1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:06,480
All right, my Bible in 365, 
brothers and sisters, we have 

2
00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:12,280
arrived at the remarkable book 
of Ecclesiastes. 

3
00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:18,440
And folks, I love this book. 
I absolutely love it. 

4
00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,840
You know what, if I could 
relabel this book, I would call 

5
00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:29,920
it Wisdom for Life and Business,
and I mean it guys, this is a 

6
00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,000
great book. 
Look, when people read the book 

7
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,680
of Ecclesiastes, they come away 
with many different opinions 

8
00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:38,040
about what Solomon was 
expressing. 

9
00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:42,480
And by the way, I talk 
extensively about those opinions

10
00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:47,080
and the many things that Solomon
does talk about at length. 

11
00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:49,320
And if you want to see those 
Bible studies, you can go to 

12
00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,840
jamescadiz.com. 
I have probably 100 plus Bible 

13
00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,000
studies on Ecclesiastes alone. 
You can go. 

14
00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,400
You can find those there. 
But I want to show you some 

15
00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:04,160
points that you are going to 
love, some principles here that 

16
00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:08,320
are just absolutely remarkable. 
Now, some people will look at 

17
00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:11,400
this book and they will treat it
as though Solomon is simply 

18
00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,160
depressed. 
I think that would be a 

19
00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,840
tremendous tragedy. 
I think it would be terrible to 

20
00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,080
look at the book this way. 
Others will look at it as the 

21
00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,880
testimony of a man who 
experienced virtually everything

22
00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:26,600
that this world could offer, and
that would actually be somewhat 

23
00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,800
true. 
But Ecclesiastes is not merely 

24
00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:34,240
the unfiltered frustration of 
Solomon. 

25
00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,760
God gives us Solomon's life 
experience within its proper 

26
00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,720
context here. 
And Solomon tells us what life 

27
00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:46,280
looks like under the sun when a 
person attempts to find meaning 

28
00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,760
in wealth or pleasure or work, 
or even accomplishment. 

29
00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,520
And yes, dare I say human wisdom
apart from God. 

30
00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:58,320
But throughout the book we find 
extraordinary insight about 

31
00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,680
life, about work, about money, 
about risk, about preparation 

32
00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,440
and, and literally about the 
proper stewardship of what God 

33
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,560
has placed in our hands. 
And I want to focus on at least 

34
00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:16,360
three solid examples of this 
three very practical principles.

35
00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:20,840
1 Diversity. 
OK, this is an important one 

36
00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:25,560
because Solomon tells us to 
diversify wisely. 

37
00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,120
The other one, I'm going to call
it sharpening your axe. 

38
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,440
We're going to go over that as 
well, and this is a critical 

39
00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:34,800
principle. 
And the last one that I'm going 

40
00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,960
to go over is protect the fruit 
of your labor. 

41
00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,560
Now there's so much to say about
all of this, but let's look at 

42
00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,560
the first one. 
Diversify wisely. 

43
00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,680
Let me read this to you. 
This is Ecclesiastes Chapter 11.

44
00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,200
I'm going to read verses one and
two. 

45
00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,760
It says cast thy bread upon the 
waters, for thou shalt find it 

46
00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,520
after many days. 
Give a portion to seven and also

47
00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:05,320
to 8, for thou knowest not what 
evil shall be upon the earth. 

48
00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:11,800
Solomon just gave us so much 
beautiful information. 

49
00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:16,000
He's teaching us not to place 
everything into one opportunity.

50
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,440
That is such an incredible 
principle. 

51
00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:21,440
Look what he says. 
He says give a portion to seven 

52
00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:23,440
and also to 8. 
Look. 

53
00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,040
It's a clear principle of 
diversification here. 

54
00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:30,720
Look, you don't know what 
trouble might come upon this 

55
00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,600
earth. 
You, none of us wake up in the 

56
00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,640
morning and know when a trial is
coming or what something is 

57
00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,080
going to happen. 
And, and if we did, it'd be 

58
00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,800
pretty remarkable because then 
we could react in advance. 

59
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,800
One investment that you make can
easily fail. 

60
00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,680
Another industry can like, 
without a doubt, struggle. 

61
00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,880
It can literally fall apart. 
One source of income can 

62
00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,120
completely disappear. 
And quite frankly, you can make 

63
00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,040
a plan or two plans or five 
plans, and those plans can be 

64
00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,520
disrupted by something that you 
would never anticipated. 

65
00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,800
Diversification is a not an 
expression of fear. 

66
00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,920
It's an acknowledgement of the 
kind of limitations that we 

67
00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,680
experience as human beings. 
It's an acknowledgement of the 

68
00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,960
fact that rain falls on the just
and the unjust. 

69
00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,640
We don't know everything that 
will happen tomorrow, so wisdom 

70
00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:24,000
tells us not to expose 
everything God has given us to 1

71
00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,240
unnecessary point of failure. 
That's literally what 

72
00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,600
Ecclesiastes is telling us here.
And this applies to lots of 

73
00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,640
different things. 
It applies to business. 

74
00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:34,960
It applies to investing. 
If you want to learn how to 

75
00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:37,960
trade in the stock market, 
that's an incredible principle 

76
00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,000
to follow. 
And I'm telling you right now, 

77
00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,480
you have to pay attention to it.
What about income? 

78
00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,760
It deals with income. 
It deals with ministry. 

79
00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:48,680
It even deals with the 
development of our personal 

80
00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,960
abilities. 
Diversification in that arena is

81
00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,160
so incredibly important. 
You have to develop more than 

82
00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:57,840
one skill. 
You have to understand more than

83
00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:01,960
one area of business. 
You cannot become dependent upon

84
00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:06,120
1 customer or one company or one
opportunity, 1 employer for that

85
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,640
matter. 
It's literally the type of 

86
00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,240
failure that will destroy 
everything else. 

87
00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,600
But Solomon does not use 
uncertainty as an excuse for 

88
00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,280
inactivity. 
Look what he says in verse 4 of 

89
00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:22,880
Chapter 11. 
He says He that observeth the 

90
00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:27,640
wind shall not sow, and he that 
regardeth the clouds shall not 

91
00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,400
reap. 
What a powerful phrase he uses. 

92
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,640
Look, some people are so 
concerned about what could go 

93
00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,720
wrong that they literally will 
never begin. 

94
00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:38,920
And I know lots of people like 
that. 

95
00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,680
That's why we have a whole 
country filled with people that 

96
00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:43,960
don't want to take a risk and be
an entrepreneur. 

97
00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,600
They're waiting for perfect 
conditions. 

98
00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:50,360
They want literally every single
question answered, every single 

99
00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,480
possible risk to be removed, and
every outcome guaranteed. 

100
00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,600
But that is not the way that 
life works. 

101
00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,480
If you wait for that day, it 
will never come. 

102
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,920
There is an absolute difference 
between wise preparation and 

103
00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:06,920
fearful procrastination. 
That's what the Bible tells us. 

104
00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,080
Wisdom will calculate risk 
rather than acts. 

105
00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,360
Think about that for a second. 
OK, It's super, super important 

106
00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,720
to recognize that fear keeps 
calculating until the 

107
00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:19,880
opportunity is just completely 
gone. 

108
00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,160
And that brings us to what we 
read in verse 6 of that same 

109
00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,480
chapter. 
It says in the morning sow thy 

110
00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,080
seed, and in the evening 
withhold not thine hand. 

111
00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:34,200
For thou knowest not whether 
shall prosper either this or 

112
00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:36,800
that, or whether they both shall
be alike. 

113
00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,360
Good, that's heavy. 
Solomon says to keep sewing, 

114
00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:44,960
because you do not know which 
effort God will prosper. 

115
00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:46,640
That's such an important 
principle. 

116
00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,200
Do not make one attempt and then
conclude that nothing else 

117
00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,400
works. 
So in the morning and continue 

118
00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,600
working in the evening. 
Diversification means literally 

119
00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,720
spreading risk, but it also 
means creating multiple 

120
00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:01,640
opportunities for fruitfulness. 
Why? 

121
00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,280
Because they're all there and 
they're part of the command that

122
00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:07,960
God gave us when He said be 
fruitful and multiply. 

123
00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,400
We were created in His likeness 
and in His image to support 

124
00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:14,160
those purposes. 
By the way, I think it's really 

125
00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,600
important to point this out 
because so many people will look

126
00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,320
at these things and say, I've 
tried so many things, but it 

127
00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,360
just doesn't work. 
And I'm here to tell you that if

128
00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:28,240
you believe the Bible and you 
trust in God, everything you do 

129
00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,960
will work. 
It will either work for you or 

130
00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,400
it will work on you. 
Those are very important things 

131
00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,280
to understand. 
And here's the second principle.

132
00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,920
Sharpen your axe. 
Let me say that again, Sharpen 

133
00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:43,560
your axe. 
Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 10.

134
00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,760
I'm going to read verse 10 here.
It says if the iron be blunt and

135
00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:52,920
he do not wet the edge, then 
must he put to more strength. 

136
00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,520
But wisdom is profitable to 
direct. 

137
00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,960
It's so good, it is so good, 
it's so powerful. 

138
00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:04,560
Look, a person can work 
extremely hard and still work 

139
00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,400
inefficiently. 
The only thing that working hard

140
00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,920
will do is guarantee that you're
tired, OK? 

141
00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,160
What it's saying is, if the axe 
is blunt, meaning it's not 

142
00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,840
sharp, the person using it has 
to apply more strength in order 

143
00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,600
to accomplish less work. 
That's what it says. 

144
00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,640
The problem is not necessarily a
lack of effort. 

145
00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,400
The problem may be that that 
person never stopped long enough

146
00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,600
to sharpen the axe, to learn to 
understand. 

147
00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:32,039
In business, this principle is 
powerful. 

148
00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,720
It means sharpening the axe can 
mean improving your skills, 

149
00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,200
learning better systems, maybe 
study in your field using better

150
00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:40,600
tools. 
That's a big one, right? 

151
00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,480
Or just simply receiving 
instruction from someone with 

152
00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:46,280
more experience. 
One of the greatest investments 

153
00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,600
you can make might be 
participating in a mastermind or

154
00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,720
sitting down with somebody that 
can give you deeper, insider, 

155
00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:57,280
greater direction. 
Working harder is never going to

156
00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,920
be the answer, especially when 
you think working harder works 

157
00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:03,800
when you keep doing the wrong 
thing. 

158
00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:09,520
Sometimes the answer is becoming
better at the work, developing 

159
00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,960
proficiencies and efficiencies. 
There are people who pride 

160
00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,040
themselves in how exhausted they
are. 

161
00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:21,000
But exhaustion, it can't 
automatically become evidence of

162
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,320
effectiveness. 
There's a lot of people who are 

163
00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,720
tired but don't do anything. 
I know those people. 

164
00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:27,560
They run around like in our 
church. 

165
00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:29,520
They run around with their, you 
know, like chickens with their 

166
00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:31,480
heads cut off, but they don't 
get anything done. 

167
00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,920
Wisdom will ask, is there a 
better way to do this? 

168
00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,280
It's not asking for a shortcut. 
It's asking for a better way. 

169
00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:43,600
When you are in a situation 
where you find yourself 

170
00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,760
repeatedly using strength 
because you've neglected 

171
00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:50,560
preparation, that's a problem. 
You have to ask yourself that 

172
00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:52,400
question. 
Where is that happening? 

173
00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,760
What skill would you make more 
effective if you took the time 

174
00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:58,600
to develop it? 
That's a really good question. 

175
00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,480
That's an important question. 
What problem keeps consuming 

176
00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,440
your time because you've never 
created a system to solve it? 

177
00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,040
Those are good questions for you
to be asking. 

178
00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:08,640
Why? 
Because time is your most 

179
00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:12,080
valuable asset and you need it 
more than ever. 

180
00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:14,880
Taking the time to sharpen the 
axe. 

181
00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:18,640
I'm just going to tell you this,
It might temporarily interrupt 

182
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:20,520
the work. 
It might even cause you to be a 

183
00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,600
little frazzled and a little 
nervous and even have a little 

184
00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:25,880
anxiety because you're not doing
what you think you need to be 

185
00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,120
doing right away. 
You're going to realize 

186
00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,840
something very quickly when you 
have a sharp axe in your hand. 

187
00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:35,280
It will increase the 
effectiveness of everything that

188
00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:39,160
you do afterward, and it makes 
the time investment well worth 

189
00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,440
it. 
Wisdom will never eliminate hard

190
00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,480
work, but wisdom will actually 
direct the hard work. 

191
00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,440
And that's what Solomon is 
telling us here. 

192
00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:50,440
Here's one that I think it's 
very difficult for people to 

193
00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,360
understand, which is why I'm 
going to bring it up. 

194
00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,560
Protect the fruit of your labor,
OK? 

195
00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:01,080
This is super, super important 
for you to be able to 

196
00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,920
understand. 
Look what it says in 

197
00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,560
Ecclesiastes chapter 2, verses 
18 and 19. 

198
00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:13,560
Yeah, I hated all my labor which
I had taken under the sun, 

199
00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:18,360
because I should leave it unto 
the man that shall be after me, 

200
00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:22,680
and who knoweth whether he shall
be a wise man or a fool, Yet 

201
00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:26,880
shall he have a rule over all my
labor, wherein I have labored 

202
00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,120
and wherein I have showed myself
wise under the sun. 

203
00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:32,360
This is also vanity. 
Now you might read this and you 

204
00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,080
might immediately say, how 
depressing is this? 

205
00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:37,920
Solomon is saying all the stuff 
he's earned. 

206
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:39,760
He's earned. 
If it's left for somebody else, 

207
00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:41,280
he doesn't know. 
It's so depressing. 

208
00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,200
It's not what he's saying here. 
Let me skip down to verse 21. 

209
00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:49,680
Let me read this, he says. 
For there is a man whose labor 

210
00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:54,880
is in wisdom, and in knowledge, 
and in equity, yet to a man that

211
00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:58,640
hath not labor, therein shall he
leave it for his portion. 

212
00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:03,160
This also is vanity and a great 
evil. 

213
00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,160
Let me tell you what's happening
here, and I think it's 

214
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,720
important. 
Solomon is recognizing that a 

215
00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:14,120
person can spend his entire life
building something only to leave

216
00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,960
it to someone who did not work 
for it and may not possess the 

217
00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:22,920
wisdom to even manage it. 
This teaches us the importance 

218
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,960
of secession. 
It teaches us the importance of 

219
00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,440
stewardship and preparation. 
It's not enough to build 

220
00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,160
something valuable. 
I think about this all the time.

221
00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,800
Charlie worked so hard. 
Him and Erika worked so hard to 

222
00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,240
build something valuable. 
I think it would have been a 

223
00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,760
terrible tragedy for it to be 
given to anybody else other than

224
00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:44,320
Erika to take on the legacy and 
to carry it. 

225
00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:49,320
What this is telling us is that 
we should also consider what 

226
00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,920
will happen to it when it passes
into someone else's hands. 

227
00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,720
You have to ask yourself very 
important questions. 

228
00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,160
Who are you training? 
Who understands what you have 

229
00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,000
built? 
Who knows the principles that 

230
00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,200
made it successful? 
Have you only transferred 

231
00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,320
possessions or have you 
transferred the wisdom that 

232
00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,080
gained those possessions? 
I, I, I think about this all the

233
00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:14,960
time because this is the program
that I think about with my 

234
00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:16,320
children. 
It's why we homeschool our 

235
00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,040
children. 
I believe in building the family

236
00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,760
enterprise and I strongly 
believe in passing down to my 

237
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:24,440
children all that we've built. 
Why? 

238
00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:30,560
Because that's God's design. 
Look, person may inherit the 

239
00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:34,320
fruit of your labor without 
inheriting the discipline that 

240
00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,640
produced it. 
That is very possible. 

241
00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,840
This is why parents must teach 
their children how to manage 

242
00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:42,880
what they may eventually 
receive. 

243
00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:47,160
My look, my 8 year old is 
already learning how to read 

244
00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:50,520
stochastics on a chart to learn 
how to trade. 

245
00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,600
They will all learn how to be 
financially independent by the 

246
00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,480
time they're in their teens. 
But it's not just about that. 

247
00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,520
It's about understanding the 
heart behind it. 

248
00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,520
It's about managing the legacy, 
the legacy of Christ. 

249
00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:08,240
We have to teach our children 
how to manage these things. 

250
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,880
This is why business owners must
develop leaders instead of just 

251
00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:16,680
simply hiring workers. 
This is why ministries, yes, me,

252
00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,680
you must train faithful people 
instead of building everything 

253
00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:23,320
around 1 personality. 
And that's a dangerous thing for

254
00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,080
me to be saying in the Calvary 
Chapel world. 

255
00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,440
You can't control every future 
decision, but you can definitely

256
00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,920
prepare people to carry 
responsibility wisely. 

257
00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,200
I know I've gone on, but I feel 
so strongly about this stuff. 

258
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:44,120
Ecclesiastes gives us remarkably
practical wisdom. 

259
00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:48,480
OK, diversify, because you don't
know what difficulties tomorrow 

260
00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:50,080
may bring. 
That's biblical. 

261
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:55,160
Keep sewing because uncertainty 
is not an excuse for inactivity.

262
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:59,560
And please sharpen your axe, 
because working harder cannot 

263
00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:02,240
permanently compensate for 
working unwisely. 

264
00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:04,880
OK, we need to grasp God's 
wisdom. 

265
00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:08,240
Protect the fruit of your labor.
Prepare the people who will 

266
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:13,840
eventually receive that fruit. 
But the final lesson, and I mean

267
00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:18,160
this from the bottom of my 
heart, the final lesson is that 

268
00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:21,600
none of these principles can 
give life in its ultimate 

269
00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:23,320
meaning. 
Think about that for a second. 

270
00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,560
Business wisdom can help us 
manage life, but only God can 

271
00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,160
give life its purpose. 
That's the conclusion that 

272
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,080
Solomon came to. 
Let me read verse 13 of chapter 

273
00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,520
12. 
He said, let us hear the 

274
00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,320
conclusion of the whole matter. 
Look what he says. 

275
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,880
Fear God and keep His 
commandments, for this is the 

276
00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:50,680
whole duty of man. 
So we take the wisdom, we get 

277
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,360
excited about the discernment 
that this gives to us. 

278
00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,920
We go full forward ahead with 
every opportunity. 

279
00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,320
But then we recognize that the 
conclusion of the matter is to 

280
00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,360
fear God and to keep his 
commandments, because this is 

281
00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,720
the whole duty by which we were 
created. 

282
00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,840
God created us in His likeness 
and in His image, and when we 

283
00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:18,400
walk in the fullness of all of 
it, we see the expression of all

284
00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,400
that happens under the sun 
within the context that God has 

285
00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:25,520
created for us. 
This one is important to me. 

286
00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:31,480
This summary may be one of the 
most critical ones of the year. 

287
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:37,320
Take it to heart, read this book
and read it with excitement 

288
00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,440
because of the incredible wisdom
that it holds. 

289
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:45,560
With that said, take 
responsibility for what God's 

290
00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,800
given you. 
There are tons of opportunities 

291
00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,680
in front of you. 
God has called you to walk in 

292
00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,840
remarkable abundance, but that 
abundance cannot be obtained 

293
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,880
unless you seek His wisdom and 
execute it properly. 

294
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,560
God wants to do that. 
He wants you to obey His Word 

295
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,240
and to follow these principles 
that you might experience 

296
00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:10,960
everything that He has for you 
to the fullest. 

297
00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,720
I love you guys and I'm very 
proud of you. 

298
00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,480
We are in the month of August 
and we are almost done. 

299
00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:18,480
You're amazing. 
I love you guys.