme. Think about it. In the beginning, to be elected president, he made a big show, and everyone had to pray for the election. What was the result? Being president is also helpless, like vanity of vanities. I am not talking about politics! I am talking about the vanity of life. It's all chasing after the wind! Under the sun, when you enter the coffin, no one will remember you. If you don't remember the people of the past today, the people of the future won't remember you either.

Seeing Through Life and Death Is Key to Living a Good Life

Sometimes, we take some things very seriously. I can tell everyone that if you want me to pray for someone's business, forget it! If you want to pray for a presidential election, forget it! I don't have much interest in these things. Don't take these things so seriously. The reason people pray for these things is because you view them as important. You take a vain issue so seriously, which is itself the problem.

Why is it vanity of vanities? Because it has no meaning. If it had meaning, it wouldn't be called vanity. Some people say that human society must develop forward. I know that human society must develop forward, and then? So what! The last generation passes away, and another generation comes. In the blink of an eye, a thousand years pass, and another thousand years pass, and it's our generation's turn. We stand in the two thousandth year of the Common Era and look at Qin Shi Huang two thousand years ago, as well as the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. It doesn't seem to make much of a difference—vanity of vanities. Then, after two thousand years, looking back at the things we are doing today, praying for the president, praying for the country—what is the meaning? It's not that praying is bad! I want to say that we must see through these things. The more you see through, the smaller the impact of what happens on us.

What is crooked cannot be straightened, what is lacking cannot be counted, and God has His will in everything. No need to argue with God. This is different from Jacob wrestling with God and prevailing. You are arguing in the wrong direction. Jacob was arguing towards God, but you are arguing towards the world. You must submit to God and argue under His authority. So what Jacob pursued is different from what we pursue.

When we preach the gospel, we must preach vanity of vanities. Some people want me to pray for their hemorrhoids. This disease is clearly a curse in the Bible. All things under the sun are vanity of vanities. When your heart is clear, the hemorrhoids will heal.

The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said in my heart, “This too is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 2:14-15)

This means that the ending for foolish and wise people is the same—death. When we were young, we liked to say, Long live Chairman Mao. Long live is people's hope for a better future, hoping to live to ten thousand years. But no matter how prominent, busy, or foolish you are in the world, when viewed under the sun, the ending is about the same. However, when viewed from a spiritual world, it is completely different. Those who know God and imitate God return to God, and those who know demons return to demons. The suffering in the world is far different from that in hell.

Like the fool, the wise man too will not be remembered forever; in days to come both will be forgotten. How long will the wise man die just like the fool! So I hated life, because everything done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:16-17)

My greatest hope is to leave this world. Living in the world is very hard, even though my life is pretty good. I think this is God's arrangement of heavy labor under the sun, so I want to seek a better homeland and pay the price. This is the attitude that preachers should have. Therefore, the Apostle Paul said that he longed to depart and be with the Lord. Being with the Lord is an incomparably good thing.

To be a preacher, you must see through life and death, and only by seeing through life and death can you solve problems. People cannot work like crazy for a salary. Who will it be left to after leaving the world? This is vanity. If you can think to this level, you are wise.

For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. (Ecclesiastes 2:21)

Because what you get from labor is what you deserve, and if you don't get it through labor, it's like being blown in by a strong wind. There will definitely be great trouble. Don't expect such things to happen. If I give you a million today, what will you do? A brother told me that he would buy a house with one-third, do business with one-third, and save the rest. I said, Do you think a million is a lot? Even if you do business, you have to take out money to pave the way, and you can't guarantee that you will make money. The risk of speculating on houses is also very high now. If there is money blown in by a strong wind, data shows that they did not live better afterward but lived worse because what is blown in by a strong wind is misfortune.

For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:21-26)

What is the purpose of our living today? We want to please God, know God's will, and God will bless us. When God pleases you, you may not be prosperous, but prosperity is not the purpose God gives us. Our purpose is to seek God and seek eternal life. People live in the world for only a few decades. Why should we be entangled by these things?

Summary

Enjoying blessings is also vanity because this is not the purpose, essence, and result of human life. Man is a living person with a spirit, running with the hope of eternal life. Serving diligently in this world will be brought into eternal life. What we should do is do things that are effective in eternal life, build God's glorious church, build the body of Jesus Christ, and be perfectly united with Jesus Christ. The fruits of our labor in the world will follow us.

Don't take your children's education and work so seriously anymore. It's all vanity and will become our bondage. The devil will use these things to create traps and snares, capturing those who are ignorant. We must begin to be wise people. If you don't agree, see how you live out the result. We must see through the vanity of vanities in this world and simply please God.

Book of Ecclesiastes List