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So we'll see what the Lord says. But next week we'll give you an update on that in Jesus name. Yes, we will. Oh, yes, we will. Ecclesiastes, chapter number 11, verse number four says this I'm concluding today a series, two part series we had on dealing with started last week on dealing with delay. It says, whoever watches the wind will not plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning and at evening. Let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. I want to stop the reading of Scripture there and talk from this subject in our time together. Family, I'm waiting on you. Clap your hands, everybody, everywhere. I'm waiting on you. I want to start our time of teaching today by reintroducing, repeating, reiterating something that I articulated last week which was the anchor to that particular lesson. And here it is, just in case you weren't here or you've forgotten. Most of the strides you want to make are going to take longer than you want them to take. Most of the strides you want to make are going to take longer than you want them to take. Every human will ultimately and inevitably experience situations and seasons that feel like delay. Much of what happens in and through your life is going to happen in a way that is consistent with a phrase that is coined and curated by Dr. Mark Batterson. Most of what is going to happen in our life is going to happen gradually and then suddenly. Therefore, every disciple of Jesus must be mentored, coached, trained on how to properly steward and how to properly handle the Gradually, we must be introduced to God's way of managing these seasons and these situations. Because if we steward them God's way, we come out of delay better and not bitter. And this text here in the Book of Ecclesiastes offers us some important insight on how to steward delay God's way. Ecclesiastes is situated in a section of the Bible known as wisdom literature. Let the church say wisdom. Remember, the Bible is organized in a way that's similar to a bookstore. The content is organized based on sections, and there is a section that contains books that God intends to use to impart wisdom to the Godly. Job is an example of wisdom literature. So although the Book of Job is encouraging, the purpose of the book is an encouragement Although the Book of Job is inspiring, the purpose of the book is an inspiration. The purpose of the book is to impart wisdom for those of us who are dealing with seasons of adversity for which God refuses to give you an explanation. The Book of Job is intended to instruct us and equip us on how to handle hard seasons wisely, to have convictions and testimonies that are so anchored in the reality of God's character that we trust his heart even when we don't understand his hand. So even in the midst of confusion and calamity, our testimony and our conviction becomes Though he slayed me, I need some old saints here. Yet will I trust him in the midst of unexplainable loss? We can look at what we lost and not spiral into a a cycle of despair. But we can make an objective assessment of God's consistent generosity and say things like, the good Lord gives and the good Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord. Am I talking to anybody at the 12:30 that's lost some things? But you didn't lose your praise? Let me go over to this section here. I said, am I talking to anybody that's lost some things? But you didn't lose your praise. You didn't lose your mind, you didn't lose your conviction, you didn't lose your commitment. And the things you lost can get you conviction and commitment, but conviction and commitment can get you the things you lost. I'm talking wisdom is wisdom literature. The existence of wisdom literature is a polemic against a reductionist view of what it means to be godly. It's a corrective. The existence of wisdom literature in the Bible is pushing back against the notion that godliness is simply reduced to ethics and righteousness. It provides a more comprehensive picture of who God actually is. And godliness is not just living righteously, it's living wisely. Come on here. God doesn't just give wisdom. He is wisdom. Come on. Paul says Jesus is the wisdom of God personified. Luke 2:52 says that Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature. Come on. And in favor. Y' all missed it. You missed the sequence. Wisdom and in fact, stature and in favor with God and man. It was the wisdom that came before the favor. And there are people that are praying for the favor when we should be praying for the wisdom. Because wisdom keeps you from fumbling favor. It is so important that Solomon calls it in Proverbs, the principal thing, the foundational thing. Because when wisdom walks out, pain walks in. Whatever area I don't have a wisdom in. I'm exposed in whatever area I don't have a wisdom in, I'm vulnerable in whatever area I don't have a wisdom in, I am fragile in. And the enemy understands this. And so when he can't get you with the lack of righteousness, he'll try to get you with a lack of wisdom. Did you hear what I just said? Some of our suffering is not a result of sinfulness. Some of our suffering is a result of silliness, what the Bible calls folly. And I need somebody to admit that you have had some silly season. But a wisdom wages a warfare against silliness. It is a spiritual weapon that protects, promotes, advances us. Because sometimes our greatest enemy is the inner me. So Ecclesiastes is situated in this collection of books that gives us wisdom. Am I making sense? Yeah. During a relationship conference or one day, we'll see next week. Yeah. We'll look at some wisdom from Song of Songs and Songs of Song. That gives us some wisdom relationally. Am I making sense? Ecclesiastes is really unique. It is. This is debated, but generally speaking, Ecclesiastes is attributed to Solomon. And what makes Ecclesiastes a bit more distinctive or different that makes it distinctive and different from Proverbs, which is also widely accredited to Solomon, is that Proverbs is what's called a collection of truisms. Y' all not bored, are you? I'm good. Okay. It is reflections on how life generally works. And when people don't understand that it's a truism, they treat it like a promise. And so when there are aberrations and anomalies, now, they lose credibility in God's word. So generally speaking, when you train up a child in the way they should go. But just like the prodigal son. Are y' all here? Just like the prodigal son and just like God, who's a good father to us, all of us have been blessed with free will. And sometimes you disciple right. And you pray. Right. And you invest. Right. And there are anomalies and aberrations. So Proverbs is truism. Does that make sense? It talks about hard work and how hard work pays off and how hard work is profitable. But if you're being exploited. Come on. If you're being exploited and used or abused or handled unjustly, there could be aberration. So whereas Proverbs is this collection of truisms, Ecclesiastes is what's called reflective wisdom. It's observations and reflections given by a Man who's lived life long enough to see how life turned out when you do or don't do what's in Proverbs. Did you hear what I just said? It's a person. It's Solomon, who's lived through some stuff now to say this is how life turns out. And there's some people that debate on this. But here's where I land with this. I think there is. Although the content contained in this book is, I think, second to none, we can not only learn from the content, we can learn from the communicator. Because the man who writes Ecclesiastes is the man who didn't take his own advice in Proverbs. So he's saying good stuff in a bad spirit. There is a degree and a dimension, not just of objectivity. This is my stance. But a degree of cynicism that you can pick up in his writings. Because there are some things he told us not to do in Proverbs that he did. And then we. Are y' all here? Yeah, He. He. He's the one that said, guard your heart. I don't hear my church now with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life. He didn't guard his. So where, in one season of his life, he was anchored in the theology of Yahweh and holy and deeply committed to God. When he began to open his heart to what was called strange women who didn't share that religious value system, what was the warning? They're gonna turn your heart, Solomon, toward their gods. Is that the book? And so what does Solomon do? He begins to open his. I don't have time, but I'm gonna talk about it. Because he thought he could just philander physically and there be no impact emotionally. But at some point, y' all aren't talking to me. Oh, I'm just. Oh, it's just. It doesn't matter. It doesn't mean. It's just. And then all of a sudden, you're not texting me back and you're not calling me back. Now, next week. Next week, God warned him. And he goes from this man that is just anchored in the theology of Yahweh to a degree of undeniable syncretism that produces this degree of cynicism in his writings that I think contributes to him saying things like vanity. We need to listen to this man. And this man offers some insight in chapter 11 that can assist us in stewarding seasons of delay. We picked up in verse four. But to make sense of what Solomon is Saying, I think we need to revisit verse one. Because verse four is a continuation of a conversation started in verse one. And in verse one, Solomon makes a recommendation for economic diversification. Ship your grain across the sea. After many days, you may receive a return. Then watch verse two. Invest in seven ventures. Yes. Not eight. This is a. This is direction, not a directive. Some people take this literally, but he's just. He's advocating for diversification. And he says, because you don't know what disaster may come on the land. Do y' all see that? So remember now, this is reflective wisdom. This isn't just something he's conjuring up mentally. He's seen some things. And based off of what he's seen, he says, here's my recommendation. Ship your grain across the sea. Now, grain in this context was not just watch this an expression of currency. It was, but it was also an expression of competency. You had to know what you were doing to get grain. Did you hear what I just said? So he says, I want you to take the evidence of your competency and not limit your competency to the local market. I'm not saying skip the local market, but what you capable of is broader than the local market. So come on here. So I need you to value your grain enough to know that there are some people on the other side of the sea who need what you know how to do. And many people are trying to force their grain on people who don't want it instead of shipping their grain to people who do want it. And I want to tell some of you, the problem may not be with your grain. The problem may be you want people. You want to want your grain. Instead of giving your grain to people that are waiting on it, your competency to people that are waiting on it, you're gifting to people that are waiting on it. Your anointing to people that are waiting on it. I'm not asking, do you have grain? I'm asking, do you have. Know where to send it? It's quiet at this service. I don't ship your grain. Somebody want it. Somebody needs it. Somebody's been praying for it. Ship your grain. Don't minimize your grand. Are y' all here? So it says, ship your grain on sea after many days, you may receive or turn. Okay, so this is. He's had some observations. Then he makes a recommendation in verses 1 and 2. Then we get to verse 4. He makes another observation that can seem random. If you don't see the connection between what he says in verse four and Verse one. He says, whoever watches the wind will not plant, and whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. That's got a lot to do with verse one and two. Whoever watches the wind will not plant. Do you see that? Am I in the book? He says, whoever watches the wind will not plant. And then he says, whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Am I in the book? Okay, listen to this. Now, here's what we can surmise from what Solomon is saying. I am telling you to do something. I'm making a recommendation in verses 1 and 2. But then he says, based off of what I seen with people, they are unable to do verses one and two because they do. Verse four. You can't ship grain you haven't harvested, and you cannot harvest where you haven't planted. And he says, whoever is looking for. Come on at the wind will not plant, and whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Now, verse four says, whoever watches the wind. What does Solomon mean here? Because you've never seen windows. No, Pastor, I've seen wind. No, you've never seen wind. You've heard wind. You never seen wind. Yes, I have, Pastor. I seen wind all the time. No, you hadn't. You've seen the impact of wind. You hadn't seen wind. You've seen the impact of wind on things you can see. Come on in here. Now, you've seen the impact that wind has on trees, and you've seen the impact that wind has on cans, and you've seen the impact that wind has. Watch this. On cars. Here's the issue. So you haven't seen wind. You've just seen what wind has done to other things you can see. And because the wind has done that to other things you can see, you assume the wind's gonna do that to you. So you keep what you should be scattering. Did you hear what I just said? And I want to tell someone, just because it happened to them doesn't mean it's gonna happen to you. Just because it happens to most people doesn't mean it's gonna happen to you. And how many people aren't doing what would work because it didn't work for somebody else they saw do it? Are y' all here? He said, He who watches the wind will not plant, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. What does clouds have to do with weeping? Reaping. Farmers will look at clouds to determine the likelihood of rain. And sometimes the likelihood of rain would determine whether or not someone was willing to go reap. Not Able but willing. Because rain don't hurt the reaping. Getting wet hurts your outfit, but it don't stop the reaping. And when your outfit is drenched, it just impacts the way you look. And some people are not doing things that God has called them to do and gave them permission to do because they are concerned about how it's going to make them. They are scared to reap in the rain. Are y' all okay? What Solomon is exposing us to here is another dynamic of delay. This is interesting. Last week we used Lazarus Life to talk about how to steward seasons of delay when God caused it. Yes. That's not what Solomon's talking about. What Solomon helps us with is how to steward seasons of delay. When you caused it. It's an indication of the revelation that we co create our future with God by partnering with God in our decisions. That from the creation of the first human, you see God in his sovereignty deciding that he's going to allow his creation to co create their future with him by the decisions that they make. Are you hearing what I'm saying? God did not decide to put humanity in the sinful condition we're in. It is a consequence of a choice he allowed Adam and Eve to make. Because when God created the first human species, he created a species species. He wanted to love him back. And there is no love without choice. And they mismanaged the gift of choice. So instead of choosing in a way that would create the life God wanted for them, they chose in a way that pulled them away from that life. Therefore, all throughout Scripture, you, You, you hear him saying, choose, choose, choose, choose, choose. Choose ye this day who you will serve. Choose, choose, choose, Choose. And if we honest, there's some delays, some stallings, some setbacks that we've all experienced not because of destiny, not because of divine intervention, but because of decisions. And here's what's interesting about the analogy Solomon uses. Y' all not bored, are you? I'm almost done. Here it is. He doesn't use an ethical analogy. He uses an agricultural. It's an agricultural analogy. So not sowing and not reaping isn't sinful. It's just silly. And Solomon's trying to get us to see some of your suffering isn't coming because you were sinful. Some of the suffering, y' all come here. Some of the suffering is because we were silly. And some of us were taught if you just live right, everything will be all right. Yes, we need to live right. But your ethical compass determines if you live right. Wisdom determines if you live well, There are some dilemmas that are a result of our decisions. But I got some good news, because I'm an actual gospel preacher. Because you can't make the gospel mean what the word don't mean. You gotta start with the etymology. And the word gospel means not just news. Don't mess with me. It means good news. I got some good news. I said I got some good news. Here's my good news. If you decided your way in, You can decide your way out. Okay. I didn't get the kind of enthusiasm I was expecting. And I'm a little bothered by that. Not because I want church to be a pep rally. I'm a teacher. I'm really fine teaching from a chair. I really am. There's some stuff I gotta do to keep people engaged because people's attention spans. But so, yes, indeed, you gotta, gotta work in 2026. But here's the point. I'm a little bothered by lack of enthusiasm because I believe. That it is indicative that the lack of enthusiasm emotionally is indicative of something you're wrestling with spiritually, particularly those of us who kind of came up second way. Because now when you see a gap between what you should have done and didn't do, first, second or third way determines what you fill that gap with. And for many of us, when we started talking about decisions and dilemmas, your problem wasn't that you wouldn't take ownership. You took so much ownership, and you took ownership in a way that opposed to experiencing conviction, which comes from the Holy Spirit, you experience condemnation. Conviction is an invitation to change your future. Condemnation incarcerates you to your past. Condemnation is when you keep talking to yourself about your past. Conviction is when the Holy Spirit arrests your attention so that he can have a conversation with you about your future. And if you would stop talking to yourself about your past, you could hear God start talking to you about your future. And some of us are saying, I'm waiting on God. And God is saying, I'm waiting on you to get a revelation. If you decided your way in, you can decide your way out. Now watch this. You decided your way in without me. You were silly enough to get yourself in it, but I'm sovereign enough. To get you out of it. And the stone story of the Gospel is the story of God getting humanity out of a mess that humanity got itself into. By one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. By one man's obedience, many were made righteous. Now I need my whole church to be Pentecostal for about 30 seconds and shout, I'm coming out. Glory. I'm coming out of here. I'm coming out. I'm coming all the way out. I'm coming all the way out. Weeping me endure for a night but joy is coming in the morning. I'm coming out. Watch me come out. Watch me come out. Watch me come out. You had a whole lot to say when I went in. I want you to keep that same energy when I come out. Conviction. A disruption spiritually, you feel it. A disruption. Emotionally, you feel it. You feel the grief of God, you feel it. But it's to open you for correction. Yeah. It's for the purpose of you being open to having a conversation. Here it is. We're done. We're done, Tess. Here it is. Here it is. So what Solomon is saying here is so important, or what we can surmise here from what Solomon is saying is I decided my way in. With God's help and grace, I gotta decide to come out. But these kinds of decisions that I must be willing to make to decide my way out, I must be willing to make unpreferred decisions. Very often when you pursue easy, you find trouble. So some of us, you running from hard. That's why you keep running into it. So what's the unpreferred decision? Three things. I'm done. Tes. Here it is. Number one. It's a decision where you refuse to be deterred by conditions. Verse 4. Whoever watches the wind will not plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will not reap the former. Watch the wind. Because the farmer is thinking that when I scatter this seed, if the wind is blowing, it could blow the seed away from and out of the soil that I want to fall, that I want it to fall on. And then it says, he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Remember, they're thinking about rain. And so what Solomon is teaching here is not that you should ignore conditions, is that you shouldn't be controlled by conditions. And what many people are pursuing are preferable conditions when what God promises is clear instruction. So the question isn't, are the conditions what you prefer? The question is, is the instruction clear? Boy, if I had time, I'll take you to Old Testament and I'll show you how many miracles would have been missed if someone had been controlled by conditions. When the prophet said, make me a cake first, not in a condition to make you a cake first. The question isn't, are the conditions what I prefer? The question is, is the instruction clear? Let down your nets for a catch. First of all, Jesus, this is why you're a carpenter. I'm a fisherman. We don't fish in a day. We fish at night. And in addition to that, I've been fishing all night and I've called. Nevertheless, at your word. This is not the conditions for fishing, but the instructions clear. Darius uproot everything, plant in Atlanta. Lord is 20. The whole world is shut down. There are no public gatherings. I'm not asking other conditions. What you prefer is the instruction clear. Can't be deterred by conditions number two. I can't have a demand for certainty. Look at verse five. As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things. He's like. So you try, okay, the wind is. And he's like, you don't know that wind will change. And some. There's some. There's some times where what we. What we're really after is not clarity. We after certainty. God's like, I'm gonna give you clarity of instruction, not certainty of outcome. You don't know which way the wind's gonna blow. There are things about and. And he uses, like the human fetus and how God is able by his grace, like, to give birth and to. To create another life inside of a life. He's like, just like. Part of that is a mystery. Part of the way I work is a mystery. There might be a season where I breathe on everything you doing and you can't do anything wrong. And then it seems like there might be a season where my hands are behind my back and I breathe on nothing and you feel like nothing's going right. He says, you can't predict. And some of us, what we have is a demand for certainty. If I'm doing all this work, I need to know this work's gonna work. When the Bible says the work always works, it just doesn't always work the way we think it works. Proverbs 14:23 says, in all labor there's profit. So sometimes it works for you, and sometimes it works on you. Sometimes the harvest is currency. Sometimes the harvest is characteristic. The reason some of you are not so fragile now is because of how many times you failed. And that experience with failure lets you know failure not final. I need a Pentecostal member to shout, I'm still here. This is why I sit in traffic and press my way to the house of God. Because as many times as I failed, I shouldn't be here. But I'm still here. I can't be deterred by conditions. I can't have a demand for certainty. Thank you, Holy Spirit, some of you, what I sense is a hesitancy to fully invest your heart into this next thing. I'm not saying person thing, you're bringing your gifts to it. Your heart still with you though, because you got a demand for certainty that you won't be hurt, That you won't be used, exploited again. And God said, there's a miracle you're gonna miss because you gotta demand certainty. The question isn't are things certain? Is the instruction clear? I'm done, number three. And I also have to resist being detained by complacency. Look at verse six. Look at verse six. As you do. Excuse me. Verse six. Sow your seed in the morning and in the evening. Let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether they both will do equally well. See, some people get detained by complacency. Nothing fails like success. So some of you, sometimes we have a weak ending because you had a strong start, you missed it. So it started off well. Then you stopped doing the things that gave you to start. You sold in the morning, but your hands got idle in the evening. Started scoreboard watching, you started playing not to lose. I was watching the NBA finals and I was watching one of the games, one of the teams, I'm not going to say teams, cuz one of the teams had a huge lead and I'm like this, game over. I go to sleep, I wake up the next morning, I look at the score, I say, well, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. And what happens very often is this. Sometimes your motives for winning are not always what you think they are. And once you start to win, it's actually winning that exposes your motives. Did you hear what I just said? It's like, man, that athlete was doing it a certain way before the contract. Doesn't mean the motives are bad. It just means sometimes we don't know what they are, then complacency becomes an indication. God's now trying to purify a motive. Because I don't know if you really, really know if your motives are pure until you don't have to do it and you still choose to. Does that make sense? It's almost like loyalty. Talk about that next week too. You don't know somebody's loyal until they have a chance to not be. Loyalty is only revealed in the face of an opportunity to not Be. This is why some people. I'm all. I'm all in relationship. Some people. You confuse tenured relationships with tested ones. It's tenured, but it hadn't been tested. They said. What did you say when they said it? Okay, So in the morning, but hands get idle in the evening. Beginning of the marriage get idle. If I had, it's okay. Oh, I want to say something so real, but I just. Yeah. Because sometimes you don't know if it's the catch or the chase. Until you catch what you chasing and how you treat it when you catch it determines if you were really more into the chase than the catch. I'm done. I've made some decisions. You've made some decisions that have contributed to delay. Here's the gospel. Here's some good news. The story of the Incarnation, the story of Jesus, the story not just of the Incarnation, but the crucifixion and the Resurrection, is a story of God making provision to rescue humanity from a predicament that decisions got them into. We were human enough to get ourselves in. He was God enough to get us out. And some of us feel behind schedule because our choices and our decisions. But I want to. I want to pray the wind of God, of acceleration behind your back. And I want to encourage you with a statement that a pilot from Delta encouraged me with when I was coming back to Atlanta Thursday, when we were getting ready to descend. He says, this is your captain speaking. I've got some good news. Although we had a delay from our destination, I want to inform you that we caught a tailwind and we'll be arriving at Hartsfield International right on time. This is your spiritual captain speaking. And I want to tell you, even though you may be behind schedule in some areas, God's gonna send a team tailwind and get you where you need to be. Right on time. Somebody praise him for the wind that's getting ready to blow. Blow, wind, blow. Blow, wind, blow. Spirit, break out. Heaven, come down. We gotta go. Let me pray. Blow, wind, blow. We gotta get out of here. It's about to be a Holy Ghost riot in a second. I want you to ask your neighbor, do you feel that? Ask them. Feel wet. I feel the wind. I feel the wind blowing on this row. I feel the wind blowing in my section. Revival.