we can go to Ecclesiastes chapter 11. Let's go to Ecclesiastes chapter 11. And the preacher has discussed in our last study the danger of just a little folly. The idea that folly brings ruin wherever it is found. But you can steer clear of folly and take God's way of wisdom and guess what? You're still going to meet with misfortunes in life. There's still going to be a life filled with uncertainty. That is just part of what we are subject to in this life under the sun. And so this dimension of vanity that we've been seeing recurring throughout the book, uncertainty, is something that the preacher is going to be addressing this morning, and he's going to be showing us how to deal with that, how to deal with uncertainty. So let's pray. Father, as we open your word this morning, we pray that you would open our hearts, you would open our minds, would you give us grace to receive what it is your spirit says, Please speak through me and help me at this time, in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Now please follow along as I read our text, Ecclesiastes 11 verses 1 through 6. Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. Divide your portion to seven or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth. And whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the trees falls, there it lies. He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and do not be idle in the evening. For you do not know whether your morning or evening sowing will succeed or whether both of them alike will be good. That's the reading of God's word. Even in the 21st century, life is uncertain. And for All of us I think that really hit our nation hard when a couple years ago everyone began freaking out about this coronavirus. And to some it seemed like the sky is falling and to others it seemed like the end of the world had finally come. And I had people calling me, I'm sure you had people calling you too. Some saying, you gotta be more cautious, you gotta be more careful. Others saying, just keep calm and carry on. Everybody's the expert when things like that happen, right? Isn't that just the case? But ironically, the people that are posing as the experts, the ones we watch on the television screen, they didn't even know quite what was happening. The fact is that there's a lot that all of us didn't know. We found ourselves swimming in uncertainty. Now, my wife and I love our children. We love life. We love the church. And through this whole pandemic and as it started and there was increasing panic and different stuff, we began observing the whole ordeal. And we were both, we came to the place eventually where we were both ready to embrace the risk based on what we knew about the situation had it's assessed and heard and we were ready to move forward. And eventually all of us decided it was time to resume life. All of us in turn eventually returned to gathering as the Lord has called us to here physically assembling as his people. And this is what I'm reminded of. this idea of resuming life when I studied this text. We just can't get around the necessity of accepting risks in life. We try to be wise, we try to do what we can to be safe, but safety is not 100% guaranteed. And I understand these six verses we're gonna look at to be framed around Solomon's discussion on life's uncertainty. If you look at verse two, he concludes the first thought in this paragraph with, for you do not know. what misfortune may occur on the earth. And then in verse 6 he concludes the final thought in this paragraph by saying for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed or whether both of them alike will be good. Solomon is giving us a paragraph addressing the idea that we do not know. Life is uncertain. Life inevitably involves not knowing. So what is this text teaching us about living with life's uncertainty? Well the preacher's point I believe here is that we must embrace uncertainty. We don't have the mind of God and everything. We aren't omniscient and we must therefore embrace uncertainty and the preacher gives us three principles I believe in this text for how you must embrace life's uncertainty. The first principle for embracing life's uncertainty is we must accept life's risks in verses one and two. And how are we to accept life's risks? Solomon presents two ways you must accept life's risks. First, be willing to take a step of faith. He says in verse one, cast your bread on the surface of the waters for you will find it after many days." Now commentators have offered at least three different explanations for this proverb. One is agriculture. Some see the preacher as describing how a farmer would cast his seed upon a waterbed and it would be growing rice. This would be a rice paddy. I think that's unlikely for different reasons. Another option has been that of philanthropy where it's understood that Solomon's asking us not simply to save for ourselves but to give to others and this would be based upon an Arabic proverb that says nearly the same thing, that's possible, but most commentators will go with the third option and that is they understand Solomon to be using a maritime principle. He's speaking with respect to commerce, maritime commerce, sea trade, and he's talking about accepting the risk that comes with international trade. After all, King Solomon had a great fleet of ships. We're told in 1 Kings 10.22 that the king, Solomon, had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. And Solomon understood that trading on the sea involved long-term investments. And I believe that's what the Proverbs is describing here. And so we can distinguish then three critical elements in this proverb. First, the image of casting your bread. Casting your bread on the waters. That is this image of commitment. There is a commitment we must make. There is a step of faith involved here. Like Jesus told his disciples in Luke 5, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. There's faith involved here. It's a venture of faith into the unknown. The image of casting bread on the waters, though, gives the idea of risk. There is some risk involved in this enterprise. There is some uncertainty here. Is our bread going to return to us? Is what we're sending across the sea going to come back with a profit? There is, of course, no faith, though, required where there is no risk, where there is no uncertainty. The third image we see in this proverb is that of finding your bread after many days. The idea that after many days here your bread is going to return to you. Your bread being a metaphor for your investment. What you've sent across the sea. And he's saying that patience is required for a worthy investment and as well as Patience is required for this reward that investment brings after a while. We can think about how investing in the lives of other people can apply here. You know, I could think about different relationships I've had in ministry, and you work with somebody, you talk with them, and you invest in them, and you sacrifice, and it looks like at the end nothing comes of it. end up rejecting your word or whatever. What do you do with that, you know? Well, I think that ultimately we can take confidence to remember the words of our Lord in 1 Corinthians 15, 58, that we are to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain. Cast your bet on the waters. Take a step of faith. Make investments, yes, even into the lives of people. I think this is a great principle for investing in the lives of people in the church. Or investing in the lives of those that God has put in your sphere of influence. And it will certainly be profitable. Our labor will not be in vain in the Lord. We ought to be investing in the lives of others. Yes, there's a cost involved. Yes, there's a risk involved. But I believe that this is what God desires for his church. The king says be willing to let go of some of your wealth and by faith cast it upon the water that is send it across the sea in the hopes that it will return for profit. This is not a name it claim it principle. This isn't a promise of prosperity. There is risk. Nor is this a call though to reckless faith. Solomon certainly not calling us to recklessly presume upon God to put him to the test as it were. throwing all our money into the water. But Solomon's point is that the profitable life which any one of us seeks requires a step of faith. And isn't that at the heart of this whole book? to find profit in a life filled with vanity. Where do we find meaning? Where do we find success? Where do we find profit and meaning in life? Well, certainly in this venture of taking a step of faith, and the step of faith requires accepting the risk that is involved. So in addition to taking a step of faith, Solomon says, be willing to divide a portion to others, verse two. He says, divide your portion to seven or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. By the way the numbers seven or eight here are obviously they are not to be taken literally. It is simply a Hebrew way of denoting an indefinite number. He's saying divide your portion to others. We can understand the proverb in at least one of two ways. It could be a way of saying be generous or even diversify your investments. This is a principle that many of us understand today. If you're involved in the stock markets or anything, you want to diversify your investments. There's wisdom in that. And I believe that's what Solomon's really concerned with here. He's saying, in Lyda verses 1 and 2, don't send off all your savings on a single ship. Because of the uncertainty in life. Because if you put everything you have into that single ship, all your fortune is there, and that ship goes down, all of your life savings are going to be at the bottom of the sea. You don't know what misfortune may befall you. And so, yes, take a risk, verse 1. Have that faith. Step out into the unknown. But he's saying, be wise. Be wise. Don't be foolish in the risks you take. Diversify your investments if possible. Give yourself a plan B. In our language, we say, don't put all your eggs in one basket. That's very much I believe the preacher's idea. So while Solomon's concern probably lies first and foremost with diversifying our investments, the call to be generous to others is, I believe, a valid application here. Because again, the idea is don't be tight-fisted, don't hold on to your wealth, just hoarding your wealth, trying to treasure it all up and keep it safe. He's saying that is to lose by default. We'll see more of that in verses three and four. But you have to be willing to let go of your wealth. Whether that's a matter of simply diversifying your investments in others or involving generosity to others. One thing is clear. Solomon saying, you have to let it go. You have to invest it. Not simply throw it into one person or promise, but into many. Distribute it among many. And as you let go of your portion and divide it among others, you are not buying heaven's guarantee of a prosperity life. It's not a guarantee of no misfortune. He says misfortune may befall you. You don't know what will happen, but you are taking the safest route possible given life's uncertainty. For one thing, your generosity to others, we know, will pay off in the end. It will bring back dividends. Jesus told us in Luke 6, give and it will be given to you. That's backwards. The world says, you know, you gotta take something, right? That's how we get. No, you give and it will be given to you and they will pour into your lap a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over for by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return. what you divide to others is a wise investment because God will repay. Proverbs 19 17 Solomon also says one who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord and he that is God will repay him for his good deed. So accept the risk. Act, give, move, whatever you do go in faith And it's like the famous concert pianist Arthur Rubinstein said, there's no formula for success except perhaps the unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings. We must accept life's risks. That requires faith. But a second principle that we see for embracing life's uncertainty here is found in verses three and four, and that is we must adventure into the unknown, accept life's risks adventure into the unknown. When used as a verb, the word adventure means to engage in hazardous and exciting activity, especially the exploration of unknown territory. We need to adventure into the unknown. We must take courage in our venturing into life's uncertainty and the idea in these next couple verses is that given life's risks we need courage to venture forth anyway. Verse three, if the clouds are full they pour out rain upon the earth and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north. Wherever the tree falls, there it lies. Now both trees falling, rain clouds, those are aspects that are completely out of our control. Those are things God controls. God controls the forces of nature. That's His business. But I think we see here why we must adventure into the unknown because the preacher is saying first of all that life is a blend of predictable and unpredictable circumstances. Clouds being full of water, well that's a predictable phenomenon. We know that because since the beginning of human civilization we could look at heavy rain clouds and we could make a judgment that it's going to rain. There's something predictable there. It involves a predictable element. And yet, because of our finiteness as minuscule creatures in God's vast universe, we're not able to predict so much as which direction a tree will fall, whether it will fall to the south or toward the north. And so that tree falling to the south or to the north, that is a unpredictable phenomenon. And life is a blend of both events. But in any case, he says, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. Wherever the tree falls, there it lies. There's no doubt that the tree lies precisely where it falls. This is a proverb that's essentially saying, whatever happens, happens. It is what it is. And that is to say, you can't deny it. I mean, you can go on denying, but it doesn't change anything. The tree's still there. If misfortune falls upon you, Misfortune falls upon you. Whatever happens, happens. It's out of your control and there's no use arguing with reality. The way things are is not for us to decide, but it is for us to accept. So Solomon's not suggesting that we can't do anything to better our lives in this world, but he's saying there is a lot you just can't know in life and which we must accept. And this is the setting for your life story. It involves a blend of predictable and unpredictable elements. And you know what? That's what makes any good story, doesn't it? An adventure story. This is the adventure of your life. that we're talking about. It's gonna be a blend of predictable and unpredictable elements beyond your control. But the preacher adds that he who never adventures forth into the unknown called life, loses. He loses by default. He forfeits without a contest. Verse four, he who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Watching the wind describes that person namely a farmer who is waiting for ideal circumstances, perhaps ideal circumstances to sow his seed. There's a lot of people like that in our world. They're sitting around doing nothing. They are not busy for the Lord. They're not busy in anything perhaps, but I think this particularly hits home to Christians. And they're just sitting around doing nothing because they don't seem to think the circumstances are just right. Now that can involve any number of things. In some cases this inactivity could be due to laziness. Like the slugger we read about in Proverbs 22 13 who says there's a lion outside. I will be killed in the street. You can hear some of the humor in Solomon there. I think an equivalent in our own culture could be there could be a virus out there. I can't go outside. I can't go to work. And Solomon's not saying talking about don't have caution. He's saying that's just laziness shielding itself with excuses. In other cases, this inactivity could be due to indecisiveness. Some Christians are afraid to step forward without a special sign from God. You know, they don't want to venture into the unknown unless God's going to reveal everything to them. They've got to see it all. They want to lay out the fleece like Gideon because they believe that's how we are to operate by faith in this age. But it's not. They're actually putting God to the test. You see, there are many, many things in this life which do not require a sign from God. And we could say that whatever God has not already revealed in his word is just such. If you need a sign from God, it's in his word. And you have what you need there. And you will find it if you search the scriptures. You don't need to know God's will on whether or not you should move your right foot or your left foot. Right? Am I right about that? Okay. This is paralysis by analysis. But yet you have many Christians even that find themselves in a predicament where they don't know what to do and so they don't act. They don't do anything. And they... Let the opportunities pass by them. I just think this is a opportunity where we can thank God that we enjoy what's called Christian liberty. And that is that we are free to live and move and act however we please within the boundaries of what God has revealed in his word. God's word is our sign. So don't make everything a matter of seeking signs from God. Just study God's word, seek wise counsel, but act. Yes, you must act. Now, there is some inactivity that could also be simply due to what we might call idealism. And for those of you that have maybe OCD, something like that, or you would consider yourself a perfectionist, I tend to think we're all perfectionist with regard to something. There's something we all obsess about. But for some people, they can, because of their perfectionist tendencies, not do anything. They're waiting for a more ideal circumstance. I think even the realm of marriage applies here. There's a lot of young people that are unwilling to go through with marriage because they're waiting for this perfect person. It's like they're waiting for the Messiah. Some Christians are not involved in any church because they'll tell you they haven't found the one that suits them just right. Just like the Goldilocks principle. And their idealistic expectations have blinded them from the opportunities that God is bringing before them. So they just keep watching the wind and nothing happens. Likewise, the person he says who's looking at the clouds. This describes the farmer who's watching opportunity pass before his very eyes. Here's clouds full of rain. But this is a sad story because it's somebody Who's not sowed. It's somebody who's not prepared. It's somebody who's not taking advantage of opportunities that God brought their way providentially. And so they're just staring at the blessings that they should be exploiting. They should be taking advantage of. The farmer who refuses to sow for whatever reason. Because the time isn't right. Circumstances are ideal. Whatever. He's tired. He's lazy. He just procrastinates. That farmer will not reap. That's another point in verse 4. That's another way of saying no risk means no profit. If you don't venture forth, you don't accept life's risk, guess what? You win nothing. You lose by default. You forfeit the contest. So sure, the tree lies where it falls. If misfortune falls upon you, there's nothing you can do about that. That's in the hand of God, who's providential over all things. But verse 3 describes things are out of our control. Verse 4 is describing what is in your control. You can act. You can act with a set of cards that God gives you. You can take advantage of the time that God has given you. Make the most of the time, Paul said, because the days are evil. Paul tells us in Romans 13 that it is already the hour for us to awaken out of sleep for salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. And he says the night is almost gone, the day is near. Therefore, we must act. Lay aside darkness. put on the armor of light as the Lord told Joshua have I not commanded you be strong and courageous do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go we as God's people of all people should be adventurous we with courage should be willing to adventure into life's unknown so life is an adventure That means to live one must be adventurous. How will you handle life? How will you handle life's setbacks, surprises? Just realize God is writing your story in the best stories. Aren't they the ones with tragedies? Aren't they the ones with some trials? Aren't they the ones with struggles that are overcome? Exactly. So by faith we must accept life's risks and with courage we must adventure into the unknown. But a third principle for embracing life's uncertainty is that we must acknowledge God's sovereignty. We must acknowledge God's sovereign control. Verses five and six. Life is not merely an adventure but it is an adventure of faith in God. Continuing on the subject of uncertainty, Solomon explains verse 5, He's saying there's no end to the divine mysteries that we could call to mind. You don't know the path of the wind. For residents of Joplin, Missouri, May 22, 2011 began just as any other Sunday morning. But later that very day, a tornado ripped straight through the city, killing 161 people, injuring over 1,000, doing incredible amounts of damage. Nobody knew that was going to happen. We don't know what the wind will do. That's out of our control. That is in the hand of God. Likewise, he says, you don't know how a baby is formed in the womb. We can watch it happening. Isn't it amazing? Through sonogram and ultrasound, we can see the miracle of life taking place, developing before our eyes. And we can understand that this is an incredibly intricate, complex process occurring, something we can't replicate. No amount of human ingenuity, engineering could ever do what God does with that human zygote. All 46 chromosomes there. Billions of bits of information. It's amazing what God is doing. We don't understand it all. That's why David could say, as he reflected upon God's mysterious genius, he could sing in Psalm 139. How God had formed him in the womb. You see, these are realities we cannot understand. And yet these mysterious realities point us to God. They point us to the providential workings of a sovereign God. A God who is sovereign over all things. And we've heard Solomon stressing this time and time again in Ecclesiastes. But what the ramifications of this is, it means that your sense of control over your life is just an illusion. You don't control your life. You may feel like you have your business under control. You may feel like you have your ducks in a row, but you really don't. Because everything that happens ultimately is in the control of God. And he gives and he takes at his pleasure. God is sovereign over all life's activity. And that is without question, because as he says, this God is the one who makes all things. He's the creator. The fact we can't understand what God is doing in life, or even in our, maybe our own lives, maybe there's a struggle, something God's doing and we're having a hard time trusting him. That is not the reason to doubt God. Solomon saying, because you don't understand what's going on in the forces of nature, or in the womb, or in your life for that matter, that is not a reason to doubt God. That is the very reason you must trust Him. Because He is the one in control of all. Why is this happening? Why would God allow this? What is God doing? Does He really know what He's doing? Remember, God is sovereign. Remember, God is all wise. And this little that you do know, the fact that God is sovereign can get you through all that you don't know. So how then shall we live? Verse six offers a concluding application. And some people seem to think that believing in God's sovereignty would alleviate us of any responsibility, right? Isn't that one of the arguments against God's sovereignty? God is in control, so I guess I don't need to do anything. But that could not be farther from the truth. Solomon's going to show us that our confidence in God's control must drive us to work, not from work. Verse 6, For you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed or whether both of them alike will be good. Here's the responsibility that comes with our understanding of God's sovereign control. Sow your seed morning or evening. Be busy. Strive to be as productive as you can. He's saying because the reason offered is that you don't know again. Because of life's uncertainty, you don't know what. You don't know whether your endeavor in one case will work or applying your hand to another thing may work. So be as productive as you can. Be diligent insofar as you're able. You don't control the outcome. You don't make the seed to grow. All you can do is labor and wait on God. All you can do is sow the seed. And trust that God will bring the rain. And trust that God will work that miracle of the increase. This is the venture of faith. But it's a venture of faith that sets about to work. Do you see that? Let us never think that faith is the absence of work. Because those who truly believe in God will work. They will venture into the unknown. Because they will trust in God who controls the unknown. And you'll meet young people who will tell you things like, I don't need to study hard. I don't need to take my grades seriously. I'm just going to go into the military. Maybe you've heard that before. Others will say, I'm just going to be a professional athlete. That's what I'm going to do. Now it's, I'm going to be a professional YouTuber, whatever that entails. But Solomon advises to the contrary. He says whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. We saw that in Ecclesiastes 9.10. Because he's saying you don't know whether your venture in the morning will be productive or in the evening. Be as productive as you can. Now in all of this text, these first six verses of chapter 11, the preacher of Ecclesiastes is telling us we must embrace uncertainty. Are you suffering from indecision? Maybe you're paralyzed by perfectionism. You're waiting for the circumstances to be just right. Maybe you're suffering from disappointment from the realization you're really not in control of life. Maybe you're frustrated because you don't know what God's will is for you and life has brought you to another fork in the road and you don't know which way to take. In any case, the best choice of action is going to be uncertain. It's going to be uncertain. The preacher doesn't promise us in this text as much as we would like it. He does not promise us prosperity or even a positive outcome to our endeavor. Because he knows and he wants us to know life is uncertain. But by faith, with courage, and with God himself, with us and for us, we need not fear the unknown. Faith in God will accept risk and adventure forth for the sake of advancing Christ's kingdom. Michael Eaton, the commentator, says the preacher's concern is that the wise men will invest everything he has in the life of faith. And maybe you're not an entrepreneur with a lot at stake in the stocks. Maybe you feel like you don't have a lot of assets. But what Solomon's saying here speaks directly to you as a Christian. Because this is what Christ has called his people to. It is to be productive stewards of everything he has entrusted to us, regardless of how small that portion may be. Remember Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25? The servant who received just one talent told his master, Master, I knew that you were a hard man reaping where you did not snow, gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid. I don't want to take a risk, he said. So I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, I have what is yours. Didn't do anything with it, but here it's you can have it right back. He didn't want to take a risk, but his master answered to him and said, You wicked, lazy servant, you ought to have put my money in the bank. And on my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore, take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. Jesus was saying, You will give an account for what you do with what God gives you, regardless of how small it is. And guess what? That is going to involve Taking a risk. It's going to involve, it's going to demand that you would venture into the unknown called life. But indecision, taking no risks, trying to just preserve what you have and keep it for yourself. Guess what? That's not acceptable to God. That is not a life of faith. The life Christ is calling us to demands risking all, even all for his sake. That's why he said, whosoever will save his life will lose it. And whosoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. That is certainly the safest thing we could ever do with our lives is to give it to Christ. Let's pray.