Ecclesiastes chapter 4 is where you find the text for this morning's message. We're going to take up the reading of God's Word. We'll start at verse 4, but we're going to give our attention this morning to verses 7-16. Here, once again, God's Word. Again, I saw that for all toil, In every skillful work, a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. The fool pulls his hands and consumes his own flesh. Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one alone, without companion, He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, for whom do I toil and deprive myself of good? This also is vanity and a grave misfortune. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. or he comes out of prison to be king, although he was born poor in his kingdom. And I saw all the living who walk under the sun, and they were with the second youth who stands in his place. There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king, yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind." Many people in this world are lonely. And this loneliness is leading many to the deepest depths of despair. Living in this world and apart from God and his blessing is a lonely endeavor indeed. Many have poured themselves out in the pursuit of this or that, the pursuit of material riches or fame, or both, riches and fame, only to come to the conclusion, whether they actually realize it, or they just get that sick feeling in their gut, they come to the conclusion that there is no satisfaction. And then along the way, they gave up friends and family to pursue those things that ultimately proved worthless. So they come to the end of their careers, and to the end of their lives, both unsatisfied and very lonely. Even those that make it to the top experience that same sorrowful conclusion. And so we are going to this morning look at some of the ways that this happens. This is an everyday occurrence. This is something that has happened regularly all around us. That's one of the wonderful things about this book of Ecclesiastes is the preacher is bringing to our attention common themes, common things that are always going on all around us. And he's addressing them. and giving to us wisdom in how we are to look at these things and how we are to consider these things in light of God's word. So let's look at verses 7 and 8 one more time. Then I returned and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one alone, without companion. He has neither son nor brother, yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, for whom do I toil and deprive myself of good? This also is vanity and a grave misfortune. So here we have a man who is all alone in the world. He has no companion, or more literally, he has no second. Nor does he have a son or a brother in life. We're not told why he's all alone. But it doesn't take a genius to realize that part of the reason has to do with the fact that he's a workaholic. Now, is he a workaholic because he doesn't have a family? Because he doesn't have anybody to come home to at the end of the day? Or does he not have a family because he's too busy to have one given all the time that he spends at work? Well, it really doesn't matter in the end, does it? Because in the end, he finds himself alone. He finds himself alone. It's interesting that we're not told, not only told, that he doesn't have a companion, but we're told he doesn't even have a brother. It's interesting that that is included here. Now again, we're not told why that's the case either, but could it be? Could it be that he did have a brother, but practically speaking, because he was so taken up with his work, that he lost that relationship? It's certainly possible. And we know that this sort of thing does, in fact, happen quite often in this life. For that matter, there are many men who have wives, children and brothers, but because they're so given to their work, it's as though they're single, isn't it? It's as though they're single and all alone in this life because they never see their wives and never enjoy the blessing of their families. Consider, if you would, the real life example of the businessman who one journalist wrote about in a column from the Minneapolis Tribune. She told the tragic story of a man who worked hard trying to get his two handfuls of what turned out to be toil and chasing after the wind. The man died at the age of 51. His obituary stated that the cause of his death was coronary thrombosis, but everybody who knew him knew that the real cause of his death was his work. This man was at the office six days a week, off until eight or nine o'clock at night. And so the reality is, when you take a look at the picture of this man's life, it was all about his work. And so this guy literally worked himself to death. Interestingly enough, on the day of his funeral, the company president was already looking around the office for the dead worker's replacement. And what do you think his criterion was for choosing the next guy? Well, it was simple. He looked around the office with just one question. Who's been working the hardest? That would be the replacement. Or should we say that would be the next victim in that office. On that same day of the funeral, somebody went up to the dead man's wife and said, you know, I know how much you will miss him. And she said, I already have. The man whom the preacher paints for us in this picture here in Ecclesiastes is a lonely workaholic. But let's not miss the reason behind him being a workaholic. He's driven by covetousness. He's driven by covetousness. Look again at what we're told about him. It says here in this passage, there is no end to all his labor. So he labors and labors and labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. He never stops working because no matter how many riches he stores up for himself, it's never enough. His eye is never satisfied. And so he keeps working harder and harder to make more and more money for the next thing that his eyes are set upon. and to add insult to injury. The sad fact is, even though he acquires many nice things for himself, we're told that he never gets to enjoy those nice things because he deprives himself of enjoying them since he's too busy working to acquire the next thing that his eyes have been set upon. He's driven by covetousness. And the irony here is that no matter how much stuff he acquires, he's all alone. Not only can he not enjoy it, but he can't even find enjoyment of knowing somebody else close to him will be able to enjoy it. He has no friends to share it with. He has no family to share it with. He's too busy working. Now, a number of translations insert a phrase here in this passage that isn't there in the Hebrew, and that phrase is in italics, in your copy, where it says, but he never asks. He never asks. Well, this is in italics, and that's because it's not actually there in the original Hebrew, but whether or not he asks this question of himself, the question is raised by the preacher here in Ecclesiastes. And the question still is this. For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good? Now, there are many single people in this world who think it's better to be single because that way they don't have to cover the costs associated with supporting a family. Many single people love the fact that they get to spend all that they make on themselves. But again, because they're driven by covetousness, they really never get to actually enjoy life. And in the end, the sad reality is that the cost of such a lifestyle is loneliness. And the preacher concludes that this way of life is not only meaningless, but ultimately he calls it a grave misfortune or literally an evil work. An evil work. Evil because it promises satisfaction, but never satisfies and leaves its victim all alone in the world. Folks, this is a good question that we all ought to ask ourselves. Whether or not the covetous man asked it of himself, we ought to ask it of ourselves. For whom do I toil? Let us be careful that we're laboring with the proper motivations and purposes. This is something that even we Christians need to carefully consider. After all, more than one pastor has sacrificed his family on the altar of his ministry. Having an imbalanced view of our callings can really cause great harm. Even if the work is good, even if the work has a godly motivation, we can err in having an imbalanced view of our callings. No doubt more than one man has sacrificed the well-being of his family in the very process of attempting to provide for his family. Brothers, our families need more than just a roof over their heads, food on the table, clothing on their backs. There is more to caring for our families than just providing physical provisions. Our families need our presence. They need our spiritual leadership and care. They need our emotional support as well, and that can't be given if we're rarely around, if we're always at the workplace, always pursuing more and more and more. Consider well the cost of your vocational ambitions in this life and make sure your desire to advance in your career isn't costing you more than you realize, costing you more than you can actually afford. We do well to heed the advice of the preacher from the previous passage in which he told us very simply, one handful with quietness is all that we really need. Can you be satisfied with just one handful or are you driven to have more? Are you insistent on having more? Or pursuing more, we should say, because you never end up with it, do you? This applies to you single folks as well. You can pour yourself into your work to such a degree that you have no time then for friends, no time to enjoy the fellowship of the saints, no time to try to establish a family of your own. Be careful. Be very careful. Your work might be a stumbling block in your life in more ways than you know. And at this point we do well then to consider what we would call the better way. Over the next few passages, the preacher will set out to show us the better way to approach various aspects of daily life. And while he doesn't use the phrase here in the example of what one man calls the compulsive moneymaker, the fact that we have a whole Bible in front of us compels us to at least spend a few moments this morning considering the better way as to how we should approach this whole subject of labor. In other words, The Lord has more to say on this subject than we are given here in this example, and we do well to consider it, especially as it pertains to us in Christ. We don't need to pretend as though this is the only passage of God's Word we have in all of the Scripture. We have much more than just what we're presented with here. Now, for starters, let us remember what the purpose of labor is. The Scriptures are clear in telling us that whatever we do, we ought to do first and foremost as unto the Lord. Colossians 3, 23 and 24. And whatever you do, that includes everything, whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance if you serve the Lord Christ. Our vocations are given to us from the Lord. And the more and better we understand this, the more ready we will be to consider our vocations as a blessing rather than competing in a rat race, as the world likes to use the term. Our vocations were given to us from the Lord and we need to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness in all of our vocations. And then we can be confident that he will add unto us all the things that our vocations are supposed to provide. When our motives and our purposes are right, the right fruit will follow. And we will learn to be satisfied with one handful with quietness that the Lord gives to those laboring in and for Christ. And in serving our Savior, it's important to remember that we're always serving somebody other than ourselves. All of our labor ultimately is for others. It's not just for ourselves, it's for others. In serving Christ, We also labor for our families. And we labor for those who are in need. Indeed, one of the primary purposes of work is to be able to share the fruit of it with other people. Remember what Paul said in the book of Ephesians, in chapter 4, verse 28. He said, let him who stole, steal no longer. But rather, let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need. You see, the opposite of working is stealing from those who work. But the Lord tells us that we're to labor, working that which is good, so that we'll have something to share with him who has need. And that's true whether we're giving to people who are in our actual families, or people who are in our church family, or to our neighbors all around us who are in need. The purpose of our work is to serve and to bless others. One brother had these convicting words to share along these lines. He said, If your labor isolates you from those you love, it becomes no longer clear if you are working for or against them. And if others more needy than you reap no benefit from your work, or if the household of God sees no return from your toil, you must ask yourself, For whom do I labor? Labor is made meaningful by the good that it can do, not the things that it can get. One more thing to consider on this subject of labor. We need to learn how to be content with what the Lord has put before us. And we need to pursue godliness at the same time. The scriptures tell us plainly that godliness with contentment is great gain. Do you want to earn great things in this life? Do you want to possess great gain in life? Then be content with what the Lord has given you and spend your time and energy pursuing godliness. How many times has the wise man already told us that the things of this world will never satisfy? He said it plenty of times already, and He's going to say it again in the next chapter. Why do you think He has to tell us this so many times? Why do you think God's Word has to tell us this so many times? Could it be that people are hard-headed? Could it be that we're not quite persuaded that He's right about this? It's no wonder that the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs named one of his books that he wrote, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. No doubt it is a rare thing to come across in this life. What a rare and beautiful sight it is to behold when we come across a Christian who is truly content and more concerned about acquiring more godliness than the material things that this world has to offer, those very things that are actually fading away. To come across somebody pursuing those things that are lasting, those things that are eternal. Let's just make sure that we're working hard doing what the Lord places before us. Let's make sure we're working hard and learning to be satisfied with what the Lord gives to us materially. Let's learn that it's better to give good things than to be driven only to get more good things for ourselves. And let's learn to strive more and more to acquire godliness, which the Lord esteems to be not just gain, but great gain. Let's move on to the next section of the passage here. Verses 9 through 12. The preacher now contrasts the lonely moneymaker with the blessing that comes from companionship. Look at verses 9-12. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no other to help him up. And if two lie down together, They will keep warm. But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. As we begin giving our attention to this section, it's worth noting here how in the previous passage from last week, The preacher made a point to tell us that when it comes to material possession, or when it comes to the riches of this world, one handful is better than two. Right? You remember that. But now he changes it. Here, when it comes to relationships, when it comes to companionship in this life, he tells us two are better than one. And so here we have one of those better than statements that we find occurring and recurring throughout this book. This better than that. Two are better than one. Essentially saying more is better when it comes to relationships. More is better when it comes to companionship. Now before we get to the details of this portion of the passage, it's worth saying a word or two here about the fact that the Lord created us in the beginning as social beings. This can be seen by the fact that in the beginning, God first created Adam all alone. The Lord made it a point then to teach Adam something that the Lord already knew, but something he wanted Adam to learn by experience. Namely, the Lord set out to make Adam to know that it wasn't good for him to be alone. Indeed, God said these very words. He said, it is not good. for man to be alone. And after Adam searched for companionship among the animal kingdom and wasn't able to find the kind of companionship that he really needed, it was then, only after the Lord made it evident to him of what he needed and what he wasn't able to get, that the Lord provided him with Eve to be his helpmate and loving companion. Of course, God himself is a social being. Within the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have perfect communion and fellowship all the time. Being created in His image and likeness, we too then are social beings. So then with that as the backdrop, I trust that you can see that we really do need then interaction with other people in this life. Whether that's with a spouse or with friends. We need companionship. Now we've just looked at the lonely man who has nothing to share with anybody because he's so consumed by his covetousness that he's all alone in the world as a result. But here the preacher sets out to contrast the sad plight of the lonely moneymaker with the rich blessing of good companionship. And he shows us a number of practical blessings that come from having close friends in this life. Let's consider each of them along with the practical benefits that both the believer and the unbeliever can benefit from. But then let us also consider some of the spiritual benefits that only the Christian is able to experience in this life. After all, we know that the blessings of companionship find their fullest expression in Christian fellowship. So we do well to consider that theme in that light. and telling us that two are better than one. As Christians, we can't help but then to think of those words of our Savior, where he says, if two of you agree in prayer on earth, it will be done by my Father in heaven. The importance of having another companion to pray with. He also said, where two or three come together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. Reminding us again of the blessing that comes along with companions in Christ. And of course, we might also think of the time when Jesus sent out the twelve to go out and to preach and to witness to the world. He sent them out two by two. You recall that. Two by two. Much like our own brothers do when they get together to go door to door, doing door to door evangelism and to talk with folks in this community. Indeed, two are better than one. As one brother put it, our prayer, our worship, and our witness are all blessed and enhanced by Christian companions. Now, for starters, the preacher tells us that two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. Anytime you have two or more people laboring together, the end result is that you get more than just what two individuals can produce working by themselves. This is true whether we're talking about working in a secular job or labor in the advancement for the kingdom of Christ. Two is better than one. But notice here that one of the blessings of companionship is that they can share the reward of their labor. They can share the reward of their labor. You see, that's something the lonely man doesn't get to experience. We learned that about him in the previous section. He doesn't get to share the reward of his labor with anybody. He's all alone in the world. But one of the blessings of having a companion is that you get to share the fruit of the labor. Indeed, there is a blessing in being able to share the fruit of our labor with others, whether that fruit is material or spiritual blessing. To be able to rejoice and to praise God together with a companion is a blessing in and of itself. Indeed, the two together encourage each other in praising God for his provision and blessing. And this is a great benefit of being able to work together with other Christians in this life. And again, we might tie this together once again with the door-to-door evangelism that we've seen done in our congregation. When sharing our faith, or even defending our faith, there's a blessing in having a brother or sister with you. Perhaps he might be strong in areas that you're weak, or vice versa. We might also see this blessing in churches that have more than one pastor, who are able to do more for the flock. The companionship of labor can enable them to do more than they could individually by themselves. He tells us that another practical benefit of two over one is that if one falls, his buddy can help him up. Even unbelievers appreciate the value of what we call the buddy system. When you go hiking or swimming or mountain climbing, you should go with a buddy. That's good advice. There's a benefit to having a friend nearby to help when one falls into trouble. Another practical example might be seen in a popular TV commercial in which the elderly woman falls down and says, help, I've fallen and I can't get up. Many people have made fun of that commercial, but it speaks of a really sad reality that does happen in this life when an elderly person is living all alone and they fall. It can be tragic because they don't have a companion around them. Now, some are of the opinion that the examples that the preacher provides for us here in this section are all examples that are directly tied to traveling in the Middle East back in his day. And that may very well be the case. Indeed, it fits very well to consider these things in that light. But I don't think it's much of a stretch to apply these benefits to other areas of life as well. In fact, one commentator notes that the Hebrew here implies more than just physically falling into a pit, that it also includes falling into error, falling into mishap, and other things like this. Indeed, it's easy to see how two heads can be better than one in trying to fix a problem and trying to address an error. Along these same lines, we can easily see how it's a great blessing to have a close brother or sister in Christ to help us when we fall. The Scriptures are full of practical instruction which show us the benefits of Christian companionship. For example, we are told in God's Word to bear one another's burdens. We're told to love and to serve one another. We're told to encourage one another and to stir one another up to good deeds. We're told to go after and to try and recover a brother or sister who is in error. We're told to rebuke and to admonish one another so that we might save one another from great trouble in this life. We're told to pray for one another and to be reconciled to one another when divisions come our way. Folks, we can't do any of these things alone. It's impossible to address any of those things. Living your life all by yourself. All of these examples that we just looked at require us to have healthy relationships with other brothers and sisters in Christ. This is one of the reasons we're told of the importance of belonging to Christ's church, why it's important to join ourselves to a local congregation, and why it's important to not forsake the gathering together of the saints in worship. There is a mutual edification, a mutual blessing, that comes as a result of us belonging to Christ and His Church. You see, the Lone Ranger Christians are just that, aren't they? They're all alone. And because they're all alone, they live their lives at great risk. Really, they live their lives at great risk. These Christians ought to realize that even the Lone Ranger has his tanto. You can't go at it alone. We're not meant to go at it alone. Folks, we need each other. Christian companionship, or Christian community, if you want to call it that, isn't just a luxury. It's a necessity. Otherwise, Christ would not have given it to us. He died for the sake of His Church. He died so that we can enjoy these benefits, these rich blessings that we have in Christ Jesus. We need one another in Christ just as a body needs eyes, ears, hands, feet, so on and so forth. We need each other in order to function as Christ would have us to. We need each other. Another practical example that the preacher mentions is that having a companion is a great help in keeping warm when lying down together. Now this certainly, again, applies to traveling in the Middle East. or anywhere else where it tends to get cold at night and you have to sleep outside in the elements, it makes sense. Two bodies or more. Two or more bodies huddled up together can keep each other warm when it's cold out. Now the blessing, though, of having somebody to lie down with most certainly has a direct application to the blessing of marriage, no doubt about that. There's a great blessing in having a husband or a wife to be a companion in this life. There is great comfort in having somebody in your life to share your most intimate thoughts with, your hopes, your aspirations, as well as our heartaches and our disappointments. It's nice to have somebody by our side always that is ready to be there and to be a help and to be an encouragement. It certainly makes going through the good times more enjoyable in that we get to share them with our closest companions, but it also makes going through the hard times much more bearable. knowing that we have a spouse who will sympathize with us and help us get through it. To face such things together is a rich blessing. And of course, this blessing, please understand you single folks, this blessing isn't limited to the marriage relationship. To have close friends is a great blessing for those very same reasons that we've already looked at. There's the companionship. The ability to bear one another's troubles and heartaches and to share together the blessings that we experience in this life is a good thing to share with others, whether you're married or single, to be able to share this with other people. The preacher also mentions how two are better than one because there is safety in numbers. There is safety in numbers. This is especially true when it comes to traveling. And we might remember well the story that Jesus told about the Good Samaritan. and how things might have turned out very differently had the man on the road to Jericho been traveling with a friend or two. Again, we might apply the buddy system here as well. It's wise, for instance, to never jog alone. It's wise for women to not walk alone on dark streets or on school campuses late into the early hours of the morning. It's just sanctified common sense that you don't do such things, that it's dangerous to do such things, we should say, right? There's more security in numbers. The preacher says, where one may be overpowered, two can withstand. Now, while this is certainly good advice as it applies to living among the people of this world, it's also wise advice for us who are in Christ, since we live in a world where we face great enemies like Satan and his minions. The scriptures remind us that one of our enemies, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. We are told that he is prone to shoot fiery darts at each of us along the way. It is far better to face our enemy and to fight the battle with two or more rather than being by ourselves. Our Hebrew professor at our seminary had no trouble finding an Old Testament illustration to compliment this, and his application is right on point. I'd like to share that with you, if I could. He says that in 2 Samuel 10, Joab said to Abishai, if the Arameans are too strong for you, then I will come to your rescue. Be strong and let us fight bravely together for our people and the cities of Argonne. He goes on to say that if God's people learned to be united in his cause against physical enemies and armies, how much more important that we be united in the spiritual combat against temptation and untruth. The man who keeps to himself will not stand long before he falls to some temptation or untruth. Believers need accountability, exhortation, correction, instruction, and discipline from the Church. if they would stand fast in the faith and not become a spiritual casualty. We need our brethren to fight the good fight. Besides the whole armor of God, we need the people of God. And so the value of companionship is not only a practical observation, it's a spiritual blessing built into the nature of the church as one body. When saved, we are adopted and we have the spiritual blessing of the companions in Christ. It remains for us to access that blessing more truly and more fully. Oftentimes we fall into sin or fall from truth because we are disunited, unaccountable and fragmented by selfishness or loneliness. But when united as brothers in the faith, bearing the profit, resilience, comfort and strength that is ours and Christian alliance, We must certainly appear in the eyes of the enemy as a terrible army with banners. But such an alliance in Christ makes demands of us, doesn't it? Its obvious price is a person's independence. And henceforth, we must consult in others' interests and convenience, listen to one another's reasoning, adjust to another's strengths and weaknesses, and keep faith with another's trust. And he concludes, such companionship means sacrifice. But its blessing far outweighs the cost. Now, it's interesting to note how the preacher, all of a sudden, at the end of this section, moves from the number two to the number three. When at the end of this section, he mentions that a threefold chord is not quickly broken. We might ask ourselves, why the jump all of a sudden from the number two to the number three? Well, for starters, it shows us that there's nothing particularly holy or special then about the number two, right? That's for starters. The overall point is not found in the number two, but in the fact that more is better when it comes to relationships. It's better to have more companions than to be alone. I'll apply to the family. Many see here that the preacher may be referring to how a family is strengthened when a husband and wife add a third element to the family, and that's children. And there perhaps is something to that. But taking it a bit further than that, as Christians, we know that whenever two of us are together, we automatically have three, because the Lord Jesus Christ is with us wherever we go. In fact, we might even say that we have five when two are gathered because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all three, are with us wherever we go. And therefore, if God be with us, who or what can be against us? What do we have to fear with this threefold cord? And if Jesus is the chief strand of the threefold cord in any relationship of life, then you have a bond that will not easily be broken. Where Jesus is not the chief, or where he is not the center strand of a relationship, you have a weak relationship, and one that is very susceptible to seeing and experiencing much trouble. Let's be mindful of this. Let's turn to the final verses of the chapter to consider them briefly before concluding the sermon this morning. Let's look at verses 13-16. better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. Or he comes out of prison to be king. And although he was born poor in his kingdom, I saw all the living who walk under the sun, and they were with the second youth who stands in his place. There is no end of all the people over whom he was made king, and yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind. So in this final section, what we have here is an illustration in which we have an older king who ends up becoming wise in his own eyes. He once listened to the counsel of others, but in his old age he no longer takes counsel. And then a young man of humble origins comes along and he outdoes the king. Now consider, if you will, the humble origins of the young man. He comes from a poor family. He's quite young compared to the older king. And he came from prison. And some folks wonder then if Solomon had Joseph in mind with this example. It could be, but we don't know for sure. But despite this young man's background, he ends up taking the place of the old king. He's able to get all the people to follow him instead of the old king. But on what basis did he achieve this success? It was on the basis of his wisdom. On the basis of his wisdom. Unlike the old king, he was wise. The old king had forgotten how to receive counsel, but the newcomer was wise and presumably surrounded himself with a cabinet of wise men to seek counsel from. At the end of the day, the old king was acting like a loner. Again, the subject of loneliness. He was acting like a loner. refusing to take counsel from others. You've heard that saying that it's lonely at the top. Well, it certainly can be lonely, especially when a man stops keeping company with counselors. To have no counselors in such a high position can make for a very, very, very lonely life. Well, eventually, just as we see here in this passage, such leaders lose their constituents And they're replaced by the next popular guy in line. But why does this sort of thing happen time and again? I would suggest to you it's because people are fickle. Humans are fickle. It doesn't matter if a leader is wise, is old or young, is powerful or popular. Eventually, all these things fail to guarantee a long run of political success. In the end, each one of them is dropped and quickly forgotten and replaced by the new guy on the block. One pastor put it like this. He says, when we refuse to be swept along with every new political excitement, when we learn that this has all happened many times before, we will have grown a measure in wisdom. As Augustine put it, in our great affairs, the dead are always replaced by the dying. The currently unpopular are always replaced by those who are not yet unpopular. But they will be. And so the wise must seek a better vantage. But the truth is, folks, people aren't only fickle when it comes to politics. They're also spiritually fickle. How many so-called Christians follow a popular teacher or preacher only to drop them the moment he stops keeping them entertained? The moment he stops telling them what they desire to hear. No doubt the grossest example of this is in the case of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. One day, his followers are praising his name, waving palm branches and shouting, Hosanna to God in the highest. Behold our King. And then just a few days later, some of those very same people are shouting, crucify him, crucify him. So much for faithful constituents. so much for faithful followers. As this sort of ebb and flow follows and applies to the rulers of our land, as we watch men come literally out of nowhere to replace those who have long and well-established political careers, the fact is, all of these constant changes should cause our hearts to yearn for a leader, and not just a leader, but a king. A king who doesn't rule by democracy. A king who doesn't rule by popular opinion. A king who doesn't care what the polls say. A king who reigns supreme. A king who is perfect in holiness and righteousness. A king who is eternal and sovereign. A king who reigns over all things. Of course, I think you know who I'm talking about. We're talking about none other than the Lord and King Jesus Christ. It's only the kingship of Jesus Christ that answers the problem posed to us in this final section. The reign of Jesus Christ is better than the leadership of frail and sinful men. And folks, all of the leaders with whom we have to deal It's much more importantly, in fact, it's eternally more important to know what he thinks of you versus what you think of him. Here is a leader who doesn't need to trouble himself with winning our fickle acceptance and following. We are the ones who must make it our chief duty to find acceptance with him. That's the most important thing for us to walk away with this morning. to know that we are accepted in the Beloved by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we come to the conclusion with this final thought. As it concerns the way of our King Eternal, He is the better way. More than that, He who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, is not only a better way, He is the only way. The better way that our preacher began the section with and also ends with is the way of Jesus Christ, the only way of eternal life itself. He is the one to turn to as a solution to loneliness in this world. For in him is a friend that will stick closer to us than a brother. In him we have a friend we can trust and count on in every circumstance of life. In Him we have a mighty counselor in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Do you know Him? Do you want to know Him? If you do, then call upon Him now while He may still be found. And this very morning, if you do call out to Him, you'll begin to understand why the rest of us in Christ Jesus have come to worship Him this day. Let's bow our hearts in prayer.