The sermon by Mike Davenport, titled 'So Much at Stake,' explores the themes presented in Ecclesiastes 10, emphasizing the importance of wisdom and self-governance in various aspects of life. The sermon is divided into five key areas where much is at stake: governing our choices, labors, tongues, time, and private moments. Using the analogy of a perfumer's ointment, the sermon illustrates how a single act of folly can ruin years of wisdom and honor. It highlights the significance of choosing wisdom over foolishness, as both are divergent paths with no middle ground. The sermon also stresses the dangers of poor self-governance, particularly in positions of authority, and the broader societal impact of such failures. It admonishes the congregation to be mindful of their hearts, choices, and words, emphasizing that even private thoughts and actions have far-reaching consequences. Ultimately, the sermon calls for reliance on Christ's perfect governance and the recognition of the stakes involved in every aspect of life.

Good morning. The sermon text this morning is Ecclesiastes 10. I'm going to read the entire chapter. Ecclesiastes 10, beginning in verse 1. Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment and cause it to give off a foul odor.

So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart at his left. Even when a fool walks along the way, he lacks wisdom, and he shows everyone that he is a fool. If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post, for conciliation pacifies great offenses. There is an evil I have seen under the sun as an heir proceeding from the ruler.

Folly is set in great dignity, while the rich sit in a lowly place. I have seen servants on horses, while princes walk on the ground like servants. He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits wood may be endangered by it. If the axe is dull and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength.

But wisdom brings success. A serpent may bite when it is not charmed. The babbler is no different. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up. The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, and the end of his talk is raving madness.

A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be, who can tell him what will be after him. The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city. Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and the princes feast at the proper time, for strength and not for drunkenness.

Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry, but money answers everything. Do not curse the king even in your thought. Do not curse the rich even in your bedroom. For a bird of the air may carry your voice, and a bird in flight may tell the matter." Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day you've given us here at this church in Wake Forest. And Lord God, we thank you for this section of scripture, Ecclesiastes 10. I pray you would instruct us and teach us through your preacher. I pray you would give the preacher the right words to say, Lord, film with your Holy Spirit. Allow him to exposit this text.

It will be edifying to you and instructive to us. We thank you, Lord, for your ever-present watch over us and your abundant blessings you've bestowed upon us. In the name of Jesus, amen. Well, we have been making our way through Ecclesiastes together, and today we come to chapter 10. In many ways, Ecclesiastes 10 is the continuation of and a commentary on the last sentence recorded in chapter 9.

If you look back at the end of chapter 9, it says, Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Chapter 10 reveals to us that though wisdom is better, though it is the path that we should all travel, yet a little folly, a bad choice here or there, unguarded words, all of these things destroy much good, even the good attained by our very own wisdom. The title of the sermon this morning is So Much at stake. So much at stake. This title reflects, as we will find in this passage before us, the potential of the destruction of much good because of a failure to govern ourselves well.

And in light of what we have been exposed to here in Ecclesiastes, I would argue that we don't always govern ourselves well because we have lost a sense of our inevitable end, death and judgment. Once we have embraced what it means to die well, we will be in a position to better understand what it means to live well. And at the very heart of that living well is learning to govern ourselves. As Charles Bridges declares in his commentary on this passage, self-government is the most difficult of all governments. Well, we will work our way through the text under the following five headings.

So much at stake in the governing of our choices. So much at stake in the governing of our labors. So much at stake in the governing of our labors, so much at stake in the governing of our tongues, so much at stake in the governing of our time, and so much at stake in the governing of our private moments. So in verses 1 through 4, we see the first point, so much at stake in the governing of our choices. Verse 1 says, "...dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment and cause it to give off a foul odor.

So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor." The ingredients used in a perfumer's ointments are often costly, both to retrieve and or process. These ingredients are often rare, adding to the costliness. The cost of such a product is highlighted in the Gospel of John, the twelfth chapter, when Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, a year's wages worth, and anointed the feet of Jesus. One pound was equal to a year's worth of wages. Well, here in our text, the perfumer has obtained his ingredients at a great cost to himself.

He has labored hard and long at the precise measuring of each of these ingredients, and he has spent a large amount of time in cleaning and purifying the instruments he will use to transfer these ingredients as well as the container or the bowl where they are being mixed. But while he is preoccupied with his labors on this very project, a fly flying around lands right in that ointment, is stuck and cannot get out, and in turn is mixed in with the ingredients. Well, the perfumers project is now complete. A seemingly wonderful product with the worth of a year's wages. That's what he's going to get in return.

There's one problem though. That product is not going to sell. The dead fly has brought a foul odor to what was to be useful, beneficial, and wonderful. All the time, all the labor, all the cost, and one little fly ruins it all. Even so, says Solomon, a lifetime spent building respect for wisdom, a respect for honor, can be ruined by just one, one little folly.

One little venture into sin. Charles Bridges writes, Take care that the Christian life is wholly Christianized in outward points. The neglect of serving the Lord in little things excites revolt. The smallest extremities of the system, no less than its more important parts, should be kept sacred for God. Let every corner of the field be corner of the field be cultivated for Him.

My dear brother, my dear sister, are you flirting with folly? Are you flirting with folly? Are you making choices or considering making choices that will jeopardize the testimony you have in your family, in the workplace, and here among your brothers and sisters in Christ. Listen to me. The devil wants you to focus on the pleasure you will enjoy and not the cost to indulge.

He hides the price tag. He hides the price tag. Just like those fancy restaurants, you go in there and You read all of that wonderful menu, and you look at the end, and there's no price. That's what the devil does. He wants you to see the pleasure that's yours and not the cost.

You know the saying, sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. So much at stake. So much at stake. Verse 2, a wise man's heart is at his right hand, but the fool's heart at his left. You see, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

It is interesting to note in the Hebrew that the word used twice here in verse 2 is translated heart. That this same word in Hebrew is translated as wisdom in the very next verse. It's translated heart here in wisdom in verse 3. So we are to understand this to be something more than this heart-pumping organ located in our chest. Bridges says of this word that it stands for all the faculties, the center of affection, the seed of knowledge, the source of purpose and emotion, the very soul of the spiritual life.

This is what is at the right hand of the wise man and yet at the left hand of the fool. This statement is merely a product of repetition, something Solomon already said, but in a different way. Back in chapter 2 verse 14, we read, the wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. He's saying, as it were, the wise man, he has his eyes in place. The foolish man, he's got him in his pocket, roaming around like he can make his way around with his eyes in his pocket.

He walks in darkness. That's what it's saying here. The use of the imagery of right hand, left hand, sets before us two unalterable truths. First, wisdom and foolishness are the only two paths. They're the only two paths.

As there is not a third hand, So there is not a third path. You're either on the path of wisdom or foolishness. Second, wisdom and foolishness are at opposite extremes. There's a 180-degree difference in trajectory. Streams, there's a 180 degree difference in trajectory.

But I think we should also consider the Bible's imagery regarding being at the right hand. At the right hand. The right hand is set before us in Scripture as a place of privilege, a place of protection, and a place of preeminence. Dear ones, folly will have less of a foothold if we have our hearts at our right hand. If we are indeed keeping our hearts, knowing that out of our hearts flow all the issues of life Well, especially speak to you young people you young adults Where is your heart?

Where is your heart? How much diligence are you exercising with regard to your heart? Remember, it's the center of affections, the seed of your knowledge, the source of your purposes and your emotions, the very soul of your spiritual life, be that soul dead or alive. It's at the very center of it all. Where is your heart?

Well, in verses 3 and 4, Solomon tells us what it will look like if you relegate your heart to your left hand, To, as it were, ignore your heart. Because the idea is that you will pay attention to what's in your right, not what's in your left. Verse three is a more general example of what it looks like. Verse 4 more specific. Verse 3, even when a fool walks along the way, he lacks wisdom and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

It may not be noticed at first, but in short time the foolishness of the fool comes to the surface. And it is not some cataclysmic earth-moving event that brings that foolishness to bear. It is simply the everyday motions of life just walking in the way. The lack of wisdom becomes apparent in the choices that are made, in the company that is kept, in the subject of conversations, in the use of time. It is in these normal, everyday type of things that the fool shows everyone that he is a fool.

Again, you young people, you children, note these words and let them ring in your ears. Shows everyone. Shows everyone. These words teach us a couple of things. First, they teach us that there is no hiding this foolishness.

It shows! It shows! You might as well be walking around with neon lights and a flashing billboard and declaring at the top of your lungs that you're a fool. It shows. Second, note that this declaration of your foolishness is made to everyone.

Everyone. Everyone gets the memo. Everyone sees what's really there. And the sad thing is that often the fool can't see what everyone else sees. He plows on in his foolishness, in his own eyes, seeing himself to be wise.

You young people, especially those hitting teenage years, this is often you. You go around showing everybody the foolishness that may still be bound up in you and you think you're wise. Wise in your own eyes and you don't want to hear. Your heart's in your left hand. It's there at the left.

Bridges in his commentary says, the fool stumbles in the plainest path. He is always behind his time. He sees things too late. His whole course is blundering. My friend, is that you?

Is that you? Even if you should answer, No, no, that's not me. What would others say? What would others say? Have you actually shown everyone that this is you?

In verse 4, we have the more specific example of a heart relegated to the left hand. If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post, for conciliation pacifies great offenses. Here we see the response of one who is wise in his own eyes, one who has offended someone in authority and is digging in his heels. That digging in of the heels actually causes his feet to take the path out. He's digging in his heels saying, I'm right, you're wrong, and I'm out of here.

There is no willingness to hear, no willingness to consider, but rather pride and contempt that causes this one to leave their post, to walk off in a huff and a huff. The root of the Hebrew word translated in our text, conciliation. Conciliation pacifies great offenses. This word, conciliation, in the Hebrew points to healing, to a remedy, to the repairing of something. The old King James renders this word yielding.

This conciliation, this yielding, smooths out the problems caused by the offenses. If you recall our study in the book of James, heavenly wisdom, that wisdom which is from above is peaceable. It's willing to yield. Does that describe you, my friend? Peaceable, willing to yield?

Or are you more determined to simply be right at the expense of allowing an offense to remain. Is your wisdom heavenly or is it earthly and demonic? Bridges comments and then quotes another author, where conscience is not concerned, nothing is to be gained by the display of an unbending spirit. The weak read, by bending in a rough wind receiveth no hurt when the sturdy oak is torn up by the roots. The importance of governing our choices does not only affect those down in the trenches, the normal folks, it also affects those in authority.

It affects those in authority. In fact, I would argue that there is even more at stake when it comes to the choices made by those in authority. Solomon establishes his argument in verses 5 through 7 based on an illustration regarding a ruler. We would be wise to consider what he has to say here as it pertains to any realm of authority that God may have placed us in. There is an evil I have seen under the sun as an error proceeding from the ruler.

Folly is set in great dignity while the rich sit in a lowly place. I have seen servants on horses while princes walk on the ground like servants." We need to consider these words though none of us are rulers, Yet many here in this place have been given places and authority, whether in the family, in the workplace, or even here in the church. But we have here on the part of the one in authority what seems to be an error, a bad choice, and not sin or willful sin, at least itself. Wisdom is not being used in the governing of the choice made. Rather, folly is being exalted, both literally and figuratively.

Fools are given the spotlight, the attention, and the prestige, while the rich are humiliated and relegated to the lowly place. Such choices result in servants riding upon horses as the prince should do, and yet those who have authority, the very children of the king, walk about on their own two feet. Needless to say, the point Solomon is making is clear. Choosing incompetent people to fill roles not designated by God's providence for them is to invite harmful and negative repercussions on the people over whom they have been placed. It's madness, it's folly, it's bad choices being made, and it affects everyone.

They see it with their own eyes. Servants riding horses and there goes the prince walking by on his own two feet. Much at stake. Such folly is alive and well in our day, yet Scripture calls us to live decently and in order and to acknowledge the ordinances of God, what God has ordained. Bridges states the application of these three verses well.

He says, if we then rule, let it be so as to give no pretext for discontent or revolt. If we be in a subordinate position, let it be to fulfill the responsibilities of our position without seeking to come up higher. So there's wisdom needed in the choice of the ruler, the one in authority, choosing who to place an authority, but there also needs to be wisdom in the choice made of whether that person accepts the place that has been granted unto him or not. But not only is there much at stake in the governing of our choices, we see in verses 8 through 10 that there is so much at stake in the governing of our labors. In the governing of our labors.

He who digs a pit will fall into it and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits wood may be endangered by it." Solomon here is setting before us the prevalent hazards of certain occupations. All labor has some sort of possible hazard that simply comes with the job. You will note that in the KJV and in the New King James, there is a distinction made regarding the imperfect verbs as we go from verses 8 to verses 9. Verse 8, rendering it, will fall and will be bitten, while verse 9 renders the verbs may be hurt and may be endangered.

In my opinion, the context argues for the use of the word may in all four instances to indicate the real possibility of a specific thing Occurring and this would be in the keeping of what we've already seen in the book of Solomon Man wants the blueprint. He wants the control. He's going to work it all out, there'll be no injuries. When God ordains the days of prosperity and the days of adversity and man doesn't know what the day holds, it's more in keeping with what we've been reading. Rendering it this way helps us to grapple with the reality of what is at stake in the governing of our labors, taking in all the possibilities of what could happen to us in our particular line of work.

We need to govern our decisions regarding the occupation we are considering. You young people, as you consider what occupation to get into you need to think through all the possibilities that lie in front of you the hazards that come with the job what are the risks A man who works in the trenches, he's at risk of backing in and falling into that ditch. A man who is quarrying stone, He's at risk of that stone falling upon him. There's the man who works at demolition work there in the yard, and he's at risk of being bitten by a snake. And there's the man who splits wood.

He may receive a blow of the axe that was intended not for his leg, but for the wood. Now you may be thinking, some of you at least here if you're like me, wow I'm glad that I have a desk job? No risks there." Well, let's consider that for a moment. Are there no risks with a desk job? Is there nothing at stake?

What about the the hazard of possibly working inordinate hours? Inordinate hours. After all, you're not dependent on natural light to get the job done. When it gets dark outside, you just click on the light bulb you hit the switch on the wall What about the hazard of a sedentary lifestyle Sitting all day is been proven to not be healthy for us. There are even risks to our health at a desk job.

What about the hazard of being a split second away from adultery, from adultery? If you have a desk job, you are just one click away from a soul-assaulting image, an image that carries a greater risk to you than those working and having something happen to their bodies. What about the hazard of an opportunity to be behind a closed office door with a colleague of the opposite sex. That is less likely with the outdoor construction type of work in our passage. These occupational hazards I have mentioned are just as great, if not greater, because the potential hazard is to the soul and not just to the body.

But Wisdom is not just required when we are considering what occupation to pursue. It's necessary while on the job. Wisdom dictates that we understand our surroundings. Wisdom dictates that we do things the right way and not to take unsafe shortcuts. Wisdom dictates that we regard our life and the lives of all around us, and to do nothing that would jeopardize our life or theirs.

Wisdom dictates that we give our undivided attention to what we are doing and why we are going about it the way that we are. The risks and hazards are real, and we need to always be alert. But there are even things at stake in the way we go about our work. Verse 10 states that the axe is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength. But wisdom brings success.

The wisdom that Solomon is setting before us in this book is a wisdom that seeks the better way, rising above the mere life under the sun mentality. Such a wisdom would look at a dull axe and seek to make the job easier by sharpening the edge of the axe. The fool shows himself to be the fool by continuing to do the more difficult thing and ignoring the simple fix that would bring greater success. And so the wise man accomplishes more with the same tools and the same amount of time given for the task. And dear ones, this applies to much more than our manual labors.

Are we going about our labor in our relationships in this world with a dull axe? Are we going about our spiritual duties with a dull axe? Thinking that if we just...more strength, more strength, rather than sharpening the edge by our communion with Christ, our being in Christ, we are no less foolish than the man who works and Harder and harder with the dull acts expecting better results There's much at stake even in the governing of our labors, be it manual, relational, or spiritual. Now thirdly in our text, so much at stake in the governing of our tongues, so much at stake in the governing of our tongues. Verse 11 says, A serpent may bite when it is not charmed.

The babbler is no different. Just as the cobra must be charmed, brought under control by the various means carried out by the charmer, in order that its venom not make it into the charmer's or onlooker's body by means of a bite, even so the babbler, if he charms not his tongue, bringing it under his control will no doubt bite his hearers, releasing the poison of his words into the veins of all who hear his babbling." Think of this statement here in light of the way James states the same thing. A horse may buck and throw if it is not bridled. The tongue is no different. The tongue's no different.

What is at stake if we don't govern our tongues? The venom, the venom of our own words. Psalm 58 3 through 5 says, the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent.

They are like the death cobra that stops its ears which will not heed the voice of charmers charming ever so skillfully no matter what is told no matter what scripture is brought to bear upon the natural man He's like the death cobra ignoring all of that charming even though it's skillful and it bites. It is the nature of snakes to bite. It is the nature of the uncontrollable tongue to harm. Verse 12, the words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up. Just like the heart, the words of the wise man are at his right hand.

His words are given a place of privilege, protection, and preeminence. Because of this, his words drip with graciousness. They are life to him, and they are life to all who hear him. The fool's words are there with his heart at his left hand. And like Korah and his company swallowed up by the earth so the fool is swallowed up by his own words.

I quote Bridges once again, wisdom guides the once again. Wisdom guides the nearest way to our own security, folly the shortest road to our own ruin. And for the fool, it begins bad and it gets worse. What is at stake increases the more he moves his lips. Verses 13 to 14 says, the words of his mouth begin with foolishness and the end of his talk is raving madness.

A fool also multiplies words, not adds words, he multiplies words. No man knows what is to be. Who can tell him what will be after him? What begins as a bit of foolishness ends as raving madness. It neither starts out good and gets or starts out good and gets worse nor starts out bad and gets better.

There is no moving of the needle except from bad to worse. It's total foolishness and madness from beginning to end. In spite of that fact, he keeps on talking. He just won't stop. He talks as if he knew it all.

He knows what is to be. He knows what's just around the corner. Listen to him. He's got it all figured out. As Bridges points out, it is generally found that those who have the most discourse have the least knowledge.

Words are too often the substitute for thinking rather than the medium of that thought. In the use of words, men think they know their own wisdom, but how few comparatively know their own foolishness. Verse 15, the labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city. In verse 15, we see the spilling over of the failure to govern the tongue to the failure to govern well his labor. I believe that Solomon has in mind here the fool who won't stop talking long enough to be reminded that he needs to sharpen the edge of his blade.

He wearies himself with the dull axe of his labors all day long. You remember him, right? He's swinging that dull axe and he's wearing himself out with his labors. His foolishness hasn't learned in regard to his labors and now he won't stop talking long enough to receive instructions to the city either. He is assured that he already knows the way he doesn't need your help Are you governing your tongue Or is there venom under it?

Do your words build up or will they prove the ruin of your own soul? Do you multiply words? Or are you a good listener? Who is swift to hear and slow to speak? So much at stake.

So much at stake. Now fourth in the text before us, so much at stake in the governing of our time. So much at stake in the governing of our time. So much at stake in the governing of our time. Verses 16 to 19.

Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child and your princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land, when your King is the son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time for strength and not for drunkenness. Because of laziness, the building decays, and through idleness of hands, the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry, but money answers everything." At the heart of these verses is the thought that there is a proper time for everything, a proper time for everything. The problem in the scenario in verse 16 is that there is an abundance of immaturity and self-indulgence, pure folly, and it is prevalent in the highest offices of the land.

Verse 17 sets before us a different scenario, where those in office are, as we saw back in verse 1, respected for their wisdom and for their honor because they make wise choices and they do so because they govern their time wisely. They know what the proper time is. And do you see what is at stake? What hangs in the balances? Solomon recognizes the effect that it has upon the entire nation.

Woe to you, O land! Or, Blessed are you, O land! The failure of those in leadership position to govern their own time has a trickle-down effect upon the entire nation. It happens with all in authority, not just rulers of nations. The trickle-down effect from those in authority.

A lack of the prioritization of the labor of the day and the prioritization of the use of food for strength for that labor, that lack of prioritization has led to a lazy spirit. Laziness sets in, such a laziness that the buildings of the kingdom are decaying and the houses of the land are leaking. Rather than wearying themselves to death with the labor of the fool who is not smart enough to sharpen his blade, at least that fool's working, these fools don't weary themselves at all. They don't even pick up the axe. They feast all day for the laughter.

They drink all night for the merriment and the drowning out of all of their problems, maybe the problems of the decaying buildings and the leaking homes. I mean, after all, money will fix it all, right? It fixes everything. On with the drinking. On with the enjoyment of food.

Money will fix all of that. Dear ones, are you exercising Wisdom in the government of your time in the government of your time or is the sin of laziness? Beginning to take root What occupies your time? Do you recognize that it's not always this is because we run to this argument It's not always a matter of right and wrong when it comes to something I Have the Liberty I have the right that's not always the argument Sometimes it's a matter of whether it is a proper time for that activity or not. You see, All lawful things are not expedient.

They're not always advantageous or helpful. Are there things in your life that are showing signs of decay, signs of leaking because of negligence and or misplaced priorities? Are there relationships showing signs of showing signs of negligence husbands wives parents siblings are there signs of negligence in regard to your spiritual well-being are the means of grace decaying. Is your participation in the life of the church leaking? Dear ones, there is much at stake in regard to the governing of our time.

Now, fifthly and lastly, we must understand that there is so much at stake in the governing of our private moments. In the governing of our private moments. Verse 20. Do not curse the king even in your thought. Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your voice and a bird in flight may tell the matter." Solomon now turns to the arena of our most private moments.

Nothing is more private than our inner thoughts. No place in our house is more private than our bedrooms. Certainly, certainly we can let our guard down there, right? Certainly the stakes are not that high in regards to our thoughts and in regards to our bedroom. Well, Solomon thinks otherwise.

There is much at stake in the governing of even these private moments. And if that was true in his day, imagine what wisdom Solomon would have for us today in the light of the internet and social media. I can't read the words in this verse, bird of the air and bird in flight, without getting this visual picture in my mind of the Twitter app icon. I don't think Solomon had that much wisdom and foresight to look at him, but I can't stop to think about it. In the private moment, things said that you read it all the time.

All of a sudden, something goes viral and accounts disappear. They disappear. Something said in private, nope, not a single person heard what you said, but a little bird, a little blue one on your phone went and told the world. Our private moments are now out there for everyone to see. The stakes are high.

No, not in regard to the posting of what you had for breakfast this morning. But the stakes are high in regard to lust that you may have stirred up in a brother or sister in Christ by a not-so-modest photo, or in regard to that tasty morsel of gossip that you shared about another, disguised as a prayer request, Or that verbal offensive you took against the character of a blood-bought child of God who didn't dot his eye the way you dot yours. Or in regard to the biblical idea shared that wasn't quite so biblical after all. The stakes are high in regard to the perversion of the actual truth or or maybe outright lie embodied in the link that you shared which you didn't take the time to verify or even your own personal information shared that can actually be used against you, or the boasting of that liberty you enjoyed that is now destroying weaker brothers and sisters for whom Christ shed His blood. The stakes are high.

Just ask those whose identities were exposed in the Ashley Madison security breach. Login names expertly crafted in the privacy of the bedroom and now the users exposed for the whole world to see. Ask them just how high the stakes really are. Does God care about these things? I would argue that he does, and he wants us to care about them, too.

These are all matters of the heart, and we must hold these things at our right hand, matters protected, matters given the preeminence of our thoughts and our attention. So much at stake in the governing of our choices, of our labors, of our tongues, of our time, and of our private moments. The greatest thing at stake though is not our reputation among other men and women. As real and as important as that reputation is, the greatest thing is what is at stake before the God who sees all things. We read in Hebrews 4, 12 through 13, for the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account." And Psalm 90 reveals to us that God has set our iniquities before his very face, our secret sins in the light of his countenance. The fact of the matter is that we will never govern these areas well enough for God to justify us and let us into His heaven. We Never will. Never. We need the merits of one who governed his choices, his labors, his tongue, his time, and his private moments perfectly.

No sin. No flaw. No failure. No missing of the mark, no coming short. As we sometimes sing in this place, Christ is the great and sure fulfillment of the law.

In Him and in Him alone we stand. But will you heed the warning Solomon has laid out before you today. Will you stop to consider what is at stake? I close with an illustration that I have shared in this place before. It's an illustration by John Blanchard.

On the 12th of December 1984, dense fog shrouded M25 near Godstone in Surrey, a few miles south of London. The hazard warning lights were on but were ignored by most drivers. At 6 15 a.m. A flatbed semi carrying huge rolls of paper was involved in an accident and within minutes the highway was engulfed in carnage. Dozens of cars were wrecked.

Ten people were killed. A police patrol car was soon on the scene, and two policemen ran back up the highway to stop oncoming traffic. They waved their arms and shouted as loud as they could, but most drivers took no notice and raced on towards the disaster that awaited them. The policemen then picked up traffic cones and flung them at the windshields of the passing cars in a desperate attempt to warn drivers of their danger. One policeman told how tears streamed down his face as car after car went by and he waited for the sickening sound of impact as they hit the growing mass of wreckage down the road.

My friend, with the most precious thing that you have at stake, your very own soul flee from your sins to Jesus Christ and fall into his rescuing arms. To not do so would be the folly of all follies. Let's pray. Oh Lord, you have shown us in this passage just what is at stake. Oh, give us ears to hear.

Oh, the young people that are here that are on that same trajectory as Solomon was in the earlier parts of this book, thinking that they will find out what he never was able to. Oh God, stop them in their tracks. Give them grace to see the hazard lights of what's at stake. And Lord, for us who know you, may we not forget what is at stake. May we be ever watchful knowing that our adversary, like a roaring lion, walks about still seeking whom he may devour.

Oh Lord give us Christ to resist him steadfast in the faith leaning on Jesus Christ who is our only hope. Help us in Christ's name. We pray Amen